FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_Hey everyone, _

first of all, sorry for having left you on a cliffhanger ^^ I am just that bad, I had been busy and only recently went back to write this chapter ^^ Still, hope you will enjoy it, even if it won't be what you expected XD Just leave a comment if you are displeased, though I hope you won't be!

I want to dedicate this chapter to a friend of mine, The Cuddling Fox, because he needs something __nice right now. Go and give him a hug!

Thank you, Gritou, for being there for me and for being awesome! See you on Friday!

A fresh breeze was blowing from the river, taking away some of the noon heat that was covering everything like a too warm blanket. The furs going up and about moved as quickly as possible, especially the ones with a thick fur, quick to reach the merciful salvation of the shadows. Not many were around in the first place, the usual crowd of Ponte Milvio1 eagerly waiting for the night to come out and socialize.

"This is the best hour to come here." Sara thought, lazily sipping her Cola Zero2 with lots of melting ice cubes and a slice of lemon. Once upon a time she had been eager to enjoy the follies of the night, as any of the youngsters these days, but with age she had grown fond of silence and annoyed by such behaviors.

Now she liked cool evening with friends, lots of talking and joking, with soft music in the back ground, not the never changing thrumming of discos, the air full of the scents of thickly packed furs dancing and sweating. She sure didn't miss that kind of life now.

"Tesoro3, you really should try this drink out." The tigress across the table suggested her, her glass full of a strange concoction of fruit juices and alcoholic liquids. If there was someone who hadn't gave up partying and staying up all night in a disco, that was Lidia; that didn't mean she loved her less, though, the squirrel had accepted her personality long ago.

"No thanks Lidia, I am quite comfortable with simple Coca." She smiled to her friend, leaving out that she rather preferred not to drink at lunch, even on Saturdays. The rodent wasn't 25 anymore, after all.

"Forza4, old lady, live your life a bit! This is a good cocktail!" The temptress in stripes purred, jabbing at her playfully, as always.

"Have you ever seen me drink at lunch?" Sara asked, amused by the attempted corruption by the other.

"That isn't a good reason from stop trying tesoro." The tigress smirked, gracefully taking another sip from her glass and making a huge deal out of it. That made the brown furred female smile, since she knew all too well that the feline would never cease; it had become a running joke between them now, of sort.

"I never felt the attraction of being tipsy with the sun high in the sky." She pointed out, leaving out that the one time she had done such thing it had ended... not too well. But everyone had done wild things during their cento giorni5, right?

"That's the best part of the day to be tipsy my dear!" The other replied, taking another gulp as to punctuate her statement.

"I think my Franco wouldn't like to see me come back without the ability of walking straight." The rodent shrugged, deciding to take another spoonful out of her desert, an almost finished tiramisu that had been the good conclusion to a good meal.

"Oh don't use your darling as an excuse, tesoro, you are just a party pooper as always!" The tigress snuffled, though she wasn't meaning anything mean with that. In her eyes, Sara had always been too shy, even back when the two of them were passing nights together on the dance floor.

"I am a grown fur, I know my limits and act accordingly. You should do the same." She jabbed, not going down easily with only one remark.

"I know my limits all too well, thank you very much." Lidia retorted while she finished her lunch drink, purring in satisfaction.

"Yeah, sure. That is why you are wearing shades, right? To hide the signs of sleeping too much." The squirrel pointed out, taking out her asso nella manica6.

"Of course I am. I need to cover my charming eyes, else everyone would fall in love with me." The feline took the remark in stride, though her smile tightened a bit when she told the truth. "But yeah, I had quite a night yesterday."

"Don't tell me, you celebrate the start of the week-end in a big way." The squirrel teased her friend, burning with curiosity about the details of the other's evening.

"Ho rimorchiato7 a hunk yesterday, a nice specimen of dog named Antonio... Let's just say he buried his bone last night." The striped cat boasted immodestly, stopping from getting too lewd, thankfully for the rodent.

"I'm happy you saw some action yesterday." Sara said, trying to hide her blush. Even after all these years, she was always a bit embarrassed by the openness of her friend, something that she shared with her fellow Romans.

"Speaking of dogs, how is your friend Ale doing lately?" The tigress asked out of the blue. Luckily, Sara was trained to not being taken aback by the sudden changes of topics of her friend, so she didn't do anything as amateurish as asking why she was curious about him.

"The usual, he is fine, working, relaxing, and such. He is that kind of rottie." The squirrel answered, hoping that it could be enough to dismiss the cat's proverbial curiosity. She was wrong as always.

"Come sta andando con la sua ragazza8? Clara, wasn't she?" The next question came, quite predictable if you knew how the tigress's brain worked.

"Splendidly. We saw them last Saturday, and they look good together, innamorati pazzamente9." The rodent replied truthfully, though she was sure that it wouldn't stop the questions. Lidia was an unstoppable gossip huntress, skilled in spotting things others wouldn't get.

"You don't sound so sure. Troubles in heaven?" The feline inquired, one brow quirked as to show that she wouldn't be satisfied with nothing less than the truth. She revelled in that kind of news and information; it was part of her nature.

"Not at all, actually. They seems be made for each other." The rodent dismissed such accusations quickly, her ears moving a bit in discomfort; after all, she had seen the German Sheppard only once, not enough to get that kind of vibes.

"You don't sound that convinced." The cat didn't let her go easily, her stare being felt even through the shades. That worked on the squirrel most of times, being it a heritage from when her kind was prey, and the feline facing her was a tiger, not a tubby.

"Well, I wish the best to Ale, and Clara seems to be a good girl for him..." She trailed off, shifting on her seat, not quite comfortable of talking about her friend to another. Not in that way, at least.

"We all do, tesoro, but you think it will last, vero10?" Lidia cut the chase to the point, having heard the unspoken parts of her friend's answer.

"Well... No. I think they are way too similar, that's all." She finally admitted, not having to add more since the tigress knew her opinions about love.

"You are probably right. You always have been regarding my boyfriends." The feline seemed content now, having got what she wanted on the topic.

"Yes, I have." Sara said, even though a blind fur could have told that those relationship had an expire date. Her friend had the power of finding just the wrong male to be partnered steadily with, while she bedded those that were good candidates for boyfriendhood. She had told her many times, but she always didn't listen, so the squirrel didn't bother repeat herself now.

"Please, do tell me when that rottie is available, won't you?" Lidia requested, licking her chops at the thought, looking even more predatory now than before.

"I will." The petite female said out loud, but inside her mind she made a note to ever avoid mentioning the Rottweiler's eventual breakup until he had found someone else. Con tutto l'amore11that she had for her friend, Lidia wasn't the right fur for him, nor she would ever be; and it was clear that the tigress didn't want him in a romantic way, which chalked her out in the first place.

There was someone who was just perfect for Ale... Someone who was quieter, more level headed, but that shared a lot of interests with him, and love too; it would be the best for the other party too, but unfortunately that wasn't ever going to happen...

"Too bad that his lupo friend doesn't bat this way. He is single and quite good looking." Sara heard the other continue, snapping her out of her thoughts and back to the real world, where she should be careful to show redness on her cheeks.

"I am sorry that Luca's sexuality doesn't fit yours." The rodent replied a bit too harshly, in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. She wasn't ever happy when Lidia started leering at his friend.

"Are you sure it doesn't? I mean, I could change his mind, if he gives me the opportunity..." The curvedly tigress said with a seductive smile, as if the poor dog was in front of her, ready to be taken by the passionate huntress.

"Stop that." The squirrel said icily, and her fur wasn't bristling just because her genetics didn't allow for that. She did that without thinking, else she would have mitigated her reaction, but now it was too late.

"Stop what?" The feline said, not showing any sign of being insulted by her friend's behavior. Maybe just a few, her smile was a little tighter than before, but not morphed in an open snarl.

"Implying that homosexuality can be cured just like that. I find that insulting." Sara explained, not bothering to infiorettare12her response. She had known Lidia for a very long time, so she had the rare privilege of being direct, when the occasion needed it.

"I was just joking tesoro, nothing else. You know me; I don't think anything of that shit." The party animal had dropped her smile, showing only seriousness on her short muzzle. She even took off her shades to show here eyes, two blue diamonds that didn't leave any doubt.

"And you know me; I don't like even joked about such things." The rodent's determination didn't wave, holding her stare and not bucking back. It was a question of principle; she didn't want such delicate matters to be taken so lightly, even if for a laugh. That was the way her parents had educated her, and thank god she had learned the lesson.

They stayed like that for a while, a non verbal fight that continued without either fur wanting to lose. The tiger did have a point, sure, but the squirrel didn't want to give up the matter, even with a close friend like Lidia.

"Well, okay, you are right." The tigress finally averted her eyes, seeing that her opponent had more conviction than her. Her ears flicked just a bit before she returned to her merry self, smiling at her friend warmly. It had been something little, no need to dwell on it, that was what the smile said.

"I am always. And before you ask, no, he isn't bisexual, I checked that." The rodent fed the other the piece of information, to both satisfy her and making things clear on the topic "Luca's sexuality".

"Oh dannazione13, I was secretly hoping for that." Lidia pouted, which made her a bit more childish and innocent despite the reason why she was doing that. That made the petite fur smile and giggle a bit, her good mood coming back.

"I know you were. Sorry, he told me again and again he can't bed females." She added for good measure, still giggling.

"I don't really have any chance with him! How can I live on?" Lidia dramatically raised her paw to her brow, throwing her head behind in her best diva form. The squirrel burst in more open laughter now, joined quickly by the tigress, both of them expressing their shared amused.

Their laughter was cut by a beeping sound coming from under their table, and after a quick check they discovered that the origin was in Sara's Gucci purse, which was hauled on the table in haste and opened to retrieve the ringing device.

The squirrel looked briefly at the screen, seeing the name of the caller was a familiar one. This specific fur should have been busy with other matters, not having time to call her at all; the strangeness of that piqued her curiosity, so she didn't let the phone ring more and with some swift touches of her fingers she answered. She gave an apologetic look at Lidia, the tigress just nodding and waving that it was okay to respond and interrupt their conversation.

"Ciao Stanley! Are you having fun touring Roma with Luca?" She chirped happily, the phone pressed against her ear, resting in her brown curls.

The expected answer didn't come, just some heavy breathing, as if the caller was just finished with a jog or have experienced something bad; in the back of her mind she marvelled how she could come up with both reasonable and bad scenarios on the spot.

"Staley? Are you okay?" Sara asked, trying to not sound worried; after all, there was no use to feel like that when you didn't know anything, no?

"...Sto bene14. I'm home right now." Finally the familiar if somewhat breathless voice of the husky answered her, bring with it new worries. She knew the schedule of the day as it had been envisioned by the lupo, and it was just too early for them to be finished.

"You are already home? Perché15? Something happened?" Those were the new questions that spurted from her muzzle, in her attempt to get her theories dispelled.

"I... Left the group early." The canine on the other end of the line said, seeming on the verge of tears. That was never a good thing to hear, ever...

"Why? If I may ask. Did Luca do something wrong?" The squirrel insisted with a hint of a laugh, even though she was only half joking about the latter part. If the husky had gone home earlier that meant the lupo had done something and screwed up... Though, she had faith in his friend and she was sure that he didn't do a thing.

"Yes, he did." The short reply crushed her assumptions, and all of sudden she felt very disappointed with her co-worker. She felt bad about that, but she was sure that the lupine had done something very wrong to cause that... which was unlike him.

"Whatever he had done, I am sure he didn't mean it. And that he did without thinking. I know Luca: he wouldn't upset you on purpose." Sara tried right away to mend the damage, whatever it was.

The tigress in front of her was openly listening now, but not with malicious intentions, since she looked very attentive and serious, having sensed that something wasn't quite right. She stayed there, one paw keeping up her head, her round ears flicking at every part of the exchange among her short-cut blonde hair.

"He damn upset me, lo stronzo16. And it is all your fault." The husky accused her, barely restraining the anger, now apparent to the squirrel. The words stung too, more so since the accusation seemed so... gratuitous. How could she be hold responsible for what the canine had done?

"My fault, you say..." She mumbled, one eyebrow quirked, sensing that Luca might not be guilty of driving off the other dog, thanks to her female sixth sense. Lidia's expression morphed in a snug smirk, having registered from her friend's tone that someone was going to get an earful.

"Yes. You sure know that he is a frocio17, and you forced me on me. I eat dinner and walked with a deviant, I've been in the presence of such an abomination!" Staley almost shouted the vile words, not letting the rodent speak. Not that she was going to interrupt him, she just waited patiently, having put the phone a good ten centimetres away from her ear as the other began his tantrum.

"And I met one of his sin-living friends! Such a disgusting tiger, going about luring an honest padre di famiglia18in forbidden pleasures and breaking up a family because of that! The worst thing is that Luca seems so normal, but he isn't, he goes against the laws of God, he is one of those wicked furs that Don19 Girolamo always warned about!" The canine kept expressing his anger, flooding the air with his words.

Word after word, Sara's expression darkened, her scowl being mirrored by the fur in front of her, the tigress hearing as clearly as her thanks to her capable ears, and she didn't like it even one bit. It probably didn't help that they had discussed such matters only mere minutes before. Finally, the canine remained silent, only heavy panting coming from her phone.

".. Are you done with that? Do you need to tell me more?" Sara asked, her voice inexorable and cold as a glacier. She didn't wait for an answer, for her the dog had finished in many ways. "Good. The fur you are talking in such terms is a very good friend of mine, a co-worker, and I won't hear anything more."

"But he-" The protestation was cut immediately, the squirrel not bothering to acknowledge that as she continued.

"You are the cause of your own misery, with your mentality. Since you were conditioned in believing that, I will be merciful and allow you to ask for my help in overcoming your bigotry." The squirrel laid down her proposal, and saw that her friend agreed, the feline nodding at it, not looking surprised at all.

"But I warn you. If you dare even be in the presence of Luca before you are ready to apologize sincerely, I will withdraw my help." She added the fundamental condition. "You are welcome to call me to talk about your problem, whenever you want. But only that." Said that, Sara unceremoniously cut the conversation, the jerk not deserving any proper farewell.

"I just remembered to never piss you off tesoro." The tigress said, sounding quite impressed and proud of her friend. "Though, you were too kind on him."

"Everyone deserves a chance to change. His only crime is to be following wrong teachings." The rodent admitted; she felt responsible for throwing Luca in such a situation, and she wanted to make amend with it, and what better way to redeem a homophobe?

"Shall you check out on your friend?" Lidia asked, understandably concerned with the wolf's well being. The petite fur could only imagine how rough it had been on him, she probably got half the shouting.

"No. There are others who are taking care of him right now, I am quite sure of it." She dismissed, thinking of a particular hot-headed rottie. She forced herself to smile, since there was no use to be bothered by this now, when they should enjoy the afternoon. "Do you feel like eating an ice cream? I sure do!

Translation:

1) The MilvianBridge, a very popular place in North Rome for partying and drinking.

2) Yeah, in Italy we shorten Coca Cola with Coca ^^ This particular one has zero calories.

3) Literally treasure, when referred to a person it is "darling/dear".

4) Come on.

5) High school classes in their last year have a trip/staying somewhere one hundred days (supposedly) before the big final Exam, or Maturità.

6) Ace up the sleeve.

7) I hooked up with.

8) How is he doing with his girlfriend?

9) Madly in love.

10) True?

11) With all the love.

12) Embellish.

13) Oh damn/damnation.

14) I'm okay.

15) Why?

16) The dick/shithead/asshole/etc. Literally, piece of shit.

17) Fag.

18) Family father or something like that.

19) Priests in Italian are called either Father or Don. It depends on the order they belong to, though I don't know much more ^^