FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Dust billowed into the air as the dry ground was met with a speeding automobile. All of them followed a gravel road through a young forest, the bright summer sun up above filtering through spruce and oak trees which hung over the trail. Originating from small town only about five miles away, the drivers of each vehicle all predetermined their destination to a singular point of interest. A messenger from this location had come into town that very morning to hand out flyers and posters. Radio hosts around the region chimed in from local stations to give notice towards what was promised a fantastical experience.

One van in particular headed up the rear. None of the drivers are truly affiliated with each other save for living in the same town, and traveled at their own separate will. In the van would be four young individuals, and all of them having been friends for as long as time would allow on their lives. Having grown up in the same neighborhood made it easy enough for them to meet each other, but due to size constraints, the single school systems for any range of grade levels ensured they would be together.

Bending down and over the steering wheel to gain a better perspective the driver, tallest of the four, looked up to notice an almost magical view. The other three sought visage through their windows to gaze upon what appeared to be a carnival out in the middle of the woods, in a giant clearing none of them knew existed until now. Not only that but the trees themselves, despite being such a newly planted forest, seemed to have flourished in this heart of the acreage as they obscured the sides of any rides and attractions.

What made this location so abnormal was the actual theme of the traveling amusement park, and picked their interest so heavily, is that t. Everything seemed to be based entirely around fantasy, but not only that, a specific animal of myth and legend; all the rides were entirely shaped around dragons that spanned across all cultures of the world. Carnivals were a common thing in a small town as two or three on contract were allowed to set up tent just outside the city limits in the fairgrounds, but this was entirely out of the ordinary. The size of the grounds, and the sheer density of attractions and tents inside the chintzy fenced perimeter, made it seem as though it'd classify stronger as a large county fair.

Turning into a parking spot just outside of the perimeter, among the other vehicles, the four wasted no time in hopping out from the car. In the front passenger seat a shorter fellow burst out with an unbridled enthusiasm that would be uncharacteristic for any introvert, and quickly proving he was not. Some people are simply more attracted to rides in carnivals than others. The two in the back, clearly a couple, exited the van on the same side holding hands. They didn't seem so much interested in being at the carnival as they were simply happy to be together at one. In the past the other two friends poked fun at them for their coming together. Neither were jealous, and in fact the source of the jokes was that the two seemed so perfect for each other that it was almost like a cliché fantasy relationship. Not just their personalities meshed but so did their overall physical appearance; both of average height, able to gaze into the eyes of the other and other characteristics which made it ideal. As the four walked towards the entrance the gait of the two lovers could be viewed as though they were two cogs meant built for each other.

There was no cost of admission to simply come within the park grounds which helped to bring about a stronger interest among all of them, for it was unheard to not be charged to even come inside. Looking about, the four stayed barely inconspicuous among other small roaming crowds. Despite the grandeur the carnival did arrive for a small town specifically, and thus left plenty of free room without worrying about bumping into other people. Lights adorned the sides of tents or along some rides could be seen glistening even with the glaring sunlight, and with a backdrop of the forest's trees it gave the assumed animatronic dragon bodies a serene appearance. A specific few looked to be near lifelike.

"So where exactly are we headed first, anyways? I mean, I don't care much for the rides, but I just sort of want to look around. Something smells good at that. The games don't look half bad either from here." The driver of the van had stated. The tone in his voice proved he likely had a heart of gold, wishing to stick together. His inherent love for food became fairly obvious while standing in the open. His height held his overweight form up well, but it couldn't be entirely hidden.

"There!" Each of the three other individuals instantly exclaimed.

Looking at each other with surprise it became obvious in a heartbeat that they all wanted to go to their own place. It was strange for them to break group as they had never done so in the past. Perhaps the alluring image of the well kept carnival rides and the joyous atmosphere of such a location go to them unlike any other place before.

"Hey guys, we just graduated. We're gonna be headed off to college soon. Don't ya want to, I dunno, hang out like this? Our last summer together, big bang and hoorah?"

"Pfft, it's like you said, we got all summer. So what if it's our last! We got the rest of it, and why not kick it off by doing what we want first off. B'sides we can't do everything. Ain't rich, can't pay for it all. Just go off and do your own thing. I'm headin' to that roller coaster... never seen anything as big like that for a carnival."

"They set those things up overnight. You realize how dangerous that..."

The shorter fellow, who had ridden in the passenger seat, already took off without an extra word. Exchange of words was taken place without input of the two lovers, as they seemed mostly content to go ahead and do what ever so long as it was together.

"He does sort of have a point, Chris. We should just go do our own thing. Meet up back at your van in at five?" The guy clung his hand tight around his girlfriend, ensuring that at least those two would be together through the day.

A sign of resignation was all that was given to the situation. Nodding to the fact of the matter. The last three broke apart, two together and the tall one alone, as he made way for a row of carnival games that at first caught his interest.

In truth he was being guided by the smell of deep fat fried food and the batter associated with such. No matter how unhealthy it might be even the most conscious of health watchers could fall prey to such delicious morsels a carnival could produce. Walking along, the games and food stands on either side shaped the wood chip laden ground into what was like a narrow aisle. This was likely just to help promote and bring attention the games and food one could buy. It was actually fairly amazing to him how diversified the food itself was. There seemed to be hints at all ethnic backgrounds in the cooking, judging by the different items available, but that just made him apprehensive to try any of it. Being from a small town one grows used to what is readily available after all, and everything else becomes extremely exotic. Turning his head to the left he nearly jumped in surprise at what stared right back at his face.

A large green head of a wyvern nearly poked his nose. It looked to be made of some tough plaster and painted, but it had enough realism behind to almost seem real. Looking up and down it was simply some game that one could play. It was unique as well, not having any sort of ball or balloon gimmick associated with it. Looking at a sign next to it stating the instructions, it was named the "Dragon's Cave", and the purpose was to apparently steal gold from the lair of the beast. Twisting his head to the left, and to the right, there was nothing about a cave to be seen. Only the head, neck, and wings of the creature protruding up and over a tall wood stand as the rest of the small tent around it seemed sealed away. Reading further down the sign he nearly gasped at the prospected prizes. No stuffed animals were promised, nor where there any fish to be had, but instead real gold pieces. There had to be some sort of scam to this. Why else would a simple carnival, no matter how outstanding it looked from the outside, just simply allow something so precious to be given.

"Hah, wait... stealing gold from a dragon!" It dawned on him how clever this was.

While he had a heart of gold and cared for others greatly, there was a part of his personality that was less favorable. A severe streak of greed could overtake him when ever the chance at gaining was had, whether it be food or material possessions. It was almost ironic how one with such a shining heart could also be allured to a metaphorical equivalent in luster.

The game itself didn't seem too bad of a price in all honestly. Only a couple dollars to try for even 24k gold plated coins was an extreme return in investment, let alone if they were truly solid like the game sign promises. Slipping the bills inside of the automatic machine, as there were no people tending to the game, the mouth of the wyvern opened slowly. A ticker appeared on the sign where he was reading, on the bottom, in bright red lights the number "14:59". Right thereafter three rounded pieces of gold dropped from some mechanism from the tip of the wyvern's snout, landing on the tongue, to only roll down and back to the throat to disappear from view. His eyes went wide upon seeing the shined bright pieces simply slide along as if they were nothing. There was no denying that those must be real gold coins, and they were destined to be his.

"You gold is mine, foul beast!"

Looking back after saying that, a wave of embarrassment spread through him as he let himself get into the mood of things a little too much. No passerby gave him any attention, but he could have sworn he heard some sort of loud snort as though someone was unamused at his choice of words or shouting. Looking into the mouth he was astonished at how realistic it actually became. The outside looked fake without a doubt, but the shine upon the tongue and the sparkle of reflecting light on the teeth was astounding. Looking deeper back a sense of dread overtook him. It looked terrifying, he realized, as some internal defense mechanism wallowed from within. Stepping up a small set of metal stairs, designed for one to reach up to the mouth, he gained better visage of the interior. It was quite cavernous and obviously predatory. The attention to detail made it all the grander, for cracks along the sides of the cheeks and the ribbed roof of the mouth all looked as if a dentist for dragons had sculpted the interior. Taking a deep breath he was nearly repulsed in itself; the scent being eerily similar to sulfur.

"Oh ugh... fine. I get that they want this to be realistic, but surely they could have pretended that dragons had Tic Tacs. Good god this reeks!"

Once again a loud and annoyed snort could be heard coming from somewhere, and not only that, but a small trickle of black smoke from above and just outside the lips of the dragon. A thin crack could be noticed between the outer plaster and interior flesh of the dragon. The section looking to be made of actual scales before transitioning to the lips and then mouth. That in itself gave a higher level of realism to the point, when looking again towards the back of the maw, sent shivers down his spine.

A quiet beep originating from the sign snapped him back to reality, for he had been just staring towards the gullet. Only a minute had gone by, but in his trance, felt to be an eternity if staring towards his doom. The memory of those three gold coins filled his mind, and that was enough to bring about a dangerous level of courage fueled purely by a greed. If that burning desire hadn't existed he would have turned away. Taking a deep breath he plunged forward without a second thought with his hands clasped together and seemingly mimicking a diver.

His upper torso fit into the mouth of the wyvern's, although his wide gut filled the space up quite well. The hands pierced deep into the back of the wyvern's mouth. A quiet sound if disgust was heard coming from him as he felt around and was surprised to feel just how slimy the interior was. The place wasn't varnished, but actually entirely wet. Beyond that it felt to be extremely squishy and stretchable, leading him to believe that the mouth of the dragon didn't lead directly to the dark interior of the tent, but further along. No wonder this game was seen as a challenge, otherwise fifteen minutes would have been too much time. Squirming forward he put aside any other worries and made sure to hurry and enter to find his prizes.

Within an instant his clothing became utterly drenched by the disturbingly warm liquid inside the wyvern's mouth. Kicking and clenching his legs together, he used the large lower upper fangs as a foothold to push against and propel himself downwards along with the slight writhing. After just a couple simple minutes the human vanished from view, and unbeknownst to him the mouth of the wyvern closed just after the shoes on his feet left the open air of his mouth. The numbers on the sign cleared themselves as if it had never been used, which would leave any other prospective game seekers to try their luck.

Feeling along it seemed as if the tube he entered went on forever. It was a strange sensation at that, with what he perceived to be fake flesh, squeezed and pushed him along to aid in his endeavors. Squeezing at the material with his hands sent a chill down his spine every time thanks to the slimy texture of it, but he was only looking for surface tension to help and pull himself down all the quicker, for in his mind the timer was still ticking down until he failed. For but a brief moment the realism shook him to the core as he stopped moving when he was able to ascertain that a light thumping sound, he assumed to be machinery causing the pushing around him, sounded so much more akin to a heartbeat. Finding himself at a dead end he would push with his hands at full force to go backwards. Instead of that, to his amazement, he felt the slick wall give way and tug around his wrists. He knew where he'd be if inside a real creature, just passing through the esophageal sphincter and into the belly of the beast.

All this time he had been shrouded in complete darkness, but that wasn't too much of a surprise to him. What cave would have light in it, anyways, he had to think to himself. This new spacious chamber was no different as he ascertained that this must be the actual cave which he had to search around. Worming around almost violently, he thought to be near his prize. Already reaching forward he was able to feel wet objects slipping through his fingers but none of them were small, flat, or rounded. He recognized the shape of them as being bones, which he thought to be a cute addition. A dangerous dragon leaving bones behind in his cave to scare away intruders, how ingenious was that, he also had to think. Soon enough the rest of his body came piling inside of the new chamber, able to estimate that if he could simply stand up he'd be able to push through the tunnel he came through. It couldn't have been any longer than seven feet, as he was about six-foot five inches and used his height as the basis.

Sloshing about in the slimy environment he was able to realize just how cramped it actually was. The heat of the area began to really get under his skin as it became difficult to breath in the excessively humid region, as he figured they must have made extremely small air vents to help once again simulate realism. Strange though that the cave didn't have more rocky features to it, but stayed just as slick as the tunnel before. The area was much less doughy in texture, as the fabric was seemed taut to help resist any damage from people rummaging around no doubt.

Itching here and there along his body he couldn't help but feel all the less comfortable as he stayed inside the chamber for just a minute or so longer. The room squeezed around him, trying to force him to curl up into a tightly packed ball. His resistance proved stellar for the time being as he felt the squishy fabric wrap around his hands in an attempt to push him back down. One of his hands felt along the slick floor only to realize that the room was filling with a warm and bubbling liquid. Not only that but, against his bare skin, it left a sting that made him feel as though he had a rough rash that was irritated. Sitting up, albeit barely, his lower body soon felt like his had as the liquid soaked through his jeans and filtered through the shoes and clung to the socks.

This was likely just a sign that his time was running out, as there didn't appear to be a audible queue to warn him when his limit was drawing near. Just then, while stretching his hand behind his back and under his leg, he was able to feel what seemed to be a coin. His puffed fingers, wet and unable to grasp, simply pushed it about in the liquid. Bringing down his other hand to grasp at it only resulted in the roof he was keeping back to press down with extreme force and manipulate him as it was from before. His face plunged below the irritating liquids only to be met with extreme discomfort to the point he yelped out, only to have the foul substance enter within his own mouth.

There was no way he was leaving without his gold, however, as he continued to search for more pieces. His entire body felt as though it was being burnt despite being submerged, and earlier sections which had been wet before felt as if they were utterly ravaged. He knew it was acid, in his mind, but the thought of holding on to what could possibly be thousands of dollars worth of gold kept him from fighting back. He could feel with the utmost of terrible clarity how the noxious liquids seared away his flesh with horrifying efficiency. Muscle around him churned to ensure no portion of his exterior body was left being unbathed for too long.

Clenching his eyes as tears broke away from them, only to be lost to obscurity in the liquid, he could feel something pushing against his back. It was another person who had come and fallen prey to the horrible trick of the wyvern. There was a primal reaction to it all, in his mind, as he realized that this was for some reason thought of as normal. It was typical for man to fall victim to such a simple trap, but he didn't care. While stewing in the bubbling liquids only to be met by the surprised yelps of another person, he clung harsh to the single gold coin he found. It was his, and no one else was to yank it from his grasp. The irony of him having been literally consumed by his own greed was beyond him at this point. Not even his friends, whom he would otherwise have yelled to warn of the possible dangers of the carnival, perforated his mind.