To whoever is in my head seeing things from my perspective, hey there! I’m a Floatzel named Rivzel Mudwater. I look like a typical mid-aged Floatzel with pink eyes; but what’s abnormal about me is that my left eye is blind. Well, rather it’s scarred up so heavily that I can’t see out of it since I was around ten when that Zangoose slashed across my face. My eyeball might still work but I can’t even feel it there anymore. It’s basically blindness at that point. The hospital up in Walknorth considered it impossible to treat, which is unfortunate. I have an eyepatch to cover it and some panties on me, both pink colored. Because I need to look somewhat decent out here in the forest and having my scar visible tends to cause some to feel bad for me.
I tend to not converse positively with others since my personality is blunt, so bear with me here. I tend to be an asshole and am straight to the point. It’s impossible for me to not take things seriously, especially after being used to the nature life where it can be for, or against, you. Survival of the fittest kind of situations. I have a hard time trusting others and tend to be selfish as well, but I will provide anything to support my family. As for my family, I love them all dearly. Both my husband and both of my sons. My parents are with Arceus in heaven, so I’ll skip that part, though I also loved them all the same.
Anyways, let me tell you about the crazy shit that I got into yesterday up to about an hour ago. About the time that I met someone I should have known years ago but never caught on. About the time I thought my life was going to end in the craziest way possible. About the time I was gifted something precious back to me for going through all the craziness. It’s the weirdest day of my life and I’m, sniffle, still a bit in tears over it. It’s not exactly sad tears, it’s more of being overwhelmed and confused about what happened. It’s a lot to take in but describing it again might help me recollect myself.
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One sunny afternoon, with a light-brown rucksack on my back and the clothing I told you about earlier, I was foraging in Mudskip forest, getting here from swimming downriver, which is the fastest method of travel for me. I am a Floatzel and all. I almost never go to this forest because it is more dangerous than Stifstik forest. The trees are thicker and in a deeper color here than in Stifstik. There’s a fog that envelops the entire area, making it hard to see past a hundred feet. At least that’s my visibility right now, it might be worse if I go further in. I heard it’s also haunted with ghosts.
But what’s worse is that there are predators here. Something that civilized cultures never have. These predators… they eat others for food like cannibals, living off of flesh and blood instead of living off nature and sustainable, humane meat. Hard to explain the humane part so I’ll leave it for another time. But it is truly survival of the fittest here and I don’t want to needlessly risk my life. I heard the outer areas like I’m in now aren’t as bad, but the risk is still there.
But today I have to take some risks, because there is a specific berry that only grows in this forest. The Bompant berry. It’s this small, black berry that I heard can severely help with digestive issues. And me and my Buizel son have these issues, especially me who has unhealthy times in the bathroom over it. I don’t always wear ‘protection’ like he does. I’m looking for a remedy to that since it heavily inconveniences our family, and this seems like the remedy. I’m not buying over-the-counter artificial shit for similar results at the drug store. Not after I took drugs last time from them. Nature provides better and healthier medicine, more than medical science ever will.
But of course, the Bompant berry bush is difficult to find. It rarely grows, ever, even in its growing season as it is now. And even though there’s a town called Jogwest a couple miles out, they don’t cultivate these berries. Probably because it’s a pain in the ass especially with the visibility in this forest. So, I need to find it myself. I’ve been looking for half an hour and haven’t seen it yet, so I hope one turns up soon. I do see the ball of sun faded through the fog and it’s moving towards the west faster than I anticipated.
After some more minutes of searching through the thick vegetation and the thick-logged trees, I managed to find a bush. Finally! I’ll grab all that is there and maybe head back to my log cabin if time allows or rent a room in Jogwest. Either way my family is used to me being away for longer than a day. It shouldn’t take too long since I did this once or twice in my lifetime. I set my rucksack open on the grass and bend down towards the bush, looking at ripe berries to pick. I carefully grab a couple with my paws and drop them inside the cloth bag I have for berries inside my rucksack, but I’m told I’ll need more than this.
As I pick the berries, I hear a rustle in the vegetation nearby which puts me on high alert. Hearing sounds you didn’t cause is never a good thing; because it means something or someone else is there. Possibly watching you and wanting something from you.
I obviously stop picking and hide under the bush, looking through it with my eyes. Trying to camouflage myself though the pink eyepatch doesn’t help matters. The sounds get closer and closer. They sound like large footsteps from someone. Hopefully it’s not one of those predators that lurk in this foggy forest.
After a moment, I saw a large figure through the bush. A large pink figure, bigger than me. And it’s walking nearby. My heart races even though I had to hide like this a lot of times. But in this forest, it’s different. I’m not sure what’s lurking out there. In Stikstik I know almost all the Pokémon there. I don’t know here.
After a few seconds I get a closer look once he’s within forty feet of me. It turns out that he’s an Audino. An abnormally large one at that with off-colored skin; I’d say at least 4’ tall while I’m 3’7” height. He has a fuzzy patterned look on his chest and purple eyes. There’s a purple and black-striped bracelet on his right wrist. I can tell the Audino is male because his junk is freely hanging out. No clothes on at all, bare naked.
My heart calms down a bit, because Audinos aren’t really a threat. They’re shit in battling; strong ones don’t exist. They had a couple in Walknorth and all they did was medical treatment, using their healing powers at the nursery. They aren’t predators like I imagined such as a Zangoose or a Charizard. What I’m looking at is a curious, happy Audino who is probably foraging like I am.
When I looked again, I saw him coming towards me. He noticed me by now, but I don’t feel scared anymore. I can’t afford to feel scared, especially against an Audino. I slowly come out of hiding to not startle him and then he stops, smiling at me. I wonder if he can even understand our civilized language.
“Hello there,” I tell him somewhat loudly but calmly. I waited a couple of seconds for his response.
“Hello~ Can I pick some berries with you ‘dino~?” Turns out he can speak, ending his speech with part of his species name at the end of it. He seems younger than me, but I can’t tell what his actual age is. And he seems like he can be sanely reasoned with. I can’t afford to share these berries though. They’re too rare to find to share with another. Took me a while to find even one bush. I’m best off trying to make him go away. He might not even know what these berries are.
“No,” I tell him bluntly, “these berries are too rare to share. I have a family in need of theses.” He obviously doesn’t want to hear that, but maybe he’s nice enough to leave me be. He can pick some other kind of berry if he’s hungry.
“I don’t need much of them ‘dino. I’ll just pick some of them with you ‘dino~.” I was hoping he wouldn’t reply that way. I don’t want to be aggressive, but I really can’t afford to lose some of these berries to someone else. Even if I am a selfish asshole.
With more aggression, I tell the Audino, “They’re not for sharing. Go find another and please leave me alone. I don’t want to harm you.” I felt a bit pissed off and rude there, but hopefully he understands now. I don’t have time to deal with this.
The large Audino doesn’t go away at all, looking at me happily instead. “You’re adorable when you act that way~ Let’s share ‘dino!” He swatted away all my aggression like it was nothing. Like he doesn’t understand that I actually will harm him if he comes closer. I don’t play games. I need these berries for myself and my family, even if I have to fight for them. A fight that I now know I can win.
And of course, he comes closer with no fear or doubt in the world, as if he’s completely ignorant of the situation or if he somehow knows he will defeat me. But I don’t see myself losing. I give him props for getting this close; most would back away as they should.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I tell him, getting into my fighting stance. I have my right foot forward and my arms out, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. My right eye is focused seriously on him. I just need to threaten him to go away, to signal to him that I mean what I’m telling him. There’s no way he’s going to risk taking on a combat worn Floatzel like me. Just go away and let me pick my damn berries in peace, dumb Audino.
The Audino makes a giggling sound, making me feel offended, as if I’m just a pushover. I’m actually serious here in what I’m doing. I will actually hurt him. “You’re going to fight me ‘dino?” He gets into a fighting stance as well, actually not needing to fight me, but wanting to. He continues, “Sure, practice is good~ We can pick berries after if you’re up for it.”
Something really doesn’t seem right. The way he is acting is strange. He’s way too optimistic about what is happening as if he wants to be friends with me after this even after I’ve been an asshole to him. He’s also waiting for me to attack first. I get the feeling that I might be making a grave mistake here.
But I can’t back down now. After a few hits he should go away. I know they can use protect but it won’t last past a couple of hits. My heart races throughout my bloodstream, telling me to fight. Water starts to surround me as I immediately speed towards him. A quick aqua jet should threaten him off of me. What’s important is hitting first to send a clear message.
WHACK~! I manage to land a hard hit against him, but he blocks it with his arm. I easily land on my feet against the grass, water still encompassing me. I have a sharp focus on him, and the Audino didn’t seem to move from that at all. Not even a mark on his arm. It’s as if he cleanly deflected it off me.
I follow up with an aqua tail, jumping in the air and violently swing my tail horizontally, landing another aquatic hit against him. This time I saw him move backward a bit from the force of the splash, his guard partially broken. I take advantage of his opening and punch and tackle him a couple of times as he keeps going backward. Then I spray him with a water gun directly and cleanly in the face.
“Ow!” he responds as the blast of water hits him, causing him to temporarily lose sight as he guards his face instead. To finish it off, I use the strongest move I know passed down to me from my kin: the crashing wave. I shroud myself in water as he is distracted for a moment, and then I rush as hard as I can with all the force of my body, hitting him cleanly in the center of his chest. WHAM! The Audino gets sent in the air with clear bruises on his chest about ten feet in the air before landing on his back against the grass. THUMP!
Due to running out of air after being hit in the lungs like that, he should be knocked out now for a minute, and he won’t get on his feet for another five, which should be plenty to change his mind about me. I’m not going to harm him more than necessary, as he did have some decency and positivity. But he shouldn’t have messed with me, as fragile and dumb as he was.
I walk backwards towards the berries, keeping an eye on him, until I reach the Bompant berry bush. My rucksack is still there as before with the bag open inside. Seeing that he’s still on his back, I decided to resume my foraging. Because there’s no way that he’s in a state to continue after this.
“I feel soaked ‘dino!” he casually says on his back as I was interrupted in my thoughts. And then what he does next shocks me: he easily gets up like it was nothing. He didn’t even use his damn arms; he rolled forward to get on his feet in some sort of athletic feat. The Audino then looks at me. “That was a strong move!” he tells me, still somehow happy.
Something really isn’t adding up now. I start to feel some fear and uncertainty within myself. No one gets up easily from that, especially those around my size. Especially within half a minute. I look at his fuzzy chest and the bruises are gone. Like it never fucking happened. I get the feeling he wasn’t even knocked down; probably healed himself like any Audino would. But not even an injury like that heals so fast; there are still after marks and some pain from the injury. But it’s not there at all anymore… It’s just gone.
I asked him loudly, “How in Arceus did you get up from that!?” He thinks for a second and tells me “I’m used to it~ I heal up quickly ‘dino.” Is he used to this? Is he getting training from his friends or an instructor or something? Any Audino I know would have been passed out from that. It has to be the training. Due to that I get the feeling he’s holding back on me, which is a scary scenario to be in.
The Audino asks me, “Want to share berries ‘dino, or do you want to fight more? I can attack you back if you want.” Yeah, as if I want to receive hits unlike him. Imagine wanting to get hurt intentionally; that’s silly.
It’s at that moment that my fears were realized; he’s holding back on me. Doesn’t even attack back. As if he’s testing my capabilities. This kind of angers me but I can see why someone would do that. Not revealing your hand until you have to. Getting to know all about your opponent and then taking advantage. He’s very likely to be that type of fighter, if he can battle at all. Audinos can’t fight well. But did he really think that way? They have some smarts overall, but he doesn’t seem like a fighter to me though he can defend alright.
My mind is racing with doubts and questions. I feel like I am in a panic, and I’m feeling more exhausted than normal. Maybe I should just share the berries with him. But I really can’t afford to share. And damaging my self-worth at battling. I just can’t do it…
“I c-can’t afford to lose. Let’s fight more,” I tell him, starting to stutter in uneasiness. Can he really fight back? It’s time for me to find out, the easy or the hard way. I do the same as before, initiating with an aqua jet. I need to knock him out fast and hard or I might actually be in trouble.
WHAM! I hit similar to before and he blocks in a similar way. THUMP! The Audino tackles me right after that, sending me back a couple of inches and nearly losing my balance. It was a strong and quick force against me; I’m surprised an Audino can even hit that hard.
We exchanged a couple more blows to each other after that over the next several seconds. I’m tiring myself out more than I anticipated, barely from any fighting at all. I wonder if he’s trying to outlast me…
BONK! I attempted to bite his right arm after that, but within a couple of inches away he reacted by headbutting me against my head. I yelled painful noises on contact, feeling like a psychic blast against me, as if he put his mind and willpower into it. I had to look away for a second but had my right eye always looking at him. If he takes advantage of my obvious blind spot somehow on my left side, my biggest weakness, then I’m fucked, so I always have to keep eye contact.
I look back and he’s setting up a defensive move. It looks like Reflect which dampens some of my moves against him. Of course, he’s using his defensive moves; he’s an Audino! Makes sense for him to use that. I try to use a heavy burst of water to catch him off guard right after.
He raised his right paw and sent some sort of psychic blast against me before I could reach him, his eyes glowing brightly. OOF! I got sent flying a few feet from that, my head throbbing from the psychic damage against my mind and rolled against the grass on landing. The force and impact felt familiar from a move used by another friend that I know of. But how the hell does he know psychic!? Not like the answer matters right now…
I had to get up immediately, so I did so. Luckily, he didn’t immediately attack me on the ground; he waited for me to get up. He stands there seemingly normal, not seeming too tired at all, seeming happy towards me. And then we just stared at each other, me feeling exhausted and never giving up and him looking optimistic, treating this like some sort of battle practice.
The Audino giggles at me, “Berries, ‘dino~? You seem tired~” I didn’t respond right away, thinking of how he really did hold back on me. On how he revealed that he knows psychic. On how he is obviously trying to outlast me. He keeps trying to make me stop fighting, to give up and share the berries. But my self-worth, my pride…like I mentioned before I can’t damage that. I can’t quit, not now.
In a brave, but likely foolish, way I loudly tell him, “It’s all or nothing for me,” to which he just smiles at hearing. As if he knows I’m going to lose.
I’m feeling pissed off at this point. I’m going to attempt the wave crash again. The move that can actually damage him for but a moment. I surround myself with water, more so than last time, and in a whirling rage, I go after him as fast as my body lets me, going to strike him right in that optimistic-looking face of his. Even if he protects this, which he should, there’s no way he can hold it back so easily. There’s no way he’s going to counter this-
WHAM! BZZZRRRT! And then it happened. He threw his fist right into my gut with such precise timing. A fist sprawled with electricity coursing throughout my entire body. The water around me intensifies the effect, frying me and shaking my entire being violently. I was obviously weak to electricity, and it really messed me up.
“AHHHHHH!” I screamed heavily. I don’t even remember what happened other than the screaming and the pain, but I was obviously on the ground a couple of seconds later. My belly and face are against the ground, and I felt paralyzed from the chest down. And he knows thunder punch as well. What a surprise! He probably knows every damn move he could possibly know! And I was his plaything, lying on the ground like this.
I’m not sure whatever he has in store for me. It’s survival of the fittest out here. He could very well end me right here and now, but he seems too nice to do that. He obviously wanted me to live and share with him, even midway into the fight. Maybe he will forgive and heal me. Then we can pick happily berries together like he said. Like we’re in some happy fairy tale land. Probably the best outcome possible right now. At least I proved my self-worth, regardless of my outcome. My father would be proud of me right now.
I feel him pressing something against my back. It feels like skin, like it’s something belonging to him. I remember an Audino at the nursery using their ear feelers to check how somebody is feeling. That’s probably it. I’m too worn out to look and check what it is.
“You’re in awful shape ‘dino… can’t leave you like this…” Of course I’m in awful shape! You fucking pumped me with electricity! Dumb Audino… He then removes what he pressed against me. He really didn’t need his feeler thing, assuming it’s that, to figure that out, but I guess it’s normal for him to do that.
I lie there motionless, not reacting or moving at all even though I probably can’t anyways. I want to know what he does with a body that seems unconscious. And he’d knock me down again anyways if I attempted to get up.
My head throbs heavily for some seconds with an intense headache. I couldn’t see or hear anything at the time. I think I heard mumbling from him, but I couldn’t make it out. Afterward, I feel so exhausted at this point that I could just sleep right here, but I need to know my fate. But there’s also this weird feeling on my tail. As if there’s a liquid warmth on it. As if it’s being heavily pulled away from me. He’s probably healing me; that’d be nice of him. Seems to be the best-case scenario after all.
GULP~! I feel a forceful, heavy tug on my tail. My tail feels drenched in some sort of heated lubricant. Is he using life dew or something? Either way it feels nice and comforting. Just keep healing me, it can start from the tail, that’s fine~ It’s not like anything bad is happening right now.
“Oh, you’re awake~” he says to me, sort of mumbling. I think I moved a bit when he pulled my tail, but I’m unsure. I try to reply nicely, no more harshness as he’s stronger than I am, saying “Yeah…I am,” somewhat quietly and monotone. I don’t bother to turn my head. Need to conserve my energy. I’ll just relax while he heals me. This is fine. He’s just healing me, nothing to worry about…
“I’m going to swallow you whole, ‘dino~!” On hearing that, I panicked like you wouldn’t imagine, more so than ever before. Suddenly I’m not relaxed anymore. He doesn’t want to heal me; he’s a predator! He wants me gone! I can’t relax now; I have to fight back! Those thoughts jolted me with what remaining energy dwelled inside and I quickly turned my head to look.
Sure enough, my tail was down his gullet. No wonder it felt so warm and lubricated. How have I not realized this sooner; I could have struggled out of it! Now it’s very tight within there, his throat muscles ensuring that it won’t be pulled out. Definitely not with the little strength that I have right now. He saw my reaction and kept himself calm. I definitely wasn’t calm though!
“It’s adorable how they react to that, ‘dino~” he mumbles to me in a bit of laughter, as if this was funny, as if this was some sort of sick joke, even though he actually swallowed my tail. He continues, “You’ll be safe, don’t worry~” I feel my legs being lifted up. I was running out of time and fast. I try to speak out, “I-I’m sorry about not sharing! C-can we talk about this!?”
“Sure~,” he mumbles in agreement, “but it’s easier to talk inside though ‘dino~” He’s agreeing to reason, thank Arceus. I have a glimmer of hope left. I don’t need my existence to end this way. He kept my legs lifted up but it’s around his arms.
With my tail feeling stuck inside, he tells me, “You taste like roasted peanuts ‘dino~ Really yummy~! This is way tastier and more filling than the berries.” I get to the point with the only chance I have left. “I-is there, um, a way out of this? I don’t want to die. I have a family to care for. I’ll do anything…”
The Audino laughs, “You’ll be fine Rivzel, you’re not going to die ‘dino~” I was about to reply and then it hit me. He knows who I am? We never exchanged names, that should be impossible! I had never even seen him before. What is going on; am I some sort of celebrity around here?
Of course, I had to immediately ask him, “Wait, how do you know my-” I was interrupted as he continued, “I’m really hungry for some Floatzel noms right now ‘dino~ Don’t worry, it’s safe~ I’ll heal you inside for a while as you rest ‘dino.” I ask again as firm and loud as I can, “Okay, but how do you know my name?” He simply tells me, “Hehe, I’ll tell ya later~ Let’s get you inside ‘dino~!”
NOMF! He pulls me as my lower waist and feet go into his large mouth. I’m impressed by how much he can stretch his mouth open. Even more so if his neck and stomach behave the same way. I can’t open my jaw nowhere as wide as he can, almost as if it’s dislocated. Actually, I wonder if he can even fit my entire body at all.
My feet feel warm and muggy inside there. He’s rubbing his tongue heavily against my feet and lower area, even though I still have my pink panties on. He probably tastes cloth a lot, but he’s focusing especially on the feet, not knowing that I am ticklish down there (or does he know?). LICK~, SLURP~! His tongue is damp and bumpy which is causing me to go over the edge. He’s licking it all over and I can’t take it anymore.
“Ahahaha!” I burst out laughing like some sort of crazy Floatzel as this Audino tortures the soles of my feet. I’m getting eaten alive and all I can do is giggle at what is going on. I can see him smiling because he knows damn well what he’s doing. “I-I’m too t-ticklish! Please s-stop!” I say loudly still stuttering from laughter. I hear him mumble, “Mmhmm~” and he politely stops.
GULP~! NOMF! He swallows me down further as I’m pulled down to where my teardrop belly mark is. I can see him salivating heavily as it drips from his lips. I feel his upper teeth against my butt.
He grips his arms around mine, trying to lift me up. It seems like he can’t swallow me any further due to how I’m bent downward like this, so he’s trying to resolve that by making me go straight upward. “Mmmf~?” he mumbles as he pats my shoulder, signaling me to get up. I understand what he wants me to do from his actions, but do I really want to help myself from being eaten by him? He is trying to swallow me whole after all and I don’t exactly trust yet on what happens after that. I’m around his weight and his arms are weak lifting-wise (even though they are agile), so I should be safe as long as I’m bent this way. But I don’t think he’s ever going to let me out of this either. And he could chew on me or worse if I’m too rebellious. I’d best do as he says.
I try to help him by bending my back straight. I don’t have much energy at all to bend my back like this, but he’s having an easier time lifting me upward now. “Mmm… thanks…” he mumbles to me. “Y-yeah…” I replied back. It’s hard for him to talk since my body is partially within his mouth but he managed to get a thankful word out.
What he did next was clever. PLOP~! He sat down and then leaned his own back, bringing me vertically upward due to his movements, and then bends his back straight again, swallowing past my body mark to help straighten me out. The Audino is now looking directly upwards at me, and I can only barely look downward.
GULP, GLOMF, GLUP! He is swallowing a lot more loudly and with additional force, pulling me downwards faster than I expected. I can feel his throat muscles constrain tightly around me with each swallow, covered all over in his saliva and mucus. I see my own body as a large lump traveling downward. It’s scary to think that that lump is actually you in there and that it deepens a few inches every time.
Only a couple seconds passed and now he’s at my armpit level. He did not tuck my arms in there, so they are dangling from his mouth downward while my face is looking away from him. I feel like I’m about to be trapped in quicksand as my body keeps getting pulled more and more. I feel my feet hit the bottom, most likely his stomach. It’s some sort of liquid pool, most likely his stomach acid, and it’s very warm to the touch.
I feel his left paw touching my pink eyepatch. It feels like he’s trying to get it off me. I don’t like taking it off since it’s my scarred eye, but he probably has a good reason for it (even though he swallowed my panties already). I reach with my left paw and take it off for him. He takes it from my paw and rubs my shoulder affectionately as a signal of appreciation.
GULP, GULP~! He brings my head into his mouth which throws me off a bit. It’s really muggy and wet inside there. I can smell his breath; he had fruit earlier. His saliva-covered tongue keeps cheerfully licking my muzzle. The Audino stops for but a moment, opening his mouth wide, “Ahhhhh~” I can see every single one of his teeth, a full set upper and lower. His tongue sticks out as I see the outside from the opening in his mouth. I think he’s trying to tease me, as in ‘this is the last time you’ll see the outside world’ kind of tease. He’s playing with me as his dinner, because I’m probably not getting out of here for a while. Not until he lets me anyway.
GULLLLLP~! After that, he bends his head upward and swallows me down whole. “Ahhhhh!” I screamed loudly, because it really did scare me how my head suddenly plummeted downward. It felt mind-numbing on how my body is gripped so tightly in his neck; how my head rubs against his flesh as I take the elevator down to his stomach. I can picture him seeing it as being a bulge going down his neck, with my face bulging out and yelling as if I’m fear. At this point I can’t feel the outside air with my paws anymore as they are taken down with me. The process takes mere seconds as the grip loosens going downward.
SPLASH! Once he got my head into his stomach, I accidentally splashed my face against the stomach acid. In reaction, I shut my working right eye and immediately used my arms to press against what was seemingly the stomach wall, lifting my head out of the juices. My eyelids and face are soaked. I notice that I’m facing my body against the stomach walls as my lower body is behind me and bent upward.
GURGLE! Loud gurgling noises travel within my hearing as if a can of soda was opened and fizzled out over the next few seconds. The liquid itself feels carbonated as well. It feels like the acid level is halfway up my arms.
“Ahhh~! So delicious ‘dino~!” I can clearly hear his voice even though I’m inside here. As the Audino enjoys myself as a meal, I coughed a bit and tried to wipe my face off, so I can try to open my eyes. But when I opened my right eye, I didn’t see shit. It’s pitch black in here. No light can enter here which I guess makes sense. From the little anatomy I learned back then, his food tube hole is closed tight. It’s why you can make yourself go upside down without trouble. And I don’t see him opening that hole until I’m all better. That is, if he’s being honest about it, which he probably is.
BURRRRAHHHP! I think his hole opened for a second as air escaped out of his stomach. I can tell because I felt winds blow upward against my soggy face and his stomach vibrated from underneath me. I also think a bit of light temporarily traveled inside for a second, but I was looking against the bottom, so I didn’t notice. The wind felt kind of refreshing, kind of like sailing with my husband out in the lake, but I’m too anxious to enjoy it right now.
“Hehe~” he giggles, not even excusing himself from his belching like a proper gentleman. I hope I’m able to actually breathe in here. I don’t have gills so breathing in the stomach acid is out the window. If he keeps burping like that, I won’t have much time left at all, though I feel like there is actually oxygen in here. Which is actually kind of strange. You don’t breathe air into your stomach, right? A question for a later time. I’m grateful that I’m able to breathe at all for now.
I try to flip around, to feel somewhat more comfortable about my upcoming fate, to get away from having my face in the Audino juice again. It’s not exactly comforting to be curled up backward like this, my lower body being upward behind me compared to my face down here. I attempt to roll, pushing my arms away. When I press against the fleshy walls, it feels loose and stretchable, so it wasn’t as tight as I initially thought. I thought his stomach would possibly be injured from all my moving around, but it’s surprisingly elastic. Being able to temporarily make room allowed me to get on my back. I then sit down somewhat curled up with my butt against the bottom of his stomach, which is my best bet inside here. I’m able to rest in this position. If I wasn’t such a large snack, I could probably get in any position I wanted inside here. With how stretchy his stomach is, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had bigger meals than myself.
“Mmmmf!” he moans, probably from all the moving around I’m doing. “I love the squirming ‘dino! Get as comfortable as you want~” He’s enjoying it of course. I can only imagine what that would feel like if we traded places. But from his reaction I’d be enjoying it too, even though it’d feel weird at first.
And it is actually comforting in here too, even though the feeling of not being fully sure what will happen to me is there. Besides his body and talking noises it’s very quiet and in complete darkness. Being annoyed inside here from outside voices is impossible. I can faintly hear his heartbeat, going like ‘thump, thump~’ over and over. I can see that putting someone to sleep over time. I’m not really able to hear his breathing.
gurgle~ The gurgling is still there, even though it heavily calmed down now. About once every twenty seconds or so. His stomach juices probably wanted to sense if I was food or not. As if the stomach acid had a mind of its own. If food did come in here, it’d likely be loud and frequent again. As I calm down, I can explain the stomach acid better. It feels heated as if I was in a hot spring. It’s not too hot to where I have to get out after fifteen minutes, it’s just the right temperature, around 36 Celsius or so. And it doesn’t feel like I’m being digested or burned alive either; it’s like heated fizzy water. It forms bubbles upward like carbonated water as well. The amount of acid I think increased a bit, my waist and butt are underwater, but the rest of my body is above level.
I also feel like I’m resting on a warm lumpy pillow that surrounds me. Like having a warm, damp shower toilet on your back. That’s the best way I can describe what his stomach walls are like. But it feels comfortable once you find the right spot.
I feel his paw against my back as he presses into his belly, rubbing in a circular motion. Not surprised at all that he plays with his prey like this. I can imagine what is happening outside. His belly is probably of a very large, bloated size with me inside here, with me facing my back towards his front area. And then he rubs it to help calm my worries, to comfort me like a nursing mother. And it is helping with that; I feel less anxious the longer I’m inside here. He stops this motion after several seconds.
“Get some rest ‘dino. I’m going to pick those berries for us~” After he said that I noticed him getting up and moving around. He’s slowly walking, probably towards the bush and my rucksack lying there. I’m surprised he can even move around; I’m around his weight. His legs must be strong, or he has done this more than once and is used to it. Besides that, it feels like I’m being lulled to sleep in a way. It’s kind of nice.
I should take his advice and do so. Try to pass the time I’m here recovering. There’s nothing I can do to get out of this; my fate is in his stomach. And I don’t see him lying to me now after being inside him. I’m starting to feel like I can trust him. The soothing sounds and sensations around me are enough to make me close my eyes. To relieve my stress inside here with a good rest. If I somehow don’t survive during my sleep, this is probably one of the best ways to go.
---
PLOP! I was interrupted in my sleep by a physical force, opening my eyes. I feel like I was lifted up onto something as his stomach acid splashed against me. That splash made me realize that I’m still alive. I still feel very tired and I’m not sure how much time has passed. Even though I just woke up I feel like I’m partially drained, as if he is absorbing my energy in some way.
I move around a bit, feeling like I recovered my movement somewhat, trying to get comfortable to rest again. I had to stretch his stomach out somewhat to get back to where I was.
“Did I wake you? My bad,” the Audino whispers to me. A couple seconds pass. I know he can feel me inside here, but I’m curious if he can also hear me. I never talked due to assuming that. Doesn’t hurt to try. “Y-yeah… yawn~” I speak in a normal voice as I yawn from my sleepiness. With his esophagus closed I doubt he can hear me. I did need to yawn though.
“I can hear you ‘dino,” he confirms to me, “was trying to get on my bed. Are you doing alright?” He can hear me! Probably due to his large ears. That’s good to know; I can ask a couple questions at this point before I pass out again.
I reply to him, “Yeah, I’m doing fine, thanks,” I’m getting a clear picture of what just happened. A couple of hours have seemingly passed and now he’s heading to bed himself. With me inside of him. I’m surprised he can sleep with double his body weight and size on him.
Some thoughts ponder in my head. I wonder if he lives alone or has family? If the latter, then surely, they would have seen his massive gut on the way indoors and probably let me out there where it’s safe. But I’m still inside here and he’s obviously home. He probably either lives alone or his family is accepting of his behavior. If it’s the latter, this has definitely happened before. And knowing I’m still alive, they know about his prey trying to ‘get better’ as well. This train of thought is kind of pointless though, I’ll confirm everything once I get out of here. That is, if I get out of-
“I’m going to lay on my side or my back ‘dino. Which one do you prefer~? I can do either ‘dino.” he warns me as my thoughts interrupt. I think about that for a second. It’s rare to be able to sleep in either position like that. What’s more comfortable for me as I’m sitting here? I am a back sleeper so going with that sounds like the most logical option.
“Um, back please. That’s how I sleep.” PLOP! As soon as I said that he moved around and laid on his back. It wasn’t as gentle of a movement as I initially hoped; It felt like he intentionally slammed his back against his bed. SPLASH! The low amount of acid in his tummy splashed upward. I closed my right eye in reaction, but it didn’t hit my face this time; it hit my upper chest instead and rolled down the sides of my body. Some small waves happen inside here but since he didn’t move after that it calms down after some seconds.
“Not so vigorously with that! I’m not used to being here,” I tell him, as if I had any say at all in the matter. I’m pretty much bound to whatever he does until I’m outside him. I’m just his overnight dinner at this point. I really do feel like mushy food right now.
“Ah, my bad~” he says, seeming to be honest about it. Some seconds pass and he’s not moving around much. I thought he would talk more, but he’s probably trying to slowly relax himself to sleep. I’ll need to be the topic starter then.
“I feel like I’m being digested. Am I, um, going to be safe?” I’m concerned about that more than anything right now, about why I feel like I’m drained.
“Yeah, you’ll be fine ‘dino,” he tells me calmly, “I partially absorb energy from prey in there, but it’s safe. It’s not permanent at all ‘dino.” That’s relieving to hear. At least I’m not going to be fully drained. He continues on, “It’d be cool to absorb a water move from you ‘dino, but besides life dew which I know, I don’t think I can learn water moves.”
That explains a lot actually. Now I can understand how he somehow knows moves I normally don’t see Audino use. Was wondering how he hit me with a thunder punch there which sealed my fate. He seems happy to be talking about this, so I ask, “So that’s how you learned thunder punch and psychic?”
“Kind of ‘dino. My mother taught me thunder punch. Your friend gave me psychic ‘dino.” My friend? How does he even know my friends; again, this is the first time we met. He shouldn’t know anything about me unless there’s an external connection linking us. “Ah, okay,” I respond, “how do you know my name again? And my friends. I never met you before.”
“Oh yeah, how I know you… how to explain our relationship ‘dino…” he says. Relationship? That’s cute to say after swallowing me whole a couple hours ago. A few seconds pass by after that, but they feel like minutes as I await an answer. That’s obviously very important for me to know. He’s probably thinking hard on it.
“My name is Audore Styles ‘dino~,” finally giving me his damn name after all this time, “I live in Jogwest village near the foggy Mudskip forest. You’re in my bedroom ‘dino~”
“Audore Styles? I never heard of it,” I tell him honestly, “You somehow know me already, but I’m Rivzel Mudwater and I’m a stay-at-home mom in Stifstik forest.”
BA-THUMP! Audore’s heartbeat rises a bit as I hear it in the background, probably feeling a bit excited on learning about me. “You have kids? That’s awesome ‘dino. I’d like to meet them someday ‘dino.” As if I’d ever let him anywhere near my children. Too dangerous. I can’t even take him on myself and I’m the parent. I doubt my sons can defend themselves from him. Would probably eat them up as snacks.
“Yeah, maybe when I trust you more; I don’t want my kids eaten too,” I tell him bluntly and kind of rudely. He laughs casually at that, “Haha, that’s fine ‘dino; whenever you want to~” It wasn’t very funny to me at all but whatever.
“Anyways, I assume Mio never told you about me ‘dino?” Mio… A name that is impossible to forget because he saved my life back then from me falling off the cliff. That’s my longtime Mew friend who roams around Stifstik forest, trying to keep it safe from evil and those unwanted. He’s a playful kind of character; has this purple onesie on. Not many know about him unless they’re closely related to Stifstik forest, because many aren’t supposed to know until he’s considered ready for the remainder of the world. Very powerful, definitely stronger than me and this Audino. I think Audore is older but I’m not sure; appearances can be deceiving like that Audino’s size was. He has a mother too that I met but she’s an outright egotistical bitch, thinks she’s God due to her powers. Luckily Mio didn’t end up like her. He’d tell me anything on his mind when we met; but I guess he left out Audore for some reason, or just due to ignorance.
“Nope, never has,” I reply, “I’ve known him for years so it’s kind of strange that he didn’t.”
“Yeah…,” Audore says, “because he can’t tell you due to his mom. I’m his half-brother. He comes over here like once a week ‘dino.”
W-what in Arceus…? I’m not even sure what to think right now. Doesn’t help that I’m tired and am learning all this new information. This family tree shit is always confusing to me. Turns out Mio has a giant predator Audino sibling somehow. I guess they have the same dad then. “Same father?” I asked him.
“I’d keep it a secret ‘dino,” he inserts in, “but yeah, Gel Styles. Works at your family harbor ‘dino.” Ah, he’s my husband’s co-worker. Got it. And of course, he never told me either. Mio’s mom has that much control over both of them it seems. He’s taking a lot of risk telling me all this, so I feel a lot more trusting of him now than before.
“I’d never tell his mom anything, not worth the risk. You do the same,” I tell him. No one that I know of in this area is more powerful than her. I’d rather be slowly digested in Audino stomach acid than needlessly die to her. I add in, “But um, thanks for telling me all this by the way; it’s more important than you realize. It’ll help us all out a lot. I’d hug you if I could~”
The stomach walls tighten about a couple seconds after I say that. He’s hugging himself to try to hug me, compassionately telling me, “Let’s hug ‘dino~” It felt nice coming from him; I didn’t mind being tightened inside. It was a heartwarming moment. He actually does care about me. It’d be unfair if I didn’t care for him back.
I think the hug lasted for around a minute until the grip was released. He tells me, “I’m feeling tired ‘dino, how about you~?”
My questions were more than answered. I couldn’t be more satisfied; made a trustworthy friend and learned valuable info. I tell him “Yeah, same. Let’s get some rest.”
He moves around a bit, trying to get comfortable. I do the same as I rest in his heated stomach juices against the lumpy pillowed stomach walls. It’s way easier to sleep on my back like this. “Good night ‘dino~” he tells me.
I reply to him, “Good night Audore.”
---
I slowly wake up. I’m feeling more refreshed than normal from my sleep. Seems like I’m fully healed as Audore mentioned he would to me yesterday. I stretch my arms as I yawn, pressing against his stomach lining.
BA-THUMP! BA-THUMP! I notice Audore’s heartbeat slow heartbeat starting to pick up. Hopefully I didn’t wake him up that easily. In a gentle voice, I ask him “You awake?”
“Yeah ‘dino. Good morning~ It’s 6:30 right now if you’re wondering ‘dino.” That’s around the time I naturally wake up. It seems like he’s stretching as well, but he didn’t move around much. “Want to be let out ‘dino~? I need to shower.”
At long last, the time for freedom is here! Even though this stomach is comfortable and has served me well, it’s time to bid farewell. I need to get back to my family, whether I have those berries or not. They’re probably worried sick about me…maybe. This isn’t my first time going out overnight. If it was two days, then yeah. I tell Audore, “Yes please.”
“Great! Going to get off the bed ‘dino. Keep still and keep your eyes and mouth closed. It’s a quick ride up ‘dino.” I’d best do as he says, he wouldn’t steer me wrong. I do as I’m asked, waiting for the trip back up. His body predictably moves around, presumably off the bed. It seems like he is facing towards the floor since he flipped gravity inside here.
BLECH! GACK! And then it happened. His stomach pushed my feet hard, sending me partway up his throat. It feels faster than when I went down, but that’s probably due to savoring the moment of eating me. I keep hearing retching noises. I then felt his tongue rubbing against my muzzle.
BLEH! A couple of seconds later and I feel cold, fresh air. Probably because I’m covered head to toe in his juices. When my head hits what seems like a carpet, or maybe a towel, I wait for the rest of my body to come out. After that, I feel some sort of rough furry object pressed against my paw. “Wipe with this ‘dino” I hear him tell me. I feel the object and sure enough, it’s a hand towel. I wipe my face with it, not rubbing around the eyes but dobbing gently, especially around my scarred left eye. It’s a bit weird because I feel like that area is not as roughened up as I remember. I tried to open my right eye, but the sudden lighting change hurts due to my pupil being too expanded. I close and partially open it again to look around.
It's definitely his bedroom. Looks like a typical bedroom with a wood-chipped shelf and a small closet, except that the walls aren’t painted; they’re dark colored like the wood out in the forest. And his bed is queen-size with blue blankets, which makes sense due to having ‘visitors’ with him there. I look behind me and Audore is there.
“You feel alright ‘dino?” he asks me, to which I respond, “Y-yeah, my eye is adjusting. There was no light inside you the whole night.” He waits there as I slowly get up, probably to make sure I’m able to walk. I’m definitely not paralyzed or exhausted anymore.
I feel my shoulder being rubbed as he tells me, “Thank you for staying the night with me ‘dino~!” As if I had a choice; not that I mind now. He gives me a hug and I hug him back. “You’re welcome,” I tell him nicely.
We hugged for what seemed like a half minute before he patted me on the back again. “I’m going to go shower ‘dino. I put your stuff in the kitchen. My mother wants to talk to you before you head back home ‘dino. It’s to your right as you exit.”
I tell him, “Alright, take care Audore.” He replies to me back, “You too ‘dino~!” as he very happily walks out the room to his left, as if he had the best night of his life.
I should probably talk to his mom. At least get my stuff back. I follow his instructions out of the room and head to the kitchen. It’s a typical kitchen, much like the typical bedroom, but a bit less featured in technology than in our log cabin. My stuff is on the kitchen table, my rucksack and my pink eyepatch. I see another normal-sized Audino there near the kitchen counter. That has to be his mom. She notices me immediately, stops what she is doing to turn around and tells me “Good morning, dear. Have a nice rest ‘Audi?” Great, she does the end-sentence shit too like her son and it’s just as annoying.
I see purple eyes looking at me, same as Audore’s. Compared to her son she looks a lot more mature physically, with roughed up and toughened skin. Reminds me of my husband. She has even fuzzier fur too. There is a thorn-patterned tattoo covering her back and left hip. She has tribal lower clothing on unlike her son yesterday. Has the same bracelet as her son but on her left wrist instead. All these features make her seem more threatening by her looks than Audore who kicked my ass yesterday. I wouldn’t be surprised if she survived in the forests like I do. And yet she’s shorter in height than her son is.
As I start to hear the shower running in the background, I tell her, “Yeah, it was, um, very unique and comfortable.” She knows exactly what happened, I can tell by her expression. Audore probably told her everything.
“Sorry about my son’s behavior. He means well ‘Audi.” I respond, “Oh, we made up; It’s fine.” I used to be against his behavior, but it’s obviously resolved now to the point where we hugged each other as if we were making love.
“My name is Able Styles. It’s nice to see you here ‘Audi,” she says, lending out her paw. I lend out mine and we shake paws. She has an abnormally strong grip; makes me feel like my grip is weak. “Want some coffee?” she offered me.
Ah yes, coffee. The stuff that makes my intestinal problems worse. But I wouldn’t mind a jolt right about now. Even if I’d have to use the bathroom shortly after. “Sure, no creamer or sugar” I tell her. Hopefully it tastes decent. I like mine without anything extra in it. Ruins the flavor.
I wait patiently as she pours coffee from the carafe for both of us. Typical coffee cups, just like the typical kitchen. Then she returns and we both sit at the dining table, coffee cups in paws. “Thank you,” I politely say. Able nods as a ‘you’re welcome’ gesture.
We sip our cups a bit before she starts more conversation. “I overheard everything last night ‘Audi. Our ears are very sensitive, can hear a pebble from a mile away. It’s fine to divulge it, but any questions about what he told you ‘Audi?” I think upon it a bit. Audore pretty much answered all of it, but one question still remains. “Your husband has a Mew child? How did that happen?”
She sighs, “Ah yes, that. I’ll let him talk about it later ‘Audi. Too sensitive to discuss.” I feel as if something bad happened, but then again, it’s likely Mio’s mother was involved so of course it’s bad. I’ll have to ask him myself later. “Oh, sorry I asked; I didn’t know…” Able looks at me, “It’s fine dear.”
We continued our coffee sips. This stuff isn’t half bad. It’s a light roast though. I wonder where it’s sourced from. I’m feeling more awake already from it.
I feel my furry butt on the chair. Which is weird because I thought I had panties on. I move my butt around and they are definitely not there. “Um, this is embarrassing but where are my panties? They’re pink.”
Able giggles, “Oh, he didn’t give them to you?” I respond, “No, I went inside with them.”
Then she bursts out laughing, almost spilling her coffee drink, “Hahaha, that’s funny ‘Audi.” I’m confused, tilting my head, “How so?” She obscurely says, “You won’t want it back, trust me.” I still don’t get it, asking her “Huh?”
“I guess I’ll tell it to you straight ‘Audi. You won’t want anything that comes out of his butt ‘Audi. Will never be able to get the smell out.” Oh! That’s what she meant…
“Ah, yeah…he can keep it as a gift or something,” I tell her. I guess it makes sense. If he doesn’t cough it up, then it has to come out the other end. I don’t want to imagine what it smells or looks like after that. I then started to laugh a bit too to be nice to her about the topic.
We’re both smiling after that. Need to remind myself never to wear clothes when going in there again, if I go in there again. Those panties weren’t exactly cheap. They’re made of fine silk and all.
We continue to enjoy our beverages as I still hear the shower running. Not much time has passed at all. She brings up something else, “That fog in Mudskip forest…” As she stops, I ask, “Yeah? It’s pretty foggy, hard to see out there.” Able continues, “don’t go in that fog anymore, okay? No matter how tough you seem to be.” “Huh, why not? I felt a bit tired in it, but it wasn’t too bad.”
Able sets down her coffee cup on the wooden table, explaining why. “How to explain this… That fog is very dangerous if you’re not immune to it ‘Audi. It slowly saps your energy and makes you pass out, unable to wake up until you’re pulled out of it. It’s like being comatose ‘Audi.”
“That does sound pretty dangerous…” I replied to her.
“This is long to explain, but it gets denser and worse the more you go in ‘Audi. Most of us born in the village or within the forest are immune to the effects, though even we can’t see through the fog. Not even the predators in the forest can see through the fog ‘Audi. Well, except for this one Lycanroc that can see through the fog due to…”
As she rambles on about the fog, I sip some coffee into my lips. Wish I knew this stuff sooner than before I tried to pick berries. “…luckily my son found you or who knows what would have happened. So please stay out of it without one of us assisting you from the village ‘Audi.” Her explanation ends there. I told her, “Okay, I won’t go in there without help anymore.”
We conversed for a few minutes after that. We talked about our kids, and she really liked that discussion. Also, some talk about our forest life. I learned that she was actually a ruthless predator herself until she changed after meeting her husband. She’s teaching her son similar things since he got into it due to some event with the ‘Serperior forest guardian’. Except that Able doesn’t leave prey alive unlike her son, which is scary to think about how wicked she could be.
We talked about the Bompart berries. How Audore picked them and filled the bag in my rucksack. How they are actually a strong laxative and not for digestive healing. But I can see that being useful for some situations. She also recommended a natural probiotic that grows only in Stifstik forest. I already knew that though, but good to know she’s not into artificial medicine garbage.
And then I learned about the village; about how it’s kind of like Runsdown but a lot smaller without public schooling or much of a government system. It’s situated outside the foggy forest; and they do have electricity and some sort of plumbing system. She’s actually the chieftain of the village so she gets up early to take care of that kind of stuff. A very busy job for sure. And part of it even includes homeschooling for the various aged children there.
As we wrapped up the village talk, her husband came in, seemingly waking up late. The Ditto sees me, not seeming surprised at all since his wife likely told him and says “Top of the mornin’ to ya Rivzel! Fancy seeing you here.” I respond, “Just visiting after some foraging. Was about to head out in a bit.” He probably knows already about what happened yesterday.
The Ditto gives a hearty laugh, “Great! I see yer eye got fixed?”
Huh? That’s a strange question. I thought he knew this already. “My scarred eye? Nah, it’s still shut tight.” He moves onto the kitchen table and says “Nah… ye eye looks healed there. Try opening it?”
I laugh it off, “Hah? My eye being healed? That’s impossible. See, I’ll show you.” In a ‘prove you wrong’ and silly kind of matter, I try to open it anyways, even though I haven’t moved that eye muscle in a while.
…and then it happened. My left eye opened. I couldn’t believe it. I CAN SEE OUT OF IT!!! If only I could see the reaction of my own face at that moment with my jaw dropped, my heavy blush all over me, and the picture of my pure excitement and wonder. I felt frozen still in time; I was unsure how to react at that moment.
“I… um…” I can’t find the words. At that point I started bawling my eyes out in happiness. Tears rolling down my cheeks from both of my eye sockets dripping on the wooden table. I can’t believe the missing part of my life was given back to me! Both of them looked surprised at first but then joyfully smiled back at me. I continued to cry facing downward at the table. Able got up and tried to comfort me.
“I don’t get it... I was, sniffle, told it was impossible. That it’d never open again. It was scarred just this yesterday.” She rubbed my shoulder much like Audore did, saying “Audore healed you dear. He can cure what seems impossible sometimes, like that damaged liver that the Eevee had...”
Of course, that had to be it. It was weird at first that he could keep me alive in his stomach. But I didn’t consider him being able to heal the impossible such as my eyeball. There is something special about him. Maybe he holds some kind of ability? I remember special powers being given to mortals like us. It’s somewhat common knowledge in the world but it rarely happens. That’s probably it. I have an acquaintance at our town’s school I can ask for assistance with that. Maybe she knows.
It took a minute or two for me to stop crying, but I got over it. The Ditto then casually mentions, “Yer left eye is purple like my wife? Didn’t know that.” That confused me a bit as I know both of my eyes were pink back in childhood, but I do not care what color it is now if I can see clearly out of it. I told him, “I guess so…”
I then notice the time on the wall clock; the Ditto might run late for work. I offer, “Want to head to work with me?” Gel gladly replies, “Sure, get yer stuff and we’ll head out.”
I went to grab my belongings, including my rucksack full of Bompart berries and my eyepatch. I looked at my eyepatch and decided not to put it over my eye anymore; I placed it in my rucksack instead. If all goes well, I won’t need it anymore ever again. After that, we said our goodbyes to Able and headed out, chatting on the way to work about various topics. He’s actually kind of fun to talk to; I usually don’t talk this much with him.
---
And that’s my long story on what happened between yesterday and an hour ago. I feel relieved after recollecting my story with you! Thanks for listening to all that; it’s important to me. Got quite a lot done too! I have some laxative berries ready on the kitchen counter which I’ll eat some tomorrow. I heavily befriended a predator Audino that eats others to heal them up. I learned about some family history with Mio. And I got my eyesight back after over twenty years (though I need to properly thank Audore for the sight he has returned to me). It was quite an action-packed day!
I’m just resting in my log cabin right now until my kids get home from school. I know that today is a special day so I should go prepare for that. Make sure I get everything ready before I inevitably have to clean the house up afterward. They get quite messy on that day. As for you, who lays within my head seeing things out of my eyeballs, including my recently opened one, look forward to later today inside the Mudwater household; I’ll have more to tell you!