FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Today was one of those days where you find yourself without much to do, so you repeat menial tasks to feel somewhat productive. For Charlotte, this meant shaking a sifter of flour into a bowl so the white powder would be easier to mix. She was making another batch of bread dough, even though she already had several loaves cooling from this morning.

It might end up being too much bread to sell and she'd have to throw most of it away, but she usually had no trouble selling what she made. She was hoping that would be the case here.

She really just needed something to do.

The sifter got progressively lighter in her hands as the flour drained out, and once she felt that all the flour was gone, she stopped shaking.

'Is that all of it?' The fe chirped.

Silence.

She cocked her head to the side a little, swiveling her ears around to listen. 'Osiris?' She twittered.

There was the flutter of wings, and she felt small feet grip her shoulder as her sparrow landed on it.

'Sorry.' Osiris chirped. 'I'm here.' The sparrows singing sounded a little mellow today, the notes not as vibrant.

Charlotte set the sifter down, wiping her hands on her apron before reaching up to stroke Osiris' neck. 'Are you alright?' She asked. 'You've been unusually quiet today.'

Animals were surprisingly bad liars. The one's Charlotte spoke to had a hard time coming up with creative lies, resorting to half-truths or not saying anything at all. There was also a lilt to their singing when they attempted to lie that resonated with what felt like dishonesty. Osiris knew this best, living in the same house as her, so it was a little concerning to hear the dishonest lilt in his singing when he replied.

'I'm fine.'

Charlotte sighed, picking Osiris up and cupping him in both her hands. 'Please?' She asked in a worried chirp. 'You don't have to tell me, but you are my friend and I only wish to help.'

She felt the bird flap his wings anxiously in her hands, unsure if he wanted to share. Charlotte waited patiently, giving him time to gather his thoughts.

'Miss home.' He finally tweeted.

Charlotte nodded, beginning to understand. Osiris had been her friend ever since she was a teen. When she had gotten comfortable enough to live on her own, she had moved out of her house and traveled many miles by caravan to Remeld, and Osiris had followed her.

It was a long trip back, and being blind, Charlotte wasn't comfortable traveling the distance alone. She'd have to arrange to join a caravan heading that direction, if they'd take her. It would take a lot of planning, but maybe...

'We can take a trip back,' She offered. 'It'll just be a while. Are you missing your family?'

'Gone. Migrating.'

That's right, they were entering a new seasonal cycle and the weather was cooling. By the time they made it to Charlotte's hometown, all the birds would have migrated to warmer areas of Permithia.

'Would you still want to go, just to visit?'

She felt Osiris nestle into her hands, and she ran her thumb along his wing, feeling the velvety texture of his wings beneath her finger pads.

'Miss tradition,' He answered.

Charlotte sat on the tile floor, leaning against the wall and placing Osiris in her lap. 'What kind of tradition did you do?'

'Before migrating, family would gather to sing,' Osiris twittered, a hint of longing in his calls as he reminisced on the past. 'Fill forest with song. Forest quiet when cold.'

'I bet that sounds wonderful.' Charlotte whistled. She imagined the trees ringing out with a chorus of bird calls, giving it all they had before leaving.

'Wonderful.' Osiris repeated.

There was another lapse of silence as Charlotte contemplated ways she could help. She didn't want to offer to sing with him. If she did, she'd feel like she was intruding on a special moment he had shared with his family. She was afraid she'd mess it up, especially if there was a specific song they sang.

'Maybe there are sparrows here you could sing with?' She asked, and regretted it immediately. Imagine how awkward it would be to have a stranger come up to you and ask you to sing with them.

An anxious feeling shot through the fox-like creature at the thought, causing her fur to bristle. 'Sorry, forget I offered.'

'Fine,' Osiris chirped, letting her know it was okay. 'Few sparrows here, but...'

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. 'But?'

'You sing?' He asked.

Charlotte was a little taken aback by his question. At first she thought he was asking her if singing was something she was capable of doing, to which the answer was yes. Singing was the only thing she knew how to do, after all. It was her main form of communication, she couldn't speak or learn any other language.

But then she realized he was asking her if she would participate in the tradition with him, go out into the forest and fill the forest with music before the seasonal cycle ended.

'A...are you sure?' She chirped, unsure if she should say yes.

'Family,' Osiris twittered simply.

Despite her wishes, her tail thumped against the ground, and a warm feeling grew in her chest. She couldn't say no to that.

She relented, a smile growing on her muzzle. 'I would love to.'

She felt Osiris hop happily on her skirt. 'Go, go!'

Charlotte chuckled at his enthusiasm, her laugh sounding a lot like the gekkering noises a fox makes when playing or fighting, just with more of a melodic undertone.

'Alright, alright, let me get ready.' She trilled.

She got to her paws, picking up Osiris in one hand as she did so. She reached out with one hand until she felt the edge of the table and set the small bird down. The bowl of flour and other ingredients she had brought down for breadmaking were still out, but she'd worry about them when she got home.

Tracing a few fingers across the table's surface, she felt around for a wooden bucket full of fresh water she used for washing her hands. Dipping her arms into the cool liquid, she rubbed her fur under the water to wash out any flour.

Pulling her arms out, she let the water drip off her fur for a moment, listening to the sound of the falling droplets taper off before drying her arms on the apron she was wearing.

Charlotte untied the apron, bundled it up neatly, and set it on the table before unrolling her sweater sleeves and grabbing her walking stick leaning against the edge of the table.

'Alright,' She chirped, slipping her hand through the canes strap. 'I'm ready.'

She felt the wind of Osiris wings on her face as he fluttered up to her shoulder.

She headed out of the kitchen, feeling the floor change from tile to wood under her paws as she entered the living room. She counted the steps it took to get from the kitchen's entrance to the front door in her head. She had an internal map of her home in her head in the form of steps to easily get from one place to another without tripping over anything.

But once she opened the front door, and she felt the warm afternoon air, she placed the walking stick on the ground to help guide her through the unknown.

'Where are we going?' She asked, stepping onto her porch and closing the door behind her with a click.

'Secluded,' Osiris answered. 'Alone.'

The forest it was. She sometimes took walks in the forest to listen to the many songs and cries of the feral animals that lived there, so she knew where she was going. It helped that she lived at the edge of town, she wouldn't need to travel far to reach the forest.

Walking down the steps of her porch, she turned left and made her way down the road, sweeping her cane in front of her in small arcs to avoid any sticks or stones she could trip on along the way.

The city of Remeld sat in a valley, and to get to the forest Charlotte needed to climb a hill. At the top of the hill it plateaued, so when Charlotte reached the top, she knew the hardest part was over. The air around her cooled as she entered the shaded atmosphere of the forest.

'Will find spot.' Osiris said, taking off from her shoulder. She heard his wingbeats somewhere above before they faded.

Charlotte was left alone, which she didn't mind. She padded forward slowly, tapping her walking stick against the spongy earth, desiring not to stub her paw on a root or smack her muzzle against a tree. Until Osiris came back, she would take her time.

Her large ears twitched back an forth atop her head as she walked, listening to the many songs that resonated between the trees. She tested her knowledge, trying to match the song she heard to the animal it came from.

The squeaky trill she heard somewhere to her right was a rabbit, a lyrical howl in the distance was a fox or other canine creature, and a regal chorus echoing through the trees was a small herd of deer.

Songbirds were the only animals she heard like everyone else did, which made learning their language exceptionally easy.

Whenever she wanted to learn the song of another animal, she would have to spend hours listening to the varying pitches and tones that made up their language. However, if she learned the song for one animal, say a cat, then other animals in the same family, like a lynx or mountain lion, would be easier to learn since they sounded similar to her.

So far, she had only really learned the language for songbirds and canines. She was getting close to burrowing animals, like mice and rabbits, but there were several core notes she didn't understand quite yet.

As she walked, she found herself stepping on leaves that littered the forest floor. They crunched under her pads with the satisfying sound of seasons changing. There weren't very many because the weather was just starting to cool, but she looked forward to a time when the ground was littered with fallen leaves. When that day came, she resolved to spend her afternoons walking through the forest if only to hear this sound. She hummed happily, the sound like a cat's purr and drum reverberating in the back of her throat.

She was brought out of her pleasant daydreaming by a pair of small bird feet landing on her head.

'Did you find a spot?' She cheeped curiously.

'Yes,' Osiris replied. 'Forward.'

Charlotte put her trust in her friend, allowing him to guide her through the forest through simple commands. She still tapped her cane in front of her to be extra careful, however.

She had no idea where Osiris was leading her, but when she felt the sun shining on her fur once more and the sound of rustling grass ahead of her, she started to get a good idea.

'A meadow?' She thought aloud.

'Beautiful,' Osiris chirped. 'Quiet.'

He was right, there weren't as many animal songs coming from in front of her. A few birds sang, indicating trees, but that was about it. It felt very peaceful, even if she couldn't see it.

The grass tickled her ankles as Osiris told her to go forward. Her cane caused the grass to sigh as she swung it, and the ground here was quite warm and pleasing to the paw. She'd have to come to this meadow more often, there were a lot of sensations here she enjoyed feeling.

She was directed through the meadow for another couple minutes, her curiosity growing with each step. Eventually, the ground cooled as she stepped under the shade of a tree somewhere in the meadow.

'Here,' Osiris said.

Charlotte kneeled on the ground, taking the walking sticks strap of her wrist and setting the metal cane down next to her. She ran a hand through the grass, feeling the many blades touch her palm. There were a few velvety wild flowers around her, and she picked one, letting it's sweet aroma fill her muzzle.

'This place is very pretty,' She said, putting the flower down and holding out a finger for Osiris to land on.

'Yes,' Osiris agreed.

'Is there a specific song your family would sing?' Charlotte inquired.

'No, just sing. You start.'

'You want me to start?' A pang of nervousness caused her heart to flutter.

'Yes,' Osiris tweeted. 'No wrong way.'

Charlotte took in a deep breath, her anxiety subsiding. This was probably why he had brought her out to the meadow, so she wouldn't have to feel worried about anyone else hearing her mess up but him.

She wasn't sure where to start, but decided she'd be better off just going for it instead of overthinking the situation.

Closing her eyes, even though it changed nothing, she opened her maw and let out a quiet chirp, feeling the sound resonate in her chest. Clearing her throat, she tried again, this time holding the sound.

Osiris joined in, harmonizing with her sound. Hearing him sing with her, Charlotte's confidence grew, and with it, the volume at which she sang. Soon, her voice was ringing out across the meadow.

She made the song up on the spot, letting her voice rise and fall naturally, and somehow Osiris stayed right with her. He was the perfect balance, trilling high when she went low and warbling deep when her voice rose.

She found herself getting lost in the song, her consciousness melting with the melody. She barely noticed the grass trembling and the tree shaking in response to her singing. A smile grew on her muzzle, elation filling her body at the beauty of their music.

Off in the distance, other voices joined in on their song, and soon, even the town of Remeld could hear the calls of birds resounding from the forest.The residents couldn't hear any rhyme or reason, but Charlotte could.

And it was marvelous.

Charlotte lost track of time, but when her and Osiris finally ended, her throat felt very parched and sore.

She swallowed, wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve to dry them of the tears that had started to fall.

'That was incredible.' Her chirps came out raspy, but coherent.

'Thank you,' Osiris tweeted.

Charlotte smiled, bringing her hand up to her face to nuzzle her small friend. 'It was my pleasure.'

'Next year?' Osiris asked.

Charlotte nodded. 'Next year. We are family, after all.'

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