FSE

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UNFORTUNATE

"Yes! Level six!" The young tiger shouted into the empty coffee shop, pumping his fist in the air as he looked down at the game in his hands. Charlie was far more interested in shooting these aliens than he was in scrubbing out yesterday's coffeepots -- they could wait, his battery only had an hour of life left.

A shout from the back room brought him back to the coffee shop. "Charlie! You say something?" He quickly tucked the game into his pocket and turned as his boss walked out of the office. Shaking his head, Charlie put on an innocent face. "No sir, not a thing."

His boss raised an eyebrow skeptically, then shrugged. "Oh well. Musta been my imagination. Listen, kid, I've gotta make a quick run to the bank. Won't be more than thirty minutes. When I get back, I expect to see those clean and shining, alright?" he said, motioning to the pots in the sink. Charlie nodded, watched his boss walk out the door, then took the game back out of his pocket.

Cleaning the coffeepots would only take ten minutes at most. He could play for twenty more. It's not like anybody ever actually came in here for coffee anyway...

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

This one.

He didn't particularly know or care why, really. No doubt it was another quirk of those terrible creatures which he had once been part of: the ability to base a lifetime's obsession on a single glance.

Regardless. This one. He'd known somehow since he appeared in this world, gasped the sweet air of reality... and desired more. He was breaking apart already, a doll with it's stitches lost. He needed a focus. And he needed to slake his lusts.

Isn't life perfect?

He watched his quarry, waiting for

(an eternity of fury)

a second or two as he considered. How to begin? Right now, in front of the city, let them scream and run as he pounced? There would be panics, hunts, raptures... plenty of fun, of course, but it would ruin the intimacy he craved.

No. Alone. Just the two of them... to become one.

The creature purred.

And made his move. It was only the start, batting aside the flimsy door and squeezing his form through. The act of blocking his form from the tiger's mind hurt far more than it should have, and he knew he was weakening. He needed it soon.

But he was in. He took a last look at the oblivious Charlie... and stepped up to make his order.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Charlie grinned, eyes still glued to the screen as his thumbs flew wildly over the buttons. A victorious chime rang through the speakers, and he laughed with glee. "Seven! Alright!"

Holding the device in one hand, he threw his hands in the air and spun in a circle -- he'd look like a fool, but he was alone in the shop, with nobody to see him acting like...

The game fell to the floor and broke. Charlie didn't even look down. His eyes were glued to the massive "customer" in front of him... the customer he didn't even hear or see entering. And just the sight of him had Charlie shaking like a leaf and gasping for breath.

He slowly dropped his hands to the counter, still staring at the gryphon - for that was what it was. Not myth. Reality, standing in front of him. Smiling at him. His mouth became dry, and he swallowed once to clear his throat. "W-welcome to... to..." Oh god, I can't remember the name of the shop... "...c-can I g-get you anyth-thing?"

The creature looked at him for a long moment, it's head slightly dipped to avoid brushing the ceiling. It was massive - it must have weighed several tons, towering over him at about twice his own height. Its beak was hooked like an eagles, and wider than his chest, and the talons tipping its vast claws must have been at least as long as his fingers. Its feathers were a thick, luxurious shade of pale silver - akin somehow to a cold winter's moon - that melded sleekly into sleek fur on it's muscled hindquarters, a long tail curling sinuously around it's paws. The thing stared at him, and Charlie shivered involuntarily at it's gaze. The eyes were mismatched; one a dark, blazing violet, the other an unearthly shade of warm gold - but both with a ferocious alien intellect burning behind them. He fully expected it to leap upon him, clawing him open to feast on his entrails, and made almost to run... but the gryphon simply smiled, and spoke in a deep, resonant, rumbling voice.

"Good afternoon, Charlie. A double espresso, please."

(It knew his name.)

Charlie blinked once, still shaking. "A... a wha... oh. Oh! A d-double espresso... yeah, right away..." he stammered, backing away from the counter. His hands were shaking as he prepared the coffee, and he didn't take his eyes off of the gryphon the entire time.

Slowly, cautiously, he made his way back up to the counter. Dear god, what the hell am I doing? Holding the espresso in front of him with a trembling hand, he didn't even see the piece of his game under his foot until he slipped on it, spilling the hot drink on his shirt. "Ow! Ah, shit! Hot!"

Pulling the front of his shirt away from his body, he looked up at the gryphon with wide, fearful eyes. "S-sorry. I... I'll get you a new one. A-and I won't ch-charge you for either of them..."

"Nonsense!" The creature moved impossibly fast, actually blurring to suddenly lean over the counter, its hooked beak mere inches from him. Charlie yelped, almost falling over, but the gryphon did not move to attack, simply smiling at him with its smouldering golden eyes as it continued. "Please, my dear little tiger... we can't have much of a conversation if you're scared out of your wits. I may be a gryphon, and a rather predatory gryphon at that, but that does not necessarily mean I intend to devour you."

"And likewise: Just because I am considerably stronger, faster, larger and more intelligent than you are -" the words were spoken calmly, as if they were not boasts but simple truth, "- that does not mean I have the right to deny you what you should receive." It smiled down at him, a claw reaching out to stroke gently across his short, soft fur. "My name is Goldeneye. I am delighted to meet you."

At Goldeneye's touch, Charlie fell backwards with a heavy thud, his heart beating rapidly. "C-Charlie. C-C-Charlie C-Campbell." Despite the gryphon's calm, sincere tone of voice, his words only served to fuel his fear -- especially that one phrase. The phrase that Charlie's mind insisted on taking out of context.

I intend to devour you.

"M-Mister Rh-Rhymer... I-I need..." Charlie stammered, stopping himself when he remembered he was alone in the shop. Well, not alone. He stared up at the gryphon, trying desperately to calm himself down -- he's not going to hurt me, he's not going to hurt me, he's not going to hurt me -- and began to inch backwards towards the sink. "I-I insist. The c-coffee... it's free."

The gryphon raised a feathered eyebrow, sitting back down in front of him with a whump that made the entire building shake, and smiled playfully. "If you're sure? Well, that's very kind of you." He watched Charlie's fumbled, shaking movements for a while, and a rumbling, unbelievably deep purr began to vibrate out from deep within his chest. It was so low and so powerful that the cups behind Charlie started to rattle very slightly, and the hairs on his legs tingled strangely with it. Goldeneye seemed unaware of the noise, watching Charlie intently - without even blinking - for the entire time.

His ears were perked, his posture alert, and his beak still smiling that lazily amused smile. "Take your time, Charlie. All the best things should be savoured, you know." The gryphon ruffled his wings - even tightly furled, they were in danger of brushing the walls - and gestured with a single avian claw. "You have a few questions, I imagine."

Charlie pulled his legs up to his chest, hugging them close. He could barely feel the heat from the spilled coffee on his shirt, even as he pressed it against his thighs and stomach. "Wh-what... are you..." he wondered aloud, his voice barely above a whisper.

With a gasp, he shrank back further against the wall, eyes somehow finding room to widen even further. "I... o-oh god. I'm so sorry. Th-that was rude, wasn't it?"

The smile on Goldeneye's face was beginning to work its magic on Charlie, and he found himself beginning to calm down, even if it was only the tiniest amount. Taking a few deep breaths, his nerves finally recognized the still-hot liquid on his shirt, and he released his hold on his legs and pulled the fabric away from his chest again. "Crap... c-can I go and... uh... c-change real quick?"

The gryphon cocked his head, seeming to consider. "Hmm. No, I don't think so." His voice was still a friendly, resonant purr, as he stretched languorously and stood up, continuing, "Feel free to just take it off, though. No-one's going to see." Goldeneye smirked, gesturing casually to the windows to the outside world - and indeed the passers-by weren't even glancing in their direction, as if the shop had ceased to exist. "A little trick of mine. I like to ensure I'm not interrupted, you know." He stepped up to the counter, resting one great claw on it.

"What am I? That is a very long story, my dear. Suffice to say that I appear to be a gryphon... but I'm more than that. Oh, so much more." He smiled again, still watching - and a quiet rumble split the air. It was the gryphon's stomach, which hung taut and flat between his legs, clearly empty. He grinned, not apologising. "What can I say? I want my treat. And please... take that shirt off."

The rumble of the gryphon's stomach caused Charlie's to tighten up in a knot, and his words immediately after made it do flips. "Y-y-y-your t-t-treat? What are you... oh, right, y-your c-coffee..."

Charlie stood to make a second cup for the gryphon, then dropped the mug. It shattered on the floor as a voice in Charlie's head finally realized what he meant.

He means you, Charlie. You're the treat.

With a shuddering gasp, Charlie gripped the edge of the sink to keep himself from falling over. His eyes quickly glanced to his right, at the back door of the shop. Only a few feet away. If he could just get to the door, surely he'd be able to run and find a crowd of people before Goldeneye left the shop... after all, he was so big, there's no way he could squeeze through quickly.

He gulped. "D-dammit. I-I gotta get a n-new mug... I w-won't be a m-minute..."

And then he ran, hand reaching out for the doorknob.

Goldeneye seemed to sigh slightly - almost disappointed - and then the world tore apart. Charlie was aware of nothing more than a deafening scream of tortured wood, a blur of bright silver - and a colossal force which smashed into him, bowling him over and over - but it was not just him. The world was composed of a strange, soft, incredibly silky substance which seemed to shield him from the flying splinters in a cocoon of peaceful warmth which whirled over as the debris settled and -

Less than a second had passed, and the shop was utterly devastated. Chairs and tables alike had been smashed apart, the counter simply ripped up and thrown against a wall - and in the centre of it lay Goldeneye, lying on his back with his vast wings neatly folded underneath as he hugged the stunned tiger, the purr returning with even greater force. "Oh, Charlie. I'm disappointed." Although the gryphon did not look it. On the contrary, he looked absolutely delighted. "I asked for some coffee, and I would like you to give me said coffee. Come on, Charlie." He gestured towards the machines, which had somehow survived the crash. "Escaping indeed... I don't think so, I'm afraid."

Charlie lay on Goldeneye's chest for a few minutes in stunned silence, taking in the destruction around him. In the blink of an eye, the familiar shop where he had worked for almost a full year now was practically nothing more than debris. He simply stared at it, feeling the vibration as the gryphon beneath him purred, felt every massive breath, every powerful beat of the massive bird's heart.

He blinked once, twice... then screamed.

It was all he could do. Goldeneye's arms kept him pinned to the gryphon's chest, not like Charlie was in much of a condition to struggle anyway. He just wanted to curl up in a trembling ball and scream himself into sweet unconsciousness. This couldn't be happening -- this couldn't be real.

Finally, he stopped screaming, content with just a few shuddering breaths. He didn't -- couldn't -- turn his head to look the large beast in the eye. "Wh... wh... wh... what was that?"

Goldeneye smiled at him again, as if nothing had changed and he had not just ripped apart the entire shop in seconds. "Coffee. I asked for it. You attempted to run away, and look what happened." He cut off the scared little tiger's protest. "Don't lie. You're terrified of me, I know. It's really quite adorable. So you tried to flee. Shall we get something clear right now, Charlie?" The massive gryphon dipped his head, nuzzling at his trembling, gasping playthings chest with a soft purr of happiness.

"You are not going to do anything which I don't want you to. You are certainly not going to run away until I'm finished with you. If you try it again... I may consider breaking your legs." Again, his voice did not change, his gentle smile did not waver. It was pure truth. "Now, Charlie... I ordered coffee. And take that shirt off." Suddenly his talons were sharp and vicious, tearing across the tiger's shirt like wet paper and ripping it to shreds. The gryphon nuzzled him again, and then dropped him gently to the ground. "Coffee, Charlie. Or I'll find something else warm and tasty to slide down my throat."

Shaking and whimpering, Charlie struggled to stand on his legs. They felt like they could collapse out from under him at any moment. He made his way to the coffee machines as if they were an electric chair, taking a mug in his hand -- and dropping it as his hand shook uncontrollably.

"Sh... shit..." he muttered, picking up another mug with both hands this time. Placing it under the spout of the machine, he looked down at his tattered shirt. When the gryphon had slashed at it, he could feel the claw just barely scraping across his flesh... not deep enough to cut him, but enough to get his point across.

He slowly pulled it over his head, dropping it to the floor and staring down at his chest as the mug filled. His white belly had been stained brown from the spill earlier, and still felt warm. As soon as the mug was filled, he carefully picked it up and carried it to his waiting customer. A few tears fell from his eyes as he focused on not dropping this mug, or even spilling a single drop.

He made it with the drink intact, and held his arms out as far as he could to extend the mug, not wanting to get any closer than he had to. "H-h-here... now p-please, d-d-don't... d-don't hurt me... p-p-please..."

Goldeneye looked slowly at the cup. He dipped his enormous head, the ears flicking back as the gryphon took a long breath, smelling it. Charlie felt his arms tremble as the gryphon cocked his silver head for a moment, and then carefully reached out with a single talon, hooking the mug out of his grip with an incredibly delicate dexterity. Goldeneye raised it to his beak again, and took another long, hungry breath, his eyes never leaving Charlie's. He smiled. "Very nice."

Charlie felt like he might faint with relief. The gryphon took another sniff, and whispered softly,

"Such a pity I hate coffee."

In a blur, the mug was thrown right against the wall with a noisy smash, the hot coffee inside spilling out and trickling down the plaster. Goldeneye's laugh was low, and gentle, and the cruelest thing the stunned tiger had ever heard.

"Just because I'm a gryphon doesn't necessarily mean that I intend to devour you, Charlie." He took a step towards the little tiger, the grin returning to his beak - but this time it appeared cruel. "But, as it happens, I do. Coffee! Honestly.... why would I care for anything when you are here, so scared and warm and delicious... And so yes, Charlie. " He grinned, and suddenly his head darted forward, a long tongue spearing out to lick across the horrified feline's stomach. "I'm going to eat you."

The sudden crash of the mug startled Charlie, forcing him to freeze in place. Goldeneye's words barely registered in his brain before he saw the gryphon approach, and felt his tongue glide across his exposed stomach, cleaning a bit of the coffee off.

The next words, he heard loud and clear. I'm going to eat you.

A low whine escaped Charlie's throat, and he collapsed to the floor again, scrambling backwards until he bumped against the wall. "Y-y-you... no, no! Please, god, no!" He tried to force himself to his feet, force himself to run despite the gryphon's warning of what would happen if he did. But it was useless -- he just slid right back down the wall every time he tried to prop himself up.

"You c-can't! Please, t-tell me you're j-joking! T-this isn't... no, no!" The tiger's mind was racing, barely able to form a coherent thought. His eyes were now locked on the gryphon's beak, a cruel image entering his mind of that very beak ripping his flesh, tearing him limb from limb as he screamed in agony.

He began to crawl along the wall, searching for any kind of shelter. He came to rest beneath the sink, still full with the dirty coffeepots -- I want them clean when I get back, he heard his boss' voice echo in his head.

He knew he wasn't safe under the sink, but it was far better than staying out in the open in his mind. He curled himself in a ball, burying his face in the floor and covering the back of his neck with his hands. His tail tucked down between his legs. "No... no... please... no..."

Goldeneye had ripped it straight out of the wall in a scream of tortured metal, tossing it across the empty, ruined store. He stood over the curled, weeping feline and picked him up like a doll, rolling onto his side as he hugged Charlie, burying him in his warm, silky feathers. The purr was so loud it made Charlie's teeth rattle inside his skull. Goldeneye's great beak nuzzled him tenderly, pressing him further into the warmth of the gryphon's embrace - close enough to feel the beast's huge heartbeat shaking his chest. Goldeneye spoke, his voice a whisper of the utmost gentleness.

"Aw... your terror is so incredibly intense. It's beautiful." He hugs the tiger again, licking his shoulder with an avian chirp of delight. "But tempting as that might be... I won't rip you apart. Oh no." he added at Charlie's clear confusion. "Much more fun... I'm going to swallow you whole. Starting at your feet, so you can watch every step of the way as you slide down my throat: Whole... alive... squirming all the way. It's so hot, so incredibly wet and so tight in there... and there's only my stomach, brimming with acids, at the end. You're going to hurt, Charlie... and I love it."

Charlie shook with every word. As soon as the gryphon finished speaking, he went momentarily limp, too overcome with terror to react in any way. And then, he broke. Tears began to flow freely from his eyes as he sobbed openly, his pleading turned into an incomprehensible mess. His fists began to beat weakly against Goldeneye's chest, a desperate and futile attempt to fight off his attacker.

"No... t-there... no..." He stammered, trying so hard to speak through his grief. "T-there... there has t-to be s-something else... t-there has to be..." His beating fists turned into clutching hands, taking a firm hold of Goldeneye's silvery feathers and tugging hard, pressing his face tight against the gryphon's chest.

"S-something else you w-want... p-please, s-something else... a-anything else..." His small body trembled as he begged for his life, shivering with pure terror of what he knew deep down was inevitable. This close to Goldeneye's stomach, he could hear the noises from inside, the quiet gurgling of the hungry acids, just waiting for his flesh.

"G-god, p-p-please... j-just no..."

Goldeneye smiled at him, his purr thrumming through the little feline's body. His voice was coy and playful. "Anything else? Anything at all?" He licked the tiger again, purring softly. "Well, let's see. What could you give me that I want more than your flesh, to bubble away, deep, deep inside my belly? What do I desire?" He cocked his head, looking at Charlie as if fully serious. "What would you do to survive?"

He rolled suddenly onto his front, so that his weight was crushing the startled tiger right into his thick feathers - not heavy enough to hurt, but enough to keep Charlie firmly in place while the gryphon began to curl around him fully, surrounding him on all sides with warm feathers as he spread his wings over him, blotting out the outside world so the only sounds are Charlie's whimpered sobbing, Goldeneye's purrs of cruel delight, and the gryphon's great thumping heartbeat - and the growing gurgles of his hungry belly, as well. "What would you do, Charlie?"

Charlie shut his eyes, desperate not to look the gryphon in the face... or he may begin screaming again. "A-anything... a-anything y-you want... just name it. B-but p-please, you... you c-can't kill me, I'm t-too young... I c-can't..." His words were lost in tears once more, hoping that whatever the gryphon asked of

him in exchange for his life, it wouldn't be too terrible.

The gryphon flexed his talons slightly, the terrible sharp tips brushing lightly against Charlie's fur. He growled thoughtfully. "Well... let us see, shall we?" Goldeneye licked his prey again, purring at the tiger's renewed sobs, and murmured quietly into his ear. "How about this, then: you give me your life instead. I'll take you back with me, back to whichever universe I will live in now, and keep you as my own personal slave. You will be treated well, but you'll have to obey your master every second of every day. You'll be mine forever." He cackled, and then, as if the two of them were making a business deal, "Interested?"

The tiger's mind was racing as Charlie shook with terror, and desperately weighed up his options. It was nigh-impossible to concentrate with the gryphon's tongue constantly lapping against his fur, and with the quickly building heat inside his feathery cage. With his eyes shut, he considered the choice: if he said no, he died right here, right now. But if he said yes, he could live a full life, but it would be at the cost of his freedom, forced to serve the gryphon as a slave, doing...

"Wh-what would I... what would you m-m-make me do if I..."

His words were cut off in a whimper as he realized it didn't matter. No matter what the gryphon would use a slave for, it surely wouldn't be pleasant. For all Charlie knew, he could be used as a "toy" when the gryphon felt stressed, angry, or even just playful... but if he accepted the offer, at least he'd have a few more years to attempt escape. To attempt a return to his normal life.

"F-f-fine. O-okay. I'll... I'll do it." Charlie struggled to raise one of his arms from beneath the gryphon's chest, wanting to wipe the tears from his eyes, but it was pinned too tight. "W-what do you w-want me to... to... to do?"

Goldeneye stared down at him, his eyes smouldering cruelly. He smirked, and licked Charlie's face, lapping up all the tears with a gentle growl of pleasure. "Good..." Suddenly, the feathers around the tiger clenched, squeezing him until he could barely breathe. Goldeneye nuzzled him roughly, his voice a quiet snarl that seemed to be addressed less to Charlie and more to himself. "Mine... all mine, forever and ever... keep me as myself, little one, and I'll keep you all to myself. Forever." His purrs began to grow in intensity as he kept nuzzling the whimpering, choking tiger, his muscles not relaxing an inch as they crushed Charlie into the silky warmth.

Charlie struggled to take in a breath, the tremendous pressure around his ribs making it difficult for him to breathe. "P... please... stop... can't... b-bre..." His vision began to dim, and he opened his eyes to look into Goldeneye's, begging him silently to relax his grip. "C-can't... b-breathe..."

Oh god... please, just... why me? Why did this have to happen to ME? Charlie thought to himself as stars began to dance in front of him. He could hear the blood pumping in his ears as the pressure of Goldeneye's grip continued to build, and let out a sputtering wheeze, the last of the air in his lungs forcing itself out.

And just as suddenly, the pressure ceased. Although Goldeneye's clutches were still trapping him in his silky, incredibly warm feathers, barely able to move an inch, the tiger was suddenly able to breathe. The gryphon licked him one last time, then drew back his head to watch him as sweet, sweet oxygen flooded his burning lungs.

With a loud gasp, Charlie took in a huge breath of air, then another, then another. The blackness of his vision began to clear, bringing the gryphon's terrible face back into view just as his tongue caressed his face, cleaning off the last of Charlie's tears. Coughing and whimpering, he looked up at him, his head still the only part of his body he could move. "Th... th... thank... you..." he croaked out before taking in more air. Another tear formed in the corner of his eye and he shuddered, realizing this was only a preview of what he could expect as Goldeneye's "slave".

The gryphon smiled at him, licking his muzzle again as he nodded slowly. "You learn fast, little tiger. I'm sure that you will make a beautiful pet for me..." He purred softly, and his grip on the terrified feline relaxed slightly, letting Charlie slump against his massive flank as a feathery wingtip lazily caressed his cheek. "So, your first task, as given to you by your master... cuddle me." He paused, seeming to savour the moment, and added, quite, quite casually, "From the inside."

"Th-the i-in-inside..." Charlie stammered, repeating the gryphon's words, quickly realizing what they meant. He didn't yet have enough breath to scream again, only able to create a low-pitched whimper as he began to thrash and struggle. "N-no! Y-y-you promised! If I-I... you s-said you w-wouldn't...!"

He began to kick his legs wildly against Goldeneye's body, wishing he had worn his steel-toed shoes to work today instead of his sneakers, so he could at least do a bit of damage. "NO! NO! Y-YOU PROMISED ME!" he shouted, his voice cracking with sorrow, tears dropping onto the gryphon's face.

The silver gryphon purred quietly, opening his horrible mismatched eyes again. "Did I promise?" His voice was a whisper, gentle and resonant and pitiless. "I said you'd become mine forever, Charlie. And I meant every word of it. Forever. And what could be more eternal and more complete than becoming a part of me? Of being trapped within me, so deep that you will never, ever leave..." He purred, clearly in ecstasy at the mere thought. "A prison of hot, wet flesh, for a slave who will serve me with his entire being."

Goldeneye - his golden eye smiled, letting his prey release another arm. "Remember Charlie, how I said that just because I am considerably stronger, faster, larger and more intelligent than you are, that does not mean I have the right to deny you what you should receive - in this case a long and happy life, or indeed, any life at all. I don't have that right. But I have the power to do it, and then means I can. In short..." he hugged his prey close, and nuzzled the tiger's trembling ear with his beak, "in short, Charlie... I lied."

Charlie completely broke down. He couldn't even form any words, only wretched sobbing. He beat his fists and feet a bit more against Goldeneye's chest, and then fully gave up, spreading his arms over his head -- and, against his intentions, towards the monster's beak -- and burying his face in the soft, silvery feathers, crying his eyes out.

"I... I... but I d-don't... I d-d-don't w-want to... p-p-please..."

Raising his head, he turned towards the front of the store, staring out of the broken window at the people just walking past, smiling and laughing. Why can't they see this? Why can't they HEAR this? WHY THE HELL AREN'T THEY DOING ANYTHING?

Any minute now, he expected to see his boss come around the corner. He would have to look. He would have to see. He would have to help him, have to somehow save Charlie from this terrible monster. He'd have to.

He'd just HAVE to.

Tears streaming from his eyes and his body trembling, Charlie continued to stare out the window. Hoping, waiting, praying for somebody, anybody, to save him.

For a long, long moment, the beast was silent. His eyes never left Charlie's face, his beak nuzzling quietly at the weeping tiger's bare chest. Goldeneye began to purr that impossibly deep, thrumming growl again, making Charlie's entire body shake from it - as if the feline's sobs were somehow not enough.

"They can't see you, you know." He spoke quietly, his voice suddenly quite sincere. "They can't hear you. They don't even know this place exists. Look."

He pointed with a talon at a young ferret, who was walking past as she glanced over the shop windows, listening to an iPod without a care in the world. Her gaze was snapping over the shop he had worked in, passing right between the ones on either side without stopping. It was as if Charlie was trapped in a blind spot. No-one could see him. He gaped.

Goldeneye smiled, his voice regaining it's cruel purr of delight. "A perception filter is easy, even if my powers have waxed low. Right now I can only sense the vaguest of your thoughts - terror, for example, or horrified sorrow - but I can edit us out of the world without breaking stride." He licked the tiger again. "It's so easy to kill you. So very, very easy..."

The tiger swallowed, shivering as the tongue passed over his chest yet again, closing his eyes tight and bringing a hand to cover his face. He just wanted to shut everything out -- Goldeneye's words, the warmth of his body, the heaving of his chest as he breathed, the thump-thump of his massive heart, the slick wetness of his tongue as it unceasingly lapped at his fur, tasting every last inch of him before... before...

He whimpered again. "P-please. I j-j-just... I d-don't w-want to die. I'm n-not ready... I'm only t-t-twenty-two... p-p-please, I-I'm... I-I'm s-so..."

But he knew it was pointless to beg. Pointless to plead. This massive creature had already made its mind up -- Charlie was going to die today. Everything he was, everything he could be, now nothing more than a snack for a giant gryphon. He wept openly as he thought about everything he hadn't done, and would never get to do.

But why did it have to be me?

Why? Goldeneye's smooth voice sounded right inside his own mind, riding on a wave of sharp, clear pain which made the feline gasp out loud, clutching frantically at his skull. The gryphon winked at him, his tongue no longer needed for speech and so simply lapping at the orange-and-black stripes of Charlie's soft fur, matting it with thick saliva, and spoke again inside his skull.

Why you, Charlie? Not because you're guilty, I can promise you. Not because you've committed some great wrong. Simply, its because you haven't. You, so innocent and so adorably terrified... and on top of that, so deliciously, delectably tasty... The gryphon purred. Regardless of my true nature, Charlie, in body I am a gryphon. And in body, you are my perfect prey.

Charlie grabbed his head with both hands with a low shriek of pain. "S-s-stop it! Please! It... i-it hurts! Oh god, p-p-please! It HURTS!"

He began to kick again, more out of reflex than desire to cause Goldeneye harm -- although that desire certainly was there. With no small amount of effort he was able to pull one hand away from his head, reaching down to grab at the gryphon's tongue, desperate to at the very least stop the licking... that was truly the worst part, feeling the constant presence of that tongue on his bare fur, hearing and feeling the gryphon's purrs of delight at his flavor... and worse yet, being told exactly how delicious he was.

That was the pain Charlie was really talking about. Not the torturous headaches brought on by Goldeneye's telepathy -- the pain he was feeling in his soul, knowing that with every lick, every snarl, every nuzzle of that beak, he was becoming less and less an individual, and more and more a meal.

He just wanted it to stop.

The gryphon 's tongue darted out of his reach, leaving his hand to flounder for a moment, then, with a slight click, Goldeneye's whole beak snapped shut around his hand, trapping it inside. The gryphon uttered a quiet snarl of delight as he tightened his beak around Charlie's hand, keeping it firmly in place as he began to suck gently on the hand like some obscene lollipop, purring with pleasure as his long tongue engulfed it, gorging itself on his taste. His eyes glittered at Charlie, and his voice spoke softly. Exquisite.

Playfully, casually, he suckled on the hand and slowly pulled it further in, dragging Charlie's arm inside his beak nearly up to the elbow. Every inch was instantly set upon by that tongue, which lashed and coiled around his wrist and arm with a horrific, lewd delight as the beast's eyes closed slowly, his purr stuttering with pure pleasure. His beak clenched slightly, trapping the arm firmly inside with no hope of pulling out. Goldeneye winked at him, smirking cruelly. Not enough to sate me, of course. But the rest of you is going to join it soon.

Charlie tried to pull his arm out of Goldeneye's beak, but his effort was rewarded only with a sharp spike of pain as the curved tip scraped against his flesh. Gritting his teeth to keep from screaming once more, he could only groan as he saw a thin trickle of blood beginning to stain his fur. Forming a fist with his free hand, he began to bring it down on the gryphon's beak.

"Let... let go! P-please!" he begged, his trapped fingers clutching at the tongue, trying to do whatever he could with his claws -- the claws that he was forced to keep short and dull for his job. He yelled once in frustration, struggling as much as he could without actually moving his trapped arm, not wanting to make the cut any worse.

"Y-y-you m-monster! You c-can't d-d-do this to m-me!" Slamming his fist down one last time on the gryphon's beak, he let it sit there as he trembled. "Y-you c-c-can't..." he said, but his mind and his instincts disagreed.

He could.

And he was.

And nothing the poor tiger did would stop him.

He was barely aware of Goldeneye letting him go at last, the gryphon standing up, over his trembling, weeping form. The gryphon licked him one last time, then drew his head back, observing him with his terrible eyes. He smiled, and spoke with his mouth - his beak - at last. "I'll tell you what, Charlie. I'll give you a chance. You see that door?" He pointed lazily at the splintered door clinging to it's frame - leading outside, to life and light and freedom. "You can leave. Just stand up, and walk through it. Right now. If not... then I'll have to sate my hunger. And you'll feel so good... so hurry, Charlie. Just get up and run."

Blinking wildly with renewed hope, Charlie pulled his arm back and placed his hand over the shallow cut. "N-no tricks?" Slowly, he pulled himself to his trembling feet, head spinning a bit as he stood. Bracing himself against the wall, Charlie stared at Goldeneye for a few seconds, waiting for the beast to jump on him. But he didn't make a move.

So Charlie did.

He turned as quickly as he could, and actually managed to run for a few steps before stumbling. His legs were simply too weak. He fell to his knees and cried out, then forced himself back to his feet and shoved forward with all his strength, lurching for the knob.

I can do this. I can do this. I can get away... I can do this... I can escape...

He fell just short, mere inches from the door. He was already breathing heavily, his lungs still burning from his near-asphyxiation. He tried to rise to his feet for a third time, and couldn't. He tried to drag his body closer to the door -- that portal to freedom, with people so obliviously close he could see the individual hairs on their bodies -- but couldn't.

"D... DAMMIT!" Charlie yelled out, slamming his fist against the floor. He was being betrayed by his own body when he needed it the most. "D-D-DAMMIT! DAMMIT!" He continued to cry out, punctuating each expletive with another punch to the ground. He tore his hand open on a piece of shattered glass, but didn't care, even as his blood stained the floor.

Two people stopped outside the store to talk. He gazed up at them, looked directly into their inattentive eyes. "P-please... please, p-p-please, just... hear me... d-don't ignore me... P-PLEASE, HELP ME!"

And a soft, crooning voice sounded right by his trembling ears, hot breath ruffling his soft fur. "Time up, Charlie."

He felt the world blur again as Goldeneye picked him up and tossed him away, smacking into the wall - away from his one hopeless hope at salvation - with such force that all his breath was knocked out. The pain was excruciating. The huge gryphon began to walk playfully towards him, every step making the floor tremble. "Close. But not close enough." He stretched his beak wide, as if yawning, and the tiger caught a good glimpse of the glistening, pink flesh behind, and that dusky tunnel that led down and out of sight forever. It didn't look nearly big enough to accommodate him - but he knew it would stretch. It would be painfully, crushingly tight, of course... but it would stretch. The silver gryphon closed his beak again, smiling. "It's been fun, Charlie. It's going to get even better." He paused, looming and towering over the terrified feline. "Any last words?"

And what could he do? The poor tiger curled up once more into a tight ball, sobbing. Whimpering. Trembling. "I-I don't w-w-want to d-d-d-die... p-p-please... I'm b-b-begging y-you..."

Goldeneye's words from earlier rang in his head once again. I'm going to swallow you whole. Starting at your feet. You can watch as you slide down my throat. And there's only my stomach at the end...

Whether these words were planted by the gryphon, or if it were simply Charlie's mind reminding him of his fate, it didn't matter. The damage was done. He knew there would be no escape for him, no life after today. Charlie Campbell, 22 years old. His mother was a human. His father was a tiger. Their son... nothing but a gryphon's afternoon lunch.

His tail found its way between his legs again, and he curled up tighter. "I-I-I... I-I..." He simply couldn't find the words anymore.

All he could do was cry.

The gryphon watched him coolly for one moment with those mad eyes of violet and gold, one moment that seemed to last an infinity of horror... and shrugged. "All right. You'll still have plenty of chances to scream." He crouched low over Charlie, breathing deeply and taking in his scent with a soft, gentle purr of delight. "Squirm as you slide down, Charlie. Squirm for me."

The gryphon hummed slightly, reaching down with a single talon and hooking around his prey's sneakers. He flexed slightly, and the material of the old shoes tore like paper. The gryphon smiled lazily, and with a sudden movement the sneakers fell off entirely, nearly ripped through. Goldeneye winked at him, and did the same to the other shoe, tearing it in two with a rip of fabric. Working swiftly now, he pulled off the remains, and the tiger's socks soon followed, baring his feet. He tried to squirm away, but Goldeneye simply chuckled cruelly, an avian claw clamping firmly around his ankles as he nuzzled his prey's feet, his tongue darting out to caress them gently and prepare them to enter his hungry maw.

And Goldeneye suddenly drew back, his claws lifting up the tiger's legs with as much ease as if he'd been a doll, and licked his feet. Once... twice... three times - an unbearably ticklish situation - and then, with terrifying speed, he jerked forward and enveloped them entirely within his beak.

The tongue set upon them immediately, caressing the soft fur with maddened glee as Goldeneye licked them over and over, purring quietly. His strange, unholy eyes never left Charlie's.

Despite the sheer horror of the situation, Charlie couldn't help but turn up the corners of his mouth a bit when he felt Goldeneye's tongue teasing the soles of his feet. But as soon as he felt the beak close over them... he was forced to remember what was happening.

This is it. He began to jerk his legs wildly, trying to free his feet from the giant beak as the tongue continued to torture them. This time, there was no slight, ticklish smile. The only look on Charlie's face was of pure horror as he felt the tongue assaulting one of the most sensitive parts of his body, felt his entire lower half shake as the beast purred around him... and saw the pure look of delight in his mismatched eyes as Goldeneye savored his treat.

This is it, Charlie. This is how you die.

"NO!" he shouted, twisting his body with all the strength he could muster -- where was this strength a few minutes ago, when I needed to crawl through the door? -- desperately trying to free himself. "N-NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"

And you get to watch every second.

The struggles were useless. Goldeneye growled softly as he let his prey squirm for a few seconds, enjoying the taste of his fur... then he swallowed. Hard.

Muscles rippled around Charlie's feet and crushed them together, the gryphon's feathered neck convulsing as a full six inches of living, writhing tiger were dragged sharply into his hungry gullet. The tiger's ankles were suddenly surrounded by tight, squeezing flesh, drenched in saliva and internal juices. The gryphon smirked at him, his tongue darting out to tickle the hollow of Charlie's knee, as he purred, shifting his head a little to savour the weight of his prey in his voracious throat.

And Charlie began to scream -- loudly. He bent forwards, placing both hands flat on the end of Goldeneye's dark beak, shoving with all his might, trying to force himself free. He didn't even care if he tore his flesh to shreds on the edges of the beak, as long as his legs were free. The pressure around his feet was so great that he could barely even move them, his greatest struggles accomplishing nothing more than a few flips of the toes.

"S-S-STOP! OH G-GOD, P-PLEASE!" he shouted, tears streaming from his eyes. "L-L-L-LET ME G-GO! Y-YOU C-CAN'T D-DO THIS TO M-ME!" He lowered his hands, grasping both halves of Goldeneye's beak and pulling with all his might, trying to open the gryphon's mouth to pull himself free.

Oh really? sang Goldeneye's voice within his mind, as he nuzzled the tiger's legs - not letting so much as an inch of his prey leave his tight maw. Would you like to bet on that, Charlie? Tell you what - if you lose, and I'm right, you get to stew in my belly for a while. My dear little tiger... you're going to slide down my throat. And it will be slow, alright. I'm going to take my time with you, all right.

He winked, and swallowed again - this time far, far slower than before, savouring every centimetre of wriggling feline that passed into his abyss-like throat with a gentle purr. The entire gulp took just under a minute, and none of Charlie's struggles could hope to stop it. Goldeneye's purrs intensified, so much that it vibrated through Charlie's entire body. He spoke one word, and it resounded with pure, hateful truth. Delicious.

Charlie groaned as he felt his legs sliding deeper into Goldeneye's maw. The bottom cuffs of his shorts were being shoved up his thighs by the gryphon's beak now, and he slumped back against the floor, desperate to think of a way out of this situation... and coming up empty. There was no hope whatsoever for Charlie.

He turned his head. Something was glinting on the ground. A jagged piece of glass from one of the coffeepots... not large enough to harm Goldeneye, but still within his reach... and with the gryphon distracted by his meal, it would be a simple task for Charlie to extend his arm, grab it, and use it to spare himself any more torment and misery.

He considered it. He really did. Goldeneye purred again, and he felt the tongue snaking around his left leg, leaving no hair untouched. He looked back up at Goldeneye, eyes half-lidded in pure ecstacy.

He could do it. This was his only opportunity to grab the glass and end this. The monster would still have his lunch, but Charlie wouldn't have to suffer anymore.

Tears fell from his eyes and he whimpered, eyes darting back and forth between the glass and the gryphon's eyes.

It would be his only chance...

And it is a very bad idea, said Goldeneye coolly, nuzzling against him with a soft shiver. Die now, Charlie? When you feel so good in my throat? When you taste so ecstatically delicious on my tongue? No, I think not. I won't let anyone hurt you, Charlie... except for me. He swallowed again, gentler but still painful, and with a few careful maneuvers of his claws, the feline's shorts were tucked into his beak. The tongue snaked up inside them to tickle his thighs. So if you try to take the easy way out... I will simply break all the bones in your hand instead. He smirked evilly, nuzzling the thin material of Charlie's shorts, drenching them utterly in saliva. You can still struggle, of course... but don't deny me my pleasure.

He gasped and blushed when he felt the silver gryphon's tongue creep inside his shorts to taste his thighs. Worse yet, that piece of glass -- the only freedom Charlie would have from this fate -- was placed just out of reach with that last swallow. The tiger shouted in frustration, slamming his head hard against the floor of the shop.

"Y-y-you... y-you... y-y-you f-fucking m-m-monster!" he croaked out, his throat raw from all the screaming. "I-I-I hope y-y-you ch-choke on m-me! I-I h-hope y-y-you f-fucking d-d-die!" Out of reflex, Charlie tried to kick Goldeneye from the inside, shifting his legs back and forth within the tight throat. But this only resulted in a moan of pleasure from the gryphon, a reminder of how futile his every effort was.

Leaning forward again, he took a firm hold of the gryphon's beak, gripping it in a tight "hug". He dug his fingers inside Goldeneye's nostrils, the only solid grip he could reach, and propped his chin up. He stared directly into the mismatched eyes. "I-I w-w-w-won't l-let you s-s-swall..." He hesitated, as though the word itself were foreign to him. "S-swallow any m-more of m-me..."

The gryphon eyed him coolly, his eyes: one golden and one violet, just a hint of the bloodthirsty madness behind them, and swallowed once, gently. It wasn't enough to dislodge Charlie's grip, and he felt a weak surge of hope. Then Goldeneye swallowed again. And again, and again. He showed no signs of tiring, simply gulping over and over - and his plan soon became clear to the horrified

feline.

Goldeneye was going to simply tug at him gently and sap his strength until he could not hold on, until he was forced to relinquish himself to the gryphon's hungry throat entirely. He looked at the monster, and Goldeneye winked back, the violet eye flickering before him. The gryphon would wait. No matter how long Charlie held on for, the moment he failed, the beast would take him. He was helpless.

The feline tightened his grip. "N-no... n-n-no... you s-s-son of a-a-a..." He shut his eyes in determination, gritting his teeth as he flattened his head against the beak. The pressure on his calves and feet became worse each time Goldeneye swallowed, tightening and crushing as the throat muscles did their job. Worse yet was the feeling over his legs. The tongue was still in motion, saliva rolling over his lower half with every swallow.

He could feel his shorts beginning to slip further and further down with each gulp, the button having been broken when they passed under the hook of the beak. They were caught at his knees now, but his thighs and hips were now fully exposed for Goldeneye's cruel tongue.

"S-stop... p-p-please, s-stop it...!" Charlie begged, feeling his left hand lose its grip. For just one second -- for just one foolish second -- he let go, thinking he could readjust and hold on tighter, but it was poorly timed. The second his fingers released, Goldeneye swallowed again, and his right hand lost its grip as well. He wasn't pulled much farther inside, but it was enough. He could no longer reach anything to hold on to.

With a scream of utter grief, Charlie flopped backwards onto the floor, completely defeated. He pressed his fists against his eyes, realizing two things.

All hope was completely lost, and he was going to die in a matter of minutes.

Goldeneye gave a quiet, thrumming purr of victory, and the gulping stopped abruptly. There was a horrible, sickening second of utter peace, a scene of relative calm amidst the devastation. And then, before Charlie could move or even speak, he threw his head back, raising Charlie so he hung above his beak, straight up in the air. The tiger gasped with alarm, but Goldeneye did not swallow. Charlie stared into his hideous, mismatched eyes, and then he realized why.

The gryphon didn't need to.

Goldeneye began to purr again, an impossibly low, constant growl that shook his prey's entire body, as slowly, inch by tortuous, tantalising inch, Charlie slid down his throat. Gravity was all he needed now. Gravity and his own lustful cruelty.

His tail began to bend upwards, pressing against his back as Charlie's hips and lower torso slipped inside Goldeneye's beak. With a trembling, whimpering noise of utter terror, he reached down and held himself up as best he could, temporarily halting his descent into the gryphon's throat. His knees were right at the edge now, not even inches away from joining his calves in the predator's throat.

"N-no... p-p-please, I-I... th-there has t-t-to be... d-d-don't d-do this!" Charlie continued to beg, even though he knew Goldeneye wouldn't show him any mercy. He felt the gryphon start to slurp at his body again, and his arms trembled from the effort of holding his upper half up, but Charlie simply couldn't allow this to happen without some kind of fight.

The monster looked him in the eyes, and his voice resounded tenderly within Charlie's head. There has to be something you can give me? No, Charlie, there isn't. That is the true horror of the creatures which I sprang from, really: there is nothing we want. Nothing we need. Nothing we hunger for... except the destruction, the pain, the terror of all who live. And as a splintered corruption of what they are... I suppose I feel the same. All I want, Charlie, is to feel your screams within me. To taste your despair and terror. All I want is your body, you mind, and your soul.

He grinned, and a gentle swallow, combined with gravity's constant pull, brought the weeping tiger in so deep that he was sitting now on Goldeneye's beak, trying desperately not to slide further in. Squirms and screaming, Charlie. That's what you can give me... but it seems you already are.

Charlie's hands slipped on the beak when Goldeneye swallowed. It was only a few inches, but it was enough to change the angle of his arms. Try as he might, any new position was simply too awkward to hold his weight, and he continued to slide down. The hook of Goldeneye's beak scraped against the white fur of his stomach, already licked clean of the coffee stain. As it passed over his navel, he felt his stomach lurch.

"I... I... I-I'm..." Charlie slapped at the beak weakly, more out of sorrow than anger. His entire body shook as he cried. "I... I'm g-g-going... t-to d-d-die..."

The gryphon growled softly, a claw lifting to support and restrain his back as he began to slide deeper, and his long tongue licked over the small of Charlie's back. He let the tiger glide a few inches, purring all the while, and then swallowed suddenly, crushingly tight muscles squeezing the tiger nearly half a foot further in. Goldeneye's terrible, odd-one-out eyes glimmered greedily at him. Yes... you are. Tell me, Charlie. How does it feel? To know that everything you could be, everything you could have lived for... is now mine? That all your hopes and dreams are crushed? That you belong to me? His eyes widened slightly, and he winked at the weeping feline, giving a few tiny gulps that slid Charlie down a few inches - and made his feet breach a sudden, painfully tight opening.

The other side felt clear and spacious - letting him move at last.

Goldeneye's stomach.

Charlie's arms were forced to angle over his head, shoulders aching from the pressure. "H-how... h-how d-d-does it..." The gryphon gulped a few more times, leaving only Charlie's head, arms, and the upper half of his chest free now. His tail began to hang loosely inside Goldeneye's mouth, twitching out of reflex and becoming intertwined with the beast's tongue.

Suddenly, the pressure around his feet was relieved as his bare thighs were drawn into Goldeneye's throat. He wiggled them a bit, trying to get the circulation back in them and chase away the numbness, then stopped. His entire body shivered as the gryphon's words echoed in his head once again.

...and there's only my stomach, brimming with acids, at the end.

If his feet were no longer in the gryphon's throat... then there was only one place they could be. He began to struggle again, bucking his lower body back and forth as much as he could, trying to either choke the gryphon or loosen the throat muscles enough to slip free. The effort forced the tip of the beak to puncture the skin on his torso, adding a bit of red to the white fur -- but Charlie didn't care. He gritted his teeth against the pain and continued to struggle, still not willing to go down without a fight.

Told you you'd squirm, sang the monster inside his head, a lazy gulp pushing the terrified feline's ankles into his yawning abyss of a belly. It feels delightful. Oh, but don't think that's the only reason why, Charlie, he added, winking at Charlie's expression of growing horror. You squirm wonderfully, you taste magnificent, but the fact is... that what I truly desire is your terror. That's the fun of it. He hummed a little, his head swivelling so that Charlie's body was crushed and brutally massaged all over by his slick gullet.

Yes... I won't lie, though. Your wriggling is delightful. Please, don't stop. Squirm inside me. He didn't so much swallow as simply pull is head back and slurp Charlie in the next few inches, like a huge piece of fluffy, sobbing, terrified spaghetti, purring and licking him constantly. Now that horrible emptiness stretched to his lower calves.

Charlie tossed his head back in a howl of agony as Goldeneye turned his head, contorting his body into an unnatural shape. His torso was forced in one direction, but his hips and legs remained perfectly still, held in place by the powerful throat muscles.

The action made his legs twitch uncontrollably, his arms flailing over his head, his torso jerking inside Goldeneye's mouth. His scream eventually tapered off, leaving him to whimper and beg. "Oh g-g-god... th-th... oh g-god... I th-think... you j-just b-b-broke... my..."

No. If he had, you wouldn't be able to feel his stomach.

A shuddering gasp escaped Charlie's lips as he realized his subconscious was right. The soles of his feet could feel it now -- warm, fleshy, slick... the wall of the gryphon's stomach. He jerked them forward, back into the open space, his next gasp almost sounding like horrified, deluded laughter.

The gryphon raised an eyebrow, his rumbling purr changing to echo the tone of Charlie's laughter... but Goldeneye's was genuine. Cruel, pitiless, and amused. Broken? Of course not. I wouldn't let you break it. Not when you squirm so much like this... He swallowed again, twisting his head back lazily to realign the tiger's body, and for the first time, his tongue stretched to tickle the hollow just below Charlie's throat. The monster stroked the bulge Charlie was beginning to make in his chest as he passed through, snarling with delight. His horrible eyes gleamed with pleasure.

Close now. It's far too late to let you go, and it won't be long before you're fully within. As long as you struggle and squirm... A claw stroked the tiger's face, the caresses improbably gentle for such a titanic beast, and as soft and gentle as a lover's kiss. Soon, little one. Soon you'll be mine.

The tongue on his neck, the claw on his cheek, and the voice in his head were all far too much to bear. Charlie was completely unable to stop his legs from jerking inside the gryphon's throat and stomach, and his unceasing trembling only added more delight for the monster. As his chin came to rest on the end of Goldeneye's beak -- torturously propped up, giving him his last view of the world -- he once again began to beg.

"P-please. It c-c-can't be t-too l-late... it j-j-just c-can't be..." He screwed his eyes shut, desperately trying to bend an arm down and wipe away his tears, but failing. "I... I... I j-just don't w-want to... y-you c-can still s-s-spit me o-out... p-p-please..." He trembled as he felt the tongue move back down his chest, lapping between each individual rib, his breathing becoming more labored as his own stomach slipped into the impossibly tight throat. "Y-you... y-you have t-to... p-please..."

Do I? whispered the gryphon sensuously, his resonant voice thrumming through Charlie's mind. Do I really have to? Yes, of course I "could" spit you out. I "could" let you go and live your life, happy and content for the rest of your days... but little one... He licked the tiger softly, eyeing him, and Charlie somehow knew that the next swallow would be the last, would be the one which killed him. I can't do that. I hunger for you too much. It's not me, Charlie. It's you. Tasting so sweet and struggling so beautifully and crying so delightfully... I am what I am, Charlie, and that is a monster. He blinked, shook his head slightly - twisting Charlie's body agonisingly - and murmured softly, Shall we say goodbye now?

Charlie's legs kicked wildly in Goldeneye's stomach as the poor tiger was again contorted inside his predator's mouth. "G-g-good... b-bye? Oh... p-p-please, no..." Through a haze of tears, Charlie looked over the beak into the gryphon's mismatched eyes. Gritting his teeth and taking as deep a breath as he could, he stared, body trembling with terror and sorrow. His lips barely parted as he spoke. "I-I... d-d-don't w-want... t-to d-d-die... n-n-n-not l-l-like th-this... p-please..."

Goldeneye smiled at him, his tongue coming out to lick tenderly at the feline's face with a gentle purr. I know you don't want to. And that's why you're going to. Because you're so scared of it. He clenched his beak, very, very slightly, a gesture of total and complete dominance. You were exquisite, Charlie. Squirm for me.

And with that, as casual as a cheery wave, his muscles clenched for the biggest, most crushingly powerful swallow yet.

Charlie felt it ripple through the gryphon's entire body, dragging him brutally inside Goldeneye's terrifying maw. For a moment, he saw the inside of the monster's beak, wet and fleshy. And then the ripple continued, and he was pulled into Goldeneye's throat.

His screams were muffled by the pulsating walls of the throat, and Goldeneye's tongue was mercilessly winding its way around his arms. Waving them around desperately, Charlie gripped the edges of the gryphon's beak with his fingers, holding on as tight as he could -- his last, hopeless chance at escape. With a quick tickle to the back of his elbow, his grip released on one hand, then the other, and they slipped inside the beak, which shut behind them with an ominous snap, trapping him completely and totally inside the massive predator. The last traces of Charlie Campbell the half-tiger had disappeared from the outside world at long last.

It was hot, wet, dark, and hideously tight. Muscular flesh massaged over every inch of Charlie's body, and he slipped slowly further down. Before too long, his feet had grounded on the opposite wall of Goldeneye's belly, slick and soft and terrifying.

And the gryphon kept swallowing.

Charlie's feet were pressed firmly against the bottom of the stomach, forced to slide backwards and grant room for the rest of his legs as Goldeneye continued his relentless swallowing. His terrified meal thrashed about in his throat, no longer caring if the gryphon enjoyed the feeling. He stamped and kicked with his legs, which had considerably more freedom in the stomach, and even snapped a bit with his teeth, biting at the lining of the throat, hoping to cause at least a bit of damage... if it weren't for his half-human heritage, his teeth may have been able to pierce the thick flesh.

His legs were forced to bend together tightly as his hips passed through with a wet plop -- once they were clear, his stomach and chest were next, forcing his legs to curl back in front of his body to make room inside the stomach. He felt himself get caught a bit as his shoulders refused to pass through, wedging themselves in place.

Ha! He thought triumphantly. I... I can't fit! He can't swallow me after all! He... he'll choke! He'll choke, and he'll die!

His hopes for justice were crushed when he felt the opening widen itself just enough for his shoulders to pass through, the rest of him sliding down into the stomach with no resistance at all. His legs were pushed tightly up against his chest, his chin resting on his knees and arms in front, hugging his legs tightly. His tail had somehow managed to curl itself between his legs, joining in on his lonely hug.

This... this is it. This is the stomach. I'm going to die in here... I just... I just hope it's... quick... he thought to himself, burying his face in his knees to cry again.

"Quick?"

Goldeneye spoke aloud, his voice making the tight chamber that Charlie was curled into shake like a leaf. "I'm afraid not, my dear. Where's the fun in "quick"?

The same terrible rumbling purr began to issue out from deep, deep within him, in time with the great ba-dum beat of Goldeneye's massive heart, and Charlie felt the world swing slightly as the gryphon moved.

He could imagine the silvery beast curling up around him, like a contented cat: one that weighed about two and a half tonnes, and was carrying another whimpering, weeping feline deep within it's belly. The gryphon chuckled softly, and Charlie's world squeezed a little tighter as Goldeneye nuzzled his bulging stomach, a noise that sounded almost like a yawn creaking through his innards. "Mmm... squirm a little for me, won't you Charlie? You're so very good at it, after all... "

"F-fuck you..." Charlie muttered into his knees. "I... I'm d-d-done m-moving for y-you... p-please, j-j-just b-be quiet... and l-let me... d-d-die... p-please..."

He felt a slight ripple as the monster stroked his belly, purring again, and the localised earthquake as Goldenneye laughed. "Oh really? You won't have a choice before long."

"Wh-what do you --" Charlie could feel it.

His skin, bare beneath his dripping fur, was beginning to tingle.

At first, he thought it was just an itch. He moved his hand to scratch it, but it came away with the nails covered in...

Charlie's eyes opened in shock and fear. "N-no... oh n-n-no... n-not yet... n-not wh-while I'm s-s-still..."

He stared at the blood on his nails, and Goldeneye's words sang in his head again. You're going to hurt, Charlie.

All over his body. The front of his legs. The soles of his feet. The back of his neck. The base of his tail. Every part of him that was touching the walls of the stomach, pulsing and crushing by the second... every part outside his protective cocoon of flesh was beginning to tingle, then itch, then burn. He pulled his head further inside, pressing his hands between his legs and chest to protect them from the acids.

This proved to be a mistake... his hands were already coated, and began to spread the burning fluid to the interior as well.

He went as long as he could without giving Goldeneye what he wanted, but it wasn't long enough.

Only two minutes in, and Charlie was screaming his lungs out, pushing against the walls of the stomach as his body tried to stretch out, spasming in pure misery. You're going to hurt, Charlie. I love it.

The gryphon began to growl now, a soft, almost gentle snarl that hummed with pure sadistic delight. In the middle of the pain, Charlie felt the muscular walls of Goldeneye's belly beginning to ripple and squeeze him, rubbing the terrible juices all over his flesh. And the gryphon himself was aiding them - Goldeneye cackled quietly - or was it just that Charlie was screaming? - and now both claws began to massage over his bulging, squirming stomach, squeezing and stroking Charlie with a terrible patience that belied the horrific truth:

He wasn't going to stop. Not until Charlie was a mere paste.

"It hurts, doesn't it? Just wait a little, my dear. It'll get worse."

Writhing in place, Charlie continued to scream until he saw stars dancing in front of his eyes. The acids were slowly growing stronger, spreading over his body more evenly, and becoming thicker... a horrible combination that led to even worse pain.

Ignorant of how useless it was to try, his hands rubbed over the rest of his body, trying to scrape the acids off. His vision actually blurred with panic as he realized his skin was flaking away in his efforts, and it took a conscious effort to get himself to stop rubbing at it.

And through it all, he was desperate to keep his face clear from any acid. It dripped on the back of his head, and he could feel it eating away at his ears -- he could actually hear the cruel hiss up close as the acids dissolved them. A few thin streaks of the horrible goop were beginning to run down the side of his head, and he began to panic.

Oh god, it's going to flow right into my eye, oh god, oh god, no, please, not my eye...

He felt Goldeneye's talons working at him from the outside, actually kneading the acids into his flesh worse than they already were. Small wounds were beginning to open up all over his body, inviting the acids to work from the inside out.

"K-k-kill me... p-please, d-do s-s-something... y-you w-w-w-win, o-okay, j-just... k-kiiiiAAAAAAAGH!"

He was cut off by another scream as the streak of acid finished rolling down his head, finding the corner of his eye. He shook his head back and forth, desperate to clear it, but this only helped the acids spread across his face. His hands clutched at his tail, squeezing tight and pulling it up, his pained mind thinking that it would still be dry, that he could simply wipe his eyes clear...

His arm jerked out of pain, tugging on his tail. And with a horrible snap, it broke apart from his body.

Oops.

He knew. However to could possibly happen, Goldeneye could tell everything he was suffering, from outside the pit of agony Charlie was trapped in. The gryphon chuckled gently, and somehow that claw managed to caress the howling welter of pain that was the stump of the feline's tail. One down, he murmured gently. The rest of you still to go. "I win"? Oh, little one, this was never a game. You never had a chance. I don't want you to die, you see... I want you to hurt. Death will come only after I've had my fun.

"F-fun... y-you th-th...ack!" Charlie muttered bitterly, cut off as a bit of acid rolled down his face and into his open mouth. He began to spit desperately, the taste dreadful for so many reasons, but he couldn't clear it out. His eyes continued to burn -- within seconds, he would be blind.

Holding his severed tail close to his body, Charlie's thrashings became weaker and weaker as the acids started to puddle up beneath him. Planting his feet firmly in the burning pool, he tried to "stand", to push as much of his body out as possible... but he slipped, and landed hard, splashing the acids against the walls to drip down fresh over his body.

And through it all, Charlie's body refused to give in, even as more and more of it was eaten away. The acids that had soaked into his tail began to seep through onto his hands, and he shoved it away as best he could in the cramped space. His hands were burning so much worse than before now, and he rubbed them together, his mind still desperate to clean the acid off, even though --

He stopped rubbing his hands. His mind seized up in utter horror.

Was that bone he felt?

His mouth opened in another scream, and the greedy acids rushed in to fill the space. He wanted to close his mouth, to keep them at bay, but he simply couldn't. Stop. Screaming. The pain, the horror, the voice singing in the back of his head Squirm, Charlie. Scream, Charlie. Die, Charlie. It was all simply far too much for him to stop screaming.

He screamed until he ran out of breath, and then he screamed some more. His tongue was burning. He could taste Goldeneye's acids at the back of his throat. Stop screaming, dammit! Spit! Spit it out! Get it the fuck out of there!

But his body wouldn't cooperate. Instead, it thrashed about with renewed vigor, making things so much worse for him, especially when he lost all feeling in his left leg below the knee. He couldn't see what had happened, but as he reached down with his burning hands -- oh god, he couldn't feel half of his fingers anymore -- he instead found that his knee ended in a stump.

And that only fueled his screaming so much more.

Alas, it will end before too long. Goldeneye's voice was different now. Somehow... sincere, and almost remorseful. I can feel my lucidity returning. His gentle whisper rose above the strange roaring in Charlie's ruined ears, rose above his yells of pure agony, rose above everything. You were just unlucky, Charlie: that I desired your pain this time. He stroked the rippling pool of liquefied tiger, trapped within his churning gut, with a low, soft growl.

But the sadist is sated, for now. Maybe I can stay strong for a while. He paused quietly, patting his belly, and added, Sshh... I... I'm sorry, Charlie. For the monster that I am. But now it's far, far too late.

Goodbye, little tiger.

"S... s... sorry..." Charlie repeated, the only word he was able to form. After everything that had happened to him, after all the menacing taunts, the cruel and painful swallowing, and... this... he actually apologized to him.

He couldn't form tears anymore. He couldn't move anymore, not even an involuntary twitch. He felt himself slide down the wall of the stomach, sinking deeper into the ever-growing pool beneath him. He felt something dripped down his throat, Goldeneye's stomach acids mingling with his own now.

His last few breaths came to him in ragged, broken spurts. Then the acids reached his lungs... and they stopped. He wasn't able to breathe anymore. Slowly, he could feel everything beginning to numb... the burning pain replaced once again by tingling, then nothing at all.

The final thought that ran through Charlie's head wasn't a response to Goldeneye. It was a message to the entire world that would continue to exist without him, only a handful of people taking note of the tiger-shaped void left in his place.

Charlie's last conscious thought.

Goodbye.

_ _

_ * * * * * * * * * * * * *_

_ _

Stillness, silence, peace. Death.

He did not move, but lay amidst the devastation, sensing the feline's terrified, ravaged soul grow dim at last. The bright, beautiful agony faded quietly: a living sentient being, now naught but meat for his voracious belly.

Goldeneye sighed, standing up and languorously stretching. The tiger stewing away in his belly gave him no hindrance. He traced a claw along the line of his prey's spine - soon to be broken down by his acids - and sighed again.

Why so cruel, this time? Why do the most beautiful ones suffer the most? He knew the answer, of course. Because he wished it. Because the moment he had chanced on this tiger, he had desired naught but his pain.

He shook his crested head, ruffling his wings and stepping daintily out of the shop, swerving to avoid a passer-by who walked past without a glance. Goldeneye smiled wryly, imagining what would happen once he let down the wards around the shop, and people began to see the ruin of dear Charlie's coffee shop. Remorse? Useless. He knew he would not hesitate to repeat such cruelty - and he knew that he would, soon. The moment another caught his eye. The moment another stirred his hunger, all that he was would be lost as another personality surfaced, craving blood and terror.

And the cruellest part was that this monster was him.

The creature which looked like a gryphon raised his wings, ignoring the oblivious passers by who walked under it without a trace of awareness, and beat once, flying. Fleeing his fate: to be himself forever, and trapped in a mind made of splinters.

_(And, just before he jumped, before this world vanished in a howl of nothingness and the next came, for more fun and games, because gentleness and terror are the same for the monster... Goldeneye felt the fading mind of Charlie Campbell twitch. )

(His eyes - violet and golden, the blazing hunger and the stolen warmth, widened fractionally. He knew that flicker. A mind pulled back from the abyss, at the last second. Maybe someone was looking out for this dead innocent. Maybe Charlie was not lost - )_

And then Goldeneye, Shard of many minds, crossed to another world. And his hunger began again.

LN and TheGuyWhoKnows, 8/8/2012