FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

“Whew… How long have I been walking along this path, now?” Julian questioned himself as he took a moment to catch his breath, looking back and forth along the hiking trail that he was currently traversing. The twentysomething male wanted to do a bit of exploration, as well as simply get a little more exercise into his routine, and a few of his friends had recommended the mountain trail on which he was travelling upwards. He hadn’t anticipated just how long the trail would go on for, nor did he realise just how high the path was going as well - he had some experience with trail walks that went along high paths before, but he hadn’t anticipated how far up this one went. “Starting to make me think if I should have brought my bicycle with me so I’d have a quick way back down!”

Thankfully, the weather that day was nice and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky. He had a clear view of everything coming and going his way, his home town sitting neatly at the base of the mountain. Julian was happy that the weather was in his favour, because trying to ascend the path in the middle of a sudden downpour would be far from pleasant, not to mention downright dangerous.

“I’m gonna have to take a break soon and see how much further this path goes - I’d like to make it to the top, but at the same time, I’d be hoping there’s at least some form of transport for getting back down to the bottom afterwards, I must have been walking foe the good part of one or two hours so far!” He rested against the wall, pulling his phone out of his pocket to check where he was, opening the map application. Julian had taken a precaution of downloading the local area map to his phone just in case that he had lost cellular signal on his trek, but to his surprise, he was still getting a few bars, probably because of the good weather.

“I’m only halfway up?” He looked at his phone in disbelief, gazing over at the ascending path. “Man, and it took me this long to reach this point…” He sighed. “Well, I’m halfway up this thing as it is, and it’ll take me just as long to go back the way I came, so I might as well commit myself to doing this!” He put his mobile away, resting up for a few moments before continuing upwards, eager to finish what he had started.

Julian kept walking up the trail, stopping a few times along the way to catch his breath. Some parts of the trail were steeper than others, and whilst he was expecting that considering he was scaling a mountain, it was kind of surprising how the pathway could go from slightly slanted to full-on vertical.

“OK… I MIGHT have overestimated this one just a little bit - I don’t even think my bike would have been of much help getting up there!” He groaned, leaning against a tree. “I’m gonna need to rest for a while before I consider taking another step up that path.” He looked towards the path he still had to traverse before examining what was around him. “I wonder if there’s anywhere around here where I can rest for a little bit?” He wondered, spotting another pathway that led away from the current trail. From what he could see, it didn’t appear to go up or down, so that was a relief in itself.

“Only one way to find where this goes…” He finished his temporary rest before making his way down the walkway. The path appeared to lead him deeper into the mountains, yet at the same time, it didn’t seem to take him any higher up into them - outside of a couple of short inclines, the ground remained perfectly level throughout.

“Is this gonna lead me somewhere?” He questioned, sunlight filtering through the trees. To his eventual surprise, it actually did, taking him to an old, dilapidated-looking castle. “Woah, what’s this place?” The building was nestled right in the heart of the mountain itself, and was largely intact for the most part, barring some parts that had eroded over time and exposure to the elements.

“Wow, this is amazing!” He smiled, looking at the worn-down structure. Statues of what appeared to be dragons of some kind were perched atop marble plinths, but the statues had suffered damage over time, varying from chipped horns and claws to missing wings. The stone beasts were all gazing towards what looked like it would have been the castle’s courtyard many eons ago, drawing Julian’s attention to where they looked.

The castle’s courtyard had seen better days, to put it mildly - the fancy patterned flooring had worn away in places, and the fountain had long since run dry, the water spouts and levers rusted over. Whatever water was in the fountain was a deep, murky brown.

“This place must have looked great back in the day!” He sat by the edge of the fountain, looking up at the sky. “Wonder why it’s been left to fall apart, though?” He pondered. Really, it didn’t make too much sense to leave a place like this to go to ruin, especially with it being on a trail that was frequently travelled upon, but there must have been some reason behind it.

“Can’t really sit here all day and wonder about that though, can I?” He got back to his feet. “I’ve got to get back to what I was doing, no matter how long it takes to finish!” He was about to make a move, when he noticed something gleaming in the corner of his eye. Turning away from the fountain, he spotted a dragon statue that looked largely intact, a large, spherical object being grasped in its claws.

“What’s this?” He stepped closer to it, placing his hands carefully around the orb, gently attempting to pry it from the talons of the statue. Julian soon plucked it free, nearly falling backwards from the sudden shift in momentum. The orb shone brightly as it was freed, the sphere pulsing with an ethereal white light, a brief flicker of what looked like an orange flame appearing in the middle.

“Huh, interesting…” He held it tighter, the orb gently pulsing faster in his grasp. He looked at the other statues, and whilst some of them were holding similar orbs, none of them appeared to be glowing themselves. Many of them appeared to be made of stone, like the carvings that were holding them, so it was strange that this one wasn’t.

“Wonder if it’s worth anything?” He held it above his head, the sphere being surprisingly light. He didn’t have any spare room in his backpack for it, so he’d need to carry it along with him if he were to bring it with him. “I might have to find someone who’s knowledgeable on ancient relics when I get back!”

As Julian kept holding onto the orb, it began to glow brighter, the flame insider burning hotter. He looked back up at it, feeling an odd warmth emanating from it. It didn’t get hot enough to make him drop it, but it did cause some concern, and before he could think about it any further, a blinding flash filled the area, stunning him just as the orb shattered in his hands, the flame within whooshing past him.

“Gah… did someone throw a flashbang or something?” Julian winced, rubbing his eyes as he tried to clear his vision, everything appearing fuzzy due to nearly having his retinas fried from the sudden blast. As he tried to fix his vision, what appeared to be white, almost feather-like scales began to spread from his arms, poking through the sleeves of his shirt. His nails became longer and thicker, a silvery-grey hue filling them as they stretched into sharp claws, a patch of silvery scales sprouting around his knuckles.

The scales worked their way across his biceps and shoulders next, the muscles in his arms now starting to swell and grow, the sleeves of his shirt pulling tight around them. His vision had yet to come back to him, and the slight discomfort around his shoulders was the only thing cluing him in right now that something was off in some way, a feeling that only grew stronger when two bumps formed around his upper back.

“Ghhh…” His vision slowly started to return as his body began to grow taller, the scales working their way around his torso, causing his shirt to strain. The added height also caused his midriff to be slightly exposed, his muscles showing up against the downy scales, steadily becoming more defined as a feeling of power ran through him.

Julian rubbed his eyes again, still stinging from the flash of light, and that’s when he noticed his now-scaly skin and claws. “Woah, what the hell?!” He gasped, his shirt pulling tighter against his torso, the muscles developing further. He grasped his shirt, trying to pull it looser, only to succeed in tearing it open with his clawed fingers, the scales poking through the tears in the fabric.

“I’ve got to be seeing things…” He ran a hand along his front, feeling his larger muscles and feathery scales, surprised at the realism of everything. He was tempted to pinch himself, but he was worried that he’d hurt himself with those claws, a short, dull pain at the base of his spine bringing him back to reality for a moment. He craned his head around to the side, noticing not only the bulging bumps against his shoulder blades, but also another bump that was emanating from the base of his spine, his hiking shorts and underwear straining against them.

“I’m definitely not seeing things!” He gasped, his shorts becoming uncomfortably tight due to the speed in which the bump was developing, his spine slowly protruding further outwards, flesh and muscle growing along with it. He wanted to remove them for fears that he’d end up causing damage to himself from how painfully the waistline of his shorts was digging into his lower body, but a part of him was amazed at how well they seemed to be holding on, especially as he was still growing taller, finding himself to be looking slightly down at the statues rather than up at them like he was moments ago.

The scales wrapped around his legs, making his shorts train further. The growth at the base of his spine burst free of his shorts, scattering fabric everywhere. Now exposed, the stub grew unhindered, forming into a large, almost cylindrical tail, a longer, scaly plume extending from the centre of it, appearing almost as if it was the wick of a candle, flames flickering around the tail itself. The rest of his damaged shorts fell away, revealing a tuft of pointed, scaly fur protruding from around the groin area. He felt somewhat relieved that his masculinity wasn’t exposed along with everything else, presumably hidden underneath all the scales.

Julian found himself resting against one of the statues, placing his hands on them as his growth continued, the scales now reaching his feet. He felt them writhe and swell within his shoes, the toes merging together into three massive digits, shining silver claws bursting through his shoes, clicking against the stony ground. A fourth sprouted from his heels, noticeably smaller than the others, feet taking on a slight digitigrade stance. His legs packed on additional muscle to help support his broader frame, helping to keep them all evenly proportioned.

“Gah… my back feels like it’s gonna explode…” He groaned, leaning forwards, arching his back in the process. The statues nearly crumbled under his weight, a snarling growl leaving his throat as two feathery, almost-angelic wings erupted outwards, casting an impressive shadow around the castle grounds. They flapped wildly for several moments, his body steadily gaining control over them as they eventually folded neatly against his back.

Julian felt his neck stretching, his spine undergoing one last bit of stretching to carry his head a few more inches away from his shoulders, a pair of silver bands forming around his neck, similar in appearance to those around his tail. The scales made one last advance towards his head, his jaws thrusting forwards into an almost-canine muzzle, his teeth growing into sharp fangs, with several more filling in the empty gaps in his new maw. His ears vanished into tiny holes in the sides of his head, his messy blonde hair taking on a pure-white sheen, flowing freely down behind him, the changes ending with his eyes relocating to the sides of his head, a sky-blue coloration flooding his sclera and irises, overtaking the soft blue hue that they were originally, the outline of the irises still visible, pupils pulling into slits.

“Grgghh…” He huffed, the statues collapsing under his weight, causing him to fall forwards. He caught himself against the roof of the nearby castle, somehow avoiding managing to cave it in as he regained his balance, the transformed human now standing a good thirty-five feet tall. “What… what in the hell just happened?” He took a moment to look at himself, glancing at his claws before turning to look at his wings.

“I’m… I’m a Reshiram, now?” He asked himself - the design was different, his wings were separate from his arms, his build was more humanoid and packed with muscle, but he still vaguely resembled the draconic Pokémon. “I’m guessing that orb must have caused it, too…” He looked towards the statue he had taken the orb from, the claws grasping at nothing. “Makes me wonder if someone had left it there on purpose… I mean, who leaves behind something that turns people into frigging dragons? That’d be dangerous in the wrong hands!” Julian couldn’t help but lampshade the situation he had inflicted upon himself - after all, anyone with a negative outlook on things, or just being in a low mood, could have very easily used this new form of theirs to inflict catastrophic damage to the area around them.

He took another look at his wings, giving them a slight flap, just to test the control he had over them. The new limbs reacted to his mental impulses in a heartbeat, unfurling behind him as they flapped for a few seconds, folding back up afterwards.

“This new body’s gonna take a little bit of getting used to…” He cast his gaze back to the mountain now, though he didn’t have to look too far up to see where he was headed, the extra height allowing him to see the small town that was nestled away atop the mountain. On the plus side, it would take him barely any time and effort to reach the village now, but on the minus side, he was certain that he’d end up squishing several people and buildings underfoot if he even thought about trying to set foot into the place. “And this size is gonna take a whole lot longer to get used to as well, great…” He sighed, carefully sitting down upon part of the trail path that overlooked the castle grounds.

‘I wouldn’t worry too much about what’s happened to you’ An odd, almost ethereal voice rang through his ears, catching him off guard, yet Julian resisted the urge to jump back in shock.

“Who said that?” He asked.

‘You’ll find out all in due time, my friend’. The voice responded. “After all, you were lucky enough to be chosen as one of the draconic guardians to protect this place, even if it’s not to scale!’

“Right… so you’re saying I was turned into a kaiju to protect an empty castle…” He spoke in a bemused tone. “How exactly does that help out anyone?”

‘Again, you’ll see in due time. For now, one of the castle’s guardians has been restored, so hopefully the others will follow suit soon enough!’

“And how long have you been waiting?”

‘... Let’s just say long enough, ok?’ The voice shot back in a sharp, snarky tone. ‘If you know of anyone who’d be willing to revive the other guardians, I’d appreciate it!’

“I might have to think on that one, there’s probably a few people I know who’d be interested, but some of them aren’t local.”

‘I fail to see how that’s a problem given the wings you’re now sporting!’

“You’re really upfront about all this, aren’t you?”

‘Hey, with how long I’ve been stuck here waiting for a human to stray from the mountain trail to find this place, I think you can forgive me for being just the littlest bit cranky, ok?’

“Fair enough!” Julian shrugged.

‘We’ll keep it simple, just bring anyone here who you’d think would want a guardian job!’

“Will do. Just… give me a few minutes, ok? My legs are still killing me, and that’s even with all the added muscle!” He laughed.