FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Max stirred at the soft creek of his bedroom door. Through hooded eyes he watched his mother walk gently over to his sister's bed. There she lay in a disheveled heap of blankets, the families Mightyena, Speck - so named for the darker section of fur he'd had as a Poochyena just above his tail - sprawled out half on top of her.

"It's time to wake up, it's time to wake up, it's time to wake up, sweet Lucy," his mother sang and, as if on queue, Lucy did just that. Demonstrating the kind of energy her blankets suggested, Lucy bounded out of bed, seeming to startle the large 'mon next to her.

As if she hadn't just been deep asleep, Lucy began to sing her own song. "Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Today is that day-ay! Happy birthday to me!"

And then quick as all that she was out the door in nothing but her night shirt, an old t-shirt of her mother's that just seemed to become softer the more threadbare it got. As Max stirred in earnest now, more fully awake thanks to his sister's revelry his mother sat down at the foot of his bed.

"And good morning to you too," she said as Max tried to snuggle back down where it was warm and comfortable. "We've got a big day and so much to get ready. Why don't you go ahead and get up as well?"

Max curled up further, but his mom could see he was smiling. "Mmph, alright. Guess I'll be out in a minute. Can you close the door on your way out?"

"Sure thing honey," she said as she stood up to leave.

*Alone again except for Speck, Max relaxed his position. He was actually really excited for the day, but he hadn't wanted to hop out of bed quite as much as Lucy. Max rolled over and pushed his hips forward, trying to hold onto the blissful feeling that has started becoming part of his morning routine. Max knew he was having an erection - health class and that embarrassing book his mom made him read had told him that much - but he was still getting used to these blossoming impulses and their notable effects on his body. After rubbing himself against the sheets for a minute, Max heard the big 'mon start to shuffle around and stretch. Looking at the clock on his bed stand he saw that it was almost noon and he realized Speck wasn't going to be happy cooped up in the room for much longer. Hopping up out of bed he went to his clothes drawers and pulled out some underwear - new boxers per his request - a shirt, and a pair of sweatpants. *

As Max pulled his pants on, Speck started to nudge against the door. Preferring not to get barked at, Max walked over to the door and opened it up, shirt still in his hands. He followed Speck out into the hallway and headed down towards the living room, pulling the shirt on as he went.

Through the living room he could see the kitchen area, and in particular Lucy sitting at her seat wiggling with excitement. Elsewhere he saw hints of cakes having been made and a bit of plastic which might have once held some wrapping paper. Max tuned back into the chatter as he sat down across from Lucy at their little kitchen table.

**"...and I really want to see an Absol! I think it would be so cool to catch one cause they're just so cool looking." Lucy had gotten back into one of her favorite topics, all the dark type pokemon she wanted to see on her journey around the Unova League.

**

*As mom walked over to the table with a stack of pancakes and plates she commented, "Well it will be a while before you see one of those, sweety." *

At that Lucy lost some of her steam, "I know, I just wish I didn't have to wait another year."

"Well..." and with this Max and his mother shared a meaningful glance. "If you don't mind getting one of your presents a little earlier than the others, I think Max has something to tell you."

Max could suddenly feel his sister's gaze like a force pressing against him. He started slowly, "So mom asked me if I was still not interested in taking on the League and I'm not really, but she suggested that I could maybe go ahead and go with... you!"

*Lucy looked from Max to their mom, not seeming to fully grasp what was happening. In an attempt to clarify Max said, "So, like, I don't really want to go still, but you really do. So I was going to offer to go with you while you challenge the League to keep an eye on you and learn more about Pokemon." *

With this Lucy jumped up out of her chair and ran around to hug-tackle Max, yelling in what seemed to be wholehearted agreement with the idea. After a few minutes spent trying to extricate himself from the half-clothed ball of energy, Max was finally able to dig into his mother's delicious pancakes - no syrup, no fork, lots of butter.

*The day progressed like any good birthday - at least any good birthday Max could remember. Not much happening and then a dinner of burgers in front of the TV watching a movie of the celebrated-one's choice. Lucy had done well for herself this year, but much of what she received was to help her on the road ahead. Some basic camping gear and outdoor clothes made up the bulk of her gifts, but also included were a portable shoulder massager, the newest book from her favorite series, and - perhaps most exciting for the least amount of material - a note from their school excusing Lucy and Max from class for the upcoming semester. Typically kids set out to challenge the Unova League on their tenth birthday, however Max had never been that interested in battling, and while he didn't outright refuse to go, he made it clear that he would rather not. Lucy, who was just turning 9, was also a bit of an oddone, but her mother knew she was capable, had a reliable friend to accompany her in Max, and suspected that it was only a matter of time before Lucy attempted to flee on her own. At least this way their mother suspected there would be fewer hurt feelings and groundings involved. *

That night, as Max lay listening to his mother sing Lucy off to sleep, he thought back on his own birthday a year and a half ago and his reluctance to go off and leave his home for the open road. Growing up, Max's father had instilled in him a love for pokemon, often bringing how wild 'mons he'd encountered while away. These were never permanent additions, but they were like gifts from father to son, experiences that Max had deeply cherished. These moments had ended just a few weeks before Lucy's 5th birthday, when his father and Lucy had been driving home. Max was never really sure what happened, but his father had driven off the road on his way home and ended up in the waters just off the edge of Route 1. No one was really quite sure what happened in those final moments, but little Lucy had been dragged from the car by Speck, but her father had never come up. This was a great enough tragedy, but it had a particular impact on Speck and most of all, Lucy. The Mightyena now refused to return to any pokeball and spent his time around the family that had raised him from a Poochyena.

*Lucy likewise had lasting trauma, though she never seemed to fully remember the events of the crash itself. Instead her symptoms manifested as night terrors. Screaming fits and failing that kept all other members of the household awake throughout the night. There was no stopping them, and try as she might their mother had been unable to find a solution short of tranquilizing her daughter. During these first few months Lucy had slept, if it could be called sleep, with her mother, but the nightly disruptions began to wear down both Mother and Daughter. At the end of her rope and not in the best frame of mind Lucy was taken to a nearby healer. Though Max didn't know it, this was not a particularly reputable woman. Her methods primarily revolved around hypnotic sessions with her Hypno partner. Whatever the woman and her pokemon partner did, however, it worked. Lucy could now sleep through the night without crying or waking up. On those occasions where she seemed to have a relapse it was primarily understood by her frantic movements, and in these moments Speck - who hardly left Lucy's side anyways - would attempt to calm her down by licking her face and cuddling up even closer. *

*What had astonished Max at the time was how truly deep Lucy's sleep became following her treatment - this being the only term their mother would use to describe the process of Lucy's recovery, when she could be convinced to speak of it at all. Max knew that Lucy would not fall asleep, indeed could not fall asleep, unless either he or his mother sang a particular lullaby to her. Further he knew that Lucy could not be roused by anything unless a similar song was sung. In this way, Lucy was able to sleep again, and the rest of the house was similarly able to rest. And on the surface this seemed quite alright - a perhaps unorthodox approach to healthcare, but an effective solution for a seemingly inescapable problem. However, early on Max noticed that Lucy was not just a deep sleeper, she was completely unwakeable once taken by the night. *

In the first weeks after the treatment, Max had sometimes amused himself by poking and prodding her inert form, once even going so far as to gently slap her face and pinch her stomach, but all it had elicited was a growl of warning from Speck. As time went on her lack of reaction became the natural cure for young Max's curiosity, and ultimately the families morning and evening rituals became second nature, unremarkable.

But while it was Lucy who had suffered the most audibly from the loss of their father, Max grieved and internalized that grief in his own way. For him it had become a withdrawal from the trainer life he had anticipated as he listened to his father talk about the catch of the day and his stories of having battled alongside his wife, Max's mother, when they were just a little older than Max. This reticence to become a battler had been the thing on his mind when he declined to depart on his tenth birthday the way so many of his peers in Accumula had and would. His mother, knowing that this was a difficult decision for him hadn't pushed, but over the next year as Lucy began to fantasize about her own upcoming adventures, their mother had gently encouraged Max to reconsider his decision.

It was also during this time that Max had begun to learn about pokemon breeders. While he wasn't entirely sure what the job entailed, as both his mother and his teachers were cagey about what the specific work involved was, Max came to realize that pokemon breeding might be a way for him to engage with pokemon, without having to see them hurt. With the realization that he would need to know more about how pokemon other than Speck lived their lives and where they came from, Max began to warm up to the idea of leaving on his journey. And so it was that he ultimately agreed to accompany his sister on her journey.

These thoughts and memories, so tied up in what was coming tomorrow and in the days ahead of them on their journey around Unova, were swirling around Max's head as he finally drifted off to sleep.

Just across from Max's now sleeping form, two red eyes opened. While tomorrow promised to be busy for everyone, tonight would be special for one in particular.