This is a short work of erotic fiction containing furry, or anthropomorphic, characters, which are animals that either demonstrate human intelligence or walk on two legs, for the purposes of these tales. It is a thriving and growing fandom in which creators are prevalent in art and writing especially.
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The Striped Filly
Flying Changes
Chapter Five
Christian avoided attention at the radio station, locking himself in his studio before others had ventured out for their morning coffees. The night shift - as they were affectionately referred to - were zombie-like enough that they didn't spare him a second look as they stomped past him, eager for their beds with throats sore from talking too much on the night shows.
The only problem was a certain zebra. He stumbled over his words even as he gained a deeper understanding of the ins and outs of running his own show as his boss remained out of work with some bug or another. Christian could not care and was only glad that he didn't have it and that he was able to go about his work mostly uninterrupted. His ears had grown even without seeing Anna for days that stretched past the confines of a week, poking through his hair as they slowly migrated up the sides of his head. Grumbling, he pressed them down as if he could flatten them back into his skull. It was, however, to no avail.
Leaning back in his chair, he smiled at the doorway where he had first seen Anna, the zebra wandering into the studio as if she belonged there. And he wanted her to belong there - with him.
He couldn't put her off forever.
It was Christian that called her at last, suggesting a date in a carefully chosen spot. Anna leapt at the chance to see him again, nearly deafening him with her loud braying down the phone line. He sighed as he hung up, headphones looped listlessly around his neck. She wouldn't know that he'd chosen the restaurant purely as it was in a touristy spot. It was unlikely that he'd see anyone he knew there. A small part of his mind - a traitorous seclusion - told him that it would be worth it even if someone did 'catch' him.
Anna met him at the restaurant, a long, gold pendant dangling from her neck. A large ruby was set into the gold and he whistled, admiring its beauty as much as the mare it adorned. He ran his hand down her mane as they entered the restaurant - an Italian across the road from Victoria theatre - and breathed easily for the first time since he had left her side. As if a light had been turned on in a pitch black room, he saw clearly and smiled as he sat at their purposely set aside table in a secluded alcove that allowed Anna to remain standing as they enjoyed their meal together. Christian smiled: perfect.
Anna made everything right again.
"I hope you don't mind, Christian, but I invited a couple of friends from the area to join us," the zebra chuckled apologetically as she polished off her first course with a smack of her lips. "It seems that they are later than expected. They've travelled from a small distance, if I am told correctly."
He turned automatically towards the door to check who Anna was referring to - although he could not possibly know them - and choked on his water. A chestnut mare, walking quite surely and sedately on four hooves, flicked her tail as the waiter led them to their table, a grey stallion walking on two hooves at her side. The stallion rested his paw between her withers and hindquarters as they walked, an ease of being present in his gait that Christian couldn't help but envy. He stared at Anna, the zebra openly laughing and braying at his shock.
"I thought it may help," she said, quickly adding her brand of explanation to the mix, lips quirking up in a cheeky smile. "We're not the only ones and you said you hadn't met anyone like us before..."
Christian wasn't sure that Anna had understood exactly what he'd meant back in the research centre - it had been much more than simply meeting another couple like them - but wasn't about to correct her in the middle of the restaurant. The feral mare and anthro stallion exchanged greetings - introducing themselves as Amethyst and Madoc respectively - with them as a second chair was brought up for the dappled male. Christian tried not to stare as they ordered their main course - simple dishes, although a plate of fresh bruschetta swiftly appeared without any order that he could see being placed.
"So...you two..." Christian dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. "You seem like you've known each other for years. How did you meet?"
The chestnut mare glanced at her partner, blowing her forelock out of her eyes.
"Oh, just like anyone else..." She chuckled. "Or maybe not. I pen stories for my job, rather than going for trade work. You could say it pays my way in life. A voice to text programme," she added, spotting the question in his eyes, "only takes a bit of editing at times. Madoc started reading a good long while ago, then helped me with editing..."
She dipped her head, ears splaying softly to the sides of her head. Madoc rubbed her shoulder, a grin that told more than her words pulling at his lips.
"It kind of took off from there."
"I see..." He stared at his pasta, wondering how to broach the topic. "And how do you..." He grimaced. "I'm sorry, this must seem remarkably forward of me, but..."
Madoc laughed and leaned back, rocking his chair up on to two legs. The stallion's mane, a mixture of grey and black streaks, fell down the arch of his neck, left to grow long and unruly. Amethyst shook her head and bumped his chair back onto all four legs with a calculated swing of her hindquarters.
"Yeah, we get asked that a lot," he confirmed. "You get used to the stares after a while, trust me. Not worth worrying about."
Grinning, he rested his elbows on the table and shot Christian a conspirator's wink.
"I'm sure you've been having fun with your mare too from the look of you..."
Christian blushed, fiddling with the edge of the table. He rubbed the tips of his ears, now almost completely on the top of his head and pointed straight up. He could even twitch them, new muscles making themselves known to him. His tail was less obvious, squashed down inside his trousers, yet growing by the day. The hair was a good four inches long from the bone now.
"Is it that obvious?"
Amethyst giggled.
"Like you have to ask!"
"Hey!" Anna snapped her teeth closed with a sharp click, although humour thrummed through the flick of her tail. "Be nice!"
Amethyst snorted and drew her dished face back, playing at being affronted.
"I'm always nice!"
The mares playfully teased one another as their main courses were replaced by dessert and, somehow, Christian found himself relaxing more and more, not even thinking about the stares that were, surely, coming his way. When he did remember to look around, every other patron of the restaurant was engaged in conversation without the time to spare him, just another person enjoying a meal, in their busy, manic lives. He smiled, bold enough to enquire more about the mare and stallion's life and how they lived together while the world forgot to mind his presence. Maybe people weren't as bad about the whole thing as he'd suspected. He laughed, words flowing as easily from his lips as water as they talked, fingers firmly curled into the zebra's mane.
Maybe it would be okay to let the transformation go a little further? He sipped his water, nerves rolling in his stomach. Did he dare? After all, he reasoned with himself, rubbing Anna's withers, he would be able to reverse the transformation if he wanted to. But the thought of staying away from the zebra made him curl his fingers into her mane all over again, holding her so tightly that she shot him a questioning look, attention half on her dessert.
Christian tried to smile, mind whirling, one thought chasing the next with so much urgency that it was difficult to separate a single notion from the vibrant throng. Was there no way to win? If he stayed with Anna, of course, the full transformation into an anthro equine would be inevitable. He looked down at his plate, only a few morsels of food left. Yet he did not have the stomach to finish his meal.
He didn't have to stay with Anna. He knew that. He knew that all too well. Only, he feared that something far more terrifying would happen to him if he went without her. Everything was warmer with her around, bringing brightness to a grey London landscape, showing him the beauty in what had been in front of his eyes for years already.
It was inevitable that he would not reach a conclusion by the end of the meal, making his way along with conversation the best he could in the meantime.
They left the mare and stallion couple outside the restaurant, Anna shivering against Christian, still unused to the British climate. He rubbed her neck, worried for her, although she assured him with a smile that she was alright, just a little cold. He wrapped his scarf around her neck and she laughed, prancing back and forth like a younger filly as Amethyst threw her head up and neighed, tail flicking happily.
"Nice meeting you!" Christian shouted over his shoulder as the red mare bustled her partner away, walking between him and the road.
"We'll see you again!" Amethyst whinnied. "You'll have to join us out in the country sometime."