FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Part Two

"Foxes"

Janet stared at the fox in front of her, her breath catching in her throat as she beheld one of the persons of legend with her very own eyes. Although rather stout compared to the average height of a human being, the fox's form appeared as athletic and wiry as their feral cousins. The poise with which the being balanced on its digitigrade feet appeared to give it a superb sense of balance, as the creature had no trouble delicately standing on the branch which Janet clung to with all four limbs as she traversed it.

Turning, the fox called something over its shoulder while keeping its bright, golden eyes fixed unwaveringly on the intruder to its home island. Its chittery language warbled softly off its tongue, and Janet could not help but watch its tongue deftly flick and twist in its muzzle as it pronounced each syllable of its dialect with uncanny dexterity.

Behind the fox, peering between branches and poking their noses out of clumps of leaves, half a dozen similar creatures appeared around her. She gasped, glancing from one to another as she realized they must have been hiding out there the entire time before she had ascended the tree.

They're so stealthy!

Janet thought to herself, noting and admiring the various differences between the orange furred creatures. A combination of bead necklaces, various small bones, and a few small pieces of cloth tied around their necks and serving as small, colorful cloaks were the only garments the otherwise naked creatures wore. Glancing down at the fox in front of her, she nodded that judging by the lack of any visible genitalia poking out from the tufts of fur in its groin that it was likely a female.

The fox noted where Janet's gaze had wandered, and she barked sharply at her.

"Djen!"

Janet blinked, and then grew rosy in the face as she realized that she might have just done something quite rude. Clutched in the anthropomorphic fox's left paw was a roughly carved wooden staff with small, rounded iron balls attached at the ends.

They can smelt metal?!

Indeed, it appeared to be true. Some of the beads hanging off the necklace of the fox in front of her looked to her like they were made of bronze. However the creatures had managed it, they had been able to discover deposits of metal on their island and take advantage of it accordingly.

They're much more advanced than I originally anticipated!

Janet thought with excitement. Still unsure of what the foxes intentions were, she slowly drew out the camera from her bag and lifted it up in front of her. The fox eyed her warily, the other foxes surrounding her seemed to shift about in the foliage as if preparing themselves to spring into action at any given moment.

"It's okay... I'm just... Going to take... A picture of you..."

Janet's tone was low and reassuring, taking great care to keep her facial expression as neutral as possible. She would have wanted to smile at them, as she practically overjoyed at finally being able to encounter the creatures she had dreamed about studying since she was a child. The explorer was, however, unsure how such a species would react to a much larger creature showing up to their peaceful island home and baring its teeth at them.

Janet raised the camera up and pointed the lens at the fox in front of her. The fox's whiskers twitched, her head leaning back slightly as she raised her chin up at the camera suspiciously. Janet's finger moved over the shutter release button, pressing down on it with a click. The fox's eyes widened and she jumped backwards in surprise as the flash momentarily blinded her, having been fully unexpected to see such a bright light emanate from the small metal object in front of her.

The other foxes began to chitter excitedly, yipping and yelping, as several more of them landed deftly on the branch Janet was kneeling on and crossing the distance between her and the fox she had captured a photo of in seconds. In a flurry of fluffy tails, sooty paws, and flying whiskers the foxes were on her.

"Hey! Ow! Hold on just a minu- Mmpf!"

Janet's exclamations were abruptly cut short as she tasted a musky cloth that had just been crammed into her mouth and was being tied behind her head with agile paws. She tried to resist, but was unsure how to defend herself. They were just too quick, leaping and dancing around her as they wove long strands of leafy ropes around her upper body. Before she could try and untangle herself from the mess of vines, she felt them pull tightly around her, pinning her arms to her sides.

She wobbled precariously, her cries muffled by the gag as she tottered unsteadily on the branch now unable to fling her arms out and catch herself. Her eyes widened in fear as she teetered close to the edge of the branch, glancing around herself at the various foxes whose cries and jeers filled her ears in an endless, nonsensical cacophony of a tribe of anthropomorphic primitives that had just successfully captured a prisoner.

Janet felt something round poke her just underneath her ribs somewhat painfully. She recoiled from the strike, glancing down to see that one of the rounded ends of the staff of the female fox had just been jabbed into her side. The young woman could feel herself losing her balance, and as her stomach flipped she screamed as loudly as the gag in her mouth would allow her. Just as suddenly as she started plummeting down towards the earth, she felt something tug sharply at the back of her bonds and she instead swung underneath the branch like a child on a tire swing.

"MMMMMMMM!"

Her legs flailing underneath, she continued to swing back and forth as the jungle twirled around her in a circle. Disoriented, it was only after her head stopped spinning did she realize that she was being gently lowered down to the jungle floor where an even larger group of foxes had gathered to watch her undignified descent.

They whispered among themselves, their tone having shifted from fearful and suspicious to outright amusement. Having overwhelmed the strange, pale intruder so quickly they were now cackling amongst themselves and pointing out her, undoubtedly remarking on the strangeness of her appearance and distinct lack of fur. Janet watched in silent fascination mixed with panic as she noted several significantly smaller foxes clinging to what she presumed were their parents.

Several of the kits, undaunted, were running around just beneath her feet laughing and tossing small amounts of dirt in the air at her before they were shooed away by a disapproving looking elder.

Their offspring having been removed with a few barks and firm paw gestures, several foxes with various markings decorated the fur on their faces waited down below for Janet. As soon as her boots brushed against the loosely tossed dirt beneath her they assailed her, wrapping her legs up in the same bonds that held her arms fastly to her sides before they looped a robust looking stick through the bonds above her ankles and just above her lowered back.

Janet had her face in the dirt throughout the entire ordeal, grunting and doing her best to struggle against their attempts to subdue her but to no use. They were simply too quick, too agile, too frisky and dexterous in their fluid-like movements. Working together, they had her utterly incapacitated in a matter of seconds. It was not a matter of strength, but of unfathomable nimbleness that she could simply not hope to match.

As they hoisted her into the air, which took four of the burliest looking foxes she had seen so far, Janet glanced around as she continued to attempt to vocalize behind the gag, keeping her complaints unintelligible.

"Mmpf! Mmm! Mmmpf! Hmmph!"

All she could do was take in her surroundings, her sights moving from the sea of wriggling foxes darting this way and that in order to get a better look at her to the vast swathes of what appeared to be human garbage strewn about their campsite.

Except it was not garbage, as the majority of the artifacts she noticed had been put back together, cleaned, or even outright repaired to appear good as new. It was only in the randomness of the array of items that it appeared to be nothing more than a collection of refuse in the midst of primitive fire pits, tool sheds, and a starkly fashionable array of wooden furniture with masterfully intricate carvings.

As Janet swung gently to the left and to the right from the jostling of the foxes that escorted her deeper into their camp, her eyes narrowed as she noticed a distinct pattern among the array of refuse. The majority of the treasures appeared to be plastic baby toys, plastic bowls and spoons, several stuffed animals some of which appeared to have been well loved by their previous owners, and even a few rattles and pacifiers.

Before Janet was able to distinguish anything else from the menagerie of human artifacts the foxes appeared to be hoarding, her vision was suddenly plunged into darkness as the foxes had just entered one of the more sizable tents in their encampments. She blinked several times, adjusting her vision to the dimly lit conditions after the bright sunshine of the late morning sun.

Janet twisted her head to the side to avoid having her face squished flat as the foxes laid her down onto the ground, the straw flooring poking at her uncomfortably. She waited as she felt the foxes fiddled with the bonds that had her tied up like a Christmas present. Unaware of what was happening to her, and now doing her best to fight off a sneeze from whatever allergens had crept into her nose from her awkward descent to the hut's floor, she was surprised when she felt her wrists and ankles being jolted upwards.

Her cry of surprise still muffled, she glanced around herself in a panic as she was flipped over and lifted up into the air. She just managed to free an arm from the grasp of one of the foxes when she was deposited onto a springy net. Bouncing up a few times, her wrists and ankles were swiftly tied to the net keeping her spread eagle.

The foxes continued to chitter in hushed tones now, their volume having changed as soon as they had entered the hut. As Janet's eyes adjusted to the dimly lit interior of the building, she wondered if the tone of reverence she was detecting in their lowered voices could be correctly interpreted as such. On either side of her, several large wooden bars were lowered down into place. The wooden beams reached all the way up to the hay ceiling above, enclosing her fully inside of a makeshift cage. Squinting, she frowned as she noted that had she not been strapped to the net, it would have appeared for all intents and purposes that she was now residing in an oversized crib.

As the barriers of her new cage were set into place, she watched as the foxes slipped out of the tent before she was able to muster so much as a moan of frustration.

"Mmpf!"

She cried after them, watching as the sunlight that escaped into the large hut disappeared once more as the entrance flap dropped back into place. Janet did not have to wait long though, as a minute later the fox wielding the wooden staff she had first seen earlier entered into the tent. She appeared much calmer now, and Janet concluded that she must be some kind of leader to the local fox population. The anthropomorphic fox seemed to carry herself with a poise and dignity that was much more reserved than the relative friskiness of others of her kind Janet had seen. Even in the excitement of being taken hostage by the primitive foxes, the anthropologist could not help but marvel at the magnificent regality of such visibly intelligent creatures.

"Git!"

The fox barked, her eyes boring holes into Janet's own widened, innocent peepers. The young woman glanced down to see that the fox appeared to be holding what looked like a bone knife in her right paw. Drawing nearer, Janet began to struggle and writhe against her bonds as the fox approached her with the weapon.

"Nah!"

To her great surprise, the fox swatted her exposed arm in annoyance. Momentarily stunned by the casual irritation in the fox's expression, Janet stopped her wriggling just long enough for the fox to reach forward with the knife and deftly cut through the cloth around Janet's mouth. Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, Janet immediately began to blubber out a half-baked explanation.

"I wasn't trying to do anything! I swear! I'm just here to study you! You have so much stuff that we made! Where did you... That doesn't matter, look if you could just let me-"

"Terra nuit?"

"What..?"

"Teh... Rah... Nuh... Eet?

Janet stared at the fox blankly, unable to even guess what the fox was asking. Without the use of her hands and with the added barrier of not being able to understand each other's facial expressions, Janet could only bite her lip unsure of what to do.

Appearing visibly exasperated, the fox turned over her shoulder and called out something unintelligible. Three other foxes, dressed in similar cloaks and equipped with dramatic markings on their faces resembling fangs and claws, strode in and gathered around Janet's makeshift cage.

They whispered amongst one another, glancing between Janet and themselves and pointing at various parts of her prone body. Judging from the high-pitch of their comments and interspersed chattering noises, she realized that they were likely making fun of her. Although she could understand why they might have such a reaction, she could not help but feel a little self-conscious at being ridiculed. Janet blushed a deep crimson, turning away and closing her eyes as she tried to think of what to do next.

Okay Janet... They clearly don't understand a thing you say and probably thought you were some kind of threat to begin with... Still, if you cooperate, maybe they'll reconsider and let you go. After all, they probably won't understand how half the stuff in your bag works anyway...

After a minute, the chittering stopped abruptly. Janet opened her eyes a moment later only to just be able to catch a tail disappearing behind the flap entrance.

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

She called after them, but it was to no avail. As several beads of sweat gathered on her forehead, she concluded that they were likely heading off to discuss what they were going to do with her. Janet grimaced, taking a moment to relax her tensed muscles as she tried once more to calm down the welling sense of doom that was forming a knot in her stomach.

If they were going to hurt you... They could have done it already...

She thought, trying her best not to think of the various practices that isolated, barbaric tribes such as these had historically entertained in the world of indigenous human beings.

? ?

After a few hours of worrying and testing the strength in her bonds, a fox on the plumper end of the spectrum had bustled her way noisily into the hut equipped with a bowl filled with a dark brown gruel. Despite her dire situation, Janet's stomach growled at the thought of food. It had to be way past lunch time, and the slow, arduous trek through the jungle had worked up her appetite.

"Jira!"

The fox waved cheerfully at Janet, pulling down on a hanging vine and raising up one of the hanging bars of her cage. Behind her, another female fox entered behind her and stood primarily next to the first fox. Their muzzles were just open enough to bare their front teeth at her, which Janet presumed to be a cheerful expression. The second fox leaned in and whispered something in the first fox's ear, causing the two to descend into a fit of giggles before they returned their attention to Janet.

Scooping up a small bit of the unknown substance in the bowl, the fox offered it politely just in front of Janet's face. She eyed it suspiciously, her gaze flitting between the proffered morsel and the chubby fox's face.

She seems harmless enough... And she's not forcing me to eat it... I guess they're just trying to feed me while they figure out what to do with me...

Slowly, she opened her mouth and maintaining eye contact with the motherly

looking fox, accepted the spoonful of gruel. To her surprise, the taste was not offensive in the slightest. Although a little bitter, the flavor resembled that of oatmeal seasoned lightly with cinnamon and some other sweet taste that Janet was not quite able to identify. Noting that Janet did not appear to be upset by the spoonful, the young woman found herself struggling to keep up with each eagerly offered spoonful.

The second fox joined in with another spoon, giddily scooping the strange oatmeal into her mouth so quickly that she was hardly able to keep up. To her annoyance, she found that not all of it was successfully finding its way into her mouth as the foxes appeared to be having a little bit too much fun feeding her. Giggling as they did so, exchanging comments in their strange tongue that Janet knew far too well were likely at her expense, she found that her chin and the top of her shirt covered in the gruel before long.

The motherly fox clucked her tongue, exchanging a few words with her

companion who responded with a barking laugh before retreating out of the tent. A moment later, Janet's eyes bulged as she returned with what appeared to be a white cloth bib. A yellow duckling splashing merrily in a pond that had been embroidered on the front soon found its place hanging around her neck, catching the clumsily offered spoonfuls.

Janet swallowed and did her best to chew as much of the food as she could, her gaze drifting over to the entrance as several more foxes entered into the hut. She watched as they laid down firewood in a small circle of stones, several others placing various bowls and cooking utensils around the firepit that appeared to be filled with various powders.

Janet was unable to continue to study them as they appeared to prepare for some kind of strange ritual as she was interrupted by something rubbery and round being crammed unceremoniously into her mouth.

"Mmpf!"

Janet's eyes crossed, and as a creamy liquid filled her mouth cavity she realized with a start that she was now being fed with a plastic baby bottle. Her eyes bulged, unable to figure out where on earth they had acquired such a sizable bottle before she realized that she was being fed from a calf-sized feeding bottle. The woman's cheeks burned from the embarrassment, her mind reeling as she wondered whether they were trying to fatten her up or not.

As she continued to dutifully nurse, as the option to refuse was apparently not available to her, the female foxes continued to chirp and coo above her, clearly greatly entertained by the activity.

Janet felt her stomach beginning to engorge itself with a milk the origin of which she was completely unaware of. The fire had now been lit, and Janet was able to see out of the corner of her eye that the powders were now being poured from their bowls onto the crackling flame. As the grains fell onto the fire, it roared upwards and turned a vibrant, iridescent purple.

The hut became filled with a pungent smoke, the odor of which was not unpleasant but whose thickness caused her eyes to water at first. Janet's eyelids drooped, a thin line of milk drooling out from the corner of her mouth as each consecutive suckle at the bottle's teat seemed to become increasingly arduous for her.

The last thing Janet remembered before she descended into a deep slumber was the sensation of a damp washcloth being gently dabbed at the corners of her mouth by the giggling fox looming above her.