Finishing up the story with  corgsdale ! Nairo and Tyr are ready for their final mission before accepting retirement (and immobility). Question is, if catching 20 or so Zwein was what kickstarted their growth to this point, just how fat would these massive mages become if they caught infinite Zwein?!

I hope you all enjoy! 6.6k words.

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Once there, the trundling wobble towards the village didn’t take long at all. The two were met with a cart, several proud villagers, and a whole host of gawkers. The two had been there just a couple months ago, and yet now? The dragon was a walking blob and the ferret looked so smitten and taken by that blob, as well as more than double his own size, that many didn’t think the two were the same pairing that had come and delivered them Zwein for months so short a time ago.

“Damn!” Exclaimed the gator, one whose name Tyr had long forgotten, upon seeing them getting around the station and moving over to the cart which had been so graciously provided thanks to Tyr writing ahead that he would need it. “You look like you didn’t stop eating for even a second since you were here!”

“Nairo won’t let me stop eating!” Tyr said back with a bright laugh, giving a pat to one of his upper rolls; patting his stomach wasn’t going to happen and hadn’t been able to happen for a while. “So I don’t think I have. You’re looking rounder too!”

“All that Zwein you two rustled on up last time. Ya think it would go to waste, but it’s more gone to waist. None of us like you, but I think you’ll see a lot more loosened belts and broken buttons than ya both did last time ya came on through here.” The gator replied, moving on over and laying a paw on Tyr’s stomach. “Damn… You’re really real at this size. How can ya move?”

“Magic and a lot of practice. But… I think this’ll be the last day you see me moving anything.”

“Giving it all up?” The gator asked, getting a wobbling, bouncing nod from Tyr. The dragon looked serious too, and the gator just grinned broadly once he saw that. “Heh… Really are, aren’tcha? Then damn glad ya picked a spot like this. Yer lightning magic alone should keep the Zwein supplies coming on in plenty.”

“Well, that and Nairo, and we should have more than enough… Well, maybe for a meal for me every now and then!” Tyr replied, again laughing as he began the long, but relatively easy, waddling trek off to the village where he and Nairo would spend the rest of their days, the gator and a couple others in tow.

Nairo remembered the town being a bit too chilly for his tastes. Now, however, it felt perfect. The extra chub was definitely a contributing factor, although Tyr did generate a bunch of heat himself. Eitherway, it was clear there wouldn’t be any cold, shivering nights for the pair here.

The deeper into town they went, the more furs came over to inspect them. However, it wasn’t just out of sheer shock at their absurd sizes, if anything, they were quite ecstatic seeing them return, a fun and joyful ripple emanating across the crowd just as it had when they’d returned with all that meat. Several wanted to give playful pokes and prods to the dragon’s stomach just out of sheer curiosity if that thing was even real.

To Nairo’s surprise, a few even tossed compliments about his size right back at him. He even found Jane amidst the crowd, the older corgi chuckling as she noticed the pudgy ferret atop the dragon. “My my, you two looked ready to throttle each other when I last saw you. Now you can’t get yourself off of him! Why’s that, I wonder?”

Nairo chuckled, patting his own hefty stomach. “I think the Zwein awakened some deep appetite within me or something. Honestly, I couldn’t lose the weight without making myself depressed in the process. Tyr taught me how to love my size… and, well, I ended up loving him right along the way. Crazy how things play out, huh?”

“Oh, you’d be surprised!” Jane laughed, gesturing to her husband. “Gregor used to annoy the bajeezus out of me. ‘Go away, you mangy cat!’ I’d shout at him every day back when we were at school. Now, I can’t bear to be away from him any longer than a day. I suppose I have you two to thank for letting me see even more of him.”

The corgi pinched the lynx’s thicker side, causing him to flinch. “Ayhaaay! Not in front of them! Sheesh, woman, can’t take her anywhere.”

“I know that feeling.” Nairo’s tail flickered, although he felt that story was best not told. “Ya know, I’ve actually gotten into cooking lately. I mean, it might not be that much of a surprise, given… this.” He gestured to as much of himself and Tyr as he could. “But if you’re ever free, I’d love to compare recipes. It was your zwein dishes that awakened that appetite in me, after all.”

Jane perked up. “Oh, I’d love to! Cooking with magical beasts can be a bit trickier than with their nonmagic counterparts, but a few tips and tricks will have them tasting even better!”

“Can’t wait!” Nairo beamed, grinning at Tyr. Oh, he was sooooo in for it now!

However, Gregor spoke up, now sounding a little concerned. “Ya know, I’m real ecstatic to see you folks returnin’ and all, but I’ve just gotta ask… how do you plan on doing your mission? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against your two sizes; if anything, I can’t wait to see the big one become more belly than dragon, but… well, if I recall correctly, you two had a fair bit of trouble last time. We’re not asking for as much as before, but… just walking seems to be a bit of a stretch for the dragon, if ya don’t mind me saying.”

This was Tyr’s time to shine.

The dragon had been studying in the interim. Zwein had awakened something in him too, and he had been studying like a dragon possessed about the fattening, magical piglets that he had become addicted to almost as much as Nairo’s presence. He knew everything there was to know about them, likely more than anyone in the village did tenfold now that he had pushed through each and every bit of text the school’s library had on the hogs. He had learned enough to know how to trap them, how to lure them, how to kill them… And how to capture them. This was all something he had been planning in secret for the entire time they had been gone. He had planned originally to retire to the town alone, using his service as something of a bribe to keep the townspeople feeding him and making him comfortable. With Nairo now? Well, now it was more just them doing their part for the community that would be with them for the rest of their days. But… He had to explain, and hope that they all understood.

“So, heh… I did some research. A lot of research in fact, and I know how Zwein communicate.”

“Yeah, it’s all through pheromones and sounds,” Jane said, sounding a bit unimpressed but looking at Tyr as the dragon stood there and just shrugged. Tyr wasn’t offended; his plan was going to sound simplistic, but it was actually perfected through many nights of planning.

“Yeah, pheromones and sounds, of course. But they also communicate through the vibrations of the ground.” Tyr said, stomping the ground to prove his point that made a few houses around them rattle thanks to the dragon’s sheer weight. “So, I had a plan to get them coming… And to keep them coming. It is a little bit of work, but it should be done in an afternoon if we can get a few folks to pitch in.”

“Wait… Keep them coming? Like luring them in and everything? Isn’t that dangerous?” Gregor said, getting a few murmurs of agreement from the others. “I mean, I know you have been thinking but… I don’t want to face a bunch of angry Zwein every day.”

“That’s just it; they won’t be angry. We just need to lure in an alpha, which is just a few thumps of the ground and a couple scents Nairo can whip up in a jiffy, and you’ll have a bunch of docile, almost scared Zwein coming to investigate each and every day.” Tyr said, and then began his explanation of his plan. It was elegantly simple, with a few thumps on the ground from a felled tree on the ground, and then a tincture made by Nairo to mimic a female ready to breed. The alpha would come along, and then that alone would need to be killed; the scent would be placed above a spike pit dug out by Tyr himself using some magic alongside Nairo. Trapped in the pit, the alpha would do all the work for them. It would constantly signal for help, only needing to be fed once a day and then prodded if the signaling for aid stopped. A large pen around the alpha would help to trap any betas coming to search and see why the alpha needed help, but to them; an alpha in distress was usually in danger, so they were careful but drawn to the sounds. Once in the pen, it was as simple as placing some more hidden traps around where the alpha was caged… And that was that. If they were lucky, they could even get a female in and breed Zwein, a thing which would mean even more supplies, and were easy enough to domesticate with another tincture fed to them from birth to make them complacent. It was a few herbs that made them feel almost high, and they were very suggestible and slow with this in their system. Mixed in with the grass around the traps and with some breeding, Tyr had already figured that within a year, the village would have their own supply of docile, domesticated Zwein which they could ship off whenever they wanted and really make a boon for themselves.

The dragon explained and talked for nearly an hour about all of this, holes in his plans plugged with improvisations and small nods to those who had handled Zwein more than him. The alpha in a pit was changed to one in a cage; seeing the trapped alpha would make betas come more willingly. The trapping was going to be handled by Tyr and Nairo alone, with Tyr being the bait and Nairo being the one to spring the trap. The large pen was placed far enough from the village to keep anything going wrong from affecting the town itself… Though most agreed the plan was flawless from start to finish as soon as Tyr had explained his idea. It was ingenious, exacting, and would fully bring prosperity to the town without needing to put anyone in danger, or to draw in tourists. It also wouldn’t harm any animals more than necessary, something many were even more pleased about. Tyr saw things their way… He wanted to not torture the Zwein after all, just like many of them, so this plan was just a stop-gap to calming and domesticating the feral hogs.

And it would work.

It was a very wild plan, and even Nairo couldn’t help but chuckle a few times when others mentioned the ambitiousness of their plan. The idea of capturing and breeding dangerous, magical beasts was scary, hence why it was seldom tried before, and why it wasn’t even considered in a town of retirees. But it was a solid enough plan, one that would take a fair bit of effort from anyone involved but solid enough all the way.

Honestly, when have Nairo and Tyr ever done anything the easy way?

Making a tincture to attract Zwein was fairly easy. One specifically meant for an alpha took a fair bit of trial and effort. Unfortunately to the poor ferret, Zwein extract was not at all pleasant to smell, but it was his strong sense of smell that was needed to make an appropriate lure. That, combined with his skills he’d honed with cooking, had allowed him, Jane, and others to produce a very unique little artifact indeed. “I am only making this the one time,” Nairo would go on to say, his voice particularly nasally. “Heads up, I will personally hunt down whoever dares decide to make this into a cologne.”

It was late afternoon by the time they had finished preparations; the sun was still well into the sky, but any longer and said sky would start to change into an orange. Nairo stood with Tyr atop a small, grassy gnoll, using the terrain to help hide the cage built to contain an oversized, angry pig. To think they had once stared into the woods ahead as reluctant allies merely performing a job. It was poetic, at least Nairo thought so.

“Spalone babagoosh goobies.” Nairo blurted out after a while.

When Tyr stared quizzically at the ferret, Nairo shrugged. “Sorry, I was afraid if I remembered any more, I’d start getting emotional. Saying stupid things like ‘this is where I first felt that spark between us’ or ‘remember when your hammer outweighed me?’ Now, I just want you to know that I’ve got the utmost faith in us, and when we’re done with this, you can be damn sure you’ll need to be rolled home after dinner.” Nairo squeezed the dragon’s thick, plush side, giving a gentle pat on the side. “I’m ready when you are, Ty.”

Tyr just gave a nod and a grin, as he was feeling that same nostalgia… But wasn’t handling it quite as well as Nairo. So he remained silent and shifted, pulling his hammer out from his bag of holding which he had brought along with him. The dragon looked at it for a long moment, and then held it out in front of himself and looked to Nairo. The dragon began to channel sparks, the hammer sizzling and arcing electricity as it had so many times before… Though this was different. Tyr wasn’t holding back this time. He was really going all out with his enchanting, actually audibly saying the spells and incantations to get the hammer to channel his own innate electric energies as it continued to spark and sizzle more and more, crackling with the power of lighting itself in it.

“You control this, I’ll keep it powered.” Tyr said calmly, still standing there as he held the hammer that continued to crackle and spark. The area around them also began to crackle and spark as well, part of the plan. A fence was one thing… But an electrified fence of trees and leaves that was hidden and low enough to get through, but strong enough to keep those inside of it from venturing out again? That was part of the plan too, and that was what Tyr was working on. The dragon wasn’t really there to fight, but there to be the battery that his mana pool allowed him to be; a pool that had been growing since he had begun gaining and now was more of a lake than a pool. He was a powerhouse of magical energy, and as he continued to channel and use that energy… He was going to be unstoppable once he really got his spells out.

All that was left was releasing the tincture and springing the trap. That was it… And Tyr had to hope they’d prepped enough.

Nairo nodded, and stepped back. Tyr was the bait, and probably the only person alive who could take a charging zwein head on and not even flinch. Nairo was there to help spring the trap, as well as a few other minor things. He couldn’t resist but to give Tyr’s side one last kiss of good luck before scampering behind the hill. Soon, even Tyr could smell that rancid odor, along with Nairo gagging. “G-god, it’s like cooking with durians!”

A soft breeze picked up nearby, spreading that odor past Tyr and into the forest. At first, there was nothing but silence. Nairo was tempted to peek back up, but kept himself where he was for now. This was a very ambitious plan, after all, and they’d need to stick to the script if they wanted to reap the rewards. So he waited… and waited… and-

Nairo thought another breeze had rustled the nearby bushes, but couldn’t feel any air. Peeking just ever so slightly up, he looked on as the familiar pinkish animals began to gather, curious. This was a bit more than they had anticipated, the ferret paranoid that one of the smaller ones was about to spring the trap instead. But thankfully, they simply stood there, looking curiously at the massively obese dragon standing before them, like a small army gauging their next battle…

And then, the alpha came.

Just as massive as Nairo remembered, the little ferret couldn’t help but recall their last battle with a slight shiver. It had been a close shave indeed, and now there was far less margin for error now. It was harder to dodge out of the way, after all.

Not that he would need to.

Once the enormous Zwein had stepped through, Nairo got to work controlling the hammer, just as he’d been instructed. The electricity cackled, the ‘fence’ now actually visible to the naked eye as strands of glowing white energy spurting through the air.

Nairo’s control and Tyr’s raw energy. There wasn’t a better combination in the world, he reckoned. Honestly, managing Tyr’s overwhelming mana alone caused Nairo to leak a little of his own, but the little ferret hardly minded. Managing this kind of power was exhilarating, a real adrenaline rush. His own fur began standing on end, giving him an even poofier appearance than before, but who cared about that right now?

That poor alpha had to deal with two demigods now. It was beyond outmatched.

Tyr didn’t flinch. He didn’t even bat an eye as he saw the alpha squaring up to him, a challenge clear as day even without his months of research into the animals. The dragon snorted out some smoke and let a little crackle of electricity arc off where he sat. The dragon didn’t even budge as that happened either; he was so bursting with spells and magic right now that coming near him would be a pain for just about anything, or anyone, dumb enough to approach him. The dragon was a lightning rod in its truest sense in that moment, and the sparking power was a challenge of his own. His eyes narrowed and he let out a challenging roar to the Zwien, who matched the roar with one of its own.

It didn’t even finish that roar before it charged. The beast galloped forward, launching itself at a speed which would seem absurd to the untrained eye, but to Tyr it looked almost slow with how heightened his senses were in that moment. Nothing but himself and the Zwein were in that world right then. His body and spells were on autopilot, his mind was clear of anything and everything, and all his focus was on each hooffall of the alpha in front of him. The dragon did have the cage trap after all, and would have to spring it at just the right moment; right after Nairo knocked the beast aside with his hammer. A hammer which, thankfully, was floating just behind him… Ready to swing out and strike the Zwein when Tyr called.

Not yet… Not yet… His brain continued to just focus in, each beat of the hooves against ground sending little ripples along his ocean-like surface of fat that spread around him like a barrier. The dragon had to time this just right, as there would be no second chance. There was indeed a plan B, but Tyr wasn’t about to fall back to a plan B because he made a mistake. No. He was going to get this right, and he was going to do it pro-

“NOW!”

With one smooth motion, the hammer spun around the enormous dragon as though it was in orbit. The poor Zwein didn’t even get to see the weapon approach, its eyes focused on Tyr’s enormous stomach like a bull charging into a cape. It quickly began to wonder how in the world it could miss such an easy target as it watched Tyr soar on by, then began wondering why the ground was above it rather than below it.

And then it was caged.

The sound of the hammer impacting the alpha was deafening, almost like the thunderous might of Zeus himself. Nairo was almost afraid they’d go overboard, but given that Zwein were naturally resistant to magic, there really was no such thing. Still, long after the enormous creature had been smacked dozens of feet into the air, landing into the cage that Nairo quickly brought up to catch it, the Zwein kept emitting little spurts of electricity on its body. It was paralyzed, for sure, but given their tough nature it was also relatively injured, although it wasn’t getting up for the rest of the day, and would certainly be limping for at least a week.

Still, it was a hell of a feat they’d just accomplished, and Nairo couldn’t help but plop down on the grass with a jiggly thud, panting from exertion as well as nerves. He wasn’t even in any danger, and he felt anxious and jittery, yet here Tyr was willing to stare down that beast in confidence Nairo would protect him.

Fuck, Tyr deserved so many kisses after this.

Tyr didn’t let his guard down until the cage was on the ground and the Zwein was done whimpering in pain. The dragon only lowered the area around him then, but just enough for about a dozen lesser Zwein to come in… And then he raised it again. Fully. The cage that they were in was now absolute. They could be resistant to magic and all forms of things like that, but there was no way they could completely ignore the sharp sting of being electrocuted when coming too close to the confines of their cage. It was a perfect trap, done by the dragon. He could keep the cage up easily for weeks with his mana pool, and by then the cage would be made of the same strong, local wood that the alpha’s own cage was made of. More could come in, as the whole thing had ramps in but not out… It worked. It had worked wonderfully in fact.

Sighing and sinking a little into himself in relief as the dragon stood there, Tyr just looked over the field below at the feat he had just accomplished alongside Nairo. The little ferret and the paunchy dragon, now the round furball and the mountain, had gone and done something that few would have even considered, and done it in just an afternoon yet again. They had enough strength in their plans and execution that it took the dragon a split second to not think they had plot armor or something going on! It was just about as perfect a plan as he could have hoped for, and he was waiting for the little pattering steps of Nairo to come up and embrace him for a job well done.

“We’re good here,” Tyr called, loud enough for the few others that had been hiding out in case things needed to go to plan B to hear them. Gregor, the gator, and a couple other men from the village all emerged, and came lumbering on up to where Tyr sat overlooking their little field of what would soon be their own Zwein. “All wrapped up with a nice pretty bow. A dozen Zwein, all ready to be stoned out of their gourds and tamed for you to do whatever you want with.”

“God dayum.” Someone from the crowd spoke up, loud enough to be heard amongst the sea of rumbles. “You guys… shit, this is something else! It’s almost a shame you’re retiring! Imagine what else you could-”

“Nope!” Nairo chimed in, having finally rolled himself back into a standing position, with a bit of effort. Sure enough, his little pattering steps did indeed arrive for Tyr, the ferret hugging the dragon’s side. “Never again. I can’t… this shit’s scary, man. I’ll help plan and make things, sure, but being the brave one who has to go into the field? Nope, I can’t do it.” Nairo had to take several steps back to be able to make eye contact with Tyr, but when he did he beamed. “I’m far more suited for a completely different kind of adventure, I think.” The others may not have caught on to what Nairo fully meant by that, but they didn’t need to. He just needed Tyr to make sure he knew the ferret wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Thankfully, their quest had been completed, as Gregor and the others experienced dealing with Zwein came out to deal with the others. Sure enough, the big brutish boars were actually quite amicable when they couldn’t even see straight, even more so when food was offered to them. Domesticating them may be easier than they thought. Hell, the thought of farm-raised, overfed Zwein gave Nairo a slight chuckle. Imagine how fattening that would be.

Just then, a loud gurgle escaped the ferret’s stomach.

His ears folded back in embarrassment. Shoot, he spent the last few hours planning so hard, he’d forgotten to eat anything. Hell, he was also pretty sure this was the longest Tyr had eaten since they’d gotten serious with their feeding, something that made the ferret both feel bad for not maintaining, as well as commending the dragon’s willpower to not eat one of the Zwein whole right now.

He was soon greeted by Jane who apparently noticed the gurgling stomach, the dog chuckling to herself. “Sounds to me like you boys are ready for your reward.” She smiled, looking up at Tyr. “Let the others handle the rest from here. You two come along with me now. If your appetites match your bellies, it’s better we get started with dinner early, if we ever want to sleep at a decent time tonight.”

“Oh, I know my appetite definitely matches my belly,” Tyr said with a chuckle, getting a few laughs from the crowd around them. The dragon began his slow, laborious waddle back on towards the village, a good half-mile away thanks to just how much they had wanted some separation from everyone in case something had gone wrong. With a cart and enlightening spells? This didn’t take long… And Tyr did keep his spells intact all around the field of Zwein the whole time too, much to his pleasure. He hadn’t quite been sure about the range, but apparently his guessing had been right and he was able to keep a weak, but effective field around the area the Zweins were being tamed in just fine.

The dragon finally made it back and immediately plopped down on a wall at the village’s entrance, panting heavily and waving a wobbling, flabby arm to try and cool himself off from the walk back. He did frown lightly though upon sitting down, looking around the village and then to Nairo with a bit of concern in his gaze. “Hey, uhm… Ni, I think we need to figure out where our house is gonna be right now. I don’t wanna have to do this again, and I think if we really go whole hog with dinner… I won’t be getting up again. Even with the cart, this is rough to waddle along. Ya think we can find where we’re gonna live before we get to feasting? Preferably somewhere close to where they do the feasting…?” Tyr said, the growl from his stomach showing that food was definitely coming into the conversation about where the two laid their heads. The dragon didn’t want to be too far from the feasting grounds after all, and he didn’t want to have others need to cart things far for him. Because, honestly? There would be a lot of carting. This was a community of retirees getting a pair of youngsters in it. Tyr wasn’t so diluted that he didn’t see what that would mean. The two of them were about to have a few dozen sets of grandparents, as well as many aunts and uncles who would be looking out for them day in and day out. Doting on them, feeding them, taking care of them… Tyr knew this was coming. He welcomed it, in fact. But he also didn’t want to be an inconvenience… And figured somewhere central would be a good idea.

“Think you can sort that out while I catch my breath?” Tyr managed to wheeze out.

“Not a problem, Tubby.” Nairo climbed onto the wall to kiss his boyfriend’s cheek… Well, that and one other thing. The kiss was more of a distraction for Tyr as Nairo magically wrapped a dark blue ribbon around the dragon’s impossibly large belly, the words “Whole Hog” written right in front. “Don’t get too cozy with that, now. The only way that’s coming off is with a snap tonight,” he winked. It would require an insane amount of food, for sure, given just how large Tyr’s belly was already. Nairo couldn’t wait to see if he actually could snap it off tonight.

For now, however, he let Tyr catch his breath while he followed Jane and the others away. The older corgi brought the ferret over to a tall lioness. “Nairo, this is Marissa. She’s the mayor of our cozy little town, and she’ll happily help you two pick out a perfect home.”

“Charmed.” The lioness extended her arm out with her chin held high, as though she were royalty. “I cannot thank you two enough for the work you’ve done for us. While I understand it is your wish to find permanent lodging to stay… permanent in, I can’t help but-”

“Uh huh.” Nairo muttered, shaking the paw quickly. He didn’t mean to cut her off, but dammit now he couldn’t stop looking back to Tyr with that ribbon on. Shit, now he was all worked up. At least it was a great distraction from their rather frightening Zwein encounter just now.

The ferret looked back. “S-sorry, we’re, uh… it’s been a long day.”

Marissa raised a brow. “I suppose it is. Looking forward to never walking again, I see?”

“Erh, yeah…” Nairo blinked. “H-he is, the dragon. Not me. I gotta… I need to walk, so I can feed him and stuff.”

“You could have fooled me.” The lioness’ face lightened. “You are in luck. One of our more luxurious houses has recently been available. The price is a little steep, I’m afraid, but I believe it should more than fit the criteria you’re looking for.”

“I see.” Nairo nodded. With this job, they’d pooled together for something much more modest. A large, luxury house would be incredible, but it was unlikely to be within their price range. Yet, Nairo couldn’t help but snatch at the carrot being dangled before him. “How much is it?”

“One belly rub.”

“Pardon?”

Marissa sighed, and her formal demeanor crumpled away. “Look, I’ll just come out and say it. Your dragon boyfriend is hot. Like, yeah I’m super grateful you guys brought us so much Zwein last time, but now that we’ve got a farm thing going on, everyone’s gonna start carrying guts. That’s awesome. You let me rub that dragon’s stomach for like, just ten minutes, and that house is yours. We’ll say that you’re paying it off from royalties you made with helping us set up the farm, or whatever. I mean, you just brought us all a shit ton of revenue and crap, so yeah.”

“Uhhhh.” Nairo was pretty sure he short circuited just now. That was… wow. People really don’t mince words here, do they? “Can I… at least, like, see the house?”

“You already are.” Marissa stepped aside, and Nairo’s eyes widened. Yeah, that was a pretty big house, probably twice the size that either of them were expecting. Hell, even the doors were enormous; double wides, yes, but given they were easily twice as tall as normal doors, they were also twice as wide. For once, Tyr might be able to squeeze through a doorway!

Stepping inside was a whole different beast. There weren’t any walls, at least none in between rooms. Everything was so spread out and open; the living room combined into the dining room and kitchen almost seamlessly, with the only difference being the change from carpet to linoleum. The ceiling was quite tall as well; Nairo had assumed the building had stairs, given how tall it was, but a quick peek and walk inside told him everything was connected to a single floor. The counters were large, the tables were large, the couch… nonexistent. Instead, a divot had been built into the ground and covered with pillows, leading towards a tv mounted high, high up on the wall.

Nairo blinked. This was alarmingly close to perfect. “W-who, erh, lived here before?”

“Would you believe me a pair of gainers as ambitious and massive as you once lived here?” Marissa responded.

Nairo nodded. “Yeah, honestly.”

“Well you’d be wrong.” The lioness laughed. “We’re friendly to everyone here, even giants. A very wealthy pair looked to build their own home here, but alas, it was still cramped for their tastes. As much as they wanted to live among us, they could never quite get over their preference of being in the outdoors. It’s a bit much for most people, I understand, but for you two-”

“It’s perfect!” Nairo didn’t mean to interrupt yet again, but he was just so excited he couldn’t keep it to himself anymore. It all clicked at once that they would have an amazing new home to grow into now. The ferret bypassed the handshake and gave the lioness a big squeeze, pressing his fat belly against her a bit harder than he meant to, before dashing out as quick as his fat little legs could carry him to tell Tyr the good news.

Tyr, while all of this had been going on, had been snacking and talking to the villagers all around him now that he was back and resting. Jane, an apple-shaped antelope named Roger, and a few others were crowded around him, all offering up theri latest baked goods to the dragon for him to sample. One of them, a smaller and older badger named Robert, had climbed up on the dragon’s chest to offer up the foods, nestled on in but not in the same way that Nairo would so that the dragon only had to really eat, rather than bending down over and over again past the grandiose curve of his stomach. Clearly, the two had been missed by the village, and their return was something that all were welcoming with open arms.

Pastries, donuts, little ornate cakes… It was all for Tyr to sample on and judge, as they trusted his taste almost like a food reviewer. The dragon was a bit of one when he thought about it, given that he ate so darn much that his taste buds were something of legend with those who knew him. Still, he hadn’t been expecting to be fed like this just a short while after he had returned from securing financial security for the town, and was a bit taken aback by the forwardness of everyone there. “Uhm… I really appreciate all this, but why are you so glad to see us?”

“Oh dearie, you two are the youngest ones to have come over to our little village in a few years.” An elderly, graying poodle explained, nodding towards Jane and a few of the others who all nodded and murmured their agreements. “We all miss our grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and all of that. To see you two, so in love now and so happy and yet pursuing your dreams like you are? It just makes us so happy, and we want to just give you two all the spoiling we can’t give to our own grandkids.”

“Plus, it helps that you’re so darn fat that you can’t tell us no.” Jane said, getting a few laughs from those around her. “But Marny is right; you two are all of our grandkids and nephews rolled into a cute couple of round sweethearts. So you’d better expect stuff like this every day for the two of you.” Tyr gulped a bit at that. This was already overwhelming, but every day? How would he possibly repay all this kindness?! “And don’t you go fretting about us. We’re just happy to have you two with us. You already did more for us than anyone has in a very, very long time… And this Zwein thing? Not a one of us has to worry about our retirements anymore, and maybe can even afford to go visit our own families. You’ve done more for us than anyone has ever, and we want to make sure both of our little heroes are taken care of for a long, long time.”

“We just did w-”

“You two did a lot more than that!” Jane interrupted, wagging a finger at Tyr and far back enough that the dragon could see her over his moobs. “You two are heroes to us, and are going to get the hero's treatment from here on out. That’s final too, so no arguing with me mister.”

“Or me you youngun,” Marny said, the older poodle having backed up and doing the same light scolding that Jane was. Robert was looking at Tyr with the same stern but caring gaze too, as was Roger. All four pairs of eyes made Tyr wilt, and the dragon just let out a long sigh and then nodded his wobbling, bouncing cheeks in agreement as he was ‘defeated’ by the army of grandparents.

“Fine, fine… Thank you though. Really. Nairo and I were just doing what we were told, and if that helps you all out? Then I’m just glad for that.”

“It does. Now hush up and tell me what you think of this donut…” Jane said, offering up another pastry to the dragon as he sat there. Tyr didn’t know when Nairo would come back to interrupt the little circle of elderly furs taking care of him, but some part of him hoped that it wouldn’t be soon. The dragon had never had anything like this; he was an orphan who had never even met his parents. This was all new to him, and having it was making him feel loved in a way he hadn’t gotten a chance to before in his life. It was odd, but it was warm and fuzzy and made him feel wanted all over again.

Jane seemed to sense this and gave a small pat to Tyr’s belly, a small chuckle on her tongue. “You and Nairo are part of our little family now, Tyr, so don’t you go forgetting that now, okay?”

“I don’t think you’d let me.”

“Damn right we won’t.”