FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

In the small, rainy northeastern town of Ebony Hollow, Behind the counter of the dusty old antique shop called Ebony & Ivory Curiousities, a teenage snowleopardess flips idly through a book of old newspaper clippings. Her fur was primarily a pretty white, specked with grey and spotted with several black rings, which had their inside dyed neon blue to match one of the bangs in her black hair. She still wore her school uniform, a blue pleated skirt with a white sweater vest and tie over a matching long sleeve collared shirt. Behind her round framed glasses, her snowy blue eyes trailed across the two decade old paper. The name tag she wore on the sweater vest when at work read "Aiya Marien, Shop Assistant & Accountant" which described her actual role at the shop quite a bit better than her job title of "Clerk". Sighing she tore herself away from the book of clippings that she had selected and turned back to the computer she had been using to create a spreadsheet for the transactions of the day. She saved the nearly empty document and looked up as the bell above the door tinkled. She relaxed as she saw her boss in the doorway. Ross was a mountain of a mule, but he had a kind heart. Even though he smelled of liquor and stumbled a little, Aiya could hardly do anything other than smile as he told her to close up shop, before leaving a chinese take out bag on the counter and slowly heading upstairs to his apartment above the shop. Dutifully, the young female quickly swept up the shop, stowed the book of newspaper clippings where they belonged, shut down the old computer, and took her dinner with her as she left. She locked the door behind her as the smell of mongolian beef mixed with that of rain and she padded into the night.

This night, however, the rain didn't soothe her as it usually did. Instead something made her feel uneasy, like a child at the doctor for vacination. She followed the same path home as always, but when she passed one of the darker alleys she felt a sudden pain in her chest, it knocked the wind out of her, and her eyes burned like she'd been cutting onions. The air around her grew very, very cold, the rain breifly turning to snow as it passed her. Down the alley she heard crying, and so she hesitantly turned to look. Kneeling behind a dark shape was a classmate of hers, a kind vixen by the name of Kayana Tetski, but the shape she was crying over was revealed with the flash of lightning above, to be her own dead body. Aiya froze for a moment, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone. As she dialed 911 she noticed that the aparition was gone, and that her eyes no longer hurt, so she only reported the body. She didn't need the police thinking she was going insane, not when reporting a death. She forgot about her dinner until after she'd explained to the police officer how she had found the body, omitting anything supernatural. She then ate the cold mongolian beef as she rode in the back seat of the squad car, her parents waiting on the porch worried sick when it pulled up. "Stay here, I want to talk with your parents for a moment before I let you go." the officer said, before talking with Aiya's frantic mother.

The snowleopardess hardly noticed when the officer opened the car door and got out of the car, saying "Thank you for the ride officer," before padding over to her parents and hugging them tighter than she had in a long while. She then walked to her room and laid in bed for what seemed like hours before falling into an uneasy sleep full of nightmares and voices both familiar and unfamiliar. When she woke up her mother and father were both by her side and they immediately started to try and comfort her. Her mother placed a tray of breakfast on her lap, as she usually did when she was sick.

"Eat up!" Her mother insisted, smiling gently. Aiya smiled back and began to eat her breakfast. "The school has been notified of what happened, so you can take your time, but I would like for you to still go." She said, rubbing behind her daughter's ears, before finally leaving her to eat. Not being particularly hungry Aiya ate enough to appease her mother, before getting up to dress. Pulling on a clean uniform, and quickly brushing her fur and teeth before walking down stairs.

When she got downstairs her father smiled and told her "I will drive you to school," he said walking out to his car with her in tow. As he drove her to school he turned off the radio and said "I didn't want to talk about this in front of your mother, but the school called. Due to the fact that the murder looks like a copy cat of one from 16 years ago they are allowing girls to carry self defense weapons. So I want you to take this baton." He said handing her a metal cylinder with a button on the side. Aiya rolled her eyes but didn't argue, taking it and putting it in her bag before getting out of the car.

Thinking about it, she turned around, looking back in the car and smiling. "Dad, relax, I'll be safe and I'm not stupid. See you after Dungeons and Dragons tonight, love you." She watched him relax, and drive off, before walking into school and signing in late. She padded to class and sat in her desk. None of the teachers blamed her as she silently and distractedly made her way through her day, merely floating through the last 5 periods of class. She was at her locker after the final bell when one of her friends pulled her out of her stupor.

"Aiya are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Her friend Chance asked. She looked at him blankly for a momment before blushing and sighing.

"Yeah, I am okay... though I kinda have. Did you hear about Kayana?" Aiya replied. On hearing this her vulpine friend's mannerisms changes, he looked worried and sympathetic as he nodded. "I... I am the one who found her..." She confirmed, and he hugged her. She found comfort in her friend's arms and smiled to him, following him to his car so they could travel to his parent's chinese restaurant. Waiting there were their friends, already enjoying their meals in the back room, waiting for the pair to arrive. When they did, Aiya felt warmer and happier yet something within her seemed to be saying 'tell them... show them.'

The pace of the session seemed to die off quicker than usual. Her four friends soon began to descend into jokes and relaxation. Chance was a black furred fox, whom loved dying patterns in his fur and getting his ears pierced. Fumara Fulina or Fufu, was a grey furred rabbit and the girly girl of the group. Kieth was Aiya's tiger boyfriend and a bit of a gearhead. Last was Hexia, a black cat whom loved all things magic and music. It was Hexia that said, in her soft voice "anyone else hear about Kay?"

Aiya shifted uneasily, and looked at her paws, answering "M-more than heard about her..." Fufu, Kieth and Hexia looked at Aiya in concern as she continued, "It was so wierd. The air felt cold, and I felt winded suddenly. W-when I looked down the alley... I saw her... crying over her own body..."

Hexia immediately became excited"You're a medium!? Show Me SHOW ME!" she pleaded, practically bouncing in place. To her credit, Hexia's inappropriate energy was intoxicating, and rapidly brightened the mood in the room.

"Alright, I don't know how, but I'll try." Aiya relented, smiling a bit. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had the notion to offer her paw. Perhaps it was her years of hanging out with a magic loving feline like Hexia or one too many movies about psychics but this felt right to her and so when Hexia took her paw, she focused. Not on the fear she felt when she saw the body but on the other sensations. She felt the burning behind her eyes and the cold envelop her as it had that night.

"Woah!" Hexia exclaimed, pointing with her free paw at Aiya, "Your eyes... They are blue, and your paw... mine feels like I buried it in snow!" She said before looking curiously at the door. She looked as though she wanted to say something but thought better of it, shrugged and took her paw back, rubbing her own eyes a bit. Aiya then offered her paw to Chance, whom eagerly took the opportunity to look into the next world. Then Fufu declined, citing that it seemed a bit scary.

Finally Aiya offered her paw to Keith. He took it, and looked around in wonder, before pointing behind Aiya at the door which Hexia had also been transfixed, asking "Woah, who is your pink eyed lookalike?" Causing Aiya to wheel around suddenly, and lock eyes with what she at first thought was some kind of mirror. But then the mirror blinked when she did not and bolted out the door.

Aiya turned back to her friends, unnerved and replied, simply, "I don't know." Not long after, however, it was time for her to head home, Keith driving her in his black 1972 Buick GS. She kissed him goodbye, and padded inside, straight to her room, still uneasy about the ghost she had seen. she shut her door and sat on her bed thinking. She decided to see who would be about if she used her powers at home and was very surprised to be looking eye to eye with her doppleganger.

"Who are you? Why did you follow me home?" Aiya whisper shouted at her guest.

"I need to speak with you, alone." Her lookalike replied calmly, "I am not here to hurt you... I wouldn't dream of it, but there are things you need to know that I need to tell you." Aiya was stunned to silence by this and the ghost continued. "My name is... was Kayla Sariphe and, well, I am your twin sister."