FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Bryan wanted to like school. It just was pretty much impossible.

He was the kind of person who should have liked it. He enjoyed doing the work, liked to learn, wasn't bothered at all by the idea of homework or projects or anything. And he was good at it, it didn't matter what the subject was, he got good grades and routinely got praise from the teachers, all of whom he was on good terms with, even the ones that weren't as good. He was part of some clubs, got awards, and just generally seemed like a model student.

The problem was that being a model student made him a target. There were plenty of students who were far from model, and they took great delight in tormenting him day after day. He couldn't really fight them off - he wasn't very athletic, and the bullies who went after him were bigger and stronger - and though he'd tried to ignore them, they didn't seem to ever get tired of bothering him. And there were some things he couldn't ignore, like filling his locker with paint, or jumping him and locking him in a broom closet with a chair against the door. He'd talked to his parents, the teachers, the counselors, even the parents of a couple of the bullies...all without success. His parents couldn't really stop anything from happening, the teachers sympathized but were barred from doing anything other than lecturing, the administration didn't seem to care all that much, and of course the bullies' parents couldn't believe that their precious one was doing anything wrong.

It was to the point where Bryan dreaded going to school every single morning...and that wasn't something he wanted. He wanted to like it, he wanted it to be a place for him to shine, and he really didn't want the bullies to win. But he was at his wits' end to know how to deal with it.

[It's just too much...if it wasn't every day, or if it was just one or two guys, maybe I could find a way to deal with it, but it's every day, sometimes multiple times a day, and there's eight of them that just like to hunt me down.] His keyboard clicked furiously as he typed out his venting to a friend online. He'd found this to be the most helpful thing, most of them had personal experiences with bullying and could really relate to him, and he was able to express himself more freely than he dared with his parents or teachers. [I don't know if I can keep this up.]

[It sounds like it keeps getting worse. I can't believe they don't do anything about it.]

[That's what really pisses me off, Rion. They could stop it if they really wanted to. But the administration doesn't give a shit. They're more worried about their reputation than anything. The teachers all tell me that they aren't allowed to punish bullying, because if people know about it it creates a bad image. Parents complain that their kids are being targeted when they've done nothing wrong, or complain that their kid's been pushed around for so long and they only care when it happens to certain kids…it's shit, and they know it, but they get punished if they try to push back against it.]

[That's stupid. Who do they think they're kidding? This is the kind of shit that leads to school shootings. You heard about that one last month in Rockford?]

[How could I not? Six kids and three teachers dead, it was all over the news, we had to do a paper on it in our government and civics class.] Bryan felt a shudder go through him; the perpetrator had given him eerie vibes of himself - normally a good student, harassed constantly, started going nuts and eventually snapped. He didn't even seem to care afterward; he didn't kill himself like a lot of shooters did, and every picture of him after the event had him with this empty expression, zero remorse, zero emotion, maybe even zero sense of what he'd actually done. The last he'd heard there was question about his competence to stand trial...he really didn't want to go that route. [I'm scared I'm gonna end up like him…I don't want to, but what if my mind goes like his seems to have?]

[You sound really desperate...I might have an idea. I talked to another friend of mine, he told me about this product that helped him. Was really quiet on the details, but he said it worked like a charm, he stopped being bullied almost right away. Maybe I can talk to him and get you a link to it...might be worth a shot. If it works, it could change your life.]

[Hell, at this point I'm willing to try anything. Let me know.]

[Cool. I'll get it to you tomorrow. Try to hang in there.]

It sounded a bit too good to be true to Bryan, but it was a testament to his desperation that he was willing to buy into it anyway. If there was even a chance...well, he didn't have much to lose, and he had a lot to gain. The little bit of hope was enough to settle his mood, and when he finally went to sleep that night, it was more restful than it had been in a while.

---

Three weeks later, the package arrived. It couldn't have come at a more opportune time.

Bryan was suspicious of it the moment he saw the description of it. It was just an armband, colored black, made by a company called Generdex. The description was extremely vague, and he had no clue how it was supposed to stop the bullying. Still, it wasn't that expensive, and he figured he still didn't have much to lose. As the days passed waiting for it to arrive, though, he got continually less certain that it would be of any use, and that the money was just a waste.

The day that it arrived had been one of the worst days at school ever. Itching powder had been dumped down the back of his shirt early in the morning, honey got dumped on him between second and third period, his homework was destroyed just before he was to turn it in, and he'd been jumped by about four guys on his way home. Every single one of his typical tormentors had gotten to him that day, and he was a shaking, crying wreck by the time he got in the door. If anything was likely to get him going round the bend, this day would be the start of it.

He'd almost entirely forgotten about the package until he saw it on his bed. For all his doubts, he was more than ready to try anything to help out at this point. He tore open the package, finding the armband and a brief note accompanying it, a simple bit of directions for use. It seemed rather silly - it was an armband, its use was pretty obvious - but he looked at it anyway.

Thank you for choosing this Generdex product. We hope you have a life-changing experience!

Application notes:

1. Wear this armband directly on your skin. Do not apply over clothing. Do not wash before using.

2. Do not remove once applied. Product must be in contact for between six and twelve hours before effects appear.

3. Do not use in conjunction with any other Generdex product. Use only as directed.

All queries can be directed to Generdex customer support…

It still told him bupkis about what would actually happen, and he didn't really have any idea what the heck it was all supposed to be about. But he had it, and it was supposed to help somehow...at this point, he didn't see how it could hurt. He set it aside, resolving to try it out tomorrow morning...hopefully, whatever it did would keep the bullies at bay.

---

The morning came, and with it the dread of another school day. Bryan woke up with more doubts about whether the armband would help anything out; bullying seemed like something that needed a lot more intervention than that. But desperation was stronger than doubt, and before he left his room he dutifully donned the armband around his upper arm, following the instructions to the letter. Nothing felt unusual yet, but it did say six to twelve hours...the effects weren't guaranteed to work that day, but perhaps he'd be lucky.

From there the day proceeded as normal. He gave his bullies a wide berth whenever possible, and it seemed to be working; he didn't have any of the incidents he had the previous day, and apart from a couple looks his direction they were leaving him alone. His fortune sounded like others' misfortune, though; he heard stories at lunch about how they were harassing another kid, someone he didn't know that well but who also happened to be a rather popular target. He felt for the guy...if this thing by some miracle actually worked, maybe he could recommend it to him. Though, he still didn't have high hopes…

He did notice something through the day, though, little tingles in his arm where the band was situated. Nothing painful or unpleasant, but definitely strange...at first he'd thought it was too tight and possibly cutting off circulation, but that would only have made sense if it was his forearm that was feeling it. Perhaps there was something in the armband that was causing it...he tried not to think too much about it at the moment, it had to do something and he wanted to know its effects. Today was seeming to be a lucky day, but the next one might not be so fortunate...if something was going to happen he'd rather know before he had to use it.

He ended up getting through the day without any resolution, but also without any bullying. As school let out, he remained behind, spending some time in the library to work on a project for his history class. The tingling had become rather constant, but it wasn't bugging him...in fact, it felt kinda pleasant, the sensations were a bit soothing rather than bothersome. He still didn't know what was going on but he was getting more and more sure that there was some kind of effect happening. Maybe there was something to it after all.

After about an hour in the library, he felt he had enough to go off of, and headed back to his locker to prepare to leave. Just as he got there, a strange sensation pulsed through his body...something that felt weird, harsh, not entirely pleasant. He stumbled and leaned against his locker, wondering if he'd eaten something bad...but it wasn't really nausea, not really, this was a different feeling, a writhing and twisting through his whole body. Something was definitely wrong.

He pulled up his sleeve and examined the armband, wondering if it was the culprit...his eyes stared at the spot where it had been. It wasn't there anymore...or at least, it wasn't a separate thing. There was still a band of black where it had been, but as his fingers grasped at it, it felt like it had merged with his skin. Before he could tear at it, his body was wracked again, and he nearly fell over, banging his hands against the locker, barely holding himself up. He was shaking hard now, his body was writhing, no pain yet but it felt like it was just about to the point where it would start to be extremely painful.

Slowly he could feel changes coming over him...his body was shifting, getting slightly larger, but with the size was coming much more drastic shifts. He could see his skin color darkening to the same inky black of the armband, and from his body where hairs were supposed to be, feathers were slowly pushing out. The skin on his hands was becoming slightly more scaly, his nails curving and thickening into claws. He could feel sharp pains in his back and feet, growing constricted in his clothing...he scrambled to pull off his shoes, relieving the ache there, but he couldn't get his shirt off, not without losing his balance. His head was spinning hard, and new pain was arising around his nose and mouth especially, making him cry out...even his voice sounded bizarre now, not like it should have sounded.

The feathers had covered most of his body now, he could feel them all over, they had hurt where they had pushed out but the pain was finally receding there...or maybe it was being overpowered. His feet were changing shape completely, his toes lengthening into the shape of a bird's foot, the skin scaly and rough like his hands, though the backs of those had become feathered as well. He could feel his face turning as well, a beak forming where his nose and mouth had been...the pain in his back become unbearable, and he opened his new beak and let out a loud caw of agony as his shirt was torn open, revealing two large wings that spread out in a flurry of feathers. There was extra discomfort in his rear, and he desperately tore open he back of his shorts to let out long tail feathers that fanned out flat behind him.

Finally he collapsed onto his hands and knees, panting hard as the changes finished up, the spinning in his head slowly receding along with the pain...leaving behind only confusion and panic. He'd transformed...he'd just fucking transformed! What the hell was going on? What was that armband? Why was he like this? Was he stuck this way? How the hell was this going to stop people from bullying him?

No answers came to him. Slowly he stood up, body still shaky from his emotional state and from trying to adjust to the changes, his new legs and mouth requiring experimentation to figure out. The wings were the worst of it, two brand new limbs that he could move consciously but didn't know how to move properly. He wasn't sure whether he'd have to learn that or not…

He worked his mouth, trying to figure it out. It felt weird, his beak was solid, but his mouth seemed to move in odd ways to allow him to talk normally...after just a little bit of testing he found he could talk more or less normally, though his voice still sounded odd, mostly like his own but with more of a cawing tone underneath it. At least there was that, he would be able to talk with someone about what had happened...he wasn't sure who he wanted to talk to, his parents would flip when they saw this, but it wasn't like he could hide this from people.

A cry from down the hallway caught his attention. He looked up in the direction of the cry...though he couldn't see anything, he was certain he could hear some kind of commotion...and some of the voices sounded like his bullies. Though his instinct was to get away, he remembered what people had been saying about their targeting someone else...there was no one else around to help, few people were still in the building, and those that were probably weren't able to hear it…

He found himself sprinting towards the commotion before he even realized what he was doing. Not only that, he realized he was moving a lot faster than before, and with a lot less effort...suddenly he seemed to be brimming with energy, as if he was channeling all that panic and confusion into it. His mind couldn't quite keep up with it all. In seconds, he was at the site of the conflict.

There were eight of them...all eight of them were familiar adversaries, and all of them were gathered around one lone individual. He was on the ground, shaking and crying, looking like a mess, and Bryan was sure he saw blood on his clothes and on the ground. He recognized him as the one who'd been bothered earlier...he recalled that the boy's name was Chris, but not much else about him. Why they were ganging up on him like this, he wasn't sure, but he had a sick suspicion that it was payback...they rarely got this angry unless someone went to try to stop them, talking to a teacher or administrator about it. He'd been on the wrong end of that before…

“What the fuck?!" He nearly jumped as one of the bullies shouted. Uh-oh...they had to have seen him...all eight of them were looking his direction now, and if he thought he was nervous before Bryan was outright terrified now.

“The hell is that? Some kinda freaking animal-person?"

“What's it doing here? This isn't some freak show!"

“Did it come to help this little twerp?"

Bryan didn't know what possessed him to speak up. “It's...it's me, Bryan. And...I did. Yeah, I did."

“Bryan...you can't be serious. You think you're gonna stop us?" The leader of the bullies stepped forward towards him, looking daggers at him. “I don't know what the hell you did to yourself but it doesn't matter, you're just another little bitch and you're gonna be taken down just like always."

Bryan stood stock-still, his legs not behaving his commands to run...closer and closer his tormentor came, until he suddenly took a swing. Bryan didn't expect him to attack so fast...even less did he expect his arm to rise up with perfect timing and block the blow. His bully had exactly one moment to be shocked before Bryan's other arm reached out and gripped his shirt...in the next moment, he'd thrown the kid bodily down the hallway, making him land hand on his back, moaning in shock and pain.

Where the hell did that come from?

He turned back to the others, who looked just as confused as he did. They weren't that way for long, though...suddenly they flew into a rage, furious that someone had taken down their leader, and the seven of them rushed him en masse. It was too late to run, so Bryan did the only thing he could think of on such short notice - he let instinct take over.

It proved to be a very good idea.

He hadn't really realized what other changes the transformation had brought...he was a bit bigger than before, no longer dwarfed by some of the bigger kids, and his body had become a lot fitter and tougher. Starkly toned muscles hid beneath his feathers, he remained on the thin side but a strong thin, not a scrawny thin like he had been before. He reacted faster and hit back harder, and he was able to endure blows much better than before - glancing blows weren't even painful, and even the direct shots weren't that effective. He also was rapidly finding that his larger alterations were quite good in a scrap - his long, sharp talons gashed a couple of legs, his beak had cut open one boy's knuckles when he tried to hit it, and his wings proved capable of delivering a solid blow.

Had the seven of them known what to expect and how to deal with it, they would have likely taken him down even with those advantages. But they were clumsy, unprepared, and disorganized, and as the ranks were thinned it become easier to deal with them. Eventually only two were left standing and relatively uninjured, and they finally took to the wise and hustled off, sounding much more frightened than he'd ever heard them before. As Bryan looked around at the carnage, he saw a lot more injuries than he'd ever inflicted before...it had been self-defense, but he didn't feel good about it. Still, he was more concerned about Chris, and rushed over to the boy on the ground. He'd been watching the fight, and was staring at Bryan in awe.

“Are you all right?"

“Y-yes, I...I think so...Bryan? What...what happened?"

“I...don't know for sure. Let's go, though, I think they might've gone to get someone...I'm not ready to have them talk to me just yet." Bryan picked Chris up bodily from the ground and cradled him in his arms, then turned and rushed the opposite way down the hallway. He needed to get outside, away from other people...he needed time to figure things out in his head, before the questioning and probing began.

---

It was times like these when Bryan was very glad they didn't live in the big city. Had he been leaving one of those schools, he would have had nowhere to go for peace and solitude outside the building. But because they were more suburban, and the school was slightly outside where most people lived, they had some nice woods just outside the school where he could take Chris and get away from everything else.

He carried Chris a good ways into the woods before finally setting him down. With the immediate chaos out of sight, he could give the boy a proper examination...not that he was any medical expert, but he figured if there was anything serious it would probably be pretty obvious. And fortunately, things didn't seem too bad at first glance; Chris had a couple of cuts and several bruises, but nothing appeared to be broken, and he seemed to be fully lucid. “How're you doing? Anything hurt more than it should be?"

“I...I think I'm okay. I'm sore...hurt all over, but not as bad as it could." Lucid, yes, but his responses were still a little vacant on account of the staring. “I...how?"

“I'm still, uh, trying to figure that out myself," Bryan replied uncertainly. “I mean...there was this thing...but I don't know how the heck it caused something like this…"

“This is just so weird...but...but you were incredible in there! You...there were a whole bunch of them, and you...you took them down like they were nothing! I didn't...I thought those guys were...always getting on you!"

“They were. I...that was stupid as hell. I mean, I'm not sorry I did it, but...there were eight of them! No way should I have come out on top...but it was like...I couldn't stop it, my body was just doing it on its own. So I...well, I let it. I guess...instinct? They won't let me get away with that again, though…"

“Maybe you won't have to, I think they'll think twice about messing with you." Chris suddenly reached out and ran a hand through Bryan's chest feathers. The touch was gentle, and surprisingly nice...he hadn't expected it to feel so welcome. “Gosh...they're so smooth. I...er, sorry, I just…"

“N-no, it's fine…" Wow, he was feeling flushed. Being touched that way shouldn't have been that weird, but it was like it set something off in him, a litany of odd feelings that were vaguely familiar. And that wasn't a feeling he wanted to be feeling right now, not when there were other things going on...but he wasn't sure he had any choice in the matter.

“Thanks, I...do you...mind if I...feel you more?" Chris turned quite red as he said it, his gaze turning away shyly. “It's...it's fine if you don't want me to…I just…"

“Go ahead, it's okay." Once again, it was like he didn't have any control over what he said; his beak spoke up without his conscious input. He simply stood there as Chris rose and started touching him all over...feeling the strange surface of his hands and feet, running his fingers along his feathers on his arms and legs and back, gently caressing his wings, brushing up against his tail, little of him went untouched. And it was driving him crazy...no doubt about it, he was extremely turned on.

“Oh...I think I might've triggered something…" Chris blushed ever harder as he noticed the growing lump in Bryan's shorts. Yet, the transformed boy couldn't help but notice that his eyes weren't leaving the spot. And it fact, it seemed to be providing a similar reaction to him…

“Chris? Are you-"

“I...please don't think I'm weird, but...I...ever since I started, um, thinking about this stuff...I...I've kinda always liked the furry-type stuff best. I...oh, jeez, I must sound so creepy...but...d-d'you...think we could...you know…"

Again Byran spoke before he could stop himself - though, in this case, he wasn't sure he would've said anything different if he did have control. “Okay...if, uh, if you're not feeling too hurt to, you know…"

“I think I'm fine. I'll...well, I'll tell you if...but, um...can I...see it?"

Bryan's hands couldn't get to his shorts fast enough. He undid them and drew them down, minding his tail feathers as they almost got trapped in the hastily-made slit in the back. Once the garment was down, both of them could get a good look at his new equipment, now poking out of a slit in his lower body; it was a surprise to Bryan that he was bigger than before, and not by a little bit. A few inches longer, significantly thicker, though the tip of it was more pointed and thin. The strangest thing was the color, as black as the rest of his body, almost looking insidious standing out from his body.

Not that Chris seemed intimidated. Quite the opposite, he was practically salivating over it. “Wow...it looks really good...a lot different from a human's. Can I...can I taste it?"

“Y-yeah...sure…" It felt weird to hear someone say that to him, but he couldn't even think about refusing it, not as tingly and needy as he was feeling. He watched as Chris got his own clothes off, getting naked a lot faster than he expected for a sore and injured guy. In seconds, the boy was on his knees in front of him, his hand reaching out and taking hold of Bryan's cock. Even the touch felt electric, a very new sensation to him, who'd only even touched himself before - and it had been a very different himself.

And then Chris opened his mouth and wrapped his lips around the tip, and blew Bryan's mind. He threw this head back and let out a strained breath as pleasure stormed through his loins, his legs seizing up and barely keeping him upright. It was so much better than a hand, much warmer and wetter, and especially effective on a more sensitive organ like he had...maybe it was just the newness that enhanced the sensitivity, but he would take it. A hand migrated to Chris's head, not pushing down but getting a firm grip; he was having to work not to push himself further in than the boy could handle.

Chris never went deep, his mouth took in as much as it could and his hand took care of the rest. But it was more than enough for the newly transformed crow, who rocked back and forth gently as he tried to release the tension in his legs. He could feel the lust bubbling up within him, rapidly bringing him to the limit of his sexual endurance. It was like his whole body was demanding more, even as he was getting an unprecedented bit of action...he wasn't sure what was going on, but his head was a bit too fuzzy to care.

Finally, he let out an abbreviated caw, and thick ropes of cum started to spurt from his cock. Chris was caught by surprise, the salty fluid flooding his mouth before he could pull away, not that he would have gotten far with that hand on his head; instead, he clamped down and swallowed, working it down as it came, just keeping pace enough to keep from making a mess. It wasn't exactly to his tastes, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it might be, and he found himself relaxing into it by the time Bryan's orgasm tapered off.

“Ngh...s-sorry, Chris...should've warned you…" Bryan pulled his hand away from Chris's head with an effort; he still felt tense, like he needed more, his whole body felt like a rubber band ready to snap.

Chris shook his head. “It's okay...I'm fine."

“I'm glad for that...where did you learn to do something like that?"

“I didn't learn, really, I was just...kinda improvising. I've seen some stuff though...stuff my parents would flip over if they ever found out." He was blushing hard as he made that admission. “I've also seen something else...um, Bryan, would you...take me?"

“Take you? You mean...um, up the…"

“Yeah...I just...I want to feel what it's like…"

Bryan didn't need any more reason than that. He nodded to Chris. “Okay...if you want it, I'll do it." Seeing the human's eyes light up was oddly satisfying...he was getting into this more than he thought he would considering all that had happened today. He watched as Chris turned around and got onto all fours, raising his hear into the air for Bryan. In an instant, the crow was on him, taking him into a grip and priming himself for entry. His slick dick poked at that taut hole, readying it for its new role.

Slowly he pushed in, the well-lubed tip slipping in with less trouble than either of them expected. Dual moans arose as they started to come together, both of them shaking as the new experience took a hold of them. It was incredibly tough for Bryan to keep himself in check and stay gentle as he pushed in, his body wanted to start pumping at top speed without delay, but he forced himself to hold back and stretch Chris out slowly, easily. On Chris's end, there was definite discomfort as his virginity was claimed, but it wasn't as bad as he had feared it would be, and it was going away gradually as Bryan worked his way further inside. Soon Bryan was fully inside Chris, his feathers pressing up against the human's rear, tickling a bit where they touched.

“You...okay?" Bryan's voice was strained, it felt too goddamn good having that tight ass wrapped around him like this. He'd never imagined it being like this, not in this shape, not at this time, but it was all making him wish he'd known about it sooner.

“Fine…" Chris was trying to sound relaxed, despite feeling so full. But it was starting to feel a lot better than before, and he was looking forward to feeling the next step of things. He knew what was coming from a process standpoint, but he needed to know how it truly felt. “Please...do it, Bryan, fuck me!"

No more restraint. The tone of Chris's voice, the eagerness of his body, made him snap to attention; he felt himself move almost automatically, not really in control of what he did anymore. He pulled back and drove in much faster than his first entry, slamming his cock in deep and making Chris cry out in pleasure. Now THIS was the real deal...he cut loose, taking on a tempo that was far faster and harder than anyone would have advised, but he didn't know any better, all he was doing was following his new instinct to rut wildly. And it felt so goddamn amazing that he couldn't even process it - not just the sexual pleasure, but the energetic feeling from his body as he stopped holding himself back, letting his muscles jerk him back and forth with reckless abandon.

It should have hurt a lot, Chris was dimly aware; the vicious pounding was more than he had been prepared for, and a minute of adjustment shouldn't have mitigated that, not with Bryan's size. But incredibly, it didn't...initially there had been a bit of pain, but it had faded rapidly, his ass felt like it was soothed from the inside out before mind-blowing pleasure started to burn within him. He couldn't hold himself back much better, his cries barely restrained as they came over and over, rising in pitch with every thrust. His fingers clutched at the ground, scraping up dirt and grass as his body reacted euphorically to his claiming.

Harder and faster, it felt like Bryan didn't have a limit; he just kept going, giving his all to Chris and losing himself utterly in his own ecstasy. He was bearing down more on the human, his weight going harder on him, forgetting about Chris's injuries. Chris himself had forgotten, the pain seemed to have vanished in the haze of pleasure, and he was only encouraging the hard pounding, pushing back into Bryan as the crow drove into him. They were getting rapidly close to the finish, neither one prepared or even able to keep themselves from blowing for very long.

Bryan felt himself go over first, a caw ringing out into the air as his cock starting to pulse and thump as he shot his load into Chris's passage, filling him up with his thick seed. He kept thrusting a bit as he rode out his orgasm, grinding and banging at his deepest depth as he kept spraying his fluids into the human. That little bit of extra sensation was just enough for Chris, and he cried out as well, tensing down as his own load erupted onto the ground underneath him, his ass milking Bryan for everything that he could possibly give. They both stayed rigid for a long time, the high of their finales lingering with them for a while after they both went dry, clinging to each other until the very end.

Eventually they had to come down and part, reluctant as they were to do so. Finally Bryan pulled himself out of Chris's rear, a string of semen trailing behind and breaking off to drip against the human's rear. He was worn out from the romp, but still felt wonderfully relaxed and satisfied. “Goddamn...if that's sex, no wonder everyone's obsessed with it. That was fucking awesome."

“Yeah...I couldn't ever have imagined it being that good, even after everything I'd read…" Chris was laying on the ground, panting hard. “That was a lot better than everything else I've felt today…"

“Oh shit...I didn't hurt you more, did I?"

“No, not at all...I feel a lot less pained right now, even. Thank you so much...that was the best thing. You've been so good to me, I don't know how I can repay you…"

Bryan felt himself blush again. “I think you've done a good bit...I never would've known about this if you hadn't told me."

“Ah-heh...I'm sure you would've found out at some point. But it's something else to be able to do it…"

“Yeah, definitely." The two of them were quiet for a minute, not saying anything, just looking at each other. Finally Bryan spoke up again. “We should...probably head back, though. Someone's gotta be looking for us, and I'm going to have to show myself, no matter what."

“You're right...let's get dressed and get back in. Hopefully they won't notice the wetness in my shorts…" Chris's race reddened even more. “Not that I mind feeling it, but it'll be tough to explain without making someone unhappy."

“I sure hope I don't get you in trouble."

“I'll be okay. Erm...you don't have to, but...if you want to do this again...you know I'll be up for it."

“I may have to take you up on that. I don't know that I'll be able to stand going without that for so long...and you might be the only one I know who's into this shape. I don't know if I can do anything about it…"

“For your sake I hope so...but...I guess I'd prefer you that way, personally."

Bryan allowed himself a smile. “At least someone does...it'll make it a lot easier to swallow if that's how I end up. Come on, let me help you get back there, you're still hurt even if you're not feeling it."

“Yeah...thanks, Bryan. You're the best."

---

There was already a fair bit of commotion when they got back to the school. Bryan and Chris's parents were there, as were a couple of administrators; they'd heard one side of the story from some of the bullies that had been beating up on Chris, but there was no way they could've been prepared for Bryan's form. The shock and confusion on his parents' faces was a bit disconcerting to Bryan, but there wasn't much that could be done about it now. His statement to the vice-principal, on the other hand, he could control.

“...And that's when I took Chris out to the woods. I was worried he might be really badly hurt and I didn't want to leave myself open to being attacked again, so that's why I took him out there. I think he's mostly okay, though...he even took me being, well, like this...uh, pretty well."

The vice-principal nodded solemnly; he was keeping as even an expression as possible, but Bryan could tell he was freaked out a bit as well. “Okay...and you...erm, you didn't attack them at all, you say?"

“No, sir, I swear. They all came at me...I didn't do anything except defend myself. It was scary, like all of them came at me at once. I didn't want to hurt them, but I was scared of what they might do to me."

“Hm...well, I do know that they have a history of these kinds of things, and you've complained about them before. But...I'm sorry, I just...what on earth happened to you?"

“I don't know, exactly...I, uh, I bought this, uh, arm band, that was supposed to help with my...my bullying problem. It was something a friend mentioned, but he...he didn't, uh, tell me that this was what it was going to do. I mean...I guess it kind of worked, but I wouldn't have used it if I knew that was what was going to happen. And I know I'm gonna get a lot of weird looks and everything...I don't know if I can do anything about it, though."

No word from the vice-principal right away; Bryan had to sit uncomfortably for a bit before he finally spoke again. “Okay...well, I know you were defending yourself, but the school's very strict about fighting. I'm going to have to give you a three-day suspension, out of school." Bryan's eyes opened wide, and he was about to protest when the vice-principal leaned in towards him. “Normally, I'd waive a suspension for someone who was only defending himself...but I think a few days to figure out your situation without added distractions would be useful for you. I can't say I've ever gone through something like that, but I can see how radical a change it is...I don't think we're really equipped to handle something like that, so I think you should get in touch with whoever sold you that thing and see what they have to say."

Bryan sighed and nodded. “I understand, sir...that's what I was gonna do. I don't know if I can really change it at this point, but they'll know better than I would."

“Indeed. All right, that's all I have. I, ah, do wish you luck...if you're forced to stay like that, we'll do our best to make sure you're...properly accommodated, however that might be. I can't promise that other students will be...at ease with it, though."

It was about the best he could hope for, and he didn't really feel like arguing anyway. “I know...thank you, sir."

---

Going back on the computer that night felt weird, after everything that had happened during the day. He almost didn't want to, but he needed some kind of normalcy, especially as abnormal as he was now.

His parents seemed to understand that. It was hard to gauge how they felt...enough time talking with him about it seemed to convince them that he was still their son, just with a weird new look - one that may or may not stick, even. And their reactions were a bit softer when they found out that the change wasn't actually intentional and that he was just trying to find a way to stop being harassed at school; he figured there were worse things that could happen, like him going to find a gun or something. It was clear they weren't happy about it but they still accepted him, and they would help him find out what he could about the transformation and see if it could be undone.

Going online felt like a safe haven. No one had to see him, no one had to know he'd changed...at least, not until he was ready to reveal it. And he wasn't sure when that would be, or even if...if this was something reversible, he might not say anything at all. If it wasn't...well, he'd have to find out whether they'd be okay with it or not. There were ways of testing that, he was already thinking of them. Which, in a way, spoke quite a bit about what he thought his prospects were.

If I really thought I would be able to go back, I wouldn't be spending so much time preparing for the opposite, would I?

He opened his chat program, and suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. Rion was online...in all that had happened, he hadn't even really thought about him, but he was the whole reason this had happened. Suddenly the only thing on his mind was talking with him and getting information. Furiously he typed, barely keeping his new claws from marring the keys. [Rion! I need to talk to you, right now! What the hell was that armband supposed to do?!]

It was barely seconds before he got the return message. [Did you use it?]

[Yeah, I used it! And now I'm freaking out!]

The reply was slower this time. [What did you turn into?]

Bryan needed a full minute to process that sentence. He...that...no, he...he didn't… Slowly he started typing again. [A crow. You knew that would happen?]

[Yes.] He felt a churning in his gut, and started typing, but the messages kept coming before he could respond. [I'm sorry.] [It wasn't a friend who told me about it, I learned about it myself.]

Before Bryan could formulate a response, his messenger beeped. He was getting a video call...from Rion. That startled him. Rion had told him right out early on that he wasn't comfortable with video calls. Shakily, he clicked to answer it, accepting the video function on his own; it wasn't as if Rion didn't know what had happened to him.

But he wasn't prepared for what popped up on the screen. It wasn't a human face...the person on the other side had the head of a tiger, orange and black, as real as it could possibly look, too real to be a costume or something like that. It meshed seamlessly with the fur down his shoulders and upper chest… “R-rion? Is...that you?"

“Yeah." Rion sounded a bit awkward, his voice deeper than his size would suggest - he didn't look like he was that much bigger than Bryan was in his new body. “I'm sorry I didn't warn you...I thought you'd turn it down if you knew what it was, and I was worried about how you were feeling...and I guess I was hoping you'd go for it and I'd have another one to relate to. That was selfish of me."

Bryan didn't really know how to react to that one. “What...what happened to you?"

“Well...I mean, apart from pretending it was someone else, it was pretty much what I said. The bullies were awful...I couldn't take it anymore. Then I learned about one of these things...I guess I knew more about what it was beforehand, but I didn't...you know, believe it. But I tried it out...went to bed with it on, woke up looking like a tiger. I mean, I was terrified at first, I did not want to go to school like that, but...I mean, who would believe me if I tried to call in with that excuse? So I went, and there was kind of a fuss...parents flipped when they heard about it, of course...but after the initial hoopla, things got better. I mean, I'm stronger and faster than I was before, enough that people can't push me around anymore. I'm still me, I mean, I don't suddenly have the urge to chase after gazelle or anything, it's just a change in how I look...and to be honest, I kinda grew to like it. I get weird looks, but people don't really tease me or anything, I guess they don't know what to make of me. So it really did solve my bullying problem."

It was still hard for Bryan to believe. “I...guess that's why you didn't want to do video calls. You always thought someone might react badly…"

“Yeah...when it's something like school, they kinda get used to it too. I'm the weird kid, but they know who I am, so they kinda stopped caring after a while. That'll probably happen to you, too. The bullies will think twice if they have to go up against you, though."

“They...kinda already did…" He recounted his encounter with them earlier that day, trying to skirt around his later stuff with Chris. Rion was smiling in relief when he was done.

“That's great! They'll definitely avoid you now...I mean, not only would they be drawing way more attention, but they don't like targets that can fight back, you know?"

“I guess...I didn't want to hurt them, it was just...automatic, I was defending myself…"

“Yeah, that's one of the perks. I guess they wanted to give you something in exchange for not being able to undo it. Um...I, uh...c-can I ask you something? After you changed, did you...um...have any other r-reactions?"

Bryan swallowed hard; suddenly the room felt very hot. “I, uh...there was this...just this...you know...a thing that...uh, happens with...you know, guys…"

“Oh, oh, okay...y-yeah, that's good to hear, I thought that I'd just gone weird...I guess that's part of it…" Again Rion sounded relieved to hear the response. “That was super embarrassing...not the way I wanted to wake up...it only got that way right after the change, though, it's never been like that since, I mean...I guess it feels a bit more...you know...but nothing like that...um, yeah, I won't talk about that anymore."

“Thanks, it feels kinda weird." He was just glad not to have to recount his actual encounter with Chris, maybe sometime but he wasn't ready for that yet. “Um, Rion...you kinda...knew about the product, didn't you?"

“I guess...more than most people do, it's...hard to find info on it."

“Are there lots of...you know...types?"

“...Yeah, there are, I don't know how many exactly…"

“Can I...ask? Why a crow?"

“Well, uh...they're like, one of the most intelligent non-human animals there is...I just...thought it was appropriate for you. You're super smart, it seems like you know everything...it made sense to me at the time."

Bryan felt himself flush a bit, and was suddenly glad that his dark feathers wouldn't show that. It felt...oddly rewarding, hearing the reason, and somehow made him feel a little more comfortable with his altered form. “Ah...er, thanks...um, do you know if...I guess, is it something that can be, uh, undone or anything? I just...I guess I think it's kinda cool, but I'm not sure everyone would feel...the same way, you know?"

Rion shook his head. “I don't think so...we looked up the company and called them up, but all they said was that nothing they had could undo the process. It changes you really deeply, and they don't really have anything to reverse it. They're...weird, I get kind of the feeling that they don't care about that all that much."

Again it was strange, Bryan didn't feel as disappointed about that news as he thought he would. Maybe just because he'd already kind of figured that was the case... “I'll try getting in touch with them anyway...maybe something's changed since you had your thing."

“I can get you the number, the one they give on the product isn't really the people you need to talk to about it. I'm really sorry I hid it from you, Bryan...that wasn't right of me. I don't know what I was thinking, but it wasn't right."

“It's...it's okay, Rion. Honestly...the more I think about it, I'm not even sure I wouldn't have done it if I'd known. The way they treated me, I just...I might've been desperate enough anyway. But what's done is done...and I guess it could be a lot worse." He paused for a moment. “Do you...know of any others?"

“I...maybe?" Rion sounded hesitant. “I...when I first changed, I tried looking some stuff up...I saw a couple stories but I didn't know any of them personally, and I think they were older. But...I guess, there's a couple people I talk to online, they...maybe I'm just being stupid here, but they sound like they're not totally human...I've never asked and they don't know about me either, but...it might not just be us."

“Maybe we should find out. They might...if we all know we're not alone, it might make things easier. And maybe my parents will be less freaked out if they know there are others out there too."

“Okay, I'll see if I can find out...if they are, I'll make sure they get in touch with you. Um, I have to go now...I probably shouldn't even be on this late, but I had to...you know, see you, and show you the truth."

“Yeah...thanks, Rion. I'll...uh, I'll talk to you again soon." The image of the tiger disappeared, and suddenly Bryan didn't feel like doing much more of anything. The thought of others weighed on his mind as he put his computer to sleep and laid down in bed. It was an odd bit of comfort to him against the idea of being forever altered like this.

I may have to get used to it...but maybe I won't have to do it alone.