FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

So this was it. This was the place. Just as she always did when on the job, Cassy stood on the other side of the magway, studying the outer facade.

It seemed fairly high-class, the patrons within dedicated to making the most of their time inside. At least, it seemed that way from what she could see through the windows. How would this work, she wondered? She had never been to such a place. The white-furred wolf had been staring at the building for some time now, attempting to will herself to enter. Why was it so much more difficult than staring down a target through her scope?

Many others had come and gone since she arrived, and the sun was starting to set, casting the city in vague shadow and allowing the myriad of colored lights to shine through. She was running out of time.

At last, she tugged the bottom seam of her white pullover down, and adjusted her duffel bag over her shoulder. As soon as the magway was free of vehicles, she rapidly darted across, so quickly that it actually drew more attention than she was comfortable with. It occurred to her that the Terrans this deep into city 103 likely hadn't ever seen a Faraelyan in person, and it almost always resulted in staring and hushed whispers. She wished not for the first time that she could ignore it all.

From within, she could hear bass notes being pumped subtly through speakers that she guessed were wired throughout the entire building. Steeling herself with a sharp inhale and equally abrupt exhale, she pulled the door open and made her way inside.

The lobby was certainly fancy, albeit simple. The walls were decorated with sharp angles of various shades of blue, soft neon lighting casting the walls in further cool colors. It was oddly serene, and slightly mesmerizing. The floor was made of simple white tile, almost resembling marble. On the far side of the lobby was a single desk, with one female receptionist. Cassy approached the bored-looking woman cautiously, and perhaps a bit nervously.

"Ain't seen you in here before," the woman said, glancing up from her holo-tab. "You got a membership?"

"Membership..." Cassandra muttered, not as a question, but more of a confused statement.

"Yes, honey," the receptionist rolled her brown eyes. "You can't work out here for free. You need- hold on a tick..."

Cassy wilted a bit, her ears folding back against her head as the other woman intently stared her down.

"I know you..." she said after a moment. "Yeah... Connor said you'd be by sometime."

"He did?" the white wolfess asked quietly.

"Oh yeah," the receptionist nodded, twirling a stylus between her fingers. "Er, well... he said you might be. Also said not to count on it."

"How do you know that I'm who he spoke of?"

The other woman gave Cassy a flat and bemused look.

"Sweetie, come on," the woman sighed. "It's not like we get a ton of Faraelyans in the mid-city. Besides, y'all have the same stripe, and the same black hands."

Ah, yes. The famous black dorsal stripe that forever marked one as a member of the Derrigan family. Her father had it, her aunt had it, both of her cousins had it... it made them all very recognizable, despite being a rather simple marking. Cassandra idly brushed a lock of her short, glossy black hair from her eyes and nodded softly.

"Ok, so here's what I'm gonna do for ya," the receptionist went on. "You can use the gym today, under his membership. Seeing as you two look like you could almost be twins anyway. But if you want to come back and train up some more later on, you gotta buck up and get one of our membership packages. Sound good?"

"Yes," Cassy curtly nodded. "Thank you. Umm... where do I..."

"Changing room is on the right," the woman gestured with her stylus. "Gym floor is on the left. Now, the one-eyed-wonder has the full package, so this is really your chance to see what we got on offer here. You could even get a free session with one of our personal trainers, if you want."

"Personal... trainers..?"

"Yes, honey," the woman's brow knit in thought as she scrolled through something on her holo-tab. "Looks like... we got... Allen, Leo, Ariana and Dallas on the clock at the moment, and they're the last shift today before we lock up. If you want a sesh, just go poke one of 'em. Long as, y'know, they aren't with someone else at the moment."

How redundant, Cassy thought. No doubt they were all Terrans, judging by the names. What was a Terran going to be able to teach a Faraelyan who's already at peak performance, with numerous martial arts already mastered? No, she decided. She would not require such a session. The receptionist seemed to pick up on this decision, and shrugged.

"Well hey," she said. "It's there if you want it. Oh, and one more thing. Gimme your left wrist real quick."

Cassy hesitated, but complied. The receptionist then dug through a drawer in her desk, and produced some sort of strap. No, a wristband. The band was quickly fastened around Cassandra's wrist, and began to softly pulse with blue light around the edges of a square embedded within. The Faraelyan remained still while the receptionist flitted through something else on the holo-tab. After a moment, the woman held the device near the wristband, and the flashing in the band ceased.

"That's your ID, for while you're here," the woman explained as she returned to her seat. "Well... Connor's ID. This'll be what unlocks and activates our equipment for you. Pretty slick security measure, yeah?"

Cassy admired the band for a moment or two, rotating her wrist to see if it would hamper her range of motion at all. Satisfied that it would not, she nodded with a faint smile.

"Again, thank you," she said quietly, staring at the door on the left.

"Just hold your wrist to the door and it'll open," the woman explained. "Same with the equipment. Enjoy yourself, now."

Cassy took a deep breath, and stepped closer to the door. She heard a soft click emanate from it, a quiet metallic rasp. A soft nudge was all it took to open the door, and allowing more of the electronic music to reach her ears. In truth, she enjoyed the music. It helped for keeping pace and rhythm, as well as meditation.

With a quiet sigh, she studied the various machines that lay beyond, the stark lighting that sharpened the features of those using said machines, so many people working on themselves and encouraging their friends to push themselves to greater heights. All of them were Terran. Cassy knew she would find no challenge here. Still, she promised Connor that she would give it a chance.

What did she have to lose, after all?