The other day I was chatting with  Duino about various ways to terrorize poor grumpy Raf, and inevitably using him as an inflated prop in a circus act came up. In the end I decided to turn it into a fun little story :3

Raf reluctantly volunteers for Duino's show, not realizing his role will be as a massive balancing ball...

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Duino's Performance
By: IndigoRho

A busy mall on the weekend was the last place Raf wanted to be, so of course that's where the hefty, grumpy hyena had found himself. His large belly and constant scowl were more than enough to part the crowds of shoppers at least. As long as he hurried and avoided distractions he'd be free of the place soon enough.

“Now if I can just get one lucky volunteer the show can begin!”

The voice caught Raf's attention, and he turned to see what the fuss was about. Standing atop a trunk was a mallard duck who'd attracted a small audience of onlookers. Aside from the trunk and a nearby privacy screen, though, there wasn't anything to hint at what the alleged show would involve. Not that Raf would've considered any show worth extending his mall trip for.

While Raf wanted nothing to do with whatever was going on, the duck had other plans. He spotted the hard-to-miss hyena right away, and grinned.

“You sir, with the pink mohawk, why don't you volunteer!”

Raf froze in place, his first of many mistakes. He sincerely doubted there was anyone else nearby with a pink mohawk besides himself. He shook his head in response. “No thanks, I'm good.”

“But sir this is the chance of a lifetime!” the duck persisted.

“I'll pass.” Despite Raf's refusal he'd yet to actually leave.

“Without your help the show won't be able to go on, and all these wonderful people will be left disappointed!”

The longer the conversation went the more eyes fell on Raf. He frowned, then sighed. “Alright, alright, I'll help.”

The duck appeared genuinely surprised by how easy it had been to coerce Raf, but his smile quickly returned. “Wonderful! I am the Exceptionally Spectacular Duino, and you are...”

“Raf.”

“Everyone give a big round of applause for Raf, today's lucky volunteer!”

“If I were lucky I wouldn't be here,” Raf mumbled under his breath as he approached Duino.

Duino leapt off the trunk and opened it up, digging around for a second before pulling out what appeared to be a folded up costume.

“Now Raf if you'll just put this on we'll be able to begin!” Duino said as he passed the outfit to the hyena.

“You didn't say anything about a costume being involved,” Raf growled.

“It's essential for the act! Impossible to do without! We'd both look ridiculous otherwise—but mainly you—so please won't you wear it Raf?” Duino asked with a smile.

Once again the persistence defeated Raf, who accepted the costume and disappeared behind the privacy screen to put it on. His grumbling was audible to the audience, prompting muted laughter. Duino was busy retrieving something else from the trunk,which he swiftly hid behind his back.

There were more laughs once Raf finally came back out, though his glares quieted a few. The costume was a one piece jumpsuit of some sort, covered in multicolored stripes and stars. It was incredibly loose even on the rotund hyena. Raf had never managed to wear anything so loose in his entire life, and almost felt more embarrassed than if it had been too small.

“What...what is this costume even supposed to be?” Raf asked, trying to resist blushing.

“Why a balancing ball of course!” Duino said. “Every good circus act needs one, though ours is in serious need of inflation! An easy fix.”

Before Raf could ask anymore questions Duino pulled out on oversized bellows from behind his back and shoved the nozzle right into the baffled hyena's mouth. The first pump caused Raf's cheeks to puff up and his eyes to shoot wide open. Duino's wings moved in a flash, pumping air into his rather reluctant volunteer at a considerable rate.

Raf's belly began to balloon outward immediately. He stumbled backwards a couple steps and flailed his arms, but he was too confused to properly defend himself against the duck pumping him up. Soon his middle was awkwardly immense, his limbs puffed up and rigid.

Laughter erupted from the audience, which had started to grow in size once more and more passersby noticed the expanding hyena. They began to assume it was all a planned part of the act, that Raf clearly hadn't been a random volunteer but a plant. As such, no one made a move to interrupt the show.

With a muffled yelp Raf toppled over onto his massive gut, the blimping hyena wobbling wildly as he continued inflating. Duino showed no signs of tiring, pumping away at the bellows with an expert's ease. He could already tell Raf was going to make a great balancing ball.

The creases and folds of the costume steadily smoothed out as Raf filled it. His arms and legs sunk into his spherical body, his face rounder than ever before. Raf's wobbling lessened as struggling became harder, until he was merely gently rocking back and forth towards the end. Inevitably he felt the costume cling tightly to his round form, now a perfect fit.

Duino stopped pumping and gave Raf's side a few prods, deeming them to be suitably taut. He casually tossed the bellows back into his trunk and turned to face the substantially larger crowd.

“Welcome one and all to the Exceptionally Spectacular Duino's One Duck Circus, starring me—Duino!” The duck bowed to polite applause. “And introducing my latest acquisition to you all, Raf the Wonder Blimp!”

Raf scowled particularly hard at his unwanted nickname, but his puffy cheeks made him less than intimidating to the amused audience. “Deflate me now, I didn't agree to this!”

“Oh of course you did. Now Raf here may look impossibly massive, but with all that air in him he's actually a breeze to pick up!” Duino declared confidently.

A wave of “oohs” and “awes” echoed out as Duino lived up to his word, lifting the hyena ball into the air without any trouble. He carefully tossed Raf up and caught him a few times, prompting laughter and cheers—and of course plenty of protests from the hyena. After the brief showcase he stepped out from under the inflated hyena and let him plummet to the floor.

Raf's eyes bulged as his body hit the ground, the hyena immediately bouncing upwards just like any regular ball would. The bouncing did little to help with his embarrassment, but the crowd was delighted. The disgruntled grump ended up on his side once Duino finally decided to stabilize him, though as a sphere he was mostly side.

“Amazing what a little air can do?” Duino said, leaning against Raf.

Suddenly a loud eeeyahahahaha erupted, startling both the duck and his captive audience. Raf's mouth was clenched shut and his face red, and a wide grin came upon Duino's beak once he realized what the source of the cackling had been. Duino eagerly hovered a wing over the exact center of where Raf's belly should've been, and gave it a poke. Again the cackling rang out, though Raf was able to silence himself fairly quickly.

“So you do laugh!” Duino chuckled. “And here I was beginning to think you didn't have a setting besides grouch!” He noticed that Raf's outbursts had managed to attract even more onlookers, which gave him an idea.

From the trunk came a small stereo, which played a chipper pipe organ tune that only added to the circus atmosphere. Duino bent down on the ground next to Raf, lifting him up onto his feet while rolling onto his back. With a bit of effort he managed to get the hyena ball rolling.

Every full revolution would be accompanied by a loud cackle from Raf which would drown out the circus music and get a cheer from the crowd. The cackling spread far and wide throughout the mall, luring in more and more curious shoppers. Eventually Duino added a few light bounces to the rolls, timing them so they'd always provoke a laugh from the grumpy hyena. He couldn't have hoped for better advertisement of the show even if he'd started quacking into a microphone at full blast.

Content with his larger audience, Duino let Raf down, the hyena's eyes spinning.

“E-Enough! Show's over!” Raf mumbled as he tried to refocus his gaze.

“Oh, but we haven't even gotten to the good part yet!” Duino exclaimed before turning to the crowd. “Do you all think the show should go on?”

The ensuing shouts of approval were loud enough to wobble Raf. Duino gleefully rolled Raf over to his trunk, pulling out a trio of small balls sporting the same design as Raf's costume. He rolled them around in his wing and then began to juggle them.

“With enough practice anyone can juggle, so sometimes a challenge is necessary!”

Still juggling, Duino climbed atop of his trunk, not wavering in the slightest. The act received applause. Gasps arose as the duck then stepped up onto Raf, much to the hyena's dismay. Far more concentration was required, but he didn't lose a single ball in the process.

“Wow Raf, you're a natural at this! Have you considered being a balance ball full time?”

Raf growled and grumped as the onlookers laughed, trying to turn his head to see the duck but failing.

“I'm not a prop! Get off me before I flatten you like a pancake!” Raf's empty threats only entertained the crowd more.

“Well you'd need to pick up quite a bit of speed to pull that off,” Duino mused aloud. “Why don't I help you out!”

Precise steps caused the round hyena to start rolling forwards, and it didn't take long for Duino to pick up momentum. With a grin Duino rolled around the edge of the audience atop Raf, juggling away. He could see the looks of pure joy on their faces—and knew the sour look that must have been on Raf's. The cackles were a little less frequent but still adored by the crowd. In between were a plethora of inaudible grumbles, Raf unable to believe the ordeal he was going through.

As fun as the stunt was, Duino felt it was nearing time for the grand finale. He returned Raf to the middle of his impromptu stage, making sure the grump was on his back. Duino caught the juggling balls in his wings and jumped up, landing back down on Raf and sinking in just slightly. Raf's cheeks puffed out and he let out a massive cackle—the loudest of the show—right as Duino bounced upwards. The duck did a front flip off the hyena, landing on the floor in a triumphant pose.

The cheers that followed would have been loud enough to drown out even Raf's cackling.

Duino bowed over and over to the audience, casually bouncing the juggling balls off Raf and back into the trunk once it was opened. He also set out a donation box, which rapidly filled with change and bills.

With the show over the crowd slowly began to disperse, most dropping at least some money in Duino's box before leaving.

“Now don't forget to tell all your friends about the Exceptionally Spectacular Duino!” the duck bellowed. “There'll be encore performances throughout the week!”

Dollar bill signs practically flashed in Duino's eyes as he saw his donation box overflowing for the first time in a long while. He leaned into Raf as he waved to passing shoppers.

“For our first show this was an astounding success! Now just imagine how much money I'll make once we've gotten a bit more practice and tweaked the routine a little.” Duino gave Raf a couple pats on his swollen cheek, causing the hyena to frown. “We might even be able to take the act on the road!”

“No no no, never again! I quit, you don't even have to deflate me just shoo!” Raf replied, flustered and fuming as he felt some of the more adventurous onlookers poke his sides on their way out.

“Ooh, that's a great line! You'll have to use it during the next show,” Duino said. “Now I say we take a two hour break before starting up again, just to wait for a fresh crowd to show up. In the meanwhile I'm gonna practice balancing you on my beak, I think it'll be a hit!”

Amidst a flurry of protests Duino rolled his new assistance down a side hallway, excitedly discussing his plans for what makeup would best compliment Raf's costume. The mixture of whimpers and grumbles echoed from the hallway long after they'd vanished from sight...