FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Arriving at a hill that overlooks the growing city of Kolok, a ruby-colored wolf cloaked in black stands at the entrance, half of an exotic wooden mask covering the left side of his face and a pair of white gloves covering his hands. On the right side of his face shows his red Eye, glistening and shimmering like a passionate flame. “It’s nice to see this place changed,” the wolf happily notes, “it’s been 4 years since my master and I left this place.” In his nostalgic gaze, his eyes shift from the grand colosseum and towards a tall castle, where the king of Kolok resides.

“Guess Mike is still there, the castle hasn’t changed at all. Wonder if I can get hired as one of his knights, now that I’m older.” His gaze looks around once again, searching until his eyes reach a mansion he recognizes. “Once he steps down, I’m sure he’ll live a happy life at Burt’s place or the Tower.” He adjusts his mask, making sure it is secured on his face. “I should check the old base again, I miss hanging out there with everyone.” With a hop in his step, he travels towards the mansion, knocking on its doors in hopes of a reunion.

The door opens, revealing a different husky that the ruby wolf expected. The dark blue husky, wearing only a pair of gym shorts, has an intricate tribal tattoo on his back, resembling a sun. “Who are you,” he asks, leaning close, inspecting the wolf’s attire, “you sure look interesting.”

“I-I’m Aries,” the wolf answers with a bit of bewilderment, “I'm sorry to intrude, but where’s Burt Murdoch? I’m a friend of his some years ago and I thought I should visit him since I’m in the area.” The husky narrows his red eyes as he scans the wolf’s body.

“Kolok’s Champion, are you sure you know him? You look quite young to be one of his friends,” the husky replies, followed by the wolf nodding his head, “well you don’t seem to be lying, so it should be fine. Burt doesn’t live here anymore, he moved out two years ago to live with his husband.”

“I-Is that so,” the ruby wolf dejectedly lets out, his body slumping over, “I really had missed a lot since my departure.” Without realizing it, his mask had fallen off as he tilted his head down. The husky bends down, picking it up as he faces the wolf’s actual face. His body jolts back a bit from the wolf’s face when he tries to hand back the mask.

The left half of the red wolf’s face was deeply scarred with multiple burnt marks, revealing a thin layer of fur mixed with his pink flesh. His left, purple eye shimmers in the light as the wolf quickly snatches back the mask and puts it back on. He tightens it tightly with a bit of magic before he raises his head up, recomposing himself from the surprise. “That’s a pretty bad scar,” the husky notes, “fire victim?”

“A pretty bad one,” Aries calmly answers as he looks away from the husky, “I was caught in a forest fire when I was a teen. Nearly burned all my fur off and my life if I hadn’t plunged myself into a lake.” He casually adjusts his mask before facing the canine again with a smile, continuing, “most of my fur is growing now, but my face hasn’t fully recovered, so the mask is there to cover it. Sorry for the uncomfortable sight, my mask is not really secure since it’s just half a mask.”

“That’s fine, I’ve seen some gnarly wounds before,” the husky casually replies, “but you’re looking for Burt, right? You should head to the marketplace near the colosseum, I believe he should be patrolling there around this time.” The wolf happily thanks the fellow canine, turning away and leaving him almost immediately. “Hey,” the canine shouts, “the name’s Bullet by the way, I own a bar called the Fated Bounty! Come visit one day!” The ruby wolf smiles back, noting it down as he walks away, waving his farewell to his new acquaintance.

Weaving through the familiar alleys of developed buildings of new and old, he makes his way to the crowded market plaza. Though it was different from what he was used to, with the different stalls that contained a variety of both new and old technology being sold, his gaze was easily distracted by the differences between the clashing styles of those wearing the least amount of clothes and those that are bundled up. “Guess the people here changed too,” the burnt wolf thinks to himself as his eyes cautiously wanders, “at least I don’t have to worry about standing out.” He soon spots the man he was looking for as he makes his way through many bodies, a big stout husky with dark green Eyes, shirtless as ever as he wears torn shorts and an arm guard for his entire right arm.

“Hey Burt,” the red wolf yells as he runs towards the husky, “it’s been a while.” He gives his friend a hug, taking in a familiar, comforting scent from the husky’s fur.

“A-Aries,” the husky asks as his nose twitches from the wolf’s familiar smokey scent. A smile begins to form on the old husky as the wolf shakes his head up and down. “You’ve grown,” Burt happily shouts as he hugs him back, “you look so different now!”

“Well my fur has grown a lot since we saw each other. Though that’s not the only thing that changed.” Their eyes meet as Aries beams, showing his singular red Eye towards the husky’s blue pair.

“Y-Your Eyes,” Burt happily barks, “they’ve changed too. What are they now?”

“Actually, only one of them changed and ironically, it’s the Flamewalker’s,” Aries admits with a less happy smile, “makes me immune and proficient with fire.” Burt's smile lessened before the wolf continued again. “It’s ironic, better than what I had before. So, how are you and the gang doing Burt? I found out recently you moved out of the mansion, so I definitely missed a lot.”

“Ah yeah, well actually, nothing too exciting has happened since you left. Some of our friends are still living in the town and Mike is doing some work before he steps down as he plans to. For me. I haven't been dethroned of my title yet.” He turned his gaze at a tall structure located east of the town. “The Tower though, I’ve heard they’ve been dealing with a lot of events the past years. So if you want, you can join them too if you want some action. The offer still stands after all, for you and your mentor.”

“Nah, that old man prefers to live the rest of his life peacefully,” Aries answers with a mix of understanding and disappointment, “you already know my stance though. I’m not joining until I’m 18.”

“Aren’t you 21 now,” Burt questions, soon doing some calculations in his head.

“Yep,” Aries energetically replied, “but I’ll join when I feel like it.”

“Oh? I thought you’d want to go there straightaway.”

“I used to, but I’ve been gone for 4 years, training and learning about this world, all while I’m away from here. I was restricted with what I could do here because I wasn’t old enough. So I might as well try everything I couldn’t do before, like fight in the colosseum! After I try those things, then I’ll join the Tower.” The ruby wolf looks around his surroundings, watching people in different layers of armor strolling by. “Speaking of, are the arena’s rules I remember still available, right?”

“They are, but those fights have been shifted to happen at night, so we can have the regular fights be scheduled. The colosseum has been quite a popular tourist attraction, so the regular fights are scheduled during the day.”

“Thanks for the heads up, so any advice for an up and coming newbie like me? Especially when I plan on doing those night fights?”

“Other than being prepared to be stripped naked in front of a crowd and interviewers, I’d say you’ll rise the ranks if you find out what makes you charming. Those fights are a mix of combat and wooing the crowd, so find something that’ll appeal to them whether it’s wearing less or adapting to the mood of the field. If you lose in a fight, you’ll at least earn some fans, opening up some more fights to register for."

“Alright, that’s a bit difficult with how my furs have been regrowing though. I highly doubt people would find my uneven fur attractive.”

The husky patted the wolf’s head affectionately while comforting him. “Hey, people are into anything these days. You’ve grown to be an attractive strong man as well, I’m sure people will swoon for you because of your strength.”

“Thanks Burt, I’ll figure something out,” the wolf replied, brushing the husky’s hand away. “By the way, do they still offer the Dragon’s Breath before a fight? I recall it not being a requirement sometime after Mike’s inauguration.”

“They do and recently you can ask for it with the aphrodisiac berries in it, if you want the original taste. Still the drink has been making the lobbies feel more lively before the matches begin. Though as I was your guardian for a while, I’d still advise you not to drink too much and be cautious of the drunks.”

“I won’t,” the wolf assuredly replied, “I didn’t like it when I tried it when I was young, I highly doubt I’ll like it now either.”

“Still, don’t drink too much before a match, it can impair your thinking in the fight. The last thing I want is an accident to happen and you or your opponent getting hurt.”

“Yeah; yeah; I get it mom. If you’re so worried about me, why don’t you come watch my matches? Or better yet, let’s spar, you don’t need to hold back on me anymore. I’m all grown up after all, I can take a lot more hits than before!”

“I’d love that, but not today,” Burt answered, his ears drooping, “I’m still on patrol, but I’m free later on this week. I know a good spot where we can fight without any disturbances.” The wolf nodded his head vigorously, causing Burt to form a smile. Soon a thought came to the husky’s mind as he concerningly asked, “so where are you going to stay? Are you renting a room?” The wolf froze from the question as beads of sweat trickled down from his head.

“W-Well I was hoping to stay at your mansion, but it’s owned by someone else now. I heard you live in the castle, so would it be ok if I room with you and Mike, until I become an official member of the Tower.”

The husky immediately smiled at the wolf’s offer, an answer that made itself known. “Of course! There’s still plenty of room and I’m sure Mike will be ecstatic to see you again! I’ll escort you to the castle when I’m off duty, just so the guards won’t be on high alert when a masked, cloaked man is seen walking around.”

The ruby wolf chuckled as he hovered onto the husky’s side. “I do look pretty suspicious don’t I,” he added with a smile, “in the meantime, mind if you give me a little tour then while you’re working? We could walk around town and you can tell me what has changed since I left.” With a nod, the two happily roamed the town, the older canine pointing out the important shops and facilities that his young friend would need. When the sun was setting they headed to the castle walls, soon greeted with a white cat with yellow eyes jumping out the window, hiding his identity with a purple cloak around him. He was too busy adjusting his cloak to notice the two men behind him.

“Sneaking out again, my king,” the husky called out, surprising the feline before calmly recognizing the voice. “Took a while this time, there must've been a lot of paperwork for you today.” He happily turns towards the husky, only to be surprised with the figure standing next to him.

“Hey Mike, it’s been a while,” Aries quietly greeted, taking off his mask to reveal his smiling scarred face, “I’m back.” In a flash, the cat hugged the wolf tightly with a warm smile.

“You’ve grown so much! Look at you,” Mike praised as he patted the taller wolf’s head and lovingly pinched his cheek, “you look so handsome and mature! How have you been Aries? What brings you here?”

“G-Good, I was hoping I could stay in the castle with you and Burt, long enough until I feel ready to join the Tower.” Mike curiously looked over to Burt, who gave him an affirming smile, then looked back at the wolf.

“Of course you can,” the feline exclaimed, “you’re free to live with Burt and I whenever.” The cat’s face soon sours as he realizes how impromptu the reunion was. “Though I don’t have a clean guest room set up currently. I’d ask for help, but I’d ruin my cover if I head back in now.” His husky lover soon comes to his aid, going over to tenderly pet his head.

“I can take care of it, my dear,” Burt warmly volunteers. “Go out and have some fun, I’ll take care of the boring stuff from here.” He looks over to Aries, the wolf staring at the cat with fond memories. “Go with him too, you should check out the town at night. It's a lot different than how it is in the day.” The wolf was a bit hesitant from the offer, looking at the castle gates. “I’ll make sure I’ll be guarding the entrance when you two come back. I’m quite used to Mike’s explorations, all I ask is that you two be safe.”

“We will,” Mike happily replies, grabbing the wolf’s arm, “we’ll see you later Burt.” Aries and Burt gave each other a farewell wave before the cat started dragging him away into the night lights. “So how much do you know about the nightlife here, Aries,” he asks while the two stroll through the lit streets, his hood hiding his face.

“Not much,” the wolf answers honestly, “I haven’t been caught up with the news here, but I do know there’s a bar called the Fated Bounty.” The cat lets out a little chuckle, already knowing who could tell him that.

“I see you had met Bullet then. Well, since you’re 21, last I checked, you should be able to drink.” He slyly turns his head to the wolf, asking with a playful smile, “you had your first drink yet?”

“Nope!”

“Then I know exactly where we’re going tonight!” The wolf follows up with a happy cheer as the two make their way to the establishment. One known by every friend of the king, a bar and strip club visited by many for the people that work there, a place called the Fated Bounty. As the two entered the bar, they were met with Bullet, adorned in only a black speedo and a tuxedo vest.