FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Sigh... looks like it's all going to hell outside once again..." Shade thought to herself, peeking out of one of many windows of her mansion home in the middle of the forest, watching a group of people approaching from the distance, most of which brandishing torches and pitchforks. "You'd think these morons would have learned by now..." She glared at them with contempt - she used to be as human as they were, but she and her friends were sentenced to death for practising witchcraft - something they weren't looking into using for malevolent means. People in the middle-ages weren't particularly forgiving about that, though, and she was able to save herself through tapping into what she had learned, transforming herself into an anthropomorphic raven. Her friends weren't as lucky, having been incapacitated before plumetting, sending her into a vengeful rage. Her mood had calmed somewhat a few years after the fact, but with the continued attempts of destroying her, it wasn't doing anything to help change her view on humans for the most part.

"I'm really not in the mood to deal with this right now." She raised her hand and clicked her talons, causing the mob to vanish into thin air, only to reappear back in the town where they had started from.

"They're taking the fun out of this with how often they're doing it, aren't they?" Dusk, her partner, asked.

"Pretty much - no matter how many times I keep sending them back to square one, they keep persisting."

"You COULD just turn them into animals, you know~" Dusk chirped.

"I could, but the way they're acting, they'd only be fit to be feral livestock." She shook her head.

"Still, it'd hopefully dissuade them from all of this." The male raven shrugged.

"Hrm..." She paused for a moment. "What we could do with are some bodyguards..."

"Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't decided to turn someone into a dragon to guard this place - you could put in a moat and drop a sea dragon or two in there."

"Ugh, no!" Shade crowed in disgust. "I learned the hard way that those types are, to put it politely, backstabbers. Oh, fun fact, do ya know that you can kill one from the inside-out by simply boiling the water within them? It was fun to watch him whistle like a tea kettle~" She said with a somewhat worrying expression.

"Ok... you're actually scaring me..." Dusk inched away from his partner slightly. "Remind me to never piss you off!"

"Heh.." She giggled. "But yeah, whilst it might be fun to have a more traditional dragon around these parts, why don't we start with a bit of muscle?"

"Long as it's not the dumb type of muscle - the last person you tried that type of magic with was so brain-dead that they couldn't tell that they were getting attacked at first!"

"True, true... it's only after they lost an arm that they thought it was just a 'flesh wound'. Still, not my fault that the guy was an arrogant ass BEFORE I had worked my magic!" She shrugged.

"Yeah... might help if you choose someone who you'd think would be a better fit for the part!" Dusk said.

"It shouldn't be too hard to find someone in the nearby town to recruit - hell, they've got housing quarters for knights-in-training there, so who knows, there might be someone from that crowd who'd want a new lease on life!"

"Long as they come back here in one piece, that's the important thing!"

"Don't worry, I'll try not to do too much damage if I can help it~" She said with a wink, stepping outside of the mansion before taking flight towards the town.

~~~~~~~~~

A thin blanket of snow covered the ground of the rustic-looking city. Everyone was going around minding their own business, selling their wares, and not really taking too much notice of the defeated-looking troop of soldiers who were just returning from their failed witch hunt.

"Gods damn it all..." One of the knights said under their breath. "It shouldn't be this annoying trying to deal with one simple witch!"

"You know, I'm starting to think she's not as simple as they say... I mean, all the people we talked to who reported seeing her said she wasn't human looking outside of her body type."

"What, are you telling me she's some kind of animal?"

"Maybe?" The soldier shrugged. "I don't think she's someone I'd want to face alone either way!"

Outside of the knight's barracks, a lone errant knight was sitting on top of a crate, idly polishing his sword. He saw the troop returning, looking forlorn.

"Welcome back... I'm gonna guess the hunt didn't go as planned?"

"We couldn't even take step one near her!" One of the men grumbled. "Every time we got near her lair, she magicked us elsewhere!"

"It sounds like you're not taking her seriously enough - wouldn't it make more sense to try a back attack, or at least attacking from a blind spot?"

"Bartlet, we're not dealing with a normal person here! I don't know what type of attack we could launch that'd end in success for us!" The soldier replied. Unbeknownst to any of them, Shade was watching them from a distance, hiding among the clouds.

"Again, I feel a surprise attack would work, as long as you kept yourselves hidden, and find a way in from somewhere she's not aware of!" Bartlet told them. "Really, it doesn't take too much to think strategically!"

"Heh... someone with actual brains..." Shade snickered to herself. "Still, he has a point... I should really set up a few traps here and there. You, however..." She grinned, keeping an eye on the errant. "I think you'll be perfect for the job!"

"If you're so smart and know something that we don't, you're more than welcome to try for yourself!" One of the soldiers angrily responded.

"Urg... I don't know what I'm even doing here with you morons..." Bartlet mumbled under his breath, picking up his sword as he walked away.

"And where do you think you're off to?" The leader asked.

"I need to go and clear my head... and to think up a strategy to ensure she's not gonna screw around with you anymore!" He sniped at them - of course, the last part wasn't entirely true, he just wanted a few minutes away from the buffoons. "Best in the land, my foot... what was my King thinking when he sent me here?" He silently complained.

"Better make my move~" Shade waited until he was outside of the town, keeping her sights on him all the while. He sat on a tree stump, idly looking up at the sky.

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm even in the right profession..." He mumbled. "I mean yes, I like the whole idea of protecting people, but at the same time, those buffoons make it so hard to want to do my job..."

"Let me guess... they're the type who stab first and ask questions later?" Shade asked.

"That's one way of putting it, I suppose!" He laughed. "Some of the archers are so trigger-happy, they'll let loose on anything that disturbs them a good deal of the time - thankfully it's almost always an animal, but you never know with them!"

"Sounds like a group of people I used to know, so damn judgmental..." She growled under her breath. "If they're that dumb, why are you putting up with them?"

"I don't know... I guess I'm bound to protect the village, even if I have to be paired up with brain-dead idiots!"

"You know, I could change that..." She stepped closer, behind him. "I'm looking for a personal bodyguard for my place... it's a well-paying job, all the food you can eat, a place to stay..."

"Oh?" He perked up. "That's a nice offer, but what would the other knights say?"

"I say 'screw them' myself, if they're that stupid, are they really worth your time?"

"I suppose that's true... alright, you've got yourself a deal, miss...?"

"You can call me Shade, dear~" She chirped as he turned around to face her, his jaw dropping almost instantly at the sight of the tall, busty, anthropomorphic raven standing in front of him.

"Sh...Sh... Shit, you're the witch, aren't you?!" He gasped, reaching for his blade. As he pulled it out, the raven's eyes narrowed, Bartlet falling forwards as his sword suddenly felt like he was attempting to carry a barrow full of bricks.

"Now now, let's not get violent..." Shade trilled. "The last person who pissed me off ended up being turned into a poodle, I'm pretty sure you don't want to suffer that fate... or worse..." Her violet eyes briefly flashed a deep, dark crimson.

"Ghh..." He had to let go of his weapon, falling onto his backside as he looked up at Shade. "Dually.... Dually noted..." He dusted himself off, getting back to his feet. "So... you're a witch... can I have my sword back?" He looked down at his weapon.

"Yes, but try anything like that again, and it won't end well for you..." She undid her spell, allowing him to pick the blade back up, which he instantly sheathed.

"Right, right... anyway... you wanted to hire me as a bodyguard?" He asked.

"Mmm-hmm!" She quickly returned to her more quirkier disposition. "Those idiot knights have been nothing but a bother these past few moons, and until I can figure out a way to keep my mansion in a constant state of disguise... maybe even teleportation... I'd like some help to keep them at bay. Since you've had your issues with them, maybe you'd be willing to take up my offer?"

"Hrm, well I dunno... what makes you think I'd be suitable for it? On top of that, what are the knights in town going to think of me protecting a witch?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, it'll all be taken care of if you agree to be my own personal bodyguard~" She spoke coyly.

"Well... I guess I've got nothing to lose in this situation - I mean if I reject the offer and they send me to try to kill you, I'll probably end up dead, and if I side with you and they show up, they'll probably hang or behead me or throw me in the dungeon for treason..."

"Exactly - with nothing to lose, you might as well take my offer!" She winked, rummaging through a pouch around her waist. She pulled out a round vial full of a glowing grey liquid. "Now then, you're going to need to drink this, first!"

"Er... what's that?" He cocked his head. "No offence, but it looks like sewage water you've drowned fireflies in!"

"It's your job requirement - all you need is to drink this!" She handed Bartlet the vial. "By the way, I don't think I got your name."

"It's... Bartlet..." He tried to repress the urge to gag, looking at the off-putting concoction. "This... isn't going to give me dysentery or anything?"

"Not at all! It's perfectly safe for human consumption!"

"Right, right..." He nodded, popping the cork from the bottle. Thankfully it didn't smell anywhere near as bad as it looked. "OK, I can do this... I've seen them drink swill at the tavern that looks more appealing than this..." He closed his eyes, placed the bottle to his mouth, and, without hesitation, downed the mixture in one solid gulp. "Urf... god, that tasted like nothing!"

"Yeah, some of these mixtures are still a work in progress - there's only so much you can do when it comes to certain ingredients around here, and melting bones is more tedious than you'd think!"

"MELTING BONES?!" He nearly jumped out of both his armor and his skin. "YOU'RE TRYING TO KILL ME FROM THE INSIDE OUT, AREN'T YOU?!"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm trying to do... " She sighed, rolling her eyes. "And here I was hoping you'd be smarter than the average knight around here."

"Then what exactly WAS that what you just gave me?" He asked, his body suddenly feeling warm.

"A little something that'll help you fit into the bodyguard role. I'm not really one to work with humans..." She put extra emphasis on that last word. "Also, you might want to get out of that armor before too long, just saying."

"You don't work with... urg..." He groaned, his armor beginning to feel just the teensiest bit snug against his body. He tugged at it, managing to remove his gauntlets when he noticed what appeared to be light-brown fur growing in around his hands, the fingers thickening up, nails thickening and darkening around the tips. "My hands... what kind of witchcraft is this?"

"Urg... did you REALLY have to say that..." Shade palmed her face with her taloned hand. She had heard it so many times that it wasn't even funny anymore. The fur spread upwards, coating his arms as the muscles swelled dramatically, causing the tempered metal to buckle and strain against the sudden increase of muscle mass. He tugged harder at it, parts of the suit pinging off as more furry muscle was revealed underneath. He stared wide-eyed, his gaze going back and forth between his altering form and Shade.

"How is this happening? What was IN that stuff?" He asked, his brain going several miles a minute as he struggled to remove the rest of his armor. It was digging into his growing body, causing him visible discomfort, shoulders broadening, growing extra furry. Sensing the pain he was in, Shade simply snapped her fingers, causing the rest of his gear to vanish - alongside his underclothing, causing him to flail about in panic, covering himself with his larger hands. "AND WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"Well it was either that or watch you get cut apart by your own armor. As for what was in that mixture, it was melted mammoth bones, some generic ingredients, a bit of magic, and that's really it!" She told him, smirking at the fact that the unfurred parts of his body were now as red as a tomato. "I'll make you some new gear later, but with what you're becoming, all that muscle and bulk gives you a naturally perfect armor!"

"Melted mammoth bones... you're making me a mammoth? But where did you even find the bones, they're long extinct!"

"I had to do some digging around... trust me, it wasn't fun." She shrugged. "Maybe someday in the future you'll get someone who's more than eager to run their mouth off about an 'exciting' fossil find, but I doubt that'll be any time soon." She watched, his biceps puffing up further whilst his abs and pectorals were sculpted by the potion's magic, his strength increasing exponentially as a result of it, the new muscles showing up nicely underneath his furry coat.

"You... don't look like the digging type, though." He thought aloud, his legs next to change as they became thicker, mass being piled upon muscle as they became as thick as trees, his feet equally becoming the size of tree trunks. His toes grew larger, fusing and reducing into three digits, rather than growing into a single stumpy mass, the nails thicker, almost a curious mix of hoof and claw. They stomped against the ground, the fur becoming noticeably thicker around his lower legs, as well as his crotch, keeping his private parts well hidden, even as they shifted out of view.

"I had a friend of mine assist in that task." She admitted. A small tail wormed its way out of the base of his spine, brushing against his furred buttocks. "I'll get my talons dirty from time to time, but I'm still working on digging spells."

"Right, right..." He nodded, the fur creeping over his head. He felt a dull ache in his jaws, his mouth pushing forwards into a short, broad muzzle. His nose twitched, as if someone had grabbed a hold of it, and he watched in surprise as it stretched forwards, dragging his upper jaw a few extra inches forwards as his nose elongated into a sixteen-inch trunk. Another brief pain filled his mouth as his upper canines grew to gargantuan proportions, curving upwards, reforming into a pair of solid, powerful tusks, the remaining teeth growing thicker and broader to fit his new snout. His ears trembled before expanding almost violently, each growing to about the size of his head, if not bigger, as they flopped freely about, his eyes moving to the sides of his head to finish his changes. It was only then that he noticed that he had grown taller, standing a good few inches bigger than the witch before him.

"Huh... I was expecting that potion to be a little bit more of a slow burn..." She almost sounded disappointed. "Guess with it being dead for that long, it really wanted to come back to life fast!" She laughed.

"Yeah... GOD, this feels weird..." He looked over himself, taking note of his new size and stature. He saw that his sword was still in its sheath as he picked it up from the ground, but it looked comically small in his larger hands. "Guess I won't be using this anymore..."

"Maybe not that, but how about this?" Shade grinned, using her magic to turn his tiny little toothpick of a sword into a giant, sharpened blade that was slightly larger than he was.

"Holy DAMN!" He whistled, an amused trumpet leaving his snout as he twirled his improved sword around. "Now THIS is something I could get used to!"

"And you will soon enough, Bartlet... or should I call you Bairov from now on?"

"Bairov... I like it, it's got a nice ring to it~" He smirked, holding the blade firmly.

"I knew you would. Now then, for your first task as my bodyguard... why don't we go and pay those knights a visit? Just to give them an idea of what you might do to them if they keep bothering me~" She stroked his cheek.

"Heh... I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't like to teach some of those prats a lesson!" He grinned from giant ear to giant ear.

"Perfect!" She squawked happily, sitting down upon Bairov's shoulder. "After you, my dear!"

The Loxodon chuckled, sheathing his blade behind him as he took Shade with him back to the knight's quarters. What would become of those men? It's probably a tale best saved for another story, but you can probably guess already.