FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The dry, almost sterile atmosphere of the dingy shop felt stifling to him. To visitors, however, the feeling it gave them was one of rugged quality. Nobody expects refined taste in a small village like Timber Plains, especially not from a wooden shack claiming to be the center of commerce in the region. Even so, first impressions are everything in the world of business. If potential customers walked into his shop and saw everything covered in a thin layer of dust and dirt, they would believe he was just some small village hick pretending to be a businessman.

Running a clammy hand through locks of straight blonde hair, Banyan continued his assault on the floor with his weapon of choice: A wicker broom. Dust and dirt yielded to his experienced movements until all that was left were worn floorboards and the accumulated mass of filth in a single pile near the doorway. With practiced ease, Banyan opened the door and swept the last of the offending matter outside where it belonged. The shopkeep pepped up at his success, letting the front door slam shut on its own while he skipped to the other end of his establishment behind the safety of his countertop. Along the way, he went over his mental checklist.

“Floors cleaned? Check. Broom stored in the back? Check. Wares dusted? Check. Extra supplies in storage? Check. Personal Presentation?"

Grabbing a strategically placed mirror sitting atop his workspace, Banyan twisted it to face him and noted the contrast of his pale skin and bright blue eyes. An overall narrow profile and tall frame gave him an air of regality that was easy to leverage in his line of work. This was the face that let him commit robbery in his store. He flashed an award-winning smile at the mirror, cheerfully noting that the potion his friend recently gifted him worked perfectly. His teeth were white as pearls.

The bell above the front door chimed, and the door slid open to reveal a familiar diminutive figure.

“Speak of the devil…"

Most people call them Beast Folk, but Banyan had known this one long enough to learn that she is a Lynx. Her body was wrapped up in a thick and dark cloak, but what wasn't covered revealed a dense layer of silver-grey fur surrounding her form. Her winter coat had grown in, the white fur of her underbelly made her fierce golden eyes shine. An intimidating predatory gaze followed his eyes as she stalked on bare paws toward him. But he wasn't afraid. Not when he was a full head taller than her. Not when they had known each other for so long.

“Saahira, good to see you again! Come back to visit your favorite person in the whole world?"

“Banyan." Her features softened. “Yes, I did. Unfortunately, he's smart enough to not live in this village."

Having exchanged their traditional greeting, they got down to business.

"So, what brings you to my humble store this morning? Smitten by my looks and charm so badly that you couldn't stay away?"

“You know why I'm here, you silly man. And if you ever find a way to charm a woman without magic, I'll consider that a miracle."

Saahira's jab was highlighted by her exotic accent, which almost sounded like a lisp thanks to her long fangs. It emphasized her uniqueness in a village full of Humans.

“You always know exactly what to say to break my heart." He chuckled. “Luckily, I have just the thing to get straight into yours."

The shopkeeper punctuated his statement by grabbing a tightly wrapped parcel out from under the counter. He gently placed it on the hard wooden surface and unraveled the taut twine tying it together. Carefully peeling the wax paper binding off the package, Banyan neatly and deliberately drew out the unwrapping process so he could look her in the eyes when he unveiled his acquisition.

Saahira gasped. “Gods, you didn't!"

Laid out on the wrapping and the counter was an emerald gemstone almost as large as his fist. It was precisely cut into a rectangular shape, with sharp-angled edges giving it a very polygonal appearance. The morning light from the shop's front windows gleamed through the gem and made its edges twinkle like a star. Banyan peered across the counter and noticed a similar twinkling in Saahira's eyes.

“I told you: I can get you anything if you give me enough time."

The Lynx jolted out of her trance. "I underestimated you. How did you ever manage to find it?"

“A traveling merchant was passing through town. I convinced him to do most of his business with me, and he had this shiny little thing hidden under a barrel of fish."

“But it must have cost you a fortune!"

“Don't worry about it." He began wrapping the gemstone back into its original packaging. "It's very important to you. You told me as much, which means it's important to me."

Banyan was feeling good about helping her but purchasing that little trinket had cost him a lot of gold. It made the next few months dangerous for his lifestyle.

“I hope that it serves you well. You said you had a special spell prepared for it?"

Saahira's eyes lit up again, this time looking up into his.

“Oh, you have no idea! I found an ancient tome that describes a location-based binding ritual. It says it's supposed to drain strength from trespassers, but I don't know what it means by strength. Does it mean their literal strength, their magical strength, or something else?

Banyan sat there and listened to the little Lynx ramble on about things like 'geometric magic' and 'mathematical perfection' until she was out of breath. He had thought long ago about spending his time learning magic and becoming a wizard. It was a very real possibility too, unlike most of the people living in the village. He knew he had magical potential and the intelligence to learn. He just didn't care for the lifestyle.

“Oh sure, wizards are mighty, but they're not successful. I haven't heard of a magic user who wasn't dirt poor or quite literally enslaved to the crown."

The unusual duo talked for hours about magic, their lives, and anything under the sun. Banyan jumped in with his eclectic knowledge gained from interacting with hundreds of travelers from all corners of the world. Not to mention the casual reading he's done in his free time. Reading magical theory books before he sold them to Saahira was much more interesting than reading the books on tax codes. Finally, the Lynx seemed to realize she spent half the day with him and began packing up her new acquisitions.

“I'm sorry for taking all your time! I know my presence here tends to scare off the locals, and that's bad for your business."

“Don't worry about that. I always appreciate our talks. And never worry about what they think, okay?"

Saahira dropped her coins and potions on the counter and peered into his eyes with burning curiosity. He reached for the coins but stopped when she flinched at his approaching hand.

“I-I'll see you later, Banyan. And I'll tell you if the spell works out."

The Lynx bolted out of the shop faster than he had ever seen her before. Banyan's eyes followed the rhythmic swaying of her hips on the way out and he noticed the small bump in her cloak where her short tail was. He was ashamed to admit that he stared at her backside for longer than necessary.

“That's funny, she's been so jumpy lately."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Banyan worked all day trying to attract people to his store, but in a small village of maybe 100 people, it was unlikely he would ever get more business. Old Lady Morrington stopped by to pick up a new set of knives, and she settled for pig iron instead of the new silver set he acquired! It was like nobody in this damn village understood the importance of buying quality items for their homes. They may cost more, but a good set of silverware would last much longer. It was frustrating to be the only one in town who cared about investing.

Suddenly, the front door burst open with incredible force and almost drowned out the chiming of the bell above it. A large figure in studded armor trudged past the doorframe, followed by a group of similarly dressed men. Their leader sauntered into his shop while the gaggle of guards stumbled behind him. It didn't take long for the large man's eyes to lock onto him. Banyan kept a smile on his face even in the presence of this nuisance. The man pretended to sniff the air like a bloodhound.

“Smells like wet cat in here. You still let that freak come into our town and you give her our things?"

“Oh great, why does the local guard want to bother me tonight of all nights? Looks like Finlay, Khalon, Luis, and little Marcell. Why did they bring him?"

"Hello, Finlay. Having another good day, I see?" he casually replied to the giant man.

“Don't sass me, boy. I already told you to stop selling to that witch ages ago. Marcell," he waved at a young man in armor toying with a device on a shelf. “tell him what you told me."

The kid, who couldn't have been much older than Banyan, fumbled with the device and dropped it on the floor. His face was taken over by regret for a moment before stuttering out his rehearsed lines.

"I was w-walking around town and doing my daily patrols when I saw the witch leave your shop. She was carrying a package in one hand and a large bag over her shoulder."

Finlay turned to him like he was expecting a reaction. Banyan simply raised an eyebrow and gave him nothing else.

“You can't expect me to refuse service to a loyal customer. She spends money on specialty items and general goods. Plus, she supplies me with things to trade to other merchants."

“Easy to be loyal when you've got a monopoly on commerce!" he pointed an armored finger at him. “The more stuff you give her, the stronger she gets. What are you gonna do when she gets strong enough to take over the town?"

“Why the hell would she want to take over the town?" He stood up, only to have three swords drawn on him by Finlay's gang.

Their leader raised his open hand and the trio behind him sheathed their weapons. He stepped closer to the countertop and grabbed Banyan's shirt, pulling him closer. He finally dropped the smile he had been holding to keep a brave face.

“I told you ages ago to stop selling to that witch, and you have the nerve to disobey my orders." His grip on the expensive cotton shirt tightened. “Let's take this outside."

Finlay used his other arm to grab his arm and toss him across the shop. He slid unceremoniously on his other shoulder and felt something pop upon impact.

“I knew I should have stocked up on weapons." He desperately thought, trying to distract himself.

Scuffling on the floor until he stood on his feet, Banyan made for the door. Behind him, the corrupt guardsmen all laughed at his plight. He hastily passed his shop's door with a creaking of wood and a ring of a bell accompanying him. Outside his familiar hut, the sky was already moving from orange to violet as the sun fell below the horizon. He almost felt before he heard the door practically explode behind him. Turning quickly, Banyan saw the guards file out of his shop with their weapons drawn.

“If you get rid of me, then who is going to sell you things? Who is going to trade with the local merchants a-and…

“I wouldn't worry about the town. Y'see, I already talked to a merchant down in Clayton who said he was willing to take over your shop if some tragic accident happened to you. The way I see it, it would be awfully convenient if you and that witch died in a tragic accident."Banyan spun around and a burst of adrenaline shot down his spine, forcing his legs to move. He could hear the clinking of meshed metal trailing behind him. He was not athletic, but he could at least outpace men in heavy armor for a time.

“Please Gods," he prayed “please let her have finished that spell before I get there."

The shopkeeper ran toward the woods and followed a small trail only one other person had ever braved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a brilliant explosion of alabaster light, the gemstone lit up like a miniature star in her basement and covered the stone walls in a crazed pattern of colors from across the spectrum. It floated over the pedestal and spun at incredible speeds, creating a strobe effect with its brilliant light. Saahira felt a vital part of her being drained and stored inside the gem. It was as if her magic and even her soul were pouring themselves into the tiny trinket. Runic symbols and formulas spread across the stonework, creating a circle around the altar. Finally, with a loud ringing sound, the stone's momentum stopped instantly, and it gently fell onto the wooden shrine. Feeling weak, the Lynx fell onto her knees and observed the beautiful light shining ahead of her.

“It's done." She said to nobody. Her heart was pounding against her chest harder than it ever had. Months of research to finally perfect the ritual and find the ingredients necessary. She could feel the power emanating from the once mundane bauble, now saturating the area. To her, it felt like a warm blanket wrapped around her soul, like a light pressure that hinted at something more. Saahira took a breath and stood on shaky legs. All around her, the arid stone room seemed to be so much more than it had been before the ritual. Colors popped out at her brighter than they ever had, and the ancient symbols burned into the stone thrummed with energy.

Stumbling over to the wooden ladder at the end of the room, the witch carefully stepped up the creaking surfaces and pushed open a hole in the ceiling that quickly became a hole in the floor. Closing the trap door behind her and sliding a rug over it, Saahira stumbled to a large rocking chair and unceremoniously collapsed into it. And to think, she would never have gotten this far if not for that man.

“Banyan…" she meditated on the only Human she had ever met who treated her well. The rest of the Humans shunned her at best and harassed her at worst. The town guard, who were meant to protect the innocent, spent their free time trying to scare her away from the village. They treated her like an unwanted pest. As if she were able to conjure food and furniture out of thin air and simply chose to visit the town to harass them.

“Magic doesn't work that way! I need to eat and drink just like them."

But that man who owned the shop treated her like a person. Maybe he was just doing that to make money, but it highlighted the dilemma she faced by living out here by herself. She was lonely.

“He has such a brilliant mind. He would make a wonderful magician. Not to mention he's easy on the eyes. That potion of cleanliness I brewed for him certainly helped."

Saahira's cheeks burned thinking about this morning when the two of them almost touched hands. She hadn't touched anyone in years. Not since she left her home in search of knowledge. She never felt safe out here in Human territory where the people judged you based on appearances.

“But now I have a defense against aggressors who seek to harm me in my domain. I can finally work without fearing for my life!"

Ideas and formulae spun around her head like vultures circling a dying traveler. Runes that would augment the speed that crops grew at, clothing that was enchanted to last longer and provide protection from the elements, protective wards that made swords and arrows bounce harmlessly off her. Maybe she could even dive into the complicated world of space-time magic and find a way to transport objects and people across vast distances? After that, the possibilities were endless. Why, with instant communication from one side of the world to another, th-

A loud pounding from the front door shocked her out of her trance. Who the hell would visit her this late, or even visit her at all? Panic quickly set in when she realized how drained she was. With no magic to draw on, Saahira couldn't use any of her spells to defend herself. Cautiously grabbing a knife from the table next to her, the Lynx stood up out of the rocking chair and made for the door. The pounding got more desperate and managed to shake the frame a bit. Taking special care to keep the knife behind her back, she pulled the latch open and slid the heavy timber door open.

“Banyan! What are you doing out here?" she practically snarled.

He looked worse than she had ever seen him. He had twigs stuck in his blonde hair and dirt covering his chest. It looked like he lost a fight with every tree on the way here. And he was breathing like he had run all the way here.

“I ran all the way here." He gasped out, leaning his arm on the doorframe. “F-Finlay and his crew are trying to get rid of us."

“What? But that's ridiculous. Didn't anyone else see them attack you?"

He took another loud gasp of air and calmed himself. “Of course. They just don't care. I think they're too afraid to stand up to tough men in armor. Can you blame them though?"

Banyan looked up at her and gave her a pearly-white smile. “Gods, that potion did wonders for his teeth." He stood up to his full height-

-and Saahira did a double-take when their eyes met. The shopkeep had always towered above her because her species were naturally shorter than the average Human. He seemed to notice her shock and made the same observation not moments later.

“Saahira, did you complete that ritual already?"

"Yes, I…" a stray thought struck her just then. What if the ritual was draining his strength because she didn't set any restrictions on who it would drain? She looked on in horror as Banyan's cerulean eyes slowly fell below her own and for the first time in her life, Saahira was taller than an adult Human.

“Quickly!" she barked, “I need to add you to the ritual before it drains your life away!"

The diminutive Human stumbled past the threshold and barely avoiding being smashed by the heavy wooden door as she slammed it shut. The Lynx barred it with a large wooden plank that was resting near it. If what Banyan said was true, hopefully, this would distract the guards long enough for them to prepare a rudimentary defense. Turning around, Saahira almost stumbled when she walked past the Human and realized his head was already below her chin. She had to move faster!

She threw the carpet off the trap door, grabbed the handhold in it, and lifted it with just one hand.

“That was easier than I remember. I really am draining his strength!"

Ushering the almost child-sized man into her basement, she followed him down the makeshift ladder and closed the door above her. Next, she grabbed Banyan by the hand and pulled him toward the glowing gemstone sitting on the altar.

“Wow, you did get it to work!" Banyan spoke in a lighter tone than before.

“No time! Quickly, I need a drop of your blood."

The witch brandished her knife, got on one knee, and held her palm out to him. She could see him losing size before her very eyes while he held his arm out for her. Carefully maneuvering the tip to his finger, Saahira felt some relief when she pricked his fingertip and drew a drop of blood over the ritual circle. The bead of crimson fell to the ground and exploded into sinister black flames. She felt the magic in the air begging her to do something, and she grabbed hold of Banyan's essence through the ritual. Below her, the miniature man gasped in shock as his shrinking abruptly halted. She had done it.

The Lynx let out a long breath and stood up onto her paws. Looking down, she saw a man who barely stood taller than her knee.

“That's amazing! Your clothing shrunk with you too, but that doesn't make any sense! That violates Merlin's second law of magic. But you're so cute at this size! I bet I could carry you like a toddler!"

“I'm glad that you think so, but we should really- hey!"

His complaints were cut short when she hoisted him up with her hands under his armpits.

"Look at you, my tiny little merchant. I guess you're a traveling merchant now because you're travel-sized!"

Saahira began licking him with her tongue like he was a kitten, making sure to clean off his hair. This earned her a weak slap to her cheeks which barely registered.

“Please stop it! We're still in danger, remember?"

Saahira froze and took a moment to analyze her actions. “I've heard of large amounts of magic changing their users and corrupting their thoughts. Has the ritual changed the way I act? Is it making me more impulsive?"

Something pulsed in her mind and she felt the presence of four creatures on her land. She started to hear ghostly voices echo in her mind.

“-ould we just burn it down with them inside? Then we can say it was an accident."

A nasally voice cut in. “Boss, I don't see them in there. How do we know they haven't left already?"

The group was quiet for a moment, then a deep voice broke the silence. “She might have set up a trap inside of there just for us. If she doesn't come out soon, then light it up."

Taking care to gently lower Banyan to the floor, the Lynx affectionately rubbed his head and glared at him.

“Stay here."

The poor man looked shaken by her tone, and wisely shuffled over to the corner of the cramped cellar and sat down. Satisfied for now, Saahira made for the trap door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright, I'm calling it. Marcell, throw the torch onto the roof." Finlay pointed at him and then to the thatch roof of the quaint cabin.

Marcell didn't exactly agree with all of this. He was afraid of the witch as much as everyone else was, but Banyan didn't do anything to deserve being killed. Everyone in town bought things from Banyan! Hell, he bought the very boots he was wearing from the modest shop in the middle of town. He knew that the witch would corrupt the land and use her magic to control everyone, but he doubted Banyan was under her control. At least, he thought so up until he ran straight to her place at the first sign of trouble.

Before he could wind up his throw, the front door snapped open to reveal a feline figure in a set of dark robes that did nothing to obscure her figure. The witch snapped her fingers in his directions and an energetic blue spark arced into his torch and blew it out. The four of them were shrouded in darkness with only the meager light behind the witch illuminating them. The guardsmen all stood there for a moment, shocked at the Cat's arrogance. Did she think she could take them all on at once? Finlay was the first to move. The giant man rushed forward and forced his way into the witch's lair. The other three followed him in without hesitation.

The inside of her cabin was shockingly normal. Marcell saw nothing out of the ordinary that screamed “witch" to him. If she had set up this place inside of the village, he wouldn't be able to tell it belonged to her. Wicker baskets lined an area near a wood stove that he assumed was the kitchen. A countertop had vegetables and dead rabbits hanging over it to be prepared later, and the smooth wooden floor looked like it hadn't been swept in a week. She even had an expensive-looking rug laying on the floor in front of a rocking chair. The chair was pushed on its side during the struggle, and Finlay had the witch pinned against the wall with a sword at her throat.

“Where's the merchant, beast? Did you kill him, or is he under your spell?"

"I have no reason to take control of him." She coughed out. "I recognize now that it might have saved me a lot of trouble to control you."

Finlay didn't like this answer and he violently threw her to the side like he had thrown Banyan earlier. The witch made a graceful landing on her paws and stood to her full height, towering over them.

“Ah, it works slower if there are more people. I suppose that makes sense if it absorbs the same amount of energy at all times."

The witch waved her arm toward the door and it flew shut long with a bar of wood that blocked it.

“Trapped yourself in here with us? As if you could take us all on by yourself!" shouted Luis, overconfident as always.

That's when Marcell noticed something. The scale of the whole house seemed off. Like it was made for someone bigger than them. In fact, the witch was a lot larger than he remembered her. He saw Finlay study the room and turn back to the witch, his sword pointed up at her.

“What the hell did you do?"

“You have all decided to treat me like an insect, so I have decided to make you into insects as punishment. It's a karmic spell, wouldn't you agree?"

Their fearsome leader ran toward her with a powerful shout and lunged at her with his weapon. The Cat simply smacked it out of his hand and picked him up by the neck. She was a giant compared to him! Marcell panicked and made for the recently barred door. He could barely reach the bar that was forcing it shut, but he couldn't muster enough strength to push it up.

"Oh, this is wonderful, I feel as strong as an ox! I could probably pull a cart by myself! And the magic is intoxicating! It seems like some of you had magical talent you could have used. And to think, you could have learned to bend the world to your whims instead of threatening innocent people."

“Screw you, you overgrown monster!" shouted Khalon, who went to attack the creature the same way Finlay had. It ended similarly with a strong kick knocking him across the room.

Marcell was so distracted by this attempt that when he turned back to the door, he completely missed the fact that he was now too short to reach the bar and the door handle.

“Boy!" Luis shouted at him. “Help us kill this witch or find us a way out of here!"

“You think I'm not trying to do that?" He wanted to shout at him. But the ever-growing monster sauntered over to them with a loud clack of claws on wood. A gigantic, padded foot came down on Luis and pinned him to the floor. High above their heads, Finlay was now small enough for her to hold in her hand like a doll, and they were still shrinking. Her foot began overshadowing Luis and slowly covering him in its shadow.

“I think I'll deal with you first, Finlay. You've terrorized me since I first moved here and never gave me a chance to do anything."

He couldn't hear the man from down here, but he assumed there was lots of cursing. The witch held the struggling man straight in front of her and casually let go of him. His body plummeted to the ground and went limp as soon as it impacted. Then something strange happened: Finlay's body began glowing red, then it shrunk rapidly until it disappeared.

“Interesting. It seems like once you reach a certain lack of energy the rest of your body disappears. That means once you die you get completely absorbed." The colossal monster turned her golden eyes toward him. “It also means you're all on a timer. Once you run out of energy you're gone for good."

Marcell sprinted across the floorboards to hopefully crawl underneath some back door in another room. They were now so small that Luis was completely hidden under her foot. She hadn't forgotten about him though, because the giant began twisting her foot into the ground while she watched Marcell sprint across her floor. Dispassionately, the witch lifted her other foot off the ground and put all her weight down on her heel. A sickening crunch came from underneath her paws, and she widened her stance to reveal a completely clean surface where Luis once existed.

"Two down, two more insects. Now whatever happened to the annoying one?"

The Cat gently turned her head behind her. Marcell followed her gaze and saw Khalon trying to sneak past the titan and get to the front door. Was he attempting to crawl under it? The gap wasn't large enough for them to fit through even though they were now smaller than mice. At first, he thought the witch hadn't noticed him. But his hopes were dashed when she suddenly fell to the floor with a powerful crash and flattened him under her backside. The impact was so strong that Marcell was thrown off his feet and into the air before landing on his face.

Before he could hope to stand up, a massive pair of fingers pinched him, and he was lifted off the ground. He flew higher and higher so quickly it was like he was being launched into the heavens. What was once a cramped cabin had become a structure the size of a mountain, maybe even large enough to hold a mountain inside of it. Finally, the enormous fingers slowed down and held him higher than the witch's head. She was staring at him with those immense golden orbs which were now larger than his entire body. A predatory grin spread across her bestial face, and she opened her maw below him. Sharp fangs and glistening teeth stared back at him as he frivolously struggled to escape her grip, not realizing it wouldn't help even if he did.

Tired of toying with him, the giant let go and he fell right between her fangs and into her mouth. As soon as he passed her teeth, her greedy maw closed, and he was enveloped in darkness. Her powerful tongue threw him around the soaking cavern with wild abandon. He felt sick being tossed around like a piece of meat. Without his helmet, he would have gotten a concussion. After a small amount of time tasting him, her throat opened up and gradually dragged him down into her stomach. Marcell spent his last moments struggling in her esophagus and desperately gasping for air, then he lost consciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saahira stood in the middle of her home and took in the power she had just absorbed. It was like a tornado of magic was spinning around the land, and she was right in the eye of the storm. The four lives she absorbed had expanded her magical capacity so much, she felt like she could do anything. Now she understood why there were so many stories about evil magic users absorbing the lifeforce of the innocent. It was intoxicating to suddenly have so much strength. She felt a little sorry for eating the last one considering how young he was and how horrible his death was compared to the others. Something about the flow of her magic messed with her ability to think rationally and he paid for that. But, he was a witness to her crimes, and he could have told other people about what had happened here. She would have killed him anyway.

Coming down from her magically induced high, the Lynx thought about the future.

“With this magical defense, I can stay here and be safe. I have enough raw power that no normal person with a weapon could seriously hurt me. Hmm… where do I go from here?"

A sudden flash of insight came to her: A very small and helpless Human she loved very much was tucked away in her basement. He had magical potential, he was kind, very cute, and he had contacts outside of the town who were all influential merchants. If she trained him and found a way to restore his strength, then she could have a powerful partner that would support her for the rest of her life.

“I'm gonna have to find a way to halt my aging next. Halt our aging. But first, I need to test his loyalty."

With a flick of her claw, the carpet hovered off the floor and revealed a trap door underneath. Saahira gave another flick of her digit and it flew open on its own.

“Oh Banyan… the bad men are all gone. And I need your help with an experiment."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~