Callum wasn’t quite sure of what to make of the plain, typed letter in his paw. The dragon had received it about a month ago, inviting him to a town he’d heard of in passing before, but never been to; New SaggingTon. Why him was a bit of a mystery, as there were many other bakers… But the letter had requested him by name, with plenty of flattery and flowery language to boot! It was odd, to say the least, but Callum wasn’t about to turn down the invitation once flattery and the promise of free baked goods were involved. This wasn’t a free trip, of course, meaning that Callum had needed a bit to save some funds for a small vacation; no all-expenses-paid-free-food-out-your-ears trip on this one. It was a simple, sweet invitation by a baker in the town for Callum to come, and despite being a bit apprehensive… Callum had gone.
And was he sure glad he did.
New SaggingTon lived up to all three parts of its name. There was someone with a new sagging ton being added to their frame everywhere the dragon looked! This place was nothing short of a food mecca, with every single kind of cuisine Callum had heard of, and many he hadn’t, readily available to eat and in quantities which would make even the most liberal of dieters run away in terror. There wasn’t a full block one could walk without seeing a rump pooching over a waistband or a shirt riding up to allow a stuffed paunch more room. The doors were all widened to cater to this, the menus all had prices listed by the pound for most meals, free food was as easy as walking in somewhere and mentioning that you had never tried the place… It was almost dream-like. There were even cabs for the more rotund residents and above it all? There wasn’t a lick of shame in the place. No one looked embarrassed to be stuffing themselves to the gills or to snap two chairs under their triple-wide rump. The lack of shame did lead to a few… Scantily-clad locals every now and then, but it was as if the whole town was built around one thing and one thing only; getting fatter. This was something that Callum could get behind.
Drinking in his second day in town as he waddled along the very wide sidewalk, and side-stepping a corgi that looked more like a ball than a canine, Callum trundled along towards the bakery which had summoned him to this unapolagetically gluttonous town. The place had a simple name, Folded Rolls, though Callum now suspected the name was more of a joke about the patrons than the baking. He still hoped the place was good, as he had come a long way for the food. It was a bit far from the main center of the town, and there were more houses and locals than vendors and restaurants than Callum had seen the previous night. Still, Callum just kept right on waddling along, his bulk and a light coat keeping him warm in the cool autumn air. His tail was a bit chilly thanks to all those exposed scales, leaving Callum hoping for a warm cafe and a warmer drink. The sound of Folded Rolls from the letter made it sound like both of those things would be readily available. The dragon still had to hope though, for he had no idea what he was about to lumber into.
A few more minutes of sidewalks and bulging blubber to walk around, and Callum was finally in front of Folded Rolls. The place looked quaint, a single-story log-cabin sort of place with a window display of baked goods and a sitting in the window. There was nothing particularly special about the place, and it almost looked closed from the outside despite there being a couple of impressively hefty patrons inside. There was a snow leopard behind the counter though, and the sign said ‘Open’, so Callum decided to wait for just a minute and take a closer look at the goods in the window. Each one was carefully done, with little cutouts of birds on the tarts and dragons on pies and bears on crullers. They were all almost too pretty to eat now that Callum was really getting a look at them, a bit of drool forming at the sides of his mouth in spite of that fact. He stared at each one, deep blue eyes studying the desserts and almost letting them come to life before his eyes. Callum may have been a baker, but he loved to see others’ works, and this was something else entirely… This was more art than cooking. If the things tasted even half as good as they looked, the trip would be worth it for a dozen donuts… And a cruller… And a pie… And a cake…
Callum stopped his mental food train with a bit of a jump, which in his case was more of a sluggish wobble up and down that freed his gut from the bottom of his jacket and explosed his deep blue belly scales to the cold air. A shiver followed that attempt at a jump thanks to this, sending more scaled lard into motion, something the feline which had startled Callum seemed to enjoy if the blush on his cheeks was any indication. It was the snow leopard from behind the counter, having opened the door almost silently save for the little bell above which they had clearly forgotten about. They too jumped when Callum did, and looked ready to skitter behind the counter with any sudden movements as they both caught their breath. The snep didn’t move, eyes looking up, and up, at Callum; the counter clearly had a stool behind it for them.
“Uhm… Uh… Hi there… Callum, right…?” Their voice was barely above a whisper as they spoke. “C-Come in, please, it’s… It’s chilly.” The snep then stepped aside and held the door for Callum, still red as a tomato and looking ready to flee at the first sign of movement. That was where their fearful attitude ended though, as they had multiple piercings on their face and ears from what Callum could see thanks to the light hint of metal (And his draconic instincts to hoard it!). One of their eyes was missing, a neat but clear wound where it had been, making the other shining gold one stand out that much more. Fur all shades of purples, with deep purples for their spots and pastels for the rest of their coat. They clearly stood out, and looked like it, but didn’t act the part in any way at all. Instead, they almost cowered in front of Callum, holding the door and shivering slightly as the clear fright of their meeting still hadn’t worn off. The shiver might have had to do with the fact that they were wearing pants, an apron, and nothing else… But Callum guessed the furred baker was about as warm as he was; they weren’t lacking at all in the weight department. The addage about never trusting a skinny chef seemed to have made waves in New SaggingTon, as this one clearly was trying to be as trustworthy as they could; Callum was doing the same thing if he was honest with himself too.
Stepping through the door quickly, Callum was practically bowled over by the scent of baked goods. It was almost as if he had been attacked by a full army of pastry all at once, coming from every single nook and cranny of the place all to greet him. Cinnamon, sugar, butter, cardamom, nutmeg, oats, flour… The attack was ceaseless, leaving Callum gawking in the door for a long moment before his senses returned and he fully saw himself in. The feline behind quickly came in and shut the door, hurrying back to the counter as though it was their safe place. Callum was a bit concerned for the bountiful butterball of skittish snep with that act. He didn’t want to say anything just yet, but now that he was inside and the chill was leaving his tail as well as his brain still listing through every scent floating in the air… Well, he was a touch distracted for the moment. Just a moment though, as reality came back to him again with the clinking of a fork on a plate. One of the patrons had apparently finished their food, rising to their feet with a strained grunt of effort and a thump that shook the floor beneath Callum’s feet.
“I swear Yura, you’re going to be responsible for another belt with this pie.” The bear’s heavy voice rumbled out, the barely-mobile ursine looking almost longingly at the display on the counter. “I’ve been through two this month already because of that new recipe.” The snep, Yura apparently, turned a dark shade of crimson again and seemed to almost grow larger as all their fur stood on end with embarrassment. “I know you can’t take no compliments, but damn… Damn.” The bear shook his head, heavy chest contorting and wobbling in a shirt that looked to have fit about three belts ago by his measurements. He then turned to leave, though not through the door Callum had come through… No, there was a side door for the more adipose-inclined apparently. The bear still brushed both sides of that door on his ponderous way out, leaving a still-eating sparrow, Callum, and Yura. Yura had been the one who had sent the letter, signing their name by paw in a way so neat that Callum had almost assumed it had been a stamp. Seeing their baking though… Well, that changed things, and Callum was now thoroughly impressed.
“Uhm, hi, I’m Callum like you guessed.” Callum started, getting a little squeak from Yura as they turned back to face Callum. They had been watching the bear go, same as the dragon… And probably for the same reasons, as the ursine had been a sight to see. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. You, uhm… You invi-“
“I’m so sorry!” Yura interrupted, their light voice almost a shout as they cut in. “I should have met you when you came in and you came all this way and whatamIgoingtodoIhavenothingreadyan-“
“Easy, easy…” Callum chimed in, trying to calm down the clearly panicking snep. Yura was still babbling though, quieter now as they looked to be just gripping the counter and clearly close to having a full-on nervous breakdown. “I wanted to come in and see the town before coming here; I’ve never been to New SaggingTon before. You couldn’t have known when I got here, I wanted to come and see the place before I came in… It’s not every day I get a letter in the mail like the one you sent after all. It was so sweet I wanted to make sure you weren’t a stalker or so-“
“Oh no! I’m not a stalker… I just, uhm…” Yura had piped down to listen to Callum, but quickly cut in again as they went from panicked to flustered in an instant. “Someone said you could bake really, really well, and I… Uhm… I wanted to meet other bakers…” Yura trailed off, their tail trying in vain to curl around them in flustered embarrassment.
“Well nice to meet you Yura, I’m Callum.” The dragon had crossed the room during their conversation(?), and was now leaning on the counter with a big smile. Up at eye height now with Callum instead of a few feet below, Yura’s golden eye shown that much brighter in the cozy cafe. “And can I just say, it smells like pure heaven in here.” Callum had looked away to take in the decor of the place when he spoke, all the wooden furniture carved by paw and the small trinkets put in with the baked goods. The place was clearly as homely as could be, and it even felt like it with the fireplace in one corner slowly warming the air. Callum turned back to look at Yura though… And was a bit surprised when a slice of cake instead greeted him.
“Here,” Yura said, their voice back to barely being above a whisper. The feline’s look had changed though, going from nervous and skittish to determined and hopeful. They clearly wanted Callum to sample the cake, and Callum wasn’t one to say no to cake… So he took the small plate from Yura and placed it on the counter. Using the provided fork, Callum cut himself a large bite of the cake, gave it a single sniff, and then… He was sent off to the heavens. Chocolate burst forth like fireworks on his tongue, complimented with the faintest hint of cherry. The vanilla cream of the icing was doing a bombing run on his tastebuds throughout this fireworks display of taste, hitting him again and again with pure vanilla and heavy cream. Tones of light spices danced like fairies along his tongue, further sprinkling flavor in with the bite and adding yet more to the orgy of taste inside his mouth. This was no cake, this was a weapon of mass consumption. Callum could eat this every day for the rest of his life and never get tired of it. Ever.
So it came as no surprise that he didn’t even remember eating the rest of it.
“Holy… Yura, that… Wow.” Callum was utterly speechless, his cleaned plate a clear testament to that fact. What the dragon hadn’t quite yet noticed was that another plate was in its place, this one with a cinnamon roll atop it. In fact, Callum only did notice it when the waves of flavor again hit him right in the mouth, the strong cinnamon flavor like a roundhouse kick to the tongue. It was almost spicy in a way, but it worked with the sheer amount of icing that Yura had coated the food with as well as the incredibly sweet dough to balance it out. Everything just worked in such a way that again, Callum was greeted by an empty plate, and again it was replaced with something new. A muffin, then a cruller, then a Monte Cristo… The food kept right on coming, and nary a complaint from Callum asked it to stop. Each bite was like its own adventure in taste, with Callum being the lone hero set to vanquish the flavors once and for all. Each time the flavors seemed to have won, but Callum rode in on his silver tongue and fought valiantly, not once giving in to deep-fried cookies or falling into a lava cake. It was a true battle of the tastebuds, and it was one that Callum had sorely missed fighting; it wasn’t every day that the baker got to taste this much quality baking.
After almost a half-hour of standing at the counter, Callum was starting to tire; his legs just weren’t used to holding up this much dragon for this long without at least a break. The food train seemed to have stopped too, with a fairly impressive stack of plates off to one side of the counter and a grinning, much-more-comfortable looking Yura behind it. The feline looked positively alight with glee, grinning from ear to ear despite a deep red blush turning their purple fur almost wine-colored as they looked on for approval of that final dish. Somewhere through it all, Yura had flipped the open sign on the door to ‘Closed’, and the last customer had somehow cleared out; Callum wasn’t quite sure how because that sparrow looked to be three cookies away from being permanently grounded. The dragon had missed it all though through his war with the pastries, diligently eating everything put before him. This last dish, a slice of pie with a dragon cut out neatly atop it and apple filling so golden it looked to be made of actual gold, seemed almost tailor-made for him to end on. Callum couldn’t deny that he was utterly stuffed now, having been full for a while but enjoying the food too much to even notice, or care for that matter. Now though it was getting too much to ignore, with a large ribbon of black and blue scales peeking out from the underside of his shrinking jacket. This was nothing new to Callum, but to get there without even really paying it any mind or having anything pushing him beside his own need to eat? That was something very rare for the dragon, and as he savoured the last few bites of pie… He knew this was going to be a meal to go down in the history books.
“There’s a couch by the fire, if y-you want to get comfortable…” Yura said finally, the feline having been pretty much a silent feeder the entire time. In fact, those were the first words that Callum could remember Yura saying past the initial ‘Here’ at the start of his binge. It was a companionable silence though, one which hadn’t been awkward or strained, but one that had been just a baker in their element. Others clearly weren’t, so Callum just gave a broad grin, placed down the quickly-cleaned and crumbless pie plate, and made his way over to the sofa. It was thoughtfully cut, with a broad hole for tails and one clearly made for larger folks. Callum sank down into it like it was an old friend, his gut spilling haphazardly between his wide-spread legs and roundiing out quite nicely. He was stuffed, positively packed, and yet Yura still had another plate in their paws as they came over. This one was actually more a platter too, one which housed a full load of doughnuts. Yura looked from the couch, to Callum, and back again as if judging whether or not they should sit. Callum spent that time undoing his tight jacket, letting his stomach really flop out and spread well past his knees, a move which seemed to sway Yura towards sitting. To help Yura further decide, the dragon gave a small pat to the seat beside him, grunting a bit at the effort as it shifted the large full-term food baby in his stomach. The gesture was understood though, and Yura cautiously made their way to the couch. Having to climb into the couch slightly, as they were a couple heads easily shorter than Callum, the feline had to place the tray down for a moment… And then let it stay between the two of them. There was just enough room on the couch for this, but Yura looked almost a bit forlorn at this.
“You can put the tray on your work and get closer you know.” Callum said with a broad smile, one paw giving his stomach a light smack, the scale-on-scale impact resonating with a sluggish wobble of all that heft. Yura turned into a tomato again, red as could be… But did what Callum suggested. They held up the tray and scooted closer, their own form a collection of doughy rolls almost as soft as their baked ones jiggling rather heavily as they moved. The first touch of fur against scales got a light giggle from Callum, and immediately made Yura stiffen as a result. Callum, not wanting to scare off the feline, leaned down what little he could muster and wrapped a large arm around Yura to bring them in the rest of the way. Yura yelped, nearly dropped the platter, and then… Purred as though they were a racing engine. They lifted the tray up the rest of the way to rest it atop that small mountain they had helped form on Callum, the warm tray feeling just like a hot stone on the dragon’s tight stomach. He sighed contently, bringing Yura in just a little bit closer as the two started to snuggle right by the fire. Each had one arm free, and seemed almost in sync as they reached towards the doughnuts at nearly the same moment. Callum chuckled, letting his paw fall back to his side as he just opened his mouth and took in that first real fed bite from Yura.
“My compliments to the chef… Or baker, whichever you prefer.”