FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Ray splashed through the floodwaters of Pantanal trying to find his way back to the hotel. Of course he would get separated from the tour group. Of course he would find himself lost and alone in the largest tropical wetland in the world. Despite being on a privately owned nature reserve, there seemed to be an incredible lack of anyone really. Sweat ran down his face as the tropical sun heated the swampy jungle. Ray had been walking for close to an hour now, following the occasional sign that had been hammered into the ground to help direct tour groups, but the signs seemed to have vanished about twenty minutes ago. He would occasionally break through the partially submerged trees and emerge in a wide-open swamp, prompting him to immediately try and find another route. Crocodiles and Anacondas would love to make a lost, tired human their dinner.

Pushing his way through a particularly dense patch of foliage, Ray suddenly found himself out of the water and on dry land. It felt so good to be walking on something properly solid again he let out a small crow of triumph, immediately tripping on an exposed root and falling face first onto the dry, grassy ground.

"Shit!" he swore, pushing himself up and flopping onto his backside. He felt a dull pain in his chest where he had landed on the pendant he had bought back at the hotel. He reached into his shirt and pulled it out. It was a bronze snake, coiled around a small piece of rose quartz attached to a piece of leather cord. The curiously British man who ran the small shop had been curious as to why Ray had chosen that particular pendant.

"I like snakes." Ray told him with a shrug. The shopkeeper had given Ray a long look, before taking the pendant and placing it into a small velveteen box.

"Here. No charge." He had said, offering the box to Ray.

"Why?"

"Omdat."

"You speak Dutch?"

"Een beetje."

Ray paused, looking at the man. He had very piercing eyes. When the light danced on them in a certain way, Ray could have sworn they were purple.

"Dank u." Ray had said, taking the box.

"Graag gedaan!"

Ray had left feeling both pleased and slightly confused. It was only hours later did Ray wonder how the shopkeeper had known he was Dutch.

Letting go of the pendant, Ray reached down and pulled off his boots, emptying the water out of them. He then took off his socks and wrung them out, dropping them next to his boots. Trudging through the water had left him feeling very tired, but he knew he couldn't stop here for too long. It would probably be dark soon and Ray really didn't want to be out here when it was dark. They had to be looking for him by now. Looking around, Ray saw he was on a small island in the middle of a clearing surrounded by trees. The clearing was filled with water, which Ray didn't fancy going back into.

Standing up, he saw that the island he was on had a large depression on one side. This dip was full of smooth mud, which oozed slowly down the bank into the water, turning it murky and brown. There was a dry, spindly tree on the other side of the island, but aside from that there wasn't much else. Ray reached into his pocket, and suddenly things began to look a whole lot brighter. He pulled out his flint and steel, something he had actually bought from the strange little shop at the resort.

Pulling his damp socks and boots back on, Ray went over to the dead tree and began snapping off the dry branches. Once he had stripped off the branches, he began kicking the trunk, trying to free it from the ground. The dead roots didn't give much resistance, and the whole tree came away from the ground quite easily. Ray grunted as he pulled the tree away from the ground, dragging it over to the rest of the wood. Peering back at the hole he saw that most of it was already filled with mud. Out of curiosity, he picked up the longest stick he had, and pushed it into the ooze. It was a few moments before it hit a solid bottom. Ray pulled out the stick and held it against his body. Probably about four feet deep at his guesstimate.

Dropping the muddy stick, Ray began building a small pile of twigs and dry grass. When he was satisfied, he picked up his flint and steel (really steel and magnesium, but that was more of a mouthful to say). He struck the steel across the 'flint' and sent a shower of sparks at the dry grass and wood. It caught fire almost immediately. Ray spent the next few minutes carefully constructing the fire. If he was careful, he should have enough wood to last until morning.

The column of smoke began to rise above the trees. With any luck the search party - which must have been sent by now - would be able to see it. Ray went down to the edge of the island and dipped some of the dry grass in the water. Shaking off the excess, he tossed the now damp grass into the fire. A large column of white smoke was produced. Even if there were no search party, they would send someone to investigate the source of the smoke. Ray threw another handful of wet grass onto the fire. There was a loud crack, and the fire spat sparks. Ray flinched and hurriedly brushed himself off. The last thing he needed was to set himself on fire.

He did not, however, notice a single spark land on his pendant. The spark glowed briefly on the surface of the rose quartz, before sinking into its surface. The crystal slowly changed from rosy pink, to dark olive green. The bronze snake rippled, and then melted into the crystal as well. Apparently sensing something, Ray reached down to his pendant and picked it up, studying it.

"Waarom is het groen?" He mused out loud. Then cried out in fright as the crystal melted onto his hand.

He tried to shake the crystal off, but it just sank into his skin, staining it the same olive green colour. Ray stared at his hand. It didn't hurt, it more sort of... tingled pleasantly. Ray gingerly touched his green hand with his normal one. It felt smooth and soft. On closer inspection he saw what looked like...scales. Then he realised the fine green scales were starting to spread. Darker patches started to appear on the green scales, forming patterns similar to that on snakes. The underside of his arm started to turn a creamy yellow colour. Ray watched with fascination as the scales reached his elbow. It felt strange, like some kind of warm, thick fluid was coating his body.

His fingernails seemed to be thickening, growing darker, becoming pointed and claw like. Strangely, he wasn't panicking. He just sat there watching in wonder as the scales oozed over his body, replacing his human skin. The transformation, reached his shoulder, so he pulled off his t-shirt to watch the scales spread slowly across his chest, turning it the same colour as a snake's belly. He let out a small gasp as the scales reached his neck. They rose up around his right side first, oozing around his ear, causing it to shrink into his head. It moved over the top of his head, causing his hair to recede and fall out.

Soon his entire face was covered, his eyes slowly turning a bright green, his pupils becoming black slits. Looking down he saw the scales had reached down to his knees. Getting slowly to his feet, he kicked off his boots and socks, and pulled off his shorts and underwear. His body was covered in the scales. The front of his body was coloured like a snakes belly, while the back bore the same colours and patterns of a green anaconda.

Of course, this was where things really began to change. Ray felt his legs suddenly lock straight, and he toppled backwards, smacking his head on the ground. His vision swam as he tried to sit up, but he found his legs wouldn't respond. Looking down he saw they had begun to melt together. A sudden burning heat filled his body. It was like sitting too close to a blazing fire. It felt like his bones were smouldering inside his body. The heat began to spread over his body, causing Ray to writhe on the ground. He had to cool down! He was too hot!

His vision was becoming worse, and it felt like his entire face was stretching. He began crawling in what he hoped was the direction of the water. His groping hand suddenly sank into something thick and cool. Blearily, Ray pulled his hand back and saw it was dark and dripping. It was the deep mud pool. It was good enough! Ray pulled himself up, and toppled over the edge of the pool, landing with a viscous splat onto the mud. He stayed on the surface for a few moments, before the ooze slowly enveloped his naked body.

With a sigh, Ray allowed himself to sink into the mud, letting it cool his burning body. Suddenly, he felt his jawbone crack, making him gasp in pain. His entire face began to change shape, pushing outwards, losing its human features. He pulled his hands out of the mud and clutched his head. It felt sleek, angular and reptilian. His tongue also felt weird. As his vision finally began to clear, he stuck it out and saw it had become long and forked.

A surge of pain rolled through him, causing him to arch his back and cry out. He could feel his body rippling and shifting. His bones creaked and groaned, his muscles bulged and thickened. He could feel his spine stretching, the bones in his legs shrinking and withering away. His neck was also growing longer and thicker, growing away from his shoulders. Writhing in the mud, Ray felt everything below his waist begin to stretch and grow. The mud coating him began to steam as his body grew and grew. He felt a surge of sensation from his crotch as his genitals began to change as well. With one hand he reached down, feeling for his genitals. All he found, however, was a strange vertical slit. He had no time to explore himself, however, as another violent jolt ran through him.

Falling back against the edge of the pit, Ray saw a long snake tail emerged from the mud. It was thick and long, and kept on growing. The mud soothed the pain to a dull throb, and Ray could only lie back and let the change happen. He felt winded and out of breath, like he had just stubbed his toe. He arched his now very flexible back, more coils erupting from the ooze around him, spraying mud in all directions. Finally his tail stopped growing, and he relaxed into the mud. The ooze supported and encased his quivering body as he carefully ran his hands over himself.

He let out a soft sigh. His scales felt surprisingly good, and the smooth, goopy mud soothed and massaged his tired muscles. His hand eventually made its way down to where his crotch used to be. As only his head was above the mud, he was mostly going by touch on this one. The slit was about four inches long, surrounded by slightly thicker scales. Ray carefully ran the tip of a claw along its length. The pleasure that shot through him caused a groan to escape his lips.

He stroked himself again, hissing softly. The feeling of the mud around him and his own gentle teasing felt so good. He lay there gently stroking and teasing his slit. His mind slipped into a calm trance, hand moving on autopilot as he allowed the erotic gratification to wash over him. After a few minutes he was panting and squirming in the glorious mud. His free hand roamed over his body as he carefully played with himself. His scales tingled as he felt the last of the power that had transformed him slowly ebb away.

The setting sun cast it's ruddy light over the wetlands. Ray lay panting on the island. He was still covered in mud, and completely transformed. He slowly tried to push himself up, but his new body seemed to be a little different from the last one. He couldn't quite figure out what to do with all the long, thick coils he now had. He did feel incredibly flexible though. With a bit of trial and error, he managed to roll onto his front and pull himself down to the water. He let himself slip into the cool liquid, pulling his huge tail with him. He floated out into the water, staring at the sky.

"Well this is a fine mess." He thought. Then frowned. Normally his inner monologue was in Dutch. This time it was in neither Dutch nor English. He couldn't actually tell what language it was; only that he understood it. He raised his head out of the water, and looked down his long body. Apparently he had somehow transformed into an anthropomorphic anaconda. A really, really, long, thick, anaconda. The sound of splashing feet made Ray's stomach to a somersault. Why would someone have to come along now?

Ray struggled to right himself. Having a tail instead of legs was kind of tricky. He managed to roll onto his front, and push himself up on his arms, in time to see the British shopkeeper of all people, emerge from the trees. There was a moment of silence as their eyes met. The Shopkeeper raised an eyebrow, and then burst out laughing. Ray, who had not been expecting this reaction, was understandably confused.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked. His voice was... his voice, but somehow he knew he wasn't speaking in Dutch or English, never mind thinking.

"You." The shopkeeper replied, "I didn't expect you to become so... long."

"Who are you?"

The man smiled at Ray, and the air around him seemed to shimmer and ripple. And then reality shifted. The shopkeeper was still there, but now he looked very, very different. He was also a snake like Ray. Yet he was different. While Ray was 'pure' anaconda, the shopkeeper looked like a mix of two species. His scales were bright forest green, and his head was shaped like a Mamba's, yet his coils were long and thick (though not quite as thick as Ray's), like a constrictor. His eyes were a rich purple in colour and he wore a black robe over his torso, held closed by a dark leather belt with a silver buckle.

Faint wisps of something black seemed to emanate from the garment as he glided through the water on his long tail He stopped just in front of Ray and folded his arms.

"Really now? You still haven't gotten the hang of your tail?" He asked, raising a brow.

"Uhh... no? I'm still... I don't... what's happened to me?" Ray replied, struggling to get upright, tail thrashing in the water. The shopkeeper rolled his eyes. Reaching down he unbuckled his belt, opening the robe and slipping it off his shoulders. He then proceeded to place the coat in the air, where it hung like it was on a coat-hook.

Ray saw that the back of his body was covered in incredibly intricate, dark green tattoos. The tattoos seemed to shift and change, never staying the same for more than a few minutes at a time. The other snake reached down, sliding his arms under Ray's armpits. With a grunt, he pulled Ray up and out of the water.

"Bloody hell... why do you anacondas have to be so heavy?" the shopkeeper hissed. "Now hold still." He continued.

He began to carefully coil himself around Ray, his coils winding around the newly formed anaconda.

"Now then, match your movements to mine. Your muscles should remember faster than your brain will." The shopkeeper said, still holding Ray up. Deciding that, if it helped him remain upright, listening to the shopkeeper was probably the best course of action, Ray complied. He allowed the shopkeeper to begin moving and guiding his body. Ray found himself enjoying the feeling of another snake's scales pressing gently against his back. Raul had obviously taken off his robe so as not to get it wet, but it still had rather pleasant side effects. Ray felt his body slide against the other snake, and he let out a soft gasp.

The shopkeeper began nuzzling Ray's neck, much to Ray's surprise. He was hissing softly, a sound Ray found to be quite calming. He closed his eyes and let the other snake take control. They swayed back and forth, side to side. They danced slowly around the clearing, Ray feeling how his muscles were moving. He let out a little huff when he felt the other snake's arms move from under his arms to across his chest. He felt the scaly hands exploring his body, slowly and sensuously.

"My... didn't you turn out beautifully..." The other snake murmured quietly.

"How so?" Ray replied, keeping his eyes closed

"Your proportions are perfect and your colours healthy." Came the reply.

Ray squirmed in delight at the compliment, though he wasn't quite sure why.

"I think you're getting the hang of this." The shopkeeper said. Ray sighed and opened his eyes. He saw that the shopkeeper was still holding him gently around the chest, but his coils were no longer wrapped around Ray's. Instead he was using his tail as a guide alongside of Ray's. Ray mentally noted he was slightly longer than the shopkeeper. Although he wasn't quite sure why he was feeling so smug about it.

"Really? You don't think I need more practice?"

The shopkeeper chuckled.

"If you want me to keep cuddling you, just say so." He replied

"That's not... I didn't..." Ray stammered.

"Oh alright... a few more minutes won't hurt."

After what felt like hours of sensual, sinuous dancing, the shopkeeper unwound himself from Ray. Much to Ray's delight, he found he was now able to stand. Well, balance on his thick coils, which was probably the closest analogue to standing he could no perform. Ray experimented slithering around by himself. He found it came naturally now. Like his body and mind had synchronised. He tried a few experimental loops and found he could pull them off rather satisfactorily. With a small smile, he turned to the shopkeeper.

"Okay then! Now we can see eye to eye, what would you like to know?" the shopkeeper asked, piling his coils under him and sinking onto them. Ray was put in mind of an armchair.

"Who are you?" Ray asked, gingerly coiling and uncoiling his tail, investigating his fine control.

"My name is Raul. I'm what you might call a...hmm... You know I'm not really sure what you would call me. Lets settle for Sorceror." The shopkeeper replied.

"You're a wizard?"

"No, I just said Sorceror."

"What's the difference?"

"It's complicated."

"Alright then. What did you do to me?" Ray asked, folding his arms. He couldn't help but keep noticing how good this new form felt.

"I didn't do anything to you." Raul replied with a small smile.

"You really expect me to believe that?" Ray replied, raising a brow. He was finding his face to be surprisingly expressive.

"It's true! It was the pendant that did this to you."

"The pendant that you gave me!"

"Because the pendant wanted you."

"What do you mean?"

"The pendant decided it wanted to transform you into this - considerably better - form."

"So you're saying that a lump of quartz decided it wanted to change me into a giant snake... man?"

"Yes."

Ray paused. Maybe it was because his mind was already acclimatised to his body, but this didn't seem too bad. His body was long, flexible and wonderfully thick and heavy. It just felt so natural and right.

"Huh... well what do I do now? I can't stay here." Ray asked. He didn't think he would keep his freedom very long if any humans saw him.

"Oh well, that's easy. I take you with me!" Raul said with a smile

"Take me... where? And what about my friends and family? Oh god... I have to call them!" Ray gasped, the sudden realisation hitting him.

"That would be inadvisable." Raul replied, raising a hand. "Besides, you didn't let me finish. I will take you to a new world. The mirror of this one, except beings like us are rather common. Everything is the same as it is here, including your place in it."

"What about this world?"

Raul shrugged

"You will never have existed. Nobody will know who you are or were."

"How is that better?!"

Raul sighed.

"Look. Yes, your entire existence will be erased from this world, but everything will be the same as it is here in the new one. It is the world I am from."

"So how are you here? How do you know all this?"

"I'm a transdimentional, time-travelling Sorceror. It's best not to question how it works."

Ray huffed, placing his hands on his hips (or at least, where his hips had been).

"Will I remember this world?" He asked

"Nope."

"Can you change me back into a human?"

"No. Besides, even if I could, would you want me to?"

Ray sighed.

"No... I guess not. I feel so much more... comfortable."

"See? If I could turn you back, you would always feel out of place. Your life would have a void you could never fill again."

Ray pinched the bridge of his snout.

"Are you sure everything will be the same?" He asked

"As far as you are concerned, yes."

"And as far as you are concerned?"

"I'm over six hundred years old. I know a great many things. The fact that you used to be human doesn't even register on my top ten."

"I don't know if I should be glad or insulted!"

"Oh well, I'll probably drop in from time to time, see how things are. But you won't remember this life. Or rather, this life will be exactly the same, you'll just have lived it in that world in that form."

"Well alright. But I have one condition."

"Of course!"

"Teach me how to do that chair... coil... thing. That looks comfy."