Several Yoshies were out under the blazing summer sun, splashing, playing volleyball, roasting some fruits over a roaring fire. The beach was the perfect hangout for these cold-blooded dinos, and the heat on their scales was nothing but a blanket of comfort. When they wanted to cool themselves off, a quick dip in the churning ocean waters was all it took to feel refreshed. That alongside a hefty cool fruit drink to slurp down was more than enough to maintain the balance of pleasant heat and relaxing coolness for the colorful crew of Yoshies braving one of the many beaches of Yoshi’s Island. Why was courage required to have such a good time?

The Beach Snatcher.

Some months previously, a new Plessie had arrived to the island from the wild oceans beyond. Most of these much larger cousins to a Yoshi were peaceful enough, just going about their lives and paling around with the littler dinosaurs. Not this one, though. Towering over even other Plessies, the Beach Snatcher was from a different region, or somewhere where species weren’t quite as soft as most would know a Plessie to be. No, this Plessie, baring sharpened claws and talons and rows of interlocking pointy jaws, navigated from place to place to hunt! Much to this island population’s dismay, it seemed that a Yoshi was a favorite delicacy. In the first weeks of her arrival, several Yoshies were gobbled up on the spot, with the Plessie retreating back into deeper waters with a full belly and one less Yoshi to party on the beach. It took the rallying of several tribes to strike a bargain with the monstrous creature, who couldn’t be warded off without paying far too high a price.

Sure, there were benefits to the Compromise that was developed between the Snatcher and the tribes. Incursions of folks with ill intent had sharply dropped since this Plessie vowed to defend the island. After all, better for her to munch on a pack of miscreants than innocent plump colorful dinos, right? The depletion of such foes allowed Yoshi’s Island to prosper even more than it had prior, and, among other things, populations and tribes increased in number. However, the Compromise was a compromise, and the Plessie was still permitted to hunt at her pleasure. She wouldn’t wipe out an entire tribe, and was forbidden to travel inland or go after the very young, but if a Yoshi happened to be out on the beach when she was hungry, there was little they could do to stop her!

In the ensuing months, attacks were seldom reported. Either the Beach Snatcher was away exploring other parts of the world (as she was wont to do) or her hunts were isolated incidents, in which the sole target never had a chance to report the event. Either way, the party-seeking Yoshies having a ball on the beach were thinking of anything but a potential danger, with the most pressing concerns being who would win the latest game. The more diligent tribes would have spotters constantly scanning the saltwater for possible incursions, though the lackadaisical dinos here were doing no such thing. It was for that reason that Kiwani the Plessie, usually seen long before she could breach the shore, was all but blotting out the sun by the time her presence was noticed.

Yoshi squeals permeated the beach when one, a few, then many all turned to see the looming presence of the hungry Plessie slowly march onto the shore. Her heavy legs and wide stance, kept balanced by a thickly-swaying tail, brought stories of past attacks to the forefront of these Yoshies’ minds, who all thought similarly at that moment: If you weren’t fast enough, you were dinner. Beach towels and more and more were abandoned as a miniature stampede formed at the sight of the hungry Beach Snatcher, who merely stood with ocean waters lapping at the back of her sure-footed feet. Kiwani scanned about until she caught sight of a Yoshi who’d been hitting the food pretty hard lately, wobbling as she ran from the predator. She looked extra soft, extra tender, and just the kind of meal the Plessie was after. The fat green Yoshi knew she was lagging behind from the path, and turned her head to see the Beach Snatcher still standing at the shore. They were all gonna make it! Various Yoshies disappeared behind a dense set of tropical trees that delineated where Kiwani could not venture, and the chubby Yoshi was moments away from said safety.

There was a subtle growl, and the sounds of a large body shifting about. Kiwani’s legs bunched when she lowered them, crouching with her tail flicking eagerly. Then with sheer muscle and effort she leaped into the air! The Plessie soared the distance of the beach, with the Yoshi in last place looking back just as the shadow of Kiwani consumed her completely. Her mouth fell agape as the massive dinosaur landed not a foot away from her, quaking the earth and knocking her over. The Yoshi tumbled about in a mess of sand and panic, laying on her side and dizzily trying to regain footing. Kiwani had landed standing, and from her vantage point it was child’s place to reach forward and snatch the babbling fat Yoshi by the tail with a clenched claw, pulling her back and hefting her right off the ground. The thick Yoshi wailed as the tight grip around her pudgy tail held her aloft, and begged the Beach Snatcher to spare her life. But the Plessie was never known to do such a thing for any of her prey, and today would be no exception. The whining Yoshi clawed futilely through the air as the Beach Snatcher turned back towards the water, tail thwacking against trees and knocking one over by chance. The ensnared Yoshi whimpered seeing salvation ripped away from her, and she let her arms hang mournfully when Kiwani re-entered the water. Kiwani casually transferred the Yoshi from claw to mouth, clutching the tail of the squishy Yoshi gently between her jaws, much to the Yoshi’s dismay!

Prey in tow, Kiwani swam lazily out into the ocean to enjoy her lunch in peace. The Yoshi doomed to become Plessie chow cursed the Compromise. Sure, it likely saved countless other Yoshies from a similar fate, protected the young, helped the island thrive, but that wasn’t going to help her here and now! With the salty sea air bristling against her snout the Yoshi caught her second wind, fists punching and legs kicking against the chin of the Beach Snatcher. Kiwani paid her no heed, the blows barely felt, paddling away from the island until she was satisfied. Only when she paused and allowed herself to sink up to her neck did she re-focus on her dinner. The Yoshi cried out for help seeing as her blows were ineffective, but there was nothing but water all around the two. The shouts morphed to whimpers when Plessie drool, thick and goopy, began sliding down her dangling form and drizzle into the ocean waters. She shook to free herself from the drool but more replaced it, dripping down her fat tail and all over her body. Kiwani’s stomach growled under the waves, the tip of her tongue lapping at the bit of Yoshi tail lodged between her lips. It was time for supper!

The Yoshi was dipped into the water when Kiwani’s head lowered, and she held her breath, cheeks puffed out. Fresh air returned when the plump green Yoshi was casually tossed up into the sky, sending her tumbling and twirling with arms windmilling. The Beach Snatcher’s dining was being watched from the beach, where a few brave Yoshies had returned to pick up after themselves, before freezing and witnessing the event unfold. They saw from a distance their former Yoshi pal flung high into the air; witnessed the Plessie position herself under her dino supper and open her jaws wide; the sharp teeth glistened and, even from far away, they could make out a thick line of drool connecting top and bottom teeth, a tongue hanging out and to the side. The witnessing Yoshies tracked the flailing falling prey all the way down into the jaws, where they collectively winced, thick jaws snapping together. From there, the ocean’s sounds overtook whatever was going on, as the Beach Snatcher thoroughly enjoyed her meal, the full fat Yoshi bobbing to and fro within her mouth.

Unaware she was being watched (and not caring if she was), Kiwani sloshed the squealing Yoshi from one cheek to the other. Her tongue raveled, squeezed, and unraveled over the Yoshi several times. The smacking of her lips revealed fresh brief glances of the doomed Yoshi inside, posed differently every time she saw the light of day. The Yoshi was covered in slobber and tasted from snout to tail, eventually ending up on her back with her head angled towards the hungry black gullet beyond. The topsy-turvy tasting combined with Kiwani shifting up and down from the ocean’s activity nearly made the Yoshi seasick, but every lap of the tongue reminded her of a much more pressing worry! Kiwani toyed with and tasted over her favorite kind of food for several minutes, culminating by folding her tongue up and over the delicious Yoshi, pressing down hard against her face and heavily pulling her tongue down over her belly and rear, securing one last taste.

Then before the Yoshi could regain her bearings, Kiwani flicked her head back, sending the plump Yoshi towards the gullet. The Yoshi looked back and screamed aloud, though no-one heard her cries with the Plessie’s mouth squelched closed. With a delighted murmur, Kiwani swallowed the thick Yoshi down, whole and alive.

GLOURK!

The onlookers were transfixed as just like that, their number was reduced. They knew things were over when the Beach Snatcher openly licked and smacked her lips, satisfied now that she’s had her meal. The fat Yoshi whined as she was violently shoveled down the Plessie’s throat, and despite the size of the beast, said journey was over in a flash. The poor Yoshi was squeezed into the stomach and slopped in without care, as onlookers saw Kiwani dive down under the waters, a large wiggling rear and tail the last they saw of her before she vanished. With the troublesome show over, the Yoshies forlornly got back to their task of cleaning up the beach. Clearly, enjoying a beautiful day as they had done was not worth the risk of doing so, despite scoffing at the concept of getting eaten alive earlier in the day. It didn’t take long for them to remove any evidence of fun from the beach, should others get tempted, and be the next bait for the Beach Snatcher.

Kiwani hummed to herself under the water, weaving her hips and tail to propel her along gaily. Her stomach sagged just a little, but her appetite could sustain many hefty Yoshi meals, so evidence of her supper was slight. Deep in her churning stomach, the eaten Yoshi cried out for help as she was forced to wade through a pool of ever-rising stomach acids. She had no idea there in the pitch black darkness how long it’d been, though between being covered in Plessie slobber, and stinging acids now up to her belly, it didn’t matter. She’d scrambled up to where she thought either escape path was, but everything was sealed tightly. She would not be let out until being thoroughly and completely digested. That didn’t stop the doomed Yoshi from trying, however, and hours slipped by as she scratched at the walls, tried her tongue in desperation, attempted to get out of the burbling fluids, but it was all worthless.

Some time later, Kiwani opened her mouth and let out a large, bubbly belch from beneath the waters. In addition to stale air, a pair of red boots innocently floated out from the maw, gradually settling down to the ocean floor below. And in her stomach, the fat Yoshi lay limp in a sea of stomach fluids, completely out of energy to struggle and bereft of consciousness, her head was angled down deep in the stomach acids, with her plump rear and tail sticking up out of the pools. They were the last to succumb and sink, and the loose Yoshi saddle was half-digested, floating to the side, sinking along side its former owner. Kiwani surfaced when it was completely dark out, and began to stealthily circle Yoshi’s Island once more. The meal earlier had been wonderful, but a Plessie her size needed more than a single Yoshi in one day, if the Beach Snatcher did not desire fish or other food sources. Today was one such case, and Kiwani knew all she had to look out for was the glimmer of a campfire. It didn’t take long, as they stood out quite well in the darkness, once her eyes adjusted. There were a group of Yoshies, different from before but just as ignorant of the true danger the Plessie presented. Kiwani licked her lips at the sight of more morsels, and began her hunt again, keeping nothing but her eyes above water as she snuck towards what would be come a midnight snack for the Beach Snatcher.