[clovis]

Chapter 9.6

Emerging from her brief interlude, Etna saw Dawn’s preposterous bit of performance art had been granted no such intermission. If anything, the captivating cavalcade of unbridled ingestion was going on at an even more frenetic pace.

Etna felt privileged to have a front row seat to what was surely the greatest show on earth- an endless third act composed solely of showstoppers and ever crescendoing encores. Dawn’s girth defying feats had only encouraged Lydia and Amber further until any attempt at accuracy was forsaken for pure volume. The rotund-and-then-some girl was gobbling up bits so fast that she only needed a big red bow to complete the illusion that she was Ms. Pac-Man rushing pell-mell through some insane new bonus round.

Dawn’s frenzied exuberance was downright dizzying. The little miss’s every effort-less exertion was now enough that the room was in a perpetual tremble. With an inexhaustible appetite and a body to match, the girl was unstoppable.

Or was she?

“Wait a tic…” the great lounging behemoth noticed something that got her to sit up straight. Poor Holly had to launch her speedy hands into double-time as she struggled to keep everything safely stowed upon Etna’s many shifting shelves.

Etna prayed what she saw wasn’t just wishful thinking, but it was more than an inkling that impelled her to study the blurry blob of her student’s body with renewed scrutiny. “Oh… oh, yes.” Etna’s suspicions were quickly confirmed. There was no doubt about it, the girl’s technique- while beyond impressive- had a fatal flaw.

With all the things currently filling Etna one thing had been in short supply as of late. But this new realization had Etna filling once more with confidence. Anticipating Dawn and the others coming to the same inevitable conclusion had Etna absolutely salivating. For her, that tantalizing thought had become the most delectable thing in the room.

Until that glorious revelatory moment, Etna had plenty of other amusements to bide her time with. Looking to her lesser prey, Etna couldn’t help but notice that Amber’s horrendously bad aim was perhaps even worse than it ought to have been. Physically, Amber was giving Dawn her all, but those wandering eyes of hers were fully devoted to catching any and all glimpses of Holly.

"That girl might be the hungriest one in the room,” Etna mused. Holly paused ever so briefly from her labors, but seemed unwilling to look in the intended direction. Whether her assistant was ignoring, immune, or simply unaware of those longing gazes from afar was frustratingly unclear.

“She seems to be holding up,” Etna said assuming the opposite.

“Oh, well, we’re having a spat,” Holly replied while avoiding eye-contact and rearranging plates. “You were right about… us. Thank you for that.”

"I see,” Etna said in what she hoped was a consoling tone before switching back to that of malicious mentor. “You had her loyalty. You earned her tears. But my dear, you haven’t tasted true power until you’ve got them begging at your feet. Imagine her groveling. Imagine her pathetic, prostrated, and fully prepared to flagellate herself just to get back into your good graces.” Etna’s cold words weren’t just advice, clearly some dark memories were being relished through them. “That piddling wretch isn’t your friend anymore- she is your toy, and toys are meant to be played with.”

“Oh, I’m not sure I… you know…” Holly had a look about her like she’d just eaten something sour. “Any-who, whenever I’ve been upset, I find it best to just throw myself into my work.” With that, Holly threw a pair of massive pu-pu platters down onto Etna.

Too slow to prevent it, Etna braced for the worst as those twin samplers topped with sputtering sterno landed. To her very pleasant surprise however, the pain wasn’t quite what she’d feared.
The handful of pills were gone and already delivering the desired effect. In fact, the challah and more had already been sent to a better place- and a roomier one at that. The pressure had alleviated, if only slightly. Though there wasn’t a pair of pants on the planet that could fit her now, the feeling Etna was experiencing was akin to that of a button undone and zipper let down. It wasn’t much relief, but it was enough.

“I think I’m good, for now.” Etna waved Holly off before being completely overrun with food. As the girl turned away, Etna caught her eying the bowl of pills. In that quick glance, Etna saw yearning, but also recognized the crunching of numbers. A quick count and calculation, though to what end Etna wasn’t sure. Feeling even less generous, she pulled the bowl closer.

Watching that dream of extreme voluptuousness saunter off in search of treats of her own, Etna could only shake her head in disbelief. Her gaze aligned with Amber’s as each was entranced by hair, skirt, and bosom all bobbing in beautiful unison. What a body, Etna thought with another pang of envy.

Instinctively, Etna’s hand went up again to cross herself only this time she stopped it. What did she have to be jealous of, she wondered. What more could she desire? The only thing Etna craved was more Etna. The girl’s form was pleasing, but only by her old standards. Those magnificent breasts would be quite a handful for anyone else, but would sit small in her meaty mitts. That glorious bottom steadily shortening her already short skirt was but a fraction of what Etna possessed.

Etna had left the scales of human proportions behind and entered the realm of the world’s great beasts. It was not an honor she was willing to share. Dawn was her only real competition, and thus, the only one worth even a scrap of her attention.

Dawn may have lost some ground with her many distractions and extended playtimes, but this ongoing feeding blitzkrieg was making up for lost time. The girl was distending out further, blowing her body beyond the proverbial party balloon she’d already become. Though obscene in the extreme, there was still something oddly wholesome to Dawn’s appearance due in no small part to how bouncy and fun she remained as she grew.

Etna wasn’t here for fun. She knew fun never lasted. Etna imagined she looked like a failed attempt at a layer cake with each tier spilling over onto the next even larger one. It wasn’t a festive visage, but it was a form with an air of permanence about it. It was a body Etna felt currently at war with, but as she surveyed her profane enormity only one word came to mind… magnificent.

Feeling secure in her position as the fattest of the fat ladies, Etna still acknowledged Dawn as a different kind of freak altogether- the amazing elastic girl. No matter how many pills at her disposal, Etna knew she wasn’t made of rubber. Swirling within her mass of heavily packed fat coursed enough experimental doses to kill any man, and Etna strived to add more. She still wanted to be bigger- not later, but now. Science was on her side, but to fatten up further she needed to be smart, to ration, and pace herself.

Slow and steady wins the race.

While Dawn still had the agility of a rabbit and was capable of astoundingly swift gains, Etna knew there was a reckoning coming no matter how fantastically elastic she proved to be. It was also just as likely that the little flibbertigibbet would get distracted again and waste more time dilly dallying with her friends. Either way, Dawn simply had too much ground to gain and while an ungodly amount was literally flying into Dawn’s mouth, there just wasn’t food enough to get her to the finish line. Unless she had some other trick up her sleeve, Etna was done worrying about the silly little rabbit.

However Dawn met her unfortunate fate, Etna’s pride demanded as much distance between their sizes as possible when the time came. Though her body still ached for respite, Etna took a pair of pills then picked up several sizzling teriyaki skewers with one hand and a big greasy cheesesteak with the other and brought them to her mouth. She knew there would be pain, but Etna believed it a manageable pain. After all, she’d felt this way before. And she hadn’t burst. No, she’d gotten bigger. Much bigger. Unlike Dawn, Etna’s distractions proved entirely productive, and so she turned back to watch the latest antics of her rascally opponent.

Slow and steady wins the race. Soon, but not too soon came more pills and another dual serving.

It wasn’t too much, only very nearly too much- and there was an odd pleasure in the sensation of being on the very cusp. She was full, but she’d somehow kept finding more room. Etna felt like a cauldron on the verge of bubbling over. A dam perpetually about to burst. It was so terribly wonderful. A state of fretful ecstasy- of perpetual climax. She was riding a wave that never quite crested.

Slow and steady. While Dawn was catching up, she was doomed to forever remain a spot off in the distance.

In truth, Dawn had gifted Etna another form of assist. Etna thought she’d been dreaming big, and while she knew she had her limits, Dawn had opened her mind to greater possibilities- not beyond measure, but far beyond what she’d dreamt before.

No one was going to mistake Etna for a swift little rabbit, and that was fine. The rabbit loses. Etna saw herself as the tortoise, and a big tortoise at that. Greater than the great Lepane legend. A tortoise so immense it need not move to win as it held the whole of the race, nay the whole of the world supported on its great back.

Etna had the advantage. She could taste victory. There was no way she could lose.

…