FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

CHAPTER 1

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Summertime in the city can be peaceful, if the noise and rush of people are overlooked. Noises of almost every kind of vehicle heard throughout busy streets of commerce and consumerism all show signs of busy lifestyles and a blossoming economy. Every few city blocks sky scrapers and high rises, all varying in shape, height and design, reach for the light blue of a summer sky, the peaks of them reaching for the heavens like fingers made of glass, concrete and steel. Every block is the same, to an extent, a mixture of buildings both old and new all showing the progress and development of the city itself.

At any given point an older building, lathered in signs of weathering and age, could be crammed close to a brand new building glinting in the sunlight as the light dances and shimmers off of the glass panes and stainless steel accents of the structure. Of course a city like New Savannah was never built over night. Close to a hundred years of development and a growing infrastructure had shaped New Savannah from a busy copper mining base to busy epicenter of commerce, technology and entertainment. The copper mines had all but dried up midway through the previous century but the city still prospered with the steadiness in population and the new developments in computer technology.

Summer economy always increased due to vacationers, flocking to the nearby costal beaches and attractions like the water park and the local theme park within the city. This was everyday living in New Savannah during the summertime, most residents had the slightest care in the world and it wasn't uncommon to see a variety of people cruising the sidewalks in their swim attire along side the business moguls in their suits and business dress. The economy of the city had barely even noticed the recession in the surrounding cities and the rest of the country.

However, the city is not the subject of this story. New Savannah is only the subject of which this story and tale of events take place. Despite the clean appearance and reputation of the city it does have a dark side. A dark nature to the wholesome outward persona of all the glitz and glory that New Savannah is known for.

The subject of this story rested along the coast line, seeing the city standing tall in the summer air. The figure was hunched over, a trail of now dry sand led to where they now sat after dragging their weakened body from the ocean where they had washed ashore. Their clothing was now little more than rags covering their body, damaged and decayed from a mixture of prior events and an apparent time spent drifting through the currents of the sea. Still weak they lifted themselves to their feet, staggering but gaining balance eventually in the soft endless sheet of sand below their feet. The sand was warm from the full heat of the sun looming overhead, constantly beating the white sand with its light ever since the sun had come up over the horizon.

The figure's staggered pace began to correct itself as strength was finally returning to the body and the drowsiness began to fade off. Full clarity at last. Another half mile and the figure reached a public park and the outskirts of the city, just how tall some of the buildings in the city became clear. Seeing objects from a distance tends to fool one's judgment and depth perception. At the sign of other people the weary figure ducked into a small square concrete building, only reading a small blue sign with a white stick figure pictured on it.

Inside, the figure looked around, taking note of the light gray tiling of the walls seeing stains of writing that had been attempted to be cleaned off. Looking toward the left of where the figure stood, they could see a small row of porcelain bowls elevated from the ground and a rectangular sheet of glass above each. Even in the mirrors the figure's reflection was blurred, the glass smudged with dirt, dust, marker and what seemed to be makeup. Gripping a small knob and lever a rush of water came from the steel nozzle above the sink, with the water going the figure splashed the liquid against the glass, watching as the grime slithered down the length of the glass, uncovering the clear reflective surface underneath.

"Gods," the figure's voice came out, a low but feminine tone. Eyes now fixated on her own reflection, she wasn't human by any means but not far from a human figure. She looked over her canine like head and facial features, noticing the usually bright gold and jade colored make up she wore above and below her eyes was diluted and faded against the dark grey tone of the short soft fur that covered her body completely. Her thin elongated muzzle opened slightly again, "I look like I spent ages in the underworld," her voice straining and showing signs of disgust.

Her hands moved from either side of the sink inwards again coming to a stop underneath the flow of water, a small pool collecting in her palms. The female jackal closed her eyes and dipped her head down closer to the sink as her hands came up, splashing the cool liquid across her face. Ironic really. She had spent what seemed like ages afloat, passed out, in the sea being soaked and bathed in the salty waters. But this. This was fresh water and it had a refreshing and cleansing feel as it soaked across her face, matting down her soft fur.

A little more refreshed she rested her hands on the sides of the sink again, the soft blue orbs of her eyes staring deep into the reflection that stared pitifully back. The reflection all but faded into the back of her mind, replaced with what was a distant memory of her past. The room she remembered was wide open, though dark, dimly lit by candles and torches adding what little flame light reflected from surrounding shrines shaped from gold. She was again hunched over, her battered knees digging into the rough sandstone floor, clutching the left side of her rib cage. Peering through her right eye as her left had swollen shut, she seen a figure in the shadows, tall and looming, everything about the other figure screamed evil.

The shadows began to shift and she heard a sound, she couldn't really make out what it was though, the only thing she could make out was another shadow detaching from the ominous figure. The second shadow sailed quickly towards her, hardly able to move she braced for impact as the shadow began to plummet, hitting the ground in front of her with a sickening thud. She made out sounds of something sliding along the stone floor, as it grew closer she clenched her eyes shut waiting to be hit by the object.

The sounds stopped, the room eerily silent, cautiously she opened her only usable eye only to have it widen in a mixture of shock and fear. Her mouth opened in a scream echoing in the dark through large open room, and tears began to swell around her eyes their heaviness quickly rushing down her cheeks a slipping away from her jaw line falling to the floor. Even the small droplets of liquid seemed to ring out in painful echos as they splashed heavily onto the sandstone below. The tears began to mix against the pool of crimson that seemed to inch closer toward her as the seeped from the mass before her. All she could do was cry helplessly peering into the cold lifeless eyes of a male jackal featured figure like her stared back at her.

A small trail of crimson fluid inched down from his lips to meet the pool forming at the back of his head and the floor, the edge of the pool of blood touched her fingertips and she broke down. She clenched her eyes again and screamed at the top of her lungs in bitter agony, "BASTARD," her fist came down and she heard the sound of glass cracking. Looking up through a blurry, tear filled vision she seen her own pitiful reflection staring back now in pieces," you bastard," she muttered again weakly as she began to buckle under emotion against the sink.

After a few moments she slowly picked herself back up, using the fur on her forearm to wipe away the drying tears with her head down she looked at what little clothing the currents of the sea had left her with. Reaching down she removed a small pack from her waist and set it on the edge of the sink and begin removing it contents from the leather like pouch.

"Scrolls," she set a small gold trimmed leather like bound booklet on the edge of the adjacent sink, next to it she sat a roll of white linen," good. My cloak's clean and dry at least." Her hand searched further but coming up empty," that's it I guess," her hand then jolted to the right side of her hip. Her head hung and her eyes closed softly, she let out a sigh of disappointment," dammit."

She hung her head again leaning against the sink with her hands planted on the edges, "must've lost them out at sea," she let out another sigh. Looking back up into the cracked mirror she peered at her reflection, "you no weapons other than your magic, which at this point, you don't know how much you have left. So far everything is unfamiliar, meaning no established shelter to stay a few nights, at least long enough to figure out your full situation and build up you mana if need be." The more she stated her situation the more irritated she grew," you're better than this Nubiana."

She shook her head and sighed in disgust, "first things first, you need cleaned up and some clean clothes," looking around and in her pouch again. Nubiana gritted her teeth realizing how dire her conditions were, being left with literally nothing but the clothes on her back. She eyed the door cautiously as her hands moved up behind her back and began working at the knots that secured her short white linen halter top, letting it fall into the sink.

Her hands traced back up gripping either side of the back of her neck, massaging the stiff muscles while her arms massaged her now bare chest. She continued her motions, taking the time and opportunity to try and relax as much as she could trying to release the tension that had built up in ever fiber of her body a drift at sea. Her elbows massaged and pressed against her mounds, softening the stiffness in them as her thumbs circled hard against base of her skull loosening the pressure points. Her fingertips wrapped around either side of her head and twisting her head stiffly, pushing until she felt and hear a loud pop as the stiffness to one side of her neck was all but released. She pushed the opposite way, hearing and feeling another pop and a rush of relief from the opposing side of her neck.

After relieving some of the built up stress in her upper body her hands trailed to the left side of her hips, her fingers working a the gold clasps that held the bottom of her attire to her curvacious figure. When the clasps were unbuckled she let the white linen fall to the floor, taking the opportunity to stretch out her lower back and legs as she reached down to grab the discarded clothing. After raising up to a standing position her hands trailed down her stomach and rubbed her fingertips hard against her abdomen and working the stiff muscles down through her delta, trying to relieve the stress and stiffness. The sense of relief being given to her slowly over time gave Nubiana a pleasant sense, a weight on her shoulders felt like it had been lifted and for the first time in a long time she felt relaxed and at ease.

After tossing her bottom piece into the sink as well, Nubiana proceeded to rinse and wash the only clothing she had left to call her own. Her hands kneaded and scrubbed at each piece of linen, looking around she found a small box hanging next to the sink, inside she could see a pink liquid type substance. The jackal pressed her nose to the box, breathing in deeply and letting a smile cross her muzzle, "soap. But," she paused, pondering on how the liquid was dispensed then noted a small sign above a knob on the bottom of the box. Press here to dispense. She tested it once, pressing the knob in a small rope of pink liquid fell to the floor. Noting everything, she pressed again, this time placing her other hand underneath the box and letting the cold, silky liquid puddle into her palm. The jackal girl rubbed her hands together, letting the soap lather in her hands before going back to washing her clothing, the water beginning to bubble as the soap was introduced.

Once her clothing had been cleaned the jackal girl looked around again knowing she didn't have the time or desire to stand around, stripped down, in the small building waiting for air drying to take its course. She sighed again closing her eyes as she lowered herself onto her knees, placing her linens on the floor in front of her and holding her arms directly above them, palms faced down. She took a deep breath and let her throat resonate, emitting a soft humming tune that filled and lightly echoed throughout the small interior.

A few moments of the peace that the jackal girl had placed herself into, her fingertips began to let off a small aura that glowed a soft neon blue around each finger tip. She began to lower her arms, the glowing at each fingertip growing, merging with one another to create a larger aura surrounding each of Nubiana's hands. Her hands came to rest on her linens, concentrating the glowing auras that were now emitting a small amount of heat beginning to dry her linens slowly. The aura flickered, nearly dying out in all to which Nubiana let out a soft sigh of irritation, "I'm low on mana too."

The auras around her hands flickered one last time in small flashes of blue light before dying completely, once gone, Nubiana clenched her fists, "dammit," she muttered under her heated breath. After breathing off some vents of anger the jackal girl picked up her clothing and proceeded to cover herself up, now that she was free from the stiffness in her muscles and now had some dry clothing. She began with her bottom piece, slipping the linen up her long dark velvet furred legs into place around her hips and fastening the golden hoops, securing the linen in place on her hips.

As she stood to put on her top, her senses snapped her entire body towards the door as it began to open, "wait. Don't come in," she spoke with the fear of being caught in her current situation. The door was now cracked, Nubiana's eyes wide with anxiousness looking down at another pair of eyes reading the same emotions and shock. The girl outside the door looked up, "I- I'm sorry miss," the girl's voice was softened as she spoke hoping she had not upset the female on the other side of the door. Nubiana sighed, feeling a little sorry for scaring the girl, still keeping the door only cracked. The last thing she needed was to be seen and this girl running off screaming, in turn drawing in some desperately unwanted attention. The jackal lowered her voice and spoke softly, "sorry kid. I spilled some stuff on my clothes and," she hated lying but it wasn't the kind of situation that she could be honest with a complete stranger.

The girl backed and nodded cutting Nubiana off, "i see... Don't worry," her expression changed in a snap, now smiling happily and more energetic," I'll just sneak into the other bathroom."

Nubiana watched with awe as the young girl skipped away towards the neighboring door. As she skipped away Nubiana was able to relax a little, but instead of returning behind the door the jackal girl just watched the girl. Unlike her, this girl was human, her skin a soft caramel tone which complimented the soft bright green eyes highlighted by bright blue eye shadow that had just been staring directly into her own. Her hair was the same color as Nubiana's, though the girl's had streaks of bright pink and light blue throughout the long silky drapes of raven black hair. Taking everything about the girl into account Nubiana guessed that the girl was most likely in her late teens but not much more older than that.

The girl wore a white tank top with some kind of designs in black, the jackal couldn't make out what they exactly were or what they meant, even still they intrigued her. She noticed the straps of the girl's undergarments hanging off her shoulders which led her to notices the undergarment itself was slightly visible underneath the white fabric, she couldn't help but wonder if that was meant to show or if the girl didn't know it could be seen. The shirt itself didn't help cover much, it was cut and frayed leaving most of the girl's mid-drift open, her slender abdomen exposed. Nubiana however couldn't say much herself as her own top left all of her abdomen open to view, as much as possible the jackal girl tried to not seem hypocritical. On the girl's hips rested short skirt that had a series of rows and columns of green, black and white that intersected in odd ways, held up by a belt that shared similar designs as the shirt that Nubiana couldn't understand.

Though the piece of the girl's outfit that Nubiana was fascinated with was her boots. Large bulky black leather that reached up to her knees, the tongues of the boots sharing the same pattern as the skirt with the exceptions of various stickers and drawings on the design. The girl had things like a bell and whistle among straps of various colors that were attached to the top of the boots and the large silver buckles. She was amazed the girl could even walk in them, given it was noticeable to how many inches the soles added to her height.

Watching still, Nubiana began fumbling and trying the knots behind her back to tie her top on, she watched until the girl disappeared into the adjacent bathroom room. She turned back and returned to the broken mirror looking into her cracked reflection again, calmly staring at herself for a few long moments. She finally moved, bringing her hand up and running her fingertips through her hair, breaking through the knots and tangles that her time at sea had formed in her long raven colored bangs. She took another long sigh, "At least you know you're not in God Realm anymore."

The jackal closed her eyes softly taking a deep breath and sighing deeply, it was numbing to Nubiana how much the girl reminded her of herself when she was younger, before everything went wrong. Her eyes shot open a moment later, the auras around her hands engulfing her entire fists in thick blue flames as she felt the ground beneath her beginning to rumble in short bursts. The rumbling was becoming closer rapidly, charging towards where she now stood. Her speculations became solidified when its roar came; one with the boom of a lion and the ferocity of a bear mixed together with an underlining strain and distortion.

"No more running Nubiana," the jackal girl growled at her reflection, fastening her pouch to her hip and wrapping herself in her desert cloak.

She turned quickly making a break for the door just as it began opening from the outside. The girl that Nubiana had just met was opening the door frantically, "Lady, we gotta," her eyes widened seeing Nubiana coupled with the fear of the beast outside the door. The jackal dived, her lithe form sailing over the human girl, like diving into a pool off of the diving board. As the jackal passed over the smaller human their eyes met in what seemed like slow motion, Nubiana could see the fear in the girl's eyes. Little to her knowledge, the girl noticed the small traces of fear and concern that were showing in Nubiana's own eyes.

As Nubiana's swan dive came to the ground, she tucked and rolled, coming to a stop on her knees, she looked back to the girl still in shock behind her, "run kid. Run," she screamed before turning and breaking into a running pace towards a row of trees where the noised were coming from.

The beast burst through the trees, its mouth wide and bearing fangs as it let out another sickening roar directed towards the charging jackal girl. Its body was bulky and massive in its strong upper body compared to his smaller lower body, similar to that of a bull. Its leather like skinned body, toned in a dark tan like the color of wet sand, was covered in a dark clay like colored markings and tattoos. The grotesque face of the creature was flattened, with a bare skinned skull and only small indents in either side of the skull for ears. Each side of the massive, yellow and rotted fang riddled jaw had long overhangs of fat and excess skin covering the back of its short muzzle

The beast planted its front claws scratching at the ground as he growled and sneered at Nubiana, readying to charge her. Its hind feet, hoofed like a bull's, stomped at the ground planting its position in a display of power and aggression, balancing its weight as it let out another booming roar that shook the ground beneath its feet. The small black and grey eyes peering through a heavy brow in pure anger and murderous intent directly at the jackal girl charging towards it.

Nubiana boldly continued charging readying a fist, engulfed in a blue flame of a physical form of her mana surging throughout her body. She reared back and sent the fist into the side of the beast's head sending the beast back, shaking it off with another roar as he finally came to a stop. As the beast looked back up he was met with another barrage of blows, each punch flashing in bright blue flames as the blow struck.

The beast was able to dodge a blow, finally answering back with a blow to Nubiana, a swipe of his massive claws. The massive paw caught the jackal and threw her back, slamming her spine against the trunk of a tree. Nubiana winced, a light pain trailing through her back but was able to shake it off in time to roll out of the way and miss another swipe of the claws. The massive claws came down hard, snapping the trunk of the tree where she had just been, but the beast continued swiping and swinging.

Nubiana dodged and rolled a few more times, barely getting off a few small blows and barely missing lunges and swipes of the monster's massive sharp front claws. With a small barrage of blows the jackal dodged a counter attack thrown by the beast rolling out of the way and ending up directly beneath the monster. She growled deeply, "get off of me," making the flames around her fists surge with energy before she thrust straight up into the beast's chest hearing a loud snapping sound before sending the massive monster flying.

As she stood up, her eyes filled over with white glowing brightly as her anger, frustration and mixed emotions surged and boiled over taking of her body. The markings of her diluted make-up beginning to glow sending a surge of energy throughout the jackal's body. The auras around her fists turned white as well as her hands moved quickly, the energy swelling and beginning to rotate into a rapidly forming vortex. The beast stood up and shook off the heavy blow giving Nubiana another booming roar as his claws dug into the ground, readying to charge her yet again.

"Back to the underworld you bastard," Nubiana yelled, filled with rage as the vortex swelled larger a thick black center now forming at its core. The beast charged rapidly straight at the jackal girl and her vortex, its body fluxing and skewing as it came to her, its shape deforming as it was sucked into the vortex. As the beast disappeared the vortex imploded with a soft boom, the surrounding trees and grass waving serenely in the shock-wave of the implosion. The jackal girl fell to her knees panting, trying desperately to catch her breath. Her panting the only sound among the soft noises of swaying branches and falling leaves in the calm breeze. The near silent sounds gave Nubiana a sense of peace and accomplishment, the glow of her markings dying as her normal eyes finally returned to their soft sky blue.

Nubiana caught her breath finally after a short time, staggering to her feet and taking a moment to breath in the soft breeze, the scent of spring filling her nose. As she turned she found a small group of people staring towards her, the girl from the bathroom being one of them. Her eyes widened, "dammit," she muttered to herself, she had drawn attention to herself; the exact opposite of what she wanted or needed at all. The jackal girl turned quickly, taking off at a running pace into the nearby trees, running as fast as she could though still unaware of where she was going.