FSE

Furry search engine

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Talons, scales and fire flashed before Michael's eyes. He tried to find the beast assaulting him but the smoke and the beast's speed made it too fast for his eyes to follow. Panicked, he ran from the unknown threat but no matter how hard he ran, his feet wouldn't propel him forward.

FWOOM.

A large shadow fell over him. The loud, booming thuds deafening him and kicking up dust and dirt around him. Terrified, he opened his mouth to scream but nothing but a wheeze came out of his throat.

FWOOM.

Why can't I do anything?! Thought Michael.

But before he could question why his body wouldn't obey him, a thundering, ear-splitting roar ripped through the landscape as a large shadow enveloped him and a sensation of white-hot iron spikes impaling his flesh.

* * *

With a loud gasp Michael pushed himself up from his bed soaked in sweat. He looked around his room, panicked and confused. His heavy breathing and heart thudding in his chest the only thing registering to him for several seconds. The muscles in his back twinging in memory of the intense dream.

Still panting he pulled himself to the edge of the bed and sat there with his head in his hands. Adrenaline wearing off, through his fingers, he looked out the window. Seeing the orange light of sunrise giving way to the gold of morning daylight he saw it high time to drag himself out of bed and get ready for the day.

Shuffling into the small bathroom he dropped his change off clothes on top of the hamper by the door and closed it behind him. Combing his fingers through his shaggy black hair in the mirror, looking at his tired, twenty year old face as he did so. His resting bitch face, he never could remember what the male term was called, making him look perpetually annoyed at everything.

His reptilian eyes looked over his pale skin for any acne that may appeared during the ni-his eyes darted back up the mirror to look at his eyes but only saw his normal brown eyes. Rubbing his eyes he turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature before walking under the weak spray.

Moving around the cramped shower to get himself wet before cleaning himself he found his mind drifting back to the dream he had. Michael would always forget most of the dreams he had by the time he was in the shower with just a few hazy moments left behind. But for some strange reason he remembered this one with crystal clear clarity. He remembered the wings, the fire and claws. He reached around and touched his back, he remembered the pain most of all. Normally he would dismiss remembering this much of a dream, though rare it has happened before for him. But the pain. He has never had pain in a dream.

Before he could think any further the rest of his sleepiness was forced from his body as the sudden bite of cold water hit his back. Arcing away from it, Michael turned off the water and walked out of the shower, grabbing his towel and both rubbing himself dry and warming himself up and made his way to the kitchen after getting dressed.

Opening the bar fridge on top of his kitchenette and grabbed the carton of milk. After feeling the minuscule amount left in the carton he grabbed the loaf of bread and some cheese grilled cheese and tea instead of cereal.

Setting down his tea and toasted sandwich on the coffee table, he laid down on his old tattered couch and booted up his laptop, checking his emails for any possible responses from one of the many job openings he applied for. Nothing. As per usual.

Groaning he set aside his laptop laying his head on the arm rest and closed his eyes. Feeling around the table for his sandwich and nibbled on it.

Three years of searching and no one has hired him. Only earning enough from welfare to barely survive. Living in a crappy flat that he swear has people coming in next door for drug deals. He can't even understand why no one will hire him. He checked over his resume countless times and it was made to the specifications that many people have shown him. He has the experience but nothing. Not even an email saying that his application had been denied.

Recognising the familiar spiral of negative thoughts, Michael finished the rest of his breakfast and grabbed his keys so he could go out for a walk to clear his head.

Walking alone in a park nearby his flat. Not that he could really call it a park. It was a large concrete area that had a small playground with paint flaking off the metal and the chain swing rusting, a basketball hoop and a few graffitied benches. Michael sat down on one and tried to think of possibilities. His childhood dream of the military was dashed when he was denied along with his appeal. The same went for the police. He doesn't have the skills for any sort of medical profession. Every possible career he thought of he either wasn't able to get, wasn't something he would enjoy or don't responses for.

He sat there not keeping a track of the time. Listening to cars pass by out of sight from the mostly hidden park. There hasn't been a family in his building for a few years so he no people came into the park. So he sat there alone with his thoughts watching the occasional bird fly by.

Before long the sun was high in the sky. Not wanting to get sunburnt Michael got up and started making his way back to the flat. He made it a few steps from the bench before his back exploded in pain, forcing him to his knees. Clawing at his back Michael tried to grab what felt several knives carving through his back muscles. Opening his mouth to scream nothing came out but a hoarse whimper. After what felt like hours excruciating pain but what could only have been no more than a couple seconds Michael's pupils shrunk to pinpricks, his irises disappeared into his sclera and he fell to the pavement, unmoving.

* * *

Michael woke to a harsh throbbing in his back and slowly opened his eyes seeing the park. But something was off. He couldn't hear anything. No cars. No birds. Not even the faint hum of the apartment's old air-conditioning units. All he could hear was his own hearing but even that was strange. Muted and distant. It took him a moment to realise it was even his own breathing.

Groaning as he picked himself up, Michael glanced around trying to figure out why everything was off before he heard it.

FWOOM.

He froze. Not wanting to believe what he just heard

FWOOM

He made a run for the park exit before a large form flew over and landed in his way with an earth shattering slam.

Michael slid to a top, tripping as he did. Before him stood a massive dragon. Its scales an ever shifting colour switching from red to white, bronze to blue, gold to black but never staying on the same colour for more than a second. Its eyes emitted a harsh light that pained Michael to look at.

Shuffling back as a high pitched ringing started filling his until it got too much and clutched his head in pain. Curling into a ball from the pain, his mind was flooded with images of people creating storms, wielding lightning, fire, blades made of shadow, dragons gliding through sky, water and even the cosmos. As the information threatened to overwhelm him it stopped.

Still aching from the mental onslaught, Michael got himself to his hands and knees. Blood was slowly dripping from his nose onto the ground. Wiping his nose, he tried to make sense of what happened. He didn't know how but, somehow, he knew he was being offered a choice. To become one of those people, a dragon.

Getting to his knees Michael had so many things he wanted to say but all that came out was 'Why?'

A brief stab of ringing pain filled his head again before an image of him leaning on a railing overlooking a city he didn't recognise. He was smiling in it. No concerns on his face. He was free.

There he had it, an opportunity to leave his stagnant life behind. No more worries about rent, food or pay.

The word 'yes' barely left his lips before a loud _CRACK_deafened him.

* * *

Gasping, Michael woke completely soaked. Rain falling heavily. He dragged himself to and up onto the bench, his back still racked with pain.

CRACK

A fork of lightning ripped through the sky. Unnervingly close to Michael. Staggering away from the bench, each step making pain flare up his back, he used anything he could lean on to help him get inside out of the rain faster.

As he lent against the chain-link fence that separated the park from the apartments a blinding flash followed by an ear splitting _ K __ RA-FOOM _ and he was thrown from the fence, skidding across the concrete.

Groaning and hunched over, Michael felt the lightning coursing through his body. But strangely, aside from being thrown against the concrete, there was no pain. Even the back pain was reduced to a dull, painless throbbing. Picking himself up, stumbling slightly, he didn't think much of what happened his only thought of getting under cover.

Making a run for the gate his skin prickled and hair stood on end before another flash and deafening_ K __ RA-FOOM _ flattened him. This time the electricity was too much for his body to contain. Michael pushed himself to all fours, growling. The growl was unnaturally deep with faint electrical snaps flickering throughout it.

_ K __ RA-FOOM _

Michael was struck again. This time crackling arcs of electricity ran along his body. Everywhere the electricity touched Michael holes were burnt through his clothes and underneath were shining bronze scales.

The electricity ran over his hands. Scales enveloping his hand and his nails sharpening and lengthening as they turned into viscous claws. He clenched his fist, cracking and leaving deep gouges in the concrete as they increased in size and strength.

Michaels shoulder blades ground and cracked as they started to shift. Growths forming, stretching his already burnt shirt to the limit and shredded it. Thin, bronze scaled webbed arms extended from his back, growing larger as they they formed into massive bat-like wings. Arcs of electricity arcing from the wing tips onto the ground and onto Michael burning away the rest of his clothes and covering most his body in hard scales in their wake.

The bones in Michael's legs started cracking, shifting and expanding, forcing them underneath him in a quadrupedal position. His heels extending away from the balls of his feet and his toenails shift into razor sharp claws.

Michael fell onto his growing side, the ground shaking as he landed, his changing legs unable to hold himself up for the time being.

Michaels head jerked as it felt it was being pulled away from his body, his neck going along with it, lengthening and thickening to match his ever increasing body. The same happened with his tail bone, it thrashing as it did so eventually smashing the bench. The crushed metal of it barely leaving a scratch on the shining scales covering the tail.

There was only one thing that was still human about Michael. His head and that didn't stay so for long. Large bumps started growing on his temples before horns broke the skin sweeping back over his skull, brushing off the hair that wasn't brunt off from his skull, arcs of electricity running between their lengths.

Michael's teeth sharpened and lengthened. New teeth forced their way between existing ones pushing his jaw forward. Further and further his jaw was pushed as new fangs formed creating a large reptilian-like muzzle.

With that his transformations stopped and the arcs of electricity on his body faded. But he still felt the electricity inside him, building. He felt it surging through his blood, muscle and mind. He felt as if he could destroy buildings with a swipe of his claw, fly faster than a jet. He felt restless just lying there on the ground. He got to all fours. His legs tensed and ready to jump at a moments notice. His tail twitching in excitement.

Michael extended his wings, the wing span covering the width of the small park connected to his apartment building. No, his former apartment building. With this power, this blessing he no longer needed to scrape a living, wait for job interviews that will never come.

He was free.

Crouching low, Michael launched himself into the air. Sweeping his wings to catch the air and lift himself higher into the air. Struggling he latched onto the top of the building, cracking and crushing parts of the roof. Focusing the electricity to his legs he pushed off again, collapsing a small part of the roof. With the added strength he soared into the clouds and roared, the building electricity escaping from his maw in a blinding fork of blue lightning.

The dragons have arrived.