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    The culinary arts were a field that Y’shtola had nothing but appreciation for. The simple act of taking a handful of ingredients over a tamed flame and creating cuisines that pleased the tongue was a talent she would nary demean. She was above average in her own right thanks to her time as an apprentice to the great Master Matoya--no thanks to the old witch of course--but she had never thought to further her skills in the kitchen with so many mysteries out in the world. Why spend time perfecting her juliennes when a continent over was relics of past civilizations?
    “Got another helping for ya, Shtola!” came a bubbly voice.
    And yet there were those who managed a love for adventure with a love for good food.
    Y’shtola glanced from her seat to the food-carrying miqo’te coming over. With a grin on her face and a skip in her step was the Warrior of Light, the hero of Eorzea and what may as well be Y’shtola’s private chef. Her name was Lux, and it was rare that her meals were turned down.
    “So soon?” Y’shtola set down her tea as a fresh plate was laid before her.
    Nestled between two toasted slices of bread was a steaming cut of chicken parmesan. It was messy on account of Lux’s lack of presentation skills, but the one Y’shtola had had moments ago was proof that appearances were deceiving. She smiled and licked her lips without realizing.
    Lux pulled out a chef’s knife and sliced down the sandwich’s center. The bread crunched as crumbs tumbled to the plate. More steam escaped as did some of the sauce. If she didn’t know any better, Y’shtola swore Lux had gone heavier on the marinera this time. Still, there were worse issues to have. More of a savory, almost professionally made delight was hardly the end of the world.
    The elder miqo’te winced from the heat as her hands picked up one half. Inside, the chicken looked flaky. Its white meat stood out among its golden crust and the vibrant sauce coating its top and bottom. She brought her mouth closer and bit down.
    The crunch of the bread made way for a strong feeling as warm sauce and gooey cheese coated the roof of Y’shtola’s mouth. She felt her eyes tear up from the sudden heat but the flavor soothed whatever pain she felt. For how robust the toppings were it was the chicken that she longed for. It was moist--and not just from the sauce--with a crust brimming with seasoning.
    “Mm!” Another bite filled Y’shtola’s mouth. “Hah… You’ve just started your lessons and already I’ve had a meal that could stand among the Bismark’s menu. I cannot wait to see what else you create, Lux.”
    “Ah! You’re really too kind, Shtola!” Lux’s ears and tail twitched as her cheeks tinged pink. “I mean… I asked Tataru for some help with the bread, and Thancred helped me get some of the ingredients…”
    “But it was you that created the dish that lay before me, no?”
    The praise made Lux think for a moment before a smile returned to her face. “Yeah…. Yeah, I did, didn’t I?”
    Y’shtola returned to her meal and spoke between bites. “Keep at this. You’ve as much potential in the culinary field as you did when you first joined the Scions.”
    She glanced at Lux. The chef looked like she was thinking on Y’shtola’s words while an idea formed in her head. Her face suddenly lit up. “What if every other week… I make you a big meal to show off what I’ve learned? Like a progress report!”
    With a stomach full of nearly two fresh sandwiches it was an easy answer for Y’shtola. She felt it press against her gown, but she shrugged it off as eating too quickly. A simple walk and it would go away, or so she told herself. She returned a nod to Lux and was met with a joy filled yell. That was the first step to a big change for the Scions, and it was already well underway….

    The next morning, the sounds of a certain miqo’te echoed through the Scions’ headquarters.
    “Hrk! Blasted…” Y’shtola sighed and let her gown fall to the floor. The flowing black garment had shrunk (so she said). Her morning had gone as expected up until she tried putting her outfit on. Whatever Tataru had used in last night’s wash had done a number on many of her clothes.
    “Still,” she mused. “If such alchemy can shrink them…”
    A blue glow came from her hands as she picked up her clothes once more. There was a sound of fibers creaking before the gown grew a size up. Y’shtola smirked and donned the now fixed garment before walking out with a confident step. Her nose perked up at the smell of frying popotoes
    In the main hall, Lux had already prepared a small spread for breakfast. A plate was stacked high with golden disks: hash browns. It was enough to make anyone’s mouth water. They rose high above trays of eggs and market pastries, a few of which were already missing.
    “The fact any of your cooking remains shows our dear friends still retain some semblance of courtesy,” Y’shtola smirked.
    Breakfast was not something she had put much stock into growing up. All she needed was her morning tea and sweet bread to prepare for a day of furthering her studies. But as she grew up, the appeal of a full breakfast taught Y’shtola why so many filled their plates high with meat and eggs. She eyed a few browned sausages and set a pair next to her creamy eggs and fried, shredded popotoes.
    “I remember you like your eggs softer, and I learned a special way to prepare them the other day so…” Lux gestured to Y’shtola’s plate and smiled. “Hopefully all those days of eating eggs paid off!”
    Y’shtola had no doubt in her friend’s ability. Her fork stabbed into the curd-like eggs and crisp hash before capping it off with a cut of sausage. She brought it to her mouth and felt the warmth tickle her tongue as the flavors arrived.
    The saltiness of the popotoes was the strongest flavor. Each subtle crunch gave a contrast with the eggs and sausages, yet none felt out of place. While the eggs had a richness to them--some would say too rich--, the spices of the sausage and the saltiness of the hash balanced them out.
    “Heavens…” Y’shtola muttered. “Lux, I humbly request that you take more pride in your work.”
    The younger Scion’s eyes lit up. “Wait, really? There’s no issues?”
    “Perhaps too much butter for the eggs but…” Y’shtola smirked and shot a wink at the chef. “I suppose I can ignore providing me with a richer meal.”
    Breakfast continued with much conversation between the miqo’te. Lux spoke at length of her lessons--both at the Bismark and through Tataru--and all the recipes she had attempted.
    “So you forgot the proportions when making biscuits?”
    Lux hid her cherry face behind her hands as a muffled “Yes…” followed.
    “What did Tataru say?”
    “She tried to be nice about it, but then I had Alisae try one and…” She sighed. “She said they were little pucks of disappointment…”
    That was certainly Alisae. But seeing a basket of golden, fluffy biscuits told Y’shtola that her friend had grown confident with the baked goods. She gave her middle a pat. It was taking all the will power Y’shtola could muster to maintain focus. She thanked Lux for the meal and returned to her quarters. It was growing hard to deny what was happening and as much as she would love to run from this problem, Y’shtola knew it was a matter of time until a greater issue presented itself.
    “And so I sit at a crossroads…” she mused. She felt her gown grow tight again. A decision was needed soon, it would seem.

    Months later, Lux was hard at work. The kitchen was in a state of controlled chaos: every counter was covered in some raw ingredient, yet the chef had an aura of pure confidence. The Warrior of Light was acting on plans set in motion some time ago, and it was thanks to her constant desire for improvement that everything was going so well. She had a feast of a meal to prepare that would have terrified the chef in her rookie days but now she was broiling and blanching like an expert. Her knife sliced against the cutting board and filled the room with a constant rhythm as she prepared the finishing herbs for each dish. Each one was a special request by her favorite taste tester and Lux would be damned if she failed to bring her all.
    Meanwhile, across the building in her quarters was Y’shtola. The miqo’te had changed in big ways as time had gone on but only Lux ever knew. A mix of magic and glamor prisms kept up a story of Y’shtola remaining trim as ever. Currently, she appeared to have softer features on her face while her waist curved a tad. While the magicks at play required the utmost attention, Y’shtola’s mind was honed on the appetizer Lux had made.
    Red sauce coated and pooled around meatballs--though some were missing by now. It was a spicy dish, but satisfied her hunger. She stabbed another morsel and brought it to her lips. The spiced sauce tingled her lips before her tongue licked off the remnants. The coated meat brought its own weight, but paired with a thick tomato sauce was a rich delight. Yet while she ate and her focus left from her magic, a soft creaking had arrived on the scene….
    Soon, Lux arrived with a large, covered platter. She wore her heart on her sleeve with her pride-filled smile.
    “I hope you weren’t too starved while I was in the kitchen,” Lux said. She set out a plate and tied a wide napkin around Y’shtola’s neck. A tray soon rested in her lap.
    “With your insistence these past weeks I’ve forgotten what hunger feels like,” the larger woman laughed.
    “‘My insistence’?” Lux smirked. “Last I checked you kept dropping hints to whip up loaded popotoes!”
    As Lux spoke she pulled the lid off the platter. Among a flood of steam rested a crisp, golden pastry sliced up to reveal a beautiful pink shade of cooked meat. Beside it rested a bowl of a favorite of Y’shtola’s: twice baked potatoes. Her chubby cheeks smiled at the fruits of her laborious hint giving. She watched Lux plate up the first helping.
    Meanwhile, Lux was glancing back at Y’shtola with bated breath. Her elder had denied as much but Lux had an eye for when those around her put on weight. Learning to cook sped up the process and the proof was in the pudding.
    Even now with two forms of magic hiding her weight, Y’shtola had grown. Her cheeks were far more pronounced compared to their smooth angles previously. Her chest and waist had each grown more pronounced with roundness, though a careful eye could spy signs of magic around each. And while her black gown hid them, Y’shtola’s thighs were a forbidden treasure to Lux: a sight that could give her peace, all for the cost of being taken over the knee….
    She shook her head and brought the plate closer to Y’shtola. Her mouth opened expectantly as Lux lifted up a forkful. The buttery pastry touched her tongue first before the juicier meat hit it. She wanted more--so much more--and she still had yet to bite into those crispy popotoes.
    Lux noticed her pale eyes focusing on them and smiled. She readied a plate with one hand and rubbed Y’shtola’s middle with the other. The miqo’te felt full but the desire to eat more of Lux’s feast was stronger. A reached her lips and she let out a low moan of delight.
    “Oooh it’s as if the city-states provided a private meal--dare I say even better!”
    Y’shtola became lost in a sea of crispy popoto skin making way for a fluffy inside. She gestured for more beef, then more popoto… On and on she ate as Lux provided much and more for her sorceress. But it all came to a sudden halt.
    SHHHHRK!
    Both miqo’te froze up. Their eyes looked to each other before slowly panning down to see Y’shtola’s stuffed gut had torn through her gown as her belly button breached open air.
    “U-uh… Shtola I thought your plan was--”
    RIIIP!
    Her love handles flowed out as Y’shtola lost any chance of regaining composure. So lost in her meal she was that the magicks at play had gone from the back of her mind to out of it entirely. Now here she was swelling to her true wait. Her poor bed was creaking, crying out for sweet release as the massive miqo’te reached more than double her shrunken weight.
    After a few panicked minutes the growth halted and Y’shtola flet a cool breeze all over her body. The form fitting clothes she once wore had long passed on leaving her in naught but her overstretched undergarments. She craned her neck to look herself over.
Every ilm of her felt jiggly from her tree trunk thighs to the barrel of a gut she carried. She felt her arms rest against something soft--her rear no doubt--before letting out a sigh.
    “I think the worst part will be explaining this to Tataru.”
    “Well… it could be worse!” Lux smiled before--
    CRACK!
    Y’shtola sunk further into her bed as the bottom gave way and her blubbery bottom rached the cool stone floor. Neither spoke as they took in the newest issue.
    “Lux… be a dear and fetch me a cup of my tea, please.”