Happy New Year, everyone!

This is a story I've been working on since early October. A whopping 10k commission for  blkdragon where BLK is growing out of control, only this time it's completely his fault. The rising dragon must deal with tight squeezes and crowded spaces as he makes his way towards Alan, getting in all sorts of trouble along the way. Can he make it to his magical friend without causing too much damage? Better yet, can he do so without his temper getting in the way? Also featuring  youcrazyforthis as a cameo for reason's you'll see soon enough.

So, yeah, 10k words. This is the longest story I've ever written by myself (the RP stories are collabs). I don't think I've ever put any more effort into writing, revising, and editing than I have with this story. Needless to say, it was really damn hard! I have no idea how writers manage to create such long, entertaining epics without straining themselves too much, this really was a huge challenge!

Like I said, I poured my all into this story, so feedback is suuuuuper appreciated!

---

BLK was at his limit. He wasn’t sure he was going to pull through. His face was turning scarlet, his eyes watering, his throat quivering, all dangerous signs that the dragon was seconds away from losing control. There was nothing he desired more than to explode, but he forced himself to keep his composure, even if he was gripping the end of the table tight enough to turn his brown knuckles as white as his hair. Maintain composure, he told himself, focus on something different to avoid acknowledging that crushing feeling.

Regrettably, the only object he could really focus on was a small red demon who constantly prodded his soft stomach, seemingly oblivious to the dragon’s discomfort. “So, whatcha think? Super delicious and scrumptious, right?” He grinned, dusting his “Kiss the Cook” apron and adjusting his white chef’s hat (which made up nearly half of his total height). “The recipe said it was low in sodium, so I dumped like a ton of salt in it to give it the flavor it was totally lacking. We also didn’t have any butter for the fish, but I figured olive oil would make a pretty good substitute. Bet you didn’t know I could be so creative, huh? In fact, I also-”

“Blaaaarg!”

BLK had heard enough. After swallowing his initial mouthful, the taller dragon let out a noisy moan of discomfort, his tongue lolling out of the side of his head.

Shockingly enough, that wasn’t the reaction the red imp had expected. “Blarg? Whaddya mean blarg? I put my very soul into that, you know, so the least you could do is not dry heave!”

BLK couldn’t respond immediately, for he was too busy trying not to gag up the rest of the atrocious bite. Once certain the meal was gonna stay down, the dragon heaved a sigh and slumped back, resting his claw on his chest. “Urf, i-it was fine, Alan. Just...a little bitter.”

“Don’t lie, you hated it!”

“Alright, fine, it was horrible.”

“What the heck, dude?!”

“You told me to be honest!” BLK groaned, wiping his tongue with a napkin. He couldn’t put into words how dreadfully awful Alan’s dish was. It was like biting into a rotting carcass of a blobfish that had drowned in a gallon of salt, mixed with salad dressing for some reason. It was a miracle he hadn’t actually vomited, although his sore stomach reminded him that he had come very, very close. Still, he couldn’t say all that to Alan, who was looking so disappointed even his chef’s hat was started to appear droopy and unenthused.

“For a first try it...wasn’t horrible.” Alan rolled his eyes. “N-no, really, you’re just...a little too liberal with your garnishes. Poached Tuna might be a bit much for a first meal, you know. You could start with something simpler, like roast beef or meatloaf...or cereal.”

“Cereal?!” The demon’s face grew even redder, trembling hard enough to even wobble his hat. “I can’t believe this! The one time I try being nice and making something yummy for you, and you spit it back in my face, almost literally!”

The dragon swore under his breath, realizing he had crossed the line with that last suggestion, and quickly threw up his claws in surrender. “N-no, you don’t understand, I really do appreciate the gesture!” BLK exclaimed, doing his best to assure the demon of his honesty. He had lost track of how many times Alan’s tricks had ended up with someone (mainly himself) growing outwards to dozens of times their normal size and wrecking some kind of havoc. In fact, the dragon had half expected Alan’s meal to suddenly add several hundred pounds to his figure, so he was pleasantly surprised to find it just tasted horrible instead, as odd as that sounded.

Unfortunately, Alan didn’t feel the same way. “Appreciate this, ya jerk!” The little demon scowled, hurling his apron and hat at the larger drake. “I’m outta here! Cook your own dinner if you’re not too busy throwing up mine!”

“Alan, wait!” BLK cried, but the imp had ran out of the room, his whimpering growing softer until the loud slam of the front door silenced it entirely. Alone with his thoughts, the dragon sighed and slumped forward before thumping his palm against his forehead. “Dammit, me and my big mouth.” A sudden jolt of guilt coursed through his chest and stomach, a pain stronger than the discomfort he had felt trying to swallow down the despicable meal earlier. He hadn’t meant to hurt the little guy’s feelings like that, but there was no way he could stomach even another nibble of the salt-soaked seafood, let alone pretend to enjoy it. Perhaps he should have said something earlier, when he noticed the kitchen smelled like something had died in it half an hour ago.

With a grunt, BLK heaved himself out of his seat and towards the sink, before scraping the remains of his meal into the garbage disposal. He would go comfort Alan later, the little guy probably needs a moment to relieve some stress; hopefully he does so without the need of any victims. For now, the dragon was more concerned with washing the taste out of his mouth! Simply rubbing his tongue on the napkin earlier wasn’t enough, and water alone wouldn’t leave much of an impact. He needed to replace that horrid taste with something equally strong and quick; all that salt had left his mouth running dry.

Sadly, the fridge was mostly empty save for some fruit and other useless foods. BLK’s appetite had been ruined by the failed meal; all he needed was something tasty to drink. He cursed the day he stopped buying sodas and sugary juices; this diet of his continued to inconvenience him in more ways than one. He was about to call it quits and run his muzzle under the sink until he noticed a clear container in the back of the fridge filled with a bright pink liquid.

Beaming with joy, BLK lunged for the bottle and yanked it out, nearly smashing a few mangoes in the process. It was a small, cylindrical vial that looked like a cross between a test tube and a turkey baster. A single marking read “Warning: Do Not Drink” on the end, yet the dragon noticed it contained a peelable plastic lid. Surely if this substance really was hazardous, it wouldn’t be contained inside an ordinary container within a common household fridge, right? Frowning, the drake lifted off the container to get a better look, a strong watermelon-y scent wafting towards his muzzle.

It didn’t last 3 seconds.

BLK burped before he realized what had happened. He looked down at the empty bottle, noticing the nasty aftertaste in his maw had been replaced with a more pleasant fruity aroma. Did he seriously just drink a substance covered in warning labels, just to cover up one taste with another? “What is wrong with me? That could have been poison, and I drank it without a second thought only because it smelled good,” the dragon groaned, setting the vial down. All things considering, he felt perfectly fine, no sudden pain or nausea. Maybe the strange liquid was just juice that Alan had disguised as something noxious in order to keep BLK on his diet, the thought sending another pang of guilt through his middle.

“Today has been too stressful,” the dragon sighed, speaking for himself as well as Alan. He knew he should chase after the small demon, knowing the sorts of mischief Alan caused even when he wasn’t in a horrible mood, but decided to put that off for now. As important as it was for him to know the location of the imp at every possible moment, BLK knew that rushing after him would only injure the red demon’s ego even further, to the point where it could irreversibly damage their friendship. “I’ll look for him after an hour or so. Hopefully he stays out of trouble for that long.”

Trusting his judgement, BLK headed out of the kitchen, into the living room, and plopped himself on the couch. Snatching the remote from the cushion next to him, the spotted reptile flicked on the television and started channel surfing, hoping to find something interesting to watch while he waited. Instead, he was met with nothing but a sea of infomercials.

BLK huffed as he flicked through the channels, the flashing images reflecting off his bright yellow eyes. Everywhere he looked, he was met with ads for mundane objects he didn’t need, with the occasional news outlet. The dragon frowned, starting to seriously wonder why he had bought cable. What was the point of having access to hundreds of channels if there was nothing to watch? He was lucky if he found a soap opera to watch, and those were either in a different language or bored him to tears within a few minutes! Fifteen minutes had barely gone by, yet it felt as though he had been flipping through channels for hours! He swore his thumb was even starting to feel sore from all the buttons he was press-

Hiiiic

BLK blinked. That was rather intense hiccup, strong enough to even make him shut his eyes. Breathing out a strong watermelon-flavored sigh, the dragon went back to watching television, before frowning. He thought he had replaced his older, smaller TV a month ago; had he been watching TV all this time without noticing? Alan did threaten to steal the new TV and set it up in his own room since BLK never had time to sit down and watch shows together, perhaps he had finally acted out on it? Still, it was a little odd that he had been watching for fiftenn minutes without noticing anything. Furrowing his brows at the missed observation, BLK also noticed that his hip was pressing into the side of the couch, shuffling in his seat nervously. Good God, he really needed to stick to his diet better, if the noisy creaking in the couch told him anything. Of course, he could always turn off the television and go on a jog around the block; perhaps that could be his way of looking for Alan. The weather was fair outside, and it wasn’t like he’d be missing any good shows on TV. But, as BLK reached to grab the remote, he noticed that his hand was larger than the device, a rather unusual oddity that shouldn’t be true unless-

Hiiiic

-he was growing.

The dragon’s bright yellow eyes shot wide open as the couch shattered beneath his widened rump, leaving behind a pile of splinters that dug into his scaly rear. Yelping in pain, he quickly stumbled forward onto his feet, only to imbed his horns in the ceiling. “Grrk! Thon of a bith, I juth fithed thothe holeth like two weekth ago!” BLK whined, nursing his bitten tongue. There was no denying it now, BLK was growing out of control once again, the usually 7 foot drake now double his original height! His head even bumped the same spot it did the last time he had a growth spurt, hence the dragon’s earlier lispy complaints. Wincing in pain, the dragon pried his horns out from the ceiling and looked for the source of his growth, only to remember that Alan had left a while ago.

And to make matters worse, he felt another hiccup ready to erupt from his chest. “Man, today just isn’t my day.”

Brushing the ceiling debris from his hair, the dragon rolled forward onto his hands and legs, carefully padding through the crowded living room like a feral. His chest ached, desperate to release another pocket of gas, but the dragon knew that any more hiccups would leave him helpless in the shrinking room, until he bursted out of it, that is. Homeowners insurance didn’t cover outgrowing your house, a very inconvenient truth BLK learned some time ago. Going out the front door would take too much time; he would have to crawl through two rooms and three door frames until he was outside, which left him with only one alternative route. Pushing aside the splintered remains of his couch, the massive dragon pinched the doorknob and flicked the door to the garage open.

BLK held his breath and sucked in his gut, not at all looking forward to what was about to come next. His head made it through with relative ease, although he had to twist to the side once his torso starting sliding through. The further he got, the tighter the squeeze felt, the pear-shaped dragon grunting when he felt the door frame wrap around his softened middle. “C’mon, suck it in,” he grunted through clenched teeth, feeling panic start to kick in when the door frame started bowing out, until suddenly-

CRAAAACK!

BLK sighed, accidently letting out the hiccup he had been storing. He was fortunate there was no car in the garage, for he would have surely smashed it beneath his bulk now. From head to toe, he was nearly as long as the entire room, his snout now pressing against the garage door. Fumbling with his legs, the enormous drake gritted his teeth and squirmed until he somehow managed to press the button on the wall with one of his foot-long toe claws. From there, he just had to lay there and feel the rising metal door smear against his face until eventually letting him out. Perhaps he could look for some screen cleaner while he was out searching for Alan, to help wipe the smudge marks off the garage door windows. At least that would be a quick and easy jaunt for someone of his size.

With a groan, BLK slowly drew to his full height, arching his back until he felt a few audible pops. He was finally outside, which meant he didn’t have to worry about hitting his head against any ceilings at least. Still, he was startled to find himself looking over the roof of his one-story house, the dragon now standing over 20 feet tall. BLK sighed, leaning a pudgy paw against a nearby streetlamp while taking in several deep, steady breaths. This wasn’t his first rodeo, per se. The drake had grown upwards to rather ridiculous levels before, only this time he didn’t have Alan to help him shrink him back down. Granted, the vast majority of his growth spurts were caused by the mischievous imp, but regardless of how he became so large, he could always depend on Alan to help set things right in the end.

This time, the blame was all on him, and there was no one around to help him. “I really hope I can find Alan soon, that vial didn’t exactly say how tall it’d make me grow,” BLK mumbled to himself as he started his trek down the neighborhood road, unintentionally bending the streetlight as he pushed away from it. If he wanted to get back to normal and fix this mess, he’ll need Alan’s help.

Only problem was, he had no idea where to look.

BLK wandered aimlessly around the neighborhood, peering over the houses in search for his little buddy. He was certain Alan couldn’t have gotten far, the dragon grateful that his colossal size would make it as easy for Alan to spot him as it would anyone else. While it was true that being so extraordinarily tall brought with it more problems than it solved, BLK couldn’t deny the feeling of satisfaction he had when he could easily step over cars or walk the length of a neighborhood street in less than a minute. Even at his size, however, there were plenty of blind spots that someone as small as the demon could end up disappearing in. To make matters worse, he was mostly confined to roaming the streets, seeing as how most people wouldn’t appreciate a 20 foot tall drake stomping around on their front yard. It would take forever for the house-sized dragon to search the entire block for his roommate, and by that point Alan could be halfway across the state!

As much as it pained him, he knew that he needed help.

However, as with most everyday tasks, asking for help was rather complicated when you’re four times your normal size. BLK couldn’t exactly crouch over and knock on the front door of a house without taking up the entirety of the road, which gave way to another large problem he faced: cars. He couldn’t go a minute without hearing the sounds of aggressive honking or tire-squealing, and trying to stop one of them to ask for help was just asking for trouble. He was bigger, sure, but he wasn’t any fitter. Chasing after a speeding car would be a horrible waste of time, and even if he could catch up to them without collapsing into a heaving, sweating mess, the police could get involved. He had a feeling they probably wouldn’t side with the giant rampaging monster.

Just when despair was starting to set in, BLK finally came across someone who didn’t immediately run back inside at his approach! Right down the street was an older ferret mowing the front yard, wearing protective headphones to drown out the roaring noise of the mower. Of course, even the best noise-cancelling devices couldn’t hide the sensation of the ground rumbling, the ferret looking around curiously as he felt BLK rushing over. When he did notice the 20 foot tall dragon waddling quickly towards him with a smile on his face, the ferret did the only sensible thing in that situation: he collapsed onto his knees and trembled. “O-oh man, please don’t eat me! I promise I don’t taste good!”

All that confidence BLK had quickly vanished as he heard those words, slowing down until he was several feet away from the comparatively tiny fur. “I’m not gonna eat you, I promise,” the dragon grumbled, feeling somewhat insulted. Of the things panicking furs would say when being approached by a giant BLK, “don’t eat me” was always the most degrading. He wasn’t that fat, was he? “I just want to ask a few questions, then we can-”

“I-I didn’t do anything, I swear!” Shivering and squirming, the ferret hid his head into his arms as if he were being interrogated at gunpoint.

“Calm yourself, BLK,” the dragon inhaled slowly through his nose, holding it for a good three seconds before letting it out. His heart rate had a tendency to accelerate when under situations of extreme stress, such as dealing with furs who thought he was about to devour them. BLK relaxed every muscle he could and hunched over a few feet, speaking in as soft of a voice as a 20 foot dragon like himself could. “I’m not going to hurt you, friend, I’m just as scared as you are. I promise that I will leave you alone shortly after I ask you a few questions, ok?” He had rehearsed this line several times in the mirror should the (un)likely situation arise that he would grow three times his height and require the help of a panicked observer.

Gradually, the mustelid’s shivering calmed down until he was standing as still as a statue, although BLK waited until the ferret showed his head through his arms before speaking again. “I am looking for a red demon by the name of Alan. Have you seen him anywhere, by any chance? He’s a crimson red with orange ear fins, a small horn on the tip of his snout, about yeigh high?” The massive drake raised two claws, holding them out about as far as he assumed three feet to be.

The ferret silently took in the BLK’s words, gazing up at the dragon with a blank expression. For a moment, BLK was worried he had petrified the poor mustelid, but much to his delight, a look of revelation spread across the ferret’s striped face. “Oh, I saw that little guy running through here about 15 minutes ago! He seemed really angry, even snapped at me when I started my mower, yelling about going somewhere quiet before running towards downtown. Say…” his expression darkened, narrowing his eyes in an almost accusatory glare towards the macro. “You’re not chasing after him to...you know…” the ferret stomped on a blade of grass to demonstrate his point.

“Yes! I-I mean no! I mean, thank goodness you know where he is!” BLK couldn’t contain himself. He finally had a lead on where Alan was going! The details were still vague, which meant he still had a lot of ground to cover, but he was at least on the right track to finally shrinking back to his normal size! “Did he say anymore where he was going? You can just point in a direction, I can find him. Do you know if he might be hiding inside a building, or if he was going to a-

HIIIIIIIIC!”

Oh no.

In all his excitement, BLK didn’t notice the buildup of gas into his chest until literally too late. Before he could react, the dragon shot upwards several feet until *KACHUNG!* his head struck the light pole with enough force to bend it to the shape of his head! Roaring in pain, the even-taller beast stumbled back, clutching the back of his head. “Yeeeowch! Argh, goddamnit! I’m gonna end up with a third friggin horn if I keep bumping my head on stupid crap!” Wincing in pain, BLK continued to feverently rub his bruised head as he opened his eyes, seeing a pair of headphones and a lawnmower on the ground where the ferret should be, his outline still visible on the cartoony trail of dust he left behind.

Sometimes, BLK wondered if all this stress was going to leave his hair even whiter.

---

Dealing with large buildings was BLK’s least favorite aspect of becoming a giant. While many skyscrapers in, say, California were built extra sturdy to make up for the unstable fault lines, BLK was unfortunate enough to live much closer inland where the metal and glass structures felt more like paper mache once he reached a certain height. Although he despised smaller buildings just as much, due to being trapped inside of them with his only way out either being a tight squeeze or colossal destruction (along with colossal fines), those he could at least avoid once he was outside. Towards the heart of the city, the buildings grew closer together as they grew larger, which meant he’d have to suck in his prominent gut and sidle through high-rises, not to mention avoiding stepping on cars. Just more and more items to add to BLK’s ever growing list of reasons why he should have stayed in bed today.

On top of it all, moving towards a more urban environment meant dealing with more furs. For the most part, nobody paid him too much attention; the locals were quite used to the dragon turning into a giant lumbering beast and trying to wedge himself between various buildings. Sure, he received plenty of stares and hushed remarks about his size, with a few tourists downright screaming and running at the mere sight of him, but BLK had become quite accustomed to that nonsense.

No, it was dealing with the sheer density of furs that was tricky for the waddling 30ft giant. Whether they were walking down the sidewalks or driving on the roads, furs crowded the entire city, giving BLK that extra bit of challenge as he tiptoed through the street, trying to speed up and slow down to match the cars before him. It was a difficult routine to manage, to say the least, but BLK was, in a way, grateful for the workout. This could be the work of the magical drink he consumed earlier, but the drake was finding it harder than usual to see past his scaly tan belly to see below him, relying on sound queues and the heat of the exhaust pipes to figure out how far ahead the cars were in front of him. Even when he finally manages to shrink back down to his original size, he really needs to see about keeping his diet in check-

Skkreeeeeeeee-bang! “Yeeeowch!”

BLK was abruptly pulled from his mental worrying by the sound (and pain) of a speeding car slamming into the side of his tail. Whimpering in agony, the giant dragon slowly turned his head back to assess the damage. His heart sank as he saw tire marks along the road, leaving up to a white sedan pressing against his tail. While his tail certainly didn’t make it out unscathed, a swollen red lump now noticeable on the appendage, it was the car that took the brunt of the damage. Windows were broken, airbags were deployed, the hood was completely crumpled and bent; it was an absolute mess! And sticking their head out of the window of that mess was a red wolf, coughing and spluttering.

“Oh my God, are you alright?!” BLK gasped as he quickly turned around, his second mistake. Once again his tail was the cause of another accident, this time slamming hard enough against the streetlight to dent it. The dragon winced and pulled his tail away, wrapping it around his ankle to prevent further damage to both it and the surrounding environment. “Ack! I-I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t know my tail was still in the intersection, a-and I didn’t even lift it, a-and-”

Balloons.

BLK blinked as a couple of colorful balloons no bigger than his eyes bounced against his muzzle before drifting away, floating higher and higher. Glancing back down, his yellow eyes widened as he saw the trunk had opened, revealing streamers, presents, and even a cake that had miraculously avoided destruction. “Oh man...were you going to a birthday party?”

The red wolf, who up until this point hadn’t had a moment to speak, gawked at the enormous creature until he realized BLK had stopped talking for a full 5 seconds. “O-oh, yeah, I was...I mean, before I hit you, which was totally my fault by the way. I was too busy looking up at you that I, uh, didn’t notice the rest of you down here.”

BLK had a sinking suspicion that the wolf was trying to downplay the accident in the hopes that the big dragon would leave him alone. That would explain why the lupine wasn’t even trying to leave his car; he probably felt safer in his beat up car than he did out in the open with the giant. BLK couldn’t really blame him, to be honest. “I’m still really sorry, sir. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“N-no, it’s fine man, really. I know a real good mechanic, h-he could totally fix this up in no time. A-and I can be a little late to the party. It’s my friend’s kid’s birthday, and you know kids, they just...they’ll forgive you as long as you show up with a present, you know?

BLK’s stomach sank like a rock when he heard he was responsible for interfering with a child’s birthday, his goat-like ears drooping off the side of his head. He opened his mouth to offer his help again, only to get cut off by a loud honk. It appeared that, in that time span, the dented trafficlight had turned green, and BLK was currently in the way of a lot of impatient drivers. Only in the big city could a giant dragon destroy a car and not phase anyone trying to beat the mid afternoon rush hour. BLK glanced at the overeager drivers, then to the ruined car, before quickly making a decision.

“It’s alright, we can still make the party!” The dragon quickly stepped over the busted Sedan and leaned over it, pushing it from behind. “You steer and I push. Just tell me beforehand when we’re making turns, understand?”

The red wolf did not understand. “W-woah! Hey, what are you doing?!”

“Trying to make up for messing up your car!” BLK called back, slowly picking up speed. While the mainframe of the vehicle was busted, fortunately the wheels were virtually unscathed, which made pushing that much easier. It was about time something came easy. “We’re coming up on Thomas and Jefferson soon. Are we still going straight or do you need to turn-”

Hiiiiic! Oh, come on!

“What was that noise? It sounded like a gas leak!”

“It kinda was,” BLK growled, noting how much deeper his voice had become. Still growing ever taller, the drake was now forced to hunch over even further, groaning as he felt a dull ache in the base of his spine that would most certainly not be going away anytime soon. “Seriously though, are we turning or going straight?”

There was a moment's hesitation before the lupine finally responded. “U-uh, keep going straight, but turn right at the next mile. Sorry for not responding, but this is...well, it’s a lot to take in. I wasn’t, erh, expecting to be pushed to a party by a mon- I mean, by you. I really, really, don’t mind calling an uber or something, you know.” JT’s voice wavered and trembled, quite clearly more than a little nervous at this change of events. Even so, this made BLK even more determined to get the wolf to his destination safely.

“Believe me, I wasn’t expecting this either. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you, erh, nothing worse then what’s already happened at least,” BLK chuckled awkwardly, ducking beneath the stop lights as they continued down the road. Soon, the aforementioned intersection arrived and the dragon felt the car turn right. Even with his additional growth spurt, the massive drake was shocked to see that maneuvering around the city was much easier when he had a car to push around. It helped him to balance a little better, and with his body more hunched over he could see the ground better than if he was standing straight on two legs. The only real issue he had was making sure he was speeding up and slowing down carefully to avoid giving the red wolf too much G force. The lupine was supposed to be driving to a party after all, not training to be an astronaut. “So, erh, do you have a name, sir?”

“Just call me JT, and take another left at that light,” JT called back up, making sure his voice carried up to the giant drake. “What about you?”

“BLK. That’s funny, I didn’t think I’d meet another fur with an acronym for a name,” BLK chuckled softly, pleased to find himself grinning in this situation.

Much to his delight, he heard JT snickering as well. “I know, right? What are the odds? Actually, I have another bud named YC if you can believe that.”

“Hah, I don’t! You’ll have to introduce me sometime to prove it to me...when I eventually shrink down, that is,” BLK added that last part under his breath.

“Oh, I totally will! We’ll have a meeting and call it ‘I named myself after looking at a spoonful of alphabet soup!’ We can hold it outside, of course, so you can… you know, be a part of it.”

BLK tried chuckling at the remark, but his laughter came out forced. That joke sounded like something Alan would say, the thought of the little demon still being angry at him made his heart pound nervously in his chest. As if on queue, JT chose to ask a question that coincided perfectly with the dragon’s thoughts. “Speaking of which, what’s someone like you doing in the big city? I mean, I know it’s ‘the big city,’ but, like, you’re a little too big for it, dontcha think?”

“Yeah, yeah I do think,” BLK sighed. “Believe it or not, I’m not normally this freakishly huge. I’m looking for a friend of mine named Alan. I know this is a long shot, but you wouldn’t happen to have seen him earlier, have you? He’s a red demon about half your height, with one little nose horn and orange ear fins?”

“That was Alan?”

BLK stopped in his tracks, the car trailing them swerving to the next lane to avoid colliding with the giant dragon. “You’ve seen him?! Where did he go?!”

JT was too busy dealing with the sudden whiplash to answer right away, the red wolf thrown against the airbag. Thankfully it was already deployed this time. “Jeeze, man, a little heads up next time?” He groaned, rubbing his stiff neck before responding. “Yeah, he was jaywalking earlier and I almost hit the little bugger. I thought he was a kid at first, but I realized he wasn’t when he said some very, very adult things towards me.”

“But where did he go? Did he say anything?” The brown dragon was trembling at this point, rocking the broken car.

“U-uh, after he got done insulting my mother, he said something about going somewhere quiet, but started heading towards downtown, which is pretty weird now that I think about it. Not many quiet places down there, you know?”

“Quiet…” BLK frowned. JT was right, there wasn’t anyplace quiet in the heart of the city, at least not to his knowledge. There was a city a park somewhere around that area, which would be as quiet as you could get in a bustling city; could that be where Alan is hiding? It wasn’t much of a lead, and he sure as heck wasn’t looking forward to going deeper into the city, but he was willing to do it if it meant eventually shrinking back down to his normal height...and making things right with Alan, of course.

Unfortunately, it appears that would have to wait. Following JT’s instructions, BLK found himself heading back to the suburbs again, the complete opposite direction he needed to be in. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he also found himself growing yet again, his back aching more as he ended up hunched further down with every hiccup. In a way, it was somewhat funny how ironic it was that the buildings started getting smaller as he grew taller, but really this was just him trying to make light of a desperate situation. In truth, he was really starting to panic at the thought of going back to the city now.

It got so bad that BLK finally gave in to lifting up the car and carrying it like a house cat. Just standing back up to his full height caused the dragon’s back to pop a few times, a pleasured grunt escaping his lips while a startled yell emanated from his passenger. “Aaaah, jeeze dude! Warn me next time!”

“Sorry, but I’m really in a hurry!” BLK exclaimed, quickly marching down the road. With this new pace, the enormous reptile was able to make it to their destination in a matter of minutes, BLK seeing a bright inflatable bounce house from miles away. Of course, everyone at the party saw the giant dragon from miles away as well, and while many parents were horrified to recognize JT’s broken car in the drake’s grasp, the children were quite excited at the sight. It seems that the only people who aren’t terrified of giant dragons were people late for work and children who had way too much sugar.

“Wow, JT got Godzilla to come to the party! How’d he do that?!”

“That’s not Godzilla, dummy! This guy’s brown and stuff, and doesn’t have those spiky things on his back.”

“Yeah, and everyone knows Godzilla isn’t that fat!”

Owch. That last comment stung a little. BLK bit his lips as he slowly approached the house, trying to find a spot to set the car without accidentally causing more damage. The other cars parked along the road made that a bit tricky, but thankfully he found a good spot to set the vehicle without stepping on anything. “E-erh, here’s your stop. Sorry for totaling your car, JT. You can send me the bill later, but right now I really need to get going.” The drake muttered as he turned to leave.

“H-hey, wait!” To BLK’s surprise, JT quickly clambered out of his car the moment it touched the ground before looking up at the big dragon. “Uh, thank you for getting me here so quickly, man. Are you sure you don’t want to stay for, like, a bite to eat or something?”

He was flattered! BLK was used to people asking him to leave or avoiding him while he was a giant, but being invited to a party was a very welcome change. The dragon’s heart soared, only for it to plummet back down as he overheard the other parents muttering to their children. “C-come inside, dear. It can’t hurt you if it can’t see you.”

BLK sighed, responding with a curt “thanks for the offer,” before leaving, his tail dragging along the road.

---

Sure enough, the trek back into the city was harder than it was earlier; monumentally harder, in fact. When he first entered, he could fit in a car lane reasonably well, but now each of his feet were nearly the size of a small vehicle, and were more than capable of serious damage should he stumble off balance for even a second. His movements needed to be slow and methodical, the drake even resorting to pressing his palms against the sides of the surrounding skyscrapers to ensure he kept his footing. While that helped prevent any damages on the ground, the dragon found himself cracking quite a few upper story windows. Despite his soft appearance, BLK was unbelievably strong, meaning he had to make sure he didn’t accidently punt one of the vehicles beneath him like a football.

Which wouldn’t be a problem if he could just. Stop. Freaking. Growing!

Maybe it was all the smog congesting in the air around him, but BLK couldn’t stop hiccuping for the life of him, shooting upwards another few feet with every outburst. He could easily see himself in the reflection of the glass buildings, rising up one storey after another, well over 60 feet tall. Even the city folk, who were previously unperturbed by the giant, were starting to give him plenty of space. Well, at least as much space as they could give; large cities were quite crowded after all.

“This...is getting...really dangerous,” BLK panted, the dragon currently stuck balancing precariously on one leg as he waited for the space in front of him to clear up. This was like avoiding a floor covered with Legos, except the Legos were living beings who would most certainly not appreciate 150 tons of dragon descending upon them...well, maybe 200 tons, max.

Hiiiic!

Scratch that, 225 tons.

BLK almost wished he was tall enough to not hear the constant honking and screaming below him, for he felt like screaming quite loudly himself. With every growth spurt, his pace slowed down even further; at this rate, it wouldn’t be long until he had to stop entirely! What’s worse, he still had over five miles left to go before he could even see the park. If only he hadn’t had to help JT earlier, he would have made it there by now! “Stupid, stupid dragon!” BLK balled up his claw into a fist and struck it against his head, gritting his teeth as each blow filled his vision with spots and stars. Why did things have to be so freaking difficult? Why did Alan have to choose such a crowded, annoying place to hide? Why did he choose to help JT when he said he could have gotten an Uber? Why? Why? WHY?!

BLK was at his limit. He wasn’t sure he was going to pull through. His face was turning scarlet, his eyes watering, his throat quivering, all dangerous signs that the dragon was seconds away from losing control. There was nothing he desired more than to explode, but he forced himself to keep his composure, even if his fists were clenched tight enough to turn his brown knuckles as white as his hair. Maintain composure, he told himself, focus on something different to avoid acknowledging that crushing feeling.

The dragon huffed as he glanced at the building to his right. How fortunate that it was the biggest library in the city; none of the furs appeared to have noticed the massive monster right outside the window. Some looked a little suspicious as to where those earthquakes were coming from, but for the most part the furs were simply lounging in their chairs reading. BLK’s ragged breathing slowed as he watched the small anthros moving around, finding it almost entertaining to see the furs move around like an ant farm. It was almost therapeutic, seeing people who would normally be horrified of him relax in their chairs casually reading away or playing on their smartphones. Heck, that little red guy was really invested in whatever book he was reading, his orange nosehorn barely visible behind the cover…

“ALAN?!”

BLK gasped, his bright eyes widening to the size of car tires. He thought he was hallucinating, the dragon quickly rubbing his eyes a few times just to make sure, but there was no denying that the little red reptile reading in the library was, in fact, the same reptile he had been searching for all this time! BLK was so incredibly fortunate that he happened to be eye-level with the 6th story of the building, or else he would have completely missed Alan!

Heart pounding in his chest, the dragon quickly tapped his knuckle against the window, ignoring the cracks he caused. “Hey, Alan! Over here!” The reaction he received was immediate, like poking a fish tank, the furs inside suddenly dropping their books and freezing in place, giving panicked looks towards the dragon.

Not Alan, however. The demon lowered his book and glanced outside before rolling his eyes, his mouth opening and closing in what BLK could see was a very obvious and exasperated sigh. Setting his book down, Alan hopped out of the chair and walked towards the door, not at all excited about being reunited with his friend as he pushed out the window. “What do you want?”

Was he being serious right now? BLK’s cheeks flushed red with anger, the dragon taking a moment to close his eyes and sigh before responding. “Alan, you have to shrink me back down right now! This is getting too out of hand, people are panicking, I’m clogging up the streets, buildings are getting damaged. If this doesn’t end soon, people might be-”

Hiiiiiic!

BLK gasped as he now found himself staring into the 7th floor now, his growth spurt shooting him up an extra ten feet. On street level, he could feel himself sink into the ground a few inches, the concrete and asphalt no longer able to properly support his weight. Whimpering in fear, the dragon crouched back down to Alan. “S-see? I’m starting to leave craters!”

“Then you should have stuck with your diet,” Alan chuckled humorlessly, crossing his arms. “Seriously though, you brought this upon yourself. I mean, the bottle literally said “Do Not Drink” on it! And now you’re expecting me to clean up after your mistakes? Well, you should have thought about that before telling me my cooking was horrible!”

“Alan, I-”

Hiiiiic!

Another ten feet taller. BLK gritted his teeth as he wrapped his arms around the highrise for balance, horrified to find that he could almost wrap his arms completely around it. He crouched even lower, his stomach still rubbing against the library while his tail started pressing against the buildings behind him. He was running out of time! The dragon was hyperventilating, his worried breathing fogging up the window. Throughout all the times Alan had pranked him into turning into a giant, he had never been this big before, or in an area so densely populated! He could eventually pay off the damages, maybe, but with all the people crowding around him, it was only a matter of time until something catastrophically bad happened!

Whimpering in fear, the drake finally swallowed his pride, glancing at the tiny demon (who was really starting to look tiny at this point) before quickly blurting out what he thought Alan wanted to hear. “Y-yes, you’re right, I’m sorry I called your cooking bad! It was delicious, I was being stupid and insensitive! Please, Alan, fix this right now!”

That last sentence was said with far more force than BLK intended, his roar echoing down the street. Even Alan looked stunned briefly at the raw power behind the dragon’s words, although he was quick to return to his haughty demeanour. “Oh, so it’s suddenly delicious now? Stay sorry for a little longer. I’m almost done with my book.”

“No, Alan, wa- hiiiiic!” BLK screamed, feeling completely helpless as Alan shut the window and returned to his seat. So many emotions swam through the massive drake’s mind as he saw his friend turn his back on him: Shock, confusion, fear, betrayal, all just to name a few. However, there was one in particular that really stood out above the rest, one that completely overpowered any reason the dragon had: rage.

“Don’t ignore me!”

Without thinking of the consequences, BLK’s claw swooped through the window, his claws barely able to make it through the narrow opening. Screams erupted from the ground and within the building, but he was too angry to care. Soon, he felt what he wanted and pulled his arm back, holding a tiny red demon no bigger than his claw. BLK felt some satisfaction in feeling Alan tremble and shiver in his grasp, his face nearly as white as his wide eyes. “W-w-what the hell are you doing?!”

“I’m fed up with your bullshit, you know that?!” BLK roared, holding the imp close enough until he was seeing red. “Because of your goddamn tricks, I barely had enough time to squeeze outside my house, then deal with the neighbors freaking out whenever I tried asking where you were! Someone drove their car into my freaking tail, but who could blame him when there’s a giant dragon taking up the entire road?! I had to push him all the way out of the city to his place, while I was still growing uncontrollably, while I was being called a monster and a beast!” Tears welled up in the dragon’s eyes as he found himself throwing pretty much every thought and emotion he had at the demon.

However, Alan was naturally a little too frightened to really be paying attention, the red imp struggling against the drake’s grasp. “C-c’mon, dude, let me go! You’re starting to hurt me!”

“Not until you turn me back, damn it! This isn’t a game anymore, people are going to be hurt!” The dragon roared again, flecks of spit flinging onto the demon.

Alan’s shivering intensified, now close enough to the big drake’s muzzle to notice just how large those sharp teeth were! His own eyes were starting to glisten as he stared back at his friend. “But...you...I mean...you hurt my feelings earlier, with the dinner…”

Oh, that was the last straw! BLK swore he felt something snap in his brain as a raw, primal energy suddenly took over. “I don’t give a fuck about your shitty cooking! I can’t take this...you! I can’t handle you anymore! I’ve gotten so many lumps and bruises from all the times I’ve bumped my head on a ceiling, and the soreness in my back and limbs whenever I’m being squeezed into a tiny room is excruciating, not to mention all the money I’ve had to spend on home repair and chiropractors! I’ve let you live under my roof for free when you had nowhere else to go, and this is how you repay me you stupid, annoying, ungrateful PIPSQUEAK!?”

BLK couldn’t believe what he just said, his rage drowned out by an intense guilt. He was horrified of himself, not for the horrible things he said, but because there was actually a kernel of truth behind those nasty words. Alan must have known it too, the little imp no longer shaking. Instead, he glared at the massive dragon as tears streamed down his cheeks, his lower lip trembling. “I...I think you need to go,” he muttered, his voice trembling.

BLK took in the sight of his crying roommate before grunting, setting Alan back down inside the library. He hadn’t realized he was shaking until after he released the demon, his muscles tense as if he were carrying an entire building. The dragon’s lip quivered; there was more he wanted to say, more than just angry and violent insults, but nothing came out of his mouth, held back by an invisible mental floodgate. Even if he could have thought of what to say, BLK could hear police sirens start to surround him, with a distant voice shouting in a megaphone. “Please leave our city! It is not safe with you here!”

The same anger from before flared up inside him, and for a moment BLK seriously thought about showing everyone here just how “safe” they were! He could devastate those police cars below him, those puny guns wouldn’t be able to put a dent in his hide! Heck, it took all of BLK’s barely-restrained willpower to not just swat the police copter from his face like it were some annoying fly. But he was better than that, even if his powerful arms were starting to crush the library inwards like a cardboard box.

“I’m going,” BLK growled back, his voice deep and menacing. He made one last glance towards Alan before stomping off, his feet digging into the concrete like wet sand.

---

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!”

Two hours! It took two hours for BLK to escape the city, even with a police escort! Two hours full of precarious balancing, careful tip-toeing, property damage, and of course constant growth. Sure, the hiccups were finally over with, but in the end, the dragon was so massive he was afraid he’d get wedged in the street!! He was only a few hiccups away from having his broad hips rub against two different buildings, but even then there were more than enough tight squeezes to make the dragon painfully aware of his weight. Just thinking about all the other damages he must have caused made the drake’s head throb with anger. Taking away the craters his feet made when he walked, he probably knocked over at least a dozen streetlights, not to mention all the other destruction he probably wasn’t aware of due to his size!

BLK puffed and panted, feeling another roar of anger well up inside his chest. He had spent all day trying to find Alan, only to cuss out the demon instead and be shooed outside the city like a pet that made a mess in the house. It was almost night by the time he made it back out, the sun slowly setting into the horizon beyond him.

Well, now he was gone. Miles away from the buildings he was so afraid of ruining, the reptile found himself in a massive scrapheap, with mounds of broken machinery surrounding him. Smashed up cars, broken trucks, even a few functioning cranes nearby to help sift through all the wreckage.

In other words: the perfect playground for a mindless beast like himself!

Stepping back, the portly giant took a few steps back to give himself a running start. Right in the middle of the scrapyard was a fairly untouched civic, not unlike the first car that honked at him when he was stuck in the intersection earlier, back when JT drove into his tail. He could imagine the draolf driving the honking car still, his breathing quickening as that same primal rage from before filled his very being. He was seeing red again, his heart pounding furiously as he saw his chance to finally let off some steam.

He took off, the rubble shifting around as he leapt for the car. In one bound, he had cleared half the scrapyard, his large foot falling fast onto the vehicle. With one gratifying CRUUUUNCH, BLK felt the car shatter and crumple into a flattened pile of metal and glass. And for a moment, the massive dragon was satisfied; that is, until he felt said metal and glass dig painfully into the bottom of his foot.

“Yaaargh! Goddamnit!” The drake whimpered as he hopped on one leg, clutching his injured foot as the resulting tremors caused by his jumping bounced the metal around. Tears burning his eyes, BLK carefully managed to pry out broken shards from his foot, all while ranting quite loudly. “Gah, what’s wrong with me?! I should have just -owch!- kicked the damn thing, would have -ow!- saved me a few splinters.”

Well, the car was still there, even if it was flattened, primed for further beating. After gingerly setting his foot back on the ground, the dragon stepped back, ready for round two of his revenge against vehicles, only to sigh and slump forward. “Oh, what’s the use? I can’t fit into a city, I can’t make my best friend happy, and I can’t even find the will to smash this stupid hunk of metal! I’m a horrible monster, and an even worse friend!”

“Well, you’re half right.”

BLK gasped, recognizing that voice instantly. Slowly turning around, the dragon looked around until he noticed a little red demon standing on a scrap mound looking directly at him. At his height, it was difficult to tell what expression Alan was making, although from what BLK could tell from the imp’s tone, he wasn’t happy.

The two reptiles stared down each other silently, the only sound being the taller one’s heavy breathing. Every second that passed was more agonizing than the last, the dragon suddenly wishing he was back in the city so that the honking of cars could drown out the sound of his own heart beating in his ears. The longer this went on, the more BLK worried about what to do or say next. Did he ask Alan to clarify himself? Should he demand the imp to leave him at peace? Did he pretend not to have noticed the little demon? That last option in particular was looking rather appealing, but considering they were both already making eye contact, that would probably just come off as even more insulting. The tension was thick, almost suffocatingly so, until eventually-

“I’m sorry!”

Two voices suddenly screamed out in conjunction. BLK’s jaw dropped, surprised that little Alan could shout loud enough to almost drown out his own booming voice. The little demon looked quite startled himself, before glancing down awkwardly, his raptor-like tail wrapping around his ankle nervously. “Uh, you first I guess.”

BLK sighed. “I’m really sorry, Alan. I crossed the line with you earlier and said some things that really, really didn’t mean to be said. You’re not a stupid, ungrateful pipsqueak; if anyone’s ungrateful, it’s me. I humiliated my best friend in front of hundreds of people and scared him half to death. Not to mention how, erh, poorly I reacted when it came to tasting your cooking.”

The dragon was expecting a myriad of reactions from his tiny friend, ranging from another angry outburst, to more rude comments about his attitude, or even another growth spurt just to mess with him further! Imagine his surprise when, instead of any of that, Alan starts laughing instead. “Hah! I don’t care about the cooking anymore, dude. To be honest I’ve been over it for a while, I was just pretending at the library to get a reaction out of you. And, well, I got one.” He muttered that last comment solemnly, a hint of remorse in his voice.

The dragon blinked. Right there was more than enough incriminating evidence to set him loose on another anger-fueled rampage, but seeing that sly, mischievous demon smiling up at him had the inverse reaction instead. “You little scamp!” BLK exclaimed, letting loose a deep belly laugh that felt better than kicking over a thousand cars.

“Guilty as charged!” Alan cheekily retorted. That playful grin slowly faded away as his gaze dropped once again, the demon heaving a deep sigh. “Yeah, I guess that was pretty rotton of me to pretend to get so upset over it. I mean, it did kinda hurt when you told me it was horrible earlier, but then again I did ask you to be honest with me. Which you were, and then I...caused all this,” he sniffled, gesturing to his friend. “I’ve been a huge jerk.”

“Hey, no you haven’t!” BLK quickly knelt down in front of the imp, doing his best to comfort his friend. It wasn’t easy, not when Alan was the size of the drake’s finger, but still the giant did his best to gently rub his pudgy digit along the demon’s back. These soft, slow gestures were as comforting to BLK as they were for Alan it seemed, the imp relaxing into the petting as he looked up at his friend. This time, it was BLK’s turn to offer a playful, teasing smirk. “You’ve been a little jerk!”

“S-shut up!” Alan laughed, playfully shoving BLK’s finger away. “I’ll let you have that one, B. I swear, though, I haven’t been all bad today.” Turning around, the demon picked up the same book he had been reading in the library from right next to him. Upon closer inspection, the drake was shocked to see pictures of food over the cover. How had he not noticed it before? “Yeah, it’s a cookbook. I wanted to try and make you something better next time, something actually tasty and low calorie, of course. Anyways, I wasn’t trying to pull some reverse psychology on you to make you drink that juice. You bought it like a week ago even though you were complaining about your diet, so I put the “Do Not Drink” sign on it to make sure you wouldn’t, well, drink it. And if you did, well, you’d get all big and fat like you are now to scare you into not doing it again.”

BLK thought he felt something tug on his heart, his eyes getting a little misty. He never considered Alan would have put the “Do Not Drink” sign as a form of reverse psychology; the fact that the demon was apologizing for it meant he really had been feeling guilty for a while. The dragon had also completely forgotten about buying the watermelon-flavored teas from the grocery store last week as well, feeling even more torn up that his lack of self control had led to such a devastating outcome for the two friends. “R-really, Alan?”

The reptile nodded, still averting eye contact. “W-well, yeah...That and I kinda wanted to see you big again cuz, you know, I can’t make myself any bigger than a pipsqueak...whatever, I’m sorry. Like I said, I was a big jerk, or a little jerk, or any variation of that!”

BLK didn’t need to look at Alan to know he was crying at this point, his heart breaking at hearing the little guy sniffle and sob. He reached out his arm to comfort his friend, but instead, Alan dashed forward, running down the pile of scrap metal and hurtling over the dragon’s feet to hug BLK’s ankle. As soon as they made contact, the spotted drake watched as the world around him started to grow taller and taller, an almost surreal experience considering he had been growing for the greater part of the afternoon. Smaller and slimmer he shrank, right until he was eye level with Alan. “Erh, you know I’m not normally this short, right?”

“Yeah I know,” Alan smirked, before wrapping his arms tightly around the dragon. “It’s just easier to hug you like this is all.” Together, the two held that hug for a good 15 seconds, feeling the stress and tension of today’s events slowly fade away. It was almost a shame they had to end it so soon; the night air was starting to get rather chilly. “So, ready to be back to your usual height for once?”

“Um, actually,” BLK muttered, leaning forward to whisper into Alan’s ear.

From there, he felt another surge of satisfaction as he saw the demon’s eyes suddenly go wide. “A-are you sure? I mean, after everything you had to deal with today?”

“Of course!” The dragon chuckled. “We’re a long way from home, after all, and it’s a beautiful night for a stroll!”

“That it is, my portly pal!” Alan beamed, granting his friend another hug, only this one came with side effects. BLK grinned as he felt himself gradually rising once again, slowly surpassing his usual 7 foot height straight back into giant territory.

“You know, today wasn’t all bad. Because of my largeness, I actually met someone else who, get this, is named JT!”

“What? No way!” Alan laughed, letting go of his friend. "You were a giant, yet you somehow managed to pinpoint another fur with an acronym for a name?"

BLK nodded in response, the twenty foot dragon setting the smaller demon on his shoulder as he talked about the event. The pair spent the evening enjoying a leisurely walk home, laughing at the silly shenanigans the dragon had been up to as they went. They had garnered plenty of stares on their way back, but BLK didn’t really mind; he had to admit they were quite the odd pair!