FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The end of the world, or at least I called it the apocalypse. It happened around three in the afternoon when the shaking knocked me from my feet walking downstairs into the basement.

'What's going on?' A paint can or something fell on my head rendering me unconscious for who knows how long while the quaking continued. When I finally came to, it was dark except for the sunlight coming from upstairs. There was a bruise on my head that was very tender to the touch. I remembered the trembling earthquake but not much else from when I was last awake. With no idea how long I had been out, I stayed put for an undetermined amount of time until hunger drove me back upstairs. The world was much emptier, no other people besides me, and virtually no wild animals around like squirrels or birds. My little neighborhood was turned into a desert of human emptiness with me as the sole survivor. I was the only one left in my state for all I knew. No tv, radio, phone signals or anything. But at least my area was relatively intact to what I assumed everywhere else was like. The discolored clouds that passed by were a good indicator of that until even they returned to a regular puffy white. Some structures were completely leveled into blocks of rubble and splintered wood, and others were preserved decently like mine. I rebuilt sections on the outside of my home that were mostly destroyed, and buried any bodies that I came across.

Strangely quite a few were missing from many houses that I scoured for resources and materials. Scavenging and stealing preserved foods was demeaning to say the least. I did plant a few things, but the soil just wasn't irrigated properly with the lack of water I had on hand. By my fourth week living in the now desolate area, sadly, I'll admit being accustomed to this strange survival mode.

Three nice and quiet generators ran efficiently outside keeping every fixture I needed powered. Ok maybe not quiet, but they weren't very loud compared to other models I had at my disposal. They noisily clamored in the background as I dragged a few pieces of wood.

"Ouch!" One slipped from my hands and landed on my foot. I dropped the rest hopping around before recovering and picking up the lumber again. "That has to be the third time today." I groaned continuing to drag them along a sidewalk. The load would be good to build with or store as firewood if I ran out of gas to power the generators. I wanted to keep them going as long as possible to help with cooking, besides, I was never a good Boy Scout in making my own fire. I paused in my steps hearing an unfamiliar sound. A jet like noise, although much quieter, caught my attention as I looked up in the air dropping the planks of wood without frustration trying to find the source. The word rescue really sounded sweet in my head no matter how distant it had seemed in the past weeks. The sound grew closer, almost to a quiet roar. My eyes scanned the cloudy blue sky, that was empty even for birds, only to widen. Astonishingly a large plane ship thing sailed through the sky with ease making its way towards the ground. The object resembled something out of a science fiction movie, a sleek white plane with thin yellow and blue stripes. It slowly landed until it was out of my sight as everything returned to its eerie quietness.

Fear shot through me as well as a burning curiosity. 'What was that?' Someone could be rescuing or searching for me! With a faint burning hope still alive, my legs carried me through yards and over fences until I made it to a small clearing. I hid behind a tree seeing that the strange thing had landed on the ground. Open mouthed, I watched as four figures hopped out of the craft's entrance one by one. But they weren't human. They were... Furry animals? I questioned myself for lacking a better description but nothing else could come to mind. Each resembled an animal covered in fur with that of a human body structure. I was staring at a skunk, leopard, cat, and a half wolf half fox thing. 'This isn't right!' I shook my head before rubbing my eyes in disbelief. 'I'm going crazy!' Tails were clearly able to be seen swaying or bobbing behind their bodies completely decked in uniforms of some sort. They were all female to my surprise, each carrying feminine features from an obviously rounded chest to proportionally wider hips.

"Du kender oures rozkazy , noyot prevem," The leader of the group said looking around.

'Do they what?' I attempted to repeat out of curiosity. I watched the bipedal animals cautiously look around before setting out towards my neighborhood. I wasn't really into science fiction, but if this wasn't some sort of alien encounter then this whole apocalypse must have been one giant lucid dream. Going aboard would probably result in a conflict to say the least, so I eagerly followed with some distance behind hoping to learn what they exactly were and why they were here. Whatever talking they did it was impossible picking up on their conversation. Their voices were quick and hushed amongst each other, and I couldn't understand them in the slightest. Hopefully there would be a word or action I could pick on.

"Mertz vo." One said in a hushed voice approaching the first backyard.

"Opey." Another replied. Nope, nothing I could pick up on. They rounded a house and I kept pace with them from a small distance. Their tales cautiously swayed as they walked slowly by the houses, scanning the area and muttering to each other. It was kind of tempting to call out to them but an introduction with me outnumbered wouldn't end do well. The lead creature suddenly halted and I stopped in mid step. She spun around causing me to freeze up fearfully.

'How did she hear me?' I didn't make a sound the whole time. Her canine nose flared before blowing out a puff of air as a breeze traveled from my position to hers. 'Did she... smell me?' I thought seeing the other three turn around. I gulped seeing her paw like hands reach for what appeared to be a fat looking pistol. So much for we come in peace. Fearing the worst, I turned and bolted just as the alien animal fired the weapon. The gun didn't shoot anything visible but I did hear a static noise ripple by me making the hair on my arms stand on end. A chase ensued leading me around various houses and properties with multiple shots heard firing from not too far behind. I yelled out as a shot of what felt to be electricity hit my arm making it go numb almost instantly. It lagged behind as I couldn't move the thing an inch. With a limb paralyzed I had to lose them fast. Spotting two rows of hedges in a backyard, I dove through the first one hearing a shot whizz by.

"Stadt hur!" Their leader barked as I scrambled through the second row hearing her go through the first. Sticks and limbs tore my shirt leaving me stinging as well as numb while running away. I sprinted around the corner of a house and dove behind a small section of standing fence. Tired from running, I prayed that they wouldn't find me as I quietly sucked in air hearing my heart pounded. I sat still only able to hear my heart beating as I looked out across the yard hoping they wouldn't come across me. Hearing a thumping noise that suddenly stopped, I glanced down and saw the edge the canid's shoes from under the planks. Looking up, her ears were visible above the top facing a different direction. I held my breath as she leaned against the wooden planks, thankful that they didn't break as she slid down. The wolfox plopped down using the fence as a back rest breathing out a weary sigh of her own. Her tail slipped through a gap the planks laying directly over where my hand was on the ground. In a silly way I was pinned down unable to move without alerting her, only hoping that she didn't smell me. "Spalamire... kako ju priptim vice szunetet," I heard her say on the other side. Her tired voice sounded like an old supervisor of mine, and despite the gravity of the situation, I smirked. A minute or so passed as we both regained our breath. I watched her tail slid back off my hand as she stood up. "Vu Shkudurrum moatti nol." She said jogging away from me quickly. I waited a few minutes until their strange talking left me alone in relative silence.

"I need to fix my arm." I looked over still unable to feel or move it. Hauling myself to my feet, I kept an eye out sneaking back home. The strange animal humans weren't spotted along the way much to my luck. My shoulder felt like it was holding up a few bricks that I couldn't quite feel, and for the next three hours I sat on my bed slowly regaining usage of my arm. It felt like needles were stabbing the skin as a few fingers wiggled about slowly. "What was that thing they shot at me with? And what are they?" I questioned myself knowing there wasn't a clear cut answer available for me. It clearly didn't kill me but it made my arm immobile for a good few hours. Did they want to capture me alive to experiment on? I Guess in a way one thing was certain. I had new neighbors.

Five more days passed where my new "neighbors" searched for me and who knows what else. Everyday they were able to find and then chase me down until I could find a spot to hide. They parachuted down when I collected supplies at a grocery store, ambushed me walking across streets and so on. Going anywhere during the day always posed a risk and they nearly caught me when I spied on them a second time. Although I should've realized that they would've caught on to me constantly following them whenever they did land to search out on foot. But I never expected them to catch me off guard again with a home field advantage. The banging of a hammer sounded out through the empty community as the final nail was nailed into the fence piece.

"Good days work John," I gave myself a pat on the back setting the hammer down to wipe the sweat from my brow. Not being chased for the day gave me time to rebuild parts of a neighborhood yard, but not to give anything a homely feel. The only thing I worked on were fences and other structures I could think of as quick hiding spots for whenever those predatory creatures came looking for me. The animal people were making running obsolete as they continued to wear me down. I finished off a bottle of water before picking up my tools and heading back home. I sneezed once while walking down the sidewalk thankful that it wasn't sunny, or I'd be sneezing a lot more. Another minute or so of walking and I came across the small pavilion that was across the street and down a block from my house. Instead of hurrying home as usual, I had to stop noticing one of those human like animals blocking the path. This time it was the skunk standing in front of me but luckily facing away towards a section of the street. 'Right between me and home!' I frowned crouching behind a small bush. Something was odd about her just standing there, flicking an ear occasionally.

The other three were nowhere to be seen, but that was a blessing in itself. Scanning the area, there was a good spot of small trees and bushes that I could go hidden from her right and then down half a block unseen. Her ears dialed making me tense up momentarily. For a brief moment I felt like a spy on a sneaky mission from point a to point b, and all I had to do was remain quiet an unseen. Cautious steps led me over the edge of the sidewalk before veering off into the pseudo garden. I kept a steady eye on her as I carefully walked over the uneven mulch by the first small shrub plants. Suddenly after two more steps, my leg refused to move and I fell to the ground dropping everything in my arms with a loud clatter. I looked down frightened to see an invisible string tugging on my leg. 'Booby trap!' I looked up and the skunk had obviously heard me.

"Mezch in olatpus!" The skunkette yelled into something on her wrist as I scrambled to my feet. I ran by the last few bushes and small trees hearing the electric shots fizzle nearby.

"Vu Shkudurrum!" She yelled after me not too far behind. My legs carried me towards the street over the edge of the lot onto the sidewalk. Another figure ran out from behind a typical conical tree armed with that static pistol. I was going too fast to dodge her effectively and her feline eyes widened. I collided with who I found out to be the leopardess of the group, nearly winding myself. The strange gun was knocked out of her paws into the street and I fell on top of her on the sidewalk. She held the sides of her head and yelled from the abrupt impact piercing my ears painfully. I could feel the leopard's thin whiskers and smell her from the close proximity. My head throbbed slightly as I jumped off her and continued my escape across the street. Being a little sick from allergies really took a toll on me. If dehydration and the inability to breath sufficiently wasn't enough, then the stuffiness and lack of energy made it unbearable. Another shot fizzled out as I passed the corner of a house hearing her shout again. I needed to lose them away from my house and fast. I skidded to a halt as the calico feline jumped out from behind the side of a house. She pounced and grabbed onto me to hold me still

"Vo siz! Vo siz!" She yelled holding onto me as I struggled to break her grip. Her claws started to dig in scratching the skin under my shirt and I panicked. I twisted around rapidly and heard her drop to the ground behind me just as the other two caught up. I broke off running again as another electrical shot was fired. I ran around the house nearly 360 degrees until I was facing west once more where the feline had jumped out at me. I squeezed through a small gap between the house and fence just before they could turn the last corner. They ran past missing me thundering along the grass. I glanced around expecting the fourth one to jump me, but no such misfortune occurred. The rest of my escape was sloppy, barely curving from a straight line between two more houses, but I couldn't have done much better while undetected. I glanced behind my back before opening the back door. The cooler air greeted me graciously as I plodded inside.

"Vo siz my butt." I smiled at the made up joke. Tired from running and allergies, I looked up the stairwell with a faint grin, but failed to hear the door downstairs click shut as silent steps followed behind mine. Giving a grateful sigh, I trudged up to the second floor. A good rest before fixing something up to eat was definitely in order. My room never looked so comforting as I crawled the last step up. Back on two shaky legs I entered coming so close to the bed, but I was stopped. Feeling completely exhausted, a warm hand grab my arm.

"Sh! Vo siz." I heard the feminine voice behind me say as her warm breath cascaded running down my neck causing a brief chill to shake me. What felt to be whiskers poked at my skin telling me without a doubt that the half wolf half fox was behind me. Despite how tired I was, I flailed around managing to break her grip for a few seconds. Only half a step was made before she grabbed a hold of me again. But no matter how hard I tried this time, her arms remained firmly locked onto me. About to yell one last cry for help, a pinprick was felt while her hand covered my mouth. My eyes watered to cry but darkness fell around me as I went limp into unconsciousness. My pursuer had finally caught me.

I awoke unable to move feeling somewhat nauseous. Groaning, the thick straps that held me down reminded me that I had been captured. My eyes upon opening revealed a dim setting that reminded me of a hospital, and I was situated on the bed strapped down in the center of the white walled room. The air contained a stale sterilized smell that reminded me of a doctors office. My old clothes were replaced by a thin garment that looked somewhat like a robe making a little breeze feel like a gust of wind. I couldn't help but shiver hoping at least for a blanket. Hospitals were something I had always feared since I was seven years old when I cut my wrist by accident when fooling around with my dad's knife. It was only a few stitches I watched the nurse sew up, but it was enough to imprint the fear directly. And being bound on one didn't help at all as my mind was allowed to go fearful of spontaneous dreadful ideas. Briefly tugging at the bonds, I realized how trapped I really was as they didn't budge. At least my sinuses were alright. A door clicked open as I watched two figures step in, one was a russian blue feline nurse judging from appearance, the other was that wolfox leader of the group that hunted me down.

"-and there is a gene falsmu vo nish missnibit huk ocpal most breeds of felines," the nurse continued whatever she was talking about from earlier.

'I can understand them?' They reviewed over their little synopsis of me while I tried fumbling around with the thick belt like straps. I must have been going insane. "I'm glad that you tied him up sergeant. He looks to be a fighter." The nurse said as I was tired from squirming around. The wolfox's golden brown eyes then turned their attention towards me. They looked happy and satisfied with a slight grin on her black lined lips seeing how I was successfully captured. The predator suddenly took a few bold steps to my bed giving me a fresh dose of fear.

"Get away from me!" I spat back trying to pull away from her advance, only to be unsuccessful in my vain attempt as the straps held me fast. She only frowned standing by my side as the nurse looked over a chart before handing it to her.

"You may leave now Trinna, he will not edzgal ichi ju," she said to the nurse. The feline nodded her head and left grabbing a few papers along the way. I watched the wolfox approach looking me over briefly with her golden yellow eyes. Knowing that she was in complete control of the situation terrified me.

"Please let me go!" I yelled unable to loosen the constricting bonds. It was more than unsettling to have what resembled a predatory animal no matter how intelligent staring at me. My eyes started watering. I had a terrible fear of being bound up, and this was no exception. Her paw like hand descended getting closer to my face as I looked away towards a non existent escape desperately wanting to break free. Breathing heavily, I felt a warm padded finger touch my cheek and I froze. I expected the underside of her bulky digit to feel cold and have texture resembling that of sandpaper. But touching my skin was a very warm soft pad that resembled a skin like leather. It was supple and soft as it traced over the small distance over my cheek before stopping at the edge of my neck. Then it was replaced by a sharp point digging in that snapped me from my frozen trance. I thrashed around again as she traced her claw from my jaw down my neck. "Wha-what are you doing?" I choked out trying to stop from bursting into tears from fully blown fear. Her claw stopped short at my clavicle and she mumbled something while my heart pounded, threatening to burst from its bony jail to run away by itself.

"Based off what we found in that building you were captured in, your name is John magis hos siz twenty seven years old. Day of birth is April trinto."

"How do you know all of that?!" I yelled interrupting her. She slyly stepped back and showed a small black book with the word Journal imprinted in faded silver letters. I had forgotten entirely about the thing since the world ended. They must've searched my entire house after catching me to end up with my journal. It was given to me for my twelfth birthday and I used it mostly to record dreams and a number of other personal information to remember. I was more than angry that they obtained something so valuable of mine. It probably didn't have any worth to them, but they knew it meant a lot to me. Another round of pointless struggling ensued until my muscles ached wanting to rest. The canid captor simply watched me tire myself out before patting my thinly veiled chest.

"I'll come back tomorrow to talk when you're hopefully more chojbalsam with a heart meutt won't threaten to kill you," she said pulling a small syringe out from her coat pocket. I didn't even have enough energy to attempt in struggling but I did manage to grunt feeling the needle poke through my skin. A tiny amount of clear liquid was pumped in and only a few seconds passed before my eyelids started to feel heavy. I wanted to cry again but even that seemed too tiresome. She whispered something to me that I couldn't quite make out before walking away, her fluffy red and white tail swishing behind. Darkness continued encroaching on my vision once more and I fell into the unconscious realm of sleep.

The next time I woke up was no different except for a small band aid over the inside of my elbow. Possibly from pulling blood or who knows what. The ceiling was the same off white making me feel like a frog ready for dissection. I made an effort to break free only to give up seeing how pointless it was.

"I can't take much more of this." I sighed fearing the worst for whatever these half animals had in store for me.

"Good to see you've finally cracked." My ears dialed in hearing her voice. Turning my head over, I noticed the same wolf and fox creature sitting in a chair watching me. My eyes stared into her brownish golden ones with fear and curiosity.

"I'll free you from your bonds if you do not plan any silly escape," she offered calmly crossing her legs. The first word that crossed my mind was escape before she even finished her sentence.

"Deal," I said. If escape was impossible then at least I could be comfortable as a prisoner. She got up and came over. The furry creature looked me over once more before starting with the lowest bonds around my shins. I watched her funny paw hands with great anticipation as she undid the belt like restraints, slowly freeing me from the bottom up. I really enjoyed the sound of the clasps being undone as I crackled my joints. She paused eyeing me once more before undoing the last one over my chest and shoulders. With a metallic snap, the belt like restraint was unfastened and pulled away. I took a big gulp of air and rotated my shoulders enjoying the freer setting. I couldn't help but notice her keeping an eye on me with the new freedom she gave me. As much as I wanted to bolt, I only allowed my body to sit up and finish the stretch before forcing myself to lay back down on my side in a more comfortable position.

"Thank you." I mumbled crossing my arms.

"Welcome." She replied with a smirk before sitting back down. Silence returned once more with many thighs buzzing around my head, but mostly one in particular.

"How... can we understand each other?" I asked. "You spoke gibberish before catching me." She smiled with her thin black lips before pointing to her large ear.

"We put a small machine in your ear." My hand immediately felt over the area with a concerned look causing her to giggle amusedly. "Stop. Can't feel it inside."

"Then how?" I repeated feeling an embarrassed redness overcome my face. She calmed down but retained a healthy grin.

"It knows your thoughts in a pattern by reading and begins translating them. So when you talk, I can understand through my small machine in me."

"That's insane." I mumbled receiving a focused look from her.

"Insane." She repeated slowly. "It doesn't know that one yet."

"Unspeakable, crazy, strange." I gave her synonyms, and she nodded understanding at least one if them.

"Thanks. Over time it will integrate finely so if I talk in my language, you will answer in it without knowing. I like it so my language stays dominant." I didn't exactly have much to say to that, but I felt pretty lucky that dying as a lab experiment wouldn't happen. "The more talking we do, the better for the machine so there are venski koplos." I nodded understanding mostly what she meant. Talk to build up a dictionary. "Questions?" She offered. Surprisingly I couldn't think of anything from the top of my head. Her unwavering stare though didn't seem to blink as I shuffled around the bed.

"What happened to earth?" I asked breaking the silence once more. Her black pointed ears flicked.

"To tell you the truth, we aren't very sure. Could have been some segesvar molti burst or dark energy mishap. We don't have a clue as to why so far since we came here."

"Why are you here?"

"Military exploring space. Nothing serious."

"Why look on my planet then? You had a group hunt me down."

"My group's mission was only to retrieve as many survivors as we could. It just so happens that you were the only one in our assigned area to be alive," she said folding her arms across her chest

"So I am the only survivor?" I asked.

"Well, in the western half of your continent there were plenty of survivors, but as for your half, tommoplass."

"Oh." Was all I could reply looking down at the bed. Hearing the news from someone who knew rather than simply assuming was different. I truly was alone for those weeks. "So where are we now?" I looked around the hospital room noticing how advanced, yet simple, it really was. "Is this some sort of base hidden on earth that people didn't know about?"

"We're above the planet you live on in a large rekkaf mund narhk."

"Ok." I wasn't entirely sure what, but it was probably something like that ship thing they landed with. I simply stared around the room before watching her again. Everything was a bit much to take in so suddenly. From implants in your head to a completely new race of beings far more advanced than the planet I grew up on, life must've had something in store for me. But for the moment I had my eyes on this furred creature. Her figure was powerful like a wolf, yet coupled perfectly with the finesse of a fox. I shook my head to stop admiring my captor. As far as I knew, she was trying to get information out of me or hopefully to just keep a watchful eye out.

"Any other questions?" she asked as I noticed her tail slowly swaying behind her.

"Are you a wolf or a fox?"

"Half and half. Dad was the wolf, mother was the fox. Instead of choosing I simply call myself a wolfox to not pick sides." she smiled. "Although since it isn't a national ethnicity on my home planet, we can commonly be called Folfs, Woxes, or simply hybrids." The names were amusing to me but I thought wolfox at least addressed both equally than the others.

"Your tail. Is it real?" I questioned the swaying appendage only for her to look at me bewildered before shaking her head with an amused grin splayed along her muzzle.

"I can assure you it's real," she said holding it up by the tip for me to see. The top half was a red like that of a fox before transitioning to a thin line of grey, then a snowy white at the bottom. The tip she held was also the same white.

"Why was your group entirely composed of women?"

"Is there a problem with females being in the military?" She asked with an arched brow line.

"No. I just noticed you and the other three weren't men."

"About ninety five percent of our armed forces are females, but it has only been that way for about four generations. You see, most of our males just lost interest with us and essentially swapped roles with females."

"What do you mean by swapped and lost interest?"

"They took over female jobs so we took most of theirs, and by interest I mean most of them are homosexual now leaving plenty of females single. Because of that, a good number of single females went into the military since they weren't tied down at home. So our society is kind of fresh and new." That definitely was different to me. The only things that really changed over four generations to me was technology and civil rights.

"So why did all four of you chase me and try shooting me?"

"Hey you ran from us first, and there wasn't any real danger since those weapons were stun class."

"Well you always told the other three to split up, did you want to chase me down just for the fun of it?" I asked.

"It was fun to chase you, I'll admit that, but if I didn't catch you one of the others in my squad would have instead," she explained shifting in her seat.

"I don't see how that would make a difference."

"Nokchut lav, the skunkette would've broken you're arm before knocking you out because of all the trouble she had trying to catch you. From running into the fence, to jamming a finger and so on." Knowing that I was able to outrun and elude soldiers from an advanced alien culture actually made me grin with a small sense of pride. "Oh and put this on," she said handing me a thin leather bracelet of sorts before quickly turning away. I looked it over seeing a few smaller colored strings attached to it giving the trinket a sense of uniqueness.

"What's it for?" I questioned slipping it on before tightening it.

"Umm... So the nurse or anyone else won't bother you," she said quickly.

"So if someone is too close or up in my face I show them this?"

"...Yeah." I didn't really want to question her since being bothered was the last thing I wanted. "I'll order something real for you to eat," she said making her way to the door before pressing a colored square on a control panel. Folva sat back down and a minute later there was a knock at the door. A small plate of food was delivered by the feline nurse before she made a few notes and left. It didn't look bad or taste bad when I took a bite. A slab of what looked to be a fish and a few funny colored small fruits was all it was though. The utensil provided had me for a loop though. Sure it looked like a plastic spoon, except it had two wider prongs on the outside like a fork. My captor, however, simply watched me without ordering anything for herself.

"Aren't you hungry?" I asked only to receive a shaking head.

"It's fine, I'm going to leave pretty soon anyway." She told me checking a clock. "And you could probably use some natural sleep from being knocked out in the morning." I watched as she walked over to the door before I realized something important.

"Oh wait! What is your name? You know mine after all," I stopped her halfway out the door.

"Folva," she turned her head briefly towards me with a grin.

"Folva," I repeated as she left shutting the door.

The next morning was much more peaceful waking up to without being bound to something or being harassed by doctors and military members alike. My nose could still detect the odor of disinfectant among other things in the hospital like room. The almost silent whirring of an air conditioning unit would constantly remind me of where I was, and what I was wearing. Or lack thereof. I shivered, and out of habit, reached for a nonexistent blanket. Rolling over, my body bumped into something that stirred me completely awake. I was looking at Folva's pointed muzzle barely an inch away from my face. Her black nose breathed quietly puffing out light gusts of air onto me. She was asleep on the bed with me still dressed in that uncomfortable looking military uniform. I didn't really question why she was asleep beside me, I was actually glad the wolfox was there. That feeling of being alone scraped me again causing a cooler chill to affect me. My captor did look warm and at least peaceful while she slept. I scooted closer to her quietly so that our bodies nearly touched. I threaded an arm under her neck and the other under her top arm giving her a hug.

Her back and frame was muscular and strong, even soft from the fur hiding underneath her uniform. That came as no surprise to me. I hugged the wolfox despite assuming that she could have easily shot me or requested my death via medical lab. Her body was protective despite how alien it was to me. I nestled my head onto her shoulder taking a deep breath. It was comforting just to have someone there after going through an isolation hell for nearly a month. The fact that everyone you knew was most likely dead on a near empty planet was hard to take in so suddenly after your entire focus was concentrated on survival. I buried my eyes in the small open space of fur that her uniform didn't cover up at the moment. Her whiskers poked my neck as her nose wiggled. After a few quiet deep breaths, I told myself to undo the hug but my body didn't seem to want to. I wanted to move back but felt a pair of arms return the hug making me hold my breath out of shock and embarrassment.

"Are you alright John?" She said holding me as I kept my eyes hidden in her shoulder fur. The woman's voice was surprisingly soft.

"Yeah-I'm fine," I lied, my unsteady voice even betraying me.

"How about you tell me what's bothering you instead of trying to hide something," she said with a concerned look that I couldn't see. I felt a little angry and confused as I looked up from the little hiding place.

"Why are you acting so kind and caring to me now?" I said with a frustrated voice, never feeling this confused and unsure emotionally in all of my life. At first she remained silent holding me close, her heated body warming me through my thin garment. Although she seemed ready to say something. I clung onto her not really caring so much about the answer to the question, just so long as I had the physical comfort a little longer. The touch was surprisingly human, something I hadn't been accustomed to in a while. It took a few minutes for the sizzling anger to subside as I readied an answer. "I'm all alone," I whimpered out feeling afraid and helpless. Her grip tightened briefly in a squeeze that helped comfort me.

"Don't worry, we'll hok sthenn and take care of you until you fully recover," she said. I didn't feel like a prisoner anymore, just someone trying to recover in a hospital. Able to collect myself, I undid the hug and she let me roll onto my back next to her. "Better?" Folva asked.

"Yeah." I quietly replied. She didn't say anything else and we both just listened to the silence that the room provided. Time slowly passed and I felt something I hadn't since back on earth. I excused myself and shuffled over to the edge as nature called and carefully stood up from the bed and went to the small bathroom. A flush sounded leaving business done only for me to find Folva still in the hospital bed with her eyes closed. I cautiously approached over the cool light turquoise tile towards the end of the bed. Her breathing looked soft hopefully from falling back to sleep. I could finally study her for a change without scrutiny, at least physically. Her foot poking over the edge of the bed looked earlier similar to a humans. Little rough claws replaced nails, and black pads were underneath the toes and ball of the foot. The visible fur was a russet brown and black like that of a feral fox on earth. I brought my hand forward and lightly pressed my palm to her. The pads were warm and tough, yet soft with a leathery feel. Probably-

"You know that I've been awake right?" I froze before looking up to see her watching me with intent. My hand quickly retracted and I felt like a complete idiot. "I don't mind, just don't be stupid." Folva said resting her head back down on the pillow. Feeling embarrassed already, I didn't make use of her offer and instead climbed back into bed beside her. It should've been awkward to be laying in bed with a women, no matter how animal like andfurry, but I couldn't place why everything was a touch safer with her. I simply laid on my side in the small bed facing. We both stared at each other, her golden eyes with a hint of brown to my regular brown ones. I guess she tried to read my mind as I tried to her until a thought finally burned its way out of my thoughts.

"Why were you sleeping next to me anyway?" I asked thinking over all the possible places she could've slept at in my hospital room alone.

"Oh... The chairs aren't very comfortable and a bed is too good to pass up on." She said ruffling over a black ear with her hand.

"Then why were you here in the first place?"

"You are my responsibility so I'm keeping an eye out, and besides, I wasn't too sure if you would try to escape or not." she quickly defended herself sitting up. "The morning is only so long. You're needed somewhere else." The wolfox said leaving the bedside.

'Needed?' I wondered.

"Here. You can change into your old clothes and meet me outside." She tossed them from the counter to my makeshift bed. I waited for her to close the door shut before I disrobed. Surprisingly, they had been cleaned. The clothes from the day I was caught felt familiar giving me a little confidence as I stepped out of the room. There wasn't a word to describe the design of the hallway except as futuristic with all the funny panels that made it up. Folva was standing with folded arms and gave an approving smile seeing me better dressed.

"So what happens to me now?"

"Come with me and we will find out." She said turning to a different corridor for me to follow.

"Hold on. Aren't there some options so I know what I'll be getting into?" I asked worried walking beside her. I didn't really want to be separated from her since she was the only furry being I knew. The wolfox shrugged mumbling a few thoughts to herself before making one of them vocal.

"I can have you join my unit if you want to, but you will have to complete a basic training exercise," Folva said as if to read my mind.

"That's it? One training exercise?"

"Since you are native to the area we are currently stationed at, you get a free pass through most requirements compared to others like me. You may have to do others if you were transferred though." I nodded as we turned down another hall passing by a few other furry human like animals. Each of them stared at me probably how I stared at them during that first landing. Folva's insistent hand kept me occupied on walking though to a less used hallway on the edge of the ship with windows. I couldn't help but slow down to look outside one of the octagonal panes. The dark void of space with earth as a gigantic ball in the center was a fascinating scene to look at. A few stars were scattered like dust in distant space, making it all look like a painting on a wall. I felt an arm tug on me. "Come on, you'll see plenty of that on board." Folva said taking me by my arm down the corridor to a new door with funny writing above it.

"What room is this?"

"The Captain's office. I don't think he's busy." She replied as the door opened revealing a sort of office space. A small half human house cat was busy working on something at the large rectangular desk. His dark blue and violet fur mix made me think he was a cartoon character. He looked up and motioned for us to step forward.

"Does its implant work?" He asked pointing to me.

"His implant works fine." Folva put emphasis on me being a male.

"Oh finally another guy to talk to!" Vahan said leaning back in his chair. "I mean there's nothing wrong with the company I have now but all these women constantly around me when I am already in a union to someone I deeply love just isn't fair," he said briefly showing his wrist that wore a bracelet similar to the one that Folva had given me. A stern glance from her made him roll his eyes. He immediately reminded me of a hyperactive youngster. "So who and what are you?"

"John, and I'm... a human." I wasn't too sure how else to phrase it.

"Funny term for a species that looks structurally like us."

"If I may ask Captain, why did you order to have me captured and brought back here?" The feline looked surprised that I actually asked the question.

"To learn about your planet of course. We're an explorer unit of soldiers! It's embarrassing to not learn anything about the planet we find before the giant assault units appeared." He paused to give a sigh. "So we could really use you for information gathering."

"Captain, I suggest that he join my unit and scour around since he knows the area very well." He seemed to think it over nodding his head side to side.

"Do you have any problems or concerns with being in Sergeant Folva's group?" He looked at me.

"No, but what about this?" I pointed to the band aid in my elbow.

"Standard blood test. There is a piece of your mizuplunka that may help felines like me if we develop fur loss." I made a quick face. A friend of mine once had a "fur less" cat and it looked creepy. "Guess there's no problem... What dimensions are your body?" He quickly asked pulling out a pen.

"Uh. Pardon me?" I asked.

"Mesvuzhnit! Your size for clothing of course." Vahan said motioning with his hand before returning the pen to his desk expectantly. I gave him the details only to the feline to suddenly frown. "Wait! What about a room for him?" He looked back over to Folva.

"Well, seeing that this was all sort of unexpected, the human can room with me. I don't have any issues with having a roommate." She briefly raised her arm to him and he shrugged.

"Good. With the power invested in me, I now pronounce you a Feonican soldier." He said happily. "I'll have your uniform delivered in an hour to Folva's room. Dismissed." Folva gave a small bow and took me back outside into the corridor, my mind still sorting out everything thus far.

"So what exactly happened?"

"You're in my group so you won't have to be all alone, kept under constant guard, or something worse."

"So that guy is your commander? He's kind of talkative and impulsive."

"That's him in a nutshell. Captain Vahan is the only feline devoted to his first wife that he never wanted to marry anyone else."

"Is that unusual?" I had no clue about how their customs operated, especially along specie lines.

"Feline males usually marry two or three feline females, never just one. I guess he has his priorities set out." She said leading me into what looked like a cafeteria towards a table already occupied by three others. I practically hid behind the stronger wolfox recognizing the other three that hunted me down.

"Look what decided to show up." One of them said as they all stared at me.

"This is the team who I am sure you've seen before," she said pointing to the three other ladies. "Halexa is the skunk, Alya is the leopard, and Kipu is the calico cat." Each gave an introductory wave as their name was given.

'Halexa, Alya, and Kipu,' I reminded myself.

"His name is John and he will be part of our group."

"It's good to see you finally got out of that hospital room," the skunk said with an almost knowing smirk.

"All I did was look after him like I was supposed to," Folva snapped back. With Halexa and Folva arguing back and forth, I struck up a conversation with the calico feline.

"So you have never seen earth before?"

"Nope. Just discovered and put you on the map a while ago," Kipu said. "What exactly are you?"

"A human, but you're a calico cat?"

"In the fur before you." She responded showing a furry white paw to me. "Sorry about scaring you to death on so many occasions."

"Well if you can't beat them, join them." I said making her chuckle only to be interrupted.

"Alright. I'm going to show John around before coming back for a meal." Folva said taking my arm suddenly.

"Have fun." Halexa and Kipu said before taking another bite of whatever their native cuisine was.

After a complex mini tour that had me feeling lost, we stopped back by the cafeteria to eat and set out again through a new hallway. I later learned that the dish was basically a blue fish with wart like projections all over its back. It never helps to question what you are eating.

"With all this technology I was expecting teleportation, massive cloning, or something like that." I said recalling one of the lab rooms as we turned down yet another corridor.

"I'm not a scientist so I have no idea how to make something teleport if it was even possible. Cloning however is illegal, we don't let innovations get to our head anymore." Not a bad way to handle technology in my opinion. She then stopped me at a particular dark green door.

"What new room is this?" I asked seeing it had a handle on it. Only private rooms like the Captain's had handles, all the others were open entrances or sliding doors.

"Our room." Folva announced letting me in. It resembled more of a small hotel suite than a barracks room. I kicked my shoes off respectfully by the door before looking around the walls. It was a large nicely carpeted room with two beds and dressers across the door. "Looks like your uniform has arrived." She gestured at the set of clothes laying on a made bed. They were identical to what she and everyone else wore.

"Wow a private shower included!" I noticed two knob fixtures jutting out from the back wall.

"A nice perk for being a squad leader," she said stepping towards it. The alien shower hardly resembled an average one back on earth. There was a large metal square on the ceiling with dozens of small holes for water to pour out, and the floor had a small three foot by three foot depression made out of tile with a drain in the center. However there was no curtain to cover anyone up, but she did live by herself. "Both of us could use it now anyway." Folva recommended kicking off her military styled shoes and removing the shirt half of her uniform.

"Wait, there's no curtain or-"

"Oh come on we only sprayed you down with a disinfectant after I caught you," she said dragging my arm with her to the section of tiled floor. I was soon standing under the metal holed square as a nervous wreck, unsure if it was really about to happen. Folva stood back and without hesitation gracefully took off her bra revealing a modest pair of white furred breasts to me. My mouth managed to stay shut when her pants were lost quickly followed by a pair of panties, both with holes in the back for her tail. "Come on, I am not having that disinfectant smell in the room." She said giving me a convincing tug.

"Alright." She wasn't so hesitant on disrobing in front of me. I soon tossed my clothes, and even my boxers after a bit of hesitation. I noticed Folva had on an identical wrist necklace to the one she gave me earlier and decided to keep mine on, unsure if it was a cultural thing or not. She clicked something on the tiny panel below the knobs before giving one of them a firm twist. Warm water then cascaded over me from the ceiling. Folva stepped back into the shower space and I watched her shower. I gave a silent prayer that I was too nervous to feel completely aroused as her body occasionally brushed against mine. Whenever a foot, tail tip or elbow brushed against goosebumps would inadvertently form on my back. Folva acted indifferently as she washed over her fur coat with what appeared to be a smooth aqua colored loofa. The wolfox suddenly stopped and looked at me with concern.

"Why are you so skittish? It's not like I'm chasing you again." It took a ton of willpower to keep eye contact with her.

"Oh, umm... On earth men normally don't go naked around women, unless they're married." I explained.

"Well that does explain why so many in the military union with their roommate," she half said to herself. "Alright, you won't mind if we're back to back then?" I watched as she turned around before I hastily did the same. Washing would have been easier if her furry back didn't constantly bump and press against mine along with her butt and swishing tail.

'At least the bathroom is closed off.' I glanced towards an open door against the wall managing to clean myself.

"All washed up back there?" Folva asked glancing back. I stiffened feeling her wet tail curl around my leg just above the knee.

"Y-yeah." I replied feeling her take a step away before the water ceased. I turned and caught a towel that was thrown at me. She casually opted for a large vent blowing air into the room. I dried off the best I could while she stood next to the vent fluffing her lovely fur out in full view. "Is there something for me to wear for bed?" I asked holding the thick towel securely.

"You can borrow something from me or use the outfit Captain Vahan provided." She said. The stiff uniform wasn't too appealing for sleep, so I decided to try both.

"Do you have a spare shirt?" I asked as she dug through a small dresser.

"Catch," the wolfox tossed a plain white t-shirt to me before putting one on herself. The shirt smelled like her as I put it on along with the military provided underwear and pants. The material was very thin and breathable, which made sense for a fully furred being like Folva. I hung the towel up and took a deep breath, the shirt smelled nice. I turned feeling a breeze on my backside only to cover the top part of my rear.

"Folva there's an open area!" I said feeling skin beneath the palm. My face was obviously red as she gave an amused grin at my reaction.

"Hold on let me see," she said prying the hand away only to giggle. "I guess they didn't know that you lacked a tail. I can patch it up if you don't mind."

"Yes please," I said before giving a yelp as she gave my rear a firm slap. The wolfox dug through a drawer before finding a needle with some thread.

"Come lay down with me." She pointed to her bed, although I didn't know she meant lay on her. It was the most awkward position I had been in my entire life, laying across her lap with my rear facing her. She slowly sewed the patch on while keeping a firm hand on either one of my cheeks.

"Why do you Feonicans just randomly explore?" I asked resting my head in its side. She paused a moment to think.

"It started out mostly to find new space to settle on and collect resources, but along the way we found a handful of planets with life. Yours is the most advanced that we have discovered even with the unknown demise your population suffered." It wasn't every day your planet goes through some catastrophic event that not even an alien race visiting knows what went on.

"It's funny. I mean a few days ago I thought I was the last man on earth being hunted down for who knows what, and now I'm technically a soldier rooming with a wolfox who I can talk to." Folva chuckled continuing to sew.

"You and Vahan always wanting someone to talk to. At least you have me, Vahan doesn't like talking to other women for fear of being seduced or something."

"Strange cat." I mumbled letting her continue.

"All done!" She exclaimed allowing me to get up. I felt over the small patchwork satisfied. "Get ready for bed, we wake up early." I nodded and strolled over to my bed only two steps away, stopping by one of the two synthetically made dressers along the way. I looked over on her tiny dresser seeing a package of Oreos that had been opened.

"How did you get these?" I asked picking them up.

"You dropped them along with the bags of food you had the second day we chased you. I have to admit, they are pretty good." Folva must have loved them, there were only a few left. Skimming over the rest of the surface, I noticed something familiar. I picked up a common black book with faint silver letters from the back of her dresser.

"How were you able to read this without even knowing that it existed?"

"I couldn't read the thing in my lifetime so I found a Decrypter who could add everything into a computer."

"How much did he decrypt?"

"First two or three pages I think." I gave an inward sigh, no ones inner conscience is clean.

"Do you mind if I keep it now?"

"You can have it. I'm not going through the hassle to find the operator of the translation computers again." She said before flipping a switch causing the lights to dim down almost to a pitch dark. I set the book down and crawled into my new bed as she dove into hers. The bed was soft, relaxing, and more spacious than the hospital units. Other than the single pillow being really long, everything was reminiscent of a regular home. My body however, tossed and turned for maybe ten or so minutes before finding some comfort on my back. The nagging thought that everyone I had known was now gone forever made me want to curl into a ball and cry. All I could do to keep myself together was feel over the tiny beads and woven strings of the small bracelet as I stared into the dark ceiling. Taking a bunch of deep breaths helped to stave off the cords of bundled raw emotions stored inside of me. "Need any company over there John?" A quiet voice broke the quite darkness. I turned my head from staring at the ceiling. The offer was tempting as I mulled it over. "I'll be right here if you need anything." Folva's head rested back on her pillow giving me a nervous feeling.

"W-wait," I said getting out of the bed before approaching hers. She scooted over making room as I crawled in beneath the sheets.

"I knew you'd come around." Folva said happily as I laid down with my back to her.

"Hey. Thanks again for letting me stay in your room."

"No problem, now let's get some dreams brewing." The vixen scooted closer. I closed my eyes able to feel her comforting body heat near me. An arm went over my mid section as a content full sigh was breathed. I didn't know how sleeping with someone alien recently captured worked in Feonican society, but it was comforting me. I placed my hand overtop her furrier one and quickly fell asleep.

"Is that from the new planet?" A tigress said before a female raccoon covered her mouth out of surprise rather than disgust. The wolfox and I continued down the hall before taking a right through a pair of double doors. It was a small matted room with gym equipment and quite a few others had already preoccupied the space using it to stay fit.

"Just ignore everybody else," Folva said despite all the other pairs of eyes clearly peeking glances at me. That was tough for me to do since all but one of them were female, but I managed by following her to a door where she entered a code on a control pad. The door opened like any other on the vessel and we walked in to a similarly sized room. A few pieces of equipment hung on the walls probably to practice with.

"So, training exercises huh?" I said turning towards her.

"One on one combat?" She asked quickly setting the clipboard down before cracking her paw like knuckles.

"Wait what?" I backed away from her.

"Whoever is knocked on their back is out ok?" She said approaching me with her arms ready.

"No I don't like that."

"If you beat me I won't make you do any of the others." She offered closing in ready to pounce. I jumped out of the way narrowly avoiding her arms before she lunged again.

"Folva!" I yelled as she chased me across the room before blocking me to a wall. Running out of wiggle room, I headed for the right only to come up short. Folva tackled me to the ground handily, leveling me as if I were a turtle on its back. I breathed uneasily as her paw hands had my shoulders effectively pinned. "O-ok. You got me."

"Want to try again?" Her breath wafted down to me.

"No thanks." I replied looking at her vulpine grin hanging just above my face.

"Alright, we will do other things." She stood and helped me up. The wolfox later took me by a small area to practice firing their types of hand held weapons, which was pretty fun whether you were into firearms or not. The best word that my translator could come up with for the type was a "cycler" gun. For the most part their pistol looked like a human pistol except for a wheeled chamber in front of the trigger that made the ammo fire out similar to a blaster. The best part was the sound each shot made with very little recoil.

"The firing range is a lot of fun."

"Even though you barely passed the accuracy test?" She questioned.

"I did pass." I replied confidently turning back down the hall to her room.

"True, and I can help your accuracy and send the report up to Vahan so it's all official."

"Can you not send him the report about you taking me down in less than a minute?" I sheepishly asked with a grin.

"Why? A female dominating in hand to hand combat bother you?" Folva asked as we went by a few open rooms.

"A little..." Of course it was embarrassing, but having a military comprised of females lessened the feeling.

"You're just being a sore loser." She giggled bumping her shoulder into mine.

"It's the second time you caught me. I should find a way to get even with you." I joked.

"You get to sleep with me every night, isn't that fair enough since you don't like being alone?" She got me there. I zipped my lips as she smiled brightly. We passed yet another door with strange markings on top of them, and I wanted to know what was behind the door without barging in. "Is there any way I can learn Feonican letters like the translator in my head works?"

"I could teach you if you would like. There aren't that many to memorize."

"Can we start now?"

"Sure," The wolfox turned down the hallway to where her room was. "We don't have anything else to do as of now." Of course I didn't have anything to do, my home planet was in ruin. Going back into her room, I handed over my journal for her to use. She wrote out the equivalent of their alphabet, which thankfully was limited to twenty four characters to memorize. "I suspect that you want me to read them out loud."

"Please do."

My journal quickly became a workbook of sorts to learn their strange alphabet over the next few days. And over the following week, we spent most of our time together walking around the large Feonican vessel. Folva would explain just about anything we came across on the ship or any question I had about the Feonicans themselves. A couple hundred years ago, the three confederations that controlled their planet united. Then their space explorations and colonization began about one hundred and fifty years ago resulting in the modern structure today.

"A, M, N." I finished the last three phonetic sounds in succession.

"Good job, you should be able to read just about anything out loud now and it only took you a couple of days to learn it."

"Having a wonderful teacher helps." I said making her tail flick up happily.

"Flatterer." She said as a loud knock sounded off at the door. "I got it." Folva stood up to answer it. I immersed myself to reciting the letters clearly in my head one last time. "What do you want now Ketens?!" Her loud voice said making me sit up straight. I couldn't see who it was in the doorway, but I did hear a nervous reply.

"I need to speak to the human on behalf of Captain Vahan." I could have sworn that Folva growled at the request. She turned and politely called me over. I stood I the doorway only to find myself looking a little downward at a cat. The small feline looked like his fur was made of gold except for his black tipped ears and nose. The big surprise was that he was the third guy on this large ship that I had seen, including Vahan. "Can I talk to him privately?" He requested. Folva huffed and closed the door without slamming it. "Hello, I am Ketens. Captain Vahan told me that you would know some information or where to gather some records about your planet."

"Like a document or book?"

"Yes." He replied with a nod.

"I do know a few places where I can find a few that will help your search."

"Good! Vahan wants to send you back down to your planet, assuming that you feel up to the task."

"By myself?"

"No, with Sergeant Fovla's group soon."

"That's fine with me... If I may ask, why you are you so afraid of Folva?"

"She's... beaten me up plenty of times during training since I tend to deliver menial missions and tasks to her." Ketens said pinning his ears back.

I tied my shoes once more and stared at the small pod like attachment to a small ship. The ship carrying the pod resembled a large exotic fish one would find at the bottom of the ocean. Apparently that was our ticket to being transported to earth, and noticeably I was nervous.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of a smaller closed spaces. This is only a Kenfa dropper that can seat up to eight." Halexa reassured me teasingly as we waited for Folva to return. Kipu and her liked to poke fun at him while Alya simply stood by silently as always. The wolfox finally reappeared from a doorway as a pilot stepped into the small ship that carried the pod.

"Alright everybody, we've been given orders to search out our area for collecting documents, records, texts, whatever you call it!" Folva said with an authoritative voice before leading us onto the platform to dock the strange thing.

"Not the commanding type off duty huh?" Kipu said quietly to me with a smirk.

"Does she get that from her wolf half?"

"Pretty much," she said.

"What's her fox half like then?"

"I don't know, you're around her more than us." Kipu giggled as we went inside the small pod like machine.

"So how does this exactly work?" I asked aloud sitting with them in the small rectangular space of white walls. Halexa spoke up.

"When we are close to the overhead target, the floor opens up and we parachute down." I nodded and waited feeling the pod being carried out of the ship with a small vessel. An engine was heard before we took off down to earth, but I wasn't as nervous as I should've been. It almost felt like a vacation since I knew earth was the destination. There weren't any windows to keep up with how fast the ship was going as the pod was carried down. Folva kept her eyes focused on the other three more than me, making me feel less like an outsider.

"Alright get ready." The floor suddenly opened up with a whoosh and all five of us were dropped from the pod. My mouth held a scream back noticing we weren't all that far from the ground. Earth didn't look too different from what I could tell through the small adrenaline rush. The landscape looked more empty of moving things, but that was about it. I forcefully yanked the cord as everyone else did allowing the parachute to open up, and we quickly glided down to the ground side by side. I pointed to a nuclear power plant noticing that it was inactive without any typical smoke bellowing from its top. "What happened to it!" I yelled.

"Other units disabled all of your naokhimbrum to prevent further trouble if anyone else was alive," Halexa yelled back as we parachuted to earth. I gave a thumbs up barely able to hear her. Quite humanitarian for what I thought were a bunch of animals. A small vacant piece of property quick came into view as our landing sight. I knew the area pretty well since it was a frequent spot I used to drive through. I landed on my rear roughly where everyone else landed firmly on their feet with an easy bounce.

"Are you ok John?" Halexa and Kipu helped me to my feet despite my legs feeling like jello.

"Never sky dived before." I said taking a deep breath, grateful to be back on the ground. "But why don't you have machines scout out and pick up what you need? Don't Feonicans have the technology to let little machines do all the work?" Their expressions tightened somewhat.

"We had a tough experience with machines a generation and a half ago." Folva said. "Artificial intelligence is dangerous, so we do all the work ourselves." Alya raised her bulky rifle catching our attention. A little noise was heard under a piece of metal scrap. Everyone else had their weapons drawn quickly as well. "Careful!" Folva ordered me as I stooped down by it. If I was the only human left in my area, what could be that dangerous left over? With a quick hand I lifted it aside. A little cat looked back up at me with fearful eyes and meowed. The Feonicans lowered their weapons relieved it wasn't anything dangerous.

"Kipu it looks just like you!" Halexa said pointing to the small cat. The calico female hid behind me and Folva nearly shaking.

"Why are you so scared? It couldn't hurt you." I said looking over my shoulder.

"My brother was once cute and little, but his claws hurt and dug so deep!" She shivered from a memory that I wasn't familiar with.

"I'm surprised that the little guy survived," I held my hand out only for it to hide.

"Just let it stay there. What about the mission Folva?"

"Right. John, any native advice on where to find what we're looking for?"

"We'll find plenty of information in that house." I pointed to a small home down the road.

"Lead the way." The wolfox proclaimed. Most of the street was in ruin from houses appearing to be flattened out next to damaged property.

"What is that over there?" Halexa pointed to a windmill.

"A windmill. It provides electricity from wind energy."

"We don't have anything like that. There's hardly any wind back home." She replied as a breeze ruffled our uniforms. I led them up the driveway to a medium sized brick house. Pushing the door open, the inside was revealed to be very run down and in disarray. Part of the roof had collapsed creating an unnecessary yet abstract sunroof for the abandoned shelter. "Alya, guard the front." Folva commanded. "John you know what to look for. Contact us when you find the information."

"Yes ma'am." I said earning a brief smile from her. The first steps inside weren't really easy though with all the broken materials in the way.

"Any reason why you chose this house instead of the one we were dropped by?" Folva asked kicking some debris in her path.

"Because if I remember correctly, this is where the now dead librarian used to live."

"Who?" Halexa said pointing to her ear.

"Book collector." I rephrased receiving a knowing nod from them. We then split up to scour the house, Folva and Kipu going upstairs, while me and Halexa covered the ground level.

"Where should I search John?" Halexa asked as floorboards above us creaked with our companions' steps.

"Try that room," I pointed to the living room. "I'll go through the hall." The skunkette nodded and I went down the darker passage. I stepped into a relatively untouched room with the exception of an unmade bed. 'If I were a librarian, where would I keep a set of books?' The bedroom was a good spot to find what I was looking for. Crouching down, I spotted a few boxes under her bed. "Jackpot." I looked inside seeing a few stacks of blue books and picked one up with a golden letter A on the spine. "Printed in 2002, not bad." I looked over it and opened the cover only to feel squeamish. A photo of someone was taped inside staring back at me. I turned the page. Knowing the face was gone forever just depressed everything. I dropped the book hearing a scream and ran back into the living room. Halexa had her weapon drawn and fired it twice into what was apparently a jack-in-the-box. The toy was shot into a few burnt pieces crumbling to the floor.

"What's going on in here?!" Folva yelled running into the room with her gun drawn, soon followed by Kipu.

"It's just a jack-in-the-box." I interrupted them.

"A what?" They said in unison pointing to their ears.

"A children's toy!"

"But it jumped out at me." Halexa said folding her ears back embarrassed. Folva took a relieved sigh and looked at the destroyed toy, then me.

"Did you find whatever Captain Vahan requested?"

"I think so," I led them into the other room. "These should help your information gatherers plenty." I said pointing to the encyclopedia set.

"Those things look heavy." Kipu groaned. It took two trips, but the material was successfully brought outside onto the cracked driveway.

"We need a Hujin transport ship now. Mission completed." She spoke into a small device. While everyone else wasn't looking, the wolfox snuck a quick peck on my cheek leaving my face blushing lightly.

"John what's wrong with your face?" Halexa asked.

"Oh. Um, just the sunlight." I responded making Folva snicker beside me. A medium sized ship like the one that first landed weeks ago arrived a few minutes later, and after loading up we took off into the atmosphere.

"Not bad, and everything went according to plan." Folva said patting the stack of books as we quickly approached the explorer class ship. She snuck a smile to me.

"You didn't have to take the librarian's clothes though Halexa." Kipu said frowning at the stack of at least fifty dresses piled on the skunkette's lap.

"Hey it's not like anyone else will use them now." She retorted before sneezing. "I wish they weren't so dusty though."

"Why did you want to keep the cat Alya?" Folva asked the leopard. Alya merely shrugged with a slight grin holding the kitten close to her.

"What do those things eat John? If it dies all of us will be responsible." Kipu added.

"Let's see... Cooked meat will be fine, but since he's kind of small warm milk should be provided."

"That's not too much."

"AH! What the hell?!" I looked over and Alya was nursing the kitten herself.

"Have some decency Alya!" Halexa covered her eyes as the others followed suit, grumbling with annoyance. Folva and I stared at each other to pass the time and awkwardness.

"Why did you have to mention milk?" She whispered. I shrugged and the wolfox chose to roll her eyes at me.

Folva's strong hand led me down the hallway as she seemed to walk with a little urgency.

"Where are we going exactly?" I asked as we turned down another corridor.

"The small spa we have on board. I think I pulled a muscle the other day when we were out on the field."

"A spa on board a military ship?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It's not luxurious by any means, and besides it's run by medical staff so soldiers don't have to take up hospital beds for minor stuff."

"I'll pass."

"What? Multiple women massaging and catering to you for a while isn't enjoyable?"

"I'd rather not, but I'll wait for you if you want." I didn't like the idea of being embarrassed in front a bunch of military personnel. The whole being touched by a stranger wasn't appealing to me anyway.

"Aww, you're just being nervous." Folva tugged my arm playfully as we entered a small room. It was nice and quaint reminding me of a hair salon with three massage beds accompanied by a large bath in the back. I made myself comfortable by the door. Folva undressed in a small booth and exited wearing a towel wrapped around her elegant form. I found myself staring at the wolfox as she walked over and laid down on the massage table front first. A wink from her golden eyes snapped me from the trance, and I looked away pretending to be uninterested. An otter came over and after a quick chat she began massaging Folva feet and calves. I honestly would've preferred sky diving back down to earth again for some action. Being with Folva was great, but this had to be the exception watching her being rubbed down naked. Was I a tad jealous? "Come on over and join me John, they're only medical personnel remember?" She said with closed eyes as the otter massaged her back. My body remained stiff as a board standing against the wall.

"No thank you. I'm fine." I said only for her to huff a relaxed sigh. Folva whispered something I couldn't quite pick up to the large otter making her chuckle. My sight occupied the floor until I felt a pair of strong hands grab both my arms. "Hey." I looked over seeing two of the medics, a jackal and a husky, walking me towards the massage table next to Folva.

"Folva has given us an order to relax you." The husky said making my skin crawl.

"Folva!" I struggled only for the stronger women to drag me over. The wolfox simply grinned and watched from the sidelines. During the struggle a claw poked my back and I noticed a third Feonican behind me.

"The Captain requests to see you immediately." A gold feline said as the two medics released me. The ladies frowned at the news as I gave a comforted sigh.

"You saved me there Ketens." I patted his shoulder thankfully, walking with him to the door.

"Don't make me get up and drag you back," Folva whined reaching an arm out to me. It was a cute warning only because she wouldn't do it publicly naked.

"I'll meet up with you back at your room." She faked a frown but couldn't hold it as her lips curled into a sweet grin.

"Okay." Her ears flicked towards me cutely as she relaxed back on the massage bed. I just smiled back and quietly closed the door following the messenger out.

I knocked on the door before entering the Captain's office space. Vahan was busily writing something down before looking up and waving me over.

"Any specific reason why you called me here captain?" I asked standing before his desk.

"I figured you would want to hear how things have been going at your recovering planet where there are survivors." I gave an eager nod for him to continue. "The assault class ships are helping your species rebuild in the few regions they are left in. Plenty of areas will remain uninhabitable for quite some time though."

"So no other survivors in my sector?" I had to ask.

"Afraid the only other survivors were along the coast a great distance from you." I didn't know anybody that lived on any coast, so I was out of luck. "One assault class ship will stay for a year only in human areas away from dangerous zones, but I have to admit that your species is a strange bunch. Most of them reportedly feared us although a few small groups practically hugged us at first sightings." He stopped to chuckle and finish whatever he was writing.

"Thank you for the good news, it is relieving to hear." I said shifting my stance. "Anything other news to mention or am I dismissed?"

"No, we need to talk about something," He said "I don't have anyone else to talk to."

"Uhh... Ok." I said as he shuffled through a drawer in his desk.

"Want a nepzo?" He asked holding up what looked like a large white gum ball. He tossed me one and I looked at it. "Eat it. The taste is sweet." Vahan insisted. I popped the strange round candy into my mouth and it instantly began melting like ice into a milky texture.

"Mm. It does taste sweet."

"You know, the first ones they sold would actually stick to your teeth if you tried chewing it.

"That couldn't have been an easy sell." I replied making him laugh.

"Have you watched the film Russet Red? That's similar to what a detective grip searches for."

"Never heard of it."

"What about the Green Arc? Menthea our Beloved?" All of which I shook my head. "Those are classics!"

"I'm not Feonican, your movies will be different than ours."

"Ugh!" His head briefly met the desk in a smack. "How are supposed talk like regular guys then?"

"Just say some of the things you like I guess."

"That's part of the problem now. All these female soldiers just don't have any common interests to even talk about unless it's about military orders."

"I'm not a female, so just go for it." I felt like a psychiatrist as he leaned back in his chair and stretched before getting up and walking over to a picture hanging on the wall.

"I really liked numbers when I was little, so I went into the field of statistics for school. There I found animation and other related stuff before I went into the military at sixteen, and things worked alright."

"Why did you join the military then since you enjoyed the animation and statistics field so much?"

"My grandfather was an officer so I went his route and my skills, interests, served very well. That beats being a biosphere farmer like my dad. He owns large plantations on a half dozen or so satellites with very low gravity. Imagine how boring that would be!" Someone floating around a bunch of plants in space under a dome had to be uneventful.

"With your high office can't you use spare time as you see fit?"

"Technically I'm first in command since I am the Captain and all, but usually I'm stuck in my office or in the cockpit during most hours."

"Can't you have someone below you in rank help lighten the load more often?" I asked only to receive a shake from the faded yellow feline.

"Second in command on this ship is Jan Roboné, and she is already busy doing plenty of field work as it is. Then again most collies like her enjoy doing all that field work." He mused to himself. "Although I'm fine with what little things I can do in my spare time."

"Sounds like you have a good few interests, but what could you do with them while stuck in the middle of space?"

"Eh. I love the whole 'collecting data' thing, and cloning helps with that a lot with that."

"I thought cloning and using genetics to resurrect dead or copy living people was illegal?"

"It is but higher up military officers of various positions have a rare opportunity to use it so long as we don't install their personality, or any personality at all. Of course there are other rules like you can't use them as field soldiers or test subjects to medicines et cetera. After all that, the military is limited to using them as combat trainees so to speak. We can analyze and test them in mock fights against each other or to give more experience to soldiers."

"That's incredible!" I said as he gave a grateful coy smile in return. It was like training with the dead to be even smarter and stronger.

"Although you are slightly mistaken about the cloning aspect. We don't necessarily need their genetic makeup, which doesn't limit us to those who were born." Vahan had me for a loop there.

"What do you mean not limited to those born?"

"As long as it is a genetically mapped species. If you imagine someone in your head and get their design to blueprints onto a computer, he or she can be created."

"What?"

"From paper to breathing," he stated with a renewed proud smile. "So long as it isn't physically impossible to exist, like a superpower. We can create the person, just not the superpower of course." That was insane to hear, and I had my doubts it was completely true.

"So you have copies of imagined and formerly living people deactivated right now when not in use?"

"Pretty much. Although since I love statistics, I used them once to hold a tournament to see who was the strongest while recording data." All I had to do was raise an eyebrow and he ran over to his desk. A lot of shuffling was heard as he dug through papers in a drawer before popping back up with a notepad in hand. "It might be a little smudged, but here's the double elimination sixteen bracket tournament." I looked over the small list of names. It wasn't too hard to read Feonican thanks to my studying but they were only phonetic names to decipher, not complete sentences.

'Maoi... Kane Schwartz... Ahmose...' Plenty of strange names to me as I went down the list. "Any reason the name Hugo has a mark next to it?" The cat briefly swiped the notepad before giving it back.

"He is the only one we couldn't test, but I did receive the blueprints from the family who originally created him. You see the seven foot tall tiger is actually made synthetically as a machine. So you can understand why we didn't want to build him from scratch, but he was statistically a weak fighter. His original purpose forever ago was to keep the families son guarded as a brother."

"I see." I looked over the list of names. Of course I had never heard of them, but I was intrigued nonetheless. It was like a kid could test a video game before him in real life. I ran down the lost of names wondering how they were like when alive or imagined. "Who won? It doesn't show a winner, just the first lineup." I pointed out.

"Lune, he's somewhere in the middle. As long as he has his sword, that feline can't be beaten by anyone in close combat. Although you shouldn't discredit the others. Suxho, Maoi, Magellan, and Lockheart are the rest of the top five respectfully."

"Can I see any of them in action?"

"Sure! I can show you around late morning tomorrow at the special training facility a few levels down if you would like." This I had to see.

I opened the door to Folva's room finding her dressing for bed. My eyes peeked for a moment before I closed the door, alerting my presence to the wolfox.

"How did your time with Vahan go?" She glanced back with a smile about to put a shirt on.

"It was interesting when he talked about having special privilege to use copies of dead people for training and stuff."

"He always loved numbers and data on people in a historical sense. Anything else that might actually be fun?" She swished her tail enticingly as I kicked off my shoes.

"Nah, had dinner in the cafeteria and walked around for a while before coming back here."

"Hmm. How about after your little tour with the dead tomorrow we go guard the upper deck and then grab a bite to eat."

"Sounds great, just let me shower and I'll be in bed shortly." I told her discarding my clothes.

"I didn't think humans needed to shower every night. We simply get a little musky after four days or so."

"Little would be an understatement for humans," I said turning the shower on. Folva merely laid back in bed listening to the water lightly splattering before the sounds of a towel and air vent replaced it. I thought it was strange that there wasn't some societal rule against nudity in private, but as long as Folva didn't gawk at me anymore I didn't mind. Dried off, I put on the pair of sleep clothes that she lent to me and dimmed the lights for us. The wolfox made room for me as I slid under the covers laying down facing away from her as usual.

"Any reason why you prefer sleeping with someone else when you have a bed all to your own a few steps away?" She asked scooting closer to me from behind.

"I like your company Folva." I felt her cool nose poke my neck chillingly as a paw rested on my side.

"I don't mind the reason, you really are great to cuddle with," she murmured rubbing my cheek with her muzzle.

"Thanks, so are you," I replied stroking a hand over her furry paw. It trailed along my side before jumping to my leg. I stiffened up hearing a murr from behind. The noise sounded a lot like a cat purring, only strangely human.

"Shyness is viewed as... very romantic to a lady in Feonican society." Folva continued rubbing her paw along the inside of my thigh, not quite backing up her words with action.

"Oh... Umm." I managed to say only for a cute vulpine giggle to be heard behind me.

"Goodnight John." She retracted her promiscuous hand, leaving her other arm threaded underneath my neck so it stuck out in front of me. I remained quiet feeling her exhale warm air against the back of my neck. Was that a little payback tease?

"Goodnight." I finally replied.

"Captain Vahan, are you-" I asked opening his office door.

"All ready to go?" He cheerily asked carrying a small tablet looking device as soon as I stepped into his office. I quickly found myself following the cat back into the hallway and down a few floors to a different door I hadn't seen before, then again the whole ship was like a maze. He typed in a pass code on the panel and the door slid open. "Right this way," he motioned for me to enter first. The area was about the size of half a football field and resembled an advanced Olympic styled wrestling room from earth. A few grey mats were stacked in a corner along with other equipment along the walls, but what really caught my eye were the four people standing in the center. "Let's meet them!" Captain Vahan said ahead of me as I quickly following the eager cat.

"But I thought they didn't have any personality?"

"They don't, but they can still talk and move obviously." We stopped by the first which just so happened to be a male skunk with white head fur covering nearly half his face. I stared at the fur in foreign looking military clothes. His visible eye looked half annoyed and bored despite having no personality. "He is Zack Magellan," Vahan introduced him. I stuck my hand out as half a joke only to gasp as he did the same.

"A true blood? Interesting." The skunk remarked plainly.

"Woah." I said as he shook my hand before allowing his arm to return by his side.

"That's funny, he calls everyone else here either domestic or wild." Vahan stated. The soldier blew out a bored sigh and looked around wanting to be somewhere else. He was either stuck inside someone's head or buried centuries ago, and I would never know which one was true. I looked to the next one, a fiery red orange furred tomcat with an odd feature.

"This is Kvix Lon."

"Are those real feathers?" I noticed two small golden feathers sticking out from where eyebrows would begin on a human. Each were only an inch long where they lightly bobbed to any sudden air movement. He also had two funny looking weapons that resembled thin crowbars on his back.

"Yes they are, but he isn't the strangest we've seen while exploring planets." The cat's golden eyes watched me as I approached the third one.

"This is Kane Schwartz." He pointed to the tall tiger. I took a careful step around the large brute. He wore a uniform identical to Magellan's.

'How did he not make it into the top five that Vahan tested?'

"Lastly, Marie den Claire." She nodded in response, but I kept my distance from her as well despite the warm smile she gave. She was a snow white furred wolfess just as tall, if not taller than the tiger and built like one. "You should've seen the giant sword that she used. That was the strangest engineering marvel of an old weapon that I have ever seem before."

"I don't see how she even needed a weapon other than herself." I commented at her obvious dominant size.

"Good point. She scored very well without it though."

"So none of the others?" I asked looking at the four in front of me as we took a few steps back.

"Sadly I could only keep eight of them here. Other military bases have Lune and Chase at the moment. As for Suxho, he's still 'asleep'."

"Couldn't they simply clone more?"

"Yeah but it's an expensive thing to do. Our military only has so large of a budget." He explained tapping his chin.

'Large enough to have giant spaceships being operated.' I thought internally rolling my eyes only to tense up looking at the first two in line. "Are you sure they don't have any personality or intent to kill me." I took a step back as their bold eyes keenly watched me.

"Not unless I ordered them to." He chuckled as I glared at him in return.

"So do you want to see any of them in action? Like a sparring match?" Decisions, decisions...

"How about those two?" I pointed to Kvix and Marie.

"Ok. Marie and Kvix face each other. Kvix hand your weapon over." The orange feline handed the funny looking instruments over to Kane.

"Kvix can't win without his twin rods." Magellan commented with a smug look.

"We all know that." Schwartz replied with a nod. Vahan and I stepped back a few paces out of the way. Magellan and Schwartz stood beside us ready to watch the fight, but I felt lucky that the skunk decided to stand by my left instead of the large tiger. They didn't have much else to do anyway I guess. The white wolfess dwarfed the smaller orang feline making me skeptical of how it would even be a good match.

"Begin!" Vahan yelled and the two immediately attacked one another. A flurry of dodges, swipes, and thrown punches ensued as the mismatched David and Goliath fought. Marie threw a particular punch that nearly struck Kvix's head, but he was able to catch it. However, trying to throw or trip her was a different task altogether.

"How do they obey you instead of rampaging around?" I asked watching the two continue.

"Their lack of personality makes them like machines instead of a regular Feonican. They would only attack without authorization if we made them with a complete personality."

"Don't you worry that someone is going to use this for evil intent?"

"That is nearly impossible. If I even left one of these fellows out, my subordinate officers would receive an alert and quickly rectify the problem." I nodded and turned back to the fight where the two exchanged hits. The wolfess's height and weight proved a key advantage over the smaller orange cat's stature, yet he was more agile and limber. His hits were more frequent than hers, but even if they landed her size nearly negated them all. I intently watched until after a full five minutes, Marie pinned Kvix ending the sparring match.

"Wow, well done!" My hands clapped alone while they gave a short bow after standing back up. Kvix went over to Schwartz to retrieve his weapon and Marie was content with sitting down to watch me. The giant wolfess sent shivers up my spine. I looked over at Vahan who was much quieter than the chattering cat he normally was. My claps died away. "Something wrong Vahan?" I asked turning towards him. He gave a sigh that one would expect after a long days work.

"The best fighter, thinker, leader, whoever, always succumbs to time. Often we don't marvel in their presence until time has taken them, leaving the rest of us with a weary deal. Their legacy." He looked over at Kvix Lon and Marie with troubled eyes. I was concerned with Vahan. The carefree cat had never acted so serious before. "It's this decaying pact that time gives us makes me afraid. The only promise time gives is another newer person by making the older decay, and that's part of the reason I worked so hard to have these people resurrected." Vahan trailed off this time finished with whatever was on his mind. "Sorry for the troubling thought. It's more of a preemptive response to what I'm afraid that you're going to say, and that I'm terrified of dying obviously."

"That's fine, but what am I going to say?"

"I received news that our explorer class has completed its objectives here... Which means." He trailed off for a moment. "Which means we won't be needed here anymore. I've been commanded to return to our home world in a couple of days."

"So? There's nothing wrong with returning home. It's not like you screwed up because I'm the lone survivor in your designated sector."

"No that isn't it," he shook his head with some frustration. "The whole ship is leaving earth and I need to ask you officially since you are a soldier for the Feonican army... Do you wish to go back to earth and help rebuild, or stay enlisted and become a Feonican citizen?" My eyes reflected the surprisal of his question, but it was valid. I pretty much was a soldier and could successfully communicate with them, befriending the members in the group I was assigned etc. "You've been a great soldier, and the only one at that to really talk or be with me for the day." He then shook his head out of frustration. "No matter what you choose, I'll follow through with it."

"Well..."

My eyes scanned the blackness of space. This end of the ship faced away from earth and the sun leaving only a starry backdrop

"You've been quiet while guarding this evening, something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no I'm alright... Just thinking." I said absentmindedly.

"Normally you don't stare out the windows for this long." She rested a paw hand on my shoulder.

"Well... Vahan told me that we were leaving earth for good."

"Yeah I was briefed a out it," she started out sadly wrapping her arms around my neck. "Wait! We?" She jumped back a step.

"Yes. We."

"So you're not staying back at earth?" She asked surprised as I shook my head.

"No, I don't have anything to go back to. Sure I'll miss it, but I still have my memories to take along for the ride." Folva turned around briefly leaving me a little unsure of how she felt about it. "Are you ok Folva?" I stepped forward only for her to whip around wearing a toothy white smile.

"Of course!" She brought an arm around my side holding me really close. "I didn't want to host a going away party and have to beg Vahan to reassign me to one of the assault ships."

"Being reassigned? That's quite a bit for me."

I woke up one morning with a canid body wrapped around me in a complex hug from behind. I didn't complain from the formerly awkward close contact since she was nice to say the least. The fact that her furry body was warm didn't hurt either. It was my fourth week, or maybe it was my fifth since being tied down and I had become accustomed to the sensation.

"Can we get up now Folva?" I asked knowing that the wolfox was already awake. The whiskers on her muzzle tickled my neck as she wiggled her nose.

"Just a moment please." She said not budging an inch. Her paw rubbed over my wrist before pausing. "Where is your bracelet John?"

"Dresser," I replied seeing it right in front of me.

"Put it on," She pressed me forward eagerly. "And hand me my brush too."

"Alright." I sat up as she untangled herself from me and retrieved the desired items. She closely watched as I put the bracelet back on while smoothing her head fur with a brush. I had only taken it off for one night and she was being so adamant for me to put it back on. We soon got up without anymore words and dressed.

"Firing range today?" She asked with that impeccable smile on her face returning once more.

"As long as Vahan doesn't request me for the third time this week." I said buttoning my shirt.

"I thought you had a heart attack when he sent Schwartz as a messenger." She said chuckling. I opened the door and peeked outside still putting on my pants hearing her playful laughter behind me.

Alya, Kipu, and Halexa later joined up with us to shoot a little and gossip. I didn't really care for the gossip, I paid more attention to the fact that Alya was using something that looked like a snipers rifle.

"Doing a lot better John." Folva commended me as we entered the cafeteria to eat.

"Even though I came in last handily?" I said making Halexa chuckle.

"We just need to practice more together." The wolfox explained before suddenly veering away from the group. "After I use the restroom." Alya disappeared along the way while the rest of us got a tray of food and found an empty table. There were a few other military personnel crowding the relatively small space to eat in.

"Where does Alya go and eat?" I asked before sitting down to join them.

"I think her room, you know how she keeps to herself." That had to be boring.

"Probably to feed that cat." Kipu said with a shiver.

"So... How's the union with Folva been going?" Halexa asked.

"Union who?" I asked perplexed making Kipu chuckle. Halexa promptly elbowed the feline as Folva walked towards our table.

"Oh come on, the union with her. The bracelet that signifies it has been on your wrist since day one."

"I'll let Folva explain." I said seeing her approach with a plate of food. Halexa had to be joking about the bracelet, and whatever the union was.

"Why are you all staring at me?" The wolfox asked standing at the end of the table.

"I just asked the human here about your union bracelet," she jokingly referred to me as, "and he's pretending to not know anything." I rolled my eyes and failed to see Folva's widen in surprise.

"No, it keeps people from getting too close right Folva?" I questioned only to see her face a mix of guilt and surprise. "Did you lie to me?" A few heads from around turned to watch what was unfolding. Kipu and Halexa looked shocked. Her expression only grew angered as she slammed the tray of food down before quickly stomping away, ears pinned down in embarrassment. I blinked not believing what was happening right in front of me. I left my spot and quickly followed her out of the cafeteria leaving a very worried calico and skunk. "Hey Folva wait! Please explain!" I called after the wolfox. She ignored me went down the halls to her room where I could catch up to her. "Why did you have to lie about it?" I asked making her turn round in the doorway.

"Why don't you just go back to earth?!" Her eyes watered as her frown deepened snarling at me. No other response was given except for a door slammed in my face. A few brave faces peeked out from their rooms only to close their doors and quickly disappear. I stood patiently by the room only to hear a muffled crying on the other side. An unknown amount of time passed as I silently waited for her to open the door, only for that to never happen. The whole reason I stayed with the Feonicans just slammed the door and ordered me to go back home.

"What did I do wrong?" I whispered to myself trying to figure out what went wrong. Did my translator blow a fuse, or did hers?

"How long have you been standing there John?" I turned to see Halexa and Kipu behind me.

"I don't know. A while I guess." I said disheartened, still unsure if this was actually happening. A hand patted my back before giving me a tug.

"Come on. There's no sense in you standing here for the rest of the day and night. You can stay with us and we can talk everything over." Kipu offered and I accepted only after looking back to the door one more time. The skunkette and calico's room was at the end of the hall as they led me in. It was a similar layout to Folva's, albeit smaller for two to live in. The shower looked less fancy in the corner, and slightly smaller as well. Two beds and dresser sets were almost touching by another corner ahead of the entrance. All on a cheaper dark green carpet.

"Let's take a seat." Halexa offered. I sat next to Kipu on her bed and Halexa sat on hers facing me.

"So what is this thing?" I pointed with frustration to the small white leather stringed bracelet.

"We told you already, it's a union bracelet. It signifies that you have a union with someone else wearing an identical bracelet. You are wearing Folva's other bracelet."

"Please define union." I said still not understanding.

"You know," Kipu started out. "Someone who loves another will offer one of their bracelets to wear, then they either accept it or not."

"That's marriage!" I brought a hand to my face reaching an obvious epiphany. The two females simply shrugged to each other at how I finally started grasping everything. "So I made it look like to her that I thought of the union as a lie."

"Duh." Halexa said.

"I don't know how human culture works, but to lie, no matter how harmless, is really bad. And you called her out on it."

"But I didn't know what it meant and represented! She told me that it would keep people from getting too close to me. That's it!" I told them.

"It did the job pretty well from what I've seen, besides, it's a crime to steal it from someone." Halexa said with a nod.

"But if Folva really was that nervous about telling you its real meaning then she must have fallen for you before she even captured you. The wolfox stayed with you in the infirmary almost every minute right?"

"I guess. She even snuck into bed with me after I fell asleep."

"Yep, that proves it." The female skunk said with an all knowing tone. "Most females are pretty straight forward when they find someone suitable, because most of the males want males as well."

"But she had plenty of time to explain it to me." I felt like such an idiot just sitting there thinking about it all.

"Folva was probably too afraid to admit that she lied in the first place, or she thought you would figure it out on your own."

"That and she's probably hiding something." Her feline counterpart added.

"There's nothing to hide Halexa. She gave him the other half of her union bracelet after capturing him." The calico cat huffed a sigh before looking back to me. "I wish we knew that you were this clueless earlier. Probably could've avoided the whole thing."

"I don't want to avoid it, I want to solve it. So what can I do now?"

"Just wait for her to cool off then you can talk to her tomorrow morning." Halexa said before laying down on her bed. "Folva might be mad at all of us since she hasn't come by to talk."

"Do you really like her John?" Kipu asked patting my back trying to comfort me.

"Yeah." I said quietly. "But I had no idea how any of it worked until now. She was the biggest reason I stayed with you all."

"Then cheer up," the calico smiled. "If you both love each other then things will work out. I promise."

"Besides, our culture keeps changing so hopefully the lying thing will become an old phase." Halexa said before yawning loudly. I merely nodded hoping that she was correct. I later showered and re wore the bottom half of my uniform before laying down on the floor between both beds. I refused both offers to sleep with them. I did my best to explain that it wouldn't help one bit. The turn of events made sleeping without a warm body behind me almost unbearable, but I did manage this one time.

A blaring siren woke me up the following morning in the worst way possible. "All military groups prepare for battle at the bay area! This is not a drill!" A voice shouted on an unseen intercom system. An alert siren was soon heard as I scrambled along with Kipu and Halexa to dress.

"What is going on now?"

"How should we know?! We're right here with you!" Grumbling, I hurried on and left with them to the bay area. Plenty of other soldiers were lined up in their specific groups and arms themselves with proper equipment.

"Folva what's going on?!" She didn't even turn an ear to acknowledge me as I halted beside her, soon followed by Kipu and Halexa.

"Kill any enemy on board the pirate ship who doesn't immediately surrender. It's treason to attack a military vessel." Folva instructed the other two plainly before jogging over to one of the funny new hallways.

"Standard procedure is to deactivate the enemy ship's core, not slaughter." Kipu said readying her weapon.

"Stay with Folva no matter what she tells you John. You're never supposed to be on an enemy vessel alone, and she of all Feonicans knows that." I nodded and hurried down to the first strange new passage where Folva was about to cross.

The strange structures were small and were encased in a solid white color.

"Why are you following me?" She snapped looking back at me.

"You should be with your entire group, and what is this thing?"

"They're interjection bridges. Never mind! I can explain later." She hurried with me behind her. It shook as I ran the few steps down

I saw others going down different halls and shots subsequently being fired. "Come on!" She ordered sprinting down one corridor.

One pirate, a jackal, ran out from a doorway only to be shot by Folva's quick hand. The body tumbled into an adjacent doorway as we ran by. I closely followed unsure of why we were going so deep into the ship and far away from everyone else.

"Where are we going?!" I asked skidding to a halt nearly bumping into her.

"Control room." She responded only to bolt down the right hall as if she had a compass on her.

"Core deactivated." Folva said neutrally before a sudden blast was fired narrowly missing her arm. We ducked behind equipment and desks seeing a lion wearing a pirate insignia on his shirt aiming at us.

His shots hit a few screens causing a dull beeping alarm to go off. 'That can't be good,' I frowned clenching the trigger to my cycler pistol.

I quickly peeked up and fired catching him off guard. The shot hit the lion's chest and he fell to the floor dead. I paused holding in a breath almost expecting him to stand up. I had never killed anyone in my life until now. Looking over, Folva had exhaled a sigh of relief. "Good shot." She said smoothing out her shirt keeping her eyes away from me. I approached her and she turned away from me.

"Folva please-" I trailed off as a sad pair of eyes shot up staring into my own. This wasn't the time to apologize but what if she never gave me the opportunity again?

"We're going back aboard now." She flatly ended the conversation walking towards the door. I nodded and obediently followed. The wolfox was still my superior. We barely made it through the doorway before a large explosion rocked the space craft knocking both of us to the wall.

"What in the world?" Folva grumbled rubbing her side. My mind went back to the alarms and screens the pirate had accidentally shot.

"We need to get out of here! This place could rip apart!"

"I know that!" She barked as we got back to our feet. We exited the control room and made the twisty turns back to the main hall, the metal flooring clunking beneath our shoes. One more turn and we would be back at those funny named bridges again that Folva promised to explain to me. That did give me a little hope. The ceiling panels began flickering bringing me back to the present as the vessel shuddered a metallic groan. My eyes widened seeing the large metal pieces peeling off the the ceiling over the corridor. "Hey look out!" I pushed Folva out of the way into the next hall as all the ceiling panels descended. Folva immediately jumped up and yelled back at me. A great pain made itself known on top of my head as the ship's lighting grew bright for a split second before going dim, then black. My body fell to the floor unconsciously with an ugly thump as the ship began shaking once more.

My eyes blinked slowly revealing a blurry golden light above me. I didn't hear anything at first except for a dull beep that was synced with my heartbeat. 'Am I dead?' I stared into the light as it slowly began to clear. A sudden throbbing ache registered on top of my head causing my eyes to squint shut. "Ugh... My head," I grumbled feeling stiff moving on top of what felt to be a bed. Something was attached to my arm as I tried to sit up only to be picked up by a strong force squeezing me.

"Thank goodness you're awake! I would've had the doctor's head if she didn't save you," a familiar voice rang out in my ears.

"It was only a loss of consciousness for a couple of hours." I heard a different voice say before a growl was emitted by the closer one.

"My ribs." I wheezed out as the arms let go setting me down gently.

"Oops. I'm sorry hon." The familiar voice said again as I felt myself being lowered back down to the soft bedding. I rubbed my eyes and turned my head to try and see who it was. Slowly I could make out my surroundings, even with a few figures walking around me. Whitewashed walls, two chairs by a wall, a small counter were the first things I could make out. However, a large furry figure in front of me prevented me from seeing most of the room around me. The face looked so familiar. It had features of a fox and wolf put together in a very nice blend. She really looked pretty overall as her golden brown eyes stared worriedly back at me.

"Where am I?"

"An infirmary room." The soft melodious voice called down to me.

"Why?"

"You took a hit for me silly. That ceiling panel probably would've crushed my skull if you didn't push me out of the way." I blinked, a little unsure of what this beautiful lady was telling me.

"Wait. Who are you?" I asked. She looked taken back and surprised at my question, but I couldn't tell why.

"It's me! Folva. Don't you remember? I dragged your unconscious body back aboard." She grabbed my hand and held it firmly with both of hers. The fuzzy warmth and pads did seem familiar. The dusty golden brown eyes blinked rapidly as I looked over her white, grey, and orange red facial fur.

"Folva... Folva." Was it someone from the city pool? No. I searched the name starting to remember not only her, but everything. Hunted down for days, captured in my room, laying in a hospital bed, the captain, staying in a nicer room, training, searching for books, the strange spa, the undead fighting, argument, and that invading ship. I did remember her!

"Folva. What happened?" I asked trying to organize my resetting thoughts.

"You do remember who I am!" She said with a thankful sigh. I thought I heard a chuckle somewhere. "You hit your head, how many times do I have to tell you?" I blinked noticing one of her wrists was wearing a bracelet just like the one I was wearing. One of her paws started to slip away and my memories played me as I fully remembered what I accidentally told her. I quickly grabbed the paw back despite the other one still holding me as that lonely feeling coldly gripped my heart roughly. "John, what's wrong?" She asked seeing me start to cry.

"Nuh-no! I said stupid th-things!" I sobbed out holding onto her paws. Her large triangular ears folded back as she watched me break down before her. I was unaware of the scene I was making as nurses and visitors alike stared at me. We were on our way back to their home planet and I didn't want her to leave me there.

"John please stop crying," Folva squeaked out as my tears began wetting her paws. She might as well have said let go, and I desperately didn't want to lose the closest person to me in any way, shape, or form. My waterworks calmed down enough for me to talk again as she sat there waiting on me.

"Don't leave me alone," I whimpered bringing the furry paws closer to my face hoping they wouldn't leave again. A nurse or someone in the background of my aqueous vision brought a pseudo leather stool for the wolfox to sit down on. My grip must have slipped as one paw did disappear, but thankfully it reappeared to brush away the remaining tears from my cheeks and eyes.

"I won't leave you again." She said causing my heart to skip a happy beat, but I still didn't allow her remaining paw to leave my side. I let her hand stroke me while I gazed at her generally satisfied expression. Those golden eyes stared back making me never want to blink again just in case they disappeared. Time was hardly relative as she pet me.

"I'm so sorry Folva. I should've known." I looked up into her eyes with all the regret in the world. She bit her lip and shook her head solemnly.

"No. I should apologize... I shouldn't have led you around falsely. It's my fault," She paused to take in a deep breath. "My plan was to slowly lead you in as we got to know each other, then I would explain the union bracelet to you. I thought it would accomplish everything especially after you decided to come back with us, but then we had that squabble and I yelled at you." A silence passed over us both where my ears could finally pick up on the footsteps of busy nurses and other medical personnel.

"Doing ok?" They both asked.

"Yeah, last time I was here they had me restrained with belts."

"I didn't know you were into being bound up." Halexa said with a perplexed facial expression.

"No! Ah, never mind." I said calming down to avoid a headache. "What happened to you two on board the pirates' ship?"

"We were able to hole up a few enemies in a room before running back on board our ship. Other than nearly being shot twice, everything was alright."

"Better than how you fared." Kipu added.

"Thanks for reminding me." I tried to not think much of my sensitive and bruised head.

"So the entire ceiling panel fell on you? Or is that just a rumor?"

"I witnessed the whole thing." Folva said. "Right on top here." The wolfox carefully rubbed over my head.

Vahan approached my bedside and gave me a quick look over before bending over, breathing a huge sigh of relief.

"The nurse said that you didn't have any major injuries sustained other than a concussion, but she didn't include love sickness."

"Sorry about the miscommunication, but whatever happened to the pirates' vessel?"

"It broke apart after very one else was back on board, which brings me to the second reason why I stopped by." He said holding something in his paw. "I would like to award you with our Noble Heart medal for taking a hit to save another's life in harms way." Vahan said handing me a medal in a small plastic casing. "Just put it on your uniform not this bed sheet stuff, okay?"

"Yes sir," I gave a small grin making him grin back.

"I think Folva has deserved one as well for dragging your body out from underneath all that metal to safety before the craft did break." The wolfox's ears pinned back shyly as he gave a medal to her. "I'll leave you two for now, recover without trouble John." Vahan left bidding us farewell for the day. A nurse or two would come by and make sure everything was ok all while Folva and I talked to each other. The "day" hours wore on and Folva looked far more tired than me from sitting on that chair next to my bed.

"Can you lay in bed with me?" I asked seeing her yawn.

"What? I don't think the nurses will appreciate me being in the way."

"Can you break the rules this one time? They haven't done anything to me except feed me."

"Alright." She replied sliding under the covers as I made room for her. A nurse still in the room merely rolled her eyes amused at the spectacle.

"So you understand the whole bracelet union thing now?" She asked. I gave a slow nod hoping there wouldn't be any new rules about it. "Do you really want to be in a union with me after everything I have done?" Folva quietly spoke. I pulled her hand out from under my cheek realizing I might have caused it to go numb. Looking up, I kissed the furry top not really minding if fur was sticking to my lips. Her bracelet was surprisingly still on my wrist as the white leather caught my eye.

"I love you Folva, and that will never change." I said seeing her tail wish happily.

Stars and other visible objects were passed as I gazed out an octagonal window on the top floor corridor. It was strange how fast the large explorer class ship could sail through space. It certainly wasn't empty, yet objects were quaintly avoided ahead of time. I had learned that it was because of a very expensive piece of technology located in the "cockpit." The large machinery could scan an impossible huge distance away and detect anything in its path and avoid it cleanly.

"You look so bored staring out that window John."

"I like being on watch duty again. Anything beats that therapy program."

"You weren't even in therapy, if I could call it that, for more than a week." She said checking behind the hall before returning to me once more. I smiled and merely shrugged at the luck I have had. "It'll be another week before we return to my home planet, this scene won't change very much." Folva said taking me by the arm away from the window.

"That close huh?" I asked walking down the empty corridor with her.

"Yep. Back to the city or military base."

"With you though, right?"

"Of course." Her paw hand gave a reassuring squeeze. My nose could faintly detect her fresh scent of a morning shower, giving me a little boost of energy.

"I've always wondered why you made a union with me so fast. I could've been some awful person for all you knew."

"True, but you ran away after all. And I'm sure you remember that shyness is viewed as very attractive, so how could I pass up?" The wolfox walked closer to me as we approached our room. The door opened revealing a cozy room that I had come to call home. I took a few steps in only to be pulled back into an unexpected kiss. Her muzzle made it awkward at first but the sensual tenderness was easy to melt into. A slick tongue peeped and persuaded my lips to open. Her head tilted to deepen the kiss as her tongue played with mine exploring the confines until it slipped out.

"Mm." I hummed happily.

"You don't have a long tongue like we do, but that's a good thing since none of our males can kiss properly anyway," She said quickly as if I were being tutored in her alphabet again.

"Thanks for the warning, but it was very nice." I complimented her before starting to remove my uniform.

"Just allow me." Folva said unbuttoning my shirt for me. I waited and watched as she pulled the shirt off before setting it on the unused bed. Her hands traveled over my now bare skin, the pads creating a unique sensation of touch. My form wasn't buff, but she enjoyed the muscles moving beneath her. The sexy wolfox then paused retracting her mischievous paws. "Care to return the favor?" She said turning around with a wink. I stepped up behind her and rubbed her upper arms and shoulders causing a murr to emit from her throat. My hands slowly made their way to her front. I undid her uniform and took the shirt off for her before setting it aside. "Ah, I can almost feel a breeze." Folva sighed as I brought my hand around her midriff feeling through the soft creamy white fur. Her warm padded paws rested overtop of them as she leaned back into my embrace. An ear flicked as something on my face itched it. My front could feel the warm fur of the wolfox's back pressing against me. The fur on her back was a little more coarse than the rest, but it still remained relatively soft. I took baby steps with her to the bed where I sat down with her on my lap. Her paws remained overtop of my hands as I rubbed her tummy before stopping at the small zipper on her military pants. I imagined the wolfox biting her thin black lip while the black zipper was pulled down. I grabbed the hem of her pants and helped shimmy them down to the floor when she stood up to look me over. "Hmm, just to be fair." She said reaching out to undo my fly. I raised my hips to lose the garment before she tossed it across the floor. Folva then hastily removed her final two garments revealing her gorgeous body to my observant eyes.

"You are very eager." I observed. The wolfox's shaky hands eagerly pulled my boxers away to allow my erect organ to spring into view. Her canid's mouth was partially cracked open lightly panting, drinking in my arousal as well as her own. With no clothing to interfere, she sat in my lap and passionately brought me into a full kiss pressing her form against mine. I would never again take for granted the soft warmth her fur provided. She murred approvingly rubbing against my already aroused groin while my hands roamed over her back feeling the canid over. Her body was graceful yet muscular and Folva clearly loved every moment of attention, wriggling and squirming to the touch. I cupped a breast and smoothly worked over the firm spot making her moan into my mouth. Her nipples were even more sensitive as I tweaked them deliciously, waning more moans from her. Just as the kiss broke, Folva pushed me so I fell onto my back on the bed leaving me vulnerable for whatever her next move was. She licked her lips eyeing me up with those beautiful dusty golden orbs in a feral look. The wolfox quickly scrambled up so that her white furred nether lips lined up perfectly to me.

"Oh I've been waiting a long time for this," Folva said with a shaky breath before slowly descending. The lips of her sex kissed my tip before being parted as I was introduced into the warm silken vice. I froze hearing a muffled tear and frightened yip. Her face contorted into pain as her hands bundled up the sheets into gruesome fists.

"Are you alright Folva?" I sat up placing my hand a on her shoulders as her ragged breathing calmed.

"Y-yeah, I'm a virgin. It just hurt a lot more than I expected," she said sniffling for a second. I wiped away a tear that fell onto her cheek and gave Folva a firm hug.

"Don't rush things," I said nuzzling her cheek. "You didn't catch me in a day remember?" She grinned nuzzling back until our eyes met once more.

"The pain is starting to go away." Her breathing began to return to normal and that sinister smile crept up along that muzzle. "But I do have one question."

"What might that be?" I inquired feeling her claws gently trailed down my sides.

"Why did you reject all my advances so adamantly? I was practically begging for this from the start."

"For all I knew you were being friendly to me and nothing more. The last thing I wanted to do was upset you."

"Safe answer, but nothing is getting you out of this. Not even if Captain Vahan yells at the door for you."

"Don't plan on it." I replied with a glance to the door, almost expecting the feline to send someone for me. She continued to grin and eagerly pressed forward with a renewed kiss. I continued to hold her throughout the smooch and started gyrating my hips causing the vixen to hum warmly.

"I can play as well." She purred out making me pause. She nudged me onto my back once more as we were still joined. Her body though seemed to tug back though, retaining my spire deeply embedded within the beautiful wolfox. Folva showed off her teeth in a lusty smile and pinned my shoulders leaning over me as an insanely pleasurable feeling attacked me.

"Ungh! Folva!" I gasped feeling her insides practically massage and work over me on its own.

"I never taught you about my anatomy." She explained as her silken walls caressed me at her whim. My body meanwhile squirmed in reaction desperately bucking, only adding to the incredible feeling. Her hot passage accepted my thrusts greedily, but left me on a short fuse.

"Folva slow down!" I pleaded.

"Did I hurt you?" She asked relaxing her body giving me space to breath.

"No... I want this moment to last longer, and you nearly finished me off." I calmed down and wiped my forehead. I hadn't been laid in maybe a decade and this Feonican made me feel like a virgin.

"Sex doesn't last long. The whole point is to get pregnant." Folva huskily replied keeping me pinned beginning to resume her exceptional inner massage. The wolfox made it impossible for me to argue back as I twisted below her. "I know that you love it." She panted above me, tail swishing behind erratically. Her white furred breasts bounced in time with my renewed motion.

I grasped her hips as if I were about to fly up into the ceiling panel and gave one final thrust. Folva shook and quietly moaned above me

It felt like she was milking me for all my worth as the vice like grip rhythmically convulsed.

I could've sworn stars were passing by us inside of the room while riding through the huge ecstatic wave. Somewhere along the way Folva plopped down on top of me allowing a trickle of our combined fluids to leak out. "Huh... How are you tired?" I meekly asked hearing her breathing as hard as me.

"I thought you passed out." She whispered lightly digging her claws into my skin.

"So I take it that you enjoyed it?"

"That was... Amazing." She said still holding tightly onto me.

"The feeling is mutual." I replied still embedded inside her. "But why can't I move?" Everywhere felt heavy as if she had shot me with a stun class weapon over my entire body.

"There's a chemical secreted within the vaginal walls during climax that's absorbed through your skin... causing temporary paralysis of muscle fibers. It's an evolutionary trait to get as much out of a male." She explained before snuggling close to my mostly unresponsive body. I grunted still feeling her body tug and massage occasionally keeping me from completely softening up.

"So if I had used my tongue-" A warm padded hand wrapped over my mouth.

"That would be funny." Folva giggled cutely. "But don't tell me you're looking for sleep. I'm in need for another round." Her canid hips wiggled missing the filling sensation.

"I need a quick break please."

"Don't tell me humans need to sleep at specific times like you bathe every night." She replied massaging over a shoulder. "Although I wouldn't mind this being our little ritual before falling asleep."

"Can we make this our new sleeping position Folva?" I smiled at her idea.

"Of course." She replied kissing me with her warm fuzzy lips. "Of course we can."