FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

To Tie For

Commission for November

Chapter Three

© Cederwyn Whitefurr

27thOctober, 2021

All Rights Reserved.

Ember shivered, shook until she felt her bones would surely shatter and moaned helplessly. Jasmine did what Jasmine did best, kept her company and filled with enough hot cocoa that Ember thought she'd surely burst.

"No more, please!" Ember moaned, as Jasmine pushed another bowl over the table towards her.

"Drink it, or I'll sit on you and pour it down your throat!" Jasmine snorted, trying to look dominant and assertive, then giggling shyly. "Please? One more?"

Ember relent, somehow, managing to down the hot cocoa. "Thank you..."

"Well, I'm no Veterinarian," Jasmine began, as she held Ember's left paw and looked at the pads, then turned it over. "I do not see any frostbite. How are your toes?"

"Warmer than they were - they're burning, so...they're still attached!"

"Up...now." Jasmine grunted.

"I'm okay, really!" Ember blushed.

Jasmine folded her dark furred paws over her chest and stared at Ember.

"Alright!" Ember huffed, then awkwardly lifted her left foot and put it on Jasmine's lap.

Gently, Jasmine felt the thick, calloused pads and checked between the toes. "All good here, now, other foot!"

"I swear..." Ember groaned, letting that foot down and lifting the other one.

Again, Jasmine went over it, gently poking and rubbing.

"Hey - that tickles!" Ember squealed and giggled.

"All good here too...incredible! I'd expect frostbite at _least_yet there's no visible frost burns or nothing! You are so lucky...now, what did we learn?"

Ember leaned her head back and flattened her ears in guilt. "Do not go bare pawed in the park..."

"Excellent!" Jasmine smiled and patted Ember like she was a puppy.

"I get any warmer, I'll burst into flames..." Ember moaned, as she shucked off the blankets. "Gods, I need a bed, I don't care, I'd sleep on broken glass, I'm so tired..."

"There's a spare camp cot in the other room, that okay?"

Ember stood, then wobbled uncertainly. Quickly, Jasmine grasped her and steadied her.

"Woah, easy there!" Came the weak chuckle from the Elk. "Come on, you'll fall down if we don't get you to a bed!"

Ember growled quietly, more asleep than awake.

"Hey now!" Jasmine snickered. "None of that, come on, bed! You've had a stressful time, good thing you're a wolf - me? I'd be frozen solid, food for the wolf pack come spring if it'd been me..."

Ember leaned heavily against Jasmine, who helped her into the other room where it was warm, dark and quiet. Sitting down on the cot, Ember shucked off the jacket and then began to fumble with the shirt.

"Too...tired..." Ember's jaws parted until they cracked, and Jasmine yelped, seeing the razor sharp canines. "Urf...sorry Jasmine..."

"Wolves!" Jasmine snorted, then lay Ember down and covered her with the sheet and thick blanket.

Ember was asleep even before Jasmine pulled the blankets up around her furred neck.

*

Ember slept the day and the next night, waking up only when Jasmine's light touch gently shook her.

"Wake up sleepyhead! I can't run the whole park alone!"

Ember fought against the urge to go straight back to sleep. Wearily, she opened her eyes to mere slits and moaned quietly.

"Urgh...what...time is..."

"Zero-eight-forty-five!" Jasmine shook her head. "I swear, you slept like the dead! I thought you wolves were light sleepers?"

Closing her eyes, Ember groaned and rubbed at them with her paws, before she stripped the blanket off and sat up. Resting her head on her palms for a moment, Ember took a few deep breaths before she stood up and felt her spine crackle from neck to tail tip.

"Shower...a hot shower will wake me up and then coffee...first, I need the bathroom desperately..."

Quietly, her nails clicking on the floorboards, Ember walked to the female bathroom and shut the door behind her.

*

Some time later, showered, refreshed and having eaten a light breakfast, Ember sat at her desk and pondered.

"That weather crowd should be shot - " Ember groused, her ears flat. "More warning about that storm would have been better!"

"Really? Shooting them seems a bit drastic." Came Jasmine's snort from across the room as she laid her leaf like ears back.

Ember rolled her eyes and glanced sideways at Jasmine. "It was a figure of speech, I wasn't being literal! I just wish they'd given better warning! Who expected..."

Ember rose and looked out the window at the snow that lay across the ground. Turning back, she gestured with a thumb over her shoulder.

"That..." Ember finished. "Really! A late fall snowstorm? Seriously?"

Jasmine blinked and raised one eyebrow inquisitively. "Well, its not uncommon, its happened before.., Just unfortunate you happened to be out in it. Speaking of...where's your cruiser? You'd be warmer and safer in that than ..."

Her words trailed off as she pondered.

"Urgh, don't get me started!" Ember sighed as she leaned back against the wall. "I swear, whoever procures our cruisers should be hung! A tree fell and blocked the road first, sure, no real problem there... I could have gotten around it, or over it. I decided to stay put where I was. First mistake!"

Ember began pacing back and forth as Jasmine listened, one ear back, one ear tilted to the side.

"When the snow started getting heavier, I decided discretion was wiser. I don't have snow chains on my cruiser, so... Well, I had everything off that wasn't essential after I lost my radio antenna."

Jasmine put down the pen and turned her chair to face Ember.

"So that explains why we lost contact with you!"

Ember nodded and huffed, then crossed her paws over her chest and leaned against the wall again. "Only had the cruiser idling to keep the heater going! Next_thing I know, I went from warm and toasty to an ice-cube! Sometime I'd dropped off into a light doze and then sleep. During that time the cruiser battery drained - I don't know _how as its engine should have kept it charged..."

"That's odd..." Jasmine murmured.

"You know what they say about government issued stuff..." Ember sighed. "Made or supplied by the lowest tender bidder..."

Jasmine's paws flew to her muzzle as she stiffed her giggles.

"I'm going to lodge a formal complaint with the head park ranger. We need better safety gear in our cruisers! Blankets, first aid kits, snow chains and axes to cut up fallen trees..."

Jasmine stared at her. "Wow, I never knew we were so...under equipped. Most of my time is spent in or around the park station. Write up a list of your grievances! If you think of any more, be sure to add them!"

"I would, but...think I got time? Got to organise someone to go clear that dead fall and then jump start the cruiser and...arrgh! Not enough hours in the day!"

Jasmine merely gave her the look, well, not that look, but the look, that made Ember shut her muzzle with a snap and sink down into her chair.

"Priorities," Jasmine smiled at her. "You pointed out how under equipped we are. I think these things are important! Case in point! You got caught out in a freak snow storm and what safety gear or other stuff was there? Minimal!"

Opening the laptop, Ember turned it on and flicked her ears before she sighed softly.

"You're right, as always. I swear, you should be head park ranger!"

Jasmine shook her dark furred head, her ears slicking back. "Oh no, you're not putting my cloven hooves in the coals! I can not even begin to imagine the stress and paperwork and just...all of it! Everyone, I mean the public, they see a well kept, clean and cared for park and think it just happens by magic! You know yourself, the months of effort, planning and work we put into this place. Ensure campgrounds are well maintained, adequate rubbish disposal places, trail cams..."

"Urgh," Ember growled, then smacked the table in frustration. "Outdated and slow laptops..."

With a chuckle, Jasmine nodded. "Not to mention, we should have cell phone coverage - or better yet! Satellite phones for in case of emergency! Like yours, with a satellite phone, you'd be able to call for rescue. Then we'd have found you and been able to bring you back safe and sound!"

"Agreed!" Ember grunted, then finally got the laptop booted up. "Now, how to word this! Of course, it'll go into the bureaucratic stream and vanish, like all our requests..."

"At least you're trying Ember, there's that!" Jasmine smiled at her.

I try alright... Ember thought to herself. Gods know I try...

*

Ember laid out her email in concise, yet polite wording, then tapped a claw on send. Shutting down the laptop, Ember muttered to herself before she went to the cupboard and pulled out some thick hiking boots.

"Are you mad?" Jasmine called from the kitchenette. "Its freezing outside, more snow expected and..."

"Yes, I know, I'm complete off my medication! Off the reservation! Out of my tree..."

Jasmine's dark head popped around the corner and she stared at Ember.

"I jest my friend, relax! Just not going far, I promise. I'll be in radio contact."

"You said that the other day!" Jasmine gently chided her. "How'd that work out for you..."

Ember sighed and sat on a bench seat and pulled thick woollen socks on over her foot paws and up her shins. Quickly, she bent over and slipped the heavy boots on and laced them up tight. Standing up, Ember stomped her foot paws up and down, moaning at the ill-fitting boots and how heavy they felt on her feet.

"I'll be on radio, going to sector three, want to double-check a faulty trail cam again and I'll swing by sector two campground on my way back!"

A crash from the kitchenette made Ember jump, before she heard Jasmine's bleat and giggle.

"Oops..."

"ANOTHER one?" Ember shook her head. "Be careful, or we'll run out of cups at this rate!"

"Cleanup to aisle Jasmine..." Came the elk's giggle.

Slipping the heavy waterproof parka over her shoulders, Ember clipped the radio to her harness and zipped up the parka, then wrapped her blue and white scarf around her furred neck.

"I shouldn't be more than, oh, mid-afternoon? I hope!"

"Alright! Stay safe!"

*

Ember wished they had snow shoes that would fit an anthropomorphic wolfess' foot. Instead, her mid-shin boots were tightly laced with a cover over the top, supposedly, to keep out errant snow...or so she was told.

It soon become apparent to Ember, she would probably have been better off without the shoes, as sinking mid-shin deep in some drifts, in others, it was only to her ankles. It was tiring, exhausted work as she slogged her way through the snow. Thankfully, the warm clothes she wore kept her dry and warm.

Rounding a corner, Ember blinked and squatted down, her gloved paws splayed out as she looked at the wolf print in the snow.

"Fairly fresh - they usually don't range this far and..."

Without warning, Ember's bladder suddenly screamed for her attention.

"Really...no_w?_" Ember groaned, as she flattened her ears and looked around. "No one here...so..."

Quickly, she scurried off into the forests edge and found a large pine tree. It's wide branches caught and trapped the snow, leaving a large circle of semi-dryness under it. Ember used her teeth to peel her gloves off, then unbuckled the thick belt around her waist. As she sat down and unlaced and pulled her boots off, she pondered, then peeled the socks off too.

Stuffing them into her shoes, she set them aside and stood up. Feeling the chill creeping up her ankles, Ember hurriedly stripped her waterproof pants off and threw them aside.

"Brrr..." Ember gasped, the chillness of the air making her skin prickle with goosebumps.

Her fingers slid down her hips and pushed her fresh panties down, before she stepped out of them and put them aside as well. Carefully, she moved a dozen paces away then crouched down and lifted her tail.

Ember's bladder instantly went shy on her...

"REALLY?" Ember growled. "Two seconds ago, you told me you were going to burst...now you get all shy and such?"

Ember felt her thighs beginning to ache, her ankles freezing and shins quivering. For a few moments, she held the awkward position, before at last, she finally managed to convince her bladder it was okay.

"Urgh..." Ember groaned, feeling almost instant relief, before her nostrils flared and she shook her head. "No...there's just no way..."

Powerful pheromones and scent uppercut her nostrils and scent receptors as her golden eyes widened to three times their size. Her mind refused to believe what her nose was telling her...

Ember had begun her season earlier than expected...

"Just what else can _possibly_go wrong with my life!" Ember groaned, as she pressed a paw against her forehead.

A snap of a branch behind her made her freeze, her ears rotating backwards and her tail tucked under her groin. It was downwind of her, she couldn't use her sense of smell to tell.

What was it behind her? Ember didn't know, all she knew, was like this, she was incredibly vulnerable...

A snuffle of air, then the sniffing sounds as they drew closer.

"No..." Ember whispered, ears dropping flat.

From her studies, Ember knew_that_ sound...

A wolf must be right behind her...well within striking range...

TO BE CONTINUED...