FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

This is still a "rough" work. By which I mean I've read it over a couple times, but I haven't sifted through it with my Grammar Nazi comb yet. Please feel free to point out any blatant errors. I think it's mostly correct, though. Also, this chapter is yiff-free, but there is some cub nudity. If this offends you, stop reading here.

---

My eyes fluttered open, the morning sun filling the cave with its light. The fog of sleep lifted as I stretched, letting my senses wake up. I slid off the pile of cloths which made up my bed, giving a shiver as my pads touched the cold stone of the cavern floor. As always when I woke, the warm scent of waffles filled the air. One day I'd have to ask him how he managed to time that perfectly every day. I tied a cloth about my waist, the only form of clothing that Orion or I wore in our mountain home. I straightened out my fur, gently combing out the clumps and knots with the tips of my claws.

Orion awaited me in the kitchen, as usual. His emerald eyes lighting up with his smile, a vivid contrast to his ebony scales. "Good morning, wolfling. Sleep well?" He hardly even turned around, fussing over his cooking.

"G'morning, Orion," I stifled a yawn as I spoke, "Slept as well as could be expected. It's hard to get comfortable when you're covered with bruises." I shot a pointed look at the wings on his back as I made my way to the carved wooden bench he had made for me the previous summer. He chuckled.

"Well, if you don't want to be covered in bruises, perhaps you should learn to dodge?" He kept facing towards the steaming pan in front of him, but I knew his eyes were laughing.

"I don't see what it matters that I'm not much good at fighting. That's why I have magic, right? I can just... fireball them or something. Seemed to work just fine on Sisyphus," I grumbled. I didn't really mind very much. It was annoying insofar that it took time away from learning magic, or just lounging about with Orion.

"Heh. Sisyphus is not the world's most... skilled warrior. And what if you can't use your magic? True, you have the advantage of being able to cast without speaking, a boon denied most mages, but that doesn't mean that you'll always be able to use it. Besides, it's doing you a world of good. You're not nearly as scrawny as you used to be, wolfling." Orion brought the plates over, setting them down on opposite sides of the table. Each one held a large waffle, lathered with heavy cream. I glared up at him. Even sitting, he towered over my young form. While it was true that I had bulked up a little with the physical activity, my feeble constitution vanishing soon after the return of my voice, I was still positively diminutive in comparison to the large black dragon. "Eat your breakfast, Sirius." I decided not to argue.

The waffles were delicious, as always. After we had finished our breakfast, I washed up the dishes in the basin, giving them to Orion to shoot with a tongue of flame, thoroughly drying them before putting them neatly back in their place. It was the same routine we'd followed almost every morning for the last three years and some-odd months. After Orion had taken me in, a soaked and freezing wolf cub that sought shelter in his cave one stormy evening, I had done whatever I could to make up for his kindness. The fever that followed that night stole my memories and my voice. The latter, at least, had returned to me some three years later, accompanying the awakening of my magical talents. I pondered briefly just how long I had been with Orion. After a half-hearted attempt to count the months, I gave it up as hopeless. It didn't really matter to me, anyway. As usual, it was Orion's voice that brought me out of my reverie.

"Something on your mind, wolfling?" I jumped a bit at his deep voice so close to my ear.

"Uh- no. It's nothing. Just my thoughts being silly." I tried not to look at him, knowing that if I did my face would flush.

"That's good. I was afraid you had taken a particular dislike to that plate, and were scrubbing it for so long as punishment." I looked down at the plate in my paws, half submerged in the basin. How long had I been scrubbing it? I held it out for him to take, feeling the blood rush to my face. It was the last of the dishes, so after handing it over, I hopped off my little stool and darted into the cavern proper. I sat in the mouth of the cave, letting the warm morning wind tousle my fur.

The view from the front of the cave always calmed me. Several feet beyond the mouth, the craggy ground sheered off into a near vertical cliff face. The forest which coated the mountain stretched away before me, giving way to a brief grassy interlude at the bottom of the slope before the trees resumed on the slope of the opposite mountain. The sun hung low in the sky, just over the left shoulder of that forested expanse. Birds twittered away their morning songs and a warm wind rose out of the valley. The air smelled of summer, and the morning sunlight beaming down complimented the view perfectly. Being inside was becoming depressing. After spending so long inside those stone rooms and halls, the outside was my paradise. With my newfound strength, I reveled in exploring the woods, climbing trees, and digging through the brush. Not all my scrapes and bruises were from training with Orion.

As if in response to the thought, I heard the clack of talons on stone behind me. I sighed a bit. No peace lasts forever, it seems. "Ready, wolfling? Today we'll take it relatively easy." He always said that.

---

Two hours later, I was panting hard. The weapon of the day was not to use one at all, instead covering hand-to-hand combat. Minutes in, he'd established a mantra. "You're smaller, and you can't hit as hard. But your size is an advantage. You're harder to hit, faster to move. Dodge, and strike when your opponent is off balance." He said I was faster, but I somehow doubted it. Every time I'd react quickly, to my mind, he seemed to move faster than I expected. Finally, he relented. "That's enough for today, wolfling." I fell backwards, laying in the sun, feeling the warmth of the ground soak into my muscles, stifling their groaning from the intense work out. I'd gathered a handful of new bruises, but I hadn't hit him even once. I sighed up at the sky. Fighting was not my forte.

"Don't look so defeated, Sirius. You're actually doing quite well. I've had several of your lifetimes to get to the level I'm at, you're just beginning." I looked up at him doubtfully. "Heh. I suppose this is a change of pace for you. Until now, you've had pretty instant results of the things you've been learning, but this is something that takes time. Anyway, just relax for the rest of the day. I've got some things that need to be taken care of. I'll be back by sundown."

Occasionally, Orion would head off the mountain for things. Food, new books, materials, things of that nature. "Where are you going?" I hadn't ever asked before. Last time he went, I was too distracted learning new spells to even notice that he'd disappeared for the day.

"Down to the village. We're running low on food, and it's market day." I just looked at him blankly. This had become one of our rituals as well, since my voice had returned.

"A village is a gathering of houses placed near one another to form a community, a gathering of people who live and work together in order to make surviving easier. A market is somewhere where people bring different goods or services to trade one another. This lets people specialize in one thing, then trade to meet all their needs. Most villages, for example, have a baker, someone who makes bread; a butcher, someone who cuts meat into useable sizes; and farmers, people who tend to crops, intentionally raised plants, and various livestock, animals that are raised to become food. Market day is what they call it when all of these people take a break from their normal professions to trade with one another to get supplies and meet any other needs they might have." I took in the information, turning it over in my mind to make sure I grasped the concept. It sounded interesting.

"Can I come with you? I think I can keep up with the right spells..." I let the sentence hang in the air unfinished, as I saw the great scaly head above me shaking.

"Not today, wolfling. I wouldn't be able to get two words out through all of your questions." He smiled warmly down at me. I opened my mouth to protest before I realized he was probably right. I rolled to my feet, leaping at him. He caught me casually, his large scaled arms easily holding the weight of my smaller furred frame. I threw my arms around his neck, giving his face a playful kiss.

"Then hurry back, 'kay? I get bored if you're gone too long." I gave my biggest grin. He chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"Gods forbid. I won't linger." He placed me down upon my feet before he crouched and launched himself into the air. I noted that he went back in the direction of the cave, probably to fetch some things to trade at that market. I wondered what kind of things he traded with the villagers. I never saw anything disappearing from the cave, so it must not be anything too large. Or perhaps it was a service... Orion was good at many things. I'd have to ask him when he got back.

---

Figuring a good soak might ease the aching of my muscles, I headed down to my favorite clearing in the forest. A placid pool, whose calm surface even the most vigorous wind could not disturb. It was a place of peace, quiet, and magic. The whole clearing had a pleasant buzz about it, just at the edges of my senses. I cast aside my loincloth on the bank, sliding gently into the cool waters. The edge sheered off steeply less than half a foot from the bank, but there was another ledge at one end of the pool which made an excellent bench to rest on. The water bit like ice when it first touched my skin, working its way slowly through my fur, but it warmed quickly. The warmth radiated through my entire body. Sighing, I rested my head back against the edge of the pool, losing myself in the sensation.

When I opened my eyes again, I was greeted by a pair of bright red eyes in a field of white. I gasped, startled, losing my balance and dunking myself into the pool. I surfaced, spluttering.

"Hehehehe, ya shouldn't be dozin' off in the water. Ya might fall in." I glared up at the white form. After I had finished expelling all the water from my nose, I looked it over a bit closer. There stood a wolf cub, slightly taller than myself. He had some bulk to him, not quite that of one who trained rigorously, but the toning of a young child constantly at play. His fur was white as the snow which fell in the winter, and his eyes were two glimmering rubies in that snow. I hauled myself onto the shore, coughing up small amounts of the pool. The white wolf giggled above me. "Sorry, Sirius. Couldn't help m'self. It was just too good." I was thrown off by the use of my name. I was sure I'd never seen this cub before.

"M'name's Apollo." He offered his paw, helping me onto my feet. "Nice to meet ya, Sirius."

"How... how do you know my name?" I was confused. His paw was warm in my own, a stark contrast to the chill provided by my damp fur.

"Aw, I've known yer name longer than that stuffy ol' lizard has. Here, lemme get that for ya." He placed a paw on my chest unexpectedly. There was a woosh of wind and warmth, and my fur was suddenly dry. I looked at him in shock. There had been no whispering of magic.

"How did you... but he... I'm confused." It was a lot. Orion had given me my name, how could he have known it longer? How had he used magic without a spell?

"Ya might wanna pick yer jaw up outta the dirt. Ya might swallow a fly or somethin'." I hadn't realized I had even left my mouth open. I shook my head to clear it up a bit. It didn't help much. I looked over the wolf cub again. White fur, red eyes. An albino? He was still young, though. He couldn't be much older than myself, but his eyes looked out of place with his age. They seemed mischievous, like he was laughing at some joke that only he could hear. He was also stark naked. As this realization struck home, I recalled that I was in a similar state of undress. I thought my ears would burst, the blood rushed upwards so fast. I quickly fumbled about for my cloth, hastily tying it back around my waist. He did laugh then. "Ya don't have to be bashful. Nothin' I haven't seen before. Don't much care for clothes, m'self."

"Orion says it's polite to wear them around others. Some people are offended by it, apparently." Why was I explaining myself to a stranger?

"It's okay. Everyone's got their oddities. I s'pose living with a big ol' lizard has its downside." He walked casually over to a tree with low branches, leaping up and latching on. He contorted himself so that he was hanging from the branch by his knees, grinning broadly at me. Something about it just made me angry.

"Orion is a dragon, not a 'big ol' lizard'," I glared at him again, this time trying to be more intimidating, " and you never answered my question. How do you know my name?" His smile vanished rather quickly. He dropped from the branch, landing in a practiced somersault. He brushed the grass and dirt out of his fur before he flopped back down on to it, anyway. He gave an exasperated sigh and gazed at me curiously for a moment. The laughter was gone from those red orbs.

"I s'pose, if ya hafta know... My mother told me yer name. Long time back. More than three summers it's been since she told me," Here, he raised his voice an octave and took on a somewhat imperious air, "'Apollo, one day you'll meet little Sirius. And I want you to be a good friend to him. Not just a friend, a brother. Watch out for him, and he'll do the same for you'. Course, back then, I had no idea ya'd be so much fun to mess with." The grin returned, and with it the laughter in his eyes. That still didn't really answer my question, but either by chance or by design, Apollo wasn't offering me any answers.

"Could I meet her? She might know something about... about before I met Orion. I don't remember anything, and if she knows my name, maybe she'll know about my past." I had unconsciously moved closer to him, gripping his shoulders. Was I this desperate to remember my past? The light left his eyes again. It was disconcerting, really, the speed and ease with which that changed. He shook his head.

"Sorry, Sirius. Ya can't. No one can." Talking to him was so frustrating. Every sentence gave me more questions and no solid answers.

"Why not?" I was shaking, I realized. Sadness? Anger? It was hard to tell. Everything felt jumbled up, like there was something I should be feeling clear as day, but couldn't quite grasp.

"Mother has been dead these last three summers. The last thing she told me was yer name, and to watch out for ya." My surprise must have shown on my face. "It's okay, Sirius. Ya didn't know. Kinda my fault, really." Suddenly, the laughter was back in his eyes, a bit more intensely than before. He grinned, reaching up to my paws on his shoulders. Before I could react, I was airborne, thrown headfirst into the pool. Great. Now I was confused AND wet.

"What was that for?" I spluttered, hauling myself from the water.

"For askin' so many questions when yer supposed to be havin' fun." We kind of stared at each other for a while, until he burst out laughing. His laughter was infectious, eventually driving away the whirlwind of questions in my head. It had been a rough day already, no need to make it any more stressful. I began to giggle to myself. He let out a gasp, a look of mock surprise on his face. "Sirius! Was that a laugh? Gods, I was beginnin' to think ya didn't have any humor in ya!"

I grinned at him, punching his arm playfully. "I'm just not used at feeling the urge to laugh at everything that comes out of some silly cub's mouth." He winced mockingly. "Ouch, watch where yer pointin' that tongue of yers. Awful sharp to be waggin' about so much." I did my best to look offended, making for another swat on the arm. Deceptively prepared, Apollo lept up dashing away from me. "Ya gotta be quicker than that if ya wanna get another free hit on me, Sirius." He giggled madly as I chased him about the clearing, weaving in and out of the trees. Eventually, we wore ourselves out, just laying in the sun among the wildflowers and grasses, occasionally overcome by fits of giggles.

"That was... heh... I dunno the word for it." My breath was a little harsh from the effort of running.

"It's called fun, Sirius. Ya should have it more often." We both laughed a little.

"I don't think I'd mind that." I rolled onto my side to look at the white wolf. "Do you live near here? I've never run into you before, so you must not come here often."

"I s'pose I live pretty close, after a fashion. It's not a long journey for me, at any rate. This is the first time I've come here, though. Seems like it might become a habit." He, too, rolled to face me, propping his head up on his arm. "Whaddya say ya come meet me here tomorrow? I could use a friend to celebrate with."

"Celebrate? What are you celebrating?" I sat up fully now, my curiosity piqued.

"Well, findin' a new friend for one. My birthday for another." I cocked my head. I didn't know that word.

"Birthday?" He seemed surprised, then suspicious, seemingly pondering whether or not I was messing with him. He seemed to decide that my confusion was genuine.

"Ya know. Every year after yer born, ya have a little celebration to mark the passing of another year. So they keep track of when ya were born and that day is called yer birthday. How do ya not know that?" He'd sat up as well, looking a bit baffled himself.

"I dunno, it just never came up. I don't know when I was-" I cut off my sentence as I heard a familiar flapping of wings and the soft whump of a large scaled body impacting the earth.

"Thought I might find you here, wolfling." Orion smiled down at me. I had a moment to register the clothing and large satchel he was wearing before my reflexes kicked in and I just tackled him. It didn't do much, of course, as my size was so much less than his, but it accomplished my goal. His scaled arms wrapped around me, gently halting my momentum. "Get lonely without me, eh?"

"Not really. Apollo here kept me company most of the time." I gestured down towards where I had only moments before seen my friend, only to notice that he was gone. "Huh? Where'd he go? He was here just a second ago..." Orion looked down at me, concern clear on his face.

"Sirius, you feeling alright?" I just nodded and hopped out of his arms. He had to be here somewhere. I wouldn't put it past him to hide just to cause this very kind of situation. He wasn't in any of the bushes or the trees, I'd have heard the rustling of the branches. Same went for the pool. I'd been all over this grove for months, there wasn't a nook or cranny that I didn't know about. But he was just gone. Nowhere to be found.

"I dunno how he did it. Probably for the best, anyway. He'd get on your nerves." Orion gave me another odd look, then just shrugged and picked me up again. "Hey! I can walk, you know."

"Oh, I know. But you'll have a hard time doing that in the air." I had just enough time to cling for dear life to his arm as he vaulted into the sky. I know he'd never let any harm come to me, but we were moving fast and I thought for sure that if I had the courage to scream the wind would've ripped the air right out of my lungs anyway. I had a brief, terrifying moment where I was sure we were going to collide into the cliff face before Orion angled sharply and we decelerated to come to a gentle stop just inside the mouth of the cave. "You can open your eyes now, Sirius." When I did so, I could see his eyes laughing at me. I wasn't going to live that down for a while.

---

Orion set me down and walked quickly to our room. The satchel was slung next to his desk. He removed the clothing that covered most of his body, stashing it in a trunk on the far side of the room. How I'd never noticed it, I'm not sure. Likely because it had never been relevant. Now in his usual attire of a plain cloth to match my own, he stretched upwards, flexing his scaly arms towards the ceiling. "Wretched things, don't give you any room to breathe. I'll never understand why people insist on that much clothing. Ah, speaking of which..." He reached into the satchel, pulling out a bundle of blue cloth with silver stitches over it. He handed the bundle to me. "Try these on."

Many explanations and bouts of laughter from Orion later, I finally managed to properly put on the simple tunic and leggings. They were a deep blue, like the sky just before nightfall in summer. Silver embroidery lined the tunic, and at the throat of the collar there was a crescent moon. It was very pretty, really. It also itched like mad. "People WEAR this? On a regular basis?" I fidgeted about in the tunic, trying not to scratch. My claws would not have spared the fine embroidery.

"Well, yes and no. It's not usually this elaborate, but people like to dress in special clothes for festivals." That caught my attention. A word I didn't know, and the implication that I'd be finding out first hand. I gave him my blank look. He pretended not to notice. I briefly contemplated letting the silence drag on, but my curiosity won out.

"What's a festival?" He turned and gave me an exaggerated grin. I glared at him.

"Why, I'm glad you asked, Sirius. A festival is a huge celebration that the whole village gathers for. There's food, music, dancing, games, and, goodness me, there seems to be one tomorrow." That set me off. I tackled him, latching onto his shoulders.

"We're going, right? You're not just joking?" He broke into his deep, rumbling laugh.

"Yes, wolfling. We're going." He reached into the satchel again, pulling out a parchment scroll. He handed it to me, and I unfurled it just enough to read the title: Spells of Flight. "You might want to learn at least one of those before we leave tomorrow." I thought my face would break from grinning so hard. I leaned up, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and ran off to the main chamber to practice. "And try not to ruin your new clothes!"