Scavenger Hunt

Story by Harry on SoFurry

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This little idea came to me one morning about a week after attending a furry convention. I don't often write in first person, but this story seemed to lend itself to that form.


As with everything I post here, this is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Please do not read this story if you are under the age of majority in your state or country, or if material containing explicit depictions of sex is illegal.

This little idea that came to me one morning about a week after attending a furry convention.

I suppose I should have expected the crowds. Hadn't the website said that they had a thousand attendees the previous year? But then a number is an abstract thing, difficult to imagine. The reality was almost overwhelming, even though there could not have been more than a mere hundred in line with me the first morning, waiting for registration to open.

I could smell them all. Nervous, scared, anxious, excited, elated, aroused... all of them together, making my nose (even in its weaker form) want to close up. I tried to narrow my focus to just those nearest me, but they possessed nearly the same range of broadcast emotions as the group as a whole. It was hopeless. I found myself amazed, once again, at how they could all be so unaware. So vezht. There is no word for it in English, as far as I know. A 'blindness to scent' would be the best analogy. I inhaled through my mouth when I could, when it would not look odd to do so. I did not wish to attract attention.

I'm normally good at that. Not attracting attention, I mean. It's a skill we learned as pups. I didn't appear too tall or short, or fat, or too anything, really. For all these humans around me knew, I was one of them. A bit on the scrawny side, not much to look at, judging from what they find attractive. An extra in their lives. As I watched, I saw some of them greet each other, old or distant friends. No one here knew me.

One behind me, a tall male with an unruly beard and eyeglasses, suddenly asked, "First con?" while looking directly at me.

I was surprised to be spoken to, but I gamely nodded yes without speaking. He grinned and held out his badge- a small piece of artwork encased in a clear plastic sleeve, hung from a lanyard around his neck. It showed an anthropomorphic fox with preposterous blue and yellow fur. The name "ElectroFox" was drawn in colorful letters across the top. He said, "I'm ElectroFox. I've been coming to this con since it started! So what's your fursona?"

I wasn't wearing any such illustrated badges, though I realized I might have to get one, in order to blend in better. I knew about them beforehand, from studying the social forums on the internet. I had learned enough to know that I would need a "fursona", as he had put it, at least. I had it ready for the registration desk, so I answered without hesitation, "Venger. A rat."

His eyebrows raised in slight surprise, "Cool! Not many rats around. Do you have pet rats or something?"

I found him to be rather over-inquisitive, but there was no way to escape the conversation. I shook my head. "No, no pets," I replied simply. I inhaled through my nose cautiously, trying to gauge his mood and was surprised to detect arousal and interest from him. I could not help smiling. He found my form appealing! How ironic, I thought.

He persisted. "Do you have a suit?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Awesome, man. I can't wait to see it. It's like there's more and more suiters every year. I'm gonna get one too, once I can scrape together the cash."

"Good luck," I offered. Another human who wished to be something else. I had tried to tell the Elders of my clan about these... these "furries" as they called themselves. But the Elders had scoffed. They were not ready for new ideas. I was come of age however, and was responsible for my own life, and my own ideas.

Thankfully the doors to the registration room opened and his attention was turned there, as was mine. The line moved into the room, though I was still outside of it for now. I surveyed those in the line behind "ElectroFox". I saw fewer females than I would have liked, but they were there, some obviously with mates, but others either alone or with other females. I could make out some of their badges from where I stood. I saw many different species- canines, felines, various mustelids. And here and there, some who identified themselves as rodents. I marked their faces and forms for later.

Once I reached the registration desk, one of the convention workers greeted me and asked if I had pre-registered.

I shook my head, "I did not. Can I purchase a day pass?"

"Of course! Though if you plan to spend all weekend, it's cheaper to buy a full membership."

I considered and nodded, thinking I might stay longer than I expected. She told me the price and I counted it from my billfold in cash.

She asked, "What name do you want printed on your con badge?"

"Venger," I replied with a smile. "With a 'g'."

She nodded and typed at her laptop computer. "If you'll move over to your left, he'll have your receipt your badge will print in just a minute."

I moved and ElectroFox took my place. My badge emerged from the printer and another convention worker clipped it to a lanyard and handed it to me along with a printed receipt. I thanked him and put the lanyard around my neck and left the room. I tossed the receipt in the first trash bin I passed.

Possessing a membership, I was able to enter the dealer's room, where most of the artists seemed to be, selling all manner of books and artwork and toys and tails and jewelry. I decided I needed a real badge, not the nondescript one that came with the membership. I looked for artists who advertised such things on their hand-made signs and chose one nearly at random.

I asked her, "Can you do rats?"

"Oh, sure! Rats, mice, squirrels, rabbits, you name it."

"I don't have any real badges for my fursona. Can you get one done today?"

"Do you want full color?"

"Yes, please."

"Color is twenty-five, and I can have it done after lunch, since you're one of my first customers. Give me some details- fur color, eye color, special marks, that sort of thing."

I described, "Plain brown fur, black eyes, no scars or marks."

"Any clothing?"

"Hmm... A dark green shirt, perhaps."

She nodded. "It will be mostly a head shot anyway, if that's all right."

I nodded.

She said, "Great! And I see your name is... Venger. I'll make sure it's easy to read on your badge."

I handed over more of my money, and thanked her, then left the marketplace.

Walking the halls outside the meeting rooms of the hotel, I watched the other con-goers. A few had already donned their suits and were galumphing about in excited and almost clownish ways. I found the heads of the suits unnerving. They never moved. The eyes were fixed. The ears were either rigid or completely floppy and lifeless. I knew I would have to concentrate to achieve the same effect. I was not sure how long I could manage it.

For now, I remained in my unobtrusive human shape, studying badges as they passed, learning the layout of the place and its inhabitants. I found my way to the lounge, and claimed a seat with a view of the main lobby. A waitress with a tray saw me and headed towards me from the bar. I ordered a meal, knowing I would need the energy later.

While I was waiting for it to be prepared, I felt a sudden pricking of the hairs on the nape of my neck. I tried to raise my ears, but of course they were too small for that. I had to suppress the urge to lift my non-existent muzzle and sniff the air (though in retrospect it would have gone completely unnoticed at this particular convention). I felt the sudden need to hide, to flee to darkness and safety. But I remained. I tried to find the source of my alarm, but he found me first. He had been in the lounge, sitting on a couch in a dim corner. He had risen and approached me from the side after the waitress had left and before I could react, he was at my shoulder.

He growled, "You're out of bounds, rat."

I did my best to remain still, remain in control. "You have no claim here either, wolf," I replied without looking at him. I knew what he was, the same as he knew me. He knew my fear, as well. I could not help it. I was alone, and his kind had the advantage of size and strength. He may have had packmates with him for all I knew. The only assurance I had was the knowledge that he would want to avoid discovery as much as me, and that meant not attracting attention. Out in the open, I had a measure of safety. Another irony.

He sat down at my table and I turned to look at him. He appeared as a tall, dark-haired human, with a short growth of a beard. He looked rough, but not dirty. His eyes were a deep amber and smoldering, however, and I could not hold his gaze. He made a snorting sound and asked, "Why are you here?"

I considered what to say. To claim I was interested in the artistic fantasies of these odd humans seemed to be worse than the truth, so I answered simply, "I'm hunting."

He laughed, a harsh throaty sound. In a lower growl, he stated, "My kind hunts. Yours roots through their garbage."

I ignored the goad and said, "You know what I mean. You're here for the same reason."

He snarled, "I doubt that, vermin."

I shrugged. "Have it your way."

He grinned, flashing his elongated canines at me. "Planning on it."

I offered, "Look, it doesn't have to be like this. There's enough here that we don't have to be in each other's way."

He leaned back in his chair, presumably digesting my offer of truce. He looked back towards the lobby, watching the humans collect in small groups, talking, moving on. In the meantime, the waitress returned with my meal. This brought his attention back to me, and the table. He reached over and slid my plate towards himself and began eating, watching me closely as he did so. Dominance. Always with the wolves it was about dominance and status. I knew enough not to challenge him.

I rose from my seat and walked towards the bar, handing the waitress payment for the stolen meal. I didn't look back but I knew he was still watching me, probably grinning.

Denied my meal, I made for the convention suite, which offered various tidbits of food, mostly very sweet or salty. I admit I have a weakness for such things. The meat I had paid for would have been better, but my kind has always managed to survive on whatever we could find. What the wolf had said about garbage was within sight of the truth. I gathered a bowlful of "cheese balls" and a package of Pop-Tarts and sat at one of the tables in the large room, watching some of the humans play games involving elaborate cards and dice.

I watched, nibbling the orange-dusted puffs one by one. I noted that none of the players were wearing a suit. I decided that this room only had food to offer me, and left once that appetite was sated.

I avoided the lounge when I resumed my scouting, having decided that the wolf had claimed it as his territory, more or less. After spending most of the rest of the afternoon patiently observing, I returned to the dealer's room to collect my badge from the artist.

She offered it to me with a hopeful smile, watching my reaction. The bucktoothed character grinning back at me from the laminated badge looked only distantly like me. But I hadn't expected realism, had I? I told her it was perfect and clipped it to my lanyard along with the convention badge. I left the room feeling more secure. By this time the halls of the convention had filled with more humans, and many more of them were now wearing their suits. It was time I joined them.

I didn't have an actual suit, of course. I didn't even have a room in the hotel in which to store one. I headed out of the hotel into the parking lot, back to the rattling old rusted van I had driven here. With a furtive look down the row of cars, I opened the rear doors and climbed inside, closing them after me.

The rear of the van contained my nest- a mattress and a collection of cushions and blankets to go with it. Light still streamed in through the front windshield, though I could see well enough in much less. I began to remove my clothes, stuffing them into a duffel bag. Once nude, I retrieved a different set from a second bag: a dark green t-shirt and an enormously oversized pair of tan shorts. I had already ripped a ragged hole in the rear seam.

I left my new clothes on the back of the van's passenger seat and then got down on my hands and knees on the mattress. I let my head hang and I closed my eyes. I slowed my breathing, and relaxed my control. The change came suddenly and I groaned out my relief, for the moment unable to stay silent and alert. I was at my most vulnerable during the transition, as my muscles and bones shifted, and my fur grew in rapidly. I fell forward onto my forearms, my newly elongated claws gripping a pillow. The most pronounced changes happened to my haunches and legs, and of course my tail. I cannot say what it may have looked like to someone watching- my own memories of each change are like fragments of a dream. The only thing I knew was the elation in returning to my true self. My skin tingled under the fur, and my legs spread as my testicles grew between them. This brought another familiar electric sensation and my penis came to an almost painful stiffness. I gasped and rested my head on the pillow with my hands, finding that my face had likewise lengthened. I could feel every touch of my magnificent whiskers to the mattress, the pillow, my hands, a nearby blanket.

The world's volume suddenly increased as my ears flicked and swiveled to things I could now hear outside the van. I blinked and raised my head suddenly in alarm, but after a moment's vigilance, I could tell that there was no one nearby. The remainder of the change worked its way to my extremities, my tail finishing last as always. I pushed myself up, balancing on my elongated feet, and let out a hitching sigh. The relief was, as always, so profound that I had almost fainted. Imagine crouching in a small space for hours, unable to move more than just enough to keep your limbs from falling asleep, and then finally being able to uncurl, and stretch, and move. It is the closest I can come to describing it.

I turned my head to look at myself in the mirror set into one of the van's sun visors. My dark globed eyes were not as wide-set as a true rat's, but they still afforded me a wide field of vision. I wiggled my nose at my reflection, grinning toothily at the explosion of whiskers that surrounded it. Looking down, I flexed my legs, then my tail. My haunches were thick and muscular, and covered with my soft brown fur. I noticed that I still had a twitching erection from the change but I resolved not to indulge it. I would need my potency later.

The thought of that, of my hunt, returned my mind to the matter at hand. I pulled the green t-shirt on easily. The shorts were another matter. I can walk as a human , but my proportions are too different for long pants. The shorts, I had found, were the only solution that would cover my obvious maleness. I lay the shorts on my mattress and stepped into them, then worked at pulling them up over my rear end with my tail held between my legs. Once the torn hole was in position, I threaded the rounded tip through, followed by the rest of its furless length. I cinched the waist around me and struggled with the zipper and button. My claws were going to be a liability.

Properly dressed for this strange gathering, I looked at myself once again in the small mirror. I knew that the difficulty and the danger would rest with my head. The rest of me (properly covered) could pass for just another costume suit, but my head was far too animated. I stared at myself in the mirror and practiced keeping my ears still, my expression blank. Luckily my eyes were naturally too dark to discern details within, or else I would have had to find some sort of sunglasses that fit my skull.

After satisfying myself that I could look sufficiently vacant enough to pass for a suited human, I put my badge lanyard back around my neck and walked to the rear doors of the van. I touched the handle, and hesitated. It was late afternoon, and still light outside. The instinct to wait until after dark was strong. To be outside, visible to any human who cared to look was almost an unbearably frightening thought. I pulled my hand away quickly and tried to calm myself. I washed my face with my paws, I listened to the sounds outside the van. I tried to convince myself that no one would see me, they would see what they thought was another human in a rat costume. I tried to reason that it was no different than my other disguise, my other form. That humans see what they expect to see. I could hear the Elders in my head, warning me against the risk of exposure, of possible capture. No clan wanted its existence discovered. Not mine, not the wolf's.

It was a long while before I was able to open the doors.

The initial shock while waiting in that line from the scent of so many excited humans receded in my memory as I received it full force with my more sensitive true nose. Thankfully there were two sets of doors to pass through to enter the lobby of the hotel and by the time I passed the second, I had managed to stop wrinkling my muzzle.

I began immediately to draw attention. I stood still, willed my tail to remain limp behind me. I fought the screaming urge inside my head to flee, flee now. Humans were looking at me. At *me*. Not the shape I wore when I went among them. My true shape. I kept my muzzle closed. I had already resolved not to try to speak, as my voice is not always pleasant to human ears. Thankfully many of the suited humans also worked in pantomime.

A child ran up to me and hugged me around my waist suddenly. I could do nothing to stop her, or to extract myself. I had not in any way planned for this sort of reaction. I looked as surprised as I felt and spotted the child's mother, not far away. The child turned her face from my stomach and announced, "He looks just like Toby! Mommy take a picture!"

Her mother laughed and asked, "May I?"

I should have said no... photographic evidence was possibly the worst thing I could provide. But it seemed to be common among the rest of the suited folk, so I felt I had no choice. I nodded and tried to look as foolish as possible. The flash went off and momentarily blinded me. I covered my eyes with my paws, which made the girl laugh. She thought I was pretending, of course. She said, "Thank you, Mr. Rat!" and ran back to her mother. I... I waved to her. What else could I do?

I walked into the main convention area, doing my best to walk awkwardly, landing heavily on my feet, masking the comfort I felt in this shape. Uncostumed humans pointed, snapped more photographs. Humans in suits waved to me in exaggerated friendly gestures, some even hugged me, their muffled voices sometimes complimenting me on my "suit".

Slowly I began to relax, even to enjoy myself. The reception was universally positive- it was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I had to remind myself that I was hunting. I began to study the other suits, looking for rats, or mice. When I saw one, I would make my way towards them, and pantomime bowing and introducing myself.

Eventually I found a room that most of the suited humans seemed to be coming in and out of. I followed a lop-eared rabbit inside and found the temperature in the room to be much chillier than the hall outside. Several humans in various states of disguise were resting in the room, and cooling off. I scanned the crowd, and spotted a mouse-suited girl. She had her head piece off, and was mopping her head with a towel. I waved to her and she smiled. I blew her a kiss and she laughed. I walked over to sit next to her, a bit awkwardly since my lower body no longer conformed perfectly to human chairs.

She said, "That is an amazing suit! Who made it for you?"

I mimed writing and then pointed to my muzzle and shook my head. She laughed.

"You can take your head off in here, silly. Though I don't see..." She tried to look behind my neck. "It's incredible. So real..."

I covered my eyes with my paws and looked bashful. I peeked through my fingers to watch her. She was studying me closely now. I realized that I was in danger. Humans expecting to see their suited brethren was one thing, but one familiar with suit construction studying me up close might conceive of the truth. I stood up hurriedly and waved, galumphing my way out the door.

Once out in the hallway I felt the panic and frustration welling up. So close to what I sought, but so close to disaster as well! How could I get close enough to one without drawing the wrong sort of attention? I thought perhaps this entire endeavor was foolish, that I should have listened to the Elders.

I walked the halls, deciding whether or not I should remain at all. I would need to shift to my human form in order to drive the van, and I could feel a deep rueful exhaustion at just the thought of changing back, and so soon. My despair had caused my ears to droop, and my attention to waver. The familiar pricking of the fur on the nape of my neck came too late once again. A heavy hand clapped onto my shoulder and I started, turning my head to see a black-furred paw gripping me there. A growling rough voice rumbled close to my ear, "Buck up, whiskers, it can't be that bad." He dug his claws into the shoulder of my shirt, until I could feel them through to my skin.

I was amazed that he would risk speaking like that aloud, but then I realized that he had said it quietly, close to my ear. So I risked the same, murmuring in my whistling sibilant voice, "It's not that good, either. I think we should leave."

He chuckled. "We?"

I nodded earnestly. "The ones with the suits, they will be able to tell that we are not."

He asked, "So? They are the ones who will welcome what we offer. Well, what *I* offer, anyway." He laughed and released my shoulder with a shove. I pitched forward and spun around. He had already turned and swaggered off, his great black brush of a tail swaying slowly behind him. Arrogant son of a bitch. Still, he had echoed my own sentiment, the entire reason for my being here. But why had he not tried to drive me off again?

A muffled voice interrupted my train of thought. "Are you all right? I saw him shove you!"

It was the mouse from the cold room. She had her head back on. She wore the guise of a white mouse, and the effect was actually rather endearing, aside from the mop of artificial red "hair" between her rigid rounded ears. Her suit was dressed in a pair of denim overalls embroidered with pink flowers. She was short for a human, and therefore about even with me. I nodded to her question and even turned and made a rude gesture at the place where the wolf had been.

She laughed. "Do you know him?"

I shrugged and turned, making a come-with-me gesture with one arm. She clapped her paws together and followed me. When she was alongside me I risked speaking. She would not be able to see my tongue and teeth from the side.

"I like your suit." I said as loud as I dared.

"Thank you! Yours is so amazing, though. How much did it cost?"

"Less than you think. Would you like one like it?"

She laughed. "Really?"

I nodded.

"I'd love to talk to your builder. Is it uhm... is it fully um... functional?"

I nodded again.

"Oh gosh," she said, and fell silent.

After walking together for a ways, and greeting other suiters, I finally asked, "Would you like to see?"

She nodded and pantomimed blushing with her paws covering her face.

"Find us some privacy."

She took my hand and led me to the elevator. I could smell nervousness and arousal in equal measure, even through her suit. I stayed quiet as she chose the floor, and led me down the hall to her room. She fumbled with the card-key in her covered hands, dropping it. I crouched down to pick it up and unlocked the door for her. She squeaked, as she thought a mouse might do. She passed into the dark room and I followed, letting the door close behind me.

She turned on a light and then turned back to me. She shifted uneasily on her feet. Finally she said, "I've never done anything like this before."

"Neither have I."

"I just... I want to see. The rest of your suit is so real, so I thought..."

I nodded and popped open the button of my shorts, then worked the zipper. I stayed facing her, so that when I bent my tail in a U in order to pull it down through the hole, it would not be obvious how much control over it I had. She gasped before I got the shorts to my knees. I looked up at her. She was still wearing her head, so I could not see her expression. But one of her paw-covered hands was firmly held between her legs.

She said, "Oh gosh..." again, and I stood up straighter, giving her a good view of my long, brown-furred rat testicles. My penis stirred and the tip emerged from the opening at the top end of my sac, followed by the rest, very rapidly. I couldn't believe my fortune! She might let me... I could hear her breathing loudly inside her suit. Her one hand was rubbing now, between her legs, through the denim and fake fur. If she noticed that my penis had different contours than a human's, she didn't seem upset by it.

She wobbled on her feet, then said, "This is... I never thought I... I..."

Whatever she was trying to tell me, she couldn't find the words. Instead, she crossed her arms and pulled the straps of the overalls she wore off her shoulders and frantically began pushing them down, revealing an expanse of white fake fur. Once she got them to her hips I could smell her arousal, thick and moist in the air. I could also see that the fur at her crotch had a slit opening. When she lifted one leg, and then the other, to rid herself of the garment I could see pink flesh and light brown fur. I had chosen my quarry wisely, it seemed. I briefly wondered if the wolf had been this lucky and could not help but grin.

She resumed her rubbing, and then squeaked. "Please..."

She did not know what she asked for. She did not know what I was about to do to her. Perhaps you will condemn me for that. If she had known, if there had been a way to give her the choice, would she have still pleaded?

I moved forward and lowered my rear haunches to the floor, then leaned forward on my arms. I nudged her paw out of the way with my whiskered nose and tasted her. Tangy. Sweaty. Salty. Slippery. Fertile. She cried out inside her mask. I was relentless and she lost whatever control she may have had. She finally pushed my head away with both hands and turned about, squatting down on her toes and tilting her bottom up while resting her arms on the bed. I was treated with the sight of her now soaking-wet vulva peeking through the slit in her white suit fur. She could not raise her fake tail, so I did it for her as I came up behind her.

I made a raspy chittering sound as I entered her, and she was so far gone into her fantasy that she tried to answer in kind. My claws found purchase in the fur covering her back and I thrust into her all the way, feeling her tight heat envelop my aching shaft. Her muffled cry answered, and I began to mate her.

I tried to take her gently, to savor the experience, and to make it better for her. But it soon became apparent that she wanted it harder, and faster. She pushed back at me and squeaked. I wrapped my arms securely around her belly and began to hammer into her, the impacts muffled by fur, making the moist sounds of copulation more prominent.

I had risked much to be here, in this room, with her. I saw no reason to delay any further. I ground my needy shaft into her unprotected passage, and rushed past the point where I could have stopped. I grunted loudly and scruffed her (getting a mouthful of artificial fur for my trouble) and began to ejaculate.

She could clearly feel the heat blooming inside her, pooling around her cervix because she began to tremble and scream, "Oh god YES oh yes yes yes god fill me with your rat cummm..."

I had no plans to stop doing so. My testes are not just big for show, and I filled her to overflowing, the strong hot spurts of my seed continuing long past when a human would have run dry. It began to drip out of our union in great viscous gobs, ruining the crotch of her suit and splattering on the carpeting below. My seed carried with it my curse, my gift. Not only would she bear my litter, she would become one of my clan. Surely she would welcome the change.

She moaned quietly as I finally tapered off. I panted and nosed at the back of her head. She reached up with one arm and tore the mask off, revealing her human hair once again, slick with sweat, and the red-flushed skin of her face. Her eyes were heavy, as the curse began to take her. She smiled though, and I took that as a good sign. I pulled free of her, creating another cascade of gooey rat semen. I picked up her hindquarters and lifted her up onto her bed. She rolled to her side, fighting to stay awake. I leaned over to nuzzle her face, and in that moment I believe she knew the truth of what had happened. Her eyes widened, and I saw the human in her realize its end. I saw and smelled the fear, but there was also a relief.

I said to her in my breathy voice, "I will come for you. Sleep now."

She gave up her struggle, and her eyes closed. She would awaken as one of my kind. I tore her carefully constructed suit at the seams, ripping it from her body. It might harm her when she changed. She would not need that shell any longer, anyway.

I turned, then, and retrieved my shorts, using a towel to clean my own seed from my scrotum before putting them back on. I took one last look at the curled up nude form of the little mouse, soon to be little mother rat. Then I left her, keeping the door key card.

I returned to the convention halls. The weekend had just begun, and the hunt continued.