FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The old Nissan had seen better days, but it was still functional, even if the terrain was not in his favor. It left behind a cloud of dust even when the driver, a man in his twenties, lowered the speed. The closed windows didn’t stop the smell of dust to leak into the vehicle. But the driver nor the passenger didn’t complain. At that point, all they wanted was to arrive and stretch their legs after the 6 hours-long journey.

Painted in red, it was hard to miss as it drove the road dividing the wheat fields that, from their perspective, extended into infinity. For a moment, one of his passengers, a black guy sitting in the back, thought they wouldn’t get out and remembered a horror movie with a similar plot. He wondered if his friends would catch the reference, but decided not to say it, as none of them were into horror movies as much as he was.

With the radio off, the only sound they heard was the rubber rolling over dirt, throwing small rocks against the car. Most of the stations were country music, and none of them had a liking for it. The signal on their cellphones wasn’t strong enough to rely on that either.

“I swear, these fields are endless,” the black guy in the back finally commented.

“We’re almost there. I swear it looks bigger than what really is. It’s not the only farm around here,” the driver replied, a young Latino man with a bad shaved beard. He took a moment to unbutton his flower-printed orange shirt, giving the cold air from the A/C free access to his bare chest.

“This is the third time you said that,” the copilot, the only beefy member of the group mentioned.

“And it’s the last one. Trust me.”

Like magic, the group glimpsed a house at the end of the path. The driver’s friends looked at it as a castaway finding an island—he, on the other hand, made sure his smug smile was visible to both of them.

“Told ya. I know this path like the palm of my hand,” he said, leaving one hand on the wheel.

“I thought you said you haven’t come in years,” the black guy said.

“Yes, and I still remember it after living here most of my childhood summers.”

“Man, what a waste of time.”

“Huh, it wasn’t that bad. You really don’t think too much about it when you’re a kid. But I developed other interests at high school and being here wasn’t one of those.”

Moments later, the Nissan made it out of the wheat fields. It parked in front of the two-story house, from which an old man was walking down the porch. Despite his age, he still walked and waved at them with the energy of a man in his late forties. The denim overall over his white shirt was covered in dust and oil. His white beard looked bigger and more magnificent than in his memories. The only thing that revealed his age was the damage to his brown skin done by the sun.

The old man put down his glasses to clean them quickly as the group gets out of the vehicle. When the driver approached, he greeted him with a wide smile and open arms.

“Lucas, my boy,” he said with a voice that would have made any smoker proud.

“It’s good to see you, grandpa.”

Both shared a long hug. His grandfather patted him on the back twice hard enough to make it sound. Even with how much he worked the land, Lucas had a hard time believing a man in his late sixties could be that strong.

After he let him go, Lucas walked back and extended an arm to his friends, who were standing behind him, trying not to act like the strangers they were.

“These are the friends I told you about. Harry and Jacob,” Lucas said, pointing at the black guy and the beefy one respectively.

Harry winked and waved his hand. The short blue pants and loose tank top he picked up that morning were an excellent choice to fight the burning sun above them. The cap hid his messy pink-dyed hair, although some of it was visible from the sides. The years of playing basketball in his yard rewarded him with excellent legs, a completely different story for the rest of his body.

Jacob, on the other hand, was a vivid example that appearance can fool anyone. The caucasian boy with a closed beard had the face of a man who just kicked someone’s ass when in reality he was a cat person who took the gym as therapy after a bad breakup. The denim jeans and black shirt reflected the dedication he put to his muscles.

“Nice to meet you, boys. Lucas said you were eager to know more about the farm.”

“Well, eager might be an exaggeration,” Harry shrugged.

“Oh, nonsense. It’s good to know there are boys still interested in farming out there,” the old man shook his hand in the air to dismiss the comment.

“Told you there are even video games about it. You should give it a try one day,” Lucas mentioned.

“Why would I play something that I do every day? By the way, you can call me Saul. I don’t like being called sir or mister.”

“He means it,” Lucas winked at both of his friends.

“If I recall correctly, you’re here for… homework?” Saul asked the group, giving him a confusing look as if he was expecting them to correct him.

“It’s for our thesis. We need to do some fieldwork to proceed,” Lucas was the first one to talk. The other two were too afraid to tell him. Even with his welcoming appearance, Saul emanated the aura of a sleeping beast.

“More hands are always welcome, especially if it’s free,” a loud laugh followed the comment. The old man patted his belly twice before turning back to the house. “Come on in, guys. You must be hungry.”

“Oh, you bet,” Harry said. He and Jacob followed Saul into the house, leaving Lucas alone for a moment.

With both hands on his hips, Lucas took a good look at the wooden house. The white and blue painting looked fresh, but the wood was starting to show its age. Lucas spent a lot of good moments at that house, playing hide and seek with his cousins and helping grandma with dinner. Just the front triggered so many memories in him. But his smile faded when he reached one in particular. As he turned to his left, he noticed the old abandoned barn, the only place his grandfather had forbidden him to enter. He still remembered the tone of his voice, the only time he actually scared him.

He discarded the thought and walked into the house, with the sound of the wood creaking under his weight as a welcome. The living room was right at the entrance. It didn’t surprise Lucas to see most of the furniture gone. Even the marks on the ground and walls left by what once was there had disappeared. There was just a large red sofa and an old TV, some framed pictures on the walls and the middle table. It was a sad sight when compared to how Lucas remembered the house. He ran a finger over the middle table, leaving a line in the layer of dust.

Everyone was in the kitchen, through the first door of the hallway. The kitchen was not so different from the living room. Harry and Jacob were sitting on the dining table his grandfather made decades ago. Despite not having the skill, he still made a pretty good job on it. The old man was frying some eggs and bacon, and it was starting to smell good.

“Need any help, grandpa?” Lucas asked.

“I’m fine, kiddo. Don’t you worry. I was telling your friends here I’m all alone here.”

“I wouldn’t stand that, I need some company,” Jacob interrupted.

“I don’t know, sounds like a dream to me,” Harry followed.

“Well, he does have some workers—can’t work the farm on his own—, but yes, he lives alone,” Lucas sat next to Harry.

“I couldn’t leave the farm. Your grandmother and I built it. This is our life.”

“I see you redecorate the living room,” Lucas continued.

“There’s so much to do I can’t clean the house, and I didn’t want your grandmother’s stuff to collect dust here. Even now I still can’t clean the house.”

“We could help if you want. It’s not an issue for us,” Lucas suggested.

“Yeah, it’s the least we can do,” Jacob added. He was licking his lips already, trapped by the delicious smell of the bacon.

“Don’t worry, kids. If you’re gonna help me, I prefer you do it out there,” Saul pointed with the spatula at the wheat fields visible through the window. “We have a long day ahead.”

The trio of friends shared a look and a smile.

“And what’s your thesis about?” Saul asked moments later.

“We’re studying the effects new pesticides have on farmers. We checked already with other farms, but none of them have been working as long as you,” Lucas explained as he stood up to help him with the plates.

“I’ve been using glyphosate for the last 40 years and I’m as healthy as you can be,” the old man said, flexing his arms to the boys. “But I heard some neighbors are looking for alternatives.”

“We believe new generations of farmers might not be used to the effects of new pesticides. A farmer who has dedicated his life to it would be an excellent comparison,” Harry was saying. Distracted as he was, he didn’t notice Jacob taking his plate.

“And some field work would help us too. I’m a little rusty,” Lucas whispered.

“Let’s eat for now and then I’ll be happy to help you with anything you need,” Saul gave his grandson a plate with crispy bacon and sunny eggs, accompanied by a cheerful smile.

While they eat, Saul explained to them what they had to do for the day and gave them some pieces of advice. They questioned what they needed for their thesis, then moved on to other things. The quick food became a two-hour-long chat that ruined Saul’s schedule, something he didn’t care too much about it since “a good talk is above everything”.

After that, they helped him with his work to finish it quickly. The rest of the workers were happy with the extra help and provided them with more advice of their own—some similar to what Saul had already told them, others completely different. They were somehow used to working under those conditions, but with most of their time spent in a classroom, the three of them—even Jacob—had problems following their pace.

By the end of the day, they were a complete mess of dirt, oil, and sweat, with most of his body sore—even areas they weren’t aware of.

“God I swear they made us do all of that on purpose,” Harry babbled as he dragged his feet back to the house. Even talking required a huge effort from him.

“You’re city boys. What were you expecting?” Saul, who was walking behind them, questioned with a laugh.

“Mercy, for starters,” Jacob answered.

“Why do I have the feeling they were being merciful?” Lucas asked.

“Oh, they were. Believe it could have been worse,” Saul moved forward, patting Lucas on the back. “But this earned you a cold beer. Maybe two. We’ll see.”

The old man continued walking, mocking them with another loud and sick laugh. The three of them looked at him, jealous and angry to see him act normally after all the work they did—he included. It wasn’t normal for a man of his age to have that much energy.

A couple of hours later, and after a good dinner, beers, and a refreshing bath, Lucas walked into the guest room with a towel around his hips—and his underwear under it. Harry and Jacob were in his underwear, resting on their sleeping bags.

“I’m starting to have second doubts about… my entire career,” Jacob mentioned while he did some stretches to put his bones back where they belonged.

“At least we confirmed those muscles are for show,” laying facedown, Harry looked like a talking corpse.

“Well, we can’t leave now. We promised to help him all week,” the other two grunted at Lucas’ comment. “Stop crying. It’s not gonna be like this tomorrow. We just need to get used to it.”

“Easier said than done,” Harry stood up with a jump that made Lucas question how tired he really was. “We’re not made for this type of job. And it’s not what we are aspiring to, period.”

“You’re not usually this grumpy,” Lucas pointed out, giggling. Even Jacob was trying not to laugh at that point.

“I just miss my bed, that’s all,” Harry quickly confessed, dropping his shoulders as much as he could.

“It’s just one week, guys. And after that, we’re done. It’s just us, the car, and Las Vegas, just as we planned.”

“Going on vacations before finishing our thesis doesn’t sound very responsible from us,” Jacob had finished stretching. Lucas couldn’t say if what he saw on his body was water from his shower or sweat.

“This is our last chance to make stupid choices before life swallows us in, and I wanna snort cocaine from a hooker’s ass,” Harry stood next to the window, giving Jacob a smug smile.

“Man, you have your priorities in order.”

“And speaking of stupid choices, what’s with that old barn?”

Three seconds later, the group was looking together at the abandoned building, conveniently visible from their room. Lucas immediately remembered his grandfather’s warning and that angry expression on his face. Nothing made him act that way but the mention of the old barn. He, however, decided not to say anything about it.

“It’s just a barn. There’s nothing else to say about it,” he replied.

“I mean, I see it’s a barn. But why isn’t he using it?”

“It looks old,” Jacob said.

“Uh, yes, that’s what I said,” Harry rolled his eyes, even when no one saw him. “But why is it there? Shouldn’t he… I don’t know… demolish it?”

“Ah… he never talked about it. He never let us walk in,” Lucas shrugged.

“Maybe he has something cool inside. Drugs? Weapons?” Harry poked his head through the window to have a better look at the barn.

“Or maybe the place is a wreck and he didn’t want an accident to happen,” Lucas suggested after sitting back on his bed.

“Another reason to demolish it,” Jacob said with a frown.

“Don’t encourage him,” with both hands over the bed, Lucas let out a long sigh before looking back at them. “It has been off limits since I was a kid. Never knew why.”

“But you’d been curious,” Harry said, pressing his finger against Lucas’ chest.

“Well, yes. Me and my cousins thought a monster lived there. I mean, what other reason would he have to react so furious whenever we mentioned it? Then we grew and stopped caring about it. And you should too!” Lucas explained as the other two quickly dressed in the same dirty clothes they wore that day. “It’s just a barn.”

“Then there won’t be a problem if we take a look.”

Jacob nodded. Both had the smile of a kid ready to get into trouble, and Lucas knew there wasn’t much he could do to stop them. One way or another, he always let them drag him into whatever weird scheme they had in mind. So, with a regretful sigh, he dressed up too and followed them out of the room.

Harry and Jacob tiptoed their way through the hallway, while Lucas just walked as always. Both waved their hands in a panic to stop him, to which he replied by standing next to his grandfather’s door and opening it. For an instant, it sound like a bear was trapped in that room.

“He’s NOT gonna wake up. Trust me.”

They peeked into his room. Laying on the plain queen-size mattress, Saul snorted with the tranquility of a man who knew there was no one he could bother.

“That’s so no healthy,” Harry said.

“No safe either,” Jacob added.

“I know. It’s so easy for someone to sneak in and yet nothing has ever happened,” Lucas closed the door and continued his way down the stairs. “I remember my grandma saying the farm was blessed or something like that. Grandpa isn’t much of a believer. I prefer to think some of his workers like to keep an eye for him.”

“That’s more believable,” Jacob said.

The group left the house and walked towards the barn. The moonlight illuminated their path, and the old building started to take shape as they were closer. The 14-feet-height barn was in very bad shape. Most of its red paint had fallen, and the wood had acquired a grayish tone instead. The top hinges of one of the doors had broken over the years and it was now dangerously leaning forward. Some of the front tables on the top had fallen too, leaving enough room to look inside.

As they got closer, the three of them experienced a shiver, an unconscious warning from their bodies that something was wrong with that place. The hair on their napes bristled, and a chill breeze snuck in and ran down their spines. The barn emanated an eerie aura. That decrepit building was a vessel for negative energies, and it had been holding them for years. Decades, even. Suddenly, walking in sounds like a bad idea. But the gravity that their curiosity exerted stopped them from retreating. It was already late for that.

The air inside was humid. When they looked up, they found most of the roof had fallen after years without maintenance and harsh weather. The light coming through wasn’t enough to illuminate everything, but it did let them see the place acted as a stable a long time ago. Using their cellphone lanterns, the trio started to explore the barn, taking small and careful steps, afraid that the slightest sound could wake up something.

Next to the stairs, Harry found a pile of boxes and elbowed the others to tell them. Lucas tried to tell them to leave in a mutter, but none of them paid attention to their lips, and he had no other choice but to follow them.

The oppressive ambient receded and their courage and confidence increased with each step they took. Even Lucas was convinced there was no beast hidden within the shadows, but his fear over the ruined roof over their heads was still present. He wanted to say earlier that he found no reason to demolish something that would fall on its own eventually, and that was now the only possibility in his head.

“Reminds me of my attic,” Jacob said when they got closer to the boxes. He was the first one who gathered the courage to speak and even then did it quietly.

“Except I don’t expect to find porn in here,” Harry replied.

Each of them chuckled at the comment. They really wanted to lower the tension in the air. It was a mere barn after all. A barn with an unnerving aura, a hideout proper of a serial killer. But a barn at the end of the day.

Squatted down next to the boxes, they rummaged through their content. They did it with trembling hands at first, afraid of what the old man might have hidden in them. Guns? Drugs? The belongings of missing people? Human parts? The ideas crossing their heads were ridiculous. It was the aura coming from the barn that made them think of all of that. But once they opened the boxes, it took them 5 seconds to realize the obvious.

“Huh, it’s my grandma’s stuff,” Lucas said, taking a framed picture of her from the top. It was a black and white picture from when she was younger, dressed in overalls and standing on the porch. He recognized the picture because she once told him it was taken days after they finished building the house. “I think he left it all here.”

“The water is gonna ruin most of these things,” Jacob said after taking one of the boxes that already felt moist.

“Everyone deals with grief in their own way. He probably doesn’t feel ok with keeping all this stuff in the house,” Harry replied, and the two of them started a discussion that finally overcame the fear they had at the beginning.

Lucas decided to let them be and continued looking through his grandmother’s belongings. It was good to look at her pictures and the poems she wrote. He felt sorry for the notebooks already ruined, thinking of how much work and talent was disappearing through his fingers. But all of that was nothing but ancient history now.

Harry and Jacob were still arguing when he approached the stairs. Lucas gave them a look, asking himself again why he always let them drag him into that kind of trouble, and decided to put an end to it.

“They didn’t love each other, you know? It was an arranged marriage and they went on with it,” he revealed before going up the stairs.

His friends shared a concerned look, and it looked like everything had gone back to normal. Until Harry talked again.

“Man, it sucks having your life controlled like that.”

“It was a common thing to do back then. Children were nothing but an exchange coin to maintain good relations between families,” Jacob added.

“Yeah, but it’s hard to believe that kind of things happening in our country.”

“It’s not exclusive to third-world countries or religions. It might surprise you to know how common that was back then.”

And another discussion started. Lucas only rolled his eyes and continued moving up to the loft.

Much to his surprise, the stairs handled well, and the tables were still strong. He had an excellent view of the barn from there, and it made him question why his grandfather was so adamant about letting him go in. Why yes, it did look like crap, the structure was in a good shape. Hell, they could even repair it and make it functional again. Lucas smiled over the idea, wondering how his grandfather would react if he told him about it.

When he approached the window, something caught his attention. Over a pile of hay was a small white mask. Shaped like an oval and with two long ears on top, it had two red markings where the eyes were supposed to be, and one long red stripe in the middle. Painted in the same tone, the smile went all over the edge of the lower half. At first, he found it cute and childish, but the more Lucas inspected the mask, the more sinister it started to look.

The reason why he tried the mask eluded him. By the time he wondered if that was a good idea, his hand was holding the piece of plastic against his face. Besides not seeing anything, nothing special happened, and he felt like an idiot for trying it. But it was when he put the mask down that something did happen.

Lucas had a good view of the wheat fields from there. So he had an excellent view of the traces left by whatever was running through the field. He squinted at first, refusing to believe that someone or something could move that fast. Then his eyes went wide open when he saw it moving towards him.

Lucas dropped the mask the moment a gust of wind hit the barn. He threw himself to the ground and evaded just in time the wave of wheat coming through the window. He caught a glimpse of the mask being pulled and disappearing among the wheat. He heard his friends calling for him downstairs, but his words drowned in the gusts of wind above his head. When Lucas took a peek at the barn, he found the cloud of wheat circling in the middle of it, moving faster and faster as it compacted until it made a perfect ball. Then, it exploded…

It took some seconds for the view to clear, but Lucas was already terrified of what he was watching. Floating in the middle of the barn was a creature made entirely of wheat. Similar to a fox, but with nine long tails instead of one, and on the tip of each one of them was a mask similar to the one Lucas picked up and that was now acting as the fox’s face. The only difference was their colors. Blue. Green. Yellow. Pink. Black. Purple. Brown. Orange. And the last one was completely white. And from their eyes, a strange substance was dripping. The fox moved one paw towards his face, and Lucas heard loud and clear a giggle.

“Well, well, well, it looks like some people can’t stay out of trouble.”

It spoke. Whatever that thing was, it just spoke! Lucas crawled and hid under the shadows to have a better look at the creature. His high-pitched voice had a relaxing and trickster tone on it. He didn’t seem surprised to exist, as if he had been expecting that moment to happen. His eyes were fixated on the ground, where Lucas believed Harry and Jacob were. And while he couldn’t see his real face, he was sure the fox was smiling under that mask, mimicking the same twisted smile on the piece of plastic.

His friends below were speechless, just like him. They all saw the fox walk normally in the air. His 9 tails moved with grace and elegance, following the pace of his walking. Up and down, the 9 masks stared with their dead expressions at the two men standing under the loft.

“But you look different from what I’m used to find around here. You lack the spirit. And your bodies look fragile. Oh, but all of that can be easily fixed.”

The fox continued talking as it moved to ground level. Lucas approached the edge to have a better view, now sure that the creature have seen him. From there, he tried his best to study the beast. His sanity was quickly disappearing under the presence of a beast that defied all logic. The fox’s body was a perfect recreation of a real one. Even the way it walked and stood obeyed the natural motion of the creature. But it was made of wheat, and that was not possible. Even some spikes and leaves came out of his body. Was he entirely made of wheat or was it a cover for something more sinister? The idea of living flesh hidden under all of that terrified him.

“It’s rude to enter somewhere where you haven’t been invited to. And I’m very sure none of you is supposed to be here.”

“W-w-w-we’re leaving now, right Henry?” A horrified Jacob stuttered.

“Yes! Yes! We’re leaving right now!” Henry replied in the same tone.

“Oh, but I believe it’s too late for that. And we are about to have some fun!”

Lucas saw his friends take a gamble and ran towards the exit, even if that meant running next to the fox. The creature, however, didn’t react immediately. He only giggled again in that male voice, pressing a paw against his face. Maybe Harry and Jacob believed they were safe, but Lucas, seeing that expression, recognized the mock in which his friends had fallen.

Two of his tails jumped and grew in length as they drew an arc in the air, ending right in front of the running men. Both stop abruptly, caught in the sinister expression those masks held. They wobbled shortly before the fox pressed the masks against their faces. In an instant, both friends were raised in the air by the tails, with the wheat covering their heads completely.

Lucas shut himself up, afraid that even a gasp could attract the creature’s attention. All he could do was watch how his friends screamed and struggled to get free from the fox’s grasp as the creature pulled them closer.

“Now, now, it’s also rude to leave a party early. We’re just about to have some fun.”

As soon as the fox finished those words, Lucas saw a strange liquid running down his friends’ bodies. One was purple. The other was orange. Both matched the color of the mask the fox put into them. From that distance, it looked like some kind of gel or slime. Lucas noticed the other mask continued “crying” that liquid too, and all matched their color.

With each passing second, the line between logic and fantasy disappeared, and Lucas was more convinced that he was dreaming. Only a dream could explain what was going on. Because the slime, instead of just rolling down their bodies, spread all over their shoulders and went down their arms, covering them completely. Then the slime did the same with the rest of their bodies. And as the strange liquid spread out, the screams and struggle stopped, until just their legs kicked weakly in the air.

Lucas pinched his arm once… twice… thrice. It didn’t wake him up. He felt the pain of his nail piercing the skin telling him it was real. That was happening. A monster was covering his friends in slime and there was nothing he could do about it. And in the middle of the panic, his brain finally came up with the name of that creature, one that got buried under fear and disbelief.

“Good boys. You’re doing an excellent job,” the kitsune began to speak again. “Now, focus. This isn’t painful. This is glorious. You are ascending. Look into the mask and find your true self. The one being you’ve been wanting to be all your life. Think of it, of the creature you love the most. Think of their features. Imagine their shape. Feel them. Smell them. Take those features and put them into your body. Make them your very own scent.”

For a moment, none of them uttered a sound. But then, Lucas heard a soft moan. Then another. And another one. And each one became louder and louder.

“Yes. Good. You’re doing excellent. Leave those weak human bodies behind. Turn your fragile skin into the disguise that would cover your real shape. Let the beasts within you raise, strong and magnificent as they are meant to be. And I shall live within yourselves as Master and Guardian. And you will be my loyal subjects.”

What came after was another step down into his living nightmare. Completely covered in the slime, Lucas saw bubbles appearing and popping all over their bodies, but as their number increased and they continued bursting, their bodies became bigger too. And their moans became louder. And louder. Lucas saw them there, hanging from the kitsune’s tails, and turning into something else.

Jacob became fatter, or that’s how it looked at first. But when the slime started to fall, he found traces of white where his belly was supposed to be. As it continued, he noticed it wasn’t flesh but something fluffier and… familiar. And it quickly came to him. It was wool. Jacob’s torso had been completely covered in wool. So were his arms and legs. Precious and pearl-white wool was what came from under the slime. When the tail dropped him, all that was left was a sheep standing like a human. An aberration similar to the creature that made him. The only thing different from the rest of his body was the gas mask covering his entire face, with the philter emanating a purple gas with each exhalation.

The kitsune then dropped Harry. The poor boy fell on his fours as the slime continued his transformation. His change was more drastic than Jacob’s. He saw him arch his back and twist both hands and feet into unnatural angles. It was a grotesque process, but what really disturbed Lucas was the moans of pleasure Henry uttered at what should have been a painful process—even with the sound of his bones snapping as his limbs readjusted to match the appearance of a quadruped animal. From the end of his back, a new lump emerged and started to turn into a long and slim tail. And when the slime finally fell off his body, Harry had turned into a tiger. His torso was red as blood, and all four paws and his tail were white with black stripes.

“Wonderful. Just another beautiful addition to our family. I am so proud of you two,” the kitsune burst with joy.

He saw him walk around the duo of… animals? Lucas wasn’t sure how to describe them. Were they still his friends to begin with? He could have believed Jacob was wearing a sheep-shaped motley. But Harry… he heard his bones snapping, and there was no way he could be standing like that inside a suit. Harry was…

“No! They’re still inside!” He said to himself, trying to shake those thoughts away. All of that had an explanation, and he knew it!

When he looked again, the kitsune was still admiring his creations. He approached his masked face to their bodies, inspecting the small details in them, even the stripes on Harry’s tail.

“Youngblood is always the best. Their desires are so strong it’s easier to mold them into the shape they crave the most. Their minds are so weak they don’t even fight back.”

The kitsune’s words were like spears piercing Lucas’ hopes. Mold them? It couldn’t be! That thing couldn’t transform their bodies. That wasn’t possible! But there they were, a kitsune, a sheep, and a tiger. And while none of his friends spoke yet, a part of his mind was already expecting to hear words coming out of their mouths. It was unbelievable. Yet, he had been watching the unbelievable since the moment he took that mask.

Why was that mask there in the first place? Did it belong to his grandmother? No, he never saw it in the house when he was younger. The design, he would have remembered it from the moment he picked it up: simple yet unique among all the stuff in the house. Did his grandfather get it after he stopped visiting? Or maybe it had been there way back? Was that why he never allowed them to enter the old barn?

The more he thought about it, the less sense it all made. The mask had no place on the farm. He knew it had a Japanese origin, which made it even weirder to have it there. Was it cursed? Was that why his grandfather put it there? Lucas experienced a headache at the sea of questions flooding his mind. Each one brought ten more. And with each wave, he drifted away from the shore that was his reason. The only anchor he could think of was his grandfather, who must have an answer for all of it. Lucas had to escape the barn.

He couldn’t get down the stairs. The only way out was the window from which all the wheat came through. Lucas crawled as slow as possible so the wood wouldn’t creak under his weight. But each table was a trap in that decrepit, abandoned building. Before he could even approach the open window, one of the tables broke and his hand pierced the floor. Already panicked, Lucas get up quickly and ran, decided to jump out.

For a brief instant, the adrenaline made him see everything in slow motion. And so Lucas had a perfect view of the kitsune jumping beside him, moving at an unnatural speed. He landed with grace, his paws barely touching the ground, and made a bed of wheat using his tails for Lucas to land.

Once he confirmed Lucas was safe, the kitsune dropped him next to him. The horrified human ran away into the wheat fields, much for the creature’s delight, who just gigged, pressing a paw against his masked face.

The fear erased any plan Lucas had conceived and just pushed him forward, away from that monster. He look behind before he disappeared into the fields and caught a glimpse of his friends, standing next to the kitsune. None of them tried to follow him. They just saw him leave, imitating the same gesture of the kitsune.

Lucas pushed the wheat away as he ran deep into the tall field. His mind and body were fueled by the fear provoked by that monster. The last thing he wanted was to experience the same hell his friends have went through. Turned into an animal like that… feel your body transform into something different. The sound of bones being broken still echoed in his memory, louder than his steps across the field and the wheat being pushed. He couldn’t stand being transformed like that.

By the time he realized his mistake, it was too late. Lucas only stopped when the pain in his legs became unbearable and each breathing felt like sandpaper running down his trachea. And there, resting his hands over the knees, he noticed how much he had run into the wheat fields. No matter where he looked, there was no sign of a path out of there—even the trace left as he ran had disappeared. He couldn’t even jump over the wheat to see where the house was.

But if he was lost, then that monster had no way to find him, right? Lucas thought about going forward, aware that he would reach the other end eventually. He wasn’t sure about leaving his grandfather alone at the mercy of that monster, but he had no weapons and no way to call for help. His only choice was to reach another farm. And so he started walking as soon as the pain in his legs faded. He tried to run again but didn’t last long enough. And now that the adrenaline rush had ended, he felt exhausted. He tried to stop his hands from shaking, but it was useless. Lucas drag his feet towards where he believed was the other end of the fields.

And he walked and walked, and while he didn’t expect to reach the end immediately, Lucas couldn’t stop feeling he hadn’t moved from the same spot. Each step he took only fueled his paranoia, and Harry’s voice joking about how the field was endless echoed in his mind. Maybe he wasn’t joking and those fields were endless.

A gust of air came from behind, throwing Lucas to the ground. He went back up to his feet as soon as his hands touched the ground, but it was too late already. Right in front of him, standing above the wheat was the mystic kitsune, leaning his head to the side and waving his 9 tails with the wind. His sight petrified him. And at the same time, a voice in his mind told him to admire his presence. Run. Praise him. Call for help. Worship him. It was tearing him apart.

He didn’t have to make a choice. The kitsune trapped his head just like he did with his friends before. His image disappeared and all he could see was an infinite golden sea. He felt his feet leaving the ground, but right after that, he didn’t feel anything else.

“Now, now, there’s no need to be scared. You are safe with me. I will take care of you.”

He recognized his voice. It was coming from all directions. And it was different. Soothing. Welcoming. Familiar. It was the voice of a father trying to calm his son. Lucas told to himself to remember what kind of monster that was. He fought to keep his sanity intact under the influence of that beast. But as he heard his voice, his fear began to disappear

“There’s no need for you to run away. I’m not gonna hurt you. You are special to me. And I wanna show you how special you truly are.”

He felt something warm covering his face. The slime. It was the same substance he used to transform his friends. And now he wanted to do the same to him. When Lucas tried to fight he realized he couldn’t move his body, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn’t prevent the slime from getting into his nose and mouth. He was desperate. Lucas was nothing more than a spectator. He couldn’t even gag when the slime started to make its way down his throat. All he did was contemplate the infinite golden sea and listen to the kitsune’s voice.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” the voice repeated. “I wanna get your real self out of that shell. You are incomplete. You are fragile. You can’t reach your full potential trapped inside this weak human body. I know it scares you, but you shouldn’t be afraid of it. Where you see an aberration, I see beauty. And I want you to embrace that beauty. To make it yours. Relax. And feel it.”

Lucas obeyed. He felt the slime covering his body. Warm. Thick. So familiar. He couldn’t believe he was scared of it. The kitsune was right. He had no reason to be afraid of his change. He wasn’t gonna hurt him. He wanted to take care of him by giving him the shape he deserved. The one he craved for. The binded dragon.

The majestic beast appeared from behind. Just like a cat, it rubbed himself against Lucas’ body, giving him one quick caress to his face with the end of his fluffy tail—Lucas couldn’t tell if it was wool or a cloud, but his touch was smooth instead of rough. The wingless dragon walked on his four paws and stood some feet away from him. His face was covered by another mask, although its details resembled the dragon’s head. His torso was red and all four legs white. But what really caught his attention was the skin: smooth and shiny. He expected to see and feel the rough scales commonly seen in reptiles, but instead, his skin looked more like latex.

“Does it look good?” The kitsune asked.

Lucas was afraid to answer. A part of his mind suddenly resurfaced to try and take back control over his body, but it was dragged away by the calm waves of that infinite golden sea. Lucas felt something was wrong… but what exactly? He felt it was a bad idea to reply, but he didn’t know why. Did the kitsune do something to him? No. He was helping him. He was gonna take care of him. Why would he doubt his word?

“Y-yes…” Lucas finally answered. He finally felt a part of his body, and it was his smile, full of satisfaction.

“Would you like to look and be like him?”

“Yes…”

Then he felt something else. The warm and thick slime was squeezing his body from head to toes. Squeezing and rubbing. But where it felt the most intense was at his cock. Lucas reacted immediately to the pleasure it provoked having his cock being stroked that way. He moaned in delight and squirmed while the slime merged with him from both inside and outside.

“Then embrace it. It will be your new body.”

Lucas did as the kitsune said. He hugged himself as tightly as possible and took the shape of the dragon as his own, sinking deeper into the golden ocean where he was trapped. He didn’t resist him. He was safe. His new body would protect him. The kitsune would protect him.

“Well done. You have no reasons to be afraid. I am here to help you.”

Back in the real world, the kitsune dropped Lucas onto the floor. His entire body had been covered in red slime. He stood there, hugging himself as the substance transformed his body. A giant blob of slime appeared on the lower part of his back and started to grow. As it took shape, it resembled the body of a horse, including the hind legs. His paws, however, took a more reptilian shape under the slime.

The slime continued squeezing his body, readjusting the human shape to turn it into the dragon he saw in his fantasy. He was in ecstasy, going through a pleasure stronger than any orgasm he had in the past. His moans came through the thick wall of slime and his body trembled violently in response to the unbearable pleasure. It became too much for him to handle. It was breaking what was left of his sanity. Just as the kitsune wanted.

But not only was his body changing from the outside. Lucas felt the warm slime still sliding down his throat and spreading through his entire body. It covered his organs, muscles, and bones. And it reached deep into his brain. While his entire body changed, the slime also messed with his mind, erasing his memories one by one. And all he heard was the soothing voice of the kitsune.

“Relax. And sink. Relax. And sink.”

That was all he said. Each word was weaker than the previous one. And Lucas obeyed. He sank in the deepness of his mind, leaving everything behind, even his own name. And as he continued descending, he felt free. There was nothing to worry about in there. It was just him. And nothing else. And he asked to himself why was he scared of it in the first place. Lucas surrender to the pleasure of his transformation, aware that it had set him completely free.

When the slime started to fall, it revealed a shiny red latex suit. Tight enough that it looked like his real skin, drawing the shape of the muscles under it. And it could have fooled anyone if it wasn’t for the position in which his arms were left, forced to remain crossed over his chest. Just like the dragon in his fantasy, all four legs were covered in white latex. His paws were the only parts free from the suit, covered in scales instead. Red wool appeared at the height of his hips and the thighs of his hind legs, resembling flames, followed by golden spirals all over his body. His transformation was almost done.

There was only one part left to cover, and the kitsune was eager to finish it. The excited creature did little jumps in the air with his front paws before he put on the mask to cover and seal his little creation. White and with a red smile, just like his. The eyes were also red dots, and long whiskers came from the cheeks. As soon as the kitsune pushed the mask against his face, the slime absorbed and turned it into a new part of his body.

“Oh, you might be my biggest accomplishment!” The kitsune inspected the smiling dragon, whose transformation was finally complete. “You look incredible. I am so proud of you”.

He patted the dragon on the top of his head and guided him out of the wheat fields, happy to see him following without uttering a single word.

Some minutes later, the duo made it out and were back at the house. Outside, the Tiger and the Sheep were still waiting. And in between them, was Saul. The old man was dressed in his usual attire, except for the white kitsune mask completely covering his face.

He knelt at the kitsune as soon as he felt his presence—a gust of wind followed him everywhere. The creature approached him and put a paw over Saul’s shoulder.

“You did as I ask, and I am proud of you. This shall be another year of prosperity for you and your fields.”

“Thank you so much, my Lord,” Saul replied in the most respectful tone. “But, if it’s not too much to ask for, would you please spare my grandson from this?”

“Spare?” The kitsune leaned his head to one side. “Silly farmer. I can’t spare him if he’s not being punished. This is what he wanted. This is what they all wanted.”

And with a giggle, the kitsune walked back into the wheat fields, followed by his new subjects, and disappeared into the infinite golden sea where they all belonged.