FSE

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"Kole!"

"Yeah?"

"I'm heading out. Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine."

Winging my body around, attempting to get out of bed was getting more complex. Sleeping on my back was not what my new body was built for. But with enough wiggling and swinging my arms, the tacky click of my hooves against the wood floor assured me I was on the ground. Lifting my body onto my thin, skinny legs, I stumbled toward the door. Slipping, my left arm hoof caught the wall leaving a large scratch in the red paint.

Walking out into the hall, one step at a time, carefully placing each step onto the hardwood floors. Fearful that my hoof would slip and send me to the ground. Passing the hallway mirror, my eyes caught a glimpse of the reflection. Fur covered the majority of my neck and face. Two little stumps were the start of my antlers, which I can only assume will make navigating the house much more challenging. My legs were almost identical to those of a whitetail deer, with thin stick-like legs with large muscles at the hip.

My changes had been going on for quite some time now. It started with my ears and tail but progressed further, just like it always does. At this point, most of my body had changed, I was in the final stages, and soon I would be a whole deer. While most of the changes progressed slowly, they seemed to speed up recently. What was once just a tiny difference every few weeks turned into a change every week.

I wasn't alone, though. Oddly enough, my old friend had recently found himself changing, beginning with his eyes. The yellow eyes eventually were joined by a feathered tail. His changes are going alarmingly quick compared to most I have seen. Luckily, I am at least still a mammal, whereas Lyall lost much more being a bird. Both he and I recently dropped out of college, and I planned to spend more time with him. But we found ourselves seeing each other less and less.

Walking into the living room, sitting on the couch, and turning on the TV. My usual routine was the same thing I had done for the last few days. Standing is painful, and sitting upright is painful. My hips burned with the desire to walk quadrupedally. Doing so may make the day more manageable, but that would be giving up too much. I had already had a recent run-in with my hips with Lyall. Getting back on two legs was a fight and a nightmare.

The day drug on with nothing interesting happening. The same boring shows are played on the same boring channels. I had all the ability to leave the house, but being in public as I am has always been a scary thought. People would say things to me, tell me to cover myself and ask me to leave. It sounds like no big deal, but when it is every day, you quickly grow tired of it. So instead, I would spend every day alone at home or occasionally visiting Lyall with his bird friends.

After a few hours of doing nothing, I may do the one other thing I can do without the public. The woods behind the house had a small walking path leading to a small field, nothing major or even worth thinking about. But it was always there, always able to allow me some change of scenery.

Leaving the house, the door shut quickly on its own. Giving the door knob a pull, it opened. The door had a problem with one of its latches; on occasion, it would become jammed if it slammed shut. I had meant to fix the lock, but any hope of that ended when my hands turned to hooves. Mom said she would try to fix it or call a locksmith, but life had been busy. For everyone besides me.

The chilly air met my face as the thin layer of snow chilled my hooves. Setting off for the woods, I followed the trail, trying to remember the exact path now covered in snow. The path wound around trees, avoiding tick bushes and thorns and eventually leading to the field where the snow had begun to melt. The grass below now revealed to the open air.

Since the changes began to accelerate, my mind has been flooded with new impulses. New desires, things that now felt normal, whereas before, would be disgusting. The view, although small, was a nice change of environment from the living room. Laying on the dry grass and breathing in the cool air, you couldn't help but relax. Looking around at the untouched field, a spot of grass beside me caught my eye. Without thinking, my head lunged forward, grabbing the grass in my teeth and tearing it from the ground. Chewing the grass, it felt.... right.

Grabbing a second mouthful, then a third. On the fourth, the wind shifted, now blowing from the field toward me. Carried with it was a scent. It was slight at first but inhaled deeper, resulting in a much stronger dose. The smell was utterly new, but something was slightly appalling, and I needed to smell it again. I stood to my feet and inhaled again, but it was stronger this time. Flipping my head around, I tried to find the source of it. Once I caught a sense of its direction, I jogged toward it.

Where is it coming from? What even is that smell?

Having walked half the field, the scent began to weaken. Turning around led me to the most substantial spot, but there appeared to be nothing there. Bending down to the ground below, I caught it. The strongest, nostril-burning feeling was that whatever was making that scent was on the ground. I huffed and took in a deep draw of air, my vision getting spotty as the odor intoxicated me.

"Aaagh!" Yelling out as the top of my head began to ache. Reaching up, my little hooves met with a growing set of antlers. When the pain subsided, there was a full rack atop my head. As my head moved, the weight of the antlers resisted. The odor was still deep in my mind, wanting more of it. Needing more of it.

No! I need to run! Get away from it!

Just a little more. It just smells so good.

I can't risk more changes, not now!

Breaking into a full sprint, reaching the edge of the field quickly, I kept running until I was deep in the woods. Following my small tracks back to the house. But the antlers began to itch on the way, and my hooves were of no help. Right before reaching the edge, it became unbearable. A small branch caught one of the antlers, scrapping across and giving immense relief. A small tree came to pat my side; I leaned and let the antlers drag across its surface.

Ahhhhhh.

Turning to the tree, letting my antlers go to town on it, scrapping the bark from the trunk, scratching the itch they so desperately needed. Not knowing that I was scraping the velvet from the antler's surface, revealing the white bone underneath. By the time it was finished, the trees around me were missing streaks of bark.

Walking into the house, struggling to navigate the door as the crown caught on the entryway. On the counter were grocery bags, and the fridge door was wide open. Closing the door and looking about the room, I saw no one.

"Hello?" my voice echoed.

"Hey! I was looking for you," Mom said as she continued to put groceries in the fridge, "Oh my god! What happened to your head?"

"Right, yeah, these happened a little bit ago. Nothing that bad, though."

She looked with shock, which slowly changed to a smile, "You do make a handsome buck, Kole."

Handsome Buck sounds like the equivalent of calling Lyall a Pretty Bird. But at least she is taking it well.

After she finished putting the groceries away, we made dinner. My dinner consisted of a plate of greens, consumed without my hands, as usual. After dinner, the sky had gone dark, and I put myself to bed. Days getting shorter and nights getting colder, I was happy to sleep in my warm bed.

That smell. That intoxicating smell.

I couldn't get my mind off of it. It wasn't like it smelled amazing, nor did it smell horrible. But the thought of it ran circles in my head, and I wanted to experience it again. Was it connected to the antlers? Did they smell like that? I tried to sleep but struggled, needing that scent in my nostrils again--even just a hint.

Waking, I started my morning routine again. Mom had left for work, so I was home alone yet again. The TV played the same weekday shows, and nothing sounded interesting. I watched the news and reruns of gameshows, but nothing was attractive. In the back of my head, yesterday still lingered. I could go to the field again. I could try and find it again.

Opening the backdoor, the scent hit my nose immediately. Taking a deep breath, I huffed as I stepped out, the door slamming hard behind me again. I walked towards the woods as it grew stronger. Following the path until I reached the field again. The scent was beginning to make my head spin, feeling like I could pass out at any moment. My vision blurred as I saw a figure in the field, but unable to make it out, I continued following the smell.

Walking through the tall grass, I found the source, and again it was on the ground. Sniffing the ground until a significantly stronger dose hit me like a ton of bricks. Looking up from the ground, I saw the source of the smell. A doe stood in the grass, her head facing me, and yellow-dyed snow lay below her.

Oh god. What have I done?

I lost myself in that moment, passing out almost instantly. But when I came too, I was lying on the ground feeling like I had just fallen over, my front hooves covered in dirt and my arms scratched. More fur covered my body as I tried to stand up. Looking around, I was no further than twenty feet from where I last remembered standing, the doe standing about ten feet away, standing with her rear facing me and her neck craned around, watching me.

Why is she still here? Why is my heart racing? Where did this fur come from?

I stood up and tried to shoo her away, but she stood in the same spot, watching me. The scent hit my nostrils again, and the memories slowly came back to me. She was in front of me, and she turned around and I... I couldn't have. I didn't. It wasn't true.

Without any further thought, I sprinted back to the woods. The memories of what had transpired burned into my mind. The disgust of what I just did, the dehumanizing actions my body had taken against my will. Running, stumbling, my heart racing as I reached the door. Turning the knob, but it was stuck. It must have slammed shut when I left, and now I was trapped outside. Looking back at the woods, there she was.

"No! Go away! Get away!" Shouting at the deer, and I desperately tugged at the door. The door frame creaked and cracked as I pulled. My eyes became blurry from tears as I pulled hard at the door knob. But the wind shifted, and its scent stole me away again. I was falling back into my mind again. Only to come too as I fell forward, the doe running off into the woods, and I landed on my arm in the cold snow.

I rolled onto my side, and the anxiety took over. Bawling as the memories of the second time flooded my mind. I could not run from them, and I could not deny it. I had done that. The backdoor creaked open.

"Kole? What are you doing on the ground?" Mom asked from the previously locked door.

"Just... Laying down for a moment..." Standing up from the ground, brushing the snow from my newly thickened fur.

"Why doesn't my big handsome buck come inside for dinner?"

Big. Handsome. Buck.

I turned to the side and vomited on the ground. Disgusted by what I had become, what I was to become.