FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

There are many types of cold. So many that a single word is stretched to snapping in an attempt to contain the very idea of cold. However, as with many facets of life, cold has multiple layers that are agreed upon but not normally said. There is chilly, the type of bracing cold in which teenagers dare each other to dive into pools to prove their mettle. Summer folk in this temperature will be seen shivering and complaining. Then there is the standard cold, in which ice starts to form on roads and the people don their winter coats to combat the persistent frost. Fires warm houses, and good moods can barely be maintained. After that comes the bitter cold, in which hands and paws feel as though needles are sliding into them, despite thick gloves and socks. Moods may turn sour, pitting friends against each other due to the bitterness hanging in the air.

Then comes the numbing cold, in which the vengeful winds creep into even the thickest jackets, somehow slipping through the tight nylon fibers of a windbreaker. Hands and paws are numb, one cannot feel their face, and nobody dares move for fear of freezing on the spot. Were the temperature any higher, one could run to increase body temperature. In this temperature, running would not be conducive to warmth - the movement causes joints to creak and lungs to hurt. For many, this is the coldest that will be experienced.

Then, there is deathly cold. The cold that comes after all else. As the name implies, this is the cold from which there is no escape. People stay in their houses, for fear of getting lost forever in the freezing wastes of the outside world. Fires do no good, as they remind those huddled around it of the euphoric embrace of warmth - only further emphasizing the cold. Even the thickest of coats, gloves, and socks cannot keep the vengeful wind out. Many have fallen to the gale of this cold, and many more shall. Such colds are not seen very often throughout the world, but when they are a soul is always lost in the merciless sea of the deathly winter frost.

Snow fell in thick, heavy flakes, coating the world in a blanket of frost. Winter winds bit at the exposed ankles of those without socks. Not even fur would provide decent warmth as the combination of a bitter breeze and frigid flakes numbed the uncovered flesh of those unprepared for winter. Though the weather was somber, the current inhabitants of the Fox Creek High School were ecstatic. The last day of school until winter break brought an unparalleled sense of anxious hysteria. Classrooms were in uproars, and teachers attempted to teach in futility. None of the teenagers would even bother with lessons, as less than half of them had even attended school on that last day. A strange mix of teenagers attended Fox Creek High School, the extremely privileged oft blending with the extremely underprivileged. This contrast in status and wealth caused social sects to form, and generally the small bubbles of high school society strayed from each other. However, there were certain exceptions to the rule of the wealthy associating with the wealthy, and the dirt poor associating with the dirt poor.

The bell to end 5th period rang, and Miuri slowly got out of her seat. Always waiting to be the last out of the door to avoid traffic,she did not mind waiting to avoid awkwardly bumping into others. "Merry Christmas, have a nice Winter Break," she waved to her teacher as she exited, her traditional last day farewell.

She might have heard an absent minded 'you too', but Miuri didn't really care. Her mind was amusing itself with the coming of the holiday season and the trouble it would bring. Certainly this year she would have enough money to afford her siblings gifts. If she didn't, there was no way she could ask her father...

"Hey! How is your last day of school so far?" A familiar voice found its way to her ears, and they twitched almost as if to acknowledge it.

"Fine so far. What about you?" She asked, turning to greet her friend Leonard, whom she always referred to as Leo, a smile spreading across her face.

"Agh, it sucks. I know so many kids are having easy days, watching movies or slacking off. I've had to take 3 tests so far, and none of them were easy. It's almost as if my teachers dont want me to have a good last day. At least I won't have any homework because of the testing," he answered, now walking side by side with Miuri.

They proceeded to make small talk whilst heading to their normal lunch table located in their school's courtyard, tucked away in a corner behind some now desolate trees. Sitting down, Leo fetched a brown lunch sack from his backpack and began emptying its contents. A sandwich made with whole wheat bread and organic vegetables as well as imported cheeses and meats. His snack was an organic orange, and he also had a bottle of expensive water.

Miuri produced no lunch, to which Leo inquired, "No lunch today? Wanna share mine? I have plenty of food, and you know how I can't stand this organic shit."

"No, i'll be fine. I didn't pack lunch today because its time to go shopping for groceries, but I haven't gone out yet. The last of the food I gave to Tyler and Sofia." she responded, speaking of her younger twin siblings. "There was just enough stuff left to make a whole sandwich, and I gave them each half."

"So you don't want any? Not even the orange? You know I don't like oranges." he remarked.

The orange was daunting, but Miuri didn't want it. She had always been too proud to accept anything from anyone, a trait she had inherited from her mother. Leo continued to urge her to take it, but she would always reject. The only time she had ever accepted food from her wealthy friend was when she would spend elongated periods of time at his house. She would often get caught there during dinner, and eat to avoid seeming awkward. Admittedly, she enjoyed the meals that she was given at Leo's house. The food was always expensive, prepared by a professional chef, and delicious. Knowing that Miuri was too proud and stubborn to accept his food, Leo changed the subject.

"So what are you doing for Christmas? Got plans? Doing any shopping?"

"No plans, and I don't know if we'll have enough money for presents this year. If nothing else I'll dig into my savings to get the twins some candy."

"Oh, come on. Let me help you, Miuri. My family has too much money, we could spare enough for a teddy bear."

"Please, you know I couldn't accept anything from you. I would hate to burden you or take your money."

"You know its not a burden! I understand you're too proud to accept anything for yourself, but your siblings at least should get some presents."

"It doesn't matter that it might not actually be a burden, it matters that I will think of it as one. You know how I feel about imposing. You might not think too much about it, but it matters to me. I couldn't sleep if I knew I had been so selfish as to accept someone's donations. We're not homeless, you know."

"Fine, you wont accept our donations, but will you accept our gifts? If I were to buy you something, would you take it? A present. From a friend. Not a donation."

Miuri looked down hesitantly, her tail swishing in moderate frustration. Leo always got her extravagant gifts, ever since they had met. It would be rude to turn them down, but her father always got mad if she got anything too valuable from him. "I don't know. I'll accept your gift, but my dad might make me return them if they're too expensive. Leo, you know how this goes. Remember the time you tried to buy me that designer purse? My dad thinks we have more money than we do, and when you buy me things he thinks you're looking down on us as a family."

Leo looked down somberly, his ears drooping slightly. "Your dad's a jerk..." he mumbled, just enough for her to hear. He took the last bite of his sandwich, finishing it off. He began to gulp down his expensive water, because Miuri didn't scold him so much when he was in the middle of something.

"I know hes a jerk Leo, but he's my dad. If I could leave, I would. However, I don't have the means and if I ran away child services would realize the condition of our house and take the twins away. They could be separated, and their lives are already so inconsistent. Thats not what they need, and thats not what I want."

"We could take you all in. We have the resources, and my parents like you enough."

"And deprive my dad of his children? He would become vengeful and dangerous, and somebody would get hurt. You know how violent he gets when he's drunk. Come on Leo, you're the one who thought about all of these consequences. You're the one who told me what would happen the time I told you I wanted to run away."

"I know. I was hoping you would forget and take the bait one of these times."

"Look, its understandable that you want to get me to live in your house, what with your crazy animal hormones. All joking aside though, nothing can be done until I graduate. Then I'm free from the obligations of my father, and I can leave. Just another half a year, now that Christmas is here. Ugh... Christmas is just so stressful. My dad goes and buys this alcoholic eggnog and lots of it. We barely ever have the money for presents as it is."

Leo's ears splayed against his head in shame and slight guilt. He knew that Christmas was always frustrating for Miuri, especially since she was the one who basically ran her entire family. Her father was a drunk failure, living off the government and handouts. Were it not for her, all of their money would go to alcohol. She barely gets enough from her father to scrape by, allowing her to shop for groceries and clothes for her and her twin siblings.

"I'm sorry I mentioned it, Miuri. I don't want to stress you out. I just want you to have an enjoyable Christmas. I just wish... I just wish you didn't have to deal with all this. I just want you to live happily, like I do. I want to help you."

"I know you want the best for me, and I forgive you," she said, laying her hand on his in comfort, "but you have to realize that what I do is best for me. I'm sorry Leo, but you don't understand my life or my situation. I know you just want to help, and I'm glad, but I know what I have to do. I'm also too proud to accept your help. I will dig myself out of this pit, or die trying." she assured, that token fiery smile of hers lighting up her face. He admired her determination.

The rest of their lunch was eaten with a slight overcast, their joyous moods spoiled by the mention of Christmas. Where normally it would bring joy, Christmas brought displeasure and discomfort. As the bell rang the fox and the cat rose, walking together to their shared sixth period. Leo beamed as he entered the room, always optimistic and looking forward to the end of school for two relaxing weeks. Miuri put up a facade of happiness, but her thoughts dwelt on the matter of funds for the upcoming Christmas. Her father had become more reckless with their money, and she wasn't sure she could scrape together anything to allow for spending on presents. Perhaps she would have to ask Leo for money after all...

Leo and Miuri took their respective seats in the middle of the class. Rather than the individual desks that every other class had, all of the science classes in their school had long tables to be utilized for labs. These tables were usually pushed together into rows, and there were individual chairs for use by the students. Leo always liked the science classes because he admired studies of the natural world, and the unattached chairs always allowed him to lean back in them. He adjusted his chair to the customary tilt and relaxed while waiting for class to begin. Their sixth period class was AP Biology, and there were only a total of seventeen students due to the harsh curriculum and heavy workload of the class. However, most of the class was independent work and students would goof off or waste time until their work was actually due. The second bell rang indicating that classes had officially started, and yet their teacher wasn't in class.

"Just another one of those days, eh?" Leo joked, nudging Miuri slightly.

Miuri chuckled, adding "Leave it to Mr. Benze to be late to his own class."

As if on cue, the teacher to the only AP Biology class entered the room through the second door in the class, leading to the science hallway's material depository. He was a young-looking buffalo, verging on his middle ages. His build was befitting of that of a buffalo, being slightly stocky though not too much to be unattractive. He walked to the middle of the room where he usually lectured rather than sitting down at his desk, in indication that he either had an assignment or some notes rather than another free work day. The class became quiet in anticipation of what he was going to say.

"Alright," he began, placing both of his hands on the counter in the middle of the room, and looking out to all his students, "I know I don't usually assign work over breaks but there is a project you're going to have to do over the two weeks. If you do it right, it will raise your grade by around seven percent. If you decide not to do it, it'll take away about fifteen. Groups of two to four. The instructions are on the counter, pick them up if you already haven't."

The Buffalo trudged over to his desk and sat down at his computer, not lecturing further or giving any more instruction. As like in most college classes, assignments were up to the students to complete at their own pace in their own way. The increased independence required to achieve a high grade in the class confounded most students and caused their grades to slip, but Leo flourished in such an environment.

"Damn, we have to work over break? I was looking to relaxing by a fire sipping hot cocoa. Now I have to relax by a fire sipping cocoa and doing Biology." Leo complained, his vision of a perfect break shattered by this last minute project.

"Oh, hush you lazy dog. Its only one project, how bad could it be? Go get two instruction sheets for us."

Leo stood and shuffled through all the other students in the row until being in one of the two aisles that allowed access to the counter at the front of the room. He grabbed two of the instruction sheets, then waltzed back to his seat. Miuri reached for her sheet, but Leo quickly yanked it away.

"Partners?" he asked, a coy grin on his face.

"Partners, duh!" Miuri replied, giving him a playful jab before grabbing the sheet of paper from his hand.

"Well, judging by this," Leo mused, "this project is actually not so little at all. Lets see... 'You will create a set of trading cards for the body. There will be multiple categories of cards, one for each bodily system. Each category must be differently colored. In each category you must create a card for each part of that system. The cards must have detailed information of that specific part written on the back, and must have a picture included on the front'. Well, that sounds long and tedious."

"Yeah, and we don't even know how many bodily systems we should include... the main ones, or every single one? Some will have duplicate cards..." Miuri complained, her tail swishing in annoyance.

"Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other over this break." Leo chimed in, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, and who else would I see? You're the only one I would hang out with, and the only person I partner with. I would've seen your ugly mug all the time anyway." Miuri teased.

"Ugly my ass, I've never seen a bad looking fox."

"Then you've obviously never seen a mirror."

"Ooh, thats harsh. At the very least I can afford one."

Miuri chuckled at the remark, and retorted appropriately. Their friendship had a very interesting dynamic in that they were constantly trying to outdo each other. They were like rivals and best friends at the same time. The rest of class was filled with periodic bursts of work followed by long, friendly debates or discussions. The two of them barely got any work done before the bell signifying the end of class and the beginning of their two week long break rang.

As the two departed their classroom they waved a goodbye to Mr. Benze, whom they both agreed was their favorite teacher. They shuffled through the hallways alongside the other droves of excited high school students, hearing an occasional whoop or cry of joy from around them. They exited their school and were wrapped in the cool embrace of Winter. The chill was bad, but not enough to dissuade them from being outside. The world was bleached by snow, though it didn't seem to bother them as they trudged through it.

"Hey, want to go to the park and hang out? I've got nowhere to be, and what better way to kick off the break than with lazing about?" Leo proposed.

"Sure, I got nothing to do." she agreed.

Miuri and Leo headed towards the nearest park, and their personal favorite. It was where they would spend a lot of time playing together as children. Leo remembered playing house under the jungle gym. Miuri would always boss him around, and he would always do what she said. He wanted to appease her, to make her happy. Leo smiled at his memories as they approached the park, the sign in the front reading 'Vista View Park'. It was located on the top of a hill, and offered breathtaking views of the surrounding environment and city year round.

The two marched through the snow and straight to the playground, where they usually stayed when hanging out at the park. Miuri's attitude was turning sour due to being surrounded by the cold, which she hated. Snow managed to creep into the chinks of her warmth-armor, and it was causing her fur to become wet. By the time they had reached the playground, Miuri had become quite annoyed. Miuri arrived at the swings, and brushed the freshly laden snow off before sitting down. Leo followed suit, pushing off all the white powder before sitting. The two sat there for a while, the swings slightly squeaking holding their weight.

"Its cold out, huh?" Leo asked, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"I said its c-"

"I heard you, Leo. Yeah, its cold. What I really meant to say is that I appreciate your enlightening me about very obvious things that I would have otherwise missed."

"Hey, I only wanted to talk..."

"Well talk about something meaningful. We're friends, why would you inject useless filler into our conversations? Thats really stupid."

"I'm sorry..."

The mood became stagnant and cold. Miuri understood that Leo was generally a passive person, and she also understood that she had taken her jests too far. He merely wanted to strike up conversation with her, to just hear her talk. She didn't have to snap at him like that. The problem was that she was also too proud to apologize.

"Hey. This park," she began, "remember all the things we did here? Theres lots of good memories here, y'know? There's one that's particularly special to me. Can you guess what it is?"

"Uh... the time we got lost in the nearby forest and cried until my mom found us?"

"No! Although looking back, that was pretty funny. It was the first time that I.. that we..."

Miuri stuttered, scratching her head searching for words. She wanted to lighten the mood, and prove to Leo that she cared without actually apologizing.

"That is to say, the first time... Um, remember how we used to play house?"

"Yeah, I was actually just thinking about it. We used to get together under the jungle gym and play house. You would always go out to work and pretend to be the breadwinner. I think we got our roles wrong, huh?" Leo played with the idea of role-swapping in his head before thinking about how he was more comfortable being the more passive role.

"Yeah, and you were always the housekeeper. I was the wife, and you were the husband, but I went out and 'worked' while you tidied up. Kinda weird, huh? Remember that one summer when it was really hot and I pretended I didn't want to leave the house?"

"Uh huh, we just stayed under the jungle gym in that little shaded cove. We liked to pretend it was the den."

"Right. Remember what we did?"

"Huh. I think we just talked. Or maybe we-"

Leo flushed red, although you wouldn't be able to tell because of the layers of his clothing, as well as the red shade of his fur. He looked at her with an embarrassed expression on his face, and she looked back at him, smiling sheepishly.

"The memory I was referring to was the first time we kissed, Leo. Remember that?"

"Yeah, I remember. It was pretty awkward... You told me to kiss you, and I asked why. You just told me we had to because I was the husband and you were the wife. I thought we were going to pretend, but then... yeah."

"Hah! Yeah, I remember, that. You kissed me just because I told you to. What would you do if I told you to hit me?"

"I'd very seriously consider it."

The two chuckled, lightening the mood and sharing another heartfelt moment. They were usually pretty rare because Miuri never liked to talk about the things she felt, and Leo never thought Miuri would be interested in hearing about what he felt. More often than not, they had intellectual discussions or talked about their lives, or random things. Even if it was mindless babble, both Miuri and Leo enjoyed the other party's company and would rather spout nonsense than remain silent.

"How deep do you think the snow is, Leo?" Miuri asked, kicking at the snow causing her swing to sway slowly back and forth.

"I dunno. Didn't the weather forecast say around a foot?" He responded, putting his leg into the snow to test, "I'd say its about seven inches. Why?"

"I've got a challenge for you." Miuri announced, grinning toothily, a spark in her eye.

Although Leo was generally not competitive, and usually worked to appease Miuri, he was extremely competitive as she was when it came to competition. He grinned, a hint of competitive edge gleaming on his smile.

"Alright, accepted. What's the challenge?" Leo inquired, ready for whatever she could throw at him.

"Heres the deal: Strip down to your underwear, and jump into the snow. Whoever lasts the longest wins. If you die, you get bonus points."

"Bonus points for dying? I'm gonna win, right here."

"You've got no chance! My house doesn't even have a heater, my cold tolerance is through the roof."

"Yeah right! You've got no warmth on you! Look at this luscious fur. Look at this big, poofy tail. I was made to win this challenge."

"Alright, then go first."

"You go first."

"We'll go together. Clothes off."

Leo looked hesitant about removing his warm jacket, but he would do anything to prove himself to Miuri, and he would especially do anything to beat her in a challenge. He started unzipping his jacket and removing his scarf. At the same time, Miuri removed her hoodie and started to remove the multiple layers of clothing she used to keep her torso warm. After removing a jacket, a scarf, two thermal shirts, a wife beater, a pair of jeans, thermal long johns, and two pairs of socks, Leo was left nude save for his underwear. Miuri removed her hoodie, a long sleeved shirt, four t-shirts, a pair of jeans, a pair of sweatpants, and 3 pairs of socks. Leo, being undressed first, watched as his friend stripped in front of him. He blushed as he observed her strip from head to toe, and paid particularly close attention as she took off her socks. Miuri looked over and noticed him staring, to which he turned away blushing.

"Like what you see?" Miuri jested, making a sensual pose to emphasize her nonchalance towards Leo's wandering eyes.

"Uh, sure." Leo murmured, still trying to avoid staring at her body

"Sure? That's all? You can do better than that. Compliment me."

"You're pretty." he said half-heartedly, though it was the truth.

"Good boy. Alright, on 3 we jump into the snow. You can lay down any way you want, but you have to lay down to get full coverage and maximum surface area."

Leo chuckled at the surface area remark. She threw it in there just to mess with him. She always liked to tease him about his love for math, numbers, and science. While she was also interested she never talked about it nearly as much as he did. Their conversations would often go on mathematical or scientific tangents due to his curious mind and verbalized musings. He heard her counting in the background, as his thoughts drifted once again to his studies. Three... he loved studying biology. Two... he was always really interested in the stars. One... he thought calculus was interesting and fun...

The two plunged into the snow, Miuri opting to lay on her back while Leo face-planted into the fluffy, crystalline banks. Miuri giggled at his entrance, as he simply fell face-first into the snow, looking pretty silly at the same time. The cold gripped them tightly the instant they were on the ground, and it wouldn't let go. The frigid grasp sank through their fur and skin and into their bones, causing them to stiffen and tire out.

"Th-th-there isn't a rule ag-g-gainst t-talking, Leo..." Miuri mentioned, teeth chattering.

"This is the w-w-w-worst idea ev-v-v-ver." Leo responded, raising his face out of the snow.

"H-hah! This is-s-s n-nothing! Y-y-you're just a baby!" she insulted, seeing if she could force a reaction from her friend.

"Y-yeah? W-w-well you w-won't last l-long like that. V-vital o-organs are loc-c-cated in the f-front of-f the b-body, n-not the b-b-back. They g-generate more heat." Leo retorted, emphasizing the last word, as it was what he craved and desired.

"F-fuck y-y-you! A-at least I d-don't look l-like I was snort-t-ting cocaine!"

Leo looked down at his muzzle, a profuse amount of the powdered snow laying there on the top of, and around, his face. He shook his head, causing most of the snow to fall as it was loose. Some of the flakes remained though, causing him to look as though he were in a terrible baking accident. Miuri caught the ridiculous sight of Leo's white face and started giggling uncontrollably, though the giggling sounded slightly manic due to the addition of her shivering and chattering teeth.

"W-whats so funny?" Leo asked, purposely making a silly face which caused her to transition from giggling to full out laughing.

Miuri started rolling slightly in the snow, her laughter uncontrollable. She brought her legs in towards her chest and grabbed them at the knees in order to try and control her laughter. However, the bright light reflecting off of the snow combined with the powder in Leo's nose caused him to sneeze. Powder rose in a flurry due to the force of his sneeze, and his face ended up covered in white again. Miuri caught a glimpse of his powdered face and she began laughing even more, nearly unable to breath.

She couldn't stand it anymore. Miuri had to stand up, or she would suffocate herself. She quickly rose, still laughing, with her arms crossed. She started dancing around as though she were exercising, her knees going up high reaching her exposed midriff every time she took a step. Her eyes were shut and she was still laughing uncontrollably. This combined with her prancing was quite a spectacle, and it caused Leo to start laughing at her strange, cold-influenced behavior.

"W-what're you l-laughing at, dork!?" Miuri yelled, her speaking interrupted with playful laughter.

"W-what are you doing!? You l-look dumb!" Leo laughed, having sat up to observe her ridiculous actions.

Miuri continued her mirthful giggling, kicking snow at Leo because she couldn't reply. Leo grabbed a handful of snow and heaved it towards her in retaliation. Miuri yelped and turned, the powder impacting with her right side, painting the black of her fur white, but blending with the already white parts. She shivered visibly, then responded by chucking an already-compact 'ball' of frost at him. It impacted with his face, giving him the same comic appearance as before. He shook his face and sneezed once more, adding to Miuri's amusement. Leo stood grinning mischievously, but with a warlike look on his face. She was gonna get it. He growled, charging her, and Miuri squealed and turned around. They began running around the playground nearly nude, a childish game of cat-and-mouse heavily slowed by the cold. Miuri began to tire out, her running slowing as it became harder to trudge through the sheets of cold powder. She misstepped, judging the ground underneath the snow higher than it actually was. She tripped and fell, the powdery white breaking her fall, tumbling into the snow and laughing gleefully. Leo ran up and plopped down next to her, shoveling some of it onto her. She responded by tackling him into the banks, both of them getting the frosty powder into their ears and mouth and fur. When their play fighting was over, they lay there both laughing heartily. Miuri laying perpendicular to Leo, her head on his chest.

"That was really fun," she commented while gazing up at the puffy clouds rolling across the saturated sky. Were it not for the cold, the day would be perfect.

"Yeah. Its been a good while since we actually played, not just hang out or watch movies or something like that." Leo observed.

"Its been too long. I mean, doing that stuff is fun too but it gets old. Playing like that reminded me of when we were kids." Miuri remarked, reminiscing about the past.

"Play is always fun. I think it always will be, but people have to grow up and realize that it just isn't appropriate anymore. I'm sure some adults still want to make pillow forts or play in ball pits or have snowball fights, but they have higher priorities, and their actions would be seen as childish or immature." Leo responded.

"I'm gonna build pillow forts until the day I die. I won't let anyone tell me what I can and can't do. Society can look at me how they like, I'm gonna have fun however I want to." Miuri boasted with arrogance, as per her 'do not tell me what to do' attitude.

Leo stirred at the sound of movement and voices nearby. The middle and elementary school students had been dismissed, and since their respective institutions were so close by, flocks of them would congregate at Vista View park to wait for parents or just hang out. Leo saw them and realized that they were still in their underwear.

"Uh, people are coming. Maybe we should put on clothes." Leo suggested, poking Miuri on the arm.

"We're wearing clothes, aren't we? I've got a bra and panties on and you've got boxers." She rebutted.

"I mean more than undergarments. Its getting cold anyway."

"Aw, is the poor foxy scared the kiddies are gonna see his boxers? Poor foxy, he must be so embarrassed. I bet you'd get all the pre-pubescent girls with this hot body of yours." She teased, making a Rosie the Riveter-esque arm flex while standing up.

Leo followed suit and stood up after her, brushing the snow from his fur before it could melt and make him even colder than he was already. He looked up from his task to see Miuri striding towards their clothes, swaying her hips exaggeratedly and flaunting her nice ass, which she knew he loved. He blushed sheepishly as some of the older middle schoolers pointed at Miuri and her sexy walk.

When she reached her discarded garments among the solid banks of water, she looked back at him and flashed him a knowing grin before turning around and bending over lithely and completely in order to reach her clothing. Leo flushed as he was presented with a view of her perfect, pert rear in its barely-clothed state. He knew she was teasing him in front of all the kids. She started donning her coverings in very flexible, sexual ways while shooting glances at him every once in awhile. It was a reverse striptease, and it was working better than Leo would have liked to admit. Once she was done he marched over, head hung in embarrassment, and dressed himself quickly and clumsily. She giggled at his displeasure, not because she was sadistic but rather because she liked seeing him flustered. Miuri stuck her tongue out at him to which he frowned in exasperated embarrassment.

"Oh, lighten up. You know you enjoyed the show, and it was just for you." She assured, giving him some pats on the shoulder.

"I know..." he murmured, his voice trailing off.

"Hey. It was just some light-hearted teasing. I'm sorry. How about we get out of here?" she suggested, wrapping herself around his arm to provide him warmth and also comfort him.

"Alright. My house is closest." he stated, secretly enjoying her comforting words and apologetic embrace.

"Well, lets go then. Warmth awaits."

The pair departed, her clinging to his arm with him leading the way. They carved through the snow with their steps, every stride difficult within itself. Leo's house, or mansion rather as it was excessively large as was the norm for the wealthy in Fox Creek, was only a block away. Such a journey turned into miles through the condensed and heavy snow, however. Once they had arrived, both were relatively tired and their extremities were numb. Miuri had managed to brighten Leo's mood with some joking and more reminiscing.

Arriving at the front gate for his property, Leo merely gave a wave to a very obvious blinking camera before the gate automatically opened its full length, about 3 car widths. They both stepped onto the grounds, but they still had to cover about 100 meters before they arrived at the front door. As they stepped onto the elevated entranceway to the manor, the large mahogany double doors swung open, each one held by a different suit-clad servant. They stepped into the warm house, which smelled of good food riddled with ornate rugs. Miuri's sensitive nose twitched. It was always the smell of those fancy rugs that took some getting used to.

"Gerold, please inform mother and father that I've returned home." Leo ordered, addressing the butler on his left, a very well-groomed Lion.

The Lion gave a slight bow and retreated into one of the numerous hallways on the first floor. Another servant, a raccoon, sprouted from seemingly nowhere to take his place. The two servants began removing Leo and Miuri's coats. The servants also removed some of Leo's outer layers of clothing, as they were no longer needed. Another pair of workers were procured and offered the two lounging robes, which they accepted.

Having rid themselves of their cold, frosty outer layers of clothing and dressed in the lavish and comfortable robes, the two departed for the second floor. Leo's manor was three stories tall. The second and third floors each contained twelve rooms. The second floor's rooms were mostly designated to different purposes, such as the exercise room, the studio, or the kids room. However, the second floor was also where Leo and his parents lived. As Leo and Miuri stepped into Leo's room, Miuri couldn't help but marvel at its spaciousness and opulence despite having been in it on a nearly weekly basis since they were children. His room alone was nearly double the size of her entire apartment, and it was well decorated, well lit, and always warm. It was mostly empty however, as Leo didn't require anything more than his bed, a place to keep his clothes, and his computer. There were a lot of superfluous things he didn't end up using much, such as a massive television with multiple gaming consoles, a massage chair, a fireplace, two tables, and a multitude of other things.

The two settled down on his excessively large bed, as it was heated and also spacious enough to accommodate them both, laying down or sitting up. Leo grabbed the universal remote that controlled nearly everything in his room and pressed a button. The fireplace flicked on, more for ambience than for warmth as the room was already warm, and they were sitting on a heated bed.

"You know Leo, the part where your working slaves undress me is always really weird. I can do it myself." Miuri mused, relishing the warmth emanating from under her.

"So can we all Miuri, but its all about the lavish lifestyle to my parents. You know, my dad worked hard for his wealth. He used to have to beg and scrape to get by, and because of one small decision he was given a chance. The end result is that he wants to live as luxuriously as possible now, as a testament to himself and to the world that he made it. Even if we keep spending money in excess for the rest of our lives, we can never spend all of his fortune." Leo explained, though Miuri already knew.

"Yeah, yeah. Your dad sure is lucky, you know? Investing in just the right place at just the right time... Its like winning the lottery, but you just keep getting money." she compared.

"You know its more than that. He had to scrape together $50,000 dollars in order to invest, and it took him 12 years of nonstop work to make that much money. It was all he had in the world. He was going to spend it on a house to raise a family with my mom, you know. Instead he decided to invest it all. But that didn't make him rich... well, you know the story Miuri. I've told it time and time again."

"Yeah, I know. So what are we gonna do? Do you wanna start on this project, or just slack off?"

"I just got out of school for Winter Break. Why in the hell would I want to start an extensive and boring project?"

"I thought you like this kinda stuff, Biology especially."

"I like learning Biology, not doing busywork on stuff we already know."

"Oh, I see. Slack off, then?"

"Definitely."

"What is there to do in your house?"

"Are you kidding? You come here all the time. What isn't there to do? We have an indoor pool and jacuzzi, a theatre, a lounge, a parlour, a study, a studio, and shit tons of other stuff. There is literally too much to do."

"All that stuff sounds boring. Also, I'm pretty sure a study a lounge and a parlour are all functionally the same."

Leo pondered a moment before exclaiming, "Oh! Theres that room that we used to play in... the kids room. Freakin' half the room is a ball pit, and the other half is a bunch of kids stuff remember?"

"Oh god yeah, I remember. Jeeze, that sounds awesome. Lets go!" Miuri urged, tugging on Leo's arm, giving him a toothy grin.

"Alright, alright fine. I think you need to calm down with all the kid stuff suddenly." Leo chided, slightly annoyed by her forceful behavior.

Miuri trotted out of Leo's room, with him following closely behind. Leo gestured to Miuri to follow him, and they strolled down the hall to a second hallway. They proceeded all the way to the back, and then entered the last door on the right. Leo turned on the lights for the kids room, and illuminated a child's dream room. It was as big as Leo's room, as all the rooms were the same size, though it was filled with things for small children. As Leo stated, half the room was a ball pit filled with the colorful orbs. The other half had some small slides, games, and plenty of things that small children would find entertaining.

"Oh my goodness, I remember spending so much time in here when we were younger. This ball pit is still so AWESOME!" Miuri shouted, jumping into the pit of multi-colored spheres.

"Yeah, I don't come in here that much anymore. In fact, its been a couple years." Leo mused, sitting down next to the of plastic balls.

"If I lived here, I would come in here literally every day. Ball pits are so FUN! And this one is huge, and pretty deep, too. What is it, like three feet deep?"

"Yeah, three feet. I don't know why its so deep, I feel like a kid could sink to the bottom and never be seen again. Who knows, you're probably wallowing amongst some corpses right now. Legend has it that if you listen closely, you can still hear the joyous laughs of kids emanating from the haunted ball pit." Leo joked, indulging his imagination.

"Well I guess I'll just have to find out, huh?" Miuri said, diving beneath the 'surface' of the ball pit.

The individual globes emulated a mass of particles and spread like a liquid, allowing Miuri to plunge beneath the surface, where she disappeared. Leo watched in amusement as he could no longer spot his feline friend. He chuckled to himself. She always acted so arrogant and self-righteous, but she was really still a kid. He couldn't blame her, it wasn't as though she had much of a childhood. Leo watched the pit ripple for a while, Miuri very obviously shuffling beneath the surface in order to move around. The movement stopped for a small while, and Leo grew curious.

"Find anything?" Leo asked the motionless pit in front of him.

Silence. There was no response. Either Miuri was trying to trick him, or she had somehow swallowed some of the hand-sized pellets. He laughed internally at the innuendo, the thought of Miuri with two large colorful, plastic balls in her mouth. She would look like some kind of neon squirrel, or something else really stupid.

"Is everything alright down there? There's no way you could possibly get hurt in a ball pit, you know. If you did, I'll never let you live it down." He piped up, trying to elicit a response.

Still no response, and no movement. Leo wasn't sure to be worried or not. He'd never heard of anyone ever get hurt in a ball pit. She was probably just going to trick him or something. However, he should probably make sure. If something had actually happened, he didn't want to be responsible. Who knows what would happen if some small child actually found a corpse in the ball pit.

Leo stepped into the chasm of colorful drops, wading his way to where he last saw movement. He didn't feel anything on the bottom, so that was good. He reached the spot he thought Miuri was, and belly-flopped right on top of it, hoping to surprise her. While he did part the colorful droplets and fall to the bottom of the trench, he certainly didn't feel any best friends underneath him. He waved his arms around, trying to see if he could touch her, to no avail. He stood back up, looking around.

"Where the hell did you go?" He asked, chuckling a little bit. "You didn't find a portal to an alternate dimension, did you?"

All of a sudden he heard some rustling and turned around. The ball pit was stirring, a wave of the particles shifting towards him... Suddenly, he saw a mass of black and white leap up from the pool of blue, green, yellow, and red. The mass tackled him and he sank to the bottom of the rainbow sea, his best friend on top of him.

"Rawr! I'm a shark!" She yelled from on top of him, nibbling his ears.

"Oh god! Its eating me! Auugh! Good thing I brought my anti-shark gun!" Leo shouted, deciding to play along with her childish scenario, pushing her off.

"No! My only weakness! Good thing I have this anti-anti-shark-gun forcefield that I bought from Forcefields R Us!" She yelled, displaying a duck inner-tube.

"Where the hell did you get that?" He asked, giggling. "No matter! It would seem this anti-shark gun is useless! I'm going to have to take the shark down with my bare hands!" He yelled, pouncing on his friend and forcing her under the surface of the rainbow sea.

"You don't have bear hands, you have normal hands!" Miuri argued, trying to fight him off.

The two wrestled at the bottom of the ball pit for a while, screaming childish attacks and counter-attacks. Leo tickled Miuri to which she responded with biting his hands, which he countered with pulling on her tail, and so on. The two fought for a while, the spheres overflowing and making a mess of the room. When they were both exhausted from play-fighting, they crawled out of the rainbow pit and relaxed on the soft, carpeted floor. Both were panting heavily, Leo's tongue lolling out while Miuri maintained her dainty cat look. They lay there in silence for a while, fatigued beyond words, having played to their childish hearts' content.

"That was... really great. Today is really great. I haven't had such a good day in... forever, probably." Miuri admitted, turning to look at Leo.

"I probably haven't had such a good day for a long time either. I'm surprised that these silly things could be so much fun... I mean, I thought I had grown out of it. It never really seemed appealing." Leo shared.

"Maybe you just needed the right playmate." Miuri suggested, grabbing his hand with hers.

Leo's voice got caught in his throat. It was the first time she had ever used the word mate to describe their relationship. Sure, it was led by the word play, but to hear that single, simple word to describe the both of them made his heart beat rapidly. He heard her sigh dreamily across from him, and thought that perhaps she was thinking thoughts similar to his. He looked over to her and their eyes locked. His shining, intelligent emeralds gazed into her fathomless, stunning sapphires. His hopeful green eyes stared past infinity and into the depths of her blue soul. For a moment, they felt simply connected. Miuri sighed again, even more dreamily this time.

Miuri rolled over and climbed on top of Leo, her hips resting right above his. Leo didn't argue, didn't stop her as he was lost in her eyes still, his gaze boring straight through her intentions. She leaned down and kissed him right on the forehead. He could tell she wasn't done. She kissed his wet nose gently. His breath caught in his throat. He couldn't say anything even if he wanted to. She leaned down once more and kissed him right on the lips. Miuri purred in approval, and Leo moaned into the kiss. She knew how to make him the happiest person in the world. She knew just how to raise him up to the level of gods, to make him feel as though he could do anything. Her kiss lingered, for just long enough before she pulled up, captivating him with her sparkling blue gems again.

"Leo, I know I don't talk about how I feel too much..." Miuri began, her voice quaking. "And I know how you feel about me. I just want you to know that I feel the same way about you. I'm sorry I've never acted on the situation before, its just... not the time or place for us. I want to be yours, but I can't. There are other things that I have to do first. Don't give up, though. Hang in there, and I promise I'll make it worth it. I'm not saying you should wait for me... if you find someone else you like, go for them. Just know that I'll wait for you, no matter what."

Leo opened his mouth, his heart pounding against his chest. He felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest. He tried to respond, to tell her that he loved her, that he thought she was perfect in every sense of the word. He wanted to say that he would wait for her forever, that she was the only girl he wanted. He wanted to say all of those things, but his voice was hitched to his heart with a titanium cord. The words wouldn't come.

She gazed deeply into his eyes, and reassured him. He didn't have to say any of those things. Miuri already knew. She kissed him once again, almost as if she was telling him that she already knew. Her hips started rolling as she sat on top of him, arousing him and causing him to groan slightly into her mouth. Her kiss grew fierce and needy, and he knew what she wanted, what she needed. It was him.

Miuri broke the kiss and looked into his eyes. "I need you Leo." She began, her voice dripping with sex. "I want you to fu-"

The door opened and both Miuri and Leo turned to it, looks of shock and surprise painting both of their faces. There in the door, stood the Lion butler Gerold. He beheld the spectacle with poise, his face emotionless and unbreaking as he observed the cat upon the fox, both of their faces red with abashed displeasure.

"Master Leonard, dinner has been prepared and we wait upon you before it is served. You may bring your friend, I've arranged an extra spot next to you for her to dine." He briefed, his composure still unbroken.

"Uh... th-thanks, Gerold. We'll be r-right down." Leo stuttered, his face even redder than usual.

"Of course, sir." Gerold said, bowing.

The door closed as the lion left, and Leo and Miuri looked at the door, then back at each other, doing multiple takes before they were assuredly safe. Miuri dismounted Leo, her face flushed. They both sat there awkwardly for a little while, Leo fiddling with his fingers as Miuri poked at the ground.

"I think we should get ready for dinner." Leo stated loudly, breaking the silence, his confusion and embarrassment still apparent.

"Yeah, maybe we should..." Miuri said, standing up. "Thanks for having me over Leo, I'm having a good time."

Leo stood after her, and they both walked past all of the childrens toys and assorted nonsense on the ground. Leo put his hand on the knob for the door, prepared to open it. Before he could, Miuri put her hand atop his and stopped him. They looked at each other once again, Leo's head bent slightly downward and Miuri's slightly up, to compensate for their height differences. Miuri gave Leo one last sweet, loving kiss. A kiss that said 'I love you' rather than 'I need you'. She grinned up at him and he grinned down at her, knowingly. Leo opened the door, and they walked out holding hands.