The Sacrifice

[GenericBunny]

The sun had barely begun to rise over the forest and the small village deep within. It seemed to be particularly quiet this morning. Most of its inhabitants were only thinking about if their protector would accept their latest gift, to continue guarding them against the many monsters that lurked near their home. The night before, they had sent the selected sacrifice out, so that she could give herself to the beast.

For generations this is how the village stayed safe from the horrors that lay just beyond their fences. Though it was supposedly a random selection of any of-age female, there was some suspicion that those in charge of choosing might be cheating, to ensure only ones that were exceptionally beautiful would be selected. Those suspicions were bolstered when yet another young, curvy, beautiful being was selected for this solstice: Fiona, a name many knew and trusted. As the village healer, she had gained a very good reputation for her tireless work of trying to help and heal others, and had gained the full trust of her people. When her name was randomly chosen, nobody second guessed her when she said she would go willingly, without need for the guards or shackles that most were given to ensure they didn't attempt to escape their duty. After a brief ceremony the previous day, she was sent off into the night to find the dragon's den, effectively trusted to walk to her own grave.

The vixen walked along the narrow path, her legs hurting after a full night of walking. She trembled with every step, and had a perpetual look of fear in her eyes. It seemed very obvious that she didn't want to go through with this. Thoughts would occasionally creep into her head about running into the woods to escape, or going back to her village and begging them to let her stay. Even so she pressed forward, knowing what the risks were to her people if she didn't follow through with her obligation. This whole process might seem barbaric, but it would be worth it to stop the monsters from massacring everyone, right? She gulped, pausing for a moment as the cave came into view. She would continue forward, but a bit more slowly, as she took the chance to look around, taking advantage of what would be her last chance to enjoy the beauty of the forest. She tried to not think about what her fate would entail exactly, instead thinking about her people, and how they would be protected because of this. That would surely make it worth her devourment, wouldn't it?

[Whitebrand]

As she looked about, another predator in the forest other than the dragon she sought moved through the brush in her wake. A great snake slithered quietly through the trees, stalking its free meal. The vixen would surely feed it for several pleasant days in its long belly.

What the snake did not expect was the much bigger predator that had also spotted the young fox. It saw that its intended meal was about to be snatched up by something else...and he wasn't going to share.

The forest roof seemed to explode downwards as the great bulk of the dragon dropped through the branches of the trees to land squarely on the snake, barely ten feet from where the young healer stood. The snake reacted instantly, trying to entwine its attacker in its long coils, but the dragon was faster. The great maw closed around the neck just behind the snake's vulnerable head and worried it savagely. The snake's counterattack dissolved into a frantic struggle for survival as the dragon pinned down its coils with its paws and shook it even harder.

Fiona was seemingly forgotten by the two struggling titans as they fought, tangling themselves in the brush and weeds as they tried to kill one another.

Maybe she'd get lucky and they'd vanquish each other.

[GenericBunny]

Fiona continued onward, unaware that either of the beasts were nearby. Under normal circumstances she might have noticed the faint, telltale sounds that something was nearby, but she was far too lost in her own thoughts to pay any attention. "Maybe it won't be so bad." She silently told herself. "Maybe it'll be really quick. Maybe-"

Her thoughts were interrupted as the dragon came crashing down in front of her! Her eyes widened as she let out a soft cry, and she stumbled back onto her rear, terrified that her fate to be a meal for a dragon was now sealed. She could only look away as she waited for those jaws to come down around her. She tried to think of her village and how they would be safe in her final moments. She sat fighting back tears, for some seconds before she dared to look forwards again.

Her fear was partially replaced with surprise, seeing that the dragon was now fighting a different monster. The thought of using the confusion to run without being seen crossed her mind, but as with her trek this far, she did not take the chance to escape. She knew this had to be done, and that her people would be better off for it.

[Whitebrand]

The dragon abruptly let go of the snake, but he wasn't done with it. As it fled the dragon opened his mouth and a blast of lighting shot out, blasting the fleeing reptile and quite probably killing it. The snake lay smoking on the forest floor, the dragon standing triumphant.

Then he looked around. An eye ridge raised slightly as he spotted the fox girl.

"Normally they run," he rumbled. "As soon as they get the chance. Not you. You have...courage."

His golden eyes looked her over, drinking in the sight of her.

[GenericBunny]

The fox yelped as she saw the flash of lightning, instinctively scooting back a bit before the dragon turned to her. Her breathing was shallow, and she could swear her heart was about to beat right out of her chest. She visibly shook, and never took her eyes away from those of the dragon's. The sight of the beast that was about to end her life horrified her... but she knew it would ultimately be for a good cause.

"I..." She tried to begin, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything else for a few moments. The dragon would have ample time to look over her beautiful, bare body. Neither too slender nor too curvy, with a beautiful blood red fur coat covering it all.

"I come as your gift..." The fox said in a shaky, somewhat hard to hear voice. "P-please accept me, and keep my people safe."

[Whitebrand]

"So be it," the dragon said in its deep voice.

He tilted his head as he regarded her, as though determining what approach to take with this one. His heart was still pounding from the fight with the snake and his breathing came hard. He moved around her, circling her with his body and tail. He could feel his mouth watering already.

His mouth opened, strings of saliva snapping as he did. Sharp teeth lined his jaws, but he didn't want to damage the meat of this one. No...he had other plans for her.

The head snapped forward at her, jaws wide open and the red tunnel of his throat open wide to take her. She was scooped up as easily as a fish might be caught by a pelican. Despite expectations, however, the dragon did not crush her with his sharp teeth or shred her body the way he had done with the snake. Instead he was careful to keep her in his mouth whole and alive.

[GenericBunny]

The vixen gulped as the dragon approached, and surrounded her with his tail. She took one glimpse into the maw, seeing those sharp teeth, and the pit of his throat. She shut her eyes tightly and turned her head away, thinking that not knowing when he was about to take her might make it a bit easier. She tensed, waiting for it all to be over, while thought once more about her village. That would make even the worst possible death worth it. A single tear could be seen rolling down her fuzzy cheek.

Her only response was a quick gasp as the hot, slimy jaws scooped her up. He could feel how tense she was, as she shook in fear on top of the tongue. The anticipation of what was to come filled her with fear. What if it wasn't quick? What if she made it to the stomach still alive? She almost wished the dragon would just crush her already to get it over with. The warm, humid breath was... not as bad as she had anticipated. It actually felt a bit soothing. That didn't seem to do much to console her though.

[Whitebrand]

The fox felt a slight wave of dizziness as the dragon lifted his head and arched his neck back. The vixen began to slide down towards that dark tunnel, head first. Her head entered the dragon's gullet easily, and perhaps to her surprise her shoulders fit as well, if barely. Now she could feel the dragon's body heat, feel the warm breath slide over her body, feel her fur get soaked in the dragon's saliva.

The dragon grinned as he slowly devoured the young maiden, feeling every inch of her body on his long tongue. He could feel her vibrating with fear in his mouth...completely understandable under the circumstances. He settled the rest of his body down in the grass to relax and enjoy his meal.

[GenericBunny]

Fiona remained tense as the dragon's head tilted back, as she continued to await those teeth. She felt her head, and then her shoulders slide down into a tight, humid tunnel. Was she being swallowed already, she wondered? That would mean the only way she could die was from stewing in acid!

The fox squirmed just slightly, as though to try and stop herself from descending deeper, but she quickly quieted down when she remembered she shouldn't be doing anything to upset their protector. Besides, she likely wouldn't have the strength to do anything anyways. Realizing that she would not be granted a quick demise, she began to quietly sob somewhere inside of the dragon's neck, as the rest of her soft, curvy, delicious body was licked by the tongue.

[Whitebrand]

Fiona's shoulders slipped into the dragon's gullet fairly easily. Her fine breasts were sucked in as well, compressed against her chest. He could feel her squirming on his tongue and quite liked it. There was nothing quite like live prey squirming and wriggling in his mouth. Especially sentient prey that knew what was awaiting it...or thought it did.

The dragon drew his head back and then gulped. Fiona was dragged into the dark throat up to her waist, her legs all but entirely inside his mouth now. Only the tip of her tail and her feet were visible to the outside world. Soon they would be gone from sight and he would swallow her down the rest of the way.

He had a brief spate of trouble with her curvy hips, but another good gulp wedged them into his throat as well. Once that was done the rest was easy. He let gravity and the undulating muscles of his throat pull the helpless fox girl down towards his waiting belly.

[GenericBunny]

As more of her body was sucked down into the tight throat, being drenched in the thick saliva, the vixen found herself having a difficult time staying still. As she continued to cry, she started to move around, seeming to try to pull herself back out of the throat.

"P-please, not like this!" She said through her sobbing. "Kill me any way, any way but this, please!" She started to thrash as the rest of her body was sucked down into the tunnel. The young healer was very well aware of what death by acid would mean. Hours, perhaps over a day of stewing alive as her flesh was slowly melted.

Fiona thought back to a poor soul she had attempted to help before. A rabbit that had ventured out too far from the village, and wound up in a direwolf's stomach. Amazingly he had been passed through the digestive tract without dying, but with his outer body destroyed. There was absolutely nothing she could do, except put him out of his misery. She wondered if a similar fate awaited her.

[Whitebrand]

There was a last thunderous gulp and she was pushed down the rest of the way. The vixen was squeezed into a sac of some kind, with no smell of acid anywhere. The sac tightened around her, forcing her to curl up in a ball somewhere in the dragon's belly. She could hear the beating of the great monster's heart as she waited in the darkness for...something to happen.

She could feel the dragon turning his body and the steady rocking told her that he was walking somewhere, probably his cave. There was a sideways lurch and then all movement stopped.

[GenericBunny]

Fiona continued to struggle as she was deposited into the slimy pit of the dragon's stomach, desperately attempting to push herself back up the way she came. She soon realized her efforts were futile, and simply sat curled up, as she tried once again to distract herself. "This is for everyone..." She said softly to herself. "E-everyone will be safe because of this. It'll be over soon, and they'll all be protected..." She continued to repeat those and similar sayings to herself, partially succeeding in putting her mind off of her impending doom.

[Whitebrand]

Time passed. Finally something did indeed happen.

Fiona was laying on a cold stone floor...somewhere. In the dim light she could make out many other figures surrounding her, none of them moving. All were female, and all were completely silent. It took some moments for her eyes to adjust to the low light, but she was able to make out that she was surrounded by dark crystaline statues of young females. They were posed in various expressions of fear, panic, surrender and even serenity. A closer look revealed that she may have recognized a few of them...the statues strongly resembling previous sacrifices to the dragon.

[GenericBunny]

Fiona seemed a bit unsure of when or how the floor transformed from warm and squishy to cold and hard. Her panic and terror were momentarily replaced with confusion as she realized that she was no longer in the dragon's stomach. She slowly rose to her feet as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She started to slowly walk through the room, eyeing the statues curiously. The vixen was more concerned with what had happened just before though. What happened to the dragon? Was this some sort of illusion, or was she in a strange, vivid dream? This place felt too real for it to be either though, she thought.

Her eyes widened as she recognized a pair of the statues as previous sacrifices... just as she felt something pooling at her feetpaws. Was it the slime and saliva from the stomach?

[Whitebrand]

The fluid at her feet began creeping up her legs as though it were alive, solidifying over her bare skin as it went. Up the dark fluid moved, covering her calves and knees in mere seconds. It was slightly warm and a vague tingling sensation came to the flesh it covered. Her feet were completely mired in the stuff, and she found herself unable to move from that spot. The stuff climbed up her body steadily, and no amount of wiping was able to hold it back.

Now she knew how the statues had been made.

[GenericBunny]

Fiona looked down at her feet, realizing that there was something more than slime from the dragon's innards on her! She tried to step away, managing to move one foot, but was unable to get the other off the ground again. Soon her first foot was completely stuck as well, as she watched the fluid run up her legs.

She looked worried as she realized she was being turned into another statue, and tried to make her legs move again even as it reached her hips. The fox seemed less desperate now than when she had been swallowed alive, however. This didn't seem to be as bad as being digested alive, at least. She sighed as she closed her eyes, deciding to simply accept her fate. It didn't seem struggling was getting her anywhere, anyways.

[Whitebrand]

The fluid crept up her body, moving faster the more area it covered. Finally all but her face was encapsulated by the strange substance. She didn't need to see to know when the fluid began closing over her face...but she did not suffocate even though the stuff was quickly covering her nose and mouth.

Instead all that seemed to happen was that her senses began to turn off, gradually but noticeably. It was rather like drifting off to sleep. A far more merciful fate than being torn apart by teeth or given a nightmarish acid bath.

Without warning she was awake. She was in a bed with a collar around her neck. Nearby, sitting on a small couch, was an anthro version of the dragon that had devoured her.

"Welcome back," he said in his deep voice.

[GenericBunny]

The gentle tingle over her body did feel nice, even as the parts that had been covered first began to go fully numb. She noticed her thoughts getting clouded, as she started to lose track of what was going on around her. She was still filled with fear, but at the very least it seemed she would get a nicer death than she had been expecting. She did not attempt to resist, allowing herself to slowly drift off...

Fiona blinked once, and found herself laying in a soft bed, with her senses and her mind suddenly working again. She lay there for some seconds, trying to figure out what had just happened. Going from a stomach to a cold floor, and from trapped in a crystal to in a bed. Maybe this really was just a vivid dream. Or perhaps she was experiencing what it was like to pass on after having died already. She slowly sat up, seeing the smaller dragon. She hadn't quite put together that this might be the same dragon that devoured her, until that familiar voice spooked her! She scooted back into the headboard, instinctively wanting to get away.

"What's happening?" She asked, her voice still a bit shaky and still feeling scared, though far from the nervous, terrorized wreck she had been when going down his throat.

[Whitebrand]

"I'm indulging myself in the option of making my prey into a pet," he said calmly, as though this were an everyday occurrence. "My time is very much alone. I find myself with an unusual need for company. And I would take it as a special honor to have one as lovely as you."

He spoke as though he were doing her a favor.