FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Hey, man? Anywhere you wanna go now?"

The words seemed to wake you up from a weird stupor. For some reason, the broad, boundless sky over your bodies felt like a blanket. You could have sworn you had been cloudspotting for hours, even though it was only possible you'd been at it for a few minutes. And even that seemed too long - there was no way anyone could be interested in the omnipresent firmament of the Skylands for longer than a few seconds. It had always been there, after all.

The sky wasn't the only thing that had made you cozy, though. There was a big furry arm that had been around your back, but you had a feeling it hadn't been there for long either.

"Hmm. I don't know," you answered honestly, your body still retaining an impression of adrenaline. You weren't too sure where that came from. "Where have we been already?"

A low, gruff chuckle sent a tingle down your spine.

"Well,you tell me."

You tried to focus on dissipating the haze around your memories. Having zoned out for an indeterminate amount of time, you struggled against the cozy impulse to just continue to lie down and stare into the sky. Fortunately, the wolf by your side moved the arm he'd kept around your back to the bone harp he kept nearby and plucked one of the strings.

The sound was... metallic. It was weird. You could almost taste it in your mouth, but it somehow woke you up from your slumber. You weren't entirely sure there was any correlation between both things. They might have simply happened at the same time.

"You alright? I don't tend to worry about you - that much, I mean - but it almost looked like you had passed out."

"Oh." You blinked a few times. There was a feeling of dryness in your eyes, so you assumed the cloudspotting had gone for longer than you had anticipated. It was weird you couldn't remember any specific cloud shape you had liked. "Yeah, I'm alright. A bit sleepy, maybe. Guess I just took a short nap. Hah!"

Your laugh was kind of strident. It reminded you of someone yelling, not so long ago. Why did you feel like you'd been nervous? It didn't make any sense considering how calm you were feeling.

"Can you remember now, dude? Can you remember my name?"

You turned to look at the wolf. Of course you remembered his name. Or his alias, to be more precise. Most Skylanders seemed to go with one, for whatever reason. The wolf's name was - quite unimaginatively - Wolfgang. Judging by the sound that his bone harp seemed to produce, you had a feeling he should have used Slash instead.

Hmm. It was weird. You had a feeling you had told him that exact thing before, but you couldn't recall the situation.

"Damn, I must have overdone it this time," he said, reaching for his bone harp again. For some reason, you wanted to stop him. You had a weird feeling Wolfgang should never be allowed near his bone harp. "Let's see if this helps."

A chord. Metallic, again. The sound seemed to pluck the strings inside you and your mind vibrated ever so slightly. It sent another shiver down your spine, but it did wake you up. Your mouth filled with metal.

"What's going on?" you asked, confused.

Wolfgang chuckled softly again. He was now playing the harp softly, strumming the strings idly. Every time one of his thick claws plucked one of the strings your brain threatened to deliver a new chill. It was like the music kept it tense for some reason.

"We escaped," Wolfgang said finally, looking up from his bone harp. "Do you remember now?"

You... did.

There had been a chase, somewhere, sometime. Wolfgang had been chased but you weren't entirely sure who had been chasing after who. It had happened...

"We left the prison. Aren't you excited, hmm?" the wolf asked, blinking an eye at you. You liked the black makeup around his eyes, although you had a feeling it hadn't always been like that.

One particular note rang louder than the others. You did feel excited. You had always loved that makeup. Your blue scaly tail tapped on the ground repeatedly when you thought about how cool and manly his makeup was and how you'd always loved it and how excited you were.

"Yeah! That'll teach them!" you exclaimed, feeling suddenly festive. You didn't think you had felt this happy in a long time. "They shouldn't have left the mighty Wolfgang near his bone harp. They might have subdued you when they took it from you, but once you got it back, oh man! There was nothing they could do."

Wolfgang's grin grew wider. His thick claws kept on plucking the strings without really looking at them. Such expertise! Another loud note and you found yourself admiring the wolf's musical skill.

"So you remember my name. Do you remember yours?"

You shook his head. It didn't feel too important though.

"Yeah, you're right," Wolfgang agreed, as if he could read your thoughts. "I don't think you need that now. It'll come back to you sooner or later."

"Yeah!"

Your voice sounded strong and commanding. You had a feeling you'd heard it before, during the chase. Who'd been chasing you? Any time you tried to picture the chase in your mind, your memories sort of blacked out. You could only see Wolfgang's heavy paw reaching for the bone harp and then...

Metal in your ears. Metal in your mouth. Metal in your thoughts.

And an empty blackness.

And then you'd opened your eyes, staring at the sky.

"Who was chasing us?" you asked, a bit uncomfortable. You wanted to recover those thoughts.

"Oh. Snap Shot was. You remember him, right? Blue crocagator. Long tail. About this tall. Carrying a big, boring bow wherever he goes." Wolfgang pretended to yawn.

You chuckled. It was a good thing you had left that horrible Snap Shot behind. You could clearly see him in your mind now - running after the wolf when he had managed to escape from his cell, heavy tail snapping at his back. The big reptile had been yelling instructions at everyone so that Wolfgang wouldn't get near the weapon deposit and get back his bone harp. Was it weird you were remembering it in first person?

Of course, all that had been in vain. As Wolfgang finished playing a seemingly endless arpeggio, the thought that there was no way Snap Shot would have been cleverer than his prisoner popped into your mind. Wolfgang was the most intelligent Skylander around, wasn't he? He was cleverer than you for sure. Cleverer than anyone you knew.

Why had he been put in prison to begin with? He probably didn't deserv? no, he most definitely didn't deserve it! He had the right to be free, like any other citizen in the Skylands. And the allegations that he'd been one of the Doom Raiders didn't make any sense after all. Any stupid rumor that he might have been part of that terrible group of outlaws was simply that - a rumor.

"We don't need them anyway," the wolf said out loud, again acting as if he could see through the depths of your brain. His words had been pronounced with a slight intonation, almost as if he'd been singing them. "We can form a much better band. Just the two of us. We can make everyone respect us. Don't you agree?"

Your tail was wagging as if you were a dog.

"Sure! We'll teach them to fear us," you heard yourself say. The words felt weird in your mouth. "Next to us, those Doom Raiders will look like the bunch of losers they actually are."

"Ooooh I like what you're saying, man." Wolfgang's grin was toothy and genuine. You felt happy that he was pleased with your words, but there was still a small shadow of doubt in a corner of your mind.

You had a feeling he had stopped playing a while ago. For some reason, your thoughts felt clearer.

"Now we just need to find a name for our band," the wolf was saying at that moment. "Let me see. Wolf n' Croc? The Harp and the Bow?"

You nodded. The... Bow? Hadn't he said...

"Of course, I get to be the star, you see. But every star needs a supporting act, and I'm pretty sure even someone like you can learn to play a hand drum easily, right..."

Everything fell into place suddenly in your mind. Your blue tail. Your bow. It rested a few inches away from your scaly hand. How hadn't you seen it earlier?

"Ah, waking up finally, are we?" Wolfgang said, a big grin on his predatory face. "Well, good."

You tried to reach out for the bow before his hand came down, anticipating a mind-shattering chord, but you were too late.

The sound echoed in the island and your brain fractured in a million pieces. You tried to speak, but the only think that left your throat was a mindless, zombie-like moan as your body grew soggy and limp and you collapsed on the ground. A layer of glass covered your eyes and you stood there, staring into the sky again.

Cloudspotting.

"You see, I really like breaking you," Wolfgang noted, playing a soft melody that pulled your thoughts even further away. You weren't sure you were even thinking anymore. "Might even make it a habit."

Liquid metal covered the trembling remnants of your mind, encapsulating your defeated will.

Hopefully, you'll get to see a nice-looking cloud.