Endless Days of InflationBy: Hdalby33

There was little in the way of interest toward the current subject. Geometry offered almost no respite to the class of anthros struggling to stay awake. For the shapely doe in the front, the numbers mixed with the blurs of the previous night’s rave. The otter behind her had taken to using his textbook as a pillow, grateful for the 800-page tome and its cushy properties.

Only a valiant few were alert enough to understand what the professor said. A grizzled red panda, almost as aged as the wood-paneled classroom itself, droned on in a thick Russian accent. His monotonous voice cut up the clarity of any instructions he was attempting to give. Luckily, the panda possessed a refreshing style of calligraphy, and he applied almost every explanation to the whiteboard.

Presently the class was revisiting the world of spheres and circles. Professor Ivan Ivanovsky reminisced the days of algebra, outlining the various equations on the board. His skill with a marker translated to impeccable circles, devoid of the use of any compass. This was the sole reason Troika or Bod paid attention.

Both watched with envy as their teacher executed each circle. Troika was beginning to daydream about resembling such a grand shape. The tiger-husky hybrid plopped his chin on one light blue arm, blissfully unaware that his musclegut had started to peek through his white shirt and press against his jeans. He could just imagine his ripped, blue frame bloating up; belly groaning from the perfect curvature and the black stripes along his body rippling from the pressure… BWAAAUUUNG.

A tremor passed through his belly, snapping Troika awake. Across from him, Bod smirked and flicked the well-built hybrid’s tummy once more. Troika growled at his friend, “What? I was relaxing.”

The slender dragon smirked, placing a deep-red paw over his own gold-scuted middle and nodding to Troika’s, “You’re mooning everyone, bud.”

Troika turned red and hurriedly pulled his shirt back over the sky-blue mass, “Oh, thanks.”

“No worries,” Bod smiled sympathetically, his red and gold features nodding to the board, “It’s hard not to wander a little. Maybe after class we could enjoy a little...” he pantomimed working an air pump, bulging his cheeks out playfully in the process.

The prospect immediately changed Troika’s outlook. Soon the pair were giggling and looking forward to the end of class. Though the professor was forced to stop at one point to reprimand them, the torturous lesson concluded soon enough.

Bod stood and stretched, cracking a kink in his back before plunging his paws into the pocket of his hoodie. The drake was fond of baggy clothes, with hoodies and sweatpants composing the majority of his wardrobe. It was comfortable and quite flexible in lieu of any possible inflation incidents.

By comparison, Troika liberally outsized the lizard in every aspect. Marbled with muscle and electric blue fur, the tigsky sported a round paunch that screamed musclegut, and he was tall, almost a head taller than Bod. There was only one situation where the two were on equal footing, and that was when they’d ironically lost the ability to walk. Neither was sure of who could inflate larger, but they didn’t really care. Both simply loved to be big, bulging, and pressurized to the precipice of bursting.

Moments later, once Troika managed to maneuver his gut around the desk, the pair hurried for freedom. It was only a rough interjection by the professor that halted them.

The red panda was remarkably strong, even for such a stout anthro. Troika wasn’t easy to stop, but a rust-furred arm fell into his path and dug into his gut with little effort. Stopping so suddenly caused Bod to walk snout first into the tigsky’s back, which was corded with unforgiving muscle.

Stumbling back, the ruby drake grumbled and eyed the professor, “You mind, sir? We’re in a bit of a hurry.”

Troika lurched back, his gut bouncing as Professor Ivanovsky swept his arm to his side. Outfitted in a pair of dark khakis and a button-down shirt, the Russian couldn’t have seemed more ordinary. Yet he intrigued both students with the show of strength. Both figured they were in trouble for being a nuisance, but the panda surprised them by suddenly whipping out a flier from his back pocket.

“You both are of an interest in the circles I draw, eh?” The professor held up the flier, causing Bod and Troika to gulp nervously.

“Y-yes sir,” Troika managed, trying to make out the words on the paper. ‘Subjects Needed for Infl-...’ That was as far as he got before Professor Ivanovsky folded it in half.

Crossing his arms, the panda smirked and nodded to Troika’s belly, “And despite over-largeness of the muscles, you still have look of expecting mother.”

Troika flushed red, attempting to cover the pale-blue dome of his belly. His efforts were in vain as Bod smacked the tigsky’s taut gut and laughed, “See bud, I’m not the only one who says it.” The drake looked back to the panda with a friendlier grin, “He’s very proud of his gut. Don’t be fooled by the bluster.”

“Bod, goddammit I swear..” Troika growled, but the slender reptile wasn’t intimidated in the least.

“So Professor, what’s the flier about?”

Ivanovsky smiled and unfolded it once more, “There is colleague of mine looking for volunteers. He is doing some experiments that I feel may…” the panda puffed up his cheeks, “Suit your interests, yes?”

Both students paused for a moment, now more curious than anything. “And there is good payoff.” Ivanovsky consulted the flier, “$50 for each of the trials and there is much of the circles and roundness in it.”

Now Troika was intrigued. Having forgotten the imperious comments about his gut, the tigsky began to grin helplessly. How could he or Bod turn down such an offer?

“That is quite interesting,” Troika mused, nudging Bod, “And slenderderg here might finally pay attention in class, sir.”

“What?!” Bod protested, pushing the tigsky back, “You goof off just as much as me, you big-bellied bastard!”

Troika laughed, giving the professor an innocent look. The panda wasn’t amused. Almost immediately, the two friends went quiet, before Professor Ivanovsky held out the flier. “It is in West Wing building, central lab,” he informed drily, “4 o’clock sharp.”

The pair nodded, scanning the flier for more info but getting none. It only bore the bare minimum of detail, and the Professor had already divulged most of that. All they discovered by reading was that the study was to be conducted by ‘Dr. Clouss & Associates.’

“You two should hurry on now,” the Professor nodded sharply to the old, radial clock. It was already 3:15, “Get skin-and-bones slenderderg treatment he deserves.”

Bod stuttered for a moment, before realizing who Professor Ivanovsky meant. There was a faint grin on the Russian panda’s muzzle, making the red-and-gold drake even redder.

Just as Bod made to retort, Troika stepped in and literally bumped his friend out of the conversation. “Thank you sir!” the tigsky saluted panda as he followed Bod out the door, “I’m sure this study will get him the help he needs.”

The hefty hybrid laughed and teased the grumbling lizard, their banter growing fainter as they wandered down the hall. Professor Ivanovsky grinned maliciously and turned to gather his own things. Both of those ingrates would be receiving the help they so direly needed.

***

Across the courtyard from the drab-brick facade of the Mathematics Institute stood the BioLabs, Observatory and Technologies building, more casually recognized as the West Wing. Housed in the sleek modernity of steel and reflective glass, the angular building hummed with cutting-edge progression. The main entrance was composed of a foot-thick steel archway welcoming visitors into a spacey lobby finished in polished white, black, and silver furniture.

Off to the right of the lobby stood a long hallway, which bisected into secondary halls, classrooms, and dead-ended into the central lab. As Bod and Troika laughed and ambled their way over, a lithe silver feline studiously darted around the lab itself.

The ‘Dr. Clouss’ inscribed in the flier was head of the West Wing, and possessed an eccentric background. Most who knew the cloud-leopard referred to him as Theo. They were also aware of Theo’s passion for his work; a zeal that toed the line between dedicated researcher and fanatical scientist.

Befitting the leopard’s position, he wore a lab coat over a t-shirt and jeans. As if he were planning to go for a stroll right after work. All around Theo, a classically chaotic sprawl of lab equipment spanned the room in a semi-circular fashion. Concentric rings of tables spread out from a central testing table/lecture stage. Everything was outfitted in crisp steel, with bioplastic surfaces to prevent shattering glass in the wake of a errant experiment. And there were plenty of those.

The walls were plastered with every type of diagram imaginable, ranging from mechanics to anatomy to ecosystems. It was as if the leopard wanted to ensure his students had an answer to any and everything science related, such was his sporadic state of mind.

After running about haphazardly for more than an hour, the feline finally felt that everything was in place. Skidding to a halt, Theo whirled around to the central stage, “Aw dammit, where are pumps?! Dave! Steve! Front and center!”

There was a moment of shuffling, before two diminutive kobolds scurried forward from the maze of tables. “Yes sir!” Steve puffed, his deep green chest heaving.

“Where are the pumps?!” the leopard gestured to the empty stage, “Our volunteers are arriving any moment!”

Dave shoved his companion with an accusatory squeak, “Told you we forgot something, moron.”

The green kobold growled, shoving his purple companion back, “Save it Dave, or I’ll shove a nozzle where the sun don’t shine and make a remake of the Color Purple.”

Theo chuckled, clapping his paws together to get the pair's’ attention. “I love the enthusiasm, but all of that comes later. Now get the pumps in place.”

Both kobolds snapped salutes to the leopard, before pushing one another toward the supply closet. Once out of sight, Theo sighed and cracked his knuckles in anticipation. Everything was almost in place.

Just then, another pair of voices carried across the huge lab, echoing off the legions of bioplastic equipment. Bod stumbled into the room with a laugh, soon followed by the protruding prominence of Troika’s musclegut. “I swear if you keep calling me slenderderg, I’ll shrink your clothes again.”

“Don’t even joke about that,” the tigsky groused, drumming his gut sourly, “Last time I had about fifteen freshmen poking my belly when I was on the bench press.”

“Gentlemen!” Theo called from across the room. Both drakes whipped their head around to focus on a tall cat striding towards them, arms clasped neatly behind his back. “Thank you for volunteering for the group study. Professor Ivanovsky recommended you two above all others in his classes.” The leopard came to a halt

in front of the pair, flashing a sharp grin, “And it looks as though this one as a head start.” He nodded to Troika.

The tigsky blushed again, his pointed ears folding back as one corded arm laid itself across his gut protectively. “I work hard for this,” he grumbled, glaring at a snorting Bod, “I’m going to tie you in a knot, slenderderg.”

Theo sighed blissfully. He loved the chaos between close friends, it made distracting them far easier. Looping an arm around each anthro, the silvery cat steered them toward the central stage.

“Now dear subjects, you may call me Dr. Clouss, or Theo.” Theo began rattling off his introduction, too excited to focus on anything else. “My associates, Steve and Dave,” the two kobolds stopped lugging out the pump tanks to wave, “Will be assisting you throughout the experiment. If you have any complaints, be sure to direct them at my assistants. They’re quite used to it.”

Troika cocked an eyebrow at this, but was cut off before he could say anything. “Now, the process is quite simple,” Theo chattered, sitting the two friends down in front of the lecture stage, “You’re going to be testing the efficiency of our new neuro-pumps. They’re industrial powered vacuums generally used for sucking/blasting paint off metal by the force of air alone. Imagine a pressure-washer without the water, and you’ll be close.”

Both companions struggled to retain the information, but Theo was already moving on. He leaned onto one of the sleek, white pumps, which looked like a large egg with a clear control panel in its center. “These are the neuro-pumps, as you could’ve guessed,” the kobolds squeaked at one another as they struggled to drag them to the center of the stage. Backing up with exaggerated flourish, Theo suddenly whipped out a red marker and turned to the whiteboard.

“You’ll be inflated via air, first time around. With measurements regarding rigidity, pressurization, structural integrity, bursting points, yadda yadda,” Theo trailed off, scribbling a couple of stick figures that actually resembled Troika and Bod’s likeness rather well. One was covered in respectable waves of muscle, with a prominent rotundity of the midsection. The other was just a stick figure. This got a grumble from Bod, but he said nothing for the prospect of being inflated with such a revolutionary device.

Next to the two illustrations, Theo drew the egg-shaped inflators, accompanied by little kobolds. He liked to be detailed. Troika felt his stomach gurgle in anticipation, the tendons layered around his waist and pecs flexing proudly.

Theo then drew two red lines trailing from the eggs into the pairs’ inked muzzles, narrating as he went, “You’ll both receive a steady influx of air via mu-...”

Troika coughed softly, followed by a giggle from Bod. The cat turned to face them, curious at the little interruption. “Yes?”

The tigsky made to respond, but turned a soft red. As imposing as his physique was, Troika flushed quite easily and couldn’t quite voice the question.

Fortunately Bod took the helm, their like-minded hope too strong to ignore. “We prefer to inflate through our other pair of cheeks, Theo.”

To their surprise, the leopard immediately nodded and retraced the lines down level with the inked figures’ tails. “Excellent, that way you can give me and my associates direct feedback during the process. Efficiency to the end,” Theo giggled.

Moving on, the cat squeaked out the next pic of the duo with his marker. Behind him, Troika nodded his thanks to Bod, who rubbed the tigsky’s gut reassuringly. Their mutual interest increased by tenfold when Theo orchestrated the next couple pics with notably rounder results.

“From here it’s self-explanatory,” the leopard stated, nodding to the deliciously circular entities on the board. “However, upon commencement of the first trial, we will be retesting with another trial. This one being a superlite gel, will be tested for additional properties, but,” Theo winked slyly, “We’ll leave the specifics for that as a surprise. For now, I believe we’re ready to begin.”

Waving a paw to the tigsky and dragon, Theo coughed and motioned for his kobolds to present the pumps. Troika padded forward excitedly, his looming size causing the green minion to shrink into themselves hesitantly. Slowing down a bit, the hybrid plopped on his knees and then his side, “Sorry...Dave, just a little excited. I promise I’m harmless.” The kobold relaxed slightly, but still remained wary.

Across the stage, Bod snorted, “Harmless to everything expect a buffet.” Troika glowered at him, but remained quiet while Dave explained the pump to him. Looking down to the other kobold, the red derg grinned reassuringly, “I’m pretty harmless too, in case you wer-...”

He was cut off as Steve waved a paw in front of his muzzle. “Yeah, you’re real threatening slenderderg. Now pop a squat.” Bod stuttered, doing as he was told

and ignoring the tigsky’s chattering laughter, “I’m actually pretty intimidating, compared to a two-foot gecko you know.”

Steve glared at the red and gold drake, “I’m 2 foot 6, thank you.” The kobold twirled the nozzle, looking over to his acquaintance who’d become more comfortable in the imposing tigsky’s presence. Nodding to one another, they looked to Theo in unison.

The leopard turned from the board, having just finished what looked like a starburst at the end of the inflation sequence. “We’re all set?”

“Almost,” Steve chuckled, leaning forward and slipping the nozzle smoothly into place. A satisfying yelp and murr came from Bod, while Dave did the same.

Troika turned red, his toned rear securing the nozzle in place. He could feel his bulbous belly sag slightly on the cool, metal floor, but the hybrid knew that feeling would only last so long. What was to follow could only be described as a pressurized dream of tightness.

Once both subjects were prepped, their kobolds loyally on standby, Theo whipped out a small remote. He turned the dial to the ‘pleasant’ setting. Among the five levels, it was the second. The other buttons were stop, start, and an emergency button for overriding all other commands. Right now, Theo’s silvery thumb caressed the start switch.

Once the kobolds flashed synchronized nods, the leopard let loose a torrent of air. Almost immediately, the test subjects could feel the air blossom within their middles. The ballooning sensation pressing against the walls of Troika’s stomach resulted in a soft purr as the current was pumped warmly through his rear.

Bod felt a similarly airy vibe, his eyes closing in bliss as the neuro-pumps began to perform their duty. Each was starting to bulge out seamlessly, with Theo ambling between them and taking a couple notes. He also indulged in the occasional rub, flick or pinch while Dave and Steve eased any tension that might cause their respective subjects discomfort.

“For the primary draughts, we like to let the subject’s abdominal and pelvic regions attune to the flow of air,” Theo tapped his clipboard against Troika’s gut, getting a satisfying ‘twang’ in return. “Even with those who’ve dabbled in such pleasures independently, it’s a nice way for me to see how you two inflate.”

The tigsky’s eyes closed in bliss as his hide stretched, developing the rubbery texture inherent to inflating. Dave studiously drew his tiny claws over the hybrid’s

midsection, fascinated by how the swells of muscle contrasted against the bloating curve of belly. Troika rubbed the elastic surface with an industrious purr, reveling in the gradual increase of air pumping itself into his gut. Atop the swelling subject’s belly, his shirt lost its will to cling to the fuzzy surface and began rolling up against his chiseled chest. Though even that was beginning to be lost in the spherical expansion of his gut.

For Bod, the inflation was punctuated by the gentle pops and shiftings of his scales. Theo watched as the drake’s golden plates bowed outward. Placing a paw on the bulging surface, the curious cat scritched between the bright bands of keratin, getting at the more sensitive scales between them. Giggling softly, Bod batted dazedly at the feline, but evidently enjoyed the prickling sensation. It was a testament to the quivering pulses of air pushing his gut out in gentle succession.

Below his superior, Steve took to paying close attention to those particular spots. By instinct, the kobold was trained to discern any pressure points in his subject’s swelling. The little green dragon’s claws replaced Theo’s as the clouded leopard straightened once more and smiled to his subjects.

“It’s interesting to see how different species expand,” the leopard looked between his subjects, before nodding to the board. “Not only with such contrasting physiques, but the pliable nature of your hides too.” He nodded to Dave, who gave Troika’s fuzzy middle a gentle slap, causing it to wobble like an overinflated drum, and then to Steve, who’s paw landed with a metallic ‘whap’ on Bod’s side. Both inflatees yelped in surprise, but were quickly seduced by the expanding once more. By this point, their bellies had begun to dominate the rest of their bodies, with Bod resting atop his and Troika being forced more and more onto his back.

“I keep telling Troika he doessn’t need to sstay in ssshape,” Bod slurred dreamily, enjoying the burgeoning pressure filling his gut, “Cuz round iss a sshape.”

Theo paused, eyeing the ruby rotundity bemusedly, “How delightfully clever, slenderderg. Though I must agree with you there.” He turned to Troika, who’s muscled frame was slowly being overwhelmed by the continuous swell of his gut, “Why do you look like a Greek god after a cheat day? Inflation’s not too much of a hassle for those out of shape.”

The tigsky blushed for the umpteenth time, narrowing his eyes at Bod who was now partially hidden by the swell of his middle. Propping himself on one elbow, Troika’s gut bounced gently as it strained against his clothes. Dave squeaked and studiously navigated around the shifting behemoth to continuing rubbing the elastic surface. “As I’ve told the magma-sucker, some of us take pride in our

physiques.” He coughed and smirked to Theo, “And I prefer not to look like a reptilian refugee.”

Bod snorted in protest, but was stopped by the blissful rubbings his kobold aid was applying to his middle. It looked as if the drake was resting atop a squashed Christmas ornament, outfitted in red and gold jewels.

As the bloated lizard continued to rise, Troika slumped back under the wonderful swell of his gut. It was broaching a size on par with Theo’s six-foot stature. At this point, he could begin to feel the true joys of his belly fighting back against the air it was forced to retain. There was a heavenly strain dancing along the surface of his gut, signifying the beginning of phase two. This was the stage where the air began to pervade to other extremities, taking advantage of the tigsky’s muscular stature to relieve the immediate pressure. In other words, Troika was beginning to truly resemble a sphere, and Theo decided to speed the process along.

The automated pumps began to hum louder as the leopard caressed the dial from ‘pleasant’ to ‘pressurized.’ An ambitious setting, designed to garner more efficient results while easing the subject’s expansion into a larger state.

Troika’s muscle shirt creaked softly as the muscle was replaced with his bloated belly. He could feel the seams along his jeans begin to creak as his thighs and hips swelled against them. Satisfying groans from the fabric sounded as light-blue fur peaked through the seams, the jeans like a second skin again the tigsky’s rubbery hide. Dave circled around his companion while Theo observed the increase in bulging, a pleased smile splitting his muzzle.

The purple kobold pressed a claw against Troika’s taut thigh. It had a novel, springy resistance, as if a fuzzy balloon had been secured around the tigsky’s previously sculpted thigh. Dave supposed his subject’s definition was still sculpted in a way, it was simply more in tune with parade floats or advertising blimps. Casting a quick glance to the bloated leviathan that was his subject’s gut, the kobold softly tickled the stretched surface.

Downy fur stretched and bulged under his paws, causing the two-foot reptile to giggle impishly. Best part of the job. Suddenly a tremor echoed through the tigsky’s form, before Troika attempted to look around the mass of his distended midsection and glance at the diminutive dragon. It proved difficult as his cheeks and chest were beginning to merge, swallowing his neck with pressurized hide and restricting the usual range of motions to small squeaks.

“Hey...Dave, was it?” Troika could feel a tightening sensation dig into his tumefied thighs, “You might wanna come up here for a bit. My jeans are getting awfully...” BANG.

The kobold, so enamored with the impending dome of Troika’s belly, failed to heed the tigsky’s warning, and the poor assistant was taken off his feet by the kamikaze clothing. Troika gasped in relief, Theo doubled over laughing, and Dave squeaked indignantly as the shredded garment wrapped around his face. The tigsky’s spherical form quivered and creaked as Troika snorted and attempted to swallow his laughs, but they bubbled up just as easily as the pumps of air pushed in.

“Oh...gee Dave...mmph snic...I’m real s...pfft...sorry about that.” He couldn’t cover his chortling muzzle due to the cylindrical stubs that were now his arms. Troika was helpless, facing a maddened kobold marching directly for his ballooning face.

Fortunately, Theo was there to interject. Leaning against Troika, the leopard sank into the bulging surface and bounced against it playfully, getting an airy burp from the hybrid. “Now now, Dave, we’re professionals and accidents are...nnngh..” His face screwed up at the scowling kobold, who trailed the jeans like a cape, “Are...pfft...expected. So please calm yourself.”

The small lizard glared to the two snickering anthros, before grumbling, “You’re lucky I like this kinda work.”

Just then, another ‘bang’ and squeak sounded from the other side of the stage. Theo peered over Troika’s belly to see Steve pinned to the nearest lab table by Bod’s own pair of pants. The distended mass of red scales was now only dotted by his golden scutes, inflecting the image of a large ball of magma.

The drake smiled sheepishly, curling his tail softly around the hose as it pumped more air into his bulging figure. “Well it’s not like I didn’t warn him,” Bod quivered in mirth as the purple kobold sank to the floor, his lab coat spread against the table like a pair of wings.

Theo nodded, padding over to help the dazed kobold off the floor. “You’re fortunate that Steve’s a bit more understanding,” the leopard patted his assistant’s shoulder, “And adventurous.”

The kobold grinned dopily and stumbled back over to Bod’s swollen gut, where it was beginning to encroach on the bioplastic tools situated atop the lab tables.

Pushing his paws therapeutically into the shifting swells of Bod’s scales, Steve pinched the taut surface playfully. “Be nice, or I’ll stick a pin in you.”

Surprisingly, the massive ball of a reptile hummed at the thought, his bloated form resonating like a round drum. Theo cocked an eyebrow at the reaction, before jotting several notes down on his clipboard and retiring to the whiteboard. Meanwhile, Steve resumed rubbing and bouncing about the ruby drake’s voluminous form.

Whistling softly, Theo uncapped a marker and went to the final depiction of the puffed-up pair. With flourish, he drew zigzags all around their bodies, picturing the final creaks and groans before the inevitable boom. A wholesome conclusion to such a valuable experiment.

Neither Troika nor Bod could see the whiteboard now, their immensely swollen forms eclipsing their vision like over-inflated planets. Troika could feel his stretched belly press gently against the lip of the first row of lecture tables. The tigsky growled softly in pleasure, his purrs reverberating tautly along the hollow dome of his gut.

Ever so slowly, the helium-hybrid’s girth dug into the tables, more and more air filling him to the precipice of bursting. Despite the gradual nature of the inflation, the breaking point had come all too quickly. Air pumped rhythmically between the tigsky’s bulbous hindquarters, which now resembled the Erlenmeyer flask he was pressing against.

Groaning gently, the tigsky could feel Dave squeak in revelation. A trembling had subsided within the tigsky’s hide. His stripes, widened to the breadth of runway marks, vibrated tenderly wherever the kobold’s claws made contact.

Across the room, Steve quickly deactivated Bod’s own pump, sensing a violent shifting of the drake’s ruby scales. Theo nodded approvingly, “Leave Bod be for the moment, we’ll have some fun with him momentarily.”

Just as Troika felt his form about to attain an ear-popping finale, Theo cranked the dial back to zero. So close. A soft grumble came from the spherical hybrid, who bounced gently against the glassware.

“Wwwhhy’d yooouuuu do thaaat?” The words were thick from the overblown nature of Troika’s pumped-up cheeks.

Theo grinned, tapping his clipboard with a pen. On it, a species chart detailed everything about the tiger-husky. “Well I wasn’t simply going to waste a perfectly

good explosion on the whims of passion,” the leopard chuckled. Now both Bod and Troika looked confused, their kobold aids sharing the sentiment.

Theo explained further, tracing his razor-sharp claws along the gloriously taut fluff of Troika’s tummy, “We have a little group of students coming in soon, and I’ve prepared a short lecture for them. It’s delineated from the topic of structural integrity, with a focus on biological organisms and their capacity/elasticity.” More confusion. Theo sighed, rubbing the tigsky’s bloated gut. “The stretchiness of different anthros,” he clarified.

That resulted in a collective ‘oooh’ of enlightenment. The clouded-cat continued, nodding sharply to the kobolds to keep massaging their subjects. “And you,” he pinched a sliver of Troika’s gut, getting another whimper of ecstasy from the hybrid, “Have the lovely feature of being a goo-being.” Consoling his clipboard again, the leopard slapped Troika’s bloated form. The tigsky oofed and wobbled as his rubbery hide rebounded the blow.

“Reformation period of approximately two minutes,” he reported, shaking his head and chuckling, “That’s faster than the Protestants.” Theo ambled across the stage to Bod, who’d been indulging in Steve’s articulated massaging. “Sadly the same cannot be said for our draconic friend,” Bod hummed as the leopard drew their downy tail along his rigid scutes, “So we’ll have to wait till later for that.”

Both companions looked at one another, twin grins spreading over their circular muzzles. “Sssoundsss goood to usss,” Bod purred. Troika nodded into his tire of a neck.

“Lovely.” Theo had the kobolds roll the two bulging anthros into the center of the stage for better show-and-tell. The little drakes couldn’t resist bouncing them playfully a bit in the process, and the leopard didn’t seem to mind. Once situated, Theo patted them both amiably.

Across the lab, the door suddenly clicked open and a group of furs padded in. Theo spread his arms wide and welcomed them in. “Perfect timing, class. Let’s get into taucity of tigsky hide and dragon scales.”

***

A small congregation of graduates gazed with mixed emotions at the supremely swollen beings before them. Their curiosity was akin to one’s discovery of a beached whale or the downing of the Hindenburg. Such a colossus as the bloated tigsky and drake were simply too alien to perceive at first.

Standing between the inflated pair, not even reaching half their height, Theo beamed to his guests. “Please, don’t gawk at the test subjects, students. They have a feeling or two bouncing around in these swollen forms.” He patted Troika’s globular form, getting a hollow grumble from the hybrid. “You see?”

As the students took their seats, Theo snapped his fingers for the kobolds to bring the neuro-pumps front and center. Once the pumps were situated under the curves of the glorified animal balloons, the leopard continued, “You’ve all been prepped on the nature this experiment. Now it’s time to move forward or…” he tapped Bod’s swollen hide with a claw, “Outward.” The students groaned at the pun.

Once they quieted down, a heavyset draolf in the front rose his hand. “Sir, I thought we’d be witnessing the inflation firsthand.” There was a glint in anthro’s eyes. One that Troika almost immediately recognized. Unfortunately, the swollen tigsky couldn’t say anything, due to his prodigious size.

“I only ever test prototypes on my own, Denya.” The cat padded over to Bod’s stretched form and bounced it a bit. “Now, for the first part, we’ll be focused on our reptilian friend. Bod here is a perfect example of scales under duress.” Theo tapped the dragon’s taut form, feeling the scales groan and shift over the distended form. “Interestingly enough, their elasticity increases almost tenfold when inflated.”

To prove his point, Theo picked up a ball and bounced it a couple times. “Regular old tennis ball, yes?” One of the students, a yellow lab attested to this fact, following the ball instinctively. “However,” the cat suddenly threw it at Bod’s swollen form, “When coupled with our bloated buddy here, it becomes a superball.” The students gasped as the tennis ball catapulted straight over their heads with the force of a cannonball. It careened into a beaker and sent the bioplastic bouncing to the far end of the lab.

Bod found himself wobbling and trembling endlessly. The strain in his hide was profoundly disturbed by the intrusion, causing the gases built up within him to expand against his stomach more. Whimpering softly, the ruby blimp’s golden plates became keratin islands in a mirror-smooth sea. He felt like a soccer ball beginning to over inflate its shell, stretching out the protective layering and exposing more pliable under skin. But even that had adopted a rubbery sheen, glistening with the cubic yards of pressure pent up against his distended scutes. In more precise terms, he was in heaven. Or in Theo’s words, “Bod here has attained maximum capacity.”

The leopard skimmed the hose secured firmly in the reptile’s rump and tickled one of Bod’s bulbous cheeks. Across the stage, Troika giggled softly as his friend

turned a heated red. “One little flick of the switch,” Theo nudged his remote, “And we’d have a shower of royal confetti.”

A collective ‘ooh’ floated up from the students. “But we shall save him for the second trial.” The oohs dissipated into ‘awws.” Theo nodded sharply to Steve, the kobold replying by automatically rubbing the drake’s swollen stomach in circular motions. Bod felt the tension begin to subside, diminishing the torturous high of being on the verge of bursting. He understood. Theo needed him for later, so they’d relax their inflatee for now.

As the royal-red drake relaxed, the enigmatic leopard rose his pupils’ hopes once more by bounding over to Troika. The tigsky’s fluffy hide rippled like short-cropped grass, emphasizing the strain emanating from within. He could just see the clouded-cat enter his field of view, partially obscured by the domes of his cheeks.

One of the leopard’s paws graced his smoothened chest, resulting in an echoic purr from the industrious balloon. “Thankfully, our hybrid here is a bit quicker on the reformation policy,” soft chattering rippled up from the students as Theo whipped out a marker and carefully utilized Troika’s belly as a fuzzy white-blueboard.

Troika growled in protest, but he was severely limited in prevention measures. The students and Bod giggled as the tigsky wiggled his head amid the ovoid tire of his neck, trying to overcome the ticklish squeaks of the marker. Theo effectively ignored the hybrid, polishing off a four-sequence masterpiece along the lower swoop of Troika’s gut.

Standing back, the leopard flashed a reassuring grin to his subject. “Don’t worry, it comes out. We’ll send you through a car wash, if you can fit.” Theo placed a paw on Troika’s swollen form and rubbed it indulgently, turning to the students who’d begun to copy down the sequence into their notes.

“The interesting thing about our hybrid friend here, is the goo-component in his biology,” Theo rambled, trailing his claw over Troika’s gut and landing on the first pic. It showed a little leopard pumping the final swallow of air into a monumental ball. Little stretch marks and divots coated the caricature’s midriff.

“So if we make Troika here go boom,” he shifted to the second pic, detailing a festively detonated tigsky. Small X-ed out eyes and a zigzag tear wove their way across the drawing’s middle, a sensation that the bloated tigsky could almost sense himself. “Then there’s no worry.”

Theo moved to the third pic, tickling Troika’s rubbery hide as he went. “Because the tigsky’s goo-nature allows for the repositioning of all his important bits on an atomic level.” A crude form was seen rising from a thick pile of sludge in the third pic, with Theo himself charitably helping it up.

“And then we’re good as new!” The leopard slapped the final pic, imprinting a red paw print over a little Troika waving alongside a beaming Theo. Troika hissed softly as the slap disturbed his swollen form, sending additional creaks through his arms, legs, and belly.

“Now let us test this in real time.” Theo grinned with malicious glee back to Troika, the tigsky groaning softly as he endured the mixture of bliss and unbearable tightness lancing his gut. The students leaned forward, macabre curiosity filling their gazes. Dave readied himself under his inflatee’s gut, not wanting to be clotheslined again.

The leopard softly turned the dial up once more, sending steady billows air into Troika’s form. Creaks and moans from the hybrid’s hide became prominent, the individual strand of fur along his gut trembling from the ferocious pressure. Each pulse of air pushed stubbornly against the now massively overblown anthro’s gut, searching for any give in his rubbery hide. The tigsky’s rump squeaked as it struggled to retain the nozzle, enveloping the hose in two blue weather balloons.

A soft, low hum came from the tigsky as he neared the moment of reckoning. He could feel needles dancing along his hide, and they cropped up in waves whenever Theo made the slightest contact. The neuro-pump whirred away as Theo thumbed the dial, encouraging Troika to larger dimensions of rotundity. Bod watched in envy, his scales tinkling as they shifted back into place. The students inhaled once more, ready for the finale and it was that final breath that seemed to do it.

There was one final creak and then a mind-numbing BLAM. Troika’s form rented itself apart in spectacular fashion, an instantaneous rupture trailing across his gut as it gave out under the tremendous strain. The air pressure in the room rose slightly, causing everyone’s ears to pop as the bloated tigsky’s explosive departure ionized the entire lab with a thunderous echo.

For Troika, the relief was as heavenly as the strain preceding it, dousing his senses in darkness for a moment. As sizzling waves of tigsky confetti danced through the air, Theo rubbed one ear to reduce the ringing. “I guess a little lesson on shock waves was in the mix too,” he chuckled, smiling maniacally to his pupils.

Most of the students were already recovering, their professionalism helping them cope with the arresting display of the neuro-pump. Bod was entirely used to the

blast, still envious at his companion’s ability to enjoy such a theatrical burst. Only Dave was a little underprepared.

The poor kobold stumbled for a moment, running headlong into Bod and slumping against the ruby sphere. “You alright, bud?” the drake called out, craning his rubbery neck to gaze at the little drake. Steve rubbed his fellow kobold’s back, while the red and gold reptile above them sighed, “Theo, you mind helping him out?”

“Hmm? Oh yes, of course.” The leopard padded over to his two assistants and rested a paw on the stunned lizard’s shoulder. “Just swallow a couple times, balance the pressure in your ears and you’ll be fine.” As Dave recovered and the students shook the ringing from their heads, the shreds of blue and white hide littered around the room began to glow.

Amid the bioplastic wares, thousands of small pieces shimmered a soft blue and began inch-worming their way to the stage. The ones plastered against the whiteboard and Bod’s own bloated form took on a gelatinous composition and slid down the floor. It looked like a migration of glowworms, all congregating at the starburst scorch mark where Troika had once been.

Theo finished consoling Dave after another moment and urged his students to observe. “As I said before,” he gushed, “Goo-beings have some wonderful properties.”

Bod playfully bounced his bloated stomach against Dave’s head, getting a soft squeak from the kobold as they pushed him away. Everyone seemed to be fine. Steve resumed rubbing the swollen scutes dotting Bod’s form, while an occasional fleck of Troika slipped along the shiny surface.

Once all the portions of goo conglomerated in the center, they began to merge and rise like a spirit stepping up from the Earth. Theo circled around, taking notes and murmuring to himself while his students craned their heads for a better look.

In a couple minutes, the goo reached the full 6’2” height of the original tigsky and settled in place. Another minute of detailing passed as the goo fine-tuned the hybrid’s features, resulting in a shimmering, muscular Troika who smirked at Bod. The goo finalized the transformation with a generous surge against his middle, dragging the chiseled abs out and downward to form a handsome musclegut.

Troika stretched, his striped rippling as he flexed and hummed. “That was fun,” he sighed, turning to Theo, “Was it a good show?”

The leopard laughed and nodded, patting the tigsky on the back. “More than good, it was a stellar demonstration.” He nodded to his students, “We couldn’t be more grateful for your contribution.”

As the students offered a scattering of applause, Bod huffed again, rather miffed at missing out on the action. It was then that Steve caught his attention, the little kobold grinning impishly, “Don’t worry. We’re not done yet.”

Bod tilted his head, “But the students are packing up.” Indeed, the spectators were stretching and slipping their laptops into bags, already beginning to chat idly about plans after class.

The kobold chuckled and shook his head, looking back to where Troika explained the sensation of exploding to Theo. “Dr. Clouss usually has more experiments to do on his own,” Steve patted Bod’s bloated hide, getting a metallic twang. The two of them watched as the students finally trickled out of the lab. “He has another test to perform, if I remember.”

The red drake recalled Theo specifying that two trials would taking place that day. And he’d only hinted vaguely at the second. Slowly, the bulging drake grinned and felt his envy die down, enjoying the gentle rubs applied to his sensitive scutes.

With Troika now fully reformed and Dave no longer impaired by the deafening blast, Theo opted to continue. Disappearing into the supply room for a moment, the cat rustled around for a moment, before wheeling out two large tin drums on a trolley. Each were labeled with ‘Gellite’ and sported a small sticker embroidered with the safety measures one should use whilst handling them.

Troika and Bod looked at the drums curiously. Once Theo had them in place, he sighed happily and grinned to his subjects. “Ready to move on to round two?”

***

It took a bit of explaining on Theo’s part, the fast-talking cat’s lecture instincts kicking in as he rambled on about the Gellite. Bod and Troika were alright with inflating themselves via revolutionary apparatuses such as the neuro-pumps, but when it came to what they were physically inflated with, it paid to be smart.

According to Theo, the Gellite was supposedly an industrial fire suppressant employed in airport hangars and warehouses. Should a fire break out, the gel would be rained down from the ceiling via a network of the neuro-pumps. The leopard patted a barrel proudly, “Just one barrel of this can put out a 70x70 meter area doused in jet fuel and set ablaze.”

This got the pair’s attention, with Bod’s bulging form gurgling gently and Troika, who’d begun to teasingly poke the taut derg, rubbing his own belly in anticipation. “W-wow,” the tigsky rubbed Bod’s swollen cheeks in his paws, “Didja hear that Sir Bloat? That’s almost enough to fill you up again!”

The swollen reptile glared back, his cheeks squeaking from the demeaning treatment, “Release mah cheeks, insholent tigshky.”

Troika smirked over the curve of his gut, meeting Bod’s icy blue stare with a warm grin, “Or what, big red?” The tigsky batted the bulging lizard’s cheeks a couple more times, before Theo intervened with a sharp knock on one of the drums.

“Normally I’d have the kobolds do the hard labor,” the leopard explained sheepishly, patting the heavy cylinders, “But heavy lifting isn’t their forte. Troika, would you mind?”

The well-built hybrid nodded abidingly, flicking his tail across Bod’s snout once more as he made to grab one of the drums. Bod was granted his revenge when the tigsky loosed a low rumble of strain. “Erf..grrrr-damn! These things’re heavy.” Troika panted, flopping his belly atop the drum and sending his muscles heaving.

Dave and Steve snickered to one another, while Theo simply observed. The slab of tigsky repositioned himself, ignoring Bod who’d joined in on the kobold’s giggling. “Don’t let a lil’ barrel beat ya, bud! We believe in you.” His laughter reverberated through the airy chamber of his gut, producing a pleasant metallic vibration against the kobolds’ backs.

Growling again, the imposing hybrid reaffixed his grip and lifted. All around his shoulders and arms, it looked like his muscles were struggling to escape the recently renewed hide. Gradually the barrel began to shift, then wobble, and finally lift with Troika’s efforts.

With a laborious pant, he plopped it down near one of the neuro-pumps and grudgingly repeated the process with the other. Flicking Bod’s bloated butt with a claw, the tigsky smirked, “Maybe I’ll just shove this down your gullet and shake you up good.”

The balloon of a reptile sniffed, “You’d just be doing me a favor, bilge ball.”

“You’re right,” Troika grinned evilly, turning to Theo, “We should just keep him like this. Let the air trickle out.”

Bod’s features collapsed, trying to hide his fear unsuccessfully behind domed cheeks. Fortunately, Theo stepped in. The cat was just as adamant for an explosive finale as the drake was.

“As poetically ironic as that would be, I still have tests to run.” He patted Troika on the shoulder and guided the tigsky back to the other side of the stage. “You both are integral to the experiment, and I think we all agree that bursting is best, yes?” Theo didn’t wait for a response.

Instead he unscrewed the nozzle from the top of a drum and reaffixed a tube connected to the neuro-pump. “This stuff will guarantee a quality explosion, and in a pretty shade of purple no less.” Theo giggled from the salesman pitch, pointing to the luminous bright-purple liquid beginning to seep down to the neuro-pump. “Sorta like the meth in Breaking Bad. The purple-coloration is a chemical byproduct. The manufacturers don’t mind, as long as it quenches any and every fire it comes up against.”

“Fun,” Troika murmured. He rubbed his biceps as the neuro-pumps cycled the gel into their system and dispelled the air. Bod felt a bit of tightening around his hide from the extra pulse, but it was countered by Steve’s attentive rubbings.

Dave padded over to the tigsky and tapped a muscular calf. Looking down, the heavyset hybrid grinned and knelt, noticing the nozzle clamped in the kobold’s paw. “Yah need to be prepped again,” the smaller lizard stated, leaning against the white-blue overhang of Troika’s waist.

Nodding understandingly, Troika rested on one side and struck a pose. “Paint me like one of your french girls, Dave. Before we hit Bod, the icederg and go down.”

The kobold paused uncertainly, weirded out by the demand. Hollow grumbles trickled over the swell of Bod’s gut, clearly not appreciative of the comparison. Dave looked from the posing tigsky to the balloon of a drake and then to his boss, for help.

“Don’t worry, Dave, they’re just messing with you.” Theo glanced back from his work reassuringly, before moving onto the second pump. “Besides, you won’t be able to fit the muscled doughball on a canvas with his ego.”

“Hey!” the tigsky whined, flicking his tail in protest, “That didn’t stop yah from using me as one for your little artworks.”

Theo shrugged impassively as Bod’s grumbling turned into giggles. “Was an improvement, if you ask me,” the reptile murmured.

“Well no one’s asking you, bilge ball.” Troika groused. Fortunately Dave was able to redirect his attention with a covert slip of the nozzle and a faint yelp on the hybrid’s part.

“And we’re ready!” Theo exclaimed, spinning his remote excitedly as the purple gel flashed and burbled in the pumps. He patted Bod’s skin-tight scutes cheerfully and cocked an eyebrow to Troika, “All set?” The tigsky nodded. “Excellent! Now this stuff will feel slightly denser than air at first, but once it begins to expand, the results should be interesting.”

Bod and Troika smiled wide at the prospect. The expansive and the unknown were what they relished in inflationary encounters. With one collective sigh, the rubbery dome of a drake and marbled slab of a tigsky relaxed as Theo nudged the dial and sent the gel seeping into their awaiting bellies.

This time, the swelling was instantaneous. A neon purple glow suffused both inflatees’ forms, highlighting their bellies with swirls of light.

Dave and Steve batted their respective peers’ bellies, enamored by the bouncy wobbles sending the light dancing. For Troika, the swelling was notably quicker than their previous trial, his gut swelling and swallowing up his muscular thighs in moments. The light played hypnotically under the burgeoning stripes aligning his coat. What truly got the tigsky’s attention was how well the gel gauged his swelling. With the increasing tightness that pushed him on his back, the expanding gel pushed against his stomach in turn.

The glowing bubbles bulging beneath his coat bounced about with additional fervency, trailing across the bloating curve of the tigsky’s body.

For Bod, the gel took residence in his circular chamber of a belly. Though the gel still added rigidity to his stretched scutes, the pace of the gels expansion increased at a faster pace than the initial airflow of the pump. Like a partially-filled water balloon, Bod became bottom heavy with the pulses traveling rhythmically into his rear. The gel foamed within and warmly adhered to the walls of his stomach, pressing against them yearningly and adding serious internal strain.

Steve could feel the golden scutes dotting the red drake’s swollen form smoothen out, almost sinking into the more pliable scales surrounding them. Creaks, groans and a steady hiss from the gel filled the air. Bod moaned softly from the rubbery

pressure, his arms and legs becoming nothing more than inconspicuous pressure points amid the trembling dome that he now was.

A stunned leopard traced one soft paw along the now overblown surface of the drake’s side. Muttering softly to himself, Theo walked around to the drake’s head, following the glowing dance of gel roiling and swelling from within. “You ready?” the feline inquired.

Unable to form words or even nod thanks to the rigid position his head was held in, Bod grinned and flicked his eyes up and down. Theo smiled and motioned for Steve to back away. No use in another stunned kobold meandering about.

Still, the clouded cat placed one paw on Bod’s perfectly smooth chest, curiosity undeniable at this point. Troika watched from his bloating vantage point, with both kobolds now standing against the stretched fuzz curving along his waist. They all observed as Theo took out the remote and pressed the dial one notch further.

Bod murred, felt the final pulse of air force its way in and then BANG.

Theo gasped as the scales beneath his paws snapped away, trailing a thunderous roar from the dragon’s ruby middle. A maelstrom of scales and gel fluttered through the air, trickling about in the guise of confetti. Unlike Troika’s initial explosion, Bod’s was accompanied by the force of scales and the weight of the gel. Numerous lab ware popped and pinged as bits of scales zinged into them; yhe shields of gold keratin actually embedding themselves in some places. A most grand finale.

Across the stage, Troika groaned as his rubbery form bounced and wobbled endlessly from the impact of a thousand little particles. The gel itself eventually dissipated from the intensity of the explosion, but the ruby and gold confetti layering the lab was enough to induce a festive atmosphere.

Theo still remained standing, his paw stretched out wide over the globe that had been Bod. It was inconceivably fast, but the leopard still saw each moment of the spectacle play in his mind. Turning to Troika, the cat giggled maniacally and wiggled his silvery paw. “Talk about an explosive finale!”

The tigsky nodded tightly, grinning from the leopard’s infectious enthusiasm. With the increase in gel, Troika’s form now swelled at a similar rate to Bod, the lights dancing like schools of minnows around his bulging form. With the rippling black stripes and electric blue fur, the hybrid truly resembled an aquarius globe filled to the brim with luminous fish. He ‘erfed’ and jiggled gently against the

kobolds, who’d taken to once again chasing the small blobs of light around his bloated stature.

“Think I’mmmm ‘bout there m’self,” Troika wiggled his stubs of arms and grinned amid the cylindrical collar of his neck.

“Excellent,” Theo purred, flicking the tigsky’s gut and inducing a small starburst of purple light. “Steve. Dave. You two ready?” The kobolds stopped long enough to nod before both pressed their paws against the hybrid’s hide. Troika giggled from the prickling sensation. “Alright, but don’t blame me if you go flying again.”

The leopard turned the dial up once more and watched in utter fascination as Troika detonated once more. This time the bang was slightly muted, blue fur and purple gel forming a nebulaic pattern through the air. Theo realized it was because Troika was entirely filled by the gel, and so induced a slower, almost entrancing display.

Both kobolds were taken off their feet by the sluggish wave of gel, swept across the stage by a gentle tide of gel. Theo chuckled as he imagined the tremoring globe of a tigsky already beginning to reform in some recess of the room. If only he could keep these two on for longer, fill them up daily and enjoy an entire spectrum of inflationary fun. It had to be sanctioned by the university though, so he’d need to find a way around that.

In the meantime, the leopard and his assistants had some reparations to perform. While Troika could reform and help them in a couple minutes, Bod would need to be vacuumed up and reanimated. It wasn’t the most glamorous part of the job, but it was well worth the effort.

Humming softly, Theo hooked on a neuro-pump, set it on ‘revitalization’ mode, and got to work.