New Beginnings - Chapter 03 - The Lineage

Story by Cat_Tahlia on SoFurry

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#3 of New Beginnings

Samar brings Maisha to their camp along with the other rescued felians.


By Tahlia

New Beginning

________________ Chapter III ________________

The Lineage

I wasn't certain how long we had been travelling. We were far enough from the battlefield that there were no signs of it anywhere in the distance, not even the tall plume of smoke could be seen anymore.

Throughout the ride I had a trouble keeping my eyes off my strange new body. I had wrapped my left arm over my chest, hugging the odd swollen flesh against me. The unfamiliar and discomforting feeling of them rubbing against the rough fabric of my worn and tattered tunic made me feel the need to keep them pinned down as my sensitive nipples started to feel sore.

My aching breasts weren't my only problem. I also had an uncomfortable heat growing inside of my body; it came from somewhere around my stomach and my pelvis. I was certain the stress of everything that I had experienced in such a short amount of time had made me ill. If I were still human, I would have been drenched in a cold sweat. Instead, I panted softly, almost moaning as my mouth hung open. With each huff I felt my longer pointed canines being bathed in my hot breath.

The heat welling up inside of me was quite a bit more noticeable with the cool night air brushing against my feminine figure. Even with a layer of fur the cold made my nose, toes, fingers and even the tip of my tail feel numb. With my right hand I gently stroked my tail, partly to keep warm, but mostly I found it to be surprisingly comforting. I pet it as if it was a small animal on my lap, something to keep me company and to distract me from my troubles.

Looking down at myself, I felt like a foreigner in my own body. Seeing the slender fur covered arm against a woman's ample chest and knowing they were my own was dizzying. I wouldn't have believed they were mine if I couldn't feel those breasts pushing against my arm, or that feminine arm pressed into the swollen mounds on my chest.

The more I thought of what I had become, the more my heart raced. I had to take long deep breaths to calm myself. Part of me felt horrified, yet I there was also a strange sense of curiosity and excitement. I was experiencing something unique, something I thought no one else had. I just wished it was a temporary experience and things could go back to the way they were.

I leaned over to examine myself further. As I did the weight on my chest shifted forward. It was odd having something that hung somewhat loosely from my chest. It made me realize why women often wore clothing that supported their breasts, despite them sometimes being uncomfortable. I started to imagine myself having to wear woman's clothing, it was somewhat unsettling.

I gripped my tail nervously, which brought my attention to the new appendage resting in my lap. As I examined it and noticed that it seemed to be the same width as my forearm, yet the fur on my tail was much longer. As I ran my pawlike hand across it I could see and feel just how spender my tail actually was, the fur folding down to slip under my fingers. I could feel it's tip sway to and fro out of my own control, twitching like a nervous tick. Seeing and feeling my own tail, something I've never had before, I was at a loss for words.

I kept stroking my tail anxiously, looking down at my lap passed my breasts. I noticed just how big my thighs looked. They had a more rounded shape that tapered down to my knees. They were covered in the same short fur as my arms, except the fur seemed to whiten as it curved down my inner thighs. They were just as white as the fur in my palms and the fur that puffed out of the neckline of my tunic.

My gaze kept following my legs down to my ankles. They were so thin and bony it was obvious why I couldn't walk normally anymore. My feet as been stretched making them longer and narrower. Yet, my feet still felt oddly swollen. There were thick pink pads of soft skin on the balls of my feet, and similar pads were on the tips of each of my stubby pawlike toes. Though my hands had taken on a more beastly appearance, they were still very similar to human hands. The same couldn't be said of my feet which were undeniably the feet of an animal.

For the longest time I couldn't help but stare at my feet. Something was amiss, even more so than their new shape. It took me a moment to realize I had missing toes. I only had four toes to each foot. I wiggled them around, trying to figure out which toes had vanished. As I did, I could see and feel the claws poking out from the tips of my digits, sliding in and out of their sheaths just like the claws on my fingers had previously.

It was odd, I still felt like I had all my five toes. However, my big toes felt numb, I couldn't feel them rubbing against my other toes. They were gone physically, yet somehow, in my mind, they were still there.

My tail, nervously curled onto my lap, wrapped itself snugly around my stomach. I could feel the heat in my abdomen with my tail. I pressed it there tightly with my right hand and began to knead at it. Absentmindedly, my left had did the same on the side of my right breast. With my fingers stretching I could feel the tips of my claws peeking out and plucking at my fur and flesh.

While I caressed my body with my hands, I started to feel the heat growing between my legs and slowly I began to rub my thighs together. My tail began to flinch and twitch as I felt a strange tingling sensation over the more sensitive points on my body. I felt the need to be touched, to be held tightly, to be caressed against a soft warm body.

Slowly, my hand left my tail and slid down over my tunic along the dip created by my pressed together thighs. Once I reached the base of the tunic, I squeezed my hand between my legs and slowly slid them back up. Though my thighs were bigger than I was used to, the way the flesh molded to the shape of my fingers made it clear it wasn't all muscle. It's like I had gained weight after I had been starved, but only in areas that would enhance my femininity.

As my hand neared the top of my legs, I could feel it getting warmer and warmer. When I was passed the point where I should be feeling my manhood, I started trembling. I knew it was gone, but feeling it had gone was another thing entirely.

Finally, my hand made contact with a soft fleshy mound that was radiating heat like a furnace. I had never felt my hand so close to my pelvis before, I didn't know how to react. Curiosity got the better of me and I pressed a finger down against my pelvis lengthwise. I could feel two distinct swells on either side of a long, thin valley that cut down the middle of my new mound.

There was also an eerily familiar sensation. It felt like my manhood was buried somewhere inside those folds near the very top where they split in two. It was only a shadow of it's former self. What ever had become of it, it had shrivelled to a size even smaller than a fingertip, but somehow it was there. There was was a familiar sensation of arousal coming from it. It was swollen and throbbing, yet rather than thrusting outwards from my body, it was hidden inside that soft squishy mound.

Suddenly, I felt myself tossed up into the air. I flinched gripped my chest tighter, and pressing my finger's side down into the slit of my new found womanhood. The cart had hit a large bump in the road. It startled me and I screamed, though the surprise mostly came from the spark that shocked my loins. As soon as I was hit with this new foreign sense of arousal I quickly pulled my hand out from between my thighs and clasped it back around my tail.

"Are you all right?" Samar asked in distress. He turned his head back only for a quick moment to see I was frozen in place.

It took me a moment to regain composure. I felt like I had something in my throat just on the edge of escaping, a shivering moan, but I was able to swallow it back. "I'm fine, it just... startled me."

"Apologies my lady, these trails are fairly rough. I'll be more careful." he said.

I wasn't worried about bumps in the road, I was more worried that someone might have caught me touching myself. I quickly looked around. There were a few guards nearby as well as the cart driver behind me in my line of sight, but none seemed to notice. The driver was leaning to the side to speak to the guard beside him, and the other guards only turned their heads towards me when they heard my shriek.

I was still feeling that tingling rush. I closed my eyes for a moment to think of something else, to make these strange and disturbing feelings go away. I had to think of something that I definitely wouldn't find arousing. I thought of my worst moments, being in that cell. Being alone and in the dark for gods knew how long. How afraid I was just before Kithari came to rescue me. How his large broad hands caressed my cheek and his strong arms pressed me tightly to his warm body. How wonderful he smelled as I pressed my nose against his large wild mane.

My eyes snapped opened when I realized where my thoughts were drifting. If anything it was just making my body feel even more eager and needy. That wasn't right, I was a man. I loved human women and felians were just brutish beasts. Any kind of desire towards them would be devious and disgusting. I was disgusted and horrified at myself.

"We're close now my lady, we'll be home soon." Samar said trying to comfort me. But it only made me feel worse. Firstly, I wasn't a lady, but my current appearance belied that. Secondly, I was getting further away from home if anything. I wasn't even sure if I could ever really go back after what happened.

"I'll never be home." I said meekly.

Samar turned his head briefly once more. "Come now, don't be like that. You only knew life with humans, a slave's life. Now you get to be free, to really live. Your real home is with your own kind, Maisha."

I did agree with him, but I couldn't tell him that humans were my own kind. I had to find a way for them to bring me closer to home without it being too obvious that I planned on escaping. I had to think like a felian slave girl. What reasons would someone like that have to go back to the humans.

"I'm certain you believe that, but what about my Master?" I asked, trying to make up a story about my background that could be believed.

The felian went silent for a moment. "What about your Master? He's the one who kept you for his own personal needs. Maybe you had a kind Master my lady, but humans are not a kind breed. They are the ones who put you in that horrible place of suffering. They make us obey them or they torture us and beat us and use us until we die from exhaustion." As he spoke he sounded more and more outraged. "Do you really believe your Master cared for you? Why would he put you in such a horrible place? If he truly cared, you would have been protected."

"No! My Master would never do that." I said abruptly. I couldn't let him think humans had treated me horribly, let alone my imaginary master. I paused to think of something. "My Master never hurt me. Bad people came and took my Master away. The bad people put me there too and I need to find my Master and save him. Humans can be kind, most humans are kind."

Samar simply shook his head. I could sense hearing me say these things was making him angry. I wondered what had happened to him to make him hate humans so much, but before I could ask he spoke up. "Who ever your Master was, it's too late for them. Besides, we're not risking any of our own for some human." Samar said bluntly.

I turned myself around, facing him and kneeling in front of the crates at the front of the cart. "You don't have to risk anyone important. Just bring me where I need to be and I'll go alone."

Samar turned to me, facing me completely this time. "Are you mad?" he said in a hushed tone. "If we're not going to risk our men we're most definitely not going to risk losing you, not after everything we've been through to get you back."

I was caught off guard. What could he mean by that. I was so shocked and confused that it took me a moment to respond. "What do you mean 'Get me back'?"

The felian let out a soft sigh as he turned back to face the road ahead. "Do you know how the war started, with the humans? I know it was before you were born, but perhaps you've heard stores?".

I was a little surprised by his assumption, if anything I was about 10 years of age when the war began, nevertheless I nodded. I had heard the story plenty of times before. "Yes, the felians broke their pact. They attacked the humans in Valdea in the night, killed many defenceless people and stole all their riches."

Samar shook his head. "That's not the truth, those are human lies." He sounded upset, but he did his best to remain calm. "I understand you've only heard what the humans have said, but they lie. Valdea was attacked, but only after the humans kidnapped and murdered our Empress. She was there as a show of peace and to talk about expanding trade between our nations. They kidnapped her and denied it. They kept saying she had never even arrived. But there were rumors they had taken her and imprisoned her, so we attacked to get her back. All this time they had her, but the fighting went on for so long we couldn't save her. She was found dead in their dungeon. Still the humans denied it they did anything."

I was shocked, that couldn't possibly be true. "But why would the humans do such a thing? Why would humans want to start a war like this?"

Samar shrugged. "I don't know, humans are humans. It was well over 15 years ago and I was only a child, but it makes more sense that we felians were provoked into the war rather than we attacked for no reason." He went quiet for a moment. "I only learned the truth years later when Kithari came to my village where I was a slave. He liberated us, and so many others. He told us what really happened, and ever since I promised to help him in any way I could."

He turned and pointed to the cart behind us, filled with freed prisoners. "This is what we do. We rescue those taken by humans. We help."

I turned back to look. I could understand wanting to rescue your own kind. I was on the other side and imagined being able to fight off the felian to protect human villages from their savagery. Seemed like both sides didn't have the full story. I vaguely remember having heard about some felian royalty going to Valdea, it was a remarkable event since I was told felians were reclusive back then. But I don't remember having heard anything about it since the war began.

I was quiet for a moment, but one question was still unanswered. "But what does any of that have to do with me? Why were you looking for me?" I asked. Clearly it couldn't be me, after all I've been in this body for maybe a day or so. I needed to let them know they were mistaken, but I obviously couldn't tell them the truth.

"There was a rumour that the Empress had left Chathara while she had a child inside of her." Samar began. "Few people believed it to be true, even the Emperor refuses to believe it. But some have claimed that they had seen the child, and that the child was still alive. Instead of being killed like the Empress they were sent off to be raised as a slave. When Kithari heard the rumour he already had a small army of men at his disposal, and he made it his quest to find the child. He believes that you are her, that you are the Empress' daughter."

I was stunned. I had to tell them they had the wrong person. My mind was reeling trying to explain how I couldn't possibly be who they thought I was. "Samar... I... I can't... I knew my mother. My mother raised me. I've known her all my life. I can't possibly be the daughter of your Empress."

"Humans lie." is all he said.

I started to feel trapped. I couldn't let them think I was some noble's daughter because then they wouldn't possibly let me go. "No, it's not like that. I mean my parents are both still alive, I know them-"

"Humans lie Maisha." Samar abruptly repeated himself. "They gave you to other felians to help raise you, but they weren't your real parents. Humans do this often. They steal children from their mothers to break their spirit. They then give new children to mothers and fathers to give them hope. Maybe your Master stole their children from them and gave you to them instead."

I wasn't sure what to do. I felt distraught. How could I possibly convince Samar I was just a nobody. Before I could say anything more, the cart came to a stop and the entire caravan halted. I looked around, but we seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. All around us was nothing but dense forest.

Samar turned to face me. "I apologize if I lost my temper my lady, but you must understand... what the humans have told you, it can't be trusted. Hearing how they twist the truth, to spin their lies... to see other felians who believed them so strongly... it hurts me."

I lowered my head before nodding. I didn't know what else to say, but I could feel the pain in his voice. He thought he was protecting me and he made it clear he wouldn't listen to me. As far as he was concerned they had found what they had spent so long looking for, and odds were they wouldn't easily give up hope that I was the one. "I forgive you Samar, and I understand. I do thank you for rescuing me from that terrible place, I just don't think I'm who you say I am."

He gave me a smile. "Don't worry, we'll know soon enough. But for now, we have a short walk ahead of us." He said before hopping off and making his way to the back of the cart.

"Wait, what do you mean? Where are we?" I asked as I followed him with my eyes. My ears flicked to the side as I heard people moving around us. The guards were grabbing supplies as well as helping the injured to their feet. Everyone was moving out but I couldn't see where to.

"We're almost at our camp, we just keep off the trail from now on." he said before beckoning me towards him. "Now come, I'll help you to your feet."

With my arms and legs I pushed myself towards the edge. Samar guided my feet down to the ground. "I'll help you walk, just lean in against me." he said as he took my arm and wrapped it around the back of his neck while his own arm wrapped around my lower back and gripped my side, pulling me close to him.

With my feet firmly on the ground I slowly stood, putting more and more weight on my feet until I felt my knees buckle. If it wasn't for Samar, I would have found myself face first in the dirt. He gently guided me forward to join up with the rest of the group. We were all walking in a narrow formation so our tracks wouldn't be too spread out.

"Don't worry my lady. It's normal for your legs to be weak after what you've been through. You'll... uh... be able to walk normally again... in... after a day or so..." his voice started trembling and I could hear him starting to sniff at the air. He rubbed his nose with a free hand before continuing. "We'll have a healer tend to you after you've had your sleep. Maybe take care of... other things..." he said before rubbing the back of his dark furred hand against his nose once more.

"Are you feeling ill?" I asked him. Maybe there was a sickness in the air and what ever had taken a hold of me had made Samar ill as well.

I felt him flinch before his hand went back to cover his nose. "Oh?" he wondered before realizing why I asked. "Oh! No, no my lady. Just something in my nose is all, nothing to worry about." He started to breath more from his mouth while still covering his nose from time to time.

After a short while we started to walk up a slight hill. I felt myself leaning more and more against him as the climb got mildly steeper. It felt oddly comforting to have him close to me, his arm wrapped around me and holding me against him. My thoughts drifted to how nice he smelled and how soft he felt. When I realized what I was doing I felt like kicking myself. What was wrong with me...

I was able to ignore the more disturbing thoughts that crept into my mind, but it only made my attention shift to that fever welling up inside of my body. One of my hands slid down to my stomach. I could feel the heat radiating outward from my body. Hopefully the felians had some medicine to help me get better.

Once we made it to the top of the hill Samar pointed forward. "See? There it is."

But I couldn't see anything. All I could see were trees and leaves in the darkness. He guided me down and away from the group. I kept looking to where he had pointed until I could make out a row of trees tightly strung together which turned out to be the wall of their encampment.

The other felians were making their way up towards a large opening in the wall where guards were already there to greet them. I was being lead to a smaller opening at the side of the camp with two guards standing by.

I noticed the younger of the two guards started staring at me quite a bit as soon as we got close. It looked like he had seen a ghost. As soon as I made eye contact with him his face would spring away. The older of the two was clearly more experienced. He spoke calmly with Samar before staring me down with daggers. It was like he was trying to see straight through me.

I looked at Samar with concern, but he was just looking ahead while rubbing his nose. Suddenly, both guards got to their knees in front of us, their right arms across their chest and their fists clenched. I stood there frozen, unsure what I should do. Samar simply smiled to me before guiding me inside.

We entered a large tent. Armour and weapon racks lined the perimeter, most of which were empty. There was also a strong scent there. I didn't know what it was, but it gave me a strange and unpleasant reaction. It felt like my stomach was bloating, the heat inside of me rising.

I was guided through the tent and back outside into the middle of the fort. I could see many different tents lining the outer walls as well as a large round hut at the centre. Apart from the soldiers keeping guard, it seemed like the majority of felians were hurrying to tend to the new arrivals. Rather than joining them, Samar was keen on quickly sneaking me into the large central hut.

Inside, there were a series of lavish bright red curtains that separated the structure into rooms. The room we entered in had a large table with a map laid across it. With a quick glance it seemed to show the battle plan for the attack that had just occurred.

We slipped into the next room which had a large bed, some furniture as well as a large polished bronze mirror. Samar sat me on the edge of the bed before making his way to the wardrobe. As my eyes turned to follow they froze on the mirror. More precisely it was the felian girl sitting on the bed in the mirror that caught my attention. It couldn't possibly be me, but as I raised my arm so did she.

My heart was tight in my chest, and then Samar came back and blocked my view. "You'll be resting here for a while." He said before handing me a large piece of folded green fabric. "You can wear this until we find something more appropriate. We don't want to keep you in those rags."

I unfurled the fabric to see it was a large tunic, obviously it was much too large for me. However, as I held it up, a very familiar scent came to me. Instantly I knew it was Kithari's. It was an odd experience, I'd never been able to identify anyone by smell before, but it was so clear. In fact, Kithari's scent was all around me, even in this bed. This was his room.

"Are you sure I should be here, this is Kithari's... no?" I asked concerned. I was mostly worried about how my body was reacting, I was afraid I might do something I would regret.

Samar smiled. "Yes, but he won't be here for a few hours. Besides, he's more than happy to share his clothing and his bed with you."

That's what I was afraid of. This scent was already making me feel and think such horrible things, I knew it would only get worse if I stayed. "Why can't I be with the others."

He looked at me as if I was joking. "You're..." he started and stammered. He clearly had something to say, but was afraid to say it. "Most of the people at the camp are men my lady... and... it wouldn't be fitting to have you... as you are... currently..." he stopped there, as if I could make sense of what he meant.

I just stared at him blankly. "Just, put on the tunic and go to sleep. We'll settle things after you've rested. We'll have a healer visit you as well as get you into some proper clothing, understood."

I sighed and nodded. He gave me a nervous smile. "Good day Maisha, sleep well."

"Sleep well, Samar" I replied.

As he left I felt an odd fluttering in my chest. Part of me wished he could have stayed with me, but I don't know why.

My attention soon turned back to the young felian girl in the mirror. Oddly she looked too young to be me, it was like she'd just barely entered maturity while I was well into adulthood. I put my hands on my face, feeling the soft fur on my cheeks and watched the girl do the same. I examined her, the way her long mane of light coloured hair grew from the top of her head and flowed down over her shoulders. I thought of Kithari's mane, which wrapped all around his head. Meanwhile, Samar had only short black fur on his head.

I looked at the tunic in my hands, knowing that I'd have to take on my current clothes to put it on comfortably. I was hesitant to see myself naked. With my hands trembling I gripped the back of my tunic and pulled it up over my head. I felt the tightness around my chest pull my breasts up only to have them fall and bounce back into place once they were freed.

Now the girl in the mirror was completely nude. My eyes locked to her breasts; my breasts. Yellow golden fur wrapped around her frame but left a creamy white centre all along her front side. Her nipples were quite a bit larger than mine had been with a large and perfectly circular pink area of flesh around them among the soft white fur.

As I stared at my new body for the longest time I noticed there was still something around my neck. It was a thick leather collar studded with smooth round stones. I ran my hands along it's edge, I tried to feel for a clasp but it was a continuous leather band.

Curiously, I rubbed a thumb against one of the stones and a jolt of energy pieced through my neck and down my core. My body flinched and I pulled my hand away. It was painful and it made the heat in my core feel worse. My nipples started tingling as they stood firm and erect. I didn't dare touch them as just breathing made them feel aroused.

Maybe I wasn't sick after all. It was this cursed collar. I was afraid to touch it again, I was afraid I might burst into flame as I made me feel hotter and hotter. Quickly I picked up the green tunic and slid it over my head. It fit much more loosely on my small frame. It had a very large neckline as well that kept sliding down my shoulders and threatened to expose my breasts. Still, the fabric was much more comfortable that I didn't mind how loose fitting it was.

I bit my lower lip and crawled under the covers. The bed was nice and comfortable. It was just a pile of hay with some sheets over it but it was a thousand times more comfortable than the hard rock I had slept on for so long.

But as I lay in Kithari's bed, wearing his tunic, tucked between his sheets and with my head on his pillows I started to sniff the air. It was such a nice smell I couldn't help but wrap my arms around myself. My hands wandering around the swell of my hips and the dip of my waist.

I felt exhausted. I turned to my side and felt my breasts pressing up against one another. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep but as I hands wandered I imagined they were Kithari's. I could imagine he lay behind me, his arms wrapped around me as his body pressed against mine. Then, slowly, I slid my hand down my exposed side. I imagined it was his hand caressing me. His hand gently petting me as he nuzzled my neck. His hand dipping to caress my thigh before dipping down between them. I let out a soft moaning whimper as I felt the finger glide along my warm and sensitive folds.

I felt my mind go fuzzy. That hand rubbing itself against me, teasing me till I begged for more. But before I could everything went blank.