Neve opened the door to her apartment, leaning back to close it after entering. She let out a tired sigh and slowly slid against as she eased down to the floor. It wasn’t a bad day for the exhausted arctic fox girl, but it certainly was long and draining. Her thoughts drifted to just going to bed, but she still hadn’t gotten used to the ricketty, uncomfortable mattress set she was given. She rubbed her paw over her eyes, cradling her pile of mail with the other.

Ever since moving to the city, the light blue-furred canid had to work countless hours to make ends-meet. She loved her job, baking and delivering goods around to customers, but it put in for tiring hard work. After a moment, Neve glanced down at the mail still in her arm.

It was the usual fare of bills, some random pointless advertising flyers and such. However, there was one small, 2 inch cubed box mixed in with the mail. This one naturally caught her attention the most, her vivid sapphire eyes scanning over the label.

After noticing the sender’s name, Neve began to open the package eagerly. It had been quite a while since she last received something from her eccentric aunt. The parcels tended to contain rather peculiar trinkets from around the world. It was hard to predict what would be in this one, but the sweet fox was sure it was something amazing. To be considerate, she pulled out the included letter first and began to read:

‘To my dear sweet niece,
Oh I how wish you were with me here! These mountains are incredible and the village is so peaceful and serene! The natives have really accepted me in and life is just a delight here. I hope things aren’t too hectic over yonder, you big city girl. I can only imagine it’s been stressful with all the people there, so I’ve included a unique present for you to unwind with whenever.

I’ll be honest, I’m still not sure what it is, dear. The village elder was a bit vague when he gave it to me, but that might have been the language barrier. You know me, I always have the toughest time with understanding new dialects, haha. The adorable codger told me that this little orb will bring ‘absolute relaxation by a peck(?) of honey’. Not sure what he meant, but he also said to just let it do its thing and trust it. I think it might be a load of hooey with the little thing, tried a few things my self, but I’m certain you can figure it out.
Anyhow, I’m being dragged by a little youth to a dance they’re performing tonight. I hope this finds you in good spirits, but if not, hopefully this brings some good tidings. Take care, kiddo!
Best wishes,
Aunt Monica’

Neve set the letter down on the floor, curious about what exactly her aunt had sent. She overturned the tiny cube, dropping an even smaller orb into her open hand. It was incredibly lightweight and felt like it might blow away if there was a breeze. The arctic fox examined the pink sphere closer, not sure what to make of it.

Its texture was smooth and slightly squishy when she pushed delicately on it. She could feel its softness, much like a microfiber pillow she had on her couch. Eager to solve what her aunt couldn’t figure out, Neve set out to the kitchen.

The blue vulpine opened a few cupboards after entering her small cooking space. A few spices and such were scattered about, but her search ended upon finding a small container of honey. Neve figured her aunt probably had tried dosing a dab of honey to the little pink ball, but it was worth trying again. She carefully poured a tiny spot of the sweet substance on her finger and eyed the orb. Setting it on the counter, Neve slowly let the dab of honey drop.

Upon contact, the honey seemed to absorb into the ball. The fox leaned closer, scrutinizing the process. However, after a few minutes, nothing happened. Not one to give up easily, Neve left the kitchen and headed towards her computer to research.

An hour later though, her investigation came up fruitless. A peck was a measurement after all, but even after another direct application of honey to the pink orb, nothing changed. The same absorption would generate, but it produced nothing more. Searching on the little sphere proved nothing as well, it seemed to be almost non-existent. She racked her mind over what her aunt’s elder could have meant in the letter.

After pursing her lips for a moment, it suddenly occurred to her. What if the peck was that silly synonym for kiss? It’d be strange, sure, but what about this wasn’t already? Hesitant yet willing to try, Neve returned to the kitchen once more.

The pink orb was still on the counter, the same as it had been when she first opened the package. Eyeing the curiosity for a moment, she questioned whether this was a good idea or not. Her aunt would never send her anything dangerous, and it was a seemingly harmless experiment. If anything, she just felt silly at the idea of putting honey on her lips and kissing a tiny ball.

Throwing caution away, Neve placed a dab of honey on her lips, cupped the orb in both her paws and kissed it lightly. At first, nothing happened at all. She eyed it curiously, but the orb remained still.

Just about when the blue fox was gonna set it down and call it a day, the pink ball suddenly quivered. Startled by the change, Neve dropped it onto the floor. She backed away quickly, watching the tiny orb slowly grow larger.

Before long, the once palm-sized sphere was now as big as a beach ball. It remained in the same spot, but continued to expand more and more. Neve couldn’t believe her eyes, unsure of what else to do but watch. The pink orb shined from the overhead lighting and, even stranger, continued to grow.

Neve backed away more, noticing the sphere was even bigger than her now. The blue fox worried that it would get stuck to the walls and make a mess somehow. However, her worries were quelled when the bubble simply remained in place. Stranger so, she had a small desire to touch it. A huge part of her mind screamed to not even go near it, but her curiosity was won out.

Inching carefully toward it, Neve slowly raised her paw. Even slower, she placed it onto the pink bubble. Gently, her paw sunk into it and was squished by the soft texture. The sensation startled her, causing her to pull back. The bubble held for a moment, but released her paw.

Catching her breath back, the blue fox looked at her paw. Nothing had changed about the furry appendage, no harm done at all. Her eyes darted back to the sunken portion of the bubble. It remained still for a moment, but soon filled back into its original round shape. Neve pondered.

While it was just a split second, the sensation on her paw inside the bubble was rather lovely. Its softness was almost soothing and massage-like. Once again, the tempting thought to feel it entered her mind. After all, it was really not a threat at all and rather innocent. Just a giant pink bubble in her kitchen.

Dashing worries aside, she approached the squishy orb once again. Slowly, Neve placed her paw onto the smooth surface. Again, the bubble sunk and began to seemingly suck her paw in. That same relaxing sensation coursed through her arm and she felt herself slouch down a bit. Wanting to feel more, she gently tried pushing her hind paw through the bottom.

Sure enough, it soon was slowly absorbed in along with her fore paw. Neve cooed softly, enjoying the hugging sensation. However, the blue fox suddenly lost her balance and fell forward. Her impact was cushioned immensely by the bubble, but she soon began to completely sink in. Neve’s worry spiked, but almost instantly washed away.

As the bubble pressed around her, waves of relaxation coursed through her body. The gentle hold reminded her of a fond embrace, encompassing her more and more as she sunk in. Neve didn’t fight the bubble at all, her lower half and chest brought almost lovingly into a soft squeeze within the orb. Her eyes fluttered open and shut slowly, struggling to stay awake.

Eventually, the pink bubble took in her shoulders and neck, squishing softly against her cheeks and ears. Neve absolutely loved it though as she nestled comfortably inside. Although guessing earlier that the bubble might have been hollow inside, she was delighted to find that it was quite full and very soft. It was like she had sank into a giant beanbag. The wonderful difference though was that this felt even better.

Neve relaxed more and more as the massaging sensations over her fur continued. In fact, she felt like taking a nap within the comfortable bubble. She didn’t ever question it when the giant pink sphere began to gently hover above the floor. Her body was held lovingly, and she completely loved the feeling. Not a single worry entered her mind as she felt herself dosing off. The cute blue fox’s last thought before drifting to slumber was back to her aunt’s words in the letter: “absolute relaxation.” Well, she could definitely get used to this. Now if only she could find someone to buy that awful old bed of her’s.

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Dumb little story to kinda explain why I've commissioned what I have. It's probably still weird to everyone, but it seems so relaxing and soothing. It's like a giant beanbag you just sink into and nestle all comfortably. I dunno, sorry.

Adorable cover art by http://www.furaffinity.net/user/hatarla
Full image here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15814584/