FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Julie sat in regional history class the following day in her butterfree-styled cream jacket, this time toward the front at the end of the third row. She wrote notes from slides on the projector while the older male professor gave a riveting lecture ahead. It displayed an image of the Lental region and its multiple islands.

The room was built like a traditional classroom, rather bland compared to her history class at Ecruteak that had blank white walls and only a few pictures of monuments around the world. They included Paldea's Arboliva Forest and an overhead shot of Kalos' central Daraha City during a busy day, displaying the sides of glossy skyscrapers and tiny people and cars occupying the roads.

Julie wished her speech class was set up like this one. It'd make standing before everyone far less daunting.

"This is a preview of the region we will be focusing on next throughout the week," the professor explained. "As an fyi, it will be a major part of your final exam in two weeks alongside Oblivia."

He shuffled through slides with a small remote. "It is an archipelago comprising six different islands that host various natural environments for many species of pokémon. If you turn to page two hundred in your textbooks, you will see detailed information and pictures of each one. I expect all of you to come to our next class familiar on the source material so we can progress fluidly."

This was Julie's last class of the day. She leaned over and sighed with a yawn to finish. She couldn't wait to grab dinner for her and Midnight and throw herself into bed.

Julie also couldn't stop thinking about the text Anna had sent her last night that she had yet to open, but she'd have to reply to it by tonight. She'd intentionally sat far away from Anna today. Julie didn't know what to do.

She couldn't decide. Usually, she would decline without a second thought, but there was an odd amount of confliction. Why'd Anna have to ask in the first place?

She shook it for now and turned to her closest friend on campus so far; they were the same age. They also had the same accent, being a part of the same nation. "Angie, you still want to jot my notes down since you missed last class?"

"I can just take pics when we're let out. Don't worry," she replied.

"Okay. We're almost done anyway." As far as Julie could tell from the months she'd known Angie, they had a bit in common.

Angie also happened to major in regional history but loved gymnastics just as much. She had been taking classes for it every other quarter and was almost through with her first year.

Angie currently wore jean shorts, high boots, and a long-sleeved shirt over her lithe frame. It had a cute eevee holding a lollipop in its mouth on the front and loose orange fur strands in a few spots from her flareon. Her nails were a glossy black with mini pink hearts on them.

She and Julie had first met in the laundry room during Julie's second week due to Angie's flareon taking a liking to Midnight and hit it off. Although the interaction had been initially awkward, it led to a half-hour discussion about regions around the globe.

Angie brushed aside her wavy cherry-tinted auburn hair that had fallen over her glasses and sighed. "This is why I braid it..." She reached and tapped Julie's shoulder, who was focused on the lecture again. "Hey… you got any plans tonight?"

Julie shifted from the lesson but glanced back at it again, dividing her attention. "No, why?"

"I was thinking we could chill at the court later and go over our study guides for the test on Tuesday." Angie shrugged. "We could bring our pokémon too so they aren't stuck inside for an hour."

That sounded nice, actually. Angie was Julie's favorite study partner, and if there was a class out of her three this quarter she wanted to study for, it was regional history, especially since finals were approaching. "Oh, sure. How about we meet there three hours after class? I'll text you."

"I'll be there."

---

Since she didn't have long to rest, Julie made a beeline to her dorm after class and approached her door after exiting the elevator. She stopped before it and got it open with her key, entering and kicking off her boots to see Midnight sitting on the bed, waiting for her as usual. He kept most of his happiness inside, but his rings spoke for him.

They'd started glowing the moment Julie had opened the door. "Breon."

"Hold on a sec, love. Going to wash my hands before touching you this time." She dropped her backpack and rolled her shoulders; they subtly cracked as the weight left them. Julie then went to the restroom and turned on the sink.

Three bottles of antidepressants lined the counter against the wall. Her mother had talked to Julie's doctor before she left for college and made extra sure Julie would have enough pills to last her for a year.

A part of her didn't want to go back out. She could spend every day in this room with her lover, but was that what she wanted?

She pumped soap into her hand and washed them under the warm water. "You're going."

She shut off the water and left, unzipping and putting her jacket in the closet. She then went to her desk, where she stored her snacks, passing over sugar cookies when she wanted to cheat, sugar-free candies, and stopping on a pack of salty crackers that she grabbed.

Julie turned and smiled at Midnight, going to sit beside him on the mattress, where she kissed his head. "We're going out at six." She lay back and closed her eyes, setting the crackers aside.

He sat by her chest, seeing her eyes open. "Umbre?"

She reached and scritched under his chin before letting her hand drop. "To the court so I can study with Angie. She's bringing Calda, so you'll get to hang out with her for a while. Sound fun?"

Midnight delayed the following nod. "Mbre." He lay down, resting his cheek against her chest and while she ran her fingers over his head and ears.

"Want to start a show with me? I watched one with Alyssa last month, but this one is a romance, so she'd say no." She'd watched a film on her laptop last week, but it was during the day, so he'd been falling in and out of sleep.

Midnight lifted his head and nodded again while looking at her. "Mbh."

Julie grabbed her laptop from under her pillow, opening it and tapping the keyboard to wake the screen while shifting onto her stomach. "I already have the tab open." She adjusted the brightness and tilted the laptop so he could see the title and summary. It was on the Hitz site. The logo was a pair of boxing gloves belonging to hitmonchan over bold black letters.

Midnight moved up beside her and sat on his stomach too, running his eyes over the screen.

"Sun-soaked Darkness. Dramatic," Julie said.

It had an umbreon and espeon sitting and facing each other at a distance on the cover. Dark silhouettes of their owners walked away from one another over the backdrop of a vacant, dark city street at nightfall, although two streetlights shone directly onto both pokémon.

"It's about a teen couple who was in a two-year relationship while their pokémon were in a relationship of their own. The couple breaks up, which forces their pokémon apart; it's up to the umbreon and espeon who sneak out to meet each other whenever they can to get their owners back together before the woman moves out of town. It'll be cute." Julie looked at Midnight. "It's also set in Goldenrod, so we get a taste of home. What do you think?"

He nodded once more, giving her a grin.

"Yay. We can watch the first episode before we leave." She scrolled up past the title and hit play, pressing F11 on the keyboard to fullscreen.

The screen was black; bold white print faded in for a few seconds before disappearing: 'She hoped to have him until the sun died and the moon shattered.'

The picture faded in of a slender espeon sitting atop a windowsill on a high floor of an apartment building, looking down at moving traffic and people during nightfall. She sat upright, swaying her tail with elegance.

"She's cute, huh?" Julie nudged Midnight with a subtle smirk.

He glanced at Julie and started to nod but instantly stopped himself before focusing back on the screen.

The espeon shifted her soft, purple eyes to a full moon above that the camera followed and zoomed into until the moon covered the frame.

After a moment, it zoomed back out and revealed an umbreon doing the same. He sat on the roof of a two-story home with his rings gleaming a mild yellow.

"Literally you," Julie said, leaning to kiss Midnight's ear as it twitched.

"Lue!"

The umbreon twitched his ear and stood, walking over to the open window after a voice called. He dropped onto the carpet of his owner's bedroom.

"Hey." A young man stood by the door in jeans and a sweater. He had black, ruffled hair. "I'm going out to the mall with Laya. She wants to clothes and perfume shop even though we did last week, so we're setting a reasonable limit. She breaks my wallet sometimes... Anyway, you wanna come? Xavia's gonna be there too."

Lue perked at the mention of her name.

He chuckled. "I'll start the car. Be in the garage in thirty... seconds."

"Breon."

Julie grinned. "Awe, he sounds like you too, love... Maybe a bit higher, though."

Lue stretched and left the room, walking through the living room and entering the garage through the door as their older-modeled sedan rev up. He approached the passenger door as his owner opened it, hopping in the seat.

"Good timing, bud," he said, reaching over and pulling the seat belt from Lue's side across his chest and buckling it. He then took a bundle of keys on a ring from his pocket and held a small black device attached to it. He pressed a button on it and glanced back as the garage lifted.

A guitar faded in, subtly at first, then turned to soft rock upon the scene cutting to them on the road and in the big city while opening credits faded in and out of names of the show's producers and whatnot.

The shot followed the car but focused more on Goldenrod, famous stores and restaurants, people walking endlessly, honking traffic, and shots of skyscrapers.

"That's the Doption Center," Julie said and pointed as the camera focused on it in one of the shots. That was so close to her house. She wondered when they filmed this.

Midnight saw a couple of familiar grocery stores and streets close to where Julie lived.

After a few more cuts, the music faded, the names stopped appearing, and the car pulled into an underground parking garage after getting a ticket from a machine.

"We're meeting them upstairs," he said, driving around and looking for a vacant parking space with other drivers among a full house. "Extremely lucky to find a spot." He stopped upon seeing one after circling around twice, driving into it. "Close to the elevator too? We should play the lotto later."

Lue watched him get out and shut the door, then walk around to the other side and open his, unbuckling the seatbelt.

"You're free."

Lue dropped out and followed his owner, glancing back as the car beeped after he locked it. He slipped into the open elevator with a few other people, keeping next to his owner while they went up. Glimmering anticipation was present in his orbs.

When the elevator dinged and opened, the gentle strum of a guitar setting the scene, Lue trotted out into an open mall among crowds and shops. He looked around almost frantically; eventually, his eyes passed a lavender-colored pokémon sitting by a churro stand with her owner, and he fixed his gaze on her with a timid grin.

She returned it with grace, tucking her tail around her waist while her mate walked to her.

"Maxii." Laya smiled and met him halfway in the middle of the walkway, forcing people to go around them while they shared a hug. Her hair was ginger, and she had cute freckling on her cheeks. She wore a loose tee that draped slightly down her chest, a golden necklace, and jean shorts.

Lue reached Xavia and sat before her, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

"Sp," she spoke tenderly into his ear, nuzzling his face.

---

"Alright, you ready? I'm starved." Julie zipped up the same jacket, adjusted her jeans, and slipped into her boots by the door. She'd only eaten crackers and a yogurt from the fridge to hold her off during the time they had to wait.

"Bre." Midnight had been sitting at the door by her bag.

"Kay, come on." Julie grabbed her bag, unlocked the door, and went out in the hall, letting Midnight follow before shutting and relocking.

He trotted with her down the corridor and sat in the elevator after Julie called it, watching it close after her and send them down with the push of a button.

When they got outside, mild breezes brushed his ear, tails, and fur aside. He looked up at a blended blue and purple early evening sky dotted sparsely with stars and a couple of passenger planes whose engines echoed softly throughout the air. They were low enough to the ground that he could make out details like their wings and windows.

He looked around at the grounds lit by lamp posts lining walkways and at students taking late classes traversing the grounds, leaving buildings, or chatting at tables in groups.

Some sat alone on their phones at benches, paying no mind to coexisting pokémon.

"We should come out at night more. It's a different vibe, cooler out and all. It reminds me of Goldenrod's weather." She looked at Midnight. "I know for a fact you like it."

His rings were glowing brighter under direct moonlight, causing people and pokémon to glance his way, especially at his blue ring.

They entered the food court in just over five minutes since they strolled; Julie spotted Angie and Calda sitting at a bench off to the side.

People occupied almost every table in the center, and every restaurant had lines ranging from short to staggeringly long.

Endless buzzing and laughter blared, making Julie frown. She disliked sitting around so many people, so she usually went upstairs to the individual restaurants, especially to study.

She approached with Midnight and saw Calda perk upon catching sight of him.

Angie was busy texting with her backpack next to her. She wore a jacket; her hair was now in a side Kaloan braid. She looked up after her flareon moved. "There you two are." She grinned.

"Hey." Julie sat next to her. "Did you get any rest?"

"Kind of. Calda broke it crying for me to take her out. Needa start putting her water up when I need to sleep." She looked at her. "Felt the wind out there? It's freezing."

"You're cold?"

"Uh, yeah," Angie said. "I was shivering out there. My city stays around the sixties and seventies for temperature... anything lower and I freeze, but you're from Johto, huh?"

"Mhm, and Goldenrod at that. I'm used to the wind and cold. Goldenrod embraces every season with dry summers and droughts and cold winters with snowfall. It doesn't have the most inviting climate. Wind is pretty rare, though, at least in my months here."

"Not common this time around, no. I've been here long enough to know they blame Tornadus for it." Angie chuckled.

"Funny. We point to Lugia back home."

Midnight had stopped at a distance and let Calda complete it, where she didn't hesitate to nuzzle his chin and chest with her head and tuft. He let her, as usual, but pulled his head back slightly and was stiff.

"Flare. Flarey?" she greeted with an enthusiastic grin upon pulling away, asking how he'd been.

Angie smiled while watching the interaction. "I love him. You can tell he wants her like ten feet away. Calda never gets the queues. Like babe, you're rubbing a brick wall right now."

Julie giggled and kept a grin. "He'll warm up. Weren't they playing together last time?"

"He was batting her after a good hour of her poking at him. It's cute, though. I think the contrasting personality types go great together." She looked at Julie. "Don't you think?"

Her grin promptly faded; she watched Midnight peer at Calda and press his paw to her head after she nibbled at his ear, her tail swishing. "Uh, s-sure…" Julie's cheeks went hot. She glanced at Angie. "You want to go upstairs?"

Angie stood with a slight look of puzzlement toward Julie, grabbing her bag. "Let's."

They all went up to the second floor and decided on the pizza parlor, where only a student couple and a few others were seated across the room while eating.

Electric music played with a focus on bass, and the setting was dim, lit gently with warm lights. The walls were decorated with writing in cursive that named ingredients and drawn outlines of pies.

After ordering at the front counter, Julie sat at a booth with Midnight while Calda and Angie faced them.

Midnight was chatting from a distance on the booth and under the table.

Meanwhile, Julie and Angie took their books from their backpack and set them aside on the table.

"So, we're splitting the bill?" Julie asked.

Angie pulled her notebook and pencil in front of her. "Yeah, good idea while on a budget. I think the large pie and pop should be enough for us both. I don't eat much."

"Mhm, same. Might have to take some home, even."

"You all studied up for finals?"

"Uh, yeah, I should be, but we'll find out. Why don't we start with a recap and go over our notes from this week?" Julie grabbed her notebook as well and started flipping through pages.

"Umbre bre." Midnight was still chatting with Calda, who was lying on her stomach with her paws tucked against her chest. They talked about home and how life was, which was a familiar subject between them, but Calda hadn't gone in-depth like she was now.

"Flare… flareon fla." She looked down. "Flarey fl. Fl flareon." She explained how she'd been homesick since the first week she and Angie had gotten to Castelia.

He eyed her. "Umb bre, breon. Bre breon… Umbre." Midnight told her about his life before Julie came into the picture, pertaining mainly to his back-and-forth existence at a school full of strangers to a life of solitude in the principal's home.

She looked up and grinned, locking eyes. "Flare."

"Oh." Julie stopped on a page. "We can start with Oblivia if that's okay. It's one of my favorite regions right now."

Angie shrugged. "Sure. That's the ancient one with a bunch of temples, right?"

"Well, sort of. They're all ruins now spread across seven islands, but they used to be complex temples like fire, ice, thunder, and more used to worship certain pokémon. Some islands are untampered natural sanctuaries for many living there currently."

"Oh yeah. People live there too. Layuda and Sophian Island, right? I know Sophian is the largest island there, has a resort and everything."

"Sophian, yes. Layuda has a dark cloud hovering it that hosts a permanent deadly thunderstorm. It's a risk to go anywhere near it, but a lot of electric types call it home. I think it's a good thing."

"Yeah, the pokémon get to live without us disturbing or catching them."

Julie nodded. "Dolce Island is what you meant, the grassy haven where humans could go who reside there but don't. It's also restricted to tourists."

"Mh, I guess I need to study some more." Angie sighed. "I'm usually on top of it."

"It's cool. That's why we're here." Julie cleared her throat. "Also, could I ask you something… not about school?"

"'Course."

"So… have you ever been to a party?"

"What, like a house one?"

Julie nodded.

"Nah, it's never been my thing; if I do, I'm gonna wait until I'm a little older." She leaned in and rested her chin on her palm. "But my sister sneaked around and went to them even in high school. She just didn't stay on that path and has a decent job and a family now… Did you get invited to one here?"

"Uh." Julie grinned with an awkward edge to it. "No. I've overheard that some students host them."

One of the employees stepped in to drop off their pizza and sodas on a raised platter, which both girls thanked him for.

Angie turned back to Julie. "So, yeah, people do host parties off campus, but it's generally frowned upon. If anything illegal comes to light, I've heard you could get in trouble with the school. Best to avoid them."

"Good to know. I'm not a partygoer anyway. I was just curious."

"Understandable." Angie looked the pizza over, eyeing its hot, melty cheese and crispy crust. "I'll need a slice before we start working. I can't retain info on an empty stomach, and I don't want cold, stubborn cheese in my mouth."

"What do you do during classes then?"

Angie reached for one and glanced at Calda as she sniffed the aroma. "If I haven't eaten? Jot some notes and zone out."

Julie giggled. "That happens to me too sometimes." For several reasons since her mind often spun, especially while she and Midnight were apart.

"Weird question, but..." Angie took a slice and watched the cheese stretch from around the crust, biting into its tangy and subtly sweet marinara crunch while more cheese strung from the pizza to her mouth.

Julie awaited Angie's question while watching her chew and had taken a slice herself without biting it yet. She tore a small piece off, blew it, and handed it to Midnight.

Angie swallowed her bite and took a sip of her cola, wincing. "Pretty strong." She grabbed a napkin from the holder on the table to wipe her mouth. "Have you ever wondered how life would be if Castelia didn't happen for you?" She saw Julie give Midnight some pizza, so she did the same, tearing a bit and handing it to Calda.

"For me, it's more so that I can't believe I'm living what I've wanted to live. If I weren't at one of the world's greatest universities, I'd be going to my local university or working. Like, the economy is in a good spot right now, but still."

"It's only getting better from here, so you could have made a ton happen if you had to. We do belong to the best nation on the planet." She smirked, though it waned. "But My GPA was off and on in high. I replaced a lot of studying with outings and drawing art back then. I wouldn't be here at all if my dad wasn't so tough on me. He wasn't even upset with my grades, but he asked me what I planned on doing after school was over midway through tenth grade, and I couldn't tell him. I was kind of going with the motions."

"Why'd you stop?"

"He told me I should take opportunities presented in life seriously as long as good intent was behind them... So even if I wasn't considering college at the time, graduating with an inadequate GPA would nullify any chance I'd have. If I had a good one, I'd at least have the option."

"I like that," Julie said. "You never know how the future turns out. You said you used to do art. Do you still?"

Angie shook her head, lowering her pizza slightly. "No. I stopped years ago. I mainly did that as a sort of release and to feel connected to my mom. She was a gifted artist and made a living from it, which is difficult to accomplish in that field. She painted and did annual cover and advertisement art, often for major pokémon competitions, concerts, and Leagues around the world, like the Whirl Cup. I used to want to follow in her steps more than anything, but I wasn't gifted in that regard."

Julie stared. Goodness, that was sad. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't have asked if–"

"I'm okay to talk about it." Angie eyed her with a subtle grin. "She didn't get much recognition for her work, but... um, how'd your GPA fair in high?"

"Steady 3.6 to 3.8 until I neared the end of twelfth. It dropped a bit but was still considered adequate."

Angie raised her eyebrow. "You're really something, huh? How'd you have time for friends while maintaining a GPA like that?"

Julie sucked her bottom lip. "I, uh– I didn't. I had distant ones off and on and have one close friend back in Johto."

"I wish I had that motivation. I barely held the GPA to get accepted, and I told the college everything about my mother and life I fought through in my letter." Angie took another bite of her slice, chewing fast enough to swallow and continue. "Because after my mom, I changed. I was bitter and lost all of my friends. Could never make new ones and didn't bother. I was just... mad. I was always mad that she was taken from me for no reason. Life was a gray drag; it still is sometimes, but I've improved."

"Were you ever on any medication for it?"

"...I don't know if I should continue," Angie about murmured.

"Oh, no, it's fine. I don't mind, but I get that it's personal."

Angie blew air. "Most friends I've made tend to distance after I tell them about my past and current state."

Julie shook her head. "Not me. I swear."

She shrugged. "Okay... well, I never told my dad. I didn't want to tell anyone. I kept it inside in hopes it would fade with time, but it bottled up and made me despise my existence. I began self-harming at one point, my wrists and thighs. I started that at fifteen, two years after my mom passed as the fact set in more. I guess it was too much..."

Angie sighed and shut her eyes, shaking her head a little. "Sorry if I'm saying too much, seriously. I don't want to make things weird."

"It's okay." Julie scanned her. "But Angie, that... that's terrible. Angie... that can't go away. The pain doesn't disappear."

"It's..." She looked down before putting her eyes back on Julie. "It's there, but I know how to live with it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."