FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The exercises were always the same. Breathe in. Breathe out. Slow steady squeeze on the trigger as you come to the natural respiratory pause. Steady the heart rate. Don't hold your breath. Keep your crosshairs on the target. Never hesitate. Click. Click. Boom.

His ears flicked through the slits in his hat as he laid steady in the prone, buttstock pressed firmly against his shoulder. His chest rose and fell casually, eyes open, staring down the scope of his Long Rifle. The crosshair was trained on the exit of the old space ship.

The horse brought his left hand up to the scope, slowly turning the knobs their subtle clicks until he was satisfied. The picture through his scope was perfect, crisp, clear. He was ready to take the shot, despite Krugar wanting him to capture the wolf alive. It was personal now.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

This is what Luke was usually hired for. Long range assassination. One target. One bullet. Gone before the smoke settles. It was becoming a dying art. Nobody liked to use combustion based ammunitions anymore, and there were too many variables; Gravity, wind speed, noise...

He loved the noise. There was nothing like the loud pop of a rifle, followed by the echo throughout, and the dull ring after. The thought of it excited him. The Equin laid still and firm, reciting the exercises in his head, unblinking as he stared through the glass.

It had been about an hour since the small group he had been tracking had gone into the ship, and the horse had no clue how long it would be until they exited again, but that's what he was good at.

Waiting.

Whether he had to wait twenty seconds or twenty hours, Luke was good at waiting. He was motionless on the ground of the ridge above, only moving when necessary to adjust his sights. The soft green glow of the night vision cut through the valley.

If he hadn't equipped his infrared sensors to his tracking drone he would have been using those instead. Night vision was dated, but, that's all he had at the moment. It had been a while since he had to stare into that green glow, and it hurt his eyes, but he held firm, undaunted, ready for the shot nonetheless.

Black shadows drifted across the ground in front of the ship. "Heh," the horse huffed. He didn't have to wait too much longer. He watched as the group made their exit.

The odd Eagle woman was standing in front of his target as they came into view. She seemed to be arguing with him about something. Behind them was...

Luke blinked rapidly, nearly losing his concentration, "What the fuck--."

He was looking straight at the odd feral creature that was playfully bounding behind the two. He didn't exactly know what to make of it either. This was definitely the most odd of a commission he's ever taken, and no one was going to believe him when he got back.

Bringing his attention back to the older Wolvrun, he slowly followed with his scope. If the woman would just get out of his way...

The white wolf stopped. Luke quickly pulled his scope to line up the cross directly between the wolf's eyes as the woman stepped out of the way. His ears flicked quickly in anticipation.

Breathe in... Breathe out... Slow steady pull... The shot was almost complete, but as he went to pull the trigger he witnessed something he had never encountered in all of his years of killing. The Wolvrun was staring at him, directly at him, eyes piercing through the scope.

'He's... he's staring at me... he's staring at me? He can't see me, I'm too far away...does he see me?' The horse was second guessing himself.

Click. The hammer pulled back.

The Wolvrun was still staring straight at him, and he was growling now. Even from that distance, through the scope the Horse could see the lips of the wolf curled and his snout furrowed.

He hesitated. Click. Boom.

The shot rang out through the valley in a loud echo. It took three seconds for the bullet to hit. Dust plumed up behind the Wolvrun. Miss.

"--Fuck."

He had missed. He had missed. The Equin slammed the bolt back, ejecting the spent shell as he slammed another one into the chamber. As quick as he could, he sent the bolt home, locking the new bullet into place. Sweat dripped from his brow, despite the cold, as his eyes trained back in to reacquire his target.

The wolf was missing.

Luke scanned between the other members of the small group. The bird woman looked around for a moment in confusion before she jumped behind the nearest tree for cover. The younger sand colored Wolvrun had emerged and ducked behind the odd feral beast, who tilted its head curiously and sniffed the air in confusion.

"Where did you go you damn dog...?"

"Right here," he heard from in front of him.

Luke opened his left eye in time to see a very fast, and very pissed off Wolvrun run up on him. In a panic he swung his rifle at the wolf, pulling the trigger in the heat of the moment. The shot left the muzzle haphazardly, echo ringing through the valley once more.

There was a loud yelp that came from the wolf. He had hit him. The Equin blinked rapidly, surprised. As he was about to eject the shell and reload, the wolf was finally on top of him. The heavy boot of the Wolvrun came down on the rifles muzzle, knocking the butt straight into the horse's jaw.

Luke scrambled backwards as fast as he could, grabbing the pistol on his hip firing straight up into the wolf. Blood splattered across his face as his bullets pierced through the wolf's chest. The Wolvrun didn't stop, despite the onslaught of lead. The two blood red orbs that had replaced the Wolvrun's eyes danced towards the horse in a demonic glow.

The wolf growled viciously as he grabbed the horse by the throat. For being nearly twice the size of the dog, he was lifted into the air with ease. The Wolvrun slammed him into the ground, holding him flush with the cold dirt as he dragged him forcefully through the brush. The twigs and rocks from below dug into the back of the horse as he was pushed, causing the Equin to scream in a shrill whinny.

The Wolvrun lifted him again, this time throwing him into the nearest tree. The bark crunched and snapped as the horse was embedded into the coarse wood. The stallion stifled a cough as the wind rushed from his lungs. The tight grip he held on his pistol loosened and his gun dropped to the ground. It crunched in a muffled tone as it landed on the twigs and leaves below.

His vision was closing in on itself. The black haze of unconsciousness flooding over him. In front stood the white wolf, covered in blood, panting heavily. In the wolf's eyes were a blood driven fire.

"Why are you trying to kill me, you worthless Palfrey?" The Wolvrun asked, wiping blood from his muzzle.

'Palfrey?' he thought to himself, 'who the hell is he calling a Palfrey?' It wasn't often that the horse heard the derogatory word. It was antiquated. The last time he had heard it was when he was a mere colt, listening to the stories of his grandfather.

Blood pooled beneath the Wolvrun as his clothes became quickly soaked. He looked pale. He knew that he had hit him, multiple times even, yet the wolf was still standing, speaking casual as if the wounds he received were nothing.

"I'll ask again, horse, why are you trying to kill me?" The wolf spoke, lifting the long jaw of the Equin with a blood stained paw. The red orbs he possessed stared straight into his golden brown eyes. There were no pupils. There was no white. The eyes glowed red, an evil, hate filled red.

The horse chuckled as best as he could through the pain, "you blew up my drone."

The red glow slowly sunk away, receding into the corner of his eyes before it completely disappeared. The eyes were replaced with a blue-green that swirled slowly, interchanging with itself.

"Seems pretty petty to kill someone over a drone," the wolf replied.

"It was my favorite drone," the Equin laughed.

The Wolvrun released the horses jaw from his grip, letting the long face sag on its own. He stepped away, turning his back towards the horse. He looked back down at the entrance to the ship. Aietos and Talrean were still behind cover.

"I guess a better question to ask, would be, who hired you?" the wolf turned, looking at the horse once more.

"Why does it matter? You're going to kill me whether I tell you or not."

"And why would you think that?"

It was odd how sincere the wolf sounded to him. Perhaps there was a chance that he could get out of this situation, but he was going to have to be quick thinking if he was going to pull it off.

"Krugar, on Pnushalbor," The horse replied bluntly.

The Wolvrun scratched his chin curiously, "never heard of him."

"Heh," the horse scoffed.

"So, why does this Krugar want me dead?"

"He doesn't, he wants you captured alive."

"Alive? Then why are you trying to kill me?" The wolf turned, questioning him with a tilted head.

"You blew up my favorite drone..." the horse replied.

There was a long moment of silence. The wolf stared at the horse, eyes squinted in a confused curiosity. Moments later he burst into laughter. Tears rolled down his cheeks coating his fur. The Wolvrun had his stomach clenched as he curled over in the uncontrollable laughter. Luke joined in awkwardly, laughing as best as he could. Without warning his vision closed in on him. The sound of laughter faded.

When his eyes came open he was staring at a flat metal ceiling. His ears flicked to the monotonous buzzing sound that reverberated slightly. He clicked his teeth as he turned his head.

"Yup... Captured," The horse sighed as he looked at the bars of his cell. He clicked his teeth in disappointment.

The Equin slowly turned his head back to the ceiling. He wasn't dead, that was a plus. Why was he kept alive though? He sat up, struggling against the snug bandages wrapped around his waist. Being patched up raised his curiosities even more. Perhaps he wasn't condemned to death...

The soft hiss of a door cycling sounded nearby. He heard a metallic slide followed by the clumping of footsteps approaching him from down the hall. Seconds later the white Wolvrun, his captor, strolled into view, stopping for only a brief moment to glance at the horse before he walked further on down the hall. Without saying a word he left.

It was odd, but it wasn't the first time that Luke had encountered a prison cell. Just "The Guard" doing his rounds. The horse did find it strange that the ship captain himself was doing the rounds though. Surely with a ship this size the other crew members should be monitoring him... Assuming he had been moved and imprisoned on the large ship.

His ears flicked curiously as they picked up a peculiar sound. It wasn't dissimilar to nails on a chalk board. The loud screeching grew and grew until he heard the sound of a door once more. The metallic whine echoed through his cell as it traveled closer. The banshee wail piercing through his sensitive ears as they flittered nervously on their own.

The Wolvrun had appeared before him once more, dragging a heavy metal chair. Finally, as if an act of mercy, the wolf stopped, setting the chair across from his cell. The wolf sat down, crossing his legs in a queer fashion. His eyes fell upon the horse as he smiled awkwardly.

"I see you're awake," the Wolvrun said, folding his arms across his chest.

Luke, even as professional as he was, couldn't even remotely take the wolf's comment seriously. Anyone would be awake after the onslaught of sound he was just forced to endure. The Equin turned his head slowly, locking eyes with the Wolvrun. The wolf's demeanor changed to one of much more severity.

"Lu Kan Shengst," The Wolvrun spoke, "You've got an impressive background. You know that?"

Luke's ears flicked quickly atop his head. He sucked on his teeth curiously as he let the wolf continue on with whatever point he was trying to make.

"Ex-Military... Impressive Service Record... Force Recon," the Wolvrun continued, "... Sniper Brigade... Omni Corp Intelligence."

The last one caused his ears to abruptly stop. The Wolf smiled wryly.

"According to official record you left the service with an Honorable Discharge... moved to Shang... became a mercenary," The Wolvrun shifted his legs, resting his elbows on his knees as he glared at the caged Equin.

"...but that's not entirely true is it?"

Luke clicked his tongue as he sucked on his large, bucked incisors. His eyes furrowed with disdain as he looked over the Wolvrun on the other side of the bars.

"Enough beating around the bush, Wolf. What do you want from me?" The horse questioned, kicking his legs up in much the same manner that the wolf had before, crossing his arms across his chest as well.

"I'm curious," the wolf replied, "why did you miss when you took that first shot on me?

The question came to him with much surprise. He thought his answer over for a minute before finally deciding to answer.

"You... You were staring right at me... I was almost a mile away. I could tell you had seen me, but how? You made me second guess my shot. No one has ever done that before."

For some reason he felt that telling the truth was the best course of action. The truth... that wasn't something Luke was used to giving up.

"How did you see me? How is that even possible?"

The wolf smiled, "Your scope... I could see the Night Vision glimmer. I was surprised. Night Vision is antiquated technology. I picked up on how to see that wave length years ago... Now Infrared... that I haven't figured out yet. Why did you not choose an IR Scope? Seems to me like a rookie mistake, and I know you are no rookie."

It was a backhanded compliment, sure, but a compliment none-the-less. Luke almost smiled to the irony of it all. After all, he had thought almost the same thing as he was peering down the scope itself.

"I had equipped my only IR sensor to my drone," The Equin retorted, "you blew up my drone."

The Wolf chuckled, "I guess the rumors are true... When you're deep under cover with O.C.I, you're on your own. You couldn't pick a more profitable cover career? Something to help fund the necessary equipment?"

"Heh," The horse scoffed, "I picked what I'm good at. What I enjoy."

"So, you enjoy killing people?"

"No... I enjoy hitting my target. I never miss."

"I guess that's not entirely true now either, is it?"

The Wolf had him there. Up until that point he could confidently claim that he never missed his target. The Wolvrun ship captain was the first time he had ever whiffed on a shot. Ever since he was a Colt.

"I may have missed on my first shot, but I hit you every shot after... In fact, how in the hell are you here right now? How are you even alive?" The horse's eyes furrowed as he sat up, scanning over the Wolvrun's body for wounds, bandages, or anything that would have indicated anything short of a miracle.

The devilish grin on the wolf's face grew as he smirked.

"That's not how I remember it. I must have hit your head pretty hard if you want to believe that you shot me. Multiple times no less," he replied.

Luke's ears began to flick curiously again. His thoughts swirled in his head as he tried to recall the events that had happened. The more he thought about it the more they became fuzzy.

"Huh...," he said out loud.

His head had begun throbbing. The pounding of his heart pushed blood into his skull like the beat of a tribal drum. The beat pounded intensely, spreading to right behind his eyes. Involuntarily his lungs pumped rapidly, sending him into hyperventilation.

"What...what the hell--"

The pupils in the horse's eyes dilated, flooding his iris with the deep black darkness. He slumped over in one last shallow breath as the beating filled his entire head. His eyes forced themselves closed. There was nothing. No beating. No pain.

When his eyes came open he was staring at a flat metal ceiling. His ears flicked to the monotonous buzzing sound that reverberated slightly. He clicked his teeth as he turned his head.

The Wolvrun ship captain was sitting in a chair across from him. Cell bars separated the two. When he turned his head the wolf perked up to address him.

"You're finally awake. Good to see that I didn't bang you up too badly," the Wolvrun spoke, crossing his legs in a queer manor. The horse looked at him curiously.

He couldn't remember what had happened. His ears flicked atop his head rapidly as he tried hard to think back. The last he could remember was laying down atop a hill, eyes trained in on the entrance to the odd ship on the strange feral planet.

"I figured out why you're here. When we captured you we scoured your ship for as much data as we could find. I understand that you were hired to capture me alive and take me to a Rhintok named Krugar... I would like to make you a proposition. If you care to hear it," the Wolvrun spoke, uncrossing his legs and staring at the Equin with a sobering glare.

"Alright, Wolf. I'm listening," The horse replied.

The Wolvrun smiled.

"Whatever he has paid you, I will pay double for you to break the contract against me."

"If I take you up on this offer, Krugar is just going to hire someone else to come after you. He'll also hire someone to come after me for breaking contract. Your money isn't worth that," Luke replied, clicking his tongue against his teeth snarkily.

"I'm not done with my proposition yet, hear me out," The wolf quickly retorted, "I'll pay you double... and I want to hire you myself. 500,000 credits up front. One million when the job is complete."

The Equin whinnied loudly, tears rolling down his face as he chortled wildly. The Wolvrun tilted his head curiously at the horse and frowned.

"What is so funny?"

After a few more seconds of laughter the horse settled down, every breath stuttered with a half-chuckle.

"Your credits are no good, why do you think I'm here in the first place? You somehow bypassed credit verification."

"Ahh... That... I had a feeling you might have been concerned about that. Go ahead and check your bank. I'll let you think it over for a minute while you do."

Luke squinted his eyes as he raised his wrist up, lifting his other hand to click on the little screen. His eyes widened as the secure connection confirmed and his banking information displayed. There on the screen was his transaction history. There was a deposit for 85,000, the money Krugar had paid him for this contract. A small transaction from a local bar for 400 credits. 1200 at the Shang trading post. 5600 where he fueled up his ship. Below that were two more deposits, both posted and fully processed. The first was for 170,000 credits. The second, 500,000. The Equin lowered the little computer and grinned.

"Well, wolf, you have me convinced. I'll only do it on one condition though," The horse sat up, connecting eyes with the curious Wolvrun, "I want my drone replaced. You blew up my favorite drone you dog prick bastard."

The Wolvrun stood up, the frown on his face turning to a sly grin. The cell bars lowered into the floor. He extended his paw to the horse. The Equin grabbed it in a firm grasp, whinnying in a low tone.

"You have a deal, horse. Next planet we land on should have a good enough market to replace your drone."

The two shook hands to the agreement, both had the same slick grins plastered across their face, like brothers making nice in front of their parents after a fight. For the moment the conflict was over, but both of them knew to watch their back for any trickery.

"I'm Nephadius by the way. Nephadius Stratus. It's a pleasure doing business with you," the Wolvrun stated, before removing his hand from the horses grasp.

"I'm Lu Kan. Lu Kan Shengst. Just call me Luke though, all those damn Terrans do and I'll admit, the name has stuck with me," The Equin replied.

Nephadius grinned, "Make yourself at home Luke. It'll be a bit before we land. We're half way to the UnGaire Sector."

The Wolvrun began to walk away, back down the hallway. He stopped and turned around, looking back at the Equin.

"Oh, and fair warning, be cautious of my other crewmates. There is another Wolvrun on the ship. Sand colored kid. A bit skittish...try not to frighten him. I don't need to clean up any puddles the pup might accidently make."

Luke snickered at the warning.

"...and if you value your life, avoid the bird woman at all costs. If she decides to kill you there is nothing I can do. If you do encounter her though...," Nephadius thought it over for a second, "actually, just try to avoid encountering her at all."

The Wolvrun left, leaving the horse to ponder his situation. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He clicked his teeth together, walking back into the cell and grabbing his cowboy hat that laid at the foot of the bunk. Placing it on top of his head his ears flickered rapidly through the slits. As he looked around the cell he noticed his pistol belt laying on top of a nearby dresser. He went over and picked it up, slinging it back onto his hip. In a swift motion he pulled it out, spinning the six shooter cylinder, clicking it open. As he went to flip the cylinder back into place his eyes caught the subtle hammer indentation printed into five of his six bullets. He curiously removed the cartridges. Much to his surprise, most of his bullets had been spent.

"Huh?"

The horse pressed his pinky into the exposed rear of the barrel. When he pulled it back out he inspected it closely. There was a faint black layer of gunpowder that had transferred to the hairs on his finger. He stared at it. He hadn't fired his gun since he last cleaned it, and he always cleaned it before a commission and after use.

He tossed the spent cartridges into the corner of the cell, spinning the cylinder before slamming it back into the locked position. Leaving the pistol in a state of roulette was much more exciting anyways. While he was curious as to what had happened, he wasn't sure if he was going to get an answer any time soon. The Equin shrugged before turning around.

Luke walked into the hall, following the direction that the Wolvrun left.