FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 1

“... and the broken pieces shall be mended, merged into something greater than both halves."

An echo through the dreamscape.

Her eyes snapped open to pure darkness. She couldn't see her body; she couldn't see anything for that

matter. The only thing her eyes could spot was the nothing that seemed to envelope her endlessly.

“Those within shall be one with their better selves. The forever bonding of a better world."

With each word light shot through the darkness, illuminating the nothingness. A beautiful display of

colors and radiance. Yet what it showed to her was not something she was prepared to see, as within

the dark void, within the edges that stretched to eternity, she was not alone.

Hundreds of thousands of humanoid silhouettes all shifted throughout the empty abyss. Their forms

being revealed with each spark of brilliant light. Her eyes traced the source, to see the point at which it

originated. The point at which it was all revealed.

“I shall make it right."

A figure enlightened within the blaze, whom spoke loud, powerful and ever echoing throughout the

infinite.

“It shall be done."

Shattering the darkness, light scattered her body like a plane of glass. A thousand, thousand screams

echoed throughout as the burning rays licked the skin. A blinding blast of pure energy that knocked her

through the void like a pinball. The pain felt like being burned alive, bones liquefying and grown back

into something new. Something was wrong, something was happening, this was wrong. What did she…?

She was falling, at least for a moment, floating in the air so peacefully before her body scattered upon a

cushioned softness. Her eyes blinked open at the rush, whatever was below her had cracked and

snapped into a handful of pieces. They stabbed and scrapped against her body, though the sensation felt

strange, dulled.

Moonlight shined brightly in the bedroom, illuminating the majority of the once dark space. She knew

the room well, a decently sized master bedroom with its own bathroom and walk in closet. Fancier then

most, wooden floors and the like… A mirror sat just to the right of where she laid, a large and overbuilt

one a gift from a friend. Though there was something wrong about what she saw in the mirror, it wasn't

what she was expecting to see. Something faintly yellow pierced the shadows of the space, was she still

sleeping?

“Car? What… What happ-?" A voice whispered next to her, a light masculine voice from a small bodied

man.

“Carmen-" The confusion within his voice was cut short by a gasp of fear. The faint smell of something

minty rose from his general direction.

Carmen shifted her head towards the voice, her head felt heavy and her eyes did not seem to want to

cooperate, being constantly unfocused. She looked towards where she thought he would be, only to

have to lower her vision much lower. The man was frozen in place, eyes wide, body shaking. Something

had him terrified, but what could it be?

Carmen wanted to respond but something felt wrong with her mouth, something was off. Flexing it, she

eventually slurred the word out. “Kane?"

His head looked up in her direction but just off to the right, as if he couldn't see her right next to him.

“Honey… w-where are…?"

She drifted over closer to his vision, unsure to why he couldn't see her. She could see his messy brown

hair just fine. “I-."

His scream was loud and deafening for her, louder than any concert or construction site she had ever

been to. Instinctively, her hands attempted to fly up to where her ears were but her limbs were

uncooperative. Kane slipped off the broken bed and stumbled back towards the dresser on the far wall.

He was trying to move towards the door, but stumbling upon every little thing in the way.

“What… what the fuck is that!? Carmen, where are you?!" Kane yelled as his gaze darted around the

room in panic.

Carmen's gaze attempted to follow his, trying to spot whatever he was so fearful of, but there was

nothing in the room other than her. Why did it all feel smaller?

“Carmen, I- I can't see anything, where are you?!" Kane's voice rang through the bedroom.

“I'm… I'm right here." Carmen stuttered, her mouth felt weird and misshapen, the words didn't come

out right. They sounded wrong.

“Carmen, I-" Kane asked again, his voice faltering as his eyes darted about. “Where- What's wrong with

your voice?"

She didn't know. “What's going on?"

Kane was still shaking. “I… There was something, it was big, I… a lot of teeth and I… I don't see you

Carmen, where are you?"

Entirely on edge due to the tone of his voice, Carmen tried her best to look around the room for but a

moment but her mind was still so foggy. Everything felt so dulled. “I'm on the bed."

“I- I'm gonna' find the light switch." He peeped as he stumbled closer and closer to the door. His hands

fumbled around the wall helplessly.

Carmen on the other hand had begun trying to figure out why her body felt so heavy, why everything

felt so dulled, why her mind was so foggy. She tried to look at her hands but the muscles to lift them

felt… wrong. Eventually she was able to figure it out and lift her right hand directly above her face, only

to see something strange. In the dim light all she saw was some sort of animalistic gloves.

Then the lights turned on. A blinding blast of bright light that felt like a flashbang to her. She blinked a

couple times and tried to rub her eyes, but she still couldn't feel her fingers.

“W- What the fuck- What the fuck-!" Kane stuttered in panic as Carmen slowly moved her wobbling

head to look at him. “What the fuck is that?!"

Carmen snapped her gaze where he was looking as fast as she could, though found herself over

compositing and having to focus her dizzy vision. There was nothing behind her, other than the solid

sheet rock wall and bedside cabinet. She turned back towards him and cocked her head. Kane was tight

against the wall, knuckles white from the grip. His eyes were firmly locked on either her or something

past her as his thin body shook violently.

“Don't- Don't eat me!" He begged as he shrunk to the ground while tears rolled down his face, arms

raising to protect it. “Carmen!? Carmen, where are you?!"

“Kane?" Carmen asked, incredibly confused. “I'm right here? What do you see?"

Kane's head snapped up at the sound of her voice but once again recoiled at the sight of whatever he

saw. “Carmen? What- How-"

“Kane? What's wrong?" Carmen asked again.

His face, wide eyed and terrified gained a hint of confusion. The emotions within his mind plainly visible

on his face, as the pieces were put into place. His eyes never left her. “Carmen?" He asked quietly, as if

not wanting the answer.

“What's wrong?" Carmen responded grunting as the dizziness began to grow stronger.

“What happened to you?" Kane asked.

Carmen shook her head, trying to shake the fog from her mind. “I don't know what you-"

Her gaze returned back down to her hands to see the strange bright red scaled gloves that she had seen

previous. She looked further down to see a chest constructed of tan sheets of reptilian armor. Wait…

Her heart began to pound in her chest, her eyes snapped fully open as she looked over her entire body.

The woozy feeling within her head evaporated away like morning dew.

What the fuck was she?

A massive reptilian creature now sat upon her broken bed, dark red scales coating the entirety of her

muscular four-legged form. Thick claws tipped her now beefy digits while tall wings laid

unceremoniously across her back. She could feel a tail running off past the shattered pieces of wood and

hitting the wall behind her. Carmen only realized halfway through that the reason she could even see all

of this was because of how long her neck had become.

Then she caught a glance of herself in the mirror again, a glance of her now disturbing face upon the

glass. A lizard-like muzzle full of sharp dagger teeth. Long dangerous looking horns stabbing out of the

back of her head. Unfamiliar yellow eyes stared back at her, slowly beginning to glow.

Carmen looked back down at her hands, is that what they were even called?

What the fuck was she?

“What…"

She was gone, replaced by some horrifying monster. Where was her original self, her original body? Why

did this happen? What was going to happen? Could she even fit through the door to leave? She felt like

she wanted to cry but no tears came, only the feelings. The idea that she was so alien that she couldn't

even cry only made it worse.

“Carmen?" Kane's voice brought her back, he sounded desperate.

“Kane…. I… I don't know what happened. I'm..." She wheezed through deep breaths.

“Car?" Kane asked again, his voice growing louder.

“Don't look at me! I… I'm a monster." Carmen choked.

She opened her eyes to see Kane standing directly in front of the shattered bed, face more worried than

scared. “C- Carmen? I…" His voice abruptly stopped.

Carmen's eyes ran over his body, his darker skin contrasting his white underwear. Light stubble battered

the bottom of his worry filled face. His form shook with a fear that burned like hot iron to her. He looked

so small, even with her long neck low to the bed he was still looking directly forward. She was probably

big enough to fill the entire bed now.

Their eyes met in the silence.

“I don't know what happened b- but we'll get through this, o- okay?" Kane spoke, his voice still shaky.

“But I'm-" Carmen began, the feelings emerging once again, but were quickly stopped as Kane laid a

hand upon her large neck, the touch dulled by her thick scales.

“W- We'll figure it out, together… alright?" His voice grew more confident with every word. “A- Alright?"

Carmen watched him closely, surprised at the sudden confidence even when seeing what she was now.

She watched him inspect ever feature upon his face, hoping to see the fear drop away, but it stayed.

Pain filled her chest as she reluctantly nodded.

“Okay… Let's… What time is it?" He asked as he looked towards the bed stand. “6:13 AM."

He looked back towards his transformed partner and stifled the flinch from the sight. “I- Uh…

Breakfast?"

Her spacious stomach grumbled at the word; the sound much louder than anything a human could have

made. “Yes?" She responded, attempting a smile.

Kane's skin turned pale at the display of a massive creature's hunger. He tried to hide his fear with a

smile but it did nothing to mask it. He nodded and turned to walk out of the bedroom, his movement

stopping as his eyes fell upon the door. “Can you even fit through the…?" He asked cautiously.

Carmen looked down towards the broken bed and her changed limbs. “I… I'm not even sure if I can

stand." Her voice broke with anxiety.

“I'll… I'll grab you something then, alright?" Kane quickly assured. “I think we have some leftover ribs in

the…"

Carmen's stomach grumbled again. “Uh- Yeah that'd be…"

Jumping at the sound, Kane nodded as he took cautious steps towards the door. His eyes never left her

form his whole body was stiffly held in her direction never changing. He was afraid to turn his back on

her.

With pain in her chest from the realization, Carmen's gaze drifted back towards the mirror, feeling a

strange disconnect as she saw the creature within it mimic her movements. She still had eyebrows,

though they were more ridges than anything, she still had lips, but she didn't have ears anymore. No

more earrings so it would seem. Eyes of a light yellow stared back at her, their glow slightly highlighting

the edges of her scaled face. She sighed, wincing at the feeling and sound of her much bigger lungs.

Everything that was once her was gone. Everything that she had treasured about what she was, now

replaced by a monstrous façade of her. Memories of her spending hours trying to get her hair right

before their first date popped in her head, a painful reminder that what once was, now was no longer.

She was no longer pretty, or beautiful, she was a horrible monster.

Movement shifted above her head her gaze snapped to it. Long red scaled arms tipped with spindly

fingers interlaced with a tan leather-like tarp. Wings. In the chaos of everything else she had forgotten

she had wings. They draped clumsily across her back and the entire side of the bedroom they sat within.

Honestly, if it wasn't for everything else that looked so terrifying, these would be pretty nice to have,

but her emotions were tempered by the reality of her situation. She wondered if they would actually lift

her off the ground.

Carmen's gaze shifted lower, towards her hands. Five digits still, thankfully, though much thicker than

what she was used to, and like the rest of her coated in blood red scales. Her fingers were tipped with

dangerous looking claws, sharpened to a point. She flexed her hand, watching the new muscles and

bones shift beneath the scales. Dangerous weapons that would slice anything or anyone into pieces if

she tried hard enough.

Her mind stopped on the width of these new fingers. Realization hit her as her eyes darted over the bed,

thrown into a panic as she lifted her heavy limbs to find what she searched for.

There!

A small platinum ring tipped with sapphire that glinted beautifully in the light. Carmen held it, picked it

up and held it carefully, time seemed to slow down as she realized she'd never wear it again. Her

smallest finger was now twice if not triple the size of the ring. The object that solidified her love to Kane

was separated from her permanently.

She tried her best to shift over and lightly set the ring upon her bed stand, but winced as it bounced off

the wood and fell upon the ground underneath the stand. Carmen attempted to react fast enough to

grab but, but instead found herself shifting her new body in a way that made her lose balance. Like a

painfully slow collapse of a bridge, she rolled over off the side of the bed and collided with the floor and

partially the wall. Her wings battering the window and her shoulder taking the fall.

A groan was all she could make as she tried her best to move her arm to lift herself up, but it was all so

foreign. Her limbs didn't fall like she expected and she didn't know how they moved.

“I… I heard a bang- Oh! Are you okay?" Kane's voice emanated from the doorway, his tone shifting from

fearful to worried as his emotions waged war within.

Carmen could only groan as she instead tried to shift herself to see the bedstand. With another grunt

and another unprepared fall to the ground she could now see it, the ring just underneath the bedstand.

She reached towards it eagerly, only to find that her hand did not fit underneath the stand like it used

to. Sorrow hit her like a bus, it was right there, why couldn't she reach it?

“I… Car- Carmen, are you okay?" Kane repeated, stuttering over her name like it was wrong.

“I dropped it." She didn't mean for her words to sound so pained, but it was all she could feel.

Kane moved towards Carmen, steering clear for her long tail and towering wings. “What did…" Kane

began but cut himself off as he rounded the edge of the bed, seeing her decimated bestial face staring

underneath the bedstand.

“It's right there! I just. Can't. get. It." She repeated as she rammed her hand into the gap of the

bedstand, not noticing it chipping from the impact.

Kane squeezed by Carmen's large body and approached her head. He moved his hands towards either

side of her face, to hold her head just like he used to. His hands rose towards her; they floated, forms

shaking, just inches away from the sides of her face. His eyes stared like daggers towards hers, as if

searching for something within, before a light smile hit his face. The pain, fear, and hesitation were plain

to see, the sight caused the gripping tightness within her chest to grow. Though it immediately washed

away as the light slow contact came anyway

“H- Hey, hey! It's okay." His words came suddenly for the both of them.

Carmen closed her eyes at the warm touch, leaning into his hands, desperate to flee this feeling. “Now

let me get that for… you…" He spoke as he clambered down below the bed stand and felt a familiar

object. “Oh."

The pain came back immediately.

“It- It doesn't fit anymore." Carmen cried, her voice breaking.

Kane did his best to hide the emotions that slammed him as he held the ring within his hand. The view

of the massive scaled creature next to him, breathing heavily upon his neck did nothing to help. He

processed her words slowly, not wanting believe the truth behind them, the pain behind them. “I…" He

could not find the words to speak as he stared upon it. “W- We'll…"

His gaze fell back upon Carmen, flinching once again at the sight. “We'll figure this out…" He shifted the

ring in his hands as he watched her for but a moment, his view cautious. Carmen felt so disconnected, it

didn't help that she could see tears brewing in the corners of his beautiful green eyes, hear his

heartbeat rising, smell the salt in his tears.

“We… We have to figure this out." Kane's eyes fell back towards the ring in his hands, watching its

beautiful crystal glint in the lamp light.

Kane's façade of confidence quickly fell apart after that, as the cruel reality was beginning to finally crash

through. “I… I need to go." He said attempting to compose himself as he rushed past her body and out

the door.

“Wait I-" Carmen tried to think of something to say to stop him leaving, but he was already gone.

Thoughts raced through her mind as the agony of everything reverberated within her. She wanted to

cry; she wanted the tears to flow, to fall, to crash, but nothing came as she closed her eyes. Her mind

ran rampant at the sight of her lover fleeing from her, who could ever love something so animalistic as

she was now?

Carmen caught her breath as her eyes darted towards the mirror once again, a silent prayer that

whatever was happening had ended, but it was only the inhuman staring back. The world around her

cemented her thoughts. How much space she took up, how inhuman she was, all of these things

reinforced herself disgust. She needed to leave, to remove whatever this was from Kane's life so that he

could be happy again, happy without her. She bit her lip.

Kane could not be heard. He must have run away from all of this; fled from the scary monster. She

couldn't blame him; she'd do the same.

A growling within her belly reminded her of the previous events.

Her gaze shifted back to her collapsed body, splayed out over the ground, the bed and the wall

unceremoniously. She needed to figure this out. With a huff, she shifted her left hand directly below her

and soon to follow her right as well, and pushed herself to a semi crawling position. Now balancing upon

her two front feet she threw one arm upon the collapsed bed and shakily pulled herself up upon the

sheets.

Carmen could still feel her legs lying limply the cold hard wood of the floor, trailing too and touching the

wall. She tried her best to move them, to feel the muscles within, eventually getting a grasp on what she

had to work with. Cringing as she realized she no longer would be able to walk 'normally' as her new

legs were built in such a way to walk like an animal, not like a human. Stopping she took a deep breath

as she began to feel the new weight of her body, the new balance that she would have to hold. Then she

pushed all of her weight off the bed and onto her back feet, before chaotically shifting all legs upon the

ground.

Then that was it, she was standing. The feeling of her new thick appendages supporting her immense

weight was something bizarre yet liberating. She would not be bed ridden! Her large muscles shifted and

stretched as she moved her body, cautiously experimenting with the new feelings. Immediately the sight

grounded her, with her cringing at the sight. However, she was now standing, though that was only half

of the battle.

She knew, somehow, that she couldn't walk on two legs anymore, so she didn't even try. Instead, she

shifted her legs like that of a dog, back left and front right, then back right and front left, alternating.

Though the idea was sound, the execution was far from perfect. Shakily she took her first step forward,

though had no time to celebrate.

Squeezing past the now significantly smaller area between the bed and the wall, she stumbled heavily

towards the door out of their bedroom. A quick look towards her wings confirmed her suspicions about

size, she tried her best to pull them in tightly. The frame was tight, worryingly snug against her scales as

they grinded against the wood. It took a couple attempts, as her new wings and frame found the

doorframe too thin to fit. Though eventually she found the right angle, and with a light cracking pop she

was able to shimmy through. Her mind stopped upon the feeling of her tail sliding against the ground, a

ticklish reminder of her current situation.

She wandered into their main living space, a decently sized room that was the other half of the one-

bedroom house. In the middle, a couch facing a fancy flatscreen TV that Kane had gotten for her

birthday, he knew how much she loved movies. She remembered dragging the couch in with Kane and

his father from her mother's house when she said she didn't need it. Nice well-kept leather, not a single

crack or break since her mother had given it to her. A variety of nick-nacks were scattered about the

place as reminders of the various trips the duos had taken.

Turning the corner into the Kitchen revealed more of the same, A decently sized antique circular table

equipped with three chairs sat before a window bay with closed curtains. More trinkets topped the

table while more gifted equipment and more memories were scattered about the L shaped kitchen top.

However, the smell of delicious food snapped her attention to the aluminum wrapped container of ribs

that taunted her upon the counter. Leftovers from a party at Kane's father's house, a semiweekly

occasion where he invited half the neighborhood and smoked as much meat as he could. There were

always leftovers, and Kane always got some. As the memories passed through her gaze never left the

food, it's fate now sealed.

With one arm Carmen balanced upon the counter as she used the other to lightly unwrap the container,

taking a deep whiff of the savory meat that lied before her. Even though they were still cold, Carmen

daintily grabbed one of the small meat laden bones between her claws and took a cautious bite. The

second the meat made contact with her tongue the entire definition of starvation changed for her. Both

hands hastily and violently shoveled every piece of meat she could into her bestial jaw. Nothing was safe

from her vicious attack. By the time she was done there was nothing left, no bones, no meat, no sauce,

nothing. It was just a metallic container torn to shreds and her, both covered in barbecue sauce.

Her hands, or what she called her hands, were drenched in sauce. As crazy as the sight was, it felt so

horrifically foreign to her. Carmen sighed as she tried her best to not track barbecue sauce across the

ground as she moved towards the sink. Honestly, she surprised herself with the level of precision she

could get out of her new hands. As bulky as they were, they still allowed her to turn the sink on, pump

the soap and was them all while leaning against the counter. She'd have to thank Kane later for pushing

for the granite countertops and reinforced wooden cabinets instead of the cheap plywood and tile. That

stuff probably wouldn't be able to hold up the weight of something like her.

Movement in the window in front of her, her eyes darted to it faster than she could react. It was her, or

at least, her reflection. The strange beast within the glass meeting her gaze, its muzzle coated in

barbecue sauce. She looked back down towards the water and attempted to was her face without

splashing water everywhere. Though her sheer size made that an impossibility. She wondered what

Kane would think if he saw her like this. Would he laugh? Would he cry?

Would he be scared?

As her eyes flitted away from her reflection, the smell of salt touched the edges of her nose. She sniffed

almost instinctually once more to get a better feel for it, but instead heard the source.

Crying.

Immediately her heart dropped and a deep want to comfort Kane grew in its place, but would she bring

him any comfort? Or would her presence just make it worse? Her mind bounced back to Kane shakily

reaching out towards her to comfort her, pushing past the fear to help her, but the fear was still there.

He tried so hard to help her, should she try too?

Carmen wobbled out of the kitchen as fast as she could still not confident on her ability to move. Each

step felt like a leap of faith to limbs that didn't feel strong enough to support her. She could still hear

Kane crying; her gaze flew through the room scanning for him as quickly as she possibly could. Her eyes

bouncing between everywhere he could possibly be between the large living space, the entrance way

and the bathroom. Following the sound, she could faintly hear him just past the back door outside on

their small after thought of a porch.

She stumbled over towards the backdoor doing her best to balance on three limbs to twist the handle. It

swung open faster than what she was expecting but she was able to stop it. The night air was brisk,

much colder than the heated air within the home. A wooden fence lined the small empty yard they had,

with a long disused shed sitting in the far-right corner. The moon was high in the darkened cloudy sky,

barely visible. She poked her head out into the night air and broke at the sight of Kane.

Upon a wooden patio chair, Kane sat coiled up in a ball with a pillow in his lap, head buried firmly within

the softness. She could hear his wheezing breaths between his pained sobs. He hadn't put on any

clothes, still just wearing the underwear he had slept in. He shook heavily from either the cold or the

emotions, or both. He held the pillow tightly like he was scared of it leaving him.

“Kane?" She asked as quietly as she could.

His head flew up as he let loose a quick yelp from the sudden sound. His eyes were bloodshot and tears

stained his bright red face. He stared upon her with soaked eyes “I…" he left his mouth open like there

was more to say but the words never came, he just watched her form in fear.

Carmen could tell he could barely see her, just like in the bedroom the only light was the dim moon with

nothing else. Kane's eyes darted between the highlighted parts of her body; the parts she knew would

be illuminated. Eventually his beautiful green eyes landed on her glowing yellow eyes, much brighter

than before. They shared a stare for quite a while before one of them broke the silence.

“I… I'm sorry, you're the one…" Kane began his voice choked from the tears.

“No." Carmen said softly. “You…" The words didn't come.

Kane looked away towards the moon as tears started to fall again, against his wishes. “I know that… that

you…"

He stopped himself and took a deep shaky breath. Eyes never breaking from the monolithic moon

above.

“What are we going to do?" Kane finally said, his emotions breaking. “I…"

“We'll figure this out, right? Just like you said." Carmen said, questioning even herself as she said it.

Kane didn't respond, his eyes met hers again. Carmen could see him shaking once more as the smell of

mint wafted through the air. “I don't…" He began

Tears fell harder than before as he looked towards the ground. Carmen watched the droplets fall and

splash against the concrete. “I'm terrified of… you… Carmen."

Carmen took a step back from the emotional slap that Kane delivered. Her mind welled with sadness as

the weight of his words hit her. She'd be crying too if she could, but instead she just bit her lip. Kane

looked away again towards the moon. She could see the thoughts run through his mind as his face hid

none of it.

“So, h- how I am supposed to help you, w- when I'm on the verge of… of becoming a heaving wreck

every time I look at you?" Kane sobbed.

He caught his breath but his eyes showed a level of sadness she had never seen within him before.

“You… you remember the zookeeper, right?"

It hit her like a bus, in the hectic events she had forgotten. It'd been years since it was even brought up.

Kane was deathly scared of lizards; He had seen a zookeeper get attacked by a Komodo dragon while

she was feeding it when Kane was a kid. It took a year for Kane to finally tell her about it, but he told her

it was the first and only time he had ever seen anyone die so violently.

She wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him. To otherwise show him that she cared for him in a way

that words couldn't show, but if the view of herself scared her, she couldn't even imagine what it was

doing to him. Carmen only nodded.

Kane's eyes went back towards the moon, he stared in silence as Carmen noticed the oranges of a

sunrise licking the tree line. Tears rolled down his check as he did his best to not break apart again.

“What do I need to do?" Carmen asked.

Kane stayed silent, not breaking his gaze towards the crescent moon. His brow furrowed as the thoughts

rushed through his head. The lack of any sound this early in the morning was deafening, painful even.

Kane wiped the tears with the pillow and made eye contact with her once again. She moved to ask the

question again but got cut off by his voice.

“Are you still... you?" His voice was desperate, he needed the answer. “Are you still the woman I

proposed to?"

“Not- Not physically, I… I think I can get over that hurdle… eventually…" He elaborated. “Are you… you…

in your head?"

Carmen began to respond, but the response she thought she knew choked her up, she didn't believe it.

She lifted one of her hands and looked at, just like before it felt disconnected and far away. Something

that was so strange that her own mind couldn't believe it was hers. She looked towards Kane seeing his

expectant face. She flexed the muscles and sighed.

“I don't know." Carmen responded finally, breaking the silence. “I feel normal, but… well, it's only been

an hour."

“Jesus you're right." Kane responded as he ran his hand through his hair. His gaze went back up to the

moon. “W- We'll I'm freezing, and I think you're letting all the warm air out, so maybe we continue this

conversation inside?"

Carmen looked back towards the door to see herself still halfway through it, not having fully went

outside. “Oh- Shit. Sorry, yeah we can…" She said as she clumsily reversed back through the doorway.

As she finally got inside, she watched Kane turn the lights on and finally get a good look at her full size.

His eyes grew wide and he took a cautious step back as his body began to shake slightly but he didn't

look away. He looked on with restrained emotions.

“Oh- I… y- you're… really b- big." Kane said stunned and terrified from the sight.

Carmen took another look at her body again, impressed at how far her neck could crane. Her body took

up almost half of the living space that she used to think was massive. Her wings, even as pressed

together as tight as she could still made full contact with the wall that was a good handful of feet away

from her. She cringed at the feeling.

As her view returned back to Kane, she saw the pure look of terror he had upon his face. Immediately

she felt that familiar pain within her chest. His body was shaking heavily once again and his eyes were

wide darting between her claws and teeth. He had locked up at the sight of her, his mind solely focused

on the creature in front of him not the person.

“Kane it's… It's me." She meekly spoke as the pain of being an object of terror seeped into her voice. “I…

I won't hurt you."

Kane heard the words and blinked a couple times and made eye contact with Carmen. Immediately the

shaking simmered and his form relaxed. “Y- Yeah… you're… yeah…" He took multiple deep breaths

attempting to slow the pounding heart that Carmen could hear. “I'm… I'm hungry."

Carmen winced. “Oh… I- I ate all the ribs… I didn't mean to but I… I was really hungry."

Kane froze at the insinuation of eating but took a deep breath and pushed past. “I- it's okay, you're…"

He stopped and looked upon her body again. “You're… really big… you need to eat a lot."

He made one more anxious glance towards her as he stumbled towards the kitchen. “I- I think we still

have some sandwich meat left."

Carmen followed as quietly as she could, doing anything she could think of to not be intimating, her long

neck was craned down low her wings were pulled in tight. Though with every step she could hear her

thump of her steps or her claws tapping against the hard wood floors, and her tail was constantly

dragging behind her as a constant drone. Hell, even her heavy breathing was significantly louder than

anything that a human could make. There was truly nothing she could do.

Kane walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, wordlessly grabbing the mayo, ham and cheese

from the fridge, then bread from the cabinet. He placed the ingredients upon the marble counter top

and began the process of making a sandwich. Carmen cringed as she saw him slather the meat with

mayo haphazardly, an audible gag catching within her throat.

Kane jumped at the sound as his eyes darted towards her standing in the doorway. Once again, he froze

at the sight of her before he forced words. “W- What?"

“Oh- It's uh… the mayo." Carmen replied.

“Wh- What?" He asked before realization dawned on him. He looked back towards the sandwich as he

went from pure terror to a soft smile as a bit of normalcy returned. “R- Really, this again? It's not that

bad."

His shaky voice was shifting to something more casual as Kane raised the jar up into the air, motioning it

towards her, while pointing to the label with the knife. “This is the good stuff too… You probably haven't

even tried this brand yet!"

“Probably not… but…" Carmen blushed under her scales, and looked away. “I… I just don't get how you

like it… It sticks to the top of my mouth and tastes like slime."

Kane laughed, he genuinely laughed as Carmen spoke. A spark of hope ignited within her chest as the

sound came, maybe this could work? Though that spark was immediately snuffed as his beautiful green

eyes looked back upon her and like before he locked up with fear. He ripped his eyes away and returned

to the sandwich. “S- Sorry."

The process of making the sandwich was a silent one, a silence that neither Kane nor Carmen dared

break. Both of them were fully lost in thought and kept their gaze towards the ground or their actions.

The only sound permeating the dense air was the occasional metallic clack of Kane cleaning his knife or

putting dishes in the sink. Carmen let her vision fall towards the ground. Was she still herself?

“Oh… wow y- you really were hungry…" Kane's voice broke the silence causing Carmen's gaze to dart up

towards him. “E- Even the bones?"

Kane stood not far from where he had been making the sandwich, but instead of facing the counter, he

now faced the absolutely decimated metal tray that she had visited not long ago. Though, the counter

was still coated in barbecue sauce the tray was mostly clean. Carmen sunk back in her haunches at the

sight. “I… I was hungry…"

“I- It's… fine." Kane said as he reached for the tray.

“No no! I got it I…" Carmen began as they both dove for the metallic pan, both of their arms reaching for

the metal tray. Though Carmen was not used to either the size or weight of her body, and in the act of

reaching for this tray, she very quickly knocked herself off balance. Her eyes went wide as she realized

her only path now, was right on top of Kane.

“OH-" Kane yelled as she toppled atop him easily knocking him off his feet and onto the ground. She felt

both of his hands wrap around her neck as she followed him. With a loud thump both of their bodies

slapped against the tile floor of the kitchen.

Immediately Carmen pushed away feeling the pieces of Kane's sandwich roll off her back. “I'm- I'm so

sorry! I- I was- I didn't mean…!"

Kane's face was frozen in a constant grimace, like he was waiting for something to happen. Though that

something never came, he opened his eyes to see Carmen looking upon her with concern. “A- Are you

okay? I- I'm sorry I was…"

Immediately his breathing doubled in speed as his eyes darted for escape. He shakily rose to his feet and

stumbled into a run down the hall. The thumping steps of his panicked escape echoing throughout the

empty house. Carmen instinctively jumped for him as he began to run, to him from leaving her again,

though that made it so much worse. The terror within was plain to see, only pure unadulterated panic

within his eyes as he flew away from her.

“Kane!" Carmen yelled after him as he darted throughout the house, but her only response was the

slamming of the bathroom door.

Carmen sat in silence as she stared at where Kane once stood. In one single span of events, she went

from feeling the beginnings of normalcy straight back to step one. Kane was terrified of her, and though

he kept trying he couldn't see past her form. She still didn't blame him, who could? He was forever

scarred by something that resurfaced with a glance towards her. Her mind was made, she shuffled her

way towards the bathroom where Kane hid for one last conversation.

The door was closed with light bleeding through the edges. The sound of Kane's hushed rapid breathing

coming through the door, with the smell of salty tears seeping as well. “Kane… I…" She began, listening

intensely as his breathing lightened.

“I'm so sorry." Emotion flowed through her voice in a way she couldn't stop. She'd be crying if she could.

“I- I wish… I wish you didn't have to deal with this."

Her gaze bounced between the door and the different memories within her house, the nice TV, the

couch the table, everything that she had placed so haphazardly. Carmen's hope for a return to the norm

was beginning to fade. “And I'm scared, cause' I don't know what what's happening, or why it's

happening, or if it'll ever even go back to normal."

“I love you, I truly do, but I don't think I can stay… I'll- I'll find something, but I…" Carmen gathered her

words, her thoughts from the past hour or so forming her sentences. “I just want you to be happy, and

with me being what I am, I- I don't think… I don't think you can do that."

“So, I'll just…" She began as she turned away from the door and began to make her way to entrance

way. He'd be happier without her, she reasoned. She didn't think about what she would do afterwards,

or where she would go, none of those things mattered. All that mattered in this moment was that he

was happy.

The front door was easily the oldest part of the whole house. Carmen's father had a whole deal about

building doors for his kids and he built her one. It was beautiful, a lacquered wood with an intricately

designed rose filled vase engraved upon it, a direct reference to the roses that she had gifted Kane on

their first date. Her father made the door as a 'reminder to her love'.

“W- Wait! Carmen, I-!" A weak raspy voice rose from within the bathroom. Carmen's head snapped to it,

that hope within blossoming once again. The door swung open to reveal Kane shaking heavily in the

doorway. “Don't l-!" He froze at the sight of her in the morning lit room.

“G- God D- Dammit…" He cursed himself as he slammed his eyes closed while taking deep paced

breaths. “I… Please… don't leave…" He said between shaking breaths. “I- I don't want… I don't want you

to l- leave."

“I- I'm scared, sure, b- but I… I hear your voice and I see you… well- what you used to look like. Then I

look at you and I-" Kane said as he pushed his lids together.

Carmen began to ramble as the possible solutions in her head fell out through her mouth. “I'll… I'll figure

something out- I'll leave and I'll find something to make me normal again and I- I'll be me again and

we'll…"

“W- What if you… don't? We- We don't know what caused this, what if it's permanent?" Kane sighed

with shaky breath. “I- if you leave to… to find some way to turn back, I- I don't know if I'll ever see you

again and-"

“And t- the last thing I want is you leaving me forever, es- especially if you're-" Carmen shifted in place

at the words, causing her tail and claws to clack against the ground. Kane immediately stopped talking.

Kane visibly bit his lip and took more deep breaths. “I'm imagining you- eh, old you- in front me of right

now, but I guess…"

He took a couple more deep breaths, Carmen could hear his heartrate slowing. Then he opened his

eyes. Immediately he froze as the sight panicking once again, but he closed his eyes again and caught his

breathing. “God- I- I can't do this- just-"

“That's why I n-" Carmen began before Kane cut her off.

“Don't you dare leave… please!" Kane snapped as his emotions peaked. “I- I'd never forgive myself I- if

you left because of me."

He took deep breaths again as his body began to shake once more. “O- okay, you gotta throw me in the

deep end, get… get closer to me… like within touching distance, I- need to be…"

“Are you sure?" Carmen responded.

Kane was silent for a couple seconds, his body calming. “No, but it's worth a shot, right? L- Like when I

made you r- ride that roller coaster, and I told you to close your eyes till we got to the end of the line?"

“I… I still hate you for that… but… I mean, it did work." Carmen said with bated breath.

“Then come over here, and I'll- I'll try not to scream too loud." Kane's voice shook heavily as the

trepidation within began to build. He was not ready for this.

Small shaky steps towards Kane were all that Carmen could force herself to do. From ten feet or so away

to eight, to six, to a point where she was just in front of him, only a couple of feet away or so.

“A- Are you there? I- I t- think I can h- hear you breathing…" Kane asked extremely shakily.

“Yeah…" Kane could feel the hot breath of her words as she spoke. The feeling locked him up but he

pushed through.

For Carmen everything was building to this moment. She stared at him with such a bonfire of hope

within that if it was visible it'd light up the block. Even her breaths were growing shaky as the anxiety of

it all began to grip her chest tightly. She waited on bated breath for his actions, was he going to leave?

Ditch her? Did he even still love her?

His eyes opened suddenly. Immediately his face pulled back as if prepared for a bite, his heart pounded

in his chest, nervous sweat ran down his face, and his body was basically vibrating. Despite it all, he took

a deep breath and pushed through. Once again, he opened his eyes and caught his breath as they fell

upon her reptilian form. Her piercing yellow eyes burned holes into his head.

“I-" Kane's voice was shaky and dry, he gulped. He blinked a couple times, as his eyes darted past her

face and over her body. “I- I…"

“Kane?" Carmen asked cautiously.

Highlighted by the rising sun, Kane stirred in a storm of emotions that showed upon his face. His eyes

darted across her body like he was waiting for it all to change. The presentation of thoughts upon his

face was plain to see, both the raging desire to be better, and a powerful love glowed brightly through

the all-encompassing darkness of fear. His body hesitated as he watched her, his feet anxiously shifted

in place, leaning on the back foot ready to run. It seemed, for but a moment, that Carmen would be

back to step one with Kane.

Though that was not the case, as catching both Carmen and himself off guard, Kane took a wobbling

step forward and threw his arms around her neck. Carmen could only grunt from the surprising weight

upon her body before leaning into the loving embrace. The feeling of his arms was dulled by the thick

scales upon her back but the warmth of his body and the love in his grasp came through all the same.

Unintentionally she twisted her long neck around the back of his body, doing what one would consider a

hug for her now. Tears began to roll off her scales as she could feel Kane's breathing choke up. “I- I am

so… so sorry."

Carmen responded quickly in a hushed tone. “No, no you're fine, you were just-"

Kane ignored her; his voice grew more confident with every word. “Y- You're going through all of this

and I'm stuck on some stupid tragedy that happened almost twenty years ago."

Carmen moved to respond again but didn't get the chance.

“B- But you're not the rabid lizard I… I keep seeing in my head, you are so… so much better than that!

You're Carmen." Kane's tears fell hard as he continued. “And, I love you, Carmen. I love you so much."

With that Verbal gut punch, Carmen felt her restrained emotions flare. Everything that she had been

holding in sparking so violently. The wave of guilt, fear, sadness, loneliness, and regret at building to a

point that could not be held within her flimsy mental walls. All at once the structure burst away, leaving

her to lean in heavily to the hug. Never before had she wished she could cry, the emotions felt stuck

within her, without an out.

Until a rumbling groan of a noise emanated from within her, like water crashing into a soft pebble

beach. At first it caught her off guard, but the feelings that came were like crying, so she didn't dare

stop. Kane jumped at this noise at first as well, but it was clear he understood the meaning as he rubbed

her neck.

“I will never leave you." The fear in Kane's voice had drifted to something much smaller than before,

now overwhelmed by a powerful love. “And I will never stop loving you, not while I brea-"

His words were cut off suddenly, causing Carmen's eyes to blink open and focus open him.

“What the… Oh my god, the sandwich." Kane said.

“What-?" Carmen began only to pivot around and see Kane's small hand covered in Mayonnaise. “Oh-

I'm sorry I rui-"

“No…" Kane laughed as he turned back towards her. “It's fine! I can make another one, come on let's…

let's get you cleaned up, I think there are some clean rags in the kitchen."

Carmen followed hesitantly as Kane wandered off past the bathroom and into the kitchen. Was this it?

Were they back to normal now? She took cautious steps forward as Kane pulled a hand towel out of one

of the drawers and set on the counter. Though once again upon sight of her froze for one tiny painful

moment, but with a deep breath, the fear was stifled once more.

Kane stopped for a moment letting his beautiful green eyes run across Carmen and explore her visually,

this time without the intense backdrop of fear. Carmen waited for the gasp of fear, or the flinching or

the trembling and though it came, Kane quelled it as quickly as it appeared. His eyes looked over her and

eventually stopped around her middle.

“Jesus, it's all over your… shoulder." He said with a smile as he moved over towards her. “Here… let

me…"

He reached over her shoulder awkwardly trying to grab the pieces of bread and meat that still stuck to

her side. Carmen soft smiled as she shifted her weight to help him reach.

“Oh, uh, thanks!" He said his brow furrowed for a moment.

Kane picked the pieces of the decimated sandwich and threw them in the trash with a huff. “It did look

like a really good sandwich."

“And you had to go and ruin it with mayo." Carmen replied more out of instinct then anything.

Kane huffed as he licked his finger. “You never know, maybe if you tried it, you might accidentally like

it!"

Carmen sat stunned at his action. “Did you just…? You don't know what's been on that!"

Kane laughed and gave Carmen a coy smile. “It looks clean to me."

Carmen stared at Kane with wide eyes, the corners of her mouth curling upwards. Was it finally back to

normal? As she asked herself that, Kane casually walked over, shifted her head up to his and gave her a

small kiss right below the nose slits. Carmen's insides melted as the fear of rejection was blasted away,

and left in the dust was the intense fiery love that she had been missing. She just smiled teeth barred

with the feeling inside.

Though the emotion was tempered quickly as Kane caught a glance of her toothy grin and went pale for

but a moment. Quickly closing his eyes and shaking his head to look back at Carmen's now hurt face.

“Hey, no! You… You just caught me off guard is all! I..."

“Yeah… Just…" Carmen began.

Without words, Kane leaned back over and gave her another kiss, causing her restrained smile to erupt

once again, this time not dampened by Kane's fearful reaction. “There!"

Kane's smile continued as he grabbed the rag off the counter, rinsed it with water, took a deep breath

and turned back towards Carmen. “If you wouldn't mind again…" He spoke motioning for her to lean

over.

Carmen flinched at the question and lowered back down. “S- Sorry."

Kane just laughed as he ran the cool rag across her scales. A shiver ran through her body as the rag hit

her scales. The feeling was extremely soothing. It was like scratching an itch that she never knew she

had. The feeling of his hand running across her rough scales with a cool fresh rag it didn't feel anything

like before. She closed her eyes as the soothing feeling filled her mind, it was overwhelming or anything,

it was just nice to sit in the moment. Carmen couldn't have felt happier, all of the worry and anxiety that

had built up within her was being washed away with every wipe of the wash cloth.

“Does that feel good?" Kane's voice came from the darkness around her.

It took a moment for Carmen to recognize the sound as words. “Yeah…" Her voice was trailed by a hint

of a reptilian trill.

Kane took a moment to respond. Yet, she could hear the smile in his voice. “I'm glad."

Kane kept going for what felt like hours. He moved the rag all across her neck and her back, running

across her wings. She felt him touch parts of her body she hadn't even realized she had, there was some

fleshy membrane sitting upon her back that trailed all the way to her tail. It felt like her wings, yet, she

didn't really care to figure out what it was.

“I hate to ruin the moment but I'm still hungry, and I'm pretty sure I can see myself in your scales now,

so…" Kane joked.

The word scales tumbling out of his mouth made Carmen internally cringe. It felt like such a foreign and

alien word, yet it was the word that perfectly described what he saw. Carmen just nodded, opening her

eyes slowly to watch Kane meander back towards the counter. Her smile had still not faded.

“Thank you." Carmen spoke as Kane pulled a new slice of bread off the loaf.

“It's the least I could do." Kane responded.

This sandwich took significantly less time to build than the first one, or at least it time seemed to move

that way. As he finally finished, Kane turned towards Carmen with a smile and nothing more. “TV?"

Carmen heart jumped as she smiled back. “Sure, anything to be around you."

The living room of their house was quite small, all things considered. Within it's gray walls the leather

couch they had been gifted sat upon a cheap yellow rug Carmen found in a thrift shop. The expensive TV

Kane had purchased sat upon the cheapest media console you could purchase from IKEA. Though in all

honesty, to the either of them, it was all they needed. Kane jumped onto the left side of the couch and

with a smile, looked towards Carmen patting next to him on the couch.

Carmen gave a nervous look towards the much smaller than normal couch. “I don't think I'll fit, and…

remember the bed?"

“Eh, steel frame, it'll be fine, and I can move." Kane said casually.

Carmen gave one more look as Kane repeated himself. “I don't want to sit here by myself."

With that Carmen conceded, lifting her leg and placing it upon the leather. A glance back towards her

whole body showed that she was quite a bit longer than the couch itself, but Kane's constant

reaffirmation only made her sigh in defeat. She placed her other leg upon the couch and quickly realized

that there was no way she was going to fit the rest of her body upon it. A glance towards Kane with a

shrug in response made her huff in annoyance.

Carmen softly brought her shoulder down upon the couch and let the majority of her body coil around

the front of it on the floor. The metal of the couch groaned under her transformed weight, and the

sound her rough scales against the nice leather was ear grating, but she was now mostly, comfortable

on the couch.

“See! I- uh, I told you, it's fine." Kane said as he sat tightly squished between her body and the arm of

the couch.

“S- Sorry, let me." Carmen said as she readjusted.

The couch, Carmen, and Kane all made noises of inconvenience with every attempt of movement from

Carmen. Though thankfully after much shuffling and shifting, they both got to a point that could be

considered comfortable. Though the majority of Carmen's body laid in front of the couch, with her

shoulder being the only thing laying against the flattened cushions. The simple fact that she was too

large to fit upon what she once thought was a spacious couch did not go unnoticed by her. That feeling

of alienation burned through her stronger than ever.

Kane once more glanced towards Carmen's imposing body, her entire body towered over him. “Man,

you are really big."

Carmen blushed under her scales and lowered her head towards him, in a vain attempt to seem smaller.

“Here, come 'ere." Kane motioned with his hands towards his lap.

“You want me to…?" Carmen questioned, raising an eye ridge.

Kane smiled again, a coy note in his voice. “Why not?"

Carmen smiled in return as she laid her heavy head upon his lap, she could hear him grunt in surprise

from the weight. Quickly after, a shiver cascaded through her body as his hands touched the new parts

of her body, he ran a hand across her scales, her horns, her ridges, the nape of her neck. All while her

head sat as tall as his torso. The sound of the TV clicking to life echoed through the room as Carmen

realized she had closed her eyes. She didn't open them though; she didn't really care for what he'd be

watching this early in the morning.

Carmen just sat in the peace of the moment as Kane caressed her head, the image of a cat upon a lap

flashed through her head but she shrugged it off. The feeling was nice, that was all that mattered. Her

mind cleared in the peace, the dull droning of action movies, cartoons or whatever he was watching

acted as great background noise to lull her off to sleep.

She wasn't just happy, she was ecstatic.