FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Star, you're off work early today!" Lucy called as the frazzled lynx practically tumbled into her tea shop.

Lucy was the gazelle owner of Star's favourite tea shop, Tea Time. She came in multiple times a week to get her fix of warm, overpriced breakfast tea, a fact the sleep-deprived military cat found especially ironic considering the fact that the clock on the wall displayed that it was 5:30 PM.

She plopped herself down in her regular seat, just around the corner from the door with the shop counter to her left and a wall decorated with pictures of steaming cups of tea and comical 'no coffee allowed on these premises' signs directly in front of her.

"Just the usual again?" Lucy asked from behind the counter.

Star simply nodded, being far too tired to respond.

She leaned back in her seat, staring at the wall in front of her blankly and taking in the comfortable and familiar view of the photos that had hung on the wall for years.

Suddenly, her eyes were drawn to a new feature of the wall, something she'd never seen hanging in the store before through all the years she'd been frequenting the establishment:

A poster.

The paper was pink, like candyfloss at a carnival. Bold, light green writing was printed on it, Star squinted to make out what it said:

'Do you suffer from stress, anxiety, or even just feel a little under the weather? The Psychological Assistance Division of DING Industries is undergoing the trial process for a revolutionary new therapy technique designed to make you feel as good as new! This free, no-commitment-necessary trial is looking for subjects to test our newest innovation on, especially subjects experienced with the stresses of day-to-day military life, such as demanding bosses/commanders.'

Despite her dislike for candy pink, the poster seemed to be speaking right to her, as if the words were a personal letter to her soul itself. It spoke to her.

She was indeed experienced with the stresses of day-to-day military life, and she certainly had her fair share of unpleasant experiences with commanders, especially on that day.

She was broken from her thoughts quickly, not getting much time to ponder the poster's contents before Lucy arrived at her table carrying a saucer with a steaming cup sitting atop it.

"One large, half-milk tea!" The gazelle said, placing the saucer down in front of her.

"My usual isn't normally large?" Star questioned.

"Sweetie, I've known you for long enough to know when you need a large cup of tea, this one's on the house." Lucy answered.

Star sighed, "You didn't have to--"

"But I did, so drink up or I might have to charge you full price!" Star was cut off with a soft boop on the nose.

Star said nothing more, knowing better to argue with Lucy and besides, she definitely needed a large tea that day.

Half way through enjoying her cup, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket, no doubt a text from someone who felt it necessary to interrupt her relaxation to bother her with some trivial issue.

She pulled out her phone, checking the notifications, it was a text from her co-workers!

Unlocking the phone, she opened her text app and read the text.

'hey loser lol jk we're going for drinks 2nite, b at the pub @ 6. btw its you're turn to buy a round'

She rolled her eyes, that was what was so important? She quickly texted back to confirm that she'd be there then put her phone back in her pocket and continued to enjoy her tea.

Once she'd paid, she raced home to shower and make sure she looked at least presentable for her co-workers before hurrying back into town in time for six-o-clock.

Despite all her efforts to enjoy herself, she just couldn't stop thinking about the poster. Its words stuck fresh in her mind despite her efforts to forget about it.

That's why when one of her friends finally noticed the fact that she was spacing out and asked her just what was wrong, her response was "N-No, nothing's wrong, I think I might just go home for tonight, I'm really tired..."

"Come on, did Lebowski really ream you that hard today?" Her friend asked.

"I wish he'd do that to me, if you know what I mean~" Her other co-worker chimed in, prompting giggles from the mostly female or gay male table.

"No, it's not that, I've just got a little on my mind right now!" Star responded, smiling at her friends, "I just gotta go sleep it off!"

"Well, you still haven't had your turn paying for shots, so we'll make good on that another time," Her friend teased, "No getting out of your duty!"

Star chuckled, "Of course not, I'd never do anything to try get out of paying for ten drinks, right?" She asked sarcastically, "Bye everyone!" She said as she picked up her phone and headed for the door while everyone else waved their goodbyes before returning to their discussions.

As soon as she arrived home, she went straight upstairs to her room and dialed the number which ingrained itself in her memory: 0800 PAD DING.

Normally, every single red flag would be going off in her head the second she'd read the poster, she was cautious enough to know that something was off about it.

But she was slightly tipsy, and something about that pretty pink poster was just so innocent, who could write such a cute piece about her, they just wanted to help, right? And whoever wrote it obviously knew exactly what kind of things Star was going through at work, maybe they were even ex-workmates!

"Hello and welcome Psychological Assistance Division of DING Industries, how may I help you?" Came the chipper voice of the receptionist over the phone.

"Hi, I'm ringing about--" Star started to say.

"The clinical trial for our newest therapy process, correct?" The receptionist cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

"U-Uh, yeah!" She replied, surprised that she knew exactly what Star was calling about before she'd even had a chance to tell her.

"Great!" The receptionist said excitedly, "We are ever so glad to have you on board Miss...?"

"Star."

"Miss Star! It's excellent to have you taking interest in our trial, I assume you have some military experience like is requested in your--" The receptionist cut herself off. "Like is requested in the poster!"

Star hesitated, "In my poster?" She asked, "That's what you were gonna say, right?"

"No no no, I simply had a little slip of the mind, it's been a long day, I'm sure you can understand, being from the military and everything!" She replied, adding a soft nervous chuckle at the end of her sentence.

Star never told her that she worked in the military.

That was the last straw, a cold feeling crept up Star's spine, a trained sign of danger. There was definitely something wrong with this 'clinical trial'.

The lynx quickly ran through the best possible to get herself out of the phone call before whatever it was that these 'psychologists' were trying to pull on her.

The receptionist spoke up again, "Miss Star? Are you still there?"

"U-Uh..." She said, "O-On second thought I think I'm not really what you're looking for!"

A soft, warm chuckle came from the other side of the call, "Oh I assure you Miss Star, you are exactly what we're looking for~"

"R-Right well, I don't think I'll sign up so--"

"No worries, the doors will always be open for you should you change your mind at any point in the future! We're at 284 Youthful Lane, stop by anytime!"

"O-Okay, I-I'll keep you in mind!" She said, her thumb hovering over the 'end call' button.

"Good-by--" The other side hadn't even finished speaking before she slammed her thumb down on the button.

She let out a sigh of relief, that 'trial' was definitely no good, and she decided she would have to report that poster to Lucy (the owner of 'Tea Time', her favorite tea shop and the location of the bogus poster) during her break the next day.

Before that, though, her body told her it was time for her to catch some shut-eye with a sudden, deep yawn. She glanced at her bed, the warm covers inviting her to bury herself deep underneath them and rest for the evening despite her computer's clock telling her it was only 9:30.

Surely her clock couldn't be wrong?

She reached for her phone to check the time again but just couldn't rip her eyes away from the thick, oh-so-comforting bedsheets to actually double check that her computer's time was right.

'Weird night...' Star thought as she caved to her body's demand, putting her computer to sleep and flipping the light switch and plunging the room into darkness before jumping onto her bed, pulling the heavy covers up around her and softly drifting into the land of dreams.

At the same time, not too far away at all, a snow leopard 'receptionist' was replacing her landline phone in its place on the desk, her eyes becoming hazy and unfocused as a lynx with green, glowing eyes slowly placed her hands on either side of the receptionist's head.

"My dear Marcella," The lynx said, a hint of malice in her kind voice, "Did you plant Mommy's spell deep in your new sister's head?"

Marcella paused for a moment, staring off into space as her eyes glowed the same color. After just a few moments, her smile twisted into a gleeful grin, the lynx behind her taking away her hands as Marcella looked up at her expectantly.

"Yes, Mommy!" Marcella responded, "I made sure to use my special voice just like you taught us to!"

"Good, now let's get you back to your sweet little self, and is that a messy I smell in that diaper of yours?" The lynx asked, picking up the leopard in her green glow and carrying off.

As she walked away, the lynx used just a little extra magic to send a spell through the landline, smiling knowingly as she felt it travel through beacons and satellites before finally arriving at the household of a certain lynx.

In Star's bedroom, her computer woke from its standby state, its screen filled with a soft green glow that permeated through the room, shining gently through Star's eyelids and swamping her dreams with light.