Tanuki's Scrawlings

CW// Blood, Extreme pain, Partial Suffocation, Body Horror, Bodypart loss, Teeth loss

A grim discussion was being held at Anyx Trine today. The clouds were heavy and sky grim, as if showing signs of an ominous event. Though, to anyone else in the area, it was simply inclimate weather. Under it all, was a group of dragons, speaking in their tongue with a sound that startled even the birds away.

“We must do something about the giant woman.” An aged dragon huffed, “The more she returns to there, the greater danger it poses to us, and her alike.”

“But how? She is not Ishgardian, so speaking to her could push her to fight. And we are not prepared for someone her size.” A youthful, feminine dragon pondered aloud, as if inviting someone to propose a solution with ease. Though, she was met with momentary silence.

“She is simply seeking stone and bounty, yes?” A third, wise dragon spoke, “Perhaps we should simply send her away, and insist she hire a more seasoned---”

“Ah!” A common tongue speaking serpent dragon spoke up, slithering along the aged dragon’s legs, startling the group. “I have a proposal myself! Surely you could hear me out?” Its tone was mischievous, something only the aged and wise dragons seemed to notice, while the others seemed far more unaware.

“Speak.” The feminine dragon leaned forward, growing short of mood, but only because she was unsure of what to think of it.

The serpent dragon wringed its claws and nodded, “Of course. The stone she strikes is part of a holy ground, yes?”

The other dragons perked a brow, each starting a sentence only to be cut off.

“Of course it is! You roost, and wake there, your children break free of their hardened binds of birth and start their first seconds untouched. Perhaps we should simply dispose of her! Put her in a place where she would no longer be a bother!” The serpent dragon hissed, trying to hide its smile only to give it away with an excited wriggle of the tail.

“I... Don’t think that would be for the best... She’s just a tradeswoman, and we simply want her to be---” The aged dragon was interrupted causing a sour expression to form on his face.

“Taken care of! Of course, of course! By any means needed to handle a defiler who can’t fight. That would make it easy!” It sneered, treating the cut-off sentence as if it were regurgitated in repetition. “I could handle it for you easily! Just.... Just say the woords...” It squirmed through the air with a discomforting motion, patting the aged dragon's snout in a way that even a dog would find demeaning.

“No. Abso---” Once more, the aged dragon’s patience was tested with further interruption, though from his own kin this time.

“Handle how?” The feminine dragon inquired, testing the serpent openly. “If you strike her down, we’d only be back in the cycle of hate we seek to avoid.”

The feminine dragon held a tone that made it difficult for the serpent dragon to get a word in until it was permitted to speak. And spoke it did, though its patience grew shorter. “That!” The serpent dragon paused, as if waiting to be stopped, “Will be for me to handle, and you to wait and see. I will assure you that she will be handled.” It chirped, keeping its distance while giving a reassuring motion that anyone else would take nicely. But to them, it was mocking and dismissive.

The serpent reeled a bit at the looks and silence, retreating to the top of a nearby loose brick on the wall expecting an object to be flung, but none came. It was only met with stares, some upset, while others were left perplexed at the suggestion from the start. The small moment of fear from the serpent caused a few of the attending dragons to depart, the smaller ones flapping away with a mocking laugh, while the larger ones sauntered to their dirt-worn nests to rest and disregard further.

“So,” The serpent spoke up after a quick look around, “What will it be?”

“Fine.” The aged dragon relented, “But if we receive word of a dead traveler, we will send you into the fires of our mountain. Or, depending on how close she was, we will hand you to the villagers nearby for them to judge you appropriately.” He was clearly disappointed that he had to accept, eyeing other dragons who failed to protest the nature of the offer.

“Of course! I will not disssaappoint!” The serpent dragon cackled, “I will not disssappoint…” as it squirmed away up the wall in an almost unnatural way, clearly excited for the task to come.

Elsewhere, a certain, towering, fat Raen was trotting her way along, rucksack in one hand and a pickaxe in the other.

“Come now, Carby!” She called out, “We have to check that tip we received for some good rock salt for the cafe!”

Her call sent her companion fat chocobo, as well as her carbuncle into a happy trot. The trips she made with them was something the three of them always looked forward to. It was the one of the few times the group traveled in a smaller party, often leaving them feeling like they went on adventures like others who were not bound to business, her carbuncle being the most excited for the trips.

As it led the way to the location the three heard of, Carba pranced about, hopping from one small stone to the next keeping in Harekumo’s vision as much as he could, knowing she would get lost if she was not near enough. As the small-in-number-but-not-size band of travelers drew closer to the cave, she took a second to call a stop, looking to her fat chocobo companion.

“Wait here, okay?” She reached out and pressed her palms to the chocobo’s cheeks, lightly sinking into the flabby, fat-packed face. “Once we’re done, I’ll come get you and load the stone in the saddle. You won’t have me riding you today so don’t worry about too much weight.” She comforted the bird, receiving an honest sigh of relief from it as it let out a chirp at her. While she’d normally take to riding atop her magically enhanced carbuncle friends form, which was far more fit for her size, there were times she had to ride the turgid bird. Those times were often met with protests for more food and increased sweets servings, but often performed with relative ease. Even if she was a 12 foot giant of a woman.

Once she felt the chocobo was comforted enough, she departed into the cave, taking careful steps and ducking down to avoid any stone and overhanging wildlife. Her bounty wasn’t so deep to need markers and was clear enough to call her chocobo and companion carbuncle in. A few yalms deeper the raen traveled before stumbling across a stray crystal outcropping.

“Oh!” She cried out in surprise, “We should sample this too before we go!” Her eyes locked to the shining stone like a crow’s would a shining object.

“Blue...” She pondered aloud, taking a slow, wobbling pace around the cave. Her eyes scanned about, taking in all the details she’d need to strike the find. “Water crystals in such an odd place. Isn’t this mountain known for fire though?” She thinks aloud, talking to nobody in particular as her carbuncle mimics her behavior to the best of his ability. He takes it upon himself to test the crystals with a tap from his nose and a hesitant bump from his paw.

When he got no response from it, he let out a confident squeak that rang to the raen’s horns. “Mmh. You think so?” She leans in more, pressing her breasts firmly against the stone as she takes a far closer look than before, nearly meeting face with the shining stone. “Well... If pressing against it like that didn’t elicit a response from the crystals, it's stable. Or stable enough.” She nods to herself softly, backing away with a careful push.

“Ready?” She calls out, her voice echoing through the cave. “Stand clear! Crystal being struck!” She calls out purely out of habit. It was a safety measure that was created to prevent accidents from striking volatile crystals near others, and she was the first in the company to adhere to its use. It was even a habit for her.

With a careful raise of her arm, she bears the pickaxe down on the crystal’s surface. The sound of the impact sounded closer to an explosion than the collision of steel and stone, shattering the crystal in a single well placed strike. The sound echoed out with a startling rumble, causing any wildlife outside the cave, as well as her fat chocobo, to flinch as if a bomb was set off.

Art by BewilderedAngel

The sound rang out far enough that it drew the attention of a serpent dragon; one that had been looking for her.

She gained a look of surprise, eyes wide and glasses hanging low on her face. “O-oh!” She yelped, suddenly worried she ruined her quarry. It wouldn’t be the first time it would happen, but it wasn’t another mark on the chart for her. With a hurried motion, she kneels down on all-fours and checks each crystal carefully, her hand pressing aside anything that wasn’t needed. As she counts each crystal and arranges them by size, the serpent dragon worms its way behind her, with a wry grin.

“And here I was thinking the trespasser on our sacred grounds was simply a Bomb. But you are no fiery beast, nor looking any more ready to burst than an overstuffed pheasant.” It hissed mischievously, taking a second to size her up from her near-prone position.

The sudden voice coaxed a sharp, fearful squeak from her mouth, sitting straight up in a tense pose. “W-who?!”

“You are intruding on a holy ground, interloper.” The serpent drew itself into her vision from the crystal she struck, taking a moment to tap it just as well. “It would be wise for you to see yourself from here. Lest something unfortunate befalls you as others have had.”

Her eyes darted about, before landing on the serpent dragon perched in its place. She opened her mouth to speak for a second, before closing it, thinking carefully before she finally spoke. “Nnnno I think this is just a cave.” She nods to herself, relaxing some at the size contrast of the two.

“How do you know? Are you a dragon yourself? A kin of the locals?” It pressed, leaning forward and pointing with a claw and tail in an accusatory manner.

“No.”

“Then how do you know?” It’s tone grows more confident, urging her to make a mistake.

“...Because dragons would be resting here.” She answers, giving it a look of concern. “Are you new to these parts? Maybe you’re the trespasser?”

“You--- YOU DARE ACCUSE ME OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING?!” The serpent struggles at first to gain a tone of indignation, as if being caught, only to regain its composure in a blink of the eye.

Her carbuncle carefully rounds her with his tails reared up and ready to cast, waiting on a word from her. But the motion was simply met with a soft rub of his head.

“No, I’m just confused why you’re telling me I’m trespassing.” She deflects, “Besides, this is a mountain. I’d think the dragons would want something far more fancy than a cave of crystals.” She motions around her as she slowly stands up, towering over the serpent in a way that accidentally intimidates the creature.

“W-we have our preference!” It presses once more, growling. Though it was clearly not prepared for her size now that she stood up, “Some of my kind prefer humble grounds, and this is one of them!”

“Carby it’s okay. I doubt it’s from here, or going to do anything.” She shakes her head, walking to the pile of crystals to sort through.

“You DARE disown me from my LAND?!” It shouts, its frustration bleeding through.

“...I don’t think this is your land to begin with, little dragon.” She finishes her counting as she turns, her pickaxe being tossed to her by her carbuncle. “I’ve seen the dragons here. I think they’re cute, and you’re not them.” She nods confidently.

“HOW DARE---” The serpent dragon shouts only to be interrupted by the Raen giant pointing at it with her pickaxe.

“I’m not sure what you’re up to, but if you are being truthful about these grounds? You should probably move along as well.” She counters it with a stern tone, tapping it square on the head with the pointed tip, drawing blood from its scales that would be otherwise resistant to strikes, were it not her.

The serpent dragon froze in a sudden bout of fear mixed with rage. Only when blood fell over its eyes, did it realize the pain it should feel, clenching the wound on its head. It could only be stunned at her, its tough hide easily breached by simple motions for her. It stared as she sauntered out, crystals since plucked and packed during its dazed state.

“Y-you...” It whispered, seething with a fiery rage. “YOU!” It shouted, its rage breaking through as its body stood straight and leaped at her just before she could depart the cave’s mouth.

“You---” She starts.

With a hand soaked in blood, the serpent dragon strikes the base underside of her tail with a firm strike, shouting “HOW’S THIS THEN! A CURSE! FOR THE FOUL GIANT!” as a mark of blood was driven into her adipose-heavy scaled tail. It’s shape was a broad smear at first, before slowly forming into a glowing mark in the shape of a coiled dragon with what blood it could take from its palm.

The sensation of it all caused Harekumo to let out a suggestive whine, before she gasps and shouts, “NOT FOR YOU!”

The serpent had little time to process what happened before the giant tail drove it into the stony ground with an earth-rattling impact, paired with the pained gurgles of a thoroughly smashed creature. When her tail lifted from the ground, there rested a side-lying serpent, packed firmly into the now-cratered ground with a leg angled, and a position that could only originate from a defeated and disrespected martial artist.

“C-come, you two! We need to hand some of these in to the locals as a thank you for the tip.” She huffs, before striding off in a flustered anger, blissfully unaware of the mark placed upon her.

When the raen woman walked further away, the serpent dragon weakly pulled itself from the tail-shaped crater, letting out a pleased hiss that would struggle to hide his deeply-wounded pride. “Good, good…” Before falling to the ground with a blood-splattering cough, now left unconscious to the elements.

A day later, the Raen giant arrived at Ishgard, her small carriage loaded with more stone and crystals collected along the way, all drawn steadily by her companion fat chocobo. Much like the first time she came to the Holy See, plenty of eyes were set upon her with a mix of admiration and concern. It was something she was used to, this being no exception. Her footsteps thumped heavily on the road in front of her as she made her way to The Brume’s Forgotten Knight, paying little mind to anyone in her way. All the while still grumbling about the dragon.

“...The audacity! Carby, can you believe such a thing would try that on me? Just what was he trying to do?” She rambles, striding along while absentmindedly checking in her caravan for the goods to be inspected. “Who even strikes the base of someone’s tail like that?! Just trying to get a girl hungry, I’m sure! But what kind of weirdo dragon just… Ugh! It got what it deserved! For sure!” She continued on, leaving concerned looks on the book-keeps face while she continued on. The anger was getting to her enough to leave deeper strokes on the ledgers than she intended, having to rewrite hers more than once. Before long though, she checked in to her designated room at the Inn, one built especially for her stays in the Holy See. It was a fully funded and specially built room for someone her size. And while it wasn’t always for her, some found it novel to use it while she was gone. But tonight it was her resting place. The door to the room itself was built next to one of the warehouses below The Forgotten Knight, a solid stone walkway wide enough to fit a pair of shipping carts in a row and wide enough for her to come and go with ease.

Her upset wound down after a while as she noticed she was causing further worry that she had gone mad, leaving her only lightly grumpy on her way to her room. When she was settled in, she called in a company maid to prepare her a stew to eat, a local pheasant cooked skybuilder meal that she had grown fond of during the rebuild of Ishgard. “But what was his intention?” She asked herself, tapping her finger on the table near her, eyes locked on the fire made to cook. “He wasn’t one of the usual dragons who checks up on me when I’m there. Those are usually friendly since the whole war thing sorted itself out.” She continued to think aloud. The fire crackling set her into a short silence, as she dove further into thought, spacing out while the maid carried on.

After a while, the maid snapped her back to reality by placing a large wooden bowl on the table, making just enough noise to startle her out of her thoughts. “Your stew, Miss Lockwood.” The maid said, addressing her by her adoptive name as was customary for the company to her. “Skybuilders Rail Stew. For the grumpy Raen.”

“O-oh! Thank you Swaying Reed!” Harekumo sighed with a soft smile. The scent of the stew wafted past her chest and up her nose, leaving her to let out another, happier sigh. “It smells wonderful as usual.”

“Anytime, dear. Just let your thoughts wash away with the food and get some good bed rest. Okay?” Swaying Reed comforted, her palm patting the giant woman's fat arm.

“O-okay.” Harekumo nods, smiling the best she could, only for it to fade when the maid left the room. When she was left to her thoughts, the raen took the meal slow, silently pondering the events before, questioning what happened and the occasional subtle burning sensation under her tail. Each time she dove deep into thought, she subconsciously stirred her spoon in the stew, dwelling on it longer than she wanted to. Each bite she took broke up each thought, the flavor taking her away from the frustration. “Mmmh… So good….” She groaned, suddenly downing the entire stew regardless of its warmth, only to fill the bowl once more herself.

The more she thought about it, the more she found herself downing more and more stew, huffing through her nose each bowl she filled and consumed. “...I’m hoping it’s nothing, Carby. What it did.” She looked over at the shining emerald-furred friend of hers, as he squeaked and nodded, giving her a comforting look, taking his time on his own meal.

Between bowls, she got more comfortable, shedding her miner work clothes in favor of panties made for her size, though a tad too small, and a teal carbuncle themed shirt. It was a bit worn, but still taken good care of, showing hardly any sign of fabric stress from her size, or wear from her plump arms. The second she was dressed for bed, her carbuncle hopped up from the sofa, trotting eagerly to her side, sitting next to her and resting his chin on her thigh.

As the night passed, she started to breathe heavily, rubbing the sweat from her forehead. “Mmmhh… I think I was out in the cold for too long. I’m… I’m not feeling too good...” She whined, her face paler than usual. “I… Think I’m gonna turn in early.” She nodded to herself, stroking her carbuncles head softly as he nudged her breast with concern.

The burning sensation on her tail grew stronger as the curse mark throbbed.

She carefully moved to her bed, her footsteps growing more and more labored each step. After a while she began to stumble, her panting getting heavier and the sweating more intense. Her expression grew more dire, her whines louder and worries stronger. But with one last struggle, she climbed into bed with a labored flop, and layed there panting heavily, her chest heaving with breath.

The suddenness of the fall sent the carbuncle into a small panic, spurring it to sprint out of the room to seek help, leaving her alone to weather the coming storm.

A few minutes passed before she seemed to worsen, her panting growing heavier with labored whines, as she squirmed about in bed. “S-so tight…” She cries out, “And the burning…! It feels like my tail is on fire…!” as her hands clench at her chest. “I--- I can’t take it…!” The grip on her shirt tightened more and more, as she felt a crawling sensation coming from the curse mark that was burning itself into her skin. She squirmed about, her tail wiggling and slapping the floor in an attempt to shake the sensations, but no motion or strike would stop her pain. “Stop it… Wha---” She chokes on her last word, coughing and gasping sharply as she feels her face heat up with an intense heat.

The sensation on her tail increased. The crawling feeling tracing the body of her plump tail as the scales peeled off and fell to the floor, the once soft scales hardening quickly as the cells die out from being separated from her body. Finer scales began to grow along her tail as her skin split and her pores opened. The once pronged scales fell last, giving way to a new tip of her tail, sprouting fibrous and fanned shapes. The blood that came with the growth burned away, leaving faint burn marks on the bed and floor alike.

Her pale skin receded to a new flesh in turn, what scales were on her body falling just as well, already hardened and curled lightly. Each row of fine scale came in turn, forming a new flesh for her body along her back and sides. All of it coming with a crawling, burning feeling across her body. She couldn’t help but curl up as much as she could, gripping sheets and shirt alike. She wanted to scream, to cry through the pain of change, but as it went further, it grew harder and harder to breathe. As the newly growing scales crawled up to her face, the burning grew more intense, her attempts at crying resulting in pained wheezes and gasps. She wanted to vomit, her stomach prepared to empty its contents from the intense agony she was experiencing.

When the scales settled on the tip of her nose, ejecting her old pale scales to the bed, she felt something different. Cracking and popping that reverberated through her head, replacing the pain and confusion with an intense panic. Everything in her mind told her her head was cracking open, bursting from the inside, but this fear was replaced immediately, as her horns that once served as her ears sat on the pillow she rested on. With what little strength she could muster, she picked her horns up and haphazardly tried to push them back to the sides of her head, causing a sharp, unfamiliar sensation of stabbing and pressing. The more time she had to process it, the more she tried to scream, continuing to be muffled by the balled up feeling in her neck. She had new ears. Long ones that could flop and twist. With the little reprieve she received, she dropped the horns, her eyes shaking in vision as she stroked and tugged them. She had no clue when they came in, but she wanted them gone, immediately tugging at them as if to remove them. Though, she could only spend little time feeling them, as a sharp pain struck her head once more.

Her wheezing in fear grew stronger and faster, as she brought her hands to her head in pain. Her fingers felt lumps on her scalp. Lumps that were growing more and more, pressing further and further outward until the skin split and spilled blood on her hands. She could only let out a terrified and agonized gasp, panting the best she could as her throat continued to feel more and more constricted. She pressed her fingers to the skin-splitting protrusions only to have them pressed aside by growing bone protrusions that jutted in a curving about shape, the bone soft to pressure, but only growing harder with time. Much like the blood from her tail, it spent little time exposed to air, before evaporating into an intense heat.

The bone protrusions spent little time being small, creaking and cracking as they grew to longer forms and hardening further, angling back and curving in a way that felt familiar to her. She wouldn’t be permitted to think much more about it, as more and more sensations of pain struck her in various places. Where burning would stop in one place, it would return elsewhere, next moving across her belly to the underside of her chin. The intensity was more than enough to cause her to return to writhing. What were once fine scales across her skin, merged into folded and firm strips of smooth flesh, matching the texture of her scales, though without break in form.

When her skin seemed to stop burning, she felt her hands burn next. She rolled to her back and writhed further, half-curling her fingers as her muscles spasmed and tensed up. She felt like they were going to fall off, her arms shaking and twitching from it all. When the twitching stopped, she witnessed her fingers fatten and merge together into one, before splitting apart once more into fewer fingers, leaving her with one less on each hand, and plumper palms. As the sensations travel to the tips, her skin splits there as well, pushing out firm, animalistic claws as the fingernails dropped from them.

Her feet followed next, the scale growth traveling down to her toes as they merged much like her fingers. The burning sensation there was far more dull, but in its place was a strong muscular ache, as muscle shifted and crawled across bone and mass. As her toes split into their new shapes, claws sprout all the same, protruding a bit out from the fat padded shape that would serve as her feet. As her feet shifted, her shins and thighs grew heavier, bloating and swelling up with a muffled, wet glorp. What started at her feet, traveled up to meet her hips, the scaled shape shifting slightly as joints twist and reshape across her legs. She wanted to move and flex her legs to fight through the pain trying to resort to careful breathing, only to be fought by the swelling lump in her throat.

When the extremities settled, she felt her face heat up once more, bringing her hands to claw at the growing itching sensation. The nose that once hid in the corners of her sight, now found itself always present. Her face soon bore a snout fit for a dragon, housing a bent pair of glasses and a fine layer of scales. She tried once more to cry out for help, meeting the ball of something blocking her throat. Each time, it felt bigger and fuller, taking up more space in her neck.

As her neck began to settle, the cracking and creaking changed its source, moving from her spine to her mouth. She was left with the most intense pain she had felt yet, as her teeth felt ready to rip her skull open. The nerves that were already beginning to shift about in her, scraped firmly against something new, clueing her in on what was to come. Her fingers rushed to her newly grown maw, feeling the space that formed between her teeth. She cried out more as it grew stronger. The more she felt, the looser her teeth felt, until they came out one by one. Falling from her hands with a stream of steaming blood, she felt something poking through her gums. New formations that protruded much like her horns, but only in smaller shapes. She felt the creak of her maw sound out, as teeth jutted out from her gumline, creaking and growing into a far more feral feeling shape. She wanted to grit them immediately to bear through the continuing pain, but the new growths, sensitive as they are, were still finding their place as they shifted and grew into their safe alignment.

Before long, she found her scratching more focused, clawing away at the cheeks of her snout as long whiskers grew out, taunting her blurred vision with the occasional movement. Then, she felt her neck gain a searing pain, a burning sensation as the cracking and creaking of bone and muscle sounded out once more. At this point, she knew what was coming. Something on her was changing again, the thick ball in her throat growing more and more, as she struggled to even wheeze. As the cracking and creaking grew louder, it was easier for her to breathe. Her neck grew longer and fatter, a heavy weight swaying and jiggling as a fattening mass bloated on to it.

She wanted it all to end, the pain, the haze, the flood of sensations and senses, and there was nothing there to comfort her, to console her sudden changes. Tears strewn down her newly grown snout and neck, as she knew it wasn’t quite done yet. Though, she wouldn’t need to feel it anymore, as everything felt heavy to her, motions laboring and an intense fatigue overtaking her, leaving her to lay helplessly on her bed. Things felt smaller to her as time went on, but she could only process less and less. In her head, what little she could think, all circled around the worry of death or possession, fears of turning into a voidsent. A thought that would turn into a nightmare after she passed out.

While she was unconscious further growths took hold, though, she was hardly awake enough to feel the pains, letting out soft whines as she felt a far-dulled pain across her body. She was swelling as well, fatter and bigger, as her clothes creaked and tore. The wood of her bed protested the growth as well, groaning and cracking as new weight was being put on her.

When her body settled into its growths, the changes now all set on her, she laid there, peacefully slumbering. Were it not for the fact she was once simply a giant raen, anyone who would come in and see her sleeping on a now destroyed bed would find it a peaceful slumber.

“Wuuuuuhh… Wuuuuuuuuuuuuh! W-W-W-W-WAAAAAAAAAAAAH! DRAGOOOOOOOON!” Cried the innkeep, the only one who responded to the carbuncles squeals and pleas for help.

“Mmmh…” Harekumo whined, “So loud…” The now-dragon blissfully unaware of the state of things. “Dr-dragon?” She starts to ease herself up by her arm, only to have her side meet with the ceiling of the room, cracking and rattling the wood. “Mm…! Wha---”

“THERE'S A DRAGON IN THE ROOM! IT--- IT ATE ONE OF THE---” The innkeep broke into a horrified yell, that echoed both through her room, and the rest of the building. “IT ATE THE GIANT GIRL!”

“E-eh…?” She shifted a bit more, wiping her eyes with her hands as the ceiling cracked and groaned more. “W-why is the ceiling…. A---” She paused, craning her neck over her breasts as she woke up more. “A!” She yelped, shifting carefully on the floor, spreading the shattered bed about, “Wait! Nonono! It’s me!” She assured, panicking by proximity. “What do you mean dragon? I don’t see…” She stops suddenly, arm reached out to calm the terrified innkeep, only to catch a glimpse of herself in a mirror on the wall.

Art By CraftyYokai

“UUUWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?! A-- IS THAT ME?!” She screamed, sending the innkeep into further panic as they sprinted down the hall.

“C-CALL A DRAGOON! CALL THE GUARDS! SOMEONE! ANYONE! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLPPP!”

“W-what wait whatnodon’tcallthemI’mnotadragon---” She struggled with her words only to fumble in the room more, crashing furniture and wood about. During the struggle to get upright, she comes across a mirror, staring deep into it. Were she to have flesh still, the girl would go pale. “Nononono… I need… I need to leave. I need to go. Carby please tell me you…” She turned to face him, seeing her dearest friend even take a step back, unsure of what to think of it. “N-no…” She felt her heart sink.

As the screaming grew distant, it seemed to be met with a faint voice of concern, before several more. Normally she wouldn’t be able to hear it, however her ears seemed far more in tune than even her nose. She wanted to figure out what all else she could hear, but she didn’t have time. She needed to escape.

“I… I need to go. I need to leave. Before someone tries to hurt me.” She shuffles about more as she mumbles to herself, fighting back tears. Before long, in her struggle to find a large enough exit, the whole room was in shambles, furniture decimated into splinters, fabrics ripped and ruined, and glass broken and turned almost to dust. All of this only made her panic more. “…I… I don’t want to do this but… “ She whines, before pushing her head through the nearest window, using all the strength she could manage. It was far more than what was needed, however, as she pushed herself through the wall in an attempt to escape the room, shattering stone and wooden frame, now climbing to her feet.

Only then could she take in something else different. Things around her felt smaller. Noticeably smaller. Taking a second to absorb the observation, she perked her ears and they flicked about. It was coming to her more and more. She was the dragon, and while she was noticeably fatter, she was also much bigger. Easily a few feet taller outright and occupying the whole of the Brume.

She didn’t occupy it without notice either, as shouting broke out at her arrival, tipping off the guards of where she may be now. “I-I need to go now! I don’t care where! I just need to go!” She yelps, caring little for the fact she was wearing only torn socks, a shirt that was giving way to her breasts, and nothing else in the coldest of snow, as she sprint forth in a stone-cracking stride toward the nearest way out. One she wasn’t too fond of due to its height from the ground below, but the one choice she had with her new size.

As she rounded the corner that would lead her out, she spotted more guards, some hesitant, some scareroused, but all brandishing spears in her direction. “YOU NEED TO HALT! While dragons are permitted in Ishgard, you are not one we are familiar with, and are under suspicion of the disappearance of Lady Harekumo Omomo!” One guard barked out, slowly losing his hesitation.

“B-but I A---!” She paused, taking a second to think on what she was about to say, only to charge forward in an effort to get past. She wanted to defend herself, tell them she was Harekumo, and something happened, but she knew that there was still some tension from the times not too far past. She felt the only option would be to do her best to push through the line of guards. While some did step aside, a few met with her fat thighs, one groaning suggestively at the feel of it as he was slammed aside, letting her pass through the gate.

“Quick! Seal the Arc of the Worthy and go after her! She’s clearly too fed to make it too far, so do what you can to keep on her!” The guard lead called out, doing his best to not look relieved she was going elsewhere, instead of deeper into the city.

She strode forward in a heavy sprint, the ground beneath her taking imprints of her feet as stone and brick gave in to her weight across the Steps of Faith. The second she passed through the last gate more guards were present. Some were spear wielding knights, while others were gun-touting marksmen, but all were stricken with awe at her size. “I…” She hesitated at first, knowing that the next words she said would have to be picked carefully. “I don’t want to do this.” She said calmly, stepping into a ready position.

“...Neither do we.” One guard said, frowning more. “But we have an obligation.”

She met eyes with him through his open-faced helmet, frowning just the same. “...Nothing I can say will convince you either.” She adjusted her glasses one last time across her nose, giving her just enough vision to see him.

He simply shook his head.

Her posture sank a bit more, entering a guarded stance with her palms forward, “Not unless I’m captured.” She nods to herself softly, before closing her eyes. She wasn’t a fighter, she never was. Every time she was in trouble, someone had to rescue her, or she had to resort to what she knew that worked. But she wasn’t prepared to fight people, nor was she wanting to. But something in her core lit up.

The first guard to charge was next to the one who spoke to her, making an attempt to drive a spear forward only for it to be caught by her in a swift motion from her. It was quickly pulled from his arms and flung aside, only for her to grab him by the waist and toss him back into the snow. His path flew past the rest of the guards heads with a swift woosh, before a faint, snow-padded thump sounded out in the distance.

“S-STOP HER! BRING HER DOWN!” The guard who sounded in charge cried out, sending the rest forward in a charge that was only sent back with Harekumo spinning on her heel. Her tail made a firm impact against them all at once, throwing them similarly over the one guard remaining’s head as she brought her foot down in front of him. Her fist flew forward and stopped directly in front of him, the elezan looking as if he was watching a train barrel down the rails at him.

Her hand was shaking. She was hesitating, knowing she already got carried away and made matters worse for herself. She attacked a garrison of guards, striking them aside and sealing the crime she commited into her future. “F-forgive me.” She whispered to the remaining guard, not knowing it was the one who spoke to her before.

“You…” He said, fear thick in his throat, “You hesitated…”

The second she heard him acknowledge what she did, her hand grabs him by the waist and carries him forward as she breaks into another sprint. The second she was clear of the gate fully, she lightly tossed him aside into a pile of snow. He was left confused, and later found by his fellow guard, equally thrown off by how she seemed to deliberately aim for them to land in safer spots in the snow.

When she was further in the mountain range, she turned and panted heavily, looking around with her head as high as she could manage. “I… I think I lost them…” She sighed, closing her eyes a moment to seek relief in her mind. As she faded deeper into her mental happy place, she heard some guards from afar call out her footprints. “D-damn it…” She whined, starting into another run, now taking care to do what she could to hide her footprints behind her.

Before long, she found herself at the edge of Coerthas, spotting less and less firs around her, other kinds of familiar trees taking their place. “W-what just happened… Why am I a dragon now?! Why did I strike those guards?!” She cried out, tiredly trodding deeper into the forest. “I… I could have just talked to them! They didn’t want to do that!” She broke into a sob as her steps grew heavier from exhaustion. While she was lost in the woods, she knew she at least got away, as she slowed her pace. “Why…” She whispered, tears streaming down her snout, “I want to go home! I want to see mom and dad!” She slowed down more, her steps heavier and legs weaker. “I want to see carby…” Was the last thing she could utter out, before falling to her stomach with a ground rumbling flop.

The longer she laid in the soil, the more she broke down, fears and worries filling her head as she could finally process everything that happened to her. She wanted to curl up and wait for oblivion to take her. There was little that kept her from laying there as well, the creatures and monsters of the forest keeping their distance from her out of fear. A night would pass before she calmed down and laid there to think, now laying on her side. She had to find an answer, and a solution, or her life would not return to normal any time soon.

A few days pass, and word of her going missing spreads about, the missing daughter of the Lockwood Stone Cutters. A hot topic that many gossiped about. ‘Famously Large Lady of The Stone Cutters Lost to the World’ was a headline that regularly came up, each annotated with updates that could only mark the time passed. While no corpse was found, the search ending with the comment of “Her body would be hard to miss”, someone always assumed she was dead, leaving her mother to shout angrily at reporters as a comment. Though, it wasn’t with the idea she was ate. It never was. The concept alone was laughed out of the rumor and dismissed, as she was simply deemed missing. What did dominate the rumor, however, was that she starved to death. Her appetite was well known to places she frequented, and her living in the wild of course fueled those worries.

And before long, the rumors reached where she was.

“Mmmh…” She whined to one of the chocobo tenders. “I… I don’t think I can see my parents like this.” She sat down the bushel of gyshal greens, huffing worriedly as one of the workers read the article aloud for the crew. They knew she wasn’t missing, but they kept quiet due to her request.

“Maybe you should? While we do appreciate your help here again, you do need to let them know.” The sweet-voiced Elezan assured. “Besides, you wouldn’t be the first case of someone becoming a dragon. I heard tales of an ishgardian man dealing with the same thing.”

“I… I know. I just… I don’t know what to do.” She took a seat as she spoke, her wide rear plopping on the ground behind her with a cloud of dust. “What if nobody recognizes me?”

“...We recognized you.” He answered, “Not at first, but you do kind of have an air about you, even as a dragon.” He smiled, looking up at her. “And besides, the second you spoke, your voice was no different. A bit louder than usual, but it comes with the size.”

She looked at him for a moment, knowing he wanted to mention more about her. “I… Are… Mmh… That’s a good point I guess… I may be a dragon now, but I’m still me.” She nodded to herself. She curled her tail around him firmly, the elezan man resting against it in a way that said she did this a lot and felt it was best to not resist.

“But how would I go about getting home? Or to anyone who may have answers at least?” She asks.

“Well… The scholars of Old Sharlayan would likely want to see you first and foremost. But perhaps start small.” He pondered, his hand stroking her scales comfortingly. “Limsa Lominsa may have some answers, at least. And it leaves you a stone's throw from a boat ride to the scholars.”

She nodded softly, taking a second to process his idea while adjusting her custom-made glasses that were made shortly after she got there. “I…” She pauses, letting out a pleased hum when he patted her tail. “I will do that.” She nodded again, her tail releasing him.

“Atta girl. I got the rest, you can take the day off and get a head start, okay?” He smiles wide, patting her thigh softly. “And we will send the money you worked off to The Forgotten Knight for you. Focus on you.” He urged her along.

“O-oh okay. Thank you!” She leaned down and nosed his head, an act she picked up that she found herself more and more fond of doing to those she thanked. “And… Thank you.” She smiled wide.

“Anytime. And take care of your fat bird for me when you find him.” He calls out as he waves, seeing the dragon off to her trip.