Do Not Pull

Warning: My nipples look like Milk Duds!


Do Not Pull!

By

Cait Sith #29




“Stop, thief!”

The shrill cry rang out through the Forrested Park, startling a couple ascending a hiking path out of their intimate discussion. Before they could even ascertain its source there came a fleeting sensation of fine fur brushing their legs. Glancing down, they only found fresh paw prints decorating the dirt trail. Following them caught sight of a fairly large red fox galloping down the way they had come. Its three large tails bobbed in rhythmic motions; a blur of autumn colored flags or red, orange, and white, sprinting into the distance. Together the couple shared blank gazes, each hoping the other could provide an explanation to what had just been witnessed. When none came they silently decided to turn back and continue their afternoon stroll. That was when they caught sight of an enraged man with torn pants pockets barreling down upon them. Sadly, they did not notice each other in time to avoid an impending collision of bodies.

Chris Kitorin Bondie, or simply ‘Tails’ as his friends come to call him, merrily giggled around a wallet stuffed firm in his maw. Sounds of ensuing chaos and curses from behind were a symphony to victory. However it was not enough for the young kitsune to even risk glancing backwards, much less slow his harsh pounding gait. With his luck it would be that moment a random pebble decided to erupt from under a bit of dirt and send him tumbling paw over tails. Experience had taught him to never get cocky, especially when holding an advantage.

The point was moot soon enough. Chris’ acute vulpine ears swiveled around, acting like his personal radar. With each step sounds of pursuit dulled until becoming little more than whispers in the wind. It was only then he slowed to a trotting pace. Lungs swelled and deflated as they tried to suck air in from around the wallet carried in his snout. Labored pants caused the cream fur of his underbelly to bulge each time.

Once he had caught his breath again, Chris vanished off the path into a cluster of thickets. He knew ways around these woods all too well and used the foliage for a natural camouflage. It did not take long to double back to an alcove serving as his lair for the day. Within this small opening sat a simple fallen log. Its insides hollowed out by the passage of time while a boulder sank through near its middle, threatening to cleave the log completely in two.

Stopping at the entrance to the logs longer half, he once again paused to check his surroundings. Faint chirping of birds came from somewhere overhead, while the crisp dew tickled his nose. Chris smirked to himself and snaked his way inside. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, yet his lithe fox body slid easily through this narrow corridor all the way back to its rock wall. Granted his brother was sure to chew a few ears off for the smell later tonight, it was not as the forefront of Chris’ thoughts at the moment. He finally released the wallet. Adding it to a pile of other items he had ‘acquired’ throughout his day.

As most people do after working hard to collect special objects, Chris felt a swelling of pride at his rather large cache. Sure, he had collected bigger piles in his all too frequent bouts of kitsune antics. Today was special because only the last incident went with said antics being noticed. And even then it only happened because his pride got a little bit too full, causing a stumble during a critical moment. Luck surely favored foxes today, but it was still a heart pounding wake-up call. The sun may have still been high overhead, but Chris reminded himself that lady luck changes her mind frequently and decided to quit while ahead.

Irony chose that moment to add a few words as something rapped against the log’s outer rim. There came a soft grunt, followed by sounds of something heavy falling into a patch of grass. Moments later the log creaked in protest to an alien weight applied from an outside source. Chris froze, trying to make absolutely no sounds to betray his presence. A difficult task with the way his heart tried to do a Mexican hat dance out of his chest. Silence greeted him for what felt like hours, only to be broken by a muffled chorus of heavy metal.

After almost a full minute of nothing else happening, curiosity began to override Chris’ panic instincts. Very slowly, his paws backpedaled towards the exit. There was no room to turn around inside his log, so he kept back legs tense if the need to bolt again arose. Soon as the feeling of cool air brushed against his hind quarters, he pushed off his forepaws like a shot. Chris landed outside in a defensive stance, ready to face his sanctuaries attacker. And then all aggression faded upon processing the scene before him.

Sitting on the hallowed log was an orange and black striped tabby Chris instantly recognized as Cait Sith #29. They had been crossing paths rather frequently of late, being active members of the same transformation fan club. Active in the sense they both visited the club time to time anyway. Chris had a more aspiring passion for joining in their random chaos of changing and being changed by others. Cait was better known for sitting in a corner and munching popcorn as if viewing a free movie. This was the last place Chris expected to find him, but he knew there was no threat to it.

At least until Cait had something valuable to steal…

For his accounts, Cait did not even appear to notice Chris’ actions. In part of the fact his t-shirt-covered back faced the kitsune. Another reason might have been the headphones clamped tightly around each ear. Given that lyrics from a Disturbed song could be understood from yards away, hearing might not be an option. What little attention he had was devoted to writing in a molded black binder. Occasionally Cait would curse and scribble out words, but still his pen scribbled through sheets of paper undaunted.

A very evil smirk crept across Chris’ muzzle. With only a thought, the blue gem worn around his neck shimmered. Instantly his body began to grow and contort, taking only seconds to develop enough human characteristics to stand up on hind paws. Forepaws rapidly grew out and gained unmistakable finger joints. A slight tension in his throat followed, signaling the makings of vocal cords and ending his rapid shift to anthro form.

Sure, at this point he could have simply tapped Cait on a shoulder to get his attention. That alone would be enough to scare him halfway to next week. But Chris was still a kitsune. Natural pride as a prankster would not let him be satisfied with such a weak scare. That’s when he eyed Caits tail; draped over the log in rings of orange and black. It looked more like a shaggy raccoon blanket that occasionally twitched with signs of life. Not a very clever idea, Chris conceded, but adequate for what little time the opening permitted. As he tip-toed up towards the dangling appendage, he could not help but also feel Cait could use a little friendly help at interaction anyway.

“Heya!” Chris called, hopefully loud enough to be heard over Cait’s music. At the same time both paws grasped Cait’s tail and gave it a solid yank.

As expected, Cait’s reaction was a harsh, feline yowl of pain. So much so Chris instantly felt worried about pulling a bit too hard. Although a faint green glow radiating from the tail in his paws soon gave something else to worry about. There was hardly a second to react before the glow exploded outwards with a sharp bang, scattering several birds from their nests. A large field of green magic erupted from the tail tip directly into Chris’s chest, sending him reeling through the air. Fortunately a tree put an abrupt halt to his trip, albeit painfully, and he slumped head first into a patch of grass at its roots.

“What the hell?” Cait whirled around while yanking off his headphones. Eyes widened at the sight of Chris and he dashed over the log towards him. “Tails!? Holy crap; are you all right!?”

“Super duper,” Chris replied in his daze. Seeing the world upside down and spinning did not help, but with a little effort Cait got him to his feet.

“What on earth were you doing!? That’s dangerous!”

“I just wanted to say ‘hi’ to a friend, sheesh!” Chris rubbed the back of his head that had collided with raw bark. Hopefully a bump would not develop out of that. “You should really mention guarding wards when talking to new people….and what are you doing?”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Cait said in a worried tone that really disturbed Chris. Not to mention Cait was circling him as if trying to examine every part of his body at once. “You don’t feel any different? Nothing’s happening internally?”

“Of course not!” Chris’ wanted to reply more, but it died off with a sudden bloating feeling inside his belly. It was not unlike a desire to burp; only something prevented it from escaping. Groaning he placed both paws on his belly and teetered on paw toes. “Never mind, I’m suddenly not feeling so hot.”

“Oh jeez!” Cait quickly backed away at his words, expression making Chris ponder if he was about to explode. “Tails, I am SO sorry in advance for whatever is about to happen!”

“What are you…?”

The question was halted by a sharp gasp as Chris suddenly felt his belly become a lot more plentiful. Even more alarming was how paws sunk into his new bulk like a marshmallow. He glanced down and yelped at the large bulge now coming out of his middle. Passersby could have easily mistaken him for eating a basketball whole. Or, worse yet, people thinking he was a vixen in an early stage of pregnancy. However as he watched and felt, this strange growth was far from done. With each labored gasp his cream furred belly pushed both paws further apart from each other. Not that it needed his help to grow as it gained a defined roundness.

“That is what I was worried about,” Cait said while face palming. “I’m really sorry, Tails. Please believe this was not intentional.”

“Then make it stop!” Chris could feel his cheeks turn red and hoped it did not show under his fur. A surge traveled down his spine to all three tails, causing him to stiffen with another yelp. Glancing back over his shoulder, he watched helpless as each tail systematically stiffened and slowly raised parallel from the ground. Another surge traveled through him, causing all three to swell out in matching fashion to his belly. His rump itself followed seconds later; bloating out with both hips and thighs. Pawfeet were gradually being spread apart in the grass to accommodate this new girth, yet Chris was surprised to find it was not making him heavier. If anything he was having a hard time adjusting to a sudden light bounce to his movements.

“I wish I could.” Cait shook his head sadly, making no signs of helping with this growing problem.

“You better!” Chris winced as his sides and back both bulged out with a soft popping noise. Now everything was inflating at an even, but rapid, pace. Leaving him looking more like a fuzzy ball with fox limbs and a head attached. But that would not persist for long either. Already the giant fox sphere had overtaken most of his thighs and was working on knees. Above that Chris still tried to feel himself with his paws in amazement, but arms were rapidly loosing their flexibility as they inflated and sunk into his body. His tails had already lost any sense of being limbs, looking more like individual balloons attached for decoration. “It’s your own guard spell! Just cast the counter!”

“It’s not a guard spell,” Cait explained, now with a hint of amusement to Chris’ plight. “My tail acts as an anchor I use for gathering and casting magic from nature. Sudden trauma, like say; yanking it, disrupts the flow and forces my body to release its storage as a backlash to prevent personal injury.”

Chris screamed upon feeling his gargantuan belly tickling against grass on the ground. Trying to shift his weight to remain standing was useless. Within a few more seconds what little remained of his calve finished being absorbed into his body, leaving nothing but paws to wiggle in their wake. Yet his bottom half continued to bulge out in all directions, sending him rolling forwards onto belly and chest. Thankfully Cait stepped forward and held him in place to prevent rolling face first into some fresh dirt.

“I don’t know a counter spell because I have no idea what the heck was cast. Rushing into it now could probably make you inflate bigger, or even pop you.”

“Ack! I don’t wanna pop! Help me, please!”

Chris flailed his chubby arms as much as possible, until they too were devoured into nothing but paw stumps. Still the kitsune continued to expand; easily surpassing three time his original size. Only the remains of his paws and head kept him from looking like anything other than a cluster of very large furry balls. His skin creaked and groaned as he began to tower over Cait, panic rising along with it. Body protests grew louder and more ominous with each passing moment as the stretched fox hide struggled to contain more of the magical air inside Chris. Realizing the worst was inevitable, Chris sunk his head deep into what was once his shoulders and braced himself. Eyes and teeth both clamped tight waiting for that loud explosion that would signal his descent into balloon heaven.

It took a cough from Cait a full minute later to break him out of that state. Followed by another two minutes of waiting to realize his swelling had finally stopped. Now his body really was a giant round ball of fox fur, just shy of SUV size if you counted the three inflated tails attached.

“Phew, that was cutting it close,” Cait said as he leveled Chris up onto his belly. He moved along out of Chris’ vision, but could be felt rubbing paws along the circumference of his new body. “How do you feel?”

“Scared and incredibly alarmed,” Chris replied in a tone that made Cait wonder if it was a joke. He tried to turn and see what Cait was up to, but in his current state all that amounted to was bouncing slightly on his engorged belly. In fact his soft and pliable surface made it hard to see much of anything beyond a sphere of fox fur surrounding his head. “T-this isn’t possible!”

“I did not know I could do this either,” Cait admitted as he finished his examination of the rounded kitsune. There was a clear look of relief as he came back into Chris’ field of view, now examining him with curiosity. If he looked hard enough, he could even see through the stretched hide. “My main affiliation is to wind elements, so I’m guessing you got hit with a raw blast of it. Lucky for you, it didn’t have the casting focus to be self-sustaining. Given enough time, you’ll probably deflate back to normal like any other balloon.”

A huge sigh of relief escaped Chris’ muzzle. At least this problem would fix itself instead of needing to seek out a cure. He had his fill of adventures over the last year. Yet something nicked at him. Particularly with the still nervous twitches Cait’s ears did. “How long until that happens?”

“Given your lovely size and the fact it is normal air filling?” Cait inhaled slowly, letting out his breath with his answer, trying to muffle its words. “About a month or three…”

“WHAAAAT!?” A single vulpine howl of anger echoed all through the park. Its vibrations were enough to send birds from half a mile away to the skies in panic.

“Yeeeah. Although if you want, we could try speeding it up by feeding you lots of beans?”

The look Chris gave Cait would have wilted flowers. For several seconds his tiny paws and head flailed in a fit of anger. He wanted nothing more than to strangle a feline not two yards away. But it was only a pipe dream without having any limbs. Finally he slumped with exhaustion and settled with to glaring. Hoping somehow raw hate would light Cait ablaze. “Well can you at least help me get home?”

“Only if you promise not to kill me.”

“Yeah, sure…” Chris grumbled under his breath. Already his mind was devising no less than two dozen ways to exact revenge on Cait. None of them lethal in kind, but there was deffinitly going to be some payback for months to come. When he could stand under his own power again, that is.

“Excellent,” Cait instantly brightened, moving once again out of Chris’ view. Once getting near where his three tailed balloons bobbed in the wind he stopped to ask, “So in which direction do you live?”

“Uh?” It took a bit of twisting and bounce, but Chris’ took stock of his surroundings. “I’d say to the north-east. Once we get out of the park I’ll know for sure.”

“Cool.” Cait grinned, stretching out his legs and arms in preparation for a workout. “Brace yourself, I’m about to invent a little sport I’ll call ‘fox ball.’”

“Fox-what!?” It took a moment before those words sunk in. All blood instantly draining from Chris’ head. “Oh, don’t you dare think about i-“

It turned out for not being able to float; Chris’ body was still amazingly light. Only one swift kick to the area that might have been a kitsunes hindquarter propelled the helpless Chris spinning above tree level. Screams of horror echoed in time to the spheres ascending arc. At its peak they started to become a little muffled with Chris falling out of view almost a half mile away.

Cait grinned and quickly gave chase; ready for the next kick. Although secretly he hoped he had picked the right ‘north.’