—It's my cheat day. A single burger won't ruin my figure.

The otter pushed the door and the smell of fries submerged in oil, and patties sizzling in the grill instantly filled his lungs. Sure, the dragon said this place was phenomenal, but he wasn't expecting already having a positive experience from the get go.

—Are you sure, AB? There's plenty of other places where we can find vegetarian options. I don't want to impose...

—Chill out, Tzin. We're already here. We might as well enjoy it!

The cheerful otter said as they were called out by the teenage dalmatian at the cash register.

—Hi, welcome to ßerger ßarn! What are you having today, guys?

The green-hoodied mustelid, all too caught trying to convince Tzin to stay, didn't even have time to look at the menu. So he just went straight to the fish section and blurted out the number of the flashiest option, and proceeded to order a large soda and fries to go along with it. Then The feathery dragon ordered his usual: two double-veggie with extra guac, iced tea and fries to go with each, an order of dairy-free jalapeño poppers, and an oatmeal cookie.

The duo proceeded to select a table, and wait for their order to be called. Tzin was still a bit uneasy after talking so highly about his favourite burger place in the West Coast, since he now felt like he had pushed the otter to concede. He should have kept his mouth shut. What if the place wasn't all that great? What if AB didn't even like burgers?

—Tzin, you gotta take it easy. If you like this place, there has to be a good reason for that. I mean, if there is someone's gut who I trust, it would have to be yours. So if I'm taking a day off my normal diet, I would gladly do it to see what kind of treats Mexican dragons indulge on. Trust me, it's gonna be...

Just then, as if on cue, their order number was called.

—... great!

The spry otter jumped off his seat and went to fetch the hefty tray with the agility that characterized his species. He did so in less time than what Tzin would have needed to shuffle his way out of the cramped booth he was in. Which was good, because he had grown hungry, even if not two hours ago they had shared a few peanut butter sandwiches while strolling among the stands in the local farmers market. But anyone who knew the feathery dragon, would have been less than surprised by the loud rumbling, as the tray was neatly placed right in front of him.

—Buen provecho!

He said, losing not a single beat before grabbing the closest burger —a massive feat of culinary prowess and industrial fast-food engineering—, and digging into it with unparalleled gusto.

The otter meanwhile was soon faced with a towering sandwich that was as tall as it was wide. And in both dimensions it made any burger he had ever eaten before pale in comparison. Regardless, he was captivated by the ravenous display of reckless abandon exhibited by his friend, and decided to go ahead and give it a try himself. How good can a burger be, anyway?

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It felt odd. It was truly mind boggling that last time the duo had met was more than five months ago. But the change of season, the warming days, and the number of 'X's in the waistline of his new stretchy pants clearly pointed at the inexorable passage of the fourth dimension. And while it is well known that space can be warped by massive objects, A.B.'s mind seemed to have been warped in a loop, stuck back in the days when he would hop in and out of restaurant booths with the same ease with which now-a-days he would down three of those fish burgers, as a medium-sized lunch.

It was pretty evident that not only had ßerger ßarn become one of the otter's favourite places to eat out, but that he had been doing so with quite a significant frequency on a weekly (if not daily) basis.

The otter now occupied a volume that was easily three times as much as he did during last fall. He practically rolled out of every possible in his clothing, tacitly posing the question to any bystander of how in the world was his outfit even able to contain that much flab. Head to toe, the aquatic anthro had added a supple layer of pliable fat that sagged down, lead by the force of gravity: the same which earlier this week had caused his couch to finally give way and basically become a pile of rubble.

Not that the otter had even registered the change. He swore that thanks to his fast metabolism and his experience losing weight after overwintering, there was no trouble with him having access to a bit more food than usual. Indeed, even as winter had come and gone, rather than sporting his usual slender build, he now was three times the otter he had been not even half a year ago.

His cheeks looked like they were always storing a mouthful or two of greasy fries, constantly fighting for space with his non-existent neck, which had been quickly enveloped by the unstoppable encroachment of a sizable double chin. And speaking of sizable, his chest now had expanded so much that it could almost fill out the entirety of what once was a rather baggy hoodie. And stretched as it was, that same hoodie even attempted to undertake the titanic task of circumscribing the equally titanic mass that was A.B.'s gut. The exercise-ball sized heap of adipose poked out of the green clothing item, and well over the waistline of the stretchiest of the pants he had found in his closet. Unrestricted and able to be molded by the gravitational pull of the Earth, his midsection reached ever closer to the ground in front of him, almost as if it was an avalanche being broadcast at ultra slow motion. And with such an ample accrual of Attius Adipose, an equally endearing excess expressed itself in the back, spread out between his monumental tush, and what once was a powerful muscly tail that akin to a rudder helped the otter swerve and veer in the water. Clearly, no swimming was possible now that his thighs had bloated in size and had acquired thunderous proportions. Only the stretchiest 4XL pants would fit, and he was quickly approaching the day when the pachyderm apparel would be the only place to find items that fit. Meanwhile, much to the chagrin of those overtaxed seams, the otter snapped his fingers in front of his dragon friend:

—Heeey! What's going on!! Earth to Tzin!! You look like you've seen a ghost!! What's wrong? I thought you'd be excited that we would come back to celebrate your return in your favourite burger joint!! I now how much you *chomp* love these! *chomp*

The otter said, as he held one of the classic burgers mere inches from his face. He always had one or two laying around in case he got hungry. Which lately had been very often.

—Uhhh, A.B., don't you want to go to the salad place better? I heard they just opened a new clothing store right next door, we could... ahem... update your wardrobe while we're there...

—And miss out on my... err... our favourite burger place?! No sir!! Besides...

With one burger already gone, another one seemed to appear out of nowhere to quell his endless appetite.

—...sure, my jeans shrunk in the wash, but I told you that my hoodie would still fit!

The otter grabbed the hem of the garment with his free paw and stretched it over the spilling roll of a gut that defied being subdued by any sort of clothing prison.

—These things were made to last!

Knowing that the battle at this point was pretty much lost, given that his own stomach had joined A.B.'s side and now growled in favor of some spicy jalapeños, Tzin sighed and stepped forward in the direction of the entrance.

In a way, it was his fault, but then again, A.B. had never seemed so happy and so cute... maybe it all was meant to be this way.

But he still needed to find a replacement for that hoodie. At least before the zipper suffered a catastrophic failure.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I made this piece for  abthegreat since he's just been the greatest and most patient of friends. And because he makes me smile with his incredibly high-quality content that he creates. He's a truly invaluable individual and I am so grateful to count him among my friends. Plus, he knows all about good food, and Tzin loves good food, so it's a match made in heaven.

I had a ton of fun practicing different species and experimenting with unconventional shading and coloring methods to hopefully make my work process more streamlined and efficient, so that maybe one day in the not-too-distant-future, I can open up for commissions. But for now, I'm still experimenting.

Any comments are, as always, greatly appreciated. Otherwise enjoy and please stay safe!

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Attius (A.K.A A.B.) the otter ©  abthegreat

Tzin and artwork © yours truly  dragontzin