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A young girl named Lilly wandered a dark, eerie forest, trying to find her way home, or back to any form of civilization. The air was chilly, with the crystal clear night leaving not a trace of warmth behind. But that wasn't even the worst part.
At the edge of her vision, Lilly kept spotting glimpses of... something, it was nothing but shapes and what she thought might have been eyes. But something was watching her, following her even, moving in silence unlike her own footsteps, crunching pine needles and leaves. The poor child whimpered, looking around more and more frantically as the moments passed by. She could have sworn she was seeing it more and more. Every time she saw it, it would dash away at frightening speeds, only for her to spot it on the other side of her. Each time, it seemed closer than the last, like it was closing in.
The girl's heart was beating rapidly, her breaths coming out as short wisps as panic set in. A monster was following her, or... hunting her. What was she supposed to do? She had nothing to defend herself with and she didn't have any idea where she was going. And yet her pace gradually picked up speed.
To make things worse, the further she followed this path, the narrower it got, giving the beast more brush and trees to hide within, waiting for the perfect time to strike. But there was nowhere else to go, if she turned around she'd surely bump into whatever was out there.
It wasn't long before Lilly started to run, ignoring branches smacking against her. Once she started to run, so did the monster, she could finally hear it, heavy rhythmic footsteps of something big, growling ravenously behind her.
"Go away!" She called back at it as she ran, knowing it probably won't stop it, but fear and panic made one impulsive.
The growls and footfalls neared closer, steadily, it was gaining on her.
Then she heard a snap! Like jaws just a few inches from her head, thankfully only catching hair. Lilly let out a cry though, having only a split second to react before suddenly she was face to face with a bright, blinding light. She couldn't see and ended up tripping over something uneven on the path, landing on her front. The impact hurt, but thankfully she didn't try to break her fall, so all she managed to get was a few scuffs. She covered her head then to protect herself, eyes squeezed shut with a grimace on her face.
The monster behind her let out a pained shriek, loud and piercing through the air, then padded away at breakneck speed. It didn't seem to like the light.
"My god... Are you okay?" She heard a deep male voice ask from somewhere above.
Lilly wasn't sure if she wanted to look, it seemed too good to be true to have found a person, a human being, something that didn't want to eat her.
"I-is it gone?" The child asked fearfully, sniffing softly as at some point she started to tear up.
"Yeah, it's gone, for now. My flashlight drove it away, but I couldn't get a clear shot." He explained with a slight growl in his tone.
The girl gulped nervously, before she slowly picked herself up off the ground and looked upwards at this man. What she saw took her aback.
He was quite big, broad shoulders, like a small tree, with a gun in his hand, a pistol. It had a flashlight on the bottom of it, but thankfully he was pointing it away from her now. Despite his size though, he had a gentle face, with a soft, wary smile on his lips. His brown hair was a bit messy, giving him a slightly looser appearance than one may assume. Otherwise, he was decked in all kinds of gear over a green shirt and tan cargo pants, almost looking like a soldier of some sort. But to her, he may as well have been a modern knight from a fairytale.
"T-thank you mister..." She said in a grateful tone, standing up fully before the girl closed the distance between them, giving the man a hug on one leg. She was only as tall as his knee, so it was all she could really do.
Soon, the man crouched down and Lilly found herself gently scooped up in his arms, giving her a more proper hug to his chest. Lilly smiled and happily cuddled into him, soaking up the warmth of his hug. Thankfully, most of his gear was on his belt or sides, so his front was mostly snuggle-able, aside from the two straps that ran from his shoulders over his chest.
"You're welcome. I don't know what you're doing out here, but this is no place for a kid, it's not safe." He said with concern.
Lilly let out a weak giggle. "I... I noticed, it's scary..." She admitted, hiding her face in his shirt.
She heard as much as felt him let out a deep hum. "It's okay though, I'll keep you safe and... if you want, I could hide you from the monsters." The man offered, soft blue eyes peering down at her as she looked up at him.
Hide her? Lilly tilted her head. "Where will you be?" She asked worriedly, not wanting the kind man to leave so soon.
He smiled slightly, arms gently tightening around her to enforce the hug. "Nowhere, I'll bring you with me, just hidden and safe." He assured, but his gaze shifted to scan their surroundings, she assumed checking for that monster in case it came back.
She shuddered at the thought of seeing it again, so she nodded, knowing he was her only source of safety around here from that beast. He seemed nice too, and gave good hugs!
"Okay, I trust you, just... Don't let the monster get me, please?" She pleaded, peering up at him with wide, violet eyes, still watery from her tears earlier.
"I promise I won't, it will have to get through me first." The man replied with confidence.
And that was no easy feat, by just looking at him and plus, he had guns to ward it off. She wasn't a fan of loud noises, but in this situation, she understood they were needed. The girl giggled softly at him and watched as he dipped his head down towards her, and then... opened his mouth, wide.
Lilly blinked as her head and shoulders became engulfed in the man's jaws, feeling even warmer air surround her and warm up her face. His arms and hands adjusted then to help ease her inside deeper and soon it clicked what he was doing, as she felt herself slip into his gullet.
He was going to swallow her up whole, but was doing so with such care and gentleness that Lilly couldn't find it in herself to be afraid. Warmth and softness surrounded her, though she had long since closed her eyes since she couldn't see anything. It was even darker in him than it was outside, but the difference was she knew there were no monsters inside of him. Soon though, she noticed he stopped, with her torso in his mouth. From there he was totally still, as if he was waiting for something.
Lilly soon realized she was a bit tense, and maybe he noticed. The girl's nerves were still rattled from the encounter with the monster, but she managed to take a deep breath and urged herself to relax. It seemed a little crazy to be okay with the man swallowing her up whole, but deep down she knew his intentions were pure and if she was in his tummy, than his earlier claim would be quite literal. No monster could touch her inside as long as he was okay.
Soon, he gulped, and then without hardly a breath in between, he swallowed a second time, swiftly finishing her up and sending her down inside of him entirely. Powerful muscular walls surrounded her and kneaded her downwards, towards his awaiting belly. She was upside down for a little bit, sliding down through his chest, past his heart, just in time to hear as much as feel him take a deep breath when her feet slipped down his throat. It was a bit tight, but she kept still and waited for her to arrive in her new abode.
Which came sooner than she expected, suddenly finding herself slipping down into a slightly more open space. It wasn't cavernous, just big enough for her to comfortably curl up within, her form slightly stretching the walls past it's normal empty state. She was probably nothing more than a small bump in his midsection now, completely hidden from view, all safely tucked away from harm.
His tummy was quite comfortable, providing her a snug warmth that surrounded her from all sides, soothing the small scrapes and such on her arms and legs. She was also able to breathe comfortably and felt no sense of danger inside. If anything, all she felt was safety, knowing he was protecting her with his very being. The little one let out a happy giggle and snuggled into one of the belly walls, just in time to feel a gentle pressure push back, about the size of his hand.
Soon, she realized it was his hand gently rubbing his tummy, and the little guest within. "Thank you for trusting me little one, I promise I won't let anything hurt you." He assured, his deep voice now rumbling around her from above.
"I believe you, thank you mister for keeping me safe." Lilly chirped happily in response.
A warm chuckle vibrated her snuggly world. "You can call me Chris, and you're welcome."
Chris, that was a nice, pure sounding name to her. it was a good name for him.
"My name is Lilly, it's nice to meet you Sir Chris!" The little one replied with joy, giving a happy wiggle in his belly.
"It's good to meet you too, Miss Lilly." Chris answered with a polite tone, followed with a few soft pats to his middle.
Lilly soon settled down, letting herself sink into the soft, but supportive stomach. She then let out a soft giggle to herself, finding it funny that she previously thought of him as someone who didn't want to eat her up. And now here she was a few minutes later, all nestled away in his warm, strong tummy, the walls softly cuddling her like a comfy hug from all sides.
But she was safe, she knew she was, without any doubt in her mind. So in this case, she didn't mind having been gobbled up.
With a happy squeak, the young tot cuddled deeper into his belly, before she let the soothing ambiance of his heartbeat and breathing lull her to a peaceful slumber. The walls closed in a bit more around her, keeping her snug, but not suffocating, just holding her protectively. Powerful muscles helped hold her steady as Chris started to walk, venturing on with his mission, whatever that may be.