"Beautiful, right?"
Rina nearly jumped out of her fur. Her heart pounding, she stammered, "W-what do you mean!?"
The fox, still lying on her back on the blanket, made a wide, sweeping gesture with one arm. "The stars, of course."
"Oh! R-right." Rina stared upward, keeping her eyes fixed on the starry sky. "Of course. Yeah, the stars are beautiful."
A smile played at the edges of Sam's mouth as she turned onto her side, propping her head up with one elbow. "What did you think I meant, Silly?"
[[MORE]]
Rina swallowed hard. What was she supposed to say? That for a moment, her mind had naturally jumped to the conclusion that Sam had been asking about herself? That it was Sam she had been staring at, and not the starry night sky? That she wished this "date" between roommates didn't have to have metaphorical quotation marks around it?
Rina shook her head, trying to clear it. "N-nothing. It just really is a beautiful night." And that wasn't a lie: the stars spread out before them on a vast, navy blue canvas. This spot on the roof of Sam's apartment building really was the perfect spot for stargazing, and it was such a clear night. It had been Sam's idea, to bring up some snacks and spread out a few blankets for a late-night picnic beneath the stars, and Rina was honored to have been invited. It was a perfect evening.
Well, almost perfect. Rina shivered.
The movement didn't escape Sam's notice. "Oh!" Her tone sounded worried. "Are you cold!?"
"Maybe a little," Rina answered, trying to keep her large teeth from chattering. She didn't want the evening to be over yet. "I'm fine."
"No, you're not! You're clearly freezing. I'm so sorry! Here, let me help." Sam reached over, slid her hands under Rina's arms to pick her up -- an easy task, considering the difference in their size -- and deposited her in her lap.
Rina didn't have to worry about being cold now: she could feel her cheeks starting to heat up. As a rabbit, Rina was tiny compared to the big fox -- if they had been standing side by side, the tops of Rina's tall ears would just barely have brushed the bottom of Sam's ample bosom. But that meant that she was the perfect size to snuggle up against Sam like this. With her ears flattened back, Rina fit snug in the space between Sam's legs, her back pressing against the fox's abdomen, the top of her head just under Sam's chest.
Sam picked up the second blanket she had brought and wrapped it around the both of them, so it under Rina's chin. "There, that any better?"
"Y-yes," Rina managed to stammer. She definitely wasn't cold now. Cozy between fox and blanket, her cheeks flushing, she was, if anything, in danger of overheating.
"Good." Sam settled in behind Rina, looking back up at the stars. Rina felt Sam's body grow tense. "What is that? A bird?"
Curious, her attention momentarily distracted from the warm body just behind her, Rina looked up. She saw it: a dark outline against the brilliant sky. "Maybe? It looks a little big to be a bird, don't you think?"
"Yeah, but it's not big enough to be an airplane, and it's movements are too fluid. See, you can see its wings flapping." Sam leaning forward and squinted her eyes. "Is it... is it coming this way?"
Indeed, Rina could see that the dark shadow was making a large arc, and now appearing to be heading towards them. As it grew closer, its figure became more clear in the night's ambient light.
It was a dragon. He was male, and appeared to be wearing a pair of jeans, but no shirt. His scales were a beautiful blue color, with a yellow underbelly that started at his jaw and went down his bare chest. Two thick horns protruded from his forehead, and wide, powerful wings propelled him forward. It was hard to judge from this distance, but he looked like he was probably a bit taller than Sam, which meant he would be *much* larger than Rina.
The dragon furled his wings and entered into a dive.
"What is he doing?" Sam asked.
Rina's eyes widened as she saw that the dragon had his jaws gaping wide. She spun herself around, flipping onto her knees so she was facing Sam. Maybe she could push Sam down, get both of them onto the ground. "S-Sam! We need to get...!"
But the blanket tangled up Rina's movements. They didn't have time to move, much less dodge, before the dragon slammed into them.
Rina felt large, scaly hands slide beneath her arms, scooping her up. And directly in front of her, she saw the dragon's open maw slam down over Sam's head and shoulders. With a great *woosh*, the dragon's wings unfurled, catching the wind from his dive and giving him lift.
Rina looked down to see the roof disappearing below her dangling feet. In a moment, it was gone, and all she saw were twinkling city lights, far below, as though the earth and sky had inverted themselves and the starry night was now below her, rather than above.
She heard a wet noise and a muffled cry above her, and looked up.
Sam was hanging from the dragon's mouth. The initial dive had forced his maw down over her shoulders, trapping her arms at her sides, and now he seemed to be trying to swallow her chest. Her head made a clear imprint within the predator's gullet, which had expanded out to accept her. He was moving his head in quick jerks, loosening his jaw so he could dart his head forward and bite down again, pulling a little bit more of Sam's body into his gullet with each movement.
Rina screamed -- could anyone even hear her from this high up? -- and began to struggle, but the dragon just squeezed her forearms, pinching her a bit with his claws. She glanced down at the city below and realized that squirming was a *very bad* idea right now, at least if she didn't want to end up as a rabbit pancake.
There was nothing she could do except watch as Sam was devoured.
The dragon swallowed her slowly, bite by bite, timing the small swallows with the beats of his great wings. From where she was hanging, Rina had a perfect view of the dragon's gullet, and she watched as the different parts of Sam's body passed through it, her chest, then abdomen, then hips making clear imprints on the throat. Once Sam's arms were fully trapped, all she could do to fight was kick her legs, and of course there was no leverage to be found up here. Eventually, the dragon was chomping down the last of Sam's legs and the end of her wildly-twitching tail.
His teeth closed behind both, and he swallowed. The bulge in his gullet slid down and disappeared, and his gut, directly above Rina's head, swelled out.
Rina sobbed as she stared at the squirming bulge that contained her friend.
For a moment, Rina was afraid that the dragon was about to lift her to his maw and begin repeating the process he had just finished. But instead, they began to descend. The dragon spread his wings and glided downward, aiming towards what appeared to be an old park at the edge of the city. As they reached the point where the could skim the ground, he threw his wings out, putting the brakes on their movement, putting his feet down so he could alight on the grass.
The landing space he had chosen was a small clearing in the park, in an area otherwise surrounded by trees. Quiet. Secluded.
But the process of landing threw him off balance a bit, especially with his current extra weight. He stumbled a little, and his grip on Rina's arms loosened.
Her rabbit instincts kicked in. The moment her feet touched the ground, she tore out of his grip and bolted.
"Hey!" The cry from the dragon seemed more like surprise than anger.
Rina threw herself into the lightning-fast sprint that only rabbits can accomplish. It took her less than a second to reach the edge of the clearing and disappear into the trees. As soon as she was out of sight, she flattened herself against the back of a large tree and waited, her huge ears twitching different directions, listening.
After a moment, she realized that the dragon wasn't pursuing her, and the grip of instinct began to fade. Her heart stopped pounding against the inside of her chest, and her breathing grew a little more regular. Moving as carefully and quietly as possible, she peered out around the tree.
The dragon was still there -- he didn't seem at all interested in chasing her. He had leaned back against a tree, and was currently using both hands to massage his bulging gut. It seemed he was full enough, and didn't think that trying to chase a rabbit would be worth it. He was very unlikely to be able to catch her, weighed down as he was.
His belly gave a particularly strong squirm.
Rina swallowed. She should run. She should *run!* It was the only decision that made sense in this situation. There was no way she could overpower a dragon that was more than twice her size. She should take off into the woods, find safety, make her way back home.
And yet... that was *Sam* in there. She was stewing in that dragon's hellish gut, looking at a future of being slowly digested over the next couple days. Could Rina really just *leave* her there?
The dragon wouldn't be expecting Rina to attack. Maybe she could catch him off guard, force him to spit Sam up, and then they could both make a run for it? If he didn't see her coming, if she hit him hard enough, it could work!
Clenching her fists, Rina nodded to herself. Yes, it was the only real option. She *had* to save Sam!
Before she had a chance to second guess herself, Rina dashed out from under the tree, running straight for the dragon. Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears. The wind rushed past her as she ran straight for the dragon. He turned his head to look at her, his eyes going wide, just as she jumped into the air, twisting her body so she could deliver a strong, two-legged kick to his bulging belly.
There was a loud *whump* as his belly spasmed, and he braced himself against the tree. Rina dropped to the ground, landing on her back on the grass.
The dragon coughed, putting a hand to his mouth, and for a moment, Rina thought it had worked -- only for the dragon to swallow and shake his head. Before Rina could run again, he reached down, leaning over his belly to grab the small rabbit by the scruff of her neck. He lifted her into the air.
"Nice try," he said. "I'm surprised you came back, you know."
"I... I..." Rina squeaked. This had gone just about as wrong as possible.
"Not that I'm complaining. Your fox friend filled me up pretty well, but there's always room for dessert." He lifted Rina up high, hoisting her over his head. He opened his maw wide.
"W-wait!" Rina started to squirm.
The dragon used his free hand to clasp both of Rina's ankles together, then began to lower her into his mouth. She felt her feet hit his wet tongue.
"P-please! Don't!"
The dragon swallowed. Her feet slid into the tight, hot tunnel of his throat, pulling her in up to her knees.
She tried to struggle. She put one hand on the top of his jaws, the other on the bottom, hoping to push herself back out. But she was fighting gravity, and the dragon had moved his hand to the top of her head to start pushing her down. He had had no problem swallowing Sam, and Rina was such a smaller meal. She wouldn't stand a chance.
The dragon kept swallowing, kept pushing her deeper. Her knees slid into his gullet, his jaws starting to slide up around her hips. His tongue snaked out, wrapping around her body. Before she realized what he was doing, the thick, surprisingly-strong muscle had surrounded her arms, squeezing suddenly to pin them to her sides. Without her grip on his jaws to slow her down, her hips slid into his gullet, and her chest squeezed into his mouth.
"P-please!" She begged. She squirmed, but it wasn't doing much good at this point. "Please don't! I'm not food! I don't wanna be... mmph!"
She was silenced as she was pulled deeper, and the dragon's tongue wrapped over her muzzle, quieting her. His jaws were coming up around her shoulders now, starting to creep up the side of her head.
Rina looked up, and got one last view of the stars, this time framed by dragon fangs. Then the mouth closed over her, and all she saw was darkness.
--------
Roy closed his mouth around the rabbit's head. Now only her large ears were still hanging on the outside. With another swallow, he slurped those up, too.
The rabbit was a squirmer, and for a moment, he held her in his gullet, placing his hand against his throat to feel her movements beneath. Then with one last wet gulp, he sent her down to join the fox.
Roy let out a sigh as his belly bulged out even louder. He ran his hands over it as the two females inside struggled, squirming around as they tried to get comfortable in the cramped space. He could hear screams and shouts, but they were too muffled by layers of flesh to be understandable.
He let out a small belch. This meal was going to take him *days* to digest, and he was going to enjoy every second of it. He still couldn't believe that the rabbit had thrown herself at him -- he had really expected her to get away after she had broken his grip. The fox must've been someone important to her.
Well, they would have plenty of time to be together now -- both in his belly for the next few days, and as dragon fat for the rest of eternity after that.
Smiling to himself, Roy settled onto the ground next to the tree. He would wait a few minutes before attempting to fly again. For now, he could relax in this park, enjoy the squirms, and look at the stars.
