FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

`"FUCK!"

Brayden yelped out in surprise as he was suddenly jerked awake and thrown forward into the glovebox of the car. He collided with an awkward thump, not terribly forcefully but enough to leave his arm and shoulder sore from the impact. It took him a few seconds to get his bearings about him, looking to his left and seeing Eli doing his best to stifle a snicker.

"Hey, cool, you're awake."

The lion huffed, pushing himself back into his seat and looking out the car window. He had apparently been asleep for some time, as the sun was nearly set, its red haze cast across the landscape. They were parked at a roadside motel, the type with the external doors and a sign that still advertised having cable TV.

"Jesus... think you could maybe warn me before you slam on the brakes next time?"

The fur-free dog pulled a mockingly sweet expression. "Aww, but you're just so precious when you're sleeping, I didn't want to wake you." He turned off the car's engine. "Or maybe put on your fuckin' seat belt next time. C'mon."

Being the feline he was, Brayden was an expert napper. Any position, any situation, he could nod off effortlessly. The whole 'getting back awake' part was always the struggle. Enough so that his mother had gotten in the habit of moving his alarm clock to the opposite side of his bedroom, just to force him out of bed. It... sometimes worked.

So, Brayden made a dramatic showing of crawling out of Eli's Honda, stretching up on tiptoe once there and running his fingers through his short mane. No way in hell he was gonna let that thing grow out. He'd look like his dad.

"Uh... where are we?"

Eli pulled a duffel bag out of the back seat, slinging the strap over his shoulder. He snorted. "I look like I got a map? Didn't feel like drivin' anymore."

Brayden hadn't exactly packed much for the trip. Just a backpack with as many necessities as he'd thought to prepare before the morning's festivities. With how quickly he'd scurried out, the young lion was just happy he hadn't forgotten the damn thing. Going back to pick up supplies wasn't really an option.

"Y'know I could seriously drive if ya wanted me to," he said, getting the pack on and looking up at the sign with a faint grimace. A five star hotel this was not.

No response. Just Eli walking towards the motel's front door.

Brayden scurried to catch up. "Really! I could! Cats see real good at night, dude. Barely even need the headlights."

The canine chuckled, rolling his eyes in that "oh aren't you adorable" way he often did. "Told ya, not happenin'. Christ can you even drive a stick?"

Brayden paused, realizing he hadn't noticed that at all. "Uh..."

"Thought so." Eli nodded for him to get moving again. "'Sides, I need some, like, real sleep. I can't fold up in a fuckin' car seat like you."

The pair of them went through the door to the front desk, where an absolutely ancient tortoise with a pair of cola-bottle thick lenses was perched, working on a crossword puzzle.

Eli was just about to approach when Brayden stopped him. He tugged on the canine's shirt sleeve, trying to get out of earshot, assuming the old man could hear much to begin with.

"Uh... I don't think my cards are gonna work. I mean, if they aren't canceled already I don't wanna, y'know... they can trace 'em."

The dog pecked him right on the nose and patted his cheek with just enough oomph to make it sting.

"I got this one."

Brayden, perplexed, stayed a few feet back as Eli made his way over to the tortoise, immediately flicking the charm switch on. He leaned his elbows on the desk, put on that charming grin, and started up a chat about a room for the night. Even with his missing teeth, that smile always cut through Brayden's defenses.

Eli gestured back to him with a wink, pointing as he leaned in towards the tortoise, earning a little snicker from the old fella. Whatever he was saying, it was helping. The dog reached into his pocket, thumbed through a surprisingly large wad of cash to retrieve the right amount, and got them a key for the night.

The pair went back outside, after a cheery well-wishing from the tortoise, and hunted down their door.

"Jeez, did you stop at the bank while we were driving? Looks like you pulled out your whole savings."

Eli barked a laugh, locating the door and popping it open. "Sure. Why not."

The room was just as luxurious as the exterior indicated it would be. They were spoiled by an un-made bed, a microwave sitting on an end table that wasn't plugged into anything, and a TV the size of a cereal box.

Brayden's opinion of the room was plastered all over his face, and Eli gave him a push to snap him out of it.

"Oh I'm sorry, did princess require more upscale accommodations?" Eli asked with a tone that was playful but almost... offended?

The lion let the backpack come off of his bare-furred shoulders and drop down on the chair next to the air conditioner. He chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, fingers through his shortened mane.

"Er... sorry. Never actually, uh, been in a place like this before."

Eli had dropped onto the bed and pulled his shirt off, kicked the beat-up sneakers off of his feet, and fell backwards on the mattress, stretching out lazily.

"Hey, we ain't here on vacation, just need a spot where I can fuck ya a few times and sleep up before we hit the road in the morning."

That charm. It always got him.

Brayden had always imagined his first real relationship. His first sexual partner that he could be with and not be terrified of getting caught. The one he could just let go and have at it with, unrestrained. Eli was none of what he had ever cooked up in his fantasies, and somehow that made him love the haggard dog that much more. It wasn't romantic. It wasn't sensual. It was carnal. Brutish. Thrilling. Oh if only his parents could see him now.

The two laid on that king-sized bed, splayed out, huffing and puffing in the afterglow. Brayden was sore in all the best ways. He thought about needing to sit on a jacket for the ride tomorrow, and snickered.

"Hey Eli?"

A rather non-committal grunt came back.

Brayden huffed, figuring the dog was in no mood to talk. Not that it was terribly uncommon.

A beat of silence.

"...yeh?"

Brayden turned his head, faintly surprised. He shifted in position on the bed, shrugging faintly.

"I dunno, just... I'm really glad I met you."

Eli's eyes were still closed, his wire-muscled arms up and his hands resting atop his head. "I'd be pretty damn glad to meet me, too."

Brayden huffed again, in much more good humor this time, giving the canine a light push. "I mean it! I just... the last few years I felt really lost. Like... I mean, I had everything line up, right? Like, the college to go to, a job I'd get, all that, but... it wasn't me, y'know? I was following directions, but I couldn't actually see where I was going. Like... like I was a ship, just lost at sea."

The sudden eloquence caught Eli's attention, and he tilted his head to look at Brayden. "Yeah? Well what's that make me?"

The lion thought that over. He slid in an inch closer, soaking up some of that warmth that furless skin gave off.

"Guess that makes you my lighthouse."

For a moment, Brayden could have sworn he saw some cracks in Eli's typical overconfidence. The dog's eyes went downward, his lips tightened.

Then, just as quickly as the moment came, it passed. Eli put his jagged grin back on and gave Brayden a thump on the arm that made him wince.

"Christ you're a fag."

The pair laughed. Laid back on the bed. Turned the television on to whatever channel it was already set to and lit a joint. Sure, the room was technically non-smoking, but somehow neither of them were concerned about that old tortoise barging in to complain.

As the artificially youthful late-night talk show host pretended to be enthusiastic about whatever random movie star he was talking to, Brayden hummed in thought.

"What'd you tell him, anyway?"

A puff of smoke exited Eli's nostrils. "Huh?"

The lion took the joint back and inhaled. "The old man up front."

Eli snickered, hands resting atop his head again. "Told 'im we were runnin' off to get married."

Brayden blanched. "Y... what? Bullshit. Come on."

"Honest injun," Eli said casually, shrugging. "Got us a corner room and a bigass bed, didn't it?"

Brayden was never sure when Eli was pulling his tail.

"Yeah, well... I ain't takin' your name."

Eli snorted, taking the tiny stub of a joint back and frowning at it before just flicking it away. "Well I sure as fuck ain't takin' yours."

Brayden chuckled. "No, like... I was thinkin' about that. I think I wanna new name."

The lion's bed partner was still watching the television, in the loosest sense of the word. His eyes were on the screen, but it was obvious he wasn't paying a lick of attention to it.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Brayden said, nodding once. "Never liked my name. I wanna new one. Like... a new start, right?"

Eli hummed, his bare head bobbing in thought. "Sure. Got any ideas?"

"Not yet. Just thinkin' out loud."

The darkness of the room made its presence more apparent as the high started to sink in and the rush of a motel bed romp faded. Eli put an arm around Brayden's shoulders and the pair settled for the night.

"How 'bout Danny?"

Brayden perked up, curiously. "Danny? Why w..."

The laughter to his right cut him off, and the light clicked on in his head.

"Oh fuck you. Danny lion? Really?" he chided, laughing himself and slapping Eli on the chest, the dog's bare skin making a smack sound against his palm that left both of them stinging. It didn't stop the laughter, though.

Finally, sleep came to Eli and the currently-named Brayden. Tomorrow they would continue the journey. Brayden wondered where they would end up, and who he might be when they got there.