FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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01 Childish 2021/11/01

“You got the present I sent?" Nova asked over the video call. Xavier could see his ten-year-old grandson shaking with excitement.

The older man, gray sprinkled through his brown hair, nodded and reached over to where the unopened box for the handheld game console and a game sat unopened, grabbing the latter and holding it up where it could be seen by the youth. “I did, but it looks suspiciously like something you would want to get for a gift, as well as too expensive for you to be buying for me."

His daughter hope, who was somewhere in the room with his grandson spoke up, “The cost is not an issue grandfather. Nova wanted to get it for you."

“Yeah," Nova added. “This way you can have fun and we can trade Consters when we visit over Thanksgiving and Christmas!"

“I don't know anything about these… Consters. Are they like con artists or something?" Xavier asked.

“No, Grampa," Nova responded with obvious childish exasperation. “They're monsters that you go around collecting by getting them to sign contracts that they'll join your team."

“So, you play some talent agent for a monster sports team?" Xavier asked, more to tease his grandson than because that's what he thought it was.

“Not a sports team, Grampa! You're a hero that has to save the world. You get to design your hero from several antromic -- “

“Anthropomorphic," Hope corrected from off screen.

“—animals with customizations," Nova continued without pause. “I made a Purple tiger with white stripes and called him Wildcat."

“Sounds like the mascot from the college I attended," Xavier commented.

“Yeah. I got the idea from all your old school stuff," Nova agreed.

Xavier smiled. “That's sweet."

“I know you have to stay in more recently. I just…. Hope you'll be able to have fun without playing outdoors."

“Nova, that's a –" Hope started.

Xavier jumped in interrupting his daughter, “Thoughtful view of my newer limitations in this changing world and a kind gift to give me. I can't guarantee I'll be any good at it. My reflexes are much slower than they used to be, but I will play it."

“You don't have to be fast to be good at it. Mom and Dad won't let me play any of the faster games," Nova said.

Hope stepped into the video being sent, ruffling Nova's hair. “That's because all the quick games you want to play are shoot-'em-up gun games."

“Now I remember someone coming to me with lots of studies she'd printed off the internet talking about how that kind of games increased reaction time and therefore were good to play," Xavier said, now teasing his daughter.

“Father, that was when I was a rebel, and we don't want Nova rebelling do we?"

“He's yours to raise as you want and my grandson to spoil and send back home without consequences," Xavier teased.

Hope smiled and shook her head. “If you're not careful we might skip you in the rotation this Christmas."

Xavier chuckled, knowing she wasn't serious.

“Well, as much as you boys probably want to talk about your games, it is getting close to someone's bedtime and he needs to take a shower and brush his teeth before going to bed," Hope said, giving Nova a pat on the shoulder.

“Aw Mom, do I have to?"

“You're the one who decided to roll in the lawn while playing with the dog. That means you need to clean up before bed."

“Bandit doesn't have to take a shower."

“Bandit is a stinky dog. You're not a stinky dog, are you? You're my son, but you smell like a stinky dog," Hope teased Nova, ticking his side and sniffing loudly.

Xavier smiled as he watched his grandson laugh and wiggle until finally the boy screamed, “Okay! Okay! Stop tickling! I'll take a shower!"

“And brush your teeth, but first what do you say to Grampa?" Hope said, stopping the tickles and giving Nova a hug.

“Thank you, Grampa, for calling tonight to let me know you got your Birthday Present."

“Well, I had to call to thank you and let you know I received it. I also enjoy speaking with my stinky dog of a grandson," Xavier said with a grin.

“See?" Hope said, ruffling Nova's hair again. “You're so stinky even your grandfather can smell you over the phone!"

Nova gave his mother a look that expressed his disbelief.

“Go. I need to talk to your Grampa alone a bit," Hope said.

“Uh oh, am I in trouble?" Xavier asked, still grinning.

“Bye, Grampa!" Came as Nova ran off to do as he was told. “Enjoy the game!"

“I don't know, what did you do that would get you in trouble?" Hope asked.

“Hey now," Xavier said, still smiling. “You think I'm so old I'll fall for my own tricks used against me?"

Hope laughed. “No, but it was fun to use. Though seriously, is everything okay. I know things have been different for you these days, but I worry about you."

Xavier sighed. “I'm fine. I'm not getting any worse and have a hope of getting better according to my therapist. Well, therapists, plural, I guess. It's not easy but complaining about what's happened to me doesn't help. So instead, I work to make the best of the situation."

“Good. As annoying as your stubborn attitude is when it's working against doing something you don't want to do, it is nice to have it turned towards keeping as healthy as possible. Since we're so far away, I can't check in on you and make sure everything is okay."

“You mean tidy up the place even if it's spotless." Xavier grinned.

“No. I mean, yes, I tend to do that, but… I want so badly to help you but I'm not always sure how. So, I clean when I'm there." Hope admitted.

“And cook and shop for groceries and gizmos you think will help me," Xavier chuckled. “You put your energy to the best use you can. I know I'm not easy to fix."

“I never know how to act around your birthday Dad. I know that's when we lost Mom," Hope said softly.

Xavier sighed. “I know you're hurting too. But you and I both know that she wanted us to move on. We can still love her and miss her occasionally. I know I do. But I'm also doing my best to move on like she told me to."

“Are you seeing anyone yet? I know between the shutdown and your condition, it's not easy to get out and meet someone, but they've got online things you could try. I worry about you being alone," Hope admitted.

“Look. I'm doing okay. I'm not exactly on my own. I have nurses and therapists pushing me to get better all through the week. And if you must know. There isn't anyone yet, but I have a few individuals I'm sexting… is the right term?"

“Well, I'm glad you're doing okay and horrified at the fact you actually answered my question instead of skipping the subject. But I also want you to remember that you don't have to wait until you've gotten birthday gifts in the mail to call."

“I know. I just… grew up in a time when we didn't have the phones that could handle video calls."

Hope chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, you had to walk uphill both ways in the snow to the phone at the general store to call and have the operator connect you to another general store so they could track down who you wanted to talk to."

Xavier chuckled too. “Nah. You're thinking of my grandparents. I grew up with a rotary phone in the house, and a pay phone at the school and such things as long distance calls. In any case, I will try to call more often and let you know I'm still alive and doing fine since the messages on Telegram aren't enough for you."

“You keep sending them in morse code," Hope scolded playfully.

“I only did that once, and it was a pain to figure out the code and then type out," Xavier complained with a smile.

“You know you could have recorded the sound and sent that, right?"

“Yeah, yeah. But I'm not going to record myself saying, 'Beep … Beep beepity beep beep. That'd be more annoying than typing it out. “Xavier said with a roll of his eyes.

“You know what I mean," Hope chuckled.

Xavier nodded. “Yeah, but if I'm not silly you don't smile as much."

Hope looked off to the side before looking back. “Well, sorry to cut this short, but I think I need to go make sure Bandit doesn't get dragged to the shower by Nova."

“Go. I'll call again next week." Xavier said with a wave.

The call ended and Xavier sat the phone down on his lap and picked up the game again. The cover showed an anthropomorphic fox, white with red tips and paws, holding a glowing sword high above him. Behind the heroic character, there were other anthropomorphic animals and fantasy beasts.

In truth, it looked interesting. Xavier had always tried to keep the child in him alive. Certainly, his grandson had given him plenty of opportunities to be a little childish when playing with him. Heck, his physical therapist had him playing the shooter type games to keep his reflexes from degrading with age. These days he preferred the new logistics style base building games, but variation was good. Or at least he assumed that his other therapist would tell him that. It would be a couple of days before he saw him again to find out.

“No time to start like the present," Xavier said, thinking that he would probably have to charge the handheld up before he could turn it on and register it so he could then start a game. He reached over and grabbed the handheld, putting the box in his lap as well. He then rolled his wheelchair out of the living room towards his bedroom where he would have a recycling bin to put the plastic and boxes after opening his gift.

---

02 The anniversary of a disaster 2021/11/02

That night, as a thunderstorm rolled through the area, Xavier decided to boot up the game. He had already made sure all his more delicate electronics had been unplugged, or where at least turned off and on a surge protector. He had maneuvered himself onto his bed already, and would normally read for a few hours before turning in for the night, but with the lights flickering occasionally, he decided to run the game sine it didn't need to be plugged in.

As it went through the opening logos, he had to admit that the screen looked as detailed as his phone's screen. He was rather impressed by the device as it showed him a photo realistic image of a lone, snow topped mountain, the sun on one side and a lightning storm on the other. The point of view seemed to be in the middle of a river that had snaked its way down the mountain in several spectacular waterfalls. The Word “Consters" appeared in bold, blocky letters for a few seconds before the words “Element War" faded into view under the first word.

After a pause, the entire screen faded to black. Stars faded into sight and the point of view seemed to be slowly turning through the night sky. A voice that reminded Xavier of the narrator of nature documentaries he had watched began to speak.

“The land of Surimostic has always been populated by the furry folk." Lines connected multiple stars to show a humanoid rabbit, wolf, and bear. Each slowly scrolled off the screen as a granite-colored planet or moon came into view.

“Similar to the many moons, all animals, furry folk and monsters have an element they relate to," The Narrator continued. “Mountain."

The rotation sped up, taking the granite moon out of view. Soon a deep blue moon came into view, sunlight reflecting off it like water. “River."

Once again, the moon was quickly replaced by another. This one white and reflecting the light like a prism. “Ice."

Xavier wondered how odd the tides would be in a real world with multiple moons as the ice one left and one covered with turbulent clouds lit by flashes of lightning. “Storm," the narrator said right as light flashed out the nearby window followed quickly by a loud, rolling boom.

Xavier chuckled as the local storm tonight seemed to be growing in intensity as he could now hear the large drops drumming on his roof and window. “You don't have to show off like that," he muttered at the storm outside.

The rotation stopped with Storm and Xavier thought the list of elements was done until the stars started rolling down instead of to the side. “And the last element, not a moon, but the sun." The sun came into view and the screen whited out.

“Any living thing can relate to any element," the narrator continued as five humanoid tigers wearing shorts and open vests walked onto the screen from the right.

The first was shades of gray, darker on his back and lighter on his chest. His stripes were a light brown that reminded Xavier of stalactites. “Probably mountain," Xavier guessed as the tiger walked down to the lower right corner of the screen. The animation was amazing, with realistic fur. Xavier squinted and realized he could see the tiger breathing as well as motes of dust that seemed to fall from him occasionally.

The second was white with light blue stripes that shimmered. “Has to be ice." As if to prove his element, the tiger summoned three snowballs and juggled them as he moved to the upper left corner.

The third was shades of blue, darker on his back than his chest, like the first one. His stripes were a greenish blue that seemed to ripple over his fur. “Has to be river," Xavier said as wet footprints were left behind the feline as he moved to the middle of the top of the screen.

Clouds appeared as the fourth tiger entered. His back was covered in black fur, fading to grey with a little green on it that Xavier had always related to a storm with hail in it. His stripes were jagged and ranged from bright yellow to pure white. “That one is quite obvious," Xavier chuckled as he moved to the middle top of the screen which made the river tiger carefully wander down to the middle bottom of the screen.

All the tigers suddenly had long shadows that slowly grew shorter as the sun tiger came onto the screen. He glowed, not as blindingly as the sun, but enough to create the shadows, obviously. He was bright orange furred, with tallow on his chest and belly. His striped where red and darkened occasionally like a sunspot.

Xavier was impressed by the designs of the characters, but also the realistic way the light from the sun tiger cast shadows and gleamed off the others, moving very realistically with the movement of the light source.

Once the tigers all stopped in place, the narrating voice came back. “While there were squabbles, between different communities, different species and sometimes between elements," The ice tiger threw one of his snowballs at mountain, hitting him in the muzzle. He snorted, dislodging some of the snow to fall to his foot-paws. He then raised one and brought it down hard. Ice stumbled, dropping his two remaining snowballs. “The furry folk usually got along remarkably well and lived together harmoniously."

“Until the day, thirteen years ago, that everything changed." The screen grew dark and rose above the tigers to a sky between day and night. While a few bright stars could be seen in the darker portion of the sky, the main thing there was a comet. It changed colors, moving through the reds, purples, and blues, then back again, starting at its tip and flowing down it's long, fiery tail.

“Theodore's Comet passed by visibly once every sixty-nine years. Always on this day, like clockwork. While there had been many theories as to why it did this, but nothing was ever proven, and never will be. This day, marks when Theodore's Comet struck Surimostic, shattering the lands and killing countless lives"

The comet grew larger in the sky as it slowly lowered. The point of view moved forward, over a hill and bringing a small village into view. Otters with fur in shades of blue, green, and brown, wearing overalls and with fishing poles in the nearby river looked up as the roar of the comet entering the atmosphere reached them. Foxes with gray, black, and white fur came out of the nearby woods to stare up at the descending comet, dropping the game they had collected on their hunt. Bears of every element stepped out of their shops to stare at what was causing a louder and louder roar. A family of brown rabbits paused in their work in the gardens to stare as the comet got lower and larger and louder.

It finally reached and went behind the nearby hills. Throughout the town, furry folk sighed and chuckled though the roar was still loud in the air like an avalanche.

Then there was a flash of bright light from somewhere past the hill the comet disappeared behind. Furry folk screamed in shock as they blinked and tried to shield their eyes. Like thunder after lightning, the roaring stopped with a strong gush of wind heralding a loud BOOM! The smaller villagers stumbled, some even falling from the force of the sound. The screaming continued as the villagers moved to help each other, hoping the worst was over.

Then the ground began to shake. Buildings and trees fell. The river splashed out of its normal route. The sky grew dark as heavy clouds rushed from where the comet had surely hit. The smell of smoke rode the continuing wind, giving only a few moments notice before fiery chunks of earth, stone and even lava began to rain from the sky, starting multiple blazes through the ruins of the village.

Those with stronger control of the elements did their best to stop fires and try to shield the village from the falling debris. Many might have been called heroes for their efforts against the disaster. But it was all for naught as the ground beneath the village and most of the valley it sat in dropped out of sight as the land below crumbled and collapsed.

“We will never know the exact count of how many died and how many heroic actions happened on that day," the voice said to an engrossed Xavier as the screen grew dark. It all had looked so real, like news footage, he almost forgot he was watching the intro to a game. He was a little surprised that his daughter had allowed Nova to play it if it was this intense.

“But we honor all that was lost that day when the land was shattered. While we're all aware that the one land became six. Five became the different elemental territories, with the landscape, flora and fauna of them leaning towards their element. While furry folk who lived in a territory did not change, but migrations bring those of each element to where they can best survive and flourish."

“The sixth territory, however, does not favor one element over the other, with it bordering the other five territories and position in the middle, it has acted as a neutral ground and welcomed all elements."

“I know you are excited to visit the city during this event for the first time, but first, young master, who are you?"

---

03 Reunion 2021/11/03

“Who am I?" Xavier muttered. “I always hated coming up with names, so we'll just go with Xavier. Where do I enter that?" He didn't see any pop-up box to enter his name.

“Excellent," the voice said. “There's so many of you returning for the reunion, it's hard to keep track of you all. And your species is…" the voice trailed off and there was the sound of pages flipping. Xavier was surprised the game and device had speech recognition.

Pages appeared on the screen, slowly flipping through various humanoid animal species. “I wonder what all there is," he pondered aloud a bad habit he had picked up since his wife had died.

The pages suddenly flipped to a table of contents at the front of the book. The list of animals was long enough he had to scroll the screen down to see them all. This was something Xavier could work with a little easier. He scrolled through, very impressed by the number of species that were playable.

He usually favored speed and accuracy over power in his characters. He briefly pondered a cheetah that should be the fasted, but probably wasn't ably to maintain that pace for long. A horse or maybe a zebra might work, but Xavier wanted to see what else was possible. There were no greyhounds, in fact, the only dog species was the painted dog. The game developers probably used that instead of African wild dog since there likely was no Africa in the game. It was also tempting, so he put it on his short list. He briefly pondered a wolf, but figured if he was going to go canine, he liked the idea of the painted dog. Sure, customization might let him look like a painted dog as a wolf, but Xavier figured he'd avoid the extra step. None of the horned prey species from any location that would be quick appealed to him.

As he continued to scroll trying to think of any other quick animals, he saw the choice for 'Jackrabbit (Hare)' and paused. Fast, a great jump, keen hearing, Xavier could make that work. He'd be small if the game treated animal sizes like that one movie did, but he was pretty sure there was a mouse or rat on the cover that looked the same size as all the other humanoid characters.

He tapped the listing on the table of contents and pages flipped before his eyes until he saw the listing. He had to admit, the picture of a male Jackrabbit looked impressive in the shorts he wore to keep him safe for all ages to view. The notes on abilities included cold resistance, jumping keen hearing, keen sight, and a special move of jumping higher occasionally to get a good view over taller terrain.

On a whim, he touched the 'Select species' button and was sent to the customization page. There was certainly a lot of detail that could be put in. Xavier scrolled down from 'Black Tailed Jackrabbit' default in fur pattern and saw that 'Painted Dog' was a choice, so selected it to se how it looked. He liked the look a loot better than the default for the race so locked it in.

Since Xavier trying to make like a purple mascot, he didn't change the three colors that made up the pattern on the fur. Remembering a friend from his college days that had the most striking steel grey eyes he'd ever seen; he did his best to recreate that for his eye color.

He didn't bother playing with any of the sliders that would have altered his features, liking the look of the default values on the digitigrade model. Xavier then hit next.

The screen went black again, as did his whole room as the power went out.

“Very good, and your element?" the voice asked. Xavier wondered if he should try and pause the game so he could light some candles. Wheeling around in the dark was not the best option, but if the power was out for a while, it would pay to do so when he needed to go to the bathroom before sleeping.

He reached out to set the game device down on the middle of the bed beside him so he could use both arms to scoot to the edge near his wheelchair. At his first scoot, there was a thump from the other side of the bed, as if something fell off the bed.

“Did that just happen?" Xavier said in disbelief, “I… I just can't win tonight."

“Oh… Oh yes, I'm sorry Xavier. I should have remembered. I guess maybe I had hoped you'd found your element since your years here. No element shall be officially recorded on the roster, but in my head, I added a yet."

“What?" Xavier asked.

“Well, we can't lose hope, now, can we?" The voice chuckled. “Well, let's get you to your room. Breakfast will be from 6:00 to 10:30. Though I'm not supposed to say it, if you need a little something after your journey here, it can be arranged."

Xavier let out a sigh and shook his head as lightning flashed outside, lighting up the room briefly through the windows. “Screw it. I'm just staying in bed. If the power comes on, good, I'll go through my nightly routine and see if I can get the device and plug it in, so it doesn't die. Hopefully it'll be fine until there's better light."

With that said and no response from the voice, Xavier lay down and tried to relax. It worked well and soon he was asleep.

***

There was a pounding noise.

Xavier grumbled a little as his dream started to dissolve.

There was still a pounding noise.

It felt way too early for someone to be pounding at his door.

Everyone who was supposed to be here had keys to enter the house and never bothered to knock.

Xavier yawned, eyes still closed, then went still.

That pounding was too close to be the front door. Wait, he hadn't shut the door to his bedroom. There was no need, and the temperature was better with the air flow.

Xavier bolted fully awake, sitting up and eyes flying open.

This wasn't his bedroom. Not his bed, not his dresser. Not where his window was supposed to be, or his window, or his view out the window, which was much to bright and wide open with stone statues and bushes and paths and a very manicured lawn.

He looked the other direction to see if his chair had been brought along for whatever ride he took, but it wasn't there. He did notice his shoulder looked different… furry… brown and white with a black stripe between.

“What the?" He raised his hands to into his line of sight better and… they were paws. Still a thumb and fingers, but with fur and pads and little claws instead of fingernails. The looked a lot like the hands of the character he made in the game last night, but they moved at his command, so they had to be his.

“I can hear you in there Xavier. It's me, Brorsterk, you know, your blood brother, your best pal, Bro. Get up and let's get some breakfast. Surely, it's been long enough since we were last together, so stop dragging your huge feet. You're supposed to be the fast one."

His feet. Xavier jerked the comforter and sheet off his legs and feet. His legs feet were indeed… Whoa! His junk was…

He reached up and pinched his furry cheek. It stung a little, but he was still looking like his character. If he crossed his eyes he could see his muzzle, whiskers, and nose.

Right, second test if it's a dream or not. He took a deep breath and could smell the grass outside the open window, the cotton of the sheets, and his old hyena friend on the other side of the door.

“Wait…" How did Xavier know that smell? As he tried to find more, all he got nothing but the feeling there should be more information.

“Nope! I'm done waiting!"

The door banged open, revealing the humanoid hyena that was out in the hall on the other side. Xavier noticed that the intruder wasn't wearing anything under his leather Pteruges. Wait, did he know the skirt of leather straps was called that before? Why did he take a glance to notice the lack of any undergarment? Sure, he'd always consider himself a little bisexual, but he was surely too old… Wait, Xavier didn't feel old.

He looked down at his large hare feet and wiggled his toes.

Brorsterk chuckled. “Sitting on the bed naked wiggling your toes at a hyena like me might send signals you don't intend… Or has our time apart made you realize what you where too shy to grab when we were teens?"

“If you're talking about sex, Bro," Xavier said, “I think we have a lot of catching up to do before we cross that bridge… if we cross that bridge."

“Wow!" The hyena nodded. His ears pointed straight forward and his eyes staired a bit lower than Xavier's. “You have changed over the years. That's the closest to a 'Yes,' I've ever gotten from one of my advances. But yes, breakfast and chatting calls, so get out of bed put a pair of those sexy running shorts you used to wear all the time on and let's go."

“So, you're the impatient one now?" Xavier asked, trying to move his legs over the side of the bed so he could stand. His eyes widened as they moved easily. This body in this – well, it wasn't a dream, but he wasn't sure what to call it yet – was fully healthy and evidently a lot younger than he was used to.

“Nah," Brorsterk said, waving a paw dismissively. “I've never patient when it comes to food. Got to get plenty the good stuff to stay in shape."

Xavier looked over to the hyena to see him take a body builder pose. He wasn't overbuilt, but certainly looked strong, showing some definition even through his tan fur with brown spots. Xavier almost asked if he also had no element, since there wasn't anything obvious like the tigers had shown but decided if Bro was an old friend he was reuniting with in this scenario, it might seem odd to ask. Best he learns things from context as much as he could for now. Instead, he simply said, “Show off."

“Nah, I'm not calling lightning down to dance over my pelt," the hyena responded.

“Well, thank you for holding back in here… unlike you did with the door," Xavier said standing up, while looking down at his legs. Even with the strange layout of his new legs, he felt balanced. He felt like he was standing on his toes, but it felt comfortable and natural in this form. He flexed his legs, bouncing a little and sending his balls swaying. It felt different having a sheath, but at least that kept that from swaying too.

Bro wiped some drool from the sides of his nuzzle with the back of his hand and looked up finally to meet Zavier's eyes. “What? I was drooling because my stomach is telling you to hurry up, not because I'm enjoying you being a lot more relaxed being naked around me than you used to be."

“Right," Xavier said taking a deep breath. “It's some other hyena smelling turned on." He strode over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. Looked like shorts, and from what Bro had said earlier, Xavier guessed that was all he would find, but… Maybe it was because it was a new body. Maybe because he definitely had a runner's build. He wasn't sure, but he did know he didn't mind being nude in front of the hyena, nor did he dislike the idea of wearing the sleek running shorts that might not leave much to the imagination.

He grabbed a black pair and slipped them on, easily maintaining his balance on one foot as he put the other in while leaning over to pull each side up as he moved from foot to foot. After getting them on, a look down certainly showed the bulge of his balls and a little of his sheath.

“You've certainly grown into a handsome adult, brother," The hyena said.

“Thank you. You're also a pleasure to look at. Let's go be handsome while having some breakfast, unless you wanted to jog around some first."

“Breakfast for sure."

They got the door to shut again with some fiddling. Bro apologized several times, saying he'd pay any repair bill Xavier was charged. Xavier figured it was a problem to deal with after breakfast, so they quickly began the journey to find it.

---

04 Charisma 2021/11/30

Brorsterk seemed to know his way out, so Xavier was happy to let him lead the way. The human turned into a hare realized that he was going to be in trouble continuing to pretend to be the Xavier that the hyena remembered as time went on. If he was in the game somehow, hopefully it would take that into account and not cause trouble. But things seemed so real, Xavier wasn’t sure how this could be a kid’s game. Kids games wouldn’t have had him naked, especially in front of another, would they?

Maybe the game, being able to make him see and feel as if he were in it was also able to tell that Xavier was an adult? It was impossible to say without more information, so gathering more information had to be the focus, which required calm. Worrying about everything wouldn’t help him figure out what was going on while trying to prevent Bro from realizing he wasn’t the Xavier who spent time with him in the past

The hyena led the way down long halls with multiple doors on both sides, much like a hotel or dormitory. This made sense, especially after the room Xavier had been in when he woke up. The halls were much quieter than he remembered dormitories being, but then it sounded like he might be a graduate returning for a celebration rather than a student, so maybe everyone was already out and about, or the location was being used for just returning alumni. Still, the halls seemed a little empty.

“Seen anyone other than me you know… And how did you find out which room I was in?” Xavier asked as they turned a corner.

“Just Dean Quartz during check in. He told me you had arrived last night when I asked about others from our class. I… Did he seem okay to you?” Bro asked heading to the doors at the end of the hall.

“I… How do you mean?”

“Check in was odd, asking name, which okay, yeah, I get that, lots of students go through these halls over the years, but…. His memory used to seem so sharp, but he asked a lot of questions that I would have thought would have been obvious or already on the list of guests. I mean, he had trouble figuring out my species. I hope he doesn’t have tromnesia,” Bro said a few feet from the doors that had an exit sign over them.

“Tromnesia?” Xavier asked.

Brorsterk stopped with his hand on the door and turned to look at the hare, brows furrowed.

“It’s a condition where folks have partial memory loss. No one knows how it happens or why and it affects different individuals differently, so it might not all be caused the same way. You should know that, Xavier. Don’t tell me you have it too.”

The hare opened his mouth to deny it but stopped before speaking. It would help him explain why he knew so little of this world. But it would be a lie to cover up not lying another way. The hyena seemed to think him a close friend and he might even know some tells the hare gave off when not telling the truth. Being able to smell a lie was even more possible with a hyena’s sense of smell if Xavier’s own nose smelling more scents was anything to go on.

“Look, I’m not going to lie to you, but I’m not sure this is something I should share far and wide. Before this morning, I wasn’t in this body. My name is indeed Xavier, but my memories are of being a much older man. A human if you know that term. I was playing a game during a storm last night and … things got weird when it started, and I got asked questions similar to what you describe. Then I woke up with you pounding on the door. I was in this body, could move my legs, felt decades younger and have been trying to piece together what is actually going on.”

“Oh crackle boom,” the hyena said, surprise and awe in his voice. “So, you don’t actually remember me? You don’t remember being you? Come on, buddy, I thought I was unforgettable.”

Xavier held a finger up. “No, but… Before you came in, I was testing if I could smell to see if I was dreaming or not. Your scent…. I detected it and knew you were my old hyena friend. So… somehow, some part of me recognized you even if I have no conscious memory of you. Which only confuses me more.”

“I see… Well, first, I’m glad your nose remembered me, but the more important thing is that I’ve got your back. You’re still my friend, so I’ll stay with you and help you learn or relearn about the world.” Bro said with a grin.

“Even if this is something the game placed me in until I meet a certain goal?”

“Even if. As far as I’m concerned, you are suffering from being affected by tromnesia, had a real odd dream about a different life before I woke you up, interrupting the dream and making it seem more real.”

“Well, I’m not sure I agree with that, but it is possible, I suppose and you’re dealing with it better than I hoped,” Xavier said.

“Well, it’s like you always used to say, worrying won’t solve anything. I do have one question though.” Bro replied.

“That’s fair. Ask and I’ll see if I can answer it.”

“What’s a human?”

Xavier blinked. “Never even heard of humans? Um…. Two legs, two arms, no tail, no fur, though hair on the head like a lion’s mane but not nearly as thick. Hair elsewhere, but not nearly as thick as fur. Which is a very rough way of describing them.”

“Huh. Yeah, I’ve not heard of anything like that,” Bro said, opening the door and heading into the bright outdoors. What part of the world are they from?”

Xavier stepped outside and blinked at the brighter light from the morning sun as well as a lot reflected off the ice moon on the other horizon. “My memories of being one were not on this world, so I’m not sure if there are any humans here. We didn’t have a moon of ice. It was made of rock but appeared white except for the craters which appeared darker.”

“So, there were only two elements for the species to have? There was a sun, right?” Bro asked as the two walked down a path of stone bricks.

Several large buildings made of stone, brick and wood were visible, with flat, well-trimmed grass between. Several individuals of various species were visible. Some were walking between the buildings, but a few were handing out reading. There also appeared to be several circular areas of sand placed around the grounds.

In one, up ahead, it looked like two groups of beings were squaring off against each other. The leaders were a humanoid, blue-furred fox and a red-scaled dragon sitting up on its hind legs and tail.

Next to the dragon, there was a bright orange quadruped feline with a fiery mane and flames going gown its spine to a large burst of flame at the tail. Xavier wondered if there could be humanoid and animal lions in this world. On the dragon’s other side was a large bird, around the size of an ostrich, but looking more like the extinct thick hook beaked ones from South America. Xavier couldn’t remember their proper name, but thought they were also called terror bird, which this one certainly fit.

The four animals next to the fox were smaller than him, and he was smaller than the three they were facing. There was a bright yellow viper, a pink panda dog looking thing, a hooded snowman with an icy sickle, and finally a metallic looking spider-thing.

“Elements there are not a source of power like they seem to be here. We used the term to describe all the molecules --- basic building parts – of everything, like gold, iron, silver, hydrogen. Humans were also the only species that had a large-scale society…. Though certainly, there was some debate on the sentience and intelligence of certain other species. Speaking of, are there sentient and animal versions of different species in this world? Back in the human world, hares were just cute little animals, not intelligent bipeds.”

“Well, there are certainly different species with similarities. But sentience is not just with bipeds.”

“I see. So, what’s going on up ahead? Looks like they’re getting ready to fight.”

Bro paused and looked over at Xavier briefly before shaking his head. “Yeah. I’m glad you told me the truth about your memory. That question, even more than the previous ones, would have alarmed me if I didn’t know what you’re going through…. Still alarms me a little. After breakfast, we need to check with the registrar and see if you’ve got any Consters with you. I left Buzz with the stables and don’t have any others I brought with me. I know we weren’t supposed to bring any on campus with us to avoid getting challenged by the current students. Something about distracting their studies and causing trouble instead of enjoying the celebration.”

“Right,” Xavier said, nodding towards the gathering ahead. “So, is that a distraction happening, or studies being avoided or something else entirely?”

“It looks like a practice round between two students to me. Might be more to it, but they won’t hurt each other since they’re using the practice ring.”

“How is the winner determined?” Xavier asked. So far it looked just like an intense staring and posturing contest.

“Well, the individuals can all use their normal abilities, but the field in the practice rings means that instead of connecting and damaging the target, points are scored. When enough points have been scored on a target, they are out of the fight.”

“And the individual who has… contracted all of the others…” Xavier started, pausing because he was unsure of the correct terminology.

Understanding the pause, Bro said, “The scribe.”

“Is the scribe able to attack or be considered a target?” The hare asked.

“In tournaments, no. In the wild, well, Consters doesn’t always play fair. Like almost never. So it’s up to the scribe if they attack, but they’re probably a target from time to time.”

“And in the wild, the wounds are real?” Xavier asked.

“Yeah, though scribes usually have gear that will teleport those wounded too much back to the scribes current base of operations where medical help can be given. If the scribe is too wounded, they all go back since the gear would go back with them.”

“Makes sense. Don’t want to abandon those who work for you,” Xavier said.

“Especially if you consider them as more than just employees,” Bro commented as the fighting began.

The dragon lazily waved his talons in the direction of the others. The dark bird squawked and charged the closest member of the other team, the yellow serpent. The fiery feline huffed out a small burst of flame before charging the nearest opponent to him, the snowy one.

“Lazy,” Bro muttered. “Just because his creatures are stronger does not mean he can just throw them at the weaker ones. You can see his followers are not as confident of their leader as the other team’s followers are of theirs.”

The fox, called out commands, which he team quickly and confidently obeyed. The metal spider-thing spat what looked like streams of wet clay at the feline, slowing the fiery beast’s movement. This gave the small snowman a chance to swing his scythe at the charging bird, sending a sheet of ice across the ground, causing the bird to lose its footing. The serpent shot a bolt of green lightning from its mouth hitting the feline.

“So, tactics and… the trust between the leader and his followers is even bigger than power?” Xavier asked.

“Yes, a charismatic Scribe who uses tactics can do more with less than someone who doesn’t know their Consters well and how to lead or use them,” Bo responded.

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Current Word Count According to Word: 5505 (which probably makes it closer to 5498 if I had to guess)