The Silver Feather (Preview) (Patreon)

Packing most of his stuff back into his bag so everything wasn't just lying out, Julian got up and walked down to the water. Though that casual pace quickly turned into a run as the burning sting of the sand got his feet.

When only a foot or two away, he hopped and splashed into the surf. The coolness of the water hit him all at once, shivers going straight up his spine. Oh that's so much better. He took a few more steps in as the water rose to his calves, looking out. Maybe I could take a swim?

For a moment, he hesitated. Then he remembered the sea life that resided out in the Johto region. A lot of the Pokémon weren't dangerous and the ones that were didn't live close to the shores. He could just swim nearby and be fine.

He stepped further into the water, past others playing or splashing around in it. Eventually, he was hip deep in it. The coolness felt even better, inviting him to just dive in and start swimming already.

He was about to accept its invitation when something caught his attention. There was a sparkle off the surface of the water. At first, he thought it was just the sun reflecting off of it, but it wasn't that. The glint grew closer, carried in by a small wave. The closer it got, the smaller it became.

Eventually, the sparkle crashed against his side, getting stuck to him. It was a feather.

It was a curious feather to put it mildly. It was bright silver, split in the middle at the very top. It had a strange, ethereal glow to it that it seemed to naturally emit. That glittery effect wasn't caused by the sun.

What the heck? Julian picked up the feather and examined it closely. Never seen anything like this before. Wonder what kind of Pokémon dropped this? He tried thinking about it, but no Johto birds came to mind. Maybe Skarmory, but he was pretty sure its feathers were more steel-like than actual feathers and that they lived up in the mountains.

Maybe it's from a migrating bird mon? Julian thought more, twisting and turning the feather over, though, I'm not sure what…

At that moment, a peculiar feeling hit him. His fingers holding the feather felt numb, like all sense had vanished. They trembled as well, his hand jerking every so often.

Then they grew. His fingers swelled one at a time, doubling their length and thickness in a few seconds. Fingernails vanished as two of the fingers pressed against each other. They pressed and pressed, merging until just one.

What the hell?! Julian gasped, holding his large, four-fingered hand away from him. What… what is happening to me?!

He felt it again then. Nervously, he turned to his other hand and felt a shiver go up his spine. There it was, growing as well. It swelled just as long and thick, also going down to four, fingernail-less fingers too. Whatever was happening was spreading.

He looked back at his first hand. It had stopped growing, thankfully, but there was something missing. The feather had vanished.

Julian's mind was swirling as he tried comprehending what was happening. It didn't work as both of his arms trembled. Silverish white feathers were sprouting over his fingers. They were so compact and tight that they blurred together into a seemingly smooth, flat layer of silver skin.

Feathers flowed down his hands and onto his wrists. They seemed to stop for a moment before rocketing up his arms to his shoulders. Just as the coating stopped, his limbs seemed to grow even longer and just a touch thicker to match his enlarged hands.

His head whipped between both of them, trying to comprehend it all. His legs felt weak, and he stumbled back into deeper water. He barely managed to stay upright.

The young man was in complete panic over everything. Why, why, why, why?! Why is this happening to me!? What d-did I do? How did this even happen? Why… wha…

Something clicked with him as he looked around. He knew he had wandered into deeper water, and he also knew where the water came up just moments before, his hips.

The water came up to his thighs now. He was taller.