FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter One

It was a Tuesday. Not that it mattered much. Muscles didn't grow faster that day, although that was exactly what Union was attempting to disprove.

The stink of males choked the local gym, a small business with equipment as old as the couple that ran it. The advent of new technology never caught their interest, but that didn't matter to the patrons. Arthur, or Arty as everyone called the aging otter, always said the ever-grinding machine deep inside everyone built the person, not the newest contraptions sold on infomercials. Of course, not everyone agreed entirely, but they understood his wisdom and gave he and his wife their business. And that included Union as he huffed through his second rep, the torn bench irritating his back. He hoped his twenty dollars was worth it.

His mother had described him as lithe. He hated that word--the long i sound that made him think of that letter as a stick. Doctors had said it was his metabolism and he would just burn through anything he ate. Typical of a fox. Very typical.

It didn't help that his louche of a father ran off on them after he was born. Pictures of him made him want to vomit; he looked exactly like him: the bony frame, ropey tail, the almost sickly demeanor. He was more mutt than fox.

Tired. He had just gotten off work, standing for six hours checking out groceries, ringing up totals, managing complaints about the long lines as best he could as if he had control over how many people were hired to handle them. He registered every rep as beeps from the cash register as it scanned each UPC. Straining through his fifth rep in agitation, his chest on fire, the bench press clattered like a startled bird as the barbell fell back onto the pins. Five was the grand total.

"Take a look at this guy," a beefy lion scoffed to his equally beefy workout partner, a black panther who could've passed as his twin. If only they were the same species.

"Lay off him," the twin replied, pressing a fist against the lion's shoulder in a playful gesture. "You weren't too big yourself back in the day. Remember 'Runty'?" He sang to the tune of Bingo, "R-U-N-T-Y!"

Their laughter faded into the locker room, Union's chest aching as he huffed on the bench, almost unable to move. He'd been doing this for more than two weeks and he still hadn't been able to add on any more weight without killing himself. What was he doing wrong? He'd been switching between different muscle groups each day and resting once or twice a week, as was advised. Perhaps he was expecting results too soon. His eyes slid shut so he could think.

"Don't worry about those brutes."

Eyes opened, a brick wall of white loomed over him. He sat up. It was an arctic wolf wearing a tank top that camouflaged perfectly with his fur, covering up very little. He looked more tank than wolf, his musculature showcasing years of dedication and discipline. Union looked up, almost gulping. He must've been at least six and a half feet tall--and that was a conservative guess. He gulped anyway.

"Uh, hello." The fox blinked. "Yeah, those guys. That's okay--"

"No, it's not," the wolf cut in, his voice firm as the muscles he bore. "Just because they're big doesn't mean they can throw their weight all over the place." The wolf glanced over the small fox, an orange silhouette in the dullness of the gym. "You got yourself a spotter?"

"Not really."

"Here..." He gestured for Union to lay back down. "Ready?"

"Uh, okay?" Arms straining, the fox guided the barbell to his chest with the help of the burly wolf. He huffed.

"Got it?"

His response came: the staggered rise of the barbell and an awkward grunt you'd never think a fox could make. The wolf encouraged him like a father--at least from what Union could imagine and he felt like a boy without his training wheels for the first time, wobbling down the street. A full set later and the barbells clanged back into place, the fox gasping for breath, his arms spent.

"Not bad," the wolf said, patting Union as he sat up. "Just make sure to keep your butt on the bench. And don't hold your breath. Breathing's important. Keeps you conscious."

The fox flashed a half-grin. "Thanks."

"The name's Harvey, by the way, although folks around here call me T-bone as a joke. Pretty gay, I know."

The fox blinked.

"Anyway, I'm here 'round this time everyday, so don't be afraid to team up with me. I can help put some bulk on your bones." He gave an endearing chuckle, flashing a mouthful of frightful teeth. Endearing, nonetheless.

Union sighed. The wolf was definitely impressive and seemed friendly enough. The thought of having a body even half as built as his sent a charge through his spirit as if by some divine lightning.

"Anyway, got to hit the showers. See ya 'round."

"Uh..." He was still caught off guard by the suddenness of a random stranger's help. The wolf moseyed into the locker room, the fox tailing him close behind like the child he now became.

If the gym stunk, then the locker room was the hellhole of stink, several guys, some naked, fumbling with locker combinations or sneering at toilet humor. Union was Harvey's shadow, the wolf towering over most of the guys in the locker room. A few of them seemed to flinch, making way for the iceberg sliding through. Union could only focus on Harvey's bushy tail as it swayed confidently with his stride. He staggered back suddenly, struck by something big, head shaking to gain back his composure. Harvey glanced over a shoulder and Union realized that nothing had struck him: he'd walked right into the big wolf who had stopped in front of his locker.

"Oh, you again?" The wolf grinned, baring those fangs as white as his fur.

"Uh, sorry..." He scratched the back of his head, his face burning up. "The name's Union, but my freinds call me Yune for short."

"You saying I can call you Yune?" The wolf plucked off his tank top, his chest and abdominal muscles hard against the light.

The fox glanced up, his height barely reaching the nape of the wolf's thick neck. "S-sure."

"All right, Yune," he said, tossing his gym shorts into the locker, now fully in the buff. "We better get to the showers before we stink up this place worse than it already is!"

* * *

Shower heads spattered streams of water, white noise bludgeoning the tiled walls. When fur becomes wet, it sticks to you like skin. Yune traced the curves of Harvey's musculature as the wolf lathered himself up, the definition of his body becoming more prominent through his thick fur. He thought of the mountains where he grew up, the sun drifting through the vast sea of the sky. At first everything was a dark silhouette, but the more the sun rose, the clearer everything became: the nooks and cliffs of the mountain, the trees and large rocks that inhabited it--just like the wolf the wetter he became.

Yune's eyes fluttered south, a natural curiosity. Water bombarded the wolf's head, eyes shut tight. Now was his chance. Unsurprisingly, the wolf was big down below, too. The pink appendage measured halfway down his thighs, thick as a water bottle. He was circumcised, the glans like a small fist, his testicles hanging heavily like two apricots in a small sack.

"Having fun down there?"

Yune flinched, expecting a face twisted in disgust or a fist planted in his. Thank goodness it was another toothy grin.

"S-sorry."

The big wolf chuckled. "It's just a body part. Nothing to be ashamed of." He flexed an arm, the bicep bulging like a balloon. "Home-schooled thinking, I suppose."

Yune analyzed his own wiry frame, the water becoming invasive. He swore the shower could wash him away if it came any harder. "Wish I could be as enthusiastic as you." He was nothing more than a leaf in the wind.

"Ah, don't say that, man," Harvey said, placing a paw on the fox's shoulder. Yune jumped. His touch was unexpected considering they were both naked, the wolf breaking the unspoken rule of the showers without so much as a flinch. Nevertheless, the paw was a welcome heaviness, thick, but gentle. "Look. If you're here because you hate your body, you're only going to end up failing. I've seen it happen countless times--a new member comes in looking to shed off fifty, one hundred pounds, even. The workouts become a chore and they stop by less and less. After a few months they don't bother anymore. See what I mean?"

Hesitant, the fox nodded.

"You see--all the regulars, they're here because they love the feel of a dumbbell in their paw, the burn in their chest as they bench an extra ten pounds they couldn't a month before. It's a rush for them and they're the ones that stick around and change. Not because they were so unhappy with themselves and were desperately looking for something--anything--to fix it. Change came more as a side effect of their enjoyment here."

The fox nodded again. He got it, but the problem wasn't that black-and-white.

"Sorry," the wolf said. "I'm no motivational speaker or anything. But the bottom line is that if you want to succeed, you're gonna have to take it from a different angle. You'll need to enjoy your time here or you'll end up calling it quits."

"Thanks," Yune said. He meant it, despite his skepticism. "But why are you telling me this? Why are you being so nice to somebody you don't even know?"

The wolf smiled and Yune was beginning to like the big guy the more he did it.

"Because I was exactly where you were once."