FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Red wiped the sweat dripping from his brow before taking a long, slow draught from his flask. The sun had risen to its highest point and now baked the earth with uncompromising heat. Still, even as the shadows around them shrunk and disappeared, it seemed like his group wouldn't be taking a break anytime soon.

They had been hiking since the early morning and, as usual, the others outmatched him physically. Red had only in recent months joined this adventuring party. In fact, this was the first quest they had embarked on that had taken them past the border of Red's home country.

Boris was the first of his two companions. He was a large, heavily scarred man with a boisterous voice and an attitude to match. Towering over Red at close to seven feet tall, he was bearded and muscle-bound which helped build his intimidating presence. He wore light, leather armor that allowed him to move with ease as he led the party along the rocky path between the low mountains. His skin was tanned bronze from years under the punishing sun and his arms were littered numerous scars, some pale and thin while others were thick and ropy. Boris boasted that he needed little armor because his iron muscles would protect him from most blades; the scars were proof that he'd put that claim to the test many times.

The other was a smaller man. He went by the name Henry. Red had heard rumors that he was secretly a noble who, bored of his quiet life, only adventured for the thrill of things. Henry was less physically impressive - about Red's height and of much slighter build. He moved with fluid grace, the practiced steps of a man with years of rigorous training and carried the confidence that came with it. He wore a large, hooded overcoat which must have made things insufferable in the midday heat. Henry refused to take it off, however, even joking loudly about it with Boris as the two set the pace of their march. The coat made it impossible to tell what armor or equipment Henry carried with him which, in its own way, made him appear even more dangerous.

Red was significantly less intimidating than the other two. He was about Henry's height with a rounded, boyish face. He was stronger than most young men his age, though the sweat that dripped from his face made it clear that his stamina left much to be desired. He stood on the precipice of manhood with signs of tallness in his bones that clearly indicated he had a bit more growing to do. His youthfulness was often a focus of the playful banter within the group, as well as his inexperience. Red took it all in stride, however. He was aware of his inability to grow a full beard like Boris and that, unlike Henry, he still had quite a few pounds of baby fat on him. Yet he was eager to prove himself, and it was that same drive that had convinced the pair to let him join their party.

"You bringing up the rear, boy?!" Boris yelled. His voice echoed around the rocky valley causing stones to tumble towards the group as several small animals scurried from where they were hiding.

The two men stopped and turned towards Red who doubled his pace until he caught up. "Do you two even need to breathe?" he asked.

Boris laughed and lifted a canteen the size of a small barrel to his lips. He poured mead down his open gullet, with a significant amount of its contents spilling into his beard, before wiping his mouth somewhat clean with the back of his hand. "There'll be time to breathe when I'm dead," he said. "Today is for adventure."

"And making coin," Henry added.

"That doesn't make sense," Red sighed.

"Trust me, boy," Boris said, "you'll come across things that make far less sense in the deep, dark corners of this world."

"I'd rather deep and dark to wherever we are. It's hotter than a demon-lord's anus out here," Red spat.

"I think you'll find that a demon-lord's anus is also quite deep and dark," Henry said with a snide tone, "in addition to being hotter than hell itself."

"Excuse Henry's uncouth tongue," Boris said. He clapped his gargantuan hand onto Henry's shoulder, causing the man's knees to bend slightly. "He likes to speak freely when he thinks there's no unwanted ears around."

Red looked at their surroundings. The landscape was barren, harsh and unforgiving. For as far as he could see there was only sun baked rocks and thorny plant life that had adapted to the harsh, dry conditions. There was certainly no one around to eavesdrop on their conversation. "I'm more concerned with when he found the opportunity to experience a demon's backside," he said. "Sounds like a story worth telling."

"It's a long one," Boris replied.

"Long," Henry added.

Red laughed. Despite their appearance, Henry and Boris were quite easy-going which was something that Red was grateful for. He had never expected to find a party so quickly after leaving his home in the farmlands, far less for a pair of seasoned adventurers to take him under their wing. Along with the two of them, Red had already completed several quests, some of which were far above what was expected of an adventurer of his rank.

They were only in the middle of this hellish valley on the request of some nameless merchant. This quest was rudimentary - especially compared to what Boris and Henry usually got up to - but the pay was too attractive to pass up. Somewhere past the valley was a temple that sat on the edge of the nearby desert. It had, apparently, been the focal point of an ancient draconian religion at one point. As the dragons went extinct, or merely close to extinct if rumors from drunkards and sailors were to be believed, the temple became a hub for travelling merchants before being swallowed by sand almost a thousand years ago.

Whether the destruction of the temple was a natural event or the will of an angry dragon-god, it meant little to Red and even less to Boris and Henry. For whatever reason, the temple had re-emerged and now stood with treasures and riches piled high in its once busy courtyard. It was a beacon for treasure-hunters from all over the land; a beacon which had brought many of them to their doom.

"You ready to slay yourself a dragon, boy?" Boris asked Red.

Red wiped his brow. "You think there really a dragon out here, Boris?"

"Well something's been killing our fellow adventurers and guarding the treasure. Whatever it is, we're sure to be in for a fight."

"Seems like you're getting a bit worked up over a simple fetch quest," Red tutted. "It's all rumors, I'm sure. Plus, we're only getting paid to loot the temple. I'm not getting roasted alive for the fun of it."

"You have a better way to die?" Henry asked.

"Old," Red said. "Old, and fat, and very rich."

"Boring," Boris said. "Why bother getting old when you can die a legend?"

"Tell me the name of one 'legend' who has died in that temple."

Boris scratched his beard. "Fair enough," he said. "We loot the temple, find the treasure we were sent to find..."

"And if a dragon rears its ugly head and corners us," Henry added.

"...we might just have to fight it and die in a blaze of glory."

Red paused. "You two are going to get me killed," he said.

####

They came across the temple in the early afternoon after travelling through a narrow path in between two nearby mountains. As they got closer to the edge of the desert, the temperature rose to almost unbearable levels. It wasn't long before Red had exhausted his supply of water.

Their destination lay before them, just down a path that opened up into the main gates of the temple after which was the open courtyard. Even from this distance, Red and his group could see piles of glittering gold and the flashes or red and blue jewels. It was as though mountains of riches simply laid waiting for anyone to come claim it.

"It seems too good to be true," Red said. "Even if it's right before my eyes."

"What do you think?" Boris asked Henry. "Some sorcerer's trickery, you reckon?"

"Doubt it," Henry replied, "This heat saps the strength. A sorcerer wouldn't be able to maintain this illusion. Not for long. I'd wager that the treasure itself is real."

"If the treasure is real and no one's taken it," Red said, "then whatever must be guarding the treasure is real too, right?"

As Red spoke, he looked around. There were no indications that other adventurers were nearby. The rocky terrain had not yet turned to sand and he wasn't a good enough tracker to determine whether anyone had passed through recently. There were no camps and no human movement at all among the hills. All this treasure out in the open would certainly been picked clean if it had been unattended as it seemed.

"What do you think we should do?" Boris asked. It took red a few seconds to realize Boris had directed the question towards him.

"Me?" Red asked. "Why am I coming up with the plan?"

"Well you're the one who is obsessed with living through this. I imagine you've come up with a way to ensure we don't die today."

Red thought to himself. They were looking for a jeweled necklace, distinctly blue and by its description it'd be hard to miss. It was an ancient heirloom, lost from the family of their employer when the temple was destroyed centuries ago.

"The area's open," Red said. "There doesn't seem to be magic afoot. We can scout, sneak in, get what we're looking for. Don't make any noise and get out before anyone or anything knows we're there."

"A good plan," Boris said.

"Then," Red continued, "When we've secured the necklace at camp, we go back in and plunder our arms full. Any dragon shows up, we run like hell and make out like a trio of bandits."

"That sounds like a better plan," Henry said. "I do so look forward to my imminent wealthy status."

####

Despite their trepidation, the locating and retrieval of the heirloom necklace was relatively uneventful. The temple was lifeless, save for a few lizards and other errant desert wildlife that fought to remain unseen. It wasn't until the group had returned from stashing the necklace safely at their camp that they saw the first indicator that they weren't alone.

Movement caught Henry's eye and he gathered the trio to himself in order to pursue what he had seen. They crept through the courtyard, hiding themselves in between the mounds of treasure until they came across what, by any of their estimates, was a young woman moving about the grounds of the temple.

She seemed to be about Red's age. Her skin was dark brown, though her hair was almost white. The contrast gave her a striking appearance. She was dressed in desert attire which amounted to nothing but strips of light fabric that she had wrapped around herself to conceal her nakedness. While it provided enough coverage to preserve her modesty, the exposed bits of flesh were far more than Red was used to.

"Ah," Boris said quietly, "Looks like we've found you a wife, young Red!"

Red blushed but even he was forced to take notice of the fact that his eyes were glued to the woman's curves. "Who do you think that is?"

"Doesn't matter," Henry said. "We're taking her back with us."

"What?" Red asked. "Why?"

"A pretty young thing like that," Boris grunted, "she's worth more than a handful of gold if sold on the right market."

"Plus," Henry added. "We catch her, make her a slave, and we can make her carry about half her weight in treasure as an extra pair of hands."

"Once we get to town, we sell her for twice her weight in gold," Boris concluded. "Easy money."

Red wasn't entirely sure about their plan but Henry had already stood up to reveal himself. The young woman took notice and, almost immediately after, she bolted away as fast as her legs could carry her.

Henry dashed after her. He was fast, closing the distance between them before she was able to take even twenty strides. She cried out as Henry grabbed hold of her and continued to scream as he procured a length of rope from within his cloak to bind her at the wrists.

"Good sport!" Boris roared as he made his way to the pair. "As quick on your feet as ever; the little thing didn't even have a chance!"

Red made to follow Boris but was hesitant. There was an uneasiness about the situation that he couldn't shake.

He and Boris crossed the courtyard while Henry tried his best to drag the shrieking woman behind himself. Despite her protests, she was unable to break free from the ropes neither was she strong enough to pull herself from Henry's grip.

There was probably thirty yards of space between the two groups when a shadow streaked across the courtyard. Piles of treasure fell over as the ground trembled. Red shielded his eyes from the pillar of sand and dust that erupted as a heavy mass hit the ground near to where Henry had stood only seconds before.

When the dust cleared, Red felt his blood run cold as his legs became frozen in place. In front of Henry was a large, bipedal dragon. It stood on its hind legs, almost twice as tall as Boris, not counting the length of its tail which practically doubled its length. It had sandy, brown scales which he suspected had lost their luster after having been bleached by the desert sun.

The dragon raised its front limb, the sun's rays bouncing off of its scales with each small movement, and prepared to strike. Henry reached into his cloak to draw his weapon but was unable to arm himself before the dragon's dark talons ripped through the air. There was a gust of wind and Henry's knees hit the sand while his torso came crashing to the ground almost twenty yards away.

The young woman ran off, still bound by the wrists, as Boris unleashed a fierce battle cry. Red felt his hair stand on end as the giant of a man charged forward for glory and to avenge his fallen comrade.

His weapon of choice was a double-sided hand axe that he kept attached to his belt. He drew it with practiced movement, even as he ducked his massive frame under a swipe of the dragon's claw. Boris was agile, far more so than anyone would expect a man of his size to be. Even the dragon seemed to be caught by surprise as its attack was skillfully evaded.

Its flank exposed; Boris sent his axe into the side of the great beast's body. His swing was powerful, strong and true, with enough force to fell a tree in a single blow. As the blade of the axe came into contact with the scaly hide, a loud metallic ringing filled the area.

Boris staggered backwards as the split shaft fell from his hand. The blade of the axe fell into the dust after it had shattered against the scales of the dragon. The dragon seemed unimpressed, if the creature could feel such emotion. With a single movement it pounced on Boris.

For a brief few seconds, Boris grappled with his foe. His skin flushed red as he put on a Herculean display of strength to hold the dragon's claws back. Then, within a single moment, the dragon crushed him into the sand. When the dust settled, Boris was left broken and motionless.

Red was alone now. He watched as the dragon inspected Boris' fallen frame and then felt terror as it changed its focus towards him. He drew his sword instinctively but knew he stood no chance against it. It reared itself and spread its wings wide as though challenging him. It was a challenge to which Red responded by turning heel and running for his life.

The dragon roared as Red scrambled in the dust. It took flight with enough force to shake the earth and gave pursuit, crashing into piles of treasure as it tried to catch its prey. Red was never known for his quickness or endurance but fear spurred his legs to run faster than they ever had. His muscles screamed in protest as he pushed himself further, faster, desperate to make distance between himself and the winged death that pursued him. Each time the dragon roared in frustration, he felt a small burst of energy that allowed him to barely evade its next strike.

It wasn't long, however, until Red was trapped. He found himself faced towards the main structure of the temple, a large stone building built of heavy blocks and massive stone columns. He was flanked on both sides by mountains of gold that left him only two paths: one into the building and the other back the way he came, where the dragon's jaws - or claws - waited to tear into him.

He turned on the spot to face his pursuer. The dragon studied him with its large eyes, each pupil the size of Red's fist. He wondered if there was intelligence behind its gaze. It had, after all, herded him here and trapped him successfully. Perhaps it was no more intelligent than any other large, predatory beast.

He readied his sword as though to challenge it, the dragon responding by letting out a roar that shook Red's bones before it dove towards him. At the last second, with the dragon's gaping maw so close to Red face that he could smell its rotten breath, he threw himself to the side.

Red cried out as he felt the dragon's talons rip through his light armor as easily as it were parchment. It yelped in confusion as it crashed into the ground, its momentum carrying it directly into the columns of the building ahead which broke upon impact.

There was a great rumbling as the building collapsed, stone and pillar falling upon the dragon and pinning it to the foundation of the once-proud structure. The dragon roared in frustration as more and more debris piled upon its body. When the dust was settled, its broken wings jutted out under a mountain of rubble twice as high as the dragon itself.

Red approached the site of his fortunate accident and saw the dragon's head as it poked out. It was alive, breathing heavily as its one remaining eye focused on him. With a single thrust, he drove his sword into the center of the dragon's iris, causing to yelp once in pain before its head fell limp and lifeless.

Red breathed heavily as he studied what he had done. Blood dripped from his torn shoulder and from the dragon's ruined eye to mix with the sand below. As the moments passed, each breath became more desperate. His lungs burned as his shoulder screamed in pain. Red groaned and grit his teeth. He refused to die after surviving the ordeal that took the lives of both Boris and Henry, but there was no strength left in him. His knees hit the ground first, then his shoulder. Finally, Red's vision blurred as darkness seemed to swim all around him. Within seconds, he was unconscious.

####

Red was awakened by the din of a dozen chattering voices. He was aware that he was naked but his own thoughts were drowned out by the incessant noise that surrounded him. He could feel hands on his body, poking and prodding at his legs and shoulder while excited bickering filled his ears.

His shoulder throbbed. It felt swollen. He could feel blood seeping from the open wounds, more so each time the hands massaged his back. It was as though whoever worked on him was intent on bleeding him dry. The pain itself was excruciating but Red was too weak to protest or even make it known how much he suffered. After what seemed like hours of torture, he felt a poultice being applied to his torn flesh. Whatever medicine they placed into the wounds numbed the pain, replacing it with a deep itch that, while incredibly frustrating, was preferable to the pain he had felt endured thus far.

Red fell asleep once more.

When he awoke again, he was on his back. He was laid on what felt like a flattened slab of stone and had opened his eyes directly into the ceiling above him. His body ached but the pain in his shoulder was gone, replaced now by a stabbing hunger in his stomach. He was ravenous, not to mention almost mad with thirst.

There was a clay pot nearby and Red could almost smell the water inside. He tried to reach for it but his body was weak. No matter how he commanded his limbs to move, they remained still as though encased in lead. Red thought himself paralyzed, but knew that he just had to recover. He was weakened, on the edge of death, but he had survived. Now all that was left was for him to figure out who had saved him and why.

The answer to those questions came not long after. The same girl that Boris and Henry had tried to enslave entered the place Red had been kept. He realized soon after that he was in a man-made cave, cut into the side of a mountain. When she had pulled the cloth at the entrance aside, the light from outside allowed him to recognize the color of the stone. Wherever they were, it was not far from where the temple had been. Perhaps even on the other side of the nearby mountains.

The girl spoke to Red but he couldn't understand her. If Henry were alive, he might have been able to translate or at least recognize what tongue she used. As the thought crossed his mind, Red felt a great sadness come over him.

She approached him and repeated her statement. She seemed earnest, almost accusatory. Red turned his head towards her and uttered a jumble of sounds. He meant to ask for water but his dry throat and overall weakness would not allow him to speak clearly.

The seconds passed slowly as the woman looked down at him. There was such a fierce hate in her expression that Red feared she would kill him then and there. Then, as though finally understanding his request, she dipped both hands into the pot and brought her cupped palms to Red's lips so he could drink.

She repeated the process several times until Red could drink no more. He was still hungry, but drinking alone had taken most of his energy. He knew there was no way he could eat. He was in the middle of lamenting the fact that he would have to suffer through this hunger when he passed out yet again.

####

It was nighttime when Red awoke. He could tell by the crackling of the fire that had been lit to keep the cave warm. The pain in his shoulder had returned, the effects of whatever medicine they had given him having finally worn off. In addition to that, his body was wracked with fever. Red had experienced sickness before. He had even come close to death when he was afflicted by the plague that killed his grandparents. He had never known fever like this, however.

Sweat dripped from his skin. He felt as though a fire raged in his chest, threatening to melt his organs and boil his blood. Each breath was painful and caused his own lips to sting as though burned as he gasped for air.

He opened his eyes and saw that he was not alone in the room. He was not even alone in his bed.

The young woman was on top of him. She was naked and had straddled his hips. Like him, sweat dripped from her body, flowing down the front of her torso and soaking into the wild, snow-white tuft of hair that grew between her legs. She and Red were connected and he felt his stiff cock wrapped within her moist, sticky walls.

Red was no virgin. Boris had taken him whoring many times. Still, he had never been raped while on the brink of death so, in that regard, this was a new experience. He was in too much pain to appreciate the pleasure, even as the young woman eagerly gyrated her hips on top of him.

She seemed unconcerned with Red's condition. Her body was engaged with fluid, rhythmic motions as she kept time in order to pleasure herself. Red could see every feature of her beauty as the flames danced across her body. From the smoothness of her skin; to the way her wild bush grew from between her thighs and flared out over her pubis; her full, perfectly shaped lips through which she gasped and moaned as well as her half-lidded eyes which betrayed her trance-like state, it was clear she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Some whores had been strikingly beautiful, but none engaged in sex with the eroticism she displayed. There was a wildness to her, a wanton abandon that both mesmerized and terrified Red.

Red groaned in pain and reached towards her with both hands. He wanted her to stop. He needed her to. She was killing him. Despite his best efforts, his voice couldn't escape his throat.

The woman took hold of Red's wrists and placed his hands on her breasts. He could feel her stiff nipples as they dug into his palm before they slid between his fingers. The stickiness of her sweat caused Red's palms to stick to her skin and he found his fingers sinking into the softness underneath them.

The young woman cried out and Red felt her insides clench on him. In response he groaned, this time in pleasure. She placed her hands against Red's chest and thrashed her hips against him. His body temperature rose, even as the pain in his shoulder spread across his chest and down his limbs. Pleasure supplanted sense as he howled into the night, his back arching against the stone as the woman held him pinned.

In his weakened state, Red was at her mercy. She rode him hard, grinding against his cock which at this point felt like it was about to burst. Red felt himself on the edge of climax as her cunt clenched on him once more. All the while, he felt the heat rage through his veins. He burned from the tips of his toes to the top of his scalp. The pleasure from his loins spread with the heat, causing his mind to go numb as fire and sex consumed him.

Red groaned as he felt his bones twist and extend. It hurt, more than anything he had ever felt, but the pain mixed perfectly with the pleasure. His forearms extended before his very eyes even as he felt his legs do the same. He cried out in fear and tried to pull away, only to find himself held firm by the woman whose movements currently flooded his mind with pleasure.

While Red's insides continued to burn, his skin grew itchy. The itch intensified until it consumed every inch of his body. Slowly he grew coarse as harsh, hard scales erupted from beneath his skin. Red saw the light from the flames reflect over his new hide, painting the walls of the cave blood-red. He cried out, terrified of whatever sorcery had taken hold of him and heard an inhuman voice bellow from deep within his own chest. Even as he lay confused, his jaw extended and jutted out into a fierce maw and he felt his teeth curve as they became savage fangs that filled the new space.

He was a twisted, misshaped creature. From the little he saw of himself; he had become slender, stretched-out snakelike beast. The woman was not perturbed. In fact, as Red transformed, she grew more and more intense in her movements. It was as though she was spurred on by his transformation and the more intense her sex, the further he departed from his humanness.

As she continued riding him, he felt his muscles melt and twist as they reshaped themselves. New flesh writhed under his skin, sculpting his body into a savage form. Even his cock, which was still buried in her moist hole, grew longer, burlier, with the base of his organ swelling in size to the point where she only kept the tip of his penis inside her.

The woman tossed her head back and climaxed, shrieking at the top of her lungs as her body trembled. She went rigid and collapsed forward onto Red's chest. There was no pain for him now, only the feeling of lazy pleasure as he ejaculated inside of her. His emission was impressively large and flooded her hole, leaving the rest to ooze out of her and spill freely down his shaft. Only the heat remained but it no longer threatened to burn the life out of Red. Instead, it invigorated him - it gave him vigor and purpose.

As he fell asleep once more, he heard the woman whisper to him. Her fingers trailed across his chest which had grown massive and powerful, as well as being covered in smooth, white scales. She spoke to him uttering gentle words in a comforting tone that he still couldn't understand. As he drifted off, she repeated one word to him: "Sio."

####

When Red awakened, it was as though he was in a new world. His tongue could taste the air and he could count the amount of people that waited outside his cave. People, as well as something else. Something he was now intimately familiar with.

He rolled off the stone slab and fell to the floor with a thunderous thud. While he slept, his body had changed even more. He was heavier, taller now than the dragon he had slain however long ago. His body was covered in hard, red scales the color of rubies while large wings laid furled against his back. White horns grew along the crown of his brow and continued backwards like a spiny mane that covered the back of his neck. His hands, from what he could tell, had reshaped themselves to savage claws, complete with brutal, iron-hard, black talons.

He stood up and quickly lost balance. It was several minutes before he learned to use his new tail to steady himself so he could walk on two legs.

When he emerged from the cave, he was greeted by an onslaught on his senses. He could hear a bird flap its wings from hundreds of yards away. His blue eyes saw the world in new colors that he had never been able to notice before.

In front of him was a congregation of humans and dragons alike. There were about a dozen like him, all different colors and sizes, as well as an entire village of people that looked like the woman who had saved his life. They were all women, all as breathtakingly beautiful as the one who had transformed him. She, as it happened to be, stood before the rest and it was as though they waited for the two to greet each other.

She walked towards him hesitantly. Red could hear her heart racing in her chest while his own beat only once every few seconds.

When she was only one of his arm-lengths away from him, Red sank to his knees, though he didn't know why. He extended his neck towards her and she took his maw in her hands before planting a soft kiss on the very tip of his snout.

She spoke softly and Red was taken aback to learn that he could understand her speech. "You are mine," she said. "My red-dragon."