FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Stepping out of the bathroom after having his morning shower, Hazard walked back to his bedroom, a dry white towel was covering his wet rumpled head fur as he was drying himself off. He stood in front of his dressing closet's mirror and saw his reflection on it, wearing nothing on him except for his typical black pants. He continued drying his soaked well-built body; being fully furred made that simple task into an annoying chore, especially when it came to his thick furry golden tail. He scrubbed the towel over his right strapping shoulder, moving down to dry the firm bicep across his strong arm. He cleaned under his armpit and then switched over to his left side, before he began on his muscled chest. However, he stopped around the middle of his torso, a grim expression covering his face as he looked back at his reflection; specifically at his chest area. A sever scar marked a huge part of his chest, starting from under his left shoulder and going diagonally all the way down to his right side of his waist. He traced the scar with a finger; the rough feeling of it burnt into his flesh didn't change one bit over the many years. It looked hideous to him, and he hated it. It did nothing but bring back dreadful memories he didn't wish to remember every time he looked at it.

"Will it ever end...?" Hazard breathed out jadedly, stepping backward and sitting on the edge of the bed. He then instantly cringed when he sensed a soggy sensation under his bottom and realized that he sat down on his wet tail that he'd forgotten to dry off. "Eugh..." he grimaced as he pulled out his tail from under himself, still dripping. He held it in both hands and gave it a tight twist, squeezing out what remained of water.

"Haz! Are you home?!" Hazard's ears then twitched as they picked the sound of a feminine voice calling out for him from outside his bedroom, a voice he quickly recognized.

"Err, d-don't come in! I don't have any clothes on! I'll be right there, Sasuga!" The wolf timidly replied from inside his bedroom and searched for any kind of wardrobe he could use to cover his top body. He didn't want anyone to see his scar, especially her. Sasuga must've welcomed herself into his apartment, which was okay for Hazard. It had been three weeks since they'd known each other, and they were becoming close friends with each passing day, so they agreed that either of them were very much free to enter either of their apartments like it was their own. He quickly fetched his usual black tanktop and put it on in a hurry before coming out to meet his kirin friend. "Hey there," he greeted her with a coyly smile, scratching his ruffled scalp and putting his glasses on.

"Good morning! Um, I'm sorry for rushing you, I didn't know you were having a shower," Sasuga said apologetically when she noticed his messy look. She was holding something behind her back which was too big to hide, which Hazard instantly took note of.

"Ah, it's fine! I just finished just as you came in. But... what's that you're carrying there?" Hazard asked curiously, trying to take a peek of it. It looked like a painting frame.

"Oh! It's the reason I came! I want to give you a present, and I hope you'll like it. Ready for it? Tadah!" The kirin brought out the thing she was hiding and held it in front of Hazard, whose eyes simply bulged out when he saw the wonderful painting she drew for him. It was a pastel-brushed drawing of a full moon, centered in a dark-blue sky and covered by only hints of clouds. It was so beautifully done, anyone could've mistaken it for a real photograph.

"Wow! It's... it's so incredible! You did this just for me?!" Hazard exclaimed in joy, not believing his eyes.

Sasuga nodded, "Yup! I noticed how you like watching the moon and that you didn't have any paintings hanged around your place, so I thought maybe I should paint you one so you could see it whenever you want. I'm glad you like it!"

"Like it? I love it! It's so realistic!" Hazard held the painting in his hands and tapped on it with a finger, making sure it wasn't the real thing, Sasuga giggling at that. "Thank you so much for the awesome gift, Sasuga. I'll go hang it right now, right after I give you something," Hazard then smirked and put the painting on a table, going back to his room for a second before coming back with a small box. "Here, I was planning to give you this, and I think now is a better time than any."

Sasuga blinked and blushed in a surprise, "Oh no, you didn't have to! You don't have to give me something back for my gift!"

"I'm not. I was supposed to give you this way before, but it slipped my mind..." Hazard scratched his cheek bashfully, handing the cutely decorated blue box with a pink ribbon to Sasuga. She smiled gratefully and nodded, taking the gift gladly. She tried to pull the ribbon off to open the box and see what was in it, but the wolf suddenly stopped her.

"Wait! Don't open it now!" Hazard yelled and startled the kirin.

"Wh-Why?" she blinked at him in confusion.

"Uhh, just don't, ok? I'll let you know when later today, or else it won't be a surprise," Hazard replied and made her even more confused.

"How will I know?"

"Trust me, you will," grinned the wolf. "Just promise me you won't even take a peek." It was a little too tempting not to open the gift, but Sasuga resisted the urge and accepted his strange condition.

"Oh-kay... whatever it is, thank you for it, Haz." Sasuga leaned forward to give Hazard a small kiss on the cheek, making the wolf's golden cheeks flush red instantly and him back off a little.

"Err, d-don't mention it!" he rumbled, scratching the back of his head to hide his embarrassment.

Sasuga giggled, "Well, I have to get to school now. Want to tag along?" she then asked the wolf, as both of them shared the same route to work.

"Sure thing. Just give me a minute so I can hang this thing right over..." Hazard held the painting up and tried locate a nice spot for it in the living room. "There! Yeah, looks perfect!" He found a good place for it to hang right over a cupboard.

"Nice! Well, I'll wait for you downstairs, ok?" Sasuga informed him as she was going out through the door while Hazard was getting the hammer and some nails.

"OKAY!" The wolf replied, looking back at her over his shoulder while at the same time trying to hammer a nail on the wall for the painting to hang on. Unfortunately for him, his aim missed just an inch from the nail and he slammed the hammer right on his thumb instead. "OWWWWW!!!"

Sasuga rushed back in when she heard the loud scream, only to find the wolf scampering around the living room, holding his crushed thumb and crying out in pain. "Wh-What?! What happened Hazard?!"

"Ow! My thumb! Ow! Shit, it hurts! Ow! Stupid! Idiot! Ouch! It really, fucking HURTS!" Hazard kept howling out from the sheer agony and jumping about like a loony kangaroo. Sasuga shook her head at how klutzy the wolf was and decided to treat his injury.

"Calm down, you're crying like a baby. Let me see that," she said as she held his hand in hers and checked his swollen thumb.

"'K-Kay..." Hazard whimpered like a pup and quieted down, holding back a couple of snivels while Sasuga took a look at his thumb.

"It's not that bad, just a small bump. You really need to be more careful, Haz, you could really hurt yourself," Sasuga said when she saw that he wasn't seriously injured, gently blowing on his thumb a few times.

"Uhh... okay..." Hazard murmured awkwardly as Sasuga's tender huffs blew softly on his sore thumb. Despite the fact that it felt nice and actually soothed the pain away, Hazard didn't want to get that close to the kirin and quickly pulled his finger away when he felt himself blushing again. "Um, hey, the pain's gone! Thanks for the help, Sasuga!"

"Oh? That's... good," Sasuga smiled; her too trying to hold back a blush after noticing Hazard's. "Well, should we get going?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah! Lemme just get my shirt!" Hazard walked over to his bedroom, but his foot banged into the hammer that he accidentally dropped on the floor, and he banged into it hard. "OWWW! GODAMMIT! Ow! My toe!"

"Oh jeez, Haz..." Sasuga covered her forehead with a hand and sighed out helplessly. She decided that the next time she would get him a gift; it would definitely be a first aid kit.

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"Are you sure your foot is all right?" Sasuga asked her lupine friend as they were walking along the walkway of a main street, as she saw Hazard doing a little limp walk every few steps he made.

"Sure! This is nothing. I once dropped a scorching iron on the same foot while ironing my own clothes," Hazard said and bounced a couple of times with said left foot.

"Oh my!" Sasuga gasped.

"Yup. After that, I said 'Never more!' and started sending my clothes to the laundry. You gotta love how neatly they fold those things!" Hazard spoke humorously, crossing his arms behind the back of his head, as Sasuga giggled.

"Are you always this clumsy?"

"Heh, I try not to be." The wolf grinned, and then both of them noticed a crowd bunching around an alley across the street, with some police cars and an ambulance too, and Sasuga got curious of what was the cause of it. Hazard, in the other hand, didn't seem very much interested.

"Hey, what's going on over there? Let's go see!"

"Do we have to? H-Hey! Hold on!" She grabbed Hazard by the arm and dragged him with her across the street. The crowd grew larger when they reached the spot and they hardly were able to see what the deal was; Sasuga standing on the tip of her hooves trying to take a peek over the many shoulders, but to no avail.

"Um, excuse me, but can you tell me what's going on?" Sasuga tapped on the shoulder of teenaged ram, who was carrying a skateboard in his arm, and graciously asked.

"Whoa dudes, didn't you know?!" the teen rumbled in excitement.

Hazard rolled his eyes, "That's why we asked, kid." Sasuga lightly nudged Hazard's in his waist for him to be more patient. The young ram narrowed his eyes at the wolf, seemingly not appreciating being called a kid.

"Well, there's been, like, a gruesome murder! A chick just got sliced and diced like dead meat!" The teen exclaimed fervently, pointing with his finger at the depth of the alley. "She was, like, skinned alive, man!"

"Oh my goodness!" Sasuga gasped, covering her mouth in horror. She glimpsed them carrying a large white bag that contained the girl's dead body into the ambulance, covered in her own bloody stains. "That's so... awful..."

"Totally, man! I bet it's the doing of The Slaughter!" the teenaged ram stated. "It's his fourth victim this month!"

"The Slaughter?" Hazard raised an eyebrow in wonder.

"Y-You mean... that serial killer they talk about in the news?" Sasuga stammered frightfully. She saw a news segment on it a few weeks ago, where they'd talked about the mysterious killings of young girls and women who got horribly slaughtered and skinned alive after being raped, hence dubbing the killer by The Raping Slaughter.

"Sh'yeah! Brrr! Having your skin peeled off like a banana ain't cool, man! I really hope he only targets chicks!" the ram brainlessly jabbered before he hopped on his skateboard and dashed away, and a shudder ran through the kirin's spine. The thought of her being one of The Slaughter's victims frightened her to no end.

"Who could be this cruel to do such a thing to innocent people...?" Sasuga muttered forlornly and turned her sight away from the bloody alley as the crowd began to dwindle.

"Heartless monsters, like damned demons, that's who," Hazard's words came out in a rather cold and serious tone, making Sasuga blink at him, as the look in his eyes seemed different while they were centered at the murder scene. She never saw him look this rigid before, and that made her kind of worried. Hazard then looked back at her and a smile spread across his muzzle. "Don't worry about it, though. It's probably nothing more than an urban legend. And even if it's true, then he'd never dare to hurt you with me around." The golden wolf spoke comfortingly to the kirin, and his words made her feel so much easier.

"Thank you, Haz," Sasuga smiled back at him, and he nodded and gestured with a head sign for her so they would carry on their way to their to work before they would be late. Sasuga gladly nodded and followed her wolfish friend, blocking away those ridiculous fears.

To be continued...