Chapter 1 - Welcoming the New Villager!
	It was a quiet Friday in the island town of Marborough. The ambient sounds of bugs were heard in the grass and carried on the gentle wind to the ears of those who would hear them. Here and there, the occasional villager could be seen strolling through the town, each with an agenda of their own. One might be on their way to while the day away at the riverside with a fishing rod, while another might be keeping an eye out for someone they planned to have a talk with, while yet another would be doing their part to keep the island looking good by clearing out any stray weeds. Everything was calm and there was nothing new to disturb the normal flow of life. That is, until the unmistakable sound of an airplane engine started to fill the air in the distance. A new arrival was about to drop in, whether to visit or to stay was anyone’s guess.
The newly-arrived cat stepped out of the tiny island airport and took in a full breath of the salty air. His name was Mystery and he had dark gray fur with a head of brown hair parted on top. He was a rather active individual who enjoyed going out and being among nature. He went wherever the wind blew him and didn’t allow things to bother him too much. He walked up the dock and set foot on the soil which felt nice and warm. He looked around at the trees with their leaves rustling in the breeze and could see that some had peaches and others had some beehives. He was quite adept at gathering honey, so he was glad to see that he would be able to get some straight from the source here, too.
He wandered further from the dock to get a closer look at the trees when he heard a voice calling for him in the distance. He looked around, but didn’t see anyone right away.
“Hey! Over here!” it shouted. Mystery walked further toward the center of the island to find the source of the voice. As it turned out, it was Tom Nook, the tanooki who owned the airline he just flew on. He also happened to be the realtor who was going to be introducing him to his new home.
“Hey, Mr. Nook!” Mystery called out, “Good to see you!”
“Likewise, Mystery!” Tom replied, “But don’t call me Mr. Nook, just Tom will suffice, hm? Anyway, I’m glad to see that your journey was safe.”
“Yes, it was, thank you, Tom.”
“Good! Right! I imagine that you’re positively itching to see your new home. Unfortunately, I have some bad news.”
“Oh no! Did something happen to it?”
“Goodness no, nothing happened to the house, it’s just that the villager who was going to move out changed his mind and is staying.”
“Aw…”
Mystery’s face took on a disappointed look. He was very much looking forward to living on this island after everything that he had heard of it up to this point. He didn’t want to end up houseless, but the thought started to creep into his mind which made him a bit anxious.
“Chin up, though! I’ve got an ace up my sleeve!” Tom said with a smile, “There’s another home available! It’s ready for you to move in right away since nobody has lived in it for years.”
Mystery perked up at the news. He was glad that he would still be able to move in, even if it wasn’t the house that he was originally planning on buying. The mental images of what the home could look like started swimming through his mind. Was the home falling apart since it had been vacant for years? Was it tiny? Was it too expensive for any other villager to be able to afford? He had to know!
“Alright, I’m interested. Let’s see it.” Mystery finally said.
“Great! This way, my good sir!” Tom replied.
The tanooki led the way through the trees down the long path. Mystery was keeping track of where each fruit and honey tree were located so he could come back later and harvest them as needed. He noticed that every beehive was chock full of honey and looked undisturbed. It seemed that none of the other villagers who lived here were skilled in gathering honey, which worked out nicely for him since he could make a business of it.
The pair eventually wound their way to a river and walked alongside it, the water babbling gently by. Mystery could see the shadowy outline of a fish swimming against the flow and wondered if he would find another villager who would get him into fishing. A small waterfall emerged from around a bend which the cat found rather exciting. The last place he lived didn’t have such a thing and was rather dull in comparison. They climbed the slope next to the waterfall to get to the plateau above where they came upon a small stone bridge. Crossing this bridge, a tree larger than any he had seen yet on this island started to come into view. His ears perked up in interest. Tom looked back at him and smiled, noticing his interest.
“That tree is the mark.” Tom said.
“Wow…” Mystery breathed, “I’d have a grand view if I got to see THAT every morning!”
“Oh, it’s even better than that, my friend.” Tom teased, not fully revealing just how close to the tree Mystery would really be if he accepted the home.
The pair passed by a home that was occupied by a squirrel tending to her garden and watering the flowers. She looked up from her work to see the new arrival waving at her. After a moment of hesitation, she waved back and gave a weak smile before resuming her work. He didn’t see her roll her eyes because Tom was showing yet another prospective villager the house that nobody wanted. When would he finally give up his fruitless attempt?
At last, they got close enough to the towering tree that Mystery could see that part of its height was due to it being on its own small hill. He also saw the mailbox in front of the hill just off a well-trodden path leading to a hole in the southern hillside. He realized just how close the house was in relation to the tree and he paused. It was not really a house as he imagined it so much as a burrow in the hill.
Walking around the hill, more details started to fill themselves in. Going clockwise, he saw a small circular window facing the West to pick up the setting evening sun. Rounding the bend, a small back door was facing northwest and could easily be missed from any other angle. Continuing around the back, he found another window, this one facing East so that the house would get some sunrise every morning. Finding his way back around to the front, Tom Nook was waiting by the mailbox, rocking back and forth on his feet.
“Well? What do you think? Want to see the inside?” he asked inquisitively.
“... It’s not exactly what I was expecting, but it has its charm. I’ll check it out anyway.” the cat answered after a short pause.

Smiling, Tom led the way into the burrow, crawling forward through the hole that served as a front door, Mystery ducking in behind him. It was a comfortable fit and he was glad that he was of average size. An overweight villager might have a bit of trouble with it. He was sure that was part of the reason nobody had lived here in years, but he kept that thought to himself.
Looking around at the interior, it appeared very cozy and well-maintained for a place that had been vacant. The roots of the tree above formed a sturdy ceiling that had no danger of collapsing which was a comforting thought. The natural dirt walls would provide insulation to keep the interior cool in the summer and warm in the winter. There were no separate chambers in the burrow. It was a completely open floor plan, which meant that he would be able to decorate it any way he wanted and could arrange his furniture as he pleased. He half suspected that Tom kept the place clean to keep up appearances and make it as appealing as possible to anybody that he showed it to. Nevertheless, the more he saw of the place, the more it grew on him. Tom could smell a deal on the air…
Leaving through the back door, they made their way back to the mailbox on the South side. Tom turned to Mystery and gave him a broad smile.
“Now that you’ve seen it up close, what do you REALLY think, hm?” he asked, hoping to hear a positive response.
“At first, I wasn’t too sure. Now that I’ve seen it all the way around and through, I’ll say…”
A long pause hung in the air before Mystery met Tom’s wide smile with one of his own.
“I’ll take it!”
Tom’s grin grew even more broad, if that were possible. He gave a small, happy jump and what could pass as a dance.
“Excellent! I knew you were the right fit for this one!” he said triumphantly with a celebratory chuckle. “I’ll get the paperwork ready right away! Feel free to start unpacking while I go back to my office. I’ll be back later today.”
Tom left back down the path towards the part of town where all the businesses were located. With an air of excitement, Mystery looked up at the tall tree that comprised his roof, nodded with satisfaction, then entered the burrow through the small front door. He went to the West facing window and looked out to admire the view. Digging into his pockets, he pulled out what looked like a leaf at first glance, but when he dropped it to the floor in front of him, a wooden bed frame sprung out in its place. Taking hold of the frame, he scooted it into the corner so that the window aligned with the foot of the bed. He brought out another set of leaves and dropped them in the middle of the frame, giving rise to a mattress, a green blanket, and matching pillows.
“Perfect…” he whispered, “Now for the rest.”
He proceeded to unload his pockets throughout the burrow, each leaf hitting the floor in carefully considered places and filling the space with an assortment of furniture. A burgundy sofa was situated in front of the East window with a large, ornate rug of many colors in a pleasing pattern in the middle of the room. He placed a wood table with 4 matching blue chairs towards the northeast part of the room with the kitchen and pantry lining the northern wall right next to the back door.

It didn’t take long at all for him to make the burrow feel like home. He adjusted furniture placement as needed until at last he was satisfied. He flopped down comfortably on the sofa and stretched out his limbs, ready to relax and get used to his new surroundings. After about half an hour, he heard the familiar voice of Tom Nook ring out through his front door.
"I'm back with the papers, Mystery!" he said, peering in with a grin. Mystery got up off of the couch and went to take the papers and read over them. It was a standard contract, promising to pay the mortgage, but it didn't appear to have any deadlines. He could pay it off as late as he wanted, just as long as he eventually did so. He took a pen out of his pocket and signed on the dotted line at the bottom of the last page before handing it back to Tom.
"Great! I'll make a copy of these for your records and send them in the mail. With that, I must be going. Gotta check in on some other business, hm? Welcome home and I'll see you around!"
"Thanks again, Tom, and I'm sure I'll see you later!" Mystery replied, bidding the tanooki a good night. He went to his newly arranged kitchen and made some dinner for himself, sat at his table, and ate in peaceful silence. He was exhausted and ready to go to bed for the day. Looking out the western window again, he watched the sun set over the horizon. He got the feeling that this would be the start of some interesting times and he was very excited to begin his new life here. With that comforting thought, he got out of his clothes, slipped under the covers on his bed and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 2 - Let's Meet the Neighbors!
	Mystery woke up right when the sun started to peek over the eastern horizon. He sat up, yawned, stretched his arms over his head, and got out of bed. He always started his day with some light stretches so that he wouldn't pull a muscle later if he had to exert himself. He spent almost 10 minutes going through the familiar motions before getting dressed and making his way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast: a simple plate of eggs, buttered toast, and roasted tomatoes with a glass of water. He finished this meal then washed the pan, the plate, and utensils.
	Now that he had begun his day properly, he ducked out of his back door to explore the island. His plan was to get a lay of the land and see what all natural resources were available as well as introduce himself to all of his new neighbors. He started his journey walking East. He passed by a few trees that had the telltale buzzing sound of bees working in their hives. It wasn't long before he encountered his first neighbor: The squirrel that he saw yesterday on his way to see his new home. Just like yesterday, she was busy in her garden and bent over to prune some of the branches on one of the bushes. Mystery couldn't help but notice how her hips flared out a bit and how her red tail with white highlights stuck up in the air.
"Hi there!" Mystery called out.
"Eep! Oh!" the squirrel squeaked, straightening up suddenly in startlement. "... Hi?"
"I remember seeing you yesterday! I'm Mystery, your new neighbor!" he explained, taking in more detail of the squirrel's features. She had a white belly extending up to her face and was wearing hot pink eyeshadow.
"Oh yes! I remember you too. I'm Pecan." she replied.
"Charmed! If you're up for it, I'd like to have you over for lunch someday and we can get to know one another better?"
"Lovely as that sounds, I'm afraid I've been busy with my garden lately, as you've seen I'm sure. Maybe another time."
"Ahh, that's understandable. Well, the offer still stands and you can drop by anytime you're up for it. See you around, Pecan!"
"See you later, Mystery!"
	Mystery turned away and continued up the path. Pecan gave him a quick look down and back up as he walked away. 'I suppose he's nice… and not too bad looking,' she thought to herself, resuming her work.
	He found himself next at the island's eastern beach, looking out on the vast ocean, the waves crashing on the shore as they've done since time immemorial. There were coconut trees close by, which would prove useful for some recipes as well as for their oil if cooked down. He turned north and walked along next to the beach, staying just inside the grassy area where he could see more trees. There were some that grew large, juicy peaches. He would love to pick one and take a big bite, letting the juices run down his chin… but he resisted the urge. They could wait.
	Off in the distance, he saw a villager sneaking up on something and carrying a bug net. Getting closer, he could see the wolfess' features a bit better. She had reddish orange fur and a bushy tail. Like Pecan, her hips were a bit on the wider side. He was loving this island already! Getting even closer, he accidentally stepped on a twig, making a loud snapping noise and causing the dragonfly that she was stalking to swiftly fly away.
"Aw, nuts!" she groaned in frustration. "Next time, dragonfly…" Turning to face whoever it was that scared her quarry off, her face immediately went from an annoyed expression to one of surprise. She had never seen this cat before.
"Hello!" Mystery said, "I'm so sorry that I messed up your hunt!"
"Well, these things happen and you didn't mean to, so it's really no biggie." she said with an air of understanding. "Say, I don't recognize you. Are you new around here?"
"Sure am!" he confirmed, "My name's Mystery and I moved here just yesterday!"
"Ahh, so that explains the airplane I heard then!" she said, laying the bug net across her shoulders. "Pleased to meet you, Mystery, I'm Audie."
"The feeling is mutual, Audie!" he replied with a smile. "I live in the burrow under the big tree and would like to invite you over for lunch in a couple of days if you'd like to get to know one another better?"
"That's sweet, Mystery, but I can't, I've got plans then. I'll take you up on your offer another day, though!"
"That's okay! Any day that works for you, just let me know! Anyway, I'll let you get back to your hunt. See you later, Audie!" Mystery said, waving and turning to continue his adventure.
"Bye, Mystery! See you around!" Audie replied, waving back and looking to the sky to see if she could spot that dragonfly again.
	Mystery went on his merry way along the trail, seeing some pear trees along the path. He would definitely be coming back for these, too. Leaving the trees, he came upon a clearing with a pair of houses somewhat close to one another. Between them were a pair of villagers chatting happily, one being a cat with blue fur and white extremities and the other was a dog with red fur, a brown patch over her left eye, and black paws and ears. Both girls weren't exactly curvy like the previous two villagers he met, but they weren't skinny either. They were pretty average size. As Mystery approached, they stopped talking simultaneously and looked at him, scanning him up and down before smiling.
"Why, hello!" the blue cat said first, "Nice to meet you! I don't believe we've met, but I'm Rosie." She extended a paw to shake.
"Now, Rosie, don't be too forward! What if he's shy?" the dog said.
"Aw, he sure doesn't look like the shy type, Cherry!" Rosie replied, then turning to look back to Mystery, asked "Are ya?"
	Mystery was slightly taken aback by how friendly this cat was immediately, but regained his senses and extended his paw to shake Rosie's.
"Nice to meet you, Rosie and Cherry, I'm Mystery."
"How mysterious…" Cherry said with a coy grin on her face.
"Never heard that one before." Mystery said back with a grin of his own. "Anyway, I just moved into the burrow under the big tree and am looking to get familiar with all of my neighbors. Would you two like to have lunch at my place in a couple of days?"
"Aww, that's so sweet!" Rosie said with a smile, but it faltered almost immediately. "However, we won't be able to make that work. We'll be out that day until the evening."
"Hey, that's alright! Maybe another day!" Mystery said, getting quite used to being turned down by this point.
"Either way, it's good to see a new face." Cherry added, smiling.
"Likewise! Anyway, I'm off to meet the rest of the town. Have a nice day, ladies!" Mystery said, bidding the girls farewell.
	They all waved and resumed their previous activities. Mystery was trying not to let it get to him. He was sure at least ONE villager would take him up on his offer. With that hopeful thought, he pressed on toward the town square.

	The yellow shih tzu sat behind her desk, twirling a pen in her paw. She had already finished the paperwork for the day, so there was no need to stay at the office. She was free to go home at any time, but she stayed, just in case somebody needed something. Looking out the side window, she saw an unfamiliar figure approaching the town square. That must be the new villager that Tom was talking about! A bright smile broke out on her face and she stood up from her chair. The floor creaked under her, but she ignored it as she always did. She made her way to the door and left the office behind to greet the new arrival.
	As Mystery approached, he could see someone leaving the town hall building in the distance and making her way straight for him. She looked to be a bit on the plumper side, no doubt due to the sedentary nature of a desk job. Her cute ponytail bobbed on the top of her head as she walked toward him. He could see the bright smile on her face and he couldn't help but match it with his own. It was contagious!
"Hello and welcome to Marborough! I'm Isabelle! I'm the acting mayor of this island town because the last mayor said they were taking a break and I haven’t seen them since." she said cheerfully with a hint of spite. "Anyway, that’s neither here nor there. You must be Mystery, the new arrival!"
"That's right! Pleased to meet you, Isabelle!" Mystery said.
"I heard that Tom got you all settled into your own home! I'm glad that you're going to be my new neighbor!"
"He sure did pull through for me!" he said, "I'm really liking this island so far! I'm introducing myself to all of my new neighbors. If you'd like, when you've got a day off work, I'd love to have you over for lunch!"
"That would be lovely, Mystery!" Isabelle said happily, "Let’s see… Today is Saturday, so my next day off is one week from today. I'll be sure to remind you before then!"
"Next Saturday, then? Great! I'm looking forward to it!" he said, just as happily. He finally got a positive answer! It wasn’t as soon as he was hoping for, but it was still something! "Anyway, it was lovely chatting, but I've still got a ways to go and several more neighbors to meet. See you later, Isabelle!"
"Bye, Mystery!" Isabelle said, waving cutely before turning around to go back to the office.
Mystery lingered for a while longer, watching her go. Her tail wagged happily and her thick hips swayed with each step. 'Damn… She's kinda cute…' he thought to himself. Shaking his head to clear it, he looked around to see where his next destination was.
	Heading southwest, he found some more beehives along the way as he entered another dense patch of trees. In the distance, he heard a bang and saw some colorful smoke start to rise. He began to run toward the smoke, his heart beating faster in alarm. When he got close enough to see what the commotion was, he saw the smoke rising out of the door of a house and out on the front lawn was a mouse hunched over with her paws on her knees, coughing. She had white fur and her ears were different colors, the left being blue while the right was red. She was wearing thick glasses and a lab coat that concealed wide hips and a bubble butt.
“Hey, are you alright?” Mystery asked, getting closer and offering a paw out to her.
“Y-Yes, I’m alright, but my experiment isn’t.” the mouse said, somewhat disappointed. “Months of work… gone…”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Mystery said.
“Bah, no matter. It must have been faulty from the beginning.” she said, suddenly energetic. “Say, you look like you’re new here!”
“Correct! My name’s Mystery and I just moved in yest-” he started, but was interrupted by the mouse getting really close. She appeared to be taking in every detail she could see.
“Hm! A fine specimen, indeed!” she said.
“Can I help you?” he said, starting to get weirded out.
“Oh, pardon me, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Petri.” the mouse said, still examining him closely.
“Charmed, Petri. Listen, I’ve got places to be, but if you’re up to it, you can come by my place in a couple of days if you’d like to have lunch with me? I live in the burrow under the big tree.”
“I see, I see! Fascinating! Alas, I must turn you down, I’ll be knee-deep in another experiment that day. Maybe some other time, Mystery!”
“Yeah, some other time. I’ll see you around, Petri.” he said, getting a bit more discouraged. He backed away slowly from Petri, waved, and went back the way he came. Petri watched him go, smiled, sighed, and looked back to her house which was still pouring smoke.
	Getting back on the trail, he continued south to a part of the island that was less grassy and didn’t have many trees. There was a ledge overlooking the western beach and ocean which provided quite a nice view. Sitting on that ledge was an eagle with purple plumage, a light purple head and matching wingtips. The top of her head had dark purple feathers with a pink highlight and she had strikingly blue eyes and wore purple eyeliner.
“Nice view, eh?” Mystery said, which startled the eagle a bit.
“Oh! I didn’t hear you approach! Greetings!” she said, “You must be new here. I’m Quinn.”
“Nice to meet you, Quinn, I’m Mystery, and I just moved in yesterday!” he replied, “I live under the big tree.”
“Ah, so Tom finally sold the burrow, huh?”
“Seems so! Anyway, I’m trying to get to know all my neighbors and would love to have you over for lunch in a couple of days if you’d like?”
“Thank you for the offer, but I’d prefer to get to know you on my terms, maybe seeing each other around town and chatting for a bit before we make plans like that?”
“That’s understandable!” Mystery said, “Some folks take time to warm up, and that’s okay! Anyway, I’ve got a bit of a walk ahead of me, so I’ll let you get back to the peace and quiet. It was nice meeting you, Quinn!”
“Thank you, and it was nice, Mystery. I’m sure I’ll see you around!” Quinn replied, turning back to face the ocean.
	With a smile that hid a hint of melancholy, Mystery turned away to keep walking. Off in the distance was the tiny airport on the southern part of the island. He knew his way back home from here, but there was still the southeast part to explore. He passed the airport and made his way to the river where it met the ocean. Seeing no way across, he started to walk upstream where he found a pair of villagers fishing. The one closer to him was a green rabbit with white paws and eartips and next to him was a cat with dark gray fur, black paws, black tail, and heterochromatic eyes, the left one green and the right one brown. Knowing not to move too fast or talk too loud, he approached slowly.
“Good afternoon, guys!” Mystery said in a half-whisper to be heard over the flowing water.
“Shhh!” the gray cat shushed, “You’ll scare the fish!”
“Sorry, I’m trying to be quiet!” he replied, getting closer, “Anyway, I’m new here and am introducing myself to my neighbors. My name is Mystery.”
“Sup, Mystery?” the rabbit asked, “I’m Sasha and that’s Raymond.”
“Mmhmm.” Raymond said simply, looking back to the water, a slight blush on his face from being introduced before he was ready.
“Nice to meet you both! I’m trying to make friends and wanted to know if you two would like to come by the big tree in a couple of days for lunch?” Mystery asked.
“Mmm, no, thank you,” Raymond replied, “Maybe another day I’ll make plans with you.”
“... I see…” Mystery said after a disappointed pause, “and how about you, Sasha?”
“It’s cool, man,” Sasha replied, “he doesn’t hate you, he’s just shy until he gets more comfortable. Anyway, I generally have lunch at my place, so I’ll have to pass, too. Maybe we can meet at Brewster’s Café on Saturday evenings? K.K. Slider plays live music then!”
	A splash was heard as a fish was scared away by Sasha’s talking. This earned him an annoyed look from Raymond. Sasha just smiled and shrugged as if to say ‘No worries, bro.’
“I’ll take you up on that, Sasha. Anyway, I’ve almost made a full circuit of the island before I head home. I hope to see you two around!” Mystery said with a friendly smile.
“See ya.” Raymond said.
“So long!” Sasha added, waving at Mystery.
	Mystery left the pair to keep fishing on the water’s edge. He walked up to the waterfall, climbed the ramp up to the plateau, and crossed the bridge before going down the ramp on the other side and continuing on his way to the southeast part of the island. When he reached the beach, he found a rather nice-looking house facing the sea. Out on the beach, he saw a gold-furred cat lying down on a beach chair with a white dress draped over the backrest, catching some sun. She was very curvy, even more so than Isabelle, with a bit of a belly that stuck out, wide hips, a large butt, and large breasts. She had blue hair, had blue bands around her knees and wrists, and a blue-striped tail. She wore what looked like an ornate headdress that resembled a cobra with a matching color scheme to the rest of her. She wore a white two-piece bikini bathing suit that hugged her curves rather tightly and eyeliner of the deepest blue that curled up at the outsides which made it look like she took great pride in her appearance. He was actually a bit intimidated by her, but he approached nonetheless.
“H-Hi!” Mystery stammered unintentionally.
“Hm? Oh. Hello.” the cat said, looking up from her sunbathing.
“I’m Mystery and I’m new here.”
“Ankha. You may address me as such.”
“... Okay. Nice to meet you, Ankha! I just moved into the burrow under the large tree to the northwest of here. I’ve spent the day trying to meet my new neighbors and make friends and was wondering if… you’d like to come over for lunch on Monday…?”
“Hmmm, now let me think…” Ankha brought a paw up to her chin as if she were weighing her options. “What do I have going on the day after tomorrow…? I cooould go to your place for lunch, buuut I was going to spend time at the waterfall that day… Oh, what a conundrum…”
“You totally don’t need to come if you don’t want to, I get it…” Mystery said, already resigned to being turned down for the last time today. “I was going to have bread, crackers, and cheese and spend tomorrow gathering some fruit and honey in case anybody wanted to come over, but-”
“Honey, you say?” Ankha asked, ears perked up and a small smile on her face. “I haven’t had honey in a long time! Nobody here is willing to gather it on account of the bees, you see.”
“Y-Yeah?” Mystery asked, a glimmer of hope now in his heart, “I’m good at harvesting it! If I can get some, would you want to-”
“Oh, I suppose I can drop by for a bite and get to know you better.” Ankha teased, “Why not?”
“Alright! I’ll start getting ready tomorrow and see you at my place the day after! Thanks, Ankha!”
“You’re welcome… Mystery, was it?” Ankha said, trying to sound disinterested. Deep down, she was quite excited to have a potential new source of honey. “I’ll see you then.” She turned her attention back to sunbathing.
	Mystery was beside himself with joy at finally getting one of his neighbors to accept his offer, and she was a real beauty, to boot! With a spring in his step, he made his way toward the northwest where he saw the top of the tree that comprised his roof. His mind was swimming with plans and what-ifs that he didn’t even realize that he had been walking for 10 minutes and had already arrived at his front door. Regaining his thoughts, he ducked into his front door and stood in the middle of his home, resisting the urge to break into a happy dance. He cooked a nice dinner for himself, hummed as he ate, then started to get ready for bed. He took his clothes off by the laundry basket, got under the covers of his bed, and snuggled into the pillows. It was a long day with many small disappointments, but at least he got to meet all of the villagers, introduce himself to them all, and made plans to get to know at least a couple of them! He was so excited that it took him a while longer to fall asleep, but at least he was guaranteed to have sweet dreams tonight.
Chapter 3 - Mystery Has A Visitor!
	Waking up while it was still dark outside, Mystery went through his morning routine of stretches, fresh clothes, and breakfast. He then stocked up on his homemade smoke bombs that he used specifically for harvesting honey from active beehives. They were made of a biodegradable material that bees could use to repair their hives after the harvest. He also picked up a short ladder, 2 dozen jars for the honey, and a pair of baskets for the peaches and pears that he saw along his excursion yesterday. These all fit in his pocket very nicely due to the transformation into easy to carry leaves. He left right as the sun was peeking over the horizon, tracing his steps in reverse in order to get a different view of the island.
	The first honey tree only took a 3 minute walk to get to. He stood under the tree for a moment and closed his eyes, letting the soft buzzing sound fill his ears. Smiling to himself, he pulled out a leaf from his pocket and dropped it on the ground which sprung up into the short ladder. He then placed one of his smoke bombs on the top of it and activated it before placing an empty jar next to it. The white smoke started to pour out of the top of it in a thick wisp that enveloped the hive. This had a calming effect on the bees so that when Mystery got up on the ladder to reach the hive, they would not sting him in defense of their precious honey. Bringing out a knife, he gently cut open a small section from the bottom of the hive, reached inside, and pulled out the honeycomb, its beautiful golden sheen reflecting the rising sunlight into his eyes. He dropped the honeycomb into the jar before pocketing it right as the smoke bomb wore off. He pocketed the ladder, too, and placed the spent smoke bomb at the base of the tree for the bees to use.
	Continuing on his way, he harvested several more honey trees as well as picked some of the larger fruits from the peach and pear trees, leaving the smaller ones to continue growing and ripening. He also saw the occasional early bird villager and waved to them, earning an acknowledging wave back. As he was cutting across the town square, he encountered Isabelle. She called out to him and approached to chat.
"Good morning, Mystery!" Isabelle said, her tail wagging happily behind her and her face positively radiating joy.
"Good morning to you, too, Isabelle! I trust you had a restful night?" Mystery asked.
"Oh yes, thank you!" she replied with a smile, "A mayor's work is tough, but it helps me sleep well knowing that I made people's day better! I hope you did, too!"
"I certainly did, thanks!" he affirmed, "I've spent the morning harvesting some fruit and honey for future lunches! Check it out!" He brought out one of the jars with a golden honeycomb in it to show to Isabelle.
"How lovely!" Isabelle said, brightening up even more if that were possible. "We haven't had someone with that skill on the island before! Usually we have to order honey through a catalog and our hives sit here chock full of the stuff. You could easily make a business out of that!"
"I could, couldn't I?" he asked, a blush forming on his face. He was glad that one of his best skills would be seen as very useful here and maybe earn him some friends. "Of all the villagers I asked, only one took me up on my offer to have lunch on Monday and that's Ankha."
"Ankha did??" Isabelle asked, somewhat surprised. "She usually keeps to herself with new villagers and only does something if there's anything in it for her. Then again, I can see why that might be." she gestured toward the jar of honey that Mystery still held in his paws.
"Why's that?" Mystery asked out of genuine curiosity.
"She LOVES honey, can't get enough of it. If she smells it in the area and it's easily accessible, it will be gone." Isabelle said. "If I may offer some advice, only keep 1 jar available and hide any others well. She will clean you out if she can."
"O-Okay, good to know!" Mystery replied, putting the jar back into his pocket. "Lunch will mostly be crackers, cheese, bread, and jam. I'll keep a small jar of honey out and hope that she doesn't find the rest."
"Good plan." Isabelle said with a smile. "I'm sure you two will become good friends. Anyway, I've talked your ear off enough, it's time I get to work."
"Same here, I have several more trees to harvest before tomorrow. It was lovely chatting with you again, Isabelle!"
"You too, Mystery! Take care and good luck with tomorrow!"
	Mystery and Isabelle parted ways with smiles on their faces and very light blushes on their cheeks. He continued the circuit of the island's trees and eventually filled up all 24 jars and he didn't even hit every tree! He also filled both fruit baskets, so it was time to call it a day and he headed home with the rewards of his labor.
	He spent the rest of the afternoon and evening cleaning the fruit and wringing the honey out of the honeycombs so that they were all ready for use in meals and snacks. By the time he sealed the last jar, the sun was down and he was ready to have dinner and go to bed. He ate a few of the fresh fruits that he picked, then bathed behind the big tree with some river water he had brought in a bucket, then went to bed. He couldn't get the image of Ankha being cold and greedy out of his mind. That couldn't be right! He would get her to warm up to him and they would be fast friends! He eventually drifted off to sleep with that hope on his mind.

	Mystery woke up and the sun was already shining bright. He heard the town bell start to chime and counted along to determine the hour.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
'I guess I slept in a little.' he thought.
Nine.
'Oh! That work yesterday really wiped me out, huh?'
Ten.
'... Crap! Ankha will be over within the hour!'
	He sprung out of bed, quickly ran through his morning stretches without pausing for a break and got dressed. He still hadn't prepared the table, so he threw some plates and silverware out onto the table at each chair, grabbed the crackers and bread from the pantry, and the cheese and jam from the fridge. He then turned his attention to the 24 jars of honey stacked up in the corner. Without really thinking, he picked them up two at a time without putting them in his pocket like he would usually do and scrambled to find places to hide them. He took some and stashed them behind tree roots down low, he stuffed some up high above the pantry and obscured them with other foodstuffs and kitchen gadgets, he stored some under his bed, he even went so far as to put some behind the sofa. He was quickly running out of options!
	As he picked up two more with another couple left to hide, he heard a sweet sing-song voice getting louder, coming up his walkway…
"Oh, it's luuunchtiiime at Myyysteryyy's plaaace~, going to get some of that sweeet, sweeet honeeeyyy~"
	Ankha bent down, sticking her thick ass out behind her as she poked her head in through the burrow's front door. She caught sight of Mystery with a pair of honey jars under his arms, frozen on the spot with a nervous grin on his face. She smiled sweetly and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Hello, Mystery~" Ankha said, practically purring.
"H-Hey there, Ankha! Welcome to my home! Come on in and make yourself…" Mystery started, but trailed off as he watched Ankha.
	She pulled her head back out and threaded her arms in first, crawling through. It looked like a bit of a tight fit. She shuffled side to side as her breasts squeezed in, followed by her belly. Pressing against the wall, she wiggled her bottom as it slid through slowly, eventually emerging fully into Mystery's home. She stood up, dusted herself off and looked around the place, made a sniffing noise, then sat at the table.
"... comfortable." Mystery finally finished. "Well, can I offer you some cheese and crackers to start and we can chat while we eat?"
"Hmmm, actually, I'm in the mood for honey, if it's all the same to you." Ankha countered, eyeing the jars that he was still carrying.
"Right! Would you like it on bread, then?"
"Oh, no, too many carbs, I'll just have it plain, thank you."
"... Alright then!" Mystery said. He tipped one of the jars over the plate in front of her and it pooled out until it formed a perfect circle in the middle.
	Ankha looked at it for a moment, then back up at Mystery, a quizzical look on her face. Mystery answered it with one of his own.
"Is, ummm… that not enough?" he asked.
"Oh, my dear Mystery…" she said almost condescendingly, "I should say most definitely not. May I save you the trouble?" she asked before taking the whole jar from his paws without waiting for an answer.

	Mystery watched aghast as Ankha brought the jar to her lips and tipped it up, letting the sweet substance flow slowly into her mouth. She swallowed every mouthful without stopping to take a break. Once it was mostly empty, she set it on the table, dipped her paw into it, swirled it around to get the last bits and put it in her mouth, licking her lips in a satisfied manner.
'... Oh my…' Mystery thought to himself, completely taken aback by how she was able to polish it off in its entirety so quickly. He blushed as Ankha looked at him and narrowed her eyes with a sly smile. "Was that… good?"
"Oh yes, but I'm not done yet." she answered, looking to the other jar. With a beckoning look, she said "Let's have that one, too."
	As if he had no choice in the matter, he placed the second jar in front of her. Much like the first, she tipped the jar up, emptied it into her mouth, and scraped the remainder out with her paw and consumed it quickly. Leaning over to look past him, Ankha spotted the pair of other jars in the corner. The chair under her voluminous butt creaked dangerously with the shift in weight.
"Bring those two jars over here." she said.
"Oh, those? Empty." Mystery replied. He never was good at lying and Ankha could easily tell. She smirked.
"Oh, Mystery, darling… you're a terrible liar. Bring them here."
	After a moment's hesitation, he relented and grabbed the two jars sitting in the corner and placed them both on the table in front of Ankha who rubbed her paws together in anticipation. She picked one up, downed it like the previous two, set it down and scooped up the other in a smooth motion, doing the same to it.
"Mmmmm…" Ankha sighed happily, rubbing her belly, which Mystery could swear looked bigger than when she first came in. "I can smell more in the air… You would do well to bring the rest of the jars out of hiding, Mystery~"
	Mystery was shocked that she could tell he had more! Since she could tell when he was lying, he figured that it was no use keeping them from her. That, and he had a growing curiosity to see how many she could get through before throwing in the towel. He went to the kitchen and pulled out a pair from under the sink, placing them on the table and taking the empty ones to stack in the corner.
	Ankha continued to eat as Mystery brought them out one by one. As her belly got more and more full, her dress was starting to stretch uncomfortably, so she grabbed at the hem with her paws and lifted it up over her head, leaving her in just her panties. Her bare breasts jiggled as they fell free of the tight dress. Mystery glanced over to see this and his mouth fell open. He dared not question her, so he said nothing of it and kept bringing out jars. At one point, she decided that he wasn't bringing them fast enough and she got up from the chair to search for herself. Going to his bed and lifting up the end of the blanket, she found the ones under his bed, so she got down on all fours and started pulling them out. Mystery happened to be watching her and got a full view of her panties stretched tight over her bottom. Wiggling her tail and backside in victory, she stood back up and started to eat the contents right next to his bed. He considered asking her to move away from his bed so that she wouldn't get any on it, but she hadn't let a single drop spill so far, so he decided not to worry about it.

	So Ankha ate and ate and ate some more, her belly sticking out all the further and her butt seeming to get bigger at the same time. Her panties were getting uncomfortably tight just like her dress was, so without any hesitation or consideration for keeping polite company, she stripped out of them, the waistband sliding down over her wide hips and thick ass cheeks with the middle part sticking between her juicy thighs before coming down with the rest of the pair and falling to the floor. She kicked them aside before resuming her binge. Random blushed crimson as he watched this large beauty strip naked in his home. She wasn't done yet as there were still a few jars left. She walked to the couch where they were hiding, got onto the seat and bent over the back of the sofa to retrieve them, giving Mystery another quite detailed view of her backside. He tried turning away to maintain a modicum of her modesty, but the mirror on the opposite wall gave him the same view anyway. He blushed and looked at the ceiling instead.

	With the last of the 24 jars now accounted for and piled up in the corner, Ankha licked her lips and fingers clean, the rest of the lunch that Mystery prepared untouched. Sniffing at the air again, she smiled and decided that there were no more jars left to be had.
"That was a marvelous lunch, Mystery!" she said happily and in a cute voice.
"You're welcome…!" Mystery said, still in a daze and trying to wrap his head around what just happened today. "You sure you don't want any more?"
"Oh yes!" Ankha said brightly, perking up. She had forgotten one thing. She brushed past him, her large belly rubbing against him, and picked up the plate from the table that he poured the honey on in the first place and licked it clean. Setting it back down, she nodded and said "That's better. Anyway, I must be going, places to be and all."

"G-Going? But we never got to tal-"
"Goodbye, Mystery! I'll see you around! Maybe lunch again soon!" she said, interrupting him.
Ankha turned toward the front door and with a swish of her tail and putting her arms in front of her, she left…
Chapter 4 - Ankha Might Have Overdone It!
	At least, she tried to leave. Her arms and head were the first to emerge outside. She shuffled her shoulders through next before using her arms to press on the outer wall and her feet to push against the ground behind her. Slowly, her large breasts squeezed in past the rim of the front door. Taking a brief moment to catch her breath, she resumed her effort.
‘This is… Unf…! a lot tighter than before…!’ she thought.
Pressing on, her top half stretched forward on the outside and her bottom half bunched up on the inside. After a few seconds of sustained exertion, she let go, snapping back into place. Her eyes widened with shock and disbelief. Maybe she took this at the wrong angle… She pressed her knees into the inner wall and tried to come back in, but her shoulders and boobs bunched up on the outside, preventing her from retreating.

From the inside, Mystery watched Ankha completely fill his front door as she slowly tried to leave. Her bottom half stayed put longer than anticipated. He could see her belly pack up against the outer rim as her legs strained in front of him, then a brief rest, then her knees pushed against the wall, making her huge butt point directly at him with no backward movement. He got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something wasn’t right…
“Unf! Mystery! Your door won’t let me go! Ngh! Give me a boost!” Ankha called back, kicking her thick legs uselessly behind her.

“... Oh my…!” Mystery said under his breath. “Um… Pardon my paws, Ankha!”
“What do you mea- OooOOOFFFHH!” Ankha couldn’t finish her question as she tried to get clarification on what Mystery meant by his warning. She blushed heavily from the feeling and the breath left her lungs involuntarily as his paws sunk into her plush posterior and shoved hard, making her butt lift slightly and flatten out. This hard push made her cheeks spread, exposing her pucker and her slit from between them. He let her bottom come to rest briefly as he got another grip on it and pushed again. She was ready this time and used her paws to push from her end in tandem. After a few pushes with their combined efforts, her top roll of belly fat slowly compressed into the tight front door before lurching forward and onto the outside. Feeling her budge, they both gained a glimmer of hope and kept up the work. Unfortunately, that hope would soon diminish with each subsequent effort. No matter how hard Mystery pushed, no matter how much Ankha twisted and wiggled, her belly just bunched up and flattened like a thick pancake against the inner wall around the front door. She was not moving forward anymore.
“Oh no… I can’t get out…!” Ankha breathed, getting progressively anxious and annoyed.
“Ankha…? I think you might be-” Mystery started, but was interrupted.
“I am NOT too big for your front door, Mystery!” Ankha shouted back, “It’s your front door that’s too small!” She kicked her legs again.
Mystery couldn’t exactly refute that point. It was admittedly a bit on the small side, seeing as he had to crawl in every time he used it. But he wasn’t about to voice his opinion that she ate too much and got too big, seeing as she fit before, but only just barely. She needed his help right now and that would be the least helpful thing he could say at this moment.
“Alright, let’s take a moment and think…” Mystery said in as calm of a voice as he could muster. “My back door is bigger. I’ll try to pull you back in and you can leave through there, okay?”
“... Okay…” Ankha said, trying to regulate her breathing and calm down, which was hard because she was mad that she didn’t know he had a back door, let alone that it was bigger. He did have a point though, much as she was loath to admit that right now. She relaxed her bottom half.
He smiled sympathetically, seeing her bottom release its tension. He approached to get a closer look. She was tightly corked around her middle. The pucker marks were deep where her fat belly was trying to fit through the small entrance all at once.
“I’m going to take hold of your hips and pull you back in, you just do whatever you can to relax. It’ll be easier if you’re not tense.” Mystery said, still evoking a calmness.
“Right. Just do what you need to do to get me out of here.” Ankha said, an edge of annoyance creeping through her voice. She hated being told what to do, but did what was asked of her and tried to relax completely, letting her top half slump down, her bare breasts flattening as she rested on them].
Mystery wrapped his arms around her bottom and got a grip on her waist with his paws, his chest pressed against her butt with how big it was and her tail rested over his shoulder. He blushed at the whole situation and the soft feeling of Ankha’s body and the warmth radiating from her undercarriage. He leaned back and pulled, grunting from the strain. He heard her muffled groans from the outside as he tried his best to dislodge her. He tugged and yanked and pulled some more, but it was no use. He was starting to realize that his fears had merit. He hated to admit it, but…
From the outside, Ankha couldn’t reach to push against the ground, so the only thing she could do was try to relax, which was difficult due to the discomfort she was currently in. Her ring of belly fat that made it through locked her tightly in place and bunched up as Mystery pulled and her shoulders and boobs pressed up uncomfortably, refusing to fit back through. With each successive tug producing no results, her anxiety was only getting worse as the truth was dawning on her.
“No… No, this can’t be happening… I can’t be… Not here…!” Ankha started to hyperventilate and tense up. Mystery could feel it from inside, too.
“Don’t say it, Ankha… Please…” Mystery said, not wanting it to be true, but knowing in his heart that she was.
“I’m stuck… Mystery, I’m stuck!! Help!!” Ankha cried out. She began to thrash wildly, pressing her knees into the wall one moment and pushing forward with her paws the next, desperately trying to free herself of her tight prison. She rocked forward and back only about an inch either way, but remained firmly affixed no matter how hard she fought.
Mystery stopped pulling and propped his shoulder under one of her large cheeks and a paw against the other and shoved hard. Her butt simply displaced without any forward movement as her belly packed tighter and tighter against the small door. Changing position, he turned his back toward her, placed his shoulders under each spherical cheek, gripped her thighs under his arms and heaved back, pressing deep into Ankha’s adipose bottom half.
They kept at it for at least 15 minutes, trying different pushing and pulling positions, but they had nothing to show for it. She was stuck and tightly so.
“Nnngh! Oooof! Damn it, it’s no good…” Mystery groaned, “I’m coming out and trying something else.” He let her bottom slump down and dashed out the back door and around to Ankha’s top half. Seeing her in such a state, his heart felt a pang of empathy. Her face had a mixture of worry and anger, and he couldn’t blame her for feeling that way, given the situation she found herself in. “Let me try pushing your shoulders. Just do your best from the other side, okay?”
Ankha couldn’t bring herself to say anything, so she only nodded and braced herself. Mystery placed his paws on her soft shoulders and pushed somewhat gently, trying not to hurt her. She winced anyway as her bottom half struggled on the other side. He found it impossible to not at least take the occasional glance down as her bare breasts pressed up with every effort which made them look bigger. She let out the occasional noise of discomfort as the pressure mounted. After several tries, Mystery stopped pushing.
“Well, crap… If we can’t push you back in, let’s try pulling you out. Here, take my paws, Ankha.” he said, offering his paws for her to take hold of, which she did somewhat reluctantly and with the lightest of blushes forming on her cheeks. He lingered for a little longer than he intended. The feeling of holding her paws in his was nice… But now was not the time to get lost in those thoughts. He leaned back to straighten their arms between them before pulling hard.
“Mph! Uuunf!” Ankha grunted as Mystery yanked and tugged on her front half, stretching it forward an inch only for her to snap right back with every rest. Her boobs swayed back and forth as he attempted to extricate her, bouncing against her fat roll when not being pulled. She occasionally kicked her legs behind her in an attempt to jiggle through. They held onto each other and strained for a total of about 5 minutes before they had to give up and take a break. He let her paws go and slumped down against the outer wall next to her, both of them panting and sweating from the exertion.
“It’s no good… You’re stuck too tight…” Mystery said between gasps.
“No kidding…” Ankha replied sarcastically as she tried to catch her breath.
“... I think we’re going to need more help.” Mystery suggested.
“No. Absolutely not.” Ankha said in vehement denial. “This is humiliating and I will not have more villagers know of this.”
“I really don’t think we have a choice in the matter, Ankha.” Mystery reasoned, “We tried getting you out with just the two of us and it’s proven impossible so far. At least let me get Isabelle. Being in politics, I get the feeling she can keep a secret.”
“... Fine. But not a word to anyone else or you’re toast.” Ankha eventually agreed.
Mystery looked her in the eyes and nodded a silent promise before getting up and running toward the town center. Having wandered the island a couple of times already, he was familiar with the fastest route that would be the least likely to encounter anyone else who didn’t need to know about Ankha’s plight. It took almost 10 minutes alternating between running and walking to get to within eyeshot of the town square. He slowed to a walk and began to regulate his breathing so it wouldn’t look like he had an emergency to anybody else who might see him.
Pecan was sitting at the water fountain, enjoying the sunshine and light breeze when she looked over and saw Mystery walking with an air of determination towards Isabelle’s office. She called out to him and waved. Mystery mustered a carefree smile and a wave back.
“Hey Mystery!” Pecan called, “Enjoying life on the island so far?”
“Y-Yeah, everything is splendid!” Mystery lied, “I just have to see Isabelle about something that came up!”
“Oh? What’s up, Myst?” she asked, sensing something might be wrong, despite his platitudes that everything was fine.
“It’s nothing much, just something I need her advice on…” he trailed off, struggling to end the conversation without sounding too awkward. “Anyway, I really must be going. Lovely seeing you again, Pecan!”
“Yeah, you too!” she replied, narrowing her eyes a little in suspicion as he turned away.
Mystery continued on his way to Isabelle’s office and opened the door. The bell above the door jingled to signal to the occupants of the building that they had a guest. Isabelle looked up from her paperwork to see Mystery and smiled just as brightly as she always did.
“Mystery! What a pleasant surprise! What can I do for you today?” she asked with her signature chipper attitude.
“Hey Isabelle, I don’t suppose you can spare some time to come by my place for a while? I kind of have… a situation.” Mystery explained, trying not to reveal any details yet until he was sure that they were alone.
“Oh my! Is it serious?” she inquired, to which Mystery hesitated for a moment before nodding his head in the affirmative. She could tell that he didn’t want to tell her what it was right away. “Don’t worry, you can tell me later on the way, let’s just go take care of it.” She immediately put her pen down, scooted her chair out and stood up, the squeak of the floor sounding out again as her weight bore down on it. She came around the desk to Mystery’s side and they started to walk together out of the office towards Mystery’s burrow.
	Pecan looked over at Mystery and Isabelle and knew something was up. Not one to miss out on some juicy gossip material, she waited until they were far enough ahead before she started to trail them. About 5 minutes into the walk, Mystery began to tell Isabelle what was going on and Pecan overheard the gist of it, too. She stopped following and branched off to find someone to share this incredible tidbit with, and she knew just the mouse…

Meanwhile, Ankha watched as Mystery ran off to fetch Isabelle. She tried shifting to ease the discomfort, but she couldn’t even do that, it was so tight. So she sat there and listened to the ambient sounds around her. A couple of minutes later, the sound of someone walking by carried through the air and was picked up by Ankha’s ears. Her eyes widened, hoping that whoever was out there wouldn’t come any closer and see her. Unfortunately for her, the footsteps were getting closer.
Out of the nearby trees stepped a brown owl with a pamphlet in his grasp. He was making a deliberate approach toward the burrow under the large tree that had been recently occupied. Humming to himself, he was looking around at all the trees, wary of any insects that might spring out of any crevice. As he got closer, he saw that the property’s front door was not the open hole like usual, but that there was someone familiar seemingly in front of it. He raised a wing in greeting.
“Hoo! Ankha! I heard that someone moved into this old burrow, but didn’t expect it to be you!” he said.
“I didn’t move, Blathers,” Ankha corrected, “I’m just visiting the new villager, Mystery.”
“Ohh, I see! No, I daresay you wouldn’t have given up your beach house for a burrow such as this. Er, is Mystery here? I meant to deliver this pamphlet to let him know all about the museum.”
“... He stepped out. Maybe try again another day or I can fill him in.” she replied, trying to subtly drop the hint that he should go.
“Oh, well, if he’s gone, what are you doing here? Waiting on his return?”
“No, just… resting…” she replied.
“Hoo, I see,” he sighed, “ Pity he’s not here right now. I was hoping to meet him and see if he had any questions about the museum that I could answer. I would be more than happy to describe the splendor and the majesty of the exhibits and the stories that they hold. Why, just last week, Raymond dropped by with an extraordinary find! It was a scarab beetle encased in a dollop of amber! I count my lucky stars that it was not a live one! I couldn’t imagine what I would have done if he had done something as unthinkable as bring in a live scarab beetle without so much as an enclosure! Why, the mere thought of it makes my skin positively-”
As Blathers blathered on, Ankha’s eyes began to glaze over both in boredom and wishing that she could will him out of existence. Since she couldn’t do the latter, she had to speak up and say something. The longer he talked, the more irritated she got.
“-tried to pass the painting off as real! I mean, seriously! Who would make a fake painting, I ask you? Waste of time, if I do say so myse-”
“I’m not resting, okay!” Ankha finally blurted out, “I’m stuck here and can’t move!”
“... Hoo… I see, indeed…” Blathers said, finally grasping the dire situation in front of him. “Poor Ankha. Have you tried backin-”
“YES, I TRIED THAT AND IT DIDN’T WORK! I’M FUCKING STUCK!!” she shouted angrily which made Blathers flinch.
“Hoo! I’m sorry! I should have realized… So obvious…”
“Just…” Ankha almost started shouting again before catching herself. She breathed in slowly and let it out. “I just need to wait. Mystery will be back later and I’ll be okay. You can leave the pamphlet here.”
“Well, if you’re sure, then…” Blathers sighed. With a hopeful smile, he added “I’m sure that you’ll get this all sorted out soon, Ankha! Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow at the museum!” He waved and put the pamphlet in the mailbox out in front of the burrow before starting his walk back to the museum, giving Ankha one more sympathetic glance over his shoulder.
Ankha grumbled to herself. Nobody else was supposed to know. Another moment passed before she felt a rumbling come from the earth below. “Oh no…” she groaned. Another visitor had arrived, this time it was a mole wearing a hardhat and work overalls. With an annoyed sigh, she addressed him.
“Hello, Mr. Resetti.”
“Ankha.” Mr. Resetti replied curtly, “I trust you’ve been behaving yourself? I haven’t received any reports since last time.”
“Of course I have.” Ankha responded, rolling her eyes.
“Good. See to it that continues. By the way, is the new guy here? I decided to pay a visit and give him the rundown on the importance of going to bed and getting sleep every day.”
“You’re still on about that?” Ankha asked, suppressing a sneer, “Times have changed, old man.”
“Is he here or not?” he asked, ignoring the jab.
“... No, he’s not.”
“Shame. What are you doing here, anyway?”
“I was visiting him for lunch and am in a bit of a jam. I can’t get out of his front door.” she said, finding it a bit easier to tell him. She got the feeling that he really didn't care and wouldn't make a big deal of it.
“I see. Too bad you’re not good at digging.” he said, prompting Ankha’s eyes to glimmer. That statement gave her an idea.

“Say, can you dig me out of here? Maybe use some dynamite?” she asked, somewhat hopeful.
“Sorry, no can do. First of all, just one look at that structure tells me it will all come crashing down if I mess with the integrity of the foundation.”
“Damn…”
“Second of all, dynamite is for much larger projects than getting your fat ass out of a squeeze."
"Hey! It's not that big!" Ankha said in annoyance. "It's the door that's-"
“Besides, the stuff'll kill you if we try using it in such close quarters." he pointed out.
"... I suppose you're right… Just a thought…" Ankha sighed, losing that brief glimmer of hope.
"Anyway, I’ll come back another day. Stay out of trouble, you hear?” he said.
“Yeah, yeah, kind of too late for that…” she muttered dismissively, waving him away.
With that, Mr. Resetti ducked down into the hole he just dug, filling it up with dirt on his way out. How he was able to do that, nobody else knew, but they didn’t dare question him lest they get an unwanted lecture. Five more minutes passed before she heard more footsteps coming from the direction of the town square and the familiar voices of Mystery and Isabelle approaching. She blushed in embarrassment and wished she could disappear.
Chapter 5 - Don’t Worry, Ankha! Help Is On the Way!
Mystery and Isabelle talked about the situation as they walked. Time seemed to pass quicker since his mind was being occupied and he had someone else to talk this through with. Isabelle was very understanding and not showing any judgment. The pair got within eyeshot of the burrow and Isabelle took in a small gasp upon seeing Ankha’s top half sticking out of Mystery’s front door. It looked pretty bad the way her shoulders were pressed forward and the ring of belly fat resting snugly against the outer wall which completely covered the rim of the hole. She also blushed a bit because Mystery left out the detail that she was topless.
“Hey, Ankha!” Isabelle called out, “Mystery told me all about your plight, you poor dear. Don’t worry, though! We’ll get you out!” she said cheerfully.
‘Well, hopefully…’ Mystery thought.
“Hi Isabelle…” Ankha said, not looking at her. She couldn’t bring herself to meet her gaze. “I really hope so… This is tight.”
	Isabelle got up close and looked at the situation with more detail. The top part of Ankha’s belly that made it through was jammed quite well. The flesh looked pinched where there was too much belly for not enough hole. She hoped that her bottom half wasn’t much bigger than her top half looked from this angle. After a moment, she decided on a course of action.
“Let’s try a pull chain first.” Isabelle said with an air of authority. “Mystery, take her paws. I’ll grab hold of you around your middle and we’ll both pull together for 5 seconds, then take a 3 second break before trying again. Rinse and repeat!”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Mystery nodded. He gave Ankha a sympathetic look before taking her paws in his. She briefly looked into his eyes before looking down again in a fresh blush. He stepped back to remove the slack between them. “I’m ready here, Isabelle.”
“Okay, let me get into position here…” Isabelle said, wrapping her arms around Mystery and pressing her soft body against his back which caused him to blush a bit. This was a rather interesting sensation and one that he would remember fondly. “Okay, I’m ready too. How about you, Ankha?”
“Just pull already…” she muttered, still blushing and closing her eyes.
“Okay, we’re going in 3… 2… 1… PULL!” Mystery counted down before gripping Ankha’s paws tightly and leaning back, using his legs to steady himself as he tugged on the stuck cat.
Isabelle did the same, pulling on Mystery to add to the effort of extricating Ankha. They all grunted and groaned as they moved backward an inch during the pull and forward to her original position when they rested for a few seconds before renewing the tug once again. Ankha thrashed her bottom and kicked her legs on the other side of the hole, but it was a useless endeavor. Her backside merely bunched up and returned to rest with no progress made.
“Come on…! Nnnngh!” Mystery grunted.
“Oooof! Ooooh! Ow!” Ankha cried out, “It’s not working!”
“Okay, let’s stop for a while and try something else…” Isabelle said, letting go of Mystery after the last pull which was only about 2 minutes from the first.
“Why don’t I go around to the back and pull while you push her shoulders out here, Isabelle?” Mystery suggested.
“What do you think, Ankha?” Isabelle asked, wanting to make sure that she was okay with it first. Ankha nodded after a moment, which prompted Mystery to walk around the West side of the burrow to the back door. Entering, he was greeted with the sight of Ankha’s naked rotund bottom hanging out of his front door. His blush intensified at the sight. He had briefly forgotten just how it looked. He approached her wedged posterior and did as before, wrapping his arms around her to take hold of her hips, earning a soft “Mmh” from Ankha. Isabelle took this to mean that Mystery was in position, so she got in close to Ankha and placed her paws on her shoulders, her breasts hanging rather close to her face. She tried to cheer her up by sharing an encouraging smile with her, but was met with a worried look that said she wasn’t sure this was going to work either.
“We’re ready out here, Myst!”
“Ready back here, too!” he called out, muffled by the dirt wall and the thick cat plugging his front door. He braced his foot on the wall before counting down as before. “Same intervals as last time in 3… 2… 1… GO!”
He pulled back hard on Ankha’s plush hips, hugging his body against hers as her warm, soft thighs wrapped around his waist for a better grip. Isabelle leaned forward to push on her shoulders, trying to maneuver them back into the hole where she was trapped. Just like before, Ankha winced in discomfort and a bit of pain as her belly and boobs refused to go back through and her shoulders wouldn’t bend in a way that would allow for her retreat. She could only handle about 30 seconds of this before needing to stop again.
“Nnnf! Ow! Stop! Ohhh, I can’t go back in…” Ankha whined.
Isabelle stopped pushing, but kept her paws on Ankha’s shoulders in a gesture of solidarity and hoping to comfort her at least a little bit. Mystery stopped pulling and let go of Ankha’s hips, resting his arms across her butt and setting his chin on his paws since she hadn’t yet released him from her thighs. It was impossible to tell if she simply forgot to or if it felt comforting and she wanted him there. There was only one more thing they hadn’t tried yet.
“Well, since it seems you can’t come back in, Ankha, it looks like the only way out of this is forward.” Mystery said reasonably. “I’m going to try pushing from back here if you’ll try pulling, Isabelle.”
“I guess so…” Ankha grumbled, lifting her paws up for Isabelle to take. “This had better work.” She released the grip of her thighs to let Mystery go so that he could push properly.
“Right!” Isabelle said, still chipper and full of hope that Ankha would be free soon. She took a step back and grabbed hold of her paws, increasing the tension until their arms were straight. “Ready out here, Myst!”
“Alright,” Mystery called, taking a step back to position his feet before placing his paws on each large cheek, making Ankha blush even more. “Ready back here! In 3… 2… 1… GO!”
Ankha let out an involuntary groan as her overfed body was suddenly pushed from behind by Mystery and pulled from the front by Isabelle at the same time for 5 seconds with a 3 second period of rest. She held on as tight as she could to Isabelle’s paws and strained to pull herself free. Isabelle leaned back and tugged hard on the stuck cat, stretching her top half out an inch before it retreated again at rest. Mystery leaned in and heaved, his paws sinking deep into Ankha’s plush bottom and making her chubby belly surge against the wall, but not a single millimeter was willing to budge even with the added help from Isabelle.
“Mmmph! Pull, Isabelle!” Mystery shouted at the start of the third push.
“Nnngh! Push, Myst!” Isabelle shouted back on the fourth pull.
“Ooof! Mmmh! Oooh!” Ankha grunted and moaned and winced throughout the effort. With Mystery pushing directly in the middle, she kicked her legs at either side of him to try to help shuffle around and dislodge some of her fat belly, but it did no good. All it accomplished was to jiggle her butt against Mystery’s paws and wiggle her pussy in front of him which made him blush harder. Of the different methods that they had used to try getting her unstuck, she decided that this way was the most preferred. The only thing she had to do was hold on tight to Isabelle and let Mystery push. She didn’t have to use her arms or legs to push for herself.
Several minutes passed with the trio taking breaks occasionally and Mystery taking those opportunities to change pushing strategies as he tried before he enlisted Isabelle’s help. He used one shoulder and the opposite paw for a while on one cheek, then the other, then switched to both shoulders on and pressed his back into her, but the results were all the same. No matter how hard they tried, Ankha was not able to budge and it seemed like she wouldn’t for quite some time.
“NnnNNNGGGHHH!! OooOOOUUUMMMPPPHHH!! It’s just no use, I’m stuck too tight in this STUPID TINY DOOR!!” Ankha groaned as she released her grip on Isabelle’s paws after a particularly hard pull. Isabelle let Ankha’s paws go and practically collapsed on her back in front of her, legs splayed slightly in a less than dignified manner, her short skirt unable to cover the view of her panties. Mystery heard her outburst and took that as his sign to stop pushing and slumped down against her bare bottom. They all panted and gasped to catch their breath. After a while, Isabelle spoke up to break the silence between them all.
“I’m sorry, Ankha, but I need to see what exactly we’re working with. I’m going around back to assess the situation.” Isabelle said. Ankha didn’t have any objection, so she got up on her feet and walked around to Mystery’s back door. She entered with a couple of inches to spare on each side and approached Ankha’s backside with Mystery still slumped down against it, a light blush starting to form at the sight. He got back on his feet to let Isabelle get a closer look. She blushed again seeing that Ankha was not just topless, but completely naked, her bare undercarriage exposed to the burrow. Looking around, she then noticed the discarded dress and panties near the table and raised an eyebrow at Mystery who shook his head and whispered “It’s not what it looks like!” She smirked and winked at him in a teasing way then looked back to Ankha’s ass.
Isabelle saw just how badly corked Ankha’s belly was in the front door. It was quite a bit bigger than the rim and that wasn’t even taking her butt into consideration, which was just as massive and would lose weight at a slower rate. It was going to take a lot of time and effort just to get her to budge. She turned to address Mystery in a whisper.
“She came in through the back door, right?”
“Nope, the front door.” he clarified.
“... Wait, really? How is that possible?” she asked, which Mystery answered by pointing to the pile of 24 empty honey jars in the corner. Her mouth fell agape. “Oh dear…” she breathed. That also explained why she shed her clothing. They looked too small to fit right now. She thought for a moment before nodding to herself and leaving out the back door to go back to Ankha’s front. She gave a sympathetic look to Ankha.
“... How bad is it…?” Ankha asked, already dreading the answer.
“... It’s pretty bad, Ankha.” Isabelle confirmed, deciding not to sugarcoat it. “The only course of action we have is to wait for you to slim down enough that we can budge you forward.”
“... How long do you think it’s going to take?”
“If my estimate is accurate…” she hesitated, “On the short end, 3 days, but on the long end... a week.”
“... Fuuuuuuuuck me…” Ankha muttered, sounding utterly defeated. “Why did you have to make this door so small, Mystery?!” she suddenly rounded on him, blaming him for her misfortune.
“I didn’t build this burrow!” Mystery argued, “It’s not my fault you can’t fit anymore!”
“Yes it is! If you didn’t feed me so much, I’d be at home on the beach right now!”
“Come on, you two!” Isabelle interjected, “This isn’t helping anything! It doesn’t matter how it happened, Ankha, the fact remains that you’re still stuck and we’re not giving up until you’re free, right, Myst?”
As Isabelle was trying to bring the temperature down a bit, Mystery went to sit in a chair facing away from Ankha’s bottom. He didn’t want to see her right now. Unfortunately, the mirror still had other ideas and he could see the wedged butt’s reflection anyway. No matter how he sliced it, he had to face the reality that he was stuck with her for at least 3 days, so he may as well make the best of it. When Isabelle made the pledge to not give up, Mystery nodded and replied.

“... Right. We don’t have a choice, so let’s work together. Like it or not, you’re still my guest and as my guest, I promise I’ll take care of you. What do you say, Ankha?”
“... Fine, you both make a good point.” Ankha conceded. “We’re in this for the long haul, so we may as well make this as pleasant as possible. I’ll try to swallow my pride.”
“Like you swallowed everything in Myst’s home, you mean?” a taunting voice rang out from the distance.
Ankha’s face immediately turned from neutral to ticked off. She recognized the sound of Pecan’s voice. Sure enough, the squirrel walked out from around a tree with a teasing giggle.

“Oh, Ankha, how could this have happened?” she asked sarcastically. “Could it be because you’re a glutton?”
“Shut your gob, pipsqueak! You’re no princess, yourself.” Ankha shot back.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Pecan asked dangerously.
“Ladies, please!” Mystery called, coming from around the corner. “There’s no need to antagonize one another.”
“She deserves it!” Pecan argued.
“I don’t care.” he replied flatly. “She’s in distress right now and could use some empathy. Picture yourself where she is and tell me that you’d want her doing the same to you.”
Pecan raised a paw to object, but she paused, considering his words. Now that she thought about it, she had gained a few pounds lately… Who’s to say that she wouldn’t gain even more and have the same problem if she had lunch with Mystery someday? She blushed when she made that realization and put her paw down.

“... I’m sorry, Ankha. He’s right. I shouldn’t tease you about this. In fact, I’m going to come back another day and help where I can!” Pecan said.
“... Thanks, I guess…” Ankha muttered. At least it was something.
“Well, I’m going to go back home. I have some things to reconsider. I’ll see you later, Ankha, Isabelle, Myst.” Pecan added, bidding them all goodbye with a weak, sheepish smile and leaving.
“Myst, that was… cool!” Isabelle said, not sure that she used the right word, but smiled and wagged her tail all the same. He raised a paw behind his head and smiled in a somewhat embarrassed way.
“Yeah, Myst, you’re not such a dork after all.” Ankha said with a teasing grin. “Only kidding!” she clarified when Mystery looked at her.
It wasn’t long before more footsteps were heard. One by one, other villagers dropped by to pay Ankha a visit and see if the rumor was true. Some came to jeer at her like Pecan did, others offered their sympathies. In the end, the results were the same with each one promising to come back another day and help make her plight more comfortable. The last villager to visit was Petri, who brought a measuring tape as well as other tools and testing devices.
“Hey Ankha! Sorry to hear about you getting stuck and all, but this may prove to be a very unique study opportunity and I’d love to-” Petri proposed before getting interrupted.
“Fuck off.” Ankha said in a monotone that communicated that she was done with visitors today.
“Aww, c’mon, Ankha! It’s for science!”
“Don’t care. Kindly fuck off.”
“Aww, you’re no fun.” Petri said and started to walk away, but Isabelle stopped her.
“Hey, Petri, mind leaving the measuring tape with us? We could actually put that to good use.” Isabelle said
“Hmmm, I dunno…” Petri hesitated.
“We promise to write down the data and give it to you.” Mystery added.
“Done!” Petri said without reserve and tossed the tape at him. She smiled and a smallest hint of a blush crept up her face before she turned away to go back home.
“Good thinking, Myst! You’re on a roll today!” Isabelle complimented, also blushing a tiny bit.
“Thanks!” Mystery said back.
“Well, now that that’s all settled, we should discuss strategy.” Isabelle said suddenly.
“Strategy?” Ankha asked, wanting clarification.
“Yes, to help you slim down faster so you get out sooner.”
“Oh! Then yes, let’s do that.”
“I propose a regimen of exercise and-”
“Absolutely not.” Ankha refused.
“But I thought you wanted to get out sooner?” Mystery asked.
“The cost is too high.” Ankha said simply. “I am not exercising and eating less.”
“Oh no, not eating less,” Isabelle explained, “just eating smarter. So no honey or pastries or other stuff like that. Fruits and salads would be best. Do you think you can handle that?”
“... I guess that doesn’t sound too bad…”
“Great, then that’s also settled!” Isabelle said with an air of triumph.
Just as they thought they were done with guests, another sound of footsteps approached from the direction of the town square. Isabelle immediately recognized the newcomer as Mabel, one of the hedgehog sisters who ran the tailoring shop. She wagged her tail and waved in greeting. Mabel couldn’t do that since it looked like her paws were full.
“Mabel! Good to see you again!” Isabelle said happily.
“Hello, Isabelle!” Mabel replied, “You weren’t at your office, so I figured I’d offer these to the newcomer, but this is quite the coincidence!”
“Are these pastries?” Mystery asked, sniffing at the air. He got an approving nod and smile from Mabel.
“Yes, dear! It’s a hobby of mine and Isabelle has been ever so helpful in appraising them and telling me how I can improve!” Mabel said, holding the basket out for Isabelle to take, which she did gladly. Ankha looked on as the scent of the pastries wafted in front of her nose. She had to hold back so she didn’t drool a little.
“Anyway, I must be going, it’s getting late. It was a pleasure meeting you, mister…?” Mabel prompted.
“Mystery. Just Mystery.” he answered.
“Charmed, Mystery!” Mabel said happily. “Have a good night, you three!”
Mabel departed to go back home, leaving Mystery, Isabelle, and Ankha at the burrow. The sound of Ankha’s rumbling stomach broke the silence, generating a blush from her. Mystery gave her a sympathetic smile.
“I’ll make you that salad. Isabelle, did you want to stay for dinner, too?” he asked, but saw that she had already started in on the basket of pastries. She swallowed the mouthful and smiled.
“Oh, I’ll be okay, I’ve got leftovers at home. These are best eaten hot, after all!~” Isabelle said. She took one from the basket and gave it to Mystery so that he could have it later. “I’ll come by tomorrow morning! Good night, Mystery and Ankha!” she said, walking away and wagging her tail happily, her hips swaying with each step.
Mystery went around to the back door and to the kitchen, preparing the ingredients for a simple salad for them both. He drizzled a little bit of dressing to make it more flavorful and brought the bowls out to Ankha’s front and gave her one. She took it, sniffed at it, hesitated, then took a forkful and put it in her mouth. She slowly chewed and swallowed it, grimaced, but continued eating. They had their light dinner together, making some conversation that they never got to have earlier. Once they had finished, Mystery took their bowls back inside and washed them. He was ready to go to bed, so he brought an extra blanket out for Ankha before going back in to put his clothes in the basket along with her dress and panties to wash. He then went to his bed and got under the covers, looking at the wedged butt in his front door and sighing.
“Good night, Ankha.”
“...Good night, Mystery…”
What a day this turned out to be. He wanted a lunch companion and ended up with a beautiful naked girl eating through his entire stock of honey and getting stuck in his front door on her way out. To top it all off, she was going to be there for quite some time… Like he decided earlier, he may as well make the best of it. With another long look at her bottom, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Ankha dwelled on the events of the day for a while longer, herself. This was supposed to be an easy dine and dash! If he objected too much, maybe string him along to get more free lunches. Now she was naked and stuck in her host’s small front door and completely at his mercy. Not only that, but he was actually a pretty good-looking guy and was treating her kindly on top of that, even after everything she did and said to him. She grumbled in annoyance to herself before nuzzling into the blanket. After a moment, she noticed that it smelled slightly like him… Damn it. With a blush on her face and her head filled with conflicting thoughts of Mystery, she slowly fell asleep.
Chapter 6 - Making the Best of It
Mystery woke up as the sun was starting to shine through his eastern window. He sat up, still in a bit of a sleepy state. He looked around and saw Ankha’s butt still stuck where it was since yesterday. She was breathing steadily, which he could tell meant that she was still asleep. With a yawn, he got out of bed, opened both windows to get a breeze flowing and took his time going through his stretches since he had worked so hard yesterday trying to get her out.
Isabelle was already awake and had started the walk to Mystery’s burrow before the sun had risen. She saved some pastries from last night to have as a quick breakfast on the go. By the time she made it there, she finished them all. As she got closer, she saw that Ankha was still asleep, bundled up in one of Mystery’s blankets. She smiled, seeing the sweet gesture. Deciding not to wake Ankha yet, she went around to the back door. It was slightly ajar, so she gently swung it open a little bit to peek inside and see if Mystery was awake yet. She blushed crimson as she saw that he hadn’t gotten dressed yet and was in the middle of his morning stretches facing away from her. Pulling her head back around the corner, her heart started to flutter. She knew that she should have knocked, but something about this was… thrilling. She slowly peeked back through the door and watched him continue his stretches. His body was nicely toned with broad shoulders, a slim waist, a tight butt… She was starting to get turned on and maybe a bit jealous of Ankha that this hunk of a cat would be putting his paws all over her ass for the foreseeable future! This went on for about 5 minutes before he finally finished and went to put some clothes on. She ducked back out of sight, took a minute to compose herself and let him get dressed before knocking on the door.
Mystery finished up his stretches and got dressed just in time to hear a knock at his back door and see it swing open to reveal Isabelle in all her curviness. He smiled and waved.
“Good morning, Isabelle!”
“Good morning, Mystery!” she replied, stepping in past the frame. It was a pretty narrow entrance, but she could still manage it comfortably. “Did you sleep well?”
“Oh yes, yesterday knocked me out.” he confirmed. “Did you?”
“Yes, quite well, thank you!”
“Good! You know, I was just about to start cooking some breakfast for Ankha and me. Would you like some?” he offered.
“Sure!” she answered, deciding not to tell him about the pastries she had earlier. She was still hungry anyway.
Mystery heated up the skillet and scrambled up some eggs with shredded cheese and a side of roasted tomatoes and mushrooms. He made enough for all three of them. The protein would give them the energy they needed to keep up the hard work required in the coming days. He dished up some for Isabelle and himself and sat at the table to chat with her while they ate. The scent of breakfast wafted out the windows and flowed around to Ankha. She began to stir as the morning sunlight shone down on her and the smell of Mystery’s cooking stimulated her senses. She let out a yawn and stretched her arms out in front of her. From inside the burrow, Mystery and Isabelle could see Ankha’s thick legs stretch out behind her before coming back to rest under her cheeks.
“Good morning, Ankha!” Mystery called loud enough for her to hear.
“Mmmnh… Morning…” Ankha replied. This was earlier than she was usually awake, but this was an unusual situation for her to be in. “I smell breakfast.”
“Indeed! I’ll bring your plate out!” he answered, dishing up a portion of everything for her and ducking out of his back door to go around to Ankha’s front. Looking at her facial expression, he could tell that she was not too thrilled to be awake this early, so he gave her the plate with a fork and left her alone to have breakfast. She thanked him and he returned to the table to continue breakfast with Isabelle.
“So, I’ve been formulating a daily plan for us.” Isabelle revealed.
“Oh yeah?” Mystery asked, intrigued.
“Yes. I’ll be coming over every day from morning until night. We’ll start much like we did today with breakfast, then we need to be measuring Ankha’s belly and… butt…” she blushed a little at the idea, “to get a sense of how much progress she’s making. Then we need to try to get her to budge, even if it’s only a tiny bit. We’ll stick to the same intervals as before for consistency.”
“Yeah, I’m liking that plan so far.” Mystery nodded, “As for our attempts, I think we should mix up the rotation daily to make it so the days don’t start to run together and feel the same. I’d keep what we tried yesterday, but drop the attempt to get her back inside and add us both pushing from back here to replace it.”
“I agree.” Isabelle said. “Her shoulders are preventing her from coming back in, so it would be pointless to try that method again. Forward is the only way for her to go.”
As the two talked, Ankha silently ate her breakfast, listening to them discuss the plan. She couldn’t think of anything else she would want to add to the plan, so she remained quiet. If she thought of anything, she would be sure to bring it up with them. It was nice of Isabelle to volunteer to spend every day helping her instead of sitting in her office. Either that or she was trying to get closer to Mystery. Something about that poisonous nugget of thought buried itself into her subconscious and she felt a pang of… jealousy? Try as she might to kick that thought, it lingered. She would figure it out later.
“I’m finished with breakfast.” Ankha said loud enough to be picked up by Mystery and Isabelle.
“Very good!” Mystery said in reply. “I suppose you heard the plan from out there?”
“I did.”
“And what do you think?”
“It’s as good a plan as any.”
“Is there anything you can think of adding to it to make it better?” Isabelle asked.
Ankha paused for a moment, catching herself before she said something she might regret, whether it would embarrass her or cost Isabelle’s support. She knew that there was something else she would like, but couldn’t articulate what it was quite yet. Maybe it would come to her later and she could tell Mystery.
“... No, nothing comes to mind.” she finally answered.
“Alright,” Mystery said, “with that settled, let’s take your measurements and try to get you to budge.”
	Mystery picked up the measuring tape that Petri let them borrow and unfurled it, walking toward Ankha’s backside. He draped it over her back and brought both ends together under the widest point of her pudgy belly which made her wiggle a little bit and took note of the number: 53 inches…! He blushed upon reading that number. Compared to the detailed sheet illustrating the burrow that Tom Nook showed him, the front door measured at 48 inches in circumference. He moved the tape down to measure her butt and found that it was slightly smaller at 52 inches, but that would change as she lost weight. She had a long way to go. He took a pad of paper and scribbled down his findings and handed them to Isabelle who read them and also blushed.

As Mystery took the measurements, Ankha’s face heated up and she uttered a soft “Mmnh” due to the weird feeling of Mystery performing such delicate work and getting so close to her belly. She wiggled a little bit in response. She didn’t hear them discussing her measurements, and frankly, didn’t want to know them anyway. All that mattered to her was getting unstuck. She waited for them to finish before they made a fresh attempt at budging her.
“Okay, that’s today’s measurements done.” Mystery said, “Now, what do you say we try to get you to move, Ankha?”
“May as well, we have nothing to lose.” Ankha sighed, pretty sure that it would do no good getting her to move forward this soon, but they had to try anyway. Besides… she blushed when she thought of Mystery pushing and pulling her yesterday. In the moment, she was frustrated at the whole situation, but now that she had time to think about it, she realized how strong he was and how his paws felt to the touch… Both gripping onto her paws and shoving on her bottom. She couldn’t help but let a ghost of a smile cross her face. She was glad that neither of them could see it.

“My thoughts exactly.” Isabelle agreed, “Shall we both push while we’re back here anyway?”
“Y-Yeah, that sounds fine.” Ankha said, a little bit nervous to find out how it would feel to have two sets of paws pushing.
“Alright, we’ll let you know when to start out there!” Mystery said.
Isabelle approached Ankha’s left cheek while Mystery took her right. They got into position and set their feet before taking their paws and placing them on the pillowy softness of the wedged butt in front of them. Ankha flinched slightly from the sensation. It was weird, but not in an exactly unpleasant way. It was difficult to describe. She shuffled in what little way she could and propped her top half up, ready to go.
“We’re ready back here, Ankha! In 3… 2… 1… PUSH!”
“OooOOOUUUMPH!” Ankha groaned as she felt the force of both Mystery and Isabelle push hard against her. Her butt flattened and her belly bumped into the wall. She dared not try kicking her legs due to their positioning directly behind each of her thighs. She pressed her paws into the outer wall and twisted side to side in a vain attempt to shuffle forward. The first rest came and there was no progress to show for it. They tried again, but the results were the same. This kept up for a few minutes before Isabelle called a stop to the effort. They let her bottom slump back down.
“Well… That didn’t work…” Isabelle panted.
“Yeah… I was sort of hopeful about that one.” Mystery said.
“Shall we go out and both try pulling?” she suggested.
“Sure.”
Mystery grabbed a large bottle of water before he led the way out the back door while Isabelle followed. They rounded the corner to where Ankha’s top half was slumped down, panting from the effort.
“Hey Ankha!” Isabelle said, cheer coming through in her voice. “We’re both going to try pulling next. Same as last time?”
“Alright.” Ankha replied, trying not to let it show that she was almost looking forward to getting to hold Mystery’s paws again.
“We’ve got this, right?” Mystery asked, addressing Ankha. He stepped in front of her and took her paws in his. She looked into his eyes as he returned the look and smiled. She kept her neutral expression, but a light blush rose on her cheeks.
“R-Right…!” Ankha finally responded after a moment where her mind blanked. She gripped his paws in hers as he stepped back until her arms were held straight in front of her.
“On my mark, Isabelle!” he said as she positioned herself behind him and wrapped her arms around him like before. “In 3… 2… 1… PULL!”
“NnnNNNGGGHHH!” Ankha strained, pulling against Mystery who was tugging on her in turn while Isabelle pulled on him. Much like yesterday, the only thing that happened was stretching her top an inch and making her tits sway and jiggle. Ankha tried focusing on just holding onto Mystery tightly and willing her body to move. Her legs kicked behind her, jiggling her fat thighs and wobbling her massive cheeks. This unfortunately did nothing to get her huge belly to squeeze into the tight hole. Another few minutes passed before Ankha stopped it this time. She reluctantly let Mystery’s paws go after Isabelle relinquished her hold on him.
“That… didn’t work… either…” Mystery panted.
“Let’s take a breather… Then you can go back around to push, Myst…” Ankha said.
It was somewhat of a surprise to Mystery that Ankha was calling the next shot. She had been very passive in this endeavor so far. He hoped that she would keep that up and get more confident. He quite liked what he was seeing. The trio sat and breathed, occasionally taking a drink from the water bottle that Mystery had brought and passed around. They had snippets of conversation occasionally, both girls asking Mystery some basic questions about himself to get to know him a bit better and Mystery asking the girls about themselves. After about 10 minutes, they were ready for another round.
“Okay, I’m going back.” Mystery said, “Ankha, will you do the countdown this time?”
“Sure!” Ankha replied in slightly better spirits. The water and lighthearted conversation really did help, she felt. It also could have had to do with the fact that she was somewhat looking forward to having Mystery pushing again… She squeezed her thick thighs together slightly in anticipation.
Mystery smiled at both Ankha and Isabelle who returned the smile with their own and he got up on his feet, walking around through his back door to see Ankha’s tail slowly swishing in a relaxed manner. He was glad to see that. He got into position behind her, placed his paws on her butt. He could feel her heartbeat start to go a bit faster as his paws lingered. Was she feeling… excitement? He noticed that his own heart rate increased in tandem. This was something new, indeed! He took a deep, calming breath to help steady himself for the upcoming push.
Isabelle also got on her feet and offered her paws for Ankha to take, which she did, gripping them. Isabelle could feel Ankha’s pulse go faster, which was either from nerves or something else entirely. She couldn’t help but glance down briefly at her breasts and notice her stiffening nipples. Was she getting… excited? This might give her something new to think about later. For now, though, she had to focus on pulling Ankha out of this hole. She gripped Ankha’s paws in return, silently communicating that she would do whatever it took to see her get free. She stepped back to pull her arms taut in preparation for the tug-of-war.
“Okay, feels like you two are r-ready.” Ankha said, a slight tremor in her voice. She cleared her throat to try to maintain composure. “In 3… 2… 1… GO! MMMPH!!~” she moaned and blushed brighter, feeling Mystery press into her backside while Isabelle pulled on her arms. Her eyes closed as she tried to focus while her body rocked forward an inch while immense pressure was being centered on her gut. Her top stretched forward while Isabelle tugged, her large perky breasts dangling unsupported over the ground, the ring of belly fat that made it on the outside having the slight pressure on it relieved briefly until the rest period pushed it back up, making it look even chubbier.
	Mystery sunk his paws deep into the soft buttocks of his trapped guest. It was hard not to let his eyes wander as he worked to budge her. The almost perfect sphere shape of her cheeks when at rest, displaced and bigger-looking when being pushed on. He could see the dimples that her butt formed around his paws. Her feet occasionally fidgeted, whether in discomfort or simply in search of something to do. The way her thighs grew thicker as they went up to meet at her buttocks. Her exposed pussy framed enticingly between her thighs and right under where her cheeks met. It almost looked like it was glistening slightly, as if she was getting a little bit excited from the interaction that Mystery was having with her ass. His face heated up as he noticed more details that he found alluring about her.
“Mmmnh! Keep pushing, Myst!” Ankha called back.
“I’m not giving up!” Mystery affirmed, using one of the 3-second breaks to turn around and press his shoulders under her cheeks and lift with his legs. She kicked her legs at his sides, making her large butt wobble against the back of his head.
“Oooof! Pull harder, Isabelle!” Ankha groaned.
“Nnnngh! I’m trying, Ankha! I just don’t want to hurt you!” Isabelle countered. She leaned back at a steeper angle to put further pressure behind her tugs. Isabelle clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut from the immense effort it was taking to pull on the tightly wedged cat. As much as she knew that she had to focus to maintain a steady rhythm with Mystery, she let her mind wander a little bit. The way that Ankha seemed almost excited to have Mystery pushing was an intriguing idea. She tried picturing herself in that position. She would surely be embarrassed, needing to rely on others to get her out of a situation like this! … But as she imagined having Mystery behind her, it seemed like it wouldn’t be so bad. Particularly while she was in a rather intimate and compromising position as he pushed against her bottom… That’s when she began to understand Ankha’s reaction.
“...-belle? Uuunf! Isabelle!” Ankha almost shouted.
“... Huh?” Isabelle looked down and saw that Ankha was annoyed. She lost track of time. “What’s going on?”
“We stopped about 3 pulls ago since you and Myst fell out of sync!” Ankha said somewhat testily. “What were you thinking about?”
“I… Nothing. I just got a bit carried away. I really didn’t want to give up so easily.” Isabelle explained, her face burning up. They wouldn’t be able to tell whether it was from the strain or her daydreaming. She let Ankha’s paws go.
“I see… Well, that’s understandable, then.” Ankha accepted, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “You do get overzealous with your work sometimes.”
Isabelle raised a paw behind her head and giggled in an embarrassed manner. Mystery came out and around to the front to see them both.
“Well, no dice today.” Mystery said with an air of defeat. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”
“I don’t know about that.” Ankha said, “Maybe it should be an every other day thing. I don’t want to get too sore from having you and Isabelle being so rough with my body.”
“That’s a fair point.” Mystery conceded. “Tomorrow will be a break day, then!”
“I’m going to clean myself and Ankha up. I’m sweaty and it’s important to be clean!” Isabelle said brightly.
“I can clean myself, thank you very much!” Ankha said with an almost indignant huff, “... But I suppose I can’t reach everywhere and would need someone to get my back half…” She looked kind of annoyed by the idea of Isabelle giving her bottom half a bath. She secretly wished Mystery would do all the caretaking, but she would allow it this time.
“I’ll take a bath later. I’m going to unwind a bit by taking a walk to restock my honey pots and gather some more fruit.” Mystery said, “I’ll be gone for a few hours and be back later this afternoon.”
“You call that unwinding? More work?” Ankha said with a hint of sarcasm. “Well, whatever, you do you. We’ll see you when you get back, Myst.”
He went back around to enter the burrow and picked up some fruit baskets, his ladder, some smoke bombs, and 4 honey jars. He approached Ankha’s backside and reached a paw out, but resisted the desire to give it a pat before he left. He didn’t want to overstep any bounds. He dropped his paw to his side and went to his back door. He almost ran into Isabelle who was entering with a bucket of water and a cloth. They smiled at one another and he stepped aside to let her through before he departed to find some of the trees he hadn’t yet harvested.
Isabelle waited until Mystery was out of sight before she began to get ready to clean Ankha. Not wanting to get her clothes wet, she started to remove her shirt. She struggled with the buttons a little bit since it seemed to have shrunk in the wash. At least, that's how she rationalized it. When the last button was unfastened, her soft belly hung freely, overlapping the waistband of her skirt a bit. She shrugged the shirt off of her shoulders and deposited it on Mystery's bed. She then undid the zipper on her skirt and let it fall to the floor, picking it up and adding it to the bed as well. Reaching around to her back, she unfastened the hooks of her bra and let it fall to the bed, too. Her breasts rested on the top of her belly and her nipples began to stiffen in reaction to the draft still gently flowing through the burrow. She then took hold of the waistband of her panties and stripped them down over her large butt and past her soft thighs to join the skirt. She picked them up and tossed them on the bed with the rest of her outfit.
Now that she was ready, she approached Ankha's backside to begin cleaning her up. Dipping the cloth in the bucket and wringing it out, she reached up and gently scrubbed it over the soft rolls of belly fat, making sure to get into every crevice. Ankha flinched and let out a soft yelp due to the sudden cool feeling of the damp cloth. As she got used to the temperature, she started to relax a little. She decided that this actually felt kind of good. She closed her eyes and let Isabelle get to work. Maybe she would ask Mystery to do it next time.
Isabelle had finished scrubbing Ankha's massive belly before rinsing and wringing the cloth out again and moving on to the expanse of her ass. She ran the cloth over each cheek, noticing how squishy they were. She couldn't help but let a blush rise on her face. Getting this much of a close-up look, there was something oddly alluring about Ankha being stuck in such a tight spot. She wondered if Mystery felt the same way…? She freshened up the cloth again and proceeded to delicately clean Ankha’s more sensitive zones, earning some muffled noises from her front half. She couldn’t exactly tell whether they were ones of pleasure or of discomfort, so she only dwelled on them briefly, enough to get them clean. She got the cloth wet again and scrubbed her thighs, down to her calves, and ended with her feet. Isabelle noticed a soft noise coming from Ankha, almost like a purr. It sounded like she had enjoyed the bath after all. She smiled before grabbing a towel to dry her off. Once Ankha was done, she took a new cloth, got it wet, and began her own bath. After several minutes, she finished and got dried off before putting on her panties and bra followed by her skirt and shirt. She took another fresh cloth with the bucket around to Ankha’s front to let her take care of the spots that she could reach.
After all was said and done, they were both freshened up and felt better. They made smalltalk to help pass the time while Mystery was out. About an hour had passed when they heard someone approaching in the distance. They both looked up with a hint of excitement in their eyes to see if it was Mystery, but since it was the much curvier figure of Pecan, the excitement died quickly.
"Heyyy you two!" Pecan said, trying to present a sweeter attitude than she showed yesterday.
"Hi, Pecan!" Isabelle greeted, her tail wagging in a friendly way.
"Hey." Ankha said. She still felt the sting of the squirrel's words from before and was not about to forgive her so readily.
"I'm sorry again for yesterday, I was out of line."
"It's fine. You don't need to suddenly start liking me." Ankha said bluntly.
"I know," Pecan said, trying to stay patient with her, "but it was still so uncool of me to make such a low jab at you, especially when you're stuck like that."
"... Thanks, Pecan." Ankha said, releasing some of the tension in her jaw.
"I mean, I'd go absolutely nuts being unable to move!"
"I couldn't imagine the anguish." Ankha replied, rolling her eyes.
"It just looks totally inconvenient! But, like, at least you have Myst to take care of you, so it can't be all bad, right?"
"... Right." Ankha conceded. She did have to admit that as bad as this situation seemed, Mystery was a reliable guy.
"Speaking of which, like, where is he?" Pecan asked, looking around. "Is he inside?"
"No, he went out to take a brief break." Isabelle stepped in, feeling a little left out. "He should be back in an hour or so."
"Ahh, I see," Pecan sighed, slightly disappointed. "Well, I did say I'd help out around here and I intend to keep my word. What can I do for you, Ankha? Need a pull?"
"No, thanks, we tried that this morning.” Ankha replied. “Just talking to help the time pass will be fine.”
So that’s what they did. The girls spent the next hour talking about recent goings on, K.K. Slider’s performance last Saturday, the boys of the island, Pecan shared some gossip, whatever else came to mind. They heard the footsteps of another villager approaching. Once again, their excitement to see Mystery again was dashed, but only a little bit this time. Mabel had come by again with a new batch of sweets and pastries to try. She set the basket down on the ground between the girls and lifted the cloth covering the goodies. A mixture of smells drifted out and made all of them breathe deeply of it before giving a satisfied sigh.
“These look and smell so good, Mabel!” Isabelle said.
“I hope they taste that way, too!” Mabel quipped, “I even made something for you, Ankha! I know you’re supposed to be on a strict diet and can’t have the pastries and other sweets, but I made some healthier snacks for you to try.”
Looking down at the basket, Ankha saw the ones that Mabel was talking about. They looked like sliced dark orange chips. She reached down and picked one up, sniffing at it. It had an oddly earthy and sweet smell. She took a nibble… it was crispy. She popped the whole thing in her mouth and chewed. It wasn’t nearly as bad as she was expecting it to be.
“... That was good. What was it?” Ankha asked.
“I’m glad you like it!” Mabel said happily, “It’s carrot roasted in a very light glaze of olive oil and honey. Just enough to give it an extra kick of sweetness without overdoing it!”
“... Thank you, Mabel. Truly.” Ankha said with sincerity, giving her a genuine smile.
Mabel took her leave because she had to get back to work at the shop. She bid the girls a good day and went on her way. Isabelle and Pecan both snacked on the pastries and other sweets while Ankha had the roasted carrot chips. Within about 10 minutes, they had completely finished the basket. It wasn’t long after that that Mystery finally returned from his excursion with his bounty of honey and fruit. He was pleasantly surprised to see Pecan had dropped by and wasn’t causing trouble.
“Hey Pecan!”
“Heyyy, Myst!” Pecan said in a bubbly way. Ankha gave her an annoyed glare that she couldn’t see. “I just wanted to drop by and keep Ankha and Isabelle company to help the day go by quicker!”
“Sure you did…” Ankha muttered under her breath, just quiet enough to not be heard.
“Well, that’s nice of you!” Mystery said with a smile.
“Here! Let me help you unload! You never showed me your burrow, anyway~” Pecan said.
“Oh, great…” Ankha groaned. Another villager checking out her butt and it was one that she particularly disliked. She was not thrilled. Isabelle came over and patted her on the shoulder in a comforting way.
Pecan followed Mystery around to the back door and into the burrow. Just like with Isabelle, she had a clearance of about 2 inches on either side. Stepping in, she saw just how much butt Ankha was harboring behind her and she let out an audible gasp and brought her paws up to her mouth to hide how much she was gawping. Her initial instinct was to laugh, but she didn’t want Mystery kicking her out of the burrow, so she suppressed it. Instead, a heavy blush rose on her cheeks. She looked down at her own hips and back up to Ankha’s bottom. That could easily be her in the same situation. She walked over to Mystery’s bed and sat down on the edge of it, flicking her tail.
‘So much for helping me with the load…’ Mystery thought, rolling his eyes, but smirking all the same. He knew that she just wanted to see the inside of the burrow and get a look at Ankha’s backside. Hopefully this view would put the gravity of the situation into better perspective and give her a new appreciation for what Ankha was going through.
“That’s, uh… a lot.” Pecan said, choosing her words carefully.
“That’s one way to put it, I suppose.” Mystery said, looking over at the wedged butt clogging his front door. “She’ll thin down, it’s just going to take a while, then she’ll be free.”
“... You’re a good guy, Myst.” Pecan said, a different kind of blush on her face. “I know you’ll get her out.”
“Gee, Pecan, thanks.” Mystery said, a light blush of his own rising on his face. “You know, I might have gotten the wrong impression of you yesterday. You and Ankha might not have a good history, but maybe you two will be friends someday when this is all over.”
“Yeah, maybe…” Pecan said, thinking that he was being naive, then paused before adding “I bet you’d do the same for me if I…” she trailed off, looking down at her thick thighs.
“... If you what?” Mystery prompted, earning a deeper blush from Pecan, her knees squeezing together nervously.
“... It’s nothing. Never mind.” Pecan dodged. Mystery tilted his head, slightly confused. “Anyway, they’re probably wondering what’s taking so long. Let’s go back out!” She put on a smile before sliding off of his bed. ‘Well that sure went well, Pecan… Maybe another day…’ she thought to herself as she walked past him and out the back door. He saw how her hips almost brushed the door frame this time and blushed a bit more. He wondered if she had accepted his invitation for lunch that she might be the one stuck in his front door. With that thought swimming in his head, he followed her out and around to where Isabelle and Ankha were waiting.
“Alright, everything has been put away. Time to relax!” Mystery said, stretching his arms above his head and taking a seat with Ankha and Isabelle as Pecan stood awkwardly to the side.
“It was great seeing you all, but I think I should get home.” Pecan said. “I hope you slim down quickly, Ankha! Next time I come by, you’ll be ready to come out!”
“Hmph. We’ll see.” Ankha replied.
“Bye, Pecan!” Isabelle said, waving at her as she left.
Not even an hour passed before they had another visitor. This one, Mystery had never met before! He wondered if this bright blonde squirrel was a new arrival, but it seemed that Ankha and Isabelle already knew him as they waved and greeted him by name.
“Marshal! Welcome back! How was your vacation?” Isabelle gushed.
“Hey, Marshal.” Ankha added. She seemed to at least be neutral with him.
“Hey, girlfriend! Oh, vacation was fabulous! I needed it!” Marshal greeted Isabelle, smiling and waving in a flamboyant way before gasping when he saw Ankha’s top half. “Oh em gee, Ankha! I heard about your little squeeze in the new guy’s front door! Girl, what are you doing in there??”
“Well, that didn’t take long.” Ankha sighed, placing a paw on her forehead. “Sounds like Petri found you the second you landed.”
“Bingo!” Marshal said, “That girl, I swear she has some way of knowing everything that goes on around here!” Finally noticing Mystery, his face lit up in excitement. “New guy!! Oh, how rude of me to not introduce myself! As you’ve heard, I’m Marshal!”
“M-Mystery!” Mystery answered, slightly unsure of himself suddenly, “It’s a pleasure, Marshal!”
“Cute name!” Marshal said, getting a flattered blush out of Mystery. “This calls for selfies!~” He said as he whipped a phone out of his pocket and quickly snapped pictures with each of them, himself in the foreground as the main focus. Isabelle’s selfie had a swiftly placed smile on her face, Ankha’s looked more annoyed, and Mystery’s was of flustered confusion.

“Anyway, it was good seeing you ladies and meeting you, Mystery, but I must be going now, there’s plenty to do at home now that I’m back from vacation. Ta-ta!” he said, waving as he dashed away, his soft form disappearing down the trail.
“Well, that was Marshal!” Isabelle said, turning to Mystery, “He can be a bit overbearing, but he’s a really sweet guy.”
“You don’t say…?” Mystery said, still coming to grips with what just happened.
With all that said and done, evening was upon them. Mystery invited Isabelle to stay for dinner, which she accepted. While he cooked up some soup, he brought out a picnic blanket to lay out in front of Ankha. Once the soup was done, he brought it out with a side salad and a slice of bread and butter for each of them and laid it out on the blanket, which Ankha greatly appreciated, though she didn’t let it show. They all ate and talked and had a good time as the sun sank lower toward the western horizon. Eventually, Isabelle stood up and stretched, her shirt coming loose from her skirt and showing off the lower part of her belly.
"Well, that was a lovely dinner, Myst!" Isabelle said, "I should get back home, though. I'll be back bright and early tomorrow! See you both then! Good night you two!"
Mystery and Ankha both waved as Isabelle departed. He started to clean up the dishes and the picnic blanket before Ankha spoke up, something apparently weighing on her mind.
"Hey, Myst?" she asked.
"What's up, Ankha?" he replied.
"Last night was kind of…" she paused, blushed lightly, then continued. "Lonely. I mean, I know you were there right behind me, but it still felt like you were so far away… I want you to sleep closer to me tonight." she said, looking away.
"Hmmm, I see…" Mystery said. "I think I can make that work." He smiled softly at Ankha before taking the bowls and picnic blanket inside, washing the bowls and utensils and folding the blanket.
He brought the same blanket that he lent to Ankha the night before out to her front half and went back inside. He picked up his mattress, blanket, and bedframe and moved them directly behind Ankha, shoving the ensemble right up against the wall so that her legs were resting right where his pillow would normally go. She looked back, curious about what he was doing.
"Hey, I only asked that you sleep closer to me, you don't need to-" she started before Mystery placed a paw on her rump, prompting her to stop.
"I know, but I want to." Mystery said, rubbing his paw gently over the expanse of her butt and making her blush deeper. He got ready for bed the way he usually did, dropping his clothes in the laundry basket to be washed later. He got on the bed and positioned himself between her legs, leaning back against her large, warm bottom, his neck and head cradled comfortably in the crease between her cheeks. It was incredibly soft, like a well-worn recliner, but much warmer. He blushed at how close she was allowing him to get.
"Comfortable?" he asked.
"... Yes, actually." she admitted, wrapping the blanket around her and nuzzling in, letting the scent fill her senses. She shuffled her bottom slightly to fit his body and get to the most comfortable alignment.
"Good night, Ankha." Mystery yawned, giving her calf a light squeeze.
"Good night, Myst…" Ankha replied, moving her feet to rest on his belly like a weird hug. She dozed off much quicker than the previous night.
Chapter 7 - Caught in the Rain
The clouds rolled in overnight, obscuring the sun and darkening the sky. Ankha stirred from her sleep at the feeling of a cool breeze across her face. She slowly opened one eye and saw that the sun was not visible. The sky was overcast with dark clouds. She groaned, buried her top half deeper into the blanket, and squeezed her legs together where Mystery was still asleep, pulling him in closer for warmth. This in turn woke Mystery up. He had turned on his side and was resting his face against the pillowy softness of one of Ankha’s cheeks. Looking at the eastern window, he didn’t see the sun pouring in like he usually did.
“Mmmmn… Morning, Ankha…” Mystery said groggily, “How’s the weather out there?”
“Cloudy with a chance of fuckin’ rain.” Ankha murmured, just as tired. “It’s a bit cool out here…”
“Better keep the blanket out there, then,” he replied, “I’ll see if I can dig out my umbrella for you after stretches and breakfast.”
Mystery gave her soft bottom a pat before propping himself up and sliding off of his bed. The prolonged contact with her bare backside had made him stiff, but it wasn’t his muscles that were feeling the effect. Looking down at his erect member, he rolled his eyes and smirked. It was bound to happen, given a fat sexy bottom like hers… He began his morning stretches as he always had, not rushing them so as not to pull anything. Once finished, he grabbed a fresh set of clothes, got the bed put back in its normal spot, then started to cook a hot breakfast for himself, Ankha, and he assumed Isabelle, who would be showing up any moment to help him with his houseguest.
Off in the distance, Isabelle strolled past the familiar trees on her way to the burrow. She carried an umbrella in one paw above her head just in case it started to rain. It hadn’t, fortunately, but it was threatening to do so soon. Under her other arm was a spare umbrella for Ankha’s front half. In her free paw was a piece of leftover pastry from Mabel. It tasted just as good as the day it was baked. She popped the last bite into her mouth and licked her paw clean. She was slightly tired towards the end of this walk, which she attributed to the dark sky. She normally had more energy on sunny days.
Ankha heard her coming down the path and peeked her head out from the bundle of blankets. She couldn’t help but let a small smile appear on her face, seeing Isabelle carrying an extra umbrella. It had just started to rain lightly. She really knew how to pamper a girl.
“Good morning, Ankha!” Isabelle said in her ever cheerful voice.
“Hey Isabelle. Still as stuck as ever here.” Ankha responded.
“Oh, I don’t doubt that.” Isabelle answered, taking the extra umbrella from under her arm and opening it, propping it up against the wall to cover Ankha’s head. “I’m going to go around and see if Mystery is awake yet.”
“He is, and cooking breakfast.” Ankha said. “You know… He’s a pretty sweet guy.”
“Yeah?” Isabelle asked, intrigued by what she meant.
“I mentioned to him last night that the first night kind of really sucked, and he moved his bed to sleep close by in case I needed anything, even when he didn’t need to. It was actually nice…” She left out the part where she directly asked him to sleep nearby and that he used her butt as a pillow. Isabelle didn’t need to know that.
“I see…!” Isabelle said, raising a paw to her mouth and blushing a bit. She knew Mystery was nice, but hearing about that gesture really made her heart flutter a bit. “Sounds like he likes you!”
“... I suppose so.” Ankha said, averting her eyes and blushing a bit. Isabelle giggled.
“Well, I’m going in to give him any help he might need. We’ll be back out with some food.” Isabelle said with another giggle.
Isabelle walked around the west side of the burrow to the back door. As she passed the threshold, her sides brushed the door frame. She justified it to herself as having worn a thicker layer to counter the cooler temperature. Although her clothes had been feeling a bit more snug as of late…
“Good morning, Myst!” Isabelle said, trying to forget the snug fit of the back door.
“Oh, good morning, Isabelle!” Mystery said, looking away briefly from the stovetop where he was cooking a large pot of oatmeal and brewing some coffee. “Did you sleep well?”
“I did, thanks! Sounds like you did, too, from how chipper you are!” Isabelle said coyly.
“Y-yeah, I did!” Mystery said, a blush rising on his face. “You’re just in time for breakfast, if you’re hungry!”
“That sounds wonderful!” she replied.
Mystery dished up a few bowls and threw in some diced peaches for sweetness, placed two on the table with accompanying cups of coffee for himself and Isabelle, then went through the back door and around to where Ankha’s front half waited. He gave her the bowl and coffee and shared a warm smile with her before going back around to rejoin Isabelle. She had already taken a seat at the table facing away from him. He looked down to see her tail wagging and that her butt hung over the edges just a bit where they didn’t before. A little bit of her love handles peeked out from under her shirt where it had pulled up from being more of a snug fit than it used to be. He sat in the seat opposite her and tucked into the bowl of oatmeal.
They ate in relative silence, listening to the rain outside hitting the leaves on the trees. Isabelle occasionally caught movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced over to see it was just Ankha's tail occasionally swishing or one of her legs moving. She decided that she would check on her after breakfast. She finished her bowl and mug, thanked Mystery for the meal, and went back out to visit with Ankha for a bit, her sides brushing the door frame again. Opening her umbrella, she walked around the side of the burrow to Ankha's upper half. She squatted down in front of the wedged cat, her panty-clad rump sticking out a bit from under her skirt which seemed shorter for some reason.

“Hey Ankha, are you still doing okay out here?” Isabelle asked, tail wagging in a friendly way.
“As well as I can be. Thank you for the umbrella, by the way. And tell Myst thanks for the breakfast. It was good…” Ankha replied, letting a small smile show on her face.
“I’m glad.” Isabelle said, smiling back. “Is there anything else I or Myst can do for you?”
“Hmmm…” Ankha thought for a moment. “Besides getting me out of this dumb hole when you can, no, I’ll be okay for now.”
“Alright. If that changes, let us know!” Isabelle said. She picked up the empty bowl and mug from in front of Ankha and went back around. Ankha watched as Isabelle walked away, seeing the way that her hips swayed and her butt jiggled slightly under her skirt. She could swear that Isabelle had been looking bigger lately, but she wasn’t about to mention it and lose Isabelle’s help. She contented herself by just looking out at the all-too-familiar scenery now being covered in rain and wondered when it was going to let up.
Meanwhile, Mystery was cleaning up from breakfast inside, washing and drying the pot, the utensils, the bowls, and the mugs. Once he had washed the last one, Isabelle arrived at the back door. She closed her umbrella, shuffled sideways inside, and handed Ankha’s bowl and mug to Mystery.
“She said that it was delicious and that she thanks you.” Isabelle relayed.
“I’m glad!” Mystery said, taking the items from Isabelle and beginning to wash them. “I really hope that this is all helping her get closer to being free…” He looked over his shoulder to Ankha’s naked backside plugging his front door. She shuffled in what little way she could to try and get into a slightly more comfortable position. Isabelle also looked at it and tilted her head slightly.
“You know…” she began, “The Happy Home Academy is due to make an appraisal any day now. I wonder how Ankha’s presence will affect your burrow’s score…?”
“I don’t know, I guess this would be the first time it’s been appraised since I’ve been here.” Mystery answered.
“We ought to make it blend in, don’t you think?” Isabelle suggested.
“I dunno, Isabelle…” Mystery said hesitantly, “It seems odd to me to do that to her while she’s in such a position.”
“It’ll be just like dressing her up!” Isabelle said, hoping to convince him of her point of view.
“Hmmm, when you put it that way, I suppose that makes sense…” Mystery replied, bringing a paw up to his chin and tilting his head.
“There ya go!” Isabelle said cheerfully, “Now, we should first take her measurements, both to see if she’s gotten any slimmer and to figure out what’s going to fit her.”
Ankha could only hear their muffled deliberations, but couldn’t make out what they were talking about. She pressed her paws on the wall to stretch and move her top half while she wiggled her bottom half a bit in an attempt to get into a more comfortable position, but it was a futile effort. The only effect it had was to make her cheeks wobble and her legs look like they were kicking a little.
Suddenly, in the distance, the slightly curvy shape of a wolfess came walking up towards the burrow. It was Audie! She was carrying a pink umbrella that complimented her fur color. Seeing Ankha’s top half, she smiled and waved as she approached.
“Good morning, Ankha!” Audie said brightly.
“Morning.” Ankha replied in kind.
“I hope you’ve been well?” Audie asked.
“Eh, as well as I can be in this situation. The rain sucks.”
“That’s understandable.” Audie said, nodding. “But at least the rain is a change of pace from the past couple of days!” she added, hoping to put a bit of a happier spin on it.
“I suppose. Nnh…” Ankha admitted, letting out a soft sigh as she felt the measuring tape drape over her back and Mystery’s paws reach down under her soft belly. “I mean, I’d like it more if this weren’t so ti-mmn!~” Her sentence was cut off mid-word as she stifled a gasp and a blush rose up on her cheeks. She looked over her shoulder at the wall with an air of annoyance. Behind her, Mystery had begun to measure her ass, his paws getting rather close to her sensitive areas between and under her cheeks. Audie gave her a quizzical look.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked.
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” Ankha said, regaining her composure, “Myst is just taking some measurements to see if I’ve gotten any smaller…”
“Ahh, I see! I sure hope you have!” Audie nodded in understanding, a slight blush of her own appearing on her face from the odd noise that escaped Ankha’s lips. She couldn’t help but wonder if that was all that was happening back there. “Anyway, I heard that Pecan came by to visit yesterday. I do hope that she wasn’t mean to you, I know you two don’t really get along…”
“She was better than usual, I’ll say that.” Ankha said, “I was fully expecting her to berate me like the first day, but she kept her word, annoying as she can be.”
“Oh, I’m glad!” Audie said, “She can be a bit… snooty…” she chose her words carefully just in case Pecan somehow caught wind of it later, “but deep down, she’s passionate.”
“Yeah… I still don’t like or trust her.” Ankha said, “I’m just waiting for the moment she stabs me in the- Mph!”
“Still measuring?” Audie asked.
“N-No! What the hell is going on back there, Myst?!” Ankha’s voice got louder.
Mystery had committed the measurements to memory. Her belly was now 52.5 inches at the biggest point and her bottom measured in at 51.75 inches. She did indeed get slimmer! At this rate, he calculated that she should be able to at least budge in about 7 days. If he could convince her to exercise even a little bit every day, she could be out of there as soon as 4 days, but he would cross that bridge later. He didn’t want to dampen her mood further. He wrote the results down on the paper that Petri left with him. There was a light scent emanating from the paper. While Isabelle’s attention was turned elsewhere, he brought the clipboard up closer to his face and gave it a smell. He could pick out a mixture of perfume with a hint of sulfur, no doubt from the volatile concoctions that she often made. Those scents together made a unique smell that was oddly pleasant.
“So, where is she at today?” Isabelle asked, noticing that Mystery was done measuring.
“About half an inch slimmer at her belly and a quarter at her butt.” Mystery answered, sharing his thoughts on his projected estimate.
“Hmmm… Yeah, that sounds about right.” Isabelle said. “We can talk about her exercising another day. For now, let’s focus on how to disguise her…”
Isabelle looked at the decor surrounding the front door and figured that making Ankha’s bottom look like a trophy with a decorative shelf below might help it blend in. She went outside to grab a couple of fallen branches and brought them back in to function like antlers. Meanwhile, Mystery had grabbed a plank of lumber and laid it across Ankha’s legs and began to set plates, cups, and other tableware on it. Isabelle draped a doily on Ankha’s butt right below her tail and propped up the branches on each cheek, prompting Ankha to grunt and twitch in discomfort. They heard her shouts, even with the windows closed.

“Oh, just seeing how we can best disguise your backside for when the HHA gives my burrow an appraisal.” Mystery answered, hoping that she wouldn’t start kicking and break everything. “We’ll be taking it down soon since the appraisal isn’t actually until tomorrow.”
“You two are so annoying…” Ankha grumbled.
“Oh dear… Well, if you’re busy, I’ll come back another day.” Audie said, stifling a giggle. “I wish you luck tomorrow!” She bid Ankha a good day and walked away to go home.
“Sorry about that, Ankha,” Isabelle said, giving her a pat on the bottom, “We’ll get this taken down for now, but we’ll need to put it back up tomorrow for the HHA.”
“You’d better!” Ankha almost shouted, “This is embarrassing!”
“Well, you are kind of technically part of my house right now, so I really need to impress them since it’s the first time…” Mystery said, hoping that his reasoning would sway her to cooperate just long enough to get a good score.
“Tch… Fine.” Ankha said begrudgingly, “I’m not doing it for you, Myst, only so I can take credit for making your burrow look better.”
“Thanks, Ankha.” Mystery said, also patting her bottom. He removed the tableware and the plank from her legs while Isabelle reached up and removed the branches and doily.
Mystery and Isabelle decided to pass some time by bringing out a card game. They couldn’t play outside and include Ankha so as not to get the cards wet. They played several games and whiled the hours away, occasionally checking in with Ankha to make sure she didn’t need anything. Every time, she declined, still somewhat annoyed that they put her through that embarrassment, but getting calmer as time went on. After a few hours, they had another visitor in the form of Mabel, coming by to share some more snacks she baked. She made a new recipe for Isabelle to try, plus her most popular cookies for Mystery, and a new healthy snack recipe for Ankha. She stayed for a game or two and some lighthearted conversation with Isabelle and Mystery before she needed to continue on her way. She said her goodbyes and went back to the tailor shop. Fortunately, the rain had let up, so she didn’t need her umbrella. Ankha had also folded up the umbrella that Isabelle had lent to her and propped it up against the wall next to her.
Mystery got up from the table to cook dinner while Isabelle snacked on another pastry. While he was cooking, he was behind Isabelle, who was wagging her tail happily and humming a happy tune. His eyes wandered slowly down her back, lingering on her tail, and following the curves of her bottom as it hung over the edges of the seat. He couldn’t help but notice that she was bigger than when he first met her. She was able to fit through the back door fine the first day, but her hips had started to brush the frame when she passed through. Would she eventually be unable to visit anymore? He shook his head. ‘She just loves her pastries, that’s all…’ Mystery thought to himself, ‘Besides, there’s something cute about her…’ He returned his attention to the stovetop.
After several minutes, he finished cooking and served up a plate for Isabelle, Ankha, and himself. Before sitting down, he took Ankha’s plate out to her. He uttered a short apology for earlier before going back inside. Ankha mulled over his words while she ate, savoring every bite. She had to admit that on top of being nice, Mystery was a pretty good cook, too. Mystery rejoined Isabelle and enjoyed dinner with her, having nice conversation and getting to know her better. Once finished, he gathered the plates and set them next to the sink. He sat back down at the table to have a couple of cookies with Isabelle to finish off the rest of them.
“Well, that was a lovely dinner and dessert, Myst, thank you!” Isabelle said, leaning back and rubbing her stuffed belly which was showing under her shirt where it had pulled up from the waistband of her skirt.
"You're most welcome, Isabelle!" Mystery replied, leaning back as well.
"I hate to dine and dash, but I must get home before the sun sinks too low. I'll see you first thing in the morning, Myst!~" Isabelle said, standing up and walking by him and giving his shoulder a squeeze. He smiled at her as her sides brushed against the frame of the back door, went to Ankha's front half to bid her a good night, then started the walk back to her place.
Mystery went outside after a minute to pick up the dinner plate from Ankha. He knelt down in front of her and smiled warmly.
“How was it?” he asked.
"It was good. Thanks, Myst." Ankha said, not allowing herself to smile yet.
"You're most welcome, Ankha. Same sleeping arrangement as last night?"
"... Yes, please." she answered, letting a light blush fill her cheeks.
“You got it.”
Mystery smiled at her as he picked up the plate, stood up, and went back in through the back door. He washed all of the dishes from dinner and set them on the drying rack. As before, he moved the bed from the west wall to the front door where Ankha’s bottom rested. He positioned it to where he could sleep against her and provide closeness and comfort for her and she would provide a cozy pillow for him. He dropped his clothes off in the laundry bin which was getting full. He would need to wash them in the next day or two. Getting onto the bed, he leaned back on her and nestled in.
Ankha let herself smile now that Mystery wasn’t there to see. She felt him move the bed under her backside and prepare to settle in for another night. While he was doing that, she wrapped the blanket around her top half and breathed deeply of the mixed scent of Mystery and herself. Once he had leaned back and rested his head against her, she closed her eyes and shuffled her bottom a bit to get comfortable.
At least, she tried to get comfortable. She shuffled again, but had no success. She was just so…
“I can’t seem to get comfortable tonight…” she grumbled.
“What’s wrong, Ankha?” Mystery said, propping himself up and looking back at her tightly stuck butt that he was using as a pillow.
“I dunno, I’m just… sore, or something.” she said, twisting her back half in what little way she could, but ending up in the same position.
“Anything I can do to help?” he offered.
“Hmmm…” she thought for a moment before saying “Maybe a massage…?” She blushed as the words left her mouth.
“That might help, actually,” he agreed, “you have been in there for a few days now. You must be pretty stiff. I can only imagine how uncomfortably tight it must be for you.”
“You have no idea…” Ankha said with a hint of melancholy.
“Here, let me turn around…”
Mystery turned his body completely to face Ankha’s large butt. Reaching out, he placed his paws on her lower back where she was wedged and began to rub. This elicited a soft sigh from Ankha who closed her eyes again and tried to relax. He grabbed and squeezed and massaged her soft body, running his paws all along her pudgy sides where her love handles were keeping her firmly in place. He could swear that he heard her start to purr. Taking this as a sign that he was doing a good job, he continued the path down to her belly, rubbing the round expanse. She seemed to be purring deeper the longer he went. His paws sunk into the fat, making her body dimple under the pressure of his massage. Her body felt like a smooth velvet. He found that he was quite enjoying doing this for her.
His paws moved further down her body, rubbing her hips and into the crease where her belly met her bottom. This pocket was quite warm and he kept his paws there for a while, gripping and squeezing her hips. This elicited a soft “Mmmmn…” from Ankha, who was thoroughly enjoying being pampered like this. She wondered why she didn’t ask him to do this sooner. She felt another blush rise on her face, though this felt like it was coming from a different place. Something about him helping her with this rather compromising situation felt unexpectedly intimate. Though they had only met a few days ago, she was slowly learning to trust and rely on him if she had any hope of getting out of his front door. She gripped the blanket in her paws and nuzzled in deeper, letting him continue to help her feel better.
After about 15 minutes of massaging, Ankha felt much more comfortable.
“Mmmmh, that’s good. Thank you, Myst.” Ankha said, still purring.
“You’re most welcome, Ankha.” Mystery replied with a smile. “Let me know if you need another one in future and I’ll be happy to do it again.”
“I will. Good night.”
“Good night.”
Mystery turned back around and settled his back against her plush bottom as before, nestling his neck and head between her massive cheeks and resting his arms on her legs. Like the previous night, Ankha rested her legs on his belly in a pseudo hug. After a while, they both drifted off to sleep together, the silence outside only broken by the soft, slow chirp of a cricket in the distance.
Chapter 8 - Cat-Ass-Trophy Strikes!
Mystery stirred from his slumber, opening his eyes to see the sunlight pouring in from the eastern window. His face rested against Ankha’s left cheek. He leaned back in a stretch, pressing into her bottom. It did as it always did and simply displaced and flattened out in resistance to forward movement. This stirring woke Ankha from her sleep, who hugged the blanket closer to her and squeezed her thighs together, enveloping Mystery in a warm, soft hug.
“Mmmmmorning, Ankha.” Mystery grunted, trying to regain the breath that was squeezed out of him.
“Mmmnnn, morning, Myst.” Ankha replied, her voice still sleepy. She didn’t let him go for several seconds, whether she was still in a waking stupor or savoring the close feeling, neither of them knew. After a while, Mystery patted her on the calf and she released him from her grip so he could sit up.
As always, Mystery got out of bed, went through his morning stretches for several minutes, then put on some clothes. He got his bed put back against the western wall, grabbed some peaches and a damp cloth, then went out the back door to visit Ankha’s front half and share breakfast with her. He saw her still bundled up in the blanket and smiled, shaking his head slightly. Despite their somewhat rocky start and her gruff and overbearing personality, she could still be pretty cute. He squatted in front of her and lifted the end of the blanket a bit to see her peeking through at him. He chuckled and held up a peach. She giggled in turn at how silly this must look and let go of the blanket so that he could take it off and they could have breakfast.
“I brought out some fruit for us.” Mystery said, lifting the blanket up and off of Ankha, letting the filtered sunlight come through.
“So I saw.” Ankha replied, “Peaches, huh? It’s not honey, but they’ll do.”
“Afraid not. That’s what got you in here in the first place.” Mystery said, “No more of that until you’re out.” He offered one of the peaches to her.
“Bummer.” Ankha said, taking the peach and biting into it, letting the juice run down her chin. Mystery saw this and chuckled, reaching out with the damp cloth to wipe the juice away before it could travel down to her breasts. This earned a smile and a blush from Ankha.
“You know,” Mystery began, holding up one of the peaches and turning it so the cleft was facing her, “if you look at it like this, it kinda looks like your butt.” He winked at her.
“Oh, so that’s why you brought me peaches?” Ankha said with an indignant air, “To make fun of me?”
“What? No, I wasn’t-”
“I’ll have you know that my bottom is much better and juicier than any mere peach!” she said, huffing. After a moment, she couldn’t keep it up much longer and let out a giggle. “I was just kidding, Myst, lighten up!”
Mystery felt relieved that she wasn’t really mad. On the contrary, she was starting to feel more comfortable around him and was capable of joking. This took him by pleasant surprise. He laughed and bit into the peach in his paw. She winked at him, making him almost choke on the juices which began to dribble down his chin as well. He blushed rather intensely.
“Oh, come here, you’re such a mess.” Ankha beckoned for him to lean in, which he obliged. She reached up and wiped the juice from his chin with her paw, leaving it on his jaw slightly longer than was necessary. When she had finished, she took her paw back, wiped it on the damp cloth, and took another bite of peach.
They both kept eating and talking, occasionally letting out some laughter. This was a pleasant change of pace from the past several days. They each felt like they were getting a bit closer emotionally, which was completely unexpected given the strange circumstances that brought them together in the first place. After they had had their fill, they cleaned up and Mystery stood up.
“I’m going to take your measurements for Petri real quick, then come back out. Hang tight!” he said, winking at her teasingly.
“Ha ha.” Ankha said in a monotone before giggling a moment later.
Mystery took his leave and went back to the back door, ducking in and tossing the peach stones in the bin. He picked up the measuring tape and walked over to the ever-present bottom hanging on his south wall and wrapped the tape around her belly. Today, it measured 52 inches. Another steady improvement! He moved the tape to her butt and found that it had also shrunk a little bit. It was now at 51.5 inches. He nodded approvingly and gave her cheek a couple of pats, causing it to ripple slightly. She wiggled her bottom in response. Smiling, he turned to pick up the clipboard and write down the results. Setting the clipboard back down on the table, he went back around to Ankha’s front to share the news.
“It doesn’t feel like I’ve gotten slimmer…” Ankha said.
“Well, it might not feel like it, but it’s true!” Mystery said happily. “If you would be willing to do even a little bit of exercise, you could be out sooner.”
“Hmmm… I’ll think about it.” she said, still somewhat skeptical.
After a few more hours of chatting, they heard chatter and giggling coming from down the path. It was Isabelle, and it seemed that she was in the company of Rosie and Cherry. When they got close enough, they waved and called out to Mystery and Ankha, who waved in turn.
“Hello, Myst!” Cherry called.
“Hey, Ankha!” Rosie added.
“Hey, everyone!” Mystery said happily.
“Sorry to arrive later than usual, Myst,” Isabelle said, “I had some work to catch up on, then I ran into these two who wanted to drop by and see how they could help!”
“That’s totally understandable, Isabelle!” Mystery said, “I bet you’ve got a bit of a backlog now since you’ve spent most of your days here lately.”
Mystery shared the results of the measurements with Isabelle, who smiled and nodded.
“So far, so good!” Isabelle said in her chipper way.
“Yeah! We haven’t tried getting her to budge yet today, but maybe Cherry and Rosie would be willing to help us with that?” Mystery suggested.
“That’s a good idea.” Isabelle agreed. Turning to them, she asked “Hey, Rosie, Cherry, are you two willing to do a bit of pulling?”
“Sure!” the girls responded in unison, giggling at the coincidence.
“Alright,” Mystery said, formulating a plan. “Let’s have you three form a chain in front of Ankha, starting with Cherry, then Rosie, then Isabelle. I’ll go around and push. I’ll count us down, then we’ll go on intervals of 5 seconds on, 3 seconds off, until any one of us calls it off for any reason. Does that sound good to everyone?”
All of the girls nodded in consensus and got into formation. Cherry held her paws out for Ankha to take as Rosie wrapped her arms around Cherry’s waist and Isabelle got behind Rosie and hugged her closely from behind. Ankha reached up and took hold of Cherry’s paws and gripped them. Mystery walked around through the back door, opened the east and west windows, and positioned himself behind Ankha’s bare bottom. Placing his paws on the large cheeks in front of him caused both him and Ankha to blush. Cherry saw Ankha’s face light up which she assumed meant that Mystery was in position. She leaned back to remove the slack between their arms. She also couldn’t suppress a light blush seeing how Ankha’s naked breasts dangled, the nipples slightly erect. Whether that was due to a slight breeze or from having Mystery behind her and making direct contact with her ass in a rather intimate way, she would never know.
“Ready out here, Myst!” Cherry called.
“Alright,” Mystery confirmed, “start pulling in 3…”
Mystery set his feet and bent his knees.
“2…”
Cherry, Rosie, and Isabelle all tightened their grips.
“1…”
Ankha did her best to relax her body and closed her eyes.
“NOW!”
“UuuuUUUUNFFF!!” Ankha groaned as she was pulled hard by the line of girls in front of her and pushed hard from behind by Mystery. Her top half stretched forward more than it ever had before with three others pulling. The force was so great that she couldn’t even try pulling against them. She could only hope to keep her grip on Cherry.
	Isabelle pulled hard on Rosie, who in turn hugged Cherry closely and pulled hard, pressing her modest-sized breasts into her back. Cherry gripped Ankha’s paws tightly and tugged. She pictured Mystery’s burrow as a large bottle and Ankha as an oversized cork in an impossibly tight bottleneck. The girls all used their legs to add extra force to their effort.
From behind, Mystery heaved against the massive blockage, pressing his paws deep into the softness of Ankha’s bottom. Her corked belly stubbornly bunched up against the wall of the burrow and her cheeks flattened and spread out, giving Mystery quite a look at her undercarriage, her warm and inviting pussy, and every crease that it would normally conceal. The view was incredibly arousing, causing his heart to speed up and his loins to react accordingly. Her ass looked much bigger than it really was as he pushed on it.
Ankha’s face heated up immensely from the feeling of being pushed and pulled so hard. On the one hand, it was kind of embarrassing needing to rely on everyone like this to get her unstuck. But on the other hand, there was something about this whole thing that felt oddly… good? She was pretty sure it had mostly to do with Mystery handling her bottom so roughly and getting really close to her most sensitive areas. The tightness around her middle was definitely uncomfortable, but she could ignore that in the moment.
After 5 seconds, everyone relaxed and let Ankha’s body come to rest which snapped right back to where she was. Nobody could tell, but she did budge the tiniest bit, packing more of her belly tightly into the front door to make up for the little bit of weight that she lost. After a few seconds of rest, Mystery shouted “Heave!” and their efforts renewed again. Ankha let out another moan as her wedged body was tugged and strained against for a second attempt. Her breasts swayed forward and back as she was pulled and released.
“Ho!” Cherry called out at the start of the third attempt. Mystery grunted from inside the burrow as he pressed his shoulder into Ankha’s rump. “Heave!” Rosie called next on  the fourth attempt. Ankha’s legs kicked futilely behind her as Mystery pressed his back into her between her thick thighs. “Ho!” Isabelle called out for the fifth attempt. Ankha gripped Mystery between her legs in a bid to try to reclaim some comfort as her body was beginning to get sore.
This cycle repeated with one of them calling out the start of a fresh pushing and pulling interval. Each of the girls grunted, groaned, and moaned in their own way as the minutes passed and their strength began to wane. Eventually, Ankha called a stop to the efforts due to her arms beginning to hurt from being pulled so hard. The line of girls stepped forward and Cherry released her grip on Ankha while Isabelle let Rosie go. Rosie had almost forgotten to let go of Cherry and kept her held in a hug for a moment longer than was necessary. Blushing, she let go and stepped up to stand next to her friend. Cherry smiled kindly at Rosie and placed a paw on her shoulder.
“Damn…” Cherry panted, “Sorry we couldn’t get you to budge, Ankh.”
“Don’t worry… I didn’t expect to anyway…” Ankha breathed.
“It was worth a try…” Mystery panted, slumped down against Ankha’s butt. “Let’s all rest up and drink some water and I’ll get lunch started.” he called out toward the window.
Mystery picked himself up off the floor, placed a sympathetic paw on Ankha’s bottom and gave a gentle squeeze. The only reaction she gave was the smallest twitch of her tail and a small grateful smile that the other girls couldn’t see. Mystery filled up some glasses with water while the girls filed in through the back door. Isabelle shuffled in sideways much like yesterday and took a seat at the table. Rosie took one of the glasses and went back outside to Ankha and gave it to her, which she gladly took. Rosie went back around to join the rest of the group and sat at the table next to Cherry. Mystery made a large pot of soup and a salad for each of them. He set the empty bowls and plates of salad in front of each girl and the pot in the middle of the table so they could serve themselves. He then took a full bowl and a plate of salad out and around to Ankha and set them on the blanket from that morning to keep it off the ground.
“Thank you, Myst…” Ankha said, blushing and smiling, but averting her gaze. “I do appreciate what you do for me…” She had found it rather difficult to say, not being used to saying such things.
“You’re welcome, Ankha.” Mystery replied. Without really thinking, he reached out and took her paw in his, squeezing it lightly before leaving to go back and join the others for lunch. She watched him go and bit her lower lip and squeezed her thighs together behind her. She asked herself if she was growing fond of him? She pushed the thought aside for now and picked up the plate of salad to begin eating.
Mystery rejoined the girls inside the burrow and took the seat next to Isabelle who shared a warm smile with him as he sat down. They all tucked in and held idle chatter while they relaxed and enjoyed the meal. Isabelle picked up on the subtle way that Rosie paid closer attention to Cherry and gave her such an admiring look every time she spoke. She smiled knowingly, but gave it no further acknowledgement. The chips would fall where they would in due time.
Once everyone had had their fill, Rosie and Cherry volunteered to take care of the dishes. Cherry went out to Ankha’s front half to pick up her dishes and brought them back in, working together with Rosie to get everything cleaned up. While they were doing that, Isabelle caught Mystery’s eye.
“You know, I heard that the HHA was doing their inspections today and sending out letters the same day.” Isabelle mentioned.
“I never really understood how they do that without ever actually coming into my place.” Mystery pondered.
“I’m sure they have their ways…” Isabelle said, a slight shiver running down her spine. “Anyway, we really should get Ankha set back up with the decorations. It might also be a good idea to spruce up the front, just in case.”
“Hmmm… I think you’re right.” Mystery agreed. “Hey Cherry, Rosie, once you’re done there, do you think you two could go get some flowers to place out in front of my burrow, please?” He called over to them.
“You’ve got it!” Rosie said, drying her paws. “Come on, Cherry!” She said, leading the way out the back door.
“Coming!” Cherry replied, setting the towel on the hook to dry and following her friend out.
“Alright, let’s get to work!” Isabelle said, approaching Ankha’s backside. “I’m sorry, Ankha, but we need to put the decorations back up for the time being.”
“As long as I get credited for making this burrow look nicer.” Ankha said with a huff, turning her nose to the sky.
Mystery grinned and shook his head. As before, he placed the plank of wood on her calves and set up the decorative dishes while Isabelle draped the doily over her lower back and set the branches up on her cheeks. Taking a step back to look, it did actually look rather nice and blended in with the rest of the burrow.
While that was happening, Rosie and Cherry walked out and around to Ankha’s front to explain what they were doing and went on their way. The pair talked and giggled as they walked the path, keeping their eyes out for any flowers that looked like they would help spruce up Mystery’s front yard.
“Oooh! What do you think of this one, Cherry?” Rosie asked, skipping over to some yellow flowers and bending down over them, her bottom sticking out towards Cherry and her tail swishing happily.
“That looks delightful!” Cherry affirmed, though she never clarified if she meant the flowers or not. Either way, Rosie plucked them with glee and put them in her pocket, rejoining her best friend. They continued walking, pointing out flowers and picking the best looking ones. After about 10 minutes, they had enough to plant in front of Ankha without overdoing it, so they started to head back. Rosie walked closely alongside Cherry, their arms practically touching. They each smiled to themselves, wondering if their feelings would be mutual.
They made their way back to Ankha’s front half and Rosie produced the flowers from her pocket, planting them here and there and everywhere, some out by the mailbox, others close to Ankha.
“Those look nice.” Ankha said, her nose twitching a little bit. She giggled a little bit, but the others couldn’t see the reason why.
“Thank you!” Rosie replied, “We hope that this helps you and Myst get a good score!”
“Did I hear that you’re back already with the flowers?” Isabelle called out, coming around the corner. Her eyes lit up seeing all the different colors. “These look splendid, you two!”
“Thanks!” Cherry said.
	On the inside, Mystery had just started to do one more dusting while Isabelle went out to check out the flowers. He brushed the duster lightly around the plates and other decorations balanced on the plank and accidentally made contact with Ankha’s bottom, tickling her. This caused Ankha to giggle and wiggle her butt a bit, the plates rattled and one of the branches made a snapping noise. He raised his paws in an effort to will everything to stay in place. After a moment, he breathed a sigh of relief and resumed dusting, this time more carefully.
“These flowers…” Ankha said, her nose twitching more and sniffling.
“What’s up, Ankha?” Isabelle asked, craning her head to see if she was okay.
“I think they’re going to make me… Ahhh… Ahhhh… AAAA-CHOOO!”
	Inside, Ankha’s legs started to move a bit, making the dishes clatter.
“Oh no… No no no! SHIT!!” Mystery almost shouted, trying in vain to keep everything in place.
	As Ankha let out a mighty sneeze, her legs kicked out and her ass shook violently, breaking the branches propped up on her cheeks, making the plank and everything on it come crashing down on top of Mystery who tried to catch it all, but failed. He wound up in a messy pile with everything broken on the ground around him. At least the doily remained in place.

“Aw man… This didn’t go well at all…” Mystery groaned.
	The girls all heard the mighty shattering and crashing sounds coming from inside and they all winced before looking at each other, their faces contorted in a shared cringe. Ankha wiped her nose. Rosie and Cherry got to work moving the flowers closest to Ankha so that they wouldn’t bother her anymore. After several minutes, they got everything reorganized. From above, Isabelle heard the sound of flapping wings descending towards her. It was Pete the letter carrier!
“Hello there, Isabelle!” Pete greeted her, “Fancy seeing you here! I have a package for you and a letter for Mystery.” He pulled the box and letter out from his bag and handed them both to her. “It sure smells nice!”
“That it does, thanks…” Isabelle said, still trying to wrap her head around just what happened. Rosie and Cherry approached and took the envelope off the top of the package and read who it was from. Their ears drooped a bit, knowing what was coming. Pete took off to continue on his route. The girls told Ankha that they were going back in to help Mystery inside and they all went around the west side of the burrow to enter through the back door. They saw Mystery cleaning up the aftermath of the sneeze. Isabelle cleared her throat to let their presence be known.
“Hey, girls…” Mystery said, looking up at them, disappointment etched on his face.
“Hey, Myst. So, Pete just dropped by and had a letter for you.” Cherry said, “It’s the HHA. You’d probably better read it…”
“Thanks, Cherry.” Mystery said, taking the envelope. “What’d you get, Isabelle?”
“Oh, this?” Isabelle asked, holding the package, “It appears to be from Mabel.”
“More pastries?” he asked.
“Smells like it, yeah.” she confirmed.
“Let’s open them up and have some to help lighten the mood, shall we?” Rosie suggested. The other girls agreed and took it to the table to open it. Inside was an assortment of baked goods and snacks. They all picked at the different items while Mystery sat on the ground in front of Ankha’s bottom and opened the letter.
“Dear Mystery,
	After having appraised your home, we regret to inform you that you earned a failing score. It would be wise to clean up the mess cluttering your front door. Broken dishes on the floor do not make good decorations, let alone a trophy that looks like a large cat’s bottom hanging on your wall. We recommend correcting these issues to improve your score.
Sincerely,
The HHA
P.S. Nice touch with the flowers.”
Mystery crumpled up the letter and tossed it aside and stood up to join the girls at the table. The pastries did help brighten the mood a bit. Mystery looked over at the mess and viewed it from a detached perspective. He couldn’t help but let out a laugh at how ridiculous it seemed. The girls all looked as well and giggled. There was just something oddly funny about the whole thing. Once all the pastries had been finished off, they all pitched in to help Mystery clean up the mess.
“Thanks, girls,” Mystery said, “I really appreciate you all.”
“No problem!” Isabelle said brightly. “I’m just glad you and Ankha are okay.”
“Me too.” he replied.
“Well, as much fun as we had today, we’ve got some other things to get done.” Cherry said, “Right, Rosie?” Her tail wagged.
“Right!” Rosie replied, smiling widely.
“Alright, thanks for helping me out today!” Mystery said.
“I should get going, too,” Isabelle added, “There’s still plenty of work to get caught up on at the office.”
Mystery bid the girls a good evening as they filed out through the back door and went on their way. The setting sun was shining through the western window and Mystery was left alone with Ankha for the rest of the day. He decided to go out to her front half and spend the last few hours of sunlight with her out there. He exited through his back door and approached her top, giving her a sympathetic smile.
“Mind if I have a seat?” Mystery asked.
“Sure.” Ankha accepted, patting the spot in front of her.
“Thanks.” Mystery said, walking in front of her, turning his back towards her and sitting down, leaning back to rest his head between her breasts, stretching his legs out in front of him. She smiled and draped her arms around his neck to rest on his chest. She inhaled to subtly take in the scent of his hair and let out a sigh. They both sat there in silence for several minutes, listening to the ambient sounds around them before Mystery spoke up.
“The HHA gave us a failing score.” Mystery said.
“Hm.” Ankha muttered. “Fuck ‘em. They wouldn't know what beauty was if it slapped them in the face anyway."
"Heh, yeah, it’s their loss…" he replied, chuckling slightly. This was helping him feel a bit better about the whole thing. “At least I know what beauty looks like. It’s round, soft, and juicier than any mere peach.”
This elicited a genuine giggle out of Ankha. She tightened her grip slightly, hugging him closer. She was enjoying the praise, despite the strange way that he worded it.
“Tell me more.” Ankha said in a half requesting, half commanding way.
“More, huh?” Mystery asked, “Well, the past few days would sure be a lot less… interesting if you hadn’t taken me up on my offer for lunch.” He smiled and reached up to place his paw on one of hers, holding it affectionately.
“Mmm, that’s certainly true.” Ankha agreed. “What ever would you do without me?”
“Probably sitting in my home, alone, without a bodacious butt to keep me company.”
“You really do like it?” she asked, blushing.
“Of course! I must say it’s quite attractive. Not to mention incredibly sexy.”
“Mmmh… It’s not too big?” Her heart sped up a bit.
“Certainly not. Like you said before, it’s my front door that’s too small.”
Ankha reveled in the praise that he was heaping on her. She took the paw that Mystery wasn’t holding and began to trace random patterns across his chest while they enjoyed the moment, watching the leaves of the trees sway slightly in the breeze as the sun sunk deeper on the western horizon. After another several minutes, she spoke up again.
“You know, I was thinking…” Ankha trailed off, prompting Mystery to turn his head up to look her in the eyes.
“What’s up?” he asked. The way he looked up at her caused her to blush a bit and avert her eyes before she continued.
“Last night, when you were massaging my belly and hips… That felt really good. Can you do that for me again? And maybe my legs and ass, too…?”
Mystery was taken aback slightly at the request. Nevertheless, he smiled and nodded.
“As you wish.” He said, giving her paw a gentle squeeze before sitting up and walking around the west side of the burrow to enter through the back door.
Mystery was starting to get used to being greeted by Ankha’s bottom protruding from his front door. He could hardly believe there was a time when he was annoyed by it. He approached her backside as her tail swished happily.
“Alright, Ankha, here we go.” Mystery said loud enough for her to hear through the windows that he had left open from earlier.
“Mmh…” Ankha responded, letting her whole body relax in anticipation. She grabbed the blanket and pulled it in to use like a pillow. She crossed her arms under her breasts and rested her head on them.
Much like before, Mystery started with the part of her that was plugged in the small hole. He reached his paws up to massage her sides, feeling the softness of her love handles yield under his touch. He spent plenty of time working on them before moving his paws up to her lower back, stepping forward. His arms rested on her butt in order to reach comfortably. He could feel her melting into relaxation as his paws worked their magic. After a while, his paws wandered down to her velvety belly. He practically had her bottom in a hug to reach every last bit of her.
“Mmmmmn… That feels so good…” Ankha moaned. Her eyes had closed as her head sank deeper into the comfortable blanket covering her boobs.
“And I’m only getting started…” Mystery replied. His paws worked their way to her hips where he ended last night’s session, groping and squeezing her. His face heated up as he made his way down to the V-shaped spot right under her pudgy belly where it met her thighs. This caused Ankha to moan softly again and shift her bottom and legs a bit to give him more space to work. He was very much enjoying the warmth his paws were feeling. He lingered there for a while before bringing both paws to her left foot.
Mystery rubbed the pads and squeezed them, making her toes flex in response. After a couple of minutes of this, his paws traveled up her leg, working out any stray knots in her muscles that she might have been dealing with. Ankha let out another soft moan as he pampered her thoroughly. As he worked up her thigh, it took more time to cover since it was so thick. His right paw got very close to her sensitive slit nestled between her upper thighs. This spot was very hot in comparison to others that he had covered. He carefully worked near it, but didn’t touch it. She shifted her legs a little further apart to give him an easier time massaging her.
Ankha’s breathing had gotten deeper and her paws gripped the blanket. Her face had become deeply flushed. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold on. Once Mystery had finished that leg, he did the same for her right leg, starting at her foot and making his way up the right thigh. By the time he had almost finished her right leg, he noticed that her pussy was glistening a bit in the light and the lips were slightly engorged. It was evident that she was getting turned on by this. His face went beet red. Granted, he couldn’t deny that he was just as aroused. His dick was at full attention under his clothes. Before he went any further, he took off his clothes, letting himself stand unimpeded. Much more comfortable!
He moved his paws up and placed them on her large ass, but instead of pushing like he usually would, he kneaded the cheeks, feeling them squish in his grasp, working around the outer parts. Ankha began to moan more consistently and a little louder as he worked her butt. She was absolutely loving this feeling, both the massaging sensation as well as the fact that she couldn’t see behind her and had no idea what he was going to do next. She took her left paw and brought it to her right breast and began to caress and stimulate it.
Mystery pressed his paws into her soft bottom in massaging motions closer to the middle, making her cheeks spread and exposing her pucker. Ankha flinched once or twice involuntarily from the twinges of pleasure she was experiencing. His paws traveled down to her lower cheeks right above her thighs and squeezed. Her pussy twitched and got wetter as it was being stimulated indirectly. Her breathing got hotter and heavier as he massaged.
With how she was responding to all of this, he figured that it would be welcome to get a bit creative with his massage. He grabbed her left cheek with his left paw, pushing it out to spread her a bit while his right paw guided his throbbing cock to its target. He placed it right in the middle against her pucker and took her right cheek in his right paw to squeeze the cheeks together on his shaft, gliding it up and down slowly between her cheeks in a teasing way. This elicited a suggestive giggle from Ankha.
"Getting a bit fresh, are we?" she asked.
She flexed her buttocks as he thrusted up and released as he pulled down. After several of these thrusts, he realigned and pushed his cock right below her pussy between her upper thighs, brushing his shaft along her clit which elicited some pleasurable moans from her. She squeezed her thighs together both to receive a more pleasurable feeling and to give him more friction. Finally, after several minutes of this foreplay, she could no longer stand it.
“Mmm, Mystery…” Ankha said in a low, sultry tone.
“Yes, Ankha?” Mystery answered.
“Take me.” she commanded, her inner thighs quivering in ecstasy.
“Gladly.” Mystery said with a grin.
Mystery pulled his cock out from between her thighs, took his right paw and swiped it gently across her wet slit and rubbed the slick natural lubrication up and down his shaft. He aligned the head and rubbed it against her lips in one more tease before he pushed forward, sliding it in easily. Ankha gasped from the filling feeling and let out a louder moan than she had expected to. She bit onto the blanket to muffle further sounds so as not to attract unwanted attention. Mystery left it in her at maximum depth for a moment to let her get used to the feeling. Her pussy gripped his shaft in a way that told him that she was ready. He grabbed her hips and began to slowly pull out most of the way before pushing back in, his hips contacting her ass. He repeated this motion at the same speed for a couple of minutes.
Ankha’s mind was filled with euphoria. There was a ‘full’ feeling right under her belly as Mystery’s cock stretched her pussy walls. It made her stuck body feel like it was being squeezed even tighter in the front door, but in a more pleasurable way. She had to open her legs just a bit to accommodate him better. She wanted all of him so badly.
“Ahhhn…!~ Faster…” Ankha said between moans.
	He did as he was bid and sped up a bit, putting more force into his thrusting. Each push in made a wet slapping noise against her ass. His paws gripped onto her hips, pulling himself against her butt. The feeling was incredible, like a hot, inviting wetness enveloping him.
	Ankha felt her ass ripple with each of his thrusts against it. She dug her claws into the blanket and bit down harder as her moans and the pleasure became more intense.
“Harder, Myst…! Mmmmnh! Faster…!” Ankha moaned out.
	Mystery did as commanded and went harder and faster for her. Ankha was getting close to climax. Her knees pressed into the wall and her toes curled as the pressure inside her built up. After another moment, she let out a muffled, almost primal moan as she came hard and her pussy contracted and squeezed his dick tightly.
	He still wasn’t finished yet, so he kept up the pace, thrusting into her tight hole and fondling her stuck ass. The wet slapping sound echoed throughout the burrow. Her moans continued as he rode on. Since he felt her climax, he didn’t change the pace so that she was more likely to keep riding that high.
This went on for several minutes and she had come again, her thighs were now a quivering mess. Mystery was getting close, so he gripped her ass with his left paw, pulled out and used his right paw to stroke himself to completion, shooting his hot load all over her cheeks. He leaned against her twitching bottom as she was still in the throes of ecstasy.
“Mmmh… That was good…” Mystery said, panting. “I think we both needed that…”
“Yeah, it was…” Ankha agreed, “I bet I’ll be feeling that tomorrow…~”
Mystery chuckled and rubbed his paws on a part of her bottom that he hadn’t covered.
“Let’s get you cleaned up and I’ll start dinner. Sound good?” he asked.
“Yes, that would be good.” Ankha said.
Mystery took a moist towel and cleaned up her backside, making sure to get every crevice. Once done, he rinsed off the towel and cleaned himself up. He put the towel on top of the pile of dirty laundry then put his clothes back on.
He went to the kitchen and started cooking up a protein-rich meal with eggs as the primary ingredient to help replenish the energy they spent. He glanced over his shoulder at Ankha’s backside and smiled fondly. He was glad that they were getting closer and starting to open up to one another. Once done, he plated it up and brought it out to her front half and sat with her to enjoy the meal. They ate in relative silence, occasionally letting their eyes meet. Whenever that happened, they shared an affectionate smile before returning to their food. After they finished, Ankha thanked Mystery for the meal. He stood up, picked up the plates, and went back through the back door to wash them.
Mystery stretched his arms above his head and yawned. He was ready to get to bed. He closed his windows before moving the frame and mattress back to the south wall where Ankha’s bottom waited. He positioned it as before, removed his clothes, and got under the covers, settling into Ankha’s warmth. She pulled the blanket around her top and shifted her legs behind her to better embrace him and blushed as he leaned his head back.
“Good night, Ankha!” Mystery called. “Sweet dreams!”
“Good night, Mystery…” Ankha said loud enough for him to hear, then quietly added “... You too…”
Chapter 9 - Ankha is Making Progress!
Mystery woke up with a smile still on his face. Despite the whole HHA debacle, yesterday was a great day. He and Ankha were starting to become closer. He yawned and stretched his limbs out, leaning back into the bottom that he had been resting against for the past few nights.
Ankha also woke up with a slight smile which was very unusual for her. She felt Mystery stirring behind her and she stretched her legs out on either side of him before bringing them together in a squeeze.
"Mmmmmh, good morning, Myst.~" Ankha said, uncharacteristically brighter than all the times before.
"Gooood morning, Ankha!" Mystery grunted as he was gripped by her thighs squeezing the air out of him. He reached up and patted her on the rump, prompting her to release her grip.”
“Sleep well?” She asked, wiggling her backside a bit to tease him.
“Definitely! That ‘exercise’ really helped. How about you?” He inquired, grinning and leaning back more steeply to squish against her.
“Better than I have in a while, which is saying something.” She answered, “Maybe we can keep doing that. Just not tonight since I'm still a bit sore.”
“Fair enough,” he agreed, sliding off the bed and moving it to its normal spot. He went through the usual motions of his morning routine before getting dressed and starting to cook breakfast.
Off in the distance, Isabelle could be seen making her way to Mystery’s place, a slightly less chipper look on her face as if she were still tired.  As she got closer, she could see Ankha’s face in more detail and she looked… happier than usual? Almost like a particularly warm glow emanating from her as if she had recently… The shih tzu smiled and waved as she approached, getting a wave in return.
“Good morning, Ankha!” Isabelle said, “You sure look happier today!”
“Do I?” Anhka asked, suddenly becoming a bit self-conscious. “I mean, I do feel a bit better than I have been lately, thanks to Mystery.”
“I see!” Isabelle replied, “He is a pretty swell guy, isn’t he?”
“... Yeah, he is.” Ankha answered, breaking eye contact and blushing slightly, keeping the soft smile on her face.
Isabelle couldn’t stifle the yawn that snuck up on her. She brought a paw to her mouth to cover it. “I don’t know what’s going on with me, but I feel more tired than usual this morning…”
“Maybe some coffee will help?” Ankha suggested, “Myst is making breakfast right now, so he could give you a cup.”
“Yeah, maybe so.” Isabelle said, “I’ll go in and talk with him for a bit, if that’s alright?”
“You hardly need my permission.” Ankha said, her eyes giving a sly look that said that she was being sarcastic.
Isabelle giggled before walking toward the back door. Ankha couldn’t help but stare at Isabelle’s ever-softening middle and ever-widening hips as she walked away. Every step made her hips sway from side to side with a slight jiggle, her love handles peeking out from between her skirt's waistband and the hem of her shirt, and her large butt hoisting her skirt up more than intended which showed off her thick thighs as they brushed together. When she got to the back door, she knocked before opening it and shuffling in sideways to try to avoid having her larger frame bump into the edges, but to no avail. Her belly touched one side of the doorframe and her butt brushed the other. Mystery looked up from his cooking to greet Isabelle with a smile.
“Hey there, Isabelle!” Mystery said in a chipper tone.
“Hey Myst!” Isabelle replied, trying to mask how tired she was. “Always good to see you.~” She added with the slightest of blushes.
“Yeah, same!” Myst replied, turning his attention back to his cooking. “Breakfast is almost ready.”
“Oh thank you, I am a bit hungry…” She said, her stomach grumbling at her since she didn’t have any leftover pastries this morning. “To be honest, I’m a bit tired, too. Any chance I could have you make me some coffee?”
“Sure thing.” He said, filling the water reservoir on the coffee machine and putting a fresh filter with grounds in the main compartment.
Isabelle took a seat at the table and closed her eyes, breathing deeply through her nose to take in all the scents and hopefully help her wake up. Among the smells of breakfast cooking on the stovetop and coffee brewing in the pot, she could pick up on a specific scent… It smelled like there had recently been a lot of physical exertion… particularly sexual excitement. The mixed scents of Mystery and Ankha overtook her senses. She now knew why Ankha was in a much happier mood and her blush turned scarlet. Her imagination ran wild. She wasn't sure how long she had been thinking about it, but when she regained focus, she saw Mystery giving her a concerned look as he set her plate and mug in front of her. She blinked a few times before uttering her thanks and starting to eat slowly. Mystery took a plate and mug out to Ankha's front half, shared a warm smile with her, then returned to the dining table to join Isabelle, who had hardly made any progress on her breakfast.
“Something on your mind, Isabelle?” He asked.
“... Yeah, it’s just…. “I can tell what you and Ankha did last night and it certainly isn’t helping me concentrate on what I’ve got going on back home. I’ve got so much work piling up since I’ve been coming over and being here now with the sight of her nakedness and imagining the night you two had… I keep thinking about it and can't stop. I think I need to take a break today. Is that okay…?” She asked him with an almost pleading look in her eyes.
Mystery blushed just as brightly as Isabelle was and swallowed. He didn't expect her to be able to tell that easily. Then again, she was a dog. He had to wonder if she was picturing herself in Ankha's place and was maybe a little bit jealous. He gave an understanding smile and nodded. “Of course you can. You've been working so hard to help me and Ankha from the beginning and I really appreciate you. You deserve a break. We’ll be okay for today, I promise.”
“Thanks, Myst.~” Isabelle said with a sheepish smile, bringing a paw up to brush a bit of hair from her face. With that issue no longer weighing on her, she regained some of her appetite and returned to her breakfast. She and Mystery sat and talked over their meals while Ankha's tail occasionally swished in the background. It helped her to talk and vent about the work she needed to catch up on. Once she had finished her plate and the coffee, she thanked Mystery for the meal and left through the backdoor, shuffling sideways like before. Mystery got a proper look this time and blushed as he watched her leave. Sooner or later, she might end up plugging his backdoor and then he'd really be in trouble!
Isabelle bid Ankha a good day and left to go home to catch up on sleep before tackling the mayoral workload. Mystery came back out front to take the plate and mug from Ankha before starting the cleanup inside. By the time he was finished, another visitor had almost arrived.
Petri had freshened herself up this morning after another night spent working on the new experiment after the last one exploded. Her hair was still very slightly damp and smelled of the blueberry shampoo that she liked. Her clipboard was tucked under her arm, pressed against the side of her left breast.She had dressed in a top that might have once fit before, but now hugged her a bit tightly and accentuated her curves. She also wore a short skirt that came down to her mid thigh and a long lab coat that fluttered around her ankles as she walked.
She was a mouse on a mission. She had given Mystery an assignment and was just checking in on the progress. It certainly didn’t serve any other purpose. Nope. She didn’t spend the extra time on her appearance for any particular reason. She always looked this good. Yes.
As she approached, she saw the top half of Ankha still sticking out from Mystery’s front door. She adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose and gave a cute wave and a giggle. Ankha gave a small wave and a reluctant grin in exchange.
“Hey Ankha!” Petri called, “Still in a tight spot, I see!”
“Hey Petri,” Ankha replied, “yep, still stuck.” She gave a fruitless push to demonstrate, stretching forward a little bit before snapping right back. Her large boobs jiggled as they bumped into the wall framing her.
“Shame, that.” Petri said, stepping in a bit closer to get a better view and pulling her clipboard out from under her arm so she could write down some observations. “I’m going to take some notes, if that’s okay.” She said, starting to write without waiting for a response. She noted that Ankha’s top half didn’t really look much different from the first day. She reached out and gently touched and prodded the bulging bits around the tight front door, causing Ankha to blush and make soft grunts of annoyance and embarrassment. The longer the mouse spent doing this, the further her mind wandered. A light blush rose on her cheeks seeing how the small hole hugged the cat so tightly that it formed pucker marks where there was too much of her trying to get through. She didn’t let herself gawk, though. She had work to do. All the while, she was writing down her thoughts on her clipboard.
“Mhm… I’m going to need to see the back. Is Mystery inside?” Petri asked, the slightest bit of excitement escaping through her voice.
“Yeah, he’s cleaning up from breakfast.” Ankha said awkwardly, her mind preoccupied from being scrutinized so closely. She missed the tone in which Petri asked her question.

Petri smiled and nodded, tucking her clipboard back under her arm before walking around the side of the burrow to the back door. She knocked then took a step back and waited for Mystery to open the door. It didn’t take long.
“Hey Myst!” Petri said happily, the light blush having not dissipated from earlier. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose again. “I’m here to get some measurements and collect your data!”
“Hey Petri!” Mystery replied, “I thought I heard you out there talking with Ankha! Come on in!” He said, stepping aside to let the mouse in. She gladly stepped in past him, her wide hips almost coming into contact with him. He closed the door behind them. “You just missed breakfast. If I had known you’d be dropping by, I’d have saved some for ya!”
“Oh, that’s okay, I don’t do breakfast anyway.” Petri answered, “It’s time better spent on research. I prefer to snack until lunch.” She looked around the place, having not seen it before. It was pretty cozy looking, a bit on the quiet side compared to her own house with all her gadgets making noise at all hours of the day. “So, how’s life here been treating you? Getting on well with Ankha, I take it?” She glanced back over her shoulder at him, the smallest of grins hidden by her shoulder.
“Yeah! I’ve been settling in very nicely here, all things considered.” Mystery said, following her deeper into his home. “And yes, Ankha has been keeping me understandably busy, but we’ve gotten to know each other better in her time of need. She’s really not as bad as some seem to think she is.” He smiled fondly.
“That sounds nice.” Petri said, leaving it at that. She thought he was very sweet, if a bit naïve. She turned her attention to the large butt that the two of them had been approaching as they talked. Whatever she had expected, it certainly hadn’t prepared her sufficiently. Her blush deepened when she saw Ankha’s naked bottom half up close. It was much bigger than she had anticipated. The huge spherical cheeks easily overlapped the edges of the front door to the point that one wouldn’t know it was even there if they weren’t outright told so. There was clearly a lot more work to do in order to get this fat cat out.
She was snapped out of her stupor by Mystery holding the measuring tape to her over her shoulder and clearing his throat. “Oh! Er…” She stammered, reaching up to take the tape which was more of an unfocused grab. Seeing her having some trouble, Mystery moved in closer and, using his other paw, took hers to steady it and placed the tape in it. This made her heart beat faster, feeling him so close to her. “Th-thank you…” She muttered, turning away so that he wouldn’t see how deeply scarlet her face was. Taking a deep calming breath, she resumed her work. She wrapped the tape around Ankha’s portly belly right at the roundest part and captured the number before moving the tape down to her ass and getting that measurement too. She wrote them down before doing the same observations as she did for the front, poking and prodding gently at the folds of fat jammed in the door. Poor Ankha did her best to hold still, but the occasional prod would make her kick her legs in reaction which made her butt wobble and shake. Once Petri was done, she stepped back and took her clipboard to the table with Mystery.
“Alright, now that my tests are done, let’s compare your numbers from the past few days to where we are now…” Petri said, looking at Mystery expectantly. He produced the pieces of paper and set them next to the clipboard. With the newest measurements coming in at 51 inches for both her belly and butt, it appeared that Ankha was on a steady pace to lose enough weight within the next week. The past day, however, showed that she lost slightly more than the prior days. “Not bad at all! She seems to have shed more weight between yesterday and today. Did you two do anything different yesterday?” She inquired.
“We did some exercise last night, so that might explain it.” Mystery said, blushing and not making eye contact with Petri.
“I see! Well, keep that up if you can! At this rate, judging from the size of the door, I expect that she’ll be ready to come out in about… 3 or 4 days, assuming there are no setbacks.”
“That’s a relief to hear!” Mystery said with excitement. “Did you hear that out there, Ankha?” He called, addressing his wedged guest.
“I did!” Ankha said, her tail swishing a bit from hearing the good news.
“You know… I could use a break from my experimenting. Mind if I stick around here today?” Petri asked, a slight blush starting to rise on her face.
“Sure!” Mystery said, “The more, the merrier!” He didn’t notice the subtle way Petri gripped her clipboard when he agreed.
“Thanks.” Petri replied with a smile. She set the clipboard down on the table and took a seat.
“Can I offer you a snack?” He offered.
“Yes, please!” She answered. So Mystery brought out a block of cheese, cut some of it off and sliced it and put it on a platter. He then set some crackers around the outer edge of the platter. He set this on the table next to the clipboard for Petri to snack at her leisure. She smiled appreciatively at Mystery and began to nibble at some.
	Mystery and Petri chatted while he got some cleaning done. Mostly it was questions to get to know one another better. Time seemed to fly while they discovered more about each other. Before they knew it, Petri had finished most of the platter and Mystery had cleaned the entire kitchen. Looking over at Ankha’s backside, Petri felt a bit bad that she had been excluded, so she excused herself to go hang out with Ankha for a while, grabbing her clipboard on her way out. Mystery put on some music for the background and resumed cleaning the rest of the burrow.
	Petri walked around to the front door’s exterior to where Ankha’s upper half waited. She fully expected the cat to be annoyed, but she seemed unbothered, even almost blissful. The mouse’s ever-inquisitive mind had an idea why, but needed to have the hypothesis confirmed. She sat down next to Ankha and rested her back against the dirt wall, crossing her legs in front of her and nestled her clipboard in the space her legs formed. She flipped to a fresh sheet of paper and began to doodle idly.
“So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate being in the situation you’re in?” Petri asked, breaking the silence.
“... Probably a 2.” Ankha said after a moment of thinking. “It sucks being unable to go home and do what I want and eat whatever, but there are certain perks.”
“I bet…” Petri said thoughtfully. Her drawing was starting to come together and resemble a familiar cat. “For being in such a spot, you sure seem relaxed.”
“It helps when you can have your needs met 24/7 and not have to work for it.” Ankha replied somewhat smugly.
“Hmm, I see…” Petri muttered, slightly annoyed by the tone and arrogance that Ankha was giving, but she’d have the last laugh. “Tell me, how was it?”
“I don’t follow.”
“Oh, come on, you know what I’m talking about.” Petri said, standing up and starting to pace in front of the wedged cat.
“You going to be cryptic the rest of the day?” Ankha said, now starting to get annoyed, but a blush was tinting her cheeks as she had an idea what Petri was getting at.
“It’s obvious what you and Mystery engaged in, so it’s useless pretending otherwise. I’ll ask again: Was it good?” Petri asked, now looking at Ankha over her shoulder with a wry smirk.
Ankha’s blush intensified and her heartbeat increased. Was it really that obvious? She’d have to have a word with Mystery about that later. Nevertheless, she was backed into a corner as it were. May as well cut the badgering short now. She averted her eyes and nodded. “... Yeah… Not great, mind you, but good. Better than nothing.”
“Hmmm, is that so?” Petri asked in a singsong voice, turning to face her and putting the finishing touches on her sketch. “Maybe an experiment is in order… I might put him to the test one of these days. Perhaps using you as a prop while you’re still stuck here to see if that enhances the experience?” She teased, showing Ankha the finished drawing of an anatomically accurate Mystery with some exaggerations here and there.
“Fuck around and find out, mouse.” Ankha said with a threatening smile.

Petri giggled impishly and remained out of reach. She knew better than to egg her on too much, so she eased back on the teasing and assured Ankha that she was only having a laugh. She wouldn’t really do any of that. Meanwhile, Mystery hadn’t heard any of that exchange since the music was loud enough to drown out the conversation. He was laser focused on cleaning up the place, only seeing Ankha’s tail twitch occasionally.
The girls carried on with other conversations. Petri shared the gossip around town with Ankha since she couldn’t really partake of it herself in her current state. The past moment was seemingly forgotten. They talked amongst themselves until early evening when Mystery came out with sandwiches and fruit since it was time for dinner. They all partook of the meal and had a good time in each other’s company. Petri finished quickly and decided that she needed to get home and get her current experiment ready for its next phase, so she bade Mystery and Ankha a good night and started the walk home. That is, she would have gone straight home had she decided that she was done making mischief, so she took a slight detour…
Mystery and Ankha shared the moment under the stars that were starting to peek through the atmosphere as the sun set in the west. He sat in front of her, reclined with his head resting in her cleavage and her arms draped over his chest. They didn’t say anything in favor of letting the ambient sounds of nature float serenely through the air. Once it grew dark, Mystery stretched his limbs and told Ankha that he was ready for bed. Before he could sit up, Ankha did something rather unexpected and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Caught off guard, Mystery was stunned for a moment. He blushed and smiled, waiting to see if she would do or say anything, but she remained silent save for a soft purr. He sat up and went to the backdoor to do his regular bedtime rituals. He moved the bed back to its spot at the plugged front door and settled himself against the immovable Ankha who moved her legs to embrace him as had become part of the routine.
“G’night, Ankha!” He said, reaching up to give her a pat.
“Night, Myst.” She replied with a yawn.
Chapter 10 - It’s Saturday! Time to See Totakeke!
Isabelle slowly opened her eyes as the sun started to peek over the horizon and shine through the pink curtains in her window. She rolled over to turn her back to the beam of light and lay there for another minute before stretching her legs under her comforter and letting out a big yawn. She lifted the covers off of her plump body and sat up, stretching her arms above her head before shifting herself to the edge of the mattress and sliding off to her feet. her two-piece nightgown hugged her tighter than it used to only a couple of weeks ago. She'd have to pay the Able sisters a visit at their shop one of these days…
She disrobed and entered her bathroom, stepping into the shower and letting the warm water run down her body for a while before lathering up with a soap that had a light floral scent. It took a bit of extra time to cover the additional pudge that she had put on lately, thanks to Mabel's sweets, but she didn't pay it any mind. As long as she was still happy and healthy, her weight and size didn't bother her one bit.
Once finished, she stepped out and dried herself off with a large, soft towel, applied the usual moisturizers and added some small touches of makeup to accentuate her cuter qualities. She put on a light outfit for the day, straightened out her sheets and pillows, then went out the front door to head to the office to pick up her backpack with some unfinished work in it and a small bag of leftover pastries from Mabel's visit yesterday before making her way to Mystery's place. The sun was now high enough in the sky that the island was fully illuminated and basking in its warmth. She took a pastry out of the bag, took a bite, and let a satisfied smile come naturally to her face. She was ready to get back to work!

Meanwhile, Mystery had woken up before Ankha did, got his morning stretches done, and put his bed back against the western wall. He covered himself with a robe and went out the back door to the nearby river and took a dip in a more secluded section. It was quite cold, but he had gotten used to it since his burrow didn't have a proper shower. He scrubbed himself in the slowly flowing water until he was clean then got out and put his robe back on. By the time he got back, he was mostly dry. Once inside, he dried off the rest of the way and hung the damp robe up. Getting dressed, he dragged the full laundry basket over to the sink and started to wash his clothes as well as what Ankha had worn the day she paid him the fateful visit that got her so tightly stuck in his front door. He looked over to the wedged rump hanging on the wall and smirked. With the clothes now washed, he brought them oitside and pinned them up to the clothesline to hang dry.
Once the last article of clothing got pinned up, Mystery saw the familiar form of Isabelle coming down the trail. He smiled wide and waved to her, who returned the greeting happily.
“Good morning, Isabelle! Did you have a nice break?” He asked.
“Good morning, Myst! Yes, it was just what I needed.” She replied. “There’s still more work to be done, but I brought it with me so I can stick around for the day.”
“That’s good to hear. I got some work done, myself, as you can see.” He gestured to the clothes on the line.
“Looks like we've both been productive!” She said with a giggle.
“Ankha is still asleep and I haven't cooked anything yet. How about some breakfast?” Mystery offered.
“Sure!” Isabelle accepted, smiling brightly. She slung her backpack off of her back and held it by a handle.
Mystery led the way in through the back. What he didn't see was Isabelle getting caught briefly in the doorframe and needing to set her backpack down and brace her hands on the wall to maneuver herself through the door. It was a tighter fit than ever before! She took a seat at the table as always, the chair creaking under her weight. The sides of her bottom flowed over the edges of the seat. Mystery put on a pot for coffee and a kettle for tea. He then cracked several eggs into a bowl and whisked them together before pouring it into the hot skillet then adding some extra ingredients to make omelettes for himself and the girls.
The scent wafted out of the slightly open window and made its way to Ankha's nose. It twitched as she sniffed at the air. The smell of breakfast woke her up very swiftly. She stretched her arms in front of her and her legs behind her. Isabelle caught sight of the movement out of the corner of her eye and giggled.
“Looks like Ankha is awake now.” She observed for Mystery's benefit.
“Just in time!” He replied, plating up the breakfast.
He set a plate and a small bowl of chopped fruit in front of Isabelle before going out and around to the front. He greeted Ankha and gave her a plate and bowl and exchanged pleasantries before going back in to rejoin Isabelle and have a well-earned breakfast. The pair sat and ate the meal, catching each other up on yesterday's goings-on. Isabelle was excited to hear that Ankha was slimming down nicely and should be out within the next few days. Once they finished their breakfast, Isabelle helped Mystery with the dishes and they took Ankha's measurements to make sure she was still on track and the progress hadn't tapered off. The tape measure read 50.5 inches around her ring of belly fat and 50.75 when moved down around her ass. They didn't bother writing it down this time since she was still trending down and this was in line with the past day's results. With that task done, Mystery mentally checked it off the list of things to get done, but he still had more to do yet.
“Hey, Isabelle, I think I might follow your example from yesterday and take a day away if that's alright?” Mystery asked.
“Sure! You've been working non-stop here practically since you arrived, so go out and enjoy some new scenery! I’ll keep things running smoothly here.” Isabelle said encouragingly.
He had to admit, as much as he was getting used to seeing Ankha's fat naked bottom for most of the day, he could use a change of pace. He picked up all of the empty jars and the other equipment that he used for gathering honey, shared a thankful smile with Isabelle, then disappeared out his back door. Before he fully departed, he made a stop by Ankha's top half to see her again. He planted a kiss on her forehead and tousled her hair lightly before leaving with a wink. This flustered Ankha who was taken by surprise and couldn't do anything about it. After a while of watching him walk away, she muttered “I-Idiot… What’d you go and do that for?”, but she couldn't stop the smile that floated the corners of her mouth up. She crossed her arms over her breasts and rested her head on them and let herself daydream…
The morning hours passed lazily by as Isabelle filled out paperwork that she had fallen behind on and Ankha rested in her tight spot while her mind wandered. Occasionally, Isabelle would speak up to break the silence when she needed a brief respite from her work and Ankha would respond, being dragged back to reality for a short while. It was around midafternoon when a visitor dropped by. This time it was Quinn the eagle who paid a visit. She raised a wing in greeting as she approached Ankha’s front.
“Good afternoon, Ankha!” Quinn said, “Lovely day, isn’t it?”
“Hey Quinn.” Ankha answered, “I suppose it is pretty nice out, huh?”
“I’ll say! You seem to be in good spirits for being in such a tight spot. Mystery taking good care of you, then?”
“Yes, he’s actually been pretty good to me during this whole thing. Petri came by yesterday and guessed that I’d be out of here in a few more days. The day can’t come soon enough.” Ankha gave a push to emphasize the point. Her chubby upper half jiggled slightly when it came back to rest.
“Ahhh, now I see part of what’s got you feeling better!” Quinn said, smiling.
“Yeah, I can’t wait to get ou- hold on, what do you mean ‘part of’?” Ankha asked, somewhat dreading the answer that Quinn was going to give.
“I mean…” Quinn blushed and fidgeted her wingtips together, “You did say that Mystery takes good care of you and from what I’ve heard from Petri…”
“Uggghhh, fuck that bitch…” Ankha grumbled, burying her blushing face in her paws and wishing she could disappear right about now.
“... Is it true?” Quinn pressed, “Is he… good?”
“... I guess he is…” Ankha hesitated. “Better than any other guy on this island at least...” She blushed deeper before going on. “I-I mean, I’ve certainly had better on other islands!”
“Hmmm, I see…” Quinn pondered. She knew that Ankha was lying about that part since she had never known Ankha to have left Marborough, but she wasn’t about to press that point. Her mind started to daydream about Mystery for a bit before she snapped back to reality to see a grumpy looking Ankha wondering just what she was thinking about. She shook her head. “I think I’m going to pay Mystery a visit for a while.”
“Good luck with that. He went out for the day.” Ankha said a bit more bluntly than she had intended. It wasn’t Quinn’s fault that Petri had a big mouth with an insatiable appetite for gossip. Seeing Quinn’s slightly disappointed face, she sighed. “Isabelle is back there taking care of things while he’s gone, so at least I’m not totally alone.”
“Oh, that’s good.” Quinn said, slightly happier about that, but still wishing in the back of her mind to have some visiting time with Mystery. “I’ll come back before I leave, okay?”
“Yep, I promise I’ll still be here.”
	While they were talking, Isabelle was inside, blushing crimson from hearing about Mystery being skilled in intimacy. Steam was practically pouring out of her ears. She couldn’t focus on the papers in front of her anymore. Her mind was right back to where it was yesterday. She wanted what Ankha had. Surely Mystery would look her way someday… right? A soft knock at the door almost made her jump out of her skin. The door opened and Mabel’s face peeked in along with the irresistible scent of fresh pastries. The girls exchanged greetings and Mabel came in and set the large basket on the table. As Isabelle started in on the first sweet, Mabel found the kettle and filled it with water before putting it on the stovetop to boil for tea. Isabelle’s mind began to clear again now that it was being occupied by Mabel and her tasty pastries.
	Quinn went around to the back door and entered to find not only Isabelle at the table, but also Mabel who had dropped by without even hearing her! She had brought a large basket of new pastries for Isabelle to try and had put on a kettle of water for tea. Quinn gladly joined them at the table and the ladies caught up on recent events and speculated on a bit of gossip that Petri had been spreading.

As the number of pastries began to dwindle, Quinn couldn’t stop peering over to the far wall where Ankha’s plump bottom hung so helplessly where the front door should be. Curiosity got the better of her and she excused herself to get a better look and see just how bad the situation looked up close. She stood up from the table and walked over to Ankha, leaning in to see where exactly it was that she was wedged. At this angle, she could see how her love handles had pucker marks where her softened middle was trying to enter the small hole all at once and having no success. She shifted her feet to change her position to see if it was the same all the way around.
Suddenly, she started to lose her balance and flung her wings up to catch herself by placing them on Ankha’s bottom. This caused her feathers to brush lightly across the vast expanse of her butt, making the cat yelp in surprise at the feeling of her backside being tickled. She wiggled her ass and kicked out with her thick legs, each one flailing at Quinn’s sides for a couple of seconds before calming down. The eagle placed a gentle wing on Ankha’s cheek to push herself away, earning an annoyed tail swish from the poor stuck cat.
“Cut that out, Quinn!” Ankha shouted over her shoulder. She couldn’t stop the blush from filling her cheeks as she felt a dull tingle in her lower belly. She bit her lip, knowing that it was sparked from being lightly teased, even if it was unintentional on Quinn’s part. It was so humiliating, and yet at the same time… enlightening. She was learning a few new things that she never expected to be into. She might have to explore that on her own later…
“Sorry!” Quinn called back, her face flush with embarrassment, “I was just getting a closer look and lost my balance!”
	Isabelle and Mabel couldn’t contain their giggling fit from seeing it all play out. It looked so silly. Quinn awkwardly rejoined them at the table and stuffed a pastry in her mouth, slumping down in her chair. Isabelle smiled and reached over to give her an empathetic pat on the shoulder. Once things calmed down and the rest of the pastries were finished off, they looked out the window to see that the sun was now low in the sky.
“Hey! It’s almost time for K.K. Slider to visit for the week!” Mabel said with excitement.
“Oh yeah!” Isabelle perked up. “I love his shows! I could go for another break!”
“What do you mean another one?” Quinn teased, “Your break never stopped since Mabel got here!”
	They all shared in a giggle before standing up and making their way out through the back door, Isabelle going last so as not to let the others see her slight struggle to fit back out. They went around to the front door where Ankha was resting her head on her arms. She still looked annoyed by what happened earlier, judging by the pout that she wore. Quinn knelt down and gave an apologetic smile.
“Sorry for earlier, Ankha, I didn’t mean to cause you trouble. On the bright side, at least Petri won’t know about it.”
“Yeah, I guess there’s that…”
“I know how much you like K.K. Slider, so I’ll be sure to fill you in on what all happens and what songs he plays tonight. Will that help you feel a bit better?” Isabelle offered.
“I suppose.”
“Alright. Well, we’ll see you later, then!”
The ladies left Ankha where she was and chatted amongst themselves as they walked down the path to the town square where K.K. Slider was due to play at The Roost. Isabelle privately wondered if she would see Mystery there…

Mystery spent the day wandering leisurely from one honey tree to the next, greeting and making smalltalk with every villager that he came across. He made sure to take plenty of breaks and even picked some stray weeds here and there to help keep the island looking beautiful. By the time he made a full sweep of the eastern half of the island, he had filled all of the honey jars he had brought with him. The way he took his time, he hardly broke a sweat!
He remembered something that Sasha and Raymond mentioned on his first day meeting them. Saturday evenings were when K.K. Slider would come to The Roost to play live music. The sun was setting and he figured that would be a great way to wrap up the day, so he started strolling slowly toward the town square. He barely saw anybody else on the way, figuring that they were either already there or they were at home getting ready to go out.
As he got closer, he could pick up the pungent scent of coffee grounds wafting on the gentle breeze from the open doors of the café and hear the occasional pluck of a guitar string as it was tuned. He stepped inside to see Brewster behind the bar cleaning some glasses, K.K. Slider on the stage with a bucket for tips and a basket at his side with slips of paper in it, and some familiar faces at different tables. He saw Cherry and Rosie at one table in the corner apart from the rest with a pair of coffees in front of them. They seemed to be enjoying each other’s company while they waited for K.K. Slider to start playing. Others that were present were Sasha and Raymond at the bar, Marshal and Audie at another table closer to the stage, Pecan focused on her phone at a table in the middle, and a trio of girls that he hadn’t gotten the opportunity to meet yet at a table right at the front. Smiling, he approached the bar to check out the drink menu.
“... Welcome.” Brewster said, “Can I get you some coffee?”
“As long as it’s decaf!” Mystery said with a light chuckle, setting 200 Bells on the counter for payment, “It is getting late, after all.”
“Coo… So it is.” Brewster replied. He scooped the Bells up and put them in the register then started to grind a fresh batch of decaf coffee beans. “It’ll be about 5 minutes, so take a seat anywhere and I’ll bring it to you.”
“Thanks.”
Mystery left Brewster to make the coffee. He could have sworn he overheard Raymond muttering to Sasha under his breath something about decaf coffee being for “villagers with pedestrian taste”, but he rolled his eyes and let it go. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see an uncomfortable look on Sasha’s face suggesting that he disagreed with his friend, but dared not voice it so as to avoid an argument. Mystery sat at a table right behind the one where the unfamiliar girls were seated. About 5 minutes passed before Brewster brought the coffee to his table. He thanked the pigeon and took a sip. Right before he could take another, he heard the familiar voices of Isabelle, Quinn, and Mabel all talking together cheerfully. He turned his head and waved over his shoulder. Seeing him, Isabelle led the girls to the table and filled the remaining 3 seats.
“Hey Isabelle! Mabel! Quinn!” Mystery said happily.
“Good evening, Myst!” They all said back to him.
“Did you have a nice day off?” Isabelle asked.
“Sure did! The harvest was plentiful!”
“Harvest?” Mabel asked, intrigued.
“Oh yeah! I collect honey!” He answered, producing a jar from his pocket.
“Oooh!” Mabel exclaimed, “That would go so well in a sweet that I’m wanting to produce!”
“Yeah? Maybe we can work something out?”
“That would be amazing! I have some cocoa that I can trade you at my place later!”
“Awesome!”
He gave her a jar to take with her and they continued to chat happily. Eventually, Mystery asked about the three girls at the other table that he hadn’t gotten to meet yet. Mabel recognized one immediately as her older sister Label and the other two as Lottie the HHA representative and Celeste, the little sister of Blathers. Hearing them being mentioned, the trio turned and waved to the table before returning to their own conversation. It wasn’t much longer until K.K. Slider nodded to himself in satisfaction and strummed a few chords on his guitar, getting the attention of everyone in the café and cheers from all the girls.
“What’s going on, Marborough?” K.K. Slider asked over the applause, looking over the small crowd. “Haven’t seen you all in a week. I hope you’ve been well. If you need a pick-me-up that coffee just can’t quite provide,” he gave a good-natured wink toward Brewster, “let me share some good vibes with you tonight.” He dug his paw into a small basket on a stool at his side and pulled out a piece of paper. “Let’s start with the requests from those who arrived early. This first one is from Pecan who wants K.K. Pop.” His eyes met Pecan’s. “Again, huh? You must really like this one.” He raised an eyebrow at her. Pecan couldn’t contain her giggles at being teased by him. He smirked before strumming the first bars of the song and began to sing.
The performance went on like that for the next half hour with everybody paying rapt attention as K.K. Slider went through about half a dozen requests. At that time, he announced that he needed a short break and would be at the bar if anyone wanted to make any more requests. Stepping off the stage, his eyes met Mystery’s and he kept his gaze on him for several seconds.
“A newcomer. Come join me at the bar.”
“Huh? O-Okay!” Mystery stuttered, not expecting to be invited like that. The girls at the table giggled, seeing him so flustered. He stood up and accompanied the musician at the bar. Brewster already had a pair of steaming hot coffees ready and waiting for them. He took a seat next to K.K. Slider. “I’m flattered you’d ask me to join you, Mr. K.K. Slider.”
“Oh, I’m not on stage right now, you can call me Totakeke.” He answered, “I always make it a point to get to know new faces I see in these smaller venues.”
“I see! Either way, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Totakeke. My name is Mystery. I just moved in last week.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Mystery. Getting to know your neighbors?”
“Oh yes, they’re a lively bunch, but I’m getting used to them.”
“That’s good. I assume you’ve also met Ankha?”
“Yep, I know her quite well by this point.”
“So do I. It’s unusual that she’d miss out tonight. She makes it to every show.”
“Does she? Well, now I feel kinda bad.”
“Why’s that?” Totakeke asked, turning to face Mystery more fully.
“Well…” Mystery blushed and brought a paw up to rub the back of his head awkwardly before he told Totakeke all about the plight Ankha was facing at home. When he finished at last, Totakeke had a quizzical look on his face.
“... Very interesting, indeed. Not to mention intriguing. As you were describing it, being the musician that I am, I could hear a new tune in my mind just begging to be recorded.”
“Yeah?” Mystery asked, now also intrigued.
“Yeah, man. You’ve inspired me. I’ll start writing it as soon as I get to my mobile studio after tonight’s performance. For this one, I may need to call in a favor or two…”
“I look forward to buying it when it’s finished!”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. You’ve already paid in full. I’ll send you a copy as soon as it’s done.”
“Th-Thank you!”
“No problem, it’s cool. Well, I’m ready to continue, so feel free to rejoin your table.”
Mystery took his seat with Isabelle, Mabel, and Quinn as K.K. Slider got back on stage to play some more tunes. He got through another half dozen before Mystery decided that he was going to go back home to have some dinner with Ankha. He bid the girls a good night, left The Roost, and walked the path toward home, looking up at the first few stars starting to shine through the darkening sky.
As he approached, Ankha heard his footfalls and looked up. Her nose twitched when it detected the unmistakable smell of honey. A smile crossed her face and a soft purr started in her throat. Mystery smiled and waved.
“Hey Ankha! Ready for dinner?” He asked.
“Hey Myst. Yes, I am, and I can smell it already…” She said, her voice full of desire.
“I haven’t even started cooking yet, silly.”
“Oh, but you already have what I want.” Ankha continued. “I’d know that smell anywhere and I miss it so much… Can’t you give me one jar?”
“Ahhh, I see what you mean now.” Mystery said, the smile on his face faltering a bit. He knew that she shouldn’t have any of the honey if she was to get out of his front door soon. “You know that honey is what got you into this mess and I’m going to help you stick to your diet.”
“Aww, don’t be that way, Myst… It’s not like one little jar is going to do anything…” She purred, still trying to put on the charm.
“Sorry, Ankha, but it’s for your own good.”
“... Give me one.” Her voice ceased being sweet.
“... Excuse me?” He asked, taken aback.
“Was I not clear? Give. Me. One. Now. I need it.”
“Not with an attitude like that, and even then you’re not getting any until you’re out.”

Ankha’s cheeks flushed with anger as Mystery walked away to his back door. She muttered some choice words under her breath, but he didn’t appear to hear them. He unloaded all of the jars and the honey gathering tools in their proper places before he started to cook for them both. He still couldn’t believe how Ankha had spoken to him. Had she really not changed at all? Maybe she just experienced a moment of weakness after smelling the honey. He decided that he was going to give her the benefit of the doubt. Once the meal was ready, he loaded up two plates, one for him and another for her. He carried them out, hoping that she would be willing to talk while they ate.
“Here… I hope you like it.” Mystery said, setting the plate down in front of her. She didn’t say a word, just picked up the plate and ate without looking at him. The silence hung in the air awkwardly.
“So… What was that about?”
Still nothing but the sound of silverware on a plate.
“I can only imagine how hard it must be for you, being stuck in one spot, unable to go where you want or eat what you want. Just know that I’m in your corner all the way. I will help you get free and once you finally are, I’ll give you the honey you’re craving so bad.”
“... Mmh…” Ankha grunted, clearly still annoyed, but at least acknowledging him. She still wouldn’t look at him.
They finished the rest of their dinner in silence and Mystery took the plates inside to clean up. Once everything was in order, he slid his clothes off and dropped them in the laundry basket. As he started to move the bed, he heard Ankha say something. He stopped to hear her better.
“What was that?” He asked.
“No. Not tonight. Put your bed back. I’m still mad at you.” She repeated herself, her tail lashing quickly in a sign of annoyance.
Slightly hurt, Mystery pushed his bed back under the window and got under the covers. He wanted to bid her a good night like he always had, but figured that would only make her more angry, so he turned on his side and watched her bottom half as he slowly drifted off to sleep. Maybe she will feel a bit better tomorrow…
Chapter 11 - An Ominous Fortune Looms!
Mystery didn't sleep very well that night, having grown used to the warmth and companionship that snuggling with Ankha provided. He tossed and turned and just couldn't get comfortable. He woke up stiff, groggy, and not in the greatest of moods. Without looking at her, he got out of bed, got his stretching done, threw on some clothes, and started to cook oatmeal with fruit, toast, and eggs for breakfast. He prepared a bowl and plate for Ankha and brought it out to her.
“Breakfast…” Mystery said, not at all his usual friendlier self. He held it out for her to take.
Ankha took the bowl and sniffed at it. She didn’t detect even a hint of honey, which deepened her scowl. Nevertheless, she began to eat. It was better than nothing. Mystery returned through the back door and prepared his own meal, sitting down at the table and eating slowly. After last night, he wondered if things would continue to deteriorate between himself and Ankha. The thought saddened him. He hoped that he was wrong. He felt like he was developing a genuine connection with her.
As he was mulling this all over, he heard a sudden knock at his back door and saw Isabelle’s face peeking in, smiling brightly in her usual cheerful way. There was no way he couldn’t smile back.
“Good morning, Mystery!” Isabelle chirped.
“Hey Isabelle!” Mystery said, “Breakfast is still hot if you want some?”
“Sure!”
Mystery stood up and started to dish up a serving for her. He was about to ask her how much she wanted when he looked over to her and his jaw dropped. She was shimmying sideways through his back door, her belly pressed into one side and her bottom into the other. Her face grew hot as she pushed against the frame, scooting in after a few lunging motions. Their eyes met and silence hung in the air awkwardly.
“... Are you okay, Iz?” Mystery asked, his face one of concern.
“Y-yeah, just got a bit caught up is all… Tripped…” Isabelle stammered. Her heart was pounding hard, but she couldn’t be sure that it was completely due to the exertion that she just had to use to get through his back door or from the embarrassment she felt from having him see her in such a state. She took her seat and didn’t speak of it any further.
Mystery’s face was blushing after that event. He didn’t mind one bit that Isabelle was bigger. On the contrary, he thought that was one of the many charming things about her. He just worried for her wellbeing. She used to be able to fit through his backdoor just fine, after all. Surely the pastries that Mabel was always bringing by had something to do with it, but he was going to keep his mouth shut about that theory. He set the bowl and plate down in front of Isabelle and took his seat again, sharing a smile with her before they both tucked in. After some time, Isabelle noticed the tired look on Mystery's face. Something must have happened after he got home from the café.
“Hey, you look like you didn't get much sleep last night. Are you alright?” She asked.
“Hm?” Mystery grunted, snapping back to reality. “Oh, I guess…” He trailed off before lowering his voice. “Ankha was just acting weird is all…” He told her about the argument that happened after he got home.
“I see… Well, I can't say I'm too surprised, given how long she's been in there. Tensions were bound to flare up. I'm sure she'll be happier once she's out of here, you'll see.”
“I hope so… It's just that I thought we were really starting to become good friends.”
“And I'm sure you still will be. I’ve known her for quite a while. Just give her some time to cool down.” She said comfortingly.
“Thanks, Iz.” Mystery said, managing to smile on his own. “You’re great at helping everyone feel better.”
A happy blush rose on Isabelle's face at the compliment. She smiled and winked at him before returning to the breakfast she let sit while she listened to him. She was glad that she was able to make that positive difference for him.
The morning hours passed uneventfully as Mystery and Isabelle chatted and cleaned up the place both inside and out. While he was outside, Mystery saw Pete the letter carrier doing his rounds and delivering mail. Pete's face brightened up when he saw Mystery as if his presence reminded him of something.
“Ah! Hello there, Mystery! I have a letter for you!” Pete said, digging into his mail bag and producing an envelope sealed with a sticker emblazoned with a guitar.
“Oh! Thank you! I wasn't expecting anything today. Looks fancy.”
“I find unexpected mail to be a great pick-me-up! Anyway, that's all I have for you today. See you later!”
Pete walked down the path to his next destination, leaving Mystery to find out what he had just received.
“Hey.” Ankha spoke up from behind him, finally acknowledging his existence. “Get anything good?”
“... I don't know yet.” Mystery answered, holding up the still unopened letter for her to see. “Let’s see…” Using a claw, he unsealed the flap of the envelope from under the sticker. Inside was a folded letter. Opening it up it read:

Mystery,
I wanted to thank you again for coming to my show last night. Your story about Ankha's plight sparked inspiration in me to make a new tune. I normally do my own vocals, but this one was begging to have more involvement, so I called in some favors and got something recorded quickly. This link I'm sharing with you will let you hear what I’ve got so far. There are no instrumental or sound effect tracks yet, but those will come with the full release. That said, this preview is on me, no charge.
Keep it cool,
K.K. Slider
“K.K. Jam (feat. Kapp’n, Celeste, Lottie, and Label)”

Mystery's eyes widened a bit. He hadn't expected to hear back from Totakeke, let alone receive such a generous letter. He was eager to give the track a listen.
“It’s from Totakeke.” Mystery said to answer Ankha's earlier question.
“... No. Fucking. Way. What did he say??” She asked, now intrigued, any enmity toward him forgotten in the moment.
“He’s writing a new song and is sharing a preview. He invited me to sit with him for a while and asked me about you since you weren't there and-”
“He asked about me??” She gasped, bringing her paws up to cover her mouth in surprise. Mystery could tell she was hiding a huge smile. Behind her, she brought her feet up in excitement and wiggled her bottom giddily.
“Don’t worry, I only had good things to say about you.” He added, smiling now himself. He liked this side of her and wished to keep that up. “Anyway, I told him why you missed his show this week and he took inspiration from your story and apparently wrote a song for you.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s hear it!” She said excitedly.
“Alright, alright, keep your panties on.” He replied, chuckling. She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stop the smirk from showing.
He took his wireless earbuds out and passed one to her. He then pulled his phone out and scanned the QR code in the letter to open the song. After a moment, it started to play over the earbuds.

(To the tune of “Four Hours” by The Longest Johns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_JjTLrLz-c)
Kapp’n: Come, me lads, and heave with me,
Form a chain and pull her free,
Send her home to supper and bed,
And put at ease her week of dread.
All: Think thinner
Pushin’ from behind,
Think thinner
Pullin’ through the rain,
Think thinner
Squeezin’ through her bind,
Then think thinner
‘Til we try again.
K.K.: Come on guys and heave with me,
I’ll get behind and set my feet,
Pushing and lifting her while I strain,
Shoving against her sizable gain.
All: Think thinner
Pushin’ from behind,
Think thinner
Pullin’ through the rain,
Think thinner
Squeezin’ through her bind,
Then think thinner
‘Til we try again.
Celeste:
Come on girls and heave with me,
Got aching arms and weakened knees,
But when the night comes I’ll rest my eyes,
I will recover and my strength will rise.
All: Think thinner
Pushin’ from behind,
Think thinner
Pullin’ through the rain,
Think thinner
Squeezin’ through her bind,
Then think thinner
‘Til we try again.
Lottie: 
Come on y’all and heave away,
She’ll budge a bit real soon, I’d say!
When she’ll be free, I do not know,
‘Til that day comes, we’ll still heave-ho!
All: Think thinner
Pushin’ from behind,
Think thinner
Pullin’ through the rain,
Think thinner
Squeezin’ through her bind,
Then think thinner
‘Til we try again.
Label:
When I’m out of this tight hole,
Thanking my friends will be my goal,
I’ll feel the warmth inside my chest
While they all take their well-earned rest.
All: Think thinner
Pushin’ from behind,
Think thinner
Pullin’ through the rain,
Think thinner
Squeezin’ through her bind,
Then think thinner
‘Til we try again.
Think thinner
Pulling to the beat,
Think thinner
Planting our feet,
Think thinner
With a mighty shout
And think thinner
Heaving ‘til she’s out!

When the song ended, they looked at each other to gauge each other’s reactions. Grinning, Ankha glanced down to the phone briefly. Mystery knew exactly what she was asking without needing the words. He pressed the play button again and they gave it another listen. It was just as good the second time. Once it finished again, he took his earbud out and so did Ankha. He put them back in their case.
“That was good!” Mystery said.
“Good?” Ankha asked incredulously, “It was great! It was about me!”
“Aw, c’mon, the subject was vague! It could be about anybody!” He grinned.
“Yeah, but guess who inspired it? Me!”
After a moment of silence between them, they laughed for a solid minute. It did them some good to help mend the rift that developed the night before. Sure, it was still going to be a sore spot but this moment could help them forget, which Mystery was thankful for. Hearing their laughter, Isabelle came out from inside the burrow to catch up on what they were talking about, glad to see that they were both getting along better, at least for the moment. Mystery shared the letter and lent Isabelle his phone with the song to get her up to speed.
“This is really good!” Isabelle said, grinning ear to ear.
“Right??” Ankha added. “After this, I’m not sure this day could possibly be ruined!”
Almost as if on cue, footsteps could be heard approaching the burrow from down the road. A black cat with a mysterious air and bedecked in a rather flamboyant outfit came into view. A look of unease spread across Isabelle’s and Ankha’s faces, but Mystery was out of the loop and still looked just as cheerful as ever.
“Hello, Katrina!” Isabelle said, trying to sound positive, though her face gave the opposite message.
“Good evening, everyone.” Katrina said, “I see that you’re still in a spot of trouble, Ankha, as I’ve foreseen in my crystal ball before I got here.”
“Yeah right,” Ankha muttered, “more like Petri ran her mouth again, the b-”
“ANYWAY!” Mystery interrupted before she could complete that sentence, “I don’t believe we’ve met before. I’m M-”
“Mystery, yes, I know.” Katrina said, seemingly more interested in smoothing out a chip in her nail. “And you know my name since Isabelle has already introduced me.”
“... Yes, that’s right.” Mystery said, becoming a bit put off by the arrogant air that Katrina was giving. Ankha’s eyes met his and she wore a ‘told you so’ smirk.
“I was drawn to this place from the tenuous aura I feel here...” Katrina said, looking at Ankha. “There was an altercation here recently…”
“How in the world did Petri know…?” Ankha asked nobody in particular.
“Hmm…” Katrina pondered, “May I read your fortunes?” She asked, pulling her tarot cards out without waiting for an answer. She sat down on the ground cross legged in front of Ankha flanked by Mystery and Isabelle and shuffled the deck before dealing several cards out in front of her. “Let’s do Isabelle’s first, shall we?” Ankha breathed a sigh of relief. Katrina picked up the first card and revealed it. Nodding to herself, she flipped a second card, then a third. She gave it some thought before speaking. “An unexpected surprise awaits you in the near future, whether for good or ill. Some friendships will strengthen, others will be tested. One way or the other, you’ll come out the other side a changed girl.”
“I hope it’s a good thing…” Isabelle whispered, shifting uncomfortably.
“Now, for Mystery…” Katrina continued, gathering up the cards, shuffling them, dealing them out, then picking up a series of 3 of them. “You’re bound for a change in scenery. A trip, perhaps? You will also gain new skills that will work to enrich your life as well as your friends’ lives. All-in-all, a good fortune.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Mystery said, “I’m not sure about any trip, but maybe it means Ankha will be free soon?”
“Possible, but it’s best to just let it come to pass without speculating so as not to be disappointed.” Katrina said wisely. “Now, for Ankha…”
“I’d really rather not…” Ankha said, unamused.
Katrina seemed to have not paid her any mind. She did as before, shuffling and setting the cards out before drawing three of them. She pondered this one for a while longer than the rest.
“... I don’t see anything noteworthy. Your life will remain stagnant for the foreseeable future. This could be good or bad, depending on your point of view, but the way I interpret it is that you remain stuck figuratively and literally.”
“... Bullshit.”
“Believe what you will, that’s just what the cards told me.” Katrina said, gathering up her cards and storing them back in their box.
“No! You’re full of it!” Ankha said, starting to get heated. “I will get out of here soon! I’ll prove your cards wrong!” She shoved herself forward with her paws and kicked her legs behind her, wriggling and thrashing as much as she could. The others could only watch as she tried in vain to get herself out. She let her top half snap back to where it was, her shoulders hunching up uncomfortably. “Myst! Get behind me and push! You two, pull!”
“Ankha, I really think-” Mystery started to say.
“Mystery!” Ankha interrupted. “You get back there and push my ass right now!” She was bound and determined to get out immediately just to prove her point.
Mystery decided not to argue and just humor her. His eyes met Isabelle’s and he shrugged before walking to his back door. He knew that this wouldn’t work, but what else was he supposed to do? He approached her still plump naked bottom and laid his paws on the spherical cheeks. He had briefly forgotten what it had felt like and his heart beat faster. It was just as soft as the last time he had made this attempt. He set his feet in the small divot that had formed from the previous times.
“Ready back here!” He called.
As Mystery walked around to the back, Isabelle took hold of Ankha’s outstretched left paw and Katrina reluctantly took her right. Ankha’s face burned a hotter shade as soon as she felt Mystery’s paws on her backside. She had almost forgotten what it felt like, herself. Her heart skipped a beat and she gripped her pullers’ paws in hers.
“On 3!” Ankha called back, “1… 2… 3!”
Isabelle and Katrina leaned back and tugged hard on Ankha’s arms, making her top half stretch out while they strained for 2 seconds. They all grunted and groaned as they exerted their muscles in their attempt to squeeze the tightly stuck cat through the hole. They let her come to rest for a second before giving it another try. Her chubby top half jiggled with every motion forward and back.
Mystery shoved hard against her large butt, his paws sinking into the pillowy softness. It lifted up and spread out around the hole rather than squeezing through, just as he thought it would. He was still willing to keep going until she gave up, so he repeated the process over and over again.
“Hnnngh! Heave!” Mystery grunted.
“Ho! Ooof!” Isabelle groaned on alternating pulls.
They kept up that back and forth chant for the next few minutes while Ankha groaned and moaned, gripping their paws in hers and shifting her backside as much as she could, hoping that she could get the angle just right to dislodge herself. But no matter how they pulled, no matter how he pushed, no matter how hard she hoped, it was just no use.
“Mmmmph! Ooooh! NnnngggghhhhaaaaAAAA!! Stop!!” Ankha cried out, kicking her legs. The girls stopped pulling and Mystery stopped pushing. As they all caught their breath, it became abundantly clear to them all that Ankha had not budged even a little bit.
“Damn it all…” Ankha groaned, panting. “That deck must have been stacked…!”
“I would never!” Katrina said, offended by the idea that she would tip the scales of fate.
“Your fortune must have given me bad luck!” Ankha raged. “If you hadn’t come along, I’d be getting out of here tonight! Now I’m going to be stuck for another week!! Get out of here!!” She thrashed some more, making Mystery move out of the way of her legs.
“Come on, Ankha, you know that’s not true. She tried to help you out the same as me and Myst did.” Isabelle said, defending Katrina and trying to calm Ankha down at the same time.
“If you’re going to take her side, you can go with her!!” Ankha shouted.
The words stung Isabelle and she recoiled. She knew that Ankha didn’t really mean it and was just saying things in the heat of the moment, but they still hurt all the same. Without another word, Isabelle and Katrina left. Overhearing the exchange, Mystery was appalled by Ankha’s behavior.
“That was uncalled for!” Mystery said.
“Oh, don’t even get me started with YOU!” Ankha rounded on him. “If you hadn’t fed me so much, I wouldn’t be stuck in your stupid front door!”
“Fed you?!” Mystery asked incredulously, “You took and ate every last drop of honey in my house and I couldn’t stop you! You ate too much and grew too big to fit back out! If anyone is at fault here, it’s you!”
“I am NOT too big! It’s your door that’s too damn small!”
“No! My door is just fine! You’re just too greedy!”
“You don’t talk to me that way, peasant!”
Mystery had had enough. He had reached his boiling point. He got in close and slapped both paws on her cheeks roughly. A smacking sound rang out through his burrow and her bottom rippled from the impact. A brief silence filled the air, then…
“... OW! FUCK THAT HURT, YOU BASTARD!” Ankha screamed, kicking out, but she couldn’t reach him. He was too close up and her legs were too chubby.
“You deserve it!” Mystery shouted back, “You’ve been such a bitch to everyone! You’ve earned this and a lot more!” He continued to spank her, push her roughly, and humiliate her and she could do nothing to get away from it. After a while, her shouts of anger and pain gave way to moans and she was clenching her thighs together. He gave her a softer push on her lower cheeks and spread them to see that her pussy was now wet and quivering.
“Are you…  getting turned on by this?” Mystery asked.
“Mnnnh... Yeah…” Ankha admitted, “I never knew I would be into this…”
“I see…” Mystery muttered. Who could have figured that someone as bossy as Ankha would have a thing for humiliation? He looked down to find that he was also rock solid and ready for action. “Want me to help you out with that?”
“Yeah… Fuck me rough and hard, Mystery, you asshole…~” She answered, her claws digging into her arms as they hugged her breasts together.
“You got it… you dirty bitch…~”
Mystery stripped out of his clothes, grasped himself with one paw and used the other to keep her spread while he aligned with her and pressed the tip of his dick against her glistening labia before shoving it in hard and deep. She gasped and moaned in carnal pleasure. He began to thrust out and in, slamming his hips into her soft backside, making a slapping noise with each collision. Ankha bit her lower lip and started to tweak her nipples, thinking about how he stood up to her and humiliated her by taking full advantage of her inability to move. He gave her a hard spank every now and then, keeping her guessing as to when he was going to do it next. Each time, her pussy clamped down hard in reaction, creating more friction between them which increased the pleasure. Her bottom half jiggled in a rippling rhythm as she was squished between Mystery and the wall of his burrow. Her upper half rocked forward and back from the exertion that Mystery was putting into it, causing her tits to sway and bounce.
“Mmh! Ahn! Ohh! I’m getting close…!” Ankha moaned, her toes curling and her legs getting ready to wrap around his waist to pull him in.
“Who said you get to cum yet?” Mystery asked, really getting into the role.
“Mnnnh, fuck you, Myst~” Ankha purred, moving her legs up to grab onto him.
“Nngh, fuck you too, Ankha~” Mystery purred back, continuing to thrust hard.
Ankha let out a loud moan as she reached climax, her pussy contracting on him in a rhythmic beat at the same rate as her heart. It took about a minute for her to release him, but he was still going.
“You’d better not cum inside me, bastard…” Ankha warned him.
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t go that far…” Mystery reassured her.
He pulled out and laid it between her ass cheeks and squeezed them together on his dick to provide suitable friction. He thrust up and down in her crack, tickling her pucker in a way that she had never been touched before. She found this to be quite pleasurable, too, so she let him keep going. After another minute, Mystery felt the tingle in his loins that meant he was about to cum, but he didn’t plan on telling her. He burst between her cheeks and over her back, his seed dripping all over her bottom. She felt the hot wetness fill her crevice and drip slowly down her butt. They both stayed in that position for a couple of minutes before he let her go and pulled himself from her cheeks.
“That was intense…” Mystery said.
“Yeah… I’m surprised… I actually liked it.” Ankha agreed.
“So did I.”
Mystery grabbed a couple of towels and got one wet in the sink. He used the wet one to clean them both up and the dry one to dry them off. Once finished, he gave her butt one more spank for good measure, earning a surprised yelp from Ankha.
“Easy! I only let you do that because I was horny.” Ankha admonished him.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”
“Don’t apologize so much, dork.”
“Sor-” He started to say before catching himself. “Understood.” He smiled softly.
“That’s better.” She said, a smile of her own creasing her face.
They remained like that for several minutes, letting time pass them by with no further words spoken. Eventually, he heard her yawn from her side of the wall and he looked at the clock.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea… We should get to bed.” Mystery said in answer. “Good night, Ankha.”
“Good night, Myst…” Ankha replied, then added “Hey… If you talk to Isabelle before I wake up, can you tell her… I’m sorry?”
“Certainly.” Mystery said.
Mystery let his paws slide down the sides of her thighs before stepping back and heading for his bed by the window. He crawled onto the bed and nestled into the blanket, looking toward the gold-furred bottom he had grown quite fond of. He pulled his phone out and sent a message to Isabelle letting her know that things had calmed down considerably and that Ankha was doing better now and that she was sorry for what she said. A minute later, he got a reply saying that she’s glad to hear it, that the apology is accepted, and that she’ll be back tomorrow.
He put the phone away and fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Chapter 12 - Ankha Budged! Give It Your All, Everyone!
Mystery woke up tired. The events of yesterday took a lot out of him mentally. He was part way through his stretches before he realized that he was on autopilot. He threw on a bathrobe since he didn’t feel like going outside at the moment and he had a feeling that Isabelle would be dropping by soon as usual. He brewed a pot of coffee, poured himself a cup and took a sip and flinched.
‘Still too hot…’ He thought, setting the cup down on the table to cool for a bit and not looking forward to the slightly painful and uncomfortable feeling of his scalded mouth later. Looking over to Ankha’s still stuck booty, he wondered two things: If she would want some coffee before Isabelle showed up and if he would get to use his front door at all this month. He walked over to her bottom to at least get an answer for the first question.
“Hey, you awake?” Mystery asked, placing his left paw on her left cheek. No answer save for a soft snore. Normally he wouldn’t want to wake her, but his brain was still waking up so he tried again, giving her a harder nudge. That’s when it happened.
She budged.

“Uh…” Mystery mumbled, wondering if he was really still asleep and this was a lucid dream. He placed his right paw on her other cheek and gave another push.
She budged again! There was no mistaking it this time.
“Whoa! Ankha!” Mystery practically shouted, shaking her bottom in excitement.
“Hm? Wha…?” Ankha asked groggily.
“You budged!!”
“I did…? Really??”
“Yes!!”

Ankha gave herself an experimental push and felt the sweet relief of the hole releasing its hold on part of her middle as it was exposed to the outside air.
“This is it…! I’m getting out of here!!” Ankha exclaimed with excitement.
“Let’s not be too hasty!” Mystery said to tamp down expectations, “Let me take a measurement first!”
He ran to grab the measuring ribbon and wrapped it around Ankha’s belly and butt. She bit her lip to stifle a giggle and tried not to move too much since it always tickled when he did that. Her belly measured in at 49 inches and her butt at 50 inches at the roundest point. The front door was 48 inches round, but Mystery figured that with enough effort, some extra hands, and some tools at their disposal, she may be able to squeeze through early. Nodding in satisfaction, he decided to share his opinion.
“You’re still a couple inches bigger than the hole,” Mystery said, “but if we get some more help and put in a lot of work, we might have a chance.”
“Let’s do it!” Ankha said without hesitation.
Smiling, Mystery gave her bottom an affectionate pat before grabbing his phone and sitting at the table to sip at his coffee and send a message to Isabelle.
( Good news! Ankha budged! I’ve taken some
measurements and I think she’s ready! )
( That is good news! I’m on my way now! )
( We’re going to need more hands )
( I’ll let Petri know and she’ll get the word out )
(👍)
While they waited, Mystery threw on some clothes, poured a separate cup of coffee and brought some fruit out to Ankha’s front. He gave her the fresh cup of coffee for a jolt of energy, which she sipped at slowly. They ate together, interrupted by the occasional chuckling and giggling fit when their eyes met. This was all so exciting! Today might finally be the day!
The first one to show up was Audie. She greeted them both then started congratulating and chatting away with Ankha while Mystery put the coffee cups away. He came back outside and saw Cherry and Rosie further down the path, paw-in-paw. He waved at them and they returned the gesture. They all hung around at Ankha's front, sharing what they had been up to during the week.
The rest of the island showed up in staggered numbers over the next half hour: Marshal, Petri, Quinn, Isabelle, Raymond, Sasha, and Pecan. Mystery gave them all some time to socialize before he got their attention.
“Hey everyone! Thank you all for coming. As you've heard, it seems that Ankha has finally made some movement and is ready to come out! Here's how this is going to work: you all are going to form a pull line out here while I work from inside to push. I've been saving a stick of butter for this moment, so we'll have an advantage and it should help make this easier. I'll get her slicked up and when I give the word, give it all you've got. To help keep a good rhythm, I'll put on a work-in-progress tune that K.K. Slider sent me. I suggest we work for 2 beats then rest for 2 so we don't get too exhausted and can adjust and keep a good grip. Just so there are no surprises, I'll play it once now so you can get a good feel for it.”
Mystery hit the play button on his phone which activated a remote speaker from inside the burrow. The music flowed out the open windows so everyone could hear. There were some giggles from a few of them as it played. Others stood in silence, bobbing their heads or tapping their feet to the beat. Either way, they were all taking in the new tune with excitement. It wasn't often that K.K. Slider dropped a new song, so they listened with great interest. Once the song concluded, it was met with some cheers and claps.
“Everyone got it down?” Mystery asked, smiling widely. He received a smattering of nods and general sounds of approval. “Great! Let's get Ankha out!”
Mystery left the group to go around through his back door, rejoining the backside that had been a constant presence for the past week. He felt some conflicting emotions. Happiness for Ankha that she was finally going to be free. Gladness that he would have his front door open again. A touch of melancholy that he would miss having a live-in friend always nearby. Not to mention that there was a voice in the back of his mind that he had to acknowledge. He had developed a crush on her.
Blushing anew, he grabbed the stick of butter and peeled away the wrapping on one end. Approaching her, he applied the butter to her body, causing her to shudder from the strange feeling. He rubbed it over her body, starting with her back, getting it onto her sides and down over her lower roll of belly fat. Using his other paw, he massaged it in  making sure to slick up every crevice and fold. He tried not to savor the feeling, but he couldn't deny that there was a part of him that was enjoying this immensely.
Outside, the group formed the pull chain in front of Ankha. Cherry took the front position, followed by Rosie grabbing her hips, then Raymond, Pecan, Sasha, Audie, Marshal, Quinn, Petri, then Isabelle at the back. Cherry winked at Ankha sweetly before taking her paws and giggling. Ankha blushed and smiled slightly, gripping the sweet dog's paws.
“Okay, Mystery! Whenever you're ready!” Cherry called.
“Ready!” Mystery replied, having wiped his paws clean on a cloth. He set the song on repeat, pressed the play button and placed his paws on Ankha's well padded rump. It was now or never. He felt her relax her body as much as she could. Once the song started, he flexed his muscles and shoved forward against the pudgy bum.


“*Nnngh!*” Mystery grunted, straining his whole body, putting every ounce of strength he could muster into the effort to get Ankha to move. Her backside lifted and squished as he forcefully heaved against it.
Right on the song's first beat, Cherry was immediately on time, leaning back and tugging on Ankha's arms. She felt Rosie’s paws around her hips grip harder as the rest of the chain pulled in kind. There was a veritable chorus of groans coming from each member of the line.
Isabelle used her weight to her advantage and let gravity do most of the work. All she had to do was keep a grip on Petri's thick, soft hips and occasionally lean forward to let the line have a rest.
“*OooOOOF!! Mmmmph!! NnnnNNNNGGHH!!*” Ankha wheezed and moaned as her arms were pulled taut by the chain. It almost felt like her arms were going to pop off. She felt Mystery behind her press his body into her bottom, making her blush deeply. Her front half stretched out a couple of inches from the hole and her butt squashed against the packed dirt wall for a couple of seconds before everyone let up for a moment, trying again after a couple of beats. On the second attempt, she kicked her legs behind her on each side of Mystery, trying in vain to wiggle forward.
After the first chorus, she felt it. She budged again! She sucked in her gut as hard as she could and held her breath, squeezing her eyes shut. Mystery, meanwhile, turned sideways to shove his shoulder into one cheek, his head resting on it while it was plumped up. He used the opposite paw to keep pushing on the other cheek. The pulling chain kept at it, nobody giving an inch to the tight front door holding Ankha fast. Marshal began to chant “Heave!” on every other attempt, slowly joined by the rest of the line. Mystery picked up on this and chanted “Ho!” back.
As if that was the right combination of events, Ankha’s portly belly slowly slid through and out of the tight hole, making a squishy ‘pop’ sound followed immediately by a slapping thud of her thick booty slamming into the wall, keeping her held in place. They all burst into cheers for the progress that was made.
“Great job, everyone!” Mystery called out over the music, turning it down a bit so he could be heard, “Let’s take a breather before we get back to it. I need to apply more butter.”
He picked up the butter stick again and placed it on the massive rear he had been pushing on for the past several minutes. The stick glided effortlessly over the expanse, leaving behind a slick trail that he then rubbed all over. He was enthralled by the way her lower body felt in his paws, all coated in the slippery substance. Once finished, he put the butter away and didn't bother wiping his paws. He spent the next few minutes admiring the view, letting his paws rest on her. Ankha's tail swished in an almost contented way as if to say that she was comfortable with that.
Once everybody had gotten a much needed rest, they lined up again and Cherry took Ankha's paws in hers, ready to keep going.
“Good to go again out there?” Mystery asked.
“Yep!” Cherry confirmed.
“Alright, here we go, on the top of the next verse, everyone! Let's make it count!”

While they waited for the chorus to finish, they all set their feet and adjusted their grips. As soon as Kapp'n's verse started, Mystery's pushes and the chain's pulls resumed the tug-of-war on Ankha, and the back-and-forth chants continued as before. The butter really seemed to be doing some good. Ankha's glistening bottom flattened out against the inner wall for the most part, but she felt herself slide forward a tiny bit more, packing more and more of her bulbous butt into the cramped space. The pucker marks around her rear end deepened as it was forced in harder by the efforts of her rescuers.

Mystery's paws sank deep into the blubbery softness, making his heart beat faster at the feeling and the sight before him. He squeezed his eyes shut and kept pushing. The butter was making his paws shift slightly and he was afraid that he would completely slip off and either plant his face directly into the middle of her backside or accidentally touch somewhere she really didn't want him to, so he gripped her slightly as he pushed. This gave him an idea. He squeezed her buttocks inward as he shoved forward, compacting it so as to lessen the flattening effect. This seemed to work for a couple of tries, but there was still so much butt left to go!
The song went through another round and repeated back to the beginning again, but Ankha hadn’t budged in all that time. That didn’t deter the pulling chain, though. They were bound and determined to get Ankha free. Isabelle's grip was starting to weaken, however, and she was ready for another break. Her efforts started to wane as she panted for air. There had to be another way… Suddenly, she got an idea.
Mystery had turned around to press his back and shoulders into the padded rump and heaved with everything he had, his head and neck sinking into the crease between her cheeks. The warmth of the stuck cat enveloped him fully as he sunk into her. It was oddly comfortable… But he had to stay focused. For Ankha's sake. He shut his eyes tight and pushed harder.
Having felt no progress in several minutes, Ankha kicked her legs feebly behind her on either side of Mystery while she held onto Cherry as tight as she could. She squinted her eyes and winced as she grunted, groaned and moaned in discomfort from the tightness around her bottom and from feeling her top half stretch so much. She was starting to feel afraid that her luck had run out and that she would be stuck in this hole for another week. While worrying about this, she didn't see Isabelle leave the chain.
“I’ll be right back. Wish me luck!” Isabelle said to Petri who was ahead of her in the line. She felt a newfound fire in her gut. Petri watched as Isabelle walked as fast as she could muster toward Mystery's backdoor, her belly jiggling like a bowl of jelly and her bountiful booty swaying and bouncing with every step. She rounded the corner and sidled in sideways. At least, she tried to. Her belly and butt got caught tighter than they had ever been before in the doorframe and she had to pull and tug pretty hard to get herself dislodged. She stumbled a bit when she popped free. Looking toward Mystery, a determined smirk crossed her face.
“Duck, Mystery! Here comes Isabelle!!” She called out, starting a mad dash at full speed.
“Isabelle??” Mystery asked, not expecting to hear her voice ring out in his den. His eyes opened. “What are y- OH SHIT!!”

Isabelle came at him at full throttle, her fat body moving faster than he thought she was capable of. His knees gave way under him and he fell to the floor just in time to feel the whoosh of air as Isabelle flew over him and plunged paws-first into the blockage. It all happened so fast. Ankha's butt compressed suddenly toward the middle of the front door as it was moved forward with an immense amount of force behind it. Her bottom disappeared from the den, followed by her legs, followed closely by Isabelle's arms, head, shoulders, breasts, and the first roll of belly fat before coming to a sudden stop.
The pull chain stumbled and fell backward as Ankha suddenly burst free from the burrow's front entrance, sailing over them and landing in an undignified heap on the far side of Petri. She lay sprawled behind them stark naked. It took a moment for everyone to register just what happened, but when it dawned on them, cheers erupted. A feeling of relief washed over Ankha as her middle could finally feel the breeze. She propped herself up and sat on her fat bottom, rubbing her sore posterior and looking around. The pulling chain was in disarray, still picking themselves up from the ground. Past them, Isabelle’s top half hung out of Mystery’s front door, smiling and waving at her.

“That hurt and you could have warned a girl…” Ankha grumbled at Isabelle, a look of annoyance on her face.
“Eheh,” Isabelle giggled, “it worked, didn’t it? Anyway, now that you’re out, let’s celebr-”

She pressed her arms into the compact dirt exterior of Mystery’s burrow. Her top half moved forward slightly but fell right back to its original position.
“Uh…” Isabelle muttered.

She braced her knees on the compact dirt interior of Mystery’s burrow. Her bottom pointed toward Mystery’s back door but didn’t move backward.
“Uh oh…!” Isabelle’s eyes widened, her heart raced and she began to panic.

She pushed again from the front and kicked her legs behind her. It was no good. The only thing that accomplished was making her thighs and bottom jiggle. The dread rose from the pit of her belly and up to the back of her throat. “I can’t… Mph! I can’t get out…! I’m stuck!! Oh, help!!”

Mystery looked up from his position to see Isabelle’s belly corked in the front door. He immediately got a sinking feeling in his gut as he watched it bunch up slightly once before she tried pushing herself back in to no avail, then kicking her legs uselessly as he could hear her start to panic. Her massive belly had several pucker marks in it where it all tried to get through his front door at the same time. Her butt also far eclipsed the circumference of the hole. Her skirt hardly did its job of covering her and he could see that her panties were also struggling to hold on. There were some tears in the fabric from where they had stretched past the breaking point.

‘I’ve had this home for a week and two villagers have plugged my front door…’ He thought to himself in exasperation. Was this going to become a regular occurrence? Was he doomed to be known as that guy who lived in that house where guests got stuck on their way out?

Seeing her keep kicking her legs, he snapped out of his stupor. Without warning her first, he plunged his paws into her butt and shoved forward. Just like a repeat of a week ago, the plump bottom bunched up and flattened out instead of moving forward.
“Eep!” Isabelle squeaked when she felt Mystery push her, a deep blush immediately filled her face. She was not prepared to be touched by him like that. It took her off guard and she forgot to pull from her end. On his second push, she regained her focus briefly and pulled in sync with him, but it yielded the same result.
“C’mon, everybody! Looks like we’re not done yet!” Cherry said, standing up and dusting herself off. Everybody behind her got to their feet and she got Isabelle’s attention, prompting her to let them pull.
Isabelle reached her paws out for Cherry to take and she gripped them tight. This was so embarrassing. The music was still playing, so the chain resumed where they left off, pulling on Isabelle's arms. Unlike with Ankha, she wasn't budging even a little bit. Speaking of which…
“Hey, Ankha!” Marshal called between strains, “Mind giving us a hand with Isabelle?” He opened his eyes and looked around. “... Ankha…?”
	Alas, she had gone. Ankha was far down the trail and wandering back to her home where there were sweets that she wanted to catch up with. Besides, she was tired and sore from being pushed and pulled so much. She deserved a break.
“Damn it, Ankha, you bitch…” Pecan growled as she continued to heave backward with the rest of the pulling chain.
	After a few more repetitions of the song and trying different methods of pushing, Mystery had to concede defeat.
“It’s no use…” Mystery groaned from inside the burrow. He stopped pushing and rested against Isabelle's ass. “She’s stuck tight and not budging…”
“Now what…?” Rosie asked as the chain stopped pulling.
“Well, it's just like before, isn't it?” Quinn asked, “We need to wait for Isabelle to thin down.”
“The start of a new experiment…!” Petri whispered excitedly, a glimmer in her glasses.
“Oh dear…” Isabelle moaned, both halves slumped down in her tight prison. She wished that she didn't have that extra pastry earlier.


~ To Be Continued ~
Alternate Ending
Mystery woke up tired. The events of yesterday took a lot out of him mentally. He was part way through his stretches before he realized that he was on autopilot. He threw on a bathrobe since he didn’t feel like going outside at the moment and he had a feeling that Isabelle would be dropping by soon as usual. He brewed a pot of coffee, poured himself a cup and took a sip and flinched.
‘Still too hot…’ He thought, setting the cup down on the table to cool for a bit and not looking forward to the slightly painful and uncomfortable feeling of his scalded mouth later. Looking over to Ankha’s still stuck booty, he wondered two things: If she would want some coffee before Isabelle showed up and if he would get to use his front door at all this month. He walked over to her bottom to at least get an answer for the first question.
“Hey, you awake?” Mystery asked, placing his left paw on her left cheek. No answer save for a soft snore. Normally he wouldn’t want to wake her, but his brain was still waking up so he tried again, giving her a harder nudge. That’s when it happened.
She budged.

“Uh…” Mystery mumbled, wondering if he was really still asleep and this was a lucid dream. He placed his right paw on her other cheek and gave another push.
She budged again! There was no mistaking it this time.
“Whoa! Ankha!” Mystery practically shouted, shaking her bottom in excitement.
“Hm? Wha…?” Ankha asked groggily.
“You budged!!”
“I did…? Really??”
“Yes!!”

Ankha gave herself an experimental push and felt the sweet relief of the hole releasing its hold on part of her middle as it was exposed to the outside air.
“This is it…! I’m getting out of here!!” Ankha exclaimed with excitement.
“Let’s not be too hasty!” Mystery said to tamp down expectations, “Let me take a measurement first!”
He ran to grab the measuring ribbon and wrapped it around Ankha’s belly and butt. She bit her lip to stifle a giggle and tried not to move too much since it always tickled when he did that. Her belly measured in at 49 inches and her butt at 50 inches at the roundest point. The front door was 48 inches round, but Mystery figured that with enough effort, some extra hands, and some tools at their disposal, she may be able to squeeze through early. Nodding in satisfaction, he decided to share his opinion.
“You’re still a couple inches bigger than the hole,” Mystery said, “but if we get some more help and put in a lot of work, we might have a chance.”
“Let’s do it!” Ankha said without hesitation.
Smiling, Mystery gave her bottom an affectionate pat before grabbing his phone and sitting at the table to sip at his coffee and send a message to Isabelle.
( Good news! Ankha budged! I’ve taken some
measurements and I think she’s ready! )
( That is good news! I’m on my way now! )
( We’re going to need more hands )
( I’ll let Petri know and she’ll get the word out )
(👍)
While they waited, Mystery threw on some clothes, poured a separate cup of coffee and brought some fruit out to Ankha’s front. He gave her the fresh cup of coffee for a jolt of energy, which she sipped at slowly. They ate together, interrupted by the occasional chuckling and giggling fit when their eyes met. This was all so exciting! Today might finally be the day!
The first one to show up was Audie. She greeted them both then started congratulating and chatting away with Ankha while Mystery put the coffee cups away. He came back outside and saw Cherry and Rosie further down the path, paw-in-paw. He waved at them and they returned the gesture. They all hung around at Ankha's front, sharing what they had been up to during the week.
The regular villagers showed up in staggered numbers over the next half hour: Marshal, Petri, Quinn, Isabelle, Raymond, Sasha, and Pecan. To Mystery’s surprise, Isabelle even got Blathers, Celeste, Brewster, Sable, Mabel, and Tom Nook to show up! Even Mr. Resetti emerged from a hole he had dug on the path in front of the burrow! Mystery gave them all some time to socialize before he got their attention.
“Hey everyone! Thank you all for coming. As you've heard, it seems that Ankha has finally made some movement and is ready to come out! Here's how this is going to work: you all are going to form a pull line out here while I work from inside to push. I've been saving a stick of butter for this moment, so we'll have an advantage and it should help make this easier. I'll get her slicked up and when I give the word, give it all you've got. To help keep a good rhythm, I'll put on a work-in-progress tune that K.K. Slider sent me. I suggest we work for 2 beats then rest for 2 so we don't get too exhausted and can adjust and keep a good grip. Just so there are no surprises, I'll play it once now so you can get a good feel for it.”
Mystery hit the play button on his phone which activated a remote speaker from inside the burrow. The music flowed out the open windows so everyone could hear. There were some giggles from a few of them as it played. Others stood in silence, bobbing their heads or tapping their feet to the beat. Either way, they were all taking in the new tune with excitement. It wasn't often that K.K. Slider dropped a new song, so they listened with great interest. Once the song concluded, it was met with some cheers and claps.
“Everyone got it down?” Mystery asked, smiling widely. He received a smattering of nods and general sounds of approval. “Great! Let's get Ankha out!”
Mystery left the group to go around through his back door, rejoining the backside that had been a constant presence for the past week. He felt some conflicting emotions. Happiness for Ankha that she was finally going to be free. Gladness that he would have his front door open again. A touch of melancholy that he would miss having a live-in friend always nearby. Not to mention that there was a voice in the back of his mind that he had to acknowledge. He had developed a crush on her.
Blushing anew, he grabbed the stick of butter and peeled away the wrapping on one end. Approaching her, he applied the butter to her body, causing her to shudder from the strange feeling. He rubbed it over her body, starting with her back, getting it onto her sides and down over her lower roll of belly fat. Using his other paw, he massaged it in  making sure to slick up every crevice and fold. He tried not to savor the feeling, but he couldn't deny that there was a part of him that was enjoying this immensely.
Outside, the group formed the pull chain in front of Ankha. Cherry took the front position, followed by Rosie grabbing her hips, then Blathers, Raymond, Pecan, Brewster, Sasha, Celeste, Audie, Marshal, Sable, Mabel, Quinn, Tom Nook, Petri, Isabelle, then Mr. Resetti at the back. Cherry winked at Ankha sweetly before taking her paws and giggling. Ankha blushed and smiled slightly, gripping the sweet dog's paws.
“Okay, Mystery! Whenever you're ready!” Cherry called.
“Ready!” Mystery replied, having wiped his paws clean on a cloth. He set the song on repeat, pressed the play button and placed his paws on Ankha's well padded rump. It was now or never. He felt her relax her body as much as she could. Once the song started, he flexed his muscles and shoved forward against the pudgy bum.


“*Nnngh!*” Mystery grunted, straining his whole body, putting every ounce of strength he could muster into the effort to get Ankha to move. Her backside lifted and squished as he forcefully heaved against it.
Right on the song's first beat, Cherry was immediately on time, leaning back and tugging on Ankha's arms. She felt Rosie’s paws around her hips grip harder as the rest of the chain pulled in kind. There was a veritable chorus of groans coming from each member of the line.
Isabelle used her weight to her advantage and let gravity do most of the work. All she had to do was keep a grip on Petri's thick, soft hips and occasionally lean forward to let the line have a rest.
“*OooOOOF!! Mmmmph!! NnnnNNNNGGHH!!*” Ankha wheezed and moaned as her arms were pulled taut by the chain. It almost felt like her arms were going to pop off. She felt Mystery behind her press his body into her bottom, making her blush deeply. Her front half stretched out a couple of inches from the hole and her butt squashed against the packed dirt wall for a couple of seconds before everyone let up for a moment, trying again after a couple of beats. On the second attempt, she kicked her legs behind her on each side of Mystery, trying in vain to wiggle forward.
After the first chorus, she felt it. She budged again! She sucked in her gut as hard as she could and held her breath, squeezing her eyes shut. Mystery, meanwhile, turned sideways to shove his shoulder into one cheek, his head resting on it while it was plumped up. He used the opposite paw to keep pushing on the other cheek. The pulling chain kept at it, nobody giving an inch to the tight front door holding Ankha fast. Marshal began to chant “Heave!” on every other attempt, slowly joined by the rest of the line. Mystery picked up on this and chanted “Ho!” back.
As if that was the right combination of events, Ankha’s portly belly slowly slid through and out of the tight hole, making a squishy ‘pop’ sound followed immediately by a slapping thud of her thick booty slamming into the wall, keeping her held in place. They all burst into cheers for the progress that was made.
“Great job, everyone!” Mystery called out over the music, turning it down a bit so he could be heard, “Let’s take a breather before we get back to it. I need to apply more butter.”
He picked up the butter stick again and placed it on the massive rear he had been pushing on for the past several minutes. The stick glided effortlessly over the expanse, leaving behind a slick trail that he then rubbed all over. He was enthralled by the way her lower body felt in his paws, all coated in the slippery substance. Once finished, he put the butter away and didn't bother wiping his paws. He spent the next few minutes admiring the view, letting his paws rest on her. Ankha's tail swished in an almost contented way as if to say that she was comfortable with that.
Once everybody had gotten a much needed rest, they lined up again and Cherry took Ankha's paws in hers, ready to keep going.
“Good to go again out there?” Mystery asked.
“Yep!” Cherry confirmed.
“Alright, here we go, on the top of the next verse, everyone! Let's make it count!”

While they waited for the chorus to finish, they all set their feet and adjusted their grips. As soon as Kapp'n's verse started, Mystery's pushes and the chain's pulls resumed the tug-of-war on Ankha, and the back-and-forth chants continued as before. The butter really seemed to be doing some good. Ankha's glistening bottom flattened out against the inner wall for the most part, but she felt herself slide forward a tiny bit more, packing more and more of her bulbous butt into the cramped space. The pucker marks around her rear end deepened as it was forced in harder by the efforts of her rescuers.

Mystery's paws sank deep into the blubbery softness, making his heart beat faster at the feeling and the sight before him. He squeezed his eyes shut and kept pushing. The butter was making his paws shift slightly and he was afraid that he would completely slip off and either plant his face directly into the middle of her backside or accidentally touch somewhere she really didn't want him to, so he gripped her slightly as he pushed. This gave him an idea. He squeezed her buttocks inward as he shoved forward, compacting it so as to lessen the flattening effect. This seemed to work for a couple of tries, but there was still so much butt left to go!
The song went through another round and repeated back to the beginning again, but Ankha hadn’t budged in all that time. That didn’t deter the pulling chain, though. They were bound and determined to get Ankha free. Mr. Resetti was having a tough time keeping a hold of Isabelle’s very soft and wide hips. He heaved back and his paws slipped, sending him reeling backward and falling into the hole he had dug earlier. Nobody heard the string of profanities that were shouted as he tumbled down his tunnel. Isabelle's grip on Petri was also starting to weaken, however, and she was ready for another break. Her efforts started to wane as she panted for air. There had to be another way… Suddenly, she got an idea.
Mystery had turned around to press his back and shoulders into the padded rump and heaved with everything he had, his head and neck sinking into the crease between her cheeks. The warmth of the stuck cat enveloped him fully as he sunk into her. It was oddly comfortable… But he had to stay focused. For Ankha's sake. He shut his eyes tight and pushed harder.
Having felt no progress in several minutes, Ankha kicked her legs feebly behind her on either side of Mystery while she held onto Cherry as tight as she could. She squinted her eyes and winced as she grunted, groaned and moaned in discomfort from the tightness around her bottom and from feeling her top half stretch so much. She was starting to feel afraid that her luck had run out and that she would be stuck in this hole for another week. While worrying about this, she didn't see Isabelle leave the chain.
“I’ll be right back. Wish me luck!” Isabelle said to Petri who was ahead of her in the line. She felt a newfound fire in her gut. Petri watched as Isabelle walked as fast as she could muster toward Mystery's backdoor, her belly jiggling like a bowl of jelly and her bountiful booty swaying and bouncing with every step. She rounded the corner and sidled in sideways. At least, she tried to. Her belly and butt got caught tighter than they had ever been before in the doorframe and she had to pull and tug pretty hard to get herself dislodged. She stumbled a bit when she popped free. Looking toward Mystery, a determined smirk crossed her face.
“Duck, Mystery! Here comes Isabelle!!” She called out, starting a mad dash at full speed.
“Isabelle??” Mystery asked, not expecting to hear her voice ring out in his den. His eyes opened. “What are y- OH SHIT!!”

Isabelle came at him at full throttle, her fat body moving faster than he thought she was capable of. His knees gave way under him and he fell to the floor just in time to feel the whoosh of air as Isabelle flew over him and plunged paws-first into the blockage. It all happened so fast. Ankha's butt compressed suddenly toward the middle of the front door as it was moved forward with an immense amount of force behind it. Her bottom disappeared from the den, followed by her legs, followed closely by Isabelle's arms, head, shoulders, breasts, and the first roll of belly fat before coming to a sudden stop.
The pull chain stumbled and fell backward as Ankha suddenly burst free from the burrow's front entrance, sailing over them all and toward the treeline. Isabelle looked up and pointed toward Ankha’s rapidly shrinking form as the distance between them increased.
“There she goes!” Isabelle called out.
It took a moment for everyone to register just what happened, but when it dawned on them, cheers erupted and they got up as quickly as possible to follow. Mystery heard the commotion and also dashed out his back door without looking back  to Isabelle still in his front door.


Isabelle went to try following everyone else. She pressed her arms into the compact dirt exterior of Mystery’s burrow. Her top half moved forward slightly but fell right back to its original position.
“Uh…” Isabelle muttered.

She braced her knees on the compact dirt interior of Mystery’s burrow. Her bottom pointed toward Mystery’s back door but didn’t move backward.
“Uh oh…!” Isabelle’s eyes widened, her heart raced and she began to panic.

She pushed again from the front and kicked her legs behind her. It was no good. The only thing that accomplished was making her thighs and bottom jiggle. The dread rose from the pit of her belly and up to the back of her throat.

“I can’t… Mph! I can’t get out…! I’m stuck!! Oh, help!!” Isabelle called out. Unfortunately, everybody was already out of earshot. She looked down at her massive belly which had several pucker marks in it where it all tried to get through the front door at the same time. On the inside, her butt also far eclipsed the circumference of the hole. She wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. She would have to wait until everyone came back with Ankha.
Meanwhile, Ankha’s naked body was sailing through the air over the treetops closest to Mystery’s burrow. Looking down, she noticed that a honey tree with its telltale open knothole was directly in her path. Her eyes widened and a grin started to form on her face and widened as she got closer and closer until…
THUD
Her top half was forced past the rim of the knothole with how much inertia was in play. The first ring of belly fat also followed through before coming to a hard stop. The sudden crash made all the bees inside scramble for the exit. She opened her eyes slowly and her mouth fell agape. It was the most beautiful sight she had seen in the past week. So much honey and not a bee in sight, all within easy reach. She started to shovel it into her face, savoring the sweet flavor and letting it ooze down over her breasts.
Down below, Mystery led the pack, pointing up at Ankha’s large naked bottom now sticking out of the honey tree.
“Don’t worry, Ankha! We’ll get you down!” He called up to her.
“Don’t worry about it! I’m okay! Take your time!” Ankha called back, her voice muffled from inside the tree. “Yum yum yum…!” she murmured, sucking down as much honey as she could, her belly filling and expanding once again.
“Well, that’s just peachy…” Mystery sighed, rolling his eyes. It seemed that Ankha hadn’t learned a thing in the whole week she had been stuck in his door, however… He couldn’t stop the grin from cracking his face. There was just something endearing about her and the way she had a simplemindedness when it came to sweets. At least she seemed comfortable up there. He would worry about getting her down later. Let her have her fun for now.
“At least she’s happy, eh, Isabelle? … Isabelle?” Mystery looked around, but didn’t see Isabelle in the crowd. Figuring that she would have caught up by now, Mystery started to walk the path back to his burrow. The rest of the crowd noticed and followed behind him, leaving Ankha up in the tree with her legs kicking happily behind her. As soon as the burrow came back into view, Mystery’s face turned to shock when he saw Isabelle’s top half in place of his door. Some in the group gasped. Others murmured.
‘I’ve had this home for a week and two villagers have plugged my front door…’ He thought to himself in exasperation. Was this going to become a regular occurrence? Was he doomed to be known as that guy who lived in that house where guests got stuck on their way out?

“Oh no… Isabelle, don’t tell me you’re…” Mystery started.
“I’m stuuuck…” Isabelle whined. She pushed again and wriggled side to side, but it was no use.
“C’mon, everybody! Looks like we’re not done yet!” Cherry said optimistically. Mystery nodded and went around to his back door while everybody else formed the chain once again. Isabelle reached her paws out for Cherry to take and she gripped them tight. This was so embarrassing. The music had still been playing the whole time, so the chain resumed where they left off, pulling on Isabelle's arms.
Mystery entered through the back and got a sinking feeling in his gut as he saw Isabelle’s massive ass and her belly corked in the front door. He watched it bunch up slightly as the group outside pulled. Her skirt hardly did its job of covering her and he could see that her panties were also struggling to hold on. There were some tears in the fabric from where they had stretched past the breaking point. She kicked her legs uselessly, snapping Mystery from his stupor. He plunged his paws into her butt and shoved forward. Just like a repeat of a week ago, the plump bottom bunched up and flattened out instead of moving forward.
“Eep!” Isabelle squeaked when she felt Mystery push her, a deep blush immediately filled her face. She was not prepared to be touched by him like that. It was a wholly new sensation for her that gave her mixed feelings. She held on tight and hoped that this wouldn’t take too long…
After a few more repetitions of the song and trying different methods of pushing, Mystery had to concede defeat.
“It’s no use…” Mystery groaned from inside the burrow. He stopped pushing and rested against Isabelle's ass. “She’s stuck tight and not budging…”
“Now what…?” Rosie asked as the chain stopped pulling.
“Well, it's just like before, isn't it?” Quinn asked, “We need to wait for Isabelle to thin down.”
“The start of a new experiment…!” Petri whispered excitedly, a glimmer in her glasses.
“Oh dear…” Isabelle moaned, both halves slumped down in her tight prison. She wished that she didn't have that extra pastry earlier.