This story begins after Simba's return and the defeat of Scar. It was an interactive story on Writing.com until about 2013 and includes the work of several authors including Matt, the original poster, and myself. Please enjoy this record of years of fun and interesting work!
**New Lifestyle (Matt)**
Sarabi smiled as she looked out over the Pridelands' resurgent beauty. It had been but a few moons ago that there nothing but death and destruction here, but now the lands were bustling with life again, like it had been both in her younger days. There were differences now though, not so much with the land, but with how the former queen viewed it, where she'd once seen only beauty and bounty, she now saw as well, a carefully maintained balance, a balance which the murderous tyrant Scar had disrupted, but which her son Simba had restored.
Sarabi's views weren't the only things that had changed since she'd last seen her son as a cub either, age had added a smattering of silver hairs to her pelt, lightening it a touch, and the stress of living with Scar and the hyenas for so many years had as many more. Age and stress had made itself felt in other ways as well, the former queen was a little slower, a little more stiff than she had been once, and her pelt was a fraction looser on her now well-fed frame. Although only vaguely aware of these changes, she was more than willing to hand on the leadership of the pride and the hunts to Nala, to let the weight of responsibility rest on her shoulders. Of course she didn't step away from the position entirely, because while her son's mate might have a maturity that mere time would not account for, she still ran into problems.
While Sarabi had easily divested herself of the weight of leadership, she had gained weight of another type, this one purely physical. With Simba's return had come a bounty of food - at least compared to what they'd had to get by on before - and a reduction in the effort they had to expend to get it, which had seen the lionesses swell from their gaunt, almost bones-and-skin appearance to a well-fed, healthy look in no more than months. More than well fed in fact in the former queen's case, since her son had intervened, and seen that she got a little more than her fair share, so shocked had he been at her appearance.
Of course, an excess of food were to have an effect on the former queen, as was her now only irregular participation in the hunts, and as time passed Sarabi found herself struggling harder and harder just to keep up with the others, and so her participations became even more irregular, until finally she realized she was more-or-less superfluous.
[[1. This concerns her]]
[[2. This doesn't concern her]]**Looking To Lose (Matt)**
For a while after Simba had first returned, as if from the dead, Sarabi had enjoyed his spoiling her, but as her hunting skills waned so did her contentment with life, until finally, perhaps half a moon after her last hunt, she drummed up the indignation to disturb him, "Simba can I have a word in private?"
"Certainly mother," Simba said, and followed Sarabi until she seemed satisfied that they were alone, "what did you want to talk about?"
"My weight," Sarabi replied, "it's getting too much." Simba looked confused at this, so she said, "I need to lose weight."
"Really," Simba asked, then turned his head to glance along his mother's flank, "it doesn't look that bad to me."
"As may be," Sarabi replied, feeling a bit miffed, but also a touch flattered, "but seriously, I do need to lose weight."
"Are you sure," Simba asked, "I mean I don't want you hurting yourself or anything."
"I'm totally sure," Sarabi replied, "and don't worry about me injuring myself I know what I can and can't do."
"Well if you're sure..." Simba began still doubtful.
"Simba, I'm sure," Sarabi replied, "I need to do this."
"Well good luck then," Simba said, "when are you going to start?"
"Actually I thought right now," Sarabi replied, "before the hunters go out, it'll give me a bit of time to work out a routine."
"Well you just look after yourself out there," Simba said.
"Don't worry, I will," Sarabi replied, and with that, she left.
1. Things start smoothly
[[2. She gets interrupted]]**Getting Bigger (Matt)**
As more time passed, Sarabi's new lifestyle of eating lying around and sleeping took an ever bigger toll on her old body. By now, the former queen was so big that there was little chance she would ever be able to hunt again, her age meaning that she'd be unlikely to lose the weight quickly enough to participate in a hunt before she was simply too old to be effective.
This continued gain, especially in light of Zira and her followers' recent departure had left Sarabi's social life in tatters, as many of the remaining lionesses were too put off by her bulk or seeming sloth to even acknowledge her. No that this bothered the former queen, for she was more wrapped up in herself than ever before, both literally and figuratively.
In times past, Sarabi would have bee horrified, as any lioness would be, at even the thought of being too fat to hunt, but now that she was there, it was far more comfortable and fascinating than she'd ever have thought possible. She could still remember, at the end of Scar's reign, being gaunt and bony, and so the feeling of her weight delighted her, despite all its disadvantages.
After lunch one day, Sarabi was feeling thirsty, and so, ignoring the rest of the pride, headed towards the waterhole to get a drink.
[[1. Uneventful journey]]
[[2. Meet a familiar face]]**Unwelcome Intrusion (Matt)**
Sarabi didn't start her exercise immediately though, the morning at Pride Rock had left her feeling a bit parched, so she made a beeline for the waterhole. The journey there was pleasant, the sun was warm on her hide, but a gentle breeze was keeping her from getting too warm, and the resplendent beauty of the savannah and bounty of the herds buoyed her spirits. Arriving at the waterhole, the former queen glanced around, then bent down to get a drink. She'd just started lapping when a voice behind her said, "well well well, what do we have here?"
The voice made Sarabi jump a bit, but she jumped even more when she turned around to see who had spoken.
[[1. A pack of hyenas]]
[[2. Scar]]**Poachers (Matt)**
Sarabi felt a growl rise in her throat the moment she turned around, the speaker had been a hyena, or at least one of the five that were now in view, "what are you doing here?"
"Oh just getting something to eat," the centre, probably lead hyena said, "'cause, you know, it's kinda barren in the Outlands."
Sarabi almost made a cutting remark to this, but bit it back, it would do her no good to antagonize the hyenas, not when she was so out of her depth. Instead, she asked, "so what are you going to do with me?"
"We're gonna kill you," said another hyena, almost gleefully, which seemed to meet with approval from one-or-two of the others.
The one-or-two others didn't include the leader, who turned and growled, "you idiot, they'd find the body."
"But we could eat it couldn't we," asked the other hyena.
"She weighs almost as much as we do together," the leader replied, "so no, we couldn't." Turning back to Sarabi, she gave a wan smile, and said, "sorry about that, some of these bozos have no concept of civility."
"So what would happen if I promised never to tell anyone you were here," Sarabi asked inquiringly.
"Well I'd love to believe it," the leader said, "but probably the first thing I'd 'actually' do is call you a liar."
"Fair enough," Sarabi said dryly, "I don't suppose I'd trust you were the situation reversed." A thought occurred to her, and she asked, "and if I try to run..."
"Don't try it," the leader replied evenly, "what would happen once we caught you wouldn't be pleasant, understood?"
"understood," Sarabi said.
"Good," the leader said, "now as for what actually is going to happen to you, I'll leave that up to our matriarch, but for the moment, you're our prisoner, okay."
"Okay," Sarabi replied, then added under her breath, "not like I have much of a choice is it?"
"No, you don't," the leader said, surprising Sarabi with how acute her hearing was, but before the lioness could say anything, the hyena spoke again, "now come on, we're moving."
[[1. Give in]]
2. Try to run**Blast From The Past (Matt)**
Sarabi felt her jaw drop, as she recognized Scar, then her thoughts seemed to turn to mud, it just boggled her mind that he could possibly have survived, and that he could have gone so long without them knowing.
"Well hello Sarabi my dear," Scar said, smiling, "I thought it might be you, but that plump rear end of yours had me confused."
The crack about her weight brought Sarabi partly out of her shock but only partly, for she was still too dumbfounded to move, "h-h-how...h-how did..."
"How did I survive," Scar asked, correctly guessing what Sarabi was trying to ask, "oh let's just say, I'm tougher than I look." The former queen tried to think of a reply, but couldn't and instead just stood there moving her mouth. Mistaking the gesture, the former king went on, "oh don't worry, I'm not going to try doing away with your precious Simba, even I realize he makes a better king than I ever did."
It took a few more moments, but Sarabi was able to shake off her shock enough to ask, "s-so what are you going to do?"
Scar's smile faded a little as he realized he hadn't actually though about what he was going to do. For a few moments he considered killing Sarabi, but then discounted it, the body would be found, and even if it didn't lead them to him, things would become more difficult. His smile returned soon enough though, as another thought crossed his mind, "come with me."
"What," Sarabi said, "why?"
"Because I said so," Scar replied, turning back with an annoyed expression.
"But-" Sarabi began.
"Sarabi," Scar said, turning fully around and stepping closer, "do as I say or it will go bad for you, understood?"
Sarabi tried to think of something to say, and eventually managed to choke out, "what are you going to do to me?"
"Oh nothing painful or injurious," Scar replied, "or at least, not if you do as I say, although if you don't what you get might be, understood?"
[[1. Dont resist]]
[[2. Try to resist]]**Prisoner (Matt)**
For a moment, Sarabi thought of running, but then decided against it, she might be able to get a little way, even as out of condition as she was, but they catch up to her soon after, and doubtlessly inflict some 'unpleasant' punishment. This decided the lioness picked up her paws and started after the leader.
Any more thoughts of escape were quickly quashed as the hyenas took up position, the leader a little way ahead, one hyena on either side of her, and the other two trailing not far behind, so that whichever way she turned, there would always be one of them behind her.
Some time later, Sarabi, not quite bored in spite of her company, asked, "how much further is it?"
"Oh, not far now," the leader said, and indeed it wasn't much longer before they reached the border of the Pridelands.
"You really live in the Outlands," Sarabi asked, surveying the dry, twisty terrain ahead and shivering a bit.
"We do," the leader replied, then looked around as if he was searching for something, then said, "ah, there it is." 'It' turned out to be a log spanning the river between the two lands. "you go across first," the leader said to Sarabi, who, not having any other choice, obeyed. Once they were over the other side, the hyenas repositioned themselves again, and started into the Outlands proper, eventually coming to their destination.
1. A cave
[[2. The matriarch]]**Familiar Face (Matt)**
The destination turned out to be something of an open area with a number of hyenas around, resting, playing around or arguing. These activities started to wind down a little though as Sarabi stepped in, her presence drawing stares, as she and her escorts picked their way towards a raised rock, or rather the hyena who had been lying on it.
"You know, we were expecting something with hooves," the hyena, which Sarabi assumed to be the matriarch, asked, rising into a sitting position. Oddly enough, the hyena herself seemed familiar, but right now the former queen just couldn't figure out why, "why've you brought her back instead?"
"Well I had planned to stay out of her way," the leader of the hunters said, then shot a nasty glare at one of his party, "but Bozi, being the bozo he is, decided to taunt her, which left me with three options, this, letting her go and killing her, and I didn't think the other two would get us very far."
The matriarch nodded to this, and rising jumped down from the rock and approached Sarabi, walking around behind her. the former queen tried to follow, but a nip from one of her escorts kept her still, and left her wondering yet again, what was going to happen.
After completing the circuit, finishing up in from of Sarabi, the matriarch, said, "well I'd ask how things are going with your lot, but after looking at you I somehow don't think I need to."
Seeing the hyena up close finally jogged Sarabi's memory, and she asked, "Shenzi?"
"Oh, you do remember me then," Shenzi asked, "the way you were looking before gave me doubts."
"Oh, I remember you alright," Sarabi said darkly, "you and the rest of them."
Sarabi had expected Shenzi to get angry, but instead the matriarch's expression only got as far as level, and she said, "rest assured, we've cut out all that dead-wood."
There was a few moments silence, then Sarabi asked, "so now what happens?
[[1. Sit down to talk]]
2. Taken elsewhere**Talking Point (Matt)**
Shenzi seemed to give the idea some thought for a few moments, then nodded at an empty space beside her rock, "take a seat."
"You're letting her stay," one of the many hyenas asked, although the question was mirrored in the faces of many others.
"Why not," Shenzi asked to the crowd at large, "I mean, sure we're 'supposed' to be mortal enemies, but I personally don't see why that means we can't be civil to each other."
"So you're saying she's a friend," one of the hyenas asked, obviously none too happy about it.
"Well I wouldn't go so far as to say friend," Shenzi replied, "but I would go so far as to say that anyone I find, 'messing' with her is going to be in big trouble, understood." There was a mumbling, so she said, "I didn't hear you."
"Yes Matriarch," the group chorused, but without enthusiasm.
"Good," Shenzi said, then turned back to the hunter who's group had brought Sarabi in, "okay Tambuzi, leave me Bozi, and pick four more to go with you, and please try to bring back something with hooves this time."
"Ten hyenas," Tambuzi asked, "you know Shenzi, that's kind of at the upper limit of what we can get away with."
Sarabi wondered if she should speak up at this point, because while she didn't really like Shenzi and would be happy to see her deposed, she knew the matriarch was just about the only thing standing between her and probably a gruesome death.
1. Speak up
2. Hold her peace**Face Off (Matt)**
"Fully," Sarabi replied.
"Well come on then," Scar said.
Sarabi stood still for a moment, then to the surprise of both Scar and herself, said, "no."
"What was that," Scar growled, coming so close that their noses were practically touching, "what did you just say?"
"I said, no, Scar," Sarabi replied, "I'm not playing your little game, maybe you scared me when you appeared, but not now."
This was too much for Scar, who growled, "you'll eat those words," and whacked her.
[[1. Scar wins]]
2. Sarabi wins**Powerless (Matt)**
"U-understood," Sarabi replied nervously.
"Well come on then," Scar said. Sarabi didn't want to obey, but for some reason she couldn't seem to resist, and so, feeling totally cowed, she willed her seemingly stone-heavy limbs into action, bringing her alongside the male, "good, come with me."
For a while, Sarabi was too fearful to speak, but as the journey continued without incident, she began to regain her wits, and eventually felt confident enough to ask, "where are we going?"
"Oh, just a little place I know," Scar replied, "a little place that I can, without fear of contradiction, call my own."
The answer seemed evasive, but Sarabi didn't push it, it probably wouldn't get her anywhere. Soon enough though, their destination became obvious.
[[1. The Graveyard]]
2. The Outlands**Graveyard (Matt)**
As a dark shape appeared in front of them, and began to grow, Sarabi turned to Scar, and asked "you live in the graveyard?"
"I do," Scar replied, "it's like I said, a little place I can call my own."
Sarabi remained quiet, for the rest of the journey, contemplating, and dread, what was going to happen soon. Finally, as they reached the lip of the last depression it became too much for her, so she asked, "what's going to happen to me now?"
"Oh, nothing too bad," Scar asked, "now, are you feeling hungry at all?"
"No, I'm quite fine," Sarabi replied, "I had quite a good breakfast before..." but was cut off as her stomach gurgled.
"Really," Scar said, "then what was that noise?"
"That was just, digestion," Sarabi replied.
"Somehow I find that a bit hard to believe," Scar said, "so tell me really, truthfully, are you hungry?"
[[1. Yes]]
2. No**Eating Elephant (Matt)**
"Well, maybe just a bit peckish," Sarabi admitted, as her stomach gave another gurgle.
"Maybe," Scar replied, then said, "well you know, I've always found the best thing to do with a hunger is to feed it, so how would you like a meal?"
"How fresh is it," Sarabi asked.
"Oh, quite fresh, quite fresh," Scar replied, "come on."
For a few moments Sarabi tried to resist, but in Scar's presence her will was as strong as a twig, and she quickly followed him. The journey seemed to take longer than she thought it would, and so after a while she asked, "how much further?"
"Oh, not far now," Scar replied, and indeed it wasn't much further, before They came upon the carcass of an elephant.
"You really expect me to eat that," Sarabi asked.
"Well not all of it of course," Scar replied, "but beyond that, yes, I do expect you to eat it."
"When did it die," Sarabi asked, still dubious of the quality of the carcass.
"Within two days as a matter of fact," Scar replied, then said, then, with the slightest hint of threat, added, "now make a meal of it."
Unable to resist any longer, Sarabi walked over to the elephant, and trying to pick a fairly easy spot, began to eat.
The meal went on for a while until Sarabi began to feel full, and she stood up, “Oof, I think I've had a bit much."
"Hm," Scar said, looking up from his own meal, "how do you like elephant?"
"It's got an interesting taste," Sarabi admitted, "kind of nice in fact."
"Mm-hm," Scar murmured, contemplating his next move.
1. Get her settled in
[[2. Force her to stuff herself]]**Dark Desire (Matt)**
Unbeknownst to Sarabi, and unfortunately for her, Scar had always harbored, among his many guarded emotions, a dark desire, than he now finally felt he had the chance to unveil. "You know," he said, "it seems such a shame that so much meat will go to waste."
In another lion's mouth the statement might have sounded merely rhetorical, but Sarabi knew Scar better than that, "yes it does, but there's not very much can be done with it is there?"
"No, I'm afraid not," Scar said, then placed a paw on her shoulder, "I don't suppose you'd care for a little more?"
"Not really, no," Sarabi replied, "although I take it that's not the answer you were wanting."
"You know me too well Sarabi," Scar said, then extended his claws a little, enough that the former queen could feel them digging in, but not enough to draw blood, yet. "However," the dark lion went on, "no, I won't ask that you have a little more, I insist you do."
"Just out of interest," Sarabi said, almost thoughtfully, "what would happen if I said no?"
"Oh, I'm sure you can work that out Sarabi," Scar said, "after all, you know how I feel about insolence."
Yes I do, Sarabi thought, except when it's you doing it. She cut the thought off, it would do her no good. For a few moments, the former queen thought of trying to resist, but she knew the outcome, no longer very fast or supple even at her best, the heavy meal in her stomach only burdened her even further...
"Well," Scar asked after a moment, flexing his claws just enough to break the skin and draw a few drops of blood.
No time left Sarabi thought, it was now or never...
[[1. Accede and eat]]
[[2. Resist and suffer]]**Packed Tight (Matt)**
"Guess I don't have much of a choice do I," Sarabi asked.
"Not much of one, no," Scar replied, "unless you want to find out just what I punish insolence with."
"I'll pass on that, thanks," Sarabi replied dryly, "I'm no glutton for punishment."
"Then eat," Scar said, "eat until you can't swallow another bite, until you fear the next mouthful might split you open."
"Very well," Sarabi said, and turning back to the carcass and beginning to eat again.
The second half of the meal was a struggle for Sarabi though, what with her already quite large first half, and eventually she had to stop as swallowing was beginning to get painful, so she just lay on her side, moaning gently, and rubbing her painfully full belly, or as much as she could through her fat.
"There you go Sarabi," Scar said patting her shoulder, "isn't that much better?" Too full to talk, the former queen could only grunt, to which the dark lion said, "yes, I thought so too." He'd been eating himself while the rotund lioness had been stuffing herself, and so, now satiated he lay down draping a foreleg across her belly, although he moved it to her shoulder when the former elicited an increased moan.
The meal soon made it effects felt, and within minutes of lying down, Scar was asleep. Unfortunately for Sarabi, her stomach was so uncomfortably - almost painfully - full that she was unable to find solace for some time. Eventually though, as the former queen's stomach gurgled, this time truly in digestion, her fatigue finally overwhelmed her discomfort, and she began to fade off.
With such a large meal to digest, Sarabi was asleep for some time. Her slumber couldn't last forever though, and eventually, the former queen awoke. For a few moments, the unfamiliar surroundings worried her, but then the portly lioness remembered where she was, and looked around to see where Scar had got to.
1. Scar's still there
2. She's alone**Resistance Is Futile (Matt)**
"No," Sarabi replied, more of a whim than an actual decision, though she quickly realized it was too late to turn back.
"What was that," Scar asked, digging his claws in enough to draw blood, "what did you just say?"
"I said, no Scar," Sarabi replied, "you may hurt me, you may even have the stomach to kill me, but you cannot force me to play your little games."
"Oh I'll show you what I can do alright," Scar growled, "and I'll show you what insolence earns with me," and with that he slash Sarabi across the face. The former queen was up in a moment, despite her size, and did her best to retaliate, but the lion was by far the fitter of the two, and soon had the lioness pinned down. "I've won, Sarabi," he breathed in her face, "I've won, and you've lost, and now I will punish your insolence."
"And how are you going to do that, Scar," Sarabi shot back, "blind me maybe, kill me, what?"
"Oh I won't kill you just yet Sarabi," Scar hissed, "and I won't blind you, although I'll be the last lion you ever set eyes on, no I have something far more fitting in mind."
"Like what?" Sarabi asked.
1. Lame her
2. Trap her**Sarabi's Loss (Matt)**
Of course, these things never stop with one blow, and the situation quickly degenerated into an all-out battle. It was over soon enough though, for although Sarabi fought her hardest, her lack of condition, and Scar's size advantage quickly got the better of her, and she was quickly pinned.
"Well it looks like I've won," Scar said.
"So it seems," Sarabi replied dryly.
"you know, I expected you, even in this state, to put up more of a fight," Scar said, "was that really the best you could do?"
"Unfortunately," Sarabi replied. There was a moment's silence, then she asked, "what are you going to do now?"
1. Leave her there
2. Take her with him**Uneventful Journey (Shalion)**
Leaving the pride unattended, especially in her "condition" might not have been the wisest of choices - The Pridelands was still a dangerous place for all its abundant life - but Sarabi felt that asserting herself was the first step in regaining some of her lost status in the pack; and getting the others in the pride more accepting of her somewhat eccentric life choices. She was sure that Simba, her son, would disapprove of her wandering off by herself, but going against his will would only increase the boldness of her action.
At any rate, she reached the watering hole without incident. Being some miles away from Pride Rock, the corpulent Sarabi was thoroughly winded by the time she reached the shores of the wide, green pool. All life gathered to this one place and the unspoken Law of neutrality which had existed since time out of mind allowed predator and prey to coexist, for a time, together. As mother to the King and mate to the previous King (usurpers and murderers discounted), Sarabi understood and deeply respected the Law.
She sat down and rested a while, too tired to drink just yet. She felt as her engorged tummy spread across the ground in front of her hind legs as she sat though her belly was quite empty. Rather than being horrified at her obesity, however, she reveled in the sensual experience. Fatness was a rarity in the hard wild and Sarabi felt privileged that she was able to experience that which so few were able to obtain despite the fact that she knew she had allowed herself to become a burden on the rest of the pack.
She pressed a paw against her bulging gut, fed by carcasses she had long since been unable to track, run down and kill herself. It was so soft under her tawny fur, so massive and weighty, bigger even than when she had carried Simba in her belly. Wider around than her chest, it sagged and wrinkled at the sides as she sat from the force of gravity. But there was no denying that Sarabi was a marvelously fat cat for her chest and hips were also deeply padded. A round chest projected in front of her, plumped by her excesses so much that it jostled left and right as she walked. Her neck, once muscular was now as wide as her shoulders had been and creased at the sides whenever she turned her head. She was so massive, in fact that the fur on her lower back and rump was ruffled and unkempt since Sarabi was unable to reach to groom herself any longer. Oh, but the feel of it! The sensation of her bulk, all that skin, of sheer Bigness; it was intoxicating and Sarabi could only desire more of it, heedless of the cost.
The lioness came whirling out of her introspection when she at last had managed to catch her breath and the burning in her legs had eased somewhat. Having been unaware of her surroundings, she was surprised at the snort of hot wind behind her. She started and jumped forward, She would have landed in the watering hole if she had been capable of jumping even half the distance she had used to be able to leap. Even so, she splashed mud all over her paws and belly as she landed at the water's edge. Looking behind, she saw the rhino which had come up behind her grunt again and move forward to drink. 'Apparently it's too much trouble to walk around me' thought Sarabi furiously. But then the large herbivores were used to smaller creatures getting out of their way, not to mention that Sarabi was a rather larger obstacle that she might have been in the past.
More rhinos were lumbering to the water hole, so Sarabi decided that she had best make a retreat further along the shore before stopping to get her much needed drink. Sarabi didn't like the mud and wet clinging to her skin and fur and decided to take a dust bath on the way back to Pride Rock. The water was as sweet as nectar on her parched pallet as she stooped to drink. She liked even more, however, the sensation of her belly against the insides of both knees as she filled herself from the pool. In fact, she liked the feel of her tightening belly against her own legs so much that she drank far more than she needed, until her stomach had stretched as much as it could and she was almost sick.
She breathed heavily against the pain, but couldn't help but place a paw against her slightly expanded belly once more. The change was minute, but noticeable. How Sarabi longed for a bigger change! She abandoned her plans to return immediately to Pride Rock, deciding instead on a nap under a nearby tree. Looking around, she spotted a likely tree some distance away. The tree was on a small rise so she would be able to see any possible threats that might come to her.
As she walked away from the buzz of activity at the water hole, the ground became drier and the sun on her back caused bits of dry mud to flake off her body as she moved. Though much shorter than her journey from Pride Rock, her journey was not to be so uneventful, for after only a short while...
1. [[...She fell into a pit trap]]
2. [[...She heard a commotion]]**Zira (Matt)**
The waterhole was in sight when Sarabi's senses started tingling, telling her that something was amiss. The former queen stopped and looked around, and although she couldn't see anything, that didn't relieve her tension, so she said, "who's there?"
There was a moment's pause, then a voice from the long grass to her right said, "would you believe me if I said no-one?"
"No I wouldn't," Sarabi replied, turning to where the voice had come from, "now who are you, show yourself." The grass rustled, then parted, and out stepped a lioness whom the former queen recognized instantly, "Zira, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, not much Sarabi," Zira replied,"just getting myself a meal, there isn't much in the Outlands you know."
"Leave now," Sarabi said coldly, seemingly ignoring Zira's answer, "you know the rules, get out."
"Oh I know the rules alright Sarabi," Zira replied, smiling nastily, "but I also note you're in no position to enforce them." Another thought seemed to occur to her, and she went on, "in fact, you're not in a position to do anything I don't want."
The statement cooled the former queen's sudden anger, making her realize indeed just how out-of her depth she was when compared to Zira. "So what d'you intend to do then," Sarabi asked, trying to smother her sudden nervousness in a blanket of bravado, "kill me?"
"That's certainly possible," Zira replied, "although it would leave rather a mess, perhaps big enough for even that dimwit son of yours to figure something out."
"My son is not a dimwit," Sarabi growled.
"Now now Sarabi, don't go into denial," Zira said, "yes, he may be nice, but he's not the most intelligent lion to walk the earth."
The statement, and the casual arrogance with which is was delivered were almost too much for Sarabi, and even she wasn't sure she'd be able to hold back her anger.
[[1. Hold it back]]
[[2. Let rip]]**Holding Her Peace (Matt)**
No, Sarabi thought, just barely biting back her anger, and the few choice remarks about Scar, they'd do her no good, and so instead she distracted herself by asking, "would you trust me if I promised never to tell anyone of this?"
Zira looked surprised for a moment, as she pondered the question, then the smile returned, "would you trust me were the situation reversed?" Sarabi didn't reply, she didn't want to say no, but her conscience wouldn't allow her to say yes. Unfortunately, for the Pridelander, the silence, and the mild glare were all the answer the Outlands lioness needed, "I thought as much"
Sarabi managed to keep her face straight at the answer, though her soul fell. After a few more moments gathering her thoughts, she asked, "so what are you going to do with me?"
Zira's smile faded again as she considered the method of Sarabi's demise, though as before, it wasn't long before it returned.
Sarabi licked her lips nervously as she waited for Zira to announce her fate. Were she in better shape she might have tried to run, or attacked the Outlands lioness, but her ponderous figure meant that either option would now be suicidal. Her nervousness only increased as the other lioness broke off and started to circle slowly around her. Finally, the silence became too much for her, and she said, "look, Zira, would you please just tell me what you're going to do?"
[[1. No]]
2. Yes**Bad Move (Matt)**
Unfortunately, Sarabi's self control wasn't as good as she thought it was, and thus she was unable to bite back, "At least he's a proper king, not like Scar was."
"What was that," Zira hissed, stepping closer, "what did you just say?"
"You couldn't hear me at that range," Sarabi replied, anger and bravado driving her on, "you're more deaf than I thou...aargh." Raising her paw to where Zira had slashed her, the former queen wasn't surprised to find she was bleeding, "that was for the remark about Scar I suppose?"
"No," Zira replied with barely repressed fury, "this is for Scar," And with that she slashed Sarabi again, just barely missing an eye this time.
Anger was coursing through Sarabi's veins, and despite her rotund physique the former queen was about ready to attack the Outlands lioness, with the only thing holding her back being the tiny nub of her thoughts that was still operating on logic, and was struggling desperately to re-establish control.
[[1. Attack Zira]]
2. Try to calm down**Uncertain Future (Matt)**
"Oh but that'd spoil the fun," Zira said, "after all, isn't an adventure much more exciting when you don't know what you're getting into?"
"Personally I've never understood the attraction," Sarabi replied coolly, "hunting provides plenty of excitement in itself."
"Does it," Zira asked, quirking an eyebrow, "and how much hunting do you do these days, not much I'll bet."
Sarabi was again conflicted, she didn't want to give the real answer, but couldn't come up with a convincing lie, so finally admitted, "not much."
"There you go then," Zira said, "you need a bit more excitement in your life, now come on."
"What," Sarabi asked, mildly confused at how quickly the conversation had changed.
"I said, come on," Zira repeated, a little more insistent this time, "let's move, let's go."
"Just in the spirit of inquiry," Sarabi said, perhaps a little timorously, "what happens if I decide I don't want to go with you."
The speed at which Zira's attitude changed would have surprised those who didn't know her well. The Outland lioness spun around with a growl and approached Sarabi, "don't even think about it."
"Well I must admit I hadn't had the time to give it serious consideration," Sarabi said dryly, "shall we be getting along?"
"Let's," Zira growled, then stalked off. For a moment Sarabi considered trying to escape or actually attacking the Outland lioness, but quickly discarded both ideas, deciding that her rotund physique would make either option tantamount to suicide, and instead followed the thinner lioness.
At first, Zira set a brisk pace, but gradually slowed down to allow Sarabi to keep up. Finally, they arrived at the river dividing the Pridelands and the Outlands, and stopped. "I see," the former queen said, "and I suppose you had a plan for getting across?"
"Yes I have," Zira replied, looking first upstream and then downstream, before saying, "..."
[[1. "...This way"]]
[[2. "...For me at least"]]**Into The Outlands (Matt)**
"...This way." Sarabi followed Zira for a short time until they reached, a log conveniently spanning the river.
"Okay," said Zira, when they reached the log, "across you go."
"What," Sarabi asked, "you're not leading the way?"
"I'm not that stupid Sarabi," Zira replied, a touch irritably, "now move."
Sarabi sighed, but with no other choice, began to cross the log with Zira followed her a moment later.
When Sarabi got to the other end of the log she stood and looked around, part in awe, part in dread at the seemingly barren landscape she'd stepped into. A brush on her haunch told her that Zira had come over the log as well, "seen everything you want Sarabi?"
"Not really," Sarabi replied, "but I think I've seen all I'm going to."
"And what's that's supposed to mean," Zira asked, a note of threat in her tone.
"Well I'd have 'liked' to have seen something a bit less...barren than this," Sarabi replied, "still, if you can make a living out here you have my respect, up till now I wouldn't really have though a jackal could make a living off this."
"We're a tough lot," Zira replied, feeling just a touch proud at the roundabout encouragement Sarabi had just given her, "now let's go."
After a short time Sarabi asked, "so how many lionesses do you have now, just the few that came with you, or have you picked up a few more?"
"Why d'you ask," Zira replied suspiciously.
"Just idle interest really," Sarabi replied, "I mean, I'll probably have to meet them at some point so I figured I might as well find out a bit beforehand."
"Well I have picked up a few more along the way," Zira, "just rogues really, but you just have to work with what you get."
"Hey, rogues aren't that bad," Sarabi replied, "you know Sarafina used to be a rogue right?"
"She did," Zira asked, "I always assumed she was your sister."
"Oh no, not at all," Sarabi replied, surprised at how relaxed she was feeling, despite her current location and company, "Sarafina was a rogue alright, and so were you as I recall."
"The pride wasn't as accepting of me," Zira replied.
"Oh it wasn't you they didn't accept," Sarabi replied, "it was your being a favorite of Scar they weren't fond of." Realizing quickly that she might have made a big mistake she added, "they were jealous of you really."
"All except for you," Zira said, giving Sarabi a sideways look, not sure whether to believe her previous statement.
"Well Scar may have been the king, but he was never 'my' king," Sarabi replied, "I was mated to his older brother Mufasa, and I never really got over him." Coming back to reality, it seemed to the former queen as though they'd been walking for quite a while, so she asked, "where are we going?"
1. An empty cave
[[2. The rest of the pride]]**Taking A Dive (Matt)**
"...For me at least."
"What-" was all Sarabi managed to blurt out before Zira attacked her furiously. For a few moments, the rotund lioness tried to defend herself, but being so out of shape and corpulent as she was, could offer little resistance, and so sought to, if not escape then at least protect her head. Unfortunately, the plump lioness attempted to turn with her eyes closed, and so didn't realize until too late that she was right on the edge. One paw slipped, and in attempting to recover, the former queen managed to send herself all the way over the edge, although by luck she managed to miss any tree roots.
The shortness of the fall prevented Sarabi from attempting any real recovery, and so the overweight lioness hit the shallow water and then the riverbed on her back, which knock her breath out, and as she attempted to right herself she couldn't help but take down several gulps of water, with the result that when the rotund lioness finally managed to turn the right way up, she was coughing violently, and could only lie there, letting the water support her weight.
"I'm sorry," Zira called from above, "I really am, but I'm afraid I couldn't possibly let you live to tell." Without another word, the Outland lioness continued across the bank, soon disappearing from sight, leaving Sarabi to her fate.
When she recovered a bit, or at least finally stopped coughing too much, Sarabi considered her next move. Glancing up at the bank above her, the corpulent lioness knew she'd never manage it, she'd never been much of a climber even in her prime, and she was so very far from in her prime now. That left only two choices, stick to this riverbank, and attempt to find a place where the climb was not so high or so sheer, or swim across to the much more manageable bank of the Outlands, and try to find the crossing that Zira had taken.
1. Follow the bank
2. Swim to the Outlands**Going To A Meeting (Matt)**
The question caught Zira off-guard, and put her mind momentarily in a spin. She'd originally intended to take Sarabi via a round-about route and leave her in a cave somewhere, but she'd allowed herself to become so engrossed, no, interested in the conversation that they were now much closer the cave of the pride than any of the others.
Sarabi wondered what had suddenly annoyed Zira, as the Outland lioness stopped and seemed to growl about something to herself. This went on for a few moments, then she seemed to reach a decision, before saying curtly, "come on."
Sarabi thought of asking where they were going, but with Zira's current mood she decided against it, it would probably only annoy the other lioness, and she wasn't particularly keen on earning a slash merely to satisfy her curiosity. Their destination became obvious soon enough anyway, as after only a short while they came into view of...
[[1. ...Nuka]]
2. ...A gaggle of lionesses**Nuka (Matt)**
...A scruffy grayish adolescent who was watching a scuffle between a dusty gold cub and a dark one. The figures seemed strangely familiar to the rotund Pridelands lioness, but she couldn't place them for the moment. It took any of the three a few moments to notice the arrival of the two lionesses, but when they did the the scuffle stopped and the trio approached, the adolescent in the lead. "Hello mother," the adolescent said happily as he closed on the two lionesses, "and, uh...Sarabi?"
"Hello Nuka," Sarabi replied, injecting some warmth into her tone, "it's good to see you again." Putting warmth into her tone wasn't actually all that hard, she'd always rather liked Scar and Zira's eldest cub who's intelligent and kindly, if nervous, presence had helped her through the dark time of the last year before her own son Simba's return. It had thus saddened her to witness his being mostly ignored by his parents and the rest of the pride, even her close friend Sarafina, though she had to admit that the other lioness had really had more than enough to deal with anyway.
"Uh, yeah," Nuka said, then stared at her, "you're, uh, you've..."
"She's fat Nuka," said the golden cub said, a note of disgust in her tone, though Sarabi couldn't tell if it was for her severely portly shape of her brother's hesitancy.
Sarabi frowned at the golden cub a moment, then turned back to Nuka, "yes I have put on a fair bit of weight." Averting her gaze to scan her surroundings she muttered, not quite under her breath, "although how long I'll keep it out here is anybody's guess."
The conversation, such as it was, was cut short by Zira, "are you quite finished there?"
Sarabi considered the question for a moment, then replied, "no, not really, besides weren't you meant to be getting a meal in the Pridelands?"
"And what is that supposed to mean," Zira asked coldly.
"Well you told me when we first met this morning that you were just getting a meal," Sarabi explained, "I don't suppose you've actually eaten anything today have you?"
"Well, no," Zira admitted, "but..."
"There you go then," Sarabi said. Unfortunately, this didn't appear to have done as much as she'd hoped, so she decided to change tact a bit, "okay Zira, will you trust me if I give you my word that I will not try to escape?"
[[1. "I will"]]
2. "No"**Warm Reunion (Matt)**
Minutes seemed to stretch into hours as Sarabi waited for Zira to reach a decision. Finally, unable to take it any longer, she approached the other lioness and asked, "okay, as one mother to another, do you trust me to look after your cubs?" after a few more moments she added a single interrogative, "hm?"
"Oh fine," Zira snapped, finally appearing to make up her mind, "you stay with them, and you stay right here, understood?"
"Understood," Sarabi replied, "now go on, go get yourself something to eat."
Zira turned away, and seemed about to leave, but then looked back and said in a very cold tone, "if you try to escape..."
"I won't," Sarabi replied, matching Zira's stare, "I give you my word, I won't try to escape." The Outland lioness gave a single curt nod, and finally began to leave, but she'd only gone a few paces, when the rotund Pridelander felt compelled to add, "good luck."
Zira looked back in surprise and glared, thinking that Sarabi was being sarcastic, but the lioness's stern, but slightly warm gaze seemed to deny it. She held the gaze for a few moments, and might have held it longer, but her stomach suddenly gurgled, and she turned away, pushing the though to the back of her mind to make room for thoughts of her next meal.
Sarabi watched as Zira left, then turned back to Nuka and let her plump rear sink to the ground, "so how are you getting on then?"
"Oh, um, I'm alright," Nuka replied but his somewhat dejected tone suggested otherwise.
"Really," Sarabi asked in a tone which suggested, quite rightly, that she didn't believe a word of it.
"Well no," Nuka admitted, hanging his head.
"Everyone's ignoring you again are they," Sarabi asked.
"If I'm lucky," Nuka replied bitterly, "most of them think I'm a pest."
"Well it show just how little they know you then doesn't it," Sarabi said, her tone equal parts stern and warm.
Nuka looked surprised, "you-you mean that?"
"Of course I do Nuka," Sarabi replied, her tone losing most of its stern edge, "those who experience a lot of hardship tend to focus only on physical strength, they ignore personality, wit and intelligence."
"But you didn't," Nuka said, "you were always nice to me."
"Well I did my best," Sarabi replied, "but I have to admit, before you came along I was getting close to it myself." She paused a moment, then rose and approached Nuka. Nuzzling the scruffy outlander, she said, "to me, if no-one else Nuka, you were a very bright light in a very dark time."
Kovu and Vitani gaped at the scene, no-one else that they knew would give Nuka even as much as a smile, and yet here was this fat old Pridelander who seemed to be almost pampering him with kindness. The treatment was having a noticeable affect on the male as well. Before he'd seemed to slouch incessantly, but now he stood tall, seemingly filled with strength and pride. The female cub was quicker to come to her senses than the male, but right now even she was uncertain what she should do.
1. Confront the new arrival
2. Go and tell the others**On The Offensive (Matt)**
Unfortunately, when real emotion is involved, common sense tends to fall flat, as it did this time, though it maintained a tenuous presence, which at least made Sarabi realize that a straight out attack was bound to fail. Instead, the former queen sat back on her haunches, and said, "real kings don't have to resort to murder."
"Scar was not a murdered," Zira growled, approaching Sarabi, "Simba maybe, but never Scar."
"Oh he was a murdered all r-aargh," Sarabi began, but getting cut off by yet another slash from Zira. Deciding that it was now or never, the former queen launched herself as fast as her corpulent body would allow, hoping the element of surprise would be enough to give her the advantage over her faster and lither opponent.
[[1. It is]]
2. It isn’t**Tables Turned (Matt)**
Zira hadn't been expecting an attack, and so, by the time she realized what was happening it was already too late to do anything about it. Although Sarabi wasn't very fast these days, she didn't have far to move, and her weight gave her a considerable amount of momentum, so when she slammed into the Outlander, there was little the gaunt lioness could to deflect it.
Not that Zira didn't struggle of course, indeed as soon as she hit the ground she rolled to try to get out from under Sarabi's grasp. This proved to be counter-productive though, for the rotund Pridelander had planned on her opponent not moving, and so, rather than simply stepping over the Outlander, she tripped over her and lost her footing, slamming down hard in an impact that knocked the wind out of both of them, though more-so the gaunt lioness than her opponent.
Sarabi wheezed as she got to her feet again and turned to look at her opponent. Zira was lying on her side wheezing heavily, but it occurred to the turgid Pridelander that the gaunt lioness would probably recover soon enough, so she'd have to move with speed. Turning around, a process more stately than speedy, the former queen caught her opponent just as she was about to rise, and quickly lowered herself down onto the other lioness.
After Zira had felt Sarabi get off her she'd tried to roll over and rise, but with the few moments she spent recovering she only managed to complete the first task before she felt a great weight lowered onto her shoulders. She struggled against the weight for a few moments, then growled, "Get off Sarabi."
"No I don't think I will," Sarabi replied, "I mean why should I, you did give me a few good slashes after all."
Zira didn't reply, partly because she didn't have an answer, but also because she was contemplating her chances of somehow dislodging Sarabi.
1. Give in
2. Struggle**Falling (Shalion)**
...she felt the ground begin to give beneath her paws. Moving as quickly as she could, the rotund lioness tried to pull back, to find safe ground, but all attempts were to naught as her great weight and lack of muscle dulled her reactions to the point of uselessness as the ground gave way completely, plunging the former queen into free-fall.
Sarabi roared in fear as she fell, but her journey is abruptly ended in a flash of agony. A glare of pain from the leg she landed on causes her to see dots and she grits her teeth, still yowling. She tries to roll over, but the pain is too intense. Surrounded by dark soil, there is a circle of light far over head where she fell from the glory of the pridelands into this new world of pain. Slowly, she raises her head to look at her injured leg.
[[1. The leg is broken]]
2. She only sprained her leg**Trouble Brewing (Matt)**
...She heard a deep bellow from the other side of the waterhole. Looking around, she saw that the rhinos had moved to what she recalled was the wallows, a popular spot for both they and the hippos, though this inevitably led to tensions, as seemed to be the issue now. At first, the rotund lioness considered approaching and trying to calm the situation, but held back, she was but a lioness, and no longer a hunter even at that, so how much weight would her words actually carry? Nevertheless, she couldn't simply stand by, and so decided to approach them anyway, even if the couldn't do anything, she could at least try to provide an unbiased observation for when he son Simba eventually did arrive.
Not, Sarabi quickly realized, that she'd be able to provide much information, for she soon became aware of just how much her turgid form was weighing her down, reducing her top speed to something approach a slow lope. Nevertheless, the former queen was determined, and so forced herself to maintain that slow lope, which got her to the wallows in minutes, but left her panting heavily. She wasn't the first to arrive either, in ahead of her were a family of warthogs and a small herd of Gerenuk.
Now viewing the situation from up close, Sarabi realized just how precarious it was, the hippos, perhaps a dozen all told were occupying the wallows, and the little room that was left over was certainly nowhere near enough to accommodate the similarly numbered rhinos. Looking around, the former queen couldn't see her son approaching, and began to consider getting involved in dispute herself, though she held back at first, uncertain as to whether the hippos and rhinos, already annoyed, would heed her, ignore her, or possibly even decide that she was a valid target on which to unloose their frustrations.
Eventually...
1. ...Simba arrived
2. ...She decided to get involved**In A Pit (Shalion)**
Sarabi could see by the way her leg lay that she had broken it... badly. Even the long bone in her hind leg could not withstand her own immense weight crashing down on it. Coming down the leg from her hip, the leg bent downwards several degrees above her knee, the injury was hot and already beginning to swell. She could not bear to move any part of the leg; she could hardly bear to move anything at all, she was shaking with the pain.
The once proud lioness laid her head back down on the slightly damp earth. She knew that she didn't have a chance of getting out of this hole and furthermore, she knew what the odds were against surviving with such a severe injury even if by some miracle, she was freed from the pit; after all, she had taken down enough gazelle and zebra with broken legs in her time. It was simply the Law, there was no cruelty to it, it was just how things were. She closed her eyes and the images of slowly starving to death in this pit and being eaten by vultures and other scavengers filled her head. This too was the Law, but the knowledge brought her no comfort.
Sarabi lay in the pit until the circle of light above vanished and then returned. The pain receded to a dull hot throb, but only if she lay perfectly still. It was ready to blast her again by filling her whole haunch with broken glass should she move a single inch wrongly. Sarabi was thankful that she had filled the tank of her belly with water the previous day, but also depressed that it would only take her that much longer to die by starvation rather than thirst. It had been three days past since her last meal before she left for the water whole. By the time the light faded and came once more, she was miserable with hunger as well as her lamed leg.
Sarabi was hardly able to hold onto her thoughts by the time the noise came at the top of the hole. She was no longer troubled by the inability to move for she was so weak she could hardly move even if she tried. More noise came, scrabbling at the edges of the hole, and something else, a voice, though in her delirious state she couldn't recognize it. Turning her head to look, the still quite large lioness tried muzzily to recognize who had finally found her.
[[1. Humans]]
2. The Pride**Tribesmen (Shalion)**
Unfortunately, Sarabi's vision was itself muzzy, and being at the bottom of a dark pit didn't help matters. Unable to see who had come, the over-large lioness lay back, trying to decipher her watchers from their voices.
The voices floated down to Sarabi, but she almost didn't recognize them. It had been so long since tribesmen had come to the Pridelands. Tribesmen... Humans! Little struck more fear into a lion's heart than the fiendishly clever bipedal hunters. Humans meant spears and bows or even guns. Humans meant death. Little human boys came into the Pridelands sometimes to pull a lion's tail to prove their manhood. Sarabi remembered many a hot tempered young lion who gave chase to the brats only to fall to their clever use of spears and never come home again. She would always remember their cat calls and speech despite the unpleasant memories. Sarabi wished that they had come a few days later after she had already died, but no amount of wishing alone could change reality and soon a ladder made of branches lashed together was lowered into the pit
Hands, human hands reached for her, grasping, pulling tugging with those long clever digits which were the means man used in his dominion over the natural order of the world. Sarabi, barely conscious after spending who knows how many days in the bottom of that pit, was utterly unable to resist as they hauled her limp, but still very heavy form up the makeshift ladder. She managed a raspy growl as her broken leg was dragged along the ground, but to be honest, she was already fading. Hands were supporting her shoulders and chest and she was lifted up. The circle of light devoured her and then all was dark.
Sarabi had feverish dreams of hands always reaching for her. She would try to run, but wherever she went, there would always be more hands waiting, seeking to pull her down. She used her teeth and claws but they were brittle and broke. She was so tired... It was just a dream though, and like all dreams had to come to an end with wakefulness, and after some hours the lioness awoke, to find herself in an unusual place.
[[1. In a hut]]
2. In a veterinary hospital**A Strange Den (Shalion)**
The light came in narrow shafts across Sarabi's face. The light hurt her eyes so she blinked until they stopped watering. The lioness, for the first moment thought that she must be dead for her surroundings were utterly unfamiliar and strange, but she knew she couldn't be for the Law said that when she died she would become the grass yet again in the great Circle. But still, everything around her was strange, even the very ground on which she laid.
She seemed to be in some sort of cave, but that wasn't right for sunlight shined in from cracks between the material the walls were made of all around. There were so many straight lines. The walls were rows of straight wood boards, the floor was made of bamboo halves laid side by side. Sarabi looked to the ceiling which at least was made of grass, but it was so thick no light came through. As Sarabi came more awake, she noticed more details. The "cave" was longer than it was wide and at one end was a large carved stone with many flat outcroppings. On this flat surfaces were piled flowers more carved stone bits and fruit on wide banana leaves. More flowers hung in chains from the odd stone aperture to the ceiling and walls all over that side of the rectangular space. The rest of the chamber was bare save the opposite side in which there was a clear outline of sunlight coming through the wall around a bit of wall which seemed a little less secure. 'A way out?' thought Sarabi, but she was still in no condition for fleeing.
The lioness tried to stretch gingerly, but stopped when she noticed the feel of something strange and confining on her injured leg. Lifting her head carefully so as not to cause herself vertigo, she peered over her chest and saw the splint. She didn't know what it was, of course, but she could see plainly the bamboo and vines holding her leg out straight and immobile. The pain had eased somewhat in the limb and Sarabi was still weak so she didn't bother with it, letting her head sink back to the hard surface of the floor. She licked her chops and longed for food and water. She let her left paw drape over her belly which was still quite round and soft despite having shed quite a lot of pounds during her ordeal. It pleased the one time Queen of the Pridelands that she had not lost quite everything and she feel into a true, restful slumber
As Sarabi suspected, the weaker portion of the wall of her cell was able to open. She heard as the latch was opened and the door opened just slightly. Her eyes, large and round in the gloom of the building looked as a dark skinned hand appeared and tossed a hunk of red meat onto the floor of the room before the door was closed and secured once more.
"It appears the humans wish to keep me here..." thought Sarabi, but she hadn't the faintest idea why. Her first instinct was to be suspicious of meat offered by a human hand for in the past, lions had been poisoned as pests and thieves of livestock when their numbers had been more numerous or so the stories passed down from her own mother said. But hunger overruled her caution and she reasoned that a man could come into the room at any time and slay her with little effort so why would they seek to harm her with bad food? She got up on her front paws and dragged herself on her belly towards the still warm, freshly butchered meat. Sarabi had never stolen from man before and had therefore never tasted bullock, but she found the meat succulent and tasty. The large hunk of meat did not last long at all once she had a hold of it.
Sated, at least for the moment - when a kill was made Sarabi, as was the way of her and her kin, would eat up to a fifty pounds of meat in a gorge before resting several days, perhaps a week - the lioness rested her head on her paws and stretched her working hind leg. She groaned in pain from her broken leg, but to be perfectly fair, it did not hurt nearly as much as it had in the pit when she had been all but lying on top of it. She sighed and started grooming herself out of boredom, being careful not to jostle her lower body too much.
She soon discovered, as a pleasant surprise, the fullness of her chest remained largely intact as well as her fatty shoulders and plump pigeon chest. There was definitely some wasting as she could tell in the looseness of her hide, but she remained exquisitely overlarge and full of the weighty succor of her lifestyle. Her round abdomen seemed rather more deflated as it lay flat on the floor of the building than diminished. Certainly it was still full and heavy to the point just past her knees. Four pink nipples rose from the otherwise smooth, white furred surface spread wide by her expanding frame, but still lining the corridor down to her crotch. Sarabi wondered what Simba was going through. Surely he would think she was dead. There was the sound of hands at the latch of the door and Sarabi reminded herself that that possibility was still not out of question.
A man entered the room. The human was covered with colorful beads and trinkets carved of wood and stone and on his head was a large, upswept crown of reeds. The colorful man was followed by two others in plain grass skirts. The colorful man looked directly into Sarabi’s eyes. Though she could not read the strange human expression, the wrinkles on his face and the look in his aged eyes gave her the impression of immense wisdom.
“Bring her outside.” He commanded to the two men. “And bind her paws.” That was all he said before he left the room. Outside, Sarabi noticed the sounds of cheering and music being pounded on drums. She still lacked the strength to resist as the two men tied her front paws to each other. They seemed content to allow her hind legs to be unbound, but truth be told, she could not do much with them at the moment. They did, however, take the precaution of tying a rope around her snout as well.
[[1. The tribes people worship Sarabi as a fertility goddess]]
2. The tribes people treat Sarabi as a status symbol**Goddess Oshun (Shalion)**
Outside, Sarabi was dragged, gently and by the shoulders, out before more people than she had ever seen in one place. The village was obviously large and prosperous for there were several hundred gathered around big bonfires – these scared the lioness who still had vivid memories of the time the inferno had raged through the Pridelands – dancing, singing, eating and drinking. More, however were gathered around the front of what Sarabi now saw as a large hut such as those the humans cleverly raised from the ground. There were cheers as the people saw Sarabi and the lioness was sure that she would be slaughtered in some bizarre human ritual.
Instead, the two humans dragging her pulled her around, much to her grief as her leg was brushed against the ground once more, and sat her down awkwardly on her haunches; her broken leg stretched out before her like an oddly shaped stick rather than a proper limb. The restraints on her front paws were secured to the platform in front of the building which was raised a little off the ground. Flowers hung as decorations all around her, hanging in chains strung between buildings and wrapping around the poles of torches. The noise and clamor were deafening, and more than a little frightening all in itself.
For a brief time, the people looked up at Sarabi sitting before them with a human to either side to keep her from falling. They reached out with bright eyes, filled with reverence and astonishment. Hands touched her shoulders and paws and the lioness flinched at the contact, but she could do nothing about it. The humans settled for whatever they could reach of her, but those closest seemed most interested in touching and fondling her large sagging middle, the lower down the better. Sarabi didn’t like all the contact, in fact, she would have vastly preferred to disappear back into the dimness of the hut behind her, but how could she escape? Her front paws were bound and her hind leg was broken and too painful even to move.
When the colorful human in the headdress spoke all backed away from Sarabi. “Goddess Oshun had blessed us this day by coming down from heaven in the form of this lioness. Her great belly is a symbol of fertility and a sign of our continued prosperity. May all the mothers she blesses today bear many sons!”
There were more cheers and hoots from the crown, but if anything, they backed away still farther. Sarabi was still processing what the human meant by his speech when a line of human females made their way towards her podium. All of them were naked and painted head to toe with white mud save for their bellies, most of which protruded greatly. Sarabi could tell from their scent that they were with cubs of their own. As they came closer, the lioness detected another scent as well. Where their bellies were left bare of mud, there had instead been smeared a translucent layer of something sweet-smelling. “Honey!” the thought hit Sarabi as she finally recognized the odor. By that time, the first human female had arrived.
This one was expecting very soon for her belly had become a large round dome and her milk teats had swollen. All over the dark skin of her stomach was smeared the sweet honey. The man on her left removed the binding on her snout as the woman walked forward until her belly was right in front of her face.
Sarabi was baffled at the behavior of the humans. If she wanted to, she could sink her fangs into the belly of this female and have her revenge for being trapped and forced here. But... what would that accomplish? Revenge was not a part of the Law. Revenge was something that lions like Scar obsessed with and everyone knew where that had brought the jealous lion. Sarabi did not want to harm this female. Besides, doing so would bring her no closer to freedom herself. However, all of the humans were still looking at her expectantly and there was all that honey sitting right there in front of her.
Sarabi reached forward a little with her head and licked some of the honey off the pregnant female’s belly. The crowd exploded with cheers and the woman herself wept openly with joy, pushing her belly forward so Sarabi could lick all the honey off. Even the colorful older human seemed to beam and the permanent frown creased into his face lifted and became a smile almost like that crazy bamboo Rafiki’s. The lioness didn't have the slightest idea why the humans were so jubilant, but when the next woman stood before her, Sarabi licked the honey off her belly as well much to the same response.
Between the meat and all the honey, Sarabi was feeling very full by the time the ceremony was complete and the men untied her paws from the podium. Rather than dragging her this time, however, they carefully lifted her and carried her back into the hut, though they left her deadly claws bound for the moment. Human females followed and set down linen mats that the men gently rested her on. Others brought forth saucers of milk which Sarabi was more than happy to drain for them to clear her parched throat. Full and comfortable for the first time since falling in the pit, Sarabi was asleep before the humans even closed and locked the door.
[[1. The tribe bring her a companion]]
[[2. The tribe spoil her rotten]]**Patchy Poacher (Matt)**
"What are you intending to do with it," the medicine man asked the chief, indicating the leopard that had been caught stalking the village's cattle just this morning. The cat was in a bad way, gaunt to the point that it was obvious even under the dappled coat, and now it had numerous bite wounds from the dogs, and a spear-hole in its right foreleg. Normally, such a beast would have been killed on the spot, but this one had been lucky enough - if luck was an appropriate word - that the spear had only caught it in the leg, and the wounded beast had been caught and bound, and dragged back her to the village to be used as target for the children to throw rocks and sticks at.
"Kill it and tan the hide," the chief replied, "why, you had another idea?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I did," the medicine man replied, "I'm worried about the condition of our 'goddess'."
"What condition would that be," the chief asked, "she has food aplenty, and you said yourself that her leg should heal without issue."
"Oh, yes, physically she should be fine," the medicine man agreed, "but lions are social beasts, and I'm not sure our contact will enough to satisfy her."
"And how does this relate..." the chief began to ask before he realized the medicine man's implications, "oh no, definitely not."
"No," the medicine man asked, slightly disappointed, "perhaps we should let the goddess decide."
-------
Sarabi looked up as two humans entered, carrying a bundle which they deposited roughly on the floor before making a hasty exit. Intrigued, the former queen wanted to investigate, but struggled with trying to walk with only three good legs, and eventually gave up, and...
[[1. ...Ignored the object]]
[[2. ...Dragged herself over]]**Offerings To The Goddess (Shalion)**
Sarabi slept through the night from a combination of weakness from her injury and renewed comfort. She was awoken early in the morning just as the sun was lightening the horizon or at least as far as she could tell from the glimpse of the sky she got when the humans opened the door and entered the hut. The colorful man with the headdress from the previous day was there, but he was no longer clothed so garishly, choosing instead a grass skirt like the other men but still wearing plentiful beads and carved wood bits on strings he wore around his shoulders and let dangle across his bare chest. There was a young human with him, but also one even older than the apparent pride leader of the human village. The older male's face was a mass of wrinkles and bore an even more striking resemblance to that old mandrill Rafiki especially with the red and blue paint on his face.
The younger man held out a big slab of meat which he held in both palms to the older human as Sarabi watched with curiosity from her mat on the floor. The old painted man withdrew a gourd container from somewhere about his mantle of feathers and cloth and grabbed a handful of bitter smelling herbs which he then smeared all over the moist, still dripping meat. The young man then came before Sarabi and offered her the herb covered meat; his hands shook a little and the lioness could smell lingering fear from the man as the other two watched.
If she was suspicious about the meat the previous day, she should have been even more cautious today when she just saw the humans adding something to her food. There was also the inherent stigma she still felt about just being around humans let alone taking anything from them. She was feeling much better today, she ought to be thinking about escape... but. But the humans had treated her so far with only kindness and perhaps some caution on their own part; though even that was lax as they put their most valuable females at her mercy the previous day. And that man, so much like that primate healer who, while crazy, had never intentionally caused harm to anyone and had saved the lives of many lions in his time. She took the offering from the man - who immediately backed away a few steps - and held it in her forepaws while she tore chunks from it.
The bitter herbs certainly did nothing to help the flavor, but the meat was so tender and rich, she was able to ignore the taste of it. The men waited in the corner of the room, watching her and Sarabi looked up at them wondering what they were waiting for. She yawned a few minutes later and then she began to feel it. It started as a tingling up her spine but spread as a comfortable warmth all through her body. A light haze seemed to fall over the world and she grinned with her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth at the humans who had suddenly lost all their frightfulness and seemed as silly looking to Sarabi as baboons in a tree. But the most marvelous transition was the loss of pain from her broken leg. She had been in constant pain for a week now, she almost cried in relief when it was finally, truly gone! Her head thumped on the floor - though she didn't quite feel it - and she sighed in contentment at the world.
The man in beads called out the door, "bring in the dressings and the chalk and rope." but the words washed over Sarabi who suddenly found the hairs on the back of her paws so amazingly numerous that she had to count them. Her eyes ranged all over the dazzlingly and intricate display of the alter at the end of the room and was so busy studying the way the chains of flowers swayed slightly in her vision and seemed to fuse into each other that she didn't mind at all when the humans removed her crude splint and replaced it with a different. slightly more complex one. The new splint hugged her upper leg even more tightly than the last one, but ended at her ankle so she could at least move her foot. Afterwards a female came into the room and wrapped her leg all around with a thick layer of course cloth. The whole time she felt hardly a thing and afterwards, Sarabi took great pleasure in observing the way the threads crisscrossed against each other.
After that was done, Sarabi rubbed her paws all over her head trying to feel her face while the humans measured a rope from the wall against which she lay out some distance into the hut. They cut the rope and then affixed one end to the wall while the other end they fashioned into a loop. The man then stretched the rope to the farthest distance it could reach and another man dropped a piece of white chalk on the floor at that point. Soon they made a half circle on the floor around the seated lioness. Then the loop went over Sarabi's head. She thought she saw a thick sheen of honey on the man's arm as it passed near her face so she licked it, but instead she tasted only salty sweat. She watched the white pieces of chalk spinning round and round on the floor as the collar was tightened to a comfortable but snug fit on her neck. She thought it felt like a snake so she pawed at it, but soon after she realized it wouldn't come off over her head, she went back to studying the psychedelic colors of the alter.
The humans left her then. Sarabi was poking a single claw into her plump belly, amused that she could hardly feel it, when the villagers started to bring the offerings. All day, humans came and went usually singly, but often in mated pairs. Some would walk carefully around the white circle of chalk to kneel before the stone alter, sing a song or both; always they left an offering of either fruit or flowers before carefully walking around the circle and leaving again. Many more people, however, came and did the same things to Sarabi, except they brought her gifts of meat and bones, though some threw flower petals all over her. The meat was always fresh and the bones helped pass the time between visits, but the petals, asides from their captivating display when they first fell around her just made a mess and she brushed them off her tawny coat. Milk was another favorite and the humans brought it to her by the gallon. Late to wean as a cub, Sarabi relived a little of her kitten-hood with every mouthful of the rich white drink.
In the late afternoon, she belched loudly and lay on her side displaying her bloated stuffed tummy. This wasn't like a gorge at a carcass, but the constant stream of tidbits had filled her up nonetheless and still Sarabi found that she couldn't refuse just one more little bite of meat or sip of milk. She lightly pawed at her overfull stomach with sheathed paws, feeling as the fat, loose skin followed her pads and then retracted to its original place. Some, but not all, of the wasting she had noticed had gone with her expanding stomach within her belly. Sarabi's head had been clear for some hours now, but as her facilities returned, so also came the pain in her leg, beginning as a mere heat, but eventually building back into real pain, though it was tolerable at this point with the new binding. She still didn't know what she had done to earn such reverence from the human creatures.
A young woman came in through the door and knelt before Sarabi. She sang a song under her breath and extended a hand holding a chunk of meat still attached to bone in the center. Still feeling her tummy and remembering that she was still not as large as she had been back in the Pridelands, Sarabi took the tidbit from the woman and lazily began rip the meat from the bone. The woman scooted over a little on her knees and placed the palms of her hands on Sarabi's distended belly rubbing up and down. The motion was soothing to her over-fullness and the big cat purred in pleasure and as a signal to continue. The human female didn't get the second part of the message, however, and bent to kiss Sarabi's big round belly which pushed down to her knees before leaving. The fattened lioness cocked her head, 'Is it possible that human appreciate my bigness as much as I do?" wondered Sarabi before she started cleaning the bone of meat with her rough tongue.
Sarabi spent a lot of time in thought as the sun lowered. She knew now for sure that the humans liked how big she was, and from the way they brought her food during the day, seemed intent on making her even bigger. Being larger, rounder and softer was something that Sarabi had dreamed about back on the Pridelands, something she had longed for ever since she noticed she was putting on an exorbitant amount of chub. But she was held prisoner here away from her friends and family... and from Simba. She had gotten up only once during the day and hobbled around a bit on three legs and remembered how the collar had kept her from moving out of the circle of white chalk. Without the effects of the medicine, her leg hurt too much to move, but still, she was confined to a small space where she had been used to roaming miles. But again, there was all that food... and something else less definable. The way the humans knelled and placed their hands on her tummy, the way they adored her... just as she imagined in her fondest dreams they way the other lionesses would adore her once they realized what a wonderful thing it was to be so large and heavy. Perhaps... perhaps Sarabi could stay a while, at least long enough to recover her strength and lost "assets." Maybe she could leave even with a little extra when she finally escaped and found her way back to the Pridelands. Yes, escape, but not now, later.
Before the sun set, the medicine man returned once more. His aide carried a large bowl which smelled enticing to Sarabi. When lowered down to her, she could see it was some strange slurry made mostly of blood and eggs and some other bits the lioness couldn't identify. Before she could taste it, however, the medicine man appeared to have second thoughts and grunted while waving the man away. He stuck a finger into the concoction, tasted it and then threw a pinch of herbs into bowl before sliding it towards Sarabi. The lioness was so full already, but as she smelled, she could detect a trace of the same herb which the man had given her that morning. She wasn't sure she liked having her mind affected like that, but she wasn't exactly eager to spend the night trying the sleep with the pain in her leg either. So she licked and slurped the slurry, piling it on top of her overconsumption during the day, pausing now and again to let it work its way into the nooks and crannies left in her strained stomach. It was more liquid than she would have liked, but eggs were a delicacy on the savanna and the blood added a rich wholesome flavor.
The same haze glossed over the world as she finished, but she also felt a bout of weariness that made her slump onto her side as the strength left her muscles entirely. That evening, now and again when her eyes opened a crack, she saw glimpses of human children, some who looked like they weren't even weaned yet, crawling all over and stroking her soft, plump body. Though they sometimes pulled her tail or ears or nipples, they also stroked her hurting tummy with their tiny hands. She heard their laughter and was at peace.
1. Sarabi gets used to her new lifestyle
[[2. Sarabi has an unexpected visitor]]**Missed Opportunity (Matt)**
...Ignored the object, trying to move around on her own with only three good legs was just too much of a chore just to satisfy her curiosity.
"You see," said the chief to the medicine man after more than 5 minutes, "she shows little interest in the leopard."
"She shows some interest though," the medicine "perhaps if we were to move it closer..."
"No," the chief said, "no, if the goddess was at all interested in the leopard she'd have approached it before now." He nodded at the two warriors nearby in a silent order to remove the new cat from the 'goddess's' hut.
Sarabi looked up as the two humans entered the hut, presuming that they'd come to retrieve the bundle they'd deposited but a short while ago. Picking up the bundle was a slightly more involved process than dropping it there though, and as the two warriors were picking up the bundle to remove it, the former queen suddenly realized what it was, a living being, a leopard, rather than just one more mysterious object of the humans. "Hey," she called out causing the two warriors to pause and look at her, "hey, wait." In a supreme effort the portly lioness managed to lift her rather-larger-than-average weight clean off the floor, despite not being able to use her injured leg, but then things went wrong as she tried to take a step forward, because her second step concentrated all of her weight on just that leg, "sh-"
The chief and the medicine man hurried in when they heard the thump, and one look told them all they needed to know. Turning to the warriors, the chief said, "get that thing out of here now." When the warriors had removed the leopard, he turned back to the medicine man, who was examining Sarabi's now more serious break, "well?"
"It will still heal fully," the medicine man replied, "but it will take longer to do so now."
The chief nodded, he'd not expected more, but at least the lioness - privately he had his doubts about her divinity - would make a full recovery, "do what you can."
-------
Sarabi's leg was even more painful when she awoke than what it had been previously, but after her foolishness she could hardly expect it to have gotten better could she? The pain wasn't the only thing that was bugging the former queen though, for she was also beset by feelings of loneliness and shame, brought on by the realization that she had passed up a golden opportunity when the warriors came for the leopard, for not only had she lost a possible companion, she also feared - unknown to her, belatedly - for the spotted cat's life.
It took Sarabi a few minutes to come properly back to her senses and when she did, she realized there was a bowl of liquid in front of her, that smelled of milk, blood, and something else, though what the something else was, she couldn't identify. Had she been in the wild, the former queen would have turned aside from the bowl, but she wasn't in the wild now, she was very far from the wild, at least in the figurative sense, and if these humans had wanted to kill her, they'd had any number of chances to do it before. Based on that reasoning, and with the blood and milk tickling her nose, the portly lioness decided that the liquid in the bowl must indeed be safe to partake of. After a few sips, she decided that 'safe' wasn't nearly a good enough word to describe the liquid in the bowl, it was delicious, though with a slightly bitter after-taste.
By the time she'd finished the bowl, Sarabi was feeling rather mellow, the pain in her leg had died down to a dull ache, and it was getting hard to concentrate on any particular topic. In fact, the former queen realized, she was feeling just a little bit tired, and of course, the best thing to do when you were tired was sleep it off wasn't it?
Of course, while the mild tranquilizers helped calm Sarabi's mind for a while, it did nothing to allay her loneliness in the long term, and as the days turned into weeks with nothing but the many brief human visits she received every day, the former queen began to slip further and further into depression, she went from a lustrous, regal figure to a shabby, listless one. Of greater concern still though, at least as far as the chief and medicine man were concerned, was that their 'goddess' had...
1. ...Lost her appetite
2. ...Put on a dramatic amount of weight**Comparing Conditions (Matt)**
...Just dragged herself across the floor, trying not to upset her splint.
Sarabi scented the leopard long before she could visually recognize him, and even then she could tell he was in a poor state, dirty, injured and emaciated, which immediately evoked pity from the former queen. "Hello there," she said, when she finally got near him, "you look pretty beat up."
Sarabi saw the leopard's heard turn languidly. For a moment, the spotted cat seemed confused, then his eyes went wide with fear, and he growled, "stay away from me." He squirmed, desperately trying to throw off his bonds, but to no avail.
Suddenly, the leopard felt a paw on his should, and froze, fearing his end, but rather than the bite he's been expecting, he heard the lioness ask, "so what brings you here?"
"Uh," the leopard said, surprised, "sorry, what was that?"
"I said, what are you in for," Sarabi repeated, "you look pretty beat up."
"Oh, me," the leopard said, "I was pretty hungry, and, well, I saw this herd of cows, and..." he grimaced, "...hunting them proved to be a mistake."
"I was a pit-trap for me," Sarabi replied, "didn't see the blasted thing, fell in, crack, broken leg."
"Any idea what they want with us," the leopard asked.
"Not a clue," Sarabi replied, "still, on the bright side, we're both alive."
"For now," the leopard replied, "by the way, I'm Madoadoa, but you can can call me Mado, it's a bit of a mouthful."
"And I'm Sarabi," the lioness replied. There was silence for a few moments, then she asked, "can you turn over, I't make it a lot easier for me to work on those bindings."
Madoadoa squirmed for a few moments, then replied, "no, sorry, I can't do much at all at the moment."
Sarabi sighed, "here goes then," and started the long, laborious process of circumnavigating Madoadoa's gaunt frame to try to reach his restraints. Eventually she managed to reach the bindings though, and began to work on them. At first the former queen tried to claws the ropes apart, but being grass, they simply parted where her claws hit them, severing only a small number of strands, and so she decided to try to bite through them instead.
1. The humans come and stop Sarabi
2. Sarabi manages to free Madoadoa**Zazu! (Shalion)**
The steady stream of offerings was, if anything, even more prolific over the next few days. The first woman who had offered her hoeny coated belly to her returned with a greatly reduced stomach and holding three squalling male offspring; everyone seemed excited about that even though as any lioness knew, female offspring were more valuable to the pride. The older lioness also found that extending her tongue to lick a hand, or more preferably a face or female's belly, would result in jubulation and even more generous offerings. Sarabi was leaving meat on the bone regularly by noon and was usually too stuffed to take anything but milk as the sun began to stain the horizon (though certainly not by any lack of trying by the humans).
On the fourth day, Sarabi was led outside, this time on her own feet and only with a collar about her neck, and the honey ceromony was repeated with a new batch of pregnant females. There were even more humans about, lots of strange new faces and even different skin tones. Were humans actually traveling great distances... to see her? wondered the large cat who had, by that time, already recovered all of the weight she lost while stuck in the pit.
Sarabi, in her quieter moments, loved playing with her doughy flesh. She rejoiced in the fact that her skin was once again taut and brimming with new flesh. Her flanks wide and rounded instead of hanging like a partially emptied sack. She would shake her head just to feel the fatty clumps hanging under her chin shake to and fro. She ate everyday now until her stomach seemed ready to burst just to see her belly jut out an extra inch or two, to watch herself get just that much thicker. And every night, when her belly receded, it failed to recede quite as much as it did the day before.
The medicine man still gave her the funny herbs in the morning, but in a much smaller dose and also in the afternoon. Though they still kept her on the collar, more people began to ignore the white chalk line, instead walking right up to stroke her neck and chest as well as her belly. With the herbs taking away the pain, Sarabi felt comfortable letting them, but more than that, she thought she was beginning to trust them. Hardly anyone went to the alter anymore.
Four nights after the second ceremony, Sarabi heard a noise at the door. She was surprised because the humans never entered the hut this late at night before. With a grunt of effort, she managed to get up on three legs. She leaned to the left so that her injured leg was held just off the ground as she lifted her foot. The lioness heard the latch come undone, but no one immediately entered. Her belly hovered like a great stone from her middle and with her almost utter lack of exercise lately, she was already feeling the need to sit down. Before she did, however, there was more scrabbling at the top of the door and after a while it opened a bit. That was when something dark fluttered swiftly down from the top of the door. Sarabi started at the sight which perhaps might have been amplified by the effects of the pain-killer she'd been fed.
However, she soon saw that it was a tiny creature which had entered her domicile and more than that, the voice, when it spoke was immediately familiar, "Blasted human contraption. Such a both-" Zazu cut himself off at seeing Sarabi, "Your Highness! I... I can't believe it's you!"
"Zazu!" exclaimed Sarabi, happy to see a familiar face. She limped forward, but was caught up short by the collar attached to the wall.
"Oh, those fiends!" spat Zazu as he ruffled his brightly colored blue feathers, "They've bound you. Here, let me."
"Zazu, wait a moment..." said Sarabi, but the officious hornbill had already hopped onto her broad back and was pecking at the rope which bound her.
"Don't you worry, Your Highness, I'll have you free in a few minutes... Blast this thick rope." His little clawed feet pressed into the yielding padding which liberally coated the lioness's back. "Well you certainly seem to have done well under the humans." muttered the little bird as he continued to grapple with the rope.
"Uhhh..." hesitated Sarabi as she herself grappled with mixed feelings.
[[1. Sarabi tells Zazu that she wants to wait until her leg is healed]]
2. Sarabi wants to try and make her escape tonight**Staying For Now (Shalion)**
"Zazu, please stop." said Sarabi to the small, brightly colored bird on her back.
"Just a moment, Your Highness, just a-" chattered Zazu as he continued to peck at the rope holding Sarabi.
"Will you stop and listen to me, you birdbrain!" Sarabi almost shouted.
The little blue horn-bill jumped off Sarabi's amply cushioned back and the big cat sat down; her heavy belly spread across the ground in front of her feet almost touching the backs of her forelegs and it occasionally emitted churning noises as it continued to process the day's intake. "Well I never..." muttered Zazu as he dusted off his wings.
"Zazu, just hear me for a moment." When the bird finally turned a large darkly colored eye to her, the lioness continued, "Look at my leg, Zazu. I can hardly walk even if you cut the collar. I can't make it back all the way to the Pridelands by myself."
"Well, I'll just fly back and send help from the pride now that I know where you are." said Zazu as he ruffled his feathers in agitation. Apparently he was a little miffed that Sarabi said she'd be by herself on the trek back, despite the complications in he actually being able to provide any real help.
Thoughts of lions coming to the village to rescue her struck all kinds of wrong chords in Sarabi. Would they hesitate to kill the humans who had been treating her so well? What would the village's reaction be to such an incident or even just her escape? Would they follow them back the the Pridelands? Would they kill lions? So many unknowns.
[[1. Sarabi commands Zazu to stay until her leg is healed so no one will come]]
2. Sarabi tells Zazu to bring only Simba and Sarafina and that they are not to kill**Sarabi's New Retainer (Shalion)**
Zazu was hopping towards the open door when Sarabi placed a paw on his long tail feathers, "What do you think y- Mmmble!"
Sarabi sighed as she closed Zazu's long beak with her other paw. She held him up to her eye level. "Will you be quiet while I talk?"
Zazu's eyes darted at the indignation, but eventually settled on Sarabi's and he nodded.
"Good." She said, but continued holding Zazu for the moment. "I can't risk you bringing lions here. The humans are great in number and more arrive every day. What if they tried to get me back? What if someone accidentally killed a human? Would you bring war and death to the Pridelands?"
Zazu swallowed behind his closed beak.
"No, I will stay here until I can leave under my own power." Sarabi finally released Zazu who immediately fluttered out of paw's reach by instinct.
Landing on the floor, he turned with his tail feathers pointed high in outrage. "You... you can't stay here... with humans! They're the most dangerous sort of beasts around. They don't follow the Law!"
Sarabi leaned forward a little and waited for a particularly loud gurgling in her belly to pass, "They treat me well, Zazu. They feed me and they are even helping my leg to heal. I would have never walked again if it hadn't been for them."
Zazu turned his beak, "If it weren't for them, YOU wouldn't be here in the first place. Do you know how many birds and cheetahs and all sorts of other creatures Simba sent to find you? He's frantic with worry."
That hit Sarabi particularly hard, but she stayed strong. She would not bring harm to her son and his new pride.
Zazu continued, "You can't stay here by yourself."
"Oh but I won't be by myself, Zazu." said the older lioness with a glint in her eye
Zazu's eye widened in incomprehension, but his face was already falling in anticipation.
"You will be staying here with me Zazu until I am fully re-cooperated." Announced Sarabi with a toothy grin.
"But... but..." protested Zazu, but the lioness lowered herself down to his level and looked at him with her big amber eyes.
"I know exactly where you'd go if I let you leave, besides, you wouldn't want to leave the mother of the current King completely unprotected and in the hands of humans now would you?"
"Well, I... that's not..." waffled the little blue bird, but he was trapped by his own loyalties and sense of responsibility.
"Very good." grinned the lioness, "I'm glad you're up to the task. Now as your liege lord, I have a request for you."
Zazu sighed, but the reply came out automatically, "How may I serve you?"
Sarabi lifted her eyes to the ceiling, "Your first job is to sit up there and watch me sleep. Wake me should anyone try to enter."
This at least made sense to Zazu. "Right away, Your Highness." and the blue hornbill flew up to the beams supporting the roof.
Sarabi smiled to herself at her victory and allowed herself an indulgently wide yawn with she stretched and extended her paws. She curled up as much as her big, soft middle would allow and laid her tail across her snout. As she listened to Zazu's breathing and was aware of his watchful eye, she was truly grateful to have a link back to the Pridelands. Sarabi sighed and closed her eyes.
1. Zazu is shooed away
[[2. Zazu is heralded as a symbol of Purity]]**The Great One (Shalion)**
Early the next morning, the medicine man and the man with beads came into the hut with Sarabi's customary drug laced slurry of eggs and blood. The older man gasped, however upon entering the room when Zazu squawked loudly, waking the slumbering lioness. The medicine man gaped and pointed up at Zazu with a shaking finger. "Look! The goddess has summoned a hornbill!"
Sarabi looked up quizzically over the mound of her stomach. Humans were a strange lot.
The man in beads looked up at Zazu who stared down at the two humans with a look of indignation (as usual). "What does it mean, wise elder?" asked the man in beads as he set the heavy bowl in front of Sarabi. The lioness wasn't particularly concerned with the humans' superstitions and contented herself of relieving them of the burden they had brought; the pain in her leg, after all was becoming bothersome again.
The medicine man fell to his knees and pulled out a string of charms which he jangled together while humming some sort of prayer under his breath. The wrinkled leather of his face contorted in intense thought and focus. The mystic finally rose. "I do not know for sure, Great Chief, but the hornbill is a symbol of purity. I must consult the bones, but combined with Goddess Oshun's presence, it could be that a very pure soul will soon be born."
The man in beads scratched his whiskers in thought as Sarabi noisily slurped at the bowl on the floor. "A Great One, do you suppose?"
The medicine man shrugged, "I cannot say yet. I must seek answers in the bones, but that is a strong possibility."
The man in beads nodded once and went to the door. He said in a loud voice. "There has been a sign! Let a fresh calf be sacrificed for the goddess Oshun!"
Men left immediately to follow the chief's instructions, but one of them came forward to speak with the man in beads. The young man bore a strong resemblance to the dark man wearing the colorful beads. "Father are you sure? She's just-"
"No more scraps," continued the man in beads as if not hearing the younger man. "From now on, we will feed Goddess Oshun only the choicest morsels. She is a true goddess, not a pet." He glared at his offspring as he said the last and the younger man knelt in the dirt. "Rise my son and honor me by offering the lioness the liver. I will offer her the heart."
"Yes father. Thank you."
And so Sarabi was offered all of the finest parts of the newly slaughtered calf. She laid on her belly which was now the widest part of her thick, barrel-like torso, and scarfed down the delicious vital organs which has been withheld from her diet before and all the while herbs were burned to leave a sweet smell in the air. In the rafters Zazu coughed occasionally in the much thicker smoke, but the people also occasionally brought him the odd nut or fruit.
Sarabi rolled onto her wide back in utter luxury and purred. She allowed herself to be hand fed with her eyes half lidded and drowsy with the effects of the numbing drug. That day she didn't even bother with bones, eating only what was easiest to pry off with her teeth and leaving the rest. She even ate while people gathered to rub her increasingly distended and engorged tummy. The lioness still longed for her family, but she was quite sure she would never have this kind of respect back in the Pridelands. This overindulgence didn't go unnoticed by Zazu, but he was hesitant to mention it, at least while the humans were around; later though...
1. He keeps quiet
[[2. He speaks up]]**Disagreements Over Dining (Shalion)**
Later, she belched wetly and licked her paws and rubbed her face. She was quite sure that the calf the man in beads had mentioned was now residing mostly in her belly, though she had not seen the actual carcass, and that on top of generous prayer offerings as well. She lapped lazily at a large bowl of milk as the hut became empty for the first time since the man in beads had arrived with the medicine man. Zazu took the opportunity to speak, "My, If I'd known this was how humans treated those they captured, I should have arranged such a disappearance long ago."
Sarabi sniffed, but finished lapping before she spoke. Milk dripped from her chin as she said, "Yeah, they think I'm some sort of goddess." She rolled on her back and rubbed her aching tummy with both paws and surprised herself a little when they couldn't reach each other around the waist. "I can't imagine why..." she said nonetheless.
"Indeed..." muttered Zazu. The bird was silent for a time, but then spoke, "You realize you just ate enough to last a lioness a week."
"Mmmm..." said Sarabi barely listening as she continued to stroke her throbbing belly. The pain was met with even greater quantities of pleasure. It was delightful how the "medicine" softened the world and took her worries away. "Oh, don't worry so much Zazu, they feed me like that every day. Granted this was the first time they sacrificed a whole calf just for me..."
"Every day!" blustered the little blue bird as he ruffled his feathers. "If you keep eating like three lionesses, you're going to be as big as three lionesses."
Sarabi giggled and stuck out her tongue at the crotchety old pheasant, "Well, I'm pretty sure I'm already big enough for two lionesses." She groaned again in exquisite pleasure/pain as her belly churned loudly. Her middle seemed so heavy just then she could hardly roll herself over and then she released another magnificent belch which sent her into another fit of giggles.
Zazu glided down from the ceiling and peered closely into Sarabi's eyes, even going so far as to open one of them fully wide. The lioness playfully swatted at him, but Zazu was easily able to dodge her. "What's the matter with you? You're acting like a month-old cub."
"Oh don't be such a joy-kill, you old buzzard." said Sarabi and she inexpertly launched a small bone at the bird who flapped himself briefly into the air.
"Hmph!" said Zazu as he floated back down to the floor, "May I remind the one time queen of the Pridelands that she is in fact older by more than a few seasons than her humble servant?"
Sarabi considered this for a moment and rolled onto her side, letting her belly flow across the bamboo floor, "Hmm... no you may not." she finally said with a grin.
Zazu crossed his wings over his thin chest and spoke more seriously, "That doesn't change that fact that if you keep eating like this, you're going to be far too heavy to make the hike all the way back to the Pridelands even after your leg heals!"
That sobered the lioness up a little. "Oh, Zazu, don't say that. I'm just taking advantage of a good situation. I'm perfectly in control."
Zazu still looked at her sideways...
[[1. Sarabi convinces Zazu to stay]]
[[2. Sarabi can't convince Zazu to stay]]**Staying True (Shalion)**
"...You're putting your health in danger by staying here and getting as fat as a hippo!" said Zazu after quite a lengthy argument, but Sarabi could tell from the look in his tired eyes that he was breaking down.
"Zazu. My leg is broken." said Sarabi not for the first time, "I couldn't hunt even if I wanted to, even if I was half my weight. That these humans have decided to feed me is a miracle. I'd have already died on the savanna!" The last was just stark truth that not even Zazu the Wise - or at least Big-Mouthed - could deny. "So what if I put on some extra weight? If I can get my leg healed properly, it would be worth any cost." 'Especially if that cost is actually a bonus for me." added Sarabi mentally
"But Simba-" said Zazu, grasping at straws, but Sarabi didn't let him finished his latest rebuttal.
"Would be happy to know that you stayed and watched over me during my convalescence."
Zazu still looked unsure, but for once had nothing to say.
Sarabi drew him closer in the circle of one paw and he hopped forward until the distance between them was almost intimate, "I'm going to need someone to guide me back to the Pridelands when I'm healed. You wouldn't deprive me of a guide would you?" Sarabi tilted her head and adjusted her ears just so.
"If you can still lift your belly off the floor by that time..." grumbled Zazu, but Sarabi could tell that he was just complaining now. The real danger had passed.
"Well, unless they start feeding me whole rhinos, I doubt that's going to happen any time soon." Laughed Sarabi as she patted her pleasantly distended belly.
"Hmph..." muttered the complaining bird, "You just concentrate on mending that leg. The sooner we leave, the better as far as I'm concerned." Zazu ruffled his feathers and hopped across the bamboo planks that made up the floor of the spirit house. He picked up a discarded nut in his beak and flew quickly up to the rafters where he made his perch. "I'll eat sensibly while we're on this little vacation of yours, thank you very much."
Sarabi rolled onto her broadened back at the same time as she said, "Not all of us can live on nuts and berries, Zazu." She spent the evening tossing stray berries and nuts up at the bird, playfully of course. Zazu, who was by now used to casual disrespect from larger cats, caught the projectiles almost half of the time and ate them sometimes, but also was equally likely to throw them back down again, always aiming for Sarabi's forehead. When he managed a direct hit, they both laughed.
Across the village, in the medicine man's private hut, the elderly shaman gathered the collection of lion knuckle bones from a beast that his own great-grandfather had slain. Ever had they guided him in times of need, their movements dictated by the spirits themselves. It took a lifetime to understand the frequently complex messages conveyed by the spirits, but the medicine man had spent a lifetime searching for answers among the bleached bones positions...
[[1. The bones confirm that a Great One will be born]]
2. The bones cast doubt on Sarabi's divinity**Parting Of Ways (Shalion)**
After a long and heated argument, Sarabi was at last unable to persuade Zazu that nothing was amiss. Perhaps if her head wasn't so muzzled by the medication... but there's no use dwelling on things you can't change. "Please Zazu. Don't go back to Simba. I don't want anyone hurt."
The little blue hornbill sat perched on the door which already hung partially ajar. "You're going to be hurt if you stay here Sarabi."
"I am not, Zazu!" said the lioness losing her temper once again, but more because she felt she was losing him than his words. She tried her trump card one last time, "Would you bring war to the Pridelands by your actions?"
Zazu sighed and hung his head, but he looked down at Sarabi and his eyes were determined. "I am not certain that bringing lions here will cause a war with the humans. I am sure, however, that Simba will have my head if I sit here and watch you eat yourself to death."
"Zazu!" But the hornbill had left with the last of his words. "Zazu, I order you to come back!" Sarabi roared. She waited and waited, but Zazu did not return. The lioness slumped into her own fat. Some villagers came at the sound of her roar, but seeing nothing amiss with the obese lioness, they simply re-closed and latched the door. Sarabi was alone... again.
Sarabi was so troubled by the officious hornbill's departure, that she was hardly able to take pleasure from the afternoon's offerings; though that hardly stopped her from wolfing them down, however. She was worried because she knew her son and realized that he would not settle for simply sending a rescue party for his mother. Despite his duties, Simba would come himself and possibly face the danger of the humans' spears and bows. Also, however, she was strangely worried that this luxury and unending supply of food would all come to an end. It was too soon. Whether or not she had been consciously thinking it, Sarabi realized she had been hoping that before she left the village, she could finally satisfy her unusual craving to be still larger and fatter. She felt the vast quantities of plump skin, taut with new assets pushing against her paws on her chest and belly. She was a fat cat, a very obese one. In fact she was the largest she had ever heard of a lion becoming... but still she longed for more. Sarabi didn't know how large she would have to be to finally be happy with her physique, but she knew her only hope in getting there was to stay with these generous, albeit superstitious humans. Some of that superstition was in play now as the medicine man studied the fall of the 'sacred bones' in an attempt to divine the future.
[[1. The bones confirm that a Great One will be born]]
2. The bones reveal doubt as to Sarabi's divinityThe Bones Speak Well (Shalion)
The man in beads returned at the news the hornbill had left and soon after followed the medicine man. Sarabi watched them both from the floor. She laid on her belly despite the discomfort to her churning stomach and twitched her tail in curiosity. "The hornbill has left, Wise Elder."
"Hmm..." grunted the older man, "I do not think this matters. We have already seen the sign." Both men were silent for a time in each of their respective dignities. Finally the medicine man spoke again, "I have consulted the spirits."
"What have the ancestors to say?" asked the man in beads.
"The bones aligned themselves to my questions and there is no doubt. A Great One will be born soon, if not already." The other man's eyes widened, but otherwise his leathery face remained impassive, almost intensely so. The medicine man continued, "The Great One shall be a man of peace, not war. He will unite the tribes and pacify our enemies; through him will be birthed a new nation of our people, though we may not live to see it."
The man in beads once again took hold of his chin in his hand. "How are we to know the Great One?" he asked.
"The Great One shall be marked by none other than Goddess Oshun herself." said the medicine man and he too turned to look down at the rotund lioness on the floor. Sarabi stared them both down as her tail gently lashed. She had a lot more practice than they and the humans looked away first.
The man in beads continued to stroke his beard in thought. "How is the goddess to mark the Great One if she sits bound in this hut all day and night?" he asked half to himself.
The medicine man did not immediately answer, but when the silence lengthened he eventually said, "I feel it is still too soon to move Goddess Oshun. She may be a goddess, but she still inhabits a mortal shell. If we make her walk, the leg may break again." The old man threw Sarabi an off glance, "With her mighty figure, the risk is even greater. And remember, any of the people may enter the sacred house, Great Chief."
The man in beads continued to frown, but then he was always frowning, so it was impossible to know what was on his mind.
1. Sarabi is freed to move about the village
[[2. The Chief has Sarabi moved on a litter to a bigger village]]**Upsized Accommodation (Shalion)**
Two days later, Sarabi found herself lying on a flat, bamboo platform carried by no less than six strong humans. Some part of her sparkled with mischievous amusement that her weight required such effort to move. The now thoroughly spoiled lioness was shaded from the sun by a small tent placed over the litter that not only kept her cool in the hot African environment, but shielded the goddess from unworthy eyes. Sarabi remembered little of the trek, though it took three days, for she was kept pacified by extra large doses of the medicine which she was by now acutely familiar and plenty of bones to gnaw on. Even away from the offerings of the villagers, Sarabi managed to put on weight from the generous supplies the troop brought with them; every day, in fact, a new animal was sacrificed and butchered in her honor. The lioness thought she could definitely get used to eating every day, and in fact she already had.
The new village she was hauled to was easily twice the size of the place she had left and with seemingly three times as many people. There was a throng which lined real streets as the tigress was carried to her new abode; she could hear all the people and smell them also behind the veil of the curtain which obscured them. Sarabi, who had at least grown to tolerate large amounts of humans, wondered if even her expanding stomach could keep pace with the offerings they were surely to shower upon her. And indeed, she was tested.
For the first time, Sarabi had cooked food prepared for her. A man served her roasted pheasant, which was another kind of meat which she was unfamiliar with. For a long time she just looked at the strange food, hot, not just warm and steaming slightly. Finally it was the familiar scent of the juices brimming from the meats which convinced her to try it. Once she deigned to allow the first chunk to pass her sacred lips, the man serving her jumped up and clapped three times over his head, rattling the metal rings on his ankles and wrists as he did so. Sarabi found that three roasts pheasants made a satisfying lump in one corner of her burgeoning stomach.
Her new ceremonial abode was much like her old one. It was a large hut, though it was nearly twice as large as the one she previously inhabited and built much sturdier with thicker wood. Also, they released her from the collar at last; though it was still not like she could go very far on three legs. Instead, they put her on a stuffed mattress with a real pillow just for her broken leg. The fattened lioness hardly bothered to move during the day, instead opting to be deluged in even more succulent and varied treats than was available in the smaller village.
It was a little lonely at times, but Sarabi was kept in constant rapture at the pace of growth she was managing. All of the slack in her hide had been taken up in the rush of her body to store away the extra nutrition. For the first time since she had carried Simba, stretch marks appeared on the pink skin of her belly under the sparse white fur. Sarabi found them all over her belly with her exploring paws and later spread to cover her ribs and the small of her back as well. She worked hard to take everything she was offered, refusing nothing, sometimes eating until she dry heaved at night. But eating, she knew would make her the cat that she always imagined she could be and it help fill the hours. And boy did her body show the results of all her hard work.
[[1. Months pass without contact from the Pridelands]]
2. Sarabi is contacted by the pride within weeks**Fat Cat (Shalion)**
Sarabi tried putting some weight on the leg she seemed to have broken in a previous life it was so long ago. The lioness gritted her teeth with the pain traveling up from her mending femur, but unlike before, the leg held firm and didn’t fold. Restless for her months of captivity, the large, obese cat felt like limping forward a few steps. She still heavily favored her left hind leg, but she was no longer hopping about. She actually put her foot on the ground for the first time since breaking the leg and not only did it not scathe her with crippling pain, it actually took more than a few pounds of her vastly expanded weight.
She carefully folded her good leg under her body and let her rippling fat sink to the ground on top of a linen mat. Getting up, walking those few steps and turning around had left the once fearsome huntress panting, but then that was far more activity than the lazy, spoiled cat was typically used to. Sarabi, however, was completely unaware of any problem with her lack of stamina. She was far too excited about the recovery of her injured leg. It was scarcely imaginable that she could have suffered such a massive injury and have survived as a predator. And yet, with the help of the humans, she was not only well on her way to recovery, she had become more of a fattened cat than she would have thought possible. Goddess of Prosperity, indeed, thought Sarabi as she glanced over her shoulder at herself, I certainly look the part now.
Zazu had been right all along. Sarabi was certainly large enough for three lionesses and she was currently working on a fourth. From her lumpy shoulders to her round, sagging hips, the lioness’s body was a huge soft rectangle covered in a well oiled, shiny, tan colored coat. Her belly, reaching past her knees on her side and to her ankles when standing, was a sparse white, showing lots of rampant pink skin between the hairs. Her chest sank almost as low, fatty clumps of cellulite dangled under her ribs and bumped against her forelegs on the odd occasions she happened to stand. When sitting, her girth was such that her front legs bowed outwards to make room for her expansive pot of a belly. Sarabi licked her chops as she looked at herself. She thought that there must have never been a lioness as rich and healthy looking as she. Her belly alone looked sufficient for a dozen and a half cubs, but the lioness knew that what filled it was only her flesh alone, incredible quantities of soft, perfect flesh: Sarabi.
She let her head with her plump, somewhat sagging jowls, lay on the mat for lifting it above her chest was rather more effort than was appropriate for someone supposed to be a goddess. As the months had passed, and Sarabi witnessed time and time again real rejoicing in her luscious, expansive form, true celebration of her gluttony and even uncountable religious experiences and people contacted the Spirit in her vicinity, the lioness could not help but form the opinion that she was truly performing a service to these people even if she wasn’t a real goddess.
Sarabi purred and ran her front paw over more flesh than it alone could reach. “But such a splendid and beautiful form does require some recognition.” The spoiled cat thought, “If there really is such a thing as a goddess of prosperity, then my body can’t be far off the mark. I can scarcely imagine myself any fuller of worldly riches.” Indeed, Sarabi had reached the point where she was happy to luxuriate in her own putty-like form rather than constantly fantasize about being larger and “work” towards that goal.
That change in outlook didn’t have a very large impact on her dietary intake, however... While it was true that the village people had cut back on her diet since her arrival – purely out of necessity, since it was outrageous to slaughter a whole animal daily just for her own personal use – individual offerings from the locals and even pilgrims were still plentiful enough to leave her moaning and hugging her belly half the nights of the week. Sarabi’s stomach had expanded greatly through her constant stuffing and her attitude towards food had changed as well. Eating was no longer a means towards a goal nor was it work. Eating for Sarabi was more like a signal that a gift had been recognized, a mere formality. She didn’t even think about eating anymore, it was simply something that was expected of her in her role as Goddess Oshun. It was just something that she did. And when eating had just become something she did with her mouth when greeting guests, Sarabi found that the expressions of gratitude, joy and sometimes very real spiritual enlightenment on the humans’ faces replaced the old pleasure she used to take from eating more than adequately.
Of course, there were still the minor mobility issues. While Sarabi was groomed daily by a pair of young girls who were daughters of the local chieftain – which was useful since Sarabi couldn’t reach her tongue past her shoulder at this point – as her strength recovered and she needed less and less medicine to numb the pain in her leg, she realized that she had a great difficulty in moving her body. The combined assault of doubling her previous weight and muscles wasting through inactivity had left Sarabi scarcely able to get herself off the floor and feeling exhausted after just a few steps. She had to admit to herself that she wasn’t able to walk the length of the building she had been in since being brought to the village. While that might have been fine for a real goddess of prosperity, it wasn’t for Sarabi. Of course, there wasn’t exactly much she could do about it at this point.
She had plans of course. She did not intend to while away her days uselessly in this building until she was so heavy she could not even roll over by herself – although thinking of herself that large did have a certain appeal. Sarabi was convinced that once she was able to walk some distances again, one night, she would begin making the journey back to the Pridelands. She would start by walking the length of the room and then the length of the village and then perhaps the distance to adjacent villages as well, and then she would be able to bid farewell to the humans and finally return to her people as the biggest cat that they ever had set eyes on before.
The lack of word from her companions in the Pridelands was a little surprising. She would have thought that Zazu would have been able to find her again. However she was glad that she had had enough time to finally reached a point where she could be happy with her body; not that she would turn away any extra pounds she could gather during her convalescence. At any rate, as long as there was no word of lion attacks, she was content to lay back and enjoy her prosperity while it lasted. Sarabi grunted as she lifted her massive bulk once more...
[[1. A few nights later, Sarabi has a visitor from the Pridelands]]
[[2. Two weeks later, Sarabi takes her first steps out of the holy house]]**Surprise! (Shalion)**
Sarabi was lying on her side which was heaving up and down for the force of her breaths. This time, she had made it to the end of the room and back. While she was proud of her accomplishment, the very obese cat had driven herself a little too hard. Her head spun and her eyes watered and despite resting for the last fifteen minutes, she could still not catch her breath. Sarabi promised herself to take it easier in the future and she stroked her belly to comfort herself.
In the darkness in front of her, she saw the outline of the door which was never bothered to be locked anymore move, spilling a beam of moonlight across the floor. Sarabi tensed as she saw a dark form enter the room. She put her burning hind-legs under her heavy pudding belly in readiness to get to her feet... for all the good that would do. Sarabi realized that she was near complete exhaustion and quite defenseless. But her fear drove at least a little more strength into her limbs.
"Who is there?" she asked in a commanding voice, though the underlay of deathly fear was unmistakable.
1. It's Timon and Pumbaa
[[2. It's Sarafina]]**Working Out (Shalion)**
Sarabi worked – really worked – night after night when the humans were asleep to regain even a portion of her lost mobility. Needless to say, it wasn’t easy, especially since at night she had to deal with her full stomach that constantly sought to sap her energy. Off the drugs at last, however, Sarabi found that her will had not vanished in the way her waist had. The months of prior inactivity helped in this regard, for the large cat was restless and would have paced if she hadn’t been so out of shape. And since pacing was exactly the sort of exercise which she was capable of at the moment...
She got up and let herself down slowly again and again since this was the action which was hardest for her both because of her extraordinary weight and because her right hind leg was still no help at all in the effort. It was difficult not so much because her weight was pulling her down – though that was most assuredly a factor – but because it was so hard to bend. Sarabi’s flanks jutted out to both sides of her in a very bovine manner and her belly sunk low. It was almost impossible to bend her torso and that left all of the work to her under muscled legs. She eventually worked out an easier way by first sitting up and then leaning forwards very far, almost until she was about to fall forwards so that her chest and upper body helped counter the greater weight of her hind quarters as she pushed up with her strong left leg. Still it took the once graceful cat more than twenty seconds to rise from being prone. Sarabi knew she would have to be exceedingly careful on her journey back home. In fact, she rested her hopes on having an escort from the Pridelands by then because at the moment, she was nothing but an enormously large meal for a lucky predator; and, Sarabi had to be honest with herself, she would probably always be little more than that.
While not a particularly young cat anymore, Sarabi was not yet out of her prime and her muscles regrew and flushed with strength with the renewed activity as the lioness paced the length of the long holy house first once before resting, then three times then ten times. Finally, Sarabi grew bored with that exercise and knew it was time to venture outside.
“Outside... It’s been a long time since I went outside.” Thought Sarabi as she hesitated at the unlocked door. Suddenly her dreams of returning home across untold vast distances seemed pure folly. How much more comforting was the safe and secure inside of the holy house which had become her home.
Sarabi shrugged off the cowardly thoughts, “This is not my home.” She said sternly under her breath and she pushed the door open with the crown of her head.
The stars and moon lit the slumbering village and the breathtaking distances of the foreign savanna beyond. The openness scared Sarabi and every inch of her bloated hide tingled in exquisite vulnerability. The lioness felt the need to protect all of her hard won meats, but could not with her diminished capacity imposed by those very assets. Still, she steeled herself and pressed forward. However, she did not take a more than a few steps before something caught around her middle.
She yowled briefly, thinking some predator had caught her, but found instead a very different sort of problem. Her fat engorged belly was stuck in the doorframe.
[[1. Sarabi squeezes out after some effort]]
2. Sarabi is very stuck**Friendly Face? (Matt)**
The figure turned, and it's eyes seemed to glow for a moment as they caught the moonlight, then an instantly familiar voice said, Sarabi?"
"Sarafina," Sarabi replied happily, and then, despite her exhaustion, forced herself to rise, because as much as she'd simply lie around for the humans, this manner would be unbecoming in the presence of her old friend.
There was a few moments of silence as Sarafina approached Sarabi, and got a better look at her, then the normal sized lioness said dryly, "you're keeping well I see."
"Well enough," Sarabi replied, matching dry with dry, "oh I won't say having a broken leg was pleasant, but I'm over that now, mostly."
"How'd you break it," Sarafina said, her tone seemingly equal parts concern and sneering, "trip up?"
"I fell into a pit-trap the day I disappeared if you must know," Sarabi replied, raising her hackles slightly. For a moment she was surprised at the sharpness she'd put into the reply, but, oh the pain in her knees. Nevertheless, to show aggression so such an old friend was rude, and so she did her best to ignore the pain, and asked, "and what of you, how've you been keeping?"
"Well enough in body," Sarafina replied, which Sarabi almost took as a prod at her size, but was proved wrong when Sarafina went on, "in mind, well your son isn't the easiest lion to live with these days, since you disappeared he's become more and more paranoid, oh not anything like as bad as Scar, but still..."
"It sounds like I need to get back then," Sarabi said, then curse her body silently, when her hindlegs finally gave out and her hindquarters hit the floor with a sound more akin to slap than a thump.
"I doubt you'd make it," Sarafina replied, "I mean, it took me several days to get here, and at the speed you'll probably move..."
"So you're just going to abandon me here then," Sarabi asked, feeling a touch hurt.
"Well for starters I'd hardly call it 'abandoning' you," Sarafina replied, "and anyway, it was enough trouble getting in here past the dogs, getting the hippo you've become out again, that's frankly a little beyond me."
"Hippo," Sarabi asked in a savage tone, "is that what you take me for, a hippo?"
"Well you must weigh about the same mustn't you," Sarafina sneered, finally letting her feelings show, "I mean seriously, why did you let yourself become such a, lardass?"
"They give me a lot of food," Sarabi replied, "and the way they give it to me, makes it seem like not eating it is a bad idea."
There was a few moments silence, and then Sarafina said, "you know Sarabi, you never really struck me as one to make excuses, but I guess I was wrong," and without another word, she left. For a few moments the immense lioness just sat there, the shock of the accusation pinning her in place as effectively as the rolls of blubber that hung liberally from her sizable frame.
The shock only lasted a few moments, and was quickly replaced by anger, who the hell did Sarafina think she was, not only had she insulted her, to her face what's more, she'd come out and called her a liar as well. Tears stung Sarabi's eyes, and the anger burned in her brain as she tried to decide on a course of action.
[[1. Go after Sarafina]]
2. Decide to stay, for now**Beseeching A Friend (Shalion)**
Despite her exhaustion and despite her burning thighs Sarabi could not just let her visitor depart. Not only was Sarafina one of her oldest friends, Sarabi was deathly afraid of being left alone again with no contact to the outside world. They simply couldn't part on terms like these.
Getting up was the hardest part. Sarabi's leg which was still mending did not help at all in the procedure. That left only her left hind-leg to bear the weight of her plump, distended hindquarters. The trick was spreading some of that weight to her forepaws, but that meant leaning forward awkwardly and pulling with her fore-paws as much as pushing upwards. It was all very embarrassing and more than a little pathetic, luckily Sarafina was not around to watch - though she would probably get the chance if Sarabi had any say in the matter. Tired, but standing, Sarabi waddled heavily out of the unlocked door and into the night, one fatty flank bumping against the frame on her way out. The night was warm and the stars twinkling far overhead were a treat after being mostly enclosed for the last several months of human captivity. It might have been enjoyable if Sarabi had not been in such pain. Bamboo boards creaking under Sarabi's more than three lionesses, she was left panting at the base of the stairs once she'd climbed down off the platform of the holy house. Her injured leg seared across the lateral break she had suffered months earlier. She paused for a break, putting her heavy rump down on a couple wide steps so it'd be easier getting back up.
Now resting as much as she was prepared to, Sarabi looked around, to see if she could spot her friend, or should that be former friend. For a moments she couldn't see anything, but then one of the shadows some distance away seemed to move, and so she called out, "Sarafina, Sarafina, are you there?"
Sarafina paused when she heard the voice, and cursed silently, dammit that hippo was going to ruin her escape with the noise she was making. She was about to keep going when she looked back and realized that Sarabi was actually outside, which must have been quite an effort for her, and this twinged at a nerve in her heart, oh sure her once friend was little more than a blob of fat, but she had been ruder than she really should have been, and so she was torn, continue her escape, or go back and try to patch things up.
1. [[Continue her escape]]
2. [[Go back to Sarabi]]**Abandoned (Matt)**
Sarabi's heart leapt as she saw two points of light appear where she thought Sarafina had been, had her friend reconsidered? No, was the answer, for in an instant they were gone, leaving the immense lioness feeling even more dejected and alone. She wasn't alone for long though, for her calling had awoken the village dogs, who now converged on her location, grinning and sniggering at her predicament in a way that reminded her of hyenas.
"well what d'you suppose this is," one of the dogs sneered to another.
"Ooh, looks like a hippo to me," another said, prompting giggling from most of the pack.
"Enough of that," said another, larger dog, presumably the alpha. The dog then turned to Sarabi, and asked, "a friend of yours been visiting you I take it?"
"Well I wouldn't exactly call her a friend any more," Sarabi replied lowly.
"So which way'd she go," the alpha asked.
"Um," Sarabi said, suddenly in a moral quandary, although she didn't consider Sarafina friend any more, she wasn't exactly fond of the dogs either, and really, it would fall pretty close to murder...
1. Sell Sarafina out
2. Cover Sarafina's escape**Return Of Conscience (Matt)**
Sarafina closed her eyes as she agonized over the decision for a few moments, she knew she should escape now, make the best of her changes, but...but what the hell, Sarabi had been a friend, and if she'd gone to the trouble of actually trying to follow her then she must have been desperate to get out. Swallowing her disgust as best she could, the lithe lioness once again began to approach her immense former friend
Sarabi's hope rose when she saw two points of brightness appear where she presumed Sarafina to be, fell when they winked out, but then rose again as the points re-appeared, this time for good. The immense lioness felt a touch of envy as she watched her friend approach, covering in mere moments, a distance which would have taken her some minutes to traverse. The envy was drowned out though, by relief and happiness that her friend hadn't completely abandoned her, "I didn't think you'd come back."
'I almost didn't' Sarafina thought, but clamped down on it, instead muttering, "can you walk?"
"Well, not in as many words," Sarabi replied embarrassedly, "I can waddle a bit though."
The darkness of the night did nothing to hide the grimace that crossed Sarafina's face, but she quashed it, and muttered, come on th..." breaking off as she saw Sarabi's eyes widen. Glancing over her shoulder, she almost groaned as she saw...
1. ...Dogs
[[2. ...Humans]]**Protégé? (Shalion)**
The two lionesses froze in their tracks as they heard the ululating calls of the humans emerging from their huts all around. Men with spears - and pretty much nothing else - came charging to what they perceived as danger in response to the disturbance that Sarabi had made shouting out after Sarafina. They found that danger in Sarabi's life-long friend.
Sarafina snarled defensively as the humans closed in around them, raising their weapons and shouting war calls. Sarabi shouted, "Don't Sarafina! You'll start a war with the humans!"
Sarafina only glanced at the other lioness who weighed easily three times as much as herself before she leapt... And landed on the roof of a nearby hut. Sarafina, though past her prime like Sarabi, aimed her jump well and landed on one of the support beams protruding from the roof rather than the grass thatch. Still her weight caused the frame to buckle. Men pointed and shouted and a terrified woman clutching a babe to her breast ran out of the little building as Sarafina scrambled across it to the other side, pitching clumps of grass every which way. A spear was tossed, but it missed as Sarafina jumped away to the other side of the hut. The whole roof gave in as the thinner lioness cleared her beam, however, and Sarafina came up short, landing heavily on her shoulder on the other side of the building. Sarabi knew she had to do something.
Sarafina, who wind had been knocked out of her, was not going to let a hurt shoulder stop her from winning her freedom, but the big cat had overlooked the fact that she was in the middle of a very large village. More and more humans were coming in from every direction. Her one advantage had been stealth, now that that was gone, Sarafina had to admit that her chances of seeing the Pridelands again were slim. She cursed her weakness. She should have left the moment she saw what had happened to her long time friend. Scrambling away, mostly on three legs, Sarafina was met with spears in one direction and she dashed away behind her. But whichever way she turned, there were simply more hunters. They caged her in an impenetrable wall of bodies and steel tipped spears.
Crouching down, Sarafina's hackles rose as she was pressed against the wall of a building, holding her hurt leg close to her body. She was determined not to go down without a fight. Just then, however, there was a disturbance in the crowd. Spears went up as a large, or rather wide, figure strode through. With tawny fur stretching in a monster tapestry from the height of her head down to her knees, Sarabi huffed and panted as she waddled her massively obese body in front of Sarafina. She positioned herself length-wise across her one-time compatriot and looked with dead calm to the humans who had been worshiping her these past months.
A man struggled to the fore of the crowd then. Feathers hung from his shoulders and the skulls and horns of several antelopes adorned his head and shoulders. "Stop! Stop! Get away from that lion, you fools!" The men complied swiftly and Sarabi knew the strange man for one of the village's most honored elders; the village where she had been brought to had had one, however, this large village actually housed a council of eight primary elders. "The Goddess Oshun has sent for a protégé from the wilds! We must not harm her."
Sarafina growled softly, "Did that human just call me your-"
"Shush, now! Or do you want to end up on the end of one of these spears?" Sarabi growled right back. With the presence of the humans, Sarabi felt more in control of the situation now. Sarafina's life was in her paws.
Sarafina grumbled a bit, but silently hunched down a bit. Her hackles lowered as she relaxed a little.
"But honored elder." said a man from the crowd, "Guardian of the Goddess she may be, but she is also a wild lion. We cannot let her run loose about the village."
Bones clacking around his shoulders, the elder gestured as if the solution was obvious, "Well then bind her legs and put her in the holy house with the Goddess for now. We'll know better what to do after the other elders and I consult the bones."
Sarabi squeaked like a kitten as the humans flooded forward again. "Just relax, Sarafina, they're going to put you in the house with me. You'll be fine" she said hurriedly as she saw the other lioness's expression.
"You better be right about this..." said the trim lion as she was manhandled by the many humans passing around Sarabi at a respectable range.
"But what if she claws through her bindings, Elder?" a man asked who was lashing Sarafina's paws together.
"Do I have to think of everything?" asked the man dressed in feathers and bones, "Cut her claws!"
Sarabi's stomach fell through the floor despite being full of lamb and chicken. "Stop!" she cried as the heavy iron tool was brought from the village's metal worker. But of course, no one could understand her and a silk collar was thrown about Sarabi's neck and she was led away back to her holy house as she grew more panicked. Men pressed on Sarafina's paws to release the long claws from their sheathes before the makeshift clamp was applied to them.
For a long time Sarabi sat in the silence of the building. She didn't care about her aching muscles and felt only guilt for her friend who had trusted her. A dark skinned boy brought the Goddess of Prosperity a bowl of milk, but Sarabi didn't touch it. Later, Sarafina was brought in, but she was unconscious, whether from drugs or the pain, she had no idea. Blood darkened two of her paws from where the tool had broken the quick. Sarabi was tempted to let her sleep, but she knew that was cowardly and that she'd been too much of a coward lately.
Sarabi pushed against the sleeping lioness's flank until she came awake. Sarafina fluttered her eyelids and it was obvious that...
1. ...She was drugged
2. ...She was in a lot of pain**The Village Square (Shalion)**
Sarabi wriggled this way and that, fighting the skin brimming over the edges of the door. Fortunately for the very wide cat, the humans built the door to the public holy house much wider than necessary, and the lioness was able to squeeze through, if only barely. She sat down on the porch and rested after her struggle. Still she felt proud for passing her most trying exercise yet. After all, she was three and a half lionesses now and had yet to reclaim the strength of even one lioness yet.
But the night was wasting. Sarabi leaned forward as well as she might and as she felt herself falling forwards, lifted with her good rear leg to get onto her feet. Very cautiously, she padded her way down the two steps onto the soil below. She gritted her pads in the dirt; too long had she walked on smooth bamboo planks. Standing on soil, she felt a spark of connection with the Earth that she hadn’t known had faded. Her eyes were wide as she took a few careful steps further out into the midnight landscape.
The moon hung like a lantern in the sky to her night-smart eyes. Everywhere around her there seemed to be huts and shacks with only slivers of the savanna beyond visible between the buildings. Still, after spending three months and more in a single room, Sarabi felt exposed and vulnerable in the village center. She hauled her heavy self to the center of the much trampled clearing and heavily set her rump down; her belly slapped against dirt and her front legs naturally bowed forwards to allow more room for her gut to spread. She looked about, trying to memorize her surroundings. The smell of sweat and animal droppings came readily to her snuffling nose. There was also the smell of ground herbs, wet cloth, clay, drying leather and many others which weaved themselves into a colleague representing everyday village life. Sarabi wondered how different humans were in their everyday lives from the fronts she only saw while in the holy house.
The great cat leaned forward again more slowly, she was getting tired and would soon have to stop for the night. When she stood, her enormous belly churned its full contents and the sound was so magnified by the immensity of the abdominal cavity around it, Sarabi was worried for a precious minute that she might actually wake a villager.
1. Sarabi wakes someone
[[2. Sarabi remains unnoticed]]**Home Free (Shalion)**
Sarabi rotated her round ears in all directions, but she heard nothing out of the ordinary. She sighed in relief, but when she did, she started leaning towards her weak right side and had to catch herself before stumbling into a nasty fall. Some hasty footwork saved her and Sarabi was again reminded that she mustn't allow herself to lose focus while standing; her center of gravity was akin to a pencil width at this point.
Almost stumbling drained the last of the cat's reserves and she scrapped her original plans of walking to the other end of the square. Just getting back to her soft mat and leg pillow would be hard enough.
Sarabi's very round body hovered like a parade float moving along the ground, but her motion was halting and uneven. She limped with her right leg still and only let it take weight with her two front paws on the ground. She'd developed an odd, jerking gait, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been two weeks ago when she started. Sometimes, however, Sarabi wondered if she would always walk with a limp. She moved so slowly that a normally proportioned cat crawling on its belly could probably have kept pace, but moving at all was a big step forward from where she had been just a couple weeks ago. However, as Sarabi began to move faster little by little, she found that her belly began to sway left and right, sometimes almost throwing her off balance. The lioness would have to develop a whole new rhythm of motion if she was going to get along as the world's fattest cat.
Squeezing back through the door was just as troublesome as getting out had been and she was so tired after forcing her way through that she barely managed to totter over to her mat before collapsing; never mind the leg pillow.
Her tongue lolled across the smooth, clean floor of the holy house as she fought for her breath. She had never imagined that she could get so tired from just walking a few steps outside, but then she had never imagined that she could survive a broken leg either. Sarabi observed the great dome of her belly swelling over her head where it rested on the ground. Seeing it and knowing that that massive edifice belonged to her, was a part of her, made her think it was well worth all the effort. She could not help but wonder how many more meals she could squeeze into herself before she could not fit out the door altogether...
[[1. A couple of weeks pass]]
2. Sarabi has a complication in her recovery**A Narrow Decision (Shalion)**
Sarabi braced herself, all four legs on the ground. She was standing with a more even stance on all four paws than ever before since her tumble into the pit trap. The leg which had been broken still gave her pain, but long days sitting on her butt and literally unlimited resources had sped its recovery. She was, at this point well progressed into her rehabilitation as well with her nightly excursions into the village and all four legs were well fleshed with muscle now as well instead of only fat. Sarabi was more aware, lively and just felt better than she had in a long time. That still didn’t mean the massively rotund lioness felt she was ready to journey to the Pridelands, quite far from it actually. In fact she had not yet even made it to the edge of the village yet on her nightly walks. Tonight, however, that was going to change. If at all possible, Sarabi would set her paws into the savanna proper for the first time in months. There was just one little problem that lay before her...
It was literally in front of her: the door frame. Sarabi licked her chops and was still able to taste the remains of the whole goat which the people had roasted rotisserie style right here in the holy house and which she, as her duty, had been responsible for devouring in its entirety. Today had been some sort of religious holiday and while Sarabi had been more than happy to do her part as the ceremony required, a whole goat was a very heavy meal even for her. She huffed a breath and then another, feeling bloated – well more than usual – with a feast so large it had taken the entire day to consume; from the entrails served raw to all the roasted meats and even the bones which had been jellied and served cold or boiled down into a thick, creamy broth.
Sarabi who was still piling on pounds like no one’s business found it increasingly more and more difficulty to shove her wide, lumpy body through the agonizingly narrow opening. She managed one more tiny, breathless belch and observed her round sides expanding with her intake of breath and then contracting. Her weight was making her paws ache. It was time to make a decision.
[[1. Go for the door]]
2. Try to find another way out**Might Need Some Kitty Akins... (Shalion)**
Sarabi looked around. She’d been living in this hut for almost four months and she’d never seen a human come or go from anywhere besides the front door. The last thing the lioness wanted to do was draw unwanted attention to herself by trying to break through a wall; and feat she was not even sure she could accomplish between her diminished strength and the sturdier walls of the hut. She just had to hope that her latest feast hadn’t pushed her over the edge.
Sarabi waddled forward the few steps to the door and felt a surge a pride that she was capable of real waddling now rather than taking small, uneven steps. However, that feeling was soon met with a grimace as her blobby shoulders passed through the portal and touched the frame on either side. The touching increased to tightness around her chest and then squeezing as Sarabi sought to pass her pot belly through. If she could just make it past her widest point...
But no, the lioness had just been living too richly and no amount of newfound muscle was going to change the fact that Sarabi was more than three times her normal weight, and getting ever closer to quadrupling it. The lioness grunted as the frame fetched up against the huge solid mass of the whole goat – and whatever was left from the previous day’s feast and perhaps the day before that as well – which distended her stomach walls. She was already pushing with all the strength she was able to use against the discomfort of her compressed hide, but with the huge ball of solid food under literal feet of fat to either side, Sarabi wasn’t able to make any more progress.
Worse, with her soft flesh welling up more than half a foot on both sides of the door to her left and right, the lioness quickly found that she couldn’t make a retreat either against the grain of her own fur. Sarabi huffed a breath, she was in quite a predicament which was as embarrassing as it was serious. Her legs weren’t going to support her for all that much longer but the lioness with her severe weight issues, couldn’t simply slide down either, her flesh was packed into the frame too tightly. What was a cat to do?
1. Try to break the door frame
[[2. Call for help]]**What A Softy (Shalion)**
On the savanna, one’s ability to survive was usually determined by one’s own strength; of body as well as heart. However, Sarabi, softened by months of luxury was not quite the cat that she used to be whether she was aware of it or not. After only a minute or so of heaving in one direction and then another, she was sure that she would not be able to free herself alone. Sarabi did not look forward at all to her soft, fatty skin being cut up by the rough inside surface of the door frame when her legs would inevitably give out. In fact, she would risk being locked in the holy house the rest of the night – and perhaps all future nights as well – just to avoid the pain to her tender, lovingly cultivated flesh. With no other option, the lioness decided to call for help.
The massive quantities of fat dangling from her neck and under her chin shook as Sarabi made the low throaty growl that signified her distress and would hopefully summon some assistance. However, the lioness didn’t know that to a human ear, it sounded more like she was tossing and turning in her sleep than in any sort of trouble. Also, it was late at night, and her call was not altogether loud enough to carry very far, or to break through wooden walls.
Sarabi shifted her weight as she waited, the doorframe about her “waist” like a belt five sizes too small. The sumo sized, half-ton cat was worried it would leave a bruise on her otherwise flawless skin before help arrived, if her legs didn't give way first.
[[1. A little girl hears Sarabi's call]]
[[2. A local dog hears Sarabi]]**”Fat Kitty" (Shalion)**
The breath was hissing through Sarabi’s front teeth. Her hind legs, which supported the bulk of her... well, bulk, were aching furiously, her weak right leg especially. Though the doorframe was fast about her midsection, it offered no support and as the minutes passed, Sarabi felt the hurt of its pinch intensify. The larger-than-life feline thought about struggling once again, but she was already at the limits of what her legs could handle. This was the longest time yet that she had spent on her feet and she desperately needed rest. “If only someone would come,” thought Sarabi, “I’d take anyone, please!”
As the big cat gave her distress call once more, around the corner of a nearby hut, she thought she saw something move. She wasn’t completely sure for the shape had stopped moving and her night eyes, while excellent at detecting movement were much poorer at color differentiation and resolution. Her eyes locked on to it when it moved again, right towards her. Sarabi naturally braced herself, but inside she wished the shape all haste, she would have taken anyone’s help at that moment.
As she watched, the shape, which was a good deal shorter than she would have expected a human to be, walked out of the shadows and up the few steps onto the platform outside the holy house. The dark form materialized into a small, dark skinned child and Sarabi’s heart sank; what could a tiny human child do to help such a large cat as she? She snuffled, however, as the human’s scent reached her and her ears perked in recognition. She knew this girl-child; it was none other than one of the chieftain’s daughters who had lately taken over the lioness’s grooming duties where Sarabi herself could no longer manage. Still, despite recognizing her, the bloated cat wished someone a bit bigger had heard her call.
The human munchkin walked quickly over to the front of Sarabi and unbeknownst to her, behind the door frame, Sarabi’s right leg had begun to shake with the effort of holding her prodigious weight. The lioness looked down at the little girl silently; she was the younger of the two sisters practically with dried milk still on her chin. Sarabi wished there was some way to tell the girl to go and fetch one of her parents, but unfortunately, humans were as dense as rocks when it came to civilized speech.
After looking into each other’s eyes for a long moment, the girl child spread a wide grin on her face and grabbed double fistfuls of Sarabi’s doughy brisket. “Fat Kitty!” she exclaimed, jostling the soft, pudding-like pudge up and down, “Fat Kitty!” She soon erupted into a fit of giggles.
The much bigger of the two figures sighed, “Yes, ‘Fat Kitty.’” The little girl looked up with wide round eyes at the sounds Sarabi made; a little stream of slime leaked out of one nostril, but she didn’t bother to wipe it off. Sarabi said sarcastically, “Well ‘Fat Kitty’ has a big problem so why don’t you run along and wake up someone who can help me?”
The girl-child grimaced at first, perhaps at Sarabi’s tone, but then she peered around the wide expanse of Sarabi’s chest to the doorframe cutting brutally into her soft abdomen. The little girl took a few steps to the side and poked at the fat protruding over the lip of the door frame. “Kitty stuck?” she asked no one in particular in a high voice.
“Yes, the big, fat kitty is stuck in a door, now for the love of the Circle, will you please go and get someone!” growled Sarabi. Her right leg felt like someone had filled the muscles with acid and putting more weight on her left leg to compensate was only speeding along the fatigue growing in that limb as well. The lioness thought about stepping on the child’s foot or otherwise somehow eliciting a scream from her; that ought to bring at least a few humans running. But when the big cat turned her head as much as her thick neck would allow, the girl-child had already fled beyond reach, in fact she was trotting down the steps from the holy house. Sarabi cursed herself. She had scared the brat away before she could even make a little use of her. She shifted the weight on her hind feet yet again; all she wanted was a nice long sit
Surprisingly, the girl-child returned after a few moments and Sarabi dared hope that she had somehow understood her plea... but there was no one behind her. The little girl came alone, undoubtedly to tug on her fatty chest some more. But wait, the girl had found a rock somewhere, and it had a straight, flat edge on it which she held away from her palm. The little girl ran up the steps and across the porch to where Sarabi was trapped, bamboo planks clacking under her bare feet. With the almost feline-like grace of children taught from an early age how to care for themselves, the girl-child moved with purpose and bashed the rock against the door frame.
Sarabi grimaced as she knew the wood was going to be too sturdy to break with a mere rock. After a few seconds, however, the rotund feline felt as one of the boards gave way, almost blasting outwards from the pressure exerted by her constricted blubber. Sarabi turned her head again and saw that the little girl was not attacking the boards themselves, but the rope lashing them together. With little grunts of effort, the girl-child brought the rock down on the crude rope and before it was even broken all the way through, Sarabi’s fat finished the job for her, breaking the lashing and folding the wood plank against its fellows as it pushed outwards.
Two planks were removed in this fashion on one side before the frame became a tangled mass of wood and rope. The girl then moved to repeat the process on the other side. The first plank went and Sarabi did not hesitate in pushing forward once more with her remaining strength. With the weakened lashings, three more planks gave way on her right and two on her left as the extremely obese cat shoved her way forward. The mass of goat still occupying her middle passed through the widened door at last and Sarabi took a few steps forward before collapsing on the porch. Under her, Sarabi felt one or more bamboo planks give from the impact and she could feel her belly fat sink lower than the rest of the floor where the planks had broken.
Sarabi surveyed the door which had so recently confined her. The door itself was almost flat on the ground, hanging from the broken right side of the door frame. Wood planks hung from their lashings which were tangled in disarray. Somehow, Sarabi had managed to break at least two of the planks in powering her way through the door. The lioness did not think anyone was going to be pleased at the new opening to the holy house.
Muscles aflame, Sarabi rested on the porch for a long while, but she was not alone. Excited for her accomplishment – and who could blame her – the little human girl crawled all over Sarabi’s massive frame patting the soft, squishy fat here and there and sometimes pulling the fur. Every moment was filled with giggling and cries of, “Kitty free! Kitty free! Fat kitty free!” Sarabi could not help but grin, “Yes, Fat kitty’s free now.” She said, and added, “Thank you little one.” If possible, the girl’s smile grew even wider.
[[1. After a rest, Sarabi explores to the edge of the village]]
[[2. Sarabi decides to sleep off all the excitement]]**Lone Wolf (Matt)**
The breath was hissing through Sarabi’s front teeth, her legs were aching furiously now, and it was all she could do to simply keep them straight. Though the door-frame was fast about her midsection, it offered little, if any support. After a few minutes, the larger-than-life feline thought about struggling once again, but her leg muscles, atrophied from lack of use, and exhausted from over-exertion could offer only a token amount of strength. This was the longest time yet that she had spent on her feet and she desperately needed rest. If only someone would come, thought the former queen, I’d take anyone, please!
As Sarabi gave her distress call once more, around the corner of a nearby hut, she thought she saw something move. She wasn’t completely sure for the shape had stopped moving, and her night eyes, while excellent at detecting movement, were much poorer at color differentiation and resolution. Her eyes locked on to it when it moved again, right towards her. The immense lioness naturally braced herself, but inside she wished the shape all haste, she would have taken anyone’s help at that moment.
As Sarabi watched, the shape revealed itself to be a dog. Great, the immense cat thought, just what she didn't need, an idiot dog laughing at her and her predicament. There was nothing she could do about it though, she knew, for even if she were free she'd have neither the speed nor endurance to chase the canine, and as she was now, even moving was beyond her.
Noticing that the dog didn't seem to be willing to get closer, she said to it, "are you going to come and help me, or are you just stand there gawping?"
The dog didn't seem to take this abruptness well though, "hey, it's hot my fault you got stuck in the door, and besides, I wasn't gawping, just enjoying the spectacle."
"You like seeing other animals suffer do you," Sarabi asked, unable to keep a slightly vitriolic edge out of her voice.
"Listen girl," the dog replied, “Us dogs all know how much you're getting, and some of it's coming from our dinners, so if you're looking for sympathy, look elsewhere."
Sarabi felt both affronted and ashamed at the dog's statement, affronted at his tone, at the fact that he could speak so rudely to her, but ashamed at the fact that she hadn't been able to control her own tone. She was also getting desperate, and so had to make a decision, ask this lone hound to try to help her, or call for help and hope someone else heard, someone more useful than the brusque canine before her.
1. Plead with the dog for help
2. Call for help again**The Girl-Child (Shalion)**
Resting was nice after such an ordeal, but Sarabi had plans for the evening and, looking at the state of the door, she knew that if she didn’t get to where she wanted now, she might not have the chance again. The lioness began the labour of getting to her feet. First she rolled over onto her stomach, feeling the broken planks under her gut shift, and then she placed all four paws on the ground. She walked her upper body up with her front paws, actually doing very little in terms of parting skin from the ground and then came the part where she leaned forward. The delicate balance was struck, but Sarabi had done this enough times that she felt confident, sure she wasn’t going to fall even though she was not on the most stable of surfaces.
The human child watched the process with avid fascination. She ran up to Sarabi once she was on her feet and smacked her taut, round, bulging flank open handed like a drum, laughing all the while. Sarabi felt a bit miffed at being treated like a child’s plaything, but then the girl was very young and more, she had helped her from a situation that the lioness certainly couldn’t have handled herself. But what if, at the edge of the savanna, Sarabi decided she wanted to leave the village for good? The girl-child would be a liability then and with the door broken as it was, the lioness was not at all sure she wanted to remain and see the humans’ reaction herself...
[[1. Keep the girl]]
[[2. Send her away]]**In The Morning... (Shalion)**
Sarabi was so exhausted after the whole affair that she decided to scrap her plans for exploring the savanna for tonight. With a whole goat swelling her gut and making her turbid, suddenly just relaxing and taking a night off seemed like a fine idea. In fact, the lioness didn’t even bother moving her huge mass back inside the holy house, instead sleeping on the porch; never mind the broken planks under her belly. Sarabi yawned and looked up at the bright, shining heavens, sleeping under the stars seemed like a good compromise after all the trouble she had to deal with.
Though Sarabi remembered the human girl laying quietly on her vast belly when falling asleep, she was gone the following morning. However, that little fact did not bear heavily on the big cat’s mind for when she woke, she had quite a few other problems to think about.
As could be easily imagined, even by the corpulent feline, the villagers did not take the sundering of the door to the public holy house well. It was the combination of rising voices which finally roused the heavily slumbering lioness. Eyes blinking wearily against the brightening eastern horizon, the lioness gave a great yawn and scratched a hind leg against a portion of her vast belly it was still able to reach; although the paw accomplished little save to jostle the cat’s meaty abdomen. As soon as she stirred, the cat heard, “Goddess Oshun is awake!”
Sarabi’s eyes opened fully as the previous night’s dilemma came bubbling up to the surface. She looked around where she lay and everywhere was met with wide staring eyes. She swallowed, but the motion was invisible through her many layers of neck fat. Jeez... I wonder what they’re going to do... thought the fattened feline nervously.
1. They build a new, bigger door
[[2. They lock her in the house]]**Special Bond (Shalion)**
The rotund feline tilted her head in thought as she considered the little human juvenile who was happily alternating between rubbing her palms ups and down Sarabi's round, bulging flanks and pressing her whole face and chest as hard as she could into the soft, tawny-coated belly. As cute as she might have been, and despite her help, she was a liability. Considering her present state, the girl-child could hardly slow her down despite being so young, but truth be told, Sarabi could hardly defend herself. What if harm came to the child while in her presence? But looking at that little human stroking her massively obese form, so obviously enjoying it almost as much as Sarabi enjoyed it herself, the big cat could not help but feel a certain connection between them.
The girl had been grooming Sarabi's wide, round body since she had arrived months ago. If not for her and her sister, Sarabi's fur would be in a state of complete disrepair since the heavily obese feline could not reach to clean herself anywhere aside from her front paws, chest and a little of her shoulders. She owed the little girl, not only for the assistance she had rendered tonight with her cleverness, but for the care she had engendered over the past several months. How could Sarabi repay all that by sending her away when the girl so obviously wanted to be with her? Well, it's just for tonight. Sarabi mollified herself, She seems clever and capable and I only planned on going to the edge of the village... But looking at the broken doors of the holy house behind her, the spoiled feline was reminded that her situation might drastically change come the dawn. But still...
Sarabi looked down at the little girl stroking her massive flank containing the heaping treasures that her people had been showering on her since being pulled from the pit trap. She sighed, "Do you want to come on a walk with me?" she purred despite knowing that her words would be non-sense for the human child. The girl giggled and rubbed even harder, going as far as to press her face against the luscious softness of Sarabi's hide. "Fat Kitty!" she exclaimed. Smiling, Sarabi gave the girl a rough, but affectionate lick across the face which the human immediately rubbed off on her wrist and forearm, laughing still harder.
The bloated cat turned, careful not to bowl over the little human with her great bulk and stepped gingerly across the creaking and groaning planks making up the porch of the holy house. A plank bent and then gave way entirely with a crack under the feline's phenomenal weight almost causing her to stumble. Sarabi caught herself and was filled with a slightly embarrassed hubris that her weight had become so great as to break the sturdy planks under her. Rather than being horrified, however, Sarabi felt instead pride that her enormous size was imposing itself on the world (and herself) in more and more drastic ways. Looking down into the eyes of the child, the fattened cat saw not just humor, but a glimmer of something stronger, something shared between the great cat and the tiny child. The child didn't just laugh at the incident (though she certainly did do that as well), she too took pride in the fact that Sarabi had reached a weight where she could break wooden planks just by stepping on them.
All of a sudden, Sarabi felt as if a bond formed between them, intangible yet indelible. Something at the heart of both of them was the same despite the great differences between them. Suddenly Sarabi felt as close to this human child as she would have if she were her own cub. The girl-child threw her arms around Sarabi's fat clogged neck and the big cat purred as she waddled heavily through the village.
[[1. Keep going to the edge of the village]]
2. Stop and try to find out more about the girl**Send Her Away (Shalion)**
The rotund feline tilted her head in thought as she considered the little human juvenile who was happily alternating between rubbing her palms ups and down Sarabi's round, bulging flanks and pressing her whole face and chest as hard as she could into the soft, tawny-coated belly. As cute as she might have been, and despite her help, she was a liability. Considering her present state, the girl-child could hardly slow her down despite being so young, but truth be told, Sarabi could hardly defend herself. What if harm came to the child while in her presence? The humans might think that she did it and goddess or no, these people were just as fiercely protective of their young as any lion pride. No, too much could go wrong, not even considering the fact that she might not want to come back to the holy house and she certainly had no intention of kidnapping the girl and bringing her along on the sure-to-be extremely dangerous journey back to the Pridelands.
Sarabi nosed her away while turning the bulk of her body away from her; under her feet, the bamboo planks creaked and groaned. The big cat flashed her fangs at the girl, sure it would frighten her away, but the immature human just continued to look up at her with those big, round eyes. Sarabi huffed in frustration. She growled out the words in the lions' tongue, "Go on, you little brat. Go back to your house. I don't want you around here tonight!"
There, now tears leaked down from the corners of the girl's eyes and she ran down the opposite side of the platform hands covering her face. Sarabi should have been glad her little display had worked, but instead she felt a vague hollowness at the pit of her gargantuan stomach that had nothing to do with hunger. Frowning slightly, Sarabi grunted as she heaved her belly to the right to start the pendulous motion of her heavy waddle. Aside from another plank breaking under her weight as she descended the steps from the holy house, and of course, her heavy, slightly wheezing breath, she moved quietly through the huts all around, intent on getting herself to the edge of the village and to the edge of her eventual freedom at long last.
1. Some local dogs appear at the edge of the village
2. Sarabi encounters someone else coming in from the Savanna**House Arrest (Shalion)**
Sarabi had more than enough time to dwell on the events of that morning the rest of the day and for quite a long time afterwards as well. The obese lioness, on one hand resented her current condition, but on the other could not help but appreciate the chieftain’s handling of what might have been a messy situation both politically and in reality.
Sarabi’s understanding of the humans’ superstitions was limited at best, but she had managed to pick up on enough to understand the murmurs being passed around the crowd at the sight of her enormous form laying in front of doors that looked to have been blasted asunder. They were worried about the Goddess’s displeasure at her treatment or some other unrelated sin; the human mind’s capability to connect far off events was astounding. Of course, her caretakers, including the chieftain, who understood her needs as an actual lion and interacted with her on a daily basis knew that a large, carnivorous cat, even one worshiped as a goddess, escaping her enclosure was very bad in and of itself. The dramatic way in which she had done so was even more potentially damaging politically. Apparently no one had any idea that she had received assistance during the night.
Sarabi rested her head on her paws. Yes, the chieftain had reacted swiftly and decisively, downplaying any possibility that the goddess was upset with them as a people while at the same time promising even richer accommodations for the lioness. As the great cat belched, having nearly a whole calf tucked away inside of her, she decided that the leader of the humans had indeed kept up that part of the bargain. Of course, he and his aides had done their best to usher Sarabi back into the holy house as quickly as possible.
After an extravagant feast full of deliciously fattening dishes that forced even the spoiled feline to take notice, Sarabi was left alone... well not quite alone actually. A man stood in the corner of the holy house still after all the others had gone and Sarabi could only assume his function was to watch the goddess’s physical form and make sure it didn’t get into any more trouble. Sarabi could hardly see the point since the humans had now boarded up the old entrance at the front of the house and now entered through an opening made by removing a couple planks in the side of the building. That opening was hardly wide enough to admit Sarabi’s neck at this point. The fattened cat sighed and toyed with the dangling bits under her chin. Her plan to seek more freedom for herself had resulted in the loss of almost everything she had gained since her recovery and subsequent self-rehabilitation. Sarabi rolled over slowly, letting her bulk flow and spread across the floor. Her enormous meal was making her sleepy, she needed to sleep some of it off before the pilgrims were allowed to give their offerings this evening...
1. The little girl releases Sarabi at night
[[2. Sarabi gets even fatter!]]**Where I Belong (Shalion)**
Sarabi’s great mass pressed deep paw marks into the dirt as she waddled between the huts which made up the village. This was no idle stroll for the great cat despite the presence of the little laughing girl besides her, however. Sarabi had to concentrate on her walking as it still did not come naturally to her and each step was tangibly exhaustive on the heavy cat’s limited reserves. Walking even to the edge of the village remained an act of desperation by a feline so heavy and obese that she could just barely support her own body’s weight. She knew that only by exercising and testing her limits could she hope to escape permanent captivity, but still the effort involved was uncomfortable and Sarabi found that her tolerance for discomfort (when it came to exerting herself anyways) had grown exceedingly thin over the past few months of complete luxury.
Sarabi had, in her nightly excursions, walked out in all directions from the holy house at one time or another. The village easily the largest in the whole region, however, and with Sarabi’s physical handicap, she hadn’t yet been able to make it outside the dense clustering of human-made shelters, though more than once she had caught sight of the wide flatlands which lay beyond the land which man had tamed and dominated. Sarabi took the shortest route possible where the huts were smaller and less closely packed together. Still, by the time the savanna came into view under the light of the moon and stars, the fattened cat was panting... hard and the pads of her feet ached under her own oppressive weight. She let her legs fold quickly under her and her great belly struck the floor with an audible thump. Sarabi felt the wave ride all around her body from the impact, up the fat padding her rounded, plump back and back, even in her heavy, jowly cheeks. She sloshed a bit on the ground, but was still after a few seconds.
Sarabi paid little attention to how her magnificent body behaved, however, her attention was held in thrall by the sight of the savanna under the night sky. Two huts bordered the panoramic view and to either side were constructed pens for holding goats; these all shied away to the furthest corners of their enclosures at the presence of the great huntress. Ahead of Sarabi stretched a landscape which was fairly desolate, not nearly as green and prosperous at the Pridelands, but it was recognizably Home. For months, Sarabi had been confined to small, enclosed spaces, heavily decorated with everything touched by the hands of men. Here was the wider world, untouched by man, Sarabi had almost forgotten about the wild, feral beauty of it and that part of her which yearned for it; which yearned for freedom. Sarabi wept at the sight of the savanna. The little girl near her embraced the large cat and for once was not laughing. That which was holy to Sarabi lay before her and the obese cat felt shame for having forgotten that in her zeal to obtain everything which was held from her back in the Pridelands.
Sarabi had to return home, but the breath still caught in her throat... it took so long for her to catch her breath nowadays and it did not take much for her to lose it in the first place. Sarabi was dangerously out of shape. How could she hope to cross the trackless miles between her and home? The heavy cat cocked her head. But how could she return to being little more than a living statue for people to whom her health and quality of life were second at best to the size of her gut after having seen the place where she belonged?
Just then, the little girl at her neck squeezed much tighter, almost until it hurt. Her eyes were round with fear as she looked out blindly into the night. Sarabi, however was able to see what was coming...
[[1. It's a pack of local dogs]]
2. Someone from the Pridelands**How Much Is Too Much? (Shalion)**
Sarabi writhed in pain on the solid wooden planking of the floor under her. Her stomach felt like it was about to split open and yet the man in front of her still was shoving bits of cooked meat under her nose. Sitting on his knees in front of her massive, prone body, the man in luscious silk robes was a pilgrim from some faraway land and probably fairly wealthy from the relatively clean smell of his skin. He wore a slightly panicked expression on his face as he tried and failed to get the Goddess Oshun to accept any more of his offering of almost a dozen cooked chickens. Sarabi could understand the man's fear that he would not be blessed with prosperity, but it was hard to feel pity with one's stomach fit to burst. The lard-filled lion was well acquainted with virtually all forms of stomach pain by this point, but with three rich traders visiting in one day, too much was too much. Still, Sarabi had never before failed to accept at least most of a pilgrim's offering before. With all the chicken carcasses steaming behind the man, he would think her refusal to eat not only a lack of blessing, but perhaps a sign of imminent disaster as well. But there was no way she could even take one more bite let alone all those additional chickens.
Sarabi belched and closed her eyes ignoring as the man waved the greasy chicken flesh in front of her nose, even trying to put it into her mouth. She only barely resisted relieving the man of one of his fingers and spit out the meat onto the floor. Crying out in horror, the man fled the building through the new, slender side door. Sarabi felt awful for the man, but she could not dwell on the fact that he thought himself cursed because of some fool human notions. Her breath came shallowly as her engorged stomach pressed on her diaphragm. The larger her stomach capacity grew, the less well it seemed she was able to breathe when she was filled up completely. Sometimes, Sarabi worried that she might eat so much that she'd scarcely be able to breathe at all.
Nor was that her only concern these days. She hadn't seen the outside of the lavish holy house since being locked in that night. How long ago was it? Sarabi could hardly tell as the holy house was dimly lit day and night; she saw the sun only through the curtained portal in the side of the building. Time wasn't the only thing slipping from her, sometimes she thought she was slowly losing her mind through the constant deluge of fattening food that left her belly straining to contain a new feast every night. Her hopes of rehabilitation and fleeing the village to find her family waiting for her back in the Pridelands seemed like an idle fancy now, when she even took the time to recall her previous life. Most of the day now was consumed with being Goddess Oshun, playing the part, or perhaps something more...
Was she Goddess Oshun? That was something she was considering more and more nowadays. What was a goddess anyways? Someone people worshiped? paid tribute to? who gave blessings? Sarabi did all these things. In fact, as she felt her weight pressing down on her, she remembered momentarily that that was most of what she was capable of doing now as well. The huge cat was fatter than she had ever imagined herself and yet there seemed no end in sight as her body continued to swell out of control. Wasn't there a limit to how fat someone could get? Sarabi didn't know.
A while later, Sarabi experienced one of the increasingly frequent cramps that plagued her due to her inactivity. It was as good an excuse as any to get up and walk a couple steps to a different sleeping area against one of the walls of the wooden hut; she liked leaning against the wall as she slept on her broad back. Even that was getting harder and harder as time went on though, and tonight, with a stomach as close to bursting as she'd ever had, she found...
1. ...even the few steps to the wall were almost too much
[[2. ...even getting up was impossible]]**The Locals (Shalion)**
Sarabi sat up as the dark shapes slinked out from around one of the huts before her. Their paws moved lightly over the bare earth the only noise that betrayed them was the rasp of weeds against their paws and their quiet pants. The great cat did not feel overly afraid, the group approached from upwind and in plain sight of her – obviously they did not intend to make prey of her, though the pungent odor of unwashed canines made the more sensible cat wrinkle her nose – but she felt her heart’s pace quicken as dogs came right towards her, a fully grown lioness, with no trace of fear or hesitation among them.
She saw quickly that these were not wild dogs of the savanna with their mottled coats of black, tan and white. Though her eyes were not attuned to distinguishing color, she could see that most of the pack was of a single solid color, probably brown or tan; sometimes they would have a splash of white on their chests, but that was the limit of the complexity of their colorations. ‘Likely these are local village dogs.’ Thought Sarabi, though the identification gave her no comfort as the pack easily surrounded the big cat and her tiny companion who was not even as large as one of the smaller female mongrels. Knowing her limitations, the fattened feline did not even attempt to prevent the group’s formation around her, best to save her strength, she thought, but she did not like the pack’s boldness one bit. The girl-child, having finally seen their assailants with her weak human eyes, turned her head away from the glowing eyes shining all around her and buried her face in a fatty clump behind Sarabi’s shoulder.
The lioness could not guess at what the intentions of the pack were. Isolated as she was, she had only known about the dogs through their scent and their incessant barking. Now that she thought about it, she found it strange that she had never encountered one of the domestic canines before on one of her evening walks. Her face hardened slightly, it was possible that they had been actively avoiding her the entire time, possibly even spying on her without her knowledge.
The dogs did not waste time with idle intimidation, though the faces surrounding Sarabi were hard and fearless, even a little haughty, perhaps even... angry? Despite obviously being at a disadvantage, the lioness held her head up high as one of the larger males broke from the circle and approached her. By his scent, she could tell he was the Alpha of the assembly. Sarabi sat before him with both feet under her, though it was more comfortable to let them splay out to allow more room for her belly. As a result, her belly pressed her front legs outwards around the swell of white fur protruding from between them and making a second large lump under her already prodigious chest. She was a little more unstable, but she didn’t want to appear too at ease and it would shave a few seconds off the time it would take her to stand if she had to. Right then, Sarabi really wished she could just get up, but she daren’t take her attention off the dog in front of her even for a moment. The little whimper of fear from the girl-child beside her put the great cat even more on edge.
After a long moment of staring at each other, the lead dog finally spoke.
[[1. The dogs want to prevent Sarabi from leaving the village]]
2. The dogs want Sarabi to bring food to them in exchange for her freedom**Too Fat To Rise (too much free time)**
...To her detriment that even just the 'simple' act of rising was all but impossible. Trying to baby her over-bloated gut as she struggled, Sarabi wasn't paying quite as much attention as she should have been, and so didn't realize until too late the slightly wrong placement of her still slightly weaker hind leg. Overbalanced, the former queen's immense mass brought her to earth, with a wet thud - bad enough in itself - right on her too-full stomach. Unfortunately, the colossal cat couldn't give real voice to her agony, as her stomach had expanded laterally for a moment with the impact, squeezing the air from her lungs, so that all that came out was a low husky growl. The impact also brought a wave of nausea, making the 'goddess' want to bring up the day's food, but she fought the urge, the impact has left her breathing heavily, and she was all to afraid of inhaling a morsel.
Waiting until she had got her breath back and the pain had subsided a little, Sarabi tried once again to stand, this time paying a little less respect to her stomach and a bit more to her stance, but, no, she could feel, soon enough, her once-broken rear leg beginning to go, and so, slowly lower herself to the floor once again. So this was it, she thought moodily, one too many larger meals and she, once a queen - and once a powerful hunter as well - was reduced to a gluttonous, immobile house-cat.
Still, Sarabi thought, sleeping with her back to the wall was better than sleeping out here in the middle of the room, and so she tried to move forward in a way that didn't involve standing, but it was of little use, no matter how she tried, she could move no more than inches before something caught her out. Feeling like weeping, the immense cat lay back down and cradled her got, alternately cursing and consecrating the organ which had ultimately led her to this life of plenty, and was now trapping her here in this mindless existence of eating and sleeping.
After a few minutes, Sarabi struggled as much as she could, turning her mass into a rippling pond of jiggling fat, fighting against her weight in a desperate attempt to stand but it was all in vain. She continued doing this for a long time before her actions caused her lethargic body to tire out and pull her into sleep, where her dreams of being fat quickly devolved into nightmares of it going too far.
[[1. Watch her nightmare]]
[[2. The pilgrim returns to make the goddess eat]]**Barred Departure (Shalion)**
"What are you doing here, Wide-load?" asked the dog brusquely.
Having lived for the past several months a life built on pomp and ceremony, the dog's manner offended Sarabi's developed sense of refinement and she twitched her whiskers in irritation. “I’m taking a little fresh air. What is it to you and your little pack?” Sarabi asked without her voice quavering in the slightest. The little girl at her side buried her face into the large cat’s bulging shoulder fat.
The Alpha growled softly at Sarabi’s haughty dismissal. Whatever religious fabrications the humans had made about the lioness’s divine nature, they had obviously not shared them with their dogs. He was quiet for a long moment and Sarabi almost thought that he was trying to punish her with his rude male stench; her whiskers twitched again as she waited for a response. As if she hadn’t said anything previously, the Alpha commanded, “Why don’t you go back to your little shrine and stuff your fat gob some more?” More than a few of the other hounds snickered, “The savanna isn’t a kind place for soft tubs like you.”
The dog was harsh and authoritative, and he assumed Sarabi was ignorant, something which deeply ruffled her feathers. But was it the truth? Sarabi did in fact know relatively little about what went on outside of the holy house. What could this dog know that she didn’t? Still, he was being extremely rude and uppity for just a small canine and the words tumbled out of Sarabi’s mouth before she completely thought them through. “The Savanna is my home! Unlike any of you mongrels I was born and raised there without any humans around and I’ll return home whenever it suits me.”
Sarabi puffed out her chest more, but it didn’t have quite the impact she was looking for as the surrounding eyes simply lit up with amusement at her little speech. “Oh that’s a good one.” Said the Alpha, half laughing himself, “You... in the wilderness? Ha!” Now he actually broke into several moments of real laughed, but when his gaze returned, it was dead on, “You wouldn’t last a day out there, and if you really think so, then the fat must already be invading your brain. They always get a little crazy near the end from being so big, or so they say.”
Sarabi raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about.” She demanded more than asked.
“Heh, heh... she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know!” The Alpha called to his comrades and a near racket of laughter arose out of all of them; the dogs were starting to remind her of hyenas, but their laughter was uncontrollable whereas the dogs’ was insulting and purely at her expense. After the Alpha had calmed down enough to speak once more he said, “Look, seeing as you’re way too fat to get away now. I guess I can tell you.” It was clear from his eyes that his revelation was meant to be anything but beneficial for Sarabi, “Every decade or so, one of the villages will come across some fat critter such as yourself and proclaim it to be the God of Prosperity or some other non-sense. That unlucky bastard then gets fed and fed until it’s too fat to move, and eventually, too fat to live. They have a huge celebration of the return of Goddess Oshun to the heavens, parading the huge body around the village and then they skin it and burn the body. They say the fat can burn for a week, you already look like you could last four or fiv-”
The dog didn’t finish what he was saying because Sarabi lashed out with her paw. But her reach was minimal since her heavy bottom kept her firmly planted on the turf. The dog danced away effortlessly, more entertained by Sarabi’s attack than angered. The Alpha spoke again, “So just go on back to your little life of luxury while it lasts. And eat up! We mutts get to feast on charred gristle once your fat presses the life out of you for good!”
Sarabi thought she’d never felt so angry in her life, nor so confused. Where was she to place her anger, at the dogs for enlightening her or at her human captors? But no, Sarabi couldn’t let herself give in to blind hatred. It was perfectly possible that the dog was lying. Think Sarabi, what reasons could he have for lying? Was he trying to goad her into attempting an escape or really threatening her from it? The pack was thickest to her left and right, thinner ahead towards the savanna, but no one was blocking her retreat into the village. All of the dogs were thin, but not starved. Her food had to come from somewhere after all, right? Would the dogs receive extra rations should she try a fool hearty escape? She didn’t know, there was too much missing information. Why hadn’t she at least tried to learn more about where she was instead of just happily stuffing her face all these months? Sarabi wished for at least one face she could trust in this unfamiliar world. But the seconds were slipping through her paws; her whole life might balance on what she decided...
[[1. The Alpha's lying]]
[[2. The Alpha's telling the truth]]**Watch Her Nightmare (too much free time)**
Sarabi tossed and turned in her sleep as best as her grossly overweight body would allow. Sweat matting in her fur as her cruel reality became even crueler nightmare.
-------
Sarabi was in the hut. The girl running a brush through her fur slowly and creating the most relaxing of sensations when suddenly.
BAM
The door flung open and the hut quickly began to fill with humans, each carrying a ridiculously full tray of food. Cattle by the herd, fowl by the dozen and much, much more. They chanted in whispers. Just loud enough for the bulging lioness to hear.
"Fatter...fatter...fatter."
They began to close in on her, pushing the girl away as they drew nearer and nearer. They began lifting food off the trays and aiming for her mouth.
"Fatter...fatter...fatter."
Sarabi couldn't move from the spot, and much to her horror her maw stretched open against her will, growing wider and wider until it was three times what should be possible.
"Fatter...fatter...fatter."
Then the glutting started.
Food 'literally' poured into her. A dozen different flavors exploded in her mouth at once as the humans arms blurred in supernaturally fast motion, picking up food and shoving it down her throat, only a morsel at a time, but at lightning speed. The platters never diminishing one crumb.
"Fatter...fatter...fatter."
Sarabi was helpless under the onslaught. She could feel herself grow already under it. Her sides widening and spreading over the floor. Her stomach already debilitatingly grew and grew pushing her up further from the ground. Her jowls hanging down farther and farther. She gained pound after pound with every breath, every blink and neither the feast nor the growth showed any sign of stopping.
"Fatter...fatter...fatter."
Their reach for her mouth gradually went from down to up, and her paws were left to dangle uselessly at the sides of her hippo sized stomach, her blubber almost completely covering the floor and pressing against the walls. Some started climbing up to reach her mouth.
She'd never felt this full before. Her stomach felt like it was full to capacity, to bursting even. She didn't know how much more she could stand. The walls started to bow out and her head was close to being crushed against the ceiling, all of which was ignored by the humans.
"Fatter...fatter!...fatter!"
Ugggghhh. I...can't...eat...any more... Her thoughts weakened under the increasing pain of fullness. Her sides pressed ever harder against the walls which began to crack, one board at a time.
"fatter!"
No...more.
"FATTER!"
...please... One more morsel and...
"FATTER!!"
Blam!
1. Sarabi was jolted from her nightmare, to be greeted by her next meal
2. Sarabi was jolted from her nightmare, to be greeted by a frightening scene**The Cost Of Prosperity (Shalion)**
Sarabi awoke from her nap not realizing that she had passed out and fallen asleep from her vain efforts to lift her enormous bulk properly off the ground. She still felt a little nauseous from overstuffing herself, but more than that, being well over four times her proper weight, she didn’t feel 100% in general; and, she realized, she hadn’t in a long time. Her head pounded with her rapid heartbeat; her unremembered dreams had been frightening and filled invariably with the sensation of slow suffocation. The fact that she still had so much weight on her chest even while awake did not help in her recovery.
It was then that Sarabi heard the sound that she figured must have awoken her in the first place. It was a relatively loud thump not unlike a branch hitting a full, meaty gourd. Then the would-be goddess heard the scuffling of feet outside and grunts of effort. Suddenly the upper body of one of the guards placed outside the entrance to her shrine emerged from behind the heavy curtain separating her from the mortal world outside. He slammed heavy on the floor, lower body obscured by the curtain. He had time to look with panic and fear towards the goddess he was charged to protect before another man came from behind the curtain and sat on the guard’s chest. A swift strike from a short sap to the side of the guard’s head silenced him before he could shout an alarm. Sarabi noticed that the sounds of conflict from outside had ended as well and her sickeningly full stomach dropped a few notches in fear.
Four men all dressed in black garments from their ankles to their covered faces entered the room almost as quietly as a cat (well a properly fed one, that is). Behind them followed the traveler from earlier, the last one who she had refused offerings from. He was now dressed in black as well, and behind him followed a fifth guard. The pilgrim grinned like a hyena when he laid eyes on the prone form of Sarabi. Under his greedy eyes, she felt more helpless than she had when she had been a months-old cub in the savanna.
Two of the men stood silently to either side of the lioness whose girth was now taking up almost half of the width of the entire room. The traveler nodded to one of the men and almost before she knew what was happening, Sarabi felt a heavy hand laid on her shoulder and then a weight on her broad, fatty shoulders. The man had vaulted effortlessly onto her, and he sat behind her head with legs straddling either side of her wide, creased neck. He squeezed the Goddess Oshun like she was nothing so much as an extra wide horse and then dared to lean forward and grab Sarabi’s head with both hands. Held from under the chin, he lifted her head up. The lioness fought, but nothing she did produced much more than quaking in the rest of her body and she could not buck the man off of her. Her neck was strong, but the man was strong also and had the advantage of leverage. Sarabi’s eyes grew wide as she realized she was living the fear that she had possessed in the Pridelands, but had long since died in her captivity; the fear of men doing evil things to her.
The traveler now held a strange looking horn in his hand. It was larger around than a typical hunting horn and more bizarrely, it was made from leather. Something unpleasant shone in the man’s eyes as he moved toward her. “The Goddess will accept my offering.” He said under his breath, “The House of Raul will be the most prosperous and feared house from the Nile to Zimbabwe.” The man raised the horn, narrow end first, towards her immobilized head and even faced with life-threatening fear, Sarabi could only shift herself back a few inches across the smooth, bamboo floor. The man laughed at her feeble efforts and continued forward.
[[1. Sarabi is paralyzed by fear]]
2. Sarabi roars, alerting others to her distress**Pants On Fire (Shalion)**
Despite the proof that her own sagging, distended belly provided, Sarabi knew that there had to be more to the story than what the Alpha was telling her. If he really didn't want her to leave why tell her anything at all? He must have something to gain by leading her towards making a rash escape. There were dogs between her and the savanna, but the line in front of her was the thinnest of all, if he really wanted to bar her from freedom, he would have put the whole pack ahead of her rather than surrounding her and spreading his pack so thin. No, it all stank of subterfuge.
The whole goat shoved unmercifully into her straining stomach was making her torpid, sapping her energy, but Sarabi stood up again, nonetheless. Softly glowing eyes watched her huge round belly lift itself from the ground, the skin tight with the lioness's rapid weight gain. This is what they really want. thought Sarabi triumphantly, They want all the bounty that's been showered on me and withheld from them. They're jealous inside, even if they hate the sight of me, they're really jealous.
It was labour to get up since her paws were still aching from the walk to the edge of the village and by the time she had finished, she was panting softly again. So dreadfully out of shape was this once proud queen of the Pridelands. She stared down into the Alpha's eyes and he looked back unaffected, though everyone, including himself, had taken a more limber stance when the great lioness rose. The human girl-child clung to her fatty hide like a nit, and although Sarabi felt strangely protective of her at the moment, this wasn't her fight. It was time to...
[[1. ...Call the Alpha's bluff]]
2. ...Leave**Truthiness (Shalion)**
If this canine was lying, he was a superb actor, Thought Sarabi, Especially how all the others join in so naturally. This, combined with the fact that everything that she had experienced since being proclaimed a goddess correlated well with the dog's story, led Sarabi to believe that the dog was, in fact telling her the truth.
Sarabi eyed the dogs surrounding her warily, the feel of the girl at her side squeezing pathetically at her flab was even more palpable as well. Were they really trying to stop her from leaving the village? Naturally Sarabi didn't think they could stop her if she really tried; she probably weighed more than all of the assembly put together. But what would she do alone in the savanna, unable to hunt, half lame... ? But equally how could she stay here with humans who planned to fatten her relentlessly until her choices were literally stripped from her? Then there was the little girl hugging her bulging shoulder. She'd have to head back into the village to return her first otherwise take her into the wilderness with her, something almost as fool-hearty as going by herself.
Dogs growled and showed their teeth as Sarabi got laboriously to her heavy, still aching paws. Her belly dropped down past her ankles, pink and round and plump with her rapid growth, she was literally as wide as a pregnant cow; just one of her meaty flanks would probably feed this whole pack for a week. With eyes trained on her soft, vulnerable form, the dogs around her suddenly didn't seem so domestic after all. But Sarabi had had enough of their arrogance, she started walking...
1. ...towards the savanna
2. ...back into the village**A New Sarabi (Shalion)**
As much as she tried, Sarabi could not muster the will to do anything but look up at the man in uncomprehending fear, and in that moment, Sarabi knew she had become a different cat. The old Sarabi would have done something, anything, to save herself, but the new Sarabi, this so-called Goddess Oshun was a coddled, spoiled beast, so used to having her life run by others that now she was simply paralyzed not only by her weight but by her uncertainty. What could Sarabi have done with her massive, barely mobile body one might ask? Well the fattened lioness would never know, for the moment and the decision were quickly taken from her.
The rough leather tube was shoved unmercifully down Sarabi's throat while at the same time two men to either side of her shoved wooden supports between her teeth so she could not bite down; the man behind her broad head, which was framed by the fat of her neck, eliminated the majority of her primal, uncoordinated struggles and held her still while her mouth was immobilized...just like the rest of her. In her blind fear, Sarabi did not understand the purpose for the procedure until the man behind the pilgrim handed him the large jug which the pilgrim then took and upended over the open portion of the horn occupying Sarabi's mouth. Liquefied chicken began to flow in a torrent down Sarabi's gullet while the pilgrim chanted a prayer for the everlasting prosperity of the house of Raul. Understanding finally bloomed in Sarabi's mind, but for the goddess it was far too late.
Tears flowed down either side of Sarabi's snout as she choked down the cold, liquid chicken. Sarabi was already stuffed beyond the point which she would have voluntarily eaten - while her stomach was easily double its original size, the food the she-cat had gorged upon during the day had left it already overfull - but this process was hardly voluntary, and so she swallowed the broth, simply for the fear that not doing so would result in the torrent quickly backing up and choking her.
Sarabi was deeply familiar with the pain welling up deep within her belly, but as the large jug emptied into her, the pain became greater than she had ever known. The cat’s breath rasped in her nose as she struggled to take in air without choking on the broth being forcefully poured into her. While, the pain of her stretched stomach walls was great, more dangerous was the pressure she felt on her diaphragm, as her stomach filled and expanded inexorably, taking up more of her abdominal cavity and increasing the pressure on all her other organs, her lungs especially. The morbidly obese cat now wanted to do something she had never before desired even after an especially large and painful meal; she wanted to vomit, but she was denied even this avenue of reducing the pressure on her diaphragm for the broth continued to rush non-stop into her throat.
Finally, the jug emptied and Sarabi’s head was allowed to tilt forward slightly. She was drooling out the sides of her mouth from the apparatus between her teeth and left over slurry was allowed to run down her bloated chest. Even though now she was in no danger of choking, Sarabi could not seem to make her stomach muscles cooperate despite the pain of her belly and the deadly pressure. Her eyes half lidded with the exhaustion of trying to breath against the great pressure in her stomach, Sarabi looked up at the man who was responsible for her pain, but received nothing back but cold examination.
“Good, the antiemetic seems to be working,” said the pilgrim quietly, “get the next jug.”
Sarabi’s eyes widened in horror. Surely another jug would kill her, her breathing was already so shallow she was beginning to feel weak and dizzy. Her eyes turned as she heard a high-pitched scream. There in the doorway was her little helper girl, the brush she had been holding lying on the floor. Sarabi’s eyes lit up in hope as she turned and fled, still yelling her little lungs out.
1. The pilgrim and his guards flee
[[2. The pilgrim and his guards take Sarabi hostage]]**Call His Bluff (Shalion)**
The Alpha of the pack of dogs looked up at Sarabi’s much larger head defiantly, not acceding to her will despite her own much greater size even as she stared hotly down at him. It was time to end this charade for good or ill. “I think your full of hot air.” Said the huge lioness with a frown.
The Alpha brushed her off, “The only one full of anything around here is you.” The other’s began their chorus of laughter, but it was cut off by a ferocious snarl from the tubby lard-cat.
“Your lies stink almost as bad as your flea infested hide!” Sarabi was done playing around, she was determined to have answers or to have blood. She took a step forward and surprisingly, the dogs gave way under her smoldering gaze. “You want me to try to escape don’t you?” Sarabi glanced at the largish dog searchingly, but his stony expression gave away nothing. “You think you’ll get extra food when I’m gone, is that it?” Even Sarabi herself didn’t know how much she was bluffing at this point. Her blood was up, but her heart was banging in her ears, it’d been a long time since she was this stimulated, she wasn’t used to it.
“We know we’ll get extra food when your sorry, lumpy ass is gone.” Said the Alpha mockingly, but if there were more jokes on his tongue, he didn’t voice them as he stared down the huge, carnivorous cat. This time when Sarabi took another step forward, nobody backed up. “I don’t care if you believe me or not.” Said the Alpha, now exposing his fangs, “But there’s no mystery about what will happen if you don’t turn your fat behind around and go back into the village... right now.”
At last, the moment of truth. The situation was boiled down to its most basic essence. Intrigue dropped away and Sarabi was left with the simple, omnipresent choice:
[[1. Fight]]
2. Flight**Hostage Situation (Shalion)**
Sarabi’s personal groomer, who was still howling outside as she made double time to her father’s hut, was none other than the chief’s daughter, and his favorite at that. Her blood curdling scream was as much a town alert as her father’s own battle cry. Men from the surrounding huts leaped from bed, pouring out the doors, often naked, grabbing the spears that were always set by the door in case of emergencies such as this. It took no more than two minutes for twenty warriors to assemble in the large public space outside Sarabi’s shrine. The chief, would bring even more of the village’s men in short order.
The panic on the face of the pilgrim was obvious. He let go of the horn he had used to brutally force feed the great cat and it felt to the floor, still dribbling the disgusting emulsion of liquid chicken. The sounds of voices from outside was obvious and every man in the holy house knew that not only were they trapped inside, all too briefly, this moment of confusion would pass and the village warriors would pour into the room by the dozen to protect the goddess they had so cherished for the past several months. Sarabi might have purred if she wasn’t so concentrated on simply breathing with her constricted diaphragm. Blessedly, the second jar they had intended on forcing into her straining stomach sat forgotten on the floor.
The man to the pilgrim’s right spoke quietly into his ear, but Sarabi’s keen ears picked up the words, “Master, we should pry beam from the opposite wall and make our escape.”
The strain on the pilgrim’s face was obvious. What had supposed to have been a purely supernatural matter had turning into something with all too real, all too deadly consequences. One had the credit the human his gall; he did not want to leave his work unfinished.
The wooden blocks between Sarabi’s teeth prevented her from biting down, but as the man sitting on her shoulders inadvertently slackened his grip on her jaw, Sarabi realized she had an opportunity. Having experienced directly the consequences of indecision, the heavily obese lioness leaped at the first possibility that came to mind, impulsively so even.
She opened her mouth into the slack in the man’s hands and the wooden blocks promptly fell out of her chops where they’d been wedged. Before the man sitting on the broad, fatty pad behind her head could react, she whipped her head to the side and caught his left hand by the wrist. She bit down, felt bones breaking under her powerful jaws and tasted fresh, living blood for the first time in a year. Her captor pushed cruelly at Sarabi’s face with his free hand, but her attack had the desired effect; he screamed uncontrollably, all the while trying to free his mangled hand.
Triumph flooded Sarabi’s prideful, feline mind as men with spears rushed into the room with enough force to tear the heavy curtain free from the portal. She wasn’t able to bask long in her own accomplishment, however, for immediately, she felt the edge of a blade at the crease between her first chin and the huge protruding wad of flesh that was her second. The pilgrim held a small blade to Sarabi’s neck and looked at the warriors with grim determination. Looking down at the hard, alien surface of the metal weapon, something which Sarabi had never seen before, the lioness almost felt like she would have preferred the horn again.
[[1. The Pilgrim demands escort back to his country, with Sarabi in tow]]
2. The Pilgrim will have Sarabi carried out of the village, then escape**A Big Problem (new)**
Considering her size - and as a result, the difficulty she had with simply moving - fighting with a pack of ultra fit dogs should have been out of question for the obese lioness. But all of sudden Sarabi's pride returned, and despite her huge handicap she felt ready for a fight.
The pack, some 15 dogs in all, surrounded Sarabi and the girl, with the alpha positioning himself in front of the bloated lioness, "well, ya going back fatty?"
"No," Sarabi replied, and swung at the alpha with her right paw. She was too slow though, and the dog was able to easily dodge the blow. Sensing trouble, the young girl ducked and rolled under the lioness's low belly, hoping that it would prove a safe place to hide. With war declared in the unsuccessful strike, the rest of the pack now closed in, worrying at the lioness's fatty flanks and rear, but being careful to get out of the way as the obese cat turned - at an almost leisurely rate - in a vain effort to brink her paws and claws to bear on her attackers.
For all that Sarabi's extra weight hindered her movement though, it also helped her greatly, for the dogs could not bite through the blubbery barrier to reach her vitals, and even when they punctured the skin, her arteries were so fat-clogged that blood only seeped out rather than flowed. This immunity had obviously occurred to at least on of the dogs, for it soon stopped biting uselessly at the lioness's loaded flank, and began instead trying to burrow its way through her neck rolls.
It took Sarabi a moment to realize the assault, but when she did, she moved quickly - or as quickly as her immense weight would allow - to stop it. The dog, its muzzle half-buried in the lioness's neck rolls was too slow to react when it realized what was happening, and so was borne to the ground and held there by a heavy paw on its ribcage. Looking down at her quarry, the immense cat felt a touch of pride as she recognized the downed dog, it was the alpha. Imploringly, the dog looked up at her for a moment, and had the situation been different she might have been taken in by the pleading expression, but, no, not now. Instead, she put a little weight on the paw, and then a little more, and more, and more.
If Sarabi had thought that killing the alpha would would dampen the other dogs' spirits she was sorely mistaken, for rather than cowing down at the crack of their leader's ribs, they only intensified their attacks. As the dogs became more vicious in their attacks, the little girl sheltering beneath the massive lioness became more worried, this hiding place was looking less safe by the moment, and so looked for an escape route. Finding a likely route, she made a quick prayer to her gods, well, her other gods, and then, moving as fast as she could, managed to push her way between a couple of dogs who were otherwise engaged with their much larger quarry.
The fight was still young as far as the dogs were concerned, but the continued exertion was quickly exhausting the obese big-cat, and this, combined with the dog's increasingly savage attacks was beginning to bring doubt to Sarabi about her own ability to go on.
1. The dogs begin to get the upper hand
[[2. Sarabi wins by herself]]**A Long Journey (Shalion)**
Sarabi sighed heavily as her flanks and back wobbled from the motion under her. The sun beat down unmercifully on the barren landscape, but her caretakers, considerate to her well being and comfort as always, had erected an extra large canopy over the massive platform which supported her accumulated bulk. The would-be goddess did, in fact, enjoy being outside for the first time since being moved to the village, the air was sweet on her tongue despite being tinged with the sweat of men and beast alike, and the sunshine seemed to revitalize her senses which had seemed to dull in her long, uninteresting confinement indoors. She might have said the jaunt was long overdue if not for the man sitting beside her on the platform, short blade exposed and ready to end her life at a moment’s notice.
Being held hostage at knife’s point had terrified Sarabi more than anything else she could remember. The sheer helplessness she felt with her huge, useless body had been a palpable presence in the room, bigger than the man with the knife, bigger even than Sarabi herself. She wished and wished for things to just stop, so much so, that she was paralyzed once more, just like she was before the feeding horn; only her fat laden heart retained any momentum, beating even faster than its normal, overly quick pace. Of course, the leader of the village soon appeared and the humans spent a lengthy amount of time in discussion of terms, all the while, the deadly blade at Sarabi’s throat dug dangerously into her soft neck meat. As far as Sarabi could follow, her captors wanted safe passage to their homeland, but were naturally wary of the chief honoring his side of the bargain. A compromise was eventually reached, and it was much to the over-fattened cat’s detriment.
To hold the village warriors to their word, it was agreed that Sarabi herself would make the trek to the pilgrim’s homeland, under guard by one of the foreigners at all times. In return a whole convoy of warriors was arranged that was soon expanded further by eager merchants as well as simple adventurers. As was probably intended by the chief all along, the whole affair quickly took on a more jovial attitude... at least for everyone but Sarabi. All wasn’t to the chief’s liking, however, as his oldest daughter, one of Sarabi’s trusted personal groomers, insisted on being allowed to join the convoy. He resisted, but had to eventually relent under the logic that he was already trusting the village’s most valuable object, the Goddess of Prosperity herself, to the success of the mission; he probably hoped this adventure would satisfy the pre-teen’s rebellious streak and quench her desire to see more of the outside world. It had taken the better part of a week, but eventually all of the supplies and beasts were gathered and the convoy was ready to head out. By that time, Sarabi had already gotten used to sleeping under the watchful eye of a man with a knife.
Moving from her shrine was the most problematic part of the preparations. One whole side of her large hut had to be disassembled, which in turn required that a portion of the thatch roof be taken down – a more complicated affair than one might think. That task alone was begun before dawn and was only finished late in the afternoon and by then, her litter, the one on which she would be presumably spending the entirety of the journey both forwards and back, had already been fashioned as well as the team of no less than ten strong, barebacked men who would bear her impressive weight. While Sarabi was still capable of sliding her huge, furry belly and chest slowly along the smooth bamboo floor of her hut, the villagers annoyingly all acted as if she were completely immobile. She protested – weakly – as ropes were laid around her girth at chest, waist and hips; something that required being rolled embarrassingly around on the floor onto the ropes. That indignity was followed by being dragged laterally along the smoothed bamboo floor and onto the porch which surrounded the house on all sides. Men chanted as they hauled on the ropes, four strong men at the end of each loop. She was jostled and dragged, the ropes cutting into her pampered flesh, a total distance of about 30 feet onto the royal litter. She yowled and complained, and bit at the ropes the whole time because the entire affair was ridiculous. She was confident that she could have gotten herself onto the litter, if properly motivated of course, in no more than twice the amount of time it took for her to be hauled aboard like no more than an extremely heavy package. Despite not helping at all in the proceedings, Sarabi was exhausted as the ropes were removed and her bulk was shifted more gently into the center of the litter. She was actually more tired than she ever remembered being, her head swam with the exhaustion of a day more full of activity than the previous several months combined. Just looking at the sweating humans seemed to drain her non-existent reserves. The hugely obese cat was not unaware of the evidence of her diminishing health and general well-being, but that did not stop her from accepting all of the last minute offerings from the locals before she departed the following morning; they turned out to be quite extensive and helped her forget for a time, the man in black clothing who was always hovering over her shoulder to ensure the cooperation of the villagers.
And just like that, they were on their way. The motion of the eight men carrying her – the remaining two took rotating shifts with the rest of the men – was slight, but still caused in Sarabi slight nausea after spending so long on still surfaces. While it was nice being outside, Sarabi could not shake the opinion that the whole affair was stupid. Her villagers should have just taken the first opportunity to overpower her single guard and been down with the whole thing. Petty human politics with faraway places didn’t matter to her. As far as she was concerned, she was being put at risk for no good reason for the benefit of people who could have easily killed her through their over-zealous supernatural subterfuge. She took a few breaths to steady herself. The fresh air was good for her and the scents were stimulating, but she was undergoing more stress than she had become accustomed to in her sheltered little hut; her heart was beating too fast – well faster than normal – and she had heart burn. As the miles ticked slowly by and the sunlight hours vanished one by one and her symptoms did not let up, Sarabi hoped she was not too far gone to be unable to handle even being carried through the savanna.
[[1. Sarabi's symptoms worsen]]
[[2. Sarabi finds it hard to cope with her reduced rations]]**Fighting Wild Cat (Shalion)**
This must be how a hippopotamus feels. thought Sarabi as she huffed and shifted her massive weight, allowing her to stretch out with a claw and catch an unfortunate hound from the group who were pressing close to her great, bloated form. Her claws raked three great tracks down the thigh of the animal which then began to bleed profusely. She reached out with the same paw, she needed three legs to support her bulk and couldn't shift her weight very quickly, but missed and the group dispersed, going to her unguarded flanks. Or at least they looked unguarded. The dense fat was incredibly thick and protected her from almost every angle. The dog's were light and agile, but she was all but invulnerable to their insufficient teeth and jaw strength, meanwhile, she possessed enough strength and weight to easily crush or rend a canine when she was lucky enough to catch one. Under her paws, the Alpha, who had charged her so recklessly, had had his rib cage crushed in and now lay struggling to breathe on the side of the road where she'd tossed his body.
She felt the pinching bites on both of her flanks and shook herself violently before turning her great body to face more aggressors. Her breath came ragged, but she persevered, fuels by rage and indignation that these tiny creatures should think themselves equal to her. She'd prove to them how wrong they were. Their only real hope of success was to wear her down, and while that was certainly a possibility, she wasn't of any mind to let that happen. She drew in a deep breath and forced it out quickly to steady herself. She smelled blood on the air, both hers and the canines'. Warm trickles of blood tracked down her flanks and rump where the dogs had occasionally managed to break the skin, but the wounds were only superficial. The dogs danced around her like leaves... There!
Seeing an opportunity, Sarabi lurched forward awkwardly - much easier now that she didn't have to worry about the village girl hiding in the scant room under her low draping belly - taking a couple big steps forward with her forepaws and adding speed to the strike by stepping off with her left hindpaw. She almost fell, but managed to come down on the dog who she'd caught earlier on the haunch. He was limping, and couldn't move fast enough. The spotted dog, more than half wild in terms of domestication, like all the rest, could not hope to withstand the more than thousand pounds of force of Sarabi's feeble hop-pounce. He died instantly... and messily. The sight of gore on Sarabi's claws and the death rattle of their Alpha nearby in the dust of the road seemed to take most of the fight out of the dogs. Sarabi, breathing erratically, and more than a little light-headed, lunged again and the remaining dogs scattered as best they could with their injuries. Sarabi finally collapsed onto the bare dirt road, her chest heaving and heart heart pounding in her ears. She was eternally thankful that the canines didn't know how close they had come to running her down. She swallowed and coughed up a thin clear mucus. 'I am... really out of shape...' she admitted. This, bizarrely, elicited a throaty laugh from her which shook her entire engorged frame. She had to stop though, in a fit of coughing and resume her panting, re-oxygenating the vast stores of fat her body contained.
Ahead the open Savanna waited for her and there was finally nothing to stop her from leaving... perhaps for good. She turned her head, thick neck forming rolls from her chin to her ears, and looked back to the village. It might be a good idea to make a clean escape before her little helper returned, undoubtedly with additional humans who might prove problematic. Her long pink tongue rolled out the side of her snout, hot and pink in the savanna air. If only it didn't take her so blasted long to catch her breath! Just a few more... minutes... All the time, Sarabi's grossly fattened form joggled back and forth from shoulders to rump, a giant tan colored sausage packed full of her rich meats, stained here and there by thin streaks of red from the fighting. The only thing quick moving were her eyes on the more than one-thousand pound lioness.
[[1. Sarabi escapes into the savanna alone]]
2. Sarabi waits for the little girl**Sick In The Savanna (Shalion)**
The sun overhead was like a blinding fiery eye both too bright and unbearable hot. Sarabi panted, eyes closed against the brightness despite the tent over the litter having been sealed like a cave. Several days out from the village, fears of sudden betrayal had lapsed to the point where the man garbed in black now fanned her heaving form diligently instead of holding a knife over it. Even that, however wasn’t enough. Sarabi was sick and she knew it, but despite feeling terrible, it was in a vague, all over sort of way that she had never experienced before.
It had started that first night. Her heavy, fat laden heart thudded in her head, making it impossible to sleep. She was always too aware of her surroundings, always too alert, always hyped up with no way of using that pent up energy. By the second night, she was worn thin, she couldn’t sleep, she was always panting, and her chest felt like it had a stone block on it. The humans were oblivious until she stopped taking her ration, however small and inadequate it was compared to her normal feasts; her belly was churning way too much to even consider eating. Of course, she wasn’t used to not eating and soon, not only was her stomach upset, she was hungry at the same time and that only made her more irritable and restless. This amazing journey had turned into a living hell for Sarabi; though it was only a hell because her bloated, coddled body couldn’t bear the strain of so much change and stress in so short a time.
The caravan could only travel a few more days before the herbalist threw up his hands and said that none of his potions had any affect in providing relief for the suffering feline. His only suggestion was stopping and waiting to see if the lack of movement would help Goddess Oshun cope with the stress of the mortal world. And so Sarabi felt her body slosh forward, causing her shoulders to devour her ears temporarily and brush against her round, sagging jowls, as the litter was lowered to the ground. From the sounds of things, Sarabi was placed a fair distance from the large camp. The man in black was asked to leave for Sarabi’s sake. Given the distance from the village, it was not surprising that he agreed – being cooped up with a feverishly ill lioness was not particularly pleasant for the human either – but only on the condition that he be allowed to stand guard outside and with only one other warrior. After that, it was soon quieter than it had been since Sarabi had left the village.
The top vents of the tent were left open, letting the cool night air brush its light fingers against her round cheeks. It was blessedly chill, but could do nothing to touch her furnace-like core through the ocean of fat in which she constantly waded. At its heart, Sarabi could tell that her illness originated from her body being so brutally overburdened; she was well over four lionesses now but still had only two lungs, not eight, and but a single, invaluable heart. It was no wonder how hard she was taking just being outside and traveling after existing so long in a sheltered shrine. Add to that the circumstances of her sudden departure and... Stop it Sarabi! she scolded herself. Just try to relax... But it was hard when her body would not cooperate. And she was so tired...
[[1. Sarabi's groomer offers some comfort]]
2. Sarabi crawls half delirious into the savanna**So Hungry... (Shalion)**
Sarabi fidgeted, sheathing and unsheathing her claws; she couldn’t keep still. The whole world seemed composed of sharp edges that wore away at her sense of calm and contentment until there was nothing left. She wanted to bite and tear, but there was nothing in reach save the floor of the litter – very smooth and unappealing – and her own doughy flesh. Of course, these were the only things in reach because she was so outrageously obese she could hardly manage to stand on a still, level surface. Given the way the litter constantly swayed and bucked on the shoulders of the eight strong men supporting her incredible bulk, movement, other than crawling, was out of the question. It wasn’t like there was any place she could go either; the litter was only little larger than her earthbound profile. About a foot forward or back, not even that to either side, that was all of Sarabi’s traversable space unless she wanted to suffer a nasty fall which could easily break any of her limbs – including her neck – at her weight, and then be stranded on the side of the road.
Ugh... thinking about her predicament didn’t help with her irritableness in the slightest. The thing which put her in such a sour mood grumbled and churned painfully deep inside her once again. They had given her food that morning and despite the sun having just past its zenith, the morbidly obese cat felt like her stomach was going to rip a howling, gale force hole inside the bowls of her mountainous body. She clutched her massive, distended gut with pathetically inadequate front and hind paws; she couldn’t even touch them anymore for the vastness of the round, sagging tan furred dome between them. The pangs hit her hard like waves, equal parts pain and longing and she could not help but moan pitifully.
It would have been so much better if she could have blamed her pain on negligent humans, but no, they attended her still as dutifully as ever they had in the village. She received rations of raw meat twice daily from feed animals that were butchered once every three or four days. She was still able to recall that her portions would have been considered extremely generous for a normal lioness, especially considering that she did not have to get up and run down the beast herself, and furthermore, she was fed not only every single day, but twice daily. She should have had absolutely nothing to complain about, but then, Sarabi, as she was constantly discovering anew, was a new cat altogether.
Her belly, which had been regularly conscripted to hold quantities of meat suitable for a whole pride of lions, had grown out of all normal proportions. If it had been possible to peer through her feet deep layers of adipose, it would have looked like a huge wrinkled sac, folding in on itself multiple times all the while occupying the same amount of space that her previously full stomach would have; expanded, Sarabi’s supreme organ of gluttony would have dwarfed all her other organs, moving them aside like an elephant moves aside all other creatures until nearly all of her abdominal cavity from left to right was filled with the fuel to expand her grossly distended body still further. Thus, while she more than enough meat to sustain her and her more than half ton reservoir of living fat, her less than extraordinary portions hardly registered in her organ which was more used to straining to its limits to contain preposterous quantities of food.
Eventually, the pangs faded, at least for now and Sarabi stopped clenching her massive abdomen. She was vaguely aware that she was too fat for her own good, perhaps even fatter than she actually wanted. But at that moment, she would have done anything for a whole calf or perhaps a small goat with half a dozen chickens on the side. She needed her outrageous, but accustomed portions, even if it meant she’d keep on growing, even if it meant she’d become double her present size. But that was the gist of the problem as well, for Sarabi was beyond having any means of collecting food herself. She was completely dependent on humans for a variety of functions that she used to take for granted. She could only take what was given and that was that.
[[1. Sarabi finds a way of getting more food for herself]]
2. Sarabi learns to cope with smaller rations**Escape (new)**
The savannah laid before Sarabi while behind her the village was still deep in sleep, and now that the dogs - and her tiny human companion - had fled, there was nothing to stop once again being free. Well, nothing but her own corpulent body anyway.
Sarabi had grown accustomed to just eating and resting and eating again, which, over time, had resulted in her current weight of more than a thousand pounds, almost twice as heavy as the heaviest of lions. Unfortunately for the immense lioness, this expectation of a sedentary lifestyle was not going to help her out on the savannah, her immense weight made hunting impossible, and if she were to meet with danger, she'd have very little chance of running from it.
In fact, as Sarabi continued the rest - oh what a time it took to just catch her breath these days - the thought occurred to her that just moving around out here would be a great struggle, let alone doing anything more energetic. Her only hope, so she thought, was to reach Pride Rock, but then even there, she remembered the cold way the other pride sisters had treated her, and back then she hadn't been even half as big as she was now... No, no Pride Rock was a distant memory now, she'd not be welcome there, even if she were ever to find it again, so now she had to make a different decision, return to the the humans, and there probably continue to grow until she was little more than blob, or seek her liberty out in the savannah.
For a few moments, it looked as though her wishes of comfort would win, but another look around the savannah decided the matter, she was Sarabi, a lion, a queen, not some toy and idol of man, and she would make her own way in life, not let her fate be decided by some superstitious - but admittedly resourceful - beasts. With this thought, the huge lioness arose, though it was a struggle, and after a moment's pause set out away from the village. The obese cat hadn't gone far though, when she heard shouting behind her, and quickened her pace just a little. Still not yet fully recovered from the fight, she felt as though she were about to collapse in exhaustion, but if the humans were to find her... With this though hanging in the back of her mind she forced herself to continue, determined to escape forever the village of men, and the the immobile blob she was sure they would otherwise make of her.
Soon enough though, Sarabi's strength was drained, and she was about ready to collapse, despite the danger of being found by the humans. Just as she was about to flop down, utterly exhausted, the immense lioness spotted just a little way ahead a pile of rock that looked big enough to hide her huge form. With one last effort of will the big cat forced herself on, and had no sooner made her way behind the rocks than she collapsed, her muscles on fire from the exertion. Had it been daylight, she might have seen the sky darken as exhaustion took her, but here in the black night she was only aware of her gasping lungs and racing heart, and then not even these as her exertions caught up with her and she fainted.
It took a long time, but eventually Sarabi's exhausted faint turned into real, deep sleep. The lioness's sleep wouldn't last forever of course, but tonight, her slumber would be cut even shorter than she expected, for she was awoken later that night. For a moment, confusion took her as she sought to understand what had pulled her from her restful slumber.
[[1. Hunger pangs]]
[[2. An intruder]]**The Royal Treatment (Shalion)**
Red veins stained the yellow irises of Sarabi’s eyes as she turned her head wearily to the sounds of human feet in the dirt approaching from the main encampment. The lioness’s heavy head lowered onto her fat filled, protruding chest as she listened to the visitor hold a conversation with her two guards outside the entry flap to her huge, comfortable tent. The great cat recognized the high pitched, female voice, but her sluggish, exhausted mind didn’t actually catch up to what her senses were telling her until the flap opened to admit a small, human half pint who also happened to be the eldest of the chief’s two daughters. The girl had a large, stiff brush in one hand and a piteous expression on her face.
About time. Thought Sarabi irritably, It’s been three whole days since she last gave me a proper bath. She cocked her head to the side, sinking her chin deeper into her own brisket and groaned. While it was true she had several itches that she couldn’t possibly hope to reach by herself scattered about her extensive hide, it was her pounding head and exhaustive awareness that were really troubling her. Despite Sarabi’s less than charitable mood, however, the girl simply smiled and went about her taxing, tedious task.
Sarabi lay on her left side, so the girl-child started by drawing the stiff brush down her right flank. Even on her side, Sarabi was round, the great dome of her flank rising high over her shoulders, the highest point slightly lower than the divide between her front and rear halves. From the great round dome, her back fell away steeply into a shallow roll – speaking of Sarabi’s spine or ribs at this point would have been laughable – towards her belly, the slope was more gradual. Sarabi’s gut or undercarriage to be more precise turned her whole side profile into a huge, slightly irregular rectangle with belly hanging just a few degrees lower than her chest. The encroaching fat devoured her shoulders until it appeared that her paws jutted out from a lumpy, uneven mass of cellulite which bulged past the elbow. Her belly was more generous, simply covering her left leg past the ankle with soft, pink, scantily furred fat.
The brush was an almost hypnotic sensation, shoulder to hip, shoulder to hip. The girl-child drew down the brush again and again, a motion which required the movement of her whole body due to her small size. If the girl didn’t hold her fat with her free hand, the stiff brush would draw down the plump, fatty skin of the spoiled feline as she pulled; it would snap back like a rubber band every time she lifted the brush. Every so often, the girl would pause to pull away loose fur tangled with dirt and small insects from the brush; Sarabi loathed these parts and longed for the girl to resume her ministrations. Slowly, so slowly since there was so very much of Sarabi, the girl moved down from Sarabi’s flanks to where her ribs should have been to the underside of her belly.
The tautness of Sarabi’s skin developed as a result of her rapid expansion meant that most of her under belly showed even while on her side. The huge, smooth surface curved gently, and down from the top of her, the flesh was actually quite firm, not as dense as muscle perhaps, but more than enough so that the human groomer did not have to hold down Sarabi’s skin with her free hand to pull the brush down her body. Her skin had been so tight across her belly, in fact, that it had actually curved inwards a little before it met the ground like a sphere. Now however, with Sarabi’s lack of appetite, there was more slack in her hide as she ‘wasted’ slightly. However, at this stage, shedding a few pounds just made her look – and feel – even fatter. The girl child first crouched and then got on her hands and knees to pull the brush down Sarabi’s expansive belly. It had been over an hour since the girl had arrived and yet she had only brushed Sarabi’s torso from shoulder to the middle of her belly. The cat waited for the girl to continue to her back, or perhaps she would work on her forequarters next... At any rate, Sarabi eagerly looked forward to the sponge bath which would follow. She didn’t even notice that her heart rate had slowed and her head had ceased its pounding as the girl got up to continue her labor.
1. Move on to the back
[[2. Brush the forequarters]]**Choices... Choices... (Shalion)**
Sarabi heaved her upper body up onto her elbows. She could feel the weight on them despite the fact that most of her fatty, bovine-like chest still remained piled up on the floor in front of her like unfired dough. She wiggled the digits of her front paws a little in thought after she shoved them under the meaty slab; she could feel the motion of her paws under the vast weight of the solid mass of lard that was her brisket. Reminding herself that she did, in fact, like this helped calm her storming mind. Her objective was simple: to get more food. But she had a limited amount of tools and skills at hand. Sarabi, however was a resourceful cat at heart. She knew she'd think of something.
1. Sarabi coaxed her grooming girl to fetch her more food
2. Sarabi thinks of another plan**A Hungry Queen (new)**
It was quite late in the night, close to dawn perhaps, when some noise startled Sarabi from her sleep. As she slowly woke up, the lioness felt her legs are aching from the exertion of her escape into the savannah. Nevertheless, it was not the pain that woke her up, rather it was a strange gurgling noise that had awoken her. As she became more aware of the environment the obese cat suddenly realized a truth, the sound was nothing but her immense stomachs's call for more food, a realization backed up by the wave of hunger than washed over her.
The hunger surprised Sarabi for a few moments, she had eaten a full goat and a few other small animals just a few hours back, she shouldn't be feeling hungry nearly so soon as this. After a little thought though she realized that the fight with the dogs and escaping into the savannah has brought on her morning's hunger unusually soon. Now that she understood what was going on, the huge lioness began to plan her next course of action. Not only was she tired, but the time spent in the human village had made her lazy, she was far more accustomed to having food brought to her now than to going and getting it herself, and for just a few moments she considered actually returning to the village. The obese cat quickly quashed the thought, that was exactly what she run away to escape from, no she'd just have to put up with the pangs until morning, when at least she'd have a clearer idea of what she was up against out her.
Eventually morning came, though, and brought with it the sunlight and the heat that gradually awakened Sarabi a second time in the wilderness. For a while, the immense lioness was content to bask in the new day's glow, but eventually her stomach announced its presence, and its emptiness, and forced her, reluctantly to rise, and attempt to do something about it. Looking out over the savannah in daylight, the huge cat was surprised to see the huge number and variety of animals grazing, last night it had looked barren, a dark plain populated with nothing more than dry grass.
Now, of course, Sarabi had a decision to make, she could go out and prowl the savannah, or head into the jungle to see what mysteries that offered. At first she was tempted to head out onto the savannah, but quickly decided against it, her body was too too big to be hidden by even the largest patch of the longest grass, and besides, the sun, once a gentle warmth on her hide was beginning to get to hot for her to be comfortable with, and so she headed instead into the jungle. For a short while the lioness wondered how such a lush green place could exist so close to the equally abundant but much dryer savannah, before realizing that the jungle must be fed by some river, a big one perhaps, and of course where you got rivers, or any standing water for that matter, you got animals, and to the cat, other animals meant one thing, food.
Of course, Sarabi found moving through the jungle no easier - and often harder - than moving over the savannah, for the ground seemed quite soft to her, and quite muddy, and in a lot of places there were logs barring her way. Some of the logs, the rotten ones, gave way beneath her, but others didn't, forcing her to track around them, for her size made it impossible to go over them. The heat may not have been as intense as out on the savannah, but as the lioness quickly discovered, the air, thick and moist, held the heat much better than the dry air of the savannah, and she was forced to stop any rest more regularly than she'd expected to. Eventually though, after some hours, the big cat stumbled across a water hole, and by now almost delirious with thirst, she collapsed on the shallow bank and dipped hear head down to the water lapping furiously at the clear, liquid in an attempt to slake her thirst.
It took Sarabi some time to drink her fill, and by the time she'd done it she was feeling drained and hungry. For a while there was very little movement around the water hole, but then the lioness spotted something...
1. A herd of zebra coming for a drink
[[2. A gaggle of gazelle coming for a drink]]**Intruder (Shalion)**
Coming awake from a heavy and dreamless slumber was like having having cold water splashed in her face. Sarabi felt her heart racing and more than a little light headed as she sometimes did when awakening in the middle of the night nowadays. The first thing she was aware of were the aches and pains in all four of her limbs from her frantic escape into the savanna the previous evening. However, she did not think that it was the pain in her legs that had awakened her...
She lifted her head, but only an inch or two because her neck, somehow, was also sore and her abundant neck fat - she had tended to put quite a lot of weight on her neck and chest - got in the way. It was still dark out and Sarabi felt like she had simply passed out rather than actually gone to sleep; thinking back on it later, she probably did. Behind her between her and the direction she'd come lay the shelter of rock jutting from the earth. The night was not yet over, but Sarabi felt that she had at least an even chance of not being found hiding behind the mass of stone. The night was alive with the sound of small nocturnal creatures going about their own circles of life and death, preying and being preyed. And yet she felt uneasy, the huge mass of the whole goat still digesting in her belly turning and feeling sour within her. What had awoken her?
A couple pebbles fell from higher up on the stone and Sarabi's head whipped around, fat or no. Fat rolls pressing uncomfortably against her cheek, she began realigning her upper body, rotating her shoulders with her forepaws even as she saw the outline of the rock change against the starry sky. Something had dove for cover. She was not alone.
It was then that Sarabi felt fear. How foolish I've been! she wailed in her mind even as she searched the dark surface of the bare rock, trying to muster every iota of resolution out of her night eyes, Not even one day has past before something is stalking me and my three and a half lionesses. Damnit, where is it? Her eyes, better at detecting movement than detail, picked out flashes here and there, but the shape was clever at hiding and not nearly as large as something like another lion or even a jackal. Sarabi started getting to her feet. Whatever it was was not going to have her with out a fight.
...Oh but it took so long to rise, longer even than usual because her limbs were stiff and sore. Facing the array of stone with her rump towards the green edge of the jungle not far away, Sarabi was caught as she was trying to straighten out her hind-legs and lift her massive hindquarters off the ground...
[[1. It's a curious young gazelle]]
[[2. It's a vulture]]**Head And Shoulders (Shalion)**
The human child went about her work with a tireless ease that should have put shame to the huge fattened cat whose fat laden heart could barely handle being carried about outdoors. Sarabi, however, was much too busy enjoying the sensation of being groomed to make comparisons between herself and the girl, or really make comparisons in general. Now the girl was brushing her shoulders. It was a more difficult task that it initially sounds because Sarabi’s shoulders were composed of great lumpy mounds of cellulite which have grown up over the large muscles and hid their original shape entirely from view. While smooth mounds were not terribly difficult to brush in long strokes down the grain of the fur, the skin devolved into rampant, creased sacs of flab where Sarabi’s torso hungrily devoured her upper right foreleg.
A heavy sac of limp flesh hung over the outside of the leg and had to be lifted up and brushed – thoroughly due to the inaccessibility of the region, mind – both on top and underneath. To the fore and aft of the limb which was slowing being absorbed into the lioness’s torso, there were myriads of creases like spider webs which radiated out into the sac hanging over the upper limb and into the surrounding flab. A lot of these creases travel under other bulges in Sarabi’s flesh, and everywhere, Sarabi had to have her bulges pried apart and cleaned because dirt and parasites had a particular habit of finding their way into those tight, airless places. One time, the girl-child found a nest of ticks buried deep in her should fat where they feasted on her succulent meats; she winced as the human girl pulled them free one by one with her clever fingers and then crushed them under the heel of her foot.
Just one shoulder and the related foreleg took another forty minutes due to the complexity and depth of the fatty tissue. Sarabi was glad that she wasn’t forced to clean it herself, she imagined it was quite a tiresome chore.
The girl worked her way up, seemingly intent on getting all of Sarabi’s right side done before moving back down again on the other side. Her stiff, horse hair brush was now tawny with Sarabi’s extracted hairs. Having done already enough skin area for almost two lions, it was looking a little worse for wear and yet Sarabi wasn’t even half clean yet. The lioness sported an impressive and regal collection of neck rolls. They piled up behind her head as her fat-filled shoulders pushed their way forward as they grew. The whole span of skin which had covered her neck previously was compressed to about half the length as her shoulders and chest grew outwards, submerging much of her neck. The result was an amazing looseness and elasticity despite the allocation of vast quantities of heavy adipose which Sarabi felt weighing down her head and remaining neck at all times. While the rolls behind her ears were as firm and solid as packed sausages, to the sides, the firmness disintegrated. Rolls formed and reformed depending on how Sarabi held her head, usually only the vaguest of lines visibly traveled from up top to the rolls that sat primply on her brisket.
The girl first had to brush out the fur. This she did by grabbing a handful of golden fur and pulling upwards, straightening out the rolls and holding the skin tight enough for brushing. However, there was no denying that the rolls all were extremely heavy and the girl was fairly drenched in sweat by the time she had made it all around Sarabi’s fat filled collar. The great cat watched patiently all the while, keeping still, occasionally closing her eyes just to enjoy the experience. Sometimes, but not often, she would reward her little grooming assistant with a purr of satisfaction. What followed was more cosmetic than hygiene.
There was a great deal of friction between all those rolls, and the ones which were supported by brisket meat were not set in stone. Sarabi’s assistant took a good deal of time grabbing the limb fat and skin and pulled out the rolls, shifting the skin for maximum comfort and presentation. She made sure that the bigger rolls were on the bottom and followed by smaller and smaller ones so that they were all visible. She even took the time to make them as even as possible, though for some reason Sarabi didn’t know, her third, fourth and fifth rolls had a tendency to fold and fuse over one another and had to be fixed constantly.
“Oh, Goddess Oshun, I know you are not feeling well, but know that you are as impressive and beautiful as ever you were.” The sound of the girl’s voice surprised Sarabi as she usually worked in silence. She blinked open her eyes and looked up at the girl whose hands were still tangled in her dangling neck fat. Except just now she wasn’t working. She was hugging some of Sarabi’s flab close to her, rubbing the soft fur against her cheek. Sarabi felt a dampness on her skin in the vague sort of way information came to her from her outlying regions. Was the girl crying? “I don’t know why I wanted to come, Goddess Oshun.” The girl whispered softly as she dabbed her cheek with more loose skin, “I miss my home, I miss my father and he told me not to come! Now you are unwell and it’s all because of these men…” The girl took a harsh sob, but at least did not wipe her nose on Sarabi’s recently groomed fur. It had been a long time since Sarabi had thought about anyone else but herself and her own goals and satisfaction. But just now, her heart went out to this girl who worked so hard to maintain Sarabi’s glorious coat and who was so sad. She had to do something, but what could she do?
1. Try licking her face
[[2. Try talking to her]]**Gazelles (new)**
Sarabi was sitting in the shade trying to keep as cool as possible. Unfortunately, the heat of the jungle was far from the immense lioness's only problem, for her empty stomach was churning regularly, making her feel restless and uncomfortable, did nothing ever visit this damed waterhole?! Suddenly, a sound from the waterhole caught her attention, and desperate to have something to focus on other than the cavernous pit of her stomach, she listened attentively, hoping to figure out just what was going on.
Focussing, Sarabi heard a rustling on the opposite bank, though what was causing the rustling she couldn't tell, for the grass between her and the waterhole was too thick to see through. Not that it mattered what was making the noise the bloated lioness had to admit, for sound meant movement, movement meant life, and life...well life meant food didn't it, she was a predator wasn't she.
Of course, thought Sarabi ruefully as she slowly dragged herself to her feet, she wasn't much of a predator now, more or a spoiled pet. Nevertheless, the lioness's hunger was insatiable, and the mere thought of a meal so close was causing her to drool. Once she was up, the former queen, the former, hah, hunter, waddled her ponderous bulk forward until she'd parted enough of the grass before her to see her prey.
Sarabi almost groaned when she saw the herd of gazelles, they were tiny, she could eat two, even three, in a sitting. Besides, catching them would be impossible, for they were small and fleet-of-foot, while she, she was the size of a hippo, and lacked the wallowers' inherent...hah, to think that a lioness would ever call a hippo 'graceful'. Nevertheless, the former queen's appetite was insatiable, and so, doing the best to ignoring the constant churning of her stomach, she tried to think of a way of claiming perhaps one or two of the gazelles.
Eventually, an idea came to Sarabi, and so, lowering her bulk carefully to the ground, she rolled over onto her side, and began to groan lowly, hoping to attract the attention of the herd.
[[1. Some of the gazelles come over]]
2. The gazelle's stay away**Curious Youngster (new)**
As Sarabi struggled to lift her massive backside off the ground the intruder showed itself, and the obese lioness relaxed a little when it turned out to be not a predator, but merely a young gazelle, though it was obvious that the little creature was having a little more trouble identifying her species. Of course, while the gazelle was hardly dangerous, that didn't mean that the immense cat was entirely okay with the curious new arrival, and in fact was beginning to find the young antelope's inquisitive gaze quite irritating. Finally, unable to take it any longer, she asked, "what are you looking at?"
"Oh, I-I'm sorry," the young gazelle said, "I didn't mean any offense, I was just trying to figure out precisely what you are."
"Well it's no concern of yours," Sarabi replied, "but as it turns out, I'm a lioness."
"A lioness," the young gazelle asked, "you're joking right, you're far too fat to be a lioness, you're a hippo, I'm sure of it."
"Well would you like to come over for a closer look then," Sarabi asked, barely keeping control of her anger. What was this waif of a, a grazer doing questioning her?
"I, don't know," the young gazelle said, just a touch nervous, "I'm not sure I trust you."
"Oh come now," Sarabi said, managing to sound almost jovial, "surely you can't be worried about a big, fat old hippo like me being able to outrun a sprightly young thing like you."
"No, of course not," the young gazelle said, and then to Sarabi's cruel delight proceeded to step closer and closer, until it was within striking distance. She was angry with the gazelle, very angry, but she wasn't hungry, and this made all the difference because she had long ago sworn to kill only to eat or to protect herself or her family, and so while she was angry at the young antelope, the fact that it was neither a menace nor a meal saved it from a killing blow.
The young gazelle had been examining Sarabi's bloated for when something, perhaps the light in the massive beings eyes, or the shape of the head, or something else, but the little antelope suddenly realized that this was indeed a lioness, and the fact that it was far more fat than cat did nothing to quell the racial fears that suddenly welled up within its slender body and froze it to the spot, "y-y-you're..."
"Ah, so you do recognize what I am then," Sarabi said, "oh, certainly I'm fat, massively so in fact, but that only means that I'm hungry all the time."
For all that the young gazelle would have dearly loved to be as many miles from where he was as it was possible to get, his mortal fear rooted him to spot, though he wasn't frozen any longer, but rather, trembling with fear. Huge lioness and tiny antelope locked gazes for a moment, before the tiny herbivore managed to stammered "P...lea......se do...n...t ea....t. me queen. I a....m so....rrryy l..ee.....t me go p..le...a..se".
Sarabi smiled, warmly, though in the dark the young gazelle would have a hard time seeing, a lioness she was, and a proud hunter she'd been once, but she wasn't devoid of kindness, not by a long shot. She knew she'd been angry at this tiny antelope not long ago when his words had stung - like the bites of the dogs she's sent fleeing back at the village - but seeing the young grazer's fear banished such emotions, and she instead found herself taking pity on the tiny creature. She lifted a paw, but rather than striking the little herbivore she simply drew him in against her expansive belly. "Don't worry I am not going to eat you," she said, "you're free to go, but I'd prefer it if you stayed with me here for tonight, because I do get lonely, and besides, there are a great many dangers out there for youngsters such as yourself.."
Finally the gazelle stopped trembling and instead he snuggled close to the mammoth belly of the lioness. For a few minutes all was silent, then Sarabi inquired about his parents, for surely no gazelle of his age should be out here alone. To this the gazelle replied that his mother had recently been killed a by a cheetah he has no one to look after him. The story tugged at the great lioness's heart-strings, and she silently promised, that no matter what it took, she'd keep this tiny creature safe.
[[1. The pack of village dogs discover Sarabi and the gazelle]]
2. A hungry Sarabi needs to eat**The Most Genteel Of Hunters (Shalion)**
The shape stopped on an outcropping of stone just above her head and turned its head, one brightly reflecting eye turned towards her in the gloom of the night. Sarabi knew immediately that it was a bird of some sort. Since it had stopped, she ceased her efforts and let her bulk of her lower half sink back to the ground, luxuriating in the relief from the pressure on her sore and weary limbs. Sitting on her left haunch, her legs turned to the right to allow room for her domineering gut to spread out to the side - though it still pressed against the backs of her forelegs as well - she examined the outline of the bird as it in turn examined her. It was big for a bird, with a heavy squat body, and what looked like a ruff of fluffy plumage at the base of its skinny neck. A long curved beak came from its oddly bare looking head, almost as if there were no feathers there. The realization came as the vulture introduced itself.
"Good evening to you, Strange One."
Strange One? thought Sarabi incredulously. That title was reserved for wanderers from distant lands whose species was not generally known. Sarabi lifted her head a little, "I'll have you know that I am a lioness, a proud hunter and I'll be addressed as such from the likes of you."
The squat shape on the rock seemed genuinely surprised, "Truly?" He flipped his head around to examine her with his other eye, "Well, forgive me my queen for my presumption. I mean no offense."
Sarabi was not taken in by the vulture's pleasant speech, it was the way of all vultures for reasons she could not fathom.
The bird leaned a little closer on his perch, staring openly at Sarabi, "Aye it is dark and I am not as young as I used to be, but are you sure you be a lion? I had thought I was circling some sort of hippopotamus."
Sarabi's anger welled up in a low growl that sent the vulture hopping backward a few steps. She forced herself to be quiet, however, to avoid drawing anything even less pleasant than a near-sighted old vulture to her. Her growl seemed to settle the argument of what she was, however. Most of her patience with the bird was gone, so she asked, "What is your business here, scavenger?"
"Oh, my queen, please do not take offense to my presence." The bird again flipped his head around with a fluid, lightning speed. His wings spread a little as he hopped back to the edge of the perch, "I simply observed you from my lowly sleeping perch here, coming out of the human village - you sure did stir up quite a ruckus there - and to these rocks. You threw yourself down and then were very still. Why, with your phenomenal body, I counted my lucky stars for the opportunity to come down and introduce myself."
"You came down here to see if you could eat me." Sarabi scoffed. She felt amusement only in the fact that it was a vulture and not a jackal who'd had those very thoughts.
"My lady of the savanna, I would never say such a thing. I merely came down to check on your wellbeing. We vultures, after all are the most genteel of hunters."
Old, half forgotten memories of running down gazelle, pulling even the largest buffalo down with the help of her sisters in the hunt, the tearing of flesh and the reek of hot, living blood. And here was this vulture claiming to be a hunter, the same as her. "Hunter... right." she said with open sarcasm.
"Oh, but it is true, my queen. We are hunters, but we do not brutishly attack our prey - I mean no offense to your way of life of course - we simply wait patiently for our prey to die."
It was more a little disconcerting speaking so openly to a creature who openly admits to stalking her and desiring to eat her. "Well... let me assure you that I am not dead and furthermore, I'm feeling just fine." said Sarabi, mirroring the vultures mode of speech.
The vulture hopped down from the perch and, barely spreading his wings, landed lightly on a large stone embedded on the ground. Sarabi could smell the bird now. It's coat of feathers was immaculately clean, but the talons still reeked of carrion. "You are quite sure that you are feeling well? You're heart is beating awfully fast for just lying there."
Sarabi felt uneasy, the vulture was bringing life to many of the worries she'd been feeling before back in the village. "You just startled me from my sleep is all."
"Ah, I suppose I am responsible for your breath becoming still for several long moments before I moved from my perch as well. I do apologize for that. But about your limp..."
"My limp?" asked Sarabi who felt the blood draining out of her face.
"Why yes, I saw you walking here. You favor your left hind-leg."
"I was injured not too long ago, not that it's any of your business. I'm recovered now, so it's none of your concern."
"Very well, very well. I'll leave you to your business then..." said the vulture as he opened his massive wings and after gathering speed hopping on the ground, took flight. The vulture circled effortlessly, gathering altitude to take him back to the top of the rocky outcropping. "If you should require my services," he called down to Sarabi's prone form, "I do not think I shall be far away. I admire your stunning body, Queen of the Savanna. Please, do take good care of it."
She heard the scrap of talons against stone far overhead and Sarabi had the uneasy premonition that she would not be sleeping unobserved for a very long time.
Lowering herself back down onto her plump, fatty chest, the great lioness let her head nestle back into her great ruff of neck rolls and fell promptly asleep.
[[1. In the morning, head for the jungle]]
2. In the morning, head for the open savanna**If I Could Talk To The Animals... (Shalion)**
Sarabi raised her heavy head up a little from where it had been lying on the floor, causing a multitude of little rolls to bunch up behind her plump round cheek. It was silly to think that talking to the girl would soothe her, but seeing as she was currently so fat that rolling over was a chore, the lioness had trouble thinking of anything else she could feasible do. Perhaps the sound of her voice would be enough.
Sarabi waited a few moments to try to establish eye contact, but the girl was still weeping into her hands; furthermore, the large spoiled cat was not used to waiting once she put her mind to it. Feeling like an absolute fool, Sarabi opened her mouth and said, “It… It’ll be alright. You don’t need to cry.” Naturally, the human child turned her head at the sounds a very large carnivorous cat was making. At least she stopped crying for a moment while she was looking deep into Sarabi’s large golden eyes. That was all the lioness was expecting to happen, but then the girl-child opened her own mouth, “Wh-What was that?”
Sarabi cocked her head in surprise. What was this? she thought, Did the girl actually understand what I said? It was needless to say that if the human girl could understand Sarabi, it would change everything. Not only the whole human-animal interaction basis, but more importantly the currently bleak outlook for Sarabi’s future. Could this girl be her ticket back home?
[[1. The girl understands Sarabi imperfectly]]
2. The girl thinks she was only hearing things**Investigation (new)**
The Gazelles heard the sound as if some animal dying. Now being curious animals the Gazelles were defiantly attracted to the sound. One of them said " What's that?"
Another one replied, "sounds like someone's dying. on the other bank."
A third spoke, "I think we should go and check."
A fourth objected " No no it could be dangerous." Soon a quarrel broke out. After some time they came to a truce. It was decided some of them would go and check on the animal while rest stayed on the opposite bank.
Sarabi meanwhile was getting restless as her hunger pangs grew more and more. By now she was feeling so hungry that she would probably eat 4-5 gazelles in a sitting. From whatever the gazelles discussed she made out that some of them were coming over to her hiding spot. She waited eagerly.
Soon some of the gazelles arrived on the other side of the waterhole. The grass was thick and tall, hiding even the enormous lioness. Slowly the curious group of gazelles approached the moaning that was coming from deeper into the grass. Sarabi was looking through her half closed eyes. She saw that a herd of about 7 or 8 had come to check her out.
The gazelles stopped in front of Sarabi's enormous sprawling belly sticking up in the air, it looked so huge from a gazelle's view that it was impossible for the gazelles to fathom that the animal before them was a lioness. Sarabi was waiting for the gazelles to come closer so that she could take a few of them out in one swoop.
"What is it d'you think," one gazelle asked, baffled about the identity of the animal that lay before them.
Another replied, "looks like a hippo to me."
"Don't be daft," said a third, "hippos don't have fur."
"So what is it then," the second asked.
"I-I don't know," replied the third defensively, "it..."
"There, you see," the second said, "if you don't know what it is..."
"Oh would the two of you shut up," said a fourth gazelle, "honestly, you're acting like calves."
"So what is it then," the second asked.
"Just gimme a moment," the fourth said, and sniffed, then drew back in surprise, "it's a lioness."
"Oh don't be daft," the second said, "it's too fat to be a lioness."
"Okay then loudmouth, you have a sniff," the fourth gazelle said.
The second gazelle snorted, but nevertheless sniffed for a few moments, then drew back slowly, "d'you think it's dead?"
"Got to be," replied a fifth gazelle, "nothing that fat could survive long."
"If it's dead, how did it get here," asked the second gazelle.
"It's dead because it's here of course," the fifth said, "heart attack I'll bet, hells, this amount of blubber'd probably give a hippo a heart attack."
"Well there's one way to tell if it's dead," the fourth said, "smell it's breath."
"Me why should I smell it's breath," the fifth asked, suddenly defensive.
"You're the one who was insisting it was dead.
'Oh please come and smell,' Sarabi thought 'oh please, I'll show you if I'm dead of not.' Moving her head slowly so as not to attract attention, the immense lioness looked down to survey the scene. Two or three of the gazelle were down at her haunch, well out of her reach, but the other five were at her belly, just within her reach. On another day the immense lioness would have waited for a more opportune moment, but the comments had incensed her, and she decided that now was the time to act.
With a roar, Sarabi raised her upper body as much as she could and swung her paw, though her immense weight hampered her. The lioness was surprised - but gratified - to find that her roar seemed to have stunned the gazelles allowing her to claim two with the swipe of her paw, and a third as she managed to jerk her head in amongst them with surprising speed an flexibility given her size. By this time, the rest of the gazelle had regained her wits and fled, but the sedentary predator was nevertheless pleased with her achievement of three gazelles, it was more than she would have been able to manage in her prime, although in those days her methods would have been, different.
Suddenly, the hunger pangs - momentarily forgotten in the excitement - returned with a vengeance, and Sarabi, immediately began to tuck into her hard-won meal. Of course, while three gazelles was too much for a normal lioness to manage, months of captivity and daily stuffings had ensured that Sarabi's stomach, was very much larger than normal, and that her hunger matched the organ's size. The Gazelles didn't last long as the immense lioness bolted her food, eventually...
[[1. ...Finishing the lot]]
[[2. ...Having to stop eating]]**Generous Defender (Shalion)**
“See? I told you she wouldn’t get far.”
Sarabi opened her eyes sleepily, it was just before dawn and the sky was turning pink towards the east. The lounging feline could still feel the tiny form of the orphaned gazelle nestled against the great mound of her belly many times over the size of the small herbivore.
“And looky, she found herself a pet.”
“She’s probably saving it for later, the fat tub...”
Sarabi’s ears pricked at the sound of voices around her.
“Quick, she’s waking up!”
Sarabi realized that she was surrounded by village dogs just as the thin, furry shapes came dashing across the respectful distance they had been giving her massive form.
“I call the little snack there!”
“No fair!”
Adrenaline poured into Sarabi’s system as she realized her danger. It was strange, but the reaction was even stronger with the helpless little gazelle right next to her. The dogs obviously meant to tear his juvenile little body apart. She didn’t know why she should have felt that way, if he’d been more than a mouthful to her, she would have done the deed herself last night. But somehow, in sparing his life, she was filled with horror as the prospect of it ending by another’s hands.
She pushed herself up as best as she could, bowling over the gazelle’s sleeping form as her belly passed mere inches above the ground. She meant to place his delicate little life under the expanse of her belly, but the dogs were on her in seconds. They dashed and bit, more wary this time of the slow sweeps of her claws as she tried to work her enormous body off the ground. The gazelle was bawling, half of it pressed against the ground by Sarabi’s own bulk.
Only by enduring the bites with no retaliation was she able to heave herself mightily onto her paws. Her bulk swayed like a pendulum, but she managed to keep her feet, only stumbling a little. The gazelle under her was no longer squashed and tried to bolt but was driven back under Sarabi by the teeth and barks of the dogs all around. It huddled in fear in the scant inches available under Sarabi’s proudly engorged tummy.
However, the bites were, in fact, insignificant compared to what else the dogs were doing: barking. The dogs were not meant to bring Sarabi back, of course, but merely to flush her out of hiding – which they were doing a marvelous job of really. Sarabi could imagine the hunters approaching the sounds of the dogs barks, and if they found her... she might never see the outside of the holy house again. She should flee before they came... but the damn dogs! They deserved to die for their continued insolence. Not one was a match for her in a fair fight. They deserved to pay, and furthermore, unless she grew tired of her adopted little friend, she could really use some fresh meat to fuel her escape.
[[1. Fight the Dogs]]
2. Flee with the gazelle**An Imperfect Understanding (Shalion)**
“D-Did you speak, Goddess Oshun?” said the human girl with shock and amazement. Before Sarabi could even open her mouth the child had fallen to her knees and placed her head on the floor – or would have, if she had been a few inches further back anyways. As it was, her forehead plonked onto an extrusion of Sarabi’s ample chest fat and the child was too embarrassed to attempt to move a more respectful distance away. That the girl would take such a pose at the mere possibility of being spoken to by Goddess Oshun pleased Sarabi greatly, it was a more than appropriate attitude considering the feline’s pride and her natural and – extremely – bounteous beauty. She grinned a cat’s grin and began to roll over onto her belly to face the girl upright.
It was a chore, but at least rolling over was something Sarabi could do with reasonable ease. In a lot of ways, rolling over as more than four lionesses was much the same as rolling over as just a single lioness. However, rather than simply lifting the opposite limbs and letting their weight pull her into the roll, Sarabi had to push off with the legs under her; if she had tried the former technique, she would have simply ended up waggling her legs in the air as her torso was too solid a mass to even rotate like that anymore. She pulled her legs up towards her body and put her paws on the ground. She didn’t need to press straight up – which would have been impossible anyways with her on her side – since there was so much belly and chest fat holding her down on the other end even pushing away was enough to start rolling over. Once she could reach her free paws over the swell of her belly and chest, the rest of it was an easy affair. Sarabi gave a small grunt of satisfaction once she was seated properly on her belly in front of the still prostrated girl, though the skin on her left flank was a little tight. Hopefully she’d be able to get her to pull out some of the extra skin trapped against the floor soon.
Despite having taken the time to roll around onto her belly, Sarabi was at a loss of words when it actually came to seriously addressing the human child; It was not as if she had ever attempted to actually communicate with a human before either. She settled for something proper, but not overly dramatic. She spoke slowly, enunciating for the human girl, “Can you understand me, Human Child?”
The girl’s eyes looked up from the floor from the first time. They were wide not only with surprise, but profound exultation at being acknowledged in a way that no other had been before. She was blissfully unaware that the true gift lay with her and not the grossly overweight feline in front of her. From her response, however, Sarabi could tell that even such a simple message had not broken through the species barrier completely intact…
1. The girl mostly understands Sarabi
[[2. The girl only gets the gist of what Sarabi says]]**Green Minded (Shalion)**
Sarabi didn't wake until late the following morning. Sadly her legs were still not quite recovered from the previous night and punished her as she rose heavily to her paws. However, she knew she had already stayed longer than she should have in the psuedo-shelter of the mass of stone. Humans would be scouring the countryside for their lost goddess and Sarabi had no intentions of going back to become even more of a blob. The first thing she noticed was the vulture perched not far away. The feathery cretin inclined his head and said "Good Morning, my queen."
Sarabi said nothing.
The bird was perched very close but far and away out of her "pouncing" distance. The bird could probably guess her limited physical capacity. But ultimately, the vulture was of no concern. Sarabi had to make sure she was not found. Looking around, she saw both the wide open savanna and the lush green of the jungle to the other side. Sarabi guessed that it must be fed by a great river not to far away.
As if echoing her thoughts, the vulture chimed in, "The Nugongo is supposed to be very pleasant this time of year. Plenty to eat and fresh water."
Sarabi felt unease at taking any suggestions from the buzzard, 'It is the wet season, everywhere is nice."
"But not like the mighty Nugongo. And if you are looking to escape unwanted eyes, might I offer that trees might hide one's... ahem, well endowed figure than grass."
Sarabi was silent as she considered this. The bird spoke true, but still, it was in the best interests of the buzzard if she met a hasty demise. Looking at the landscape, however, she still didn't see a lot of options. Taking a deep breath, Sarabi, queen of Simba, Master of the region known as the Pridelands, set her heavy paws in the direction of the lush green trees.
1. Sarabi is interrupted before she reaches the jungle
[[2. She reaches the jungle without any problems]]**Frail Felines (new)**
The first gazelle Sarabi practically inhaled, its weight sitting in her stomach like little more than a pebble in a cave, and the second did little more, though it was hardly surprising, for the immense lioness's stomach, expanded by months over over-indulgence was easily capable of containing four or five of the comparably tiny beasts. The massive lioness took rather more time eating the third and final gazelle, this one she wanted to savor. Even eating slowly though, the third carcass was eventually stripped of its nutriment flesh. Sitting back afterwards, licking her chops the former queen felt satis...no, not satisfied, but lulled at least, her hunger a dull ache in the back of her mind rather than an all-consuming pain in her expansive gut.
It was odd, Sarabi thought shallowly as letting her mind drift as her extensive digestive system got to work on the meal, before, both when she was with the humans and after she'd escaped, she'd been worried about how she'd manage to sustain herself out here alone, but now with a good meal in her gut she no longer felt worried, but instead confident, even though she knew that it had only been a fluke that had allowed her to catch such a bountiful meal. The former queen gave no more thought to the issue though, the exertions of the hunt had exhausted her - mild though they were - and her stomach, in beginning to digest its sizable meal, was drawing energy from other areas of her body, leaving her feeling drowsy. For a moment, the immense lioness considered giving in to her sleep as she was, but then her stomach shifted uncomfortably and she decided to try sleeping on her side, troublesome and tedious as turning over was.
Sleep wasn't to come immediately though, for not long after turning onto her side, Sarabi suddenly found herself wide awake and feeling uneasy, though for a few moments she couldn't understand why. She realized why soon enough though, for the immense lioness soon became aware of another presence, hearing the soft crunch of leaves beneath it's feet, and the faint whisper of its breath. Gripped in a sudden, indecisive panic, the former queen lay completely still, hoping, just hoping that whoever and whatever the other creature was, that it wasn't interested in a meal of lion-flesh.
Suddenly, Sarabi heard a whisper, "careful, it could still be alive." There were two of them, the immense lioness wondered anxiously, only two, or was there more, a whole pack?
"Alive," another voice asked, "no way, have you seen the size of it, I bet it'd have a heart attack just rolling over." This struck two chords with Sarabi, anger and concerned agreement. At a shallow level the immense lioness felt her anger suddenly rise, how dare this waif of a...a whatever make such a statement about her beautiful luxurious body, but at a deep, almost subconscious level she agreed concernedly, she was far too big, the strain on her organs must be massive...
"Well what about the gazelles then," the first voice said, "who caught them, and who ate them?"
Scent wafted slowly in the heavy, breezeless jungle air, but waft it did, and when the scent finally reached her nostrils, Sarabi was somewhat heartened to discover that the creatures, were no more than a couple of young cheetahs, brothers perhaps. Of course, they were still carnivores, but small and flighty, and the massive lioness knew she'd have no trouble scaring them off. But scaring them off was the last thing she wanted to do, the former queen realized, as she was suddenly hit by a wave of loneliness, she wanted them to stay, to be companions, friends.
Sarabi was just wondering how to attract their attention, when she became aware of one of the cheetahs snuffling around her brisket, just within reach perhaps...
[[1. Try to grab him]]
2. Try to talk to him**Meal Interrupted (new)**
...Having to stop, not because she was feeling full - for the two-and-a-half gazelle she'd gone through felt like a pebble in her cave of her stomach - but because she suddenly became aware of another presence. Pausing in her virtual inhaling of her hard won meal, the immense lioness craned her neck up as far as her collars of blubber would allow, and sniffed at the air. For a few moments she couldn't be sure of what she smelled, for the faint waft of air brought a multitude of smells, but finally the former queen was able to isolate the discordant scent she was after, a lion.
Sarabi paused in uncertainty, who was this male, what was he doing here, what would he do if-when he found her? After a few moments, the former queen forced such worries to the back of her mind, to dwell on such worries would do her no good, and instead began to prepare herself for meeting the lion. The first action of course was standing up, in itself no small action, given both her immense girth, and the fact that while the two-and-a-half gazelle requited her hunger like a pebble in a cave nevertheless felt like a good-sized rock now that she actually wanted to move.
Time seemed to pass at a snail's pace as Sarabi awaited the arrival of the lion. Soon enough, her joints, unaccustomed to such stress without any actual activity began to wear at her, but before she could think to do anything about them, the male finally appeared. To the former queen's keen eyes he was poor fare for a male, smaller than most males, and gaunt with malnutrition, his scarred hide and a slight limp spoke of a harsh past, though whether he was a long-term wanderer or had been forced into the lifestyle only recently she couldn't tell. Of course, the immense lioness laughed silently and mirthlessly, she was in no better a position, although she approached it from the other direction, too much good treatment rather than too little.
The lion stopped when he saw Sarabi, and sniffed, before pausing in shock, this...creature...smelled like a lioness, but surely no lioness could get half as big as that. At first he was tempted to leave, but then he caught the whiff of fresh meat and his stomach churned hungrily. Cautiously, he began to approach the immense female, though he remained ready to run at the first sign of aggression.
Sarabi watched as the lion approached slowly, nervously. At first the former queen wasn't sure how to react, for the male looked ready to run at the slightest twitch, but when she came within two lengths of her, she said, "hello there."
The lion froze, unsure of how to react in the face of this...leviathan, "wh-who are you?"
"Name's Sarabi" the immense lioness replied, "And you?"
The lion apparently agonized over the decision for a few moments, then said, "Kondo."
"Pleased to meet you," Sarabi said.
The lion nodded in recognition, then nodded at the remains of the gazelle carcass between Sarabi's forelegs, "are you finished with that?"
The question took Sarabi aback slightly, she'd momentarily forgotten about the carcass, but now she'd been reminded of it her stomach churned hungrily, still feeling empty despite the almost two-and-a-half gazelles weighing it down. The former queen was torn though, because for all that she could have easily finished the gazelle and more - and would have, given half a chance - she could see the desperation in Kondo's eyes.
"Well," Kondo asked, unsure himself of what he'd do if he were refused.
[[1. Yes, give it up]]
[[2. No, try to keep it]]**Dog Fight (Shalion)**
Sarabi was too angry to let this go. Enough was enough. She could no longer stand their impudence. they would pay and the humans be damned!
Sarabi's anger fueled a brief charge forward that was actually fast enough to bowl over three of the dogs. The lioness stomped on one, crushing it with her immense weight, and rent a second dog from shoulder to hip with her claws. The third one she;d caught was standing by the time she was done, but he was still close enough for her to sink her claws glancingly into his rump and hind-leg; he ran off limping into the crowd.
Sarabi was panting afterwards and knew that another dash was beyond question. Her charge, the young gazelle, had done an admirable job keeping up while remaining hidden under the protective curve of Sarabi's swollen gut. Two dogs would probably be the most she could carry. Though the dogs were no longer biting as aggressively as they had been, they were still running about, charging her flanks and rear and barking up a storm. She had enough meat, but her vengeance was still hot and unspent. Despite her anger, however, Sarabi had to admit that she probably couldn't kill them all. What should she do?
[[1. Take the carcasses and run]]
2. Stay and fight more dogs**Into The Green (Beb0p)**
Sarabi began her journey into the jungle. As she passed from the flats of the savanna into the leaf canopied she felt a distinct difference in the texture of the air. While the savannah was dry and baked like an oven, the jungle was moist and warm. Droplets of condensation formed on her jiggling coat, met and ran together until she looked as though she had been swimming up the Nugongo, rather than walking by it.
The soft, mulchy humous of the forest floor helped to provide another layer of shock absorption to her poor paws. Each step was a carefully calculated move at required the coordination of her entire body to achieve forward motion. She kept her mind focussed on the process of waddling and tried to ignore the glimpses she caught of the vulture still following her through the canopy.
What could that miserable harbinger want with me that would justify following me this far into dense jungle? she asked herself as she carefully negotiated a fallen tree, growling and muttering to herself all the while.
[[1. Sarabi finds a place to rest]]
2. Sarabi decides to push onwards**The Gist (Shalion)**
Sarabi waited, watching the girl and feeling her heart with its chronically over fast pace beat within her fattened barrel chest. Something was wrong, the girl was confused, but there was no doubt that she realized that Sarabi had just tried to address her directly.
Eventually, the girl just went with the safest course of action. She bowed her head again, though this time not all the way to the floor and said, “Yes, I am your humble and willing servant, Goddess Oshun.”
It was time to try something else. Though she must have heard it being used at one time or another, for the life of her, Sarabi could not recall the name of the girl who slaved multiple times a week to keep up her own appearance and personal hygiene. She spoke more normally this time for fear that in speaking slowly, she had somehow led the human to misunderstand her; granted since feline communication was grounded as much in body language as actual vocalization, this was more comfortable for Sarabi anyways. “What is your name, Child? What is your name?”
Repeating herself seemed to help at least a little. The girl’s hand flew to her breast and she asked, “My… name? Is that it?” When Sarabi inclined her head, the girl then said, “My name is Dziko, Holy One.” If she found it strange to be asked her name despite having spent so much time together and despite Sarabi’s supposed divinity, the girl gave no sign of it.
This is truly amazing. Thought Sarabi as she struggled to wrap her mind around this new complexity of her current situation. She hardly even remembered the constant bombardment of the unknown, things happening without rhyme or reason or respect for Sarabi’s sensibilities. She even forgot about her heart burn. Finally she wasn’t simply a package being tossed from hand to hand without care to what she wanted. With a human who could understand her, even a little, she had something she could work with.
As if a switch had clicked in some hidden facet of her brain that was directly connected to her stomach, her cavernous innards emitted a grinding gurgling sound loud enough to elicit a growling response from some creature much further out in the savanna. Sarabi’s eyes glazed over and became half lidded as she remembered that she hadn’t eaten a thing in almost three days. While in the Pridelands, it was not uncommon to have to make do with up to a whole week without food, the obese lioness’s digestive system and metabolism had gotten quite used to extremely rich, daily feedings.
The pangs that swept over her in the wake of her fading nausea, were almost debilitating. There was a single almost overriding urge to ask the girl to fetch her food – the rest of her grooming session be damned. But how could she squander such a miraculous occurrence for something as petty as a meal? Sarabi knew, intellectually at least, that she should, no had to drop some serious poundage before she could even hope for a future free of human dependency. But right now, the Pridelands seemed hopelessly far off with her body so massive and heavy she couldn’t even walk properly. The thought of eating an entire goat and that fuzzy, mind-numbing sensation of extreme bloatedness that came with it seemed so much more appealing…
[[1. Ask Dziko to fetch some food]]
2. Talk to her about escaping while she finishes her grooming**Grabbing Goods (new)**
Sarabi suspected that the cheetahs would run as soon as they knew she was alive, unless there was some incentive for the to stay... She didn't have a lot of time she knew, she'd have to move quickly, but also carefully, for she didn't want to injure her scrawny quarry. Almost immediately she ran into problems, namely the weight of her comparatively small, but still massive foreleg. The immense lioness held off as much as she could, but after a matter of mere moments her muscles gave out and the overburdened limb came crashing down, as luck would have it, on top of the young cheetah.
'Gotcha' Sarabi thought when she heard the young cheetah's coughed expulsion, but didn't have long to celebrate this minor victory, because within moments, his brother was at her head, "you let go of him you monster."
"Oh don't worry," Sarabi said soothingly, trying to allay the young cheetah's fears, "I don't want to hurt you or him, I just want to talk to you, okay."
"You let go of him," the cheetah repeated, "you let go of him, and then we can talk, maybe."
"Sorry, not happening," Sarabi replied, "the instant I let him up you're both going to run away, and I really don't want that, so let's talk."
"You let go of him," the cheetah repeated again, though this time his voice contained an edge, a threat.
Sarabi chuffed, at the thought of a fight, there was no way a single cheetah could hurt her, after all, she'd overcome a whole pack of dogs. On the other hand, the longer this went on the more hostile these two would become, and she did want them as companions. "Okay," she replied, "..."
1. "...I'll let him go"
[[2. "...You want a fight, come on”]]**Gift Of Gazelle (new)**
Kondo eyeing the carcass in front of Sarabi hungrily as he waited for her to make decision, the immense lioness began to get a full measure of the male's plight, he must have been near starving for she was sure she could see every bone of his body. Another factor that figured into her eventual decision was the sudden wave of loneliness she felt, she haven't had anyone really to talk to in a long time now, and she suddenly found herself missing the loss. "Take it," the former queen said, "you need it more than I do."
Shooting Sarabi a grateful look, Kondo grabbed the carcass, and dragged it off a little way, before sitting down to eat.
"Geez, you are hungry, aren't you," Sarabi murmured to herself, as she watched Kondo tear into the remainder of the carcass as though there was nothing else in the world, although given the male's state his speed of consumption was understandable. Waiting for the lion to finish, the former queen asked, "so, how long has it been since you last had a meal?"
"Too long," Kondo replied, looking around and spotting the 'finished' carcasses Sarabi had disregarded at first in her desire to get as much meat as possible down her gullet, "eight, nine days, maybe more."
"Eight or nine days," Sarabi exclaimed, "that's...I don't...how did you survive?" The immense lioness immediately thought back, trying to remember the longest she'd even gone without, but only came up with six days, eve in the height of Scar's reign.
"I haven't a clue," Kondo replied, beginning to rasp the last scraps of meat off the other carcasses, "I guess just perseverance."
'Some Perseverance' Sarabi thought, watching Kondo lick clean the bones of the other two carcasses. "Enjoy that," the former queen asked when the male appeared to have finally finished, having taken every last shred of edible meat off the skeletons.
"Immensely," Kondo replied, "I don't know how much longer I could have gone without food for, but I don't think much longer."
"No, you didn't look like you had a lot left in you," Sarabi said.
For a moment there was silence, and then Kondo asked, "you, uh, you don't mind if I stay around for a while do you?"
"Not at all, not at all," Sarabi replied, "in fact I've been getting a bit lonely recently, so I'd actually welcome some company."
"Thanks," Kondo said, settling down as much as his bony frame would allow.
"You look a bit uncomfortable there," Sarabi said after a while, as the lion shifted restlessly.
"Yeah, I gotta say it's not easy getting comfortable these days," Kondo replied, vainly trying to find a position that would work.
"Well come over here then," Sarabi said, begging to squirm her way onto her side, "maybe I can help."
"Um, how," Kondo asked.
"I'll show you," Sarabi said, "come on."
Confused, Kondo nevertheless did as Sarabi bade, rising and making his way over to the enormous lioness, "now what?"
"Now just lie down," Sarabi replied, slapping her expansive midriff lightly with a bloated foreleg.
"Are you sure," Kondo asked, "wouldn't it be uncomfortable for you?"
"What, with this," Sarabi asked, “Pah, I'd hardly feel you."
"Well, if you're sure," Kondo said, lowering himself down a little.
"Of course I am," Sarabi said, "d'you want a comfortable place to lie or not."
'Here goes nothing,' Kondo thought, crouching slightly, and then rolling onto Sarabi. "Whoo, that is comfortable," the gaunt male said, but startled slightly when Sarabi draped across his chest a foreleg broader than his own waist, "wha-oh."
"Sorry, was that too heavy," Sarabi asked.
"No, no it's alright," Kondo replied, not willing to criticize his living bed in the slightest, "just took me by surprise for a moment." Feeling that this wasn't enough, he added, "thank you for this, it's very comfortable, and very unique."
"Glad I could help," Sarabi said, and drew the male further in with her corpulent, but surprisingly strong foreleg, "and now I think we can talk..."
[[1. "...Histories"]]
2. "...Conditions”**Fighting For Food (new)**
Sarabi's stomach churned hungrily as she considered her position. For a few moments, she seriously considered giving the kill up, but was soon overwhelmed by her immense appetite, and so replied as politely as she could, "no I am not finished with this carcass, and while I pity your condition, I am far from sated myself, and I worked very hard to get this meat."
"B-but you're huge," Kondo exclaimed.
"Undeniably," Sarabi said, her eyes narrowing slightly, "nevertheless, I am not prepared to give up my meal."
Kondo considered the situation for a few moments, then suddenly something snapped, "fine, if you won't give it to me then I'll just have to take it," and with that, he charged.
The charge took Sarabi by surprise, and she only just managed to turn her head away in time to dodge Kondo's first strike. Not that the did dodge it, for although she kept the strike from hitting her vulnerable head, she felt the male's claws tear at her huge, blubbery collar. The roar the blow elicited was more one of startlement than of pain, for in truth neither the slashes on her neck, nor those subsequently delivered by the faster, lither lion really hurt, not even when delivered to those areas already well savaged in her earlier escape from the village of the humans. The irony of that wasn't lost on the former queen, the very thing which was keeping her from offering more than the slightest resistance to this lion's attack was protecting her from just those attacks.
Nor was it lost on Kondo, for it did the lion's frustration no good to know that while Sarabi was unable to retaliate to any degree, nor was he able to inflict any real injury to her, because every blow he made simply left another set of shallow, slowly reddening cuts in a flank which really ought to belong to a hippo. For a while, the battle looked like becoming a stalemate as the immense lioness was unable to strike even once at her attacker, but seemed immune to each and every strike that fell upon her. Eventually though, the strain of the battle began to show, and...
[[1. ...Kondo began to tire]]
2. ...Kondo began to strike home**Making Off With The Goods (Shalion)**
Sarabi knew that she should go while the going was good, but she simply could not let these impudent dogs go around thinking that they'd had the best of a lioness, even one three times as heavy as normal. She'd fight them until they dispersed just like earlier this evening.
She raised her paw and swatted at a dog...missing by a few scant inches. She tried again and missed again, meanwhile she received more bites to her wide, unprotected flanks. It was impossible not to notice that the dogs were going low, trying to scare the fragile young gazelle out from under her protective mass. The damn dogs were being much more cautious about her claws than last night and further more, were concentrating on getting to her little friend which made her have to adjust her stance constantly and meant fewer opportunities to raise a fore-paw for an attack.
"P-p-please..." squeaked the voice of the frightened young gazelle from under her, "C-can we j-j-just go?"
If there was anything that could have doused her hatred for the village dogs more than her fruitless attacks, it was the desperate plea of the small life under her. Sarabi did not bother to answer the gazelle, every second she remained, she received more cuts and bites to her dense, fatty hide. With a paw, she slid one of the deceased canines next to his fallen partner, luckily Sarabi had not moved very much from where she had felled them. With them adjacent, she reached down and grabbed them by the necks in her massive jaws. Lifting, their feet dangles just above the ground; perfect.
Now began the hard part because the dogs were not going to just let her and the gazelle get away. Sarabi stopped now and then for an opportunistic strike when a dog passed too close, but she lacked the use of her teeth and to walk required she keep even weight on her forepaws, so leaning first away to lift a striking paw took away from her speed. She caught only glancing blows while the dogs continued to hound her hulking form. She had to lose them or drive them away somehow, she knew as she made her escape away from the large sheltering stone of the outcropping.
1. Jump down a steep riverbed
[[2. The gazelle knows a way]]**Jungle Traverse (Shalion)**
Sarabi had wandered far into the jungle by the time the sun began to sink in the west. However, the setting sun provided no relief for the relentless heat and moisture under the green canopy far above. The savanna was typically a still, almost silent place broken by moments of furious noise and activity. In the jungle, the world erupted with life, howling and chattering monkeys swing from tree to tree and flocks of birds of all imaginable colors flew in great flocks challenging the monkeys for control of the omnipresent din. Sarabi didn't mind, no one would be able to hear a buffalo dying a quarter mile away let alone her heavy footfalls. And they were indeed heavy. Sarabi and her three and a half lionesses left deep footprints in the soft black loam of the jungle soil. Occasionally, she would sink chest deep in wet mud and have to spend some time freeing herself. Needless to say she was soon splattered with mud and who knew what else.
Despite the softness of the forest floor, however, Sarabi just could not stay on her feet for very long and rested frequently as she trudged unerringly into the heart of the jungle. It seemed she needed breaks more and more frequently as time passed. Paws aching and thighs burning for holding up the mass of her belly and hind quarters, Sarabi was in need of yet another break... perhaps her last for the day despite the fact that there were a couple hours of full light left. She just didn't know if she could keep going. Leaving behind the remains of the whole goat, her last meal before leaving the village at the start of the jungle, Sarabi felt like she was running on empty reserves. She clutched at her belly as a hunger pang seized her. Seeing a hollow in the roots of a giant tree nearby that looked about the right size, the corpulent lioness threw herself down into it and allowed the pain of her four legs to fill her and gradually fade away.
1. The vulture speaks
[[2. Sarabi can't stop thinking about food]]**Staying The Course (Shalion)**
Sarabi kept trying to tell herself that asking for food was a little thing, a completely natural request, granted accomplished through means she did not understand in the slightest. It’s been three days since I’ve last eaten even a single bite! she exclaimed to herself, but the argument felt hollow. The decision to use this miraculous occurrence in understanding between human and animal to satisfy her food addiction – and that was what it was after all – felt like turning her back on everything she used to be and accepting the current reality of her bloated, whale-like body doted on by humans because she was incapable of caring for herself as the new state of affairs. Sarabi felt heartfelt guilt, but was it so wrong of her to desire comfort at her age? She was definitely over the hill in lion terms, past her prime. Was it a crime to finally indulge in that which she had had to repress all her life long, to finally let this side of herself come to the surface and play in the sun? Her empty stomach made a very persuasive argument as well...
Be it weakness or strength of conviction – even Sarabi herself was not sure – the result was the same. Looking that human child in the eyes, she opened her mouth and said, “Dziko.” That got her attention quickly, “I want you to get me food. Food. Go get Food and bring it back here. Understand?”
Sarabi still had no idea what the human was hearing when she spoke. The basic, primal desire for food, especially considering Sarabi’s personal history, seemed to translate easily. “Food.” The girl said as if acknowledging an order, “I will go tell the caravan leader that you are ready for food again, Great Oshun.” And then the girl slipped out of the tent, ignoring questions by both of the guards outside. The man in black clothing stuck his head through the opening, but upon seeing Sarabi’s massive, inert form still unchanged, went back outside.
Despite the anticipation of a full meal merely minutes away – her belly was already gurgling and churning – Sarabi looked sidelong at the floor. She’d have her food now, and a servant more willing and useful than ever before. Her physical comfort would once again be legendary, as it should be for a Queen of the Pridelands... Queen of the Pridelands, indeed. Thought Sarabi with a harsh laugh. Could the title still apply to someone who had forsaken any hope of returning to her birth lands? She now had all of the comfort and luxury she could ask for, all it cost was her freedom, her freedom of movement… her freedom to go home. She tried to tell herself that she hadn’t turned her back on the Pridelands, that she could still go home someday.
Yes someday... thought Sarabi. The odor of meat cooking on a fire reached her sensitive nose and she was filled with the certainty that it was her meal soon to come. Pheasant, seared hot and crispy on the outside, red and almost raw on the inside. She shuddered with delight, her tail lashing side to side and causing rolls to bulge on one side or the other where the heavy shelf of fat on her buttocks was trying to devour the waving appendage. She couldn’t wait.
1. The caravan celebrates Sarabi's recovery with a huge feast
[[2. Sarabi's meal is only normal ration sized]]**David And Goliath (new)**
"...You want a fight, come on." It seemed almost amusing to Sarabi that this waif of a cheetah was threatening her. Unfortunately for the immense lioness, in her pride she'd not realized that, while anyone who attacked her from behind would have to dig through many inches of fat to get to her, not all of her body was as well protected as her elephantine posterior. "Yeeooouw," the former queen cried as she was shown her prideful mistake by her diminutive opponent, who'd gone immediately for her exposed ears.
Unwilling to release her prize, Sarabi tried to nod her head to keep the cheetah off her ears. It worked for a while, her neck muscles working just hard enough to keep the cheetah from getting any sort of grip on them. It wasn't to last though, because while the muscles in her neck were some of the strongest in the former queen's body, dragging her many collars of flesh was tiring even them. Sure enough, within a few minutes the immense lioness was cringing in pain, partly from the cheetah chewing on her exposed ear, and partly from the fiery cramp in her neck.
Sarabi was desperate now, her neck felt like a log of burning wood, and she could feel blood pooling in her ear. Finally unable to take it any longer, the immense lioness...
1. ...Released her captive
[[2. ...Threatened her captive]]**Belly Bed (new)**
"You look pretty young to be alone," Sarabi said, "where's your family?"
Kondo remained silent for several moments, and when he did finally speak, his tone quavered emotionally. "My mother was killed when I was a cub," he replied, "the others, the others never liked me, always bullied me, and-and then drove me out." the young male spent a moment trying unsuccessfully to gulp back his tears, "I've been alone since then, no-one would take me, no-one..." Finally, unable to control his emotions any more the gaunt lion began to sob quietly.
Kondo wasn't the only one crying either, for tears were also rolling down Sarabi's chubby cheeks, tears of pain for her young companions plight, and of anger at it. "Don't worry," she murmured, drawing the young lion as close to her as she could, "don't worry, I'm here now, I'm here for you." After a while the male seemed to stop sobbing, and she asked, "feeling a little better now?"
"A-a little," Kondo replied, though his voice was still choked with emotion, "not much, but a little."
"Well these things don't go away at once," Sarabi said, "but don't worry, we'll get through it together, you and I."
"Mm," Kondo murmured, "thanks."
"That's alright," Sarabi said, "besides, it's been a long time, a very long time in fact, since I've had the company of another cat, lion or lioness, so I'm not about to let you go."
"Really," Kondo asked, "why-why were you alone?"
"Um..." Sarabi began, unsure of how to reply, "because, because my captors chose it to be so."
"Captors," Kondo asked, "what what captors were these?"
"They call themselves humans I think," Sarabi replied, "but enough of that, child, I'm tired, and after today, and the others you must surely be exhausted.
"I..." Kondo began before he was cut off by a yawn, "...I guess I am."
"Then sleep my dear," Sarabi said, "close your eyes, and lie back, and tomorrow, when we're both rested, you can hear my full story."
"Mm," Kondo murmured, "I have to say, you're being very kind to me."
"Well if there was ever anyone who needed a good dollop of kindness, it's you," Sarabi said, "fate has not been merciful to you up to now."
"Thanks," Kondo said, his voice sounding decidedly weary, "I'll make it up to you, somehow."
'Yes, somehow,' Sarabi thought, as sleep took her.
-------
Kondo awoke late the next morning, feeling more rested and refreshed than he had done since, well, a long time ago. Much of the reason, he knew, was because of where he'd slept, Sarabi's immense, flabby belly-fold had both cushioned his gaunt frame, preventing the early morning joint-ache he'd grown used to, and partially insulated him against the temperature drop over night. looking up at the immense lioness, he said, "Sarabi?"
"Oh, you're awake finally then," Sarabi said, "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to."
"What, was that supposed to mean," Kondo asked, "you thought I might die?"
"Only very briefly," Sarabi said, "I mean you weren't in the best of conditions were you?"
"Well, no, I suppose not," Kondo said, "how late is it anyway?"
"Mid-morning," Sarabi replied.
"Mid-morning," Kondo said, surprised, "I'm usually up with the dawn."
"Really," Sarabi said, "and what time do you usually go to bed?"
"Late evening," Kondo replied, "why?"
"Doesn't sound like you've been getting a lot of sleep then," Sarabi replied, "probably needed to catch up on a bit."
"Yeah, maybe," Kondo said. He lay there for a few more moments, then said, "sorry, d'you want to get up?"
"Well I wouldn't mind getting a drink," Sarabi said, "it's getting pretty warm out, and my mouth's getting dry."
"Right then," Kondo said, extricating himself from Sarabi's belly. Once on his feet he waited patiently while Sarabi wriggled herself upright, and then ratcheted her immense form off the ground. A thought occurred to him at that point, and he said, "thank you."
"What for," Sarabi asked, mildly confused.
"Well for everything you've done for me since we met," Kondo said, "the food, allowing me to sleep on you, comforting me, if there's anything I can do to repay you..."
"Well, had it been a bit earlier in the morning I might have asked for a meal in return," Sarabi said, "but with it being so late in the day..."
"Oh I'm sure I could get something," Kondo said, "provided I don't leave it too long, the heat gets a bit awkward later on."
"Well it already seems pretty hot to me," Sarabi said, "but I suppose with this amount of padding it's always going to seem hot, so, you go do what you want."
[[1. Kondo goes hunting]]
2. Kondo stays with Sarabi**Tired Lion (new)**
...Kondo began to tire. It wasn't that he was weak, but in his emaciated state he had few reserves to call on once his adrenalin faded, and it was beginning to fade fast. Worse still, his leg, which he'd thought almost recovered, had begun to flare up. Eventually, the exhaustion and pain became too much, and the gaunt male made a tactical retreat to what he though to be a safe position.
Kondo wasn't the only one feeling the strain of the battle, for Sarabi too was quite tired, having exerted herself rather more than she was used to doing these days. She was so tired in fact, that it took the massive lioness a few moments to realize that her opponent had stopped his attack. Turning, or rather wallowing, to face the male, she said, half taunting, "given up have you?"
"No," Kondo replied, "just taking a breather, I'll get back to you shortly."
Glad for a reprieve, if only a temporary one, Sarabi tried to think of a way of ending the fight permanently, for this had not been a battle she'd wanted, and she knew to look at him that Kondo was suffering for it as well. Surrender might be the best option she thought, but she was loathe to give up her kill, even to such a charitable cause. If she could just talk him into giving up on trying to, wait... As the beguiling idea took hold in the former queen's head she threw a thoughtful glance at her opponent; pretty far out, but... Deciding to chance it the immense lioness charged, or at least waddled forward aggressively.
It took Kondo a few moments to realize what Sarabi was up to, and by the time he reacted it was just a fraction too late, for as slow as the lioness was wrapped in layer upon layer of blubber, she was faster than he'd expected. The lion groaned as the impact knocked him down onto his bad leg, robbing him of his last chance of escape, for within another moment the immense lioness was above him, breathing heavily. He froze, feeling the huge gut pressing down on him, gently at the moment, but he had no trouble imagining what it would feel like if she decided to be less gentle about it. Licking his lips nervously for a moment, he said, "so what now?"
"That's all up to you," Sarabi replied coolly, "on the one hand, I feel sorry for you, you've obviously been through some hard times recently, but on the other hand..."
"Yeah, um, sorry about that, I..." Kondo began.
"Sorry," Sarabi said, cutting Kondo off, "you attack me, and try to steal my food, d'you really think sorry's going to cut it?"
"Look, I haven't eaten in like 10 days, maybe more," Kondo pleaded, "I just, I guess I just snapped."
'Ten days,' Sarabi thought, and almost blanched, 'he hasn't eaten in...ten days...' The thought took her back to the darkest days of Scar's reign. It seemed like a lifetime ago now, between the resurgence of the Pridelands under Simba, and then her period as a goddess, but distance didn't improve the memory, if anything, it made it seem... "Yes," Sarabi said automatically, coming back to reality.
"Are you sure," Kondo asked, still beneath her.
"What," Sarabi said, "what d'you mean 'are you sure'?"
"I asked if you were okay," Kondo replied, "you seemed kind of far away for a few moments."
"Yes, I'm fine," Sarabi replied, "just a bad memory."
"Well as long as you're okay," Kondo said.
"You know, that seems kind of a strange thing to say," Sarabi said, "given what you just tried to do to me."
"Well you are standing over me now," Kondo replied, then thought of what he'd said, "sorry, that kind of came out wrong."
"I'd say it did," Sarabi replied coolly.
There was a few more moments silence, then Kondo plucked up the courage to ask, "so, what now?"
"Well firstly, get out from under me," Sarabi said, "because I'm about to fall over, and despite our past differences I don't want to kill you if I can help it." After Kondo managed to scramble out from under her, the former queen dropped to the ground with a slap, and a slight sting, "aah."
"Um, are you okay," Kondo asked.
"Reasonably so," Sarabi replied, "I could do with a massage though, my legs especially."
"Um, okay," Kondo said, "er..."
"If you're going to ask about food, it can wait," Sarabi said, a touch forcefully, "right now, you owe me a massage."
"I guess I do don't I," Kondo said, and obediently approached Sarabi. Beginning to knead a foreleg, he said, "how's that?"
"You'll have to work harder than that," Sarabi replied, "I can barely feel you." Kondo put little more effort, into it, but not enough, "harder, harder, that'll do."
"Whew," Kondo said, massaging as Sarabi told him, "you're...well padded, aren't you?"
"I am indeed," Sarabi replied, "by the way, how does my flank look?"
"Erm, pretty, pretty livid," Kondo replied, "why, does it hurt?"
"Not really," Sarabi replied, "but it's easy enough for a cut to get infected if it gets dirty, and I'm not flexible enough to reach around there myself anymore."
"Looks like I'm in for the long-haul then," Kondo said glancing again at Sarabi's torn-up flank, "how long is it going to take those to heal fully?"
"I have absolutely no idea," Sarabi replied, "the last time I got scratched I was, just about normal size for a lioness."
"Could be a while then," Kondo said, "ah well, It's not like I had anything else to do anyway." After a while, and having moved to his second leg, he said, "I hope you don't mind my asking, but, um, how did you get so big?"
"It's a long story," Sarabi replied.
"We have time," Kondo replied, "plenty of it."
"Yeah, I guess we do," Sarabi replied, and so started to describe to Kondo the events that led to her present predicament. Hours passed as the two lions shared their histories. Eventually, nightfall found them asleep together, the gaunt male virtually enveloped in the folds of his much larger companion.
Awakening comparatively early the next morning, Sarabi found Kondo...
[[1. ...Gone]]
[[2. ...Still asleep]]**Dangerous Waters (Shalion)**
Sarabi started off blindly in the direction which offered easiest passage to her hurting paws, the open savanna. Despite the seeming cover that the tress of the jungle provided, Sarabi did not want to be hampered by traversing through the trees while the dogs would not be slowed at all; besides, the jungle was a fair distance away and the lioness wanted to lose the dogs as soon as possible.
The morbidly obese feline was only able to trot as her maximum speed and even then she had to alternately slow to a walk every few minutes. The dogs seemed to hover about her like a cloud of flies, laughing at her attempt to escape them and continuing to bite at her rump and flanks. By now, Sarabi was bleeding in several areas, at least some of the bite had been fairly deep, and she grew more angry and frustrated at the dogs and her inability to rend and crush them. All for the sake of some lost little gazelle who had found her just hours ago.
Huffing, and moving into an area of tall grass that came almost to the top of Sarabi's back, the lioness felt movement against her undercarriage as the tiny gazelle pushed his way forward against the low hanging bulk of Sarabi's brisket. The grass giving him partial shelter, the gazelle pushed his head free of Sarabi's flab; she could feel his tiny shoulders working under the mass of fat and skin draping down on him. The gazelle, whose horns had not even grown in yet, opened his mouth to speak urgently to the big sheltering cat, "I...I think we should turn south-east."
Sarabi lifted an eyebrow and then grunted as a dog launched itself out of the grass and bite a haunch thicker around that its whole body. Sarabi paused and gave the hound a massive kick in the chest with the same leg for his trouble. "Why?" asked Sarabi, stung by pain, "What's to the south-east?"
The gazelle seemed to remember that he was lurking under the chest of a predator easily able to devour him in a couple bites, "I... I... there's..." Sarabi could feel him shaking as they kept moving forward. Sarabi's limp became more pronounced as she became fatigued.
Desperate for any solution, Sarabi persisted, "What? What do you think we should do, little one?"
"Th...There's a water hole my mother used to tell me never to go to. It's close."
Sarabi was becoming frustrated with the gazelle as well, "Why does that matter, was it poison? Are humans there?" Not that that will do us any good in either case, thought Sarabi harshly.
"No, no." the little gazelle shook his head fiercely on his thin neck, "The water hole is full of crocodiles."
Sarabi sighed and kept moving, waddling her massive bulk through the grass, not even attempting to strike at the unseen dogs as they continued to bark and reveal their location to anyone interested. "Crocodiles... lovely. I'm sure they will be more than happy crawl out of the water and deal with these dogs for us." said Sarabi sarcastically.
The gazelle seemed not to understand the tone of Sarabi's voice, "Well, I don't think they'd come out. But we can go in the water and the dogs won't be able to follow us."
Sarabi sighed again, "I think I prefer being chased and bit by dogs than by crocs, little one."
"No, no. I don't think they'd attack you, queen."
"And why is that?" Sarabi prodded, wishing the gazelle would just get his little immature idea out already.
"Well..." The gazelle peeked his head nervously up at Sarabi. "I thought you were a hippo... and I thought... well maybe they crocs would too. Crocodiles don't attack hippos you know..."
The gazelle looked abashedly down at the ground after admitting his idea. Sarabi was just about to calmly let down the young thing's idea when she gave it another thought. She didn't really have the outline that one would expect of a lioness anymore. She also knew that crocodiles did not have the best of eyesight. If they could just get in and out fast enough, they could lose the dogs. Sarabi was sure that she'd accumulated enough bulk that swimming should be effortless, the gazelle could ride on her back... But the idea was so risky. Sarabi was not sure she was willing to risk her life on something so harebrained, not after all the effort she'd put into enhancing her body nearly to a state of perfection.
1. Go for the waterhole
2. Think of another plan**Food On The Brain (Beb0p)**
Sarabi lay in the hollow formed by the tree roots. Having the weight taken from her paws felt wonderful after such a long trek.
She listened to the sounds of the jungle. It was shift change - the time just after the nocturnal animals had woken but before the daytime animals had gone to sleep, thus doubling the volume of noise for an hour or so.
She looked up and saw birds flitting from branch to branch, making the tree tops shake as though caught in a gale. She also caught sight of the ever present vulture and tried to ignore him.
Tucking her head between her paws and attempting to curl up as best as her enlarged body would allow, she turned her attention back to the cacophony of screeches, wails, hoots, calls and growls.
Growls? She looked around and heard it again. Too close for comfort. The sound was coming from her belly.
I wondered when you'd begin making your demands again she thought with a sigh as she rubbed her stomach with the broad pads of a paw.
Instantly her imagination transported back in time to the village where the men had cooked seasoned meats for her. Meats so succulent that they practically melted in her mouth. She remembered fondly the times when an animal would be sacrificed daily to satiate her growling belly and at the time she reveled in it and never wanted it to end.
She snapped back to the present as a droplet of dew hit her nose. Her mouth salivated and her belly growled all the more.
She pined for the days when she was allowed...no...when she was expected to lounge around in luxury, having her every whim catered to. She though of those early days, when the milk was given to her so freely that she felt like a cub once more.
Rivulets of drool coursed down either side of her jaw. She shook her head, her flabby neck being thrown this way and that as she tried to snap herself out of this gluttonous fantasy.
"Come on, Sarabi. This is silly! You know you can't eat like that any more." she told herself aloud.
[[1. Sarabi continues to muse on food.]]
2. Sarabi eventually falls asleep**Can I Have Some... Mor? (Shalion)**
Sarabi’s gut was churning like it was trying to contain a tropical thunderstorm by the time Dziko returned with the burden of Sarabi’s dinner. The great cat was already looking over the dark skinned girl’s shoulders for the additional servants carrying the platters upon platters loaded down with the savory, meaty treats that the humans would no doubt shower on her now that she was feeling a little better… but none came. Dziko was alone, with her single, large platter. Despite the fact that the young girl appeared to be having just the slightest trouble with the platter’s great weight of seared chicken, to Sarabi, the plate’s contents appeared to be little more than a snack and the great cat was hungrier than she had ever remembered being since the beginning of her captivity.
Dziko must have noticed Sarabi’s wandering eyes for she said, “This is your dinner, Great Oshun. The caravan leader says we must still conserve our supplies despite the good fortune of your returned appetite.” The daughter of the chief set the big plate down not without a little sigh of relief, but Sarabi could hardly see the food. All she saw was that she was being shortchanged of the volumes she deserved as these people’s goddess. Still… there was a heaping platter of hot chicken in front of her, and Sarabi head lowered, multiplying her many chins in the process, almost involuntarily.
Soon afterwards, Sarabi belched heavily and spit out a large wishbone that she had cleaned of meat with her rough tongue. She felt much better now with the weight of several chickens inside of her, more able to think. In fact, Sarabi was rather unfamiliar with the gastrointestinal sensations she was currently experiencing. She was neither full nor ravenous. Sarabi was used to extremes, but this was different. If there had been food in front of her, she definitely would have continued eating, but right now, she felt no great need to continue eating, other than a desire for the taste or perhaps that bloated heavy feeling she was used to.
Sarabi shifted herself a bit. The cramp in her right leg was back and she extended it and retracted it a few times, but it only helped marginally. Sarabi would have thought that her muscles would have been used to her completely sedentary lifestyle by now, but they, although atrophied, still longed to be moved and stretched and punished the immobile feline for her indolence. That strange human girl was still sitting there in the corner, watching Sarabi’s huge hulking form avidly as if she might disappear suddenly should she look away. Oh the pain! It was like lightning shooting down the long muscles in her right leg which used to propel her across the savanna. That which used to be essential for surviving in the wilderness was now a liability now that she was nearly immobilized by her heavy, fat flooded body. Still, habits were hard to break and without that feeling of being full to bursting, Sarabi could not shake the feeling that her meal was not yet complete. And that mental nagging had only one alleviation as far as Sarabi knew.
1. Ask Dziko to fetch more food
[[2. Deal with the cramp]]**Stalemate (new)**
...Decided that enough was enough, she couldn't take the pain any longer, and yet she was still loathe to release her captive, though she'd since forgotten why she wanted him in the first place. The immense lioness also realized that releasing the cheetah might not guarantee a cessation of the attack, since her now captive might decide to aid his brother in inflicting further punishment upon her few vulnerable spots, rather than persuading her attacker to run.
Squeezing down with her elephantine foreleg, Sarabi was gratified to hear a cough of expelled breath, and a whimper, and growled to her attacked, "okay, I've had enough of that, so stop now or I'll take it out on your brother."
Gratifyingly, the attack did stop, but the threat hadn't give Sarabi quite as much leverage as she'd thought, because after a few moments the cheetah replied, "let my brother go, now."
"Oh please," Sarabi said, "d'you really think you could hurt me more than you already were? Before I squeeze the life out of your brother?"
"You let my brother go," the cheetah said, "you let him go now, or...or I'll claw your eyes out," and rested a paw on the side of Sarabi's head for emphasis.
"Those claws of yours are too blunt to do any damage," Sarabi replied, trying to cover her fear with with false bravado. The immense lioness knew her ear wasn't essential these days, but her eyes were, for moving through the jungle was hard enough when she could see where she was going...
"Would you like to put that to the test," the cheetah asked quietly.
"Only if you want to see your brother suffocate," Sarabi replied coolly.
The cheetah paused, he could win this fight, but if this lioness was as hard as she seemed his brother would pay the ultimate penalty. After a few breathless moment he...
[[1. ...Gave up]]
[[2. ...Gave in to his anger]]**Hot Hunting (new)**
What had he been thinking, Kondo wondered as he trudged through the forest, he could easily have stayed back with Sarabi, but no, he'd had to act all blasé about it. Well, he was paying for it now, the moisture in the air seemed so thick that he wondered if was wading rather than walking.
Of course, the jungle wouldn't last forever, and indeed Kondo managed to cover in under an hour, half as much distance again as Sarabi had in the best part of half-a-day the day before. Breathing a sigh of relief when he finally saw slivers of open sky on the horizon, the young male speeded up, wanting to just be free of this infernal humidity. Not that the savannah proved to much better - oh certainly there was a few lengths on the boundary between the terrains where the jungle trees still provided some shade, but were nevertheless sparse enough not to hold the humidity in - but then the gaunt lion stepped out onto the savannah proper, and felt the heat hit him like a rock.
Gasping at the grass-fire heat of the sun, Kondo returned to the relative cool of the forest edge, and began to survey his options. To return to Sarabi now with nothing, indeed without even having tried was not to be thought of, he couldn't do it, either to her, or to himself. On the other hand, if he were to go out idly in this weather he'd surely bake to death. No, the gaunt male decided, the best option would be to follow the edge of the forest until he spotted a likely target.
-------
It took another half-an-hour for Kondo to find a likely target, or a gathering place for them anyway. The waterhole wasn't large, perhaps a dozen lengths across, but it was convenient, as was the acacia tree near it, far enough that he wouldn't easily be spotted by any random beast going down to drink, but close enough that he could at least hear if anything approached the waterhole.
And approach they did eventually. It was past midday when Kondo awoke from his half-doze to a commotion at the waterhole. The realization that he might finally be able to catch something excited the gaunt male no end, but he kept himself under control, crouching down, he slowly approach the waterhole to find a small herd of gemsboks drinking. One of them would make an excellent catch the young lion thought, but unfortunately, the beasts were on the other side of the waterhole right now. This didn't dismay him overmuch though, he'd just have to go around the waterhole, while being careful to keep himself concealed.
It took a while, but Kondo eventually got within what he considered to be striking distance, and began to select his target. Initially he'd though of going for the obviously pregnant female, but soon discounted it - he might be able to catch her, but he'd surely never be able to drag her carcass back to Sarabi - and instead focussed on a half-grown calf. Finally decided on his prey, the gaunt male, stalked as close as he possibly could, and then charged, trying to separate the chosen calf from its mother.
[[1. Kondo makes the kill]]
2. Kondo's misses the kill**Awaking Alone (new)**
Sarabi awoke the next morning feeling vaguely uneasy, and wondering why. Much later, the former queen would figure out that after a lifetime of sleeping in enclosed spaces, the cave at Pride Rock and the huts of the humans who worshipped her as a goddess, the feeling of sleeping in the open with only space around and overhead left her feeling vulnerable; but for now, she had no answers, or even an understanding of the problem. Stirring, the immense lioness immediately forgot the worry as she was reminded immediately of just that immensity, reveling for a moment in the way her luxuriant rolls and folds sat swathing her in luxury. Of course, she couldn't lie basking in her own opulence all day, and indeed within moments, memories of the previous day's doings made themselves known, of her escape from the humans' ward and their enforced gorging, of her wanderings in the jungle, of her bringing down the gazelles despite the immense hindrance of her weight, and finally of her meeting the gaunt rogue, Kunda was it, Kandi, no Kondo, that was it, Kondo.
The memory of the male set Sarabi thinking, she couldn't sense his presence anymore, but then she couldn't sense a lot of other things, like even the distant areas of her own massive body. Remembering that the lion had gone to sleep against her back, the immense lioness turned, trying to see if he was still there, but quickly fetched up against an impediment in her own mountain-range of collars. Although momentarily disgusted at the fact that she could not even see, let alone reach most of her own body, the former queen was not to be put off, and so wriggled herself from resting on her side, to at least resting on her belly. Panting slightly, at the comparatively heavy exertion, the immense lioness rested for a few moments before slowly ratcheting her massive bulk into a standing position.
Now up, Sarabi waddled clumsily around to examine the spot where she and Kondo had spent at least some of the night together. Sniffing around, she knew that the lion was long gone, for the last of his scent was more than an hour old. The thought of being alone again saddened the former queen, she'd rather liked the gaunt male, who'd been intelligent and witty, and as far as she could tell, hadn't minded her huge size. The immense lioness couldn't dwell too long on the loss of her may-have-been companion though, for soon her cavernous stomach made its presence felt, grumbling loudly.
For a short time, Sarabi attempted to fight her immense hunger before giving in and beginning to haul her bulk down to the waterhole, hoping that enough water would quell the emptiness in her stomach. It didn't work though, for the former queen had to stop soon enough when the rumbling of her stomach made the several liters of water she'd already drunk slosh nauseatingly. The immense lioness struggled to overcome her stomach's desire to reject its aqueous meal, and for a few moments she considered eating actual dirt to attempt to fill the void.
Fortunately for Sarabi, before she could make a start on the nearby soil a voice from nearby called, "Sarabi, Sarabi are you still here?"
"I'm down here Kondo," Sarabi called back, attempting - but failing - to rise.
"Oh there you are," Kondo said, appearing beside Sarabi a few moments later, just as the lioness managed to part her brisket from the ground, "um, is everything alright?"
"Everything but my weight," Sarabi wheezed, daring to spare no more effort answering than she absolutely had to. "Where were you this morning anyway," she asked, when she made it all the way up.
"I just figured I'd have a look around," Kondo replied, then added, "I got us some breakfast by the way."
"Really," Sarabi said, shuffling awkwardly as she struggled to turn on the slope of the bank without jiggling her stomach too much, "what is it?"
"A buffalope*," Kondo replied, "I don't know if you've ever come across those."
"I've never heard the name," Sarabi replied, panting heavily as she to overcome both the bank, and the nauseating sloshing from her stomach. "And no, I've never seen one before," the former queen added, when she reached the buffalope, "tastes good does it?"
"I think so," Kondo replied, "no accounting for taste though."
"Well I'm sure I'll be able to force it down regardless," Sarabi replied, letting herself down before the carcass, and tearing into it. After a few mouthfuls, she paused her eating momentarily, swallowed, and asked, "..."
-------
* Sable Antelope
1. "...How did you catch it?"
[[2. "...Do you want some?”]]**Late Riser (new)**
Sarabi awoke the next morning feeling vaguely uneasy, and wondering why. Much later, the former queen would figure out that after a lifetime of sleeping in enclosed spaces, the cave at Pride Rock and the huts of the humans who worshipped her as a goddess, the feeling of sleeping in the open with only space around and overhead left her feeling vulnerable; but for now, she had no answers, or even an understanding of the problem. Stirring, the immense lioness immediately forgot the worry as she was reminded immediately of just that immensity, reveling for a moment in the way her luxuriant rolls and folds sat swathing her in luxury. Of course, she couldn't lie basking in her own opulence all day, and indeed within moments, memories of the previous day's doings made themselves known, of her escape from the humans' ward and their enforced gorging, of her wanderings in the jungle, of her bringing down the gazelles despite the immense hindrance of her weight, and finally of her meeting the gaunt rogue, Kunda was it, Kandi, no Kondo, that was it, Kondo.
The memory of the male set Sarabi thinking, she couldn't sense his presence anymore, but then she couldn't sense a lot of other things, like even the distant areas of her own massive body. Remembering that the lion had gone to sleep against her back, the immense lioness turned, trying to see if he was still there, but quickly fetched up against an impediment in her own mountain-range of collars. Although momentarily disgusted at the fact that she could not even see, let alone reach most of her own body, the former queen was not to be put off, and so wriggled herself from resting on her side, to at least resting on her belly. At least, that's what she attempted to do, but her back seemed rather heavier than normal, and her muscles, badly overburdened even under normal circumstances simply couldn't overcome the weight. "Kondo," she said quietly when she finally gave up trying to wriggle upright, "Kondo, is that you?" When this failed to elicit a response, she repeated in a louder voice, "Kondo, is that you?"
"Hnn," said a tired voice from around her back area, "wha'."
"Kondo," Sarabi said again "Kondo, could you please get up?"
"J's' while long'r," Kondo grunted.
"Kondo," Sarabi said, slightly exasperated, "get up would you?"
"Ah quit y'r yawpin' Tuks," Kondo said.
"I'm not Tuks," Sarabi exclaimed, "now would you please get your bony frame off me."
"'Kay 'kay, don' have a fit," Kondo mumbled, finally rolling off Sarabi's back roll, allowing the bloated lioness to finally squirm her way upright. Long before the former queen was upright though, she heard a gasp from behind her, and when she did finally make it upright, she looked over to see the gaunt lion watching her slightly wide eyed.
For some reason, Sarabi felt a little off-put by Kondo's stare, so said tartly, "seen everything yet?"
"Huh," Kondo said, "oh, sorry, I was just a bit surprised, I'd, uh, I'd actually forgotten about yesterday."
"Uh-huh," Sarabi said, "well for your information buddy, yesterday did happen, would you like me to run you through a step-by-step recall of what happened?"
"No, no I think I remember most of it," Kondo said.
"Good," Sarabi said, "then I won't have to remind you that you owe me."
"Uh, yeah," Kondo said, "half a gazelle wasn't it?"
"And the rest," Sarabi replied, twitching her head to the side to indicate her torn-up flank.
"Well, maybe," Kondo said, "but then again, how many meals will those scratches actually cost you, I wouldn't think too much."
"Okay, maybe not a lot of food," Sarabi conceded, realizing that she'd pressed Kondo just a little too hard, "but I'm going to need you to help keep them clean."
"Fair enough," Kondo said, "now, if there nothing else I'll be off, see if I can get us some lunch."
"Well I won't hold you back then,: Sarabi said, and a Kondo turned to leave, added, "good luck."
"Thanks," Kondo said, and disappeared into the jungle. Grateful that she was now alone, Sarabi yielded to gravity, and let herself slump to the ground, groaning as her joints, already feeling as though they were on fire, flared up for a moment.
Time seemed to pass slowly as Sarabi waited for Kondo to return, and it didn't help that her stomach, unused to being so comparatively empty was churning loudly much of the time. Finally, to the former queen's relief, there was a movement in the undergrowth. and she turned hopefully to see that it was...
[[1. ...Indeed Kondo]]
2. ...Someone else**Menu In Mind (Shalion)**
The minutes passed as Sarabi lay in her hollow, surrounded by the noise of the forest which was so loud it was like a presence sitting on her head. She tried to lose herself in it though because her stomach would not relent with its demands.
She'd begun feeling the hunger around midday when she normally would have woken and begun accepting offerings from the steady stream of travelers who came sometimes hundreds of miles to see her. On a normal day, by twilight she would have consumed three or four whole chickens (six on a good day), a haunch's worth of beef (usually in a thick stew), several small game animals caught on the road and a quarter of a goat (Sarabi especially enjoyed the loin, blackened on a hot iron pan and blood red in the middle). And then after the sun set, the village would see about their duties of filling their Goddess of Prosperity to capacity. Oh the night before last they'd had this lovely...
No! Stop thinking about that! Sarabi tried desperately to wring her mind away from such phantoms, but it was impossible. Her belly hung like a void inside her, like someone had ripped a hole from inside her chest. Sarabi clutched her middle with four paws that could just barely touch each other around the mass of her belly if she tried. Freedom is more important than food, she tried to tell herself, even an unlimited supply of it... But the situation seemed hopeless. Her body was so accustomed to her constant deluge of fattening food that it was painful to be abruptly without it. Something's gone horribly wrong! her body was shouting, you've got to get things back on track. Where's that calf we were promised?!
"Ugh..." moaned Sarabi as the pangs rose like an inferno, consuming her from the inside. She rolled on her back, closed her eyes and pressed her paws against her soft middle, as if, if she squeezed hard enough, she could fill the empty cavity wailing within her.
From above came a voice, "Stomach problems? Dissentary is surprisingly common way to die in the jungle you know..."
"Go away. I'm not in the mood." moaned Sarabi as she twisted and turned, kneading her back into the twisted wood under her.
The rotund lioness tried her best to block out the sound of the vulture as he continued to speak, but he was too close, in the tree directly over her. She could almost feel him eyeing her vast stores of tawny furred blubber as she tossed and turned, at once desiring the food of her life at the village and knowing it to be forever gone from her, at least as long as she remained uncaptured. The vulture spoke of...
[[1. Food Nearby]]
2. An approaching predator**Working Out The Kinks (Shalion)**
Ugh... thought the rotund feline. As much as Sarabi wanted to complete her gorge, the pain of her leg could not be ignored. But Sarabi was not familiar with the cure for such pain that resulted from excessive inactivity; it really wasn’t an issue in the savanna. Maybe she could stretch out the kinks, but with the effort of just rolling over making her think twice about most things Sarabi could really do with an easier approach than trying to stretch all by herself. There was a perfectly willing body servant there right in front of her... But how far was Sarabi willing to let herself go? Was she really willing to let this girl do even simple stretches for her now? What was left for Sarabi when she was not able or willing to even stretch her legs when they hurt from not moving so much? She probably needed to do at least this for herself... probably.
[[1. Stretch the leg yourself]]
[[2. Ask Dziko to stretch your leg for you->1. Let Dziko stretch your leg after all]]**Bluffed Victory (new)**
...Cracked, he wasn't a gambler, not here, not when the stakes were this big. "Fine," he said, trying to quell the lump in his throat, "fine, you win, just, just don't hurt him any more please."
Sarabi breathed a sigh of relief as she lessened the weight on her captive, It had been a desperate gamble, no, it had been a bluff backed up by an empty threat, a double bluff in fact since she was neither willing to kill her small, waif-like captive, nor certain she could have stood the pain even if she had been willing to commit such a dark act. "Good," She said, "now move back a few places, I'm not comfortable with you being so close me after what you did."
Unwilling to obey, but unable to do anything else, the cheetah did as Sarabi instructed, rising and moving a few paces away before sitting down again. There was a few moments silence, then he asked, "why are you doing this, what d'you want from us?"
"I just want a chat, okay," Sarabi replied, beginning to regret how much anguish she'd put these two through, this wasn't her, she didn't act like this.
"If you wanted a chat you could just have come out and said so," the cheetah replied coolly.
"I wasn't sure you wouldn't just run away," Sarabi admitted, "..."
1. "...Now, can we have a civilized talk"
[[2. "...I'm sorry, I just didn't want to be alone”]]**Losing Everything (Matt)**
...Gave in to his anger, how dare this hippo of a lioness treat him and his brother like this. With a growl, he stamped down drawing a blunt claw across the top of Sarabi's closed eyelid.
Sarabi roared in pain as she felt the cheetah's claw make contact with her eyelid. As blunt as the waif's claws were, they were still an agonizingly effective weapon when applied to so delicate and sensitive an organ. The first strike was followed moments later, by a second, and then a third. The former queen at first squeezed down on her attacker's sibling, dreading having to kill the blameless beast, but angry enough at his brother to try. She didn't get the chance though, as the young male's fourth strike ended with one claw in the tiny hollow in the corner of her eye, bringing unbearable agony. Unable to resist any longer, the immense lioness roared in pain and swung her flabby foreleg forward in an attempt to shield her eye from further attacks.
The cheetah grinned as Sarabi reacted at last to his assault. Abandoning his attack he aimed immediately for the immense lioness's chest, and his brother's slack form, "y-you okay?"
The former captive gasped raggedly, trying to get some air into his empty lungs. Still weak, he tried to rise, but slumped back, simply too exhausted. His brother wasn't wasting any time though, and grabbing him by the scruff of his neck as dragged him off Sarabi's immense gut. The enormous lioness knew what was happening, and moved to stop it, but she moved too slowly, by the time she'd swung her sausage of a leg around, the cheetahs were out of her grasp. Worse was yet to come as the fitter of the two cheetahs took the opportunity to inflict yet more injury on the former queen and bit down heavily on her isolated paw while being careful to keep his tongue well away from the now-extended claws.
Sarabi yowled in pain, and tried to drag her paw away from the aggressive cheetah, but with his jaws firm, and with barely any extra strength left, was not quite able to do so. The cheetah didn't hold his bite for long, less than half-a-minute all told, but his teeth were still young, and therefore still reasonably sharp, and so the brief struggle left the immense lioness's paw the worse off with numerous punctures and scratches. When the attack was over, the cheetah turned and began to aid his still weak brother and together the two retreated into the jungle. Meanwhile, the former queen brought her paw around for as much of an inspection as she could give it now that the previous assault had left her vision badly blurred. The prognosis wasn't good, the cheetah's sharp teeth had left the paw effectively useless, at least for the next few days, maybe somewhat more.
The little cheetah's rapid success hadn't just left Sarabi physically injured either, the confidence the success of the hunt had given her had gone, more than gone in fact, and the void it had left had been filled with a sort of dull dread. The immense cat had known that she was ill-prepared for the rigors of wild life, but the loss to a single cheetah - well, two really, but only one was fighting - and the injuries she'd sustained from the fight had shaken her, if a cheetah was able to overcome her, what other threats were nearby, and what would they think of her, would they recognize her weakness, or would her immensity hide it? The fear wasn't unjustified either, for although there were few creatures in the jungle that would seek to make a meal of lion-flesh, being eaten was not the only threat to the former queen, for there was nearby...
1. ...A small party of humans
2. ...A small pack of hyenas**Making The Kill (Matt)**
The gemsboks turned and ran as soon as Kondo broke cover, scattering in all directions, but he didn't worry about the others, he'd fixed on one target, and he was determined to get it. It wasn't going to be easy though, the gaunt male admitted to himself after a few moments, the calf stayed close to its mother, and jinked again and again, gradually wearing down the young lion's still rather limited reserves.
For all its speed and maneuverability though, the calf was not destined to survive, for just as Kondo was about to call the hunt off, the young bok tripped, stumbled, and then it was all over. Ecstatic as having brought down such a good kill, the gaunt male bit harder than more experienced hunters would have have on the calf's throat, puncturing the jugular vein. The young lion wasn't able to savor his kill just yet though, for within moments of bringing the youngster down, its mother returned, forcing him to break off. The female was too late though, for with a punctured jugular, the calf was unable to find its feet even for a moment before collapsing, having tinted much of the surrounding vegetation crimson.
Torn between loyalty to her calf and the safety of the herd, the mother continued to encourage her child for a few minutes, before finally giving up and moving off, allowing Kondo to return. The gaunt lion's stomach churned as he surveyed his kill, what a prize this was, it must weight almost two thirds what he did, more than enough to pay off Sarabi's kindness. Ignoring his stomach for now, the male grabbed the neck of the carcass, and began the laborious process of dragging the beast back 'home'.
-------
Sarabi had begun to worry as the afternoon rolled on, where was Kondo, had he deserted her, had he been injured. She shouldn't really have let the gaunt lion out of her sight she thought, not in his condition. A few times, the former queen had made to try to follow her gaunt companion, but had abandoned the - for a cat of her size - hair-brained schemes just as soon as she got a length or so into the jungle proper, the humidity draining what little energy she'd managed to muster.
As afternoon began to stretch into evening, Sarabi was beginning to seriously consider yet another attempt at tracking Kondo when she became aware of a discordant note in the jungle before her, as thought someone were approaching. Hoping that it was her missing companion, the immense lioness squirmed upright and ratcheted her body into a standing position before going to investigate the arrival. "Kondo," the former queen exclaimed happily, "you're back." His mouth too full to speak, the gaunt lion nodded tiredly, and made one last push, dragging the gemsbok carcass into the clear before collapsing in exhaustion. "Are you okay," Sarabi asked, "where were you, I was beginning to get worried."
Rolling none-too-comfortably onto his side, Kondo replied, "yeah, I'm fine, just a bit tired."
"A bit," Sarabi asked incredulously, "you look absolutely exhausted."
Kondo grunted, then said, "actually, yeah, I do feel kind of worn out, but hey, I made it right, and I got us a meal in the bargain."
"You only just made it by the looks of it," Sarabi replied severely, "why did you take such a big risk, you could have been hurt, badly."
"Hey, I'm young, I'd heal," Kondo replied, a touch defensively, "and would you please stop going on, you're starting to sound like, like I expect a mother would."
"And how's that," Sarabi asked, slightly off-put.
"because you won't leave me alone," Kondo replied in an exasperated tone, "honestly, I am big enough to look after myself you know."
"If you call slowly starving to death 'looking after yourself'," Sarabi said, "then, maybe."
"Just, just get on with your meal would you," Kondo finally snapped, "yeesh."
With an exasperated sigh, Sarabi gave up on Kondo and turned to her meal. After a few mouthfuls, a thought occurred to her, and she asked, "d'ou w'n' s'm'?"
"No, I'm fine," Kondo replied, "I've already had my share, just, leave some for tomorrow will you?"
"Will do," Sarabi replied beginning to eat once again. Heeding Kondo's words, the immense lioness ate carefully, stopping when she'd had enough, to stave off her hunger if not fill her stomach. Having finished her immense meal, the former queen looked around as much as her multitude of collars allowed, but couldn't spot her gaunt companion. "Kondo," she asked, "are you still there?"
"Yep," Kondo replied from behind her, "you wanted something?"
"No, I was just making sure you were there," Sarabi replied, "you fancy sleeping with me tonight?"
"Sure, if you're offering," Kondo said.
"Right, just give me a mo'," Sarabi said, as she began to squirm her way onto her side. In fact it took several minutes to complete the maneuver, but neither cat complained, the lioness saw her size not as a major impediment, but simply an inconvenient cost of her 'godliness', while Kondo, although he may have had some habitual concerns about his immense companion's weight, was not about to voice them, for fear of having to sleep rough once again. "Okay, I'm ready when you are," the former queen said eventually, finally having rolled as far as she wanted.
"You know, I could get used to this," Kondo said as, having made his way over to Sarabi, he sank lazily into her folds, "you're very comfortable."
"Glad I can be of service," Sarabi replied, reaching down and drawing Kondo further in, "sweet dreams."
"Yeah, you too," Kondo replied, letting his eyes close. Padded and warmed by Sarabi's massive body, the gaunt male fell into a deep, restful sleep, that was only broken when his immense companion started shaking him...
[[1. ...Later that night]]
2. ...The next morning**Buffalope Buffet (new)**
"...Sorry, that was rude of me tucking in like that straight away, do you want some?"
"No, I've had my share," Kondo replied.
"Really," Sarabi asked, glancing over the carcass "where?" Kondo lifted up the haunch, revealing that he'd taken a good lump out of the hip, "oh, right." Turning back to her meal, the immense lioness began to gorge once again.
Watching Sarabi eat, Kondo was surprised at just how much the lioness was managing to put away; he'd suspected that the massive lioness would eat more than most, but this was ridiculous, "don't eat it all in one go hey."
Sarabi stopped eating for a moment, and turned to glare at Kondo "wha' w'sh 'at 'ou said?"
"I said don't eat it all hey," Kondo repeated, "I sort of wanted to have some left for tomorrow."
Shooting a severe glare at Kondo, Sarabi turned back to the Buffalope, but instead of returning to her meal, just stared in shock at the denuded carcass, the beast's neck was down to it vertebrae, the brisket was gone, and the 'upper' foreleg was looking virtually skeletal. The former queen also realized that she was no longer feeling hungry, though she was still far from full. "I-I guess I have eaten quite a bit haven't I?"
"Uh-huh," Kondo said, eyeing Sarabi up, which did not go unnoticed by the immense lioness.
"Is there something else you wanted to say," Sarabi asked.
"Well I wasn't going to mention it before," Kondo said, "but if you ate like that every day when you were with these 'humans' then it's no wonder you put on so much weight."
"was that an insult," Sarabi asked, giving the lion a mild glare.
"No, just an observation," Kondo replied.
"Well could you kindly take such observations out of my presence," Sarabi said, a shade more harshly than the lion was prepared to put up with.
"Why certainly," Kondo said brightly, then grabbing the now rather lighter carcass, "vut ll ve tkng my ill af ll."
"What," Sarabi said, unable to understand Kondo around the leg of the carcass. There was no mistaking the lion's actions though, as he started to drag the carcass away from her, "hey, wait wait." When this failed to elicit a response, she called, "Kondo."
"Yef," Kondo replied, turning, a steely glint in his eye, "'ou antd fmfng?"
'Yes,' Sarabi thought, but wasn't able to give voice to her words as she caught Kondo's harsh gaze, "erm..."
1. "...You weren't going to say goodbye?"
[[2. "I'm sorry”]]**Helping A Hippo (new)**
...Indeed Kondo, "so, did you get anything?"
"I did indeed," Kondo replied, a slowly dragged into view a grown zebra, "what d'you think?"
"I think you're some hunter," Sarabi replied, "now, are you going to bring it over here?"
"Why," Kondo asked.
"Because the heat would make it rather a difficult task for me to get over to it where it is," Sarabi replied.
Kondo was left speechless for a moment, by such open indolence. When he finally could put words to his thoughts again, he blurted, "you lazy lump, d'you have any idea how for I've dragged this already?"
"No doubt you could tell me," Sarabi replied coolly, "now bring that thing over here before I have to come over there and take it."
"You really think you could get that elephantine body of yours over hero before I could run," Kondo asked.
"Not if you were traveling light, no," Sarabi said, "but if you were trying to drag that zebra, then yes, I'm sure I could do it."
There was a moments silence as each lion tried to outstare the other, before the male, who simply hadn't the strength, either of will or of body, gave in, "as you wish."
"Yes, thank you," Sarabi said, as she watched Kondo drag the zebra the rest of the way over to her. She was about to begin her meal, when she saw that the lion was also intent on taking his share. In her heart, the former queen knew that the male easily deserved the meal, and the entire carcass really, but with her pride ascendant at that very moment, she decided to test the waters of her gaunt companion's submission, and so said, "not yet, you'd other duties to perform before your breakfast."
"What," Kondo exclaimed, "what other duties?"
"My scratches need cleaning," Sarabi replied, leveling a cool, potent stare at the male, "after you've seen to those, well, we shall see."
Kondo, his spirit having broken once already today was unable to offer much resistance, cracking after but a few seconds, "yes m'lady."
"Good," Sarabi said, tucking into her meal with victorious gusto, while the lion actually responsible for the kill examined her rent hide in minutiae.
Of course, as focussed as Kondo was on his task, he couldn't help but snatch glances at the carcass, and was surprised, almost shocked rather, at the speed with which the immense lioness was devouring the succulent meat, "hey, leave me some would you?"
"Wh'f w'f f't," Sarabi mumbled around a mouthful of meat, then swallowed and repeated, "what was that you just said Kondo?"
"I said, uh..." Kondo began, but felt his ire drain immediately, taking with it the strength of will it had brought, "...could you leave me a bit, please?"
"I might," Sarabi replied, "provided, of course, that you don't displease me as you just did." When this failed to elicit a response, she asked pointedly, "you won't cheek me again, will you."
"N-no, m'lady," Kondo replied submissively, "never again."
"Good," Sarabi said, "now carry on."
"Yes m'lady," Kondo said, turning obediently back to his task.
Eventually, Sarabi finished her meal, and Kondo finished cleaning the immense lioness's wounds, and so the male asked, "may I eat now m'lady?"
"Hmm," Sarabi said, squirming onto her side to take at least some pressure off her bloated stomach, "no, before you start I need a massage."
"Can't that wait until later," Kondo pleaded, "I'm so..."
"Insolent," Sarabi cut in, "no, first my massage, then, perhaps, your breakfast, understood?" When there was no response, she growled, "I said, is that understood?"
No, I'm starving you lazy lump, Kondo thought, but regardless, could only say, "yes, m'lady."
"Good," Sarabi replied, "now get to it." After a few moments, she asked, "Kondo, are you going to get on with it?"
"I-I already am m'lady," Kondo replied.
"Well you'll have to press harder then," Sarabi said, "I can hardly feel you." After a few more moments, she said, "still too soft, press as hard as you can."
"Yes m'lady," Kondo replied, pressing indeed as hard as he could.
"Ah yes, that's better," Sarabi said, finally feeling Kondo's paws on the areas she wanted them, if only for a few moments. "Did I tell you to stop Kondo," she asked, when the pressure faded.
"No m'lady," Kondo replied, "but putting that much pressure into a massage is very tiring..."
"Tiring or not, keep going" Sarabi replied.
"Yes m'lady," Kondo said, unable to disobey somehow, despite the ache and exhaustion in his muscles.
You may stop now," Sarabi said after a few more minutes.
"Yes m'lady," Kondo said, sounding haggard, as indeed he was, "may I eat now."
"If you must," Sarabi replied.
1. Kondo doesn't like being dominated
[[2. Kondo likes being dominated]]**Food Nearby (Beb0p)**
The vulture hopped down until he was level with the lioness. He watched her discomfort with what appeared to be professional interest, always making sure to be well out of the reach of her paws, jaws and claws.
He tutted as he watched her mash her paws into her dense flanks.
"No no no, this can't be good at all. All that exertion while carrying so much weight was bound to have an adverse effect on you. What is it? Heart attack? Collapsed lung?" he asked, his voice sounding calm and casual. "Such a shame. Oh well. More for the rest of us. Circle of life and all that."
"Back off, Birdbrain!" snarled Sarabi, bearing her fangs to the now disappointed vulture. "I'm just a little...peckish." she explained, while her belly growled a crescendo.
"Oh! Is that all? Why, there's a pile of food just a little further into the jungle! It wouldn't do for me to allow a Queen to go hungry! Follow me." he suggested, his hunched form hopping further into the jungle.
[[1. The vulture leads Sarabi to some ruins]]
2. The vulture leads Sarabi into the jungle**Kitty Yoga (Shalion)**
Sarabi rejected the idea eventually. She was a goddess after all and needed to retain the proper dignity of her station. If she could drag her round, barrel-like torso across the ground, then she could at least stretch her leg. However, what sounded so simple in theory was rather more problematic in practice.
For starters, the once fierce lioness could not think of a constructive stretch to perform. She had never thought of moving for moving’s sake before; always moving had simply been a means to an end. Sarabi was still on her belly from eating the chicken, and to avoid the effort of rolling over, she simply extended her leg out behind her. It didn’t go straight out, but at an angle and predictably, the thickness of her blubbery haunch and the fatty balloon of her belly on which her hips now currently rested got in the way and restricted her range of movement. Sarabi groaned softly, feeling the cramp worsen, or perhaps work itself out, as she pushed her leg out behind her. she used her knee against the floor of the litter as leverage to get her leg out farther because her muscles were not up to fully extending the limb by themselves; and the pain intensified. With a grunt, she retracted her leg, placing the foot fully on the floor under the bulk of both belly and thigh. She felt strangely worse and better at the same time for relaxing her leg. The cramp was by no means gone, but the muscles were a little tingly and a little warmer, so perhaps the “stretch” was interacting with the cramp somehow.
Sarabi was about to try it again when the girl, who had been watching her distress the whole time, finally came forward. She knelt in front of the lioness, her skinny knees mere inches from the forward protrusion of Sarabi’s chest which sprawled across the floor. “What is it that pains you, Great Goddess? How might our humble servant provide assistance?”
Sarabi cocked her head in thought. This whole stretching thing was turning out to be a whole lot more painful that she had expected her heart rate still hadn’t settled down quite yet as she felt the heavy, fast beat of it in the veins buried deep within her blobby neck. Maybe the girl could help after all. She was her body servant after all, and a goddess shouldn’t be put through all of that trouble for stubborn muscles that pained her for no good reason.
[[1. Let Dziko stretch your leg after all]]
2. Dziko misunderstands and tries to get you outside the tent**A Helping Hand (new)**
Who would have thought that stretching would be so difficult for a lioness, the lioness wondered, we hunt by running our prey down and we fight every day to keep our lands free from competition, and from enemies. Well normal lionesses did anyway, but Sarabi knew that she was no normal lioness, she was a goddess, and while she didn't understand the full connotations of this, she knew it meant regular and plentiful meals and much pampered by her human servants.
Of course all this food and pampering had had a big effect on Sarabi, who's weight now topped 2,000 lb, or more than 4 times what she had once weighed. The lioness didn't know this of course, all she knew, or at least guessed, was that she was now too heavy to support herself, her legs would surely buckle beneath her if she could ever make it upright in the first place. This loss of mobility didn't concern her overmuch though, now when she had had servants to keep her clean and bring her meals, and what meals they were as well, every day she ate enough to sustain a decently sized pride, no wonder merely stretching her leg was so difficult.
And speaking of servants... Giving in to her laziness, Sarabi stretched her leg but a few inches, and then gave her tiny companion Dziko an imploring look. It wasn't fair the lioness knew, the girl must already be tired from having brushing her immense hide, and yet neither complained, she was too lazy, and the girl was too willing a servant. And willing she was, for as soon as she understood the wishes of the goddess, the girl began to stretch the cat's immense leg, and massaging it.
After a while, Dziko departed, but soon returned again with some oil to rub into Sarabi's immense legs, massaging them as she did so. Soon enough the pain was gone, though whether it was due to the stretching, the massaging, the oil, or a little of all three, the lioness couldn't tell, and neither did she care. With the pain gone, the great cat felt so rejuvenated that she actually tried so stand up. This wasn't successful though, for her earlier suspicions were now confirmed, she could no longer even stand, and in fact she wasn't even able to lift her engorged belly clean off the floor before the weight became too much and she had to given in.
That failure sealed her fate as far as Sarabi was concerned, unable even to stand, she no longer stood any chance of survival in the wild, heck, she probably wouldn't last a day before some predator or other decided she'd make a good feast, and she'd certainly be in no position to run away. Sighing deeply, the lioness closed her eyes, and then for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, she fell asleep. Having gone so many days without sleep, the immense cat had assumed that she'd sleep at least till the next morning, but instead, she awoke late at night to hear the sound of someone approaching her litter.
1. Dziko returns with more oil and some herbs for another round of massage
[[2. A surprise visit from the wise baboon]]**Rafiki?! (Shalion)**
Sarabi was still lying on her fat engorged flank inside her tent - not that she could do very much else - trying to sleep despite her returning headache; she wasn't feeling absolutely horrible anymore, but she was still feeling pretty ill. She thought she had finally managed it when she heard a noise and looked up. The action of lifting her head against the weight of the fatty collars she bore was a tangible exertion and Sarabi could feel her fattened, sagging jowls brush against the mass of blubber which bulged against the underside of her chin. The noise came again and there was something intimately familiar about it, the hollow thunking of dried gourds. The stick from which the little dried fruits hung pushed its way through the flaps of Sarabi's tent and was soon followed by a long face painted in blue and red.
"Rafiki?!" Sarabi could not keep herself from exclaiming. The natural urge to rise before her wise old friend was strong, but when Sarabi moved her feet, they were of course met with the undeniable weight of her massive body. She felt only a little skin at the sides of her round flanks part from the floor before her hind paws skidded across the smooth surface of her litter and she slumped back to the floor. Sarabi, mindful again of how much weight she had claimed in her time away from the Pridelands settled for setting her shoulders upright, though even this was a fairly big effort for her with the oozing fat bulging around and getting caught under the elbows she used to work up her upper half. Of course, the mass of her belly remained spread across the floor in a huge pool of fat that reached past her ankles. Sarabi suddenly felt uneasy about meeting her old friend in such a state, even an odd friend like Rafiki.
"Now now, no need to get all riled up for old Rafiki." Said the wizened baboon as he leaned on his stick.
“But... But...” stammered Sarabi - ugh, she could feel her heart beating too quickly again, “What are you doing here?”
“And where is here, my girl?” asked the baboon, grinning foolishly and turning his head sideways.
“What are you...” Sarabi began to ask, but Rafiki spoke again.
“I know what I am doing here. I think the question you meant to ask is what are you doing here.” Laughed the old monkey.
Sarabi knew Rafiki loved twisting words on themselves, but the question hit her hard. What was she doing here? But Sarabi wasn’t interested in discussing philosophy at the moment. “I meant how did you get here? I’m far from the Pridelands.”
“You never be further from your home than your own heart, Girl.” Said the baboon who promptly straightened up and jabbed Sarabi hard in her protruding pigeon chest.
“Ow!” exclaimed Sarabi, but Rafiki just stared at his twisted old stick.
“Might need a longer stick for this one...”
Running a paw down the bruised spot, Sarabi demanded, “What the heck was that for?”
“To wake you up, Girl.”
“Wha...?”
“To. Wake. You. Up.”
Rafiki’s eyes seemed to open wide and then suddenly Sarabi was falling… falling through a black pit, her massive weight drawing her down, picking up speed. She couldn’t stop, she was going to-
Sarabi awoke, flinging open her eyes and clutching at her chest where her fat-choked heart was beating erratically. It had just been a nightmare... or maybe something more.
1. Talk to Dziko about the dream
[[2. Talk to Dziko about the Pridelands, but don't mention the dream]]**Seeking Friendship (new)**
"...I'm sorry, I-" Sarabi's voice strangled up for a moment as the enormity of what she'd just done finally hit her in full. When her voice finally returned, it was no longer strong, but instead so weak that it quavered "I just didn't want to be alone."
The cheetah was quite surprised at the apparent change of character, it was so rapid as to be unnerving. Still, he though, if she had suddenly broken then he'd best take advantage of it, before she found her confidence again, so he said quietly, "let my brother go."
"You, you won't leave me will you," Sarabi asked, he tone almost pleading.
I might he thought, then listened as best he could to his brother's rasping breaths, and decided against it, "no, we won't leave," just yet, anyway.
"Thank you," Sarabi said lifting her leg away from her captive, allowing him to move, though he was too weak to even stand, as he proved when he tried to do so, and ended up collapsing into a heap.
The other cheetah wanted to move over to help his brother, but he didn't quite trust the lioness, her mood has just changed too suddenly, so he contented himself with questioning her, "so who are you, and why are you here, and why are you so...large?"
"My name is Sarabi," she replied, "I came here to escape, from people who made me like this."
"Made you like that," the cheetah asked, "what sort of creatures would do that?"
"Do you know humans," Sarabi asked, then seeing only perplexity on the cheetah's face, "those tall, dark hairy creatures that walk only on their hind legs."
"Oh, them," the the cheetah said, "I've seen them from afar, but they're larger than us, and there's always been more of them, and to tell you the truth, I've always found them a little unsettling."
"You wouldn't be the only ones I'm sure," Sarabi said, "but as for how I became like this, it's a long story. he paused a moment, then went on carefully "and I don't think mine is the only one, because, meaning no disrespect here, but you and your brother look too young to have left your mother." The way the young cheetah's face twisted up told the former queen she'd hit a raw nerve, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"No it's alright," the cheetah said, his tone becoming bitter and hollow as quickly as his tears began to flow, "it's just, we don't talk about it."
"Who did it," Sarabi asked, "who would-"
"Hyenas," the cheetah almost spat the word, "those stupid, vicious, evil, filthy..." the cheetah's voice dropped to a mumble for a few moments, before he almost shouted, "I hate them, I hate them all!"
Sarabi's heart twisted up at this, partly at the imagination of what these young cats must have gone through, and partly at her own less than happy memories of the hump-backed scavengers, "as do I."
"You," the cheetah asked savagely, "when did you have to deal with them?"
"Long ago," Sarabi replied, "our king, my mate, died, was murdered we found out later, and the new king had made friends with a pack of them." She paused for a moment, then said, oh how I learned to locate them, though I can't imagine it was anything as bad as how you must hate them."
The cheetah stared silently at Sarabi for a few moments, his mind a quagmire. Mere minutes ago, he was ready to stay only as long as it took his brother to recover, but now, knowing that there was another out there who'd had to deal with hyenas, he felt a strange connection, and it made him reluctant to move on, despite the lioness's own recent actions. Near her belly, he could see that his brother had now recovered more-or-less, and had been in the process of leaving himself, but had stopped in his tracks, probably for the same reason. Suddenly, in the lull in conversation, he noted just how badly torn-up the immense lioness's flanks were, and wondered if he should mention it, although they didn't seem to be bothering her, and he was quite interested in learning her history.
1. Ask about the injuries
2. Ask about her past**Old Enemies (new)**
...Later that night. "Mm," he murmured, stirring only slowly, for Sarabi's rolls both protected him from much of the chill of the night, and turned his immense companion's shaking into a gentle swaying.
Nevertheless, awaken Kondo did, and found that Sarabi was also whispering harshly, "Kondo, Kondo."
"S'rabi," Kondo replied finally, "wh'sup?"
"There's someone nearby," Sarabi whispered, "I know they're there, but I just can't see them."
Kondo glanced around for a few moments, "I can't see them, are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure," Sarabi whispered tersely, "they're there, I just don't quite know where there is, but it's nearby."
Kondo wasn't so sure, but then neither was he ready to deny it, for Sarabi was much older, and so was probably more attuned to such instinctive awareness. Freeing himself from his immense companion's rolls, the gaunt male shivered for a moment as the chill air hit, and then looked around, examining the nearby jungle for signs of movement. Meanwhile, the massive lioness - now divested of her bony companion - slowly squirmed upright, then equally slowly ratcheted her elephantine bulk off the ground.
Sarabi wasn't quite up though, when Kondo suddenly turned, and whimpered. For once cursing her massive weight, the former queen began to waddle her way around, but in the meantime asked, "what is it Kondo?"
"I-I don't know what they are," Kondo whimpered, "there's seven of them, and, and..."
"What do they look like," Sarabi asked, but suddenly caught a glimpse of one and felt a chill run up her spine, great, hyenas, just what she didn't need right now. Contrary to what the former queen had expected though, the hyenas hung back at first, off-put by the though of having to take on a hippo, which is what they imagined the immense lioness to be at first. The illusion wasn't to last though, for as soon as the former queen was enough in view to recognize, the group, of which there was seven or eight as far as she could count, immediately broke down in fits of laughter. A hippo, they considered, would have been a worrisome opponent, but a lioness the size of a hippo was rather comedic.
In the middle of the hyena's outburst of mirth, Sarabi, whispered to Kondo, "go, get out, I'll distract them."
"What," Kondo replied, "no I can't leave you here alone they'd kill you."
"And they'll kill you as well if you stay," Sarabi hissed, "they're too fast to escape, too nimble to fight, and this blubber won't stop them for a minute."
"Nevertheless," Kondo said, nervous but determined, Sarabi had been awfully kind to him, and may even have saved his life, there was no way he could abandon her, not now. The choice was soon taken from him anyway, as the hyenas, finally having got over their initial surprise, and began to circle the pair, slowly drawing closer. Suddenly...
1. ...The hyenas attacked
[[2. ...The hyenas were attacked]]**Cunning Apology (new)**
"I, I'm sorry," Sarabi burbled, "truly, I am."
Kondo, giving Sarabi a hard look, said, "'f v'y 'sy..." Grimacing at how his kill was muffling his words, dropped the leg he was holding, and started again, "it's very easy to say sorry, very easy."
"But I am, truly," Sarabi said, her confidence wilting under the stern gaze of a male who surely wasn't more than a quarter her weight. Of course, while Sarabi's confidence ebbed, her craftiness didn't, she'd have to play this boy carefully, never let him catch on... "Please," the immense lioness said, making an effort to sound even more pitiful, "please, I'm so lonely here, so helpless, without you..."
Kondo glared at Sarabi suspiciously, trying to fathom whether the massive lioness was being severe, or whether she was just playing him. Not that he could really tell, Sarabi was, after all, a veteran actor, while he was only a naive novice.
[[1. Kondo believes her]]
2. Kondo doesn't believe her**Willing Submission (Shalion)**
Kondo lowered his head to the opened carcass of the zebra that he had managed to catch. Of course Sarabi, who was now lazily preening her chest and paws of the mess she’d created while gorging, had already taken all of the tasty victuals from the abdomen as well as the tender loin on either side of the spine. At least there was plenty of skeletal muscle left on the thighs and rump, the head also had remained unmolested which left the sweeter treats of the brain and the eyes for him as well. The succulent throat, Kondo himself had torn out in the process of killing and then dragging the heavy animal back to the largely sedentary and extraordinarily lazy lioness.
As he ate, he satisfied the deep hunger gnawing at him, he had been starving until just recently, but he had to take his time. His belly wasn’t used to eating his fill; if he went too quickly, it’d all just come right back up. Sarabi, on the other hand, obviously had the gastrointestinal fortitude of a veteran eater. Kondo bit overly hard into the tougher meat, tearing the connective tissue and ligaments with his large fangs, the now cool blood washed his tongue with flavor. Placing a paw down, he tugged and pulled free his prize with a grunt of effort.
Sarabi, sitting across from him over the kill looked up from her ministrations and said, “Oh, Kondo. Are you having a hard time with that tough meat? Do you need some help?” She said the last mockingly, her more than able fangs flashing.
A retort concerning the lack of tender meat left on the carcass of the animal he himself had brought down with no help at all from the immensely heavy feline came to Kondo’s mind, but all that came out of his mouth was a meek, “I’m... alright. Thanks.” Thanks! What had he to thank this lazy, corpulent disgrace for a lioness for? The lioness who had commanded him to hunt for her – a reversal of the traditional role – the lioness who then had him drag the heavy beast the few feet further that she could have walked herself, the lioness who then had him clean her bruised and scabbed hide while she ate and ate at his kill, then had the nerve to have him soothe the pains of her overeating afterwards before he was at last able to eat himself. He should abandon her...
But he wouldn’t. When he had surprised the zebra while foolishly grazing too close to the edge of the jungle, the thought had entered his mind to keep the kill to himself, knowing that the corpulent lioness with her limited ability to travel would likely never find him. But instead, he had dragged the animal back even as the hunger pangs tore at his gut, just as he said he would. The look in the fattened cat’s eyes when she saw him... She was so pleased, pleased at seeing the dead zebra, not necessarily Kondo himself, but pleased nonetheless. Then instead of shifting her bulk the few feet required to feast, she’d commanded him to drag it even further, until the zebra was under her own claws. She wouldn’t even spare the effort to claim what she so desired, or at least she wouldn’t when there was a convenient conveyance such as Kondo handy. But those last few feet felt like nothing even after dragging the damn thing a quarter mile back to where the mountainous cat rested. In fact, he had almost rushed the thing into her awaiting teeth.
Why? Kondo chewed, severing a small chuck from the mass he’d torn off the carcass and swallowed. Why did he feel the heady rush when he was licking Sarabi’s slowly healing wounds? It was even stronger, this feeling, when she rolled her round body over, revealing the thinly furred white expanse of her belly, the pink skin and row of mature nipples showing plainly through the stretched canvas. Touching her had been exhilarating as touching a female should – especially such a mature and experienced female such as Sarabi – but there was more. There was the denial. Kondo was tired from tracking, the rush of adrenaline and the subsequent labor. He’d gotten lucky, very lucky, but still he could not eat, not until she said it was OK. Even after she was finally satisfied with his efforts, when he’d exhausted himself massaging a belly that was bigger around than he could reach with all four paws working at the round surface of the taut, straining skin, she’d teased him at the last. And it felt almost as good as when she’d told him to rub her over-stuffed belly. The power she had over him... it was intoxicating.
Kondo looked up from his meal and saw Sarabi lounging, purring softly in self satisfaction and the greed of her enormous meal, still licking her paws. The lioness had mentioned the splendor that she thought she saw in her physical form in an indirect way during the story. She thought she had hidden it well obviously, as she intended to misdirect Kondo, but the young lion was canny and saw the obsession in her eyes. However as he looked at her, in this moment, what should have been obviously self-destructive, pathological behavior seemed incredibly arousing. The need to please her, and more, to have her exert the power of that mammoth, distended hulk of a body over him was over powering.
The moment passed and Kondo let out a breath of air as he had forgotten to breathe while staring at Sarabi’s huge form. Quickly, the young lion stepped over the carcass and put his head inside the Zebra’s ribcage, pretending to nose around for goodies and hoping Sarabi didn’t notice his sudden reaction.
The lion had been expecting to find the interior of the ribcage clean to the bone, but deep within, he found a surprise. The heart had been left intact, the traditional reward for a male lion when he successfully made the kill. But there was also the liver, the most life sustaining and nutritious part of the beast, shoved up against the heart; all the other organs missing. Kondo was stunned, he had been sure that Sarabi would have left nothing for him.
“Don’t forget to breath, dear.” Came Sarabi’s voice condescendingly from outside the zebra’s carcass. Kondo smiled and swiftly devoured his treats, feeling deeply satisfied afterwards. She knew very well what he found in there.
Kondo raised himself up. “Yes, I remember, Sarabi.” The words did not grate against his tongue this time. Sarabi smirked at him and then yawned, swiftly beginning to drowse in the intense heat of the day. Now thoroughly satisfied himself, Kondo felt the weariness sweep down upon him almost as quickly. However it was his tired muscles demanded rest, while Sarabi, wearing a half ton coat of blubber was more or less stupefied into sleep by the excessive heat. Despite the heat of her body, Kondo could not think of a more comfortable place to rest than against the soft folds and rolls of the flesh cascading down from Sarabi’s broad back; her belly was too round and taut to serve the same function. Kondo settled himself down, shifting the folds with his back; Sarabi didn’t resist. He listened to her raspy, labored breathing as she quickly fell into sleep.
Kondo rolled onto his back, Sarabi underneath him and also to one side of him. He longed to be enveloped by those folds so hard just now it hurt. And then he put a paw to his own meager frame, the thin muscles, inadequate for a lion his size. He’d gotten lucky today, would he be lucky again tonight or the next day? Kondo wanted to please this titan of a lioness, but he felt inadequate. He needed more muscle on his scrawny frame and he needed to develop his hunting technique. These thoughts whirled past his mind as he too felt the pull of sleep, but at the same time, the sensation of inadequacy in scope of Sarabi’s – indeed it was true! – perfection was soothing and let him rest easier as he slept against her.
[[1. That night, Sarabi wants to move]]
2. Sarabi wants to stay and finish the Zebra**Ruins (Shalion)**
Trudging through the jungle at night was somehow even worse than during the day. Oh, Sarabi and her cat eyes had no problem with the darkness, and the heat was slightly less intense (though no less moist, unfortunately). No, the problem was all the movement and activity around her. Far more animals were active during the night, particularly the large ones like panthers. Sarabi was so slow and encumbered, she was easy prey for anything that might take an interest in her. There was certainly no shortage of eyes to look upon her as she tediously picked a winding path she could follow through the increasingly dense forest.
Fortunately, her intimidating size alone deterred most onlookers, who didn't care to stick around to further analyze her greatly expanded figure. She did once see a young panther. The young, scrawny one scrambled up a tree as fast as it could claw and watched her tensely until she was well out of sight. Sarabi too had held her breath until the sighting had past.
Annoyingly, the vulture would not elaborate on their destination nor even how much further it was; the last weighed particularly heavy on her mind, almost as heavy as her weight on her paws. He would only say behind him as she called, "Not much further now, my queen." or "I promise it will be worth your while." Some part of the corpulent feline thought the bird was trying to get her to exhaust herself to death. Adding to the trouble was the fact that the bird could hop very high with the use of his wings, vaulting over most every obstacle while Sarabi herself could not manage even the smallest. Her weight caused wood to buckle under her (even strong wood, and most on the jungle floor was thoroughly rotted). Climbing up any slope that was not gradual was impossible because she could not jump nor support her impressive weight with just one pair of paws; she needed her feet flat on the ground and even then walking was a chore. She stopped to rest once and then twice and then again. The vulture waited and said nothing, though there was a knowing glint in his eyes that she didn't know if she particularly cared for. It was in the dead of night when they finally arrived. The ancient ruins towered over them like the bones of some lost world...
[[1. Head into the ruins]]
2. Sarabi thinks it might be a trap**Last Minute Rescue (new)**
...There was a roar behind Sarabi, and two figures, larger than the hyenas, charged in, slashing and biting the hunchbacked hunters. No fools, the hyenas quickly turned and ran, leaving the immense lioness and her comparatively tiny companion without so much as a mark. Not that the former queen was much the better for keeping her hide intact, for the excitement of the brief but fierce fight had set her heart racing, leaving her feeling exhausted, despite her hardly having moved a muscle.
Kondo cringed, he'd been prepared to lay down his life for Sarabi before, but the speed with which these two lithe lionesses had dispatched the hyenas, had left him terrified. Not that the lionesses much noticed him, for their attention was quickly drawn to his massive companion, although it was a few moments before either spoke, "S-Sarabi, i-is that you?"
Sarabi had been uncertain, even worried up to then, but as soon as the lioness spoke, her worries fled as fast as the hyenas moments before, "Tabia, good to see you, yes this is me, although I can't blame you for having doubts."
"You don't say," Tabia's companion replied, "I probably wouldn't have recognized you either, even as a lioness."
"And Sarafina," Sarabi said, having to noticeably force an affable tone this time, for her former friend's comments had stung her, "so, how are you two then?"
"Relieved to have found you alive," Tabia said, "Simba was so worried when Zazu reported that you'd disappeared from the village."
"Yeah, he'll be happy to know you're alive," Sarafina said, "although your condition will probably give him a heart-attack."
"So," Sarabi said, turning to Tabia, and trying to block Sarafina from her attention, "how long has it taken you to find me?"
"This will be, ooh, the eleventh day," Tabia replied turning the Sarafina, "it's the eleventh day right?"
" About that, yeah," Sarafina replied, "eleven days out, but I suspect it'll take us a bit long to return."
"No doubt it will," Sarabi replied dryly, "so probably best to make a start tonight."
"Yeah, probably," Sarafina replied, "I mean it'd hardly do to drop dead of old age before we made it half-way wouldn't it?"
Sarabi said nothing to this, but scowled at her former friend, this wasn't going to be a pleasant journey, at least, not unless she could ditch Sarafina somehow. This seemed unlikely though, the elderly lioness was hardly one to shirk her duty, even as repugnant as she might find it. A thought occurred to her though, and she said, "well perhaps you'd better run on ahead then and inform my son that I am indeed alive, and that we've started the journey back."
Now it was Sarafina's turn to scowl, she indeed wasn't one to shirk her duty, but then, this wouldn't exactly be shirking her duty either would it, it'd just be a temporary reprieve, and Simba would want to know about all of this...
1. Sarafina runs on ahead
2. Sarafina stays to escort Sarabi**Fooled (Matt)**
No, Kondo decided mistakenly, Sarabi must be genuine, there was surely no way she could fake looking that pitiful, "okay, I'll forgive you this time, but make sure it doesn't happen again okay."
"No, no it'll never happen again," Sarabi said, forcing a relieved expression and tone, "and I thank you deeply for your kindness and forgiveness." This was it, she thought to herself, just a little care with her words and she had Kondo beneath the pad of her paw, what a fool he was.
"Well what can I say," Kondo said, "I'm not the kind of guy to hold a grudge."
"And for that I'm thankful," Sarabi said. After a few moments, she added, "you must be tired, having dragged the Buffalope so far."
"Well I won't say it was easy," Kondo said, "but the exhaustion's mostly gone, why?"
"The day's getting on, there's nothing much to do, and we've both just eaten," Sarabi said, "I thought maybe we could lie here, together?"
The offer slightly surprised Kondo, such, laziness, wasn't his normal style, but on the other hand, Sarabi's belly was soft and comfortable, and the immense lioness was right, there was little to do, and nowhere really to go, so why not take a well deserved rest?
[[1. Yes, lie with Sarabi]]
2. No, go exploring**Night Travels (Shalion)**
Dusk awakened the sleeping cats as well as sunrise for humans who were so dependent on that celestial lamp to see, hunt and fight. Or, at least it awakened one of them. Sarabi, who had done nothing the entire day save eat and roll over a few times, became restless as soon as the stifling curtain of jungle heat was lifted from around her body. She knew she had lingered in this area too long already. Though she couldn’t see him, she was aware of Kondo sleeping on his back, cushioned by her ample fat rolls behind her, he was snoring quite loudly as well. The corpulent cat found it ironic that she, who carried the weight of three and a half lionesses on her back should wake earlier than the much younger, much leaner Kondo; never mind the fact that he had killed and then dragged a creature weighing easily as much as himself from wherever he had found the zebra.
The lioness, who was still on her side, stretched her legs and her loose, fatty skin was such that she didn’t even disturb Kondo. She felt her legs warm a little and she knew she was ready. But there was still the matter of Kondo... The lion had fulfilled his part of the bargain and more. For the price of half a gazelle, in just a day, Sarabi had received a whole zebra. There was little obligation left on the lion’s part save his promise to minister to her still healing wounds; shaky ground indeed. She would have to be careful, but at the same time, the young lion had a very passive personality. He obviously thrived under firm leadership, seemed more relaxed when told what to do. The scent of his moods even hinted at deeper pleasures while carrying out the lioness’s whims. Still, despite the outlander’s course nature, Sarabi didn’t want to lose him. It was so useful having an able bodied lion around.
A small test to start the night off. Sarabi grunted as she leaned forward and sought leverage with the fat draped limbs protruding from her bloated torso. She began slowly to roll over and as she did so, felt the weight of Kondo’s body pinning excess skin to the ground, drawing more loose skin from around her torso back towards him. The skin pulled with its elasticity and its over abundance, until like a spring, it reached its limits. The sensation described for Sarabi, the real dimensions of her body which she was apt to forget at times; she took pleasure from the reaffirmation of the scale of corpulence she had managed to achieve. The lioness continued to lean, using her weight as much as her muscle to handle her extremely large body. Kondo was dragged on a mat of pure Sarabi for several inches before the male was rudely tossed aside onto the ground as the roll climbed up onto the lioness’s back. She felt as well as the distorted skin and fat sank slowly into its natural configuration as she climaxed onto her belly.
Kondo jerked awake, startled out of deep sleep. It was amusing to Sarabi to see him flail his legs about in the air before coming to his senses. He scowled at her when he righted himself, tail lashing in agitation.
Sarabi grinned. “You’ve slept long enough, dear. If this old, fat cat can get up at dusk then so can you.”
In his eyes, Sarabi saw a conflict of emotions flash, but as she spoke in her commanding tone, his physical response was immediately to relax. Kondo lowered his eyes to look at the ground in front of Sarabi, “I suppose that it’s not good to sleep-in, thanks for waking me.”
Sarabi grinned, she thought she could really get used to this outlander. Kondo began to stretch, lowering his upper body in a bow and yawning. Sarabi thought that the scrawny lion was already benefiting from two days of full meals. He certainly did not look so gaunt about his face and hips. Sarabi slowly walked her heavy chest up with her front paws until she was in a sitting position. She could feel her own gut pressing against the backs of her paws; it was unusually round and distended and it took a moment to remember that most of a zebra still resided inside. It was hard because the lioness was already feeling the familiar hunger pangs... or if not that, then certainly the lack of comfortable fullness. Sarabi found it hard to tell hunger from a simple lack of over-fullness nowadays. It was then that Sarabi’s eyes caught sight of the remains of the zebra. There was still a considerable amount of flesh left on it.
Kondo’s distracting voice came to her as if from a distance. “If you don’t mind me asking, where exactly is it that we’re going tonight?”
It was an effort to look away from the left over food, but Sarabi managed. “We need to get further away from the humans. They are still looking for me, remember? And then...” the scent of meat filtered through her sensitive nostrils, as arousing as the touch of Mufasa had been when she’d been in heat. She swallowed back a tide of saliva. “And then I need to find a way back to the Pridelands.”
Kondo took a long look at the engorged lioness sitting in front of him. He asked, “You seem a little distracted. Are you hungry again?”
There was something in Kondo’s tone that broke the spell of meat over her. Looking at him, she saw the excitement in his eyes and the whisper of a grin at the side of his mouth. ‘The brat wants me to eat!’ Sarabi realized while straining to keep her face neutral. Oh, and how she wanted to eat as well. It seemed wrong to leave the carcass so intact with much meat remaining on its rump and thighs and its skeleton unmarred completely. She wanted chew and devoured, crack bones and leave nothing left until the whole zebra was entirely contained within her super-normal frame. And Kondo would enjoy watching her do it.
That was the thought that broke through habit and rationalization. Even as she exerted dominance over Kondo, the skinny young male, she was in danger of being influenced by him in turn. And he was so subtle about it... It entered her mind as well, that being influenced by the lion might not be such a bad thing, but tonight, she needed to restart her journey. She wanted the meat, but she needed to get home; eating more of the carcass would only mean that Sarabi would have to carry that much more weight over the open ground of the savanna. That Kondo’s wishes went contrary to this filled her with her easy anger despite the fact that her conviction on her own would probably have lapsed under the weight of eating habits. She raised her head higher than the young male’s; in addition to being five or six times heavier than him, she was considerably taller as well. She wore the face of a grave goddess as she spoke, “I will tell you when I’m hungry, cub. You needn’t worry about my condition. If I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it. Understood?”
Kondo shrank under her harsh tone. “Yes, Sarabi.” The bushy tail tip of the lion played along the ground even as he cowered. It was a strange game that they were playing, Sarabi thought, but one that she seemed to be good at.
Sarabi let out a huff of breath and allowed her rage to subside, her shoulders sinking. The remaining carcass still allured her strongly, but the lioness wouldn’t allow herself to fall to temptation now. “Now help me up.” She said and Kondo was there, pressing himself against her. The lion sat down and Sarabi pressed against his chest as she heaved with her hindlegs. She pushed hard, but with him sitting facing her, the force was distributed into the ground rather than bowling him over. The lion was attentive to her needs, it was as if they had done this many times before.
Feeling better once she was on all four paws and her knees were safely locked in place, Sarabi was glad that she hadn’t topped off her tank after all. The difference the weight of zebra meat in her belly made was tangible, not just in the appearance of her swollen gut, but in the strain she felt on her paws as well. “Let’s go.” Said Sarabi and began to waddle off into the African night.
Half an hour later, Sarabi was puffing with Kondo walking slowly beside her. The lion actually had to concentrate on slowing his pace or he would easily overtake the fattened lioness. He broke the silence by asking, "Where exactly are we going?"
Sarabi, who in her haste to get away from the tempting zebra carcass had forgotten to stretch properly and was already in pain, said simply, "Away from here." After that, the lions walked in silence, Sarabi focused on the terrain ahead of her, Kondo pausing now and then to observe how Sarabi's body moved in the dappled jungle starlight.
[[1. Sarabi collapses for a short break]]
2. Kondo suggests a new direction**Into The Ruins (Beb0p)**
Sarabi didn't yet trust the vulture. It's difficult to have faith in a creature who is unabashedly waiting for you to die so he can make a meal of your corpse.
However, she had no one else and she thought that her nostrils were picking up the scent of food from somewhere within the towering ruins.
At that point her belly finally overtook her brain and she decided to venture forth.
The ruins opened into an overgrown cobbled courtyard with decayed buildings surrounding it on every side. The center of the courtyard was occupied by a large, flat stone slab, a mere foot high but so intricately carved and ornamented that it was clearly a spot of some importance.
The slab itself was only a secondary consideration to Sarabi, for the slab was heaped with food.
The vulture perched himself upon a glistening ham shank and beckoned the lioness closer. "Here we are. Enough food to possibly slake your appetite, at least for a while."
"What is this place?" asked Sarabi, already advancing on the raised platform.
"Oh, it's a place of worship for one of the jungle tribes.They bring the offerings to their gods here and make their prayers. A waste of good food if you ask me." he sniffed disapprovingly.
[[1. Sarabi agrees and digs in!]]
2. Sarabi asks more about the tribes**Talking To Dziko (new)**
As her heart beat erratically, Sarabi was thinking about the dream she had, falling down a black pit. Would she be thrown into some black pit? Would she became only a fat filled diet for some predator?
Slowly the sun rose over the horizon. The pain in the leg was not gone completely, but Sarabi was feeling better, although she also felt hungry somehow. She was shocked by the capacity of her own belly, for although she had not fed well for some days now, with her 2000 lb body she should not be feeling hungry. She also knew that if she couldn't stand now, eating more would mean that she probably wouldn't even be able to stretch her limbs much longer either.
But Sarabi still felt hungry, and after some time her hunger got better of her, so she called out for her loyal servant Dziko, who somehow understood her. Soon the girl came running in, and with her came other people with trays loaded with different types of delicious meat. As the feast was spread before her, Sarabi lowered her massive head and started eating.
There was a lot of food here, and Sarabi was surprised that how the humans managed to acquire so much food suddenly when for quite sometime she had not been getting enough to eat. "Tell me girl," she said to Dziko, "how did they manage to get so much of food so suddenly?"
Dziko, partly understanding, replied, "some hunters came over from their village with plenty of food. We are now close to the village and we may start off again in next few days." Sarabi sensed that her last chance to escape would soon pass. But how could she escape? She couldn't even lift her mammoth belly from the ground let alone walk with it.
As a distressed Sarabi sighed Dziko asked "Do you still feel pain goddess?" Dziko was surprised to see that the lioness stopped eating, so she offered some meat to her and to her own surprise Sarabi started eating from the girl's hand. Dziko said "I will come later and massage your leg again goddess". By now Sarabi had even broken her own limit of eating and her belly had swollen so much that she had to spread herself sidewise to make herself comfortable.
Soon, Dziko returned with the brush to clean Sarabi's massive hide, and some oil to massage her immense legs. It took the girl hours just to clean Sarabi's massive hide., but then without complaint she went on to rub oil to Sarabi's massive legs.
Sarabi knew that if she did not escape now she might not be able to escape again. Sarabi chatted with the girl, telling her about Pridelands, how she used to be a queen, a huntress. How dearly she wanted to escape in to the savannah to be free again. Dziko was listening intently and she finally replied " I wish that I could release you right now goddess but even if I could how would you escape, you cant even stand up?" This question quickly sent both of them, the obese lioness and the slender human girl into deep thought.
Finally Dziko said "I will try to get some herbs from the nearby jungle. I have heard that such herbs are there which if massaged regularly to your legs and eaten with your food increases your muscle strength. But to make it work quickly some magic is required."
[[1. Rafiki visits her again that night]]
[[2. They start for village the next morning]]**Putting Up (new)**
Kondo hesitated for a moment, then shrugged, ah what the heck, it was only really a habit his being active at this time of day, and Sarabi's fat-padded belly-fold was pretty comfortable, "okay, you got me, it's not like I had anything better to do anyway."
"That's the spirit," Sarabi said encouragingly, "I mean, you've already caught that Buffalope right, plus you brought it back here, that must have taken a fair amount of effort, so why take some time out?"
"Why not indeed," Kondo said smiling, "and yes, bringing that blasted thing down was no small effort, I must say."
"Right," Sarabi said, "now just give me a couple of moments," and started to squirm her way onto her side.
As he watched Sarabi squirm slowly onto her side, the thought occurred to Kondo that the massive lioness looked like nothing so much as a massive grub, and it both disgusted and exhilarated him. The disgust was shallow, no more than habitual memory of what a lioness should be like, but the exhilaration sat much deeper, here was a female, larger and perhaps more powerful than him, but so crippled by her own immense body that she was powerless before him, indeed, hadn't she begged him not to leave her?
After some time, and a good deal of effort, Sarabi finally squirmed into a position she liked, and craned her neck as much as she could to look at Kondo, "whenever you're ready."
Smirking slightly, Kondo came forward at the announcement, passing out of sight of the lioness between her huge jowls, and worming his way into her rolls before releasing a sigh. "You know, you're pretty comfortable," he said to Sarabi, relaxing, and letting his bony body sink into the rolls of flesh that all but encompassed his immense companion.
"I ought to be at this size," Sarabi replied, draping her free foreleg across Kondo's chest, and seemingly effortlessly drawing the gaunt male closer in, "and for yourself, you're a nice guy, a very nice guy."
"You really think so," Kondo asked...
[[1. ...Eagerly]]
2. ...Suspiciously**Rain (Shalion)**
The night was young. Crickets chirped in the trees along with thousands of their insect brethren as birds called to each other in their shrill voices. It was the cacophony of life awakening on the plains now that the fiery eye of the sun had lapsed from the world yet again. Thunder echoed across the plain, temporarily silencing the inhabitants and a few minutes later, a spray of mist began to fall from the heavens. It was to be expected, it was the beginning of the wet season after all.
Heavy paws pressed deeply into the softening soil, but the lioness who owned them was not concerned with the paw prints she was leaving behind. She turned her head up to the pitch black sky; the water coursing down her body was not enough to drive away the ache she felt in her paws, knees and shoulders. Lightning flashed, stabbing her retinas and burning a picture image of the foreign landscape into her mind as the world went dark for a few seconds. Sarabi blinked and shook her head and then her whole body. Water cascaded off of her, soaking the lean male lion next to her. He shielded his face with a quick paw but said nothing, the same paw hiding a tiny smile.
Sarabi let out a harsh breath, she wasn’t yet fatigued despite carrying her heavy body across the rough jungle ground for the last two hours, but she didn’t think she could take the pain of cramping in her legs much longer. She was irritable because she desired to press on and yet knew that she was not going to be able to; not without a break. She stopped walking. Kondo, a few steps ahead of her also stopped and turned to look at the lioness. Stopping made the pain flare higher and Sarabi looked anxiously about her for a place to rest, but the water kept falling into her eyes and with the excessive flesh about face and cheeks, it was hard to clear them even with rapid blinking.
As she lowered her head to rub her eyes with the back of a paw, she asked, “Kondo, do you see any dryer ground about here? I need a break.”
Kondo looked about himself with the urgency of detecting a mortal attack, but found nowhere that seemed any dryer than where they were, "I can't see anywhere..."
"Well try further out," Sarabi growled, trying to bite back the pain.
"Y-yes Sarabi," Kondo said, off-put by his massive companion's sudden aggressiveness. He left immediately, and wasn't gone long.
"You found somewhere dry," Sarabi asked Kondo soon as she was aware of his presence.
[[1. Yes, he's found a dry spot]]
2. No, he's found a river**Rafiki Visits Her Again (new)**
It was quite late in the night. Sarabi, her stomach full to capacity, was sleeping with her massive belly sprawling between her legs. Suddenly, she awoke with a start and lifted her head towards the entrance of her tent. Something seemed wrong, the tent was never left opened at night like that, and there was no-one outside.
Sarabi was now quite frightened, had something come and killed all the humans in the camp? She brushed the thought off, no, she'd have heard such violence and besides, it looked peaceful outside. Then Sarabi thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye, and turned her massive neck left to try and discern if she had. The former queen's fat laden heart froze in fear as she spotted a dark shape approaching.
Sarabi tried move but after all the binging earlier her bloated belly held her firmly in place. As the shadow came near to her the immense lioness closed her eyes. She soon heard the shadowy figure come into the tent itself, but instead of attacking her as she feared it would, it spoke, "ah, are you afraid of even old Rafiki?"
Slowly Sarabi opened her eyes as moonlight flooded the tent and Sarabi recognized her old friend. Immediately, as always her urge was to rise before the old baboon. As much as the massive lioness tried to heave herself up though, she barely managed to halve her belly-print before the immense weight of her bloated gut overcame her and she slumped back. Tears started to form in the eyes in the former queen, she felt ashamed of herself, ashamed by her indulgence, for once a proud a huntress, she now couldn't even stand on her own. suddenly she was brought back to reality by a sharp whack on her head delivered by Rafiki.
"What are you doing here girl," asked Rafiki, "get up and let's go, the savannah is calling you, can't you hear?"
Sarabi's head hung low as she mumbled "I can't even stand Rafiki, how can I survive the savannah?"
"That is because you never tried heard enough," Rafiki replied, "look outside....what do you see?" Sarabi looked out and was amazed to see a lioness running after a prey-beast, full of vigor and energy. "Do you recognize her," asked Rafiki.
"I-it's me," Sarabi said with astonishment, recognizing the lioness.
"Oh no no no that was not you, this is you," said Rafiki and poked Sarabi's flab.
"Huh," asked Sarabi uncomprehendingly, "what's that supposed to mean?"
"Look closer, look well" said Rafiki.
As Sarabi looked more keenly the view changed and she saw a massively obese lioness resting on the Pride Rock.
"But how can I reach there I'm so fat that I can't even stand" said Sarabi as tears swelled up again in her eyes.
"Ah girl you need to wake up. You never tried hard enough did you," Rafiki asked, as he produced some strange looking herbs from his small pouch. The mandrill rubbed the herbs against her massive legs and suddenly Sarabi felt as if there was new power in her legs. "Now girl, lets go outside," the shaman and walked to the entrance of the tent. Slowly the 2000 pound lioness started to heave herself again and surprisingly this time she managed to stand. By now she was so big that her belly was very nearly still touching the ground, in spite of the fact that she was standing.
Gingerly she took a step towards outside. As she started to walk - or rather waddle - she felt some hands from behind gripping on her legs. As Sarabi shook her massive hindquarters something, or someone was thrown away by the force of it. Suddenly Sarabi awoke from her dreams to find...
[[1. ...Dziko massaging her legs]]
[[2. ...Herself still firmly weighed down]]**On To The Village (Shalion)**
The night passed but slowly for the overfed lioness. Her gleaming coat shined proudly, enough tawny fur for three lions, having been oiled and brushed thoroughly from snout to tail-tip. Her troublesome cramp had been worked out of her leg, but still she rested uneasily. Her mammoth abdomen, swollen with accumulated fat surrounding the large distended mass of her stomach containing the unusual feast she had been presented, roiled within her. She grimaced and passed wind as her belly churned and gurgled quite loudly, echoing within the meaty confines of her vast midsection. She had thought the meat was over-seasoned from the start, much of it served in pungently aromatic sauces. She'd dug in anyway though because she was hungry and because she was simply used to eating what was presented to her. Paws thickened and clumsy with Sarabi's nearly 2000 lbs of excess weight clutched at her stomach where about 40 lbs of spiced meat was being compressed and processed but uneasily, the sensation was not pain, exactly, but it was unpleasant and made the lioness overly gassy.
But Dziko was not around to fetch stomach calming herbs for her, instead off to find herbs of a different sort. Sarabi had little faith that whatever remedy the girl came back with with help very much; her atrophied muscles had half the strength of a normal lioness and Sarabi had no way of exercising to change the situation. Sarabi slumped down, chin on the ground and gripped her belly as she lay on her side. It felt like her stomach was trying to turn over. What on Earth did those humans feed me? she thought as the night passed.
In the morning, the caravan moved into the village proper. The Great Goddess Oshun's litter was lifted mightily by the ten men under her and moved to a place of honor in the village square - if a plot of bare dirt surrounded by about twenty or so huts could be called a square - where people who spoke the same dialect as the rest of her troop with odd inflections and whose skin was slightly paler came one by one and fed her milk out of little carved bowls, all the while saying unfamiliar prayers. Sarabi figured that they must have finally left the old human "nation" behind or else were on the very outskirts of it. The milk helped settle Sarabi's stomach and for once she was grateful not to be over loaded with meat. It was shortly around midday and still Sarabi's sole companion had not returned...
"Goddess Oshun." Spoke the leader of the caravan, a tall, muscular man who wore many chains and bracelets of gold about his naked torso. "May I present the man responsible for last night's bounteous feast, the merchant-traveler Abdul-Karim. Then a man like none other Sarabi had ever seen stepped forward. The first thing the lioness noted was that the man was clothed from head to toe in a long robe; compared to most humans she knew who wore only loincloths or grass skirts. The cloth was richly patterned and at his waist, he carried not an axe or a spear, but a long curved sword. His skin was a remarkable shade of rich brown and he wore a huge mustache of straight black hair. On his head was a device of round, layered cloth Sarabi had never seen before.
"A remarkable creature!" exclaimed the wandering Arab in open astonishment and wonder at Sarabi's form. With perhaps more exhibitionism than reverence, the man came down to his knees and lifted the wooden bowl to Sarabi's mouth as he'd obviously been coached. Sarabi obliged the strange man. "Marvelous... simply marvelous." The man said as she lapped. Setting the bowl down, he turned back quickly to the leader of the caravan, "Tame as a kitten." Sarabi showed her teeth at the comment, but the man didn't see.
The caravan leader frowned, "Remember, this lion is a living goddess. She is no pet."
Immediately, the demeanor of the strange man changed from one of sharing a joke to one of deference. He inclined his head, pressing his palms together. "Of course." The two men began to walk away, "Of course, I had no idea that your goddess would be so... physically vast... I assume the Goddess Oshun requires a quite an amount of nutrition?"
The caravan leader nodded and the pair walked around a hut towards the tents of the caravan. The last thing Sarabi heard was the foreigner saying, "Well, I still have a great deal of food stuffs available for trade if you would like to negotiate a price..."
Later, Sarabi would learn that the village had provided only a small portion of last night's meal; not surprising really given how small and poor it was. Most of the food had come from this man who had been traveling south and had heard about Sarabi's caravan not far away. Naturally, he'd altered his course to intercept them and seeing that the party was low on supplies naturally wanted to strike a fine bargain.
The lioness hardly cared though, it took the entire day to recover from the food she'd received last night. But more than that... she was feeling lonely. Dziko was still missing. The human girl had provided more than simply grooming and massages, she had provided a pair of ears to listen and care about Sarabi's plight. The lioness feared for what was taking her so long. Late in the afternoon...
[[1. ...Sarabi overhears a troubling conversation]]
2. ...A bird brings Sarabi disturbing gossip**Tribal Offering (Shalion)**
The smell of the heaped food filled the lionesses nostrils and expanded until the entire front of her head was tingling with the sensation of roasted jungle pig, river fowl and monkey. There were also heaps of fruit, seeds and vegetables, but the feline hardly even noted their existence. "Yes... humans can be so frivolous sometimes..." said Sarabi slowly as a bit of drool found it way out the side of her mouth. Her eyes were wide and saw only the assorted foods.
The vulture looked on with a guarded expression as he observed the 1200 lb feline step slowly forward, transfixed by the contents of the low stone alter in the courtyard of stone. His eyes contained a hint of glee
Sarabi's mouth began to water precipitously and she had to swallow. Her mouth hung open like a dogs and she began to pant slowly with excitement. What's happening to me? a small part of Sarabi asked herself, It's like I have no control. Indeed it was as if her paws had acquired a direct nervous link to her squalling stomach, bypassing her brain entirely.
This food was meant for the humans' gods thought Sarabi vaguely, watching herself as if from afar as she closed in on the heap of food left alone in the dark jungle night. It seemed odd that others hadn't already taken it. The food lay pristine and arranged artfully, completely untouched... sacred. To take all of these offerings - and Sarabi knew without a doubt that if she started, she would not stop until it was all gone - might be sacrilegious. The part of her dominated by her growling, churning stomach countered, I'm already as a goddess to one human tribe. If this food was left for the gods... well, then it's already mine by right. The argument seemed incredibly sound at the moment.
Now Sarabi's waiting maw hung over the gathered and cooked meats. No one was here to guard any of it, not one soul save the jungle tribe's mysterious gods. The vulture sat wordlessly, his posture tense with anticipation.
1. Sarabi stuffs herself, but begins to feel strange after a few hours
[[2. Sarabi stuffs herself and falls promptly into a deep sleep]]**Bedtime Influence (new)**
...Eagerly, unaware that the compliment was just another bit of maneuvering on Sarabi's part.
"Heck yes," Sarabi replied, greasing as much as she dared, "most of the guys I've met wouldn't even have stopped back there, let alone waited long enough to hear me out."
"Well as a matter of fact I almost didn't stop either," Kondo said, "lucky for you I'm not quite as stern as some of the other guys you've known."
"Yes, and I apologize for the whole thing," Sarabi said, "what with the humans, I've become so used to eating when I want that I guess it's going to take a little time to readjust to the fact that I'm probably not going to have a meal every day, and those meals I do get wont be the stomach-stretching sizes I'm used to."
"Well that makes sense I suppose," Kondo said, "and I'll try not to be stingy with the meals, but another show of temper like that..."
"Oh believe me, that won't happen again," Sarabi said. She baulked slightly at the thought that this waif of a male was telling her what to do. Let him do it, part of her thought, let this stick of a male think he was in charge, it'd fuel his ego, make him all the easier to control. Not that there was much she could do right now though, so the massive lioness relaxed, and let the warm sun wash over her, and gradually faded into a restful slumber. Their sleep wouldn't last forever though, and indeed during the afternoon, Sarabi awoke to find...
1. ...Kondo still asleep
[[2. ...That they had visitors]]**Rest Stop (Shalion)**
"Yes, there's a dry spot over here," Kondo replied, nose to the ground beneath the abundant ferns and vines that littered the area. He walked off at a trot, though he still gracefully measured his steps with an acuity that Sarabi herself had long lost, seeking the path among the myriad folds of the earth and the roots of the great trees which surrounded them.
Sarabi was limping and commanding herself not to whimper like a cub as she pressed her great body through two springy saplings which had posed no barrier to the slimmer lion; he was obviously too occupied with his mission to seek a reasonably accommodating path. Sarabi almost became stuck as the twin trees squeezed her midsection, but by sheer force of will, the big cat barreled her way through, snapping one of the infant trees in the process. Stumbling forward a few steps, she quickly realized she was utterly spent by the difficult terrain.
"Kondo... Stop." She heaved, her legs shaking under her terrible weight. Kondo turned and she weaved drunkenly forward a few steps, limping badly on the leg which had once been broken; the pain of it was a fiery line across the mended break. "I can't... I can... go not more." The lioness managed and stumbled to the shelter beside the trunk of a jungle titan. By the time she set her massive rear onto the wet leaf litter and set her back against the wide, smooth trunk, the lioness was fit to pass out. Lying down and panting as the mist continued to soak her body as the canopy far above filtered the heavy rain of the monsoon raging overhead, the corpulent lion looked up to Kondo who sat, lashing his tail gently, concern written on his face. Water dripped from his chin, but he showed no sign of discomfort. Massage my... legs again, Kondo." She said and let her head rest once more on the ground. The lioness had intended the statement as an order, but it came out as a plea, but Sarabi didn't care. The result was the same, Kondo didn't hesitate.
The lion complied and set to his work, leaning down with all his weight on Sarabi’s bloated shoulders and thighs. He stretched Sarabi’s legs for her, pulling and bending the legs with his paws, rotating the joints and working the ache out of them. She hadn’t asked him to do this, but she was glad that he did. With her poor balance and the strain of her weight on her paws, stretching was difficult for her. The way Kondo did it was much easier. Sarabi sighed and relaxed further into her cushioning flab.
Kondo was working with more force than he had been able to provide the previous day, and the additional forcefulness on her soft, yielding flesh caused the lioness almost to melt in his grasp. Halfway through, she rolled onto her broad back so he could better access the other two limbs which protruded from the barrel-shaped hulk of her torso. On her back, Sarabi’s ample brisket flooded up the underside of her chin and down one side of her neck, almost to the ground. It was also harder to breathe properly with the weight of her belly and chest pressing down on her diaphragm, but it was worth it to have the lion work on her. She felt Kondo’s paw brush against the awesome curve of her belly more than once, but not long enough to be a caress. She would have scolded him for taking liberties with her body, but his touch never lingered longer than could be accounted for as a mere “accident.” The background noise of the jungle, the falling rain, and the distant thunder was only broken by the groaning and churning of Sarabi’s gut as it contently processed her more than substantial meal. At least until Kondo spoke.
“Do you think you could tell me what it was like?” asked the lion as he was pulling Sarabi’s foreleg straight up into the air until her elbow cracked.
The lioness winced a bit at the pain of her elbow, but it swiftly passed, leaving smoothness in its wake. “Like what was like?” Sarabi responded and she could feel the soft, fleshy weight of her brisket against her jaw as she spoke, still looking out at the darkened and inverted savanna.
A curtain of water suddenly fell down upon the lions then, turning the mist into cold rain. The droplets bounced off the surface of her belly like it was a trampoline. Kondo’s immature mane fell flat against his neck. "I thought you said this place was supposed to be dry," the immense lioness said.
"It was dry up until then," Kondo replied, shaking his head to try and dry his mane out a little."
“What it was like being a goddess to all those humans.” He intoned.
Sarabi pulled her paw away from Kondo’s unresisting grasp and pushed at the wide sac of flesh pushing her head against the ground. It budged and fell limply to the other side of her neck, allowing Sarabi to lift her head a little, though it was a strain on her neck muscles. Still, she was only just able to see Kondo’s long face over the curve of her plump cheeks. His eyes were burning with their intensity. The lioness rolled over... or rather she began to wiggle her legs in the process of rolling over. Kondo saw what she was trying to do and assisted with a firm push until the stuffed lioness flowed over onto her opposite side; by now, she was all over with mud, but so was Kondo as the rain hit the ground and splattered them both with droplets from the tiny emerging puddles. The royal lioness lifted her head and water streamed from both their chins; Sarabi from her several chins. When she opened her mouth, she told Kondo...
[[1. ...How she felt]]
2. ...That it was none of his business**Strength Of Five Cats (Shalion)**
Around the swell of her tawny flank, Sarabi could discern the small figure of Dziko slumped against the tent wall. Immediately her paws went chill. What have I done? she thought as she heaved her huge lumpy form off the floor. Immediately Sarabi noticed the difference. All four legs were thick and stocky with muscle under their respective coatings of firm, dense fat. Whereas before, she had heaved and shoved at the immovable mass of her five lionesses, now her bulk responded much more to her efforts. Sarabi felt almost as if she weighed only 2 and a half lionesses now; but that hardly mattered, the person who had enabled her new surge in strength had received nothing but a massive kick from a sleeping lioness for her trouble.
Legs covered with a foul smelling herbal paste, Sarabi felt several sharp pokes in the folds of fat which layered partially over her limbs. It was then that she saw the many needles sticking out of her skin. Sarabi had never heard of acupuncture therapy so she was initially frightened at seeing her legs like pincushions, but she was more frightened for Dziko and ignored then for now, instead nuzzling forward to smell and lick the girl's face and closed eyes. Sarabi's belly rested fully on the ground where she was in front of the relatively tiny form of the human girl. With the lioness's bulk like that of a full grown rhino, Dziko seemed impossibly small and fragile. She couldn't know what damage she had done by kicking her with her new strength. But all Sarabi could do was sit and wait for her to wake.
[[1. Dziko wakes none the worse for wear]]
2. Dziko wakes but is injured**Getting Out (new)**
...That she was still firmly rooted to the spot, Her mammoth belly sprawling out across the floor of the litter. All was still outside, all was peaceful. The only creatures still awake were the myriad crickets chirping happily away. The door to her litter was left open as she saw in the dream, but this time nothing was approaching. Sarabi's heart sank, it had seemed so real, it had given her hope, hope that she could finally escape this pamp-no, the lifestyle had actually been rather nice, but she'd have given it up in an instant to be away from these dangerous, intractable humans. But now that hope was dashed, she was barely able to stand, perhaps even incapable of doing so, and if she couldn't even stand, how could she even begin to escape...
Tears formed in Sarabi's eyes, real tears and her cheeks burned with them. How she wanted to leave, and how utterly incapable she was of doing just that. Then she remembered her dream and what the wise old friend said that she was not trying hard enough. Sarabi decided to at least try to move herself. With her immense bulk pinning her down Sarabi knew she'd at the very least have great difficulty in standing, let alone walking - or at least waddling - so instead she tried to crawl.
The floor of the litter was not the ideal place to try such a method of locomotion though, the rough wood caught Sarabi's delicate flesh in a hundred, a thousand places, scratching at her and sometimes leaving splinters, though the fat chocking those outer regions at least meant that only a little blood was spilled. The roughness also dragged at her, tiring her out quickly, much more so than when she'd occasionally tried the same thing in her hut where the floor was polished smooth. After only moments of effort - and mere inches of distance - the former queen was spent, yet it took several minutes of resting before she was ready to try again, though she achieved little more before she was again spent.
After some time, and many more rests, Sarabi finally dragged herself out of her litter touching real dirt for the first time in more months than she cared to remember. It was still dark, but that didn't matter to the former queen, as she stared in awe at the moon, a mere crescent at the moment, and let her eyes feast upon the stars, oh how she'd missed the magical sight of the night sky... Maybe it was the beauty of the sky triggered it, or the tingling in her muzzle and ears as the chill of the night got to them, but the behemoth lioness suddenly felt confident and in control, full of vim and vigor, and most of all, she felt strong, strong enough to stand, strong enough to walk - or at least waddle - strong enough to escape.
Buoyed by this feeling, Sarabi planted her legs in the soft grass and tried to push up. She started strong, but the more she lifted the harder it got until, with her belly-print at barely a third what it had been her gargantuan weight proved too much for her atrophied muscles, and she collapsed. The former queen immediately knew that she wasn't ready, not yet. Or perhaps, the colossal lioness thought as she tried to get her breath back, perhaps it was her technique that was wrong, perhaps if she tried a different way...
1. Sarabi is stranded
[[2. Sarabi finds a way to stand]]**Troubling Talk (Shalion)**
Tent flaps closed, Sarabi was finished receiving offerings of milk for the day. She reclined with a round flank braced against a wall of her litter which had been placed sheer against the side of one of the village buildings and licked at one of her many bed sores which dotted her largely immobile, slug-like belly. There seemed to be more of them every week despite the poultice that Dziko brought and rubbed on them from the caravan's alchemist. Again, the morbidly obese feline wished for her body servant back, even the momentary relief the poultice brought would have been a blessing and the insides of her thighs were overly sweaty and congested as well. At least the milk had done wonders to settle her stomach. Sarabi belched, content for now and grateful for time to digest before this evening's offerings. She dearly hoped that the chefs would go easy on the spices this time.
Exhausted for maintaining the position, Sarabi slumped down, flinching slightly at the abrasion of her bed sores. Feeling bloated and turbid, Sarabi was ready to fade into an easy doze when she heard footsteps from around the building against which her litter sat. The 2000 lb lioness lifted her head as she heard voices and recognized one of them.
The man she heard was none other than the foreigner she had met earlier that day, "Are you sure no one is about?" There were sounds of boots shuffling in the dirt, as if he were looking around.
"Absolutely. Everyone is off trading at the caravan." said another man Sarabi didn't recognize.
"Good. How much do I owe you?"
There was a pause and then, "No coin, I don't want any foreign money here. But a pair of fine boots like those would be nice." A few moments passed where Sarabi heard nothing and then the man spoke again, "Good. Also, you must make sure you leave none of your food behind in the village. None of that meat must be mixed in with the village store."
"There's no chance of that I assure you." said the merchant man quickly. "Every sack has my personal mark on it."
"Keep it that way." said the unknown person with a hint of menace, "I want no sickness among my people. If even one person falls ill here, your death will spring out of the grass before your fancy hat can hit the ground."
Sarabi thought she heard the foreigner swallow, "I-I promise you that won't happen." The men began to walk away in the direction opposite the caravan, but Sarabi heard, "And you must know, I am not in the business of selling bad meat. If my animals hadn't been caught in that sandstorm I wouldn't have had to butcher them so soon...."
Sarabi's belly renewed some of its complaints at the news and the lioness put a paw to her vast abdomen. So that is the reason I've been so sick. she thought, That human has sold us spoiled meat and simply covered up the taste by drenching it in spices. The knowledge that she'd been fed 40 lbs of spoiled meat made her stomach cramp and if her meal hadn't already mostly passed into her lower digestive system she might have brought it up right then. The indignity was great, but soon another thought struck her. Lions were used to eating meat passed its prime, if the supplies were bad enough to give her stomach cramps, what might they do to humans with their delicate digestive tracts? The caravan could be looking at an epidemic of food poisoning. She had to so something....
However much she strained, however, Sarabi was only barely able to shift her massive bulk which her body was simply drowning in. She was too weak to stand let alone walk. And what could she do anyways? Tell the humans?
...Tell the humans. Yes, of course. But she needed Dziko, now more than ever. But Sarabi was only able to skulk impatiently in her tent, tail lashing and resting on the giant mat of her belly under her and between her legs. She wondered where the little human child had gone...
1. Dziko returns right before dinner with herbs
2. Dziko returns sooner but with no herbs**Goddess Of Gluttony (Beb0p)**
Sarabi was too clever to simply launch herself at the feast. She carefully and methodically picked off the morsels that caught her eye. It almost became a delicious game to her. Choose a meat and eat it without disturbing the precariously piled foods around it.
Of course, there could only be one outcome to this game; the feast would end up within her.
The taste of foods she couldn't even recognize burst across her taste buds. Wild jungle boar was an especially delicious treat, even more so when she discovered one that had been roasted in honey!
The simple taste of that sweetness brought back another memory of her first days of being a goddess. She had be asked to lick honey from the bellies of the heavily pregnant village women. She had happily done so and then been rewarded all the more for it!
Sarabi's jaws close on a strip of cooked meat so delicious and stringy that she can scarcely believe what her taste buds are telling her.
As the edge of her hunger is blunted she begins to wonder if eating this feast intended for the gods of the jungle was such a good idea. She dismissed the thoughts offhand as ridiculous. She knew the power of the gods, after all, only a few days before she had been one herself.
A few platters later and Sarabi's belly was looking noticeably distended. Her stomach had changed it's tune to one of happy digestive noises as opposed the the thunderous hunger she was feeling before being led here.
Ah yes. Her guide. She had to thank him. "I really appreciate you leading me to this feast." She told the vulture while trying to stifle a burp.
"Think nothing of it, my Queen." He replied, the cunning glint in his eye more present than ever.
Sarabi began to yawn. Her full tummy and state of exhaustion urging her into sleep. She leaned against the edge of stone altar and let herself slip down into a comfortable lying position and within moments she was asleep.
[[1. Sarabi has a dream]]
2. Sarabi awakes and something has changed**Dream Gods (Shalion)**
Sleep came on very suddenly, as if someone had pulled the carpet out from under her conscious mind. Sarabi was falling, but more than that, she could feel the weight of her body pulling her down, like back in the jungle when she would step clear through a patch of moist mud. The weight of her fat which wrapped her body in a stranglehold seemed to be the shackles pulling her down from the world of light and sound. Sarabi leaned to the side and passed out before she hit the stone floor.
When she came to, she was in a place that was the ancient, forgotten courtyard and yet wasn't. Color was muted and everything lacked definition, as if viewed through murky water. Sounds echoed and carried strangely, small sounds bounced around endlessly off the crumbling stone buildings, while louder ones were muffled.
Where am I? Sarabi wondered and the wind flowing constantly in from the ruined gates carried her words in a whisper. Something about the environment was disquieting and somehow, innately hostile. Sarabi did not have to wait long to find out why.
The overfed lioness looked out on the alter in front of her. Where once it had contained samples of nearly every bounty available in the jungle, now all it held were rotted rinds and bare bones swimming in putrid runoff. Abruptly, a bonfire soared into life, a blaze of color in heat in this dead place. The presence was overwhelming and Sarabi would have tumbled head over heels if it had been possible for her to rear up. Her weight pinned her down as it always did, and if anything, she felt denser and heavier than ever.
The fire consumed the whole surface of the stone table, endlessly devouring the rotted offerings left behind. Sarabi was filled with dread of the power of the apparition, but she could do nothing but sit on her haunches and stare up in wonder at it. With a white hot intensity at its core, the fire burned magnificently, traversing the whole visible spectrum outwards with tongues of green and violet licking continually upwards at the edges. Sarabi, wide-eyed, waited.
The fire flared as a booming voice touched her mind. The feel of the foreign presence, the alien mind was like thousands of ants crawling on the inside of her skull. It did not use words as Sarabi understood, but she understood nonetheless, "She whose greed knows no bounds has in disregard and professed wisdom imagined herself as one of Us. She who imagines herself more than her kin has in arrogance stolen food from Us. She who desires greater than her station has endeavored to be one of Us. She who has committed crimes against Us must be punished!"
The fire leapt and danced on the table and now Sarabi could see shapes and figures dancing within. Monkeys, leopards, alligators and more. But not all were animals, there were humans too, some with grossly distended features and others wearing masks. Some were animal and human both. The fire, still burning upward from the bare stone seethed with anger which washed over Sarabi in waves.
"The Crime defines the Punishment! ...The Punishment will fit the Crime!..." again and again the voices chanted rolling over each other until it was the sound of the fire once more. There was no steeling oneself against such power. Sarabi was laid bare before the power of the gods. The flames reached for her and touched her naked flesh, marking her belly, right above the naval. Sarabi awoke with a strangulated gasp to find the vulture standing over her with a disappointed look on his face, "Well... I'd thought you'd gone that time. Welcome back." His voice lacked enthusiasm as he said the last part. Feeling pain, Sarabi pushed down the fat of her belly until she could see down the expanse of her gut. there, above the small protrusion where her umbilical had been attached was a burn almost in the shape of an ankh.
1. Sarabi is worried about the scar, but otherwise feels fine
[[2. Sarabi is suddenly overcome by nausea]]**Omens Of Life (Shalion)**
Sarabi sat full on her rump, hind legs splayed out ahead of her and pressed her forepaws into her gut, pushing down the wide expanse. Her breath came heavy in her throat as she pushed and pulled her flab, but there was so much of it and her skin was not exactly loose, not with having more than tripled her weight in the last several months. It was a testament to her size that she could even sit in such a position, her back arching backwards, only the girth of her belly kept her from falling backward as Sarabi poured over its surface as if hunched over a medicine ball. She couldn’t believe what she thought she had seen there... what she felt on her tummy just above the navel.
“What is it?” she asked frantically under her breath. She thought she had seen a glimpse of it before, but then she lost it again in her rampant folds. The bite of the wound stung just beyond the reach of her paws.
The vulture hopped over with his shuffling gait and before she knew what he was doing, stopped a touched his beak to the spot where she was hurting. Sarabi flinched, but more at the revulsion of being touched the the beak of a carrion eater than actual pain. “That’s a pretty nasty burn you have there my queen. You should take care that it doesn’t become infected.”
“It’d stand less chance of infection if you’d keep your diseased beak off of it.” Harrumphed Sarabi, pulling her meaty midsection towards her.
“Very well.” Said the vulture seeming to take no offense at Sarabi’s harsh words, “As you wish, my queen.”
But Sarabi had a thought, “Hey, wait.” The vulture turned his stringy neck around, “What do you see here? Does this burn look like anything to you? I... can’t get a very good look at it.”
But Sarabi knew the answer before the buzzard opened his mouth, she’d known since the moment she regained consciousness. He peered down at it. “It’s a fairly large burn, I’m afraid.” He said, holding up a talon as if for measure, “Slightly smaller than your paw print, but overall, with respect to your... ahem, physique, it should be more than manageable.” He hopped even closer, either the vulture was thorough or just like getting a better look at Sarabi’s tender meats, “Yes... the cross here... the rounded top... and strangely not burned in the middle... yes.” Sarabi sagged before even hearing the confirmation, “It looks like an ankh.”
“What does it mean though?” Sarabi sought desperately. Fear still washed over her from the dreadful nightmare that had taken her.
“My lady.” Said the vulture sweeping one elegantly black feathered wing, “I am but a humble scavenger, as you would say, I know not of human symbols and their meanings, even less how it ties into your vision.”
“Damn...” said Sarabi resignedly, rolling forward and letting herself down. As she did, she felt a stirring uneasiness in her bowels, but thought nothing of it. A thought struck her, “How did you know I had a vision? I did not mention it to you.”
The vulture kept his face straight, “Why you suddenly collapsed after devouring the last morsel on the table. You convulsed for more than a minute and stopped breathing again. When you came to, you had this mysterious burn on your belly. I assumed something out of the ordinary had happened.” If he wasn’t telling the truth, then he was a master lier. Sarabi wasn’t sure what to think. She was about to press him on the issue when the butterflies in her stomach suddenly developed fangs.
Sarabi felt like she’d been kicked in the stomach – directly through the feet of fat that is. Her eyes turned up in her head and she moaned, salivating profusely and clutching her wide middle as her intestines turned in knots. She stared at the ground panting, her eyes taking in the grain of the stone under her as her head spun. The skin covering the fat blanket on her shoulders twitched all over the smooth surface and then she began to dry heave. She’d eaten no less in volume than her usual feast, but nothing came up, and Circle knows, she wanted everything she’d ever eaten to come up right at that moment. The pain was like someone had hold of her innards and was alternating between squeezing them and moving them around. Inside, she felt twitchy, and out of sorts, it was like no belly pain she felt before. Her stomach was a mass of nausea, but nothing would come up, she remained bloated like a hog and even sicker for it than if she had been able to bring it up. Her belly quivered with unease over the round bolus stretching the membrane tight around it. But the passage up her esophagus was sealed as the stone around her. Try as she might she could do nothing as she eventually toppled onto her side, mewling with the pain of it.
She caught sight of the vulture watching her, “Don’t you.... Urgh! ...Think of anything, you buzzard! I’m not dying! Oooohhhhmph...”
For having a beak, the vulture could grin quite well, “I have no idea what you are talking about my queen. Would you perhaps feel better with some water?”
“...Yes!” Sarabi grunted. She rolled on her back to relieve the pressure on her belly. The smooth surface of sparse tawny fur covering the pink skin showed no signs of the roiling turmoil taking place deep underneath it. Sarabi hugged her burgeoning gut with all four paws, tracing up and down and side to side on the huge, dome-like structure; the top of which was just beyond reach of any of her paws and where happened to lay the ankh scorched into her skin. The ankh, symbol for eternal life for the ancient Egyptians and representing many things from physical well being to fertility and child rearing faced the sky, an eye of shiny, inflamed skin on the wide tapestry of Sarabi’s belly: perhaps her most prized possession in this life. The lioness writhed under the ankh.
[[1. The the pain stops and Sarabi questions the vulture about the offering and dream]]
2. Something else happens to Sarabi**Cowardly Kondo (new)**
...Turned and fled. Later he'd justify it as there being no way he could take on this many dogs, especially not with the humans who doubtlessly were accompanying them, and that it would do neither he nor Sarabi any good for him to stay and die at the teeth of the canines, but right at that moment it was just blind panic. The immense lioness would have turned and followed the gaunt male if she could have done, but such athletic exertions were but a distant memory, buried beneath slabs of fat and months of indulgence. "Kondo," She called as loudly as she could manage, "Kondo, get back here, Kondo, Kondo."
"You can quit crying," said the alpha dispassionately, "he's long gone."
"But...but he..." Sarabi stuttered, unable to quite believe that Kondo would abandon her so quickly.
"Smart of him too," the alpha added, "no sense in dying needlessly."
Sarabi suddenly realized she was panicking, her breathing was shallow and she could no longer feel her heart's individual beats. This wasn't immediately noticeable to the dogs though, and indeed the first they knew was when their immense quarry dropped to the ground with a slap.
"Having a little trouble there are we," the alpha taunted, taking note of Sarabi's gasping for breath, this was going to be easier than he'd thought.
The slap awakened Sarabi from her panic to some degree, allowing her to regain conscious control of her heart and breathing, though it did nothing for her exhaustion. Realizing just how dire her position was, the immense lioness was nevertheless able to muster some scrap of dignity, "So how far away are the humans?"
Smirking, the alpha replied, "..."
1. "...Not far"
[[2. "...They're not coming”]]**Easy Target (Matt)**
"...They're not coming."
It took a moment for Sarabi to make sense of this short statement, and once she had, she wished she hadn't, for if the dogs were out here alone there could only be one reason, "couldn't you just have forgotten about me?"
"We never liked you to begin with," the dog replied, his voice growing suddenly chilly, "and since you killed my brother..."
Sarabi swallowed nervously, she'd known her situation was dire, but the alpha's statement extinguished her last glimmer of hope, though she didn't let it go without a struggle, "look, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean..."
"I don’t give a damn what you meant," the alpha growled, "you're still going to die," and lunged at her firs neck roll, followed very quickly by the rest of the pack.
Sarabi squirmed beneath the pack's assault, unable to put up any real defense, even the feeble one she'd managed at her last encounter with the pack. She wasn't an easy victim though, even if she was an easy target, for as in their last encounter, her various rolls and slabs of blubber protected her from the dog's teeth, and this time, none of the canine seemed to have figured out that they could have finished her quickly if they'd gone for her jugular between a couple of her neck rolls. The battle did eventually begin to wear her down though, even with its sluggish pace, and eventually the immense lioness lost consciousness.
The first thing Sarabi saw when she awoke was red, and it took here a few moments to realize that it was the blaze of an early dawn, rather than the ruby of blood, though by the smell of it there was more than enough of that around as well. Her sides stung, and so did her legs, and...come to think of it, everything was stinging. Still, the immense lioness thought, better alive and stinging than the alternative. Finally having some account of her injuries, the former queen strained her senses to examine her surroundings, and quickly became aware that...
1. ...She was alone
2. ...Kondo had returned**Sunken Savanna (Shalion)**
The air was cool and moist as the sky lightened to the east and the sound of dripping and running water was pervasive about the hillock where the lion rested. Kondo laid on his belly and stared out at the savanna, wondering if this was what it was like to be in the middle of the ocean. The monsoon had dump a huge amount of water on the flat plain and though it would find its way into streams or the ground by midmorning, at the moment, the whole area as far as the eye could see was submerged under several inches of water. It was hard to imagine that they had stopped so short of the edge of the jungle in their nocturnal traveling.
Cranes flocked freely, stabbing their long beaks into the water with the speed and precision of a snake’s strike. Baboons waded waist-deep in the water, hands above their heads and looking uncomfortable. Two near-by elephants frolicked in the water- in as much as their bulky frames would allow - squirting each other with jets from their trunks. The jungle ended as the ground leveled out, Kondo observed the new aquatic landscape from the comfort of a tiny outshoot from the tall mountains behind him. Behind him, visible through the trees lay his fattened companion, still completely ignorant of the fact that they had left the jungle behind them. The vastness of the plain frightened Kondo more than a little; though his bones ached for the open flatlands, he’d never set foot out of the jungle in his short life. Catching a glimpse of Sarabi’s round, soft body, the lion felt a rush of pride and responsibility. The fact that she was trusting her safety to him implicitly as she rested dead to the world was not lost on him. Kondo sat up and resumed his watch.
The trim lion watched the passing lives of the animals on the savanna as the sun emerged and with its gaze, caused the water to recede. The ground returned, dark and moist and then began to crack as it dried. Still Sarabi slept, hard as a tree trunk. Kondo himself felt more lively than he had in weeks despite covering the same distance Sarabi had covered last night and not having slept yet today. The obese feline had ended up needing no less than three additional rest stops as the night had worn on even though she never moved faster than a slow walk. What had been for the lioness an excruciating forced march had been nothing more than a leisurely stroll for the lighter cat. And while he had yet to mention it - and had little reason to do so now or in the future - Kondo was mildly amused at the total distance that Sarabi had worked herself into a stupor to reach. In the full night, they had come less than 7 miles. Kondo, even when he had been starving, had regularly traveled more than three times the distance in the course of a night, no matter the difficulty of the terrain found in the jungle; and he had not exhausted himself nearly as much as Sarabi evidently had. The lion might have been concerned about her mobility if he had cared even in the slightest about where she intended on leading him. But he didn’t. All Kondo really cared about was being near that fattened, cunning, aggressive, and completely attractive lioness. Somehow, her incapacity made her even more desirable.
Finally Kondo couldn’t take it anymore. He stalked back to his female companion and sat across from her gelatinous belly studying Sarabi’s form with his eyes. Her slowly rising and lowering flank. The way her belly flowed out and retracted across the ground with each breath. The pink, dimpled skin, the cream yellow fur, the dark lines of folds between her bulges of cellulite, the smallness of her head compared to the vastness of her body; these details stood out to the lion in exquisite definition, and he still did not know why. It may have been Sarabi’s exoticness that pulled him close to her - under her paw, in fact - but he didn’t think that was the whole answer. It felt as if there were something hidden deep inside him that needed her, just as there was something obvious about Sarabi that needed him. He wanted so much to touch her...
1. Kondo tries to take advantage of Sarabi
[[2. Sarabi catches Kondo staring]]Caught! (Shalion)
As his eyes passed over her face once more, caressing mentally the swell of her round cheeks, he spotted the gleam of her eyes. Her eyes! ‘She’s been watching me!’ thought Kondo, nearly hysterically. He stumbled to look away, trying to seem casual, but failing entirely. He stepped on his tail in the process and he yelped. Sarabi chuckled in response, abandoning her pretense of sleep.
“Kondo, you’re so clumsy! Don’t go hurting yourself now, I know I’m beautiful.” She brushed her whiskers and chubby cheek with a paw slyly as she said this.
“I... I...” fumbled the lion, “I wasn’t staring.”
The bigger cat yawned massively, displaying her yellowed but still more than capable fangs, and grinning, let her head relax back into the folds of her collars. “Don’t worry yourself about it, dear. I’m used to people who can’t seem to get enough of me.”
Kondo coughed, suppressing a laugh, Sarabi had pretty much hit the nail on the head. He was continually fascinated by the oddity of her half-ton frame, especially compared to his own lean, bony figure.
As she began the laborious process of shifting onto her belly from her side, Sarabi’s expansive, barrel torso reminded Kondo not so much of a lioness but a fattened grub as her paws – foreshortened by the depth of her trunk – pushed and levered rather ineffectually at the dark ground. Kondo got up and went around Sarabi’s hulking mass, pushing with his shoulder against softness that he had experienced nowhere else in the jungle. He then went back around where she lay to sit in front of her so that she would not have to burden herself with turning her head against the constantly shifting multitude of collars she wore. Kondo was already excited from the brief exchange, her helplessness enticing him as well as the contradictory power she seemed to wield by inhabiting that heavy, mountainous body.
She did not so much as thank him for his assistance. “Check on my bruises again...” Another yawn interrupted her as she was forced to spread her jaws. “...Kondo. They’re still quite irritating.”
“As you wish, my lady.” Said Kondo, eager to put his paws on this exotic lioness again. In addition to being extraordinarily more heavy than him, Sarabi was also taller and longer than the young lion. Checking the patchwork landscape of bruises and scab-covered scratches on her hide remained a time-consuming chore for Kondo. But still, when he reared up and placed both front paws on her in order to see the top of her rising back, his chest braced against those layers of softness, he felt just as good as he did when he had his teeth latched into the throat of a struggling beast.
This time took longer because Sarabi was covered with flecks of mud and Kondo’s own paws were far from clean themselves. Still, it was plain that the engorged feline was making slow progress – not surprising given the distance between her hide and the core of her heart. Only the smaller bruises were vanishing, the big ones were still quite livid even darker now than they had been as the blood under the skin was only slowly swept away by the poor circulation. Even worse, a cut which had landed deep inside a fold of Sarabi’s shoulder smelled infected. There was little Kondo could do save lick the foul tasting weepage of the wound away and Sarabi growled a complaint as he did so.
“Watch it! That stings, you cub!” Sarabi complained as Kondo dropped to his paws and spat out onto the ground.
“I’m sorry, Sarabi.” said Kondo, lowering his head low as if the cleaning hadn’t been necessary. “That cut on your shoulder is taking longer to heal; it’s deep in a crease and has little air.”
Sarabi grunted, but otherwise showed little interest for the infected cut on her shoulder. And she shouldn’t be concerned anyway, she’d received nothing but superficial cuts and bruises; it was nothing life threatening. However, it was obvious that the news and discomfort had put her in a poor mood. The big cat cocked her ears a little and asked demandingly, “So when’s breakfast.”
Kondo’s eyes widened. “What’s breakfast?” he asked, confused.
“You know... the first meal of the day.” Said Sarabi, waving her paw about ambiguously.
Kondo snorted in disbelief. “You mean you eat more than once a day?” he asked, genuinely surprised. He’d eaten his fill of zebra the previous day and was still not hungry in the slightest; he didn’t expect to need to go hunting again until tonight at the earliest, more probably the next night. And Sarabi had eaten so much more than he... The thought seemed too vast to comprehend immediately.
Sarabi turned her snout away for a moment. “Well, I used to. When I lived with the humans.” She didn’t feel it was prudent to mention that she was sometimes fed throughout the day without any breaks at this particular moment. She looked a bit longer at Kondo and then added, “I suppose that it is a bad habit, but I’m hungry again, nonetheless.”
Kondo thought that he should tell her that it was a habit that she was going to have to break as it was readily apparent, even to Sarabi herself, that her old eating habits were unsustainable out in the wild. But he didn’t, and it was because he imagined himself gifting this round lioness in front of him with carcass after carcass. The thought of Sarabi eating the same amount as a whole pride of lions suddenly electrified him, stiffening the hair on the back of his neck (and other places as well). He took a deep breath to steady his voice, “... Well, I suppose it’s not too late to go look for something to eat. Besides, it should be cool today.”
A wide grin spread on Sarabi’s face. “Kondo, you are such a dear.”
1. Kondo goes hunting alone
[[2. Kondo asks if Sarabi could help him somehow]]**All Right (Shalion)**
The relief that Sarabi felt when Dziko's eyes fluttered open and the human girl came around was unmatched by any of her maternal experiences save for the birth of her son. Her tail waved back and forth and her tongue flicked out to rasp against the dark skin of the girl's arm as she groaned herself awake.
"I-I am so sorry, Goddess Oshun, I must have-" started the girl-child, but Sarabi raised a paw the size of her chest and gently placed it on the girl's shoulder.
"Don't apologize. I almost killed you while I was in the grip of dreams." said Sarabi solemnly. She felt immensely sorry, but was still elated at the sensation of strength in her arm despite the heavy folds of fat hanging below her elbow. She remained just as obese, but now her leg was almost twice as thick as previously, the strength within was surely greater even than a fully grown lion despite her lethargy, and despite her gender.
Dziko seemed to understand and placed two hands on the thickness of Sarabi's paw and ankle. The muscles continued to twitch up the length of it where the needles were stuck expertly into the critical curves between each bulging muscle. Sarabi realized that muscles were twitching all over her body. All during the long night, the needles had been toning her limbs so that she could finally move without assistance. The girl-child seemed even more pleased than Sarabi. Wearing a wide grin she said, "Mistress, you are moving so well. Could it be that you can finally move about?"
As a answer, Sarabi lowered her paw to the ground and heaved with all four legs. The flesh parted from the ground and Sarabi felt like she had dropped half her weight though her dimensions remained the same. While not pressing against the ground, her flanks were not nearly so wide, but her belly reached down and down, a tawny yellow curtain feet deep narrowing only slightly from the widest point at about elbow height from the ground. The lioness straightened her legs and still not all of her belly was parted from the ground, there remained a strip of flesh from just below her solarplexis to about her crotch. Frowning, Sarabi took a few experimental steps forward inside the small enclosure of her tent which had also been her prison since the start of the caravan. The strip of belly fat dragged against the ground slipping behind and protruding out from behind Sarabi's hind-legs like a fatty balloon swelling between her haunches. Dziko grinned and laughed heartily.
Sarabi was initially displeased at any possible ridicule, but then the human child said, "The Goddess is more beautiful than ever!" and clapped her tiny nimble hands together. It was a laugh of pure delight. Then Sarabi felt a sharp pain and the lioness growled and showed her fangs instinctively. However, it was only Dziko kneeling besides a clump of shoulder fat overspilling and partially devouring her right front leg. In her hand was a tiny bamboo needle, its tip scarlet with the lioness's blood. "Sorry Goddess Oshun. But it is time to remove the needles. The old man from my dream told me that I must get them out when you were able to walk again."
Sarabi was instantly intrigued, "Dream?" she inquired and Dziko was able to understand.
"Yes. An old man with a painted face came to me in my dream. He's the one who told me what herbs to collect and where to place the bamboo needles. I knew he was a messenger sent from the heavens to help me better assist the Goddess."
Painted face... Sarabi smirked, flinching only a little as Dziko removed another needle. The lioness thought she knew the identity of Dziko's astral consult. In fact she hoped to meet him... soon. The only question now was how best to use her newfound mobility...
[[1. Leave immediately]]
2. Get a snack for the road…**Getting Up (new)**
Time and again Sarabi attempted to rise, and time and time and again failed. No matter how the immense lioness attempted to force herself to her feet, her colossal weight got the better of her. Perhaps more depressing was the fact that, the closer she got to achieving her goal, the more punishing was the eventual collapse. The small falls - slumps really - took her only a few minutes to recover from, but the larger ones knocked her breath out, and it took an inordinate amount of time to recover. After perhaps the seventh or eighth attempt, the former queen was just about ready to give up, the night was passing quickly, and she dreaded to think how they might restrain her if they found her outside the litter.
Before Sarabi began the long, laborious trek back to the litter though, she wanted to try one more time, just once more, just to prove - if successful - that she was ready to face everything the savannah could throw at her. She wouldn't be, she admitted to herself in the dark recesses of her mind, she'd be incapable of dealing with even a Serval if one chose to turn nasty, but the silent boast boosted her spirits and fired up her hope.
Sarabi, sure by now that she'd be unable to drag her bulk aloft on her own, began scanning her surroundings to the best of her ability, looking for something to boost herself up on. Her range was severely restricted though, numerous fleshy collars bracketed her head preventing her from turning it more than a little no matter how she attempted to crane her neck. Spotting nothing, the behemoth lioness almost gave up, she couldn't do it without help, she was simply to big, too heavy for her atrophied muscles to manage. For some reason, her despair brought her thoughts back to her recent dream, and once again the dream Rafiki's admonishment of not trying hard enough. This hardened her resolve, up till now she'd held back, afraid of injuring herself, but now she cast the thought aside, if she was trapped here with these humans what did an injury - a torn muscle or a broken bone - actually matter, she'd be crippled one way or another. Holding onto that, the former queen prepared for one last effort, one last attempt to shift her almost ton of weight.
Sarabi's muscles, still a little warm from her last attempt seemed to catch fire almost immediately, but she ignored their protests, gritting her teeth at the rising pain. Slowly, oh so slowly the immense lioness ratcheted herself up, though her joints ground and her muscles burned ever more painfully, causing the lioness to whimper and whine. Finally, just when the former queen was sure she could take no more she felt one elbow click into place, then the other, then her ankles followed suit, there, she'd managed it, she'd stood up. The action had not come without cost though, her joints had locked tight, her muscles burned like never before, and her heart felt like it was about to burst, but nevertheless, she exulted, she'd done it.
Sarabi waited a while for her heart to slow up and the burning in her muscles to die down, but after a while decided to push on, her heart had slowed only a bit, and her muscles were still almost painfully hot. Moving, though, proved no easier than rising, for no matter how the mammoth cat attempted to shift her weight, she could not lift a paw off the ground, not even fractionally, the best she could do was to reduce the weight on that paw enough to rub it forward along the grit of the savannah. This, the former queen decided, would have to do, and so, dragging her paws in the dust, she began the slow, laborious journey to freedom.
Morning came more quickly than Sarabi would have liked, but over that she had no control, she'd just have to hope that her inches-long steps had taken her sufficiently far from the camp that the humans wouldn't follow. This hope was eventually...
1. ...Dashed
[[2. ...Borne out]]**Lost (Shalion)**
At the prospect of food, Sarabi’s voice grew much sweeter. That last little “dear” reminded Kondo that Sarabi had more to offer than just ordering him to clean and massage her body and providing a comfortable place to rest his bony self during the day. The gaunt lion wanted nothing more than to please that corpulent, lazy, and voracious feline who lazed in front of him. The thought of her teasing him over another substantial meal sent a shiver of elation up Kondo’s spine.
The sun was by now well over the horizon in the east, though it remained barely visible through the trees at the edge of the jungle. With the recent rainfall, however the air remained cool and would likely be tolerable all through the day as well, even out on the unshaded savanna. The Savanna! Kondo forgot to mention it, Sarabi still didn’t know how close she was once again to the open plains. The lion tried to be shrewd in mentioning it. “That reminds me, I have a little surprise for you.”
The behemoth cat’s expansive belly growled with an uncomfortable, guttural noise and her paw flew rest on the protruding flab. Sarabi grimaced. “It better have something to do with fresh meat.”
Kondo swallowed – perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all. But he had to follow through, there was no backing out now that he’d mentioned it. “Just walk forward a few more feet and then you’ll see it.” Kondo encouraged.
The lioness groaned. “Do I have to?” Her belly churned again, echoing in the vast confines of her expanded abdomen and sounding like boulders grinding against each other miles away.
Here was Sarabi conflicting with herself again, Kondo thought. Sarabi the lioness and proud huntress of the savanna versus the spoiled, fattened blob of a domestic cat she’d become recently. Kondo wasn’t sure which aspect of the older lioness he preferred, though he swiftly realized that he loved both of them. Of course, there was really no need for her to move. Kondo was on the verge of just telling her, but looking into her eyes, he thought that he did, in fact see the desire to move, to be surprised. There was just the omnipresent and monumental obstacle of her own body to overcome. The lion decided to encourage her. Walking forward a few steps, Kondo invaded Sarabi’s personal space enough to lick her on the head, a classic invitation for play. She raised a paw in feeble defense, but Kondo moved swiftly to the other side. “Come on, Sarabi!” he said energetically, “You’ve had all morning to sleep, you can manage a couple steps.”
Sarabi sputtered and finally pushed Kondo away with a broad paw. She proceeded to wipe her head clean of the male lion’s spittle. “You are nothing more than a cub aren’t you.” She said with mock/not-so-mock anger. “Fine, fine, I’ll get up, if only to satisfy your adolescent sense of humor.”
Sarabi continued to grumble and complain as Kondo helped her uneasily to her feet, but she did continue with the somewhat lengthy process, leaning against scrawny lion at one point, having him brace his shoulder against her rump at another. When her knees were finally locked safely in place, however, it was clear that she hadn’t yet completely recovered from the previous night’s journey. To Kondo’s genuine surprise, Sarabi was already breathing heavily and as she walked, she continued to limp on her bad leg. “I swear Kondo, if this isn’t good, I’m not leaving you anything of the next kill.” She said as he led her through the last of the trees.
Kondo did not for a second doubt the sincerity of her threat. “Trust me, he said, you’ll like this.” But his tone betray his worry.
The sunlight was almost blinding as the cats broke through the last of the underbrush. Sarabi, wide-eyed, sat promptly, her hindlegs practically giving out under her weight. The scene that Kondo had witnessed earlier had not changed save that the savanna remained yet a field of mud rather than an illusory sea. Kondo looked up at Sarabi with a grin which immediately failed when he saw the wet tracks running down her snout.
With a strained voice, Sarabi muttered, “I... I don’t recognize any of this. Where are we?”
This was quickly becoming a disaster. But Kondo had nothing with which to comfort the foreign lioness. “I’m... not sure. I’ve never left the jungle.” He wanted to say more, but had no idea what would comfort her.
Sarabi let her paws slide down and fold under the weight of her forequarters. She looked with tired eyes, trying futilely to examine the savanna and every landmark visible from their observation point.
Kondo could only think of one thing to do. “It’s alright Sarabi. You’re just tired and hungry. Maybe the land will make more sense after you’ve eaten something.”
The feline’s ears perked up, but Sarabi didn’t lift her head. “Maybe...” she muttered.
Kondo tried to salvage what was left of his intentions that morning. He knew full well that he had gotten lucky finding that lost zebra in the jungle. Now, more than ever, he thought that Sarabi would require more than a couple monkeys or a turtle, the only animals Kondo had any experience in catching. She needed another game animal, but Kondo was not confident in his ability to succeed again alone. If only he had help... any help at all. “Sarabi...” he started and the lioness lifted her face to him, the rolls bunching against her right cheek, “I think I could do much better with my hunting if I had a little help today.”
Sarabi scoffed, thumping a paw against the ground. “And what, exactly do you think I’d be able to help with? Do you want me to sit on something?”
Sarabi’s tone was harsh and critical, but Kondo remained strong. “You killed three gazelle pretty easily didn’t you? You just need to get close.”
Sarabi silently accepted the praise of her ability.
“Well... I don’t have a lot of experience hunting. I, I usually end up scaring away the prey before I can strike. I... I just thought.”
“Spit it out already, Kondo, I don’t have all day.”
Like a physical response, Kondo’s tongue came untied as he relaxed just a bit at Sarabi’s firm tone. “I think I can run an animal towards you and you can catch it and kill it.” The lion gestured with his head to the stand of trees around them, “You would have excellent cover here and also another important advantage.”
Sarabi’s frown decreased slightly. “And what is that?”
“You are not instantly recognizable as a lioness.” Kondo said with a wink.
[[1. Sarabi goes for the plan]]
2. Sarabi rejects the plan**The Plan...Failed? (Shalion)**
As Kondo walked away from the lioness who was currently attempting to situate herself in the concealing brush without overly trampling it, he could not help but feel a surge of excitement and anticipation. He could still hardly believe that she had agreed to his plan. His plan! Sure, if everything worked, Sarabi would be the one pulling the animal down and making the kill. There wouldn’t even be the illusion of her propriety in regards to the carcass, she would have actually earned it. Given how she behaved when she had contributed nothing to the last kill, Kondo wondered if it would be lucky if she shared even a stringy forelimb with him. The hairs of the back of Kondo’s neck rose and he shivered with desire for the coming conflict, for the denial. Of course, this was all assuming that Kondo managed to pull off the hunt at all. Today, however, Kondo walked tall, an extra swagger in his step. Confident in his ability to provide for Sarabi, the young lion felt as though not even an elephant could get in his way.
Two hours later, Kondo found himself pushing his way through bush after bush interspersed with brief reprieves of tall grass that grew well over his head. The lion paused to listen and scent the air. Detecting nothing, he slumped his shoulders and continued to plow forward. How he was to find anything in this maze, he didn’t know, but it had to be better than going back to the savanna; back to humiliation.
Simply put, Kondo’s plan didn’t work. With animals abounding just a short distance away from the jungle’s edge, it had seemed so simple to chase one into Sarabi’s waiting claws. He’d prowled carefully and quietly, check. He’d selected a likely target - a juvenile who’d just received a swift kick to his nose for trying to nurse off of his mother past his time - check. He’d been downwind and gotten nearly under the gemsbok’s hooves; it was the closest he’d ever gotten to a prey animal actually. He’d been about to spring when another member of the herd nearly tripped over his hidden form, saw him and sounded the alarm. Kondo leaped immediately, trying to salvage the hunt and tore after his target. The lion ran with all he was worth, cutting off the juvenile herbivore each time he swerved, driving him towards the edge of the jungle. It was easier when the lion knew he didn’t have to overtake the grazer, just control its movement. There was just one unforeseen problem; the big gemsbok was not going to have anything to do with crashing into the dense jungle. The beast had swung about radically, nearly falling himself as he approached the trees, acting as if the greenery were a brick wall. Kondo ran to cut it off, jumped and dug a claw into its flank. But the lion failed to secure a hold and he was bucked off, the young gemsbok tearing off back to its now running herd as Kondo was flung down to the earth, chest heaving for his trouble. The look Sarabi had given him afterwards had made him want to sink down into the wet turf, never to emerge again.
The hunt was ruined. The grazing animals who stuck around the area were all of high alert, heads up and watching for predators as they huddled close, shielding each other with their bodies. Catching anything without moving miles away was going to be nearly impossible, at least for the bigger grassland animals. And Sarabi was waiting. To her credit, she didn’t throw out Kondo’s plan when he requested another chance. For another opportunity to prove himself, Kondo would have gladly sacrificed any portion of the next kill; besides, that left more for Sarabi to stuff her face with.
So Kondo had not returned to the grassland, instead, he had followed the quasi terrain which was the border between his old jungle home and the open plain. Unbeknownst to him, he quickly found himself in scrub-land. Green and flowering bushes and grass seeming to extend forever; though perhaps the effect was due only to the fact that he could not see where he was going. Kondo was going to have to rely on his other senses if he hoped to succeed. However, the lion knew that he was running out of time. It was almost noon and the temperature was rising, albeit sluggishly after the monsoon cleansing. The temperature wasn’t a problem, however, the humidity was rising at an alarming rate, making the fur around his body clingy and damp. By afternoon, he would have to give up and rest until night fall... besides, he hadn’t slept since the previous afternoon, Kondo was getting pretty tired.
Any fatigue he felt though vanished as he heard a branch brush against something as though being snapped back. Kondo recognized the sound, the sound of a browsing herbivore pulling the leaves off a low branch. The lion crouched and silently stalked hi way to the sounds of chewing. He stopped when he saw the spiraling horns rising above the tall grass. He dared not the breath. The horns waved about and the unseen branch swung again. Sounds of chewing. Kondo counted his heart beats. One, two, three, four; too fast. Steady now. One, two... three... Kondo leapt.
[[1. Meanwhile, Sarabi...]]
2. Follow Kondo's chase**Sarabi Makes The Kill (Shalion)**
The jungle’s edge was quiet save for the chatter of birds and monkeys echoing from the shadowy confines from which Sarabi had so recently traveled. The large-waisted feline stood like a horse while attempting to conceal her enormous body in the spare undergrowth. Knees locked, Sarabi shifted her weight back and forth on her paws, her joints were really starting to bother her. As the pain increased, the older lion became increasingly convinced that Kondo’s plan was ridiculous. ‘The skinny little mutt ought to be able to do his hunting without me standing here like a fool.’ she thought savagely and had to stifle a moan building in the back of her throat. Sarabi had been an athlete once, a trim, efficient killer of the savanna. However, that was years ago and naturally the joints get worn down and used up as a lioness exits her prime and becomes an older cat. Sarabi was most definitely an older cat now and more than that, she had nearly four times the weight pressing down on her fragile knees, hips and shoulders. Standing up for two hours was almost more than she could physically bear; in fact, walking would have been easier.
So the lioness eased her bulk down to the ground, cursing Kondo for his reasonable suggestion that she participate in the hunt for her food, for his failed first attempt and for his lack of speed now. In fact, as Sarabi thought about it more now, her part in the hunting scheme seemed more and more ridiculous. She was supposed to stand and wait in vegetation that barely covered the majesty of her round and tubby form and at any time, an animal might come barreling at her at top speed. Sarabi’s senses were honed to lethal precision, but even if she heard or scented the beast coming towards her, even if Kondo perfectly herded it up against her, she’d have no more than a step or two to the left or right in terms of range as the animal would veer to avoid her mass; assuming it didn’t immediately recognize her rounded and expanded outline as a predator as Kondo had suggested. The very notion rankled, but as Sarabi casually felt her curves and sagging sacs of flesh with a paw, she had to acknowledge that Kondo had a point. After all, it had been that very fact that had led Sarabi to her first successful kill in the wild; never mind that it would probably never work again as word spread about the unusual new lioness.
Ah! the pain in her knees, it was as if someone had poured acid in-between the bones. The feel of the ground against her paws was too much and slowly, very slowly, Sarabi rolled onto her back, leaving flattened vines and ferns in the wake of her retreating tawny furred flab. Her brisket flooded under her chin again and her breathing became more raspy, the effort to intake breath tangible as her midsection pressed down on her, but she didn’t stop the procedure until all four paws were suspended limply in the air, supported by only relaxed muscles and congestion from the fatty tissue which surrounded all four legs. It wasn’t perfect, but it was at least a little better. As Sarabi lay there, seeing nothing but the roots of the tree in front of her, she could not help but realize that despite making so little progress in the quest for home, she had been pushing herself too hard; more than her body could handle. Her body...
Oh, the sweet luscious folds of softness that enveloped her now. How much she had dreamed and fantasized about being the cat she was now... and yet how many physical tolls she received in return! It wasn’t fair! In the Pridelands, she’d be treated properly as a queen deserved. She’d be pampered and would be able to laze about every single day for her remaining years. People would see her splendor and the unique beauty she had achieved... wouldn’t they? Sarabi longed for her home so much that she soon felt tears burning her eyes as they tried to move backwards up her forehead.
Sarabi lifted her head to wipe her face with the back of a paw, but she didn’t immediately let it rest again despite the strain of holding up the weight of her head, her collars of fat and her weighty brisket. She didn’t because of what she was barely able to see from her poor vantage. The smooth, pink, scantily furred skin covering the dome of her protruding belly was vibrating like a the surface of a pond. Either Sarabi was so huge and insulated from the ground or the vibrations were so tiny that she hadn’t felt them. But she soon did, even through her layers and layers. She felt the vibrations dancing across the surface of her skin where she still retained excellent sensation above the largely numb depths of blubber in which her body drowned. Something was coming.
There was not going to be any time to stand up. This went without question as Sarabi saw in her mind’s eye the laborious process that proceeded with many a false-start and pauses and small breaks when she was forced to do so unassisted. But despite the fact that the generously portioned, half-ton plus lioness was fully on her back, she knew she was not in the worse possible position. In fact, the more she thought about it, she thought that perhaps being here, flat on her well padded back was actually better than standing as she had been. Being on one’s back was, for a feline, not the gesture of submission and vulnerability as it was for any common dog. On her back, Sarabi, or any other lion, had access to all four claws for fending off potential attackers. Of course, no lioness would take such a position for the hunting of prey, but then no lioness experienced such pain from standing and waiting. Granted, Sarabi would lose even her one or two steps to the left or right that she would have had, but the fattened cat thought that having an extra three claws available for use would make up for it. Kondo would have to be very accurate with his herding. As the vibrations coming from the ground grew in intensity as they played across the surface of her tummy, Sarabi hoped, despite the rising swell of the dome of her midsection, that she was at least less visible than she had been previously.
A snapping branch caused a surge of adrenaline to shoot through the lazy, corpulent feline. It immediately dilated her eyes kicked her heart rate up to an alarming level. Her buried muscles tensed in anticipation as something tore through the under-brush. Grey with faint black strips along its ribcage, the kudu thundered towards the soft lioness. Fear struck Sarabi deep down, chilling her otherwise impenetrably insulated core; she thought for a moment that she was going to be trampled to death by those sharp hooves. The huntress recalled herself only just in time.
The large buck kudu was fleeing in a panic from Kondo just a few lengths behind him and he didn’t see the bloated mass of Sarabi until he was almost on top of her. It was too late to veer around, he knew he’d loose too much speed, so with a final burst of energy, the buck charged and gathered himself for a leap over the unusual obstacle. It was a fatal mistake.
Sarabi watched with calculating eyes and despite the fact that her quarry appeared upside down to her, she managed to evaluate its approach with the expertise that only a decade of hunting could provide. All four claws were reaching up as the kudu left the ground in front of her. They connected while it was passing above her, three paws with four claws each digging into its chest and under belly. The kudu let out a shriek and the momentum bowled over even Sarabi’s huge mass, carrying the lioness almost on top of the struggling beast in whom her claws twisted rather painfully; for both parties. Sarabi decided to finish the job in a way that only a huntress such as herself could, heaving up yet more of her bulk onto the large antelope who, she discovered was, in fact approximately half her size, at least in terms of sheer weight; the beast was, in fact, taller than her and as long as herself, dwarfing Kondo entirely
The male lion stumbled to an exhausted halt as Sarabi held down the animal as it struggled to breath under Sarabi’s great weight. It was helpless as it attempted to buck off Sarabi’s irresistible, doughy mass. All its legs were pinned under her gargantuan gut and it’s trademark twisting horns were caught under the cat’s sizable brisket. Sarabi took her time extricating her limbs while holding the beast captive. She had to reorganize her legs and bulk some more to allow her to get her head down for the killing bite. Kondo watched with alacrity as Sarabi fussed about her brisket and forelegs all the while the kudu under her jostled her rolls and flanks with its weakening flails. Sarabi lowered her head and ushered yet another food beast further on into the Circle. Afterwards, it was a while before she moved. Eyes glazed, she panted with rapt exhaustion, her adrenaline rush and subsequent efforts draining her as much as the mile long chase had Kondo. The male approached Sarabi cautiously after a time when her breathing had slowed; Kondo still recovered much more quickly than the fattened, older lioness. Sarabi met his questioning look with a...
1. wink
[[2. Growl]]**Stingy Cat (Shalion)**
Kondo stopped dead in his sheepish advance at the low, barely audible growl rumbling from the larger cat’s throat. The noise came as almost as much surprise to Sarabi herself, though the moment she realized that she was the source of it, she decided to follow through with the warning.
Hot, living blood still dripped from her lips where her canines had punctured the neck of the now deceased kudu whilst she strangled it. She knew the effect it would have so she didn’t bother to lick her chops. She rose her head high against the permanent collars she wore and glared down at Kondo, speaking volumes with her body language. It wasn’t a discussion she wanted to put to words. Right now, the skinny male and his contributions to the feast she was currently straddling could take a long hike in the desert for all she cared. All she wanted was to sink her teeth into the belly of the woodland antelope under her and fill her cavernous, demanding belly with its sweet meats. Eating was the one thing that Sarabi was sure would obliterate the physical pains she had been forced to endure during the last 24 hours as well as distract her from the revelation that she had had when she had been exposed to the unfamiliar landscape of the savanna beyond the jungle’s edge; that she was irretrievably, irrevocably lost. So Sarabi posed, using the full force of her great bulk and stared down the puny male, waiting for him to retreat to a respectable distance so she could gorge herself without interruption. But Kondo didn’t back down. He was...
[[1. Almost shaking with excitement]]
2. About to pass out**Sarabi's Fury (Shalion)**
This was the moment that Kondo had been waiting for ever since he first encountered the depths of Sarabi’s greed and propriety back in the jungle over the corpse of a wayward zebra. The thing that he needed, Sarabi had inside of her, that domination, that irresistible force which she wielded that was so irresistible to Kondo. He ached with pent up energies which were still new and unfamiliar to him, desiring release. His physical exhaustion and fatigue were left in the background of the male lion’s consciousness. Now was his chance! As he stared down the older, far more experienced lioness, Kondo wanted to relish every moment, every detail burned into his memory for future reliving.
And yet, he wanted this encounter to be more than last time. In order to pull out Sarabi’s hidden character, Kondo knew he had to provoke her first. So far it was going great. Simply by not retreating the ire grew and smoldered in the lioness’s eyes. Kondo wanted so much for Sarabi to curse and demean him, to turn away even his feeblest requests. So it was a surprise to him when he managed to lift his eyes to meet hers in a false display of bravado. His spine shivered at her reaction. Lips pulled away to reveal her great, yellowed fangs. If Sarabi had been more mobile, they would have been a hair’s breadth away from a physical confrontation.
Two lions on equal footing would have settled a dispute over food like this with a furious brawl lasting perhaps several seconds. As things were, however, Kondo had the unprivileged opportunity to draw out the mental conflict, escalating it with glances, lashes of his tail and presumptuous steps forward. Sarabi grew yet more agitated and still there had been no words spoken. As Kondo flouted his apparently newly discovered independence, the knowledge of how she would punish him later threatened to drown him in surging hormones. It was a wonderful, intoxicating and dangerous dance, and Sarabi was forced to play as Kondo wished due to her inability to confront him directly or to flee.
Almost a minute and a half had passed before Sarabi broke the spell. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked heatedly and in a moment the sound of her voice crystallized the nebulous tensions between them which Kondo had been exploring and reveling in like the collapsing wave-function of a subatomic particle.
Kondo groped for a response. He was feeling giddy with Sarabi’s anger and aggressiveness and his purely fictitious display of bravado. “I... er...” Kondo’s natural response was to backtrack, but somehow, he could not do that just now. The need to follow through, to see what would happen was too great. His eyes confronted the burning embers of Sarabi’s, “I think that you ought to step back and let me eat.”
Despite his show, the words sounded lame even to the lion. Sarabi obviously wasn’t intimidated in the least. “Why should I do that?” she asked, hair prickling over the rolls at the back of her neck.
“Because you are fat enough already.” Said the lion who immediately afterward couldn’t believe what had come out of his mouth
Sarabi lurched up with her forepaws and the bones of the dead kudu could be heard cracking under her weight. “I made the kill. This is my meal!” She said, eyes blazing. “You little, immature brat. I was thinking of sharing, but you can forget that now.” She dragged herself forward more until her forepaws were on the ground, her midsection and hindquarters still supported by the animal under her. Kondo thought that he was in real danger of being attacked by the half-ton lioness, but didn’t move, torn between survival instincts and the desire to feel the heat of Sarabi fury. And Sarabi was working herself into a fervor, panting and exhausting herself again. “Go gnaw on a... stick, for all I care, you cub. Don’t make me... sink my teeth into that... bony hide of yours.”
Sarabi’s face was nothing but completely serious. Kondo’s heart was chilled with real terror. He wanted to shrink before her, to become even more insignificant compared to her than he already was. He no longer needed to provoke her, her fires were stoked and there was nothing left to do but see how long Sarabi would keep the flames on him. From what he had learned of her so far, he thought that it could be quite some time. He would have smiled if his knees weren’t shaking. Kondo turned sideways away from her, his tail lowering as hers lashed about, whipping the ground and her rounded thighs with abandon. He felt the release at last as he slid into his role in the wake of Sarabi’s natural assertion. “But, please, Sarabi. I ran so far to bring you that kudu. You have to share.”
The fattened lioness shuffled forward another couple steps, still dragging her massive hindquarters and further tenderizing the slighter carcass under her. She snapped her jaws at Kondo as a final warning, though he was still quite out of her actual range. “I don’t have to do anything! This beast is mine; I killed it, not you.” Kondo longed to know how fast her overburdened heart was beating just now, how it felt to have so little energy to spare that rage alone was enough to drain it. “Go catch yourself one of those damn turtles you are always going on about if you are so hungry, you skinny, half-male. You’re not getting so much as a bone off this carcass.”
Kondo made the mistake of lingering a second too long. “Bu-” was as far as he got before Sarabi surged forward with surprising speed. She hadn’t stood up but was forcing her body along the ground with all four paws. The lean male wasn’t about to stand in front of more than four times his own weight in rampaging lioness. He turned tail, but even with his speed compared to Sarabi’s, she managed to catch his tail mid-flight. Kondo yelped, knowing she broke the skin as he tugged himself free, and darted into the jungle. He ran half a mile and finally collapsed against the tree, spent. He slept hard that afternoon and didn’t awake until well after dark, but the whole time, he wore a wide grin on his face.
[[1. Kondo returns to Sarabi when he wakes]]
2. Kondo hunts for small game first**Meat Isn't Enough (Shalion)**
Even after Kondo had left, Sarabi’s anger at his insolence and presumption – imagine the gall to call her fat! – didn’t fade. She returned to the episode again and again, gnawing on it like a tick-riddled sore. It took some time to even catch her breath; her continual utterances of “the nerve...” or “that brat, that skinny little stick...” didn’t help much in easing her raspy, fat-clogged windpipe. If she had been faster, she would have taught that young male a proper lesson in respect for a queen of the savanna, if she had been able to get up a bit more easily, if she had been...
Sarabi growled intensely and swatted at the soil, stinging her claws and leaving four dark trenches in the loam; the impact sent a shudder up her blobby shoulder that reverberated through her great paunch resting on the ground, to her haunches and back until she could even feel it in the curtain of flesh cascading from under her neck. Only when she could again breathe comfortably through her nose did she begin to move, slowly. Fortunately, she didn’t have to rise completely, only turn herself about to face that which she had driven off her companion for. With much grunting and dragging of flesh upon the ground, the corpulent queen managed to face the 600 lb carcass of the woodland kudu.
It was indeed a fine specimen. A little worse for wear with Sarabi’s subsequent trampling of it, the food-beast yet remained whole save where a little blood trickled from the claw marks on its belly and chest as well as the tooth punctures where she had suffocated the animal with a bite to the neck. A deep rumble that was not a purr emitted from Sarabi’s midsection and her eyes lit up with an uncontrollable desire. The big cat would soon remedy the wholeness of the dead kudu.
She tore into the carcass in a frenzy, exerting the anger her massive form had prevented her from unleashing on Kondo earlier. Sarabi ate very messily. Cutting open the belly and devouring the abdominal contents, the fattened feline did not immediately find the peace or even obliteration she was used to while stuffing herself. As she stuck her nose it, grabbing blindly whatever entrails she happened to sink her teeth in and pulling brutally with paws digging into the flesh of the animal elsewhere, she found her anger did not diffuse immediately. Her belly heaved across the ground, the vibrant web of red, raised stretch-marks which crossed its surface ululating like miniature waves across an ocean seen from far above. The comfort of eating did not embrace Sarabi immediately, in fact she almost felt worse than before and her mind felt like it was turning back towards feelings of loss and hopelessness at her situation, being lost far from her home and now lacking the physical fitness she required to get there. But the cat did not dwell on those things, her solution, eat more and eat faster.
Sarabi worked her mouth pulling more flesh into the vast fleshy storehouse of her body. She sought to lose herself in the texture and taste of organs and entrails and, later, meat. The smell of blood pervaded the area, a sweet liquor on her tongue that satiated both thirst and hunger. But Sarabi was swiftly beyond hunger. She’d learned long ago, while living in captivity the refinements of eating beyond what most would label “hungry.” It was only as the abdominal cavity began to empty did the sweet, cherished haze fall over Sarabi’s world, numbing her to outside sensations – including the sensations of her continued gluttony. All that remained clear to her was the dull pain that began below the abdomen and slowly grew. Sarabi knew she wouldn’t stop her mouth from ripping, tearing and swallowing until the pain grew to the point where it seemed to fill all her vast middle. When it seemed that the meat was ready to burst forth from her taut, pink skin, she knew she could finally stop.
Now Sarabi knew perfectly well that her body had not yet finished processing her meal of zebra from the previous morning. But she also knew from experience that the meal had had time to pass down into her lower intestines, leaving her stomach chamber free to accept the new deluge of kudu. When it finally came to pass that Sarabi lowered her head to the ground and, moaning all the while, tipped her body slowly over onto her side, she knew that she appeared at her most bloated state. Her exploring paws, rubbing feebly at the surface of the great dome that was her middle discovered for Sarabi her exceeding roundness. The expanded volumes of her belly and intestinal tract, stuffed nearly end to end with plentiful meat gave the lioness a visage of pregnancy, rounding out her normally sagging, rectangular tummy to nearly sphere-like proportions. The big cat breathed shallowly out of her mouth as she continued to drool profusely over the ground. It was a staggering effort to raise her head to even a small angle, but she was rewarded with the sight of her own fleshy gut rising well over her head, at once a monument to her own growing perfection and a damning testament to the life of physical handicap and dependence she had bought for herself. But Sarabi was numb to either the positive or the negative. She never felt her head hit the ground.
-------
It was late that evening when Sarabi awoke with a gasp from a nightmare about being squeezed by a massive python. Her breathlessness didn’t faze her, as it was happening with occasional frequency nowadays. She took the time to calm her breath as well as observe her dim surroundings and scent the air. The reek of stale blood was strong and Sarabi realized that she hadn’t bothered to clean herself after her glut; in fact, there were still bits of hide and entrails caught on several of her claws. The pain of stuffing herself was still present, but it was dull and she’d be able to ignore it so long as she didn’t jostle her straining stomach overmuch. It normally would have been a priority to investigate her surrounds thoroughly after such an intense slumber, but Sarabi couldn’t, not without a great deal of effort and pain. The thought that she would need to soon despite this – the remaining zebra was crying for an exit with all of that kudu pressing down on it – set her ill at ease.
Sarabi had at least managed to roll up onto her belly and was resting her head on her paws as she thought about how to proceed with her increasingly urgent business when the scent cause her to lift her head. His scent. Sarabi scowled and laid her ears back, her sensitive nose turning her head in the direction of Kondo’s approach. Despite the temporary abandonment of cares and grudges her feasting had provided, Sarabi still hadn’t forgiven Kondo. In fact, she snorted at the idea that he was coming back to her for a snack. She could see him in her mind, scrawny, pathetic, and with a tale of thrilling, but ultimately unproductive hunts of turtles and snails. ‘Surely, Sarabi, you can spare just a morsel for little old me.’ He would say. Little did he know that Sarabi was fully prepared to keep her promise. Kondo would not taste so much as a hoof from the beast he had run towards the largely immobile queen. That would teach him to keep his trashy, roguish thoughts behind his teeth where they belong.
Raising her head and feeling the soft, doughy rolls bunching behind her ears, Sarabi positioned herself to receive the wayward male, forgetting again that her forequarters were still awash with blood and flecks of gore.
Kondo walked out of the jungle brush with his usual silent padding and Sarabi saw in that simple act, a male flaunting his ability to move quietly and stealthily as Sarabi could no longer do; her tail started to lash side to side. Then the young male just stood there, staring at her paws, his tail down and shoulders relaxed. He’d come for an apology, just as she’d thought. Sarabi snorted. Obviously waiting for the lioness to acknowledge his presence, Kondo was again forcing Sarabi to speak first. The lioness sighed. “What do you want, Kondo.” She asked with dismissive apathy.
Now the lion raised his head. When Kondo spoke, his tone was soft and unassuming. "I'm so sorry that we parted the way that we did." Sarabi watched silently, waiting for Kondo to continue. "You know I'm not so good with words..." Kondo said turning his head away and pawing uncomfortably at the soil. "But I want you to know that I still want to hang around with you, if that's alright with you."
Sarabi smirked, considering the humbled male before her majestic, rounded form. But was his withdrawal from yesterday's assertiveness enough? After a moment's thought Sarabi decided that she was...
1. ...satisfied with Kondo's submission
[[2. ...going to make Kondo humble himself even further]]**Back in Foul Company (Shalion)**
Kondo could hardly believe his eyes when he first saw Sarabi sleeping fitfully in the small hollow where she and the ravaged kudu rested. The mammoth cat had obviously eaten herself into a stupor, but what staggered the young lightweight was the sheer scale of Sarabi’s apparent feast. As soon as Kondo has crept to the edge of the tiny clearing and hidden himself behind a thick trunked tree, it had become obvious how much she had eaten. Just as with the zebra yesterday, the abdominal cavity of the food-beast had been hollowed out; except this time, Kondo did not suspect there to be any hidden treats left over inside the ribcage. But more, there were huge chunks ripped out of the fleshy hindquarters of the kudu, gaping red cavities whose bottoms shone white with exposed bone. Apparently Sarabi had not been satisfied with enough innards to satiate two lionesses, and this on top of eating similarly less than 48 hours ago! Her greed and sheer eating capacity were jaw-dropping. As for Kondo himself, he wasn’t even hungry yet; 45 or so pounds of zebra flesh would carry him along for at least another day. Sarabi, however... she was a freak of nature. Kondo was no math wizard by any means, but he knew certainly that Sarabi had gorged at least twice as much as himself off the zebra and had apparently eaten even more now. That meant that in the last two days she had likely eaten some 200 lbs of meat! Surely it wasn’t possible, and yet it didn’t seem possible that a lioness could balloon to such as size as Sarabi had either. Obviously the lioness had been downplaying how much she had been fed while staying with the humans; the tubby lioness had expanded her gorging capacity to unheard of extremes.
But the carcass was almost besides the point. It was obvious just by looking at her that Sarabi had expended herself in eating in a way that she hadn’t since Kondo had met her. One wouldn’t think that with her girth, Sarabi would show any distortions in her frame from the mere fluctuations of her stomach load, but it was obvious even from a distance that Sarabi had gone full out on the sad carcass beside her. Her middle was very round, as if she were to be giving birth soon, and the skin was taut and straining to contain the quantities of feline flesh that flooded Sarabi’s frame. Her stretch marks were livid, just as clear as the bruises which still afflicted her sides. Bright red and raised off the surface, Kondo imagined that Sarabi could, at any time, split at the seems; the image, rather than disgusting him, surprisingly excited him in almost the same manner as the thought of her denying him food or other basic necessities. The sight of Sarabi, so completely incompatible with the wild around her, made Kondo absolutely certain that he wanted to continue following her... pandering to her... stooping low before her outrageous, ridiculous body which was so repulsive and unhealthy and yet so soft, beautiful and regal. Sarabi began to stir...
-------
Not showing how excited he was to see Sarabi so proud, cold and subtly demeaning was the hardest thing that Kondo had ever done. Sarabi was a good actor - as if anyone could believe that she could get along at all without the help of someone like Kondo - and as the lion continued to develop his role in response to hers, he realized that he had some talent at acting too. Her eyes sparkled in light of his “plea” that she forgive his transgression the previous day and take him back into her company. The way she looked at him, as if he were a lower species of rat or insect that she were considering whether to squash or not... it made him feel hot and giddy, as if he had eaten some fermented fruit. How much he craved Sarabi to judge him! He hoped she would find him unworthy.
A sadistic smile at he corner of her lips made his heart soar. “So you want to come back, hm?” said Sarabi lazily, as if Kondo had asked about the weather. She paused for a long time, apparently to make him sweat, and though tension was indeed building, it was probably not the sort that Sarabi had intended. At long last she spoke, or rather intoned, “Beg for it.”
What a lioness! thought Kondo as he struggled to contain his glee. It was almost as if Sarabi were tapping into his deepest fantasies. Of course Kondo was willing to drop to his belly and debase himself in whatever way Sarabi desired. However, while the thought of crawling on his belly like a worm in front of Sarabi was pleasurable, his action was governed also by the need to prolong the moment. Of course, he could have “protested” as he had done the previous day, but the masochistic lion was already too involved in his desired role to start pretending now. The debate settled in a second, Kondo lowered his head and spoke softly, deciding to start slowly, “Please, Sarabi, I beg you to take me back.”
Sarabi nonchalantly raised a paw to lick at the gore which stained it. “Tut-tut Kondo.” she said as if he were a minuscule cub. “That didn’t sound very sincere. Why don’t you tell me how much you need me, and how incompetent you are out there alone? After all, you must have a reason for coming back right?”
The tone she used made even Kondo’s teeth grit, but also, perversely fed into the young male’s libido like dry wood in a furnace. He’d been so bad! He deserved every insult, every derogatory and humiliating statement that Sarabi could throw at him. Without lifting his head, Kondo allowed himself to look only at her feet, though even then, he caught a generous glimpse of her meaty fore-chest which spread out liberally in front of her, actually covering her paws down to the elbow. He said, “I can’t get along without you Sarabi. I’m stupid and can’t figure out what to do without someone to help me. Someone so generous and patient like you, Sarabi. Please, I need you, take me back. I’ll do anything.”
The true grain that stung the most as Kondo said these words was the last sentence for his need of her in the context of the game was purely imaginary, however, Kondo realized, even as he said the words that he did need Sarabi in a very real way, as a partner in this game which would not exist without her. Kondo really did need her and the truth stung, but the stinging elicited the purest and most pleasurable sensation yet, as if Kondo had taken a drug that set him afloat and he felt more at peace with himself than he had ever had before.
Sarabi stopped cleaning her paws, finishing with an extravagant licking of her chops. Then she studied him intently for a while. Kondo could see this in his peripheral vision, and knew that, unlike the previous pause, Sarabi was curious for real. A panicked thought swept through Kondo’s mind. What if she thinks I gave in too quickly? Should I have fought more? Offered more resistance? What would she do if she suspected I actually like being treated this way? Kondo kept his face straight and hoped the lioness would not see through his facade.
A few moment’s later, Sarabi relented, apparently deciding she could not see that which had aroused her curiosity. She relaxed into her flab, head lowering into the sea of folds which constituted her neck, shoulders becoming rounder as she took the weight off her elbows and let herself be supported by the mattress of fat under her. She turned her head away casually as if the lion in front of her was no longer interesting enough to hold her attention. “Well... I suppose that apology will have to do, for now. You can start making up for being an immature ingrate by cleaning my sides again. I’m tired of being covered with this mud and that cut on my shoulder is itching like a devil.”
Having issued her orders, Sarabi’s head fell away, obviously not caring about about anything Kondo might add. Still, the skinny lion lifted his head and, while wearing a tiny grin, said quietly, “Yes, Sarabi.” The young male lion, a quarter of the size of the behemoth in front of him, padded forward and began the laborious task of licking and washing the many folds and open curves of Sarabi’s vast and seemingly ever-expanding body.
[[1. While cleaning, Kondo finds the infected cut has grown worse]]
[[2. After cleaning, Kondo is forced to massage her extremely round aching belly]]**Wounded Again (Shalion)**
His tongue rasped as it passed across the thin coat of tawny fur which covered her body. The skin pulled a little with each pass, bunching up in the direction in which the tongue moved and snapped back into place as it withdrew. Every so often, a long curved canine and a precise twist of the head came in handy for removing the odd tick here and there which had begun to colonize the feline since the last time her hide had been attended to. Kondo was amused at the irony that the ticks was not nearly as engorged as the host they fed upon before he crushed them under his paw. If Sarabi’s coat could be considered immaculate, it was only because of the heavy grooming she had received while in the captivity of humans and the subsequent maintenance administered by Kondo. The lard laden lioness couldn’t so much as clean her shoulder around the dense ruff of fat and rolls which encompassed her head, even more her torso was so thick that she had difficulty twisting her forequarters even to a 45 degree angle with respect to the rest of her; Kondo, like any other cat of a reasonable size, had no trouble reaching to lick his crotch when the need arose. Sarabi was so handicapped and dependent on others, it was almost laughable that she thought she could last even a couple days out on her own.
Kondo pressed down harder than he needed to with his tongue. He felt the density of the soft flesh underneath, pressing back up with surprising strength against the increasing pressure of his tongue. The feel of her skin and the taste and texture of her well oiled coat were exotic, unknown to the male lion; either in general or in the exceedingly special case of Sarabi. As a lion, he’d not been raised to view the female sex in light regard – they caught most of the food after all – but then he’d hardly been raised at all before he’d been secreted away to the jungle by his own mother to save his life from the new conquering pride leader. But still, Sarabi, in her softness and the vulnerability of her extremely large body, Kondo saw something that needed protecting; whether that something was worthy of protecting, however, was something else entirely.
Despite the fact that Kondo quickly lost himself in his work, the task of cleaning Sarabi’s hide seemed to take forever. Cleaning another cat would have taken a while, but the engorged lioness seemed possessed of enough skin for three cats. He started with her flanks, followed by her broad back. This area was where Sarabi was at her widest, the skin was stretched flat, and currently, quite tightly over her barrel torso and round midsection. It was easier to administer to a flat canvas of hide, but the dimensions were vast and Kondo’s tongue was not nearly wide enough to approach it in an efficient manner. Given the scale of the task he’d been assigned, it was forgivable if he were not perfect in his ministrations. Kondo used his paws often to wipe away the dried mud which crumbled under his touch. The bruises which were now finally beginning to fade, he paid special mind to, washing and cleaning their surfaces. He knew by now the location of every single one by heart even on so vast a quilt. Because he had to spend a lot of time standing on two paws to reach Sarabi’s heavily padded back, Kondo was in need of a break by the time he finished, his back stinging for the unnatural position. However, he soldiered on, knowing that Sarabi would be dissatisfied with his progress thus far.
Sarabi’s hindquarters were next. The tubby cat’s thighs had expanded into grossly round hams that would have rubbed against each other as she walked save that her low hanging fat pad between her hind-legs physically separated them. Kondo had only cleaned the sensitive, but heavily congested space between Sarabi’s legs once, and she had commented rudely on his motivations and observed him as carefully as she could the whole time. Now didn’t seem like to time to ask her to roll over and expose herself despite the fact that she probably needed the cleaning. Kondo settled for grooming her withers, the outsides of her plump thighs and the heavy fat deposit at the base of her tail. Sarabi’s tail head had expanded into almost an appendage of its own, in fact. A wide shelf of lion meat flowed backward over her tail and to either side of it, devouring half a foot of it. When she waved her tail, she liberally moved this wide cone of excess flesh along with it. Sarabi had commented that it made her tail move more slowly and less responsive which probably explained the many times she had complained to Kondo about the pervasive flies which seemed attracted to her. Kondo was filled with powerful urges when he caught the scent of the mature lioness’s sex despite the fact that he couldn’t see it for the general fleshiness of Sarabi’s pressed-together thighs. Temptation threatened to overrule all thought, but Kondo knew better. He knew that whatever happened, he’d be trading a few moments of pleasure – moments in which he’d likely not know what to do – for a possible future with this bloated, domineering cat who gave him such pleasure as he’d never imagined just by calling him an idiot and telling him to clean her formidable hide. Kondo shivered, closed his eyes and declared that he was finished with the lioness’s rear end.
Sarabi’ breath was deep and even by the time he approached her upper body. Her head rested on her paws, which is to say on a combination of her paws, her flowing brisket and her own neck meat. Kondo looked back to her round flank which expanded horizontally from her body. He pressed a paw against it, feeling vibrations corresponding to the constant churning which must be going on inside and wondered how much she was even aware of his cleaning on such a wide, expanded body.
“Kondo...”
The lion froze, his paw still against the warm, breathing flank which, he realized was not inflating quite as slowly as he thought.
"Don't tell me you are trying to take advantage of me yet again, Kondo." said Sarabi, clearly awake and watching him with one eye; it was all she could muster, her head was pressed completely against her multitude of neck rolls which smushed against her cheek. The round, low-slung sack of flesh which served as Sarabi's second chin quivered as she made an an anticipatory noise, an almost inaudible "hmmmm?"
The wall of flesh Kondo had been caressing seemed more like an inanimate object now that her eyes were on him. After all, how could Sarabi be in front of him and yet, so largely to the side as well. The young lion quickly decided to bluff. Not moving his paw, he used it as a foot hold to lift himself up so his upper body rested on Sarabi' forequarters. "I-I wasn't doing anything Sarabi. I was just getting up here to get at your shoulders."
Kondo immediately started his routine while Sarabi was left to mull over his response without an obvious victim to focus on. She let her head turn to face comfortably outwards. Eventually she said, "Well, if you are so eager to work your way back into my good graces, then you should be willing to give my stomach a massage. I'm feeling a bit of heartburn com-"
"Sarabi" Kondo interrupted, "I think I've found-"
"Don't interrupt when I'm talking, Kondo. You know it's rude." sniped Sarabi, her tail lashing against the ground.
"I know, Sarabi, I'm sorry." said Kondo with a worried expression on his face. She was not going to like the news he had for her. "But I was just about-"
"I don't care what you were about to say." argued Sarabi, she shifted her paws under her and caused her whole body to wobble, nearly throwing Kondo off balance. "You need to learn to be silent until I'm finished-" she stopped when she smelled it.
That cut that Kondo had inflicted deep in a roll in Sarabi's cellulitic shoulder had not gotten better, but rather festered. The fur was damp with its seepage and the smell was rank. Kondo was no doctor of by any means, but he knew that this was going to require some attention if it was going to get any better any time soon. If the cut were allowed to fester like this in the airless folds of Sarabi's skin... well, Kondo had a suspicion that the fact that it remained a tiny surface wound wouldn't matter in regards to Sarabi's overall health.
Sarabi took the odor of the shoulder cut as news enough. She immediately changed the tone of her voice to professional detachment. "How bad has it gotten?"
Kondo looked and could hardly tell himself because the flesh was pressed together so firmly. "Not bad I think. But it's definitely infected."
Sarabi growled. "Well, just clean it out as best you can for now. I know a little first aid, but you will have to help me collect the herbs."
Kondo didn't feel confident in his ability to treat what seemed to him as an issue of staggering importance. With Sarabi's health as it was... something as small as an infected cut might prove to be a more serious problem than Sarabi would admit. "They say that there is a Mandrill in the jungle who knows several remedies and will usually help those in need... for a price." Kondo suggested.
Sarabi groaned, "And I suppose you know where to find this magic monkey doctor?" Sarabi complained because she was sure that no other shaman or witch doctor could equal her own Rafiki in medicinal prowess, and also because she was in no desire to begin a long trek into the jungle from which they had recently escaped.
"Not really... but they say he lives near the river, and we can get you cleaned up there as well, even if we don't find him." Kondo said, still fairly confident in his own proposal.
1. Head back to the river
2. Try to treat the wound here**Upset Stomach (new)**
Kondo paused, waiting for the fire in his neck to die down. He'd known cleaning Sarabi would take a long time before he'd started- she had a substantial amount of skin to clean after all - but he hadn't realized just how long, or just how physically taxing it would be. He dearly wanted a rest, he needed one, but he feared if his massive companion were to think him unfit, she might really force him to leave permanently. So he said quietly, "Sarabi, are you awake?"
"Yes I am," Sarabi replied, "Why, have you finally finished?"
"Uh, n-no, I was just..." Kondo began
"What, why not?" Sarabi asked, "Have you just been playing around back there?"
"No, no of course not," Kondo replied, "but you have a lot of skin to clean..."
Sarabi snorted, the lion could not see her face because she was still facing forward. "I think I know that." Replied the fattened lioness agitatedly, tail lashing. "Is that going to be a problem? I thought you were trying to make up for being such an ass yesterday. I honestly don't know if you're even trying."
Sarabi the victim, Sarabi the saint. Kondo shuddered as he thought of the twists of tongue and logic necessary to make that point of view reasonable. How he craved it! He was struggling to clean Sarabi's massive fat hide whilst she contributed nothing...as usual. But he honestly wouldn't have things any other way. Still...the ache in his shoulders and neck was strong, his tongue dry for all the ceaseless licking. "I am trying!" Countered Kondo. He wanted so desperate to please Sarabi, but he couldn't continue without pause; inside the slender lion's narrow waist his belly pronounced the first stirrings of hunger for all the energy he'd been expending lately. "You need to realize that back here, you're as wide as a hippo. There's too much to clean in one go."
The round curve of fat under Kondo's paws rocked violently as Sarabi shifted her weight. The lioness began to growl and when turned her head about as much as she could, Kondo saw anger burning in her beady, fat framed eyes. "You...you..." Kondo jumped off Sarabi's rocking flank as she sputtered, all but frothing in indignation. "You just called me a hippo?! You worthless little stick-bug! How dare you!"
Kondo cowered a short distance away, head lowered. This was not at all what he intended. However, as he withered under the heat of Sarabi's words, he felt a perverse glee that the tubby, practically grounded lioness was turning her anger on him once again. He was worthless. He deserved her scorn, the scorn of a royal, pampered lioness. As Sarabi worked herself up, Kondo was delighted to see how much energy she was spending on berating him.
As she was informing Kondo about how lowly his status truly was and how she herself was not only his elder in years – by more than she was actually willing to admit, Kondo imagined – but also a seasoned queen of the Pridelands, she began to pant as heavily as Kondo. Her claws extended into the black jungle soil and tore at it, almost as if she were trying to creep closer, although the friction of her enormous belly defeated such feeble efforts. She told him that she was his only hope of a decent future beyond turning over rocks and eating grubs in the jungle and that it was in his best interests to make sure she was well pleased. "Honestly, I don't know why I waste my efforts on a brute such as you. Obviously your body started eating your own brains as well as your scrawny muscles while you were out starving in the jungle."
Kondo's paw went to his protruding ribs which were like closely placed branches under his pads. He still looked down at the ground. At less than two thirds of his ideal weight and smaller than the average size for his age, Kondo knew he was not much to look at, especially not in comparison to Sarabi who was overflowing with abundance, it seemed. Taking a tiny look up, the first thing he saw was the lioness's neck fat, waving side to side like a curtain under her chin. Above that, her round, sagging jowls wobbled independently as she spoke. Each harsh word seemed to burn itself into Kondo's lackluster hide. How incredibly lucky had he been to find a lioness such as her. Her words caused him pain, made him feel lower than a worm in a puddle of pond scum, but at the same time, he wanted it. He wanted the vast gulf between them made painfully clear. To serve her was an honor that he could never deserve. The sensation was like electricity coursing through him and as Sarabi wore herself out on her speech to her silent, subdued subject, Kondo found himself panting harder as well. However, the male cat was not becoming exhausted, he was, in fact, struggling to contain his excitement and mounting euphoria at being tongue-lashed by such a creature as Sarabi.
"...So I'd...count my lucky...stars if I were...you, Kondo..." Sarabi finished, spent and panting heavily. Her overburdened heart was beating so fast and so loudly that even Kondo could hear it, a soft, but brisk rap-tap rap-tappy-tap rap-tappy-tap rap-tap. Kondo raised his head up as she groaned.
"What's the matter, Sarabi?" Kondo asked very quietly. He was suddenly quite afraid that she'd overworked herself for the long, angry tirade.
Sarabi's eyes were watery as she breathed heavily out of her mouth. Her flanks heaved. "Now look what...you've done. You've made me...sick to my stomach...Kondo." She breathed, still groaning. "H-help me roll over."
Kondo rushed over as she tried weakly to turn her torso. As his shoulder sank into her abundant fat, Kondo realized that his tiredness was gone, at least for the moment. His muscles were prepared for action, though perhaps this work wasn't what his natural response had been gearing him for. By pushing against her, Sarabi quickly, and easily rolled onto her side, exposing new and vast quantities of white belly fur sprinkled with black jungle soil. The pink skin which was visible through the thinned fur roiled over the surface of Sarabi's greatly expanded digestive organs. The stomach, which contained a fourth of the large kudu which Kondo had chased to this location, was churning strongly. Kondo could almost see its movement on the round distended surface of Sarabi's flank. Below the spherical shape of her stretched stomach, Sarabi continued to sag at both chest and "waist" such that Kondo's front paws were covered by a dense curtain of fat as he watched the lioness struggle with her induced intestinal turmoil.
"Don't just stand...there like a fool, Kondo." Said Sarabi, her head resting on the ground and pulling in huge breaths. "Rub it down...like you did before."
By "it" Kondo assumed she meant the massive round gut that she sported after gorging herself on roughly half of Kondo's body weight. The lion hopped up and put his paws on the white furred surface. He could really feel the vibrations now. Just touching that round, surprisingly hard surface, however, made him feel weak, frail and as thin and ineffectual as a twig. This was going to be even harder than cleaning Sarabi's vast plains of hide and her many folds and creases.
[[1. Massage her belly]]
2. After finishing, ask Sarabi for something to eat**Belly Rub (new)**
Massaging Sarabi's stomach was going to take a lot of effort Kondo realized after a few moments, for although it was huge compared to his own, or that of any other lion in existence, it was cushioned by literal feet of heavy, pliable flesh which was soaking up much of the pressure he was applying leaving very little to go where he wanted it to.
After a few minutes, Sarabi asked, "well, are you planning on starting that massage soon?"
"I've already started," Kondo replied.
"Well you'll have to push harder then," Sarabi said, "because I can't feel you."
"Yes M'lady," Kondo answered, increasing the pressure of his thrusts. This was not an easy task, his muscles had not yet recovered from his recent bout of near starvation, and his stomach was churning hungrily as the smell of fresh kudu tickled his nose. He entertained no thought of disobedience though, for Sarabi's gruff commands boosted his spirit, which he channelled into his redoubled efforts to penetrate her deified flesh.
Even this effort though was not enough, for after a few minutes, Sarabi said, "what are you doing back there, reliving your nursing days, press harder."
"I... I can't," Kondo replied, his forelegs were already aching, and he daren't press harder for fear of pulling a muscle, "I'm already at my limit. If I could just have a short break and something to eat..."
"Are you hungry Kondo?" asked Sarabi, her voice slightly softer.
"Yes. Yes, I am actually." The skinny lion said as he was led into the trap, "I'll just grab a bite of kudu and-"
Sarabi cut him off, "It doesn't matter if you're hungry or not!" Her voice was stern and harsh as if Kondo were an insolent 4-month old cub. "What does matter is that unless you can satisfy me by getting rid of the belly ache you caused, you're not getting a scrap of my food beast. Understand?" Kondo withered under Sarabi's words. He'd really been expecting to get some food into his too-lean body. Having the possibility snatched away filled him with an intense exhilaration while at the same time his stomach still ached for nourishment. Sarabi was such an excellent companion. "I said, do you understand?" prodded Sarabi impatiently. "You're making me think you don't actually want to eat."
Kondo now answered with alacrity and nary a shred of self conviction left. "I do, Sarabi! I do understand and I want to ease the stomach ache I've caused you." The boney lion still thought of his aching forelimbs, however, and Sarabi's pliable feet of fat between the skin of her flank and the churning stretched out stomach walls underneath. "But I'm still having so much trouble massaging you..." He didn't say, 'though your exceedingly fat belly.'
The morbidly obese lioness grunted. "Pah, sometimes I wonder if it is worth keeping your worthless, skinny hide around," Sarabi muttered. Scolding, she added "Get on top of if you're that weak."
"Yes, Sarabi." Said Kondo meekly. He felt downtrodden in both body and spirit, but at the same time, took incalculable pleasure in being Sarabi's plaything, being commanded to do this and that, denied even the essentials. She'd broken him, he knew. Following her order, even to forgo food when it was sitting behind him gathering flies when he was hungry, came as a second nature now. But it was he who'd wanted to be broken in the first place. Being suppressed under the heavy weight of Sarabi's authority – and perhaps other, slightly more physical attributes – was something that he'd been hungering for without understanding since he'd entered adolescence. As she pressed down harder and more cruelly, he thrived, bending to her will with his collapsed spirit and lack of self esteem. He'd never felt so complete and satisfied with life until now. Wearily, but with a small grin on his face, Kondo climbed up onto Sarabi's swollen flank, sinking to the ankle in her soft, yet surprisingly dense flab. He struggled to massage her heaving body with the entire weight of his bony frame. His only thought was that he hoped he could finally satisfy her.
[[1. Sarabi is satisfied]]
[[2. Sarabi isn't satisfied]]**Satisfaction (Shalion)**
Sarabi laid massively on her flank while the skinny lion dug into her round, shuddering side with the entire weight of his body. However, she was so obese that she could only barely feel his paws rubbing against the organ strained to bursting inside of her. The stomach ache was making her miserable and cranky. That Kondo! Sarabi thought angrily, He goaded me into eating too much before he left and now that he’s back, he’s gone and upset my belly. She really did think about just telling the young male to beat it.
But she never would. The truth that she refused to clarify even in her mind was that she needed him, needed the physical assistance he could offer. And really, she couldn’t have done better in selecting a partner to help her with her weight-related independence issues. She’d noticed the change in the young male soon after he’d come back. He hadn’t questioned her commands and had become much more meek and servile. She didn’t know what had brought about the change – perhaps realizing that he was indeed better off with the lioness... somehow – but she wasn’t questioning it. It was intimidating enough being around a youthful male lion who was extremely mobile and fit compared to... well, compared to Sarabi. Kondo, however, wasn’t intimidating in the slightest anymore. In fact, his complete and utter capitulance seemed to bring out an even more demanding and domineering aspect in her personality that came with a great naturalness and ease. And besides, it was fun watching the skinny male go about her whim and command while she remained seated and inert.
It was more than the simple escape from the pain and stress that accompanied getting up and moving any distance nowadays; though that was a very large part of it. It was curious watching Kondo’s behavior as he bent utterly to her will. She had tested him and tested him again, feeling for the boundaries in their relationship. She had been wanting to see how far she could push him, to see just how loyal this lion was and how committed he was to her. She had been so afraid he would take advantage of her in the beginning. But she had not found his limit yet, that was strange. She thought she had felt resistance before, but it had broken down time and time again. Sarabi found herself demanding of Kondo outrageous things, acts designed to degrade and humiliate him, all the time, waiting for him to say no. He hadn’t.
It was odd, true, but as Sarabi laid on the ground, tummy full to bursting with as much meat as she would have received in the village - but not filled out with milk, grains or broth – she didn’t want to question a good thing. Slowly, slowly, the pain eased away as she felt his paws migrate across the hard, distended surface of her brimming stomach. Eventually, she let out a sigh of relief, feeling turgid and sleepy as her veteran digestive system kicked into high gear.
“Are... are you feeling any better, Sarabi?” asked Kondo timidly, not ceasing in his efforts working her huge flank.
Sarabi sighed again, her side heaving and nearly unbalancing the smaller lion, “...I suppose...”
Kondo gingerly crept off her flank. He was bent with exhaustion, but stood, shaking a little at her side, waiting. Sarabi waited for him to ask for it, to beg, simply because she could and because she knew he would. “Sarabi...” Kondo nearly whispered, “Please... do you think... can I...”
“What Kondo?” She asked as if ignorant to his burning need.
“Please, Sarabi... may I have some of your kudu?” Kondo said with the nervousness of a beaten prisoner. He licked the side of her swollen, sagging neck lightly, eliciting the motives of a mere cub. A grown lion should never have acted in such a way, especially to a female, especially when the food was right behind him and said female had no way to stop him from simply turning around. Sarabi was satisfied.
“If you must, Kondo.” She said lazily and martyred, as if Kondo asked many things of her great generosity. “But honestly, you need to learn to start taking better care of yourself.”
“Yes, Sarabi.” Said Kondo. Sarabi thought he would have said that even if she had told him no, even if she’d told him to jump off a cliff. The power was addicting.
Sarabi yawned and gestured wearily with a fat laden paw. She pointed to all of Kondo. “This... will not do. Before we get to the...” she interrupted herself with another huge yawn, revealing her yellowed teeth, still with some gristle caught between the fangs, “Pridelands, you need to put some meat on your bones.”
“Sarabi?” Kondo asked in confusion.
“Next time I ask you for a massage, I expect you to do better than barely tickle me like you just did.” Sarabi said, eyes closing to slits in the daylight filtering down from the sparse canopy above.
“I will, Sarabi. I’ll do better, next time!” Kondo said fervently. His eyes had a medicinal glaze, as if he were drugged, but Sarabi didn’t see.
Her jaw barely moved as she said, drifting, “Then do what I said... and... take care of yourself.”
-------
Kondo sat for a long while before the bloated, blob-like cat’s head even after it was obvious she had fallen into a deep, food-induced slumber. The heat and the euphoria of the Game bled away from the lion’s mind with the absence of her dominant personality, leaving behind a strong, whole, but not unchanged Kondo. He let out a sigh of relief and exhaustion. Sarabi had almost pushed him too far that time. He stretched his neck around until it cracked. He hoped she would sleep well into the coming night. Feeling normal, but immensely satisfied, Kondo strutted backward to the kudu and lay down before it. Its abdomen was hollowed out, all of the soft bits gone into the expandable waste disposal that was his mistress’s greedy maw, but there was plenty of flesh left on the hindquarters and the forequarters were untouched. There was even some tender loin left inside the hollow interior, on the other side of the spine. The lion tucked in, fully aware that he was still carrying out Sarabi final order for him. He grinned and bolted his food until he too was stupefied. He slept with his back against Sarabi’s distended tummy. The slow heaving of her breath made him dream of the ocean.
1. Travel during the night
2. Question Kondo about his submission**Discontented Queen (new)**
No matter how hard Kondo toiled though, his diminished muscles were unable to work hard enough to satisfy his immense companion's needs, and she didn't hesitate to tell him so. "Uuurrfffff, you'll have to do better tha-ahh," Sarabi groaned as her immense, bloated stomach shifted uncomfortably, "you'll have to do much better than that."
"I, I wish I could m'lady," Kondo replied, "but I truly am doing my best."
"You call that your best, you worthless bug," Sarabi growled, more aggressive than she normally might, due to the nausea in her stomach, "pah, it's pathetic, I've known months-old cubs who could do a better job of this."
Kondo hung his head at the words, partly for the shame of not being able to satisfy Sarabi, and partly to hide his smile of pleasure at the brow-beating. "I'm sorry m'lady," he said, "I'm terribly hungry, and..."
"Didn't I tell you you weren't getting a strip of kudu until I was satisfied," Sarabi said, "the way you're going, I'm beginning to think you don't want anything to eat."
"I do m'lady," Kondo replied, "I really do."
"Then start giving me a proper massage," Sarabi said, "one that I can actually feel."
"Yes m'lady," Kondo said, but before he could begin again, Sarabi's stomach shifted, the hard, distended surface of the organ far below the skin's surface roiling as it struggled to churn the massive quantities of meat it was currently stuffed as tight as a sausage with. The movement threw the young lion, who was standing ankle deep in dense but still soft flab, sufficiently off-balance to force him to cede his current perch. He tumbled down the slope of Sarabi's jelly-like underbelly, too weak to halt his fall. His back hit the fat sagging below the round dome of her belly proper like the softest of pillows and was immediately followed by the hard ground. The pain shot through the lion's exhausted frame when he landed despite the fact that he'd only fallen about half a foot.
"What's going on back there," Sarabi called back, hearing the thump, "Are you lazing around Kondo?"
"I was just resting a-" Kondo began.
"You don't have time to rest," Sarabi cut him off, "not while I'm still suffering, now get up and give me a proper massage." Kondo, lying prone with his side just touching Sarabi's gut at the same level were her gaping navel sat currently as a horizontal crease three paw width's across, honestly did try to get up. But his thin, bony shoulders and forelegs were aflame, his back aching as well for the effort. The hunger was not so bad as it had been the night he'd met Sarabi, but that was the hunger of dying and even though he'd been forced to endure it, he was still uncomfortable with his current hunger as his thin body cried out for further nourishment to continue the track of recovery.
The lion eased himself back down onto his thin chest, the ground hard and pressing against the bones of his ribs, elbows and knees. There was no use getting back up there, and he knew it. Sarabi was just too massively obese, hard as that was to imagine, for him to get at her straining, noncompliant stomach through the many feet of fat. Even with his whole weight on her, she didn't feel him. Nothing would change that. The lion decided that the game had to end, at least for now. Sarabi was not in a right state of mind, she was going to work him until he literally dropped where he stood. So Kondo said, "I... ugh, I'm trying Sarabi." He forced himself to pant frantically, "I, I can't get up."
Sarabi hesitated, but only for a few moments. A wicked vibration flowed across Sarabi's surface and the lioness released a hurtful moan. "Ugh, you worm, you useless insect, Kondo. Get up there right now! Can't you see that I'm in pain?"
And it did hurt Kondo to know that she was in any sort of pain. Sarabi was his goddess and any amount of suffering on his part was worth preserving the royal status of his unbelievably bloated queen. But this was simply beyond his ability! Maybe if he were heavier... but he wasn't, not now. There was nothing he could do. Kondo, continuing to feign complete exhaustion, said wearily, "S-sarabi...I...I can't...no...more." and he fabricated a groan of his own.
-------
It was around this time that Sarabi realized that shouting was not going to get Kondo back to work. She was quite surprised that Kondo was unable to do something as simple as massage her belly; she had imagined him loafing around back there because she was literally too fat around the neck to turn her head and see for herself. Some vague part of her was concerned for his well-being as well, but this was largely drowned out by her rampant stomach cramps, which Kondo himself had caused by his brute, uncivilized nature. What a nuisance this lion is! thought Sarabi. She thought about telling him that he'd failed and sending him back out into the jungle, but rejected the idea. Kondo seemed to be in a bad way and might not fare completely well in the wild jungle, and also she remained aware of her own fairly extensive handicap. In fact, she was aware that she'd, in fact, put on some small amount of weight for the richness of her diet the last few days. Kondo was still too useful to throw away out of hand, despite how uncooperative and immature he was. Rather than angry shouting, Sarabi dropped her tone to a dangerous level. "I told you that you would not have any food if you failed, Kondo."
"...I, know...Sarabi." said Kondo, still heaving against her fatty underbelly. He made no sign that he was going to say anything else and that deepened Sarabi's anger. Kondo was starving and yet he was not willing to work for food! That can only mean he expects me to cave in and give him some of my kudu for free. Sarabi deduced, He'll see how wrong he is. But the pain of her over-bloated gut was driving down on her like a hammer. In anger at her and Kondo's previous separation, she'd eaten more meat than she'd normally devour even back in the village in order to comfort herself after the ordeal. And her stomach cavity was not filled out with rice or broth or vegetables, either, only raw meat and viscera, not counting the contents of the kudu's own stomach which also resided in her along with about a quarter of its total body mass. She knew she was in no state to stop Kondo should he choose to apprehend the carcass when he realized she was not going to cave. She thought of him resting at her soft, squishy underbelly. She had to do something now before the barbarian's thoughts turned to thievery.
1. Pin Kondo down
[[2. Lie over the carcass]]**Covered Carcass (new)**
Sarabi knew that Kondo was getting lazy and disrespectful, and she was getting concerned that he might even be thinking of stealing the carcass from her. At her present size and state it would be impossible for her to stop the gaunt male from making off with it, and futile to chase after him, so Sarabi knew she had to come up with some way to immobilize him, or it, before he made his move.
Unaware of Sarabi's thoughts, Kondo was savoring his rest. He knew that Sarabi had an upset stomach but he was simply unable to anything for the immense lioness, he was just too weak, too hungry to help. Hungry...the word seemed to turn over in the gaunt male's mind, be was hung-no, he was ravenous, and in her current position this former queen, this goddess would be in no position to stop him. She'd be angry of course, no, she'd be raging, but somehow that only made him all the more eager, to be insulted and threatened by such as her... The young lion was suddenly brought out of his reverie when he felt that the massive wall of flesh was moving on his side. Worried that he might be crushed accidentally under his companion's gargantuan belly, Kondo scrambled to his paws.
Sarabi squirmed her way upright and began to survey as much of the area as her collars of flesh would allow. The kudu carcass was lying a mere few feet away from her resting place, but at her present size and with her still upset stomach bothering her it would be indeed a very difficult job to even rise, let alone walk those few torturous feet to protect her meal. Nevertheless, with her gut being twice or more the size of any other lions', food was something that the former queen would not let go off easily, and so struggled desperately to rise. As usual it took a few minutes.
Kondo looked up to Sarabi with worried eye, what was she going to do next? "Are you going for drink? There's a small waterhole over there," he pointed to the direction of his earlier flight, ignorant of the fact that he was very nearly out of Sarabi's fairly restricted line of sight.
"No Kondo, I don't feel like a drink at the moment," Sarabi replied, "I'm just going to move around a bit." Hoping that the gaunt male wouldn't catch on until it was too late, the immense lioness slowly began to waddle towards the carcass.
"Why, oh to ease your stomach problems" Kondo asked, ignorant of the true motive behind Sarabi's actions.
"More-or-less, yes," Sarabi replied, happy to know that Kondo had got the wrong idea.
Kondo watched, for a short while, puzzled as to Sarabi's course, surely it would be far too big an impediment for her to step over..."you know the carcass is right in front of you don't you?"
"Is it," Sarabi asked, feigning surprise.
"Yes, it's..." Kondo began, then trailed off as he watched Sarabi step daintily around the carcass, why was she? Suddenly, the gaunt male realized exactly what the immense lioness was doing, but also that it was too late to stop her, for before he could even begin to make a move, she had lowered herself down, directly onto the kill, smothering the vast majority of it with her mammoth gut. As if crying in despair, the young lion's stomach suddenly rumbled loudly, almost painfully, demanding food that his mind knew he could not now give it. Or could he, he wondered, for although the lioness had covered a great deal of the carcass, he could perhaps grab a few scraps, if there were any slivers still uncovered.
Scraps would not be enough to satisfy Kondo's hunger though, he need a full stomach, but the only way he could get that was for Sarabi to move, and that would be a struggle and a half, for once this lioness, no, this goddess had set her mind to a task, she would work towards it until she achieved it, and now she had set her mind to guarding the carcass from him, though the disparity of build between his own scruffy, gaunt frame and her lustrous, almost divine one was such that her primary - perhaps only - method of guarding it was all but unique amongst their kind. As far as the young male could see, the only two ways of getting this immense female to move were plead so pitifully that she took pity on him, or to enrage her so much that she chased after him, at least far enough that she would be unable stop him from purloining their hard-won kill.
1. Kondo pleads with Sarabi
[[2. Kondo tries to enrage Sarabi]]**Stalemate (Shalion)**
Sarabi’s heart was pounding in her ears. Claws slashed out once again and the lioness was only capable shifting her bulk to the side a little, the nails scratching down the thick hide of her shoulder rather than her cheek for which the younger lion had been aiming. Her paws moved sluggishly, weighed down with Sarabi’s tremendous bulk. By the time Sarabi managed to shift her weight in order to lift a set of claws for a strike, the gaunt lion read her movements and moved away with effortless ease. Red claw marks which slowly began to well up with minute beads of blood swiftly began to appear all over her shoulders, chest and flanks where the thin lion was launching his repeated, desperate attacks. It was exactly the sort of fight which the older lioness had feared she would encounter once she had escaped back into the savanna... and yet things were not so bad as they first appeared.
Panting, though she had moved scarcely ten feet away from where she had begun the fight, Sarabi had not yet managed to dodge a single one of Kondo’s attacks, and yet she had received only minimal damage; scratches only and on the useless heavy meat that encircled her entire body. But more than that, the young lion was obviously an inexperienced fighter, he did not try to knock her down nor did he make the most use of his superior mobility. His strikes were even quite weak for a full grown lion; Sarabi darkly remembered back to the days of Scar’s reign, the callous ruler had not possessed a gentle paw, even for those of the supposedly fairer sex. As the older lioness managed her feeble resistance – her mind readily seeing openings and opportunities for attack, though her body was utterly unable to follow through – she noted the wasted muscles on the younger lion. “He must be a scavenger... likely from a young age.” She thought with a hint of pity which – unfortunately for Kondo – did not last past his latest slash at Sarabi’s left foreleg. If she had been at all in shape, she would have swiftly taught this young outsider his place... but as things were and as Sarabi struggled harder and harder to maintain this level of activity with her own wasted muscles – ‘though wasted with atrophy, not malnutrition’ Sarabi scoffed – the situation seemed dire. And all for not wanting to part with the last half of a third whole gazelle.
The morbidly obese lioness tripped over a small rock and the resulting motion caused her enormous, low-hanging gut to swing heavily to the right, threatening to knock her over. She stumbled to correct herself, consuming yet more energy from her already overtaxed and cramping leg muscles. She wished she had had time to stretch before all this moving about. Sarabi looked back at her attacker, only to see him rushing forward for the advantage. She thought that he was going to bowl her over in her unbalanced stance, but he foolishly went for the face which had eluded him thus far. Sarabi was unable to so much as move her neck in time.
But the strike was half-hearted, more a punch than a slash. Sarabi still growled menacingly at the young lion, the strike stung where there was not so much insensitive, fatty flesh to absorb the blow. She was going to have a bruise on her jaw by nightfall. She spat her fury at him and lunged clumsily forward. Normally, she would have used her back legs for a full pounce with both front paws with the lion so close in front of her, but she knew she would not be able to generate enough momentum with her hindlegs, her body was too massive to get moving that quickly. Sarabi was left with only a three-legged charge in her arsenal, striking with her weaker paw since its mate had to bear the strain of her weight. Sarabi, almost shocked as she did so, managed to clip Kondo as he was turning about, scratching him good on a thigh. Now he was hopping. Sarabi would have turned her head away in disgust if Kondo had been a member of her pride.
Kondo staggered back a few feet to lick his wound and Sarabi was grateful. She wished she too could sit for a moment, but she couldn’t allow herself, not in this state. She might not be able to get back up again. The two lions glared at each other, each bleeding, each exhausted. And Kondo was exhausted. He seemed to have no reserved left after his initial adrenaline fueled rush. “Well, he did say that he hadn’t eaten for ten days...” thought the rotund feline. Sarabi thought that she could believe the claim. Kondo was obviously alone or his pride would have sprung to his aid by now or he would have left to fetch them. The younger lion had no fat on his body at all and his muscles were lean, beginning to waste. A more polar opposite of Sarabi herself, the fattened lioness could not imagine.
Again, looking upon her adversary in his inexperience, rudeness and starvation, Sarabi again felt stirrings of pity. Looking deep into his eyes, Sarabi did not think Kondo wanted to continue this stalemate either. She took a few deep breathes, but even then the fat clogged feline could not even slow her strained breathing, “Kondo...” she started, as drool leaked from her chops with her exhaustion.
The young, scarred lion looked straight at her and with cautious curiosity in his eyes.
Sarabi could have breathed a sigh of relief if her oxygen-starved body hadn’t needed every breath. “Kondo... this isn’t... getting us... anywhere. We both know... we’re not going... to beat... each... other.”
Kondo had already caught his breath for the most part, but he still looked weary. “I don’t know, it kinda looks like you are about to keel over there.” He boasted, but his eyes and the way he held his bone-tired body betrayed the bluff.
“As... are... you.” Said Sarabi. “You couldn’t... lift your paw... to hit me again... even if... I fell over... now.
“Maybe...” admitted Kondo, slouching even closer to the ground now. “But what do you suggest we do then?”
The poor lion may have thought that he had some advantage over Sarabi, but the cannier lioness recognized Kondo’s acquiescence immediately. He had already given up in spirit, even if he himself didn’t realize it. Sarabi looked the scrawny lion up and down again as well as noting the tragic physical insufficiency of her own three-and-a-half lionesses despite its aesthetic perfection. She saw in their polar opposites a possible complimentarily. She might have a use for him... if he could be properly reigned in, of course...
So the former queen of the Pridelands said to the lowly, outsider ruffian, “I suggest that you eat what’s left of that gazelle I caught before the vultures get it.” The greedy lioness’s belly let out an agonized groan as she said the words
Kondo’s eyes instantly brightened. “Really?”
Sarabi, with only minor difficulty raised a paw, “On the condition that you catch me even more meat sometime in the future.”
Kondo winced and flashed Sarabi his teeth in disgust at her condition. But just a moment later, he looked with longing to the fresh, though ravaged carcass still glistening in the sun. Kondo agreed by turning to the meal and tucking in with the hunger of a wild wolf. Sarabi waddled over and watched him eat with a mixture of judiciousness, pity and envy. Kondo obviously enjoyed his half a gazelle far more than Sarabi had her two and a half.
After Kondo had eaten his fill...
[[1. ...Sarabi asked him to clean her wounds]]
2. ...He tried to leave**Kindness Exchanged (new)**
"Enjoy that," Sarabi asked, when Kondo seemed to have finished his meal having licked the carcass, and the other two, practically clean. This alone demonstrated to the immense lioness the male's plight, for not one time in ten would meat be cleaned off the bone as thoroughly at the young lion had done now.
"Immensely," Kondo replied, "it's going to be great not going to sleep on an empty stomach for once."
"Yeah, you look like you've done that a lot recently," Sarabi said, "how long has it been since your last meal?"
"Umm," Kondo said thoughtfully, trying to remember when his last meal was. "I don't know," he admitted after a few moments, "seven, eight days, maybe more."
"Seven or eight days," Sarabi exclaimed, shocked, "how did you make it?" The thought of not having eaten for so long was alien to the former queen, for even during the darkest days of Scar's reign she and the others had never gone more than about 5 days without food.
"I honestly don't know," Kondo said, "I guess it just wasn't my time."
"Guess not," Sarabi said, distractedly.
There was a few moments of silence then Kondo asked, "you okay?"
"What," Sarabi asked, shaking off the dismal memories of Scar's reign, "you say something?"
"Yeah, you okay," Kondo asked again, "you seemed miles away."
"Miles away and years ago," Sarabi said, "I was just trying to remember if I've ever gone seven days without food, but I don't think I have," then added under her breath, "certainly not recently."
"Yeah," Kondo said, "you...uh..."
"Yes," Sarabi said, "you wanted to say something?"
"Yeah," Kondo replied, "I was just going to say, you look like you've...been eating rather well, recently."
For a moment Sarabi felt angry, how dare this waif of a youngster cheek her, but she quickly overruled it, there was no point in denying such a blindingly obvious fact. "Well I can hardly deny it can I," the immense lioness said, "although to be fair, I didn't actually have a lot of choice at the time."
"Really," Kondo asked, "why's that?"
"Because doing so would have been very impolite," Sarabi replied, "and in the situation I was in, I didn't think such impoliteness would have been welcomed, must as I did not welcome your recent impoliteness."
"My impoliteness," Kondo asked, confused.
"Yes, you're impoliteness," Sarabi replied, "after all, you attacked me didn't you?"
"Oh, that, yes," Kondo said, chagrined, "sorry about that, I, I don't know what came over me, I really don't."
"No, it was fair enough," Sarabi said generously, "you were starving, and I was just, I suppose, being greedy."
"Y-you mean that," Kondo asked, "I thought you'd be, well, raging about it."
"And where would raging get me," Sarabi asked, "no, I won't hold it against, or at least no more than to ask for a few concessions."
"What sort of concessions," Kondo asked, slightly wary.
"Well for starters, those scratches are going to need cleaning," Sarabi replied, "and while I'd love to do it myself, I can't, you understand?"
"Perfectly," Kondo said, rising, and making his way over to Sarabi's torn-up flank, "um, this might take a while."
"Time is one thing I have plenty of," Sarabi replied, "take as long as you want."
[[1. Kondo gives her a massage]]
2. Kondo has another bout of bad temper**Ministrant Male (Shalion)**
Kondo’s tongue was rough, but also tender and soothingly moist against Sarabi’s bruises and scratches. The sensation was not what she remembered back when she had been a lean, much more lethal huntress. The surface of her skin in a myriad of places about her chest, shoulders and flanks stung with the mild injuries that Kondo had only minutes ago inflicted upon her, but underneath, the dense layers of blubber offered little additional sensation other than when the lion’s tongue pulled her loose skin with its strokes.
“There’s very little real injury here...” Kondo admitted rather sheepishly as he ministered to the extremely large lioness in recompense for his meal. “Just bruises mostly... I only opened the skin in two or three areas.”
Sarabi grunted affirmation and continued gnawing on a large femur left over from the last, uneaten kill. Kondo had left little more than bones, gristle and connective tissue behind, but it was far more than Sarabi herself had left of the previous two gazelles who rested in their entirety within her belly; and even then, her dysfunctional appetite had not been sated. In fact, Sarabi had been shocked when Kondo had left even this much behind, though with his abdomen bulging and the content look on his face, it was obvious the starving lion had eaten as much as he could. This fact had really struck home how much Sarabi’s capacity for gluttony had grown during her year of human captivity and decadence.
Kondo walked around the large body of the female lying on the ground and began his work a new on another canvas of livid bruises, many of which were so large that they were visible from beneath
Sarabi’s tawny coat. Like a pacifier, working on the femur with her mouth helped with the residual hunger she still felt and when it eventually cracked, there was fresh marrow for her to lick up as well. Kondo, now having worked for the better part of an hour now, had moved back around to Sarabi’s other shoulder. He broke the silence with a sudden statement. “I’m not stupid you know.”
Only this level of surprise could have lifted Sarabi’s face from the marrow filled bone. “What?” she asked.
“I see now how futile my attacks were to you. You have a hide as dense as a hippo, if you don’t mind me saying.”
Sarabi scowled but she did not think that Kondo meant insult, at least consciously. She replied briskly, “What does that have to do with you being stupid?”
Kondo, frowning just a bit, said, “You didn’t need to let me have the rest of your kill. I... I couldn’t have won.”
Sarabi grinned and slanted her eyes just so, “Well... I suppose I was feeling generous today. Besides, you outlander types are not known for your brains. I doubt you would have known when to stop.”
Kondo smirked and then leaned forward. His tongue ran up the underside of Sarabi’s jaw, half of it slipping neatly into the crease between the jawbone and the fat of her neck welling up underneath. Sarabi winced with the pain of the bruise and turned her head away as much as she could against her multiple collars of fat; but it was not enough to escape Kondo. “Ah! You brat, that one actually hurts.”
Smiling, Kondo withdrew. “Well, your honor.” He said mockingly, “I think I’ve finished my duties to you.”
Sarabi whipped her head around, frowning, to Kondo, even going so far as to shift her fat chest and brisket against the ground. “Don’t you forget that you still owe me meat.”
Kondo heaved a contented sigh for effect. “And don’t you forget that I happen to have four working legs and don’t look like I’ve recently eaten a young elephant.”
Alarm bells rang in Sarabi’s head. ‘The thief!’ Sarabi thought as she struggled to rise, though after the fight, her muscles were still sore and cramping and she found it difficult even to get started. “Just like an outlander to break his promise inside of an hour after he made it.” Said the incited Sarabi.
Kondo just continued to grin. But instead of running, he walked easily back over to Sarabi’s flank, leaning against her softly. Sarabi lowered herself the few inches she had gained with her efforts; her brisket hit the ground audibly and then pooled out across the earth, filling the space between her paws. “I’m not leaving.” Said Kondo calmly and then patted a portion of Sarabi’s smooth, round side. “Besides, I think that you must have a knack for finding food.”
Sarabi just let her head sink onto her paws. She didn’t like this turn in Kondo’s behavior. ‘His head must be powered by meat.’ She thought viciously.
Kondo withdrew his paw and asked, “What is that word that you keep calling me? Outlander? What does that mean?”
Sarabi raised an eyebrow. That was a curious question to ask, maybe Kondo wasn’t so smart after all. “It means anyone not from the Pridelands.” She said as if to a tiny cub.
“Mhmm... And what are the Pridelands?” asked Kondo.
“What are the Pridelands?!” exclaimed Sarabi. Just how far away from home was she? “Surely you know about the Pridelands.” She would have bolted upright if it hadn’t been for the more than half a ton weighing her down
Kondo shook his head, “Never heard of them... though I’ve lived on my own for a long time. I don’t know much about any lands outside this area.” He put two and two together. “So these Pridelands are your home, I take it?”
The rotund lioness settled back down. “Yes, it’s my home and my family lives there.” Said Sarabi softly.
“Then why are you all the way out here?”
Sarabi sighed, thinking about the events of the past year. “It’s a long story.” She sighed, her face sinking even more deeply into her abundant rolls.
“So tell me about it.” Said the young lion and Sarabi became more aware of the warmth of his body against her soft, distended flank.
With some effort, the corpulent cat rolled away from Kondo and onto her side. She groaned as she did so, the cramps seemed to be getting worse with time rather than better. She really should have stretched before the fight. “I will if you rub my legs for me.”
The lion smirked, “You and your deals. I’ll be indebted to you until I’m fifteen at this rate.”
Sarabi frowned but said nothing. The former mate to Mufasa was twelve years old herself. “That’s the deal.” She insisted, “A massage for a story, and where I come from, a fellow lion would not hesitate to help another just for the asking, so really, you are getting the story for free.”
Kondo watched as Sarabi wiggled her toes invitingly. “Well, I suppose I can oblige.” He at last relented, but soon the young lion found that he was enjoying himself as well.
Sarabi sighed with relief, her muscles tensing and loosening of their own accord as the lion pressed down on her. "Harder," she said. "I can barely feel you."
"I can't imagine why." prodded Kondo, though he lifted his chest higher and pressed down as firmly as he could. Only when he was pushing into her fat as hard as he could was the fattened lioness satisfied. Sarabi felt like hot, moist clay in the sun under his paws, the slope and texture of her muscles only discernible below literal feet of fat. The lion could not imagine what it could be like to be so obese.
Sarabi's body was rocked and sloshed side to side with Kondo's efforts and though the young lion soon began to pant, with a full meal in his stomach, he did not relent in his labor. A minute passed as as Sarabi's muscles began to warm under the massage, she spoke. "The Pridelands are a glorious place to be a lion. They are our ancestral home and the lush fields of grass stretch as far as the eye can see. I lived there until one day I fell into a hunter's trap..." It was not long before Kondo was as enthralled by Sarabi's story as she was by his massage...
[[1. That night the cats move out]]
2. The lions sleep in until dawn**Daytime Heat (Shalion)**
By the time Sarabi had finished her story, with the proper embellishments of course, the sun was high in the sky. The stupefying savanna heat was having a more profound effect on the overly insulated lioness who, while fighting the strong urge to sleep, said to Kondo, "I need to get out of the sun."
Kondo was lying near, ironically enjoying the slight shade that Sarabi's bulk provided. He yawned, the sun and his protruding belly full of gazelle obviously having their effects. "So go find some shade." said Kondo who was apparently content to rest in the long grass near the waterhole.
Sarabi indignantly reached over, fat bunching at the shoulder as she approached the limit of her reach, and thumped the young ruffian soundly on the head. "A real lion would offer a lioness some help in finding a decent place to sleep out the heat of the day." That wasn't necessarily true, except for the old or infirm - Sarabi considered herself neither, but had to recognize that she now possessed certain lacks in capability - but Kondo had been acting more uppity than she was comfortable with. That outlander had to learn his place... Besides, getting up would sure be easier with a little help.
Kondo rose. His skinny frame looked a bit silly with the paunch he currently sported; painfully visible ribs proceeded into a small round dome of an abdomen followed by his boney, angular hips. His coat remained dull and rough, lacking the luxurious sheen that Sarabi sported, and was interrupted by a set of heavy scars on his shoulders and chest as well as what appeared to be an old gore wound at the base of his tail. Standing over the fattened mass that was Sarabi, he asked, "So what do you want me to do?"
Sarabi was momentarily at a loss for words in her examination of the younger lion. She realized she hadn't actually considered how Kondo could help. "Uh, just..." she stammered, and then said, "Just stand beside me and let me lean on you a bit."
Kondo looked hard at the vastness of Sarabi spread out on the grass before him, but did not betray any doubts that he might have had. He acquiesced to her will.
Sarabi grunted as she struggled up against the pull of gravity. The massage had helped immensely. Aside from her constellation of bruises, particularly the one on her jaw, she was pain free as she steeled her muscle for the effort. Getting her chest up was easy, he brisket dropped down to sag as a meaty sac ahead of and between her forelegs. Getting her hindquarters up was the most difficult as the lioness's belly was the largest part of her as well as the least maneuverable. She leaned over, bracing herself against the young lion as she pushed up with her hind legs. Kondo seemed solid support, at least at first.
The lion was certainly boney, his shoulder blade digging into Sarabi’s flesh as she struggled to get to her feet. But as she piled on the weight against his slender form, he first grunted and then began to fold slowly like a living tree branch, bending and cracking little by little. Sarabi eased back, balancing herself more on her front legs, trying to give Kondo a chance to recover, but it was too late.
“...Damn...” was all Kondo muttered under the mammoth weight of the lioness before his own muscles gave. When Kondo fell, it was like an irresistible force pulling Sarabi down. Given her rapid rise in obesity, her own weight still surprised her at times. Especially now as her fat flank rushed down on top of Kondo, submerging him entirely in a tawny coated sea of flab. Sarabi could feel his slight form struggling under her bulk, but with little purchase. Unfortunately for Kondo, Sarabi fastest movements were still a slow as a snail, every limb weighed down with heavy globs and generous coatings of lard under the silky coat she wore. Sarabi was silent when he emerged, gasping for breath after she finally managed to roll off of him.
Her expression was guarded and naturally, Kondo was incensed. His fur bristled as he said, “Goodness, you are heavy!”
“I thought that would have been obvious.” Sarabi said sarcastically.
Growling a bit, Kondo added, “I almost died! You seriously need a diet, I can’t believe how fat you are.”
Now Sarabi growled as well. She pointed to Kondo’s thin muscles, “And you need bulk up more, I can’t believe how weak you are.”
Kondo was silenced by Sarabi’s counterpoint. He turned about and sulked for a moment. Sarabi knew she had hit home when she saw the young lion reach up with his own paw to feel his own scrawny muscles. They said nothing for a long while. In fact, Sarabi, now baking and panting in the sun of the full day, staggered slowly and clumsily to her feet by herself.
Looking about, it was not hard to find a set of three trees shading a portion of dark, moist soil a little ways downstream. As she walked towards her destination she altered course towards Kondo and deliberately hit him with her heavy, swinging flank as she passed. The thinner lion was knocked over and he was on his feet almost instantly, a low growl in the back of his throat, but no real challenge in his eyes. All Sarabi said was, “Coming?”
Kondo came.
It was cool and a little moist under the trees, just what Sarabi had been hoping for. The two lions quickly drowsed the hot day away. Without the cover of long grass, it was more obvious what sort of creature Sarabi was, and Kondo himself was obviously a lion and the pair went unmolested despite having claimed a prime shady spot. Sarabi had intended to pick up her journey before dusk, but she could not manage to summon the energy to begin traveling until the sun had disappeared completely and the air was finally cool on her massive, insulated frame. As for Kondo, he was still stupefied with digesting his meal. To Sarabi, reacting in such a way to such a “small” meal seemed quite quaint in light of her expanded experience concerning culinary fortitude.
Having slept apart from one another under the trees, Sarabi was forced to crawl on her belly over the moist soil towards the sleeping lion when he refused to awaken to her calls. Sliding over the crumbly turf was easier than standing up and besides, she wanted to accustom Kondo to assisting her. So like a bloated worm, she dragged her gut over the ground, the underside of her tail resting on the inverted skin of her abdomen as her paunch protruded backwards from between her hindlegs as she scooted forward. The sensation made Sarabi really appreciate how far she had come in attaining a higher definition of beauty and perfection.
Kondo started into consciousness when Sarabi placed her paw on him. He gasped and then yawned, licking his chops afterward. “What? What’re you doing?”
“It’s time to go Kondo.” Said Sarabi, “We’ve already wasted enough time.”
“Go? Go where?”
“Don’t you remember anything from my story? We have to get farther away from the humans. They are still looking for their lost goddess.” Said Sarabi with more urgency than she intended.
Kondo’s eyelids fluttered. “That sounds like a personal problem to me...” the young lion was obviously only half awake.
Sarabi felt the familiar righteous anger rising again within her...
1. Be more forceful with Kondo
2. Treat Kondo more gently**The Mighty Queen (new)**
After Dziko had removed the last of the needles, Sarabi took a few more steps to try to judge her gait. Not that she needed to check really, because for all her legs were now capable of supporting her immense frame, with a ribbon of belly fat still dragging on the ground the only gait the lioness could manage was an awkwardly wide waddle. Still, the mere fact that she could finally move by herself was enough to please Sarabi. It was still dark outside and with her new-found mobility, Sarabi was filled with thoughts of escaping to savannah. However, there was one small problem...a very human one. How could She leave Dziko behind?
As Sarabi looked at the girl, Dziko spoke "I know Goddess you now want to leave for your home...of which you told me earlier. I know that I can not follow you there. But I am so happy that you can finally walk away on your own. Please remember your humble servant." At this point Dziko started crying, Sarabi soon found her own eyes beginning to moisten. In an attempt to stave off her tears, the immense lioness moved over to the small child and pulled her to her huge breast where Dziko's body seemed to almost disappear into her flab.
Both the human and the animal expressed their sorrow of their coming separation bitterly. Finally, after sometime Dziko released herself from Sarabi's embrace and said, "you should leave now goddess before the camp awakens." Silently, the immense lioness agreed, but exchanged a loving gaze with her tiny friend for a few moments before finally deciding it was time to make her move.
Slowly, Sarabi waddled towards the exit of her tent and took a good long sniff. Nothing, All the humans were asleep. Cautiously, she peered outside, but again there was nothing. Finally, the immense lioness began to make her ponderous way outside, being careful to keep a constant look out for any sign of danger. As she moved towards the perimeter though Sarabi was momentarily disheartened to see that the camp was surrounded by a fence. She quickly realized that it wasn't going to present much of a challenge, as the bar had been attached rather high, and so she'd just have to stoop a bit to pass under it, although how much more of her belly was going to drag the ground she could only guess at.
Sarabi made it most of the way to the fence without incident, but as she moved to within a few lengths of freedom...
1. ...A creature appears
2. ...She's spotted**Getting Away (new)**
...Borne out, though it had not come without cost.
-------
Sarabi's knew even before setting off that her progress would be so very slow, for unable to lift her paws against her great weight she was forced to drag them in the dust, one at a a time. Nor was speed the former queen's only problem, or even her biggest one, because achieving even the limited level of motion required her to constantly shift her weight, to lighten each paw in turn. sufficiently to move it at all. The exertion sent waves of fire through her muscles and joints constantly, though the immense cat pushed on as quickly as she could, almost whimpering from the agony of moving, but knowing that if she gave in to the pain she'd lose not only her mobility, but also her freedom, and that was a price she was not prepared to pay.
The exertion eventually took its toll on Sarabi though, for although she ignored the pain as much as she could, it soon wore down her severely limited reserves of energy, forcing her to rest before she'd even left the camp. Realizing that she wouldn't get far before dawn, the former queen craned her fat-bracketed head around as far as she was able to, searching for a place to take shelter, away from the baking sun, and the prying eyes of the humans. Soon enough, the immense lioness's gaze alighted on a dark smudge in the distance, which, after some concentration she decided must be a stand of trees, just what she needed.
By the time Sarabi set off again she felt in almost a worse position than before, for now, not only were her muscles burning in pain at carrying her mammoth bulk, her paws were also protesting at same. Nevertheless, the former queen's thirst for freedom drove her on, no matter what happened in the future, she was going to do as much as possible to make her future one of her own choosing. As she drove herself forward, the immense lioness cursed her circumstances, the tragic accident which had first brought her into contact with the humans, the treats the humans had showered on her, the constrictions they'd put on her movement, but perhaps most of all her own failure to regulate all of these happenings, and the situation that failure had put her in now.
The closer Sarabi got to the trees, the more anxious she became, dawn-light was beginning to show in the sky, and while it was still quite dark, dawn would break soon enough, sooner perhaps than she could reach the trees. If the former queen had had the capacity left she'd have hurried, but she was already doing as much as she could, and so she pushed herself forward, and hoped against hope that her disappearance wouldn't be noticed too soon. In this, the former queen needn't have worried, the celebrations the day before had left the humans drowsy and clumsy, all except Dziko, who had noticed her disappearance, but hadn't the courage to search for the great cat on her own, and so had returned to the tent to pray for the safety of the 'goddess'.
-------
As the day warmed up, Sarabi found it harder and harder to stay awake, for the heat was stifling even here in the shade, and last nights trek had left her drained. The former queen didn't struggle when she felt her eyelids begin to droop, instead seeking solace from her current situation in the dark depths of sleep, not noticing the pair of eyes watching her with...
[[1. ...A hungry look]]
2. ...Appreciation**Friendly New Hosts? (new)**
...A hungry look. Two pairs in fact, each pair belonging to a lion. Not that they recognized Sarabi for what she was of course, not at the dozens of lengths distance between them and she, but they recognized her size, and shared a look, they may have missed those wildebeest earlier, but wildebeest paled in comparison to this. The hungry look faded gradually as they got closer, this wasn't a lost hippo or rhino, it was the wrong color, as indeed the color and size together didn't match any animal on their normal menu.
-------
It was either her parched tongue's cry for hydration or her immense stomach's grumbled demand for filling that eventually awoke Sarabi from her slumber. Still drowsy from her recent awakening the immense cat could do nothing for a few minutes but whimper at the hunger pangs - bigger by far than any she'd ever felt before, and quite loud despite the padding - that rolled through her immense gut, while the disgusting taste in her too-dry mouth caused her hackles to twist. Finally, after a few minutes, the former queen had regained enough consciousness to be able to focus on things other than her own bodily happenings, and it was then that she caught the scent of the lion, no, she quickly realized, the two lions.
Panicking slightly, Sarabi momentarily tried to scan her surroundings, but her own body her her back, her many thick, heavy collars so bracketed her head that they reduced her vision to less than one quarter of her surroundings. Aware of just how vulnerable she was, despite the intimidation factor of her sheer size, and the protection offered by the thickness of the flesh that composed most of it, the immense cat attempted to rise. She had to get away she knew, the danger posed by the males was just too great.
Unfortunately for Sarabi, the weight of her flesh, so great that it had almost overwhelmed her last night, was now, in the heat of the day, much too great an effort to shift. After a minute or two, and several failed tries to rise, the former queen finally gave up, she wouldn't be moving until nightfall. As the immense cat slowly recovered from her action, which had left her heart racing and her lungs hammering, she decided that since escape was impossible she must be prepared to accept the males' curiosity. From the smelled, she analyzed - when she finally got both her brain and her body back in some sort of order - she decided that these two males must be well grown adults, though younger than she, and of fairly large stature. They were rogues as well she decided, since there didn't seem to be any females nearby, or perhaps the territory was just too poor for more than a handful of cats.
Had Sarabi been to see behind her, she would have seen the two males sitting side-by-side, having returned some time before while she was still asleep. Since then, they'd said hardly moved or spoken beyond investigating her immense form, regarding her with some measure of interest and not a little awe, unable to comprehend how a beast of such hippo-like size and physique could me covered in fur and smell like a lioness. They'd at first though of killing her, such a rich and ready source of was hardly known out her on the savannah. They'd decided against that course of action soon enough though, Sarabi's mere existence was just too unique other-worldly to their minds, to throw away on so crude an action as eating, at least, if there was some chance of talking to her, though if she passed away on her own, as surely she should have done long ago, then they'd take advantage of the bonanza.
The first thing to alert the lions to Sarabi's awakening was the quivering of her blubber when she tried to rise, though they didn't know what the immense cat was actually doing, or at least trying to do. When her struggles had given way to exhausted immobility, the lions decided to make their move, and rising, they moved to sit one either side of her near her shoulders, though still out of her line of sight.
Unaware of her watchers, Sarabi waited until she was fully rested, then tried to raise herself enough to at least sit up, but soon ran into problems as her fat-swathed legs began to press into her flesh-blanketed chest, adding yet another dimension of difficulty to dealing with her colossal form. Nevertheless, the immense lioness did manage to raise her brisket off the earth for a short time before her muscles, atrophied from under-use, surrender their too-large burden to the unyielding pull of gravity. The impact didn't give Sarabi much pain, but the damage it did to her confidence was significant, had she now become so fat on her loving gifted gains that even the once simple act of standing up was beyond her?
Exhausted , and feeling utterly helpless, Sarabi's mood was not improved in the slightest when one of the lions leaned closer and said, "you seem to be having some trouble there."
Sarabi's breath caught in her throat at the words, who was that, how long had he been here? Panic set the immense cat's over-burdened heart racing as she swung her head to its limit against her many fleshy collars in an ultimately futile attempt to catch a glance of the male. It took several minutes for Sarabi to recover both enough breath and enough confidence to ask, "wh-who are you?"
"Who are we," asked a voice from her other shoulder, a different voice, "why we live here pretty lady, so the question becomes, who are you?"
"My-my name's Sarabi," she squeaked, then cursed the sound of her own voice, she should know as well as anyone not to talk when she was scared.
"Indeed," said the second male, "well perhaps now that you're awake you could answer a few more questions we have."
"A-and if I don't want to," Sarabi asked, still a touch nervous, this lion sound just a little too much like Scar for her piece of mind.
"Then we'll ask you again later," the first lion replied, the not-quite-veiled threat sending a shiver up Sarabi's spine, "when you'll perhaps be a bit more receptive."
Sarabi closed her eyes a moment, and tried to slow her racing heart to something approaching its now-normal resting tempo. After a few more moments, she asked, eyes still closed, "ask away."
"Well for starters..." the second lion asked, before he was cut off by a rather noisy rumble, "...what was that?"
"That was just my stomach," Sarabi replied, feeling the blush come on even as she winced at the hunger pang, "it isn't used to being this empty."
"Must be pretty big to make a noise that loud," the first lion said.
"It is, I suppose," Sarabi said, then decided to push her luck, "you wouldn't happen to have anything edible around would you?"
I'm afraid not," the second lion said...
[[1. "...And in fact we're rather hungry ourselves"]]
2. "...So you'll have to take your mind off it in other ways”**Going Nowhere Fast (new)**
"...And in fact we're rather hungry ourselves, having missed out on our morning hunt."
"Yes," the first lion said, "we're so hungry in fact that we'd be prepared to eat just about anything with meat on it."
Sarabi felt a chill run up her well-buried spine, "you wouldn't eat me would you, I-I am a lioness after all."
"We'd try not to kill you," the first lion said, "but I'm sure you wouldn't even notice us taking a little bit off the sides."
Hearing this Sarabi desperately tried to raise herself but immense form, lovingly cultured over her long captivity was simply too massive for her to do anything with now in the heat of the day. The lions kept a steady watch as the former queen struggle unsuccessfully to rise, then slumped back to ground.
"Too much more of that and we may not even have to kill you ourselves," the second lion said.
Hearing that left a deep pit in Sarabi's stomach. She knew trying to move was worthless but as the the two males moved forward into her line or sight - a least to the point where she could see them at all, but never both together - she became desperate, "please, please don't hurt me."
"Oh if we'd wanted to do that we could have done it in so many ways already," the second lion said, "but you know, you're such good fun that we might just keep you around for a while longer."
Relieved at the announcement or her continued survival, if not comfort, Sarabi suddenly realized that her throat was feeling dry, "is there a waterhole around here?"
"There is," the first lion replied, "but it's some distance away, and given your current performance..."
Sarabi understood the doubt, more than understood in fact, she knew there was no way she was getting anywhere on her own...but then she wasn't on her own now was she, "I don't suppose you could possibly help me could you?"
"Well we could try I suppose," the second lion said, "but how much help we could offer..."
"Please," Sarabi pleaded, "I'm so thirsty, and so weak."
"And that's the problem,' the first lion said, "even if we wanted to help you, how could we, you must weight twice what we do put together."
Sarabi's heart fell, she knew better than the lion did that his concerns were all too well-founded. Nevertheless, she had to try, "I-I think I can manage lifting myself, but keeping steady at the same time..."
"Very well," the second lion said, "just do what you can, and we'll do what we can."
Sarabi nodded, and tried her best to stand, but was simply unable to do so, she had too little muscle and too much flesh. Then she realized that the males hadn't helped her at all, and so turned to one of them, and said plaintively, "you said you'd help."
"We will," the first lion replied, "but first we have to know how to help."
"You're a bit weak on this rear leg," the second male said, "have you had an injury there at all?"
"I broke it once," Sarabi replied, "but the humans, well I don't know what they did actually, but it's more-or-less better now, except that the muscle never really grew back properly."
There was a moments silence, then the second lion said, "let's try that again shall we, see if we can get you up this time."
"In a few minutes," Sarabi said, "I get tired quickly these days and recover much less quickly."
"Hardly surprising," the first lion said, "I imagine you get tired much more easily as well."
"Yes, I do," Sarabi said, unable to keep a hard edge out of her voice. After a few minutes, she said, "okay, I think I'm ready now."
"Let's do this then," the second lion said.
Sarabi struggled once again to rise, and after just a moment where she thought the lions would once again stand and watch her futile struggle, she felt one push in under her chest and neck-rolls, giving her just that much more leverage, while the other one aided her by pushing against her still slightly weaker hind leg, allowing her to put all her effort into raising herself, rather than spending a small but critical amount trying to keep the leg steady. Even with the help, rising was still a long, arduous, exhausting process, but just barely achievable, as evidenced when, after more than a minute of struggle, the immense cat was finally able to lock her joints in place. "Okay," she said, panting heavily, "I...I...think...I'm...there." As the lions pulled away, the former queen wobbled momentarily, almost falling back, but managing to stay upright, though it took all her effort, so much even that she let her head hang low, at least as low as it could against her neck rolls.
The males were themselves a little exhausted, one was lying down panting the other remained standing, but for all the effort they'd put in they looked pleased. "Well I won't say you're pretty lady," said the first lion, the one lying down, "but seeing you standing up, you sure are impressive."
"Glad I could...provide you with...a bit of amusement, Sarabi said, her tone holding just an edge of sarcasm, "now...how far is it...to that wat...waterhole?"
"A fair way," the second lion replied, "how fast can you move?"
"Not very fast," Sarabi replied, still panting, and tried to take step, but found it, with the heat, even harder than it had been in the cool of the night, indeed she could drag her paws barely more than half the already minimal distance she had managed the night before, "not very fast at all."
"You're not going to make it in daylight," the second lion said, "I mean you can barely manage in the shade, so out in the sun is, I suspect, going to kill you."
"But I'm thirsty," Sarabi said plaintively.
"A drink will do you no good if trying to get it kills you," the second lion said, "you just rest here, and we'll go out hunting, and maybe this time actually get something."
"In this heat," the first lion asked, "you're crazy you know."
"Nevertheless," the second lion said, "now come on, get up."
"okay, okay, I'm getting up," the first lion said, then growled under his breath, "slavedriver."
"What about me," Sarabi asked.
"You just stay there," the second lion said, "try and get a rest or something." Then he and the other lion headed back out onto the savannah.
Sarabi watched the two males leave, then suddenly realized her quandary, it had taken not only everything she could give, but a lot of help from the two lions to get up, and now she had to get back down again without any help. For a few minutes, the former queen tried to come up with a way of working herself down carefully, but it was no use, in the end she decided she'd just have to drop as slowly as her atrophied, exhausted muscles would allow. Which ultimately proved to be not much slower than if the immense cat had not struggle at all. The impact sounded like a great slap when her massive form met the earth, and brought with it pain across her belly and chest, or at least the flesh that so heavily coated them, and then blackness as the air was forced from her lungs by the great weight pressing upon them.
-------
When Sarabi finally awoke, it was...
[[1. ...Late afternoon]]
2. ...Night time**Free Eating (new)**
...Late afternoon, and while the sun had lost some of its intensity, the air was still hot, even here in the shade, which, luckily for Sarabi was still over her. Conditions were improved slightly by the cool but unsteady breeze blowing over her immense form, but it was a only a slight improvement. For a time, the former queen drifted in and out of consciousness, before being drawn back to full wakefulness by a horrible sensation in what, after a few moments though, she realized was her mouth. Now fully awake, she began to take stock of herself and her situation, For herself, she was hungry, as the almost painful churning of her much larger than normal stomach amply demonstrated, she was even more thirsty how than she had been the last time she'd been awake, and finally, she was so hot that even small movements required a good deal more effort than normal.
Beyond herself, Sarabi was less certain, she couldn't see much beyond her own flesh-covered shoulders - even less in fact, since she could barely see them - and getting up to turn around, already impossible this morning was now nothing but a distant dream. The immense lioness wasn't entirely unaware of what was beyond the rather limited scope of her eyes though, and so set her ears and nose to the job of examining her surroundings. Her hearing, virtually undulled by her captivity, was little use though, only the faint rustling of the grass in the breeze broke the silence. The immense cat's nose on the other hand gave her scents that were all too alluring, of masculinity, and exertion, and perhaps most importantly, of blood. This raised the former queen's mood for the moment between her smelling it and her cavernous stomach giving another bowl-twisting churning, evidently the males had been successful this time. So eager was she for the juicy meat that she tried to sit up, but never made it, the heat of the day was too exhausting and her muscles were just too diminished.
It had been a lucky hunt for the males, but not an easy one, the zebra mare, still fat from more bountiful times, had put up a real fight, but in the end teamwork had won the day. Of course, the effort didn't end with the success of the hunt, even after their gorging the carcass weight not much less than the both of them put together, making dragging it back to the tree, especially under the hot sun, an arduous task. "Think she's still alive," the first lion - Sarabi still didn't know either of their names - asked.
"Yes, I am," Sarabi replied before the second lion could reply, "and awake, for you're information."
"Well forgive my doubts-" the first lion began.
"Enough of that, both of you," the second lion said, "and lady, since you are awake, d'you want something to eat?"
Before Sarabi could reply, her gut, which had been rumbling lowly for a time, suddenly roared, "uh, that would be nice, thanks."
"Well it's here if you want it," the first lion said.
Sarabi didn't reply for a few moments, she knew a taunt when she heard one, and she didn't want to give him the pleasure of having to ask for help. In the end she had to though, as her cavernous stomach roared again, so harsh that it would have had her doubled up had she been in any way capable of bending her immense, flesh-filled trunk, "please...I, you know I could barely manage it this morning with your help, with both your help, and it's so much hotter now so much harder to do anything."
There was a harsh almost sneering chuckle for a moment, then a dragging sound, then, as her immense stomach began churning more energetically, the carcass came into view. Sarabi was mildly disappointed that the lions has taken all of the best bits, but she was hardly in a position to complain, and instead, as soon as the carcass was close enough, she began to dig into it, awing the males with the speed at which she could eat.
Sarabi was too busy eating, too busy filling the massive void that was her stomach, to pay much attention to what was going on around her, but if she had she'd have seen the first lion's face twist as his awe diminished, and the reality of the immense lioness's apparent gluttony took over. Already more than a little disdainful of the former queen's cripplingly large physique, his disdain turned to disgust as he watched her devour in just this sitting, a portion size that would satisfy himself and his brother for several days. In the end, he...
1. ...held his peace
[[2. ...Spoke out]] **Hostile Host (new)**
...Spoke out, as the awe at the speed with which Sarabi could devour a meal faded, to be replaced by the resentment, even anger, of the knowledge that the meal that this bloated parody of a lioness was eating was theirs, and while they'd offered her a bit of it, she'd by now taken rather more than he was comfortable with. "Hey, he said, "leave up would you, what you'd just eaten would have lasted the two of us together several days."
Had the lion's comment been about Sarabi's weight she might well have ignored it and continued on with her meal, but a comment on her overconsumption was less easy to ignore, and now that she had sated her hunger - if not yet totally filled her belly - she was willing to answer such challenges. Raising her head, the former queen said, "I'm sorry to seem so, so greedy, but I get very hungry sometimes."
"Yeah well if you eat like that on a regular basis it's no wonder you're the size you are," the first lion said coolly, "although quite who'd be willing to let you stuff yourself like than on a regular basis-"
"Enough, Amri," the second lion said, "you've made your point clear."
"you think I wanted this," Sarabi asked, irritated, "you think I wanted to be so big I couldn't get up, so big I needed attending at every moment?"
"You're asking me to believe someone came and forced food down your throat," Amri sneered, "I think that's the most worthless explanation for gluttony-"
"I said enough," the second lion growled, "our guest may eat to excess, but before you accuse her, perhaps you'd better let her offer an explanation."
"An explanation," Amri said, "what sort of an explanation could that a sac of flesh offer-"
"ENOUGH," the second lion yelled, then after a moment, went on, "I don't know what's got into you in the last few minutes Amri, but you can be damned sure it isn't welcome, as hosts, we should be congenial, not insulting."
"Congenial," Amri chuckled disbelievingly, "Abasi, brother, she has you wrapped around her paw."
"What is that supposed to mean," Abasi growled lowly.
"You don't understand the problem even when I say it in plain language and to your face," Amri asked, then shrugged and turned away, "well that's your problem."
Amri hadn't gone three paces though, when Abasi was in front of him again, growling, "and what problem were you referring to precisely?"
Amri sighed, and walked past his brother, "Abs, if you want to wear your paws raw hunting for that slug of a cat, that's your choice, but don't expect me to help you out if you aren't prepared to help yourself." And with that, he began to walk slowly away.
For a few moments, Abasi was too shocked to move as he watched Amri walk away, then his anger came back all at once...
1. ...And he charged
[[2. ...Almost overwhelming him]]**And Then There Was One (new)**
...Almost overwhelming him, how dare that wretch show such presumption, such insolence, why he'd a good mind to give him a beating, teach him a lesson in manners. He stayed his paw, though, or rather, someone did it for him.
Sarabi too had been shocked at Amri's reaction, not so much its basis, but its intensity. She recovered quickly though, and feeling ultimately responsible for the spat, said, "I-I'm sorry to cause a rift between you and your brother."
"Don't bother about it," Abasi replied viciously, staring after Amri for a moment before turning back to Sarabi, and taking on a slightly more friendly tone, "he always was an intolerant hot-head, I just hadn't realized how intolerant and hot-headed he could be."
This made Sarabi feel only very slightly better, "I'm afraid I do tend to eat to excess, it's a habit I picked up from my last hosts who not only let me eat like that, but actually seemed to prefer it when I did."
"I don't think I quite understood that," Abasi said, "they wanted you to gorge yourself?"
"I think they did," Sarabi said, "they brought me a lot of food certainly, and, well you know how you get those inklings in the back of your mind when something is about to go wrong?"
"Forebodings, yes," Abasi said, "I know what you mean."
"Well, I got those every time I didn't eat something," Sarabi said, "now don't ask me to explain further, because I can't, humans are a mysterious lot at the best of times."
"Humans," Abasi asked, his voice suddenly low, "those two-leggers who fashion, things, out of wood and stone."
"Those are the ones, yes," Sarabi replied, and quickly added, "and don't think it was my choice to be their guest, it was just that, with a broken leg I wasn't in much of a position to refuse their hospitality."
"You had a broken leg," Abasi asked, "how did that happen?"
"I fell into a pit-trap," Sarabi replied, "it was well concealed, and I was day-dreaming at the time."
"Not the wisest of ideas in an area regularly visited by humans I'd have thought," Abasi said.
"The area wasn't regularly visited by humans though," Sarabi replied, "well, I'd never heard it mentioned that the humans were around anyway."
That puzzled Abasi a little, where humans went they tended to announce their presence emphatically. On the other hand he supposed, a pit-trap was meant for catching food, so they wouldn't want to announce their presence there if they could possibly help it. Accepting that as the probable reason for Sarabi's not spotting the trap, he moved onto another point that puzzled him, "I'm surprised they took you in, from everything I've seen they ought to have killed you."
"Believe me, I wasn't any less surprised," Sarabi said, "at least, once they'd straightened the leg out and given me something that took away most of the pain."
"That was, nice of them," Abasi said, visibly surprised, "of course, then they forced you to eat more than you should have."
"Not as much in the early days," Sarabi said, "and I was thankful for it then, after the time I'd spent in the pit I was pretty ravenous." She paused a moment, then added, "the food started to build up later though."
"How long were you there," Abasi asked.
"I-I don't know," Sarabi replied, "the stuff they gave me to take away the pain made it hard to focus, so it's all just kind of blurred in my memory." After a moment she added, "I guess, three or four moons, maybe longer."
"It sounds like a pretty long tale," Abasi said.
"It is," Sarabi replied, "and I'd love to tell it to you, but right now I'm parched, d'you think you could help me over to the stream?"
"D'you think you could put in more effort now than you did this morning," Abasi asked.
Sarabi thought about this for a moment, then shook her head, "no, I don't think I could, in fact with temperature as high as it is I doubt I could put in even as much effort now as I did then."
"Then I should think the chances would be pretty remote," Abasi said, "and even if you could put in as much effort as before, there were two of us helping you, now there's only me."
Sarabi considered this for a few moments, then asked, "I don't suppose you could try to talk your brother into coming back is there?"
"Well I could try," Abasi replied uncertainly, "but after his performance before I'm surprised you want him back."
"Well I didn't particularly like his attitude, I must say," Sarabi explained, "but we-I need the help, so I'll just have to put up with a few insults."
A few insults, Abasi wondered, surprised at Sarabi's apparent restraint, that was more than a few insults. Still, if his-their guest was willing to put up with it then why should he protest, "if you're really sure..."
"I wish I could say I was," Sarabi said, "oh I'm sure your brother's attitude will be testing, but I don't fancy my chances out here in my condition with just you, no offense."
"None taken," Abasi replied, then stood up, "I'll try to be back shortly."
"Good luck," Sarabi replied, and then watched as Abasi walked away before turning back to her immediate surroundings, and her meal. Strangely though, she didn't tuck in immediately, instead, now that she was alone, examining whether she needed or wanted any more to eat. Oh certainly she could have eaten more, but her hunger was mostly sated now, and if she was to win over the petulant Amri she's really need to show herself not to be a glutton.
1. Continue her meal
[[2. Leave the rest of the meat]]**Appeal To Kindness (new)**
No, Sarabi decided after a few moments, while she could eat more, and indeed would voluntarily have done in different circumstances, she needed Amri's help now more than an engorged stomach, and besides with such a comparatively limited supply of food as the two males could offer she'd have to start cutting down on the volume of her meals anyway.
-------
Abasi meanwhile was quickly homing in on his brother's position just on the other side of the small wood. His tracking made easier by the fact that Amri hadn't seemed to be to bothered about moving fast or concealing his trail. Nor was he for that matter, which was perhaps why the other lion looked up at him when he was still some several lengths away, then raised an eyebrow and said, "that gluttony finally gotten to you too has it, had enough of her scoffing herself with our hard work?"
"What," Abasi asked, momentarily perplexed, "no, no nothing like that-"
"Got you under her paw then hasn't she," Amri smirked mirthlessly, "first you're feeding her, now you're running errands for her, mark my words, you carry on like this and she'll be asking you to carry her everywhere before too long."
Oh shut it, Abasi thought, but bit down on the remark before he could say it, this was going to be a hard enough deal to do anyway, an off-hand insult could easily make it impossible. "She does have an explanation as to why she's that size you know," he said.
"Does she," Amri sneered, "you know, I used to think you were quite intelligent Abasi, now I find out you're just a naive cub."
"And I used to think you were quite decent," Abasi snapped back, unable to stop himself, "and yet now I find out you're a cold-hearted jerk."
Amri narrowed his eyes at that and hissed, "you had a point in coming here, brother?"
"I thought I might be able to talk some decency into you," Abasi replied, "at least enough for you to listen to her side of the story."
There was a few moments pause, then Amri rose to a sitting position, as it to leave, but instead said coolly, "I'm listening." Briefly, Abasi related to his brother what Sarabi had told to him. "And that's it," his brother asked, "that's the line she fed you, she fell into a hole and was rescued by humans who shoved food down her throat?"
"Well, yes," Abasi asked, slightly taken aback, he'd expected the explanation - such as it was at least - to have affected Amri at least a little.
"And you bought it," Amri chuffed, rising to standing, "sorry brother, maybe you're gullible enough to believe a lame excuse like that, but I'm not," and with he began to walk off.
"Hold it a moment Amri," Abasi replied.
Growling in frustration, Amri halted a moment, then looked back over his shoulder, "you've got something else to say brother."
"Yes I have actually," Abasi replied, "are you really prepared to let a possibly perfectly innocent lioness die because you don't like how much she weighs?"
"And what could she die of," Amri asked, "I mean it's not like she's going to starve is it?"
"Heatstroke would get her pretty quick I should think," Abasi replied, "now, are you a savior, or a murderer?" He knew he shouldn't have said it, even before it was out of his mouth, but he was at a loss as for what else to do, after all, Amri had already scorned reasonable explanation, and from the way his brother had acted, any pleas would only receive harsher scorn.
Amri's hackles rose of their own volition as his brain processed Abasi's statement. He was angry, almost outraged even that his brother would make such a despicable comment, sure the heat would be hard on that beyond-obese blob, but it would hardly kill her, would it? Would it?
1. Amri decides to continue walking
[[2. Amri decides to return with Abasi]]**Uneasy Assistance (new)**
Amri had almost attacked his brother, Abasi, when the other lion had come out with that last statement, how dare his brother accuse him of...well, okay, he hadn't exactly accused him had he, but... The problem was, he wasn't quite sure Sarabi wouldn't succumb to something on account of her probably elephantine weight, and while her current immobility was none of his concern... "Very well brother," he growled, narrowing his eyes, "I'll come back, but if she's touched so much as another mouthful I'm going for good."
"But of course," Abasi said levelly, then thought, of course you will you greedy pig-headed fool, you never cared for anyone but yourself did you? He didn't voice the thought though, he couldn't afford to, not if he was going to retain Amri's urgently-needed assistance.
-------
Sarabi looked up when she heard the footsteps, and was thankful, though also more than a bit apprehensive as she saw Amri tailing his brother as the pair of lions returned. She was also aware she wasn't the only one not ecstatic about the reunion, Abasi also looked a little aggravated to her mind, and his brother wasn't even prepared to meet her gaze. Nevertheless, the former queen felt she had to try to lighten the mood, and so putting on her warmest voice, said, "Amri, so good to see you again."
Sarabi's attempt didn't last long though, for Amri, by way of reply, shot her a harsh, disdainful gaze, and said, "don't even bother trying, I'm not in the mood."
"Amri," Abasi snapped, "I thought you were coming back to help, not rile everybody up."
"I will help," Amri growled, "but if that blob thinks she can charm me she's got another thing coming, and so have you if you think you can order me around, understood?"
Abasi sighed quietly, and said, "understood."
"Good," Amri said, "now, let's see what we can do about getting this hippo on her feet shall we?"
Giving a single, curt nod, Abasi spent a few moments dragging the carcass off to the side, then moved over to Sarabi and said, "I'm sorry, my brother can be a right-"
"-Awkward one, sometimes," Sarabi guessed.
"I was going to use stronger language myself," Abasi said, with a half smile, "but, yes, something like that."
"If you two turtledoves have quite finished," Amri said snidely, "shall we try getting this slug on her feet?"
Sarabi saw Abasi about to reply to Amri's taunt, and while she was grateful he was willing to defend her against such attacks, she knew she couldn't afford another falling out between them, and so said aloud, "yes, that's a good idea, work now, talk and relax later." When this didn't have any effect, she tapped him on the leg, and said, "Abasi, Abasi."
Finally startled out of his disgusted trance, Abasi looked down at Sarabi, and whispered, "did you hear what-"
"Yes, I heard," Sarabi said, "but it can wait, right now could we please just focus on getting me upright?"
Abasi was torn, Sarabi's comment was logical, but he could see in her eyes the damage the comments had wrought, and it was against his sense of justice to leave such insults unanswered. Nevertheless, unanswered the insults went, for then at least, as he knew that getting the immense lioness to her feet was the most important thing for now. Smiling wanly, he brushed cheeks in an attempt to give her strength, then took his place beneath her neck rolls, and said "ready."
"And what about you miss hippo," Amri asked, "you ready to do something for yourself."
"Yes, I'm ready," Sarabi replied through clenched teeth, "now let's start shall we?"
"Good luck," Amri said, though his sneering tone told Sarabi he'd derive as much, if not more pleasure from watching her fail as he would from any success she managed. Putting that comment, and his numerous others to the back of her mind though, the immense lioness focussed entirely on standing up, a process helped significantly by Abasi pushing up beneath her neck rolls, and slight by his objectionable brother steadying her still slightly weak rear leg.
It was to no avail though, for after a minute or more of struggle, Sarabi had not managed to rise, nor even part a significant portion of her belly strip from the earth, and her sense of failure was not helped by the crude comment from Amri when she finally gave in, "well that was entertaining, not unexpected, but entertaining."
Panting heavily, Sarabi was not now in a position to stay Abasi's tongue, and he made good use of it, "you really have no shame do you brother, none at all, no, of course not, you never did, nor any understanding of civility, why if I didn't need you I'd be happy to drive you out."
"Temper, temper brother," Amri said snidely, in a tone that reminded Sarabi of Scar altogether too much for her comfort, "another comment or two like that and I'll be leaving all on my own."
Sarabi had by now recovered sufficiently to be able to string together a sentence between pants, and so tried to calm the atmosphere a little, "please...both of you...this isn't doing...any good for any of us."
"Nothing's going to do you any good fatty," Amri sneered, "'cept maybe losing some of that flab."
"Amri-" Abasi began, a low, hard edge to his tone.
"Look, Amri," Sarabi said, cutting Abasi off to stop him breaking the fragile truce, "I know you don't like...how much I weight...I know it disgusts you...but I promise you...none of this...or at least...very little of it...is my fault."
"Yeah, Abs told me that line you fed him," Amri replied, "can't say I found it very convincing myself, sounded a bit too much like 'blame the other guy for my faults' to me."
Sarabi sighed, If she hadn't needed Amri's help she'd have been glad, more than glad to have seen the back of him when he left, and even though she did need his help, his openly hostile nature was wearing her nerves thin so very quickly, perhaps even more quickly than Scar could have managed much of the time. Still, she was all to aware of her own failings - of the physical ones at least - to risk aggravating him any further than she could help, lest he make good on his threat to leave and not come back. After a few minutes she finally felt sufficiently rested to make another attempt to stand up, and so said, "would you mind if we tried that again please."
"Certainly," Abasi replied, "Amri?"
"I suppose," Amri replied reluctantly, "don't know what it's going to achieve though, you couldn't make it this morning, so there's no way you can make it now."
"Nevertheless," Sarabi said, then after a few moment's added, "whenever you're ready." This time, Sarabi knew she had to push herself to her absolute limit, no holding back, and so, putting every fibre of her being into the effort, she forced her muscles to push her up. The immense lioness's atrophied muscles burned in their blubbery cocoons, protesting at the immense load they were being forced to bear, but she paid them no mind. Slowly, so slowly, the former queen rose, her determination paying off, until...
1. ...She was finally standing
[[2. ...Her bad leg gave way]]**Graceless Collapse (new)**
As the moments passed, Sarabi's confidence grew. Even though her overwrought muscles felt as though they were burning up with the strain and the effort she was forcing upon them, she was winning, if only by a hair's-breadth. Suddenly though, she became aware of a problem with her once broken - and still slightly weaker - rear leg. Time seemed to slow down as the immense lioness realized, too late, what was happening. The issue was, Amri - whether out of spite, or just ignorance, she couldn't tell - wasn't pushing the hip in hard enough, and so the leg began to fold in under her massive bulk. With the world still in a slow-motion haze, the former queen tried to twist the leg so that her bulk dropped straight down, but she wasn't fast enough, and so the overbalance drew her whole rear to the side in a slow but inexorable movement.
Amri was silently cursing as he shoved, in an attempt - a foolish one to his mind - to get the hippo of a lioness into at least a standing position. Had he been giving less attention to these private thoughts, and more to the task before - or more accurately beside - him, he might have realized early enough the warning signs of what was about to happen. Suddenly, he felt Sarabi's immense bulk shift, and though he tried to get out of the way, his first step was the wrong one, and resulted, not in the the lioness dropping harmlessly, to him at least, to the ground, but to her dropping to the ground partly on top of him.
Beneath Sarabi's neck, Abasi could barely feel a thing of the incident, all he knew before he head the simultaneous roars - of alarm from the lioness, but of agony from his brother - was a subtle shifting of the rolls atop his shoulders and back.
Amri could not believe the pain as the full weight of the the immense lioness's hindquarters came down atop him, not fully atop him, but fully so over his lower-forelegs, and partly over his upper-forelegs and chest. His upper elbow felt so painful that he couldn't begin to describe it, and the volume of his agonized roar as the weight of Sarabi's rear drove much of the air from his lungs. In the moments that followed he struggled and squirmed, attempting to free himself, but with nothing to brace against, little breath left in his lungs, and most importantly, the immense weight bearing down on him, his scrambling was futile.
For her part, Sarabi was little more capable, that leg was still weaker than the others, and now that it was folded uselessly under her, trapped between her own immense volumes of flesh and Amri's much more meagre frame, and strength it had was denied her. With no ability to help the trapped lion herself, the massive lioness had to call on Abasi who'd managed to shake himself loose of the necklaces of fat he'd been helping her lift, and was now looking on the scene in shock, "Abasi, Abasi, hurry, help."
Reacting almost without thinking, Abasi rushed over to his brother and shoved futiley at the thick flesh of her rump, before looking down at his brother, "Amri, Amri are you okay?"
"I told you...think wouldn't work," Amri wheezed, barely above a whisper, "now just get this...hippo off'f me."
Abasi nodded , and pushed once again at Sarabi's rump, though with no more success, "it's no good, I can't do it."
"Then try harder," Amri wheezed, "push with your head...if you have to...just get it off."
Acting a little more calmly, and taking his brother's suggestion aboard, Abasi lowered his head, and pushed at Sarabi's hip as hard as he could.
Sarabi meanwhile was trying to judge from the sounds alone - for the collars burying her neck kept it out of her sight - what was going on behind her, when she felt a dull but firm pressure on the hip. It took her a moment to react, but then she guessed what was going on, and worked her free rear-leg desperately in an attempt to help.
None of the three lions were aware of the change at first, but slowly, inch be precious inch, Sarabi's hind-quarters were levered sideways. Eventually, after almost a minute, Amri was able to slip his upper fore-leg free and add his own small but measurable effort to the undertaking. Finally, after more than a minute and a half, the downed lion was able to wriggle his other fore-leg free and roll over away from Sarabi, though he didn't dare risk standing yet, not with his elbow still feeling hot and stiff. Seeing his brother free Abasi finally stopped pushing at Sarabi's bulging rump, and asked, "are you okay Amri?"
"I don't think anything's broken, if that's what you're asking," Amri replied coolly, "but I'd be a lot better right now if that hippo of a girlfriend of yours hadn't decided I'd make a nice seat." Abasi frowned at his brother's unrepentant disgust, and turned away to check on Sarabi.
Sarabi meanwhile was in dire straights. Now finally able to concentrate on something other than the pain in her own muscles, she realized her exhaustion, her vision had faded to a deep red, almost purple, and her hearing was so dulled that she hadn't heard Abasi, though he'd been standing not two lengths from her. Of course, this lack of sensation, was only a symptom of a deeper problem, one that was much more worrying to the immense lioness, for she could feel her heart beating so fast and so hard that she wasn't sure it wasn't about to burst, and her lungs were struggling to replenish the huge volume of blood flowing - or at least gurgling - through her veins.
From the outside, Abasi was barely less worried about Sarabi's condition than the lioness herself was, her mouth was hanging loosely open, her tongue was lolling, her lips and chin were covered in saliva and her pupils were badly dilated. In fact it was only her ragged gasps that told him that the immense cat hadn't expired. "Sarabi," he said, tapping her cheek with his paw roughly, an action her repeated several times over the next few minutes until, he finally got a response, though the low grunt in between now pants, an a slight twitching of her eyes was not encouraging.
After a few more moments, Abasi was distracted from trying to rouse any real reaction out of Sarabi as Amri hobbled over and sat, then lay down beside him, "anything?"
Abasi shook his head and tried again to get a response out of Sarabi. It was at least another minute though, before the immense lioness was recovered enough show an intelligent reaction, which she did by squinting, and saying, "nng, who's'at?" Another minute or more passed before the lioness was finally able to really take things in, and looking around said, "..."
1. "...Amri, I am so sorry"
2. "...Who are you?”**Do Vultures Squeal? (Shalion)**
In time – it seemed like hours although may have been merely minutes – the vulture returned from his trip to collect water. The clever bird brought the lioness a string of water pitcher plants, thankfully emptied of dead bugs beforehand. “Fresh from the river itself, my queen.” He said before assisting the incapacitated feline in upending them one by one into her eager mouth.
Sarabi wouldn’t have cared if the water had come from a ditch outside the ruins. The combination of nausea and belly cramps was almost more than she could bear. The water did little to help, however, save to cool her throat and take her mind off the pain for just a few moments. She suffered another bout of dry heaving before the pain began slowly to abate. She alternated between lying on her back, belly and side, but there was no position that was comfortable, even on the cool flagstones of the ruins. She moved from place to place about in the once grand courtyard, looking at collapsed rubble where towers once stood and the folded-in heaps of stone buildings slowly being drawn back into the earth by the thick coating of leafy vines. She even sometimes paced in her restlessness, though never for long. Her weight made being on her feet for any length of time unpleasant. The vulture provided only poor company through the hours of antsy, prickling suffering that Sarabi only through force of will maintained in strained silence and clipped, often hostile responses.
“So...” the vulture spoke, breaking the quiet once again as Sarabi sat, leaning her broad, soft back against the wall of a broken and long dry fountain. “Why don’t you tell me more about these Pridelands from where you hail?”
Sarabi growled softly, the slightly awkward position she had found was warding off the worst of the pain, or else it was simply continuing to fade as it had been over the last several hours. Whatever the reason, she didn’t care to be disrupted and have the pain flare again. The lioness felt that might happen with even the slightest wrong movement. Still, she deigned to answer because it had been so long since she had spoken to anyone of her home. “Well...” Sarabi tried to recall beyond the pain still stewing in her belly, “It’s a wide flat place with lush green grass as far as the eye can see. A river snakes through it and the animals can stay nearly the whole year round... It’s no paradise, though.” Sarabi said when she caught the skeptical look in the vulture’s eye, “Life is hard, especially in the dry season, and there is always blood being spilled.”
“More by you lions than most, I imagine.”
Sarabi sniffed, “Naturally. In the Pridelands lions are given the proper respect we are due by all creatures because we’re the ones who keep the Circle in balance.”
The vulture shook out his wide wings and fluttered up to perch on part of the fountain wall still standing. “I have traveled to many places in my time.” He turned his head to look Sarabi directly in the eye, “I’ve found that there is more than one school of thought when it comes to likes like ‘balance,’ ‘life and death’ and ‘predator and prey.’ There are places where lions are not held in such high regard.” Sarabi quirked an eyebrow, “There are places where lions are shunned and they behave little better than jackals.”
Sarabi growled under her breath, “And I suppose there vultures command the masses with their manners and their ‘genteelness’?” The word was mockery coming out of her mouth.
The vulture seemed utterly immune to Sarabi’s prods, “You do not believe me.” It was a statement, an observed fact. He brushed it off with a wing, “It does not matter. You will never see any of those ‘terrible’ places.”
Sarabi sneered, “I take that to mean that you still believe that I am going to die soon?”
The vulture’s face was a perfect mask as always, though Sarabi detected a slight hesitation before answering, “I merely meant that the places I speak of are so far away for one bound to the earth, that you will likely never have cause to travel to them. And why would you, after the description I just gave you?”
“A clever answer.” Said Sarabi as she minutely adjusted her bulk with her legs. A paw draped across the curve of her swollen belly pressed deep into the flesh as another spasm suddenly took her, milder than the last, but still painful. If Sarabi were not an experienced mother, she didn’t know if she could have dealt with pain this severe for such an extended length of time. She’d already spent nearly the whole day in the ruins already and yet she felt as spent as if she had spent the day hiking in the jungle. This body of hers which she’d worked so hard to obtain fulfilled her wildest desires of her days in the savanna with her pride, and yet came with the unexpected drawbacks in terms of stamina and constitution. At least she had a belly full of food, despite how uneasily it sat.
[[1. The vulture seems intrigued by Sarabi's condition]]
2. Sarabi tries to walk it off**An Intriguing Condition (Shalion)**
The vulture extended his head slightly as if to get a better look at Sarabi’s affliction, “The pain is quite severe is it?"
For the first time, Sarabi thought she actually heard a note of genuine interest from the vulture’s gilded tongue, “I don’t know what gave you that idea, is it the way I’m clutching my belly or the way that I’ve been moaning in pain since this morning.”
“I do hope that it is not growing worse.” Said the vulture and Sarabi knew that his words would be made true by removing the word not. “I cannot express how dreadfully sorry for leading you here to be cursed by the offering. Had I known that there was anything to those foolish humans’ superstitions, I would never have-”
Sarabi interrupted the vulture’s soulful apology. “What do you mean cursed? You never mentioned a curse before.”
“Well, I just inferred...”
“Inferred, my fat fuzzy rump! First you lead me here and goad me into eating...”
“I did nothing of the sort!”
“Well... you led me here knowing that I’d eat anything that I found.” Said an aggravated Sarabi. Despite the pain she straightened herself up from her slouch. “And now I have this mark on my belly and no answers. What the hell happened this morning?!”
“My queen.” Said the vulture, lowering his head and sweeping his wings, “You may as well as the trees or that rock. They have as many answers as I. I thought I was simply helping you when you were in a poor way without your human caretakers.”
“I never said I had human caretakers!” roared Sarabi, now knowing for sure that this seemingly humble old vulture knew exactly who she was and further more knew how to exploit her. What other secrets could he be hiding?
The vulture’s eyes opened wide in fear and Sarabi saw now that his gesturing was only to allow him to open his wings in preparation for flight. He leaped from the low wall, trying to build up enough speed to carry his heavy body away. Sarabi struck out with a paw and despite lacking reach, managed to slap him on an extended wing. It was enough to knock him off balance and he landed on the floor, immediately hopping away to gather more speed. The pain didn’t matter, her weight and aching joints didn’t matter, all that mattered was getting that bird before he was able to get into the air or else Sarabi would surely be left to her own devices and completely devoid of answers.
Lurching forward and not even standing properly, Sarabi came upon the bird half dragging her belly, but she knew she had him when she was able to get a paw on his feathered back. The vulture squawked, “Unhand me this instant!”
He struggled, flapping his big wings in Sarabi’s face as she pushed herself to get nearer, he was still moving away. Landing heavily on her belly, Sarabi reached out with both forepaws and managed to grab the bird with one paw against his body and the other holding down a wing. The free wing continued to beat repeatedly on the lioness’s face. Sarabi shut her eyes against the dust and dander. The hardest part was simply not crushing him as Sarabi tried to immobilize the recalcitrant bird as he continued with his squawks of indignity and demands for release. Panting after almost losing him several times, Sarabi finally managed to hold the vulture’s wings to his body while maintaining a secure grip between her two paws. The vulture looked up at her with deadly eyes and the lioness made sure to hold him far enough away that she didn’t risk losing one of hers.
“Now... I’ll have some straight talk from you, buzzard...”
[[1. The vulture tells Sarabi about how he knows her]]
2. The Vulture refuses to talk**The Truth (Shalion)**
"I've been nothing but straight with you from the start, M-my queen!" insisted the vulture between Sarabi's paws. That was the first time she'd ever heard him stutter or otherwise be imperfect in his speaking.
After folding down the last wing with which he had been buffeting her face, the vulture had gone very still. The lioness was not convinced he had become passive, though, and held the bird away from her face where she knew he might easily pluck out an eye as fast as blinking. "It's time to drop the act, bird." Sarabi growled, "I've had enough of your eye watching me, and I've certainly had more than enough of your bad advice."
"P-please, I never meant harm to come to you by leading you here, my q-"
"Stop calling my that, you disloyal heap of feathers!" The vulture quickly shut his mouth as Sarabi squeeze. To his credit, the vulture gave no signs of pain. Sarabi relented, but still held the buzzard firmly as she declared. "You will answer my questions starting now. If I hear anymore deflecting quips from you, I shall decide you are worthless to me except as a tasty morsel and devour you on the spot. Is that clear?"
The vulture was silent for a long moment. And then his head dipped in acknowledgement. Some spark or shield over his eyes seemed to die in that moment. Underneath that layer, the vulture's eyes were cold, calculating and as sterile as the gaze of a shark.
Sarabi was not to be intimidated by a 15 lb bird, however. She knew that she held all of the power right now. She'd start with what she knew he knew; what he'd let slip earlier. "How do you know me? You mentioned my caretakers, but I've said nothing of living with humans."
"You came from... the village... I..." The vulture started to squawk out, but Sarabi squeezed him into silence.
"If you mention any more of your 'interments,' I will bite your head off on the spot!" The vulture could only nod and wheeze pathetically. "As I was saying, you can't have known the nature of my confinement, not unless someone told you or you knew to watch. Now what do you know of me and why do you know?"
The vulture swallowed and wheezed. With a bob of his head on his stringy neck, he signaled for Sarabi to reduce the pressure. Taking a big breath and a few moments to recover, the vulture finally looked up at Sarabi's big face and she saw the mask drop away at last as he looked at her levelly. "I will speak only in exchange for my freedom."
The lioness looked at the bird incredulously. He had gall, all right. "You're not in much of a position to be bargaining with me, bird." She punctuated the sentence with a slight extrusion of her sheathed claws. The vulture twitched, but nothing else.
"You... need information." said the vulture, enunciating carefully with the many claws digging into him, "If you eat me... you will never... know... how to find... your friends."
"My friends?!" It was a supreme act of willpower not to crush the bird instantly for hiding so much from her. "What are you talking about? Are there animals from the Pridelands here?"
The vulture swallowed again, the claws were longer involuntarily with Sarabi's excitement. "My... freedom..." the bird squeaked, "Only for.... my freedom."
'Damn him to dust!' cursed Sarabi silently, but the offer of information was too great. Between Sarabi's lack of information and her exceedingly mysterious condition regarding the scar on her belly, the lioness knew that her chances of finding any agents of the Pridelands... perhaps even exiting the jungle, were slim. "For your freedom then..." intoned Sarabi. The promise of a Pridelands lion was not to be taken lightly, however, Sarabi was not sure that she could simply let this slime of the air go, no matter what he told her.
Once the vulture began, he was quick, officious and very thorough. Sarabi was left with little doubt as to the truth of his words. The vulture breathed into the renewed slack of Sarabi's paws and said, "It was about two months ago that birds from the Pridelands blanketed the area around the human capital; you were aware that the 'village' you escaped from was the capital of the humans' nation? At any rate, the whole area was full of birds coming and going, checking with all the animals, searching for a particular lioness said to have been abducted by humans. Of course, penetrating the capital itself was dangerous and getting inside to check each and every building would have been an impossible feat. A certain yappy blue bird seemed insistent that the lioness was taken this way, however. He kept the flock hovering around the edges of the village for a week until the hawks and other predators were drawn to the area and he had to retreat. They found nothing in the end."
"Zazu..." the words were on Sarabi's lips as she was thinking the name.
"What was that?" the vulture quipped.
"Nothing, continue with your story."
The vulture shrugged, "There is not much else to say. They asked everyone for every possible scrap of information relating to a lioness and before they left, they gave a description and asked the local birds to contact the flock if they saw an older lioness who was very obese and went by the name Sarabi. They said that she might appear to be content in the hands of humans, but if anyone were to see her, they were to contact the flock immediately." The lioness felt a twinge in her gut that was not related to her illness, "I didn't give the whole event a second thought until I saw you coming out of the village that night. And you were quite more than just 'obese'"
Sarabi growled, "And why did you not follow your orders?! Why did you lead me into the jungle instead?"
"Orders!" scoffed the vulture, "I am not some servant of the Pridelands, I do not belong to some ancient, officious hierarchy! I and my kind defer to no creature! All come to us in the end, it is an inevitable fact of life. We usher in the sick, the old and the weary into the arms of death itself, we do not bow to you or anyone else!"
Sarabi was disgusted with the creature in her paws. His notions were heresy, and foolish to boot seeing how powerless he was in the paws of a true huntress. But she said, "Answer my question."
The vulture scowled very well with his sharp, down curved beak, "I did not report your presence because I did not think it was in my best interests to do so and nothing more." And now his scowl mutated into an even uglier grin, "You, I might say, were the most beautiful pre-carrion, I'd ever seen in my life." Sarabi's eyes widened despite thinking as much since meeting the bird, "You seemed on death's door and as is my way, I do my best to comfort and aid those passing out of the world of life."
"Lies!" Sarabi could not keep the outburst in.
"It is the truth. I swear on the most Holy Breezes, I wished only to help. Is mere flesh too high a price to pay for comfort in one's final moments?" His eyes turned up to her again, "And I stand by my prognosis, no matter what. You are not long for the world, Lioness." The vulture's beak jabbed upwards, "There, I have told what I know, now release me or be cursed as a liar in addition to your cursed mark!"
[[1. Ask him about the tribal offering]]
[[2. Eat him]]**Keeping One's Word (Shalion)**
Sarabi was trembling with anger towards the traitorous vulture she held in her paws. All she had to do was press down with her formidable weight and he would become nothing more than a stain on the ancient stones...
But she had given him her word. The Vulture had honored his end of the bargain and it would have been criminal to retract on what she now owed him. Still the act rankled and Sarabi found herself hesitating for far too long after the vulture had stopped talking. She could see the panic in the bird’s eyes, the rampant fear. For one who spent so much time rambling about the nature of death, Sarabi thought it was ironic that he should be so frightened by the prospect of his own demise. The lioness was offended that the bird would think that she would not keep her word, despite how very close she had, in fact, come to ending his misbegotten life. Sarabi snarled and the Vulture closed his eyes, bracing himself for the end.
Sarabi moved her paw and dashed the Vulture across the rough hewn stones of the courtyard. The buzzard tumbled head over feet, losing many feathers in the process, but he was alive. The lioness turned herself a bit towards the direction she’d sent him sprawling and let out her anger in a massive roar that shook dust from the vine choked arches. Bruised and battered for the interrogation and rude dismissal, the Vulture nevertheless made a hasty departure, hopping across the ground before taking flight.
“If I ever see your feathery rear again, it’ll be supper!” Sarabi called after the Vulture. If the bird had a response for her, he was already too far away for Sarabi to hear it.
Sarabi felt herself slump to the ground, her chin on the stone and her belly spread out to either side, elevating her hips from the ground. Then she felt the exhaustion overtake her; the act of catching the vulture and the subsequent questioning had left her drained of her minimal reserves. The lioness fell into an uneasy doze.
Waking from her nap a short time later, Sarabi found that the afternoon had progressed into twilight. The noise of the jungle was subdued as the day shift turned in and the night birds awakened. The ruins where Sarabi had found her “cursed” feast seemed as dead as the humans who had built it. The lioness was not frightened of “ghosts” or any such human nonsense, but the way the shadows spread and creeped upon the stone from the unnatural rigid shapes of the spires and walkways make her spine tingle in an uncomfortable way. Still feeling queasy, Sarabi ratcheted her heavy body up off the ground and slowly waddled out of the courtyard.
Sarabi sat when she reached the end of the stone path which extended from the ruins about four or five body lengths into the jungle and then sank into the black soil. She had no clue about where to go.
[[1. Sarabi wanders into the jungle]]
2. Sarabi decides to stay at the ruins for a while longer**Eat The Vulture (Beb0p)**
Sarabi's breath caught in her throat as she decided what she had to do. The vulture was clearly not going to help her anymore and had already betrayed her trust.
She didn't gloat, nor did she make any pithy remark. She simply opened her jaws and with a swipe of her paw the vulture was in her mouth. She didn't even bother to chew, instead just swallowing with all her might. She could feel the squirming vulture as it moved slowly down her throat - making her eyes water - and then a slight sense of relief as he hit her belly.
She could feel him in there, prodding her with his beak. She ignored him, and his pleas for mercy. She also noticed that she felt...strangely satisfied. As though some sort of craving had been fulfilled.
Five minutes pass and the struggles and squawks of the vulture were now a thing of the past. Sarabi looks around herself, now truly alone for the first time since entering the jungle.
[[1. Sarabi heads out of the jungle]]
2. Sarabi tries to find the jungle tribe**Back To The Savannah (Shalion)**
Sarabi looked around the empty courtyard that now seemed strangely devoid of life. The slight aching of her throat was the only remaining evidence of the existence of the buzzard who had led her to this forsaken place. Why did I do that? she thought as she placed a paw on her middle where the vulture would now lay beneath a layer of blubber feet thick.
The urge had come on her suddenly and she'd had the vulture halfway down before even thinking about it. It had been like she couldn't get him down fast enough. Swallowing the vulture hadn't done anything to help her stomach issues, but strangely hadn't provoked them either. The lioness seemed to be suffering now from a persistent, low grade stomach flu. Easily manageable by a seasoned huntress. What wasn't quite as manageable was the fact that she was over 1200 lbs and deep in a foreign jungle she knew nothing about.
But then hope seized her bloated form, The birds! Sarabi thought joyfully, recalling the vulture's final testament. If the vulture was to contact the flock if he saw anything, then they must have left a contact in the area somewhere. If I could just get back to the savanna... Huffing, Sarabi walked her heavy form up to a sitting position and then strained with her shoulders and hips until she was on her feet again for the first time in hours. Her meal sat heavily inside her, making her torpid and slow, but Sarabi was determined to make some progress tonight. She still didn't know a thing about the mark on her belly, but really, what could she do about it anyways. If she was to die, then let it be trying her best to get home to her family. The rotund feline walked wearily back out of the entrance to the courtyard where she had entered that morning and into the jungle night. It seemed darker without an extra set of eyes watching out for her.
1. Sarabi heads generally back towards the savanna
2. Sarabi winds up at the banks of the Nogongo**Wandering (Shalion)**
Sarabi stared out into the jungle for a long time as she sat on the rough stones of the archway leading into the cursed and forgotten courtyard. The ankh shaped burn on her engorged tummy hurt and the feast locked up inside her still churned uneasily, though no longer painfully. Outside the ruins, birds sang in the early evening, bugs flitted to and fro, tiny lights dancing between the trees. The canopy far above even the tall towers of the ruins swayed gently in a breeze that was non-existent on the ground. The air was still warm and clammy.
The fattened lioness sighed. She felt like she had been making a lot of mistakes lately. Listening to that buzzard had been the biggest one of all. She put a paw to the side of her tummy, which was as far as she could reach, so big it was. ‘What was going to happen to me?’ she wondered. ‘How will I ever get home?’ The Jungle did not have an answer for her. Nevertheless, Sarabi knew that wherever an answer lay, it was not behind her. She struggled to her paws and began to waddle out into the jungle.
Her belly rocked back and forth as she waddled over the uneven ground. Sarabi panted in the night, the trees close about her large body. If it had been up to her, she’d have stayed on the savanna, it was harder moving through the dense jungle. Sarabi had to make a detour when she encountered a huge fallen tree. She made another when the trees were growing too close together to let her wide flanks through. And yet another when she sank to her chest in a hidden patch of quicksand; thankfully, she was so wide and buoyant, she didn’t have much trouble getting out. She was worn out by the end of an hour and she felt like she hardly made any distance.
She sat with her pudgy back to the smooth trunk of a tree which was choked with vines. She panted briskly, her brisket heaving and her belly slapping against a protruding root. It was going to be difficult to escape the jungle. Thoughts of the Pridelands threatened to consume her then, but Sarabi forced them away. ‘One step at a time,’ She thought, ‘Just focus on getting out of the jungle for now. How large could it be?’
When she got up, her paws were still hurting, but at least she’d managed to catch her breath. The weight of her meal remained strangely tangible inside of her - like a huge, hard lump in her abdomen - as she continued her journey. She made it almost another hour before she had to sit. By now, she’d made so many turns around obstacles, even her natural sense of direction was strained. She was lost. She lifted a paw in the air and twisted it at the ankle. It was sore for taking her massive weight and walking on the uneven, frequently soft soil. She did the same for the three other paws and got up again. Three-quarters of an hour, then she needed a longer break. Her hips were bothering the morbidly obese cat. Her huge belly and bloated hindquarters were where she carried much of her incredible weight.
During this time, she’d encountered few other animals. Most shied away from her because of her size. Night was the hunting time for many predators. Luckily, none of the other nocturnal hunters, save perhaps a leopard, rivaled her in size... well, actually, none would rival Sarabi specifically in size, but because of her severe handicap, Sarabi was still thankful she had not run into a leopard yet.
Her belly let out a rumbling, groaning sound that was very unpleasant and suddenly Sarabi had a bout of very bad gas. She bent over her tummy, squeezing with her paws until it passed. Something very wrong was going on inside the vast warehouse of her abdomen. And there seemed nothing at all that she could do about it. She got up, ratcheting her heavy, round quivering body up onto her sore muscles and joints. She treaded on.
The night passed slowly, agonizingly slowly, with Sarabi walking and taking breaks, though less of the former and more of the latter as time wore on. The jungle always looked the same. Tall trees surrounding her, so close it was almost like she was in a human’s hut. She walked on roots as much as she walked on mud. She was filthy, tired, sore and miserable. And still her stomach churned maddeningly, ceaselessly gnawing on her ill gotten feast.
Dawn finally came to the jungle. Sarabi, surprisingly, was on her feet. She was sloshing through a dead patch of jungle, the plants black, rotted and waterlogged where the water had risen too high and drowned them. She had wanted to go around, but the trees blocked her path, only in this direction did the jungle seem to open up a little more. She was very sleepy and exhausted, but there was no place to rest. She certainly couldn’t climb a tree. It took a little while to realize that the sun had risen with the density of the jungle around her. Sarabi was climbing out of the water onto something like a sandbar, but it was more like a mud-bar. Her paws sank in deeply and left pools as she moved, the plants here were black and dead just like the others. She collapsed with a wet slap and on a whim turned her head to the east. The moment she saw the light of the sun, the birth of a new day, the ankh on her belly burned with red hot intensity, as if a hot metal were being pressed once again to her flesh. Sarabi screamed, and then promptly lost consciousness.
-------
When she awoke, the first thing she noticed was that it was midday, the sun was shining down on her through a gap in the canopy. The second thing was...
[[1. ...that she was surrounded by fresh green plants]]
2. ...that there was someone watching her**New Life (Shalion)**
The grass grew in long, wide blades that were so tall that they completely obscured even Sarabi’s more than generous form. A frog croaked and flies buzzed in the background. The water around the prone feline was hardly visible for the thick growth of lily pads and rich, pink flowers. It was certainly a far cry from the blackened, drowned jungle that she remembered of just a few hours ago.
Sarabi held her head in her paws. She had a splitting headache and her heart was beating too fast again, refusing to slow down. Far from restful, her “fit” left her drained, feeling like she’d been recently running after a swift antelope (well, how she remembered feeling back in her hunting days). She lay in the rushes feeling weak for a long time, acutely aware of the massive quantities of flesh weighing her down. She wasn’t so preoccupied that she didn’t appreciate the extreme strangeness of the sudden appearance of green growth, however.
Was it possible that she had been asleep longer than a few hours? It didn’t seem likely. Nothing lay for very long in the jungle that was not soon made someone else’s dinner. But who could say for sure? The symbol burned onto her belly threatened to change all the rules. “Curse that vulture.” Thought Sarabi as she lay miserable and wet on the green sandbar, “Curse those ruins and the humans who built them. Curse their gods too!”
Her gut rumbled then, and Sarabi squeezed her eyes shut as a wave of nausea washed over her. She let her head fall until her chin rested on the mud and curled her paws. The bout was severe but brief. The fattened lioness wished she had at least a little understanding of what was happening.
As Sarabi was steeling herself for getting up and continuing her wandering, a pair of monkeys chose that moment to tumble down into the grass from the unseen heights. They rolled and laughed, chasing each other’s tails. The tussle lasted a few brief moments, then the male emerged on top and began mating with his female partner. Sarabi watched with wide eyes at the scene of strange behavior. She’d never known monkeys, especially ones as small as them, to take such a big risk doing that on the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she also saw, there in the water, a couple turtles copulating as well. Right next to the two reptiles, there was a cloud of white as a large fish fertilized a collection of eggs near an identical fish. What in the name of the Circle is going on here? thought Sarabi frantically.
However, Sarabi was almost immediately ensnared with another, more pressing concern. It’d been over 18 hours since she’d last eaten, if her reckoning of time was in any way accurate. The feast of yesterday evening was still sitting inside her like an indigestible wad, but even the mild nausea it caused was not enough to bury the desire for fresh meat. More than the very real hunger she felt, the urge, the compulsion to eat was ingrained into the feline as were the eating habits she’d developed over the last year. Sarabi licked her chops as she slowly turned her head back to the lustful and unwary monkeys. All it took was a single swipe of a claw the moment they rolled too close.
The pair were only a couple bites each, the meat sliding in around the stubborn mass she still felt inside her. For dessert, she cracked a large turtle in her jaws while the other struggled helplessly where she had overturned it in the grass. Sarabi belched afterwards, the turtles had been more work, but they’d had a lot more meat on them. The corpulent lioness rested for a short time after eating, still there were odd workings of which she knew nothing going on inside the vast cavity she’d built out of her stomach with the months of reckless gluttony. When the sky was beginning to pinken overhead, she decided it was time to leave. However, as she got up, Sarabi was startled to find that...
[[1. She'd lost a considerable amount of weight]]
2. There was someone watching her**Revival (Shalion)**
She noticed it first in the shape of the belly between her legs. She’d grown accustomed to the firm, yet yielding surface of the heavy sac which pressed outwards against the inside of her hindlegs. The pressure was greatly decreased, though she could still feel the skin hanging about the same level, just below the knees, as before. Next, as she was ratcheting up her bulk, step by step, she noticed the difference in weight. She didn’t have to work quite as hard as she remembered. It was a relief at first, and Sarabi was keen on any sort of relief at this point, but it didn’t take long to realize that something was different.
Standing, she sunk to her ankles in the mud and grass. Turning her head, it was hard to see with the green rising around her, but just the feel of her neck rolls told her what she needed to know. She’d lost weight. And not just a little weight either. She was used to her flanks protruding bovine-like out to the sides. They still did now, but not to quite the extent that they had before her “nap” this morning. However the corpulent feline remained massive for her stature. By her best estimation, she had been over three and a half lionesses when she’d abandoned her humans. Now, judging by the feel of the weight on her paws, Sarabi felt comfortable in guessing she now wore three lioness’s worth of weight on her frame, though that was, perhaps a little generous. However, the missing weight had not meant any reduction in the quantities of hide she now possessed. The tawny coated skin hung in folds around her cellulitic shoulders. Her copious neck rolls hung deep as before, though they were less wide and less full now. Her brisket hung lower now, if anything and swung more freely. But the greatest change was on her undercarriage where she could feel the skin hanging from chest to crotch where once it had been tight and straining over her rapid gains with stretch marks red and livid crisscrossing its surface like a spider’s web.
Sarabi was so taken aback by the change that she faltered and fell on her still-wide rump. She panted, feeling a little dizzy. Where her paws touched her many folds, they were softer now than ever and by her ability to encompass her girth with them, she could detect her reduced dimensions. Needless to say, Sarabi was even more shocked at this discovery than at the odd animal behavior and still unexplained plant growth. She was so stunned, her mind remained a blank for a long while. All she could think was that she was somehow imagining all of this. How can any of this be possible? The ankh pulsated on her belly with the same rhythm as her heartbeat.
Sarabi got up again, using a slightly smoother method that she had used when she’d been lighter. Her joints creaked, but the pads on her feet were not hurting, not immediately. She didn’t know how to feel about this new development. The strong part of her, the Sarabi who spoke the loudest cried out against the loss of what she had “worked” so long and hard for to achieve. I had the perfect feminine body! That Sarabi shrieked, I’m wasting away now! However, the less emotional side of Sarabi, the part that was growing stronger since she’d come to the wild was more positive. My feet don’t hurt so much now. It stated, I bet I can make twice the distance tonight as last. If I lost some more weight, perhaps getting back to the Pridelands might be possible after all.
But what good is getting back to the Pridelands if I’m the same as when I left? thought the first Sarabi.
The more-than-a-little hefty feline fondled the sac of limp flesh hanging from her chest with the consistency of jelly. Both sides of her agreed that whatever happened, she was not going to be the same cat as when she left. Sarabi suddenly belched again. She tasted lily petals.
Wading out into the water with a little extra vigor now that she had dropped about 200 lbs, Sarabi found herself waddling with less sway and more forward momentum now that her frame was not quite so bowed out with excess pounds; there was a little more room for her hind legs to move forward as she swung her belly left and right in time with her steps. It was lighter now and could swing a little faster as well. However, the low hanging ribbon of flesh proved disconcerting for Sarabi as she moved. She could feel it moving independently like a remora of semi-liquid goat cheese on her undercarriage where before it had been only broad and smooth. It was ignorable in the water, but once she climbed out, the effect was much more pronounced. It wasn’t a very unpleasant experience - though it was annoying when it would unexpectedly slam into a knee or the back of a foreleg - but it was new. Her shoulder fat, now melting around her elbows was also a bother as well as its new lower threshold for jiggling as she walked. The folds of skin around her head, neck and shoulders seemed to mutate as she walked, once permanent valleys inverting and stacking on top of new creases. Even her cheeks wobbled around her jaw a little. Sarabi wasn’t completely sure that the sensations of all the extra skin was worth the extra aches and pains of the lost fat, but she did know that the extra skin was an annoyance rather than a benefit in and of itself. The lioness wasn’t used to being this aware of herself as she jiggled and shook through the swampy part of the jungle.
Sarabi paused when she was about 12 body lengths away from where she’d been sleeping. The lily pads abruptly stopped and the black, rotting jungle plants resumed in a clear line. Looking left and right, the queen saw that the line of living stuff curved back away from her. In her mind’s eye, Sarabi could clearly see a green circle of living plants and animals in a broad circle around where she had strangely passed out. Around where the ankh on her tummy had made her pass out when she looked upon the new day. Something clicked in the lioness’s mind then. It was as if she had plucked a puzzle piece out of the mud for the first time. She had something solid to grasp onto, even if she couldn’t see the whole picture yet. She had caused this sudden bloom of life in the dead section of jungle. Somehow, someway, while she had been unconscious, life had sprung into being around her, spreading out in all directions from where she lay slumbering. Batting at the low hanging flab dangling under her chest, it was not hard to guess where that extra “life” had come from. Sarabi, if anything, had nutrition and sustenance in abundance.
She tried to feel resentful that her “life” had been taken from her without consent, but looking on this oasis of green water plants thriving where the other jungle flora had blackened and died, it was impossible to do so. This place had dearly needed a boost in growth, and she knew without a doubt that these plants would grow and spread until this swampy area was just as lush and bountiful as the rest of the jungle. If Sarabi had to give up some of her precious flab, she couldn’t think of a better way in which it could have been used. With her tail swishing merrily side to side, the plump lioness waded out of the not-so-dead marsh and back onto higher ground.
[[1. Sarabi feels fitter as she walks]]
2. Sarabi resents the lost weight**Better Or Worse? (Shalion)**
She started her march early, eager to escape the mud and the damp of the marsh. Sarabi made the most of her decreased weight and resulting stamina as she waddled in and out of the water while making a winding path where she could fit between the towering trees. Despite the fact that she had still had a long way to go to make up the loss in muscle mass she’d experienced while her leg had been broken, the lioness found that she took pleasure in her increased ability to stay on her feet and walk; not to mention that now that she was not quite so wide as before, she had new paths available to her in the dense jungle (not that moving around was at all easy still). At just under half a ton for the first time in months, Sarabi felt almost transformed into an athlete, compared to where she had been less than a day ago. Vaguely, as she waddled, swinging her bulk side to side, she wondered what it might feel like if she were to lose the greater part of another lioness. The memories she had of chasing antelope and buffalo on the savanna were as if they belonged to another cat, another life, irrelevant to her recent experiences.
Sarabi spat into the water at her side. Idle fancies, nothing more. She said to herself. I left that part of my life behind for something better. I deserve what I fought and suffered for. And ‘suffer’ largely described a lot of Sarabi’s life nowadays. Despite the fact that she had dropped two-thirds of a lioness’s weight, she was still morbidly obese and terribly out of shape. Sarabi managed to walk for a full three hours and collapses on dry ground –blessedly dry! – at the end of the marsh shortly after dusk had fallen over the jungle. However, she could tell that she had over exerted herself. Her hips complained at her treatment, aching like they had stones caught in them. It was the same story for her wrists – which had taken a lot of twisting as she’d felt her way through the mud – and the pads of all her feet. On the bright side, however, as she rested, she realized that her stomach issues were largely gone. The boulder that had sat in her stomach for the majority of a day had passed down lower at long last. Sarabi wondered with a desire that leveled on frantic if all this strangeness might be gone once she passed her stolen feast. However the pragmatic side of her reminded her of the symbol burned into the skin of her tummy, just above the deep navel; that wouldn’t pass as easily as an extra large meal. The only drawback was that with the bolus no longer sitting stubbornly in her stomach chamber, the lioness felt the old, familiar hunger return. She’d eaten only a couple hours ago, but over the course of her “typical” day, it had actually been very little. Unbidden, Sarabi’s thoughts bent towards finding more food, anything to keep that unwanted sensation of hunger at bay.
After spending more than an hour recovering, Sarabi hauled herself to her feet again and waddled into the jungle night. She had become hopelessly lost while in the marsh –not that she knew where she was going before - but for now, she was just glad to be out of there. The more distance she put between herself and that stinking mud hole, the better. The large cat remained filthy, but as the cool night air slowly dried her, the caked on mud cracked and chipped off bit by bit as she moved ahead, always ahead. Able to pick up a bit more speed than before – Sarabi actually had a lot more muscle mass now than the last time she’d weighed three lionesses – she actually found herself warming her muscles and gently increasing her heart rate as she breathed heavier. Before, she had always quit walking when the cramping and the pain became too much to bear. This was still the case now, but the speed at which she was able to walk actually gave her a bit of real exercise whereas before she had moved so encumbered and so slowly that she never really worked up a sweat. Still, the vain part of her, and that was a big part, mourned the lost flesh and the damage it had wrecked on her figure in terms of the loose, hanging skin.
So it was that when Sarabi set down the second time that night, she was well winded, her heart pumping strongly in her chest. Her hip was the reason she had sit down again, but beyond that, she actually felt pretty good in a different new, but familiar way. Her tongue danced and wavered where it hung out in the lightly moving air. She took in her surroundings as she waited for the pain to wash away from her joints. The trees rising around her looked the same as ever. The noise from the canopy far above loud as ever. She could only see two body lengths at the most in any given direction for the trees. There was supposed to be a mountain somewhere in the area, but she could not locate it, the canopy was a flawless blanket covering the sky. Sarabi frowned. How was she ever to find her way out of here? She might die an old jungle cat (or at least an old-er jungle cat, she thought sadly). Did no one care for the plight of a lost queen of the savanna? The fact that she had not seen a single animal willing to approach her – excluding love crazed beasts – hinted that this was the case.
Sarabi let her forelegs slide forward, carrying her down to a soft, liquid feeling as her chest collided with the ground. Her shoulder fat sagged down until it gathered on the ground, completely obscuring her elbows on either side. Her flanks too had lost a lot of roundness as well, the skin bunching like a pancake where it met the ground. The extra hide was certainly something she could do without, but alas, she was far too old to retain that former elasticity which was so useful after a pregnancy. Seeing as she had been awake since noon, the lioness decided to take a nap to refresh herself before thinking about how to escape this place. She would not awaken until after the sun had risen well into the morning sky.
[[1. Sarabi dreams of the ankh]]
2. something disturbs her rest**The Ankh (Shalion)**
Sarabi was in a dark place. She could see nothing, but she felt her paws on the ground. But that heavy, comfortable weight was gone. Instead, she felt like a lioness who she had almost forgotten about, one who would run on the savanna just for the fun of it. She knew she was dreaming, so Sarabi ran, happy to indulge in the memory of what it was to run. Her footsteps echoed in the endless dark as she darted swiftly, feeling cool tasteless air in her lungs. She panted happily, gallivanting about the plain – if it was, in fact, a plain – like a lioness a third of her age. It was good to remember, but the old longing remained and Sarabi was happy that she knew what was waiting for her when she would eventually awaken. A light in the distance. With nothing better to do, Sarabi ran towards it with all the speed she could muster out of her strong, lithe muscles.
The shining dot lay on the distant horizon, but it didn’t matter, Sarabi ran and ran. Slowly, the glowing dot enlarged. Over time, however, the feeling of the running changed. Sarabi wasn’t tireless anymore, fatigue began to grow in her muscles, so she slowed to a trot. Her thighs started to rub, and she began to feel the impact of each step in the round drum her belly had become. Sarabi began to jog, but strangely the light continued to grow closer at the same rate. The lioness was walking now, but by then, her belly had grown into a gut that hung lower than her chest. Her spine began to bend downwards under the weight as her shoulder fat rippled and folded. Sarabi’s neck thickened and formed a roll at the base of her neck, then another. Her tail head thickened, becoming a shelf that extended past her buttocks, devouring her tail as it went. The skin on her belly retreated, leaving the pink skin visible underneath, the bright red stretch marks lined up like sand dunes as the skin strained to contain Sarabi’s expanding form. Sarabi was getting out of breath now, her heart rate still increasing, she couldn’t walk any slower. Her belly, now knocking about her knees forced her to waddle. Her flanks grew wider, heavier and harder to shift back and forth with each step. Every pound added to her body bent her frame out a little more, increasing the inefficiency of her stride until Sarabi felt like she was bungling against her own body.
All this time, the point of light grew, in fact it seemed to enlarge faster the more the lioness slowed down. It was a star, then a firefly, then a lamp. What is that thing? Sarabi wondered as the pounds piled onto her body, not in an unpleasant way, though it seemed inconvenient given what she could experience in waking life. Then she saw it. The glowing symbol. “The Key of Life” the gods’ magic cross. The Ankh. It was rushing towards her, basking Sarabi in its light. It was warm on her soft, round cheek, hot even. The Ankh was on fire.
With painful slowness, Sarabi turned away from the burning symbol. Her knee jammed into a belly that was dense and firm with fresh fat under taut skin. Her stretch marks ached across her belly, rump and shoulders. Stumbling, Sarabi realized her center of gravity had shrunk to a pencil length. It took everything she had learned about her fat body to keep from falling painfully onto her face. By the time she had turned tail, the heat from the fiery ankh had grown uncomfortably hot. Her rump shelf started to burn. Still she was piling on the pounds, she could feel them coming as the Ankh’s light shone on her, exuding its too-intense energy. She was as fat as she was yesterday and she sped by her old record, heading towards that fourth lioness. Sarabi’s heart felt like it was going to explode in her chest and she panted, it was like an oven now, worse than any summer she remembered. Smooth round planes replaced some of the creases on her shoulders and the savanna cat grew an extra chin as well as an extra roll behind her ears; they were so tight now that it was really hard to just lift her head out. Her stretch marks burned as her belly dropped lower than she had ever known, her flanks wider to each side, almost matching its growth. Her belly was so large now that even swinging it back and forth gave hardly enough room to move her hindlegs forward. She was bowlegged and struggling to discover a new rhythm for waddling as she finally quadrupled her natural weight and added a little extra to spare.
The Fire Ankh stood like a monolith high over Sarabi. The heat forced her to the ground at last. She couldn’t even turn her head enough to face it, but she knew what it looked like nonetheless. She prayed she would burn up in an instant rather than be set aflame. When it touched her body, she screamed...
...And found the warm air of the daytime jungle around her. Sarabi gasped for breath, her heart racing uncomfortably in her chest. She felt the huge curtain of neck fat draping heavily onto her full, round brisket and knew. It took a really long time to catch her breath and her heart despite slowing, settled at a slightly higher rate than she remembered. She pinched her foreleg just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. The skin was tight and bulging, rounder around than she remembered. Shifting her weight, she winced, not only at the effort required, but at the pain across the skin of her expansive belly, the stretch marks burning up and down the extra tight, extra round abdomen. Sarabi knew without a doubt that she had broken four lionesses by a wide margin. She was fatter than she’d ever been...
1. Sarabi appreciates the change
[[2. Sarabi thinks she's finally too fat]]**Four Lions? Don't Think So (Shalion)**
Sarabi moaned softly where she lay between two towering jungle trees. She was very sore with the skin on her belly, chest and shoulders tender to the touch with stretch marks as well as a general achiness and fatigue that pervaded throughout her entire body. Her head was spinning with the extreme supernatural yo-yoing in her weight. It was beyond imagining what was happening to her, and Sarabi had only the barest grasp on what was happening to her. And yet here she was and there was no denying that the weight she felt on her chest and the size of her newly grown belly belonged to a cat who was large enough for over four lionesses. It probably wouldn’t have been such a shock if she hadn’t spent yesterday as a significantly lighter – though still morbidly obese – feline. As she lay on the ground, trying to take this all in, she gradually acclimated to the signals she was receiving from her newly modified body.
The biggest difference was in the skin. In the twelve hours or so she’d been unconscious, she’d gone from carrying annoyingly loose folds to uncomfortably tight and brimming curves. The bright red stretch marks ached where they spanned all across her tummy – most of her abdomen really – and the other areas of high expansion such as her brisket, shoulders and back. They welled up from the surface of the pink skin, indicating the stress the skin was under, forced to cover a greater volume than it was built for. Her tummy was bifurcated from crotch to navel, supported by the ligament deep inside, the gut to either side of the divide gushed forward liberally, submerging the right leg all the way to the ankle, in fact. The rows of nipples, well used in the past were far from parallel anymore, they bowed out at the sides, the shape so distorted, it would actually appear as an oval were Sarabi to lay on her back. How she knew these things, however, she couldn’t quite say. The vast majority of her body lay in a shadowy nether that she experienced primarily by touch. She couldn’t reach around her middle with a paw any more than she could lick her privates. In fact, she found that the range of motion in all four paws was more limited by the congesting flab than she had ever before experienced, even her tail was deeply buried, the growing shelf of tail head fat had extended so much that it not only covered her anus, but her sex fully as well.
The cat took in a deep breath and found her lung capacity tangibly reduced with her sudden growth from almost three lionesses to over four. She tried to lift her head, but quickly found the effort not worth the trouble. Fat bulged around all sides of her head, her cheeks round, plump and slightly sagging. She could feel the first of the hot dog rolls behind her head touching her ears. As she breathed, she could feel the great roundness of her flank rising from the ground in a massive dome overshadowing her head where it rest on the ground. She felt extremely heavy.
So heavy in fact, that it took an hour before she was compelled to move due to sheer boredom. She couldn’t just sit there, no matter what had happened. Her destiny lay in her paws. Besides, she consoled herself as she steeled her fortitude for the coming effort, had I stayed with the humans for another couple months, this is exactly how I would have turned out.
As she started to move, however, Sarabi became uncertain that four plus lionesses was the goal she had been working towards while she’d been in captivity. Just as having lost less than a whole lioness before had had a massive impact on the way Sarabi had been able to move and function in general, adding a similar amount in the other direction had a similar impact in the scale of things. The feline spent a lot of energy just rolling over and it was uncomfortable and painful as well. Every sharp or uneven bit in the ground under her was like a dagger when it pressed against a sensitive stretch mark, which unfortunately rolled over Sarabi’s belly by the hundred. She sighed. It’s going to take weeks to grow into this size. She thought as she gingerly touched her flank with a paw. But then she remembered how she had suddenly dropped so much weight the previous day. It was possible that she wouldn’t have to...
But Sarabi focused on the present, on the things she could control. She might lose weight, yes, but then she might not, she might gain even more! Regardless, it was beyond her control at the moment, so she refused to think about it. Just get to your feet, Sarabi. She thought to herself, though the ideas lingered in the back of her mind. Is this nice? Is this beautiful? Should I try for less, or can I handle more? She grunted, wiggling her free limbs and pushing against the ground with her buried ones, trying to get onto her belly. But it wasn’t just so simple. She’d first noticed the problem with her depth at three and a half lioness, but it was exacerbated at over four. Not only did she need to rotate her torso, she needed to lift herself up onto her deep and expansive belly. That was extremely awkward given the angle of her legs, their limited mobility and strength and... the staggering weight of her entire body. She soon realized she lacked the strength to do it in one motion. Her only recourse was to rock back and forth until she eventually gathered enough momentum to get up onto her mattress of a belly. And that’s what she did, throwing her shoulders and hips into the effort. It helped immensely that her skin was so tight that she did not slide around in her flab too much.
She took a deep breath when she succeeded. Her gut was so wide and deep that her hindlegs sat splayed on its surface, knees fully supported as they had been before, but ankles now as well. Lying naturally, she could only touch the ground with the backs of her paws unless she tilted to one side or the other, she could even rest them fully on her belly if she lifted them a little and squeezed her gut with her knees slightly. Her elbows were no longer touching the ground either, she rested her weight mainly on her wide chest now, her elbows – which were covered completely by smooth, bulging rolls of shoulder meat – rested on new chest flab; or perhaps brisket, Sarabi was no longer sure where one started and the other ended. How wide her flanks spread, it was impossible to say, though she felt tree roots cupping the ends of each though she thought she was a fair distance from either tree. Her head was the only part that was more comfortable than before – save perhaps her elbows on their soft cushion of fat – a swath of meaty neck rolls layered down from a chin that was no longer the furthest protruding one. In fact, like stairs, the chins, five in all, fell away in an increasing length until they came to rest on the round, heavy bulk of brisket which supported the column and was smushed between the ground and the weight of neck meat above. A ruff surrounded Sarabi’s head that was so thick that she could feel it welling behind her fat cheeks, only two or three rolls existed on the side, spare tires formed by how ever much she was able to turn her head now. Crowning this was the tightly packed rolls behind her head that prevented her from looking up very much. They were bulging forward so much now, she could feel the first one against her ears even at rest. As for the shoulders, they had plumped from a wrinkly mass of formless cellulite to shifting tectonic plates in the wake of her new expansion. Round, curved planes of tawny coated flesh and large heavy sacs with stable creases where there was movement were the rule now. Working at absorbing her forelegs into her torso, it was clear where the lines emerged in the fat piling around them, designating specific, low hanging sacs, rising up into the shoulder fat eventually where they smoothed and erased where the fat grew even thicker.
Sarabi had a lot of time to gather this information as she lay on her gut, occasionally swaying to set her flab in motion, to better feel it. She’d dawdled most of the day, in fact, deductively examining what she could feel of her new contours. Superficially, it was pleasing and she thought that theoretically, she would enjoy this new, even greater size... but even though Sarabi thought that she liked what she looked like, or would look like could she have seen herself, she felt uncomfortable.
It was all, so much. She didn’t say too much, not yet, but it was a lot of flab to deal with. Sarabi wasn’t sure if she liked the sensation. Of course she was uncomfortable with her stretch marks, but she’d grow into her size with time. She was tentative to admit to herself that she liked what four lionesses felt like, even though she really wanted to embrace it in her heart. She hadn’t even tried to get up yet, and she felt like the world was retreating from her, however. Her fat had become a buffer between her and the world around her, and frankly, as much as Sarabi loved herself and loved her body, her fat alone wasn’t enough reality for her by itself, it couldn’t satisfy her completely, and now it seemed it was going to get in the way of the things she needed.
As she started to force her way up, she became sure. She didn't want to spend her remaining years as four plus lionesses. However, at the moment, there seemed little choice but to deal with her weight as it was and pray to the Circle that she did not become any larger.
[[1. Sarabi manages to waddle a short way]]
2. something interrupts her before she can get up**Slowed Pace (Shalion)**
She tried to see the majesty in this, the beauty that had shone so easily before. Her narcissism encouraged her to take the recent changes in with stride, incorporate them into her mental image of herself and embrace the new load of extra Sarabi. But it was hard to see anything good about how she felt now as she busied herself working around her vastly expanded body. Sarabi was sitting up now and that felt like a triumph in itself despite the fact that it was barely a tenth of the way towards the goal of actually standing.
The day was lengthening beyond the boughs of the jungle around her. She had wasted so many hours, first tentatively and excitedly exploring her new shape and then discovering the hard way that she’d been pushed back physically to standards bordering infantile. With the quantities of heavy flesh swaddling her, drowning her limbs, it had become difficult to do much of anything really. Perhaps if she were on Pride Rock and had a couple of willing lionesses to care for her needs and perform simple tasks for her, she wouldn’t have minded so much, but she was not on Pride Rock. She was lost and alone in a strange jungle and despite the fact that she was the largest sort of beast she could expect to find in this place, her soft rolls constantly reminded her of her exquisite vulnerability.
The corpulent lioness sat awkwardly. She was hunched over, her forelegs jutting out in front of her. The limbs, though fattened themselves appeared sticklike in comparison to the flab surrounding them and covering them to a large extent. Sarabi had lost half of their length, the shoulder fat devoured them to the elbow both in front and behind, in fact, sagging a good ways behind her elbow. With the belly pressing up from below, it was indeed a challenge to get much mobility from her shoulders. Despite how her legs reached forward, they pressed hard into the dense fat of her belly, it was impossible to get them any closer to her body and therefore to lift herself any higher. She slouched with a bad posture and the worst of it was that her hips were still turned to the side, letting the majority of her seemingly endless supply of belly fat flow out to the left. She was left with the quandary of actually getting to her feet.
Before, she had begun by turning her hips to the front, forcing her belly between her legs so she could use both hind legs in pushing herself up. That wasn’t going to work anymore. Her gut was far too large, she could feel it draping heavily on the ground and was anxious that that weight would have to be supported by her four measly paws. Sarabi decided to try three-legging it. Leaning forward, she twisted to the right, pulling with her extended forelegs and pushing up with just her left leg, the right being pinned since she was sitting on her thigh. Flesh pulled against the ground, she felt as her belly moved... but it was too much weight. She shrank back, panting a little. She wasn’t strong enough. Sarabi tried a couple of variations, trying this way and that, but her balance was terrible in addition to all the weight. She did manage to get up once jostling and forcing her way forward, but she couldn’t get her right leg out in time. She overcorrected and her wide bovine flank pulled her down. She yelped with the trauma to her stretch marks. She felt like a ripe grapefruit smacking the ground.
She grew tired of the effort in short succession. If only she had a little help... And then it struck her to lean against something. There were certainly plenty of trees around. Sarabi had grown used to the sensation of dragging her belly over the ground, but right now it was hurting a lot more than she was used to and also, the effort, despite the fact that she had only put on an additional 200 lbs or so from her former – former – weight, was exponentially greater. It was because she was lifted up from the ground more. It was only a few inches, but those were a few inches of lost leverage where she desperately needed it and her torso now dragged across a much wider area as well. It was an ordeal to even get her side up against a tree trunk. But leaning against it, it was far easier now to cheat and ratchet herself up little by little, leaning and readjusting her feet as she went.
Smugly, she stood and took a few cautious steps away from the safe harbor of the sturdy tree. Her chest was heaving with the effort she had taken, but it felt good to have the skin parted from the earth at last. It was hard to see with her ruff of fatty rolls encasing her neck, but blimp-like her flanks invaded her field of view while standing. She had the round tawny flanks perfectly balanced as they projected to either side an embarrassing distance; really for her size, she was wider than a hippo. She shifted her weight a mite and heard her spine creak. Its adjustment was still set for a considerably less obese lioness, but her new-found poundage was working hard to bend it even more out of shape. Behind her, she could feel her gut pressing against her hindlegs, its smooth surface bending them out at the knee as it invaded their space. Her hindlegs were very bowed now, the toes pointing outwards at greater than a 45 degree angle. Her belly pressed against the insides of her legs all the way to the bottom of her knee and slightly forward sunk further until it hovered below ankle level. Sarabi worried vaguely about how many inches of clearance she had left. As for the front paws, they were widely set, but overall much better off. Her brisket sagged low and she could feel it resting on the front of her forelegs, about halfway from the elbow to her wrist. On the outside, multiple heavy sacs sat roundly both ahead and behind her upper forelegs, but they didn’t impact her range of motion too much.
Her hind paws were already hurting in the time it took her to gauge her new configuration. Sarabi sighed. Let’s get this started then. She thought with grim certainty and set her flanks into motion. The massive feline didn’t think that there was a mode of locomotion lower than waddling, but what she was doing now didn’t even feel like waddling. Her bowleggedness had turned into a huge problem before she could work up any speed at all. Her dense, firm belly offered no give forward for her knees, even swinging it hardly changed the soft wall her knees pressed into when she took a step. And the swinging was hard to maintain, her abdomen was so heavy and deep now. She was at a loss for a way to let her hindlegs move forward more than just a bit with each step. The only way was to move them from the knee, lifting her foot a little and extending it to the side in a rotating motion that was hard on both her hips and knees. With her legs turned outward to the side already, it seemed the easiest way to lengthen her stride at least a couple inches. Thus, at four lionesses, Sarabi moved without the huge pendulous sway of her gut, but her hips and rump still waddled side to side like a duck. Needless to say, she was soon struggling to support the massive weight of her middle. Limping with the pain in her knees, Sarabi stumbled to lean against a tree, grimacing. She didn’t need to look behind her to know that she’d covered perhaps five body lengths. Leaning, she was torn between the pain she was feeling in her hindlegs and the effort she knew it would take to get up again. Wretchedly, she decided that the jungle was the worst place to be four lionesses.
After resting, she stepped forward, still moving awkwardly, and trying to find some alternative to the technique that was hurting her knees, but everything else involved just forcing her knee into the little give that existed in her heavy belly wall that her leg encountered with each tiresome step. So either tip toe forward or grind my knee into dust... thought Sarabi bitterly. With her flanks expanding hugely out to either side, the skin so tight it couldn’t even wobble, the lioness thought that she could do well with dropping a couple a great deal of weight.
She let her head fall until it rested on her fatty chins as she was hit with a severe hunger pang. It’d been last night since she’d scrounged her meager meal of monkey and turtle. Silly. Thought Sarabi, To be this fat and this hungry at the same time... Her gut growled, echoing in her vastness as the pang intensified. Sarabi almost wished the heavy weight of her last feast was still resting in her stomach. Then she was reminded that despite it disappearing into the labyrinth of intestine a while ago, she hadn’t needed to do any sort of business on the order of magnitude she’d been expecting. Was that bolus still lodged somewhere inside her cavernous innards? Sarabi scoffed, there was certainly no way to tell, not with a gut as big as the one she was sporting. She could hide a baby elephant in there and probably not be aware of it.
Sarabi sat down, the knee pain and the hunger pang making her too miserable to even pretend she could walk anymore. The trees surrounding her looked like the bars of a cage. Night was falling once again and despite the fact that she’d been up most of the day, Sarabi was afraid of sleeping. She was afraid of what she might find when she awoke. Suddenly the tiny amount of mobility she had left, painful and awkward though it was, seemed precious. If she was forced to accommodate yet another lioness, there was no way she was going to be able to part her flesh from the ground again. So she couldn’t sleep and she couldn’t walk or even waddle; even her best efforts in this condition would be lucky to carry her a single mile, she knew without a doubt. Sarabi tossed her head back and forth in frustration. None of this was fair! If only she were at Pride Rock. If only she were home again, if only...
[[1. Someone speaks]]
2. Sarabi eventually falls asleep**Stranger (Shalion)**
Sarabi was sitting up, her hips turned to the side and her behemoth gut spilling across the dark jungle soil. She was slouching with bad posture, as if her fat were bending her over. Her barrel-like torso was so wide that despite sitting up, hardly an inch was actually supported off the ground, even between her forelegs where her belly also swelled, forcing them outward. Every so often, she would push with her paws against the ground, regaining ground because her heavy feet were always slipping out further ahead because of the weight. She was more obese than any cat had any right to be and she knew it. What personal pleasure she took in feeling that massive amount of flesh around her was overshadowed by the heavy physical drawbacks she had been personally experiencing all day.
Head resting on her generous neck rolls, she heaved a sigh, her eyelids heavy. She was too tired to move anymore, but she didn’t want to lie down, didn’t want to get too comfortable. Sleep was hanging over her like a heavy blade. In the last two days, unexplainable events had inexplicably altered her life and both had happened when she’d lost consciousness. She remained resolute to not let it happen again. Her tremendous tummy emitted a long, noisy growl and Sarabi bared her teeth. She was so hungry. But she stoked that hunger, concentrated on it. It helped her remain awake. The night deepened and her fat layered body demonstrated its weakness.
If she could have paced, she would have. If she could have gotten some water, she would have. If she could have... Sarabi shook her head, her eyes wide and round in the gloom. She gulped some air, taking a few quick breathes where her breathing had been slowing. Her back was hurting now from slouching at this angle for so long. Her belly with its breadth and softness was extremely tempting to lie on. Its surface trembled as her stomach growled again, though even the pangs weren’t helping to keep the sleep at bay very much anymore. Sarabi eased herself down, she pushed with a hind leg so she came down on her belly rather than on her side. Her flanks expanded with a sigh of relief. The battle would soon be over, let the morning bring what it would then...
As the lioness was nodding off, however, she heard someone speak. Sarabi started to wakefulness and was immediately afraid. The voice repeated itself. “You doin’ it all wrong.”
“Who’s there?” demanded Sarabi, but her thick neck prevented her from turning her head more than a little.
“Don’ boder lookin’ Sweet Thing, you won’t find me.” Said the voice in an odd accent. Sarabi had the very strange impression that the speaker was behind her and quite close, but she didn’t hear, smell or feel anything back there.
Sarabi bared her fangs, as if the stranger could see, “Then who are you? What do you want?” Sarabi was desperately afraid the stranger was some sort of predator, ready to take advantage of an easy feast such as herself.
“Who I be? Ask the wind. But it not be important. What be important is what I have to say.”
Sarabi did not have much choice but to listen, her best efforts to escape might have outpaced a beetle or a long legged spider, but not much else. “Then say what you have to say.”
The voice of the unseen stranger chuckled, “You be blessed girl. You don’ know how lucky ya are that you got what you got.” Sarabi scowled, she certainly didn’t feel blessed, but she let the voice continue. “You be a Crucible of Isis now.” The voice said the words slowly, reverently and ended with a tight throaty noise that made Sarabi think of a hyena or a canine relative, like a jackal.
“That means nothing to me.” Said Sarabi, looking off into the gloomy jungle. That was certainly true enough, she’d never heard of the term or the title before.
“Dat be ‘cause your head be full o’ fluff. Not’in but dreams an’ wants an’ me, me, me.” The voice spat, but Sarabi didn’t hear where it hit. “Dat be what gettin’ you into trouble in da first place, no?” Sarabi didn’t respond, but the stranger laughed knowingly nonetheless. “Ya, I can see it plain, girly”
“How about you come to my face and say that?” Sarabi desperately goaded, irritated by this stranger and her inability to escape.
“Nah, girl. I like where I’m at just fine for now.” Said the voice casually.
How Sarabi longed to turn and lunge at the stranger. “Is there any point to this conversation then? I’m dreadfully tired and sore.”
The stranger snorted, a phlegmy sound quite unlike a human or cat and distinctly canine. “Whatchu tink I be talkin’ to ya for? You gonna kill dat mortal shell o’ yours bottling up da powa’ like dat. And dat gonna do no good fo’ me.”
Sarabi growled, “What power? What are you talking about?”
The stranger breathed heavily, as if educating a simpleton. Suddenly, Sarabi felt the ankh on her tummy pulsate and become tender, though she felt no one touch it; she could feel her pulse in its surface again. “Da ankh have da powa.’ From it comes all da life in da world an’ it belong to Motha’ Isis.”
Sarabi sniffed. “Sounds like foolish human religion to me. I have no time fo-“ Sarabi felt like she’d been kicked in the stomach, her paws clutched as far as she could reach to the wide, round surface. The ankh burned.
“Respect da gods, girl, or you gonna burn for it!” said the stranger angrily. Sarabi became afraid. This was no dog or hyena she was dealing with.
Sarabi breathed heavily after the blow that seemed to have penetrated her deep layers of fat effortlessly. She remained silent and eventually the stranger spoke again.
“You have ta let da powa’ flow or it just gonna burst like a cork an’ knock you out again. Stop resistin’.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” cried Sarabi, her paws scrabbling on the dirt. She wanted to get away from this madman. She actually managed to pull herself on the dirt a good half foot before she received another blow to the belly. Sarabi moaned and rolled onto her side. Feet of dense, firm fat were no barrier to the stranger who seemed able to attack her vulnerable insides directly. Far more frightening was the fact that she had yet to see even a glimpse of him. “Please... please stop...” she whimpered.
“You stop!” said the stranger. “You be clenching down on da powa’ like your own cub, girl. An’ it gonna kill you if you don’ let it flow. You have no idea how much trouble I be gettin’ in if you go an’ die on me.”
“I don’t...”
“Remebah.” Said the voice softly now, “dat’s all you gotta do. You did it while dreamin’ las night. You remembah right?”
Sarabi did. She remembered running, the dark endless place... the ankh... “Ya, ya. Dat’s it. Remembah. Just relax, girl.” Sarabi remembered the glowing ankh when it had been shining in the distance. The light had fallen softly on her body, warming it with a slight tingle the only difference between it and sunlight. And then Sarabi felt the light shining on her. She felt it for real as she lay on the jungle floor. The skin on her back and her sides warmed, but also her face, rump and belly, as if it were shining on all sides of her. Sarabi felt her flanks begin to creep outward. Gasping, Sarabi tossed the memory away as if it were a hot coal.
The stranger hit her again, harder than ever. Sarabi coughed, the wind knocked out of her. “No!” he yelled, “Don’t stop now, there be much more powa’ waitin’ for you. You gotta take it all in before da sun be risin’”
“W-why?” managed Sarabi
“Da Moon an’ da Night belong to Lady Isis and you be her servant now, whether you like it or not. You be da container for her powa’ an what she give you take. End of story.”
Sarabi hissed at what the stranger was telling her. It was intolerable that she was under the influence of a god she didn’t even believe in let alone called to ‘serve’ her. “How does my getting fatter help anyone? What am I supposed to do, just keep getting bigger until I explode?”
The stranger chuckled, “If you want, I s’pose. I see a part o’ you wantin’ to know what dat might be like.” He stopped laughing, “But I wouldn’t let ya, even if ya wanted to, ‘cause then you’d be dead.”
Sarabi had had more than enough of this arrogant, invisible stranger. “What do you care if I live or die?”
Then the presence was extremely close, she could sense him, almost as if he were crouched by her ear, but she felt nothing, not even the wind of his passage. “I care, Sweet Thing. More than you could evah know.” His voice was dripping with sweet venom as if being courted by a cobra. It stank of desire and greed as he breathed the words in her ear. He retreated and Sarabi let out the breath she had been unknowingly holding. “So you don’ wanna be a blob then, Sweet Thing? Den I remind you what da other side o’ your duty is. Dis, I offer for free.” Sarabi had a sinking feeling in the pit of her mammoth belly. “Second, I can tell you how ta get rid o’ Isis’ mark on ya, but dere be one tiny catch. I promise it be small, you won’t even tink twice, but you gotta agree first before I tell ya my secret. What say you?”
[[1. Listen to the Catch]]
2. Tell him to beat it**Listen To The Catch (Shalion)**
Frowning, Sarabi said, “Tell me what the catch is.” She didn’t trust in the least who this stranger was who’d told her such bizarre things and hurt her, but so far, he was the only one she had met who seemed to have any knowledge about her situation. She hoped that he’d leave as soon as he finished telling her what he’d apparently come to tell her.
“Naw, girl. First you gotta agree, den I tell ya da catch and me secret.”
“That makes me think the catch is something I’m not going to like.” said Sarabi where she still lay on her side.
“Tink whatchu wan’. It don’ change a thing.”
Sarabi was fairly sure that she would hear the stranger out, regardless of what his “catch” was. Certainly she’d had no other leads or even hints of a lead from any other source. Sarabi still found it deeply suspicious that the stranger promised that he could remove the mark which she’d been afflicted with, however. “Then tell me the other thing you had to say.”
“Just one ting first before dat.” said the stranger.
“You said that was free.” said Sarabi, very carefully to keep the anger out of her voice. Her gut was still hurting from where the stranger had somehow hit her.
“It be, but I wan’ you to do what you need to do tonight first, Sweet Thing.”
Sarabi groaned, but she resisted the urge to be aggressive. “You said that I didn’t have to keep gaining weight.”
“I said you don’ hafta become a blob, girly. You still got the Ankh’s powa’ flowin’ through you, and you gotta heed da call before it ova’take you” said the stranger, sounding impatient.
“I...” hesitated Sarabi. She was afraid.
The stranger sighed, as if reading Sarabi’s thoughts“You won’t die here, girl. You be... important to me, precious even. I get you through this.” Now the stranger was close again, a phantom just beyond physical touch. She could feel his eyes on her and sensed him as strongly as she could without being able to feel him, hear him, smell him or turn her head enough to see him. “Now please... just relax and let that power go.”
Sarabi sighed and thought of the glowing ankh. It was even easier the second time. The light wanted to glow brightly, it wanted to flow into her so it was an effort just to keep the light soft and gentle. She concentrated on keeping that burning symbol a lamp in the distance of the dark place and she let it shine, feeling its warmth on her face and all around her body.
The creeping started slowly, but picked up speed after several minutes. It was warm and soft, like her mother’s tongue on her back. And in the same primitive way, the sensation was soothing, almost as good as comfort eating; however, the shining symbol in her mind’s eye did nothing for the hunger she still felt inside her too-large gut. She grew wider across her belly and felt the sacs hanging down the outsides of her forelegs grow heavier and drip down. Her wide and full curtain of neck fat grew yet more dense, the chins enlarging and stepping down bit by bit over her round brisket which too grew larger and more pronounced where it rested between her paws. It was only twenty minutes, however, before her stretch-marks were bothering her with renewed intensity. She hissed a breath, but, remembering the stranger, continued to hold the image in her mind. Still, she said, “My skin... it aches with all this... power, life, whatever you want to call it. I just can’t take it all in.”
She spoke meekly, and it hurt her pride to do so, but she was in a powerless situation. She was stranded with no allies and the unknown on all sides, it was hard to remain strong. The stranger was silent for a few moments as the pain in her skin spread. But he seemed to respond to her capitulance. “Sweet Thing...” he said in a soft caring voice. “You have the powa’ such powa’! You just hafta use it. Tink about ya skin and da pain it be causin’ ya. tink about da light takin’ dat pain away. Da lifeforce do da rest.”
If the stranger never called her ‘Sweet Thing’ again, it’d be too soon. However she followed his direction. She concentrated on the aching in her skin, just as she’d concentrated on her hunger earlier to help keep her awake. She thought of the warmth she was feeling all over her body, that penetrating glow that made her flesh tingle. She wanted that soothing feeling on her skin now, rather than just under it. As she thought it, reality responded with her desire. She could feel her skin warming, the pain fading as if she were immersed in a steamy bath. She breathed a sigh of relief as her stretch marks faded to pink over her grossly obese body and then to white, slightly raised scars that didn’t hurt in the slightest. “Good, Sweet Thing. Do ya see da blessin’ you have nah?”
Sarabi snorted and turned her head as she again turned her thoughts to expanding her body. As her weight increased, she could feel the weight pressing down on her lungs, her heart picking up the slack for the new, needy flesh. “I still don’t see how this is anything but a curse.” Sarabi said calmly. The light of the ankh was making her feel good despite the growing physical strain and sapping the venom from her words. The stranger only chuckled.
Sarabi’s resting breath was getting raspy as her neck grew thicker, her fatigue wearing on her despite having done nothing but lay on the ground. She felt almost as if she were not getting enough air, though taking a few deep quick breaths helped make her feel better. She had to shift her elbows regularly as her chest fat expanded and set them wider and wider apart, the fatty cushion under them growing deeper. The fat rolls at the back of her head were soon pressing against her ears and then actually folding them in a new direction. The flesh increased on her face, exaggerating her cheeks and jowls until her cheeks began to reduce her field of vision. Up and down, her head became largely immobilized, the neck fat dense and solid under her chin, only a few degrees of side to side movement remained when it was all done.
Sarabi was breathing heavily two hours after it had started, feeling with grim inevitability that the stranger had lied to her and she was just going to continue gaining weight. But she was definitely beyond walking almost as soon as she’d gotten started, so there was little harm in additional poundage, she figured. However, Sarabi noticed that the image of the ankh lamp in her mind began to fade, drifting away, she thought it closer, but after a little more time, it became more difficult to picture that Ankh there with its shining light. It was escaping her grasp. The ankh guttered and went out, the warm light filling her body with new, expanded curves went with it. Sarabi felt chilled and ill at ease without its presence.
“Dere we go naw.” The stranger spoke at last. After a pause, he added, “You look as pretty as a peach.”
Sarabi struggled under what might have been five and a half lioness’s worth of bulk. She was hungry and was feeling ill now that the mild euphoria of the light was gone. She was so swamped in fat, it was hard to move. If she could have gotten a jiggle, maybe she could have appreciated her newfound size, but right now, all she felt was confinement. She was still breathing heavily as she said, “Just tell me... that other thing...”
“Ah, I be gettin’ to dat...” the stranger did not bother to hide the pleasure he obviously felt now that Sarabi had climbed over a ton in weight. “You know, you already did dis part too. You don’ pay attention too good do ya?”
Sarabi felt like howling, but she was too tired, she wanted to sleep... and she wanted another fresh, meaty turtle. “When d-” then she remembered the marsh. “Back there, in the drowned jungle.”
“Ya, girl.” said the stranger excitedly. “You can empty da life-force outta your body like dat. But ya need need da Sun for new life, just like da Ankh need da Moon or da Dark. An getting rid o’ da life energy gonna be harder dan soakin’ it up.”
Sarabi’s cheek smushed as she rested the side of her face against her neck fat. “Why’s that?”
“Cause your body don’ wanna leggo da life-force, it feel like dying ta it. But for you, it be real hard, cause you like that blubba so much”
The words caught in her throat momentarily, “...I... I really do need to trim down. This...” Sarabi pawed her massive fat spreading on the ground from her chest alone, “This is too much. I can’t do anything.”
The stranger made a little whimsical noise in the back of his throat, ‘“Mm, hmm... I not be da one to tell ya what is and what isn’t, Sweet Thing. But your heart speak louda than your head and I tell ya right now, it gonna be hard for ya.”
Sarabi sighed with exacerbation, “Whatever. Just tell me what I have to do.”
“All you gotta do is look at da sun and think o’ ... some’tin.”
“What?” said Sarabi loudly, she strained against her bulk to minimal effect.
“It depend.” said the stranger. “Just tink o’ what you did last time. It da same as da ankh, but opposite. Real simple really.”
Sarabi was deciding that the stranger was really good for nothing after all. So far he’d accomplished nothing save getting her so fat that she wouldn’t be able to walk anymore. Sarabi only remembered looking into the sun that day and then... nothing. She was doomed. She decided to ask the stranger about his secret, hopefully once he shared that undoubtedly invaluable piece of information, he’d depart and leave her to figure out how to get herself out of this mess.
[[1. He wants Sarabi to remain at least morbidly obese]]
2. He wants permission to use her body while she's sleeping**Staying Big (Shalion)**
Shifting her weight uncomfortably across the ground, the one ton lioness was sick of listening to her unseen stranger and the unhelpful advice he’d been giving. ‘Look at me now!’ she thought with real revulsion. ‘How am I supposed to get out of the jungle when I can hardly turn my head?’ Her situation had devolved from difficult to impossible, it seemed, or perhaps it had been impossible from the start.
Somehow, Sarabi knew that the stranger was not going to leave until she heard him out about his ‘secret.’ She was careful not to mention how displeased she was that his technique for losing the hundreds of pounds she’d piled onto her already massive body was staring into the sun. “Well... I’ll make sure to remember that.” said Sarabi, still starting off into the jungle, her unseen visitor had remained behind her the entire time. “Tell me about the last thing, this secret of yours.”
“Ah, ah, Girly” the stranger chided in his deep, harsh, but oddly lyrical voice. “Dat one ain’t free, I told ya. You gotta agree to my catch.”
“How can I agree to something if I don’t know what it is?” asked Sarabi at the end of her patience. Her heart was beating quickly in her fat buried chest.
“I be tellin’ ya ovah and ovah that I gonna help you. Haven’t I helped you alreda’?”
“I think you’ve made me into a lard filled tub, actually. And I fail to see how that is helping me at the moment.”
“You used da ankh’s powa’ on youself, girl. I didn’t do not’in. But I not be arguing petty details like dat wit you.” said the stranger, his voice rising. Sarabi was afraid that he was going to hit her again, she’d never felt a blow strike so deep and so powerfully before. “You gonna agree to my term, I tink, girly. ‘Cause you know dat you ain’t got much else choice.”
And the stranger had struck right to the heart of the situation. Sarabi had literally no one else who could help her now. And she didn’t even know where to start finding help with a matter such as this. Sarabi growled for the first time since the stranger had struck her. “Fine! I agree. Tell me what you want from me.”
“I wan’...” said the stranger slowly. Sarabi could imagine a grin spreading on his long face; he had to be some sort of dog, or at least a member of the canine family. “You ta stay nice an’ fat, Sweet Thing.”
“What?” asked Sarabi, her jaw extending into the neck meat welling up under her chin. She thought she’d misheard him.
He continued as if she hadn’t asked anything. “Nah, you don’t hafta stay dat big; though it’d sure hurry tings along nice. But I need ya to stay plump an’ round. Ke’p dat big ol’body o’ yours swimming in da life energy. Dat’s all.”
Sarabi blinked, she had been expecting something horrifying or outrageous, not something that she would have probably done anyway. Still, it felt wrong that the choice was being removed from her consideration. She lifted an eyebrow as she asked suspiciously, “That’s all?”
“Ya, girl. Jus’ stay comfortable an’ big for a few months.”
“How many months?” asked Sarabi shrewdly.
“If’n you stay like dat... three months, but you gonna dump some o’ da energy ya? I’m gonna need mo’ time if you go an slim down some.” The stranger said the last with unhidden distain.
‘Who is this pervert?’ Sarabi thought. She remained uncertain whether the stranger was really a supernatural entity, or perhaps merely a very skilled, very knowledgable mortal conman. Sarabi wiggled her bulk for emphasis. “I honestly doubt I’m going to manage to lose much of this.”
“You doubt da powa’ girly. You learn soon enough.” said the stranger confidently.
“And now you tell me your secret. And also why do you need these months. What does my fatness have to do with anything?” spoke Sarabi confidently again.
“Questions, questions.” mocked the stranger, “You be so full o’ dem, but you wouldn’t know da answers even if I drew dem in da dirt for ya.”
“Try me.” said Sarabi, she would have been eager to get a glimpse at the hidden stranger.
“Don’ worry you fluffy littl’ head, nah, Sweet Thing. I be gettin’ dat mark off you in a few mon-”
Sarabi burst in, “Tell me how you plan on doing that. You owe me! We had a deal.”
The stranger became silent for a long while so Sarabi was afraid that he’d somehow evaporated. But his voice came through again eventually, “Aye, we be havin’ an arrangement, true. Alrighty, girly, I tell ya, but you won’t understand one way or da other.” Sarabi waited. “I be plannin’ on seperatin’ you from Isis’ service and da goddess’s magic. It be hard, ‘cause you broke da law an’ dey got an iron contract bindin’ ya body an’ soul. I gotta hide you from Isis’ sight too so she don’t see you again afta da bond o’ service be broken or she just bind ya again. Dis be big juju an’ I need time ta prepare.”
Sarabi had no mind for any law save the law of the Circle, but she did understand service and lifetime binding oaths. There was no way out of them, save death, of course, but perhaps the gods’ laws were different. They were human gods after all, not beast gods. “Fine.” she said, not letting on how much she did and did not understand. “But why can’t I slim down if I wanted to, using this ‘power?’ What if I wanted to be a trim, swift hunter again?”
The stranger growled strangely, almost as if she had suggested slicing off one of her legs. He stopped before he spoke again, however. “Good, question, girly. Good question, but I nevah’ agreed ta give ya an ansah for dat. Let’s just say dat it pleases me ta see a queen like yaself big, round and brimming wit da magic.”
Sarabi snorted to the side, that much was obvious. The stranger had made no attempt to disguise the lust or satisfaction in his voice nor his rude insinuations since she’d bloated to her current absurd level of corpulence. Sarabi took a few deep breaths, feeling the effort with the weight pressing down on her ribs and diaphragm. She let out a long breath, she was tired and she was going to need a long time to think about these things she still hardly understood.
The stranger was near her ear again. He whispered, “Sleep nah, Sweet Thing. You need ya beauty rest. I doubt you hear from me again, but I not be far away. I’ll nevah be far away...”
And just like that, the stranger was gone. He hadn’t left, he’d simply disappeared like a cloud of smoke that she never saw. The only effect that she remembered of him was his voice and the way he made the hairs on the backs of her neck rolls stand on end when he was extra near. ‘But is he really gone?’ Sarabi wondered. She hoped so, she really did.
[[1. In the morning...]]
2. Something disturbs Sarabi's rest**Morning (Shalion)**
When she awoke, she was out of breath like she’d been running after a fleeing gazelle. Sarabi struggled to catch her breath, panting with her mouth open against the numerous fatty chins welling under it. She knew that she had stopped breathing again while she was sleeping due to the enormous weight pressing down on her chest. The lioness gulped the cool morning air, feeling light headed and still sleepy. Morning...
And it was. The light filtering down through the canopy informed Sarabi that it was not even early morning as well. The tub cat had been planning on waking with the dawn in hopes of shedding a lot of the weight which was weighing her down like a stone on her back. Despite the additional hours of rest, Sarabi felt like she had gotten only two or three hours of actual sleep. No matter how soft and luscious she was at five and a half lionesses, the physical strain was too much to bear. Sarabi was determined to do everything she could to drop back down to a manageable figure. Now what had that stranger said to me? Thought Sarabi. look into the sun and think of... and then she remembered that her strange, ethereal visitor had not told her what to think of. And more, he had said that this was going to be especially hard for her because of her emotional tie to her quantities of pliable, dense – comforting and secure – flab. Sarabi took a final deep breath. She was ready to face whatever challenge lay ahead of her because she was not willing to lie in this spot feeling as her weight slowly crushed her for the next three months. When she looked up to the sky, however, she realized a terrible truth. She was facing West.
Sarabi swallowed a lump in her throat. Her gut growled again with the tease, reminding the gluttonous lioness that she hadn’t eaten in almost 24 hours, but she managed to ignore it for the moment. The sun was behind her and she could not fulfill the only part of the ritual that she knew about. Sarabi slumped, her heavy bulk supporting her like a permanent mattress. The weight of her body as she felt it sprawling across the ground made the naturalist lion doubt again that it would simply disappear. In her experience, her weight only increased; save for that single anomaly back in the marsh. It was only remembering what had happened before that gave her any hope that this foolishness might actually work.
Tilting her head where it rested on her wide shelf of neck fat, Sarabi felt her extremely round cheek smush upward, closing an eye for her. Her face and neck were so swamped in fat, she wondered if anyone she knew would even recognize her at this point. As a test, the lioness planted her forepaws squarely on the ground, pushing upward. She had not attempted to move really at all since last night’s expansion, so for the first time, she was testing her strength against her new weight. She could tell at once that she was going to lose. At first, it responded, her legs straightening out, she felt her drifts of flab drag across the ground, but there was too much. As she lifted herself in her single push-up, she could still feel her tawny-coated flesh draping across the ground in every direction. Her paws were planted far from her body, so it was not long before she ran out of leverage. She walked them closer, lifting herself up and feeling the strain spread to her shoulders and back. Fat brushed against her legs on every side and it was not long before she encountered that unscalable obstacle of her belly welling forward as she lifted her chest up. With so much weight and skin still resting on the ground and feeling the fat pressing against her legs and robbing them of most of their former range of motion, Sarabi confirmed what she already knew: she was too overweight to get up. Slowly, the rotund feline let herself back down,
She had only two options as far as she saw things, wait for the sun to cross to the west, or try to crawl, roll, do whatever she could still do to turn herself around. A strong part of Sarabi simply wanted to wait, fearful of the strain and effort it was going to take to bring herself about. However, she was not sure if she wanted to wait. Being five and a half lionesses was quickly becoming intolerable and the more time she spent at this weight, the more concrete and real it felt so it became harder to remember what it was like when she was only four lionesses or even three. The only ‘memory’ she had of losing the weight as well was when she had looked into the morning sun as well. Who was to say that it would even work in the afternoon? But still... Sarabi dug an elbow into the pocket of flesh that had been created for it out of low hanging shoulder meat, was she too fat and heavy to even accomplish turning to the east. How simple it would be if she could just turn her head a little!
But she had only a few degrees of motion left in her neck which was wider around than most lion’s torsos. She was going to have to decide and soon, the morning was progressing...
[[1. Try to turn around]]
2. Wait for the afternoon**Reaching For The Sun (Shalion)**
Sarabi was sick of waiting, sick of being in this area she had hardly moved from in two days now. She had to do something or she was going to die here. She felt the truth of that statement cut deeply. Sarabi didn’t care how heavy and bloated and encumbered she currently was. She’d dealt with more flesh and flab than she could have imagined back in the Pridelands and she’d deal with what she had now. It was with this confidence that the dug her paws into the dark soil and began to haul herself over the ground.
She discovered that while she had a lot of mobility and strength left in her forelegs, her hind legs were a different story. They rested on the mammoth cushion of fat that was her belly, paws dangling from the knee so far up her extremely wide profile that they rested against the slope of her extensive gut completely. She had to actively stretch the leg down to even touch a paw to the ground and unbelievably, she could only barely touch the ground with both paws at the same time, let along get any traction. Her abdomen, behind her in a greater unknown universe that she couldn’t see but could only feel vaguely, had grown to incredible proportions.
Also behind her, her width spread across the ground hugely, crushing plants and tree roots beneath her bulk. Unable to do much more than wobble the huge, bloated mass which covered such a large area of jungle floor, Sarabi felt less like a cat and more an inanimate object, almost as if her body had been taken from her while at the same time it was larger and more impressive than it had ever been. The proud queen was not deterred.
She started again with a sit up. But this time, her goal was certainly not to get to her feet. Sarabi strained with her legs and shoulders to twist her body to the right. She could feel skin dragging across the ground at her forequarters, but her middle and rump remained stubbornly inert. The effort was taxing and Sarabi measured progress inch by inch because her torso was so thickened and inflexible. The depth of her fat was such that she had to shove three inches into her own bulk for every inch that she actually moved skin and her weight made the process labor intensive. When a deep crease formed between the back of her right shoulder and her flank swelling out to the side, she knew it was time to move her hindquarters.
Sarabi was clinging to the dirt with her forepaws, the pressure of the fat on her right side trying to push her back into position. She held on, pushing her big paws into the loam supporting her. She was now leaning slightly to the right, so Sarabi stretched with her left hind leg until it touched the ground and dug into the soil with it. She tried to push and drag the mass of her abdomen and hindquarters with it. Her effort was laughable. She slid across the give in her flab a little, but wound up back in place. She had almost no leverage, the length of her hind leg used simply to traverse the vast distance of her belly. Letting her leg rest, it retracted until it rested fully on the girth of her tummy again.
Sarabi was breathing quite heavily and straining with her shoulders and forelegs to hold her partially twisted position. She could feel her flanks wobbling back and forth across the ground as she breathed. She knew intuitively that flailing with her shoulders and hips was not going to help at this point to move the huge mass of her lower half across the ground any distance. She decided that she was beyond the point where her actual legs were going to be very useful.
Deciding to abandon the use of her legs was a hard decision. Moving the whole of her bulk with the strength in her back, torso, shoulders and hips was an imprecise art, but given how she was drowning in her own flesh at the moment, she didn’t see what else was left to her. But in the end, a little turning was all that was necessary. Sarabi, using her planted forelegs for leverage, twisted her body at the midriff, feeling like a worm curling in the dirt. She hugged her belly with her knees and helped the effort with her hips. Her belly flowed out more to the left as she twisted partially to the right.
Given how deep the fat was that supported her body, it did not surprise Sarabi too much that there was now a whole range of stable positions to her in between “on her belly” and “on her side.” Like clay, the dense fat in its protective covering of skin molded to the ground under her and while it was impossible to simply tip herself over onto her side because of how very wide she was, she found herself on her “side” at an angle less than 45 degrees. It was enough, however, to curl up with her hindlegs, as if attempting a fetal position, pulling her massive tummy and her right flank across the ground. The “sit up” was hard on her stomach muscles (what a misnomer!), but it was within her strength capacity. The pressure forcing her forepaws against the ground eased.
From there, it was wash, rinse and repeat. Sarabi squirmed her way back until she was flat on her belly once more and used her upper body strength and forelegs to twist more to the right. She rotated her lower half partially until she could curl it up again to the left. It was repetitive, tiring work, but Sarabi began to make good time once she settled into the rhythm. Once she found that rhythm, surprisingly, she actually began to find her morbidly obese body cooperating with her. She filed the memory away if it ever happened that she found herself this large again. Soon out of breath, Sarabi was relieved that she had made it more than halfway around when she was finally forced to take a break. The lioness lifted and turned her head until she could feel the fatty rolls pressing against the side of her face. The sky was bright through the canopy. But though she strained with her neck, there was too much fat piled up around her head to shift it anymore, at least without forcing her eyes shut. The top of her back jiggled and shook with her panting like a choppy, golden sea.
As it was getting on towards midday, Sarabi pressed her paws against the ground and started again though she was still panting and her muscles still stinging with cramps. The whole time, she had her face pressed firmly to the right as her body shook and wobbled as she worked her way around. she was waiting for that tale tell glimmer that she’d see through the leaves...
[[1. Sarabi faces the sun]]
2. It's noon before she can get around**Sarabi Faces The Sun (Shalion)**
Sarabi’s back and abdominals were burning. Heaving her heavy body around, even just scooting it was exhausting. Her head turned into the fat welling behind it, straining to see the light. Panting with enough force to jiggle and shake her entire loaded-down torso, Sarabi’s brown eyes sparkled as they found the sun shining through the leaves far overhead.
“...Finally...” she breathed and just then, the sun had never looked so pretty, its light shining through the shifting canopy. ‘Now what?’ she thought, but didn’t have an answer. She’d been half expecting to have the stranger pop up again when she managed this feat, but then why should he? The louse seemed perfectly content to see Sarabi struggling under over a ton of blubber. There was a distant sound that sounded almost like laughter... probably just a monkey.
When she finally settled down, chest and flanks heaving, she looked up to the distant, sparkling light, waiting for something, anything. But she felt nothing, even the flickering shafts of sunlight filtering down from the leaves above were too weak to warm her skin. “Damn that stranger...” cursed Sarabi under her breath as she struggled to regain her composure. It was difficult with a couple thousand pounds of needy lion meat weighing down on her.
She lowered her head, she had no recollection of what had happened to her when she had stopped to rest in that marshy part of the jungle. She had simply looked up to see the dawning of the new day and then she went blank. Sarabi tried to remember how she had lost the weight before, but that too was a blank. She had just woken up thinner. she remembered nothing of the process nor any sort of dream she had had. The lioness growled out her frustration, the sun would soon be behind her again.
‘The same, but opposite...” thought the lioness agitatedly, “How does that make any sense?” She lifted a paw and brushed her whiskers which was the extent of her reach now. There was so much dirty, itchy skin that needed washing... Sarabi closed her eyes, the sensations from her body were distracting her. She needed to concentrate. Why the dawn? Why the new day? What had she seen when she looked at that new sun?
Then she remembered a day several years past now. She’d been sitting high atop Pride Rock with her late spouse and King of the Pridelands. A baboon had held her firstborn son high into the dawning day. It had been the greatest moment of her life despite the fact that it had been mere hours after an intense delivery. She’d been exhausted, but when she’d looked on her cub and known that he would be King one day, it had been as if her future had crystalized into a single perfect point. Perfect innocence, Infinite possibility, endless love and compassion, all embodied in such a tiny package. Simba had at once justified her entire life prior to that moment and offered a brilliant future beyond herself and beyond Mufasa himself. Simba was the future. Whenever Sarabi looked out on a brand new day, she thought of her son, always returning to that single, perfect moment when she’d handed her life over to her son and been happy.
This time, when she looked up to the light coming down from the canopy, she felt it. It was as if she’d been immersed in cold mountain runoff. Sarabi shivered and the sensation began to flicker and go out. In a panic, Sarabi grabbed hold of the sensation, remembering it and holding it close like a thorn prick which hurt more the more you thought about it. Simba had been the catalyst, but Sarabi found that she could maintain the cold, sinking sensation just by thinking about it; and wanting it.
But it was quite unlike the power of the Ankh she had felt last night. The Ankh was intrusive, almost forcing its power down her throat at the mere thought of it. Sarabi had to actively think about this new feeling. She imagined herself in a cold stream, and that helped keep the image alive in her mind. Also, unlike the glowing ankh, this did not feel nice. She became chilled in short order and after a while her pads began to go numb. Her heart rate increased and she breathed more heavily, as if she were exercising, but here muscles were cool and lax, the cramping she’d worked up refused to leave her. But despite the many small aches associated with this cold feeling, it was having the intended effect.
She felt it in the way she lowered closer to the ground, the slack in her skin increasing and decreasing the depth of the mattress of flab she lay on. She was relieved when the balloon of belly fat her hind-legs were straddling was reduced enough to let her hind-paws drape on the ground once more. The pressure she felt under her jaw decreased as well as her neck lost its density. Sarabi wanted to shrink faster, thinking of the positive benefits she’d felt back when she’d been a “mere” three lionesses, but just as the stranger had said, it was difficult. She tried thinking about herself being colder, immersed in icy water, and it worked, at first. But just like when, at the end of her power, the ankh had proven impossible to hold onto as a mental image, there was resistance to her imagining. She instinctively disliked the cold, disliked the intensification of that bad feeling, almost as if something were being ripped away from her; which, was pretty much what she was doing. There was backlash as well, when she bounced back after trying to increase the flow and she nearly lost the feeling more than once. So she settled on slowly exuding the ‘life energy’ trapped inside her massive body.
It was about this time that she noticed the plant growth. The black soil was beginning to sprout with tiny green grass shoots that extended at a rate almost visible, rolling away from her body as far as she could see. Sarabi was literally watching the grass grow, feeling in awe at the very real, very observable effect she was having on the world while at the same time, she tightly held onto her cold, draining feeling. Later, she would think that the grass would perish in the shade under the trees in short order after she left and that what she was losing now would be for nothing. Just as she thought that, the grass blades began to widen and enlarge into leaves. The plants became less dense and then not grass at all, but wide leafed ferns, pitcher plants and others she recognized as thriving in low light environments. Sarabi smiled a small half smile.
She found, as she lay there, feeling the energy bleed out of her as if her skin had become some sort of porous sieve out of which her fluids were leaking and evaporating out into the environment, that she could effect the same change in her skin as it was becoming uncomfortably loose. At first, she thought about drawing the energy from her skin, but the connection faltered, threatening to go out altogether. then, as she thought about the matter, she realized that if there really were some sort of magic locked inside of her, then any physical change, both increasing and decreasing her skin, would probably require energy from her body to accomplish. Again, she heard that hooting, laughing monkey in the distance. Sarabi frowned and thought about her skin shrinking to fit her decreasing frame as she bled the life-energy from her body. It worked this time.
After two hours of doing this, Sarabi was feeling mentally fatigued of imagining the cold stream in her mind. Her skin was numb and cold and she couldn’t feel her paws, her teeth chattered. However, she hadn’t even reached four lionesses yet, as she was proceeding much more slowly than she had been able to gain as she tried to rid the ridiculous excesses from her body. It began to dawn on her that she wasn’t going to be able to keep this up indefinitely. It was around this time that the animals arrived.
sure, there had been creatures in her vicinity already and they had been affected in a similar manner as the love struck monkeys and turtles she’d already encountered. But mostly it had been birds and insects that she’d seen thus far. But not only were those near her affected, when she was doing this, she seemed to attract other creatures from a distance as well. The canopy became a cacophony of love calls and mating dances above her. When she saw a black faced vervet monkey fall down from the canopy and break its neck a short distance away, Sarabi resolved to eat it when she was done with this ritual; she would have gotten up and devoured it on the spot because of her burning hunger, but the flow was already getting to be difficult to maintain.
Realizing that she was not going to be any slimmer today than she was yesterday, at least not before a long break to rest her mind, and likely rather heavier still, Sarabi longed for the muscle tone that she’d had before she’d broken her leg. It’d sure be useful. No sooner had she wanted it, than she could feel the muscles in her legs warm and tighten. It was a strange sensation, warm skeletal muscles while the rest of her was quaking with bitter cold, but Sarabi gripped it with a death hold, scolding herself for not thinking of it sooner.
The lioness shut her eyes. She was losing it. Other images and feelings kept wanted to burst out at her; the dirt under her claws, a mosquito bite on her back, the clamminess between her thighs and under her tail, the longing for roast goat and cool blood pudding, the face of Mufasa and Simba and his charming young bride. She groaned with the difficulty in concentration, trying to feed her legs with the strength they were going to need to lift her four and a half lionesses.
She yelped when the connection broke, but she hadn’t lost it on her own. Something had interrupted her...
[[1. It's the humans coming to recapture her]]
[[2. It's a horny male leopard]]**Recaptured (Matt)**
"Well hello again, hippo cat," sneered a voice down by Sarabi's shoulder, "and my, ain't you made a meal of yourself now?" The large cat yelped as the image she’d been concentrating on snapped like a twig; she felt the break in the flow of power out of her body like a static discharge. "What you yelping for fatty," the voice said, "ain't one of us touched you."
Craning her neck as far as she could against the multiple heavy collars of flesh, Sarabi could still only catch a vague glimpse of the speaker out of corner of her eye. For a moment, she thought it was a hyena - they'd revel in finding her, a lioness not only unable to defend herself, but also being big enough to feed a pack - but, no, it was too small for that, its head would just about reach the middle of her chest - if she'd still been able to discern where her chest was beneath its thick blanket of rich, heavy flesh - and it was too brown besides. For a moment, the former queen remained confused as to the animal's identify, before another though occurred to her, almost causing her to groan, "a dog?"
"Hyup," came the reply, "a load of us, and a lot of humans who aren't really happy about your having escaped."
"And no doubt you want payback for that thug of yours I killed too," Sarabi said bitterly.
"Of course," the dog replied, "but we can wait for that, because one day that fat-clogged heart of yours is going to give up, and then..."
Sarabi wasn't so sure about that, oh certainly before the gods had touched her not a day had gone by where she hadn't wondered how much more she could take, but now the gods had claimed her they wouldn't just let her die would they? The former queen held her peace on the issue though, the dogs wouldn't understand, or believe, they'd just ridicule her, and they'd do that more than enough anyway...unless, unless she could convince them, force them to accept her powers, to be awed by them if not by her. The immense lioness couldn't do much at the moment though, the chill in her massive form made any show of potency impossible, and heavens knew how long it would take the chill to dissipate.
Sarabi wasn't the only creature with limited options though, the humans too were struggling to deal with the situation, as the goddess seemed to have increased in size markedly, to the point at which few would have considered her even vaguely mobile, though she was, just. In light of the unanticipated problem, one of the humans was sent back to the village to gather more hunters, while the others stayed with the immense lioness, to guard her, and prepare a litter to transport her back to the village.
An hour passed as Sarabi waited for the thinning-induced chill in her immense form to subside, before she felt ready to do anything. Even when she was finally ready to take action again, the former queen didn't move immediately, still indecisive about what to do. in her heart she knew that she'd never have another chance to escape, but her sense of justice, no, her sense of revenge was also nibbling at her, begging her to revenge herself on the dogs, in particular the one just off to her right, who'd offered her taunts and jabs over her size. Let him see what being this big is like a voice seemed to say fatten him up, show him what it's like. The immense cat ignored the voice at first, but it was an incessant nagging, and while it would certainly slow down her departure, it would certainly be satisfying, and she hadn't had a lot of satisfaction recently.
1. Try to escape
[[2. Fatten the dog up]]**Gahiji (Shalion)**
“Well what have I found here?” a deep velvet voice said from behind Sarabi. The large cat yelped as the image she’d been concentrating on snapped like a shard of glass; she felt the break in the flow of power out of her body like a static discharge.
The leopard behind her misinterpreted the response. “Oh, don’t be afraid, I’m not in the mood for killing...” he purred lustily and exuded an extremely male scent, “...but I am in a mood...”
Sarabi sat up, almost sighing with the ease of the motion. She had managed to regain her lost muscle tone before the connection had broken, and carefully flexing a leg, she actually thought that she might have been more toned even than before; at least under all the fat.
The leopard stepped behind her with reckless ease while Sarabi was sitting up. He sniffed about her flank. “And what are you supposed to be, exactly?” he asked drunkenly, and Sarabi realized that he was drunk, drunk on the life energies she’d just been exuding into the environment. He inhaled deeply, making Sarabi shiver all the way up her wide, round flank, “Mmmm, you smell nice.”
Sarabi growled a warning where she sat slouching, not for any weakness in her limbs now, but because of the dimensions of her body; her gut was still too large to get her forepaws very close under her chest. “How about you go and take a dip in a cool stream before you get hurt, tough guy.”
The leopard still swayed gently at her side, Sarabi could now turn her head enough to see the haze in his eyes. she felt a chill in her spine that had nothing to do with her recent “diet.” With a final sniff, he declared, “Ah, lion. Now I remember.” He looked at Sarabi hungrily, “You sure have a beautiful scent, but...” and he rudely jabbed a paw into her flank, “You're really fat, aren’t you?”
“Hey! Hands off, Macho cat!” yelled Sarabi, flinching at the sudden touch and starting to get up. She did it three legged, but it was still a lot of work.
The leopard jumped back several feet, “Hey, baby, I don’t mind! I don’t even care how much you weigh. that’s your business, not mine.”
Sarabi felt her belly sinking clear to her ankles, her hind-legs even more bowlegged than yesterday. She wasn’t going to be able to move very fast, no matter what. “Just get out of here.” said Sarabi brushing him off and giving him her shoulder and a clear ‘not-interested’ sign with her tail. “I’m busy and I don’t have time for a fool like you.”
But the leopard just didn’t seem to take a hint. “Hey now, hey now... No need to be like that, darling.” He walked around to face her. “My name’s Gahiji. It means, The Hunter.” he said with a wink.
Sarabi lashed her tail again. She turned away from him, but when she spied the fallen monkey, she was overtaken by her tortuous hunger. “Still not interested.” she said as she waddled heavily over to the fresh carcass.
To his credit, Gahiji stayed where he was and watched her tear into the rather large monkey with abandon, like she hadn’t eaten in days. As she was finishing - still unsatisfied - he opened his young, stupid mouth again, “Look, I’m just going to say it. Normally, I wouldn’t be into a girl like you, but right now, I just find you incredibly attractive.”
Sarabi looked up from the remains of her meal, her chins and brisket splattered with blood. She gave the young leopard a once over. He was young, trim, and at the moment, unselfconsciously virile. But as a leopard, he was much smaller than a lion and Sarabi was on the large size, in terms of stature alone, even for a lioness. She sighed, mostly for the embarrassment that the leopard was incapable of feeling at the moment, “Just go home kid. You’ll feel more clear headed once you get a little ways away from here.”
Gahiji frowned intensely, “Look, I can handle myself, Fatty. You’re not too much female for me to handle.”
Again, Sarabi felt uncomfortable, looking into the lust induced madness in the young male’s eyes. She growled and showed her teeth, tail now lashing the ground heavily. “I told you, go home. And the name’s Sarabi while you’re at it.”
The frown removed the creases from Gahiji’s face. “Look, I’m sorry, Sarabi. But seriously, all I’m asking for is a few minutes of fun.” He got to his feet, dancing left and right. He chased his tail, as if should he stop moving, he would burst with pent up energy. “You don’t look like you get out much anyway, honey. I think I’m doing you a favor, actually. Come on, loosen up a little. I promise I’ll be gentle.”
Sarabi stood again and Gahiji backed off to a safer distance. This kid was so desperate, Sarabi almost felt sorry for him... almost. “How many times do I have to tell you to go home? I’m not interested, and I’m too old for you anyway, so unless you’ve got a way out of this jungle for me, just go sleep it off.”
Gahiji wasn't taking no for an answer though. He was still far too hopped up on testosterone that it seemed to sparkle in his eyes. Eventually, he...
1. ...Regained some control of himself
[[2. ...Had had enough of talking]]**Cursing A Canine (Walson)**
She sighed, knowing full well that the dogs would attack her if she tried escaping, and even by some sort of divine intervention that she did escape the dogs, her massive belly would drag the ground and create an easy to see path for the humans to follow. Still, unlike the cat she had been before, Sarabi now had actual mystical powers she could use to her advantage. She smiled to herself as she remembered the idea she had earlier, about getting the dogs to be awed by her mystical powers, or at least fear them.
The lioness looked for the dog that had mocked her, and quickly spotted him napping near her, though not so near he was within her paw's reach. Nothing like some proper revenge and exhibition of power to get a group to respect you. Thankfully the sun was still up and the cold feeling from before had died down to a very manageable level. Still, focusing her powers directly on a living thing other than herself was a new thing to her and she hoped that there was enough day time to get the dog to a fitting weight.
Closing her eyes, Sarabi pointed her head towards the sun, feeling the familiar biting cold wash over her. Unlike the last time, she had the mental image of the dog in question laying beside her and had the water flow over her and towards the dog. Sarabi made sure that all the energy that bleed from her was entering the dog, occasionally syphoning off a little to decrease the saggyness of her skin and to prevent the dog's skin from becoming too tight.
The resting dog was now almost in a comforting sleep, the warmth of the energy comforting her as her body started to swell outwards. Although Sarabi seemed to decrease in size very slowly, the dog appeared to be exploding with fat, rising like dough on a hot day. His furred back swelled upwards while his sides stretched further and further away, thin agile legs now sporting a thick layer of lard while the head of his wagging tail developed a fatty lump. His breathing soon began to get heavy as more weight pressed down on his chest. This additional effort soon woke the dog from her slumber.
"What...what's going on" he barked sleepily, not understanding what was going on. Quickly he tried to rise, but, getting up proved impossible for the half-asleep hound as his immense new weight dragged him back, though it also brought him fully awake, at which point he stopped trying to get up and tried to get hold of reality. He turned his head, his cheek pressing into the thick tire of fat his neck had become, but his massive sides stretched out wide enough that he could still see it.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO ME" he barked loudly, turning towards the lioness who currently had her eyes shut and in her own little world draining as much energy as she could into the dog that made fun of her. "YOU" the dog said, "YOU ARE DOING THIS." He was feeling the fat continue to pile onto his body, feeling his tail grow a little stiffer as his body desperately attempted to find places to put more lard. He growled at Sarabi and attempted to rise and leap onto her, but his weight was so great that rising itself was almost impossible, and even when he did, he didn't stay up for long, for the moment one leg left the ground as he tried to walk towards her the other three violently began to shake and collapse under his, the dog falling to the ground with a loud thump. In a slight bit of fortune, his belly had grown to the size where it was below his knees and suffered little damage from the fall. For a few moments he still barked at the lion to stop, then began to beg, and soon it got to the point where all he could do was whimper and look imploringly at the lioness. The other dogs, now wide awake, looked on in a mix of fear, awe, and hatred, trying to decide what to do.
Finally, Sarabi considered that the dog was large enough, and drew her vengeful action to a close. The dog, now less a canine than a furry blob of flesh lay near to her, no longer mocking her, Partly because he no longer had the breath to - indeed breathing, or wheezing was so great an effort that he could say little - and partly because he feared to anger her, to give her cause to inflate him further. The dog was now around three, maybe four times the weight of a normal dog, his barrel shaped body oozing to each side and quivering with each ragged breath rather than rising and falling as normal. His front legs, caked in lard were spread out in front of him, he hadn't yet tried to move them after he fell. Him head was bloated, with swollen jowls and large cheeks, while his muzzle rested on the thick collar of neck fat. His fatty collar had even gotten to the point where it pressed against the top of his head, pressing his ears down. Sarabi craned her neck further to observe the tail, both a little shorter and a little wider, now barely able to twitch within the bloated coffin of its inflated root. The dog huffed and wheezed, his tongue lolling out as far as possible in an attempt to keep her immense body cool, although in the jungle, such an act was futile. The immense lioness was satisfied that she had taught the dog a valuable lesson, this one at least, though looking at the faces of the others, she felt a tingle of fear as she knew that, should they turn violent she'd be entirely at their mercy. She just had to hope that they didn't realize that, that they stayed subdued, too in awe of her powers to act against her.
1. The dogs stay subdued until the humans return
[[2. The dogs turn hostile very quickly]]**Won't Take No (Shalion)**
Sarabi was literally ten times the size of the young male leopard in front of her, and yet she felt a primitive fear looking at the look in his eyes as Gahiji’s breathing got heavier and he began to salivate. Sarabi was standing, facing him, her flanks expanding hugely to either side of her and her belly draping down until her nipples were dangling below her ankles. Her gut was so large that her hindlegs were bowlegged, making even her waddling slow and awkward despite her newfound strength. Her pads were beginning to hurt with her four and a half lionesses.
The lusty madness shone clearly in the young male leopard’s eyes, a result of being in the vicinity of Sarabi’s released life energies. It was making him drunk with desire and worse, reckless and unpredictable. When he set his paws aggressively, Sarabi realized that she might be forced to kill this young male. “I’m not leaving.” he said huskily, staring at Sarabi’s wide frame, nostrils flaring and taking in her scent.
Sarabi set her own paws widely and growled. “Don’t make me kill you, boy.” she said.
He was wearing a nasty grin as he said, “Just stand still... I’ll take care of the rest, darling.”
It happened so fast, Sarabi had barely any time to react. Gahiji, with a running start leap into the air, clearing the lioness’s bulk completely and landed softly behind her. Sarabi, moving slowly with her huge mass had barely begun to turn around when she felt him get his chest up on her rump. Sarabi was immediately less concerned about the moral difficulty of killing this overaggressive young male, but she was also very afraid that she actually might not be able to handle him.
The lioness hissed and spat as she felt him between her legs and she tossed and turned, trying to buck Gahiji. Feeling intensely violated, Sarabi was ready to tear the leopard’s throat out. But he was holding on tight despite the exaggerated breadth of her hips. She shook with revulsion as she felt Gahiji getting closer to the mark. Getting him off of her wasn’t working, she wasn’t fast enough and he was holding on too tight. Sarabi decided to stop fighting aggressively and protect herself instead. She sat, forcing Gahiji to slide to the ground behind her. That was when he growled and leaped up, taking out his aggression by biting into the back of Sarabi’s neck.
Roaring in pain as the leopard grabbed her neck rolls in his teeth, Sarabi was through playing around. She felt blood trickling down her back as Gahiji shook and tore, unaware that he was far and away from reaching Sarabi’s spine. The great lioness reared straight up, using her back with a strong thrust from her front paws. Her belly was still resting on the ground in front of her...
[[1. ...Dragging her back]]
[[2. ...But not for long]]**A Futile Chase (Shalion)**
"What on Earth?"
"Did she just do that?!"
"How?!"
"Is he breathing?"
"Gods save us!"
The dogs barked up a racket in response to heavy fattening of their Alpha who was now so rotund he didn't seem able to lift himself from the turf. The mongrels stank of surprise and fear and some routed, no doubt fleeing to the safety and familiarity of the humans still trekking back to the village. The rest of them gathered around the sausage shaped dog, touching him with their noses in typical dog-style fear and awe. As for Sarabi, she quickly realized that she was no longer surrounded. She was left feeling sore under the skin and in her muscles as if she'd been left out in a snowscape for far too long, but she decided not to squander this opportunity. As innocuously as she could, she began to heft herself up.
Plumping up the dog to over four times his normal body weight had cost Sarabi somewhat less than twice his actual change in weight. It didn't surprise her, what with all the stretching she'd needed to do to accommodate the new weight. But what did surprise her was, towards the end, a feeling of resistance. By the time she's grounded the dog the first time, Sarabi had begun to feel like she was getting diminishing returns for the amount of power she was pouring into him. {i}It must be more difficult making animals abnormally fat than it is just a little fat.{/i} Sarabi thought. However, at this moment, she was glad for the extra effort. It'd cost her, but she'd managed to slim down to just under three and a quarter lionesses; she was getting better at categorizing the various shapes her body was taking lately. Still it was really hard not to grunt of huff as she heaved up her still more than considerable weight and her muscles were trembling with the aching of the release of her life energy.
Only because earlier she'd greatly enhanced her own physical strength did she manage it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the dogs still around their fattened leader, however at least three of them were already looking in her direction, and naturally the grounded Alpha was also facing her as well, albeit there were several dogs between him and her. She heard him begin to rasp something in his new husky voice, and Sarabi didn't hesitate before making a break for it.
At once, her knee bumped into the doughy hanging mass of her paunch. For all her weight loss, she remained bowlegged and she had to maneuver her hind legs around the massive low hanging gut that separated her knees for her and limited their forward motion. She staggered just a little and set herself into a familiar waddle. She remained too obese to jog, but she was able to work up to a trot, her belly slanting left and right, left and right while her brisket bounced heavily ahead of her forepaws.
Whatever success that Sarabi had had at moving, however was quickly overshadowed by the swift moving canines, who were soon launching themselves after her. The caught up in less than a minute, growling beasts staging themselves ahead of her, to the sides and behind as well. The only conciliation was that the pack was thinner now for the deserters. Sarabi showed her teeth and growled. She set her stance threateningly. It was a bluff, she was in too much pain to hope to swat more than one or two of them.
"Go back and wait for the humans, witch-cat." growled one of the mutts.
Sarabi raised a paw and hissed, showing her yellowed canines prominently. The dogs ahead of her just stood there, well out of reach. Gingerly, Sarabi lowered her paw. {i}Well, if that didn't work, maybe this…{/i} She said, "If you don't leave me alone this instant, I'll turn you all as round and helpless as your friend back there!"
That got some delightful looks of fear from the shining eyes of the dogs surrounding her. Some began to shy away even, however the one that had spoken just now dived around the shakiest side of the perimeter, growling and demanding obedience from his peers. He must have been the other one's beta. Curse the dogs and their hierarchy. When the line was back in order, the beta spoke again. "We don't care about your tricks. As long as there's one of us left, we won't fail our masters!"
{i}Loyal to the end, eh mutt?{/i} Sarabi thought sarcastically. Then she said, "Are you really going to attack your master's cherished goddess? Especially now that I've got divine powers?" It might have been a bit much to flaunt her power, but right now she was feeling desperate.
"They'd rather have you back a little bloodied than not at all." said the beta dismissively. For a second banana he seemed to step up to power pretty quickly. Then again, it was pretty clear that the old leader wasn't going to be able to perform his duties for… well, probably never again.
Sarabi gritted her teeth. Despite the life of luxury she enjoyed back in the village, she much preferred her freedom, especially now that she had control over her weight - albeit with some spiritual obligations she still didn't quite understand. Right now she wished desperately that she could just live out the rest of her life back in the Pridelands were she belonged. Maybe that was worth a little blood.
Again, she sized up the enemy. "You can't stop me, there's too few of you now." Punctuating that sentence, she began to move forward, waddling conservatively and trying to keep her center of gravity as stable as she could.
The dogs ahead of her growled low, and louder as she approached. But they broke when she aimed a paw at the closest of them. She was past them! Then came a voice from behind, ominous.
"We probably can't take you down, massive and lardy as you are, witch-cat. But you're as slow as a slug. We'll easily lead our masters to you."
Sarabi's heart sank The dog was right of course, there was no outpacing these dogs. Nothing short of sprouting wings would help, not when they could sprint and she could barely walk. Still… walking was better than waiting placidly to be taken back into captivity.
…At least until she felt a body slam into her shoulder and a pair of fangs dig into her fatty flank. Sarabi lashed back, but she could just barely reach and the dog had ample time to clear away. "Did I say that all we could do was follow you? Well, I think we can slow you down as well." came the voice of the beta somewhere out in the darkened jungle. Two more attacks came, one on either side, they nipped at her belly, pinching painfully even if they didn't break the skin. Sarabi tried to "whip" around but was naturally far too slow. With the objective to harry and slow her down, the dogs didn't need to expose themselves as much as they'd had to in the past to get at her less fatty areas.
When one dog came to bite at her heels, she dealt him a solid kick in the neck. But that was the sole hit she managed. She tried to ignore the attacks for a while, but her lack of response only made the dogs grow bolder, making more of them attack at a time and spend more time biting and digging their teeth into her yielding flesh before she had to turn and swipe at them. Each response made them back off for a minute or so, only to repeat the process. Sarabi felt her reserves dwindling.
To make matters worse, with the constant assaults, Sarabi had no idea where she was heading; not that she wasn't completely lost before. But the ground was going uphill now and it was so much work hauling her fat ass up any sort of incline. Twice she turned, hoping to find a path downhill and perhaps to water, or even a river which might help the dogs. But the first time, the ground simply began to rise again and the second her path was blocked by a sheer outcropping of rock. She glanced at the slopes leading around the large shelf of exposed stone. With her current shape, they looked exhausting and feeling the way she was, she doubted she'd even manage to get to the top… if the dogs even allowed her to. She was at the bottom of a trough, ending in the rock face two lion lengths overhead. Her only choice was to go back the way she came. Dog eyes gleamed at her, thick behind her. They knew she was stuck as well.
Sarabi felt like crying. She was bleeding from at least two dozen superficial cuts and hurting from twice as many bruises. Her legs were on fire from holding up her weight and although she'd recovered a little from the biting cold over the last hour or so, what good would one more fattened dog be? And she doubted she could make one as fat as she had the Alpha even.. She rested her rump down on the ground, the relief was so great that indeed her eyes watered, but her hopelessness was at least as strong. Her ears picked up some noises in the distance. The dogs clearly heard it too, for they began a chorus of barks and howls, letting the whole jungle know exactly where they were.
Sarabi sighed. At least she'd tried.
1. Sarabi is bound and carted back to the village
2. It's not the people from the village**Taking Advantage (Shalion)**
Sarabi was standing on her hindlegs. She seemed to hover in the spot for a long time, the leopard attached to her neck with his fangs. She’d been intending to crush the horny little bastard beneath her back... but for the weight of her belly still extending hugely in front of her. She was dragged forward, her belly morphing against the ground and slowing her fall. Her blood was running quite freely down her back, Gahiji’s claws digging into her fat shoulders as she went down. She was panting.
The moment that she came back down onto her forepaws, Gahiji used his – relatively – sparse weight to exceeding good use. Sarabi yelped as he pulled himself further up and he removed his fangs from her fat neck rolls. The 1400 lb lioness was shifting her weight to try bucking off the much smaller cat again, but she received a heavy blow to her skull. Gahiji had skull bashed her on the top of her head were the fat padding was minimal. “Lie down!” he roared and hit her again.
Sarabi was once a proud huntress... but more recently she’d been a spoiled house cat worshiped as a deity. The two blows had her seeing stars. She felt her forepaws slipping forward with hardly any conscious effort. Sarabi blinked, her vision and hearing blurred and she felt the weight of the leopard leave her back. When the world came rushing back into clarity, Gahiji was straddling her prone form. Tremors passed up and down her round, bloated torso. Breathing heavily, Sarabi closed her eyes and thought about the Pridelands, the rolling grass fields and the stone of Pride Rock rising in the distance. Despite the indignity and the violation of the act, Gahiji was already finishing by the time she’d come to and nothing in the lioness wanted to face his claws and teeth again. The young, athletic leopard had wielded his natural weapons with the speed and skill of a gladiator.
Sarabi shuddered as he exited. She’d felt nothing, but at least the leopard, less than a third the size of a full grown lion, hadn’t hurt her either... well, beyond the bleeding tooth marks in her neck. Gahiji, panting heavily, strutted past her with a smirk on his foolish face. “How was it, Dar-“
Sarabi swiped at him with a claw and managed to graze him on the shoulder. Gahiji hissed at her and then scrambled up a nearby tree with the same ease he used walking over the ground. He snorted with disdain as he looked down at her. Then he set his shoulders and turned his head, leaving his tail dangling down from the high branch. Infuriatingly, his breathing slowed and he began to nap. How Sarabi wanted to grab his tail and pull him crashing back down to earth!
“God damn whelp!” cursed Sarabi aloud, not caring if Gahiji heard. But as angry as she was at the leopard, she was angrier at herself. Angry that she had relented, angry that she’d failed to protect herself despite her tremendous size advantage. Sarabi felt like weeping as she got heavily to her feet and waddled a short distance away, her neck stinging and continuing to bleed down her shoulders.
Her back to a tree, Sarabi faced west to the afternoon sun and reached for that cold flame that seemed to exist behind her deep, creased navel. She wished for her son as she felt the chill spread while simultaneously, her neck wound warmed and tingled as she knew it would. The skin knit back together seamlessly in as much time as it would have taken Sarabi to inflict such a wound. Her back was still wet with blood, but healing the simple flesh wound had been as effortless as licking her nose. What a power this is! thought Sarabi with triumph. She reminded herself that she still needed to be on the watch for love-crazed leopards in the future.
Sarabi got to her feet, taking her time and leaning against the tree because it was easier. She still felt immensely heavy and obese as she stood, her gut hanging down past her ankles. Her knees pressing into her dense, fleshy tummy and her bovine flanks so large that they hardly swung back and forth anymore, Sarabi was just eager to get away from this place. Carefully, she picked a path through the dense jungle, she was so wide that she was liable to get stuck at the slightest obstacle.
Feeling filthy and disgusted with herself, especially the mess left between her rubbing thighs, Sarabi, for once was not aiming to get out of the jungle. Her first priority now was finding a source of clean water in which to bathe. She’d been ambling her way along – and the way she moved certainly felt like that, at four and a half lionesses, she could barely waddle – for about two hours now. The sun was beginning to set and she was tired for being kept awake most of the day and her lack of good sleep last night. She was following a strong scent of water, however, and that kept her going. Heavy paws hurting as she slowly traversed the uneven ground, Sarabi...
[[1. ...Is surprised by Gahiji]]
2. ...Finally reaches the pool**Crushing Blow (Shalion)**
...But not for long. She overbalanced as she was standing straight up with the leopard now dangling where he was biting into the lioness's thick neck. The breath caught in Sarabi's throat as she sent herself hurtling straight over backwards. Gahiji, intoxicated as he was, apparently didn't even realize what was coming, he remained focused on biting and tearing Sarabi's heavy neck rolls until the end. All of her weight came crashing down on the reckless young male. Partially stunned herself, the lioness felt as his jaws went slack underneath her.
Sarabi hurried to get off of him, despite the pain of her bleeding wound in her neck, but it was still some time before she was clear. The impact had left her hurt as well, her back taking the brunt of the massive blow. Gahiji’s limp form was dragged slightly over the ground as the rotund lioness pulled her weight off of him. Looking down, Sarabi saw that he was broken in whatever place she cared to look at. All four legs were bent incorrectly and he was struggling to breathe as he lay unconscious on the flattened plants. Sarabi felt pity for him because it wasn't entirely his fault that he'd acted as he'd did, but she also felt a deep contempt for him for what he'd tried to take by force and his subsequent attack. "Foolish male..." said Sarabi, panting with exertion as she looked down at him. She decided to...
[[1. ...Leave him]]
[[2. ...Try to save him with her power]]**Repentent Leopard (Shalion)**
...“Jumped” when she saw Gahiji fall down straight in front of her from an unseen branch
The lioness took several steps forward, trying to get close enough to bite, but she noticed that he was not approaching. The leopard was not wearing that grin of his, in fact he was avoiding her gaze. His eyes were clear. Sarabi slowed to a halt.
“Um... hello Sarabi...” said Gahiji. The leopard was a shadow of the self assured, aggressive feline she’d met just a couple hours ago. The tubby lioness was beginning to realize what a powerful effect she’d had on the youth.
The leopard was no longer under the effect of wild life energies, that much was clear just by looking at his clear, lucid eyes. Gahiji seemed diminished, so much so, it was hard to imagine the jungle cat had overpowered her and... done his business against her will just over two hours ago. In fact, far from brash, macho and confident, this Gahiji seemed quiet, unsure, almost shy. And currently, he looked ashamed and unwilling to meet the larger cat's stare.
Sarabi sighed raggedly, Why couldn't this boy just leave her be? "What do you want, Gahiji?" she asked rudely.
The young male shrunk under her glare. "I... I know you can't possibly forgive me. B-but I want you to know I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what I did to you! I was out of my mind, I don't know what happened to me!" Great Circle, the leopard was shaking. He hung his head as he said, "I just needed you to know that. I needed to say it to you." Gahiji turned, starting to walk off into the jungle. "I'll be going now."
Sarabi watched his long tail swing back and forth weakly as he walked away. She'd been violated, and she remained yet sticky and uncomfortable. Sarabi knew for a fact that it hadn't been entirely his fault...
1. ...But couldn't bring herself to forgive him
[[2. ...And she realized that she was suddenly feeling lonely]]**Left To Die (Shalion)**
Gahiji, a once promising young leopard, lay broken and dying in front of Sarabi. Somehow, the lioness knew that it was in her power to save him; just as she had brought life to an entire area of jungle, she could give it back to the leopard as well. But she still had a headache from using the power to drain her body of excess fat (or at least enough to get her walking again). However, even if she didn’t, Sarabi couldn’t bring herself to help him, not after what he’d tried to do. Mind hazed by life magic pervading the area or not, the leopard had tried to rape her and take her against her will. Frowning intensely, Sarabi said, “I forgive you, Gahiji. I pray that you will forgive me as well.” She turned and waddled away.
Sometime later, Sarabi’s nose led her to a stream and she waded into it, cleaning the filth from her body and cooling her aching paws. Her legs felt strong and powerful again, but she was still four and a half lionesses and that was a lot of weight to be carrying around. The cool water, however eased the aches she felt in her hips and knees as easily as it did her paws, however. She rolled, rubbing her back on the stones and feeling the water splash into her face. Gahiji coughed up blood onto the grass, his forelegs broken and lumpy like taffy. Sarabi opened her eyes and rolled back over on the stones, breathing heavily. She shook the water from her head, carefully not closing her eyes again. Taking a deep breath, she climbed out of the water and stood, letting the water drip from her body.
Facing the west, Sarabi reached for the cold flame she felt like an icy ember behind her navel, directly below the ankh burned into the skin on her tummy. It’d been several hours now and her mind had recovered from the strain of losing over 200 lbs of excess flab. She pictured that cold flame in her mind, willed it to grow until she could feel its iciness enveloping her, draining her further. The effort involved kept her mind from drifting where she didn’t want it to go. Sarabi stood the entire time. When her paws began to ache with the pressure forcing down on them, she focused the magic on easing their pain. She did the same for her knees and hips as well, and went further still, repairing the damage she’d accumulated over the long years of her life. Overhead, the birds and beasts became antsy again, Sarabi exuding potent life energies into the atmosphere when she wasn’t selfishly expending them on herself.
She thought of the tasty monkey she’d had earlier as she was looking up, the pressure behind her head from the numerous fat rolls there having decreased a lot and longed for another. The longing resulted in a simian orgy quickly emerging in the tree tops. Three over enthusiastic lovers fell to their deaths within the hour. One by one they filled Sarabi’s empty hollow belly. At the end of it, she belched contently. A muscle in her eye was twitching, the cold flame guttered and went out, the mental exertion finally too much. Sarabi purred as she looked over herself, however. Really able to look over herself for the lost fat in her neck. She was as “trim” as she’d been before she'd gotten herself into this whole mess, a little over three and a half lionesses. But this time, her legs were thick and stocky with muscle and rejuvenated joints. Sarabi walked forward, then slowly eased herself into a slow rolling jog.
Her mouth parted with joy as she moved briskly along, feeling the light wind of her passage brush against her cheeks. Never mind that a leopard lay dead or dying in the jungle behind her, she hadn’t felt this good in a long time. Sarabi stopped, panting, eight minutes later. She’d winded herself, but she wasn’t in pain, wasn’t in pain! Oh, the joy! Sarabi felt like she was five years younger.
It was late in the afternoon and Sarabi decided to get some sleep in so that she could function this evening. This diurnal cycle was beating her down. Muscles warm for her jog, she eased herself down onto the dark loam. Sleep came swiftly and easily and Sarabi sighed with contentment. She saw no images of mangled leopards as darkness overwhelmed her.
1. She dreams of Gahiji
[[2. Someone else invades her dream]]**Power To Heal (Matt)**
Sarabi couldn’t stand to sit there and watch the leopard die such a horrible death and to her, leaving was exactly the same thing. She would have been haunted by the drunk look in his eyes, knowing that it was not his fault he was overcome by lust. It didn’t matter what he’d done, he didn’t deserve this.
Sarabi closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to summon the feeling again now that she knew what it felt like. But she wasn’t fully recovered from her last session. It was like there was a muscle in her brain that was still cramped and recovering. It was difficult to feel that cold sensation in her mind, even when she looked up at the afternoon sun and thought of Simba again. Gahiji coughed and shuddered...dying.
When Sarabi looked at him in his final moments, she was struck with a horrid guilt that it was she who had put him into this situation. It was she who had brought and end to his young life. The waning sun continued to drift to the east. Then Sarabi felt the power, like a cold flame in the pit of her belly. She seized it while it was available to her. Like someone had poked a hole in her flank, she again felt the life energy leaking out of her. Looking at Gahiji, it was easy to imagine the stuff oozing out of her and into his broken body. The leopard shuddered and moaned, shaking his head. Sarabi frowned with the concentration required. She was still fatigued for doing this so soon after she’d stopped before, but it felt a little different now that she was focusing on saving the young male’s life. The importance of the matter increased her focus, even as the cold feeling struggled to snake its way out of her mental grasp. “concentrate, Sarabi.” she told herself, just breathing and looking down at him, picturing that life force leaving her body and entering his.
Ten minutes, that was all she could take, but it seemed like she had sat there watching over him for an hour. Sarabi had lost more weight, but Gahiji was now sleeping uneasily, his breathing greatly improved. He stopped coughing up blood and his breaths were smooth and clear. His legs, however remained twisted and bent. Under his lids, Gahiji’s eyes raced widely, he was obviously in great pain still. But Sarabi could do nothing more for him, not now.
She’d kept him from dying and it was impossible to leave him now. Sarabi was barred from continuing her journey into the jungle for the time being. Perhaps it was just as well. She was still so large that walking was difficult anyway. Sarabi, deciding that a nap might refresh her ability to call on her reservoirs, settled down beside the young male leopard named Gahiji who’d so recently tried to take her by force and settled into an easy doze.
In the evening, Sarabi awoke to find the leopard still unconscious, twitching in pain. He was feverish and she wasted no time. She looked to the setting sun, or at least to the west where it lay beyond the trees and thought of Simba again. Nothing, not even a tingle. Shocked, Sarabi tried again and again. Nothing, she felt no response when she called on the image of her son’s first day. At a loss for understanding, Sarabi looked back to Gahiji, feeling remorse that there was nothing she could do for him. With his broken legs, he’d never survive, even if he somehow lived through the night. As she thought of his death, Sarabi felt that chill on her skin strongly, as if a specter of death had settled over the two of them. the lioness wrested control of it, desperate to draw it out for however long it was going to last...
She hardly noticed as her tummy loosened and her fatty neck deflated; even though she found herself coming back to a similar weight as she recalled having left off when she’d stopped before. Gahiji received the benefit of the better part of an hour of treatment. Sarabi grimaced and nearly lost her concentration as she heard the bones realigning themselves in the leopard’s legs. When the sun finally set, Sarabi felt the cold flame extinguish in her abdomen as if it never was. She knew immediately that it was gone.
Gahiji, however, looked much better where he lay. In fact, he was stirring weakly now. Yes, he was coming around...
Sarabi looked with both anticipation and anxiety at the waking male, her lost weight couldn’t have mattered less at the moment. It was soon apparent that Gahiji...
1. ...Had made a full recovery
2. ...Could walk but was permanently maimed**Washing Up (Shalion)**
As Sarabi watched the lean young leopard walk away, a part of Sarabi was happy to see him go, the sooner to put the memory of what had transpired two hours ago behind her. But another part, the part that had been feeling alone, vulnerable and abandoned ever since she’d dismissed her avian partner and begun to be accosted by the unseen and the unknowable, desperately desired companionship, no matter the source. All the other jungle creatures had been shy of Sarabi and her great size... that or she looked at them as food. The lioness couldn’t help but feel that another opportunity like this was not going to come along any time soon... even if, in her heart, she couldn’t forgive him... yet.
“Gahiji, wait.” Said Sarabi where she sat slouching forward for the size of her tummy.
The leopard lifted his head in surprise and the obese lion beckoned him back with a paw. “Sarabi?” he asked, curious, but also afraid. The marks where she’d grazed him on the shoulder were still red and raw, though they’d already stopped bleeding. Sarabi immediately decided that they could heal unassisted.
Sarabi let out a sigh and leaned against the trunk of a tree as she forced herself wearily to her feet. “Would you like to accompany me to the stream? I could use a little help getting clean.” The lioness tossed her head back, indicating the blood that saturated her back, the mud on her belly and flanks as well as the filth that Gahiji had left on her himself. The leopard didn’t dare refuse.
“W-where did the bite go? I remember biting you on the neck.” Said Gahiji. The cats were in the middle of a shallow, but rocky stream. The smooth stones were doing wonders for buffing the hugely rotund cat clean as she rolled and rubbed against them, the heavy weight of her body partially supported by the swiftly running water. The leopard sat on her soaked back, licking the blood away from her coat as the water splashed over them both where it was hitting her deep shelf of fat at her tail head.
Sarabi supposed that now was as good a time as any for an explanation. If Gahiji were going to stick around, she certainly wasn’t going to hide from him what going to happen tonight; and tonight was less than two hours away now, judging by the light in the sky over the stream. The lioness shrugged, lifting the leopard where he sat over her round, smooth shoulders with his long tail draping over the side of her wide flank. “I... I healed myself.” She began roughly. Imagining the look he must have had on his face, she added, “I can do that.”
Surprisingly, Gahiji was accepting and non-critical. But then, he had proof right in front of his face and also, he had been obviously trying very hard to suppress any behavior that might be construed as aggressive or presumptuous. So far, he’d been as meek and mild as butter. Sarabi knew better, though. He was obviously trying to make her feel comfortable after what’d happened and was over compensating. “Oh...” he said, paws digging into her meaty shoulders a little, “That seems useful. I’ve never met anyone who could do that.”
Sarabi snorted. The leopard was taking this a little far. “Gahiji! I just told you that I healed myself. Don’t you find that a little odd?”
“Well, I can see that you did.” Said Gahiji a little stronger now. “All this blood had to have come from someplace. And it certainly wasn’t me.”
“And that doesn’t strike you as strange? That I’m able to do that?”
“Well, of course its strange. But there are lots of strange stories and things that happen in the jungle. They say there are human witch doctors who bring dead birds back to life. They say there are parts of the jungle that, should you enter, you can never find your way out again. There’s stories of shadows that live in the mist over the river that if you look too long at it, they’ll steal your soul and take over your body. The jungle is just an odd place to live.”
Sarabi was quieted for a long moment. She rubbed her belly against the smooth stones some more, pushing and pulling with her forepaws. The water rushed and sparkled to either side of her, her body so massive it was actually blocking the stream partially. But the water was only two feet deep, so it was easy to resist its push with her weight sitting immoveable on the stones. Gahiji sat with his paws pushing into her back as well, until he knelt and began licking away the blood that hadn’t washed away when she’d soaked herself earlier. She was grateful to have him around for all the hard to reach places; he’d already removed several leeches from her belly that she’d collected while in the marsh.
Sarabi looked to the setting sun. She thought momentarily of ridding herself of some more weight before it was gone, but she didn’t want to put Gahiji – or herself! – through what had happened earlier again. With a sigh, she resolved to rebalance herself tomorrow. There’d be time to get herself back down to three lionesses. And really, four and a half wasn’t as difficult to deal with now that she had her muscles back as she’d thought. “Gahiji?” she asked, unsure how to begin explaining this even stranger strangeness.
“Yeah?”
“You know how I’m... really fat right now... right?” said Sarabi tentatively.
She could feel Gahiji sink his paws into her. He laughed a little and said, “Really, really fat. Yes, I think I can tell actually.”
“Watch it.” Said the massive lioness with a quick growl. “Well tonight... you’re going to see me get even fatter.”
Gahiji stopped his playful pawing, “I find that hard to believe.”
Sarabi chuffed, lifting her heavy jowls. “I thought you had an open mind, Gahiji.”
“I do! But this is a little much... I honestly don’t know how you can even walk when you’re this big.” The leopard moved across her back so he was perpendicular to her spine, “You know you’re wider than I am long right?”
“That... that doesn’t matter!” stammered Sarabi. “I just wanted to let you know so you’re not surprised tonight.”
Gahiji sniffed, “Well, if whatever is going on with you is as strange as I’m starting to think it is, I think it’d go a long way to explaining how you got so big in the first place.” The leopard tapped her sharply on the flank with his tail and chuckled.
Sarabi glowered, Gahiji had no idea what this weight meant to her. What he’d clearly intended as a joke between sympathetic parties actually stung.
Gahiji blundered on. “Are you sure you’re not going to have a heart attack or something if you get even fatter than this?”
“Sometimes it almost feels like it...” said Sarabi quietly. The water tinkled as it continued to splash over and around her.
Realizing that his words had cut her, Gahiji shut his mouth. Instead he began to rub her back as well as he could. She had to admit that the roughness of his pads felt good against her wet skin. The sun set to the music of the jungle and nothing else.
[[1. Spread the gain slowly over the night]]
2. Try to keep it off until later.**Before The Goddess (Shalion)**
Sarabi found herself falling. She was nowhere, but she could feel her body, a trim hunter’s body, and her fur billowing around her. She spread her paws out, slowing her descent, slightly, feeling the cool breeze despite the fact that she couldn’t see anything, or there was nothing to see.
As time wore on and she continued to fall in the blackness – or perhaps she was held perfectly still – she began to feel anxious. As in the dream with the ankh, she felt naked and exposed despite the fact that she never covered herself the way that humans did. It was as if her spirit were exposed and visible to inquiry from outside parties. It was a vulnerable, frightening sensation, like being a cub in the presence of a much older lion who might not have your best interests in mind. The wind slowed and stopped and Sarabi found herself standing.
She turned and found herself facing a towering stone statue. It was a magnificent human female. She knelt on the ground, one knee upraised with her arms outspread. From under her chiseled stone arms emerged golden feathers like wings. A golden crown sat on her head, displaying an large orange jewel like the sun. In her right hand, she held an elegant staff, in her right, she held an ankh by the loop like a key. Where her stone eyes should have been there were two blue flames burning. They glowed with a white hot intensity as she spoke. “Insolent, little servant! You disgrace me with your presence.” Said the goddess Isis.
Sarabi felt as small and meek as a cub, despite the fact that she looked upon nothing but a stone statue. But though it was a statue, nothing about it seemed inert, in fact, it seemed to pulsate with energy as if it might come alive and stomp her at any moment. “I... I don’t know what-“ fumbled Sarabi, but the statue roared.
“Pretender! You who would pretend to be divine. Your callous disregard for life makes you hardly suitable to be a slave to the real goddess of fertility and magic.” Isis’ flaming eyes burning with the intensity of her anger. Sarabi felt the heat on her skin like she was starting into the sun. “Behold the one whose life you stole before his appointed time.”
Sarabi opened her eyes and saw a figure walk around from behind the statue. Gahiji. The leopard looked pale and slight. No, he looked transparent; he was but a mere shade now, though his eyes glimmered strongly in the dark. He was scowling at her, obviously angry. He opened his mouth, but had no voice. Sarabi spoke, her voice quaking, “Gahiji... I-“
Again Isis spoke, “In reparation for the damage you’ve caused, you will..."
[[1. "...Look after his spirit"]]
[[2. "...Take his place”]]**Slow Burn (Shalion)**
Sarabi knew the second that the sun had set despite the fact that she couldn’t see it. She could feel the ankh burned onto her belly come alive, its power nudged against her mind like a sleepy lover, requesting entry. Also like a lover, Sarabi knew the power would grow more insistent the more she denied it.
“I’m getting out now.” Sarabi warned and the leopard jumped off her back, soaring, it seemed, to the dry ground beside the stream. The water still felt lovely and clean. She could have luxuriated in it for a long while yet, but now that night had fallen, she felt pressed to cover as much ground as she could before she was grounded. She rolled again against the stones which had cleaned her and largely purged her of an extensive collection of parasites; with Gahiji’s help, of course. Sarabi took a deep breath and closed her eyes when she came around. She thought of the ankh.
The lioness let the barest trickle of power in, the ankh was a distant star in her mind’s eye, but she left it on like a leaky tap. Her skin tingled with the power and she felt that heady warmth across her body as she lifted herself heavily out of the water. Sarabi knew she was going to test the pain relieving effects of the ankh tonight.
At the shore, as Gahiji continued to stare at her bulk, Sarabi gave him a look and then began to shake. Her belly, so expansive that it bowed out her hind legs, heaved with a great, but unstoppable slowness, the skin rubbing against the front of her hindlegs were it reached just past her ankles. More water cascaded from the rolls and curves of her shoulders and from her thick tail head shelf which wobbled as if barely attached to her body. Gahiji was all but swimming by the end of it, but he’d just sat there and grinned until Sarabi stopped, still dripping and breathing heavily.
“I deserved that.” He said.
Sarabi didn’t contradict him, but she smiled and began to walk into the jungle night.
It was not long, as Sarabi waddled slowly along, before Gahiji asked, “So where are you headed?”
Wrapped in the warm glow of the ankh, Sarabi’s paws barely ached, though the weight on them increased minute by minute. She answered, but didn’t stop walking, “I’m trying to get home, but I’ve been lost in this jungle for days.”
“And where’s your home... if you don’t mind me asking.” Gahiji asked cautiously. He was following behind her, but could have easily walked backward in front of her, or even traversed the branches of the trees overhead at the speed Sarabi was managing.
“It’s a place we call the Pridelands.” Sarabi said, unable to keep the longing out of her voice. “I... I’ll tell you about it later. I just... need to keep walking for now.”
Despite the fact that Sarabi was largely blocking the way in front with her huge, wobbling flanks as she carefully picked a path through the trees, Gahiji came sailing effortlessly over her, landing slightly to her right with hardly a sound. The lioness stopped in her tracks and watched the leopard point his lean, muscular body to the right.
He gestured with his head, “Then you might want to go this way, it’s the fastest way out of the jungle.”
“Really?!” exclaimed Sarabi. She felt like pulling the smaller cat close and licking him all over his head. “How far?”
“Oh, about two nights... er...” Gahiji stopped and looked at Sarabi, her chest and neck were still shaking since she’d come to a halt. Her bloated cow flanks reached almost to the ground. “It might take you a little longer than that...”
Sarabi sighed roughly. “Well, it’ll take as long as it takes then.” She strode forward and Gahiji jumped back to avoid her steamrolling girth. The leopard took up the path as Sarabi broke her way through the jungle ahead.
Half an hour later, however, Gahiji offered to pick the trail for Sarabi. “I know how... ahem, wide you are now. I’ve been watching. I think it’d be easier for me to lead you along the easiest path.” It made sense, so Sarabi let the younger feline take the lead. An hour after that, Sarabi was out of breath.
The ankh was largely keeping the pain at bay, but she was simply getting tired. She stumbled along irregularly, finding it difficult to keep moving. She was a lot heavier now than when she’d started. She felt tree roots and other low obstacles brush the underside of her low tummy as she ambled along and her gut was pushing hard against her knees, so heavy and thick the give in the skin was vanishing rapidly and with it her ability to move her hind legs forward. She felt her pulse in her thickening neck. The next time that Gahiji returned from his scouting, he was going to notice her new fatness, she was sure. Wearily, Sarabi forced her bloated self forward under the glow of the ankh. She was afraid that when she next stopped for a rest, she’d be camping there until morning.
When Gahiji returned, following the lioness’s distinct scent, he did notice. But then how couldn’t he? Sarabi was leaning against a tree, letting the ankh shine brighter in hopes that it would wash away her fatigue. She felt giddy, but while the warmth did touch the burning in her muscles, it wasn’t helping as much as she’d hoped it would.
Gahiji reacted with...
[[1. Understanding and compassion]]
2. Thinly veiled disgust**Sarabi's Charge (Shalion)**
"...Look after this lost spirit until such a time as you procure for him a new body.”
Sarabi’s eyes flew open, “What?! How am I supposed to-“
“I have spoken. Begone!” Isis intoned and blue flame reached from her eyes to the sky in twin columns. Sarabi was catapulted away as if on hurricane winds.
-------
Crickets sang in the early evening. Sarabi remembered nothing after Isis had banished her, but it was obvious she had slept dreamlessly for several hours. It was a small relief, The statue’s words kept ringing in the lioness’s ears. “Gahiji...” whispered Sarabi where she lay on the jungle floor.
“...Yes?” said a small voice.
Sarabi’s ears perked in alarm and she looked about. Her loose neck flesh flung this way and that as she turned her head, looking for the young leopard. “Gahiji? Where are you?”
There was a low growl from the leopard, “I’m nowhere. You killed me, remember?”
“I...I didn’t...” stammered Sarabi, sitting up and feeling her fat tummy press against the backs of her forepaws; she was actually sitting up though, only slouching a little after having dropped back down to three and a half lionesses.
“You crushed me and then left me dying on the ground!” shouted Gahiji. Sarabi’s eyes were drawn to a slight movement off to the side. She then saw Gahiji, or rather, his shade step from behind, no, through the trunk of a large tree. The leopard’s body was translucent – hardly visible even - and the vegetation did not stir as he passed through it. His face was twisted with sorrow and rage. “And you could have saved me! You could have, I know that now! But you left me to suffer and die.”
Feeling hot tears welling behind her eyes, Sarabi was, for once unashamed to loose them. “Gahiji, I’m so sorry! I was angry and hurt. You tried to-“
Gahiji turned his head away. As he began to walk away, his shade vanished, but Sarabi could still hear his voice, “I couldn’t control myself. But was what I did really worth my life?”
Sarabi had nothing to say.
Gahiji whispered in her ear, “I was lying there for four hours, but it felt like days. I was still conscious, Sarabi, but I couldn’t move anything...I felt everything though.”
The leopard stopped speaking for now, but Sarabi could tell he wasn’t gone. And he wouldn’t be gone ever, she knew, not until she somehow found him a new body. She was to be haunted by the youth she’d killed. Sarabi wept for Gahiji and the foolish decisions she’d made.
1. Later that night...
2. Something else**Leopardess (Shalion)**
"...Take his place until such a time as you procure for him a new body."
Sarabi's eyes flew open, "What?! How am I supposed to-"
"I have spoken. My will be done!" Isis intoned and blue flame reached from her eyes to the sky in twin columns. Sarabi hid her face from the glowing flames. She wanted to run from the flaming statue, but her paws, so light before suddenly felt like lead. Her back arched as a crippling pain shot through her and Sarabi growled out a hideous moan, her paws stretching on the smooth surface under her.
There was no time to register what was happening to her, Sarabi was only aware of the agony ripping through her entire body. Her muscles spasmed and rippled erratically all across her body such that Sarabi fell onto her side and felt like she might break her own back as she writhed. Her bones felt like they were filled with hot lead and they softened like wax. Dark spots began to appear across her sandy tan hide, the fur in-between the patches becoming a rich golden color. As Sarabi flailed, she was only vaguely aware that her paws were shortening, becoming thinner. Her spine decreased in length as well and her shoulders and hips became less broad. However, Sarabi lost not an ounce of mass during her transformation. Excess flesh piled up on her legs, haunches, chest and belly as her frame shrank; what was previously muscle and bone became fat which filled out her newly formed leopard's body. As soon as the process was complete, Sarabi passed out from utter exhaustion.
-------
Sarabi awoke to find herself looking into a strange green world. What she saw did not make sense to her eyes right away. She stretched a paw and saw the dark pattern of spots that had replaced her once fairly uniform coat and recoiled with shock. "What has Isis done to me?!" she screeched. There was no answer.
Sarabi was most definitely aware of the fact that she had shrunk dramatically. A leopard was less than half the size of a lion, but feeling her fatty tummy oozing over her perch, Sarabi had to resign herself to the fact that though her frame - bones, muscles and all - had become drastically smaller, her body weight had shrunk not an ounce, making her nearly three times her proper weight. As Sarabi held up a paw again to examine it, she had to note also, her odd proportions. Her legs were extremely fat, rolls creased at her wrist and excess flesh dangled from the underside of her forearms, a result of the lost bone and muscle mass, no doubt. Her back was broad as well as her flanks, the fat dense and hard, like she'd been slowly building it up over a lifetime. She had less fat around her head than she had as an obese lioness, but her chest dipped lower, forming a straight line from brisket to crotch. As Sarabi started to get up, she thought, "At least this seems a little more manageable..." However, despite the fact that relatively speaking, she was as fat as she would have liked as a lioness, she mourned inwardly for the absolute poundage her much larger leonine frame was capable of supporting. "What is the point of this? I feel bad about what happened to Gahiji, but what is this supposed to teach me? How does this help anyone?"
Sarabi cursed and complained, not paying attention to her surroundings. Thus it was that she almost fell to her death. Her heavy paw slipped on the curved surface under her as she was surrounded by the green and the silence. Her oversized, but dense and firm tummy collided with the rough surface of the bark under her. Bark...green? Was she? then Sarabi looked down to the ground far below and swallowed hard before scrambling with all she was worth to get back in the tree. Fortunately for Sarabi, she was slightly less handicapped as a leopardess, despite weighing as much comparatively as when she was a lioness, but fighting gravity remained a difficult battle, for her weight - three time what it should have been - put an incredible strain on her only normally muscled limbs. At least she was a little better balanced and not so bottom heavy as she had been when she'd gone to sleep.
Claws digging into the bark, she managed to haul herself up, her arms burning for the effort. Her stripped tail lashed. Sarabi closed her eyes. She hadn't been in a tree since she'd been a cub and was deathly afraid of heights. She hugged the thick branch which supported her more than considerable bulk. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve all of the woes life had seen fit to throw her way lately. Then she wept, wept for her change, wept for the Pridelands which she could not hope to return to now; no one would recognize her. She wept for Simba and for Sarafina and for Kiara and Nala and all the rest. She'd never see her family again. Why hadn't she left that night with Zazu when she'd had the chance to go home?!
And there Sarabi remained for a long time, filled with despair, until the night fell. Still the trees around her remained eerily silent and forbidding. She had no idea where she might be. She might be in the same jungle as before, or maybe in some other remote part of Africa... or even beyond? Sarabi supposed it didn't matter one way or another. Curse Isis... Sarabi thought, curse Gahiji and the buzzard and all the rest! I don't deserve this! I took one life...So what? I take life all the time, it's what I do, it's what Gahiji and any other cat does. It's part of the Circle... Sarabi spat over the side of the thick branch and sank her teeth into the wood, as if by gnawing, she could somehow kill the forces that were invading her life.
She spat out some wood chips when she was done. Looking below at the damage she had wrought, strangely, Sarabi saw carved into the wood...
[[1. ...An Ankh]]
2. ...An arrow**Dragging It (Shalion)**
Sarabi was occupied with the good feeling the ankh was filling her with as it simultaneously filled her body with new, heavy fat, so she did not notice when Gahiji returned.
“Woah.” The uttered syllable turned the lioness’s head from where she leaned heavily against a sturdy tree; she could feel the underside of her tummy cupped by the base of the tree near the ground. The young leopard male was standing near, eyes wide with surprise and his mouth hanging slack. “I see you weren’t joking...”
With the leopard’s eyes on her, the weight she’d just gained all of a sudden seemed embarrassing whereas a moment before, the new flab had seemed only a trivial cost to the good feeling which so far had been refreshing her and keeping the aching in her joints to a minimum as she hauled her heavy self through the jungle night. Remembering his critical words from before about her size, Sarabi set her shoulders rebelliously. “I wasn’t lying to you Gahiji. And you better shut your mouth before a bug flies in. I have a long way to go before the night is over.”
Sarabi was referring to her weight, but Gahiji apparently thought she was referring to the path out of the jungle. With a slight shake to his head, he looked back the way he’d come, “Oh yes. The edge of the jungle is still quite a ways. Unfortunately, ahead, there is a steep rocky hill with rapids at the bottom. I don’t think you’ll be able to cross.” Again he eyed that bulbous white expanse of belly fur stretching nearly to the ground.
Ignorance was better than criticism in Sarabi’s book. She certainly didn’t want to hear any off hand remarks from the youth about her size, not when she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with her expanding weight and not when she could do nothing about it. “Did you find a detour then?” asked the lioness as she shifted her weight against the tree; she was leaning on it so heavily, she felt the bark rip off as she moved.
“I did, but it’s several miles away where the inlet reaches the river. We’ll be able to ford across and work our way back.” Sarabi groaned at the description of the physical activities. Gahiji added quickly, “But I’m willing to help you however you need, Sarabi. I owe you at least safe passage out of the jungle. I don’t care how long it takes. You... just do what you can.”
That was a lot of compassion coming from Gahiji, Sarabi knew. She still disliked the way his eyes laid on her massive form, but the leopard obviously had enough respect for her to not let his own feeling get in the way of helping her. Sarabi was actually touched. “Th-thank you, Gahiji.” She turned her head to the side a little, feeling her fat neck begin to again entrap her head, “It’s been a long time since I’ve actually had someone willing to help me.”
The male leopard grinned openly. When he again looked at her, could it be that there was some sparkle of interest in his eyes? “Um... Do you need some... er...” he asked uncomfortably as he looked at Sarabi still braced against the tree.
The bloated lioness was reluctant to support her weight fully on her legs again, but she realized that Gahiji was waiting for her. “Oh... no, no. I’ve got it.” She grunted as she pulled herself away from the tree. Her heavy sac of a tummy stretched nearly the length of her legs as she felt it drag heavily over the tree roots. Her flank, where it had been against the trunk was red and livid from the pressure. With her hindlegs parted so widely she felt like she was straddling some wide framed herbivore, she was going to have to resort to the uncomfortable method of walking sideways from the knee. “Let’s go.” She said and began shuffling off past the leopard. With a mild grin on his face, Gahiji waited and then sped ahead of her at an easy walk to show her the path he’d picked.
Sarabi earned a temporary reprieve from gaining when she switched to expanding her overly tight skin when her stretch marks began to reappear. But by then, she was hardly making any progress at all. Sarabi felt stones and the stalks of plants brush her low tummy constantly as she made her desperate way forward. Outgrowing the dimensions of her legs, it didn’t really matter how strong she was or how healthy her joints were, though walking as she was, her knees and hips were complaining even with the ankh’s warm glow suffusing them. Her chest and brisket were lagging behind the growth of her belly, hanging a little below the halfway mark between her wrist and elbow. However, her flanks were so enormously wide, Sarabi felt sure that she was wider than she was long now; and if one could not imagine trying to walk through the jungle sideways without touching either nose or rump to neighboring trees, Sarabi was experiencing it in real life. Her balance had also decreased to the point where she actively had to concentrate on her walking, making numerous tiny corrections to her irregular stride to keep from falling. Fifteen minutes after her skin fit her frame once again, her gut began to drag on the ground.
The friction made the very difficult task of walking into an impossible one. At first, Sarabi resisted. She seemed possessed by the idea that if only she could remain on her paws, she would remain in control of the situation despite the fact that Gahiji was not sitting and watching her for long intervals before he moved forward to the next spot on the path. Her belly was not swinging side to side anymore, which would have been intolerable on her soft, sensitive skin and nipples; though the dragging along was painful as she was apt to scratch herself against pebbles, rocks and the leaves and stems of plants. The pressure was mild at first, as Sarabi struggled to pull herself along any way she could, abandoning any rhythm whatsoever, but slowly and insistently, her lower belly was pushed backwards between her hindlegs as she pushed her way forward. The congestion back there was mounting to the point where it felt like her hind legs were becoming paralyzed. Of course the friction between the ground and her tummy grew rapidly, increasing the energy she needed to push her way forward as well as abrading the soft, pink skin.
Sarabi squinted, not wanting to relent to her body despite the fact that she was now hurting herself with every “step.” When she went down, there she was going to stay, at least until morning. It was the pain of dragging her soft belly, one of her prime assets in her mind, that finally made her cave. Finding a soft mat of ferns, Sarabi hobbled over to them and slowly let herself down. It was an odd sensation because she was already on the ground partially before she even began to fold her legs. She rested on her side so her hindlegs wouldn’t have to be so outstretched, though a hefty sac of flab remained between them, sticking one leg into the air while the other was buried past the ankle so only the paw was visible. Hurriedly, Sarabi imagined the ankh like a campfire at her side, and its warmth grew to an intensity that quickly began cleansing her body of the numerous hurts she’d received while pushing herself.
Nearby, Gahiji sat while Sarabi was occupied with all of herself. He didn’t bother talking as the euphoria hit her, for which the lioness was grateful. It was about a minute later when she finally adjusted to the streaming good feeling and she was able to notice the leopard sitting calmly, the tip of his tail playing along the ground. A small girlish chuckle escaped from Sarabi’s mouth as she said, “Well, here I am until morning then...”
Gahiji grinned, turning his eyes to the lion’s face. “I think you could have stopped a good while back. You were really struggling towards the end.”
Sarabi snorted and smiled, regardless of how the statement could have been taken, “I just felt the need to push myself is all.”
Gahiji turned his head away, out to the darkened jungle, “Do... do you mind me asking when it’s going to end?”
Sarabi, who was actually beginning to sweat under the heat she felt like a sun near her belly, said. “Not too much longer now, I think... I hope.” She’d turned the power up so high that she was actually growing nearly at a visible rate. Her gut swelling higher and further out, until it was well below her paws. Only the tip of her buried hind leg were visible and as the weight of the flab on top pushed down on it, the claws slowly extended involuntarily. At her head, Sarabi’s neck was growing so massive, it was fusing with her shoulders, not that it mattered much as her head was nearly immobilized at this point. She developed a worsening lisp as her jaw was pressed up from below and made it harder to open.
She was forced to dial down the heat of the ankh when she finally grew too hot. She’d been hoping to burn it out in one go, but apparently Isis was not done feeding her with her energies yet. She grew concerned when she became as fat as she had been this morning and still kept climbing. To distract herself, she asked the seated leopard, “So... now that we’re here, is there anything you’d like to talk about?”
[[1. Gahiji's past]]
2. Sarabi's 'curse’**Dire Straits (Matt)**
...An ankh. The significance of the image failed to register with the now-leopardess for a moment, but when it did Sarabi recoiled, that symbol could only mean one thing, and it wasn't good. As if it had been waiting for a cue, the ankh suddenly started to glow, and the already heavily burdened cat felt the life energy begin to flow. Biting down, the former queen tried to block the light and energy out, and indeed managed to reduce the flow to a trickle, though she could feel it growing stronger by the moment, harder to resist...
Sarabi scrambled atop her perch, and despite the unfamiliarity of her new body, managed to rise, eager to put as much distance between herself and the glowing image as possible. Getting away proved to be a difficult task though, for in her mind the only way that led to anywhere was behind her, and so she tried to back up waddling her heavy, unfamiliar body backwards. It was slow, but it worked, at least for a few steps. Walking backwards had never been easy though, and now the former queen was trying to do it in this over-burdened, unfamiliar body, along this green branch, it could surely only be a matter of time before she did something wrong...
Sarabi managed all of perhaps ten small steps before a badly placed paw slipped, bringing her crashing down, knocking the wind out of her and shattering the increasingly fragile barrier she'd raised against the ankh's power, which began to gush into her. Desperately trying to get her breath back she was unable to stop or even meaningfully slow the flow of life force as it filled her, she could only try to ride it out, draining just a tiny faction to keep her skin supple and unmarked as she expanded rapidly, and keep her organs from being crushed as more and more weigh piled on, pressing her harder and harder against the branch. Slowly, the former queen's ever growing form began to swallow her long since redundant legs, her tail, and even her head as the flesh in her chest and shoulders pushed her numerous and growing neck-rolls forward.
Sarabi soon lost track of herself and everything else as she focussed her whole being on keeping her skin supple and lungs at least partially working. Everything else had not forgotten the leopardess though, and as she continued to gain the branch began to creak, then bend, then finally, unable to support the immense cat's by now more than half-ton weight, it broke. The colossal leopardess gasped as the branch failed, dropping her into space, not for the shock, but for the sudden cessation of pressure on her lungs. Not that she had much time to get her breath back though, for within moments the ground seemed to rise to meet her. There was a moment of incredible, almost painful pressure, then everything went dark.
-------
Sarabi knew something was seriously wrong as soon as she awoke, her heart was pounding in her ears, and her breath - what little she could draw - was rasping in her throat. For a few moments, the immense, bloated cat wondered if she was about to die, if her weight, whatever it was now, had increased so much that her old heart was simply unable to sustain it. The panic continued for a minute or two until the former queen - exhausted despite hardly having twitched a muscle - came to terms with the sensation.
Had Sarabi been able to see herself from outside, she might have understood her plight, and Isis' proclamation, for rather than her former uniform, darkish-sand color, her pelt was a golden yellow, dappled with black, the pelt of a leopard rather than a lion. The rest of her form had followed suit, save for one thing, her weight had dropped not an ounce overnight, and in fact, had increased leaving the bloated now-leopardess weighing just shy of 1550 pounds, almost twelve times the weight a cat of her size would normally be. Under any other circumstances such a weight would not have been achievable, her heart would have given up long before, but as the immense cat was bound to the god, so the god was bound to her, keeping her alive despite the otherworldliness of her condition.
All Sarabi was aware of though, despite the rasping of her seemingly puddle-shallow breath in her throat and the unbearable pounding of her overworked heart was the feeling of being swathed, no, smothered in flesh. So great was her comparative weight now, that her collars of fat had rolled over her ears, laying them flat to her head, and were pushing up from below, preventing her parting her jaws more than the tiniest fraction. Even the former queen's eyelids were bloated, as she discovered when she tried to take stock of her situation, to the point at which she could just barely part them, enough to know that it was now daylight, but little beyond.
For a time, perhaps an hour, Sarabi wallowed in self pity. This was it she was sure, she was going to die here, with nothing to show for her life over these past months, well, nothing but a few patches of slightly lusher jungle and - her heart fell at the thought - one leopard, crushed to death. Eventually though, the former queen's sorrow, and her resignation to her perceived fate brought about a kind of enlightenment. If she was going to die here, she finally decided, she was at least going to make an effort, and so shoving her plight to the back of her mind, and fervently hoping that staring at the sun wasn't essential, the elephantine leopardess tried to focus on expelling as much life energy as she could.
Sarabi's heart rose for a moment as she felt the ice-water coolness wash over her, but then her cheerfulness broke the connection. She cursed silently for a moment, before she resumed her focussing, this time giving no mind to her emotions. She had to stop after an hour, the coolness so total that she would could not have felt colder if encased in ice. The 30 pounds she'd dropped so far was virtually unnoticeable, so enveloped as she was in flesh. After a half hour, the coolness had faded somewhat, but not nearly as much as the former queen would have liked, and so, as with the shrinking of her skin the day before, she tried to use the ankh's power on herself, to ease the chill in her immense form.
[[1. It works, to a degree]]
2. It doesn't work**Sharing Fears (Shalion)**
Gahiji fumbled, “I... er... We could talk about... um...” It was clearly written on the leopard’s boyish face that he was uncomfortable with Sarabi’s appearance.
The lioness, who’d past one ton in weight for the second time and was continuing to climb, appreciated his efforts to remain uncritical despite her extraordinary and disturbing appearance. By now, Sarabi’s resting heart rate had climbed up to a zone she had once experienced while lightly jogging and her breath rattled in her fat thickened trachea. She shifted her weight uncomfortably but feebly; every passing minute, Sarabi was fatter than she’d ever been in her life. Despite this, however, she felt fine, better than fine actually with the warm glow of the ankh suffusing her body and mind. She knew that only once its power had been fully expended on her, would the drug-like effects of the ankh wear off and she’d begin to feel ill. So Sarabi was not thinking about the thousands of pounds of fat her body was drowning in as she filled in for the shy leopard. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself, Gahiji? How long have you lived in the jungle?”
That seemed to bring him out of his shell. The leopard looked to Sarabi’s face rather than the hugeness of her body expanding behind her. With a small smile, he said, “All my life. I’ve seen the savanna, though.” He added quickly, perhaps to reassure the lioness that he did in fact know where he was leading her. “The big animals out there scare me, though.”
“Do I scare you, Gahiji?” said Sarabi sticking her tongue out at him.
The leopard looked away, his long tail curling around his seated body to wrap around his right forepaw. “Honestly?” he asked.
Sarabi, who was normally very sensitive to comment about her weight from those who did not understand her feelings, steeled herself for what the young male might say for the sake of developing their friendship. “Tell me.”
He looked back at her, eyes locking. “You do frighten me, Sarabi, but not because you’re bigger than me. It’s frightening that you’re so obese and you keep getting fatter. It seems like you should die just because of how huge you are and I don’t understand how you can get along with your weight like that. How do you get around? How do you hunt?”
The words spilled out of the smaller feline like a flood. Every time he used the words ‘big,’ ‘huge’ and ‘fat’ it was like a shard of ice piercing her heart. She wanted to explode at him, make him think twice about using such words to describe her in the future. But she had told him to tell her how he felt. However, the worst part of what he’d said wasn’t the words he’d used, but that Sarabi understood what he was saying. It scared her too, sometimes, how fat she was, especially when she stopped breathing when she slept. She said as much, “I sometimes get afraid too, Gahiji. Sometimes, I can’t imagine what I’m doing so big or how I’m going to get home when I can barely walk. Sometimes, I feel sick and I get scared that I’m going to die because of my weight. But I do what I can when I can. You know this whole thing with my weight at night is still very new to me.”
Gahiji nodded slowly, taking in Sarabi’s words. His tail relaxed and slid down to the ground from around his leg.
“Now, can I say something?” said Sarabi.
“Go right ahead, Sarabi.” Said the leopard, head lifting.
“You frighten me too.” The mammoth cat pulled her elbows up and out one at a time as the flesh pockets forming around and under them deepened. “You frighten me not just because of what happened earlier...” Gahiji looked away, looking unhappy and ashamed, “But that’s a big part of it. You can walk and run and jump. Your body is light and nimble and young and its intimidating being around you because of how fit you are... and how I am. I...” Sarabi felt wetness sink into a crease at the corner of her eye, but didn’t attempt to wipe it with a paw, for fear that she’d not be able to reach. “Back there, I was so sure that I could handle you if I needed to, because of how much bigger I am, but you proved me wrong. I was helpless against your speed and your claws and your teeth.”
“Sarabi, I’m so-“ Gahiji burst out. He was crying too.
“Let me finish.” Said Sarabi sternly. The leopard was silent. “The point isn’t that you hurt me, though you do have a mean bite on you,” she added, shaking her neck slightly so that the fatty rolls expanding over the crown of her head wobbled, “The point is that I was more helpless than I could have imagined and it was because of my weight...” the last part tumbled out of her mouth before she even realized she was saying it.
Gahiji was pressing his lips tightly together, undoubtedly recalling what he’d done to the far older feline earlier that day. He looked like he was bursting to say something, but didn’t know how to say it. He finally gave up and, relaxing slightly, said, “Then why don’t you do something about it?”
“About what?” asked Sarabi.
“About your weight!” Gahiji cried. “If it bothers you so much, why not do something about it?”
And Sarabi realized that she’d done nothing but complain about her fatness since she’d collapsed here on her bed of ferns. Even now, far from able to walk and with her torso enveloping the vast majority of her limbs and welling up around her head, her feelings were desperately mixed, the positive so intertwined with the negative so that it was still difficult even describing how she felt about her body image to herself. “It’s... difficult to explain.”
“Try me.” Said Gahiji cheerily. He got to his feet and came and sat a little closer to Sarabi’s face. He laid down to not tower over her, but with her mattress of flab under her, Sarabi looked down at him substantially. The leopard seemed much more comfortable being around her now. “We have all night.”
What might have been a suggestive statement from another male was purely innocent now. Sarabi smiled, grateful for the clean uncomplicated companionship and willingness to hear her thoughts. Still... How could she even begin to explain how she felt about her body when she couldn’t even think about it straight, one moment seeming like this was the greatest gift ever, the next, her weight feeling like a crushing, destructive prison. “Maybe some other time, Gahiji.” She said and the leopard accepted without question. “Would you mind telling me about your life in the jungle?” Sarabi said, abruptly changing the subject. “I’m so new here. I don’t know anything about the jungle.”
“Well...” said Gahiji, not minding the turn in conversation. “I honestly don’t know much myself. My mother died when I was 14 months old and she didn’t get the chance to hear all her stories and I’ve forgotten a lot of what she used to tell me when I was a cub...” his voice quavered slightly as he spoke and Sarabi longed to reach out and touch his paw, to lend him her silent understanding. “I... I’ve just been trying to survive since then. I’m two now, but I know hardly anything more than how to hide and catch food.”
“Those are important skills.” Sarabi said, “Never belittle the simple things. Survival is too difficult a task for many people. You’re smart and strong for surviving this long.” Gahiji seemed to swell with pride at Sarabi’s praise. “How did your mother die?” she asked gently. She did manage to scoot a paw forward, to touch its tip with Gahiji’s.
His eyes were distant. “She fell in the river and drowned...”
Sarabi turned her eyes down because of how little she could move her head. She didn’t ask how a strong swimming cat like a leopard could drown in a wide, smooth river.
The ankh in the back of her mind guttered and went out like a candle. The lioness shivered all up and down her blob-like body as if with a chill. From brisket to crotch and down her back to her tail head, she was all smooth, concave curves, her legs as minor indents in the expansive landscape of tan and white fur and pink skin. Her profile now similar to a fattened grub’s, Sarabi finally knew what it was like to weight six lionesses. With the afterglow of the ankh fading, the lioness’s fatigue and hunger returned with full force. Swiftly, Sarabi’s mood to talk was gone as she felt ill, frail and very, very mortal.
[[1. Ask Gahiji to hunt for you]]
2. Just try to go to sleep**Losing Touch (Shalion)**
With the thickness of her forehead pushing forward over her eyes and the fatty rolls on top of her skull burying her ears and pushing forward still, Sarabi was rendered almost blind and mostly deaf. Her spat as an obese, though mobile leopardess had come to a crashing conclusion. Her quest for her definition of beauty and physical perfection had reached its ultimate conclusion, it seemed, albeit, on a much smaller frame than she had previously owned.
Sarabi had been waiting for half an hour for the chill which infected her to subside. Half an hour of feeling her overburdened heart bang against her ribs in its frantic efforts to supply twelve times its intended body mass with blood. Imagine, twelve cats who had to share a single heart; Sarabi was already beginning to feel ill, her brain starved for the fresh blood which the rest of her body also demanded in such large quantities. And each breath was work; she had to lift what seemed like the weight of a boulder sitting on her rib cage with each intake of air through her nostrils. Also, the fat residing inside her ribcage had cut her total lung volume by almost half so her breathing was always shallow and rapid. Add to that the fact that she could not open her mouth much into the fat of her neck welling under it. In fact her head was pinned in all directions, her neck nothing so much as an extension of her torso at this point. Sarabi didn't even bother trying to move her buried limbs.
The new leopardess simply could not wait for the chill to leave her naturally. So she called up the image of the Ankh from her memory, hoping that its natural warmth could drive away the chill she felt. To her surprise, she did feel its power, despite the fact that it was light out; she could tell that much by cracking open her lids. Ah, but the leopardess was shortsighted in that while the warmth did flow through her, banishing the cold, so too did Sarabi feel that familiar filling sensation all through her more than generous quantities of flab; fat cells growing and dividing. In the five minutes or so that it had taken to remove the chill from her skin and innards, Sarabi had gained 15 lbs, half what she had been struggling to lose for the past hour. The overinflated cat felt like weeping.
But she resolved herself with the fact that she had made some headway at the very least. She was not entirely doomed to remain this way. She could fix herself... it just might take a while... a long while. Her right paw twitched in its grave of flab. The rough pads rasped against skin that had once covered her upper arm. The muscles were going to atrophy, she knew, but Sarabi wasn't too concerned, she could fix them as well... Hardening her heart to the monuments effort to come, Sarabi simply imagined the cold and let it take her once again, emptying the warehouse of her body of the stored life energies.
The day slowly past and Sarabi worked ceaselessly, motivated constantly with her body's signals that it was near death, despite the fact that she knew that her bond to Isis would not allow her to die; at least in this manner. An hour chilling herself to the bone, expelling the life energies she had trapped inside her against her own body's natural tendency as well as her emotional attachment to her fatty bulk. Then a paltry five minutes warmed by the Ankh which seemed so much more appealing than the cold despite the fact that its nature was threatening to kill her, or so it felt every minute. Then it was immediately back to the cold again.
The mental effort required began to exhaust Sarabi and she found herself slipping more than once. Trapped in dark and silence, the structure of her body supported as well as pinned by excess flesh, the leopardess began to lose touch with when and where she was. Was she even in the jungle anymore? Had she fallen from that tree, or had that been a dream as well? Being almost blind and deaf, it was impossible to judge, though, Sarabi thought at least that she was no longer in Isis' realm of the dream. This was her reality now.
Or was it? Touch and smell were the only senses still operational now and since Sarabi was largely unable to do more than jiggle herself slightly, the former was useless. And there was no breeze where her body was currently located, what she smelled was a little bit of damp earth, but that was all and Sarabi didn't pay attention to it. It was as if her mind was drifting in a void. But not really drifting, because a void implies freedom of movement. Sarabi certainly didn't feel free, not with every limb pinned by heavy, doughy flesh.
Still, as her mental exhaustion built, Sarabi was overcome by the sensation of floating, though paralyzed. Sarabi rationalized the sensation as being inside a small, dark box through which no sound or light penetrated and only a little air. Sarabi panted in the suffocating dark which was alternately cold and warm, though mostly cold. The box itself was so small that it pinned her legs down, it even narrowed at her head so she could not move her neck much either. The box seemed to be tumbling through space leisurely. The leopard had no sense of gravity, there was no up or down in this strange, uncomfortable prison. It may have been set adrift in the lightless depths of the ocean.
It felt like her mind was fraying. Sarabi was aware of her body, a useless mound of blobby, disjointed flesh which was crushing the life out of her while at the same time, it aroused her physically in a desperate, unhealthy sort of way. But more and more, she was losing touch with that reality, and in a lot of ways, though the box scenario mirrored her body's current predicament, it was preferable because the confinement was external and there was at least the illusion of a hope for freedom, if only she could find a way out!
Sarabi was freezing, what dim light there had been before was now utterly gone. The leopardess pushed against the smooth sides of her narrow, coffin-like container. The more she pushed, the more she paid attention to this state of reality, the more distant and dream-like the image and sensation of a leopardess who was fat beyond imagining became. She could reach for that image, if she wanted, Sarabi supposed as she strained with her back and paws, but she didn't feel much inclined to do so. She felt something beyond the walls of her container, if only she could break through! Her tail lashed in the confined space.
She quickly found her strength flagging with the limited air in the box, however. Her heart was beating so fast! It seemed that she would remained trapped inside this dark, intolerable container. However, as she rested between pushes, trying to recover despite the conditions, something happened.
1. She heard the voice of the Stranger from outside the box
2. There was someone/something else outside the box**Six Lionesses (Shalion)**
There was a noisy, gurgling groan that was so loud that it quieted both felines. Sarabi made a face as her stomach punished her with ripping pangs and it emitted the churning noise which echoed in cavernous confines of her elephantine abdomen. She was so hungry, she almost wanted to vomit. And yet she hadn’t slept since this morning and the day had been very long and trying for her. Her legs felt like jelly before one even factored in the enormous weight pressing down on her. Without the interior light of the ankh, Sarabi felt hollowed out and brittle. She wished it would return, even if it meant continuing to grow yet more obese.
She took that back. She needed to drop as much weight as she could in the morning. Six lionesses was an incredible amount of bulk to pack onto her smothered frame. Sarabi felt swamped and congested in her own body as well as the tangible strain on her heart and breathing. She was resting on her left side and the massive feline doubted that she could do as much as roll over by herself. The lower curve of her belly had gone from sweeping below her paws at its lowest point to swamping them entirely; her left hind paw was buried completely, eaten by the mass of the fleshy paunch resting on it. Her flank swelled generously into the air, supported the depth of her gut as well as her back flesh spreading out over the ground behind her. The massive structure lifted slightly with each of the lion’s weary, raspy breaths. As for her upper limbs, they were congested to the point of paralysis with the surging shoulder and chest fat. The brisket, four times as large as Sarabi’s own head, jutted out much farther than her nose and smothered her left forepaw. Her right forepaw, currently her most mobile appendage – save for her tail – still would not have been able to as much as wipe her whiskers because her neck had developed from a heavy collection of fatty collars to a bloated extension of her shoulders. Below her chin, Sarabi felt the pressure of the fat growing into an area lacking space, the flesh spread left and right into a shelf supporting her entire jaw and making her lisp with the added effort of opening her mouth. From the tip of her chin, her neck lunged outward into space before dropping steeply; it barely pulled into her body before again bending outwards into the doughy, squishy mass of brisket. Cheeks so round and thick, they made her snout look shorter, pressed against yet more neck fat welling behind and around her head and on top of her head, her ears were partially devoured into a roll forming between the crown of her skull and her newest neck roll, the sausage hills actually sweeping upward from her skull into the massive fortress of lard that was her shoulders. Sarabi’s head was minuscule compared to the rest of her, and was in fact hard to distinguish from her torso at all. The lioness felt like a face planted on the front of her swelling, bulging, creased shoulders. It was a wonder that Gahiji yet remained near.
And while it was obvious that he found Sarabi’s appearance freakish in nature, he was kind enough not to mention it and let her bring it up as she would. He did notice, however, the stark change in demeanor when the ankh’s power had left her for the night and she’d finally absorbed her night’s quota of ‘mystical energy.’ The cocked his head and asked, “Is that a rhino mating or is that you?”
Sarabi groaned, “It’s me... ugh. I’m so hungry...”
“What?!” laughed Gahiji as if she told a joke. “How can you be hungry when-“
Sarabi cut him off, “When I’m as heavy as a bull rhino, I know.” She set her face with a stern frown. “Well, Gahiji, just because there’s a lot, a lot, of fat under my skin doesn’t mean that my stomach is any less empty.”
Gahiji looked off into the jungle and scratched the back of his head with a paw. “... Uh, that’s not what I was going to say. I meant, how can you be hungry after you ate that monkey earlier. It was past noon when I remember you tucking in.”
Sarabi had completely forgotten about that ‘little snack’ she’d managed to collect when the love struck simian had fallen from the canopy and broken its neck on the ground. She didn’t even notice the meat now, her stomach cavity was as empty and howling as the pit of Tartarus. She still struggled for an excuse. “Well... you know... I’m a much larger type of cat than you, Gahiji. Lions need more food than a leopard. This lioness especially.”
Gahiji frowned at the living bulk expanding behind her head like some sort of alien creature devouring her up to her head. “Well maybe you should eat more like a leopard then. That kind of kill would have kept me going for two days at least, probably three or four.”
Sarabi grimaced at the pang ripping a trench out of her insides, deep within the dense buffer of fat that surrounded her. “You don’t understand... I...” and her voice trailed off. ‘I am used to glutting myself all day, everyday as I have for the past year.’ That was what had been about to come out of her mouth. But she couldn’t say it to Gahiji. She remained as a victim in his eyes. What would he think if he knew that more than half of the flab that she currently wore had been painstakingly nurtured by herself with a life of leisure and incredible excess. What would he say if he knew that she couldn’t bear to be without food because she had worked at expanding her stomach volume by intentionally overeating to the point where she made herself sick every day? She wasn’t prepared to share that part of herself with him, and likely she never would; with him or anyone else.
“I don’t understand what?” asked Gahiji with a concerned look on his mild face.
“...Nothing.” Sarabi said finally. She ran her rough pads over the heavy weight of her brisket idly. She was exhausted and didn’t feel like opening up to the leopard anymore tonight. “Please, won’t you just find me something to eat. I can’t sleep when I’m hungry like this.”
“Sleep?” Gahiji cocked his head the other way. “It’s the middle of the night. Why do you want to sleep for? I mean granted, we were up late in the afternoon, but...”
Sarabi let out a heavy breath. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a good sleep, alright? I’m dealing with a lot of... things right now. I just... need some rest.” Sarabi reclined her head wearily against the neck fat supporting it from the ground like a pillow.
Gahiji still looked unconvinced. His eyes traversed to her white furred, pink skinned tummy, expanding hugely to paw length at the hips and then incredibly swelling outwards far below them like a beached whale’s.
Sarabi longed to tell him that her weight was, at the present time, completely independent of what she put in her mouth. But she lacked the energy to go into a lengthy and confusing story. She just wanted some fresh, juicy meat to quell the screaming void inside of her so she could sleep. Was that so much to ask? “Please, Gahiji.” She pleaded again, “Won’t you find me something small to eat? Just to take the edge off?” His eyes wandered. She was forced to pull out the big guns, “You said you would help me...”
Gahiji threw his head back with a groan. “Ok, I’ll see what I can do...”
He stalked off, his muscular shoulders pumping. Sarabi said wheezily after him, “Thank you, Gahiji... you’re a saint.”
Sarabi thought she was going to die after an hour an a half of waiting immobile and helpless on the jungle floor. Finally, the leopard returned. He was carrying...
1. A hefty bonobo
[[2. A tiny bushbaby]]**A Paltry Titbit (Shalion)**
The aching pain and longing infected her like a disease. Sarabi pawed at what she could reach of her belly with her forepaws. However at her new extreme in weight, her paunch was so large that it was actually a fair ways from her actual stomach cavity, where she felt the hunger pangs ripping her. She longed for sleep, but it refused to come and abolish the hunger she had grown and nurtured over an entire year of constant gluttony and now which she found herself unable to satisfy. Sarabi rested her head on a fleshy neck roll which welled up against her cheek as she lowered her head. She flexed her paws, which was just about the only thing she could do with them now, and waited for Gahiji. There was nothing else she could do.
At last she heard something. Her ears struggled to perk against the fat roll encroaching on them, and Sarabi lifted her head slightly. She smelled leopard in the air, and more than that, freshly spilled blood. Her mouth watered copiously. Putting her forepaws against the ground, Sarabi struggled to move her great bulk.
While her bloated lower half was clearly beyond her - what with her paunch spreading generously to fully cover one of her legs so that it completely concealed, and crushed, a paw - Sarabi was just trying to rotate her upper half in anticipation for food. Chest fat and shoulder fat dragged heavily on the ground. Her elbows poked painfully into the fat padding that'd grown under them as her chest had deepened and more than doubled its width. She had to lift herself with her back as she walked to the side with her paws on her nest of ferns. With the new thickness of her torso and the mass of her brisket like a sack of bowling balls in front of her, it was almost beyond her to even shift herself this way.
In the end, Sarabi managed... mostly, though she felt her skin tugging around her ribs and chest and she had no way to adjust the heaps of skin which were caught against the ground and her own bulk. Gahiji emerged from around a tree just as Sarabi was finishing the taxing maneuver.
He seemed surprised to see Sarabi in such a state, "What have you been doing to get yourself so worked up?"
However, Sarabi barely heard him, for she had seen what he had caught. It now rested on the ground since he'd opened his mouth to speak. It was nothing more than a common bushbaby, a tiny creature that looked like no more than a mouthful at the most. Sarabi's fat laden heart sank. "Oh... nothing much." muttered Sarabi.
Hardly noticing Sarabi's sudden deflation, Gahiji picked up his catch and strode forward, practically skipping, his tail waving in the air. "Shis shing olnost got obay..." He spat out the three pound creature in front of Sarabi, then seeing how her fatty brisket flowed out the same distance as her planted paws, nosed the limp thing forward until it was literally touching her paw. As he did this, he said excitedly, "It thought that it was going to get away in the high branches, but I broke the limb it was climbing and sent it tumbling down. I snatched it right out of the air before it fell out of the tree!"
"That's great, Gahiji." said Sarabi, really trying to summon some enthusiasm. It was clear that the leopard felt proud over his victory. But Sarabi could only look with distain at the paltry meal. She'd swallowed lumps of flesh bigger than this whole.
"Well... tuck in, Sarabi." said Gahiji expectantly. His eyes were very large in the dark of the jungle night.
Sarabi sighed as she grasped the mouse-sized creature with her paw. Meat was meat after all, even if the bush baby looked like mostly skin and sinew. It was more difficult than she would have thought getting the tidbit to her mouth. Fat bunched against her leg as she lifted it. Her round brisket dominated the space in front of her head and her neck was too thick to allow her to dip her face any real distance. But Sarabi was strongly motivated. The leopard in front of her looked with a morbid fascination as Sarabi was forced to pin the little carcass against her white furred brisket and push it upwards, bracing her paw against it's softness at the same time. the hardest part was when it was on top of the mound, but at the base of her fatty collars. She couldn't reach up any higher with her paw, not with it drowning in a sea of chest fat at the elbow with sacs of shoulder fat draping over it.
Gahiji, seeing her plight moved forward to help with the awkward situation. However, before he could, with a feat of strength, Sarabi reached forward with her head and 'grasped' the bush baby with the rough side of her tongue, drawing it into her mouth where it disappeared with the ease of an hors d'oeuvre. The lioness then promptly eased herself back fully onto her side.
Sarabi was not sure if her hunger was any better, or perhaps even worse with the tease. She hadn't chewed at all, her gag reflex having become minimal with the extremely large chunks she'd grown used to swallowing. Belatedly she said. "Um, Thank you, Gahiji."
The leopard frowned above her. Obviously he knew something was wrong, but Sarabi was not about to enlighten him to the fact that his catch was so small as to actually make her hunger a little worse. She added. "Go on and catch something for yourself. I'm just going to try and get some sleep here until morning... Thanks again."
The leopard grunted in affirmative, but was hesitant in leaving. He looked sidelong at the ground. Obviously his triumphant return had not gone as planned for him either.
Sarabi, despite the pain in her belly, slowed her breathing, feigning sleep. However, the guttural sounds emerging from her tortured stomach were giving away her bluff. Still, after a spell of watching, Gahiji eventually got up and returned to the night. Given what he'd gone through to get it, Sarabi wondered if he would have been better off eating the bush baby... but she only wondered now that it was securely rattling around inside her cavernous digestive organ.
The hours past with mind numbing slowness, but eventually, Sarabi settled into something resembling sleep, or at least she became less aware of her surroundings for uneven intervals even as her stomach continued to prod and pick at her to fill it.
At long last, the morning came and Gahiji...
1. had not yet returned
2. was napping on her flank