Cliff was bored. The big orange dino had whittled away the morning with a light breakfast, some reading, and a bit of practical magic exercise. The latter had left him with soot all over his glasses, which took some elbow grease to finally clear out, but he was happy for what progress he’d made: Fire magic was tricky, and Cliff barely had a glimpse into its potential.

He made a note to practice outdoors from now on. Probably on the beach, where one could also douse a tail fire should the occasion arise.

All that excitement occurred in the morning, though. A quick fruity snack and a nap later, and it was mid-afternoon. He didn’t feel like reading or studying, so out of his hut he went! He was certain some place on this massive island would provide some modicum of entertainment! Tribe activity was nothing out of the ordinary that day, with other yoshies walking about, running errands, teaching their young, having a snack or nap, that sort of thing. Maybe a quick stroll through Palm Tree Paradise is in order, Cliff thought, rubbing his bulbous snout. Clearly nothing else was going on, so the big plump yoshi headed inland. Already the edges of hunger were creeping back in despite the relatively-short walk: Cliff had spared himself a large breakfast or lunch, distracted with his studies more than anything, and he was already regretting that choice. But he was able to chase away those demons when setting boot in Palm Tree Paradise – a spacious clearing away from his tribe’s territory, with curated palm trees circling a large calm lake. Several other yoshies dotted the small getaway, most napping on their backs, stretched out on long towels, soaking in rays, one or two floating about in the lake.

Cliff was delighted at the sparse crowds. “Perfect!” He rubbed his paws together and made for the water. Cooling off with a nice lazy swim sounded like the perfect way to wash away his boredom. Without hesitation Cliff waddled into the lake, his own natural defenses from sharp temperature drops keeping him from flinching. He floated along like a duck a moment or two, before his bulk mostly sank under. Cliff merrily dog-paddled his way along, trying and failing to use his tail as a rudder to steer. As such, his path about the lake was practically random, much as he tried to stay near shore. Lucky for him there weren’t many others to bump into, with the lake sprawling out in all directions before him. Cliff hummed and amused himself for a while, even diving under to spy at the fishes milling about below the surface. While he wasn’t the most graceful diver, the big yoshi managed to propel himself along without wasting too much energy.

After some 30 minutes of diving and swimming about, Cliff settled. He used his body’s natural buoyancy to keep his head afloat, chubby belly swaying this way and that beneath the surface. Relaxed, his mind began to wander. At first it was of innocuous things, like the book he was reading earlier, or the complexities of fire control he was just scratching the surface on in his magic training. Soon enough, however, that nagging hunger began invading those day dreams of the yoshi, and a muffled grumble beneath the water snapped him out of his stupor. “Wha… Oof,” Cliff groaned, feeling those familiar pangs. He removed his glasses, the world going blurry momentarily as he shook water off them, before settling them back on his big snout. He lost balance from his precarious perch along the water and sank a moment, forcing him to repeat the glasses-clearing process. “Oooh yeah, definitely dinnertime.”

Now, Palm Tree Paradise did feature tropical fruit, free for any to snag at their whims. There was plenty for all as well, but Cliff had apparently drifted to the middle of the lake, and the yoshi was begrudging the lengthy swim back to shore. Cliff was all set to make the journey when the sound of humming caught his attention. He turned to face an approaching fellow yoshi! This one was light blue in color, not a yoshi Cliff recognized from his tribe. Though like with most yoshies, Cliff was taller and broader by a fair margin compared to this standard-sized dino. The humming yoshi paused and smiled with a wave. “Heya!” he greeted. “Nice day for a swim, huh?” The big orange yoshi beamed and gave a noncommittal shrug. “What’s on your mind?”

“Just thinkin’ about what I’m gonna snag for supper,” Cliff responded honestly, looking the wading yoshi up and down, not at all covertly.

“Oh cool!” the other replied. He peered to the sky and then back to Cliff. “Bit early though, but I could go for something if you’d like to grab something together. What were you thinking about getting?”

Cliff, who’d started drooling (thankfully masked by the fact the two were in the water), just smiled. “Hmm… You’ll do.” And before the other yoshi could react, Cliff opened his mouth wide. Only then was it evident to this light blue yoshi that Cliff had been drooling, as pent-up slobber glistened, strands dangling from his upper jaw. The big yoshi’s tongue flung out and instantly secured his meal, who let out a squeak when the tongue tightened about his chest and shoulders. The tongue squeezed, forcing a squeak out of the captured yoshi.

“Wh-wha?!” he babbled, barely registering what Cliff was doing! Things clicked when he was yanked right out of the water and jammed headfirst into the hungry large yoshi mouth. Cliff heavily smushed his lips together, half a yoshi now protruding from his jaws. “Mmrrph? Mmmmpppph!!!” Cliff’s supper began to squeal and squirm, legs thrashing just beneath the water and tail slapping against the surface again and again. Cliff mumbled appreciatively about his yoshi prey, already slurping more of the body inward while wringing his coiled tongue up and over the yoshi’s head, reveling in the flavor. Inside the drooling mouth, the friendly yoshi was panicking, panting, desperately trying to extract himself from the voracious yoshi’s mouth! “Pu-please don’t eat me!”

Cliff wasn’t letting go of a meal like this, though! He never did. The fat orange yoshi spent a minute slowly devouring the smaller yoshi inches at a time. His jaws were tightly sealed, leaving the other no recourse of escape. Cliff’s cheeks bulged out the more of the other he devoured. A yoshi paw or snout would occasionally imprint on one of Cliff’s cheeks, before another swish in the jaws pulled it away. Those cheeks of Cliff’s plumped out more when the light blue yoshi became nothing but a thrashing tail, legs devoured inward and cramped under a squishy tummy. Cliff murmured delightfully at the vibrations from the yoshi’s wails within. This truly was the best kind of food: Rare, live, and squirming!

The hungry yoshi didn’t waste too much more time tasting, though, as sating his hunger was the important part right about now, and he was growing tired keeping afloat while enjoying his supper. Cliff scrunched his jaws and sloshed the yoshi within about, centering him on the base of his tongue. The light blue yoshi let out a cry that was cut off when Cliff swallowed – ULK! – a yoshi head now bulging out his neck. He gulped again, more thickly this time, and SCHLRRRRRP’d up the writhing tail until it was nothing but a tip, wriggling just past squishy pursed yoshi lips. With full cheeks and a neck bulge threatening to grow, Cliff opening his jaws wide once more. The slobber-coated blue yoshi within, head jammed down the throat and out of sight, was straddled on Cliff’s tongue. His pinned legs were motionless, arms flailing on either side. “Mmmmprrphllph!!!” a muffled voice cried from the back of the throat, but Cliff wasn’t paying attention: He jutted his head forward and angled down, – “Aaaahhoomph!!!” – clamping down around the entirety of the friendly yoshi. He allowed himself a few soft chews against the squishy dino body, before flicking his head up, eyes fluttering closed in the process.

GLURK!

Cliff’s neck swelled to a pear-shape, having swallowed the other yoshi whole in a massive powerful gulp! Not a peep escaped this big chubby yoshi’s scales, the other squelching down Cliff until he emerged in the powerful yoshi stomach. SQSH SQLRCH… SPLOSH! This yoshi found himself awash in drool and stomach fluids instantly, with barely enough space for himself to unravel, let alone thrash about. “Hahhhh,” Cliff sighed happily, rolling onto his back in the water and watching his engorged belly follow with a delayed SLSH SLOSH, as it settled above him. The resulting weight made Cliff’s middle sink considerably, but he kept his head above water, with legs idly kicking and rubbing into the satisfyingly-plump white tummy he now possessed. “Now that hit the spot!”

The rest of Cliff’s day spent in the springs was delightful. Having found a wonderful meal was more than enough to drive the boredom away! Cliff remained on his back just for a few minutes, before rolling back over and letting all that belly be carried by the waters instead of his own power. He made his trek back to shore slowly and steadily, the wide belly, which was just starting to emanate soft, muted gurgling sounds amid barely-audible cries for help, moving to the  sways of his thick fat yoshi tail and kicking legs. It was a peaceful trip back to land, and Cliff was in very high spirits by the time he made it there! “Ah shoot, forgot to bring a towel,” the dripping-wet Cliff lamented when he waddled out of the lake. His engorged belly, betraying nothing resembling the yoshi he devoured, sagged in front of him and between his legs, the big bright orange dino more than used to hefting this much about. “Ahh… knew coming here was a good idea,” Cliff said to himself, petting the top of his actively-churning stomach and heading for home. It was not uncommon for a yoshi to let themselves go at Palm Tree Paradise, what with all the free food available, so returning looking as big as he was drew no stares or unwanted attention.

Not because Cliff thought he’d done anything wrong, of course. Cliff was simply sleepy after his adventure today, and wanted to head home, dry off, and settle in for the night. He happily waved to familiar tribe members as he did so, them responding in kind as he did. Really, Cliff figured some time ago, he felt he lived in one of the best beach tribes on the island. Everyone was so nice to him, and he paid back in kind whenever he could. But, just as the sun began to settle under the ocean waters in the distance, Cliff wasn’t in the mood to socialize: Home was his destination.

Cliff didn’t spare his meal (rather, who he was) after eating him, and this didn’t change as he returned to his hut. Knowing it would be a futile effort to try and reach, Cliff maneuvered the plump digits of his hand in a practiced motion, and a flickering glint of magic sparked from yoshi to door. It opened up with that bit of encouragement and he made his way in. (He always had to duck his head inward, but Cliff suspected his size was hereditary, as the door was plenty wide even for his full self.) Inside and with a full, active gut working down his meal, which Cliff felt squirm and moan from time to time), Cliff settled in for the night. Drying off in front of the fireplace, the fat yoshi settled on his favorite squashy seat, kicked his legs up (on either side of his wide belly), and read for a good hour or two.

When night fully set in, his stomach was still active, though the yoshi he ate was motionless, well on his way to becoming another layer of pudge on the large chubby predator. Cliff yawned widely and closed the book he was reading. Since he had it resting on his belly, it caused a jiggle that permeated his form and made him chuckle. “Should work Palm Tree Paradise into my routine more often,” he mused, standing and stretching. First upward, reaching for the ceiling. Then forward, arms across his gut, head lowered, tail raised and warming his rear via the fireplace just behind. Sated, Cliff went to bed, another happy productive day in the life of Cliff the Yoshi complete.

He slept very well that night, and over the course of the next several days, the yoshi he ate (along with subsequent meals) was reduced to almost nothing, leaving Cliff with a jiggly paunch on an already-plump form for weeks to come.

*	*	*

Dear Diary,
Have I ever mentioned Palm Tree Paradise is awesome? After randomly going there a few days ago I’ve been headed back every day since! I don’t think I’ve given the fruits there a fair shake before, but man are they good! I’m probably biased right now, of course, since it’s been a while since I’ve eaten there, but I had the tastiest treat that turned what I thought would be a boring day into a happy one! I didn’t catch his name – he was just some purple yoshi I think – but he was so good. Definitely not from our tribe, no sir, but just as delicious! Wonder if I can find myself any more treats as good as he was, next time I decide to go for a swim!