FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Brooke pressed download on ‘Wizzitailz’ during her break the following day, which was the highest-rated pokésitter app on the market. She sat in the break room with a wrap and a can of Violet. She picked up her sandwich and took a bite while the application installed. “Malie could never,” she said with a full mouth.

She had weighed the pros and potential cons from the moment she’d gotten home last night until falling asleep and during the drive to work. The more it had sat in her head, the more she wanted to throw herself at it.

After it installed, Brooke found the app in her list among the others and tapped the white and purple logo made up of various pokémon tails spelling out ‘WT’.

Her screen turned a blank white while loading everything, then hit her with a registration screen over active slides of images of happy people and pokémon together.

She started the process with an anticipant grin and took a bite out of her wrap with her eyes never leaving the screen.

After inputting her name, some personal info, setting her location, and lastly verifying her account through a sent confirmation email, she was taken to a blank profile she was able to customize. It prompted her to set a profile picture, a bio, and upload a resume.

“Later. Wanna scroll first.” Brooke glanced at the time on her notification bar. “Fifteen minutes.” She backed out from her profile, taking her to the app’s white and purple homepage.

On it were sitting gig previews she could scroll through and apply to after tapping them. Said previews stated the hosts account, pokémon one would be sitting alongside the pay.

At the top right of the screen were three lines she could tap to bring up her message inbox, in-app call box, settings, preferences, her profile, and more.

Brooke'a breaths tightened slightly while scrolling over the available options. There was even an outlined heart beside every preview she could press to bookmark if it caught her eye.

She passed a gig requesting a sitter for a bulbasaur, another for two weavile, others for magnemite, tepig, and hundreds more around Hau’oli. The pay was decent too, ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 pokédollars an hour based on experience and requirements.

She spent the next fifteen minutes exploring with big eyes; not once did they even consider inching away from her screen—until they did to glance at the time. Before she knew it, she had gone a whole five minutes over her break.

“Pff, fuck mee!” Brooke locked and stuffed her phone into her pocket with a grimace, scrambling up from her seat. “Barely touched my wrap.” She snatched it and her soda, tossing it in the bin on her way out and pacing across the semi-busy restaurant floor to the kiosk at the front counter, where she clocked back in.

“Missed you, babe,” Malia said while passing by with a tray of used dishes. “Got a table waiting just for you out there.”

Brooke looked up from the screen, then around at dining patrons filling the air with bright vibes and endless commotion until her eyes fell on a teen couple—potentially tourists, looking over the menu with a snivy hugged around the boy’s neck and shoulder, doing the same.

She walked over with a grin on her face and stopped before the table. She widened her grin to a soft smile as all three customers looked up at her. “Alohaa, how is everyone?” She shifted her weight onto her other leg.

“Sweet, honestly,” the girl said in an Accordian accent, sharing Brooke’s smile. “It’s our third day in Hau’oli.”

“Awesome, where you coming in from, and how’re you guys liking it?” Brooke asked.

“Johto. We spent the first day at the strip but ended up driving our rental into the deep city,” she said.

The guy nodded. “It’s more chill down here, so we’re seeing what’s up.”

“Sni!” the snivy perched on his shoulder chimed in with a slip of its forked tongue, which grew Brooke’s smile.

“You three chose a great restaurant, then,” Brooke said and pulled her pen and notepad, clicking the bottom of her pen. “Can I get the table started with drinks, orr are you guys ready to order?”

The couple exchanged looks before the guy shrugged and scanned the menu before his eyes stopped. “We’ll order. I was looking at the wraps and pizzas…” He looked up at Brooke. “Anything you’d recommend?”

“For wraps, our cheese, pecha, and minced furret wrap is the most popular. As for pizza, it’d be the four-cheese with pinap slather,” Brooke said. “Also has another crispy layer of cheese layering the existing cheese for good measure.”

“Hard to choose…” The guy smirked and gave a nod. “Let's get both.”

The snivy yipped in delight.

The girl widened her eyes and shot them at him. “We’re not gonna be able to finish all of that!”

He waved it off. “Then we take it home. Plus, Jewel can stuff her face more than we give her credit for.” He popped the shoulder up that the snivy was propped on.

“Vy.” Jewel squinted while forming an affirming, daring grin, raising her tail.

“Alrightt.” Brooke wrote the order over the solid lines. “And for drinks?”

“You guys have Violet, right?” the girl asked.

Brooke sucked in her lip. “We’ve got Glin.”

“Close enough,” she replied.

“I’ll take the same,” the guy said, then looked at Jewel. “And a water, please. No ice.”

Brooke had been jotting down their words. “All set. Anything else for now?” She flicked her eyes between them both.

“That’ll be all. Thank you.” The girl grinned. “You’ve been a great help.”

“Of course, and welcome to Hau’oli. I’ll have the drinks out as soon as possible.” Brooke turned and headed toward the kitchen to get the order in, stopping to let a customer slip past who headed to the restrooms.

She’d been able to tuck it aside in front of her table, but her mind coursed with Wizzitailz. Work would be difficult to focus on from here on out.

---

Brooke lay on the couch that evening, sprawled across it on her tummy after getting home while lazily kicking her foot up behind her. She was propped up on her forearms, holding her phone, with Luma lying under her chest.

Parker had just gotten out of the shower while preparing for work, Pyro was on his back in his bed with his hind legs spread, deep within a nap, and Vix was probably in the bedroom.

Brooke didn’t keep up with his whereabouts.

She was on none other than Wizzitailz, which she’d mentally drooled over during every minute of her shift. She had made decent tips, though, especially from that snivy couple.

Brooke had spent the last hour styling her profile, which had consisted of a detailed biography stating her experience, capabilities, and whatnot. She’d set her profile picture to an image Parker had taken of her holding Luma while standing on Hau’oli beach’s shore with the waves overlapping in the background.

She scrolled her now completed profile to gloss over and proofread, ensuring she wasn’t missing any important facts about herself, then returned to the home page. “Do I apply for something? I’m nervouss…” She slowly passed gigs and summaries.

Brooke looked down after feeling Luma cuddle closer against her arm and tummy.

“Vul.” Luma met Brooke’s eyes with big icy ones holding curious concern.

Brooke grinned and leaned over to kiss Luma’s head. “I’m good, Lulu. Just applying for other jobs.”

Luma cocked her head as if requesting elaboration.

“Pokésitting…” Brooke shot her eyes around while thinking of a way to explain. “Basically, I’ll be watching pokémon like you while their owners are away. Make sense?” She nudged Luma’s tush with her elbow.

Luma nodded with a grin and waggy tails that brushed against Brooke’s shirt.

Brooke giggled and dropped her phone to squeeze Luma between her arms and rest her chin atop her head.

Just then, Parker walked into the living room in a dull work outfit, a grin forming on his face at the sight of Brooke hugging Luma. He now worked at a clothing store down at the Shopping District, usually working morning shifts except for a select few days.

Parker glanced at Brooke’s phone in front of them. “You’ve been on that thing since the moment you got here.”

She let go of Luma and blinked up at him. “Oh, yeah, I’ll tell you why.” Brooke pushed herself up and sat. “If you have time.”

He pulled out his phone and glanced at it. “I’ll make it. What is it?”

She shrugged. “Nothing huge, but I found a platform for pokésitting and wanna start it on the side.”

“Didn’t you, uh, used to do that growing up?”

Meanwhile, Luma had gotten up to sit by Brooke again, watching the conversation.

Vix had emerged somewhat. He stood out of sight by the bedroom door.

Brooke nodded. “I helped with a local daycare growing up. It’s a passion, if I’m honest—working with pokémon, so I’ll love this.”

“Then go after it. Whatever makes you smile more.”

Brooke stood with a smile and went to hug him. “You being so supportive does.” She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him harder than Luma. "You're the bestt."

“Of course. Go watch those pokémon.” Parker kissed her head while rubbing her back.

She blew air through her nose. “Don’t make it sound as boring as working at a clothes place.”

“Ouch.” He chuckled and broke their hug. “I’ll see you tonight. Love you.”

“I love you too.”

After Parker was out the door, Brooke sat back on the couch with Luma, instantly back on Wizzitailz. With Parker’s push, she was struck with the strongest urge to apply to one of these gigs.

Brooke scrolled and scrolled, passing opportunity after opportunity: jumpluff, manectric, two herdier, a haxorus—interesting, but not as her first job.

She placed her chin on her fist and kept exploring until coming across a particularly high-paying gig. The catch? Brooke would have to look over three eeveelutions plus two eevee. She tapped and opened it, expanding the description. The profile's name was 'Kent S', and its profile pic was a young man in a suit and slicked,back hair:

‘Looking for a sitter highly experienced with pokémon to watch and care for my lutions and their litter this coming Saturday. If you’re a good fit, I might bring you back! Must know how to:

• Control feeding portions according to type.

• Command adequate exercise routines according to build and type.

• Enact proper and thorough grooming routines.

• Capable of entertaining and handling various personality types.

And more. Apply for more details. Please and thank you!’

“Well…” Brooke sucked in her lip. “I got the last one down.” She was more of an amateur than she’d thought, which dealt a blow to her confidence. There were likely high-rated and qualified sitters on here who had taken official courses for this.

But maybe she didn’t need deep training. She could just land some hours and build experience like Tay had. “Okay, let’s apply to like… a few.” Starting with the eeveelution gig, even though Brooke doubted she’d secure that as her first one at her level.

So, she applied to it, along with a few more to increase the chance of something sticking.

---

An hour later, she was finally off of her phone.

Pyro was still lost in his nap.

Brooke grabbed a bag of vanilla-covered mini oran berries from the kitchen and slumped back against the couch beside Luma, turning on the TV.

Brooke lazily turned her head to look at Luma with the remote in hand, turning on the TV. “What’re we watching, Lulu?”

Luma eyed the screen as it flickered on to an average reality show.

“Definitely not this shit,” Brooke mumbled and pressed a few numbers on the remote to jump to another channel while digging into the oran bag leaning against her thigh. She popped a couple into her mouth and grabbed some more that she held before Luma, who sniffed at the berries before taking them.

Brooke grinned while listening to Luma’s soft crunches, but it faltered after she spotted Vix enter the living room. Brooke even heard Luma stop chewing.

He stopped by the couch and stared directly at Brooke while standing slightly off his hind paws with that creepy hunch. Even under the living room lighting, his twisted red eyes glowed and glowered.

Brooke didn’t grant him a second. She kept her eyes on the screen, but her mind was anywhere but, and she knew that Vix knew.

He had to have overheard her and Parker discussing pokésitting. That had to be it, but what could Vix be thinking?

Eventually, he sunk back into the bedroom. Out of sight.

Brooke scoffed internally. What was his little appearance supposed to mean? Nothing about that conversation meant she’d let Vix back in. To this day, she wished he was gone. His presence only carried her guilt and shame, and he directly carried a sense of tension Brooke could never shake. She always had to keep her guard up.

Besides, she wasn’t using pokésitting for anything but sitting. “Fucking prick…” she slurred under her breath and squeezed the remote, then took a breath to calm herself. She glanced at Luma, who had resumed chewing and stared at Brooke with wanting eyes.

Brooke broke a grin and reached into the berry bag, grabbing another two.