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[4.000 words] [Mind Change] [Inflation] [Rubber] [Unwilling]
Commission for the lovely Laupin
Thank you for ing me! ^^Part 01
Arys watched the scenery as she drove the old, dusty jeep across the savannah. Yellow grass extended around her like a sea of copper, stretching as far as the mountains in the background… nothing but dry vegetation… no animals around.
Arys sighed...
Decades ago, that place had trees and all sorts of wildlife roaming about. Especially ostriches. But since then, each year had become hotter and drier. Fauna had migrated elsewhere, trying to escape the advancing desert.
– Soon, we might not have a planet to live on. – Arys said to herself.
Arys’ head was covered by a large safari hat, which kept her short, gray hair hidden; except for a single braid that was kept tidy by a pink barrette. Her sensitive blue eyes were protected under big sun-glasses. Her skin was drenched in sunscreen to the point of looking shiny.
The woman would be covered in sweat if it wasn’t for the dry climate. The back of the jeep was full of gallons and more gallons of water, a few rations, a radio for communication with the nearest town, and a bag full of research material.
Arys was a biologist studying the ways in which human activity was altering nature across the world. She was a part of a larger group of independent researchers following the impact caused by global warming, genetically modified seeds, pesticides, microplastics, pollution, and so on. Her group wanted to learn whether nature would be able to adapt before an extinction event happened.
So far, research had shown that nature itself would adapt, as it always had. Humans, on the other hand, especially those in vulnerable countries, would perish unless radical change happened. Yet, even if it did happen, maybe it would already be too late.
Arys’ friends were a lot more vocal about those worries. Some were even arrested after going to protests against large banks and oil companies. However, Arys was quiet, shy, and afraid of crowds. She was more of a library-person than a outgoing-person. She still clung to the idea that, maybe, somehow, she would find an answer to all the world’s problems hidden in some remote jungle or lonely oasis… like the one she was about to visit.
After another half hour of driving, the savannah started to look more like a desert. First, cracks started to form across the ground. Next, the small trees reduced into a few bushes here and there. Later, there was only sand and not a single sign of life. Large, flat plains of sand extended in every direction, making it impossible to navigate by vision alone. Arys only knew her location thanks to the GPS, which already had a marked destination.
A few days ago, satellite images had been able to locate a lonely oasis somewhere in that desert. The pictures were blurry, but it was possible to see green plantlife around the water. More importantly, there were also colorful blurs in the water that resembled animals. Arys was curious to see what kind of life form would live in an isolated oasis in the middle of nowhere. How could an ecosystem like that exist, especially in a place that used to be a savannah not long ago?Part 02
A few kilometers and one gallon of water later, Arys finally spotted the oasis. From far away, it looked like a large pond of water, the size of a soccer field, surrounded by shrubberies and a few trees. The odd part was how extremely green that vegetation was. It was so bright that it sparkled. The very leaves reflected sunlight as if they were covered in droplets of water.
Things got stranger as Arys drove closer and turned off the engine. Through the thick greenery, she heard a cacophony of “squeaks” that resembled rubber ducks being squeezed. What kind of animal sounded like that? Definitely the weirdest bird-singing ever.
She took her binoculars from her bag and aimed at the thing that was swimming on the pond. To her surprise, she saw a dozen… pool toys? In the middle of nowhere?
They were black and white O-ring inflatables, each with a long neck that curved in an S-shape and ended in a spherical head with large eyes and a round beak. They had big, pear-shaped tails that mimicked the feathery backend of a bird. They had pairs of bubbly wings that were kept closer most of the time, but would sometimes open and start flapping, lifting the creature a few meters into the air before they stopped flying and fell back down onto the pond - to which the others would begin squeaking happily.
Arys couldn’t believe her eyes.
Those things were alive?
Was this some secret drone project?
Was she hallucinating from heat stroke?
The researcher shook her head and looked again…
Near their wings, each creature had a pair of handles, as expected from a pool toy…
Below the creatures’ puffy tails, each had a closed nozzle, as expected from a pool toy…
Their bodies were partially see-through, as expected from a pool toy…
However, they had no seams, no tags, no stamp, no brand, and no sign of being manufactured. They were perfectly smooth. She couldn’t make out any robotics inside of them that could explain the movement… but there had to be…
She had to investigate…
Arys picked up her bag, put on a denim jacket, and slowly sneaked in. She planned to hide behind the bushes, take notes, record with her phone, get a few pictures, while not being noticed by those things. She had done it before with regular wildlife.
As she approached the vegetation, her surprise was doubled. The leaves of those plants were puffy and slightly see-through. Each of them looked like a tiny balloon attached to a maze of branches that resembled plastic hoses. The gentle breeze made those leaves wobble, releasing tiny creaks whenever one touched another.
Arys gently pulled off one of the leaves and, to her surprise…
Prtssssss…
It quickly deflated between her fingers, becoming a flat piece of latex.
Fssssss…
Soon after, the plant made the sound of hissing gas. A new leaf was being inflated, growing from the very place Arys had plucked it. The branch was regenerating…
– I can't believe it…
She plucked off more and more leaves from the same “shrub”. Each of them would deflate in her hands, only to be replaced by a new one that would push outward from within the branch and re-inflate into a new leaf. The more leaves she removed, the smaller the shrub became, looking wrinkly due to the loss of gas.
The smell of those deflated leaves was also quite alien. If she was forced to describe it, the best she could say would be that it was a watery, mint-scented, party balloon. She was astounded, and excited to have her fellow researchers look at the leaves after bringing them back.
Just for curiosity’s sake, she also put one of the leaves in her mouth and chewed on it. The taste was like lettuce-flavored gum, with the texture of a rubber-band, and an aftertaste of a rubber bottle. She spit it onto the sand, before drinking a lot of water to wash that eerie stuff from her tongue.
Then, she returned her attention to the plastic birds. They all looked like ostrich pool toys, floating across the water carefree and bumping into each other, joyfully squeaking from time to time. Sometimes, one of them would take flight and land back into the pond, but that was really the only conscious movement they seemed to make.
Arys checked for wires, antennas, and any sort of gadget that could reveal the robotic nature of those things. Yet, there was nothing but shiny, black and white plastic. If those were indeed mechanical, their parts were indiscernible to the human eye.
She observed in silence, hidden behind the balloon leaves. As time ed, the swimming patterns no longer appeared random. The creatures were playing some sort of complex game that she couldn’t understand. The squeaks sounded like codes of a secret language.
Arys was equally weirded out and marveled at the scene. She had to pinch her arm just to check if she wasn’t dreaming.
Moments later, a rubber ostrich performed another of those short flights, but rather than landing onto the water, it managed to fall right on top of another rubber ostrich. The O-ring of the first was able to slide down the neck of the second.
The squeaks became a lot louder and all the strange animals flapped their wings in celebration. The nozzle cap of the second pool toy suddenly opened and it deflated in front of all the others. Its flat “corpse” floated towards the margin of the pond, and for a moment Arys thought it was “dead”.
Until the branches of a nearby shrub stretched out and connected with the open nozzle of the flat toy. There was a loud hissing and soon the creature was fully inflated again and ready to continue playing.
– Woah… – She realized her mouth had been open for a long time and a line of drool was hanging from it. – What the heck!?Part 03
Arys kept watching, taking notes, recording, and doing everything a researcher was supposed to do as she observed the bubbly, pool-toy ostriches play with one another in that oasis, surrounded by shrubs and trees made of latex and balloon-leaves.
The creatures’ game was still confusing, but she was at least starting to follow their patterns. Their short-lived flights were attempts to land their O-rings on top of another one’s neck, to deflate the “defeated” foe and have it be inflated again by the hose-like branches that grew around the pool.
As Arys wrote down some notes, with her head hanging low, the creatures began to squeak loudly in a new way. The researcher ignored her notebook and checked to see what was going on, only to realize there was one fewer ostrich than before… and they seemed to all be looking in her direction.
Not exactly towards her…
But at something above her…
Before the woman could react, the object hit her from above. A rubber ostrich had landed on her. She released a high pitched scream as the O-ring of the creature slid down her shoulders and waist, getting stuck on her hips. Both her arms were locked in place by the plastic ring, in a very silly way that was more fit for a cartoon than real life.
All the ostriches squeaked louder.
She squirmed and tried to wiggle that thing back over her head or down to her feet, but the creature was tightly fit around her. Thanks to Arys’s pear-shaped hips, there was no way to make that thing slide down all the way to the floor. She had to push it upwards, which would be an impossible mission since her arms were locked in place.
She could have, of course, tried to stretch the creature wide. But as a biologist, she didn’t want to risk bursting it and killing a unique creature… So she decided the best course of action would be to get into the pond and use the pool-toy’s floatation to take it off.
She awkwardly walked towards the water, crossing through the bubbly shrubberies that tickled her skin like a hundred soft balloons. It almost felt like the plants were massaging her. She also bumped into a couple trees too, thanks to that large silly ring around her.
As Arys slowly entered the pool, she immediately felt its refreshing properties. The coldness was welcome in that extremely hot place. Plus, the pool toy creatures didn’t get scared by her presence… quite the contrary. They floated towards her and bumped into her from all sides, as if trying to welcome a new friend.
Maybe they had never seen a human before?
– Easy, darlings… – She giggled.
Arys held her breath, closed her eyes and bent her knees to submerge. As she did it, the pool-toy that was stuck to her hips floated upwards to the surface and let go of her. She was free!
As she stood up, with water a few inches above her belly button, the rubber ostriches began swimming around her. They seemed playful and friendly, curious and excited. She carefully scratched one of them behind the head, and the creature squeaked in pleasure. She brushed the wings of another one, and the creature opened its wings wide to let Arys play with them. She held one of their handles, and the rubber ostrich closed its eyes, as if someone gripping it was a relaxing sensation. She poked one of their squishy beaks, and the creature wagged its tail.
Their texture was so soft and smooth… She had never touched anything so nice as that. It wasn’t like normal rubber; it was squishier, enough to just feel like it sank into her touch. She picked one up in her arms and hugged it. The creature opened its wings and hugged her back. It was the softest embrace she had ever felt.
Arys decided to be bold, so she sat onto one of them and held the creature’s handles. Her butt had never been more comfortable. It was able to hold her up without any trouble. To her surprise, the creature didn’t fight; instead it took her for a relaxing ride around the pool.
Well… It would be relaxing if it wasn’t for her drenched jeans, t-shirt and jacket.
To get more comfortable, Arys dismounted and took off her clothes, placing them upon the balloony shrubberies, under the hot sun. They would dry within half an hour at the most, she was sure. She only kept her underwear because she was too shy, despite being in the middle of nowhere.
The woman returned to the pond and continued to play with the creatures. She would have time for taking notes later. Now that most of her skin was exposed, she could fully experience the texture of those rubber ostriches whenever they brushed against her…
When she got thirty, Arys didn’t want to get out of the pool, because it was so tingly and cool. Instead of going to the jeep and drinking bottled water, she sipped straight from the oasis… and it was the best water she had ever drank. It was fresh and pure. It traveled down her throat smoothly, with a crystal aftertaste. She took another gulp, and another, and another.
The taste was “squeakalicious”. It spread through her body, making every cell from the center of her belly to the tips of her fingers feel very, very refreshed. It was like having an internal cooling system! Her muscles relaxed and all her cramps were gone. Every t and bone felt rejuvenated, with the elasticity of her youth!
Arys was so busy drinking oasis-water and playing with the Ostriches that she completely forgot her research and all of her problems. The natural disasters that plagued her thoughts were gone. The loneliness of everyday life had vanished. Her mind had no time to worry about that silly stuff. That was why she loved nature so much. She could leave the big cities behind and enjoy something much simpler.
Animals didn’t have to worry about the fate of mankind…Part 04
She lost track of time, only returning to her senses when her belly started to rumble. She was hungry after playing and swimming for countless hours. She patted her tummy gently, only to hear a hollow sound… hehe… funny.
However, for a reason unknown to her, Arys didn’t feel like fetching some of the rations she had in the jeep. Her mind was fantasizing about eating clouds, munching on rubber-bands, and drooling at the deliciousness of a round balloon. She simply approached one of the many shrubs around the oasis… plucked off a rubber leaf… and immediately put her lips on the hissing hole where the leaf used to be.
She sucked the plant’s gas, letting it travel down her throat and into her stomach, filling it more and more, overwhelmed by a wonderful sensation of tightness. The plant just kept on pumping, and she kept on letting its rubbery scent fill her beyond her normal capacity. Her belly stretched in all directions, gaining a perfectly round shape akin to a pregnancy… But she didn’t stop there. Her body craved more nourishment.
The woman’s torso expanded, getting lighter, rounder, and enormous. Rather than feeling stuffed, she felt even more hollow. Gravity also seemed gentler, getting almost to the point of pushing her upwards rather than downwards. She had to fight to keep herself on the hose, for her body was starting to push her backwards.
Once her lower body resembled a fully spherical beach ball. That was when she was finally satisfied.
Arys took her mouth off the hissing branch and resumed her playtime with the rubber birds. Now, her feet could no longer touch the bottom of the pond. Her body was so full of gas that she floated just like the other pool toys. She no longer had to worry about walking, just gently drifting in the small waves without a clear direction.
In fact, she couldn’t even feel her legs anymore. When she tried to move them, her body would simply wobble. Her underwear was floating a few meters behind her, no longer able to stick to her. But she didn’t care. Legs and underwear were overrated.
Arys got thirsty again, but she could no longer reach the water with her short arms. Her body was a buoy that couldn’t be easily maneuvered. So, she stiffened her neck and concentrated on reaching the water. Her neck extended amidst a dozen creaks and squeaks, until it was lengthy and flexible enough to get her only a few inches from the surface… She made a duck-face and her lips elongated forward, forming a round, shiny beak that allowed her to touch the delicious water.
– Squeak! – She said. – Squeak squeak!
As she lifted her head, the long neck now allowed her to have a better view of the surroundings. She bent down and nuzzled the other creatures, rubbing her beak and neck against their smooth, rubber surfaces. She had so much elasticity and control of her head now! She could tie a knot with her neck if she wanted to.
Now that her body was bouncy and smooth, the rubber creatures began to poke her with their rounded beaks, which made Arys giggle a lot. She tried pushing the creatures away, but her arms, compared to her huge belly, were very short. So, she held her breath and stiffened her belly.
Pressure went from her torso straight to her arms, causing them to puff out into wide, bubbly wings that were almost as large as herself. They looked like dozens of tubular balloons glued to one another, forming a pair of shiny and elastic sails. She used those huge new limbs to defend herself against the tickling, however, the creatures continued to tease her no matter how much she tried to shoo them.
The researcher was surrounded, so she flapped her arms fast and lifted off. She managed to get almost four meters into the air, thanks to her extremely light body and the warm gas inside her. She took a moment to enjoy the view, looking at the clearwater pond, the shiny latex-shrubberies, and the black and white pool toys that had become her friends. However, soon she lost her energy and plummeted down in slow motion, using her wings to glide… until… she landed right on top of another ostrich’s head.
The creature’s neck painlessly pushed her belly inwards, till it fully ed through, piercing a hole in the middle of Arys. That hole immediately stretched out with a loud SCHLOMPT, giving her torso an O-ring shape… Actually, a thick donut!
It was the best stretch ever! Her old body seemed like a cramped prison, while her new, wide one felt free and unconstrained. Having a wide hole felt like the most natural thing ever. How else would she be able to play with her fellow creatures if she didn’t have a hole like them?
She only had a fewel moments to enjoy the neck of the other ostrich rubbing against her inner circumference, like a gentle caress, before the pool-toy under her deflated, as expected.
– Squeak! – She had scored a point!
All her friends began to squeak and flap their wings to congratulate her!
Arys was so happy that a bunch of gas traveled to a specific place above her butt, pushing her latex skin outwards until a big, round tail puffed out into existence. A tail she immediately wagged left and right just to show everyone how much she enjoyed their company…
She used to be a shy, reserved person…
She used to enjoy being quiet, locked in a library…
Now she wanted to have fun and play with others…
Her problems seemed far, far away…
Maybe she had finally found her place…
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when one of her own rubber-kin fell down onto her, hugging her neck with their O-ring, scoring a point. There was a rush of adrenaline as her molecules vibrated and expanded, making her body feel tight and near its bursting point.
Her mind was taken by a primitive instinct to release. Her nozzle opened and Arys let all the air out, trying to sing a hissing melody as she deflated. Her submerged nozzle made bubbles in the water. Her skin wrinkled and relaxed. Her head got empty and serene. Her wings and tail flopped. Her whole body flattened…
She had successfully turned carbon-dioxide into latexilate-transformarite, spreading it to the water and the air, where it would remain inert until another biological form ingested it. She was doing her part to make the whole world rubbery, to make sure everyone got a chance to experience that. In a few centuries, everything would be a large pool, full of toys eager to play.
Her empty husk floated to the margin, only to have one of the shrub’s branches connect to her nozzle and fill her up again with more carbon-dioxide. The pressure allowed her body to be stiff and moveable again, like the pretty ostrich pool toy she was meant to be. There was barely a human thought left in her mind.
Arys was still Arys…
But not the human Arys…
Something else…
Something that could fit into nature…Part 05
The sun that once seemed blazing now hardly hurt Ary’s rubber skin. The air trapped inside her vessel was always at the perfect temperature, thanks to the insulation and the refreshing water in the pool. Weather had never felt so good.
As she carelessly drifted across the pound, pushed by the gentle wind, Ary’s head bobbed back and forth. Her thoughts were lighter now and she couldn't believe her life used to be so full of concerns. At least she believed it was, for it was difficult to recall what exactly those concerns were. All she needed to be happy was to be around her true kin: The Aer Anulum Struthionem family. Like a migrating bird, she had been guided to that place.
She would never feel lonely thanks to her playful mates, competing to see who could land onto the other’s neck, singing squeaky songs, bouncing on one another’s belly, wrapping their long necks into love coils, kissing with their rotund beaks, and many more fun squeaky activities. When they were feeling more calm, they squeaked and creaked about philosophical questions regarding life and the universe.
She could barely track the years. The pond stretched into rivers, forming a watery maze inside a huge jungle made of rubber and latex. The desert had been turned into a colorful paradise for gassy fauna and flora.
New friends ed the area, with uniquely round shapes that made them adorable: Pool toy alligators, pool toy hippos, pool toy gazellas, pool toy dolphins, and all sorts of cute.
The latexilate-transformarite, which was synthesized inside their very bodies, didn’t care whether it was absorbed by humans, animals or plants. Whatever it came into with would be bloated and assimilated. Human trash like plastic bottles, car tires, and polymer wrappings, were digested and turned into raw materials to build more living pool toys.
Many centuries later, Arys had with other kinds of fauna and flora: Things made of metal, which clanked and grinded, digging scrap yards for spare parts. Things made of fabric and cotton, like living plushies who loved to jump onto the backs of pool toys and ride them around. Things made of paper, who could quickly bend into complex origami and reshape themselves according to their will. Things made of ink, which oozed and bubbled around, fusing into ever growing masses of colorful blobs.
Humans were probably gone by now…
However, nature was still there…
Always adapting…
Always changing…
Always transforming…
By trial and error, nature would patiently try new life again…
As many times as necessary till a new race came into being…
A race that wouldn’t let a small few destroy everyone…
A race that would learn to play and love…
Squeak… squeak…Commission journal:
https://www.deviantart.com/phyrexia.....TION-889915891
Commission for the lovely Laupin
Thank you for ing me! ^^Part 01
Arys watched the scenery as she drove the old, dusty jeep across the savannah. Yellow grass extended around her like a sea of copper, stretching as far as the mountains in the background… nothing but dry vegetation… no animals around.
Arys sighed...
Decades ago, that place had trees and all sorts of wildlife roaming about. Especially ostriches. But since then, each year had become hotter and drier. Fauna had migrated elsewhere, trying to escape the advancing desert.
– Soon, we might not have a planet to live on. – Arys said to herself.
Arys’ head was covered by a large safari hat, which kept her short, gray hair hidden; except for a single braid that was kept tidy by a pink barrette. Her sensitive blue eyes were protected under big sun-glasses. Her skin was drenched in sunscreen to the point of looking shiny.
The woman would be covered in sweat if it wasn’t for the dry climate. The back of the jeep was full of gallons and more gallons of water, a few rations, a radio for communication with the nearest town, and a bag full of research material.
Arys was a biologist studying the ways in which human activity was altering nature across the world. She was a part of a larger group of independent researchers following the impact caused by global warming, genetically modified seeds, pesticides, microplastics, pollution, and so on. Her group wanted to learn whether nature would be able to adapt before an extinction event happened.
So far, research had shown that nature itself would adapt, as it always had. Humans, on the other hand, especially those in vulnerable countries, would perish unless radical change happened. Yet, even if it did happen, maybe it would already be too late.
Arys’ friends were a lot more vocal about those worries. Some were even arrested after going to protests against large banks and oil companies. However, Arys was quiet, shy, and afraid of crowds. She was more of a library-person than a outgoing-person. She still clung to the idea that, maybe, somehow, she would find an answer to all the world’s problems hidden in some remote jungle or lonely oasis… like the one she was about to visit.
After another half hour of driving, the savannah started to look more like a desert. First, cracks started to form across the ground. Next, the small trees reduced into a few bushes here and there. Later, there was only sand and not a single sign of life. Large, flat plains of sand extended in every direction, making it impossible to navigate by vision alone. Arys only knew her location thanks to the GPS, which already had a marked destination.
A few days ago, satellite images had been able to locate a lonely oasis somewhere in that desert. The pictures were blurry, but it was possible to see green plantlife around the water. More importantly, there were also colorful blurs in the water that resembled animals. Arys was curious to see what kind of life form would live in an isolated oasis in the middle of nowhere. How could an ecosystem like that exist, especially in a place that used to be a savannah not long ago?Part 02
A few kilometers and one gallon of water later, Arys finally spotted the oasis. From far away, it looked like a large pond of water, the size of a soccer field, surrounded by shrubberies and a few trees. The odd part was how extremely green that vegetation was. It was so bright that it sparkled. The very leaves reflected sunlight as if they were covered in droplets of water.
Things got stranger as Arys drove closer and turned off the engine. Through the thick greenery, she heard a cacophony of “squeaks” that resembled rubber ducks being squeezed. What kind of animal sounded like that? Definitely the weirdest bird-singing ever.
She took her binoculars from her bag and aimed at the thing that was swimming on the pond. To her surprise, she saw a dozen… pool toys? In the middle of nowhere?
They were black and white O-ring inflatables, each with a long neck that curved in an S-shape and ended in a spherical head with large eyes and a round beak. They had big, pear-shaped tails that mimicked the feathery backend of a bird. They had pairs of bubbly wings that were kept closer most of the time, but would sometimes open and start flapping, lifting the creature a few meters into the air before they stopped flying and fell back down onto the pond - to which the others would begin squeaking happily.
Arys couldn’t believe her eyes.
Those things were alive?
Was this some secret drone project?
Was she hallucinating from heat stroke?
The researcher shook her head and looked again…
Near their wings, each creature had a pair of handles, as expected from a pool toy…
Below the creatures’ puffy tails, each had a closed nozzle, as expected from a pool toy…
Their bodies were partially see-through, as expected from a pool toy…
However, they had no seams, no tags, no stamp, no brand, and no sign of being manufactured. They were perfectly smooth. She couldn’t make out any robotics inside of them that could explain the movement… but there had to be…
She had to investigate…
Arys picked up her bag, put on a denim jacket, and slowly sneaked in. She planned to hide behind the bushes, take notes, record with her phone, get a few pictures, while not being noticed by those things. She had done it before with regular wildlife.
As she approached the vegetation, her surprise was doubled. The leaves of those plants were puffy and slightly see-through. Each of them looked like a tiny balloon attached to a maze of branches that resembled plastic hoses. The gentle breeze made those leaves wobble, releasing tiny creaks whenever one touched another.
Arys gently pulled off one of the leaves and, to her surprise…
Prtssssss…
It quickly deflated between her fingers, becoming a flat piece of latex.
Fssssss…
Soon after, the plant made the sound of hissing gas. A new leaf was being inflated, growing from the very place Arys had plucked it. The branch was regenerating…
– I can't believe it…
She plucked off more and more leaves from the same “shrub”. Each of them would deflate in her hands, only to be replaced by a new one that would push outward from within the branch and re-inflate into a new leaf. The more leaves she removed, the smaller the shrub became, looking wrinkly due to the loss of gas.
The smell of those deflated leaves was also quite alien. If she was forced to describe it, the best she could say would be that it was a watery, mint-scented, party balloon. She was astounded, and excited to have her fellow researchers look at the leaves after bringing them back.
Just for curiosity’s sake, she also put one of the leaves in her mouth and chewed on it. The taste was like lettuce-flavored gum, with the texture of a rubber-band, and an aftertaste of a rubber bottle. She spit it onto the sand, before drinking a lot of water to wash that eerie stuff from her tongue.
Then, she returned her attention to the plastic birds. They all looked like ostrich pool toys, floating across the water carefree and bumping into each other, joyfully squeaking from time to time. Sometimes, one of them would take flight and land back into the pond, but that was really the only conscious movement they seemed to make.
Arys checked for wires, antennas, and any sort of gadget that could reveal the robotic nature of those things. Yet, there was nothing but shiny, black and white plastic. If those were indeed mechanical, their parts were indiscernible to the human eye.
She observed in silence, hidden behind the balloon leaves. As time ed, the swimming patterns no longer appeared random. The creatures were playing some sort of complex game that she couldn’t understand. The squeaks sounded like codes of a secret language.
Arys was equally weirded out and marveled at the scene. She had to pinch her arm just to check if she wasn’t dreaming.
Moments later, a rubber ostrich performed another of those short flights, but rather than landing onto the water, it managed to fall right on top of another rubber ostrich. The O-ring of the first was able to slide down the neck of the second.
The squeaks became a lot louder and all the strange animals flapped their wings in celebration. The nozzle cap of the second pool toy suddenly opened and it deflated in front of all the others. Its flat “corpse” floated towards the margin of the pond, and for a moment Arys thought it was “dead”.
Until the branches of a nearby shrub stretched out and connected with the open nozzle of the flat toy. There was a loud hissing and soon the creature was fully inflated again and ready to continue playing.
– Woah… – She realized her mouth had been open for a long time and a line of drool was hanging from it. – What the heck!?Part 03
Arys kept watching, taking notes, recording, and doing everything a researcher was supposed to do as she observed the bubbly, pool-toy ostriches play with one another in that oasis, surrounded by shrubs and trees made of latex and balloon-leaves.
The creatures’ game was still confusing, but she was at least starting to follow their patterns. Their short-lived flights were attempts to land their O-rings on top of another one’s neck, to deflate the “defeated” foe and have it be inflated again by the hose-like branches that grew around the pool.
As Arys wrote down some notes, with her head hanging low, the creatures began to squeak loudly in a new way. The researcher ignored her notebook and checked to see what was going on, only to realize there was one fewer ostrich than before… and they seemed to all be looking in her direction.
Not exactly towards her…
But at something above her…
Before the woman could react, the object hit her from above. A rubber ostrich had landed on her. She released a high pitched scream as the O-ring of the creature slid down her shoulders and waist, getting stuck on her hips. Both her arms were locked in place by the plastic ring, in a very silly way that was more fit for a cartoon than real life.
All the ostriches squeaked louder.
She squirmed and tried to wiggle that thing back over her head or down to her feet, but the creature was tightly fit around her. Thanks to Arys’s pear-shaped hips, there was no way to make that thing slide down all the way to the floor. She had to push it upwards, which would be an impossible mission since her arms were locked in place.
She could have, of course, tried to stretch the creature wide. But as a biologist, she didn’t want to risk bursting it and killing a unique creature… So she decided the best course of action would be to get into the pond and use the pool-toy’s floatation to take it off.
She awkwardly walked towards the water, crossing through the bubbly shrubberies that tickled her skin like a hundred soft balloons. It almost felt like the plants were massaging her. She also bumped into a couple trees too, thanks to that large silly ring around her.
As Arys slowly entered the pool, she immediately felt its refreshing properties. The coldness was welcome in that extremely hot place. Plus, the pool toy creatures didn’t get scared by her presence… quite the contrary. They floated towards her and bumped into her from all sides, as if trying to welcome a new friend.
Maybe they had never seen a human before?
– Easy, darlings… – She giggled.
Arys held her breath, closed her eyes and bent her knees to submerge. As she did it, the pool-toy that was stuck to her hips floated upwards to the surface and let go of her. She was free!
As she stood up, with water a few inches above her belly button, the rubber ostriches began swimming around her. They seemed playful and friendly, curious and excited. She carefully scratched one of them behind the head, and the creature squeaked in pleasure. She brushed the wings of another one, and the creature opened its wings wide to let Arys play with them. She held one of their handles, and the rubber ostrich closed its eyes, as if someone gripping it was a relaxing sensation. She poked one of their squishy beaks, and the creature wagged its tail.
Their texture was so soft and smooth… She had never touched anything so nice as that. It wasn’t like normal rubber; it was squishier, enough to just feel like it sank into her touch. She picked one up in her arms and hugged it. The creature opened its wings and hugged her back. It was the softest embrace she had ever felt.
Arys decided to be bold, so she sat onto one of them and held the creature’s handles. Her butt had never been more comfortable. It was able to hold her up without any trouble. To her surprise, the creature didn’t fight; instead it took her for a relaxing ride around the pool.
Well… It would be relaxing if it wasn’t for her drenched jeans, t-shirt and jacket.
To get more comfortable, Arys dismounted and took off her clothes, placing them upon the balloony shrubberies, under the hot sun. They would dry within half an hour at the most, she was sure. She only kept her underwear because she was too shy, despite being in the middle of nowhere.
The woman returned to the pond and continued to play with the creatures. She would have time for taking notes later. Now that most of her skin was exposed, she could fully experience the texture of those rubber ostriches whenever they brushed against her…
When she got thirty, Arys didn’t want to get out of the pool, because it was so tingly and cool. Instead of going to the jeep and drinking bottled water, she sipped straight from the oasis… and it was the best water she had ever drank. It was fresh and pure. It traveled down her throat smoothly, with a crystal aftertaste. She took another gulp, and another, and another.
The taste was “squeakalicious”. It spread through her body, making every cell from the center of her belly to the tips of her fingers feel very, very refreshed. It was like having an internal cooling system! Her muscles relaxed and all her cramps were gone. Every t and bone felt rejuvenated, with the elasticity of her youth!
Arys was so busy drinking oasis-water and playing with the Ostriches that she completely forgot her research and all of her problems. The natural disasters that plagued her thoughts were gone. The loneliness of everyday life had vanished. Her mind had no time to worry about that silly stuff. That was why she loved nature so much. She could leave the big cities behind and enjoy something much simpler.
Animals didn’t have to worry about the fate of mankind…Part 04
She lost track of time, only returning to her senses when her belly started to rumble. She was hungry after playing and swimming for countless hours. She patted her tummy gently, only to hear a hollow sound… hehe… funny.
However, for a reason unknown to her, Arys didn’t feel like fetching some of the rations she had in the jeep. Her mind was fantasizing about eating clouds, munching on rubber-bands, and drooling at the deliciousness of a round balloon. She simply approached one of the many shrubs around the oasis… plucked off a rubber leaf… and immediately put her lips on the hissing hole where the leaf used to be.
She sucked the plant’s gas, letting it travel down her throat and into her stomach, filling it more and more, overwhelmed by a wonderful sensation of tightness. The plant just kept on pumping, and she kept on letting its rubbery scent fill her beyond her normal capacity. Her belly stretched in all directions, gaining a perfectly round shape akin to a pregnancy… But she didn’t stop there. Her body craved more nourishment.
The woman’s torso expanded, getting lighter, rounder, and enormous. Rather than feeling stuffed, she felt even more hollow. Gravity also seemed gentler, getting almost to the point of pushing her upwards rather than downwards. She had to fight to keep herself on the hose, for her body was starting to push her backwards.
Once her lower body resembled a fully spherical beach ball. That was when she was finally satisfied.
Arys took her mouth off the hissing branch and resumed her playtime with the rubber birds. Now, her feet could no longer touch the bottom of the pond. Her body was so full of gas that she floated just like the other pool toys. She no longer had to worry about walking, just gently drifting in the small waves without a clear direction.
In fact, she couldn’t even feel her legs anymore. When she tried to move them, her body would simply wobble. Her underwear was floating a few meters behind her, no longer able to stick to her. But she didn’t care. Legs and underwear were overrated.
Arys got thirsty again, but she could no longer reach the water with her short arms. Her body was a buoy that couldn’t be easily maneuvered. So, she stiffened her neck and concentrated on reaching the water. Her neck extended amidst a dozen creaks and squeaks, until it was lengthy and flexible enough to get her only a few inches from the surface… She made a duck-face and her lips elongated forward, forming a round, shiny beak that allowed her to touch the delicious water.
– Squeak! – She said. – Squeak squeak!
As she lifted her head, the long neck now allowed her to have a better view of the surroundings. She bent down and nuzzled the other creatures, rubbing her beak and neck against their smooth, rubber surfaces. She had so much elasticity and control of her head now! She could tie a knot with her neck if she wanted to.
Now that her body was bouncy and smooth, the rubber creatures began to poke her with their rounded beaks, which made Arys giggle a lot. She tried pushing the creatures away, but her arms, compared to her huge belly, were very short. So, she held her breath and stiffened her belly.
Pressure went from her torso straight to her arms, causing them to puff out into wide, bubbly wings that were almost as large as herself. They looked like dozens of tubular balloons glued to one another, forming a pair of shiny and elastic sails. She used those huge new limbs to defend herself against the tickling, however, the creatures continued to tease her no matter how much she tried to shoo them.
The researcher was surrounded, so she flapped her arms fast and lifted off. She managed to get almost four meters into the air, thanks to her extremely light body and the warm gas inside her. She took a moment to enjoy the view, looking at the clearwater pond, the shiny latex-shrubberies, and the black and white pool toys that had become her friends. However, soon she lost her energy and plummeted down in slow motion, using her wings to glide… until… she landed right on top of another ostrich’s head.
The creature’s neck painlessly pushed her belly inwards, till it fully ed through, piercing a hole in the middle of Arys. That hole immediately stretched out with a loud SCHLOMPT, giving her torso an O-ring shape… Actually, a thick donut!
It was the best stretch ever! Her old body seemed like a cramped prison, while her new, wide one felt free and unconstrained. Having a wide hole felt like the most natural thing ever. How else would she be able to play with her fellow creatures if she didn’t have a hole like them?
She only had a fewel moments to enjoy the neck of the other ostrich rubbing against her inner circumference, like a gentle caress, before the pool-toy under her deflated, as expected.
– Squeak! – She had scored a point!
All her friends began to squeak and flap their wings to congratulate her!
Arys was so happy that a bunch of gas traveled to a specific place above her butt, pushing her latex skin outwards until a big, round tail puffed out into existence. A tail she immediately wagged left and right just to show everyone how much she enjoyed their company…
She used to be a shy, reserved person…
She used to enjoy being quiet, locked in a library…
Now she wanted to have fun and play with others…
Her problems seemed far, far away…
Maybe she had finally found her place…
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when one of her own rubber-kin fell down onto her, hugging her neck with their O-ring, scoring a point. There was a rush of adrenaline as her molecules vibrated and expanded, making her body feel tight and near its bursting point.
Her mind was taken by a primitive instinct to release. Her nozzle opened and Arys let all the air out, trying to sing a hissing melody as she deflated. Her submerged nozzle made bubbles in the water. Her skin wrinkled and relaxed. Her head got empty and serene. Her wings and tail flopped. Her whole body flattened…
She had successfully turned carbon-dioxide into latexilate-transformarite, spreading it to the water and the air, where it would remain inert until another biological form ingested it. She was doing her part to make the whole world rubbery, to make sure everyone got a chance to experience that. In a few centuries, everything would be a large pool, full of toys eager to play.
Her empty husk floated to the margin, only to have one of the shrub’s branches connect to her nozzle and fill her up again with more carbon-dioxide. The pressure allowed her body to be stiff and moveable again, like the pretty ostrich pool toy she was meant to be. There was barely a human thought left in her mind.
Arys was still Arys…
But not the human Arys…
Something else…
Something that could fit into nature…Part 05
The sun that once seemed blazing now hardly hurt Ary’s rubber skin. The air trapped inside her vessel was always at the perfect temperature, thanks to the insulation and the refreshing water in the pool. Weather had never felt so good.
As she carelessly drifted across the pound, pushed by the gentle wind, Ary’s head bobbed back and forth. Her thoughts were lighter now and she couldn't believe her life used to be so full of concerns. At least she believed it was, for it was difficult to recall what exactly those concerns were. All she needed to be happy was to be around her true kin: The Aer Anulum Struthionem family. Like a migrating bird, she had been guided to that place.
She would never feel lonely thanks to her playful mates, competing to see who could land onto the other’s neck, singing squeaky songs, bouncing on one another’s belly, wrapping their long necks into love coils, kissing with their rotund beaks, and many more fun squeaky activities. When they were feeling more calm, they squeaked and creaked about philosophical questions regarding life and the universe.
She could barely track the years. The pond stretched into rivers, forming a watery maze inside a huge jungle made of rubber and latex. The desert had been turned into a colorful paradise for gassy fauna and flora.
New friends ed the area, with uniquely round shapes that made them adorable: Pool toy alligators, pool toy hippos, pool toy gazellas, pool toy dolphins, and all sorts of cute.
The latexilate-transformarite, which was synthesized inside their very bodies, didn’t care whether it was absorbed by humans, animals or plants. Whatever it came into with would be bloated and assimilated. Human trash like plastic bottles, car tires, and polymer wrappings, were digested and turned into raw materials to build more living pool toys.
Many centuries later, Arys had with other kinds of fauna and flora: Things made of metal, which clanked and grinded, digging scrap yards for spare parts. Things made of fabric and cotton, like living plushies who loved to jump onto the backs of pool toys and ride them around. Things made of paper, who could quickly bend into complex origami and reshape themselves according to their will. Things made of ink, which oozed and bubbled around, fusing into ever growing masses of colorful blobs.
Humans were probably gone by now…
However, nature was still there…
Always adapting…
Always changing…
Always transforming…
By trial and error, nature would patiently try new life again…
As many times as necessary till a new race came into being…
A race that wouldn’t let a small few destroy everyone…
A race that would learn to play and love…
Squeak… squeak…Commission journal:
https://www.deviantart.com/phyrexia.....TION-889915891
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you just need to watch out for sea urchins though...
These rubber-liforms are very resistant.
Even when popped, they can regenerate and be re-inflated ^^