FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The lights in the locker room had been in need of change for a long time.

Not because they were old. They had been placed there not so long ago and belonged to that group of modern, eco-friendly light bulbs that could easily endure years and years of mistreatment. The problem was that they casted a cold, white light that contrasted drastically with the warm, more pleasing lamps in the gym. Whenever Buck walked into the locker room after a workout session and switched the lights on, he had to squint to get used to it. It was simply uncomfortable.

There was this nasty urban legend about cervids being unable to move when they were confronted by headlamps on the road. Buck had heard about it millions of times and was pretty sure it was fake, but walking into that locker room sure made him feel slightly disoriented. Or maybe that was just the normal reaction to have after working out. In any event, those light bulbs could use a change. He'd welcome it.

The caribou was in the middle of taking off his sweaty shirt when he noticed he wasn't alone in the locker room.

That wasn't unusual, of course. There were plenty of people in that gym most of the time. The fact that the skinny otter from the corner of the room was staring straight at him, however, made things a bit different. Buck wasn't one to be embarrassed too easily, but the prolonged visual contact was beginning to feel a bit intrusive.

"Hey there," he greeted the otter, trying to start a conversation. Maybe that'd make things less awkward. "Can I help you?"

"Oh! Oh, yeah, forgive me." The otter smiled nervously and rubbed his elbow. "I didn't realize I'd been staring at you. I must have looked like an idiot."

"It's okay, buddy," Buck reassured him, with a friendly smile. He could tell the little guy was pretty embarrassed, so he decided to go easy on him. Besides, there was nothing wrong about drawing the attention of other gym-goers from time to time.

"I... er... I promise I wasn't having any weird ideas. I was just wondering if I could ask you for advice," the otter clarified, taking a tentatively step towards him. "You see, you look like the kind of guy who spends a lot of time here. This is my first or second visit to the gym at most so I thought maybe I could seek the opinion of an expert."

"An expert? I wouldn't say that much," Buck replied, chuckling. Nonetheless, he welcomed the flattering words. "But sure. What do you need to know?"

"Uh, it's a lot of things, actually," the otter admitted, smiling sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I basically just want to know how to look like you."

Buck noticed he was wearing a pretty flashy wristwatch, made of some emerald-tinted metal. That was not the kind of thing the caribou would have taken to the gym, but there was nothing wrong with it either. He was surprised it was so easy to look at, though.

"Well, if that's what you want, first thing you need to do is grow a pair of antlers." Buck answered, winking an eye at him. The otter chuckled softly and walked a bit closer to the caribou's position. "I don't know how you could possibly do that, though. As for the rest - well, it's a matter of patience and perseverance. You'll get there one day if you keep working hard."

As he spoke, Buck removed his shirt and let out a sigh. He'd been looking forward to doing that for a long while. Now all he needed was a hot, relaxing shower and he'd be on his way home.

"Is it okay if I ask you about specific stuff? I have a lot of questions."

"Oh! Uh, sure!" In spite of his previous thoughts about getting home early, it occurred to Buck that he could stay for a bit longer. He didn't mind helping the otter - after all, everyone had been a beginner once.

"Cool! By the way, I'm Andrew. I don't know why, but I always forget to introduce myself."

The otter offered Buck his hand.

"Oh, I'm Buck. And don't worry. It happens to the best," the caribou assured him. As he shook Andrew's hand, he couldn't help but notice the emerald wristwatch again. It seemed to gleam under the weird, cold light in the locker room. "So, shoot! I'll try to answer the best way I can."

"Okay. So first, how many hours should I work out every week?"

"Hm, I'd say five hours a week is a good goal to reach for at first," Buck answered, sitting down on the bench. "I mean, it depends on the person, but that's what I generally hear."

"So when you start working out, you have to focus entirely on it, right?"

Andrew scratched his chin and the emerald wristwatch caught Buck's eye.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, right now I read books and do other stuff, but maybe I should drop it and focus on working out. To be like you, right?"

There was a brief silence. The tiniest thought that maybe he should have felt insulted circled around Buck's mind, but the caribou disregarded it. It was the lights that irritated him - plus, Andrew seemed like a good guy. Questions could be hard to formulate sometimes, and that was probably what had happened.

"Uh, well, reading books is fine," he answered, "but you also need to find time to work out. That is, if you want to get results."

"Oh, so you read books often, then?" Andrew asked, with a genuine curious tone.

Buck opened his mouth to answer but he hesitated. To be honest, he hadn't read any books in a while. It wasn't because he didn't want to. And he'd definitely been used to it in the past - he'd devoured a whole sci-fi collection his friends had gifted him - so there was no reason why he hadn't been reading lately. It just hadn't happened, he guessed.

"Not lately," he admitted. "But..."

"So reading books is not necessary, right?"

"What, to grow muscle? Of course not." Buck chuckled. "Unless you intend to use one of those heavy tomes as weights."

What a silly question, he thought to himself.

"Okay, okay. I get it." Andrew smiled back. Even if his questions were a bit odd, the guy was pleasant to talk with, or at least that was the impression Buck was getting from him. "So no need to read or think too much. You don't have to think too much while lifting weights, so it makes sense. No books, no thinking."

"Why would you think?"

Buck stopped mid-sentence to rub his eyelids. He highly doubted it had anything to do with their conversation, but his eyes were a bit sore. It must have been the lights, and the fact that his gaze kept moving to that emerald wristwatch for some reason. It was quite the captivating sight.

"What was I saying?" he asked, a bit disoriented.

"That you don't need to think while lifting weights, right?"

"Oh. Yeah, that. Of course not."

"So it's a good thing to be dumb, right?" Andrew asked, with a charming smile.

"What? Uh, no. I mean, I'm not?"

Damn, Buck thought, squinting again. These lights. Why won't they change them?

"I work out and I'm not dumb," he argued, feeling a bit hurt.

"I mean dumb in a broad sense. You know, as in focusing completely on lifting weights and not thinking about anything else. Or as in leaving books for more clever people and thinking only about the next workout session. I'm pretty sure you can relate, right?"

"Well, I..." Buck began to speak, slightly overwhelmed by the whole explanation.

"You do that, don't you? You just told me you do."

The wristwatch gleamed in front of Buck's eyes again. He hadn't realized until then, but Andrew actually had a pretty nice voice. If the guy had been conducting a podcast, Buck could have played it while exercising in the gym. It could be a good idea to listen to something while working - after all, he never had too much to think about.

"There's no need to be embarrassed about being dumb," Andrew reassured him. He was still wearing the same smile.

"I'm not embarrassed!"

That was what he wanted to believe, but then Buck caught his reflection on one of the mirrors and realized there was a big, goofy grin on his face. It was quite obvious. He turned to look at Andrew, who had crossed his arms on his chest. The otter's fingers were tapping on his forearm repeatedly - each slight movement of his wrist causing a noticeable glint as the light from the ceiling hit directly on the shiny emerald surface of his wristwatch.

"It's okay to be dumb," Andrew insisted. His sweet voice felt like honey on the caribou's ears.

"Heh. If you say so," Buck replied, still grinning.

"You can be dumb and proud," the otter pointed out, looking at him straight in the eye. "It's nice to be dumb and proud."

"Y-yeah!"

"Come on, then. Show me just how proud of yourself you are. Strike a pose for me."

Buck chuckled and stood up from the bench, flexing in front of Andrew and making sure the otter knew who he was dealing with. He was so small and Buck was so big! The otter had nothing to do against him - not against a strong, dumb caribou who focused only on his workouts. That was how he'd gotten there, after all.

He turned and made sure Andrew could take a good look at the muscles of his back, as his previous embarrassed smile turned into a cocky grin. Displaying his strength like that made him feel great.

"What were we talking about?" he asked, when he finally stopped flexing and sat down. He felt dizzy for some reason. He hoped it hadn't been for spinning while flexing - he would like to do that again whenever the otter thought he was better than him.

"You were talking about how you're so proud of your workouts you don't even shower after them," Andrew helped him.

Buck rubbed the back of his head. He didn't remember talking about that. And he didn't think that was true, either.

"Don't I?" he asked, confused.

"You're proud, right?"

"Yeah!"

"And you're a dumb, strong caribou."

"I am! Stronger than you, that for sure." Buck chuckled a bit, crossing his arms on his chest and looking down at the otter, a bit threateningly.

"So why would you take a shower? You're dumb, you're proud of your workouts and you only think about the next time you'll hit the gym when you're not here. So why would you shower?"

There was a sudden flash of realization in Buck's mind about something in that sentence that felt off, but before he could stop to think about it he was already answering at the otter's provocation.

"Hey, who said I take a shower after my workouts?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's for people who aren't as proud as I am."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Plus, you like how your body smells afterwards, don't you?"

"What? I don't?"

Andrew scratched an ear, seemingly deep in thought. The wristwatch flashed.

"I thought it only made sense," the otter said. "Since you don't take showers after working out. It must be because you like your body odor, right?"

"My_what_?" Buck asked, puzzled. That was a complicated word.

"The way you smell."

"Oh. Sure."

"It's good proof that you've worked out hard, isn't it?"

"You bet it is!" Buck puffed out his chest proudly. He could smell it even now - the sign that he was stronger than anyone around. Why would he take that away? It didn't make any sense.

Andrew chuckled softly.

"You see, I'm glad I'm helping you see things clearly. I think you were a bit lost before this conversation, weren't you?"

"Yeah. It's because of the lights," Buck explained, glancing at the lamps with a frown.

"The lights...? Oh, never mind." Andrew stood up and looked into Buck's eyes again. The otter had beautiful green eyes. They matched his wristwatch. "The one thing you should keep in mind is how I helped you figure out what you must do. You understand that, right?"

"Of course! I'm not that dumb." Buck was on the process of putting on the same shirt he'd taken off just a few minutes ago.

"Talking with me helps you understand what you've done and what you must do." Andrew patted one of the caribou's strong arms, gently. "And doing what I say you do feels only natural, doesn't it? Because you've already been doing it."

"I got lost there," Buck admitted.

Damn! The otter would never stop talking. Those long sentences were difficult to process and the caribou wasn't sure he'd been following along. Maybe he could ask for an explanation later. Buck liked the sound of the little guy's voice after all. And there was plenty of silence in his head to fill while working out.

"Maybe you should invite me to join you in your next session," Andrew suggested, right before Buck could think about it.

But of course, the otter was clever and he was dumb. Dumb and strong. Dumb and strong and proud. And he had his smell to prove it.

"Sure!" he replied. "We can meet tomorrow and I'll keep on teaching you. There's lots of things you need to learn to be just like me, little guy."

"Yeah, of course." Andrew's smile grew wider and he shook his wrist, causing a sharp green flash that echoed at the bottom of Buck's pupils. "And I'm pretty sure there's a thing or two I can teach you, too."