The Sons of Quetzalcoatl

Story by Leo_Todrius on SoFurry

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The Sons of Quetzalcoatl

Written by Leo_Todrius

Commissioned by Foulfrost

Help from Trickster_D

A researcher and his friend have an adventure of a lifetime heading to mesoamerica to study the Mayan ruins, but when they venture off the beaten path and stumble into a hidden society of Mayan lizard men, their destiny will be changed forever.


The Sons of Quetzalcoatl Written by Leo_Todrius Commissioned by Foulfrost

Sunlight glittered across the ancient stone and metal, making the agates glow and the petrified wood shimmer with an ancient magnificence. The ancient ceramic pieces were beautiful in their timeless handiwork and what little of the original pigmentation remained... but by far the most amazing find was the metallic scaled egg, made out of metal but looking as if it had been lost and forgotten by time - at least from the store window. The relics filled the window box of Native Imports, a small corner shop specializing in antiques from indigenous peoples of the Americas. It seemed like such a strange place to find such treasures, but it had captivated Daniel for three years since he had arrived in town.

Street noises filled the air, from honks and beeps to the steady sea of people talking on cell phones or to their smart watches. Danny could almost feel the electricity in the air, the constant stream of radio signals and wi-fi clouds. He looked back at the native imports window, catching sight of his reflection. Daniel's Belgian heritage showed through his fair features and his medium length dark brown hair. Eyes as blue as the sea gazed out at the world around him.

Danny had spent three years in the states. He had come as a curious and rational student wanting to broaden his experiences by traveling the world, but before he'd reached his final year of study abroad he was already being swept up in another adventure. European history was rich with stories of warring tribes of Anglos and Saxons, of Vikings... but the Americas held some rich, forgotten lore of its own. Danny had been captivated by Mesoamerican history especially. The idea that another culture had managed to work out the secrets of the universe and build pyramids, just like the Egyptians, was captivating.

The turn in his studies had been abrupt, but he'd met the challenges head on. Now he was but a short day away from setting out on his own research trip to see the Yucatan peninsula himself, to document what made it special, and to physically touch that long forgotten world - but he wouldn't be going alone. Danny looked up and down the street, seeing a particularly unusual sight. A twenty young year old man was strolling along the street, his cinnamon colored skin contrasting with his corn blond colored hair. His honey amber eyes were cheerful and his shoulders were broad, perfect for carrying the huge hiking pack full of equipment he was already loaded down with. The one thing that the young man lacked, though, was a shirt of any kind. He walked with his nipples and Mayan shoulder tattoo exposed, though a small conch shell pendant hung from a sturdy cord around his neck. Even his khaki shorts left little of his legs to the imagination. Danny crossed his arms.

"Gabe, sometimes I swear you're allergic to clothing." Danny smirked. Gabe gave a healthy chuckle, nodding.

"Just trying to acclimate, it'll be warm in the Yucatan." he replied.

"Your family is from there, though, right? Shouldn't you already be acclimated?" Danny asked. Gabe shrugged.

"Three years in New York, I think I got used to things being just a bit cooler... but it'll be good to see home again. How about you, professor, all packed?" Gabe asked. Danny chuckled a bit. He wasn't anywhere near being a professor yet, but the thought was somewhat alluring.

"Just a few last odds and sods to gather, but all the important stuff is packed." Daniel replied. Gabe clapped a thick, firm arm around Danny's shoulders.

"Before we head out, there's a food cart that's serving Poc Chuc a few blocks from here. We should check it out." Gabe replied. Danny smirked.

"You really are the best travel companion, but I'll trust you to tell me if they make it here even remotely like they do back in central America." Danny said. Gabe gave a reassuring nod at that, the two turning the corner and heading in search of food.

****

The hum of the airplane cabin was constant and comforting, at least to Danny. He sat in his chair, having extracted a sketch book from his carry on luggage. He leaned against the hull of the plane, drawing another pyramid. He knew it was almost too nerdy of him, but to see a pyramid in person after so much studying would be immensely wonderful. Then again, having someone he knew to celebrate that with him would be even better. Danny turned and looked at his friend next to him, having fallen asleep during their journey.

Gabe had put on a sleeveless tank top for the purpose of boarding the plane, though the way the conch shell patterned material hugged his body it was hard to considered it real clothing. Still, he looked quite content. Danny stared on for a moment, wondering what it would be like for his friend to return home after all this time. While he went by Gabe with most people, Danny knew his real name was Gabor, a name that meant God's Bravest Man. The description seemed to fit, at least socially. Danny was curious and responsible by nature, but at times he could still be shy... But Gabe was ready at a moment's notice to meet people, to have experiences, to get out there.

In fact, it was Gabe's willingness to stay out all hours of the night socializing that were putting his grades in jeopardy. Danny hoped that this trip would help his friend with some extra credit, as well as letting him get some of his wanderlust out of his system. If all else failed, though, and Gabe had to drop out of school... Danny knew he'd take him on as an assistant or something when he got his own teaching position. It just had to work out for them, they had too many good times together. Danny was distracted as the intercom chimed.

"Atención pasajeros, estamos a punto de hacer el descenso final. Por favor, permanezcan sentados y tenga en cuenta que los signos de cinturones de seguridad están iluminados." The pilot stated before translating, "Attention passengers, we are about to make our final descent. Please remain seated and note that the seat belt signs are now illuminated."

Gabe did not wake up, but he did turn over and lay his sleeping head on Daniel's shoulder, his blond hair ruffling over the place. Danny scrunched up his face a bit, but he didn't have the heart to move his friend. He merely snapped his seatbelt into place and looked out the window, watching the ground advance toward them at a rather impressive rate. Before long their adventure would be well under way.

****

To describe the atmosphere as hot and humid would have been a gross over-simplification as far as Daniel was concerned, and three days in the Yucatan had not changed his mind. Traveling in the direct mid-day sun felt like a lethal proposition, but the shade was scarcely better, managing to be so hot it was sticky. The two adventurers had started with a tour of some of the most integral Mayan ruins of the area, but as the tour group prepped to return to society, Danny and Gabe had set off on their own. Now there was only a trail of hastily cut vines and tromped down leaves to indicate the way they had come.

The sound of the machete cutting through the local flora echoed through the jungle, but few creatures seemed to be disturbed. The only ones that had given Danny any pause had been the snakes shaken out from their home. There had been a close call about a kilometer back where a snake had nearly dropped down onto Danny, but Gabe had caught it by the neck and cast it aside. Just thinking about it made Danny's heart race.

"How much water do we have left?" Danny asked. The majority of his backpack space was taken up by a camel pack of water, but the truth was that it was significantly lighter than when he had started. Gabe, however, seemed quite capable of carrying his own, once more wearing nothing but shorts, his pack, and his necklace. The blond Latino man took a hold of Danny's pack and gave it a faint shake, feeling the water slosh side to side.

"We have about two gallons left, but there should be a river within a few miles of here." Gabe replied. Danny slowed a bit, looking around before he pulled out his GPS. On the screen the same message flashed next to a frowny face; "acquiring satellites". The message hadn't changed in an hour and a half.

"Gabe, I think... I need to be honest, we might be in trouble here. I don't know how you can tell there's a river near by because I'm completely lost." Danny said glumly. Gabe, however, smiled and rested his hand on Danny's shoulder.

"Trust me, we're not in trouble even if we are lost. We know our path right back to where we started, and we have the emergency flares." Gabe replied, "But trust me, I'm good at finding water." Gabe added. Danny nodded.

"I know, you're good at everything on this trip... Direction, packing, even comfort. Thank you my friend." Danny replied. Gabe smiled softly.

"It isn't a problem." he replied. Danny bucked up a bit at that and resumed his walking, brushing his longer brown hair back over his shoulders.

"So if you have a sense for the area, do you know how far we are from your home/" Danny asked. Gabe looked suddenly shocked by that question.

"I-I mean, I spent some time in Belize when I was younger, but I've been all over." Gabe replied. Danny smiled a bit.

"I can't imagine what it was like, I spent so much time in Belgium and then it was so exotic just to go to New York to study, but now I'm all the way here." Daniel replied. Gabe grinned.

"Do you love it?" he asked. Danny nodded, stepping over a fallen log.

"I do, I mean... we always think of a society collapsing and leaving this void, but what's really amazing is what is left behind, what continues." Danny said. Gabe looked almost lost in thought.

"I agree completely." he murmured.

"There are churches in Europe where the artwork from a single generation shows the last instances of roman art and the first of the dark ages... in a single generation, civilization changing completely. I mean, I know the odds of me making an impact here are slim. everything is mapped so meticulously, so detailed and automated.... but maybe there's a small chance I can do something, I can find something, I can-" Danny's rant was interrupted as his machete blade hit something a lot harder than wood and glinted off.

"Are you okay?" Gabe asked.

"Yeah, I just hit something is all." he replied. Danny turned to face the obstruction, gently using the blade to push vines out of the way. What was beneath was a large, well weathered stone.... with very carefully carved or mined edges. It was the sort of stone that Daniel had seen before at their previous site visits, but they had been trekking through the wilderness to save money on transportation costs, not to find anything.

"What is it? Did you find something?" Gabe asked, moving forward. Danny stepped off what small path they had carved, running his blade along the stone until it came to another surface. Daniel edged the vines away, though some remained more rooted than others. It was in fact another stone, standing taller than the first. Daniel adjusted his view, looking around, realizing the low sloping canopy off to the side of their path may not have just been a mound of plants, but a cover over something else entirely.

"Gabor, please... Get out the map... We have to try and work out our position." Daniel whispered. Gabe pulled off his pack and set it down, rooting around the interior before he finally pulled out the map and unfurled it. While they had prepared with a variety of electronic charts, Gabe had insisted it might be safe to have a paper backup. Daniel was so thankful he had listened to his friend.

"So we left the last tour group here at this site, and we headed this direction to try and get to the next one..." Gabe said. Danny nodded, moving over and crouching down.

"I remember that forked creek... So we did get a little off of our objective, so we're about here..." Daniel said, pointing to a densely wooded part of the jungle. It was far from civilization and posed a fair number of hazards, but Daniel had been either brave enough or foolish enough to listen to Gabe and set out on such a tangent. He grinned a bit wider, forcing Gabe to chuckle.

"You don't seem too broken up about being lost." Gabe said.

"I don't think we're lost, I think we've just found something... You care to help me test a hunch?" Danny asked. Gabe smirked, running his fingers through his hair.

"You think I'll ever stop backing you?" Gabe questioned. Danny grinned at that and brandished his machete again, running back. He hopped onto the first stone and then the second and started hacking at the vine canopy before him. Realizing that his friend was going hog wild, Gabe ran over and started grabbing at the vines, pulling them out of the way, revealing what seemed to be for all intents and purposes the corner of a Mayan pyramid, lost from the ages.

"Gabor, this... This is incredible! I mean we're going to be famous!" Danny howled with excitement.

"Do you think it has stairs like the other pyramids, near the middle?" Gabe asked. Danny nodded, moving that way.

"I think we're in luck, I mean, the steps aren't as steep as a sacrificial pyramid, so this is probably one of the temple ones so there should be stairs... Oh Gabe, this is so great!" Danny grinned wide, cutting his way toward the center. The gigantic foundation stones came to an end, making room for a much narrower set of ascending stone steps. Daniel slowly stepped down off the side onto the staircase, taking a slow breath, "For the first time in a century has man set foot here, and today marks the day that-" Daniel stopped suddenly, feeling the stone shift beneath him. Gabe met eyes with his friend, the two realizing simultaneously what was about to happen.

Like a trap door opening, the stones gave out beneath Daniel. With the ground gone, Danny fell through a hole in the pyramid, leaving the hot and humid surface behind, tumbling down into a dark and serpentine tunnel. Stones pummeled him as he fell and slid, picking up speed. The adventurer tried to tuck and roll, but he was hit too many times to be effective at it. If the tunnel hadn't already been so dark he would have been certain he was blacking out. At the edge of his awareness he started to sense a distant light, but Daniel's eyes merely rolled into the back of his head as he passed out, his unconscious body rolling to a stop in a pale pink light.

****

The sounds of the rainforest were absolutely magical... The dripping of moisture off of leaves, the insects chirping and buzzing away, and the general stillness of nature. Daniel felt generally positive about all of those elements as he swam back toward consciousness, but he was starting to become aware of something else as well - the steady murmur of a group of individuals. Daniel started to stretch a bit but then groaned as his nerves informed him of the bruises and cuts he had sustained in his tumble.

Daniel's vivid blue eyes snapped open as the memories came rushing back. He had fallen for what seemed like ages, no doubt a secret tunnel... but he had been on a Mayan pyramid, not an Egyptian one. Gazing upward, Danny almost got a little dizzy at first. He saw the stones he expected along with the Mayan carving and shape, but it was inverted, an inside out pyramid... Daniel's jaw slowly dropped as he realized he was inside the structure and the stone was but a shell.

Situated right at the focal point of the pyramid, at the very top just beneath where a temple would have been situated on the surface was a luminescent pink crystal. The stone was casting off almost as much light as a sunset in soft, warm colors. It was that light that reflected off of and highlighted the copper metallic bands that ran along the stone, keeping the shell in place above the massive open space. Danny's eyes slowly followed the stonework and the metal down further and further until he came across another unexpected sight - structures. While the smaller oval buildings were made of stone, their shape instantly struck a chord with Danny, as did the short stacked stone walls cutting off plots of land into tiny neighborhoods.

"Palapas and Solaris..." Danny said, trying to stand up. he groaned as his tailbone ached, but the excitement overrode the pain. He stumbled forward toward the homes, almost in a daze. Somehow he had found a hidden settlement, one beneath a pyramid and the first in-tact evidence of how the Mayans had built homes, though it contradicted everything he had known. The research hinted that there homes were made of wood or adobe, but these were made of far sturdier stuff. Perhaps that was how they lasted so long.

Danny moved forward, wishing he had his sketchbook with him or at least his camera. It was all back with his pack on the surface, along with Gabor. Daniel moved toward one of the houses but he froze as something moved inside. There was a pause before two deep, glassy black eyes peered back at him. Daniel's breath caught in his throat and his chest, unable to move as a figure stepped out of the shadows.

The pink light glistened off of greenish gold scales, sloped around an angular but semi-blunted muzzle. The nostril slits on the end flared a little and a forked tongue emerged, sampling the air. The reptilian muzzle sloped up and back away from the face, the scales disrupted along the crest of the head by a line of rubbery, almost feather like frills that graduated from the greenish gold of the skin tone all the way into flow blown yellow gold at the tips.

The occupant of the house continued to emerge, the light hitting well muscled shoulders, a broad back, an extremely powerful prehensile tail swinging over a pert bubble ass, and long shapely legs capped with claws on the toes. The being was at least six foot eight and a fair bit stockier than Danny. A very modest and insubstantial brown leather flap hung over the creature's lap, obscuring whatever was beneath.

"Quetzalcoatl..." Danny murmured, unable to stop himself. The name of the god was specific, a name for a feathered serpent god that had been central to Mayan religion. The fact that this reptile being had a frill that looked like feathers was a dead ringer, though Danny had no idea if that assertion was rude or not. The reptile creature slowly raised a clawed hand almost like a wave.

"Debo decirle al anciano... Ustedes son bienvenidos aquí extraño." He replied, his voice sounding rather fluid and masculine, though a bit young, almost like a teenager. Once more Danny was flummoxed. He'd studied Mayan dialects from Qhuche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, to Mam but his Spanish was still a bit rusty. Still, he picked up 'elder' and 'welcome' so he assumed that there had been some interaction with the outside world in more recent times.

"Gracias..." Danny replied. The lizard man looked around a bit nervously, his tail swinging back and forth more wildly before he broke into a sprint to go find someone. Daniel blushed more, wondering if he was getting in over his head. The reality of the situation started to hit him all at once. Did all Mayan pyramids have secret societies underneath them, or just this one? If the Mayans had died out so very, very long ago, did it have something to do with the lizard men beneath one of their holy sites? Had this pyramids been lost because of the presence of a feathered serpent?

"Oh my god, Danny, are you alright?" Gabe whispered in a hiss as he moved over. Danny spun around on his heel in shock.

"Shhh, Gabor, we're-they're, I mean, there are... There are lizard people here!" Danny whispered harshly. Gabor's eyes widened.

"Lizard... people? You saw some?" Gabe asked, moving up.

"I saw one, but I think he's gone to get the elder... I mean, I only exchanged a few words and it was in Spanish, they seem nice so far, but like... Is this another species? Are these the ones the Mayans thought of as gods? This is like Stargate or something." Daniel replied.

"It is true... that some considered us to be gods once, even revered by the masses." An older voice called over in English with the hint of an accent. Daniel froze, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. He slowly turned to look at the group of lizard men that had gathered at the end of the row. Each lizard man wore a leather scrap over their groins and nothing else, but something that Daniel had first overlooked now jumped out. They each seemed to have intricate painting, or perhaps tattoos, on their chests and arms. The decorations came in a variety of colors and patterns, though the meaning behind them was lost to the researcher for the moment. Gabor moved to step in front of Daniel. Danny furrowed his brow, not wanting his associate to put himself at any more risk.

"The cult of Kukulkan..." Danny replied, realizing his earlier mistake. Both Quetzalcoatl and Kukulkan were feathered serpents, but Kukulkan predated his latter replacement. The elder smiled, betraying his sharp teeth. While the younger lizards only seemed to have rubbery frills, the elder had full blown silver feathers extending from his bluish gray scales. It seemed the legends of the gods were quite true.

"Cult is a harsh word, but do you know the story of Kukulkan?" The elder asked. Gabor looked at Daniel.

"They say Kukulkan was a boy born as a snake. His sister cared for him in a cave until he grew too big and went out to the sea. Him leaving caused an earthquake, but every July he makes the ground tremor to let his sister know that he's alright." Daniel replied. The elder chuckled wryly and nodded.

"Much the same way young people grow, leave home, but still wish to be remembered. I'm sure it is the same in your world." The elder commented.

"You speak both Spanish and English, it seems you are more aware of our world than we are of yours." Danny replied. The elder nodded.

"It was necessary, of course. You and I are both aware that the native peoples of these lands were crushed by invaders, by disease, and the rigors of time." The elder replied.

"Guns, Germs and Steel... One of the most important books of my college years." Daniel replied.

"I can assure you that your germs will not harm us, but until you fully understand our way of life, it would be a grave risk to allow you to return to the surface. I promise we will not harm you." The elder said. Danny's back went rigid at that, realizing the terrible irony of his condition. The descendants of Kukulkan had survived the collapse of their own civilization and countless centuries by hiding. They were unlikely to want their presence advertised. There were few as well equipped to learn their way of life as he, but whatever he learned was unlikely to be shared...

As hard as that was, though, the curiosity was bigger than the need to impart his knowledge. Even if he had to keep it to himself to his dying day, he had to know. They had come so far, fallen down the rabbit hole into another world and reshaped humanity's place in the cosmos. Danny slowly nodded, taking a soft breath.

"In for a penny, in for a pound." Danny commented, "I am a scholar, a student of life and a teacher of others. I came here to learn about the Maya people. If I remain, even if I cannot share word of your people beyond these walls, will I be allowed to learn?"

"For the few that have stumbled onto our secret, we entrust with our lives. The fact that you have not heard of us is a testament to how vital that secret is. But we are an honest people, a fair people as well. While you are here you will learn everything there is to know about our way of life, and then you can make your decision. For now, you may both come with me. We will find you a place to bed down during your stay before our evening meal." The elder said, turning. The other lizard men seemed very strong, no doubt ready to capture the humans if they attempted to flee. Danny started moving forward, following them.

"I wonder if they've ever seen any movies down here like Spider-Man." Danny whispered. Gabor groaned.

"Maybe they were spared that horrible train wreck. There could be benefits to living underground." Gabe replied in an amused whisper. The two ventured on, looking around at their surroundings, taking it all in.

****

Walking through the settlement was unearthly for Danny, but it was enlightening at the same time - something out of an anthropologist's dream. Almost every lizard man had bracelets, cuffs, collars or other straps of beaded leather in a variety of hues that complemented and contrasted their scales. Some had ornate straps around their muzzles and heads as well, harkening back to the head dresses of the maya nobility. Several had symbols and patterns painted across their arms and chests, but as fascinating and affirming as that was to Danny, he was picking up other details as they walked... details about this lizard species.

There was a variation in height to a degree, from a little over five feet tall to almost eight in the extreme cases. They all had powerful, versatile tails, healthy v shaped torsos with broad shoulders, powerful muzzles and deep, animalistic eyes. The one thing they seemed to lack, or at least that Danny couldn't identify by sight, was females. Everywhere he looked there were examples of the male gender. Perhaps the women were hidden, occupied elsewhere, or fewer in number. Being another species, it was possible they only mated once a year during some season.

The group finally slowed, approaching a collection of huts near the edge of the pyramid walls. Danny nearly bumped into the elder, so preoccupied with everything going on around him. The guards seemed to step forward but hesitate, realizing it was an honest mistake. The elder turned around, looking at those that were standing in their midst. He cleared his throat a bit.

"Over the eons, a few have found our home here. When we retreated into isolation, we accepted a life of peace and we have no desire to break with tradition. That is why you will be educated in our ways, allowed to understand, and then you will make your decision on how to proceed. While you are here, we require that you take in our culture, accept it and make it your own." The elder explained.

"Of course!" Danny said in a near exclamation, "We will do whatever we can." he amended, looking over at Gabor. Gabor stood steadfastly.

"I think I can do that." Gabe murmured, looking at Danny to follow his lead.

****

The flap to the hut eased open as Danny returned, feeling a supreme ache in his shoulders and back. While the lizards had carried on some of the maya culture, it seemed they had evolved separately in several key areas. Their cultivation of subterranean crops and their harvesting of insects as food sources had taken a lot out of him. Danny paused to look down at the 'garment' he'd been given to wear. A few cloth straps wrapped around his shoulders and ribs, coming around his waist to hold a small scrap of fabric over his loin, but his ass was on display for all the world to see.

Hard work without much protection had also left him vulnerable to the rigors of labor. His fingers felt rough, as did his elbows and knees. The skin was tight and firm like callouses were forming at record pace. Danny reached up to run his fingers through his sweaty hair. As he planned to retire for the night, he came around the corner and caught a glimpse of Gabor naked. For a moment Danny was taken aback, seeing his compatriot in the pink glow that came through the skylights of the hut.

Gabe's body was perfection; his meaty pecs were firm and fit, covered with the mayan tattoos. His arms were shapely, his waist toned, and his manhood... Daniel closed his eyes and flipped back around the corner in embarrassment, though somehow the mental picture of just how long and thick Gabor was stuck in his head. Danny tried to shake it loose. He backed up a few steps and decided to announce his presence again.

"Gabe, are you home?" Daniel asked as he entered.

"Yeah, just around the corner here!" Gabe called out, hastily pulling on his loin cloth before he came out into view. Danny was still dumbstruck, wondering if he'd ever be able to look at Gabor the same way - not to mention wondering where such a fixation was coming from.

"I, uh, we're finished working for the day. I was wondering if you wanted to join the elder for evening meal?" Danny asked. Gabor nodded with a grin.

"That sounds like a great idea." Gabe said, moving over, clapping an arm around Danny's shoulders. Danny felt a shiver rip down his spine. The arm felt so supremely comforting. Maybe it was that Gabor was his anchor, his foundation holding everything together during such an uncertain time.

"Good, glad you think so..." Danny murmured softly. He was more confused than ever. While he wasn't normally averse to physical contact, it had never brought him anything other than mild discomfort. Why was it now that he wanted to be wrapped up in strong arms, held by another man? Danny closed his eyes and moved over to sit down on a chair. He winced a bit though as he did.

"You alright?" Gabor asked. Danny nodded.

"Yeah, my backside is just a bit sore. Probably landed bad on my tailbone during the fall." Danny replied. Gabe moved over.

"I could look at it for you, make sure?" Gabor asked. Danny looked stunned.

"Uh, I mean, thanks, but I already feel like I'm showing my ass off too much already. No need to make you get any closer than you need to." Danny joked. Gabe shrugged.

"Alright, if you say so. Nothing to be ashamed about though. Looks fine to me." Gabe said as he moved out. Daniel sat there in shock, his head following the mental after image of his friend, trying to reconstruct what he had just said. Perhaps there was some missing context he had missed, surely some explanation as to why his assistant had just complimented his butt. Still, nothing came to him.

****

Without a natural sun, it was impossible for Daniel to keep track of how much time had passed. The reptiles seemed perfectly able to regulate their lives but it was a dizzying sea of activity and rest that he simply failed to get a grip on. Maybe they didn't even operate by the conventional clock, maybe a day was longer or shorter than twenty four hours. Daniel felt wide awake, but the rest of the society around him was asleep. Even Gabor had passed out some hours ago. Now Danny was sitting on the make shift porch outside of his borrowed hut, looking out into the streets.

Once more it hit him, that all the unbridled secrets of an ancient world were here in secret and he couldn't share them. Twice he had tried to find the hole from which he had entered the hidden world, but his body guards showed up when he strayed too far. No doubt they were always there, always watching but staying just out of sight. Whether it was a passing curiosity, or a mere idea of something to do despite the boredom, Daniel rose to his feet and started to round the corner of the hut. He passed the knee high stone wall and moved into the street and started walking.

Aapo, the elder, had taken Danny and Gabor on personally to teach them everything he knew. Much of it was second nature to Danny, and Gabor had seemed surprisingly brave when it came to eating bugs, but Daniel wasn't sure of his agenda. Surely they wouldn't stay forever, unless he truly was the first non-native individual to discover the city. Danny turned a corner and froze in place, spotting two lizards that were not asleep - but they were not his guards either. They appeared to be younger, late teenagers no doubt, standing on the stoop of a hutt. Their green scaled bodies were pressed tight together, one of their heads turned to the side so their muzzles could interlock. Clawed fingers traced over hard scales, rubbery feather like frills rubbed, and tight, hard groins ground. There was a friction from all the hard and sharp parts, but it seemed other parts were far softer. Strings of precum connected their waists and hips as they pressed, grinding and humping.

In the few split seconds that they parted from one another, Daniel caught glimpses of an alien anatomy he had only been able to guess at. Their shafts were incredibly long and thick, a bright almost royal purple. The bases of the shafts were bulged almost like a canine knot, but they hovered just outside the reptilian slit that no doubt hid internal balls. The long shafts tapered to points, revealing a bigger than normal urethra.

The boys kept humping and grinding, kissing and exchanging their passions. Daniel was about to leave when he heard a wet sloshing. One of the boys had started to orgasm, but it was far from a human amount. Rivulets of yellowed, thick seed gushed out; spoonfuls at first, but ten cups and then pints. The other male let out a hiss, his blue forked tongue tasting the hair before he too shuddered and began unleashing his load. The two let their juices drip to the ground like a puddle, basking completely in their pleasure together.

Just when Danny was sure it would end, another orgasm would hit them and they made even more of a mess. Danny was red in the cheeks from embarrassment, wondering if the high volume was more than just a drive. Perhaps they could cum at will, and they wanted to cum a lot. Daniel left the scene behind, heading back toward his house, his mind racing. It seemed the lack of females was dealt with in other ways and societal norms were rather open.

Danny pushed the flap out of the way as he moved back into his place, flopping down onto his bed when he got a rude surprise in the form of a pang of pain from his groin. He winced and rolled over, looking down to see that his own manhood was aroused. Once more Daniel blushed, feeling quite awkward. Had it been the embarrassment that triggered it, or had something of the exchange awoken something in him? Danny shuddered and laid down on his back, closing his eyes, hoping that somehow sleep would erase everything from his memory.

****

It had all become a hazy blur to Daniel, life beneath the pyramid. At first wearing so little clothing had been a bit hard, but it seemed like life beneath the stones was a hot and humid one. Every once in awhile he'd gaze up at the pink stone hanging above them all, radiating its light, wondering just how it worked. Was it radioactive? Was it a chemical reaction? Maybe it was some relic of magic the rest of the world had forgotten. It didn't change anything down below... and below survival was the order of the day.

Daniel was shoulder to shoulder with several of the lizard men, elbow deep in biologically questionable muck. It was some sort of fungus, something the lizards cultivated as food for the ants - who in turn became one of the more basic foodstuffs for the lizards. Daniel knew as an anthropologist that he'd have to throw out any traces of picky eating when he chose the line of education. If anything, he chuckled to himself as he thought about his ant farms as a child. If only he'd known one day he'd be grown up, eating ants with another species.

One of the foremen called out, announcing that the irrigation channels were being opened. There was a rush of water from the far side of the pyramid and the precious fluid fanned and networked out along long ribs. It was delivered first to the residences, then the common areas, then the fields before at last dropping down to a lower rung where they were working. Fungus had been extracted from the vats and packed into brick like squares, but the new water gushed out across the troughs to help with the next batch.

Danny sighed with relief as the cool water washed over his dirty arms. They always seemed to be so dry and itchy these days. Danny waited for a moment until he was sure his fellow workers were washing up before he did the same. He sloshed it over his forearms and wrists, trying to get the dirt out from under his nails. He even went to wash up his elbows, though he stopped as his fingers skidded across the surface.

Slowly Danny turned his arm over to get a closer look at his elbow. While he had been expecting it to be dry and cracked, perhaps even a case of eczema, what he saw was far from anything anticipated. The skin was not dry from irritation, but by its very nature. The tiny human skin cells had regrouped into much larger patches, taking on a purplish blue hue. The raised bumpy sections were relatively even and almost geometrical, like scales... the scales of his co-workers.

The anthropologist froze, looking back into the trough below him as the water slowed and stilled, the ripples fading away. Another wave of shock ripped through Danny as the face looking back at him was different than he remembered; his eyes had discolored, turning from blue to a greenish yellow. His cheekbones were darker with the same purplish blue coloring, and his ears seemed abnormally flat. Even his nose was odd, wider and his nostrils more like slits.

The air in Danny's chest felt trapped. He slowly raised his head, his panic and terror not immediately visible to the outside world. No one had said anything, not a single one of the lizards. The more he thought about it, the more he panicked. Not a single one of the homes had anything like a mirror either. His cell phone had run out of charge and only his voice recorder was still working. Even the eating implements were wooden or too roughed up. There was nowhere in the pyramid that one could see a reflection, so he hadn't noticed any change until now.

Danny slowly finished washing up, not bothering to dry as he turned to walk back up the path toward the houses. He knew there was only one way to get an honest answer, one way to understand what was going on. Gabe would know if he was hallucinating or if the fungus had just triggered something in the moment. Daniel stepped up out of the recessed area and back onto the road.

"Daniel, my friend, are you leaving so soon? We usually share a drink after dealing with such things." One of the lizards said, running his clawed hands along his crest of red feathers. His eyes gleamed like emeralds, his fiery orange and red scales practically those of a dragon. Danny opened his mouth to try and speak but nothing came out. A single tear leaked from his eye before he broke into a sprint, desperate to get back to some semblance of truth, to figure out if he was losing his mind or not. Gabe was the only person he could trust.

****

Danny's feet kicked up dirt as he ran full force, smelling the ancient soil and stone trapped beneath the pyramid for ages untold. A hot tear ran down his face as he tried to come to grips with everything that was happening... His rough skin, his golden eyes, his disfigured tongue... There was no way that he'd be accepted back into society now. Aapo's plan had been to kidnap him all along, to remake him. Danny bolted through the flap of the hut and rounded the corner before he skidded to a stop in shock, the lizards had already beaten him home. One tall, golden crested lizard was standing in the center of the room already. Daniel grabbed a hold of the nearest chair and swung it at the intruder.

"Holy shit, Danny, stop!" The lizard grunted, blocking the chair with his green scaled forearm. The wood furniture shattered into splinters raining down, but Danny was left dumbfounded. The voice was unmistakable.

"Gabe?" Danny whispered softly, stumbling backward until he nearly tripped against the wall, "They got you too? When?" he asked, looking at the behemoth. Gabor was nearly seven and a half feet tall, his scales meticulously interlocked. The frills along his head extended into golden feathers that complimented the almost teal hue of his reptilian skin. His teeth were sharp and clean, and his tattoos had shifted from black to almost silver with the transformation.

"It wasn't so much as they got me as..." Gabe hesitated before sighing, wringing his clawed hands nervously, "well, I was born here. I'm a son of Quetzalcoatl." Gabe replied finally.

"We've known each other for three years... All that time..." Danny replied in disbelief. Gabor nodded.

"I've been away from home for a long time, I left in 2012." Gabe replied. The words echoed in Danny's head as an every more suspicious look crossed his face, bordering on angry.

"You've got to be kidding me... All the years I had to explain to people that the 2012 apocalypse was a hoax, that it wasn't even as scary as Y2K with people having to add another digit to the long calendar..." Danny trailed off. Gabe ran clawed fingers through his feathered frill nervously.

"Yeah, it had more significance than that. It was a calculation of when our population would become unsustainable, so we had to be brave and head out into the world, find people that could help us survive." Danny was incredulous, though his academic brain never turned off.

"Gabor means God's Bravest Man..." Daniel murmured. Gabor grinned again and nodded.

"Not all of us can shift, for most it's a permanent thing. The few that can change headed out into the world." Gabor replied. Danny was trembling by that point.

"But why me? Why just me, why not groups of people to help?" Danny asked. Gabor moved up, his clawed hand rising to rest against Danny's cheek as he looked deeply and intently into his friend's eyes.

"You respect our people, our culture..." Gabor whispered, his eyes seeming to catch the light more than ever. The tiniest flecks and imperfections of color in them were magnified, making it seem like glass over metal flake in intensity that Danny was drawn into. A forked tongue slipped over Gabor's scaly lips as he continued, "You don't live in fear or doubt, and you don't desecrate the past. You're perfect..." Gabor whispered, the very sharpest tips of the claws pressing into Daniel's skin. A wave of peace and euphoria started to wash over the researcher, though his shock and doubt was a hard poison to wash away.

Danny felt lost in the moment, unable to look away from those eyes, feeling so discordantly alright. He swallowed weakly, looking into those eyes, feeling that caress and touch. The misguided erection in his loin cloth returned, pushing the fabric out of the way, revealing the swollen and elongated member, already taking on an unusual bluish hue. Gabor's grin only grew wider , though he refused to break eye contact. He continued to gaze into Danny's soul, feeling Danny become more comfortable with it all.

"Why me?" Danny whispered, still so lost and isolated beneath his academic shell. He loved cracking jokes, he loved having the answer, but everything had dwarfed his understanding of the world. Gabor smiled wider and leaned closer.

"Like I said, prof, you're perfect." he whispered before he brought his lips to Danny's. Danny's eyes finally slipped shut and his mouth opened, accepting the long, alien tongue inside. Gabor's chest puffed up as he began tonguing his friend's mouth, taking his claws from his cheek and putting them on the anthropologist's bare hip instead. He caressed and rubbed the flesh there, feeling it roughen up more. All of Daniel's skin had toughened during his stay, paving the way for scales. Gabor broke the kiss, "And you'll only get better." It took some long moments for those words to make their way into Daniel's brain, as if his skill had already thickened too.

"W-wait... This is so... Why?" he was so confused and bewildered by the whole situation that he didn't even know what to say. "How?" his fingertips caressed the roughened scaly skin of his elbow, and a long shiver travelled through his spine; with an idle thought, he wondered if his tailbone had already started extending. "I... I don't..."

"Come on Danny, you've been preparing for this for years. You know the area, the customs... It's what you were born for." Gabe whispered, leaning in to slowly lick along the edge of Daniel's cheek, feeling the texture changes and tasting his subtly different scent. Gabe was finding it difficult to restrain himself in light of such changes, but he wanted to be a good guide to his friend. Daniel shivered again, as his eyes rolled in the back of his head: he couldn't deny that the whole situation was great; Gabe was hot, even as a lizard man, the life among the descendants of Kukulkan was an endless source of new and exciting discoveries, and... for a moment his mind went back to the sexual intercourse between the two young reptile boys, their thick dicks and the almost endless streams of yellowish sperm, and his cheeks reddened. Still, it was too weird, too otherworldly for his mind to accept.

"You... b-but why you never s-said anything?" he asked as he felt the skin of his neck pricking. "Y-you could have... asked..."

"Could I?" Gabe murmured, moving to press his groin to Danny's, grinding against him, "What if you'd seen a blond hispanic boy and he'd come up to you on that first day of school and said, 'Hi, I'm a secret son of an ancient lizard race. I'd love to fuck you until you're just like me. Are you game?'" Gabe smirked, a hand sliding around Danny's back, massaging his spine. Daniel did his best to smile, despite the maelstrom of conflicting sensation that was burning like the hot South American sun right inside his chest.

Y-yeah... I guess it would've been a bit weird," he mused. "B-but... Still, you can't... you can't just go around changing people like that, Gabe." He tried to sound at least a bit strict, but what came out of his mouth was barely more than a murmur.

"Do you remember that class we had together..." Gabe said, a hand drifting around Danny's abdomen, sliding down to his groin, rubbing and groping and fondling, "It was about cultural appropriation and imperialism. What's right for one culture can be wrong for another, what's necessary, what's easy... Your culture has an overpopulation problem, and mine doesn't have enough. Besides, it isn't like we're spreading disease or enslaving anyone... You'll enjoy this, I'm sure." Gabe grinned, nibbling Danny's ear which seemed surprisingly more sensitive and somewhat smaller than it had been before.

With every touch, with each passing moment, Danny's change was accelerating. The scale coloration on his skin was becoming more intense, and his features were shifting in a much more fluid pace. His ears were shrinking, his hair was looking a bit more sparse, and his fingernails were growing almost by the centimeter. Danny looked at his hands, and his eyes went wide for a moment.

"Why... it's not hurting?" he asked, more to himself than to Gabe. "I mean, it's... quite the big change, huh?" The young scholar shook his head. "I... I'm glad you want me, Gabe, but... I don't... I don't think I can go on with this, it's... it's too much..." The words seemed to stun Gabor as he moved, looking into Danny's eyes. Gabor's irises looked like liquid honey, glinting and glittering in the pink light.

"It isn't just that I want you, which I do... I have since the moment I saw you. Your brain, your body, the perfect package..." Gabe whispered, wrapping his clawed hands around Danny's member, stroking up and down slowly. He felt it plumping, growing longer, shifting in his hands. He knew how far it had to go. Gabor smiled, "But it's that we need you to save our species, to allow our way of life to continue, to preserve a culture against the ravages of time." Gabe whispered. Danny gulped, increasingly incapable of resisting the intense physical stimulation.

"W-well... that sounds appealing..." he conceded. The scholar in him was all about saving that secretive and incredible culture, after all... and logically, the best way to do that was to become part of it.

"Can you see it, Danny?" Gabe whispered, coming around behind the changing human, pressing his scaly, smooth, muscled chest to Daniel's toughening back, "Standing tall and proud as one of us, your tail swaying behind you, your claws digging into the ancient soil, feeling the animal urges and a culture more ancient than any you've known co-mingling?" Gabor asked. His hand moved quickly but with purpose, like a sculptor honing his work. Danny's cock was surging in length, the mushroom shaped tip forgotten as it extended into a proud point. Bumps and ridges were forming along the shaft, firm against a meaty shell, giving tactile points of pressure and friction and heat. The young adventurer grinned, showing teeth that were decidedly pointier than some minutes before.

"W-well... do you... think I'll be as hot and sexy as you are?" he asked, caressing Gabor's muzzle, staring at him with desire and longing. "Please, Gabe... kiss me. I want to kiss you again... while I..." Danny panted, his tongue a bit longer, a bit darker.

"Believe me, they'll be asking themselves how I landed such a hunk..." Gabor murmured, moving back around to stand before Danny, nearly growling in delight at the sight of him. His pectorals had started to take on a bluish purple tinge and the hair down the center of his head was stiffer, stronger, defying gravity a bit. Gabe moved in to kiss his friend eagerly, pulling him chest to chest.

Daniel rubbed his body against Gabe's, at first a bit hesitantly, then with more and more passion. It was a weird sensation, different from what he had expected: he would've imagined such a change to make his body throb and feel all tingly and warm... but it was actually a much more harmonious sensation, like immersing his own body into a cool, crystalline mountain creek. With a small yet pleasant shiver, he wrapped his arms around Gabe's body, pulling him a bit closer.

"Come here, you sexy reptile," he jested, and his tongue flickered from outside his lips for a brief moment. That display alone made Gabe groan with lust and desire. For so long had he been dreaming of changing his friend, bringing him into the fold and it was finally happening... More than that, though, Gabe was hoping for something more... That Danny would go that extra step and imprint on the one that had made him. It was a lot to hope for, but it was the culmination of every fantasy. Daniel kept rubbing his changing body against Gabe's sexy, flawless physique, brushing his extending face against his muzzle, and kissing his smooth, thin lips; the more he did that, the more the pleasure of that whole situation became intense.

Gabor's hands moved up and down Daniel's abdomen, feeling the muscles shifting and growing firmer, almost like clay beneath a sculptor's hands. The reptile drew his hands lower, starting to stroke Daniel's member. The shaft was already hardening and lengthening, but Gabor's claws wrapped around it and started to stroke. Danny moaned suddenly, breaking the kiss, his back arching. Gabor only jerked the rod off more, watching blood pool and rush into the meat, making it harden and lengthen more than it ever had before. With each pump of Danny's heart, his changing shaft became more purple, surging outward. Tiny bumps formed, developing into ridges just like the lizards beneath the pyramids.

"Can you feel it, Danny? A good lizard needs a good member, something to show off his masculinity and fertility, to signal to everyone how potent he is... and look how big your groin is getting, such a sexy male." Gabor whispered. Danny looked down helplessly, gasping and moaning, watching Gabor stretch his rod like taffy. Each draw of his hand added inches in length and girth both, but something else was happening too.

While not as intentional, every time Gabor's hand came slamming down on the root of Daniel's huge cock, he squished the human's balls. At first they got puffy and irritated from the attention, but then the biological changes started to take hold. While his testicals were growing larger and more complex, just like his cock, Daniel could feel a strange void inside his pelvis, as if a vacuum was opening up. His plump balls began to draw up in his sack, pulling through a tight ring of interior muscle before they situated inside in their new home. The excess skin from his sack started to toughen at once, turning bluish green and covering with scales and the sack retracted tighter and tighter against the body, hugging his taint and pulling tight against his cock until he was smoothe and refined.

"Gabe... Oh god, Gabe, I'm so big..." Danny drunkenly moaned. Gabor grinned deeply at that, his other hand drifting down to start tracing around the base of Daniel's big reptile cock.

"You're really big, and every big lizard needs a nice deep slit, juicy and hot and deep. Can you feel it starting? Can you feel it forming?" Gabor whispered.

"What do you mean? What kind of sli-" Danny froze as Gabe exerted some strength and pushed on his big, plump, purple cock and four inches slid back into his body, causing a gush of fluids to run out down his legs before the cock emerged fully again. Danny hadn't even felt it at first, but there was a deep passage running up into his hips, a slit and a tube to hold his member when it wasn't in use. He was becoming just like Gabor, just like the others, and that powerlessness turned him on so much more.

Daniel was panting and shaking in lust and shock and pleasure mixed together in a potent cocktail. His tongue flicked out of his lips, but even that was changing. The taste buds were more defined and there was a dent in the front of the tongue, the sides wriggling independently before the dent crept back into a full forked split. Even with the fear of losing himself, Daniel didn't want that moment to end, he couldn't bear the idea of being separated from Gabe... as he rested his chin on his best friend's shoulder for a moment, he sighed contentedly as his spine started pulsing and creaking painlessly.

Gabe grinned at that, running clawed hands down Danny's back. He could feel it there, beneath the surface... Slithering, growing, shifting. It was like a serpent in the grass, waiting to emerge. Gabe's pointed phallus dribbled a bit of extra thick spunk before he was momentarily overwhelmed. Gabor moved and licked and gently bit Danny's neck, humping against him, feeling his friend change. The bluish green scales were spreading across Danny's skin, his ears were starting to diminish into his head, his jaw and nose were creaking and popping as the muzzle extended a bit further. The human was being reformed into the perfect mate, and it was driving Gabe wild.

It had been hard to detect any flaw in Gabor's glamour, his human disguise, but the signs were there for Danny now. The lizard man was blushing, pouring out an earthy lusty musk, his shaft aching to be buried in a worthy lizard ass - and it was almost as if Danny's body was in a hurry to become just that destination. The almost former human licked the side of Gabe's muzzle, and an innocently malicious smile appeared on his mouth.

"So... care to show me how two lizards men mate?" he grinned again, shaking his butt sensually. "Since that time I saw those two younglings going at it, my curiosity is burning..."

"Almost, it's almost time my mate, but first you have to taste me, my bounty." Gabor whispered. Danny almost whimpered, pulling off Gabor like reluctant velcro. He turned around to face his partner, his subordinate, now his equal. Gabe, too, was transfixed. Daniel's face had pushed out into a proto muzzle, his nose melting into the slopes of the extending jaw, his hair giving way to rubbery nubs that would soon grow into full frills. His face was like a tie dye painting with streaks and swirls of metallic bluish green.

Gabor reached out with a clawed finger, rubbing Daniel's chin. Gabe took a hold of his achingly hard member and gave it a few strokes before a finger collected some of his slit juice and rubbed it over the tip of the shaft. Danny couldn't hold back, moaning before he fell to his knees and moved in. Gabor gasped as the hot wet mouth closed around his shaft and started taking in more. The reptile grabbed onto the researcher's head with both hands and started egging him back and forth, letting him take him deeper and faster.

Every fiber of Daniel's being was getting lost to the change. The flavors exploding in his mouth were outstanding, but nothing compared to the texture. It was as if he'd been empty his entire life and he'd finally found the piece he had been missing. Had he even been gay before? Danny didn't know, but he didn't care. He sucked and slurped and drew deep - and then he tasted it. There was a sudden gush of super salty, super earthy, almost glue like precum. It stuck to his fangs and his forked tongue, but by instinct the forked tongue pushed some into the newly formed sensory organ at the roof of his mouth.

Daniel's eyes suddenly dilated, the black part taking up almost the entire eye. When the black pulled back, the edges were reptilian and greenish. All he could taste, smell, see or feel was Gabor. He started sucking with renewed pleasure, suckling on the shaft in his mouth and getting a few more potent squirts of cum down his throat. Gabor, too, moaned in delight, watching his lover change. There was a guilty pleasure of doing this to him, but Gabor wanted more. Gabor tried to pull out, though Daniel growled at him and followed after the groin his face was attached to. Gabor grunted and grabbed both sides of Danny's head, pushing him off the cock. There was a flick of the meat, a string of cum connecting the changing human's proto muzzle to the long purple sexual weapon before him.

"A good lizard knows when to get fucked." Gabor whispered, grabbing onto Danny's hips, pivoting him around. A hand slid down Daniel's spine, feeling the changes ready to burst through, but the lizard had something else in mind first. The meaty cheeks of Danny's ass were pulled apart and the hot, pointed tip began pushing against his sphincter, knocking at the door to a much deeper passage.

Daniel's eyes went wide and watery as Gabe's rod pushed inside his anus and his pucker slowly but surely gave in. His body started shifting around, until the pain of the sudden penetration was replaced with pleasure and an odd but satisfying sensation of fullness and completeness. The young scholar started moving up and down, feeling the pointy lizard dick brush against his prostate and giving him all the bliss he needed.

A hiss came from Gabe's lungs as he felt the sweet spot already. His hips started to gyrate, thrusting back and forth, picking up speed. The pointed tip of the reptile cock was like a surgical instrument, hitting the prostate over and over again, trying to bring Danny to new heights. He could feel his boyfriend changing around him. His ass was getting meatier, his hips rounder, his back thicker and stronger before there was a sudden sloshing of flesh, the scales crackling and splitting just long enough for something to emerge from within. Between the tailbone growth before and the new segmentation of his spine, a long and luxurious, though somewhat whip like, tail emerged and slapped Gabor across the chest. Gabor gasped in delight, watching as Danny's back knit itself together again, leaving the thickening tail outside. With a firm grip, Gabor grabbed Danny's tail and gave it a good yank, pulling him tighter around his lizard cock, fucking his friend harder.

Daniel panted as thick saliva dripped from the corners of his now longer muzzle. His mouth let out a soft hissing noise before it found Gabe's lips and kissed them deeply, his more limber and dexterous tongue caressing his boyfriend's fangs and tasting his warm, welcoming palate. He could feel an intense yet still undefinable sensation building inside his abdomen, like a tiny seed getting ready to crack and unleash a powerful, mighty tree.

Gabor loved how flexible Danny was now, able to whip his head right around. He dug into those hips with his claws and fucked with all his might, the cock driving deeper and deeper, plunging into his hottest depths. The tail extending from Danny's back was bulking out, gaining muscle and flesh. Gabor was panting and drooling into the kiss, washed away in the magic of it all. It was happening, Danny was becoming his slut and he had tamed that brilliant genius of a man.

Thickened droplets of drool rained down from Danny's muzzle, splattering on the ground. His thickening claws dug into the dirt, his muscles flexed, the pigment in his scales darkened. It was almost as if each piston of the cock up his changing ass pushed more reptile into him, but even without Gabor it was already too late for his human self. The food had changed him, the crystal light had changed him, the society had changed him and now he was one of them. Danny hissed and writhed, his tail slapping around Gabe's chest as he was filled and the heat inside him grew ever larger, ever more potent.

Gabor's eyes were squeezed shut but he forced them open, looking at the back of Daniel's head, watching the humanity fade. The last few strands of hair fell away, leaving only the thickening rubbery frills of the reptile kin in a mohawk like crest. His ears were gone, flat against the head, leaving only sensory tissue in its place. His nostrils were slits on a very dignified muzzle and his shaft was most potently reptile, aching and pointed and furiously purple.

The more experienced of the two reptiles reached around, stroking the aching phallus of his lover, trying to bring him the rest of the way there. It had been a fiery passion that brought Gabor to dominate his friend, but there was more now. He felt a kinship to his friend, a responsibility over his well being. He jerked Danny off and the dormer human let out a loud, almost ear piercing screech of pleasure. His prostate throbbed, his cock pulsed and a few quick squirts of ivory cum erupted from his shaft. It was a little underwhelming at first, but then Danny realized what that growing heat had been.

As it blossomed within Danny's loins and swept up toward his cock head with blinding speed, as the waves of golden orgasm flooded his brain, Daniel knew that first pitiful volley was but the last of his human sperm being ejected from his body. As the heat finally reached his urethra, it came out in a beautiful fountain of yellowed lizard sperm, pouring out with an unrivaled thickness. His body spasmed and shuddered with pleasure, but this only stimulated Gabor all the more.

Feeling his friend orgasm, having those muscles quiver around his rod, it was too much for the green behemoth. He leaned against Danny's back and let out a long, building hiss of pleasure as his warm, internal testicals emptied out their bounty. One long, enduring thick jet of hot spunk began pumping up into Danny, filling him with more and more sperm. Danny wriggled and moaned at the fire hose like pressure, but it filled him figuratively and literally with such a sense of contentment. The two basked in the pleasure, leaning scale to scale, having crossed over the threshold and entered into a brand new kind of life.

****

The air was rich with the scents and sounds of a celebration, one that the community had been preparing for over quite a long time. The heavy drum beats were rapid, accompanied by strings and woodwinds into a festive jive that made almost every clawed foot tap along. Bubbling cauldrons of hearty, spicy Caldo soup were dipped into by hungry party goers and plates full of tamale like Poch were sampled as everyone went about taking it all in, though the purpose of the celebration was easy to see.

Near the center of the activities a small stage like platform had been set up, allowing a select few to receive the place of honor. It was there, perched on the platform, that Daniel stood surrounded by three more males, each armed with a calabash bowl of pigment. Daniel's bluish green scales were further enhanced by intricate tribal lines of metallic purple and royal canary blue. It was true his new scales were tougher and firmer than skin, but he still felt the paint on his body - more like pressure and differences in heat, but still sensitive. Gabor grinned a wide, fang filled grin as he moved up the steps, his tail swinging haughtily behind him.

"There's the man of the hour, the newest son of Quetzalcoatl." Gabe grinned.

"I think we've established by now that the origins are more with Kukulkan, but you already know that." Danny smirked, closing his eyes as his eyebrows were painted.

"That may be so, but I'll never forget your expression when you were taking it all in... Or how the experiences shaped you." Gabor replied. Danny was quiet for a moment, his eyes still shut. It was true. The experiences HAD changed hi, remolded him. He'd become more tolerant, more receptive to men, and even a harder worker when it came to manual tasks... and more submissive. Even out in the open, surrounded by people and distractions, he ached to be in Gabor's grasp, to be at his whims.

"So what happens next?" Danny asked, opening his eyes. Gabor looked almost surprised at that.

"We, uh, at leaast the ones that can transform, they need to go out into the world and bring more back to join us." Gabor whispered. Danny nodded gently, looking down at his painted arm before he looked back at his mate.

"And how did you discover you were able to hide yourself as human?" Danny asked. Gabor reached up,a claw scratching the back of his scaly scalp.

"It started with a vision quest into the jungle... And then practice." Gabe replied. Danny gave a furtive smile and a nod.

"Then before your next mission, can you teach me what I need to know to try?" Danny asked. There was a movement in the crowds as the elder approached.

"You are in a hurry to leave us?" Aapo asked, a hint of concern leaking into his otherwise restrained voice. Danny shook his head.

"Even though you did say if you showed me your ways that I would have that right, it isn't that." Danny replied softly, "I don't want to be without Gabor, but if I can't blend in, if I can't help him on his task, what if it's another three years before he comes back to me? How can I be a good mate then?" Danny asked. Gabor moved over and pulled Danny into his arms, leaning in for a tilted head, muzzle interlocked kiss. It lasted for some time before finally Gabe pulled back.

"I won't let it be that long, I won't ever leave you like that." Gabor replied.

"Gabor, we have a destiny, a need to serve our people." Aapo replied.

"I know, and that's why I'll make sure Danny is ready for his spirit quest. If he has the power, can you imagine what the two of us could accomplish as equals? It would be many, many more sons for our nation." Gabor replied. Aapo was still for a moment, his brain calculating and contemplating before finally he gave a short nod of his head.

"Then this party is not merely for welcoming Daniel to our community, but to celebrate his right of ascension!" Aapo called out. There were many more whoops and hollers of excitement as the music picked up in intensity, but daniel only gazed at Gabe with love before once more they kissed. The shell of educator and assistant or even best friends fell away, leaving two souls that cared a great deal for one another. The future was mysterious, but together they most certainly had a chance.