#I don't know if anythinf happens on y'all's side when I edit posts

[spoopy-but-safe]

You wake up feeling off.

You're dizzy.

Your throat is raw.

Your head is pounding.

You struggle to make yourself sit up in bed, having to slowly haul your body up step by step. Raise your head, push yourself up onto your elbow, push yourself up with your arms...

And then, you freeze at the sensation of weight shifting in your stomach.

"What..?" You mutter under your breath. You've never felt anything like it in your life.

You wait a moment for something else to happen. One beat, two beats, three. Nothing.

But, just as you decide you imagined it...

"You sure slept in." A voice says.

Your instinct to look around the room to find who's speaking is overridden by the fact that you can tell the voice is coming from inside you.

You want to say something, anything, but you can't. Your mouth hangs open, but your tongue refuses to move. What the hell WOULD you say if you could speak, anyhow?

"Hello?" The voice says steadily, "What's the matter? Not gonna say anything?"

You only manage a pitiful squeak and look down at yourself in sheer dread. You realize your middle is slightly distended, as if you're bloated.

"Use your words!" The voice demands.

You take the deepest breath you can and stammer, "Who the hell are you?"

Your voice comes out gruff and hoarse.

"You can call me Tobias. Not Toby, Tobias." The voice says sternly.

"Okay... Tobias... Are you..?" You can't even finish.

They give a strange snort-growl that startles you a bit. "Yeah, I'm in your stomach."

You had already put this together, but hearing them say it still makes your entire body shudder. "How did you get in there?"

"Same way everything does, through your mouth." They say.

"Why?" You ask, feeling absolutely crazy.

They make the growling sound again, slower now. "I... Made a bad decision, I guess." Tobias says, "Did you know your window was unlocked?"

"...No." You say.

Tobias clears their throat. "I already knew I was doing something I'd regret the second I got my claws underneath it. Don't worry, I locked it after me."

You frankly don't know what the hell they're talking about. "Could you explain what the hell is going on before I really start freaking out?"

"Something you couldn't possibly understand. I guess I need to apologize, anyway. I'm sorry." Tobias says.

You're getting a little mad now. "You aren't even gonna try to explain?"

They groan and shift around within you. "I almost did this without saying a word. I could have just sat in here and sapped your energy and lived my life... But the way you're moving, the sounds you're making... You're really in pain, aren't you? I hurt you."

Your hand goes to your neck. "Yeah. You must have."

Tobias growls again, louder, causing their body to palpably shake. The growl gives way to a sniffle, and they let out a pitiful sob. "Fuck, why did I do this? How could I?"

You've come back around to being at a loss for words. You can only sit and listen to them cry.

They quiet back down. "Give me a minute. Let me catch my breath, and then I'll help you get me out of here the easy way."

You sigh and try not to overthink the potential ways you might do that. "Alright."

You wait as they gather themselves.

"Okay... Put one hand on your middle, right over where you can feel my paw. Hold your other hand palm up in front of you. I'm gonna count down from three. When I get to one, snap the fingers of the hand you're holding out." Tobias explains.

You feel their paw pressing forward, and awkwardly assume the position. "Ready."

Tobias counts down, and as you were asked, you snap your fingers.

In a small puff of smoke, the weight disappears from your belly and instead moves to your hand.

A rabbit-like creature stares back at you, draped across your palm and weighing your arm down. They're bigger and heavier than you would've thought. They hop across your lap and down into the floor. You stare at each other for a moment.

"I'm sorry, again." They say, averting their large eyes.

"I honestly don't know whether to be upset or tell you it's okay. I'm kinda wondering if I'm still asleep and this is a really weird dream." You say.

Tobias shakes their head. "You're definitely wide awake. I... I should go now. I've taken enough of your time and energy."

"No, wait... Do you need help, or something?" You ask, "I can't imagine you'd do what you did for the hell of it."

Tears well up in their eyes. "Don't tell me you're gonna try and help me after what I did to you."

You stand shakily from the bed. "I will if you explain all of this to me so I actually understand it."

Tobias sniffles, covers their mouth, and nods.

"Come with me into the kitchen. I need some tea for whatever you did to my throat." You say, walking out of your bedroom on slightly unstable legs.

"Okay..." Tobias says, hopping along after you.

...