Nico's journey through the mountains is more arduous than they expected. Fortunately, a little mouse proves to be a big help.

Original artwork by:
SnackalJackalist

Original story by:
 CSBernard03

---

Ferrum Cacumina Mountain Range
Planet Therium
Lun, 11:34 UTC, Local Time

THE YOUNG JACKAL found it difficult to catch their breath. The mountainside was nowhere near the peak, but the elevation was sufficient that the air was thinner than they had expected. They sat down a moment and sighed. They had begun the trek through this part of the mountain pass after some of the villagers had warned the jackal a rockslide had blocked the usual route. Meanwhile, the river that flowed through the mountains had become too treacherous after the Spring thaws. This left few options.

The first was to wait for the proper earth-moving equipment to arrive from the other side of the mountain pass. Which would take some days and perhaps several days more to see the landslide cleared. The second option was to wait for the river to subside. This could also take days, if not weeks. Nor was it guaranteed that fresh rains would not come through and raise the water level again. There was also the option to find another way around the mountains, either on foot or by some other means. But this also presented unknown obstacles, since it would divert the canine traveler onto routes that could take even longer to navigate.

In the end, the most sensible option seemed to be a foot path that ascended into the mountains and wended along the slopes and cliffs. After they purchased additional supplies to augment their inventory, the jackal trekked up the path. However, it was against the advice of several locals who told the stubborn canine that they likely needed to be better prepared. And that extra rations and a determined spirit were not enough. In hindsight, the jackal wondered if they should have heeded the locals.

A glance back toward the village only served to drive home the difficulty of the journey ahead. It had taken half the day to reach the checkpoint the jackal rested at. Fortunately, the villages that lay at either end of the mountain pass had long ago discovered the mountain trail and had used stone-cutting tools to fashion benches and stairs in various places along the mountain. It made the journey more bearable. But the distances between checkpoints were long and difficult.

During their most recent rest break, the jackal noticed another lone figure along the trail. When they had begun the ascent, at the first rest stop, they had seen the other traveler leave the village and come up the trail. Along the way, every time they stopped, they saw the other trekker continue onward. The jackal was impressed, while they struggled, their fellow traveler either did not use the rest stops along the way or they did not rest as long. Now, as they sat there, the other journeyer confidently ascended toward them. The jackal’s eyes lit up and they chuckled a little, impressed with the capabilities of the other climber.

“Hello, there!” the mystery trekker called out.

The jackal raised their hand and waved once, “Uh, hey!” They cleared their throat. They did not want to speak too loudly at too far a distance. It cost them precious air. Not to mention they were a little paranoid about avalanches.

“You’re quite the skilled mountaineer to have made it so far on your own,” the other traveler said as they approached the jackal’s bench.

“Me?” came the incredulous response. “What about you? You’ve managed to catch up to me with a huge head start. And I don’t think I’ve seen you stop along the path at all. I’m honestly jealous.”

“Ha-ha, well I have my ways. Do you mind if I sit with you?”

“Oh! Sure, go ahead.” The jackal slid over and offered the extra bench space to the traveler.

“Thank you.”

When the other traveler sat down, the jackal immediately noticed, and was surprised, that they were a shorter mouse woman. At least they assumed the mouse was female, or presented herself as much. She had a slight boyishness to her face and her long, distinctive braid was androgynous. A more constricted version of the unisex coiffure that the jackal wore, which was far puffier and wild. But the mouse spoke with a traditional feminine pitch to her voice.

The jackal also noticed that the mouse was certainly more equipped than they were for mountain climates. She wore a rugged pair of trousers and military boots, a fur-trimmed coat stretched from under her chin to her knees. The jackal noted how vibrant red it was. The jackal did not realize they were staring.

The mouse extended a hand, “My name is Lóng Shǔ Shàonǚ.”

“Ah, I’m Nico,” the jackal suddenly retorted as they reciprocated the handshake. They then blurted out, “Nico de Luna.”

With a pleasant smile, the mouse doe replied, “Thanks for letting me sit here… Miss… ter…?”

Nico puffed out one cheek as they loosened their grip on the handshake. Sheepishly they glanced to one side, with a slight wince they corrected the mouse, “Neither? I, uh, don’t use those honorifics. Or the pronouns.”

Shàonǚ’s face lit up, with a polite, apologetic smile. “Oh! I see! Well… do you prefer that I just call you ‘de Luna’?”

“Actually, I prefer just ‘Nico.’ Please.”

The mouse doe smiled more sweetly, “Of course, Nico.”

Nico’s ears twitched and their grip tightened on the handshake, “Thank you, uh, ‘Shah-Shay’…?” It was Nico’s turn to feel apologetic.

Shàonǚ chuckled, “You can just say ‘Xiao’ or ‘Shao,’ if it’s easier.”

Nico sighed with a nervous chuckle and grin, “Thanks, Shao.” After they released each other’s hand, the jackal could not resist the temptation, “How are you able to travel up the mountainside so easily? Are you used to the thin air, already?”

“Oh, no,” Shàonǚ smiled as she replied. “It’s a spell, I attract and condense the air around me, so that it’s easier to breathe.”

Suddenly, Nico noticed how easy it was for them to breathe as well. They had not immediately noticed the swirl of air around Shàonǚ and themselves, having already dismissed it as just the wind. They glanced to the mouse, “Spell? You’re a witch?”

“Well, I prefer ‘sorceress’,” she replied with a smirk.

“Ah.”

“Since you bring it up, Nico, would you want me to help you get through the mountains?”

The offer was surprising with its suddenness, “As a guide? Do you live in this region?”

“Oh, no. I’m from very far away. I just noticed that, like me, you did not bring enough rations for this kind of mountain hike.”

“I… didn’t?” Nico was perplexed. They glanced at their pack and then at Shàonǚ’s pack. And, as the mouse had said, they seemed to be of the same size. Though the mouse had strapped an archery bow to her pack, along with a quiver. “Oh, uh, well… I guess?”

“Good!” Shàonǚ smiled back with closed eyes. She then stood up and removed her pack.

Nico watched, curiously interested in the mouse as she suddenly tugged a baton, a scepter, from the other side of her pack. It was a curious red rod with a golden dragon’s hand on one end. The effigy hand clutched a golden orb.

Shàonǚ paced off a few steps and gestured toward the trail as it twisted around the mountainside, “I tried flying earlier, but the winds are too strong nearer to the peaks and there’s a mist, or fog, that is rising from the valley that reduces visibility at lower elevations.”

“Wait, you were flying–flew–fly–? You can fly?” Nico stumbled over the concept.

The mouse smiled wryly as she waggled her scepter, “I believe I said I was a sorceress.”

“Right.”

“So, if that doesn’t worry you, I’ll be glad to carry you over the mountains, if you want.”

Nico squinted, partly out of suspicion, but also out of morbid curiosity. “Carry?”

“Oh, it won’t take very long,” Shàonǚ said reassuringly. She clamped both hands onto the scepter and cried out, “Shān!”

The shout startled the young jackal, but it was only a brief jolt. What completely amazed Nico was the sudden metamorphosis of their new acquaintance. The mouse’s stature and shoulders quickly expanded upwards and outwards. Magically, her layers of clothing receded into nothingness, which caused Nico’s ears to reflexively flip backwards as they saw the mouse’s physique shift and morph into a powerful, muscular build. Within a few heartbeats, the heavily dressed mouse was changed into a pair of crimson brief shorts, tied at the hips. A matching belly wrap covered her breasts. The scepter became a chain which wrapped and tucked itself under the fold of her shorts.

Nico was not a tall creature, at most 160 to 165 centimeters in height. So, the mouse, who now stood well over 300 centimeters, easily startled the jackal. But they were also impressed and in awe of her.

“Come on,” Shàonǚ motioned as she plodded toward Nico. “We need to tie our packs together.”

Immediately subdued by the mouse’s size as she loomed over them, Nico quickly slipped their pack from their shoulders and grabbed Shàonǚ’s pack. In moments, the two had them bundled together with rope. When she handed the bundle to the jackal, the mouse beckoned them to follow, which Nico did. Soon, Shàonǚ climbed over the ledge of the trail, high over the valley below. Again, she grew.

Nico watched in amazement as their companion only became more massive in size and scale. Her fingers were soon nearly larger than the jackal. She pressed her chest to the cliff-side. “Put our packs here,” she gently said of her cleavage.

“Are-are you sure?” Nico called up to her.

She chuckled and spoke softly, “It’s going to be the softest, safest part of my body in a few moments. And once the packs are inside, you’ll need to climb down in there, yourself.”

The prospect caused Nico’s eyes to boggle and their ears to flip back, though their tail impulsively wagged. They cleared their throat and gingerly tossed the packs far back against the mouse’s enormous chest. Then, carefully, the jackal climbed down and grasped the hem of the belly wrap. Nico shuddered, surprised by the pockets of air that clung to the mouse’s titanic frame and the warmth against their back. Nico cleared their throat and shouted up, “I’m in!”

“Good, now hang tight. I’ll go slowly, but you don’t want to fall off. I’m not sure I’ll even notice if you do…”

Nico yelped as the mouse and her clothing continued to expand. Nico felt fur and silk stretch and flow along their back and against the palms of their hands. Nico watched as the trail and cliffside drifted away and they rose with the colossal mouse’s chest towards the peak of the mountain. A glance from side to side helped them realize that they were quickly being lost along the vastness of the sorceress’s right breast. Instinctually, Nico yipped, barked, and occasionally howled in surprise and awe as the landscape around them changed from the mountainside to the valley as Shàonǚ grew so large she could extend her legs and arms across the valley and use the mountainsides as handholds and footholds.

The jackal watched as slowly, cautiously, the mighty sorceress effortlessly reached across vast distances and planted her hand and then her foot on a mountain’s slopes and effortlessly heave herself across whole hectometers. Through fog and mists, which she sometimes blew away with puffs of her breath or wafts of her hands, she and Nico climbed and crawled along the mountain range. Nico was impressed by how careful the mouse was. She observed mountain sides and slopes for wild goats and other herds, though they looked like ants to her. Nico could not help but giggle when they fled.

Soon, Shàonǚ emerged from the valley and stepped out onto a giant plateau that could support her immensity. She heaved a sigh, while Nico gaped at the wide, wide horizon before them. The landscape stretched out into obscurity as Shàonǚ towered among the mountain range.

End