FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I turned my head out of the wind. Another blast of cold, snow-choked air swept its way through the trees and into my lungs. It didn't seem to matter how many layers of clothes I scavenged, or how little exposed fur I had, the cold was numbing. It was its own beast. A beast that constantly tried to dig its claws in, tear the heat from my body. I wanted to hide from it, dig into some snowbank to wait it out till morning. Pretend the world hadn't taken a dozen wrong turns. But I pushed through the wind and snow, still not happy with my progress.

The wilderness surrounded me in monotony. Nothing but the leafless frames of trees and the faded color of evergreens. Then the repetition was broken. I spotted a small building, its rusty-grey color of the corrugated metal walls matched in ugliness by a decaying, snow-laden roof. I had thought about scavenging the structure, but ultimately kept moving. I wouldn't have been able to carry much more, anyway.

Many minutes later, I stopped abruptly. I had found myself staring over a sheer cliff face. Had there not been any trees in the valley below, I would have just walked right off. My stomach turned. Heights were never my strong suit. The steep wall of stone continued on either side of me in both directions before disappearing in the snowfall. Since I couldn't go straight south, I opted to just follow the cliff southwest until I found a way down. Or found a good place to hide out for the night.

My mind wondered as I walked, trying to think of anything besides how cold it was. I used to pride myself in my ability to keep a positive outlook. Used to. The only thing that kept me motivated then was the thought of a warmer place. A place I didn't know if still existed.

The wind switched directions for a split second. My sensitive, canine ears twitched. Pawsteps. I could barely see anything, just trees and snow. Inhaling deeply through my scarf, I smelled the frozen air. My heart lurched. Moving as quickly and as quietly as I could through the crunchy snow, I pushed on. But their footsteps, their panting maws, those didn't fade. They were on the move, too. In my haste, I tripped over some hidden undergrowth. The twigs snapped below me. If they didn't know exactly where I was before, they did then for sure.

Trying not to let panic set it in, I scrambled up and started running, plowing through the deep snow. I hoped for a way forward, some cliff path they couldn't follow me down. Just then I thought my prayers were answered. The edge of the cliff sloped down, towards the valley floor. A possible way to lose them, I thought. I turned hard down the slope. But I didn't get far before the path ahead disappeared completely, replaced with more sheer rock face. No good place to clamber up. No way around. The only way to go anywhere was back where I came from. Towards the jaws of beasts.

Feeling behind me, I grabbed for my ice axe. A tool more for scaling walls of ice, not defending against hungry wolves, but it was all I had. With nowhere to run, I grabbed the tool tightly, and waited for them to catch up. Only seconds passed before they came into view.

There was three of them, impossibly thin, starved in the endless cold. They barked viciously. I barked back.

"BACK OFF!" I swung my tiny axe in front of me. To my surprise, they slowed down, but they didn't stop completely. Heartbeats later they had reached me. I tried screaming nonsense, swiping the air separating us with my axe. But they didn't back down. They just slowly paced forward, snarling at me, displaying rows of dirty teeth. They would have sooner died than run away from a potential meal.

I managed to hit one of them with the sharp tip of my tool. It sunk into the desperate animal's snout, splattering blood over the snow. It yipped loudly but didn't run. The other two hardly changed their tune, now just growling even louder. My back hit the stone wall behind me. I was on borrowed time.

One of them lunged, its wiry frame sailing straight at me. In that split second, I did the only thing I could think of. I jumped off a cliff.

Time felt slow. My momentum was briefly carrying me upwards. I heard the lunging wolf plow his head into the solid stone with a sickening thud. The other wolves barked in surprise. Then gravity took over. I plummeted into the valley below. Treetops came rushing towards me. One sturdy branch hit me square in the head, and everything went black.

---

My eyes opened halfway, then immediately shut again. I groaned, teeth clenched. Everything hurt, especially my head. Without opening my eyes, I gingerly touched my forehead, feeling a sizeable lump under my black and white fur. It had then occurred to me that a certain, familiar ache was missing from the rest. The cold.

"Oh good, you're awake," said a slightly irritated voice.

I forced my eyes open fully despite the pain. The first thing I noticed was the fireplace. I winced as I looked into the bright heat. Its light flooded what I soon noticed to be a rustic interior, some sort of cabin. It looked old, but not unkempt. The kind of place a family might retreat to in the summer--when there still was one. Twisting my head, my view reached the opposite end of the small living space, where the cat who spoke was standing, arms crossed.

"Uh, hi," I grunted out, "who are you?"

"Evelyn." She waited for a reply. When she didn't get one, she added "and you are?"

"Quinn," I said. I tried to sit up more, but my body was completely unwilling to move another inch. I collapsed back on the couch with a groan.

"Yeah, Quinn, you probably shouldn't be trying to move," she said. There was a slight edge to the way she had said that, somewhere between threatening and calming.

Giving up on the concept of sitting, I turned my head and looked at her. "So where are we? What happened?" I asked.

"Well, let's see," she paused for effect. "I was going on my merry way, trying to find something worth eating in the frozen hellscape, when I heard screaming in the distance. Now, I probably should've run the other way at that point, but being the curious calico that I am, I moved towards the sound. That was probably my first mistake. My second being bringing you here when I barely have enough to feed myself." She paused, collecting herself.

"Please, continue," I said.

"So I went in the direction of the sound. I got over a hill and heard wolves on top of a big ridge, barking and whining. I had a head wind and they were still pretty far away, so I just crouched down in the snow and waited for them to leave. When they finally did, I went to see what had them so upset. And guess who I found six feet down in a snowbank."

"Ooo, was it me?"

"It was! I had to go back for a sled, but I managed to bring you back here. I gotta say, you're way fucking heavier than you look."

Ignoring the jab, I said, "well, thank you. You probably saved me out there."

"Oh yes, definitely," she said, smirking, "but I should probably thank you, too. Your pack had some good shit in it. You have no idea how long it's been since I've had baked beans."

My eyes narrowed. "You went through my pack?"

Evelyn plopped down in an oversized armchair on the other side of the room, next to the fireplace. "Well yeah, I had to know what the hell I was bringing back here."

"Alright, I guess," I said, in no position to argue.

The conversation dwindled. I thought about everything that had happened, how I had suddenly met someone in a part of the world I wasn't sure still existed. A place that was warm. On my trip south, I had found lots of abandoned buildings to hole up in, plenty of flammable things to burn for warmth, but this place didn't compare. It was no surprise that Evelyn would want to live here. If I would stay, though, was a different thing entirely.

"So, uh," I broke the silence, "What now?"

"What do you mean 'what now?' I'm no doctor, but you might wanna stay in bed."

I felt the tender spot on my head again. "Maybe, yeah," I said, "but then what, after I get better?"

She shrugged. "What were you doing out here anyway?"

"Heading south. It's got to be better down there than up here, right?" Evelyn didn't say anything at first. Instead she just let out a long breath and sat back in her chair.

"I don't know," she said finally, "I really don't." I know that's what the news was telling people as the temperature started dropping. I know I want to believe it isn't as bad somewhere, but think about it. If everyone and their mother made it all the way south, I doubt they'd be able to handle all the people."

"You think it's a mess down there?"

She shook her head. "I just don't think it's a safe bet."

"Hmmpf." I really didn't want that to be true, but I knew she might be right. At least my immediate future wasn't in so much doubt.

Evelyn cleared her throat. "Well, it's getting late. I'm probably going to get some sleep finally."

"Okay. I'll just... stay here."

She gave me a small grin. "Well, if you need anything from me while I'm asleep, don't. I'm exhausted."

I couldn't help but return her smile. "If you say so."

She stood up out of her chair. "Oh yeah, take this." She threw me a thick blanket she had been sitting against.

I barely managed to catch it. Unsurprisingly it had no shortage of cat hair, but I accepted the additional warmth regardless. "Thanks. Night," I said quietly.

"G'night stranger."

---

The next day was uneventful. I was able to get up and move around, but not much. The pain throughout my whole body couldn't fade fast enough. So, I mostly stuck to the couch.

And slept.

Ate a bit.

Talked a lot.

To my surprise, Evelyn was great to chat with. Something about a complete lack of social interaction left you with plenty to say.

"What were you going to do?" she asked.

"Like, for a career?" "Sure."

"I was going to go to a trade school. I didn't think I could handle being in a school for another four years."

"You?" she said incredulously, "an electrician or plumber or some shit? No way." I feigned offense. "Why not?"

"You don't have the face for one. Every tradesperson I ever met was always so fuckin' gruff, rough around the edges. No way that could be you."

I laughed. "So, are you calling me handsome, then?"

She made an expression that melded embarrassment with a smile. "No, I'm calling you soft! No wonder you survived that fall. You must be made of fur all the way down." She pushed a playful paw into the white fur on my arm. "Oh, that reminds me. How'd you piss off those wolves so much? Aren't dogs and wolves supposed to be friends or something?"

"I wish!" I returned, "No, they've probably started calling traitors they day we switched to walking on two legs."

"Heh. Maybe."

My thoughts once again returned to that day. I kept thinking about what I could have done differently. "Man, if only I had run back to this little shed when the wolves started following me. That might have worked better than jumping off a cliff."

"Wait, a shed? What did it look like?"

"Let's see, uh... it was smallish, grey. Mostly buried in the snow. Why'd you ask?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, it's kind of the apocalypse. I'm willing to check out basically anything to scavenge shit. Where was this thing?"

I told her roughly where I had spotted it, north of the ridge.

"Okay, but where did you run into the ridge?"

"It's... hard to describe. Not exactly a lot of landmarks out there."

Evelyn's green eyes flicked to the side then back to me. "Fair point. You'll just have to show me."

"Show you?! Back where those wolves are? Are you crazy?"

"Maybe," she admitted, grinning widely, "but fear not my canine friend! I have a plan."

I just shook my head.

"Will you be good to walk tomorrow?" she asked. "Wait, do you even know a way up the ridge?"

"Of course! And it doesn't involve running off it afterwards either."

"Oh, come on," I complained.

"That's what I'm saying! Are you up for it or not?"

I considered my options: go with this sly woman I had just met, through wilderness I barely knew, and face God-knows-what outside, or head out on my own and never deal with her antics again.

"...What's the plan, then?"

---

Evelyn's long tail swished as she led the way. The ridge was easily visible in the distance, the weather cold and clear.

My body wasn't quick to lend itself to physical exertion after the fall. Combined with thick winter gear and even thicker snow, our pace was painfully slow.

What felt like an hour later, we finally made it to where flat ground gave way to steep cliff. A portion of the natural wall was mostly eroded down, giving the possible way up. Evelyn forged ahead, maneuvering over rocks and icy crevices.

The ground was getting steeper and steeper until we approached the final part of the climb. A vertical portion of the cliff was in our way, standing just above the height of my shoulders, slightly under eye level for Evelyn.

I spoke, voice muffled under my thick scarf. "How are we supposed to get up?"

Evelyn took her bag off her back and slung it onto the top of the ridge. "Like this," she said. She found a foothold halfway up and pulled on a fistful of brush poking through the snow, just managing to heave herself up. "See?" she said, out of breath, "easy as cake."

I threw my bag up top and started climbing up after her. "Don't people usually say 'easy as pie?'"

"Yeah but fuck those people."

Snorting, I kept going up. Just as I was pulling on the same clump of undergrowth Evelyn had used, the twigs snapped in my grip. I felt my weight shift towards the rocky ground below. I swung my arms in a desperate, unsuccessful attempt to regain balance.

Evelyn snapped into action. She grabbed one of my flailing paws and pulled me towards her forcefully.

"Fuck," she breathed, "no more falling off cliffs!"

With her help, I managed to climb up on all fours, collapsing once I reached the top. We both caught our breaths. "Thanks," I panted, looking up at her. I stood up and dusting the snow from my clothes. "You know, I kind of like pie."

She laughed. "Well then fuck you, too."

I didn't know how to react other than to produce an embarrassed smile.

I shifted my attention to the ridge we just summited. I saw some of our footsteps leading from where we were now, back towards where we started. Evelyn's small cabin was still just visible in the distance. When my gaze reached the sky, I saw large, windswept storm clouds, still miles away. "That doesn't look good," I pointed out.

"No, no it doesn't. Hopefully it'll miss us. Knowing our luck though... we need to get moving again."

"Agreed." Leading the way along the cliff, I didn't know how far we would have to walk to find my old trail. My eyes kept looking back at the clouds. I had just hoped it wouldn't take too long.

"How far did you have to drag me from where I fell down?" I asked.

"Fuck if I know. The snow was so bad I couldn't make anything out."

"That's fine, I'm sure I'll recognize it."

"I admire your optimism."

We were making decent time. Wind seemed to have blown most of the snow off the cliff, making travel much easier than earlier. Before long, I spotted small depressions in the snow. The wind had mostly filled them with powder, but they were still clearly my footsteps.

"Looks like our luck is changing," I said. My confidence in finding the shack had grown considerably. But was if on cue, I heard the unmistakable rumble of thunder.

"You just had to open your mouth, didn't you?" Evelyn said, smirking.

"Since when is it possible to get snow and lightning at the same time? Christ."

"Come on." She grabbed my mitted paw and pulled me ahead with her. "I don't want to get caught out in this.

We followed my trail in the snow as best we could. At several points, my old snowshoe prints completely disappeared, buried in fresh powder, only to reappear later. If we had waited another day, my trail would have been gone completely.

As we walked, the storm neared. The clouds had moved in enough to hide the sun. In its place were brilliant flashes of the lightning, lighting up the sky in brief, but intense, discharges. Soon snow was entering the mix, which rapidly picked up in size and frequency. The air remained surprisingly calm. If not for the frequent roar of thunder, and the fact that we were losing our only clear indication of the way forward, the snow might have been relaxing.

"How much further, Quinn? This is starting to get bad."

"Not too much. Just keep your eyes open."

"Oh, now that you mention it, now would be a good time to open my eyes."

I looked back at her. "Are you ever not sarcastic?"

"Sometimes," she said unconvincingly.

The sky had darkened more as the clouds thickened, making it even harder to see. What I could see was completely limited to the foreground: the trees, the rocks, the snow, everything horribly uniform.

A sudden flash of lightning lit up the sky. It ignited the snowy ground in brilliant white light. In that moment, something on the edge of my vision came into view. That split second of light was gone as quickly as it came, and a loud, rolling boom of thunder took its place.

Evelyn yelled over the thunder. "What? You see something?" She must have noticed that I had stopped. I was just staring in the direction I thought I saw something.

"Just wait a second." I said, raising a paw.

"Okay, it's just we're kind of losing your old trail..."

I didn't say anything, instead waiting for another flash of lightning. We didn't wait long. One lit up the sky again, letting my vision cut through the snow. And there it was. The shed.

"I see it!" I exclaimed.

"Fuckin' finally!"

"Let's go, then." I started walking again.

The calico quickly followed me. "You don't have to tell me twice."

As we got closer, I was able to make out more of the details of the shack. It was even uglier up close. Four walls of rusted metal, patched together whenever one piece had eroded away. It had no windows or other points of entry except an old door, which was buried up to the handle in snow.

"Time to dig?" Evelyn asked.

"No, wait," I said, and looked more closely at the door. I could tell that it was designed to open inward. Crouching down, I tried the handle. It didn't budge.

"Well shit," Evelyn said, "Can we just pound the door in? That door looks like it's on its last legs anyway."

I took my pack off and dug through it a bit. "But then we'd be more exposed when we get inside. Better idea..." I paused. I finally pulled out what I was looking for.

"You can pick locks?" Evelyn said, clearly surprised.

"If I'm lucky," I said, taking off my mittens. "My parents hated it most the time. After a few years, I got better at it than I'm willing to admit."

"You just admitted it to me." "Shhh," I said, pretending to focus harder.

"Well, if you don't get it, we can just camp outside in the snow and lightning and wolves."

I looked up at her. "Wow, thanks for the extra pressure."

"No problem!"

After a bit of struggling, I heard the wonderful sound of a door unlocking, and I was just able to forcefully turn the rusted handle. The upper layers of snow fell in after it. It was too dark to see in further than a few feet.

Evelyn was looking over my shoulder. "I can't see shit in there."

"Me neither... Well uh, after you kitty cat."

She glared at me. "Oh wow, so brave."

"What, cats have better night vision!"

The cat stuck her tongue out at me briefly. "Whatever you say, doggy," she said, then crouched down to slide into the shack.

"Careful," I cautioned.

"Just remember, if I die because you made me go first into this creepy-ass shed, I'm blaming you."

Before I got to ask her how she would blame me if she had died, she slid down into the shed. I watched intently as she disappeared in the dark, not sure if I should follow her in or not.

"Get in here already," she shouted from somewhere inside, "a little dark never hurt anyone."

"Alright" I conceded, and unwillingly followed her down. My vision became nearly useless. I tripped on something in the dark but was just able to catch myself on the frame of some sort of shelving.

"I don't like this," I said simply.

"Ugh, hold on," Evelyn said somewhere ahead of me, "look for a lighter or something."

With great difficulty, I tried to look around me using what little light in through the doorway and the gaps in the patchwork walls. Some of that light glinted off the metal items on the shelving I had grabbed on to. I combed over the mess of items with my paw, feeling for something we could use. At the edge of one shelf I felt something small, a foot tall at most, with a handle on top. I picked it up. "I think I got something here," I told her, "one second." I tried a dial on the side of the device, and soon the room was flooded with yellow light.

"Hey, there you are!" Evelyn said. Amazingly, she had managed to make it to the other end of the shack without falling over; there was stuff filling practically every bit of space in the small interior. Old gardening equipment, power tools, outdoor furniture, lumber -- things mostly useless for our needs. The lamp was the only find so far.

"Anything else worth snatching?" Evelyn asked, reading my mind.

"Not that I can see right away."

"Here, give that to me quick," she said, pointing at the light. She took it and opened up an old wooden cabinet.

"Ehh, fuck-all here I think," she said.

"Wait, what about that bottom drawer?" Evelyn opened it and grabbed some sort of sealed plastic bag out.

"Clothes?" she asked.

"Think so. Let's see." I snatched up the bag she had in her paw and opened it up.

"In need of a wardrobe update?" I joked. Inside the bag was a small stack of clothing, mostly shirts.

"Well, I haven't gotten a new bra in well over two years. At this point, I don't even care that it would have been on some other lady's chest." I laughed slightly, trying to cover up some mild embarrassment. "Maybe you'll get lucky," I said.

The cat must have noticed my awkwardness. "Does talking about bras make you uncomfortable, Quinn?" she teased.

I eventually decided against lying. "Y-Yeah, a bit... didn't grow up around a lot of girls."

"Oh?" she said, waiting for me to continue.

"Well, I was an only child. Went to an all-boys school and all that. Would've rather been dead than ask my mom about that kind of thing." "Religious family, then?"

I nodded. "Oh yeah."

"Ouch."

"Sometimes, yeah. They were still good people... I miss them."

She gave me a sympathetic smile, thankfully not pushing it further, and instead went back to searching through the bags of clothes.

Turning around, I surveyed the room again. The door to the outside was still open. While the air was just as cold inside as out, gusts of wind and snow weren't helping it feel any nicer. I spotted a garden shovel and started digging out the entryway. After a few minutes, I had managed to clear a narrow trench out. When I got back inside, I saw that most of the clothes that had been in bags were now on the floor around Evelyn.

"Anything good?" I asked.

"I don't know, you think this would look good on me?" She held up a ridiculous Hawaiian top up to her chest.

"I think you could pull it off."

Evelyn chuckled. "I did find a bra. Not sure if will fit me. It'll be close."

I didn't know what to say to this, so I changed the subject. "So, camp out in here... how exactly?"

"Start a fire and roast marshmallows, obviously," she quipped, "no, uh, we could pull out some of those lawn chairs in the corner. Hunker down."

"Second best option, I suppose."

"Gonna be cold, even with all our clothes."

"Hmm," I agreed, then looked around the room again. "There's a tarp covering that old lawn mower. And all those clothes you threw on the dirty floor."

"Oh, shush it, I already grabbed the good stuff. Although now that you mention it, there was a jacket or two in there. Might not be your style, though." She pointed at my mismatched layers of outerwear. I had long since given up on fashion.

"Ha, ha," I enunciated, "Let me dig out these chairs." Meanwhile, the calico was busy sifting through the pile of clothes she had generated. I managed to clear enough space in the clutter to place down a couple of the oversized folding chairs.

"Ah, ha!" Evelyn proclaimed. She produced a plain blue sweater. "It's no parka, but still looks pretty warm. Do you want it?"

"No," I said, "not my style after all. I'm sure it'll look great on you."

"Of course! Everything looks good on me."

"Can't argue with that."

Evelyn threw on the extra sweater while I went and tore off the canvas tarp from the lawn mower, generating sneeze-inducing cloud of dust. I retreated to the chairs I had set out, where the cat was already sitting.

Wrapping myself in tarp, I plopped down in the chair next to her, sighing heavily as I did. "It feels sooo good to sit down," I said.

"Even if it's in a cramped, dirty, freezing garage?"

"Better than being outside" I pointed out. The storm was waning, but I still heard the rumblings of thunder inside.

"True, true," she nodded, "Seriously though, it is still freezing in here. I don't know if I can sleep like this."

I smiled toothily. "It's a shame you picked 'oversized sweater' over 'dusty tarp.'"

"You do look cozy, actually. Mind if I sleep next to you?"

The question caught me by surprise. "Oh! Uh, I'm not sure if there's room on this chair for both of us."

"Of course there is. Scooch over!"

I groaned but moved over anyway. She wedged herself in between me and the arm of the seat. "See," she said, "much better."

"For you, maybe."

"Oh quit complaining, you get to share my body heat too."

"I was already warm!"

"Yeah, 'cause you got that thick fur. And that tarp. Which you should share with me, by the way."

"My fur or the tarp?"

"Well, if you don't give me some tarp, I can just claw out some of your fur and make a blanket out of that instead," she threatened.

I made a face. "Graphic." I pulled some of the fabric off from around me and put it in her awaiting paws.

"Such a gentledog." She draped the tarp over her.

"I'm offended you ever even questioned it."

"Quiet," she murmured, "just let me enjoy this." The cat sunk down in the chair and rested her head against my shoulder. Despite my outward attitude, I did enjoy the company. And I was starting to think Evelyn was laying against me for more reason than just for warmth.

"Do you miss having people around?" I asked.

"Fuck no."

"Really?"

"Eh, well, I don't miss most people. Most people are full of shit."

"I guess that's one way to look at it."

Evelyn continued unphased. "At least nature isn't full of itself. Kill or be killed. No complications."

"I'd say it's a lot easier dealing with people than some of what I saw out there."

"Of course you would think that, you almost got munched on by wolves."

"Oh come on, wolves are terrifying. You should have seen them snarling." I did my best wolf impression, showing off my teeth. Feeling especially silly, I growled a bit for the act.

"Yup. Terrifying," she mocked.

I doubled down. "You really wouldn't be scared if one came up to you, and then -?" I opened my jaws above her neck in my most ferocious pose, then chomped the air in front of her noisily. She turned and looked at me, eyes wide, then burst out laughing. I couldn't help but laugh at my own ridiculousness with her.

Laughter wound down to giggles. "You're something special, Quinn."

I had started to say "thanks" when I felt her lips peck me on my cheek. It was my turn to be surprised. I looked at her, nonplussed. She looked back innocently at me, scanning my face. I couldn't take it anymore. I kissed her back, this time on the lips. My heartbeat raced.

Kissing a cat was a very new experience for me. Her long whiskers tickled against my face as she shifted to kiss me more deeply. A purr emanated from her throat, enhancing the soft pleasure of her lips. It was addicting. When I pulled back slightly to catch a breath, I felt drawn back to her, eager to feel again what had been gone from my life for far too long: a companion. Someone worth missing.

---

I awoke the next morning. If not for the cracks and holes in the old shed letting in thin rays of light, I hardly would have been able to tell it was day. I was still pressed against Evelyn on the lawn chair. She had nuzzled her head into my shoulder in the night. Kissing the top of her head, I tried to wake her. She only shifted in her sleep.

"Time to wake up," I said, voice barely above a whisper.

That did the trick. She groaned as she pulled her arms out into a stretch, eyes still closed. "Didn't I tell you I like my sleep?"

"That doesn't sound like you at all."

She just fell back against the chair with a long sigh. "Just five more minutes, mom."

"Mmm-hm."

I awkwardly twisted out of the seat and stood up. My muscles ached. Still unable to see clearly, I turned back on the lamp. The sound of burning gas accompanied a soft blaze of light that filled the interior, which I could tell that Evelyn, desperately trying to catch a few more Z's, was not a fan of. I navigated the messy floor to the entrance and walked out, quickly closing the door behind me.

I was blinded by the furious sunlight coming off the snow. Squinting, I walked from the entrance. The path out had been partially reburied in fresh powder, making me take large steps through the bank. As soon as I got away from the protection of the shed walls, I was buffeted by freezing winds, stinging my eyes with blowing snow. Another day in paradise.

Once I felt I had gotten a feel for the current weather, I headed back in. Inside, Evelyn had gotten up. She was in the process of taking off several layers of clothing from her chest.

"I couldn't wait," she said.

"To do what?"

"To try on that bra. You have no idea what it's like wearing one for more than a day straight."

"You're right, I definitely wouldn't. I'll let you do that, then" I turned around to give her some privacy.

"Really? You're going to act all embarrassed after we kissed like that yesterday?"

"I'm not embarrassed," I started, "I just thought you might want some space."

She shook her head. "Not from you." I gave a small smile, blushing under my fur. She removed her white undershirt before taking off her bra in full view of me. I couldn't help but watch. Her breasts weren't oversized, but they were by no means small. Either way, I thought she was beautiful. I said as much.

She shivered as she grabbed the other bra to put on. "Thanks, well, it's really fucking cold, so that's all you get to see of these girls... for a while, anyway," she stipulated. I felt a bit disappointed in spite of myself as she finished putting her bra on. "Eh? Eh?" she said, twisting in place.

"Looks nice. How does it feel?" "Fan-freaking-tastic. Let's get out of this dump already." She soon had on the rest of her gear.

I stood at the entrance. "Prepare for some wind," I said, and held the door open for her.

"I'm always prepared." She led the way out confidently. I heard her swear under her breath as she felt the full force of the wind. I pulled my ski goggles down, which at least helped cut down on the sun.

The constant wind remained our enemy. It pushed us indiscriminately, carrying with it tiny ribbons of drifting snow. The prints of the previous day had dissolved. Forced to forge a new path, we took turns making a trail for the other to walk behind in.

I was leading when we arrived back at the ridge not far from where I had first encountered it. Pausing, I looked out at the world. It was a strange feeling. For months, I was used to never seeing the same area more than once or twice. But this time I hadn't run away; I was still here. I felt safe in the company of Evelyn, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was just delaying an inevitable flight onward. That we would never be allowed comfort in one spot for long.

I shook these worries from my mind as Evelyn took the lead again. She looked back at me with from what I could tell through all the clothing was an inquisitive look.

"All good?" she asked over the wind.

"Yep." I took my place behind her. She gave me one last glance before turning and continuing on.

We had only made it another hundred yards when Evelyn stopped dead. I quickly caught up to her.

"What?" I asked.

She just held up a mitten to my cloth-covered mouth, silencing me. With her other paw, she pointed ahead of us. I squinted, trying to spot what she had seen, praying it wouldn't be what I could only assume it was. But my fears were realized. Hiding in the windswept snow and trees were wolves. I was amazed that Evelyn had been able to spot them from such a distance. Their pelts blended well with their surroundings, made them almost invisible.

"Now what?" I asked as quietly as I could.

"I'd rather not resort to my plan if we can help it. Let's try to loop around them."

I nodded, keeping my eyes on the distant wolves. They didn't seem to be moving around much.

Slowly, we started to navigate around them. We discussed moving even further away, out of visual range, but decided against. We could keep an eye on them this way. The wolves remained unnervingly still.

We were making decent progress when we heard a bark, just loud enough to hear over the wind. Evelyn and I stopped dead in our tracks, watching for movement from the wolves. I was as afraid to speak as I was to move, unsure if the wolves had seen us. That's when I noticed their movement.

"Christ," I started, "are they...?"

"Yup. They're coming to check us out. Don't panic."

"I'm not panicking," I said, my voice not reflecting that.

"Great, time for el plan!" Evelyn enthused. She took off her pack and started digging around.

I watched intensely as the distant shapes slowly materialized into wolves. I broke my concentration for a split second to reply. "There's no way that's Spanish."

The cat didn't lift her eyes from the inside of her pack. "How dare you? It totally is!"

"Are- are you gonna grab it already or what!?" Three wolves were only moments away now. From what I could remember, they looked exactly like the wolves I saw only days earlier. Just as starving, but one now with a smear of dried blood on their snout. I started to hope they didn't recognize me, too.

"No panicking, remember? Here we go." She pulled out what she was digging for. "You might wanna cover your ears."

I did as she asked. When the wolves came within a few dozen yards of us, Evelyn got ready to use the airhorn.

"Rawr," she said casually, then pressed down. Even with my ears covered by my hat and paws, it was still painfully loud. The wolves visibly recoiled, folding their ears back. One of them yipped and immediately turned around. The other two growled spitefully, before joining their friend in a hasty retreat. After another moment, Evelyn finally let up on the horn. Its echo rebounded several times before mixing into the wind. "Always did think wolves were a bunch of sissies," she said.

Watching the wolves retreat was an amazing feeling. I had an overwhelming urge to share that feeling. "Oh!" she exclaimed. She was apparently caught off guard by the bear hug, but quickly hugged me back. I wanted to thank her with words, too, but my mind kept getting caught up on something.

I pulled out of the hug, "'Rawr?' Really?"

Evelyn slung her pack back onto her shoulders. "If you can't laugh in the face of mortal danger, I don't know what to tell you."

I just smiled. Giving the fleeing wolves one more glance, we turned and got moving.

---

"It's kind of... mesmerizing? Is that the word?" Evelyn asked.

"Not a bad word for it," I replied. From the safety of Evelyn's cabin, we watched our fire grow in front of us. You learned to have a special relationship with fire in the Freeze. Back when there was power it was easy to forget how much we still relied on it. But now it felt intimately close, using it to melt snow for water, cook food, stave off the cold...

Lost in my thoughts, I realized my winter coat was becoming way too warm to keep wearing.

"One sec', gotta take this off."

She nodded. "Hungry?"

Coat off, I plopped down on the couch. "Starving."

"In a bit we'll be able to heat something up. Till then you'll just have to keep me warm."

"You're still cold?"

She joined me on the couch. "Not really," she admitted, "I just like your fur." She rubbed a paw through the fur on my neck.

"I feel used."

The cat giggled, then leaned in and kissed me. After a few seconds, she pulled away.

"Did I tell you how nice it feels when you do that?" I said.

Smiling, she said "I think you might have mentioned it." She kissed me again and pushed me down onto the couch, her body pressed on top of mine. I returned her kisses. Her tongue briefly invaded my mouth, which I wasn't ready for.

"Mmmh!" I murmured.

Evelyn pulled back. "No good?"

"No, it's fine. It surprised me, is all." I kissed her back, this time wrestling her tongue with mine. The barbs on her tongue were rough, but nearly as painful as I might have thought. As we kissed, I couldn't do anything to prevent my tail from wagging. Or the erection growing in my pants. My entire focus was on Evelyn. She was mesmerizing.

She sat up briefly on top of me to take another couple layers of clothing from her chest, down to her bra. "You're doing a good job keeping me warm," she said.

"The fire helps, too."

"Take a compliment, damnit."

"If I must," I said, sighing.

Evelyn laughed. "Shut up!" Pulling me close, she kissed me again, which did shut me up. Eventually her paws found the edge of my shirt, which I helped take off. Removing her mouth from mine I tried to return the favor and unclasp her bra. I fumbled with the latch for a few seconds, but finally got it.

She threw the bra to the floor. "You look excited," she observed.

"I am," I said. Before I could stop myself, I jokingly added, "In more ways than one."

The cat raised an eyebrow. "Mmm?" she purred.

"Sorry, I--"

"Hey, I'm not complaining..." Evelyn rolled off me. "Can I tell you something?"

I sat up. "What?"

She started undoing the belt on my pants. "You're kind of turning me on, too." "Just 'kind of'?"

"Kind of a lot." With the belt off, I helped her pull my pants and underwear down. My tapered red length finally exposed, I watched Evelyn eye it eagerly, kneeling in front of me.

"So, did you wanna, uh-"

"Suck your dick?"

My embarrassment spread to my face. "Yeah. That."

"Oh Quinn, you're such a treasure." Evelyn held the base of my penis in her paw. "A shy, horny, treasure."

Before I could respond properly, she licked the side of my length, leaving any words stuck in my throat. Despite the texture, her tongue felt amazing. She looked back at me as she gave my dick another wet swipe. From her sly expression, I could tell she was clearly enjoying my reaction. But I couldn't help it even if I wanted to; I felt like I was at her whim.

Soon she wrapped her feline lips around my canine tip. If her tongue was one thing, this was another one entirely. She slowly lowered her head down, taking in half my length into her purring maw. The selfish part of me wanted to thrust upward into that hot, wet space, but I managed to hold myself back. I resigned to petting her head, enjoying the feeling of her fur and hair against my paws, the soft fuzz on her ears, and the thick fluff on her cheeks. It somehow just made the pleasure from her motions up and down increase.

"God," I moaned, finally finding voice, "you are such a naughty kitty."

She looked at me, her tail swishing behind her. From her eyes I could tell that, if she didn't have my dick in her mouth, she would have been smiling.

I took a moment to just take in the sensations. The roof of her mouth and her tongue combined in perfect combination. I felt my knot start to expand, and the rate of pre leaking from my tip start to increase. Lustfully, I longed for release.

She momentarily took her mouth off my length, instead massaging my dick with a paw, using her saliva as lubricant. "I can tell you're getting close. Where did you want to cum? ...in my mouth?" she offered.

She wasn't wrong; I was getting close. So much so, all I could get out was a whine of satisfaction as I approached my limit.

She had that sly smile on her face again. "I'll take that as a 'yes,' dirty dog.'" She took hold of my swelling knot and put her lips around again. She had only started again before the sensation of her mouth plus the pressure against my knot was too much to bear. All I could get out was "Fffuck, I'm" before I felt myself go.

I gasped. My toes curled as I felt myself release into Evelyn's maw, sending jets of white down her throat. I held her head as she pressed herself against my crotch. She swallowed again and again, willingly taking in my essense where nature never intended.

She was holding me deep, lips kissing my knot. The deep rumbling in her mouth sent shockwaves through my body.

After several seconds, I felt my orgasm wane, spurts giving way to dribbles. The cat got a few last licks in before standing up.

"Someone was pent up."

Still panting happily, I felt my face redden again. "Yeah... you were great."

She swiped her tongue over her lips. "I know."

Taking a spot beside me on the couch, Evelyn went in for a kiss. My eyes widened as I tasted my own cum on her breath. I pulled away quickly.

"You..."

She suppressed a laugh. "Can't believe you fell for that."

"...Are gross," I finished.

"What, I didn't mind it, did I?"

I didn't say anything, trying to not think about it. We just sat against each other for a few moments.

"I just realized something," Evelyn started, "I think that's the first time I heard you swear."

"What?! When?"

"Right before you came in my mouth."

"Oh. Right." My dick had already mostly retracted back into my sheath, but her words stirred some life into it again.

Evelyn smiled. "I think I'm rubbing off on you."

"You definitely are."

She gave me a curious smile, head tilted.

"What?" I asked.

"Why don't you like swearing?"

"Honestly? ...Not sure. Partly 'cause of how I was raised. But now? I don't know."

"Me neither. Swearing is great. What other word would you describe having sex with someone besides 'fuck?'" Evelyn casually wrapped her hand around my sheath and started massaging the tip of my penis.

"'Making love?'" I offered.

"No way, 'making love' sounds like missionary with the lights off. No, see, I wanna fuck you. See the difference?"

Along with her paw's movements, those words were quickly bringing my length up once again.

Still, I hesitated. "Yes?"

"You should feel how wet I am right now. Seriously."

"Oh, uh...." She undid her pants and pulled them down with her panties, finally just as naked as I was. I felt my breathing pick up

"Are you alright? Are we going to fast?" she asked, noticing my discomfort. She took her paw off my crotch.

"No, no, it's not that, it's just I..." I started saying, able to finish.

"You're not gay, are you? It's okay if-"

"What?" I interrupted, louder than I meant to. "No, I- I just haven't... done this before," I said, finally getting the words out.

"Oh... Oooooooh," she said, finally understanding. "That's okay. I can take you through it. Can I take your paw?"

Cooling off slightly, I was able to guess where she was headed with this. "Sure," I said.

Evelyn inspected my paw closest to her. "Great, you keep those claws trimmed. Now time for some anatomy." She reclined in her spot and spread her legs slightly, showing off her crotch of short fur that gave way to the two lips of her pussy. Her folds glistened under the light of the fire. Still holding my paw, she used my fingers to point at herself.

"I'll keep our tour brief. This little nub right here is my clit. It's pretty sensitive for me, but still feels super good if you're gentle with it. A little lower is the hole I piss out of..."

"Eww," I joked, trying to break a bit of the tension.

"Haa. Haa," she said slowly, smiling. "Then a bit lower is the one that gets all the attention, my vagina... Well go ahead. Don't be shy, doggy." She guided my paw the rest of the way to her entrance.

Feeling incredibly awkward, but still incredibly horny, I gently pressed a digit into her wet heat.

She sighed softly as I penetrated her opening. "You have no idea how long it's been since someone besides me has done that."

I slid my finger out before pushing it in again, deeper.

"Fuuuck," she moaned, "don't be afraid to use another finger, too." The cat slouched lower to give me easier access. Eager to please, I pressed in another finger. Her walls hugged my digits as is slid them in and out. Her heavy breathing and needy purrs were quickly bringing my erection up the rest of the way.

Experimentally, I tried rotating my fingers inside her. Her reaction was immediate.

"Ahh!" She looked at me briefly. "God, Quinn, you're a natural."

I just smiled, not halting my paw movements. Her eyes were closed, face looking more than content. After a while, I tried to add a third finger, just managing to squeeze it inside.

Evenly suddenly took a paw to herself just above my own, gently massaging her clit. I paused, looking at her questioningly.

"Whatever you do, don't stop," she pleaded. So, I kept going, watching her expression change. She seemed to be getting close. I really wanted to start rubbing myself off, too, but I held my focus on bringing her the rest of the way. Another desperate minute passed. Her legs suddenly pressed around my paw, holding my fingers inside her. I felt her shiver in bliss, moaning quietly in pleasure as she released.

She let herself rest on to my shoulders and sighed happily, sounding slightly dazed. Releasing her legs' grip on my hand, she let me remove my paw from her wet entrance.

"That good, huh?"

"Pretty much." Unable to help myself, I started rubbing my dick using the same paw I had used on Evelyn. Somewhat unsurprisingly, her fluids made great lubrication.

"You're left handed?" she asked, looking down.

"Oh, yeah!" I said, looking at which paw I was using, "Weird how that works."

Her eyes narrowed as she smiled. "You're weird." She craned her neck in for a kiss, but I backed up.

"Your mouth isn't going to taste like my cum still, is it?" I said, laughing.

"Only a little bit," she admitted. This time I welcomed her advance. The strange taste was easily noticeable, but I ignored it, just enjoying her mouth to mine. She brushed my paw away from my cock, and instead started rubbing me off herself. Our kiss was deepening when she pounced on to my lap, wrapping her arms around me. My dick pressed against the fluffy fur of her belly.

"So," she started, staring at my erection, "did you wanna..."

"Fuck?"

The calico giggled. "Honestly, I just wanted to hear you swear again... But seriously..."

I couldn't meet her gaze. "What if you get pregnant?"

"I'm not in heat, we'll be fine."

Taking a deep breath, I slowly released it. I felt uncomfortably hot, despite not wearing anything.

Her expression softened. "Don't be nervous, okay? There's nothing you could do that'd piss me off. Let's just have fun." I looked at her, taking in her uncharacteristically soft expression, then nodded.

"Besides," she added, "I'm pretty sure you'd be the cutest guy I've ever fucked."

I smirked in spite of everything.

Evelyn raised herself up slightly. "Scooch down a bit, will ya?" she said.

Taking her lead, I shifted myself beneath her.

"Ready?" she asked. Still not trusting my voice, I nodded. My paws naturally found her hips. She grabbed hold of achingly-hard erection and, slowly, lowered herself down. My whole body felt tense as I watched her.

But the moment we made contact, my unease evaporated. Her slick walls easily parted around my end, slowly sinking down inch by inch. I was gripped in her hot passion. Evelyn lifted her butt up slightly before sinking deeper. I whimpered in pleasure as she took in most of me. That same tightness I once felt on my fingers I now felt on my entire length, every part of her vagina hugging me in incredible fashion.

Grabbing hold of my shoulders, she used me to steady herself. I felt her fingers clench as she adjusted to the sensation. In long, slow motions, she lusted over me, stimulating some buried desire in us. A desire not just for good sex, but for someone to love. Someone to share the bad times with, not just the pleasurable ones. I think all the bad just made the good feel that much better when it happened. This was definitely one of the latter.

Her motions were speeding up. Needy drives down onto my crotch sent her breasts bobbing, her breathing rapid. Every few thrusts I felt her walls clench me, making me groan out at the sensation. Our bodies were together in this dance, but for some reason it didn't matter I didn't know the moves when we started. She got to show them to me.

She momentarily came to rest, catching her breath with my cock buried inside her. It was torture; staying still with her on my lap was unthinkable. I clutched her back, pulling her close. Then I pulled partway out before shamelessly sinking myself deep into that tunnel. She vocalized first in surprise, then in pleasure. Soon, she was continuing her own motions, meeting me halfway, fur against fur.

The sounds of our lovemaking washed over me. Evelyn moaned in satisfaction, enjoying every eager thrust. My balls smacked against her, delicate lips repeatedly meeting the fur of my sheath as I fucked her in earnest.

I felt hot. The exertion was exhausting, but I didn't care. I craved every press against her, every sharp flex of her claws digging into my fur, every needy moan.

"Gah! Don't stop!" she begged. I wouldn't have been able to anyway; I felt so close. My knot was starting to swell, making every thrust upward take more and more effort to sink in.

Pressure in me built. I wanted to keep going, to never let go of the feeling, but it was inevitable. My knot, almost at its full size, barely came out before I finally sunk into those depths one last time. With her help, I forced all of myself in, spreading her tight lips around my knot. We both cried out. Her pussy, entirely full of my length, wrapped me in warmth. There was no holding back. I shuddered as I exploded inside of her. All I could do was clutch her in this tight embrace as I rode out my orgasm. I buried my head in her fur, eyes closed.

"Christ," she sighed, "I can feel you cumming."

Words impossible, I just breathed. A final few spurts deposited themselves in my mate, now completely filled.

Eventually I lifted my head up, now staring directly into Evelyn's eyes. I almost instinctively moved my lips to hers, kissing her deeply. Somehow, a kiss felt even better when you were knotted together.

She straightened upright. "That was... interesting."

"What do you mean?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was my first time with a knot in me?"

I brushed back the short strands of hair in front of her eyes. "Sorry if I was too rough."

"Oh, do not apologize. You were great."

I relaxed at her words. "I feel stupid for being so nervous, now that we're done."

"The famous post-orgasm clarity. Don't beat yourself up."

I was giving a small nod when she started using a paw to pleasure herself against my knot. "But... who told you we were done?"

Clueless, it took me a second to return her sly grin.

---

"So." I paused, taking another bite. "How are you this good at making food taste so much better than it looks?"

"Oh, fuck off," Evelyn objected. Her voice was muffled by all the food in her mouth. "It's not like I have any garnish anymore." Swallowing, she added, "or basically anything green."

"Remember 'green?'"

"No."

I laughed into my bowl. "It feels like my last few months have been just me looking for something greener than a pine tree."

"Even the evergreens aren't very green anymore."

I shook my head, even though I agreed. Our eyes took us to the window, and the desolate world outside it.

"How long are we going to be able to keep doing this?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

I rephrased. "How long till we run out of food?"

"We'll find more," she said, dodging the question.

"How long?"

She couldn't look at me. I repeated the question again, my concern growing.

"Between the two of us... about a week," she said.

"What!?" I cried, "Evelyn, we can't-"

She cut me off. "We can find more!"

"Maybe some, but then what? How much more food could even be out there?" I gestured out the window and looked at her, apprehensive.

"What other option is there?! Should we just starve?!"

"...We need to leave."

She just shook her head. "No."

"What do you mean 'no?' We're going to starve if we don't go!"

Her ears folded back, as if she didn't want to process the words that left my mouth. "No way. This is my home." "Then just we need to find a new one." "Oh? Yeah? How's that been working out for you?!"

The words stung. She knew the answer.

"Right, it hasn't," she said, voice cracking. Evelyn turned away, suddenly incredibly interested in the food in her bowl.

Holding back an insult on her stubbornness, I realized who I was arguing with. It all just felt so stupid. Putting my bowl down, I sat next to her, letting the silence resonate. I tried to think of something worth saying.

"You're right," I finally said, "I haven't had a place to call home for a long time. But I don't think that matters... I think wherever you are is my home now."

She produced a smile on the edge of her lips, her paws wiping the some of the old moisture from her eyes. "You're such a fucking romantic."

I let out a small snort, then I let her draw me into a hug. "I know."

I don't know how long we stayed like that, holding each other tight.

We both needed it.