FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

If you've never taken an airship ride before, you're missing out. Being so high in the air, high enough to touch the clouds themselves, is beyond anything a sandship or simple seafaring ship could ever compare to. Up in the skies, there were no grains of desert sand to sting your eyes, no saltwater spray to choke and make you sputter. On an airship, the only thing to worry about was to be careful not to unhook your fastener keeping you tied to the ship itself. You did that, and that'd be a one-way trip down to whatever you were currently soaring above.

From the high vantage point, I peered over the bow of the ship and stared down at the land below. The Jurassic Frontier (I only knew the name thanks to one of air sailors mentioning it) was a rather pleasant place. I could see some kind of sauropod-like creatures grazing in a wide field, their long necks easily allowing them to reach the tallest berries in the trees. Meanwhile, a small pack of colorful raptors were sneaking up behind the grazing beasts, clearly preparing for an ambush. My focus then shifted over to a small area with large glowing mushrooms, and the little neopterons buzzing about. An internal sigh came when I realized I finally recognized one of the beasts I could see. Flying red insects, known as bnahabra, were flittering around some rotted meat, probably getting ready to implant their eggs inside the corpse. Disgusting things, those bugs.

Feeling a bit sick from the knowledge of just what those bnahabra were up to, I walked over to the opposite side of the ship, almost running into my partner in the process. With her being so small, it was easy to overlook her. My balance offset, I fumbled about to right myself, only to end up flat on my ass anyway.

A snicker came from the little lady before me. “My, oh my, how the mighty have fallen," she said in a mocking tone. She was currently eye level to me (one of the very rare times she'd been able to be in such a position) and I could plainly see how the smile lit up her eyes, causing the normally dull blue to brighten and shine like a sapphire. The thin black fur covering her small frame had sparse splotches of white, with one noticeable shape of white around her right eye. Pointed-tip ears flicked about on top her head, trying to keep upright at all times but pushed about by the force of the wind. She wore a simple jungle green apron, choosing some modesty for once. An unkempt tail poked out from her backside, looking closer to a dog tail with how much hair it had.

I spat back at her, “Yeah yeah, laugh it up, Ya pipsqueak."

This little thing was Cerys, and she was one of the felynes, a group of small humanoid cats typically called palicos, who work alongside humans doing all manner of jobs. But above all was a hunting palico, working side by side with trained monster hunters to go out and slay and/or capture every kind of beast known to this world (and some unknown). This particular felyne was my palico, assigned to me by the Hunter's Guild before they shipped me off on this trip.

Cerys eyed me with one brow raised, a silent question plastered on her face. Rather than say anything further, she opted to just walk off to the aft of the ship. As I watched her little form head away from me, I could've sworn she was wagging that fluffy tail ever so slightly. Maybe I was just imagining it.

Being down on my butt made me realize just how sore my legs were from standing for so long. Ever since we'd taken off, I hadn't sat down for even a second, so excited to have been chosen for this supposed special assignment by the Guild. I took a brief moment to enjoy that mixture of ache and relief that came from just bending my knees. But, like all good things, it had to come to an end.

“Arland, sir," one of the ship workers called for me. I looked his way and he stated, “We're almost there."

“Excellent," I responded. “Can't wait to see my new home." Just then, a thought occurred to me. The crew probably had flown here before. I decided to spark up a small conversation with the man who called me out. “So, what's Bherna like?" I asked him.

He was busy operating the gas to keep the airship aloft. Like most modern airships, there were twin hot air balloons attached to the ship itself, controlled by an open flame to ensure the ship's height. Increasing the heat of the air in the balloons made the ship rise, while letting the air cool did the opposite. He took a moment to look my way before answering.

“Not a bad place. Small, though. Guess it makes sense, seeing as it was just established a year ago."

“Really? So new?"

He nodded and turned down the heat some more, letting the ship begin its descent. “Yep. Wycademy's been eyeing this place for a while, and when the Guild gave them the go ahead, they got to work building the village as soon as they could." A nasty cough followed his little spiel before he spit out a thick glob of phlegm and continued on. “You must be lucky to be chosen as the hunter for this brand spankin' new base."

My shoulders hunched up in a casual shrug. “I doubt luck had anything to do with. I mean, I barely finished registering at the guild hall when they asked me to come here. If I had to guess, they probably been trying to get anyone willing enough to uproot their entire life. The only 'luck' here was me being more than happy to leave my home town."

“Trouble at home, eh?"

“Nah," I responded with a shake of my head. “Just, I've been dreaming of joining the Guild and seeing new places, ya know. And getting the chance to live on the other side of the continent, with room and board all set up for me? Sounded like heaven."

A low chuckle escaped the air sailor's throat. The laugh actually sounded rather charming. “Heh, a young man all ready to escape the humdrum of his hometown. Reminds me of why I joined the Guild."

Him, too? Well, I suppose it wasn't like I came up with the idea all on my own. One of my cousins had sent a letter to my family, telling us about how different his life had become after becoming a hunter. Reading it put the thought into my head to do much the same.

Just then, I could see a large green valley, and I followed the sight upwards to a collection of buildings housed within a wide wooden fence. A very large building sat slightly further up on a hill from the other ones, and looked to be made out of carved gray stone. I saw what looked to be a merchant stall, with a litter of boxes and barrels surrounding the little hut. I could even see a familiar sight; a felyne run kitchen complete with a nice large dining table situated out in the open. Just the thought of those delicious hand-made meals got my stomach rumbling in anticipation.

“Mmm, can't wait to sink my claws into some delicious steak." Cerys's voice appeared from right beside me, and I glanced down to see her eyes glued to the same spot as mine were. Her tiny tongue even darted out to lick along her lips as an equal rumbling came from her own stomach.

The ship came to a halt near a long pier jutting out from the side of the large stone building. As we walked off the ship, I could see a few other piers with similar airships anchored at them. When I questioned this, Cerys scoffed at me.

“This is a distant land. Clearly, they need supplies and food to be sent here. Doubt they could grow enough food in this place to be self-sustaining."

Instantly, my mind raced with possibilities. “Ooh, you think that means they have more specialty dishes? Like maybe meat from the monsters around Mezeporta?"

Cerys let out a soft mewl and licked her lips again. “I hear Akura Vishimu tastes just divine with a nice spot of melted garlic butter on top."

“Oh, I could go for a big pot of steamed Taikun Zamuza."

As we both were busying imagining the delectable dishes from far off ports, a man in a green vest walked up to us. He had a nicely trimmed beard the same color as still burning embers, and in one hand, he grasped a cane to help him as he moved. It was then I noticed the limp he had, nearly dragging one of his feet behind him as he made his way over.

When he got closer, he smiled and said, “Welcome, good hunters, to our humble home of Bherna. We've been so excited the Guild sent someone to help our researchers."

Researchers? Oh yea.

“So, you're with the Wycademy, too?" I extended a hand and said, “Name's Arland. And this," I gestured to the black and white cat beside me with the other hand, “Is my partner Cerys."

The man shook both our hands and then introduced himself. “You can just call me Chief. Gotta say, when the letter came down about you heading our way, some of the folks wanted to have a little party for you. Luckily, I talked them out of it. Don't want to go putting too much onto you on your first day, right?" He flashed another smile and turned around, motioning us to follow. “Now then, let's get you to your little home away from home and let you two unwind and relax from the trip."

We trailed after Chief, walking into the massive stone structure, finding the interior to be similar to a Guild office. Despite the exterior being stone, the inside was decorated mostly with large wooden walls and hardwood floors. Banners depicting the Guild logo, as well as the Wycademy logo, were hanging all along the walls. Lots of people going this way and that, holding onto to stacks of papers and books, carrying boxes of items or monster materials, a few groups standing around tables chattering and writing notes about what have you. I didn't realize just how many people the Wycademy would've sent here.

“Impressive, isn't it?" Chief seemed to have read my mind. Giving a little wink, he went on to say, “Though it may look like a lot, we sadly are understaffed. We can only spare so many hands for each project, and there's lists of things that need to get done." A small sigh departed his mouth and he said with a note of sadness, “The Guild just refuses to heed our pleas for more researchers. If we just had about ten or so more, we could divide up all the work in a much more equal manner."

“And instead of assistants, they send you a pair of hunters," Cerys mumbled.

“Oh, don't get me wrong," Chief replied. “We have been asking for a few hunters to support our field teams and help subdue and capture some of the more ill-mannered beasts. But all the same, a hunter isn't a scholar."

“One of the sailors told me this place was built pretty recently," I mentioned. “When did you get finally get operational?"

One of Chief's hands reached up to scratch at his hairy chin. After giving it some thought, he answered, “Well, we put the finishing touches on the place about five months ago. Took us an additional three before we had enough people to get some real work going." While he spoke, he led us through a large arch, which opened up to the outside, and there we could see that small collection of buildings I noticed from the airship.

Now closer to the ground, I could see what these buildings really were. Directly ahead was a Guild sanctioned quest counter, common to most places the Guild had a foothold in, and it came complete with a pretty young woman behind the counter. Off to the left was the building with all the boxes and such surrounding it, so I figured it must have been a hunter's shop. Near the felyne kitchen was a little alcove with a blacksmith's forge, which itself was seated across the way from a small apartment. I'd seen those kinds of places before; typically, they'd be used by hunters, which had me assuming this was the 'home away from home' Chief was taking us toward.

This assumption proved true as the man leading us was heading right for the apartment. But, as he led on, he made sure to tell us a bit about this little area.

“This is your usual hunter's hub, where the Wycademy will be posting jobs and quests for you to undertake. We've got all the amenities you'll need, so there's nothing for you to worry too much about. And seeing as you're our official hunter, we've even gone the extra mile to prepare a plethora of items and weapons for you. Don't want you thinking you'll be starting completely from scratch out here." He turned his head and gave another wink before waving a hand to the blacksmith, who returned the gesture.

“This here is your personal smithy, Finley. He'll be making all your armor and weapons."

The smithy called Finley straightened his back and beamed a toothy grin. He was a stout man of around middle age, bald as a newborn, and wore only loose-fitting shorts. His muscular chest and arms were a clear sign of his years of forging, as well as his pride in his chosen profession. There was a small desk before him, on top of which were a few forge tools; hammers, pliers, tongs, etc. Behind him sat the forge itself; large and made of iron now blackened from soot. It was more than likely his personal forge from before he made the move here to Bherna.

The smithy spoke two simple sentences before he sat down. “Your stuff's in the apartment. Make a good choice." He then pulled out a magazine (a copy of “Hunter's Life") and busied himself reading.

Chief nodded at the smithy's words. “Well said, friend." He then turned to me and Cerys. “Now, to your home for the foreseeable future. It's not too big, but it should be the perfect size for the two of you both."

A few steps forward and we pushed open the door to my new home. Like Chief had said, it wasn't terribly large. It was a one room apartment, with a chest of drawers off to one side for clothes and armor and such, a nice sized bed on the other side, and a smaller, felyne-appropriate bed stationed right next to the larger one. Both beds looked rather soft, with bedsheets that I found out were nearly as soft as silk to the touch. Aside from the chest and beds, it was rather barren.

“You'll have to forgive the lack of decorations," Chief spoke up. “We thought it best to leave those to you to decide for yourselves."

“I'm fine with how it is now," Cerys stated. “Looks perfect to me." She sauntered up to the large bed and climbed up on top of it. Due to her small size, she had to jump up and pull herself up just to get up. It was almost cute to watch her struggle.

“Well, I'll let the two of you get yourself situated. Relax, stretch out your legs, and when you're ready, come meet me back at the office for your first assignment." With that, Chief left our apartment and then Cerys and I were all on our own.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and regarded my palico friend with a smirk. “You know you're not sleeping up here, right?"

“Pfft. As if I'd settle for that tiny footstool." She stretched out her arms and let loose a long yawn. “This bed is just amazing. Plus, it's easily big enough to share without us even getting in each other's way."

My eyes nearly rolled out their sockets as I scoffed. “And who says I'd wanna share 'my' bed with a felyne?"

She let out a little laugh and stood up. Even now, on the bed, her short stature only brought her barely above eye level where I sat. She waltzed over and leaned in, putting us directly at eye level and smiled, showing off her tiny, sharp teeth.

“Oh, I wouldn't act so distant if I were you," she said while reaching a hand out towards my face. When her little padded fingers touched my cheek, she stroked her thumb across my skin. The soft pad of her thumb felt a bit soothing as it moved along my skin. I didn't push her hand away. “Need I remind you which one of us has actual hunting experience, and which of us is a total greenhorn?"

“And that matters because…?"

“Because I can look out for you in the field, idiot." Her hand dropped from my face only to land at her hip. “You think I want my newest partner dying on me?"

“If you're such an 'experienced hunter,' why didn't you refuse to be my partner when the Guild put us together?"

Her small furry shoulders rose up in a shrug. “Guess I just like babysitting newbie hunters."

My face twisted into a look of puzzlement. “Oh, come on. What's the real reason? You'd surely be better off with a hunter equal to your own level."

She considered me with a strange look. It was one mixed with sadness and pain. When she finally answered my question, she did so slowly, choosing her words carefully.

“I couldn't just let some kid like you get sent off to parts unknown with a palico who barely knew their sword and shield from their charge blade. Otherwise, the Guild would have two corpses to deal with."

“Hm." I let that sink in for a moment. Would the Guild really have been careless enough to ship me off with an equally untrained felyne had Cerys chosen not to come with? Was she being serious in that she was planning to look after me? And if so, just how experienced was she in the hunting life? I barely knew anything about my own partner.

Perhaps it was time to finally learn more about one another.