All-Consuming Love A Tale of the Grand Skies chapter 6 by EnviTheFool

The mortals that were presently affixed to her lips gave rise to a curious instinct, one that Galleon could only attribute to having adopted this mortal form. She didn't act on it, at first, but having them all so close to her let her sense them all in so many ways except one that she ultimately gave into her curiosity.

On a whim, Galleon licked her lips.

The stragglers struggled in vain against the thin coating of saliva that held them entrapped as the colossal pink tip snatched them away, dragging them inside of Galleon's mouth in its retreat. They found themselves in a humid cavern of living flesh. Even with her acute hearing Galleon was unable to make out their voices from within, but had they been calm enough to try and communicate she still might have "heard" them from feeling their voices vibrate against her sensitive organ. Furthermore, it was possible to differentiate between each and every one of them by their shape and taste, and it was this fact that helped Galleon make sense of that earlier feeling.

It was a peculiar thing. She had eaten mortal food before, and while she would never even consider such malignant things as calling mortals food, there was a similar yet distinct pleasantness to this. The tiny stragglers on her tongue, each much smaller to Galleon than the seed of a sesame plant would be to them, had such an intricate flavor profile to them. How they had spend their days, how they had led their lives...faint traces of their whole unique selves blended together to form an equally unique print. The dragon could have never even imagined that there was such a wide gap between how mortals smelled and how they tasted.

Galleon swallowed. Her mind had awakened to an irrevocable idea about how to proceed with her task. She knew where to deposit everyone until she was done. And unbeknownst to the people below as well as to her own conscious mind, it made her salivate at the thought.

Galleon's gazeless face tilted down. She could hear the rising concern amongst the people over what had just transpired in front of them, something that she felt a little dispirited over. She had been overcome with emotions that she couldn't describe to mortals in a way that they would understand. The best she could do was to make this quick so that she could offer them her relief.

"Communion." (We will have an understanding soon enough. Let it be known that this is an act of my love)

Once again, there was nowhere to run, and no time to do so. Galleon's visage was quick to descend upon the island once more, only this time her lips departed so much more wider than before. The ones brave enough to gaze upon her were met by a cavernous empty maw, the lair of the moist beast that was soon unleashed Solodem and its inhabitants.

The tastes of the soil and the mortals were mixing together into a feeling that was indescribably appealing to Galleon. It felt like a connection that she had never experienced before, like she was bonding with the living essence of this entire island through her senses alone, filling her with joy as her taste buds dragged their way across the surface. It didn't take more than a few long licks to cover the entire island, their rhythm paced by gulps that sent more and more of its inhabitants deeper into the earth dragon. 

Whether or not the individuals that they were going to make out of the ordeal unharmed, even after the initial experience with it when receiving the blessing, mattered little. The primal fear of being eaten was something shared by every living being. It was all that their little minds could scream about as the contracting muscles forced them down Galleon's throat. It was only when their surroundings began to change that they were reminded of the nature of the being they were dealing with.

As one was dragged deeper into the depths, rivers of saliva running down soft muscles started to gradually be replaced by flowing mud running down soft cavern walls. What would have ordinarily been a human stomach was a cavern of soft earthly materials merely in the shape of one, more than big enough to house the inhabitants of Solodem with plenty of breathing room. Mud made the initial landing more bearable while being surprisingly easy to wade through. Only the walls remained as a remainder that they were inside something alive as they slowly shifted and molded something out of its malleable edges, attempting to provide something that the people gravely needed right now: shelter.

The structures were crude imitations of buildings, like mudcastles made by an enthusiastic child, filled with simplistic attempts at replicating interiors and basic furniture. They even managed to contain the only sources of light within the stomach cavern in the form of fluorescent rocks affixed within the ceilings. It was more than enough to draw the agitated people towards them as they did their best attempts to both reconnected with their loved ones and recoup themselves after the most traumatizing situation of their lives.

Galleon felt all of this commotion deep within herself and, while feeling a sting of regret over having lost control of herself like that, ultimately felt eased by having been able to provide some relief to the mortals. She basked in the same warm, fuzzy feeling she felt when she was doting on the inhabitants of the world as she brushed her stomach in order to feel them better. But as pleasant as it felt, Galleon's focus soon returned to the task at hand, the subject of which she was still grasping with her hand.

It was time to continue on with her duty...