FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"What a day..." The dark haired man sighed running a hand over his sweated brow. His hair was shoulder length and black, and he had light black facial hair and blue eyes. His skin was sun-tanned and he wore simple clothes with worn chainmail over them. He was a rather average human male. Evan had just finished cutting down several trees, to add on to his house. It was actually surprisingly nice for the lone woodsman.

Evan was very skilled with the tools he had brought with him when he had struck out away from Civilization to go it alone. He'd built everything he needed; a bed from the wool of sheep, and a framework of wood. It wasn't the most comfortable thing, but he could improve on it later. Maybe make some cloth out of cotton to ease the itching when he slept. Would be a project for another day, considering he could find some cotton. At any rate, he'd been working hard as hard could be the entire day. It was constant work to survive out in the wilds by himself, but he honestly liked it here. Sometimes he would travel to a nearby settlement and trade or converse with the citizens just for social interaction, but this was seldom done. Having found a vein of gold that day, though, he realized he could trade for some better items. Might as well make use of his hard work, refine the gold.... And make a trip to the town in a few days.

He wanted some food other then what he could hunt, too.Evan took a moment to lean back, watching as the sun neared setting.

It was time to go inside. One thing he had figured out... These parts were very dangerous at night. All manner of strange creatures roamed the land, from Undead things that ravenously attacked any living thing that moved to giant spiders the size of horses to plantlike creatures that exploded when threatened and everything else one could imagine. He was relitavely safe during the day, when the monsters spent the day hiding in holes underground or various makeshift dens and such. But when night fell the monsters roamed and hunted free.

Making his way back to his house, he thought he heard a sound. Both familiar... and frightening. He'd encountered the ... THINGS... that made this sound several times. A strange, almost coo-like sound. Quiet. He stared at the ground, frozen to the spot.

Last time he'd made the mistake of meeting one's gaze, it had rushed him and attacked. He'd barely made it out of there alive. The glowing particles floated around him, coming from behind. The sound came from mere inches away. He heard a branch snap and reflexively glanced up.

He saw those glowing purple eyes for a mere instant before he heard an unearthly sound - a grating, rumbling roar followed by a loud "fwoomf" of a teleport. He instantly drew his sword, only to find that the shadowy thing was gone. He was incredibly wary, every step slow as his ears listened for the 'Woomf' sound of the monster teleporting to attack once again - but it did not come. For several tense minutes, he stood there, every sense alert and buzzing with an adrenaline rush that made him feel more awake, more alert, then he had felt in a very long time. Each moment felt elongated with the rapid beating of his heart and his breath, which trembled as he tried to keep it quiet. Every sound sent a ice down his spine.... but the expected attack never came.

Finally, he slowly backed towards his door, pushed it open, slipped inside, and slammed it shut again.One inside, he sagged against the wall, breathing hard and holding his hand over his chest. HIs heart beat so hard that he swore it would fall out of his chest. "That was TOO close...." He whispered to himself. His voice still trembled.

Enderman, he had heard these creatures called. Tall, humanoid monsters from a realm that some called "The End". Called this because it was said to be the very last realm between the Underrealms and the Void. They were also called that because it was rare to survive an encounter with one if you managed to aggrevate it. They were fast, and powerful, not to mention highly aggressive.He finally found the energy to move, still shaky, and removed his armor. Exhausted from his brush with death, he sighed and flopped on his bed. After a few moments to calm his beathing heart and shaky breath, he had to wonder - why hadn't the Enderman attacked him? It had let out that heart-shattering roar/scream, almost the scream of the darkness itself... but it had not charged. It had run away. Had it been injured? He wasn't sure. He had heard they teleported away if critically injured... as hard as it was to actually injure one with how quickly they teleported about. He decided to think about it later, and get some sleep. It had been a very, very long day. He was tired, sore, and worn out.

He slept fitfully that night, his mind buzzing from the experience that should have had him fighting for his life.He woke to a rooster's call and the sun beaming in through his window. Sitting up and stretching, he rubbed his eyes and prepared breakfast - chicken, and fried potatoes. After eating, he put his armor on, gathered up his pack, tools, weapon, and supplies, and opened his door.Only he felt and heard the wood go "thump" against something. In front of his door.... was a pile of various items. Mostly rocks. A few plants. Some wood. On closer inspection he realized two things - the rock was actually laced with ore. Iron ore. And there was one stone encrusted with... yes, diamonds. He was shocked at this, looking at the items, then looking all around.

His hair stood on end as he heard that strange cooing sound - and the 'vwoomp' of a teleport once again.The Enderman, it seemed, was back. He froze for several moments again, holding his breath as he looked around carefully, for any signs of the shadowy entity. When no sign came, he relaxed, letting out a breath. Still alert, he moved around the items, and made his way to his makeshift mine. It was reasonably safe; He'd made sure the place was well lit so as not to provide any nasty surprises, and support beams and scaffolding would stop the stone and rock above him from crashing down on his head. This, of course, didn't keep the monsters out completely; so he stayed alert.

He was getting more nervous now... He had encountered the Enderman twice.

Or maybe it was two... Two separate shadowy Endermen was worse then one. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought. He thought he heard the disjointed groan of an undead somewhere near, the shambling, scuffing sound of feet dragging over the ground."Damn." He muttered to himself, nocking an arrow in his bow. Well, at least they announced themselves with their dull, gurgling moans. Next he heard that teleporting 'Fwoomp' followed by the thud of the zombie falling to the ground with a louder moan choking off in a gurgle, then 'wump' once again. He froze. It was back. And it was following him. He was sure it thought that zombie was him.

Bolting, he left his pickaxe behind, and fled back to his house to save his own skin. He just hoped the creature had not seen him. A few heartstopping times, he thought the monster was just behind him, but when he got inside without incident, he leaned back with a sigh.

Once again, his heart hammered in his chest and his knees quaked. Too close... too close... too close... was the only thought rushing through is paniced head.It seemed like Evan encountered an Enderman every single day as the weeks dragged on; and a part of him could swear the thing was stalking him. It was making getting any work done terribly hard. Every time he went outside he had to be VERY careful... having to sneak around and hope to the gods that he was not seen. But he had never heard of Endermen stalking people. He knew they liked to pick up items, or handfuls of sand or dirt, or even flowers and plants and walk around until they set them down elsewhere; He'd also heard they generally ignored one UNLESS they looked right at them or felt like they had been spotted or seen. They could be observed if the person didn't look directly at them, and acted normal. But most wouldn't risk it; they'd just run before they had to fight for their lives. So little was known about the shadowy creatures in the night.

After steadying himself, Evan looked out the window, carefully. He thought he saw something moving in the shadows of the treeline, and a glint of eyes, but it could have just been his recent paranoia.He was noticing stones, items, and even flowers and other things in front of his door every morning, too - he was wondering if the Endermen were putting them there. If so, why? It confused him, but also mystified him. He carefully crept out, looking around and touching the pile. He thought he heard that quiet, soft "cooing" sound, somewhere near by - but again, there was no sign of attack.Finally, curiousity got the better of him, and he found himself looking in the direction the sound came from. He only saw the creature for a split second, seeing the mouth open, showing the glowing tongue and throat, before it was gone with a "fwoomf" leaving nothing but the fading particle trail it left behind. He was sure he would have to dive into his house and fight for his life, and he was prepared himself. Every muscle stiff and tense, ready for a battle. But once again.... There was no attack.

What was with that Enderman? He was starting to convince himself that there was only one. One Enderman; following him and dropping things by his door. Why? He had NO idea. But Evan was getting more and more curious.

For months this continued, and he started to feel a bit less nervous. He frequently heard that all-too-familiar sound, but the Enderman was never near when he glanced around. Though it seemed to be getting bolder. He heard the sounds closer and closer; and more and more often. Once, even, feeling a soft, cold touch on his back - but when he whipped around he only saw it's dark form retreating into the trees. THAT had scared him - the thing could have knocked him down; killed him with ease. But it hadn't. That touch, he realized... had been gentle. Tentative. Almost... curious.

That night, he heard thunder in the distance. For a moment, he wondered what the Enderman would do. Why he felt that brief spark of concern for the creature, he had no idea. They couldn't handle rain, after all - or any water for that matter. It hurt them, and could even kill them. He'd seen it happen once before, a black shadowy shape roaring and screaming in pain as it teleported in pure panic until it dropped from exhaustion and let out a bone-chilling death cry. It was never a pleasant sight, the creatures thrashing and twisting and bleeding in the rain. The thought of that particular one dying like that actually made him cringe. It hadn't attacked.. It didn't deserve to die... He had the small urge to bring an umbrella and go looking for it... but finding a panicing, wildly teleporting creature would be neigh impossible.

Suddenly, he jumped in a startle, jerked out of his thoughts. The sky flashed with lightening's white brilliance, before the loud hissssssss of hard rain started outside.Then he heard it. That cry of pain in the distance. Then again, closer. And suddenly, there was a flash of black almost knocking him over, before the creature collapsed in a heap, shaking all over. It let out that bone-chilling threat-cry when he looked at it but... It did not attack. It just stayed right where it was. He noticed that it was bleeding, in many places, leaving an inky purpleblack smear on the floor. The sounds it made were urgent and close together, clear expressions of pain as it panted heavily. The glowing particles around it seemed lessened, though still marked where it had come from more clearly then the drips of blood on Evan's floor. He could see where it had teleported from; having rushed in a panic and blinked right through the wall.

He was just staring dumbly when the urgent cooing and chattering faded off and the creature collapsed to its side... unconscious. He frowned. The Enderman had not attacked him. It hadn't even made any signs of doing so. This confirmed what he had been thinking for a while now; just MAYBE this one was different. It's response had looked fear and pain-driven. Not anger, or aggression driven. He carefully took up a cloth and moved closer, carefully touching it against the Ender's wounds. It seemed that every rain drop had left a bleeding wound, some deeper then others. It looked like it had been caught in a torrent of acid. Carefully, Evan started to dab the cloth over the Enderman's wounds. He almost instictively got water to clean the wound, but thought better of it. That would just make it worse. The dry cloth would have to do. As he cleaned and tended to the wounds, bandaging the the worse ones, he get a very good look at the creature. It was very tall and lean, ribs naturally showing against jet black skin, warm to the touch.

The anatomy was generally humanlike, but a lot longer and lankier in porportion, with long arms hanging to its knees and clawed hands. The feet ended in four sharp talons. He noticed the mouth gape almost ending at the ear, and the teeth, as black as the rest of it, were long and sharp. Too long to be useful in eating. He found himself wondering how these creatures ate... If they did. Gender was hard to tell; but his first thought was female. There seemed to be a slit between the creature's legs, though higher then one woudl expect from a female. He gently dabbed the cloth over the wounds on the creature's lower abdomen finding wounds painfully close to that sensitive area. He was hesitant to clean near there.... but he was not going to leave that spot neglected because of his own sensitivities and nervousness. So he swallowed his nervousness and continued to tend to the Enderman's injuries, no matter how awkward he felt so close to its nether regions.

As he worked, he suddenly recoiled, clearing his throat as he felt his face go hot. Male. Definately male. He noticed a slight bulging just beneath the slit - not unlike a reptiles cloaca.... And the tip of a deep, purple, pointy-headed member barely peeking out. He quickly looked away, pressing his lips together. 'Oh dear gods' he thought. 'Awkward...'. That was the LAST thing he'd needed, or wanted to see; an Enderman's junk. For some reason he hadn't even thought of the creatures having that! It was just... strange, really, to him. He took a moment to regather himself, before he finished cleaning the creature's wounds before he finally moved to pick him up. He was surprised how light he was - being so tall. He laid him in his bed.

"I will have to clean this later." He mumbled to himself. Even if he'd cleaned the wounds, the Enderman was still bleeding a bit, though the bleeding was almost stopped. To his relief, the creature showed no further signs of arousal. The slight bulge and peeking tip was gone. It was... probably a natural reaction, Evan thought to himself. It was unconscious... And something was touching in a very.... intimate and sensitive area. Awake, it would not have reacted as such. Hell, it probably would have attacked him for touching it THERE! He was rather glad it... no he... was unconscious. He didn't want to think about it, or his budding curiousity on what the rest of that... thing... looked like. It was perfectly natural for him to feel so curious. He was human, after all... beings known for their curiousity and innovation. But he finally shook the thoughts off, avoiding looking at anything below the Enderman's chest.

It was another hour, before the Enderman shifted. It was still pouring rain outside. Evan couldn't help but freeze when he saw the eyes open, and stare at him. The creature seemed tense. Afraid? The creature did not make a sound; just looked at him. Surprisingly, the Enderman calmed down, relaxing a bit, before Evan heard the soft, quiet cooing sound. The creature seemed smart enough to realize his wounds had been cleaned and attented to. Evan could swear the creature was... thanking him. Then he saw the creature shiver, and his eyes half closed - before he let out a sharp sound. A sneeze. Evan jumped at the sudden sound.

Again he found himself completely surprised. He had NEVER imagined an Enderman would sneeze. But the thought occured to him that maybe water could make the creature sick."Are you... cold?" He asked, doubting the creature could understand or hear him. Of course he just made a confused sound. Nope - he couldn't understand him. Instead he added some wood to the fire, before sitting down and leaning back. He jumped when the Enderman sneezed again. The sound was unsettling; sharp, loud and sudden.

"You should... Come closer to the fire. If it will help." he said. He was lost on what to do about, or for, the shadowy being. The Enderman simply replied with a quite curious sound. "And of course you don't understand me." Evan sighed as he watched the creature. On closer inspection he seemed intelligent enough. He was able to recognize he had been helped; he'd displayed clear curiousity. The only thing, he thought, stopping communication was language barrier.

"I wonder if I can teach you my language." Evan said out loud. "Would make things a bit easier. Now, I wonder what you eat...." He brought out some meat from a recent hunt and cooked it.

The Enderman made no reaction to the scent of it, other then looking his way, and sneezing again. The creature sniffled a couple times, before huddling down in the blankets with a long, rather grumpy sounding coo. It did seem to have a pattern to it - like speech. Once finished cooking, he approached the creature with a separate plate.

"Hungry?" He asked the shadowy being. The Enderman gave the food a disinterested look, making it's distinctive sound again, this time a bit longer - he could swear it sounded like a disinterested "Nooooooo...."

"Are you sure?"

The same sound again.

"Ok, have it your way..."

And he ate both helpings of food. He doubted the creature would eat it anyway; but it was worth offering. He looked out the window at the sky, damn near black, pouring torrents of rain. It was going to be a while... Such an interesting situation, really. Inside his home, co-existing with one of the most feared creatures in these parts; and living to tell the tale. He was wondering if maybe injury and possible sickness was making the creature so docile; but even before the rain the Ender had never attacked him. Maybe he was just... different.

The creature didn't seem that different from him, really; maybe individuals were all different from eachother just like humans were.He realized, then, that he was being stared at; the Enderman's vocalizations sounding calm, and curious. It was unsettling, really, the way the Ender followed his every move with his creepy, glowing eyes.

"Never seen a man eat before?" Evan grunted. "Surely your own kind eats. I just wish I knew what..." He'd have to find different items and try to feed the Ender.

He came to a realization; he had to call him something other then "creature" or "the Enderman" or "Ender". But he wasn't sure if the Ender had a name; or if it would take offense to being given one.

"Do you have a name?" He mused quietly as he watched him. He recieved a confused look in reply. The Enderman KNEW he was speaking - probably his own, strange tongue, but to the Ender it just sounded... like confusing nonsense. He KNEW the Overworlder was trying to speak to him; and he wished he could reply back. Instead, he just sighed to himself, mumbling something in his strange, cooing tongue. It was a bit unsettling for the human to hear; but he had a feeling the Enderman was muttering to himself, just as Evan himself had been doing moments before.

Finally, the Enderman recognized something he could understand. Not words; but rather, gestures. The man was pointing to himself, speaking something. His name, the Ender decided. Yes - he was telling him his name, strange though the Overworlder's language was to him."Evan." Evan said, pointing to himself. He them motioned towards the Ender. The Enderman watched him keenly. He made one long sound, sounding almost as if would translate to "Kuu", then two shorter "ruk" noises, tapping his own chest to indicate speaking his own name.

"Kuu?" Evan asked. The Ender gave him a funny look, but then just seemed to shrug. Yeah, that worked, though it sounded so funny to him in this other creature's tongue. Funny enough that he chuckled. Their tongues were so different... maybe that was the closest sound the Overworlder could make to his own tongue. At any rate, it was passable. Almost cute, really.

Evan jumped as the Enderman chuckled lightly. The sound was unsettling until he realized that he was... laughing. The chuckled died off as Kuu paused, then focused hard for a moment, moving his mouth and tongue to TRY to speak Evan's name. It made it's distinctive sound that sounded... well, recognizeable. He repeated it several times, finding the strange words tickled his tongue coming out. Then, to his surprise, the Ender started to laugh again! Kuu spoke something in his own tongue, and even his vocalisations sounded amused. He could swear he was telling him his name sounded funny!

Communicating with Kuu, Evan realized, would be a chore. Their languages were so different they couldn't even speak eachother's words. He just hoped that in time they could learn to understand eachother. Over the hours that the storm raged on and on... He found himself realizing he kind of wanted Kuu to stay. Looking at the Enderman up close, he wasn't so threatening when he wasn't trying to kill him.

"I wonder how many other similarities there are between our species..." Evan mused, watching Kuu as he curled up under the blanket. He realized that Kuu was very tired; and was surprised to learn that Endermen actually slept. Kuu was, in fact, deeply asleep, silent, and breathing softly. Occasinally, his leg twitched a bit, or he shifted and vocalized quietly. Instead of laying on the bed with Kuu, Evan wandered over to the couch and laid down on his back.

"What a day..." Evan sighed, glancing at the sleeping Enderman as the thunder rumbled and roared outside. He found himself drifting off to sleep, tired after the events of the day.When he woke up, the rain had slowed to a quiet drizzle. He opened his eyes and yawned, then jumped back, startled, nearly falling off the couch as his eyes met the Enderman's in a flash of sudden panic, before everything that had happened the night before rushed back to him. He cleared his throat and blushed, muttering a quiet apology.

Kuu just blinked his glowing eyes twice.... then laughed. Evan remembered that sound, from the night before. But this time it was heartier and louder. It even sounded mirthful! Already Kuu seemed stronger, the burns on his skin mostly healed. He wasn't sneezing, either. Seemed like all he needed was a good rest and some warmth.

"Yes, thank you for laughing at my natural response." Evan sulked, pouting at Kuu.

Kuu just laughed even more, finding the human's sulky attitude even more amusing. This smaller being was so much like him; moreso then he had realized. Why, he wondered, had he been so afraid at first? And why, he wondered even more, were his kind usually so hostile towards humans? This one seemed perfectly allright. He had allowed him to take refuge into his home; saved his life even. Had he been shoved back out into the rain, he would have died. If Evan had attacked - he would have died.

Evan, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised by the Enderman's demeanor; though not too terribly surprised. Kuu had been showing signs of his intents all along. Even attacked an undead creature that would have attacked Evan in the next moments. He realized, then, that Kuu had purposfully attacked the Zombie. It hadn't mistaken it for him at all.The strange, chattering laughter of the Enderman quited, before he sat beside Evan, his head tilted a bit as he watched him. Evan looked back up at him, finding himself less and less afraid to meet eyes with the creature.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that the Ender's face did show some emotion. Mostly in the eyes, and position of the head. The oddly wide mouth made it harder to tell, since it wasn't too easily seen until he opened it, but the eyes showed the most. In a way, the creature seemed to have a perpetual, if creepy, smile. Even if it was it's neutral expression. He was finding, though, that a better way to gauge the Enderman's mood was through his vocalizations. They were lighter and quicker when he was pleased or amused, and slower and quieter when calm or neutral. He'd heard the fear call, as well , and the constant, fast, sharp sounds he had made before he had calmed down; and the pained sounds.

Evan realized more and more that he actually COULD understand Kuu to a point... And the thought honestly excited him. He HAD to be the first person up close and personal with one of these things without ending up dead, or fighting for their life.

Kuu, on the other hand, found the human's way of expression emotions very interesting. Enders, such as himself, always showed it with vocalizations; it was the reason for their constant 'chatter' as some would put it. Humans showed it with their faces.

At first it had confused him, wondering why Evan was so quiet - but again he knew that their species were completely different despite some anatomical similarities. And now he could see it in his face. His small lips and face changed a lot with each expression. And Kuu realized, he could understand him, to a point. The two spent some time watching eachother; Evan quiet and Kuu letting out the occasional soft sound.

After a while, Evan decided to try a few different foods. He had some fruits and vegetables out there in his gardens, and the rain had nearly stopped. He wondered if Kuu would leave when the rain was fully done, and realized he would miss him if he did. He'd just met the shadowy being - but he found he liked him.

He came back inside, offering various fruits and vegetables to the Enderman; all of which were turned down with the sound he was starting to realize meant "No"

"You have to eat something!" Evan finally said in exasperation. Kuu tilted his head. He didn't put things in his mouth - to feed, like the human did. He just fed on the energy around him.

"Well..." Evan finally sighed, giving up. "I guess you'll eat when you are ready."He noticed the sun streaming back in through his window as the storm clouds finally thinned out and dissipated. The Enderman looked out the window as well with a pleased sound. The rain had stopped! There was the Foomf of him teleporting outside, which had Even actually feeling a bit disappointed, thinking Kuu had just up and left now that the rainstorm was done ... before the sound came again; and a chunk of stone laced with a vein of gold and quartz was laid at his feet.

Kuu vocalized again, and the shadowy creature.... smiled. The creepiest smile Evan had ever seen, but all the same friendly. Evan couldn't help but smile back.

"Wow... thanks." He said. This confirmed it. This WAS the Enderman who had been following him for months. Never had he thought he'd ever encounter one like this, being perfectly friendly and docile.

"You are welcome to stay, you know. Find shelter here any time it rains." Evan said.

Kuu tilted his head, trying to figure out what he meant. He seemed.. inviting. His body language said 'stay' - was he being invited to stay here? It was nice; warm, and safe. And he liked the Evan human. To signify accepting the offer - if that was, in fact, what Evan was doing, he said his own word - a rather soft sound, though the tone a bit longer then some. Ender for 'yes'. He accepted.

Evan watched the Enderman for a time, then realized that he had managed to somewhat understand him - and even reply. And smiled. Well... at least he wasn't alone out here anymore. He knew he had a lot to learn, but he looked foward to the times ahead; Living in the wilds, in a self built house... with a particularly strange shadowy being as a friend and companion. He smiled as he got to work for the day, whistling a tune to himself. For the first time in months, he felt safe, even with the creepy, glowing eyes of his... yes, friend, watching him work.