Transformation Stream Story 9: A Wonder Down Under
So many streaming stories. So little time.
A Wonder Down Under for Studley by Draconicon
Studley had to admit, there were few places that he liked more for walk-abouts than...well, anywhere in Australia. He almost wondered if one of the Wonders had been involved in tampering with the wildlife around the place, because it was one of the most varied places in the world when it came to biology. It would have had to be a fairly bitter one if that were true, though; all the poisonous and venomous creatures on the continent certainly argued for that.
The wolf had wrapped himself in his usual human disguise before leaving 'his' house, of course. While he'd charmed the local humans enough to be able to walk around the home in his fur, it was a little difficult to do the same thing to the neighbors, even if the word 'neighbor' was a loose definition. It was almost a mile between one house and another in this area, so it was weird to use the word for people living so far away.
On the other hand, it made for good walks, even if he did stick to human form. He smiled as he made his way down the dust road, looking from side to side now and then to make sure that nothing was coming his way. This close to the outback, it was better to be safe than sorry.
He let his thoughts wander as he walked, thinking back to his brief visit with Mirari and Rannoi. The two of them had just departed from a festival in China, last he'd heard, and had been midway towards their next destination when they'd met up. He chuckled at how much their little menagerie had grown. That dragon had always been the sort to attract underlings and friends, and it was no exception now. Of course, it was almost more of an army now, with over a thousand transformed individuals in his entourage, but it was still the same basic concept.
He was taken out of his memories of that visit when he saw a swirl of smoke on the horizon. It wasn't the first time he'd seen it, so he was about to pass it off as a distant fire before he realized where it was coming from.
When he realized it was coming from where he'd been staying, all restraint was lost. In two steps, his shoes ripped and his clothes faded as the golden magic of a Wonder filled him, transforming him into the great wolf he really was. Bounding ahead faster than any human could run, he rushed down the road as fast as he could go.
It didn't take long to reach the burnt out house. The wolf stared in shock; less than an hour ago, the house had been as calm as ever, ready for another day in the life of the quaint family that lived there. Now, the roof was half gone, smoke went through all the windows, and there was little left of the car that the family had around back.
The wolf gave up on the husband of the family almost immediately. Seeing him laying still on the broken window-sill, fire burning the back of his head, was enough to tell the wolf that he was gone. The others, however, were out of sight. Probably further in the house.
The magic glowed around him again, the wolf clenching his fists before slamming them into the earth. The glow went with the impact, going deeper and deeper down until it found a vein of underground water. With a grunt, he lifted his arms again, changing the vast current's direction, lifting it up from below the earth and bringing it to bear where it would do the most good.
With an explosion that nearly knocked the wolf off of his feet, the earth before him exploded, and a jet of water as thick as his arms shot towards the house. Some of the walls crumbled beneath the powerful pressure spray, but that only let it go in further, hitting the fire at its heart.
He focused the water on the house until all the outer flames were extinguished, then walked forward. The water continued to obey him, shooting over his shoulder into the house and clearing a path for him. He let go of the magic, the water starting to slack off, but he was ready to snare it again at need.
The kitchen and the living room were charred to a crisp, but the bathroom was still whole. Inside, after knocking away the door and putting out the last of the fires, he found them.
Both mother and daughter were unconscious. The older had her arm charred, burnt from shoulder to fingers, while her daughter had been shielded somewhat by her mother's body. Not much, considering they were both adults, but some. Neither of them were in good shape, however, and there was no time to call an ambulance.
"I always end up in these situations."
The wolf would have grumbled if he weren't so worried. Instead, he picked up the two ladies and gently put them over his shoulders. The wolf form could handle the weight easily, and he needed to get out of here quickly. Even if he turned human again, a stranger here would be the first target of an investigation, and he would be better off if one never started.
#
Having paused only to reseal the earth around the hole he'd made, the wolf ran, and he didn't stop until they were deeper within the outback than any fire department or police would normally go. He laid the injured ladies down - after making sure nothing would harm them - before focusing his magic on them.
Wonder magic was never quite as easy as one assumed it would be. The key component of it was invoking change, and while that sounded simple, it frequently could go the other way. It was why he was left so useless during the Black Plague and other epidemics; diseases didn't like being changed, and would frequently become more dangerous, and healing a person to fix it only encouraged it to change more in response.
On physical injuries, though, it was straightforward enough. One simply convinced the body that it was not injured, and was better to change to that state, and Studley had more than a little practice with that.
He watched as their flesh knitted together, the burns disappearing and the worst of the damage to cosmetics - hair, clothes, and other such things - was repaired. The wolf smiled to himself, nodding at the progress that was made.
Of course, he had another problem now.
Someone attacked them, and if they realize that these two didn't die in the home, they'll try again. I can't let that happen.
He couldn't take everything from them, but he was sorry for what he was about to do. Studley reached out his hands, holding them over the heads of the two women, and let the magic flow.
The first thing to change was their faces. As the magic flowed down their features, their ears began to grow, pushing upwards and getting longer. It didn't look quite so ridiculous as the time he saw someone sprout rabbit ears, but it was close. The muzzles they gained weren't much better, extending outwards as their noses joined in and blackened along the tip.
As the fur sprouted along their faces and spread further down, he brought his hands down with it, following the flow. Their...attributes, didn't change very much, other than to take on the fur that the rest of their bodies was getting, for which he was thankful. He didn't want them to think he was trying to go just for that.
As their hands sprouted pads and claws, he continued dragging his hands down. As he reached their stomachs and hips, they abruptly swelled outwards. Studley almost backed off at the burst of size, but he remembered that the species did tend to have bigger stomachs and hips. It was a little more than he would have chosen to give, but sometimes the magic had a life of its own.
Good thing I'm not trying this with chaos, he thought with a wry chuckle.
Their clothing ripped apart as he continued past their thighs, and he averted his eyes so that he wasn't looking at them without permission. Their legs thickened, particularly at the thighs, with massive amounts of muscle, muscle that they would need to get around. He chuckled. Or to bounce on some lucky males.
Mind out of the gutter, Studley. They just survived an attack; don't start thinking about that.
Continuing the slow roll downwards, the light transformed the last of their legs and their feet into something more appropriate for their species. As the light faded away, he stroked a clawed finger around the daughter's new sole shape.
I know a dragon that would love these.
He stood up, shaking his head at the two anthro kangaroos. They would be a little difficult to hide, but they'd stand a much better chance than other anthros, and he didn't dare turn them to full animals without consent. As they were, they could blend in with the regular roos without much effort, and still maintain some level of freedom and humanity.
As they started waking up, Studley snapped his fingers, summoning his human disguise again. He sat down, waiting for them to be coherent enough to speak, and realize their changes.
The daughter was the first to notice, and screamed. The mother, on the other hand....well, she screamed too, but she also saw him. Grabbing her daughter's paw, she looked him in the eye.
"You. I remember you."
"Yes, I was staying with you for a while."
"Where's Carl?"
"I'm sorry. He's dead."
The daughter's screams and cries grew louder, and he saw the tears forming in the mother's eyes. He reached out gently, taking her hand.
"I'm sorry. I got back as soon as I could, but he was already dead when I arrived. I just managed to find you two before you would have died too."
"I -"
"Forget dad! What about us? We're freaks!"
"I...I almost forgot about that. What is this about..."
"Studley."
"I thought your name was Stan?"
"Both work, but Studley is the more accurate one."
The mother looked at him, and he sighed. With another snap of his fingers, he dropped his disguise.
After the two women woke up again, he squeezed their hands and pulled them into a hug. They struggled, squirming to get free, but he knew if he let them go, they would run and never stop until they dropped.
When they went still, he let them pull back a little.
"I'm sorry, but this is your new life."
"How...how are we going to live like this?"
"I'll show you."
This is going to take weeks...but I owe it to them. Can't just leave them like this. Looks like I'll have to meet up with Idesin and Rannoi a month late, then.
The End