You Don't NEED Those

Story by SuperTaster on SoFurry

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At a strange festive winter lodge, guests arrive for the holidays. Christmas is soon! And with the wind howling outside, it's so nice to be inside where it's warm and cozy. But this lodge exists at the edge of the wilds, the last bastion before the strange places that twist and shape reality to suit the whims of the wills within.

I'm sure they'll be fine. Every human will remain human for at least five seconds. That's enough time, right? Chapters!

  • The Nice Cat Needs A Feline Friend

  • And We All Float On Okay(e-yay)

  • You Don't Need Your Penis to Have Fun!

  • The Regression of Christmas Past

  • I've Seen Your Teefing Ways! ...Do Me Next.

  • They Said Not To Leave the Lodge(Mild Horror)

  • These Statues Could Stand to be Sexier

  • You Don't Need to Be Alone for Christmas

  • All You Need for Christmas is Me(Don't Shake the Box)

  • But Sometimes, You Get What You Want

As usual, the story is rated adult because the most adult chapter in it would be rated adult. Some are entirely clean! That happens in these medley pieces sometimes.


Attis sighed, relenting his luggage. The lodge was nice, and certainly far better than being out in the whipping winds and biting snow. Still, he'd never really been fond of the idea of these FULL SERVICE lodges where they took your coats and luggage and you hoped it came back to the right room. So when the bellboy, with his strange yellow glinting eyes and toothy grin, simply told him that "You don't need those.", it was with some reluctance that Attis allowed himself to be dis-coated, and removed of his belongings.

"They will be waiting for you when you reach your destination. For now, relax and enjoy. This is a place of comfort and letting go." So said, he wheeled their stuff away.

"Fancy." "Melodramatic, more like it." "Still, there's a HOT TUB. It's below zero outside, I want a hot tub." "Soon, Mike. Food first, hot tub second." "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Hot tuuuuuuuubbbbbbbb..." Any other forms of logic were lost on the small child. Wheeeee!

Upon further inspection, the lodge was... quite nice. Spacious at every point, not just the lobby. It had that log cabin aesthetic, though there was a sturdiness and structure about it that suggested the logs were merely wrapped on top of the actual stone walls. The stairs opened up at least 40 feet wide, with balconies and splits that allowed for chandeliers to hang and make the whole place glisten. There was a tree here, but it was no commercial thing: a strange spruce that seemed to grow out of the ground itself, nurtured and cared for with a plot of soil and a fence saying Please Enjoy Our Tree In Peace. It grew most of the way up to the ceiling, with little metal strings holding the larger branches in place at the top. Attis nodded. There was a certain sort of... natural charm about it, about how the whole place managed to be festive and welcoming without being generic or packaged.

This was to be a good vacation, and in a few days, a good Christmas. Everyone would get the gifts they wanted, or perhaps needed. Soon! Sooooon.

Mike did not care about soon. He wanted Christmas now! But as long as there was a hot tub to distract him, he could forget about that for just a little bit.

Brett wandered the halls idly, letting himself warm back up. He wasn't good with the cold, and today had been a freezer. Far beyond nippy, into frostbite territory. The lodge was far better, clearly. That nice squishy carpet that your feet could just sink into, the constant flow of heated air, mmm. Yes, good.

It was with mild surprise that he saw a little wanderer in the halls. At first just a blur, but looking closer it seemed to be a... black cat? Aww, he(she?) was adorable! "Why hello there. What are you doing out and about?" "Mow." "Eloquent. Very riveting indeed." He kneeled down, and the cat calmly wandered up to be petted. Clearly a friendly sort, perhaps owned? No, no collar... maybe the lodge people just let it wander about. That would be cute.

The rush of the fur on his fingers was So Soft, and he let his touch squish slightly into the feline's neck. It purred gently, and commanded him not to stop. Not that he was going to, anyway. "Someone's got a nice life in here, haven't you?" "Nyaa." "Yes you do, yes you do!" Perhaps he was projecting on the cat. Okay, surely he was, but still. The cat had it made, and it would be nice if he could be like that. Just a free, wandering, fluffy cat, with all sorts of new people to feed and pet you. Still, as he looked as his hands, stroking gently, he sighed. There were a lot of human things that cats didn't partake of, and...

You don't need those.

...what? It was strange, who had said that? The cat? The... maybe he was imagining it. But now he started to feel warm, a bit toasty, and as he petted, it was like... he could let all those unnecessary things shed off. Furless skin, a ridiculous notion. Who needed something like that? Not he, and so he let it slide. Thumbs were treacherous and fueled by lies, the things that lead to so much strife and conflict. Better to have nice, soft, squishy paws that you could boop the little beans and watch the claws slide in and out... a human's spine was so short. What he really needed was a tail, long and supple and waggly, something to intertwine around this strange friendly new feline that he had met today. Mmm...

He sat down, leaning against the wall, idly petting. It would be so nice, really. He didn't need silly human ears, with human words. He needed cute feline ears, ones that could wiggle and flex and stretch and get scritched by all the nice big people. Humans were others, a strange large thing that he was here to enjoy. He thought about the words though, all the nice things that humans could say and communicate. Imagine a talking cat! That would be the day, a fun day where he could understand his fluffy friends, and...

"Well, don't stop now."

He looked over at the cat, who was quite impetuous. Ahem. You were getting distracted? Oh oh, yes right, sorry. He petted a little more, and then... what? "Was that... you?" "You're not very bright, are you?" "Hey! That's rude." "It's true. You look nice though." "Thank you." "Smell nice too." "...thank you?" He did smell something, a nice sweet scent. A bit thick, a bit intoxicating. This cat, she... she was... how had he never really noticed before? The nice curve of the hips, the sway of the tail, the subtle tones of her voice... here was a nice lady of beauty and grace, and he... he'd need to get on her level. Shape up, as it were. He thought about all the sorts of things that a human man might undertake to attract a mate, but...

You don't need those.

He didn't, did he? That was for humans, and he was a... a cat? Why was he... what was he doing?

Brett blinked, looked and... what was this? His hands... they were so small, the fingers brought in nice and close with such wonderful white fur. His chest was properly ruffled with all the fluff, but hadn't he been wearing clothes? He didn't need clothes, but he thought he had them... his feet, his tail, his... he looked like... like a cat.

But that was crazy, right? He... he had to... to...

There's no need to worry.

He laughed a bit. Of course there wasn't. He could be a nice, cute fluffy cat, and if anything was wrong, it was that he was still far too large. 3 feet? He felt slender, slinky, and he rolled over onto the floor, letting his paws splay in the air. That... that felt nice. Natural and simple. The floor was for rolling on, of course. And this nice cat, who...

"I didn't even ask your name..." "I have many names. You, however, may know me as... TACO." "...that's a dumb name." "Yes, well, the humans are... unimaginative."

They chuckled, and she wriggled around him. It was nice to be the same size as the other cat, maybe slightly larger. They could cuddle better this way! That's what he had come here for, right? And if he had come for some other reason, well... he didn't need that.

She crawled up on top of him, booping his snoot. So much more beautiful from this angle, how had he missed... but he had done strange things before getting rid of all that baggage. Now... now was more important. He booped back, and they snuggled together. So warm. So cozy.

Dan whipped a towel over himself, entering into the pool room. The hot tub was nice, but it wasn't really for him. He liked the space, the nice freedom that came from the water. It was empty, but perhaps it wasn't that time of night yet. Ah well. Empty wasn't bad.

The decor was definitely odd though. Where most lodges might have had a mounted taxidermy deer, here there was a large statue OF a deer. Proud, ornate, wonderful antlers, with the water pouring gently out of its mouth. Well done deer. Well done. The misty vapours of the warm water swished around the statue, and he found himself staring at it a bit as he slid into the pool.

He swam a little, floating about. The water called to him, and it was nice to have somewhere to swim, even in this winter storm. All the weight of the world had been dragging at him, but now that he was here...

You don't need those.

He didn't. He didn't need to care, didn't need to do much of anything. He was here after all, in the water. It felt more... supportive than usual. Like he didn't need to push as much to stay afloat. As if he was lighter than the water itself. Like one of those... what did they call it? Things. The word would come to him, maybe. Dan stared up at the deer, and wondered. What would it be like... to just float? To not have to want for anything other than company and some good times.

It would be strange, to be sure. Human skin wasn't made for something like that. He'd need to be lighter, tougher, more water resistant. Maybe a bit squeaky, and the thought made him happy. Why did it... never mind. Minds weren't important either, if you were just going to float. Decisions were best left to the meat creatures that sometimes entered into the pool and played with him, floated on him. What would it be like to be floated ON? A bit squished, maybe, but cozy. Cushioned between a warm person and warm water and letting it all come into harmony. Yes... good.

His innards seemed to hollow out, to become unimportant. He didn't need those. He was a toy, after all, something to float an... toy? Was he? He opened his eyes, looked. His skin seemed... so shiny. A hint of blue to it, something artificial and new. And his belly button... something white and hard was starting to wriggle its way out of it! Hey! Don't do that!

Dan's pants floated off in the water, slipping off the smooth vinyl. He grasped at them, trying to get them back.

You don't need those.

He... did he? This was a public place, wasn't it? It wouldn't do to have people staring at his junk, after all. He bobbed upwards again, getting a better view and... his junk? It seemed so... strange. Small and unnecessary. Why was it...

You don't need those.

He... didn't, did he? That was a strange, meat creature thing, and it served no purpose on a toy. It would be crude, and a bit lewd, and he didn't need to be that. Kids would be swimming! Honestly. Thus, as it slowly became more of a lump, and then a bump, and then a rounded sleek surface between his... his legs... he didn't really need what had been there.

He could see, inside himself now. Strange, hollow, translucent. Colored by the blue skin and the blue water but very much there. Inflated. Filled up, and this... he wanted to Be something. To just be inflated wasn't very good, you needed an identity, a role to play in the pool. He liked the feeling of bouncing on the water, of springing forth out of it because of his new buoyancy. Yes... perhaps a kangaroo would do.

Something pushed, between his legs, and started to wriggle out. There we go. The makings of a tail. Not fuzzy or fluffy, but sleek and smooth and able to be grasped by whomever might be floating about. Long, thick, he liked how thickness seemed to be about the sides of things rather than anything actually Inside those sides. There was an openness and spaciousness to his body that just felt... right. His legs, his feet, they waggled and jiggled and became strange bendy things that vaguely resembled a kangaroo's feet. But they wouldn't be for jumping, more for expanding and stretching out. His skin, it turned a nice medium brown, with a lighter creamier shade on the tum. It wasn't fur, but it could pretend to be, and that was good enough right?

Indeed, his arms... they stretched. Pushed to the sides by the nice air filling him. Out and open, as if to hug. Hello! But it wouldn't do to have individual fingers like this. He didn't need those. He needed open palms for people to grasp, the better to hug people with. Yes, just like That. Good. His face, it stretched, and he felt the very back of his mouth push forward with it. He... he wouldn't be able to speak like this, but as his mouth squeaked open, he felt like he didn't need to. He was a good listener, and could let all the meat people do the talking when it came time to play at the pool.

He had hair, at one point, but he didn't need it. He needed the ears though, those were very important, and he was so happy as they started to wiggle upwards and outwards, showing themselves off. He felt like a proper kangaroo, empty and bubbly and happy. He tried to move a bit, but... why would a pooltoy need to move under its own power? He didn't need to do that. It was so relaxing to just float. To slip into a calming state where nothing really mattered. He didn't even matter. He had a name, once, but he didn't need that. He simply was, and this was how he needed to be.

Jayce wandered through the banquet hall, eyeing the ladies. There were some FINE ass damsels here tonight, and he wondered which one would be best... Mmm. That lady, in the red skirt, tired from a day of driving, clearly needing a MAN to cheer her up. And those tits! She didn't even need those to be beautiful, and lordy they were huge. Nothing would stop them from wiggling and wobbling about as she walked, putting on an accidental show even at the best of times.

"I need some of those." Did he say that out loud? Oops. Well, she didn't seem to hear.

"I could help you with that, flyboy."

He turned, stared... staaaaared. Well hello there. A beautiful svelte lass in a slinky red dress, with hair almost as red and flowing. Dressed to impress, and boy did she. Girl did she? Not quite as... buxom as the first, but this one was coming on to him! Easy as it goes.

"Oh my. Out here, with everyone else?" "Goodness no. We don't need them."

She tucked a finger under his chin, lead him onward and out of the hall. Come hither, good knight. A good night awaits us all outside these doors, and in the private chambers of The Lady. Up the stairs, around the corner, and past the vaulted door. Yes... this was a good room. Nice and spacious, full of wonderful silky cushions and a large bed to romp about on. For surely that was the purpose of this soiree, yes?

She wrapped her hands around his vest, pulling it gently off. "You don't need these." "I most certainly don't."

He laid back on the bed, letting her disrobe him oh so nice and neat. She slid out of her dress too, and the package underneath was everything he had hoped for. Yes. Good. She kissed him a little, and rubbed at his chest. Something about it felt... nice. Warm and relaxing, like so much tension was getting out. He didn't think his chest was tense but... the feelings said otherwise, and he was happy to let them talk.

Letting her rub, and knead, and really let them come loose. Jayce could almost feel something underneath it all, tender and growing. Small at first, but the more she teased at his flesh, the more it seemed to... rise. Growing, filling, it was SO good, but... what was it? Did he...

"You don't need to worry."

Oh. Right. Of course, sorry. He... mmm. That was so, so nice. Intoxicating, really, as he just let himself fall backwards. He had come in here to have THE AWESOME SEXINGS with this lady, but... to let her mold and shape him like so, it felt right. Good and pleasing and... shape? A strange thought, but a happy one. He liked the idea of being shaped, for whatever reason.

She moved further down, to his dick. Yes, that was the proper thing to be shaped? Teased and pleased, to be sure, and it was quite hard as she ran her warm hands over it. The shaft and balls, they were his, his pride and joy and...

You don't need those.

Didn't he? They... they were what made him... him! His nightly conquests, his passion and need and... what would it be like if he didn't have... it? Them? Already she was squishing, pushing at them, and the pleasure seemed to concentrate just so. Like the shaft was less of a shaft, and more of a squishy, needy mass that started to sink inwards, coalescing atop his crotch... and it just felt so GOOD. He... he really didn't need them, did he?

"Of course not, silly. Cmon, relax! Enjoy."

He liked enjoying. Enjoying was simple, easy, fun even. It was just so... odd really. This passive pleasure, to be pleased and squished and molded... she wanted that... she? But... she was... oh! Her careful hands, they pushed inside, beyond the surface of the crotch, and into a strange new world.

"I... that... where are you..." "To wonderful places! Don't you want to go?" "...yes. But... why?"

"Why not?"

There were lots of reasons, she was sure, but... she couldn't reach them. Not with her mind as it was, not with her body distracting her as it was. Don't worry about that stuff! Cmon, look down HERE. Inward, deeper and deeper still. Soft and wet and oh so smooth. This... this wasn't very manly at all, but she didn't need that, did she?

The lady was bringing her hands up and around Jaina's hips now. Around and about and a little bit of the sticky goodness from below rubbing along her, filling everything with that pleasing sensation of being soft. Of being squishy and made for enjoyment, of hers, or perhaps for someone else? She... she'd never really considered it before, to be honest. Sex was about him and his, to take and rut and...

You don't need that.

She touched something, inside Jaina's mind, and it... it faded. Where... where had it gone? She felt so small and delicate, like a little flower, naked here with one of the other ladies of the lodge. Her... her breasts, her hips and ass, her flowing hair... and the lady... oh my! The lady wasn't as she remembered at all.

A strange, vulpine creature was before her. Red and white furred, clearly the same person in attitude and physique, yet with a bestial air that seemed almost... enticing. Her tail whipped about the small human girl, and Jaina giggled a little.

"I dare say there's a lot of guests who might need your... help tonight." "Ooh! Yes, of course, milady." Milady, it sounded... right. Pleasing and demure, and she giggled again.

"Not like that, of course. We can cover you a little." "Do I need to?" "Hmm... maybe not just yet."

The fox drew a finger along Jaina's face, pulling her gently back down onto the bed. There was so much to show, and really... this was a good place to start.

Attis sighed, watching Mike run off to the hot tub. "Well, off he goes."

So young, so vigorous. He missed that, really. That sort of youthful exuberance that let you run about willy-nilly without any worry as to the consequences. That said, age did have some benefits. Money to buy things, wisdom to appreciate the world around you, the ability to reach the top shelf... all good things.

"You don't need those."

He... what? He thought someone had been speaking to him, but... maybe it was his imagination? Ah well. It would be nice, really. Let the years slip away, gently, slowly, losing all sense of development or growth... but that would be silly, wouldn't it?

Attis stretched, yawned, and... his shirt slid on his shoulders. But why would that be? It was tight as a noose when he put it on(darn those pies), so why was it... no, how could it? But it was, and he... stared. This... he felt small. For the first time in a long time, he felt small.

He got up, off the bed, and watched as his pants fell down. He blushed a little, reaching to pick them up, but... the room was bigger. How was the room bigger? Unless... he was getting younger! This... this was...

He pulled his shirt off, looking, examining. He looked... nice and virile. Young indeed, with the wrinkles faded away and the muscles having toned themselves back into a nice proper state. Pliable, the word was, they felt pliable. Perhaps a bit lower to the ground than before, but... this was great!

He hopped back on the bed, leaning backwards, grabbing his long hard dick, stroking it and happily enjoying the vigor of his teenage years. Ahh... yes good. Pulling and yanking and... why did his dick seem like it was evading his grasp?

"You don't need this."

That... he certainly did! He liked it, quite a lot actually, and yet... it was softening. Shrinking, sliding down back into a small flaccid state... no, beyond that! It was a little, pitiful thing, the dangly bits of someone who hadn't actually grown up yet. He stared at it, filled with longing, but then his brain farted, and he wondered... what was he doing? He'd been playing with his middle, like mommy told him not to do, and he wasn't sure why he was so worked up about it.

Looking himself over, he seemed... smaller for sure, but also thinner. Arms that were noodly, a tum that was flat and squishy and not at all like the big bloated thing that... that he... had before? It was hard to think about that, and strange too. He didn't want to be big and grownup, really, he'd much rather just have fun being a little kid!

Attis bounced on the bed, and giggled. Yes! Boing! Higher and higher and... but he was still getting smaller... shorter. "I... I'm really getting small, aren't I? Haha. Aren't." Aren't sounded like a funny word to him all of a sudden, like it didn't really make sense, as his mind wiggled and forgot all sorts of strange things. He... did this mean that all that school stuff... he was forgetting it? The strange things of later years that hadn't quite happened yet. He'd remember it if it was shown to him, but... it wasn't here, and it was so easy to watch it slip away.

He bounced, laughing to himself. The laughs were higher and higher pitched, less that of a growing boy and more of a child. The room seemed so big, and the bed that had once been properly sized for him was now a wonderful expanse for him to bound and enjoy upon! Wheeeeeee... whoosh! Flop. "Boing!"

He lay on his back, panting for breath a bit and giggling. This... he really did seem so little. Tiny and... and... how young was he going to get? It felt strange, like parts of him were becoming undefined. Muscle memory that had never been learned, fingers and legs and tongues and how do you even tie shoes at all? What were shoes, other than strange things that mommy put on his feet? His feet, so small, so wiggly. He flopped around, trying... trying to make sense of it all. But he was so tired. So sleepy, long past his bedtime. Big brother Mike could come in and figure it out for him. He'd just... curl up in these nice sheets, all warm and snug, and just... sleep it off.

A small lump in the sheets, like that of a 4 year old child, gently wiggled. It was nice and cozy, and he was happy. What was there to be sad about? He forgot.

Chester was quite drunk, but he knew what he was about. He'd SEEN things. Strange things in this lodge, and they tickled his fancy. Here was a nice lady, helping about... perhaps she could help him as well.

"Oh! Hello there." "I... have a favor to ask you." "Oh my. This sounds like a private sort of favor." "Y...yes." How had she known? No, that didn't matter. "Thank you." "Not at all. We aim to please, and do so love getting rid of any stress you don't need."

They entered into an empty room, a nice place with all sorts of towels and linens and racks to hang things upon. "Now... what can I take off your burdens today?" "...everything." "Goodness. That is a lot." "I... I've seen you... in the lodge..." "Yes, we do walk around a lot." She patted him gently on the head, pulling off his shoes as he sat. They were so cute when they were flustered.

"Doing things... CHANGING people..." "We just take away things they don'tneed. Much like you. I see you're very tense indeed." "...yes." "And you just couldn't Wait to get started, isn't that right?" "Yes." "Well there's no need to be impatient. Let's just cut all this away..."

She tapped on his clothes, and it... they disappeared. Vanished, before his eyes, he felt very naked and exposed before this beautiful girl. But it was magical and mystical, and he NEEDED this. Oh yes. He...

"Oh my, what's this?" His dick was rising gently. Out, then up, and then bouncing at attention. Here I am! Down here! Hello!

"Now this is interesting. It's rare to get a guest who really is attracted to the Process, mmm?" "But then... why do it at all?" "Because people need change. Because sometimes what people need isn't what they want, at first. And sometimes things they think they need aren't actually necessary at all. Like this."

She drew a finger around his penis, circling, circumnavigating. "It's very important to you, isn't it?" Her smile was mischievous, eagerly awaiting the payoff. "...yes." "And you know what I'm going to say."

"I... I d... d..." He couldn't say it. That... it...

"You don't need this."

She pulled in all her fingers, wrapping gently around his shaft, and she pulled. Something clicked, ratcheting down below, and she slid his manhood out at an angle, carrying it gently away so he could see. Look! It's yours! Well, it was yours, but not anymore.

Chester stared down below. There was a strange, almost socket-like appearance to the crotch, like it was made to have a tool of his choice slid into place. The fleshy weiner, dangling in her hands, with little prongs hanging out of the end, perhaps to plug in and charge somewhere. His pride and glory, reduced to a vibrating toy. That... but she already had. And he wanted more. MORE.

"Haha. Here, let me give you one of ours."

She reached into her pocket, and pulled out... it looked like the lips of a pussy. There was... nothing inside, really, but the back had the same sort of prongs, for plugging in. "That... you can..." "This belongs to the lodge. It's not yours, but we'll let you play with it for now." "I... please..."

She leaned in, finding the right alignment to make it fit... there. He... she jolted back, quivering and twitching with electric pleasure as the strange new orifice locked into place. And as she looked down... there it was. No sign that the socket had ever been there at all. Just a pussy on a man, simple and hairless and smooth and oh so enticing.

"There we go. Now then. You did ask for... Everything." "I... did. I do." "Good. Because we have a lot to work on, sweetie."

Sweetie. That sounded... nice. Before it might have been a term of belittlement, but now... it felt like they were becoming equals. Nicely balanced against each other. The nice lady placed her hands atop the head... and gently massaged. Strange thoughts bubbled to the surface, of being a man named Chester, of having goals and dreams beyond that of the lodge... but even Chester didn't want those anymore, and... well... she didn't need them.

Something vacated, opened up. Her brain felt so empty, so hollow and open. She slumped back against the wall, letting everything spill out. Yes... this was nice. The lady walked away for a bit, but then came back with a small puff of wool. That... that would be nice on her. And the lady put the wool inside the head, and suddenly everything started to become... soft. Nice and properly cushioned. Her name... Sweetie, a nice new name for a nice new lamb. Her skin, so soft, but the wool growing out of it softer still. Her chest... it wasn't very large at all, was it? But she didn't need that to be beautiful. It was more about the way she moved, the presentation, the attitude. The lodge needed all types to properly serve its guests, and she would be a good little lamb.

The lady ran her fingers gently along the lamb's shoulders, in the creases and crevices and... they did crease inwards. Little slits, little sockets, the limbs not quite attached. Here at the elbows, and the wrists, and the knuckles. Here at the neck and the torso. Here at the waist and the knees and ankles and toes. Joints, for a nice toy. She felt like a thing made of flesh and blood, but those little reminders that she was just a toy for the staff to play with and shape as they wished... this was a thing she Needed.

Time seemed to return, and Sweetie looked about. This... oh my. She wasn't quite done yet, was she! How indecent. Her feet, gently darkening and mottling into hard, firm hooves. The better to clop with, to stand at any time and be sure of her footing. The ankles, nice and up in the air. She could probably wear heels and feel no different, though that would be cheating. Sweetie giggled. It wouldn't do to cheat, after all.

"There we go. All nice and snug?"

Sweetie looked up, past a strange white muzzle that seemed oh so right to her. The feline lass in front of her was purring gently, proud of her handiwork. She hugged the cat, letting her know just how she felt. She had had all sorts of problems before, things that she didn't want to have, but... she didn't need those anymore. She could be here, with others that shared her desire to simply Be as they were... and perhaps share that joy with the human guests that came into the lodge.

"Y...yes!"

Sweetie hopped off the table, landing with a Clip Clop. She was naked, but really, wool was like clothing when all was said and done, right? She wiggled her bum, just a little, and felt the tail poof out. Small, dainty, but it was hers, and she needed that. Her ears twisted and turned and flicked about, and then the cat flicked them as well just to make sure they were on straight. They were, in fact, on straight. All was good, and they set out together. The cat wanted to get her... clothes? Aww. That's no fun. But if it was really needed... perhaps the nakedness could wait.

Bridget shivered a bit as she wandered out into the cold. The ladies had been... insistent not to, for some reason. Saying that there were bad things outside, that it was far better in the warm of the lodge. Still, she liked how the cold could help clear her head, and the snow was rather pleasing to look at, caking the woods as it did.

"Ah, there you are."

Ned had found his way out as well, coat slung over his shoulders as he headed over to Bridget.

"Yeah, wanted to cool off a bit." "Even though the lodge ladies said..." "Eh. We don't NEED to stay inside. It's not that far out anyway."

The wind whipped a little, and they shivered, but... something about it felt... peaceful? They could see well tonight, the moon not quite full, and... was something coming out of the trees?

He was. A humanoid, a large man shaped like a stag, shaggy and deeply muscled with a touch of snow about the edges. His antlers swung as his head moved, and he headed towards the two with purpose and dignity.

"Um... hello?" "Ned, maybe we should go..." "You don't need to run."

They... stopped. Stared at the stag. Of course they didn't, it... it was just an idle thought. Please be forgiving this odd rudeness. He moved up, looking them over, sizing them up. Yes... these would do. But... their strange garbs, clad in the makings of the modern world. That would not.

"Your clothes... you don't need them. You are under my supervision."

Their clothes, jackets and scarves and... all seemed to vanish. They were open, exposed, but not cold somehow. This creature, he willed the cold to stay away, and they didn't need to fear it around him.

"Who... are you?" "I am. You do not need to be a who either."

Something... broke inside. Shattered. The boy stared at the girl, but already her name escaped him? No... like it didn't exist anymore. This... "I... but I..." "You do not need to move."

She... she tried. But she couldn't, like... like it was gone. He turned, staring, concerned... but the girl wasn't there anymore. Just a strange, carved statue in the shape of a girl. He placed his hands on her, running over her... wood. Hard and solid and... what could he do? He... he didn't want to see her like this, but...

"Please... please don't..."

"You do not need to be human anymore."

He... his hand slid on her breasts, or the wood that appeared to be breasts, but already it was a snowy white paw. He tried to say something, but it was a howling sort of bark. His throat, an altogether lupine beastly thing. He threw himself to the ground, for he knew he NEEDED to do this, and his limbs happily rearranged themselves to catch his fall. The fur of the winter wilds rippled over him, and across him, and then he bore it proudly. The wolf looked around, trying to remember where he was... but he was in the presence of his lord. The stag, the master of the weirding woods. The lodge was a strange, human thing, the border between the mundane and the weird, but he... he would go into the woods, and become wild and feral.

"Come."

The stag beckoned, and the wolf wandered off into the distance. He turned, touched the statue, and it gently twisted. Spun, growing outwards not as a representation of life, but as life itself. Gnarled and twisting, branches and leaves and roots... another tree for his dominion. She stretched, taking in the winter air, and then all was silent.

Larson walked through the art gallery, admiring the... oddities that seemed to be on display. Pictures of animal people, statues of werewolves in repose... the owner was clearly someone to his own taste! Yes, please.

Gary wasn't quite sure about it all. This was Larson's sort of thing, really. Animal people rubbed him the wrong way, for whatever reason. He did like the statues otherwise though. Nice breasts, nice... needed more dicks, though he understood why that wasn't technically the best idea in a public lodge.

"Huh. There's some empty pedestals."

There were. Between the goat lady and the reclining... well, he was mostly male, though there wasn't anything to show off at all. What was that even like? A statue denied the most important parts? Gary wondered, and wondered why he wondered, but Larson was busy playing around on the pedestal. He needed to pose dramatically. Haha! Check this out! He threw his arm out, like a disco dancer, and Gary chuckled a bit. Okay okay, you're very clever.

Larson made to move, to take a different sort of pose, but... he seemed. Stuck? He pulled at his feet, and again they were stretching something under him, grasping and yanking at his feet. What... what was that? He looked down, and saw... the stone of the pedestal, which had seemed solid and firm, was actually rather soft and squishy. As his foot lifted up, he saw something grey and shiny stuck to them, drawing them back down with a strange viscous friction.

"What... what is that?" "It looks like... rubber."

Gary blushed deeply, kneeling down and staring. It... it was. This was very kinky, and a little concerning. He knew where these sorts of things went, at least as far as the internet was considered. Already it was starting to slink upwards, reaching around his feet, but when had he taken his shoes off? Larson was blushing now, feeling it squish between his toes just so, and somehow... hoping it would go further. "Maybe... maybe we should get some help..." "Are you kidding? You need to try this."

Gary stopped, stared. Then he started to walk towards another bare pedestal, but... "What? I... I can't..." "Gary?" "I have to... but why do I have to?"

He tried, he tried so hard, but still his legs carried him towards the danger. His cock was raging, firmly aware of just how precarious this was, and he grasped it as he walked. His pants... they weren't needed... not where he was going.

"Is it... pulling you?" "It happened! Right when you said I needed to!" "Well... maybe you need to jerk off too." "Larson, no!"

But... he did need to, didn't he? He sat on the pedestal, pulling and jerking and feeling the pleasure rise. Oh... ohhhhh. Something was sinking, seeping, and he could feel the rubber start to squish around his exposed butt. This... it was warm, and somehow everything it touched felt very, very good. This only powered his dick further, and as he pulled... it was so easy to let everything go.

Larson himself was in dire straits. It was pushing, sliding over his knees, up towards his... his crotch. His clothes, they had already vanished, stolen away by some strange force. This... he reached down, took some of the rubber on his hand... and rubbed it over his dick. He... he needed to feel this. He needed to enjoy it so... but what was this feeling? The rubber coated his shaft, pushed INSIDE, and then... opened it up.

"Oh... it... but that..."

It grasped, pried at the flesh, and the flesh was willing. It was the strangest thing, watching as his dick was opened from the inside, spread apart to form a large, long, open crevasse. He reached down, rubbed at it and... he could feel it still, needy and welcoming. He pushed, and it squished and... was he even a he anymore? The rubber, it was changing him and... he needed to let it do this. He grabbed more, took it up, rubbed it on his chest, and was pleased to see that it started to seep inside his pecs. They welled up, bubbling and rising like so much dough... but they were very sensitive and jiggling. Breasts made of rubber, but the rubber was a part of her, and she was it now.

"It... it's not stopping..."

Gary kept stroking, he HAD to. But the rubber was wrapping him tighter and tighter. It covered his balls, reached inside them, filling them with a maddening pleasure that just would not be abated. The only way out was through, and increasingly there was no way out for anything else. His arms were coated, his legs did not feel like things of flesh and bone anymore. Like the rubber had replaced all of that unnecessary stuff. His legs, things of movement, but...

"You don't need that."

He... he didn't need to move, did he? Just to stroke, to please, and already it was building up, reaching its conclusion... and he was deeply anticipating just what that conclusion might bring. Up over his chest, his neck... it sculpted him into something that did not need to breathe or tire. Only to stroke, only to please... the nice dick that he wanted to show off in the gallery... but it was his, and he would be the first of the truly Masculine attractions.

"Oh no... that... please..."

Larson was staring down at the pedestal, watching as the rubber started to rise in a very different way. A thick protrusion, shining and waiting. Up it rose, closer and closer, and she felt her rubber legs start to slowly pull her down towards it. This... it was going to go in, and already she felt her nethers... open up. A long hollow passage that was just slightly too small for the spire below her... but she would stretch. Somehow she knew, as the tip touched the surface of her lips and gently rubbed back and forth, teasing her and taunting her. You know what's coming, my dear.

"I... yes... I need that... in me..."

Suddenly the force that was keeping her legs up disappeared, vanished, and she fell on the rubber. She cried out, feeling her hips and torso shoved aside, FILLED, with this thick warm wonderful thing that started to pump and vibrate within her. Oh... that... she couldn't take it, but she had to. She needed to bear it, for just a little...

The rubber continued to spread, reaching down below her asshole, and spreading outwards from her spine. A... a tail, hopefully a nice tail she thought, but she was too stuck on the strange shaft to turn and look. It wasn't like the tail was moving, or that she could move anymore. Only the rubber could move for her, and increasingly it seemed like she would just be... stuck here. As a statue. And that... that sounded so nice. It ran over her neck, stretching out her jaw, longer and longer and inhuman indeed. It ran down her throat, and then her throat was full, and then it was just rubber in the shape of a throat. Thick and goopey and starting to... to...

"I... I'm coming... I'm gonna-"

It burst, the dam below, a seeping of liquid... but already her insides were rubber, and then her mind was rubber, and then it all turned to solid stone. The orgasm, the sensation of release and passion... it stayed, locked in place. A strange creature of lust, stuck penetrated on the pedestal she dared to stand on... just how she wanted it. There was no way to account for kinky fantasies, after all.

"That... you... oh no... I'm turning to..."

Gary could feel it, rising up, the rubber that was his balls starting to quiver and shake. Soon it would... spurt out. A splash, a spray, but it... didn't come down. The cum stayed in the air, extended from his dick, but it was already rubber, hard and solid. He stared, but the rubber took his head, and then he arched back in pleasure, and then he did not move. Rubber became stone, and the statue of pleasure was sealed into place, just as he feared it would. Feared, but also hoped. Sealed into place, sealed into the wonderful unleashing that only being totally entrapped could bring. It was what he needed, and now... it was what he would be from now on.

Another man entered into the gallery, examining. A strange collection indeed. Very... lewd. Kinky. Was that man... ejaculating? And the raccoon, she was being penetrated by the pedestal. Oh... oh my. This... he wasn't sure about all of it. But Gary was sure, and as the man stared, Gary thought at him.

You need to try this.

Ralen sat in a... stable? In the back. Halfway between a themed room for the kiddos and a storage room for the employees, though mercifully it had carpets instead of hay. Hay got everywhere, especially when kids were involved.

Ralen did not care about these sorts of things. He sat by himself, leaking tears. Another bridge burned, another holiday season... alone. Only half of it was his fault, but... that was enough to feel awful about the whole thing.

"You don't need to be alone."

He looked up, eyes stinging a bit. There was a... one of the lodge ladies, but... if he squinted just right, she almost looked like a deer. Strange and odd, but he wasn't in much of a state to ponder this.

She knelt down, and he... he saw more. She was... quite attractive, if a bit fuzzy in places where the lodge jacket didn't cover. An unusual thing... but comforting. "What... what are...?" "Shhh. It's okay."

She leaned into him, gave him a sort of hug, with her muzzle leaning on his shoulder. There there. Cry it all out. "You don't need to be without friends, this time of year especially." "But... but I..." "Shh. I know a trick." "?" "An easy way to make friends. Here."

She pulled her head up, leaned that strange doe face into his, and the snoots booped. It was silly, but... his nose felt warm. Thicker, sturdier, wider too. She pulled her head out... and his nose came with her. Longer, and longer, and longer still. A strange cervine thing that was... his? "That... you did that?"

The deer lady smiled and nodded. "How does it feel?" "...nice." He didn't know why it felt nice, but there was something comforting about knowing it was there. About knowing there was this nice lady that was also there, and she had one too.

"Here. You don't need these."

She tapped at his clothing, and his eyes opened slightly as they disappeared. He felt naked but... not cold, for some reason. Opening his eyes only made the tears leak a little more though, and she wiped his face. "There there. We don't want to mess up your new coat." "My... new?" "Of course! Don't think you were going to get away without presents on Christmas."

She reached out, grabbed Ralen's nipples just slightly, and started to spin her fingers around them. Careful, practiced, and it was so strange how the little tinges of pubic hair softened and spread and became an even circle of dark grey fluff, with a light tinge of orangish-brown. But then the circle spread, ever so slightly, forced outward by the growing pinkness at its center. The nipples, his breasts, but slowly they started to become just a little more rounded. A little bit higher. He moaned, and his voice was so light and soft. This... this felt wonderful.

Outward the fur roamed, further and farther abroad. Already it was across his pectorals, and as they became fully coated, he could feel something filling from within. Soft and squishy and larger and larger still. The doe had moved from rubbing them to grasping them, squeezing and pulling and leading them further and further up. They... they felt so large, not that he had much to compare against as a man, but as a woman... she could get used to this.

"Here. Let's head down a bit." "D...down?" "Of course. The best presents are Under the tree."

She carried her head down, past the growing and changing breasts, though she dragged a finger with her. Down the center, the valley between the boobs, and it tracked the fur as it went. Down the torso, into the belly button, and the little puff of fur there was... kinda cute. She traced outwards, two fingers now, spreading both directions on her waist. Then she stopped, but before Ralen had a chance to wonder... the doe's mouth opened. Oh... oh goodness. He had a feeling, subconsciously, knowing how long their faces were... but to see the tongue, to feel it. It wrapped and curled around his shaft, this thing that was growing ever harder and happier and... and yet...

"What... it's..." She didn't quite dare to say it, but... it felt like it was... "melting." "Wetter is better, especially in here." "...in?"

But suddenly she got it. The shaft, the... what remained of it, melted by her smooth and delicate ministrations, it sank inwards. Smaller and deeper and... it leaked. But it was not tears, something far sweeter and sensual and... concave. This opening, a cavity, a strange hole that lead inside. Oh... oh yes. She could feel the fur spreading, wrapping around the wonderful new entrance... but never quite touching. The doe raised her head, allowing Ralen to... to see. A gentle curve, but a dip in the middle, a touch of pink in a sea of soft orange thick wintry fluff. This... this was hers.

"Now I know you're still getting adjusted." "Is... is that what they call it?" Adjustments felt heavenly, and she didn't want them to stop. Not now, not ever. This... this was the spirit of Christmas.

"Heehee. Well, there's a few things we need to add! Gotta look your Christmas best." "P... please. I'd love you to."

The doe spread Ralen's legs, drawing her hands down and around, spreading the fur faster than its slow, passive crawl as she did. But she grasped Ralen's ankles, pulling them and drawing them into position. Taller, longer, thicker and firmer. The feet, she drew the toes in, and then there were no toes, and then they were covered by a calming, solid coating. "Those... I have... hooves?" "They're the best! Almost as good as this."

She reached in towards the center, and for a moment Ralen feared she was aiming for the butthole. But no, she went below it, grabbing and pulling and gently drawing out a puff of fluff, like a magician of sorts. It was... small, but delicate and tender and she could waggle it Just So. "Ooh. Yes, you... you were right."

"Come on, up you get. You need to show off your present!"

Ralen did, slowly, gently, with the nice doe's help. But she was now also a nice doe, if a bit thinner in the limbs and thicker in the... the chest. It wobbled, and she supported it with her hands. Her hands, the fingers now covered on all sides with the same hoof-like material. Clicky and clacky and maybe a little bit heavy. Her ass had grown ever so slightly, ever so upward and outward and Round. Not flat, certainly not, and far more enticing. The doe grabbed her ears, pulling like her tail, and she was pleased to feel them rise up. But... something else was there too? Thick and hard and... it rose. Two points, from her head... horns? No, antlers, a strange and new feeling.

"Eeee! A reindeer. We've been needing one of those." "Are... are they?" "They're adorable. You are too!"

This... when was the last time Ralen had ever heard praise in his direction. Serious praise, from someone he trusted like this. It... it had been so long.

"Now now, no more crying, alright? You're with friends now." "That... thank you." "Of course! Do you want to make it official?" "How... does that work?" "Two ways. The first is very straightforward. What's your name? Mine's Felicia."

She... she wasn't sure. "It... it's Ralen, but..." "You don't like it?" "...not anymore." Felicia hugged her gently, doing the little back pats. That... that felt nice. Soft. Cozy. "That's okay. We can be new here!" "I... yes." She pondered. "Relena. That sounds... right." "Yay! Happy birthday Relena." Relena smiled, a little, but... "It's kinda hard though. Just... just changing like that..." "You turned into a reindeer. A beautiful one at that." "Oh! Um... thank you." "It's just you realizing that you don't need that human's name anymore."

She... she didn't! Relena... already it was hard to remember, no... more like soft to remember. Every time her brain got close, it bounced off, hitting a soft fluffy Relena instead. And that... that was good.

"So... what's the second way?" "Mmmm. I never did finish down there, did I."

Relena blushed deeply, though the fur did a good job of covering it up. They both knew though, and slid back down for a proper cuddling session. Christmas could wait. They had each other, and everything would be alright.

Kris huffed, and she puffed, and Mom would NOT LISTEN. "I want my presents NOW!" "Christmas is in a few days, Kris. Haha, Krismas." "Moooooommmm." "Kriiiiiiissss." "Please?" "No. The answer isn't going to change, hunny! Everyone's going to have Christmas together."

Mom wandered away to deal with the others, and Kris harrumphed. It was HARD to be 5. No one took you seriously, especially not in these CRITICAL MOMENTS where presents were on the line. Drat it all. She NEEDED her presents now. But mommy would just say no, and occasionally add bits about Kris being "Her Christmas present". Well, if she could have her present now...

It made sense in Kris' mind. Alas, that was not the one that counted.

"I... I just need to to skip forward to Christmas! Then she can have her present on time, and I can have mine without having to wait!" Foolproof.

That is possible.

What... who said that? It was strange, like the words were there, but the voice was not. Still, it was good to have someone back her up for once. "Yes! Yes, I really NEED that!"

Something felt... puffy. Strange and stuffy, like a room that was too warm on a winter's day. But it wasn't that the room was stuffy or crowded... if anything, it seemed bigger. She looked around, confused, but then... her hand? It was pushing inward, curving upon itself and becoming flat. Little brown pads formed on it, smooth and... stitched? It looked almost like... like...

"A teddy bear's hand?"

It was... soft. Squishy to the touch. She poked the little beans, stitched on though they were, and... it felt nice. Warm and comfortable, like a hug concentrated in one spot. And the fluff... it was rising! Up her arms, into her sleeves, where was it going? But she thought she knew. EVERYWHERE. Everywhere and all over and... "This is so... cool..."

"What's that, Kris?" "Nothing mom! Just playing!" "Okay. I'll be done in a few minutes."

Kris had the feeling she would be done then too! Already she felt puffy on the inside, warm and stuffed and oh so squishy! She poked, and watched as the skin under her dress gave way. That... oh goodness. She jumped a little, and she didn't get very high, but when she landed, it was like she didn't weigh anything at all. Maybe she didn't. Everything seemed so soothing, so gentle, and she could streeeetch down to grab her little toesies... but they weren't toesies anymore! Flat and squishy like her hands, and then she didn't have fingers at all. Outward facing pads to more easily show off the little stitched on paws.

She looked over to see if anyone was watching, but then she saw it. A box, a christmas present, open with the top gently resting slightly off to the side. It had a tag that said KRIS on it, next to the DO NOT OPEN UNTIL KRISMAS. Yessss... good. She tried to grab at it, the edge of the top, but with no fingers... she jumped. Ummph. Mmmph. Aha! She got her arms over it, pulling and dragging and... there! Flop. Into the box. Her eyes seemed so hard and plasticky now, and she ran her stubby limbs over the little bear snoot and the stitches and the... it was so nice. "I'll be there soon!"

The lid closed, and she fell asleep almost instantly. Christmas was just a dream away.

It was dark in the lodge, but this did not deter Mike. He'd gone back to the room, after the SWEET HOT TUB. But... it wasn't at all what he had expected. The... the lump in the bed, the small child there. It looked just like Daddy, but now it was his younger brother. Attis, he... the lodge had Done something. And he was going to find out what.

Armed with a flashlight and his gusto, he set forth. There was a door, he noticed it earlier. No one seemed to go there, not even the lodge staff. Simple, unadorned in this house of decoration. And it almost seemed sloped outwards, as if pointing down into the earth. Somewhere, down there... he'd find an answer.

It opened easily, far lighter than its appearance suggested. Unlocked, for some reason. And the stairs... long and curving with a lantern in the middle. They spiraled deep, deep down, perhaps too deep. And at the end... this was the sort of ornateness he expected of a door in this lodge. Large, stone, with delicate wood and marble carvings around the outside. Runes and... gems? If they were not real, they certainly did a good job of pretending to be. But he was not to be deterred. Shove. Shooooooooooove.

...okay maybe it was a bit too heavy.

Still, as he made to ponder a way to get more leverage, it opened. Crackling and crumbling and sending dust all about. Into the cave he went, even as dim blue flames lit the vast expanse before him. A massive cavern, set in such a way that it could not possibly exist under the lodge so close above it, and yet it was. And at the far end of the chilly cave...

A dragon.

Deep blue wings and bluer scales still. Eyes that gleamed yellow in the dark with teeth that were gently tucked behind massive jaws, as if to hide their true form. But they were there, and he knew it. The tail that swished, the claws that grasped, this thing that was as large as the entire entryway of the lodge above. Gargantuan, was the word, and if he felt small before, he definitely did now. The dragon's mouth opened, and a resolute voice sounded out.

"You do not need to be here." "But I WANT to be here!"

The spell broke, shattering into a thousand pieces. Mike could not see the shards of aether, but the dragon could, and he scowled slightly. "Ah, I see. That is how you have come this far." "What... what did you do to my br... my dad?!"

"Exactly what he wanted." "Y... what?" This wasn't what Mike was expecting at all.

"It might seem strange to one so young, but he... envied you." "..." "Your youth, your vigor and zest, things he had lost that he wanted back. Things he wanted, but soon decided that he needed as well, and so they became true." "What... but why?" "You are under the impression that I have Done something. It is the reverse, in most cases." "That... that doesn't make sense..." "I suppose. To understand, you must know of this place. It is a border, a boundary between your Earth and the Weirding Woods. They are a strange place, one where things you take for granted are most definitely not. Such as your father's age and attitude. This lodge serves to keep the woods Out of your reality, and ensure that these sorts of changes are minimal." "..." "You are not convinced, I know. Understand that many people are drawn to the Weirding, as they become convinced their desires cannot be fulfilled in their reality. And so those that would normally be ensnared by the Woods come to stay here, at the Lodge." "Where they are changed anyway." "Yes, and no. I work to make the changes far more agreeable. Those who wander past the lodge's protection often suffer horrible fates." Images flashed in Mike's mind, of a tree that had hopes and dreams, of a wolf that forgot why it was anything other than the pet of an eldritch thing. "Is it so horrible, to be young again? To have those desires granted?" "And... what if you hadn't?" "He is the age he wishes to be. It is young, but it is a far better age than 0, or lesser still."

Mike... shuddered. That... that did sound bad. Like murder, really, if it kept going.

"It is not a perfect fit. I cannot Stop people from entering the woods, only seek to entice them to stay here, or return to your world. Additionally, there are some like you, who are very mindful of the differences between what you Want and what you Need. My brand of changes has no power over you unless you desire them."

"So you just leave the door unlocked... because almost no one ever comes down here anyway." "And sometimes the staff wishes to speak with me, yes. They are those that have changed, yet wish to stay here, in this place that is not quite real."

"Which brings us to you."

Mike took a step back... but then stepped forward again. He... he wasn't going to run.

"Good. I approve. That said, I see that you are curious, that you wish to learn more." "And... dad... brother isn't really going to be driving us home."

"Not until he has come to terms with his desires, no. Yet if you are to stay, you must become part of the magic." "What... does that mean?"

The dragon shrugged, and Mike could hear the shrug, such was his size. "A simple process. You would take a form that you consider magical, something pleasing that you would enjoy to be." "And you need my permission." "Yes. Do you want this?"

He... it did sound interesting. "For... for now, yes." "That is enough. And as you want this, I shall ensure that you need to be that way. You will exist in that shape, and you will need to continue being that way."

Something jolted, sparking deep within Mike's chest. He shivered, then fell down on his hands. Somehow it seemed... right. Natural. He watched as his fingers wiggled, congealed. The nails became long and sharp indeed, even as the fingers became three. He flexed and curled them, and was pleased to see the hand had taken a shape that let the claws slide inwards Just So when closed. The skin, it was a sickly green... but then a healthy green, and then vibrant and shimmering. Scales, proud and bold.

"I must say I approve of this choice." "I... didn't choose?" "But in your mind, you knew what you needed."

His butt wiggled uncontrollably, pushing outwards, stretching thick and long and very strange indeed. It was like his torso continued onward, not satisfied with stopping at his hips, and indeed his hips were pushed aside like lesser things. A single smooth form from tip to tail, even as his feet became clawed as well. His shoes, unnecessary things, and his pants grew a new sleeve to accommodate. It was nice, with a little buckle clasp in the back for easy removal. Simple and elegant, if a little more modern than the Dragon was used to. Mike was used to it though, and that was enough.

His face stretched, and he yawned. The teeth, now fangs, implements of steak destruction. His tongue was long and thick. A good thing, he hoped, for those moments when he'd accidentally bite it. A human tongue would not last long in a dragon's mouth. And then... he could see! Could smell, could hear. His ears, pointed and longer yet rounded at the tip. Beastly yet gentle. His eyes, slitted and green yet young and tender. His nose, so long, yet if you boop it, you might even see it glow with embarrassment. No horns, no wings, not yet, so young a dragon. Still on two legs, still made for a human's world. But that was okay. As dramatic as the dragon's abode was, he did not relish living down here in a cave.

"You shall be here often though, to learn." "That... that is fine, I think." This... he felt powerful and bold. New and interesting, with the future an unknown fog that smelled of magic and mystery. He didn't need to go there... but he wanted to, and so he would.

The dragon smiled. It had been so long, but finally, the right inquisitive mind had stumbled into his den. He was not the sort to make children, but a student, an acolyte... this he could do. Christmas had indeed come early, even for the dragon.