Despite constantly bouncing within Jade's belly and being assaulted from behind by all manner of hungry stomach sounds, Blake did his best to focus on the image on the phone in front of him and what his sister said about each of the girls.
"So the one on the left is Emily." When Blake took a look at her, he saw that she had tanned skin and wavy black hair that stopped just below her chin. It looked like she was a little bit shorter than Jade with a rather lean build. It also looked like she loved to wear red as that was the colour of her top and her skirt. "She gets snarky sometimes but she's always fun to be around. Likes to get physical, and if you get into a fight with her, she will throw you around like a ragdoll." Blake made a mental note to stay on Emily's good side, both while he was in Jade's belly and after he got out.
"Next to her, you've got Hannah." Ah, so this was who Jade was on the phone with. Based on what Blake was seeing in the photo, this girl had a lighter skin tone and straight blonde hair that reached her shoulders. She was easily the tallest one in her friend group, and also the chubbiest. She wore jeans and a pastel blue top and, unlike the other girls, she also had glasses similar to the ones Blake wore before he was digested. "She's kind of a nerd, but she's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Loves her food too. Say, I wonder if I could get her to eat you!"
"Jade, no!" Blake pleaded. It was bad enough being eaten by his own sister; he really didn't want to think about being eaten by someone he hadn't even met yet, no matter how nice she was.
"Right, sorry. So anyway, then you've got Faith on the right." Directing his attention back to Jade's phone, Blake saw a dark-skinned girl about the same height as his sister. Her blue hair, which was cropped on one side of her head, was the shortest out of all the girls. She had a bit more pudge on her than Jade, but not as much as Hannah, and was wearing a black top and pants. "Some of the stuff she comes out with makes no sense, but she means well and she'll always have your back."
"When you say 'makes no sense', what do you mean?" Blake inquired. Was this Faith character the kind of person with a so-called random sense of humour, or did she simply see things differently to everyone else?
"Oh, you'll find out in a minute," Jade replied unhelpfully over the sound of her belly growling. "And last but not least, there's the girl whose belly you love so much, you decided to become part of it," she added in a playful tone.
"That's not ... accurate!" Blake protested, hesitating halfway through as he hastily reconsidered his words.
"When you say 'not accurate' ..." Jade said, imitating Blake's tone when he asked about Faith.
"Sh-shut up!" Blake squirmed vigorously within his prison, creating a rather amusing sight for his sister as she looked down at her belly and put her phone back in her purse. As much fun as it was to torment her brother, Jade decided to comply with his demand to stop talking. That didn't stop her from rubbing her ravenous belly some more.
After a couple more minutes of walking, her belly jiggling and rumbling the whole way, Jade finally sighted the burger bar where Emily, Hannah, and Faith were all waiting. Blake immediately noticed that the three of them were wearing the same clothes as in the photo. Were those their favourite outfits? Were those their only outfits? Or were those their 'crop top gang' outfits? He didn't have much time to dwell on this, however, as Jade broke into a run that made him and the rest of her belly bounce even more.
"Hey, look who finally showed up!" Emily cheered just before giving Jade an effusive hug that pressed Blake right up against her toned midriff. He was so close to it, he could even hear her stomach growl hungrily. Clearly Jade wasn't the only one ready to eat.
"Yeah, sorry, I got a bit held up chatting with Blake," Jade replied once she was free of Emily's hug. As she stepped back, Blake got a good view of all three of his sister's friends, particularly their bare bellies. He didn't like to admit it but part of him was captivated by the sight.
"Ah yes, the eternal prisoner of his own sanctum," Faith chimed in. "When shall he be free to join us in our revelry?" Blake guessed that this was what Jade meant by her comment about Faith earlier. As she spoke, however, the tiny mage sensed something coming from her. Some kind of aura that marked her as different from most humans. He knew from his magical studies that, as a practitioner of magic, he had an aura that could be detected by other mages and magical beings. Did this mean Faith was a mage just like him? And if so, was she sensing his aura too?
"Or, in normal person language, when will that shut-in hang out with us?" Emily asked bluntly, hoping that her choice of words masked the fact that she thought he was kinda cute.
"Come on, Emily, no need to insult him!" Hannah said defensively. "But yeah, Jade, I would like to meet him one day. He sounds like a great guy." This then led to a back and forth between Emily and Hannah where each of them accused the other of having the hots for Blake while denying all claims about their own affections for him.
As entertaining as squabbles like these could be, Jade really wanted to get some food in her rumbling belly. She had to put a stop to the argument, either by coming clean about Blake's whereabouts or by reminding them that they were here to get something to eat. But which was the better course of action?