Topic: Triple E - by Cherri (Furry)
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/2452880/
Triple E
By Cherri
Part 1
"What's this?" The leopard asked, with a raised eyebrow, staring at the small folded piece of paper being slid across the table to her.
"Just open it." Replied the siberian tiger, a cheshire grin painted on his muzzle, unable to hide his excitement. He hadn't been seated for even a full minute, just enough time to pull his backpack off, set it beside him in the seat of the booth, and dig the note out of his pocket.
"Ember, I don't think I like that look..." Sarah said after sipping from her mug of coffee, looking at him over the rim as she did and giving the tiger an appraising look. He had the expression of someone who had just broken out of prison, the world laid out before him, like a giant amusement park. Of course, Ember was a good person with no criminal record, but the anxious, mischievous look wasn't any less unsettling.
Ember's ears wilted a bit, his happiness visibly waning. "Aww, come on Sarah, I'm not up to anything bad, I promise." He spoke in an injured tone, slinking back into the plush red non-leather of his couch like seat. "You know me better than that..."
Sarah pointed an accusing finger at him, the multiple gel bracelets on her wrist swaying a bit as she did, creating a tapestry of moving colors. "So you are up to something." She lidded her eyes at him and took the paper, looking at him as if she was staring at an impossibly far off object and trying to discern what it was.
Ember rebounded in his joy, leaning forward and watching her read with impatience. The waitress, an aged, shell of an otter waddled heavily up to the booth. She drew a half empty pad from a pocket in her food stained apron along with a pencil, and flipped the cover up to expose a blank page.
"What'll ya have, hun?" Her grating voice cut through the silence like a rusty pair of scissors. Sarah didn't respond, her eyes were still locked on the now unfolded sheet of paper. Ember was annoyed at the interruption, but at the same time, he hadn't realized how hungry he was.
"Can I just get some orange juice, some oatmeal, and maybe some scrambled eggs?" He replied hurriedly, shooting glances at Sarah's eyes as they moved like a typewriter reel down the page, back and forth, nearing the end.
"Comin' right up." She nodded, writing the order down with experienced speed and then stuffing the pad back from where it came. She waddled back off toward the kitchen, her plump tail swaying lazily, looking about as tired as she herself appeared. Ember's eyes followed her momentarily and then were drawn to the clock on the wall beside the doorway she disappeared through. It's hands told him it was 5:46 a.m.
This information gave him the urge to look through the window across the diner. Outside, it was still dark, and the streetlights sparsely dotted along the sides of the road in front of the building were still burning brightly. Ember loved the way the world looked at this hour. Dark like night, with a hint of growing, grey light spilling over everything, only slightly stronger than the glow of the moon on a clear night.
A paper's rustle broke his stare and he looked to his friend, who had pushed the sheet back in front of him. He looked her over, trying to read her thoughts, even though she was obviously about to let him have it with all her opinions.
"Well?" He asked a few moments later, after an awkward stare-down.
"You should know...I don't like where this is going..." She replied in a much more serious tone. Ember tilted his head to the side, knowing it all would play out like this, but disappointed never the less. He looked down at the print off and then back at her.
The article was found in the deep recesses of the internet, buried among broken links, secured pages, and restricted areas. He had found the gold mine of information though, digging tirelessly through the cryptic metropolis known as the world wide web.
The text came from a news article a few years back, accompanied by an image of a strange, bronze alter sitting in a clearing of what looked to be a thick jungle. It was hard to pick up details in the picture, because of the poor quality, but despite this, the intricate carvings and masterful work of the object could still be admired.
It looked more like a birdbath than an alter; an ornate basin on a pedestal. There was, ironically, a colorful bird standing next to the thing, wearing what looked like a police uniform, but much less official looking than any similar authority garb Ember had seen. The bird had a puzzled look on his face, eyes on the alter like it was from another world.
And it might as well have been, based on the craftsmanship. No expert paw or precise machine could ever produce quality like this. The engravings that covered the relic almost seemed to swim across it's form in glyphs from an unknown society or civilization. One symbol, which repeated itself over and over in a rigid pattern along the wide rim of the basin, was at least somewhat recognizable. Each raised shape was a circle with two shapes sprouting from the edges. One was a simple arrow, and extended from the northeast, the other a simple cross, sticking out from the south.
Most could recognize what it was, even if they had never seen it before. It, at least to Ember, looked like the combination of the gender glyph for male, and the gender glyph for female. The story within the article confirmed his assumptions.
It told of a traveling group of students, on vacation from America, visiting this South American country with an unpronounceable name. Authorities believe that this party of males, which consisted of two mice, a raccoon, and a fox, were hiking along a trail that weaved through the dense flora of a jungle that grew adjacent to the town they were lodging in.
Presumably, the intrepid explorers decided to stray from the beaten path in search of more adventurous areas of the thick forest. This proved to be a poor choice, based on the empty water bottles, snack bags, and food containers found inside the various hiking packs upon the discovery of the poor boys. Even these students, who obviously had no real survival training, realized that many of the plants were poisonous in the forest, and discerning edible from deadly required some degree of skill.
Authorities concluded that the novice hikers got lost quickly within the green, and try as they most likely did, could not find a way back to civilization. The two cell phones police recovered had most likely been utilized in futility, for in this deep, dark remote area, any signal strength at all would have been miraculous.
Upon finding the hikers, police were amazed at the scene they had stumbled into. All four of the students were discovered lying around the pictured basin, unconscious from fatigue. All of the clothing that once covered the bodies of the hikers were strewn all over the floor of the jungle, save for a sock still on a footpaw here and an undershirt still on a torso there.
The smooth bowl of the alter had what looked to be a small amount of milky white, strong smelling liquid resting in the center, and the muzzles and paws of the unconscious furs shared traces of this thick substance. The aroma of the fluid was intoxicating, and it took the rescue party some amount of willpower to refrain from sampling it, or so they had reported. It was as if the liquid wanted those around it to drink it, the scent almost hypnotic. One who isn't starving or thirsty would, however, be able to resist it's allure with little effort. The out of towners, unfortunately, were suffering from such afflictions.
The decision to recklessly consume the substance, doctors would later conclude, had indeed saved their lives. This salvation, however, had come at a price. The policemen who discovered the tourists had barely recognized them due to the drastic change in their anatomy. The identification found on the passed out foreigners told the cops that they were in fact the four college students that showed up in town over a month ago.
This strange concoction had done more than stave off death, it had completely changed their bodies. Each hiker now looked like a female version of the original male form they held before. Large breasts, curving hips, soft facial details; it seemed they each shifted to the opposite sex. The only contradiction to the now girlish bodies was the existence of male sex organs that still rested at their crotches.
The vacationers that had entered the jungle as males in hiking boots, had left as hermaphrodites on stretchers. And it was all thanks to that alter, with it's weird ooze that it offered to the hungry students.
Other than the article stating that the alter was to be studied and the four adventurous youths had survived, albeit changed in such an extreme way, the text gave nothing more. Ember had looked deeper into the incident and found no additional information.
The tiger folded the paper up and stuffed it hurriedly back into his pocket. He gave another questioning look at Sarah, who was looking at him in a way a big sister would look at a sibling. A sibling that was about to do something really stupid. That, "I'm going to tell Mom." look.
"Hey, stop looking at me like that..." Ember whimpered, a bit offended. He didn't know why he decided to show her the article; she knew how intrigued he was with gender manipulation and transformations, no matter how fictional they seemed. A few years ago, when they had met in high school and hit it off, quickly becoming best friends, she had thought this curiosity was harmless. She even thought it was, in a morbid way, cute. But now, as this curiosity was quickly becoming an obsession, she began to worry about the tiger, in a more than maternal way.
Maybe he showed her because he was just so excited to have found a case of seemingly legit sexual transformation, and an eerie, otherworldly way to boot. Or maybe it was just because he trusted, and to an extent, fancied the leopard. He didn't like keeping secrets from her...mostly.
"I'll look at you however I like Em. I don't like this, and you know why. You're getting way too obsessed with this. What's wrong with your own gender?" She asked him, taking another sip of her coffee after.
"Nothing! I'm fine being male...You know, it's just that whole thing about the grass being greener...I just want to know what it's like. Are you telling me you've never wondered what it'd be like to have...you know, a penis?" He leaned in to whisper the last few words.
As the waitress returned to the table and placed a cold glass of orange juice and a hot plate of food in front of the tiger, Sarah gave him an apathetic look and shook her head.
"No, I can't say I have, Ember." She said cooly. She was telling the truth. She didn't have to wonder, because she was born a hermaphrodite, and still had all the bits of both male and female form. Of course, this was something that Ember didn't know about her, and she didn't intend to tell him until the time was right.
"Ok, sure..." Ember scoffed, sitting back grumpily and folding his arms across his chest. "Wreck all my fun...It's not like I know where this liquid is, even if it still existed...or existed at all for that matter. I just thought it was an interesting article."
"Hmm, I'm sure..." Sarah smiled, leaning back as Ember had done and crossing hir arms over the orange trimmed, black tank top that clung tightly to her chest. She had a flare for pulling off really bold fashions. The huge, ebony pants with the carrot colored straps that hung along it's waistline and pockets were proof that she pulled it off well, at least in Ember's eyes.
"Seriously!" He said, throwing his arms up and carrying an approachable expression, not unlike a salesman trying to denounce the faults of a product he was trying to peddle. "Just an interesting nugget I stumbled on. No cause for alarm." He straightened his much simpler clothing. He wore just a white t-shirt with an opened, button up navy blue dress shirt atop that, and typical, generic jeans, although well kept and crisp.
"Well, I'll trust you for now...you just need to remember to be careful. Look before you leap, and all that." Said the leopard, after tilting her head back and analyzing him, scanning him with scrutiny.
They ate in relative silence from then on, other than the occasional comment about the college they attended, or what video game was hot at the moment arising after stretched periods of noiselessness. After paying the bill, the found themselves in the slightly chilly morning air outside the diner, about to part ways to their respective vehicles.
"Well, I'll see you in class later this afternoon." Ember said, turning to walk away, arms close to him, shivering a bit at the unexpected cold.
"I look forward to it. Just remember what I said, Ember." She replied, throwing a paw up as she walked away, hips swaying a bit as she walked. Ember admired this for a few moments, a low murr surfacing in the top of his neck, and walked over to his green sedan. The car chirped as if in surprise when Ember pressed the button on his fobber, and unlocked the door for him.
Sliding in, he looked up at the rear view mirror, waiting until he saw Sarah's cherry red truck pull out and away from the diner. Once she was long gone, he fished out another, much smaller note from his other pocket, a folded index card. He opened it, looking at it conspiratorially, reading the name, address, and phone number written there.
"Sorry Sarah, but I might not make it to class after all..." He said to himself, starting the car and pulling out, heading to the highway. He gave the indicated destination, which was several towns over in the city, a last look before entering the long stretch of road. "I've got a certain something to pick up..."
The shop was buried in a jungle of skyscrapers, hotels, and convenience stores, nestled down a twisting maze of alleys. It was no surprise to Ember that it was so hard to find information about the place. After all, you couldn't see it from any street, and from what he gathered, it changed location every few months. This nomadic practice was likely because of the controversial, and in some cases illegal, products and services offered.
It had taken the tiger three robust hours of driving, and even after pulling into a spot in the nearby mall parking deck, he still had to walk thirty minutes through dark back streets that no car could fit through. The passageways felt tight and constrictive, dark and menacing. It even seemed as if the buildings tightened around him the deeper he ventured.
Eventually, after such a shady, disturbing distance, Ember found himself at the end of an alley, staring at a cast iron, green door. The face of the metal was raised slightly, and depicted hundreds of naked bodies of all species and genders, twisted into a massive, semi-three dimensional orgy. It made Ember blush, and for a split second, he contemplated turning and going back where he came, turning around and taking a few steps away.
Shaking his head, as if trying to sling this reluctance from his mind, he looked back to the door and read the red neon letters of the sign above it. "Carnal Curiosities" Burned brightly, casting an eerie crimson glow on the dirty walls and floor adjacent. Ember took a deep breath and walked up to the door. After a few moments of staring at the clean, brass handle, he reached out and turned it, pulling the door open and hearing the loud, rust coated groan it emitted.
Once inside, he regretted the thought of not coming in even more. The interior was large, but narrow, spanning far back and disappearing into a haze of smoke. From the scent, the wisps must have been from several sticks of incense lit at the back of the store. Everything glowed dimly in lazy purple, black lights dotting the ceiling in wide intervals. Sensual beats played lowly in the background, and Ember couldn't think of anything else it could have been composed for other than sexual encounters.
There were several wooden shelves of impressive workmanship that grew from the floor, diagonally from the walls, but parallel to themselves. Each one held it's own assortment of bizarre objects, ranging from bottles of glowing liquid, way too realistic looking dildos, strange looking food, and mechanical contraptions. The sight of all these interesting things overwhelmed Ember.
He was reading a hand written tag on a bottle of pills which read "M-Preg Prowess" in loopy cursive when he heard a two simultaneous voices whisper behind him.
"Ever hear of the expression, 'curiosity killed the cat'?" Ember spun around and nearly dropped the bottle in surprise. What he saw made his eyes grow wide and a blush spill along his cheeks.
The two headed wolf standing before him was a formidable sight indeed. One head was distinctly female, with long, blond hair, the other male, carrying a more short, spiky tuft. They looked enough alike to be twins, which they most certainly had to be. The body of the creature, which although larger than a typical frame, had just two arms and two legs. The semblance to normality ended there, however. Three hefty breasts lined the furs chest, each cleavage aligning with the neck of each head. The watermelon sized orbs strained against the black tank top, the three nipples forming sizable domes in the cloth.
A pair of crisp, baggy jeans covered the legs and waist. Although loose, it was easy to see the huge outlines of two soup can sized sheaths, one on top of the other, and the plump roundness of a sac bulge at the crotch of the jeans. Ember gulped. If this odd fur got aroused, those cannons would each likely be as long as his forearm...or longer.
"Welcome to Carnal." The male head said, extending the right paw, which had a blue leather cuff around the wrist. Both heads smiled at the same time, which was more than unsettling. "I'm Mark, and this is my sister, Mary." Mark nodded gently to the side, where Mary nodded politely.
"I know we must look strange, but I assure you, we're not only harmless, we're also as normal as most people. We just have a few...differences." Said Mary, as Ember shook his shaky paw with Mark's much larger one. It was a strong handshake, but it had a calming, inviting effect.
"N-No, it's not that...It's just...You know, surprising." Ember stumbled, rubbing the back of his head with embarrassment. He couldn't really judge anyone, based on his reasons for being there. He didn't even know if this collaboration was their choice or not. Mary put a gentle paw on his shoulder, a pink band adorning her wrist and giggled softly.
"It's okay, don't feel so ashamed. We know you looked us up for a reason, but even our most valued customers were taken aback on their first visit here. It's a lot to take in." She replied warmly. "I'm sure you know that we don't stay in one place for very long, but would you like to meet the other employees?"
"Yes, absolutely." He replied quickly. He couldn't contain his excitement. If Mark and Mary were an example of transformations possible here, he couldn't wait to see their coworkers.
"I'm sure you're curious about how we came to be this way." Said Mark, Mary's paw on the tigers back as the two or three of them walked to the front. Mark held his blue cuff before Ember's face. "Well, when we were sixteen, we stumbled across these bands on a shelf in a thrift store. Back then, were were proud of being twins, and we went everywhere and did everything together. Since these bands, although different colors, were identical, we decided to pick them up in hopes of expressing our bond. When we got home and tried them on...well, let's just say our bond got a lot stronger, to our great surprise."
Ember pictured the scene as he thought it went down, the bodies getting pulled together and mixed, flesh fusing with flesh and extra parts sprouting here and there. It was enough to make his sheath stir and heart beat quicken. He glanced them over, and in their own way, they weren't unattractive. In fact, they had their own exotic allure.
Once they finally got to the smoke shrouded counter, Ember saw another new face. It was a rather handsome fox, who was leaning over and reading something laid out before him. It was easy to see that this guy was a little different as well. Although his frame, face, and general build was masculine, two c-cup breasts filled the yellow t-shirt he wore. Ember blushed when the fox looked at him and stood up, chest bouncing slightly. The tiger couldn't help but lock his gaze on the bouncing beauties.
"Enjoying the show?" The fox said cooly, in a way only experience could convey. He surely received frequent staring.
"Ack! S-Sorry...I didn't mean to-" Ember began.
"It's cool. No sweat, happens all the time." The fox chuckled, putting his paws on his hips. "Nice to meet you, I'm Roland."
Ember nodded, smiling and relaxing a bit, happy that he hadn't offended. "So you're...a hermaphrodite?" He asked with a moment's hesitation.
"No, no, I guess you could call me a shemale. Other than the girls here, I'm all male." He winked, pointing to his chest as he spoke. "They just started growing one day, and this is the end result. I work here because I feel more accepted, you know?"
The tiger nodded. He could see that given the niche business, the employees fit in perfectly, and almost seemed required. As he pondered what it would be like to work in such a unique environment, a door behind the counter opened and a meerkat came waddling out with some very large boxes. Roland turned and moved over to help him, pulling the boxes out of his arms and setting them down around the counter. The new fur sighed and stretched his back.
He had a timid expression on his face that seemed etched in permanently. His light blue shirt seemed about three sizes too big for him, but it seemed to fit him nicely all the same. His ears perked when he saw Ember and he smiled shyly.
"Oh! A customer! Hello, I'm Thomas..." He leaned over the counter and extended his frail looking paw to Ember, who politely shook it. This guy seemed normal, albeit bashful. He was considering asking him if he were different, despite how rude it would have been, when his question was answered before he could inquire.
"Tommy is our resident cunnyboy." Roland said slyly, and the statement made the meerkat blush and pull down a bit on his shirt. He really was a shy little guy.
Ember knew what the term meant, because of his fascination with all things sexually askew. It meant that although Thomas had a male body, he lacked the male equipment, and instead possessed female reproductive organs. Ember blushed a bit as he thought of what the meerkat would look like in the nude, with a femme slit where a sheath and testes should have been.
"But enough about us...I'm sure you came here for a reason, hmm?" Mark said suddenly from behind him. It then dawned on the tiger that he was indeed the only customer in the store, and ironically, the center of attention.
"Yeah, our customers always have something in mind..." Mary chimed in, running a dull claw point down the center of the tiger's back, the act causing him to shiver. It made him feel more at ease, but at the same time charged him with a renewed anxiousness and filling him with courage.
"Well, now that you mention it, there is something particular I was looking for." Said Ember, hastily pulling out the same folded note that he had shown Sarah earlier that day. He turned and handed it to the twins, the blue bracelet clad arm reaching out to accept it. It was an interesting sight, the two heads reading the paper in unison. Once finished, they smiled and walked passed Ember, passing the note to Roland. As the busty male examined it, Mark and Mary turned and leaned against the counter, folding their arms as best they could over the three breasts filling out their top.
"Now that is interesting..." Said Mary. "Here at Carnal Curiosities, we've got all kinds of temporary gender shifting drugs, toys, and clothing...But...The substance this article refers to was made illegal shortly after it's discovery because it's effects are irreversible. You see, the deeper you get into the extreme methods of transformation, the more and more the law likes to interfere." As she said the last few words, Ember could hear a hint of bitterness surface into her voice.
"They have their reasons. Irresponsible people have been known to ruin other people's lives in the form of particularly harsh practical jokes. Most of the time, when someone goes under the influence of magical or paranormal altering substances, using another to counteract it either has no effect...or the effect is unpredictable..." Mark spoke in a way that indicated he had differing views on the subject than his sister.
"So you've heard of this stuff then..." Ember said seriously, ignoring the rest of what they had said. He had another lead... "Do you know where I can find some?"
"You don't understand, man." Roland said, leaning over to had the note to Thomas, looking at Ember in the process. "It's illegal...Distributing it, let alone possessing it, is against the law."
"That doesn't answer my question." Replied Ember bluntly. He only had one thing on his mind, and nothing was going to stop him from getting the info he wanted.
Ember's questioning and general attitude left an awkward silence after he spoke. The employees looked at one another nervously before Mark reluctantly broke it.
"Of this particular Chalice, I haven't heard." He didn't look the tiger in the eye. "But I have seen a few others."
"Chalice?" Ember said quickly, eyes brightening in hearing the name. "Is that what this basin thing is called? And there's more than one? Tell me more, please!"
Despite the tense atmosphere in the incense smoked store, the tiger's enthusiasm seemed to relax the employee's stiff stature a degree. His eagerness was almost cute.
"Uh, yeah...That's the name that the transformation community gave the alters." Roland said, noticing the twins exchange gazes with each other In contemplation, another interesting sight. "They say...Well, should I go on, Mark?" The fox started, but looked to the wolf to ask if divulging any more sensitive information would be acceptable. Mark and Mary nodded together hesitantly.
"Anyway, they say there were five of these 'Chalices' that were spread across the world, and have been here forever. The remoteness of their locations, however, prevented their discovery until fairly recently. Some of the people in the transphere, that's the transformation community, believe that the Chalices are alien in nature. This is mostly because the alters seem to move around, teleport, if you will, every few years. It's all quite fascinating." Roland said, leafing through the magazine he had been reading when Ember first approached.
"Oh...So, nobody knows where any of them could be?" Said the tiger, his ears laying back slightly as he felt his heart sink.
"Nope, in fact, that article is the newest case I've seen involving the Chalices. Do you mind if we keep it?" Roland said, pointing to the note in Thomas' hand. The meerkat, who had just finished reading it, looked up to the tiger and smiled.
"Y-Yeah, sure, it's all yours." Ember replied, looking from the meerkat to Roland again. After all, it wasn't like he didn't make more copies. "Just, can you uh, tell me more about the Chalices?"
"Thanks Kitty." Roland said with a hint of a wink. The tiger gulped. He had been shooting glances at the shemale's breasts whenever he thought the fox wasn't looking. Maybe he had been caught..."Well, it seems that whatever liquid you put into the basin turns instantly into the thick, viscous substance referred to in the article. I'm not sure how the students in that incident stumbled across one with liquid already in it, but I do know why they drank it. It's aroma causes the hungry to have uncontrolled desires to consume it. Once they do, willing or unwilling, well...you know the rest." Roland continued indifferently.
"I see...So...There's no way to find one?" Ember spoke in a wilting voice.
Again, a quietness swirled around the room like the smoke coming from the orange glowing dots at the end of the incense sticks scattered about the back of the store. Mark and Mary sighed and walked behind the counter, opening a door with a sign that said 'Employees Only' hanging on it's face, and slipping inside, shutting the door behind them.
Ember tilted his head, wondering what was going on. Roland straightened up and gave a nod to Thomas. The meerkat nodded back sharply and started walking quickly to the front of the store. When he passed the tiger, Ember took another glance at Roland's tight shirt. He didn't think the fox noticed, however, because he was leaning over and lighting another stick of incense on the corner of the counter. He heard a loud metallic click from the front, and turning around, he saw that Thomas had locked the iron door and was walking back.
"Hey Thomas, could you straighten up the front of the store? It's been a while since any of us cleaned it up..." Roland said suddenly to the meerkat, who stopped, nodded, and began organizing the items on the shelves. The fox turned and looked at Ember slyly. "Ok, don't think I haven't seen you looking...Taking a gaze into your potential future?"
Ember gulped hard, eyes widening. He wasn't as stealthy as he thought he was. "What? No! I-I Wasn't peeping, I was j-"
"If you want to see my tits, just ask...Kitty." Said Roland with a wide grin curling over his maw, interrupting the tiger's excuse. "Seriously, Mark and Mary are going to be back there a while. The thing they're getting is in a delay safe with quite a long timer."
"Well I...It's just that..." Ember stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. The tiger did have an attraction to the fox, wether it be from his personality or his differing body. Yeah, he could really go for the idea.
"Shh, stop talking. I know you're curious, and I kind of have a thing for big cats...Come on Kitty, I'm sure you could use a little stress relief..." He winked and stood up, walking around the counter to a door with a pink heart painted on it at the east wall. He smiled, and turned the handle, opening it inward.
