FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The nights were always cold in the far north, especially during the months of winter. Snow blanketed the mountainous lands, sending all that dwelt in the woodlands within into a deep slumber until spring arrived once more. Clouds covered the skies through both night and day, cloaking the land in perpetual darkness as it blocked the light of the sun, moon and stars. Normally, the air would be filled with cutting winds and blinding snow, but the air was clear and calm, though none could say for how much longer.

Deep within a frozen valley, surrounded by sheer, spire-like peaks was a vast forest, covered in both ice and frost. Where once there was life, the woods filled with the sounds of buzzing insects and calling birds, there was now deafening silence as all who called this land home left for warmer climates long before the snows fell. The only sign of residence that could be found was hidden in a small grove near the center of the woods, taking the form of a peculiar vessel made of a stainless steel, as large as a house and pyramidal in shape, its engines housed in the back, standing on three, large spider-like legs.

The interior of this craft was just as peculiar as the exterior, resembling a combination of an airplane and a recreational vehicle. The cockpit was fitted with three seats arranged in a triangular pattern, the front placed before a console with several levers, a control wheel, and a large screen that, when activated, would display all manner of navigational information. The remaining chairs were each positioned before their own terminal, each one controlling a different aspect of the craft, from communications and ship status to communications and life-support.

Behind this room was a larger chamber that served as the general gathering space for the ship's crew, along with the craft's only entrance and exit. A decently sized kitchenet could be found in one corner, where a small dinning bar was built around the area. Behind that was general living space, including various things for recreational use, ranging from a series of small, transparent screens that hanged from the ceiling to a small bookshelf holding aging tomes and various items collected from past adventures.

Near the back of the craft was both the engine room, a bathroom and a trio of bedrooms, two used by the crew while one was kept for any spare passengers. Though the three were mostly identical, with the only thing separating them being personal things and decorative effects, only one was occupied, its resident filling the chamber with soft snores as he slept through the night. Across the hall, the door leading to another bedroom was left open, its owner having stepped out some time ago for the washroom.

Rather than returning to bed, the now-awake crewmate chose to sit before a desk within the common room, its surface filled with leather-bound journals, their covers cracked, and pages yellowed with age. In the center of this all was a relatively new notebook, half filled with the collective writing of the surrounding journals, its author working on filling what was left with more of their stories, all under the light of a small, spherical lamp that sat in the corner. From the shadows on the wall and from a distance, one would be forgiven for thinking that the man who sat there was a human as his basic shape suggested as much.

Upon closer inspection, they would swiftly be corrected by reality as his appearance took a wolf-like form. Grey fur covered his well-toned body from head to toe, turning silver on his chest and stomach, with three diagonal scars appearing on the latter. Equally silver hair covered his muzzle like a beard and flowed down his back, stopping just past the base of his tail, the underside of which having the same tone. The only sign of color that could be found on the wolf's body could be seen in his eyes, both of which were separate colors - the right being golden, the left green.

For a time, the wolf sat before the desk dressed only in a light pair of trousers, his hair tangled and messy from his previous slumber. Though the world beyond was frozen, the air within the chamber was pleasantly warm, the silence broken only by the scratching of pencil on paper, which occasionally ceased as he took a glance at one of the surrounding journals before resuming his work. Though he wasn't sure how long he wrote, he soon felt his fatigue approaching him once more - which he welcomed as he neared the end of his work for tonight.

Before he reached that point, he faced an interruption as the lamp, with little warning, flickered and went out, plunging the author into the night's shadow. Though he was used to the darkness as his eyes swiftly adjusted, it was still too dim for him to finish the section in his book - his face showing annoyance at the predicament. In response to this, the man's eyes focused on the space above the extinguished lamp as he focused on a single concept.

The moment he began, his eyes were suddenly filled with a brilliant, golden light that briefly banished the surrounding shadows. Putting down the pencil, he raised his hand and pointed his fingers at the space above the lamp, arranging his fingers into a certain pattern - index and ring stretched out, middle and thumb pressed together. Seconds later, a brilliant point of light came into being, filling the chamber with a steady glow that resembled the one emitted by the wolf's eyes, somewhat stronger than the one that was given by the lamp.

With a smile, the wizard relaxed his hand as he watched the spell linger, both his eyes returning to their natural coloration as he returned to his work, hoping to finish this section before turning in for the night. Though nothing else changed in the moments that followed, apart from the magic that now filled the chamber, he found himself distracted once again by the sound of movement coming from the hall behind him. Though he tensed upon hearing this, the wolf relaxed and smiled as a familiar scent met his nose - one that belonged to a dear friend, who he turned towards and silently greeted.

Standing in the hall was a man slightly taller than the wolf but easily twice as strong, his own form resembling that of a bear, covered only in a pair of well-worn briefs. His body was covered in an even coat of blown fur and was covered in a multitude of scars, his shoulder-length hair and eyes both a shade darker. Covered by his unkept bangs was a single line, larger than the rest of his marks, that stretched across his eyelid, though it seemed to have little, if any, effect on his sight.

As the bear stepped into the light, the wolf greeted him with a warm smile, saying "Sorry if I woke you - went for a piss, but for some reason, I couldn't get back to sleep. Thought some writing might help." Though his voice couldn't be necessarily described as old, his words spoken in a noticeably light accent, it was easy to hear that his tone was aged with experience.

Pulling a nearby chair up, the bear dropped himself into it as he responded with "Wasn't the sound you were making that woke me, but I did fell you workin' your magic. I take it the lamp went out?" Contrary to his friend's lighter accent, his own words were spoken in a heavier voice, one that would have intimidated anyone else.

"So it would seem - just when I was about to finish, no less." the wizard said as he briefly shot a foul glance at the lamp in question. Turning back to the bear, he continued with "I know I could have just changed it, I really am close to finishing, so thought it would be easier to just make a light instead. Don't worry, I'll blow it out when I'm finished."

"Well, that explains why you're up. Any idea what's keeping you up, though? You've spent most of last night working on this, and the night before." the bear asked, kicking his feet onto the table as he brought both his arms behind his head, letting out a yawn the moment he finished speaking.

For a moment, the wolf thought of an answer as he ignored the way his friend presented himself, eventually responding with "Do you remember that time I found that book about us last time I visited the Library - the autobiography?"

"The one where we switched places? Clear as day, mostly because it seemed to have been published into some history textbook. Why do you ask?" the bear responded, his interest growing as he stretched his limbs, the joints cracking back into place.

"Because, when I look back on it, I can't help but feel that some parts are missing. Several, even, with a few of them being rather important to the whole story." the wolf began, returning to his tomes as he spoke. Before he could finish, the bear easily put the pieces together as he said "So I take it you're making sure the story's told right, then? I suppose that's a noble effort, but couldn't it wait until morning - it's bound to be a long night, you know?"

"I guess it might have, but you could say a thought struck me while I was taking a piss some time ago. You see, I was having some trouble on figuring out where to start - thought about starting my childhood, but then there'd be a rather pointless story about my boyhood and the church I grew up in." the wizard began, setting aside his pencil as he looked over what he had once again, making sure there were no mistakes.

"Then I considered writing about your childhood in the Pits - about your training as a gladiator and your early adventures before our first quest together. Might have caught the reader's attention, but they might just see it as another story about a warrior going on a quest to find themselves - no offence." he continued, with his friend swiftly replying with "None taken". "So I thought about starting somewhere between our stories, close to when you and I first met, but couldn't pin an exact moment, before or after." he added, finishing the last few words of his section before he moved on to proofreading.

"Until you were taking a rather inspirational piss, it would seem." the bear commented, sparking a chuckle between the two as he lowered his feet to the ground. Catching his breath, the wolf responded with "What can I say? The mind works in mysterious ways." Returning to the last few pages of his tale, he continued with "Either way, what struck me in the toilet let me to a bit of a writing spree, and I decided to put things onto paper before the thought vanished."

"I can understand that, but do you think it could have waited until the morning? I mean, morning's just a couple hours away by now." the bear commented as he pulled one of the screens closer to them. Giving a brief tap, the glass filled with glowing symbols and various charts, all written in a circular language - one which both the men read with ease. Going through a few options, he soon brought up an image of the world outside, showing a bleak, frozen world whose sky was just starting to burn with the coming sunrise.

Sending the image away, the bear continued with "Think you might have been up for most of the night already. What time did you wake up anyway?"

Looking away with some guilt in his face, the wolf hesitantly responded with "...Midnight, I think." Hearing this, the bear's face took on a slightly serious appearance, his usual smile fading a bit in the process. "Pretty sure I said you shouldn't pull all-nighters before. You and I may be powerful, but sleep can easily be a worthy foe if you avoid it." he added, standing from his seat as he pushed the monitor away.

"So I've heard, many times now." the wolf responded with a defeated sigh, closing the tome as he began to collect the scattered journals. "Truth be told, I was hoping that some late-night writing would put me back to sleep once I got that idea in my head. Though it seems it didn't work all that much - looks like I'll be living off of coffee today." he added, his last comment far more sarcastic than the rest.

"Not if I have anything to say 'bout it." the bear added in a tone of playful seriousness as the wolf felt a strong hand clasping his shoulder. Looking up at his friend's face, he saw that his eyes had darkened as a shadowy aura bloomed around him, causing his grey fur to stand straight in intimidation. As the shadows flowed from the bear's grasping palm into him, the wolf suddenly realized what he was doing as his eyes widened in surprise.

As a stern mast formed on his face, the wolf began to say "No. You're not... doing this... again...". But before he could finish, he found that the world around him became dimmer as his eyes began to flutter shut, a deep yawn breaking his words. Within seconds, the shadows faded from them both as the wolf unceremoniously collapsed into the bear's chest, his face buried into his fur as he softly snored, already asleep before he fell. Seconds later, the light he conjured sometime before flickered as it went out, just reaching the end of its duration as the natural darkness reclaimed the room.

With a deep chuckle at the sight of both his slumbering friend and the spell's timely departure, the bear gently lifted the wolf into his arms as if he weighed the same as a pillow. As his friend curled into himself, he silently brought him to his room once again, which was decorated with various tapestries and curtains. Though they were all made of differing fabrics and dyed their own color, they all bore a circular pattern of a separate design woven into them, with several housing glyphs of long-forgotten languages.

'Even with the ship's life-support system, he still covers the room with various enchantments. Old habits die hard, I suppose.' the bear thought as he set the wolf down on the nearby bed, realizing how little he visit's his friend's room. As the latter pulled the covers around him, deep in his charmed slumber, the former silently withdrew from his quarters as he made his way to his own. However, just as he reached for the handle, he paused as his curiosity began to grow, his gaze turning to the now-closed book and the journals that fell from the wolf's hands when he sent him to sleep.

For a moment, he thought about leaving it for the morning, but soon found himself wide awake from the conversation the two just had. 'Well, I've slept through most the night anyways, so that might have something to do with why I'm not as tired as I should be...' he added as he stepped away from the door, taking another moment to consider his options. Shortly after, he found himself drawn back to the main room again, specifically into the storage closet as he decided to give into his curiosity.

"Just a couple of pages, then we'll see if I need more sleep." he softly told himself as he retrieved a fresh light bulb, swiftly repairing the burnt lamp. With the light restored, he stepped before the table and opened the book his friend wrote in, flicking through the contents until he reached the page marked "Chapter 1". Taking a seat as he pushed the remaining journals aside, he began to read what the wolf had written over the night.