FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The next morning Lorkos awoke and almost immediately in the back of his mind he told himself that this would be the last time he did so in this room. Food had been brought for him at some point during his sleep and as he ate he watched the creatures that swam in the pool outside of his window. He was certainly going to miss watching them as he finished up his meal and went outside, putting his hand under the waterfall as he did so. When he got out into the sunshine he saw that Yavini wasn't there to greet him and decided that he was going to take advantage of his surroundings for one last time as he jumped into the pool.

The water was cool and crisp as he began to swam around, letting it soak into his fur while he splashed around for a bit. For a brief moment he wondered if this was going to change him into something but as he continued to swim around he didn't see anything happening to his lupine form. He continued to do a few laps and enjoyed the perfect weather, eventually floating lazily on his back while watching the clouds pass by. Eventually the wolf's view was obscured by a midnight-green fox that looked over him as he drifted towards the edge.

"It's time," Yavini said as Lorkos turned his body around to see the fox holding a towel. "Dry yourself off and come with me."

The plant fox waited while Lorkos took the towel and dried off his fur as he best he could, then followed Yavini out of the grotto and back through the main archways of the garden. It had been a place that he saw once before while coming in and seemed to strike a note of finality to the wolf. Was this really going to be it, he thought to himself as they made their way towards the entrance to the hedge maze. When they got there Lorkos continued to venture forward with Yavini by his side.

It appeared the last thing that the nexus creature had for him was a hedge maze, Lorkos thought to himself as he found himself in the middle of hedges that were several times taller than him. When he looked back over to ask Yavini what this was all about he found the fox had vanished, leaving him to his own devices. Was this some sort of test that he had to pass in order to get back to his realm, the wolf wondered as he continued to make his way past the plants. As he turned one corner however he saw a familiar face that caused his muzzle to turn up into a smile.

"I was wondering if I was going to see you again," Lorkos said as he went up to the topiary wolf.

"You didn't think that you'd be able to leave here without saying goodbye to your good friend Ceres, right?" Ceres replied with a grin. "Though from what I've been hearing you're quite the fan of merging with others." Lorkos found himself grinning sheepishly as the plant creature chuckled. "Yavini wanted to make sure that you had a decent parting gift from all of us, and since I was the first to be introduced to you it was fitting that I be the first to give you mine."

The topiary wolf asked Lorkos to hold out his hand and close his eyes, and when he did he felt something small and light get placed on his palm. When he opened them again and looked down he found a bright green plant seed resting there that looked to be in the shape of a wolf. "A little something to remember me by," he said with a wink. "Since you enjoyed my form so much I figured I would give you the chance in order to have one of your own, or plant it and get someone like me to join you."

"That's... amazing," Lorkos said as Ceres also gave him a large velvet bag to hold it in. "I don't think I can thank you guys enough for everything."

The two continued to talk for a while until Ceres mentioned that there was still more maze for him to explore, then kissed him deeply before backing away and merging into the hedges that surrounded them. Once more Lorkos could taste the sweetness of the sap on his tongue and felt his arousal stir as he watched the plant wolf leave. When he was finally alone once more he clutched the bag he had been given and put the seed inside of it before moving on deeper into the maze. It didn't take him long however until he was greeted with another that he had met during his time in the realm.

"Sintral?" he asked, seeing the cheetah practically beaming as they approached one another. "I have to say I didn't expect to see you around here. We only met briefly when I had become a Guardian of the realm."

"Yeah, but I always like to meet those who capture me later on," Sintral replied with a sheepish grin on his face. "Plus you needed to have something to remember your adventure by, so both myself and the one that caught you decided that it would be fitting if you got this."

The feline held out his hand and dangling on the end of a rawhide string was a pendant that appeared to be made out of polished wood with amber swirled into it. "That's really nice of you guys," Lorkos said as he took the piece and ran a finger over the smooth surface. "Is this what I think it is?"

"If you think that it's wood and crystalized sap from the Guardian tree that you had unknowingly become a part of then yes," Sintral said in reply. "Much like the seed that you got form Ceres you can use that to get yourself back into that Guardian form you enjoyed... or if you give it to someone you trust you can experience the thrill of being chased again. I'm just sort of sad that you aren't going to stick around so that I can have a rematch, but I suppose that it's for the best."

As the two hugged Lorkos once more felt that something was being left out of this entire thing. After bidding farewell to the cheetah he tried to think on what Yavini possibly had in store for him, especially since it appeared that staying here and becoming his minion wasn't what was on the table. When he thought back to the first time that he had met the nexus creature he had mentioned that there was something inside him that attracted the fox to him in the first place... did it turn out that there was nothing there after all? Perhaps we was just being sent home after all and this was their way of politely saying goodbye to him.

The thoughts continued to bother him until he got to the next open space in the hedge maze, his fears momentarily subsiding as he saw a few statues that were standing there covered in vines. He looked over a few of them before seeing the one that he was looking for, casually walking over towards where the minotaur was while pretending to look elsewhere. When he got close enough he wrapped his hand around the bull's exposed cock and gave it a few strokes, causing the creature to shudder slightly and break his normal stillness.

"Looks like you definitely remembered me," Archie said with a booming chuckle as he patted the wolf on the back with his stone hand.

"You're kind of hard to forget," Lorkos replied before his face turned to an expression of shock. "Wait a second, aren't you supposed to be quarantined or something?"

The minotaur laughed again and turned himself around a few times so Lorkos could see the lack of vines on his body. "Yavini cleared the stone vines from me so that I could go and meet you before you scampered off back to your realm,' he explained. "The rest of these statues here are actual statues, I just wanted to see if they would fool you at all or keep me hidden. If you hadn't seen me I was going to try and wrap my arms around you and shout boo or something."

"Well I'm certainly glad that I found you," Lorkos grinned.

"As did I," Archie replied. "Not only now but the first time that you were in the stone garden, it was a lot of fun being with you in your petrified form. Oh, speaking of which, I have a little present for you."

Once more the wolf's eyes widened when he saw the bull pull out what looked like a marble sphere in a small plastic cube. "Is that what I think it is?" Lorkos asked, Archie nodding in reply. "Isn't that supposed to be something that spreads everywhere?"

"Only in this realm," Archie clarified as he handed the box over to Lorkos. "Everywhere else it'll only serve to turn you and maybe one or two others into living statues temporarily. I'm sure you can think of some fun scenarios with that, I'd say we'd explore a few but I know you have to get going."

Despite the urgency of his departure the two continued to chat for a bit, mainly how things were going in his neck of the garden after he had left. It turned out that Yavini was making great strides with this plant and soon they would be able to be open to the rest of the realm once the spreading factor of the stone vines was under control. Lorkos nodded and thanked him for the experience, then headed off through the hedge maze once again. He was pretty sure that he knew who he was going to run into next, and that thought was solidified as day quickly turned to night overhead.

As it grew dark overhead the hedge maze became anything but, watching as brilliant bioluminescent plants seemed to sprout the second that the light in the sky went out. The wolf knew he would never tire of the sight of such beautiful flowers and plants as he moved forward. Eventually he saw the soft blue glow ahead of him and when he turned the corner he saw another familiar stone creature walking about. Though his first instinct was to call out to him Lorkos saw that he was in the middle of taking care of some of the plants that were on the wall and went over to watch him work.

"There is something inherently beautiful about things that thrive in the night," Vataan whispered as he pooled his inner light into his hands to give to the flower, both of them watching it bloom. "Just like the friendship that we formed when we met in the stone garden. I am happy to have met you Lorkos, and as a token of my appreciation I want to give you some of the water of the cave that we lit up together."

Lorkos felt his heart practically melt at the kind words and took the vial from him, telling him that he hoped his cave project would continue to go well before chatting with him a little. He hadn't realized how much he was going to miss Vataan in particular, while he shared a lot of lust with the others he felt like the two of them had gone into something deeper then that. Especially since the moonlight creature shared his most precious project that he held a piece of in his hands. The wolf wanted to talk more to him but he could almost sense that Yavini was waiting for him at the heart of the maze and he said his last goodbyes before heading back down into the hedge maze.

Though he was appreciative that everyone came out to give him something and to say their goodbyes it almost felt like it was making the situation worse. He still didn't know what was waiting for him at the end of this maze either, what if Yavini was just bringing everyone here to talk to him so that in the end he would convince him to stay? But if that was the case, then why would they be giving him all of these gifts?

Lorkos also noticed that the night was not relegated to merely the area that surrounded Vaatan, and as he continued to stare up at the sky he began to see stars forming out of the blackness that was originally up there. It dawned on him that this hedge maze might not just be a clever means for him to meet those that he had interacted with while in Yavini's realm but also be the means of his exiting from it as well. Every step he took forward was one more foot out of the plant fox's realm and into his own as he found himself continuing to move forward. When he began to hear music playing he had a rough idea of who was coming next, especially when he got into the area and found a kitsune and a liquid lion sitting behind the bar.

"One last drink for the road?" Aristole asked as he poured a glass of juice for the wolf. "Non-alcoholic and non-transformative, got to keep your head clear since it's last call and all."

"A pity," Adal chimed in. "We could have made some more beautiful cocktails together."

"Well I appreciate the hospitality for sure," Lorkos stated as he sat on the barstool and took a drink, savoring the exotic flavors contained in the beverage. "I see that you're back to being a lion."

"That I am," Adal said with a smirk. "Problem with being an alcohol lion is that you purge any additional forms that you might take, which is great when trying to keep your own sense of self but sucks when that form is a sexy multiflavored vodka kitsune. Still, might try to make that drink again in the future."

"Speaking of drink," Aristole chimed in as he put a circular disk on the bar in front of Lorkos. "Since you won't be able to enjoy the rich flavors in this realm anymore we figured that we'd make it so that you can have your own. What you have there are the seeds for the seven flavors that made up your kitsune form plus a packet of vanilla vodka straight from the lion himself, the perfect cocktail starter kit."

"Guys... I don't know what to say," Lorkos said as he took the gifts and put them in the bag with the others. "You all have been so great to me I almost wish that Yavini would offer for me to stay."

The two creatures grinned at one another, then motioned to the exit of the hedge maze area. "Why don't you go and ask him for yourself," Adal said. "You still have one more person to meet with before you go back to your own realm."

Lorkos found himself swallowing the last of his juice in one big gulp as they insinuated who was waiting for him at the end of the maze. Though he had an idea that Yavini wasn't just going to have him wonder back into the botanical gardens by himself he secretly feared that he was, but now that it had been confirmed for him he could feel his anxiety rising slightly. He thanked the two for the drink and everything that they had done for him before sliding off of the barstool and heading for the exit that they had indicated. One last person, Lorkos thought to himself as he went towards the other end of the hedge maze, one last creature of this realm before he was brought back to his own...

The path between the makeshift bar and the next area was only a few feet, but when Lorkos had stepped inside he looked back to find only blackness behind him. As he looked around he quickly remembered the area he was in, the glowing garden was his first ever taste of the realm that he had been a part of for what seemed like ages. There was even the two garden chairs sitting there and the tea set, along with the plant fox himself. Yavini motioned for Lorkos to have a seat and the wolf quickly did so, declining the tea that was offered to him.

"And so ends your visit to my botanical gardens," the nexus creature said as he poured himself a cup. "I do hope you enjoyed yourself."

"I... suppose I did..." Lorkos said as his eyes darted back and forth before narrowing at the fox. "But, that can't be it, right?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Yavini asked before taking a sip of his tea.

"I just feel like being sent home after all this..." Lorkos said as he gestured around him. "I mean, I was sitting right here when you told me that you saw some sort of potential in me, a reason for you to bring me here in the first place. Was it just so that you could show all this off to me and then lead me back into my own realm, or did you want me to beg you to become one of your minions? Am I supposed to be at your feet asking you to stay here?"

There was a moment of silence as Yavini took another sip of his tea, then put it down on the table before looking straight at Lorkos with those glowing green eyes. "I intend for you to do nothing of the sort," the plant fox stated simply. "Although if you had asked, or in your words begged, for you to stay here indefinitely I certainly would have acquiesced to your request. The potential that I saw in you however was not for your desire to stay, but for your ability to leave."

"Wait... what?" Lorkos asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"As you saw in my realm I have plenty of minions that are willing to serve me hand and foot in order to continue to remain in the state that they're in, hanging around with others and basking in the pleasure that is given to them with my garden," Yavini explained as he leaned forward. "But the war between my brothers and I continues to evolve and as such so do I, and as I'm sure you know adaptability is what plants do quite well. Therefore when I noticed you wandering around my gardens alone I saw a strong soul that also had the will I needed that can enter and leave this place without being rooted to it, floating free like a grain of pollen..."

"...or a seed," Lorkos finished, looking down at the bag that he had collected from the others in the hedge maze. "You want me to leave... so I can spread these seeds?"

"Not just that," Yavini corrected. "But you need to do so in a manner where you don't get caught by my brethren. I could send a dozen spore carriers or seed spreaders to a planet and get a few dozen, maybe even a few hundred converts, but the other nexus creatures know that my truest danger comes when I can properly root myself in a planet. They make sure that I don't have the chance to do so... so I need someone out there that can spread those seeds... stealthily, underneath their radar."

Lorkos couldn't believe what he was hearing, but the more the plant fox talked the more it started to make sense to him. The creatures that he had encountered would definitely stand out in a crowd normally, not to mention if there was someone that could actually detect them, but if he left at that moment he would still just be a wolf guy that wandered around some botanical gardens and picked up a few seeds. The real transformation, however, happened in his mind as they had shown him everything those seeds had the potential to do to others and therefore he knew the best positions to plant them.

"I can see that you're starting to get the picture," Yavini said with a wink. "That seed that I talked about inside you when we first met here has certainly sprouted, and you have grown before my eyes into something quite wonderful. But every plant has a purpose, and yours is to go out there and spread the seeds that have been given to you onto your world and others."

The wolf remained silent for a few seconds as he contemplated what he was being offered. "I suppose that's the reason why I can't stay in your realm," Lorkos stated, watching the fox nod his head. "Makes sense, the more time I spend there the greater a chance that I might get transformed or maybe your brothers will be able to detect me. But... what if I don't want to do this?"

"Like everyone else in my realm you have a choice," Yavini said. "If you want you can certainly stay here with me and everyone else and indulge in my garden like the others, or you can go out there and help spread the fruits of the place with so many other places to give them a similar experience... or you could just hand the seeds back to me and live your life as normal. If you choose to be my seedbearer then I will help you as much as I am able, including resources to help keep you one step ahead of my siblings. The only thing is you have to choose soon and your choice will be final, once this connection breaks with your realm there is no turning back..."

For a few minutes the night is still and calm, the paths vacant of all people... save for one. The wolf continued to walk forward as he heard an announcement over the speaker system that the botanical gardens were closing soon and for all visitors to leave in a timely fashion. Lorkos continued to walk until he left the arches that had interested him in the first place, and when he turned around to look back at them he saw that there was nothing there but an empty space. He sighed and continued on the path back towards the entrance, leaving the botanical gardens and heading towards his car.

That was the last time that Lorkos visited the gardens for weeks, the wolf knowing that there wasn't going to be anything waiting for him on the other side of any hedges that he might find. After the time that he spend in Yavini's realm it sort of lost its luster anyway as everything there were just normal flowers and plants. Though he still enjoyed them he no longer felt the need to wander about the pathways in order to look at the various different species anymore. Plus he had suddenly become very busy with a project of his own as he drove up the path to the destination that was marked on his GPS.

The lupine was greeted with fresh air and the voice of a young woman that he had talked to over the phone after answering her ad in the paper. She was an energetic badger that had inherited several things after the passing of her parents. "I was hoping that you would show up!" she said excitedly as she went over and shook the wolf's hand. "After having this place on the market for months I thought that I would be buried here just like my parents, er, not that my parents are buried here, that's just a figure of speech since they spent their whole lives taking care of this place, you know?"

"I understand," Lorkos replied with a small grin. "Do you mind if you give me the nickel tour?"

"Sure thing!" she said, quickly leading him over to the large building in the middle and unlocking it with a key. "This greenhouse and nursery has been in my family for as long as I can remember; my grandparents were farmers and when my parents took over the land they tried to switch over to flowering plants and things like that." As they walked along the nursery set up Lorkos ran his hands through the soil that was there, his smile growing wider as he heard her continuing to talk. "They did everything they could to make sure this place didn't go back to the bank and eventually paid the whole thing off, but I'm an architect in the city and there's no way that I will ever use this place and figured that it should go to a fellow plant lover... so what do you think?"

"I think I've seen enough..." Lorkos replied, practically beaming at the badger. "It's perfect, everything from the location to facilities. Now I hope you don't mind but my backer tends not to work with checks and does everything in cash, I hope that's alright with you?"

As he put the briefcase he had been holding on one of the tables and opened it he watched the badger's eyes light up at the money stacked inside. "You better believe it is," she said, her eyes practically tearing up at the sight. "That's the only green that I ever had interested in coming out of this place, come with me to the office and I'll get you squared away immediately!"

Lorkos followed the seller back towards the small office, though his gaze remained on the large rows of soil in this room as well as the even larger greenhouse in back. It truly was everything he was looking for, he thought to himself as he clutched the bag full of seeds in his pocket, and with forest on all sides it was definitely secluded too. "Oh, there is one thing that I would like to ask of you..." Lorkos said, watching the badger's head pop back out of the office in slight concern. "I hope that when we get this place up and running that you will stop by, I would love to give you a personal tour so you can see what your facility is producing first hand."

There was a moment of pause as the badger thought about it, then shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, why not," she said. "You're changing my life after all."

You have no idea, Lorkos thought to himself as his grin widened...