Alchemical Experimentation 3: Observations
#3 of Alchemical Experimentation
With some downtime, Asteria gets comfortable, while Roland is eager to please. A story told in parts, involving vore, pheromones, sexual encounters, and transformative effects.
Author's note: I apologize for the long break from this story. I actually had this written for months. I just got hit with life events and The Big Sad(tm) so it was a struggle to do much. But I hope you enjoy the return to this series.
Roland collected his bag and the clothing of the vagrant, the only things left of the man, and helped pull Asteria up from the ground. Just as she suspected would be the case, she could barely even stand on her own. To call her pace a waddle was still being generous to her. Roland had to wedge himself under her arm, the two of them walking slowly through the woods, with her doing her best to support the huge weight slung in front of her and he doing his best to keep her moving forward. The man still struggled weakly in her belly, which was churning, bubbling, and gurgling wetly every step of the way. The occasional throaty burp or deep belch worked up from her maw as her body worked on its glut of food. He didn't know why, but Roland had to admit he was enjoying the sounds her body was making, all of them he had a hand in helping her produce.
Luckily, they were still far enough out from town not to draw attention to themselves; the trek was slow going, the sun beginning to set by the time they arrived at Roland's home, situated on the outskirts of town where he could guide her to the back entrance of the abode unseen. It was a single story structure, simple in its construction and design. The walls were made from slats of wood, brick accents picking out windows, ledges, and doorways. The roof was gently sloped sheets of slate to remove the rain when it fell. Inside, Asteria had to stoop to fit under the eaves and not bump her head. This back door let into a small larder and kitchen, a table in the corner underneath a window with a single chair to enjoy the view. Beyond it, she could see a sitting room, with various tools and papers scattered around. "You're a cartographer?" she asked, seeing the many scrolls and sketches of the land and forest around this area. She even saw one that extended to her mountain, where her cavern home was.
"Yes ma'am. I came here looking for some adventure and fun. I didn't realize that would come from, well... a dragon," he said, taking her into that sitting room and clearing a space on a decently sized sofa, moving some pillows and a blanket that were mussed up on its cushions. He helped her down onto it, the combined weight of herself and her stuffed belly making the piece of furniture groan in complaint.
"Oftentimes, life takes us in the most unexpected of directions. I find it better to go with the flow, rather than fight it," she said with a soft chuckle, closing her eyes and resting her arms around her middle, the movements inside having ceased at some point in the journey. "I think you and I shall have a fruitful partnership, Roland. If you continue to hold up your end of it."
"I'll do my best, ma'am," he said, wringing his hands again as he took in her figure, in repose against the couch back. Glittering scales, horns, frills on her cheeks, the regal lift of her cheekbones and graceful ridge of her brow... combined with her proper speech and the way she carried herself with such dignity and grace. All of it came together to paint her as a beautiful, royal presence. But the rumble of her gut, the soft burps and growls escaping her muzzle, the way she stalked him and this other man, the feral lethality of a predator, all painted her in a fierce and uncompromising light. It made his heart quicken in his breast. "Perhaps you could use a drink to help all that settle?" he offered, not wanting her to realize now he stared.
She hummed thoughtfully, tilting her head just so. "Have you any cider?" she asked after a moment. "I've only had it once and I've craved it ever since."
"Certainly. Let me get that for you," he smiled, bustling off to the larder. While he was gone, she opened her eyes again, taking in the look of the place once more. Besides the evidence of his work here, there was precious little to say about it. It had the look of old furniture that had been cleaned up. Some of it didn't match. The blinds were drawn closed over the windows, the dust on the sill of them suggesting they had remained that way for some time now. The only other things on the wall were his maps, which hardly counted as decor. It reminded her of her own home. Decorated with nothing but her work. No signs of company. She sighed to herself, fingers trailing gently across her belly scales in thought.
She was brought back to reality when the clop of hooves was returning to her again. She looked up to see Roland, a sixth barrel in his arms, and a pair of tankards resting on top, held in place with his chin. With one hoof, he slid a side table in place before the sofa, putting the barrel down on it, and pulling a chair over to plop into himself with a soft groan. "Feels like I've done more work today than I have in weeks," he said, offering her a little smile when she looked his way.
"Not every day you help a dragoness eat a man and become twice her size in minutes," she commented, smiling back and hoping that wasn't too morose.
"I didn't think that would ever happen to me, to be fair," he quipped, turning the spigot on the barrel to pour them both a mug of cider, offering it over to her first. She quaffed the whole thing in the time it took him to pour his own, so he simply exchanged the mug to fill again. She smiled wider, guzzling this one too to trade him again. This time he did a double take, looking from the mug to her face. "Am I going to get any of this?" he asked. She held that smile for a moment, until he smiled too, the two of them sharing a little laugh. This time, she drank in sips, savoring the sweet apple flavor and the carbonation that danced on her tongue, loosing another wall-shaking belch as her first two mugs settled in her stomach.
He sipped on his own drink, eyeing her belly with some reverence. "Isn't that uncomfortable?" he finally asked, hands closing around his cup to resist the urge to reach out and touch her.
"Not at all. I used my alchemy to make this nothing but fun for me," she said proudly, patting her churning gut.
"Alchemy," he echoed quietly, regarding her anew. "So you have magic too."
"Quite a bit of it, yes," she nodded. "Alchemy has been my primary study until now, but I can do many other things with it. Illusions, destruction magic, enchantments, a little bit of telekinesis. I'm young, and still studying, so I will only get better."
"That's incredible. No one around here can do any magic. Some folk are even starting to say it's nothing but a rumor," he said, looking like this new information was taking a lot to process.
"Could rumors do this, dear?" she asked, reaching to take one of his hands and pressing it to her stomach, letting him feel the muscles clench under the scales, the heat coming from the process making her hide warm to the touch, each churning bubble perceptible with the slightest movements and vibrations.
He couldn't help himself now that he had his chance. He rubbed those stretched scales gently, following their grain to not pull them the wrong way. His hand pressed in, rolling and massaging her swollen belly, drawing a soft and happy moan from her. She lay back more comfortably into the couch cushions, closing her eyes with a smile and savoring her drink as he kept rubbing, taking this as an invitation to give her some proper attention. Roland turned in his seat, setting his drink aside to put both hands to work on her expansive middle, smiling too to care for her. "I have to say again. You are an odd one," she murmured. "You were excited to see me eat someone. And now you can't keep your hands off me. I saw it in your eyes."
He blushed hard, ducking his head again in embarrassment, enough to obscure himself from her vision with her stomach. "I... where I'm from, my herd was unique. We considered a well fed person to be a symbol of fertility and power. Seeing you get so big so fast... I couldn't help myself. I wanted to make it happen.
Not only that," he continued, pausing to refill her drink when she offered the empty cup. "There's legends that my herd were servants to creatures lost to myth now. Old things thought to be gone from the world. We have a strong heritage of service to those we consider to be worthy. In the present day that's mostly reflected in harems for our leaders. But you? You're like a being straight out of the history books. I couldn't not serve you if I wanted to."
"And you do wish to serve me, don't you?" Asteria said, not really a question, but more an observation as she digested his words.
"I do. You're beautiful. You're strong. If anything, I'm not worthy to serve you," he said, blinking as she reached around to cup his cheek in her paw, bringing him back into view for her.
"You're a sweet man. I can tell already," she smiled, patting the space on the couch beside her. He shifted over beside her without question, her warmth washing over him this close, especially when she reached to put her arm around him. "You will be my perfect servant, then. Especially with how eager you are to please me," she winked, that simple gesture and her proximity making him melt into a flustered mess.
It didn't help him any either when she drew him into her side, turning to lean in and press soft kisses up his neck and jaw. "I have a new idea, Roland," she whispered in his ear, getting a shaky moan from him in reply. "Once I can fly, I go move my lair into your house, so we can fully benefit from our deal. I'll make a space for myself here. Don't you worry about that."
"Yes ma'am," he answered immediately, looking up into her face, his expression completely starstruck. "I'll do whatever you want me to. I'll be your best servant. My home is yours."
"That's my boy," she giggled, turning his jaw with a single claw to press her lips to his, her kiss light and playful, just a tease. "Now... I would so love for you to keep massaging my stomach and feeding me that delicious cider."
"Of course!" Roland snapped to attention immediately, turning to lavish her belly with deep, rolling presses of his hands the moment her mug was full again. She let out a hearty, satisfied belch as he helped the overfull contents in her middle settle again, reclining in her seat and making low rumbles of bliss to assure him his work was well appreciated.
As she lay in peaceful repose, Asteria knew she had found the perfect place to relocate. Roland was everything she desired in a companion, even if he wasn't a dragon. She only wondered how long it would take her body to finish digesting this meal, and how much it would help her figure. She longed to fly and retrieve her things to keep working. Perhaps Roland could get them for her while she was immobilized like this. Something he would be well rewarded for, she thought happily, caressing down his back as he worked on her. Yes, she could definitely get used to this.
As it turns out, she was smart to send Roland out to collect her things the next day. Even after nearly a whole day after eating that man, Asteria was still nearly too laden down with her stomach to do much of anything. Roland left her with all the food in his home he could spare, promising to return with more along with her things. While she was alone, chewing through a whole loaf of bread and a block of cheese, she realized something. She'd grown.
This time it wasn't just padding she was putting on. She was getting taller, too. It was like her body was making up for all the progress it had missed out on before. She noticed it first when her talons reached the next floorboard over from the one she remembered stretching to before. Then she looked up to see the eaves of the ceiling coming closer, or rather she was growing up nearer to them. She wondered if this effect would stop when she reached a proper size for her age, or if it would continue after that. Would she grow into a gargantuan monster? Would her hunger ever be satisfied? Small worries that gnawed at her between brief naps and wandering around the house.
She dared to step out the backdoor to look around the property briefly when it seemed like she could get away with it. The forest was mere paces away from the fence that Roland had put up. He had a small garden here to grow herbs and flowers in that she was careful not to disturb. Perhaps she would have to find a place to house herself in the forest if she got too much larger than this. Or perhaps make a burrow for herself nearby, and connect it to his home with a tunnel. Possibilities she would need to consider soon, she thought, slinking back inside.
In the meantime, she could at least give back to Roland for helping get her things and help feed her. And so she got to cleaning his home, picking things up from the floor, folding blankets, putting his tools and papers away, and using her magic to dust and tidy up. It gave her something to occupy herself with other than sitting around and rubbing her belly while she filled it with anything else she had to hand. The only place she didn't go was his bedroom, respecting his privacy for that one personal space.
By the time the sun was beginning to set again, she was a full foot taller, and her belly had diminished enough to simply make her look rotund, rather than dominating her entire form. Her thighs were softer, tail nicely plumped all the way down its length, lending her a more feminine profile. Her breasts had even grown in more, no longer a flat waif; she had a soft handful each, which she couldn't help but press and massage gently in wonder. Despite the extra softness, she felt stronger, too. Her body was hardening up with muscle to support her new figure too, and it made her feel so much more confident already. By tomorrow, she would probably be ready for another big meal like this one. That was something she could concern herself over when the time came, though, especially as she heard steps approaching the backdoor of the home. She turned to smile as Roland stepped in, looking completely spent, with his usual bag full as well as two bigger travel packs he brought with him to get all the other essentials.
"I'm back, Asteria," he sighed, putting the bags carefully down on the kitchen table. "Sorry it took me so long. I hope you didn't drink all the cider, I need something after all that... walking..." he trailed off to shocked silence as he rounded the corner, looking her over with a soft, startled, "Oh."
"Welcome home, Roland," she said, trying to put on her sweetest smile. At least she hoped that's what it looked like. "I took the liberty of sprucing things up a bit. Is it to your liking?"
It took him a moment of silence to compose himself to answer. Her smile grew wider as the quiet seconds ticked by. "You look different," he finally managed to say, wetting his lips.
"Yes, I've noticed. I can almost see my talons again," she said, running her fingers lightly across her heavy middle.
He shook his head, coming forward with his face full of awe. He didn't even have to bend to kiss the top of her belly, rubbing down into it with both hands just like he learned she liked last night. "You know what I mean," he murmured, looking far up at her. "How is this possible?"
"An interaction in my potion I'll have to study," she admitted, stroking her claws back through his hair. "Think nothing of it. And thank you for getting my things. I'll make a trip myself soon for whatever remains." She bent to kiss the top of his head, the perfect angle to stuff his face into her soft cleavage. He gave a muffled moan from between them, licking the delicate scales over those sensitive orbs. She couldn't help a quiet chuff of pleasure at the warm, novel sensation, something she could only experience now with her curvier frame.
"I have something else you could refresh yourself with instead of cider," she whispered in his ear, the words making him shudder immediately, hips shimmying to relieve the pressure in the bulge growing in his pants.
"You don't even want me to clean up first? It's been a long way there and back," he said hesitantly.
"Perhaps I can help you with all those hard to reach places then," she purred. "Do you have a place to bathe here at your home?"
"Y-yeah, yes! A tub, off my bedroom," he murmured, pulling his face from her bust reluctantly. "Let me get the water running."
"Very well. I'll be here," she teased, releasing him from her claws to let him scurry away to take care of his business first. Instead, she went to his discarded bags, going through them to take stock of all that he'd brought back for her.
Asteria grinned. There was enough here to get back to work now. She could postpone her trip back until she'd eaten another one of the folk here in town. Her belly growled with delight at the thought of being so full again. She occupied it for now with the remaining food Roland had set out for her, devouring every last scrap in her eagerness now, filling out her stomach to a more rounded shape she was sure Roland would appreciate. She was drinking from a water barrel, gulping it down to help fill in some more of her seemingly endless space, when Roland finally returned to get her.
She set it aside with a noisy belch, wiping her lips and grinning down at him. He came back to her wearing nothing save a towel tied around his hips, his returning smile full of nerves. "Okay. I don't know if it's going to be big enough for you. But I'm ready," he said, eyes drifting down to her hips as she crossed the room to him easily.
"That's okay dear. Show me there so I can take care of my heroic little man," she purred, leaning down to kiss the top of his head. He made a little whimper of joy and flustered nerves, turning to show her through to his bedroom where she'd yet to see. It was just as messy as the rest of his home, his bed unmade, chairs and dressers stuffed with washed and unwashed clothing both. Adjoining this, as promised, was a wash room that had a big tub for bathing, a smaller one for clothes, and an indoor clothesline for drying things out. That wash tub was big enough for him, but with her being three feet taller and larger all over besides, there was no way she was getting in there. No matter, she thought, reaching to pull his towel off his hips.
"Go on. Get comfortable," she giggled, pretending not to see his cock half hanging out of its sheath already, letting him get in the water and get himself comfortable. She reached over him to grab his soap, a convenient way for her to press her breasts into his face again, which certainly got him blushing and squirming. She lathered the soap up against his fur and set to work, rubbing his travel-weary muscles and working to refresh his tired body. He took it all without complaint, sinking into the tub with a soft sigh, eyes closed and letting her carry him away with her loving touch.
It presented the perfect opportunity for her to play with him, and play she did. As she worked down his body, she slowly worked out just the right angle for her plan to work. But first, his reward; her paw found his fully erect manhood in the soapy water, rolling her fingers slowly down its length. He gasped from the sudden flow of pleasure which left him open to the light mist of pheromones she blew right into his face. He melted on the spot, his face a map of pure bliss as she stroked his cock, feeding him a steady, warm cloud of her scent. He thrust his hips slowly up into her grip, the resistance of the water forcing them both to enjoy a languid pace. Not that either of them were complaining.
"Just let it all out, darling," Asteria murmured in his ear. "Don't hold back. This is all for you." He could only bring himself to grunt and moan in reply, her ministrations too skilled and precise to prevent himself from climbing to the edge of release too quickly. She could feel it in him in the shake of his muscles and the unsteadiness of his movements. She picked up the pace on him, tipping his jaw up and kissing him deeply as the end came. She swallowed his needy moans and cries of bliss as he crossed the edge, thick ropes of his cum mixing into the water around him. He slumped back with a deep sigh, in the midst of catching his breath when she sprung the next phase of her plan on him.
She was big enough to plant her talons on either side of his tub, turning and bending over to present herself to him. Her thick tail lifted, showing her glistening feminine flower, soaked with arousal from the act of pleasuring him, and her darker tail hole north of it. "Well? Go on. I promised you something more refreshing than cider," she giggled huskily, looking back at him over her shoulder. It was all the invitation he needed to dive between her legs, lapping at her pussy and drinking up her fragrant juices. She moaned, her voice high and sweet in the moment as he set to work on her. She could feel one hand grab her thick hip, while the other spread her lips, making room for Roland to plunge his tongue inside her.
She couldn't help herself. She rolled her hips back against his muzzle, riding him like she might a different part of his anatomy, moaning his name softly. She leaked a steady stream of musky honey for him, and he kept up with every drop, licking her clean and pleasuring her as intensely as he could manage. His thumb pressed in to rub her clit, sending shocks of pleasure rocketing through her as he found his mark, working her with more need than skill. She jumped in shock when she felt his muzzle actually slip inside her, her entrance loosening enough to allow him to find his way fully into her. The alchemist side of her brain flashed with a thought, but in the moment, she didn't let it spoil her fun.
Instead, it was mere moments more of his relentless, eager attention that she felt control beginning to slip. Her core clenched, whole body shaking as she hit her peak, the intense feeling drawing a short roar from her throat as she squirted sweet juices in release. Once she was done, she carefully found her footing beside the tub again, collapsing to her knees to rest. "Maybe you want to spend the night in my room tonight?" he offered quietly.
"I couldn't say no if I tried," she answered eagerly.