FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Niari and I woke up late the next morning. We separated from each other, and stretched on the bed, kissing each other before getting out of the bed. I stretched again, and started towards the door.

"Iria, wait!" Niari whispered.

"What?" I asked.

"We have a guest here, remember? Don't go out naked!"

"Um... right." I walked over to the end table, and picked up my nano cube. I activated it, and it soon formed around my body, taking the shape of a simple tee and pants.

"You'll need to show me how to work that thing later."

"Sure. I'm going to take a shower right now though."

"Alright, mind if I tag along?"

"Go right ahead, hon, i'll start the water." i left the bedroom, only to enter the bathroom right away. I got a quick glance at Aielle, and she's still sound asleep. I closed the bathroom door, and started to run the shower, and within seconds, it was hot enough to step in. By then, Niari had entered the room too. We both undressed again, and stepped into the water. She happily hugged me, and i reciprocated. We spent a little more time than we should have under the water, but we had our fun washing each other's fur. Eventually, we stepped out, and dried off. We spent the next little while brushing each other's fur, so it wouldn't look funny. When we finished that, I stepped on my nano cube, and it worked it's way up my legs and back into clothing again. Niari followed me out when she was dressed too. I looked over at Aielle, and she was still asleep, but when i approached her, she opened her eyes.

"Good morning Aielle." I said.

"Morning...." she moaned tiredly.

"Not get much sleep?"

"No...."

"Well, if you want a shower, you can go ahead and take one, it'll help out."

"When i can stand, i'll be glad to, thanks."

"Okay, take your time then."

"Iria?" Niari asked me.

"Yeah?" I responded. "Can you show me how this thing works now?" She asked, examining her nano cube.

"Sure, but lets take it to the bedroom right now. You're going to have to strip."

"Oh my," She exaggerated, " I hope I don't embarrass myself." I rolled my eyes at her, and gently pushed her shoulder towards the bedroom as i walked by her. She followed me into the bedroom, and was stripping her clothes off my the time the door shut. "So then, how does this little box work?"

"There's a button on one side which will activate it, from there just wait for it to do it's thing." She looked around the cube, and quickly found the button, which she promptly pushed. She recoiled and flailed her hand as a spark jumped from the cube to her.

"Ow!, what was that for? what did i ever do to you?" She complained to the cube. I giggled at her. Quickly enough, the cube deformed in her hand, and creeped over her fur until all but her head and the end of her tails were covered in black material, which then glossed over for half a second, and changed into it's default armor look.

"So? How does it look on me?" She asked after looking herself over.

"This good." I walked up to her and kissed her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. She smiled, and hugged me by my hips. Eventually, we pulled away, still hugging though.

"Thanks, sweetheart." She said, bringing her hand up to my head, and stroking it through my hair.

"No problem, love. But anyways, you may not want to look like this out in public."

"I might, but keep going."

"The suit should automatically sync with your cellphone, so just find the app on it, and you'll see an interface which will let you change it's look and color."

"Alright, good to know. I'll check it out now."

"Okay, i'll check on Aielle, if she's not already in the shower." We finally broke our hug, but before i left the room, Niari had to ruffle my hair. I glared back at her playfully, and she chuckled. When i left the bedroom, i noticed Aielle wasn't on the couch anymore. I put my ear up to the bathroom door, and heard the water running, which told me where she was. I shrugged, and then went over to the couch, and started to clean up the extra blankets which Aielle used for the night. Once i finished that, i went over and flopped onto the couch. By then, Niari stepped out of the bedroom, her nanosuit still looking like armor.

"You now figure it out?" I asked.

"No, i did... sorta... i just think this looks good for now, and we're not leaving at the moment, so i'm good looking like this for now."

"Alright then, doesn't bother me." Niari walked over to the couch, and sat next to me, wrapping an arm over my shoulder. Despite how tough the suit looked, it felt quite soft when she held me.

"The question still lingers though, Are we going out to test drive that ship? We haven't started it up yet."

"Probably, i wouldn't mind seeing a little of the controls."

"Okay. Where's Aielle? in the shower?"

"Yeah. She's been in there for a while now."

"She okay?"

"I hope so... i'll go check." I got up, and walked over to the bathroom door, and knocked on it. I got no answer, so i knocked again with the same results. I looked back at Niari, and shrugged. i opened the door after noticing it wasn't locked.

"Aielle?" i called from the door. Still no answer. "Aielle!" Aielle then squealed.

"Iria! i didn't notice you, what are you doing?"

"I knocked on the door and you didn't answer. I was just checking to see if you're alright."

"I'm fine, thanks... I'll be out in a second here, so can you close the door?"

"'kay, Do you need help with your fur after?"

"I'll be okay, thanks...."

"Okay then." I shut the door, and walked back over to Niari, and sat next to her again.

"How're things going?" She asked.

"She says she's fine."

"Is she fine?"

"I hope so. She's seems a little more timid than when we were on the Alc VI."

"How so?"

"I don't really know. I'll ask her about it when i have the chance."

"Alright then make sure it's soon though." Just then, Aielle walked out of the bathroom, dressed and as dry as the towel could get her. She walked over to us, and sat on the chair across from us.

"Hey, feel better?" I asked.

"Yeah, much." She responded.

"So, how do you feel about taking the Quick tail for a spin today?" Niari asked Aielle.

"I think that would be fun. When if?"

"There's nothing to do around here at the moment, so i'm okay if we go now." I voted.

"If you're up for that as well Aielle, I'm good with it."

"Sure. I'd like to go back to Earth too and see my family, the news might've reached there by now that the Alc VI was hijacked."

"Sounds like a plan." I said. "Shall we head out now?"

"I'm up for it." Niari said. "I've wanted to check out earth for a while."

"Yeah, let's go." Aielle said. We left the house then, and drove to the spaceport. We went up the elevator, and quickly enough found the Quick tail, which was still in the same spot. I unlocked it with the digital key, and we all stepped in. I walked to the bridge, and they both followed me.

"You know how to start the thing?" Niari asked.

"Let's see... Ah, here's where the key goes." I inserted the key into it's slot, and the console lit up, and the engine started humming softly. "There we go."

"Sounds great." Niari said.

"Welcome aboard commander." An AI said.

"Was that the ship?" Niarl asked.

"Sounds like it, there's an AI programmed into it. Maybe it can help us out with the trip." Aielle suggested. I looked at the console, and actually found that a lot of the controls were very simple. The ship automatically detected the gravity of the planet, so it could get itself into orbit on its own.

"Alright, let's see if this launches it into orbit then, be prepared for this." Niari let Aielle sit on the opposite chair while she kneeled on the ground, holding onto both. "Here it goes." I pressed the touch screen where it read enter orbit. Quickly enough, we heard the engine start up, and we were rising quickly, and when we were clear of any obstructions, we accelerated forward. Surprisingly, we felt nothing, nor were we even moved by the acceleration. quickly enough, the spaceport's platforms became tinier, and the sky became blacker as we started to orbit Reatha. Niari watched in excitement as the planet dropped below us.

"This is amazing! I regret not going with you on the Alc VI." She said. Aielle and I looked at her questioningly. "Umm... forget i said that." She apologized, presumably as she remembered the further details. "What about the acceleration? why didn't we feel anything?"

"It's the Alc drive." Aielle suggested. "Either way, we should hopefully be able to tell the AI to travel to earth now."

"Computer?" i asked, unsure of what else to say.

"Yes commander?"

"Do you have a name?"

"I do not, but my model name is STMKCAIS. Would you like to address me as something else?" It asked.

"How about after the ship? Quick tail? it makes it easier for me at least." Niari suggested.

"I agree with her." Aielle said.

"Sure. We'll address you as Quick tail, computer."

"Very well Commander. How shall i address you?" It asked.

"Iria." i said.

"Niari." Niari said.

"Aielle." Aielle said.

"Three personnel confirmed. Welcome aboard, Commanders Iria, Niari, and Aielle. Do you have a destination of which you would like to travel today?" It asked.

"Yes. Planet Earth in the Milky way galaxy." I said.

"Very well. Awaiting proper orbital position before Alcubierre launch." It said.

"Alright, that was easy." I said. On the console, it showed a loading bar. It was rising quickly as we orbited Reatha.

When it reached 100%, Quick tail said: "Launching Alcubierre drive." The humming of the Alc drive quickly became louder, and when it reached full power, the stars visible blueshifted, and then shot by at nearly 100 trillion times the speed of light.

"How is it even possible to go this fast?" Niari asked.

"Do you want the explanation, or are you going to shut me up and kiss me to stop again?" i asked, giggling.

"Can you give me the simple version? cause i might."

"The Alc drive, instead of moving us through space, is moving a piece of space which has us in it, so technically we're not actually moving, the space around us is."

"Wow, interesting."

"You don't mean that."

"Heh... It's cool though."

"Estimated time of arrival at earth is: 7 minutes." Quick tail informed.

"Okay, sweet. Well, i'm gonna go toy around with this suit for a bit, since i haven't yet." Niari claimed. "All i really wanted to see was the ship speed up anyways."

"Alright then." I said. Niari then left the bridge after kissing my cheek. When she left, i waited a little before saying anything. "Aielle?"

"...Yeah?" She asked. "How're you feeling? You've been acting different ever since we got off the Alc VI."

"It's... nothing...."

"Aielle, please tell me. I promise i won't tell anyone if you do." I held my hand over my heart.

"It's...." She sniffled. "I'm just... just... lonely, i guess...."

"Lonely? how so?"

"When i saw You and Niari... i felt... i wondered why i wasn't with someone. I still live with my parents on Earth, and i never really went out, so i never thought about it, but now, i'm... I don't think i have the sort of courage to be asking people out on dates or anything. I've felt a little jealous of you and Niari ever since i knew Niari, and how much she loves you."

"Oh, i see. Well, i can see why it's impacting you so much."

"How?"

"You're half human, half kaithian. I've heard of humans going into depressions like yours before, and also, since you're half kaithian as well, you're isolophobic."

"Maybe...."

"Well, Niari and i don't mind if you want a hug or to cuddle or anything." i offered, giggling.

"I'm fine... thanks."

"Really though Aielle, you're half kaithian, you can't be that serious about refusing a hug like this?"

"Hmm...."

"Aielle...." She didn't respond. "Aielle, come here for a second. Please?" She stood up, and walked over to me. I stood up, and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. She blushed brightly, never looking into my eyes. After a few seconds, she hugged me back tightly, gripping my fur and burying her face into my shoulder. I heard her whimper as she started to cry. I stroked my hand through her hair, trying to help her relax. We stood there for nearly two minutes, and only then did she stop crying. She started to relax in my arms, which comforted me to know she's calming down. Finally, she took a deep breath, and pulled away from me, looking into my eyes for the first time since starting this conversation.

"Thanks for that, Iria... it really helped." She said.

"No worries. You can always get cozy with either of us if you're feeling stressed."

"Okay." She giggled.

"We will arrive at earth in: 5 minutes" Quick tail informed.

"Might as well get something ready to wear for when we arrive." I proposed.

"Yeah, okay." We both walked to the crew quarters, where we found Niari tinkering with her nanosuit on her phone. Her suit didn't look like the default armor model anymore, but looked like a grey sweater and denim jeans.

"Figure it out i suppose?" i asked her as we walked in.

"Yep. It's a cool little toy." She responded. "No idea what the blank panel is though."

"That's the spot where you program your own things into it, not just download models off the holonet."

"Oh, leaving that alone then." Niari said. Eventually, we all then found a model for our suits to use.

"Arriving at earth in: 30 seconds."

"Oh, i'm going to go see the approach, you guys coming?" Aielle asked.

"Right behind you." I said.

"Sure, one second." Niari said. Eventually we all made it to the bridge. Quickly enough, the blue planet known as Earth came into view. Cities were visible from space on the night side, and we even passed a couple old space stations as we entered an orbit.

"We have arrived at Earth. There are several spaceports to safely land on." Quick tail informed.

"There's a spaceport in Vancouver British Columbia, land there." Aielle initiated.

"Awaiting proper orbital position."

"Excited to get back home?" I asked.

"More excited to see my family. I love them, but as you'll soon find out, our home isn't that glamorous."

"We can probably change that though, with all the money we have at the moment." Niari suggested.

"We can, but i wouldn't give them enough to go crazy with it. They're not the kind of people who can leave the money there and not spend it." Aielle explained.

"Orbital position is ideal, leaving orbit and preparing to land in Vancouver." Quick tail informed. Earth's surface then quickly came into detail as we neared it. The spaceport was built in the same hexagonal pattern as on Reatha, but the Vancouver itself was filled with so much light, i swear it almost seemed like day, as it was the middle of the night. We landed in an empty hexagon. "We have arrived in Vancouver."

"Alright, where are we going?" I asked.

"My parents live a short distance from the spaceport. I remember my dad telling me what it was when it was being built, since we could see it from our window." Aielle explained.

"Okay then, you lead the way." Niari said. We left the Quick tail, taking the key from the console and locking it. Hundreds of Human cruisers were landed here. Our's looked so different compared to them. We soon enough found the elevator, and then descended to the ground. When we were on the streets, hundreds of people were walking to and fro, almost all human, but there was an occasional break of pattern with a different alien. The street was dark, but lit with tall lamps that curved over the streets, where an uncountable amount of cars drove by. Despite all i've heard about Earth and it's problem with pollution, it actually was pretty clear out. Hydrogen vehicles and dozens of other things started to clean the air over a couple hundred years it seems. After ten minutes of walking, my paws started to hurt from walking on the concrete sidewalk, since i wasn't actually wearing anything on my feet. I pulled out my phone, and quickly set the nanosuit to add a cover over my paws, like it does with the armor model, and within seconds, it added them, and i could walk without stepping on pebbles or other sharp debris. At least the suit makes the footwear comfortable. i thought to myself.

"We almost there?" I asked.

"It's right there." Aielle pointed at an apartment building about a minute away. "We'll be there in a little bit." We quickly made it to the building, and before we entered the front door, Aielle had to use an intercom outside the door.

"Hello? Who's there?" Someone buzzed through the device.

"It's me, mom, Aielle." Aielle responded.

"Aielle?! You're safe! come up here quickly, please, your father and i have been worried sick."

"Alright, alright, open the front door then... thanks, see you in a bit." She opened the front door then. "Come on in guys." We all entered the apartment building, and found another elevator. Aielle pressed a button which led us up to the fifth floor, and we walked out when we arrived. She led us to room 523, and then knocked on the door. very quickly after that, a human woman burst out from the room, and hugged Aielle.

"Aielle! you're safe!" She cried. Right after her, a kaithian male walked through the door too.

"Welcome back home, Aielle." He said, crying as well. Niari and i gave them a minute to themselves, smiling at the reunion. When they all let go of each other, We all went into the apartment.

"So, Aielle, who are your friends?" Her father asked.

"Here's Iria, and Niari." She introduced us.

"Nice to meet you two." i said, shaking both their hands.

"Well met." Niari said, shaking their hands as well.

"We heard what happened on the news. The Alc VI was attacked by pirates. They explained that two people managed to escape, but i never thought it would be you, i hoped that it was though, and here you are." Her mother explained.

"Iria was the other. She the one who got us off the ship, i got us to the escape pods." Aielle explained. "How did you do that?" Her father asked. We all sat down on their couches, and Aielle and I ended up explaining the whole crisis to Aielle's parents.

"So then, you hacked the maintenance?" Her father asked.

"It was the only way, so yeah i did." Aielle defended.

"And you both were shot? You must be a very resilient woman, Iria." Her mother complimented.

"Thanks." I said. "It was the thought of death or worse that kept me conscious though."

"I'd believe that." Niari said.

"Quiet you." i said, gently punching her in the shoulder. She only giggled at me.

"So, what have you done since then?" Her mother asked.

"Well, quite a bit actually. We bought our own starship for one." Aielle giggled.

"A starship?!" Both her parents exclaimed at once.

"Yeah. The escape pod was worth a decent fund when we got back, so we traded it for a starship."

"That, and a few other things." I added.

"That's quite amazing, but do you know how to use it?" Her father asked.

"We're here and alive aren't we? We used it to travel from Reatha to here." Aielle explained.

"It's easy then i suppose?"

"The AI makes it easy at least." We stayed and continued to chat for about an hour, Starting with the other few things we did before we got here, and then Niari and I talked about who we were, and where we live on Reatha. Eventually though, we started to leave.

"Well, anyways, it's been nice to get to know you two." i said. "But i think we should be going about now."

"Already?" Her father asked.

"Yeah, we've got a few things to do back at home." Niari said.

"What about you, Aielle? will you be staying here?" Her mother asked.

"Actually... if it's okay with Iria and Niari, i'd like to travel around with them for a while?" Aielle asked us.

"I don't mind at all." I said.

"Sure thing, it'll be nicer with more people aboard. either way, the ship is a third her's too." Niari explained.

"Alright then...." Her mother said.

"I still have a cellphone, mom. You're able to text me whenever." Aielle said.

"I know that."

"Anyways, Shall we be going?" Niari asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

"Wait, before that, we wanted to give you something." i said. "Hold on one second."

"Oh yeah." Aielle said.

"What is it?" Her mother asked. By that time, i managed to transfer half a billion credits into a credit chit.

"Here, it's some of the credits we got from selling the escape pod." i said, and passed it to her father, whose mouth practically hit the floor when he saw the currency count marked on the chit.

"I... We... Don't know what to say...."

"Just a thanks will do." i giggled.

"Thank you, very much." They both said.

"Anyways, let's get going then."Aielle said. We then left the apartment, Aielle giving her parents a goodbye hug before leaving. We then left the apartment building, and walked back to the ship through the rain, which started about half an hour ago. When we finally reached our ship through the misery, we got in right away. I noticed that the rain never actually touched the ship, because the shields recognized them as projectiles apparently, so a small gap existed where the rain hit and the ship hull. We quickly started up the Ship, and took off into orbit again, some of the rain coming with us because of how the Alc drive worked.

"That was fun." I said.

"Mhm, thanks for letting me see them again."

"No problem." I said. "But anyways, let's head back to Reatha now. Quick tail, send us to Reatha, and land on the dock from which we left." I directed.

"Awaiting optimal orbital position." Quick tail replied. Soon enough, we were on our way back. We all left the bridge, and relaxed for a couple minutes in the crew quarters, when suddenly, we noticed that the ship stopped completely.

"What's going on?" Aielle asked.

"Unidentified cruiser has stopped the progress of the jump, and i cannot continue." Quick tail informed. We went to the bridge, and saw a huge ship outside.

"What is that monolith?" Niari asked. We suddenly saw a flash of light appear from the large ship, and before we could react, it hit us, causing the ship to lurch. Right after that, the console displayed: Hull breach in maintenance room, sealing the door. And also Fuel tank punctured.

"Oh shit, that's not good at all!" I exclaimed.

"You're right it isn't." someone said. We turned around, and there was five people standing there, all of unknown origins. they wore red and black suits which covered their whole body. They were all pointing at us with what looked like Arc casters. Before we could say anything, three of them fired at us each. I covered my face instinctively. I didn't feel the electricity until it tore away my shields, but then i dropped me to my knees. All three of us cried out at the same time. I stood on all fours, panting heavily after the shock.

"Take them out." One said. Three of them then started to walk towards us.

"Wait!" i said. "If you leave us alone, i'll pay you." i bribed. The leader then stepped forward.

"What've you got then?"

"15 billion credits." i offered. He stood silent for a second, then crossed his arms.

"Hmm... alright then. Hand them over."

"Quick tail, transfer 15 billion credits from me to this man." I directed. I felt my cellphone blip.

"Credits transferred." Quick tail informed. The man then checked his wrist, and nodded.

"Smart girl. Sorry for the interruption, ladies." He then clicked a button on his wrist, and they all faded away, presumably being transferred to the other ship, which was gone in a few seconds. We all sat there silent for a little while.

"Quick thinking, Iria...." Niari panted.

"Mhm... thanks."

"Yeah... but our fuel is still shot, and our hull is damaged. the thing even ripped through our shields without a second thought."

"Well... shit." Niari complained.

"Quick tail, are there any foreign objects on the ship?" It took Quick tail a few seconds to respond.

"There is a small device planted near the breach in the hull" Quick tail informed.

"Is there a nearby planet we can land on?"

"Yes. It can be reached with the current fuel level"

"Take us there then." We then started to speed up quickly, and within seconds, we were orbiting a white planet.

"There is no spaceport on this planet."

"Then find a flat spot to land, we can't keep the ship on like this otherwise things will get worse." Quick tail eventually found a spot on the planet, and we slowly descended. We looked out the bridge window the whole time. From a few kilometers up, we could see that the planet was experiencing an intense snow storm, but through it, I caught a glimpse of a building. We landed quickly enough in a snowy field with a few trees nearby.

"The temperature on this plane at the moment is negative 20 celsius, and is likely to drop by nightfall." Quick tail informed.

"What are we going to do now?" Niari asked.

"I'm not sure." Aielle said. "We should turn on the distress signal though."

"No, wait. If i'm right, the foreign device on the ship is a tracking chip. We need to get rid of it now, and turning on the distress signal right now will act in the same way, so let's wait. I'll go destroy it." I went to the crew quarters and grabbed my blaster pistol. When i opened the door to go outside, i was instantly hit with freezing wind. I got out and trudged through the half meter high snow. I looked around the breach in the hull, and found the device, and promptly shot it with the pistol set to laser. It exploded when it hit, leaving a small burn mark in the hull. I went back into the ship as quickly as i could, then closed the door.

"Alright, what now?" Aielle asked.

"When we were still in the air, i saw a building a little ways that way." i pointed out the bridge window. "I'll go out and see if there's anything there. I want you two to stay here for now, okay?"

"But what about the cold?" Niari asked.

"I know about the cold, but i want you two here in case anything happens to the ship. I also blend in with the snow a little more, so if anything is out there, i won't be spotted. right away." I insisted.

"But-" Aielle started.

"No, just stay here with each other. I'll be fine, trust me." I interrupted.

"Okay... but make sure you come back, Iria." Niari said.

"I will, don't worry. I'll be off now then."

"Okay, good luck." Aielle wished. I quickly set my nanosuit to the armor default, colored it white, and added a holster for the blaster and hardlight tool. I then left the ship again, giving Niari the digital key as i left. As i walked, i was protected from the cold by my nanosuit better in this model than in a tee and sweats, but even with that, it seemed to get colder and colder. I crossed my arms over my chest as i continued. the snow covered everything, and was as high as my knees, which made it made difficult. I walked on for about ten minutes, continuously getting colder and colder. Despite what quick tail told me, i started to think it was at least 50 below zero about now, and with the wind, it probably was. Just as i decided it wasn't worth it, i climbed to the peak of a hill, and saw the building, and it was massive for just a building. I then turned back on my thought of turning back, and trudged down the hill. The wind then started blowing harder than before, and nearly knocked me over. My legs started to feel numb, and i felt dizzy. The building was about 100 meters away now, which seemed like an impossible distance now. I started to see things move in the corner of my eye, only to find out it was just light messing with me. the open field of snow and sky rendered me snowblind, except for the building, which was now 80 meters away. The numbness from my legs crept up to my thighs, and also started at my hands too. My ears felt like they had fallen off. 50 meters away now. how am i supposed to make another 50? i questioned myself. By the time i was ten meters away, my legs were stiff, and i could barely move my fingers, or at least it felt like that. I walked up to the giant wooden gate, unsure of what to do now. I looked around, and saw a pull cord, which i noticed led up to a bell above the wall. i went over to it, and had to jump to reach it because of the wind. i tried three times until i finally reached it, and i pulled it down several times, but never heard the bell. Right then, i collapsed to my hands and knees, then dropped onto my stomach. The snow suddenly started to feel warm, and soft....

"Giving up already?" Someone asked. i looked up weakly, and saw a white figure offering me her hand. I took it, and she helped me up. She led me through the gate, which was now slightly open. It then closed behind us, and the wind instantly stopped. "I'll get you to a bath, so you can warm up, stranger." she offered. I couldn't respond through my shivering. We walked through a large bricked courtyard. Surrounding us was the giant curved wall, and on one side there was a door, and multiple windows in the wall, which i noticed was actually carved into a mountain in that side. The stranger walked me through the door, and it instantly warmed up. Through another few entrances, we came to a large room with a large pool in the center. steam rose gently from the water.

"You can bathe in here and warm yourself. I'll be waiting outside for you." She offered. I started to walk to the pool as she left the room. I quickly removed my suit, which wasn't that quick, since the nano material was frozen. Before i stepped into the pool, i noticed that my fur was frozen as well. When i stepped into the pool, it was the greatest relief i've ever felt in my life. It felt extremely hot to me, but i submerged myself right away. i stayed under the water for longer than i should have, but when i surfaced, i felt much better. By blood started to flow again, and i could soon feel my digits and ears. When my mind was clear, and i was unfrozen, i examined the pool room. Nothing was heating the pool, so my best guess was a geothermal source. the place looked really ancient as well. Even though i was unfrozen and completely fine, i stayed in the pool for a couple minutes after that, but i eventually got out and shook myself dry, since i couldn't see any towels or anything. When i was dry enough, i patted my fur down, and stepped on my nano cube, which promptly dressed me again. It was also unfrozen now. I left the pool, and found the stranger waiting around the corner, leaning against one wall and gazing at the opposite one. Now that i got a good look at her, She has stark white fur and hair, a feline looking tail, small, presumably unusable wings on her back, grey eyes, and long whiskers. She was certainly one of the most interesting aliens i've seen.

"Thank you, so much for letting me in." i thanked. She started walking away from me, and waved me to follow, which i did.

"There are no need for thanks, sister." she said "My name is Ai'ren, what is yours?"

"Iria."

"Interesting name for an interesting person. Where are you from Iria?"

"From Reatha."

"Reatha? I've never heard of this place."

"Not really surprising, it's remote from here."

"Ah well, Since you're here, i might as well introduce you."

"To whom?"

"Ah, well, you've found yourself in the Zisca Academy. I'm the headmistress here." "Interesting."

"So, why have you come here? everyone who comes here has a reason."

"My friends and i were lost. I saw the academy walls, and decided to head here. I told them to stay behind while i found the place."

"That's quite brave of you."

"Thanks, i just hope they're not too worried about me."

"I'll have a couple of my students lead them here if you like."

"That would be nice of you, thanks." We then came to a large room. Spread out throughout it was many about 50 other people like Ai'ren, though with different fur colors. They all seemed to be female though, or at least looked it. they all were wearing the exact same blue clothing too, as was Aielle, but it was silver. They were all under 1.5 meters as well, unlike Ai'ren, who was taller than me at 1.9 meters.

"Your attention please." Ai'ren announced, catching all of their attention. "We have a guest in the academy today. Her name is Iria, and she'll be staying for a while. Meanwhile, i need three of you to venture out and find her friends whom are out in the wilderness at the moment, so haste is necessary." Within seconds, three of them volunteered. "Alright, thank you. Please welcome Iria while i direct these three where to find her friends." Ai'ren then left with her three students.

"Welcome Iria!" someone welcomed happily. "My name's Fey'sel."

"Nice to meet you, Fey'sel" I said. Fey'sel has tan fur with small white spots, brown hair, and blue eyes.

"So, where do you come from?"

"I'm from Reatha."

"Reatha? Where's that?"

"It's a planet in the Tholas system." Right then, i caught the attention of literally every person in the room.

"A planet? You mean... you're an alien?" She asked, confused.

"To you, yeah, i suppose." All the people in the room crowded around me, suddenly interested to see what i looked like. Just then i realized that this planet had never heard of space travel before, which explains not having a spaceport. "Oh, you haven't heard of space travel before, have you?"

"N-no, not at all. I never considered it was possible, and now i'm talking to an alien... right?"

"Yes. When you're friends get back, they'll have seen my ship."

"That's... amazing! So what are you?"

"I'm called a Kaithian."

"Strange name...." I was then bombarded with other questions from the rest of the group, and i had to collect myself to answer them.

"Yeah, the universe is infinite, there's no end. Races like my own have been travelling across the universe for about 50 years now. in fact, by the new galactic calendar, that's the current year for space bearing civilizations, 50 S.A.." i answered someone's question.

"I never would have imagined speaking with someone like you." Fey'sel said dreamily.

"What kind of things do you have?" Someone called out.

"I have this thing... it's not finished yet though." I pulled out my hardlight and activated it, and a rod appeared, amazing the students. I then turned it off.

"How fast do you go in your ship?" Someone asked.

"About one MegaParsec per second, or about 100 trillion times faster than light."

"What about...." i answered questions upon questions for the students, and then before i knew it, Ai'ren returned.

"Iria, your friends are here and are warming themselves in the pool."

"Mistress! Iria's an-" Fey'sel shouted.

"An alien? Yes, her friends told me everything, and i'm astounded as well. But anyways, Iria, would you like to see your friends now then?"

"Yes, i would."

"Follow me then. You all stay here" she said to the students. "You can continue asking Iria and her friends questions when they're ready again."

"Yes mistress." All the students obliged, almost completely in sync. AI'ren then led me back to the pool, where i met back up with Aielle and Niari. They seemed better off than i was when i got here.

"Hey guys." i said as i walked in.

"Iria! i'm so glad you're okay." Niari said. "I was worried about you once i couldn't see you anymore."

"Thanks, but as i said before, i can handle myself."

"Whatever, You want to join us in here?"

"I just got dry, so not this time." I excused.

"Aww."

"So how was your trip here? Cause my fur was frozen when i arrived."

"Heh, not nearly that bad."

"Our guides lent us some heavy cloaks, they blocked the wind like it was merely a breeze." Aielle said.

"Well that's good, i'm glad you didn't have to go through what i did to reach this place." A shiver ran down my spine as i remembered the trek. I stayed with them until they got out of the warm pool, which was not more than five minutes. We were all out of the pool room, and Ai'ren was waiting for us.

"Finished then?" She asked.

"Yeah, i feel much better, thanks." Niari thanked.

"Same here." Aielle agreed.

"I'm glad to have helped. Everyone is very eager to ask questions, if you'd like to answer them?" "Maybe, but i'm also curious about what you are." I said.

"I believe i can answer a few questions as well. As for what we are, we're named the ziscal."

"We're kaithians." Niari said. gesturing to herself and me.

"I'm half kaithian half human." Aielle said.

"Half?" Ai'ren asked.

"My dad's a kaithian, but my mother's human."

"Interesting. Well, follow me to the courtyard, The wind has died down, so it should not be as cold, and outside you can meet more of my pupils." We started walking behind Ai'ren as she led us to the courtyard.

"Iria, let me see your phone for a second." Aielle said.

"hmm? what for?" I asked, pulling out my phone.

"It'll be quick, just give me a couple seconds, it will help you bear the cold a little better." She took my phone and her own. "I've already given the code to Niari. I should have stopped you before you left, but i didn't think about it until you were already gone." She then handed me back my phone. "Just activate the code i put in, it should warm your suit enough to keep your blood flowing properly, but don't expect it to save your life when it's about 30 below zero, mainly because you don't want it burning your fur."

"Alright, thanks." I opened the custom program dropdown, and activated the program Aielle just pasted, called suit warmer. By the time we stepped outside, my suit has warmed up comfortably for the cold temperature outside.

"It's unfortunate that you've arrived at such a time. This is the harshest winter we've seen in decades." Ai'ren explained.

"It's okay, we'll survive." Niari said. "And for once, i'm jealous about your techie skills." Niari said to Aielle.

"Oh well." Aielle responded, giggling. Outside in the bricked courtyard, there was roughly 100 to 200 ziscal. I looked through all of them, and i could never spot any difference in gender.

"Are all of the people here girls?" I asked Ai'ren.

"What do you mean by girl?" Ai'ren asked.

"Like, female gender?"

"Gender?"

"This will sound awkward, but it's the only way to ask now. How do ziscal reproduce?"

"Well... two ziscal."

"A boy and a girl?"

"No, just two ziscal."

"Really? Interesting, so you only have a single gender then?"

"I suppose so."

"Often you see other races with two, or four if you're kaithian."

"Four?"

"Yeah, female, male, kaimale, and dimale."

"Odd."

"You're telling me."

"Anyways, you might be asking questions for a good hour if we answer everything, are you still up for it?"

"Sure thing."

"I'm ready." Aielle said.

"I'm good." Niari said.

"Attention everyone!" Ai'ren called, catching everyone's attention. "Our alien visitors are willing to answer your questions. If you have a question, then feel free to ask any one of them, but please remain calm about it, otherwise i'll stop the activity. Remember, they're people as well as we are." Ai'ren announced. Her speech was very nice, especially at the end.

Ai'ren's estimate of an hour was definitely underestimated, since it took almost two hours for the ziscal students to finally run dry of their questions. We were all pretty exhausted by the end, having mingled with about 150 curious aliens. I also learned a small bit about them as well. By then, it was starting to get dark, and the temperature was dropping noticeably. My phone started to read -30 celsius.

"Alright, that's all the questions then?" Ai'ren asked. "It's beginning to get dark, so now we'll head in for the night. Tomorrow we'll need to continue today's practice because of this interesting event."

"Yes mistress." the crowd of ziscal answered. The ziscal then made their way slowly back into the carved out building. Ai'ren led us in after them.

"I hope you kaithians sleep during the dark hours, otherwise we won't be able to entertain you for some time."

"Don't worry, we do." i laughed.

"Okay, good." she laughed. "One of our dorms has some free beds in it that you can use, i'm afraid i don't have many other options for you though."

"That's okay, a bed is a bed." Nari said.

"I suppose so." Ai'ren agreed. Several ziscal occupied the halls of the carved out academy, but Ai'ren had them leave us alone for now. We walked past several rooms, these being the only ones with doors, instead of being open, all of which were dorm rooms. Ai'ren led us to one of the last rooms. "Alright then, this is one of the dorms with free beds. I think only three of them are taken in this room, so there's 17 left to choose from in this one." She explained.

"That's fine." Aielle said. Ai'ren then opened the door. There were three ziscal in the room, like Ai'ren said. They all looked at her curiously.

"Good evening you three. I hope you don't mind if our new friends share this room as well?" Ai'ren asked. All three of them didn't mind. The room has 5 bunks on either side of the room.

"That'll be awesome!" one of them said, which i recognized to be Fey'sel from earlier. She's definitely more hyper than the others. i thought to myself, and smiled.

"Okay then, try not to keep them up all night." Ai'ren instructed. "Alright, enjoy your stay, friends."

"Thank you very much." I said.

"Mhm." Niari thanked.

"Thanks." Aielle thanked. when we walked in and Ai'ren left, Fey'sel instantly ran up to us. I noticed that the other ziscal were looking at her funny, but then started to ignore her.

"Iria, Niari, Aielle! I'm honored to be sharing a room with you!" She said. Now i understand why they were looking at her funny, because now i was.

"Well... that's very kind of you to say." Aielle said.

"C'mon, we're not that exciting are we? i understand all the questions, but this is just flattering." Niari said.

"Well, i'm honored to be meeting you at all. If it weren't for your academy, we'd probably all be stranded and frozen." I said. "But really, we're not worth this much praise." i laughed.

"Oh...." Fey'sel said. She looked a little shy then.

"Don't try and think we're superior than you, Fey'sel." Aielle said. "If we has to live with what you have here, and only that, then we'd be dad in a few months. Our species may have advanced far earlier, but we've come to rely on technology so much, that it makes a lot of us forget how to even light a fire."

"Yeah, exactly." Niari agreed.

"But enough about us though, can we ask you some questions?" I asked.

"Me?" Fey'sel looked shocked.

"Yeah."

"But why? i'm not interesting."

"Yeah you are. We're aliens to you, but you're also an alien to us, and also an alien no one else has known about until now."

"Oh, wow, when you think of it that way.... What do you want to know?"

"Don't worry, i already asked your mistress the worst of the questions."

"Heh, which one?"

"how ziscal babies are made."

"Hah, i'd hate to be her, then."

"Anyways, what is this academy for?"

"The academy? It's for us. The name of the academy, zisca, was named after the race. It's for teaching us to see, breathe, and understand."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aielle asked.

"It's the motto for the school. It means: to know all there is to know around you."

"Interesting. Are there any other places where ziscal can be found on the planet?"

"There's many villages around, but they're all probably snowed over. There aren't too many of us though."

"How about...." I asked her multiple more questions, recording them on my phone, as well as what i learned from Ai'ren and the question period from before. "Okay, that's all i can think of for now." I admitted. "Either way, i think your friends there want us to stop our gawking about now." I laughed. The other couple ziscal noticed me saying that, and giggled a little, nodding at me. "Thought so."

"Okay then...," Fey'sel yawned, stretching.v "I'm tired anyways."

"Me too, i'm exhausted after answering so many questions." Niari said.

"Okay, goodnight then friends." Fey'sel bid us.

"Goodnight, friend." I said to her, which made her giddy as she walked towards her bed. I hope i didn't just ruin her sleep by saying that. i thought to myself.

"C'mon sweetie, let's go to sleep." Niari said to me, and was already in one of the beds. I laughed, and joined her. I didn't even get halfway under the covers before she tried to hug me. I saw Aielle climb onto the bed above us.

"Night, guys." Aielle said as she got up.

"Night." We both bid her. Before we fell asleep, Niari insisted on pulling the covers over our heads, and making out for a little. I giggled, and obliged her.

"Sure, this time." i whispered to her before we kissed each other. Eventually, we pulled the covered down, thankful that no one was watching us, and fell asleep soon after.

We woke up the next morning when the ziscal in the room started to dress and chat. Niari and i sat up then. I wiped the sleep from my eyes, and swung my feet over the bedside. Just then, apparently Aielle was doing the exactly same thing, since she nearly hit me with her feet.

"Woah! watch your feet!" I said, laughing. She then quickly pulled her lugs back up.

"Oh, sorry! did i hit you?" Aielle responded.

"Almost, but no." I assured. Aielle then hopped down from the top bed, and landed a meter to my right.

"That's good, sorry about that." She apologized again. I was then hugged from behind by Niari, whom then kissed my cheek.

"Morning." She said dreamily.

"Goodmorning." I responded. We both then stood up. I saw Fey'sel walking with the other two ziscal.

"Hey, Fey'sel?" I asked.

"Mmm? yeah?" She asked.

"Where are you going?"

"To the courtyard for practice, i've got to go, want to join us? You're allowed, as far as i'm aware."

"I'll see if i can ask Ai'ren."

"Okay, I'll be going now."

"Mhm." She then ran out the door to catch up. "You guys interested in joining?" I asked.

"Got nothing better to do." Niari said.

"Same here i suppose." Aielle agreed.

"Okay. Hopefully we can find Ai'ren then, cause i don't want to join in when we shouldn't." We all stretched, and then walked after the ziscal. It was a decent walk to get to the courtyard, and when we arrived, it was brilliantly sunny out, but it was still at least -15 celsius. The many ziscal in the courtyard were performing several different body poses, similar to yoga. Qe quickly found Ai'ren, who was standing with her arms behind her back on a dais. We walked over to the dais, and caught her attention.

"Ah, goodmorning friends."

"Goodmorning, Ai'ren." I said.

"What can i help you with this morning?"

"We were wondering if we could participate in the practice. Fey'sel told us we could."

"Of course you can. But if you're going to be participating as if you are a pupil of the academy, it would be appreciated if you address me as mistress, or mistress Ai'ren."

"We can participate to that extent, We can't exactly leave for a while anyways." Aielle explained.

"Alright then. If Fey'sel said you could join, then she's the one who will be teaching you the poses. Once you find her, follow what she does."

"Yes, mistress." I said, laughing a little bit. That'll take a little while to not embarrass myself saying. i thought to myself. Ai'ren nodded at us, and then returned her attention to the rest. We looked around the courtyard for a while. during the practice, the ziscal seemed much more focused on it than us, which relieved me a little bit. Eventually we found the tan ziscal. She was practicing on her own, unlike a lot of the others.

"Hey, Fey'sel!" Niari called as we approached. Fey'sel looked at us, and stopped her pose to stand.

"Hey, did you get permission?" She asked.

"Yeah, and you're the one leading us." I said.

"Really? Well then, i guess i'm starting over to show you the easy poses then." When she said easy she really did mean it, but soon, even they became harder and harder to hold. We had a short breather, and then got into some of the harder poses after about an hour. Eventually, Fey'sel instructed us to stand on our hands with our feet above our heads and pointing forward. Niari couldn't do it, but Aielle and i had a little more luck with it. I was afraid of falling on my face, so i couldn't make myself do it right, but at least i got onto my hands. Fey'sel made it look so easy.

"Alright, alright, that's the last pose." Fey'sel laughed. "You're all not as bad as i thought, just lacking balance."

"We're staying for a while, so there's time to improve." Aielle said.

"That's exactly what i want to hear, Aielle." Fey'sel complemented. "Anyways, the practice is over for now, everyone's heading to the pool now. C'mon, you guys earned the rest." We followed Fey'sel to the pool. ziscal were walking through the halls with only their lower half covered, and still wet from the pool. When we arrived, there was a good 50 ziscal still bathing, all naked. Niari and i didn't mind, but Aielle looked a little shy, but despite that, she still followed Niari and I as we took off our suits. We all then followed Fey'sel into the pool, and relaxed against the wall. others were swimming in the water, but i had no interest in joining them this time. It was actually very peaceful. It wasn't very loud, only quiet chats between friends. Everyone looked everyone else in the eyes, and it was genuinely calm. I felt completely relaxed as well, the exercise was very refreshing. We stayed in the pool for another fifteen minutes, and then we all walked out of it. I was glad to see Aielle had relaxed the whole time too, but she was still blushing. I shook my fur and hair as dry as i could, since there were still no towels or anything around, and then put my suit back on. When we were all dono with bathing, we walked out of the pool room, following Fey'sel.

"So what now?" Aielle asked.

"There's no more practice today, so we're pretty much free at the moment. I'm able to show you around if you'd like?" Fey'sel asked.

"Sure, i'd like to get to know the place." I said.

"Me too." Niari agreed.

"Alright, we'll start with the cafeteria it's just over here." Fey'sel gave us the tour of the academy. Despite their primitive age, the ziscal had quite a lot of useful things. There was clean running water, geothermal heating, and what i hadn't noticed before, is the halls were lit with some odd crystals, which i just put off until now, thinking they were normal house lights.

"What are those crystals lighting the place?"

"We call those surneva gems. We're not really sure how they glow like that, but we're thankful to have them." Fey'sel explained.

"Interesting. I'd like to take a look at one more closely sometime."

"You can't take the ones we use for lighting in here, they're wedged into the ceiling. If you can find some elsewhere, you can probably take it."

"I'll keep my eye out." We soon found out the the academy actually goes all the way through the mountain, and comes out on the other side and into a garden. There was giant walls surrounding this side as well, but instead of bricks, the ground was grass, and there were trees and flowers planted around.

"What are the giant walls there for anyways?" Niari asked.

"This place actually used to be a castle to an old king. It's been abandoned for many years, and It's only been turned into what it is now for about... 80 years no or so. Mistress Ai'ren's mother was the one who started the Academy, and now she's inherited it." Fey'sel explained.

"Interesting." Niari said.

"It's truly a massive construction. Back then, there must have been many more ziscal than there are today." Fey'sel said.

"How has the population dropped?" Aielle asked.

"We're not exactly sure. The winters might have an effect, but we've had those since as long as i can remember." Fey'sel admitted. "There isn't an end to us though, the population is slowly rising again i think." We soon left the garden, and made our way back to where we started. "Well, that's the tour for ya." "Thanks for it." Niari said.

"No problem, I'm free to answer any questions you have, so just ask them when you have them." Suddenly we heard the bell from the courtyard.

"What's that for?" Niari asked.

"Someone wants inside, let's go check it out." Fey'sel suggested. We walked out into the courtyard, and made it just in time to see four ziscal pulling the gate open. When it was open enough, another ziscal came bursting in, shouting: "Close the gate! Close the Gate! Fasaq!" Then the four ziscal were instantly joined by ten more, and they pushed the gate shut as fast as possible.

"Fasaq?!" Fey'sel exclaimed.

"What's a fasaq?" Aielle asked.

"Just hope the gate's shut in time!" Just as she said that, the gate was violently forced open, and in came a giant behemoth of a beast. It was half as high as the gate, and almost as wide. The ziscal ran for their lives. The giant beast was snowy white with bloodshot eyes visible from where we stood on the opposite side of the courtyard. It's fur was standing on ends, and it's powerful claws tore apart the bricking which made up the courtyard. Before anyone could do anything, the beast swatted at a helpless ziscal, sending her flying towards us, and bouncing several times. Fey'sel was in shock, and didn't move. I thought of no better time to put my blaster to use.

"C'mon guys, we need to deal with this thing!" i shouted over the beast's roars.

"Are you crazy?! You'll be killed!" Fey'sel warned. Without heeding her advice, All three of us pulled out our pistols, and ran towards the beast. It spotted us, and started to charge.

"Ready? FIRE!" Aielle directed. All three of us then fired simultaneously at the beast's head with a sonic blast of sound which distorted the air as it travelled. the beast stopped in it's tracks, and roared with dismay as the sound rang through it's head.

"Again! Now!" I shouted. We blasted it again, and it roared deafeningly. it then charged again, and before we could fire again, it was too close. Before i could move, it's giant paw swiped at me, and i was batted across the court, bouncing across the bricks until I hit one of the walls.Thankfully my shield absorbed most of the impacts, but it was still extremely painful, and my skin broke in several places, causing me to bleed. I got up slowly, trying to regain my composure. This isn't going to work.... i set my blaster to laser, and aimed at it's head. Before i fired though, i saw that it was looking up at the wall which housed the academy. Up in the balcony, i saw Ai'ren. She stood on the railing of the balcony, and was... dancing? i couldn't tell what she was doing, but the beast was quickly converted to being passive, and it lied down on the ground like a puppy. I lowered my gun, and fell to one knee, since standing became too much for me after the hit. Niari then sprinted up to me.

"Iria!" she shouted, "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine... just a little bruised up."

"You're lucky you had your shields, that was a massive hit." She pulled up me, and draped my arm over her shoulders, walking me back to Aielle at the front door to the academy.

"Are you okay Iria?" Aielle asked.

"I've had worse." I claimed. A few seconds later, Ai'ren came from the front door, carrying a blanket and a roll of paper.

"Excuse me, friends." She said as she passed us. She walked up to the seriously wounded ziscal who was battered by the fasaq. She kneeled by her head, and draped the blanket over her. She then unrolled the paper, and let go of it. To my amazement, it began floating above the blanketed girl. She then held her hands together, and said something under her breath. The paper then created a brilliant flash down at the girl, and she then grabbed it and rolled it back up. She removed the blanket from the girl, and there she was, lying there unconscious, and completely recovered. The sight of it awed me, i couldn't grasp what she had just done.

"Amazing, isn't it? Mistress Ai'ren is really amazing." Fey'sel said. I watched Ai'ren then walk up to the fasaq, and chastise it harshly like a disobedient pet. She then pointed towards the door, and the fasaq stood up with it's tail between it's legs, and left the courtyard, which was quickly closed after it left. Ai'ren then sighed, and turned towards us.

"You three, you are extraordinarily brave to be facing a creature like a fasaq which is many times more powerful than you are. I applaud your efforts." She said, then went back inside the academy.

"What... just happened...?" Aielle asked.

"This planet is becoming more interesting every minute. It's unlike anything i've ever seen." Niari claimed.

"I have a feeling there's a lot more to it too." I said.