FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Terry's eyes were wide as could be as he looked out towards a small village of buildings no higher than two to three stories and made out of stone with thatching roofs. But nothing prepared him for what he was about to see. Both Arsen and Terry walked towards the town as they heard children playing in a small grove behind a house before a ball rolled up next to Terry's hindpaw. Terry picked it up and looked at it before a child came up to him with arms outstretched but... the child was nothing that Terry had seen before. It was a human child with no fur but a little hair on top of its head, smooth skin and no paws. "Amazing... absolutely amazing." Terry said as he reached out to give the child the ball back before he said "Thank you sir!" And ran off. Terry looked over to Arsen, astonished. "The child didn't seem phased by us. And we're obviously quite different."

Arsen pointed back to the Tardis and grinned softly. "The Tardis has this wonderful technology inside of it, it's called a Perception Filter. It makes other people believe that things are normal and generally ignore the fact that we're much different from them until you draw attention to yourself." Terry looked somewhat surprised at that but accepted that as fact before the two walked into the streets of the town. Terry couldn't help but to touch everything that was arm distance away from him. The stone walls, the wooden fences, feeling the earth underneath his hindpaws was absolutely thrilling before he perked up again and asked... "Wait... The child spoke our language... how is that possible?" Arsen chuckles as he says. "The Tardis has a way of getting inside your mind and translating for you. So you hear your language, they hear theirs. It's rather ingenious don't you think?" Terry furrowed his brows before he shook his head. "That is a marvelous piece of technology you have my friend." He said before they rounded a corner and someone walked directly into Terry, nearly knocking him down. "Ooof!!" He said before the large armor clad man grunted and offered an arm to help Terry up.

Terry accepted the cold metallic grip of man before the guy looked long and hard into Terry's eyes. "You..." He was obviously trying to look deeper but the perception filter was making it hard for him. "You're not from around these parts are you?" He said before Terry got to his hindpaws and shook his head. "No... we're from-" Arsen quickly interrupted... "We're from Nordsgrad up in the snow covered forest." The armoured man laughed as he looked at Terry's paw before running his finger along the top of it. "I should have guessed with all this fur you're wearing. Welcome to Tully's Glenn. You should try the inn, they tout the best food around these parts but... if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way. I have to see the King about a foul beast that's been plaguing the village south of here, near the Valley of the Gods." Terry's eyes opened wide as he looked to Arsen while the man left in a hurry. "Beast? Kings?! Valley of the Gods!? This is too awesome!" He churred out as his tail swung side to side. Arsen couldn't help but to move the fox along into the inn that the man suggested before they sat down at a table. A large heavy set woman walked over before stepping on Terry's tail by accident.

Terry yelped before he drew his tail up into his lap. "Sorry my dear... Did I step on your foot or something?" She asked as she looked around the floor to see what in the world she could have stepped on but Terry dismissed it and looked up at her. To Terry, it was just amazing to see these flat faced, furless humans walking around and the fact they were on another planet nearly blew his mind before the Timelord spoke up, "We'll have a round of drinks and something to eat." The lady nodded a bit. "And I trust you have money to pay for this?" Terry searched himself for pockets but realized he had none before he watched Arsen pull open his cloak and fetched some gold coins. "I think these will be sufficient?" The inn keep smiled brightly. "Of course my lord... This is more than enough." She scooped the coins off the table before walking back behind the bar, gathering the drinks first and serving the two before heading back to the kitchen to get them food.

"Can you believe this? I mean... they look nothing like us. I would have expected maybe... to see like a colony of us on a different planet but... these creatures are just beyond imaginable." He laughed as he took a swig of his drink... It was definitely a hearty drink, thick but slightly sweet. "Whoa... This is tasty... What is it?" Arsen looked at it before he took a sniff, "Smells like a variety of mead... a honey based drink." Terry furrowed his brows in thought. "Honey? What's that?" The inn keep came around and laughed as she heard the question. "It a gold liquid that comes from bee hives... it's expensive around here but well worth it for the taste." She said before she set out a loaf of bread for the two with fresh butter they made earlier in the day. "I haven't really heard of anyone who didn't know what honey was." She said as she sat down at the table and looked from Arsen to Terry... "I know I haven't seen you two around before... There's something about your faces that puzzle me." She said before Terry sat up a bit, a little worried. "I mean I see a lot of people come and go but not anyone..." She reached out to touch the side of Terry's face before she blinked as her hand brushed again fur... "Are you two mages? I mean..." She lowered her voice as she looked into Terry's brown eyes. "I have seen people wear these animal masks... but these are detailed." Terry didn't know what to say and looked at Arsen for help before Arsen's paw gently rested on the lady's shoulder.

"Yes... you've got a keen eye." He said as she looked into Arsen's eyes and saw the soft glow of blue pulsing. "Ahhhhhhh... I thought I'd never see one in my day." She smiled before reaching out to touch Arsen's face. "These masks are just too real... it's almost like you two were animals." She laughed before shrugging. "Don't mind me... I just really love animals." She said before holding up a finger. "Ah! I should check on your food." Terry looked absolutely scared. "She... She can see us! What... about the filter!" Arsen waved his paw dismissively, "She thinks we're mages and I think you missed out on the bit that there are -MAGES- here! How exciting is that?!" Terry sank back into his chair in thought... "Well, yeah... That does sound... wait a minute! You mean to tell me things like magic and sorcery exists?!" He shook his head in thought... "What am I talking about... if Timelords exist, it's possible that other things exist too."

"Sorry about the wait you two." The inn keep said as she placed a large platter of food between Terry and Arsen. It had an assortment of cured meats, fresh cheeses, and sausages they made the night before as well as another larger loaf of bread. Terry's mouth watered as he looked at the selection before he quickly leaned forward, grabbing some bread, cheese and meat before stacking it all together. "I heard of this... it's called a sandwich." The inn keep laughed as she grabbed another piece of bread and placed it on top of Terry's stack. "Now it's a sandwich... Enjoy you two, if you need anything, just give a yell." She said as he headed back behind the counter to clean a few dishes. "Right..." Terry said as he looked at his sandwich. "I... I knew that." He said with a smirk before he bit into it and let out a soft groan... With a few chews and a swallow... "So this is what fresh food tastes like!"

Arsen couldn't help but laugh as he tried things by themselves first before trying different combinations. "You didn't have fresh food back in your time?" Arsen asked before Terry shook his head. "No... everything was processed for the right amount of calories you should ingest in a day which was suppose to prevent you from getting fat... but people like Ralph had ways of tricking the system in getting him more food... so it's really his fault he was pudgy." Terry snickered a bit before he continued to eat, sometimes speaking with his mouth full. "I mean... Ralph wouldn't dare leave a place like this if he could get food readily." Arsen snickered a bit at hearing about poor Ralph and the lack of food... "Maybe one day I'll show up with a cake for him... would be fair since I took his friend away from him." Terry smiled softly. "I think he would appreciate it. He might just eat it all in one sitting though and complain about how he can't move."

Terry and Arsen spent the next few moments enjoying their meal before neither of them could get down another bite before the inn keep made her way over and cleared the plates and platters. "You two save room for dessert?" Terry slowly shook his head as he patted his stomach before Arsen smiled and said softly. "No... and thank you for the lovely meal..." The inn keep gave a small bow of the head before she said "Thank you for stopping in... I hope you two have a safe journey then." Terry said with a smile "Thank you." Before the two stood up and slowly made their way out of the inn. "That was amazing, the different tastes, textures... some creamy, some rich, earthy... just simply amazing." He said as he walked backwards to talk to Arsen. "So where are we headed now?" He said as he spun around and saw the long road leading out of the town towards the forest. "I think there should be a castle just beyond these woods if you're interested." Arsen said with a bit of a grin before Terry looked back... "Oh! A real castle!? Like where kings and queens live?" The Tiger laughed and fuzzled Terry. "Of course! The one and the same."

Terry walked a little bit ahead of Arsen, obviously very excited at the prospect of seeing a Castle but also so he could stop and look at things once in a while. The trees there were much different than the ones he had at his old home, trees of different shapes and sizes, especially those with needles as leaves. He even managed to find himself a pine cone which blew his mind was about as large as a small ball and filled with little seeds that would dislodge and fall down and spiral slowly to the ground. It wasn't until they both heard the clanging of metal together that they stopped in their tracks and looked around to see where it was coming from. "But it's all I have left and I have to pay my taxes!" They heard shouted before Terry hid behind a tree while Arsen walked slowly towards the scene in front of them. Terry tried to grab Arsen's cloak to pull him back but it was too late, the large Tiger was spotted.

A small group of leather armoured men surrounded a single older gentleman who was holding up a sword to protect his horse and the small box it carried. "Well since you won't give it to us, we'll just have to take it from you..." Just as the man lifted his sword up, Arsen activated his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the sword which caused the metal to vibrate at a painfully high speed to the point the man was no longer able to hold on to it. It fell at their feet with a large clang before two more charged the cloaked figure. Arsen had the Tardis drop the perception filter as he pulled back his hood and snarled while flashing his sonic screwdriver from sword to sword, causing them all to fall. "What the devil is he?!" One man shouted before Terry yelled out... "He's the Grimm Reaper! Run while you still can!" Everyone but the old man ran off hysterically before Arsen drew up his cloak and approached the remaining man. The older gentleman dropped his sword in fright before he swallowed a lump in his throat. "So... Was today the day I was supposed to die?" He asked after spending a moment to gather his wits about him.

Arsen cupped the man's chin before he lifted it up. "No... We were just traveling to the castle and stumbled upon someone who could have used a little help." He said with a soft smile before Terry came out and picked up one of the swords... swinging it around to hear the sound of it cutting the air. "These things are heavy!" The man looked over at the fox before he blinked... "It... it can talk?!" Terry narrowed his eyes before he looked at the man. "I could say the same thing about you, ya know and the name is Terry... don't call me an 'it'" he said defensively. "Sorry! I didn't mean to be rude to the two who may have very well saved my life. It's just... animals don't talk... and walk around in human clothing.... and..." Arsen pressed his finger to the man's lips before he said softly. "It's ok. You have nothing to be scared of right now." The man slumped back against his horse for a moment before he pulled out a small cloak, big enough to fit Terry before he offered it to the fox. "Well... it's the least I can do since your friend doesn't seem to have anything to cover his face... Lord knows how you two managed to make it out this far without the village following you two around."

Terry was about to chime up about how they made it this far but felt it would have been lost on someone that hasn't seen the Tardis. He accepted the cloak and put it on before he drew the hood over his head. "Thank you..." He said, still a little sore from being called an 'it'. The man checked the straps on his horse before he grabbed the reigns. "Well I was heading up to the castle myself. And... I would enjoy the company..." Arsen nodded softly before the three and the horse started walking up the forest path. "So... The actual Reaper himself eh? I never would imagined he would have the face of a beast and be able to speak our tongue." Arsen didn't bother to correct the man... The more he heard "Reaper" the more it started to sink in while the Tardis started to fill him in on the lore of just about every culture and those called Reapers. "Well..." Arsen started before Terry spoke up. "I was dying where I lived. Each day I felt as if a little more of me died inside. I wasn't where I was suppose to be and this Reaper came to rescue me..." The man looked at the two... "So you don't actually kill people... you help the move on with a new life?" Arsen gave Terry a funny look before he gave a shrug and went on with it. "Yeah... I give them new lives and return them home."

The man smiled softly. "Never heard of that in the stories we were told as kids but... I like the sound of that... if I was in a land far away from home and I was dying... I would love for The Reaper to come take me back home so I could be with my family for the rest of my days." Arsen smiled at the man's thought before he let out a soft chuff... "So what's your name? I think we missed out on the whole meet and greet because of the band of thieves back there." The man smiled... "Then I really do know it's not my time if you do not know my name... I'm known to my friends as Terrance, the blacksmith." Terry perked up and smiled under his hood. "A blacksmith! That's wonderful! A man who works with his hands." Terrance chuckled a bit. "Yes yes... I have a young apprentice who's father was killed in duty to the King... I guess he just needed a male figure in his life." Terry looked down at his hindpaws for a moment in thought. "I didn't get to know my father or mother. Any memory I had of them was lost long ago." He said before Terrance wrapped an arm around the fox's shoulders and gave him a tight hug to his side. "I'm sure The Reaper here can fix that..." Arsen nodded softly as they walked on discussing life as a blacksmith and various things before they came up to the gates of the Castle.

"Well, it was a pleasure you two." He said as he bow before they exchanged handshakes. "Was a pleasure traveling with you!" Terry said as Arsen waved before they headed on into the castle's inner town. "We're so close to the main castle... this is just too cool." Terry said as he looked back at the Tiger... "Do you think we would be able to get inside?" He said with a hopeful tone before another cloaked figure joined the two. "Ah! Excellent! You two made it ahead of schedule... I was expecting you two days from now... At least that's what the courier's letter said..." Terry shook his head "I think you have us-" Arsen stepped in front of Terry and said. "-at a disadvantage." He finished Terry's sentence before he looked at the cloaked figure. "Oh? They didn't tell you that the Order of the Mage was to see the King about the beast that was causing us such a headache..." Arsen laughed he looked at Terry before Terry played along. "The King! Well what are we waiting for!"

The cloaked figure pulled his hood back and smiled. "That's why I am happy to see you both here Brothers! Shall we make our way up to the Grand Hall?" Arsen bowed his head, "Please! Lead the way then... Brother." And with that, the three walked by the Castle Guards and headed up the long stone stairs that lead into the Central Hall. Once they made it up to the inner Guards, the cloaked figure handed a small scroll with the royal seal on it as an official summons from the King himself. With a nod from the guards, they walked into the Grand Hall where they waited for the King to arrive. "Ahhh, leave it to the Mages to find a way of bending time to their favor!" A booming voice said as the Royal Guard came into the Hall, followed by the King. "The sooner we've dealt with this menace, the better... The towns that have been affected have lost many lives." Terry looked over to Arsen and mouthed 'What have we got ourselves into?' before he saw a broad smile across the Timelord's muzzle... and he knew that things were going to get a little more interesting for the Travelers.