FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 10

"You won't mind if I try out my new camera do you?" The white furred fox asked behind me. I looked down at the wheelchair bound fox looking up at me, he had a particular mischievous foxy smile on his lips.

I have a bad feeling about this.

"Go ahead, it'll make me happy knowing you'll be using a camera brought from one of our stores." I smiled back at him, hoping it wouldn't discourage him. So far Ian had shown little reactions to my... unusually scary appearance. For which I am grateful for.

The doors to the book shop Ian had suggested opened up as we approached and we went inside. Right in front of us was two cash registers behind a counter, both of which were manned by a sales clerk and both of them greeted us with bright smiles.

"Welcome to the Book Corner! Would you like some-... Oh Mister Hodges!" The lioness sales clerk manning one of the stations started on the typical greeting, but cut herself short when she saw the white fox roll up next to me.

"Ian! How nice ta' see you, wacha got there hun?" An orange tabby cat girl who stood beside the lioness behind the counter tilted with her whole torso to the side and looked at Ian with her head held vertically. What an odd girl this was, not acting as a sales clerk should at all.

"This right here? Oh you poor sod, you've never seen a camera before? Oh dearie me..." Ian clicked with his tongue, sighing hopelessly and looked around with his camera, but I could feel it landed upon me more than once as he recorded. Am I that interesting of a subject? Maybe he's recording a horror movie, heh... I'd fit right in that subject.

"Shucks Ian, writin' not 'nuff for ya innit? Now you gotta make movies also?" The orange striped cat rubbed the back of her head, grinning widely. Not that I didn't want to interrupt this heartwarming reunion, but I didn't enjoy being left out. Clearing my throat loudly, the two clerk girls looked at me, acknowledging that I'm standing right beside the wheelchair-bound fox.

"Uhm... Not going to introduce your friend Mr. Hodges?" Flicking her tuff-tipped lion tail, the lioness straightened her posture and puffed out her chest in a feeble attempt to use her female charms on me. Oh girl, I'm not so lecherous that I'd openly stare at woman's bust. Hmm... they're not even that impressive to begin with.

"This is Matthew Sanders. Matt, this is Irene and Lola." Pointing to first the lioness and then to the orange tabby Ian introduced me to the pair, and they bowed as he did so and of course I returned the greetings with my own bow.

"Matt here is looking for the first book in my series in fact, and I thought I'd lend him a hand in acquiring one... "At the mention of someone looking to buy something, Irene the lioness lit up in a bright smile and eagerly flicked her tail side to side.

"But of course! I'll go fetch one right away, it'll just take a second." The lioness up and left in a jiffy, leaving the three of us remaining. Taking a moment I looked around the book store, it was surprisingly big, and yet cozy. The lightning was just right that you could take a book from one of the shelves and take a seat in one of the armchairs nearby to read it.

"Say Ian. Anythin' ya wod like us ta' know 'bout yer book signing? I know Brandy's already spoken with yer manager 'bout it, but sum last minute demand purrhups?" Lola purred towards the end of her sentence, occasionally looking between the fox and I. She must be enjoying the view...

"Nah, I'm good Lola. You're already making me have a great time already now. Where's Andy? I want to say hello." Ian sounded most amused, and looking down at him I could see a poorly hidden grin behind the camera held in front of his muzzle.

"Oh he's arun'... Yo Andy!" Lola half shouted, no doubt scaring the shit out of some customers lingering around the store. Hm...This shop sure was laid back in staff management, not that I was complaining or anything. A friendly environment was essential to any kind of store, and I guess a more down to earth attitude worked better for books than for tech.

"Whut?" A white furred rabbit poked his head out from behind some shelves, his large ears had multiple studs in them in the whole color spectrum. His ears stood right up, twitching as he looked to Lola behind the counter, and then he looked to see me... and then Ian. And then back to me.

"Uhhh, Ian. Wow. I did not expect to see you in here, uhh..." Andy was looking more at me than the fox as he spoke, walking up to us it was like he couldn't take his eyes off me.

"Oh you know how I just -Love- to surprise people... Andy this is Matthew Sanders, Matt this is Andy Burges. He's a... acquaintance." Ian mused like he was sitting on the biggest secret of the century, and judging by the rabbit's facial expression that previous statement was probably true. Andy looked like he'd seen a ghost, and he kept looking between me and Ian, who was still recording all of this with his new camera.

"Pleasure, Mr. Burges." Extending a paw hoping for a paw shake, I had to wait for a moment before the bunny seemed to realize what I wanted and he grasped my paw and shook it hesitatingly.

"Uhh, likewise Mr. Sanders... It's a real honor." Andy seemed most out of it, and his eyes trailed down my body and glanced to the side to give Ian a stare. Looking between the two I didn't really understand what they were doing, maybe some secret language or whatnot... Retracting my paw to my sides I could see Irene returning to her cash register.

"Pardon me." I grunted out, moving around the stunned white bunny and approached the cash register where the lioness was ringing up the purchase and reached for a plastic bag to put the book in.

"That'll be $19.99." Irene's eyes trailed over my paw as I extended my card to her, and up my arm... Hrmm, there's been an awful lot of staring since I ran into the arctic fox. As she proceeded with the finalization of the sale I realized I had begun wafting my tail side to side. Damn it. I was so used to being stared at because of my scary appearance, that whenever someone stared at me and was _fascinated_with any aspect of me, I became excited. Or at least my tail did.

At least it wasn't some certain human complimenting my appearance, that guy made me feel as a young high-schooler again.

Humf...

"Thanks for shopping at the Book Corner, hope you'll enjoy the book and we hope to see you again Mr. Sanders." Irene smirked all seductive like, eyeing me up one last time as I reach out to accept the now bagged book.

"Hrmm... we'll see. Have to find the time to read this first." For emphasis I gave the plastic bag a slight rustle before I put it down the brown paper bag I was carrying. "First then I might come back to buy the others." Flashing a slight smile to her I turned and walked away from the counter. Looking up I noticed the white bunny had vanished and only Ian remained by the door still recording. Occasionally his fluffy fox tail would flick in his lap, and with his unoccupied paw he'd move his wheelchair around with surprising ease, or should I perhaps say that would be expected. I had no doubt he'd been in that thing for a long time, but I wasn't just going to ask him outright.

That would be considered rude.

"Where'd your friend go?" Taking a look around I couldn't see Andy anywhere, it's like he evaporated or something.

"Who? Oh Andy, right. He went back to work, I only wanted to say hi to him anyway, hehe." Ian let out a low snicker, follow my every step with his camera. One could think he's never seen a wolf before.

"If you say so, then I suppose you won't mind if we leave to grab some lunch?" I scratched my chin when I asked him, trying to think of where the best place to get food inside the mall. Did they have anything beside fast food restaurants in here?

"Of course, of course. Do you have any place in mind?" Ian asked, following me out into the mall once again. Casting looks down each way all I saw was different kind of shops and the occasional stall merchant.

"Hmm... Not exactly. I rarely stop for food while I'm here, and when I do I only grab a quick bite. Now however I have a hunger for some more proper food." I mumbled, and to punctuate that I spoke the truth my stomach rumbled rather loudly.

Feeling embarrassed I put a paw over my belly and folded my ears back slightly. Can't believe that would happen in front of a new acquaintance like this...

"That's alright, I have the -perfect- place in mind where you can get the most delicious meat in town if that tickles your fancy, Matt." Ian mused in his silky smooth voice, rolling forward a short distance. "We have to leave the mall though, but it's just across the street."

"I won't mind." I said, tailing after the arctic fox. I'm still wondering what came over me to ask this stranger for lunch, and even more surprised he accepted my invitation. Sure I'm a very social wolf, I love to interact with others and really get to know them. But appearance-wise it was like my appearance put any interaction on expert level, as most furs would get intimidated easily.

"So what can you tell me about this book of yours? I didn't just buy some erotica did I?" I chuckled, stepping along next to Ian. He was rather fast on his wheelchair even if he only was using one paw to roll his wheels with.

"Hmm... well I don't want to spoil any, but I'll give you a brief summary of it if you want." Ian cleared his throat, looking up at me, camera rolling. "It's about a group of misfits who has to raise an army of mythological creatures and outcasts to reclaim the throne for the main character's friend. And along the way they learn a lot about themselves... The rest you'll have to find out on your own."

"Oh so it's fantasy genre then?" I inquired, twitching my ears slightly.

"...Sure, let's go with that. Yeah fantasy, among other things... *Ahem* So, -Mr. Sanders-, just how far up the corporate ladder are you in Rosewood Tech?" And again Ian got that gleaming foxy grin on his muzzle, and making doubly sure he's capturing every second of it.

Why does it suddenly feel like I'm being interviewed by a reporter?

"In the Rosewood division I sit at the very top of the ladder, and sharing the power with the other divisions around America and overseas. We're a rather big corporation, and I couldn't possibly handle it all by myself." We came to a stop outside the mall, waiting to cross the street. On the other side I could see a fairly large parking lot, and a fancy looking building behind it, with large wooden letters reading 'The Lounge'.

...

Seems promising.

"Well that's cool, I have to say you drive some very professionally run shops. At least in the shops I've been to, heh." Ian mused, putting the camera in his lap so he could use both arms to roll forward while we crossed the road. And once on the other side he picked it up again as we neared the entrance to the restaurant.

"Why thank you, we always try to give our customers any help they require. Any kind of store would crumble if they didn't treat their customers properly." I gave my words a firm nod, stepping up to watch the glass doors at the entrance part automatically. We went inside to stop at another pair of glass doors, that didn't open until the ones behind us closed. Almost like a floodgate, this allowed for the restaurant to keep their indoor air fresh and air-conditioned.

"Welcome to the Lounge!" Inside we were greeted by a young looking leopard girl who had a warm smile on her muzzle. "Will that be a table for two, yes?" She asked while she reached for two menus from the counter behind her.

"Yes, a table for two please." I replied quick enough.

"Of course, and do you prefer smoking or non-smoking?" The leopard's tail flicked casually while she waited for an answer.

"Well I don't smoke, do you Ian?" Scratching my chin I looked down into the lens of the fox's camera.

"Nah, too much effort to go outside very hour to bum a smoke." Ian snuffed, giving his fox tail a flick of his own.

"Very well, if you would follow me gentlemen, and I will show you to your table." Gesturing with a paw she got us to follow her towards the more open spaced area of the restaurant, where she would lead us up to a table and prompt after leaving the menus she removed one of the chairs from the table and pulled it to the side.

"Here you are sir, please take your time to order and give that button on the table a tap when you're ready." She bowed out and left with the chair, carrying it through the restaurant to put it aside. Ian and I took our seats, in a manner of speaking. I sat down but he simply rolled in under the table and pulled in the brake.

Under a few minutes of silence we browsed our individual menus, not that I minded. It was a pleasant atmosphere inside the restaurant, there was a plenty few other customers sitting around tables and in booths up against the walls. Some even had living candles lit, and everybody generally seemed to have a good time.

The tasty smell in the air wasn't a negative either... Making my stomach rumble rather loudly once again. In shame I tucked in my tail against my leg and folded my ears backwards.

"Have you had -anything- to eat today Matt? Or are you always this hungry?" Ian chuckled lightly, closing his menu and lying it down on the table. The camera was sitting on the table, pointing right at me. Lens cap off, and the red light indicating that it was recording... Though I didn't call him on it. I'm sure whatever he's doing it will be harmless, and if not. Well then I'll just sue his tail off.

"What can I say, I'm a big guy. I require lots of fuel to function properly, else I just turn slow and sluggish." I grinned and twitched my wolf ears. "You've already decided on what to eat? I can't seem to make up my mind... there are so many interesting options to choose from." Scratching my chin I made a low 'hmm' sound.

"Well I've been here before a few times... hurm... So I already had an idea of what I wanted when we arrived. Personally I'd recommend their special, the entrecote is especially tasty and tender." Ian tilted his head slightly to the side with a smile playing on his muzzle. In the light of the restaurant the white furred fox had this particular glow around him that made him appear much more mischievous...

"Alright, I'll settle for that then." Looking over the options one last time I closed the menu with a nod and laid it on the table. Meanwhile Ian took the opportunity to push the big round button at the center of the table. Within seconds we had a... a... Gods' blessed fox waitress approach us. My god... No force on earth could have hindered me from stealing a glance at the waitresses' overly bulging bust. In fact, it would've been impossible to -not- look at them as they covered more than half of the front on the fox woman.

"Ian! You little rascal, why didn't you say you were-..." The reddish-furred fox waitress lit up in a big smile as she stopped by our table, but Ian cut her short with a slight cough.

"You know how I like surprises Alice, that's why I didn't say anything." Ian had a slight murr in his voice as he spoke, grin spreading even wider. "Let's get our orders down before we chat, hm?"

The well endowed fox woman clicked her tongue and whipped out her electric notepad. "Tch, spoilsport. Alright then, what're you having?" She glanced between Ian and I a couple of times, looking annoyed but her tail spoke differently. Swishing in an amused way.

"I'll have the salmon, and lemon water to drink." Ian said, licking his lips and flashing the other fox a fang filled grin.

"Of course you'd pick that..." She sighed slightly and turned to me. "And you sir?"

"I'll take your special, medium-rare, and a light beer." I gave my order, offering the fox lady a smile of my own. Though that only ended in her widening her eyes slightly and quietly punch in my order on her notepad. Eh... so much for charms...

"Right, a waiter will bring out your food soon. I'll go and get your drinks, please wait just a moment." She bowed out and slithered her way through the restaurant, carefully avoiding slapping the back of people's heads with her gigantic melons.

"So, you've only been here a few times, hm?" Perking my eyebrow I glanced over to the fox with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"For truth I have, I'm just easy to recognize." His words seemed sincere, but something about him just made me feel like I can't trust anything he says at this moment. Something is definitively off.

The fox waitress returned, gallantly balancing a tray with two glasses filled to the brim. Once at our table she put them down one after another, very slowly.

"So, Alice. What's Charming up to?" Ian's words certainly had an effect on the waitress. Her ears flicked several times and even her breasts jiggled violently during her ear twitches.

"He's in the back, crying over all the work Felicia left for him. Do you want me to tell him that you're here?" She narrowed her eyes, looking down at the white fox with a sense of... superiority.

"I would consider it a huge favor if you would do that Alice, thank you." Ian gave her a wink, and now the waitress also lit up in a crude grin, her white fangs showing slightly.

"It would be my pleasure Ian." She looked at me, smiled, and left.