FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"No more getting picked on!" Jesse yelled out, as he stuffed another pair of socks into an already over-stuffed backpack. "No more name-calling! No more stupid siblings!"

Like many teenagers before him, Jesse was struggling with adjusting to the world around him, and being the youngest of four siblings, it was no surprise that the older members of the family turned to him as a whipping boy.

Always the butt of the joke and barely able to handle that, when Jesse wasn't being teased, his parents were going through another argument in their bedroom, or openly fighting with each other in the living room, without the shame to hide their aggression from their own children.

Jesse couldn't handle it anymore. He didn't have a counselor to air out his problems with, his siblings never wanted to listen, and his parents didn't much seem to care. He was running out of options, and lately, running was the only thing that ever cleared his mind, or put him at peace.

He was ready to put that skill to good use, as he rushed through the process of slipping on a pair of thin, cushion-less shoes and stood upright. He yanked the backpack over his shoulder with a huff and made sure that the straps were tight, but comfortable around his arms as he looked out the window.

It was a two-story drop, but he'd climbed out of his window to sneak out of the house before, and back into it. This time, he wasn't coming back, and didn't care what kind of trouble he might get in for it later.

"Anything is better than dealing with another night of this," he muttered, as he forced the old, stiff window open with a sharp thrust. Like many other things in the house, Jesse's room was falling into a state of disrepair, and getting the window open without making a sound was next to impossible.

Jesse was well past caring, however, and even as the creaking of the old, rusty tracks sent a chill through his spine, the cervine kept a tight hold on his determination. He crawled through the window the moment that it was open wide enough, unsure, and uncaring if anyone happened to see him do it.

The bushes rustled under his descent, as he hung over the ledge of the window and fell right into them, but they broke his fall just enough to prevent any serious bruises or breaks. He could still run, and that was all he cared about, as he brushed the leaves away from his emerald green eyes, along with a spare tear drop. "They'll never make fun of me again... no one is ever gonna make fun of me again!" he cried, as he darted out of the bushes and across the street, stealing into the darkness of the quiet, cozy neighborhood.

Before he was even able to get to the other sidewalk, he was beginning to regret his choice of footwear, as the bottoms of the shoes offered little traction in the midst of the asphalt, and Jesse felt his legs churning around as he tried to keep his balance. "W-woah...woooah! C'mon, feet! Work with me, here!" He yelled at himself, opting to grip at the straps of his backpack to try and maintain a sense of balance, while his shoes finally came to a skidding stop, when they slammed against the curb of the other sidewalk.

His adventure wasn't off to the best start, but he wasn't going to stop so easily. He had the benefit of living in a neighborhood on the bench of the mountains, and though it was a treacherous path upward, Jesse was sure that he could make his way up the side of the mountain, far enough to avoid being detected by his family.

"By the time they're able to get as high as I am, they'll have completely forgotten about me anyway," He thought aloud, as he stepped onto the sidewalk and started walking for the sharp, steep side of the mountain. His house was situated near the end of a cul-de-sac, and in those backyards, one could actually see some of the trails that kicked their way further and further up the mountain range. The folks living in those houses were used to people sneaking through their yards to get onto the trail, rather than paying for the parking spaces down at the other end, but the trail was supposed to be closed after 6 PM.

That didn't stop teenagers from going up the trail to do all kinds of illicit, illegal things, and it certainly wasn't going to stop Jesse from making his way up the trail, thinking it the easiest way to get far, far away from his family.

Getting through the yards wasn't such an issue, of course. Even with his struggles to get a grip on the asphalt, Jesse was able to make his way to the rounded end of the cul-de-sac and sneak onto a path through the yards that was so beaten from travelers that it nearly looked like it was supposed to be a part of the trail.

As soon as he made it there, however, he let out a huff. "Of course...the path is still damp," he groaned and immediately rolled his eyes. The deer didn't pick the best attire for a trip into the mountains in the first place; his joggers were comfortable, and his hoodie of a matching shade of blue would keep him warm, but they'd show mud in seconds, and though he was trying to keep his footing, one step onto the trail proved that it would be no easy task.

Sticky, brown mud immediately stuck to the bottom of Jesse's shoes. He'd somehow forgotten that the snow on the mountains was beginning to melt with the coming of spring, no matter how clear the paths might normally be, they were going to be nothing short of mudslides in the current conditions.

"...Doesn't matter," He said, trying to keep some form of resolve in his voice. " Anything is better than going back to the house, now."

It was a typical sentiment of teenage cynicism, but Jesse was really beginning to believe it, as he set both of his shoes in the mud. He squirmed with disgust as he felt some of the cool, wet mixture seeping into his socks, but it still carried less of a chill than the cold shoulder that his parents offered him, and less of a sting than the biting words of his angry, jealous siblings.

Brushing his bangs over the side of his angled antlers, Jesse trudged forward, mindful to get out of the backyards as quickly as possible. Everyone in the neighborhood knew who he was, and if he wasn't careful, the neighbors would just call the police before he had the chance to get anywhere.

The path was docile enough, to start. Despite the mud almost certainly ruining Jesse's shoes and leaving him with a disgusted, squishy sensation every time he took a step, the path behind the houses wasn't too steep, and had a tendency to zig-zag across the bench, instead of just going straight up the side of the mountain. Jesse would have preferred the faster option, but the trail was bordered on almost all sides with trees and rocks that were too large to climb over, especially without the proper footwear.

Jesse was shocked at just how much damage his shoes were taking already, and he didn't want to think about the possibility of having to take them off. His siblings always made fun of him about his hooves, saying that they were too small or shaped funny, and if there was one thing that Jesse wanted to get away from, it was unfair criticisms, such as those.

As he felt his feet sinking further and further into the mud with each step, however, keeping his hooves under wraps was looking like less and less of a possibility.

Only half a mile up the trail, Jesse finally encountered someone who would likely have given his hooves the same kind of jest if they were able to see them...instead, they had a much easier target.

"Jeez, dude. Go hiking much?"

A rather experienced hiker was making his way back down the trail, toward the parking lot at the other end. The sun was already hidden behind the tall, impervious wall of the mountain range, and even if the path weren't so muddy, there was no doubt that it was too treacherous for the kind of footwear that Jesse went with.

"N...not often," Jesse replied, his voice rather timid, despite the pent-up anger that caused him to run from home in the first place.

"Coulda fooled me," the man replied, as he pressed his hiking stick into the ground and turned around the trail, right past Jesse. "You look like you're having some serious trouble. Ever heard of hiking boots before?"

The bottom of Jesse's shoes barely had any grip: Even asphalt proved to be a challenge for them, and now that he was even further up the path, it didn't look like things were going to get any easier for him. "Well of course I've heard of them!" Jesse shouted back, immediately taking a defensive attitude. "I just...I just felt like doing something a little more challenging right now, that's all!"

The man tilted his head slightly, looking back and then gazing down at Jesse's shoes once again. The tan coloration and fabric they once held were completely covered with a seal of drying mud, but more wet, sloppy mess coated the trail, sure to invade his shoes as he went.

"Sure looks like you've got your challenge," the canine agreed. "Dunno what the hell you're thinking, though. It's getting way too late to head that direction. You should really make your way back down to the parking lot before it gets any darker!"

"Pfft. Sure. You know better, just like all of the other adults..."

Jesse didn't care if he was revealing his youth, which was just a little bit obscured, thanks to the darkness. He was fed up with the adult world telling him how to think, and no matter how many adults he met, it seemed that they all believed that they knew what was best for Jesse, even if they didn't know him.

"Calm down, kid! I'm just saying that you're liable to get hurt really badly if you keep walking up the trail in those shoes. Things are caked in mud already, anyway."

Huffing in frustration and trying to ignore the rather kindly advice he was given, Jesse made an attempt to trudge onward, but one of his shoes was sunk so deep into the mud of the trail that he actually had to grip his ankle to yank it free. A sickly schlorp followed his hoof out of the mud, and the shoe just barely came with, but it took with it a healthy helping of the same muddy mess.

No matter what Jesse did from there on, it didn't seem that he'd be able to keep his hooves clean, and he had to move quickly; every time he paused on the trail, he sunk a little bit further and further into the muck.

Whoever the adult was who passed, the man didn't seem to care enough to actually stop Jesse, or call the authorities on him. He rolled his eyes and carried on his way down the mountain, as Jesse went the opposite direction, determined to get as high and far away from his family as possible.

The mountain was battling him every step of the way, however, and his struggles only continued as he came to the first climbing surface.

Most trails were fairly easy in the quieter neighborhoods like the one that Jesse lived in. This particular trail had a reputation for difficulty, however, and it wasn't just based on the rising walk. There were points where the trail was literally vertical, and without a strong pair of paws to grip the rock ledges around it, there was no easy way for someone to make it anywhere near the top of the trail.

Proper hiking boots would have helped quite a bit, as well, but Jesse had to make it with what he had, and the walk back to his parent's house would waste precious time that he wasn't willing to give up.

"Huff...nnf... d-damn...I don't remember this ledge being so steep!" He complained as dirt collected under the quick of his claws. He tried finding better places to grip, but it wasn't his arms that were struggling: It was his hooves, as the slippery, muddy shoes upon them failed to grip onto any surface. The ledge was just barely more than ten feet tall, but it was almost entirely vertical, and by the time Jesse neared the top, he was pulling himself up, more than he was actually climbing the wall. "S-stupid...useless... shoes!" He grunted in effort, as he pulled himself over the edge of the wall, completely soaking the front of his hoodie with mud, and his knees, as he came to a standing position once again.

The trail was unforgiving to Jesse, but somehow, he still preferred it to the horrors that he faced in his own house. He knew that there was still a few ledges and bridges to cross, but that still sounded preferable to the abuse of his siblings and the negligence of his parents.

Even the mud, which threatened to swallow his shoes every time that he paused on the trail, seemed kinder to Jesse than his own family was, and he kept a tight hold of that same hatred for his kin as he used the trees at his sides to keep his shoes from popping off.

The ledge was a difficult enough thing to climb over, but the struggles didn't stop there, for Jesse. Things were only going to get worse as he made his way up the mountain, and he knew it; the trail picked up a very steep grade on the other side of the ledge, and without any grip on his shoes, it seemed that he wasn't going to be able to continue forward without putting a fair amount of weight on his legs.

Exceptionally foot-shy and worried about losing his shoes since the beginning, Jesse was beginning to think that it wasn't a matter of if he'd be losing his shoes on the trail, but when.

There were greater concerns for most people who would make a late night trek up the side of the mountain, and though Jesse kept a brisk pace, he couldn't help the sense of paranoia that filled his mind as he scaled the side of the rocks. Though his parents didn't ever seem to care what he was up to, he couldn't shake the thought that they were already calling the police. Even if they didn't, he couldn't imagine that the hiker who passed him on the way down wouldn't call the police, after the way that Jesse lashed out at him.

He really did believe that the whole world was turning on him, and though it might not have been the truth, Jesse cursed his luck to a fault when his front foot slipped, landing him face down in the mud.

Jesse could have cursed at the mud, for causing him to slip. He could have cursed at himself, given that it was his own decision to run away that caused all of this trouble in the first place.

Instead, he ending up cursing at one of his shoes, as it slipped off of his hoof in the process of his falling over. "D-Damn it! Get back here!" He yelled, as he watched gravity push the boot through the trail of mud and down the path that he'd already taken.

Jesse didn't care that his hoodie was a mess, or that his comfortable joggers were ruined. He scrambled to get himself up, and his uncovered hoof was immediately coated with the same mess that he'd been trying to avoid, as he stumbled his way back down the path and gripped his shoe by the heel. "Friggin'...stupid..." he grunted as he fought with the shoe, stuffing it back over his hoof and only letting out a sigh of relief when he was sure that no one had seen what happened to him.

It might seem an odd thing to be so shy about, but after almost seventeen years of being mocked and teased for the way that they looked, Jesse didn't want anyone seeing his hooves, even a passing stranger. His dedication to that anxiety, however, meant that his once comfortable and stylish shoes were completely wrecked, and even if they weren't coated in mud, they were just barely surviving the arduous trudge up the mountain trail.

Jesse was sure that they would begin to tear and give way, soon, if he didn't find a place to stop for the night. He'd need somewhere to hide that even the rangers wouldn't think to look, yet with enough cover that he wouldn't freeze to death in the middle of his sleep.

Feeling truly beside himself, Jesse didn't see any other option than to keep walking up the trail. He had one last play, but he didn't like the idea of it; Jesse had always done the best he could to be a good kid, despite all of the troubles in his home. He was teased at school for different reasons, whether it was his nerdy nature, the fact that he was gay, or even just how shy and timid he was...but no matter how far removed you were from them, everyone heard rumors about the cool kids in school, and the rumor mill always talked about how they would go up the trail late at night to take drugs and make out with whoever they were dating at the time.

If that was the truth, they might have a little hiding place, and now, Jesse was determined to find it.