FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Of Course it Got Worse!

Chapter 4

Conner stared at the wall at the front of the classroom, barely registering his biology teacher's words. His mind was consumed by the vivid dream he had before Daniella woke him. He reached up to scratch his nose, but the mask he wore completely blocked his finger. “I keep forgetting about this damn thing," he muttered, his voice muffled by the matte black face covering. With a metallic click, the segment in the center pulled down, allowing him to scratch his nose.

Because of the ongoing COVID pandemic and the uncomfortable mask mandate, Conner found the standard masks suffocating. During his countless hours in the basement, he decided to create something better, an advanced mask that would prevent him from inhaling any foreign particles and be comfortable to wear.

The bell rang for lunchtime, jolting Conner from his thoughts. He collected his things and made his way to the bustling cafeteria. The chatter of excited students and the mingled smells of various foods filled the air. He retrieved his lunch from his bag and pressed his fingers into his mask just under his left ear. Hearing the click, he pulled the front segment away from his face, an audible hiss of air following as the airtight seal broke. The segments folded neatly into the front piece with a series of clicks.

Conner placed the advanced piece of tech in his hat beside his lunch and began to eat, his thoughts still lingering on the dream that had felt almost too real.

Conner absentmindedly reached into his lunch bag, only to find he had eaten all of his food while thinking his dream over. “Fuck," he grumbled. Grabbing his phone from his pocket, he checked the time and realized he had finished his food in just over five minutes. He still had more than a half an hour left plus his spare after lunch.

“Conner!" a familiar voice shouted and he heard three sets of footsteps approaching. Conner looked up to see his good friends approaching; Cameron with his blonde hair and blue eyes, Michael's short brown hair and brown eyes, and Connor, slightly taller with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes.

“Yes?" Conner asked in confusion as he put his phone away.

“You might want to come to the gym entrance!" Cameron said with urgency. “Daniella might be in some trouble."

“Shit!" Conner exclaimed as he glanced around him, picking up his mask and pressing it to his face. His mask sealed to his face as he swiped his hand at his things. His backpack and lunch all completely vanished while his hat materialized on his head. “Nobody saw that, right?" Conner said as he looked around nervously.

“No, now get fucking moving!" Cameron said with even more urgency. All four of them took off after Cameron. They turned the corner to the main hall and Conner spotted the crowd in front of the gym entrance. A circle of gryphons, dragons, humaniods and humans surrounded two other dragons in the centre.

“Such a shame that your little boyfriend isn't here to protect you!" A draconic male voice said from the middle of the circle in a taunting tone.

“Go fuck yourself, Ryjin!" Daniella's voice responded from in the circle. Conner felt a surge of protectiveness and anger mix with his fear for Daniella's safety, fueling his determination to confront Ryjin.

“Nah, but your are in heat and I might just fuck you!" Ryjin sneered.

Conner body-checked one of the dragons forming the circle, sending Ryjin's green friend skidding across the floor on their stomach. “Like fucking hell you will!" Conner shouted, his voice distorted and robotic through his mask.

“Oh how convenient!" Ryjin growled, “Just in time to save your pretty ass," he sneered at Daniella.

Conner watched as the circle widened and Daniella scurried beside Conner, barely paying any mind to a few people holding the green dragon he checked to the ground. He put his hand on Daniella's neck and pushed her away. She tried to resist so Conner whispered in her ear, “Obey." Daniella felt her body betray her wishes as the spell took over. She backed away before Conner's friends pulled her to the side.

“I really don't fucking appreciate you attacking my best friend," Conner growled menacingly as the two began to circle eachother, never breaking eye contact.

“I thought I could borrow your bitch for a little while," Ryjin smirked. The crimson red dragon with yellow eyes and an orange underbelly was a tad larger than Daniella, a pair of straight grey horns protruded from the back of his head. Small scale growths travelled down the back of his head before morphing into small spines that ended a foot before the end of his tail. His facial structure held that typical male dragon look, fierce and very obviously masculine.

Conner let out a sigh, “Illusion," he said in his head. He was not going to let his Elemental nature be known if he entered an adrenaline fueled rage state. The slight purple tinge in his veins faded but they continued to bulge. He looked down at his arm to see the blood very visibly pulsing through his veins, but his veins weren't glowing purple, rather, they only looked inflamed. Clenching his hands into fists, the veins on his arms became very visible as his muscles flexed. He could hear the crowd surrounding them start chanting and yelling but Conner couldn't make out what was being said.

“I really thought you wouldn't mind me trying your fleshlight," Ryjin chuckled.

Conner felt his vision go slightly blurry at the vulgar comment. “I hate to crush your fantasy, Ryjin, but we have never partaken in the carnal acts. You can fantasize about whatever you want while you fuck your tailhole with a horse dildo though," he quipped back. This brought out a chuckle from the crowd, infuriating Ryjin. He lunged at Conner, the more agile human jumping to the left, causing the large red dragon to crash into the lockers lining the wall. The loud sound was followed by a few gasps from the crowd.

“Come on you fucking idiot, I know you can do better," Conner taunted as his fist collided with the side of Ryjin's head. The red dragon staggered from the blow, shaking his head, he recovered quickly. He lunged again, this time, Conner stuck out his leg as he sidestepped.

Ryjin felt the wind get knocked out of him as his chest connected with the hard concrete floor, skidding for a few feet, he sucked in a few breaths before jumping up and facing Conner once more. It was only a matter of time before teachers would swarm and break up the fight and Conner could tell Ryjin was getting angrier and angrier.

“It's a damn shame that a dumb brute like you lets their anger control them rather than controlling the-" Conner was cut off as Ryjin spun around, his tail smashing into Conner's chest, sending him crashing into a row of lockers and crumpling to the floor. Conner's hat flying off and landing a few feet away from him.

Conner gasped for air; he could tell that one of his lungs had definitely collapsed. Placing his hand on his chest while pulling his mask off with his other hand, he sucked in a breath as hard as he could, blood splattered across the floor as he coughed. He muttered something and felt his healing magic flowing through him, the pain in his chest beginning to dull.

“Oh, what's the matter?" Ryjin taunted. “The little bitch can't take a tail strike to the chest?" he cackled.

Conner's vision began to take a slightly red tinge as his anger grew and his adrenaline levels surged to a level that would be lethal to a regular human. He let out a slow breath to stop himself from going into a mindless berserk state. All sound around him became muted as he focused solely on Ryjin.

A loud crash was heard followed by a horrible screech of metal as Conner crashed his hand into one of the damaged locker doors, tearing the door off the hinges like he was ripping open a cardboard box. Ryjin turned around just in time to see a locker door heading straight for his face. The locker door smashed across his face, sending a few of his teeth flying and him crashing to the ground, unconscious.

“Eat shit, you fucking cunt!" Conner shouted as he spat blood in Ryjin's face.

Conner looked around at Ryjin's friends, they scattered, a few dragging Ryjin with them. Conner dropped the bent locker door before collecting his mask and hat from the floor, slipping it into his pocket while he put the latter back on his head and walked over to Daniella. He pulled the black and maroon dragon into a tight hug, the larger dragon began to sob as her emotions finally caught up to her, she was furious and beyond tired of Ryjin's shit, but in that moment she was glad that Conner seemed to be ok. She wrapped her wings around Conner's back and squeezed him tightly with her forepaws. Conner pressed his head against the base of her neck, he didn't move even when he heard a teacher angrily call his name.

Daniella let go of Conner who turned to regard the teacher and principal glaring at him. “Look at the security feed and go fuck yourselves." Conner snarled as he walked away with Daniella limping after him.

…

Conner sat in the office staring at the principal with a blank stare, he was still jittering from his adrenaline rush. “I think there's enough proof here that not only did I act in self defence for myself, but it is very clear that Ryjin not only assaulted Daniella, he also threatened sexual assault." Conner said flatly.

“We still have a zero tolerance policy and you sent Ryjin to the hospital," the principal sighed.

“You expel me, may God be with you, my father and Daniella's father will drag you and the entire school board through the court system or Aeros might just fucking kill you," Conner chuckled. “You let his daughter get assaulted and sexually harassed… yo-" like clockwork, the office door crashed open and, in stormed a black dragon with a dark grey underbelly and striking green eyes.

“Did you kill him?" Aeros growled as he locked eyes with Conner.

“I'm not sure, he might be a vegetable because of how hard I hit him," Conner said with a smirk.

“Good," Aeros responded coldly before turning to glare at the principal.

It had not taken long for the entire story to be put together from students who witnessed the altercation and from the security feed. Because of the severity of Ryjin's injuries, 911 had been called and Conner could see a police officer questioning Daniella out in the office lobby.

“If you fucking expel my son! I will sue your ass into the next century!" Jason shouted from the office lobby.

Conner gave the principal a glare as he stood up and gestured for his father to enter the office. “Hey, I didn't say you could leave my office!" the principal shouted as Conner stepped out the door. “Shut up!" Conner snapped as his father stormed past him into the office with Aeros.

Once the office door closed, all Conner heard was muffled shouting as the two fathers grilled the principal. He chuckled as he walked over to his mother who was watching the camera recording from the security cameras. She winced as Conner heard a loud metallic bang from the tablet she held.

“You really clobbered him hard," Catherine remarked as she lowered the tablet. Her son's ruthlessness and resilience slightly terrified her, but she couldn't be mad because he was protecting Daniella from a shit stain of a person wearing dragon scales.

“You hurt my friend and try to send me to the hospital, you will learn the scientific method of 'Fuck around, find out'!" Conner said with gritted teeth before coughing, a small amount of blood splattered to the floor.

“Oh my God, Conner!" Catherine gasped, her voice fearful and full of concern.

“He collapsed my lung and might have broken a few ribs." Conner rasped before attempting to clear his throat. “I think I might need to have the air removed from my chest cavity…" he coughed up some more blood, trying his hardest to keep breathing.

The sound of wood splintering and cracking echoed through the office lobby as Conner held the counter he leaned against in a death grip. Eventually the wood gave out and splinters shot everywhere, causing Conner to lose his balance briefly. He relaxed his hands as his vision tunneled, “Definitely a fractured rib," Conner thought as his adrenaline finally wore off. He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, and he collapsed to the floor, his consciousness slipping away.

…

Conner awoke with a groan, opening his eyes slowly, everything appeared as a blurred mess as his mind tried to piece together everything that happened. He tilted his head up to get a better look at his surroundings, but he seemed to be having issues making out anything past five feet in front of him. Conner tried to move his hands to rub his eyes, after a few seconds of not being able to move his hands, he noticed that he could feel something on each wrist.

“Am I fucking restrained?!" Conner groggily snarled as he started to regain his senses. Noticing his voice sounded muffled and something felt odd on his face, he felt what appeared to be an oxygen mask. Letting out an angry grunt, the strap restraining his right arm gave out with a loud snap. Once his arm was freed, he tore the mask from his face. Lifting his left arm, he heard another loud snap as the restraint on that arm gave out too.

Rapid quadrupedal footsteps approaching got Conner's attention, attempting to rise, he found his legs also restrained. “Ok, this is fucking ridiculous!" he barked as the straps holding his legs in place gave out with ease as he moved.

“How the hell are you even awake?!" A nurse gawked at the child she had given enough sedatives to put a fully grown male dragon to sleep for at least four hours, but here this human was, awake just over two hours before he should have woken up.

“Such a shame isn't it?" Conner chuckled as he realized he was in a hospital. “I assume I must have gotten aggressive and delirious?" he sighed.

“Kinda hard to work on a six foot four gorilla when he's angry," the white and grey female gryphon nurse remarked with a frustrated sigh. “Angry is awake!" The nurse called out after turning away from him.

Conner let out a sigh before dropping back into the hospital bed, his breath hitching as the impact aggravated his injuries. “Correct me if I'm wrong, but; collapsed lung, uhhh, four broken ribs, one or two of which were fractured, and a mix of air and blood filling my chest cavity?" he said without lifting his head from the pillow.

“You actually hit the nail on the head," the gryphon chuckled. “Now, don't do anything stupid, your parents and a doctor should be with you shortly.

Conner responded by raising his right hand and giving her the thumbs up. “Mmmmm, in pain, I am," he muttered in a Yoda impression after the nurse walked away, letting out a short exhale and smirking at his own stupid joke.

After a few minutes, Conner heard approaching footsteps and accompanying voices. “He's just over here."

“Is he okay?" the voice of his mother asked, full of concern, as always.

“Stable, woke up two and a half hours before the sedatives should have worn off, and broke the restraints we had him in with absolute ease." The voice of the female gryphon nurse said calmly.

“Resilient bastard," Daniella chuckled as her head came into view.

“Are we in the private hospital?" Conner asked, his voice a pain filled hiss.

“Yes, Conner," Jason said with a sigh, his face contorted in a frown that did little to hide his concern.

“Oh thank fuck!" Conner exclaimed as he placed his right hand on his chest before muttering quietly. He felt his pain begin to subside as an aura of white light enveloped his right hand. Being in the school while fighting Ryjin, he couldn't use a stronger healing spell without it being noticeable. Hiding the purple glow of his veins with magic was one thing, but trying to mask this was impossible.

This private hospital was one of the last places on Earth where Elementals didn't have to keep a pair of eyes in the back of their skull when using their abilities. The fact that the hospital was also owned by Conner's father was a major reason why it was a sort of public haven for Elementals.

“You do know that your injuries won't be mended instantly, right?" Jason chuckled.

“Oh I'm aware, but this will help a lot and I won't be in nearly as much pain tomorrow." Conner chuckled as the white glow faded from his hand. He groaned before letting himself fall back against the bed.

The nurse cleared her throat after Conner fell silent. “The doctor should be with you shortly, Mr. Stevens."

“I'll be here," Conner said with a sigh.

Conner lifted his head slightly, looking at Daniella as she walked up next to the hospital bed. “I'll fucking kill him if he lays a paw on you again," Conner grumbled, noticing the cracked and chipped scales on her left flank.

Daniella snorted, raising her paw and pushing out her claws, exposing the wicked and curved weapons with tiny serrations that usually stayed concealed in her toes. She inspected her paw, which was almost a mix between a cat's paw and a human's hand, five digits with the fifth being an opposable thumb. Her hindpaws more closely resembled that of a big cat's.

Conner watched her grab a loose scale from her flank and flick it at him, the scale bounced off his chest. “I'm serious," he grunted, shifting on the bed to prop his back up against the headboard.

Daniella glanced at Conner before letting out a long sigh, the fact that he was willing to end Ryjin to protect her. If she wasn't afraid to ruin their friendship, she might have kissed him right then and there.

“Somebody has got to teach you how to fight better, I won't be able to be by your side twenty-four-seven." Conner chuckled, causing the corners of Daniella's lips to curl up slightly in a smirk.

“The little human thinks he's funny," Daniella said with a chuckle as she reared up on her hind legs. On her hind legs, Daniella easily stood almost ten feet tall. She was definitely not the largest dragon, but she was large for a dwarf dragon. Placing her forepaws on the bed, she loomed over Conner, a menacing smirk on her snout. “Give me some time, once you heal properly, we'll spar and see who needs to be better."

“Ohhh, so it's a challenge, eh?" Conner laughed, stifling a cough because his laugh aggravated his ribs.

“How aboot you get better first there, eh bud?" Daniella said, mocking Conner's Canadian accent.

“Alright, fuck you." Conner rolled his eyes, trying to hide his smirk.