Soul Steeled

By

Caitsith #29



It was perfect!

Its shimmering sapphire eye glinted off late afternoon sunlight.

The pure golden locks surrounded it as a compliment.

Even the body possessed perfect curves while being coated in an array of beauty markings.

Sure the woman was nothing to sneeze at, but it was the bracelet she was holding that caught Chris Bondie’s attention. The young kitsune had just been passing through with thoughts of having the next person to cross paths treat him to a five paw-finger discount dinner. However the sapphire alone looked valuable enough to warrant a shift in priorities. Forget dinner, Chris had just found his down payment on a new PC.

Neither the woman nor shopkeeper had noticed Chris’s intense gaze. The former still examined her item with that familiar look of uncertainty. The latter sat behind a register facing the far wall instead of the front. For housing such priceless goods, it was not a very well planned out shop. Chris was already licking his lips in anticipation. His three large fox tails wagged fast enough to create a small breeze.

Finally the woman did what he had been hoping for; returning the bracelet to its display stand while muttering off a most likely fake excuse. When she turned back towards the exit Chris was already on all fours in his feral fox state, perching right next to the door with tense back paws. Seconds there came a chime of bells as the woman departed the store. Unfortunately, he misjudged how fast said door would swing back and managed to pinch down on two of his tails halfway inside. Chris had to bite his tongue to keep from yelping. Giving his hips a sharp jerk managed to free himself from the doorframe, only to ring its chime in the processes.

“Someone there?” came the shopkeepers voice amidst shifting noises.

There came no reply, Chris having taken cover behind one of the nearby display cases. His tails throbbed curled up tight against his belly, but still managed to keep his breath low enough to be difficult for human ears to detect. After a few seconds, the shopkeeper grunted and Chris’s vulpine ears swiveled to follow his movements. Footsteps echoed off tile, growing as the man drew closer and then past where the kitsune hid.

Chris could not help but smile as he became a blur of red movement, darting around displays back towards the shop counter. Natural paw pads were a god send for those that wanted to muffle their footsteps. All it took was a little muscle flexing to keep his claws from hitting the floor. In just a few bounds, he was behind the register grinning up at his prized bracelet; still glinting off light where the woman had left it. Clambering up the chair on forepaws, he risked a quick peek towards the shopkeeper. It was getting hard not to laugh at how simple this was. The man still had his back to Chris, currently occupied in arranging a front window display. Allowing himself a low chuckle, the kitsune propped himself halfway onto the counter and snatched up the bracelet in his jaws.

That was just enough cockiness expressed to tip the scales in favor of Murphy’s Law. No sooner had he ‘acquired’ his trinket then the chair his hindpaws rested on began to shift on wheels he had failed to notice. There was no time to react beyond a started yelp before Chris suffered a painful matter of his chin meeting the counter, tumbling into a painful ground landing on his tail base. There was just enough of a pause to regain clear vision, before the bracelet landed on his eyes and rolled a few feet away.

“Alright, who’s there!?” the shopkeeper growled over the hasty clamping of boots.

Chris rolled back onto his paws, shaking his head to try and force the world to stop spinning. Any amateur thief would have frozen stiff upon seeing a pair of legs come back around the counter to stop suddenly upon spotting them. For any self respecting kitsune, that was all the needed. Chris became a blur of red speed, darting under and past the man while picking up the bracelet on his way towards the entrance.

“What the hell…” The shopkeeper gawked, thinking some strange dog had wormed its way inside. That quickly changed in tune upon spotting what said dog was carrying off. “STOP THEIF!!”

This time Chris laughed loud and hard, unable to contain the joy of hearing his favorite phrase. With a quick jump his body weight slammed into the door, allowing him to tumble outside. His momentum never waned, using it to regain his footing and bolt past the shop down the back ally. By the time the shopkeeper had even made it that far Chris was block away already giving himself a mental pat on the back.

He did manage to catch a few parting words though. They made him wonder if the guy kissed his mother with that mouth. The weight in his jaw made Chris forget about it in favor of what it meant. His pace slowed to a mix between a walk and strut, head held high and all three tails higher. It was easily one of the biggest catches of his life, and Chris was looking forward to bragging about it to his brother. Granted a few details were going to have to be changed so it sounded more exciting. Heck, it could not have been any easier unless he had been stealing from a…a…

“MY BABY!”

A baby, yeah!

Chris blinked, haven been snapped out of his fantasy world of self gloating to realize his surroundings. Finding himself smack on DA’s central district saw that rush hour had set in, making whoever was shouting impossible to locate among the crowds. At his current feral height though, it was not hard to find out why they were shouting. Only a few yards away a child, no older than three, was wandering dangerously close to the street curb. A cheerful smile decorated her squirrelly face, attention focused totally on her toy ball rolling among blurs in the center of traffic.

“Crap!” Chris said upon seeing the girl take her step off the asphalt. Legs reacted on instinct, bursting him forward with renewed strength. The gem round his neck shimmered for a moment, allowing the kitsune to rise onto his hindpaws mid-stride as a full anthro.

Other people had begun to notice too, but were much slower to react as the girl waddled out further into the street. Many shouted, drowned out by the horn of a speeding car that barely swerved in time to avoid her. None of this phased the little squirrel as she bent to retrieve her toy. Chris never paused, especially after catching sight of the SUV. Putting a little magic into his paw, he lept with all the strength those thighs could muster.

He collided with the toddler just in time. Grabbing her waist with both paws, Chris went into a tumble using his own body to coushin her impact. All he could do was clamp both eyes closed while a horn threatened to pop his ears and fade into blackness. It all happened so fast neither had noticed they dropped their respective treasures in the process.

Mummers of a gathering crowd slowly brought Chris back to reality. Or at least gave him reassurances they were not dead. Plus the dull throbbing all along his backside would be a reminder for weeks to come. He shrugged it off though and hefted up the girl in his arms, meeting her dinner plate eyes with a grin. “You okay, kid?”

She gave him a few glazed blinks, before twisting her face into a wide, buck toothed smile. “That was fun!!”

Chris could not help but chuckle, gently setting the girl back on her feet while he shifted into a sitting position against the far curb. Ignoring the clapping of gathered patrons; his eyes widened and began to dart around for his missing bracelet. Sure enough he found it, or what was left of it. Very little recognizable chunks remained after its unfortunate impact with a speeding grill. Bits of gold and blue stone decorated a good five foot radius of the street.

“Terrific! Stupid thing was a fake!?” Remembering his company, Chris kept his curses to himself. Yet he silently hoped the bracelet had done considerable damage to whichever car was responsible for its disintegration. Letting out a dejected sigh, he started to get back up. But then something else clicked that made him do a double take. “What on earth?”

The pieces were…evaporating? He stared with growing anxiety at the parts closest to him. Sure enough, they were emitting a blue mist while rapidly shrinking out of existence. Other patrons began to notice this too, putting a sudden halt to the chatter about Chris’ act of heroism. He was still trying to make sense of it as the remains completely vanished. It was not until he looked back up again when his jaw dropped; finally noticing the thick cloud that had formed only a few feet in the air above.

Something akin to a thunderclap rang out, causing everyone to jump in surprise. The cloud exploded apart into several wisps. Slicing through the air, they wrapped themselves around Chris before he could even finish standing up. Their touch felt made his fur rise, stroking it like a soft artic wind. It left his limbs too stiff to even consider moving.

“Ooo, pretty!” The squirrel girl said, making Chris realized the strange mist had enveloped her as well.

“Ah!” Chris grunted as a very thick wisp worked its way up the white fur of his belly. Finger like threads caressed it while moving along until pausing at the center of his chest. Without warning, he let out another painful yelp as the mist seemed to force its way inside his body. The very blood of his veins ran cold as it made it’s way through bone and flesh, finally making an exit out his back. He followed the mist with clattering teeth, noticing it now had a slight glowing bulge.

There was not much time to contemplate as he watched the wisp come back around and plunge itself into the child. The squirrel let out a startled yip like Chris had, squirming helplessly in place as she saw it ext out her belly with a similar bulge. Chris tried to will himself to move, but his body refused. All he could do was bare his teeth and try willing the force out, even as the mist reentered his body with whatever it carried. Soon as the act was performed, the cold feelings holding both furs down began to lift along with the mist. Chris slumped against a park car panting heavily. It felt like a ton of weights had just been lifted from his shoulders, but in its place an odd tingle began to build.

Suddenly remembering the squirrel girl, Chris moved to check on her and staggered. His whole body went rigged with a rising panic. Despite the fact he was standing on solid ground, all senses were registering an odd sensation similar to falling. When he turned to the startled on lookers for aid, all that came out was a very high pitched whine. Everything was growing around Chris. The car hood he had just been leaning on only came up to his waist moments ago. Now as he watched it was slowly his chest was starting to be the part even with it and still it kept getting bigger.

“Or I’m shrinking!” he cried out in realization, as if that would somehow help his plight.

There was another cry from behind, that made Chris whirl around for another surprise. The squirrel now stood a good foot taller than he remembered, running her paws all along her dress now a painfully tight size. She constantly shifted between paws, the tightness of her shoes severe enough to see outlines of her toes in the fabric. That did not last too long before both dainty shoes burst to shreds to allow her growing paws much needed freedom. Although it did little to calm the squirrel down as she looked up frantically for her mother. The pair suddenly seemed to stop time as their eyes met, now the exact same height as each other.

But that only lasted a moment as she continued to grow, while Chris rapidly dwindled in size.

Chris was once again distracted by his own troubles as a strange shift ran through his backside. Twisting around, his jaw nearly dropped upon watching seeing his tails. Both outer ones writhed like wounded animals; gradually shedding their fur while retreating back into their spine until only the base tail remained. He felt along the area dumbstruck for a moment, and then the implications of being a one tailed kitsune again slapped him back to reality. Bringing his hands back around only confirmed this. All ten digits had grown thinner and chubbier. Muscles along his arms and legs faded with each passing second to be replaced by weak fat, and his belly was gaining a significant amount of cute roundness to it. “Oh no…”

Looking back up at the squirrel, he was not very surprised to see her body starting to develop traits a good dozen years before its time. With a soft ripping of Velcro, her diaper fell to the ground unable to contain a pair of slowly spreading hips. Her once snug dress now ripped and burst in several places. Particularly in the front as two little mounds suddenly bloomed into exsistence. The squirrel squeeked cupping her new breasts in shock as they grew to a pleasingly plump size. Cries of alarm were rapidly changing pitch as she went, gaining a much deeper, sultrier tone with each word.

Chris’ knees buckled, making him fall back onto his rump with a yelp as their changes tapered off. Tears began to well up in his eyes, but held them back somehow. His gaze constantly shifted in shock from the naked squirrel girl in her late teens, down to the chubby kit body he now possessed. Looking up at the gathered crowd only helped his panic as they seemed just as dumbstruck as them. The poor squirrel was already getting a few lusty leers from the less amiable pedestrians.

“Well, that was fun!” said an angelic voice, causing everyone to jerk their gaze back towards the blue cloud. Little by little, wisps wrapped tight around each other to gain a more defined female shape. Then in a wave, water vapor rippled into a luscious coat of blue fur; its owner being a rather shapely, yet also naked, skunk girl floating with legs crossed eight feet in the air.

“Hoo…Hoo aw doo?” Chris struggle to speak, blushing at his childish speech.” D-deed oo…doo dis?”

“No, I’m just your average shape shifting puff of smoke.” The skunk let out a harsh cackle that made a lot of people cover their ears. “Of course I did this, silly. My name’s Sabrina Crosswire. I’m a soul stealer by profession and species.”

“Oh wow,” the squirrel muttered, still to entrance by the curves of her backside and fluffier tail to acknowledge anything else.

“Sool steler? Wah dat?” Chris rolled onto all fours and struggled to stand, wobbling his chubby arms in an effort to keep balanced.

The skunk rolled her eyes in a huff. “You of all people present are asking that? I’m a witch that specializes in the manipulation of souls, obviously. Thanks for releasing me from that stupid bracelet, by the way. My powers aren’t even near their former glory yet, but just wanted to switch a few soul traits as a sign of appreciation.”

“Bah…I dun wanna bee a kid!” Chris sniffled, trying to wipe the water clouding his eyes with both paws.

“Awww, but you’re so cute!” Sabina giggled as she floated down lower to Chris. With a sharp jab of her index finger, she sent the kitsune sprawling back onto his baby butt. “Besides, it’s just a temporary bit of fun. Can’t start doing serious soul damage this early or damn Hunter’s will seal me up in something far worse.”

“Buh…buh…”

Trickles of water began to stains Chris’ cheecks. He reached up a pathetic chubby paw with pleading eyes towards Sabrina. All it seemed to do was sour the skunk’s mood.

“Fine, be a cry baby!” Letting out a huff, Sabrina’s fur rippled again. Instantly her body began to break apart into wisps of mist again, but not before giving Chris a final grin. “I’ll come back for some more fun when you grow up.”

Chris’ mouth hung open, paw still outstretched long after the blue mist of Sabrina parted into the winds. It wasn’t until he heard a soft cough that he looked up to see the new aged squirrel girl tower above him. The former diaper she had been wearing dangling towards him in one hand.

“I…uh…think you’ll need this more than me now,” she said with what she hoped was a comforting smile.

Chris no longer felt the need to hold back his tears as she fitted the diaper over his hips. He offered no resistance as she hefted him up either. The gentle coos of her more adult voice were somewhat reassuring as she carried him off to a secluded place where they could wait out this odd turn of events.