FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

After yesterday and lingering travel lag, Skye and Ruki had slept on and off after their nap, and today arrived quickly: a bright one. The sun's gleaming rays were unrestricted by a cloudless azure sky, shining on those gathered by the poolside, outside their suites for fresh air, and more off the grounds to walk or sit on the beach. Wild pokémon watched from the nearby route like the most curious of skitty.

Young aipom swung from trees and played chase while ambipom gathered nuts and berries.

A determined glameow pursued a couple of beautifly, jumping and swiping at them, and dormant kricketot and tune slumbered in tall grass while awaiting nightfall to play their melodies.

Skye had woken around ten minutes ago with Ruki curled up by her chest, facing the opposing direction. She moved down to hug his body and rest her cheek against his side. She pressed her nose to him to smell the faint sweet scent of his fur while running her hand down to his front paw, holding it and pressing its pads.

She was grateful enough to have Ruki that she could cry sometimes. After so many years, they were still here for each other with no setbacks or tragedies, and it was beautiful raising him and watching him learn and grow. Skye worried about so many things happening to Ruki, even more now that he'd evolved and wanted to go out in Hau'oli alone more often.

Sigh. She felt like a damn parent. This must be how it was, and Skye wouldn't be too strict of a mom if she ever were one, so she wouldn't leash Ruki.

Roughly twenty minutes passed of motionless snuggling before Ruki woke up. He opened his sleepy eyes and lifted his head, unable to see anything but Skye's arm and hand, but he felt her. He wanted to see her, so he shifted his body until turning around, her hand slipping off him.

"Missed you," she said.

Ruki leaned in and nudged her cheek before sitting up, yawning and stretching his limbs, which Skye grinned at and lay on her stomach. She leaned up to bury her face in the large tuft of fur on his chest.

He subtly swished his tails, fuzzying inside after feeling a few kisses.

"I'll be right back." Skye pulled off and slid off the bed, heading to brush her teeth, wash her face, and fix her hair in the restroom.

When she was through and exited, she went to the mattress and fell onto her back beside him, her legs dangling off the edge. She stared at the ceiling. "You know… I said two days. We're going to Floaroma with Aaron and Sylmi in two days." Skye looked at Ruki. "But we leave in three..."

"Be back again." Skye got up, put on a pair of casual skinny jeans, and then slipped into her shoes, keeping on the same shirt. She didn't even want to put on makeup since she was barely going out, but she went and applied very little.

Ruki had little idea what was going on in her head, but he figured she would speak to Aaron again. He watched her exit the suite while fixing her hair more and pulling up her pants.

Ruki didn't trust him yet, but she'd gone to him yesterday and returned fine. Skye could feel people out and handle herself; however, he felt equally responsible for her safety as her pokémon.

He wouldn't even know what he'd do if he caught someone harming her or attempting to. His initial instinct would be to attack, but he wouldn't want to misjudge his strength and risk killing or fatally injuring someone he didn't have to.

She walked across the courtyard and approached his door, sighing in preparation before knocking. She straightened the wrinkles out of her shirt before Aaron opened it, attempting to appear as presentable as possible.

She looked up. "Oh, sorry, did I wake you?" Skye asked upon seeing how tired his eyes were. He wore a gray tee and shorts he must have thrown on to get to the door.

Aaron eyed her before answering and grinned. "You didn't. I woke up some minutes ago. What's up?"

"Well…" Skye began. "Remember when I said we'd go to Floaroma in two days?"

"I do."

"So, I'm kind of leaving a day after that. If it's okay with you, I'm thinking we could reschedule for tomorrow instead?"

"No, that's not an issue at all," Aaron replied.

She grinned, a subtle-sided one. "Okay, is tomorrow morning at ten fine?"

"Yes, definitely. I'll be ready with Sylmi."

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then." Skye returned to her suite and shut the door with a short-lived smile. "Okay, done. We're now going tomorrow at ten in the morning." She closed the door and slipped off her shoes, looking at Ruki. "You want to help me choose an outfit? I only have two more changes I didn't wear yet."

Ruki nodded and stood on the bed.

"Yay, let me get them." She went beside the bed, kneeling and unzipping her backpack. "Oh… damn, Ruki, we still haven't eaten the malasadas. They'll go bad soon if they haven't already. Have an appetite?" She looked up at him.

He nodded. Ruki could go for a malasada. He just realized how much he missed them, even though it hadn't been long since he'd last had one. He waited as she fished inside her bag and pulled out three different packaged malasadas.

"Hm." Skye pressed each of the packaged goods with her thumb. One was firm and inedible, but the other two were still soft enough to eat. She opened one and handed it to Ruki. "It's a sweet one."

He stepped and took it. Sweet was his favorite, although he valued every flavor equally.

"And this one's mine. Don't eat it." Skye placed her wrapped malasada on the bed and tossed the inedible one into the bin across the room, which made a thud upon it hitting the bottom. She then turned around to gather outfits.

Ruki cocked his head. Eating that was something he would have done when he was a vulpix, maybe.

"Here we go." Skye placed her options beside each other on the bed. One was a pink and white flannel shirt with pink jean short shorts to match, and the other was a tight-fitting white crop top and white leggings. She hadn't worn the top before. "I'm just unsure which is more me." She stood and pondered while shooting her eyes between both outfits.

He finished chewing the rest of his snack and swallowed, licking his maw. Ruki sat in front of the laid-out clothing and watched Skye remove her current shirt and jeans, replacing them with the crop top and leggings.

Skye looked herself up and down once it was on and turned to glance at her sides and back. The top hugged her chest and revealed her stomach fully. "Keep this look in mind," she said while taking it off.

Ruki liked it, but it didn't fall in line with her personality. He wouldn't think any further until he'd seen both options, but he had a good feeling about the next one.

Skye slipped into the flannel shirt, buttoned it up, put on the short shorts, and wiggled her hips while pulling them up to ensure they were on right. She studied herself before grinning at Ruki. His expression had perked. "What? I'm… guessing you like this one more?"

He nodded.

"Is it the shirt or the shorts? Like..." Skye looked herself over and turned to see her backside. "Maybe the combination, huh? I'll take a left paw for shorts and right for shirt." She turned back to get his opinion.

"Ninet?" Where was the option for both? The pieces blended perfectly; he had to make sure she switched neither out. Ruki eyed her, then shifted and briefly raised both forepaws high enough in the air for her to see.

Skye snorted as the following giggle came too fast for her to process. "Both? Combination—"

Ruki nodded with enthusiasm, present in his wiggling tails.

"Then I'll wear this tomorrow."

---

The remainder of the day was indolent. Skye had been traveling Sinnoh with Ruki since they got here, and they would be right back out tomorrow, so she'd needed a genuine break.

They had eaten from their meal won at Seven Stars and stayed in bed until early evening when the sun started to set, where Skye rested on her side with Ruki curled up beside her in a light nap. "Ruk'..." she whispered and placed her hand on his upper back. "Ruki."

Her voice brought him out of his doze. He yawned while lifting his head.

"You wanna go watch the sunset?" Skye rubbed his back. "We've been in all day."

"Ni," he replied and sat up to stretch.

"Let's go then. It's setting as we speak." She went and got a pair of pink flip-flops she'd packed in case sand was involved, turned the heater on to prep the room, and then waited until Ruki got down and met her at the door to open it and enter the great outdoors.

Mild breezes whooshed by and would only get stronger as nightfall crept in, making Skye shiver. "Could be colder..." There were only a handful of people and pokémon on the grounds. A couple of them traversed the area together while their owners watched and talked among each other.

Ruki glanced around, intrigued by the bright flame at the end of a charmander's tail, but looked away. He had a sunset to catch with Skye. He followed her as she left the courtyard and passed through the building's lobby.

She pushed open its door to be greeted by a rich scarlet sky dashed with hints of rosy pink above a shimmering sea, redolent of moltres and mago berries. The sun sheeted the ocean's surface with a warm, glistening layer, creating a perfect blend of beauty. Wingull populated the air, filling it with repeated calls that added to the atmosphere, or perched on the edge of the extensive structure over the waters.

"Wow," Skye muttered and walked toward it while glancing back to ensure Ruki was keeping up. "Just a bit farther." She walked half a mile out onto the silky terrain, where a few couples watched it as well, either standing in the sand or sitting on blankets.

She shook off her flip-flops and sat on her knees, staring at the rocking waves under hazy sunlight filtering through tenuous clouds. "Come, baby."

Ruki had initially sat beside her, but he stood and let her guide him in front of her, where she sat him with his back facing her so they could watch together.

Skye moved forward and somewhat straddled his hips with her knees and thighs. She embraced his sides with her arms and leaned her chin atop his head while keeping her eyes on the sky, another salty breeze playing with strands of her hair and swaying them aside. "Beautiful, huh? As long as we pretend the highway isn't there."

His ear twitched against her delicate voice. Ruki gazed at the smooth, glistening waves while they washed up on the shore and took in the wind running over his fur in gusts. He leaned against her chest.

Skye pulled him against her body and kissed his head.

They stayed in that spot until nightfall stole the sky, the people left, and the tides rose. "Wanna go back inside? It's getting chillier." She released him and leaned back, shivering as more intense winds hit them.

"Nine." He stood to face her. Ruki could handle the conditions. It couldn't get that cold here, but he knew Skye was affected easily as a human.

She stood as well while stretching her legs and wiping sand from her knees and shins. She put on her flip-flops and walked across the cool terrain toward the hotel grounds while Ruki trotted with her. "I'm glad we got out. It'd be a crime to stay in here."

When they got back inside the suite, Ruki got onto the bed and sat as usual.

"Noo, Ruki," Skye whined upon catching sight of him after closing the door. "You'll get sand all over the bed. You probably did already." She stepped and ran her hand around the area where he was sitting; sure enough, loose sand particles were on the blanket. "Ugh, off, Ruki."

He obeyed with lowered tails and mareepish eyes. He left the bed and watched her wipe the blanket.

Skye glanced at him after she was done and saw the ashamed look in his eyes. "Sorry… Come here." She sat on the edge of the bed and helped guide his upper half onto her lap. "I shouldn't have made such a fuss about it." She brought her hand to his cheek and caressed it with her thumb, grinning. "Ready for tomorrow?"

He looked at her face and nodded. His expression softened as he calmed.

"I am too. Let's try to get some sleep then, hm?" She kicked her flip-flops off and leaned to kiss his nose. "But shake out your paws and tails, or you're getting another bath."