Pai's Begining
Deep within the bowels of a large cave lived a fearsome and greedy dragon named Pai.
Pai's appearance was unlike most dragons her age. For starers, she was short and stout; she stood only about ten feet tall. Her coloring was peculiar too, with white scales painted with occasional black blotches across her body. A scaled frill adorned her neck much like a collar. Her face was quite narrow coming to a point, with horny spines jutting over her eye ridges. And her eyes glowed a deep violet, glinting with the reflection of her hoard of treasure. She had been hoarding things since she could remember, and piles of gold, silver, gems and other fancies littered her lair. It's what dragons do after all: steal treasure, lay siege to towns, extort money from them, etc. Like many dragons, Pai did just that, but she didn't need to do everything herself. No, there were more than enough villagers who would accidentally wander into her domain or worse, try to steal back what she had taken. They were no match for her speed and strength, however, and each was given just two choices: to serve her as her slave, or as her dinner. Only a few dared to challenge her, and they've not been heard from to this day.
***
Pai's subjects were out on another treasure hunt. She liked to call them "treasure hunts." It sounded far more civilized than stealing. But Pai and her slaves knew full well what it was, and they knew, too, that they had to return each day with something to add to Pai's growing hoarde. And so it was around nine o'clock when one of her subjects returned carrying a wooden box laden with golden trim and various precious gems. Rubies and sapphires decorated the lid of this very alluring box. The dragon's eyes grew wide and a grin stretched upon her face. She rushed over, swiping the ornate box from the peasant's hand and knocking him into the wall of the lair. "Excellent !" she purred, pressing her scaled fingers over the gems, eying the great detail and workmanship of the box. "Where did you get such a wonderful box, slave?" she asked, looking in the direction of the man, a villager she had captured some months back. Her question was met with silence, however, as she had knocked him out cold in her haste. "Oh well, no matter. Time to open this box. I want to see what is inside!" she said excitedly while pulling on the lid.
She hooked a claw beneath the lip and pulled, but nothing happened. The lid was stuck, not giving even one millimeter. Pai began pulling with all her might and still the lid yielded nothing. "Why won't this box open?" she huffed, tapping on the lid. Suddenly the box gave a hiss as the lid slowly opened. A green glowing mist leaked out from the box, filling the air in front of the startled dragon. She dropped the box, panicking a little as she started backing away from the treasure. The mist dissipated quickly and left the box open and exposed. "What the.." her voice trailed off as she tilted her head to peer inside. The interior glowed eerily green. Pai couldn't see anything in the box that would be causing it to glow, but curious dragon as she was, she cautiously approached to look closer inside. She lowered her head closer, the green glow reflecting off her white scales. Her eyes were transfixed on the glowing light.
Without warning a gust of green glowing mist whooshed and whirled around her, pushing her to the ground and scattering a pile of coins that had the misfortune of being behind her. She gasped as she felt a tingling sensation. She knew something was wrong, and immediately her suspicions were confirmed when she felt herself swelling and her belly filling with air. "What the hell is going on!" she screamed as her arms also fattened and became soft and squishy. Her fingers swelled. "No! No! This cant be happening" she yelped in fear. She watched her belly fatten and become soft and plush-like. Her legs swelled and lost definition along with her feet and toes. Stitching began to form up along the sides of her arms and legs. Soon, Pai could no longer feel her own heart beating, and she watched in horror as a seam made its way from her belly up her chest . "No! No! NOOO!" she cried, and soon her vision went black.
***
Cobb, a blue anthropomorphic bird, had been bringing treasure to Pai for months now. It was all he and his coyote partner could do to ensure the safety of their home. But Cobb was upset; although he'd searched far and wide since lunchtime, he hadn't been able to find any treasure today. He knew that if did not make an appearance at Pai's lair, she would seek vengeance on he and his partner, so with a heavy heart, he set off to beg for mercy to be allowd to search once again on the morrow. His footsteps were heavy, his black feet trudging through the dirt beneath as he approached the entrance to the lair. Taking a large gulp, he walked in as the darkness closed around him, familiar but forboding. He set a flame to the torch he'd brought with him and the cavern opened up before him. He stepped forward, slowly, toward the main chamber of Pai's home. He sighed, wondering what the dragon would do for his failing. Would he be eaten? Would she be content to merely destroy his home? Or would she extract her punishment by taking everything and everyone he loved?
After a few more similarly depressing thoughts, the blue bird reached his destination: a large room piled with treasure from a dragon's greedy desires. He saw what appeared to be Pai sleeping, her back facing him. Cobb gulped hard.
"Excuse me mistress..." the bird's voice cracked and trailed off, his call met with silence.
Puzzled, he called out louder. " Mistress Pai?" Still silence. The blue bird grew bolder and more curious and stepped forward. Like most dragons, usually Pai was a light sleeper, lest someone would steal her vast treasures while she slumbered. He approached the seemingly comatose dragon with caution.
"Excuse me, mistress Pai?" he said, reaching out to poke her back, only to have his winged finger sink into soft plush fur. "What the hell??" he exclaimed. The blue bird grew brave now, hopping over the dragon to face her. The once mighty tyrant who had struck fear into the hearts of many was now a giant, fat, swollen plush dragon, her eyes paralyzed in fear like a statue.
***
Darkness. All Pai could see was darkness. She called out, "Hello," and it just echoed into the abyss. Pai's first reaction was anger. "Is anyone there?!" she screamed. Again her voice just echoed off. She waited in the darkness for what seemed to be an eternity, her senses numb and a little fear creeping into her awareness. She had stopped calling, had stopped being angry, and now she felt nothing. After a while, a door faded into view, its outline dim but clearly visible against the complete blackness. She stared at it, wondering where it led, once again wondering where she was.
As she watched, rhe door suddenly opened, and a lion - large and plump and wearing a regal blue cape and a golden crown - stepped through. He roared loudly as he made his entrance and looked onto Pai. "You dare steal from me? he roared in an angry booming voice. Pai had no answer; she was so stunned . "Ha! Your guilt causes you to be silent!" he gloated. He pointed a pudgy finger " You, Pai, are cursed to be a stuffed plush dragon for the rest of your days for your crime against me!" He puffed up his fat belly. "Let this be a lesson. Even the mightiest can never cross Jamba the King." He roared with laughter continuing to point at Pai as the vision of him faded to black. No sooner had he gone than Pai felt something soft pressing against her belly.
"Mistress?" She heard a familiar voice and grinned.
Cobb had pressed his wing into the dragon's fat, soft belly. "Mistress Pai? What happened to you?"
The dragon suddenly lifted her plump tail and smashed it into a pile of coins with a soft thud. Cobb, the blue bird lept back. Pai sat up, still a bit dazed. She looked down to see Cobb standing there, looking at her. Her daze began to clear, once again being replaced by rage. She roared, "What do you mean ‘what happened'!?" She rushed the poor bird, pinning him against the lair wall with her large, plush form. "Someone must pay for bringing me that box!" she snarled, curling her fat digits around the bird's neck and pressing her now soft plush maw to his beak. Cobb squirmed, fearing for his life. He gripped her plush arm and tried to pull her off of him, sinking his digits into the material. Pai responded by letting him go, but only for a second to pin his arms to his side. Even though she was soft and squishy, Pai was still strong and powerful.
"You will do" she grinned and then opened her maw wide revealing a pink rubbery maw lined with rubbery shiny teeth and a tongue. Cobb screamed in horror. " No, please.." he whimpered. But he was silenced as his head was stuffed into her soft plush maw. Her tongue working over his soft downy feathers and beak, she swallowed with an audible gulp. The bird's shoulders and wings were stuffed into a slick rubbery maw that now hungered for the rest of the bird. Cobb flapped his wings and struggled against the dragons strong and tight grip on him, but it was to no avail as he felt himself sink deeper into the massive plush dragon. Pai swallowed again, taking the birds belly into her maw, her tongue still working over him, tasting the avian's body. Cobb felt the dragon let go of his wings and tilt her head upwards, making him slide further into the dragon's gullet, his appendages now pinned together by her throat and muzzle. Pai lifted her fat paws and placed them on the bird's rump, pressing against his tail feathers and pushing him deeper, his rump and groin squeezed against Pai's tongue. She sensed a different flavor there and enjoyed it, grinning fin to fin as she teased the bird. Cobb stopped struggling, resigned to his fate and nearly in tears as he thought of how his coyote partner would miss him and be looking for him. He should have just not shown up to the lair today and taken his chances.
The bird's melancholy thoughts were abruptly interrupted by waves of sensual pleasure flowing through his body. The dragon was toying with him. He knew that, but still he couldn't help but be lost in the new sensation. He reasoned that he was being eaten, after all, so why not enjoy it some? It might be his last act on earth. He began bucking his hips as much as he could against the dragon's tongue and rubbery maw, which had the unfortunate effect of making him sink deeper into Pai. Another loud gulp signaled that Pai was finished playing with her food, and she finished the job, swallowing the rest of the bird down, his toes curling as they sank into darkness. Cobb chirped weakly inside the dragons belly, aroused from her playful tongue as he waited for his end to come. He curled up into a fetal position, the dragon's rubbery walls encasing his feathered form, closing in on him. They began to become slick and wet filling with thick liquid rubber and coating over the bird. Cobb passed out within the dragon's rubbery plush gut.
Pai belched, no longer angry about being cursed. Indeed, the meal she just had made her feel more alive and powerful than ever before. Meals usually gave her momentary satisfaction, but this was new. Eating folks now gave her power. Not what Jamba had figured on happening, she gathered. Pai lifted her self up, her gut now heavy with bird and rubber. She somehow knew what was happening to him, how Cobb was being encased inside an egg, and she knew she would have to lay very soon. There was definitely magic about, and all dragons knew that magical processes do not take very long. She waddled over to the next room grunting, just making it to her nest and squatting.
The egg came slowly at first through the hole in her rump, then with a strong push the blue rubbery plush egg emerged fully, landing nicely onto some pillows. Pai pushed the egg upright with her tail and grinned evilly, watching the egg come to life in an instant, its occupant squirming to get out. Pai giggled a bit as she reached over and punched a hole with her claw, causing a side of the egg to tear open. Its occupant spilled out onto some pillows below. It was Cobb, but he had drastically changed. His white feathery belly was now a dense plush fur that had a seam that traced up his chest and to his neck. His beak was now a soft shiny rubber. His wings now seemed stitched together and much softer, all of him soft and squishy.
He chirped in surprise at the changes but was happy to be alive. He then looked to the broken egg and then to Pai. Cobb suddenly felt connected in a new way to his dragon captor, a feeling of loyalty and obedience, instead of fear.
"Cobb." Pai called out.
"Yes, mistress" Cobb answered with out even thinking.
"I want you to bring your partner here. Understood?" she ordered.
"Yes, mistress."
She grinned evilly as the blue plush bird soon got up and walked out of her lair following her command.
"Well Jamba..." she said to herself. "It will be the queen who has the last laugh!" She laughed menacingly, awaiting Cobb‘s return with her next meal.