Rest l ess & Hungry Sp ir i t s It’s rare to find a place quite as paradoxical as a forest. It’s a beautiful, lush

environment full of wonderful sights to behold, creatures to befriend, and a sense

of purity. Yet, it’s also a place so dense that it’s not especially hard to get lost in the

woods. Like so many folk stories, something so seemingly beautiful and pleasant

can become quite easy to get lost in, and once lost, suddenly the tranquility and

isolation can be quite unnerving and oppressive. This was a lesson one

anthromorphic Barn Owl would soon realize.

Her name was Rchlis, she was a young humanoid Barn Owl dressed in a red

hoodie, with gray slacks and sneakers. Her eyes shifted left and right as she

wandered aimlessly through the woods, both frustrated and slightly nervous.

“C’mon, there was supposed to be an opening by now,” Rchlis remarked, steadily

making her way through the densely tree-populated forest. Her surroundings

were a bit dim from just how thick the trees all around her were. She took out her

cellphone, and predictably, there were zero bars. “Whelp, so much for ‘Waze: Lost

in the Woods’ Edition,” she muttered, putting her phone back in her pocket and

still seeking a way back on her trail out. Rchlis looked left and she looked right.

Then, she sighed to herself. “…Yep. That settles it. You are one hundred percent,

very, very…very much lost. Way to go…”

Just then a sudden rustling in the bushes caught her attention. Rchlis gulped

nervously then promptly turned right around. “O-Okay, maybe backtracking’ll

help. H-Heh, y-yep, maybe some familiar settings’ll help us figure the lay of the

land.” As Rchlis chattered to herself, she picked up the pace in her walking, now

doing her best not to run and draw attention, but very much ‘power walking’

through. “…This is the last time I ever ‘see nature’ without a guide again, I swear,”

Rchlis muttered to herself, a little more nervous than before.

However, something caught her attention. Rchlis’ eyes widened somewhat with

relief when she saw rather peculiar looking trees. “Black bark!” she said with relief,

stepping towards the forested area. “Riiiight, I remember, th-there was this whole

section of forest with black bark. In fact, I think I cut through here. Or, at least

near here.” With little frame of reference, Rchlis opted to quickly but carefully

head through the black bark forest. But strangely, there was an odd chill in the

air, as if the temperature in this area alone had dropped a slight but very

noticeable amount. It was enough to make Rchlis’ feathers stand on end, making

her neck shrink into a slightly puffed up scruff, not unlike a traditional owl.

Then, straight ahead, Rchlis caught an unusual sight. In the darkness, she mistook

it for a reindeer. It appeared to be a sizeable, darkened creature with very

reindeer-like antlers, or so she thought. Then, Rchlis carefully took a few steps

forward and got a closer look. Only then did she realize how wrong she was.

What was hunched over, eating something that may have once been a living

creature, quite messily in fact, was not a reindeer at all. It was a ghastly, cloaked

creature, like a wraith straight out of a nightmare. Those antlers appeared to be

fastened to either side of its’ hood. As it chomped away, Rchlis’ heart pounded

intensely, so much so, she was afraid the beast might actually hear it thumping in

her chest. She gulped nervously and oh so slowly took a few steps backwards,

trying to get away from the frightening creature without getting its’ attention.

But then, like something out of a cartoon, she stepped onto a few discarded sticks,

which crunched beneath her sneaker, and caused the hooded beast to stop eating.

Rchlis froze like a deer in headlights when the cloaked creature slowly sat up and

lifted its’ head, staring directly at Rchlis, whose eyes were as wide as saucers.

“…Oh…poop…”

Then, with a throaty, blood-curdling howl, the cloaked beast charged at Rchlis,

lunging at her with very razor sharp claws. Rchlis yelped in terror and just

narrowly dove out of the way from being ‘plucked.’ The beast slammed into several

trees, causing a few to tumble down onto it. This slowed it down just momentarily

enough for Rchlis to make a mad dash further into the black barked woods. The

hooded beast soon broke free from the mess that befell it and took off in pursuit of

Rchlis.

“M O T H E R N A T U R E S U C K S ! ! ” Rchlis cried out to herself as she ran for dear

life, constantly checking behind her to see if she was losing the beast.

Unfortunately, it was gaining on her, rushing like a mad monster high on

adrenaline. It would no doubt catch and maim her at this rate. So, thinking fast,

Rchlis made a sudden left turn into a more densely covered area of the forest, just

as the hooded beast pounced and just narrowly missed. Rchlis was cutting

through the trees, zigzagging her way and constantly checking behind her to make

sure the beast wasn’t on her tail.

But with all that looking behind her, Rchlis neglected to check what was right in

front of her until it was too late.

*SCHLUMP!* Just as Rchlis turned her head back, she ran face first into something very thick,

very round, and very jiggly. So much so that Rchlis actually bounced backwards

and fell onto her rump as a result. “Oof! Hey, watch where you’re going!” called

out a rather deep voice, likely belonging to whoever or whatever Rchlis had just

bumped into. Upon hearing the voice, Rchlis looked up, and just like before, her

heart dipped with terror. It appeared to be a spirit, one that sported a raggedy,

dark green cloak, which concealed the creatures’ face, but not his very ghostly,

semitranslucent, ectoplasmic body, from his muscular arms, his ghostly tail, and

most notably, his immensely big, round, jiggling stomach.

Clearly, Rchlis had just run face first into this big ghosts’ bigger belly because it

was wobbling and sloshing heavily like gelatin. Sufficed to say, she wasn’t sure

which hooded figure to be more afraid of. Fortunately, this big fat ghost didn’t

seem quite as aggressive, more annoyed than anything else.

“I mean, I know I’m big and all, but I’m not that fat-“ but just then, the ghost

stopped speaking midsentence when he actually looked down at the trembling

Barn Owl. “Waaaait a minute, you’re not a spirit…”

Rchlis was too scared to even speak. She was too scared to even stand up or run.

At least, that’s what she thought, until a familiar howl made her practically jump

out of her feathers and dart away for safety, but not finding any immediate routes

to run. As she feared, the restless spirit that had been chasing her tears its’ way

into the area, screeching and hissing like a monster out of a child’s worst

nightmares. But the fat ghost isn’t nearly as intimidated as Rchlis. Instead, he

casually reaches for a glowing, ghastly looking lantern, not unlike something of a

nightmarish image itself, and beneath his hood, blows air into it. In response, the

glowing flames of the lantern cascade outward like a haunted inferno. It almost

appears as if the fat ghost himself were blowing flames at the restless spirit, whose

body is promptly singed by the flames. The spirit screech of agony echoes into the

sky above, causing several leaves to fall from their branches, until it storms of sight,

body still aflame. The ghost watches the beast rush off, then nods to himself.

“Hmph, that’ll show him,” the fat ghost says in a pleased manner. Rchlis, who had

been watching the whole encounter, slowly steps out from behind a tree. The ghost

then turned his attention to Rchlis, and she shrank back behind the tree, peaking

out to observe the fat ghost. Oddly enough, when he turned, his big round

stomach sloshed quite audibly, like an immense vat of syrup. In fact, she can see

that his huge gut was still jiggling a good amount. The ghosts’ belly was so fat that

it was still reacting to the impact of being bumped into by her. And it would

appear the ghost had noticed this too, because he looked down at his heavy belly

and promptly grasped it firmly with his free hand, causing the jiggling to

eventually subside in his grasp.

Sufficed to say, Rchlis dared not imagine how a ghost got that fat.

“You can come out, I promise I don’t bite,” the fat ghost assured in a surprisingly

friendly manner, even waving softly at the young Barn Owl. Then, the ghost

chuckled and said, “Though, I do eat a lot, if you couldn’t already tell.” And just to

accentuate his point, he gave his big rubbery belly a hearty pat, causing the

spherical surface to ripple beneath his palm in almost hypnotic fashion, and slosh

quite audibly as a result. This didn’t help tensions one bit, which the ghost seemed

aware of. “Heheh, okay, bad joke…I mean, it’s not quite a joke, but I digress.

Anywho! I’m Dietrich. Pleased to me you, Miss…umm…Owlie? I wanna say Owlie.

Noooo, maybe, umm…Sue? Bird Girl? Pamela? This is gonna get awkward soon…”

“…R-Rchlis,” Rchlis finally spoke up, stepping awkwardly out from behind the tree.

“Hmm, interesting name,” the chubby ghost, Dietrich commented. He then tilted

his head in a slightly curious fashion. “Pray tell, Rchlis, what’s a friendly looking

young lady like you doing wandering around in the woods? Particularly these

woods…?”

“…W-Well, I, I was just going for a walk. It was nice out this afternoon, and I’ve

always wanted to see the deeper part of the forest. And I just, kinda got lost…”

The chubby spirit audibly sighed in a slightly frustrated matter and shook his

head. “Yep, you most certainly are one hundred percent lost, else you wouldn’t be

here,” he informed Rchlis. “Tell you, have you ever heard of the Lost Woods?”

“…The, umm, that level from Ocarina of Time…?”

Though Dietrich’s face was completely blackened by his hood, Rchlis could sense

him blinking in dull fashion. “…The Lost Woods is a plane that exists within the

spirit realm and the spirit realm only. Living creatures shouldn’t be able to roam

these parts,” Dietrich remarked, tapping his tubby dome idly with his free finger in

thought. Each tap made his belly jiggle just ever so slightly beneath his thick

finger. “Which means you’ve probably wandered through one of their traps…”

Rchlis suddenly grew more nervous than she already was. “T-Trap…? Wh-What’re

you talking about? I’ve literally just been walking around the same woods-”

“-If you’ll forgive me,” Dietrich interrupted, holding a finger up, and causing his fat

form to slosh around from the sudden jolt of action his floating body just took

holding his arm up. “But when you were wandering through the woods, by chance,

did you stumble upon trees with black bark?”

“Y-Yeah, actually. It was odd, but I thought it was just really old or something…”

“That’s what they hoped you’d think. My dear, I fear you’ve walked into a covertly

placed opening into my realm. A trap portal, if you will, where once you’ve entered

the black barked forest, you’ve entered the Lost Woods.”

“…A-And who placed that trap?”

“You recall that oh-so-charming fella who I’m assuming was gunning for you?”

Rchlis nodded nervously in response. “They did. Those are restless spirits. Their

hunger gnaws at them something fierce, and that hunger can only be satiated with

the spirit of a living creature. And it would appear as though it’s found one.” Once

again, Rchlis’ mind was racing with this new bit of information.

“Oh crud on a stick,” Rchlis whimpered to herself. “Wh-What should I do?? H-

How do I get out of here?! I-Is that thing gonna kill me?!”

Dietrich held his palm up in an assuring manner to the Barn Owl. “Easy, easy

there. The way out is simply going back the way you came. The Lost Woods

doesn’t stretch over the entire forest after all.”

“B-But, but I was going left, right, and every way in between trying to get the hell

away from that freaky thing!” Rchlis shot back fearfully. “I-I have no clue where it

was I came from!”

“Relax, relaaaax,” Dietrich assures Rchlis, floating over and patting her gently on

the back. “You work yourself up like this, you’re gonna give yourself a heart attack,

and while that’s one way to keep a restless spirit from getting a fresh soul, it’s not

one I advise,” Dietrich joked, but judging from how terrified Rchlis looked, it

probably wasn’t the best time, which he seemed aware of, judging from him

scratching the back of his hooded head in a slightly sheepish manner. “Okay,

again, bad joke, I’ll work on it. My point is, I can get you out of here safely-”

“-You can?!” Rchlis asked eagerly. “Oh, please! Please, Mister Dietrich! You gotta

help me out! If that thing finds me-“

“Easy,” Dietrich insisted yet again. “First of all, please, just Dietrich. Mister

Dietrich was my father. Actually, his name was Alo, which means spiritual guide,

and, coincidentally, kinda coincides with the second part. Yes, I can help you out

and I’m more than happy to. But, you should know, it, well, might not be the most

conventional of escorts.”

“…How do you mean?”

“Well,” Dietrich said in a more ‘here we go,’ kind of fashion, even leaning forward

as he said, which made his heavy gut sway and warble noisily like a rubbery ball

full of immensely thick liquid. “See, I can defend myself just fine as you very

recently saw. However, restless spirits, as you now know, can be quite cunning

when they aren’t bloodthirsty beasts. And I can’t guarantee they won’t snatch you

up from right under my peepers. However, if, say, you were very, very…veeeeery

close by, then I could keep you perfectly out of their vicious reach.”

“…H-How close are we talking here…?”

Dietrich whistled innocently, but, with his free hand, gave his big round belly a few

idly pats, making his large gut jostle and slosh with each pat. It didn’t take a

rocket scientist to figure out what Dietrich was proposing.

“…A-Are you kidding me…?” Rchlis finally said. “…Y-You just said earlier you

wouldn’t bite! Now you wanna eat me?!”

“Technically, that isn’t biting,” Dietrich corrected with an index finger raised.

“Not. Helping.”

Dietrich just chuckled and leaned down, wrapping an arm around Rchlis’

shoulders and tugging her close as he pitched the idea to her. Her sides sank

slightly into the thick, rubbery dome that was Dietrich’s stomach. “I get it,

someone proposes getting eaten? It’s kind of a lot, right? Just hear me out, if you

will. Getting eaten really isn’t all that bad, at least, not by me. Sure, you’ll be stuck

in my belly for a good little while. Sure, it’ll be kind of cramped. And sure, it

probably won’t be the cleanest place you’ve sat in all day, but restless spirits can’t

devour what’s already been devoured. And that’s the name of the game isn’t it?

Getting our dear friend Rchlis out of the Lost Woods safely and in one piece, yes?”

“…W-Well, yeah, but…it’s still me getting eaten…and I dunno how I feel about that.“

“Temporarily, I’ll let you out as soon as we reach the end of the Lost Woods. Think

of my belly as a ‘Vicious spirit-proof’ bubble. And let’s face it; all things

considered, there are worse ways of getting by. And far worse ‘drivers,’ if you will.”

Rchlis frowned to herself, tapping her clawed index fingers together in an uneasy

fashion. Dietrich could see how uncertain she was, and gently let her go and eased

back, wobbling slightly from even the subtlest of movements. “It’s entirely your

call, my dear. I promise that I won’t force you into my belly if you’re too nervous at

the prospect. And if you’d rather we just go with you very close by, we can give that

a shot too. All I’m saying is, the only way I can one hundred percent guarantee

your safety is if you let me swallow you whole. As I said, it’s your choice.”

After some contemplation, Rchlis sighed to herself. “…How’s that for irony…only

way I can keep myself from eaten by a ghost is to let myself get eaten by a ghost…”

She looked back at Dietrich and gave a half-hearted smile. “You did save me…and

you have been nothing but helpful since I bumped into you…”

“-Literally!” Dietrich said with a chuckle, one that, naturally, made his belly

bounce up and down as he guffawed with amusement.

Rchlis chuckled softly and scratched the back of her head. “H-Heh, yeah. Guess I

really don’t have any reason not to trust you. Just…please be gentle…”

“You have my word,” Dietrich assured Rchlis. “Shall we?”

Rchlis simply nodded, bracing herself for what she suspected would be unpleasant.

Then, Dietrich leaned down over Rchlis, his heavy gut swaying and sloshing loudly

in response to his motions. Rchlis closed her eyes just as the hood of Dietrich’s

cloak completely engulfed her. He then rose back up and only Rchlis’ feet were

seen dangling out of his mouth. Rchlis’ upper body was already working down

Dietrich’s throat, which protruded outwards immensely from her form. Due to

how stretched out Dietrich’s rubbery throat was, it became slightly transparent,

revealing Rchlis, whose eyes were clenched shut and whose body appeared

incredibly tense and uncomfortable. Dietrich was gentle but swift in his actions,

gulping heartily to work Rchlis down quicker and quicker to get the process over

with. Though, she did hear an unmistakable groan of pleasure and delight, likely

because the chubby ghost was enjoying his meal, even if he was rushing it.

Dietrich slipped his lantern over his shoulder, resting one clawed hand idly atop

the sizeable, transparent lump in his throat, following it as it slid downwards more

and more. His other hand was rested atop his big fat gut.

Rchlis sank further past his chest, which also expanded a great deal to

accommodate Rchlis, though it wasn’t transparent due to its’ far thicker frame.

When she finally started filling his midsection, Dietrich’s stomach, which was

already quite large, began to expand outwards bit by bit, swelling like an

immensely thick water balloon, one that already full and getting even fuller.

Dietrich could feel his belly expanding beneath his palm, and just kept gulping.

Until finally, with a sickening slurping down, Rchlis’ entire body was slurped down

into the belly of the ghost. After gulping Rchlis down, Dietrich’s belly almost

doubled in size as it pushed outwards heavily, hanging past his pelvis and ghost

tail immensely, bouncing outwards from her plummeting into the slimy mass.

Rchlis stumbled about from her plunge, but promptly pushed herself up into a

sitting position, groaning with disgust when she realized the source of all of the

sloshing in Dietrich’s belly was because it was full of spectral ectoplasm.

Outside, Dietrich sighed contently and planted both palms on either side of his

massive gut contently. “Oof, didn’t expect you to be so filling,” moaned Dietrich as

he lifted his large abdomen up with both hands, and promptly released, causing it

to bounce heavily, and the ectoplasm within to slosh around Rchlis as it swayed

against the rubbery stomach walls and against Rchlis herself. Then, almost

immediately after, Rchlis found her confines rumbling and quivering aggressively

in wake of an incredibly loud sound. The source was a pressure pocket unlodged

from the bounce, resulting in a massive belch, which erupted from Dietrich’s

concealed maw with enough force to ripple the edges of his hood somewhat.

“Whew! Damn, excuse me!” Dietrich muttered, thumping his chest a few times.

He then gripped his heavy belly with both hands and gave it a gentle shake,

working up a smaller, but still fairly considerable burp. “How’re you-*HIC!* -

mph, how are you holding up in there, Rchlis?”

“…N-Not too bad,” Rchlis admitted, adjusting herself somewhat and wiping some

ectoplasm off of her shoulder. She took in her surroundings. It was damp, slimy,

and the walls felt like silly putty. But it wasn’t nearly as unbearable as she

expected it would be. And she could still see ever so slightly outside, which was a

big plus. Nevertheless, she had some concerns, particularly when a gaseous rumble

bellowed forth from her surroundings, resulting in Dietrich burping loudly again.

“I had some questions though…”

“I-*HIC-CULP!* -mph, imagine. Guh, ask away.”

“Well, there’s the matter of air. I mean, you’re burping a lot and I’d…really rather

not suffocate down here.” In response, Dietrich slapped his thick stomach, and

worked up a huge belch, one much larger than the previous ones, and one that

jiggled Rchlis’ confines immensely and made her yelp and stumble back. “Gah!

See what I mean?!”

Dietrich simply smacked his lips contently beneath his hood and drummed his

clawed fingers atop his stomach, which Rchlis could vaguely make out. “Do tell,

my dear, do you feel lightheaded in any way?”

Rchlis blinked a few times, then took a breath, which she only partially regretted,

given her surroundings. But nonetheless, she shook her head. “N-No actually.”

“Does the air feel any lighter, like it’s harder to breathe?”

“No…?”

“Right. I know I have a solid form but lest you forget, I am still a ghost,” Dietrich

elaborated, rubbing over his vast belly fondly in slow, circular motions. His palm

sank into the rubbery dome as he rubbed away and continued to explain. I can

phase through whatever what I wish and allow anything to phase through me.

Right now, air from the outside is phasing through my belly and filling your lungs.

I’ve allowed just enough phasing for air and air alone to enter my body without any

other foreign factors into the party.”

“…Huh, didn’t know ghosts worked that way.”

“Did you even-*HIC-UUURRP!*-gruh, did you even know ghosts

existed at all?” Dietrich asked, grunting again after his eruption and patting his

stomach a few times to settle it down to no avail.

“…Nope.”

“Then I rest my case,” Dietrich said with a firm nod, which swayed Rchlis’ jiggle-y

confines just a bit more. “Anything-*HIC-CLUP!* -mph, anything else?”

“Well, like I said, you are burping a lot. Your stomach isn’t going to get agitated

and start, y’know, working me down, will it…? Can you keep that at bay?”

Again, Dietrich just laughed a big hearty belly laugh, emphasis on the latter as said

belly jiggled and jostled around, unwittingly shaking Rchlis’ about. “My dear, you

try holding a living creature in your belly and see if you aren’t burping left and

right,” Dietrich said with amusement. “My ectoplasm doesn’t break down

anything unless I will it to. Yes, you’ll be just fine.”

“W-Well, about that…” Rchlis asked a bit more uneasily. “Y-You said keeping me

in your stomach was the only way you could me safe, right? B-But, what about

you? Can’t that Dark Spirit thing still hurt you…?”

“Hmph, they can try,” Dietrich said, not in a cocky sort of way, but in a genuine

matter-of-fact demeanor. Now, if you’re satisfied, shall we move along? The

daylight won’t last forever after all.”

Rchlis nodded, and Dietrich floated on, clutching his belly with one hand and

using the other to hold the lantern out ahead of him as he floated by.

The two looked around the woods for a way out. Dietrich scanned his

surroundings, humming curiously to himself while holding his jiggling dome

steady. His grasp kept his gut from shaking too aggressively for his passenger.

However, Dietrich did find himself burping quite frequently as he traversed, often

apologizing for how ‘bumpy’ Rchlis’ taxi ride was getting, but she didn’t mind too

much after a while. As he himself suggested, she had dealt with worse rides in her

life. And even though her vision was slightly obstructed, Rchlis was still able to see

through Dietrich’s belly to help look around for familiar locale. When neither one

could find any, Dietrich continued floating forward, trying to retrace Rchlis’ steps,

though it was difficult considering the circumstances which she was running from.

“Wait, hold up, over there,” Rchlis said, looking at a familiar path in the woods.

“Where?” Dietrich asked. Then, Rchlis pushed her hand out, making Dietrich’s

belly stretch with a visible imprint of her hand, namely her index finger as it

pointed at the path in the woods. This caused Dietrich’s stomach to become a little

more transparent as it was stretched.

“Right there, see that path?” Rchlis asked.

“Y-Yup,” Dietrich responded. Though his face was concealed by his hood, there

was a rather notable blush on his face when Rchlis’ hand stretched his belly out.

But that blush subsided when Rchlis pulled her hand back and ceased stretching

his stomach out. Nonetheless, he followed the path. It was actually taking a while,

considering how much the Lost Woods often felt like a labyrinth. But the more the

two searched, the more they started to converse a little bit more casually. After a

while, it really did feel like just taking a long ride and striking a conversation with

the taxi driver. It was enough to really put Rchlis at ease where, even if she was in a

rather dire situation, she felt significantly safer the more relaxed she was with

Dietrich. The fat, gluttonous ghost even managed to crack more of his badly timed

jokes, and this time, earn a few giggles and snickers here and there.

After a while though, Rchlis started to notice Dietrich aiming the lantern ahead of

him in every direction he looked. And because she felt slightly more comfortable

with the ghost, she decided to ask about it. “Say, Dietrich, how come you need that

lantern? It’s still pretty bright out, y’know.”

“Yes, it is. That isn’t quite what the lantern’s for though,” Dietrich insisted. “You

see, like the other spirits within this realm, I’m a cursed spirit. As such, my lantern

is constantly prompting me to wander both the spirit world and this mortal plane.

I’m bound to wander this existence, and my lantern, in essence, is my chain.”

Rchlis frowned when she heard that, almost in a sympathetic manner. “Well, that

sucks. D-Do, do you ever get lonely, wandering around by yourself all the time like

that?”

But once again, Dietrich laughed heartily, resulting in another sizeable burp to

rumble out of his maw. Dietrich cleared his throat and hit his chest a few times

then shook his head. “Trust me, my dear, I do not get lonely out here. And I don’t

just mean restless spirits. In fact, I’m known across the land as the ‘Traveler Spirit.’

I traverse considerable distances from time to time, because yours is not the first

living face I’ve come across.”

“It isn’t?”

“Nope! Several creatures of varying type have found themselves trapped in the Lost

Woods, or sometimes, just lost in general. And I’ve often acted as the guide to their

destination. You think I just came up with swallowing you whole on the fly like

that? Nope, in fact I’m quite used to carrying passengers like yourself, some quite

larger, in fact.”

“Really? Man, that’s pretty generous of you.”

Dietrich chuckled and shook his head. “Well, I wouldn’t say generous...”

“How do you mean?”

“As with any service, if you it consistently and well, you never do it for free, right?”

“W-Well, no, but, I mean, you’re a ghost. What can you do with money?”

“Oh, I didn’t say money. No, my fee’s a little different. In exchange for getting

people where they need to get, when they’re sitting in my belly, I siphon a bit of

their souls energy. The larger the distance, the more energy I consume. What, you

didn’t think I got this fat floating around the woods, did you?”

Rchlis blinked dully and uneasily in that moment. She was a bit more unnerved

once she’d heard that. “…That’s…another joke, right?”

Dietrich chuckled and shook his head. “Nope. Most certainly is not. It isn’t

enough to take a large chunk out of anyone’s life. It’s just enough to keep me nice

and full. But, I know what you’re thinking, and no, I won’t be collecting with you.

Your ride is completely on the house.”

“…Wait, really?”

“Of course! Your situation was far more dangerous than most passengers I’ve ever

had. Why, what kind of Traveler Spirit would I be to charge for people in need like

that? Besides, it’s rare that I have a passenger who actually bothers conversing

with me. Granted, I think most people are kind of soured by the whole ‘soul energy

siphoning’ thing, but I digress. Point being, it’s nice being able to actually chat

with a passenger instead of them just sulking in my guts.”

Hearing that, Rchlis couldn’t help but smile softly. She reached over and patted

the stomach walls ahead of her. “Aww, thanks, big guy.” Just then, another

familiar sight caught Rchlis’ eye. “Ooh! Over there, see that passing?” Once again,

her hand stretched out to point Dietrich in the direction she was talking about.

Dietrich blushed furiously again at having his belly stretched out, but nonetheless

looked out at the direction she was pointing at.

Unfortunately, because Rchlis stretching the stomach walls made Dietrich’s

midsection transparent on the outside, a certain spirit could now see Rchlis plain

as day within the Traveler Spirit’s bloated belly.

A blood curdling screech echoed across the lands, and in unison, both Dietrich and

Rchlis said, “…Oh crap.”

Before Deitrich could act, the same restless spirit from before pounced onto the fat

ghost, knocking him down onto his back. Dietrich and Rchlis grunted in pain as

the heavyset ghost fell onto the ground. Then Rchlis cried out in terror when the

restless antler spirit jumped on top of Dietrich and started savagely clawing at his

belly. The beasts’ claws sank into his thick hide over and over as the beast

attempted to slash it open and get to Rchlis.

Worse yet, with the vicious assault on Dietrich’s belly taking place, his stomach

walls were stretched enough to make it transparent again and expose Rchlis to

other, hungry restless spirits, all of whom hissed and started to circle around the

area. They all had their eyes on the feathery prize within Dietrich’s globular

paunch, and they could practically taste her fresh spirit.

The restless Dark Spirit continued slashing and clawing at Dietrich’s belly but try

as it might, its’ razor sharp claws simply weren’t enough to penetrate the thick,

rubbery surface of Dietrich’s dome. It was, however, enough to stir up quite a bit of

pressure festering in Dietrich’s belly from the abuse it was taking.

“MRRRP! Oof!” Dietrich muttered, burping into his fist as, from beneath

his hood, his cheeks expanded greatly from the gas rushing up his throat. But it

was getting harder and harder to hold back as the assault continued. Eventually,

Dietrich pulled his fist back and let loose with a huge, forceful belch.

“BUH-

HOOOOOOOOUUUUUURRRP!!!” The kicker, of course, was that Dietrich belched that powerful, guttural belch right

in the restless spirit’s face. The expulsion of stomach gasses was so forceful that it

actually pushed the enemy spirit off of Dietrich and knocked it back a bit. With

that opening, Dietrich promptly grabbed his lantern, and before the disoriented

spirit could even collect its’ baring’s, Dietrich bashed it across the head with his

lantern. The restless spirit shrieked in pain and tumbled backwards against a

nearby black barked tree, stunned from the attack.

In that moment, Dietrich floated back up and in an instant, pinned the restless

Dark Spirit firmly against the tree with his huge, heavy belly. Dietrich’s dome

pressed firmly against the enemy spirit, making it cry out in pain as it clawed and

punched at Dietrich’s stomach to force him off.

But the battering to Dietrich’s gut accomplished little except making Dietrich burp

again and again, into the spirit’s face, leaving it more disoriented as a result.

“BRAAAAAAUUUURRRP!!

Gruh, *HIC !* Mph, my apologies for all the…HUUUUURRRP!

Urgh, f-for all of the roughness in there. This one’s quite…

EEEEEUUUURRRRP …mph

, f-feisty, if you couldn’t already-*HIC-CUP!* tell,” Dietrich apologized to

Rchlis in between deep, guttural belches brought on by the spirits’ attacks.

“I-It’s okay, b-but, wh-what’re we gonna do…?” Rchlis asked, clearly petrified by

the situation, and seeing the spirits around them, all very clearly looking for a Barn

Owl Spirit Kebab.

In response to her inquiry, Dietrich leaned forward so he and the restless antlered

spirit were face to face. Then, Dietrich started to inhale deeply. Dietrich sucks the

air around him intensely, pulling back as he keeps inhaling and inhaling in one

big huff. The restless spirit twitches and shrieks, but its’ noises become distorted

and hard to determine. Until suddenly, something emerges from the restless

spirits’ hood…a large, bright glowing ball of purple energy. It floated out past the

lifeless restless spirits’ form, around the size of a large basketball.

Dietrich looked it over for a moment, then, after nodding contently, from beneath

Dietrich’s hood emerged a long, pale and slimy green tongue, one that coiled

around the purple ball of energy, and eventually retracted back into Dietrich’s

mouth.

*GLOMP!*

The Traveler Spirit swallowed the entire ball of energy whole. Dietrich pulled his

head back as his throat swelled out immensely with a basketball sized lump

sticking out of it. The rubbery surface of Dietrich’s throat appeared utterly taut to

the touch, and, much like his belly, stretched to the point where it was now

transparent, and showcased to all of the other nearby and now unnerved restless

spirits the purple energy from the spirit Dietrich had just devoured. With each,

slimy sounding gulp, they all watched as the ball of purple energy oh so slowly slid

down Dietrich’s thick neck, pushing down more and more with each hearty gulp

he took. Dietrich grimaced and thumped his chest repeatedly to help work the orb

down his gullet until with one final, especially hearty gulp, the lump in Dietrich’s

throat passed down his gullet and was deposited into his round, ghostly dome.

Rchlis yelps as the purple ball of the antler spirits’ energy plummets down into the

ectoplasm besides her. She immediately pulls away, making Dietrich’s belly wobble

about with all of her motions.

“Gruh, don’t worry, it can’t hurt you in there,” Dietrich assured her in a strained,

hoarse tone. Sure enough, as the purple sphere floated onto the surface of the goo,

it started to sizzle. Not the goo, fortunately for Rchlis, but rather, just the orb itself.

She watched with fascination as it started to steadily dissolve within the ectoplasm.

As a result, the puddle of goo beneath Rchlis seemed to grow larger, courtesy of the

restless spirits’ essence adding to the mass of ectoplasm. Not only that, but

Dietrich’s stomach walls seemed to grow thicker, causing Dietrich’s belly to hang

out even lower. Eventually, the purple ball of energy was no more. And thanks to

its’ offering, Dietrich’s stomach had grown larger, due to a larger quantity of

ectoplasm being stored within and a thicker mound of belly flesh to accommodate

such a dense amount of goo festering within his gut.

Dietrich groaned contently as his body worked down the restless spirit’s energy

and added it to his own. His long, slimy tongue lapped his chops contently,

causing a few driblets of slime to spill out from beneath his hood while he grasped

his heavy, hanging gut with both hands, rubbing it up and down in satisfaction.

Then, he stopped for a moment, then noticed the other restless spirits all still

gaping beneath their own hoods at the larger, Traveler Spirit, and what he had just

done. Just then, Dietrich’s belly bubbled intensely, making his stomach ripple on

the outside. He knew exactly how to respond to the threats that remained…

“BRAAAAAUUUUUUUUURRRRHOOOOOUUUUUURP!!!”

Dietrich pressed his belly firmly and threw his head back, as he expelled a belch of

such utter magnitude that the ground genuinely quivered in its’ wake. The spirits

watched the trees rattle and several leaves fly off their branches as the eruption

raged on for several seconds straight. Poor Rchlis’ entire confines were rattled so

forcefully that she went dizzy not from a lack of air but from being shaken like a

baby’s rattle for ten seconds straight. She’d swear that if the stomach walls weren’t

so thick, she might’ve been deafened. When it ended, Dietrich smacked his belly in

satisfaction, muttering a small apology to Rchlis for that, then, used the cloak that

once belonged to the restless spirit he had devoured like a napkin and in a

gentlemanly fashion, dabbed the slime from his lips beneath his hood, and grinned

back at the remaining spirits.

“Well then, who’s next?” Dietrich asked simply.

It was almost comical how quickly the restless spirits all dispersed, fleeing the scene

for dear afterlife until it was just Dietrich and his passenger. He looked down at

where the enemy Dark Spirit was, after having just used his cloak as a napkin, but

then saw that the only thing which remained was just that, the cloak and its’

antlers. Dietrich snorted to himself then released the cloak, letting it flutter onto

the ground as he grabbed his lantern again and gently jostled his chubby stomach

with his free hand.

“Shall we?” he asked as if nothing had happened. Rchlis could do little else except

nod, a bit startled and shook, not just from the eruption, but also from the whole

frightening encounter. Fortunately, Dietrich was able to pick up certain signs

indicating that the two were nearing the end of their travels. And eventually,

before Rchlis knew it, they had come to a stop. “Whelp, end of the road!”

Rchlis yelped when suddenly, Dietrich’s clawed hand reached into his own belly,

phasing through it like nothing was there, despite the earlier attack making it seem

utterly impenetrable. He grabbed Rchlis and gently pulled her out of his stomach

and placed her onto the ground. When the young Barn Owl looked around, she

saw, much to her relief, she was back in a decidedly very normal looking forest. No

black barked trees in sight, and no hissing of restless spirits. Better yet, she could

see a sign in the dirt trail, which pointed her in the direction of the much sought

after exit. She stood there in silence for a moment while Dietrich scratched his

sides contently. With Rchlis outside again, Dietrich’s gut wasn’t quite as large as it

was previously. But thanks to his latest restless spirit meal, his belly was now

sagging down considerably. It was now looking thicker and rounder than it had at

the start of their journey.

“The ride was a bit bumpier than I expected it would be, and for that, I apologize,

but still. I’m glad I could help you out there,” Dietrich said in a voice that

suggested if his face were visible, he would be smiling down at Rchlis.

Then, without warning, much to Dietrich’s surprise, Rchlis rushed over and gave

his belly a big, tight hug. Dietrich grunted as she squeezed into his rubbery form

so tight, for a brief moment, his belly was squished in such a way that the big ghost

resembled a big fat hourglass. And of course, with so much pressure constricting

his gut all at once, it was predictable what followed almost immediately, despite

Dietrich’s best efforts to hold it back this time.

“BRREEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRP!!”

Because Rchlis was practically squeezing the chubby ghost, Dietrich let out a

thunderous belch, one that, because they were now in the plain of the living,

started several nearby birds, causing them to fly away with great haste in the wake

of that monstrous sound. When it ended, this time, Rchlis simply laughed and let

go of Dietrich’s stomach, causing it to bounce heavily into place, making the

ectoplasm in his massive paunch sway and slosh heavily within its’ confinement.

“Pfft, heheh, good one,” Rchlis said, grasping Dietrich’s belly for him to keep it

from swaying any further, and making Dietrich blush again at the sensation. Of

course, said blush intensified when Rchlis hugged his stomach again, this time, far

more gently than prior. “Sorry, I’m just, it was really scary in there, y’know? And if

I hadn’t bumped into you-“

“-Literally,” Dietrich said softly, earning a laugh from the two of them.

“Right. Point being, I’m really glad I did. Thank you so very, very, very much,”

Rchlis said in a grateful manner as she hugged Dietrich’s big round belly. Dietrich

once again slung his lantern around his shoulder then, surprisingly enough,

wrapped his burly arms around Rchlis and hugged her back, lifting her off the

ground and causing her to sink into his thick massive middle by a good few inches,

prompting him to hiccup, and making them both laugh even more until he gently

let her go back onto the ground.

“The pleasure was all mine,” Dietrich assured the young Barn Owl warmly. Then,

he cleared his throat in a more back-t0-business sort of way. “Well!” Dietrich said,

clapping his hands together and leaning forward, his belly wobbling and swaying

as he did so. “I best be on my way then! Please, do be more mindful of your

surroundings, yes?”

Rchlis just chuckled and nodded back. “Avoid black barked trees like a Tyler Perry

movie. Gotcha.”

“…I have no clue what that means, but okay!” Dietrich said with a nod. “Guess this

is where we part ways!” Then, in a gentle manner, Dietrich patted Rchlis on the

shoulder softly. “Do take care of yourself, Rchlis.”

Rchlis smiled back up at the ghost and gave his chubby belly a gentle back right

back. “You too, Dietrich.”

From there, the Traveler Spirit cradled his heavy stomach softly and turned right

around back into the woods. Rchlis watched until until eventually, he was

completely out of sight. She smiled softly and gratefully for a moment, relieved

and glad the whole affair was over.

“…Never heard of Tyler Perry before, huh? Lucky bastard,” Rchlis said with a soft

chuckle, and then followed the trail that would eventually lead her back outside of

the forest, where she could finally go home.

The whole ordeal should have shook her to her core. Yet, strangely enough, she

was in an oddly good mood. Sure, some ravenous, demonic spirits tried to rip her

limb from limb, but it comforted her knowing that there was a spirit out there

watching out for the ‘little guy.’ Or in this case, ‘the little birds.’

…All she knew with certainty was that no one could ever complain about their

commutes around her ever again…

T h e E n d