One year is an acceptable time to write a single chapter, right...?

It's been a fairly rough week, so I wanted to take a break and write some personal stuff and finally progress with this story series. This is still mostly a filler chapter of sorts, but by next chapter we'll get much more plot development...as well as other developments, particularly around the waistli- fat, they get fatter.

Robin is already starting to feel the effects of his various trips to Thylodeus's cave, while the dragon is certainly enjoying having a certain thief do all of his chores for him, the lazy drake no longer having to lift a single claw~

I hope you all enjoy~

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“You there, fox. C’mere for a minute.”

Robin froze mid step as soon as he heard those words, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn’t have to look back to know who had just called him, that gruff masculine voice had been etched into his brain for years now.

Turning around, the fox’s stomach lurched as he looked at the wolf he had been thinking about, although he had been secretly hoping he was wrong. Wulfric stared down at the vulpine with a confident grin that made Robin’s own signature smirk look like a grimace in comparison. He was renowned throughout the entire country for his skills as a bounty hunter, his hunting and combat skills surpassing even some of the king’s best knights! Everything on the wolf screamed “Class-A bounty hunter,” such as the enormous two-handed sword strapped to his back, the satchels full of traps, his belt overloaded with tools, his bulging biceps needed to carry around so much weight, his chiseled abs that were visible through his black tunic, his-

“Hey, my eyes are up here,” Wulfric spoke after a moment, his cocky sneer widening.

“My apologies, I knew they had to be somewhere beneath all that crap,” Robin snarled back, although there was no denying the rosy blush that spread across his cheeks.

“You call this crap?” The looming wolf snorted, gesturing to his gear. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised someone like you wouldn’t recognize proper bounty hunter equipment. I’d lend you some, but I’d hate for you to snap in two from the weight.”

“Don’t need it, thank you very much. I’m doing just fine with what I have.”

The two canines glared at each other, giving each other faux grins while murderous intent radiated from them like smoke from a fire. Robin’s paws twitched towards where his knife was stashed away, but he knew he had no chance against the monster of a blade that was attached to the lupine’s back. Surely, Wulfric wouldn’t try attacking Robin in the middle of the crowded shopping district, but given the wolf’s notoriety, the fox was certain Wulfric could easily run the blade through him and leave with no one asking any questions. At the very least, he could throw the knife at an exposed spot and run off, but Wulfric was, as mentioned before, an expert bounty hunter who had captured dozens of criminals far smarter than the fox.

“What do you want, Wulfric?”

The tension eased somewhat as the wolf crossed his arms over his chest, away from his weapons. “Rumor has it you’ve recently come into possession of a small fortune. Now, normally I try not to pry into other furs’ personal lives, despite my occupation requiring it at times, but I couldn’t help but hear all around town of an orange and white fox going on a spending spree with unusual coins. What’s in the bag?”

Robin’s ears wilted at the thought of having his belongings searched. Still, he wasn’t in a position to oppose without looking all the more suspicious. Reluctantly, he unslung the white leather satchel from his shoulder, opening it up to reveal its contents.“Just some books from that shop on the corner. I gotta have something to do in between hunts, or during long stakeouts. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend any of these to you. See, none of them have pictures, and they might contain some really big words that might be hard for-”

“Stow it,” Wulfric growled in a menacingly deep voice, the vulpine quick to close the satchel and his mouth. It didn’t take a genius to see that the wolf was quite disappointed he didn’t get to see what he wanted to see in Robin’s bag; the fox feeling quite grateful that he had spent the last of his gold on those books. However, Wulfric continued to glare at him, still expecting some useful info from the frightened canine. Was it too much to ask for the brawny wolf to let him off the hook?

Apparently it was. “Where’d you get the money to afford that bag? That's the newest fashion trend among the nobility, I've seen the design enough times to know that brand on sight in court!"

Uh oh! “Inheritance. Grandmother passed away recently.”

“It’s not wise to lie to me.”

Robin gulped loudly on reflex, his forehead starting to feel hot and clammy. He had several more lies and excuses saved up that didn’t include mentioning the dragon, but something told him he shouldn’t try using one of them.

And that something was the large blade strapped to the wolf’s back.

With a nasty smirk, Wulfric reached back and upholstered his enormous blade, flexing his arm as he carried the two-handed sword with only one hand. “Beautiful, ain’t she? Carved by the most accomplished blacksmiths in the land with the finest steel money can buy. I only save her for the real threats: mass murderers, terrorists, spies, the likes. I’d never use her on, say, a petty thief.” The wolf sighed as he held out his weapon to be examined, showing it off to himself as well as the nervous vulpine.

Once the message had been sent, Wulfric lowered his blade and leaned forward, paws on his hips. To the dozens of passersby on the street, it appeared as though the taller lupine was lecturing the fox as if he was a misbehaving pup, although only Robin could hear the malice that dripped from the wolf’s words. “It’s a good thing I don’t consider stealing from dragons to be a reportable offense. Oh, don’t look so surprised; with the way you’ve been blathering to everyone in town of your ‘incredible feats,’ it was only a matter of time before I caught on. I’m smarter than I look, you know… and I look pretty damn smart!

“So I’m going to cut you a deal, fox: you point me in the direction of this legendary dragon, and I’ll return with all of its treasure and its head! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to spare you some of its gold too, enough to keep you satisfied for years to come. It sure beats skulking around its lair and running off with chump change, right?”

Wulfric snickered, but Robin’s frightened expression didn’t lighten up in the slightest. Yet again, the vulpine chose not to utter a single word. He was starting to get annoyed with having taller, stronger creatures scare him into submission; first Thylodeus, and now Wulfric. At the very least, Theo never intentionally frightened Robin, although the dragon’s obese figure helped significantly in that regard.

Wulfric’s chuckling devolved into growling when he realized Robin had no intention of speaking, throwing his sword back into its sheath. “Have it your way, fox. I’ll find this dragon with or without your help, and once I come back with its wealth, you’ll quickly go back to being a forgotten wretch scourging the slums for a pretty penny!”

Snarling wickedly, the lupine stepped forward and shoved the fox out of his way, who was nearly thrown off his feet from the attack. Dusting off his clothes, Robin glared back at the wolf, curling his fingers into fists as he made one more call out to the wolf. “Hey, genius! The dragon’s the other way!”

Wulfric’s ears perked up as he glanced back at the fox, before shaking his head. “Just how gullible do you think I am? If I were you, I’d spend more time crafting more convincing tales and less time stuffing my face, tubby.”

“Suit yourself,” Robin snorted as he turned and walked away from the bounty hunter, his eyes set on the distant mountain where Thylodeus lived. He allowed himself a self-righteous smirk in his craftyness... although that smirk quickly dropped as a certain word resonated in his skull. “Wait a minute...did he just call me tubby?”

Tubby. Robin couldn’t get his mind off that insult during his trek to the dragon’s cave. It haunted him even as he stood outside of Theo’s cave, staring down at the nearby stream into his reflection. Sure, he looked a little wider and softer, but surely that was the water distorting his image, right? Yeah, that had to be it! It’s the river making his fine features look more soft and rounded than before, or making it seem as if his belly was hanging over the end of his belt somewhat, or gave him the impression that he was starting to develop a soft second chin. Of course, that didn’t explain how when he lifted his tunic, he was met not with a slender six pack but rather a keg of fluffy white fur. Perhaps that was just a leftover bloat from breakfast? He did overdo it a little with the crepes.

“Admiring yourself in the river again, Robin?”

Robin blushed as he heard the dragon inside the cave calling for him, completely forgetting Theo’s incredible sense of smell. “J-just a little! Erh, I mean, be right there!” Robin quickly tucked his tunic beneath his belt and ran inside, wincing when he accidentally pinched his soft belly in the process.

Robin typically felt a little apprehensive whenever he entered the dragon’s den, it was his nature to be rather skittish after all, but lately he had felt more at ease as he walked in. Sylvester did an excellent job of cleaning up the cave interior, making the once-dusty entrance look more like a humble abode. All that was missing, at least in Robin’s eyes, was some actual carpet or rug for the ground, for walking on disheveled rock hurt his feet even while wearing sandals. No wonder Theo hardly ever walked outside anymore, preferring to send the little skunk to retrieve his food and supplies instead.

Sure enough, the dragon was found lounging by the fireside, gobbling up three bear claws at a time. Laying in that position, Robin couldn’t tell if Theo had somehow gotten even fatter since his first few visits. Sure, the dragon had always been quite the pudgy reptile, but lately it seemed as if his golden belly hung a little lower the rare times he was up and walking, or his scarlet limbs wobbled more when they brought food to his maw, or his cheeks looking wider and adora-

“Greetings, Robin! We were wondering when you would grace us with your presence,” Theo chuckled after gulping down his recent mouthful, making the fox realize he had been standing and staring at the sight before him. Heck, Robin was so focused on Theo he had forgotten about Sylvester, hearing the little skunk sweeping somewhere behind all that dragon chub. For a moment, Robin wondered if Theo ever needed Sylvester to brush out crumbs from those thick folds, the thought of which sent a slight blush to the fox’s white cheeks.

Fortunately, Thylodeus was more focused on what Robin was wearing on his back than on his cheeks. “Have you brought more books for me to read? At this rate, I’ll have to ask Sylvester to install more shelves for me!” The dragon chuckled while the skunk behind him groaned.

“Oh, I got something even better for ya, big guy!” Grinning ear to ear, the fox was quick to unsling his satchel, emptying it’s contents on the little stone table. He quickly brushed aside the books before finally unearthing what he was looking for: a checkerboard with several different figurines. “It’s gotta get boring reading all the time, so I figured I’d bring you back a game to help pass the time with!”

“A game?” Theo tilted his head, bunching up the rolls along his neck. “I’m afraid I’m unfamiliar with that term. Care to elaborate?”

“What, really?” Robin blinked. Man, a dragon’s life must be boring as hell. “Erh, well, a game is a, uh, competitive activity you do with someone else for the sake of fun, kinda like our little play fight we did a few weeks back. A lot of games are like that, actually, but with extra rules. Take this game for example,” Robin quickly set up the chess board, placing the little wooden figures in their starting positions. “We take turns moving these pieces around, each with their own different moves. Whoever captures their opponents king,” the fox pointed at the largest piece, “is the winner. Sounds fun?”

Robin’s heart sank as he noticed the dragon’s confused expression. Was he jumping the gun here in expecting the intellectual dragon to like an intellectual game? Maybe chess wasn’t the right game to start off with someone who didn’t even know what a game was. “I-I mean, fun is subjective and all, so if you’d rather do something else-”

Robin was cut off again as Theo slowly drew himself onto all fours, his ponderous belly wobbling beneath him. “Hurf...no, you’ve piqued my interest. I’m quite curious about how this game works now. Would you mind explaining the specifics to me while I make us a pot of tea?”

“Oh...sure thing, Theo…” The fox watched the drake move, feeling the ground tremble oh so slightly with each thunderous, wobbling step he took. Seeing Theo drawn up to his full height reminded the vulpine just how tiny he really was in comparison to this massive drake. He remembered the days where he used to be terrified of Theo’s size, but now that he no longer feared for his life, he couldn’t help but marvel at the dragon’s girth. To think that a dragon as massive as Thylodeus could become so soft and unimposing with a few extra layers of chub. Suddenly, the fox couldn't help but imagine how impressive the dragon would be with even more weight.

Said dragon turned his head back to Robin, who had almost forgotten they were about to play a game! Blushing furiously now, the fox explained as best as he could the rules behind chess: the way each piece moved, how they attacked, what was considered a checkmate or a stalemate, and more. To his surprise, Thylodeus memorized everything he said perfectly, even with just periodic glances towards the board and its pieces. In fact, the dragon even asked about specific rules that the fox had forgotten to bring up, such as who went first in a game. Robin suddenly felt quite bad for underestimating Theo’s intelligence, the sly fox suddenly feeling a little less so.

Soon, Theo waddled back over with his kettle, filling up two cups with warm tea. ‘Sorry about the wait, Robin. Is there anything else we need to go over before we begin?”

“Not at all,” the fox took careful sips of his beverage, feeling its warmth spread throughout his entire body. He could tell the tea was just a tad bit stronger than usual, something that made him sigh happily once he finished his sip. “Mmmm, that’s refreshing. Anyways, yeah we can start, but I should warn you that I happen to be quite good at this game.”

“Oh?” Theo grinned; Robin couldn’t tell if it was an innocent grin or one full of mischief. “I had no idea I was dealing with a professional chesser as well as a bounty hunter!”

“Chesser?” The fox snickered. “Well, I don’t mean to brag or anything, but when I was 16 years old, I came in first place in our citywide tournament!” Well, more like second, but Theo didn’t need to know that.

Theo nodded, still grinning. “I see. Would you care to go easy on one so new to the game? I fear I may not provide much of a challenge, especially from someone as prodigious as yourself.”

Robin smiled back. “Of course I’d be happy to teach you a few tricks!” And with that, the fox moved his rightmost pawn forward.

---

“-and checkmate! I believe that makes eleven games in a row, if memory serves me correctly.”

Robin was shocked. Speechless. Bewildered. Dumbfounded. How could he, a second place tournament chess player, lose so quickly and easily to a newbie eleven times in a row?! If he hadn’t seen the dragon trying to eat the bishop earlier, he would have thought Theo had played this game his entire life! Even when he was close to figuring out the dragon’s strategy, that dragon would suddenly switch tactics and completely blind side the poor fox! With a very bruised ego, the fox was quick to reset the entire board. “One more match!”

“I would love to, Robin, but I’m afraid I’ve grown awfully tired,” Theo yawned, bunching up his many chins. “Perhaps another time?”

“Oh, so I’m putting you to sleep, am I?” The vulpine crossed his arms and huffed indignantly.

Theo shook his head. “Oh, not at all! In fact, that last game in particular certainly kept me on edge! When you sent out your queen in a seemingly careless manner, I thought for certain you had an underlying strategy! You’re quite good at baiting, I see, something that must come natural in your line of work.”

‘Well…” Robin didn’t know how to tell the dragon that he really didn’t have a plan after sending out the queen. Perhaps it was better to just roll with that compliment, or else destroy his pride further. “Yeah, that’s, uh, totally what I did. You know, most people would have fallen for that strategy, but I can see you’re really a cut above the rest. Are you sure you don’t want to play another round?”

Theo smiled weakly, resting his pudgy head on his outstretched claws. “Thank you, Robin, but I’m afraid I’ve hic might have overeaten just a tad. I should nap soon, lest the temptation to eat more arises once again.”

“Overeaten?” Robin frowned. “But we weren’t e-euuuraaawrp!” The fox belched loudly, surprising himself. Suddenly, he was overcome with an incredible fullness the likes he never experienced before, the poor vulpine groaning as placed his paws on his middle. His bulging, taunt middle.

Looking down, Robin was shocked to see just how bloated his belly had become, looking as if he had swallowed a beach ball. Part of his tunic had lifted up, revealing the bottom edge of his rounded white stomach. Stroking a claw along his exposed midriff, the fox could even feel stretch marks forming. What the hell was going on?

Glancing at the crumb-covered chessboard brought back very hazy memories of binging and stuffing on all manner of pastries and sweets during their games, the fox even remembering loosening his belt around game 7. Even if he chose not to believe that he had been snacking nonstop for the past two or three hours, the evidence surrounding him was more than overwhelming. Aside from his bloated middle and crumb-covered table, boxes of pastries surrounded the pair that weren’t empty earlier. Just looking at the drawing of donuts on the side of one of the boxes made Robin sick to his stomach. Just how much had they eaten?

Even Theo looked as though he were finally starting to come to terms with how bloated they were, the cylindrical dragon groaning as he slowly rolled onto his side. “Rrrf. Where has that hic silly skunk run off to? I could brp use one of his stomach rubs right about now,” the obese dragon complained, even as he lazily reached for yet another pastry.

Robin didn’t know why, but he felt compelled to ignore the stretching pain in his stomach to help out his friend. Slowly rolling onto his feet, the bloated fox lumbered over to the massive dragon, his tail curling around his thick thighs. Theo’s stomach was even larger than ever, now a giant golden wall full of fattening pastries. “E-erh...I could help rub your stomach, if you’d like, Theo.”

Without waiting for a response, Robin pressed his paws against the belly, shocked at just how soft and supple it was. Pressing deeper, the fox’s paws were engulfed halfway to his elbows before feeling the drake’s taut stomach within. He was rewarded with a pleasured growl from Theo, who rolled further to reveal even more of his massive middle. “That feels wonderful, Robin. Please continue.”

And continue he did. Robin’s paws roamed around the dragon’s mass, eager to knead and squeeze every inch of Theo’s flab. He was quick to forget about his own stuffed stomach, too excited to feel his paws and arms sink into that warm, blubbery, scaly lard. There was simply so much mass before him, the fox couldn’t help but press his entire torso against the dragon’s girth, hearing Theo’s stomach churn and rumble deep beneath all that chub, feeling that belly rise and fall with every deep sigh the drake took. He was even surprised to hear a quiet rumbling from within as well, at first mistaken it for Theo’s appetite suddenly returning, until realizing that the dragon was, in fact, purring.

Robin would have been content to continue rubbing were it not for the quiet snores the dragon produced. Realizing Theo had fallen asleep, the fox grabbed his empty satchel and left, but not without first giving the drake’s chubby muzzle a friendly pet.