FSE

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Chapter 2

Going Feral.

This sure isn't one of my better days,Validus thought to himself as he trudged through the snow.

He had been traveling for three days, but still had not found a road or any other sign of civilization.

For the first few days, his hands had pained him immensely, but now, that was only a dull ache. The fur on his arms grew a little further every day. It was almost to his shoulders now. His teeth also hurt. Validus wondered how much longer he would resemble a human.

When he came upon a roadside, Validus had a strange feeling that he should avoid the path. He ignored the feeling and trudged onward. Grimacing, he stopped as his aching stomach rumbled.

Cold, thirst, then hunger; in the academy, he had been taught to take care of those problems in that order.

The fur growing on his arms and legs was keeping him from freezing to death as long as he kept his arms wrapped around his chest. The moment he lifted his arms, he could feel the cold hand of death reaching for him. He figured he would be fine as long as it didn't get any colder out.

Water was easy enough to come by on account of the snow, but food was another matter altogether.

The deep snow hid any berry bushes that might have been useful. Without a weapon, Validus had no way of hunting, but he knew that finding a way to sate his hunger was vital.

By midday, he came across some deer tracks. Validus had no idea what he would do if he found a deer, but first he would need to catch up with one. He followed the tracks until the sun hovered just above the horizon. Deep orange rays of light illuminated his prey as he wondered how to approach it.

The rather small doe had its rear to him (he felt he would have sold his soul to obtain a bow and arrow), it was eighty yards from him, but it might just as well have been eighty miles, because there was no way he would ever get close.

Contemplating the situation, he remained watching the deer nibble at stray shoots of vegetation in the snow. The falling snowflakes covered him as he looked for a way to solve his current predicament.

Suddenly, the doe bolted away from an unseen danger and headed right at him; Validus felt as if some deity had felt his pain and decided to intervene. Snow had coated his body, covering his scent and making him virtually invisible. The deer had no warning when he leapt at it.

The setting sun's light illuminated each flake of snow, which scattered into the breeze during his attack. The refracting light had a decidedly reddish hue (Validus thought that it looked like a spray of blood).

Validus grabbed the doe around the neck with the intention of throttling it, but then he was overcome with a searing pain in his hands. His hands slid along the doe's neck, (he could feel warm blood rushing through the animal's veins as it fled in terror), and no amount of concentration could allow him to keep a grip.

Validus howled in pain as he stared at his hands. Where his fingertips should have been, long claws protruded. The razor edges cut at his skin as the blades slowly sank back into his fingers. In seconds, the skin healed, taking the pain away.

He looked up expecting his dinner to be loping over the hill, but it was barely walking. The doe stumbled one last time then fell to the ground; blood running from its neck.

Validus stood up and walked over to the animal, his curiosity now greater than his hunger. Five neat slices had torn the animal's neck open, slashing its jugular. Validus kneeled over the animal, but failed to realize that he had made a grave error. His concern should have been focused on whatever had scared the doe toward him.

Out of the underbrush, a red fox charged him. Validus turned around quickly to defend himself from this new adversary.

The fox halted its attack (Instead of a head on assault, it began circling him, surveying him), not quite sure if it was ready to fight.

Validus stood again, and stared the fox in the eye. Most animals would have broken eye contact, but the fox stared right back. They stood at a draw for five, ten, then fifteen minutes. Seeming to be upset over losing a meal, the fox backed away into the shadows, but did not avert its eyes until the darkness had hidden them both.

When Validus was quite sure that the fox had gone, he set about preparing a meal. While he had been hunting, Validus never once considered that there was no way to cook the meat. Forlorn, he looked at his dinner (Already, the snow had begun to cover the doe's carcass).

Not truly realizing what he was doing, Validus bit a chunk out of the animal's neck. He had thought that the taste of raw flesh would be sickening, but regrettably he found it delicious. As Validus enjoyed the feast, thoughts plagued his mind. He truly wondered how much longer he would be capable of calling himself human.

Full, but cold, Validus dug a hole in the snow to find shelter from the night air. The snow was insulating, but it was also concealing (which was good, because the fox was probably still nearby).

**

Sunlight lit up the cocoon of snow that Validus was in, causing his world to become a blue blur.

Validus dug his way out, to embrace the crisp morning. As he had expected, the fox had eaten its fill of the deer, overnight. Before heading back to the road, he ate as much as he could (The meat wasn't nearly as good as before. It had frozen solid during the night), while crunching on his breakfast, he morbidly thought that it tasted something like venison-flavored ice cream.

While he walked back to the road, he kept feeling like he was being watched. Validus wasn't absolutely sure about this until he saw a flash of red fur whisk itself into a fallen log.

"Why are you following me?" Validus said to no one in particular.

Even after reaching the road, the fox continued its pursuit. He absently wondered to himself why he feared the fox.

Down the road, Validus saw a rock outcropping. He hoped that it was hiding a cave. Luck it seems was with him, because the rock had indeed hidden the entrance to a fairly deep cave.

Validus ducked inside and quickly picked out a hiding spot. The trap was set; all he needed to do was wait to ambush his quarry. Slowly, the fox padded into the crevasse. While waiting to make his move, Validus noted that it was actually a vixen.

In one fluid maneuver, he leapt onto the animal, wrestling it to the ground.

While he was holding the vixen to the cave floor, she began to transform to a humanoid form. Before he had met Samantha, something like this would have surprised him, but nowadays it seemed as normal as watching a wagon heading down the road.

"If she thinks a creature like you could be a match for me, then Samantha is sorely mistaken!", the fox woman screamed at him.

Validus was momentarily perplexed, how could she know who Samantha is?

"Let me go you monster". She stopped struggling for a moment to catch her breath.

"How do you know of that witch, Samantha; and, what on earth makes you think that I would be helping her".

"Do not try to beguile me" She sneered at him, "I can smell her scent on you".

"Oh yeah, well if you would be so kind to tell me where to find her, then I would happily kill her, for both our sakes".

He saw a glimmer of belief in her eyes. "Maybe you speak the truth, and maybe you don't, but I have ways to find out", She spoke eerily.

Validus saw what seemed to be smoke pooling in her eyes. This probably isn't good, he thought to himself.

"Look at me", she said seductively, "feel me".

Validus felt as if he was sinking into her eyes.

"Say my name; say Elvira".

"What...are you...doing?" Validus felt himself losing control of his actions.

Wisps of pink smoke trailed from her fingertips. Elvira's body moved beneath his, pressing upward, a hunger built within him. He was hard, harder than he had ever been. All he could see were her eyes, so deep, so powerful.

"Say it", she pressed her groin upwards, grinding her cunt against his rigid penis.

"No...It's a...trick", he managed to mutter.

She slid her body down his, allowing her cunt to be penetrated.

"Elvira? What are you doing...?" He hadn't really expected her to penetrate herself on his rod.

Elvira smiled, as she got just the reaction she was hoping for.

After accidentally speaking her name, he felt his mind sink into those eyes (So dark that they seemed black.). He could feel her looking into his thoughts; no, not looking, but hunting. He gripped her body and drove his cock deep. She shuddered for a moment, but didn't let go of his mind.

"Ah, there it is", she whispered.

He pistoned into the vixen, driving her body toward climax. He felt the last of her hold on him break as he growled (he was rather shocked to hear himself growling), and sank his cock down to the hilt in her supple body.

He could smell a delicious aroma, but couldn't figure out what it was. Elvira knew the smell well; it was the pheromones she was giving off.

Validus drove himself into the wild creature below him. The thought that he was mating an animal only seem to intensify the experience.

Her back was slightly arched, and little puffs of fog floated from her mouth as she whimpered. She didn't really know who he was, but she was ready to let him complete the act. Her deep canine instincts strove to feel him within her.

Validus briefly considered how her whimpers sounded like that of a pup wishing to please its master. Something was growing in him, a deep animalistic part of himself, which he had never known. His sweat dripped on her pronounced breasts. The twin mounds called to him, begging for attention.

Elvira lifted her breasts to him, when she felt his hands grasp her. Her cunt was spasming; there was nothing that could stop her orgasm, as he hilted himself within her vagina.

Validus encircled her globes with his hands, as he leaned down, mesmerized, and tweaked a nipple with his teeth. His cock felt like it was going to explode, as he dipped it into her once again.

"I can't hold on any longer," Elvira moaned in his ear, as she reached her zenith.

Validus could feel the familiar surge when his balls began to unload into her. He wanted to fill her animal body as if he were a wild creature himself.

Elvira relented, and lay back, letting him do as he wished. She had seen into his mind; there was no doubt that he hated Samantha. Perhaps, she thought to herself,it would be wise to have him as an ally.

Cumming uncontrollably, each burst more powerful than the last, Validus let loose in her. He felt her small body twist beneath him as she writhed in ecstasy.

Lost in carnal lust, Elvira ground her hips upward, her tail swishing unfettered all the while. Elvira concentrated on a part of her body she had spent years learning to control, and clenched his cock with her vagina. She used her vagina to squeeze, and pull at his member until she was sure she had gotten all the semen he had.

He could hear the wet noises as their bodies slid together, but that was nearly drowned out by Elvira's howl of pleasure (she sounded no different from the wolves that howled in the night).Validus pulled out of her when his energy was spent. His cock slid out, leaving a wet trail down her thigh. As Validus rolled onto his back, he resumed breathing.

Meanwhile, Elvira lay on her back, chest heaving. Her large breasts swelled with every intake of breath. When she had recovered sufficiently, she began to methodically lick the traces of their mating from her fur.

Validus felt her hair brush across his skin as she leaned over him. Validus could feel his erection begin to return as she licked the juices from his groin. Validus began to pet her rump, as she worked her way to his balls. He couldn't take his eyes off her wet slit as she swayed invitingly. He was astounded when she slid her bushy tail into her cunt. He had no idea how her tail managed to fit, but his concerns moved downward when he felt a soft tongue flick across the tip of his rigid cock.

Elvira grasped his cock and pulled the foreskin down so that she could slide her tongue along every inch of his member. She moved over slightly so that her cunt would be right in front of his eyes as she diddled herself with her tail.

Validus was presented with Elvira's wet tail sliding into her sex, down further her breasts swayed, between her globes, he had a nice view of Elvira deep-throating his penis, If this is the last thing I see before I die, I will do so with a smile on my face.

His cock slid into her mouth smoothly as she guided its path with her tongue. She let her teeth barely graze him, knowing that it would add to his tension. He pulsed once, twice, and the third time he sprayed cum down her throat.

Validus held her hips firmly and licked her clit as she finished cleaning his cock inside and out.

In the afterglow of their act, they laid side by side. In his mind, Validus was trying to comprehend the fact that he had just enjoyed intercourse with some kind of animal.

**

It seemed hours later when Elvira spoke to him.

"I have seen what lies in your heart, Validus. I too wish to kill her, but unlike you, I am prepared. If you face her before the change is complete, you will certainly die"

"Change? What are you talking about, Elvira?" Even as the question left his lips, Validus knew the answer. His body was indeed changing, but into what?

"In a week's time, probably less, you will turn into one of the Catrai".

"Well, what if I don't want that?" Validus yelled.

"To even say such a thing, means that you don't appreciate the gift that has been bestowed upon you."

"This is no gift", Validus muttered as he rolled onto his side "It is a curse to be anything inhuman".

"Do not say such a thing!"

Validus lay silent, consumed with his own problems. His rumination ended however, when he heard the soft sobs. Looking over, Validus saw Elvira crying.

"Do I look so ugly to you?" she cried, as she gestured toward her red fur.

"I didn't mean you", Validus said, (but he wasn't sure he believed himself).

"You speak a truth that few will admit. Humankind will never accept those such as us. It is why we hide ourselves. Only the Catrai are lucky enough to have the ability change their bodies to look human. I cannot, for I am a Kanin"

"Look, Elvira, just because I don't like what is happening to me, doesn't mean that you shouldn't be able to appreciate what...um...who you are".

Elvira stood to her feet. A spray of snow dusted the air as it fell from her bushy tail.

"Please Elvira, don't leave"

"Validus, promise me that you will try to accept what you are", she said as she failed to hold back her tears, "Remember that, because others will only see what you are, they will not know or care who you are."

Validus wanted to say something comforting, but his tumulus mind was unable to form words.

"Farewell Validus, I doubt we will meet again, for after I kill Samantha, I shall have no reason to live". She leapt out of the cave entrance, changing back to a fox as she went. Before Validus could stand, she had disappeared into the snow-covered wasteland.

"What I am" Validus spoke to the wilderness, "What I am, is a monster. I just pray that who I am will always be Validus".

**

Validus found the road again, but he never spied the fox again during his trip. Four days of walking, led him to the city he had lived in not so long ago, but now it somehow seemed like that life had belonged to another.

With no money, or clothes, he was forced to sneak in by the dead of night. In an empty house, Validus found some old clothes, and some stale bread. Validus ate the bread while he shook the dust from the newly acquired clothes.

While getting dressed, he spied a dagger on a table in the corner. He picked it up and examined the blade. The edge has been sharpened recently, he knew it was a clear sign that the owner might return at any moment.

Validus found a washbasin and proceeded to shave. There was a broken mirror on the wall (What he saw in it looked like something from a nightmare. The shards portrayed the accused, from hundreds of angles (A creature, half man, half beast). Not only was fur growing on his arms, but his beard had also gone white with black stripes.

Validus brought the blade to his neck as he prepared to shave but stopped for a moment. It would be so easy to pull the blade sideways, instead of up these thought frightened him. He dropped the dagger. He knew he couldn't bring himself to do it. I would likely fail anyway, right after I passed out from blood loss, my neck would probably heal, he laughed grimly. Soon he was wailing in laughter.

When Validus had gotten himself back under control, he resumed shaving. He was still chuckling weakly, as he trimmed the last traces of fur from his arms.

When he looked halfway presentable, he headed to the keep. Validus assumed that he would be fine as long as the prince hadn't returned, but it wouldn't be wise to get himself noticed (Just in case the prince had already arrived).

He didn't need to tarry long, once he got hold of his armor and sword, he could leave, (if he came across some money on the way, it wouldn't hurt to add that to his stock either).

Yes, Validus thought, I am reduced to being a common thief. A creature of the night. Something I have looked down on for my whole life. But, now I see the truth. When it comes down to survival, laws don't matter.

Validus waited under the shadow of an eave, until the change of guard at the keep. He slipped in unnoticed. Once inside, he knew that it would be disastrous to be spotted. Hurriedly, he trotted down the hallway toward his quarters.

With a clang of metal, Validus crashed right into a wandering recruit. Validus looked up from the floor and spotted a very scared looking soldier.

"W-w-who are you?" the recruit queried.

"Captain Validus" Validus replied without thinking.

"Sorry sir, Captain sir". The recruit reached down to help Validus up; it was then that he saw how Validus was dressed.

"Well, be on your way" Validus barked.

Not wanting to be reprimanded, the soldier did an about-face and headed down the corridor.

Once Validus was sure the man was gone, he took off at a run. He knew that his presence was known, it wouldn't be long before someone went to investigate. An overwhelming sense of gratitude filled him when he found the door to his room.

The door was locked, but he knew that the hinges had been broken for years. A little tug was enough to pop the whole thing off its frame.

The room was dark, so he got a torch from the hallway.

"What?" He was aghast; the room was empty.

"Of course, they moved everything to the captain's quarters after I was promoted. But where is that?"

The sound of creaking steel reached his ears; someone was running down the hall. He looked out the door, but wasn't pleased with what he saw. A dozen armored knights were rushing toward his position, from each side.

"Halt or you will be shot in your tracks", a man with a crossbow yelled.

"What is the meaning of this? I am Sir Validus, captain of this providence".

"Not anymore, the prince has revoked your rank. I, Sir Malthus, am under orders to bring you to him immediately after your capture, assuming you live."

Validus rushed them. He had only one advantage, Surprise. He grabbed Sir Malthus by the head and slammed him against the stone. With a clang, the side of his helmet was crushed along with the side of his face. Unconscious, likely dead, the man fell to the ground. Validus heard the familiar whistle of a bolt flying through the air. The bolt sank into his chest as he grabbed the fallen man's sword.

He flung his torch at the man with the bow. The man's cloak burst into flame. Validus swung his sword with wild abandon. Three more men fell before he shattered the blade on someone's shield.

The men had all drawn their swords at this point.

"Give up NOW, Validus. You are weaponless."

"Am I?"

Validus smirked, as he spread his fingers. Razor claws cut through the tips as they extended from his fingers. In the torchlight, he could see the fear on their faces.

With a wince, Validus pulled the bolt from his chest. His breathing immediately became easier as his lung healed.

When he rushed the men, they turned and fled from him. Validus looked down at the fallen men as the torchlight glimmered off their armor. He could hear the clatter of boot in the distance. Fleeing in terror. They will probably resign tonight A cruel smile crossed his lips.

"Fear the monster. For that is what I am", Validus whispered to himself.

Validus picked up a fresh sword before hurrying to the exit. It would be foolish to look for his belongings now, they would be sending more men, real men; true veterans who would die rather than flee. Validus didn't want to find out if he would die before they did.

When Validus left the city, he didn't look back.