FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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At first, Seth thought he'd imagined the practically inaudible sizzling sound in the room.

There were several reasons why abandoned tombs weren't a popular destination for field trips - one of them being that a single mistake could end your life at any point in very creative ways - and as someone who made a living out of exploring those places, Seth should have known better. He'd had come across hundreds of hidden trap triggers in the past and he was familiar with how they worked. The only difference between those and the one he'd accidentally leant on a few seconds earlier was that he hadn't seen it.

Unfortunately, it only took one mistake.

Seth got ready to be inevitably punished for his blunder. What would it be this time? Sand burying him? An endless pit of scorpions? A giant rolling boulder? The possibilities were endless and the tomb he was currently exploring had belonged to the king of a long-forgotten reign, capable of building huge, efficient traps. The only thing that remained from those ages was a name - Solace - but most scholars weren't sure whether it belonged to the sovereign or the kingdom itself.

And now, Seth was likely to never find out.

The cracking noises grew louder and there was a flash of light that forced the wolf to close his eyes. When he opened them again, the small room around him remained very much the same except for an athletic figure that sat on the lid of the tomb. Where did he come from? the wolf thought as his eyes got used to the half-lit space again.

The stranger had feline features - most definitely, he looked like a cat - and remained oblivious to the dazzled explorer. He had a strange symbol on his right eye. It looked slightly familiar to some markings Seth had come across in the tomb, but he had no idea what it meant. The same light that had flashed mere seconds before concentrated around his body like fireflies.

At first, Seth thought it might have been some kind of teleport energy. There were two theories in his brain regarding who the stranger could be. Theory one said the cat was just another explorer who had somehow found his way into the tomb, following him. It didn't explain what that had to do with the trap Seth had triggered, though.

Theory two said the trap hadn't been a trap, but a seal. Seth had broken it, so the cat in front of him was most likely not an explorer, not a regular cat at all... but an old entity that he'd set free somehow. The mere thought sent a shiver down the wolf's spine.

It didn't take long for the cat to finally notice the explorer's presence. He turned his head towards the wolf and gave him a wide grin.

"Oh, look at you. Aren't you a handsome one."

"Uh... excuse me?" was all Seth could say, still bewildered.

The cat chuckled.

"And cute, too. You know, I think I'll keep you. I was trying to rejoin my whole self, but alas, it seems my power's been kept away from me. A pity." The cat never stopped smiling. "But there's always a silver lining, isn't it? You look like the kind of henchman I need right now."

Seth's mind began to understand. He took a step back, putting some precautionary distance between the creepy cat and himself.

"I'm nobody's henchman," he muttered.

"Yet," the cat corrected him, winking one of those feline eyes.

All of a sudden, the light surrounding the entity's body searched for Seth like a swarm of bees. Before the wolf could reach, it engulfed him and swallowed him whole. There was no physical pain in his body when this happened, but an unbearable pressure in his head - almost like a headache, only much more persistent and attacking certain parts of his brain that had never been even touched before. He stumbled and leaned on the wall, his knees feeling weak all of a sudden, and then grunted.

Seth could tell the cat was trying to control him, as much as he knew that it'd be over as soon as he faltered. Those entities tended to be quite powerful and he was simply an explorer. Still, he managed to resist the overwhelming pressure in his head by fighting back. It was like pushing against a roaring river, walking on the slippery bottom as the water threatened to take him.

It lasted for longer than he had anticipated, but in the end, it relented.

Gasping, trying to recover from the sudden rush of sensation that had swarmed his body, Seth managed to stand up.

"Arf... told you..." he whispered. "I can resist that and more."

But the cat was still smiling.

"You don't get why I take the appearance of a cat, do you?" he asked as his grin widened. "I like playing with prey."

The light engulfed Seth again and this time it hit much, much stronger than before. The wolf felt the walls in his skull threatening to crack, his brain throbbing with the persistent wave of energy. I have to submit, the wolf found himself thinking. He shook his head, trying to shake those thoughts away with the motion, too.

Why wouldn't you, though, his own voice answered then. Its tone was similar to the cat's tone. This is a gift. This is what you came looking for.

Seth growled, bringing his paws to his head as if trying to guard it from the intrusive thoughts. He knew they weren't his own. He knew...

But then another wave of strong power made him shiver and whimper. He felt so small and helpless. The utter impossibility of what he was trying to do hit his mind like a truck. How was he supposed to resist something like that? There was no way he, a simple mortal, could face Solace's power. Even now, he could feel his will crumbling as every barrier dropped down like domino pieces. He had to...

He'd forgotten what he was supposed to do. The pressure in his head was unbearable. His mind had been shattered long ago. And now, every single falling piece of thought came to the same conclusion.

Yes. He had to submit.

There was a tingling sensation on his eye as the same symbol he'd seen on the cat's right eye appeared over him. The wolf dropped to his knees, a big smile on his face as every single worry seemed to fade away, taken by the pleasant light. Once he stopped resisting it, his Master's power felt much better. It wasn't constant pressure anymore.

It was just... a gentle hand, putting him firmly in place.

And Seth's place was beneath Him.

"Mhm, see what I mean?" Solace asked, standing up and looking down at his new servant with satisfaction. "We're going to have lots of fun, you and I."

Seth could only nod eagerly.