FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Well here's the second installment in the TMI series. There are a whole bunch of parts that I think came out bad. I think I improved upon my description problem (just a smidge) but still constructive criticism is always welcome. I hope you at least semi-enjoy it, your friend Veni

This is not a new story Changed the title here, too

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A mortally wounded panther lay on the ground. He lay next to his friend, dieing from similar injuries. The panther, crying, hugs his friend as he dies. Time passes. A wolf passes by and enters the clearing. He sends truculent statements his way. The panther begins to sob. The sobbing becomes like knives painfully separating the soul from the body. The wolf begins to cry also. A black hand stretches from the darkness around them. It grabs the wolf by the neck and squeezes...

Filius woke with a start. He had slept through the whole afternoon and night, and had woken up, still sitting in the chair. He stood up, swaying a bit as his insides screamed for him to sit back down. He walked to the toilet. After doing his business, he went over to the kitchen and grabbed a small piece of meat. He grimaced at the pungent, salty flavor. He swallowed it anyway.

He walked to his bedroom, slowly, opening the door. He didn't want to wake the panther. He sighed in relief, seeing that the panther was still asleep. But there was something wrong with this picture. There was stuff there that hadn't been there the day before. There was a duffle bag, the zipper unzipped, revealing the contents. Filius walked over to the bag and looked through it. There was a small device that he had seen only in advertisements that were in the market. It was an "mp3 player". There were some clothes, unlike his they had not lost their color nor did they look like hand-me-downs. He found a book. The title read "Beowulf". He opened it to read, and found himself getting a headache; he couldn't understand the symbols on the pages. It was definitely not modern English.

Then he found something strange. It was a picture of a panther, black fur well groomed. The panther was smiling a big, toothy smile, looking genuinely happy. It was Parumunus, Magnus's friend. It summoned inside him a feeling of grief. Were they really well enough friends to have picture of each other? And where'd this stuff come from anyway?

"Wow! You're a nosey little mutt, aren't you?" the panther said looking over the wolf from the bed. Filius dropped the frame back into the bag. He had not noticed that the panther had woken up. Luckily, the panther had not seen what he was looking at. "It's my stuff. I woke up in the middle of the night, and I went to get my stuff from the camp site."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean t-to... uh..." He was at a loss for words. Being caught by the panther had shocked every word he new out of his brain. He chuckled nervously.

"Relax! It's alright." The panther beamed at him. Then he yawned, his muzzle stretching, as he emitted the familiar sound. "You got anything to eat? Never mind. I've got something in here somewhere." He grabbed the duffle bag and put his paw inside. He pulled out a large container filled with what looked like a chicken. He took a piece and munched on it. "You wanna piece?" he asked thickly, through a mouth full of chicken.

"Umm... Sure." He was passed a piece. He bit into it. His palate rushed with different flavors of spices and herbs. This food was actually cooked, not just salted and disinfected. It was a new experience and his facial expression showed it.

"What? Haven't you ever tasted food before?"

"Well, yeah... but... It's not usually cooked or seasoned, except for salt. I've never tasted anything so delicious!"

"Umm... this isn't even the start! They've got much better stuff back home. This is just something I threw together." He giggled and looked at Filius. "Wow. You guys really have it bad here." He gazed toward the door.

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Several nights during the past month Filius could hear the low sobbing of a panther in deep grief. Many times, he was to the point of almost joining in. The pain was so real, it was like fog. It would stretch out over the shack and its cold, unfeeling hand would grip Filius by the throat, squeezing tears from his eyes. He had never felt so helpless in his life.

Moreover, no one person had ever made Filius feel this way. He was, like most of the colonists, usually very apathetic and detached from everyone, including his parents. That unexplainable feeling was coming back, gnawing again, saturating his mind.

He continued injecting the fluid and spraying the wounds, and indeed the wounds did heal fast. The panther had become nearly the picture of health, had it not been for the lack of proper nutrition. His black fur had almost fully grown back of the healed flesh. But there seemed to be another injury. It was much more painful than the other wounds; it was not, unlike the others, only skin deep. Nor could it be seen except through those emerald windows to his soul. This was the true wound that no medicine or potion could ever heal.

Now he was on his way to the malumeverto's house to pick up the rations his mom had asked him to pick for the village. Magnus had insisted that he help.

"It's the least I could do! I mean, you've kept me here for a whole month. Please, let me help," he had pleaded with Filius' mom.

"Well, are you sure it won't cause you any trouble walking there?" she responded.

"Especially with those bastard soldiers patrolling every fucking inch of land..." his dad interjected. When he said this, the panther shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"Dad!" Filius yelled in response to his language. It always made him feel awkward when his parents cursed. Even though he wasn't very close to them, they were still his parents, and being raised by them, he wasn't used to them using profane language.

"Sorry son..."

"Well, if you really want to go, go," his mom said. And so they went walking, talking as usual. They had become good friends. But, Filius' mind still wondered back to the night he had met Magnus, to Parumunus and to the photograph. The walked for about half an hour, and after passing the hospital, they walked into the town square. On the far end of the square was the gubernatorial house. There were no people there, because it was maybe an hour passed dawn. He went inside, but Magnus stayed outside.

"C'mon!" Filius cried out to him.

"Um... no it's ok. I'll help you take the stuff back..." The panther seemed lost in thought. Filius wondered what was wrong with him. But he pushed aside these thoughts. He walked inside, as a gust of air conditioning blasted his body, and he shivered, not being used to the sudden change in temperature. He walked to the usual place, where there was a door and some benches. He had been wrong. There was a line, short one, but still a line. He sat down and thought. Why did being with the panther make him feel so weird? A month and still no answers! Growled silently to himself. He turned his thoughts away from the panther, examining the hall he was in. So this is where all our money goes to? The walls were covered with detailed symbols and images; spirals, and dots and tiny pictures hat could only be seen by walking up to the wall. There was a marble floor, a red and beige color. There was a gold plated molding that ran the entire length of he hall. Ornate designed had been imprinted on this too. It made him sick with anger as the blue fur on his back bristled.

But then a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Hey! How's it going?" It was a bull, his fur a faded brown. He looked extremely ill and decrepit. The wolf gave him a baffled look. "Here for your villages rations, too?"

"Yeah," he responded. The old bull chuckled and looked at Filius. Cold, unfeeling, gray eyes looked at him, almost lifeless. His eyes were in total contrast to his voice, which was hearty and friendly. It was the same with all of the furs who lived in the colonies for so long, even his parents. He shuddered as he thought that that would happen to him some day.

"Well, we sure aren't going to get a lot, are we?" he chuckled again, and cleared his throat. "Look, son, you're still a pup. You gotta get outta this crap hole before you turn out like me!" At this point the bull grabbed Filius' shoulder and leaned in, so that their muzzles were almost touching. Filius had leaned backwards and fell of the bench. Shocked, he stood up as the bull was called into the office. Filius started to laugh. What a retard! Who does that? But despite his denial, he could not help but see the meaning of the bull's words. The bull looked haggard in every way and he definitely did not want to become that. This was a dormant fear that had not surfaced because of ignorance. He had sensed the living death that resided within the eyes of the adults in his village. The sheer lack of love for life, had never really been registered in his mind, but had been noticed and kept in the back of his mind.

His reverie was interrupted by a hoarse voice, deep and thundering. "Next!" He stood and plodded across the threshold of the office, deep in thought again. He observed the familiar room. It was decorated just as badly as the outside. It had a desk on the right-hand side. Behind it the stairs to the storage room lay. On the left-hand side was a golden statue of the malumeverto of this territory. He was a mouse. The statue was not big enough to see him in detail, except that he was a fat man. He had not bothered to learn his name. Across the room, on the wall opposite to the door he had come in through was another door that led outside. His thought process was interrupted by a surge of what seemed like intense vibrations. The energy flowed from his back to his knees, crushing their strength and sending him to the ground. His head thudded against the ground. Electricity still coursing through his body, he stood up slowly, an ugly headache starting its malevolent sting. He looked up and saw a tiger, muscles looking like they would tear through skin and fur and crush bones beneath their mass. He held a small device in his paw, buzzing like an angry bee. He had been tasered.

"Here's your food, filth!" the tiger said and laughed. He threw the bag filled with food at Filius. He caught it and left through the door opposite the one he had come in. He was now on the right side of the building. He walked around to the front and saw Magnus; sitting on the stairs that led to the door, face in paws, crying. Not again... He walked up to him and sat next to him.

"What's wrong? Why are you always crying? I mean... I wake up in the middle of the night, and you're crying. I know he was your friend, but... You can't just..." he was at a loss for words. He couldn't just tell the panther to suck it up. It would hurt his feelings.

"Look..." the panther said, stifling his sobs. "I really... I really don't know how to tell you this. And I've never told anyone but Parumunus, and you'll see why." The panther seemed to be struggling with himself. He was battling internally. One side saying "shut your mouth"; the other "tell him".

"W-What...?" Filius said, trying to pull the words out, even though he did not know what they were.

"I-I'm not... what you would call... 'normal'," he said almost choking on the last word.

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind. Let's just go." And so they walked back home. Filius dumped the bag of food on the table. He went back to the bathroom. As he walked by the room Magnus was staying, he saw him without his shirt on. He stopped in his tracks as he saw the perfectly chiseled abs and chest. He stood there, looking, the panther blissfully unaware of the wolf checking him out. Then Filius came back to his senses. He sighed in disappointment. Ever since Magnus had gotten here, he had become more aware of his sexual orientation. He had always known, it had just never registered. He assumed that was why he saved the panther. He found him attractive; that, mixed with the compassion he felt when he saw the pathetic panther laying there, had made him heart melt. He entered the bathroom.

As he finished up, his thoughts turned to what Magnus had told him earlier. He went to the central room and sat down on one of the chairs, sighing. He breathed in the musty air of the shack, the boring brown walls almost making his eyelids heavy.

Magnus walked out of the room and into the center room, fully dressed. He sat down in the chair next to Filius and looked at him, emerald eyes beaming. "Hey. About earlier... What I wanted to say was... and I think I can confide in you... that me and Parumunus... were... uh..." He was searching for the right words. "He and I weren't really friends. We were... lovers..." Filius gaped at him. What did he say?

"That means..."

"Yeah... I'm gay." A smile formed itself on Filius' muzzle. "And you're gay, too, right? 'Cause I could have sworn you were checking me out back there."

"Um... well... yeah..." That had been easier than he had thought. Sexual orientation and relationships were not very big issues in the colonies. A couple had sex to produce offspring and that was the limit of their relationships. Having no reinforcement whatsoever, it was much easier for him to accept it.

"You're just gonna come out to me like that?"

"Well yeah. I mean..." But he was cut off as Magnus leaned toward him, and kissed Filius. Filius in complete shock backed off.

"Don't resist..." This time Filius cut him off. They kissed passionately; panther out of need, wolf out of lust. Their lips pressed as tongues tasted. It was truly a magical moment for Filius. His emotions exploded as he embraced the panther and vice versa. He passed his paws over the panther's back, feeling the creases and contours. But this moment that seemed to last forever, ended abruptly as they heard a gunshot. His father burst through the door.

"Lying, dirty, Matrian!" he yelled.

"Dad?! What are you doing?"

"Son! Get over here!"

"No! I demand a reason!"

"This... Scum... Is a Matrian. He's been lying to you this whole time!"

"Just back off! He's a nice guy, ok?"

"Son, come here or I will have to hurt you. He's a Matrian, why do you care about him?"

"Dad... I've known all along, ok? Just... haven't you seen how he's acted this whole time? I hate Matrians as much as you but Magnus is... different and," but he was cut off as the butt of the rifle his dad held impacted on his temple. He fell to the ground, at the threshold of unconsciousness, and all he heard was the panther growl, and then black. Blackness and peace...

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Filius awoke and noticed the sun had gone down. As he tried to stand up, gravity let go of his head and pulled it back down again. The impact blasted the strength from his legs and he fell. He got up once again, slowly, to prevent lightheadedness from striking again. He tried to pool his thoughts; tried to remember what had happened.

As he suddenly remembered the day's events, he yelled out "Magnus?!" he waited for a reply. "Magnus you still here?" His heart sunk. He ran outside and saw the familiar wooden box. Hid village had prosecuted more than one Matrian before. It was about 10 feet in all dimensions. It had a single wooden door with a key hole and three iron bars covering it. He ran over to it and removed the three bars from their holders. "Magnus! Are

you in there?"

"Filius...: replied the panther. "Is that you? Please get me out of here. Please..."

"Wait a second." The whole village had obviously gone to the Rebel base not far from here to get some sort of system of execution. He couldn't pick the lock. His only option was to break the door down. He took a few steps back and kicked the door hard in the center, with the edge of his foot. The impact did little to the door and sent waves of pain flowing through his foot and kneecap. He tried again kicking under the lock and making sure to hit with his heel. The door snapped a bit and flung open, part of it

dangling wildly. Magnus was standing up and stepped out of the box pulling Filius forward into another kiss, albeit a short one.

"Look, we've got to get you out of here. I-I'm sorry.... You've got to leave. You've got to go back to Matria."

"But..."

"No! Let's go... the villagers will be back any time. Go to the old camp site. I'll grab your things and meet you there. And so Magnus ran off, with a little less spring in his step. He had lost Parumunus, and he thought he could have moved on, but now he was to lose Filius and move back with his parents?! Even though He and Filius had just expressed their feelings for each other just a few hours earlier, he felt deeply attracted to him, and would miss him dearly. Unless...

Filius rushed to the shack and went to his room, glad to see the duffle bag was still in the room. He grabbed it and stuffed the contents that had been on the floor back inside. He picked the bag up and left for the camp, sprinting. He had finally come to terms with himself about his sexual orientation, found someone who liked him, and now this was being ripped apart by pure prejudice and spite. And to think he would have been the same as the rest a month ago. But Magnus had changed all that...

And so they met in the camp, for what seemed like the last time. Filius handed over the bag. The hugged each other, happy in their embrace, but the looming darkness of loneliness sucking, feeding on this happiness.

And so Magnus left en route to the train station. And Filius walked slowly back home. He slipped into the shack as the villagers returned and saw the wooden box broken into and empty. He laid himself in the bed and tried to summon the forces of sleep unto himself, but he found no success. He only found Magnus. And like this he stayed, feigning sleep when his parents entered his room. After several hours in bed, the intoxicating veil of sleep began to surround him. His eyelids began to grow fat and heavy, and he allowed them to snap closed as he drifted away.

A startled panther recoiled as Filius snapped awake. He frantically tried to remember what his dream had been about, when he realized that Magnus had woken him up.

"Oh my god! What are you doing here?" he said in the most scolding-like whisper he could manage. "You'll get killed."

"I know. But not if..."

"If, what?!"

"If you come with me..." the panther blushed.

"I-If I..."

"Come with me to Matria." Filius' muzzle formed a smile and the panther's soon followed.