FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Law Firm of Durand and De Silva ran one of the most successful criminal defense teams in the city, racking up an acquittal rate more favorable than what anyone else could boast or even hope for. Decades of astute practice and recruiting the most promising law school graduates meant they were the premier firm to hire when your ass was on the line. The titular founders were both more than half a century into their careers, utilizing shrewd tactics and the ability to adapt in order to keep themselves on top. They were the best pair to learn under. An entire generation of defenders both still in D&D and that had started their own firms had them to thank.

Vanessa Mercalin was one such student. She had joined the firm as an intern seven years ago, fresh out of law school, ready to make a name for herself. Years of hard work both in school and with experienced lawyers primed her as one of the most promising lawyers the firm had seen. She came to the firm with the same attitude so many other young interns have, one of eagerness for the future and what it may bring. Convinced that she could handle anything that was thrown her way, she studied every aspect of criminal defense taught to her by Durand and De Silva and mastered it with admirable speed. By no means naive, it was hard not to imagine herself tackling famous cases and winning them through her keen people skills and intense scrutiny. In only the first year out of her internship she had been burdened with some serious cases, the most of which she was able to snag a favorable outcome out of. There were failures, but none so harsh that she could ever be deterred. An entire career was ahead of her. No roadblock could put an end to that, so it seemed.

Alas, Animalosis proved a cruel malefactor.

It struck abruptly and without warning, as it had a habit of doing towards all of its victims. Appearing first as a mild rash, it would spread across the body slowly, then escalate into the sprouting of fur. Vanessa saw it on her lower belly one night after she got out of the shower. It was a deep red splotch, right above her beltline, to the right of her navel. A frown came across her face, though she was not especially concerned. When she touched it there was some mild irritation, but nothing painful. She applied some lotion and went to bed that night having forgotten about it.

The next few days did well to remind her. The rash did not so much as lighten or dissipate. From a light red color it flared into something much deeper and more menacing. Touching it sent ripples of a burning sensation throughout the rash. It had spread to her hip and was reaching out towards the center portion of her tummy. Animalosis crossed her mind, sparking a moment of genuine concern. She pictured herself overgrown with fur and deformed, just like she had seen in so many ad campaigns and in movies.

But it couldn’t have been that. She couldn’t remember being near anybody who had it. People who had it were supposed to alert those around them so spread could be avoided. Nobody she knew or met mentioned the disease or displayed symptoms of it, so what was there to worry about? At the back of her mind was the knowledge that the disease had no known cause and as far as epidemiologists could tell, did not spread from person to person. She chose to ignore that. With such a busy workload, taking time off to check some rash wasn’t affordable, though she promised that she would schedule an appointment with a dermatologist if it got worse.

It got worse. The rash had not only spread across the greater portion of her trunk and sank into her pelvis, but was darkening at its origin spot into something hideously red and puffy. Oddly, touching that area did not elicit pain, although much of what surrounded it did. The skin there was thick and scaly, almost like leather. When she was at her desk she would find herself fingering it absentmindedly, kind of like a scab. She thought she could feel the growth of hair, but there was no way. It wasn’t Animalosis. There was no need to go to the doctor, not when there was so much to do. She was fine.

The first few strands of fur sprouted nearly a month after she first spotted the rash. Thin and transparent like the blonde hair that grew from her legs, they were only about half an inch long, but very real and impossible to deny. Seeing them for the first time and running her fingers over them dropped a lead weight of dread on her stomach. The skin they grew from was no longer inflamed, though the rash surrounding it was now on the underside of her breasts and a quarter of the way down her thigh.

She could not deny it any longer. An appointment was scheduled with the dermatologist to confirm what she already knew. Hearing it from the doctor’s mouth for the first time was harder than she thought it was going to be. There was a wave of nausea, tears, the sudden urge to faint. Everything and nothing ran through her mind at once. What she was going to do now. What about her career? What was her family going to think? What were her coworkers going to think? Was it going to get as bad as the rumors said it was? Would she turn into a deformed freak? She could answer none of them, not when the prevailing emotion was numb shock.

Her family did not take the news well, acting as though the affliction was terminal, something that would rob them of their beloved Vanessa. Friend groups showered her in condolences via letters and emails, but demonstrated a conspicuous inability to do so in person. Closest friends asked where she thought she might have gotten it. Truth was she had no idea.. Neither Vanessa nor anybody she knew were acquainted with someone who had the disease. She was haunted by the conception that it was a venereal disease, nevermind the fact that there was no evidence behind that. Nobody said it, but Vanessa had no doubt that questions were had about her sexual practices.

By law she was forced to inform her employer of the disease. How well they took it was hard to gauge, but Vanessa could not shake the feeling that they were more concerned about how it would affect her performance in the courtroom rather than her health and wellbeing. Protecting her from being fired were a battery of laws protecting people with disabilities and illnesses, although they could’ve given her the boot and listed any other reason without concern of malpractice. Regardless, they kept her on the force. The way they saw it, so long as it was the same Vanessa helping clients stay out of prison, there was no need to kick her out.

The disease progressed. Those fine angel hairs that had originated at the epicenter were no longer just thin, wispy tendrils. They got thicker, coarser, and with a visible degree of color. Vanessa watched as a flat orange color came alive across her belly, strand by strand, blanketing what had once been soft, white skin. None of her trunk was left uncovered by the rash at this point. It had swelled over her nipples and made it to the upper cusp of one knee. Lotion didn’t work anymore. Her every movement while wearing clothes felt like a rake of claws up her trunk.

The only real relief was the growth of fur. Before long there was a dense patch of orange the size of a saucer where the rash had started. It was soft to the touch, reminding Vanessa of a fox. In fact, there was little doubt that she was becoming one. Animalosis had no rhyme or reason as to what animal it forced its carriers to mold into. So long as it was a mammal, the disease could turn a person into anything. No singular species showed up more often than another. As the fur continued to blossom across her hip, it was all but guaranteed that she would turn into a quasi-vixen. Maybe it was lucky to become a fox. There were certainly worse creatures to turn into. Then again, if she was truly lucky she never would’ve gotten the disease in the first place.

The rash came to a halt just below her collar bones, but not before it had consumed the entirety of her legs. New patterns were arising in the fur. Her belly and chest had become a snowy white with a clear border between it and the blazing orange that wreathed it. A much darker color, something close to black, covered her bottom thigh and shins. This was years after she first spotted the rash in the mirror for the first time. Her progress in the firm had come to a grinding halt. For reasons unspoken but painfully obvious, she wasn’t being assigned any more cases. The very few she did get put on were minor and often involved clients who were visibly uncomfortable with her condition. She was fortunate enough to have the spread stop at her collar and never spread to her shoulders and arms, though she was forced to wear tight collared shirts that came all the way to her neck.

That became the least of her worries when the disease fell upon her inner anatomy, changing her in ways much more drastic than just giving her a coat of fur. One morning there was a needling pain that wracked her chest and stomach. A quick inspection in the mirror showed that a double-column of teats were coalescing on the skin. The flesh was beaded and sharp, a dark pink color that was sensitive to the touch. Just beneath it was a swelling growth of extra mammary flesh, giving her an extra sextet of apple-sized breasts that came down her belly.

Most difficult was her shifting skeleton. It started in her knees and ankles. They creaked into steeper angles which hobbled her into a permanent, slight stoop. The soles hardened into thick pads. The nails in her fingers and toes all fell out, a painful process, but nothing in comparison to replacing them with dense, sharp claws. For an entire month she was put off work with casts wrapped around her hands and feet, though they were much more akin to paws now.

Lastly was her tail. It started as nothing but a meaty knob that bloated out of the root of her spine. Before long, however, it became a pinecone-shaped wad of fuzz with a solid core of extra vertebrae. It became the most embarrassing facet to her transformation, requiring the most effort to conceal with all of the tucking and wrapping she had to do once it grew long. Finally there was no other option but to wear long, flowing dresses. At full length the tip came within inches of the floor, it being the same white color as her belly. Every once in a while it would twitch or flick into her dress. Moments of excitement or celebration would be ruined by a sweeping tail wag that would blow out her dress and reveal her condition. After three such incidents she finally tied the tail to her leg like a brace, keeping it in place for good.

All the while her job and D&D continued, but any semblance of the career she had once dreamed of was dead. An office of her own was not out of respect for her accomplishments but a desire to not be exposed to her disease, or so she had convinced herself. While she retained her status as lawyer, her duties at the office hardly constituted that kind of work. She was more of a glorified paralegal, running tasks and looking up cases for her coworkers. While she excelled at the latter, her skills in the courtroom meant she was way too overqualified for bending over a book for hours on end just so someone else could harvest the glory of a hard-fought acquittal.

She was thanked for her hard work, but never without an overwhelming sense of obligation and pity from those who gave it to her. In an office away from everyone else, she was spared the cautious glances and awkward small talk, but with that was the cold loneliness of knowing she would never be looked at or treated the same. She did not want coos of empathy or to be ignored. She wanted her life back, but so long as her body was twisted into something that was not her own, it would never return.

When Liam came to the office she barely paid him any mind. She first saw him among a trio of other new recruits. Summer had just begun, and the latest law school graduates were scattering like roaches in the light to find some place to land a career. D&D managed to snag a few, Liam among them. Vanessa was passing through the main floor of the office, carrying something she had photocopied and meant to give someone else. Liam and his two fellow graduates were near the front entrance, all dressed up in their freshest suits. They looked like soldiers getting a briefing as one of Vanessa’s coworkers was giving them a run-down on how the place operated.

Liam was at the center of the three, fixated on every word. Vanessa thought he looked incredibly young, even for a recent graduate. Tall and lithe, he barely filled out the gray suit he had on. A sharp, pale face was dotted with freckles. His watery blue eyes stood out even within his soft complexion. The eye brows nestled above them and the hair on his head were red like Vanessa had never seen on a person.

His gaze flicked to her for just a brief moment when she passed in front of them. She must have looked odd in her long dress and clunky shoes. While everyone else remained in their tailored suits, there was Vanessa looking like she was out on the town shopping for groceries. She met the fresh-faced intern with a cold stare, expecting him to snap his attention away like so many others did. If he didn’t do that he would shoot her a look of pity before quickly forgetting about her. It was a more common expression people made than they realized, almost like some instinctual urge to feel bad for the less fortunate.

Liam saw her, but spared her no look other than an acknowledging smile before turning back to the person talking and resuming his resolute focus. A pleasant surprise for Vanessa, but nothing she dawdled on. [i]Probably didn’t realize I had a condition. He will soon enough.[/i]

Half an hour later she heard a knock on her door. She was at her desk, behind the computer. “Come in,” she said without pausing her rapid typing or looking away from the monitor.

The door opened to reveal Liam peeking his head in. Greeting him was the stoic Vanessa and the many personal photographs she kept framed on the wall. Among them was her diploma, bearing a flashy gold seal and the signature of the school dean. Her eyes cut up at him, head still facing the screen, expecting nothing more than a message. He noticed how tightly pulled back her blonde hair was by her ponytail. Everything about her and the surrounding environment screamed uptight and business-like.

His throat was dry all of the sudden. He gulped quickly. “Hi, um, Mrs. Mercalin?”

“Just Ms. Mercalin, and yes, that’s me.” [i]Says so on the door.[/i]

“Yeah, uh, hi. I’m Liam Butler. I’m new here, intern.”

“OK.” She typed one last thing on the keyboard and finally faced him completely, demonstrating how hollow her eyes were. “How can I help you?”

“Uh, yeah. They told me you were gonna mentor me. You’re on the legal team here, right?”

Vanessa’s brows lifted. [i]They sent me a newbie? Why? I’ve never had one.[/i] “Oh, well yes, I am. That’s why I’m here. They told you I was your mentor?”

“Yes ma’am. Your first name’s Vanessa?” The second he finished asking he saw the brass plated name tag on her desk inscribed VANESSA MERCALIN, ATT. and felt like an idiot.

“Last I checked, yes.”

“Yeah, right.” He laughed nervously. “They told me to come to you.”

“I see.” She sat upright, looking around her tiny office. There weren’t any other chairs for him to sit. Extremely rarely did anyone ever want to come in here, lest they catch her animal cooties. “Go outside and see if you can’t find a plastic chair. Pull it in and we’ll talk.”

“Yes ma’am.” He left and closed the door.

She meant to turn back to her work, if just to continue for a second or two, but was too distracted. [i]Why now of all times? Why him? Does he already know about my condition?[/i] Amongst the constitution of unspoken rules regarding Vanessa and her disease was that nobody new should ever have to be near her. She used to look forward to mentoring someone in her early days at the firm, though the Animalosis dashed any hopes of that. Seven years later and for whatever reason they threw this kid her way. Again, why? Hazing? [i]Probably the son of someone the bosses didn’t like. I’ll go easy on him. Maybe recommend him to someone else.[/i]

She was in the middle of trying to remember which of her colleagues were the least busy when Liam came back in with a green plastic chair in his hand. He sat it in front of her desk, closed the door, and took a seat. His bony knees rose off the seat in front of him. He ironed the fabric atop his thighs with his hands and laid them out like a school kid ready to learn.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Vanessa said back.

“So, what do you have going on now?” He sounded almost out of breath. The kid clearly has been looking forward to this day his entire life.

Vanessa looked at the screen where she had an entire page written out. After a moment of thought she minimized it. “Just some paperwork. Don’t worry about it. I guess some introductions are in order, don’t you think?”

“Uh, yeah!” He sat up in his chair and adjusted the flap of his jacket. “That sounds good.”

Vanessa cringed at the sight of him in such a tiny chair. “You wanna get another chair? Or is that the only one you could find?”

“Huh? Oh no, this is fine, thanks.”

“OK.” [i]Eager and ready to please. I remember when I was like that.[/i] “You said your name was Liam, right?”

“Yes ma’am. Liam Butler.”

“And what would you rather me call you, Liam or Butler?”

“Liam is fine.”

“Alright, and you can just call me Vanessa.” [i]Would be better than the usual “Hey you” I usually get.[/i]

His face lit up with a smile. “OK! Cool.”

In spite of herself, Vanessa smiled too. “Tell me about yourself, Liam. Where are you from? What school did you go to? Don’t worry, I’m not interviewing you. I just want to know you.” [i]And make it easier for us when I drop the truth bomb on you about my condition.[/i] Years after the rash showed up and it remained a surreal fact that the only thing protecting her from being a normal person and being a freak in the eyes of most people were the clothes on her body, and that was for the people not astute enough to notice the special boots she wore.

“Well, I’m from here. Grew up in Liverdale, that’s a neighborhood outside of downtown.”

“I’m familiar.”

“Yup, born and raised there. Went to Daeren High and went to law school at Marriott.”

Vanessa nodded. “Very nice. Marriott is a nice school. You might have met Jason. He studied there for a few years before he joined us.”

“Cool. I think I met him. Where did you go?”

Vanessa pointed over her shoulder with her thumb at the diploma on the wall. “Edgars,” she said casually.

To her secret delight, Liam’s eyes went round. “Wow, really?”

She nodded. “Mmhmm. Had a full ride on a scholarship.”

Liam nodded. He looked starstruck. “That’s really cool.” He laughed and scratched the back of his head. “You know, it actually reminds me of something kind of funny.”

“What is it?”

“It’s uhh, it’s a sweatshirt my friend had.” He held his hands in front of his chest like a frame. “It was a sweatshirt that said ‘Edgar Law’, but in really tiny letters beneath that it said ‘is a really good school’.”

Vanessa chuckled. “That is funny. I can say from experience that it was.” [i]Full of slimy pricks, though[/i], she thought but did not say.

“Yeah. I’ve never actually met anyone who went there.”

“Well, you have now.”

He lit another smile, one that stretched the freckles on his cheeks. “Awesome.” His gaze shifted towards the computer. “So what are you working on? I know I already asked, but I’m curious.”

“Oh, well let me show you.” Vanessa grabbed the monitor and turned it towards him so that he could see the massive wall of text she had been working on. A pen was used to point out specific pieces of the document, what was important and what wasn’t. Between every mention of legalese she would calmly explain what it meant. Liam would nod his head and say he knew.

Vanessa closed her eyes and shook her head really quick. “Sorry. I forget that people outside of this office and the courtroom know this stuff. You’re the first person I’ve ever mentored, you know.”

“That’s OK. I guess I’m kind of honored.”

Vanessa did a mild scoff. “Don’t be.”

His smile vanished. “Sorry.”

A pang of guilt made her shake her head again. “No, sorry. You’re fine. I don’t know what made me say that.”

His smile returned, if more tepidly. “You’re fine.”

She resumed her rundown of everything on screen. Liam asked some good questions and Vanessa answered. With every exchange, no matter how brief, she realized how refreshing it was to have someone to discuss these things in depth with. It reminded her of time in college or the early days in the firm, all before that damned rash showed up in the mirror.

She tried putting that out of her mind, but couldn’t once Liam got comfortable and started leaning towards the desk for a better look at the screen. Turning it more towards him didn’t help. Before long he had scooted the chair up to her desk and was leaning on it. Just seeing him with his elbow on the mahogany top made her squeamish. It had occurred to her that this was a similar discomfort people had around her when they knew about the disease. She didn’t want to give it to anyone, almost as much as nobody wanted to get it. However it was spread, be it dumb luck or contagion, Vanessa couldn’t bear to have an infected individual on her conscience.

She came to a stop mid-lecture. The pen came down on the desk, still in her hand, balled up tentatively. She pursed her lips before speaking. “Um, Liam, there’s something important about me that you should know.”

His attention came away from the screen and back squarely on her. He awaited her news casually, without any worry or concern, it seemed. “What’s up?” he asked.

[i]Shit, this isn’t going to be easy. It never is.[/i] “I don’t mean to alarm you, but are you familiar with Animalosis?” She asked with as much poise and rhythm as she could muster. Drawing things out would only prolong the awkward moment. As delivering this news to people in her vicinity had proven time and time again, it was better to rip the band-aid off. Asking that question alone delivered the news enough. It was usually followed by a sudden sobriety, one that drained the color from a person’s face. They would lean back ever so slightly, as if suddenly aware of a nearby danger. Silence follows, broken by a timid admission that they did indeed know what Animalosis was. The braver would ask if Vanessa had it. She would of course be forced to say ‘yes’.

None of that happened here.

Liam, completely unfazed, nodded. “Yes ma’am.” He sounded all but proud, as if it were some little-known fact worthy of keeping secret for its value. He did not respond with a question. Instead he kept those vibrant blue eyes locked with hers while waiting for whatever she was leading to.

It caught her so off guard that for a long moment she was quiet. When there came no follow-up of his she finally delivered one of her own. “Well, I’m afraid I’m in the advanced stages of that disease. I think you deserve to know that.”

She braced for the downfall of his smile and inevitable reaction of disgust. Again, there was nothing of the sort. Though he did turn his smile into something more somber, all he did was nod his head. “OK.”

Another pause. More silence. Liam looked back towards the computer monitor, awaiting her further explanation. It took Vanessa a snap of the eyes to bring herself out of shock. Her heart was racing, something she’d never felt after or during the reveal of her disease in years. [i]That doesn’t bother him? And why is my heart racing? Is this a good feeling?[/i]

She could hardly describe it to herself. She lifted her pen back to the screen to resume the lecture, but she forgot where she was. “Um… Shit. What did I say last?”

Liam calmly reminded her by pointing to her screen, bringing the tip of his index finger within inches of her hand. He made sure not to touch the screen, a common courtesy forsaken by most. Vanessa drew her hand back quickly enough to startle him. He looked at her, now with a wounded expression.

“You OK?” he asked.

Vanessa blinked. “Yeah, yeah I’m OK.” [i]What the fuck is wrong with me right now???[/i] She cleared her throat. [i]Pretend you’re in the courtroom.[/i] Relax. She envisioned Liam’s face among a box of jurors. Her heart relaxed. Experience in the courtroom, however limited, drilled into her the ability to draw a cool head whenever she needed it. In her office with just one other person- a new friend, no less -she never thought she would have to.

Her lecture resumed smoothly until finally they were through the entire thing. As an exercise she quizzed him on the major points in the paper and some minor ones. To her pleasant surprise he could recall them without flaw or stutter. [i]They chose this kid for a reason, I see.[/i]

“Well, that’s all on my docket for now. I have some other things that I can help you with and show you, though I honestly don’t know where to start.” She scratched her temple and scoffed. “I’ve never mentored anyone, and it’s been so damn long since someone’s mentored me.”

“Well, I think you’re doing a good job. I’ll help you with this stuff and anything else whenever you need me too.”

“I would appreciate that. You have your own space on the floor?”

“That’s right. Just a desk, a phone, and a cabinet, though.”

“That’s more than enough for now. Just wait until the first load hits you. You’ll have work up to your tits in no time.”

That got a good laugh out of him, evaporating what tension remained since she mentioned the disease. For just that amount of time she was able to forget that she ever told him about it.

“Yeah, I bet I will. Is there anything else you want to show me?”

Vanessa thought about it. “Actually, maybe I’ll help you get settled in. Where’s your desk?” She stood to her feet in the middle of asking. With Liam seated in front of her and her dress wafting about her legs, she felt tall, something she couldn’t remember experiencing in that office or any other place in the building. The last time was her first acquittal, and that was ages ago. Liam stood up, becoming head and shoulders taller than her, and still she felt like a giant.

“Sure, maybe introduce me to that Jason guy?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Let’s do that.”

And so they did.

[center]***[/center]

Vanessa’s time on the office floor was easier than it usually was with Liam by her side. Having him float behind her shoulder while she made proper introductions was a balm to her anxiety that she did not know she needed. Liam hit it off with Jason who asked what had been going on at Marriott and how the professors were. Liam was happy to tell him everything while Vanessa stood afar, listening but not adding to the conversation. It was her longest time while exposed on the office floor, at least for as long as she could remember. If there were any uncomfortable looks thrown her way she did not see them; her focus on Liam and his reminiscing with Jason was too strong.

The following few days were mostly work and getting Liam into the flow of things. He helped Vanessa with her research, mostly typing things up as she found them in old cases. It was mostly secretary work, but nothing so simple that Vanessa wouldn’t have done it herself if asked. It was menial stuff that was expected of any newcomer at any firm. Before you became a slugger you had to spend time in the batting cage, and so far Liam showed that he knew how to swing.

Vanessa found herself invigorated in a way she hadn’t felt in a long while. With Liam’s apparent blindness towards her condition she felt as though journeys out into the office floor were less intrusive than before. Even when he wasn’t there she felt like approaching someone was no longer the threat to their health like it once seemed. It struck her as odd. [i]Had I really been that reclusive?[/i] Of course, her coworkers seemed antsy, but once she made a habit of showing her face more often people grew more relaxed and comfortable in her presence. One day when Liam was sick with a cold she thought that it would be more difficult making her presence known, but she was able to power through and communicate with her coworkers like nothing was wrong. Truly there never had been.

The case Vanessa had been working on came to a fruition with a favorable outcome for the client. Liam’s involvement was minimal, yet he couldn’t help but express his satisfaction. “I guess I’m off to a good start,” he said in Vanessa’s office. The tiny plastic chair was gone, replaced by a more proper rolly chair. Liam spent a lot of time in that room. It was only proper that he had something more comfortable to sit on. “I didn’t do much, but… I don’t know. I’m kinda proud of myself.”

Vanessa was having a hard time not seeing herself as she listened to him speak. There was a wild look in his eyes, like he couldn’t believe what he had taken part in. It was an incredibly minor case, at least in the grand scheme of things. The firm as a whole was used to much bigger fish than just this, but Vanessa wasn’t going to tell him that and rob him of his celebration.

“Don’t sell yourself short. You helped a lot. Maybe for the next case or sometime in the future I’ll let you have the books and give you the load.”

His smile faded. “OK. Yeah, I think I can do that.”

“You better,” she said teasingly. “Seven years at Marriott and I expect you to know your shit by now.”

He chuckled. “I do, I do.”

“Good, ‘cause there’s another case on our docket, one even bigger. It’s a big load, and I’m gonna need your help every bit of the way. Think you can do that?”

He nodded curtly, a strong resolution hardening his features. “I know I can.”

Vanessa nodded back. She felt her fox tail jerk into the string holding it against her leg. In just a few days she would go without it, letting her tail free. “Awesome.”

Vanessa wasn’t lying when she said the following case was going to be a big load. It was a doozy for sure, requiring an overtime of focus and work. It was at least twice the amount of what they had put in previously. It was Liam’s first instance of feeling overwhelmed since he joined the firm, and it was only his second case. In reality he was lucky to have such an easy one on the first go around. He tried not to let it faze him, but Vanessa could tell that it was getting to him after only three days of working through it.

It was in her office that they spent hours on end with stacks of books crammed on her desk, piled high and absorbing almost all of the room. All that was left was for her computer which the two of them stayed bent over for an unhealthy amount of time. Vanessa found comfort in her coffee which she and Liam consumed mug after mug of. Her tail dangled from within her dress, flicking without her input, batting the inside of the fabric and making it bulge like a curtain in the wind. Liam saw it but never commented.

Upon closing hour they had barely scraped past what they thought they would’ve by the beginning of the day. The caffeine had zapped them of all energy, rendering them a pair of yawning dolts who couldn’t keep their heads upright. Liam’s jacket and tie were off. His shirt was wrinkled and the top three buttons were undone, revealing a thin rug of red chest hair. Vanessa was leaning back in her chair, hand over her face, rubbing away the exhaustion that would not go away until she got some sleep.

“Well, I think that’ll do it for today,” said Vanassa from behind half of her hand which she then dragged down her face. A yawn split her mouth. “[i]Uhhhhhhhhhhhh…[/i] Ah shit… These kinds of nights are the worst.”

Liam blinked and sat up in his chair. His head was in a cloud of fuzz. “Are nights like these a regular occasion?”

“More than you’ll ever want them to be. Get used to ‘em.” She bent over to pick up her purse and slung it over her shoulder. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She walked past him towards the door. Her hand grabbed the knob and twisted it.

“Hey. Wait.”

Vanessa stopped. The tumbler was halfway out of the hole when she turned to look at him. “What’s up?”

Liam was twisted in his seat, looking at her. “This is a whole bunch of stuff. Like… a lot. I don’t know if working on it just in the office is gonna get enough done in time. I’m exhausted, aren’t you?”

Vanessa thought she could feel the bags under her eyes sagging. “Yeah, I am.” She pulled the door back shut. “What do you want to do?”

“Well, I was thinking like… I don’t know.” He made an awkward smile and scratched the side of his head. “I was thinking we should spend some time-”

For just an instant Vanessa thought he would say “together” and her heart leapt.

“-working on it outside of the office. Spread the workload into something more manageable.”

Vanessa relaxed, but her heart still raced. [i]Calm down, you idiot. Even if he said ‘together’ it would’ve meant the same thing.[/i] Once more she pictured herself in the courtroom and calmed herself down. “Well, I don’t know. I try to keep my off days work free, kinda like everyone else does. You’ll feel the same way eventually, trust me.”

“Yeah, I get that, but I think it’s better than bingeing a shit load of work all at once. That shit can’t be healthy.”

[i]Welcome to being a lawyer[/i], Vanessa thought wryly.

“We don’t have to put in the same amount in one day, maybe just like two or three hours. It’ll shave a little off the total load, I think. It’s just an idea. I know you wanna keep your free days totally free, but I think it’d be easier in the long run if we spread the load more evenly.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s just me.”

Vanessa knew he had a point, but goddamn did she loathe putting even a fraction of work on an off day. Of course it would save her some misery on her work days like today where she would come out of it burnt out completely. She was ready to tell him that if he wanted to do that he could go ahead. She wasn’t about to waste any more of her free day than she had too.

Instead she sighed and pinched her nose. “Alright, yeah. That makes sense. Let’s do that.”

Liam felt guilty. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” she all but snapped. “But I don’t want to work here. I think my place will do better. Are you OK with that?”

He nodded quickly. “Yes ma’am.”

“Hush. I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Sorry. Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Cool. I’ll text you.”

“Alright.”

And then the two of them left the office, concealing the excitement for their coming time together.

[i]***[/i]

Vanessa’s home was a one story building on the very outskirts of the city. Hundreds of identical abodes were lined up across the street with a procession of cars choking both curbs. Vanessa had warned Liam that parking would be impossible so he took a cab. After paying the driver and climbing out he found her home on the corner of the block, quaint and unassuming. A chain link fence surrounded it. However small it was, Liam was impressed that she was able to afford it on her own income. Maybe there was some hope for him to pay off his student loans after all.

He walked through the front gate in just some shorts and a red shirt. He carried a canvas satchel with his laptop in it. Halfway up the walkway the front door opened to reveal Vanessa. She wore a flowy sundress that was a jade green color with flowers decorating it. Like every other dress she wore it came down to her ankles and her special boots. Beneath it was a matching, high-collared shirt.

She smiled brightly at him. “Hey there! Get here OK?”

He smiled back as he climbed the porch steps. “Oh yeah! I took a cab like you said.”

“Smart. Parking’s abysmal here.” She opened the door for him and invited him inside. “Come on in.”

He obliged and stepped through the door. The house felt as small as it looked. The front entrance led into a small TV room on his left and the dining room to his right where there was only a small table with Vanessa’s desktop computer and two chairs. One was wooden and matched the table. The other was a plastic folding chair like he expected to see at church. On the wall and a small table were portraits of a young Vanessa and her family, all of which were taken prior to her contracting Animalosis.

She saw him looking at them and immediately sought to drift his attention elsewhere. “Sorry that I don’t have much space to work for you,” she said as she wandered into the dining room. “Not used to visitors-” [i]You’re the first non-family member in years.[/i] “-so I don’t have much extra room.”

It successfully drew his focus elsewhere. “Oh! That’s fine. You’ve got the library on your computer?” Liam asked, referring to the law library from work.

“I do, and so do you. It’s all online when you put your password on the site.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry, dumb question.”

“You’re fine. Come on, have a seat. Let’s get this shit done with.”

The two of them sat at the dining table and dove right in like they would back at the office. Without the stuffy atmosphere to suffocate them they felt much more relaxed. No time limit meant they could roll through it more slowly, thus preventing any overlooks or errors. Jokes were cracked and laughs were had. Repeatedly Vanessa offered Liam something to eat or drink. He kept refusing until finally he acquiesced. Vanessa went out of her way to order delivery. Forty minutes later they had a meal of burgers and fries added to the clutter that had become Vanessa’s dining table.

They spent four hours working, only half of what they would’ve done at the office, and yet they felt as though they had accomplished just as much, if not more. Vanessa stamped the left click on her mouse, saving what she had written and sending it off to the cloud. She fell back in her chair, a belly full of burger and a feeling of satisfaction settling across her body like a blissful fog.

Liam hardly seemed as affected. He probably had another few hours in him until he would’ve called it quits. However, seeing Vanessa relax back into her chair was a strong enough signal that they were done for the day. “You wanna call it quits?” he asked.

“Yes, yes I do. I already hit save. I’m done, thank you.”

“Yeah, so am I,” he lied. He closed his laptop and stuffed it into his satchel. “Well, if that’s all we’re going to do today, I think I’ll call another cab and head out.”

Vanessa’s head came off the backrest of the chair. “Wait. You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, as soon as a cab gets here. It might be a few minutes. You need something else?”

She very nearly said [i]For you to stay.[/i] “Not really, you just don’t have to leave so suddenly if you don’t want to. I mean, not saying you do or don’t want to.” [i]Shit. What am I saying?[/i]

“Oh, OK. Yeah, I can hang around.” He put his satchel back down on the floor. “Do you have anything else to do?”

“Well, yeah, but I wouldn’t make you do it after all the work we just did.”

“No, no. I mean something to do while we hang out, like watch TV or something.” He laughed. “Or whatever. Maybe you can show me around.”

Vanessa thought she saw him cringe after saying that. “Oh, it’s fine. Yeah, maybe we can find something on TV.” Suddenly it felt like she was breaching some code or workplace ethic. [i]Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this. Why am I doing this? Why am I acting so friendly? God, I should have never invited him here. This was a mistake.[/i]

Mistake or not, she found herself standing up from her chair and scooting it back into the table so that she could lead him around to the TV room. He followed her through the kitchen and found her one tiny couch sitting in front of the TV. It reminded him of his grandmother’s den. A quilted rug sat in a racetrack shape on the floor in front of the sofa and the tall lamp next to it. Completing the atmosphere was a half empty bowl of candy and a mini trash bin of wrappers.

Vanessa’s stomach did a twist when she realized how small her couch was. There would be no room between them when they sat on it. She came up to it and pulled the back of her dress into her legs and tail so that she could sit down, an action she was not used to performing in the comfort of her TV room. Liam stood by tentatively, seemingly unsure of what to do next.

She patted the cushion next to her. “Come on, have a seat.”

He came over without a word and sat down. His shoulder was within inches of hers, creating a heavy presence that she was not used to. It was hardly any better for him as he sensed her discomfort radiating like asphalt in the sun.

She cut the silence by grabbing her remote and cutting the TV on. “Let’s see what’s happening. Anything you want to watch in particular that’s on right now?”

Liam pursed his lips and shrugged. “Anything’s fine. I don’t mind.”

That didn’t make things any easier. “OK. Let’s see what’s on then.”

Vanessa paddled through the channels, spending a second or two to see if Liam would chirp up and say anything about one of them. He didn’t, leaving Vanessa to make it all the way up to the Spanish speaking channels where there was no entertainment beyond trying to decipher what the hell was going on.

“Well shit,” huffed Vanessa, finally putting the remote down. “Sorry there isn’t much on.”

“You’re fine,” Liam laughed.

“Ugh…” She rubbed her temples. “I haven’t had a guest over in so long, at least not to hang out like this. I should’ve thought of that before I asked.”

“Hey. I said it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’ve got nothing to do back home. Better here than rotting over there.”

She rested her elbow on the couch’s armrest and propped her head on her fist. “You sure?”

“Yeah, of course.” He settled back on the couch, focusing on the TV. It was some Spanish news channel with anchors speaking rapidly. Liam couldn’t parse a word. “Hell, I rather watch these guys rattle shit in Spanish than be by myself in the apartment.”

“You live by yourself?”

“Yeah. Place is real small. Ten-twenty a month.”

“Geez. You’re still an intern. How do you afford it?”

“Well, I’m lucky to have a loan from my parents right now, but they promised to collect as soon as I’m getting paid.” Liam shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I’m ready for whatever gets thrown my way.”

Vanessa scoffed quietly. “If you say so. Try to take things easy. I remember when I was your age. Thought nothing was going to get in my way, and if anything did I’d trample it.” Her eyes tracked down to her lap which was covered in her dress. “I wasn’t so lucky.”

Liam didn’t respond. He noticed where she was looking. “How long have you had it?”

Vanessa looked at him. She knew exactly what he was asking, but remained quiet. “Over seven years now,” she said flatly.

Liam nodded. “That’s rough. I’m sorry to hear that.” It was his first remark of pity since they’d met.

Vanessa shook her head and waved it off. “Don’t be sorry for me. I deal with it alright.” She looked back at the TV. “I’ve still got my job and a roof over my head. I’m fine.”

“Yeah, but I know it can be hard. Has it gotten in the way of your career at all?”

Her gaze came back on him, more harshly this time. [i]You got a lot of balls, boy.[/i] “Yes it has.” Her heart was starting to thrum again. Somehow, with Liam so close to her, she did not want to think about being in a courtroom so that she would calm down.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that.”

His apology relaxed her. “It’s OK. You know, you’re the first person in a while who’s treated me with a decent amount of respect since I was diagnosed. Lots of people are afraid of me. Everyone claims to know it isn’t contagious but still acts afraid.” She swung her hand in the minute space between them. “See how close we are? Ain’t a single person who’d be this close.”

Liam nodded. “Yeah, well… I know a lot more about Animalosis than most people- any people -should.”

Vanessa frowned. “What do you mean?”

Liam straightened his back and rolled his neck. A deep inhale hissed through his nose. “My mom has it too.”

Vanessa’s eyes went round. An ax of surprise fell on her chest. “She does?”

Liam nodded sadly. “Yeah. Rhino variant. Really ugly. Diagnosed when I was 4, when she was 33.”

“Oh my God.” Vanessa’s hand came over her mouth. “I’m so sorry.” It was her turn to express remorse, something she could never remember doing for someone else with the disease.

Liam sighed. “Yeah. She’s a strong woman. Made it through OK, at least enough to raise me and my sister. It’s rough, though. We were real devout churchgoers. We still are, really, but when my mom started getting in the advanced stages kinda like you we were ostracized from the church. What was it about taking in the castaways of society?” Liam chuckled and scratched the side of his head. “Me and my family were right in the middle of all those legal battles when it was an epidemic. We marched to raise awareness, donated money, called politicians, picketed some places. I was- what, seven? -when my mom made me walk in a circle while she held a sign in front of the Mayor’s office. I remember it vividly.” Liam held his fist in the air as if wielding the sign. “‘I [u][b]AM[/b][/u] A HUMAN!’ all the signs said. We chanted it. I didn’t know what it meant, but I do now. I’ll say it for my mom and anyone else with it for as long as I live.”

Vanessa remembered. She was a junior in high school when she saw the news coverage of all the half-transformed victims of the disease walking in a circle with their signs high above their heads. She had felt so sorry for them, but never thought to join them or help in any way. It seemed crazy knowing Liam was somewhere in that circle, following his mother and chanting along.

“My parents divorced when I was 11,” Liam went on. “Dad swore it had nothing to do with the disease. I don’t know whether I believe him or not. I still love him. We still talk. Couldn’t have been easy on him. I think my grandparents pressured him out of the marriage. I don’t talk to them.” He rubbed his hand down his mouth. “Mom acted like it didn’t mean much. She tried to keep me and my little sister out of it. I think we did OK, but I know my mom took it hard. Protested even harder after that. Then there were the legal battles. I think you’re familiar with them.”

Vanessa definitely was. “Terway vs. MacKinnon.”

Liam nodded. “You know my mom was friends with him, Terway that is. Wouldn’t go anywhere near MacKinnon, piece of shit. Anyway, my mom was right in the middle of it. We became friends with Sam Ulrich.”

Vanessa’s jaw dropped. “You knew Sam Ulrich?”

Liam nodded, unable to hold back a proud smile. “I did. I still do. He’s the one who inspired me to become a lawyer. I know criminal defense wasn’t the same thing he did, but I do believe it’s super important. I’ve seen what the courts can do to people when the government straight up doesn’t give a shit about them. Yeah, they’re criminals, but even the shittiest people deserve someone who cares about them. It took some lawyers to feel that way about people like my mom.” He paused. “And you.”

Vanessa’s fist balled atop her lap, squeezing some of her dress. “Yeah. I owe him a lot. I guess I owe your mom a lot too. Without them I wouldn't have this job. Fuck, I probably wouldn’t be alive.”

“Well, I don’t know about all that.”

“I do,” she said firmly. “After I got diagnosed and the symptoms started spreading, I didn't know what I was going to do with myself. It was like the moment my dream came true it was pulled out from underneath me like a rug. Yeah, I still had my job, but I wasn’t in the courtroom anymore. Nobody wanted me there. They [i]still[/i] don’t want me there. I’m still an attorney and I still get paid like one, but I’ll be damned if they treat me like one. I’m just a paralegal with a nice paycheck. The only reason I have that office is because nobody wants to see me.” Tears were welling in her eyes, glistening them in the TV light. “I hated the disease. I still do. I didn’t want anyone to pity me so I just worked hard and kept to myself. I told myself that I wasn’t going to let it affect me.” She wiped away the tears with her knuckle. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be. Don’t you dare. I’ve seen what this disease does. My mother thought the same way. She works herself to death. I swear what kills her won’t be the disease but the strain she puts on herself because of it. I tried getting her to join some help groups but she refused. Have you ever gone to one?”

Vanessa shook her head while looking at the TV, away from Liam. “No.” Her voice was choked.

“You should. Everyone I meet with the disease says it’s the best thing they’ve ever done. You can’t do it alone, and it sounds to me like you’ve been trying to for way too long.”

The tears were coming in full now. Vanessa looked down from him, though she wore a smile. She wiped the tears away with the back of her wrists. “Yeah, you’re right.” She let out a quick laugh. “God, if I’d known we were gonna have a conversation like this I wouldn’t have invited you over.”

Liam laughed too. “Yeah, well I’m glad you did.”

Vanessa sniffled. “Yeah, me too.”

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking…” He stopped.

“What?”

“Sorry, I don’t know if I should ask.”

“Let me guess,” she said with a smirk. “You want to know what variant I am?”

He cringed. “Sorry.”

“No, don’t be. I’m a fox.”

“Oh, OK.” He chuckled. “I don’t know if I’ve met someone with that one. It’s pretty random, you know.”

“So I’ve heard.” She realized how hot her cheeks were. Whether it was from the crying or something else she did not know. “Do you want to see it?”

His smile switched into a look of surprise. “Oh, well, if you’re comfortable with that.”

“I am. I’ve been hiding it from people for so long. I kinda want to show it to somebody for once.”

“OK, yeah.” His smile came back. “Sure. Lemme see.”

Her heart flourished. “OK.” Vanessa stood up. She hardly knew what she was doing when she bent over to untie her boots. Once the first was undone she grabbed it and slowly slid her foot out. The ankle was obscured by the dress, so Liam did not see it until it stepped onto the rug. They were with four nubby digits covered in dark brown fur. Dense claws sprouted from their tips and the ankle was several inches higher than normal. She saw his eyes light up at the sight of it, again making her heart throb. Off came the other boot before she lifted the dress up to her shins, revealing her digitigrade feet. Her toes wiggled on the rug. “Well? What do you think?”

Liam was blushing with a smile that reached ear to ear. It squished his freckles together into a spotted bundle. “I think it’s adorable,” he said honestly.

Vanessa was smiling brightly too, harder than she had in a long time. “Do you want to see more?”

“Uh…” He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I do.”

Suddenly she spun around, bringing her back to him. “Unzip me.”

A lead weight formed in his gut. His face grew hotter as he stood up and slid the zipper down. The dress peeled apart with a soft buzz, revealing her shirt covered back. He watched as she pulled her arms out of the dress straps and then pulled her shirt up to reveal a perfectly fluffy back bathed in a neon orange.

“Wow,” said Liam.

Vanessa had never felt so beautiful. She was high off his gaze, feeling it drift about her exposed back. She felt a heat grow in her loins. Her nipples stiffened inside her bra. She looked over her shoulder and saw the awestruck look on his face. It was beet red. The last time a man had looked at her that way was far too long ago.

She turned around to face him. Their eyes met. “Do you want to see the rest?”

Liam was quiet while wearing a dumb expression. He gulped. “Yeah.”

Vanessa took his hand. “Come on.”

She pulled him to her bedroom where she closed the door and stripped in silence. Liam remained entranced by the beauty of her form, mostly vulpine, but something he lusted after all the same. Through the dense layer of orange fur he could still admire a bountiful set of curves and muscle. Those anthill-breasts that climbed her tummy were made all the more adorable by the largest two at their canopy. Rosy pink nipples stared back at him. Her tail swept the carpet behind her, fueled by an excitement that made her cunny hot and moist. For a moment she covered herself with her arms, conscious of the odd way her breasts were assorted and the distinctly vulpine shape of her vulva.

“Sorry, if it looks weird,” she said softly, one arm coming down her trunk with the paw cupped over her womanhood.

“No,” Liam said firmly. “I think it’s beautiful.”

He stripped too, presenting a glowing white canvas of trunk flavored with orange chest hair. His penis hung from him heavily, slowly growing into a solid exclamation point for her to read and admire. They came together and embraced, showering each other in a warm bliss that made her tail burst into a floof. Their lips locked. Vanessa held his organ to her hip and stroked it. The flesh was hot and hard, pulsing away with the ecstatic rhythm of his heart.

They shuffled together towards the bed where Vanessa laid on her back and Liam mounted between her legs. After a few deep kisses he pressed his pole to her flower. A moan escaped her once he was inside. He tried going slowly, but was driven by a severe touch starvation to drill as much pleasure as he could from her. In turn he blessed her with a flood of her own. She cried his name into his ear. Her fingernails scratched at his back while her furry ankles crossed over his clenching buttocks.

He did not last long, spitting into her velvet his seed. A heavy grown heaved out of him while his back arched. Vanessa had an orgasm of her own, clenching on him and milking every drop that he could spare. They were finished after that, Liam slumping atop her with a sheen of sweat shining his skin. She panted too. More tears came down her face, now out of the purest joy.

He retracted from her and rolled onto his back, panting hard. Vanessa scooted up to him and cuddled with her nose buried into his neck. “That was wonderful,” she whispered. And it truly was. She’d never felt so much like a woman. It was a sensation she thought she’d never be blessed with again.

“Huhhh… Huhhh… Huhhh… Yeah…” huffed Liam. He laid the back of his hand on his forehead. “Damn… Should we have done that?”

Vanessa kissed his cheek. “Hush. Don’t worry about that now. Don’t worry about anything.”

He let out one long sigh. “Yeah, you’re right. I won’t.”

And he didn’t, not for as long as she remained glued to his side, bathing in the glow of someone she loved.

[center][b]THE END[/b][/center]