Animous gulped down a swig of the rootbeer. He'd never tried home-made rootbeer before, let alone one that called itself "Fluffmaster's Rootbeer Bloat".

"Excuse me, sir?" He asked, turning to address the green-shirted salesman.

The salesman turned to face him, resting his hands on the large belly he sported. "How can I help you, Mister?"

"Why is this called 'Rootbeer Bloat'? Was it an accident... or a pun?" The bandicoot felt something sloshing around in his stomach. The sensation felt rather odd to him, but he assumed it was just a bit of excess gas from the rootbeer's carbonation.

"A pun, you could say!" The portly figure smiled as he leaned in. "I do appreciate you trying my free sample, though! You're the first one today!"

"This late in the afternoon?" Bandicoot felt sympathy for this portly fellow. They seemed to be rather cheery and kind. Opening his mouth to speak, the bandicoot expected an accidental burp to rise through his esophagus, as he heard the gurgle from within.... The sheer expectation with lack of an outcome held his tongue. Now feeling his gut begin to gurgle more, he noticed that his shirt was beginning to ride up from his midriff.

The salesman cocked his head to the side, noting his bemused look. "Well yes, I s'pose most people are a bit skeptical to buy a rootbeer that bloats someone up."

"Pffffff. What?" Animous gasped, thankful he hadn't taken another sip.

"A shame, isn't it?" The salesman sighed. "You think this stuff'd be in higher demand! It's not like it's completely permanent!"

Animous's eyes widened as he looked down at his belly, now seeing the cream colored fur pop from underneath his shirt. The gaseous feeling in his stomach continued, rapidly expanding his belly. "Holy cow!" He remarked, pressing his hand into his belly. "This is so strange, yet it feels great!" He turned to the salesman, beaming with joy. "When does the effect end?"

The salesman scratched his ear. "Well, it takes around a few hours for the swelling to go down...." Gesturing to his belly, the salesman smirked again, "Of course, ever since I had the drink two years ago, I've not been able to get any skinnier than this," he patted his belly, "which is the 'completely permanent' side effect of this beverage!"

Animous looked down at his belly again, contemplating what this meant for him. "Huh. Guess I need a bigger shirt, then."

~~~~~

This is a Secret Santa gift for  animous from the Grinch Crew! Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! :D

~~~~~

bandicoot ©  animous
Green-shirted wolf ©  pikminpedia Me