FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Let's slow down to get a better look." A black furred hand pulled a lever down just a touch above zero. The red and white striped spacecraft slowed considerably as it neared a newly discovered planet, in a newly discovered system. The same hand smoothed over a red striped white uniform as the pilot gazed out of a viewing window, looking at the planet before him. His brown eyes eagerly took in the celestial view of the world below, and the space craft hummed briefly as it was set into autopilot to orbit the entire planet. Flying the Toulousian ND-12 Tailpaw was a breeze for exploration runs in the deepest corners of space, and Otho loved flying it whether for training or an assignment. The Ma-Z engine inside was famous for its speed and efficiency, and the thrusters worked sublimely. The four years he worked in the exploration division passed by quickly and it felt like his fifth year would soon be done as well.

'The planet looks green and full of life.' He wrote down in a log book. "Definitely marking you on the map Delta B 7-3." The last few he had seen in this system were made of gas, and there was nothing unique about that. The raccoon pulled out a folded map of where he had explored and made a mark corresponding to his location. He could relay his position and previous week long path in a few hours since there was no hurry. "Nice healthy sun, good planet overall, but how have we not noticed this?" It wasn't very far from an outpost station. Heck, if the outpost simply had a larger radar stellar scanner then an astronomer could've found it by himself. Stuffing the map away, Otho contently yawned looking back outside down to the swirly clouded planet. There wasn't as much ocean as the planet he grew up on, but there were plenty of lakes visible, and probably rivers too.

'I wonder what kind of life is down there.' The coon leaned back in his chair, kicked his feet up on the edge of the flight desk, and closed his eyes with a grin. This planet definitely had it unlike all others he had orbited before. He was practically a discoverer of new life, and it was a dream job for the pilot all the way from the mountainous planet of Leuctra. His black ringed tail lazily dusted the floor in agreement. A black ear suddenly flickered with annoyance. A frown creased over his lips hearing a static noise interrupt his nap.

'Always when I try to nap!' Otho brushed his hand over the intercom switch to cut it off. Others back a the control station always had a habit of contacting at the worst time. Nothing happened. The noise didn't dissipate. Huffing an agitated sigh, the raccoon opened his eyes and looked over to see that the switch was already off. The static continued with an audible popping noise that irritated him even more. He looked down to see if a copper wire was exposed by his feet only to find everything intact below. Scanning through the computer control systems, the pilot couldn't find anything to cause the obnoxious and increasingly worrisome static.

'What's going on?' He tried adjusting the control panel only for the static annoyance to continue. Internal lighting was ok, and so was engine speed. "Let's lower-" The control screen suddenly displayed a bunch of error messages with a low toned alert beep. Otho felt the entire structure shudder nearly shaking him from his seat. The Tailpaw noticeably veered to the right, towards the planet's atmosphere. "Now what?!" He stood up watching the ship cruise towards closer towards the foreign body. 'Uh oh.' A sensor indicated the temperature increasing on the outside as he abruptly entered the planet's atmosphere. Clouds became very visible and detailed along with terrain and elevation. "No, no, no, no, no." He grabbed hold of the steering mechanism. Controls didn't respond to his maneuverings as he tried steering and restarting the ship into a correct flight. Chunks of metal were heard outside falling off from intense g-forces as the glow of a fire could be seen from a side window. Everything he tried doing wouldn't respond to him. Otho turned on his communication signal.

"I have a 707 error! I repeat. I have a 707 error!" He yelled into the microphone pad able to see treetops growing. A horrifying silence greeted him. 'Why isn't anyone responding? I'm not that far out.' He gazed with peril at the blaring screen. Below, a large amount of trees soon became visible for a crash landing. Realizing the inevitable, Otho slammed the emergency landing button and bolted to one of the two back rooms. Hitting an emergency switch, a door sealed him shut inside as the craft descended through the sky. He could hear pieces on the outside shudder, scream, and fall apart from the unrestricted speed alone through the planet's skies. Loud splintering crashes could be heard as the pilot braced for impact. Otho was suddenly slammed into the metal wall as his ship "landed" into the planet's surface with a defeating boom. The sound of plowing through limitless dirt roared in his ears while items from the shelves acted like projectiles smashing into the wall next to him. The lights flickered out losing electrical power as the deafening crash finished.

The pilot's body slid to the floor with a groan. He opened his eyes feeling a soreness manifest itself in his back. Despite the loss of power, broken light filtered onto the wall opposing him that was now slightly elevated. Looking to his right, the titanium steel sliding door beside him had been impaled by a tree trunk, leaving it ajar. The light panels that used to shine above him were now in crystal shards all over the grey tiled floor. 'I can breath.' He inhaled the stale air. Standing up on shaky legs, Otho kept his hands on the walls for support. Glass broke and crackled beneath his shoes as he scooted through the doorway. The sunlight told him that the entire front of his Tailpaw was now gone. Making his way outside, he took a few steps out from his still smoking ship before momentary exhaustion took over.

"I'm... Alive." He dropped to his knees in the soft peaty soil with a splayed grin. Better yet, his body wasn't injured in any way other than a little shock from being thrown against the wall panel. Shakiness began wearing away as he breathed uneasily sitting down. The brief recollection of joy, however, soon dissipated. Looking at his surroundings, the raccoon pilot was essentially in a marshy jungle swamp in the middle of nowhere on the edge of space itself. Worst of all, his Tailpaw appeared irreparable beyond comprehension with all the damage sustained and still burning in a few places. The only flammable parts were the engine and fuel supply itself towards the back of the ship. Luckily, neither had any potential left to explode. His body shuddered looking around the scary scenery. Mosses, grasses, and plenty of vine like plants coated most of the tree trunks and ground outside of his clearing. The eerie quiet disrupted by unseen insects and unknown creatures only frightened him more. It felt like an hour passed before the death-like stare was interrupted. His growling stomach reminded him about his body's basic necessities.

"I didn't eat lunch yet." He turned back to look at the partially smoldering wreck. As much as he didn't want to, Otho walked back towards the ship and looked for the second back room from the cockpit. Debris of all kinds littered the mossy forest floor as he looked over his smoldering ship. The doorway was luckily open from where the front used to be that connected to it. This room was in much better condition than the other one he had barricaded himself in. The size was relative to that of a guest bedroom one would stay at in a friend's house. Two black screens on the wall that normally showed internal temperature and other miscellaneous information weren't working. One served as a control panel of what he called the Tailpaw's "gut" that recorded the ship's internal systems. Down the wall, a bunch of electrical cords were frayed and snapped along the wall from the rough impact. He found an empty back pack and carried around for whatever he deemed as necessary. His mind shook away the thought of a long term survival plan. Half a bottle of water was good as he tossed the item into the bag. The tiles made their light pattering noises as he walked around the unscathed room. Pulling a drawer open after a few tugs revealed a small energy bar and a mostly blank journal to record what planets might be habitable for civilians, military personal, and outpost bases.

Otho threw both into the backpack along with a few pens. Scouring the salvageable ship for half an hour only yielded a little bit of food, a second flight uniform, a few other random items, and the cold hard fact that his communication systems weren't working. The main power grid was located toward the back of the ship, and there were a dozen or so trees behind his wrecked Tailpaw with a heavy trail of debris littering the forest floor. Not being a technician or mechanic frustrated the coon who knew that hose skills could potentially save his life in this scenario. Otho leaned against a severed wall piece unsure of what he should do next, or even what he could do. The thick heat was enough to make the highland born raccoon nauseous and unproductive.

'How will I get rescued?' He wondered staring at a funny purple and green colored leaf of ivy. Otho wore his backpack unsure of what to do. The smoke plumes coming from the ship fragments were tiny and probably couldn't be seen if someone did orbit by at a low level. "And what can I do if no one finds me?" The outlook was dismal as the raccoon stared at a fuzzy white caterpillar crawling along the muddy grass. Clouds slowly rolled by covering the sunlight giving the area a shady appearance. 'It's just not fair.' He tossed a stick into the murky lake nearby with a splash thinking of any option that could be taken. Black ears dialed forward suddenly hearing something through the trees. Otho stood up straining his ears to listen. It sounded like plodding heavy steps marked by another unknown noise. "Hello?" He spoke quietly crouching behind part of a twisted wall piece. Based on the landmass's size, predators would definitely be a problem that he didn't want to run into. Branches and tall bushes moved as the source of the noise stepped into Otho's sight giving him a shocking surprise. About two feet taller than him was a robotic droid like one out of a history book that his great grandfather could've studied at his age. The bulky body was steely grey save for its wires around the neck area.

'What in the name of-?' The machine soldier slowly approached before stopping at a shredded piece of metal. Rapid clicking was heard as a head piece "looked" at the debris on the ground. Otho could hear his heartbeat as his mind went wild with explanations as to what was going on.

'How did a machine get way out here?' The pilot stared in amazement as it looked over the surrounding crash. Suddenly the droid stood up and raised an arm defensively with a turret fixture. Otho held his breath praying that it would not shoot blindly at his Tailpaw and him. He swallowed nervously seeing a similar gun like turret attached to its other arm piece. It definitely didn't look friendly. A loud gunshot broke the silence immediately followed by a hysteric scream that made the raccoon jump from his hiding spot. A figure leapt onto the machine's back as it staggered to the side with a gaping hole in the center of its rectangular head piece. The machine fired a dozen ear splitting shots from its arm into the trees in retaliation. Several distant booms followed while the vixen wrestled for a firm grip on its back. She tore out a few wires from its neck before firing two rounds into the head piece. The machine tried to reach back and turn around, but another shot stopped it completely as it fell forward into the swamp water. The assailant jumped off its back onto dry land as the upper half sunk underwater. The pilot was awestruck at what spectacle just happened in front of him.

Otho watched the "victor" and could tell that she was undoubtably a female from her body. The vulpine with sandy and cream colored fur stood naked as the day she was born, right there in plain sight. The proud grin on her face didn't resonate with him as the raccoon gaped at the scene that just happened in front of him a moment earlier. But it told volumes of how she was feeling. 'What's wrong with this planet?' Otho stared dumbstruck. The nude female then turned towards him with her finger on the trigger. Her pale blue eyes brought him back to reality and how much quicker he could die compared to the sunk robot. The pilot whipped around with a scream sprinting into the forest, away from his smoldering ship and the gun touting vixen who slaughtered a giant bulky robot.

'Run. Run. Keep running!' He thundered along the forest floor tearing through the underbrush. Everything in the lush scenery became a blur of color as he ducked and jumped over anything that could've tripped him. The raccoon had no clue where he was going, but farther away sounded better. Looking back proved to be a terrible mistake. The vulpine was following him not too far behind with a determined look. Otho did his best to speed ahead without running into something. Her footsteps ran easily in time with his, telling him that she wouldn't give up easily. Getting lost in the impossible environment was no longer a concern for him. The coon made sharp turns whenever possible, jumped over a wide creek, and even held branches back in hope that one would hit her. He suddenly skidded to a halt, nearly slipping, and stared in disbelief at what was in front of him. A wetland, the size of a large lake, created an impenetrable barrier for the coon to cross, covered in a green sea of plant life. He desperately wanted to scream in frustration with his heart beating so rapidly, but couldn't find the energy to do so. Soft footsteps nearby made his ears dial in to find the source. Otho spun around looking for the source behind him.

Still trees and a foreign landscape were the only things to greet him. His ears strained to hear anything above the thumping of his heart and the dozens of frogs in the nearby water. The only defense he had to her gun was his backpack, and that wouldn't provide much protection. Eyes darting back and forth, he could feel her watching him from a distance, waiting. Not wanting the inevitable, the raccoon quickly broke off to his left through a thorn bush. Leaves quickly began crunching from somewhere behind him not too far back in pursuit. His flight suit tore loudly running through the brambles as thorns clung to his body, but Otho didn't pay any attention with his life on the line. Countless trees and spiderwebs were passed through blindly leading him further away from where he had crashed, and hopefully further from that vixen. His backpack and its hidden contents jostled madly in time with his legs. Otho didn't know how long or far he had gone by the time he started slowing down because of exhaustion.

'Pilots aren't trained for endurance.' His heart pounded against his chest. Still able to run, he checked to see how close she was. But this time no one was running behind him. 'Where-' A bad vine caught his shoe, causing the coon to fall forward into the mossy dirt. Otho quickly staggered up to all fours breathing heavily. His bruised legs and lungs were tired out much to his dismay. Brushing his jaw and flight uniform free of dirt and leaves, he crawled into a thicket of what appeared to be bamboo plants before sitting down. The spot looked like a good enough place to hide, just as long as he was able to distance himself from that crazy robot slayer. He calmed his breathing the best he could and relaxed looking through the green stalks. It was very quiet, and the lack of noise unsettled the pilot.

'Where is she?' He turned his head only to find himself staring through the barrel of a gun barrel. Otho slowly lifted his hands above his head, afraid to move anything else. He could only watch fearfully as the vixen crouched down, studying him. The vulpine's breathing was calm compared to his, and it was no wonder that she hadn't worn out while running. Her body was athletic and accustomed to the environment. Toned legs, thick thighs, normal hips, slim tummy, and a modest yet distracting exposed chest. Clothes probably would make her sweat too much and overheat to his assumption. Her muzzle was short and petite, the bottom being creamed colored like her front. Messy light brown and blond head fur smoothed out a little along her neck and forehead. The rest on top was somewhat spiked and disheveled, as if someone had rubbed a ballon on top of her head. The vixen approached closer to him so that the end of the gun's muzzle was almost touching his arm. Her gaze was mostly focused on his uniform and shoes however. 'Please don't shoot.' He whimpered inside his thoughts as the fear became unbearable.

"D-don't kill m-me." He spoke fearfully with chattering teeth. Maybe they could communicate somehow, and Otho was really hoping that they could negotiate a truce out. Her pale blue eyes widened, scaring him. 'What if she attacks instead?' He braced himself for a swift death.

"You talk?" She responded surprised lowering her gun. Otho's jaw dropped hearing this naked vixen before him speak without a heavy accent. "You speak! Say words!" She said more excitedly this time setting the weapon down. The raccoon found himself speechless at the sand fox. "Haven't spoken in years. To anyone!" She looked around as if it were a dream.

"Wha-how-who are you?" He sputtered to ask as the vixen crawled right next to him, eyeing him like a pot of gold.

"I am Rik." She crouched down again and pointed to herself. "You?" She asked lightly poking his dirtied flight suit and shoulder with a dainty claw.

"I'm Otho." He responded, still very shell shocked to what was going on.

"A raccoon." She peered closer staring into his brown eyes with her pale blue ones so that their muzzles nearly touched. His nose and whiskers twitched able to smell her strong wild scent unfiltered by any perfume, or even soap.

"Uh-huh, and you're a vixen." He watched her fluffed tail slowly sway side to side. The coon found himself looking over her body. Her nudity was a distraction, and his eyes found themselves practically scanning over her creamy white chest. "Um... If I may ask, why are you naked?" Otho asked staring into her blue eyes instead. He had to get at least that question asked.

"Naked?" She questioned looking at him as if he had grown a second head.

"You aren't wearing any clothes." He pointed to his dirty flight suit then to her bare fur.

"Clothes." Rik looked down over her front innocently then his. "Don't need clothes. Hot here." She had a good point about the humidity and temperature.

'Act like a gentleman Otho.' He reminded himself keeping his eyes level with hers. Otho watched nervously as she brought a hand to his head and placed it directly on top between his ears. The touched irked him a little as weird, but it was better than receiving a bullet to the head.

"Am I dreaming?" Rik asked herself quietly, now ruffling her palm through his head fur.

"No. This is actually happening." He reassured her as the vixen pet over his head, although it did seem like an outlandish dream. 'Why is she acting this way? Surely she's seen others before.' Being deserted on a planet where only one vixen lived gave him dismal hopes of returning back home or to base. A padded and clawed finger touched his nose, making him wiggle away from the finger. 'She definitely smells a lot like this jungle place.' He staved off a sneeze. The sand vixen then felt over Otho's black furred ears and contently nodded while his eyes unyieldingly ogled her.

"No dream. You are real." She grabbed his hand, holding it firmly. The sand vixen's smile grew happily. "Get you out of swamp." She tugged him to his feet before pulling him out of the thicket.

"Hold up. Where are we going?" Otho asked almost tripping over his own two feet.

"To my home." She walked with speed in hand.

"A-are you alone or are there more of your kind hidden here?" He nervously asked watching the vixen's tail swished excitedly. Rescue just might be possible if there are a lot of whatever she was. Especially if they possessed weapons like she did.

"More? Just me and you here."

"I know that, but what about everywhere else in the swamp and jungle?" The raccoon ducked to avoid a branch as she quickly led him through the constricting terrain.

"I don't know." Her smile visibly grew faint and her walking slowed enough for the tired raccoon to keep up. Otho felt an empathetic twinge of sadness for her. Over than survival, being alone here for an ungodly amount of time had to be tough. The sad look didn't linger long as they trekked to wherever the sand vixen's home was located through all this dense foliage. Much to the raccoon's relief, the swamp gradually changed into a jungle and rainforest type of scenery, but with the same overpowering humid heat.

"You said your name is Rik right?" He asked hopping over the log with her.

"Yes." She replied with an excited shudder.

"Alright. How do you know English Rik? Someone had to teach the language to you."

"English?" Her muzzle and brow wrinkled. "Who is English?"

"No. The words you're saying. The name of language that you're speaking."

"I always talk this way."

'Ok. That's strange to have a common language with someone from a completely unknown planet.' He thought over to himself, but didn't want to complain of the beneficial communication with the sandy and cream furred vixen as she led him through the impossibly dense area. What felt to be miles was probably no more than a daily walk for his energetic companion. Rik brushed a few giant green leaves out of their way and revealed a small clearing that Otho would've otherwise overlooked as another piece of the jungle.

"Ah, home." She exhaled contently. Otho stopped behind her confused.

"Where is it?"He asked looking around, half expecting a house to be hidden by the dense foliage. "A five minute walk from here?" The raccoon looked into the trees wondering if she had a modern treehouse hidden behind the countless leaves.

"Here!" She proclaimed with arms spread out as if the raccoon was blind.

"Here?" There was actual dirt beneath his shoes instead of dead leaves, moss, or decomposing logs.

"Yes!" Her voice beamed triumphantly. He could make out a fire pit where a small pile of ash existed in the center. His ringed tail drooped in dismay.

'Oh man.' Otho tossed the backpack on the ground and wiped his forehead in realization. Rik scratched her sides and practically skipped over next to the fire pit and sat down. It was a miracle to him that her fur was well groomed in an environment like this. The weary raccoon took off his backpack and decided to sit down as well. Dirt or no dirt, he needed to rest and think his situation through. The raccoon was stuck on a planet after crash landing in a swamp which left his Tailpaw beyond repair or sending out a distress signal. Now this female who could efficiently use a gun, yet didn't posses any other sort of technology, chased him down after shooting some sort of robotic soldier. None of it made sense, especially the catalyst that caused it all when his ship malfunctioned. "So you're not going to kill me?" He stared up at the all too happy vixen. Her pale blue eyes widened fearfully for a moment.

"No! Would not hurt you!" She looked genuinely shocked.

"Well that's a positive start." He stared at the fire pit half expecting the vixen to be a cannibal. Only ash and darkened earth filled the center.

"Why did you say that?" She leaned forward towards him despite being a few feet away. "I don't want to harm you." The vixen couldn't understand his odd thoughts.

"You killed that tall robot with a few shots to the head." He stared at her semi automatic with concern.

"Yes. They bad things. They cause a lot of harm." Her pale blue eyes didn't look deceiving to him.

"Sorry Rik," he said noticing the smile return to her muzzle when he talked, "but I wouldn't be surprised if this was a really elaborate dream after all." Otho confessed looking around the sand vixen's "home."

"Where are you from?" She eagerly asked sitting up straight, both ears waiting and listening.

"How should I explain that?" He scratched his chin thinking about the joint military and science lab base. "Well it's rocky and hilly, and very far away from here."

"How far away?"

"Very far, and it took my ship over two weeks to get here from my base."

"Ship? Large thing in swamp?"

"Yeah that is, uh, was my ship." He explained.

"Ship." She repeated to herself as if the word was new to her.

"Technically it's called a Toulousian ND-12 Tailpaw, but that doesn't matter anymore. Are you from around... here?" He asked looking around the environment filled with foreign sounds of life.

"Yes! My home!" She patted the dirt making a light cloud of dust raise up. He didn't want to entirely believe her. Otho looked away into the jungle and nervously swallowed. Varying bright and dark green leaves, not to mention anything with a flower, had him completely surrounded. The raccoon couldn't even recall where Rik had led him from. Staring at the ground, he grabbed a handful of loose dirt. The ear numbing sound of metal tearing was still fresh in his mind as he spread his hand out.

'Couldn't this just be a dream?' He thought watching the loose soil fall out from between his fingers.

"Can you hear me?" She asked catching his attention. Otho nodded looking at the nude female with some apprehension.

"Yeah." He replied quietly seeing that she could barely contain the smile on her face. "Now this is hard for me to believe." He admitted noting the adrenaline no longer in his system.

"Well... Here at my home." She affirmed with a nod. The small nicks and cuts on his now stained red and white uniform were certainly real enough. "More there with you?" Rik asked.

"No. Thankfully it was just me in the ship."

"I saw it in the sky. Burning before it crashed. Ran to see but giant hunter in the way."

"What was that robot doing?" His thoughts returned to the strange machine.

"Hunting you." She replied with a frown. "All of them do that."

"Wait. There's more of those things out here?" He peered around the area paranoid.

"Many. Killed all I saw for years."

"Why do they want to hunt you?" He asked. The vixen shook her head lightly.

"Don't know. They just do." Neither said anything more and simply stared at each other. To Rik, the raccoon wearing strange garments was a stranger from the sky. To Otho, the nude sand vixen was some mysterious native who could talk to him. He began to notice how low the sun had become against the dense trees, and clutched his empty stomach.

"Sorry to bother you Rik, but is there any food around here that we can eat?" Otho knew it would have to be caught or plucked, but food was food and he needed it. "I uh... kind of wore myself out running from you."

"Mhm. Show you fruits to eat before night." Rik hopped up, tail swaying happily. Otho was pulled to his feet by a strong set of arms suddenly before being led back into the jungle. He could barely make out a worn path along the ground that she probably frequented that twisted and turned through the jungle. Otho kept close, not particularly enjoying the towering trees and canopy above him that blocked most of the sunlight from reaching them. Rik did not go far before she motioned him to stop. Taking a step from the nearly invisible pathway, she kneeled down to the dark earthed ground partially concealed with littered debris. Otho looked around not seeing a single animal for them to catch, and there definitely wasn't a cook nearby.

'What is she doing?' The raccoon watched her brush away a small covering of leaves on the ground, and then the sand vixen started digging much to his surprise. He peered down at the ground where she dug like a feral animal using her hands and claws. Dirt was cleared away revealing something brightly colored green beneath the soil. What she excavated surprised the raccoon entirely. "Is that a watermelon?" He looked stunned as the sand vixen hauled the large fruit onto the ground.

"Yes! Very heavy!" Rik rotated her shoulders. "I buried it so nothing ruin in." She explained patting the side happily. Well if your food wasn't arriving on a gourmet plate, you had to make due. "Help carry?" She asked crouched by one side of the melon.

"Oh, sure." He bent down to help, being extra cautious to not look at her body. "Uh, is it supposed to be this sticky?" He grimaced in discomfort at the odd sensation on his pads.

"Coating to stop insects." She gave an open smile standing up with him before walking back to her home.

'Aww yuck!' He shivered despite the humid heat.

"Used to roll forever." She happily exclaimed seeing how fast they could go despite his disdain of the natural repellant. "Takes more time."

"I can imagine." Otho stated making her giggle. He secretly hoped that none of the residue would get on his uniform or body. They easily reached the clearing where Rik guided him over towards the center before plopping down with the watermelon. Otho wiped his hands clean with a few large leaves. "So how do we open it? Should we bash a rock on the middle?"

"No." She giggled stretching her legs out so that the fruit was between them. "Cut it."

"With what?" He asked skeptically until Rik reached over and grabbed a knife from the empty fire.

"This!" She showed off the remarkably advanced tool. It was a large military styled knife, possibly made from a synthetic carbon-titanium steel blend. The blade shined from the sunlight as she drove it into the melon's skin making a clean cut. Several more were done before she pulled out a large slice and handed it him.

"Thank you!" He grinned accepting the nice size of juicy red.

"Mhm!" She quickly cut a piece for herself. The sweet taste was more than welcome as he took a large bite. She cut out a few pieces between the seeds they had to spit out through the relatively quiet meal. Otho couldn't help but look at her while eating, but did his best to keep his gaze away from her nether regions and chest. Halfway through his fourth slice, however, the raccoon's brown eyes inadvertently traveled up to her cream furred chest. The vixen's breasts weren't very large, but half globes daintily protruded from her chest as if they were hypnotizing him. 'Don't stare Otho. Females are supposed to have them so stop acting stupid!' He rubbed his eyes doing all he could to not look. Blinking them again, he found Rik staring at him intently with her blue eyes.

"You ok?" She peered forward, her arms making no move to cover herself.

"N-no." He held his hand up so that he couldn't see her chest. "I mean yes!" She didn't seem too concerned and finished the piece she had cut out. Otho did his best to simply focus on eating the red insides of the watermelon without staring at her body. Two piles of empty husks soon accumulated as the entire fruit was devoured. "Thank you for giving me half of that, I hadn't eaten much today." He licked his fingers.

"Very welcome!" She smiled before hurrying over to the edge of the clearing. Rik returned with a small armload of wood and piled it into the fire pit. She then started a small fire using two smooth stones. He assumed it served more as a deterrent against wild animals rather than a source of warmth, but both comforts were nice to have. After checking on a few things, Rik sat by him cross legged with the gun on her lap. Otho watched her rub over the metal cleaning it thoroughly with just her thumb pads and fur.

"Where did you get all these advanced weapons? You have a gun and a basic steel combat knife." He pointed at the two items. If anything boggled the raccoon's mind so far, it had to be this sand vixen of all people to possess advanced weapons.

"This one," she held up the rifle, "was from my village. I don't know who owned it." Rik put it down and drew out the rather large dagger like knife. "This was carried by attacking things." The sand vixen returned to polishing the gun as the fire be a me the only source of light. Otho mulled over how her village could have obtained that rifle while machines effectively hunted them.

"Where do you have the bullets to shoot?" The ammo cartridge on it hadn't been changed since then, and she owned it for a long time.

"I have those hidden here and throughout jungle." She set it down before carefully cleaning the knife. Cricket chirping started as darkness completely settled in leaving the two quiet by the fire. Rik had already set the two cleaned weapons aside.

"What are you doing?" He asked as the vixen laid down facing him.

"Sleep." She yawned. "Tired. Talk more tomorrow." Otho looked around the dark surrounding jungle, and then the dirt ground he was sitting on. After hesitating, he laid down as well with his front to the flames. The dirt wasn't very comfortable like a bed he was accustomed to, but laying down after experiencing his equivalent of the apocalypse had him less picky suddenly. He looked ahead at the vixen who was still awake. Rik stared at him silently, sometimes with a grin or without expression. "Haven't seen anyone so long." She quietly drew into the dirt with her fingers. Otho watched her shadow flicker with the low flames of the fire. The pilot started to feel sorry for her again.

"I know it's none of my business Rik, but why haven't you seen anyone? Where are your parents, friends, and family?" He asked. The sand vixen looked into the fire for a while before answering. It was one of those rare moments when she wasn't smiling.

"Lots of attacking things appeared in my village early morning. Grabbed gun and ran until night, far away from the screams. Everyone gone... Forever." The flames flickered more as a gentle breeze passed through the area. Her eyes didn't waver from his own. "You still... be here at sunrise?" Rik asked.

"Yes." He replied seeing the grin return on her muzzle as she closed her eyes.

"Not a dream then." She mumbled to herself and curled her tail around her stomach. Worry and despair overtook his mind as he looked into the low fire recounting the events of the disastrous day, and the bleak outcome of it all.

'Am I going to spend the rest of my life stranded here?' He thought taking in what she had told him. Her presence, the crackling fire, and noisy surroundings kept him up longer than he wanted as the question soured in his mind.