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Three days Arthur had tried to snag that white arabian. Three damn days. The mare was so flighty he could barely even see her before she fled, and it frustrated him to no end. He didn't want to bring Kieran along, due to feeling like it might damage his pride, but the kid had a way with horses, and he knew they'd be able to catch her together.
"Oh, she's beautiful." Kieran breathed as he passed Arthur's binoculars back. "No wonder you want to catch her, sir."
Arthur nodded. "Yeah, but she's a wild one. Even tried lassoing her, couldn't get nearly close enough."
Kieran stroked his chin as he thought, patting Branwen's neck absently. "She should be in season right about now. We could see if Branwen could lure her over. Wouldn't be the first time he's done that for me."
"Hm. Might work." Arthur put his binoculars away. "You go see if you can catch her while I set up camp."
Kieran blinked. "B…By myself?"
Arthur shrugged. "I trust you not to run off. You know if you did, I'd hunt you down and take you back so Bill could finish that gelding job." he said, only half joking.
Shuddering, Kieran spurred Branwen on, looking for the white arabian.
It went well, Branwen luring the mare toward him with plenty of mating signals, and Kieran managed to rope her, attaching her to Branwen, giving her a pat and a carrot.
He gave Branwen a pat on the behind, watching him plod back to camp and stooped to pick some burdock, intending to make something so the arabian could make the journey back.
His head began to spin all of a sudden, and he groaned, falling back into the snow, the dizzy feeling making him feel as though he were falling. It stopped as suddenly as it started and he got to his feet, a strong sensation of vertigo making him feel queasy. He felt…smaller?
"What the fuck?" he whispered, looking at his own footprints, now twice his height. A spike of dread made his limbs feel numb. Or maybe that was the cold. He needed to get back to Arthur.
Kieran shivered violently as he walked along, fingers digging into his quivering arms. His need for warmth overshadowed his fear as he approached the distant fire. The wind bit at him, the odd snowflake clinging to him and slowly melting into his clothes. His new small stature meant he couldn’t retain body heat as well as he could before. The harsh chill gnawed at his bones through his flesh and his teeth chattered, threatening to bite themselves into shards. He looked at his angry red knuckles, gritting his teeth hard as he tried to stop his shivers, trying to walk within the horses' footprints to keep out of the deep snow. He could see Arthur getting up to pat the arabian, glancing around for Kieran, spotting him with a raised brow.
All of a sudden, a huge clump of snow was shaken from one of the fir tree branches, falling on top of Kieran, crushing him to the floor. He tried to move, only sinking deeper into the snowdrift, crying out for help. He barely noticed large fingers digging him out, pulling him into gloved palms. Arthur lifted Kieran to his face, peering at him with concern. "Shit, what the fuck happened to you?"
"I-I don't kn-know!" he whimpered, trying not to look at Arthur. “I-I-I’m s-s-so c-c-cold…” he chattered, his clothes soaking wet from the snow, beginning to freeze on his skin.
Arthur wrapped his hands around Kieran, noticing how his shivering increased when in contact with his cold leather gloves. “I'm almost as cold as you are… I don't want to put you near the fire, you'll heat up too fast, don't want you sick." Arthur wracked his brains, trying to think of somewhere warm to put Kieran.
A thought occurred to him. “Actually, I've got an idea. You ain't gonna like it, but I can't think of anything else."
Kieran blinked. “Wh-What's your p-p-plan?” he asked through chattering teeth.
Arthur smiled. “You'll see.” he slowly lifted Kieran to his lips, his tongue flicking out to wet them and his eyes widened, terror beginning to join his trembles.
Arthur let his mouth hang open in front of Kieran, his breath filling the cold air as it wafted around him. Kieran focused on his large, imposing mouth as Arthur expelled massive amounts of warm, used air, bands of spittle wobbling within his unimaginably cavernous mouth. Kieran had noticed how shapely Arthur's lips were, but the experience of being so close to them, breathing the same air as him, it was exhilarating. It was terrifying. “A-Arthur, no!” Arthur's teeth twinkled in the evening light as he brought Kieran closer, his tongue laying flat, revealing his dark throat at the back of his mouth. Kieran yelped as the softly undulating tongue stuck out, meeting his body. It was slimy and rubbery, tastebuds caressing him as he was licked, the hot flesh surprisingly soothing his cold skin. However, he could only struggle and scream and beg as the tongue pulled back with Kieran adhered to it with Arthur’s thick saliva. "Please! Please, don't eat me!" he watched as lips and teeth passed over his head, giving way to the darkness of Arthur’s mouth, becoming pitch black as his teeth shut with an audible click.
"Oh God, oh, please!" he thought Arthur was his friend, at least enough not to kill him. But this…
As he closed his jaws and got used to the feeling of having the former O'Driscoll inside his mouth, Arthur realised Kieran tasted pretty good. Although he smelled bad usually, he had a unique flavour, subtle and mellow, making his mouth water a little. Arthur wiped a bit of drool from his chin with a chuckle and wondered if Kieran wouldn't mind being tasted a little. Although, he supposed the best thing to do would be to move Kieran around in his mouth and make sure he didn't warm up too fast as he might if he were swallowed right away. He sat down beside the fire and began rolling Kieran around in his mouth, a soft hum coming from him as he enjoyed the sensation of him moving around on his tongue, his frantic fearful struggles tickling his flesh.
Kieran scrambled to try to pry open the huge jaws, knowing full well that he wouldn't even come close to stopping Arthur from doing what he wanted. Especially since Arthur clearly thought this was for the best. The tongue tip blocked the way between Kieran and his way out, nudging him back into the centre of Arthur’s mouth. Parting his lips slightly, Arthur let some light filter in through his teeth, hoping maybe Kieran would calm down if he could see. The soft floor beneath him shifted, becoming the shape of a taco shell, presumably to shield Kieran from his amazingly strong molars, each one the size of a gravestone. He shuddered as he imagined being crushed to an unrecognisable pulp between them and he thanked his stars that he hadn’t fallen in his food. Being swallowed whole was one thing. Being chewed like a grape and digested was a completely different kettle of fish. Unfortunately, Arthur took the shudder to mean Kieran was still cold and pinned him to his palate, rubbing the broad of his tongue up and down his body.
Kieran fought with all his might, still screaming bloody murder. Occasionally one of his appendages would slip out from between Arthur’s lips, meeting the biting cold, only to be pushed back in by a gentle finger. Kieran punched and kicked and bit, a hum from the back of the dark throat making him realise that his struggles were creating a sensation that was making Arthur more happy than hesitant.
Arthur kept having to pin Kieran to the roof of his mouth and let excess liquid drain down his throat, the flavour and movements making him salivate immensely. Although he didn't want to scare Kieran all too much, fun though it was, Arthur couldn't help wanting to try squeezing all the taste from him. It might have been the only chance to do so. He was gently moved to his front teeth, pressed against them as Arthur began sucking on him, creating a vacuum that made his ears pop. He felt like he was in a washing machine, being churned by that huge tongue, not knowing which way was up anymore. A single flick of the tongue and Kieran was flung back, landing with a wet slap in the centre of Arthur’s mouth. He didn't think anything of it, not a thought to his plight, only the need to warm him, and the delicious taste of fear on his tongue.
A gentle nudge and Kieran looked towards the scarily dark opening by his feet. He spread his limbs, pushing his fingers and the toes of his boots into the gaps between Arthur’s teeth. “NO! I'm warm now, I don't need to go down there!” The tongue was insistent, not shoving, but gently coaxing. "A-Arthur, please, this is awful! Please!"
As Arthur tilted his head back, Kieran suddenly panicked as he began to slide down, flinging his arms out and trying to claw his way back into that terrible mouth. He never thought he'd prefer being in there, but he did. His hands caught ahold of the uvula at the back of Arthur's throat and Kieran clung to it, arms around it, anchoring himself. He tried to pull his legs up but he felt Arthur’s throat muscles clamp around them, holding them tight no matter how much he kicked. With a yelp from Kieran and a thick swallow from Arthur, he was dragged down, seeing the light from above grow dimmer and dimmer. He bent his knees and elbows as the flesh around him kneaded and squeezed his entire body, pushing him downwards.
The shaking thumps of Arthur’s heart grew louder as he passed through his ribcage, feeling the pulse of it beside him, making his head throb.
From outside, Arthur traced his finger down his neck with the squirming bulge then down his torso as Kieran disappeared past his collar bone. There was a moment where his descent slowed as Kieran tried to become a blockage, but a few swallows soon sent him on his way.
Kieran felt the pressure on his feet subside as the oesophagus ended. He was pushed into Arthur’s stomach, landing on the soft flesh with a bump, grunting. Arthur made a happy hum noise as he felt a nudge in his belly, resting a hand above where Kieran lay. He sat up, hands fumbling around for anything to ground him, his mind racing with panic. He expected burning, but he didn't feel anything. Confused, Kieran patted the fleshy walls surrounding him. There was no excess liquid, just enough to keep everything slick.
Kieran gave the stomach wall a well placed kick, making Arthur laugh softly, clawing at the wrinkled walls, his panic beginning to exhaust him. He sat down, panting from his panic, laying against the soft surface, listening to the slow breathing and dull beating heart above him, and the gurgles of Arthur’s digestive system below.
It felt nice, having Kieran moving around inside him, and Arthur rubbed his belly through his clothes, almost purring. "There. That's better, ain't it?"
"No!" Kieran yelled back at Arthur. "Please let me go! I don't wanna die!"
Arthur rolled his eyes. "You ain't gonna die, O'Driscoll. I ain't intending to keep you in there long. But I might end up eating you again, you're delicious."
Kieran trembled as he sat there in the darkness, trying to beat back the tiredness that was exacerbated by the warmth around him. He didn't know when he dropped off, but the ebb of the fear left him feeling exhausted. Arthur was glad that he'd managed to fall asleep, but that didn't stop him from stroking his belly every now and then on his way back to camp.