It was near nightfall when Sepia left the garden.

In the fading light she tracked Tenn by the scent she had marked him with. Anger gnawed at her stomach as it struggled to digest the remnants of what Tenn had called a “Grand Garden”. She felt confused-  betrayed even. He had disobeyed her and attempted an escape. Worse, she had trusted him. She knew better than any that his kind traded only in deception; why should he have been any different? What made his words penetrate her defenses? He said he loved me, Sepia thought, recalling his awed and imploring eyes.The image didn’t inspire the rage she had expected it might and she pushed the uncomfortable thought away.   

Marked with her scent, there was little chance for him to escape. The pheromones she had applied to his body were as good as a beacon, leading her inexorably closer. Still, he had traveled far. Night fell in the jungle before she had drawn close enough to begin her climb up into the canopy. She moved more slowly for a while, careful not to injure herself in the darkness. It gave her time to focus her anger into grim determination. Before she had only planned to eat his people’s food and move on. Now, that wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly enough.

A few hours after nightfall she smelled him directly above, high up in the jungle canopy. Looking up at the massive tree she wondered how tall it might be. Certainly it was less daunting than that might have been a week ago, she had grown considerably. And she had always been a strong climber.

The bark was rough and grips were plentiful. Sepia slid up the trunk easily. A short distance above she started to swing up a branch when it snapped under her increased weight. She cursed softly and her thick thigh muscles flexed to compensate, straddling the trunk. Then she reach up to find another grip and pulled herself higher- squeezing the tree between her thighs for balance. In this fashion she climbed quickly, foot by foot.

When her head breached the densest part of the leaves a miniature village was revealed. She marveled for a moment at the little rope bridges that stretched out into the darkness, no doubt joined to distant trees. Tiny houses of all shapes and sizes were nestled in the leaves, carved cunningly from the branches. The one she sought was close, and there were tiny creatures in front of it. Tenn’s kind. She didn’t know what they were truly called, and decided ‘vermin’ was fitting.

When the vermin saw her they began shouting. Sepia smirked when they readied their little weapons to fight her. In different circumstances she might have savored crushing their defiance, now she had a more pressing target to attend to. With a flick of her wrist she swatted them off the branch sending their puny bodies careening helplessly into the darkness. They trailed horrified little screams as they fell, granting her some small satisfaction. Another one exited the tiny hut, but not the one she was looking for. It made a satisfying crunching sound when her index finger flicked it away. Then she reached down and pried the roof off of the hut.

Alone in her shadow, her target cowered against the floor. His words were like poison running through her veins, seeking her heart. There was only one remedy, she decided. His death would not be swift. She spoke to him and their eyes met, was that relief in his gaze? No, this creature had betrayed her. It was vermin, unworthy of further consideration. And yet...

Looking closely, Sepia noticed the ropes binding him to the floor, the broken body twisted awkwardly. For a moment, her resolve wavered. A hundred different possibilities ran through her mind. Had they punished him for revealing their food sources? Why return to the village at all if this was what awaited him? Why did he look so relieved by her presence? Instead of voicing the threat she had intended she found herself asking a question.

If he had offered some defense she might have been content to call him a liar. Instead, he said nothing- his mouth gaped ineffectually as though he were drowning. Panic quickly turned into frustration and suddenly his eyes bore into her, startling in their naked hatred. Intuition told her this rage was not directed at her. It was an unfocused fury, the look of someone who holds the world in contempt. That spite was the final refuge of someone truly alone, and she knew it well.

Suddenly she was seeing herself. Alone, betrayed and starving, shivering with cold in the jungle’s undergrowth. Alien trees stretched to unimaginable heights all around her, uncaring sentinels of the land that swallowed her family. It would have been so easy to lie down beneath their branches and let the world slip away. A hundred times or more she might have done just that. Let jungle consume her... only rage consumed her first. Every night she dreamed her family’s deaths and every morning she roused herself for vengeance. Revenge was the only purpose she required. Except…  

The broken creature slumped in her palm twitched.

Sepia recalled their last night together and wondered if there was room in her future for more than revenge. An unfamiliar emotion surged within her. Without thinking, she lifted Tenn’s tiny body to her lips and pressed him against them. She could feel every inch of him, warm against her mouth. It was a nice feeling. Then his tiny body trembled against her lips and gave her an idea for something that would feel even better. Depositing Tenn back in his cell she turned towards the village.

The vermin were awake and scurrying around in panic. Swinging around the tree towards the largest cluster of tiny shapes Sepia wondered how long it would be before they despaired. Terrified screams and frantic pointing preceded trampling each other in their haste to escape. Like bugs they skittered away into the cracks of their hovels as her shadow fell over them. Despair, she decided with a smile, would not take long at all.

***

Bedlam fell upon the canopy.

A chorus of shouting was nearly drowned beneath groaning timber as the tree struggled to bear Sepia’s weight. With belabored breaths Tenn pulled himself to the edge of the cell so that he could look out on the village. Under the bright glare of moonlight lay an incredible scene.

Sepia’s naked body was coiled around the tree; her legs locked beneath the village center with her massive torso rising far above it. A few unfortunate souls who had been too slow to take shelter were swept up into her hands and brought to a mirthlessly smiling face many times their size. “Fetch your leader!” Her voice boomed. Then she plucked one tiny villager from her hand and set him down. “If he is not out here in ten seconds I will destroy your village and every last... person in it,” she said, impregnating ‘person’ with venom such that it hissed between her teeth. The villager ran, though whether or not it was to get an elder was hard to say.

“One.” Sepia began counting “Two.”. Silence punctuated each word. “Three.” Far below, the tree creaked ominously. “Four.” Sepia continued counting in eerie silence. Tenn felt for the handful of villagers still trapped beneath her thumb, dangling helplessly. Quickly, the count reached it’s end. “Ten!” Sepia boomed just as two men came stumbling into the village square, one nearly dragging the other. The first, Tenn recognized, as the man Sepia had sent away. The second was Rathmus. A thrill ran through him upon seeing the old man’s fat, jowly face go from red with anger at being hauled out to white as milk upon beholding Sepia.

“Are you in charge?” Sepia demanded.

“Ah-h-h I-I- I am an el-elder.” Rathmus stammered.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Sepia said and brought her face closer. Rathmus raised his hands to shield his face as though he were about to be struck. “I require some supplies.”

It took a few moments for Rathmus realized he wasn’t being attacked. He lowered his hands slightly and said, “S-Supplies? O-Oh… y-yes of course.  Y-You would need supplies. E-Everyone needs things. Ev-”

“QUIT YOUR BLATHERING” Sepia boomed and Tenn was almost certain he saw Rathmus’ pants darken with fluid. After allowing her words to sink in for a few moments she continued, “Give me your red plums.”

Rathmus appeared momentarily unsure of what to do before finally saying something Tenn could not hear to man beside him. After a brief exchange the man hurried away. Lights were coming on in windows now as the villagers realized they were perhaps not all about to die. They watched fearfully as carts were wheeled into the village square, depositing all two of the villages’ plums before her.

Sepia eyed the slightly shriveled fruit with disdain and said, “This is not enough.”

“T-That is all we h-have!” Rathmus answered with desperation in his voice.  

“As compensation for this pathetic offering bring out whatever nuts and berries you have.”

“B-but t-those are our w-winter stores.” Rathmus protested weakly. Sepia’s fist came down so quickly Tenn heard the ear-splitting boom before he saw her move. A giant crack stretched through the wood beneath her fist and hundreds of leaves fell like dust in an explosion. Shielding his face and looking away Rathmus shouted, “N-N-N-No P-please a-anything. We’ll give you a-anything just… p-please, I beg you.”

“Hmm,” Sepia replied, her tone somewhat playful. “I do like hearing you beg. But I’ll be taking what I asked for first.” With that said she lifted a plum and tossed it into her mouth, swallowing it whole. Tenn suspected she ate it that way for show more than anything, and if so it had quite an effect. The horrified look on Rathmus’ face was priceless. “Mmm,” Sepia moaned softly as her hand wandered down squeeze an enormous breast. Tenn started becoming aroused as her fingers sunk into the supple flesh, her massive tits making the plums seem miniscule in comparison. “I love those plums.” Then, as though suddenly remembering herself, Sepia’s eyes flicked open and she said, “Don’t make me ask twice.” Rathmus nodded vigorously and started to back away when Sepia stopped him. “Stay here. Have the others bring it out.”

“T-then w-will you leave us b-be?” Rathmus pleaded. Sepia merely smiled and released the villagers she had been keeping in her grip onto the platform. They ran without looking back. Rathmus, looking every bit as old and feeble as Lemnel, shouted, “You heard her! Bring out everything you’ve got.” Then, in a pathetic attempt to build trust added, “And no h-hoarding! We have to send our guest away with a f-full s-stomach.” Rathmus offered his most gregarious smile. The expression curdled on his face beneath Sepia’s gaze.

After a short while the food came trundling out into the village center. It came in baskets from houses, carts from market stalls, bushels from the harvesters, and in the large tan sacks that were the village’s emergency stores. Nuts and berries being the principal diet of his people, it took a good deal of time to gather it all. Sepia used this time to savor the second plum. It’s red skin parted beneath her teeth in squelching bites that set the scurrying villagers on edge. All told the winter stores made a pile just taller than a plum and maybe half a dozen times as wide. It was a substantial amount of food, but Tenn had witnessed her consume far more.

“P-Please take it.” Rathmus said, urging her to leave.

Sepia smiled, revealing red rivulets of juice running down her teeth. “Oh, won’t you have me for dinner?” Rathmus, for once, seemed to be completely at a loss for words. “I can’t very well carry down all these little baskets now, can I?” Sepia said.

The old man looked like he had enough, Tenn watched him tremble as he said “As you will, I have erm… o-other matters to attend to.” The fat man had only just started to backpedal when Sepia spoke again.

“No.” Rathmus froze. “Come, eat with me.” Sepia indicated the pile of food between them. When the elder didn’t move fast enough she added, “Now.” Rathmus lurched forward as though pulled by an invisible thread. He came to a stop before the mountain of food and reached out a hand uncertainly. Noticing his hesitation Sepia said, “Go ahead, it’s all going to end up in the same place anyway.” Her smile sent chills down Tenn’s spine.

“What?” Rathmus froze.

“In someone’s stomach.” Sepia said nonchalantly and gestured for him to eat.

“O-oh... r-right.” He said, and reached tentatively towards the mountain of food. Sepia’s massive fingers joined in, gouging troughs in the pile of nuts and berries as she began to gorge on the village’s supplies. Her cheeks bulged briefly with each bite before the food was sucked down her throat and into her cavernous stomach. After a few mouthfuls she started to grow.

The growth was fast. Her legs thickened, quickly approaching the girth of the trunk they were wrapped around. Her torso lengthened, pushing her head further into the canopy and displacing another flurry of leaves. Her breasts rose higher which prevented them from crushing the pile of food as the expanded in every direction. Their soft mass jiggled tantalizing, engorged nipples tracing wild patterns in the air as her bust took the lead in her violent expansion.

Not to be outmatched the enormous curve of her ass swelled larger and larger, dominating the vista beneath the platform. An animal moan tore loose from Sepia’s throat as she grew, “AHH-MMMMMMMMM!” Her hips began to grind against the tree and the wood groaned alarmingly in response. “YES, MORE!” The width of her thighs eclipsed the trunk, and Sepia’s hand shot out to grab nearby branch. Her other hand settled on another branch and she began to rock urgently against the tree.

Below her Rathmus watched in horror as the titanic creature before him expanded in a lust-filled frenzy. He stepped back, eyes wide with fear. Sepia’s moans rose higher and higher, drowning out the creaking wood until a resounding crack split the air. “YES!” Sepia howled, deafening everyone in close proximity. Thick, creamy fluid washed down the trunk and collected in the massive fissure that now ran down its length. Tenn doubted Rathmus could see it, but the tree was as good as destroyed. Likely the only thing keeping it together was the force exerted by Sepia’s enormously powerful thighs.

Rathmus froze as Sepia turned her attention back to the platform. A sneering smile flickered across her face as she resumed eating. The mound of food dwindled rapidly as Sepia devoured with abandon. An almost impossibly short time later, the food was gone. Sepia licked her lips and shifted her weight, eliciting another groan from the tree.

“Please g-go!” Rathmus said, his voice cracking. “We’ve given you e-everything we have.”

Sepia started at him for a moment, seeming to savor the desperation on the old man’s face. Then she spoke, “There is one more thing.”

“What?” The word was nearly a sob.

“One of the villagers. Give them to me.” Sepia’s tone was so flat and emotionless she might as well have been asking someone to pass the salt at the dinner table.

“I-I don’t understand.”

Sepia glared down, shifting her weight forward so that her massive chest rested against the platform. It groaned as the weight of her bust settled, spilling a wave of flesh towards the fear-paralyzed elder. “If you will not give one to me, I will take one. Maybe more than one.”

“I-I-I-I… its I- ah-” Rathmus seemed to lose all semblance of coherence, clearly he had reached his limit. Suddenly Elder Theo appeared at his side. Tenn had been too focused on Sepia to notice him approach but he watched intently as the two Elders conferred.

Just when it seemed like Sepia’s patience was at its limit Elder Theo broke the huddle, turned, and in a clear voice spoke, “Is there a specific villager you desire?” Could she be asking for me, Tenn wondered uncertainly.

Sepia quickly dispelled that notion, “It does not matter, as long as they are offered.”

“And when you have them we have your word you will depart?” Tenn felt begrudging respect for Theo’s ability to face down someone more than fifty times his size. Probably closer to a hundred times at the rate she’s going, he realized.

“As you can see, I’m a growing girl,” Sepia said, and with mock politeness continued, “I thought I would be satisfied with the wonderful supper you prepared... alas I am not quite full. So one more is all I ask.”

“Very well,” Elder Theo said, “But know that you have sorely tried our hospitality this evening and it would best for everyone that you depart at once with your prisoner.” Then, without even a mote of hesitation he stepped away from Rathmus and said, “You may take him.”

Sepia’s hand encircled Rathmus before the fat man had time to register his shock at being betrayed. “Who said anything about prisoners?” Sepia replied, and popped Rathmus into her mouth. Her throat bulged an almost imperceptibly as the fat elder slid into oblivion. Tenn’s heart pounded in his ears. She had eaten someone with no more compunction than she had given a fish.     

For once, Elder Theo’s legendary composure faltered. A look of uncertainty flashed across his face and he said, “Now go! We have given everything you’ve asked- ask no more or there must be war between us.”

“War?” Sepia said incredulously. “Does the rabbit march upon the wolf? Does the mouse take up arms against the hawk?” Her voice began to rise, “DO THE TREES RISE AGAINST THE STORM!?” Fury fueled the thunder in her voice, “DO NOT THINK TO THREATEN ME WITH WAR- WHEN I HAVE ALREADY SUFFERED YOUR PEACE!” The word ‘peace’ was spat with so much bile that Tenn’s heart skipped a beat. Frightened voices erupted all over the village and with surprising speed Sepia restored her courteous mask. “No... “ She said, almost quietly. “I think peace will bring a more fitting end. So I extend the offer once extended to me: give me one more.”

The story she had told him in the grand garden came rushing back. This wasn’t an agreement, it was a punishment. Tenn felt foolish for not recognizing it sooner. She wanted them to feel what she had felt, to suffer as her family had suffered. It would have been easy to destroy the village. Sepia aimed to destroy their spirits.

Theo’s reaction made it clear her actions were on target. The Elder’s hands shook visibly, clenching and unclenching spasmodically as he stared up at the titanic female looming over his village. Sepia leaned further forward, savoring the moment. From Tenn’s perspective the tiny leader’s entire body was obscured by the swollen peg of her nipple.

Just then someone ran out onto the platform shouting, “Take me!” He cried, “Just let my family go.” Before Tenn could identify the speaker Sepia snatched the man up and devoured him in a single smooth motion. Elder Theo’s horrified stare almost made Tenn feel sorry for him. Sepia swallowed and… had she glanced Tenn’s way? Silence followed, shrouding the village like a pall. Fearful faces peered through windows to see what a father’s noble sacrifice had earned.

When Sepia’s answer came at last it didn’t leave a shred of hope; two words that fell like a curse.  

“One more.”