FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Raucous dance music pulsed through Rich's body as he sat at the bar. Men tried shouting over the top, ordering drinks for themselves and each other. Everything seemed to be filled with a general buzz, no matter where you were. He couldn't even hear the crackling snap of the unmarked pages in his latest notebook, as he thumbed its edge. Only the hard cover had been written on: his name, in case he lost it, and the subject he was going to write about in it. Tapping the cover with his fingers, Rich glanced down at the cover.Otter Joe._The name alone lit up his head with ideas. _How long do I have to wait for you?

Somehow, despite having never seen the mysterious living rumour, Otter Joe had taken up residence in Rich's brain. Nobody but the most fascinating, unusual character_could_be there, the minotaur at the end of the labyrinth of second-hand stories and drunken memories that was all Rich had to think about. Otter Joe had become his obsession. He had gone from a quiet, straight-laced, straight-oriented guy, merely looking for inspiration for characters in the gay club scene, to a ruthless trader of drinks for scraps of morsels of clues about Otter Joe. His original story idea had been shelved; instead, he wanted to write about Otter Joe. What he needed, he was convinced, was to meet him in person.

Easier said than done. Not of all the gay guys Rich interviewed trusted him enough to tell him much of anything - which was fair, if annoying - and of those that did, none had anything concrete about Otter Joe. Rich had two facts: a pseudonym, and a general description of what he looked and acted like when he was seen out in public.

But oh boy, is that_a doozy!_

Otter Joe was a man - even his real gender was, of course, up for debate - who arrived in what could only be described as the most elaborate costume ever constructed. From what he heard, he looked like an_actual_otter: the head piece looked like the animal, while the "body" consisted of a fairly long, slender torso, shorter-than-normal limbs, webbed digits, and a long, thick tail. Nothing of the person underneath showed through: even the clothing Otter Joe "wore" was made of the same shiny, black stuff as the rest of the costume. One of the kickers was the details of that clothing changed from sighting to sighting.

As for what Otter Joe got up to, Rich didn't believe nine-tenths of it was true._Nobody can drink hard liquor like water. Nobody wearing that costume could dance the whole night: they'd overheat, at least. Nobody can take the drugs he's supposed to have taken, in the amount he's done them, and_live. That wasn't Rich being naive; he'd asked some friends who went to medical school, and played a confusing game of telephone, learning more about recreational drugs than he ever wanted.

_Then there's the sex thing._One of the confusing things that Rich had learned about Otter Joe through his growing list of contacts was that he was almost certainly gay: he enjoyed flirting with other guys too much, and this fact was too consistent. Only, as Rich had tried getting deeper into Otter Joe's head, he discovered that the charismatic weirdo never actually_did_anything with anyone who'd been willing to speak about it. It wasn't that guys_weren't_biting, either. Just those that did had been turned down, or had bailed. Rich understood that: anonymity was alluring, but it was also dangerous.

Rich just _had_to meet this guy. Nobody he'd met or heard of had been that truly unique._A man so consumed by their fetish that they were never seen out of the character they wanted to live as._He hadn't been the only curious one; guys had tried to find out more, but Otter Joe was just as slippery as his shiny body suggested. Men would tail him into the bathroom, only to lose him when he entered a stall; or, Otter Joe would head down into a dead-end alleyway and disappear like a gay, latex ghost.

That, if anything, made him even more appealing to Rich's brain. Story ideas were coming to him thick and fast.Something happened to him. Probably something he saw when he was a kid; that's usually when these things happen from what I understand. It flipped some internal switch so hard into the on position that it got stuck there. Thus Otter Joe was created. Branches of possibility sprawled out in front of him: Rich's problem now was trying to narrow it down, because - without some serious curtailing -nobody was going to believe what he would write otherwise. He was here, spending time in a gay bar instead of home, with his feet up, doing the next cryptic crossword, because_he_had trouble believing Otter Joe was real.

I don't have enough. Not yet. I just need to pick his brain. What's going on under that costume? Why the costume at all? Why is it so elaborate? Did he buy it, or did he make it himself? If it's the latter, why isn't Hollywood banging down his door, because - if what they're saying is true - he's a costume wizard. What's the costume made from? Why doesn't he ever take it off in public? What does it_do _for him? That left with the biggest question Rich had.What is he looking for?_Rich _needed to dig into that suit, so he could find the strange, flawed human buried underneath.

"Come on," he muttered. Rich had gotten called by one of his contacts tonight. Otter Joe had been spotted at this bar.He usually goes to one place a night._Dressing nicely, but conservatively so as not to mislead anyone, he had come down, and sat at the bar for what felt like the whole night._God, I hope this hasn't been a gigantic waste of time.

About ready to give up, Rich pulled out the crumpled plastic bag jammed in his pocket, tossing in the notebook along with the pen that was already in there. As he stuck the bag back, something at the corner of his eye grabbed his attention.Was that...? Twisting around on his stool, so fast he nearly slipped off, he scanned the crowd, trying to get another glimpse. Getting to his feet, his heart pounded to an enthusiastic drum solo. When he first starting hearing about what Otter Joe was like, his mind had filled in the yawning chasms between one amorphous detail and the next. Now he became aware of how wrong he had been.

Seeing Joe in person was something else.

Nothing could have prepared Rich: everyone had somehow_undersold_ the effect. Wow! Otter Joe carried himself easily, as if the costume weighed nothing, and did nothing to get in the way of his body. His short limbs moved at a frenzied pace; nobody could really keep up, but he still danced with anyone who seemed interested. Dances and drinks were traded, Otter Joe's long, shiny tail raising as he ground his hips against another dude's crotch. Rich just stood there, gaping, not believing his eyes.

_He looks really fucking good!_Suddenly embarrassed - even though he'd only thought it, and knew what he meant - Rich felt himself blushing._That costume's really convincing!_In the few moments were Otter Joe was still, the effect was really pronounced: there were ornate details, many so tiny it seemed almost impossible anyone would bother, like it was somehow more_real_than the actual people there.

Still watching as Otter Joe joined a couple of men at the bar, Rich studied his muzzle as he drank. Sliding through the crowd, he got into a good position to look down the seamless black inside of his mouth as the liquid from his shot disappeared. His small, round otter ears rose and fell as he smiled or talked. Somehow, he also managed to keep his tail out from everyone walking past.It's like he's got eyes in the back of his head.

Rich slowly realised why everyone hadn't been able to do Otter Joe justice. His head was starting to hurt the more he looked, like you_couldn't_look too much at him. Turning away as Otter Joe returned to the dance floor, Rich felt his insides squirm.How is that possible_? It can't be animatronics: the level is way too good, and the movements too fluid. It's not a costume though, not in the conventional sense._ Starting to feel sick, Rich also felt the strain on his bladder grow past what he could ignore. Now that he'd seen Otter Joe, he'd wanted to talk to him, but there seemed to be no way to get an opening.I don't want to buy him a drink; it might give him the wrong idea. Still, even if I don't get to talk to him tonight, I finally saw him!

Ideas were already connecting, coalescing into a giant net as he made his way to the men's room._Maybe he's a biotech billionaire, and this is a fantastic bit of underground advertising? Maybe it's based on some stolen military research - ooh, that's pretty good: make love, not war..._Rich's thoughts stopped abruptly; he'd hoped to get a stall so as not to be ogled._Guess I should have expected they'd be occupied - one way or another - on a busy night like this._Fortunately, few people were using the urinals, so he got one right in the corner, where he could hide out and take a quick leak and wait for his stomach to settle.

"Howdy!"

Nearly jumping out of his skin, Rich yelped and twisted his head to the side. Freezing his place, he found himself staring open-mouthed at Otter Joe's shiny black face grinning back. Being this close made the costume's tiny details even more impressive, but Rich didn't appreciate it. "Uh, hi, look, um, I..."

"Haven't seen you around before!" Otter Joe's small, black-coated fangs twinkled even under the men's room's dull lighting.Bet they're fucking dazzling out there when there's a laser show. "From what I hear, that's not from lack of trying..."

"Yeah, but, well, not like that..._uh, not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just, well, uh, I'm not..." Rich could feel his brain stalling; it felt like there wasn't a drop of blood left in the rest of his body, just his face where it was cranking up the thermostat._For fuck's sake, why does he have to want to talk to me_now?_ "I'm a writer. Novels. Fiction."Hurry up, bladder! Hurry up! "I heard about you from a bunch of guys, and I thought you'd be interested to talk to, like an interview. Not, uh, not like a journalist or anything; I just want to make some notes about a ch- um, ah..."

Otter Joe plopped his hand on Rich's shoulder, shifting from behind him to stand in front of the neighbouring urinal._Weird! It's warm, like an actual hand's touching me. What's this stuff_made_out of? Hmm. Maybe it's just because it's so hot inside the suit; maybe it's just a really good conductor of heat or something._Whatever the explanation, Rich still felt unnerved with the warm otter "paw" just sitting there.

"An interview, huh?" Otter Joe mused; he scratched his chin with his left hand, leaving his right on Rich's shoulder. Rich would have elaborated but then he heard a loud, steady stream of piss coming from below. Don't look don't look don't look. Although he didn't look, he started wondering how Otter Joe had managed it.One hand's on my shoulder, the other's on his chin; how did he get it out of his suit? "If you've been asking around, you'll know I like to have fun, but I also like my privacy." Rich, feeling relieved that he had a way out - but oddly disappointed too - was about to tell him to forget it, when instead he answered. "How's about a deal?"

"What kind of deal? If it involves, uh,favours, then sorry but I'm out."

Otter Joe chuckled, his stream of piss intensifying.Is... is he trying to intimidate me?"Nothing like that. Just that, if you're want me to open up, I want to know more about you. How's about we go to your place and talk?" His eyes ballooned up, almost cartoonishly.How the hell did he manage that_?_"Couldn't really have an intimate interview here, anyway." He wriggled his small, round ears in emphasis.

Rich frowned.No way I'm doing that."Look, maybe we could just go to a cafe or something?"

"At this hour?!" Otter Joe snorted, then shrugged, taking his hand off Rich's shoulder. "Besides, somewhere like that ain't exactly_private_, either. Guess the deal's off then?" He stared down at himself, licking his lips. Rich felt awkward; he had finished voiding his bladder, but didn't want to move until Otter Joe had gone.

Rich, feeling incredibly conflicted, finally listened to the little voice of reason, which had been busy trying to scream at him this whole time. "Yeah, I guess so. Sorry for bothering you."

"If you change your mind," Otter Joe said, the steady stream cutting off so completely Rich wondered if he'd just started blocking it out. Rattling off his phone number, Otter Joe added, "Give me a call, and I'll come over." Without seeming to adjust anything, Otter Joe stepped back from the urinal; if he'd had his penis out, it wasn't there as he headed to the door.

Ugh gross, he didn't wash his hands._Tucking himself away, Rich quickly headed towards the sink; he suddenly felt_slimy, which increased as he put two and two together.Does he ever wash his hands? Maybe not, and he_touched my shoulder! Eww, gross!Wanting nothing more than to get home and shower for an hour or so, Rich wasted no time in getting out of there._I think that's enough.

With all of his novel ideas dissolving as he skirted around the edge of the crowd for the exit, Rich decided to take a taxi home. Although he wasn't drunk, he'd expected to be tired, so chose not to drive. After his encounter with Otter Joe, where he still felt grimy, he decided paying a bit extra to get home sooner felt worthwhile. It also helped to ease his mind.Why do I get the feeling that __he'_ s following me?_

Looking out of the taxi now and then showed him nothing unusual. That didn't stop the hairs on the back of his neck from standing up on end, nor the goose-pimpling of his flesh, and he felt an unpleasant sweatiness oozing sliding down his spine. No matter how far or fast they went, Rich couldn't shake the idea of eyes constantly on him.

I don't think I've ever been more happy to get home!_Tipping the taxi driver handsomely, Rich ran up the stairs, eager to get under the hot shower. Still feeling invisible eyes following him, he locked and bolted the door behind him immediately, then went around, paranoia not letting him go on until he'd triple-checked the windows. Locking the bathroom door behind him, he let out a sigh; he thought now, of all times, he'd feel safe and alone, but that wasn't the case._What the hell has he done to me?

Shedding his clothes into a pile on the floor, Rich jumped in the shower. Despite the spray coming out cold, Rich didn't mind. He felt grimy to his core. Grabbing the shower gel, he started with his face, although he really just wanted to scrub the shoulder Otter Joe had touched him until the skin was red and raw. Lather oozed down his chest as Rich faced the spray, warm water blasting away. Scrubbing his hands over his shoulder, he emptied the shower gel bottle, but he still didn't feel clean.

Soapy water pooled around his feet. Oh great, one more thing to worry about. That problem Rich was fine with leaving until tomorrow though. Just letting the water spray at him, he sighed.What a fucking bust. I'll just scrap the whole story idea. Start something new. Rich's mind stopped; it felt like an icicle had just penetrated his skull. Putting his hand behind him, he started to touch.Oh, no...

It was there on his spine, feeling like Otter Joe. Rich jumped out of the shower, grabbing a towel and swiping at the fogged-up mirror frantically. Turning around, he saw a thick, black line of shiny_something_ stretched all the way down his back. Breathing rapidly, he tried grabbing it to pull it off; his fingers got close, but the ooze - or whatever it was - moved out of the way.

"No!" Rich wailed, feeling faint.It's Otter Joe. He... he put some of it on me when he touched my shoulder. How did I not notice that? What is he going to do to me? What... With the shower still running, Rich rummaged through his jeans pockets. His phone was still inside. Otter Joe's number rang in his head. Fingers shaking, he managed to enter it.

Rich didn't have to wait; the phone was answered almost immediately. The half-ring sounded loud in his head. "Hello?"

"What did you do to me?" Rich demanded.

Otter Joe chuckled, his voice sounding strange.Must have started really pouring down outside. "If I remember, I asked you to let me come over to your place; you weren't interested."

Gripping onto the side of the vanity with his free hand, Rich looked at himself in the mirror. All the blood had run out of his face, and he looked immensely pale. "Look, please, I won't bother you again! I'm sorry, okay, I'm sorry! Now, can you_please_ remove this stuff you put on my back?"

"How can I do that, if you don't let me in?" Rich felt it ooze down his back, feeling it slide in between his buttocks. His phone slipped out of his hand, futilely clawing at it as it pushed his sphincter open, surging inside.

Fuck! Despite his fear, Rich's dick shot upwards, as the goo did_something_inside his ass. Shaking, he scrabbled for his phone. "It's inside me!" he screamed. "Please!"

"Guess you've never had your prostate played with before, huh? You're missing out. I, well, I don't really have a prostate_per se_ any more, but I know what it's like to be stimulated in the same way. Really intense, and kind of good, huh? Excuse me for a bit, gonna have to leave the call."

"Wait!" Rich begged. Otter Joe wasn't wrong; there was something that really was just a little bit pleasing about what the goo was doing. Some kind of internal massaging that was starting to make him aroused. Still, he didn't want this to happen.It's all just mechanical, of physiological.

"Sorry about that," Otter Joe said, poking his head out of the shower door. Rich collapsed to the ground and screamed, only to have it cut off as he clamped his mouth shut. He'd been so distracted by the goo sliding up his ass that he hadn't noticed the blob of it on his cheek. Now, though, he could feel the whole slimy streak creeping up his neck and across his face. His nostrils flared, staring as Otter Joe climbed out of his shower, glistening wetly.How did he get in?!"Couldn't fit the phone through the drain. You shouldn't be wasting water like this; are you done, or should I turn it off for you?"

With the black stuff so close to Rich's mouth, he didn't dare answer. Otter Joe turned off the water. Rich felt the ooze slip through the seam of his lips; his tongue started thrusting at it, pushing it out, trying to keep it from getting in another hole. Whether it was because of how close Otter Joe was, or whether it was somehow_feeding_ off of him, Rich could feel the black ooze growing. It spread across his back, and despite his best efforts it was filling his mouth. Down below, it was still thumping and probing into his guts, giving him an unwanted erection. Between his legs, he could feel a slimy trail splinter off; four black tendrils started to massage his nuts.

"I struggled too, at first," Otter Joe explained. Rich noticed he wasn't wearing the latex clothes any more. His otter-like body was naked, with a lean, long chest that was completely smooth. His webbed fingers were wrapped around an almost comically thick erection that slipped out of a sheath between his legs. His cock drooled that same black goo; it trickled off, puddling on the floor, splitting to race over to Rich - who cringed back - and Otter Joe, where it seemed to fuse with his feet. "I know you're frightened, but honestly, you just feel really,really good after. Like your whole body's a cock, and you're constantly horny. No aching joints. Nothing to limit what you look like, or what you can do. Just want to sit in a puddle in the sink? It's a nice way to relax after a night of hard partying. Thoroughly recommend it; just remember to put the plug in first."

Squirming away, Rich's back hit the wall. A thin framework of the black ooze had spiderwebbed over his back, slowly filling in as its tendrils criss-crossed over his sides. Irregular panels slowly filled in, feeding from the ooze collecting at his feet. Black goo squeezed his balls, and tongues wriggled over his taint. One large gooey tentacle coiled around his erection, pumping lazily. Sagging down, Rich felt his head start to throb. The ooze had sealed over his mouth and was starting to fill his nose; trickles of it had gotten into his lungs, and they were starting to fill up.

Otter Joe's cock splatted down against the top of his head. All of its dribbling ooze spread out over Rich's head, sinking into his hair and running over his face and the back of his neck. Lifting his hands to his nipples, Otter Joe plumped them up, slowly turning them into large cross-head taps; he grabbed them, twisting them around. His face seemed like it was melting as he tilted his head back, letting out a lusty moan from his muzzle that gargled like water rushing down the drain. Drips dangled and splattered off of him as his body slowly lost its coherency.

Rich could sense this happening, even though he had his eyes closed. As the blackness encased him, he felt Otter Joe's moans tremble over it, his own mouth opening as the goo poured inside, coating and soaking into his insides. Subconsciously, he inched his legs apart, the throbbing in his ass growing as the invasive goo stretched his sphincter wide and seemed to almost be fucking him. His arms slumped by his side, fingers scratching at the tiled floor as some slipped down his urethra.

He's right. When you stop struggling, it feels... out of this world. Rich felt a warm gnawing, feeling his body converting into more of the sentient black goo. It should have hurt, but it didn't; what little pain didn't last for long, and the distracting feeling of having his genitals played with certainly helped. Moaning, his human pre-cum sprayed out of his cock, pumping out as more black goo poured in down his shaft as his outer skin squeezed and probed at his organs.

With his mouth gaping open, Rich felt the ooze trickle out, spreading down his chest. Otter Joe's cock slipped down his face, thrusting in. Rich knew it should have hurt, and he knew he was straight, but it didn't seem to matter.More! It was almost like the ooze was addictive; now that it was most of him, he found it harder to concentrate on the overwhelming instincts.

Feeling heat radiating through his crotch, Rich thrust upwards. Now, he welcomed the blackness filling him up._Yes!_His conversion continued, the clear, sticky drool flowing, starting to run black as the organs were invaded. His cock thickened, swelling not just from arousal. Widening, the centre of his urethra closed in on itself, splitting it into two gushing openings on the tip of his now-large cock. The fluid head continued growing, the shape changing as his hands moved down, covering in black ooze almost immediately as they touched his penis. It split into two, starting from the head. Peeling apart slowly, both shafts splattering into each hand, which immediately started stroking them.

"How does that feel?" Otter Joe asked.

Rich just burbled in response, blackness bubbling out of his mouth as he started to suck in earnest. His dicks went rigid, stroking them all the way down to the thick, opened slit of blackness that stretched out across his groin. For Rich, it was intense. Not only was his body changing massively from what it was at a rapid pace, but he was also undergoing plenty of sexual firsts.This transformation comes with plenty of advantages!_Finally he had unlocked the mystery behind Otter Joe. _I can become anything I want.

Feeling his balls growing hot, Rich pumped furiously. Twin jets of hot, white semen sprayed off at an angle, running down over his hands before his new flesh absorbed it. He continued pumping until his balls ran dry; then they were consumed, liquefying into black goo along with most of the rest of him. Otter Joe splattered down onto him, almost completely liquid. Although they were made of the same substance, and he imagined that if anyone saw them they couldn't tell them apart, Rich could feel the difference between them. Combining and mixing into a black puddle on the floor, the still-human parts of Rich's body sank slowly down as they were converted.

With his mouth, ass, cock, and the rest of his body all one identical, distributed substance, calling them by those names just felt meaningless. Being with Otter Joe like this was like getting jerked off, fucked in the mouth and ass - by both Otter Joe and himself - while doing that to him at the same time. Black geysers erupted, as Rich enjoyed the feeling of ejaculating himself up into the air, and splattering down.Fuck, what a rush!

By now, there was nothing left of Rich's original body. Slamming up against the locked door of the bathroom, the puddle of them started to rise.It's so hot_in here!_ That wasn't, he decided, all that bad a feeling. Being churned up - growing - seemed like the greatest thing in the world. He thought of seeing Otter Joe in the club, thinking of all of the intricate details.I get it now. It expressed itself as sex, and Rich supposed it served the same function. Otter Joe, goo, he himself: they all wanted to be_bigger_, and this was the only way to make more._Reproduction._Chuckling, he sent tendrils out to slam down the toilet seat as their mass started spilling over the lip of the shower.

Otter Joe separated, pushing Rich out of the shower as their combined mass shrunk. He started to reform, webbed toes first, as his black goo climbed over itself, pulling higher and higher. "That was fun" he said, a muzzle floating, half-formed and waiting as the body built itself up, "but I want to get some more dancing in. You coming?"

Do I want to go? Part of Rich did: he could feel a growing feeling, part hunger, part arousal, that made him want to go out, and find a compatible human male. A lot of him, though, was sated, and he was curious about the form growing in his mind. "Not tonight. I want to play around with this a little first."

Rich's twin erections appeared first, looking vaguely human. More things grew from the amorphous black puzzle: he felt himself coiling around the base of the toilet, the framework of an elongated body sliding up, the ooze slowly becoming more solid. Eyes formed, and he found himself able to see again.

Otter Joe's body had gotten bigger; he wasn't entirely sure of it yet - the perception of his own size was a little off from having gained mass, but he certainly seemed to occupy more room there than he had on the dance floor. His legs had re-formed, but a much larger set of dangly bits were how hanging from the torso-less waist above. Rich felt a surge of that hungry-aroused feeling.Maybe I could go out later, or tomorrow night...

Liking the memory of Otter Joe's elongated body, Rich felt his own forming similarly. He's already knew more or less what he would look like: the idea had slithered into his thoughts once he realised he could take any shape. Hard edges appeared over his skin, forming a fine patchwork of irregular, jigsaw-like scales over his thickening body. Tendrils grew from the sides, branching out into two needly arms that bulged as he formed new muscles. Tensing his "biceps" and "triceps", he shifted his weight in front of the mirror, running his hands down his torso. He let out a contented sigh.I think I would like to have solid sex at some point; it's not as intimate, but the textures...

Touching the edges of his scales seemed almost illicit. Rich opened his mouth, fangs dripping down as a spindly tongue shot out, the tip cleaving in two until, properly forked, he sucked it back inside. From the sides of his reptilian head, a large, black hood stretched out. Twisting his neck, he started to coil up his tail. There wasn't still quite a bit of "himself" on the floor, but he was happy with what he saw._Clothing? No, why would I need that while I'm at home._Instead, he grew larger, resting on his coils in front of the mirror, framing his body to check that it looked suitably fearsome and enticing.

Resting his hands on the back of his hood, he felt his cocks throb, leaking a little black goo onto his body. Looking over, he saw that Otter Joe was fully formed; although clothed, he still looked intensely arousing with his prominent bulge in the front of his pants. His chest looked a little firmer, too. Under the strong bathroom light, Otter's Joe shine was noticeable.I wonder... Focusing himself, Rich closed his eyes, feeling his body responding.

Some of his scales started to shine intensely, while others seemed to turn into gaping voids of nothing. Pulling a particularly good crossword from his memory as a guide, he patterned his scales black and white across his body. Adding on words as he thought of the clues he'd give if he were the puzzle's compiler, his cobra-like body became a criss-crossing pattern of lengthy white slashes and black streaks and blobs. Even going so far as to shift one of his erections white, leaving the other black and creating a shimmering line down the middle, Rich configured himself. Raising every piece of himself up for inspection in front of the mirror, he continued to tweak his look.

"Getting pretty nicely tricked out for someone staying at home," Otter Joe complimented, grinning. "Didn't think about doing that trick with the reflections, though."

"It's pretty easy, I could show you?" Rich offered.

"Nah," Otter Joe replied. "I've got my own image to maintain." After a pause, he asked again, "Sure you don't want to go out?"

Rich shook his head, which was more like wriggling his shoulders from side to side. "I don't really think I could pass off this as a disguise."

"Don't worry, humans only see what they_want_ to see, and it's not like you've got to walk anywhere you don't want to." Otter Joe's face beamed. "Plus, you don't have to pay any entry fees!"

"I put in a lot of effort into making this look," Rich declared.I think I've outdone you, otter! His fork tongue flickered out as he continued to pose for himself in the mirror. "I'll need to practice recreating it. Also, I_like_being at home."

"You'll have to move out eventually; humans have this thing called_rent_that you have to keep paying. There's other places..."

"I think... yes, I'll use some time tonight to come up with getting us a more permanent place to stay." Rich answered. The gears in his head were already turning over that problem.Maybe it hasn't occurred to him that you can use all this mass for_brains_as well.

"Okay, puzzle snake, can't say I didn't try!" Otter Joe sighed in resignation, padded over Rich's scales, and leaned in the mirror. "I'm gonna head out through your shower. Have fun preening. Meet you back here in the morning?"

"Have fun dancing." Rich shook his tail a little.Puzzle Snake, huh? I like it...