FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Ark breathed slowly and calmly as he felt the luxurious fur resting upon him. His arm had fallen asleep some time back but he'd rather have that than to wake his mate. For everything she'd given him, she deserved her rest and a lot more.

-Oh Terra, how did I ever get so lucky?

His arm felt refreshed when Terra shifted off it and the full blood flow resumed. Still, he laid perfectly still and listened to her breathing, feeling whatever emotions she had in her dreams. Mostly it was joy with a few spikes of pleasure.

"You're dreaming about yesterday. Heh, should have figured," Ark mumbled to himself.

Terra shifted a bit. "Yes," she said. "And waiting for you to wake up."

"Let me guess, you've been up for a while?"

"Not this time, just woke up." Terra smiled and gave Ark an affectionate lick on the cheek.

Ark smiled. What else was there to do? He couldn't really contort his body at all with Terra's supple frame resting upon his. Not that he wanted to. This was a wonderful position that he would have enjoyed spending the rest of the day in had they not had to clean up before Adair and Mist came back from wherever they were.

Ark grabbed the sheets and blankets, finding some still wet spots from their previous activities as they slid over his hands. He was nearly sickened before he remembered that they were Terra's and his. Still, he quickly bundled them up and pitched them into the washer on the "heavy" setting.

Terra helped out by fluffing the pillows and setting the things back up they hadn't noticed had fallen off the nightstand the previous night. They finished up quickly and scampered downstairs to get a quick meal from his pack; oatmeal and some sugar. Ark almost took some food from the cupboard but stopped himself halfway, preferring to be a good houseguest.

Breakfast was quieter than normal. The loudest sound came from the fridge when it snapped on. Ark felt very uneasy about something. It was as if someone was nearby watching them closely. He felt a presence but never saw anything as he looked over his shoulder a few times.

"I think we should go outside." Terra signed, concern etched on her face.

"Yeah... I think that's a good idea." Ark replied, casting another look over his shoulder. For a split second he could have sworn something had quickly moved through his line of sight; something black and menacing. Curiosity overcame him as he strode over toward the hallway where the shape had gone after it escaped his line of sight. -Nothing... not that I was hopeful to see anything.- He turned around and saw a form approaching him. It was black with a solitary eye on the left side of a skull-shaped mask.

"Are you the one who was looking for another member for your team?" It asked, its voice barely audible.

Ark stood, stunned that it hadn't been his mind playing tricks on him, but a Pokémon. "Who are you?" was what came out from between his lips.

"Not who, but rather what. I am a Ghost or a Duskull if you prefer. I had heard that a trainer was offering Pokémon the chance to join his group without capturing them first. Knowing that, I watched you to ensure that you were trustworthy. After observing you last night... I felt assured you were." The Duskull's cheeks tinted a very subtle shade of red. "I'm sorry if I pried too much into your personal affairs but I had to know. It would have bothered me to the ends of the Earth if I'd never found out the truth."

Ark stood there in embarrassment, wishing Terra would come by in order to help him out somehow. At the very least, she could ease him of his beet red face. On the other hand, another part of him was vastly intrigued by his cluelessness of being watched by this figure. -Surely I should have noticed. But perhaps not. It is a ghost-type Pokémon after all, so it must be able to disguise itself rather well.-

He could take or leave this Pokémon. He was no large fan of ghosts of any sort, especially the one he'd encountered at the farm; the one that had sent shivers down his spine each time he'd thought of them. This Pokémon 'felt' different from them though, not menacing nor aggressive. Merely it felt pleasant as if it was an old friend he'd met some time back. Ark remained cautious knowing that when it came to ghosts, or at least the ones he encountered, you could never tell anything about them. "I don't think I have a problem with you joining us as long as Terra, my mate, welcomes you. Oh, and if you're not male."

"Oh? I assure you that I am fully female, though not many trainers would... well, find out my gender." The Duskull reddened again.

"Ark, are you... Who are you?" Terra came in and followed her mate's gaze, immediately shifting into an aggressive stance. "Speak before I tear you apart."

"I'm one that seeks to join your party." The Duskull chuckled, unconcerned about the Lopunny ready to beat her into a pulp.

Terra backed down from her stance with a confused expression upon her face. "Don't ghosts generally prefer solitude?"

The Duskull shrugged. "Most of us do, but I'm one of the few that enjoys companionship. I had once even tagged along with another Pokemon for a little while for the joy of someone to talk to. It was short lived though since he was captured only a few days after I joined him." Her voice stirred pity in Terra and Ark's heart. "You see, as much as my kind is solitary, I am the exact opposite. I don't want to be alone anymore. Please let me join you."

"May I take a few moments alone with my mate?" Terra asked.

"Of course you may." The Duskull replied.

Taking Ark back into the kitchen Terra started signing away. "Yes or no? I love you and I will respect your decision, even if it is one I don't like. I think that it wouldn't be a bad choice to take it with us, and it did ask politely. Unless it's male. Then I will not approve of it joining us."

"Don't worry, Terra. She's female, and I was pretty much set on letting her join as long as it was okay with you. She doesn't seem very strong yet but that should get better in time." Ark signed back, thankful for privacy purposes that there couldn't be any eavesdropping with this style of dialect.

They went back into the hallway. "We'd be honored if you'd join us."

"The honor is mine, Master."

"Don't call me Master. You're not my slave. You're another Pokémon, yes, but you're in no way beneath me. Though you could never mean as much to me as Terra, I hope that we can become good friends."

"I understand."

"All right." Ark grabbed the bag that Terra had thoughtfully placed by his feet and fished out the Pokéball that still oddly felt heavier than Terra's. With one last reassuring nod from the Duskull, Ark lobbed the Pokéball at her, capturing her inside. The Pokéball hardly shook before lying still. Without hesitation he released the newly caught Pokémon. "Welcome to the team."

"Thank you Ark, and you too, Terra. I hope that I will be of use." The Duskull made a move that could be interpreted as bowing.

"I have no doubt." Terra smiled, bowing as well. "So, did you still want to enjoy the outside, Ark?"

"Yeah, I think I need a little fresh air to think about some things. Speaking of which, do you have a name, Duskull?"

"No, I do not. Never given any thought to a name. You're welcome to give me one if you wish."

Terra grinned sheepishly. "How many names will you go through this time I wonder." She tilted her head and held her cheeks innocently.

"I'll get you back for that one." Then to the Duskull. "How about Raven?" Ark asked, as it was the first name that popped into his mind.

"Hmm... I like it. So, my name is Raven." Raven said playing with her name in her head. -Interesting... I don't know why but I feel better with a name. Why though? Why would something so small make me feel better? Maybe I could ask Terra.-

Ark walked outside into the brisk morning air contemplating how he was going to live the rest of this day. He now had two Pokémon in his team and could now participate in double battles. From what he gathered from everything he'd read, it was difficult to get in to but very fun. He just needed two Pokémon that complemented each other for optimal results. Terra and Raven did such in a minor way; Terra was a physical powerhouse and he hoped Raven was the equivalent, only in a non-physical way. He brought out his Pokégear and scanned Raven who was hiding away from the sun in a shadowy corner.

"Duskull. Approximate level: 16 through 19. Move set: Leer, Night Shade, Disable, Astonish, Confuse Ray." The voice crackled from his wrist, sounding like a century old recording. Ark was reminded that it hadn't worked on Terra since it couldn't find the 'identifier chip' or whatever it was. He made a mental note to swing by the Pokémart later to see if they could help figure out what it was all about. Maybe after all that he'd figure out what else they could do today.

"Terra, may I speak to you for a little while?" Raven asked, barely audible to Ark.

"Hmm? What do you need?" Terra inquired.

"How long have you been named?"

"Only about a week."

"Do you understand why it feels nice to have a name? I'm confused that something like that would make me feel better."

"I suppose it gives you a sense of existence, being able to say that you like something and that means just yourself and not your species as a whole. Like for example, my name is Terra and I think waffles are delicious. I'm able to specify myself rather than my species." Terra answered after giving it some thought and felt she'd answered Raven's question well enough.

"So how long have you been in love with Ark, and when did you give him the gift?"

"Honestly It feels like I've been in love with Ark for a while but it's been less than a week since we announced our love for each other, and the gift came the day after we announced it. It surprised me that things as serious as love and the gift can come to someone so easily. Even when he'd first caught me he always treated me like an equal."

"I felt that too, even when I first spoke with him it felt like he was speaking to me as if I was another human."

Terra smiled. "He's a good human and a wonderful mate. Each day I feel privileged that he found me."

Raven nodded. She had found a mate at one time in her life but it was soon stolen away from her by a stronger Duskull. She wanted to spit each time she heard the word 'mate' but thought it rude in her trainer's company.

"Well I think I figured out what to do today, after Adair comes back, of course. I was thinking that after I grab some supplies we could try our hand at the gym here in town. What do you say?"

Terra fell into a state of deep thought, leaving Raven all alone as to what sort of answer she could come up with. Already Ark wanted her to fight, yet he was giving her the option to back out. She did want to impress her trainer but at the same time didn't wish to have Terra think she was trying to steal her mate, though that was nearly impossible because of the gift. It felt confusing, as her mind spun around trying to grip onto an answer. She decided to give the illusion of thinking until she heard Terra speak up.

"I'm not sure if we're ready for something like that, Ark, and even if we were, let Raven have a relaxing first day with us. No sense in having her whaled upon on her first day with us."

Ark nodded in agreement, then focused on Raven. "You do have a say in this, also. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do."

"I'm going to go with Terra's suggestion. No offense, but I would like to get to know both of you a bit better first."

"That's perfectly fine, Raven." Ark beamed, as he'd given her the option and she had given him her choice. In the end, that's all that mattered. "Well then, we still need to go to the Pokémart to grab some supplies and figure out what's wrong with your 'identifier chip,' whatever that might be. But I guess all that can wait until Adair gets back from wherever he's at." Ark added, feeling obligated to keep watch over Adair's house until he returned, though he was unsure why.

Hours passed like minutes as they all waited around, chatting idly to ease the boredom. Noon passed with nothing more than a brief gust of wind rattling the house. Ark paced around, anxious to get out while it was still daylight.

Around Three o'clock Adair finally came home and Mist followed closely behind. Both of them were covered in cuts and scrapes.

"Ark, why are you still here? I thought you'd would've been far gone by now." Adair's voice snapped Ark back into reality.

"Oh I was watching your house while you were away. I felt obligated to since you let us sleep here last night." Ark replied, his head still feeling fuzzy.

"Well I guess a thank you is in order, so well, thanks for watching our house." Adair looked around to see if there was anything broken or for some other reason why they had stayed to watch his house. His eyes widened as he saw a Duskull hovering around Terra. "I thought you were watching our house, not out catching Pokémon. So who's the new one?"

"Well, let me introduce you to Raven." Ark then relayed everything that had occurred that morning to Adair as quickly as he possibly could. Terra, Raven, and Mist all took leave and went outside.

"Interesting. Well, I'm glad that you gathered another member for your team. You have a unique way to catch Pokémon, that's for sure. I honestly never heard of any trainer who has been given the gift to have gone out of their way to find Pokémon that would wish to join them of their own free will." Adair remarked after listening. "Well, thank you again for watching our house. You're free to go about whatever your daily business, or you can stay and chat for a little while. I won't mind."

"I would love to stay and chat, Adair, but I have some things that I need to do first, and I need some time to stretch my limbs. I'll come back later though."

After Ark bid farewell, he gathered up Terra and Raven and slowly walked in the direction of the Pokémart while soaking up as much sunshine as he could. He felt good, damn good. This morning had been wonderful -- though he was still a little tired from the day before. His heart skipped a few beats as he remembered the wonderful elation he'd felt upon his first time mating. It was forever etched into his mind; the exact movements, the soft pressure of him sliding in and out of the sexy rabbit, and the soft tender touching they had done beforehand. Terra rubbed up against him, no doubt thinking about the same thing then, her soft gentle paw starting to rub his back.

"I'm glad your still thinking about it." Terra cooed softly as she ever so slowly reached down and under his shirt. She knew this wasn't the place to show him affection, yet she needed him right now. His warmth, his touch, his scent. His masculine overpowering scent. Terra's eyes widened as the full impact of what she was feeling hit her. -No, it can't be. Not yet. Not now. I still have more time!- Terra screamed in her head angry at what her body was making her feel.

"Ark, I think I've started my heat." Terra blurted.

"I thought you had a few more days."

"I thought so too... Why now?" Terra's eyes filled with tears -- she wanted another night of love, not heat. -I hope it stays away at least one more night. Just one more night, please.- She begged her body to hold off.

"Nature must take its course." Raven remarked, her body barely visible in the full sunlight. "Your heat won't last for too long. Just be happy that you are able to spend it with your mate." Raven's voice took on a tone with heavy traces of clinging sadness. Neither Ark nor Terra needed to ask why -- they knew in a heart beat. Raven had spent a great deal of her life alone and anytime she had someone to care about they had been taken away.

"We may not be your mate, but I guess you may call us your family if you want." Terra said trying her best to cheer the emotional Duskull up.

"You would care about me as if I were your kin?" Raven asked, shocked that they would accept her into their lives just like that.

"Why not? I care about you and there's nothing more that needs to be said. As far as I'm concerned you're a sister to me." Ark said, remembering his own family that considered him nothing.

"I...well...thank you." Raven tried to say something else but was too caught up with her emotions. -A family, people to be with, people who I can trust and talk with.- Her vision blurred as she found herself closely reaching the point of tears; tears of sheer joy in finding people to be around and who cared for her.

It only took a few more moments from there to reach the Pokémart and pass through the sliding glass doors. The store clerk greeted them all warmly, his smile wavered for a second as Ark made a beeline toward the counter with a look of determination on his face.

"How may I help you, sir?" The clerk asked preparing for the worst.

"Well, I'm having a little trouble with my Pokégear. It's not recognizing Terra's 'identifier chip' or something like that." Ark replied, hopeful that the problem could be resolved.

The clerk sighed. - Not that big of an issue, thank Arceus. - "Mind if I try it out?" Ark nodded and gave his Pokégear to the clerk. The clerk then went through and scanned Terra every way he could think of but the Pokégear always came back with a negative reading.

"Have you tested it with other Pokémon, sir?" Ark nodded in response. "And it worked with them?" Ark nodded once again. "Well, this should be a simple fix -- all that's needed is for me to repair the installation device. Apparently the Pokéball you used was faulty and wasn't able to install the chip correctly. I assume you have 'Terra's' Pokéball?"

Ark agreed and produced the Pokéball in question. The clerk frowned at it as he held it in his hand, looking at it every which way. Something about it felt very odd. It felt too light and much too different. Cautiously he flipped the release mechanism and took a look inside, shocked at what he found, or rather, didn't find. This was a stripped Pokéball and not only that, it had the master ball stamp on the inside. Whoever had given the trainer his Pokémon had not only been rich, but flaunted the money away without a care. "Well, I thought it would be easy... your Pokémon was given to you in a stripped Pokéball, master class. Why anyone would do that is beyond me. Fortunately, we can easily fix this if your Pokémon trusts you enough to let you catch her again and if you're willing to pay for another Pokéball."

"If there isn't another way, then yes, I think she trusts me enough." Ark smiled, knowing there would never be a problem with trust between them.

Ark took out his trainer card and purchased a single Pokéball with the funds on it.

The clerk leaned his head forward and spoke with a whisper "Ok, now between you, me, and the fencepost -- I'm not supposed to do this, I'm 'supposed' to report this to the manufacturer, and go through miles of paperwork and everything else before I can buy more stock for my store since the company doesn't like stores that have defective Pokéballs. I'm going to essentially break this Pokéball and remove some parts and place them in the other one. This wont take very long but I'd like you to leave the store and come back in about 30 minutes. I'll have everything ready when you come back."

Ark nodded and thanked the clerk. -Damn boy, you're lucky I like you. I could have made a fortune off this baby.- The clerk smiled, thinking about the wealth. -But I couldn't do that to anyone -- that would be damn low.- The Clerk frowned at the Pokéball next to its inferior and went to work, only coming out to check on people or for the odd little tool he'd forgotten.

"Time to kill by Sisters in Pandemonium. Next song, Toast by Bob and Tom show." The music player's quiet voice chimed at the end of the song Terra was listening to and now it was playing a catchy song about lightly burnt bread. She'd gone through around ten so far, picking them out for Ark to put into a list. Some of her songs were on the light side; fast paced and filled with higher end notes, reminding her of how true happiness felt. Some were on the darker side; slow, spiteful songs about hearts and dreams crushed underfoot. These were songs that reminded her of her struggle before Ark came into her life. Each of them only made her cherish her life even more.

She giggled as Ark and Raven seemed to bring up embarrassing subjects. She couldn't tell exactly what they were saying, but the flushes that flooded their faces were a dead giveaway. The link helped too.

Terra yawned and laid her body down as she realized with naughty glee that she was in the exact same position as the previous night. She giggled again, almost hearing Ark's eyes sizzle when she spread her legs just a little too much and revealed just a sliver of furless flesh.

She shifted and stretched until she found a comfortable position and started cloud gazing. Before her body relaxed completely, she swore that Ark had just taken off his shirt to reveal the body she'd fallen in love with. Needless to say, it was hard to watch the clouds when such a tempting sight lay close at hand.