Against the Horizon - 02 - First Things First
Chapter 2 - First things first"Why?" Alex asked the moment Thomas' roommate stuffed an empty glass in his hands.Derek shook his head, a smug smile on his lips. "The right question is: why not?"The fox-eared boy scratched his head. "Well, you know we are not twenty-one yet, right?"Thomas shrugged. From the look on his face, he must've tried the same approach before, and miserably failed. "You're wasting your time, Starcross. He's not gonna stop until you've gulped down at least half a bottle. Believe me.""Drinking is the best way to forge a new friendship. That's what my family has been telling me since I was a kid," Derek intervened while opening a small black fridge in a corner of the room, filled to the brim with bottles of wine. "You look like a white wine type, Alex. Let's see..." And he started rummaging inside the fridge while muttering quietly to himself."Derek's family owns a chain of liquor stores." In the meanwhile, Thomas was introducing his roommate to Alex and Helena. "And that's why half of our wardrobe and the bathroom cabinet have nothing but red wine in them. I hope no one ever decides to inspect our room or we'll be thrown out before we could say 'Chianti'.""Hey, it's not my fault if my abuela keeps sending me samples from the latest supplies." Derek had just uncorked a tall, slender bottle and was now filling Helena's glass. Alex, having recovered from the initial shock, finally took his time to look at him better: Thomas' roommate had a rugged jaw line, a ladykiller smile and his skin had a rich, earthy tone that betrayed his Hispanic heritage. Despite not being as good-looking as Iceman, the charisma in his features and his suave ways compensated more than enough. "Tom talked me a lot about you two. I wonder why I haven't seen a cute girl like you around until today." Helena lowered her eyes, muttering a thank you; she looked embarrassed, and visibly pleased. "And he didn't tell me about your ears, either," Derek came closer to Alex, and he managed to catch the subtle hint of musk and sweat coming from his brown skin. "Well, I have had normal ears until yesterday, actually..." Alex replied sheepishly. "Huh? And how did you get those?""That's what we are trying to find," Helena explained. "We still haven't much to work with, but..."."I... I really don't understand you guys." Alex sighed, his eyes lost in the empty glass. He could feel his voice cracking, but didn't care. "How can you be so carefree about this? I turned into some kind... some kind of monster, and you're acting like I simply got a cold!"Derek's only answer was filling his glass with a golden, sweet-smelling liquid, and then ruffling his hair in a friendly gesture with his free hand. "A monster? Come on, buddy, you oughta have a much better opinion of yourself! As for your ears... I mean, I've seen tattoos hundreds of times more embarrassing. And they look freaking cool, too! Now do me a favour and drink some wine, you'll feel much better!"Alex couldn't help to smile a bit. "O-okay... Thank you, Derek.""You're welcome." Derek took a long sniff from his wine glass and purred with pleasure. "Come on, guys, you too should get a whiff of it. Enjoying the scent is essential when it comes to wine!"Alex smelled the gilded liquid: a rich, intoxicating scent hit his nose and made its way directly to his brain. "It smells like the end of summer," Helena murmured, and she was right: it was warm, sugary and nostalgic.Derek tapped a finger against the half-emptied bottle. "This comes directly from Italy; it's a very special wine for a very special occasion, and I also thought something sweet would've helped cheering you up, Alex.""Why don't you drink a toast, Starcross?" suggested Thomas."Well said, Tom! Come on, Alex." Derek seemed genuinely excited, and so Alex raised her glass. "To good friends. And to find a way to get rid of those fucking ears." He tentatively took a sip, and the wine warmed his tongue, his throat and his chest. Before he realized it, his glass was empty and his hand was mechanically trying to grab the open bottle. "At least wait until you've eaten something," Derek advised him while keeping the wine out of his reach. "Drinking with an empty stomach will make you sick, you know?"Helena cleared her throat. "Speaking of food, the pizza should arrive any minute now." A few seconds later, someone knocked at the door. "See? Marnie's here. Come on in!""Wait, what..." Alex exclaimed in shock, trying to find a way to somehow cover up his ears. The stunning blond girl carrying two giant pizza boxes was already inside, though, and was looking at him with a mildly amused look on her beautiful face. "You were right, Lena, they are adorable," she said, before placing the pizzas on the nearest desk and waved a hand. "I'm Marnie, by the way. Nice to meet you all."Alex had to restrain himself with all his might not to jump at Helena's throat. "You told a complete stranger about my ears?! What is wrong with you?"The girl just smiled back innocently. "Marnie's not a stranger, she's my roommate!""How many people have you invited here? Are you planning to throw a party or something?!"As if he was waiting for a cue, Joss burst the door open and barged in, a goofy smile on his face. "Did someone say 'party'?" His blue eyes quickly found Alex, and his dopey grin widened. "I know it wasn't just a bad haircut, dude! Can't fool old Joss that easily!"Alex was at a literal loss of words: he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, like a fish trying to breath out of water, then he just gave up and let himself fall backwards on Derek's bed. "Why is he here?" he finally managed to mutter in a feeble voice. "He's your roommate, he was going to find out anyway sooner or later," Helena answered in a matter-of-fact tone."Yeah, but how did he know we were here?" Alex retorted. "Please, don't tell me you twitted about it...""Chillax, dude!" Joss sat on Thomas' bed near Helena. "Me and Lena here know each other, ya know?""What?!" Marnie, in the meantime, had taken a seat near Alex and had started scratching him behind the ears; he was honestly too confused and appalled to mind."I asked her if I could borrow her notes at what probably was the only lesson I've ever attended so far. We talked for a bit, I discovered you two were friends, and y'know... we decided to keep in touch," Joss explained. "And really, dude, I don't know why you'd want to get rid of those ears, they seriously rock! And from what I'm seeing they can even help you score, I bet a lot of chicks would dig them!" Marnie, in the meanwhile, was smiling at Alex without saying a word; it was an innocent and friendly smile, without any hint of malice."Nah, Starcross doesn't swing that way," Thomas interjected in an almost bored tone."Oh." Derek, Marnie and Joss started exchanging awkward looks, and Helena silently elbowed Thomas in the side.Alex went red with fury, and sprang to his feet. "I swear this is the last time I entrust you two with a secret," he growled at Helena and Thomas, while trying not to look in Joss' general direction. "Look, Starcross, I didn't know that was supposed to be a secret! Anyway, I'm sorry, my tongue slipped and...""Why don't you just, I don't know, go around telling everyone that I had wet the bed until I was in second grade, huh?"Another embarrassed moment of silence. "I... I honestly didn't know that," Helena replied. She was clearly doing her best not to laugh."And personally I would've lived even without knowing that," Thomas remarked."Why didn't you just tell me you were into dudes, bro?" Joss asked. His blue eyes were staring at the floor, and he looked like a kid on the verge of tears.Alex was honestly surprised buy the reaction of his roommate. "W-well, I didn't know how you would've reacted, a-and..." He was at a loss of words for the second time in ten minutes; despite Joss being a stereotypical frat boy, Alex had grown attached to him and his innocent silliness... But what if he didn't want to be his friend anymore?"You don't understand, dude!" Joss exclaimed. "Every time I've tried to invite you to a party, all these months, it was because I wanted to hook you up with some chicks! If you had told me you were gay from the beginning, I would've tried to find you a guy, obviously!"The six friends looked at each other one more time... and then burst into a liberating laughter. After the hilarity had died down, Alex smiled quietly at the others. "Thank you, guys... When I woke up this morning, I thought this was going to be the worst day of my life, but instead I've made two new friends and I've tasted wine for the first time. But really, stop telling my secrets to everyone." Helena and Thomas looked properly repentant. "And stop trying to hook me up with your frat friends." Joss gave him two thumbs up. Suddenly, Alex couldn't feel the gentle touch of fingers on his head anymore. "You can still scratch my ears if you want to, Marnie.""Thanks," the girl replied, reprising her grooming session.After some relaxing minutes of pizza eating, wine drinking and chatting, though, Thomas tried to grasp everyone's attention. "I guess I'm the one that has to discuss the elephant in the room, huh? Or the fox, in this case.""What d'you mean, Tom?" Derek asked while emptying his second bottle."Well... What if Starcross' ears are just the beginning? What if the changes aren't over yet?"
"Why the gloves, Starcross?" When Alex arrived on the dorm roof the next morning, Thomas and Helena were already there. The weather, at the beginning of March, was already warm, and there was certainly no need for the thick winter gloves he was sporting.Alex showed his friend the middle finger. "Because fuck you, Thomas, that's why. You couldn't just shut up for once, right? Noooo, you always have to be a smartass and say everything that comes to your mind, huh?"Thomas didn't look impressed. "If you're trying to blame me to what had clearly happened to your hands while you were sleeping, I don't think it's gonna work, Starcross.""Fine... Sorry, Thomas, I wasn't trying to say it's your fault...""Except you totally did?""Look, I'm trying to apologize, okay?""There's no need to argue", Helena intervened, gently placing - and then holding with an iron grip - Thomas and Alex's shoulders. "Just be nice to each other and everything will be alright, okay?" The young woman had a smile on her face, but her narrowing eyes said otherwise."U-um... sorry, Starcross.""I'm... I'm sorry too, Thomas" Alex then started taking off his left glove. "I think you can imagine what's under..."It was neither a hand nor a paw: the basic structure hadn't changed, but there were black, leathery pads on the palm and fingertips, the nails had turned into black, pointy claws, and the fingers (still long and slender, and - luckily - still five) were covered by silky dark fur, abruptly becoming red from the wrist onwards; it looked like Alex was wearing another pair of gloves, but these ones weren't the type that could be taken off anytime soon. "The right hand looks the same way. And the fur goes up to the elbows." Alex explained in a depressed tone. "No more t-shirts for me, I guess. Oh, and my hair has the same color of the fur, now.""Even your pubic hair?" Thomas asked.Alex looked at Helena. "Can I throw him off the roof, now?"The girl shrugged. "I'm not going to stop you."The next twenty minutes were spent inspecting every nook and cranny of the roof. "And the result is: nothing at all," summarized Thomas in the end. "We're wasting our time here, whatever is causing you to turn into an anthropomorphic fox is no longer here. Or has never been here in the first place, I dunno.""How can you be so sure I'll still resemble a human when this is over? Maybe I'm just becoming a stupid animal." The thought obviously terrified Alex, and his new hand-paws started shaking. He didn't feel ready to give up on his humanity."Nah, that's highly unlikely. It wouldn't make much sense for your hands to change again." Thomas took off one of Alex's gloves. "I mean, look at it: the hybridisation is flawless! I think that what you're turning into could probably be described as Vulpes Sapiens Sapiens." "You know, I was wondering," Helena intervened, her forehead burrowed. "What if Alex is not the only one changing? What if there are other people turning into fox persons?"."And how do you plan to find them? It's not like they'll be walking around the campus with a sign saying: I'm turning into an anthropomorphic fox, ask me why.""I'll just ask around to see who's skipping class," Helena answered. "Some of the mutations could probably be, well... not as easy to hide as Alex's."The fox-boy scratched his chin with his hand-paw, thoughtfully. "It' not a bad idea... Let's just hope we can discover the reason of the changes before they're completed..."
The next day, Helena and Thomas had decided they could skip lessons for once. Alex was waiting for them in his room, and when he opened the door to greet them his forehead was dripping with sweat; he already had his beanie and gloves on. "When I woke up this morning I had fur everywhere on my body, except my face," he explained in a shaky voice. "My feet are still normal, but I can feel them itching and twitching, sometimes. My nose, too." He sighed. "I guess I'll have paws and a muzzle by tomorrow morning.""When you say you have fur everywhere on your body, you mean that, you know..." Thomas pointed at his own groin area. "Even Little Starcross has changed?""Do you really think I'll describe you my penis?" Alex replied, an eyebrow raised. He tried not to think at what he had seen when he had inspected himself naked in front of the mirror, at the... thing between his legs. No, not now. "Helena, what have you found out?""Oh, right." The girl fished out a piece of paper from a pocket, covered in her elegant, pointy writing. "Including you, I discovered that yesterday at least eleven students skipped class and had no reason to do so. Some of them I've never heard of... Who the heck is November Raines, for example?""Her parents must be some kind of hippies," Thomas replied."Apparently, he's a guy.""Oh. His parents must be some kind of hippies, then.""Any student we could know about?" Alex asked. He was grateful to Helena, but he was starting to grow impatient."Mh, let's see... There's Eliza Nightingale, the editor-in-chief of the campus gazette. Oh, and Liam St.George, and...""Knight?!" Alex nearly shouted the wrestling team captain's nickname.Helena looked at him puzzled. "Yes... Why so surprised?""N-no, it's nothing..." He remembered Liam saying to him to keep a low profile... And touching him on the shoulder. What if I was the one infecting Knight? Thomas and Helena were still staring at him. Nah, that's stupid. I've been around them for much longer, and they're still human. "Well, actually... I think we should start with him. He's an okay guy, I'm sure he'll help us."Thomas snorted. "If you say so..." Everyone knew he had a passionate hatred towards any kind of athlete, after all.Half an hour later, the three friends were in front of Liam's door, a single room at the fourth floor of the senior dorm. "I think someone should knock, you know?" Thomas said, after they had stared awkwardly at each other and the door for at least five minutes without doing anything."Please, Thomas, I insist," Alex replied."Do I need to remind you, we're here because of you?"Helena sighed a "Fine, fine..." and made a step forward, but then something unexpected happened: someone opened the door from the inside."I'm sorry, but... could you please be quiet?"The young woman on the doorstep was pale and pudgy, with a mousy brown ponytail and totally forgettable looks. But there was something deeper and purer in the lines of her face, the shape of her lips and the light in her eyes: kindness irradiated from her very being like a quiet, silvery light, shining around her like an aura, despite her concerned, almost scared expression. "Is Kn... Ahem, Liam in?" Alex asked in a hurried tone. "I really need to speak with him!"The girl shook her head. "I'm sorry, but Liam asked me not to let anyone inside. He's..." And she bit her lower lip, refraining herself from saying anything else."He's what?" Thomas repeated."I'm sorry," she replied. "I have to ask you to please go away." She tried to close the door again, but then Alex made a step forward."W-wait!" he shouted. "Is he... Is he like this, too?" and he discarded his hat, his pointed ears and red hair for the world to see.Before Alex could even realize it, the girl was holding him tight in her arms and muttering in a creaking voice: "Thank God, I'm so glad... I'm so glad he's not the only one..." After a couple of seconds, though, she had pulled herself together, and now even looked a bit relieved. "Sorry for that, but... I still can't believe what's happening. But how rude of me, I almost forgot," she held out her right hand. "I'm Teresa, Liam's fiancée. Molto piacere.""Alex. Alex Starcross. And they are Helena and Thomas.""Terry, who's at the door?" Liam's voice, coming from the inside of the room, sounded hoarse and raspy. Teresa looked at the three friends. "I think... I think you should see him," and led the way inside.Knight was lying in his bed, a thick, chequered blanket covering his body (and forming a massive lump near his feet). He was wearing a pair of stylish white-rimmed glasses with a rectangular frame, and a series of printouts and notes were scattered here and there on the bed. Knight let out an alarmed yelp. "Terry, what the heck..." but then his eyes focused on Alex, and his jaw dropped. "Y-you... I remember you. You were at the team practice two days ago... and many times before that." (behind Alex, Thomas could be heard muttering "I knew it!"). Liam lowered his head, looking dejected and apologetic. "I feel sorry for what I've told you, pal.""D-don't worry, St.George, it's totally fine." Even when facing a traumatic and life-changing transformation, Knight somehow managed to stay true to his nickname. "S-so, what's happening to you?"The wrestler sighed and looked at his girlfriend. "I guess there's no point hiding them, huh?" Teresa silently nodded before collecting the paper scattered on the bed with a quick gesture, and only then he drew the blanket aside. The feet-paws under it were furry, huge and certainly didn't belong to a fox: they were brown, three-fingered and seemed strong enough to knock out someone with a kick. Knight was wearing just a pair of blue and gold shorts and a white wife-beater that showed his impressive physique, and - apart from the paws - looked completely human. "Two days ago I woke up and my feet were itching like crazy," he explained, the sausage-like fingers on his paws contracting and distending rhythmically. "I didn't pay that much attention to them, but when I changed clothes after the practice I noticed there was fur all over them. Luckily the team didn't see them, but when I managed to reach my room my feet were already swelled and deformed beyond recognition. And I had to toss my favourite pair of sneakers away."Alex took an inner sigh of relief: he now at least knew he hadn't been the one infecting the wrestling team captain. "Did you do something different, three days ago?" he then asked. "You know, eating or drinking something unusual, going someplace on the campus you had never been before?"Liam shook his head almost immediately. "I've already tried to think about it like a thousand times since my feet changed, pal, but all I can remember is the usual routine"Alex pointed at the paws. "And they're the only part of your body that has changed so far?"Teresa's cheeks became an interesting shade of scarlet, and even Knight looked a little embarrassed. "I don't feel comfortable talking about it, pal.""I heard that the scrotum of a male kangaroo is over his penis instead of underneath it, is that true?" Thomas casually asked.The awkward silence following the question was so thick and heavy that everyone in the room - except of course Thomas - forgot to breath for a couple of seconds, until Teresa broke in a high-pitched fit of laughter that she tried to hide behind a handkerchief. "Are you fucking kidding me, pal?" Knight growled, his eyes bulging behind the glasses. Helena elbowed Thomas in the side. "Don't mind him, he has Tourette's," she lied, but with a very convincing smile."Hey! I don't have Tourette's, it's just a scientific approach!"A second dig. "Just shut up! And what's with you and other people's private parts, today?!"Alex sighed and smiled apologetically at Liam. "Sorry for that, St.George... We're trying to find the origin of the changes and some way to revert them, that's all..." I wouldn't mind seeing his penis, though. Maybe it's just like mine, now. He was surprised by his own thought: until a hour ago he was scared by his new sheath, but now the only thing he wanted was to drop his own pants and underwear and give it a good look... and something else. Well, maybe not right now. And certainly not in front of his friends.Knight, in the meantime, looked sombre and moody. "Until the day before yesterday I was working on my bachelor's degree while trying to lead my team to the state championship final... And now I'm just a freak stuck in a bed that will probably spend his all life in a science lab, so... Should you find something useful, could you please tell me right away, pal? And just call me Liam. We're on the same boat, after all."Alex nodded. "Sure thing, St.G... I mean, Liam.""Well, that was depressing," Thomas exclaimed after the three friends had left Liam's room."Hey, at least we had discovered that there are other people changing, and into different animals too. That's a start... right?" Helena didn't sound that sure. At all."That's probably the worst part of it," the boy replied. "If two people with virtually nothing in common are transforming, it's not that big of a logic leap to assume that everyone will eventually suffer the same fate." He gulped. "We are probably next in line, Helena."
After he said goodbye to Thomas and Helena, Alex locked the door of his room, tossed himself on his bed and just lied on his back for a bit, panting heavily; one of his gloved hands started crawling towards the now obvious bulge in his pants, but Alex grabbed the bed sheets firmly: he was desperately trying to counteract the growing horniness that was making his whole body tense like a harp string, but the only things he could think off were Derek's charming smile, the broad pecs and shoulders of Joss, Knight's big kangaroo paws, and Iceman...Alex let out a small moan, and immediately bit his darkening lips. He hadn't thought that much about Noah in the past two days, but now that he was getting more and more aroused by the minute, it was like opening a flood of repressed desire: he could see Iceman encased in his spandex uniform, every muscle and bulge of his body perfectly defined; he could hear his heavy, liquid breath after a fight, and he could even smell the scent of after-shave and manly sweat of his skin. Alex quickly discarded the beanie and the thick gloves, and started massaging his cock and balls through his pants; he groggily asked himself what species of animal Iceman would turn into... Something sexy and powerful, that was for sure. "Nngh..." he groaned, heavy droplets of sweat crossing his forehead. "I... I can't take it anymore... Fuck!" In a second he was back on his feet, and was taking off all his clothes as fast as he could, literally ripping his boxers away with his sharp, powerful claws. For a moment, he contemplated his new sheath in all its glory: the fleshy tube was partially connected to his body, and was covered in short red fur; but the best part of it was the scarlet slick cock extending out of it, glistering proudly with precum from its knotty base to the pointy tip. The animalistic dick wasn't much longer than Alex's previous shaft - a little less than seven inches against maybe six and a half - but the moment he touched the bright red meat with his leathery pads, a loud whimper of pleasure escaped from the fox-boy's lips: it was so sensitive he wondered how it was possible he hadn't cum already. A playfully wicked grin made his way on his face, showing canine teeth that were decidedly pointier than they were just a couple of hours before. Alex started stroking his shaft with a hand-paw while fondling his black scrotum with the other; the musky odor coming from his animalistic shaft was driving him crazy, and he wanted to cum so bad, to find out how much more intense and wonderful his orgasm as a (nearly) anthropomorphic fox would've been. He could see Iceman standing in front of him, his chilling blue eyes filled with lust and desire; his strong but caring hands caressing Alex's body, his powerful body covered in thick fur, warm and inviting... and, between his muscular legs, a sheath not unlike the one sported by the fox-boy. With a cocky smile, the wrestler invited Alex to kneel in front of him, to taste the precum oozing from his pointed penis, to feel it slide in his mouth...The thought of giving oral sex to the man of his dreams proved to be too much for Alex, and with a long moan of ecstasy he sprayed his load all over Joss' bed sheets. The amount of sperm was roughly the same he had produced when he still was human, but the intensity of the climax was tenfold: for a moment, the fox-boy felt like he was cumming with his entire body, not just his penis. After the orgasm waves had passed, Alex stood there for a couple of minutes, his mind still cloudy and his pink tongue - now longer than that of an average human - lolling happily from the side of his mouth. It took him a while to realize what he had just done, and it was like being hit squarely in the chest by a mallet: not only he had masturbated using his new, animalistic equipment, he had liked it. A lot. It had been leagues better than when he was a human, to be exact, even if way too fast. Feeling his legs shaky and wobbly, he sit back on his bed, his black hand-paws trembling visibly. "What have I become?" he asks to the empty room. "W-what... what am I becoming?"Nobody answered. And so, after a long depressed sigh, Alex stood up, opened the wardrobe, and started changing his roommate's bed sheets.