Buh-bump. Buh-bump.
Mercutio's attempt to stifle his whimper came very close to failing. Surely by now he'd be accustomed to this, undergoing the transformation almost half a dozen times by this point should've scraped away at least a little uncertainty, even if the idea of being able to physically change from a human being to some strange monster somewhat resembling a feral rat sounded completely absurd. This shouldn't anything more than just a unique style of magic, nothing too far off from simply changing into a different set of clothing. But no, no matter how much Mercutio had psyched himself up for it tonight, that visceral, powerful pump of his heart that signalled his mutations to activate sent nerves awash through his system, the slow building of pain and warmth kept shattering his focus every time he tried to hone it.
Every single 'Buh-bump' of his heart sparked a fuzzy feeling, a feeling he couldn't quite understand, a feeling that grew and grew in power as he felt his clothing shift and tighten across his body, as his feet started to ache, as his hands bubbled before his eyes, as his tailbone started to warp, as his mind started to wander...
Worse still, it wasn't just what he felt that was fuelling this fuzzing feeling, but what he saw. It wasn't just him and Talos that were these mutant things now after all. All around the makeshift campsite surrounding Minerva's tower, figures were clutching themselves and occasionally groaning as their bodies swelled out of their ripping clothes.
Almost every single member of the Emerald Scarves-(save for some less enthusiastic human members awkwardly watching their comrades bulge in size)-had undergone careful training and intentional, willing infection to join Mercutio and Minerva as fellow fully sapient mutants. Most of them took on a rodent-like appearance, like chipmunks, stoats, and even fellow mice and rats, which was slightly odd but Mercutio was still distinct enough for it to not be a big issue.
And though the forms were roughly consistent, the opinions varied quite a bit. Some weren't too pleased that their inner beasts didn't line up with how they imagined themselves, some were very pleased and constantly flexed their inflating muscles to brag endlessly about them. Some were rather sheepish about how ill-fitting their clothes were getting, and blushed with each rip of the seams. Some complained that their super cool gear couldn't stay intact as they outgrew it. Some relished the sense of power the bursting of their outfits gave, seemingly getting really into it with roars and further tearing by hand. One dude even wrenched off whatever was left of his rags and proudly posed in his undergarments, before his girlfriend did the exact same with her own outfit. And then some just swelled up, burst out, and acted like nothing happened, completely unfazed by the ridiculous growth spurts they just experienced.
It was admittedly rather nice to see how well his men had adjusted to not only the shift in command, but the shift in their own physiology. Everyone had accepted this strange new facet of their life like it was a new fashion trend, and they did so not just because the power was enticing, not just because the increase in pay from their new wealthy client, but because they trusted Mercutio, trusted his judgment above all other factors, trusted that if he could thrive with the curse of wild magic, so could they. And the mere thought of such a thing, the idea of that level of faith, it would warm the hearts of any gang leader.
But to Mercutio? It was honestly...a little much. So many bodies warping, bulging, ripping their clothes across rippling flesh was making him feel lightheaded. The sight of the acceptance, the comradery, and the writhing growth was intoxicatingly.... beautiful. The monsters his men were turning into were gorgeous and imposing, imposing in a way that leaves you impressed and a little aroused. The little smirks and sniffles they made. The sensual moans and groans as their bodies crackled and gurgled. And their feet. Oh gods, oh gods above their feet. 'POP'-'PAP'-'PAFF'-'TWANG'-'SNAP', boots, shoes and socks were popping and bursting open like balloons all around him, and the forms that emerged from the rupturing leather and tearing cloth, the soft, bloated, swollen flesh spilling out onto the lovely damp soil, the sight was driving him nuts. Had his goons always been this easy on the eyes? Were they always this... cute? This pretty? This- this- this sexy?!
BUHBUMP-BUHBUMP-BUHBUMP
"AaaaHAAGhhh..."
He needed to sit down. So he found a nearby bench and sat down.
His tailbone made the action slightly uncomfortable though, as it was steadily extending out from his spine and tenting the seat of his trousers. He only had himself to blame for that part, he wanted the tail to come out first since it was always the most alien and queasy part of the transformation. His hands suddenly bubbling and thickening as he plopped his head into them however was not what he wanted. Or, like, maybe it was? Wasn't Dr. Talos in the middle of making some theories on how the mutation operated on the host's desire or something? Like, he wanted something soft to just lay his head in as he struggled to process this junk, so like...did his mutation just cause his hands to swell and soften to allow that? Was it seriously that damn precise? So what, if he just wanted his socks to not pinch so much, then would his toes just suddenly-aaah fuck his left sock just ripped. He felt it, oh boy he felt it. The sock was getting tighter. The threads were snapping. His toes were nuzzling the inside of his boot now, aaaaugh it felt kinda nice, aaaa-
"Yo, this boredom killin' ya too?"
The sudden voice nudged Mercutio back into lucidity, and following the sound of gently clanking metal, he glanced up to see a figure approaching him. It was...her. That blonde haired mercenary woman Dr. Talos had him infect a couple days ago, back when he and the good doctor had just scooped up the stragglers left in the wake of Tybalt's backstabbing and the ensuing schisms. What was her name again? Shiny?
"Oh, u-u-uh, n-no I'm just uuuh... getting changed." Mercutio cleared his throat in response. "Ssshhiiiny...right? The sellsword we brought in?" He knew mercs were almost identical in moral consistency to that of outlaws, so there was no telling what this newbie was planning on doing.
Shiny was the first non-scarf he and Dr. Talos had infected, the first outsider the new group had brought in, the first total stranger Mercutio had recruited in a long while. She was definitely a talented fighter, almost to the level of military skill in fact. But over the course of her time in the gang, Mercutio couldn't help but notice how bizarre her decisions were at times.
For starters, her combat style was clearly agility based much like his, and was so finely crafted that she could basically pick up literally any weapon and wield it like she had been training with the thing her entire life, regardless of weight, stance, or whether or not it actually counted as a weapon. But it often had this 'Bar fight-y' look to it, like even though she clearly knew some very effective techniques, she usually just preferred the most mindless, aggressive, straight-to-the point tactics. On top of that, even though her fighting style benefitted from speed and manoeuvrability, for some dumb fucking reason, she kept wearing that suit of armour of hers. It wasn't the heaviest set he'd seen, but it was still far, far from ideal.
And that's just how she fought, the young thief didn't know where to begin with her social skills. She was almost the complete opposite of human form Talos, constantly antagonizing and mocking anyone she didn't like, joking around with anyone she kinda liked, and if she liked them in a particular way, she'd start getting more...'seductive'. And bloody hell, was that last one particularly abundant among the scarves. Mercutio lost track of how many times he'd seen the lass flirting with both the men and the women of his entourage, and frankly he sometimes wondered if martial labour was the only kind of work she had experience in....
Wait, was she gonna try flirting with HIM-
Shiny meanwhile simply grinned in response. While that cute plague doctor gal was largely the big employer of this pretty fun looking operation, the hundreds of jobs and contracts Shiny had under her belt gave her a special talent for picking out whoever was high up on the command chain in any kind of motely crew, and though she had barely a week's experience with these "Emerald Scarves", she learned quickly that this Mercutio "The Merciless" dude was the one calling most of the shots alongside the client. Honestly, it was kinda hard to believe that this scrawny, mopey buzzkill of a lad was not only the top dog of this particular turf, but also happened to be the one primarily responsible for the wondrous, luxurious, absolutely delectable curse that now writhed and squirmed in her flesh right at this moment. But even though she's heard plenty of his orders, she never actually got the opportunity to really get to know him better. Sure he had helped her get to grips with her new powers during her first few changes, and they've made a bit of small talk from time to time since, but she still knew next to nothing about this guy, or much of the rest of the people here.
Luckily for her, he didn't seem to be preoccupied right now.
"Yup." Shiny nodded. "Bet I'm the first contract killer you guys have met eh?"
"Believe it or not, no." Mercutio smirked, adjusting his posture to look more presentable. "My scarves used to bigger, we had all kinds of mooks even with our 'street thug' rep. Buuuut you know how it goes, typical outlaw falling outs happened left right and centre. So you'll have to forgive me if I'm uh....hesitant to make new connections."
Oof, Shiny could practically taste the venom in those last words. Bad break ups no doubt, bringing them up ought to be a touchy conversation topic. Better to skirt around that and make things more casual. She was dumb, but not oblivious....well, not in this case anyway.
"Well hey, if you know how mercs work, then you know that as long as the food and pay's good, I'll stick around." Shiny winked. "Hell, the food part ain't even a nessesss...neckccessory? Nes...city? Uh-"
"Necessity?" Mercutio raised an eyebrow.
"That one, yeah." Shiny grinned again, before holding out an aching hand. "You're left handed right? Same as the doc?"
Mercutio couldn't help but chuckle a bit. The girl could certainly read people well, he didn't even have his sword hooked into his belt yet and she was still able to tell his dominant arm just from his movements alone. And yet, that brief confusion on the word 'Necessity' had caught his attention. Sure Mercutio had plenty of gaps in his own common knowledge, but something about the pitiful attempts Shiny made to say that word anyway struck him as...rather distracting. Was she just being coy or...or....
"Eh, pretty much, but I'm trying to practice going full ambidextrous." Mercutio bragged, reaching up to shake the hired sword's hand. "But yeah, mostly just the left hand for n-"
However, Mercutio's words skidded to a halt the moment his hand clasped with Shiny's, because what Mercutio gripped felt less like a normal human hand, and more like a roiling, writhing, bubbling mass of meat crudely stuffed inside an increasingly tight glove. Her hand was throbbing, in fact, now that Mercutio paid attention, her whole body was throbbing, pulsing, and bubbling, and Mercutio could even hear crackles and gurgles even from his current position. She was swelling up like dough in an oven, and the expanding flesh was causing the armour to dig into her body. Tightly. She was changing into her beast form, just like Mercutio was trying to do, and she was changing rapidly.
Fortunately it definitely seemed like she was aware, I mean it'd be hard to not notice your body starting to mutate so much. But even her reaction was unorthodox. The sudden groans and whimpers she started to blurt from her intensifying transformation clearly indicated that it was just as painful as any other mutant shift, but her expression wasn't showing discomfort or frustration. No, she was smiling, a full toothy grin that occasionally opened so that the warping, sharpening teeth could comfortably extend. The grin took effort, was clearly strained, and was starting to drool, but it was a genuine smile, not just in spite of the pain, but perhaps partially because of it.
All that swelling, throbbing, crackling and growing, the twisting of the laws of biology Talos kept gushing about, the absolute agony of the human body warping and mutating into nothing short of an animalistic monster, and the strangling of her civilized vestments straining against a body slowly swelling into a form they weren't meant to contain. She wasn't put off by it at all.
She accepted it.
She embraced it.
She liked it.
"Uu-uuh..." Was all that Mercutio could say as the handshake released. He could visibly see Shiny's throbs were synced with her pounding heartbeat, and the sight was causing his own, already pulsing heart to start pumping even harder.
Shiny meanwhile just giggled as her left hand ached and ached more, getting so sore that she had to quickly release the handshake and grip it with her relatively freed right hand. As the gauntlet strained and tightened against throbbing, squirming flesh, Shiny's gaze occasionally darted back and fourth from her mutating limb to the flabbergasted outlaw staring at her. His hurried throat clear and attempts to collect himself clearly weren't born of fear, but of surprise, shock, and what appeared to be fluster. Hmm....those smart-aleck eyes seemed hostile at first, but now they seemed to twinkle with...awe.
He liked what he just saw.
He was trying to hide it clearly, probably wanting to keep this professional, but instincts were prodding at Shiny's psyche, and at her libido. Her tongue slowly slathered itself across her sharpening fangs, her heart pounded in her chest, and wild magic gold sparked in her eyes. The allure of teasing seduction had her in its clutches.
To be perfectly honest...He was kinda cute.
"Mm! T-there uh...room for one more on that bench?" Shiny grunted, her smile turning sheepish as her shoulders rippled. "I-I think this is gonna be a so-O-ORE one-NGH!" As if to accentuate her remark, the mutating arm bunched up thicker and thicker, splits rapidly spreading across the leather of her glove as the rivets in the bracer pinged and popped, the gauntlet straining tighter, tighter, tiiiiighter until with a resounding 'BRRRAAA-AACK-POPTWANG', it burst apart, the bloated, engorged mass that used to be a human forearm erupting from the ripping leather and snapping metal. The thick, meaty paw fingers flexed wide as the darkening claws glimmered from their tips, and Mercutio's eyes were wide with astonishment as a sighing Shiny began to massage her swollen limb in relief, happily watching as a fluffy coat of lovely pearl white fur forced itself out from the reddened skin.
"U-u-uuh...y-yeah, sure, I can scootch..." Mercutio nodded as he meekly shuffled to make some space on the bench. His distrustful outlaw side chastised him for such a blatant lower of his guard, yet something else inside, presumably the same thing that compelled him to scoot, it didn't mind. It wanted to see were this was going, to be polite to this person Mercutio barely knew. Was it curiosity? Fear? Respect for her boldness or....something else?
CLUNK
Whatever it was, it welcomed Shiny as she plopped herself down beside him, her armour clanking loudly from the impact. And with her in such close proximity, with all of that writhing, rippling, bulging flesh in much more detail, with that unapologetic smile on her face so clearly visible, it struck something deep within the young thief.
Something that made his cheeks start to burn ever so slightly.
Shiny meanwhile giggled as she felt the fur start to slowly spread up her arm, straining the armour even more as her flesh puffed out thicker. Fuuuck, the suit was strangling her, it was pinching so tight it was starting to hurt. It felt like she was going to explode. Her whole body was pumping and pumping and pumping, and she could feel the wild magic writhing, slithering, squirming inside her, forcing her organs to swell as her heart pounded and pounded.
Shiiit, this was a really strong shift. She might've underestimated how sore this could end up being. She was gonna get huge this time, bigger than any of her first few changes, she just knew it. Double shit, she was kinda nervous about that. She's only had this stuff for about what, a week? She didn't know what the height limit was, or if she'd be able to stay lucid during it, knowing her bullshit luck anything was possible. But fuck...fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuck, it felt so, so, so GOOD. The ecstasy, the power, the stimulation, it was suffocating how much it was turning her on. It took everything in her power to not suddenly start moaning and groaning with glee, not because it didn't feel right, but mainly cause the Scarf leader was like, right there. She knew she was charming, and knew he seemed to be hiding his own arousal, but if she started touching herself right then and there, no amount of cute smiles would fix that ruined first impression. It kinda sucked, like her crotch was burning and throbbing like mad, but she didn't want to disgust the guy by acting like a horny mess right in front of him. She had to have some semblance of standards, even if she didn't quite know what the word 'semblance' meant and just used it cause others used it. She had to show some level of professionalism, even if everyone here was a straight-up criminal. She had to at least present herself as someone Mercutio could...could...could enjoy being around. He was....fuck he was really, really cute...
Hmm....to be fair, Shiny was about to burst out of her clothes soon, and with Mercutio so close to her, he'd see every. Single. Detail. And even though she'd be covered in fur, she'd still technically be exposing herself somewhat, showing off a lot of fuzz-coated skin in the process. Surly it couldn't hurt to maybe...flex her swelling limbs a bit? Bunch up those beefy muscles? Splay herself out in a sensual yoga pose? Maybe even spread her toes a bit once they burst through her shoes and socks? That one always got her hot and bothered. Though, feet were mainly her fetish, and some people even loathed the sight of the appendages full stop, for some reason, so it wasn't a guarantee that Mercutio would be into it like Shiny was. Then again, those brown eyes of his kept briefly darting to her throbbing boots on very quick occasions, so perhaps maybe a liiiittle bit of toe wiggling couldn't hurt-
Crack-crack-CRUNCH
"AUGH!" Shiny suddenly cried out, arching back as the sudden shifting of her spine yanked her train of thought off its tracks and threw it across the sky. Her cries then intensified as her body gurgled and violently puffed out, straining and stretching her armour so tightly that the inner cloth started to split, with large, ragged rips and holes bursting open across her arms, legs, and torso, exposing chunks of thick squishy skin.
Meanwhile, the sudden, very sickening crackles startled Mercutio out of his reluctant focus, and as his own body began to swell and pulse, straining his clothes, all he could spout in response to such was a spluttering: "YEOARGH-" before sternly clearing his throat and trying again. "You uh...you okay?"
In spite of intense eruption, Shiny's grunts and coughs soon formed into a raspy chuckle, as she titled back and let the sensations flow through her some more. "Ooorrgh...I'll admit, I was a liiittle bit tipsy a few minutes ago but-AAUGH...Oooo that crack sobered me up goood..."
"You were drinking?" Mercutio blinked. "In the middle of the day?"
"Pfft, what're you, my 15th foster mom?"
"Your wha- I....ah nevermind..." Mercutio just shook his head and glanced back to his own limbs, deciding not to ask further into whatever kind of malarkey would spark a sentence like that.
Rip.
Soon enough, Mercutio could feel the little tip of his soon to be very large tail finally pierce through the seams of his trousers, and had to fight the urge to shudder as he felt it slither and slide down his backside, tearing the hole wider as it grew and grew, brand new flesh and skin twitching as it brushed up against the grass.
"S-so, a-a-any word from Doc?" Shiny inquired, deciding to start up some small talk right as her right shoulder bulged, rippled, and with a 'RII-II-III-IIP-POP', her arm swelled thick enough to burst the shoulder pauldron apart, the pieces clattering to the ground.
"N-n-nope." Mercutio grunted as he bubbled, his leather attire growing tighter and tighter. "Something she wants done needs the lot of us to be in beast form, so she gave the order to 'get changed' and then nestled herself up in her bedroom."
"Huh." Shiny grunted as her little tail popped out of the seat of her trousers, her gaze panning over to the dimly lit tower that loomed over the lot of them. "And sh-she's been up there since?"
"I think so-o." Mercutio sniffed as his hair began to part, the beginnings of his soft grey fur starting to prickle his skin. "She's incredibly adamant o-o-on hiding her f-f-ffface, so I guess she didn't want to risk us se-EE-eeing it."
"Why's that?" Shiny replied, tilting her head as her lengthening ears poked through her whitening hair.
"Can't say for sure. A-a-at first I thought it was an anonymity thing, but she doesn't seem as invEEE-Eeested in hiding the other parts of her identity as she is with her face. Sti-ill haven't managed to read h-h-her enough to discern why-yyy..."
"Still though, she's been up there for a long ass while. Maybe she's tripped and snapped her neck?"
"Wh- what?"
"Well, I mean, it's happened to clients of mine before soo... y'know..."
"I-...you-....wha-"
"Let's just say I uh.... tend to attract a lot of weird shit. Like you!" Shiny winked and giggled as fur began to cake her face.
Mercutio meanwhile simply shook his head, letting a soft chuckle escape his lips.
Buhbump-buhbump-buhbump-buhbump-
Shiiit, his boots were getting unbearably snug. Mercutio could feel his toe claws scrabbling at the material that confined them, and the feeling of something snapping against his left foot followed by stretching leather pressing into his skin clued him into the complete destruction of his left sock, his remaining right squeezing his foot tightly as both thigh boots were straining further than they were able to, his legs gurgling as their bulging flesh filled the boots to the brim. And this was all without mentioning the sprouting fifth opposable toes on each foot that further gummed up the footwear beyond acceptable capacity. His feet were going to swell excessively.
Deep crimson bloomed across his cheeks as the mental images of their handsome forms blossoming out from his rupturing boots filled him with equal amounts of excitement and dread, for if seeing Shiny's body mutating so absurdly was making him flustered, he loathed to think of how hot and bothersome his own growth would get. But if he didn't get it out of the way soon, the lustful, sexy thoughts swimming in his brain could make him break his calm, emotionally dulled, really cool outward demeanour.
So with a grunt of reluctance, Mercutio hoisted up the bigger, more mutated foot into his hands, and he focused.
Buhbumpbuhbumpbuhbumpbuhbumpbuhbump-
Creeee-eee-eeeaaak...
The changes didn't take long. Toes swelled in dollops, and the ball of his foot puffed and puffed, filling up the boot as it grew tighter, tighter, tighter. A Pump. Pump. Pump.
CrreeeeEEE-EEEEEAAAK....
"Nnngrf...hrrrgh..." He whimpered, his left eye darkening to a black and glowing yellow. Pump. Pump. Pump. The toes were so big now, clamped tightly together and swelling against each other. The boot was getting too small, too tight, too-
RRRIP
As if by a snap of a finger, various connecting seams and stitches within the front of Mercutio's boot ruptured and snapped, causing the item of footwear to violently split open into frayed strands. Pale, thickening flesh forced itself through the strings, girthy, meaty, swelling toes slowly bursting out, the strands caught between them and digging into his sole as his foot swelled larger and larger.
The sudden shock of cold air brushing against his caused Mercutio to reflexively gasp and, to his dismay, moan just as loudly. It just...it just felt so good. The rush of the breeze, the relief, the pumping, pumping, pumping, it was stuffing him with dopamine. Sure the scraps that were pressing into him stung, and his right foot was still being strangled by both tighboot and sock, but this even this tiny moment of breathing space, it was luxurious.
Shiny however found her focus waning. Her eyes widened as she witnessed every second of that snapping of boot, and her gaze was locked onto the cute, bulky toes that were popping through her comrade's footwear, entranced by their flexes and wiggles of wonderful relief...
BUH-BUMP!
"MMGH!" A grunt forced its way right through Shiny's mouth, as she felt her own feet suddenly start to pound and pump inside her boots, the socks within them quickly squeezing her, and squeezing tight. Her paws wanted out. Every fibre of her being was now aching to be free of her footwear. She thought that there was no way she could get any more eager to be barefoot then she was previously, but it seemed like she was wrong. The sight of that adorable talon stirred something in the lass, something that made her excited smile widen. She wanted to join in. Maybe tease him a bit too, rabbits were bigger than rats after all.
BUHBUMP-BUHBUMP-BUHBUMP-BUHBUMP
"RrrrrRRRRRGH!" Drool and spittle spilled from her monstrous fangs as her skull cracked and crunched into her cute button snout. Fur consumed her face, burst through the gaps in her armour, spread across those swelling feet. Her right eye sparked, glittered, and glowed wild magic amber. All while her right foot twitched and pulsed, kicking out as a shocked Mercutio could see it visibly rippling and writhing inside the leather.
pip-pip-crrrreeeeaaak....
The sock within her boot started to snap and split, gigantic claws piercing through. Right before the toes they belonged to started to swell, and swell, and swell. Pump, pump, pump, pump, the rest of the paw grew to catch up. The boot was squeezing, squeezing, squeezing.
crrRRRRREEEEEE-EEE-EEEEAAAACK...
Shiny simply shuddered and moaned again in visceral ecstasy, as her mutating, bulging, rippling paw foot engorged itself bigger, toes clenching as fur coated them, the pads inflating thick, before the hulking, monstrous paw swelled, swelled, swelled, swelled-
BRRAA-AA-A-AACK-RIIIIIIP-PAP-SNAP-POP
And burst out.
"AAAHA-HAAAGH! UuuUuUuHUGH, Aa-aAAaaw yeeeah, thaaaAAaat's the stuUUUUuff!" Shiny cried, gasped, and groaned with gleeful satisfaction as her boot and sock were wrenched into pieces, the boot itself rupturing and bursting into nothing but scraps and a deformed shoe sole pressed into the grass, the sock reduced to frayed tatters dangling at her ankle, as the entirety of her leg armour exploded off an almost equally thickened leg. With the monstrosity that used to be a fully clothed human foot stripped of protection from the elements, the freed, luxurious toes swelled even larger before they dug themselves into the ground, squishing and rubbing the damp soil against the tender pads. Her skin was stinging and intensely hot from the immense growth spurt, but the ice cold dirt was a perfect refreshing texture to feel against her sole after spending all day in her shoes and socks.
And poor little Mercutio bore witness to every moment of the eruption, every gleeful cry of pain, lust, and pride from the lass filling the ears now poking through his greying hair.
She....she really liked this, holy shit.
CRRREE-SNAPSNAP-SNAP
And then, as if inspired by the rabbit's sprouting paw, the tatter-clad talon of the eventual rat man rippled before it inflated bigger, the strands that once pinched it now loudly snapping against it. Now that one of his own paws was freed up, a further blushing Mercutio grimaced with a slowly extending maw as he realized just how much his pumping foot ached in the chilly breeze. His inhibitions were weakening, making the idea of grasping all that bloated flesh and tenderly caressing it seem less and less ridiculous with each passing second. Oh screw it, it was sore like all hell. With hands that were getting too big for their gloves, Mercutio reached down, sighed with begrudging acceptance of what he was doing, and wrapped his fingers around the throbbing talon.
In spite of his hesitation, the feeling of the leather gloves rubbing and squishing the aching skin was a feeling Mercutio never failed to adore. His bones cracked as his toes twitched and spread in pleasure, though he had to fight the urge to flex them in a way that grabbed his hand back. But it was a tempting urge. He wanted so, so badly to indulge his playful side, to let the giddy giggles in his chest bubble to the surface, to just mess around with his big lovely body and handsome talons. But he couldn't, he shouldn't, he was surrounded by people who killed their fellow man for a living, people who expected him to effectively command them, to take life seriously. Same reason he built up this persona to join Tybalt and Romeo in the first place. If he showed any kind of goofiness or weakness in front of the scarves, who knows how badly that'd shatter their respect for him. There was no guarantee that they'd care, that they'd mind, that they'd think less of him for letting his softer self show. But he couldn't take that chance, the scarves were all he had. If he wasn't there to be the straight man, what else was he good for?
Honestly, joking around seemed to better suit the hired sword sitting beside him.
"AAaaagh-A-AAAAAACK-AAA"
Speaking of Shiny, she started screaming again, howling with a mixture of pain and delight as Mercutio's widening eyes noticed that her other foot was writhing, rippling, and inflating inside her remaining boot, growing thicker, thicker, and thicker...
rii-iii-iii-iiii
Seams and stitching within the boot were beginning to split, slowly ripping apart to expose more and more of the inner sock layer, which in turn strained even tighter, as the bubbling paw they covered up suddenly ballooned in size, engorging itself on fleshy growth as it grew so unbelievably swollen, getting thicker and thicker and thicker, swelling and swelling and sweeeelling until:
rrRRRRRIIIII-BMMMPPPH
Until leather boot and fabric sock alike ruptured and ripped apart, the hulking toes wrenching Shiny's remaining footwear into scraps and threads as the paw spilled out from its bursting confines and slammed onto the ground. The girthy, bulky, engorged toes were flexing and spreading with Shiny's groaning and moaning relief as they bubbled and puffed to quickly match the sized of her right, the rest of the paw quivering until it bulged bigger to catch up. That image alone would be enough to set pretty much anyone off, yet it didn't take long for Mercutio to notice that-
RIII-II-II-IIIIiiii-pip!
That Shiny had...held up her almost fully grown right paw... and was in the process of...of
Of seductively ripping off what was left of her socks...by hand
"Phew!" An increasingly barefoot Shiny cooed. "Now this, this is much more comfy. But it can get comfier~" She ripped the sock further.
Holy fuck.
"NGGHRF!". By the gods above, Mercutio was floored by how hot it looked, watching each strand and thread of Shiny's sock straining and snapping between her toes, slowly digging and tightening against her thick squishy pad as she tugged and pulled until more rips appeared in the fabric, a big, dreamy, satisfied smile on her face.
And boy did that make Mercutio act up. For with a reflexive grunt, his arms began to bloat in their sleeves, his left quickly getting particularly swollen as grey fur burst through. The hand upon this arm bulked up in a similar fashion, his glove starting to split and rip as clawed fingers punctured the leather and slipped out, gripping his fleshy foot tighter. With sensitive skin now pressing against sensitive skin, Mercutio was helpless to stop himself from letting out an adorably pathetic squeaking noise not too dissimilar from what an actual, non-mutated rat could cry, his blush burning red hot.
With her ears fully extended and honed into hyper sensitivity, Shiny easily heard the sudden lovable noise her commander just emitted, and with her body beginning another growth spurt, her buck-tooth, fanged maw curled into as smirk as glanced in his direction.
"Oi." She chuckled as her left shoulder rippled and swelled, her remaining shoulder and elbow armour bursting off with a 'STRIII-II-III-POP', and clattering to the ground. "You okay there Merky?"
Mercutio whimpered in alarm as he saw Shiny's face grow progressively less and less human, morphing into a beautiful beast-like visage. "Guh-u-u-uh, y-y-yeah, I'm good." The soon-to-be rodent stuttered as he tried to think up an excuse. "My foot's just uh...just a bit-"
"Sore?" Shiny giggled as she tugged and ripped her sock up more, her remaining glove starting to tear against the swelling fingers she was using, her bracer splitting and snapping open.
"Um...yes." Mercutio breathed as a fuzzy shoulder ripped itself out of his tightening shirt.
"Ah, I get ya. I mean, just check out mine." Shiny's grin widened as she splayed out both footpaws and gleefully watched them quiver and ripple before ballooning out with a guttural gurgle, whatever scraps of her shoes and socks loudly snapping, ripping, and bursting off until they littered the ground, leaving her completely barefoot. "AAAaaaaAAAAAAaaaagh....aaaw yeaaah..." She groaned throughout the entire spurt before happily flexing and spread her completely naked paw toes. "See how much they're throbbing right? They're like, insuffrably sore right now, they're just stingin' so much. But, it's the good kind of sore y'know? The sexy kind. Like the kind of sore you get after a long workout, or coming home from a workout, or drinkin' some cold water after a workout, or plopping on your bed after a workout, or doing a long workout, coming home, drinkin' water, plopping on your bed, and then touching yourself, I might've forgotten where was I going with this-"
"Iiiii....think you were trying to make me feel better about me being sore?"
"Ah, yeah, that." Shiny giggled again as the last remnants of her humanity vanished from her body, her eyes turning from humble blue to glimmering yellow. "But you get what I'm saying yeah?"
"Uh, n-not realeE-EEGH"
RRIIIIP!
Since Mercutio's guard had been lowered, nothing prepared him for the sudden quiver and extending bulge of his right foot as it warped and morphed into a digitigrade structure, peeling apart the heels of his boot and sock in the process. "GRRgh-AAACK, nnnggh-haaagh-" was all the poor lad could say as the toes inside billowed and swelled, straining the front tighter and tighter and tighter until with a-
RRR-PAP!
-It split open, the sock-clad toes spilling out onto the grass as they stuffed the sock to the brim, claws starting to pierce through as Mercutio whimpered and whimpered with growing fluster and arousal.
"Oh, hey, I actually do have a great tip for your feeties if you want it." An almost fully mutated Shiny piped up as she watched Mercutio's tight boots snap at the straps as they peeled and split across his calves, stretching and straining until they burst into scraps with loud 'RIII-III-IIIIP's, leaving nothing but the scraps bunched up around his knees. "Just plop them in the grass before they're finished swelling, like just really press your soles into it. Trust me, it'll feel amaz-"
"Oh....I-I'm aware..." Mercutio grunted and chuckled with a knowing look.
And in spite of himself, Mercutio grinned as he raised up both of his gurgling feet and watched with building glee as they thickened and swelled to girthy proportions, the remaining scraps of his boots loudly snapping off his ankles as his remaining sock squeezed tighter, tighter, tiiiighter-
RIIIIP!
Until the foot within quivered, rippled, and bulged in size to match the left, swelling so big that the fabric sock stretched and tore and burst against the inflating skin, both rat talons wrenching themselves free of the outlaw's footwear and ballooning out in the refreshing chilly air.
Sufficiently barefoot, Mercutio then followed Shiny's advice as he flexed his increasingly prehensile toes, spread and splayed them wide in relief, before planting both talon-paw-foot-things onto the damp, ice cold grass and soil, a gleeful Shiny following suit as both mutants loudly groaned and sighed in their shared, unified relief, both sets of bouncy bloated toes shuddering, flexing, and clenching tight.
The rest of the changes came easy. Shiny's transformation was pretty much complete, while Mercutio felt his hands outgrow his gloves, felt his shirt burst across his chest, felt his cloak snap off his shoulders, and didn't even notice the warping of his skull until it fully resembled his own inner beast. But largely, he didn't really care. He was just glad that his feet were free, happily watching them swell, pulse, and ripple in the soft malleable soil as they grew so big that they started to nuzzle Shiny's own paws. Yet Shiny didn't object, rather her smile only grew, as she playfully nuzzled them back. Shiny's feet had grown much bigger, and seemed to be almost as prehensile as Mercutio's was, but neither were seeking to make it a competition. Instead, the pair took a moment to breathe, simply sitting there and admiring their bloated, hulking feet. The bloated, cute, cuddly paws of heavily mutated monsters, glad to be free of snug socks and rigid boots. Glad to have grown into far more comfortable forms. Glad to just sit there, so close to each other, the pounding hearts calming into gentle, soothing Buh-bump. Buh-bump. Buh-bump. It just...
It just felt so. Bloody. Good.
"Hoooo..ooo-hoo-hooo...." Was the relieved, giddy, giggly sigh of a euphoric beast form Shiny. "Whew, nothin' like feeling your socks ripping up and letting all that squishy mud spill in, eh Merky?"
Mercutio nodded, only to frown slightly as he noticed something. "....'Merky'?"
"Oh that?" Shiny shrugged "Aaah, 'Mercutio' is a big word, doesn't really roll off the tongue, shorter words just work better for me. Besides, I give everyone I like nicknames, so no, I ain't mockin' ya~"
"Oh, so you like me then?" Mercutio chuckled, trying to present the question as a gruff joke, yet felt butterflies swarming in his stomach. "In a respecting your leader way, or in a more...personal way?"
"Well, I'm not gonna lie, you're pretty sexy all things considered."
"Really?" Mercutio chuckled as he glanced at an aching hand. "You think this is sexy?"
"In a cute, snuffly, charming kind of way." Shiny explained with gestures. "I mean your fur looks pretty comfy, you've got pretty decent muscles sprouting up, and just...your feet. Gods above man your feet are gorgeous, like they look so cuddly and squishy y'know? Like I just wanna pick one up and snuggle its toes."
Mercutio spluttered at such a lusty offer, and Shiny giggled at how flustered she made the guy. So much for a the stern, hard-edged buzzkill motif.
"WHA-I-HU-YY-YOU MY- MY-MY-MY TOES?! MY AGH- I- HAAGH-"
"I'm just messin', I'm just messin'!" Shiny cackled and giggled as playfully nudged the rat man. "Relax dude, you're making the Doc look like an emotionless hitman!"
"S-SORRY-" Mercutio stammered, just barely regaining his composure as his face was bright red under his fur. "Sorry, sorry I just...I-I-I-...I-...um....th-thank you?"
"Anytime." Shiny just winked, before realisation brushed across her expression as she glanced up at the tower. "Oh, speakin' of Doc, she still up there?"
"Huh?" Mercutio questioned, before his gaze moved up to match Shiny. "Oh yeah, it's been nearly what, half an hour, not including our changes?"
"I don't know how clocks work so I wasn't keeping track."
"Ah...right.." Mercutio shook his head, starting to wonder how much of an act the rabbit's cluelessness was. "Maybe she's actually injured herself? I swear she's more efficient than this. Something might've happened."
"I'll go check on her." Shiny grunted as she moved to stand up. "You've got the other guys to round up right?"
"Yeah, I do." Mercutio nodded, before his cheeks blushed further as Shiny began to massage and stretch away the last of her aches, intentionally flexing her body in ways she knew would make someone aroused. "Ho-hoe-hopefully we'll come up with something to do tonight, eventually, eh?"
"Maybe we'll get lucky, who knows?" With a smirk and a cute little wiggle of her tail, Shiny's refreshed and hulking paws stomped and squished across the muddy ground, moving towards the homestead of Scarves' mysterious clien-
"Oh....uh...o-one last thing?" Mercutio called before he stop himself, yet as Shiny turned back around, the soft, playful gaze of her lovely golden eyes melted away enough of his regret and hesitation. "Ahem, I uh... thank you...legitimately, f-for the compliments on my...t-talons." The Emerald scarf commander sheepishly spluttered, trying his best to make it sound professional. "I uh...never thought about 'em that way but uh.... w-well your offer is appreciated mercenary, b-b-but we need our heads screwed on, y'know?"
Shiny giggled again. The response might've seemed a bit rude, but Shiny knew. She knew he liked it. That smile was genuine, that fluster was from the heart, he was agreeing with her 100%, he thought he was sexy just as much as she did, yet he just didn't seem ready to accept it. Poor guy longed passion and intimacy, but heartbreaks and stress in the past made him so scared of fucking it up that he barred himself from it entirely. To be frank, it felt eerily familiar.
But that was no worry, Shiny had a hunch that she'd be sticking with these guys for a while, plenty of time to warm that ice cold heart of his back up. Sooner or later, she'll get to know the real Mercutio Hermes. Maybe. Hopefully. Aaaah with enough luck she might. If she gets lucky anyway.
"No biggie Mercutio sir." The Armoured Rabbit winked again. "I just say the shit like it is. You're cute, that's just what I believe. But I'll uh...try to 'keep things professional', if it really bothers you."
"Well uh..." Mercutio grumbled, before the frown slowly curled into a smile. "Nah, y-you...You can call me 'Merky', i-if you want."
Shiny simply giggled once more, holding her bloated hands to her warm beating heart as her paws began to stomp away once more, butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
"Oh you adorable little mouse man..." She sighed happily to herself. "....I'm gonna shag the shit out of you someday...."
"What?"
"What?"
So! Here's a genre I have no right in attempting to write for, and likely one of the last sub plots you'd expect in a dark fantasy black comedy: RRRROMANCE! (I don't know how to convey rolled rs in text)
Have I avoided making the teasing sound mean-spirited?
Have I made the chemistry believable?
Have I actually figured out how to write Mercutio correctly?
And have I overcompensated way too hard on the transformation detail?
I'm a single virgin by choice, so I have NO IDEA.
Fleshing out this big narrative is going to take a while.
Also: Yes, this is a prequal to when Minerva first discovered her fetish. In fact it's set literally a few minutes before it. So uh....I need to make a cohesive timeline for the setting sometime cause this is just going all over the damn place.
I'm a good writer shut up.
Artwork by: catmonkshiro
Mercutio's attempt to stifle his whimper came very close to failing. Surely by now he'd be accustomed to this, undergoing the transformation almost half a dozen times by this point should've scraped away at least a little uncertainty, even if the idea of being able to physically change from a human being to some strange monster somewhat resembling a feral rat sounded completely absurd. This shouldn't anything more than just a unique style of magic, nothing too far off from simply changing into a different set of clothing. But no, no matter how much Mercutio had psyched himself up for it tonight, that visceral, powerful pump of his heart that signalled his mutations to activate sent nerves awash through his system, the slow building of pain and warmth kept shattering his focus every time he tried to hone it.
Every single 'Buh-bump' of his heart sparked a fuzzy feeling, a feeling he couldn't quite understand, a feeling that grew and grew in power as he felt his clothing shift and tighten across his body, as his feet started to ache, as his hands bubbled before his eyes, as his tailbone started to warp, as his mind started to wander...
Worse still, it wasn't just what he felt that was fuelling this fuzzing feeling, but what he saw. It wasn't just him and Talos that were these mutant things now after all. All around the makeshift campsite surrounding Minerva's tower, figures were clutching themselves and occasionally groaning as their bodies swelled out of their ripping clothes.
Almost every single member of the Emerald Scarves-(save for some less enthusiastic human members awkwardly watching their comrades bulge in size)-had undergone careful training and intentional, willing infection to join Mercutio and Minerva as fellow fully sapient mutants. Most of them took on a rodent-like appearance, like chipmunks, stoats, and even fellow mice and rats, which was slightly odd but Mercutio was still distinct enough for it to not be a big issue.
And though the forms were roughly consistent, the opinions varied quite a bit. Some weren't too pleased that their inner beasts didn't line up with how they imagined themselves, some were very pleased and constantly flexed their inflating muscles to brag endlessly about them. Some were rather sheepish about how ill-fitting their clothes were getting, and blushed with each rip of the seams. Some complained that their super cool gear couldn't stay intact as they outgrew it. Some relished the sense of power the bursting of their outfits gave, seemingly getting really into it with roars and further tearing by hand. One dude even wrenched off whatever was left of his rags and proudly posed in his undergarments, before his girlfriend did the exact same with her own outfit. And then some just swelled up, burst out, and acted like nothing happened, completely unfazed by the ridiculous growth spurts they just experienced.
It was admittedly rather nice to see how well his men had adjusted to not only the shift in command, but the shift in their own physiology. Everyone had accepted this strange new facet of their life like it was a new fashion trend, and they did so not just because the power was enticing, not just because the increase in pay from their new wealthy client, but because they trusted Mercutio, trusted his judgment above all other factors, trusted that if he could thrive with the curse of wild magic, so could they. And the mere thought of such a thing, the idea of that level of faith, it would warm the hearts of any gang leader.
But to Mercutio? It was honestly...a little much. So many bodies warping, bulging, ripping their clothes across rippling flesh was making him feel lightheaded. The sight of the acceptance, the comradery, and the writhing growth was intoxicatingly.... beautiful. The monsters his men were turning into were gorgeous and imposing, imposing in a way that leaves you impressed and a little aroused. The little smirks and sniffles they made. The sensual moans and groans as their bodies crackled and gurgled. And their feet. Oh gods, oh gods above their feet. 'POP'-'PAP'-'PAFF'-'TWANG'-'SNAP', boots, shoes and socks were popping and bursting open like balloons all around him, and the forms that emerged from the rupturing leather and tearing cloth, the soft, bloated, swollen flesh spilling out onto the lovely damp soil, the sight was driving him nuts. Had his goons always been this easy on the eyes? Were they always this... cute? This pretty? This- this- this sexy?!
BUHBUMP-BUHBUMP-BUHBUMP
"AaaaHAAGhhh..."
He needed to sit down. So he found a nearby bench and sat down.
His tailbone made the action slightly uncomfortable though, as it was steadily extending out from his spine and tenting the seat of his trousers. He only had himself to blame for that part, he wanted the tail to come out first since it was always the most alien and queasy part of the transformation. His hands suddenly bubbling and thickening as he plopped his head into them however was not what he wanted. Or, like, maybe it was? Wasn't Dr. Talos in the middle of making some theories on how the mutation operated on the host's desire or something? Like, he wanted something soft to just lay his head in as he struggled to process this junk, so like...did his mutation just cause his hands to swell and soften to allow that? Was it seriously that damn precise? So what, if he just wanted his socks to not pinch so much, then would his toes just suddenly-aaah fuck his left sock just ripped. He felt it, oh boy he felt it. The sock was getting tighter. The threads were snapping. His toes were nuzzling the inside of his boot now, aaaaugh it felt kinda nice, aaaa-
"Yo, this boredom killin' ya too?"
The sudden voice nudged Mercutio back into lucidity, and following the sound of gently clanking metal, he glanced up to see a figure approaching him. It was...her. That blonde haired mercenary woman Dr. Talos had him infect a couple days ago, back when he and the good doctor had just scooped up the stragglers left in the wake of Tybalt's backstabbing and the ensuing schisms. What was her name again? Shiny?
"Oh, u-u-uh, n-no I'm just uuuh... getting changed." Mercutio cleared his throat in response. "Ssshhiiiny...right? The sellsword we brought in?" He knew mercs were almost identical in moral consistency to that of outlaws, so there was no telling what this newbie was planning on doing.
Shiny was the first non-scarf he and Dr. Talos had infected, the first outsider the new group had brought in, the first total stranger Mercutio had recruited in a long while. She was definitely a talented fighter, almost to the level of military skill in fact. But over the course of her time in the gang, Mercutio couldn't help but notice how bizarre her decisions were at times.
For starters, her combat style was clearly agility based much like his, and was so finely crafted that she could basically pick up literally any weapon and wield it like she had been training with the thing her entire life, regardless of weight, stance, or whether or not it actually counted as a weapon. But it often had this 'Bar fight-y' look to it, like even though she clearly knew some very effective techniques, she usually just preferred the most mindless, aggressive, straight-to-the point tactics. On top of that, even though her fighting style benefitted from speed and manoeuvrability, for some dumb fucking reason, she kept wearing that suit of armour of hers. It wasn't the heaviest set he'd seen, but it was still far, far from ideal.
And that's just how she fought, the young thief didn't know where to begin with her social skills. She was almost the complete opposite of human form Talos, constantly antagonizing and mocking anyone she didn't like, joking around with anyone she kinda liked, and if she liked them in a particular way, she'd start getting more...'seductive'. And bloody hell, was that last one particularly abundant among the scarves. Mercutio lost track of how many times he'd seen the lass flirting with both the men and the women of his entourage, and frankly he sometimes wondered if martial labour was the only kind of work she had experience in....
Wait, was she gonna try flirting with HIM-
Shiny meanwhile simply grinned in response. While that cute plague doctor gal was largely the big employer of this pretty fun looking operation, the hundreds of jobs and contracts Shiny had under her belt gave her a special talent for picking out whoever was high up on the command chain in any kind of motely crew, and though she had barely a week's experience with these "Emerald Scarves", she learned quickly that this Mercutio "The Merciless" dude was the one calling most of the shots alongside the client. Honestly, it was kinda hard to believe that this scrawny, mopey buzzkill of a lad was not only the top dog of this particular turf, but also happened to be the one primarily responsible for the wondrous, luxurious, absolutely delectable curse that now writhed and squirmed in her flesh right at this moment. But even though she's heard plenty of his orders, she never actually got the opportunity to really get to know him better. Sure he had helped her get to grips with her new powers during her first few changes, and they've made a bit of small talk from time to time since, but she still knew next to nothing about this guy, or much of the rest of the people here.
Luckily for her, he didn't seem to be preoccupied right now.
"Yup." Shiny nodded. "Bet I'm the first contract killer you guys have met eh?"
"Believe it or not, no." Mercutio smirked, adjusting his posture to look more presentable. "My scarves used to bigger, we had all kinds of mooks even with our 'street thug' rep. Buuuut you know how it goes, typical outlaw falling outs happened left right and centre. So you'll have to forgive me if I'm uh....hesitant to make new connections."
Oof, Shiny could practically taste the venom in those last words. Bad break ups no doubt, bringing them up ought to be a touchy conversation topic. Better to skirt around that and make things more casual. She was dumb, but not oblivious....well, not in this case anyway.
"Well hey, if you know how mercs work, then you know that as long as the food and pay's good, I'll stick around." Shiny winked. "Hell, the food part ain't even a nessesss...neckccessory? Nes...city? Uh-"
"Necessity?" Mercutio raised an eyebrow.
"That one, yeah." Shiny grinned again, before holding out an aching hand. "You're left handed right? Same as the doc?"
Mercutio couldn't help but chuckle a bit. The girl could certainly read people well, he didn't even have his sword hooked into his belt yet and she was still able to tell his dominant arm just from his movements alone. And yet, that brief confusion on the word 'Necessity' had caught his attention. Sure Mercutio had plenty of gaps in his own common knowledge, but something about the pitiful attempts Shiny made to say that word anyway struck him as...rather distracting. Was she just being coy or...or....
"Eh, pretty much, but I'm trying to practice going full ambidextrous." Mercutio bragged, reaching up to shake the hired sword's hand. "But yeah, mostly just the left hand for n-"
However, Mercutio's words skidded to a halt the moment his hand clasped with Shiny's, because what Mercutio gripped felt less like a normal human hand, and more like a roiling, writhing, bubbling mass of meat crudely stuffed inside an increasingly tight glove. Her hand was throbbing, in fact, now that Mercutio paid attention, her whole body was throbbing, pulsing, and bubbling, and Mercutio could even hear crackles and gurgles even from his current position. She was swelling up like dough in an oven, and the expanding flesh was causing the armour to dig into her body. Tightly. She was changing into her beast form, just like Mercutio was trying to do, and she was changing rapidly.
Fortunately it definitely seemed like she was aware, I mean it'd be hard to not notice your body starting to mutate so much. But even her reaction was unorthodox. The sudden groans and whimpers she started to blurt from her intensifying transformation clearly indicated that it was just as painful as any other mutant shift, but her expression wasn't showing discomfort or frustration. No, she was smiling, a full toothy grin that occasionally opened so that the warping, sharpening teeth could comfortably extend. The grin took effort, was clearly strained, and was starting to drool, but it was a genuine smile, not just in spite of the pain, but perhaps partially because of it.
All that swelling, throbbing, crackling and growing, the twisting of the laws of biology Talos kept gushing about, the absolute agony of the human body warping and mutating into nothing short of an animalistic monster, and the strangling of her civilized vestments straining against a body slowly swelling into a form they weren't meant to contain. She wasn't put off by it at all.
She accepted it.
She embraced it.
She liked it.
"Uu-uuh..." Was all that Mercutio could say as the handshake released. He could visibly see Shiny's throbs were synced with her pounding heartbeat, and the sight was causing his own, already pulsing heart to start pumping even harder.
Shiny meanwhile just giggled as her left hand ached and ached more, getting so sore that she had to quickly release the handshake and grip it with her relatively freed right hand. As the gauntlet strained and tightened against throbbing, squirming flesh, Shiny's gaze occasionally darted back and fourth from her mutating limb to the flabbergasted outlaw staring at her. His hurried throat clear and attempts to collect himself clearly weren't born of fear, but of surprise, shock, and what appeared to be fluster. Hmm....those smart-aleck eyes seemed hostile at first, but now they seemed to twinkle with...awe.
He liked what he just saw.
He was trying to hide it clearly, probably wanting to keep this professional, but instincts were prodding at Shiny's psyche, and at her libido. Her tongue slowly slathered itself across her sharpening fangs, her heart pounded in her chest, and wild magic gold sparked in her eyes. The allure of teasing seduction had her in its clutches.
To be perfectly honest...He was kinda cute.
"Mm! T-there uh...room for one more on that bench?" Shiny grunted, her smile turning sheepish as her shoulders rippled. "I-I think this is gonna be a so-O-ORE one-NGH!" As if to accentuate her remark, the mutating arm bunched up thicker and thicker, splits rapidly spreading across the leather of her glove as the rivets in the bracer pinged and popped, the gauntlet straining tighter, tighter, tiiiiighter until with a resounding 'BRRRAAA-AACK-POPTWANG', it burst apart, the bloated, engorged mass that used to be a human forearm erupting from the ripping leather and snapping metal. The thick, meaty paw fingers flexed wide as the darkening claws glimmered from their tips, and Mercutio's eyes were wide with astonishment as a sighing Shiny began to massage her swollen limb in relief, happily watching as a fluffy coat of lovely pearl white fur forced itself out from the reddened skin.
"U-u-uuh...y-yeah, sure, I can scootch..." Mercutio nodded as he meekly shuffled to make some space on the bench. His distrustful outlaw side chastised him for such a blatant lower of his guard, yet something else inside, presumably the same thing that compelled him to scoot, it didn't mind. It wanted to see were this was going, to be polite to this person Mercutio barely knew. Was it curiosity? Fear? Respect for her boldness or....something else?
CLUNK
Whatever it was, it welcomed Shiny as she plopped herself down beside him, her armour clanking loudly from the impact. And with her in such close proximity, with all of that writhing, rippling, bulging flesh in much more detail, with that unapologetic smile on her face so clearly visible, it struck something deep within the young thief.
Something that made his cheeks start to burn ever so slightly.
Shiny meanwhile giggled as she felt the fur start to slowly spread up her arm, straining the armour even more as her flesh puffed out thicker. Fuuuck, the suit was strangling her, it was pinching so tight it was starting to hurt. It felt like she was going to explode. Her whole body was pumping and pumping and pumping, and she could feel the wild magic writhing, slithering, squirming inside her, forcing her organs to swell as her heart pounded and pounded.
Shiiit, this was a really strong shift. She might've underestimated how sore this could end up being. She was gonna get huge this time, bigger than any of her first few changes, she just knew it. Double shit, she was kinda nervous about that. She's only had this stuff for about what, a week? She didn't know what the height limit was, or if she'd be able to stay lucid during it, knowing her bullshit luck anything was possible. But fuck...fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuck, it felt so, so, so GOOD. The ecstasy, the power, the stimulation, it was suffocating how much it was turning her on. It took everything in her power to not suddenly start moaning and groaning with glee, not because it didn't feel right, but mainly cause the Scarf leader was like, right there. She knew she was charming, and knew he seemed to be hiding his own arousal, but if she started touching herself right then and there, no amount of cute smiles would fix that ruined first impression. It kinda sucked, like her crotch was burning and throbbing like mad, but she didn't want to disgust the guy by acting like a horny mess right in front of him. She had to have some semblance of standards, even if she didn't quite know what the word 'semblance' meant and just used it cause others used it. She had to show some level of professionalism, even if everyone here was a straight-up criminal. She had to at least present herself as someone Mercutio could...could...could enjoy being around. He was....fuck he was really, really cute...
Hmm....to be fair, Shiny was about to burst out of her clothes soon, and with Mercutio so close to her, he'd see every. Single. Detail. And even though she'd be covered in fur, she'd still technically be exposing herself somewhat, showing off a lot of fuzz-coated skin in the process. Surly it couldn't hurt to maybe...flex her swelling limbs a bit? Bunch up those beefy muscles? Splay herself out in a sensual yoga pose? Maybe even spread her toes a bit once they burst through her shoes and socks? That one always got her hot and bothered. Though, feet were mainly her fetish, and some people even loathed the sight of the appendages full stop, for some reason, so it wasn't a guarantee that Mercutio would be into it like Shiny was. Then again, those brown eyes of his kept briefly darting to her throbbing boots on very quick occasions, so perhaps maybe a liiiittle bit of toe wiggling couldn't hurt-
Crack-crack-CRUNCH
"AUGH!" Shiny suddenly cried out, arching back as the sudden shifting of her spine yanked her train of thought off its tracks and threw it across the sky. Her cries then intensified as her body gurgled and violently puffed out, straining and stretching her armour so tightly that the inner cloth started to split, with large, ragged rips and holes bursting open across her arms, legs, and torso, exposing chunks of thick squishy skin.
Meanwhile, the sudden, very sickening crackles startled Mercutio out of his reluctant focus, and as his own body began to swell and pulse, straining his clothes, all he could spout in response to such was a spluttering: "YEOARGH-" before sternly clearing his throat and trying again. "You uh...you okay?"
In spite of intense eruption, Shiny's grunts and coughs soon formed into a raspy chuckle, as she titled back and let the sensations flow through her some more. "Ooorrgh...I'll admit, I was a liiittle bit tipsy a few minutes ago but-AAUGH...Oooo that crack sobered me up goood..."
"You were drinking?" Mercutio blinked. "In the middle of the day?"
"Pfft, what're you, my 15th foster mom?"
"Your wha- I....ah nevermind..." Mercutio just shook his head and glanced back to his own limbs, deciding not to ask further into whatever kind of malarkey would spark a sentence like that.
Rip.
Soon enough, Mercutio could feel the little tip of his soon to be very large tail finally pierce through the seams of his trousers, and had to fight the urge to shudder as he felt it slither and slide down his backside, tearing the hole wider as it grew and grew, brand new flesh and skin twitching as it brushed up against the grass.
"S-so, a-a-any word from Doc?" Shiny inquired, deciding to start up some small talk right as her right shoulder bulged, rippled, and with a 'RII-II-III-IIP-POP', her arm swelled thick enough to burst the shoulder pauldron apart, the pieces clattering to the ground.
"N-n-nope." Mercutio grunted as he bubbled, his leather attire growing tighter and tighter. "Something she wants done needs the lot of us to be in beast form, so she gave the order to 'get changed' and then nestled herself up in her bedroom."
"Huh." Shiny grunted as her little tail popped out of the seat of her trousers, her gaze panning over to the dimly lit tower that loomed over the lot of them. "And sh-she's been up there since?"
"I think so-o." Mercutio sniffed as his hair began to part, the beginnings of his soft grey fur starting to prickle his skin. "She's incredibly adamant o-o-on hiding her f-f-ffface, so I guess she didn't want to risk us se-EE-eeing it."
"Why's that?" Shiny replied, tilting her head as her lengthening ears poked through her whitening hair.
"Can't say for sure. A-a-at first I thought it was an anonymity thing, but she doesn't seem as invEEE-Eeested in hiding the other parts of her identity as she is with her face. Sti-ill haven't managed to read h-h-her enough to discern why-yyy..."
"Still though, she's been up there for a long ass while. Maybe she's tripped and snapped her neck?"
"Wh- what?"
"Well, I mean, it's happened to clients of mine before soo... y'know..."
"I-...you-....wha-"
"Let's just say I uh.... tend to attract a lot of weird shit. Like you!" Shiny winked and giggled as fur began to cake her face.
Mercutio meanwhile simply shook his head, letting a soft chuckle escape his lips.
Buhbump-buhbump-buhbump-buhbump-
Shiiit, his boots were getting unbearably snug. Mercutio could feel his toe claws scrabbling at the material that confined them, and the feeling of something snapping against his left foot followed by stretching leather pressing into his skin clued him into the complete destruction of his left sock, his remaining right squeezing his foot tightly as both thigh boots were straining further than they were able to, his legs gurgling as their bulging flesh filled the boots to the brim. And this was all without mentioning the sprouting fifth opposable toes on each foot that further gummed up the footwear beyond acceptable capacity. His feet were going to swell excessively.
Deep crimson bloomed across his cheeks as the mental images of their handsome forms blossoming out from his rupturing boots filled him with equal amounts of excitement and dread, for if seeing Shiny's body mutating so absurdly was making him flustered, he loathed to think of how hot and bothersome his own growth would get. But if he didn't get it out of the way soon, the lustful, sexy thoughts swimming in his brain could make him break his calm, emotionally dulled, really cool outward demeanour.
So with a grunt of reluctance, Mercutio hoisted up the bigger, more mutated foot into his hands, and he focused.
Buhbumpbuhbumpbuhbumpbuhbumpbuhbump-
Creeee-eee-eeeaaak...
The changes didn't take long. Toes swelled in dollops, and the ball of his foot puffed and puffed, filling up the boot as it grew tighter, tighter, tighter. A Pump. Pump. Pump.
CrreeeeEEE-EEEEEAAAK....
"Nnngrf...hrrrgh..." He whimpered, his left eye darkening to a black and glowing yellow. Pump. Pump. Pump. The toes were so big now, clamped tightly together and swelling against each other. The boot was getting too small, too tight, too-
RRRIP
As if by a snap of a finger, various connecting seams and stitches within the front of Mercutio's boot ruptured and snapped, causing the item of footwear to violently split open into frayed strands. Pale, thickening flesh forced itself through the strings, girthy, meaty, swelling toes slowly bursting out, the strands caught between them and digging into his sole as his foot swelled larger and larger.
The sudden shock of cold air brushing against his caused Mercutio to reflexively gasp and, to his dismay, moan just as loudly. It just...it just felt so good. The rush of the breeze, the relief, the pumping, pumping, pumping, it was stuffing him with dopamine. Sure the scraps that were pressing into him stung, and his right foot was still being strangled by both tighboot and sock, but this even this tiny moment of breathing space, it was luxurious.
Shiny however found her focus waning. Her eyes widened as she witnessed every second of that snapping of boot, and her gaze was locked onto the cute, bulky toes that were popping through her comrade's footwear, entranced by their flexes and wiggles of wonderful relief...
BUH-BUMP!
"MMGH!" A grunt forced its way right through Shiny's mouth, as she felt her own feet suddenly start to pound and pump inside her boots, the socks within them quickly squeezing her, and squeezing tight. Her paws wanted out. Every fibre of her being was now aching to be free of her footwear. She thought that there was no way she could get any more eager to be barefoot then she was previously, but it seemed like she was wrong. The sight of that adorable talon stirred something in the lass, something that made her excited smile widen. She wanted to join in. Maybe tease him a bit too, rabbits were bigger than rats after all.
BUHBUMP-BUHBUMP-BUHBUMP-BUHBUMP
"RrrrrRRRRRGH!" Drool and spittle spilled from her monstrous fangs as her skull cracked and crunched into her cute button snout. Fur consumed her face, burst through the gaps in her armour, spread across those swelling feet. Her right eye sparked, glittered, and glowed wild magic amber. All while her right foot twitched and pulsed, kicking out as a shocked Mercutio could see it visibly rippling and writhing inside the leather.
pip-pip-crrrreeeeaaak....
The sock within her boot started to snap and split, gigantic claws piercing through. Right before the toes they belonged to started to swell, and swell, and swell. Pump, pump, pump, pump, the rest of the paw grew to catch up. The boot was squeezing, squeezing, squeezing.
crrRRRRREEEEEE-EEE-EEEEAAAACK...
Shiny simply shuddered and moaned again in visceral ecstasy, as her mutating, bulging, rippling paw foot engorged itself bigger, toes clenching as fur coated them, the pads inflating thick, before the hulking, monstrous paw swelled, swelled, swelled, swelled-
BRRAA-AA-A-AACK-RIIIIIIP-PAP-SNAP-POP
And burst out.
"AAAHA-HAAAGH! UuuUuUuHUGH, Aa-aAAaaw yeeeah, thaaaAAaat's the stuUUUUuff!" Shiny cried, gasped, and groaned with gleeful satisfaction as her boot and sock were wrenched into pieces, the boot itself rupturing and bursting into nothing but scraps and a deformed shoe sole pressed into the grass, the sock reduced to frayed tatters dangling at her ankle, as the entirety of her leg armour exploded off an almost equally thickened leg. With the monstrosity that used to be a fully clothed human foot stripped of protection from the elements, the freed, luxurious toes swelled even larger before they dug themselves into the ground, squishing and rubbing the damp soil against the tender pads. Her skin was stinging and intensely hot from the immense growth spurt, but the ice cold dirt was a perfect refreshing texture to feel against her sole after spending all day in her shoes and socks.
And poor little Mercutio bore witness to every moment of the eruption, every gleeful cry of pain, lust, and pride from the lass filling the ears now poking through his greying hair.
She....she really liked this, holy shit.
CRRREE-SNAPSNAP-SNAP
And then, as if inspired by the rabbit's sprouting paw, the tatter-clad talon of the eventual rat man rippled before it inflated bigger, the strands that once pinched it now loudly snapping against it. Now that one of his own paws was freed up, a further blushing Mercutio grimaced with a slowly extending maw as he realized just how much his pumping foot ached in the chilly breeze. His inhibitions were weakening, making the idea of grasping all that bloated flesh and tenderly caressing it seem less and less ridiculous with each passing second. Oh screw it, it was sore like all hell. With hands that were getting too big for their gloves, Mercutio reached down, sighed with begrudging acceptance of what he was doing, and wrapped his fingers around the throbbing talon.
In spite of his hesitation, the feeling of the leather gloves rubbing and squishing the aching skin was a feeling Mercutio never failed to adore. His bones cracked as his toes twitched and spread in pleasure, though he had to fight the urge to flex them in a way that grabbed his hand back. But it was a tempting urge. He wanted so, so badly to indulge his playful side, to let the giddy giggles in his chest bubble to the surface, to just mess around with his big lovely body and handsome talons. But he couldn't, he shouldn't, he was surrounded by people who killed their fellow man for a living, people who expected him to effectively command them, to take life seriously. Same reason he built up this persona to join Tybalt and Romeo in the first place. If he showed any kind of goofiness or weakness in front of the scarves, who knows how badly that'd shatter their respect for him. There was no guarantee that they'd care, that they'd mind, that they'd think less of him for letting his softer self show. But he couldn't take that chance, the scarves were all he had. If he wasn't there to be the straight man, what else was he good for?
Honestly, joking around seemed to better suit the hired sword sitting beside him.
"AAaaagh-A-AAAAAACK-AAA"
Speaking of Shiny, she started screaming again, howling with a mixture of pain and delight as Mercutio's widening eyes noticed that her other foot was writhing, rippling, and inflating inside her remaining boot, growing thicker, thicker, and thicker...
rii-iii-iii-iiii
Seams and stitching within the boot were beginning to split, slowly ripping apart to expose more and more of the inner sock layer, which in turn strained even tighter, as the bubbling paw they covered up suddenly ballooned in size, engorging itself on fleshy growth as it grew so unbelievably swollen, getting thicker and thicker and thicker, swelling and swelling and sweeeelling until:
rrRRRRRIIIII-BMMMPPPH
Until leather boot and fabric sock alike ruptured and ripped apart, the hulking toes wrenching Shiny's remaining footwear into scraps and threads as the paw spilled out from its bursting confines and slammed onto the ground. The girthy, bulky, engorged toes were flexing and spreading with Shiny's groaning and moaning relief as they bubbled and puffed to quickly match the sized of her right, the rest of the paw quivering until it bulged bigger to catch up. That image alone would be enough to set pretty much anyone off, yet it didn't take long for Mercutio to notice that-
RIII-II-II-IIIIiiii-pip!
That Shiny had...held up her almost fully grown right paw... and was in the process of...of
Of seductively ripping off what was left of her socks...by hand
"Phew!" An increasingly barefoot Shiny cooed. "Now this, this is much more comfy. But it can get comfier~" She ripped the sock further.
Holy fuck.
"NGGHRF!". By the gods above, Mercutio was floored by how hot it looked, watching each strand and thread of Shiny's sock straining and snapping between her toes, slowly digging and tightening against her thick squishy pad as she tugged and pulled until more rips appeared in the fabric, a big, dreamy, satisfied smile on her face.
And boy did that make Mercutio act up. For with a reflexive grunt, his arms began to bloat in their sleeves, his left quickly getting particularly swollen as grey fur burst through. The hand upon this arm bulked up in a similar fashion, his glove starting to split and rip as clawed fingers punctured the leather and slipped out, gripping his fleshy foot tighter. With sensitive skin now pressing against sensitive skin, Mercutio was helpless to stop himself from letting out an adorably pathetic squeaking noise not too dissimilar from what an actual, non-mutated rat could cry, his blush burning red hot.
With her ears fully extended and honed into hyper sensitivity, Shiny easily heard the sudden lovable noise her commander just emitted, and with her body beginning another growth spurt, her buck-tooth, fanged maw curled into as smirk as glanced in his direction.
"Oi." She chuckled as her left shoulder rippled and swelled, her remaining shoulder and elbow armour bursting off with a 'STRIII-II-III-POP', and clattering to the ground. "You okay there Merky?"
Mercutio whimpered in alarm as he saw Shiny's face grow progressively less and less human, morphing into a beautiful beast-like visage. "Guh-u-u-uh, y-y-yeah, I'm good." The soon-to-be rodent stuttered as he tried to think up an excuse. "My foot's just uh...just a bit-"
"Sore?" Shiny giggled as she tugged and ripped her sock up more, her remaining glove starting to tear against the swelling fingers she was using, her bracer splitting and snapping open.
"Um...yes." Mercutio breathed as a fuzzy shoulder ripped itself out of his tightening shirt.
"Ah, I get ya. I mean, just check out mine." Shiny's grin widened as she splayed out both footpaws and gleefully watched them quiver and ripple before ballooning out with a guttural gurgle, whatever scraps of her shoes and socks loudly snapping, ripping, and bursting off until they littered the ground, leaving her completely barefoot. "AAAaaaaAAAAAAaaaagh....aaaw yeaaah..." She groaned throughout the entire spurt before happily flexing and spread her completely naked paw toes. "See how much they're throbbing right? They're like, insuffrably sore right now, they're just stingin' so much. But, it's the good kind of sore y'know? The sexy kind. Like the kind of sore you get after a long workout, or coming home from a workout, or drinkin' some cold water after a workout, or plopping on your bed after a workout, or doing a long workout, coming home, drinkin' water, plopping on your bed, and then touching yourself, I might've forgotten where was I going with this-"
"Iiiii....think you were trying to make me feel better about me being sore?"
"Ah, yeah, that." Shiny giggled again as the last remnants of her humanity vanished from her body, her eyes turning from humble blue to glimmering yellow. "But you get what I'm saying yeah?"
"Uh, n-not realeE-EEGH"
RRIIIIP!
Since Mercutio's guard had been lowered, nothing prepared him for the sudden quiver and extending bulge of his right foot as it warped and morphed into a digitigrade structure, peeling apart the heels of his boot and sock in the process. "GRRgh-AAACK, nnnggh-haaagh-" was all the poor lad could say as the toes inside billowed and swelled, straining the front tighter and tighter and tighter until with a-
RRR-PAP!
-It split open, the sock-clad toes spilling out onto the grass as they stuffed the sock to the brim, claws starting to pierce through as Mercutio whimpered and whimpered with growing fluster and arousal.
"Oh, hey, I actually do have a great tip for your feeties if you want it." An almost fully mutated Shiny piped up as she watched Mercutio's tight boots snap at the straps as they peeled and split across his calves, stretching and straining until they burst into scraps with loud 'RIII-III-IIIIP's, leaving nothing but the scraps bunched up around his knees. "Just plop them in the grass before they're finished swelling, like just really press your soles into it. Trust me, it'll feel amaz-"
"Oh....I-I'm aware..." Mercutio grunted and chuckled with a knowing look.
And in spite of himself, Mercutio grinned as he raised up both of his gurgling feet and watched with building glee as they thickened and swelled to girthy proportions, the remaining scraps of his boots loudly snapping off his ankles as his remaining sock squeezed tighter, tighter, tiiiighter-
RIIIIP!
Until the foot within quivered, rippled, and bulged in size to match the left, swelling so big that the fabric sock stretched and tore and burst against the inflating skin, both rat talons wrenching themselves free of the outlaw's footwear and ballooning out in the refreshing chilly air.
Sufficiently barefoot, Mercutio then followed Shiny's advice as he flexed his increasingly prehensile toes, spread and splayed them wide in relief, before planting both talon-paw-foot-things onto the damp, ice cold grass and soil, a gleeful Shiny following suit as both mutants loudly groaned and sighed in their shared, unified relief, both sets of bouncy bloated toes shuddering, flexing, and clenching tight.
The rest of the changes came easy. Shiny's transformation was pretty much complete, while Mercutio felt his hands outgrow his gloves, felt his shirt burst across his chest, felt his cloak snap off his shoulders, and didn't even notice the warping of his skull until it fully resembled his own inner beast. But largely, he didn't really care. He was just glad that his feet were free, happily watching them swell, pulse, and ripple in the soft malleable soil as they grew so big that they started to nuzzle Shiny's own paws. Yet Shiny didn't object, rather her smile only grew, as she playfully nuzzled them back. Shiny's feet had grown much bigger, and seemed to be almost as prehensile as Mercutio's was, but neither were seeking to make it a competition. Instead, the pair took a moment to breathe, simply sitting there and admiring their bloated, hulking feet. The bloated, cute, cuddly paws of heavily mutated monsters, glad to be free of snug socks and rigid boots. Glad to have grown into far more comfortable forms. Glad to just sit there, so close to each other, the pounding hearts calming into gentle, soothing Buh-bump. Buh-bump. Buh-bump. It just...
It just felt so. Bloody. Good.
"Hoooo..ooo-hoo-hooo...." Was the relieved, giddy, giggly sigh of a euphoric beast form Shiny. "Whew, nothin' like feeling your socks ripping up and letting all that squishy mud spill in, eh Merky?"
Mercutio nodded, only to frown slightly as he noticed something. "....'Merky'?"
"Oh that?" Shiny shrugged "Aaah, 'Mercutio' is a big word, doesn't really roll off the tongue, shorter words just work better for me. Besides, I give everyone I like nicknames, so no, I ain't mockin' ya~"
"Oh, so you like me then?" Mercutio chuckled, trying to present the question as a gruff joke, yet felt butterflies swarming in his stomach. "In a respecting your leader way, or in a more...personal way?"
"Well, I'm not gonna lie, you're pretty sexy all things considered."
"Really?" Mercutio chuckled as he glanced at an aching hand. "You think this is sexy?"
"In a cute, snuffly, charming kind of way." Shiny explained with gestures. "I mean your fur looks pretty comfy, you've got pretty decent muscles sprouting up, and just...your feet. Gods above man your feet are gorgeous, like they look so cuddly and squishy y'know? Like I just wanna pick one up and snuggle its toes."
Mercutio spluttered at such a lusty offer, and Shiny giggled at how flustered she made the guy. So much for a the stern, hard-edged buzzkill motif.
"WHA-I-HU-YY-YOU MY- MY-MY-MY TOES?! MY AGH- I- HAAGH-"
"I'm just messin', I'm just messin'!" Shiny cackled and giggled as playfully nudged the rat man. "Relax dude, you're making the Doc look like an emotionless hitman!"
"S-SORRY-" Mercutio stammered, just barely regaining his composure as his face was bright red under his fur. "Sorry, sorry I just...I-I-I-...I-...um....th-thank you?"
"Anytime." Shiny just winked, before realisation brushed across her expression as she glanced up at the tower. "Oh, speakin' of Doc, she still up there?"
"Huh?" Mercutio questioned, before his gaze moved up to match Shiny. "Oh yeah, it's been nearly what, half an hour, not including our changes?"
"I don't know how clocks work so I wasn't keeping track."
"Ah...right.." Mercutio shook his head, starting to wonder how much of an act the rabbit's cluelessness was. "Maybe she's actually injured herself? I swear she's more efficient than this. Something might've happened."
"I'll go check on her." Shiny grunted as she moved to stand up. "You've got the other guys to round up right?"
"Yeah, I do." Mercutio nodded, before his cheeks blushed further as Shiny began to massage and stretch away the last of her aches, intentionally flexing her body in ways she knew would make someone aroused. "Ho-hoe-hopefully we'll come up with something to do tonight, eventually, eh?"
"Maybe we'll get lucky, who knows?" With a smirk and a cute little wiggle of her tail, Shiny's refreshed and hulking paws stomped and squished across the muddy ground, moving towards the homestead of Scarves' mysterious clien-
"Oh....uh...o-one last thing?" Mercutio called before he stop himself, yet as Shiny turned back around, the soft, playful gaze of her lovely golden eyes melted away enough of his regret and hesitation. "Ahem, I uh... thank you...legitimately, f-for the compliments on my...t-talons." The Emerald scarf commander sheepishly spluttered, trying his best to make it sound professional. "I uh...never thought about 'em that way but uh.... w-well your offer is appreciated mercenary, b-b-but we need our heads screwed on, y'know?"
Shiny giggled again. The response might've seemed a bit rude, but Shiny knew. She knew he liked it. That smile was genuine, that fluster was from the heart, he was agreeing with her 100%, he thought he was sexy just as much as she did, yet he just didn't seem ready to accept it. Poor guy longed passion and intimacy, but heartbreaks and stress in the past made him so scared of fucking it up that he barred himself from it entirely. To be frank, it felt eerily familiar.
But that was no worry, Shiny had a hunch that she'd be sticking with these guys for a while, plenty of time to warm that ice cold heart of his back up. Sooner or later, she'll get to know the real Mercutio Hermes. Maybe. Hopefully. Aaaah with enough luck she might. If she gets lucky anyway.
"No biggie Mercutio sir." The Armoured Rabbit winked again. "I just say the shit like it is. You're cute, that's just what I believe. But I'll uh...try to 'keep things professional', if it really bothers you."
"Well uh..." Mercutio grumbled, before the frown slowly curled into a smile. "Nah, y-you...You can call me 'Merky', i-if you want."
Shiny simply giggled once more, holding her bloated hands to her warm beating heart as her paws began to stomp away once more, butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
"Oh you adorable little mouse man..." She sighed happily to herself. "....I'm gonna shag the shit out of you someday...."
"What?"
"What?"
So! Here's a genre I have no right in attempting to write for, and likely one of the last sub plots you'd expect in a dark fantasy black comedy: RRRROMANCE! (I don't know how to convey rolled rs in text)
Have I avoided making the teasing sound mean-spirited?
Have I made the chemistry believable?
Have I actually figured out how to write Mercutio correctly?
And have I overcompensated way too hard on the transformation detail?
I'm a single virgin by choice, so I have NO IDEA.
Fleshing out this big narrative is going to take a while.
Also: Yes, this is a prequal to when Minerva first discovered her fetish. In fact it's set literally a few minutes before it. So uh....I need to make a cohesive timeline for the setting sometime cause this is just going all over the damn place.
I'm a good writer shut up.
Artwork by: catmonkshiro
Category Artwork (Digital) / Transformation
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Multiple characters
Size 2160 x 1705px
One of these days you are going to actually have your characters make actual physical touching contact with each other and it will be glorious.
The gay werebeasts will kiss in time, rest assured.
Well I really appreciate your stories, they add so much to the already perfectly illustrated submissions
This is pretty great. Probably my favorite single non-Minnie image of the lot.
Definitely a fan of Shiny getting some fleshing out here. She's sharp in a very different, primal way; hilariously stupid on anything relative to book smarts, but dangerously smart with combat machinations, picking out emotions. Shiny's an empath; a good mesh between the doctor's paralysis in social situations and a good foil to Mercutio's more cautious planning side. And Mercutio got fleshed out pretty well here, too, established much more firmly than in his prior storylines. This feels like we've got a complete picture of the trio now, and where they're going (and how each will react in turn to the impending situations facing them).
Definitely a fan of Shiny getting some fleshing out here. She's sharp in a very different, primal way; hilariously stupid on anything relative to book smarts, but dangerously smart with combat machinations, picking out emotions. Shiny's an empath; a good mesh between the doctor's paralysis in social situations and a good foil to Mercutio's more cautious planning side. And Mercutio got fleshed out pretty well here, too, established much more firmly than in his prior storylines. This feels like we've got a complete picture of the trio now, and where they're going (and how each will react in turn to the impending situations facing them).
Holy shit I never realized that Shiny could be an empath yet it makes so much sense aaa-
More Wardrobe Malfunctions from The Transformation.
The clothes are enchanted to regenerate so it's no biggie for them.
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