Time was passing by so peacefully from where he lay at the mouth of a discarded boot, the heat and scent washing over him in waves. It sent chills down his spine with each breath he took in, soothing him from head to toe as the owner of the footwear was nowhere to be seen. He was just taking a break from his journey, and like a moth drawn to flame, this is where he chose to take it. This seemed to be a military facility of some sort, and with the heat radiating around his body from the discarded boot, he imagined its owner had just finished with PT or a long patrol and had hit the showers.

It didn't matter much to him though, he was enjoying every second of his exposure to the soldier's musk...

Though time had managed to get away from him, what felt like a few minutes to the little creature was nearly an hour in reality. Warmth faded slowly as it radiated away from the boot. He didn't hear her silent footsteps come back over before it was too late for him to react. Holly hadn't taken a shower at all. She kicked her boots off after a long patrol that morning to relax and had been pulled away by a couple of her squadmates for a game of cards, which she naturally won. Victorious, the rest of her day was planned - Physical training before another patrol. Instead of utilizing a fresh pair of socks, she simply re-used the same old socks she had on before.

Pat - Pat...

A pair of paws stepped near the boot's entrance, shocking Mathew back into reality. As Holly sat down, she picked up both of her combat boots to set them upright. Mathew tumbled deeper inside, sent into a spiral as she pulled the sock out from underneath him as well. The temperature wasn't terrible after having sat unattended for over an hour, but the smell was still the same - Sweat, musky fur, and leather. The insole of her combat boot was worn in, four deep grooves for each of her toepads and a main pad space.

Looking back up to the mouth of the boot, he saw her sock-clad toes sliding in after him. Two thumbs gripped each edge, and she was looking elsewhere. All he saw of Holly's face was the underside of her chin. The boot shook, keeping him from getting a footing as he was tossed deeper inside. Before he knew it, a sock-clad paw pressed down all across his body. Uncomfortably jammed near the side with the main pad bearing down on him, he tried his best to squirm to no avail. Her toes flexed, seemingly detecting the presence of something different.

His arms reached up around her paw to try and claw his way out from beneath to no avail. Her idle weight bearing down on him forced his organs up into his chest, popping out his sides slightly. Crunching bones echoed throughout the tiny form trapped inside her boot. His arm snapped when Holly shifted to get comfortable, not taking time to focus on the strange feeling in her footwear as she laced her other boot up without care.

Her socks were tacky, the dried sweat re-activating with her body heat. His blood didn't even phase her as she left. By the time she was finished with her physical training and ready to head out on patrol, the little one was reduced to nothing more than a red smear of blood and gore on her insole. His tattered clothing fused to the indent where her ballpad would pound it deeper every day, turning the fabric into nothing more than a fold in the insole. Strands of blue hair marred with dried sweat and blood spread throughout the environment as well. When she was finished for the night, ready to actually take her shower and head in to sleep, he had all but disintegrated into her insole.

He was still alive.

Long patrols, intense physical training, lounging about - He experienced it all as her insole. All he could do was smell the thick scent that lingered, feel every ounce of her weight as it shifted on him, until his soul was allowed to flow back into the stream of aether that carried him to his next life...