FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

This vignette was written for Catprog as part of my Patreon request days for June. It contains transformation and gender shifting involving a group of consenting adults!

[center][b][u]Practical Solutions[/u][/b][/center]

For years, even after more strict anti-poaching laws were put into place and actively enforced, the wild snow leopard population was still in jeopardy. Their numbers were just so low that even now, given at least a small chance to rebuild their population, there weren't enough of them to guarantee long term sustainable growth. Hell, in some cases there simply weren't enough of them to find one another, and when they did a painful amount of the time it was two males coming into conflict as they roamed in search of a mate.

That was why Vinod and a group of a dozen or so others had been trekking for weeks now, out into the wilds of the Himalayan foothills. Countless scientists and thinkers from around the world had proposed solutions to save the noble snow leopards from extinction, but even their most worthwhile plans needed something more before they could work. Namely, they needed more snow leopards. Finally, after almost a month of travelling slowly by foot in order to remain off the radar of any local people or international agencies who might think them poachers and try to force them to leave, they were where they needed to be. A British woman, Samantha, was the first to separate from the group. Vinod hugged her as did all the others, and even as they walked away, they could already see her sitting upon a large rock, slowly taking off her clothes in preparation for what was to come soon after.

From that point onward, they said farewell to a member of their group every day. Bohdi parted ways from the group next, tearfully kissing Mee Noi deeply as they clung to one another, having grown very, [i]very[/i] close this past month, and promising that they would try to find each other again, if they possessed even a shred of their former selves. The next day Mee Noi himself was left behind, then Jacob, then Amira, then Grace, then Muhammed, the group dwindling one by one until only Vinod himself and Sasha remained. Sasha's grasp of Hindi wasn't the best, but thankfully they both spoke English as a second language so that last day wasn't too quiet.

They walked hand in hand for most of it, and when night fell and they realised this was the last night either of them would spend with another human, it didn't matter that they hadn't become overly close as some of the others had during their journey. They shared a tent that night, and slept little as they wrung from one another every last drop of humanity and joy they could bear.

In the morning, Vinod kissed Sasha deeply without a word, and did not even try to pack up his gear before leaving. He left the tent, his food and water bottles, even his clothes behind, and strode onward into the wilds.

It was cold, for even the Himalayan foothills were still vastly higher in altitude than the agriculture rich flood-plains on which Vinod had been raised. His deep brown skin prickled with gooseflesh, and he shivered as he walked on, and on, and on all alone throughout the day.

At some point though, without truly recognising when or why, Vinod stopped shivering. He only really noticed that much later in the day, when as the sun was setting he instinctively ran his hands over his arms to warm himself up, only to notice two things in tandem. Firstly, he wasn't actually that cold at all. And second... rather than running his hands over mostly smooth flesh with the occasional dark hair protruding from the upper portions of his arms, he could feel a soft coat of lush, downy fur covering his limbs. He looked down at his arms, having been so focused on his forward progress that his eyes had scarcely left the horizon since leaving Sasha that morning, and groaned in wonder as upon them he saw rich silvery grey and white fur. He looked at his hands, and saw his palms protruding as pink fleshy pads, with yet more fur covering his fingers and his nails elongating into more pointed claws.

"Oh..."

He murmured simply in wonder, looking around himself, shrugging as he realised there really was no right or wrong place, and simply stopping right there, shuffling and settling down in his knees in the tall, wiry grass. Vinod breathed deeply as he closed his eyes, and actively opened himself up to what he knew was happening. The magic was ancient and complex, but its trigger was simple. The spell had been cast upon all of them, not just their dozen, but over two hundred of them at the last conclave. It had been engrained with a trigger however, meaning that it would not take effect until they were a certain distance away from anyone else under the effect of the same spell. Thus as they had left behind one person each day, they had done so knowing that the further they got from their companion, the more likely it was that their change would begin.

And now, just as somewhere out there Sasha too was probably changing, or perhaps had already finished her transformation, Vinod was beginning his in earnest.

He felt his face twisting, no cracking of bone or the slightest pain as a muzzle burst forth from his lips and his ears slid upward to the top of his head. The magic ensured it was painless, like shifting the features of a body made in malleable clay. He gasped, and laughed as he felt a tail burst from just above his backside, and reached around to touch it, to stroke it as fresh fur sprouted in rapid real-time from the previously skin-toned flesh. Vinod wished he had a mirror, then glanced up and recalled seeing a dip in the terrain that might have been the cut of a stream up ahead. He pulled himself to his feet, legs now angled differently and feet bearing fur, pads and clawed toes of their own. He moved forward, and sure enough just a couple of minutes later found himself falling to his knees and peering down into the crystal clear, evening sun-lit water of this mountain meltwater stream.

He saw his reflection, and grinned a toothy grin. A bipedal, semi-humanoid snow leopard grinned back at him, and for a moment... just a moment though, Vinod understood what furries saw in that particular aesthetic. Even if he had wanted to linger somewhat vainly though, to continue to admire his current anthro form, the magic within him had other ideas. Within minutes his form was far less human than it had been, Vinod falling to all fours not because it hurt to try and stand, but because it simply felt like a much more comfortable, natural way to hold himself. He stretched, and purred as he felt his internal organs, his musculature, every aspect of his being re-orienting itself. His eyes grew blurry for a moment, then sharpened once again to a degree that Vinod had never known possible in his human form.

Not long after those more fundamental changes to his physiology, Vinod's mind began to shift its perception of things too. It became harder and harder for him to focus objectively on understanding what was happening here. He tried to think back on some things from his past, and found everything rather hazy not as though he couldn't remember them, but like he now somehow lacked the context to interpret what those various memories meant. Those changes and blocks in understanding grew more and more fundamental until he was struggling to form coherent thoughts at all. If there was one last fully clear, human thought which Vinod managed to recognise and understand though, it was probably him considering the fact that he was still thinking of himself in male terms, though he had long since felt those parts of his anatomy melt away to provide what it was that nature needed. Not just more snow leopards, but new females of the species, capable of bearing a new generation.

Beyond that, Vinod didn't think anything more in human terms, because beyond that moment, there was nothing human left of them.

The spell had done its job, and now, just as had been the case for each of Vinod's travelling companions over the last couple of weeks, the person they had been was no more. Not ripped away from the world, but with their body, their spirit freely given over to the magic, to nature, and to give a second chance to a species which humankind had brought to this state of near extinction, and which it was their responsibility to bring back.

The snow leopard stretched, yawned, and bent her head down to lap at the water from the stream. She raised her head, looked around, and a few moments later trotted off in the direction of some nearby rocks. This grassy area was too exposed for her liking. She was tired, and wanted to sleep. To rest her weary body so that tomorrow she could continue doing what she had no doubt been doing today. Seeking out some fresh territory in which she could live, and perhaps within it a male of her kind, who could provide her with the litter of cubs which she somehow not only [i]wanted[/i], but knew on a deep and primal level that it was her destiny to bear.

By Jeeves

Like my stories? Want access to a whole host of writing weeks or even months before it appears on other sites as well as exclusive request days to get stuff written for yourself? Consider supporting me on patreon with rewards from as low as $5 per month! https://www.patreon.com/jeevesroo :D