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Chris layed on the forest floor near the river, asleep. His mind plagued with nightmares of his wings shrinking awayand his paws becoming totally useless hooves. He then heard a voice him his nightmare "You shouldn't have gone back into town, you were not safe there. You need to go back, be wary, it is time.". Chris awoke in a cold sweaat. The morning sun already shining on him through the canopy of trees that is slightly parted by the river. Chris looked around, his heart beating fast, his bosy still in pain, no it is a lot worse than it was yesterday. Something was wrong.

Chris looked down at his hands. He watched as the skin on them darkened in some place. The same was happening to his socked feet. His chest itched like mad, boiy was it bad. Chris didn't even bother to pull off his shirt, instead his ripped it off to see lots of white hairs sprouting from it. It was happening, the changes that he was told about and saw on Cecil and Alex. I got out a small mirror to see that his face too was taking on some makrings, marking that were very familiar indeed. Chris looked down his sides and back the best he could to see that stripes were darkening in on his skin. "Could this be true? Could this be me finally realizing my life's dream, and becoming a dragon?" The markings looked to be almost exactly like those of the dragon he saw himself to be in dreams and during meditations. Chris's excitment grew. Finally, after all these years, he was becoming his true self in body. The things that puzzled him were the white hairs that continued to grow from centerline of his chest and neck, as well as the markings on his hands. He always thought his had pale palms with black paw pads, guess his palms and pads were to be a pale, almost white colour, or perhaps even pinkish. Chris soon found himself rubbing his wrists and the back part of his palms near the wrists. White hiars seemed to sprout from them too. Maybe he would have some fluff on his paws like some eastern dragons. The base of his spine itched too, which didn't alarm Chris since his true form had mane on the head, neck, and tail tip. The hair on Chris's head grew longer and more wild, and extended down the centerline of his neck. He took the hair band out and ran his fingers through the growing mane. He seemed to enjoy the changes at first, but this wouldn't last. His neck popped and crackled as it lengthened a tad. The ears grew longer and became pointed. He felt over the ears as they moved up the sides of his head slowly. Chris couldn't wait till he was able to move them.

Something unexpected started to happen. The tips of his fingers, thumb, and toes started to feel strange. Chris quickly brought his hands down in front of his face. "I'm starting to develop claws and paw pads!" Chris said aloud and very excited. His excitement soon turned to horror as his watched the nails darken a bit and grow thicker. The way the nails thickened up was not the right shape for claws. What is worse, parts of his finger and thumb tips were becoming hard, and kind of rubbery. The nails grew down to overtake some of his fingertips to meet up and merge with the strange hard rubbery surface of each fingertip. The rubbery surface of the very tips of his fingers soon developed a layer of horn. He felt the same changes happening to his toe tips and nails. They closely resembled hooflits. Chris yelled out at the top of his lungs 'No, no, no! I am a dragon damnit!" Chris cursed and ranted at the Gods for allowing this to happen to him. The feet legnthened, leaving the big toes in place. The other toes moved forward with the middle and ring toes taking the lead over the rest. The socks strained and ripped open slightly. Chris ripped the torn socks off his feet. He clearly recognized them as the beginnings of hooves, most likely cloven hooves.

"Hooves! No, no! This isn't right!" Chris said in an extremely vicious voice. Chris leaned forward and winced as his tailbone really started to hurt badly. He slid the pants and underwear down. He unbuckle the belt as a lump formed as the base of his spine where the thick white and black hairs had been growing from. It wasn't quick enough for Chris so he ripped his pants to get them off much faster, then threw them aside. Chris layed on his side. The tailbone uncurl and extended outward, taking new skin and flesh with it. He could feel it start to squirm and move on its own. Black stripes developed on the top of the new tail with a tuft of mane on the end. It kind of remembed Chris of a zebra's tail. He clinched his fists and snarled. He then found himself holding his face once again.

Chirs heard the bones of his skull crackle and move. A severe migrain wasnt near this bad. The nose broadened and the nostrils enlarged. The upper and lower jaws lengthend forward some. The nose tipped upward when it merged with the upper lip. The bridge of the nose widened to blend in with the rest of the face to form a muzzle. Inside of the muzzle he felt more molars fill in some of the space left by the lengthened jaws. Chris felt a lot of pain in the spaces left just behind his human canine. A set of four small fangs pushed there way through the gums. The front teeth became more squard off. The gums and tongue darkened to a purplish, almost black colour. The pain intesified on his forehead. Chris held his hoof tipped hands over it. Something pushed from beneath the pale hide. Chris could hear his skull crackle as the lump grew larger and stretched the skin. The sharp black tip of the horn finally pushed through the skin. Blood trickled down Chris's face from the torn skin. He grasped the black horn, yelling and bollowing until he felt it stop growing. The thing felt huge. It shouldn't be there.

Chris was so enraged, he no onger cared about the pain. One of the most important things in his life had just been taken away. He yellow, cursed and ranted like a mad man. His bellows sounded very terrifying and sent birds and small animals running and flying away. He tore up the ground around him, broke tree branches, slammed his head into several trees repeatedly. He picked up and threw large rocks that were sitting here and there along the river edge, even slamming some agaisnt his head. Chris looked down at his half forged sworde, picked it up and drove it into a nearby tree, then tried to break it. The blade withstood the onslaught. In his fristration Chris pulled out his knife and began cutting himself across the marking on his hide. He was so enraged that the markings ment for his true form were on some sort of prey animal, and had to be destroyed.

The rage, destruction, and cursing seemed to last for at least two hours before Chris passed out due to exhaustion. He layed naked there on the forest floor with several open self inflicted wounds. Hours later he would awake to start his ranting and rage over again.

Chris did his best to control his rage, but didn't have much luck at it. He was worse than a pissed off bull in a china shop. He drunk some water and tried to eat some berries, bark, and fruit he found in the nearby area. Not long after eating, he felt something go on in his stomach. The food came right back up in his mouth and for a couple seconds he found himself chewing on the half digested food. Chris spit the food out and went back to ranting and cursing. "Cud! Frack you, frack the world and let it all burn!" He let out a loud bellow. Chris was in complete disbelief that the Gods and his spirit guardian would allow this noble dragon to become some stinking useless cud chewing prey animal. Chris just totally broke down after a few minutes of destroying more rocks and dead trees. He curled up and started to cry. Talk about a change for the worst.

Chris looked up to the direction he heard the voice. He couldn't believe he let someone sneak up on him like that. Was it a guard sent to finish the job, someone from the Church come to capture and take him away, or just some peasent out and about? Chris sat up to get a better look. If it was a guard or two, they were going to have the fight of their lives, if it was the Church, they were not going to take him alive. If it was a peasent he would just scare the person off. Actually the mere sight of him would probably be enough for that. Chris picked up his knife and slightly concealed it beneath the leaves, near his hand so he could quickly get to it. Chris called out to challenge whoever it was he heard in a commanding tone of voice. "Come forward and show yourself. Do not attempt to run. Holster any weapons you might have drawn, and you will not be harmed."

Chris looked up at man that stepped out from around the trees and bushes along the river bank. He almost smiled when he saw that it was someone from the world he came from. " Looks like you are not from around here either. For a moment there, I thought you were the guards or someone from the Church come to capture or kill me. They don't like people who are different or independant, nor new ideas around here. People like myself. No they do not. Which is why they are still stuck back in the medievel era." Chris laughed in a crazy sort of way. "As for your question to your location, I am not sure you would believe me if I told you the truth, but I will anyways. To put it bluntly, you are no longer in your town, you are no longer in your country of origin, hell, you are no longer on Earth. You are stuck on this Gods foresaken world called Athlaias. If you do not believe me, just wait until nightfall, and you will not see a nice white moon, like Earth's, but two moons. Oh, and if you are wondering about my horrific appearence, it is something that happens to all of us that are brought here by the Church or their splinter group. After about a month or so we start to change into horrible creatures. Could be some sort of virus, disease, or even something caused by crossing worlds. Then again, with that thought, maybe you should worry because it will be happening to you. Don't bother trying to find a city. There is one several miles away, but they won't take you in. I tried. I even worked for people, was kind to them, I even went and gave them formulas for stronger alloys and corrosion resistant metals, better ways to build structures, but they wouldn't hear it. I even offered the best gift of all, a better way of life, something much better than living under a monarchy and theocracy that was always battling each other for control, I offered them liberty, and I get thrown out for it, and I am possibly being hunted this very moment for it by agents of the Church and King. I didn't even have a single person come to my defense. So frack them all and let them burn." Chris said with some anger in his voice.

"Oh, by the way, my name is Chris. Have a seat and have some fruit and berries I rescently gathered if you will."

Chris smiled. "You could say that this is some sort of joke. Just too bad it isn't one of those TV shows where they play pranks on people, and everything is alright afterwards. This is a very real and sick joke played on people by some group. Like I said about not believing me. Just wait until nightfall and look to the skies. Or, perhaps you would like to settle this right away, and give my tail back here a good tug."

Chris paused for a moment for a response, then spoke again. "As for the others you ask of, they are here and there throughout this horridly thick forest. Oh yes, we have someone that looks like a gryphon, this mean croc wolf guy, and of course fox boy. There are many others too, but those are the three I remember the most."

Chris looked up to him. "Yep, that is true. No home, no shelter, just all living out in the woods. Kind of got thrown out of my home, or should I say, place I was renting while I was saving up to purchase a place of my own. Just too bad I don't have an axe, nor saw." Chris said as his eyes wondered up to the trees.

"I didn't catch your name.I would tell you where the others are, but to tell you the truth, I haven't a clue from here. Then again, I don't even know exactly where I am. I just started walking, and walked in the rier for hours on end so it would be harder to track me."

Chris looked down at himself and saw all the self inflicted wounds on his body, some of them still bleeding. "Oh dear, I really did a number on myself earlier today." He picked up his knife and went to his bag of supplies andgot out some soap. Chris then put the knife into the soft dirt along the side of the river and started bathing himself.

Chris sighed. "Unfortunately, there is no safe place to sleep, nor find shelter, at least around here anyways. I have no shelter, nor tools to build a desent one. Just the metal working tools I used at my job before I got kicked out into this horrible forest. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time I have lived out in the elements. Used to do stuff like this back when I was in Marine Corp ROTC. Just be glad you didn't end up in the freezing tundra or a desert." Chris pauses for a moment "Then again..... Freezing to death would had been a much more merciful way to go instead of becoming some cud chewing cow rather than my true self. I'll probably end up starving to death instead."

Chris's head sunk low. "What's really the point? If I had any idea of this, I would of stood my ground and ordered myself to, like the Marines say in a bad situation when running isn't an option, Die in place. Who knows? I might of been able to take on three guards with my training. At worst I would had went out like a Samurai warrior. I just didn't want to hurt anyone. Yep, that's me. Always too scared to fight, unless commanded to do so." Chris just sat there, staring at himself, his wounds. It appeared all hope and will had left him.

Chris sighed. "Not really the Marine Corps, just ROTC back when I was in school preparing for a military career. I served a few years in the Navy once I graduated, but got kicked out because of a mental disability. I wanted to fly fighters, but that didn't work out. Never got to fly and it looks like I never, ever will. Yes, I do know how to survive, but what is the point? As for helping the needy and such, I think you are referring to a Paladin. A Samurai served a Lord and were virtually fearless. At any given moment, they were ready to give their lives for their Lord and for Honor. At least a good Samurai would."

Chris got up from the water and picked up some torn clothing to dry himself off. "As for the unicorn. I totally doubt it. The horn is the wrong shape and colour. A unicorn has no makrings, but pale, light pinkish hide covered in an irendesent coat of white fur. The hooves are an ivory colour, not dark, and they have a very light build for speed and agility. These markings" Chris pointed at the stripes and other markings on his body that were cut up. " belong to a very noble beast that I was supposed to become. Not some stupid and fat prey animal. Now they are just a mockary, something to torment me with. I guess this is the punishment the Gods decided to give me for being such a failure, to become food for the others. To die a horrid death, instead of with honour. Some fine dragon and warrior I turned out to be."

Chris watched Ryan as he attempted to start a fire. It was just too painful to watch so Chris got back up and started gathering moss, twigs, and some branches and leaves. "Here, let me show you how to make a proper fire. First we gather up some dry wood, leaves, and moss. Then we dig a slight pit and put rocks around it so we don't have to worry about the fire spreading." Chris dug the small pit and placed rocked he found along the river around it. He then went to his back pack and got out some flint to make a spark so the leaves and moss can start to burn. "Get some flint to light it up by knocking the pieces together, and that is all there is to it.If I had some flash light batteries and steel wool, I could show you how to cheat at it. As for the stick thing. It works a lot better with a bow."

Chris sighed. "Yes, I remember it. It was pretty cool. Won't be watching TV period with how backward this world is. They don't even know what a steam engine is, nor any life saving medical proceedures."

"It's alright. Whatever I am becoming, it is weak, pathetic and food for the others. I really wish there were men and white suits coming to take us away. At least I would be safe and wouldn't be changing into a cud chewing dumb animal. Maybe I'll get lucky and lose all my thoughts and memory."

Storm looked at the fire he built "You use a small bow to spin a stick of wood fast against a piece of tender on the ground to produce friction that starts up a fire." Chris closed his eyes as he sat by the fire. Tears streamed down his muzzle as he hung his head low.