# HNTBL 24: Don’t Flip Out

By: TheDragonBoy

## Content

How Not To Become Lunch: 24 - Don’t Flip Out

While Fiona acquainted herself with her new classmates, Jack was silently poking at his own food, taking a bite every now and then, trying to ward off his confusing thoughts. There were a few yelps or screams as various preds- including a certain red dragon- went about catching lunches more filling than anything they could buy. But Jack didn’t really notice. He hadn’t been paying attention to much of anything since Fiona left.

That is until he felt a nudge from Ozzy.

“Watch out,” he said quietly, “I think we’ve got trouble.”

Jack saw him gesture and followed it, and his eyes settled on the form of a predator, walking calmly toward them. Luckily, it was someone he recognized.

“Oh, don’t worry, that’s Sarabeth,” he replied.

“Yeah, I know that’s Sarabeth. Remember the last time she came over here? She ate Steve!” Ozzy said in a frantic whisper. Jack did remember, it had happened on his first day.

“Was he a friend of yours?” he asked sympathetically.

“He owed me five bucks,” Ozzy admitted, “but that’s not the point.”

“It’s fine, she’s one of Fi’s friends. She helped save my life yesterday.”

“Well did Fiona ever tell her about me?”

Jack hesitated. The words Probably not came to mind, but he didn’t have a chance to say them, because Sarabeth was already standing in front of them. She didn’t seem hostile, though. Her face was stiff, with a small frown. It occurred to Jack that she very well might have heard everything they had just said, even from a distance. But if she had, she didn’t show it, so Jack decided to pretend she hadn’t.

“Hello Sarabeth,” he said politely.

“Hello Jack, do you know where Fiona is? I didn’t see her in predator class today, or here with you.”

Jack might have noticed a hint of concern in the vampire’s voice, but the moment she’d mentioned Fiona, he’d been too distracted by his own emotions. With a small frown of his own, he replied.

“She got moved up into the advanced predator class yesterday.”

Sarabeth showed the smallest hint of surprise, though she felt a bit more than she let show. She took a moment to process the fact that not only had Fiona not come to the class they normally shared, but she never would again.

“And, where is she now, then?” the vampire asked, holding herself together.

Jack turned in his seat and pointed.

“A werewolf came over and asked her to sit with them.”

Sarabeth looked off in the direction he pointed. She saw Fiona, and then the other werewolf in question; a male. Fiona was smiling at him blissfully, her body language clear. He was looking back at her, and clearly he didn’t mind what he was seeing. Sarabeth felt herself grow hot, but she reined herself in.

“Arthur Conri,” she said with the tiniest bit of gravel in her voice.

“So that’s his name,” Jack muttered, almost unintentionally.

“Fiona didn’t introduce you to him?” Sarabeth asked, a little surprised.

“No, she went off with him as soon as he showed up.”

There was a short moment of silence as they both considered that event, and though they didn’t quite know it, they were both feeling a rather similar emotion at the thought. But it was Sarabeth who had the confidence to act on it first.

“… Well, I’d say that was quite rude of him, not to introduce oneself,” she said with the smallest hint of disdain.

“…Yeah,” Jack agreed, as an emotion inside him shifted, “at least Fi was nice enough to ask us if we were okay before she left.”

“Of course. Fiona is a girl who knows her manners. Why she’d want to sit with a discourteous cad like that, I couldn’t say.”

“He’s part of her new class, she’s probably just trying to be friendly.”

“Yes, that must be it,” Sarabeth agreed firmly, “ingratiating herself with her new peers.”

Ozzy listened to them as they continued back and forth at a steady pace, growing gradually more passionate. It went on for over a minute, some strange kinship growing between them as they spoke. Cautiously, he’d gone back to eating his lunch- slowly, with one hand still firmly around his wand- but he’d started to feel a bit awkward and confused as he listened, on top of being fearful.

“It certainly couldn’t have anything to do with his looks,” Sarabeth practically exclaimed. Jack latched onto those words eagerly.

“No way, just look at his face, it just looks… stupid!” He had fumbled for a word, but Sarabeth didn’t seem to mind.

“You’re right, his face is stupid! And just look at his coat, such poor grooming, could he look any duller next to Fiona?”

“Barely. He looks like he just walked in from the rain and shook himself dry.”

“Okay, what are you guys talking about?” Ozzy finally butted in, momentarily shocked out of his fear by such a harsh remark, “There’s nothing wrong with his fur. He looks great.”

“Shut it!”

“Shut it, Ozzy!”

The two both turned and snapped at him in unison. That brought his fear back on top, but luckily, they both immediately turned back toward Arthur’s table to continue their slander. Except something had changed.

“Hey look, Fiona’s coming back this way,” Jack said. Sarabeth did look, and she saw the same with pleasant surprise.

“So she is,” she said much more calmly.

Jack saw the werewolf’s eyes catch on him as she made her way toward the human side of the room, and a moment later she smiled and raised her hand in a wave. Something sparked in his chest, and he gave quite a large smile in return. The feeling surprised him- he hadn’t expected he would be this glad to see her coming back. He took a moment to try and process his emotions. …Maybe… maybe he would say something to her when she sat back down with him, at least tell her that he enjoyed having lunch with her.

---

Just a few moments earlier, when Fiona had still been seated, Pyre had come walking up to his usual table, fresh meal wriggling in his gut. He patted it satisfactorily, almost braggingly, and he quickly set eyes on the new werewolf.

“Well, well. Looks like you made it through your first round of the game. Good for you,” he said. A bit condescending, sure, but sincere.

“Yeah,” was all Fiona replied.

“Didn’t catch anything though,” he added.

“Dude, only like one or two preds a week make a catch during the hunting games,” the toad boy chided with a knowing smile. “Don’t pretend you caught anything; we all saw you grab your lunch just now.”

Pyre smiled back; his hazing exposed.

“Alright, you got me,” he admitted playfully. “But from what I heard I was hoping she might surprise us.”

“What you heard?” she asked, almost timidly.

“Yeah, you’ve got a bit of a reputation. Word is you’re a skilled huntress.”

She smiled at the compliment, her momentary lapse in confidence restored.

“But,” he added after a short pause, “that you also spend most of your time protecting some human kid. So I’m not sure what to believe.”

“That would be Jack,” she replied. “We’ve been friends since we were little.” She thought she could feel the mood change as she said those words, but she kept going. “As far as hunting goes, I guess I’m pretty good.”

There was a short pause, and for a moment she almost thought the air seemed a bit heavier, but then the neko chimed in, just as unreadable as she’d been in the hall.

“Can you show us?” she asked plainly.

“Yeah,” the toad boy chimed in, “let’s see two stuffed werewolves.”

That brought her back to Arthur. She looked at him again, and the thought that her full belly might match his only made the idea of a big meal all the more enticing. She’d already bought a school lunch, but she couldn’t afford to let the advanced pred kids think she wasn’t good enough, could she?

“What do you think, Fiona?” Arthur asked with a smile and a raised brow.

That sealed it.

“Definitely,” she replied.

Arthur’s expression grew even warmer, giving her certainty that she’d made the right call. She stood up from her seat, leaving her tray on the table, and turned toward the human side of the cafeteria, predatory eyes scanning the sea of faces. She could already feel something in her belly shifting, as if it somehow knew that soon it would have a nice, juicy meal it could spend the rest of the day digesting, and it was making arrangements to see that her new guest would be cared for promptly and properly.

She paused for only a second- maybe two- hardly conspicuous, and then started walking. She’d made her selection, marked him in her head just as surely as if she’d done it with her teeth. He would be the perfect prey to show exactly how skilled a huntress she could be. She felt their eyes on her- Arthur’s eyes- but she shut it out. She focused, like the practiced predator she was. And she relaxed. She wouldn’t be like Pyre, obviously on the prowl and snatching up the easiest meal within reach. She’d be calm and casual, right up until the moment where she made her move. All the pressure and attention only drove her to be all the more concentrated.

Only one thing broke her concentration, the one thing she’d trained herself particularly to put above her predatory instincts- perhaps even more rigorously than she’d honed those instincts themselves: She caught a glimpse of Jack, looking out at her from their table. She couldn’t resist. She raised a hand and waved, smiling at him. He smiled back. It made her happy to know that he was still okay. And she caught a glimpse of Ozzy- and now apparently Sarabeth- with him. All the more reassuring. She looked away and refocused herself. She was getting closer now; it was almost time to claim her lunch.

Fiona glanced over her target. Not directly at him, that would have been too obvious. He was unsuspecting; walking, tray in hand, wand tethered to his waist, eyes on his destination. She estimated his progress and made small adjustments to her own. Too fast or slow and she’d stand out. She also wandered a bit- but not too far off course; too direct or too random a path would each be equally noticeable.

It was working. She was nearly on him now and yet no one thought anything of it. Maybe it was because she was a regular on this side of the room, always sitting peacefully with Jack? Had that wave to her friend put the other humans at ease? The thoughts brushed by briefly, but she shooed them away, focusing her mind into a present silence. Now wasn’t the time to ask why. With another step, she was in reach of her prey’s back, and after that point it no longer mattered why he’d let her get so close, it only mattered that he had.

In the following split-second came the flash of the strike. The first move Fiona made was for the mage’s wand. It was exposed by necessity for quick access, but that only made it all the easier for her to steal. Just like Arthur had done in their class, just like she’d done a few days ago during her homework assignment, she lifted the wooden rod from her target before he even knew what was happening, using only the slightest movement of one furry hand and a couple clawed digits.

But her prey didn’t stay oblivious for long. He noticed the wand leave his side immediately. Perhaps some enchantment alerted him, perhaps he was just very attentive to its presence, but he started to turn almost at once, dropping his tray to reach for it.

Unfortunately for him, Fiona had expected as much. She knew the level of quarry she’d chosen. Her other hand started to move almost as he did. But it didn’t go after him, it went after his tray instead. That surprised him, he glanced at the furry arm as she reached past, catching his lunch before it dropped more than a few inches. But the tray and the arm alike quickly flew out of sight as he continued to turn and reach himself for the wand she was pulling away from him.

He should have been paying more attention to his own arm, instead of hers.

A warmth, a sting and a wetness claimed the skin above his wrist. He seized up and went still, half from pain, half from surprise. His eyes went wide. The werewolf’s jaws were around his arm. She’d caught him with her mouth, his fingers just a few inches away from the wand in hers.

Following the split-second flash of attack, came a much longer moment of silence, during which Fiona felt her prey take in the startling, harsh realization that he’d already been beat. Sure, he still had one arm free, but the other was between her teeth. If he tried anything, she’d bite down, and the pain would be more than enough to put him out of commission.

Fiona turned her body- keeping her head in position- and with a sideways glance, placed the tray she was holding casually down on the table next to them, between the gazes of two astonished humans. More than just a successful diversion, she’d managed to pull it off without losing so much as a crumb; an extra touch which did well to show off her skills.

Then she turned her attention back to her lunch. She could taste a bit of blood dripping onto her tongue. Mostly his fault, really; if he hadn’t reached so recklessly, he might have felt her teeth in time to stop himself, and she might not have had to grab him quite as hard.

He felt her tongue slither and flow against his skin, and then a moment later he heard a disheartening *gulp*.

Fiona preferred a clean catch, as did most predators, but in the end it would all end up in the same place either way.

He saw her eyes set onto his, and felt a low rumble travel from her maw through his arm and into his ears. A rumble of satisfaction- and of excitement. She wouldn’t just be guzzling him down like an ordinary meal. Now that she had him, and had him right where she wanted him, she intended to show her new classmates something they’d be sure to remember.

In a sudden move, Fiona’s head lurched toward the ground as she bent down to her knees, pulling her prey’s arm and most of his body down with it. And then, mustering all her strength, she snapped back upright, flipping her snout skyward, and releasing her jaws.

Of course, they weren’t outside under the sky, but they were under a rather high ceiling. The boy flew up a number of feet, and then felt a sickening moment of weightlessness before plummeting back toward the floor.

But he would never reach the floor- not ever again.

There was a loud, wet, guttural sound; some mix between a smack, a swallow, a thud and something else altogether. In an instant, the mage felt the entirety of his legs grow warm and sodden, a liquid seeping in through his pants. He opened his eyes and looked down, and he saw fur. He kicked and he saw bulges, and felt flesh, growing tighter as the organs around him adjusted to his abrupt arrival. Abrupt, but not unwelcome.

*gulp*

He felt himself pressed lower, pulled downward by a force stronger than any gravity. It forced him to bend his knees, causing another bulge in the fur below him, one that would only be growing larger until his digestion was well underway.

He wanted to scream, to plead, to threaten, but he couldn’t. A moment ago he’d been off to have lunch, just like he had every other day of his life. And now he was watching himself being swallowed, disappearing into the belly of a predator, about to become their lunch. Maybe it was the shock, or the pain in his arm, but the sight of it was just so surreal that he couldn’t make a sound.

*gulp*

He felt the jaws rise up over his chest, and felt the teeth as they occasionally caught against his shirt. But more than anything else he felt the tongue, swishing back and forth idly across his body. No- not idle- it was busy coating him in saliva, the first step in his preparation for becoming a meal.

*gulp*

And then suddenly the world became smaller. He felt his underarms press against the werewolf’s cheeks, and her bottom jaw now eclipsed the bottom of his vision. He could no longer see the ground beneath his predator’s feet, but he could just make out the edge of the bulge he was beginning to make. Each of his movements resulted in an instant shift in the contours of her fur. Looking at it, he almost couldn’t connect the two- couldn’t believe that his legs were inside there, pushing and kicking from within, making those vague shapes that he’d so often seen in the bellies of other predators- but they undoubtably were.

*gulp*

Another tug from her powerful throat, and now his arms were forced upwards. The world became much smaller. His chin pressed against the slimy tongue, holding his head in place, and now everything he saw was framed by Fiona’s red, glistening maw and her white, pointed teeth. And all he could see through that frame were his own arms jutting out past him, and the faces of a few other students, some watching with shock or horror, others disappointment or regret, and still others took no notice of him at all.

A bolt of terror struck him, as the shrinking view finally carried home the fact that this was the last he would see of the world outside the werewolf’s belly. These were his last moments as anything other than a meal. As the tongue beneath him began to curl inward before his very eyes, eclipsing the last of his view, he finally found the breath to scream. But it was too late.

*gulp*

A loud squelch filled his ears, and a wall of red flesh enveloped his face, blocking out all light. He struggled and fought with all his remaining might, but he was buried deep inside of her now, there was no escape.

*gulp*

Fiona swallowed once more, and her prey’s arms disappeared from view. But they hadn’t quite been the last of him yet. A single hand still protruded from the tip of her narrowing muzzle, fingers stretching and grasping at nothing. She turned toward Arthur’s table, where he and the other advanced pred kids sat watching with rapt attention. Casually, Fiona raised a free hand and pressed it gently against the hand of her meal, sliding it softly back across her slippery tongue. And as she did, she gave one final:

*gulp*

She felt the human hand retreat from hers, and felt the trailing contours of his bulge descend her throat and find a home in her waiting belly. Now free of her esophagus, the squirming began in earnest. She couldn’t help but smile at the warm, satisfying feeling it gave her.

She turned toward the table next to her and placed her meal’s wand down alongside the tray of uneaten lunch. Then she glanced at the two kids still sitting to either side of it, too stunned and frightened to move.

“You boys can have this,” she said with a smile. “I’ve already got my lunch.”

*URP*!

The two kids ran screaming. She covered her mouth. She hadn’t meant to scare them like that, honest, but that was what she got for eating so fast.

That hardly mattered now, though. She turned back toward Arthur’s table and started a triumphant march, head and wriggling belly held high. When she arrived, she was met with impressed eyes- from everyone except the neko, that is, but even she seemed to be extra attentive. And in fact, it was she who spoke first.

“That was an advanced magic student,” the cat-girl said matter-of-factly.

“I know,” Fiona replied, trying not to sound boastful. “I saw him during A.P.E.”

“Not bad!” the naga said with a smile.

“Of course they’re easier to catch during lunch when their guard is down,” Pyre said. “But I have to admit that was pretty good.”

“Very well done.”

Fiona turned sharply. Those had been Arthur’s words. She looked to him and they locked eyes, he gazed at her intently and with a smile, clearly impressed. Her tail started back and forth, but she was almost too elated to care.

“Thanks,” she said in a quiet, distant voice.

He gestured with a silent smile toward the seat next to him, as if offering her a well-deserved place to rest her bulging belly. She took it happily, sitting down next to him once again, as both their guts gurgled together.

---

Jack was stunned. He felt like the floor had been ripped out from under him.

She was walking over here… to eat someone… he processed. She wasn’t coming back… she was just grabbing a better lunch.

He watched her turn and walk proudly back to the table where Arthur and his friends sat. His shoulders sagged along with the corners of his mouth. He felt profoundly disappointed.

She fits right in… he thought, noting how her belly now matched the other werewolf, and the dragon who had just arrived.

“That was quite good,” Sarabeth said in quiet but very definite praise.

“…She was showing off,” Jack replied after a moment. He could always read her.

“I dare say you’re right,” the vampire replied, though she didn’t sound happy about what that implied.

The display had stunned them both enough to put a stop to their tirade of insults- at least for now. Instead, they both took to staring. Just for a little while; a handful of seconds. They watched Fiona soak up the well-earned praise for her impressive catch and settle back into the group. Jack still felt those hotter emotions bubbling underneath, but for the moment they were eclipsed by something cooler, more somber. Sarabeth seemed to be feeling somewhat the same, though it wasn’t easy to tell.

“She’ll be back,” Ozzy said, doing his best to sound comforting.

“It’s fine,” Jack replied with awkward firmness. “She deserves it.” He did his best to sound dismissive, and hoped that his facade wasn’t as obvious as it felt.

As he glanced over the distant table again, he saw the group of preds starting to stand up. In fact a number of students were, from tables all around.

“It’s almost time for class,” Sarabeth said, the emotion hidden from her voice.

They watched Fiona rise, belly jiggling, and walk with the other preds toward the exit, talking and smiling.

“We should get to math then,” Ozzy said with a half-sigh. He stood up; his tray mostly empty.

Jack stood up a moment after him; his tray mostly full.

Together, they both started walking toward the exit as well.

*Ahem* Ozzy sounded discreetly.

Jack looked his way as Fiona disappeared out into the hall, the other boy was pointing behind them in a similarly discreet manner. Jack glanced back and saw Sarabeth walking with them just a few paces back.

“We all have the same class,” the vampire said indignantly, as if she were insulted that the human thought she wouldn’t notice his hint- and at the very idea that she had even the faintest requirement to explain herself.

Jack left it at that, but Ozzy remained vigilant.

In truth, as they walked out into the hall, Sarabeth was toying with the idea of taking Jack. After all, it was quite clear Fiona wasn’t around to see it and would likely be too distracted to notice. But that very distraction was the thing which made the idea pointless. What would removing Jack do now that she was enamored elsewhere?

Besides that, this other mage ‘Ozzy’ was- admittedly- a complication. She would have to take them both, and she wouldn’t be able to stomach more than one of them once her shrinking wore off- assuming she could shrink them both without incident.

And, perhaps most importantly, she didn’t feel in the mood for claiming Jack- or Ozzy, or anyone for that matter. In fact her entire lunch experience had left her with a marked lack of appetite. Thinking back to the tray Jack had left behind, she couldn’t help but assume that it had left him feeling much the same.

…

“Wow, can you believe Ms. Dracoria actually lived through all that?” Fiona asked. She was walking next to Jack, the two having just gotten out of their shared history class.

“Barely,” he replied. He was happy to hear her voice again, and sitting next to her through the whole class had gone a long way toward making him feel better, but that feeling that had gripped him during lunch still clung stubbornly.

With history over, so was school, and so was the school week. With a few more steps and bits of idle chatter, they departed out into the yard towards the coming weekend.

“Hey, Fiona?”

“Yeah?”

“Think I could come over this weekend? And, you know, hang out?” It was such a light, easy request. Why did he feel so nervous asking?

“Sure!” Fiona replied with a big smile.

He could see there was nothing wrong in her eyes. She smiled at him just as welcomingly as she ever had. Jack smiled back, starting to relax and feeling a little silly. All this stuff was just in his head after all, he shouldn’t have let it get to him so much.

“You can come over tonight if you want, we could even have another sleepover.”

Jack hesitated for a moment, and before he could stop himself, he glanced quickly at her belly. Its occupant was quite still now, and it had only just begun to round out. He thought back to the last time he’d spent the night with her after she’d had a big meal. The chorus of her gut dissolving another human hadn’t exactly been a lullaby.

“Thanks, but I’ve got some chores to do at home,” he lied reluctantly.

“Ugh, chores,” she huffed sympathetically. “Tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, tomorrow,” he replied with a tiny snort of laughter.

“Well, let’s get you home, then.” There was a short pause before she had another thought. “Will I need to come get you?”

“No, I think I’ll be fine. I’ve been working on an invisibility spell, and some other spells for self-defense.”

“Alright, but only if you’re sure. If someone eats you on the way I’m gonna be really mad at you.” Her voice was part joke, part threat and part concern.

“Hey, Fiona!”

Jack saw her smiling eyes widen a bit as her ears perked up. She turned back, away from him. He turned back too. And who else could it have been, but Arthur Conri and his gang. It seemed they had all just walked out of the school; they called out from a few dozen feet away. Jack saw Fiona’s tail wag just slightly, then she looked back at him.

“Why don’t you come over with me and say hello?” she offered.

Jack hesitated so much it was visible. As much as he trusted Fiona to keep him safe, something inside him insisted that that would be a very bad idea. But were those his survival instincts talking, or just the troubling emotions he’d been battling?

“Maybe next time,” he replied, “I should really get home.”

“Alright, just give me a second to say bye.”

“No, it’s fine,” Jack interjected as she turned to leave, he took a small moment to consider his next words. “I don’t want to rush you. Go take your time, I can make it home myself.” He couldn’t quite stand the thought of holding her back, not when she was so excited. And besides, he had the weekend to look forward to.

“Oh, you’re the best, Jack!” her tail wagged again. “See you tomorrow!” she called as she started quickly back down the path toward the school.

“See you tomorrow,” he replied with a wave. His smile shrank as he watched her go, but the promise of the coming day kept it alive.

Originally Published: 17-Dec-2020