Lindesfarne’s stomach expanded rapidly as more and more of the tiny, rambunctious buggers forced their way down her gullet. As delicious as they were, her gut was starting to feel extremely swollen, almost to the point of bursting. Lindesfarne tried to beg them to stop, but her tongue kept impacting with the soft under-shells of her charges, causing them to giggle and squirm in ticklish delight. Not only couldn’t she form any words, but widening her lips to speak gave them easier access to her warm, slick maw. Another five kids went sliding down her sore esophagus. As the attack continued, Lindesfarne became increasingly worried about her safety, rather than her diet.

There was no means of escape, they were swarming everywhere. Despite having long, pointed quills, she had nearly two dozen kids clinging onto her. Most kids were clutching onto her limbs, but two children had disappeared into her ample cleavage. She even felt a few kids wriggling their way underneath her poor bloated belly. Lindesfarne gave a little squeal as a kid, probably one of the more adventurous boys, darted under the hem of her skirt. She had to put an end to this now! The last thing she needed was for them to discover a new orifice that they could turn into a playground.

Horrifically digesting her close friend’s children was one thing, inadvertently sexually traumatizing them was another entirely! Lindesfarne had moral integrity, and would never even dream of stooping to such a level. She squeezed her thighs together, catching the little bugger. That was one crisis averted, but she still had to worry about her ballooning tummy. Too many more and she might pop.

“What’s going on in here?!” The loud buzzing stopped and the children looked towards the door. There stood Tammy and Ray, back from one of their rare nights out. The moth woman surveyed the scene with a scrutinizing eye.

“Mom!” all the kids cried in unison.

“What are you doing to your aunt Lindesfarne?” Tammy demanded, hands on hips.

“Aw, we were just playing.” A little bug girl explained.

Tammy flapped her wings twice and glided into the room. Her eyes became fixated on the wobbly hedgehog gut several of her children were sprawled out on… and climbing out from under, “Lindesfarne, did you…?”

Lindesfarne flashed her an embarrassed smile, “Um….. yes?... I’m so sorry, Tammy! It was an accident; I just –“

“We’ll talk about this outside.” Tammy cut her off. Lindesfarne blinked a few times. Her friend’s voice was surprisingly calm. In fact… did Lindesfarne detect a hint of relief?

“Okay.” Lindesfarne agreed, she waddled after her girlfriend.

Tammy fluttered out the front door, “Ray, look after the kids.” She waved her hand dismissively.

“Wow Lindesfarne, are you pregnant? I guess I didn’t notice earlier.” Ray commented, scratching his head, “Just get in there and take care of the rug-rats. Lindesfarne and I need to have a chat, girl to girl.” Ray nodded dumbly and went inside, shutting the door behind him.

The two friends just stared at each other for a moment. The silence was deafening. Lindesfarne felt a bead of sweat roll down her forehead. Then, out of nowhere, “… Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!” Tammy lurched forward, hugging Lindesfarne’s prominent tummy.

“W-what?” The hedgehog stammered.

“You have no idea how horrible it is to be a mother of one hundred and twenty seven… or is it twenty eight?... Ah, it doesn’t matter! You’re the answer to my prayers, girlfriend.”

“Tammy, I don’t understa-“

“Do you know it’s been months since the last time Ray took me out? Tonight was our first night without the little monstrosities since October; I finally got to go dancing again. It was just me, a couple long island iced teas, and Ray’s big glowing ass.” Tammy smiled dreamily while Lindesfarne just continued blinking, perplexed, “Did you know I’m pregnant again? In a month or so my thorax is going to start bulging with a whole new brood of party poopers. I can already feel them starting to develop, and this batch is going to be a whopper.”

“So… you’re happy I ate some of your kids?” Despite Lindesfarne’s genius disposition, she was having trouble grappling with the concept that a mother would want her kids to disappear. Lindesfarne, being quite big hearted for an insectivore, found her friend’s enthusiasm a little disturbing.

“That’s it exactly.” Tammy confirmed, “It’s hard to take care of so many at once, and it’s also incredibly expensive! We’ve considered taking out a loan for food and clothing alone. And the names, ugh, I still don’t have some of them memorized. Ray and I started resorting to just using letters when we broke a hundred. By the end of my next pregnancy it’s going be even more of a hassle. We’re going to have to start calling our kids, R the second, and Q the third.” Tammy shook her head in disgust, “Being a milf is a living nightmare, you’re lucky Fenton hasn’t knocked you up.”

The hedgehog blushed, “We’re waiting till we’re done with college.”

Tammy didn’t appear to be listening. She reached out and rubbed the quivering belly that housed a dozen or more of her children; little ones born of her own body. Lindesfarne watched in silence. The caressing slowed and stopped, and Tammy looked up at her insectivore friend with an odd twinkle in her eye, “Lindesfarne, you’re my only hope for a normal social life. I would love it if you could…erm... ‘take care’ of the little devils on a regular basis. When do you think you can babysit again?”

“You mean?!”

Tammy nodded. Lindesfarne’s gut reaction was to refuse, and not just because her stomach was on the verge of bursting. Being something of a bleeding heart liberal, and being raised an herbivore for the majority of her life, such a shady request left a bad taste in her mouth… On the other paw, Tammy’s kids left a pleasant aftertaste in her mouth, so the two sort of balanced each other out.

Lindesfarne considered the proposal for a moment. It wasn’t as if Tammy expected her to eat all of her kids, Lindesfarne just needed to trim the herd a little, and cut her friend’s workload. In a way, wouldn’t she be doing the kids a favor? With so many of them running around, they were sure to be neglected on a daily basis. Lindesfarne knew all too well what the absence of parental figures could do to the psyche of a child. And if that wasn’t enough, most of them would be eaten anyway; bugs didn’t have a long life expectancy. Wouldn’t it be better for them to be consumed by their loving ‘aunt’, rather than drained by a blood thirsty spider or pecked apart by a sadistic bird? The more Lindesfarne rationalized it, the more she warmed up to the idea.

“I suppose… if I hit the treadmill and stick to eating aphids… I could be back next week.” She felt like a fully inflated blowfish, but she knew she had a fast metabolism. In less than an hour the little tykes would migrate into her intestines. She’d be squeezing them out of her colon by tomorrow morning, at the latest. The extra plumpness added to her love handles, that’d be a pain, but she’d work it off quick enough.

“Oh, perfect! Ray and I can go salsa dancing.” Tammy chirped excitedly, “Lets head inside; I’ll get your pay.” The two went back into the house.

After being paid and saying goodbye to the children, Lindesfarne was on her way. When the little ones had asked about their brothers and sisters stewing in Lindesfarne’s belly, Tammy had them (after a moment’s hesitation) they’d be living with their auntie from now on. That went over well, even Ray had bought it. I wasn’t entirely untrue either. They would be living with her, ‘Most likely on my thighs.’ Lindesfarne lamented.

Her belly flopped up and down with each step she took. She lightly tapped her bulging, gurgling abdomen. She could still feel movement within, and she was afraid it might be a result of the children writhing in agony. Laughter revealed they were still alive and relatively unharmed. Her stomach acid was likely eating away at their exoskeletons, not yet penetrating them and coating the soft flesh underneath.

She didn’t want to do it, it was a gross habit, but she didn’t want them to suffer. Lindesfarne let out a resounding belch; very uncharacteristic of the nerdy girl. She felt the movement inside slow, as her prey’s air supply was diminished.

“Have a good night’s sleep kids, I’ll see you in the morning.” ‘When you’re nothing but hedgehog flesh and stool’, she thought.

……………………………………………………

(1 week later)

“Danny, your hair’s sticking up. Here,” Abby swiped her tongue across the surface of her paw. She then proceeded to vigorously scrub the mouse boy’s scalp in an attempt to wet down the offending strand of hair.
“Stoooop, Aby!” He half giggled, trying to pull away.

“Stand still, squirt!” Aby ordered. Her tone was assertive, yet affectionate at the same time.

Huffing, in what Aby considered to be a very cute fashion, Danny stopped his squirming and let her finish her task.
“There! Now that wasn’t so bad, was it? So… are you ready to meet my friends?” She gazed down at her little house guest expectantly. Danny broke his eye contact with her, choosing to stare down at his feet instead. After a few seconds of hesitation, “ummm… Sure.” He looked up at his feline caretaker, with an insincere smile plastered onto his face.

“There’s no need to be nervous, hon. It’s not like they’re going to try to eat you or anything.” ‘Well’ she thought, ‘a few of them might, but I’ll be there to intervene, so no worries.’

“I know.” Danny replied half heartedly, “It’s just… well… I guess I’m just nervous around new people.”

“You’ve got nothing to worry about, the girls are going to love you, I promise.” Aby had decided she and Danny owed Kell a long overdue visit. Aby hadn’t told her friend about her new housemate and, despite Kell’s edible rabbit hubby and progressive mindset, the feline wasn’t quite sure how things would play out. Regardless, she couldn’t postpone the face to face any longer. Danny had been with her for a little less than two weeks, but in that time she’d grown incredibly attached to the rambunctious mouse kid. If something were to happen to him now she knew she’d probably go into a poignant depression for weeks, maybe even months. And if Kell was the cause of it… well… it might do irreversible damage to their friendship. By introducing him to the Dewclaws he’d have a few more predators keeping an eye out for him… or, at least, not stalking him.

“… Oh, I just remembered. You should probably grab a few slices of provolone from the kitchen before we head next door. There’ll be refreshments at Kell’s, but I don’t think she’ll have anything you like.” The mention of food drew Aby’s attention back to the aftertaste of preteen mouse still dancing on her tongue. Aby smacked her lips repeatedly, in as discreet a manner as possible, trying to enjoy the lingering flavor of her delicious houseguest. She’d given him a bath, tongue style, just a few minutes prior. She wanted him to be presentable, after all. As the flavor subsided, she resolved to give him tongue baths more often.

“Okay!” Danny scampered off to the kitchen, his tail twitching excitedly. The tiny mouse never missed an opportunity to nibble on a hunk of his favorite cheese. Aby chuckled lightly to herself, amused by his cute reaction. He was such an endearing young man; he was sure to be a heartbreaker when he got older.

Only in hindsight did she realize how lonely she’d been. Now, instead of coming home to reluctant sex toys, she was greeted daily by a young mouse boy who was absolutely smitten with her. The past week had just been so rejuvenating for the weary Abyssinian. Just the other day, after coming home from an exhausting experience with an unruly customer, Danny had been quick to hop into her arms and hug her. The foul mouthed customer navigating his way through her digestive tract had taken the edge off her bad mood, but it was Danny’s affectionate greeting that dispelled it completely. Though that alone had been more than enough to brighten her day, Danny promised to do everything he could to cheer her up. Like all cats, Aby liked to be rubbed, and she ended up asking Danny to knead her shoulders. As luck would have it, he was a natural. The tension that had built up in her muscles from hours of hard labor just seemed to evaporate; it had been heavenly. That night she’d snuggled with him beneath the sheets, occasionally tickling him. Though nothing had happened beyond that, it was probably the most satisfying experience Aby had ever had with a male in bed. Kind of sad, upon reflection, but Aby had always been more focused on other things.

Despite being a great kid, the little mouse boy couldn’t possibly meet all of her needs. She still had her physical urges to consider, and there was no way he could satisfy those… Well, technically he could, but she didn’t have the heart to make him double as a vibrator. His presence had actually thrown something of a monkey wrench into her unorthodox sex life. Her pussy was literally throbbing, desperate for some attention, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it until she bought Danny a bed and moved him out of her room. Yesterday, she had used Ralph (a fat, middle aged mouse mechanic who’d sought a job at her auto-shop) to sodomize herself with before Danny woke up. That had been nice. But those opportunities would be rare, and dangerous to act upon in the future.

Despite the small list of cons keeping a young mouse boy at her home presented her with, Aby was happy for the company. It sure beat coming home late at night and procrastinating in the dark with half a pint of catnip.

“I’m ready!” Danny emerged from the kitchen, vigorously tearing apart a piece of cheese.

“Alright, let’s get going.”


………………….

The door was opened by a kindly looking older wolf with glasses. She peered down at the tiny mouse boy and gave him a quick sniffing before nodding, approvingly.

“It’s good to see you Aby, come inside.” She reached out to take Danny’s hand, “If you’ll come with me, young man, we can go to the kitchen and I’ll whip you up into a nice brochette.” She said it in a good natured manner, but it left Danny looking terrified.

“I’m sorry Elanor, but he is NOT for eating.” Aby said, “he’s actually my new house guest.”

“Oh? I’m sorry, my mistake… Please, come inside.”

The two shuffled in. Sitting at the kitchen table was Kell and another wolf who bared an uncanny resemblance to her.

“Kell, do you have an evil twin I don’t know about?” Aby joked.

“Close. Aby, I’d like you to meet my cousin Sheila.”
Sheila stood, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Her clothing was a tad bit different. She had makeup applied and a dark red lipstick was applied to her muzzle but, besides that, she was the spitting image of Kell. Aby and Sheila shook hands.

“So who is this charming young man?” She played with Danny’s hair, causing him to give her a shy smile, “He’s cute.” Sheila commented, smiling back.

“This is the latest man in my life, Danny. I brought him over to meet you and your family Kell. Kell looked a bit shocked. Sheila was smirking, “Well I’m happy for you Aby, I like them young too. They’re more energetic and willing to please.”

Aby’s eyes widened, “Oh no, nothing like that! He’s just a boy I’m taking care of.”

Aby, Sheila, Kell, Elanor, and Danny, all took places at the table. The four carnivores spent the time gossiping, discussing their careers, and sipping at coffee. At one point Danny was passed around the table and assaulted by inquisitive wet noses. After an hour had past, the women decided it was time to bring out the hors d'oeuvres.

Elanor took Danny to Lindesfarne’s room so that he wouldn’t have to see them eating. Lindesfarne was out, but there was an older bug boy named Ace in her room whom she was saving for later. Elanor thought the two could play in the interim. Heading back downstairs she went to the guest/storage room, opening it revealed four nervous young herbivores. The four boys all went to the same local Middle School. Kell had caught them yesterday, when they had been walking home from school. She’d been too full at the time to devour them, so she brought them home for later.

Elanor and Kell weren’t cruel to their edible house guests. All their clothing had been confiscated, leaving them with nothing but their fur, but they’d been supplied with all the basic necessities. The young group of friends had been given food and water, as well as pillows and blankets for the night. There was even a small color tv in the room with them that they were allowed to use freely. Kell and Elanor had talked with them to try and assuage their fears, but had been relatively unsuccessful.

Three of the four friends were fourteen years old. Of the fourteen year olds, there was a city mouse with light yellow fur named Cheddar, a fluffy looking squirrel named Maxwell, and a snow white rabbit named Thumper. The youngest one was only twelve, and noticeably shorter than the rest of the group. He was a city mouse named Jay, and he was Cheddar’s younger brother. All four of them were short, scruffy, thin critters. Though they didn’t have much meat on them, they were in their prime, making them all quite pleasing to the palate. Their thin frames and meek personalities indicated that they weren’t athletes in their school, which helped explain why Kell was able to catch them with such ease.

“Alright boys, it’s time.”

They were all scared, but followed Cheddar’s lead. Jay gave a whimper, “It’s okay, I’m here for you.” The older city mouse gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“It really isn’t that bad, dear.” Elanor lifted Jay up off the ground into her arms. She had a great deal of experience with skittish preteens. More than once had her prey given up their firstborn child in a pathetic attempt to buy back their life. She, of course, showed the parents no mercy. She would, however, try to reassure the children whom she often collected. She cradled the sniveling lad in her arms until he calmed, “Alright, off to the kitchen.”

“So then I told him, ‘hey, buddy, how would you like to be a shit stain in my panties? So the dumbass water buffalo-“

“Sheila, there are kids in the room! Watch that filthy mouth of yours!” Elanor chastised as she reentered the kitchen.

Sheila rolled her eyes, “I’m sorry aunt Elanor, but I don’t see what the big deal is. They’ll be nothing but lupine shit by tonight.” Elanor covered the youngest one’s ears, a reproachful look on her face, “Sheila! Stop swearing, we do not use filthy language in front of young guests, this is not debatable!”
“Yeesh, okay, okay.” Sheila grumbled.

“Please, we don’t want to be eaten by a bunch of old ladies.” Maxwell pleaded. Elanor clucked at the insult, but the other three carnivores looked mildly amused, “we’ve got our whole lives ahead of us. Can’t you eat something else?”

“Up on the table with you, here we go.” Elanor said, ignoring the pleading. She gripped each of them under their armpits and lifted them up onto the table. Jay began shivering again. She looked at the naked little mouse sympathetically, “I’ll take this one. I’m, er, I’m trying to watch my caloric intake.” She explained. Usually, showing mercy wasn’t in her nature. It could be perceived as a weakness and, in the old days, it could get you killed.

Sheila eyed the teenagers, trying to figure out which one was most liable to hump her tongue. Aby licked her lips as well, she was rather fond of mouse… but rabbit could be a good change of pace.

“Please, this isn’t fair! We didn’t cross through your yard or anything. Why do we have to die?!” Thumper questioned.

“Because we’re bigger than you and we say so.” Sheila said curtly.

“That’s just how the food chain works.” Aby agrees.

“Look at the bright side, things could be worse, we didn’t stuff you.” Sheila pointed out.

“Ms. Elanor.” Jay spoke up, “You’re such a nice lady. Can’t we just go home now, please?” He sniffled.

Elanor sighed internally, whiny prey often gave her gas. If Jay started up with the waterworks he’d probably wreak havoc on her digestive tract, “Jay, come over here onto my plate and I’ll explain things to you as best I can.” Hesitantly, the little mouse did so. The other three prey in the center of the table continued to argue with their would-be predators, doing their best to evoke some empathy from the older women.