FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Just as Willa loses hope of escaping the night-time forest, the sheep spies a faint light ahead. Was someone searching for her, or did she find a caretaker of this forest? One of her strange and exotic neighbors, maybe?

She takes a deep breath, clasping tightly to her overalls, her whole body shaking. The scared sheepie makes her way closer to the light but doesn't quite wish to call out. Her instincts tell her to be alert, flick her ears, try to calm her breath, and step ever-quietly through the trail. Even so, her heart beats heavily through her plaid blouse, and her backpack clatters with all the doodads and attachments she has prepared for her journey as she takes agonizing steps closer to the light.

The closer she gets to the aura, the more details become clear. The illumination comes from a hand-held lantern, held by someone half her height and wearing a cloak. The individual walks, but not towards Willa, without a sound.

The sheep perks up, her eyes wide, flickering between the lantern and the hood, but keeping herself looking tall, maybe more intimidating? What was it her brother Ricky said about meeting strangers on the road? "Uhh... h-hi?" she bleats, biting her lip. "Dangit, that was the opposite of what Ricky said to do, wasn't it?"

The hooded stranger turns to look up at Willa with a vulpine but surprisingly youthful face framing wise aquamarine eyes.

"You're a polite one," the fox replies with a soothing voice and kind smile, "though you seem lost. Might I ask your name, young lady?"

The sheep rubs her hands over her straps, looking away from those eyes. So kind looking, what did old fairy tales say about kindly pretty things in the woods? Not good things, that's for sure. But this is the adult world, right? She's an adult!

She stomps, holding her head up high, staring at the light rather than the fennec before her, and she bleats out. "Willa!"

"Willa", the tiny fox echoes as if testing the sound of the name. "So, why are you here this late at night, Willa? Perhaps I can help you?" She sounds lovely and doesn't make a move for the sheep. Moreover, she is shorter than Willa and hasn't asked her to do anything dangerous. Perhaps this adult wasn't the vicious stranger the lamb had been warned against?

"G-golly, I-I'm on an adventure!" She blurts this out. "I'm 20 now, and I want to see what the adult world is like without my ma or my pa or my brother or sister getting in my way!" Placing a hand on her chest, she takes a deep breath and continues. "So, if you think you can help with that, I'd love to hear it!"

"I suppose I can help you on your journey," the fox coyly teases as she hangs the lantern on a nearby branch, "but an adventure like this requires a few things, like ample resources and a knowledgeable guide. Let me see everything you brought with you, and I might be able to offer what you're missing."

Willa doesn't question her when she pulls off her backpack, which then promptly crashes to the ground with a "flop" that makes the fox stumble.

The fox shakes her head, clicking her tongue. "No, no!" she chides, even kneeling down to provide an example. "Lay each item out between us-on the bedroll, if you're worried about it getting dirty-so we can take inventory together. After all, I can't see the items, and you can't seem to remember everything."

Willa frowns but walks before her pack, going between her and the shorter lady. She squats down and grabs onto a buckle. "I really, nngh, put this in really tight. It was hard to... too-!"

With a snap, assorted things spring free from their tense prison, cannoning into the sheep and sending her backward into a stunned sprawl!

"Are you alright?" the fox asks, scurrying over to offer a hand to help Willa back up, and, to her credit, not sounding like she's stifling a giggle. Her eyes scan over the lamb, quickly over every part of the sheepie's body, a frown twitching on her muzzle.

Willa pushes herself back up rather quickly and shakes the stars out of her head. "Oh, golly, that's just all over the place. It took me hours to get this all in here! Hm... and it's really dark too." She sniffles but resigns herself to picking up little bits of travel gear off the ground.

"You should rest at my place, Willa," the fox suggests as she helps gather the scattered items. "It's not far. We can reorganize your things there. Oh! But there's a condition to such hospitality."

Holding so many things up against her chest helps to squish the impressive bosom more than her suspenders already do, but kneeling down, Willa is face-to-face with the fox, her eyes wide and her nose twitching. "W... what condition?"

"You'll have to follow my instructions, Willa," the fox explains, giving the sheep's nose a soft boop with a finger of her free paw. "It's a big house, so I wouldn't want you to get lost inside; that would reflect terribly on me as a host."

Willa blushes. "I'm not s-supposed..." she begins, then nods quickly. "O... okay! I'll go! I'll listen! I'll be the best-danged guest you ever did have!"

With Willa's belongings reclaimed and the lantern back in the fox's paw, the lamb would follow her host through the woods. Despite the leaves and twigs, the hooded Samaritan does not make a sound, leaving Willa's hoof steps as evidence of their journey.

Within a few minutes, the two reach the edge of the woods and what seems to be a door in a wall; it is too dark to make out much detail, so Willa follows the fox inside, the clicking of her hooves upon linoleum tells her they must be in a kitchen.

Then, the fox turns on a light.