FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Maturation by: Pent Ghelsburg

Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are portrayed as underage and are purely fictional. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect is given to their owners. Any similarity to real persons, alive or dead, is purely coincidental. Furthermore, there is a prominent transformation theme presented within this story. You have been warned.

"Cherish all your happy moments;

they make a fine cushion for old age."

Booth Tarkington

You know those times in life where you wish you were different? Whether bigger, stronger, shorter, more skinny, more muscular, or just plain there is no shortage of aspiring to be something better than what you are. Of course what better is defined as is very much in the eyes of the beholder. But perhaps the most common victim of this desire is those in the cusp of childhood or adolescence. Many who seek to be older because they cannot deal with the stress that comes with maturation.

But what if one found a way to speed up the process? What if you were given the choice to skip through youth and live from early adulthood and beyond. Those already past the simplistic time no better but what is to say the otherwise naive and innocent would jump on the opportunity? When you do not know any better and when the fruit is ripe for picking, a child who is lost may pounce upon the opportunity and skip ahead to what they assumed would be an easier route.

Nathan was a 13-year-old brown mutt who lived on the outskirts of Atlanta. He had lived in the state of Georgia for his entire young life and he knew of nothing else. The cub went to a local middle school and was currently in the 7th grade. As an adolescent, the teen was having a rather difficult time making friends in the school. Much to his parent's dismay, the boy only had a handful of friends and was showing no effort to make any more than he already had.

The problem was that Nathan was a bit of a runt. He had vision problems and the eye doctor had forced him to wear prescription glasses that were rather thick. In addition, he was one of the few furry boys who wore braces. All in all, he was your typical nerd and had very little social to skill to cap it all off. School only reminded him that he had no friends and that he desperately wanted to be someone else other than himself.

Each and every day at school the teen was left to his own devices. Normally he sat alone at lunch unless one of his few friends was around. However, due to schedule differences, the two were never really able to spend much time together until the day was over and they were allowed to do as they pleased. His friend was a fellow techy who enjoyed much of the same hobbies that Nathan did. The two often spent after school in the computer lab.

The other teen went by the name of Max The raccoon was one of those rebel boys who didn't much like following the rules, often wearing ripped clothing and a leather jacket to represent his rebellious spirit. His own parents had already labeled him a reject and a lost cause but in reality, he wasn't that bad of a kid. The teen's wardrobe didn't really represent his personality but he wasn't one of those kids who properly represented himself.

Despite only being a year older and in the 8th grade, Max was quite big for his age. Many who did not know the raccoon figured he was much older than he actually was. In addition, the teen acted rather mature for his age even despite his usual selection of clothing. Nate looked up to him as a role model because compared to his friend, the mutt was nothing short of a pipsqueak. To any onlooker the two, when together, might have seemed like brothers.

One day the two learned of a carnival being held at a local park. It was fall time and that meant that fairs were quite common. Nathan decided to ask Max to the event since he didn't want to go alone. The teen knew that the rides were rather childish and simple but he had nothing better to do with his time on the weekend. To his surprise, the raccoon accepted though it was mostly because his own parents didn't want him in the house and searched for any reason to not be burdened with his presence.

The weekend rolled around before long and witch each day that past Nathan got more and more excited about the Carnival. He had saved up some of his allowance in order to buy some souvenirs and had planned all along to treat Max out to a night he wouldn't forget. He had managed to scrounge up a good $100 for the ordeal and hoped it would be enough to do what they want. The teen had learned that a night pass with unlimited rides was only $20, so he assumed it would be enough after food and games were accounted for.

Nathan had arranged for his father to take him to the carnival, deciding on a rather simple get up since he knew the place would be dirty. His father thought it was strange he wanted to attend the fair but decided it was best not pursue the issue since it wasn't every day that his son wanted to be social. By the time they arrived, it was already dark out and the parking lot was full so the father took his kid to the entrance and dropped him off.

"Call me when you're ready to leave." The father allowed Nate to exit and then left the premises.

The mutt looked around expecting to see Max waiting for him but it seemed that the older teen was nowhere to be seen. The boy pulled out his phone and sent his friend a text, not letting it bother him at first.

"What time are you going to be here?" The boy sent a single text to his friend.

Nate decided to take advantage of being their first and bought their wrist bracelets which would serve as both their entry privilege and tickets to the rides. It even provided a small discount for food and drinks during their time at the fair.

The mutt entered the fair and stored his friend's bracelet in his pocket while he dilly-dallied around the carnival. None of the rides looked incredibly enticing, especially since the overabundance of colorful lights made the whole environment difficult to take in. There was a lot of people around both furry and human between both the rides and different varieties of stands ranging from games of chance to more vain activities like face painting.

Eventually, the cub came upon a small tent that read "Fortune Teller and Soothsayer of Fantasy." Curiosity got the better of him as he looked at the sign which told the purpose of the venue. A list with services and their prices was placed on a tattered piece of paper stuck to a small plackard to the left side of the tent. Some of its offerings weren't surprising to the teen but one of them stuck out like the "genie service." The boy figured it was some sort of joke meant to play off fools misfortunes.

Nate checked his phone again and Max had responded that he would be there in ten to fifteen minutes from there and that the raccoon would wait for him out front. The mutt decided that despite his own reservations that he would go into the little tent to see what it was all about. The tent wasn't very big so the boy assumed it must have been a last minute addition to the carnival. Inside the tent, it was much more impressive than the outside.

There was a small plush red rug which adorned the entire floor. It was very well lit despite there only being a single lantern which was hung overhead. In front of him was a small table with an old woman across from him sitting down. She was rather old and hovered over a small glass ball. The whole inside of the tent was saturated in fog which after looking around, didn't seem to be created by any sort of machine.

"Can I help you, child?" The old crone of a woman twiddled her fingers waiting for his response.

"I just came in to check the place out." Nate came up with the best reason he could come up with.

"And so your not interested in my services?" The woman handed over a small paper which re-iterated the same information from the board outside.

"I guess I am interested in this fortune service. How does it work?" The boy asked as it seemed much too good to be true.

"I look at your palms and gaze into my crystal ball. It costs $5" The woman's eyes sparkled a bit as she said that.

"Very well. I guess I have nothing better to do." The cub didn't much believe it was possible so what did he have to lose.

"Great. Pay the $5 and then we can get underway." The crone took the bill from the teen as he handed it to her.

"Okay, I'm ready now what?" Nate had always been a bit impatient as he fixed his glasses.

"Hold out your hands flat and close your eyes." The woman waited as the teen followed her directions.

The boy did as he was told and the woman drew some symbols on his hand and pricked his hand so that a small droplet of blood spilled out. She collected it and began the so-called ritual.

"What was once found is now lost." The woman spoke in a riddle.

Nate opened his eyes without being told to. The woman was still working her magic as the fog around them began to rise. The little lantern began to shake before it shattered and the small piece of iron began to fall, breaking the table beneath it. This startled the cub who saw fire began to rise before him, he took the woman's hand and evacuated without being told to do so. Fear overtook his sense of reason as he made his escape, not caring for the safety of the other.

Looking back he watched as the little tent caught fire. Glancing over to see if the old woman was alright, he saw nothing. Thinking this was a dream he peered back over at the tent and sure enough, there was no sign of it. Perhaps he was imagining things, figuring something must have been wrong with him to have conjured such an event. His whole body was warm, even know it wasn't incredibly balmy outside. But the buzz in his pocket turned his attention to more pressing issues. It seemed that Max had arrived.

A sense of excitement came over the teen as he made his way back towards the entrance. Nate had worked up a sweat and his whole body was almost dripping with the stuff. He couldn't help but feel like he was getting ill. But the fact he wanted to spend time with Max overrode the fact that he didn't feel up to par with his normal self. On the way to the front of the park, the teen passed out from overexertion and dehydration.

When he awoke, the mutt found himself in the medical tent. His body was achy and he couldn't move much. He could see there was a nurse who was attending him and to the left of the nurse was Max who had been informed of his sudden collapse.

"You alright? What happened? Did you ride too many rides or something? The raccoon came up with the best possible solution to the other boy's ailment.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'm not really sure what happened." Nate picked himself up as his head was still sweating lightly, his voice cracking a little bit.

"Come on, let's go enjoy the carnival." Max suggested as he had yet to get to see any of it.

The canine edged himself off of the make-shift medical table before wobbling to gain his stability back. Max made himself available as a crutch, but the other boy didn't seem to need it for long as he became more mobile.

After looking over at Max, Nate suddenly realized that he now stood shoulder to shoulder with his friend. This was especially strange because he knew earlier the other day, the teen was bigger than he was by quite a bit. Moving around this was further confirmed by the fact that his clothing was now quite tight on him. Even more strange was the fact that the raccoon seemed oblivious to the fact even know they now stood eye to eye.

"Something wrong?" The raccoon asked the other teen suspecting something was up.

"Nah...it's nothing. Forget about it. Let's go have fun." The canine decided to drop the issue as he was much more interested in hanging out with his friend.

The two made their exit from the medical tent. Not much time had passed since the incident at the fortune telling venue, maybe about a half hour. There was still a good deal amount of people and Nate couldn't stop looking at Max as if in a state of disbelief. Eventually, they stopped at one of the game booths. The idea of this particular contest was one of those ring throwing schemes with bottles set up with different color lids. The prizes were different sizes of Pokemon plush.

"Let's try to win a Charmander." Max was secretly a Pokenerd.

"Sure." Nate handed over $5 to the booth operator who handed Max a set of rings to try and throw over the noses of the bottle.

The raccoon proceeded to throw four of the five rings he was provided. He wasn't even to get one close to the tops of the bottle before he provided one to Nate to try.

"You give it a shot." Max really wanted that Charmander plush.

"Alright." The mutt took hold of the little ring and gave it a weak toss into the area where the bottles were.

The little ring rotated back and forth before it finally settled on one of the little bottles. It seemed that Nate was much better at the carnival game than his friend was. The mutt picked out a small Charmander plush and handed it to his friend.

"Thanks!" The raccoon leaned over to hug his friend who accepted gleefully.

They continued making their way down various corridors in the fair. Carnies everywhere were trying to coax them to go to their booth to get the pair to spend money. It wasn't until the House of Mirrors that the raccoon finally stopped.

"Let's go inside!" Max seemed way too excited and went right inside without waiting for Nate to follow him.

Nate thought it was strange to see the other teen so excited about the house of glass. He didn't have much chance to think about it as another spat of heat spell to overcome him. I

The teen's body began to overheat again as his forehead began to perspire. A sense of queasiness came over him as Nate clenched his chest, believing that he was going to be sick. Instead, his body began to expand...ever so slightly. His formerly tight fitting clothing was beginning to tear along the seems as his body became more muscular. His pants legs riding much higher on his form now as even his shoes were tight.

"Gotta get these off..." A now deeper tone was spoken by the teen as he struggled to get his shoes off.

Max returned before long looking for his friend but seeing no sight of him. Nate saw the raccoon looking around as if lost. The teen waved to him but it was if he was waving to a ghost. A sense of sadness came over him as he became more desperate. The teen got up once his shoes were off, feeling much better all of the sudden, but struggling to walk. After lumbering over to the raccoon, Max looked at him strangely, Nate realized that he could see straight over the now smaller boys head.

"Leave you creep. I'm looking for my friend." Max warned his former friend no longer recognized him.

These words dug deep into his person as Nate cried a bit. But men didn't cry and he didn't allow the emotion to exist for long. Deciding instead that he go home in an effort to get some new clothing. Figuring that perhaps it was best. Obviously, his body was changing and he wanted to know why. If he were any larger and he might of completely shed his clothing. It was time to go home and figure out exactly what was going on.

With each and every step he took, the issue that he had just left behind was removed more and more from his concern. He thought that Max was now too young for him though he wasn't exactly sure why he was hanging out with the younger boy, to begin with. His mental state and physical form were aging ever so progressively leaving him now close to adulthood. The teen found himself unwilling to call his father to pick him up. After all, what would his guardian think of the issue?

Instead, Nate walked home and considered his next course of action. There were a thousand things on his mind, like graduation and college. None of these were things he'd thought about before but yet they were suddenly important now. Walking home was proving more difficult than he otherwise would have thought. The mutt began to ponder why he never bothered to get a license. Not to mention the fact that his walking strides weren't exactly confident.

However, he continued walking since he didn't have any choice in the matter. After walking about half way he began to wonder if he was even going the right way. The thoughts of concern began to percolate in his mind as he continued forward, using landmarks he remembered from his youth. Eventually, he reached the center of the city where the large office building he recognized dominated the skyline. This at least served to alleviate some of his fears.

His home was not far from the center of the city. Kirkwood wasn't far from the city itself and so he continued trudging forward. As he exited the center of the city, his body became hot and bothered again. Some passersby saw him crunch up into a ball on the ground, wondering if he might be alright. The teen's mouth foaming a bit as if he was having an epileptic attack. One witness even calling the paramedics to aid the boy.

The teen's body expanded even further, gaining even more muscle mass than before and ripping through whatever remained of his clothing. The people who were watching ran in fear under the assumption it was some monstrous transformation. But as soon as it had begun it was over, the man was no longer a teen and was able to pick himself up with very little effort. A fully grown adult now, Nate looked down to see himself completely naked.

Deciding to use the shreds of his old clothing as a temporary pair of underwear. Nate flexed showing off himself his biceps. Apparently, he was quite the masculine figure. No longer did the fear of what was going on stir in his mind, now there was the very real issue of how he would explain himself. He still had a bit of a walk in order to come up with a plan in order to do so. For the duration of the travel, he came up with the best possible excuse he could come up with.

Once he arrived at his home, everything looked different. His fathers truck no longer looked like some indomitable beast that he could not climb. Toys scattered around the yard no longer interested him. A thought came over his mind as he considered just driving off the distance, but instead, he decided to stop by to see his family before seeing himself off. Stepping up to the door made him rather nervous.

Waiting for a moment so that he could gather up his confidence, he just stood there for a moment. Before long the familiar feeling of warmth began to overtake him. This time it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable. In fact, the sensation was becoming enjoyable by this point as it even therapeutic to his muscles. This time the man was able to watch as his body crept up ever slightly, filling his body out with even more bulk. Feeling that he was quite the masculine specimen at this point.

"What the...?" The man's father appeared at the door.

"Hello, Father." Nates voice was deep and powerful.

"Who are you?" The father had no idea who was standing in front of him.

"It's me, Nathan." The son could see directly over his father's head.

"What...happened to you?" The man overlooked the fully grown adult, he looked familiar enough for sure.

"I'm not really entirely sure...but it looks like I'm all grown up now." Nate folded his arms a bit defensively.

"Well...I never. Come on inside and we'll get you some clothing. The older male was a bit nervous in front of his now bigger son.

The two entered the home, Nate was still covering himself with the fabric to maintain his sense of modesty. The place was still fairly familiar but it felt as if he hadn't been there in years. The mutt passed by his brother who now was much smaller than himself and couldn't help but gape at the hulking figure before him. In fact, the now younger brother wasn't entirely sure who the man was, though a lingering feeling made him believe it was Nate.

Eventually, Nate was given some new clothing. The father's stuff was a tight fit but better than nothing. The younger man was allowed to stay at the place until he found a job and was able to get on his two feet. The father showed him the ropes of being an adult and he was accepted back into the family as despite his sudden increase in age. Though the mother was sour about learning this fact conceding that she had lost her little boy. Oh well, she thought to herself, she would have to get used to it in time...