FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Okay. Are you going to tell me what that really important thing you absolutely needed to tell me in private was, now?"

Bal chuckled softly. The horned dragon's long tail drew a wide arc at his back as he turned to look at his friend Rad, who held his gaze with a straight face.

"You make it sound more serious than it really is," he pointed out. He had asked the fox to come over because there was something he wanted to show him, but he'd never used those words. "Do you remember what you said the other day? About how you'd like to be able to do two things at the same time?"

"I remember saying that, yeah," Rad answered, frowning. "But just because it could help me save time. There's so much I want to do and the days feel shorter and shorter."

"I might have come up with a solution for that," the dragon explained, a grin on his face.

The amused gesture caught Rad's attention, whose frown only grew more and more pronounced. He knew Bal and he could tell the dragon was up to no good. This new "solution" he'd come up with was probably just one of his shenanigans.

"Is it really a solution?" he asked, crossing his arms on his chest.

"... kind of. At least, it might mean you're capable of having two conversations at the same time. Does that answer your question?"

"No. Come on! Just tell me. You didn't invite me over for no reason, right?"

It took Bal's response a bit too long to arrive, which made Rad feel even more uneasy.

"I swear you won't regret it."

That's what he always says, the fox thought.

However, he had to admit he was intrigued. Bal had never used such a far-fetched excuse to toy with him, so there was a tiny chance that he had really come up with something interesting. At least he hadn't pulled his pocketwatch out.

Yet.

"Okay," he agreed in the end, hoping he wouldn't regret his decision. "What is it?"

"First, show me your hands."

Rad sighed, uncrossing his arms and reaching out to Bal. He guessed - and correctly so - that the sooner he followed the dragon's apparently irrational requests the sooner they'd finish with that, whatever it was.

The fox didn't realize he'd made a beginner's mistake until the dragon grabbed his hand and gave it a firm shake, pulling his arm down with it. Rad's body was momentarily catapulted forward, the sudden motion taking him off-guard and leaving an opening in his mind that Bal didn't hesitate to use.

"Sleep," came the predictable command, one that his receptive mind quickly latched onto.

Rad felt his heavy head drop on his chest and his mind sink into a deep trance. The transition from 'awake' to 'asleep' happened so fast that the fox had a weird feeling of disembodiment as all his muscles went loose and limp on the dragon's grip. He barely felt Bal's other arm going around his back and pulling him closer to his chest, where he landed safely.

"Listen now, Rad." The dragon's whispered words caressed his ears like gentle strokes. "I'm going to count down from three to zero and you're going to sink nice and deep for me. Let's do that now - three, two, one - that's right - and zero, deeeeeep sleep. Good boy."

A hand petted the fox's ears and he moaned quietly. His brain felt soggy and quiet now. Nothing remained from his previous skeptical behavior.

"Here's what we're going to do now, Rad. Even in your sleep, you'll feel perfectly capable of speaking. I'm going to ask questions and you're going to answer. For instance, would you like to stay the night?" The dragon snapped his fingers, trying to capture the attention of the fox's wandering mind. "Come on, you'll find it's really easy to answer me now."

"Uh... I guess...?" Rad's sleepy voice came, caught in Bal's chest. "But I didn't bring anything... Clothes or... tooth... brush..."

"That's okay, I can always lend you one. And I have spare clothes you can use," Bal reassured him. He'd predicted that kind of eventuality. "And now, as I ask you to wake, you're going to forget that we've been having this conversation. In fact, you'll forget that I ever put you under. We're going to talk normally, just like now, but with you being perfectly awake."

Bal reinforced his command by squeezing Rad's body gently. The fox opened his eyes, looking slightly disoriented at first, and then taking a step back from Bal.

"So now that you're here, would you like to order some dinner?" the dragon asked, leaning back and taking a good look at his friend.

He'd asked him not to remember, but taking the initiative in their conversation would make sure the fox wouldn't have any ideas of his own as to what might have been happening in that silence.

"Dinner?" Rad repeated. Apparently, his mind hadn't still returned to full speed yet.

"Yeah. It's getting late and I think we'll be hungry by the time it arrives here."

"Huh, yeah, sure." The fox shook his head and with it the last remnants of the deep trance he'd been just waken up from. "I don't know what I want for dinner, though. I've been in a mood for pizza lately."

"That's a good idea, yeah. You know what's also a good idea?" the dragon asked, taking a step forward and grabbing the fox's wrist. His friend looked back at him, confused, as he gently swayed it left and right, helping that arm of his relax a bit. "If you go back to sleep, forgetting what we've been talking about."

"Wha-"

There was another firm yank and Rad fell forward, landing against Bal's body. The dragon adjusted his position so that he'd be able to hold the fox in a better way.

"_Sleep._That's right, just like that. Deep sleep again. We were talking about you staying for the night. Do you remember?"

"... yeah."

"So would you like that?"

"Yes, that would be... fun." Rad seemed to struggle with words for a second.

"Do you have any idea what we can do?

"We can watch... a film..." the fox suggested. He didn't sound very convincing. Bal assumed that was the first thing his mind had found in the dark emptiness it was now filled with, which was quite an accomplishment already.

He decided to keep pushing, though. He liked watching the fox struggling against the muddy waters that had flooded his brain.

"What film would we watch?" he asked, a wide grin on his face. Then, as he noticed those mental gears turning slowly, he squeezed the fox's body again. "And awake."

This time, Rad almost stumbled. He looked up, his eyes a bit glassy and his mind lost in a distant thought he was no longer capable of thinking. Then, he frowned a bit.

"I..."

"Pizza, you say?" Bal said, glancing at his claws as if to seem distracted. "I haven't had pizza in a while. Is there any good place nearby that you know?"

"Uh, I can't remember the name, but there's this place where they have a really good tomato sauce," Rad said. Right, the fox thought. This is what I was trying to remember, the pizza place. "Maybe we can look for it on the internet."

"Or you can go back to sleep."

This time, Bal didn't even need to pull Rad's arm. The fox's eyes darted to the dragon's, bewildered, and then rolled up as his eyelids fluttered and closed. His body swayed slightly on his feet, but his legs managed to keep him standing.

"... Knives Out?" His voice came softly and slowly.

"That's a weird name for a pizza place."

"W... whaat..."

"Nothing." Bal chuckled. At least he'd confirmed the fox had no recollection whatsoever of the world beyond his trance. "You'd like to watch that one, then?"

"Yeah..."

"Would you like to have dinner as we do?"

"Um... yeah..."

"What would you like for dinner?"

"Uh... hmm... I..."

"Awake."

Rad opened his eyes and felt for a second like he was about to drop again. Drop into what? To the floor? That was absurd. However, he leaned onto the wall for a second, just in case.

He'd been thinking about something. He couldn't recall what it'd been, but there had been something at the tip of his tongue. It was difficult to think about it now - impossible, even - but there was this thing that he was supposed to say. It would have been easier if it weren't for the insane amount of clouds swirling in his head. He felt like he'd just woken up.

But that didn't make any sense. He would have known if Bal had put him under.

"So?" the dragon asked. He was looking at him, a weird gleam on his eye. Almost like he'd been observing him, trying to measure his reactions.

Rad struggled. He didn't know what to say.

"... pizza," was all that came to his mind after a while.

Bal chuckled. For some reason, Rad thought he'd heard that sound a few times now, although he had no recollection of it.

"That is the name of the pizza place?Pizza?" the dragon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh! Er..." Of course. That's what I was trying to say. There was a bit of relief in finally being told what he'd been thinking about for so long. He refrained himself from thanking Bal. For some reason, he was feeling a bit slow today. "I don't know. I already suggested looking on the internet, right?"

"That you did."

Rad nodded. That made sense.

"Say, would you like to stay over for the night?" Bal suggested then, turning his back to him as he started a quick search on his computer. That long tail of his swished elegantly at his back and Rad found himself looking at it.

"Uh, I mean, I could, but I didn't bring anything. I have no clothes, no tooth brush... What?" the fox asked as the dragon chuckled again. It was starting to be a bit annoying. Bal was hiding something, he knew it, but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly. It was extremely frustrating. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry," the dragon answered, making a huge effort not to confess what he'd just done to the fox. The face he'd make as soon as he found out would be hilarious, he was certain.

And even in the event that he wasn't going to find out anytime soon, well - there were lots of other things they could do. They were in for a long night.

Bal would make sure of that.