FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It was as if shadows dark as night were surrounding Oliver. He was wandering through a land of emptiness and only heard the dragon's voice in his mind. The words were unclear, and it was probably his imagination, although the voice felt very real. He was feeling cold and could see the vapors of his breathing in the air. This was a dream he had never seen before and it was not a pleasant one. He wanted to wake up, but somehow, he couldn't. He sat down on the plain ground and sighed.

Then, quite suddenly, he saw a strange light in the distance. He stood up and ran towards it. In normal dreams one would never actually catch these kinds of lights, but this time Oliver found the source. It was a sphere roughly the size of a volleyball, floating in the air, glowing with a rainbow of colors. A barely audible humming sound echoed from inside of it.

He studied the sphere a bit closer. It looked like an acorn, or a bud, or a tumbleweed, and yet it was nothing like those things. As he tried to touch it, it moved away, but returned to the original spot a moment later. There were these delicate membranes or currents running through it in the air, like strings. Tiny shining pulses travelled their way back and forth through the currents and each time a pulse hit the sphere, it became just a little bit brighter for a second. Then Oliver asked audibly: "What are you?", to which the sphere reacted by brightening up to the point where he had to cover his eyes. Then it returned to the original state.

He reached out his hand and attempted to touch it, but it moved away. It avoided his touch and when Oliver pulled his hand back, it returned to the original spot, unaltered. It was no use. The sphere was a mystery and he had no more ideas to solve it. He just sat down and stared at it. He was feeling surprisingly calm, as if all the events from last night were now merely a bad dream.

* * *

Oliver opened his eyes and, in his mind, confirmed that he had been dreaming this whole time. Well, to be honest it wasn't a big surprise for him, as it had been pretty weird and unreal. He stretched his arms and yawned. He was still in the strange bedroom which belonged to this dragon, Finn. Despite having slept well, it was early morning and the sky was still colored with purple and orange tones.

He tried to stand up, and this time the leg didn't hurt nearly as much as last time. It was still very uncomfortable, but totally manageable. He noticed that his clothes were neatly folded on a table next to the bed, clean and fresh. It was probably the household AI that had done the washing. He put them on as quietly as he could and carefully stepped out of the room.

The hallway was moody and long. To his left the hallway ended and there was a large door, probably the front door. To his right the hallway continued to an open room, which was filled with natural light. In the hallway there were tall mirrors and fuzzy carpets, as well as more of these modern paintings, accompanied with sculptures and other furniture.

Oliver was curious what was in the room to his right. He tippy-toed onwards and arrived in a huge open space. The room was two stores high with massive glass walls and ceiling, through which the morning sky was visible like a piece of art. There were huge comfortable modern couches and recliners, small side tables, potted plants and modern pieces of art. A large black grand piano was placed majestically right in the middle, and a huge classic chandelier was glistening above it. The sight took Oliver by surprise and he had a hard time processing all this visual beauty.

As he was mesmerizing the sight, he heard a familiar voice: "I see you have waken up, kid. And it seems like the leg doesn't hurt any more, does it?" Finn had entered the room from another door with a mug of steaming hot tea. He was wearing loose sweatpants and a tank top, revealing his pretty muscular upper body.

Now Oliver got a better look at the dark dragon. He was standing over 7 feet tall and had a very toned body. He had long purple hair with a few cyan strands. His two pairs of horns were smooth and majestic. The tail was very long and yet he seemed to control it perfectly. He also noticed how Finn had these strange markings all over his body, not just on his face. He seemed really mystic in every way, but his eyes were the one thing that really got his attention. They were cyan-colored and hypnotizingly beautiful. For a moment he felt he had fallen into a trance or something. He shook his head and realized that he did not see wings.

"Do you have wings? I though all dragons had them."

Finn laughed and smiled. "Of course, I do! Give me a sec." He put the tea mug on a small table and adjusted his tank top. Then with cyan and hexagon-shaped sparkles a huge pair of powerful webbed wings appeared out of nowhere. He spread them wide open, turned around and flapped them gently a couple of times to give a good demonstration. Their membranes were transparent and pearlescent, purple tinted with a dark outer edge. Oliver thought they were beautiful but didn't dare to say a word. Then, just as quickly as they had appeared, they vanished with sparkles.

"They are usually just a pain in the ass, really. Always in the way, so I keep them magically hidden." Finn grabbed the mug, walked past Oliver and sat down on a couch. "Are you hungry?"

Oliver nodded. Finn snapped his fingers and a blue-tinted VR interface in the shape of a gentleman badger wearing a butler's outfit appeared in front of him. "Biggins, make some waffles for our guest, and don't spare on the syrup!"

The interface vanished, and almost immediately Oliver heard a sizzling noise coming from the room Finn just came from. A moment later a plate with a high stack of steaming waffles flew through the air and landed carefully on his lap. He took a good sniff and it smelled heavenly delicious! He devoured the entire portion with a couple of chomps. It tasted better than anything he had ever tasted, or maybe it felt like it because he had been starving.

After he had finished, Finn let go of his mug, which flew through the air back to the kitchen. He turned his head and stared at the cityscape. "You were lucky, you know. Most people who get hunted by the agents won't survive. They hunt people for various reasons. One could say they are the secret police of CTI."

Finn noticed how Oliver seemed like he had no idea what he was talking about. "Have you ever heard of CTI?"

Oliver shook his head. Finn continued: "Crimson Technologies and Intelligence, or CTI for short, is a megacorporation that specializes in hunting down undesired people. Usually they have something to do with magic. They use red magic themselves, but at the same time they hunt us, the 'regular' magic wielders."

"What is 'the gift'? The two baddies claimed I was bearing one." Oliver asked.

Finn sighed and leaned a bit forward towards Oliver. "Those agents had somehow discovered that you posses 'the gift'. It is a strange entity which connects you with magic ley lines. One could say it's 'alive', although not in the same way as you and I. It can sense your thoughts and emotions and vice versa. They say one in two hundred thousand posses it, and only about 25 % of those are aware that they do."

"Does this mean I can do magic?"

"Technically, yes. I'm no expert in these things, but they say you must 'unfold the gift' in order to fully connect yourself with the ley lines. They in turn provide you with the means to perform magic."

"How do I do that?"

"It varies. It is always a personal experience. Nobody knows exactly how you should do it. Usually it involves strong emotions. It's an inseparable part of you, and if you practice hard and sense its needs, you will become unstoppable."

Oliver got curious. "How did you unfold it?"

"You really want to know?" Finn looked a little baffled. Oliver nodded.

Finn stood up and started walking around the room. "It was the first time I heard this one piece of music. I was fourteen at the time. Me and my parents were seeing a musical performance in a fancy theater. Right in the start was this huge and powerful piece of music with bold and even frightening melodies. It touched my soul and made me shiver and cry. My heart ached, and I could barely breathe. My head was filled with beautiful melodies and sounds. Combined with the visual beauty that was happening on stage, together they made me mad."

"What happened then?"

"When we returned home that night, I had this weird dream. I was in perfect darkness, but there was a bright light in the distance. It turned out to be a strange bud-like sphere, which floated in the air. When I touched it, it began to unfold, with tendrils like fine strings emerging and grasping me. I felt strange powers surging within and in that moment, I realized what was happening. When I woke up the next morning, I had these weird symbols on my hands and forehead."

Finn showed Oliver the back of his hands. There were rune-like symbols on them that seemed to entwine with the other patterns on his arms. Another marking was on his forehead. All three seemed different. As Oliver was observing them, he noticed how they were slightly shifting and moving.

"They are shifting."

"The gift is a living entity and is never stationary, just like us. Usually they are pretty still, but when I get strong emotions they can move quite a bit."

Oliver recalled the dream he had earlier. "I did see a dream like yours. When I tried to touch the sphere, it moved aside."

Finn seemed a little confused. "That's interesting. From what I know the dream occurs when you are ready to embrace the gift. Apparently, that is not always the case."

Oliver seemed a little disappointed. He had hoped to get more answers, but sadly Finn didn't seem to provide them. However, a moment later he asked: "I could take a look at it, if you'd like."

Oliver was confused. "What do you mean? It was in my mind."

"Well, the gift not only provides you the means to perform magic, it also gives you a special power. It gave me the ability to enter the dreams of others, as well as to interact and modify them. I've been told not to enter the dreams of the gifted without their consent. So, do you accept?"

"You bet! I want to know!" Oliver eyes lit up and it seemed like he was ready to explode with joy.

Finn laughed. "Calm down, kid. If you want me to enter your dream, you must fall asleep first."

The two made their way to the bedroom Oliver had come from. Oliver laid down on the bed he had woken up on earlier. Finn sat down on the bedside and snapped his fingers. Curtains slid before the windows and turned the room moody. However, Oliver wasn't feeling particularly sleepy.

"Finn? I can't get sleep. Can you help me?"

"Absolutely. Brace yourself. It's not going to hurt." Finn put his hand on Oliver's forehead. The symbol on his hand lit up and suddenly Oliver fell asleep.

* * *

Oliver found himself back in the dark and cold space. This time, however, he saw Finn beside him. He was much smaller than in real life, roughly the same size as Oliver. He looked very young and he gave Oliver a grin. "When I enter other's dreams, I usually change into something more similar to the person whose dream it is."

The light was shining in the distance, just like earlier. The two made their way to it and the sphere was humming there, like before. Finn took a quick look at it and said: "This is definitely the gift. Try to touch it."

Oliver moved his hand and, just like earlier, the sphere moved aside, not letting him touch it.

"Hmm. This is very interesting." Finn moved around the sphere and studied it closely from every angle.

Suddenly he sprung up and seemed to know the answer. "How old are you, exactly?"

"I'm ten. Why?"

"That would explain it. You see these fine lines that deliver pulses of light to the orb? They are ley lines, like umbilical cords, feeding the gift with pure magic. It has started the moment you were born and has continued ever since. Once you reach puberty, the gift will be ready."

Oliver looked a little disappointed. "I was hoping the gift to unfold right away. I guess I was too optimistic."

Finn became concerned once again. "One thing is still a mystery. I've been told that one can't see one's own gift before one can unfold it. Yet you definitely saw it."

"Does this mean that I'm an exception? That I can unfold it?"

"I'm not sure. If I recall correctly one must have had a very strong emotion to start the unfolding process. Last night you were scared to death, which would probably explain this. Yet I don't know why you saw this in the first place."

Finn returned to Oliver. "We must go and ask other gifted what this means. Get ready to wake up. It will probably hurt a bit as the sleep was artificial."

* * *

As Oliver opened his eyes, he immediately felt a sting of pain going through his brains. He grunted in pain and instinctively put his hands on his forehead. It was really unpleasant, but luckily it passed by quickly. Finn had already stood up and Oliver saw him leaving the room. Then Oliver heard a familiar voice coming from the hallway. He recognized it right away and he was a little confused: what was Daniel doing here?

Oliver ran out of the room and almost hit Daniel, who had apparently just gotten in. "What are you doing here?"

Daniel turned around and gave the fox a hearty hug. "I was so worried! When you left the store, I noticed the agents and that they started following you. I had this strange feeling and I chose to call Finn. Luckily my instincts were right."

"What?? You two know each other??"

"Yes, indeed." Finn replied. "He is my boyfriend."

Daniel blushed and fiddled with his fluffy mane fur. "It's a bit of a secret, really. Finn is a great artist and actor. Everybody recognizes him, so we chose to keep a very low profile. Besides, as he bears the gift, he thought I would be in danger if I was 'officially' with him. Now that you are involved too, I don't know what I should do..."

Finn noticed how Daniel had gotten anxious while talking about their relationship. He gave Daniel a warm hug from behind and a peck on the cheek. Finn caressed his fur and hushed him. "Calm down, sweetie. Everything is fine." Right away the nervous collie relaxed and was like molten wax on Finn's strong arms.

Oliver found the sight a little comical, as the dragon was almost two feet taller than the collie. He giggled a little. "Dan, I didn't know you were gay!"

Daniel giggled back. "Well, to be honest, I didn't think like that before meeting Finn."

Finn let go of Daniel and quickly left the two. "I must get changed. We are going to visit the Tower."

Daniel grabbed Oliver again and squeezed him hard. "Glad that nothing bad happened to you!"

Oliver coughed. "Actually, I hurt my leg very bad..."

Daniel got startled and seemed to freak out any second. "Oh dear! What happened? Do you need a doctor?"

"Calm down, Dan. Those bad guys hit me with a magical weapon, but luckily Finn took care of it and now it barely hurts."

"Thank goodness! I was scared for a moment. Although you better come up with a good explanation for the injuries. When I heard that Finn got you safe, I sent a message to your mom telling you were staying with me for the night. The reply wasn't exactly subtle, but the hour was late, so she couldn't really do anything but accept the matter."

"That's just typical mom. She gets freaked out over the slightest of things."

Daniel let Oliver go and got really serious. "Now that some bad people know you bear the gift, you are in danger. No matter where you go, you can't really hide. They are going to hunt you till you are either dead or captive."

"Why do people hunt down those with the gift? Magic isn't evil or dangerous!"

"I agree that it isn't inherently evil. However, people who use magic may be evil and therefore they might think that way. Sadly, I kind of understand why they hunt... did you see what Finn is capable of?"

"He summoned magical spears out of nowhere and killed the bad guys. And he can enter dreams."

"Exactly. Finn is kind and caring and all, but I've seen him get angry a few times. When it comes to protecting the ones he cares about, he can be vicious. On those times things didn't get pretty. I'd say with power comes responsibility. Finn has told me that at one point he had feared for himself and all his potential. His gift is strong and sometimes its emotions overwhelm him. He has done everything to keep things together, but I think that deep down he still fears..."

At that moment Finn returned. He was wearing black robes, just like last night on the alley. They were of modern design, decorated with large and complex embroideries and shiny chromed metal rivets. "We must get going. If the CTI is aware of you bearing the gift, they are probably already hunting you, because you are still young and inexperienced. Please, follow me."

He opened a doorway, which led to stairs. From there the three got onto a hangar-like area with an expensive and top-end four-doored hovercar. As the three approached the car, Finn snapped his fingers and the circular roof door began to open with a low rumbling sound, revealing the sky above.

Oliver got really excited. "Oh my gosh! Do you really own a Helix Starliner 2000 DS??" He was a car enthusiast and knew almost every luxury and sports vehicle there was. This particular car was beautiful to look at, had very luxurious interior design and a powerful engine. It could reach speeds up to Mach 1.5, although those kinds of speeds were illegal in Nexus City area. He recalled that the standard price for this vehicle was over 1.2 million credits, and only the rich and famous could ever own one.

Finn grinned. "Yup." He snapped his fingers and the doors opened up. Oliver immediately rushed to the front seat and mesmerized at all the buttons and gizmos. The white leather seat felt very comfortable and even the seatbelt was made of special material, making it barely noticeable when worn. Daniel went to the back seat, put the seatbelt on and looked nervous, as he didn't particularly enjoy flying. Finn sat on the driver's seat, but instead of starting up the car he turned on an AI for the vehicle.

"Good morning, sir! Where would you like to travel today?" A mechanical female voice asked.

"To Whistler Tower, please."