FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_The burgundy blouse would pair well with the skirt. Oh, but this cashmere scarf is beautiful, and I have several outfits at home that it would compliment. _

Decisions, decisions.

The speckled doe stood in the discount aisle of her favorite clothing store. Why was she in the discount aisle? Because not only was the clothing cheap, she sometimes found hidden gems, such as the blouse and the scarf. Naturally, she didn't buy everything at discount; she wasn't a monster.

"Find anything good, Victoria?" a female porcupine asked, a store name tag on her chest that read 'Sam.'

Victoria knew Sam quite well, despite only seeing her when she came to this store. Which said a lot about how often Victoria shopped here. The porcupine had a tendency to hang little baubles like woven beads into her quills, which Victoria heavily disagreed with. Made the poor girl look cluttered.

"Which one?" Victoria asked, holding up the two clothing items in her hands. "I'm having a bit of trouble deciding."

"Why not both?" Sam suggested, feeling the material of the blouse between her fingers.

"Oh, hun, if I could fill my closet with every outfit I lay eyes on, I would be in heaven." Victoria sighed longingly. "But sadly, the money in my pocket just won't allow it."

"The jewelry store still not paying enough?"

Victoria shook her head. "I just don't get it, I've given them countless ideas for new pieces I know would sell, but they simply refuse to acknowledge the craftsmanship and keep turning me down. I would be making bank if they accepted them."

"Making bank?" Sam asked. "You're slang is slipping through."

Victoria cleared her throat, feeling heat rising in her face, but rolled her shoulders and kept her composure. "Apologies. It happens when I get worked up."

"Well, if you only have to pick one," Sam said, moving the subject back on track. "I'd have to pick the blouse. The scarf is more seasonal, whereas the blouse you could wear year round."

"Oh, I know that, hun." Victoria said, hanging the scarf back where it belonged. She had already made up her mind before Sam had asked.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "So why did you ask?"

The speckled doe made her way to the front counter, hooves clopping against the tile flooring. She simply walked behind the counter, bagged the blouse herself after taking off the safety clip, and headed for the exit. "I just wanted you to feel like you made a contribution to the decision."

Opening the door, Victoria gave a curt wave. "My card's already in your system, just charge me whenever you find the time. See you next week!"

With that, she simply left.

Outside was warm, the sun shining through a cloudless sky. Reaching into the lavender purse strapped over her shoulder, Victoria pulled out a pair of sunglasses. The spring kind that hugged the side of your head as opposed to those ugly ones that strapped around the skull like goggles for those whose ears were placed too high on their heads.

Victoria's ears were indeed placed quite high on her head, but she wouldn't lower herself to buy those horrendous goggles when the expensive spring type worked just as well, and looked amazing.

A few strands of her hair shifted into her eye, and she used her free hand to brush them aside, the gold rhinestone rings on her fingers catching the light as she did. She examined the rings, rolling them around her fingers with her thumb. These were her fathers, believe it or not.

She was the daughter of a gang member, her father, so she grew up in the slums of town, moving between safehouses to not get caught by the police. She got tired of that life pretty quickly. When she was 18, she turned her own father in and collected the reward money herself after stealing his rings while he was passed out in a drunken stupor one night. The reward money wasn't a lot, but it was enough to start her own life. Her father didn't cause that much trouble, even if he thought he did.

She kept the rings as a reminder to not become like dear old dad: Horrendously unfashionable and easily manipulated.

She reached the parking lot of the shopping center. Her eyes scanned the many vehicles in the lot until her eyes rested on a deep orange convertible. Reaching into her purse again, Victoria pulled out a set of keys on an acrylic flower crown keychain. She pressed a button on her car keys, and the orange convertibles lights flashed as the car beeped.

Opening the door to her car, Victoria climbed in and set the bag on the passenger's seat. Upon sticking the key in the ignition and giving it a turn, loud rap music started blaring throughout the enclosed space. Victoria jumped, quickly turning down the music. Placing a hand on her chest and breathing deep to calm her racing heart, the speckled doe gathered herself again.

As much as she tried to leave her past behind, rap and hip hop music were her one guilty pleasure. She tried to hate it, she really did, but it was hard to stop her hoof from tapping whenever she heard it. So, she embraced it in solace, doing her best to keep it a secret.

It still catches her off guard when she forgets how loud she puts it.

Calming herself down, Victoria buckled herself in and slowly pulled out of the parking lot, heading home.

As she drove, music now at a reasonable volume to think, she sketched new jewelry designs in her mind. One of these days, the jewelry store she worked at would have to accept one of her drawings.

Victoria hummed in amusement at the thought. She guessed there was one thing her and her father had in common.

Tenacity.

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Thank you for reading! May your inner fire burn strong!