Seeking Sherwood - Interlude 4 Temperance (Patreon)

The mission was a success by all accounts, but Temperance can't help but dwell on what happened while the crew was retrieving the info they needed...

Written by the wonderful Rabidbadger writing, illustrated by me!  

Characters/Owners:

Garth - Nackvixen 

Veronicas - Veronacus 

Temperance - Paris  

- - -     

  Temperance was, at best, unsettled. They had technically gotten everything they wanted and needed out of the trip, sure, but under no circumstances had she been ready. The exhaustion of it didn’t hit her until she was sliding the door to her quarters shut, though. The bat shuddered as soon as she had her privacy, leaning on the edge of her work bench and letting out a noise that rose up from deep in her thickening body – a thing that seemed to be made of the remnants of all the times she wanted to scream or cry over the last day. Not that she didn’t kind of still want to, but the urge was competing with some others at the moment. 

In specific, there was the need to check on her work. The device she’d built was sitting right there beside her, empty now – though it had taken some time to get that way and there had been visible consequences. Ones that were sloshing and wobbling about on her thighs and belly just from taking two steps over to her desk chair – which was now looking worryingly tight to sit in. 

“…I can just take the arms off if I have to, it’ll be fine.”

It wasn’t fine, not exactly anyway. The arms did dig into Temperance’s thighs when she sat down - not enough so to be a problem, but enough that she decided then and there that they were coming off when she next had a free moment, definitely before her next meal. The timing of which was part of the reason she was currently prioritizing her creation, Temperance put a hand to the cool metal side of the canister like it was a pet she was concerned about, and there was some concern, in part because there were signs of tampering. 

Not that she didn’t know why, there was an empty capsule case from the digestive accelerants sitting right next to it, and the Vice Regent had outright told her what had been going on out there. And then things had gotten out of hand, and she’d just… run with it. It seemed a bit silly to get overly upset now – particularly since she found herself teasing at its controls and resetting its reservoir of nutrient paste. 

“I could’ve just… taken the collar off.”

That wasn’t a new thought. Temperance had panicked a lot at first, sure, but she was smart enough to have had that idea early into the night. Yeah, it would’ve meant leaving a slowly growing pile of paste on the floor in front of their contact, but she could’ve done it. Instead, she’d left it on – panicked a bit – then there’d been Garth. Big, soft, silent, and somehow exactly the example she’d needed at the time. 

Temperance turned her thoughts to the giant bunny; it was hard not to think about him after the evening they’d shared – Garth had gorged himself on every kind of vice available through it. The bar’s contents first, then he’d started ordering drinks and food – something he had an odd talent for while mute – and even attracted a handful of hangers on who seemed to be goading him into further gluttony by the time morning rolled around. More importantly, he’d clearly enjoyed every minute of it. 

Slumping back a bit in her seat, feeling something crack as she did, Temperance blushed as she reached down and put her paws to her stomach, rubbing at it gently. It was, at the moment, more or less empty. Not howling for food empty, just the normal variety. A state which left her feeing thoroughly disappointed and unsatisfied, and eyeballing the machine a bit.

The Vice Regent’s plan had been effective, if clumsy. Someone with an eye for measurement and science could do a lot more with it – like keep her belly nice and taut for hours. Or days. Even automatically adjust to anything she actually took the time to eat properly so she could enjoy herself to the fullest – constantly – shamelessly. Take how she’d felt through that night and stretch it for days.

Temperance shivered as she grabbed at the thick, fleshy belly she was sporting. If it wasn’t so soft and loose she’d look very pregnant, and a bit fat on top of it. 

“Chrome and polish, I’d have myself beached within a month if I just did that. I – I mean…”

A hot flush ran through Temperance’s skin. She’d been about to say something about Garth and Veronica not having to deal with that, but then she recalled that was explicitly not the case. It was only a matter of time for each of the lard slaves until that was exactly what happened to them both. Probably less time for Garth. Probably. The way they had found Veronica threw some doubt on that assessment now, but Temperance hadn’t pried too far into exactly what had happened. Not that it made a difference in the point she was wrestling with. She could have what she wanted – but it would eventually have a price.

“…Or it could just-”

It caused a shiver when Temperance’s body was trying to be flush with embarrassment and desire at the same time as suffering a chill of sudden realization – of the thrill and fear of an idea she had only just cracked open and was trying to explore despite knowing even thinking through it would have consequences. If she figured it out, she would do it. 

“…Just one more problem to solve. Supplies, funding, mobility… if I had those all accounted for I could-”

Curling her legs up a bit, a very little bit, Temperance found her gut in the way far sooner than she expected to – and then that cracking sound from earlier produced an encore. Complete with a sudden rush of vertigo and a view of the ceiling she neither expected nor wanted. The fall hadn’t really hurt per se, but it bruised Temperance’s dignity and knocked the wind out of her, leaving her rolling out of the seat and groaning more out of frustration than discomfort. Though it was unpleasantly difficult to peel herself off the ground. Gravity was doing its work, merciless and constant, and-

“…Note, gravity constant might be a focal point for solving the mobility problem.”

Temperance put a hand on her hip as she stood, ostensibly for balance and support but she found herself rubbing at it a bit too, quietly letting herself savor her fingers sinking in. This went on for a few seconds longer than it had to, then came to an abrupt end as Temperance kicked the slain chair out of the way and began slowly dragging her desk closer to the bedside, until she could sit her thickened butt right on her bed and still reach the desk. 

It was comfortable, convenient, and unless she got a lot bigger it wasn’t going to be something she outgrew any time soon. Temperance took a breath after that, then accessed the control panel of the storage and transportation tank. It would, as she suspected, take a delicate hand to get what she wanted. A slow, steady kind of satisfaction. Something she could savor. A full belly that stayed full, that would adjust itself automatically, which-

“…Which won’t solve it when the Vice Regent goes on a binge again and demands I join in, so – so I may need to-”

That chill ran through her skin again as Temperance looked at the empty capsules for the digestive accelerant.

“-rig… a delivery system. Have to make it remote activated though, not sure I’d trust a circumstantial trigger for this. Too finnicky.”

Leaning back a bit, Temperance pushed herself further onto the bed, leaving just her legs dangling off as she stared upward. A couple of feet away she heard the machinery respond to an unspoken command and felt the first stirrings of tightness in her belly. Her hands were already waiting on it to take in every moment as it grew taut, and then just grew. 

“Definitely got to put some security on that though. Then I might need to figure out how to thank Garth. Couldn’t have asked for a better example about how much better this is when you handle it on your own terms.”