FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Skye was lying in bed with Ruki under the blanket as it neared midnight. She couldn't sleep, and he'd kept himself up with her. She had tossed and turned for hours.

"I wish I would never have met him…" she whispered, which Ruki's ears picked up. She wanted her first vacation without complications; leaving with fervor granted her the opposite.

A deep sorrow resided in her chest, and an emptiness filled her stomach. "What would you do?" Skye turned to Ruki. "If you found someone here but couldn't stay. Your entire life is back home... Would you still let her know before you left?"

He lifted his head and slightly raised his tails, nodding. "Nine?..."

"Yeah, Aaron. I think I like him," she murmured.

Ruki shifted to better focus on her.

Which she certainly took notice to. "What?" The question sat. Tension encompassed it. "Are you asking about..."

He gave the subtlest of nods; Skye still seemed to catch it because her eyes tilted aside and away from him.

"I-I know, but we agreed it wouldn't follow us home, so it's..." She swallowed. "I don't think it'd be good if we were together. For either of us."

He stared, then nodded with more affirmation. The words did hurt, although they shouldn't. Maybe they hurt his heart, but his mind understood.

"A part of me is in love with you," she said, her tone holding a soft quiver. "You're everything to me. That's why I was able to have sex with you, but I don't think I could commit... Maybe we just... we shouldn't have."

"Nine." He leaned in and nudged her cheek.

Skye focused on him. Directly. With her eyes evidently glossy. "You'll be okay, right?"

He leaned in to give a couple of reassuring nudges. He would be fine. Regardless, he wanted her to be happy. If she returned to Alola with nothing but her ninetales, it was all she would have. He wasn't so selfish to want Skye to himself forever unless maybe from another pokémon.

"Thank you, baby." With a sniffle, she rested her cheek against him, tracing her fingers up and down his sides. "Feelings suck." She shut her eyes, holding Ruki closer than ever.

---

Skye didn't feel joyful when she woke up. It was eight in the morning. She'd slept in upon getting very little overnight and was sitting on the floor in jeans and a shirt while folding clothing. She had already readied for the day in the restroom, skipped the makeup, and packed it with her toothbrush. She'd left the sheets in that corner for room service.

Skye had faint bags under her eyes and sulked her shoulders. "Have to be at Canalave in five hours…" she mumbled while putting outfits in her backpack in an organized fashion. She took out her ticket and stuck it in her pocket, initially for Sunyshore's port.

Ruki watched her from the bed and sensed Skye's melancholic aura, something he hadn't felt from her this entire trip. He hopped down and stood in front of her.

She stopped what she was doing and looked up, meeting him. "It's not a good idea." She continued packing and set her jacket on the bed.

But it was. It was a great idea, so he kept his gaze.

"Ruki, leave me alone!" she declared and watched him sulk away and disappear behind the bed. She zipped her backpack closed after folding and tucking away her last outfit. It was the one she wore to Floaroma.

They had to leave now. It would take hours to walk from the hotel to Canalave.

Skye slipped into her white jacket and put on her boots, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "...Let's go," she said and walked to the door. She watched Ruki emerge from the side of the bed.

They left the suite, Skye shutting the door for the last time and didn't so much as look in the direction of Aaron's as she walked. As much as she wanted to say goodbye, it'd only escalate her feelings. She would instead leave it behind.

While they headed toward the exit, a door opened behind them. Ruki stopped and twitched his ear, turning his head to see Aaron standing in his doorway.

Skye turned around as well after not hearing Ruki behind her. She choked, seeing how Aaron stood.

Ruki sat, his eyes shooting from Skye to Aaron. He developed a subtle grin, watching her drop her bag and take a step forward.

She took another step, and another, speeding up to a timid walk until standing before Aaron. She eyed his face, as did he. "I…" Skye took one more step and embraced him, snaking her arms around his waist.

He tilted back against it at first but brought his arms and held her, pulling her slightly closer with a slow grin forming.

Ruki watched with silent jubilance.

Skye pulled away, breaking their hug while gazing at him. "I'm… sorry. I wanted to say goodbye, but I was afraid."

"Of what?"

"This."

Aaron eyed her with shuttered blinks, his breaths tight and quietly shallow. "O-Oh, I guess I did make it kind of obvious. I'm sorry if it caused discomfort."

"Huh?" She tilted her head.

"That I liked you, I mean. That's what you were referring to, right?"

"You do?" Skye suppressed a smile, heat creeping up the back of her neck.

"Wait wh– uh, yeah…" He glanced down and around, appearing to gather thoughts. "When you smile, your eyes do too, and– your personality made every day for me. You could probably talk to the driest person out there without trouble."

Skye's eyes glowed. She had to be blushing, telling by the heat that had spread to her cheeks. Before she had a chance to reply, Aaron followed up with his own question.

"But if you didn't know how I felt toward you, what were you afraid of?"

"B-Becausee," she trailed. "I think I feel the same way. I think you're such a sweet guy. You showed me around Sinnoh and made our stay that much better, and you were super considerate... but I live so far that I feared the worst coming from anything long-distance."

"F-For real?" His cheeks reddened.

"Mhm." She grinned.

Aaron kept his eyes on her. "It's a good concern... I still want to be your friend either way."

"No... Aaron, no. I don't think I want us to be friends. I mean, I've never dated, but..." Skye's grin grew.

"I want to as well." He returned her grin with a more timorous one.

She glanced back at Ruki sitting by her bag. "I, uh… we're going to miss our ferry. Do you have a number I could call?"

"Let me write it down for you," Aaron replied.

"Please, on my hand. I'll lose if it isn't attached to me." She giggled. "I'm cellphoneless. Left it back home."

"Then I'll get a pen." He rushed inside.

Skye looked at Ruki again and, this time smirked from the corner of her mouth.

He eyed her with that same subtle grin.

Aaron returned with an uncapped pen. "I hope you like blue."

She pulled up her sleeve and stuck her right hand out, watching his face while he leaned and wrote out the digits on top of her hand.

"You can call anytime." He stood, slipping the pen into his pocket. "I hope I can see you again."

"You will. I promise. You have to as well..."

Aaron looked down as she undid the diamond-encrusted watch on her wrist. She then grabbed his hand and brought it up, placing it in his open palm and closing it.

Ruki could barely contain himself. Skye gave him her watch? She adored that watch.

Skye held Aaron's hand closed with both of hers, feeling his warmth transfer under the climate. His skin was soft. It tickled her chest to touch him. "You have to give this back to me." She stared into his eyes.

He looked down at her warm grasp, then back up into her orbs. "I promise."

"I'll call you soon. A hui hou."

"What's that?"

"Me being dramatic." She wore a subtle smile. "Just means until we meet again. Bye, Aaron." Skye released his hand and turned around, walking to her backpack and putting it on. As she and Ruki walked toward the lobby again, She turned briefly and waved to Aaron, which he returned.

"Sylmi!" Aaron called.

Ruki turned this time and saw the sylveon trotting up to him.

Sylmi stopped when he got to Ruki and sat, Ruki following his action while looking down at him. Sylmi extended his ribbon, and Ruki lifted his paw after catching on to what he wanted. Sylmi grabbed hold with his ribbon and shook Ruki's paw with a warm grin. "Syl..." He told Ruki he'd miss him

"Nin." He nodded, thanking him for his kindness.

Skye's smile only grew while watching their interaction.

"Sylmi, they've gotta go!" Aaron shouted.

Sylmi's ribbon slipped as he backed away, but he first squeezed Ruki's paw.

Skye and Ruki proceeded on their path, quickly checking out in the lobby before finally entering Route 213.

They walked beside each other along the sunny, sandy path. She looked at the beach and calm waves, then at Ruki. "Thank you."

He brushed his tails against her calves, keeping his eyes ahead.

---

"I really hope we'll make it in time," Skye said as they entered Oreburgh City. They'd taken the bus through Hearthome, especially because they couldn't afford to miss the ferry.

She scanned her map while they walked. Jubilife was the only city they had left to traverse to get to Canalave. The thing was, Jubilife was also huge.

Meanwhile, Ruki was scanning the mining community of Oreburgh, his pads pressing against smooth dirt as they walked a trail with spread-out businesses among open space. Work vehicles and people constantly stirred the dry soil around them.

The city wore a dull appearance compared to other cities around Sinnoh with rough and gritty air.

Trees were sprinkled across a lengthy green and empty field outside the city; steep grassy mountains towered in the distance that the region's connected highway system ran between. It ended near Oreburgh's northern entrance to let vehicles off.

The most intriguing thing Ruki noticed were homes and businesses to the north that looked like they were built on top of one another from this distance. He also noted smokestacks sitting atop an extensive mining factory above all those homes. If he squinted, he could make out employees and pokémon working together to operate the active facility in the distance.

The city's museum could be worth exploring, but Ruki wasn't interested in learning anything about coal mines.

Skye looked to the sky as the sun's glare grew harsher. It had to be afternoon. "Need to check the time." Her eyes searched the city while they bypassed homes and people, some of whom were miners and pokémon on break, such as machamp and geodude standing in small groups or sitting at benches.

Ponyta and rapidash galloped across the fields in the distance or stood in herds while grazing on grass. Oddish had buried underground, their leaves visible above its surface to sunlight. Doduo pecked at stray berries that had fallen under trees; some pokémon filtered into the city from the fields, like wild young buneary and pichu who tended to wander from their parents.

Skye watched the pokémon in the field, then focused back on the buildings and saw a Pokémon Center amid them about a mile ahead that she headed to. There was a clock on the wall to the far right as soon as they entered. "11:40, and we still have Jubilife to get through… ugh." She let out a prolonged sighed. "We're going to have to move a lot faster."

In an hour and fifteen minutes due to taking another bus through heavy traffic and having to detour due to a car accident, they were at Jubilife's outskirts, the region's largest city. They'd lost additional time by missing a bus and having to wait at the stop.

Skye power-walked west down the bustling metropolis' pavement while taking the last bite of the Vippy bar she'd bought from Hearthome, crumpling the wrapper and sliding it into her pocket. "We're so going to be late. I don't want to worry Mom and Dad if we aren't on this ferry. They'll be waiting…"

Ruki trotted beside her while gazing up at some of the tallest and most abundant amounts of skyscrapers he'd ever laid eyes on. Their glossy windows reflected the sun's beams and fluffy white clouds, and vaguely mirrored buildings across from them. A couple of employees stood on suspended platforms while washing them with stick brushes.

He spotted the same orange and blue Flames and Waves posters from Hearthome on streetlights here. It must be a huge event.

Speaking of advertisements, this was the only city he'd been in with digital billboards playing animated clips of food and drink products, people and pokémon modeling clothing lines before extravagant, detailed backgrounds, and more. Hau'oli didn't have stuff like that.

He was torn between watching that and the massive park full of tall trees beside them.

Adults either jogged alone, with their partners, or with their pokémon on its sidewalks lined with grassy fields. People played sports, and children climbed play equipment.

Even the pavement Skye and Ruki were on was nice. To their right was a busy road, but beside them were flower bushes and grass along the sidewalk's edge leading to the park.

A young boy pushed his chingling on a swing, and a girl played chase with her leafeon, running through the sand or on equipment while it ran behind her. She tripped in the sand and fell occasionally, and it stopped to let her get up before continuing to pursue.

A group of children had dug a large hole in the sand that one of their nidoran helped with from deep in said hole. It fought and clawed at the terrain, flinging sand in the air behind it and sparking cheery laughter that only encouraged it.

Couples and families had picnics under tall trees and falling leaves while their pokémon wandered the area, interacting or playing with each other.

Staravia nested in trees with their eggs, and aipom sat on branches, some waiting for the staravia to leave or let their guard down to snatch the eggs.

A few stunky hid in bushes while some kids had pastries that they threw to skittish bidoof by patches of tall grass. With caution, the bidoof emerged to grab the food and hopped back into their bundle of safety afterward.

The park had a massive pond at its center too, with various pokémon co-existing and occupying it. Bibarel lingered at the pond's edges near the pavement that people walked along, waiting for anyone to pass that may toss them bread or berries.

Magikarp hid within crevices in nearby walls for stray pieces that the bibarel didn't eat.

Azurill and wooper swam together in the pond's center while azumarill played lifeguard and watched so no one got too feisty.

Buizel swam under and chased magikarp and barboach for a quick meal. Buizel were agile swimmers, and barboach were one of their favorite meals. However, their torpedo-like shape allowed the barboach to turn abruptly in any direction. When the buizel were able to get their paws on them, they had to grab either the upper or bottom fins or the barboach slipped from their grasp.

Processing what she'd said a second later, Ruki looked up at her. Getting there in time wouldn't be an issue. Skye would thank him for this later.

He stopped, primed himself, studied obstacles and people in his path, and before Skye could so much as question him, Ruki darted, weaving through pokémon and small crowds.

"Ruki!" She stopped, watching him run farther and farther. Skye received glances from people around her upon shouting; her cheeks reddened. "I'm gonna kill him…" Without a choice, she jogged after him, which quickly turned into a fast enough run to keep him in sight while holding onto her backpack's strap as it bounced against her steps.

Jubilife's exit was almost a mile away. Skye spent the next three minutes chasing Ruki, often skidding to stops before bumping into people and narrowly avoiding a couple of clueless ones exiting stores. She had to wait at a crosswalk too since only he'd made it before the light turned green.

After seeing him stop, she slowed to a walk while struggling to catch her breath. In the next minute, she stood by him, doubling over and placing her hands atop her thighs.

Ruki panted and sat by the corridor's entrance leading to Route 218, eyeing Skye and bracing for a potential scolding.

"Ruki…" she huffed after her breathing slowed enough. "Why?"

"Nine..." He licked his maw and watched her stand with a deep breath.

"Ugh, c'mon. We can't stop."

With haste, they walked across the route's trail encompassed by grassland and entered Canalave in roughly five minutes. It comprised several islands with grassy mountains, forests, beaches, and cities, all chained together in a massive web by long bridges and canals.

This island was a small, cozy town with a cool coastal climate. Quaint marts and old homes were spread throughout it, with a rich forest encompassing the pocket of civilization.

People pinned clothes on a clothesline in their yards while they swayed and rippled against ocean breezes.

Wild pokémon such as munchlax and purugly emerged from the trees or walked about alongside people who paid them no mind. Some hung out around shops and restaurants and cried at exiting customers.

In the distance, small boats and several ferries were moored in the Canalave Harbor on the city's west side, separated by a short-arched bridge. The harbor was far busier, packed with people, owned pokémon, and seafood restaurants. Stands lined the wood-boarded walkways selling fresh ocean life to passing customers laid out on beds of ice, such as raw shellder, stunfisk, wishiwashi, eelektrik, and more.

Seaside hotels and boat rentals lined the edges toward the back.

People stood at booths in the harbor's center lined up to buy cruise tickets. They talked to the booking clerks while keeping their child or pokémon close, some holding them. It was nice to see a mixture of them from various regions, like a servine in line standing poised beside a blonde older woman in a big hat and slim magenta dress.

"They've gotta be from Unova." Skye hadn't held onto enough from her dexology class, which was odd since she'd held a steady A in the class and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ruki couldn't distinguish almost any, but their designs, colors, and bodies were cool to see. He didn't even know half of the pokémon from his own region. Living on one of the coldest mountains in the world and then in a single city did that to a vulpix.

Another was a decidueye standing close to its owner while he talked on the phone. The decidueye was about as tall as its person, who was of average stature, and shot its eyes frequently to movement while concealing itself with its large wings as if passersby would jump at it.

"And that one's from Alola, yep."

Even though people from any region could catch or trade foreign pokémon, and ever since the war, pokémon from all regions involved with the corruption leading to it were spread out and misplaced to this day.

Decidueye had sharp talons capable of creating nasty gashes and was a skilled archer. The sharp quills on its wings functioned as arrows it could pluck, set on the viney string on the arch of its wing, and aim at desired targets all in less than a second. The pokémon could shoot accurately from over half a mile away. The leafy hood partially covering its face that it could pull closed via hanging vines increased focus.

It was a dangerous pokémon who merely tolerated people. It never harmed one unless necessary and was never a target for even the bravest and most daring of poachers.

There was even a totodile standing a few feet from an older male teen's legs, who was scrolling through social media posts and looking up only to move as the line inched along. The totodile had found another totodile in the next line over and met halfway, though one had blue back spikes while the other had red. Both moved their tiny arms while talking, their mouths often opening wide and displaying their small sharp teeth.

"Totally forgot where totodile are from, gosh." It made her want to study the national dex all over again.

Ruki had never seen a tourist with one of those blue things. Maybe they weren't popular, but they were cute despite posing a threat with those teeth lining their gums.

Skye eyed more pokémon as they passed and tried to decipher their origins, but she had to focus on getting her and Ruki back to Alola.

She squinted at a digital sign atop the booths displaying locations upcoming ferries were heading to. They ranged from various regions around the world to seemingly obscure locations she'd never heard of. She saw several cruises to Fiore too.

Canalave hosted domestic and international ferry services. The domestic ones went to most locations in Sinnoh, along with a few unique ones offered only at this harbor. Iron Island, which was off Sinnoh's upper west coast miles from Eterna, was a compact historic location with rich dirt walkways and rocky hills. A cave on the island that used to be a prime ore mining facility had been shut down and was now a habitat exclusively for pokémon.

Two other options were Fullmoon Island and Chocovine Town. Fullmoon was located farther up from Iron Island, an untouched forest encompassing a still pond. Like Valor, it was fenced off and under full-time security to defend Cresselia, the legendary pokémon residing there. Rangers hosted tours there as well.

Chocovine was a busy port town located southeast of Snowpoint City. Its major attractions were its Contest Hall and Sinnoh Grand Festival. It was a big deal worldwide alongside the Kanto and Hoenn Grand Festival. They were all broadcast annually on several channels across cable television.

The Grand Festivals hosted the final pokémon contests before the new year between the most skilled pokémon coordinators who had earned five contest ribbons. Those in charge put coordinators to the test by requiring them and their pokémon to partake in rare double performances. They involved two pokémon at once on stage before massive audiences.

Skye had never missed the International Film Awards or that show while growing up, even recording them for later if she couldn't watch them live. Both were experiences she'd die to attend.

After the harbor was a significantly longer bridge stretching across the ocean over the highway system for miles leading to another island, with people walking back and forth.

"Oh no…" she mumbled upon walking deep enough into the town to see the docks. The last few people were boarding. Only a single crew member remained who would follow behind the last passenger, chubby with a white outfit. "They're leaving!"

As fast as his legs could take him—which was relatively fast, Ruki tore across the first bridge past a few teens watching the water who turned to look at the snowy blur zipping past them.

Skye followed behind. "W-Wait! Hey!"

The crew member had already boarded and was reeling the platform in but stopped and looked up. He adjusted his cap and peered ahead at a white ninetales dashing toward the ship with a girl trailing behind. "That a shiny? What the?"

Ruki skidded to a halt several feet away, panting all over again.

"S-Sorry." Skye gasped between breaths after arriving and stood in front of the ferry on the dock. "I-I'm late, but this… is my ferry."

"It's past boarding time, and we're running late. Pay for the next one that comes in an hour," he stated and returned to reeling.

"N-No, wait! We have to be on this one. Please! My family is waiting at home. Please. We'll be quick."

He eyed the girl and her pokémon, then scratched his head and sighed. He muttered under his breath and reversed his motions, pushing the wheel so the platform rested against the dock again. "Hurry on."

Skye didn't waste a second and walked across with Ruki, stepping onto the ferry. "Thank you, sir, really. I have my ticket he–"

"Eh, just go." He waved her off.

"Oh, thank our Tapu..." Skye whispered and subtly beckoned for Ruki to follow while walking to the back of the ship.

However, she had to walk back up to the front deck to talk to a few crew members and get a new room anyway since this was a different cruise. Fortunately, they'd matched her old one and gave her a stateroom midship with an ocean view. She'd had to explain the Sunyshore situation, which they had to get confirmation of through a call to Sunyshore's docks, but it worked out; they'd given her a keycard. She then stopped at the restaurant before the room to buy two bottles of water for her and Ruki.

The room looked similar to the last on the ride to Sinnoh; however, it had a designated wooden seat attached to the wall to sit and watch the ocean.

Skye closed the door behind Ruki and dropped her bag by the bed, opening one of the water bottles and drinking nearly half. "Ruki, water?" She took a breath and wiped her mouth while lowering it.

He stood by and watched her crouch while tilting the bottle. He drank the rest before Skye tossed it in the bin by the door afterward.

She lay on the blanket with her legs dangling off the edge and sighed. It felt unreal that they were aboard. "Gosh…" Skye shut her eyes, and when she opened them, it was to a substantially darker room.

The ship emitted quiet rumbles and subtle creaks, which were calmer compared to the ones they'd taken from Alola.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Ruki wasn't in bed with her, nor was he on the floor. Skye looked behind, and there he was, sitting level with the sizable, rounded window while watching the stirring waters underneath a scarlet backdrop accented with coming nightfall. She eyed his bundle of pretty tails swaying ever-so-slightly, then stood and went over to him while slipping out of her boots. "...Can I sit?"

Ruki glanced at her and moved aside to make room.

"Thanks." Skye sat on the carved-out platform with her back to the window in silence for a minute. "Ruki, I want to talk to you."

He turned his head to her.

She brought her legs up so the side of her body faced the window and spread them to make room for him. "Come."

Ruki obeyed, sitting between her legs and facing her.

"This morning, when I yelled at you, it was unwarranted. I mean, it's never warranted, but you tried to help me like you always have and do—the thing you're super good at, like making me chase you for a mile to catch a cruise we wouldn't have caught." Skye grinned and set her palm on his cheek, her grin then fading. "I should have addressed it as soon as it happened, but know that I'm sorry. I feel awful."

Ruki nodded, keeping his eyes on her face while leaning his cheek against her palm.

She leaned and kissed him between the eyes. "Love you."

Ruki nudged her cheek with his nose. He moved closer and turned again to watch the calming waves and warm sky, then glanced at her to ensure she was enjoying it with him.

Skye gazed as well while running her fingers down his back, his skin twitching. "You want to eat soon? We haven't all day."

He wasn't noticeably hungry until she'd brought it up, at which point he nodded.

"We'll dine here, then. I know you're starving after our journey today."

So, they sat and watched the sunset together, and ate at the restaurant. Skye had taken a quick shower before bed and slept the night away. It took her longer to doze off since she'd taken a nap, but with Ruki in her arms, she was able to sooner than later.