#abominations

It was moments like this where the darkness covering his homeland is a major pain in the rear end when he needs something to help guide him through the forest he was running through. As he ran, his thoughts went to the last words his now ‘so-called father’ had said before he was chased out of the castle.

“Leonidas Augustus Lyonhart. Your traitorous conspiring with the enemy demons have disgraced your kingdom! No soldier of Nohr’s will be bringing about the destruction of our country as long as I sit upon this throne! The punishment for your treachery is execution!! IAGO, SEND YOUR BEASTS UPON THIS TRAITOR!!!!!”

Leo couldn’t understand why his own king would deem him a traitor to his kingdom when he only uncovered the truth behind the deaths of thousands of innocent people during the Black Plague. It felt as if the king was purposefully ignoring the truth and now wanted Leo dead to keep it from being discovered by anyone else. He didn’t even call Leo his son, just a soldier. Was the father he knew as a child no longer there?

A howl pierced through the air, reminding Leo that his pursuers weren’t far behind, and tried to pick up the pace. He had a horse for a good few hundred miles before Iago’s beastly abominations unfortunately ripped his beloved mare to shreds and forced him to run on foot. Luckily, he was far more familiar with the Forbidden Forest than those monsters since he was exploring them since he was a child.

But the beasts had noses that were probably stronger than a bloodhound’s so they were proving to be incredibly dangerous and very annoying hunters. Unless he comes up with some kind of plan to get them off his tail, it would be a matter of time until his strength gave out and he fell to his pursuers.

He almost trips and loses his footing on a bunch of tree roots sprawling on the forest floor. But as he clears the tree roots, he bumps into a warm body and would’ve been sent careening to the ground if they hadn’t grabbed him by the arms and pulled him back to his feet. He’s further surprised by a familiar voice not scolding him for bumping into them, but expressing concern and worry about him.

“Whoa! Leo?! What are you doing back here?! I thought you went home!”

Leo recognizes who it is and looks up. A young man around his age, give or take a year or two younger, was standing before him looking a mixture of worried and confused. It was Takumi, a teenager who is actually a Dragonborn, a demon from the Forbidden Forest that Leo had met before. Apparently, they supposedly met when they were kids and Takumi helped escort Leo home when the latter was lost in the forest.

As much as he hates it, Leo realizes he has no other choice if he wants to remain alive, even though he won’t be going home for a long time. Already feeling his exhaustion starting to set in, Leo quickly explained what happened to the Dragonborn.

“The king branded me a traitor when I shared the truth about the Black Plague. I never even mentioned any demons since they weren’t even responsible for the disease happening, but the king refused to believe me and now I’m being pursued by his advisor’s abominations.”

As confused as he was, Takumi realized that there wasn’t any more time to waste if he wanted the ex-prince to live. Keeping his eyes on the path Leo came down, Takumi carefully guided the taller boy to a large patch of plants he recognized as being very useful for throwing off any pursers, human or monster. He sets Leo down on a patch of soft moss hidden within the plants.

“Stay here and catch your breath. I got an idea.”

“W-What are you going to do?!”

“Just stay here and keep quiet until I come back for you.”

Obeying his orders, Leo could only watch as Takumi then quietly stepped out of the plants, taking a fistful of the blossoms with him. He wondered why the teenager would take some of the flowers with him if they weren’t useful as they were. Another howl pierced the air, sounding much closer than before. Leo mentally wondered what Takumi is doing and what he’s planning when the enemy is coming closer.

Before he could hear the beasts come a step closer, Leo suddenly caught a whiff of a strange smell in the air followed by an incredibly thick fog that blanketed the entire area and the monsters started to make noises of confusion and disgust. From the sounds that followed afterwards, the monsters had lost Leo’s trail and were now retreating to another path, just to get away from the smell.

He held his breath, the smell wasn’t uncomfortable enough to make him gag like it did with the monsters, and continued to wait as Takumi ordered him to. He wondered where Takumi was and if the Dragonborn had left him to keep running alone.

“But he said to stay where I am until he comes back. Where is he?”

Before he could ponder more on whether or not he should stay or keep running, Leo heard the faint footsteps approaching his location. Luckily, it was Takumi. As his hand stuck out through the cover of the plants, and gestured to the exhausted prince.

“I’m back. Can you stand?”

“Y-Yeah, I-I think so.”

Leo reached out to grab the outstretched hand and was pulled up to his feet, wobbling a little bit before being steadied by Takumi, who had a concerned look on his face. The demon looked back at the foggy path the monsters almost came down, thinking about what to do next before turning back to Leo.

“That fog won’t last forever, but it’ll be long enough for us to get to safety. There’s a temple we can take shelter at and gain access to a safer location should they pick up on your scent again.”

“O-Okay.”

Not arguing with Takumi, Leo let him lead the way to the temple since he was getting a little bit woozy. With the former steadying the latter, the two of them resumed their trek through the forest, using the cover of the fog to avoid any further trouble from any more pursuers. Thankfully for both of them, Takumi had been taking walks in the forest for much longer than anyone, so he has a better idea of where the temple was, even in thick fog.

After walking through the forest for another hour or two, the two boys come across a clearing with a huge gate and two lanterns on the other side. Leo couldn’t help but notice the sky was actually a little bit clearer and could actually see the clouds passing over the forest, hiding the moon. But it looked like they would clear away soon. Takumi spoke up after a long time since they started walking.

“We can get to safety through that gate if those monsters come back. The monsters won’t follow us because the gate is enchanted by magic that keeps out those who would harm us.”

“W-What about m-mindless monsters. T-The creatures that w-were c-chasing me only f-follow o-orders from whoever c-commands them.”

“The monsters will just disintegrate upon touching the gate. It’s happened before. By the way, you didn’t get hit by those monsters did you? You look pale.”

Leo was absolutely sure he didn’t suffer any injuries, otherwise he would’ve noticed. He shook his head, not wanting to worry his companion.

“I’m f-fine. J-Just took a f-fall into a b-berry b-bush.”

Takumi stopped at his response, then he stepped in front of Leo and started to look him over, like a worried mother hen. Leo didn’t think they had time for this, the monsters could come any minute. After critically looking him over, Takumi finally spoke up.

“Fine my backside, there’s blood all over your clothes! And you’re pale because your body temperature is dropping! Did you really forget a coat?!”

Leo groaned as he remembered the cause of the blood. It wasn’t his and it would be a pain to wash out. But even if he had more stuff packed up properly, he probably wouldn’t have enough time to change out of the bloodied clothes anyway. Also, he was used to the cold so he would be fine as long as he gets somewhere warm in time. He gently pushed Takumi away for some space and replied.

“M-My horse. I got a-about h-halfway past the f-forest e-entrance before the m-monsters r-ripped my mare t-to p-pieces. T-They p-practically m-massacred the h-horse b-before I e-escaped and r-ran into you.”

Well, ok. Takumi can believe that. But before he could even respond, a terrible and familiar howl ripped through the air, making the two boys turn around at the source of the terrifying sound. The clouds that had obscured the moon before, cleared and allowed the moonlight to shine down on the clearing as a pack of huge shapes bound into the boy’s vision. The monsters had caught up to them.

They were absolutely grotesque creatures. They ran on all fours like a giant dog but looked nothing like a canine. The claws and back legs were oversized, the closest thing to skin on the body was a wriggling mass that looked like it had worms crawling around underneath it. Bony protrusions stick out of the ribs, tail, and spine that flex and stretch with every breath they take. And the head was mainly a massive nose, huge dead blackened eyes with dark pink pupils that seem to look everywhere, and a maw filled with sword sized overcrowding teeth and tentacle like tongues that stretch out of their mouths when they let out a loud roar that sounded like a mix of a wyvern, a boar, and maybe even a horse.

It was the stuff of nightmares that neither boy would have probably for the rest of their lives. Both boys took a step back in horror, disgust, and downright disturbed, noticing the monster’s numbers as well, about a dozen or so. Takumi’s expression soon turned to anger and frustration.

“No! I thought we would have more time!”

Leo couldn’t help but agree with that statement, but he also noticed something that prevented him from responding. Takumi’s eyes started to softly glow, his pupils were narrowing into slits, his teeth seemed to sharpen into fangs, and his voice sounded like a growl rumbling from deep in his throat. He wanted to know what it meant, but that had to wait. They had bigger problems.

Good thing Leo isn’t completely defenseless in this situation and neither is his friend. Dragonborns were incredibly powerful, even in their more human-like forms. He wasn’t worried about Takumi losing the fight. And he himself had a couple of powerful tomes in his bag that will allow him to fight at a distance. One that he was taking out of his bag right now.

“So it’s come to this. We must defend ourselves! I don’t intend on dying here!”

“Got it. Watch my back and I’ll watch yours!”

Leo nodded, then opened the tome and readied his spell, just as the biggest looking monster let out another one of their terrible roars, commanding the others to attack their prey.

Takumi’s nails extended into claws and he charged at the closest monster that approached him. He feigned a jump to trick the beast into jumping to intercept him before he slid underneath the monster and slashed at it, dragging his claw along its underbelly to split the beast’s innards open, blood spraying out of the wound. The beast then landed on the ground dead, many of its organs split open from Takumi’s attack.

For Leo’s part, he charged up an Arcfire and launched several powerful fireballs at another monster just as it opened its mouth to launch its tentacles, only to get a mouthful of fire and it spread so rapidly to the rest of its insides that it began to explode from the inside out. The monsters may be tough on the outside, but not so much on the inside. Leo smirked as this happened, then turned to another monster and started charging up a Thoron, waiting for its mouth to open.

Takumi then turned to two more of the monsters, grabbed them by their tentacle tongues, and swung them around like a couple of maces, catching three more monsters by the sharp bones on the tails of the ones he’s swinging around. The three monsters were being slashed apart, already blinded and blood spilling out of the eyes, throat, and brain.

Once the three were dead, Takumi then threw one at the slashed up trio, knocking them over and the one he threw landed on its back, its rib protrusions flexing up. Takumi smirked, then threw the other one so it landed on top of the other one he threw. This caused the bones on the bottom monster to pierce the top monster’s head and chest, killing it instantly.

Takumi grinned a feral smile. Things were looking good, they can definitely survive the horde without so much issue. Until he hears an extremely pained scream that makes his heart drop.

He turned around. He saw four more monsters were dead on Leo’s side of the battlefield, one was burned from the inside like it had been electrocuted, one looked like it swallowed a ball of fire and exploded, one was pierced by light lances and dark flames ate a good chunk of its flesh, and the fourth looked like it had been sliced in half by powerful wind blades.

But the remaining two still alive had ambushed their target and one had destroyed a tome under its claws as the other one had the smell of human blood on its right side. They both were encircling their downed target, waiting for the opportunity to get a killing blow before the other, as the victim looked up and met Takumi’s gaze. Fear, pain, and a silent plea to run was what Takumi saw in Leo’s eyes.

And Takumi saw red.

Leo had been thinking the same thing as Takumi as he launched an Arcwind at his opponent and the spell sliced it in half. He thought they were going to make it out of this crazy situation in one piece. And he had to admit, he and Takumi made a good team in battle, despite the latter not being very fond of fighting. He would have to ask over a bowl of miso soup when they get the chance to catch their breath.

But Leo then heard a branch break and immediately dodged an incoming attack from another monster, the claws coming within an inch from his face. As Leo tried to ready another spell at the monster, he looked over to Takumi’s side of the battlefield, wondering if Takumi was having trouble. Doing a mental count, he saw the one Takumi sliced its underbelly open, the two he was swinging around like massive dual maces, and three getting sliced up by the bones on the swinging ones. Adding the four he just slayed and the one he was dodging, Leo’s headcount came up short.

“Oh no! Where’s the leader?!”

Another snarl came from behind Leo, the leader! Its slimy tentacle tongues lash out, making Leo turn around and dodge out of the way. But this time, he was too slow and the tongues knocked the tome out of Leo’s hand, scratching his hand, arm, and shoulder. Leo gasped and the two monsters took the chance to attack, brutally slashing the boy’s front and back.

Leo let out a bloodcurdling scream, his mind briefly overwhelmed by the immense pain before he dropped to ground on his stomach. The wounds weren’t too deep so the monsters didn’t pierce his organs, but his injuries still hurt very badly. He cursed his own weakness for landing in this situation.

The monsters circled around him, waiting to see which one would deal the final blow to end his life. Leo struggled to get up, using every ounce of willpower he had just to stay awake. He could feel the blood coming out from his wounds, staining his clothes and dripping down to the ground from between his fingers. Tears started to prick his eyes as he managed to look up and made eye contact with Takumi across the battlefield. The Dragonborn stared with horror at his companion about to meet his premature death.

The monsters then let out another terrible roar and their tentacle tongues began to lash out at the downed Leo. Leo saw this and could do no more than cover his head and close his eyes, waiting for the attack. Before he could meet his end, a loud roar suddenly boomed across the battlefield, causing a shockwave to spread from the source and the tentacles to halt.

“THAT HUMAN IS MINE!!!”

Leo opened his eyes and looked up to find a far more incredible sight.

Takumi’s eyes were glowing, wind whipped around in a frenzy, and lightning seemed to crash and flash from everywhere, supposedly summoned by the Dragonborn. But what made Leo gasp was that Takumi was GROWING. Stretching and expanding larger and larger with draconic features emerging as he grew.

Horns grew from his head, a large thick tail grew from his lower back, and his hands and feet became golden scaled claws and talons. Bright blue fur also burst from his exposed skin except for his face, which only grew a few bright blue scales from underneath his glowing eyes and his exposed chest gained an armored underbelly like that of an actual dragon. Leo could only stare as his companion transformed until he was towering over the monsters at about 40 or 50 feet tall, looked down at the monsters, and snarled viciously.

Leo remembered that Takumi had once told him that all Dragonborn can transform into a bigger, more powerful form, even into true dragons in the most extreme circumstances. Takumi had said that he never really had to use this power because he’s usually strong enough to deal with his enemy. But, he did say he will use it if necessary and had Leo promise that he would try to stay calm and trust him while in his far more powerful state.

But obviously, seeing it actually happening was way different than being told about it.

Leo was confused as to why Takumi decided to transform now, but there wasn't much he could do while in incredible pain from his injuries as his powered up companion took a rumbling step towards the monsters that had him pinned down.

The monsters had been frozen in their attack on Leo, but when Takumi transformed and approached, they turned their attention to the much bigger threat and began to charge at him. Any warnings that Leo could muster wasn’t needed because Takumi snarled and summoned powerful lightning to strike back at the monsters and blew them back, causing them to slam into the tree trunks behind Leo.

Leo blinked at the now downed beasts, in complete awe at Takumi’s incredible power. But he also let out a pained cry when he tried to turn his head and continued to press his hands against his bleeding wounds. As he attempted to hold on, a warm breeze brushed his bloodied hair.

He looked up to see a huge gold claw descending towards him, making his heart pound and he let out a confused and frightened whimper. Because of his injuries, Leo could only look as the massive claw very carefully wrapped around his body, leaving his head and shoulders and lower legs exposed to the open air.

Leo felt his body lift into the air, the grip around his battered body was firm but not too tight to cause any more pain to him than he already was in but not too loose for more blood to spill from his injuries. He was lifted right up to the giant Takumi’s face, which had an unreadable expression and seemed to carefully look over Leo, trying to decide what to do.

Leo pitifully squirmed in the giant’s grip, not knowing his intentions and despite being so high up, he could hear the beasts below struggling to get back up, starting to gain a second wind. Leo attempted to talk, but the giant’s other massive claw came up and gently started to pet him, slowly stroking his bloodied hair and having his thumb carefully placed over his lips, quieting his words into worried whimpering. Finally, Takumi spoke up in a quiet but rumbling voice.

“Shhh. Leo please, trust me. You will be safe. Ok?”

Leo still doesn’t know what the giant had in mind, but even if he was far bigger and scarier, this was still Takumi, his friend. Taking a deep breath, Leo looked his giant friend in the glowing blue eye and gave him a nod, wordlessly conveying his trust to the giant. Takumi’s eyes softened and he seemed to smile apologetically…

Before slowly opening his huge fanged mouth.

Leo’s eyes widened as Takumi very carefully turned his fist to put the wounded prince’s feet and legs into his mouth. He then felt the giant’s head lean back and allow gravity to assist in devouring the poor boy. Despite his pain, Leo attempted to struggle and grab onto something to prevent his eventual devouring, but he was kept still by the giant’s lips and his shoulders and head were still out of his mouth.

“TAKUMI!! WHAT ARE YOU-! AH!”

Leo’s cry was cut off by the giant’s head righted and his tongue carefully licking the injured boy’s body, more so his injuries, coating his body with thick slimy drool. The saliva seemed to seal shut his wounds, preventing anymore bleeding, but still slickening him up to eventually swallow him. Leo tried to struggle again, but his shoulders are slurped inside, leaving only his head gently held by the massive lips, and that intruding tongue still licking him all over like a tasty treat.

As Leo let out a frightened “N-No!”, he heard and felt a deep vibration in the giant’s throat. Takumi was gently humming a soothing tune, trying to calm the frightened prince in his mouth. And as much as Leo wanted to be wrong, it was working.

Leo started to calm and he felt the tip of Takumi’s tongue slowly slipping behind his head, and gently pushed his head completely inside the giant’s mouth, sealing him in darkness and his feet started to slide into the throat. Once completely inside, the tongue pressed Leo to the roof of the giant’s mouth, carefully sucking on his body and subjecting him to more soothing hums and moans of pleasure. Takumi seemed to enjoy his taste.

The hums stopped and Leo felt the head tilt back again, feeling his body slide further into the throat until he was up to his torso. Leo could only brace himself as he felt the throat tighten very slightly, readying for the swallow that will seal Leo away from the outside world. He took a deep breath…

“GLURK!”

…And was immediately sucked down the giant’s throat with a startled gasp.

Leo could still hardly believe he was swallowed so slowly and easily. Like Takumi was purposely being gentle with his prey for an unknown reason. But it was too hard to think about what that reason could be, because he was subjected to relentless but gentle pressure from sliding down the giant’s throat, bringing him deeper and deeper into the massive body.

Leo barely registered sliding past the giant’s huge heartbeat, further calming him, as he continued to make the trip down. After what felt like forever, though it was only a few seconds, Leo felt his feet enter a warmer, larger space, and knew where he was going to end up. The rest of the pressure on his body suddenly released and he found himself swiftly sliding into the chamber with a startled cry.

Leo was now in the stomach. Takumi’s stomach!

Leo started to struggle, trying to get out of the thick glowing slime that he was practically soaked in, but he was promptly reminded of the extent of his injuries forcing him to just lay and squirm slightly in terrible pain. Even if he wasn’t hurt, the fleshy chamber that was the giant’s stomach rippled and gurgled around him.

The waist high slime he was partially sitting in suddenly started to secrete out of the walls of the stomach, raising the level of the slime up to his chest. Leo squirmed and pushed against the flesh, feeling his fear spike and his heart race…

Until he felt a powerful and surprisingly familiar feeling surge through his body and he let out a surprised and startled cry.

At the same time, like with the throat, the stomach walls started to collapse in on itself and subjected Leo’s injured body to more gentle and relentless pressure as he seemed to feel the slime soak into his skin, causing the surge he was now feeling. He recognized the feeling as the result of being healed by one of Elise’s staves, but this felt so much more powerful than what his sister could do.

It also seemed to remind Leo of his own exhaustion and that returned with a vengeance. His movements slowed, no longer able to fight the gentle movements of the stomach and his own body’s own need to rest and recover. Everything that had happened today was just too much, and now he was going to get some much needed sleep, despite the questions in his mind.

Another healing surge pulsed through him, finally draining the last of his strength and leaving him at the mercy of the giant’s stomach. Leo groaned and felt his eyes start to flutter shut. Before he completely fell asleep, he lifted his arm up, wondering if his body was healing or just melting the skin of his bones.

But what he saw may have proved the former right because he definitely remembered having painful scratches on his arm and hand. Except they had vanished from his body and he noticed looking further down his body that the wounds on his chest and torso were glowing and slowly sealing shut!!

“W-Whaa…*groan*”

Leo felt the stomach continue to gently squeeze and massage his body, bringing a little yawn out of his mouth as he finally fell sound asleep, completely slipping into unconsciousness….

“Ugh, I hate doing this.”

Takumi thought to himself as he licked his claws. The addictive flavor of his friend was still present on his tongue, even though said companion was now sealed inside of him. He shuddered when he felt his friend struggling for a bit, trying to get out. Though his friend settled down after a bit as he started to feel his body’s healing ability work on his friend’s injuries.

“I can’t stop licking my claws, he tasted so good.”

The very action of what he had done both disgusted and elated him.

Leo’s flavor was tangy and savory, reminding Takumi of some sort of tomato soup. The feeling of his friend descending into his stomach was as thrilling as it was worrying. Even the slight amount of movement he felt once his friend entered his stomach tickled and delighted him.

His predatory instincts were always so powerful that he only registered he swallowed someone until after he had calmed down. But this time, he was completely in control of himself and willingly swallowed Leo because of his injuries.

“But, he’s safe. That’s all that matters.”

The feeling of Leo finally falling asleep inside him because of Takumi’s healing abilities finally brought a smile to his lips as he gently and slowly rubbed his slightly swollen stomach, feeling his little human inside, knowing that Leo’s condition was stabilizing, and that his healing was proceeding smoothly. It was essentially worth the discomfort he felt in using his abilities and the fright he had unintentionally caused his friend.

A snarl let him know of the monsters that had injured his friend and weren’t very happy about the massive interloper who took their prey away. Ah, he would have to deal with them before he opened the gate. He turned his gaze down to the monsters and viciously smirked, his eyes glowing with power.

The monsters snarled angrily. Takumi only continued to smirk, finding their now smaller size at his own towering height almost cute if it weren’t for their disgusting appearance before speaking.

“You see what I meant now? The human is MINE, you mutated maggot bags!”

Whether they understood or not, the monsters didn’t take kindly to the taunt. They angrily roared and clumsily attempted another attack, still weakened from Takumi’s previous assault. But Takumi knew that was the last mistake they could ever make.

He turned around and swiftly sprinted to the gate, made even faster by his storm powers and his larger size carried him across the clearing in almost no time at all. He was mildly impressed that the monsters were still running after him at a faster speed than he thought. But not fast enough.

As he neared the other side of the clearing, the gate began to intensely glow and crackle with lightning, just like Takumi would when he uses his storm powers. He planted his foot in front of the gate, causing a portal of energy to burst to life inside the gate. The storming energy lashed out in erratic lightning and swirling winds that stopped the monsters in their tracks.

Takumi just smirked and jumped through the portal, knowing full well what was going to happen next. The moment he was gone, the storm let loose one last cannon of lightning, light, and power, swallowing the monsters and the corpses of their dead pack members. The light persisted for a few seconds before being sucked back into the gate and causing it to brightly burn before fading.

The clearing was still and quiet once more, the monsters and monster corpses vaporized by the portal’s feedback. The only evidence that remained of the gate was a pile of rubble, the gate having collapsed in on itself.

Takumi skidded to a halt as he exited a swirling portal of wind and light. It did suck that he can’t use that portal again, but at least he’s back in his home world. The aura he felt, the aurora like night sky, and the silhouette of the castle in the distance were dead giveaways. He took a deep breath, finally allowing himself to relax and plan his next move.

He stopped his train of thought when he felt sleepy little kicks in his stomach. He softly smiled and gently rubbed his middle again, feeling his passenger settle back down into the soft flesh of his stomach. He must’ve been trying to get comfortable.

“Heh. So cute.”