Continuing with the cleaning out of the backlog, Octransfur Stuff! This one had been a lot of fun to write, but I couldn't keep drawing things out. I think I captured the concept that fueled this idea quite well. Let me know what you think. I recommend the PDF Version for a better experience

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17) Play

The door chimed as you made your way into the toy store, taking a brief gaze around the interior. Usually this place would be full of children running around excitedly, their loving parents watching over them to ensure they don’t cause too much trouble, but you had thought this out. You made sure to arrive early in the day, when the store would be the least populated, and the staff would hopefully still be waking up. Because you had a far different goal in mind for visiting this store.

You kept it casual, making your way past the elderly store owner, currently restocking one of the shelves, alongside tidying up the discarded toys and plushies, as you made certain to do your business as far away from him as possible, as to keep out of their line of sight and suspicion.

You made your way over the shelves, making mental notes of the prices and size of the different toys, before picking out some of the easiest to smuggle items. Trading card packs, Amiibos, game cartridges. These would sell nicely.


With your selection carefully picked out, you began slipping them into pockets stitched into the inside of your jacket for this specific point.

“Hey! Just what do you think you're doing?” You would hear from not too far away. Damn, busted already? Turning your head, you saw the shopkeeper. Just when had he finished restocking that shelf? There was nothing else to do but make a run for it, breaking into a sudden sprint to get away from the man. If you were lucky you'd be long gone before anyone arrived, if at all. You knew the police wouldn't bother responding to ‘petty crime like the theft of some trading cards.

You ran for the exit as the shopkeeper snapped his fingers, the sound seeming to reverberate through the entire store. But you ignored the shiver running down your spine as you dashed down the aisle.

Strings descended from the ceiling, wrapping around your limbs like vines as you were hoisted up into the air, your stolen spoils slipping free of your pockets and tumbling to the tiled ground beneath you, your attempted theft on obvious display as you struggled to free yourself. But despite being no thicker than your hair, they refused to budge or snap even as you thrashed about.

“Greedy, aye? I can work with that.”

The stings seemed to seep into your skin as it gained a shiny lustre, its colour slowly darkening into a deep rich brown. From where you currently were strung up, you could barely spy a strange pattern on the surface… woodgrain?

Your fingers each swelled, losing definition as they hardened into curved points, forming large conical claws, each one only connected to your hand by small hinges carved into the wood.

Small hooks had formed on the back of your palms, which the strings latched onto, pulling your arms out as far as they could go as more strings latched on, drawing out more hooks as the scale patterning seemed to seep out, coating the limbs.

“What are you doing to me?!” You exclaimed, managing to wrench your eyes away from the sight just long enough to stare at the unamused shopkeeper.

“What does it look like I'm doing? You stole from me and damaged my products. I need to be compensated for what I've lost. I host puppet shows during the weekends. Families love them. And I was thinking of a new story to put on. You're lucky you pulled this stunt when you did, otherwise you would've been stuck with a lesser role. And hey, at least this way you can finally get that reputation as a big bad you've always wanted, no?”

You looked down at them, the true gravity of the situation starting to sink in as you felt the changes creep across your torso, strings winding tighter around your chest, snug against the inflexible wooden shell it was becoming “Look, I'll pay you back, okay? Just… stop this! Please! I wouldn't have done it if I knew that this would happen!”

The strings would wind tighter around your legs before pulling them upwards, forcing you horizontal, as you felt your toes swell and soles flatten as the woodgrain and scale pattern overtook them, a trio of claws extending out from the front of your new feet, with forth popping out from your heel.

“Hmm… no. I won't. If this was just about money, then I wouldn't be doing this in the first place. No, this is to teach all of you a lesson. That your actions have consequences, and you can't just sweep your crimes under the rug with money. If I let you go free, you wouldn't grow as a person. You'd move on, maybe crack a joke to your friends, forget about this little encounter, and eventually go back to robbing people just trying to make a living. But this way, you won't forget. You'll remember this encounter, and you'll learn to not steal for petty fun or reputation. Or you'll stay my puppet forever. I don't care either way.” The shopkeeper would say with a shrug. You opened your mouth to further protest, but a snap of his fingers silenced you, literally. Your tongue had gone numb, refusing to move properly, only flapping up and down and dangling out of your rapidly hardening jaw, having been transformed into a simple piece of decorative leather, far too long to properly fit within the bounds of your mouth, though that soon changed as a string looped around your nose and tugged, drawing the entire thing out, more attaching to the back of your head as they drew out a pair of horns, while invisible tools set to work, carving out a scaly snout and pointed fangs, your nose sanded down into a simple pair of flared nostrils, before moving further up your head. Your hair hardened into spikey plates that ran down the back of your neck, as the invisible tools set to work, warping your appearance even further. More prominent eye ridges, your ears, gone in their entirety, pointed spines left in their place, until finally you felt the magic wrap up its makeover, your eyes blinking one last time before they hardened into amber coloured glass.

Any hopes of even trying to speak soon went out the door as you found yourself no longer able to move your mouth, your jaw clattering open as hinges formed, before slamming shut with a loud wooden ‘clack!’ as the string attached to it pulled taut. Even shut, your new fangs hang out, giving you an intimidating grin.


Strings wrapped their way around two large hooks that formed on your back, before retracting, tugging hard, to the point you felt something might break. Instead, large wings were drawn out of your body, their oaken frame already painted to perfection, more strings latching onto them, unfurling them behind you to unveil the patterned leather stretched between them.

The floor continued to get further and further away from your gaze, neck popping as new wooden vertebrae spawned into one after another, slowly extending out into a proper serpentine neck, a similar change occurring on the opposite end of your body as a long wooden tail spawned into existence behind you, clattering creaking as the strings latched on, binding them much like the rest of your oaken body.

You hung there, suspended from the ceiling, helpless and at the mercy of the strings, your form now entirely that of an intricately crafted dragon marionette.


And then… All that tension suddenly vanished as the strings grew loose, sending you plummeting down, the world growing larger around you, your body clattering onto the floor, slack, immobile. Only now did you realise just how much you had grown used to the sensation of being strung up. Your body feeling loose, immobile, aimless. It was… distressing. You wanted to move, even if it was just a little.

‘Come on… move!’ You cried out, though no sound left your wooden lips, your body still inert. You couldn't take this. This feeling of… weakness, slack and immobile, helpless, discarded. You'd do anything just to feel movement through your body again! Anything! As long as it could remove this feeling!

Your wish was granted, you felt your strings go taut as the Shopkeeper picked you up, looking you over, your strings shifting as you felt your limbs move one after another. Part of you was horrified at how your body obeyed their will, but it was swiftly drowned out by relief. You were saved! you could feel again. Movement. Sensations through your body. Purpose. You thought you heard the shopkeeper say something, but you were far too distracted by the movement of your tail to focus.

You were transported somewhere, once more too distracted by the subtle movements of your body, until you felt the strings stop, all of them taut as you tuned back into reality, finding yourself suspended in a dark room, nothing but a wooden surface beneath you. A desk? Wait, why was it so dark? You could hear noises, no, voices, coming from somewhere. It was muffled though, like speaking through a pillow. And then… ‘Snap!’

A familiar sound echoed through the darkness, and with a blink of your eyes, you suddenly found yourself standing atop a large sprawling mountaintop, the icy winds bouncing off your scales as you overlooked the snowy scenery from the ledge. Wait, blink? Scales?

You glanced down at yourself, spying emerald scales and pointed talons, a scaly underbelly that moved with each breath, puffs of white smoke streaming from your nostrils. You were… alive? Not a puppet. Actually… flesh again? How was this possible? You couldn't help but feel a sense of joy as you gave your body a quick turn around, appreciating all the little things you hadn't even realised you'd missed, the texture and warmth of the ground beneath your feet as you made your way back into your cavern, spying your large hoard of golden treasure, immediately setting to touching it, running your talons through the pile, feeling coins and jewellery brushing against your scales and tumbling through your claws. Oh, this was amazing. You just wanted to lay down and just… roll in it. It had to be like a massage, right?

Your thoughts were cut short by the clanking of metal, not of your hoard. Heavier, harsher. Steel. You turned around, spying the knight. Of course. It was to be expected that the king would send his greatest Warrior to try and reclaim his daughter, the princess you currently were guarding over. Even if your pride as a Dragon wasn't on the line, the Dark Wizard Dagmar had paid you handsomely to ensure she remained their hostage. You weren't going to give her up, no matter how much she begged, or how hard he glared at you.

And so, you spread your wings, and let out a fearsome roar, unleashing a wave of fire towards the hapless hero, forcing him to block with his shield. It had to be enchanted, there was no other way it could have protected him from your mighty breath. Not fazed, you followed up with a barrage of fireballs, forcing the knight to dodge out of the way as each exploded into a small burst of fire that shook the earth. He charged at you with his sword, but a swing of your tail easily knocked him back. Too easy. You couldn't help but grin a fanged grin as he rushed at you again. This time, you swiped at him with your claws, he blocked with his shield, but the force behind your blow was enough to again knock him back. Did he really expect to beat you in a show of force? Oh come now… surely he could do better than that… a third attempt, he ran at you, dodging your attempt to stamp him into the ground, and ducking under your tail, slashing at your side, only for the blade to bounce off your impregnable scales, leaving him open as you flicked him away, sending him stumbling back onto the ground, his sword clattering behind him.

Time to end this… you approached the hero, watching them struggle to back away, kicking at the rocky floor. How amusing. But it was best you didn't play with your prey any longer. You reared up on your hindlegs and inhaled, feeling the fire in your gut boil and burn, working its way up your chest and into your throat, as you prepared to Incinerate them where they lay. And then-

‘Shik!’

You felt a sudden stabbing cold break through the heat, forcing you to glance down. Their blade lay in your chest, just when had they had time to grab it? You didn't have time to question it as you felt something inside you shift, the flame in your throat dying down, as your belly grew hot.

No way… they had managed to rupture your fire sack with that one attack? You bellowed as you felt the heat in your breast grow, flames starting to spew out from the wound. This was grave. They might have defeated you, but you would ensure they wouldn't be able to celebrate their victory! You raised your talons, intending to strike him down where they stood, but their blade was quicker, and your body suddenly lost its strength as you tumbled to the ground, the heat in your chest slowly dying out, and then… darkness. And then… light…ness? You reopened your Amber eyes to find yourself back atop that desk, but it was no longer dark. In fact, it wasn't a desk at all, it was a stage! And you had been a performer this whole time. Well, that did explain why you had suddenly been feeling so… dragon-y? But it looks like the play had ended. Your strings moved to allow you to get back upright, and give a little bow to the onlooking audience, that were mostly kids you noticed, before the scarlet curtains closed, and darkness returned, your strings slowly going slack. But this time, the feeling of movement was still fresh in your mind, held close. You now knew how precious those sensations were, and you weren't going to give them up so easily this time around, holding them close to you.

After a while you eventually felt your strings go taut once more as you were picked up and hung on a shelf, leaving you there to reminisce on your performance, and await the next, whenever that may be. Hopefully it was soon…