FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Garnet Moon by K9 Lupus

Blake and Anna had gotten to know one another intimately over the past year during their burgeoning online relationship. Free evening hours after work flew by as they chatted about all manner of things: families, fears, aspirations, pets, nonsense. Mostly nonsense. Pleasant, welcomed friendship quickly grew into feelings much deeper as the two divulged more of who they were to the other, and one night Blake had the courage to tell Anna he loved her. His heart stammered in his chest waiting for her reply, but when the "..." of her reply message finally switched over to her response, he leaned back in his chair with a smile much too wide to fit across his face.

"I love you too Blake. I hope I can always love you like I know you love me. :)"

********

Anna had added some expediency into her closing routine at the bank tonight. The manager never really checked to make sure underneath the furniture got vacuumed well, and printing and organizing the quarterly statement forms could wait until the morning when Gia came back from vacation. Anna eyed the clock in her car and saw that it was already 6:30. She pressed a bit harder on the gas, speeding up to five over the limit and mentally reminding herself to slow down before the stop sign where the sheriff liked to park himself. She could make it home with fifteen minutes to spare like this. Tonight was movie night, and Anna was not fond of keeping Blake waiting.

They had developed small rituals and routines together like this to help close the feeling of physical distance between them. Off of a suggestion Blake had read on the online article "20 Best Activities for LDR couples!" Fridays had now become their weekly shared movie night where they would take turns picking movies to stream from their computers at the same time to get the feeling of watching them in the same room together. Being long-distance came with its host of challenges, but Blake had time and time again been immensely supportive of Anna, devoting his time and presence whenever possible between the demands of his new job. Last year, Blake had moved quite a ways from any of his relatives to a tiny town to pursue an opportunity to be a forester for a region he had loved ever since he was a child. Having Anna during this time of transition had been immensely comforting for him going through this time of change.

Home now, Anna fired up her computer, wandered over to the kitchen to rummage through her shelves and piece together a quick dinner. An instant rice and veggies mix would do. She glanced back at her screen and was surprised to see "Huntsman08" offline in her messenger chat bar. Maybe he was running late too? A ping sounded a minute later as she poured herself some water.

Huntsman08 : Hey, sorry I'm late. I was getting a few things organized over here. How was your day?

AnnaBanana :Hiya! No problem. And it was good. Brenda's being Brenda, but you know how that is. How about you?

Huntsman08 : Haha. I know. You put up with too much there sometimes from all of them.

AnnaBanana :The pay's good so I figure I'll stick it out a little while longer if I can. How about you?

Huntsman08 : That's understandable. And I'm doing ok. I've had a lot on my mind lately.

Huntsman08 : I actually wanted to talk to you about something tonight if that's all right.

AnnaBanana :Of course. I've got food on the stove so I might need to run in a few minutes to check on that. Everything ok? Is this about the trip? I've got everything ready to come down to see you next week. I'm so excited. <3

Huntsman08 : I'm excited too. <3 And no it's not about the trip....well not directly.

AnnaBanana :What's that supposed to mean?

Huntsman08 : It's more about me.

AnnaBanana :Getting nervosr?

AnnaBanana :>< *nervous?

Huntsman08 : I'm a little nervous, but not probably for the reason you think.

AnnaBanana :Ok...again, what's that supposed to mean?

Huntsman08 : Anna, you know that you're really special to me. This past year has been the best of my whole life because of you. But before we meet, I have to be completely honest with you about something. It's been on my mind for a while now, and I don't want to have any secrets between us.

AnnaBanana :You're really special to me too Blake, but I still don't understand.

AnnaBanana :Are you sure this isn't something that can wait until we're together? If this is that important to you, shouldn't we talk about it face-to-face?

Huntsman08 : This way is safer...for both of us.

Huntsman08 : Are you ok if I turn on video chat for a while? It's the only way I can show you and have you believe me.

AnnaBanana :Uh, sure. That's fine, I guess.

Huntsman08 : You know that I like wolves a lot, but there's a reason for that. It's not just some passionate interest in them. I'm...closer to them than most people are. I promise that will make sense in a little while.

Huntsman08 : Please don't record what's about to happen.

AnnaBanana : Blake, what's going on? This is getting scary.

Huntsman08 : Promise me. Trust me...please. I need you to.

AnnaBanana : I promise.

The camera icon on her chat bar began to bounce, and Anna accepted Blake's video chat invitation. There he appeared in his living room, his laptop migrated down onto the gray carpeted floor. Blake was wearing one of his wildlife conservation shirts with a pair of khaki shorts. Totally normal. His face however was strained with unease. He managed a small smile. For her.

"Thank you Anna. I haven't told you the real reason why I moved away from my family last year. Part of it was because I did want this job and I did want to get away from how cramped the city was feeling. A bigger part of it though was because I had discovered something about myself. Something I could do that I don't know if anyone else can."

"And what exactly is that? Blake, what can you do that you need to show me like this and scare the living crap out of me at the same time?"

"I can...change." he choked out the last word, giving it life into the universe.

"Change?" Anna questioned.

"Into one of them. A wolf."

"You're kidding right? Allen, my food is burning right now because you think you can turn into an animal?" Anna said as she got up to turn off the stovetop.

"Anna please! This is hard enough as it is. Do you remember last summer when we had that lunar eclipse? I was camping in the national forest here that night and made camp by the river. I left my tent to see the eclipse, and remembered seeing it bright and red in the sky, like a garnet held up by the world. It shimmered on the water too. It was so beautiful.

Anna had returned back in front of her computer and rubbed her temples with her thumb and forefinger of one hand.

"That sounds wonderful Blake, but I don't know what any of that has to do with you saying you can turn into a wolf."

Blake bit his lower lip, but kept his eyes on his computer's camera.

"The night was warm and I laid down by the river to watch the eclipse a while longer, but I fell asleep, and that night I had the craziest dream. I was in a forest, but the sun was up and the moon was out at the same time too. There was frost on the tips of all the trees, but I didn't feel cold at all even though I had nothing on. I walked through the forest until I came across a red wolf laying down on a great stone. It saw me with eyes that were golden and burning like some kind of huge bonfire. I wanted to run, but I couldn't move away from those eyes. The wolf bit me on the arm, and then melted into the ground and scattered in every direction in wisps of steam.

When I woke up I was covered in fur like the wolf's, and I had a tail too, and...it was crazy. It took a few days, but it eventually disappeared. Now when I focus on the memory of his eyes I'm able to be like that again. All the way if I want. Anna, I need to find out what caused this to happen, and I can't do that alone. I need your help "

"So you can turn into this wolf in your dreams? Like a lucid dream? Is that what you're trying to tell me?

Blake sighed. "No, not like that. I can turn into this wolf right now here with you. It's better to get on with showing you. This will take a few minutes. Try and remember that it's still me ok?"

Blake closed his eyes and dredged up the seared memory of the wolf's blazing eyes to the forefront of his thoughts, and with it came the now familiar rush of warm spreading from his arm out to the rest of his body. At first Blake appeared to be sunken into a deep meditation, his breathing focused with his hands resting on top of his legs. But soon the wolf began to surface, and once it had realized it's entry was permitted it welcomed itself in a blazing charge.

Coarse reddish-brown hairs soon sprouted across Blake's neck and chest. The thin coating of burnt sienna fur traveled outward across his back and spread along his limb like a sprouting forest. The tips of his rounded human ears lengthened into narrow points. His breathing deepened further and the image of the wolf burned brighter in his mind's eye.

Blake drew his shoulders back, fingers curling into shaking fists and winced as the end of his spine tugged out in small jerks within his pants. His forming tail continued to lengthen and grow within its constraints while Blake's shirt grew uncomfortably tight against his barreling chest. He took the opportunity to worm his way out of his clothing before the change progressed further, a lesson he had learned through trial and error. Now bare, Blake felt a temporary reprieve from the heated waves of change still coursing through his body, his young tail swaying behind him as it continued to steadily lengthen.

Anna was silent, dumbstruck, and baffled beyond belief by this otherworldly transformation taking place on the screen in front of her.

"Blake..." she whispered, her eyes scanning for anything that would betray this grand hoax Blake had conjured up: a loose seam on this dynamic costume or some kind of photo manipulation. But try as she might, she could not refute the truth in front of her when he finally opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of the fires that had captivated Blake within his dream, with only a nodule of green nestled at the center of two large, golden eyes.

Beads of sweat formed at his brow, and Blake's toes distended from building pressure. Bones and ligaments rearranged themselves into a more compact, paw-like shape as the pads of his feet thickened, darkened, and swelled. His fingers followed in tandem and new, thick claws replaced his flat human nails. White fur like snow emerged across his chest and belly and sprouted from the tops of his changing hands and feet. Lengthened fangs replaced his human teeth, and a firm crack forward heralded the start of Blake's lupine muzzle. With a heavy, heaving breath and a lurch forward a second crack was heard from his aching hips snapping into a stance capable of supporting a quadrupedal gait if desired.

Blake saw that Anna was still there, still watching him, and he willed the change faster. His heart thrummed hard within his chest as if he had run miles in only seconds while muscle grew and eliminated the last vestiges of his former humanity. The fires of change fell back, and Blake's quivering muscles finally found rest as he slumped forward and stared into the camera. His tongue lolled freely from his mouth, and Anna's image of Blake temporarily clouded over from the mist of his heated breath.

"Blake, can you still understand me?" Anna asked leaning closer to the screen.

Blake nodded while licking his nose.

"Have you shown anyone else that you can do this?"

Blake shook his head from side to side.

"Listen, you were honest with me and I'm going to be honest with you. This is all a bit much right now. I knew you were a very special person, but this is something that goes beyond me. I don't know if I'm the best person to help you right now."

Blake's ears leaned flat against his skull and his eyes trembled as his greatest fear was coming true. She was going to go. It was all going to crumble around him.

But then she reached her hand forward to the screen and smiled looking at his golden, wild eyes with a vibrant green core.

"I'm going to try though, ok? You trusted me with this, this deepest part of you, and I won't turn away. I look into the fire and I see you. I always will."

A muffled sound rumbled out of Blake's throat as tears rolled down from the edges of his golden eyes onto the keyboard below. Blake reached his paw-like hand, more wolf than man, up to the screen to match Anna's. Although still hundreds of miles physically apart from one another, this was the closest either of them had felt.

"I'll see you on Sunday ok? I promise. Will you be back to normal...er...your other self by then?"

Blake bopped his head slowly from side to side with a small shrug of his shoulders. Mostly, Anna figured.

"Still want to watch the movie?"

Blake shook his head from side to side again with a deep, cackling rumble.

"I thought not. That's ok. I'm going to munch on my food and make sure I'm not forgetting anything for the trip tomorrow."

Blake nodded and stretched out his shoulders and legs which were still sore from his rapid transformation.

"Hey. Furball?"

Blake's ears perked forward with an incredulous expression plastered on his face at the new nickname.

"I love you. We'll figure this out together ok?"

With concentrated effort, Blake lifted his hands to his keyboard and slowly typed a simple message.

Huntsman08 : ok luv 2 :)

AnnaBanana has logged off.