The Price of Disobedience (F/m Unwilling Shrinking, Soft Vore, Implied Digestion)

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The nights at sea were always dark, cold, and wet. Tavi knew this all too well from personal experience, but tonight was something else altogether. He had been at sea for only two weeks now, having joined the crew of the pirate ship Dracul II, an imposing full rigged vessel all it’s own though it had a much darker reputation in addition. Their leader captain Aerona was said to be a powerful witch who had once sailed the endless sea of the stars on a vessel beyond comprehension. People said that captain Aerona used solid shields of light and powerful weapons that shoot fire in the place of cannon balls to both defend her ship and attack others. In the months since the Dracul II had set sail it had gained a chilling reputation. Those who saw it’s red and black flag in the distance knew to set sail in the other direction and pray to the gods for either a merciful escape or a quick death.

Tavi had joined the crew only a few days prior, having heard of the opportunity from a friend who was already a member of the crew and could vouch for him. He had come aboard hoping that his reputation as an excellent navigator would help him jump the ranks, but it seemed reputation meant little to the captain. He had been stuck on the night watch since day one. It was a boring job only made worse by the chilly conditions. Tavi tried to forget where he was for a moment, thinking back to his job at the Inn he had left. Sure, it barely payed enough to keep him in food and drink, but every night he could crawl into a dry bed next to a roaring fire.

A particularly large wave crashed into the ship, breaking the canine from his thoughts and drenching his cloak and fur in icy water which made him shiver violently. They had been traveling south for some time, away from the warmer equatorial waters and towards the southern winter lands. The nights had only gotten colder since. Tavi knew that if he had to keep this up he could catch some cold, and out on the sea any sickness could be a death sentence. This was no fine upstanding pub. No sick days allowed. You either worked until you got better, or dropped dead.

The canine shivered again, shaking his head to try and dry himself. As soon as he did this, another wave struck the deck and drenched him further, chilling him down to the bone. “Fuck this.” he said, picking up his lantern which had mercifully stayed lit despite the damp. He looked over the soaked and deserted deck and fixed his eyes on the small galley in the fore, just the place to ride out the rest of his watch! The cook wouldn't be up for another few hours and by that time he would be relieved by the next watchmen and allowed to crawl into his relatively warm bunk for at least a few hours of sleep.

He made his way into the small kitchen and shut the door behind him, basking in the dry conditions of the small space. Tavi let the damp fur cloak slide from his back and drop to the floor with a heavy thud. Sure, it was a little colder without the cloak but the weight off of his back was nice. He glanced around until he found what he was looking for, the cast iron stove used to cook the rare hot meals that they would get while they were in port with access to raw meat. Within minutes, the canine had a fire roaring inside of the stove which filled the galley with flickering light and the most beautiful heat he had ever felt. Tavi groaned as he sat on the floor next to the fire, removing his shirt and pants and placing them nearby in the hopes that they would be dry by the time he had to venture back out for the end of his watch. As time passed, the small space grew warmer, the air thick with the smell of the wood fire. Only the captain was allowed a fire in her quarters. The crew quarters -which weren’t much more than a collection of bunks at the very aft hold of the ship- had a fireplace but they were strictly forbidden to use it unless the temperature became cold enough to freeze water. It struck him that he could possibly get into trouble for using the galley stove, but he would make sure to replace the wood before leaving. Nobody would ever need know that he’d spent his watch in comfort. Tavi closed his eyes for a time and slumped back against a cabinet, letting his mind wander and dreaming of the days when his duties would be in the daylight under the warm summer sun.

The next thing he knew, Tavi was receiving a sharp kick in his ribs which immediately jerked him awake with a curse. “Who the fuck-”

“Get your ass up you idiot!” a voice yelled above him. It was the ship’s cook; The arctic fox that had been rumored to be one of the captain's right hand men since before she’d ‘fallen from the stars’. “Come on, up! The fuck do you think you’re doing in here?!” The fox yelled again, aiming another kick at Tavi which got him in the leg as he scrambled to stand.

“Stop that! I just came in here for a second to…”

“For a second? Right! They’ve been lookin’ for you for an hour. Salls came to relieve you of your watch and guess what… he couldn’t find you!” the fox shook his head and looked over at the stove. The once roaring wood inside had gone out, reduced to only embers. “Do you know how much wood the captain allows me to use every month? About that fuckin’ much.” he said, pointing at the embers with a scowl. “Now you’ve used it up in one night just to warm your filthy ass. Think the crew will be happy with you when they find out why they don’t get a hot meal for a while?”

Tavi looked back at the stove nervously and swallowed. The kicks from the fox would be nothing compared to the beating he would get from the rest of the crew if they found out. “Maybe..” Tavi started. “Maybe they don’t need to know. Just say something else happened to the wood and the captain might give you a little more! I can make it worth your while…”

The fox raised an eyebrow curiously. “Worth my while how? Got any gold on you? Maybe a nice shiny opal?”

The canine replied. “No, but I’d be glad to pay you in some other way… a favor maybe?” he asked nervously, trying not to put too much emphasis on the word ‘favor’ even though they both knew what he was talking about.

“Keep your dick to yourself if that’s what you mean. You’re not my type.” the cook said with a grin. “Besides, I get enough ‘favors’ from the captain already. I don’t need any from some low life swabbie. Speaking of the captain, I think we’ll pay her a little visit. I think she’s still awake and she loves doling out discipline in the morning.”

Tavi’s ears pressed back and his tail shot between his legs. What had he gotten himself into! It was bad enough to get called in front of any normal captain for a transgression, but one that had a reputation for being severe to those who had wronged her…

“Come on!” the fox said, grabbing him by his shoulder and pulling him towards the door. Tavi wrenched his arm out of the fox’s grasp and took a step back.

“Can’t we…” before he could finished his sentence, the cook pulled a pistol from his belt, though it was unlike any gun the canine had ever seen. It was small and made of a silvery metal that could have been the purest silver he’d ever seen. When the fox pointed it at him, Tavi knew to shut his mouth and follow.

The walk across the long deck towards the captain’s quarters was silent and felt like an eternity. Tavi’s mind was going through all of the usual punishments. Starvation, flogging, sleep deprivation. But what would a witch captain be capable of? He shook his head and tried to focus on more hopeful thoughts. Rumors were always inflated on behalf of captains to make them seem larger than life. Maybe thats all this magic talk was. It was true, the captain wasn’t very imposing on her own. Sure, she was tall but her slim vulpine figure, covered in tan fur and strange clothes that very well could have been from the stars never struck Tavi as imposing. The only thing he could really think of as intimidating was her deep red hair. He’d never seen hair in such a colour.

As soon as they reached the door, the arctic fox knocked three times and waited. A woman’s voice followed the knocks. “Come.”

Tavi shuddered. She sounded angry… or at the very least annoyed. Had she slept at all the previous night? The last thing he wanted was for a sleep deprived captain to decide his punishment. The arctic fox pushed the door open and led him inside. Tavi had never seen the captains quarters, though his first impression of them sent a chill down his spine. The room wasn’t lit by candles. Instead, bright white lights that shone like the sun were spaced around on the ceiling, and one of them sat upon her desk. The room was warm, though no traces of a burning fire could be seen. Only a device on the wall which blew hot air from some unknown source. None of this fit very well with the canine’s rumor theory. Perhaps she actually was a witch…

The cook shut the door behind him, and only then did the captain look up. She did look a little tired, but the stern, angry look Tavi had been expecting wasn’t there. Her face was soft and calm. “Captain, I found the swabbie in my kitchen. He used up all my wood to take a nap during his watch.” the cook said. “Thought you might like to deal with him~” he ended with a smile. The captain nodded and almost smiled herself. That was enough to put a little shake in the canine’s boots.

“I see. Thank you for bringing this to me Chell. You can go.” she said.

“Not a problem Aerona.” the cook said. This took Tavi aback a little. It was naval tradition that you never called the captain by her first name on her own ship, even if you were her mate or family. The captain however didn’t seem to mind. “Ah, and while I’m here.. what would you like for breakfast?”

“It’s time for breakfast already?” she asked, looking over at a large clock which decorated her room and sighing softly. It was then that she looked at Tavi with a peculiar gaze, almost as if he were a menu. “Do we still have any of the cherry tomatoes left?” she asked, looking back at the cook. Who grinned back at her.

“Saved the last vine just for you.” he said.

“You know just how to get on my good side, don’t you?” she asked, swishing her tail around as she stood. She was a tall woman, probably over 6 feet. She had a nice build to herself which Tavi couldn’t help but find rather attractive, especially now that he noticed the captain’s outfit was a thin almost opaque nightgown. His eyes traveled over the captain’s body and must have stayed fixed on her chest for some time, because the next thing he knew, the cook was gone and they were alone. “Don’t tell me this is the first pair of breasts you’ve seen?” the captain said, looking back at Tavi and now wearing a look of some slight annoyance.

Tavi’s body froze and he met her eyes. “N...no captain. But they’re… by far the… nicest I’ve seen.” he said, wanting to curse himself the moment the words came out of his mouth. His intention was to flatter the captain, but he knew he’d probably only managed to sound like some perverted street urchin. To his extreme surprise, she did actually smile a little, but immediately turned around and strode to a tall cabinet on the other side of the room.

“Unlike our dear cook, flattery won’t get you anywhere. At least not in this situation.” she said with a slight chill in her voice. “Why weren’t you at your post?”

The canine swallowed and decided not to follow, standing exactly where she had left him. “I er… the seas were getting rough and I’d been soaked to the bone Captain. I just needed to rest for a moment and… I fell asleep.” he said, leaving out the bit about the fire and hoping that she would forget.

“I see. You decided that getting a little wet was reason to abandon the watch and flee to comfort? Mr. Tavi… do you think this is a pleasure vessel?” she asked, still with her back to him. The fox opened one of the doors to the cabinet and began to search around for something. Could it be a whip?

“No mam! It’s a pirate vessel.” Tavi said, sounding a little like a child giving an answer to an obvious question.

“Yes, a pirate vessel. And as pirates, we don’t have the luxury of stopping at every port we pass to gather supplies like food. And wood...”

Tavi swallowed again. Apparently she hadn’t forgotten about his little fire. He wasn’t sure what to say, and instead stood ramrod straight, not moving an inch.

“On any other ship, you would be whipped or perhaps even thrown into the sea and left to the piranhas. I think you’ll find my version of punishment a little more unique~” she said, turning around with another of the silvery pistols in her hand. This one was a little bigger than the cooks and sported several emerald looking jewels on the muzzle and hilt.

“P...please don’t shoot me.” Tavi said, his legs quaking again. “It was a mistake! I’ll… I’ll give up my share of the next plunder to pay for the wood. Please just don’t kill me!

The captain chuckled and shook her head. “This gun isn’t made to kill. I could tell you what it does, but I think I’ll show you instead.” With that, she began to stride across the room. Tavi decided his best chance would be to run, but before he could even turn completely he heard a strange sound from behind and felt his entire body charged with a powerful shock. The world started to spin around him and he had the dizzying sense that he was falling to the ground which was taking far too long to reach him. Finally, he hit the wood floor with a thud and groaned, his hands shooting to his head as it throbbed unpleasantly. What had just happened? Was that gun supposed to be some sort of magical torture device? Every inch of skin and even his fur seemed to tingle unpleasantly.

Tavi lifted his head to look up at the captain, hoping for some sort of explanation or to at least beg her not to shoot him again. Instead of meeting with the sight of her face, the canine saw only a pair of giant, tan paws in front of him. He froze still once again, his eyes traveling up along the captain’s body until he was met with her face which seemed to be hundreds of feet above him. It didn’t take him much time to realize what had happened. “Y….you really are a witch!” he cried, shaking from fear a little too violently to attempt getting up and running again. What would the point be anyway? She wouldn’t need to move very fast to catch him.

The captain now wore a wide grin on her face as she reached down to pick up her newly shrunken crewmember, wrapping her fingers around him gently so as not to crush him. “I don’t know who started that silly rumor.” She said, shaking her head. “I’m not a witch. Just from a world much less primitive than this one.” she said, turning and walking towards her desk. Before Tavi had a chance to process what she had said, the captain opened the door to a small mouse cage that sat on her desk and tossed him inside, shutting it behind him with a click. The inside was rather plain, lined with leaves on the bottom and containing a small thimble which he supposed was meant to be a privy.

“I don’t understand!” he said, jumping up and running towards the bars. The captain leaned down, her face so close to the cage that it made Tavi jump back a little. It was gigantic, her eyes acting like a mirror, showing him just how scared he looked. He could see her nostrils flare with each breath and even though her smile didn’t look too threatening, the sight of her sharp and slightly yellowed teeth reminded him of ivory daggers.

“This is the brig on my fair little ship. You’ll spend a week in here living off of my scraps and entertaining me if I so wish. Think of yourself as my pet.” she chuckled, setting the strange gun down and walking back to the wardrobe. Tavi couldn’t help but watch from behind as she pulled off the thin nightgown and tossed it into a hamper. It seemed the captain didn’t mind her pets seeing her naked. She donned her usual outfit, a tight fitting suit made of a silk looking material, pants, and a flashy white jacket covered in metals as shiny and pure as the one her gun was composed of. Once she was properly dressed she turned back to the cage. “Well, I think I’ll go and pick up my breakfast. I would suggest you start thinking of ways to entertain me. Boring pets have been known to die of starvation~” she said with a soft smile before striding to the door and leaving the canine to his thoughts. Tavi slumped back onto the leafy floor, dazed by the insanity of what had just happened. He was 2 inches tall, sitting in a cage on his captain’s desk.

It took a minute for him to focus his mind and stand back up, looking around at the captain’s room with a new perspective. As his eyes traveled over the desk, full of maps and papers, they spotted something that made his heart jump. The gun! She’d left the gun on the desk! Tavi ran to the door of the cage and rattled it, wondering if he would be able to break the metal somehow. To his delight he found that there was no lock. He didn’t care to think why he wasn’t locked in, and instead focused on the task at hand. It took some doing at his size, but the canine reached through the bars and pushed on the pin that kept the door shut. His heart pounded as he strained, but with a shout of success he managed to fling the door open and jump out onto the desk. Tavi ran to the gun and looked it over, trying to see if there was some mechanism to reverse the process. Was it so wild to think that a gun that could shrink people could do the opposite? He reached out and pressed a hand against one of the crystals on the hilt, but immediately regretted the decision.

“UNAUTHORIZED BIOMETRIC SIGNATURE”

A voice had come from nowhere and caused the canine to jump back a few feet, clutching his heart and nearly hyperventilating. The gun had spoken in some unnatural voice and almost made him think he had been caught.

Before Tavi could build up the courage to approach the gun again, a creak from above made his blood freeze. He didn’t dare to look up as he heard the approaching footsteps of the captain, who walked over to the desk casually and set her plate down, not seeming to notice or care that her pet had escaped. She had set the plate just a few inches away and sat down at her desk with a soft sigh. It was then that he could feel her eyes looking at him from behind.

“Most are smart enough to stay in the cage. You’re either very stupid or very brave.” she said, plucking him off the desk and dropping him onto the plate. She grabbed the loaf of bread next to him and tore off a small chunk, dropping it in front of him. “Eat.” she said, plucking one of the tomatoes from the plate and popping it into her mouth. Cautiously, the canine reached down and grabbed the bread. It was barely a crumb, but at his size it was more than most crew usually got in a day.

“I thought…” he said, though he decided not to finish his sentence.

“Thought what? That disobedient pets don’t get to eat? It doesn’t matter now Mr. Tavi. You might as well eat your fill. It will still end up in my stomach by the end of my meal.”

Tavi processed those last words slowly, trying to understand their meaning. It hit him like a brick after a moment. She had put him on the plate with the rest of her food. She was going to eat him! The canine dropped the bread and looked around, wondering where he could run to. The desk was so far off of the ground that jumping would probably just kill him. Would that be preferable to being eaten? It seemed his legs thought so. Before the canine had even completely decided they were carrying him off of the plate and across the desk towards it’s edge. Before he could make it, the captain reached out and casually plucked him up, ruining his attempt at escape.

“No! Please! I’ll go back in the cage and stay there. I won’t disobey you again! I swear!” the canine cried, struggling against the hand which gripped much tighter than before. Without another word, the fox tossed her prey into her maw with a gentle flick of the wrist. Tavi landed on her tongue with a splat and turned to look back out through her lips. The flesh inside was warm and slippery, coated in saliva and smelling strongly of tomato and a more powerful morning breath. He tried to jump from within the captain’s maw, but was stopped when the tongue lifted in front of him, blocking his escape. “Oh god, let me out!” he shouted, pounding at the tongue as hard as his fists could manage. To his relief the tongue began to lower, but before he could even think to jump out, something else was blocking his exit. The captain popped another of the small tomatoes into her mouth, letting it roll onto the row of sharp teeth to the canine’s left. To his horror, Tavi watched the jaws close around him and heard a sickening squirt as the fruit was crushed with little effort. His eyes were transfixed as she began to chew. The vulpine’s sharp teeth took only seconds to turn the tomato into a pile of mush which oozed onto the tongue around him, adding a coat of sticky red juice to his already drool soaked fur. How long did she plan to toy with him before finally chewing him up like that tomato? To his regret, his question was answered just a moment later. The jaws finally snapped shut around him, pinning him between the fox’s tongue and palate. The giant muscle started to rub over his body, tasting him and coating him even further until every inch was covered in the thoroughly masticated tomato. He tried his best to fight the tongue off, but his struggles only seemed to make the captain push harder against him, knocking the wind out of him a few times. “Stop!” he shouted, trying to crawl back towards the fox’s lips. To his relief, the licking did stop, but it was replaced with a much worse sensation. Tavi could feel the entire world below him moving, gravity suddenly pulling him backward instead of down. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he realized what was happening, but it was far too late. There was nothing to grab onto as the tongue arched up once again, pushing him towards the throat in one smooth motion.

He continued to slide back along the smooth tongue, until he felt something brush up against his back and everything dropped out from under him. He felt himself fall into a squishy pit which immediately collapsed around him and pushed him downward with a wet, sickening gulp. The canine let out another panicked scream as the throat squeezed from all sides, making it nearly impossible to breathe. He tried to push back, but the solid muscle didn’t budge at all, and if anything squeezed even harder. Just as he thought he couldn’t take another second of this, Tavi’s paws pressed up against something solid and were forced through a tight ring followed by the rest of his tiny body.

As soon as he cleared the ring, the canine dropped a few feet and landed with a splash inside a shallow pool of thick sludge. His heart was pounding in his chest as he tried to stand up, losing his balance just a moment later and face planting into the sludge again. “Help!” he shouted, waiting for his eyes to adjust. Sadly, even his excellent canine vision was useless in the completely lightless environment of the captain’s stomach. “Please let me out! I’ve learned my lesson!” he screamed, crawling forward through the mixture of tomato, saliva, and stomach acid until his face hit one of the solid walls of muscle. he started to pound on this as well, making it clear that he wanted out, even though he knew the captain didn’t care. He wasn’t even sure she could hear him over the deafening pounding of her heart and the rushing of air in and out of her lungs that served to remind him that he was trapped deep in her depths. His shouts were returned by the stomach, which let out a deafening growl as it pushed him onto his back, the undulating walls of muscle slowly churning the mixture around. The canine’s ears shot up as a new squishing sound came from above and a fresh clump of chewed tomato landed on his head. Soon after, a torrent of warm liquid poured in from above, smelling a lot like green tea and making the pool that was captain Aerona’s breakfast rise up around Tavi’s chest. At this point, the canine decided to stay silent. It hit him that nothing he could say would change his fate. Because he couldn’t handle a little stupid sea spray, he was going to die here like a piece of meat in the fox’s hungry gut.

Food continued to drop in around him, forcing him to swim once the captain had eaten all of the tomatoes and the small loaf of bread. By that point, the stomach had gone into overdrive, churning like a vicious sea and constantly squeezing the canine between folds. He could feel the acids soaking into his fur and flesh now, tingling over his entire body. He was thankful for that at least. He’d expected digestion to feel like dropping into a fire.

After some time, the captain seemed to have finished her meal. Her stomach was pretty well filled and the fumes coming from the acid covered walls were starting to make Tavi feel faint. He wished they would work faster and let him out of his misery. As if the captain had heard his thoughts, a strange whistling sound came from above and the entire stomach seemed to collapse in around him as the captain let out a long but silent belch. One final groan from the stomach walls filled the canine’s ears as the lack of air pushed his mind into the darkness and he sank below the surface with the rest of the captain’s breakfast.