FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Are you sure we're on the right track?" Tom asked, taking a moment to stop and catch his breath as he gazed at the path ahead, wincing when he saw it climbing higher than what they had already traversed. "I feel like I'm gonna end up dropping dead from exhaustion before we make it there!"

"Let's put it this way - if it is the wrong track, at least it'll be a hell of a lot easier getting back down!" Jack responded with a chuckle, looking back over at his boyfriend. "Besides which, you're slimmer than me, so I'm surprised that you're winded before me!"

"You're used to these long walks!" Tom laughed. "I've walked around town a fair bit, but a full-on trek like this is beyond me! Besides which, I'm surprised that your feet aren't killing you at this point, you can't normally walk up a flight of stairs without suffering from some discomfort, and I don't think I've even seen you take that many drinks from your bottle, either!"

"Yeah, well, if they were telling us the truth about what's ahead, I'm sure that this will all be worth it in the end!" Jack placed a hand on Tom's shoulder, standing just a few inches shorter than him. "That and you're normally a walking fountain of energy, so it's weird to see you looking like you're on the verge of collapsing!"

Jack nodded - the duo were out of town at the moment, taking an autumn break at a tourist destination a good few miles away. Only a day into their trip, the two of them had heard more than a few passing rumours about a shrine that was hidden away near the coast, and it was said that it could release your inner beast. Of course, that could mean anything - just being more assertive, having a more courageous nature than before, maybe even turning you into a literal beast... or it could be some cave where particularly naughty couples decided to get it on. They were hoping for it to be more along the lines of 'turning into beasts' compared to the other thoughts, but that probably wouldn't happen - people didn't just turn into animals, after all.

"At this point, I'd be starting to think that the path up is a sort of endurance test to weed out the weak!" Tom added. "I mean it might even explain why I'm tired out, and why you're doing so well!"

"Well if it's what they're saying it is, it makes sense to keep it hidden away. Either way, I don't think we're too much further from it now, just a few more vertical feet to go!"

Tom took in a deep breath as he resumed along the path, sticking close to Jack to ensure that neither of them got lost or separated. They eventually made their way to the top of the pathway, and perched up against a nearby tree was a signpost that simply read "SHRINE OF THE BEAST: -->"

"It's to the right of us - see, we made it there in the end!" Jack beamed.

"G... goodie..." Tom rested against the sign, trying his best not to collapse in an exhausted heap.

"Hey, the hard part's over now, you literally just got to walk straight to the right!" Jack nudged Tom's shoulder. "I'm sure you've got the strength left in you to do THAT, right?"

"Yeah... just give me a couple of minutes..." He continued to prop himself against the sign. "Ooooh, I'm going to be feeling sore tomorrow!"

"Again, I'M the larger of the two of us. It's almost embarrassing seeing you like this~" Jack teased.

"You know... I could roll you down the hill BEFORE you go to the shrine if you want..." Tom's eye twitched.

"Okay, okay, point taken!" Jack stopped his teasing. "But really, when you're ready, lead the way!"

After taking a few minutes to recompose himself, Tom walked on ahead, following the direction that the sign was pointing him to. Thankfully it was a much shorter walk without any vertical climb, and before too long, the two were standing before a large, ancient-looking shrine.

"This must be the place!" Jack smiled, looking at it. "I wonder how long it's been standing here for?"

"Maybe a few hundred years, give or take - it doesn't look too decrepit, surprisingly enough!" Tom responded. His eyes glanced over towards another sign placed against the doorway.

"SHRINE OF THE BEAST

ONLY ONE MAY ENTER AT A TIME! PLEASE FORM AN ORDERLY QUEUE!"

"One at a time? Aw man, I was hoping we could have gone in together and witnessed... well, whatever it's meant to do as a couple." Jack sulked.

"Maybe it's like that just to make sure people don't get too carried away or try anything naughty?" Tom shrugged. "If you want, I'll check it out first and find out how it works or what it does."

"Since you made it all the way up here without passing out, I think that's perfectly fair!" Jack nodded. "Just don't leave me waiting too long if you can help it, Tom!"

"I'll try not to, if it's within my power!" Tom responded, placing down the bag of picnic snacks they had brought with them near the entrance - there'd be time to eat after they had checked this out. Jack sat down by the bag, wondering to himself how long it'd take.

"OK, let's see what this place is about..." Tom thought to himself, venturing through the suspiciously spacious passageway - why it was limited to just one person, he had no idea, the passageway alone looked like you could get a whole marching band through it. Maybe something big resided within, and it needed the extra space. Either way, it seemed a little bit off to him. On the plus side, the shrine itself looked like it was holding up well on the inside, the walls and floor lined with marble, the occasional gemstone or three embedded in them.

"You'd think this place would have gone to hell over time..." He commented, walking further along. He soon made his way to the heart of the shrine, looking at the impressive number of statues and relics that adorned the area. The statues depicted different creatures - wolves, lions, dragons, gryphons, just to name a few, all standing proudly around the room, each one emblazoned with gems and arcane sigils.

"Wow, look at this place..." He whistled, taking everything in. "How has this place stayed in such perfect condition all these years?" He wondered, walking around as he examined the statues. "But if this shrine is meant to unlock someone's inner beast, how is it meant to work?" He pondered, not realising that the gemstones and runes started to glow, an odd feeling flowing through him. "Is there some kind of ritual I need to perform, or a button I need to press? This isn't one of those shrines where I need to sacrifice an animal, is it?"

The strange sensations slowly spread, his arms and body starting to itch. He scratched at his arms, his eyes going wide when he saw the skin flake away under his actions, revealing scaly yellow skin that ran up to his elbows, dark brown fur spreading up the rest of his arms. "What the?!" He gawked, his fingers twitching and elongating. The middle digits merged together into one whilst the thumb moved back ever so slightly, his nails growing longer and sharper, darkening as they became curving talons.

"This... can't be real, right?" Tom was tempted to pinch himself, but he felt that if he did so with those claws, he'd probably end up taking a good chunk out of his arm. The itching sensation continued to spread, something that wasn't helped thanks to his clothing, the fabric beginning to feel increasingly constrictive thanks to both the forming fur and his growing body, now standing at least half-a-foot taller than he was before. His claws fumbled with the fabric, tearing it apart rather than pulling it off, revealing more of the fur that was covering him, as well as the beginning signs of some feathers making their way out of his upper body.

"So glad that wasn't my best shirt..." He muttered, attempting to peel off the rest of his damaged shirt now he had put his claws through it. A prominent pair of bumps began to press against his back, his shoulders becoming broader in the process. The fur continued its growth, more feathers creeping out over his upper body, tinged the same deep brown as the fur. His body tensed up, his chest expanding forwards, barrelling due to his growing ribcage, giving his body a more top-heavy appearance. He stumbled forwards, his body trying to adjust to its shifting weight.

"Guh..." He attempted to support himself against one of the statues, and where he had been staring up near its chest before, his gaze was now closer to its head. He blinked, attempting to make sense of everything, but his thoughts were interrupted by his arms undergoing another slight growth spurt and alteration, shifting fully into the forelegs of some semi-avian creature. He couldn't keep standing upright much longer, falling down onto all fours, talons clicking against the ground.

"Damn... I really dunno if I should be scared or excited right now!" Tom tried to stifle a laugh, a small part of him wanting to see what would change next. His waist and hips adjusted, his overall frame looking more majestic with a slim stomach and a powerful chest. The bulges on his back became more pronounced, his spine stretching itself even longer, adding to his body's overall length and height, as well as causing a long, lion-like tail to emerge from it, complete with a tuft of fur at its tip, and a fan of tail feathers around the base. The new appendage swayed from side to side, having pushed his shorts down slightly, his legs covering in fur as they too succumbed to the transformation. His hips finished their adjustments, locking him into a fully quadrupedal form, his shorts stretching tight around his developing muscles.

Whilst his legs shifted, a sudden thought crossed his mind - he should probably remove his sneakers before his feet began to change, but it was too little too late, his toes already pressing against the fabric. His heels clicked and popped, pushing out of the back of his shoes as his feet became digitigrade, pressure moving to the balls of them. The soles padded out afterwards, soft black pads showing up against the fur as his feet grew too big to be contained, exploding out of their confines, sending bits of torn sneakers and socks all over the place. He glanced over to them, and noticed that the big toe on each foot had shrunk back into a dewclaw near his heel, the middle toes having merged into one, and each digit now sporting retractable claws, just like a cat.

"Oh man, Jack's gonna freak out when he sees this!" Tom laughed, his shorts splitting along the sides as he underwent one more growth spurt, his pants following suite. He would have panicked about being naked, but the fur seemed to be thick enough to hide his modesty. And then it dawned on him. "Oh man... Jack's gonna FREAK OUT when he sees this!" He paused just in time for a pair of great, feathery wings to erupt out of his back, sporting speckled black and white feathers. The two of them went up there with the assumption that nothing was actually going to happen, just how do you explain turning into a gryphon to your boyfriend?

His body was mostly changed at this point, with the exception of his head and neck, and he could currently feel that stretching itself, carrying his head away from his shoulders. The feathers worked their way upwards, a thick patch of them floofing out along his front, his brown hair giving way to brown feathers, the former falling away in clumps. He let out a low, squawking groan as his head reshaped, his mouth going numb due in part to his teeth merging together into two solid masses that soon pushed outwards, stretching his lips apart as they emerged and formed a predatory beak, mostly yellow barring the tip of it, shifting from yellow to grey to black in a faded pattern.

"Mm..mmrkrwkwrrkkk!" Tom cried out, his stubble lost to the feathers. His ears twitched, moving to sit atop his head, growing into feathery points as the changes concluded with his eyes moving towards the sides of his head, his eyes flooding with blue whilst his pupils grew larger.

"Hrhhr..rhrhwwkrkrh..." He huffed and panted, bringing his claws up to feel his beak. New instincts and thoughts were flooding his mind - flying, feeding, hunting, mating, it was all coming at him so fast that he was unable to process them. He threw his head back, letting loose a low, powerful screech.

"SSSKKKKKKKKKKKKKKRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

"What in the hell was THAT?" Jack exclaimed from outside, the new gryphon's cry carrying its way through the shrine. "Tom didn't anger something, did he?"

Tom was trying to get his new thoughts under control, his vision shifting to a great opening above him - it was clearly large enough for any winged creature to make their way in and out. He remembered that Jack was outside - maybe he'd be able to set his mind straight. With another screech, he flapped his wings, kicking off from the ground.

"There it is again!" Jack said, getting back to his feet. "Tom must have gotten himself in trouble, I best go in and see what's... going... on..." His words grinded to a halt when he caught sight of the large, fearsome looking gryphon making his way towards him. The monster touched down close by, turning its fierce gaze to Jack.

"Jack, it's me! The temple turned me into a gryphon, and I'm kind of struggling to keep my new thoughts in check!" Tom said to his friend. Rather, he had ATTEMPTED to say those words, but due to his current state of mental intoxication, it was coming off as a series of agitated squawks and screeches. Jack slowly nodded, as if he could understand his boyfriend... and then let out a loud yelp, running straight into the shrine.

"Wait, Jack!" He reached out a taloned claw to him, but the vicious sounds coming from his beak just drove him further in. "Crap... ghhrwkwrkk..." He growled, his stomach rumbling. He needed to eat, and his thoughts initially drifted to the picnic bag they had brought along, but he knew that wouldn't be enough. His ears twitched as he heard animalistic grunting coming from close by. "Skrrkwrkk... food... food, then I try to find Jack..." He snarled, heading off to find sustenance.

"Tom... Tom... I hope that thing didn't do anything to you...!" Jack huffed, his footsteps echoing through the hallways. He reached the centre of the shrine faster than Tom did, but given he wanted to find out what had happened to him, if anything, he wasn't going to stay idle for too long.

"Tom! Are you here?" He looked around, trying to look for any signs of his friend. He soon caught sight of Tom's torn clothing, looking at the tattered rags with a sense of shock and curiosity - they looked as if they had been ripped clean off of his body, yet at the same time, there were no signs of blood, nor were there any signs of a struggle.

"What?" He looked on, puzzled. "Did the gryphon just undress him and leave? There's no sign of him, though... just what exactly is going on?" He tried to make sense of everything that was going on, not noticing the tingling feeling that was seeping through his body. He felt itchy, scratching at his arms, the skin falling away in flakes, emerald-green scales appearing underneath the shedding flesh.

"Oh Tom, I hope you're ok..." He kept scratching, not yet noticing the scales that were making their way across his body, his skin continuing to flake away as it did. His fingers became wider and longer, keeping their dexterity whilst looking more animalistic, fingernails splitting down the middle as gunmetal-grey claws sprouted from the tips, the palms of his hands gaining rough pads.

"Ack!" Jack winced, his claws catching a patch of skin that was yet to shed. "My nails haven't grown that quickly, have... they..." He looked on at his giant claws in shock, the muscles in his arms building up, shoulders becoming muscular and broad, two bumps pressing against his back. "What... this can't be real, can it?" He felt his clothes growing tighter, his overall form getting bigger by the second.

The scales continued to spread under his shedding skin, thicker, plated scutes forming along his front. His chest barrelled forwards, momentarily knocking the wind out of him as his lungs grew and adapted to his changing body. He rested against the dragon statue, his head closer to the beast's raised forepaws where as previously he would have only been slightly taller than the base it was standing on. He pulled at his shirt, trying to remove it as it became increasingly constricting. The fabric instead split down the middle, revealing his monstrous-looking chest, the muscles rippling under the scutes.

"This... can't be real..." He repeated himself, feeling his muscles, his knees buckling under the weight, forcing him to lean forwards onto all fours. Everything that was happening so far, his increasingly reptilian form, started to click in his mind. "Dragons aren't actually real... are they?"

Jack tried to push himself back up, but his increased weight combined with his still-human legs made that task impossible. His spine ached, a series of sharp spikes growing out along it, a lump pressing against his rump. A part of him wanted the changes to stop before they progressed any further, and yet a small part of him wanted to see them reach their conclusion.

"Gghh... rrgghh..." A growl left his throat as he arched his back, the lower bump becoming larger, pressing tight against the seat of his pants before they burst open, the beginning of a tail starting to emerge. Now that it was exposed to the air, it grew out to its full, impressive size in a matter of moments, thick and powerful, the tip of it armed with a wicked, blade-like growth. His claws clicked against the ground, his feet straining inside his shoes. Again, a small part of him wanted to go back to normal, but at the same time, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't enjoy what was going on.

"Rrrgghhhhhrrr!!" Jack snarled again, heels popping out from the shoes as they scaled over, toes bursting through the front as they grew too big to be contained, the middle toes merging into one whilst the big toe relocated to his heels, deadly curving talons sprouting from the tips, tapping against the floor whilst the soles of his feet gained rough pads on them.

He stretched himself, his tail lashing about around him as he kicked off the remnants of his shoes, using his claws to remove what was left of his shorts and shirt. He was now standing as tall as the statues, if not a little taller still, the bulges on his back growing outwards into a pair of monstrous, draconic wings, the new limbs spreading out to an impressive twenty-five feet. They folded up neatly along his back, his neck stretching longer, new vertebrae adding themselves along his spine, carrying his head away from the rest of his body whilst it scaled over.

"Just a little... grrggh... more..." Jack felt new thoughts and instincts creeping into his mind - fly, hunt, kill, feed. His resistance was more or less gone by that point, the new mindset mingling in with his own. His ears grew pointed, barbed spikes lining them whilst his hair grew longer, flowing down his neck, retaining its blond coloration, surprisingly enough. He groaned in discomfort, a pair of long, twisting horns pushing out from his skull. His glasses fell from his face due in part to his jaws pushing forwards into a powerful, reptilian muzzle, teeth sharpening into serrated, meat-rending fangs, tongue growing longer to better fill his new maw, becoming forked at the tip.

"Rrrggghhh!" He hissed, his eyes moving towards the sides of his head, sclera and irises filling with sapphire blue whilst the pupils pulled into thin slits. He threw his head back, letting loose a frightful roar, punctuated by a burst of flame from his lengthy snout. "GRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!""

Jack's mind was still racing from the transformation, animalistic thoughts entwined with his own. He looked around, his vision much sharper, catching his glasses from the corner of his eyes. His forepaw kicked them aside, a smirk crossing his snout - he wasn't going to need them anymore.

"Man, I feel great... also, very hungry..." He growled, looking up towards the open ceiling. He unfurled his wings, flapping them as he kicked away from the ground, wanting to find some food and fast. He scanned the area , eager to find something to hunt that he could take down fairly easily. His nostrils flared when he picked up on the scent of fresh blood, a rumbling snarl leaving his mouth. "Smells like they're already injured... this should be easy!" He chuckled, following his nose as he dove down towards the ground, touching down on a clearing near the edge of a cliff. When he landed, he spotted a gryphon tearing into a deer, blood smeared across his talons and beak as he feasted on it. Jack stepped in closer, the gryphon's ears twitching at the sound of footsteps.

"Hey, find your own food!" He screeched defiantly, glaring daggers at the dragon.

Jack found himself smirking - the voice was deeper, but he was still able to tell that it was Toms. "Really now, I thought you were the sharing type, Tom!"

"...Jack?" He chirped inquisitively, looking at the scaled monster. "Is that you?"

"Well I don't think anyone else was with us when we made our way to the shrine, so yeah!" He giggled, stepping closer to the avian creature.

"Heh, I forgot I kinda scared you into the shrine when I was trying to talk to you at that point. I would have followed in after you, but the changes made me really hungry!"

"What about all the picnic food you brought along?" Jack asked.

"Jack, look at me - I don't think a few sandwiches, a bag of crisps and some apples are going to do much to fill me up anymore now, are they? And the same can be said about you, too!"

"That is very true." Jack nodded. "Maybe it was a good thing you didn't follow me then, just in case you tried to maul me!" He joked.

"You say that like I'd actually contemplate bringing harm upon you - I'm offended!" Tom playfully pouted.

"Hey, we're both beasts with animalistic thoughts and instincts blended in with our human mindsets - I wouldn't be too surprised if either of us tried going after a human or two if there was nothing else around to eat!" Jack told him. "Least I can BBQ them if it comes to that!"

"I'd honestly hope that'd be a last resort more than anything, but we'll see how that ends up going!" Tom nodded. "For now, it seems our human minds and personalities are fully in control, so there shouldn't be any worries about acting on any forms of instinct!"

"Mmm-hmm." Jack responded. "I've got to say, though, I think I like your new avian look compared to the human you once were - you look so proud and majestic looking!"

"Why thank you~" Tom chirped in an appreciative manner. "You yourself look pretty damn handsome for a massive, scaly beast!" He moved in closer. "Plus you look like you've undergone a little bit of a growth spurt as well - I wonder if that might apply to other areas as well?" He teased, nudging his side with his taloned claw.

"Eheh~" Jack turned bright red, surprised that he could still blush as he was now. "I think the trip up here was more than worth it, don't you think?" He sounded just a little bit flustered as he tried to change the subject.

"Oh for sure!" Tom grinned from ear to ear. "We'll have to let all of our friends know about this place as well! But for now, however..." He glanced back at the carcass of the deer. "I think there's more than enough to share with you, hun."

A soft, growling purr left Jack's muzzle as he gently nuzzled his gryphon boyfriend, the two beasts walking back over to the corpse as they proceeded to feast upon it, talking to each other as they ate, looking over the cliff at everything below them. Neither of them had expected such life-altering changes to befall them from visiting the shrine, but they were glad that it happened nonetheless.