Found in the Forest

Story by Tristan Hawthorne on SoFurry

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#26 of Patreon Reward Vignettes

Last one for the time being for Forest! He's been having trouble coming up with ideas for me so he decided to switch to another tier without lowering his pledge.

In this, it's a direct followup to Into the Forest, continuing from where that left off! Tris grows acquainted with the strange fantasy creature he has encountered!

Contains: Impractical but comfy clothes, excessive kupo-ing, subtle predscapery, implied memory alteration, teasing, flustered blushes, grinning wolves and doomed puppies.

Once again Forest is FA: SpottedSqueak: / FA: Forest-Wolf

Tsumi is Kaijou

and Trissie is Me! :D

This was written as a tier reward on my Patreon! Again, people who pledge $1 or more can vote on polls. $5 or more you can add to the suggestion doc, which is where the ideas that get voted on on the polls come from. The new price for getting Patreon Reward vignettes is $15.

Right now, the Voted On story for May and all of May's vignettes are available to read for Patrons!

If you'd rather have more complete control of my creative output, consider commissioning me! If you'd rather just support me and don't want to commit to a monthly donation, I have a Ko-Fi.


Tris blinked up at the pink creature standing over him. The male was fairly short and skinny, covered in soft powder-pink fur, the same color as the mussy mop of hair on his head. Large catlike ears emerged from the mess, along with a dark spine of some kind, at the end of which was a luminous pom of fluff. Over each shoulder, Tris could see little fleshy wings peeking out on each side. These details were secondary to the fact that he was wearing nothing but some close to scandalously short cut cropped jean shorts. Overall he gave off a boyish air while still clearly an adult.

The labrador stuck with his snap assessment of the other male as a moogle, though he wasn't sure where he knew that from. At the same time he didn't feel quite distressed by being roused by a stranger in a strange place. And there was kind of... joy in the dog's heart, as if he had rediscovered something he'd forgotten. But that was silly, this was a person he hadn't met, had he?

"So puppy, are you just gonna lay there on the ground all day?" The moogle giggled. The way he so casually called the larger dog 'puppy' struck something in Tris.

"Do... we know each other?" The black pup asked, while sitting up. He was momentarily distracted from picking at the seam that familiarity was seeping through by realizing he was similarly ill-dressed for a forest. He was wearing long white and purple striped stockings that just barely hooked over his ankle before letting the rest of his paw be exposed, the other end up on his thighs in a way that gave them a soft squish in addition to pinning his pelt down. Matching these were arm-warmers that hooked around each of his thumbs and went nearly up to his shoulders. He curiously stroked his fingertips along his opposite arm and felt the softest fabric. Keeping the pup modest was a pair of snug heliotrope boxer-briefs that left a narrow stretch of bare fur between themselves and his stockings while leaving his soft torso entirely exposed.

"I'd know if I'd met such a big soft puppy-po!" The pink male giggled. "I guess your arms and legs get cold k'po." He nodded, crossing his arms across his narrow chest.

Tris nodded. "Just a feeling. I'm Tristan, but people call me Tris or... uh... Trissie." He blushed a bit. Normally he wouldn't give out that diminutive to someone he just met but it felt like the right thing to do...

"I'm Tsumi! Do I have to help you up, k'po?" The moogle reached out and grabbed one of the stripe-clad arms and yanked. His eyes widened and he nearly overbalanced right into flopping on top of Tris, his wings buzzing. "You're real heavy! Kupipopo..."

The dog chuckled, pushing off the soft moss with one palm while getting his hips over his feet for proper balance. He stood up with a sigh and stretched his arms over his head, lightly smooshing his floppy ears against his soft biceps. He let out a squeak of surprise as he felt small digits on his chest.

The shorter male was prodding at the white diamond marking on the dog's chest. "You just passing through, k'po?" After tracing the outline of the rhombus Tsumi's fingers fell to the top of the canine's plump belly. "Or are you staying?"

Tris blushed deeply at the idle exploration of his torso, his tail starting to wag before he realized it was happening. "How do you mean? It's... uh... a forest." He rested his forearms on top of his head, resisting the urge to just shove his tummy into a stranger's face. That would be rude! Was he really a stranger...?

Tsumi idly began to knead with both hands on the sides of the round belly, his wings fluttering a bit as his pom glowed and pulsed. "Oh, I see a lot of folks go through this part of the forest, mostly bunnies, kupipo!" The pink male smiled, rubbing a little faster, scruffing his fingers into the black fur. "But they don't stay, k'po. Saw this big puppy and hoped maybe..." He pouted and took his paws away, blushing a little bit. "That's selfish of me, k'po. Sorry."

The labrador bit back a whine as the pleasant tummy rubbing was suddenly halted. "Are you all alone out here?" He felt concerned for the shorter male, far more than he was used to for someone he only just met. His head and his heart weren't agreeing on anything and he couldn't be sure why. He was distracted from his confusion by a sound of boots stepping through the underbrush.

The pink moogle leaned around the dog to look and his face brightened up. "Mister Woodsman!"

"You're never alone in the Forest." A new, intensely familiar voice struck the air before the dog could turn to follow the moogle's gaze. "Silly Trissie."

When Tris looked, his eyes widened. There, standing near some underbrush he'd appeared through, was Forest, the grey wolf grinning smugly and toothily. He was wearing a comfortable flannel and worn jeans over his boots, looking to be dressed exactly correctly for their situation!

Forest licked his lips as he prepared to speak again, opening his jaws.

The exact sequence of events of how Tris came to be here crashed back into his mind like a dam bursting, sending a blush flooding up the labrador's face right up to the ears. And amongst the torrent, memories of time spent with Tsumi, cuddling and chatting, teasing and joking... all of it rushed into place. He hadn't seen Tsumi in so long. He looked back at the happily chattering moogle, then to Forest.

The wolf's grin only broadened, his tail wagging rapidly as he saw that Tris had put everything together. "It's wonderful to have you, puppy."