FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"A Dog Day"

The soft tweeting of birds filled Donell's ears as he awoke in a strange forest. Sitting up, he had no recollection as to how he got there, or why he was naked and alone. Putting his hands to his head he clutched down on his scalp, as if to find something there that wasn't his own... but he found nothing. Slowly, he staggered to his feet and brushed off his body. His fur was in tact and whole, but he still had no idea where he was. The trees seemed so foreign to him, as he reached up and took a leaf, it shrieked and folded in on itself.

"What... what's going on?" He asked.

Looking down at his hand he noticed he was clutching what looked like a clear marble, he pursed his lips in confusion but decided to keep it with him anyway, just in case it offered some clue. He wandered down the grassy hillside before sliding down a few feet and coming to a stop at a clearing. As he looked out over the grass, he could definitely sense something strange in the air, causing his ears to perk up. He frowned a bit and sunk to his knees. "I don't know where I am." He said, on the verge of sobbing. "What's happened? Drake... Shiron... where are you?"

The last thing Donell could remember was having sex with Drake in the park outside their college. Then Shiron came and teased them. He smirked. There was nothing that Shiron liked doing more than being a tease. Images of his body flashed in the dane's mind as he closed his eyes and tried to recapture them. He stood back up again and started across the glade; he glanced around, trying to make some sense of his surroundings. It looked like a normal forest so far, except for the shrieking leaf he'd touched. But the sky... the sky looked different. He looked up to see the crest of a sun now making its way into view overhead. The sky itself looked like a bright lavender color than the blue sky on Earth. There were also darker purple streaks, like shadows of ribbons strewn across the cloudscape; not a single cloud could be seen, and this was particularly maddening to the dog, as this didn't even look like his other world either.

"Hello!" A voice squeaked, turning Donell's attention to a tiny winged creature that had settled on a tree branch. It had a tiny, human-like body with a proportionally larger-than-needed head. Big curls of blond hair stuck straight up like a tiny spark of fire.

"Hello." Donell answered awkwardly.

"You are a strange creature! First one thing, then the other. It's confusing to us."

"Us?" Donell asked. "Who is 'us'?"

"I don't know. We just met silly!" He giggled awkwardly, then a chorus of similar sounding giggles came from all around, though their sources remained unseen. "We are the wood sprites of the Wandering Wood." He answered with a bow. "And who are you, stranger?"

"Donell... from Earth."

"And, who's your friend?" He pointed at Donell expectant to get a different answer. Donell turned to look over his shoulder and saw nothing.

"There is nobody here but me."

"Not true, not true! Remember it you don't... but where there is you, there once was two!"

"Two? What do you mean?" He looked down at his hand, staring into the marble still clutched in his palm. Briefly, there was a flickering of black through the crystal clear marble. "What... happened to me?" He looked at the sprite. "Can you tell me?"

"We are unsure. We felt a disruption of nature, a darkness descended into our world; chaos, no control. Cold. Heartless. Fear."

Donell frowned. "But what was it?"

"We could not see past the blanket of black. Your heart concealed it was. Then there was you, and you appeared. Crawled away you did, from this spot right here. And fell asleep in the woods you did. Darkness gone, we let you sleep."

"You're speaking in riddles. What darkness are you talking about? Me? Was I darkness?"

"You... but not you... torment and fear... anger and pain..." The sprite seemed to get more confused the longer he talked.

"What is your name?" Donell asked, trying to change the subject.

"Name?" He asked, scratching his head. "What is this?"

"It... it's what people call you. On my world you are named at birth, it's... it's a designation, something you are called for people to get your attention."

"Wood sprites do not have... "names"." He explained. "We are one, if we want one in particular we simply know it."

"Well I don't know how to do that, so why don't I just call you pipsqueak?" He asked. "Or, Pip for short?"

The sprite pondered for a moment before lifting off the branch, fluttering over to Donell's shoulder and landing on it. "So when you say "Pip" you refer to me?" He asked.

"Exactly."

"Very well. That is acceptable." He said as he hopped off of Donell's shoulder and started to fly away.

"Hey, Pip. Where are you going?"

"Oh, I will return, friend Donell." He said, now flying off to a point where he was nothing but a speck against the dull light of the morning sky. "I must take care of something, then we can speak again!"

Donell frowned again as the sprite disappeared. "Great, Donell. You meet someone here who can actually talk to you, and he does nothing but speak in tongues and fly off." He sighed. "What am I gonna do now?"

Dranzer had been staying at their house for a few days now, locked in Donell's room and unwilling to exit as he did something within to try and track their lost brother. Duo and Dragor equally paced back and forth down the hallway, keeping a mind on the persistent floods of red light that flickered through the door's cracks, oftentimes flashing like lightning as it did. Drayzier had departed on his own the night before in the hopes of finding Donell across the dimensions. But from what Dranzer had said, literally millions of worlds coexisted alongside their own and Earth, finding Donell like that would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Unless the powerful dragon's magic could find Donell, or somehow Donell found a way of returning from whatever portal sent him away, then it was less likely they would ever find him again.

"Drake, there's really nothing that you can do." Shiron said, placing a claw on the Weregarurumon's shoulder.

The growl emanating from the digimon made the dragon pull his hand back. "It was you who did this; you and the rest of those damn dragons with you." He said. "Why'd they have to force him to do something he didn't want?"

Shiron frowned. "It wasn't really my decision." He said. "For all time, the dragon clan up to and including Dranzer have accepted powers of the elements in order to reach their full potential. Dranzer possesses the mighty power of fire, he gave Duo the power of wind, and Dragor the power of water..."

"So, they wanted to give Donell the power of darkness and he didn't want it... exactly how does that make me feel better?"

"You misunderstand, the orb of Shadow does not imbue any darkness into the one chosen. It's a common misconception, it is simply an element..."

"An element he didn't want then." Drake insisted. "He should have had his own choice in the matter."

"Unfortunately, growing up as Dranzer's son has certain pre-requisites. None have refused this power, so obviously they were confused when he said he didn't want it. Initially there is some hesitation even among dragons, taking this power so..."

Drake huffed loudly enough to stop Shiron's explaination. "He shouldn't be forced to do this." He said.

"That is not your call." Shiron said, growing irritated.

"Fine. Granted that it's not my decision to make, but it should be Donell's. And now he's gone. So excuse me for being a little rude about it!"

"No, it's okay." Shiron said. "I guess I'm a little worried about him too."

"So. You two were together huh?"

Shiron smirked. "Yes. Many years ago, but Dranzer didn't want to associate his son being homosexual, so he parted us abruptly. I think he's come to terms with that. After all, you're still standing after laying with his son here."

"And you?"

"I'm fine with it." Shiron shrugged. "Donell made it perfectly clear that you were more important to him than I was."

"Well, that does sound like him."

"Anything yet?" Greedo asked as he and Ranshiin came up the stairs.

Shiron shook his head. "Nothing yet."

"How long does something like this take?"

"It could take days, even weeks." Ranshiin said. "Lord Dranzer has to move his soul between the gaps that separate the dimensions surrounding our world; one of millions. His mind must scour the entire world for a hint of Donell's presence, and even at that there may be hundreds or even thousands of him. He needs to determine that Donell's specific energy matches that of our world and if that occurs, make contact with him through the void. It's very taxing to the mind and the spirit. Only a master dragon would have the power to do this, and even then, the stress could kill him." He sighed. "Even he is at risk for this."

"Just as long as he understands that if he manages to bring Donell back, he has to give him the choice of accepting these powers or not..."

"That is not your decision to make." Greedo said. "Imputence will not be tolerated, even from Donell's lover."

"Then a former one as well." Shiron said, standing up and stepping between them. "Drake is right, he should be able to make his own decisions."

"You will know your place, Shiron!"

"Do you know yours?" Shiron asked. "Who are we to force Donell to receive these powers? He has made a life for himself here, we should not force him to return to one he'd lost."

Greedo and Ranshiin looked at one another then back to him. "We should not question our lord." Ranshiin said.

"Yes. We should." Duo said as he and Dragor approached. "We've been taking everything into consideration except our brother's feelings and look how that's turned out."

"Once we find him, we should offer him the choice and not force it on him." Dragor said.

"And if Lord Dranzer refuses?" Greedo asked.

"Let's worry about finding Donell first." Drake said. "If we cross that bridge, Dranzer will need to go through me."

"And me." Shiron added.

"So. We can add royal treason to this failure with Donell." Greedo sighed. "When will it end?"

Donell had been wandering for over an hour before he came across a river that fed into a lake. He'd gotten filthy somehow before he'd even woken up, come to think of it, he couldn't quite remember the last time he'd showered. A soft, subtle glow off the flowers that floated in the lake felt brighter than they were, as if they were bathing him in starlight. He inhaled and closed his eyes, taking in the fresh air and briefly getting chilled by a breeze that washed through his fur. He stepped onto the water.

At first it felt frigid, but as the water rippled away from him, it grew warmer to the touch. He took another step in and was instantly a foot deeper. He felt the cold water brushing up under his balls and just as what happened with his feet the water around them became warmer immediately. Stepping in to waist height he dragged his arm through the water and began to rinse off his fur. The water had a sweet scent to it, it was like he was bathing in flowers, which was strange. It was ordinary water, wasn't it? He looked down to see a faint glow surrounding him as he shook some of the water from his ears. "What is this?"

"Beware!" Pip's voice alerted Donell's attention to the small sprite on the shore. "The waters in the Lake of the Beholder can be quite--" His voice was cut off as a sudden force shot a wall of water up into the air, completely surrounding Donell. He barely had a moment to gasp and then hold his breath as the water came crashing down on him and he vanished below the surface. "Aggressive..."

Donell cried out as he faced the black mass that had apparently dragged him under the water. Its arms were wrapped around him, their bodies were pressed together and he felt as solid as any physical form. His red, glowing eyes illuminated the depths, adding to the terror of being dragged down so deep. "You cannot fight this, Donell. You must claim your birthright!" He said as his claws dragged hard along Donell's back.

"No... I can't..." The dane said, struggling to remember who this was and why this was happening. But the sudden realization that he was breathing alleviated his fear of drowning. "Why are you... doing this?"

"You have been brought here for a purpose, my prince." He said as he turned over, bringing the two of them into a deliberate slow spin as they descended further into the cold water. You must embrace your destiny..."

Donell felt his eyes growing weak. He closed them for long periods at a time and reopened them. Water rushing past his muzzle began to streak across him darker and darker, until it looked like an oil slick. "I'm... not sure I want it..." He said.

"Then be tested; a threat upon this world's forest is nigh, face it. And should you relent and accept your greater destiny, call me and I shall come..."

Donell gasped and sat upright again, he was sitting at the bank of the lake he'd been pulled into and quickly scooted away from the waters as Pip hovered into view and landed on the dog's shoulder. "Many minutes you were submerged Donell. That black thing was the you from before..."

"What do you mean?" Donell asked. "The me from before?"

Pip nodded. "When you feel from the sky, two of you became one, became you. Other one went away. But that was him that was the other you."

"I... I don't understand." Donell sighed. "But I need to get out of here. Pip tell your people they are in danger from something. Find another place to go, the forest is no longer safe."

Pip cocked his head in confusion. "No where else to go. Forest is the home of the wood sprite. If it is in danger, then so are we."

"Well then, find someone else to clean up your mess, because I am out of here!"

Donell had gotten up and was running hard before he could really grasp what he was saying. Was he really running from danger? From people who needed him? As he ran, he could see hints of eyes and faces staring at him from under the branches. Little Pips, all expressing concern over the dog's sudden run from the situation. He couldn't do this, he couldn't... He clutched his hands tight and felt the marble still in his right palm. He looked at it as he ran and glared before throwing it away. He didn't care where it went as long as it was far away from him.

All of a sudden, the ground began to quake under Donell's feet. It was such a violent shaking that he lost his footing and stumbled forward, catching himself on one of the last trees before the treeline that would lead him out into the open field. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the hills rise up to a point, flames spewed from the tip, but it didn't appear to be a volcano.

"AAAAAAHAHAHA!" A deep, resonant laughter filled the sky along with a cloud of blackness that swept through the forest and threw Donell to his butt. He rolled back, eventually catching himself between two trees as ash and soot washed over him. As he looked up, he could see a dark red skinned creature now emerging from the tip of the hill that had shot up from the ground. His body was muscular, his head was bald and his eyes glowed a fiery yellow color. "I am free! Free at last!" He howled triumphantly as he raised his hand and slowly balled it into a fist, gathering within his grasp embers of fire that he then let loose when he flicked out his hand.

A firestorm came down onto the forest, setting the trees ablaze in an instant. The force of the smaller explosions was enough to send Donell onto his back again as he got up and tried to steady himself. This was the disaster the creature in the lake was trying to warn him about? He could hear screams and crying emanating from the forest, flooding his ears with their pleas for help. The dog dug a foot into the ground and started to move forward. "H-Hey!" He shouted. "Come down here and fight like a--whatever you are!" He put his hands to his muzzle to shout louder. But the cries fell on deaf ears as he ignited another volley and threw the flames down into the woods.

"Destroy! Destroy!" The demonic creature seemed hellbent on causing the forest to turn to ash. He boasted so loudly, that he could not see the dog far below him making his way up the trail toward the hill.

"Nnf!" Donell fell back again, grasping at branches and trees as he made his way up the steep incline. The smoke and soot filling his lungs made him cough, his fur was patched in black and white due to the dirt flying, but he knew he had to make his way up the hill.

The lake had been drained from the sudden shot upward, it was about halfway up the hill. If he'd been there much longer, Donell would have been hit by the relentless flames that now showered across the forest around him. "Pip! Pip! Where are you!?" He shouted loudly, trying to cry over the screaming echoes of explosions and flame. Spotting the limp form, still clinging onto a log that had gotten caught on a row of trees, Pip didn't look so well. He probably took on the full brunt of the explosion. "Pip! No!" He shouted as he staggered over and scooped the tiny sprite into his hand. "Pip! Speak to me!" He coughed. "Speak to me little one!"

Pip's eyes opened for a moment and he smiled. "Friend Donell came back..." He said. "Came back to help us... help... Pip." He closed his eyes and fell limp.

Donell panicked for a moment, thinking that Pip had died, but he could still feel a shallow breath coming from the sprite; likely many others were barely clinging to life like this. As he looked overhead, he saw the demon hovering and cackling madly as he readied another volley of flame. "And now, to destroy this land and make it my own..." He said.

Donell had a revelation just then; he wasn't sure if it was panic, or fear setting in. The power of shadow could be no worse than this creature intentionally trying to do harm to the forest and the inhabitants within it. For the first time, he could hear the cries of the innocent creatures as they fled for their lives, and could feel Pip's still form in his hands. It was then he realized that the power of shadow didn't thrive on a dark heart... but that it depended on the heart that accepted it.

"Power of shadow!" He shouted as he stood up. "Come to me! I claim my destiny!"

A vibration coming from behind caused Donell to turn around just in time to see the marble he'd discarded before flying toward him. As it approached, it shimmered and began to swim with a dark, shadowy form. He gasped as the orb shot clear through his back and came out of his chest. He stared at it hovering in front of him for a few seconds before finally closing his eyes and feeling it come back into his chest. It was a cold feeling for a moment, he felt his body growing in size, he placed Pip back onto his former resting place and stood up. A warmer feeling then radiated from his chest and filled his body. His back arched back as his chest puffed out in size. His arms vibrated and grew thick boulder-like muscles that melded in with the rest of his growing body. A long, dragon tail extended from his canine tail becoming black and almost whiplike as the fur on his body shed away and revealed black skin underneath. His chest remained a solid white color that broke rather abruptly into the black scaly mass as opposed to the gentle washing of color to black like fur had. As his body reached its limits, Donell opened his eyes and saw a crimson glow reflect off of his arms still in front of his snout. Pulling them back, he inhaled and exhaled sharply, then let out a tremendous roaring noise that shook the ground and finally got the demon's attention above. Donell's dragon wings sprouted from his back and took a sharp angle that went out to both sides before coiling around himself and stretching back out again. He could hear the membranes of his wings unfurling as they formed. The pain was not nearly as intense as he'd expected.

"Demon! You will no longer harm the creatures of this forest!" He roared. His voice had deepened a bit, but he still recognized his words in there.

A look of offense stretched across the demon's face as he summoned a ball of fire into his claw and hurled it at Donell. The dragon quickly grabbed Pip into the palm of his hands and shot away from the spot like a streak. Curving around and locating a spot safe from the flames, Donell placed Pip down again and glared in the demon's direction.

"This... is your true self." Pip's voice said, relieving Donell who looked at him, eyeing him weakly. "Donell and Shadow. A dragon prince is born." He smiled.

"How did you...?"

"I will be alright. Please... save us from the demon."

Donell smiled and nodded, kicking his foot off the ground as he provided a mighty push from his wings, he was airborne. Flying over the trees, Donell couldn't get over how good it felt to fly. His wings came forward and back again, keeping him aloft instinctively, it was as though he was born to have these wings. Tucking them forward he lifted himself higher and higher over the forest and over the demon, who had apparently forgotten that he was there, the shadow dragon tucked them in and came down into a fast dive. As he approached, the demon turned around, readily armed with flames in his claws to hurl at the dragon. Clapping his claws together, Donell felt his body shiver as a cloud of shadow encompassed him and he quickly dove to the right, narrowly avoiding a bolt of flame trying to hit him in the dark cloud. As the shadow encompassed the demon like a black cloud of smoke he readied another attack, hurling balls of flame into the cloud and trying to hit his target.

Suddenly, Donell emerged from the cloud, slashed his claws along the demon's back, then shot up into the air, vanishing into the shadows again. Donell winced, the scratch into the demon's skin felt like he was raking it across hot coals. He clutched the claw that was still burning, but continued into a wide loop and up. He emerged briefly enough now to drive his fists into the demon, throwing him back several hundreds of yards. Again Donell retreated into the safety of his shadow.

"So... the fly wishes to hide in darkness does he?" The demon growled. "Let me show you the light!"

The demon clapped his hands together and thrust them apart, causing a bright ring of flame to emerge and start spinning with the demon in the middle. As the ring expanded out, it began to cut into Donell's shadow cover. He knew this would not last long and backed away from the rings quickly as his shadow vanished from the sky, leaving Donell exposed. "HA!" The demon laughed as he hurled the rings spinning at Donell. Unable to avoid them, Donell was struck by the flame and thrown down into the forest, where he collided with several trees before coming to a stop. "Give it up, dragon! My power will destroy you and this forest!"

Donell returned to his feet, determined to bring the demon to a defeat. Looking around at all the flames around him, there was something else he'd noticed that he could take his to his advantage; the flames threw shadows everywhere. Grinning, Donell placed his claws together. "You have not defeated me yet, demon!" He cried as he hurled himself back into the air.

"WHAAAT?!" The demon watched as no less than fifty shadows of the dragon emerged from the canopy and began flying in his direction. "NO! NO!" He cried feebly as he hurled balls of fire down, eliminating the shadows one at a time, but missing Donell on each attempt. Thrown back into the air by the shadows that were mere duplicates, he screamed as the claws of the real Donell sliced up through his torso as they came face to face, and Donell's ascent stopped.

"Never underestimate the power of shadow." Donell said.

The demon gasped and shook violently before Donell finally released him. The demon's descent seemed slow as he came crashing down into the hill he'd emerged from, his body striking the ground limply and apparently dead from the attack. Then, as if the hill had turned on him, it inverted, collapsing onto the demon's body and sending it forcibly back into the ground. His arms and legs jolted as they vanished and the hill retreated into itself, restoring the land underneath as it pulled into itself until once again the forest was as flat on land as it had been before.

"Come on! What is taking him so long!?" Drake yelled as his fist struck against the door. Suddenly, it opened, revealing Dranzer standing ominously behind it. The weregarurumon gasped softly as he stepped back from the dragon king.

"It is good that you are so patient, Drake. I can see what my son sees in you." He looked around. "His return is iminent." He said.

Just as he said this, a flash of light filled the hallway and then collapsed into a black and purple colored portal. As they watched, a massive black dragon stepped from the portal, which then closed behind him. His body was covered in dirt and soot, his scales were littered in scratches and the leavings of blood. Momentarily weakened, Donell fell to his knee and supported himself with a hand as he trembled. Duo and Dragor helped him back to his feet.

"Using portals wipes you out." Duo said. "But you'll get used to it."

"Looking good, Donell." Dragor admitted.

"Thanks, brothers." Donell said. "I... I think I finally understand the meaning of this power now."

"You accept it then?" Dranzer said, stepping forward and crossing his arms as his trusted dragons lined up behind him. "You embrace your destiny?"

"Yes. I do." Donell said. "I used this power to save the lives of an entire wood sprite population." He said. "But that doesn't justify you trying to force it on me. I figured out that the choice has been and always will be mine."

Dranzer frowned a bit and nodded. "I see. I am sorry it had to be this way." He looked around at the others. "I suppose it is time for us to go. Will you be returning home with us, Donell?"

Donell pondered a moment, then placed his claws on Drake's shoulders, making the digimon jump a bit. "I think I will remain here with my brothers." He said.

"Very well." Dranzer said, bringing to life a brilliant red portal. "We will leave you to this world then. Use your newfound dragonhood wisely, my son." He said as he stepped through the portal and vanished. Ranshiin and Greedo followed, each bowing respectfully to Donell before disappearing.

As Shiron approached the portal he turned to Donell and Drake and smirked. "I'll be sure to check in on you, from time to time." He said.

"It's a date." Drake said with a grin before getting a shocked look from his boyfriend. "For both of us?" He excused himself as Shiron laughed and disappeared as well, immediately following the portal disappearing. "So... this is the new you, huh?"

"Well... for now, at least." Donell shrugged. "But I-I can understand if you don't want to have sex with a big ol' beast like m--" He was cut off by Drake pulling him into a kiss. "...me?" He finished his sentence with a look of confusion and a blush.

"Well..." Drake said, pressing his groin against the naked dragon's crotch. "I'm sure we can work something out." He grinned.

THE END