A free comm for  Franacisco2 for the 3rd story of Airborne August. Lyla wants to finally try flying.

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Lyla sat there, alone in the park, staring at the fizzing liquid inside the corked bottle. The night was still young, the lights around the park had just turned on, their low hum adding their song to the quiet night’s symphony. ‘Would it work?’ she thought to herself, ‘I could always try it another day…’

The moth had debated on drinking the mystery liquid for days now. Although she had wings, they were more for show than actual use. She yearned to fly, to be able to float around in the sky, carefree, like moths should do, but she just couldn’t seem to get herself off the ground. A few months back, while looking for ways to fly, she stumbled upon a shady website, one priding itself in allowing anyone to fly. Intrigued, she had looked deeper into the place, ending up purchasing a potion that would allow the user to fly. It had arrived last week and she had been wanting to drink it each day, never mustering the courage to do so.

She held up the note again, just as she had done many times before. ‘For results, drink 1 oz for every 10 lbs of weight. For best results, drink the entire contents.’ Setting both the note and the bottle down, she claps all four of her hands onto face, letting them slide down back to her sides, lightly brushing against the brown fluff around her neck. Did she really believe that a drink could grant her flight?

Lyla picked the bottle back up, watching as the concoction fizzed continuously. She plucks the cork off with a loud, satisfying pop, bringing the neck of the bottle to her nose. With a quick sniff, the smell of coins fills her nostrils, an underlying citrus-y scent masked underneath. Holding it at arms length she shakes her head, trying to rid the unpleasant smell from her mind. She sits there, the sounds of the bubbles popping in the liquid drawing her in. With a quick exhale, she resolves herself, bringing the bottle to her lips, allowing the drink to flow into her mouth.

It was cold, very cold, which was strange since she had never chilled it. The bubbles tickled as it flowed down her throat, the chilly liquid continuing down and resting in her stomach, pooling as she continued to drink. The carbonation made the drink rather filling, Lyla already feeling full as she emptied the bottle, setting it down on top of the note beside her. Stifling a burp, she put her hands on her belly, feeling the cool liquid still bubbling inside of her. ‘Was this the best idea?’ she thought to herself, feeling the pressure rise inside of her as she stifled another burp.

She could feel a bubble of pressure rise up her throat, before it stopped just below her collarbone, the pressure continuing to rise. She put her hand to it, stopping just short as a new sound could be heard: a hiss. Before she could even begin to worry, she felt a chill rush through her body, a strange sensation covering every inch of her. She let out a worried moan, before she felt the pressure spread, moving from her stomach and throat and encompassing her entire body. As the pressure grew, she could feel her hide begin to stretch.

Slowly but surely, she watched as her hide slowly started to stretch, her limbs and torso expanding as if they were growing fatter by the second. With a cautious poke, she felt her swelling limbs, a hollow experience meeting her and pushing back. Her torso inflated the most, her back and belly distending to give her center a rounded appearance. She felt her limbs grow harder to bend as she nervously flapped her wings, her heart skipping a beat as she felt… Lift. As she felt the inflation begin to slow, the pressure inside keeping her from bending more than one arm at a time, she stood up, a sense of weightlessness in her body. With some cautionary flaps, she felt herself rise from the ground. She nearly screamed in excitement at her predicament: she was flying.

Continuing to flap, she rose higher, her wings finally able to handle her newfound weight. The cool night air caressed her body, the sense of flying was natural to her, allowing her to live what she wanted to do for the longest time. Back and forth she flew, enjoying the speed, the freedom, falling down and swooping back up at the last second, it was exactly like she dreamt it would be. Her new shape was a downside, but she felt it was more than worth it for the experience. Slightly out of breath from the new workout, she slowly fluttered back to the ground, sitting back down on the bench from before.

She lowered her head into her fluff, her hide slightly squeaking with the gas inside. She closed her eyes, rubbing her body and enjoying the sensations. “I’ll figure out how to deflate later,” she sighed with a smile, “or I’ll have to get used to this bigger size.” As she chuckled at her own joke, she felt another burp start to arise, stifling it. Her eyes shot wide as she felt another get stuck in her throat, the pressure from before coming back. “I thought…” she stammered out, feeling her body begin to inflate once again.

As her limbs grew turgid, the gas inside continuing to build inside of the container that was her body, she felt the once appealing lift inside of her continue to rise, her feet wanting to touch the ground less and less. With a squeak of surprise, she felt herself lift from the ground, gently rising hider into the air. Flapping her arms, wings, and legs, trying to get herself back down, she shouted, ”Stop!” Her protests were in vain as she continued to rise, her body beginning to round out from the pressure. She felt her back bounce against the warm light of the lamppost, shifting her body in the air. In a desperate attempt to stop her ascent, she reached blindly at it.

She felt her hand make contact with the post, her grip tightening around it. Her body continued to rise until she was anchored to it. She let out a small sigh of relief as she felt herself continue to swell, bigger and lighter she grew, the moth slowly turning into a balloon. “Someone will hopefully come and save me soon…” She said, her body squeaking as the wind played with her rounded form. At her new size, she could barely see over the curve that her body had become, her limbs barely sticking out of her rotund body, yet she still grew.

Her eyes went wide as she felt the stretched flesh around her hand make contact with the lamppost, pushing against and away from it. She went to plead for her body to stop, but found her mouth unable to move as her swelling form devoured her head. Bigger and lighter she grew, unable to stop her own body giving her a freedom she did not want. It became harder and harder to hold onto the post, her hand beginning to ache as it struggled to hold on. In what felt like an instant, she felt her hand slip, her body pushing herself a good few inches away from the lamppost, before she quickly began to rise. She flapped her wings fruitlessly as she rocketed into the sky, the hissing inside of her being quickly replaced with the taut creaking of her inflated hide. Down below, back on the ground, she saw a figure walk along the path, stopping at the bench she once sat at. As her body turned and tumbled, the last thing she saw was them picking up the bottle and note, depositing it in the trash as they continued along, oblivious to her new eternal flight