FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Here we are, Scarlett City! See Gen, I told you we'd make it." "It only took us two years to get here." "I took us on the scenic route." "The scenic route he says." The female raptor muttered. "Just say that we were lost." The duo went by the name of Vergence and Genesis. Vergence had spent the first six years of his life in an orphanage without a name until a komodo dragon by the name of Kira adopted him and finally gave him a name. However, he wouldn't end up with many friends as many judged him simply because he was a raptor. At age ten he'd makes friends with a dragon named Dusk before meeting Genesis half a month later. The trio of reptiles had ended up immensely close and remained as such even though Dusk was off traveling on his own. Vergence and Genesis soon ended up realising that they were in love with each other, though Genesis' parents disapproved of their relationship and had tried to split them apart and finalize an arranged marriage for their daughter to the son of another well known noble family, part of why they set off in the first place. The two entered the city, disregarding how long it took them to get there. "So where should we go first?" Vergence asked, turning to face the peach and tan furred female. "Somewhere to eat ideally." "Sounds good. Now let's see here." The green raptor scanned around as they walked, before spotting a tavern named The Backstreet Barrel. "Ah. Right there." He pointed out it out to Genesis. "Are you sure that's a tavern and not another brothel?" "Of course I'm sure." "That's what you said back back in Vertal, Berris, Jalsofm...." "Alright so maybe I don't have the best track record, but I'm pretty certain." The two walked in through the door, bracing themselves for the worst and were relieved to see that it was indeed an average tavern with bar, booth seating and tables. "Hah. I was right." Verge turned to Gen, a smirk an his face. "Congrats. Now the score's up to 9 out of 32." She smirked right back at him and headed over to a nearby table to sit down. Vergence followed and sat down across from her. As they looked over the menus that were on the table, a male blue jay approached their table to take their order. "Good afternoon and welcome to the Bare Backstreet. My name is Cal and how can I serve you both?" "I'll take the wood fired steak and potatoes as well as a tankard of rum." Their avian waiter scratched out Vergence's order on his notepad before turning to Genesis. "And you milady?" "The grilled salmon and a lemonade." "Very good. I'll get your order to the kitchen and then it should be out to you soon." As he walked away, Genesis couldn't help but sigh. She had grown tired of people being formal with her and calling her milady. Sure the waiter didn't mean to do it but it was still something that irked her since she was a kid. There were times that she hated being born into a noble family, but was thankful for her relationship with Dusk and Vergence as they treated her as if she was like everyone else and kinda gave her the confidence to break away from the life of a noble. "You okay?" "Yeah." Their attention was soon drawn toward the bar as a slimey looking male triceratops was trying to charm a female armadilo. "Hey there, what's your name little lady?" "Crys." "Crys eh? Maybe a young, lovely lady like yourself would like to come out with me?" "No thank you. I've got other plans." "Come now, nothing could be more important than-." Genesis was just about ready to get up from her seat and tell the guy to buzz off when a figure dressed in black and grey, a long cloak, a cowl that obscured their face and a sword strapped to their side walked up to them. "Excuse me sir but I hope your not bothering my sister." "Eh? Yer sister?" "That's right. I was just about to meet with you Onyx." "Come on then Crys. We've still got a lot to do." The triceratops walked off, leaving Crys be. "I thought I warned you about wandering into these types of places." "I know, and I'm sorry. Kinda couldn't help but check this place out." "In any case, we should get going." "Okay." Genesis watched the hooded figure and armadilo leave and wondered what exactly he looked like and why he felt the need to hide his appearance.

Meanwhile in the cities alleyways, Crystal and her hooded companion were walking along in the direction of the palace. "Hey, Onyx?" "Yeah?" "I meant to ask before after we met, but why do keep yourself hidden and tell me to refer to you as Onyx?" "I've gotten plenty of jealous rivals over the three years I've been a mercenary and I'd rather not bring the unwanted attention every time I arrive at a town or city. Especially now as I escort Princess Stoneback herself around the city." Crystal knew he had a point as just four days ago she had nearly ended up robbed and possibly killed by some thugs after she tried to explore the city for the first time. "I'm still thankful for you helping me, you know that right?" "I do." "And I know you said you didn't need payment for this but I still want to give you something to say thanks before you leave Scarlett City." "You really don't need to do that." "Except that I want to. I've really come to enjoy the time we've spent together. In a way you kinda remind me of Dillon." "Dillon?" "My older brother. He used to tell about all kinds of things about the world outside the palace walls. He always seemed really tough and unapprochable but he was a sweet guy that always took the time to play with me or to tell me a story about something or another." "So why didn't he bring you out to explore with him?" "Mom and dad discovered something that they didn't like and got into a big argument with him before he ended up throwing his crown away and declaring he wasn't a prince or a Stoneback anymore. Dad was more then willing to make it official and Dillon left. I..... haven't heard from him since." "How long has it been?" "Eight years." "I'm sorry. At least you had him around longer than I had my sister around." "You have a sister?" Crystal asked, coming to a stop and looking at him. "Yeah. Twin sister to be exact. We were separated when we were six years old and I currently don't know if she's alive or not." "Is that part of why you became a mercenary? To travel Voval and maybe get some answers?" Crystal could tell that this was very much a sensitive topic for him. "Kinda yeah. Another was that the prejudice I faced in my hometown was getting to be too much, not to mention that my sex obsessed step brother ended destroying my trust in him." "Step brother? So you ended up an orphan and was separated from your twin?" "I lost Lyra before I ended up in the orphanage, but yeah." "Did you manage to make any friends? You mentioned prejudice in your hometown..." "Yeah it was rough. As for friends, I had two of them. Meeting both of them when I was ten. One male, the other female and both of them are raptors." "Raptors?!" Crystal exclaimed. She heard him give a humored chuckle. "Worried that a pair are here in Kalmarsh causing trouble instead of being in Outland like most others?" "No! It's just that.... Well, I admit I've never really met one or heard anything flattering about them from my parents or the other nobles." Onyx continued walking and Crystal quickly followed behind. "Yeah. Kinda what drew us together was the fact all three of us were outcasts." "Tell me some more about them." "I'm afraid that costs extra." "What?" Another low chuckle and she couldn't help but feel like he was deliberately messing with her. "I'm kidding, though I'm not going into too much detail about them." "Fair enough. Tell me about the male." "Orphan like me. Spent time in an orphanage before getting adopted and was ostracized like I was. The female is actually a noble and many acted nice to her and tried to be her friend simply because of who her parents were. Me and our male friend were the first to look past the noble title and see her as a kid like us." "You guys ended up pretty close I take it?" "Very. We were practically like siblings." "Do you miss them?" Then ended up walking several blocks in silence before he answered. "A lot. Leaving them behind was what made leaving home hard. I hope their doing okay." The concern he had for them was obvious to her and she briefly wondered if he'd see them again. It took some sneaking and long way around paths but they soon made in the palace grounds. Onyx soon stood underneath the window that led into Crystal's bedroom, braced himself against the wall and cupped his hands together. "Up you go Crystal." Since he had started escorting her around Scarlett City this had become their method for getting her back inside undetected. Stepping into his hands, Onyx lifted her up toward the window. She grabbed hold of the windowsill and pulled herself up and into her room, before turning to look down to Onyx. "When's the next time you'll be back?" "Don't know yet. I'll be by when I can. Don't worry, I don't plan to leave for awhile and even then I plan to visit you the day I do to say goodbye." "Okay. I'll be waiting then. Take care Onyx." "Take care Crystal." He replied, looking up at her. For a moment Crystal could have sworn she could make out his face or at the very least, his green colored eyes. She watched as he turned and walked off, a very mysterious and yet friendly individual. 'Maybe someday he'll show me what he looks like and share with me his actual name.' She pondered. Regardless she undressed and opened up her wardrobe to readopt the appearance of the princess that she was. She hated these long, overly fancy dresses that she often had to wear, especially since she had seen what Scarlett City was like outside of the palace and high class district. She picked up the tiara that her brother ended having made for her. It was colored silver and fitted with a single topaz jewel and she honestly liked more then the one her father usually insisted that she wear. She couldn't stop the sigh that came forth, she felt like she was being suffocated under all the expectations that her parents had for her. She was pulled from her thoughts by a heavy knock on the door. "Come in." The door opened to reveal a male deinonychus, with dark orange scales and plumage colored both light and dark blue. His light grey eyes were sharp and attentive of his surroundings. "Afternoon Kasey." Kasey had been an orphaned teen when he had first arrived at the Scarlett City Academy but soon rose through the ranks with the intent to be a royal guard or at the least a city guard. He had been a beloved companion growing up, especially after Dillon's departure. She especially liked Kasey for the fact that he often put aside formalities when around her, allowing her to feel normal even if just for a bit. "Afternoon Crystal. I've been asked to bring you to the throne room since your father has a matter that needs discussing." "Alright, he tell you what it's about?" "No. Though while we have a moment alone. I want to caution you against any more trips into the city." Her head whipped around to look at him, surprised and worried. "How did you-?!" "Secret. In any case, I don't plan on saying anything. Just warning you against more trips. I realize you found someone kind enough to assist you but still." "I..." "Come on. Best not keep your father waiting." "R-right." Crystal felt relieved that Kasey didn't plan on ratting her out, but at the same time she was left wondering how he found out.

Meanwhile, on top rooftop sat the mercenary Crystal knew as Onyx overlooking the city. He pushed the hood back and sighed. Three years of traveling had led him across Kalmarsh and briefly into its neighbors Outland, Candis, Uvaris and Dragis. He had met many people along the way, helped several, see plenty of sights and gain a reputation as a skilled mercenary. There were times though that he was left wondering what became of his sister and how his old friends were doing, talking with Crystal earlier that day had only made it stronger. "I hope those two are doing alright. Especially seeing as her parents discovered they were still together. Knowing her dad he no doubt started doing everything he could to ensure that they broke up." He muttered out loud. Either way he figured he might as well check the notice board, which was set up specifically for mercenaries or people looking for some extra gold, and see if there were any interesting jobs to take. Pulling his back on, Oynx slid over the edge of the roof and started to climb down. Once on the ground he headed for the town center where the board was. The streets were rather packed and it made the introverted mercenary uncomfortable but he pushed on regardless. Thankfully he soon made it to the notice board and there wasn't a particularly large crowd around it. 'Let's see here. A request from Coastal City?' Onyx pulled it from the board to look closer at it. 'My daughter allowed herself to be seduced by a dirty, common raptor and has run from home. I don't care what happens to the male but my daughter is to be unharmed. Signed, Kane Kaiber Lord of the Kaiber family.' "So they've left home huh?" Onyx also noticed that it contained a sketch of what this noble's daughter looked like. "No need to leave this here." He remarked as he tucked the request into his pocket and resumed his search for work. Ten minutes later and he had four requests that involved hunting wildlife, but it was work either way. Content for the time being Onyx decided it was time to get a bit to eat. Though as he turned to leave, he ended up running into someone heading toward the board. "Shit, sorry about that." A male green scaled raptor remarked. "It's my fault sir. I was the one who distracted him and-." The female raptor next him started. "Aren't you the daughter of Lord Kaiber?" She gasped in surprise. "W-Why do-? How did-?" Onyx pulled the request from his pocket and showed it to the raptor duo. "This was on the board." The female gasped after reading it through and Onyx noticed the male's hand stray to the sword at his side. "What do you plan to do about it?" The male asked. "Nothing." Onyx replied as he stuffed it back into his pocket. "For real?" The female asked. "For real. I kinda get the feeling that your both just a pair of young lovers who wanted to get out and see the world. Got the feeling that dad just doesn't approve." "Pretty much. Her dad's never really liked me as we got older, mostly highborn superiority but it also probably didn't help that he and her mom ended up-." "Vergence! That's not important." The female interrupted, a bright red blush lighting up her face. "You sure? I'd understand better if-." "No. What it was that happened is not important and not up for discussion!" She retorted. Onyx chuckled and smirked. "Anyway, come on Gen we better get going. As for you, I want to say thanks for helping us." "Sure thing. I gotta be going now, see you." "See you, and thank you." Genesis and Vergence watched the cloaked figure disappear into the crowd and both felt thankful he was willing to help them out by not taking her father's request. "*Gasp* Vergence! We never got his name!" "Hmm. I guess so huh?" "What is it?" "Don't know, just this weird sense of familiarity. Yet we haven't met him before now so why would I-? Nevermind." The two raptors left the area and figured they'd use the remaining hours of light to explore the city some more.