FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Welp! Another show in the books!" Mandy said. The palomino mare leaned toward her microphone. "What a week, huh?"

"I think this was one of our better ones," a grey squirrel insisted, sitting a few feet away.

"Weeks or shows?"

"Why not both?"

"You always say that, Kay. We should bottle your optimism and sell it!"

"As long as I get the biggest cut!" The squirrel chittered. "But I mean it this time. I'm sure our millions of listeners agree."

"Millions? Hah! More like thousands."

"Hundreds," Tilly the jaguar injected. A petite-but-muscular jungle cat, she was the third and final member of the program.

Eyes on Indy. Noon to three weekdays on 93.5 FM. Gossip, lighthearted news and local events, and interviews with persons of interest. Can't listen live? Catch the podcast!

"Nah. We're like a rocket ship. To the moon!"

"As long as we don't end up making a new crater," Tilly added.

Laughs and giggles.

"Soooo ... weekend plans, girls?" Kay asked, seeing they still had half-a-minute to fill.

"State Fair started this week," Mandy said.

"Oh, yeah!"

"Gonna go tonight. They have those twilight concerts. Free with admission! Visit our website for the full schedule!"

"Nice!"

"Aren't those hillbilly acts?" Tilly asked.

"They're called country-western," the horse defended.

"So, yes, then."

Kay said, "They have a cricket-spitting contest, right?"

"That sounds like something you'd do."

"You should enter, Tilly! You're a meat-eater," the squirrel told the jaguar.

"Are bugs meat?" Mandy wondered. "I sense a new segment!"

"Wish we had time to tackle this fascinating question, but Rico is twirling his paw from behind the glass," Tilly said. It was the 'wrap it up' signal.

"Ha, ha!" Mandy laughed. "This has been 'Eyes on Indy.' Gab to you Monday, folks!"

"Aaaand ... we're off," Rico said over the intercom. The long-eared chipmunk gave them a thumbs up through the glass that separated the control room from the studio. "Remember, we gotta record promos and ad spots at 3:30."

"Yeah, we'll wait around in the break room," Kay said, standing up and stretching her limber figure.

"I left my phone in my car," Mandy announced. "I've been dying to check it. I'll be right back!"

"He's here!" the mare exclaimed upon return, practically bursting into the break room, rubber-socked hooves thudding on the floor.

"He is?! Are you sure?" Kay sat straight up, silver-furred tail fluffing to full attention. "I thought he wasn't due 'til next week."

"Who?" Tilly asked.

"Positive. I ... I saw his car in the parking lot." The mare took a seat, brushing her creamy, lemon-yellow mane away from her brown eyes. She was panting for breath. "Who else has that logo on their side doors?"

( Everything You Need! - Giving It To You Since 2019 )

"Is he in the building right now?!"

"Who?" the jaguar repeated.

"Has to be."

"Ohmygosh. How do I look?"

"You look great!"

Tilly, lazily scrolling through social media, started to hiss in annoyance. "Who's 'he,' and why's he got you two acting like schoolgirls?"

"Brannon," they answered in unison.

Tilly scrunched her face in thought. She put her phone on her lap. Brannon? "Oh." The feline quirked a brow. "That nerdy beaver sales rep?"

"He's not a nerd," Kay stressed. "I'm a nerd."

"Excuse me. Dweeb."

"What's the difference?" Mandy asked.

"Dweebs are boring," Kay said. "Nerds are introverted."

"You're hardly introverted," the mare told the squirrel. "And Brannon's _not_boring."

"I'm a diehard Trekkie, though!"

"That means you're a geek, Kay, not a nerd."

"Oh." A pause. "Well. Brannon's more a dork, then?"

"Whatever," Tilly growled, losing patience. "Point is: dweebs ... I mean 'dorks'," she said, picking up her phone, "aren't worth obsessing over."

The squirrel clicked her tongue against her buckteeth.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

Tilly squinted. "Out with it."

Kay clenched her jaw, looking around the room.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"Ha, ha. Alright, fine. We may have hooked up," Kay finally admitted. "Happy?"

This got the jaguar's attention. She sat up straight. "Are you serious?"

"Why would I lie about something like that?"

"You tell me."

"You don't understand, Tilly! He's, like ... " The squirrel shook her head, at a loss for words. Her eyes lit up when a co-worker entered the room. One of the main floor secretaries. "Oh, Flora! You can vouch for me."

"I can?" the sultry rabbit echoed, opening a cupboard in search of snacks. Standing on tiptoes to reach the top shelves, her bobtail flicked above her shapely rump, short skirt not hiding much.

"We're telling Tilly about Brannon ... "

"Damn." A sigh. "Well, it was only a matter of time, I guess!"

Tilly blinked. "So, you know him, too?"

"Are you talking, like, know him, or ... " The buxom rabbit, fur marked by striking 'Vienna blue' patches atop a white base, reached a box of cookies. Lowering back down to her foot-paws, she turned around and made quotation marks with her white fingers. "Know him."

"The second one."

"Yup!" The rabbit 'mmm-ed,' opening the box. "I pulled a muscle last time." She shoved a cookie into her maw and emphasized, while chewing, "Was, mmf, limping for days."

"I remember. You said that happened at the gym," Tilly accused.

"Who says it didn't?"

Kay giggled.

"Well, when I was with him, we used a proper bed," Mandy said.

"Hold up a minute," Tilly interrupted, looking to the mare. "You? You've had a boyfriend since March." A big, hulking bull who worked in maintenance. "I set you two up! You told me you really like him."

"I do!"

The feline's golden eyes narrowed. "So, when did you become 'acquainted' with Brannon?"

The mare cleared her throat, mumbling, "During, uh ... Indy 500 week."

"That was in May! You cheated on--"

"Shh!" The mare looked around skittishly, lowering her voice. "There might have been some alcohol involved. And, besides, I'd heard how great he was in bed, and I just ... he was right there, no one was stepping forward. It was my ticket into the club!"

"Was it worth it?" Tilly asked.

Kay and Flora giggled, as if the jaguar had asked a silly question.

Mandy spread her arms as if to indicate 'what they said.'

"That doesn't leave the room, though," the mare begged, looking around.

"We got your tail, girl." Flora said, hopping up to sit on the counter, nibbling on another cookie. Her foot-paws didn't reach the floor.

"Thanks."

"So, you weren't sober for this allegedly 'life-changing' experience?" Mandy asked, taking the role of inquisitor.

"Well, uh ... no. But I wasn't drunk! Just tipsy."

"That still compromises your claim."

"Flora's done him more than me. She's been sober." The mare looked to her for assistance.

"Oh, yeah." Nibble-nibble-crunch. Cookie crumbs tumbling off whiskers. "But I'm _usually_high," the rabbit admitted.

"You realize this nullifies both of your testimonies," the jaguar insisted.

"I know what I felt," Mandy insisted.

Kay piped in. "Well, I wasn't under any influences."

"Other than being nutty," Tilly added.

"Oh, a nut joke." The squirrel frowned. "How original!"

Tilly didn't apologize. "So, how was it, then?" she pressed.

"Mmm! I'm telling you, Tilly ... it was ... I mean, he's ... " She fanned herself with her bushy tail.

"Yes"

"No, I can't ... you have to experience it for yourself."

"That's not happening."

"Why not?" the squirrel asked.

"I'm not attracted to him."

"Yet!" she added.

"He's got those, um ... what's the word I'm looking for ... " Mandy looked to the others.

"Intangible," Flora supplied.

"Yeah! That. Intangible qualities."

"Girls, I've been with panthers. Barbed, growling, purring panthers," Tilly stressed. "And wolves. With knots."

"Humblebrag any?" Flora quipped.

"And how long ago was that?" the squirrel shot back. "You haven't been with anybody since that snow leopard dumped you."

"He didn't dump me," Tilly replied, voice straining. Her cheeks got hot. "He got a job across country and moved away."

She would've gone with him, too. In a heartbeat. She'd loved him and thought they were headed toward a mate-ship. He hadn't felt the same. The breakup had been ... awkward.

Wondering if she'd gone too far, the squirrel extended a paw in the jaguar's direction, "Tilly, I'm--"

"You're not going to convince me a roly-poly, goofy-toothed beaver is some kind of god-tier lay." The jaguar's voice lowered, "Life isn't a fairytale." A pause. "People disappoint you."

"You can't go through the world expecting that," Kay said softly.

"Says who?"

"It's an excuse, and you know it," Kay insisted, tone getting sharper. She crossed her arms. "Mandy just basically admitted he's better than a bull."

"Yup!"

"We also established that Mandy was an unreliable witness. Besides, if Brannon's so great, why aren't any of you dating him? Hmm?"

"He's not boyfriend material," Flora said, as if that were obvious.

"Yeah. He travels for a living. All over the Midwest," Kay added. "He's only here, like, what ... three, four days a month?"

"Where does he live?"

"Um ... "

"Cincinnati," Flora answered.

"Right!" The squirrel added, "We do it in his hotel room, usually."

"He doesn't find it weird you've all thrown yourselves at him? Like groupies?"

"He gets a diverse buffet of partners to nibble on," Flora said, a smirk crossing her muzzle. "What's he got to complain about?"

"Nibble!" Kay repeated.

Mandy nickered knowingly, whispering, "Orange buckteeth."

Kay giggled girlishly, pressing her paws to her cheeks.

Flora mewed with mirth.

"What the hell does that mean?" Tilly asked, making a face. "Okay, alright. I'm a curious cat. But we all know how that ends." She tilted her head. "How many people are in on this?"

"Just the three of us right now," Flora said. "At least in Indiana." She shrugged. "Maybe he has a harem in every state he goes? I don't ask."

Kay giggled. "Me! In a harem! Who would have thought?"

"Goals," Mandy stated, nodding sagely.

Flora continued, "I made the initial discovery at the Christmas party last year, then let Kay in on it. You can't keep something this big solely to yourself, you know? It really weighs on you."

Tilly rolled her golden eyes.

Kay took over with, "Then I eventually told Mandy. We didn't tell you because, well ... we figured you'd react this way."

"Got me pegged," the jaguar muttered.

I'm the last one to know?

Figures.

Tilly looked to the floor, feeling a pang in her throat.

She swallowed it.

"Plus, the more people that want a piece of him, the more we have to divide our time."

"Yeah," Mandy added. "We've worked out a rotation."

Tilly looked up, wide-eyed, at the mare. "You're planning on doing this again?"

Mandy gave a sheepish, blushing shrug. "Maaaybe ... "

"But we'll let you in the club, Tilly," Kay promised. "We shouldn't have left you out! Right, girls?"

Flora and Mandy mumbled.

"Right, girls?" the squirrel said again, as cheerfully as possible.

"Right!"

"See? We're all in agreement! We're really sorry. You deserve to be in the club."

"Harem," Flora corrected.

"Yes, harem."

Tilly unsheathed her claws. "A rabbit, squirrel, and horse aren't a jaguar. I may be petite. But I pack a punch. I don't want to break your favorite toy."

"Hah, you won't break him. Beavers are built like brick walls. Trust me," Flora said, waving a paw and hopping off the counter. "I was supposed to get him this time, but I'll swap with you. I'll move to next month. You can start your rotation now."

"Aw! That's so sweet of you, Flora," Kay insisted, looking to the jaguar, trying to get her to acknowledge the rabbit's noble sacrifice. "Isn't it, Tilly?"

"She's a regular saint."

"No prob!"

I'm the only sane person here, aren't I?

"Now, we just gotta introduce them!" Kay said excitedly.

"I'll text him," the rabbit said. "Set it all up."

"But he's in the building right now. Just find him," Tilly said.

"If I do that, what do you think'll happen?" Flora posed with a brow-waggling smirk.

Kay chittered, putting her paws in front of her mouth.

"Don't tell him too much about her!" Mandy told Flora. "Blind date. Be mysterious."

"This isn't a rom-com, Mandy," Flora said.

"Then what is it?"

"An outbreak of beaver fever," Tilly stated dryly.

Oh, they had caught it, but the jaguar was immune. Even after all their 'convincing.' They had to be exaggerating. The pieces didn't add up!

She hadn't spent any length of time with Brannon, but a roaming rodent sales rep was an award-winning lover?

Dubious, at best.

Before the day was out, she was going debunk the beaver's legend and make her friends see common sense.

The State Fair.

It was overwhelming enough in the daytime.

In the evening?

The bright lights and loud noises were amplified. Flashes of bright neon color. Bells, whistles. Tractor engines. Laughing, chatting people milling around food vendors, where scents both sweet and savory tantalized the nose.

The July air, hot and humid, was about the only thing that didn't bother Tilly. She was a jungle cat, after all.

I was designed for this.

There was only one beaver outside the Arts and Crafts building upon Tilly's approach. Had to be him. Brannon.

That's where Flora had arranged for them to meet.

No doubt the flirty rabbit was here somewhere, along with Mandy and Kay (with their concerts and cricket-spitting). Tilly hoped not to run into them. They'd invariably launch into winks and giggles and innuendoes.

I'm hardly a prude, but I don't want Brannon thinking I'm desperate.

On closer approach, she stared the male down.

Thick auburn fur, darker brown at his wrists and ankles and lighter on the muzzle. A flat, scaly paddle-tail. Prominent buckteeth, even for a rodent. And they were orange? Yeah. The girls had mentioned that, hadn't they? He wasn't svelte. Burly? Brawny? With a flannel shirt, he could pass for a lumberjack, albeit one with a general 'nyuk, nyuk!' vibe.

He doesn't look like someone who's going to blow my mind tonight.

Maybe my friends are too easily impressed?

Silently sauntering up to the sales rep with a calm, silky demeanor, Tilly announced her presence with an even keeled, "Hey."

The rounded rodent looked up from his phone. Around. Then down. If Brannon was startled by the predator sneaking up on him, he didn't show it. This earned him a modicum of respect in the jaguar's eyes.

He was surprisingly taller than her. But, then, weren't beavers the biggest rodents? Or was that capybaras? Whatever. Tilly wasn't used to being smaller than prey, but it wasn't going to fluster her.

It doesn't change the fact that I'm an apex predator and he's not.

"Hey!" he echoed excitedly. "Tilly, right? I was just about to text you! Flora gave me your number. She speaks very highly of you!"

"She's a regular sweetheart," the jaguar confirmed, quickly explaining, "Traffic was pretty bad on the way in. Had to park at the opposite entrance."

"No biggie. I haven't been waiting too long. Already had one lemon shake-up. It's so hot!" He made a 'whew!' sound. "So!" he said, paddle-tail slapping the ground. "What first?"

"Um ... "

Tilly struggled to think of anything. Fairs weren't really in her wheelhouse. Sure, she knew about the rides and attractions. The basics. But she didn't really care.

Brannon, however?

Seemed like a person who not only enjoyed these things but was sure to have a rollicking good time with them. Cornball celebrations of even cornier traditions, tacky merchandise, crazy foods. The works.

"Hmm. Oh!" Leaning in, Brannon said, "Wanna go for a ride?"

She insisted, "No Ferris wheels."

He laughed, as if that was hysterical. "Ha, ha! I promise," he said with a wink.

"You know what this view reminds me of?" Brannon said as they slowly inched along a sturdy cable, hoisted above the colorful midway. His tail hung out of the tail-gap in the bottom back of their airborne booth, and his webbed foot-paws dangled in front.

"I don't know." Tilly kept her own tail within the seat, curled around a leg. The sun was in the process of setting, and that golden hour glow enveloped the entirety of the Fairgrounds. The modest skyline of downtown Indianapolis could be seen to the southwest.

They called this thing the 'People Mover.'

This is just a Ferris Wheel on a straight line. And slower. And ten times as long.

"Guess."

"I can't. I'm allergic to guessing."

Brannon giggled and said, "3D puzzles."

Tilly blinked. _ _

"I_love_ 3D puzzles. I recently completed one of the Empire State Building. 'Night edition'," he emphasized. "Oh, yeah. It lights up from the inside! The batteries aren't included, but I had some lying around. Now, granted, it was only two hundred sixteen pieces. Now, I know what you're thinking!"

"You do?" the feline asked distractedly, gripping the front guardrail that secured them in place.

Was she afraid of heights? Not exactly. Cats weren't supposed to be. It wasn't being off the ground that was making her uncomfortable. It was being trapped. Stuck in place. They'd be up here for, what, ten minutes? She strained to see the end of their journey and couldn't.

I've been through worse.

"Now, anything below three hundred pieces?" the beaver continued. "Psh! I mean, heh, that's amateur level for us puzzlers."

"Puzzlers," Tilly repeated blankly.

Maybe I haven't.

"Yup! Usually, I try to push myself. My next puzzle is going to be the Taj Mahal. I have it on pre-order. Should arrive next month! Over five hundred pieces."

"That's, uh ... impressive."

"Heh, five hundred ... hey, speaking of, do you think they make a 3D puzzle of the Speedway pagoda? That fancy control tower?"

Tilly shrugged.

"Bet they do! That's such a cool building, let me tell you. I wanted to be an architect when I was younger, but, wow, was I bad at math. I flunked it so many times. But I was, like, Brannon, you don't need math to make something a fun, lifelong hobby!"

"Right ... I , uh, don't know much about it." A pause, before clarifying, "The track, I mean. I didn't grow up here."

"Where you from?"

"Rhode Island."

"Neat! Never met anyone from there. I'm from Oregon," he said. "Is that how you met the others? Out East?"

"I've known Kay for a long time. Since college. She got the radio gig and invited me here to join. Couldn't really say no, as I was between jobs. Met Mandy and Flora after I arrived." Tilly looked at the people walking below them, milling around the tents belonging to food merchants. Drizzled caramel almond milkshakes! Triple fried red velvet Oreos! Battered dill pickle slices! "Mandy and Kay provide the show's substance. I just add spice now and then."

"They're really nice girls," Brannon said fondly.

The jaguar tried to read the beaver's face, wondering if he'd meant that in some winking, lascivious way. 'Nice girls.' After all, he'd slept with all of them, and was apparently willing to do it again. He practically had a waiting list! But his bucktoothed expression was completely sincere. He _actually_cared about them.

Caring about me_, though?_

We'll see.

"How'd_you_ wind up in the Midwest?" Tilly asked.

"College. Got a full ride to Purdue. My grades were good in high school! My parents wanted me to do something 'industrious.' Engineering. Eh, heh, that didn't go so well. That math, yeah? I quickly changed majors. Ended up with a business degree ... now, ten years later, I've got my own business! It's not glamorous. I don't have a headquarters or a roster of employees. It's just me right now. I plan to grow it! I enjoy going places, seeing people in my 30's, but by the time I'm fifty? Might have to change how I operate. But, uh ... " He shrugged and trailed off. "I listen to your show when I'm on the road, y'know."

"You do? How?"

"The podcasts."

"Oh. Right."

"So, I'm always a day behind. Hah, it makes me laugh, though! Especially you."

"Me?"

"You're so witty!"

"Hardly." Tilly flushed beneath her pelt.

He was just being polite, surely. _ _

It was difficult to gage someone's true intentions. Even when you thought_you knew them, _thought you knew how they felt? They could easily leave you hanging.

Tilly closed her eyes, an image of her snow leopard ex appearing.

Her eyes snapped back open. _ _

Brannon, in the silence, looked down at his lap. His expression lit up. He'd almost forgotten he'd brought cotton candy along for the ride. He eagerly opened the bag, tearing off the powder blue sections. "Want some?" he asked, thrusting the candy floss at her.

"Um ... sure." She took it, paws immediately became sticky.

"Cotton candy is the best. It literally melts in your mouth!" Brannon put some on his tongue. "It's definitely one of my favorite fair foods. The texture is so fun!"

"Is it a food? It's pure sugar."

Mandy was on the right path. New show segment: is it a food? Yes or no?

"Top three: cotton candy, cracker jack, and ... salt water taffy? Yeah. No, wait! Wait. Elephant ears for cracker jack. That's my 'hot take.' But I'm sticking with it."

Tilly just didn't know what to say at this point. She just ate her candy floss, hoping the sugar rush would improve her attitude as she looked down at the ground again. And then up ahead. The sun had now officially set. With her excellent night vision, she could see they were now about a minute from their destination.

"I like your rosettes," Brannon randomly said.

Tilly was taken aback.

Brannon tilted his head. "Something wrong?"

"No, it's just ... you knew what they were." She rubbed her neck self-consciously. "Most people call them spots."

"Spots aren't as pretty as what you've got," he insisted warmly, with a bucktoothed smile.

Tilly smiled for the first time the whole ride. She couldn't stop it.

The beaver ate another fluffy cloud of cotton candy. Pink, this time. "And I mean it. They are pretty." He offered her his final piece. It was blue. "_You're_pretty."

"Thanks," she whispered, taking more of the cottony sugar.

I'm such a jerk.

She'd made up her mind about him before they'd properly met, and here he was, friendly and sweet and subverting expectations?

"Wanna go to the Exposition Hall when we land? They sell gemstones there. I got an amethyst last year. I'm after topaz tonight. Of course, you can get gems anywhere, but I like to get them here, too. I keep them in a special 'Fair Gems' collection."

Gemstones?

Okay, so not all expectations.

_I don't care what Kay says. That's nerdy as hell. _

The jaguar nodded. "Okay. Sure."

"Great!"

Exposition Hall was packed.

The long, rectangular building was full of vendors hawking their products and services.

"Windows! You need windows? Hello, sir. Good evening, madam. Let me introduce you to our specials. No payments or interest for up to twenty months!"

"Soaps, soaps, soaps! Bath bombs! Pamper yourself! You deserve it! Buy two, get one free!"

"Grilled cheese? Scrambled eggs? Stir fry? Oh, ho! You haven't tasted them until you've made them with bona fide iron skillets! Heirloom quality!"

Brannon cheerfully shuffled through the crowd.

The jaguar followed.

A raccoon bumped into her.

She hissed, tail raising and fluffing.

A young mouse holding a balloon saw this and gaped at her with wide eyes.

"What," Tilly said.

The mouse-ling squeaked, then was quickly yanked away by their parent.

Tilly almost lost track of Brannon. She shoved her way through the crowd and caught up to him. He'd finally stopped. Not at the gemstones, but at a chocolatier. Tables lined with succulent sweets.

"What kind do you like?" he asked her.

"Kind of what?"

"Chocolate! There are four kinds."

"I thought there were three?"

"They added a fourth!"

"Who decided that? People in a room somewhere? Is this like when they said Pluto wasn't a planet?"

"Oh, hah, I got it. I know what you are," the beaver said, giving her a playful, flirty look. The one she had been waiting for all evening. And the jaguar would be lying if she said it didn't excite her a little. To see a guy look at her like that? Like he wanted her more than anything in the world?

"If Kay is 'milk chocolate' and Mandy is 'semi-sweet'," Brannon decided, "and Flora is 'ruby chocolate' ... that's the 'new' one. Ruby. It's pink and sorta fruity?" Turning to the cashier, Brannon said, "For the lady, I'll take a half-pound box of salted caramel. Dark chocolate." He flashed Tilly a confident, bucktoothed smile. "And, for me? Half-pound box of toffee squares. No nuts. Milk chocolate."

The beaver forked over thirty bucks for the confections.

I wouldn't pay that much for candy!

Better be good.

As they left the table, Tilly, carrying her box in a small bag, asked, "How ... how did you know?"

"Know what?" _ _

"That I prefer dark chocolate."

Brannon glanced her way, the crowd momentarily fading into the background. "It projects itself as bitter, too much to handle. As if it wants you to skip over it for a sweeter option. But when you bite into it? You find it has the most complex flavor of all. Almost overwhelmingly rich on its own. Pair it with something else, though? Mm. A little caramel, maybe?" He skipped a beat. "You unlock its fully ... satisfying," he drawled, "potential."

Tilly swallowed.

The look in his eyes.

They'd gotten to know each other, and now? It was time to make moves. While she'd been stalling, he'd eagerly gone first.

Ball's in your court.

How was she going to respond?

Tilly wasn't aware she was breathing faster until her attempt to form a reply got caught in her dry throat.

"I ... I, uh ... "

She felt pitiful for stammering. She would've slunk away in shame if she could.

The beaver, though, gently reached for her one of her paws.

After a hesitation, she gave it.

He squeezed it reassuringly. And smiled.

Don't smile back, don't smile back, don't--

Tilly smiled back at him.

"Come on! Let's go look at gemstones! Ooh, and after that we'll go to the midway and play some games. Heck! Do you like Skee-Ball?"

An hour later, they left the Fairgrounds. Separately. Only to both end up at the same location a few miles away: his hotel room.

Once alone, things progressed quickly.

They both knew why they were on this date to begin with.

Why delay the inevitable?

Clothes were shed.

Fur exposed.

Tilly had rarely felt so vulnerable about her nakedness before.

Sensing this, Brannon whispered, "You're beautiful."

"So ... so are you. Handsome, I mean," she stammered reluctantly. He really was.

The beaver's body was, in the nude, suddenly sturdy and strapping somehow. He looked every bit like someone who could fall and move a towering oak.

A huge pair of rodent balls hung freely between his legs, below an eye-catchingly large penis, seven-and-a-half inches long. Thick. Dribbling from the tip.

Fuck.

_Oozing steady confidence, his best wares on display in the best possible light, just like any good salesman, he said, "_I hope you've enjoyed yourself tonight?"

"Um, yes. It's been ... " She trailed off, distracted by his cock again. "Surprising."

"Let me make it even better for you," he promised, waddling toward her. Paddle-tail dragging on the carpet. "You deserve to be happy."

"Sometimes, I wonder ... "

"You deserve it," he repeated, closing the gap between them. Entirely. "My pleasure is yours," he breathed, hugging her, looking down into her golden eyes. "I love your friends. I want to love you, too."

"Why?"

"Why not? Every tree, every kind of wood, has a different texture, scent, taste. When I find myself in a forest," he said, stroking her cheek. "I want to sink my buckteeth into everything." There was an irreverent glint in his eye. "I see no reason to limit myself."

Where was this dominant aura coming from?

Had it been there all along?

I can't be submissive to prey.

I'm an apex predator!

He's ... I can't ... can I?

Her body made the decision for her.

They were soon kissing, making out, his paws all over her. Not randomly, but with clear purpose. He cupped her groin, fingers teasing and then pressing inside her pussy. No warning. Just slipping in. One finger, two. He moved them in and out, stirring her wetness. And then withdrew them to rub that wetness on her clit.

Tilly purred!

The sound emboldened Brannon, the beaver huffing with excitement, buckteeth finding her pelt. Her neck. "That's what I wanna hear ... " He kissed her cheek, whispering in her ear, "Come on. Purr for me, jungle kitty." He slapped his paddle-tail on the floor, like an encouraging drumbeat.

Oh, she shivered.

A hard, hot tingle raced through her as he played her like a violin. To purring perfection, yes. Purr, purr! His fingers, those teeth. His touch. His muscular body hulking, hotly, against hers. She was starting to lose control.

"Pretty kitty," he cooed, lifting her chin.

_She looked into his green, verdant eyes. Hers, golden enigmas that he was trying to decipher. _

They kissed again.

Passionately.

Lips parting, he lowered his head and nipped at her collarbone, one paw still between her thighs, the other moving to confidently cup one of her ample breasts. Squeezing it like ripe fruit as he nibbled on her.

"Ah!" Her head tilted back, fangs showing. Sharp things. But no match for his blunt, squared buckteeth.

Without warning, he hoisted off the floor! Biceps bulged as he casually carried her to the bed.

The gesture took her breath away.

Brannon laid her on the bed. Fully made, covers tucked in. Belly-down, facing away from him, her legs hung over the edge. He remained standing. Tilly's breasts pressed into the mattress as he parted her legs, holding them up on either side of his hips. Almost like she was a wheelbarrow.

She knew what was coming next.

Tilly didn't care if it meant she had to crawl back to her friends and admit she was wrong. Annoying as that was. Right now, the jaguar's whole body was a raw nerve of erotic desire.

She needed him.

Needed this.

He pushed his cock inside her, spreading her walls around his girth.

She mewed helplessly.

The destruction of her resistance, that creaking, wooden snap of surrender? His species knew it by heart.

"Mmf, good girl," he grunted, eyes half-open, releasing a leg to trace her spine with his fingers. "Before the weekend's over, I'm going to count all your rosettes. With my tongue."

"Ah!"

"You like that? You want it?"

"Mm! Mmhmm!"

"Roar for my cock, kitty."

It wasn't a suggestion.

Tilly broke down and obeyed, roaring. A pitiful noise at first. Then she cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and tried again. This time, a deeper, vibrating roar emerged, the kind she used to use to subdue prey like him. Now, it was being used against her!

And she liked it.

Brannon, satisfied, drew back his pride only to immediately slam forward, punctuating his thrusts with primal cries of his own. He hammered away at her tight pussy. No barbs, no knot. Just pure, raw length and girth, his giant furry sack battering her clit with every thrust from their doggystyle position.

Her reeling predator mind, once assured of superiority, could barely focus. He was a redwood tree. Towering. Undeniable. She clenched and squirmed around him, writhing in his shadow. Hissing. And roaring, yes. Again! Even unbidden. She was a good kitty, indeed.

But there was only so much she could take.

Tilly's sex rippled, starting to clench. Her clit buzzed, tingling in the best way possible, driving her wild, crazy. So close, so desperately close, and he must know it. He knew because he did this to her.

Making her roar on command, a zoo animal performing tricks?

Domesticated by his dick?

Lost in the gravity of her looming orgasm, she didn't notice his immense nuts tightening. Or his pace faltering. By the time she registered his shorter, jerkier thrusts, and heard his barks, it was too late. He'd hilted inside her, was already climaxing, his mighty dam bursting and flooding her womb, and, oh, her ... sweet ... God!

She knew rodents were copious. He wasn't her first. Few rats, couple of mice. Pushovers like that. But the beaver? Put them all to shame.

Another roar. The loudest yet! It shook the room. Body writhing, lost in sharp, blissful spasms, pleasure flung at lightspeed to her extremities. Her sex clenching, milking on his, as if he had anything more to give. She cried and yowled and hissed, claws unsheathing and digging, piercing into the sheets until ... until ...

Until!

"Oh ... oh."

She huffed for air, blinking. Face on a pillow.

It was over.

She could hear him panting behind her. Stroking her tail, he stayed inside her for a moment, more than seven inches deep.

They basked in the afterglow.

When he finally pulled out, he left quite a mess. And the bedsheets were strewn all over the bed.

Tilly, not caring, rolled onto her back.

He looked at her. "You okay?"

"I'm sorry," she breathed.

"For what?"

"I didn't ... I really didn't think I would have this much fun with you. You're amazing. I've been hurt before." A pause. "But I should've given you more credit."

"You've given me plenty," he assured with a gentle, unbothered wink, joining her on the bed. His grin was bright and boyish.

The jaguar put her arms around him and laughed.

"What was that?" Kay asked in a singsong tone. "We were right? And you were wrong? Huh! I wonder who predicted that?"

Tilly mumbled, glaring at the grey squirrel while sucking on a plastic fork. Removing the utensil, she said, "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to bother a cat when they're eating?" She had one of those 'microwave meals' on the table in front of her, by her keyboard.

Mandy, adjusting her microphone, piped in with, "Kay, if Tilly doesn't want to admit she had the best, most mind-blowing sex of her life ... that she only had because we, her friends, selflessly sacrificed our time with Brannon so she could join our top-secret rotation ... she doesn't have to!"

"You should be apologizing to me for not inviting me sooner."

"Fine, we'll call it even."

"Yeah, now that you're in the club, we can share stories!" the mare insisted.

"Who gets him next month?" Kay asked.

"Me," Mandy said.

"Ah, right!"

"Then you, Flora, and back to Tilly."

The jaguar sighed.

Four months?

Her memories would have to sustain her until then.

Friday night after the Fair. Saturday. And Sunday, too!

She still felt it.

Felt him.

Brannon was back to sales repping today and tomorrow, then would leave the state for another locale. Or maybe go back home to Cincy for a while? She wasn't sure.

Mandy whinnied. "Oh, my gosh, girl. The look on your face. You're glowing right now."

"Jaguars don't glow."

"He must've done a number on you."

"Mm." Tilly finished her food and tossed the container into the trash. She leaned back in her chair, folding her paws behind her head. "He counted my rosettes. In the shower. All of them," she bragged. "Do you know how long beavers can hold their breaths?"

"How many rosettes were there?"

"Counted? With __what? Ooh, his lips?! His--"

"One minute 'til air!" Rico announced over the intercom. The chipmunk had heard everything but was pretending he hadn't.

"Later," Tilly promised her friends, getting into show mode.

Or trying to.

Beaver fever was impossible to shake!