Borrowed Time, Chapter 3 part 1 (Patreon)

Early merry chrimbus everyone! A year after the previous installments were uploaded to FA, here we have the next part of Borrowed Time! I hope you enjoy it! There'll be more to come this month, with a 5 part illustrated story in the works. 

Have a good holidays, and let me know what you think <3

Written by Firefox, Illustrated by myself

- - - 

All she needed was a little push in the right direction, something I was happy to provide.

Wouldn't you do the same?

For reasons that Loretta didn't remotely comprehend, the vixen seated across from her had specifically wanted the empty chair at a table occupied by a morbidly obese raven with a shameful amount of burritos piled in front of her. But, the vixen had unquestionably saved her from choking to death, considering that it was just the two of them on the far end of the food court. That was somehow comforting to her, if also tragic and a bit frightening. Loretta swallowed again, dealing with the saliva pooling under her tongue. Despite nearly choking to death moments prior, her appetite had been fully rekindled, which was also something of a concern considering how much she had already eaten over the course of her day. She wondered if it was some kind of adrenal response as she hesitantly lifted a hand to the table, her fat, feathery fingers fidgeting.

The vixen raised a brow, still smiling. "Have you changed your mind?"

Loretta snapped back to reality and nodded slowly, reaching for the tray as the vixen slid it toward her. "Y-yeah, I... I guess? All the sudden my stomach doesn't hurt and I'm really hungry again."

She felt a bit sheepish admitting to that, but she still picked up a burrito from the pile and peeled away the wrapper, the smells of meat and cheese and tortilla overpowering her senses. As she brought the morsel to her mouth, she realized that the vixen was still watching her. Something about this turn of events felt very off to Loretta, but seemingly in spite of that, she still felt compelled to take a bite. Then another, and another, her cheeks bulging, bits nearly tumbling from the feathery corners of her mouth as she chewed and swallowed. They tasted much better than they had earlier, which she chalked up to her rekindled appetite. She had gobbled it up in moments, almost subconsciously reaching for the next in line. 

"What, um... what did you mean," Loretta asked as she hastily unwrapped another burrito. "You said you were going to do something?”

The vixen nodded, smiling pleasantly. “Nothing of consequence, I just want to help.”

Loretta shook her head, fighting to keep the burrito out of her mouth long enough to finish speaking. “You really don't have to. I don't want to be any more of a bother."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I insist." The vixen got out of her seat and waved a hand toward the busy end of the food court. "Clearly you're fond of Mexican, but there are so many options here. What else would you like to eat?”

Loretta had already devoured most of the burrito at hand in the time it had taken the vixen to finish speaking. She stuffed the rest into her beak as soon as she had enough space in her mouth, just to be done with it. Her bulging cheeks rolled with the motion of her jaw, she swallowed and snorted a breath through her nares to deliver her response, and then found that she was already packing in another mouthful of a burrito she didn't even realize she had grabbed. Another burrito that she had chomped down to nearly nothing seemingly in the blink of an eye.
 
She wanted to answer, to tell the vixen that she didn't want anything else, but each bite tasted so much better than the last that she couldn't leave anything un-finished. Every time she made enough room, she was already in the midst of snapping up the remains of a burrito that she didn't recall starting. Her mouth never emptied enough for her to properly respond.
 
"I'm sorry," she finally muttered with her mouth full as she regarded the vixen's amused expression, wiping a big smear of cheese from the side of her beak.

The vixen chuckled and said, "That's fine, I'm in no hurry."

After a gulp so immense that it bordered on painful, she managed a gasp and a few unintelligible syllables. 

She swallowed and tried again. “Why would I— hfff... want anything else?" she breathlessly asked. "I still have all these, and—” 

Loretta felt paper crinkling under her fingers as she reached forward. She looked down at the tray in front of her and found nothing but a pile of greasy, crumpled wrappers. Her eyelids fluttered in disbelief. She hadn't been keeping count of how many she had eaten, and she certainly hadn't been keeping track of time. Even so, she continued to struggle with the reality of it.

"I don’t— When did—” Sure enough, the feeling of a full belly radiated from her middle, her other hand idly stroking her gut. “D-did I really eat all of—"

A loud gurgle vibrated through her stomach, and a belch worked its way over her tongue before she could get another word out. She covered her beak, feeling her cheeks burn.

The vixen chuckled and shrugged. “You did say you were really hungry. Don't still you want more?”

Loretta wanted to slink away, to go home and disappear into the safety of her room. But, the vixen was right. She couldn't wrap her mind around how the vixen could possibly be right; this was without question the most she had ever eaten in a single day, but here she was, rubbing her belly beneath the table and pondering another round. Her hoodie felt especially tight under her fingertips, the teeth of its zipper straining around her middle, her sweat pants similarly stretched to the point that she could feel the elastic in the waistband creak every time she shifted her weight. She reflected on how good it felt to be stuffed, and how much better she knew it would feel if she ate just a little more. Her reluctance dwindled until she eventually, cautiously nodded. 

The vixen’s smile became a toothy grin.

“Of course you do," she commented. "What a silly thing for me to ask; I doubt a moment goes by when you aren’t really hungry.”

Loretta gulped and opened her beak to say something, but realized she couldn’t really argue. She crossed her arms over her belly as it let out a low rumble, looking off to the side, her face getting even hotter. 

In the corner of Loretta's vision, she could see the vixen’s arms crossing under her bosom, tail swishing behind her as she leaned forward. "A healthy appetite is nothing to be ashamed of, darling." She cleared her throat. “But I did ask you a question. Is there anything else you'd prefer to eat?”

Loretta couldn’t manage more than a near whisper. “I um… I’m not very picky.”

“So," the vixen nearly purred, leaning even closer, "just about everything, then?”

Loretta nodded timidly, still avoiding the vixen’s gaze.

There was a soft clack moments later. Loretta looked up, eyes widening as she found a fresh tray in front of her, a pyramid of burgers stacked upon it. The wrappers looked soggy and nearly transparent with grease and melted cheese. The vixen stood beside the table, half sitting, half leaning against it, peering down at her with one brow arched. She was smirking. Loretta hesitated, eyes darting between the vixen and the delicious smelling heap. 

"I, um... I didn't think you would bring me this much." She shook her head. "I-I can't just... do you want me to pay you back for these?"

The vixen doubled over as she giggled. "Goodness no! Oh, you silly girl, these are a gift." She straightened up again, flicking her wrist toward Loretta. "I said I wanted to help you, remember?"

Loretta was startled to find that she had already grabbed one off the top, in the middle of unwrapping it. She wanted to put the burger down, but found herself compelled to bring it to her mouth. A shiver ran through her as the scents played across her nares.

She peeked up at the vixen, nervously swallowing a mouthful of saliva. "All of them? I... I shouldn't."

The vixen cocked her head. "And why shouldn't you?"

"Because I've already eaten so much today," she whined.

"But didn't you say that you were still hungry," the vixen cooed, turning and bending over the table, propping herself up with her elbows as her tail swayed lazily overhead. "Doesn't eating make you happy?"

"Y-yeah but... but I'm so fat and—" 

Loretta muffled herself as she took a big bite of the burger. It tasted incredible, which made her want the next bite even more. She pushed so much into her mouth that grease and condiments came oozing back out.

"Everyone is already ashamed to be seen with me," she muttered with her mouth full, her face on fire as she did. 

While part of her was aware of how appalling her display must seem, she couldn't help herself anymore. Every bite tasted better than the last, every swallow brought her closer and closer to the sensation she yearned for. Chunks of the stuff bounced off her chest as she swallowed and leaned forward to grab more.

"And i-if I get even fatter—"

The vixen rolled her eyes. "I've seen bigger." She smiled as she added, "Besides, it doesn’t matter how fat you are. I'm certainly not ashamed to be seen with a big girl like you, if that's all you're [i]really[/i] worried about." 

"I don't believe you," Loretta grunted, trying to avoid the vixen's gaze as she frantically unwrapped the next morsel. "You're just saying that because you feel bad for me... b-because I'm a big, disgusting blob."

The vixen smiled and shook her head. "You're hardly a blob," she insisted, "not with those gorgeous curves. But fine. If you don't believe me, then I'll prove it."

Loretta blinked as she heard that, eyes squinted by aching cheeks bulging full of cheesy, half-chewed wads of beef. She gulped and snorted a breath through her nares.

"Prove what?" she murmured, barely audible through all the food.

The vixen didn't answer. Instead, she pulled the tray out of Loretta's reach. 

Loretta impulsively made a grab for it. She stopped herself as she realized she had once again reduced a mound of food to nothing but a heap of empty wrappers, with barely any recollection, as though she were stuck on auto-pilot.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, that thought inspired a spark of anxiety, but it was so hard to focus on anything other than the warmth radiating from her stomach. The blissful feeling of being so incredibly full. Despite the absurdity of her binge, the concern over how much weight she would undoubtedly gain from eating so much, she finally felt at ease. The stress and hopelessness had been smothered by food. She knew that she could, and should, heave herself out of her seat and call her mother to pick her up, but she also felt that somehow she still had room for just a bit more. 

"Just a bit more," she told herself, "and then I'll go home, crawl into bed, and take a nice, long nap." 

Both hands cradled her tummy, swollen and gurgling softly under her fingertips, crumbs and grease smearing into her hoodie as she savored the gluttonous euphoria. Her clothing felt even tighter and the chair beneath her creaked noticeably as she shifted her weight to better knead the sides of her gut. The upper hemisphere of her belly had slipped out from under her straining hoodie, but she was too comfortable to bother tugging it back down, and more importantly, it let her stroke the feathery swell of her belly. The touch of her own fingertips gave her a pleasant chill. She gently squeezed her bloated middle and shivered as she felt all that food shifting around inside, her scaly toes curling. Never had being such a pig felt this good for her.

Just moments into reveling in her gluttony, a low rumble caught her attention. She continued to rub and lightly knead her belly as she felt pressure building deep inside. No stranger to indigestion, she recognized it as a gas pocket expanding in her belly. Her appetite quickly began to dwindle. Instead of feeling relieved, she felt disappointment. This was not how she wanted her indulgent encounter to end, not when she knew that she could eat more. Loretta gave her belly another squeeze, tensing her chest and pushing. She felt a belch rising from her depths, clamping her beak shut, hoping to muffle the sound. Her cheeks puffed as a hot gust poured up from her throat, but to her alarm, she was not yet finished venting. She felt the vibrations again as the pressure gurgled deeper into her guts, toward her backside. 

She squirmed in discomfort, keeping her rump tense and her tail feathers tucked as she nervously glanced around. Holding in her gas wasn't going to help when she knew she had to make room to continue her binge, and the vixen was nowhere to be seen. All around Loretta were vacant chairs and empty tables, with the dull sounds of conversation and movement largely muted by the distance to the populated end of the food court.