FSE

Furry search engine

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We will never be, never be anything but loud _ _And nitty, gritty, dirty, little freaks - P!nk, "Raise your glass"

To any observers, the young woman walking through the mall would've appeared completely normal. Light blouse, skirt, arms laden with full shopping bags. Hair, perhaps, shorn a little shorter than the current fashion, but not to an unbecoming degree.

Said observers, then, would've been surprised to learn three things about the individual; one, that they were actually German. Second, that there was a voice whispering in their ear, compelling them. Third, they were actually a man.

"I don't like this," Erich whispered.

"It's always about you, isn't it?" Nika softly mocked. "You, you, you. Think about someone else for a change. Like all the people there who'd laugh at you if they found out."

Erich's pulse quickened, and he misstepped, nearly falling. Recovering, he whispered, "the six-inch wedges are a bit much."

"I agree. Especially with those nails, which are just a wreck. Better have a seat in the food court."

As it happened, all of the seats in the food court were taken. The German surveyed the scene with mounting dismay.

"I think you can sit over by the fountain. I'm not sure how you planned to get something to eat with your arms full. Maybe some strapping young security guard will help such a pretty lady." Nika made smooching noises.

Erich's steps slowed.

"Relax," Nika hissed. "No one can tell you're not a woman." An instant's pause. "Not yet, anyway."

"Nika -"

"Spoilers, sweetie."

Erich settled himself at the edge of the fountain, and, womanlike, crossed his legs, lest an onlooker cast a glimpse of something they shouldn't. It was even more of a concern in his case.

"Now, I know that you're thirsty. So, why don't you decide where you want to go for a drink?"

Erich had barely begun to cast his gaze about before his mistress made the decision for him.

"No, not Orange Julius. Or Starbucks. Or the other Starbucks." Nika sighed. "Actually, all of these places look terrible. And expensive. How about the fountain?"

What sprang to the shopper's mind, naturally, was the nature of fountains. How they were home to all sorts of bacteria, from the lack of cleaning, the moist atmosphere, all the pennies -

Plus, it probably tasted terrible.

"Look, I wouldn't want to force you to do something you don't want to. It's your choice."

No, it wasn't. That was the entire point of the scenario. With some reluctance, Erich released his bags, scooped up some water, and brought it to his painted lips.

"What are you doing?" Nika asked, her voice puzzled.

"Exactly what you told me to do," Erich hissed.

"No, silly, weren't you paying attention? Drink it with your mouth. Like a dog."

The German looked about frantically. A few people were staring, only to hastily look away rather than face his gaze. Perhaps they thought 'her' mad. And madder still would they think her if she leaned over and -

Wait.

The water level, Erich discovered upon closer examination, was actually rather low. It would be extremely difficult to drink without risk of falling into the fountain.

Barring, of course, the possibility of...

His cheeks burning, the shopper dropped his bags at the edge of the fountain. He put one knee up it, and kept the other straight. So when he gripped the fountains edge and leaned over, his skirt rode up, and -

Oh, they were certainly looking now. Doubtless, scandalized matrons and patriarchs would be covering the eyes of their children.

"Mommy, I can see that lady's butt!"

Not quickly enough, it seemed.

The flush, he thought, seemed to have spread to his chest. And the blood seemed to be rushing to his head; light-headedness aside, his thighs and upper legs felt strange. It was almost as if the stares of the small's patrons were burning him.

And then it began to burn in truth.

Erich jerked upright, the drink he had been just about to have forgotten. His spine burned near the end, and he scrabbled for it, only to find a fast expanding nub of bone -

"Uh, wait a second, that wasn't supposed to happen."

He sat down on the ground, among his bags, with an unmanly squeak.

"Well, whoops, looks like I can't fix it until we're done and you come home."

She wouldn't.

"You'll just have to enjoy yourself."

She would.

"C'mon, honey, lift that tail up! Let your furry freak flag fly!"

How long had she been working on that line?

"That's an order," she added.

Not only had the tail expanded to a significant length, the grey fur had started to roll down his thighs. Which themselves were unusually thick. And thickening as he watched -

"Don't panic, but I seem to have accidentally turned you into a furry."

"A female furry?"

A worrying pause. "Not exactly. Just...finish your drink."

Right. Play it through. He rose, even as his expanding feet - claws - threatened to tear through his ridiculous shoes. Grasped the side of the fountain, his new pads pressing the marble as the tendons warped under his skin. Leant over, while trying to adjust to the shifting, lowering center of balance.

When it actually met his dry mouth, the water was a relief, despite its bitter, brackish taste. His right wedge finally failed him, causing him to lurch forward and dunk his face into the water. He rose, sputtering; only to find the water must've gotten in his eyes. There was something wrong with his vision, and his nose seemed to be larger.

Then he wiped away the water, and discovered that his eyes were perfectly fine. Barring the fact that they seemed to have migrated to the sides of his head. And his nose, of course, was long, and wet, and black at the end.

"Talk about putting lipstick on a dog."

That was forced, Erich tried to say, but it came out a disgruntled wheen?

"Everyone's looking! You'd better get out of here, fast."

The shopper got to his feet, resisting the urge to run on all fours. The cell phones had come out, and then there were the security cameras.

The warmth of shame was all over now, hottest in his face, neck, his -

Erich banished that thought from his mind and began to move.

"Forgot your bags," Nika said chipperly.

He tried to turn so quickly, so violently, on his unsteady feet, that he fell once more. The tail, now fully grown, stood up like a flag, entirely without Reich's will or consent.

"Did you forget your underwear? What a naughty little girl you are!"

One patron was hastily attempting to remove a recently purchased digital camera from its packaging.

"Oh no! Security's coming!"

Erich's feet scrabbled for purchase on the slick linoleum.

"Get up, get up! Who knows what they'll do if they get their hands on a sweet little wolf girl like you!"

Erich _whuff_ed.

"Boy? Look like a girl to me. Oh, don't forget your bags."

The dog barked.

"Well, if you don't, they'll just trace the credit cards you used. Stolen, by the way."

Erich yipped in alarm.

"It's not my fault you're a criminal."

The distant squeak of rent-a-cop shoes heralded the imminent arrival of the security forces.

"Uh-oh. Wait a second."

The shopper managed to get one arm onto the edge of the fountain. He wondered if going through the fountain would throw them off his sce -

"Shave and a haircut."

Erich froze. Then, reluctantly, he tapped out the tune, by way of confirming that he had heard her.

"All right. Let's go home."

The first thing Erich said when he awoke was "You tease!"

Nika sipped innocently from her teacup, and spun from her computer to face her beloved.

"Honey, I'm pretty sure that was the idea."

Her husband raised a dubious eyebrow, and sat up in the Chair.

"Oh, *fine*," she huffed. "I didn't finish. I had set up the rest of the Scenario, but forgot to code in the guards' behavior once they reached you."

Erich gingerly removed the cabling leading into the back of his neck before he responded. "So, what would've been next?"

"Ah, ah, ah," his wife said, waggling her finger forbiddingly. "A magician never reveals her secrets."

Besides, thought she, she might be able to salvage the Scenario later. Perhaps Erich would like to play the security guard watching over the mysterious canine not-girl until the police arrived, and then -

Her plotting was stopped by the rather distracting sight of her husband stretching.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" said he.

The woman's brow furrowed.

Erich grinned. "You didn't finish, so you'll have to be punished."

Nika gasped theatrically. "Oh nooo."

ENDF

"Bad dog, no biscuit" 2014 Eulalie "Nequ" Quentin Creative Commons By-SA-NC