#mentioned blot

Prologue:

Long ago, there were two species of people: Toons and Borrowers. Both peoples lived peacefully, despite an immense difference in size. They even formed close bonds with each other, coexisting within the same residence.

During this time, there was a special kind of a Toon, known as a Pred. These Toons specialized in protecting Borrowers from natural dangers through a specific form of affection evolved over a long time of coexistence.

One day due to circumstances long lost to history, Toons and Borrowers split apart… which led to Borrowers going into hiding and the very existence of them disappearing into legend.

As for the Preds… with no Borrowers to protect, they integrated with the rest of the Toons easily and their unique abilities were forgotten.

But what happens in the modern day, when a dormant Pred discovers a now mythical borrower?

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Looey grunted slightly as he dragged the box up the stairs. It was a large one that contained all the parts required to construct a couch, and since he was just one guy, he was lucky to get it up one flight of stairs; he needed to get it up three. He sighed as he wiped his forehead with one hand, and grimaced. While he took a second to regain his strength, the balloon dog let his mind wander for a minute. This was a big change for him and the gang afterall! It was a much bigger city than where they had left, and hopefully if Blot pulled through they’d have a good venue. The Circus Troupe, as they were hoping to call themselves simply, were hoping to make it big and perform comedy and gymnastic acts in the city of Gardenview. The three of them had a crazy dream, he knew; but Yatta and Blot were certainly talented at what they did, so maybe Looey would do good if he stuck by them. 

He’d be thinking about when his two friends would finally arrive when his thoughts were interrupted by an imagined Pop! And a real voice breaking through. “You alright there?” Looey looked past the box he had and saw a light blue woman with a bow on her head. “Oh- well, sort of. Just got caught up in my thoughts, hehe.” He spoke apologetically, trying to reaffirm his grip on the box. “Heh, I get that! You must be Looey, right?” She asked, and helped to lift the box up from the opposite side of Looey. “I’m Poppy; we spoke on the phone before you got here?” She asked to jog his memory. “Oh- yeah! Okay I remember now. Miss Poppy… I appreciate the help but you really don’t have to-" Looey began, hoping to try and take the box with the help of his leg muscles before she cut into his denials of help. "Oh think nothing of it, wouldn’t be a very good Toon if I didn’t help out a tenant sometimes!” She encouraged while simply helping him get the box up the final two flights of stairs. Once they reached the door, it would be easy for them to deposit the box within the apartment. It wasn’t anything special, one bedroom, one bathroom, and a small kitchen with a living room attached. For the most part, it was an empty space save for a few necessities. “So, you’re coming here with two others, huh? Isn't this place a bit small for three people?” She inquired, straightening out her dress a bit while standing in the doorway. Looey would lean against the box for a moment, before immediately stopping that as the box began to tilt with his weight. “Uh- yeah, yeah no it wasn’t our first thought I’ll admit, but it was the best option. Spent most of our ‘moving fund’ on our ‘profession.’” 

Looey’s eyes drifted a bit as he spoke to Poppy; now that he was actually here in the apartment with the last major box moved, it was a lot easier to think about more specific things he wanted to do with the space! There might be just enough room in the corner for a table, and the built-in shelf next to the window would be nice for some of his balloon animals alongside books and stuff. He was just thinking about things to fill the fridge up the next day when he noticed something. There was a flash of movement in the grate on the ceiling, and it was enough to make his eyes squint, a flash of confusion on his face. “We’ve uh, got a cool gig ready in a little while from now-” He finished off with a slight mumble. “Oh? You’re like, performers?” The Bubble asked curiously, tilting her head a bit. “Yeah, but I shouldn’t be rambling so much. I imagine you’ve got stuff to do, Miss Poppy. I won’t take up more of your time.” He apologized, gesturing for her to get along as politely as he could. He didn’t want her to notice what he saw, as he couldn’t imagine she’d be happy if she found out there was a pest in her building. He’d take care of it, or at least tell her later. “Oh, yes, but of course you’re right! You can just call me Poppy, Mr. Looey. We can talk later if you’d like!” She spoke politely, offering a smile. “Yeah, maybe… Ah! I mean, of course! likewise, Poppy. One more thing though…” He put on a grin to try and make himself a bit less tense and a lot more amicable, considering that his job was to be upbeat he kind of had too, but it was always kind of hard no matter how much he wanted to do it. He reached a hand behind his back into a pocket, and quickly gathered some materials, and before Poppy could even ask what the One More Thing was, he would have a little blue balloon perfectly shaped to look like her! There was even a bow on the top made out of smaller pink ones. 

“Oh! Whoa! That is SO cool!! Thank you very very much!” The bubble girl exclaimed, just before she took the elastic creature from Looey’s hands. “Looks like I’ll have to do something for you later! See you, Looey!” She’d say with a wide grin, which warmed Looey’s heart a bit… mission accomplished. Once Poppy had closed the door, Looey would take care of the box and assemble the couch. It would take a bit longer than expected, and the balloon dog would end up ordering a pizza in. Later that night, he found himself sleeping on the provided bed; his troupe would need to figure out something to do sleep-wise for all three of them. As he lay there in the dark, he thought about what he had seen… It was kind of unavoidable. He thought it was brown in color, but he had no idea about specific types of rodents if that was what it was. He yawned a bit as he got comfy, and would go to sleep with the thought that he’d figure out if there even was anything in the coming days. 

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In the course of two days, things had already been going strangely. He brought groceries home, and it felt like some of it was disappearing right out from under his nose; the most egregious example was when whole grapes went missing from a bag while he was having some. He was a pretty oblivious guy, he’d admit, but something… a scent in the air perhaps, was telling him that something was off. It was near-impossible to tell what it was, but he intended to find out, at least before Yatta got here; he did not need some rat gnawing at her when she slept trying to get to her candy. The image made a shudder go down Looey’s back. 

He set a trap down on the counter, perfectly set to catch whatever it was with a few grapes as bait. His tail wagged a bit with his satisfaction for the plan he had come up with. Since it was just a rodent, chances are it would fall easily for the glue trap he found at the store. It was basically fool-proof if he did say so himself. He would brush off his shoulders with a confident smirk as he left the building to get some breakfast out; by the time he’d get back, the trap should have worked its magic, theoretically.

The morning was seemingly uneventful past this point. Looey got some pancakes at a local place, got an ETA for when Blot and Yatta would be here (finally), and that was it. He’d walk up the stairs to his apartment, unlock the door, and stride inside with the utmost confidence that he would be able to release the pest somewhere. It was only when he finally lay his eyes upon the countertop that he realized that this would be a whole lot more complicated.

Years later, he’d still be able to recount that moment, when his eyes met with red and green heterochromia. Looey paused in the doorway, mouth agape in pure shock. Trapped in the gluetrap, they stood on four legs (Were… two of those arms?) a small creature, hardly a few inches tall. It had deep brown fur, four hooves firmly stuck in the glue with red and white antlers sticking out from its head. Its mouth was curved downward in the most sad expression Looey had ever seen, as their eyes widened in what seemed to be fear. The balloon dog could hardly process it, if he didn’t know any better he’d say it was basically a little person. He took a step forward, and another, then yet another, until he was right up in front of the counter and looming over the tiny… reindeer? He wasn’t quite sure. “Um… hey…? Now that was unexpected… What are you?” He asked as he rested his elbows on the counter and inspected them. 

They didn’t say a word, though Looey hadn’t really expected it too (Okay maybe he expected it a little, could you blame a walking and talking balloon dog for having a little whimsy?). “Hehe… kind of- cute?” He mumbled as he looked over their fluffy form. “So sorry about this- um- here let me get you free.” It would take a minute of effort, but he was able to safely get the reindeer out of the trap despite the struggles it put up. He was just glad it didn’t bite him. Once Looey had his hand wrapped around its body though, he began to feel a little weird. The world seemed to unfocus for a second, and the terrified face of the small creature he had rescued from a trap that Looey himself had set remained the only clear thing in his mind. He had felt weird from the moment he’d walked into the room in reality, no… the moment he registered the fear on its face. His body seemed to move on his own, as the grip relaxed, and he began to cup the little reindeer in two hands…

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Rudie the Borrower-Reindeer had been on a mission this morning. He had gone out from his base within the walls of this really really big building to try and find some food for himself and his friends! This particular section of the building had a Bean move into it quite recently, and with how they left food out so SO often, Rudie couldn’t help but take a bitttt more than he probably should have. Really, it only made sense that he’d be found out because of his carelessness. Rudie had spent a good amount of his time in the glue trap belittling himself for not just getting one hoof stuck in the trap, but also getting all four trapped in his attempts to get out; he should’ve known those grapes were too good to be true! His friends definitely wouldn’t be happy with him… it wasn’t until the owner of this teensy section of the building walked in with an illustrious stride that he finally realized that this wasn’t any normal messup. He’d gotten himself into some pretty bad situations in the past, and it was only with his friends’ help that he’d been able to get out unscathed; this was different. The Bean’s eyes were on him. He was seen. He was found. And he was most definitely in big trouble. Now, Rudie had no idea what to do in a circumstance like this… all he could remember was that he couldn’t communicate with them, but how was he supposed to try and get away??

It was all too easy for them to remove Rudie from the trap, and to hold him in a gentle-ish grip. He struggled, punched, and even tried to buck his legs but it was darn near impossible in the grip, at least until the Bean relaxed his grip and held him in cupped hands. Rudie lay on his back, hand-hooves supporting him alongside his legs in a partially sat-up position as he looked up at the large balloon animal. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear… this- this can’t be it right? I still have so many Christmases to celebrate- He wasn’t quite sure when the next one was supposed to be, but surely it’d be soon, right? He was getting side-tracked. Maybe… This would be a nice Bean? He had listened to him on occasion, and he seemed nice enough? A bit funny at times? The hands felt strange under him… warm, and smooth. Normally he only ever felt smooth and cold things, but the warmth was nice. The shades of purple and green were lovely… and the green reminded him of the evergreen trees that Beans put out for that wonderful holiday. Gosh, he could only imagine a Bean home all decorated for that day… Bobette had taught him about it many years ago when Rudie had questioned why they decorated, and it had been an interest of Rudie’s ever since! (He’d even painted his antlers red and white like candy-canes using stolen dye.) Wait… what’s going on? Rudie zoned back in, and was faced with slit pupils. The look on Looey’s face was different from anything he had ever observed before. 

There was something distinctly Predatory about his eyes. Rudie opened his mouth, as if to say something, but the words didn’t come. They couldn’t come. Gosh, he’d be on the naughty list for sure if he broke the borrower code like that. Not talking to Beans was pretty high on that list. He had no idea what was going to happen… All he knew was that he had to be brave. Yes! Brave! Ha, that was easy! So he thought. What he did not expect was for the balloon dog to give him a few quick sniffs, hold him up high, and then immediately dangle Rudie over his maw. “W-wait!” All thought ceased in Rudie’s mind as pure instinct took over. He kicked, and clawed to the best of his ability to find any purchase; none was found. Rudie closed his eyes when he was lowered inside, and met with the  humid environment. For the moment that he had been presented with the maw, he had subconsciously taken careful note of the details: Saliva strands gleaming in the light, a tongue colored with green, purple, and yellow stripes laid out like a carpet, and sharply gleaming teeth; for the minute, it appeared that they grew sharper by the second. Soon enough, these details would become Rudie’s whole world as he was dropped inside onto the slick surface of the Bean’s tongue and the maw would shut behind him.

Rudie quickly scrabbled to try and get out, but he was unable to move much before being assailed by the tongue. Rudie grunted and struggled alongside the active muscle, and tried to push it away whenever it licked at him. He shivered slightly as he felt his body slowly become slick with saliva; it was unlike anything he’d ever felt before, faintly sticky, hot, and insanely slippery like he had been dipped in a puddle. Rudie kept his eyes shut throughout the whole process, his hooves scrabbling to gain purchase on anything but only succeeding on nearly cutting himself on the teeth. (It was really lucky that the tongue moved him away perchance every time he got close to that.) Rudie groaned softly as the tongue pushed him back, and hung limp for a second. All the struggling was insanely tiring in the face of the Bean’s absolute strength. Rudie’s whole body shook with the horror of it all; he was just glad that the wetness of his environment allowed any tears of his to be lost… there was no one to see it anyway. 

When he was swallowed, he probably should have expected it by the teeth not doing anything save for being frightening, but when it came he let out a startled scream and tried to prop his legs up to no avail. The assault of the muscles from there was once again so irregular. The throat took a firm hold of him, and the tongue helped nudge him down with a tilt of the Bean’s head. Looey appeared to mutter something, but it was so quiet that not even Rudie could make it out from his position. The little reindeer kicked, and struggled to the best of his ability but there was no halting his descent as the muscles contracted and sucked him further and further down. Each moment in the balloon dog’s throat felt like an eternity, anticipation creeping through Rudie’s mind as he was pulled further, past a dull drum full of life, natural ventilations, and so much more. It felt like waiting for Christmas, if Christmas was the day of your demise and not a day of joy. After forever, Rudie would yelp as he was deposited into a larger chamber that he could only assume was… well, Looey’s version of where Rudie had sent the grapes he’d stolen. The chamber growled ominously around him, and liquids bubbled while being sloshed. He had absolutely no idea of what to do in this situation. Rudie trembled a bit as he got himself accustomed to his surroundings. He examined the grooves of the walls, the dim light from the outside, and the strange circus tent nature of it all; the walls were decorated with mostly green and purple stripes that stretched up toward the entrance of the chamber vertically, with fewer but still prevalent soft yellow stripes. If he wasn’t about to perish, it would be kind of cozy. The warmth wasn’t crazy oppressive, and he didn’t even feel any stinging; that didn’t mean he shouldn’t try to escape though.

The next while would consist of Rudie trying to ram the walls, kick the walls, and even climb the walls back out… but nothing seemed to faze his captor. Rudie could feel every movement of the Bean, and even felt the major rocking of his chamber when Looey apparently flopped onto a bed. He heard growling from somewhere above him; by the time he had properly tired himself out, Rudie had resigned to curling up inside the tightly compacted space to hope for the best… he had no idea what would happen if he fell asleep. Well, he did have an idea but he hoped hopelessly against it.

Amidst all of these noises… stomach growls, heartbeats, lungs and so much more, Rudie couldn’t help but close his eyes and try to hide away from it all in Dream Land.

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Meanwhile, time would pass, and Looey would reawaken from a short slumber. He couldn’t easily remember what had just transpired. The last thing he remembered was the fearful look on the reindeer’s face as he got him out of the trap. Ah! The reindeer! He jolted up from where he laid. What happened to the reindeer? Looey groaned slightly as he shifted to a sitting position. His whole body felt rather strange, tense, and… full? His stomach most of all felt really weird; there was a slight tingling feeling, and it almost felt like something was moving in there. That couldn’t be, right? He definitely didn’t have a strong stomach, but this felt particularly sensitive. Looey would poke his stomach from the outside, and nearly jump multiple feet in the air when he felt something push back against his poke. It was weak, but so wholly present. Was that the reindeer? He’d eaten the reindeer when he blacked out?? Oh no… poor guy! Looey bit his lip in thought about what to do, having never eaten someone before. Why had he done that?? He couldn’t come up with any idea of why this had transpired, but… Focus, figure something out first. He scolded internally as he switched tracks to thinking of a solution. Looey racked his brain for any form of idea, until he felt his stomach contract. There was something really different about his stomach. He felt he could almost control it… but if he could do that, then- He decided to try something, cutting off his train of thought as he tested his muscle functions.

Inside his stomach, the walls contracted, and the half-awake form of the little reindeer would be pushed upward into the throat. Their body would go all the way up, straight to Looey’s mouth, and quickly into his hand once again. “Oh gosh… hey, it’s okay it’s okay.” Looey repeated as he got up, and walked to the bathroom to get a rag or something to dry off the little thing. He had no idea how it was perfectly intact, but he needed to apologize and try to… care for it?? He still wasn’t quite sure what to do with it because it was absolutely not an ordinary pest. Not a pest. Little… invader? No- thief? Yeah, he’d call it a little thief for now; it felt silly enough. Once Looey got him dry, he would set the tired reindeer on a countertop, find an emptied box, and cut some small holes in it. “Okay… I know you probably don’t understand me but I’m sorry for what happened- Just gonna keep you here, for now-” He assured, though he didn’t think it was sentient; he couldn’t dwell on that right now. He could hardly dwell over the strange control he had over his digestive organ, but it seemingly disappeared as quickly as it had come.

He would put it inside the box, put some books on top of the box, and set it in the corner of the room after putting a few grapes, cloth, and a small bowl of water inside. “What am I doing…?” He mumbled to himself; he knew he should probably set it free somewhere else, but he kind of wanted the others to see it, or at the very least to figure out what it was first. Looey sat on his bed, and texted Yatta with his phone that had been abandoned on his nightstand at some point. 

Piñattaniña03: Looey!! Blot says that we should be headed over there soon! beyond excited to see you!! Ballooey: Yeah! I’m excited to see you too… i’ve got kind of a surprise- thing- to show you

Looey sent that last message kind of hesitantly, he was not sure how the two would react to the little reindeer. Looey hadn’t really admitted it to himself,  but he was kind of ready to call the little thing his new pet. Maybe it’d be cool if the three of them cared for it together! He wasn’t sure if the apartment was cool with pets, but it wouldn’t cause any problems. It- They were too small to cause problems after all. He thought that last bit with a smile and a wag on his tail. Sure there was the issue of how he’d mysteriously blacked out and eaten the little thing, but there must be an explanation, right? This was definitely a strange turn of events, but he welcomed it.