Tauric Gas

“Phew…I thought that game was never going to end!” Phil said as he took off his football helmet, wiping the sweat from his brow. What started as a simple match against a rival team had ended up going into overtime due to tough defense and blocking, and eventually it was a touchdown scored by Phil that won it for his team. On top of that, Phil managed to get through the game without spontaneously transforming into his anthropomorphic eagle form. It had become sort of a ‘secret weapon’ for his team, but at the same time, he didn’t want to fork out more money to pay for replacement clothing. However, he didn’t have any clue that by the end of the day, he’d never have to deal with that problem ever again.

“And now that the game’s finished, I should really get to work!” Phil said as he placed his helmet in his locker, deciding to skip showering until later on. Normally he’d shower as soon as a game had finished, but considering he’d decided to play for his team today instead of working in the morning, he felt it was only fair to get to work the moment the game was over. The job he had decided to take up was high-paying, but at the same time, it was high risk due to the subject matter - his job was to deliver strange objects to different research labs across the state. Given that the money he made for this job covered his replacement clothing, it was worth the risk.

He reached the depot a few minutes later, heading over to the shipment area to see just what it was they wanted him to deliver today. It took a little while to search, but he eventually found what he was tasked to ship today - a large glass canister filled with a swirling purple gas, a note taped to the top of it, and what looked to be safety gear laid out beside it. He picked up the note, reading over it.

“This is today’s shipment - you need to deliver this to Dr. F. Xylerfield, it’s something related to his research and development in taur-based beings. The address is listed below, but before you deliver this, please take a moment to put on the safety gear you’ve been supplied, so if anything leaks during the delivery process, nothing will happen to you.”

“Xylerfield…now that’s something…” he chuckled - he knew the guy was quite famous for his work, having been able to successfully create real live centaurs. Eventually, when he could figure out how to make different taurs, he was planning to make this public, so those who wished to do so could transform themselves. “As for the safety gear…I don’t think I’m gonna need it, it’s not like I’m going to walk several blocks with it in hand.” Phil told himself as he picked the canister up with his hands, carefully taking it back to his truck.

Unsurprisingly, given his luck when it comes to handling transformative matter, he ended up tripping, stumbling as the canister slipped from his hands. Before he could catch it, it hit the pavement, the glass shattering into several pieces as the gas suddenly escaped, engulfing him. “Oh crap…*cough cough* the gas…!” He panicked, inhaling the purple mist - right now, he was thinking that perhaps putting the safety gear on might have saved him a lot of trouble, and at the same time, was hoping that there weren’t going to be any long-term side effects from the gas. Considering the nature of what he had to ship though, he knew that there probably would be.

It didn’t take too long for the gas that swam around him to be absorbed into his body, altering the cells as the amount he engulfed entered his bloodstream. He felt a familiar tingle running through his body, the usual precursor to a transformation, but this time it felt different, like something else was going to happen. And indeed, something else did happen. A groan left his throat as he felt an odd pain in his stomach, something that never usually came with his changes.

“Urgh…my chest…” he winced, stumbling forwards. “It feels like something’s trying to come out…” He held his chest tight, feeling a pair of bumps forming on the front of his torso. At the same time, he could feel his clothing start to become uncomfortably tight. “Ghh…to top it off, I’m gonna have to say goodbye to this uniform, too!”

The bumps on his chest were growing steadily larger, straining further at his top. At the same time, he could feel his fingers thickening, the middle digits merging into one as sharp, black, taloned claws broke free past his nails. His jaws were going numb and his teeth started to fuse together into a pair of solid masses, curving as they took on a yellow tint. His tongue lengthened as his growing beak pushed outwards, pushing his lips apart as his nose sank into and fused with the new appendage, his nostrils sitting near the top of it.

“Ghh…my face feels like it’s being pulled apart!” he yelped, feeling his new beak. He was unsure why he even made that statement, given how often he turned into an eagle. Short white feathery fuzz was growing around his new beak, and the front of his shirt was tearing open as a pair of taloned claws slashed through the fabric. The claws were covered in yellow scaly flesh, the same skin consuming his feet as they destroyed his shoes, his toes having fused into three giant taloned digits as the big toe moved back towards his heels.

“Mffhh…haaahhh…” He felt the limbs on his torso moving independently for a few short moments before he found himself gaining control of them. They were already fully formed, scaly yellow up to the knee joints, and broad brown feathers were sprouting across the top of them, quickly engulfing the rest of his body. The scaly flesh was quickly covering his feet up to his knees, and from his hands to his elbows, as the growing feathers made short work of his clothing, causing even more damage to it as the muscles in his body bulged and expanded. The pain in his head quickly subsided as he looked at his hands.

“My hands have claws! What’s happening to me?!” he asked himself aloud, and at the same time, he REALLY wanted to slap himself for making such a silly statement - he must have turned into an eagle more times than he could recall, so why was it such a shock to him NOW of all times? Maybe the pain from the new limbs was making him delirious.

It was only at that time that he had noticed something different as well - the surroundings seemed oddly smaller than they used to be. Taking a look down across his transforming body, he saw that his spine had stretched further than it normally did during his changes – he grew to at least two and a half times his normal size, and was showing no immediate signs of stopping. Taking another glance at the new limbs on his front, it was then that Phil remembered what it was he had to deliver, and the realization hit him harder than a defender tackling him. The gas that he failed to deliver safely was turning him into an eagle-taur! There was a small plus to this in the fact that he’d never have to buy replacement clothes again, but right now, he wasn’t feeling too thrilled about this change.

His spine stretched a little taller before it forcefully realigned itself, his torso splitting into two parts as his lower body filled out with broader muscle. His shorts were rent by his powerful thighs, a set of elegant white feathers sprouting from his tailbone to finish the job as he dropped down to the ground, his new limbs catching him as he stretched himself, trying to keep himself balanced on his new configuration before it quickly became second nature to him.

“Grrhh…rrrr…rrrwwrkk…” Phil felt a growl building up in his throat, his hair disappearing into the feathers that had consumed his head, his ears shrinking away into tiny holes as his eyes were parted by his forming beak. He could feel another pressure in his shoulder blades, the bones splitting and growing as another pair of limbs, these more familiar to him, grew out, giant feathers sprouting across them as they were pinned down by what remained of his ruined shirt.

It was at that point that he felt something else hit him hard, something flowing through his giant, muscled form. His eyes snapped open as he felt a sudden rush of adrenaline flow through him, all doubt leaving his mind as mighty eagle hormones flooded his body and mind. His eyes became larger and wider, the color turning a feral shade of golden yellow as the pupils shrank. His wings finally finished forming, spreading wide as they destroyed what little of his shirt was left as he threw his head back, a powerful, commanding “SHRRIIIEEEKK!” leaving his beak as it echoed through the streets. His wings flapped wildly and without control for several moments until the high had passed. Phil flapped them gently as he lowered himself back to the ground.

“Rrrrreee…rruhfhh…ppuffff…wow…” he chuckled, his voice deeper, coming from a larger chest. “Damn…that felt really good!” He panted, looking over his transformed self. Initially, he had been worried about this sudden transformation into a tauric being, but after taking a look at his new form, and realizing that he’d not have to worry about getting new clothing anymore - Xylerfield was one to make sure that the transformation into a taur was a one-way deal, after all - he started to see the upside about it. With his new form, he’d be able to give some of his friends a lift between places, plus he’d be able to save more money by not having to keep paying for diesel for his truck. Still, he felt a little bit naked due to not wearing anything. Thankfully, he had a way to fix that.

Phil made his way back to his truck, picking up the spare football jersey he kept for situations just like this, having holes in the back of them for his wings. Admittedly it was a bit of a snug fit due to his larger-than-normal form and bigger wings, but it’d do until he could get the next size up. He also noticed that some of the gas that had escaped was still lingering around the broken canister. He was able to piece enough of it back together, placing some plasters around the cracks so it’d be held in place long enough to be delivered.

“There we go, almost as good as new.” he smirked. There wasn’t a lot of the gas left, but there was more than enough to work some transformative magic on some lucky soul. He turned to look towards the sky, noticing the sun was slowly starting to set, an orange glow filling the sky. With his sharpened vision, he could see every ray of light shining down between the buildings. He was a little bit late with his delivery, but he wasn’t too worried about that, enjoying what was more than likely his final transformation. Still, he didn’t want to keep the good doctor waiting anymore. His beak curved into a grin as he looked upwards.

“Time to fly…” he snickered to himself, spreading his wings wide as he kicked himself up off the ground, his claws leaving deep indents in the stone pathway as he took off, clutching the canister in his talons as he set off to deliver what was left of the gas to Dr. Xylerfield.