PupperStar

The chaos began less than an hour prior. The warm season was coming around, and that meant food reserves were running short from hibernation. Portobello, a yellow pine chipmunk, found themselves at one of their depleted storage sites under one of the many fir trees. A broom made from pine needles unceremoniously swept at the barren floors. The morning was tragically slow and cold, though Portobello did their best to counter it in spirits.

“This isn’t all that bad,” they huffed to themselves as they waddled outside. Out here, the melted snow had a way of making the tall ferns glisten overhead. Even amongst a canopy of conifer trees, the occasional blossoms could be made out in the sparse deciduous ones. A tranquil overcast morning, and spring was seeping in all around. “Lunchtime's practically round the corner, too…I’ll find something worthwhile, I’m sure.”

“I’ll say…”

A deep, silky voice made the rodent shiver with dread. It belonged to none other than Cedrus—a barn owl—who was also on the hunt for an early-spring meal. Nuts and berries weren’t common to her diet, but a little rodent? That seemed like easy pickings. 

Portobello visibly tensed and prickled at the sight behind them. Cedrus had features that demanded your full attention: her dark brown feathers ebbed into darker streaks across her foreboding face. Her blue eyes could cut through a night sky like northern lights. When she shifted in place, her fluffy talons peeled off flakes of pine bark and lichen. She was on the smaller side for a barn owl, but surely she was large enough to indulge in a meal such as themselves.

Portobello was not about to stick around to offer themselves up, though. The moment they saw the owl hunch down in preparation to fly, their feet propelled them across the forest floor. They could feel their little heart, beating thrice for every footfall. Spring-loaded legs, a whipping tail, and swift reactions did well for an early breakaway, but they could only hope it would be enough to save their life.

The chase ensued for forty-five minutes, broken up only by intermittent bouts of hiding and seeking. Ferns shielded Portobello from Cedrus’ gaze, at least enough for her not to make any early attempts at swiping them up. They couldn't take a chance with trees—moving too slowly up the trunks could spell out an untimely end. The undergrowth was growing steadily thinner, insisting that they come up with a change of plans and fast. 

“Can today uh-!!” They shouted over their shoulder to the owl making her silent descent with claws outstretched, “can today not be the day you choose me for lunch?!”

The chipmunk dove under a hollow log, yelping when a massive talon’s claws scraped the old wood. “Stop talking!! Your incessant rambling is making my appetite wane…”

“That’s the point!” They countered, before the owl’s foot narrowly missed their face. They shot out of the log as fast as their little legs could carry them, skittering up a hill towards a sun-specked, lush clearing.

Runough was fast asleep, sprawled out on a mossy hill with his cheek smothered against the soil. His eyelids were heavy with slumber, further encouraged by the slow, unbothered snores he pulled through his nostrils. Each one made the ground vibrate, and the soft sides of his snout would tremble and waver in reaction. It was a borderline purr, and his sleeping bellow made the moss near his nose dance.

The quickly-approaching chipmunk grimaced as they darted across the clearing towards him. Options of escape were growing thinner by the second, but there was a clear opening dead ahead. A pair of openings, rather, assuming the shapes of Runough’s two large nostrils. Portobello couldn’t afford to be picky here—between outpacing an owl's talons and jumping into a forest dragon’s nose, they hurriedly hedged their bets on the latter of two evils. In fact, Runough’s nose was quite possibly the safest location to hide in the immediate area. Poor Runough would be completely oblivious to the trouble heading his way, and by the time he pieced things together, it would probably be too late to do anything about it. This was simply a case of begging for forgiveness over asking for permission!

Cedrus closed the distance in a second attempt at snatching up Portobello. She was certain she had them too: what animal would flee their way up the food chain, and rush directly at a dragon? The moment of hesitation Cedrus had—fully expecting Portobello to change course—ended up being the perfect window of time for them to escape her talons. For when she realized where they were truly headed, it made her stomach drop. 

“You can’t be serious, you’re not just going to—??” She gawked, closing her talons once Portobello leapt and submerged themselves halfway into Runough’s left nostril.

“Aagh!” Yelped Portobello, frantically kicking against Runough’s upper lip. Cedrus swooped overhead, trying her hardest to circle back and snag them and third time before they could hide away. It was a close call, but the chipmunk had pulled their hips in just as the talons came back around. Portobello’s opening was rather cramped, but a confused snort helped them get a bit further back. The inside of his nose was lively, rippling and twitching with a newfound irritation that most certainly woke him up. It was intensely warm, and the sounds of the outside world were muffled, only leaving behind Portobello’s racing heartbeat and Runough’s quickening one.

Runough slipped twice trying to gather his feet under him. He crossed his eyes with confusion, just barely catching sight of a tail disappearing into his left nostril. Tiny paws tugged and kicked at the bouncy, pink flesh of his inner nose as they scrambled as deep as they could.

“H-huh?!” He shook his head a bit violently, trying to shake them free. Had they been wandering by when a stray snore sucked them up? He hoped he hadn’t hurt them!  “Snrf..?? Hhff!! SnRK?!” 

Even with his chuffs and snorts, however, it didn’t seem to free them from his nose. It was as if they were holding on in there, intentionally. He shivered as he felt them cautiously crawl deeper, too. “Wait—! You can’t go in there-!” …well, clearly they could, but that was besides the point. “You—snff! You shouldn’t, I mean…!”

Inside, Portobello could just barely stand up on all fours with their back and tail brushing up against the roof of his inner nose. It was plush and flexible in here—the muscles and membranes were undeniably draconic in nature. As he chuffed, a violent reverberation made the walls flex and warble around them. They resonated like the skin of a drum, and glowed orange from the way the morning sun hit his face from outside.

Portobello looked over their shoulder to where the entrance of his nostril was. “I’m so sorry, there-there was this owl, I was running out of energy, I just needed somewhere to hide and—and!”

“Owl…ah, the..!” Runough blinked his thick lashes thrice as his little eyes cast upward. He spotted the owl circling in, and furrowed his brows up at her. The poor chipmunk in his nose was audibly panting, simultaneously catching their breath and cherishing that they were still breathing at all.

“Pleasant morning to you, forest guardian,” Cedrus snarked. She outstretched her talons, grasping the horn on the front of his snout with wings outstretched. “I don’t believe you and I have had the opportunity to meet formally…”

“U-uh..!”

“Runough, that’s what the others call you,” she quickly addressed him as if he had forgotten his own name, “You may call me Cedrus, and I do believe my lunch’s gotten stuck somewhere they really ought not to be..!”

If Cedrus could glare at Portobello inside of his nose, she would. Instead, all she was staring down was a tiny chipmunk tail, barely visible. Why must everyone make things so difficult? “Ugh…pardon me, won’t you?”

Just as Runough was about to ask, Cedrus balled her talons in a closed fist and dove it into his left nostril. His ears shot up in alarm, and his nostrils flared responsively. Portobello yelped as Cedrus grazed their tail, quickly tucking it between their own legs. Cedrus pulled out her talon with a wet pop, scowling at the clear mess that slicked down her feathery foot. Below her, Runough’s legs were shaking, eyelids fluttering with irritation. Rolling her eyes, she reached inside a second time, but she couldn’t feel any sign of Portobello at this point. How deep did they go to hide themselves?? It was just as inconvenient as it was gross!

“H-hey—!! Leave them alone!!” Runough insisted with his lip wobbling. Squeezing his tiny eyes shut, he shook his head about to try and shake her off. The owl’s wings pinwheeled slightly as her balance was flung to the winds. She hissed at him to still him, eyes furious. It was his fault that she had to do this song and dance, as far as she was concerned. Now he was eying her down with a face she could only describe as obnoxious, scowling with parted lips and slanted brows. This massive, stupid nose of his was quivering and flexing too much!

“UGH- soiling a perfect meal…” she scoffed, looking away in disgust as she reached a bit deeper. 

“Your f-feEHh…hEAHHh..!” Runough was tearfully doing his best to warn her about her feathers. The tiny, soft feathers on her talon were rubbing up against his sensitive nasal walls, and with the added torment Portobello was accidentally causing deeper within, it only made sense that he was building to a desperate sneeze. The signs were all there, even without his breathless warning. His eyes gently shut, his chest puffed, and he was rendered silent by his flaring nostrils. “…H-hhUKt’shh!!”

Portobello was fully expecting to be sneezed out, but was left surprised by the forceful half-stifle. For Cedrus, however, she was thrown downward, losing her balance and dislodging from his snout. She flew off momentarily, looking at her talon drenched in mucus. “Ergh..!!”

Runough let out a weary sigh, both nostrils drooling with warm mess as his head hung low. He shuddered ticklishly at the feeling of Portobello losing their grip—the slick gathering in his nose must have been far too slippery to keep holding onto. Occasionally they would scramble or slip, gliding down toward the entrance of his left nostril.

“Bless you..!” They spoke it out of habit, but figured it to be the least they could offer in this awkward moment between the two. “I-I’m so sorry again, I’ll be out of your fur—out of your scales—well, out of your nose—!”

“Cedrus is coming back..!” He whispered, watching the owl turn towards him yet again. While he didn’t know Portobello, he was far too invested in their safety now that it was his body separating Portobello from their hunter. That meant keeping the chipmunk in his nostril until the coast was clear. “Sorry for this…SNRK!”

“Yipe!”

Portobello had realized just how flexible Runough’s nose was. The puffy membranes squeezed and hugged at them whenever they could, especially as they desperately grasped at them for stability. When he snorted, however, the walls clung to him, closing their only means of escape with a vacuum seal. They were plugged deep within his left nostril, causing a moderate bout of nasal congestion.

Right in time too, Cedrus had made her perch back on his horn, climbing up to stand properly on his snout. She screeched at him, in that barn owl way, which admittedly did frighten Runough just a touch.

“You're a disgusting example of dragonkind!” She melodramatically groaned, holding her talon up so he could see the feathers warped and slicked out of place from his mess.

“Well that’s just rude,” Runough countered, but flinched and receded as she hissed at him again. That noise was so grating on his ears!

“How dare you intercept the order of the food chain, over the very land you have vowed to protect??” Cedrus didn’t give him a moment to respond before she continued, “Where’s that pest? Are they still hiding? Surely not, you’ve just sneezed everywhere…”

“U—uh..!”

“They’re still—!” She audibly scoffed, leaning over to peer into his left nostril. It was flaring and flexing far too frequently to get a good view. Her talons grasped at the upper rim of his nostril, pinning it back in an attempt to keep him steady. 

There. She could make out Portobello’s little hind paws, pushing at his nasal walls to give themselves a bit more room. There was no way she could simply pluck them out, though…aha!

Runough’s brows pinched upward as Cedrus dug her beak into her inner wing, loosening a fluffy, long feather. As she leaned her head down to angle the feather, he flinched as the gentle barbs tickled the sensitive rim of his nostril.

“Utterly revolting…!” A sigh left her as she went along, begrudgingly doing her best to pry a proper sneeze out of him, “Come out, little rodent…”

“Wh-hHat are you-!” Oh, she didn’t realize that the whole situation was fruitless, did she? Portobello was stuck, they couldn’t get themselves out if they tried. And Cedrus, stuck in her ways, took Portobello’s pleas from within as feigning helplessness. She henceforth continued the feathery onslaught, which made Runough squirm and knead at the moss below him with anxiousness. He tripped over his own paws, squeezing his eyes tearfully shut as his rear slammed onto the forest floor.

“Huhh- hHUHh-!” Each trembling breath made his huge nostrils flare. They got ever so slightly bigger and rounder with every subsequent hitch, putting his pink inner membranes on display. Cedrus, who was still holding his nostril open in her talon, peered inside to see Portobello’s little legs kicking and slipping against his nasal cavity. They were firmly lodged in there, and the sheer thought made Cedrus’s  feathers ruffle with disgust. Who hides in a dragon’s nose of all places?! Had they no self preservation? 

…Or rather, did Portobello have too much self preservation?

The little feather was growing to be too much for Runough. Cedrus was expertly precise, but she didn’t need to be, either. When the spine of the feather coaxed his exposed nostril, the barbs would follow, brushing up against the most sensitive parts forcibly pinned by her talon. It tickled horribly, and as much as he tried to hide it, he was losing the fight to the itch.

“It t-tiHh-!! I’m gonna snNEhh!!” He gasped, scowling with irritation. The feather danced around until she deemed the onslaught to be enough. When she pulled it away, the deep hitches he was making seemed conclusive enough to assume a sneeze was just around the corner. Even as Runough was mentally pleading to himself not to give in, his facial expression was betraying him.

“Right then, may as well get a head start!” She sighed at last, looking ahead out into the woods. She took off, leaving behind a cloud of downy feathers that got swept up into both his flaring nostrils.

“H-hUuhh!! HuhhH…!” His chest was swelling, his nostrils stretched as wide as they could manage, aching and twitching with need. Despite his dark scales, the redness of his inner nose was clearly visible. “Can’t…h-hHold..!!”

“D-don’t sneeze!!” Poor Portobello doubted they could even be heard. His inner nose was squeezing them tight, so their voice was strained anyhow. The sensitive nasal walls were smothering up against them, throbbing against their belly and chin. Mess was everywhere, and while there was no threat of drowning in it back here, it was more than enough to turn any attempts at escape into a slippery, fruitless endeavor. And believe them, they tried. It was like a wet, but warm hug—and if Portobello wasn’t worried about the events following Runough’s oncoming sneeze, they may have even considered it cozy.

“I’m s-sUH..! So sorrihHh!!” Runough was trying his best, Portobello could tell, but his apology was him verbally throwing in the towel. All they could do was brace and hope they could catch themselves! “HhH…! H-hHUG’TSCHHhhuww!!”

“Agh-!”

Portobello was freed from his nose with a pop, shooting backwards towards the entrance of his nose. Their paws glided along his inner nose on their exit, until they caught hold on the outermost ridge of his nostril with both hands. Mess came out with the sneeze, spraying the ground and the ferns below.

Portobello looked up at his flaring nostril they were holding onto. They looked around in a moment of clarity at the environment around them. Their fur was slicked back, their eyes were wide and afraid, but they were alive and unharmed.

“Snrff! Uhm-!” He flared his nostrils twice, seemingly realizing Portobello was no longer inside his nose. Portobello gripped on tighter as he looked left and right, searching wildly for them.

“Bless you, I’m here,” Portobello panted, and Runough’s searching became even more frantic.

“I can’t uh—! Snrf! I can't see you, where-?” Portobello hoisted themselves up onto Runough’s nose, and watched him cross his eyes. “There you are—geez, I-I’m really sorry, are you alright??”

“I…yeah, I’m much more alright than the alternative, I think?” Portobello chuckled. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, a bit itchy…”

Both dragon and chipmunk paused at a distant owl’s cry, and both went equally stiff with uncertainty. Only Runough could pick up approaching wingbeats that otherwise would be silent to the ear. Against all odds, Cedrus was returning again.

“I need to scare them off,” Runough mumbled conclusively, “and you need to hide—!”

Portobello looked around, but their eyes lingered on his nose. As risky as it was, Portobello figured that one of the best hiding places would be in plain sight. If Cedrus had been focusing all of her attention on his left nostril, it felt sensible to hide in his right…right?

Runough may have been brainless most of the time, but as Portobello took a breath and scurried into his right nostril, he seemed to understand the thought process too.

“Quihh-quickly,” he breathed shakily, feeling Portobello’s paws grasp at the flesh of his inner nose, “h-hh! Hold on to somethEhHh!! Gonna snEeehh!! Hee—heEIshh’uuw! HeEESHhhuw!!”

“Bless you—bless you, sorry..!” The big guy was still so sensitive, wasn’t he?

“Your lihh—! Little p-pUh…pawssShhuw..!!” Portobello watched the walls tense and the muscles tighten around them with each gentle sneeze. It wasn’t nearly strong enough to blow them out, Runough’s natural sneezes always happened to be that way.

Cedrus broke through the treeline, and Runough looked upward, blinking itchy tears from his eyes. He dipped his head and dodged their talons from making purchase on his face again. In fact, as he turned and followed through on the motion, he lunged upward and grabbed her foot out of the air with his lip. She flapped chaotically in an attempt to free herself, but it only resulted in her crashing to the forest floor.

“That’s quite enough!” Runough grunted, planting a paw gently over her wing to keep it pinned to the mossy ground.

She thrashed, she screeched, she went as far as to bite his toe, but nothing came of it. He leaned in, dripping nose vibrating with a snarl. It was cut short though, turning into a tickly snort at the feeling of Portobello’s tail brushing deep inside his snout.

Cedrus reeled in disgust as a dangling cord of clear mess from his left nostril hit her on the cheek. It sent a disgusted shiver through her, and she audibly gagged at the feeling of it soaking her feathers.

“Look at whHhuh..! What you’ve duUhh-! …done, snrf!! I’m gonna sn-nEhh..! HURRSChhuw!!”

Runough pulled his paw off her after he snuffled. Cedrus rolled over quickly, hopping away and shaking her feathers out. It was safe to say the sneeze ruined what little sliver of appetite remained, and she flew off spitting remarks and insults.

“…I think that’s it,” Runough sighed a cloud of fog from both nostrils. He felt the rustling in his nose still, but his breath was still shaky. “H-hhHh! Uh..! Huuh…snf…”

Inside, Portobello eased. This side of his nose was much less puffy from irritation, which meant it was generally more roomy. Everything was flooded with fog, the heavy kind that hung low and spilled from Runough’s nostrils like dry ice. For some reason, the fog seemed to have a calming effect: likely, the components involved to make Runough’s dragon breath induced a light sedative effect. Pair that with the adrenaline leaving Portobello’s system, and they felt outright exhausted.

Runough’s floppy ears pricked up as he felt Portobello stretch out onto their stomach inside his nose. “…You’re not hh-! Hhurt, are you..?”

“Not at all! You’re quite gentle…sorry, I’m just—uh…really tuckered out.”

“Running for a long time will do that, I imagine..! Get the rest you n-need, get your strength back.”

“Wh-! Here? Goodness, that’s far too invasive, I couldn’t possibly..!” They stood, but the sheer act of doing so made his inner nose tremble and twitch.

“HeHk- huh-hHehg! …hHysshuww!! Urrschhuw!!”

“Bless you, I keep mak—bless you,” Portobello didn’t know what compelled them to bless every sneeze, perhaps guilt for the poor dragon, “I keep making you sneeze, that can’t be comfortable…”

“To tell you the truth, it’s hardly different from the norm…it’s really easy to set me off.” He chuckled tearfully.

As morning passed into midday, Runough had left from his sleeping spot to go about his routine to the best of his ability. A breakfast of truffles and berries, and paying a visit to Tansy—the melanistic squirrel—for a new feather delivery. She liked collecting them for some reason, and the encounter this morning had luckily yielded a few good ones. When he found her, she was perched on a low-hanging branch, tending to her own breakfast.

“Oh..!” Tansy gawked as she was presented with two beautiful brown owl feathers. Taking them in her paws from Runough’s mouth. “How kind of you, Runough, I don’t have any owl feathers!”

When Tansy looked over to properly thank him, her face screwed up with confusion and embarrassment as he hitched. “Thank- oh…you don’t uh—? You don’t happen to have another stuck in your…your nose, do you??” It wouldn’t have been the first time that happened, after all. That was how this whole trade situation started.

“S-suh..! Sorry…there’s a..! A ch—chhih—! Hheeih- h—hHEEISsshuw-! A-ah! Ha’Ashhuw!! A chipmuUh-huuhnk, in m— in’d muH..!”

As Runough tried to explain the predicament that had him in a fit of tears, his nostrils quivered and trembled, one bright salmon with overstimulation. Every sniffle was excruciatingly delicate, but was still enough to ruffle Tansy’s fur from several feet away.

“I-! Beg your pardon..??”

“Gih-haAh-!” He hitched loudly, pausing to suck in a trembling breath through his mouth. Snapping his maw shut, he flinched several times as a fit of stifles overwhelmed him. “Hnk-shh!! hIK’shh—hTTk’shhw! hh-Hh! hUh’mpk! Attschhw—hhHRSHh!” 

Runough’s head drooped between his shoulders, and a small fluffy tail poked out of one of his twitching nostrils. Tansy clapped both paws to her mouth, eyes widening. “Is th—Portobello?”

“Tansy??” The tail flicked against the rim of Runogh’s nostril as their voice echoed out.

“O-oh, goodness me..! Runough, they aren’t stuck, are they?”

“Quite alright!!” Portobello answered on his behalf, pulling their tail back in as Runough snorted and snuffled. Poor Runough’s nostrils were an angry red, and he paced in place. 

“Y-hhHuh! You’re tickling m-my nuUh..!” He lifted his head and Tansy averted her gaze, humiliated on her friend’s behalf. “H-haah..! HUUh! hAUSHhhuww!!”

Portobello tumbled out of his nose, luckily landing in a patch of moss less than a foot below them. They shook themselves out with their wet fur prickled out in all directions. Tansy scurried down the tree to meet her friend, still clearly shocked from witnessing the entire ordeal.

“Portobello, what..??”

“It’s..! It’s a long story, I promise.” Portobello sighed, turning and craning their head upward, “thank you again, Runough..! I owe you one…”

“Snff! Any time…I’m just glad I could be helpful…”