Parachute Problems

"Okay, we're nearly at the right altitude for you to jump. You ready for this?" the instructor called, turning back towards the sole participant in the session's skydiving experience.

"As ready as I'm ever going to be!" Phil said, putting on his helmet. The American football-loving youth was decked out from head to toe in green gear, barring a few white stripes on his body suit, and the silvery colored gloves he had equipped. "I gotta admit...I am a little nervous about doing this!"

"That's totally understandable, but I can assure you that you have absolutely nothing to worry about! We take pride in knowing that the parachutes we use for this work pretty much one hundred percent of the time!" the instructor responded proudly.

'Pretty much? That doesn't sound too assuring...' Phil thought, withholding a gulp.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll be fine!" was the response he got. The instructor could tell from the look on Phil's face that he was having doubts. "Just trust me, alright?"

"I trust you, but believe you me, if something DOES go wrong, I'll be making a complaint!" he answered in a serious tone.

"Right, right! Anyway, it's about time you put on your parachute!" The instructor handed him one which was neatly packed up, which Phil quickly put on his back. "If something does go wrong with that, remember to use the emergency parachute on the front of your suit as well!" He tapped against the one strapped to Phil's front.

"Okay!" Phil made sure they were both tightly secured - the last thing he wanted was for them to fall off while in freefall. "I'm ready whenever you are!"

"We've reached the correct altitude, so get ready!" The instructor opened up the side door of the plane, the sound of wind zooming by assaulting Phil's ears. "In your own time, dude!"

"Right..." Phil looked out the door, seeing the sky all around him, as well as the ground several thousand feet below. He did feel slightly nervous at the prospect of doing this, not to mention he doubted now if his parachute would even work...but at the same time, he did pay a hundred dollars to do this, and he'd feel horrible if he chickened out at the last minute. "On my marks... get set..." He took a few steps backwards, taking a deep breath before charging towards the door. "Go, go, GO!" he yelled, leaping off the floor as he dove into the great blue. "WHOO-HOO-HOOOO!!!" he cheered, gliding gracefully through the sky, slowly but surely descending towards the earth. Of course, he knew his way around the sky thanks to his frequent metamorphoses into various winged beasts, but being able to do this while human was something else to say the least, even if it didn't match up to being in a more animalistic form – but how many people would actually be willing to do this?

He pulled off a few graceful spins and twirls, cannonballing through the air. When he got close to the 1.25k feet mark, he knew it was about the right time to open his parachute.

"Alright, time to slow down!" Phil reached for the parachute release cord on his pack, grasping it in his hand as he pulled it tight - only for the cord to break off in his hand. "Oh crud..." he gulped, seeing it had been torn right off. "Okay, no need to worry; I've still got the emergency chute!" He reached for the one on his chest - it'd suck to have to float towards earth on his back, but it was better that than hitting the earth at full speed. He tugged at the cord, and once again, nothing happened. It didn't break off like the one on his back, but it didn't do anything at all to help.

"Come on, come on!" He tugged at it several times, praying that it'd open up soon, only for nothing to happen. "Crap!" he exclaimed. "Trust me to get the two parachutes that don't work! If I survive this, I'm gonna kill them!" he growled. Alright, maybe kill wasn't the best choice of word, but if you were plummeting towards earth with no means of saving yourself, you'd probably be thinking that, too. Well, that, screaming hysterically or cursing a blue streak that'd make even the most foul-mouthed individual blush.

It was at that moment that Phil felt a familiar tingle running through his body, one that signaled great change. Of course, this meant that his life was going to be spared, but at the same time, it meant that another set of clothes was going to be totally wrecked, and this was one of his best sports suits!

"Ghhhh!" he groaned, his muscles pulsing and throbbing, developing as a pure sense of animalistic power flowed through him. His hands clenched into fists, the gloves growing tighter as the skin on his hands flaked away, revealing deep yellow scales underneath – scales that he couldn't see at first, not until his gloves began tearing open, his rapidly dehumanizing hands bursting through the fabric, revealing fearsome avian hands in their place. The nails on each digit shattered, cruelly curving talons taking their place as the torn remains of his gloves clung around his changed hands.

"Rrrwwrkk...not to mention...I'm going to have to charge them for the suit, too!" He saw the scales travelling up his arms, the limbs thickening as they filled with muscle. The arms of his jacket began to follow his gloves, shredding down the sides, unable to withhold his changing form. The scales stopped at the elbows, and instead, a prickling sensation filled his upper arms as dark brown feathers blossomed through the flesh, putting even more pressure on his clothing. Some of the feathers poked through the suit, while the suit tore open in places, revealing his feathery arms.

Phil discarded the pull cords that he gripped in his taloned hands, groaning as the changes reached his torso. He could feel his breath coming in bursts, his ribcage expanding with each breath he took, snow-white feathers growing along his front. As the feathers grew, his muscles grew underneath, his developing muscles showing against the fabric. His stomach gurgled, expanding slightly as the feathers changed to fur, abs still lightly defined on his belly while his pecs were lean muscle.

"Grrraghh..." He looked down, seeing that he was slowly getting closer to earth. If his wings didn't come in soon, then he would be in trouble. He could feel bumps rising against his shoulders, a third growing in on his rump, putting even more pressure on his clothing. "Come on...grow in already!" he growled, his voice deeper thanks to his more developed chest. His clothing was partially shredded on his upper body, his legs and thighs relatively untouched for the time being. Of course, that was subject to change very soon.

Phil's shoes suddenly grew tight, his feet swelling inside of them. The middle toe on each foot grew larger, the others shrinking away, vanishing into his feet, the remaining digit taking up the space where the others would be, the nails darkening and thickening, wrapping around the base of them, forming a pair of equine hooves. His shoes could no longer contain his transformed feet, bursting through the fabric along with his socks, the cool air rushing past them. As his feet were freed, the fur that grew over his legs had reached the feet, the muscles now developing rapidly.

"Hhrrwwrrkk....hurry up!" The ground was zooming towards him, around 600 feet below and getting closer. The sides of his pants split, thighs bulking up, devastating the fabric of both his suit and underwear. This was topped up by a long, flowing equine tail breaking through the seat of his pants. "That's the tail...but I need the wings!" he moaned, looking at his wrecked suit. The bumps on his back swelled further, bulging against his suit. Unable to take any more strain from his changing body, the back of the suit split open, just in time for a pair of large, magnificent wings, covered in a mix of white and brown feathers, erupted outwards, flapping wildly as Phil attempted to get them under control. He was finally able to slow down his descent, gaining control of his new appendages as he took back into the sky. "Whew, thank god for that! And I've still got the parachutes to boot!"

The feathers grew thicker around his neck and chest, growing into a feathery mane that blew around in the wind, his neck thickening, hidden under the feathers. His hair mixed into the feathers that had consumed his head, his helmet growing tighter as it strained against his growing cranium.

"Ghh...grrwwrrkkkk!!" Phil screeched, drool leaking down his chin as his jaws went numb, his teeth taking on a yellow tinge as they merged and expanded. "Grrwrrkkk!!! HHRRRWWAWRKKKKKK!!!!" He attempted to say something, but his speech was slurred and twisted by his changing mouth. His helmet cracked apart, feathers pouring through it, along with a set of pointed ears. Another inhuman screech left his throat as the growing masses that were his teeth pushed outwards, stretching his jaws apart as they grew, nose sinking into the upper mass, nostrils flaring as they rested atop the new growth. His tongue grew longer to fit his new jaws, teeth curving and sharpening as they finished their transition into a sharp, predatory beak. "There! MUCH better!" he trilled, using his taloned hands to grasp at his helmet, using his increased strength to shatter it. He felt bad for having to destroy it, but it was too painful to leave it stuck to his head otherwise. His transformation came to a close as his eyes relocated to the sides of his head, the sclera turning pitch black and the irises turning a feral yellow, his transformation into a semi-anthropomorphic hippogriff complete.

"Alright...but way to keep me on edge..." He looked back towards his wings - most times out of ten, they'd grow in early - typical on the day that he almost fell to his death that they came in late. "Anyway..." His keen eyes looked up at the sky, able to make out the shape of the plane that flew overhead, the same one he had leapt from moments beforehand. "Normally I'd take this up with the head office...but this might work too!" He grinned, flying towards the plane.

"I don't think that guy's chute opened!" the instructor said in a panic, having watched Phil through most of his fall, barring the transformation. "Oh man, what next?" He sat back in one of the seats, strapping himself in. "I guess all we can do now is land back at the base and put out a report. This is going to be great for business!" He sighed.

"Hey!" A deep growl got his attention, coming from outside. Before he could get up, Phil had already swooped on board, landing before the instructor, appearing to be perfectly fine, save for the fact that he had transformed into some kind of half-avian, half-equine beast, and that his suit was damaged from the changes - aside from that, he was alive. "I've got a bone to pick with you!"

"Wh...what is it?" the instructor gulped - the hippogriff seemed to be mightily ticked off.

"These stupid parachutes of yours didn't work!" Phil screeched, ripping them off his person and tossing them down at the instructor's feet. "I could have died!"

"Could have..." he stammered. He was tempted to say 'but you seem to be perfectly fine', but he REALLY didn't want to piss off the angry-looking creature.

"So tell me...what does your little club offer in regards to refunds?" Phil chuckled.

"R-Re.." He looked at Phil, once again clueless. "Refunds? Those have to be sorted out back at the head office. Just hang tight and we'll get you down there."

"Oh don't bother, I can head there myself! Will be a lot quicker this way to boot!" He picked up the discarded and broken chutes, screeching as he took wing once again. "Trust me, I'm not gonna go easy on your boss!"

"Y-Yeah...ya don't say..." he gulped, slumping back. "Hoo boy...the guys at my other job will NEVER believe this!"