Go back direction you came
Your feet seemed to take you along on their own, without you even needing to think, you ended up walking down the path where you had initially come from. Past bristling branches hanging low in your vision, and the heavy thud of your paws against dusty ground as you kick up the soil behind you. Tiny pebbles scratched at the thick fur around your ankles as the energy of your body almost seemed to double, as the wings on every one of your four taur ankles sprouted to carry you even faster away from the falling kingdom.
Without even looking back you had dropped your previous life to go live out in the forest, where you come across a band of bandits.
“Oh no not this again.” You say to yourself, shrugging as you begin to pick up your guard, creeping quietly closer to the camped out members of their traveling party. You notice a dog in the background, barking and tugging at a chain not far away. “Darn it!” You say to yourself as you hear the high pitched, repetitive, and shrill sounds of the dogs vocalizations.
Slowly, the others begin to approach, to check out the sound as you crouch behind your hiding place. Without even thinking, you instinctively pad the ground before whipping your taur body, clenching your sensitive glands, and spraying a thick mist of your smelly substance onto the two approaching young men. In a quick motion you leap upon your enemies, skillfully attacking and disabling them long enough to distance yourself.
Upon beating up a few more of the bandits, the leader of the group steps out of the caravan.
“Wait!” they announce, as they wave a stern hand, gesturing them to cease. He steps out and approaches you, looking you over suspiciously. “I know who this is.” your heart sank as you realized you were quite the notorious player. “Why are you here princess? Where are your guards?” you think to yourself for a moment before taking a breath and playing it cool.
“I’ve come here to join you actually.” You say to them, a stern yet stoic appearance on your face. “That's why I’ve arrived with no defenses, now let me join you or else I’ll beat you all like that.” you prepare your spray once more; the most toxic defense. Without a doubt they immediately accepted you, understanding your value as an source of intel, as well as for the addition of your putrid weapons system.
Over the years of your bandit escapades you develop a close bond with the leader of the bandits. Even earning the privilege of riding atop the caravan itself, as the leader drove the head cart. Your happiness knew no bounds as you experienced a life much more free than what you were used to. Though happy endings don’t last forever; during one particularly intense battle, he was injured. When they bled out, you were there to tend to their wounds, but despite that, it festered.
When the leader had fallen ill and passed on you were right there by their side to help them along. And even after they had left you alone, you weren’t truly alone; a simple box, encrusted with diamond jewels, with gold flaked corners forming an opulent cube. A letter attached ‘Open when you need to escape.’ was written in eloquently constructed cursive scribe.
Needless to say, you inherited their legacy, now the new leader of the caravan of bandits. As one of the best leaders in history, you found yourself succeeding the previous leader by a longshot, as you not only increased the group’s size and power, but also their ability to function as separate states. And sooner or later you end up falling into the same governmental patterns as your previous life had forced you in. You couldn’t help but enjoy it.
You happily live your life out as a veteran in your field, granted a nice cottage in your retirement- mere leftovers from your mighty reign of the underground. Having moved into a gigantic house all to yourself, the mundane tasks of life after what felt like several lifetimes taking life by your own hands. A wave of curiosity came over you as you decided to finally open the box given to you from the previous boss. Having steeped long enough in your new reality, your soul seeked something new and adventurous to discover in the name of your old partner.
Prying open the door, you discovered a plethora of dust and spider webs. Coughing and wheezing, you brushed away the final layers of dust and reopened old memories of you in your glory days. What you had revealed from within the box was absolutely radiant- almost glowing as you revealed the neatly folded up skins of another transformation outfit.
Having lived this life for so long you had almost forgotten what it was like to experience another transformation; this had excited you. Your eyes lit up as you imagined what would be in store for you next, as you began slipping the cool smooth furs over your faded greyish black skunk-fur. A deep throbbing heartbeat resonated throughout your chest as you felt your body begin to change once again.
You close your eyes and let yourself get engulfed in the next transformation, pushing you even farther on your journey.
Written by Driftingdragon on 20 March 2020
The end (for now)