FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

My eyes scanned the mall's art supplies store, searching for something to help my drawing. I was an artist, and I had asked my mom to take me to the mall so that I could buy something that would possibly give me that inspirational boost that I needed. I relied pretty heavily on inspiration, and I wanted to get something that would give me that push that I needed to start drawing again. I just needed to find it... but what was it?

As I continued to look through the store, I happened to notice something out of the corner of my eye. It was a drawing notebook, half-buried in a bin filled with other notebooks. It had an interesting design on it: a silver background with streaks of red swirled across it, giving it a sort of mysterious, majestic look. But other than that, there wasn't really anything special about it. So why did I feel so... drawn to it? What was it about it that made me feel like buying it could... possibly change my life?

I picked up the notebook and flipped through it, examining it carefully. Sure enough, it was just a regular notebook, nothing more. I shrugged, walking over to the store's front desk to pay for it. It was still an interesting notebook, and I knew that it would help me with my drawing by letting me draw whenever I wanted. After paying for it, I left the store, heading back into the main pavilion of the mall.

As I walked over to the center of the pavilion, I noticed my mom sitting there , reading a book. "Hi Mom! I finished shopping!" I said.

My mom looked up from her book at me. "That's good. Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked.

I nodded, showing her the notebook. "Yep. Got it right here" I said.

My mom looked over the notebook. "That's... an interesting notebook" she said. "Any particular reason why you picked it?"

I shrugged. "Not really" I said. "I wanted a notebook so that I wouldn't have to limit myself to drawing at home. With this, I can pretty much draw whenever I feel like it. As for why I chose this one... I don't actually know." I looked over the silver and red cover. "I guess... I just liked the way it looked."

My mom smiled. "I suppose that's as good a reason as any" she said. "Anyway, we should probably get going. I want to get dinner started as soon as possible."

I nodded, following after her into the parking lot. As we walked back to the car, I happened to look back up at the sky. Dusk was settling in, and despite all of the clouds in the sky, I could still clearly see the sunset. My mom looked over at me, noticing where I was looking. "Looking at the sunset?" she asked me. "It's pretty, isn't it?"

I nodded. "It sure is" I said. "I always love watching the sunset, just because of how... beautiful it makes everything look. I mean, the way the sky goes from a light blue to a deep orange, before fading completely to black... it's like an art project, you know? And then the moon comes, illuminating everything with this... silver glow. Speaking of which, did you know that there's a full moon tonight?"

As I said it, I turned to look at my mom again. But as I did, I noticed some kind of... odd expression on her face. Was it pain? Sorrow? Regret? I couldn't tell. "Um, are you okay?" I asked.

The moment I said it, the look vanished. "Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine" my mom said. "And yes, I knew that there was a full moon tonight." She looked up at the sky, the look appearing on her face again. "I always know..."

Feeling a bit confused, I looked back at my new drawing notebook, thinking about what to draw next. I looked back up at the sky, from the setting sun at one end to the blackening void at the other. And that was what gave me the inspiration I needed.

I followed my mom back to the car, sitting down next to her in the passenger seat. "What are you going to draw in that new notebook of yours?" she asked.

I looked out the window, back at the darkening sky. "I think I'm going to draw... something with the moon" I said. "Maybe... something where the moon is just rising, and all of the creatures of the night are coming out to..." I looked up, noticing that the odd look had appeared on my mom's face once again. "Hey, are you sure you're alright?"

The look vanished. "Yes, sweetie, I'm fine" my mom said. "I just want to get home quickly, okay?"

"Um, okay" I said. Now I was really confused. Why was my mom acting like this all of a sudden? It wasn't like her. I looked back at my drawing notebook, not really in the mood to draw anymore. I just sat there, neither of us saying anything the rest of the way home.

As soon as we got home, though, I immediately went upstairs to my room, closing the door behind me. I had wasted enough time in the car, and now I wanted to get started on my drawing as soon as possible. I picked up some drawing supplies and began to start my sketch, first drawing the moon and then sketching out all of the creatures that would appear underneath it, including vampires, skeletons, and, of course, werewolves. I had always had a sort of... fascination with the moon, and part of that was because of all of the creatures that seemed to be associated with it. Secretly, I sometimes wondered what it would be like to be one of these creatures... especially a werewolf. I wasn't sure why, but the concept of some otherwise normal person turning into a humanoid wolf under the full moon had always intrigued me, more than any other supernatural creature that I could think of.

I kept on working, right up until my mom called me down for dinner. After eating, I went back up to my room, planing on putting the finishing touches on my drawing. But the more I drew, the more difficult I found it to stay focused on my work. I desperately tried to stay focused, as I wanted to get as much of this drawing done as possible. But as I poured all of my thoughts into my notebook, I felt my concentration begin to slip. Looking at the full moon in my drawing seemed to stir up some kind of... desire within me. A desire for... freedom. My head turned to my bedroom window, and, wondering if I just needed some fresh air, I walked over and opened it.

Pulling open my window, I immediately felt the fresh air enter my lungs, making me feel revitalized and energetic. As I gazed through the window, I happened to glance up at the sky, where the full moon was shining. It was a truly beautiful sight, one that I knew I could never fully capture in my art, no matter how hard I tried. The way it shined down with its silver light had always captivated me, and it always seemed to inspire me, no matter what mood I was in.

THUMP!

I drew back a bit, startled. What was that noise? It sounded like someone had dropped something, but... where? It sounded like it had come from right next to me, but my room was empty, and the door was closed. Feeling confused again, I opened the door and walked down the hallway, over to the stairs. At the bottom, I saw my mom, bending over to pick up a book she had dropped. So that was what I heard? But why had it been so loud? "You okay?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm fine" said my mom, turning around. "Just dropped a book. No need to worry-" She stopped mid-sentence. She seemed to be staring at me, her mouth hanging open. The book she had just picked up slipped from her grasp again, falling to the floor with a very loud THUD!

"Gah!" I yelled, my hands flying up to my ears. "Why is that so lou-" I stopped. My hands had met where I thought my ears were... but I didn't feel any ears, only skin. Trying to figure out what was going on, I began moving my hands to the top of my head, only for my right hand to brush up against something that... wasn't supposed to be there. It felt almost triangular in shape, soft and thin, covered in... what felt like fur. But it only took me a second to realize what it really was: an ear. My ear.

"Wha... What?" Instantly, my other hand shot up to the top of my head. My other ear was exactly the same as the first one, fur and all. "But... how... why..."

"Lily... I'm so sorry..." My mom was walking up the stairs toward me. "I should have told you..."

"Told me what? W-what's going on?" As my hands ran through my hair, I noticed something else. My hair was shortening, shrinking into my head, disappearing into my skull. It didn't even feel like hair anymore, more like... fur. But when I ran my hand down my face, I realized that there was fur there, too. "Oh no... no..." I turned and ran to the bathroom, positioning myself in front of the mirror. It was even worse than I thought: my long, strawberry-red hair had almost fully become short, brown fur, which was beginning to spread to the rest of my face. But something even worse was beginning to happen: my nose was starting to turn black, and my entire face looked like it was... pushing out of my skull, forming some kind of long, narrow muzzle.

Cautiously, I raised my hand up and placed it against my new snout. I began rubbing the snout with my hand, fingers running through the fur. My fur. On my snout.

I couldn't take any more. I screamed.

"Lily!" My mom rushed into the bathroom. "Lily, please, calm down. It's all going to be fine, trust me..."

"Stay away from me!" I screamed, pushing past her. I needed to get to my room. Needed to be alone. I ran into my room, slamming the door behind me. I then dropped to my knees, breathing heavily. I felt my long tongue scrape against my long, sharp teeth, which didn't help my emotional state at all. This couldn't be real. This had to be some kind of nightmare. What was going on? What was happening to me?

My eyes fell upon my hands, where more changes seemed to be occurring. Fur was growing on them, and the fingers seemed to be... thickening slightly, as sharp, black claws grew in place of my fingernails. They almost looked like... paws.

"Lily?" My bedroom door swung open, as my mom walked in. "Lily, please. You're going to be fine. Don't worry."

"No!" I cried, trying to back away. "Please... please, don't come near me..."

My mom walked over to me, kneeling down next to me. "You're going to be okay" she said, putting her arm around me. "Just calm down..."

I swallowed. Something about her tone seemed to calm me down, at least a little. She began rubbing my back, the same way she got me to calm down when I was a little girl. And it was actually working. I was beginning to relax, my panic lessening as my breathing became deeper, calmer.

But the moment I looked down at my feet, my panic began rising again. Not only was there fur on them, but they seemed to be growing, lengthening and stretching out. Not only that, but my toes were thickening and merging together, until I only had four on each foot. As the fur washed over them, I realized that they looked like... paws. But unlike my hands, they didn't just slightly resemble paws. They had actually become real, legitimate animal paws.

"No!" I cried, looking away. "No... please, make it stop..."

"Shh... you're okay" my mom said, putting her arms around me. "You're okay. Just calm down."

Once again, I felt myself calming down a little, though I was still far from relaxed. I felt the fur run up and down my my arms and legs, spreading across my body. At the same time, I felt something uncomfortable at the seat of my pants, like something pushing against them. The next thing I knew, something had ripped right through them, tearing them apart. I reached back to feel what it was.... and gasped with shock. It was a tail. An actual tail, and it was attached to me. "Oh my god..." I said, running my hand across it. "Oh my god..."

"Shh... it's okay. You're going to be fine." Now my mom was running her hand across my head, her fingers brushing against my ears and through my fur. "You're going to be fine."

I could feel tears running down my face, wetting my fur. "Please..." I said, sobbing quietly. "I don't want this. I don't want any of it..."

But as I said it, I suddenly noticed something happening to my mom's hand. It looked like there was... fur on it. Light gray fur was spreading across her hand, which was changing to resemble... a paw? I looked up at my mom's face, feeling confused once again. The gray fur was there, too, and her ears were long and pointed. "M-mom..?" I said.

My mom only smiled. "I told you that you would be okay, didn't I?" she said. "Now, just relax... relax and be calm..."

I began breathing heavily again, realizing how tired I felt. My panic attack had exhausted me completely, and I was really feeling the exhaustion now that the panic had worn off. I laid my head on the floor, my eyelids feeling heavy, as I felt myself drifting off into darkness.

My eyes suddenly flew open. I sat up and looked around, realizing that I was in my bed. "Wow..." I said, blinking a few times. "That was one hell of a drea..." I stopped. I had just noticed my hand, which was still covered in fur and paw-like. "What the...." I quickly examined the rest of my body. The tail and the fur were still there, too, and when I ran my hand across my face, I could still feel the muzzle that was there. "It... wasn't a dream?" I immediately threw my covers aside and jumped out of bed... only to almost immediately fall over. "Gah!" I yelled, grabbing my bedpost for balance and looking at my feet. Not only had they turned into paws, but it appeared that the change had also altered my stance, forcing me onto the balls of my feet. I tried walking around like this for a bit, getting a feel for it until it became natural.

After getting used to my new body, I walked over to my window, looking out at the night sky. The full moon was still there, shining as brightly as ever. But as my eyes wandered down into the backyard, my greatly-improved vision made out a shape, standing there all by itself. It appeared to be wearing human clothes, but it was far from human, with its pointed ears, furry tail, and paw-like hands and feet. As I looked at it, it turned to face me, and I could see its muzzle, long and narrow. But something about it seemed familiar... and that's when it hit me. "...Mom?" I said. "...Is that you?"

The creature- my mother- looked up at me. "Lily!" she said. "Glad to see you up and about."

I could hardly believe it. "But... what's going on?" I cried. "What are you?" I looked down at myself. "Come to think of it, what am I?"

My mom grinned, showing her sharp teeth. "Come on down, and I'll explain" she said.

"Umm... okay" I said, before doing something that I could hardly believe. I stepped up onto my windowsill, took a deep breath... and jumped out my window. I know it sounds completely crazy, but somehow, I knew that if I did it, I would be okay. I knew that I would survive. Sure enough, I landed on the ground in a crouching position, completely unharmed.

I stood up, looking up at my window, completely shocked. "Did...did I just..." I couldn't believe what I had just done. That window was about twelve feet from the ground!

My mom simply grinned at me again. "I'm glad to see you okay, Lily" she said. "And yes, you did just survive that fall." She looked up at the window. "A little fall like that isn't going to injure a werecreature much, after all."

"Umm... a what?" I said, my confusion returning. "What are you talking about?"

My mom smiled. "A werecreature. That's what you are. That's what I am, too." She looked down at herself. "Well, to be more specific, we're actually werecoyotes. Both of us."

"But... " I held up one of my paw-like hands, the claws looking particularly sharp in the moonlight. I looked down at the rest of my body, at the brown fur, the bushy tail, the... paws that had replaced my feet. "But... why?"

"It's in our blood" my mom said. "This ability of ours was passed down through generations of our family. In most cases, it activates when someone finds what we call a "trigger", which is an object that awakens the ability within the person. Once the trigger is found, the person will change every time the moon is full." She looked back up at my bedroom window. "If I had to guess, I'd say that new notebook of yours is what brought on this change."

I looked up at the full moon, which was still as bright as ever. "So.... I'm going to turn into this every time there's a full moon?" I asked

"For now, yes" said my mom. "But with enough practice, you should be able to resist the change when the full moon comes. You may even be able to shift into your werecoyote form whenever you want."

I looked up at her. "Can you do that?" I asked.

"I can resist the change, but I can't change whenever I want" she said. "Only when the moon is full." She smiled at me. "If you want, I can teach you. Would you like that?"

I shrugged. "I guess...." I said. I sighed, collapsing onto the ground. "I don't know. This whole thing is just... ridiculous. I mean, look at me!" I rubbed my forehead with my hand, occasionally brushing against my long, pointed ears. "My head hurts..."

My mom put her paw-like hand on my shoulder. "Adjusting is always the hardest part" she said. "But you'll get through it. Trust me."

"I hope you're right" I said, looking back at her. "Oh... and thanks for calming me down before. I know it probably wasn't easy."

My mom smiled. "You're my daughter. It's my job" she said. "No matter how hard it is. You're feeling better now, I assume?"

I nodded, smiling back. "Yeah" I said. "Yeah, I am."