A collab between myself and lionkinglover12

An old enemy of Serpens awakens, also born of a constellation. Does Serpens' plan to restore the reptilian world end here? Or will scales continue to spread? Read and find out! PDF included!

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Rise of Serpens: A Story in Fur
By born2beagator and lionkinglover12

A large bengal cat paced side to side within his cage. His golden, slitted eyes taking in the sights and sounds of the pet store he currently resided in. Honestly, Felis was bored. He'd seen two leggers and their kits coming into this place and picking up stupid dogs or fish, one or two had even found a fellow cat to take care of them. But he wanted a friend.

Felis' gaze drifted over to the two legger who fed and watered him. The bengal had only been in the shop for a few days, but already he could see the two legger looked much better than the others. He didn't have those silly things on the side of his head anymore, instead he had a pair of proper, gray furred felines ears on the top of his head. Felis nearly smiled as he saw them twitch and turn slightly towards every new sound that echoed in the pet store. Along with the ears, Felis could see the beginnings of a pelt of gray fur peaking out from his sleeves, the man was constantly itching.

Honestly how these two leggers thought that those things they covered themselves in could keep them warm was beyond him. Besides, the two legger looked much better with a pelt of grey fur rather than going around naked everywhere.

Felis ceased his passing examination, letting out a mewl of displeasure as he laid down, gazing through the bars. Their had to be someone out there for him, now why couldn't they just come here so he could play with them?

Oliver couldn't believe it! His parents were finally getting him a cat! The 12 year old boy had always wanted a pet. Here they were, at the pet shop.

"I'm so excited mom!" He said to his parents, Kat and John.

They smiled at him. "You earned it with your grades Oliver." Kat said.

Oliver trotted up the the shop keeper who was drinking a huge glass of milk. "Oh! You dressed up like a cat! Thats a night touch!" He said as he noticed the cat ears on top of the man's head.

"Thanks kid! Now what are you looking for?" The man asked.

"I want a cat!" Oliver exclaimed.

"Good choice, and I have just the one." The man led the way over to the cages. "This is a bengal cat, very playful, very intelligent."

"Mom, Dad, I want that one!" Oliver immediately said. Something about this cat seemed so...cool. So within a few minutes, they were checked out, and Oliver, Kat, and John walked out to the car.

Felis's ears perked as he heard a young two legger's voice. A smile formed on his face as Oliver came into view, being led by the owner of the shop. Yes, he decided to himself, this was his two legger. Something about the boy just felt right to him.

What followed next was what Felis would later refer to as the time he'd never think of again. Being put into a small box and being carried to a large roaring and shaking monster was not his idea of a good time. But his boy was with him, so he must be okay. His boy didn't seem afraid, so obviously Felis couldn't be either. He had to set a good example for his two legger after all.

Finally though his box was opened and the cat sprang out, stretching and sniffing the air, taking in the new scents of this strange place as he looked around slowly at the two leg den before turning and moving over to Oliver, butting his head up against the two legger's leg and nuzzling him, covering the boy with his scent. This boy was his, and he'd make sure everyone knew that.

"Mom, Dad I think I'm going to name him Felis. It just feels right." He said. His parents smiled as they headed into the house, leaving Oliver and his cat alone. "Okay bud, what do you want to do first!"

Felis purred, pleased as he heard Oliver speak his name. His boy was intelligent. He nuzzled up against his leg, giving a deep rumbling purr to him. He pulled back, glancing around before racing over as he saw the large spacious backyard. He wanted to play and run, to stretch his legs after being cooped up for so long.

Oliver laughed as Felis raced off to play in the backyard. He gave chase, but the cat was extremely fast. They spent a solid thirty minutes running around for the joy of it before sinking to the grass together. "Well you have a lot of energy Felis." Oliver said through his panting.

Felis settled down against his boy, looking at him, head tilted. He leaned up and butted his head up against the boy's chin, to get him to shut his mouth. No boy of his would act like some wild mongrel. No wonder his boy was so out of breath though, how could he expect to keep up with him when he was trying to move on two legs? That was just silly.

His raspy tongue slid out as he gently lapped at the boy's cheek, grooming him lightly. He gently lapped over the boy's lips, and to felt something poke his tongue. Pulling back, he saw that the center of the boy's lips had split and whiskers much like his own were pushing from his face. Felis had to admit, they did look right on the boy. Then he put two and two together. The shop owner looked a lot like him too. Maybe he could turn humans into his playmates? That would be fun!

Perhaps he should show his boy how to hunt next? A quick sniff of the air confirmed to the feline that there were plenty of squirrels and birds to hunt here. He just needed to show the child how to catch his meals.

His task decided, he stood up, eyeing Oliver before nudging him gently. It was time to teach his boy.

Oliver stood, suddenly feeling like he needed to listen to his cat. "What is it bud?"

Felis nudged Oliver, giving a soft hiss to him. If he stood up like that, every animal would see him coming a mile away. He stood up on his hind legs, bracing himself against Oliver's leg as he gently nipped at his fingers, tugging on the boy's hand before dropping back to all fours.

Oliver looked at his new friend quizzically. Maybe he was trying to show him something? Slowly, he lowered himself to his hands and knees.

Felis gave one firm nod of his head as he saw Oliver get down on all fours like a proper feline. He leaned forward and let his tongue slide over his playmate's sensitive new whiskers. He grinned slightly as he noted the boy's eyes were starting to change, going from pure, round circles, to more slits, a mirror of his own. Those would be much more handy when hunting, improving the lad's eyesight tremendously.

Felis stretched out his body before he slowly began to slunk forward, crouched to the ground, glancing back to check that his new friend was following him.

Oliver followed the cat's instructions. Something about Felis made Olivier want to imitate him. It would be fun!

Felis gave a soft purr as he saw Oliver following him. He sniffed the air before going very still as a small bird landed near them. Every one of the cat's muscles tensed before he bounded forward like a bolt of lightning, leaping on the bird and striking it down with his paw as it tried to fly away. A quick bite to it's neck and Felis was carrying his prize back to Oliver, his tail held proudly.

"Oh wow, you are a smart cat!" Oliver said with awe. "What are you going to do with that now?"

Felis dropped the bird in front of Oliver, glancing at the human before leaning up and licking him gently. His tongue running over the child's nose. When his tongue made contact, the boy's nose began to flatten out and pull back against the his face, beginning to look more like Felis' own. The skin turning a bright shade of pink as it finished it's changes. Felis smiled before taking a bite out of his bird.

Sweet, wonderful new scents began to assault Oliver's senses. It was like he'd been living with his nose stuffed up his whole life, and only now was it actually clear. The smell was coming from the bird. He actually wanted to try it. But he didn't want to upset Felis, so he waited patiently, his stomach growling a bit.

Felis' ears twitched as he heard Oliver's stomach growling. He took one more bite of the bird before looking up at his two leg, then nudged the meal over to him and sat down, watching him intently.

Oliver looked at the half eaten bird, confused. "You want me to eat that? But I'm not an animal." He said...although he had to admit the scent coming from the bird was good...

Felis gave a soft huff, almost like the cat was rolling his eyes at him as he nudged the bird again. It was fresh food. What was wrong with it? Did his boy not like bird, or was he just acting like a foolish two legger still?

"Oh alright. Give it to me." Oliver sat on his knees with the bird in his hands. Slowly he brought it to his mouth and took a bite. His eyes widened. "Felis! This is actually really good!" With that he dug into the rest. It was oily, but had a nice strong taste to it. It got easier to eat as he chowed down. "Rrrrrrthanks Bud!" Oliver said as a strange rumbling emitted from his throat.

Felis rumbled contentedly as he watched Oliver feast on his kill. His head cocked to the side as he watched the boy's mouth start to push out slowly into a more feline muzzle as he ate. His ears perked at that rumble escaping the boy's throat and the cat grinned. His friend was coming along nicely. His face was looking much better now, much more handsome, almost like himself. He leaned forward and nuzzled against Oliver's side, purring deeply to him, as though to show him how it was done.

Oliver felt strange. For lack of a better word, he felt like an animal, as if anyone could actually know what that felt like. But it didn't matter. All that mattered was having fun with Felis. Wanting to mimic his best friend, Oliver rumbled deep in his throat. "Let's go inside bud!" He headed back towards the door, scratching a pleasant itch on his behind.

Felis smiled as he heard that deep rumble come out of Oliver's throat. It wasn't the best he'd ever heard. But he was coming along very well. He quickly scampered after him, slightly disappointed when Oliver got back on two legs. Silly two legger. Felis' eyes did however notice the small bulge starting to push against the boy's pants as they went inside, as though something was straining to get out.

As the pair stepped inside, Oliver's mother looked up from where she was working and smiled warmly at the pair of them. She patted her leg gently. "Oliver, come here boy, come to momma." She called out warmly to her son, almost as if she was calling a cat or dog rather than her own child.

"Mom? Why are you talking to me like that? I'm not a pet." Oliver said in confusion.

His mother smiled at him gently. As though he had just done something adorable. "Come on Oliver, we can play with your favorite yarn ball." She said gently, reaching down and picking up a large ball of blue yarn. She set it down before kicking it gently with her feet, sending it rolling out towards the boy.

Felis' eyes locked on the ball of yarn, his body poised to spring on it, but he caught himself, that was Oliver's toy, not his. He would wait to share.

The sight of the ball of yarn made Oliver squirm a bit as he felt a tingle run through his spine and increased pressure on the back of his pants. But still..."Mom, thats a ball of yarn. What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Oh come now Oliver, you love your ball." She got up and knelt down, patting the ground besides the ball. "Come on Oliver, come play with Momma, come get the ball." She called out to him, rolling the ball of yarn back and forth between her hands. Almost hypnotically to the feline-like boy.

The back and forth movement of the ball was like a siren call to Oliver. He fell to his hands and knees and put his behind in the air. "I'm gonna get it!" he said excitedly as he waved his behind back and forth. He pounced forward and caught the ball in between his mother's hands.

"That's my good little boy." She cooed gently to Oliver as he pounced on the ball, reaching up with one hand and gently petting his head, scratching him right behind one of his ears. "Who's momma's good little kitty hmm?" She asked, Felis bounding forward now to also join Oliver, pawing at the ball of yarn.

"I'mmmmm your good little kitty mom!" Oliver said happily. "Wait...what did I just say?" he looked up at Kat in confusion.

Kat smiled gently at Oliver, petting his muzzle gently. "Come on you two, let's get you guys some lunch, then we can watch tv, how does that sound?" She asked with a smile as she stood up, heading into the kitchen to pour out two bowls of cat food for her babies.

Felis licked his lips as he watched Kat go, he was getting hungry. He leaned over to nuzzle against Oliver before following after her.

Oliver rose to follow, but found himself extremely wobbly on his two feet. As he stood there wobbling it was as if his body tried to correct his unbalance. He felt something fuzzy sliding down his pant leg. "Ohhhh Felis...something feels good!"

Felis paused glancing at Oliver with his head cocked. His foolish friend always kept trying to walk on two legs, when would he learn that four legs was proper for creatures like them? The cat sniffed the air and purred softly. Oliver's scent had changed. He could still smell the boy's human scent, but their was an unmistakable feline tang beneath that, and it was slowly growing more intense to his nose.

From the kitchen Kat called out. "Kittens, lunch is ready." the clatter of two bowls, heavy with cat food reaching the ground were like beautiful music to the pair's ears.

Oliver made to follow Felis, but found his back cramping painfully whenever he tried to take a step. He looked at Felis...maybe? Oliver got back to his hands and knees. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head as he felt his ears tingle. "Felis??? What am I?" Oliver was confused. Why was everyone treating him like a pet?

Felis looked back as he saw a pair of brown and black pointed ears slowly form on the top of Oliver's head. "Your a cat, just like I am." He told him proudly, moving over to nuzzle Oliver's face gently, purring to him. "You're my best friend, we're playmates." He told him with a nod of his head.

Oliver thought hard as he crawled on his hands and knees into the kitchen. "Mom wha-ohhowww...it hurts!" He moaned as he felt something straining in his pants. He winced in pain. "Mom, something is stuck!"

Kat smiled gently, moving over and kneeling at Oliver's side. "Shh, it's okay, you're tail is just stuck silly." She said with a chuckle. She began to fiddle with his pants, tugging them slowly off.

Warmth seemed to seep into Oliver's legs, as they slowly shifted and morphed, a soft pelt of fur forming over his legs as they began to look more like Felis' than a humans.

Finally his mother succeeded in getting those stuffy pants off of him, leaving his tail free to sway in the wind. Her hand stroked down his back. "Doesn't that feel better Oliver?" She asked gently, scratching his ears.

Felis watched, purring as he saw the changes flowing over his playmate, happily nibbling on his catfood while he enjoyed the show.

Pain taken care of, Oliver looked up at his mom. He found it hard to speak, as if he vocal cords weren't made for it. "Mmmeeeom? Wh-at a---m I?"

Kat gently pet his head. "It's okay Oliver, come on, let's eat your food." She told him gently.

Oliver's shirt began feel too large for his body, that pelt of fur starting to slide up his chest, his arms and hands slowly shifting into paws.

John soon came in, smiling as he saw his wife and two cats on the ground, face down in their food. "Hello dear, Oliver, Felis." He said with a smile. In one hand he was carrying a small bag. He walked over and knelt down, petting Oliver's ears gently. "Guess what Oli, daddy got you a brand new collar." He told him, pulling out a black leather collar, with a gold tag, with his name clearly written on it.

Oliver ignored the two humans, he needed to get out of this strange covering. He put his front legs forward and wiggled out. "Mmmeeeo-D-aeoww...ameeow I a cat. I thought i was human?"

John smiled at Oliver lovingly. "Silly little fella, you're a good little kitty for momma and daddy aren't you?" He asked. "Now, let's get your collar on, you just relax." He said gently as he unclasped the collar and slipped it around Oliver's neck before locking it snug around the feline's neck, ruffling the fur between his ears. "Good boy Oliver." He said with a smile, moving over to slip another collar around Felis' neck.

Done with his meal and confusion cleaned up, it was time to play. Oliver meowed at Felis and ran up the stairs. He wanted to show his playmate the strange creature in the bedroom.

Oliver nosed opened the door. "Look at this strange thing!" The cat hopped up to look into the cage.

Felis leapt up to join his companion, looking into the cage, head tilted as he looked at the strange creature within it. It had no arms or legs. Instead it was just one long creature, covered with green scales. He tilted his head, thinking hard. "It's a snake." He said, glancing over at Oliver. "I've seen them before." He grinned and chuckled. "They aren't as good as us cats though."

"Wanna play with him?" Oliver nosed open the cage.

Felis reached his paw into the cage to gently touch the snake. As his paw made contact, it was like a spark erupted. Golden fur began to spread over the serpent's body, cold scales giving way to warm fur. The snakes head also began to shift, becoming more like a cat's as well. Felis let out a giggle. "It looks silly." He said glancing over at Oliver.
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In his Florida palace Serpens woke from his sleep so violently he hit his head on the ceiling. Tanith rushed out of the way as her mate thrashed around.

"ABOMINATION!!!" The god screamed in a deep voice that shook the walls. "BLASPHEMY!!! BETRAYAL!"

"My mate! What is it!" Tanith asked in fear. She'd never seen Serpens so angry.

"IGNORANCE!!! DEFILEMENT!!! FELIS! THAT FOOL WILL PAY!!!!" Without another word Serpens blinked out of existence leaving Tanith there in shock.

Serpens appeared outside a suburb in Denver, Colorado. He didn't bother shifting to his human form. He'd not felt this sort of anger before. As he slithered through the small town, humans on either side of the street spontaneously burst into scales. Serpens was seething. He knew about his mammalian counterpart, but he assumed that the cat god had lost his power.

Apparently not. Not only had he not lost his power, but he'd used it on a reptile...and not just any reptile. A SNAKE! Serpens gave an unearthly screech and surged forward, stopping at a house at the end of the block. Shrinking to a fifteen foot form, he bashed down the door.

"What the!" A human screamed.

Serpens slithered past them.

"What on earth issssssssss" They didn't finish. The two humans fell into their clothes and seconds later two boas slithered out. Finally at his destination, he smashed the door open, revealing two cats and some...thing. It looked like a snake, but it was covered in fur and had the head of the cat. "FELISSSSSSSS WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Serpens screamed.

Felis yelped as he heard those crashes, falling off of the desk and onto the ground with a grunt. He whimpered softly as he looked up at Serpens fearfully, pulling himself to his feet and taking a few steps back. "Who....who are you?" He whimpered softly, moving in front of Oliver, he'd still protect his friend from this thing.

Serpens blinked....the other cat was a human. But he could still feel the reptilian soul buried deep within. Slapping the bengal cat out of the way, he slithered forward. "My child, you have been robbed of your true form. Come home." He touched his tail to the cat and hissed in content as he saw the fur falling out, replaced by proper scales. The legs shriveled away as the small ribbon snake slithered off. Then he turned to the...thing in the cage. Unable to bear it any longer, he took the cat-snake out and squeezed it gently. The fur fell off.

"Now Felis...what should we do about this?" The snake god asked dangerously.

Felis let out a heart breaking whimper as he watched his friend Oliver being changed, seeing his limbs wither away and his fur fall out, to be replaced by scales. It tore at the feline's heart. He shivered in fear, whimpering as he took a few steps back, his butt running into the wall as he stared up at the creature. "What did I do, who are you? How do you know my name?" He asked quickly. The poor feline was shaking like a leaf.

Serpens paused. The he began to laugh, a terrible hissing sound. "You don't know? Of course you don't. You are a god. A god of mammals. But I have beaten you. This world is mine. You are like a spoiled child, changing humans to have fun with them. I am changing them to fix this world, to make it a better place. I was going to change you as well. But I think I will locked you in that form. There are a lot of large reptiles in this town now. I'd watch your back if I were you. You'd make a nice mouthful...dumb cat" With that, he motioned to the new snakes in the house and they blipped out of existence, back to his palace in Florida.

Felis whimpered pawing at his head. Everything felt so strange all of a sudden. It was hard to focus, hard to think. The past slowly slipped away in a blur, memories of the family, of Oliver, sliding away like clouds in a storm. Until all that existed was the moment. The cat sniffed the air as he heard movement and froze. A large serpent, easily larger than himself slid into the chamber, he gave a hiss before starting forward, leaping past the snake and bounding out of the strange den. The only thought in his empty head to avoid the predators now all around him and to stay alive.

Serpens appeared back in his nesting room, the new family of snakes slithered off, and Tanith's head shot up. "Serpens, what happened???"

He nuzzled her as they curled up. "An old enemy from my past appeared. He turned a reptile into a mammal." Tanith hissed in disgust. "Do not worry, he has been take care of." He nuzzled Tanith once more and the two fell asleep.