In the blink of a gulp

Everything was quiet inside the mysterious forests of Anumen. The black nightly sky was still casting it’s blinding sheet over the world, and the inhabitants of the forest were still in a deep sleep. The hundreds of stars that filled the sky shone brightly, and the only occasional movements were caused by owls and other nightly creatures. Slowly but surely, dawn was approaching, as the dark colors of night started to turn into a bright violet as the sun started to rise. Bright and warm shades of yellow were soon dancing up in the skies, casting away the dark. The stars vanished, and the first warm rays hit the slumbering forest.  With orange and yellow colors dominating the skies now, the dawn of a new day had begun for real. As if the sun herself had spoken, the forest started to come to life once again. All around, creatures of all size and species started to awaken from their slumber to start the new day. But there was only one being that didn’t look forward to it. 
The gigantic wolf slowly made his way through the trees, his white fur all but shiny like it usually was. Instead, it looked rather ruffled and his face looked as if he had suffered from great tiredness. The truth wasn’t far from it, as Akela the White had spent the entire night taking care of some urgent business deep inside the forests. He had managed to settle things down, but he hadn’t caught any sleep at all. He felt foolish not to have accepted his apprentice’s offer to tag along. He had advised Finn to stay behind and get some sleep in case he wouldn’t have any. Thinking about it for a second time, he guessed he had made the right decision. He yawned widely as he paced up the mountain path leading to his home. Walking through the bushes and into the quiet and charming meadow, he gave off a sigh of relief. He would finally be able to sleep a bit as soon as he had updated Finn about the previous night’s events.  Walking up to the cave, he peered inside to check if his friend was there. But there was no sign of him, and the large wolf groaned. He was going to have to search for him. Rolling his eyes, he took the exit out of the meadow and went into the forest to look for Finn. 
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‘They’re mine!’
‘No! They’re mine! You have enough already!’
‘Hey! Let go! Stop it! I found them first!’
The two squirrels were still bickering by the time Finn walked over to them. 
‘Alright you two, break it up. What seems to be the problem here?’ he inquired with a smile. The two squirrels looked up at him before renewing their fight. ‘He took my nuts!’ the left one yelled. ‘No I didn’t! I found them first!’ the other one replied in anger. Renewing their fight, Finn chuckled as he held them apart with his paws. ‘Alright, alright, settle down. There’s a way to solve this – fighting’s no good.’ he told them, and the two calmed down. ‘Good. Now let’s see what we have here, shall we?’ the Husky replied as he took a look at the nuts scattered across the floor before him. Pondering his next action for a second, he gave a nod as he proceeded to make a pile out of the nuts. ‘Hey, what are you –‘ one of them protested, but Finn motioned for silence. Counting the pile before him, he divided them into 2 new and smaller piles and took another look at the two bickering squirrels next to him. ‘See? Problem solved. You each get the same amount. That way no one has to bicker and fight over them.’ he explained. 
Eyeing the pile before them, the two nodded and reluctantly shook each other’s hands.  Finn smiled and nodded. ‘There you go, that wasn’t worth all that trouble, now was it?’ he said as he lifted himself up again. Turning to walk away, one of the squirrels caught up with him and climbed up his leg. ‘Wait! Master Finnigan!’ he shouted, Finn turning his head to look at the squirrel sitting on his shoulder. ‘How many times have I told you not to call me that?’ he said with a smile, and the squirrel blushed. Chuckling, Finn gave him a small wink. ‘It’s alright, what do you need?’ he asked the little creature. The squirrel started to blush even harder now, as if he had great difficulties gathering the words for his next sentence.  ‘I-is it true y-you’ve been inside Lord Akela?’ the squirrel squeaked. Finn gave him a little frown. ‘Seriously, don’t say that – we’ re not masters or lords, we’re all equal to you.’ he replied. The squirrel hid his face inside his tiny hands as he muttered a ‘sorry’. Finn chuckled and shook his head. ‘It’s alright. But yes, I have been there.’ he said, not bothering to fight back the proud smile on his face.  The squirrels eyes shot wide open as he received the confirmation. ‘Really?! What’s it like?’ he gasped. Pondering, Finn shook his head again. ‘I can’t explain it in words, but I could show it to you in some way, I guess.’ he said with a smile.
‘Finn?’ Akela shouted as he kept making his way through the woods. He sensed Finn was near, but he was too tired to focus. The different shades of green kept racing past him as he ran. Soon he’d have to give up in order to avoid falling asleep in the middle of the road. His tongue hanging out of his maw from exhaustion, the white wolf sat down for a second to catch his breath. He couldn’t really blame Finn, after all it was his duty to leave this early for patrol. It kept amusing him just how much care and attention Finn put into his job, and every day he felt more and more assured he had chosen the right canine for the task. He closed his eyes for a second, almost dozing off as he did so. He shot awake again and shook his head vigorously.  The scent of the Husky indicated that he was very close. ‘Finn?’ he called out to the Husky again, and this time he got a response. ‘Akela?’ the familiar voice called back from behind a row of trees. A wave of relief shot through the wolf’s body as he saw his apprentice appear from behind the vegetation. ‘There you are, I have some news.’ Akela informed him. ‘Oh, do you?’ he replied for a second before taking a closer look at the wolf’s face. ‘My word, Akela – you look awful. Did you get any sleep at all?’ he inquired with a worried tone. The large wolf shook his head as he proceeded to update the Husky about the previous events. Finn nodded and smiled. ‘Well it’s good you finally convinced the beavers to stop building dams underneath the waterfall. But seriously, you should get some sleep fast.’ he advised, and Akela nodded with a smile. ‘I think I will, I’ll just lie down somewhere around here…’ he mumbled as he turned away from Finn before halting in his steps. ‘And Finn –‘ he began. ‘Hmm?’ the Husky replied. ‘What’s that squirrel doing inside your stomach?’ the wolf asked with a friendly frown. ‘Oh, uhh… well…’ Finn began as he eyed his belly, not knowing how Akela had been able to see the little creature in there. ‘He just wanted to know, umm – what it would be like to be inside one of us…’ Finn said clumsily as he scratched his head. Akela chuckled. ‘They keep surprising me, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to see what that’s like. But be sure to let him out again.’ Akela said before trailing off to find some shade. ‘Of course, Akela. Don’t worry about it. You go and get some sleep, and I’ll finish my patrol.’ Finn replied with a smile as he turned around to resume his duties. 
After walking around for a while, Akela had found the perfect spot for his little nap. The sounds of the nearby pond and the birds singing made him drowsy almost instantly. He rolled over on his back beneath the shade of a tree at the base of a little cliff. There, in the cool shadow, he gave one last sigh before he drifted off into sleep.  Meanwhile, Finn had nearly finished his morning patrol and was now making his way back. All the time he had taken the squirrel with him and he was starting to understand why Akela liked to use his special skill so much.  He chuckled uncontrollably at the movements inside of him as he caught a familiar scent again. He stood still and sniffed it out for a second before turning his head into the right direction.  He smiled as he crossed the little river and reached the edge of a little cliff. The soft emerald grass was bending softly in the calm wind that caressed over the field. Sitting there for a moment, Finn perched his ears as he heard a rather odd noise. A deep and low snoring-like sound invaded his ears as he looked around to find the source of it. Glancing down, he chuckled as he saw the large shape of a white wolf lying directly beneath him. He had always wondered how Akela managed to sleep on his back, but he had never asked him. Still, he felt relieved the wolf had finally found himself a place to sleep now, and the Husky turned his attention to his surroundings once more.  The bright blue sky was filled with large and puffy clouds. One by one, they floated past him; like silent and soothing entities.  He lay down on his belly and sighed, gazing up at the clouds and trying to find shapes in them. That always kept him occupied when he had nothing urgent to do. Slowly but surely, Finn’s eyes started to close as he started breathing slower – cast away inside a light slumber. 
Finn opened his eyes again, but for some reason he knew there was something wrong. There wasn’t any blue sky about, let alone grass. He wasn’t lying anymore either, as he felt his whole body being curled up. He didn’t remember falling asleep like this. All he could hear was one monotone sound, a thumping sound. Taking a closer look at the things around him, he frowned as he detected a rather moist and unfamiliar smell. The room that held him looked like something he had seen before. And suddenly, taking a look at the fleshy walls that held him, it struck him. He was inside a stomach.  ‘But.. how?’ he thought, getting up and looking around. ‘Had Akela come by? No – that couldn’t be it. Akela’s stomach looked much different, and the whole place reeked of something else. Starting to panic, Finn looked at the stomach ring above him and tried to call out to whatever it was that had swallowed him whole. ‘Hey! Whatever you are! Care to explain why I’m in here?!’ he yelled out. Next thing he knew, the whole room started moving as his predator made himself known. A thundering laugh made the whole stomach shudder, and Finn lost his balance. Landing on the soft and fleshy floor beneath him, he gasped as the voice sounded vaguely familiar. Like a sort of large squeaking voice. ‘Why hello there, Finnigan.’ his captor spoke. Finn couldn’t believe his ears as he spoke his next sentence. ‘Tim? Tim the squirrel? What in the world is happening?!’ he shouted in a panicked voice.  The apparently enormous squirrel chuckled again as he spoke to his confused meal. ‘Oh nothing much, I just ate you. You see it wasn’t very nice of you to eat me. And now you’ll pay for it. I’ll digest you, just like you digested me!’ he roared in a cackle. Finn’s eyes filled with horror as he looked around him to see green acids starting to pour out of the walls of his prison. ‘No! Wait! This doesn’t make any sense! You wanted me to eat you! And I didn’t digest you! I couldn’t! Please! Stop!’ He pleaded as the acids started engulfing him. But Tim didn’t listen, and amidst the menacing laugh and the burning sensations, Finn suddenly shot wide awake.
‘Aaaaaaaaargh!’ he screamed as he shot up, his eyes open wide and panting heavily.  He looked around and touched himself all over to make sure none of his fur was gone.  After double checking everything from his ears to his tail, he finally relaxed again. The muffled tiny voice coming from within him sounded worried. ‘Mister Finn? Everything OK?’ Tim inquired. Finn had forgotten all about him and looked at his belly with a flicker of surprise. Tiny poking movements were pushing through his fur as the little guest inside tried to make his presence known. Finn smiled at the tickling feeling it gave him and managed to stutter some words.  ‘Y-y-yeah, just had a nightmare…’ he muttered.  He stood up again and sighed. His paws were still shivering slightly, but at least it had been a dream. He was about to return to the meadow and drop off Tim in the process when he heard a rather disturbing noise. Akela was still snoring, but this noise was different. Scanning the area, Finn soon found the source of the disturbance, a woodpecker. He frowned as he started making his way over to the tree in front of him. Staring down, he noticed the woodpecker couldn’t have picked a worse tree. Lying right underneath him was Akela, still sleeping, but not for long if the woodpecker was to continue. 
Finn slowly walked over to the edge of the cliff, careful not to fall off as he tried to address the bird. ‘Hey, hey you there!’ he whispered, but the pecker calmly continued his everyday hobby. Slightly annoyed, Finn tried to come a bit closer before trying again. The tree wasn’t that tall, nor was the cliff that high, but it would be a nasty fall. ‘You there, woodpecker! Stop this at once, you’ll awaken Akela.’ Finn pleaded again, but the woodpecker still didn’t give an inch. Growling slightly at the disrespect of the woodpecker, Finn proceeded to place his forepaws on the branch nearest to him. Slowly he stepped onto the thick branch as he tried to make his way over to the annoying avian. The branch cracking dangerously beneath his paws, Finn bit his teeth for a second before returning his attention to the woodpecker. ‘Listen, you! Stop that this instant or I’ll have to – ‘ he began, but he paused. Below him, Akela had stopped snoring and was starting to wake up, opening his sleepy eyes as he did so. Finn gasped and growled at the still oblivious woodpecker. ‘See what you did?! You woke him up! I ought to – aargh!’ Finn screamed as the branch below him broke, sending him falling down. The woodpecker gave him a last bored look as he fell before shrugging and flying off.
The hammering sound kept on buzzing inside of Akela’s mind, and soon he felt his spirit return to the real world as the images of his dream dissolved before him. He regained control of his senses as he slowly opened his eyes, half awake and still half asleep. The sunlight invaded his eyes, and for a few seconds he blinked uncontrollably  before opening his eyes for real. Suddenly the sound stopped, and there was a loud crack. Still in a dreamy haze, Akela proceeded to tilt his head back and yawn wide. Opening his maw and revealing his shiny teeth and large tongue within, a heavy load suddenly entered his maw as he started gagging. 
Finn couldn’t bear to watch what was going to happen as he saw Akela yawn out widely beneath him.  The branches were racing past him as he fell all the way down and,  quite literally, dived into the large wolf’s throat. With a wet sound, Finn felt his head and shoulders slide past Akela’s tongue and maw, into his throat until his body halted near his belly. He opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by an all too familiar environment, the strong throat muscles of his lupine friend. He was relieved that he didn’t cause any serious damage, but already he felt the walls around him contract as he felt Akela gagging by the sudden load that had just entered his maw so unexpected.   Outside, Akela’s eyes shot wide open as he tried to look past his nose at just what was sticking out of his widened maw, but couldn’t help but take a few powerful swallows to send the lump down into his throat, towards his stomach. The gagging ceased and he felt the smoothness of the bulge lodged inside of his throat sliding down into his chest. He spread his legs a bit wider as the bulge emptied out inside of his stomach, the fur surrounding his belly swelling rapidly as it did so. By the looks of it, he had swallowed something rather big and alive, judging by the movements. Whatever it was, he would let it out soon, after he had heard an explanation for all of this.  He gazed around, looking up at the blue skies and into the tall tree above him, noticing the broken branches and tilting his head. He felt the renewed shifting inside of his stomach and wondered if it could’ve all been an accident.  Licking his lips and released a powerful belch, he suddenly gasped as he recalled the taste of the person he had just eaten. He grinned as he figured out his next move.
With a loud plop, Finn found himself inside a stomach for the second time that day. Only this time he was getting a much more positive feeling from it. He filled out quite neatly inside of his unsuspecting friend’s stomach,  and soon the Husky’s entire body was sealed and contained inside Akela’s large belly. ‘Damn it, when is he going to teach me how to gulp like that?’ Finn thought with a smile as he tried to gain some balance. Shifting around across the wet and squishy floor, he looked around and sighed in relief. He heard Akela’s soothing, if not somewhat quickened heartbeat, and the churning sound of the stomach walls that held him. He was tipped over as he felt the wolf rolling over, his belly moving along with him as he went to stand on all fours. Finn decided it was best to just lie still as he felt the hanging feeling of the room returning, indicating Akela was standing up or sitting down. Suddenly the air in the room was sucked away as Finn heard the unmistakable sound of the wolf belching outside. He couldn’t help but giggle softly, but it was cut short. Soon, Akela’s rumbling voice echoed through the room, making the walls vibrate as Finn lowered his ears. ‘All right, who have I just swallowed alive? Is this your idea of a joke? It’s not a very funny one, is it?’  he asked in a firm tone.  Finn shrugged as he spoke up. ‘Akela it’s me! Finn! Don’t be mad, it was an accident! I swear it!’ he called out to the wolf, waiting for him to respond. Outside, Akela grinned, trying to keep himself from chuckling. 
‘Finn?’ Akela said in a rather demanding tone.  ‘How did you wind up in there? Cooked up another plan to get me to swallow you? Hmm?’ he continued, biting back his amusement. He felt the nervous movements Finn was making inside of him and decided he’d wrap it up soon. ‘I swear! I was trying to get that blasted woodpecker to shut up and before I knew it.. the branch… and you yawning… it wasn’t on purpose! Not this time, at least…’ he mumbled. Akela chuckled as he rolled over to his side and patted his swollen belly. ‘It’s okay, Finn. I saw the branch. Though you did give me quite a startle there, sorry I had to gobble you up. You had me chocking a bit back there.’  the wolf said with a smile, his tail swaying slightly behind him. Finn frowned and snarled jokingly. ‘Oh you tease! Although, I guess you’re in your right.’ he said with a giggle. Nodding, Akela kept lying on the soft grass, the soft breath of wind making the grass caress his belly. ‘You do know your little friend woke me up… I barely got any sleep.’ the wolf said while yawning again. Finn nodded; ‘Tell me about it, I had a nightmare during the ten minutes I fell asleep.’ he replied. Akela chuckled as he lay his head in between his paws while letting his belly be tickled by the taller grass. He sighed with relief as he spoke again. ‘Well maybe I should thank you then, it’s always easier to sleep with a full stomach.’ the wolf said with a laugh as he looked up at the skies again for a split second. It was moments like these that made him cherish Finn like no other. It was moments like these that made each day a new and fresh happening.
The Husky laughed inside, his muffled voice amusing Akela. ‘Yeah, I know. I’ll gladly stay in here for a while.’ he replied, as he felt Akela shift around to get into a better sleeping position as he did the same. ‘Good, good. Maybe we’ll both get our earned rest then, don’t you think? Besides, I dare say this worked out well for both of us. You got what you wanted, and the same applies for me.’ Akela whispered as he closed his eyes. Inside of him, the Husky nodded as he lay his head to rest onto the warm fleshy wall underneath him.  Tilting his head up for a second and frowning, Akela turned to his belly. ‘By the way, Finn. Did you let that squirrel go already?’ he inquired. He couldn’t see the broad smile on Finn’s face, just like Finn couldn’t see the even broader one on Tim’s face. ‘Nope, but believe me Akela, I don’t think he’d want to be anywhere else in the world right now.’ Finn said with a smile. Akela smiled as the idea hit him and rested his head back onto the soft forest floor. ‘I see, well, talk to you later you two.’ he whispered before dozing off.  And as if the woodpecker’s sound hadn’t been disturbing enough, no sound could outdo the snoring of the large and filled wolf and his guests within him. After all, Guardians rarely grow tired; and if they do – the whole forest will know.