FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A few days passed, my parents were coping in their own ways and notifying our extended family. Guess this'll be a good time to see how my relatives are doing, they never really visit often at all when compared to other species, but with our long lifespans even a visit once every five years is considered often.

I decided to window watch since there wasn't really much to do, recalling the neighbors who lived here as I crossed my legs in the air, there was a few I remember.

The one in the house in front across the asphalt road homed a Hyena who would always bully me, though I always thought he was just joking around at the time since he always wore colorful clothing that clashed, I never exactly took him seriously.

The house next to ours on the right that hasn't had anyone move into it since I was fifteen, I used to be friends with a half-panda half-polar bear who originated from the middle kingdom, I taught him a good amount of english... it was mostly slang though since I've always enjoyed exploring the internet.

I tried to think of any other childhood friends I had in the neighborhood, but just as I did I heard a familiar shifting of rubbing and rolling across the asphalt and concrete. The first car pulled up, a red standard SUV, the neighborhood is probably gonna be full of vehicles soon... dragons are known for having pretty big family gatherings afterall.

A dragon larger than even me emerged from the car, the seat was pushed far back, guess he didn't get a brand dragons usually get. He was pretty lanky and had a slim build, on him was a hawaiian shirt, rose tinted glasses and a watch on his wrist, followed by rings on his pointer fingers and a single ring on his right ring finger.

He stood up spreading his limbs out while letting out a loud groan, he moved on to some light stretches while what I assume to be his wife got out from the passenger seat. She was shorter than my mom, I think she's a kobold rather than a dragon, but I've definitely seen her before.

The guy had shimmering red scales, he had a more triangle shaped jawline compared to me and my dads more square jawline, and his hair was black.

His wife had purple scales, but the scales looked softer rather than sharp. Her hair was pink, probably dyed since I remember it also being black, her snout was a little shorter than ours. She wore a black dress with a black jacket over it and had some silver jewelry on her, a necklace and two bracelets adorned her.

Their kids went out of the SUV, most looked older than me, while some others looked to be barely teenagers, and one of them was a cousin I was real close to.

Now that I think about it, that big dragon looks familiar, I recognized that spoon shaped birthmark under his left cheek anywhere.

"Dane! Glad to see ya here!"

My dad went out to greet him with a smirk, speedwalking to his embrace. I remembered, he's my uncle, the youngest brother of my father. He lost a lot of weight, last time I saw him he looked to be around six-hundred kilos.

"It has been awhile Graph... I wish we could've visited sooner, I give my condolences, I'm gonna miss him." Uncle Dane looked to the sky with a sad look on his face, letting out a sigh.

My dad moved away from the hug and turned sideways toward him as he looked down, he closed his eyes as he took a few deep breathes.

"Thank ya, it's been... I haven't been doin' great at all Dane, so sudden, so unexpected. They told me he had safety measures in place an' everything, I- I was gonna call him that day an'-"

Uncle Dane put his hand on my dad's left shoulder, closing his eyes for a short moment. He then grabs my dads other shoulder and turns him until he's facing him again.

"Graph, it's not your fault, it was a horrible accident... one that shouldn't have happened. Don't beat yourself up over it, this world lost someone, someone great. We're here for you guys, we'll be here as long as you need us to be."

My uncle comforted my dad, I descended a bit lower just to lessen the feeling of being a spectator watching from above, being more down to earth with them instead. I made my way over to where my mother was, she was speaking with my aunt, the kobold. Aunt Julia if I recall her name correctly, my mother sat in the garden seating, while aunt Julia stood giving my mother a shoulder massage as my mother sobbed.

"Is this helping Fraya, are you feeling a bit better? I'm sorry I can't do much for you, I wish we could've visited more often."

My Aunt looked like she was on the verge of tears herself, last time they visited she taught me a few methods of breathing, it helped a lot whenever I was stressed... even now it's her techniques I try to imagine myself doing as a reaper.

"Don't be sorry... I'm happy you're here Julia, I've felt so horrible this past week."

My mother wiped her tears with a tissue as she looked at the garden, her emerald eyes and blue scales shimmering, he silver wavy hair frizzy. I inherited a lot of my looks from her, but my color is no longer there, and the face I had was stripped from me.

I floated towards the chair next of her, observing the garden as some of my cousins paced around, I decided to drift to my cousins sitting at the bench centered on the right side. on the far left of the bench was Kayle, I think she turned eighty-three this year, she was on her phone reading a novel of sorts.

She got Uncle Danes red scales and also had long and spikey black hair, her build was also quite lanky like her father's, she wore black basketball pants and a gray textured tanktop.

Right next to her was their youngest sister, Ylivia. I forgot her age but I think she's around seven, she was asleep with her head facing right up against the bench.

She looked more like her mother but also had red scales, sporting jean shorts and a graphic black tee with the slogan "Candy Lover" with a big white heart in the background behind the text, strange that it was monochrome though.

Completing the seat sandwich was Jack on the other end of the bench, one of the older brothers of the three at a hundred and seventy-seven years old. He also looks like his mother with his face and scales, but has a somewhat athletic build. He wore beige cargo pants, a white dress shirt, and a forest green jacket.

I guess they still live with their parents, it isn't considered strange if you're in your two or even three-hundreds, at least in dragon households, I myself just had a lot of aspirations and moved out a lot earlier than most dragons. Jack was pen spinning, guess he picked up something new, he always had an obsession with learning anything.

I never really got close to any of the three, their oldest was who I was really close to though, I floated back in the house as I assumed he was inside. I looked through all the rooms where he could be other than the bathrooms, I couldn't find him.

'Where is he, did he go somewhere else while I was looking for him?' I decided to look around again, but he wasn't anywhere. I went to my room since that's the only other place I haven't checked, I made my way to the dusty and barely touched upstairs area.

I saw a shadow under the door, I looked back up as I phased into my room, there he was... Donovan. He's two-hundred and sixty-one years old, while the his other siblings were vibrant, his scales and hair were more monochrome. He's like an older brother to me, we had a similar vibe to each other and he's really kind, one of my role models if I really had something to say about him.

He was around my height, his scales were jet-black and his hair was platinum white. He wore monochrome jogging pants and a hoodie, Donovan was never one to wear anything colorful, he always enjoyed the contrast of monochrome clothing.

"You really valued me Zane... you put me on the top shelf just like you did with your parents, fly high man."

He was holding a frame with his image I took of him residing in it, tears were flowing down his face like a river, he was always strong for me. Even if we couldn't hang much, the times we did were unforgettable, he got into an accident because of me during the last time I saw him and he told me it he was alright as I bawled my eyes out.

I still remember him being carried on a stretcher as he was bleeding profusely, he ruffled my hair as I rushed to see him before they took him into the ambulance, I still remember his words...

"I'll be back Zane, stay strong."

I was seventeen at the time, that was the very last time I saw him while I was still alive, he's recovered well. He looks stronger too, while my dad got me into hypertrophy training, Donovan inspired me to continue. He smiled as and wiped his tears and wiped the dust off of the top shelf, he put his image back and put his hand in the two way pocket of his hoodie.

My emotions stirred up as he took out a picture frame, a frame with me in it, he put it on the top shelf next to him and my parents. And just when I thought he was done he grabbed something else out of his pocket. It was an image of an animator, my all time favorite animator with his official signature signed on it.

With my left hand clenched I put it on my chest where my heart would be, I was overcome with gratitude knowing that I was given the best farewell gift ever, I hope he knows I'm here watching him.

He stared up at the top shelf, frowning as he wiped his last tears and made his way.

"Thanks Donovan..."

Even if he couldn't hear me, even if he didn't know I was there, I was happy. Happy that I had at least three close people in my life, but the bitter was still there with the sweet.