FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

(Gematria by Slipknot)

It had been four weeks since the events of that night, since the fates of two very different individuals had been twined ever tighter around each other. John had done his best to help Aurora recover, while trying to come to terms with his feelings. He wasn't ashamed of his emotions, just saddened because he knew there could never be anything between them without immense personal sacrifice from each other; their ways of life were just too different. And he wasn't even sure that she felt anything for him anyway.

"Good morning..." came a soft voice that slowly raised the eyelids of the peacefully slumbering shark anthro. She raised her head up slowly and smiled as she eyed John standing in the doorway to his bedroom.

"Mmm... good morning John." She murmured, stretching a bit and yawning. Ever since she'd been injured John had allocated his bed to her, sleeping on the couch in his living room.

"How are you doing this morning?" asked the human, walking over and sitting on the bed next to where she lay.

"I'm fine, just a little drowsy." She admitted, giving another small yawn.

"Oh, I'm sorry I woke you up, but I just finished breakfast and I was wondering if you wanted anything to eat."

"You know what, John... I think I actually feel well enough to hunt for my own this morning." Aurora replied.

She'd gotten a sense of his nature over the past month and knew him to be sometimes overly worrisome, but tanks to his care she really was feeling a great deal better. She no longer felt any pain and as much as she had come to enjoy the young man's abode and company, she was a creature of the sea... and she was beginning to miss it. He'd let her use his bathtub whenever she needed it in order to keep her skin from drying out but nothing could replace the open ocean she'd known all her life.

John just stared at her for a moment, making Aurora a bit uneasy and hopeful that he would aquiesce to her request. But her distress was alleviated a moment later as John began to smile.

"Only if I can come with you." He said, suddenly leaning in and softly caressing her cheek. Aurora's eyes closed as she leaned into his gentle caress, unintentionally giving a small amount of voice to what her own subconscious desired.

She nodded and threw the covers off herself, once more giving John a view of her naked body.

The human had gotten somewhat used to seeing her like this, but he still looked away briefly on impulse. Aurora looked at him strangely before speaking.

"What's wrong, John? Is there something about my body that troubles you?" she inquired with genuine curiosity and just a touch of affront.

"Oh no no no..." he said immediately, raising his hands in defense. "Nothing could be further from the truth. Your body is.... beautiful." He said softly, slowing a bit as he finished speaking and realization of what he'd just said dawned on him.

John felt more than a little awkward but as soon as he'd started the sentence there was no way for him to keep himself from saying what he hadn't wanted to say, not out of spite or false truth, but out of worry that she might begin to suspect the real reason behind his shunning her naked body. He'd looked away because he couldn't stand to gaze upon such an image of heaven for fear of falling even deeper into the precipice of forbidden desire.

However, it was true; she had the kind of curves and lithe figure that many human females would kill for and the athletic build born of her lifestyle sufficient to make olympic swimmers green with envy. Her breasts were just the right size; not too big, not too small... and her tail just seemed to add a certain element of grace and mystique to compliment the rest of her.

Aurora eyed him with a queer expression for a moment before smiling and flushing a bit.

"T-Thank you, John. No one's ever said such nice things about me before..." She murmured in an immensely gratified and flattered manner. "I... I must admit that I find your body very.... appealing as well." She added tentatively, making John even more uneasy.

(The Preacher by Testament)

Unbeknownst to him Aurora was dealing with similar introspective issues regarding the young human. It was just as she'd explained to him the night she'd tried to escape; someone coming to the aid of a strange creature they'd never seen before at their own expense was something entirely new and strange to her. Nevertheless, she found it to be very sweet and chivalrous of him. He also possessed a very pleasant and compassionate personality, which always seemed to put her at ease. And his body, although strange to her, displayed a different type of appeal; an unfamiliar one... but one she found herself strangely drawn to all the same.

"Why... thank you, I suppose." John said with a fair bit of embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head.

The two looked at each other for a few awkward seconds, a bit uncomfortable but unable to look away.

"Well, my breakfast isn't going to catch itself..." Aurora said with a chipper tone, stretching once more and rising from the bed.

"Okay, I'll be with you in a minute. You can wait in the kitchen while I change and get ready."

"John, you've kept me inside and isolated from the world ever since I met you. Why?" Aurora asked of him, giving voice to what had been plaguing her for a few weeks now.

"Because then someone might see you." The human answered her as he made for the bathroom.

"B-But you just said there was nothing about my appearance to be ashamed of!"

John stopped and turned around to meet her gaze. He walked back into the room and regarded her seriously.

"Because some people might not have the same attitude towards seeing a new... very intelligent... species of shark. I don't have any idea what they might do but I can only assume that if word gets out of your existence you'll become the center of attention for the scientific community worldwide, and the life I know you so long to return to will cease to be a possibility." Remarked the young human, words flowing with the ease and genteelness of compassion. "I'm just trying to protect you from that fate..."

Aurora just stood there staring at him, completely taken aback.

"As I said before, you can wait in the kitchen while I get ready." He added before smiling at her and walking from the room.

(Enemies of Reality by Nevermore)

It took the anthro a moment to take in what he'd said. As his words began to sink in a sense of embarrassed remorse slowly flowed over her. She felt so foolish for her tone now that she knew the true purpose of his keeping her isolated. In truth, she'd never encountered such selfless concern in her life. As her grief set in, so did an almost overwhelming need to reconcile with him.

"John..." she called after him. There was no answer so she stepped from the bedroom and followed the path he'd taken. After a month of residing here with him she'd become familiar enough with his home to know where everything was. As she approached the bathroom she could hear him whistling and the sound of running water flowed past her ears. The door was slightly ajar and steam seeped though the small gap.

Aurora poked her head in with an apology on the tip of her tongue before she stopped dead.

John stood with his back to her cloaked in an apron of steam, his shirt off and his hands in the process of removing his pants. His upper body was quite muscular and, though it was hard for her to tell through the shroud of water vapor, it seemed as if he had several large scars on his back. Her tongue was rendered mute and her eyes cemented open by the awesome spectacle that was her savoir. His hands finished their task and her eyes widened further as his pants pooled around his feet.

In her culture, the posterior was the part of the body that held the most sexual appeal... and gods he had an adorable one! Aurora quickly withdrew her head from the door as he stepped into his shower, but not before a terrifying moment where she was SURE his eyes had met hers.

The shark anthro stood with her back to the adjacent wall as she took in what she'd seen. Her pulse raced and her breathing had increased as well. Was this how he felt whenever he saw HER body? She shook herself slightly to stop herself from going ay deeper into that train of thought. She knew the more attached she became to him... the more difficult it would be to break her news to him. She'd been putting it off as long as she could, actually really enjoying being around him... but she knew she'd have to tell him soon...

(I, Voyager by Nevermore)

Ten minutes later John walked into the kitchen where Aurora was sitting and trying to look as normal as she could, considering what had happened.

John was wearing shorts and no shirt, giving her another closer look at his sculpted upper body.

"Well are you ready to go?" he asked as he opened the door for her.

She nodded and rose from her chair, giving him a warm smile and walking through as he followed.

"I hope you don't mind me swimming along with you, I'm eager to see how you do this..." John said as he walked beside her. She turned and looked at him strangely before speaking.

"Although I've never seen humans swim I find it difficult to believe that you can do so with the necessary speed required to catch my prey. However, if you possess the means to keep up then I have no problem with you tagging along... provided you keep your distance; the fish are frightened enough of me without you hovering close by."

John thought for a moment before he snapped his fingers as an idea struck him. "Wait here, I'll be right back." He said excitedly, once more disappearing into the house. Aurora just stood there, her head cocked as she stared after him.

"W-what is that?" she asked with inherit curiosity as John came back into view.

"This is what I like to call my ‘Water Scooter'. Divers use it to help them move faster underwater. The propeller moves it through the water while I just hold on and steer." He explained, indicating the machine he held.

"Well then, let's get going." She remarked, deciding to refrain from inquiring further and just see how the strange contraption worked for herself, running at the waves and diving in.

Before John could blink her head popped back up fifty yards offshore, making him shake his head slightly in disbelief. "I guess she really is feeling better..." he mumbled to himself before running into the surf after her.

John knew she must have been remarkable in her natural environment, but only now did he realize the extent to which he had discredited her. She was incredible! Her lithe body seemed to almost slither through the water as a serpent might weave through tall grass. Her long tail swished behind her in slow sensuous waves, propelling her along with the slightest of effort. He turned on his scooter and jetted off after her, riding on the surface and breathing through his snorkel.

He followed for about ten minutes, just admiring her. By this time they were well over a mile offshore and John couldn't even see the bottom anymore, despite how clear the water was. However, as his gaze shifted forwards once more he saw Aurora had stopped. She was now just hovering in the water, her eyes closed as her face twitched slightly with concentration. Then her eyes snapped open and she gave a mighty thrust of her tail... and was gone.

John just floated there, trying to spot her or any trace of her. About ten seconds later several specks of silver flashed in the darkness below him followed by a blur of gray. Then stillness.

He started as he felt a tap on his shoulder from behind about a minute later, whirling around rather clumsily in the water and exhaling a relieved stream of bubbles as his eyes fell on Aurora; the tail of a fish protruding from her smiling mouth. She then knocked her head back and swallowed the rest of it with an audible gulp.

"That was amazing! You were going so fast I could barely even see you!" the human exclaimed later that evening as they waded ashore once again.

"Well... I like to think I'm pretty good at what I do." replied the shark femme with a slight blush.

"I should say so. You sure you're not feeling any pain from that?"

"I AM a little sore, but I think that's just because I haven't hunted in a while. I'll be fine in a while." She thoughtfully reassured him.

John smiled at her before gazing back out to sea. "Gods the sunset is beautiful, isn't it..." he mused aloud.

"Yes it is. It's... brilliant" Aurora responded, but John thought he could detect a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Is something wrong?" he pressed.

"Oh. Oh no... it's nothing." She murmured softly, smiling but her voice not possessing sufficient conviction to fully convince John.

".... If you say so." The young human breathed, tone laced with exasperation and more than a little concern.

(Engines of Hate by Nevermore)

The two of them walked back inside the house, John's curiosity pacified for the moment but unwilling to cease his inquiries completely. The more time passed, the more nervous she seemed to become. Although he knew not the source of her apparent unease he still felt the need to console her in whatever way possible. But it was impossible unless she told him what was bothering her.

Aurora's mind dwelled on a similar topic as well. Over the course of the time that they'd known each other she'd grown quite fond of him... too fond. She'd begun to feel things for him that she'd never felt for anyone else. Given another set of circumstances she would have felt no qualms about leaving and returning to her life at sea... but things were different now. And her growing adoration for the young man who now walked beside her had coincided with an unfortunate time in her yearly pattern. She'd been procrastinating; hoping that her feelings would have dissipated by the time of her departure.

But such was not the case. The love she had started to feel towards him had only grown stronger as the time of her annual exodus drew closer. And now both factors had come together, shaping into a looming altercation with her heart's desire that she was not at all looking forward to. Oh how she wished she could just leave, avoid the confrontation altogether. But it was just not in her nature to abandon him without notice after all he'd done for her. The environmental cues were all there, all pointing to the inescapable fact that she needed to move on; she'd already stayed much longer than she should have. But that didn't make what she needed to do any easier.

"Oh damn, I left the radio on..." John sighed as he an Aurora entered his house.

"Wait. I like this song." The shark femme objected as he moved to turn it off.

"W-what do you mean?" he asked, stumped.

"I love Credence Clearwater Revival." She replied simply.

The human just stared at her, at a complete loss for words.

"How on earth do you know about our music?" he asked point blank, his curiosity too insatiable to bother with discretion.

"Well, it's an interesting concept actually. You see, my species hears at higher frequencies than humans; a fact that I'm sure you noticed while on our hunt this morning. When your radio waves pass through the water, they're warped into a frequency that we can pick up. CCR has been one of my favorite... um... ‘bands' for quite some time." Aurora explained, appeasing John's curiosity but still leaving him a bit shocked.

"You continue to amaze me in almost every way..." he whispered to her. "Well, I think I'm going to turn in for the night."

"Alright John, I shall do the same. Goodnight."

She made up her mind at that moment as they went to their respective rooms to sleep for the night. Tomorrow. She had to tell him tomorrow, or risk missing her migration altogether.

8:00 P.M. the next day

The moon shone brilliantly upon the ocean outside the little cove. Gentle waves lapped at the rocks beyond the low-tide mark... and at grey-skinned feet standing in the sand. Aurora stared at the horizon, deep in thought. Although she knew her window of opportunity for her migration was swiftly closing she just hadn't been able to muster the courage or nerve to break the news to John. Immense internal conflict swirled within her like a brewing storm, needing to be assuaged.

But the relief and solace she sought came sooner and in a different way than she'd expected...

John rose from his bed, unable to sleep. His thoughts were racing about a million different things... all leading back to the one thing that had been plaguing him for over a month. He'd noticed a certain reclusiveness in Aurora's demeanor lately, the cause of which still remained undeterminable to him. He'd also been feeling a sense of urgency over the past week or so, a sense that didn't seem to come from his own mind. But one fact kept haunting him. With his feelings for her being as prominent as they were he knew that if he didn't make them known to her soon he might never get another chance. It was impossible for him to know if she even felt a vestige of what he felt for her, but he just couldn't live with this bottled up inside him.

"Aurora?"

"Oh J-John! You scared me..." the anthro said in a startled tone, turning around to be greeted by the human walking towards her.

"I'm sorry, such was not my intention. Why are you out here all by yourself?"

"I'm just... thinking." She mused aloud, sighing to herself. She'd been planning to go back inside, wake him up and tell him once she'd worked herself up to it. But now that he'd come to her she knew she'd have to bite the proverbial bullet.

"About what?" came John's query. Aurora sighed heavily before turning to face him.

"Wait, before you say anything... there's something I need to tell you." John murmured, serious filling his tone. He walked up to where she stood and looked her squarely in the face, his expression unreadable. "Aurora... this past month has been one of the most unique and special experiences of my life. You've shown me so much about an aspect of life I never even knew existed. You've shown me so much about you... and helped me discover some things about myself in the process." He said, his words tracing a direct path from his heart into hers.

"I-I know what you mean John. I..."

"No, no you don't. For you see, I've never been all that successful when it comes to courting females of my species. But as I spent more time around you, I started to see things in you that I'd never seen in anyone else before." He said to her. ".......felt things for you that I've never felt for anyone else before..." he finished in a soft whisper, taking a few steps closer to her.

Aurora was stunned to silence as this young human who had become the sole focus of her infatuations parroted her feelings back to her. Then a pang of regret stabbed at her heart; how on earth was she going to tell him now... now that this new bit of information hade come to light.

"You've captivated my interest... and feelings more than any woman ever has." John continued, now only a few feet from the shocked anthro. "You're beautiful, smart, funny, athletic, and unique in so many ways. I... I guess what I'm trying to say is that............"

John stopped speaking on the cusp of his confession as he suddenly felt Aurora's lips pressed passionately against his, the shark femme having closed the gap and captured him in a deep kiss. Needless to say the human was more than a little taken aback, but quickly dropped his doubts and kissed her back.

Her arms encircled his back and her tail wrapped itself around them as they stood there, of one being. John's eyes had slid closed and his hands wandered her curvaceous form, her own hands becoming entangled in his blue hair. Her tongue had also vacated her muzzle and was now dancing intimately with his.

Human and shark drank deep of each other for a blissful eternity, until John felt her breathing erratically. He pulled away from her lips and looked into her eyes... eyes filled with tears.

"Oh... oh g-gods John. Why do you h-have to make this so h-hard..." she whimpered softly.

"What are you talking about?"

Aurora leaned into him, once again capturing him in a fiery kiss. It was heavenly to finally have the lips of the one she loved pressed to hers... but also agonizing because she knew that this was the last time she would ever taste them.

"I have something to tell you as well. My feelings regarding you are not unlike your own concerning me. I've fallen in love with you John, there's no escaping that fact. But, this revelation comes at an unfortunate time. You see, my kind migrates annually to the polar regions where the fishing is plentiful. I was hoping m affections would have abated by this time... but they haven't. Please understand, I've already stayed much longer than I should have....... I need to leave. Tonight." She explained, tears still tugging at her eyes... every word she spoke like thistles to her tongue.

Now it was John's turn to be stunned. He gazed at her with wide eyes before his expression became one of anger.

"You're telling me this NOW?" he asked heatedly, extricating himself from her arms.

"Please John, don't make this any harder for me than it already is. I deeply regret the circumstances here, but it wasn't something that could be helped."

So you tell me you love me and then just LEAVE?! AFTER I'VE HAD THESE FEELINGS FOR WEEKS NOW?!" he yelled at her, righteous anger filling him and overshadowing his rationality.

"I had no choice! I've been battling whether or not to tell you for the past few days! I was hoping that these attractions would not become prominent enough to MERIT me telling you!" she shouted back.

John felt sick. So many emotions whirling around inside him, needing vent. He felt as if he'd been put on, taken advantage of. As if his feelings had been thrown beneath a bus.

"Go..." he whispered, his gaze leaving hers.

"John I..."

"JUST GO!" he screamed, turning away from her sharply and walking back into his house... leaving Aurora alone on the beach.

She regarded the house with one last look, silent tears running freely down her snout before she slowly turned around and walking into the waves without another word.

Back inside John sat in the chair in his living room, fuming. How could she have expected him to just stand there and take such news without such a reaction.

For ten minutes he sat, contemplating what had just happened. But then his expression began to soften as his anger began to leave him, replaced by common sense.

"Oh god, what've I done..." he whispered to himself before quickly rising and running back outside.

He burst from his front door, screaming her name. He ran to the water's edge, straining his eyes for even the slightest sign of her. For half-an-hour he called after her and searched the horizon before his fatigue and sorrow began to finally weigh heavily on him. He collapsed to his knees in the sand, sobbing. He buried his face in his hands, crying harder than he could ever remember crying before.

John wasn't sure how long he cried, nor did he care. All that mattered to him was that he'd let the best thing to ever happen to him slip through his fingers.