“Huff...huff.. Guys! Wait.. huff..Upp!”, Hoplite called out, the kangaroo lagging behind the group as they ran laps around the park trail.

       “Aww c'mon you can't be tired already. Its barely been a couple laps!” The leader of the pack ,Randy, called back not even out of breath. ”You wanted our help getting in better shape right? Well you're gonna need to keep a better pace my chubby friend.” At this point the cheetah had dropped to the back of the pack jogging briskly backwards still able to outpace the exhausted kangaroo, his tone taking an air of playful mockery “Your name is 'Hoplite' right? not hop-lead.” earning a cold glare from the kangaroo who slowly began to gain on the pack, the playful ribbing having its intended effect giving Hoplite a second wind. “Atta boy Hop-lead just one more lap”

       “Just...Just wait....til I get my...Huff huff... hands on you!” Hoplite threatened out-of-breath. It was all he could do to keep moving and not just flop face first on the ground. Finally the last lap came to an end, leaving the exhausted roo bent over gripping his knees sweat dripping from his forehead “your.. your gonna kill me if we keep this up.” The marsupial's legs finally gave out, Hoplite slumping down onto his tail.

       “Oh quit bein' a wimp. It gets easier after a week or two. Here,” Randy pushed a water bottle to Hoplite's hands, “drink up, this should help pep you up!” The cheetah grinned.

       The kangaroo eyed the cheetah and bottle with suspicion, but with the dryness in his mouth, his dehydration won out. Hoplite took a large gulp, his nose curling at the gritty texture and slight bitterness the kangaroo jumping to his feet shoving the bottle back to Randy's hands “Blegh I'll pass on that crap. I'll take my being worked half to death without the addition of poison thanks. Your lucky I don't thump ya one for that 'hop-lead' comment. I mean you can’t expect me to just run full speed for three whole laps like that! My legs are shorter than all of you not to mention this is the first time I've ran in a while.” The roo rambled on, speaking a mile a minute and pacing side to side. The sight prompting a chuckle from the cheetah “And what's so funny huh?”

       “You seem pretty energetic for being 'half dead'. Your welcome by the way.” Randy retorted still smirking, tossing the bottle back to Hoplite “Keep it I got a second bottle, though you gotta buy your own after that runs out.”

       “Well... it still tastes like shit.” was all Hoplite could think to retort with a huff, he couldn't deny it worked though. Having mere moments ago been collapsed to the ground, legs too aching and tired to even move “What is this stuff any way?”

       “The label is on the bottle.” Randy pointed out “It's an energy supplement for a quick boosts in works outs and stuff. Ya know, boosts your metabolism and all that junk. Now, enough of this spokesman stuff, let’s head out. Last one to the gym does double reps!” The cheetah was off like a shot gaining a sizable lead before everyone else could react. The cheetah shouting back as he disappeared in the distance “Hope ya can handle that Hop-lead!”

       
       Hoplite groaned as he finally was able to relax, collapsing unceremoniously onto his couch completely worn out. It was a miracle he had been able to make it up the stairs to his apartment. His whole body ached as he brought the water bottle Randy had given him to his lips drinking the last mouthful hoping to get the energy to move, but it seemed he was beyond the help of the supplement at this point, his body at its limit. The kangaroo sighed as he set the bottle aside as he began to drift off to sleep hoping a nap would help him recover.

       The kangaroo awoke to a hungry growl from his belly, causing him to give a tired groan of his own. His body was like lead, aching with any movement, his gnawing hunger refusing to let him resume his nap. His hunger getting the best of him, Hoplite rolled of his couch forcing himself up on his legs shambling like a zombie to his kitchen mumbling for food, beginning to dig through his freezer for a quick easy meal.

       “This should do.. ”The tired marsupial mumbled pulling out a frozen pizza, placing it on the counter and setting the oven to the appropriate temperature. Another insistent growl came from the roos impatient stomach as the pizza was placed in the stove. “uggh can’t wait..” Hoplite mumbled in a haze of hunger and sleep. He turned to the cupboards pulling out boxes of snack cakes ripping them open. One by one entire boxes where emptied into the roos ravenous belly and tossed aside. The sudden beep of the oven's timer snapping Hoplite from his trance

       ”Finally, now I can eat”. Hoplite muttered taking the whole pizza on its platter and sitting at his table Short work was made of the large pizza, slices disappearing rapidly into the roo's mouth. All this food began to show its effect, his belly becoming noticeably round pushing against a normally loose fitting shirt. “Wha?” Hoplite muttered reaching for the now empty plate. ”Where did I put the rest?” He couldn't have eaten the whole thing, He could barely finish half a pizza himself, and he felt as if he hadn’t had more than a slice. The roo gave a slight grunt as he got up his legs still shaky, unconsciously tugging at his tighter shirt and adjusting his waistband as it sunk subtly into his waist, looking around for the supposedly misplaced pizza. The ravenous roo pulled open the fridge, maybe he had put the rest in hear to save it? “ah ha! That was silly of me, putting it up before I was done” He pulled out a tupperware container containing a half a pizza(it had actually been from a few nights before and had just been forgotten about), pulling off the lid and sinking his teeth into his cold meal, too impatient with hunger to bother reheating. Soon that pizza too had been devoured. Finally feeling somewhat sated Hoplite lumbered back to bed

       “Geeze Hoplite, what did you do for dinner last night? Eat an all you can eat buffet clean?” Walter, another a member of the workout group asked with a snicker giving the kangaroo's rounded stuffed belly a gentle poke “A bit kinda counter-intuitive to getting in shape huh?”

       “Oh shut up. Lets just get started alright?”,Hoplite snapped, grunting as the group began warm-up stretches. The rounded mass of flab that was Hoplite's belly made it difficult to bend forward and touch his toes. In fact if it wasn't for his large roo feet Hoplite wouldn’t be able to see his toes! The pudgy marsupial grunted and huffed sucking in his stomach as best he could reaching down before... riiip! Hoplite bolted back upright his face flushed a hint of red. Reaching back he felt a large split across his left rump cheek feeling his pudge bulge out from the hole, thankfully still covered by his underwear. The sound of the rip hadn’t gone unnoticed garnering snickers from the group, the kangaroo's face turning an even deeper shade of red, his ears drooping as he reached back to cover the rip. The motion only made his ill-fitting shirt ride up, showing off a large gut that overhung his tight fitting waistband, love-handles and rolls forming a noticeable muffintop. “Th-thats not funny!” the embarrassed marsupial stuttered pulling the front of his shirt down, backing away from the group, someone mimicking the beeps of a truck in reverse “Oh real cleaver Fred. Let’s all just get it all out of our systems now so we can just move on.”

       “Hahah sorry, sorry I couldn't resist. Here, tie my jacket around your waist for now, cover up that little rip” a short snickering fennec stepped forward handing Hoplite his jacket, which the roo tied around his waist.

       “Thanks, now can we just get to our laps now?”

       “You heard Hoplead, Times a wasting! Lets move out.” Randy called out to the group smirking as Hoplite shot him a glare, waddling at the back of the pack, taking a large gulp from his water bottle.

       The marsupials gut jiggled noticeably with every heavy step, the roo quickly beginning to huff and puff lumbering along, exhausted after less than half of yesterday's route falling further and further behind the pack. Maybe he should take the day off, let his legs recover he thought, ease himself more gently into this. Hoplite's nose twitched as he caught the smell of fresh doughnuts wafting through the air, prompting his gut to grumble hungerly. “A doughnut or two wouldn't hurt, right? I mean I did run a little today, that should offset the calories”, he thought out loud changing his course heading into the pastry shop. “Tomorrow, I'll definitely hit the gym first thing” Hoplead reasoned ordering a dozen doughnuts already chowing down as he lumbered back home.

       Hoplite reclined back on his couch as it creaked in protest under his wide rump spread out across the cushions, taking up room enough for two his beach ball sized gut over flowed across his lap, rolls overhanging his generously wide thighs as he idly snacked on a family sized bag chips. The fat marsupial scratched at his doughy pudge taking in just how big he'd gotten over the last few weeks. None of his clothes came close to fitting anymore, save for his stretched-to-the-limit boxers, his largest pair of shorts stretched to ripping around those thick roo hips, and forget about forcing any of his shirts lower than his broad thick chest “Man I've really let myself go.. and I haven't even gotten around to working out with the group lately, I should at least get in some jo-” The roo's train of thought was interrupted by a beep of the oven timer. The pizza rolls he had nearly forgotten about where done, and his hefty gut was still rumbling with hunger despite the bag of chips he had just emptied. “...After I have a quick snack for energy”