FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 05

The creak of straining furniture cut through the quiet conversations of the buffet, announcing Tach's efforts to get comfortable in his tiny seats. A blush tinted his muzzle as a few patrons turned his direction, though he quickly shook them from his thoughts and returned to his work. A flurry of tapping keys filled the quiet that followed, only pausing when the lynx reached to his side and drove his fork into his lunch. A bundle of noodles twisted onto its prongs and hung on until he slurped them free, filling his cheeks with some of the best Chinese food his town had to offer. He couldn't stop a groan of approval from resonating in his chest, though he savored the flavors for only a few seconds before swallowing. A second serving followed the first, and before the cat could stop himself, he'd devoured his entire plate. His brow furrowed with a slight pang of disappointment, which he swiftly remedied. Tach's tree-trunk thighs pushed his chairs from his shadow as he stood, which scooting them across the tile and unleashing a harsh sound that drew more attention. Tach was too occupied with maintaining his balance to care, however, adjusting for the weight of his belly as it spilled form his lap and bounced from his shirt. A remnant of shame flashed in the back of his mind as his apron-like paunch swung free, though he suppressed it easily. Custom ordering shirts had proved quite expensive, and by the time they arrived, they only fit for a few days. The lower roll of his middle bounced against sweat-pants clad thighs as he lumbered to the buffet food bars, and he shamelessly collected three empty dishes for himself.

The elephantine lynx gathered his favorites and stacked them high on his tray, collecting enough food to feed a family. The dragoness's constant binging had altered both his appetite and inhibitions, driving him to keep his stretched stomach full as often as possible. To the cat, the decision to beat the dragoness at her own game was a natural one. He couldn't prevent her stuffings, but filling up before his client started meant less of her feast transfered to him. The cat ended up bloated either way, and doing it himself carried the satisfaction of rebellion. With that in mind, he returned to his twined throne and lined up his broad hips, then gingerly lowered himself. Two groans of protests rolled across the restaurant floor as the chairs begrudgingly bore his mass, and he set his gathered meals down with a clatter. One of his paws danced across his laptop's keyboard while the other sustained a constant stream of calories, splitting his attention between his work and gorging. Tach established a practiced rhythm in seconds, and the haze of what his days had become set in as he returned to his routine. Text filled his page at a surprising rate as he carved out lines and lines of code, a clear indication of his expertise. His pace only slowed as his gaze drifted to his clock, but even then his feeding paw continied at full tilt. He couldn't say for sure exactly when the dragoness would arrive, but in his gut he knew that moment couldn't be far away. The cat shrugged and wondered if he was simply thinking wishfully. As much as he had come to enjoy his buffet stake-outs, he was nearing three weeks of fruitless work, and his wardrobe would not tolerate much more failure.

Tach huffed and pulled up his list of restaurants and revised his future targets, until a soft ding at the front of the building drew his attention. His jaw dropped and his heart skipped a beat as a massively rotund silhouette squeezed through double doors, straining their metal frames even more than he had. The figure stumbled forward when they finally slipped through, and their recovery sent tremors through the entire establishment. The lynx had trouble picking the details of her features until she stumbled from the sun's natural back-light, but once she did, there was no mistaking them. Enough jewelery to fill a vault dangled and swayed from her generous rolls, struggling to draw attention away from her monumental size. The glittering gems adorning her horns and decorating her cheeks had mild success in that, but the chains and strands lost in her rolls had the opposite effect. As she lumbered closer, it became apparent she'd put on nearly as much weight as Tach, which was a truly impressive feat given her starting position. She jingled with regal adornments as she scanned the buffet and searched for a place to sit, pausing only briefly when her gaze met Tach's. The gears in her head visibly turned as she struggled to place his familiar face, until they clicked and realization flashed in her eyes.

To the lynx's surprise, a broad smile parted her softened muzzle, and she excitedly waddled to his table.

The lynx tried and failed to find words as she claimed the two seats opposite of him, pushing them together just as he had and placing one cheek on each. Her smile faltered for an instant in the awkward silence between them, until she took it upon herself to break it. "I know I'm a little bigger than the last time you saw me, but surly you recognize me, right," she chuckled.

Tach blinked and eventually found his voice. "Of course I do," he stammered. "But weren't you supposed to be dieting? You've put on as much as I have!"

The dragoness grinned and patted her stomach. "Where did you get that idea? I just didn't want to gain weight as fast," she corrected.

Her explanation puzzled the lynx, though given his experience over the past months, he could almost see how someone would want that. "In any case," he pressed. "You don't have any right to keep dragging this out. I want these collars deactivated, and I want to start getting back to my old self."

It was the dragoness's turn to be confused. "Really? I haven't heard anything from you since the first time we met. I just figured you were enjoying it."

Had her remark not caught him so completely off guard, Tach would have exploded and unleashed months' worth of fury and frustration. The dragoness continued before he recovered enough to do so.

"What email address have you been trying?"

Tach jammed his paw into his pocket and nearly tore through his pants as he pulled his ripped free. "FatAssDragoness@fmail.com," he deadpanned.

The rotund reptile arched an eyebrow and fished her phone from her hip. Faint light flickered across her face, and a sheepish grin inched across her snout as she discovered the source of the problem. "I uhh, haven't connected that address to my new phone yet," she admitted. "I only have 'FatAssDr4goness'."

A torrent of emotions swirled in Tach's chest with the discovery. An overwhelming part of him was absolutely enraged, though it gave way to mirth and relief as he processed the facts. A smile cracked his muzzle, and he buried his face in his paws and let out a pained groan. "You know what? I'm just glad you weren't trying to disappear on me."

Her eyes widened when she logged into her forgotten account, only to be overtaken by a tsunami of unread messages. "Yeah, I can see how you'd get that idea," she sighed. "It probably doesn't matter too much by now, but I'm sorry."

"It's... alright. I learned a lot about myself through all this."

"Oh~? Care to elaborate?"

"I won't lie, I kinda started to enjoy getting big and full for a little bit. Before it turned my apartment against me."

"I remember those days," the dragoness chuckled. "Have you cracked any door frames yet, or just crushed your favorite chair?"

The lynx's snout heated. "I might have busted a door or two," he admitted. "But I was able to get them to widen it when they fixed it at least."

"That's good, because it looks like you'll be needing that extra width for a little while," she teased.

"You're not wrong. This is going to take a lot longer to work off than to put on," he sighed.

"Well, there's no need to rush into that right now, right? I'm happy to bump your fee up again or renegotiate if you have any interest in keeping that collar~"

The lynx hesitated long enough to put a glimmer of hope in the dragoness's eye, but struck it down. "No, I think I'm good,' he grinned. "I'm done being a shameless glutton for a little while."

"Strong words for someone ten plates deep into lunch," the dragoness teased.

Tach's muzzle blazed. "It's not my fault you stretched my stomach so much."

"Fair, fair. It's a good look for you though."

"It might be if I didn't have to update my wardrobe weekly." The lynx drew in a breath and let out a sigh. "I'm not even sure where to start on sliming down though."

"I imagine you've got enough cash to get a pair of collars for yourself by now. They do actually help when you don't abuse them like I do."

"I doubt I'll have much luck finding a partner looking like this."

"Gods know I didn't," the dragoness laughed. "I'd just about given up by the time you answered my ad."

"Maybe that's not the best option then," Tach shrugged.

"It'll be the easiest one of you manage to find someone though. But I still think you look good with that weight, and I think you'd look even better if you kept the collar on for another week. Or two. Or three~"

On some level, Tach respected her tenacity. "I think I'm good for now," Tach grinned.

"Are you sure~?" the dragoness pressed. "Not even one more plate? For me?"

Tach breathed in deep and let it out. He mulled the the decision over, until his stomach grumbled and gurgled with greed. A blush tinted his muzzle as a grin spread across hers. "Alright," he relented. "One plate. Exactly one, and then the collars come off."

"You won't regret it," she teased. "It's about time you got to see me in action."

The dragoness stood from her seats and waddled to the buffet line, taking extra effort to sway her hips along the way. Those plush love handles narrowly avoided sending tables and chairs skittering alike, and she minimized her trail of destruction until she reached the line of lamps and warmers. A sly grin spread across her muzzle as she turned back to Tach, then grabbed a tray and loaded it up with food. A torrent of emotions swirled in the lynx's eyes while he watched her raid the serving platters, stacking her own high with samples from every station. The plastic panel bowed under her feast's weight by the time she reached the end of the line, and her already slow pace approached glacial speeds as she returned. Her steps were slow and measured, ensuring not a single crumb tumbled from her caloric mountain. The lynx's gaze narrowed to a glare as the gap between them closed, which only fueled the dragoness's mirthful smile. She dropped her titanic meal to the table and plopped her wide hips down, then leaned to the side and met Tach's eyes around the tower of meats and desserts. A moment of silence hung between them, until the feline eventually broke it.

"Really?"

"I'm not the one that forgot to define what a plate is for this," she grinned.

"I'm starting to wonder if you're part genie."

"This is far from the first time I've done something like this," the dragoness laughed.

"Fair enough," the lynx sighed. "Are you going to eat, or just gloat?"

"I can multitask."

Before Tach could reply, the dragoness opened her maw wide and stuffed her a generous helping of mixed portions into her mouth. Her cheeks swelled as she closed her jaws and chewed, then swallowed it mostly whole. A substantial bulge slid down her neck and hit the collar's rim, though failed to emerge from the other side. Instead, a faint buzz resonated through both of them, transferring the feast from one to the other as it had thousands of times before. Tach's breath caught in his throat as the mass of food dropped into his stomach, adding to his lunch with an audible gurgle. The lynx shivered and recovered while the dragoness took her next bite, far surpassing the first. She could hardly seal her lips around meal-sized portion, and her eyes squeezed shut as she claimed it whole and intact. Tach braced for the oncoming surge of calories when she succeeded, but there was little he could do to properly prepare. Tightness filled his chest as his gullet swelled to capacity, and he gulped several times to help it along its way. He tucked it away with the rest of his meal with a swig of soda, just in time for the dragoness's next helping.

Though she offered no mercy to Tach, the next gulp came with less strain, as did those after. Once warmed up, he matched the dragoness's pace, and that detail was not lost on either of them. The feline's stomach filled the space beneath the table as his companion feasted and gorged, reaching and surpassing his record capacity. The pressure in his belly rose from filling to discomforting, and a pang of panic shot through his chest until the collar finally cut off. An exhausted sigh tumbled from his lips, and he split his attention between recovering and watching the reptile finish off her mountain of food. Her middle battled for space with his as she tore through and finished off the rest of the trey, gathering up every scrap and crumb until there was nothing left. She stifled a belch into her fist and slumped back in her seats, then patted her belly and smiled at the lynx.

"Think you're gonna miss it?"

Tach's only hesitation came from processing her question, and once he did, shook his head. "Not in the slightest," he groaned.

"You liar," she playfully scolded. "Don't think I can't see that blush."

Her accusation only made it brighter, spurring him to relent. "Alright, maybe a little. But that doesn't change the fact I'd rather do it on my terms."

The dragoness nodded. "Fair enough. Let's get some paperwork done so you can indulge on your own."

Tach and the dragoness fetched their phones and opened the collars' app, then sifted through screens until they found their contract. The rotund reptile found her copy easily, though Tach's only revealed itself when he entered her updated email address. The terms of their agreement opened before him, and with it came several stats gathered over the course of the bargain. The lynx balked at the sight of how many calories she'd transfered, though the income that came with it dampened the blow. He compared his total payment to the number in his bank account, gathering an idea of just how much he'd spent updating his home and clothing. The difference between the two climbed until the dragoness clicked her claws across the table, drawing him back to reality with a sheepish grin. Tach bookmarked that information and returned to their binding page, then closed it out with the dragoness's blessing. A burst of static radiated from his neck as the collar severed its connection, relinquishing his diet and appetite without fanfare. He reached behind his neck and unclasped the unit as the dragoness did the same, then placed it on the table.

"How's it feel to be a freed glutton," the dragoness teased.

Tach rubbed his neck and adjusted to the naked sensation in the device's wake. "I don't think I feel any different," he admitted. "I still feel hungry too."

"That's all on you," she grinned. "That collar didn't to adjust your appetite, but it made it easy to give in and overeat."

The lynx leaned back in his seat and draped his arms over his belly. "I kinda wish I knew that before I signed up."

"It's all in the user manual," she offered. "But they do bury that little detail. I guess its so they can make more potential customers."

"It's not the worst thing in the world," Tach admitted. "I'm not looking forward to how big my food budget's going to get though. It was great letting you foot the bill for everything."

"It's not too late to carve out another contract if you're already missing it~ I'm willing to do this as long as you are."

"I'm not ready for that again yet. I need to think things over and see how I'd feel about getting even bigger. I'd probably need to move into a new place at the very least."

"You know, I could hook you up with a new apartment if that's what it takes~ I have a villa designed for people of our... stature, and there are plenty of open units."

That offer truly gave Tach pause. His paw drifted to his double chins and he weighed the pros and cons, running through the logistics of making such a sudden change in lifestyle. "How long do I have to think about it?"

"As long as you need, cutie. I'll even keep a slot open for you while you consider the option."

"I might take you up on that, but I need to figure some other stuff out first."

"Fair enough." The dragoness started to ask another question, but a needy grumble from her belly derailed her train of thought. "I think I'll help myself to some food before we continue this conversation. Do you mind if I eat with you?"

"Not at all."

The dragoness looked genuinely delighted. "Wonderful~ Hope you saved enough for me."

With that, she wadded to the food bars and stacked another set of plates high. The lynx couldn't help but blush as he watched her move, wondering what he had gotten himself into.