FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Luke lay quietly, eyes closed, as the early morning light sneaked in around the curtains. He did not want to get up. Remembering the dream was much more interesting, but it was fading quickly.

Tongues. No, just one. A very large, very soft tongue. On his cheek. In his ear. A fuzzy nose, pressing gently under his chin. The tongue again, caressing his throat, his shoulder, his chest.

If only he could remember more. He didn't often have dreams that he liked. The ones that stuck were more like nightmares. Most recently they'd been about midterms: searching for a room he couldn't find; having to take a test for a course he'd forgotten to attend. Those he could do without.

It was a relief that the real tests were over for a while. Fall break was going to be much too short. It gave him only a few days to work full time. It'd be almost relaxation compared to classes, and it would be good to have some spending money, too. Christmas was coming all too soon.

Someone must have started celebrating early, though. Who could it have been? A large box had been waiting in the hallway when he got back to his apartment the previous evening. Whoever had sent it had forgotten to include any return address. Despite the size, the carton had been surprisingly light.

Luke was feeling warmer and warmer. His bedroom had been rather cool when he went to sleep, cuddling up in the warm plush covers, but now he was feeling hot. The furnace must have turned on during the night. He still hadn't gotten the baseboard louvers adjusted right.

Usually he knocked off the covers in his sleep when it got this warm. In fact, he could feel cool air along one side. Sweat was starting to form under the weight of the covers on the other, though. The blanket and fuzzy bedspread didn't usually feel that heavy. They must have bunched up.

Sigh. They were just too uncomfortable. Time to get up. Luke opened his eyes.

Bright blue eyes stared back.

The gift. "The Sudden Unexpected Benevolence of Strangers" the paper had said its name was. "But his fireside name is Ben." It seemed a bit elaborate for a joke. A long pedigree just for a stuffed toy animal? Although it was a rather large stuffed animal. "An imperial Siberian snow tiger," the paperwork claimed, "known for its ferocity, but in reality very affectionate." A large, extremely beautiful plush animal.

But what was it doing lying on top of him?

Before he fell asleep, the plush tiger had been across the foot of the bed. Luke was sure of that. He'd been enjoying rubbing his feet though its fur. He'd never felt anything so soft. The last thing Luke remembered was pulling his feet back under the covers and curling up.

Oh, well, maybe he'd grabbed it in his sleep to help keep warm. Some nights he thrashed around a bit. And he knew he used the bathroom sometimes without remembering.

Luke sat up and stretched, letting the plush tiger slide off. The bed sloshed a bit. Despite the warmth, the soft fur sliding against him felt extremely pleasant.

It felt just as good when he hugged it.

"Good morning, Ben. Did you sleep well?" Luke buried his nose in the fur of the neck. It had a pleasant odor he didn't recognize, and the fur tickled against his chest. He ran one hand back and forth, ruffling the thick plush.

Feeling a bit foolish, he looked carefully at the mouth. Nope, no way. There was no sign of any opening, just two pieces of plush cloth meeting at a seam.

Heck, while he was at it, he might as well inspect the stuffed animal thoroughly. He'd been too tired to do much last night, and he still had a little while before he was supposed to be at the lab. Luke ran his hands all over the head. The striped plush there was only a bit shorter than on the body and almost as soft. He could feel some seams, though. He rubbed the short white fur on the top of the nose and the lower jaw. Even the shortest fur of the pinkish-tan nose was soft against his cheek.

Tickling the grey and white ears, he smoothed the short mane framing the head. It was still a bit ruffled from earlier. The neck and chest felt firm as he hugged it again. The body was much softer, while the legs and tail were almost floppy.

He still couldn't get over the size. The few stuffed animals he'd had as a child had been only a foot or so long. He'd seen some plush bears that stood somewhat over two feet high, though. This tiger was more than five feet long from its nose to the tip of its tail. Its body seemed to be almost as long as his own.

Luke stretched the cat out on the bed, then threw back the rest of the covers. Laying beside it, he looked down. Yup. With its shoulders level with his, their rumps were just about even.

Rolling Ben onto his back, Luke rubbed the soft plush belly, following the stripes where they wrapped around. The firmness of the upper front almost felt like a rib cage. The nether regions had a few seams where the legs and tail were joined, but despite his name, Ben was quite neuter.

The plush animal looked a bit awkward on its back like that. Ben was obviously designed to look best resting on his stomach, head up and alert.

Luke started to roll the big cat over again, but the bed seemed to be a bit more crowded than before. Somehow the plush tiger wound up on top, Luke's nose pressed into the front of its chest.

Mmmmm. That did feel good.

Luke decided he wasn't going to be on time for work today.