"If you've been coming and going since the dawn of time, how come we got overrun only now?"

"Isn't it obvious?" monster drawled out.

"No?"

"You did this to yourselves. I don't know how. But now there is a hole between worlds and everyone else poured through."

"Alright. I suppose it was obvious." I agreed for it did make awful lot of sense. If it wasn't one thing, would have been another. At least this way we got to experience new tourist destinations. And perhaps even immortality, which I suspected a lot of people would line up for.

Monster's calm ticking changed into a hum, like if he was a human he'd have more to say. Partial imitation of the gesture, I suppose. "Spit it out," I urged.

"No fiery disputes?"

"I live to surprise," I shrugged with full length of my arms, but didn't really feel like playing the part of flamboyant ballerina. Flattering that the demon thought I could launch a reasonable debate against him, though.

Rubbed my icy fingers together. The talk was taking my mind off the unwanted things, but not the screaming discomfort. Walking would get my blood moving, but we were probably headed to the church town. I didn't want to get anywhere, see anyone. Including this lumbering oaf, but that was inescapable at this time.

What would be the chances of successfully ripping that skin coat of his off again? Worked out fine when I was barely coherent.

... Assault was never my thing. And to begin with, monster was unbelievably cooperative. I sauntered closer, leaned in to touch the chest and put my best seductive tone to use, "Say, what's underneath?"

There was a seam, and hints of neckline. It was definitely removable. The blanket flap had been somehow detached too.

Monster wasn't charmed or even flustered. Was not replying either. Okay, so it was a bit conceited of me to think I could temp a demon into sin of one kind or another. Nonetheless, disappointing.

"Organs," his body murmured eventually. Well, duh.

"No, I mean... under the cloak?"

There was another massive pause, but I learned to give this alien doofus a minute to mull things over. Seriously, what was so complicated here? Was he being shy? Oh my.

"Do you want to see?" monster asked quietly again and I jumped for joy.

"Yes!"

And then something unexpected happened.

"Oh," I've said, stepping away. We've been talking about entirely different things. And turns out the lengthy deliberation was well placed.

There indeed were organs, although I could not quite place them. I turned my head sideways but it didn't make any further sense from that angle either. It was like scattered puzzle, hastily stuffed back into the box and some of it possibly missing.

A bit of the mass sloshed and dribbled out on the grass. A series of cracks made me raise the eyes again. The fleshy mass twisted and crunched again. It was frankly disgusting and my own stomach started following that same flailing dance. But I could not look away.

"Did you taste so rank that something chewed on you a little and spat back out?" I could not help but wonder at the gory sight. When in panic, talk a lot to cover that up.

Couple more crunches and the insides were all gone... somewhere. Certainly nowhere in the gut cavity, nor the stomach – for he didn't have one at all. It was just empty.

"The opposite," monster informed me after finishing chewing. All that was left were the haphazardly scattered sharp teeth all over the fleshy pink inside of his. The whole of abdomen cavity was a massive toothy maw. The sight was more than unsettling, I felt the dread. I wanted to run. Something very inhuman and loathsome was witnessed by my eyes and they burnt.

"Momma packed you the lunch, then? It looked delish," I gaped at the lost piece on the ground and wondered if I'm strong enough to go through with rest of the nonsense that swirled on in my mind. I certainly ate worse looking things. Picked it up... and flung it into the bushes with a yelp. "Ouch! Mama likes it a bit spicy, huh?"

Monster was growling quietly but was not saying anything still. Did not know if it was thoughtful muteness or one of abandonment. It was frankly hard to just stand here and be cornered from all sides. In thoughtful stillness, faced with an abomination, wanting to run and for everything to stop. Shuddered, looking at the still open maw. Fisted my fingers to stop them from shaking and fell forward.

The rumbling hitched from the impact. I expected the vertical jaws to slam shut, especially on that full-body twitch, but here I still was. Pricked by the teeth I fell on top of, but still living and still breathing. The smell was... not as disgusting as I imagined. Rather like a butcher shop at the city centre. Nothing but the freshest of meats. Which made sense, I suppose.

The maw around me started closing and I braced myself again, but there was no pain or terrible crunching. It just twined around my tensed back and arms, yanking me off my feet without effort. I was surprised the million needles didn't rip me apart in such a snug hold. Upon retrospection, they appeared to have gone missing altogether to that mysterious place all terrible things went.

I couldn't hear much through the pulse pounding in my ears, but steady vibration told me I wasn't missing anything. Cleared my throat to adjust the pitch of what would be undoubtedly shaky voice. "Well, do I taste as good as I look?" I asked knowing full well I must taste of well-worn sock by now.

"Accurate, as I don't have need for taste as well as the visual input."

"Soo... you... have no taste? Yea, we've already established that." How bland, I thought finding myself rolling my eyes and finally relaxing.

I was also very jealous. Most of the things I put in my mouth as a starving child and even grown adult were rancid. That also spelled out stomach pains on occasion, but since the creature could chomp on his acidic brethren like candy, that was definitely unnecessary information to him.

Horned beast did not grace me with defence on his lack of style and I started getting uncomfortable jitters again.

"My turn to taste you!" I proclaimed much braver than I felt, which was so well-practised it became a personality trait by now.

I stuck out the tongue and ran it over the glistening concave surface right in front of me, which lacked all the miniscule bony protrusions. I feared the sting of the acid too, but it wasn't there either. Which, yeah, I would have already felt on my skin.

It tasted... of nothing. Flesh was smooth in texture and there was the mucus covering it, but zest itself eluded me. Like something was definitely there, but instead it tasted of absence of flavour. Like I lacked specific buds for it. In short, it was much better than nasty.

"You do live to surprise," creature's upper chest reverberated and I found myself faced with the flat noise organ. So he did have some of those! What a delight. I suppressed a shudder.

"Is it my turn to enter you unasked?" creature spoke firmly, leaving no room for backchat. I still attempted to, as the meaning dawned upon my wide-eyed person. A tendril snaked out and brushed past my lips before I could formulate single word.

Okay, so far not as bad as I assumed. And, yes – I guess that was fair. I did constantly try to stick my parts into monster's cakeholes. Was lack of asking the issue? I wondered, as my tongue snaked around the flavourless intrusion. I really wanted to ask, but work ethic took over at this time as I was nothing but professional. No talking with mouth full and all that.

The tapering feeler twirled and slipped past the tongue, into the throat. I tensed, but gag reflex was a thing of very distant past. It was going far further than usual, so it was hard to cling to any kind of normalcy. I hung suspended in a monster's mouth, tongue of whom I felt somewhere in my chest. It was so far out of my abundant atypical experiences, I did not know what to think or feel. My mind was blissfully empty for once.

I hadn't noticed how or when it was even over. I just liked my lips and realised absence of foreign objects.

"Do you feel pleasure?" I wondered out loud.

"If I want to," he'd replied.

"Do you want to?" was my only obvious inquiry.

I felt monster's grip around me relax and I was deposited back onto the firm ground again. "Later," I was told as monster stepped away to zip his flesh back up and I shuddered again. It was both from cold morning air, and the recollection he'd said exact same thing about consuming me. Figures – to a monster that must have held entirely different meaning. And to begin with, what was my addled mind even suggesting there?