FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Foxworthy house, when he finally found it, was a large three story Victorian era home with what looked like the original wood paneling and the quaint wood work around the deck still intact. The front yard was overflowing with trees and flowers growing rampant and only a strip of grass that looked barely wide enough to mow across the front edge of it. There were two cars parked out front already, Kerris' black Challenger, which he was used to seeing at the school and Mythic's four door Tesla Model S. He pulled his Audi RS6 in behind them and looked up at the house for a moment.

"It's not going to eat you." Marcus said poking Venn in the shoulder from his position behind the horse. "It's just a house."

Kris seemed to come out of the daze he'd been in since they loaded him into the car and dryly commented, "If my Mom's in there you might wish it had..." He opened his door and slid out holding the door and the roof of the car for support since he was still a little wobbly on his legs.

Kasador and Marcus exited at the same time, Marcus walking around to help the rabbit support the raccoon as he headed toward the front door. Slowly Venn slid out from behind the wheel, closed the door and hit the button on his keyfob to lock her up. He shoved the key deep into his front right pocket and took a steadying breath before he followed the others in. The scent of the boy in his car was... it was like an aphrodisiac. The kit had no idea as far as he could tell, but it was hard for him to concentrate on the road with the warm scent of raccoon filling his lungs.

Inside that house was his most fervent dream and his most horrifying nightmare. Taking a deep breath he headed up the walk way following the others into the house.

As he reached the door, Kittara grabbed his arm and pulled him inside closing the door firmly behind him. Then she was heading for the kitchen, a corner of the large room that looked like it took up the entire first floor. Venn had never been inside the Foxworthy home before so it came as a bit of a shock to him how open the main floor was. There were pillars spaced approximately every ten feet inside the large 60 foot by 60 foot area laid out in a diamond pattern leaving large stretches of floor space that had been cleverly turned into sectioned areas each devoted to some aspect of life.

Despite being an enormous room it felt filled up as he followed in the vixen's wake, her hand on his arm drawing him further into the room with little resistance on his part. She pushed him toward the couch as she went to join Kerris in the kitchen, where he was doing something arcane with several bottles and a large pitcher. As she joined him she started taking glasses out of the cupboard and putting them on a tray, presumably to offer each of the guests a drink.

His eyes skimmed over the familiar faces of Mythic, Kasador and the kits from the team searching for the one unfamiliar face in the group. He almost missed her, she was so short that even seated as she was in front of the group of men he almost over looked her but once her voice rang out the males around her all turned in her direction and he found his eyes resting on an imperious little feline with raccoon face and body markings. "Kristopher! What in the world has been going on here?"

For a moment it was as if the whole world stopped, every eye in the house turned to the little cat perched on a recliner as she stared at her son. Almost as if they were drawn on a string those eyes moved to the boy as he responded in a soft almost contrite voice. "I did try to call you Mom; I left a dozen or more voice mails." He tried to move away from Kasador and Marcus to get further into the room but the two stubbornly refused to let him stand on his own. "Dad's gone crazy."

Venn watched the boy's face as he finally got his guardians to help him move around his mother's chair so he could face her without making her look over her shoulder back toward the door. His movement got the other males shifting and eventually the whole group found places to sit, Kasador and Kris on the couch with him, Mythic on the loveseat with Audio in his lap and Desmond and Marcus on the floor leaning against one of the pillars, their shoulders brushing.

At this point Kittara started passing out glasses of whatever it was Kerris had been mixing in the kitchen, breaking up the silence with her polite offers of beverage to all and sundry. Kerris followed along behind her with the full pitcher in both his hands, setting it on the empty tray when she placed it on the coffee table. He took up a spot on the loveseat next to his mate and was immediately accosted by Audio as his cousin settled down on the floor leaning back against her uncle's knees. The four foxes made quite the picture, Mythic leaning back with his arm around Kerris' shoulders, Audio in the latter's lap with his head against the broad chest, while the vixen wormed her way between Mythic's lower legs and rested her head on his thigh as she slipped an arm around his calf. Venn saw the family intimacy and smiled softly, looking away, leaving them to it while thinking about his sister. He made a mental note to call her husband to do something for her birthday.

He took a sip of the drink in his hand as he leaned back into the corner of the couch, resting his right arm up along the back as he settled in. Kris slumped against the couch back and let out a soft sigh cradling his glass in both of his hands. Without really thinking about what he was doing Venn's hand landed on the boy's right shoulder his arm stretched behind the boy's body.

Once everyone was settled the diminutive cat again turned her attention to her son, "Alright what is going on? Why in the world are we here and not at your father's apartment?" The way she perched on the edge of the recliners seat with her hands folded in her lap and her feet tucked beneath her reminded him of his mother in the way she held herself.

Taking a slow breath and letting it out again the boy started talking, "Well it started the day that Kittara and Audio came over. Dad was... a little disturbed by mistaking Audio for a girl." He glanced at the boy in question and shrugged. "I guess he figured anyone as small as Audio had to be a girl." There was an apologetic note to his voice and he wrapped his arms tightly around his torso.

Venn glanced over to see Kerris tightening his arms around Audio's waist and whispering something into the boy's ear which seemed to settle the kit down. A slight movement made him glance at Mythic and Kittara in time to see the vixen hide her face against the fox's thigh, and the fox to place his hand on her head stroking her hair lightly. It seemed like the Foxworthy kits had as much difficulty with that day as the boy who was slowly leaning more fully against his chest.

Seemingly oblivious to the foxes' discomfort the raccoon went on. "Dad was really upset that day, and after Kitt and Audio left he made me grab some gym clothes and go to his gym with him. He wasn't mean or anything just kept making me hurry until we were in the car." He glanced at Mythic for a moment then lowered his eyes as if ashamed or embarrassed about something.

Venn couldn't resist the urge to tighten his arm around the boy, offering non verbal support to him. Kris' hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled his arm down a little as he went on. "When we got to the Gym he made me change and took me to the MMA ring. I thought he was just going to make me watch and maybe find someone who'd teach me, but..." He closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed hard. "He made me get in there. The Gym has this open challenge rule; if you get in the ring you're open to anyone who wants to have a go at you.

"Dad, he was really mad I guess, 'cause he told them all that I was 18 and I had tried to take a swing at him at home." He pressed harder against Venn's side and the horse tightened his arm around the boy feeling the tension in him. "He kept saying he was looking for someone to take me down a peg or two and that I needed a lesson in manners." At this point in his story Venn noticed that Kasador was lightly patting the raccoon's thigh and for a moment he felt like breaking the rabbit's fingers for him, but he suppressed that quickly. After all the rabbit was just doing what he was, offering his support to the boy while he told his story.

Oblivious to Venn's momentary spat of jealousy Kris continued, "The first day it was the rabbit that you fought Kerris. He started out slow and took it pretty easy on me, giving me the chance to learn a little about defense, he was actually kinda cool about it, teaching me instead of just hitting on me." He pulled his tail into his lap and started nervously shredding the fur from the tip of it with his finger and thumb while he talked. "The next week it was a big guy, he was some kind of cat with a long bushy tail and black spots over white fur. He wasn't as careful and Dad wouldn't let me wear anything but a protective cup, said helmets were for babies. I went down pretty hard that day." He refused to meet anyone's eyes while he kept talking, but that didn't stop the tears from welling up and slowly spilling over to leave damp spots on Venn's arm. The heat of those droplets made the horse tighten his arms around the boy pulling him closer and lowering his guard enough to press a soft chaste kiss between the kits ears.

"Last week was the worst before today. I don't know what Dad and Duke told the bull but he was enraged when he got into the ring with me. He didn't pull any punches and kept forcing me around the ring until I was exhausted, then he came at me with his full force and I don't remember anything till I was in the car and Dad was shaking me awake to go back into the apartment."

Mythic interjected, "Who's Duke?"

Kris stiffened against Venn, not visibly, but the horse could feel the fear that radiated off the boy when that name was mentioned. "D-duke? He's Dad's best friend." He paused to take a swallow of his drink before he continued. "He's the big black Mastiff that got in the ring with Mr. Mitsuda." There was more to it than Kris was saying but with so many people around Venn didn't want to press the issue and make the kit expose things in front of everyone.

That choice was taken from the horse when Clawdia spoke up, "I know you Kris, and I know when you're hiding something. There is more to this story than what you've told us." Venn was taken aback at the steely note in the small feline's voice; couldn't she see that Kris had been through enough already? What was her problem anyway?

He felt the kit stiffen against him, sitting up a little more and turning to look at his small mother. "Well if you'd picked up your phone you'd know about it wouldn't you?" It was the first time he'd heard anything besides self pity in the kits voice today; it was good to hear it. "I tried calling you, like I said, but you didn't answer me. Dad's been acting like there is something wrong with me for months, ever since he found Sean and I on the couch, but you didn't do anything then and you still aren't doing anything!" He could feel the anger radiating off the boy now, and tightened his grip so the boy didn't jump at his mother like he had Audio when the other boy had pushed him.

"Damn it Mom it's not fair! I don't want to live with Dad and you know it but you're making me stay with him! Why? Why can't I come live with you? Why can't you get a place here in town and stay with me instead of running off all over the place like you always have?" His hands were balling into fists as he spoke, starting to raise his voice now as he told his mother what he thought of the arrangement he was being forced into living in. Venn's arms tightened around him, he didn't want the boy to give into the anger that he was feeling. "Do you even care that he calls me a freak? That he says I'm a pussy and a little coward 'cause I don't want to get into the ring with men twice my size and three times my age? No you're too busy with your clients to even answer your son's phone calls!" He took a deep breath and let it out slowly regaining a little of his self control, that is until the cat spoke again.

"Kristopher!" There was more than a hint of steel in her voice, "You do not speak to your mother that way! I know what you're father has been doing and saying. I want to know why you flinch every time someone mentions this Duke fellow." Her tail tip was flicking back and forth quickly in agitation and she looked like she was about to hiss at him with all her back and tail fur puffed out.

Venn held onto the kit tighter, seeing a train wreck coming and not knowing how to contain it, did the woman honestly not know how volatile her own son was lately?

Kris jerked himself forward nearly pulling away from Venn and Kasador who had switched from patting his leg to holding it down against the couch. "How dare you tell me how I can and can't talk! You haven't been here! You're never there when I needed you! You weren't there when Duke found out I'm emailing Sean and told me he'd tell Dad I was doing it! You weren't there when he threatened to hurt me if I didn't do everything he wants me to! If you hadn't let Dad kick you out then maybe You'd know what was going on, how Duke comes over almost every night and how he keeps watching me and making me feel like my skin is crawling, but no you're too busy running around the world playing and having a good time! Don't you _DARE_tell me what I can and can't do!" Unable to pull away from the two men holding him to the couch he finally fell back against them instead and started crying brokenly.

The whole room was silent for a few moments all attention on the raccoon boy who's crying had turned into full fledged sobbing as he turned to the comfort of the horse's broad shoulder. Venn couldn't help the way he wrapped his arms around the boy, but the glare he shot at the cat was totally under his control. He felt a cold knot growing in his stomach, what the boy was describing made the anger in him start to rise. He was angry that they hadn't known about the dog's predatory nature before the altercation this morning, he'd have loved to take a few swings at the mastiff.

She arched a brow at him her ears perking forward and commented in a calm cool collected voice. "So this Duke is coming over all the time has a hold over my son and is making him do things that he doesn't want to do. I think between that and what you gentlemen have witnessed today I have enough evidence against my husband to go for full custody now, don't you?" She turned suddenly compassionate eyes on her son then looked away quickly. "The question I have now is, what to do until I can get the court order on Monday. I can't have him evicted from the apartment right now and I don't want to get child protective services involved yet, but I can't let Kris go back there."

The light slowly dawned on Venn, she'd set this up, she'd put Kris in that apartment to get something on her husband so she could take the kit away for good. It was harsh and brutal, but... it looked like it worked. His jaw dropped as he stared at her, a new appreciation in his eyes. "You... you planned this?" His arms tightened around the kit cradling him like he was a fragile piece of glass, resting his cheek on the back of those soft grey curls.

Clawdia nodded slowly her eyes on the horse and how he was holding her son, she moved her attention to Kasador, noting how he'd pulled the kits legs into his lap and moved closer to offer his support. Finally she turned to the foxes taking in how they had pulled their own kits into their laps and held them protectively as well. "The one thing I didn't plan is how you gentlemen grew to care for my son, how you took it upon yourself to find out what was happening and make sure that I knew." Her gaze took them all in once more. "My question for you Gentlemen is, will you stand up in court and tell the judge what you've seen? Will you help me protect my son from his father?" There was an intensity in her eyes as she met each of their gazes.

Mythic leaned in toward Kerris and whispered something to him, which the shorter fox agreed to by nodding. But it was Kasador who broke the silence, "I don't approve of your methods, however, in the interest of helping Kris out of a horrible situation I will gladly serve as a witness." He frowned at her. "The next time you have a situation like this I suggest you inform the school so that we are more aware of what to look out for. We're trained to spot problems in our students that suggest trouble at home. At least Venn and I are, we realized something was off a few months back but didn't have the evidence required to get the authorities involved." The disapproval in his voice was clear to everyone in the room.

Mythic cleared his throat, "Kerris and I realized something was wrong when the kits came home telling us that your husband was shaking Kris and calling him rather nasty things in front of them. We went over but Kris refused to let us in. Not only will we both stand as witnesses, we might have a solution as to your problem of where Kris will stay, at least for the summer." He looked at his mate and arched a brow.

Kerris nodded, continuing where Mythic left off. "There are two spare rooms on the second floor both furnished with the basics, you are more then welcome to use them for as long as you need to." This news had Audio turning to stare at the two larger tods in astonishment. Even Kittara seemed a little startled at the news, though not as shocked as her cousin was.

Venn held his tongue, there wasn't much he could add to what the other men had already said to her that wouldn't start a horrible fight and possibly disturb Kris, Kris who was finally starting to run out of tears, though he didn't show any indication of moving away from the horse's chest. Instead he looked levelly at the cat and waited to see what she had to say for herself.

"I think gentlemen that I will take you up on your offer of keeping Kris for the summer. As much as I hate to admit it I have obligations that will require me to move about more than I care to think about and that would not be good for him both because he will not have a stable place to live, and due to his training schedule." Clawdia took a deep breath and went on, "As for the rest first let me say I did not in any way engineer this situation. My hand has been forced in every move I make." She seemed to deflate a little, or perhaps it was just her fur finally smoothing back down. "Edmond has been most... disagreeable through this whole process. I admit I didn't know he was so strongly against the idea that his son might not be exactly like him, but I was not expecting him to fly into a fit when he found the boys on the couch together. He placed the blame squarely on my shoulders and refused to see reason. The best I could do is make sure that the only payments he is receiving are for Kris' upkeep and not his own." She sipped at the drink Kittara had given her at the beginning of the conversation then set the glass back onto the table beside her.

Kerris cleared his throat, "Excuse me Clawdia, can I interrupt you there for a moment." He waited until the small cat nodded then said, "It sounds to me like this is a long story and I think the kits might be better entertained playing video games while we talk this over."

Kris was still too distraught to do much of anything but cling to Venn, Audio stoutly refused to move from Kerris' lap, but the other three kits gladly excused themselves to go and explore the various games and movies available to them across the room at the large entertainment system.

Once everyone was settled again Clawdia cleared her throat, "Let me start at the beginning. Edmond was a very charming man; he caught my eye and later my heart with his charm and wit more than anything else. We had several happy years before we decided to have Kris. I do not regret the decision; Kris was and is the most precious thing that came out of our marriage. Edmond proved to be a caring and devoted father, he worked with Kris through most of his childhood helping to make him the boy he is today, but somewhere along the line his mind became infected with this notion that Kris was showing 'unnatural tendencies'. I believe it started with my father but have no proof of that. He believed that if we kept the boy from the trappings of that culture he would eventually grow out of these tendencies." She looked sad for a moment as she gazed at the now sleeping raccoon nestled in Venn's arms.

"He was so upset when he found the boys on the couch. I'm afraid he said some things that shouldn't be repeated around the young ears in this room. I tried to calm him, but he would have none of it. He ejected poor Sean from the house rather forcefully and forbad Kris from ever seeing him again. When I tried to get him to see reason he demanded a divorce on the spot claiming that I had tainted the boy." A single tear welled up in her eye which she carefully wiped away.

"I did try to take Kris with me but he swore he would beat me until one of us was dead if I didn't just get out. It seemed the prudent course of action at the time to simply leave and come back for Kris later. But he outsmarted me. He claimed I had abandoned my son and forced the courts to give him full custody allowing me only a bi weekly visitation on alternating weekends.

"It is regrettable that I could not persuade the judge to change his mind, however he felt that Kris should be with his biological parent." The last two words were spit out as if they were the most foul tasting things the cat had ever had in her mouth. "He seemed to consider the time I carried Kris to simply be a rental arrangement. However he wasn't adverse to forcing me to pay for Kris to live in the lifestyle to which he had grown up accustomed to: by which I mean that I am paying for everything that Edmond has through child support that is meant to maintain Kris' in a lifestyle comparable with what he was used to at the family estate. Believe me that small apartment is a far cry from what I have been paying for this entire time.

"Edmond has been attempting to keep Kris from knowing that men such as you exist. He's been trying to install the idea that it is unnatural and against god for a man to want to be with another man. He has gone from being a loving father who doted on his only son to the monster that you all saw today. All the money that should be going into living expenses has been spent on bribes and payoffs to keep the courts and child protective services on his side in this matter, after all he believes that he is doing what is in our son's best interests. Unfortunately Kris' grandfather is of the same opinion. My Father has always been a little backward, so I have had my hands tied while they plotted together to best ensure that my 'weak womanly ways' didn't interfere", she said quietly, bitterness leaking through.

She stopped there for a moment still the picture of a composed lady but Venn could see the strain around her eyes and in the way her neck muscles were bunching. "I'm sure you all condemn me for not being there as Kris has just described to you, but there was no other recourse left to me."

In spite of his earlier anger at her for treating her son like some game piece Venn was starting to sympathize with this diminutive lady. But it still didn't give her the right to disregard the boy's safety while she played political games with her father and ex-husband.

In what seemed to Venn to be an abrupt change of topic the cat turned her gaze on him and asked point blank. "Why will you not agree to be Kris' private coach? I know he's asked you and that you've turned him down. What I don't understand is why." She shifted her gaze to his arms about her son and added in a softer voice, "It isn't that you don't care for him." She didn't sound upset, more confused. "Is it the money? I can promise you that whatever you request as long as it is reasonable is no problem."

Venn just stared at her for a long moment before he opened his mouth to respond, "I... I don't need money, that's not the issue at all." He glanced at Audio; the kit seemed to be far too interested in what the adults were saying for him to be able to be candid about his personal situation right now. "It's a personal matter; I just don't have the time to devote to his training over the summer." Which was blatant lie and he was sure the feline and likely the other three men as well knew it.

"Hummm..." Clawdia looked at Audio herself for a moment then lifted her eyes to Kerris, "I wonder if I might have a glass of water, this punch you've made is wonderful but just a touch sweet for my tastes." For his part the fox seemed to understand the unspoken request to take the kit else where and nodded once, looking to his mate for a moment. Mythic tightened his arm around the fox and must have conveyed that he would share what ever he learned with his mate in that silent way that people who have a deep connection can sometimes do.

Audio protested when Kerris stood, carrying the fox with him toward the kitchen area. "Why can't I stay with Papa?" Reaching his hand over Kerris' shoulder toward Mythic, but the tod simply took him out of hearing, whispering something to him that quieted him down.

The horse blushed, his ears folding back into his mane as the feline looked at him again. "I did say it was personal."

"I heard you; I'm just not sure I'm convinced."

The horse bristled, but didn't dare move for fear of waking Kris, the boy really deserved the chance to recover from his ordeal. "What right do you have to question my motivations? If I say I have a personal reason, that I'm too busy over the summer to take on the boy's training what business is it of yours?"

Clawdia slowly shrugged one shoulder. "I believe the first part of your statement but the second is not so convincing." She leaned back slowly into the embrace of the chair. "The way you're holding him..." She waved her hand toward the boy he couldn't stop cradling against his chest. "You care for my son."

His eyes widened and for a moment he felt as if his hearts had stopped beating, he wasn't breathing, she couldn't know what he'd been thinking about the boy! It wasn't possible! He'd done nothing to intimate that he had any illicit notions about the raccoon that was so warmly cuddling against his chest.

"It's there for anyone to see in the way you held him when he needed someone strong to hold him. You, more than any of the other men here, care for him." Her eyes bore into his, forcing him to meet her gaze. "How can you break his heart and kill his dream by not giving him what he needs most from you? His father whom he cherished has cast him out, treated him like a pariah and when he sought you out for soils you turn him away? What kind of man are you Vincent? How can you push away a child in need of a strong father figure?"

He flinched as if she'd slapped him; he knew what it was like to yearn for the love and approval of a man who would never accept him for who he truly was. Back at the beginning of all this he'd made a promise to the kit, a promise to always be there for him, to help him in every way that he could and she was calling him to task on that. He hadn't been the man that he should have been, he'd let the kit get hurt far too many times to count. How could he do to this boy what was so often done to him?

He looked down at the sleeping face of this boy who came to him for help, who needed him, and his heart broke. Tears streamed down his cheeks unheeded, no matter what his own feelings were the boy was looking to him for guidance and he couldn't let him down.

Not again.

She was right, he'd become like his father, she'd let down an innocent child that only wanted someone to love him. How could he do less than Gareth had? How could he push the boy aside when he knew full well that he could be the strength that saved him from the misery he himself had faced as a child?

He took a slow deep breath, heavily laden with the boy's scent and let it out slowly. "You're right, he needs me and I promised him I would be here for him." It didn't matter what kind of a crisis of conscious he was having, the boy needed him to be strong, to be a man and show him how a man should be. His arms tightened around the sleeping kit and he nodded once. "We'll start Monday; he deserves a day off after what he's been through."