“Uh… S-sure. Why not?” Alec replied, his earlier worries getting pushed to the back of his mind. He heard a rhythmic scraping noise from nearby, only to look down and see his foot pawing nervously against the soft sand. He frowned and quickly got ahold of himself, though it was harder than he thought it would be to stop the reflexive movement. For a moment, he thought his foot look… odd. Shorter, but more sturdy, and with more fuzz than he remembered growing between his toes, but then Jeremy reached over and grabbed his hand.
“Come on, come on…” Jeremy laughed as he tugged Alec along the beach toward the cooler. He flashed another grin, and for the first time Alec noticed that the other man’s front teeth were rather prominent. “You know, it’s really cool you guys did all this. I mean, this place is so cool. Like your own private beach, where you can do… whatever you want.”
Jeremy put particular emphasis on the last few words, chuckling quietly as he pulled a couple bottles of beer out of the cooler, twisted the top of one, then handed it over to Alec. Alec, who had been trying to pace himself until now (being a bit of a lightweight when it came to drinking), didn’t even think twice before tipping the bottle and draining half of it in a single big swig. What was it that he was worried about again…? Whatever it was, it must not have been too important, right?
After all, there was a hot guy hitting on him, all the food and beer he could possibly want, and sunshine galore. For Alec, at least, the party was finally starting.
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Over by the makeshift stage where the band had just finished setting up, Vince was leaning against a small tree jutting out of the sand and watching with amusement as Alec and Jeremy flirted by the bonfire.
“Who knew all it took was a beer and a half to get that guy to open up a bit?” Vince muttered, then he turned to where Devin and the rest of the band were getting into position. “You guys finally done? You really think anyone here was gonna notice if you were out of tune?”
“I would. Perfect pitch,” Devin grunted, tapping his ear as he stepped up to the microphone with his guitar. “Every time I hit a flat note I’d be pissed off. Besides, it’s not like you’re paying us, so deal with it. ”
Devin spotted Alec and Jeremy and had to suppress a laugh seeing his dorky younger cousin trying to mingle. He ran his hand through his long, dark hair, frowning for a moment as he felt his fingers brush past a bit of fuzz on his ears. “The hell is that…? Oh, forget it,” he thought. “I’ve held up the show long enough…”
He nodded to his bandmate on the synth, who loaded up the preprogrammed bass lines that lead into their first song, with their drummer quickly joining in with a gentle, sparse accompaniment. “Welcome to the show, everyone,” Devin called out over the microphone, and by now the guests had begun to gather up around their impromptu stage, curious to see what the band had to offer. “We’re Instant Refuge, and we’ll be-”
“Hold on, I thought we were going with ‘Reckless Prayer’?” the keyboard player interjected.
“...We’re still figuring out what we’re called, okay?” Devin conceded sheepishly. “Anyway, whatever we’re called, we hope you enjoy. And if you don’t, the beer’s over there and there’s a nice quiet place just down the beach. Alright, let’s do this! 1, 2... 1, 2, 3!”
Devin launched into their first song’s main riff, and it didn’t take long before the partyers nearby started dancing and bobbing their heads. Good thing they like it… We only wrote a couple original songs, Devin grinned. Just space ‘em out with a few half-decent covers, and we’ve got a set.
In no time, the thumping drums and jagged guitar lines were doing their magic; couples were dancing close and heatedly, dancers’ hands roaming down to cup their partners’ firm asses or grinding playfully against one another. Feet were tapping, hair waving in the air, tails wagging excitedly…
Huh? Tails? Devin suddenly thought, thinking it odd that he was suddenly starting to see a few new appendanges hanging out of the backs of a couple of dancers’ swim trunks and bikini bottoms. Long, sleek ones, bushy ones, and cute little tufts that twitched to the beat. He frowned, not even noticing as his ears began to slide upward along the sides of his head, narrowing into triangular points and flicking nervously. Nor did he notice as his changing ears began to grow a light coating of silvery-brown hairs, smooth fuzz that began to spread downward along the sides of his face and grow in thickly down the middle of his chest.
Devin felt his heart race at the odd sight before him, only for his finger to slip and miss a fret on his guitar. The dull note rang out like nails on a chalkboard (at least to Devin’s sensitive ears) and he refocused himself on his music, pushing all thoughts of tails and other strangeness to the back of his mind for the time being. Worry about not fucking this up, Dev. Other peoples’ tails aren’t any of your business anyway, he reminded himself, and like magic the confusion began to fade away, letting him once again focus on putting on the best show he could. And maybe, just maybe, catching the eye of a good-looking fan for a little post-show hookup in the process.
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“So, what do you get when you mix a goth, a metalhead, and an engineering student?” Alec laughed as him and Jeremy stood back from the rest of the dancers. By now, Alec was on his second beer and feeling rather warm as they sat on an old chunk of driftwood and nodded their heads to the music.
“Dunno, but I got a feeling I’m listening to it,” Jeremy replied. “They’re not bad though. Got a real retro feel to ‘em, y’know?”
The big redhead nudged a bit closer to Alec and said, “You’re in the bio department, right? I saw you around when I had to go over there for a couple required classes…”
“Huh? O-oh, yeah. Can’t believe you’d remember me, though,” Alec chuckled nervously. “I’m not the most memorable guy in the world…”
“Really? The cute guy with the old camera hanging around with that huge blond dude? Pretty memorable to me,” Jeremy replied casually. “You sure you don’t wanna dance?”
“Oh, I’m sure. And if you saw me trying, you’d be sure too,” Alec said, draining his bottle of beer and gently setting it down in the sand alongside the others they’d been drinking. At the moment, Jeremy was up by two, even if he wasn’t showing it in the slightest.
“Ah, yeah. I get you. Nothing wrong with just… chilling out. Unwinding a bit, if you catch my drift?” Jeremy mused off-handedly, his hand reaching over and brushing against Alec’s side gently. Out of the corner of his eye, Alec noticed that the red-haired man’s hands were remarkable delicate, with long, slender fingers and… claws? Black ones, thin and slightly curved, but trimmed short.
“Uh… w-what’s up with-” Alec started, only for the other man to firmly pull him closer and press his lips against Alec’s. Alec couldn’t help himself from letting out a quiet moan, half of surprise and half excitement, feeling Jeremy’s warm, beer-flavored tongue slip into Alec’s mouth.
The two of them slowly slid off their driftwood seat and down into the sand, Alec feeling the hot ground against his back as Jeremy sensually kissed him and ran his hands over Alec’s body. The little claws that Alec had noticed in passing raked gently across his skin, roaming down his backside and playfully teasing the twitching brush of a tail that was beginning to sprout there. Alec found himself returning the favor, his own tongue pushing past Jeremy’s lips and teasing the other man’s big, prominent front teeth. It was oddly satisfying for reasons Alec couldn’t quite explain. As was the feeling of their erect cocks grinding against one another, separated by only the sheer fabric of a pair of swim trunks that were growing more slick and slimy with precum by the second.
After a minute or so, he felt Jeremy’s hand beginning to roam further southward, grazing past the fuzz growing on his belly and slipping under the waistband of his shorts. Something just felt… off. Not just that he was jumping straight to third base with a borderline stranger, but something strange about Jeremy himself. “Mmph… N-no…” he managed to stammer, his words muffled by the other man’s lips still pressed against his. With a gentle shove, he was able to break off the kiss and tried to catch his breath.
Jeremy looked at him with surprise and reluctantly pulled himself off of Alec, his face nearly as red as his hair at this turn of events. “Sorry…? I didn’t mean to… I mean, I just thought you were up for it…” he murmured bashfully. “I mean, that’s what parties like these are for… right?”
“S-sure. I mean, no, they’re not… Well, maybe sometimes, but-” Alec babbled wildly, trying to order his thoughts. “L-look, I was having fun and all, but… It’s just too fast, oaky?”
“S-sure. I get you… Look, maybe later, if you’re up for it? Can I get you another beer or something…” Jeremy said, then he grimaced and laughed nervously. “That sounded bad, didn’t it? Umm… I’m gonna go get another one for me. I’ll see you around, okay Alex?”
“...It’s Alec. Yeah, I’ll see you later,” Alec sighed, watching as Jeremy turned and wandered off toward the coolers. Only when the redhead was a good distance away did it click for Alec what had thrown him off about Jeremy. Sticking right out of the man’s rear end was a struly massive, red-furred and bushy tail that curled gracefully upward, along with a pair of little round ears poking out of his curly hair. Pair that up with his clawed hands and his oversized front teeth, and…
“Squirrel…? He’s a fucking squirrel?” Alec said in disbelief. There was nothing to distract him from thinking about that fact now that it was starting him right in the face. Something truly bizarre was going on here at Paw’s Point, he was sure of it.
His eyes snapped to the area in the distance where the partygoers were dancing wildly, paws stomping in the sand and tails waving. None of them seemed to realize that anything out of the ordinary was going on at all. Likewise, Jeremy must have noticed that he suddenly had a four-foot tail stuck out of his backside. The fact the nobody seemed in the least bit bothered by what was going on was almost as bizarre as the fact they the entire party was turning to a zoo…
“Hold on…” Alec murmured under his breath, a realization suddenly dawning on him. He slowly raised his hand and reached under his short, feeling a dense coating of rich, soft hairs covering nearly his entire chest. Not the bristly hair that one normally associated with chest hair, but fine, luxurious fur. The short, stubby tail hanging down from his backside thumped nervously against the back of his leg as his heart started pounding. “It’s happening to all of us…”