Keytar Howl (Preview) (Patreon)

Yep, Ross was definitely feeling gloomy now. After all that confidence that witchy gal showed him, here he was. He felt like such a letdown.

He grabbed the remote on the bed and turned off the instructional video playing in the background. What was the point? He fell back first onto his bed and ran a hand over his face.

He rubbed his face again, longer and slower this time. Maybe… Maybe I’m just not cut out for this. Maybe I’m… His heart sunk. Maybe I’m not supposed to be good with an instrument, or music… or maybe just anything. Maybe I’m just supposed to be this weak, shy, pushover of a person…

His heart ached now. Everything was wrong. Why? Why did things have to be like this? Why couldn’t he be better? Why did he have to keep bringing himself down?

I wish… He sighed, I wish I had confidence. I wish I could do something. I wish I could be popular. I wish for things to be different. I… I just want something! Anything!

Silence, then a long deep sigh. He rubbed his eyes. Cut it out. This isn’t helping. He slipped an arm over to the keytar and hit a few keys on it. Those 80’s vibe notes popped out, their sound almost calming in a way.

Gotta stop this. I’m… I’m getting too worked up. He took several breaths, each deeper and slower than the last. His body eased up on its tension somewhat. Beatin’ myself up isn’t helping. Just… just cool off. Let’s have some lunch and watch something. Maybe try later. Maybe… maybe later.

He took one last deep breath and let it out. He definitely felt better… but a bit on the hot side after getting so worked up. Unconsciously, his hand moved up and brushed his forehead.

He winced, twitched. Something… scratched his skin?

Ross whipped his hand up close and squinted. Wait… what's up with my nails?

His fingernails were longer… and seemingly growing. They were extending out from his fingers by almost two full inches. But it wasn’t just length, they were growing in thickness despite their widths slightly shrinking. They pulled out, their tips turning more claw-like and even turning purple in color!

Ross blinked several times, just to make sure he was seeing this right. His hand had claws!

But it wasn’t just claws either. Flipping it over, the skin on his fingers and palms were swelling. Not too much, but more into an animal-esque pad shape. The skin turned black and smooth, only adding to its animal appearance.

Ross’ jaw slowly dropped the more he stared, as if the knowledge was starting to drizzle in. He wiggled his fingers and gently clenched them, letting pad rub against pad. He even poked them with his unchanged hand. This… this was all real.