WILD THING YOU MAKE MY HEART SING

[mansionstaff]

Who: Whoever!
What: Catch-all log for Animel Shenanigans
When: All week, June 28th - July whenever
Where: All over the place
Warnings: Animels

((HERE BY POPULAR DEMAND...a catch-all log for any and all body horror week shenanigans. Feel free to use this log for whatever you desire. Want to thread out your dude's transformation? This log is for you. Want to thread out your dude coping with being an entirely different species? This log is also for you. Want your dude to run around being a wild animel? You guessed it--this log is for you. Just remember to label all of your threads with location/date and TAG YOUR DUDES.))

Comments

6/29 - 7/6 {on campus}

[maskxdemasque]

Ron met with the unfortunate fate of falling for the sweets sold at the bake sale, but he didn't know what he was in for when he awoke the next morning with a completely different take on the world. Everything felt different to him, from his height, to the pitch of his voice, to... Everything, really. One look in the mirror told him that something was terribly wrong.

He is available for bothering anywhere on campus, but he'll usually be staying out of the direct sunlight and sticking to grassy areas near the lake. Otherwise, he can be found anywhere in the school looking generally nervous and confused.

7/3

[thewrightidea]

Okay something was seriously going wrong this week. What was even up with this school anyway? All around him his staff seemed to vanish, as well as his students and colleagues... and in their places, strange things appeared.

He navigated the campus very carefully, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Then again, part of him didn't want to know. It was too much for him to process, apparently. Well, not that but just... it was so far detached from everything he knew.

But he had experienced worse.

So with a deep breath, he continued walking, until he thought he spotted something familiar in the grass by the lake. He did a double-take then, realizing he saw the few signature items of Ron DeLite's outfit but... Wait.

"Mr. DeLite? That isn't you, is it...?" He almost groaned, hoping that this thing would say no.

7/1

[trustycrowbar]

Gordon knew it was going to be one of those Mondays. The coffee machine was on the fritz, he was late for his first class of the day. Everything was just OFF.

On reporting into the security office he skulks past the front desk, glances at Ron, walks past, glances again, rounds the corner... and then walks back around the corner BACKWARDS, staring wide-eyed.

"... ...Uh. Ron?"

7/3 - 7/10 {anywhere}

[makesithot]

A. (7/3-7/4) Chili will be looking something like this while he slowly turns into a Carbon Dog. He's become more carnal in habits and can be found anywhere around the city. His presence is as hot as a second sun and he's a very uncomfortable person to have inside a small room, but he can also be found inside of the school anyway. Chili's susceptible to spontaneous headaches as he develops PSI and accidentally sets things on fire, making him a very irritable dog-human.

B. (7/5-7/7) By now, Chili would be full-on Carbon Dog and have no reserves when it comes to tearing into anybody who dares approach him unless you're the lucky sort. He'll be outside a lot of the time and being way too bright during the night, but he can be found anywhere. It's amazing that he's not catching everything his paws touch on fire, but hey, he's also probably more massive than the Earth itself.

C. (7/8-7/10) By the end of those hellish days, Chili will have fizzled out into Diamond Dog and slowly turn back into a weird fusion between Diamond Dog and Chili until he's back to normal. But this is still a great time to find him. He can be found outside and inside, and while he's not on fire, he's still an eye catcher. He's made of pure diamond, after all.

B B also B

[worldrestored]

So the question is, how lucky is Naoki today, when he looked to see what was behind door #1?

C~~~

[itsjustrats]

That is the shiniest thing bird!Garrett has ever seen he must have it for his nest.

Look out Chili, there is now a random Murkrow desperately trying to pick you up and carry you away.

C

[stay_classy_cat]

Seth had been on the hunt for that damned Murkrow making a nuisance out of itself for the past few days. Where there was a Murkrow there was a stash of shinies, which also interested the Persian. Instead the bird lead Seth to a dog made literally out of diamonds. Now if that wasn't a fantastic find, he didn't know what was.

Still, the shape of a dog was most displeasing... but it was nothing a little hacking and slashing couldn't fix. Seth was drooling at the thought of what a pretty penny the creature could fetch. He just had to catch it first!

Do you feel that ominous weight in the air this dark, moonless summer evening, Chili? Did you see those gleaming red eyes at the end of the hallway staring at you? They weren't going anywhere. They might have even been getting closer.

Byrne - July 1st through 8th

[dothelokomotion]

One morning, as Byrne was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in his bed he had been changed into a monstrous mole. Oh. Well that complicates things just a bit.

Wait.

This was not like anything Byrne had ever known, and when he woke up, he realized that he was very much not the Lokomo he had been born as. He wouldn't scream or freak out, but when he looked in the mirror and saw that his face was very much that of some kind of mole. Actually, his vision had changed a bit and he seemed even more sensitive to light, now that he thought about it. Moles lived in darkness, didn't they? Damn.

Surprising now nonchalant Byrne was about this whole thing. He moved along with the motions, acquiring a pair of sunglasses, putting on a robe... and that's it. He didn't want to leave his room. He was a god damned mole.

For the first day, he might have stayed indoors, staying out of sight, staying in the darkness. The second day he would have tried to do some research, even venturing outside. But he stayed in the darkness mostly. God forbid anyone recognized him like this...

July 3rd, twilight

[butterbelieveamanspromise]

Well well, look what we have here. Another overgrown mole who thinks he can walk all over another overgrown mole's turf as freely as he chooses? Think again, buster.

Mondo sensed him before he saw him. Mole senses, you know? Ever since the third day of his unsightly transformation, Mondo had eschewed the sight he was so accustomed to relying on for the world his other senses showed him. Before you know it, he was feeling things he could never see with his eyes, like the way the ground vibrates when someone approaches or the finest textures present in a rocky tunnel or a tree's leafy branch. His world became aromas instead of colors, sounds instead of shapes.

Not that he couldn't see period. He could barely make out the sizable figure in the dusky light, but he could definitely sense the same moleness that was his own, trespassing near his "Sanctuary" (read: near the saunas) no less, and it sent him reeling into territorial aggression. He had no right to be here. He'd show him who was the tougher mole who rightly belonged here!

With that, Mondo made his slow approach, at full height with claws extended to appear as threatening as possible. "Hey, you. Last chance to split and get outta my territory. You don't belong around here, and if you got any problems with that, you're gonna have to fight me about it."

Kyaputen Farukon July 4th Onward

[firepunch]

Did you think you were going to get to sleep in?

Think again.

Starting Thursday morning, a very large, very angry on-fire bird dinosaur Pokemon seems to have taken up residence on the school's rooftops and in the nearby forest. It usually leaves well enough alone, but like most rooster-type things, seems compelled to salute the sun between the hours of 5 and 7 AM.

Every day.

Very loudly.

Re: Kyaputen Farukon July 4th Onward

[itsjustrats]

SHUT UP

is what Garrett would say if he still had the physical capacity for speech. Or even the mental capacity for forming coherent thoughts. Instead his currently tiny bird brain just processed that there was a LOUD ANNOYING NOISE and he was gonna fly up there and stop it.

HEY OTHER BIRD. SHUT UP. CAW CAW PECKPECKPECK.

Pulse - 6/29-7/1, then 7/2 onward

[voltecpower]

PREVIOUSLY: After accidentally inhaling the magical transformative dandruff while preparing baked goods for the charity bake sale, Pulse managed to spend a whole night with the stuff running through his system until any symptoms occurred. The following morning, volunteering at the bake sale, he began to feel increasingly more miserable as his whole body was gradually overcome by a debilitating itch. During an attempt to escape back to his dormitory (which, if you haven't heard, is in cyberspace), Pulse suddenly felt the full effect of the tainted flour, as it began to transform him into a Reptile Of Unusual Size. After waking up from having passed out on the computer lab floor from the sheer agony of his bodily mutation, he discovered that he was trapped in the room. Luckily, his lab "roommate" Alter Ego was there in the room with him, and found a network post by Rhys concerning the situation affecting the school. After managing to establish contact with Rhys, Pulse was later assisted by Ulki, who helped him to escape the lab.

And now on to our story.

June 29 - July 1: Pulse still wasn't sure what he had turned into, or why, much less why so many other students were turning into various things. While he had already put his trust in Rhys to find a means of changing him back to normal, he still felt a strong need to investigate and find out who or what was responsible for these horrific transformations. Although his mobility and accessibility were rather limited in his current state, he would still go where he could and attempt to speak to anyone he could find, provided that he didn't think they would scream and run off at his approach. During this period of time, he will look like this.

At some point he would realize that he hadn't gotten in his daily exercise, which he had kept up as a routine every day since Major Raikov had left from teaching gym. He would then be found running laps around the track as fast as he could go without falling over. KATHUMP KATHUMP KATHUMP.

He had also begun to feel hunger pangs, a sensation completely new to him, as he has never had to eat before. Somehow, his cravings focused mainly on meat. Unsure if they provided any large servings of raw meat at the cafeteria, he would venture there to see what they had, at least.

He may also occasionally be found taking a nap somewhere on the campus grounds, having lost his ability to keep himself going on his own self-generated energy.

Once he finds out what he is, and realizes he's still got some transforming to do, he will try to embed himself somewhere deep in the wilderness to avoid harming anyone... and will run into a wild Werehog. In the futile attempt to protect himself, Pulse turns feral; unable to control himself, he engages in mortal combat with Shadow, and ends up at the bottom of the lake. However, being able to swim, he finds plenty of sustenance in the lake, and climbs out later to take a long nap.

July 2-??: After waking up, still in a feral state, Pulse will once again be hungry for living flesh. Remaining on campus grounds, he will approach the school and buildings, looking for anything he can turn into a hot meal. While he is humongous and very strong, he is still rather slow, and not so capable of protecting his vulnerable areas; his presence may also be announced by the scent of boiled/charred fish. During this time, he will look like this.

7/2 fight all the monsters aparently.

[worldrestored]

[And someone is sleeping outside during the daylight hours because some douche has been cawwing early morning and he's been trying to help people out and CAN'T HE JUST GET A FEW MINUTES OF SLEEP, PLEASE.

He's sleeping with a log serving as a pillow, it's that bad.]

6/29 ~ 7/6 [Anywhere]

[loverofinnocence]

How had he even gotten mixed up in things? He couldn't say for sure. He couldn't say anything period. But the situation had taken a rather drastic turn for the worse. The only good thing that seemed to come out of it was that he had at least his two yellow Pikmin to give him a hand at things. Which mostly meant the three of them wandering about with no real rhyme or reason.

Hadn't... Ai said something about him being their leader? And since he was no longer a man...

Scenario A - 06/29 ~ 07/04
Caim is a Pikmin. A red Pikmin to be exact. HE IS THE PIKMIN WITHOUT A LEADER. (Without the need for a leader in his opinion.) He's accompanied by two yellow Pikmin, who normally join him on places where he may go. At this point, we could probably just say Caim is starting his own Pikmin army.

Scenario B - 07/05 ~ 07/06
He will begin to feel more like himself and less like a Pikmin, and the change will come along with it. As he transforms back into a human, he'll initially keep some of the traits from the Pikmin - the pointy nose, no immediate mouth, and the flower growing out of the top of his head. By 07/06, he'll regain his original form (and probably be really unamused).

Senario A

[worstjock]

Is that a blue pikmin in the corner, staring out the window and experiencing what the Germans call 'existenzangst' ?

WHENEVER I don't care

[tacohat]

((Open:))
A big bird of prey-- a golden eagle, was awkwardly walking in big bird strides down a hallway, looking intently annoyed as birds of prey always do. His wings were closed against his body and he didn't even seem to be thinking of flying, despite the slow and difficult pace walking on feet designed more for perching and murdering small mammals. Eventually he reached the stairwell and started hopping up one step at a time.

((For Ziio:))
A rather indignant golden eagle was tangled upsidedown in a snare trap, feathers ruffled and wings splayed. He couldn't reach the rope with his beak, so he resigned himself to laying there like a pile of angry fluff.

[nottheproblem]

Snares weren't for birds. At least, they weren't intended to be. Ziio usually caught rabbits or other smaller mammals that she used later in various garments and trinkets. Things that reminded her a little of home and gave her something to use her free time on.

The eagle was more than a little surprising. Briefly, her eyebrows lifted before she moved to kneel down beside the trapped animal.

"You are down too low to be caught here," she said to it. Well. Him. The it she didn't know was him.

And idly, she did consider eagle feathers as decoration. Never from the bird itself - at least not in this circumstance. There was a preference for loose feathers as opposed to force on a creature she respected. (But to be fair, Ziio had a distinct appreciation for any animal who crossed paths with her.)

So when she moved again, it was one hand reaching for the knife she had tucked away. All with the intent to free the majestic eagle she'd inadvertently caught.

[gunplay]

A young ocelot was having the time of his life, exploring the world in true cat-fashion. He was a fully-transformed wildcat, and yet he retained accessories from his human form: a beret, scarf, and a gun holstered around his middle (not that there was any way he could use the gun with kitty-paws). He strolled about, getting into the kind of mischief expected of cats, such as climbing high places and scratching furniture and curling up on random beds.

[loveisbloominginmypants]

It was something you didn't see every day. At least, not something Snake saw every day. Hell, he didn't even see it once every ten years. Needless to say, he did pause rather abruptly when he spotted Ocelot... as... an ocelot...

And whatever it was that he was doing, Snake wasn't plain paying attention. Because who really would wear a beret and a scarf? And a gun? It was honestly too obvious. He knew about the transformations, too. He just had never expected something like that to happen to someone he knew.

"...Uh..." He began, and unsure of how else to proceed, his greeting was mostly ridiculous. "...Meow?"

Screeeeeee

[kumagypsy]

Who let the ghost out of the haunted dorm.

Oh wait, that's just Kumatora having been twisted into the form of a screeching banshee. She's apparently mad as hell and isn't gonna take it anymore, because if she sees you she will scream in your face.

Being a ghost, she can phase right through the walls to get to you, so if you start to feel a ghostly chill you might not want to turn around.

She really wants to scream at people. She'll wake you up in the middle of the night if she has to. Hey, if she can't sleep, nobody else can!

Re: Screeeeeee

[notstevejobs]

Apples Kid is working in his bedroom late night on some sort of invention, or is just wallowing around in a pile of filth. It's hard to tell the difference.

repairdino at your service

[planking]

At first, Flint thought he had escaped the latest round of Smash brand madness, as he seemed unaffected while everyone around him sprouted tails and feathers and started breathing fire. But then the scales started to appear, followed by sharpening teeth and fingers turning into claws (THAT was a fun night). He tried to stay in denial as long as he could, but then the tail appeared and he had to resign himself to the fact that he hadn't escaped this latest, erm, event.

He wasn't going to panic, though. He knew better than that. He had survived being a buffalo, a child (twice!), a woman, and body-swapped with another woman. He could deal with being a whatever-he-was-turning-into for a few days maybe.

Of course, it turned out to be a Drago. He hated this place so much.

Still insisting on keeping a stiff upper lip (do dinosaurs even have lips), Flint wrecked his doorway to get out of his room and proceeded to go about his job as usual. As much as he could, anyway. It's hard not to destroy things when you're a ten foot tall t-rex, and it's even harder to fix them when you have a big head and little arms.

Re: repairdino at your service

[worstjock]

A tiny blue thing crying tears of infinite sorrow is in the hallway you're trying to clean, Flint.

caw caw

[itsjustrats]

There's a Murkrow on the loose and he wants all of your shinies.

Jewelry, coins, camera lenses, reflective glass surfaces. It doesn't matter what it is- if bird!Garrett sees it he wants it. He will divebomb and take it and stash it in the nest he's built in the clock tower.

Somewhere in that tiny pea brain there is a disgruntled master thief dragging his hands down his face and thinking this is stupid. For the most part though, there's just a very single-minded Murkrow and it's probably flying right at your face.

The Saddest Man June 29th - July Whateverth

[worstjock]

The saddest man in the world is to be found moping in every corner, crying and wishing he were dead.

Between the 2nd and the 8th

[forgetbeam]

At first, Kiyotaka had thought he was safe from whatever awful curse was sweeping its way through the school. That wasn't to say he wasn't affected at all - it was pretty painful to watch his roommate's transformation progress and try to deal with the changes occurring in his mind, too.

It turned out Kiyotaka was due for a few changes of his own, too. They started late and they started small - hardening and sharpening of his nails, the minor growth of his teeth, the drying out of his skin around his hands, feet, and orifices. Next came the pain as his fingers stretched out beyond anything normal for a human, his gums bleeding as more teeth invaded a mouth that didn't have the extra room required, a few vertebrae began to protrude from his spine until they made even putting on a shirt difficult, patches of scales appeared all over his skin... It was pretty evident that he did not escape the curse after all.

And yet it never reached the point of a full transformation. Either he had a very special body or he'd just lucked out by only choosing to have the tiniest sample from the bake sale (sweets were unhealthy, after all!), but it was still enough to be taking a toll on his mind as well as his body. Most of the time he was able to go through his daily routines, but every once in a while he'd catch scent of something - not through his nose, but tasting it on the air - that made him freeze and become almost predatory. Other times he'd pass by someone and be struck by the urge to attack them and get them the fuck out of his space - an irritability only made worse on the days that a certain flaming chicken messed with his sleep schedule. On more than one occasion he completely lost track of what he was doing until he found himself either trying to scale a wall or splayed out on the concrete outside in the sunniest spots he could find.

He was not having a good time.

[kumagypsy]

Predatory? General irritability? Sounds like what he needs right now is somebody all up in his personal space.

Trying to study, dear Kiyotan?

T O O B A D

An icy finger reaches out and taps him on the shoulder.

6/29 - 7/6

[tempus_fixit]

[Dorms]

At first Lucca refused to come out of her dorm, quietly reading or in the bath for hours on end. But even with her nice roommate, she stared to feel lonely for her other friends...

[Campus]

Eventually she comes out, clutching her books to her in her froggy form and glancing around nervously. Naturally she was embarrassed, but also wary; after what Cyrus had broadcasted, she wasn't sure if she should be anywhere near the Ethics teacher for a while.

[Kraken Lake]

Lucca was a good swimmer, even before she was turned into a frog. Afterwards, as the hot afternoons wear on she spends almost every evening in the lake, splashing around in shorts and shirt.

7/1 Dorms

[lovesclearlakes]

While quietly reading in her own side of the room, Chiyo took a moment to sneak a peek at Lucca. The poor girl looked lonely and Chiyo couldn't help but to feel sorry for her. To have suddenly changed shape like that... and not by her own will, Chiyo couldn't imagine how Lucca might be feeling. She seemed like such a nice girl, unlike her previous roommate, Izzy, whom she was terrified of. Slowly, Chiyo took out her notepad to scribble down a few words and quietly climbed off her bed to gently tap Lucca on the shoulder.

Lucca, are you doing okay? Is there anything I can do for you?

Technically, if Chiyo had bothered to try, she'd realize her curse was already gone and she could speak again. But, as she had already grown accustomed to being mute for a month, speaking didn't really cross her mind.

7/1 - 7/6

[makesitcool]

Whoa, what's THAT?

You might notice, but then again, you might not. There appears to be a tangle of vines walking about, its noodly growths shaking about as it treads across campus. It's hard to tell what's underneath all that plant matter. No one really knows. All you know is that you can see one eye peeking through.

OR...

...it might be blending in with its environment. The greenhouse is a nice place for a grass-type to chill, after all. So is the forest, especially by the lake where it's moist. There is an abundance of nice spots for this wooblebeast to hang around.

Be careful, though! You might get... ensnared unwittingly.

7/3

[maxizard]

Oh look, it's a giant orange terror.

Max looks at you. He sees you in the hallway. "What the hell are you?" he asks.

6/30 - uhhhh sometime

[palupalu]

Rhys was no stranger to being in this skin. The only difference was his slow transformation into this state. Once he reined in some control over his sporadic electric episodes and found that balancing his morphing body shape was easy again, he was able to explore campus carefree. Well, for the most part.

Oddly enough, he didn't feel too apprehensive about this change. He'd secretly been hoping he could do this again since the last time he turned into an Ampharos, and now that he had this body back, he could do even more things he could never have done as a human, like light up his body. Even having a tail to sway was fun for him. He's a gentle and easygoing creature that won't run away unless threatened. Let's just hope he doesn't get sick like last time! That would put a damper on the fun.

6/30 is good

[voltecpower]

Pulse had been starting to wonder how he was going to be able to continue attending his classes, considering how he couldn't even fit through the classroom doors anymore, and had mostly been instructed to remain outside until something could be done about his transformation. After spending some time with his thoughts, laying out in the grass of the sunny courtyard, he decided that he should look into the possibility of obtaining a written note of excuse from the school physician. He wouldn't mind all the work he would ultimately be tasked with to make up for all those missed classes once he was back to normal, but for right now, there wasn't much else he could do.

But then, Rhys was one of those affected, too; would he even be able to provide such a note? Pulse remembered all the typos in those messages Rhys had sent him, when he had contacted him to tell him about his being trapped inside the computer lab. Whatever he was changing into, it was likely affecting his hands somehow, similar to how Pulse's hands had lost much of their purpose. Pulse then realized that he still had no clue as to what Rhys was turning into, and that there was no way for him to find out, unless he went out looking for him.

Pulse had always been a bit worried about Rhys since the day he met him; the man didn't seem to be in very good health. Pulse was feeling rather concerned about how the changes Rhys was going through were affecting him now. If he needed help, Pulse wanted to be there for him... even if he couldn't actually reach his office from where he was.

But then, wasn't there a window or two in the school's hospital? He tried to remember back when he had visited Rhys to get his shots, but he couldn't recall much. Nonetheless, stepping carefully between the buildings, Pulse made his way across the campus toward the main building, trying his best not to look frightening or imposing to any other students out and about, despite being several times larger than the overwhelming majority of them.

PIT PUTT SAVES THE ZOO

[raw_angel_power]

Wow, uhh... not every day you see a car with a face roaming around, even in this freakshow of a city. Who could THAT be? I thought everyone was turning into animals and, you know, sentient beings! Cars don't have souls!

That's what you think.

Pit Putt can be located pretty much anywhere, but he has difficulty getting up stairs, so that's a no-go. He also cannot enter bodies of water. Also, is it just you, or is there a mysterious orange pointy cursor floating in his general vicinity, clicking on things and making them do the most random actions conceivably possible? Is he even responsible for that? Only one way to find out.

Mondo Mole: Now the local Your Sanctuary boss!

[butterbelieveamanspromise]

There's a vicious mole on the premise! With... a ridiculous pompadour. Though from a distance, it looks more like it could be a bear, what with the gargantuan size and thick, brown fur and all. And my, what big claws you have!

He seems to be preoccupied with a certain region of the school grounds. Truth is, for reasons unknown he felt compelled to claim a specific spot as his own and guard it from trespassers with tooth and nail. It must be instinct to guard a peaceful spot. The closer you get to the sauna room, the more likely he is to come and seek you out. Provided he's not already there, of course. Don't think he won't sense you from far away. Because he can. And he will. So if you're in the sports and recreation area? It is highly advisible to get the fuck out. Or, you know. Defeat the mole boss and make it Your Sanctuary instead of his.

we can't stop here this is mondo country

[glazedandconfused]

Aoi had found the lake--now it was time to find the pool.

There had been some getting herself situated in the interim, of course. She'd showered (oh god a real shower), unpacked, and found out that people she previously thought were dead...were not so dead.

That was incredibly hard to swallow, and when Aoi found things hard to swallow, she went for a swim. And she'd been meaning to find the athletic facilities anyway, so this was really like killing two birds with one stone.

The sports center was impressive, that was for sure, and she felt a load taken off her mind just looking at it. Here would be the perfect place to work off all the worries she'd accumulated since arriving at the school.

It would be great, and there would be no monsters at all.

July 1st

[punchtheinferno]

The onset of Vinnie's transformation had been slow. It started in strange cravings, a distinctly unfamiliar discomfort in his guts that wanted to eat. More specifically, it wanted meat. Raw meat, if possible. As a lifelong vegan, this was pretty strange urge - but one that he found himself trying to satisfy whenever he let his guard down.

Being that the chemistry of his stomach was still very much a vegan Grass Type, however, it didn't end well.

The fevers came next, along with a ache in his back that only grew as time passed. Vinnie had an idea of what was going on, what with the others affected at the school - another fucking fun week of turning into shit - but despite this knowledge, his stubbornness had magnified to the point where he simply didn't want to seek help from anyone. The worse he felt, the more he wanted to isolate himself - to hide away his vulnerabilities.

Eventually, his feverish mind dragged him out into the mountains, instinctually trying to find somewhere private. He holed up in the first cave he could find and collapsed in a sweaty heap. The pain in his shoulder blades and spine had just become unbearable - his head swam, unwilling to do anything but lie there with his face pressed against the cool rock.

There was a ripping sound as the tissue over his back began to tear. Blood dribbled down from the split skin, but at this point, Vinnie could barely feel it anymore. The wings that emerged were, if anything, a relief to the building pressure inside his body. Still slick with the residue of some viscous membrane, they twitched feebly, like the limbs of a newborn that had yet to comprehend how its own body worked.

At the same time, a small flame began to burn down at the base of his spine. It didn't take long for his clothes to start catching fire and burning off as it got hotter. As it grew, so did the joints in his vertebrae - longer and longer until it stretched out into a fully formed flame tail.

Somewhere along this process, Vinnie was vaguely aware of throwing up the contents of his stomach before releasing his humanoid form and blacking out.

The very next day, a new Charizard was roaming around that mountain area with a torn left wing. He was trying to hunt on foot, to the best of his meager ability, but the extent of his success amounted to single mouthful of dead chipmunk.

[rivalkidneypunch]

It wasn't as though Char had never been around other Charizards before; Sasha, Riwane, and Sienna were all constant presences around here, and he'd been around plenty of males when he and Sasha had shown the Route 10 flock how to function on their own. This wasn't even the first time he'd dealt with people he knew becoming Charizards. This was, however, the first time he'd dealt with so many males right on his own front step, so to speak. He might not have been transforming into a wild animal, but the sudden crowding of his turf made his territorial animal instincts impossible to ignore. It was hard not to be on edge; without even really realizing it, what had started as hunting for a snack for Green had turned into a patrol of the borders of the territory Char considered his.

His vigilance wasn't for nothing, it seemed; as his wings brought him closer to the mountains, a telltale flicker of orange up on the rocks caught the corner of his eye. Another Charizard.

Immediately, Char roared a furious warning. He adjusted his course, heading in for this other dragon. The closer he got, the more sure he was that this wasn't one of his Charizards. It was immediately obvious that this one burned nothing like Green or Max. By the time he reached the mountainside, feet scrabbling on the loose shale and stones, he was positive this was an intruder. He wasted no time: he flared his wings and shot a jet of fire skyward. The same gesture he'd shown Vinnie last time they'd met on this mountain, but this time much less taunting and much more forceful.