The swamp air had grown stale. The lack of food had become an obvious problem. Tobi recognized this but had assumed, at first, that the marsh would soon be alive again with an ample selection to choose from to satisfy his appetite but no such meal ever appeared.
 
 
The Gecko had become desperate. His urges growing to a point he could no longer ignore. He needed to eat.
 
 
He gave his feelings some thought, pondering his options when he realized something. He had one option. An option he had seldom considered before...
 
 
Cody rested in his bed, thumbing intently through his phone for something to occupy himself. It was difficult... He struggled to find anything that kept his attention for any considerable amount of time.
 
 
With a sigh, the brown haired teen sat up and stretched a bit before a rapping at his window caught his attention.
 
 
"Yo, Codester. It's me!" Came a familiar voice. It was Tobi, his unusual, gecko friend. Enthusiastically, the teenager opened his window and stepped back, allowing the slippery reptile to enter.
 
 
"What are you doing here, dude? I thought you said you were going to be busy hunting for a couple days." He asked, noting the very un-stuffed looking stomach in front of him. Cody knew that if Tobi had eaten, you'd be able to tell. It was pretty hard to hide when you'd eaten something a fraction of your size.
 
 
"Well, I was but it wasn't going anywhere." The Gecko replied, patting his empty belly as he tried to play off his friends inquiry. "Something's different out there, man. It's harder to find prey to eat. Especially larger prey. It's like they all just vanished..."
 
 
The reality of things was a bit easier to explain. Tobi's mutation was unusual to the ecosystem. He was easily capable of catching and devouring his prey uncontested but as more animals became aware of a looming apex predator, they migrated away. It was more advantageous to move out into neighboring territory than it was to stick around and end up digesting over a period of weeks.
 
 
"That's strange... I guess you're probably hungry, huh? I can go downstairs and nab you a snack or something if you want, man." He said, offering a warm smile to his friend.
 
 
To his surprise, he was not met with the same enthusiasm. Tobi offered a nervous grin, lowering his head as he rubbed his shoulder. "About that..." He began, "It's hard to explain but I can't eat human food. It's like an allergy or something. Anything that isn't alive when I swallow it makes me incredibly sick. I really wish I knew why..."
 
 
"Makes you sick?" The teen parrots, tilting his head in confusion. "So your food has to be alive then? I'm sorry I don't have anything alive around here to feed you. Honestly, I'm not sure where I'd even find something like that."
 
 
Tobi paused, scanning over the teen intently as the boy stared back. The Gecko rubbed his belly once more, working up the courage for his next words. "Well, I mean, you're alive aren't you?" He began, "I was hoping I could take you back to my swamp and... well... you know..."
 
 
Cody took a moment to process Tobi's words. Take him back to his swamp? Well, Cody had seen what happened to things he brought there. On atleast one occasion he'd watched Tobi feed and as fascinating as he found it all, he couldn't imagine being the mutants meal.
 
 
"You want to... eat... me?" Cody asked, pointing at his chest as he stared down his amphibious friend. He found the worldess response it elicited to send a shiver down his spine as the frog offered an affirmative nod.
 
 
"You should last me long enough to find a new spot to hunt for food. A good week or two. Longer than most of the prey I've eaten in the past." There was a sort of innocence to the frog's continued words. It was as though he was unaware of how monumental his request was. Though, Cody had to admit the frog looked like he was wasting away. He figured Tobi simply had his priorities to consider.
 
 
"So... how would you do it exactly?" The teen asked, his eyes, a shade between blue and green, scanned the green skinned body of his unusual friend. "I mean... like... is it going to hurt?"
 
 
"I wouldn't want to cause you any pain if I can help it but I figure once you start digesting there's not a lot I can do." He said, punctuating things with a nervous chuckle. He knew how it sounded and he realized there was a chance his honesty might put Cody off a bit but it wasn't in the toad's nature to lie.
 
 
He steeled himself, looking Cody in the eyes until they both locked in a mutual gaze. Cody's eyes bore the signs of confliction and concern, so the frog attempted to appear strong but understanding. After all, this was a BIG ask. When Cody recognized the look he was getting back, a feeling of understanding washed over him. This was serious...
 
 
"I never thought I'd be the one tucked away inside that stomach of yours someday." He admitted, offering a gentle pat to Tobi's stomach as a warm smile crossed his face. "You want to have me at the swamp?"
 
 
"It'll save me the trip carrying you inside of me." He explained, "A meal as big as you is going to be hard to climb out of your window with." He teased, recognizing the moment and the understanding the two had forged.
 
 
There was the slightest pause between them as Cody resigned himself to his fate. Swallowed alive by his best friend... What a way to go. He offered a nod in silence before hopping to his feet off his bed. "We oughta get going before my parents get back. Wouldn't want them to interrupt your lunch."
 
 
The boy slipped on his shoes and lead the way out through the house where the two exited out of the back door. Once the pair cleared his fence, they didn't quite need to be as cautious anymore. Cody knew the frog wanted to keep himself a secret, avoiding humans as much as possible. The fact the two had ever met was a rare slip up from the frog who had been a bit too ambitious one evening when he tried, and failed, to eat the boy's dog.
 
 
Well, this time he wasn't going to go home empty handed. The frog walked alongside the boy who couldn't find it in him to speak. An awkward silence clung to the air as the boy just about lead the way back to the swamp grounds he was all too familiar with.
 
 
When they finally arrived, the boy looked over the muddy pond, bereft of life and occasionally dotted with the remains of former prey. He could just make out the shape of the doe skull from a meal the frog had only had about a month prior. To Cody's knowledge, that was the last proper meal his friend had but he was about to change that.
 
 
"So... How do we go about this?" Cody said, his voice trembling as he realized the potential that bits of him might end up surrounded the pond.
 
 
Tobi recognized the fear hanging on the boy's words, a slight thrill tingling up his spine. He was a predator, he couldn't help that the presence of fear in his prey excited him more. He tried to fight his nature but the more he thought about packing his stomach with his human friend, he felt it added something to it all.
 
 
"Cody, can you take off your shirt?" He asked, not even giving himself a moment to think and the boy looked at Tobi before taking a moment to look down at the t-shirt that covered his torso. He needed to process his thoughts for a moment before he accepted the request and peeled the shirt off of his body.
 
 
Cody was a lean, toned, athletic type. His chest properly defined as was his tight abdomen. The frog had seen the boy barechested enough to know exactly what he was getting. The boy tossed his shirt aside, understanding that there'd be no point to carry it anymore. It was fair to say that it would not be making the trip down Tobi's gullet with him.
 
 
The frog approached, scanning the teen and sizing him up properly before the meal. He had practically hit the jackpot with this catch. Cody was a little short for his age but that just made things better. He doubted he could stuff himself with a 6 foot tall, highschool jock but Cody's diminutive, 5 foot 6 stature and slight build made him an ideal candidate for prey.
 
 
He lost himself in the moment, leaning in behind the boy to offer a slow, tasting lick along his spine that made the boy tense up and shudder at the touch. The frog could taste it, the rich flavor of fear. He could smell it on the boy, detecting a slight increase in response to his touch. The boy was bracing himself for what was to come.
 
 
"Take off your shoes for me please. Less for tasting this time, more because of how tough they look. I could swallow em down but they'd have to come back out one way or another and I'm pretty sure it'll hurt." He explained and he watched the teen as he lifted each leg one by one and plucked the shoes from his feet. There he stood, shirtless and barefoot with Tobi standing behind him, ok the cusp of being swallowed whole.
 
 
The frog wrapped his arms around the teen, pulling him tightly against his own bony person before continuing his licks along Cody's back. His tongue dancing between his shoulder blades as he tasted along the spine. The boy's warm body pressed against his slimy green flesh, the frog decided he'd take his time to savor his meal then feed proper once he was satisfied with the amount of fear he could taste coming off the boy.
 
 
Lacking teeth, the frog offered gentle nibbles along a shoulder as he felt the boy's breath grow shallow. Cody was bracing himself, perhaps still contemplating that the frog would consider not taking him whole. A hand on Cody's chest held him firmly in place as the thump of his heartbeat bumped against the palm.
 
 
"Are you ready, Cody?" Tobi asked, releasing his grip and turning the boy to face him. He lightly traced along the boy's arms, clasping his wrists as he stood there, looking the boy in his eyes.
 
 
Cody tried to look strong, steadfast in his decision to allow this to proceed. He felt a dryness in his throat that he cleared with a subtle gulp before he offered a nod to the frog.
 
 
Tobi pressed the boy against a tree, raising his arms over his head as he leaned in to explore Cody's front. His tongue pressed just above the boy's belly button before slowly, but surely, dragging along the front of his torso. It worked up along his rocky abdomen, over his chest, briefly making contact with a nipple, then lingering along the side of his neck.
 
 
This was it, he thought, the part when he found himself tucked away inside Tobi's guts. His toes curled, digging into the dirt below in anticipation. Then the tongue returned, dragging against his cheek and matting a bit of his hair as it proceeded further still.
 
 
It was time to eat. The frog could tell by Cody's scent that he was at the critical point. Prolonging this further could make the boy back out and change his mind. At the state he was in, that could be fatal and between Cody and himself, there was no way he could force the boy to comply. The teen could easily overpower him if he wanted.
 
 
So without another word, the frog's jaws spread and he began working the boy's head past his jaws. Saliva would be the most important part of this meal, he'd have the cost the boy in it if he had any hope of waddling back to his pond with a full belly.
 
 
Thick, pungent slobber spilled over Cody's head, further matting his brown hair as Tobi made him his meal. Within a matter of minutes, the frog had fully taken his skull inside, lowering his arms down to his sides as he worked to spread his jaws over his shoulders. This meal would be close... He could just about fit Cody into his stomach so every action would have to be purposeful and considered.
 
 
With a triumphant 'schlurp!' Cody's shoulders managed to slip through and that thick, grimy spillage continued to drop down his body. The frog tugged on Cody a few times, as it to take the boy off balance as he worked to take in his chest, the tongue toying with his nipples along the way.
 
 
Cody felt a strange sensation overcome him at the practically deliberate effort from the tongue, his body shuddering once more as he felt a tent form within his pants. His toes weren't sure how to respond, clenching and unclenching in no particular pattern as Tobi worked to swallow him whole.
 
 
By the time his belly button disappeared behind the frog's painfully widespread jaws, the frog recognized he'd need to adjust his position so he offered a sharp tug and pulled Cody away from the tree. The frog used all fours to drag himself and his bounty back towards the pond, his large feet vanishing into the murky waters as he dragged the lower half of the boy with him.
 
 
A couple more sharp pulls and Tobi had taken the boy's waist and thighs inside, leaving everything below the knee to be the last bit of his meal left in the open air. The frog crawled further into the water, pausing just above his waist as his tongue worked to encircle the last of his meal.
 
 
Cody was beginning to squirm, the frog detected a rising panic that he knew to restrain before going forward. Though, the frog was not sure if this was a conscious act on the boy's part or wholly reflexive. He figured if he had been in the same position, he might wriggle about himself.
 
 
His tongue dragged the remainder of his legs inside with another sharp tug, his jaws sealing around Cody's ankles as both foot wildly flapped independent of the other but yet another gulp took them in, inviting them into the jaws of the predator.
 
 
He waded in the water for a moment, the brief silhouette of toes pressed against the inside of his amphibious throat as a gulp dragged the pair away into Tobi's middle to join the rest of his meal.
 
 
He needed to take a moment to enjoy the wriggling of his prey, now fully sealed in his stomach the fighting had come far too late. Cody's struggling felt like little more than a massage to the well-fed creature. It proved to be more pleasant than uncomfortable as the frog allowed himself to float away from the edge of the pond. He rubbed his middle with satisfaction, making out clearly the various shapes of the human he called friend.
 
 
He realized it was time to move now. Cody's bones would not join the bleached remains of earlier prey, no, they'd be the first to dot the edges of some new pond somewhere else.
 
 
Until then, he had a good couple of days left to put up a fight before digestion took its toll.