FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The gentle rattle of rain woke Norton from his troubled sleep. He slowly opened his eyes and cast them down. The woman that had been there the night before had disappeared, bringing him some relief. In her place were itchy cotton white sheets. He stretched gently, feeling all his muscles creak. It wasn't his best night ever, and the stiffness of his joints proved it. He took a few minutes to relax before having to go through the turmoil of another trip and the problems it would bring. However much he wanted to push out the thoughts of the night before, they kept creeping back in. The natural morning erection didn't help matters.

“I think our sleeping prince is awake," a familiar husky voice said. Norton turned to the source. On the bed next to him sat both of his traveling partners. Ava was carefully brushing Lydia's hair, prettying it up. Both wore their simple dresses. It was actually quite cute, not that he would admit it. “Has anyone told you that you're quite the sleep talker?" He smiled and looked to Lydia, who gave her trademark stare, though it lacked her usual displeasure. He could barely see the new braids made out of Ava's hair, something he wished he could have seen done.

“Care for breakfast?" Ava asked. Norton rubbed his eyes and nodded. “As would I." She smirked and continued to brush away. “Have I ever told you that you have lovely hair, Ms. Lydia?"

“Yes. Far too many times. It's a wonder you haven't stolen it already."

“Well it's true. I'm sure Norton would agree." She looked to him briefly.

“Yeah," he said with a yawn. He sat upright. “Looks great. Far better than most."

“See? I think he's aiming for your heart." She pulled the brush free and admired her work. “How did we get so lucky with someone like him?"

“You pointed randomly at a name," Lydia replied matter-of-factly. She straightened out her dress. “Is that everything?"

“Are you sure you wouldn't care for one of my bows?" Lydia gave her a blank stare. “Yes, yes, that's everything," Ava said with a sigh. Lydia stood up and went to tend to her items. “Now Norton, sweetheart. Would you care for a brush?"

“Do I really need one?" He tussled his hair and swept it back.

“Even with the sorry state of your fur, humans need a brush too." Ava quickly moved to his bed and plopped down next to him. “I must say, you're a stand-out among humans with your hair." She ran a hand over his scalp. “I would be honored to brush it."

“I'm not sure about that, but go ahead I guess." He scratched at his neck awkwardly. Being in such close proximity again made him uneasy. Within seconds Ava went to work. Brushing firmly but carefully across his head, hopefully in a way that didn't make him seem ridiculous. The wolfess began to hum a little tune while she brushed.

“Stop fidgeting so much. Relax. I'll make you look good."

“Can I ask you something?" Norton asked in a more subdued voice than he wanted.

“Of course," Ava replied. Something about the way she said it made it seem like she already knew what was going to be asked.

“Is everything alright? I mean. With the way you acted last night. I don't mean to be rude, but..." Norton pursed his lips, worried he made the situation worse.

Ava stopped for a moment and leaned against him. “Sorry," she whispered. A small peck was planted on his cheek. In a flash she was back to brushing as if nothing happened, even picking up that jaunty tune once again. Norton kept his mouth shut. Butterflies stirred in his stomach, nearly nauseating him. For some reason it felt like he'd done something terrible. “There we are! Go check in the mirror how I did." She gently nudged against him. Norton practically stumbled out of bed and stared at himself in the mirror. “I take pride in my work. No refunds, unfortunately."

“Refund what? This looks great." His bangs were expertly brushed aside and not a hair stuck out of place. “How'd you get it to stick like that?" He prodded at the styling and looked back at her.

“Wolf spit does wonders, I suppose." She swiped her tongue at the brush and laughed. Norton narrowed his eyes and winced, wiping his fingers off on his pants. “That's my gift to you."

“Well it still looks good at least," he said, slightly peeved.

“I'm glad you think so. Maybe you'll win Lydia's hand yet!" Ava got up and retrieved her bags from the other side of the bed and tossed the entire mess onto the mattress.

“I'm not sure your work is that good," Lydia replied. She had already gotten all of her bulky armor back on. “Perhaps ten glasses would make me more willing." Even such a jokey jab stung. If it was a joke. It was hard to tell with Lydia's inflection.

The group had finished dressing and collecting their items. Norton went over the room several times to make certain they hadn't forgotten anything. Once he was satisfied they all exited the room and went out into the hall. “Oh," Ava suddenly said. She held up her bottle of alcohol. “Do you have the cap for this?"

“We don't have time for that," the feline said. “Ava. Look." She nodded to the stairs. Ava and Norton moved to see what she meant. The human was held back by an armored hand. “Not you." The wolf backed up to the group. “And what now?"

“It's just one man."

“And you don't think there are many more?"

“Are you suggesting the window?"

“The window?" Norton said in confusion.

“He can't make that jump," Lydia replied.

“Then we should stroll out the front door," Ava said with a shrug.

“What is this about?" Norton asked, not expecting an answer. His eyes flitted back and forth between the two.

“And be ambushed?"

“Then what is your suggestion, oh glorious knight?" Ava took a sip of her bottle. Her other hand sat casually on her hip. “We smash his head in and take him captive?"

“Not an abysmal suggestion, but I doubt they care for hostages."

A loud bang rang out from below, causing Norton to jump. The other two snapped to the noise, and dropped their conversation instantly. “We've got a bounty out," a curious wheezing voice groaned. “Information will be rewarded handsomely."

“Window," Lydia promptly said. Ava nodded, tossed her alcoholic concoction, and pulled Norton down the hallway. It nearly felt as though his arm was going to pop right out of its socket. His legs could barely keep up with her speed as they barreled down to a lone window at the end of the hall. Norton could hear Lydia stomping after them. The floorboards beneath them rattled and cracked, deeply worrying Norton they'd give way.

“You can jump, right?" Ava asked.

“Jump where?" Norton couldn't hide the panic in his voice.

“Lydia. You're going to have to help me with this one." The wolfess slid the window open with her free hand and shoved Norton into Lydia's waiting arms. “Be careful with him. He's a keeper." With that, she dove out the window without a second thought. Norton gasped and tensed up, his feet instinctively pushing back away from the portal. Lydia kept forcing him forward with little effort. “Ready to go!" Ava shouted from below.

“Don't think. Just go," Lydia coldly said. Hardened hands bashed him forward, nearly knocking the air out of his lungs.

“No! No, wait!" Norton screamed. It was far too late for objections. The man tipped out of the window, and went careening into the ground below. He flailed wildly while his voice cracked from a prolonged yell. Just as the world seemed to spin out of control, it all came to a stop with a sickening halt.

“Graceful." Ava grinned. She looked down at Norton, cradling him in her arms. “Your turn!" she shouted up at the window. Moments later a gleaming white cannonball crashed down next to them, creating a storm of dust. “Always with the flashy entrance," Ava said between repeated coughs. Norton could barely process the world. His heart still hammered and his head pounded. He felt like a limp fish. His bones had turned to jelly. Ava had no problem hefting him upright. “I think we're clear." Norton hunched over and held his stomach in agony.

“Hey!" another voice rang out.

“Not clear," Ava groaned. Norton was jerked up from his bent over position. “Come on now, we have to run." Norton could only manage a worried blubber as he was tugged after the running wolf woman. “You're doing great!" Lydia ran alongside them. The bulky armor she wore didn't appear to slow her down one bit. The world was back into a wash of blurring colors and sickening shaking. Were they going any faster, he figured his arm might have easily snapped and his stomach turned inside out.

Norton's vision melted from city, to woods, to more woods, and eventually a mess of green plains and foliage. He didn't realize they had stopped until he had slumped on the ground, against the pleasingly cool grass. Norton's head continued to spin, winding down until everything stopped moving. A few seconds passed before his mind was in working order to understand speech.

“Do we take him along then?" a familiar clinical voice said.

“I don't want to involve him," another familiar voice replied, lacking its usual cheery tone.

“We can't send him back on his own. Hull is a ways off."

“I know we can't, but if he's seen with us he'll be considered just as guilty as we are." A pause in the conversation came. “That damned fish. I should've gutted her when I had the chance." The voice sighed. “I don't think we have the money between us to send him back on a carriage." Something plopped down next to him. “Hey there." A gentle hand tapped against his shoulder. “Dear?"

“Hmm?" Norton hummed. He could barely make out the feminine figure through the grass that stuck to his face. Not that he could even muster the energy to properly look.

“Still in working order. A real trooper you are. Sorry to do that to you, but I have to admire your voice."

“Hmm." The man gave a mindless nod, pulling along some blades of grass.

“You still have a map, right?" the figure he now recognized as Ava asked. Norton nodded and flung a hand at his back, patting down his bag. “I'll get that for you. You rest for now."

“I suggest you get up as well," Lydia said. Her voice wormed its way into his head. “I doubt you want to deal with the bugs here." Norton gasped and shoved himself off the ground, wiping off his clothing in a panic. “That certainly woke you up. Feeling better then?" He looked over at Lydia, who squatted down next to him.

“Yeah." His head continued the pounding of a drum. “I guess."

“You came out of it better than I expected."

“Look at you," Ava began, “such a flatterer, Lydia. Maybe ten glasses won't be necessary at all." She pulled the map free from the mess of Norton's bag. “Now where are we?" She presented the map to the armored feline.

“And how many times have I told you to learn how to read a map?" Lydia replied, annoyed.

“I can read a map!" Ava pulled the paper back to her. “But we didn't exactly pick a direction to run. We could be anywhere."

“A convenient excuse," Lydia said. Ava grumbled and flattened her ears.

“Well"—Norton oriented himself to sit upright—“where's the sun? It's still early, isn't it?" He held his hand up to block out the blinding light and searched for the burning orb. “There." He pointed at the sun. “So that must be east. I think." Norton tried to make sense of what he was saying through the hammering of his head. “We came from back there?" He gestured at the gnarled woods behind them. Ava and Lydia nodded. “So we ran right at the sun. I think we went east." He hoped.

“Resourceful," Ava said with a smile. She pulled the map back up to Lydia. “Here. We should be abouts here, then. If our human is right."

“Circle around south, then?" Lydia asked.

“She'll probably have a few men mucking about along every road."

“As if that would be an issue."

“Not for us, no, but-"

“You mind if I ask a question?" Norton asked. He massaged his forehead with a grimace. “You mind telling me what's going on?" Ava frowned and opened her mouth to speak. She paused and closed her snout shut.

“We've killed a man," Lydia replied flatly, though more downcast than usual.

“Is that such a big deal? You seem pretty good at that," Norton said angrily.

“It is. He was the leader of a guild. That's bound to anger someone, wouldn't you think?" Lydia maintained her composure.

“It does," Norton said, easing off of his aggression. “This has something to do with the package, doesn't it?"

“Well"—she looked to Ava briefly, who made no protest—“it does." Norton slouched. “We've been carrying his head." The man could only manage a stare as the statement struck him bluntly.

“Head," he mumbled. His body went numb and he struggled to hold a hand over his mouth. The rest of his body faltered and Norton fell back to the ground. Some noises blared in front of him, but he couldn't make them out. Everything shook violently. Then, darkness.

_

The small pitter-patter of liquid gently eased Norton out of a heavy slumber. The sky had darkened a fair amount and a low rumble seemed to punctuate every shake of his body. He was moving, or rather, they were moving. His body lay upon smooth but hard armor, and out of the corner of his eye he could spy Ava trudging alongside him. Lydia held him to her back quite firmly. He blinked repeatedly, trying to make sense of the strange scenario.

“Hey there," Ava said with a wave. Much of her fur was a soggy mess. “Feeling better, dear? That was a scary sight." Norton gave an uneasy nod. His mind began to piece together the events that led him there. “Lydia was nice enough to offer you a ride."

“For once, it's not a jest," Lydia replied. Her voice rang through him, being in such close proximity. It was oddly comforting. “Are you ready to walk?"

“I think so." Lydia came to a slow stop and crouched down, easing Norton back onto solid, but muddy ground. His legs tingled as blood rushed in. He backed off of Lydia and onto his wobbly legs. Within a few seconds he was back to normal. “Thank you. I'm ready." The other two nodded and started their journey again once Norton joined their side. “Sorry. For acting like that, that is." Lydia kept her eyes focused squarely on the road.

“I had forgotten you weren't experienced in brutality. I shouldn't have been so rash," the feline said. That was a strange apology, but he wasn't going to complain. It seemed sincere at the very least.

“We would have told you, but..." Ava trailed off.

“I get it," Norton replied solemnly. He wasn't exactly happy about it. “Where are we off to now?" It was clear to him he was just along for the ride at that point.

“Your map had a harbor town to the east. Didn't have a name, but we can pick up a few essentials on our way back to Hull." Ava reached into her mess of pockets. “And here." She pulled free a small bag that rattled with the lovely sound of coin. “Your pay."

“Job isn't done yet." He held up a hand. “You hold onto that until we arrive at Hull."

“Alright then," Ava said with a smile.

“I'll make certain she doesn't spend it," Lydia said.

“Hey!" Ava slapped Lydia's armor with a hollow clang.