FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

As I set foot onto the airship dock, I took a look around the landing, spotting the sailors working as a team alongside some of the Wycademy researchers to get the Great Maccao onto a cart. Likely, the researchers were going to bring the monster to their lab or study or whatever they have, and do their little experiments. I wasn't much interested in the ins and outs of what they were planning for the beast, but that all being the same, it did make me wonder why they needed it captured alive.

Probably best not to dwell on it, I told myself.

As the monster was carted off into the Wycademy building, I made my way down the dock and back towards Bherna's central square, where I found the familiar red-bearded Chief waiting for me. I don't know how he had managed to get there ahead of me, especially with that cane and limp of his, but there he was.

I must have had the question plastered on my face, because Chief took one look at me approaching and stated, “I see this old man can still surprise the younger generation at times, eh?" He wore a wolfish grin, showing off plenty of teeth in the process.

Giving a small nod, I then asked him, “So, what's my next job?" My words may have come out a bit faster than I intended, eager to go back out and hunt again.

His mouth opened wide and he let out a roar of a laugh. “Got your first taste of the hunt and already want more?"

“What kind of hunter would I be if I didn't?"

A hand came up, grasped at empty air, and he responded, “Fair enough, my boy." The hand gestured over to the quest counter and the girl sitting there. “I've taken the liberty to write up a good list of jobs and such for you. With that alpha captured, I have a feeling the pack won't take too kindly to their missing leader, and we do need that field base fixed up to a useable state."

“So, thin the herd a bit?"

A simple nod came as an answer. “Now, as I said, there is a list of things to do. See to them in your own time, but do try to get them done at a reasonable pace, of course." With that, he shambled off back towards the Wycademy offices. And seeing him limp made me again question how he managed to get to the hub square before me.

Chancing a look around, I tried to spot my little black and white felyne partner. The last time I spotted her, she was staring off the side of the airship's bow. I really wanted to apologize for the awkward scenario earlier, but had been a little too embarrassed to do it before. Now back home and with the proper confidence to ask forgiveness, I wondered where she'd gone.

After Chief's departure, I made my way to my little apartment. However, the aches and pains once dulled by the potion were now slowly coming back piece by piece and slowing my stride. Each step sent a shock of pain up through my feet, spreading out throughout my whole body. I swiftly pulled out another bottle of the green stuff and ripped the cork out with my teeth before downing the contents in seconds. Soon enough, the dulling sensation returned, the pain leaving me. For the most part.

Walking by the forge, I saw Finley sitting back in his seat, feet propped up on a box of tools, with a copy of Hunter's Life in his hands. He seemed rather wrapped up in some article or other, as I could see his eyes scanning the same page a few times over. The front cover had some blurbs I could make out. The gunlance and you! Ancient potions, and why kelbi horns? And my favorite one, Making your poogie the fashion prince/princess. When I moved closer, though, Finley took notice and lowered the magazine.

“Arland," he greeted me with a short bow of his bald head. “Heard your first hunt went well."

With one brow raised, I asked, “How? We just got back."

The blacksmith's wide shoulders came up in a shrug and he offered his explanation. “When people saw your flare, it meant either you completed your hunt, or you were in some serious shit and needed help. And considering you're here and not in the med bay, pretty obvious you did good."

I saw through this little facade. “Next you'll tell me you knew I'd do it from the start."

“Nope." The magazine popped up high enough to cover the bottom half of his face. “I thought you'd get something bitten off, honestly. Probably a few fingers. Maybe a chunk outta your thigh."

Ok, so I guess I didn't see through shit.

“Well gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," I snarked and walked off, but not before seeing the bald forgeman raise a presumably equally sarcastic thumbs-up.

My feet dragged me inside the apartment, where I decided to see what other weapons were hiding within the big chest over in the corner. The lid creaked open and I was met with a sight that made no sense to me. The chest contained an entire line of iron made weapons; from the great sword all the way to the bowguns; all stacked up next to one another in a neat row. This shouldn't be possible, I told myself. The great sword alone should have been too big to fit within, not to even mention the longsword or the insect glaive. My mind felt a bit busted trying to figure out how this chest worked.

“It doesn't add up, does it?"

I whipped my head around to greet the owner of that familiar soft voice. A small black cat with white oblong splotches randomly decorating her fur stood by the door. Her armor and helmet were already left discarded on the floor, leaving the little felyne bare. Not even her preferred apron. I was able to see the large white mark on her chest once more, and the way it stretched out on the bottom left to almost touch her hip. But still, the most intriguing bit of white was the one circling her right eye. The pallid color made her right eye seem brighter than the left, making her eyes appear to be two different shades of blue.

Dainty little paw-feet sent her my way, where she looked down into the chest and clicked her tongue.

“Yeah, I've never been able to figure it out myself, to be honest," she stated before moving over to the large bed in the center and hopping up onto it. This allowed her to be only a foot shorter than me, so she didn't have to crane her neck so far just to look me in the eyes as she spoke.

After a silent moment that stretched on for half an eternity, I spoke, “I'm sorry about—"

She had cut me off, however. “You don't need to do that."

Still, I pushed on with, “Look, if what happened bothered you, I just want—"

“I said no," she interrupted me once again. Reaching out, she poked one tiny finger into my chest. “I don't wanna talk about it, so don't bother. Now, do me a favor and put this behind you, kay?"

With a deep sigh, I responded, “Put what behind me?" Then I flashed her a quick grin and put my fist out towards her. One of her own tiny fists rapped against mine and I saw the corners of her mouth curve up in response. If she didn't want to talk about it, that was fine. We'd only known each other for a few days, after all. She'd come around and explain in her own time, I imagined.

“So," she said, stretching both arms out far, leading to a sort of popping noise from her joints, “we ready for a second quest today?" Twin fuzz-covered wrists moved in slow circles causing simultaneous loud pops to shout from the bones which was followed by a low, satisfied hum from the spotted cat. I was actually kinda jealous she could so easily crack her joints.

After more envy over Cerys's chiropractic skills--this time after witnessing her twisting her hips and hearing the crickle crackle of her spine—I opted to return to the weapons, still undecided on which to bring out next. The sword and shield were a nice combo for that great maccao, but I was wanting something different already. I'd gotten my fill of this one from my testing days. Every day, it was sword and shield practice, learning the tried-and-true methods of attacking with them, how to properly block an incoming strike to minimize as much damage to yourself as possible, so on and so forth.

It was more than enough to convince me that this was not my weapon of choice.

As I reached down inside the chest, my fingers brushed up against the cool metals and swiftly wrapped around the haft of one such object, pulling forth the smaller bowgun. It was a rifle design, all sleek and form functional, the stock nice and polished, almost mirror-like with how glossy it was. The bow itself was fixed in a horizontal position near the front, with the cocking lever at the right side. It was a nicely made piece. I mean, I imagined it was. I hadn't had any experience with bowguns before. I checked and saw a pouch underneath where it once lay; inside the sack was a plethora of ammunition. Excellent.

“Ahem." The soft voice of my felyne companion came out harsh in the moment. “I thought you promised to use the sword and shield." When I glanced behind me, I saw Cerys had fixed me with a narrow-eyed look, arms crossed over her fur covered chest.

I shrugged and let her words fall as I responded, “And I told you, I didn't want to use it too much. Had enough of it during my exam days. I wanna go for something…different." I lifted the bowgun up and ran a hand down the smooth surface, noticing the smudge marks my fingers left behind, defacing its polished body.

A click of her tongue, followed by, “Don't be so cocky. Just 'cause your first hunt went so well doesn't mean you know better." Her gaze moved over to the wall then, searching for something perhaps. I didn't know what she possibly saw over there, but she kept her focus at the wall. Eventually, the blue orbs returned to me and swept over the weapon in my hands.

“At least a bowgun will keep you out of harm's way," she mumbled. “Theoretically."

“Yeah, well, theocraticals notwithstanding, I'm choosing this for now." The bowgun had a leather strap attached to it, allowing me to slip my arm through and let the weapon hang on my back. It had only a slight weight to it, although that was to be expected, being a light bowgun and all. I then grabbed the pack of ammo and tied it off to my belt.

Making a swift check, I found myself more than ready to head out for another job, but I noticed my tiny friend had yet dressed herself in the armor once more. So, I asked her why the delay.

After another stretch and some more envious joint pops, she explained, “It's easier to crack my bones when I'm naked. Gives me a lot more freedom of movement, you see." She then fell back onto her rear and grasped one of her legs with both hands, pulling it straight up, with those little toe beans reaching up past her head. It was reminiscent of some kind of yoga maneuver I saw years ago. When she did so, she let out a pleasured moan, surely a result of performing this mini exercise.

This little show of hers had the unintended side-effect of having her shapely bottom once more presented to my eyes. And once more, I quickly averted my gaze out of politeness. Surely only for that reason. No possible way the muscular legs and thick round posterior of a palico could ever be tantalizing to a red-blooded hunter like myself. Certainly not.

She repeated the move with her other leg before hopping back off the bed and suiting back up in her armor. She gave one more contended little moan and then opened the door.

“Man, that feels so much better now," she purred. Like, actually purred as she spoke. “Got most of those knots out."

Changing topics, I said, “So, Chief said he's got a lot for us lined up over at the quest counter. One of the big ones is to help rebuild that encampment out in the Frontier."

Cerys's fuzzy little head bobbed in acknowledgement. “Let's see what they have on offer and take it by ear." She walked outside, forcing me to follow after her, and we made the short walk over to a familiar little desk across the hub square from our apartment.

The desk was situated inside a wide rectangular tent. Undoubtedly, this was to help whenever it rained, snowed, or whatever inclement weather happened to attempt to disturb the papers strewn atop the desk. Sitting in a too-large-for-her-size chair was a young wyverian lass, evident by the pointed ears as well as each of her hands only having four digits. Well, I say young, but it's never a guarantee with wyverians. My neighbor back home looked to be in her mid-to-late-thirties, but she had let it slip she was nearing her seventies. So, this quest girl's age was pretty up in the air.

I estimated the girl to be about a foot shorter than me, as the chair seemed to be rather average in make, yet the backside of it reached above the top of her head, while her feet weren't able to reach the ground. She was dressed in a sorta maid outfit, but blue with a checkerboard pattern on the skirt. She had curly brown hair that fell along both sides of her head, framing her face in a nice way. Y'know, if you're into wyverian girls who look young enough to land you in hot water.

Cerys and I approached the desk, at which point the lass perked up and a smile lit up her face.

“Good mo~orning, hunters!" she proclaimed, shooting up out of the chair and bouncing on the balls of her feet, hair curls hopping along with her.

“Well," Cerys called out with a small laugh, “aren't you rather chipper?"

The girl enthusiastically nodded her head, her hair flying about this way and that from the quick movements. “Of course I am," she said, her voice loud. Annoying. “Guild put me here a week ago, telling me a hunter would be along soon. And finally, you two show up, and the first thing you do after arriving is head out on a job, without coming to see me first." Her cheeks puffed out in anger and she stared daggers at us. Or at least, she tried to.

Hard to take her serious when she looked like a kid having a tantrum.

I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent the laugh I was containing from escaping before I offered my explanation. “Sorry, but Chief sorta insisted we handle his job. And what kind of hunter would I be if I ignored that kind of thing?"

Her cheeks deflated as she let out her held in breath. “Yeah, I get it," she mumbled. “Chief's hard to say 'no' to, huh? He's got that whole 'kind uncle' look about him, and you just don't wanna disappoint him."

“Well, I don't know about that."

“Anyway," she said, lengthening out the word to way more syllables than was needed. One four-fingered hand thrust out towards us. “Name's Cassie. Pleasure to be working with you going forward."

My little palico friend made the first move and grabbed Cassie's hand with both of her own, giving it a firm shake, saying, “Cerys. And this," she hooked a thumb my way after freeing herself from the handshake, “is Arland. Don't get too excited now, this is only his first official day on the job."

“Yeah, I heard the Guild sent fresh meat." The wyverian gal planted her hands on her knees and leaned forward, as if to help see me better or something. “He don't look like much of a hunter, so I guess that adds up."

“Hey!" I exclaimed, taking a step forward, spooking the girl into sitting back upright. “I'll have you know, my first job—"

“Yeah yeah, a capture mission, and you did splendid from what I hear." She waved her hand dismissively, but continued, “And boy oh boy, do we have a fine selection of quests lined up for you. Chief just dropped off the papers half an hour ago." One hand came up, shielded the side of her mouth, and she mock whispered, “Lots of busywork. Nothing fun."

I let out an exacerbated huff. “Figures as much."

I felt a small hand softly strike my hip, followed by the gentle voice of my cute kitty companion saying, “Oh come now. It's to be expected. You know not every job is gonna be hunting."

“I know, but the hunt was a lot of fun."

Cerys chuckled at my admittedly childish whine, bringing Cassie along with her, leaving me alone to feel a subtle warmth rising up my neck. As the feeling climbed into my cheeks, I let out an annoyed grunt and picked up a few papers from the wyverian's desk, hoping to distract from my own miniscule amount of shame.

Among the sheets in hand were some odd jobs; pick up a small collection of berries, bring back larinoth dung for study, grab some mushrooms for the felyne-run kitchen, and a few more. Seemed like Cassie wasn't lying about it being mostly busywork. Then again, if these jobs were specifically for me, then it must have been for a reason. After a quick second viewing, I made my choice about where we should start first.

“Good choice, brave hunter," Cassie said in barely disguised sarcasm. She then stamped the paper, but afterwards she smacked the side of her head and chuckled. “Silly me. Forgot to get your payment first."

“Payment?"

She nodded at my question. “Of course. You gotta pay traveling fees for the airship to take you to and from the Frontier."

“But we didn't pay for the last quest…?" I grumbled, reaching for the coin purse at my side.

A small fuzzy hand landed on my arm and Cerys said, “I got it." She reached her other hand up to the counter and dropped a fistful of zenny, the metal coins making a nice jingle jangle as they hit the hard wood in a heap.

After counting the coins out, Cassie happily deposited them into a little box she pulled out from under the desk. Once it was replaced, she beamed up at me and explained, “Last time was on the house. Chief's orders, so I heard."

“Probably didn't want to overwhelm the poor boy," Cerys stated, letting out another little laugh.

A long sigh left my lungs and I headed for the airship dock once more. It took a moment, but soon enough the little thump-thump of my palico companion's hurried steps caught up to me. For every two steps I gained, the little cat had to take almost triple the amount just to stay next to me. Noticing this, I hindered my speed, allowing Cerys to move at a more natural gait for herself.

“So," the little cat began once she caught her breath, “we're not doing the rebuilding first?"

I made a little noise and answered, “Figured we could wait to tackle it tomorrow. There was a lot of broken crap out there, and it sounds like it's supposed to be some kind of field base. So, that in mind, rebuilding's probably gonna take a while."

A soft scoff. “Look at you," she said, punching my hip, “using your head like a big hunter."

My armor-clad shoulders rose in a shrug. “Just seemed the most reasonable course of action." I held up the paper I'd taken from Cassie's desk. “Besides, doing a few simpler jobs would be a good time waster for the rest of the day, right?"

By the time we got back to the dock, the ship we took previously had departed, meaning we had to use one of the others. This second ship was run by felynes, it seemed, as there was not a single human or wyverian on board. The small cats were all dressed in tight form-fitting vests and what could only be described as pirate hats.

As if sensing my staring, one of the nearest cats, a little tiger striped one, loudly exclaimed, “Tis good to have a fresh landlubbering hunter like yerself 'round these parrrrrts."

Fake pirate accents. Wonderful.

I really wanted to just turn tail and find a different ship to fly us out.