restless & hungry spirits
TRANSCRIPT
Rest l ess & Hungry Sp ir i t s It’s rare to find a place quite as paradoxical as a forest. It’s a beautiful, lush
environment full of wonderful sights to behold, creatures to befriend, and a sense
of purity. Yet, it’s also a place so dense that it’s not especially hard to get lost in the
woods. Like so many folk stories, something so seemingly beautiful and pleasant
can become quite easy to get lost in, and once lost, suddenly the tranquility and
isolation can be quite unnerving and oppressive. This was a lesson one
anthromorphic Barn Owl would soon realize.
Her name was Rchlis, she was a young humanoid Barn Owl dressed in a red
hoodie, with gray slacks and sneakers. Her eyes shifted left and right as she
wandered aimlessly through the woods, both frustrated and slightly nervous.
“C’mon, there was supposed to be an opening by now,” Rchlis remarked, steadily
making her way through the densely tree-populated forest. Her surroundings
were a bit dim from just how thick the trees all around her were. She took out her
cellphone, and predictably, there were zero bars. “Whelp, so much for ‘Waze: Lost
in the Woods’ Edition,” she muttered, putting her phone back in her pocket and
still seeking a way back on her trail out. Rchlis looked left and she looked right.
Then, she sighed to herself. “…Yep. That settles it. You are one hundred percent,
very, very…very much lost. Way to go…”
Just then a sudden rustling in the bushes caught her attention. Rchlis gulped
nervously then promptly turned right around. “O-Okay, maybe backtracking’ll
help. H-Heh, y-yep, maybe some familiar settings’ll help us figure the lay of the
land.” As Rchlis chattered to herself, she picked up the pace in her walking, now
doing her best not to run and draw attention, but very much ‘power walking’
through. “…This is the last time I ever ‘see nature’ without a guide again, I swear,”
Rchlis muttered to herself, a little more nervous than before.
However, something caught her attention. Rchlis’ eyes widened somewhat with
relief when she saw rather peculiar looking trees. “Black bark!” she said with relief,
stepping towards the forested area. “Riiiight, I remember, th-there was this whole
section of forest with black bark. In fact, I think I cut through here. Or, at least
near here.” With little frame of reference, Rchlis opted to quickly but carefully
head through the black bark forest. But strangely, there was an odd chill in the
air, as if the temperature in this area alone had dropped a slight but very
noticeable amount. It was enough to make Rchlis’ feathers stand on end, making
her neck shrink into a slightly puffed up scruff, not unlike a traditional owl.
Then, straight ahead, Rchlis caught an unusual sight. In the darkness, she mistook
it for a reindeer. It appeared to be a sizeable, darkened creature with very
reindeer-like antlers, or so she thought. Then, Rchlis carefully took a few steps
forward and got a closer look. Only then did she realize how wrong she was.
What was hunched over, eating something that may have once been a living
creature, quite messily in fact, was not a reindeer at all. It was a ghastly, cloaked
creature, like a wraith straight out of a nightmare. Those antlers appeared to be
fastened to either side of its’ hood. As it chomped away, Rchlis’ heart pounded
intensely, so much so, she was afraid the beast might actually hear it thumping in
her chest. She gulped nervously and oh so slowly took a few steps backwards,
trying to get away from the frightening creature without getting its’ attention.
But then, like something out of a cartoon, she stepped onto a few discarded sticks,
which crunched beneath her sneaker, and caused the hooded beast to stop eating.
Rchlis froze like a deer in headlights when the cloaked creature slowly sat up and
lifted its’ head, staring directly at Rchlis, whose eyes were as wide as saucers.
“…Oh…poop…”
Then, with a throaty, blood-curdling howl, the cloaked beast charged at Rchlis,
lunging at her with very razor sharp claws. Rchlis yelped in terror and just
narrowly dove out of the way from being ‘plucked.’ The beast slammed into several
trees, causing a few to tumble down onto it. This slowed it down just momentarily
enough for Rchlis to make a mad dash further into the black barked woods. The
hooded beast soon broke free from the mess that befell it and took off in pursuit of
Rchlis.
“M O T H E R N A T U R E S U C K S ! ! ” Rchlis cried out to herself as she ran for dear
life, constantly checking behind her to see if she was losing the beast.
Unfortunately, it was gaining on her, rushing like a mad monster high on
adrenaline. It would no doubt catch and maim her at this rate. So, thinking fast,
Rchlis made a sudden left turn into a more densely covered area of the forest, just
as the hooded beast pounced and just narrowly missed. Rchlis was cutting
through the trees, zigzagging her way and constantly checking behind her to make
sure the beast wasn’t on her tail.
But with all that looking behind her, Rchlis neglected to check what was right in
front of her until it was too late.
*SCHLUMP!* Just as Rchlis turned her head back, she ran face first into something very thick,
very round, and very jiggly. So much so that Rchlis actually bounced backwards
and fell onto her rump as a result. “Oof! Hey, watch where you’re going!” called
out a rather deep voice, likely belonging to whoever or whatever Rchlis had just
bumped into. Upon hearing the voice, Rchlis looked up, and just like before, her
heart dipped with terror. It appeared to be a spirit, one that sported a raggedy,
dark green cloak, which concealed the creatures’ face, but not his very ghostly,
semitranslucent, ectoplasmic body, from his muscular arms, his ghostly tail, and
most notably, his immensely big, round, jiggling stomach.
Clearly, Rchlis had just run face first into this big ghosts’ bigger belly because it
was wobbling and sloshing heavily like gelatin. Sufficed to say, she wasn’t sure
which hooded figure to be more afraid of. Fortunately, this big fat ghost didn’t
seem quite as aggressive, more annoyed than anything else.
“I mean, I know I’m big and all, but I’m not that fat-“ but just then, the ghost
stopped speaking midsentence when he actually looked down at the trembling
Barn Owl. “Waaaait a minute, you’re not a spirit…”
Rchlis was too scared to even speak. She was too scared to even stand up or run.
At least, that’s what she thought, until a familiar howl made her practically jump
out of her feathers and dart away for safety, but not finding any immediate routes
to run. As she feared, the restless spirit that had been chasing her tears its’ way
into the area, screeching and hissing like a monster out of a child’s worst
nightmares. But the fat ghost isn’t nearly as intimidated as Rchlis. Instead, he
casually reaches for a glowing, ghastly looking lantern, not unlike something of a
nightmarish image itself, and beneath his hood, blows air into it. In response, the
glowing flames of the lantern cascade outward like a haunted inferno. It almost
appears as if the fat ghost himself were blowing flames at the restless spirit, whose
body is promptly singed by the flames. The spirit screech of agony echoes into the
sky above, causing several leaves to fall from their branches, until it storms of sight,
body still aflame. The ghost watches the beast rush off, then nods to himself.
“Hmph, that’ll show him,” the fat ghost says in a pleased manner. Rchlis, who had
been watching the whole encounter, slowly steps out from behind a tree. The ghost
then turned his attention to Rchlis, and she shrank back behind the tree, peaking
out to observe the fat ghost. Oddly enough, when he turned, his big round
stomach sloshed quite audibly, like an immense vat of syrup. In fact, she can see
that his huge gut was still jiggling a good amount. The ghosts’ belly was so fat that
it was still reacting to the impact of being bumped into by her. And it would
appear the ghost had noticed this too, because he looked down at his heavy belly
and promptly grasped it firmly with his free hand, causing the jiggling to
eventually subside in his grasp.
Sufficed to say, Rchlis dared not imagine how a ghost got that fat.
“You can come out, I promise I don’t bite,” the fat ghost assured in a surprisingly
friendly manner, even waving softly at the young Barn Owl. Then, the ghost
chuckled and said, “Though, I do eat a lot, if you couldn’t already tell.” And just to
accentuate his point, he gave his big rubbery belly a hearty pat, causing the
spherical surface to ripple beneath his palm in almost hypnotic fashion, and slosh
quite audibly as a result. This didn’t help tensions one bit, which the ghost seemed
aware of. “Heheh, okay, bad joke…I mean, it’s not quite a joke, but I digress.
Anywho! I’m Dietrich. Pleased to me you, Miss…umm…Owlie? I wanna say Owlie.
Noooo, maybe, umm…Sue? Bird Girl? Pamela? This is gonna get awkward soon…”
“…R-Rchlis,” Rchlis finally spoke up, stepping awkwardly out from behind the tree.
“Hmm, interesting name,” the chubby ghost, Dietrich commented. He then tilted
his head in a slightly curious fashion. “Pray tell, Rchlis, what’s a friendly looking
young lady like you doing wandering around in the woods? Particularly these
woods…?”
“…W-Well, I, I was just going for a walk. It was nice out this afternoon, and I’ve
always wanted to see the deeper part of the forest. And I just, kinda got lost…”
The chubby spirit audibly sighed in a slightly frustrated matter and shook his
head. “Yep, you most certainly are one hundred percent lost, else you wouldn’t be
here,” he informed Rchlis. “Tell you, have you ever heard of the Lost Woods?”
“…The, umm, that level from Ocarina of Time…?”
Though Dietrich’s face was completely blackened by his hood, Rchlis could sense
him blinking in dull fashion. “…The Lost Woods is a plane that exists within the
spirit realm and the spirit realm only. Living creatures shouldn’t be able to roam
these parts,” Dietrich remarked, tapping his tubby dome idly with his free finger in
thought. Each tap made his belly jiggle just ever so slightly beneath his thick
finger. “Which means you’ve probably wandered through one of their traps…”
Rchlis suddenly grew more nervous than she already was. “T-Trap…? Wh-What’re
you talking about? I’ve literally just been walking around the same woods-”
“-If you’ll forgive me,” Dietrich interrupted, holding a finger up, and causing his fat
form to slosh around from the sudden jolt of action his floating body just took
holding his arm up. “But when you were wandering through the woods, by chance,
did you stumble upon trees with black bark?”
“Y-Yeah, actually. It was odd, but I thought it was just really old or something…”
“That’s what they hoped you’d think. My dear, I fear you’ve walked into a covertly
placed opening into my realm. A trap portal, if you will, where once you’ve entered
the black barked forest, you’ve entered the Lost Woods.”
“…A-And who placed that trap?”
“You recall that oh-so-charming fella who I’m assuming was gunning for you?”
Rchlis nodded nervously in response. “They did. Those are restless spirits. Their
hunger gnaws at them something fierce, and that hunger can only be satiated with
the spirit of a living creature. And it would appear as though it’s found one.” Once
again, Rchlis’ mind was racing with this new bit of information.
“Oh crud on a stick,” Rchlis whimpered to herself. “Wh-What should I do?? H-
How do I get out of here?! I-Is that thing gonna kill me?!”
Dietrich held his palm up in an assuring manner to the Barn Owl. “Easy, easy
there. The way out is simply going back the way you came. The Lost Woods
doesn’t stretch over the entire forest after all.”
“B-But, but I was going left, right, and every way in between trying to get the hell
away from that freaky thing!” Rchlis shot back fearfully. “I-I have no clue where it
was I came from!”
“Relax, relaaaax,” Dietrich assures Rchlis, floating over and patting her gently on
the back. “You work yourself up like this, you’re gonna give yourself a heart attack,
and while that’s one way to keep a restless spirit from getting a fresh soul, it’s not
one I advise,” Dietrich joked, but judging from how terrified Rchlis looked, it
probably wasn’t the best time, which he seemed aware of, judging from him
scratching the back of his hooded head in a slightly sheepish manner. “Okay,
again, bad joke, I’ll work on it. My point is, I can get you out of here safely-”
“-You can?!” Rchlis asked eagerly. “Oh, please! Please, Mister Dietrich! You gotta
help me out! If that thing finds me-“
“Easy,” Dietrich insisted yet again. “First of all, please, just Dietrich. Mister
Dietrich was my father. Actually, his name was Alo, which means spiritual guide,
and, coincidentally, kinda coincides with the second part. Yes, I can help you out
and I’m more than happy to. But, you should know, it, well, might not be the most
conventional of escorts.”
“…How do you mean?”
“Well,” Dietrich said in a more ‘here we go,’ kind of fashion, even leaning forward
as he said, which made his heavy gut sway and warble noisily like a rubbery ball
full of immensely thick liquid. “See, I can defend myself just fine as you very
recently saw. However, restless spirits, as you now know, can be quite cunning
when they aren’t bloodthirsty beasts. And I can’t guarantee they won’t snatch you
up from right under my peepers. However, if, say, you were very, very…veeeeery
close by, then I could keep you perfectly out of their vicious reach.”
“…H-How close are we talking here…?”
Dietrich whistled innocently, but, with his free hand, gave his big round belly a few
idly pats, making his large gut jostle and slosh with each pat. It didn’t take a
rocket scientist to figure out what Dietrich was proposing.
“…A-Are you kidding me…?” Rchlis finally said. “…Y-You just said earlier you
wouldn’t bite! Now you wanna eat me?!”
“Technically, that isn’t biting,” Dietrich corrected with an index finger raised.
“Not. Helping.”
Dietrich just chuckled and leaned down, wrapping an arm around Rchlis’
shoulders and tugging her close as he pitched the idea to her. Her sides sank
slightly into the thick, rubbery dome that was Dietrich’s stomach. “I get it,
someone proposes getting eaten? It’s kind of a lot, right? Just hear me out, if you
will. Getting eaten really isn’t all that bad, at least, not by me. Sure, you’ll be stuck
in my belly for a good little while. Sure, it’ll be kind of cramped. And sure, it
probably won’t be the cleanest place you’ve sat in all day, but restless spirits can’t
devour what’s already been devoured. And that’s the name of the game isn’t it?
Getting our dear friend Rchlis out of the Lost Woods safely and in one piece, yes?”
“…W-Well, yeah, but…it’s still me getting eaten…and I dunno how I feel about that.“
“Temporarily, I’ll let you out as soon as we reach the end of the Lost Woods. Think
of my belly as a ‘Vicious spirit-proof’ bubble. And let’s face it; all things
considered, there are worse ways of getting by. And far worse ‘drivers,’ if you will.”
Rchlis frowned to herself, tapping her clawed index fingers together in an uneasy
fashion. Dietrich could see how uncertain she was, and gently let her go and eased
back, wobbling slightly from even the subtlest of movements. “It’s entirely your
call, my dear. I promise that I won’t force you into my belly if you’re too nervous at
the prospect. And if you’d rather we just go with you very close by, we can give that
a shot too. All I’m saying is, the only way I can one hundred percent guarantee
your safety is if you let me swallow you whole. As I said, it’s your choice.”
After some contemplation, Rchlis sighed to herself. “…How’s that for irony…only
way I can keep myself from eaten by a ghost is to let myself get eaten by a ghost…”
She looked back at Dietrich and gave a half-hearted smile. “You did save me…and
you have been nothing but helpful since I bumped into you…”
“-Literally!” Dietrich said with a chuckle, one that, naturally, made his belly
bounce up and down as he guffawed with amusement.
Rchlis chuckled softly and scratched the back of her head. “H-Heh, yeah. Guess I
really don’t have any reason not to trust you. Just…please be gentle…”
“You have my word,” Dietrich assured Rchlis. “Shall we?”
Rchlis simply nodded, bracing herself for what she suspected would be unpleasant.
Then, Dietrich leaned down over Rchlis, his heavy gut swaying and sloshing loudly
in response to his motions. Rchlis closed her eyes just as the hood of Dietrich’s
cloak completely engulfed her. He then rose back up and only Rchlis’ feet were
seen dangling out of his mouth. Rchlis’ upper body was already working down
Dietrich’s throat, which protruded outwards immensely from her form. Due to
how stretched out Dietrich’s rubbery throat was, it became slightly transparent,
revealing Rchlis, whose eyes were clenched shut and whose body appeared
incredibly tense and uncomfortable. Dietrich was gentle but swift in his actions,
gulping heartily to work Rchlis down quicker and quicker to get the process over
with. Though, she did hear an unmistakable groan of pleasure and delight, likely
because the chubby ghost was enjoying his meal, even if he was rushing it.
Dietrich slipped his lantern over his shoulder, resting one clawed hand idly atop
the sizeable, transparent lump in his throat, following it as it slid downwards more
and more. His other hand was rested atop his big fat gut.
Rchlis sank further past his chest, which also expanded a great deal to
accommodate Rchlis, though it wasn’t transparent due to its’ far thicker frame.
When she finally started filling his midsection, Dietrich’s stomach, which was
already quite large, began to expand outwards bit by bit, swelling like an
immensely thick water balloon, one that already full and getting even fuller.
Dietrich could feel his belly expanding beneath his palm, and just kept gulping.
Until finally, with a sickening slurping down, Rchlis’ entire body was slurped down
into the belly of the ghost. After gulping Rchlis down, Dietrich’s belly almost
doubled in size as it pushed outwards heavily, hanging past his pelvis and ghost
tail immensely, bouncing outwards from her plummeting into the slimy mass.
Rchlis stumbled about from her plunge, but promptly pushed herself up into a
sitting position, groaning with disgust when she realized the source of all of the
sloshing in Dietrich’s belly was because it was full of spectral ectoplasm.
Outside, Dietrich sighed contently and planted both palms on either side of his
massive gut contently. “Oof, didn’t expect you to be so filling,” moaned Dietrich as
he lifted his large abdomen up with both hands, and promptly released, causing it
to bounce heavily, and the ectoplasm within to slosh around Rchlis as it swayed
against the rubbery stomach walls and against Rchlis herself. Then, almost
immediately after, Rchlis found her confines rumbling and quivering aggressively
in wake of an incredibly loud sound. The source was a pressure pocket unlodged
from the bounce, resulting in a massive belch, which erupted from Dietrich’s
concealed maw with enough force to ripple the edges of his hood somewhat.
“Whew! Damn, excuse me!” Dietrich muttered, thumping his chest a few times.
He then gripped his heavy belly with both hands and gave it a gentle shake,
working up a smaller, but still fairly considerable burp. “How’re you-*HIC!* -
mph, how are you holding up in there, Rchlis?”
“…N-Not too bad,” Rchlis admitted, adjusting herself somewhat and wiping some
ectoplasm off of her shoulder. She took in her surroundings. It was damp, slimy,
and the walls felt like silly putty. But it wasn’t nearly as unbearable as she
expected it would be. And she could still see ever so slightly outside, which was a
big plus. Nevertheless, she had some concerns, particularly when a gaseous rumble
bellowed forth from her surroundings, resulting in Dietrich burping loudly again.
“I had some questions though…”
“I-*HIC-CULP!* -mph, imagine. Guh, ask away.”
“Well, there’s the matter of air. I mean, you’re burping a lot and I’d…really rather
not suffocate down here.” In response, Dietrich slapped his thick stomach, and
worked up a huge belch, one much larger than the previous ones, and one that
jiggled Rchlis’ confines immensely and made her yelp and stumble back. “Gah!
See what I mean?!”
Dietrich simply smacked his lips contently beneath his hood and drummed his
clawed fingers atop his stomach, which Rchlis could vaguely make out. “Do tell,
my dear, do you feel lightheaded in any way?”
Rchlis blinked a few times, then took a breath, which she only partially regretted,
given her surroundings. But nonetheless, she shook her head. “N-No actually.”
“Does the air feel any lighter, like it’s harder to breathe?”
“No…?”
“Right. I know I have a solid form but lest you forget, I am still a ghost,” Dietrich
elaborated, rubbing over his vast belly fondly in slow, circular motions. His palm
sank into the rubbery dome as he rubbed away and continued to explain. I can
phase through whatever what I wish and allow anything to phase through me.
Right now, air from the outside is phasing through my belly and filling your lungs.
I’ve allowed just enough phasing for air and air alone to enter my body without any
other foreign factors into the party.”
“…Huh, didn’t know ghosts worked that way.”
“Did you even-*HIC-UUURRP!*-gruh, did you even know ghosts
existed at all?” Dietrich asked, grunting again after his eruption and patting his
stomach a few times to settle it down to no avail.
“…Nope.”
“Then I rest my case,” Dietrich said with a firm nod, which swayed Rchlis’ jiggle-y
confines just a bit more. “Anything-*HIC-CLUP!* -mph, anything else?”
“Well, like I said, you are burping a lot. Your stomach isn’t going to get agitated
and start, y’know, working me down, will it…? Can you keep that at bay?”
Again, Dietrich just laughed a big hearty belly laugh, emphasis on the latter as said
belly jiggled and jostled around, unwittingly shaking Rchlis’ about. “My dear, you
try holding a living creature in your belly and see if you aren’t burping left and
right,” Dietrich said with amusement. “My ectoplasm doesn’t break down
anything unless I will it to. Yes, you’ll be just fine.”
“W-Well, about that…” Rchlis asked a bit more uneasily. “Y-You said keeping me
in your stomach was the only way you could me safe, right? B-But, what about
you? Can’t that Dark Spirit thing still hurt you…?”
“Hmph, they can try,” Dietrich said, not in a cocky sort of way, but in a genuine
matter-of-fact demeanor. Now, if you’re satisfied, shall we move along? The
daylight won’t last forever after all.”
Rchlis nodded, and Dietrich floated on, clutching his belly with one hand and
using the other to hold the lantern out ahead of him as he floated by.
The two looked around the woods for a way out. Dietrich scanned his
surroundings, humming curiously to himself while holding his jiggling dome
steady. His grasp kept his gut from shaking too aggressively for his passenger.
However, Dietrich did find himself burping quite frequently as he traversed, often
apologizing for how ‘bumpy’ Rchlis’ taxi ride was getting, but she didn’t mind too
much after a while. As he himself suggested, she had dealt with worse rides in her
life. And even though her vision was slightly obstructed, Rchlis was still able to see
through Dietrich’s belly to help look around for familiar locale. When neither one
could find any, Dietrich continued floating forward, trying to retrace Rchlis’ steps,
though it was difficult considering the circumstances which she was running from.
“Wait, hold up, over there,” Rchlis said, looking at a familiar path in the woods.
“Where?” Dietrich asked. Then, Rchlis pushed her hand out, making Dietrich’s
belly stretch with a visible imprint of her hand, namely her index finger as it
pointed at the path in the woods. This caused Dietrich’s stomach to become a little
more transparent as it was stretched.
“Right there, see that path?” Rchlis asked.
“Y-Yup,” Dietrich responded. Though his face was concealed by his hood, there
was a rather notable blush on his face when Rchlis’ hand stretched his belly out.
But that blush subsided when Rchlis pulled her hand back and ceased stretching
his stomach out. Nonetheless, he followed the path. It was actually taking a while,
considering how much the Lost Woods often felt like a labyrinth. But the more the
two searched, the more they started to converse a little bit more casually. After a
while, it really did feel like just taking a long ride and striking a conversation with
the taxi driver. It was enough to really put Rchlis at ease where, even if she was in a
rather dire situation, she felt significantly safer the more relaxed she was with
Dietrich. The fat, gluttonous ghost even managed to crack more of his badly timed
jokes, and this time, earn a few giggles and snickers here and there.
After a while though, Rchlis started to notice Dietrich aiming the lantern ahead of
him in every direction he looked. And because she felt slightly more comfortable
with the ghost, she decided to ask about it. “Say, Dietrich, how come you need that
lantern? It’s still pretty bright out, y’know.”
“Yes, it is. That isn’t quite what the lantern’s for though,” Dietrich insisted. “You
see, like the other spirits within this realm, I’m a cursed spirit. As such, my lantern
is constantly prompting me to wander both the spirit world and this mortal plane.
I’m bound to wander this existence, and my lantern, in essence, is my chain.”
Rchlis frowned when she heard that, almost in a sympathetic manner. “Well, that
sucks. D-Do, do you ever get lonely, wandering around by yourself all the time like
that?”
But once again, Dietrich laughed heartily, resulting in another sizeable burp to
rumble out of his maw. Dietrich cleared his throat and hit his chest a few times
then shook his head. “Trust me, my dear, I do not get lonely out here. And I don’t
just mean restless spirits. In fact, I’m known across the land as the ‘Traveler Spirit.’
I traverse considerable distances from time to time, because yours is not the first
living face I’ve come across.”
“It isn’t?”
“Nope! Several creatures of varying type have found themselves trapped in the Lost
Woods, or sometimes, just lost in general. And I’ve often acted as the guide to their
destination. You think I just came up with swallowing you whole on the fly like
that? Nope, in fact I’m quite used to carrying passengers like yourself, some quite
larger, in fact.”
“Really? Man, that’s pretty generous of you.”
Dietrich chuckled and shook his head. “Well, I wouldn’t say generous...”
“How do you mean?”
“As with any service, if you it consistently and well, you never do it for free, right?”
“W-Well, no, but, I mean, you’re a ghost. What can you do with money?”
“Oh, I didn’t say money. No, my fee’s a little different. In exchange for getting
people where they need to get, when they’re sitting in my belly, I siphon a bit of
their souls energy. The larger the distance, the more energy I consume. What, you
didn’t think I got this fat floating around the woods, did you?”
Rchlis blinked dully and uneasily in that moment. She was a bit more unnerved
once she’d heard that. “…That’s…another joke, right?”
Dietrich chuckled and shook his head. “Nope. Most certainly is not. It isn’t
enough to take a large chunk out of anyone’s life. It’s just enough to keep me nice
and full. But, I know what you’re thinking, and no, I won’t be collecting with you.
Your ride is completely on the house.”
“…Wait, really?”
“Of course! Your situation was far more dangerous than most passengers I’ve ever
had. Why, what kind of Traveler Spirit would I be to charge for people in need like
that? Besides, it’s rare that I have a passenger who actually bothers conversing
with me. Granted, I think most people are kind of soured by the whole ‘soul energy
siphoning’ thing, but I digress. Point being, it’s nice being able to actually chat
with a passenger instead of them just sulking in my guts.”
Hearing that, Rchlis couldn’t help but smile softly. She reached over and patted
the stomach walls ahead of her. “Aww, thanks, big guy.” Just then, another
familiar sight caught Rchlis’ eye. “Ooh! Over there, see that passing?” Once again,
her hand stretched out to point Dietrich in the direction she was talking about.
Dietrich blushed furiously again at having his belly stretched out, but nonetheless
looked out at the direction she was pointing at.
Unfortunately, because Rchlis stretching the stomach walls made Dietrich’s
midsection transparent on the outside, a certain spirit could now see Rchlis plain
as day within the Traveler Spirit’s bloated belly.
A blood curdling screech echoed across the lands, and in unison, both Dietrich and
Rchlis said, “…Oh crap.”
Before Deitrich could act, the same restless spirit from before pounced onto the fat
ghost, knocking him down onto his back. Dietrich and Rchlis grunted in pain as
the heavyset ghost fell onto the ground. Then Rchlis cried out in terror when the
restless antler spirit jumped on top of Dietrich and started savagely clawing at his
belly. The beasts’ claws sank into his thick hide over and over as the beast
attempted to slash it open and get to Rchlis.
Worse yet, with the vicious assault on Dietrich’s belly taking place, his stomach
walls were stretched enough to make it transparent again and expose Rchlis to
other, hungry restless spirits, all of whom hissed and started to circle around the
area. They all had their eyes on the feathery prize within Dietrich’s globular
paunch, and they could practically taste her fresh spirit.
The restless Dark Spirit continued slashing and clawing at Dietrich’s belly but try
as it might, its’ razor sharp claws simply weren’t enough to penetrate the thick,
rubbery surface of Dietrich’s dome. It was, however, enough to stir up quite a bit of
pressure festering in Dietrich’s belly from the abuse it was taking.
“MRRRP! Oof!” Dietrich muttered, burping into his fist as, from beneath
his hood, his cheeks expanded greatly from the gas rushing up his throat. But it
was getting harder and harder to hold back as the assault continued. Eventually,
Dietrich pulled his fist back and let loose with a huge, forceful belch.
“BUH-
HOOOOOOOOUUUUUURRRP!!!” The kicker, of course, was that Dietrich belched that powerful, guttural belch right
in the restless spirit’s face. The expulsion of stomach gasses was so forceful that it
actually pushed the enemy spirit off of Dietrich and knocked it back a bit. With
that opening, Dietrich promptly grabbed his lantern, and before the disoriented
spirit could even collect its’ baring’s, Dietrich bashed it across the head with his
lantern. The restless spirit shrieked in pain and tumbled backwards against a
nearby black barked tree, stunned from the attack.
In that moment, Dietrich floated back up and in an instant, pinned the restless
Dark Spirit firmly against the tree with his huge, heavy belly. Dietrich’s dome
pressed firmly against the enemy spirit, making it cry out in pain as it clawed and
punched at Dietrich’s stomach to force him off.
But the battering to Dietrich’s gut accomplished little except making Dietrich burp
again and again, into the spirit’s face, leaving it more disoriented as a result.
“BRAAAAAAUUUURRRP!!
Gruh, *HIC !* Mph, my apologies for all the…HUUUUURRRP!
Urgh, f-for all of the roughness in there. This one’s quite…
EEEEEUUUURRRRP …mph
, f-feisty, if you couldn’t already-*HIC-CUP!* tell,” Dietrich apologized to
Rchlis in between deep, guttural belches brought on by the spirits’ attacks.
“I-It’s okay, b-but, wh-what’re we gonna do…?” Rchlis asked, clearly petrified by
the situation, and seeing the spirits around them, all very clearly looking for a Barn
Owl Spirit Kebab.
In response to her inquiry, Dietrich leaned forward so he and the restless antlered
spirit were face to face. Then, Dietrich started to inhale deeply. Dietrich sucks the
air around him intensely, pulling back as he keeps inhaling and inhaling in one
big huff. The restless spirit twitches and shrieks, but its’ noises become distorted
and hard to determine. Until suddenly, something emerges from the restless
spirits’ hood…a large, bright glowing ball of purple energy. It floated out past the
lifeless restless spirits’ form, around the size of a large basketball.
Dietrich looked it over for a moment, then, after nodding contently, from beneath
Dietrich’s hood emerged a long, pale and slimy green tongue, one that coiled
around the purple ball of energy, and eventually retracted back into Dietrich’s
mouth.
*GLOMP!*
The Traveler Spirit swallowed the entire ball of energy whole. Dietrich pulled his
head back as his throat swelled out immensely with a basketball sized lump
sticking out of it. The rubbery surface of Dietrich’s throat appeared utterly taut to
the touch, and, much like his belly, stretched to the point where it was now
transparent, and showcased to all of the other nearby and now unnerved restless
spirits the purple energy from the spirit Dietrich had just devoured. With each,
slimy sounding gulp, they all watched as the ball of purple energy oh so slowly slid
down Dietrich’s thick neck, pushing down more and more with each hearty gulp
he took. Dietrich grimaced and thumped his chest repeatedly to help work the orb
down his gullet until with one final, especially hearty gulp, the lump in Dietrich’s
throat passed down his gullet and was deposited into his round, ghostly dome.
Rchlis yelps as the purple ball of the antler spirits’ energy plummets down into the
ectoplasm besides her. She immediately pulls away, making Dietrich’s belly wobble
about with all of her motions.
“Gruh, don’t worry, it can’t hurt you in there,” Dietrich assured her in a strained,
hoarse tone. Sure enough, as the purple sphere floated onto the surface of the goo,
it started to sizzle. Not the goo, fortunately for Rchlis, but rather, just the orb itself.
She watched with fascination as it started to steadily dissolve within the ectoplasm.
As a result, the puddle of goo beneath Rchlis seemed to grow larger, courtesy of the
restless spirits’ essence adding to the mass of ectoplasm. Not only that, but
Dietrich’s stomach walls seemed to grow thicker, causing Dietrich’s belly to hang
out even lower. Eventually, the purple ball of energy was no more. And thanks to
its’ offering, Dietrich’s stomach had grown larger, due to a larger quantity of
ectoplasm being stored within and a thicker mound of belly flesh to accommodate
such a dense amount of goo festering within his gut.
Dietrich groaned contently as his body worked down the restless spirit’s energy
and added it to his own. His long, slimy tongue lapped his chops contently,
causing a few driblets of slime to spill out from beneath his hood while he grasped
his heavy, hanging gut with both hands, rubbing it up and down in satisfaction.
Then, he stopped for a moment, then noticed the other restless spirits all still
gaping beneath their own hoods at the larger, Traveler Spirit, and what he had just
done. Just then, Dietrich’s belly bubbled intensely, making his stomach ripple on
the outside. He knew exactly how to respond to the threats that remained…
“BRAAAAAUUUUUUUUURRRRHOOOOOUUUUUURP!!!”
Dietrich pressed his belly firmly and threw his head back, as he expelled a belch of
such utter magnitude that the ground genuinely quivered in its’ wake. The spirits
watched the trees rattle and several leaves fly off their branches as the eruption
raged on for several seconds straight. Poor Rchlis’ entire confines were rattled so
forcefully that she went dizzy not from a lack of air but from being shaken like a
baby’s rattle for ten seconds straight. She’d swear that if the stomach walls weren’t
so thick, she might’ve been deafened. When it ended, Dietrich smacked his belly in
satisfaction, muttering a small apology to Rchlis for that, then, used the cloak that
once belonged to the restless spirit he had devoured like a napkin and in a
gentlemanly fashion, dabbed the slime from his lips beneath his hood, and grinned
back at the remaining spirits.
“Well then, who’s next?” Dietrich asked simply.
It was almost comical how quickly the restless spirits all dispersed, fleeing the scene
for dear afterlife until it was just Dietrich and his passenger. He looked down at
where the enemy Dark Spirit was, after having just used his cloak as a napkin, but
then saw that the only thing which remained was just that, the cloak and its’
antlers. Dietrich snorted to himself then released the cloak, letting it flutter onto
the ground as he grabbed his lantern again and gently jostled his chubby stomach
with his free hand.
“Shall we?” he asked as if nothing had happened. Rchlis could do little else except
nod, a bit startled and shook, not just from the eruption, but also from the whole
frightening encounter. Fortunately, Dietrich was able to pick up certain signs
indicating that the two were nearing the end of their travels. And eventually,
before Rchlis knew it, they had come to a stop. “Whelp, end of the road!”
Rchlis yelped when suddenly, Dietrich’s clawed hand reached into his own belly,
phasing through it like nothing was there, despite the earlier attack making it seem
utterly impenetrable. He grabbed Rchlis and gently pulled her out of his stomach
and placed her onto the ground. When the young Barn Owl looked around, she
saw, much to her relief, she was back in a decidedly very normal looking forest. No
black barked trees in sight, and no hissing of restless spirits. Better yet, she could
see a sign in the dirt trail, which pointed her in the direction of the much sought
after exit. She stood there in silence for a moment while Dietrich scratched his
sides contently. With Rchlis outside again, Dietrich’s gut wasn’t quite as large as it
was previously. But thanks to his latest restless spirit meal, his belly was now
sagging down considerably. It was now looking thicker and rounder than it had at
the start of their journey.
“The ride was a bit bumpier than I expected it would be, and for that, I apologize,
but still. I’m glad I could help you out there,” Dietrich said in a voice that
suggested if his face were visible, he would be smiling down at Rchlis.
Then, without warning, much to Dietrich’s surprise, Rchlis rushed over and gave
his belly a big, tight hug. Dietrich grunted as she squeezed into his rubbery form
so tight, for a brief moment, his belly was squished in such a way that the big ghost
resembled a big fat hourglass. And of course, with so much pressure constricting
his gut all at once, it was predictable what followed almost immediately, despite
Dietrich’s best efforts to hold it back this time.
“BRREEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRP!!”
Because Rchlis was practically squeezing the chubby ghost, Dietrich let out a
thunderous belch, one that, because they were now in the plain of the living,
started several nearby birds, causing them to fly away with great haste in the wake
of that monstrous sound. When it ended, this time, Rchlis simply laughed and let
go of Dietrich’s stomach, causing it to bounce heavily into place, making the
ectoplasm in his massive paunch sway and slosh heavily within its’ confinement.
“Pfft, heheh, good one,” Rchlis said, grasping Dietrich’s belly for him to keep it
from swaying any further, and making Dietrich blush again at the sensation. Of
course, said blush intensified when Rchlis hugged his stomach again, this time, far
more gently than prior. “Sorry, I’m just, it was really scary in there, y’know? And if
I hadn’t bumped into you-“
“-Literally,” Dietrich said softly, earning a laugh from the two of them.
“Right. Point being, I’m really glad I did. Thank you so very, very, very much,”
Rchlis said in a grateful manner as she hugged Dietrich’s big round belly. Dietrich
once again slung his lantern around his shoulder then, surprisingly enough,
wrapped his burly arms around Rchlis and hugged her back, lifting her off the
ground and causing her to sink into his thick massive middle by a good few inches,
prompting him to hiccup, and making them both laugh even more until he gently
let her go back onto the ground.
“The pleasure was all mine,” Dietrich assured the young Barn Owl warmly. Then,
he cleared his throat in a more back-t0-business sort of way. “Well!” Dietrich said,
clapping his hands together and leaning forward, his belly wobbling and swaying
as he did so. “I best be on my way then! Please, do be more mindful of your
surroundings, yes?”
Rchlis just chuckled and nodded back. “Avoid black barked trees like a Tyler Perry
movie. Gotcha.”
“…I have no clue what that means, but okay!” Dietrich said with a nod. “Guess this
is where we part ways!” Then, in a gentle manner, Dietrich patted Rchlis on the
shoulder softly. “Do take care of yourself, Rchlis.”
Rchlis smiled back up at the ghost and gave his chubby belly a gentle back right
back. “You too, Dietrich.”
From there, the Traveler Spirit cradled his heavy stomach softly and turned right
around back into the woods. Rchlis watched until until eventually, he was
completely out of sight. She smiled softly and gratefully for a moment, relieved
and glad the whole affair was over.
“…Never heard of Tyler Perry before, huh? Lucky bastard,” Rchlis said with a soft
chuckle, and then followed the trail that would eventually lead her back outside of
the forest, where she could finally go home.
The whole ordeal should have shook her to her core. Yet, strangely enough, she
was in an oddly good mood. Sure, some ravenous, demonic spirits tried to rip her
limb from limb, but it comforted her knowing that there was a spirit out there
watching out for the ‘little guy.’ Or in this case, ‘the little birds.’
…All she knew with certainty was that no one could ever complain about their
commutes around her ever again…
T h e E n d