FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The loud screech of the intercom nearly caused me to jump out of my skin, lighting my already on edge nerves on fire. The driver, whose name I nearly cursed, heaved a particularly phlegmy cough for longer than I felt comfortable listening to, before announcing in a hoarse voice that the final stop was arriving shortly.

Middle of nowhere, Nevada, in a town whose name I did not recognize. I looked down at my fingers and struggled to keep them from trembling. Trying to focus on my claws just brought me to the start of a headache. Final stop; ten more minutes. Just ten more minutes of - I shifted my gaze to the window on my left and froze. Whatever was there was gone, as if it had never existed in the first place. I quickly shifted my gaze left and right, looking around, but found nothing but the other passenger and the driver as signs of life. Back at the window, all I saw was the darkness of the night, the passing brown buildings, and my own reflection staring back at me with fear in his eyes. I should have moved away, and I could have, but I didn't, and instead sat in still silence as the bus came to a halt.

With haste I reached for my backpack and quickly shuffled out of my seat, freezing as I stood when a cold hand firmly gripped my shoulder and turned me around. A girl had replaced my spot, slender in form with bright green emeralds for eyes. A wolf, though so small she looked more like an outlier of her species. She was grinning wide, tongue lolling out from her mouth, red curling hair falling over her face and flowing down her shoulders, with her head cocked off to the side. She made a sound with her throat - it wasn't quite speech. Something like a mute trying to speak for the first time.

"Ah - Uhm."

The girl pressed a finger to her toothy smile and held her free hand out, to my surprise grasping my wallet. I stammered for words but found none, and as I reached to grab it from her cold fingers, I could only swear to myself that it had been tightly secured in my back pocket this whole time, and not once had I brought it out. She let go of me after a moment, leaving an empty feeling at the pit of my stomach, and turned to look at her own reflection in the window. I stood, openly staring, until that other passenger nudged me with the tip of her foot.

In my hurried state I only managed to murmur a quick thanks to the driver, who eyed me with indifference, the other passenger hurrying me along with a light nudge of her foot. "Mind the step!" mumbled the driver, a fat leopard with so much grey fur he could have passed for albino.

I stepped out, struggling to catch my breath in the freezing Nevada night. I was surrounded by quiet squat buildings and dead signs, and nobody there to greet me. The other girl, a cat whose species I couldn't outright tell, with short pointed triangular ears and fur that looked almost grey without any proper lighting, watched me curiously, a heavy looking bag heaved over her shoulder. Her quiet attempt to talk to me was disturbed by my harrowed retching as I fell toward the bus sign and vomited what little I had eaten the last two days.

"Ah, friend." I couldn't have cared less that fingers had pressed lightly against my spine, scraping its claws against my sweat-slickened shirt. I could draw no comfort from her touch. "It's over now. There, my vulpine friend. See? Nothing to worry about." Her hand rubbed up and down my back as I spewed out the last of my food. She gazed at me and offered a used bottle of water as I straightened out. "Do you mind if I ask a question?" I shook my head no, panting and drinking what little was left from her bottle, pushing the shame and embarrassment away as far as I could. Even then, I could barely even look at her as I held my tail between my legs in shame. "What did you see, friend?" She cocked her head a little, her small smile faltering. "What did you feel?"

Her nose twitched expectantly. She'd leaned in a little closer to me, maybe to hear me better as I struggled to speak between breaths of air. There were no words that could describe just how I felt. The mere fact that I struggled to speak should have been testament enough of how distraught I was. My whole body shook, and my mind felt like it'd been desecrated.

"How do you describe that which shouldn't exist?" I spoke, dread feeding on dread as it slithered into my being. I leaned up against the bus stop sign, my only source of support as I felt my legs start to give way under the weight of my body.

Her golden eyes held some form of care in them. They almost glowed in the night, like neon. The slit-like pupils momentarily widened. "If you saw it then you can describe it, right?" She cocked her head and placed a wide hand against her broad hips.

I nodded, though I still felt quite unsure about the whole ordeal.

"Well then you have your answer. Tell me, friend. I know you saw something. I caught a sight I don't quite understand, but I want to make sure I wasn't the only one. Understand, I had no intention of bringing it up, see? I found it might be rude to disturb you after so long a journey. But your reaction, well, I know I'm not alone here." She smiled, rubbing my shoulder, coaxing me into talking of things my mind couldn't comprehend. "Was it a face on the window?"

"A face, yes." I nodded, stretching backward as I listened to the popping of my spine. "Lupine, and lithe. It wasn't my own. As for that, my own reflection was entirely gone. It grinned at me ear-to-ear, and its eyes were the greenest green, like emeralds or grass, tracing my every move. A girl, who occasionally pressed up against the glass and seemed ready to push through and touch me. Sometimes, well, sometimes it did feel as if this... this thing was mocking me. And then..."

I needed to pause. I needed to breathe. Thinking of it set panic in my heart. I could feel it beating against my chest. It felt like it wanted to explode, and right now I would have welcomed the relief that would bring. "F-Forgive me," I stammered, to which the large cat waved a hand off dismissively, "but I feel you'll think I've gone mad."

The cat reached forward placed a wide paw against my chest, right above my heart. I had no doubt she could feel it beating harder and faster. She even tilted her head a little, like it would help her listen in to what was going on inside my body. She sighed, shook her head a little, and withdrew her hand from my personal space. I was left frozen, unsure, and quite frankly I was unwilling to tell her she couldn't do anything. She was large. Much larger than I.

"You turned around," she spoke, leaning in a little closer as she crouched to get eye level with me, "and looked at your seat as you stood, and saw a cute lupine girl had taken your spot and stolen something from you."

I nodded, not too eagerly, and questioned the traveler; I was convinced that her experience mirrored my own, and her words proved me right. I took some small comfort in that knowledge. Perhaps, then, I wasn't as crazy as I initially thought. She, however, did not seem as distraught about it as I had been, which only served to add to my embarrassment, leaving me feeling as if I had overreacted to a situation that wasn't as bad at a second glance.

"It's crazy, isn't it, the things we find so late into the night?" She stepped away from me. Her nose twitched, as if smelling for something. "I think it's best we don't continue our discussion out here in the dark. You're a traveler too, right friend? How about we look for a place to stay the night. I think we both need the rest. Tomorrow, perhaps over breakfast, we can talk about what happened." She flashed me what must have been her winning smile. It was predatory and dangerous, and it was charming. "How about it?

"Yes," I whispered, doing my best to regain my composure and my sense of pride. "That... it would be best." With no proper sense of direction, my phone dead, and no knowledge of where I was, I opted to follow the nameless traveler, who seemed better acquainted with the town. She was tall, maybe two heads taller than me, and well fit, as if she spent most of her days exercising during her free time. These felines came in all shapes and sizes. I'd seen a few as short as I was, and some shorter still. This uncanny companion of mine was easily an outlier - a giant compared to me. It was comforting and unnerving. She had definitely dressed for comfort. We both had. Baggy cargo pants and a loose-fitting shirt. I know I'd missed the stop where she got on - I had probably been asleep by that point - so I had no way of knowing just how long she'd been on the bus.

It felt like I'd been travelling for days. Somehow my feet ached, even though I'd been sitting this whole time.

The two of us walked in silence, somewhat hurried with an unspoken fear of what else might be looming over our shoulders. Thoughts I never had in my life suddenly flooded my mind. A fear of the unknown I've never experienced became my top worry, overpowering even the anxiety I had felt about traveling.

It wasn't long before we made it to a small motel out by the side of the road, tucked away in what seemed to be the quiet part of town. There was a lack of sign detailing the name of the place, and from the looks of it the building had seen better days. No attempt was made to keep up appearances on the outside nor the inside, with its drab - bordering on depressing - patterned wallpaper, which by no means matched the dreadful atmosphere of the lobby. I was immediately put off and considered searching for alternatives, but my companion seemed indifferent as she tapped, annoyingly so, at the small metallic bell - dinging and ringing until a stout fat bear appeared from behind us and wordlessly put it away. For his build, he was surprisingly silent.

"Room for two?" Questioned the motel's manager as he stuck a dirty claw into the collar of his shirt and pushed to stretch it out - the band clung so tightly to his neck I couldn't help but wonder if he enjoyed the sensation of being chocked. His narrow eyes, with skin folding upon skin, squinted at me curiously. "It's forty a night, sixty for two people."

Before I could speak up, the traveler had raised her booming voice, her calm voice coming off clear and loud compared to the needless mumbling of the manager. "I already made a reservation a few months back. For Mara Blanco." For a moment she stood in silence, then glanced back at me with a small smile. Did I miss something? "Everything's in order, yes?"

"Yeah, yeah." The man handed her a key, and turned to face me as the traveler, Mara, reminded me that we would be meeting up for breakfast at eight. "And you? Got any reservations?"

Shaking my head, I realized this trip was as unplanned as it had been unexpected. "N-No." I listened with one ear to Mara's receding footsteps. In short order, she had completely disappeared.

"I'm going to need some kind of ident -" he was stopped by an abrupt coughing fit, and continued to speak afterward as if he had done nothing to make me feel concerned; "Some kind of identification."

"I'm Reav," I spoke softly, feeling small in this ran-down locale. I handed the manager my ID and waited impatiently as he took his time to run through the paperwork. "Is there a... a problem?"

"Huh? Oh, no." He visibly shook with another fit of coughing and handed me back everything, including a rusted old key. I almost hesitated to take them from his hands. "Room one-two-eight. Don't lose that key, else you'll be paying for a replacement." Before I could thank him for a job mediocrely done, he was already out the back door. The whole time he stepped from one large boot to the next, seeming impatient to get out. I tried to catch a glance but try as hard as I could, without making it too obvious, I couldn't get a good glance at what was behind that door. He'd hurriedly gone through and shut it tight.

It didn't seem like there would be any more guests arriving tonight. I doubted this town got too many visitors such as myself, much less anyone who would bother to stop and stay the night.

Room 128 was tucked away toward the back of the motel's main building, down on the first floor, off near a dead-end corner. Mara, coincidentally, slept on the room directly across from mine. By the time I stumbled my way down the hall, carefully balancing a black duffel bag between my hands, she'd already been leaning up against the doorway to her room, waiting for me.

"Hey there, Reav." She smiled, flexing her arms, showcasing rippling muscle upon muscle. Her outfit had changed, too. Gone were the cargo pants and loosely fitting shirts. The feline merely stood in her underwear. Now under the light, her fur practically glowed. It was dull yellow color, periodically broken by splotches of black and grey. It looked like somebody had haphazardly thrown pain on her.

I stammered a hello and quickly averted my eyes as I struggled to hook the key into the keyhole. Her figure was permanently burned into my mind: huge thighs as big as my head atop toned legs; a midriff like it had been sculpted by an artist. She was an Adonis. He felt terribly inadequate. I could hear a small snicker from behind me. She was clearly amused. "What's the matter, my vulpine friend?"

"N-Nothing. I... Ahm... I think they gave me the wrong key." My gaze was laser focused on the keyhole. The tap tap tap of metal against metal was becoming increasingly frustrating. "S-Sorry. I need to - Oh!"

She'd come up to me, maybe a foot away from my body. She had her hands on her hips and looked down on me with a smug, curious smirk. I had to crane my neck up a little to see her face well. Her small nose twitched, thin and long whiskers almost glistening under the orange glow of the old lightbulbs. I started to talk, stopped only when she took the key from my limp hands. It hitched against the tumblers of the lock, and with a twist, she had unlocked my door for me. I found myself pressed back against the door now with little room to breathe as she closed the gap between the two of us.

"There," she said, looking pleased with herself. Her hand drifted up to my cheek, which she patted caringly a couple of times. Maybe she wanted to feel my fur. It was soft. Did she like it? "Goodnight, my friend." She now rubbed my cheek, running her fingers in through my fur. Yes, she must have liked it! Soft, like silk. I didn't have her height or her muscles, but I had my fur. So carefully groomed, every morning and every night. My head turned to whichever direction her hand took me, and - she let go.

I nodded, blinked, and pulled myself out of the trance I'd been in. "Yes... yes, right. Goodnight." What was wrong with my thoughts? Mara was already halfway into her room before she paused and glanced back at me. With a small shake of her wide hips, the feline disappeared into her room.

What had come over me?

The world felt as if it were spinning. Walking was a struggle. It felt like I was walking on gelatin. It all stopped as soon as I had closed the door. And, suddenly, I felt like I was back to my normal self. I could think clearly. I took a breath of air, what felt like my first lungful in hours, and eased back against the door to take it all in.

My bedroom was just one in a series of what I assumed were vacant rooms, but thankfully it held its own as a place for someone to stay in for the night. The room was better kept than the rest of the building, dare I say it was even slightly modern in some regards. It was minimalistic with its furnishings, but it worked. The bed was tough to lay on and the pillows lacked any proper shape or form. The windows didn't really have a view of anything, and the curtains looked ready to fall apart at a moment's notice.

My experience on the bus, and then afterward just outside my room, remained lodged firmly in the back of my mind, robbing me of what little sleep I was trying to get. I was left pondering the implications all the while trying to justify what I'd seen.

Her grin was unnaturally wide, with a tilt to her head that caused some of her hair to fall unto and cover her face. She was looking out the window, watching the trees go by in a frenzied blur. Her eyes shifted a little and caught the sight of my reflection. Her head turned slowly, so very slowly, toward me. I felt frozen in fear. I couldn't move; I couldn't scream.

I awoke before I fully met her gaze, a cold sweat running down my back, a soft whimper escaping my lips. My eyes burned. I looked around the dark room but found nothing out of place. Finally, after minutes of reassuring myself that everything was going to be alright, tears broke through the dam that was my eyelids. I didn't allow myself to cry.

I spent the next three hours grooming my fur. Head, neck, chest, arms, legs, tail. By the time I was done, I was late to my meeting with Mara.

She met me at what passed for the motel's small dining hall. We sat in silence, alone, further affirming my suspicions on the motel's vacant state. She held a warm cup of liquid chocolate between her hands and regarded me with a small smile.

"Restful night?" she queried jovially; her head was held at a small tilt as she occasionally sipped at her drink. Her ears twitched every so often, like they'd caught a sound that my own ears didn't. "It sure was quite the night, wasn't it friend?"

"Yes," I murmured, groggy and somewhat weary, but mostly just tired. The cup of tea was doing nothing to wake me up, but I simply couldn't stand the taste of coffee. "I still don't understand."

"Oh, come now, friend. You know exactly what happened! The problem here is that you've never faced something like that before, that much was clear. Now you're trying to put it in ways that you'll understand, but you're coming up short. So, it's all very confusing, and possibly somewhat infuriating, isn't it?"

I blinked. "I'm sorry I... I only got half of that."

Mara Blanco waved a hand off dismissively and smiled despite the rudeness of my attitude. "That's alright, my vulpine friend. Reav, was it? The least we could do is talk things out. Perhaps you'll find something to understand as we go along. Like all things good and bad in life, things make more sense when you're doing it with somebody else other than yourself." She extended a hand and shook mine limply. I'd almost flinched when she reached out, but I ended up leaning in a little closer. Did she take notice of my fur?

"You saw the same thing I did, then?" I finally looked up from my cup of tea, not feeling quite as thirsty as I once was, and pushed it aside so I could lay my arm upon the table. "The reflection, the hollow eyes, and the person who stole your seat? I... I mean, by god, we were the only two passengers inside that bus, were we not?" I shook my head, not waiting for her response. "What sort of madness...?"

My companion, as I somehow found myself referring to her as in my head, found it hard to keep an amused smile from her face. She watched, sipped her liquid chocolate loudly, and settled in a little more into her chair. "Madness? Really?" she queried, as if she were unsure of my own observations on the matter.

"Why, what else?" was all I could muster, feeling my skin crawl as I thought back to the night before. "And were you not in the least bit frightened?"

"A little, yes." I avoided meeting her gaze for the time being. "But I got used to it."

"How?"

Her smile grew wide, as if what she was saying was something to be proud of - and frankly she held herself with an air of pride, unashamed or uncaring of how ridiculous she may have sounded. "If it wasn't trying to harm me, then I found no reason to be afraid. It didn't try harming you, right friend?"

"I don't even know if that thing was real," I whispered, exasperated, rubbing away an itch on my eye with the back of my hand. "I'm inclined to believe it was not, but you're not making it any easier on me."

Her eyes darted sideways, but her smile didn't falter. "So, what would you have preferred it was, friend?"

"Some drug-induced hallucination would have sufficed. A dream, perhaps."

"Hm. Well, reality is much better in my opinion." She leaned in a little, eyeing me up and down, and frowned. "May I ask something?" I simply waved my hand off - she could ask whatever she wanted. I was too out of it and at the same time too overwhelmed with intrusive thoughts to care. "Aren't you the least bit curious about what else is out there?" Her eyes widened and sparked with life. "What prowls the night while mortals sleep?"

I blinked, fighting a throb in my head, as I eyed her suspiciously. For a moment there I considered simply getting up and going back to my room. Beside the fact that it would have been extremely rude, a part of me had to admit that I wanted to continue the current dialogue. It wasn't that I shared the same wonder as that found in the eyes of Mara Blanco, but that in this new and unknown town it seemed best to make acquaintances with somebody that was trying to reach out for once.

"Maybe... perhaps a little." I explained with a small sigh, finishing what little was left of my tea, wishing for more but being too lazy to get up. "I don't know what to think."

"That's normal," she replied with a smile, somehow managing to extend her sympathies with her words. "I felt the same way before."

"Assuming this isn't all a dream."

"Assuming, yes." She rested furred chin, splotched grey like other parts of her body, against her paw, smirking. "It isn't a dream." Her voice was so clear and sure of itself that I almost believed her.

"How could I be sure? How could you be sure?"

"Pinch your arm and find out." Now she was leaning in closer against the table, nearly laying against it, as she watched me do as she instructed. I knew nothing would come of it, but I did it anyway. I pinched once, then closed my eyes and pinched harder.

"Nothing," I hummed. I almost sounded disappointed. Hell, I _was_disappointed.

The feline reached hand out, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth to get my attention. "Third time's the charm?" With a shrug, I leveled my arm and moved it to her. Then I felt it. That sensation, once more. Excitement! That's what it was. A sense of overwhelming excitement at the prospect of her touch. Her fingers were long and slender but held more strength than I would have realized. Her pinch felt more like a very precise punch. With a yelp and a jump, I pulled my arm back and nursed it while listening to her laughter. "Still awake, my friend?"

"Very much so, yes." I heaved out a sigh, looking around the small dining hall. It was a sad sight, but at least we were alone. Nobody to call us crazy if they overheard our conversation. "Who are you?

"Mara Blanco." If she'd been standing, she probably would have bowed. "A traveler, much like yourself. No real destination in mind, just like yourself." My companion paused, probably letting her words sink in. It was an effective tactic. "Not really sure why I am here, much like yourself."

I squinted. "How'd you know?"

"Why else make it all the way to the last stop of the Nevada Express?" She giggled. It was soft and charming, despite everything. "Relax. I won't pry. You seem a man with secrets to keep. I can respect that."

"Hm." I glanced back at my tea. The few drops still there had gone cold. I still felt the need to busy my hands with something, anything, rather than have them sit aimless on the table like two glorified paperweights. I settled for rubbing my knees. It wasn't as comforting as I thought it would be. "What did we see last night?"

She shrugged. "I can't be too sure, really." Despite that, she didn't seem uneasy. "Enlighten me on this: did you see our ethereal friend again last night?"

I shook my head no, then returned the question at her. "You did, didn't you?"

She nodded, almost enthusiastically, and continued. "I awoke in the middle of the night and I found her sitting at the foot of my bed. Gave me quite the scare, I'll tell you that. But then, she didn't move. She just sat there, staring at me, smiling that little smile of hers, and I admit I got a little curious." I must have been staring at her funny, because she smirked and gave me something of a funny look in return. "I thought, perhaps, that we'd seen the last of her on the bus. Now, I'm convinced in her following us."

"Following." I paused. "US?"

"Yes," she exclaimed in a matter-of-fact tone. "A visitor from beyond the grave." If I hadn't seen what I saw last night, I would have blown her off as insane. "Does the thought trouble you, my friend?"

"A little bit, yes." I could feel my stomach turning in on itself. "Perhaps more than just a little, actually. I'm not keen on the idea and... Gods, am I the one that's gone mad?" Another whimper escaped me. I felt that familiar burn at the back of my eyes and I hated myself for it.

She cocked her head to the side, her smile faltering just a little. There seemed to be some genuine concern in her golden gaze. Her brow furrowed slightly, and though I had not asked for it, she reached out and placed a gentle paw atop my own. Her hand was large, so much easily twice the size of mine. It mirrored the differences between our two bodies. Her hands were rough and calloused. Sparks of excitement raced along my veins. "Well... Have you gone mad, my friend?"

I looked up at her, unsure if I should frown or smile or laugh or cry at my situation. Her question was probably meant to be comforting, but it came off as sarcastic. Somehow, through this craziness, I managed a small laugh. "Y-Yeah," I muttered. "I think I've gone a little mad."

She took my hand in hers and stared at me until I finally fully met her gaze. The whole while through she rubbed my palms with her thumbs, rolling small circles that never ended. "Allow me to ease your mind, my friend. Would you allow me the moment?" I nodded my head. I couldn't look away from her unblinking eyes. They looked glazed over. Or... was I merely looking at the reflection of my own eyes? "You're not mad, my vulpine friend. You're not mad." She rubbed her thumbs against my palms. She forced me to stare at her eyes. I was lost, somewhere in that darkness, and I didn't want to leave. "Do you trust me?"

"I..." My hesitation made her frown. She leaned in closer; so close to me now that I could almost taste her breath. "Trust?"

"Trust me," she hummed. Her voice echoed in the back of my head. It was warm and comforting. "Trust me." She didn't ask. She demanded, and I acquiesced.

"I trust you."