FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It was a warm and sunny day, late in the summer when the cool chill of fall waited patiently just around the corner. A perfect day to be outside in the fresh air; the children were playing, the birds sang, and the village bustled with life. The harvest had been good, and the smell of baking bread permeated every nook and cranny.

It was fucking horrible.

"Why exactly did I come here, again?" Tognas complained, irritated. He slumped onto a nearby bench and sighed heavily. [~Because you thought there wouldn't be as many people closer to the mountains.~] He answered himself. [~Because the smell of food made you hungry. Because you're a fucking idiot.~] He thought about how to extricate himself from the crowded village while still feeding himself. [~To be fair, it was a lot quieter when I got here. How the fuck was I supposed to know there were so many.~]

Tognas attempted to skirt along the front of the shops, stopping to peek into each and ducking through gaps between people as possible. He found himself at a small shop, seemingly the source of the enticing aroma. After seeing it packed with people, he had half a mind to simply leave and forget the whole thing, but his stomach protested with a loud growl and sharp pang of hunger.

"Yeah, I know." He said, looking down. "I'm fucking working on it..." He felt awkward standing to the side trying to see what was available, felt everyone was looking at him, suspicious of his presence. [~That guy might attack you. That one looks angry, he might make a scene. Better be ready to draw. You never know. They're both probably stronger than you, more skilled. Don't be obvious, maybe they don't know you have it.~] Tognas stole glances at them, trying to avoid staring. He tried to appear as if he was just casually looking around. [~Your back is exposed.~] He looked over his shoulder, back into the crowd of people. He hesitated a moment, then stepped just inside the shop with his back to the nearest wall. He kept his left hand on his knife under his cloak.

There was a break in the line. [~You should get in line. No wait, you don't know what you want yet. But this may be your only chance. Shit, never mind, it's gone. Good fucking job.~] There were no prices posted, just goods on shelves. He hated not knowing, it always meant he'd lose money. [~Fuck it, I'm hungry. I don't fucking care.~] He waited several more minutes for another opening, then stepped into the line. It moved fairly quick, and he found himself at the front. He had been looking over the store's offerings, but still hadn't decided. [~That one looks alright. But what if it's not?~]

"Hi, what can I get for you, sir?" the clerk asked happily.

"Umm..." Tognas hesitated. [~She's cute. She's not interested, don't bother. Don't look at her chest.~] "How much for, uh, loaf of that and a block of this?" He asked, pointing to bread and cheese respectively. [~If it's more than two silver, you're fucked. Even that's too much. How would you know? You don't make bread or cheese.~]

"One silver for the bread, a silver and thirty copper for the cheese." She explained, keeping her cheery tone. She resumed an expectant posture. Tognas held his elbow and scratched at his cheek feathers, thinking. [~_Fuck that's expensive. It's not too bad for so much food, actually. You're buying in bulk, basically, so it's probably fine. There are people behind you. You're holding up the line. She's getting impatient, stop wasting her time. Just buy them. You made up your mind, just GO. _~] "Ah, let's uh, let's do that."

"Okay!" She said happily as she began gathering and packaging the items. Tognas watched as she did, absentmindedly pulling the tie on his coin purse, looking down only to make sure he'd grab the right coins. Two silver and a half-coin. [~Don't let anyone see inside. Watch out for the guy behind you.~] He quickly retied the purse and clenched the coins in his scaly hand. [~Don't be stupid, it's not like no one heard what she said. They know how much I'm spending. Fuck, do I have room to carry all this? Shit.~]

"Here you go!" She said, placing the bundled goods on the counter, and holding her hand out, expectant once more. Tognas held his hand out and carefully dropped the coins in hers. "Thank you, enjoy your day!"

"Thanks, you too." He said shakily, forcing a small smile. He gathered up his purchase and stepped to the side. [~Really should have thought this through, moron~] He decided to hurry out and find a quiet spot to assess his new burdens.