Content
HNTBL: Other Tails
(a “How Not To Become Lunch” spinoff)
Chapter 5:
Clique Bait
Ender was walking through the hallowed halls on his way to basic magic class. He saw Slee in the hallway with her friends and gave her a kind of secret wave: a ‘phone’ signal, with his thumb and pinky extended, shaking back and forth. He’d texted her to make sure she was okay with his abrupt exit a few days ago, and gone on to laugh about how he’d sprinted across the park and gotten that really strange look from a wolf pred.
Slee saw Ender walk by and couldn’t resist showing a smile, even if just for a moment. She was right about to devour a kid, and that was her priority. Her friends praised her, “Wonderful catch!” “You were so fast!” “She looks absolutely delicious!”, and without much hesitation: NOM!. What came afterwards is pretty obvious. A few dozen gulps and the random girl became late breakfast. Slee wanted to at least share a few words with Ender, but she didn’t have the time to. The first period of the day was about to begin, after all.
Ender saw Slee smile at him and then do her thing. And while her friends praised her, Ender felt a little bad for the girl turned hallway-snack. But this school had proven to be so socially cliquish for him; he had only the one friend and… Slee had to eat.
Making it to class, he sat down in his usual spot, homework ready; he could study, it was the actual use of magic he was having a hard time with. He noticed one of his late sister’s friends in the room with him. She had never been in this class before.
“What was her name? …Courtney. What is she doing here? She’s in the class ahead of me,” Ender wondered.
Miss Morgiana began the lesson. “Kids, today we will learn the magic that allows human bellies to become elastic enough to hold similar sized prey.” She looked to the class seriously, “We will NOT be eating anyone, we will only pull on said bellies to check if the spell worked from the outside. If done correctly the skin should easily extend up to four feet.”
Courtney was barely paying attention, just idly doodling in her study book. He noticed a doodle of the name “Jess” in a little heart outline.
Ender listened to the teacher who explained, “The spell is ‘elastiere,’” and, “Your wand moves like this then pauses here. At this point you can re-holster your wand and check if the spell worked.”
Ender practiced moving his wand in the motions depicted up on the white board.
“Now partner up, and see if you can successfully execute the spell,” the human teacher instructed the class.
“Partner up?” Well that definitely was an odd spell to choose for a cooperative activity. Not like it actually required two people, you had to cast it on yourself after all. Courtney eyed her classmates with absent eyes, until she spotted Ender.
She smiled broadly and stood from her desk, approaching him. “Hey there, Ender right? Your sister told me so much about you! Wanna be my partner for this spell?” she asked, hands at hips - one was slightly detached because she was holding her wand, but still.
Ender was pretty sure of two things: she wasn’t supposed to be there, and he didn’t think she actually liked him.
But unable to think of a polite way to say “no”, one that wouldn’t piss off the magic teacher of any class, he reluctantly said, “Uh sure. So one person casts the spell and the other tries to stretch their, uh… stomach out four feet? Can I try first to cast the spell?” He began to ready his wand. “I can float a napkin for 5 seconds, but this is… not going to work,” he thought darkly, looking at Courtney’s unreadable expression. “What is she doing here!?” he agonized.
“You cast it on your own belly, I mean, that’s how I usually do it, but sure, try it on me,” she replied, sporting a pretty generic but seemingly genuine smile. “Go on.” She even lifted her shirt a little. Her bare belly looked somewhat stretchy already by basic-human standards, but that could have just been her body being a little unique.
“This shouldn’t be too hard.”
Ender focused his mind, finding that calm spot at his center, breathing, focusing intent. He felt his tiny spark of power. This time instead of trying to grab it, he just breathed it into the word, “Elastiere,” moving his wands through the motion. A small blue glow emanated from Courtney’s tummy where he’d cast the spell.
“Holy shit did that actually work!?” He looked at Courtney questioningly.
Courtney’s hand moved a few milliseconds before the spell actually hit her, she pulled at her belly and… It worked! She stretched and squished, definitely almost looking like a busy pred belly when she bulged it out. She let it stretch for a bit and smiled at Ender.
“Woah! That was good, now let me try.” she held her wand, pointed at the boy’s stomach and-- she didn’t even announce the spell, but the glow appeared. That could only mean she must have been really good at that particular spell, and that she used it a lot. “Well? Let’s see if it worked!”
Ender lifted his shirt and pulled at his abs, which were usually hard as six little rocks and flat as a board. Ender felt his flesh distend and stretch like Silly Putty, it made him want to be sick. “Well,” he said to Courtney, “Should we see how far it can stretch? This is the absolute weirdest feeling ever.” Even if uncomfortable it was best to do as Miss Morgiana asked.
His thoughts strayed to Slee, briefly thinking of the lump that was probably only barely stretching anything in her belly.
“Oh? Yeah, sure!” She put her wand on the desk and started stretching Ender’s stomach with her two hands, being considerably gentle. Yup, that felt and looked pretty off. She actually had to lean back on her seat a little to stretch it out to its limit, it almost looked like it actually had something- or someone- in there. “Woah, Ender, isn’t this kind of cool?”
“Ah,” he said nervously, “No, it feels very weird.” He resisted the urge to say, “Courtney stop” and waited for her to let his extended stomach go.
“Human predators like this feeling of their belly stretched out like this!?” He couldn’t understand.
“AH! Very good Andrew, a successful spell for once,” Miss Morgiana congratulated. He was pretty sure the only thing that kept him from her hungry guts was his discipline and politeness. “I’d rather be coiled up with Slee right now,” he thought bitterly as his stupid birth name was used.
“Could you let go?” he asked the former friend of Jess.
Courtney was immersed in her thoughts for a moment there. When she registered what Ender requested she quickly nodded and let go, letting his belly pull back and jiggle to its previous, more ‘normal’ shape.
“Sorry, uh, I was just thinking about some things.” She grabbed her wand and held it firmly at her side. “Anyways, it was nice to meet you, Ender--” Rinnnng! “Maybe we can walk to our next classes together?”
She wanted to talk to him!? “Ooookaayyy, I mean I’m on my way to history class, so if you’re going that way…” He rose, gathering his bag, and wouldn’t you know it a nod from the teacher congratulating him on his apparent success.
“I’ll take that win where I can get it,” he thought.
He politely opened the door for Courtney allowing her to exit to the hallway. She was a pretty enough girl, but just like Jess she wore too much makeup and tried to look very adult.
Courtney appreciated his politeness and walked right through, glancing around before actually getting in the middle of the hallway since, “It would be a shame to get eaten just because you weren’t paying enough attention between classes,” she decided.
There were already many students walking and slithering by, none seemed particularly hungry so far. She waited for Ender to follow her, and then they began walking.
Ender began wondering what she wanted to talk about. He wasn’t very good at small talk, as he proved by asking, “What was Jess like with you guys?” “She was a goddamn nightmare for me.” He looked over to Courtney, wondering if she would get pissed.
They passed the pred class, which was also emptying out.
“Oh, well, pretty fun actually.” Her smile gradually disappeared, as she was reminded of Jess. ”I miss her, I know she wasn’t nice to you… But she was a great friend to us.”
Courtney put a hand on Ender’s shoulder, then ran it down until she gently gripped his arm “Don’t you ever think about her? I mean-- She was your sister, I haven’t really seen you mourn her.” Her tone sounded upset, descending into anger at the end.
Ender turned to look at her. “Well, she tried pretty hard to get me devoured, so it’s kinda hard to feel bad about her at all.” “Do I claim to be friends with Slee in the middle of a student-filled hallway? No, that would be insane.” He looked down at the hand gripping his arm and the lacquered false nails attached to it. “I’m sorry if you guys are upset, but would you have been upset if I was eaten?” “No you were cheering along with Jess, then Slee saved me!” his mind raged.
“Upset?” Her other hand shot forward and gripped Ender’s free arm. “No… actually quite the opposite. You are the one who got Jess killed! And I am going to avenge my friend!!” Her mouth opened so wide that it looked uncanny, and without hesitation, she landed her lips on his head with a GULP!
“She was one of them! A human predator!” He realized too late.
ulp, glrk
“No time to waste,” thought Courtney. She couldn’t let that overweight naga come to rescue Ender, and she didn’t want to be interrupted by any other ‘traditional’ predator.
Ender felt his head enter her distended throat. “I let someone close and this is what I get!?”
The hot interior of Courtney seemed to pulse and squirm all around him. He tried to curl his arms up on either side of her mouth like an anchor, to make him harder to swallow… deeper and deeper… into this girl he didn’t like.
“Is there a way out of this? Calm down, breathe while you can, and think,” he admonished himself, trying to control his fear. His wand fell to the floor. “I’m useless with that anyways.” He started trying to sink to the ground or trip Courtney’s legs with his own.
Courtney wasn’t the most skilled predator, but she’d had this planned for a few days, she definitely knew how to deal with his attempts. She turned around and slammed Ender’s body against a locker before gulping a few more times. If he had a hold on her mouth, now his hands and arms were in her throat… Great! She took a little break for a few seconds, before gulping harder. His entire upper half was sliding down her magically-bloated gullet.
Ender felt his grip strength waning against the slick interior of Courtney’s mouth. Her growling tummy opened to accept his head. Then another massive Gulp!
“I’m losing, this girl is eating me alive!”
The hot juices of the stomach choked him as his face hit the acid covered interior. He felt his legs begin to enter her mouth!
“What can I do?! Please Slee, stop her!” Would she even stop another pred? Even a human pred? Would she even care?
A few more gulps, and then-- She tilted her head up, letting his feet slide in before closing her mouth.
“This is what you get for getting Jess eaten!” ULP.
Ender had been eaten - by some random girl. Her belly stretching spell had worked just fine. Her shirt was ruined and mostly gone, but that didn’t matter. She began to make her way to class, reveling in the knowledge that this would be the end of that brat.
“One day we’ll try to get that fat naga too,” she smirked to herself.
URP “A job well done,” her tummy seemed to say.
“Boys are so dumb,” she thought. All she’d had to do was be nice to Ender for five minutes.
Ender, curled inside the churning belly of Courtney, was down to his last idea: “Find your phone, pray it works.” He found the little hard rectangle in the dark, turbulent space. GLorp! Holding his breath, he texted, [[Slee, Courtne aaateeemmeee, Jeessss’s frieennd form the maul!!!!!!]] He was typing worse than Slee, he thought ironically. Churn! growl. His head was spinning as his oxygen ran out. With nothing else to do, he yelled.
“Courtney, YOU--” the usual expletives followed. “I hope Slee finds you and turns you into another lump on her awesome coils!!!” He kicked a few times and passed out.
“Awesome coils?” Cortney thought, hearing his last words. “Does he have a fucking crush for that snake? I’m even more glad I dealt with him, that’s weird.” She was walking slower than usual, which made sense considering her enormous gut, but it was also because she wanted to fully savor her revenge. Every noise, every kick, every subtle movement-- she could feel it all, and it just filled her with joy.
He stopped squirming a little too quickly for her liking, but she managed to turn that into another pleasure as well. “Not much of a fighter huh? Is he already dead? Oh my, I might be a better pred than I thou--
SLAM.
A flashing wall of red hit her smug face and sent her flying into a locker. Thud! As soon as she recomposed herself, her eyes widened at the sight of that naga.
“Let. Him. Go.” Slee sounded neutral most of the time, but her rage could subtly be felt.
The human pred glanced at her own churning stomach and shrugged. “You’re too late to save your ‘friend’, he’s been eaten. Deal with it.”
“Wrong answer.” Slee arched her tail and tried to hit Courtney again. The girl narrowly avoided it. Slee and Courtney kept it up for a few more seconds before Slee realized that she had to step up the game if she wanted Ender back in one piece.
The following course of events was quick and ferocious. Slamming, hissing, even biting. Slee’s tail finally closed around the girl’s head and neck and she lifted her into the air above her unhinging jaws. Her arms secured Courtney’s ankles and shoved them in her throat with a wet GLRK.
Slee was eating the girl who’d eaten Ender, and if this didn’t work out… she was eating Ender by extension. She had to make this work. As the human-pred’s belly entered her throat delightfully, Slee knew that Ender was also entering her throat… delightfully. Her jaws closed menacingly around the girl, which couldn’t have been comfortable for Ender if he was even awake, but that would hardly matter if she didn’t get him out.
“What are you trying to achieve?!” she squirmed and shrieked as Slee made her final gulps.
“Simple,” the naga replied to the descending lump in her fleshy throat, as her mouth cleared with one last-- GULP! “If you don’t let him out, I don’t let you out.” Slee promised the girl in her guts.
“But I can’t! It’s too tight and-” Courtney pleaded.
“Bullshit. Just do it.”
Courtney could feel Ender hadn’t been harmed beyond repair yet, but it was painfully close. She held out as long as she could, but she was afraid to die. “Forgive me Jess, I just don’t want to go yet.”
Her throat could barely stretch enough to release the human trapped within. And Slee could barely bring herself to push Ender out of her own hungry throat.
“Only Ender,” she thought.
To the human pred in her guts she cruelly said, “Human, you should know better than to make deals with us. At least you respected your end of it.”
Then, she hurried to the nearest bathroom to clean and hopefully wake up her friend.
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Ender felt himself slowly regaining consciousness. He had dim memories of muffled arguments. Light slowly reached his eyes. Everything was blurry; his arms were still pinned to his sides by something convulsing and wet, HRK.
He wiped his face against the blurry green surface as pressure seemed to constrict and lift him almost spasmodically. His vision cleared somewhat. He had just wiped his face on Slee’s tongue!! He saw a familiar set of unhinged crimson jaws… in a mirror… and he was in them!!!
Slee was… letting him out! How had she gotten him out of Courtney!? Ender felt a hand grasp his ankle briefly and then it was gone with a shrill muffled cry resonating through Slee’s massive body.
“Hhhhuuurggggg-” Ender’s attempt to speak was crushed out of him, as he landed on the bathroom bench within a slick mixture of fluids.
“Holy crap!!!” He started checking himself over. “I’m in the girls bathroom”, looking up at Slee incredulously. Arms. Legs. Fingers. Toes. Nose. Apparently human-pred stomach juices did not compare to actual pred digestion potency.
He breathed deeply laying on his back for a few moments. “So SHE didn’t like me very much,” he said nonchalantly. He took a deep breath of sweet air, looking up at Slee’s gorgeous azure-emerald eyes.
“But it seems like you do.” He sat up, reaching a hand out to Slee, grasping her shoulder, then resting his head in the hollow of her neck below the jaws he’d recently exited. The situation began to catch up with him and he found he was shaking. “Slee you’re the best person I’ve met.” Then he just breathed, shook, and took solace in her quiet presence.
“Don’t you fucking cry, Ender. You’re a warrior.” But he wasn’t, he was a 15 year old kid, and so…