Ritual - Guardian Transformation Pt. 02

Free... Yes, free. That was what he needed. Even the clamour of their noise around him was too much and he gave a wet sounding hiss as his tongue lashed around his maw too much. Free, he needed to be free -- why had they even tied him down?

He hissed at the male raptor, wrapping his tongue around the sound better then, able to communicate, at least a little. No, no, no... No, he wouldn't let Siren close to him, no! The raptor would have to prove himself first. He wouldn't let the Jaguarhawk do anything to him, no.

His mind slipped a little more, though Tyree would never realise that his reasoning for keeping the other Jaguarhawk away had changed. It was just natural to him to want the raptor to prove himself, though he snarled with male dominance that, really, didn't have a place in him anymore.

Even then, Tyree forgot what had happened, why he was there in the first place, as if what had given him such pause before simply no longer mattered. He tried to tilt his head and ruffled his feathers against the slab. His body felt strange... Not as he was expecting. New feathers had to be growing in and he instinctively tried to turn his attention to them, wanting to nibble and lick, to preen. He had to keep them in good condition, after all.

But...hadn't he always had feathers? Tyree grunted, not quite understanding what was going on, though he blinked at those surrounding him, his heart lurching. Something wasn't right, no... Not with that odd sense of loss, panic snarling and snapping inside him as if he was backed into a corner and didn't even really know what was going on.

He had not wanted to go there...had he? It was difficult to dredge up his thoughts, though an image of him sitting across the table from a human wearing a lot of fine things and rich cloth flashed into his mind.

But raptors didn't do that, no... So, what did that mean for him, his memories wavering and shifting as if they were not all that grounded at all?

He didn't know, not as his attention sank back into his body, taking a long, deep breath that sent another plethora of scents into him. He'd never thought before of how much information there was in sweat -- and it was desperation he smelled, a sense of keenness. Those around him seemed completely wrapped up in what they were doing and he tilted his head to hear what they were saying a little better, even if it was in a language he did not understand.

In a way, to him, it was kind of like birdsong: a melodic background to everything there. He chattered shortly, though it came out a bit wet as he tried to settle into his raptor jaws, tongue flickering against the inside edges of his teeth, and chomped at the ropes. Why were they there? They didn't have to tie him up!

So, he twisted and chewed, getting his teeth around the ropes claiming one of his arms, even though his stomach lurch. Half of him wanted to be free because he knew it was wrong to be restrained, that it was unnatural for him, and the other half knew it was wrong, very wrong. That he shouldn't have been there.

But where should he have been, in that case? It was hard to say, memories of running through grassy fields and feeding ravenously pushing insistently in on ones that felt right and wrong at the same time, like when he had been talking to that seller...

Merchant.

Ah, was that the word? It seemed like a very strange word and the raptor chittered softly, managing to wrap his tongue around the sound a little better than before. It sort of warbled up from his throat and was controlled by his lips and tongue, letting him manipulate the sound for different meanings.

He liked that. It meant he could communicate, that he could talk. That was good, a very good thing. If he had still had more of his human mind in him, of course, he would have realised that the softness of relief sinking into him was to do with his fear of not being able to communicate. That need was relieved and yet he didn't have the base fear in the forefront of his mind anymore, just the vague sense of it, enough for his body to shiver and react.

Tyree grunted and looked down at himself as something in his stomach stirred and pulled in, aching deeply. That was odd... Yet something more was happening, his loincloth having been kicked away and torn, though he only blinked at the body that did not quite match up to what was in his mind's eye.

And maybe that was why his dominance, before, had been misplaced. He didn't need to go up against Siren, after all, as the other raptor drew his head back and gave a short, sharp whiff of the air, no. Not when they were designed to be a perfect match with one another.

His penis retracted. And, for some reason, it felt right, even as his stomach flipped and he grunted, clamping his jaws shut as his teeth slotted back into one another again, everything perfectly lining up. Yet it didn't send fear into him, not as a cooling sense of something being put right softened into him and he relaxed his jaw again, licking his lips, though Tyree was more concerned about being careful of his teeth in that moment.

Losing his penis... Hm, that didn't bother him. He felt like it should have, however, as it smoothed down into the slit that showed there, allowing his body to reclaim it, though it was not just hiding away as it had for the other raptor. The other raptor had a name too, but that name now eluded Tyree. It just didn't seem all that important anymore, not as something stirred inside him, losing something that he could not put a name to and gaining something...right. Something correct.

Tyree groaned, head hanging, body processing all that was changing.

Ah, but that was the problem, wasn't it? The raptor tilted their head, not quite knowing how to deal with any of that. They didn't have the capability to realise what was happening, that they had once been one thing and were now another.

For, in her mind, Tyree had always been female. The slit of a vent, tucked up on her lower abdomen, had never hid a penis. It was for receiving and relieving, not for allowing out something that would penetrate. The notion that she had once had a penis drifted from her, though the sense of loss had Tyree turning her head back and forth, questioning what she knew of her situation.

The odd, stomach-churning sense... Did that mean danger? There were a lot of people around her, all walking on two legs and standing taller than her, but she didn't feel like there was any ill-intent there either. Her nostrils puckered and flared and she carefully dragged in short, sharp puffs of air, tasting the scents there and sifting through them.

No threat. No anger. But there was the scent of a male raptor too... And she liked that scent very much, oh, yes.

She turned her head from side to side as her flesh bubbled and rippled, her spine cracking as more flexibility was gained down over her back end. Even though her body was still transforming, it felt okay to her, it felt right. It was a lot for a raptor to deal with, but she knew she would be okay.

And there was that other raptor, the male one, the one who smelled so wonderful. She churred softly, a low chuff breaking her lips, and she swayed her tail lightly as she eyed him up. He was beautiful, really, ripping a rope so he could drop to the ground and stand tall, though a long rope still rested over his back, not restraining him.

His plumage was glorious and she inhaled deeply, taking in the natural oils that would keep his feathers in such fine condition, even though that was not something she, as a raptor, would ever have thought before. It was just an inviting aroma, one that seemed to want to draw her in closer to him, to entice her to close that distance between them.

Tyree kicked out weakly, the ropes a bit looser. Ah, there seemed to be someone there, a reptile-like creature like her -- but he walked on two legs. Male, definitely male, and she eyed him cannily as he slid a knife under the ropes that held her left arm.

"See now..." He said, speaking in a language she did not understand, but neither did Tyree have to. "This is much better for you, a Jaguarhawk. That's what you called our raptors, in your own tongue, wasn't it?"

Tyree snapped at him.

Get away!

It was one of the few ways she could communicate with those who did not speak her language, but teeth and claws did the trick for her. She took care of the ropes herself as her need swelled, the infatuating smell of the male filling her nostrils with each and every inhale she took.

"Nngghh..."

She let out an odd groan that seemed to come from deep within her belly. It was right though and she just had to get to the male, yes, that was all she needed to do. It was time to breed and her body lurched, her tail swinging lightly as the feather tufts at the tip spread out, showing her she could control them just a little more than initially anticipated.

Words no longer resided in her mind -- but it was hard to understand the loss of something that, truthfully, did not feel like it belonged in her mind anymore. Everything was impressions and images, like the memories flitting around her head. Yet she didn't need to access them when they were intricately laced into her very being, how she was and how she held herself.

She didn't need to think through chewing through a rope, slicing it neatly on her teeth as she kicked out and took care of the ropes around her legs too. With her muscles finally functioning as they were supposed to, it was easy enough for her to free herself, her tail lashing out as she scrambled down and up off the tilted slab.

The male raptor was already free, of course, and had shucked that last rope from his back. Oh, and he was a fine specimen as he chattered and tilted his head, dipping and raising it sharply and repeatedly as his feathered arms, which were like wings that he could not fly with, fanned out on either side of him.

"Give them space..."

"I did not expect a breeding pair."

Ah, a mating display... She didn't have to understand what the words around her meant, not when she had a fine male to take her pleasure with. She matched his display in her own way, not needing to think. She just strutted back and forth, her head held high, balanced on the curve of her neck, her arms slightly fanned out to either side of her, for she didn't need to hold them down against her body in the slightest.

Not then... Not as he paraded himself for her in a colourful flash of feathers, his tail swinging almost anxiously, though there was no reason for the male to have any fear in the moment at all, oh no. That was not necessary, not for him, not as she showed him her teeth, just to see where his fear lay.

But he was not scared of her and her body tingled with heat. Even if she had only just met him, she knew her body was ripe and ready to be bred, that she needed him to continue her species.

He would do, even if he perhaps was not the finest male around. She could always have more eggs and there would be many more clutches, if she had her way with the males around her. Already, Tyree could smell the lingering scents of other raptors that seemed to be around the stone structure she was in, though they were not as near as he was.

Tyree churred at him, swinging her tail as he came in close, chattering together and fanning out the feathers on their arm-wings, tails lifted high in demonstration. He crooned and chattered his teeth as they pressed the sides of their snouts together, readily accepting one another as she inhaled more pheromones from the male, signalling his readiness.

Warm satisfaction flooded the raptor. Yes, that was good, very good... If he was ready to mate with her, she wouldn't have to chase him off from her territory. So, he was a suitable partner to her, heat pooling between her legs and focusing in on the slit that she knew would be used very shortly by him. Yet she ached for it and she did not feel the need to make the male work for it any more than he had already, not as she turned her back to him and presented.

Dipping her torso low to the ground, she growled softly, the sound pulling at her throat as she emitted it. Her arm-wings spread out gently to either side of her body, to show she was strong and not a threat to him at that time, her tail lifted high and a little off to the side. Her vent was on full view, the edges a little damp with her arousal where her body was busy preparing itself to take the male.

Tyree glanced back, pleased to see he was responding well to her, his penis sliding out slowly from his own slit. He would have to do most of the work, the thrusting, but she was more than ready to receive him.

She had no previous frame of reference in mating to tell whether or not it went well, though Tyree gave a full-body shudder as the male moved over her, standing in close and hunching his hind end down and around to get his member in the right position. It was a tapered shaft with a rounded tip, though it easily bumped into her vent as he hunted for just the right position. The body of a male and a female, however, instinctively knew what to do as he lovingly crooned and butted his head into the space on her upper back, marking her with the scent glands on his face at the same time.

His penis slid into her vent and Tyree trembled, crooning and dipping her head a little lower. It felt right, though the intrusion of his member came with a rush of pleasure to it too, seeping through her as if it was bringing something else to the forefront of her mind. But whatever it was did not want to come as she took his penis, every short, sharp thrust as the shaft powered into her.

Tyree did not have to do much, not as she panted heavily, her flanks shuddering with every breath. She did not know, of course, that she had been transformed, not as a sense of belonging filled her up to the brim, warm and glowing, heat seeping through her body. No... And she didn't need to pay any attention to any of those lingering memories of her past life, no, for it was no longer hers. She had a much better life ahead of her, right there and then, as one of the Jaguarhawk guardians of the temple.

So, she took him, her vent flexing and pulling around him, helping the male grow closer to releasing his semen inside her. They were not creatures designed to hold off from that peak of orgasm, even if they were skilled predators and not in all that much of a vulnerable position while mating -- but it was shorter than it would have been for her, as a human, if she had been able to remember that at all.

As it was, all that graced her mind was how pleased she was to be mating, to be laying the groundwork for a clutch of eggs to come after her body had grown heavy with them. Her passage tightened around him -- and then the weight of the male bore down across her even more, half pinning her in place, though the raptor snapped at him, seeing it more as an expression of his ineptitude than him trying to be dominant with her.

There was no high for her, not as she would have known it before, but a warm sense of deep satisfaction as she relaxed under him, the male finally climaxing as he sent a thick deluge of semen into her vent. There, it would be well taken care of and her body would do with it exactly as it needed to. No more thought needed to go into it than that, not for her.

She took every one of his thrusts intently as he seeded her, filling her with his semen. Some trickled back out of her slit, but the raptor knew it would be more than enough to ensure a clutch came from their mating. If not, well...she would merely have to seek the male out again to make sure her needs were taken care of.

There was no real pleasure seeking in it, not for Tyree, even if it felt good to her, her vent hugging his penis as it slid out of her body in a drool of off-white semen. But she knew it was good and that all was well between them, that she was in her rightful place, exactly where she belonged.

There were no inklings or nuances of a past life remaining, oh no. They wouldn't have belonged in her head anyway, not as she eyed up the onlookers, letting out a throaty, questioning chuff. The male raptor, however, stalked ahead of her, chattering and fanning his feathers out, easily getting them to back off. She could have, of course, done that for herself, but he was doing as he was supposed to, serving her as a mate and a partner should.

Tyree would take another partner, a stronger one, if they came along. But, for the time being, that raptor would more than suffice.

She stepped out, the crowd parting before her, light gleaming off her feathers. She knew she was beautiful, she was glorious, she was everything she was made to be. There was only the future for her, guarding the temple and the grounds, caring for her territory.

All the raptors meals would be provided for her -- and even hunting entertainment and practise, if she wanted that too. Anything she needed would be there and, even if she was a guardian, her life would never be threatened, not truly. No one would dare mess with her, the most fearsome Jaguarhawk in residence at the temple.

Tyree was powerful, though they would give her a new name as she stalked to the entrance of the temple, the music of their chanting softening around her, the ritual at a close. Yet Tyree's new life was only then beginning as she looked down over her domain, a flutter of settlement rising in her chest.

For a human, they might have called that feeling pride. But a raptor, like her, didn't have the capability to feel prideful, no. So, Tyree would take everything as it was, aware of the past and seeing no more than her present moment. She didn't need to worry, didn't need to look at trade routes or diplomatic measures: her life had simplified.

The next day would come, or it wouldn't. Either way, the Jaguarhawk would live as if every day was her last, mating when her body cycled, ready for her mate, and laying a clutch of eggs too, every time, for the temple attendants to look after.

They didn't need to transform their guardians, after all, not all the time. Not when they had a willing pair of breeding raptors on sight too.

The people were happy, looking over the raptors with their bright feathers, not needing to be camouflaged when they were so fearsome in their own right. Tyree's mouth opened, showing off her sharp, gleaming teeth, lining her upper and lower jaws, taking a step as the raptor tested out the muscle in her legs, her balance and her stance. Her long, powerful tail, with the thicker feathers, swayed back and forth, though it would be some time yet before she was fully confident.

The blue and black bands rendered Siren resplendent, though the people would give him a new name, the raptor lowering his head, offering respect to his female, his mate. Tyree raised her head proudly, the purple sheen of her feathers more eye-catching, though the blue framing her eyes gave her a cool, calculating appearance, enhancing the look of a predator.

In going through the ritual, she was finally free of the shackles she had not even known she was wearing. With the sun beaming down on her, glancing off her bright feathers, she grunted in her throat, chattering lightly, her mate stepping up beside her.

All was well with her world.

Yet Tyree, the man, was no more.