FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 03

A heavy sigh crossed Tach's lips as he reached for his phone, a regular part of his disappointing ritual. He unlocked the screen to a flood of outbound messages, all of which unread, then huffed again. The lynx opened a new thread and pasted in a request for contact, then sent it off without fanfare or hope. Though a small part of him clung to the possibalty of a response from the dragoness, he couldn't bring himself to hope the trend would end that day. By the same token, he couldn't bring himself to stop trying, even if his opinion of his situation had lightened. A hand drifted across his plush middle and raked through his equally soft fur, idly appreciating the additions to his figure. His wallet shared in his client's gluttonous bounty as well, swollen with compounding extension fees. The cat's windfall sat atop his savings in food, leaving him considerably better off than he expected. With his bountiful income came unexpected consequences, however. Since his initial visit, he'd made several trips to the mall's tailor to have his clothing refitted, a process only slightly less pricey than replacing them outright. His newfound friends at the business made the excursions worthwhile at least, and his thoughts drifted to the plump bovine cashier as he pulled his shirt down over his gut. A faint blush warmed his cheeks as he dwelt on her compliments, and he briefly contemplated an outing merely for the sake of visiting. His stomach rumbled and demanded a detour to the food court, spoiling the moment.

A pang of hunger lanced through his core as his belly colored his thoughts, filling his inner visions with the sights and sounds of the food court. Tach rolled his eyes and quelled his near-constant hunger with a chocolate bar, bitting off a significant chunk and swiftly gulping it down. The morsel hardly made a dent in his well-trained appetite, but it blunted the worst of his ravenous desires for the moment. The lynx then reviewed his drink and snack stash, surveying his sodas and checking his chips. Even without the dragoness's intervention, he had more than enough to tie him over for the evening. Confident in his reserves, he settled into his seat and closed out everything on his desktop, then logged into his long-time hobby. A modest MMO launcher splashed across his monitor, and the clack of his keys filled the air as he entered his information. His chair creaked in protest as he leaned over his belly to enter his credentials, then groaned in relief when he reclined back. A jaunty theme filled the air while the game checked for updates, then ushered him to a character selection screen. An idealized reflection of himself posed and flexed on a rotating platform, encouraging a hint of admiration before he entered the digital world beyond. The music cut to the sounds of a bustling city, where he and its residents materialized against a fantastic backdrop. His interface populated next, including a modest chat window. The text that populated it was anything but, however.

Tach's ears folded to his head as messages reminding him of his lateness scrolled by as fast as he could read, courtesy of his guildmates.

Knock it off guys, there's still five minutes before we start

Yeah, but you're still the last one here, his raid leader teased. Are you good to go?

Of course, the lynx replied. You really think I'd miss clear night?

Not willingly, but you seemed a bit out of it last week. Do we need to find a substitute?

Tach's muzzle blazed. One of the dragoness's many binges had struck at the worst possible moment, plunging him into a food coma mere seconds before virtual victory.

Your silence is making me a little nervous. I don't mind tracking someone down if I need to, I just need to know before we start.

The arrival of the message snapped him from his haze, and he quickly replied. No, no. I'm good. Just a little distracted.

Then spend the next couple minutes getting your head clear. I think we can pull this off tonight if everyone's here and present.

The lynx nodded and steeled his resolve. Regardless of the dragoness's inevitable and gluttonous interruptions, he would stay in his chair and see their weeks-spanning efforts through. Tach preemptively loosened his belt and reached for his headset, then pulled it over his ears and switched it on. Several electronic voices verified a successful connection, and the banter of his guildmates filtered in. Despite his leader's comments, he was the second one in the chat room, beating everyone else by a significant margin. He muted his microphone and opened a bottle of soda while he waited, breaking his room's relative silence with a loud hiss. The sharp scent of carbonation stung his nose as he took a swig, then swallowed it down with a gratified sigh. A bust of caffeine surged through his nerves with the slight taste alone, banishing his late-afternoon sleepiness. He took another and another sip to draw put the buzz, and by the time he set the bottle down, his team was ready to begin. Tach took the electronic hold off his microphone and let his friends know he was ready, and after they echoed his call, the team stepped into a swirling portal and flowed to a far-off land. A torrent of light and color ebbed and flowed across the cat's screen as it loaded their encounter, inspiring a flutter of anticipation in the lynx's chest. Tach's brow furrowed as something else joined it, which he quickly pinned as his collar's vibrating prelude. His stomach dropped with dread as the rainbow vortex faded, revealing a vast cavern and equally vast dragon. The boss eyed the raiders with malice as they stepped into its domain, but refused to make the first strike. While it loomed over them, the lynx's leader reviewed their strategies.

Tach made a genuine effort to listen, though his fatigued familiarity with the topic let his thoughts drift to his own dragoness. The longer he dwelt on her approaching snack attack, the more confused he became. Unlike her typical binges, she seemed to be eating with uncharacteristic restraint. His paw drifted under the edge of his shirt and disappeared entirely beneath its overhang, where he confirmed its unusually slow growth. The cat wondered if he'd acquired more of the reptile's capacity than he realized, but a second check eased his mind. Surely she hadn't ruined his metabolism that much. A ready check from his team dragged him back to reality, and he followed them to their positions. Half of the group stood back near the entrance of the arena, ready to dispatch the dragon's minions while those in the front distracted him. A countdown played across his screen once everyone reached their post, and when it hit zero, the leader lobbed his shield at the imposing boss. A bellowing roar of fury shook the cavern and rang in Tach's ears, beginning the battle with a shower of boulders. The digital raiders danced around the fringe of the battlefield and dodged the opening volley with practiced precision, then snapped back to their positions as dozens of smaller cries joined in an echoing chorus. A horde of kobolds poured into the cavern clearing at the call of their master, each holding an over-sized potion of strength high above their head. With more reflex than thought, Tach and his group lunged into the hoard, snatching the concoctions from their claws and claiming them for themselves. A faint blush tinted the cat's cheeks as he watched his character chug colossal glass after glass, boosting their power at the price of their speed and figure. The cat's virtual reflection was only just smaller than himself, and he teetered on the edge of destroying his armor.

The chaos of combat broke for a brief instant while a final kobold leapt to the center of arena, then resumed at full tilt when they charged Tach's character. The primal dilemma of fight or flight panged in his chest, and his focus faltered when he tried to remember the next step in the encounter's sequence. Fortunately, the raid leader took the lynx's hesitation out of play. A bolt of radiant lightning fell from the heavens and drew the minion's attention, turning their wild sprint toward themself and dragon. The armored paladin side-stepped the charge and sent the lizard stumbling into their towering foe, and the corrosive concoction splashed and spattered the area. The boss reeled in equal parts surprise and pain, and the rest of the group seized their chance to strike. Tach's character sloshed and wobbled at the boss with all the ferocity they could muster, then spent their stolen strength potions in a single strike. The first cracked the mighty dragon's armor, and the following blows from his teammates chipped the rest away. The villain's health bar appeared once it was finally vulnerable, and the battle proceeded into its second phase, as it had every week before. Tach leaned forward amd reached over his stomach as glowing circles migrated across the battlefield in merciless waves, and his perception shrank to his monitor as he devoted all of his attention to dodging them. His teammates followed suit, and despite a few minor hiccups, they maintained a rhythmic pace of offense and defense that slowly carried them toward victory.

The slow swelling of the cat's belly escaped his single-minded focus for several minutes, until its curvature grew too great to ignore.

The lynx squeezed his eyes shut and wiped his face during a lull in combat, trying to scrub the fuzz from his focus. He succeeded and sharpened his attention only briefly, but couldn't stop his slow, hazy descent into a powerful high. A pang of concern lanced through his chest until he remembered the dragoness's quasi-legal supplements, brought to the forefront of his senses by a stifled burp. The aftertaste of edibles was unmistakable, and his train of thought derailed as he sought a way to mitigate their effect. A call from his raid leader returned him to reality, and panic fuddled his fingers while he recovered from his mental lapse. A burst of light restored his character's health and repaired the rhythm of the battle, but several penalties lingered and compounded. He failed to turn his character away from the dragon while realignimg his claws on his keyboard, and the boss promptly locked him out of his controls with a hypnotic swirl. His avatar swelled with flab and burst from their protective robes, rendering them immobile and unable to continue. Chatter filled his ears while his teammates compensated, though their voices lost their distinction as dragoness's laced brownies took effect. With nothing better to do, Tach reached to the side and plucked a bag of chips from his pile of snacks and pulled it open. The following pop easily reached his microphone and captured his teammates' attention, however. Somewhat aware of his situation, they couldn't resist the chance to poke fun at the cat.

"If you get fat in the game, you get fat in real life," the healer commented.

Tach's cheeks blazed and indignity slipped into his answer. "It's not my fault," he stated through a mouthful of chips. "That dragoness had more of her pot brownies tonight."

"Dude, you have to get this under control," his raid leader sighed. "This can't keep happening."

"I will, I will," Tach answered. The muffled crinkling of bags filled their voice chat as he pushed his snacks aside. "I know what's going on now, I can keep it together."

"Alright, we'll reset the run and keep trying," the leader conceded. "Everyone off."

At the command, everyone ran to the edge of the arena and leapt into the pit and plummeted to their end. The draconic boss let out a victorious roar that resonated through the virtual caverns, then faded away to transparency. He reappeared moments later on his rocky throne, waiting for the next set of foolish adventurers to challenge his rule. The party flickered back into existence at the level's entrance, then regrouped for their next attempt. Characters flashed with magical empowerments and wrapped themselves in glittering arcane walls, stacking the odds in their favor as much as possible. Tach ran down his pre-fight checklist and verified hid restored stat bonuses, then signed off as ready to go. His guildmates followed, and once everyone finished their recovery, the group stepped into the ring once more. A wall of rocks sealed them in with the dragon, and his booming acknowledgment rattled the cave as it had every time before. The group's most armored member stepped forward once again, then threw their shield with all their might and restarted the cycle again. As expected, the battle went smoother the second time. The group conquered gimmicks and mechanics with rehearsed ease, chipping through phase after phase. Tach relaxed his mental guard as they broke territory new to the night, his focus split between recalling the digital dance and the demanding sensations rumbling from his middle. His middle escaped from the bottom of his shirt as the dragoness followed her laced treats with a truly impressive binge, packing his stomach with thousands of calories of junk food. The lag between the collar and his appetite made his second-hand munchies impossible to ignore, and he found himself reaching for snacks during lulls in combat. His willpower gave out as the boss charged an its ultimate attack, rooting the players in place and granting an opportunity he couldn't resist.

The shameless shuffling of plastic filled the lynx's room as he lunged and retrieved his chips, nearly sacrificing his balanve in the process. The unexpected weight of his belly spilled frpm his lap and squished into his armrest, stalling his fingers just shy of his goal. With a grunt of effort, he wheeled away from, his keyboard just far enough to reach, the returned with his prize before he was missed. Tach mashed buttons at the game's command with one hand while the other delved into the half-depleted bag, jamming chips into his mouth as quickly as he ate them. Crumbs tumbled over his second chin and bounced off his swollen belly as he feasted and tapped, struggling to address both demands without compromising either. The scales slowly tipped against the lynx and his comrades, and the tables reversed at the last possible instant. The camera zoomed out as a cataclysmic explosion razed the arena, catching the entire party and reducing them to ash. The screen faded to white, and the arena's entrance gradually came back into focus with the encounter's reset. Murmurs of disapproval and disappointment filled the voice channel, until the group leader's voice cut through the noise.

"Tach, what the hell," the leader accused. "We just talked about this. You can't raid and snack at the same time. If you absolutely have to, at least wait until we're between runs."

"What makes you so sure I dropped the ball?"

"We all heard you going at that bag man. You're not as subtle as you think you are."

The lynx's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and his other friends chimed in before he found the words to defend himself.

"Cut him some slack, none of us would be subtle with that much extra weight."

"It was hard enough to carry the group before you doubled in size."

"Maybe we should just roll him into the boss and flatten him."

"That's enough," the raid leader snapped. "I'm not letting any fights or anything break out over this." They took a deep breath and let it out into their microphone. "Let's take a ten minute break. Snack, use the restroom, do whatever so you're ready for the next run. I want to get through at least one of these."

The group agreed, and the sounds of creaking chairs filled the chat as the party briefly broke. Tach remained at his screen however, unwilling to risk moving and upsetting his filling belly. A faint heat kindled in his cheeks as he raked his claws over the sensitive swell, surveying the latest damage to his figure. The hem of his shirt clung to the ridge of his belly button, stretching over its upper roll as it continued to grow. His hips and love handles dug into the sides of his seat with much more pressure than they had a few short minutes before, and hish thighs squished together to prop up the swell of his middle. His brow furrowed with a mixture of curiosity and confusion while he tried to remember which stretch marks were new and which had recently formed, though he soon decided such distinctions didn't matter. The lynx shrugged to himself and opened one of his sodas with a hiss, then gulped down a deep swig. His belly grumbled and growled with the bubbly addition, subtly increasing the pressure in his middle. Tach went for a second regardless, unable to properly account for his accented appetite and the sneaky inflow of food. His eyes hazed over as his second-hand high deepened, and a gurgling growl filled the room as he scooped his entire stash in a single, slugish motion. His keyboard vanished under a tide of food, mostly healthy options with a few indulgent items mixed in. Despite his range of choice, Tach reached over granola bars and trail mixes for a box of snack cakes, then tore into it and stuffed the first one into his muzzle. The return of one of his guildmates reminded him to mute his microphone, concealing the sounds of his gluttonous snacking from his peers. He scarfed down a second and third by the time the rest of the group returned, and he hastily cleared his mouth and announced his readiness to continue. He kept the morsels well within reach, however, opting to draw on his compromised will rather than fully deny himself.

The raid leader commenced another ready check, and the group jumped into the battle fully warmed up. Tach squeezed his eyes shut and reset his focus each time his thoughts drifted, bringing his gaze away from his treats and back to his encounter. His resolve crumbled as the dragoness helped herself to another round of edibles, however, which overwhelmed his considerably smaller physiology. Only the constant stream of instructions from his raid leader and force of habit held his concentration intact, and as his stomach grew more bold and needy in its demands, those grips on reality grew less effective. One mistake was all it took to bring his character to their knees, and temporarily freed from the responsibility of battle, Tach crammed another snack cake into his muzzle. There was no hiding the crinkling of plastic and smacking of lips as he fully gave into temptation, and his guildmates teased him without mercy. The cat's cheeks flushed bright with embarrassment as he feebly deflected their accusations, and he only undermined himself further with every bite. His slowing train of thought derailed entirely when he reached the limits of his clothing, and his revived character keeled over again when he reached down to loosen his belt. The tight dome of his belly gracelessly flopped into his lap once free, though his relief came at the cost of his shirt. His friends teetered on the edge of victory and defeat as threads popped and snapped, announcing his lurching journy away from his desk The cat doubled over himself and struggled to keep his fingers in place, though precision escaped him at his extended range. The friction of his swelling thighs against his desl was the only thing holding him in place, though his curves worked against him and threatemed to push him free. He finally planted his feet in a last ditch effort to spare himself further humilation, succeeding in creating unstable equilibrium.

Unfortunately, neither dragon in his life could allow him to salvage the night.

A final surge of calories from his draconian client sent his belly spilling over the edge of his seat and wedging his thighs open, overwhelming the collar's limits for a brief, hedonistic moment. Buttons flew from his shirt as his fluffy middle burst free, plinking and clattering across the room. Shock and surprise tipped his delicate balance, and his chair loudly protested the shift in weight. A sharp pop rose above the din of the virtual battle, preluding a boom that shook the room. Splinters of plastic scattered in every direction when Tach's chair finally collapsed, turning him over to the merciless grip of gravity. His doorway-destroying ass both bore the brunt of his fall and shattered his chair, though it did nothing to temper the shock and embarrassment of so suddenly staring at his ceiling. The group's chatter stopped cold as the echoes of his fall filled the channel, and a moment of silence hung in the air while the dragon finished off the party and the lynx wobbled to rest. His mountainous middle hid his screen, but he didn't need to see it to know the dragon swiftly finished his friends off. Tach simply laid on the floor and recovered from the humiliation of his tumble, silently hoping his leg caught the wire of his headset and ejected him from the scrutiny of his guildmates. The raid leader recovered their wits first and broke Tach's hopes before he regained the wits to pick himself up.

"Tach, I think I know what happened, but I want to hear it from you. Did you just break your chair?"

"Uhhh, maybe? In any case, I'm on the floor right now."

"Are you alright?"

"I might be sore in a little while, but for now, yeah. I don't think I can get up though."

One of his guildmates snickered.

"Are you sure?"

The lynx gathered his strength and rolled from side to side, trying to build momentum and get his arms under him. The slightest movement drew a protesting gurgle from his belly however, which swept through his form as a wave of nausea.

"Not without making myself sick," he admitted. "I don't have a spare chair anyway."

The raid leader sighed. "Alright, lets take a half hour break everyone. If I can't find a substitute by then, I guess we'll call it a night. Take care of yourself Tach, and we'll try again next week."

Soft beeps announced the departure of his guildmates, until he was alone in the virtual chat room. The hazy high fogging his thoughts muffled the embarrassing sting of the night's events, but also dulled his motivation to get up. The lynx simply sprawled and wobbled on the floor, his efforts spoiled by the sporadic returns of his collar. Every little shift and rolled freed more space in his middle and re-established the link, topping him off again and again until strength and mobility left him. A few hours passed before he managed to rock to his feet, then lumbered to bed and collapsed onto his mattress. The generously-sized bed felt particularly small beneath him, though that realization left as quickly as it came. The feline's snores filled the air soon after, ans he drifted into food-laced dreams.

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