FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"This is stupid." Janice complained as Jean walked her up to the front of a clinic. "We should go home, I changed my mind." The smoke-grey skink narrowed her eyes, a bit annoyed at the persistence of the lynx's complaints, but kept walking.

"This was just as much your idea as mine, so shut up and come on." Jean replied, never skipping a beat. "The deal was that I'd help you with socializing if you went to a clinic twice. You really want to back out on that?" The lynx went quiet, burying her hands into the pockets of her worn-out jacket and dipping her head, but followed Jean all the same. Jean opened the door and held it for her friend, watching her sullenly walk inside towards the front desk, then followed closely.

"Here for an appointment with Dr. Forester." Jean said over the counter to the wolf sitting behind it. The wolf looked young, and Jean noticed stickers on her laptop that were from the college a town over, so she was likely a student. A bright smile splayed across the girl's face as she looked up at the skink and sulking lynx.

"Okay!" She chirped, making Janice visibly cringe. "What's the name?" Janice mumbled for a moment, then went quiet again, so Jean took the lead once more.

"Janice Cohen, should be 10:30 to 11:30." Jean said, bringing her hand to the lynx's back in a show of support. Janice leaned into Jean a bit, but not enough to be visibly noticeable, and took a couple deep breaths. The receptionist clicked through a few menus and typed a bit, then looked back up to the pair.

"Alriiight, you can take a seat over there, he'll be with you shortly!" The wolf replied. Janice fought the urge to react, instead simply shuffling over to the waiting area. Jean picked a seat and Janice plopped down next to her, then closed her eyes and sighed. The skink relaxed in her seat, then took a moment to look her friend over. Janice looked pretty normal for Jean's standards, but she was hardly the most presentable thing in the room. Her hair was messy in a way that almost looked like a style choice, but was little more than the lynx showering and drying it. Her ears were perked above her messy locks as usual, and Jean noted that the ink-black tips helped to draw some attention away from the slightly unkempt, loose fluff of hair below them, which was a plus, she supposed. As for attire, Janice had opted not to stray from her comfort zone today, sticking with the same zip-up hoodie she'd worn to work everyday in the past few years, and a pair of ripped up jeans that could have potentially passed as designer, were they slightly less worn around the edges or capped off by ratty sneakers that should have been replaced long ago.

Jean sat quietly for a moment, then gently laid a hand across Janice's thigh, giving her a soft squeeze. The lynx looked up at her, and Jean saw that her eyes were becoming a bit bloodshot. The skink frowned a bit, then took Janice's hand and held it tightly. Janice squeezed back hard, leaning over into Jean, who wrapped an arm around her. The two girls stayed huddled together for a short while, when the receptionist sounded off from behind her desk.

"Janice, Dr. Forester will see you now!" The canine said cheerily, painting an annoyed scowl on the lynx's face. Jean tightened her grip on Janice's hand, then looked her in the eyes.

"I'll be here when you're done, I promise." Jean said softly, not wanting to be overheard. Janice sighed again, then nodded, stood up and straightened out her jacket, then started off down the hallway through the clinic. Janice found the hallway to be a bit narrow as she walked, and sucked herself to the side when she saw someone coming towards her. It was a sergal, a large one. Male, she thought, but Janice couldn't be completely sure, since they tended to look the same. He seemed excited though, and Janice wasn't about to stand in his way, so she awkwardly shuffled along the wall as he passed, shooting a passive glance down at her along the way. Once she was past the effective wall of lean muscle, Janice took another breath, collecting herself, then continued on, seeing an open door just a bit further down that was undoubtedly for her. As she rounded the corner to look inside the room, a voice met her.

"You must be Janice." Said a rat, setting his coffee mug down on his desk. Janice nodded and walked inside, her posture a bit hunched as she scanned the room. "Well, Ms. Cohen, please close the door behind you and take a seat. We respect your privacy, after all." The lynx nodded with a curt grunt and shut the door, hearing a whir of white noise start up at the top of the door. She perked a brow and turned, taking a seat in an oversized, comfortable-looking chair and looking to the rat.

"What was that weird noise just now?" She asked as she scooted back in her seat, subconsciously burying herself in the chair as much as she could. The doctor arched his brows curiously for a moment, then relaxed them with realization.

"Oh, that." He said calmly, taking a sip from his mug. "White noise machine, we have them above the doors to drown out anything someone could hear through the door. Confidentiality measure, hopefully it makes you feel a little more secure. That's the goal, anyways." Janice nodded, then went silent, sitting very still. The rat waited, then arched his brow again and felt a soft smile come across his face. He twisted towards his desk and snatched a folder off of it and opened it, then flipped through a couple pages, scanning the contents thoroughly.

"Well, Janice, I suppose I'll start us off. I'm Doctor Marcus Forester, but please, call me Marcus." The rat looked up at Janice briefly, then back down to the document and closed it, returning back to her once more. "I understand that you're here to discuss some long standing issues in your life. Anywhere you'd like to start?" Janice narrowed her eyes, her face remaining cold and expressionless as she scanned over Marcus, sizing him up a bit. Before responding, she scanned over the room, just to see if she could get a read of the man before she decided whether she'd spill her guts for him. His degree hung on the wall, a doctorate from a university that was definitely nowhere near here. His desk was somewhat tidy, but no computer was to be found in the room. A few file cabinets sat along the back wall with picture frames adorning them, and Janice noticed a bunch of legal pads lying around. He was the old school type, she realized. Everything had to be in paper and at the ready, an idea she sympathized with. An interesting similarity to be sure, but nowhere near enough to endear him to her in any meaningful way.

"How do you start a jigsaw puzzle, Marcus?" Janice finally responded, asking in a way that both begged for an answer, and yet seemed ready to chastise one who was too dim to respond.

"Well, personally, I build the border first. Start at a corner, then frame the whole thing up and work in." The rat explained earnestly. "Otherwise you end up with a few finished chunks but no real context for how they fit together." Janice snorted a bit and smiled.

"Guess that's as good of a way as any." She replied. "Started when I was a teenager. Dad hit mom, hit me a couple times too, same old shit. I ran when I could. Grew up on the streets, got hooked on some nasty shit, got fucked up in a bunch of different ways. Got out of there when I could too. Moved here about four years ago. Opened up a shop, I sell sex toys and pimp my best friend out to people with hard kinks." Marcus nodded as he listened, and patiently waited for her to finish. The lynx looked to him expectantly, and Marcus took the opportunity to speak.

"Alright, so that's your framework. Now for the meat, where do you want to go from there?" The rat calmly asked, appearing completely nonplussed. Janice glared a bit, surprised and mildly annoyed at the lack of reaction.

"What, nothing from that?" Janice asked, ignoring his question altogether.

"My job is not to judge you, Janice. You won't shock me, if that was your intent. This is a place to heal, not to antagonize." Marcus said plainly, then paused for a moment. "Do you actually want to be here, Janice?"

"No." She admitted. "Made a deal though, so I have to be. Two sessions and I'm done." Marcus nodded again, then took a pen from his desk and began to jot some notes down.

"Interesting. What do you get in return?"

"My friend is going to help me get out more." Janice said, her annoyance becoming more apparent the longer she spoke. "She told me I needed to come here first though, that it'd be good for me." The rat kept listening and writing more notes.

"And you feel you're not going to achieve anything by coming here, is that correct?" Janice narrowed her eyes into a death glare.

"Yes, that's correct." She said curtly, prompting the rat to scribble another couple details down, prompting the lynx to snap. "Okay, what the fuck are you writing?" The rat looked up at Janice innocently and turned the pad to reveal a small sketch of an oak tree. The lynx growled loudly and started to stand up from her chair, eyeing the door.

"How badly do you want help, Janice?" Marcus asked as he returned to sketching on the pad. Janice looked back at him, a bit perplexed with the seemingly idiotic question.

"I'm here, aren't I?" She said with a potent dose of venom.

"Maybe in body," Marcus replied casually. "But you're not very into this whole 'talking' thing, and anyone could see that. Look, you have two sessions to get through if you want your friend's help, and you clearly seem to trust in that, or you wouldn't be here at all. If you walk out that door, that's gone. So, at the very least, you can sit here while I draw more trees, then come again in a week and be done with me. I won't make you talk if you don't want to." The rat set his pad aside and took another sip of coffee and looked over to Janice, who was now looking him over with her head cocked in confusion.

"Are you on something?" She asked. "You can tell me, I used to be an addict. We can get you the help you need." Marcus grinned, then chuckled a bit.

"Ha, you're a funny one." Marcus said, wagging his pen at her as he eased back in his chair. "Most of my clients don't really have the capacity for humor in a place like this." Janice looked at him even more queerly now, but walked back to the chair reluctantly.

"You're a really weird dude, you know that?" Janice replied as she sat back down.

"Psych major, had to be. No one gets out of there totally sane."

"Hmph." The lynx grunted. She sat in silence for a while, letting her mind roam, thinking of menial things she'd need to do this week and wondering about Jean's promise of help. Jean hadn't told her anything about her plans, other than that she would help Janice "socialize". What the hell that meant, Janice decided she'd find out later. Time passed quickly, but the feline was snapped back to reality when the rat piped up yet again.

"You put on a pretty convincing tough face, you know that?"

"What are you on now?" Janice asked, annoyed once more. "Weren't you supposed to just draw trees?" A quick glance to the clock read back 3:15. Not too much longer and she'd be out of here, an idea that the lynx was incredibly fond of right now.

"I said I wouldn't make you talk. You're the one choosing to respond. I see nothing wrong here." The rat pulled the notepad to his lap and returned to sketching. "And all I meant is that I can tell you're pretty strong if you really went through all you said you did and still have the energy to be as sardonic as you are." Janice sighed a bit and looked away, frustrated.

"Not very professional, are you?" The lynx remarked quietly.

"Tried that, didn't work. Do you want professional?"

"I'd appreciate it, yeah."

"Well," The rat began, flipping a page on his notepad. "Let's talk about something easy. Tell me about your friend."

"Jean?" Janice asked, sliding back in her seat. "What about her?"

"How'd you meet her? Let's start at the start."

"You know Escare, right?" Janice asked, receiving a knowing nod from the rat. "She and I are from that area. I was homeless already, and an ex of mine was messing with her, so I made him stop. We've been together since then."

"Messing with her?" Marcus asked curiously.

"Recruiting, they wanted more colors on their team, if you catch my drift. I wasn't about to watch a kid get sucked into that. Jean was only 13 when we met."

"Hmmm, you think they would have hurt her, done something... bad to her?" The rat asked with pointed concern. It was clear to Janice what he meant, but the idea confused her.

"What, something sexual?" The rat nodded in reply, and Janice shook her head. "Nah, he wasn't gay, hell, he wouldn't have even thought about that."

"Gay?" He asked, now sounding just as confused as he was concerned.

Janice cringed a bit when she realized her mistake, then looked up to the door. Marcus was quick to catch on though, and reassured the lynx.

"No one will hear. What do you mean?"

"Jean... Jean's trans." Janice said quietly. "I don't like to talk about it. Ever. Don't ask again."

"Noted." Marcus said, making a note of it on his pad. "How did you two get along during your time in that wonderful city? You said you only moved here about 4 years ago, but this was before that?" Janice closed her eyes and breathed deep, telling herself it'd be easier to talk to walls.

"Oddly, I guess." The lynx remarked. "At first, it was kind of a mom and daughter thing, but that didn't last too terribly long. Three years isn't much of an age difference when you get past fifteen or sixteen, so it got to be more like close friends after that."

"Sisterly, maybe?" Marcus probed.

"I'm not about that shit." Janice said, shaking her head and shrugging. "Blood doesn't mean shit, sister's just a word. Friend is good enough for my trust. I don't have friends."

"Lack of enthusiasm?"

"Lack of any reason." Janice said bluntly. "Jean's been good enough all these years, and time on the street tells you people are shit. No real inclination to change my mind."

"So your social circle has just been yourself and her since you moved to Colson?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Any other socializing comes from working the desk at my shop, or taking appointments for Jean."

"And you've seen no problem with this?" The rat asked curiously.

"I might be pigheaded, Marcus, but I'm not an idiot." Janice replied caustically. "Of course I can see it's not healthy. I didn't say it was a good idea, just that I never had a reason strong enough to sway me. Inertia beats work most of the time."

"So what prompted this then?"

"Put enough weight on a thing and it'll eventually snap, right?" The lynx said quietly, trying to hide a bit of shame. "Everyone has a breaking point, I finally hit mine."

"Do you mind my asking what the last straw was, if you know?" Marcus's tone was concerned, but still somewhat reserved.

"Jean brought her boyfriend in the other day, wanted me to finally meet him." Janice sunk her head into the fabric of the chair, pressing the soft filling down in a rough mold of her skull. "I teased him a bit, that's my way, ever the bitch. He took it well though, even seemed to use it as a way to grow, which was wild as hell to me. What got me though, was seeing how they leaned on each other. Emotionally, I mean. Made me feel like I was seriously missing something."

"You want a boyfriend?" Marcus said, sounding doubtful of the conclusion the instant it started leaving his mouth.

"Yeah, but not just someone to fuck. I got my fill of that shit a long time ago." Janice shook her head and pressed it back harder, making the frame of the chair creak. "I want what she had, someone that cares, all the time, someone who's just... there, all the time."

"More than a friend could be, right?"

"Well, yeah, doc, that was kinda implied, wasn't it?"

"Just making sure I understand you clearly." Marcus defended. "And I can assume this is what Jean will be helping you with?"

"You really earned that paper on the wall over there." Janice sniped, rolling her eyes behind the lids before continuing more earnestly. "Yeah, that's the hope. That, and a couple other things."

"Care to share those too?"

"No." The lynx said sternly. Marcus smirked a bit and made some notes.

"Guess you can't make it too easy for me, I do get paid for this after all." The rat remarked as he finished writing. Afterwards, he looked over to the wall and took a breath. "Time's about done, you have five or so minutes left. Any last details you want to touch on?"

"You think I'm gonna be okay?" Janice asked with what seemed like genuine interest. Marcus looked skeptical of her, but replied in kind all the same.

"You seem to have a lot of history, Janice." Marcus answered. "I'd have to talk to you more to really know one way or the other, but I don't think you're beyond help. Few people are."

"So, 'schedule another appointment'?" The lynx said with a smirk. "Somehow I expected that." Marcus smiled back at her.

"It's a process." The doctor admitted. "Ultimately, it's you who decides the answer to that question." Janice met his eyes, searching for bullshit, and rose from the chair. She looked to the wall to confirm the time, then walked to the door, and left the room without another word.

Jean was waiting patiently in the chair that Janice had left her in, and looked up when a figure caught her periphery. Janice was padding down the hall, seeming particularly calm, especially compared to how she was when they came in. The skink stood up and followed Janice, who turned and went directly to the door. The lynx seemed keen to get to Jean's car, and the lizard followed quickly, unlocking it and getting to the driver's side as quickly as she could once the cold wind hit her. She should have worn something thicker, she realized when she began to scramble to get the key into the ignition and start the car's heater.

"So, how'd it go?" Jean asked through quivering lips, praying that the heater would be quick, just this once. "You don't have any blood on you, yours or otherwise, so I'd assume at least decent?"

"Wasn't pure torture." Janice shrugged. "Dunno, might come back. We'll see after next time." Jean nodded in reply, feeling slow relief wash over her as the heat finally overtook the cold, saving her from the frosty discomfort that plagued her so.

"Marcus is good at what he does." Jean said as she dropped the car into gear and pulled out onto the road. "I mean hell, he was my shrink, and look at how functional I turned out."

"I'm doomed." Janice said, deadpan. Jean rolled her eyes and smiled. "What's your plan for getting me some of that hot dick, by the way? You said you'd tell me after one session as collateral."

"'Some of that hot dick'? Really, Jan?" Jean said, shaking her head as Janice took her turn to smile, clearly proud of herself. "Well, I figured that most guys would be completely afraid to speak with you after a conversation, so I enlisted Dave to recruit some applicants from work. Barring that, we can try a couple places around town that have more of an alt scene."

"So setups and wingmanning. Knew you'd have my back, Jean."

"It's better than nothing at all, and besides, we have other shit to get done before then, so don't worry your fluffy little head about it." Jean took a turn further into town and the lynx looked over to her with a surprised expression.

"Jean?" The skink didn't look away from the road, making sure to dodge the insane midday traffic.

"Like I said, other shit to do." Jean said, pulling around a stand-still lane of traffic at a turn-in. "First on the list is getting you some new clothes. Some that are more solid than ripped, hopefully."

"Hey, these are stylish."

"They were stylish ten years ago, Jan." Jean replied. "Don't worry, you're not getting a makeover or anything. I just want you to look like you've actually been off the street for more than six months, since, y'know, you have."

"Fine." Janice sighed, watching the mall coming up quickly on the horizon. "Just don't make me regret this." Jean smiled, following the traffic in front of her as each car turned into the parking lot.

The mall was a bit crowded for a week day, but there were still plenty of spots close to the doors, which Jean planned to take full advantage of. Navigating the parking carefully, she worked her way over to the entrance nearest to the clothing stores, then turned into the closest spot she could find and parked the car. The skink got out of the car quickly and trailed around it, then narrowed her eyes and walked to the passenger side when she noticed that Janice wasn't getting out too. Jean arched an eyebrow as she opened the door and looked down at the lynx, who groaned and finally stood up out of the car.

"Don't make it anymore painful than it has to be, Janice." Jean said, wrapping her arm around her shorter friend. "I promise I'll make it as easy as I can on you."

"Yeah, yeah, still gonna hate it." Janice said, shrugging as she matched the skink's pace. Jean gave the lynx a squeeze of reassurance as the pair crossed the road up to the mall entrance, making the automatic door slide open as they approached. Janice recoiled immediately upon passing through the door, no doubt from the acrid haze of perfumes and lotions scenting the air. Jean smirked a bit, being used to the smell from visiting the mall more than once per decade, unlike her feline friend.

"Something wrong, Jan?" The skink teased, taking the lynx's paw and tugging her along further into the store as her eyes began to water.

"The fuck is that smell?" She replied, slapping her hand across her muzzle for protection.

"Women's fragrance." Jean said, weaving them through the labyrinth of trial tables and display cases. "Don't worry, I'm not insane or sociopathic enough to try to subject you to this. I'd like to leave here with minimal scarring for both of us."

"Mental for me, physical for you?" The feline asked pointedly as they approached the exit, the overwhelming aura fading away behind them.

"That was the idea, yeah." Jean panned across the mall that stretched out before them, noting what stores were available. Janice clearly didn't share her sense of fashions, which was fine, but gave the skink little to work with as far as places to start went. Jean thought for a moment about what might suit the lynx, but was shaken from her pondering when she noticed Janice walking on without her.

"You coming or not?" She called back to Jean, walking with odd confidence. Jean hopped into her stride and caught up with her friend quickly, but hung back a bit, letting her lead.

"Yeah, I was." The lizard said, a bit confused. "But I didn't realize you had a place in mind already."

"Well, sort of." Janice admitted as they rounded a corner into another branch of the mall. "I'm not actually sure if it's still in here, but it's worth checking." The lynx stepped out towards the center of the area, scanning around for a moment. Perked ears and a smile told Jean that Janice had found a match, and she trotted over to her friend, catching up yet again. The store front they were clearly heading for, a placed called Darksyde, was not unlike what Jean had expected, black interior and mostly dark clothing, but not too heavy on the "emo" vibe. That style had died out enough that it wasn't profitable enough on its own anymore, she supposed, walking close behind Janice as they entered the store together. The lynx kept close to the walls, raking her eyes over the selection, occasionally lifting a hanger off the racks, but never missing a step. The growing assortment in Janice's arms wasn't looking too encouraging to Jean, given that it was all either black, or near-replicas of what she was already wearing.

"Jan," Jean said, laying her hand on her friend's shoulder and stopping her. "I was thinking maybe something less... status quo." Janice looked at her skeptically.

"What, you don't like these?" She teased, holding the clothes up for Jean to see, then sighing. "What did you have in mind then?"

"I dunno, maybe..." The skink darted her eyes over the selection, looking for something that stood out. "Something like this?" The lizard grabbed a white shirt from high up that had bright red pattern running up one side.

"Hmmm." Janice scoured over the shirt with great scrutiny, then took the hanger from Jean. "I like it. Maybe color can work for me after all."

"Glad you agree." Jean said, snatching away roughly half the clothes in the lynx's arms and tossing them up onto a nearby shelf. "Pick out more." Janice narrowed her eyes with irritation and sighed again, turning around and resuming her activities, this time picking out more color than the absolute monochrome she'd been maintaining. Jean was still a bit skeptical of the huge amount of blacks and greys, but she decided some progress was better than none at all, and held her tongue. Before long, Janice's arms were both rounded over with new shirts and pairs of jeans, as well as a nice new jacket or two.

"This is plenty." The lynx said, navigating through the store to the checkout desk. She piled her mountain of new clothes onto one end of the desk, then padded over to the other and looked up at the hyena who was sitting casually behind the register. Jean couldn't get a very good look at him as she followed, as the low lights in the shop made the colors of his fur blend together far too much.

"This gonna be all?" The cashier asked, looking over the pile. After a quick confirmation from the lynx, he began scanning barcodes idly and looked back up to the pair. "Going on a date or something?" Now that he was standing, Jean was able to get a slightly better gauge of the male, but he still seemed to almost fade into the dark wall behind him. He stood taller than she did, though, putting him head and shoulders above Janice.

"Trying to." Jean said with a sigh, watching the hyena's hands deftly swipe each item. It quickly became clear to her that he'd been doing this for a while, simply from how absent-minded he was about it.

"Oh, you ladies together?" He replied, flicking his eyes back and forth between them. Jean began to explain, but her companion quickly cut her off, much to the skink's annoyance.

"Nah, I like dick too much for that." Janice said as Jean attempted to bore holes through the lynx with her stare. Out of the corner of her eye, though, she noticed the hyena rubbing his head bashfully. The lizard began to feel bad, knowing full well that the poor thing was doomed now.

"Ah, shit, sorry about that." He said remorsefully. "I'm still kinda new here, but I've started assuming things, I guess. Colson seems pretty diverse is all."

"Don't feel too bad, it's pretty much a coin flip here." Janice said, showing a restraint that surprised Jean. Either she had a longer con to mess with the guy, or hell just froze over.

"Nah, that wasn't cool of me. If my boss heard that, I'd probably be walking out of here with you." The hyena looked up to the wall, noting the time. "Tell ya what: I go on break in like five minutes. I can buy you two lunch. I'd give you a discount, but hell, my manager would gut me before canning me if I tried that." Janice began to shake her head, but Jean, seeing an opportunity, decided it was her turn to interrupt this time.

"That sounds like a great idea. Pretzel place around the corner sound okay?" Jean replied quickly, not wanting to give Janice the opportunity to cut back in. "Wouldn't want to break your bank or anything."

"Sounds fine to me." The hyena said with a shrug as he finished scanning and rung up the total. "Haven't had a pretzel in ages anyways. Cash or card on this?"

"Card, as credit." The skink said, swiping her card and signing the keypad as Janice glared at her from the side, remaining dead silent. The hyena began bagging up the clothes and set them up on the counter, letting each of the women take one.

"Alright, see you two in a few then." He said before perking up suddenly. "Oh, yeah, name's Cyrus, prefer Cy though."

"Jean." The skink said, pointing to herself, then to the lynx. "And Janice. We'll just be over by the pretzel shop." Cyrus nodded, then walked towards the back of the shop, while Jean and Janice turned and left. The instant the pair crossed through the threshold, Janice glared back at the skink, now with even greater intensity.

"What are you up to, Jean?" Janice scolded, only barely concealing her annoyance from the public around them.

"Being social." Jean replied, unshaken. "Gotta start somewhere. This was a harmless gimme opportunity, so I forced you into it. Not like it's a huge commitment or anything."

"We don't even know this guy!" The lynx near-shouted at Jean as they walked, drawing close to the intersection of the mall.

"Well, yeah, no shit, Jan." The lizard replied. "How did you think we were going to do this?" Rounding the corner, the pretzel shop quickly came into view and was only a short walk further. The sign mounted above the storefront read out 'Twisted', with the 'w' stylized as a pretzel. It had been a favorite of Jean's when she'd moved here and was making regular trips to the mall, but her interest had fallen off in tandem with the frequency of her trips as the years drug on.

"You said we were going to start with Dave's friends from work. People he knows. I trust you, so I trust him, at least a little bit. I don't trust this guy." The feline shook her head and covered her face with her hands, giving up on any facade of not appearing frustrated.

"Relax, Jan. I'm here, it's gonna be fine." Jean said, patting her friend on the back. "Here's a deal for you. If it goes badly, you can curse him out and I won't stop you." Upon hearing her proposal, Janice spread her fingers, revealing an eye which stared at Jean.

"Promise?" She asked, trying to hide her excitement.

"You're a terrible person." Jean said, shaking her own head now. "But yes, I promise." The skink pulled a chair out from one of the tables near the pretzel shop, letting the lynx take it, then slid another out and plopped down into it, setting the bag she was carrying up on the table. Janice did the same, then took a deep breath. The ambient sounds of the mall started to set in around them, making for nice background chatter, if not a bit loud. Jean watched people pass by as the feline closed her eyes, still breathing, likely trying to cool her nerves. Jean wouldn't say anything for fear of starting a fight, but she was immensely proud of her friend for putting up such a strong front, because she was doubtlessly fighting demons all while doing this.

"Thanks, Jean." She said quietly, only barely catching the skink's ear. Jean smiled, reached a hand under the table, and gave Janice a pat on the thigh, but said nothing, letting her have her brief respite in as much peace as possible. The scent of warm bread wafted out from the counter, a delicious mix of salty and warm, and Jean felt her stomach begin to cinch up with hunger. They hadn't eaten when they left the house that morning, mostly because Jean had planned to be home by now. Detouring to the mall was a measure taken on a whim, simply because she remembered it was there as they got close on their drive back. She couldn't have known that it would lead to anything meaningful, but she supposed this was happenstance having its way with their lives, as it had many times in the past. The skink checked the time on her phone, motivated by both hunger and a small curiosity as to how long the hyena was taking to get there. It had just rounded over five minutes, so he would be out any time now, which her growling gut found only just acceptable as an excuse. As she began to scan the mall around her for yet another distraction though, she caught sight of a dark-furred male rounding the corner.

Cyrus was padding around and looking around for them, now wearing a jacket over what she'd seen him in before. Jean was finally able to get a look at him, free of the obnoxious darkness in the Darksyde, and found him profoundly, shockingly normal. He had no piercings to speak of, no unusual dyes or shaved patterns in his fur, hell, his mane was even tightly groomed. What the hell, Jean wondered, was a guy like that doing working in a store that vaguely resembled a black hole? She shook her head, figuring she would find out in due time, and raised her hand to wave at him. He caught sight of her quickly and made his way over while Jean gently shook Janice from her meditation.

"You two hungry?" Cyrus asked, his ears perking with excitement as he looked back and forth between the two women.

"Fuckin' starving, actually." Janice replied as looked up to him and shook her hair out of her eyes, clearing her vision. "Holy shit, did you hit the barber on the way here?"

"Did I really take that long?" He asked penitently, wringing his hands a bit. "Sorry, I tried to be quick."

"Nah, you're fine." The lynx responded. "Just couldn't see you worth a damn in that place. You clean up pretty nice." Jean felt bewilderment consume her expression as she wondered if she'd crossed over into another dimension or not. Was Janice actually leading a conversion?

"Oh, alright." Cyrus said with a smile. "Well, what do you two want? I'll run up and order for us."

"I've never been here before, I should probably just come with you so I can see the menu." Janice said before looking to her friend. "Jean, you've been here before, do you know what you want?" Jean jumped on the opportunity to get a look at the lynx's face, analyzing it carefully. Years of being around Janice had turned the lizard into a living bullshit detector, so she'd easily be able to tell if something was afoot, and yet... nothing. Jean couldn't sense even a hint of the typical guile that Janice showed when she was messing with someone, only a placid contentment. Was she really being genuine?

"The Italian one, no drink or anything though." Janice nodded and stood, walking with Cyrus as they got in the line leading to the counter. Jean looked on skeptically, completely unsure of what was going on now. Everything about the lynx emanated a calm demeanor, which exactly the opposite of what the skink thought she'd be seeing out of her friend right now. As the queue trudged forward, Jean noticed that the pair were talking, and Janice was being as active in the conversation as she would if it were the skink there with her instead. A few laughs were exchanged, breeding yet more mystery, but Jean's observations were cut short by the pair reaching the counter and making their order. Twisted was the type of restaurant to make stock first and sell it on request, so there was no wait for Jean to fill with more pondering, so she sat back in her chair and stretched out a bit as the hyena and lynx made their way back. Janice was smiling a bit and Cyrus was finishing up a story when they drew close enough for Jean to hear over the noise of the mall, but the details were too sparse for it to mean more than nonsense to her.

"Here you go, Jean." Janice said cheerfully, handing the increasingly mortified skink her meal. "Cy and I were bullshitting about working retail." The lynx sat down, and unwrapped her pretzel as Cyrus did the same, while Jean stared blankly.

"Are you okay, Jean?" Cyrus asked as he took a bite of his pretzel. "You look like something's bothering you."

"Could say that, yeah." Jean said, shaking her head in an attempt to break from her stupor. "I'm fine though. Thanks for asking, Cy." The hyena nodded and Jean opened her food and began chomping away at it, putting the oddities out of her mind for now, for fear of drawing too much attention. The meal zipped by quickly as all three worked through their pretzels, none making conversation in the meantime. Cyrus looked across the table, and finished his last bite before speaking up.

"Hope I didn't rush you guys, I eat kinda fast."

"S'no problem." Janice said, balling up her food wrapper. "We were looking to get out of here pretty soon anyways." Jean nodded in agreement, still working on the last bits of her meal.

"Mmmm, alright." The hyena relaxed in his chair for a moment, then perked up again, seeming to remember something. "Ah, almost forgot." It was only then that Jean noticed Janice holding something out to the male. Looking close as it was handed off, the skink realized it was a phone, and watched in surprise as Cyrus typed a few things into it, then handed it back.

"Thanks." Janice said, typing something on it herself, then pocketing it. "Sent. Don't lose it on your way home."

"Hey, I didn't think I'd need it, can you blame me?" Jean's eyes darted back and forth as her confusion grew deeper and deeper.

"Not really, but I will anyways." Janice teased, standing up to stretch her legs. "You gonna spend all afternoon eating that, Jean?" The skink swallowed by reflex and looked down, noticing a last chunk of pretzel in her hand. She popped it into her mouth and hurriedly finished it, standing up as well.

"Okay, I'm gonna head back over." Cyrus said, looking directly at the lynx. "Talk later, maybe?"

"Maybe." Janice said with a smirk, taking up one of the bags of clothes. "Come on, Jean, let's get moving." Jean took up the other bag and followed the lynx as she padded off towards the way they'd come in. Jean restrained herself from interrogating the feline, knowing there would be plenty of time for that when they were trapped in the car together, and just walked alongside Janice, who was wearing an uncharacteristic, genuine smile. Something odd was definitely running through her mind, Jean thought as they walked out the door and crossed the parking lot towards the skink's car. The cold had faded since the morning, and Jean could almost stand to be outside for more than a few seconds, so she didn't look ridiculous like she had hours before, but the air still nipped at her exposed legs just a bit. Opening the trunk up, she loaded her bag in, then walked around to the driver's side and got in while Janice loaded the other bag and closed it. By the time the feline had gotten in the car, Jean had already gotten it started up and was ready to go.

"So," Jean began, putting the car in reverse and pulling out into the lane of the parking lot. "What the fuck happened back there?" The skink did her best to not sound accusatory, since this was in fact good progress for Janice, but so much faster than she'd expected that she found it less than believable. Janice shifted a bit in her seat, seeming to intentionally avoid looking at the lizard.

"I don't know, honestly." The lynx answered meekly. "Not like me, I know. Just kinda happened, whatever it was." Jean tilted her head with suspicion, but kept herself controlled.

"Okay, more specifically, then." She said, turning out onto the road and pulling up to the nearest intersection. "What did you send on your phone?" Janice kept looking everywhere but at the skink, and Jean could tell that the anxiety of what she'd been doing was starting to set in.

"Name, so he'd have my number." Janice said, mumbling just a bit. "He left his phone when he came to get food, so I just had him put his number in."

"How'd that end up happening?" Jean's voice softened dramatically as she read the feline. She had no reason to grill Janice, she realized. If anything, now was a time to help build her confidence.

"He asked me about it when we were walking back from the counter. Said he didn't want to stop talking to me, asked if I wanted to hang out with him some more later." Jean kept her eyes to the road as she navigated the messy daytime streets of Colson, but blindly patted her hand around until it came to rest on Janice's thigh.

"You must have really hit it off with him." The skink said warmly, squeezing gently with her hand. "I saw you laughing and talking with him, so it sure seems like you did."

"Yeah." The feline dipped her head, and Jean squeezed again, a little harder this time.

"Hey, no moping." The lizard said jokingly. "I'm too proud of you for you to be sad right now." Jean couldn't see detail, but in her periphery, she caught the lynx finally looking her way, and, maybe, a few hints of a smile.

"You've been too proud lately, gonna need to make you lower those standards." Jean smirked a bit as she passed through the last intersection on the edge of Colson, finally taking them out of the thick of the town.

"Well," Jean started, letting her mind fall into the routine of piloting the rest of the way home. "Considering you started from no standards at all, it's not hard to move up so quickly."

"Mmmm, watch yourself, Forktongue." Janice said, starting to relax. "I still write your checks."

"And I'm the reason you make half of yours."

"Fair, fair." Janice said, her sarcastic confidence returning slowly. "I guess I can't silence you that easy, can I?" Jean smiled in reply, and drew her hand back as she turned off the road and into her driveway, pulling up to the house and parking. Dave's truck was nowhere to be seen, but he wouldn't be home for a few more hours. The pair hauled the clothing bags into the house and set them on the ground near the laundry room, since they'd need to be washed before Janice could wear them out. This, of course, left them with little to do for the rest of the day, as Janice had decided to not open the shop today, for the sake of having Jean with her at the therapist's office. The lynx wandered off to the room that Jean and Dave had loaned out to her, wanting to change into something more comfortable. As good as the tight, ripped jeans might look on her, they were kind of hellish to wear when she just wanted to relax and be comfortable.

Unzipping her jacket, the feline slipped it smoothly off of her shoulders, letting it fall to the ground next to the bed. Rolling her head from side to side, Janice felt the pressure in her neck release with a loud crack, and felt more at ease almost instantly. Something about being in general public raised her ire, and the doctor's visit that morning hadn't helped a bit either. Maybe, she thought as she peeled her shirt away from her body, it would do her some good to let off some steam. The lynx contorted her arms behind herself and unhooked her bra, letting the suffocating cups fall away from her, her breasts dropping loose to breathe in the open air. To the introverted feline, little compared to the relief of stripping away all these restraints, not only because of the physical release, but also from the knowledge that she could finally relax and let herself go for the evening. She was not quite done, though, and jammed a thumb down the side of her jeans, then routed it around to the front, unfastened the top, then slowly pulled the zipper down, relishing in the sensation as the fabric loosened up and freed her from her denim prison. After shimmying the pants down her thighs and calves, the feline kicked off her shoes, then stepped out of the puddle of dark fabric pooled around her feet. Kicking her legs back one at a time, she snagged the hem of each of her socks and narrowly managed to tug them off before she could lose her balance, a game she had shockingly rarely lost, despite her habitually poor showings.

Janice looked across the room to where her old clothes hung, what little she had brought from her hellhole of an apartment anyways, and decided against re-dressing for the moment. Instead, she crashed down into the bed with all the grace of an avalanche, and sprawled out across the soft sheets, clad in only her panties. The frill-less, pattern-less black fabric clung tight to the feline's black-flecked, umber fur, hugging around her hips as she spread her body flat against the bed. Janice knew she looked ridiculous, but couldn't help herself. The silken sheets felt amazing against her fur, and were cool to the touch, making it all the better. After a few moments more of pure self-indulgence, the lynx rolled onto her back and scooted back into the mountain of pillows at the head of the bed, propping herself up. Janice closed her eyes, letting her mind relax, and laid a hand across her stomach, letting it drift slowly down to her crotch. Hardly one to be shy, especially in private, she had no qualms about dunking her thumb past the elastic of her panties and roughly shoving them down around her thighs, then pressing her palm firmly into the top of her mound. A brazen, yet familiar middle digit arched out and landed at the base of her slit, then slowly raked up, parting her lips about her fingertip as it ran its collision course with the nub adorning the top of her pussy.

The gentle tap of her digit against the nub sent a light surge through the lynx, and her mind began to slip into a completely different mode, letting the embers of an old fire kick up and find new fuel. The lynx wasn't one to fantasize about just any guy she met; hell, at this point she'd forgotten more men than she could ever remember, but something about the hyena had stuck. When she'd spoken with him, she felt captivated, enraptured. Talking to him had felt natural, which was a total shock to her, and Janice, being who she was, let that interest transform into sexual curiosity. It didn't hurt, of course, that Cyrus was particularly easy on her eyes. Broad shoulders, a nice height to match her more diminutive stature, and a strong muscle tone in his arms that she highly doubted was just isolated there. The lynx crept her finger up the tender pink line as she imagined Cyrus standing before her, looking down with a hefty tent in his jeans. Her second hand crept to one of her pert breasts, and the ends of her mouth curled into a lustful grin as the hyena in her head began to strip his shirt away, revealing a nice definition in his stomach when he clutched the hem of his shirt into his palm. Slowly, Janice's hand slid further down her mound and her digit dug deeper into her slick, hot folds while she began to squeeze her breast, working it slowly with her hand. Similarly, the male lifted the shirt off of his body with glacial slowness, letting the feline imagine every contour in as much detail as her flooded mind could muster. The hyena, sensing the urgency of his mental hostess, hurried himself a bit more, and snapped his jeans open, letting them hang loosely from his thighs. A heavy, tightly wrapped bulge rested atop the zipper, lolling out impressively. Janice smiled even wider now, seeing a wet spot form at the precipice of the bulge, and planted her feet, spreading her thighs for easy access. The jeans dropped from Cyrus's hips, and his thumb tugged at the elastic of his briefs, letting his cock spill out and stand to attention, dripping just a bit, but enough for the lynx to see.

The feline buried her finger deeper inside and felt her palm finally come to rest over her clit, pressing down with gentle, but intentional weight. Cyrus took his cock into his hand and lifted it, starting to pump as he let his sack hang plainly, letting Janice clearly see each of the massive orbs that rested inside of it. His pumps were long and full, with enough tug to make the full, weighty balls beneath bounce and bob in reaction, driving Janice go even further, kneading the breast in her palm harder and harder. A simple arc in her finger was all it took, and Janice felt her body light up, tweaking the special place inside her aching folds that sent her over the line without fail. Her palm ground against her firm clit as she thrust another finger inside and rocked both digits against her g-spot, sending coursing, heavy pulses out from within. The hyena's movements grew more ragged as Janice's did, his sack drawing up against him in anticipation, just as the feline's thighs tensed and sunk her feet into the mattress. She gritted her teeth, feeling the heat inside her build as she waited impatiently for the shower of seed that she needed to feel on her. The pressure inside rose and mounded on itself, intensifying relentlessly until the female was as a fever point, all while the image of a burning red cock hung over her, ready to burst. Her resolve finally breaking, Janice's hips shot from the bed, her back arching high as the cock above her broke at last, unleashing a torrent of thick, hot seed across her chest as she clutched her breast tightly, her orgasm quaking her whole body in tremorous, rolling heaves. The lynx collapsed a moment later, still trembling as the heat in her loins diffused across her entire body, while the illusory cum soaked into the fur on her chest. Hard pants forced themselves from the feline as she struggled to shake herself from her fantasy and recover her composure, but these attempts soon gave way to the urge to enjoy the afterglow of her climax. Hiking her panties back up, Janice felt her warm, juicy folds leak against the fabric, forming a large wet spot, but hardly cared, sprawling her limbs out and relaxing into the soft sheets covering the mattress as the warmth of her orgasm clouded her mind.

Across the house, Jean heard the familiar creaks and muffled moans, knowing full well what was going on. A younger, more curious skink had queried that particular wonder once in the past, and Jean was wiser, if a bit more scarred now, for the experience. Instead, she decided, laundry would probably be a good use of time, and perhaps an adequate amount of mind-bleach and noise to drown things