FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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A message from the author:

A story is a dream. This dream is destined to be woken up from. You pick up a book or a magazine and disappear into its pages. Your friends are all social networking, chatting someone up, finding things to occupy themselves in reality; but you, sir or madam, have picked up a slice of another life. A writing, as it's described, is a formation of alphanumeric characters on any media. But it goes much, much deeper than this rigid, very dull and gray explanation. Words have an untold power. They can create life or destroy it. Inside a reading, encapsulated is a world. When you read, you become a part of that world. When you write, you become a deity of that universe; the one with the power to create or destroy it all in a matter of seconds.

Those of us that are writing have a responsibility with our powers. Those that have a knack for it are pretty darn good at drawing our readers in. But I must share with you something very important before I begin. Of every reading is a moral and a lesson. Due to the plastic nature of the human mind, this appears differently to every one. You remember a nursery rhyme where it's clearly stated "the moral of the story is..." but I'm not going to give you that here. If your mind has gone into a spiral, allow me to simplify this for you:

Within these chronicles lies a story. You take what you can get, and leave what you don't want. After all, you could walk away at any moment. However, I must urge you very diligently... that if you are suffering in your life at any moment, time, and place, that you pick up a good book. Words and their worlds will have the power to get you through. This is my message to the world.

• SnowFlower

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Prologue

Finding an environment this serene is not easy. Atop of a cliff in a world unlike our own, a soft breeze mellows the evening hanging of the sun, casting a purple glow on all we see. Our view is stunning. You can look over the edge of this cliff and see for miles. Its a breath-taking struggle to wander an eye over the scene. A vast turbulently laid landscape cut by a river near the horizon like a god just took his pair of invisible clippers and cut a long stream of water there. In that depth rapids and a waterfall run. But from this height, we cannot hear it. Instead greeted with an eerie silence that seems highly unnatural. All of the birds and living creatures have gone from this plentiful well-foliage'd land.

You see structures, signs of life to ease our mind. Colossal stone offerings to let us know we are not alone. Are we? It's hard to say. Perhaps this structure was abandoned. Torches flicker along its base. The great structure is built in a triangular pyramid, steps and rails along its sides. You could not see from here, but you feel an inexplicable warmth coming from the place. Its homey, it draws you in, and its quite chilly out here at the moment. You want to go there, but a sound behind you strikes the fuzzy stuffing right out of you. A silvery, shimmery portal opens. Along its surface ripples like water, it inexplicably floats at ground level.

Assessing the situation very quickly:

_Hmm, lets see, there is a large cedar tree to your left with a discarded axe. It's blade and handle are broken. Useless. There's some old discarded cooking tools and a fire pit. This frying pan will have to do. _

But just remember, you are invisible, you are not meant to disturb this world.

There is a sound like rushing water and a creature stumbles into the midst of the clearing. You gasp, but of course, he cannot hear or see you. The well muscled figure of a man with a wolf's head, covered in thick white fur that hangs to him tight stumbled forth. His legs are definitely not normal. If you've seen the legs of a dog, this beast's are very similar. Reversed ankles, thighs massive and thick to support the weight of a 300 pound animal. Feet racked with heavy lethal claws, golden, given a purple hue from the sky in their luminescence, shaped like the paws of a wolf.

He's smiling as he stumbles through, seeming as though he's been pushed from the portal. Standing and turning around, large black markings curved over his back that have no meeting to you define thick knotted shoulder blades and the back of a wild snow white mane and a tail you figure is accurately proportional to his size. The wolf man is completely nude.

_Is this a horror flick scene with the big bad werewolf ready to catch his pray? _

Don't worry, you're safe. Take it from me, he cannot see you.

The bottom underside of his tail catches your eyes as it sways contently, flickering in an odd light seemingly unnatural to it. A spectrum of color, scrolling in a blur and refracting in such a foreign way you don't know what to think. With each new angle of his swaying tail, the underside of its long white length changes colors, similar to oil on a sunny surface.

Before you can think more, another creature steps through. Similar, but much more slim and shorter, looking quite more unique. They seem polar-opposite in appearance. One snowy white mass of fur and muscle, and a slim jet-black and red, ominous looking creature. They are both quite obviously wolves, or like them. The second wolf's face is outlined in a small patch of creamy fur underneath the muzzle, contrasting and exaggerating his small razor sharp canines and pin-like incisors that jut from a jaw that was meant to kill. Glowing streaks of red line the top of his head between his ears and disappear behind a thin, silky crimson red robe. The other wolf looks like Evil himself.

_Such as to why the large snow white creature is not cowering in fear is not understandable in this circumstance. If anything, the red wolf's playful smile contrasts what he looks like. _

Best not judge a book on its cover.

The friendly-looking white creature turns around. Again, a view of beastly nude masculinity resonates from the wolf, your eyes graze his body. His massive swelling arms, rippled stomach, genitalia covered in a thick snowy patch of fur. He does not seem to mind his nudity, more-so flat-out ignoring it as he steps to the cedar tree in a few strides. Touching a spot where the initials "DM + WM" are carved deep into its dark bark. He smiles fondly. This expression seems unnatural for a lethal-looking, 300 pound beast of a creature equipped with natural weapons that could shred a mans insides out with a single swipe. The weapons are stunning and beautiful in appearance, but uneasy to remember in regards to their purpose: to kill.

His azure eyes, filled with absolute fondness and adoration, complement the large shining gold-rimmed jewel upon his head. The robed animal does not have this fat, faceted masterpiece upon his skull. It glitters, shimmering in a glow that reveals it has its own physically lit property, light turquoise in its ambiance. It runs in an oblong shape to just above the brow of his beastly, yet warm and loving eyes.

The robed wolf, in contrast, fixes his fiery red eyes on the scene. Those glowing fierce red circles move about and widen at what he is seeing.

Has he been here before? An expression of surprise for a wolf?

They are filled with emotion much more sound in meaning than the creature we know in our world.

These are intelligent beings, not a wolf we'd ever see in our world. Their expressions reveal full cognitive control over themselves. How could a creature such as a wolf be able to feel like they are feeling? This unanswered question lingers for a moment and then the robed wolf spoke.

"What is this?" he said, than gave a wry little smirk that is unsettling very much so to his physical appearance. His voice was smooth, low, and slightly gnarled, but nearly almost human. The creatures in observation quite obviously have a functional voice box.

You'd think these two things where human once from their shocking emotionally meaningful behavior.

"Do you see this tree?" said the white beast softly, a fond, smooth mellow tone quite in similarity to the other, full of a masculine post-pubescent tenor that made the situation easy to handle for you, the observer. His voice was so gentle and kind, like that of a noble weathered warrior whose intentions where pure.

Paws disturbed light grass as the robed figure glided over. It was nearly silent how he moved, and so fluid and easy. He wasn't looking at the tree the white wolf was gesturing at, but the cooking tools littering the ground. He nodded in reply and then gestured toward the tools with his smaller paw.

"What happened here?" he said, his voice immediately filling with concern, his eyes widening at the outright disturbance he saw in the scene. Abandoned, the broken ax, the discarded tools, objects littered the ground like there had been a struggle.

Snow Wolf lowered his paw from the tree and turned slightly, leaned the same paw and arm again upon it and looked down at the dirt, his deep frown now quite the opposite of what he was feeling earlier. His eyes moved down and and his ears folded backward onto his skull.

"They exist here no longer," he sighed. This statement did nothing to ease the situation, more drawing more concern for the red robed wolf.

"Snowy, where are they? Are they dead?" His lips thin, eyes full of inner pain, the black and red wolf seemed at a state of alarm.

Snow's expression changed. It was more hopeful, filling with light again. He stopped leaning on the tree to look out over the cliff.

"No, they've just been fulfilling the life I gave them, Shift, he said fondly with a smile.

"But this is their home, isn't it? It certainly looks so," Shift replied. His red eyes grew angry. "Snow, are they suffering? What did you do?"

"Relax," Snow spoke smoothly in reassurance, turning to shift, "They must be who they where meant to be. There is a reason this world is the way it is now."

Shift let off a low growl. Feral, beastly, he stomped his paw and leaned forward in worry and felonious anxiety. "Snow, you made them suffer didn't you?"

"It was necessary," came Snow's short reply, though filled with an admittance and hesitation his eyes and face reflected the same shame he felt in this truth. He was genuine.

Shift came forward, placing his paws on Snow's broadly muscled chest. His eyes mixed between longing and despair. "Snow, you have to help them. If you don't, I will."

"We cannot disturb the order of this world," said Snow, taking the paws of his love into his much larger ones, fully covering them and pressing them to his pectorals in an attempt to comfort him. "With love comes both a shining light and a darkness of sacrifice. The Four... as I've made it so, must be united as one to defeat their final foe... by love."

Shift beat his paws upon Snow's chest angrily and backed up into defense, his eyes filled with more pain. A deep hissing snarl came from his chest; a sound like the rattle of death.

"You can't expect those to suffer who are capable of such a pure emotion as love! No one who feels love should suffer!" Shift yelled through a growl.

"Calm yourself, Shift I showed you this because this is a lesson. What I have in store is much greater than you know. They will join us when they achieve their goal. They will be what they are eternal, in happiness, like us, united by the love they nurtured and earned. Love does not simply come, but curates. This is the lesson that I have. These boys would not have survived the night had I not blessed them what they now have. But what they now have has changed the networking web of this world. I did save their lives, yes, but their change became a destiny to achieve greatness and a goal set much higher than they know."

Silently, Shift slid his arms around Snow's broad frame whilst stepping to him, burying his nose in the fur he knew the scent of all too well. A combined mix of wolf musk and sweet aloe and wood. He loved that scent, would not give it up for anything in the world, and he wept upon Snow's chest, "You can't let them suffer, Snow, you can't!"

"When they reach Absolute Zero, they will unite with us and they will be safe. Have faith. The order of this world and the order of ours is the same. They have faith in their survival as we do in ours. They believe in us to guide them, and it is our mere existence that does."

Snow placed his paw gently between his red and black partner's ears, holding the now emotionally dissolving sorrow-filled Shift tight to the cavity of his softly furred white chest, running his nuzzle along his cheek, his own eyes closed. Snow wept for Shift, and the clouded sky began to rain, a rumble of distant thunder sounding. The sky dusked, filling the scene with darkness.

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_Next up - Chapter 1 _