FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Rick led Spark through the crowded hangar, stopping briefly to show their papers to security before leading her out into the main concourse of the station. Spark was overwhelmed as she stepped through the crowds, her previous owner had never brought her on his travels so the largest crowd she was accustomed to was that of the moderate staff at her previous home. She moved closer to Rick as the crowds thickened and gasped as they stepped out into the main station. The station was designed as a giant barrel rotating on the central axis, the entire inner wall covered with buildings. Spark looked up above her, the city stretching out in the distance to curve up over her head and back down again with apparently no end to it. Rick let Spark look around a bit as they entered the station, stepping to one side to keep out of the main path of moving bodies heading in and out of the hangar. After a minute or two he gave her paw a squeeze to get her attention. "So, where do you want to go first? We need to get you some new clothes and I know this great restaurant that serves the best fish you ever tasted, supposed to have been shipped frozen all the way from earth but I have my doubts on that part." He smiled at her, chuckling softly as her ears perked up excitedly at the mention of fish. Spark thought over her options carefully, having been on a mostly nutrient bar diet had been hard, especially after nearly dying from starvation in the pod not even a week ago. She looked down at the outfit she was wearing and again sighed, her clothing not standing up well to the work she had been doing with Rick in the cargo bay. Her old outfit had a number of small tears and snags all over it from random encounters with twisted bits of metal and other abrasive structures. Finally making her decision she decided to go get a new outfit first before filling her belly. She looked up at Rick and nodded, mewling and gesturing to her clothing with a bit of an embarrassed look on her face. Rick nodded back and began leading her towards the clothing outfitter, having gotten used to her non-speech patterns but still saddened at the reason behind it. He decided right then that if they were to work together, he would have to do something about that. Besides, he could tell from the one time she had spoken that she had a nice voice, but he also knew how much pain she went through to use it and he didn't want that for her, especially since he was beginning to enjoy her company.

Spark followed Rick through the streets, the crowds thinning considerably as they left the hangar behind. After a while Rick let go of her paw but she just reached up and took hold of his hand, causing him to look down at her a moment before taking her paw again, a hint of a smile creeping over his face as they walked. Finally, the two of them arrived at the clothing outfitter, a very tall Twilexian standing behind the counter. The creature turned towards them as they entered, apparently recognizing Rick and chittering a greeting into a translator that came out roughly as "Welcome friend human, greetings be to you." Spark had never seen a Twilexian before, the creature before her reminding her a bit of a cross between a reptile and an insect. Thick-scaled stubby legs intersecting a long slender thorax and almost insect like head with compound eyes and antennae. Three sets of arms one set wielding what could be construed as three fingered hands while the other two pairs ended in long serrated claws similar to those of a praying mantis. The creature, noticing her behind Rick, chittered a question into the translator, two of the claw-like appendages rubbing together as it spoke. "Unexpected is this, friend human. Gift bring for Klixxt? Lunch perhaps?" Rick shook his head "No Klixxt, she is not lunch. I need you to fit her for some clothes. I will give you the details after you take her measurements but she is strictly off limits, you hear me?" Klixxt bobbed its head in acceptance, stepping quickly over to Spark and looking her over. "Much work, extra modifications needed, yes? You have payment for Klixxt?" Rick nodded and pulled out a data pad, typing a few things into it before handing it over to the Twilexian who bobbed its head again in acceptance. Spark herself was cowering behind Rick, trying to keep him between herself and this creature that undoubtedly would rather be eating her than fitting her for a new wardrobe. She mewled softly at Rick, gripping his pant leg tightly though she was careful not to dig her claws into the fabric. Rick looked down at Spark and scratched behind her ears gently, having found out that she not only enjoyed that but that it also had a calming effect on her. "It's ok Spark, I'll go in with you if you want while you get fitted, but only if you want me to." Her answer was an immediate happy mewl and a vigorous nod, her grip loosening a bit. He smiled and led her into the back of the shop, Klixxt following along and stepping behind a console to work the controls of the scanner.

The scanning room was about the size of a large shower stall, approximately 5 feet by 5 feet with a small changing bench along one wall. Rick sat down on the bench, instructing Spark to remove her outer clothing but she could keep her undergarments on if she wanted the privacy, they shouldn't interfere with the scan. Spark began to remove her clothes, blushing as she had long since forgone the hassle of extra layers, setting them neatly in a pile beside Rick before moving as instructed into the center of the small space. The scanning lasers left a tingling sensation in her fur as they took her measurements, spark having to concentrate hard to keep her tail from twitching as the lasers passed over her not wanting to disrupt the scan. Spark seemed to think that the scan was taking forever, though in actuality it only took about 45 seconds. Finally, the beams shut off and Rick was handing her a small robe to wear. "I'll be outside working out the details with Klixxt, come join us when you are finished here and we will see what he can do for you here." Rick then left, Spark slipping into the robe before carefully gathering her old clothes and following him out the door. When she emerged, she was surprised to see a number of holographic images of herself along the far wall, each dressed in a different outfit. Apparently, Rick had told Klixxt to design a few of the outfits after his own style of dress, but a few of the others were a bit more embarrassing. Spark walked over to the images, looking them over curiously.

The first four looked to be standard work coveralls, styled after Rick's own design. She motioned Rick over and pointed to the back of the image, the current design pressing harshly up under the tail area. She then showed him her old outfit, letting him see the clasp in the back that would fit around the tail. Rick nodded and went back over to stand beside Klixxt, the images changing to fit the new modification. Spark smiled and then picked out two of the four work outfits, the other two vanishing as the designs were discarded. She then moved on to the next set of outfits, looking over the more formal looking designs and pointing out small changes to Rick who then relayed them to Klixxt. Once she had a design that she liked she then moved on to the more embarrassing designs, those of her undergarments. Quickly discarding a number of designs, she cycled the last unit through the various styles until she found what she wanted. Rick watched as spark made her selections, adding a quantity to each item after she had finalized the selection. Moments later, small bundles emerged from the synthesizer, Spark's new outfits ready to be worn. Taking one of the bundles, Spark disappeared back into the scanning room while Rick paid for the work. When she finally emerged, dressed in her new clothes Klixxt was gone. Rick looked her over curiously, watching as she turned a slow circle before him playfully to show off her new outfit. The design was a simple sleeveless top, attached around the neck leaving the back open though covering the entirety of her chest. The lower half of the design was near form fitting to reduce the possibility of snags, running from her waist just above her tail to end above her ankles, the entire outfit colored a light blue with Rick's ship logo over the left breast. Rick nodded his approval, spark scampering to retrieve the rest of the bundles, her old clothes carefully folded and placed on the top of the pile. Rick took the bundles from her and on the way out, handed them to Klixxt to deliver to their ship. Once outside, Rick picked Spark up and carried her across town, taking the express railway to the restaurant.

Spark held on tight to Rick as he carried her through the vast city of a station, falling asleep in his arms on the railway as they headed to the restaurant. Rick held her close, ignoring the glances he got from a few of the other passengers on the railway. Finally arriving at their destination, Rick gently roused Spark before stepping inside to reserve a private table. The waiter inside gave a strange look in Spark's direction before leading Rick to a small table in the corner. Once Rick was seated, the waiter handed him a menu before speaking "Shall I take your pet to the waiting area sir? I assure you it will be well taken care of while you enjoy your meal." Spark frowned, baring her teeth a little at the comment, not wanting to be thought of as just someone's pet but before she could say anything Rick spoke first. "No, and bring my friend here a menu as well, I will take all responsibility for her actions." The waiter just sighed and produced another menu, this one a child's picture menu. Spark took the menu, forcing herself to hide her anger until the waiter had left. Once he was gone, she set the menu down and looked up at Rick who immediately handed her his menu, having already decided what he wanted to order. She looked the menu over quickly, finding what she wanted and pointing out her selection to Rick who just smiled and nodded "I knew you would pick that, the way you lit up when I mentioned the fish here to you earlier." When the waiter returned Rick placed their orders, the waiter a bit surprised that both orders were from the conventional menu though he said nothing. The rest of the meal went by somewhat uneventfully, the waiter apparently taking the hint and not bringing up again that spark was anything but a regular customer. Spark herself wanted to launch into the food once it arrived, the smells coming from the heaping plate before her making her mouth water but she forced herself to eat slowly and calmly, taking extra care to show good manners and prove herself to the other humans around her. After the meal was over, Rick gave Spark a tour around the station on the railway, their trip ending at one of the small secluded park gardens.

Rick sat on a bench and watched as Spark played in the grass, letting her work off all the energy she had built up in the ship knowing that she needed the break from their usual activities as much as he did. While Spark played, Rick busied himself going over the information on his data pad from the buyer, closing the deal and setting up a delivery schedule. Looking through the job listings he found three transport jobs that looked promising and even an offer for an authorized salvage operation out in the Antares asteroid belt. Saving the listings in a folder he then began searching for something more important. His search pulled up two listings on station, one a very familiar name. Closing out the data pad, Rick called out to Spark that they were leaving and headed back towards the railway, waiting at the corner for Spark before taking her paw and leading her towards the railway once again, though this time he had a surprise for her once they arrived at their destination. He only hoped that she would thank him for this in the end and not hate him or hold it against him.