FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"He hasn't said a word. Just sits there, on the floor. Curled up in the corner," the deputy said, with a headshake.

"Was he given medical attention?" Aria asked, leaning back in her cushion-chair. Cottony bobtail sticking through the rounded 'tail-gap' built into the chair's lower backrest.

"Not exactly ... "

"Any particular reason?" she pressed.

The male snow rabbit stiffened his posture. "He panicked when we tried to bring him into the infirmary. I know mouses have issues with 'worry,' but he can't seem to control his anxiety at all. Not like us." Referring to snow rabbits, of course. He puffed up a bit. Behind him, through the clear sliding doors, furs hopped and scampered about the Promenade. Ever since it'd been announced that the wasps had signed a non-aggression pact with the Federation, everyone had been on edge. It was only a matter of days before war broke out.

"I see." Glancing down at a computer pad, Aria scanned a few more details about the case. "And we still haven't found those that beat him? We have their visuals?"

"Partly. Their faces were never clear. And, uh, they may have left the station already."

Looking up, she raised a brow.

Her deputy gave a sheepish squirm. "We've been busy preparing for possible wasp incursions. As a result, more 'domestic' issues have been somewhat neglected. We didn't even find out about the squabble until it was already over. The computer knew before we did."

She nodded, softening her stance. "I've been preoccupied, myself. With these rogue bats ... " They were beginning to flock to Orbital 9, as well as the other stations above and around the snow rabbit Home-world, preparing for assignment to various ships. They would serve as telepathic disruptions during potential wasp encounters. Specifically, working to cut off the connection between the Queen and her drones. In the meantime, being that they were, indeed, rogues, this meant she had to keep an extra-close eye on them, allies or not. Mischief was all fun and games until it got out of paw. She put her pad down. "You've done well in my absence, lieutenant. You may have the rest of the day off."

"But it's only thirteen-hundred ... "

" ... if you really want, I can find some busy-work for you."

"On second thought ... thank you, ma'am." The other snow rabbit eye-smiled.

She returned it. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Of course." He turned, padding for the door. It swished open. And he paused for a moment, looking over his shoulder. "And the mouse?"

"Leave him to me."

"Do you have a name?"

Looking up, the grey-furred rodent bit his lip, whiskers quivering rapidly. His eyes were half-open. He'd been sleeping. Or trying to, anyway. Too many nightmares. He was, for the time being, in a holding cell in one of the rooms behind the constable's office. Out of sight from everyone else on the station.

"I assume, if you don't speak my native tongue, you've been implanted with the standard translator chip ... " All furs were, in this day and age. Weren't they? But, still, no response. "You're not mute, are you?" The snow rabbit squinted, one ear swerving aside. It soon stood back to attention, though.

The mouse tried to sit up, but ended up wincing and staying put. He began to rub at his cheeks. The last rabbit that'd talked to him had tried to bring him into a medical facility. He'd been afraid they were going to do more experiments. Or, worse, find out his secrets. The fear had escalated into a panic attack. To make matters worse, he couldn't understand anything they were saying. They certainly weren't speaking English.

"When's the last time you ate? You must be hungry." Clearly, he didn't have a translator chip, after all. And he needed medical attention. Aria, being a no-nonsense type, wasn't going to let any obstacles get in the way of common sense. She approached the force field. Lowered it. And stepped into the cell. "You don't need to be afraid of me," she whispered, crouching down. Reaching out with a paw. "Take it."

A hesitation. Looking at her tall, slender ears. Snowy white, like the rest of her, but with black tips. As if her ears had been dipped in ink. Or charcoal. She was a lithe thing. Svelte. Pretty.

"Go on."

The mouse eventually did so. Maybe it was because she was female. Maybe it was the soothing tone of her voice. Or maybe he realized, by now, that he had little choice but to go with the flow. After all, he didn't want to stay locked up forever, did he?

She nodded, primly, and stood back up. Pulling him with her. She was going to find out who this mystery rodent was ...

Not ten minutes later, Aria was engaged in a hushed conversation with the doctor in a monitor-covered alcove in the station's infirmary. It hadn't been but a minute's walk from the constable's office. The mouse had panicked again, but Aria had held to him the entire time. Calmed him down enough to get him onto a bio-bed, where he was scanned and given a quick check-up.

"Thought I should mention this before I put in the translator chip and he understands what we're saying ... " A deep breath on the doctor's part. Eyes darting. " ... but he's got some pronounced genetic abnormalities. I don't believe he's a natural-born mouse."

"He's not organic?" A blink.

"He's very organic. He's just been altered. From what, I don't know. The process isn't quite complete. Another day or two, and I might not have detected it at all. Whatever caused the transformation ... or whoever," he added, suspiciously, "did damn good work."

"I see ... " She glanced over at the mouse. He was sitting up, now, on the bio-bed's edge, studying his paws. Curling and uncurling his toes. Moving his tail about, curiously. As if all of this were new to him.

"We don't know his name, where he came from ... anything?" the doctor pressed. "Just that your deputy found him unconscious in a cargo bay?"

"He probably came aboard a freighter," she reasoned. "A stowaway."

The doctor made a face. "Not a lot to go on."

"I have been busy," Aria defended. She took a deep breath. "But I can't believe anyone in this day and age wouldn't be implanted with a translator chip."

"Maybe he's a 'primitive'. They don't have them. No computers at all. And you hear, sometimes, about primitive populations being relocated against their will ... "

"The High Command isn't in the business of doing that. Prey don't relocate prey."

"Well, the Arctic foxes just 'relocated' a whole roost of bats ... maybe it was them."

Aria nodded. "Possibly. But they don't have transformative technology."

"That we know of. Maybe the wasps have it, and gave it to them."

Aria was quiet for a moment, before asking, "He's fit to talk? Once you install the chip?" She wanted to find out from the 'mouse's mouth.' No more speculation.

"Of course. He's fit to do anything. Other than the bumps and bruises, and a little malnutrition, there's nothing blatantly wrong with him. Just needs to eat a few big meals. Get some rest. What should I do with him once he's been treated?"

"Return him to me," Aria said, simply.

"What's your interest in him?" the doctor asked, lightly. "You enjoy hard-luck cases?"

"I'm just doing my job."

"If you say so ... "

"I do." A dominant side-glance. "Implant the chip. Heal his wounds. Clean him up. Give him something to eat. Also, crosscheck your scans with Luminous' database. Maybe the Federation has encountered whatever he used to be. I'll be back in an hour."

"Anything else, ma'am, while we're at it?" The doctor fought back a smile.

She began to saunter off. There was a confident cadence in the movement of her hips. "Don't tempt me ... "

It was about two hours later.

"You can understand me, now?"

"Y-yes." The mouse was sitting up, meekly, on the edge of a bio-bed. Empty bowls and plates off to the side. He was dressed only in shorts. He didn't really have any spare clothes.

"Good." She paused to give a glance at the doctor.

It took him a few seconds to respond. "Is that your 'give me privacy' look, or your 'I'm coming onto you' look?" the fellow snow rabbit asked.

"I know which one you wish it was."

"You know where my quarters are. You've been there before," he answered, slyly, before backing away. Then outright hopping to his office.

"I suspect he went into medicine just to give physicals," Aria explained, irreverently.

" ... hmm?"

"Nothing." Another story for another time. "He's treated you well?"

A shy nod.

"Do you have a name?"

"I'm Ross."

Aria bowed her head. "I'm Aria. Constable of Orbital 9."

He wore a confused look.

"It's the station you're currently on."

"I ... I wasn't sure if I was still in space. I suspected." Whiskers twitched. "I can hear the power core, so faintly, humming through the decks. I think it's a power core ... I hope ... "

"It is." She hardly noticed it, herself. It became background noise after a while. "What are you?"

"Um ... a mouse?" He'd expected her to ask that question, but maybe not so soon.

"Are you sure about that?" she pressed.

"A meadow mouse," he elaborated.

"Before that."

He looked trapped, suddenly. She knew, didn't she? Well, of course she does. You've just been scanned and prodded and all that. They probably know everything.

"The doctor determined you'd undergone a genetic transformation. A crosscheck with Luminous' database ... "

" ... Luminous?"

"A starship docked here."

" ... oh."

"Their database indicates that, soon after their launch, they encountered a strange alien craft with a comatose life form. His genetic signature matched what yours used to be. They are called 'hew-mans'."

"Humans," Ross said.

The snow rabbit repeated him. The word was funny on her tongue.

"What are you gonna do with me?" he blurted out, anxiety beginning to flare. "Are ... are they going to ... " He began to twitch. He couldn't even finish the sentence.

"No one is going to hurt you. Only myself, the doctor, and a deputy or two are even aware of you. And only the doctor and I know the truth." She hadn't informed Rella about any of this, in spite of the fact that Luminous had the only known furry encounter with humans. She didn't want the squirrel trying to butt in on this investigation. The less individuals that knew about this, the better. Luminous' database also indicated that the wasps were interested in the humans. Aria didn't want them getting wind of Ross here. There was no knowing who could be spying for them.

"I can't stop these whiskers from twitching. Is that normal?"

"Oftentimes, yes."

They twitched more.

"You'll find they are sensitive to both emotional and environmental stimuli," she explained. "You'll also find they play an important role in nuzzling."

"Nuzzling," he whispered. He liked the sound of that. He touched at them with his paws, strumming them like harp strings.

"If you can concentrate for a moment, I'd like to hear more about your story," she insisted, as politely as possible. Her bobtail flickered upright, like a flame.

"Oh. Right ... " A deep breath. "Well, they needed volunteers to ... "

" ... they?" she asked.

"The government. They had some kind of slogan to 'better your life,' and I thought, like ... I didn't have a job. I was a little desperate. But it wasn't actually a job, turns out. They just needed me for tests. They made me sign stuff, so I thought it was all pretty standard. But, then, before I knew it, I'd been injected with something ... " He trailed off.

"Can you be more specific?"

"I don't remember a whole lot. Other than it hurt really bad." A shudder. "Organs moving and bones ... eh ... " He felt suddenly nauseous. Hunching over, ears going pale. " ... it wasn't a quick change ... "

She put her paws on his shoulders. His rain-grey fur short and soft. "Breathe. Slowly."

A weak nod, doing so. His whiskers drooping. " ... I ... I'm never gonna go home again, am I?"

"As far as I know, the human home-world ... "

" ... Earth."

"Earth," she repeated. "It may be years from our space. I have no idea how you got here unless you tell me."

"I think I sorta blocked it out. Maybe from the trauma," he said. Sitting back up. Feeling a little better.

She removed her paws from him. "Try to remember," she asked, as soothingly as possible. Mouses were delicate things. You had to treat them with finesse.

He thought for a moment. His buckteeth jutting out in concentration. Kinda cute, really. "Something went wrong. Someone attacked the ship. Cause it was, uh ... it was in orbit. On a ship. They wanted to do all this where no one could reach them, but insects ... "

" ... wasps?" Aria guessed, ears standing antennae-tall. So, their interest in humans wasn't isolated. What could they possibly find interesting about them? Their technology? Some durable genetic quality?

" ... one ship? I guess ... " A sigh. " ... we were attacked. Escape pods. Tractor beam, I think. And then a vortex opened, and ... "

" ... was it blue?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But we got away. I guess we ended up here. And then ... " He rubbed his head. " ... the other ex-humans on the pod, they beat me up. I didn't want to go with them."

"Where were they going?" She narrowed her eyes.

"To make a deal with the wasps. To get back home or something."

"That would be suicide," Aria stated, plainly.

"I know. But the others in the pod had become predators. Felines. A coyote. They felt kinda powerful in their new forms. I think they resented me cause I was prey."

Aria took all of this in. "The hallmark of predators. Inflated egos. They are never wrong." Sarcasm beginning to drip into her voice. She paused, changing tracks a bit. "The wasps could have access to limited quantum slipstream technology, which would explain your vortex and the long-distance travel. It wouldn't surprise me. As long as they don't have it on all their ships ... " That would be bad. But nothing they'd done in snow rabbit space indicated they did. "Why would your own species wish to transform itself? Or you?" That was the one thing she didn't really understand.

"I don't know. I heard the word 'potency' a few times." A short breath. "I think they wanted to combine the best of humanity with the best of, uh ... animal. Or, uh ... "

" ... furs," she provided. "We have notoriously strong sex drives."

" ... yeah." A blush. His ears turned a deeper shade of pink. He felt the blood moving into them. "Humans are a bit sex-obsessed, too." He cleared his throat. "Maybe that's what they're after. Maybe they only meant for me to be hybridized and were a little too successful and the change was a complete one? I don't know. They weren't very forthcoming," he repeated. "They really weren't. I mean, I don't know how they'd even heard about you, or how they got the genetic samples."

"Is your species capable of interstellar travel?"

"We're just starting out." He bit his lip with his new buckteeth. "I guess I am, too, now. Starting out." A sigh. A squeak. "Starting over."

"There are worse fates," she whispered, calmly.

He looked up and met her gaze.

"You'll need clothes, though. We do wear those." Pausing, admiring his chest. He was trim and tidy. "Sometimes."

He swallowed.

"A place to stay. You'll need that, as well. A job, perhaps. If you have no identity here, we'll just have to fashion one for you. You can become a citizen of the snow rabbit High Command."

"You can really help me with all of that?" he asked, shyly. His ears were turning deeper shades of pink, again. Was it common to blush to often?

"It is my job."

"That makes you, like ... a guardian angel ... "

"Maybe just a guardian," she countered.

He wondered if that was mirth he detected in her tone? If a human had said that, they would've winked. Did snow rabbits not wink?

"Follow me," she ordered, turning and hopping toward the door. Her bobtail cocked itself upright as she moved.

"Where are we going?" He scurried after her, but tripped and tumbled. Rolling to a stop at her big, bare foot-paws, out of breath. Looking up at her, dizzily. She had sensual legs.

"The tailor shop, and then my office." She extended a paw. "Don't bruise yourself again. You have new limbs. You haven't scurried on them yet?"

"A few times. I, uh, fell then, too."

"One step at a time, then," she advised, having pulled him up. They were almost nose-to-nose.

Ross just nodded lightly. Yes. One step (or hop, in her instance) at a time ...

It was the middle of the night, station-side.

The snow rabbit stirred from a dream-streaked state. Her ice-blue eyes blinked groggily once or twice before gazing upward, toward the ceiling. The shadows danced there, irreverently. They had no cares or worries. They never tired. For a brief second, she envied them. But only for a second. Then her head turned, reforming her pillow. Someone else was in the room. "What's wrong?" she asked, realizing who it was. The scent, earthy and simple, was a dead giveaway.

Ross was lingering in the doorway, slender and shaking. Eyes glistening. "I'm ... " He lost his breath. " ... I'm scared ... "

"Of what?" she asked, sitting up. The sheets slipped down her front. She always slept 'in the fur,' and this was very evident, even in the incidental night lighting of her quarters. The curves of her white-furred breasts glowed like crescent moons.

"I don't know." Sniffling, and needing a moment to think about it. "Sleep? Everything?" He'd had anxiety problems as a human, actually. It wasn't anything new. The intensity, though ...

"You're prey, now. I suppose you weren't before."

"Humans aren't exactly predators." A twitch. "Well ... " He was unsure about that, actually. " ... I guess it depends," he added, sheepishly. "Some are. I tried not to be."

"I believe you." She shifted her position, moving to her knees. Unashamed about her nakedness. Or, if she was, it didn't register. "Regardless, the worry can be controlled."

"How?" He remained in the doorway, clutching at his own tail. He wasn't used to having one. He half-expected it to wither away upon each touch. This whole experience was otherworldly. Am I new individual? Is the old 'me' technically 'dead?' Is this a new life?

"Medicine. Meditation." A pause. "There are many methods." She sensed his mind was spinning. Scurrying, rather. That was common with mouses. They thought too much. "You just need to be taught."

"Are you ever anxious?" It didn't seem like she could be. She was so serene, so beautiful. She was like a Greek goddess.

"Me?" A soft breath. "Deep down, perhaps. But my species evolved a psychological 'freeze,' of sorts. It helps to lessen all that."

"What do you mean?" He shook his head, not understanding.

She laid back down, putting her paws behind her head. Exposed from the waist upward. "Our planet has long, harsh winters. Survival wasn't always easy. Our feral emotions made us self-destructive, dangerous, war-like. I suppose nature saw we had to be protected from ourselves. A sort of mental barrier began to evolve." Her nose gave a single sniff-twitch. "We feel emotion. Just not in bulk. Without the distraction of excess, our minds are keener. We pride ourselves on being more logical than other furs."

An audible breath. "I still don't understand."

"Think of it like ... " She yawned. " ... like the emotions are hot water. The freeze is a block of ice. The emotions hit the freeze, and ... maybe it thaws a bit. Some of the water seeps through. But not all of it. And then, after each deluge, the ice reforms."

"How come the freeze stays frozen?"

"That is getting into biology and neuroscience. I am a security officer. And it is two in the morning."

"Sorry," Ross stammered. "This is all so new to me ... "

"I know. It's alright." A pause. "But I do need my rest. As do you."

"Yeah ... " He turned, quietly, to go back to the couch.

She considered something, and then stopped him. " ... wait."

He looked over his shoulder.

"My bed is more than big enough for two," she reasoned, logically. Experience had proven that. "You would sleep better with me." And I with him, probably. It's been a few weeks, hasn't it? You get more involved in your work than most rabbits do. Makes you miss out on companionship. Have you ever wondered why that is?

" ... uh ... t-that's, that's nice of you," he stammered, "to offer, but ... "

" ... what?"

His sensitive, dishy ears burned with a sudden rush of blood. It was far more intense than a cheek-blush. He looked up at the ceiling, blowing out a breath. Then looking back to her. "I've never slept with a female. Not even, like ... actual sleep-sleeping."

"You're a virgin?"

An embarrassed nod.

"How old are you?"

" ... um. Twenty-seven."

A raised brow. The same age as her. She'd lost her virginity at fifteen. But, then, maybe it was easier for furs to find partners. She didn't know anything about human social politics or mating rituals.

He cleared his throat, awkwardly. She thinks I'm weird. She thinks ...

" ... the invitation remains." I intimidate him, don't I? Is that because he admires me? Maybe in more ways than he knows how to admit?

Ross still wasn't sure if she was talking about slumber-sleeping or sex-sleeping. But, at the moment, he wasn't going to turn down either one. She was the only creature he knew and trusted in this new universe he'd found himself in. She was his only connection to warmth. He scurried to her bed and crawled atop the mattress.

"Lose the underwear," she remarked, lightly. More a command than a suggestion.

A nod, wriggling around, around, and kicking them off and to the ground. Well, the carpet, anyway. In the fur, now. With her. And how his heart was beating. He fought the urge to reach out and touch her. He wondered what her pelt felt like? Just how soft was it? "Constable, I should ... "

"Aria." Her paws had long left the back of her head. She'd rolled to her side, now, fingers curling around a blanket. Lifting it for him. "Get under."

"Aria," he repeated, privately. "Okay." Joining her, and their bodies got closer. And his throat felt a bit dry. "I need to thank you for all you've done for me. You could've locked me away, or turned me over to be dissected in some lab somewhere. But you didn't."

"My instincts said you weren't a threat. I've always trusted my instincts. Besides, as I said, the wasps have shown an interest in your species, according to Luminous' logs. Maybe you can shed some light on that. If not, at least I can keep you safe in the event they come after you."

"You could've handed me off to one of your deputies, though. Or you ... "

"Ross," she interrupted.

" ... yeah?"

A furred finger, with blunted claw, to his lips. Tracing them, slowly. "Hush."

He nodded, obediently, fighting the urge to suckle on her fingertip. No more words, for now. He just scooted a bit. So that his head rested on the same pillow. Next to hers. A paw beside her belly.

She made no move to stop his dainty touches. They weren't unpleasant. And it was amusing to see him explore. "Are your eyes closed?"

"Yes," he whispered.

"Just breathe with me, then. Synchronize ... in ... "

Inhale.

" ... out."

Squeaky sigh.

She traced his slender hips with a fingertip. "I know you didn't exactly choose your new form, but you couldn't have ended up any better ... " ... well, unless he'd become a rabbit. But no reason to be picky. "Mouses have a reputation for fitness and cuteness."

"They do? I mean, we do?" he went, shyly. As he breathed in, deeply, through his pink nose.

"Mm-hmm."

" ... well ... what do rabbits have a reputation for?"

"I think you'll find out soon enough," she whispered, mirthfully. Maybe he'd been a worldly human, but as a fur? He was a little naïve. "But not tonight."

The way she said this made him hot again. He kept breathing, though, in tune with her, safe and reassured. She was the chief of security for the station, after all. She was a tough cookie. And he was in her bed. Nothing was going to happen to him, now. With this in mind, an ease began to flow through him. He drifted, slowly. Five minutes later, or less, he was out light a light.

Aria, once she'd sensed this, planted a little kiss upon his jaw. "Goodnight ... " She reached for his ropy tail. Holding it in a paw. She was a bit of an alpha female, truth be told. And Ross's submissive nature was piquing her interest. But it was more than that.

He was different. He was unique. An outsider. In some ways, so was she. When you worked in law enforcement, everyone was wary of you. On their best behavior. Outside of the doctor (and her deputies, whom she made it a personal policy not to get involved with), very few furs on the station ever acted relaxed around her. Maybe she had a slightly tough personality, sometimes. But she had her reasons. And maybe Ross was tense around her, too, but that was mostly instinct. It wasn't because she made him truly uncomfortable. He liked her. She was sure of that.

It was true that furs were nothing more than sentient animals, with instincts mostly intact. And, as a result, relationships formed incredibly fast. Not over months and years. But days and weeks. This was common sense to her, of course. But did Ross know this? Was he prepared? He just got here, after all. You've only known each other half-a-day.

She mulled over this. And other things.

But all her thoughts began to fall apart, and within minutes, she joined him in slumber. Rejuvenation. Rest. With all that they had ahead of them, they both needed it. For the first time in days, she wasn't thinking about rogue bats or wasps or Arctic foxes. Not thinking about threats. No, much nicer things became fodder for her dreams, here, now, in what was to be the best night's sleep she'd gotten in months.