FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Night time is my favorite time of the day. Though I am often active for most of the day I prefer the night the most. With the night I can blend in better. People are far less likely to look at me and get much of a good look. And with that I can hide much easier in the night than I can with the day. And given my main problem that makes all the difference. Unfortunately it also means that security systems are almost always on which makes making a living all the harder for me. But I make do. As I'm hungry I decide to go take care of that particular need. I head towards the restaurant district of this town and then camp out in the shadows.

Some days this place is a treasure trove if you're willing to dumpster dive. Unfortunately as I check the dumpsters I find that the scent of it is incredibly distasteful. I probably would survive eating from it but do not want to take the risk of it getting me vastly sick, especially since I can only rely on myself for my own survival. On top of that if I did get sick there would be a fairly good chance of me slipping and after all the time that I've been fighting to maintain this body I am more afraid of that than anything.

Sighing I decide that I have no choice other than to sneak into the restaurant and steal food from the inside. There is far more risk involved but I have long since learned how to do it right. That is how I make my living. I cannot live off what others give so I've taught myself how to take. There is nothing that I could do else. I crouch next to a door and test it. The door doesn't move right away so I walk around a bit and check another door. This one the emergency door near the kitchen. Normally these are supposed to be locked but this time I manage to luck out. The door is slightly ajar at the moment. I move my nose close to the entrance of the door to try and get a feel for what I'm dealing with and find that the area has a strong smell of smoke. So the door must have been opened slightly to help air out the room after something has caught on fire.

Islip in and close the door behind me. Thankfully no one seems to be right next to the door. Or at the least there is no one paying attention to the door. There are sounds in the distance of someone moving around or tending to one thing or another but their attention is not on me. I smile slightly at that before moving further in, finding my progress suddenly stopped. I turn, trying to figure out the source of this and find that my cloak seems to have gotten caught in the door. I panic for a split second before I gather my wits enough to pull the door open a bit more again and pull the cloak free. As much as I would rather not have it I am glad that the door didn't clip something else, though. I move further in and though I don't really want to do so I have to take care of the person inside so I can do what I need uninterrupted so I sneak behind them and then hit them as hard as I can in the back of the head. They fall down

I lean down to make sure that he's okay. I want him out of the way but not dead, if for nothing else then the fact that a murder would make it extremely hard to remain hidden. I remove the mask from my face and place it to the side gently before lowering my head and placing my ear along the surface of his chest. I can hear the heartbeat and it seems to be fairly strong. I can also feel the motion of the breathing and can tell that the person is just knocked out and isn't even in any pain from the sounds of it. At least not at the moment. I'm sure he'll probably have a headache when he wakes up. For a split second I'm thankful that this body can move so silently and can hear so well since if it couldn't do either it would have only made this all the harder.

That split second before I catch myself, though, is all the song needs before it begins ringing in my ears, crying out for me to give in. I fall to the side of the man, almost falling on my mask as I rest my elbows against the ground and cover my ears as best I can, trying to drive the song out. No, I can't let myself give in; the siren song would be the end of me if I can't resist it. I moan at the sound ringing in my head. It isn't something with so much of words as desires. A flooding of sensation to give in and accept what I am, to embrace this curse and let it consume me completely. I have worked far too hard to regain what I have and I'm not going to let this small slip be the end of me. Still struggling against the song I grab the mask with one hand and raise it back up to my head, placing it on my face once again.

I push myself up and lean against the counter for a moment, my body awash in sensation as I continue to try and fight the song. I know for a fact that if I gave in now I'd be lost forever and have no means to get out of this place, ensuring my capture but the song is not something that listens to reason. I raise an arm and see every fiber along the surface begin to bristle at the excitement of the surrender. I slam my arm against the counter with all my might, making sure that there's nothing on it to cause any permanent damage, refusing to give in. The pain is a refreshing distraction and allows my mind enough focus to distract myself fully with my purpose. To lose the song trying to claim me in the act of theft, to become so engrossed in stealing what I need that nothing else even factors into my mind. No thought, no reflection, only a focus on what I should take and what I shouldn't. I pull a bag from my cloak and get to work. I have no need for any of the utensils or metals so I leave them alone completely. I can't hold any of the liquids so I ignore them too. I find a sort of larder and rejoice at the sight. Along all the walls are things I could definitely use. A colorful display that makes my mouth begin to water in anticipation. I grab a small bit of steak from one of the shelves and stick it in my mouth, using the other hand to lift the mask up just briefly in the process.

I need to stay focused to keep from losing myself to the song so I can't chew it but with it in my mouth I can keep that occupied. I grab all the food I can fit into the bag and then close it tight and return. There are a few other people in this place somewhere, I can smell them. I could leave now but I have one more item in mind. Trying to find the money in this place would be too risky so I resolve to just making this poor fool's life a little harder and place the bag down beside him and begin rummaging through the pockets, trying to find some sort of money. With success I huff slightly, almost spitting out the food in my mouth as I find a big fat brown square in one of the pockets. I open it up and begin rifling through it. I have no need of the cards or identity, but I grab the green bills and drop the wallet, stuffing the bills into a pocket of my cloak. I hear sounds of footsteps coming closer and my head shoots up, looking in the direction of the sound, my ears and face making small motions to better pinpoint the source and distance of the sound. Deciding it too close I reach over and grab at the bag and with a jolt raise it up before turning and running back towards the door.

I open the back door and slip through, not bothering to make sure the door closes properly or quietly. I look around for a quick hiding spot but finding none I sigh briefly before quickly swallowing the bit of meat in my mouth and raising the mask up enough so that I can hold the top of the bag in my mouth before heading towards a dumpster. I hop onto the dumpster and squat down a bit before pushing up with all my force and jumping as high as I am able. I reach up and grab a hold of the building, scrambling up the last little bit and then settle on top of the roof. Once on the roof I move further in and sit down as I hear the door below me open once again. I know far better than to look down and so long as I do not give any indication of where I am they'll have no reason to try and look on the roof. With luck they'll think I just bolted down the road. They'll probably still call the police which means I'll have to pay attention and be all the more on alert for the time being.

This is why I rarely want to actually enter such situations. They always make it so much harder for me. Since I have to wait a while before I can safely leave I adjust my sitting posture into one I can more comfortably maintain for an hour or two and drop the bag from my mouth. As the adrenaline of my endeavor has ended so too has the distraction and the song begins to roar in my mind once again. I cup my fingers against my ears and begin rocking back and forth against my legs, trying to mentally drown out the soundless song. My abominable appendage begins to move in rhythm to my rocking and the cadence of the song increases with it. I'm starting to panic, wondering if I'll end up slipping again and unfortunately I can't try and hurt myself up here as it would risk bringing their attention to me. I increase the intensity of my rocking, whining slightly at the same time for a few seconds before resolving every fiber of my attention onto my breathing, attempting to slow and moderate it as best I can. Finally after what seems like ages the song quiets down considerably and I slow my rocking but maintain control over my breathing for a few more minutes just in case.

Finally assured that I'll be safe enough to not have to worry about slipping again anytime soon I remove my mask and begin opening my bag up, intent on at least filling one need this body has. I pull out a piece of fruit and begin peeling back the skin, pausing briefly as a particularly strong gust of wind hits me from behind, one hand reflexively reaching to stop my mask from being blown away. The bag, having been placed between my legs is perfectly fine but it does remind me I need to find a better place for the moment to eat in peace. I place the partially peeled fruit into the edge of my mouth to hold before standing up and grabbing the bag and my mask and moving quickly and silently to a wall against the wind, in particular an outcropping of stone that allows those inside to come up here. Satisfied that I'll have at least some protection from the wind if not the cold I plop down again and sit against the wall, placing the bag to my one side and my mask between my legs before grabbing the fruit and resuming the peeling process. I don't quite finish all of the stolen food but I do eat enough so that this abhorrent body will leave me alone for the time being, though already it's complaining about another issue, particularly the need to sleep.