FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"I'll have some blackberry tea please," I contently say to my server, who's been walking around a warm and rich-smelling café. She's wearing a crimson apron together with dark-blue shorts, although her tannish fur and bushy white tail are still visible. By contrast, most of my fur has a dark-brown coloring, although the lower parts of my arms and legs, as well as my facial mask, are charcoal-colored; I'm also wearing forest-green gym shorts. With the server's rabbit ears carefully perked and listening to various customers, whether they come to sit and think, or instead work on laptops doing some technology-related news writing or checking e-mails, she takes my small menu with a smile, holding it next to an empty steel cup of what strongly smells like peppermint mocha.

"Sure thing!" she replies, her bright blue eyes surveying my green ones to likely see that I'm feeling welcome here. "Thanks for stopping by this afternoon! I know the rain outside won't let up, and it's not very fun even if summer's finally here." That's probably why there aren't too many people here, but I haven't really noticed that much. It's not like I had any meetings planned today.

"Yeah..." I softly respond while staring forward, "I'm not really sure what I'm doing with my weekend, but some friends are nearby; maybe they'll stop by later to catch up on things." While I sit at this table for two, I tap my right claw onto my cell phone's screen and notice that it's about five o'clock; I've been browsing through social media notifications for the past half hour. "Sorry you have to be here on the weekend like this," I say after moving my focus to her face. Putting my phone in my loose left shorts pocket, I make a small smile and tell her "Thanks for the service."

Her placing my menu and a small order slip into her apron's front pockets, she grins a little and replies "Oh, it's no problem at all! I actually like getting to chat with everyone here, keeping up to date with what's going on." She turns around and happily takes a few steps away before finishing her thoughts: "I have friends that show up from time to time too. People stop by for plenty of different reasons, and there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes, it also just helps to chill and relax." She heads over to the counter to presumably wipe off a tea stain from her clothing, and I guess she'll be getting other orders now. I'm not really in a rush anyway, so I'm fine staying here.

The café is a fairly new establishment, where all the flooring is composed of teak wood; the smooth yet plank-like wooding extends to the walls, although tables and a long counter are all dark and metallic. Light sources from the ceiling are somewhat dim, but it's simple enough to see. My cushioned chair is especially comfy, helping make conversations with the server and others easy.

Gripping my blackened claws around my phone again, with pinkish spots on my fingers facing upward, I see occasional texts from local friends of mine, them asking if I'm having a good day, me replying with content responses and wondering what sorts of fun sports they're into, or me talking about video games to make conversation. One weasel friend is setting up a small baseball team, like a club, and he's looking for recruits, but I'm not really an athletic ferret at all. A normally cheerful red fox who I know is out-of-town meeting up with family of theirs; she doesn't seem excited, given her rarely talking to them, but she sounds pretty serious, so I show concern without being too invasive. Everyone else is making silly jokes on their own pages, but a few puns make me laugh. Occasional pictures of forests are shared, what with summer starting up, and I particularly find these pretty relaxing to look through, even if I prefer being outdoors. My tail rises once I find out that there's a local fighting game tournament going on few blocks away in just a week, so I put that into my phone's calendar. But this weekend? I haven't really done anything.

Minutes pass and my tea comes; I'm not really in an excited mood today, but blackberries never cease to please me. I nod at the server and stare in front of me, adding a few packs of sugar to my drink before slurping bits of tea every minute... It's seriously tasty. I wish that I had stuff like this at home really, but then that place is noisy because of neighbors and... yeah. And that reminds me: I still need to get groceries sometime; I've been keeping my thoughts off work-related tasks and personal apartment chores lately. While licking off lingering fruit scents from the dark-brown fur that's under my pink nose, I put my phone in my pocket and eventually manage to sit totally still.

I can't help but hear pouring rain outside; it's not uncomfortable walking out there because of the warm temperatures of an early summer, but it also has this kind of melancholic effect really; what should be a bright and cheerful outdoor setting is instead darkened by persistent clouds, and it limits sunshine from coming through the windows... I could go home and play something, but I feel like staying where I am right now; that, and I'm feeling in a generally lazy mood today. From the isolated area that I'm sitting at, I can tell that there's some distant conversation across the café, but I can't really make out any words, only focused mutters and some occasional cheerful chirps.

At some point, I pull out my cell phone again to take some notes for ideas on what to write for my blog, but I'm not really focused enough; it's one of those days. The server comes up again, now looking slightly tired from walking around throughout a long shift; her large and bright eyes are aimed downward, like she's hoping to take a break. She comes up to me and asks "Hey, you want some more tea? We also have plenty of breads, muffins, and other snacks that go well with fruit."

I respond to her: "I hope this hasn't been too busy of a day for you," trying to make casual conversation but also realizing that this isn't necessarily the best time. "But yes, more fruity tea sounds really nice, and what would you recommend with it? I'm probably staying for a while," I try to say with a content expression, kind of wanting someone to talk with. Despite how much I like using technology, I consider myself a pretty social person, and I definitely do like meeting up with others; even when there's nothing going on, I'll try getting involved in virtual chatrooms.

"Well, if you want something spicy that offers a sharp taste, we have some ripe pumpkin bread that we're selling," she tells me while managing to maintain a smile, "although go with what you think's best." Now I kind of feel indecisive; hopefully that didn't come across as awkward.

"Sure, that sounds great," those words successfully coming out of my slightly shaking mouth, "and thanks a lot for the service." I'm not shy or anything, I just... I don't know, maybe I've been here for too long; I'll get some fresh air once the rain stops. Once the server leaves, I walk up to a moderately filled tip jar on the counter and deposit a few dollars before sitting back down. I notice a rabbit cashier who's studiously examining fees, but I ignore him after seeing how distracted he is. Like the server, the cashier's also a rabbit with a dark-red apron, although his fur is a purplish brown, and he seems older in his years; I can't make out much else while he's behind the counter.

Another drink, some surprisingly delicious morsels of pumpkin bread, and a lot of random searching across the internet later, I notice that it's now about six o'clock, with the café starting to get a notably higher amount of people. By a positive surprise, I notice that one of the furry critters walking through the tall entrance is Robin! He's a wolverine friend of mine, having darkly grayish fur across his body, with his perky and fluffy ears being his more prominent features. His ears, undercoat fur, and facial mask are far more whitish, and some vibrant red eyes and a somewhat browner hairstyle are easy enough to notice. Robin's wearing loose and long navy blue shorts, like a smaller set of jeans; they match well with his long and decently wide tail, which also has a dark-gray color. He also has on his cross necklace. Usually, we just hang out and play video games, also having casual chats about almost anything; nothing too serious, but he's a really friendly guy!

With me waving my right paw back and forth, claws partly extended and having an emerging smile on my face, he comes over and sits at the chair across from me. "Hey, Mello! It's good to see you!" he says as his claws grasp together on the table in front of him, me having mine go back to sitting on my lap still. "I've been jogging around for a while, but the rain's not letting up! Has your weekend been relaxing so far?" Robin looks pretty optimistic and cheerful today, which I'm happy to see; not unexpected, but I'm always glad to see buddies like him in a solid mood without problems. There's some sweat coming down his forehead, and from the suddenly strong smell of it, he's definitely been exercising to a significant degree lately. His hairstyle's lining is all over the place, and much of the fur around his hair seems dampened, although that could just be the rain.

"Oh, nothing new," I calmly reply, moving my attention from my cup to Robin's eyes. "Trying to write every now and then, dealing with work, but I'm not really doing anything today." And I mean, that's true and all; I haven't really accomplished anything today. Things are fine though, as I've been busy at a main job that... Well, I guess I make a decent salary, at least. "This is a nice place," I randomly let out, "and, well, they do have lots of tasty snacks here." Robin tries adjusting his hair, although he doesn't really do a great job at hiding that fact; I'm not bothered personally.

Robin replies: "Yeah, it's inviting and all. This café's pretty new still, ain't it?" He briefly looks sideways, signaling the server with a cheerful smile and a friendly wave of his left paw, although it looks like she's occupied with drink-making due to a short staff count. "They could use more employees," he notes, "but that's not a fault of anyone here really." Robin gets a text message on his own phone, pulls out the fairly old-looking phone that at least has a touchscreen, disregards it, and then puts it away. "So, anything new going on around here?" Robin says in a polite and still positive manner, "Any new films, games, or whatnot?" I can tell that he's been trying to keep busy, which should probably pick up now that summer's finally starting. Despite a hot temperature, pouring raindrops continue to fall outside, and I can hear violent thuds of liquid fall onto a matted entrance each time a new customer comes in for a quick order; that should last a while.

There are some action movies coming out soon, including a pretty cheesy-looking one that stars a ninja badger, but nothing that I feel an urgency to watch. "Not too much happening really," I contently let pass through my mouth, "I guess we could check Rotten Tomatoes sometime. Some well-received animations came out, I think." I'm not really the best at being articulate in discussions, but hey, that's just me. "What's the rest of the group doing?" I curiously ask. "Should we try organizing another event? Could be kind of fun, I guess." I finish up the rest of my tea.

Robin seems pleased to hear me trying to set up something. I mean, granted, I don't really have any specific plans, but I would like to actually keep myself busy; I know that it's healthy and all. "Sure, I'm dropping some stuff off at Leslie's tomorrow, and there are others jogging around town lately, so I'll definitely check!" Right as Robin finishes saying that, the server stops by again.

"Hey, sorry about the wait; there's a lot of people staying inside because of the weather," the rabbit says, patting down her slightly uneven apron and realigning her long ears. "Hi there, Robin!" I hear as I realize that he's probably a regular customer, "What can I get for you?" The server smiles and takes out a notepad covered in illegible scribbles. Her mood seems to have notably improved.

Robin replies, happily looking at the server's eyes: "I'll just have an iced coffee please." Nothing particularly fancy, it sounds like. "Plain flavor, nothing special in it." And it seems I was right.

"No problem, I'll have it in a few minutes!" The server then looks over at me again, with my relaxed paws being placed over my lap on the sides of my green clothing. "Want anything else, Mello?" Well, I've definitely been here a while, that's for sure... I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing; she's really friendly. I notice a small splash of tea on the bottom of my whitish front fur coat, but I manage to wipe it off with a napkin, being pretty sure that it wasn't hugely noticeable.

I reply to the polite server, observing that she's holding a pen and is eagerly waiting to provide assistance when needed: "Oh, no thanks! I think I'll just sit here a while, if that's alright." If that's alright? That's my choice of words? People chill here for long amounts of time. It's normal behavior. Well, anyway, I have plenty of stuff to search online later, and Robin's here, at least.

The server walks away, and Robin and I have a long but casual conversation for like twenty, maybe a little longer, minutes. None of the topics ever get very serious, but we have a good and optimistic time, although I randomly get distracted by my own thoughts a few moments. He tells me about his exercise plan to gain more muscle weight, which I think is really inspiring, and I talk about my own writing plans and interests in blogging. He briefly mentions sports, something I don't know much about, but I try to reply anyway; I know a decent amount about college football, at least. We talk about fun video games, both of us definitely having an active interest in Rocket League matches. And then there's just casual business life, which is... I mean... It sure is a conversation.

"It's been great to see you again, friend," Robin says as some light shines off his cross necklace. "You know, I might be hanging out at another friend's place later tonight, if you're interested in coming. Drinking might be involved too." Honestly, I actually really enjoy casual drinking, and my weekend's totally free. But, I don't know, I feel like I'm not in the mood for it right now. Why? I'm not too sure, but I've already had a long day, and maybe I just want to think to myself some?

"That's a really nice offer," I somewhat awkwardly reply with, "but I've been feeling kind of busy lately, and I think I'll just head home soon." I grab a napkin and wipe my entire face with it, noticing that I had a small amount of sweat on it. I was shaking a little bit earlier, but maybe it's just from sitting still for so long. "Seeing a film next week sounds great though," I offer as a sort of compromise, "and getting a group of people set up for that would be nice. I'll post something."

Robin takes my words with no offense, and replies: "Alright, that's fine. I'll be going then, but I'll be sure to text you later if something comes up!" He gets up, politely pushes his chair in, and then starts heading toward the counter to pay for his coffee. Robin quickly looks back at me and says "Take it easy! See you later, Mello." He looks pleased, and within two minutes, he exits the café and starts jogging away, probably to limit how long his fur gets wet for, but maybe it feels good.

For the next half hour, I sit by myself again, initially feeling a little lonely spending a Saturday night by myself; I quickly get over this feeling though, since I manage to keep myself distracted with what's online, although I'm following social media more than posting on it. I don't want others to think that I have nothing to do, even if it doesn't make much sense; I did say that I was leaving soon anyway, so things would be awkward if I changed my mind. At some point, I get up for a little bit and walk around, but I ultimately choose to sit back down in my smooth and inviting chair, not really feeling like going outside while the rain keeps pouring down; but really, I'm just not feeling motivated enough. I look at some windows several times, and it's almost seven o'clock when slight rays of a twilight appear due to what I guess are slight openings in clouds; the lighting is skinny and barely lasts for more than a minute, but I find it mesmerizing and fairly sweet, like an unusual anomaly that has its own charm. The rays have tangerine coloring, and, for no real reason, I take a cropped picture with my phone in case I want to edit and share it online later.

There are other mammals sitting on the far end of the café, all seeming distracted in their own ways. I can make out a sleepy-looking weasel with white fur and wearing a light-blue jacket, slightly shaking in place and holding onto a tall coffee cup. Next to them is another weasel, this one having a slightly darker fur color and wearing long-sleeved, purplish clothing. From the looks of it, they came here together, but they don't seem to be in particularly talkative moods.

One couple I notice three tables away from me includes a laughing and yellow-clothed cockatiel who seems to be with a bald eagle girlfriend, judging by how close their faces are to one another. The boy looks middle-aged, having really smoothly brushed brown hair and wearing a winter-like hat with blue and white stripes; he also has on a lime-green T-shirt. The girl seems slightly older and is wearing a navy-blue coat covered in white stripes. Her entirely blackened wings match her slightly messy black hair style, which slightly covers her rectangular and black-framed glasses; these all contrast a light-gray set of feathers across her body, and her beak is a darkish yellow. She seems extremely pleased and in a joyful mood going by her facial expressions, whenever I look over there anyway. The two birds are sitting side-by-side in front of a laptop that the girl is operating, although I can't see what's on the screen; whatever it is, they're having fun reading it.

I turn my attention back to my own table, hopefully not having seemed too weird looking around a bunch, and just sit still not really looking at anything for a few minutes. Thoughts about my busy weekday job keep circulating through my head, and random memories from the past year or so, not having any particular consistency to them, continuously appear in my mind. There are some stressful ones that show up, particularly with mistakes I awkwardly made in serious conversations with work colleagues, or failed social interactions from many random encounters, but these kinds of thoughts could be anything really; the point is that they just sort of come, and it's usually pretty difficult to forget them. I'm thinking about the start of next week and how I barely finished my team projects last week, and... Well, honestly, I would really just like to think of something else.

While I'm sort of staring at nothing, the server comes over to me once again. "Can I get you something else, Mello?" she asks me, probably wondering why I haven't left yet. I don't answer for a few seconds, and then I hear her say "Feel free to let me know if you need anything."

I snap out of distraction and then move my attention back to her large eyes. It wasn't as noticeable before because of the café's dim lighting, but she has a subtle hairstyle that's a similar shade of tan as her main fur, and it looks really nice to me. "Just some more blackberry tea, please," I softly say back, not having a particularly enthusiastic tone with those words. "And thanks again." I make a slight smile with my mouth, although none of my teeth beyond my white upper fangs show.

The server doesn't say anything, stares for a few seconds as if she's about to speak up, but then decides against it, instead nodding and taking notes on a new slip of white paper. I look around for a while, and the same guests from a while ago still seem to be here. The heavy showers are now joined by semi-frequent clasps of thunder, and the front door occasionally opens and closes slightly to allow screeching sounds of wind to be heard. I move both of my front paws across my phone yet again, and ultimately sigh when I find no new text messages or similar updates. I guess everybody else is busy, probably drinking and partying, but who knows really? It's not a big deal.

I go up to the tip jar again and deposit a few more dollars before sitting back down, and the server happily walks back shortly afterward with my tea. "Here you go, Mello," she says as she holds what seems to be a higher-sized cup than what I ordered before, "enjoy your drink. I can tell that you really like this flavor a lot." I legitimately smile and visually show my appreciation for it; she's definitely right with how much I seriously love blackberries; their taste is so appealing.

"Thank you!" I reply back to her. I line my hair straight downward, and continue with saying "I really appreciate getting to talk to you. You're a very friendly person, and I hope that the rest of your weekend goes well and all." I'm sincere with my response, and I honestly like the company.

Her tall rabbit ears line up, and she slightly blushes. "It's no problem at all!" she tells me in a casual yet positive tone. I hear the male cashier rabbit call her attention, pointing to a pile of dishes on the counter, and she unfortunately has to leave to continue her work; she's been busy today.

I think about finally getting up to leave, but there's a personal hesitation that prevents me from doing it. A light flickers for a second, and from almost right behind my soft and triangular ears, I suddenly hear a majorly enthusiastic and slightly higher voice: "Hey there, Mello! How's your day been?" I jump in place after being surprised by someone who seems to have snuck up on me. Turning my chair around, I quickly calm down after seeing that it's Leo, my hyper skunk friend!

"Always have to be sneaky in your introductions, Leo?" I say while picking up my cell phone from the ground, which fell out of my pocket after I almost fell out of my wooden chair. I'm used to having pretty wacky conversations with him, so I'm not particularly bothered. "When'd you get here, anyway?" I follow up with. "I don't remember you coming in, unless it was like just now."

The thunder comes to a stop, with rain still pouring down at a normal rate, and I hear Leo happily reply "Heh, it's just fun sneaking up to friends of mine!" to me. His light-green eyes are wide and directly fixated on mine, and the vivid coloring matches his large scarf. Leo has multiple shades of tan fur all across his body, although his arms, legs, and his sharp and bushy tail are covered with black horizontal stripes. He's also wearing dark-brown plaid shirts and two charcoal fingerless gloves, as well as a short, fuzzy, and red hat with holes for his triangular ears to emerge through.

Leo moves over to the seat across from me and sits down, having an extremely cheerful facial expression as he lays his hands across his lap. "So, what's new with you?" I politely ask my energetic friend. "You look like you're in a pretty good mood." It's pretty normal for Leo to be in an upbeat mood, and I always liked that aspect of him, how he tries to add optimism to a majority of real-life moments, even during serious conversations. We met at a nearby tennis court, which I randomly went to a few months ago in an attempt to find a fun way to get fresh air; I don't really go much anymore, but Leo's an active fan of it, so maybe we'll organize a doubles meet sometime.

"Yeah, well, I met someone a while ago, and our interests definitely matched a lot!" Leo says as his tail rises and shakes around excitedly. "We're going out for dinner tomorrow night, and I'm really looking forward to it!" That's really awesome! Leo's been in several relationships over the past few years, with expressive characters of multiple species, although I don't remember him talking about any current ones since I first met him. "So that's been in my mind all day, and I'm just walking around to keep myself occupied. Besides that, I've also kept up with group meetups."

"That's awesome, Leo! Glad to see you in a happy mood, and I hope you have a fun time." I say while trying to form some sort of a cheesy smile. I take some more sips of my blackberry tea, and then follow up with saying "I haven't been up to much lately, although some other friends and I might watch a film next week, so there's that." Despite the fact that I don't actually know what we're watching... I'm just trying to make small conversation. "Also thinking about what to write."

Leo replies: "That's neat! You have a blog, right?" I do have one of those, yeah, but I mostly just write about new games and occasional ideas for creative writing. "Any topic ideas or current events you thinking of posting about? I think it's nice that you're trying to get more creative lately," he says with a surprisingly interested tone, "and it's neat to see everyone's writing style or thoughts." I think Leo tends to be more of a consistently outdoors mammal than someone who stays home and uses technology a lot, but neither is a bad thing. "You know, if you ever feel like sharing a draft or something, I can look it over or even just read it, if you'd like." His support means a lot.

I stretch my arms and glance around the busy café for a bit, and then return my focus to Leo. "Thanks," I calmly reply with, "I mean it's nothing fancy or anything, just something I wanna work on more in my free time." Leo nods understandably, blinking his eyes in a happy manner. I push the plate with my last two slices of pumpkin bread forward to the center, in case Leo is hungry for something. "You can have some bread if you want," I awkwardly force into the conversation. "I've already been here a while actually, but I'll probably leave once the rain calms down." At this rate, who knows when that will be, but honestly, I'm just happy to be having another conversation.

Leo takes a slice of bread, the smell still being fresh and pleasant in nature, and takes a small bite from it; he seems to like the taste and continues eating it for a little while. "This is really good actually; thanks Mello!" From the looks of it, Leo must have been really hungry for most of this afternoon, that or he just had a sweet tooth. He brushes off some crumbs from his fuzzy scarf, and then continues conversing with me while still having some bread in his mouth: "I know it's pouring a lot outside, but it's sort of nice, you know? At least when there aren't too many clouds and you can see bits of the slowly fading sun coming down." That's not really the case here anymore, especially since it's starting to be late in the evening, but there are times it can be relaxing, I guess.

For around half an hour to an hour, Leo and I have a pretty casual discussion, mostly talking about recent current events and our thoughts on local conventions happening soon. He tells me how his day job has been as a retail stocker, while I offer a generic description of my job lately, but I manage to keep that conversation from lasting longer than a minute. Leo's hours are pretty lengthy and somewhat inconsistent, but he gets out early enough to enjoy the normally warm spring weather and also has weekends off; I'm similar, except I start later and don't get home until late into the evening on weekdays, so... Yeah, that's really not fun... Maybe I could make things better by having a consistent sleep schedule, and... Okay, I should probably work on happier thoughts.

The more positive parts of our lengthy conversation involve conventions, especially when I talk about that nearby fighting game tournament happening in town; while I'm not great, I do have a favorite Street Fighter character to play as, and I like calling friends to play against them online, when we're all indoors, at least. Leo rarely plays video games, but he isn't against the idea of joining some other group-mates and I for a fun time, and he also tells me about some art exhibits at a new museum that just opened up; he enthusiastically tells me how paintings and sculptures there are more independent than historical, and he's been interested in visual arts for a while now. We both talk about our personal hobbies and eventually text each other with dates and locations for our respective events, although I don't want to get in the way of his new relationship in case things go really well, so I slightly de-emphasize my interest in the tournament. Twenty minutes in, my focus gets briefly distracted several times, but Leo keeps a smile and doesn't seem to notice.

It's extremely easy to notice that Leo's actively excited about his date tomorrow, even despite us talking about several other things. His striped tail keeps shaking around a lot, particularly whenever he checks a new text message on his phone. Probably the most personal aspect of our discussion is when we talk about relationships for a while, with Leo mentioning his preferences for outdoorsy and wildly creative people; his date seems to match both of those, and he tells me about how cute and somewhat cheesy his conversations were yesterday when dinner was set up.

When the mood is right, Leo asks me how my personal plans are, offering encouragement when I reply that I'm not seeing anyone in terms of a relationship. I just can't see myself being with anyone on that personal of a level right now, even though there have been a few other mustelids in the past who I really liked... This is kind of an unexpected conversation for me, maybe, but Leo's not at all judgmental and tells me to take my time figuring out what I want to do with my life; there's no rush, he says, and I'm also quick to assure him that I have plenty of creative projects to focus on and group friends to hang out with. That last part might have come out slightly rudely... I mean, it's not that I don't like anyone, because I do, but I feel like it wouldn't be fair to them or something? I'm really distracted lately, and I like hanging out, but I need to explore myself more.

With it now getting pretty dark outside, the only real light source visible through the occasionally opening entrance being what I think is a moderately high lamppost, Leo ends up having to leave so that he can drop some things off at his family's. "It was great seeing ya again, Mello!" Leo speaks out loud while lining up his scarf. "I'm busy hanging out with family for part of tomorrow, and then I'll be busy that night, but we should definitely get a group going for some huge event next weekend!" He gets out of his chair, neatly pushes it in, and leaves some money in front of us to cover his payment; briefly glancing downward, I notice that his payment's nicely lined up.

I turn my attention to him as he's still standing up and facing me, with me passing through my lips that "Hey, thanks for chatting with me for a while! You're a great person to talk to." Leo slightly laughs and also bows his head as a kind gesture. "Sorry if I was a little weird about my personal life, but sounds like you met someone really great! I hope he and you have an awesome time."

Leo pushes his hat back with his right claws, and replies in a calm yet positive manner: "Thanks! It's been a while since I've seen anybody, so I'm looking forward to it." He briefly pulls his phone out of his left pocket with his other hand to presumably check the time again, and then immediately puts it away again. "And hey, no worries at all, buddy. Take your time, and feel free to text if there's something you'd really like to talk about." I hesitantly nod my head in response to what he said, and Leo waves his right glove-covered hand at me, leaving through the now-wet entrance.

There's an empty plate sitting in the middle of the darkened and very slightly crumb-covered table. Brown napkins from a reflective stand are slightly falling out of place, but aside from the crumbs, those, and a small splash of darkened tea sitting by my metallic cup, the rest of the surface is fairly clean. I turn my somewhat tired head and look out a nearby window, only to notice that it's getting close to black outside except for some artificial building lighting; it's like what one might notice while walking through a firefly-invested backyard after an evening with sparklers, when trees are still visible but require slightly more focus to see. When the entrance doors open, it also feels warm despite the dripping water, although the latter has at least slowed down with its loudness.

Anyway, I surf my phone for a while, and every ten or so minutes, I see some other customers leave the café; some mammals came by themselves, a few reptilian and mammalian groups of two leave, and I don't easily notice other examples since I'm silently sitting in place reading stuff on my phone. I notice that my phone's running low on power; good thing I didn't think to bring a charger with me... Text messages have also slowed down to a halt, and I turn my phone off to save the little power left that I might want in case it's needed for emergencies on my way home.

I don't know what the time is now, but I assume it's late since more people start to leave. The server and her long-eared manager seem to be behind the counter cleaning dishes and putting things away for the night, although she still finishes any remaining orders. I almost finished my current drink, but I don't think to ask for another refill, suddenly not really having an urge to do much at all. Two more critters walk out almost right after I put my head down, and I sigh to myself.

The romantic bird couple who I saw earlier also starts leaving shortly afterward, and I raise my head and communicate a smile and goodbye to them both as they start walking outward. The glasses-wearing eagle takes particular notice of me, looks slightly surprised upon doing so, and seems to almost want to say something but ultimately has to leave in a rush with her presumed boyfriend. When she's at the door, she pushes her blue coat downward and waves her right hand at me before her companion whispers something to her; I'm guessing they have some meeting to get to. But wait... I feel like I've seen her before, and did she recognize me? I've definitely seen her sharp hairstyle and series of gray feathers before... I think about quickly going up to ask her something, but soon decide to instead wave back with a happy expression. I'll be hanging around here more in the future, I'm sure, so I guess I might run into her later. I mean, at least I think she'll come back here again. And lots of other people here. What time is it again? Should I be leaving?

With her crimson apron being placed on the side of the main counter, I suddenly notice the server walking to my table despite it looking like her shift is about to end, and her ears move forward as if she's trying to closely focus her attention. I look left and then right before dropping my head some, kind of just wanting to think things over to myself more. The rabbit reaches her right hand out and I softly say "Hi again..." as I shortly notice her taking my empty plate with a neutral expression on her face. She pulls out a lemon-scented rag with her other hand and uses it to wipe off leftover bits of food. While she's cleaning, I think of something to say, open my mouth, but only manage to release a soft breath, still sitting alone. At this point, I have no idea what time it is.

"Hey Mello, thanks again for stopping by," she says to me as her eyes are focused on cleaning, with her moving the rag at a moderately paced speed. "We're closing for the night pretty soon, but you're welcome to stay for a little longer if you'd like." Looking at her face, she seems kind of unenthusiastic, but that's likely just from her being so busy. She turns to me, and even though I should and want to make some kind of a nod, I don't visually respond to her statements at all.

I start to think about what I've accomplished today, and how the only thing I did after my day job yesterday was sit still for an hour before playing games at home for most of the night. Thoughts of friends on social media from today come up, and I can't think of any particular dramas with any of them, but... I feel like there's more I could be doing lately. My blog only has a few introductory posts about ideas for poems, and there's a simple film review I quickly wrote up about a week ago, but I would like to be more creative. Maybe I'm worried that I'm too lazy, or something similar.

I finally say something to the tired server: "Hey, I'm really sorry for not asking earlier, but I don't think I ever got your name. I don't come here much, and..." I pause for a second before continuing my sentence. "Well, I'll probably be hanging around here more often, and I'd like to know more people here." I'm not wording myself well at all, and I know I should just get up and finally leave.

She looks directly at my forest-green eyes, and with a friendly yet serious expression on her face, she says "My name's April, and don't worry about it at all." April... that's a lovely name. But she's not offended at all? "It's not really any of my business, but you seem pretty distracted today, and if you need to just relax for a while, that's totally fine. I'll definitely be around here, so maybe we can sit down and get to know each other some more sometime, when I'm not on a shift of mine." Being signaled via a subtle paw wave from her manager, she takes her attention away from me and brings the rag and plate back to the sink. There's less noise, and the rain starts to slow down.

I'm not really sure what to say, but thankfully, April quickly walks back over and sits in the seat across from me. "Hey Mello, is there anything you really wanna talk about?" April politely asks me, pushing her slightly misaligned hair straightly backward. "If there's something you need get off your mind, you can tell me." This is a pretty direct question, and I'm... I'm not sure how to respond; like, I appreciate her concern, but I'm fine, really. I probably only need some fresh air.

Bringing my four-fingered claws together in a praying position on my lap, I casually reply: "Oh, that's fine to ask. I've just been really busy lately, and I'd like to take things more slowly. Wish people didn't demand much during the day, or, I mean..." Wait, what the heck am I trying to say? I shake slightly, but then continue: "I-I just mean that my life is busy, and I feel kind of weird sometimes, and, well, it's not really something that I know how to talk about right now, sorry."

April slightly leans back and has an apologetic look on her face, although I might just be worrying that I offended her or something. "There's nothing to apologize for, and sorry if I'm being too personal." She looks out a window and notices some artificial lighting right outside the café. "It's nothing you need to elaborate on, of course. Everybody gets stressed sometimes, and that's perfectly fine; I'm just offering someone to talk to from time to time, if you'd like." Truthfully, I have way more thoughts circulating through my head than what I said, and I'm just trying to end the conversation. April's being nice to me, and I appreciate that; I'm not mad at her or anything.

I stare at April's eyes and manage to calmly reply: "Okay, and thanks for asking me. You're totally fine, and I'll probably feel better tomorrow after I get some rest." My breathing seems fairly normal, and my voice sounds like it's moving at an ordinary pace. "I mean, I'll let someone know if I need help with anything, and thanks a lot for the drinks and everything. They're really good."

"Happy to serve! I like getting to know people here, and hopefully we'll run into each other some more." We exchange some ordinary words for a bit, eventually she fetches me a bill for what I've ordered, and I leave some slightly misaligned dollar bills on the table. I feel alright, and I'll try making something creative tomorrow. One of the lights at the far end of the café goes out, presumably having been turned off, and I get out of my chair to leave. My tail isn't shaking now, and my comfy shorts are loose, allowing for plenty of air to reach my fur; I feel pretty comfortable.

Walking to the door at a moderate pace, I'm about to open the still entrance when I hear a deep voice from behind me: "Thanks for stopping by. You have yourself a nice evening, alright?" I turn around and see it's the older cashier rabbit, him having a legitimate smile on his face and nodding his head to me. He sounds friendly and charismatic, and he waves his right paw at me while his other paw holds an empty coffee cup. I stand still for a second, but then fully smile and nod back.

I firmly open the entrance and take several steps forward onto a stone path that's surrounded by a few lampposts. Stepping further away from the café, I can smell sweet citrus plants from a nearby garden. My furry ears pick up the sounds of many summer insects, but I don't physically feel anything. The weather is warm as I reach my dry arms outward; the rain has completely stopped.