FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

--- Not So Friendly ---

Bright, late-summer's afternoon sunlight refracted through a window pane in a Mock-Georgian brick house, spilling dazing light across a beige carpeted floor and onto a single-size bed at the other end of the blue-colored room. A red, white and blue patchwork duvet was partially concealed by a nine-year old fox, as he sat on his bed. He was dressing himself in a pair of dark blue swim trunks with white and blue accents that ran up each leg. He pulled on a plain red shirt and then looked over at the dresser. The fox pushed himself off of his bed and paced over to the dresser, picking up a photograph of himself when he was younger - about five years old. The same age as Timothy. He sighed and held it close to his muzzle.

"One day I'll take Timothy to that playground..." He said to himself. Though as he looked closer at the photograph he saw another creature's tail just in the corner of the photograph. The tail belonged to a rat...

--

On a similarly bright late-summer's afternoon some four years previously, Friendly was playing at the playground he lived near when he was five years old. He had fun climbing up a small tower with three tires held up by three wooden poles. Friendly peered over the playground and then came back down, running over to a couple of slides that all had wooden steps. Friendly cried out with joy as he slid down each of the slides. He continuously ran back and forth to each one.

On a metal climbing frame just across from the tower of tires, three nine-year old norwegian rats were hanging around. They watched as the little fox played and they all jumped down, casually pacing over to the little fox.

Friendly was climbing a smaller wooden climbing frame. He lost his footing though and cried out as he struggled to regain himself.

"Awww, poor little fopsie!" chuckled one of the rats.

"Let's have some fun with him, Patrick,"

"Okay, Josh!"

"You wanna help our little foxie, Nigel?"

"Yeah!"

Friendly gulped as the bigger rats crowded around him. He had regained his footing and decided to climb back down.

"Aww, you're not giving up are you?"

"Such a spoilsport..."

Friendly trembled a little, he froze in place as the biggest rat muttered into his ear.

"Only babies give up..."

Friendly screwed his nose up as he caught a whiff of the rat's breath, which stank like rotten cheese. One of the other rats had popped open the tailstrap on his pants.

"Hey, lookie this lil' foxie!" jeered the rat as he tugged at the waistband of Friendly's pants. "I wonder what's on his undies"

"Stoppit!" yelped the little fox, jumping down from the climbing frame and trying to walk away - but one of the bigger rats held him by the waistband. The more Friendly struggled, the more his pants showed the seat of his underwear.

"What a little baby!"

"Yeah! Go on Josh! Pull the foxie's drawers down!"

Friendly could do nothing as the bullying rat tugged more at his pants, fully revealing the Thomas the tank engine characters on his underwear.

"Babies like you can't play on our playground!" Joshua taunted, shoving the little fox down to the ground.

Friendly began to cry, he got to his feet as fast as he could and ran away - sobbing loudly as he ran to his house nearby.

"Run little foxie! Run!" laughed the rats.

--

Friendly closed his eyes tightly. He dropped the photograph onto the floor and leaped onto his bed, promptly snuggling his PAW Patrol Chase plush and seethed with fury.

"That... that rat." he growled, "I hate him!"

Chase looked back at Friendly with a blank stare, the fox breathed heavily as he fumed over the memory of when he was too small to stand up for himself. He looked at Chase and cuddled him, nuzzling the plush puppy's muzzle and rubbing his blue vest.

"Friendly? Timothy's coming over in a few minutes." His mom said through the bedroom door.

"Okay, Mom" Friendly answered. "I'll be ready in a minute."

Friendly momentarily forgot about his past experience at the mention of his younger raccoon friend and he smiled as he looked at a more recent photograph of them together, riding their bikes out in the street.

"I won't let any rats bully you, my little buddy." Friendly muttered as he lay his stuffie back to rest against his pillow, and fetched his goggles, pacing over to the window and putting them into his red, blue and white backpack.

"What a nice day for going to the lake." Friendly commented, just as a familiar noise reached his ears. The sound of plastic training wheels scraping along the sidewalk. The fox looked down and beamed as he saw his chubby little raccoon friend trundling along astride his red bike, wearing his blue t-shirt and orange flame shorts.

Friendly grabbed his backpack and headed downstairs, promptly opening the front door and greeting Timothy, embracing him in a hug just seconds after Timothy dismounted his bike.

"Ready to go to the lake, Timothy?" Friendly asked.

"Yeah! I've brought my floaties." Timothy answered.

"I've made some sandwiches for us all." said Friendly's Mom. "Is there anything in particular you'd like to drink, Timothy? We have apple juice, orange juice, blackcurrant juice..."

"Ooooh, blackcurrant juice is delicious" Friendly cut in, licking his lips.

"Um... I'll go with apple juice please, Mrs. Brush" Timothy answered.

A few minutes later, Timothy and Friendly got into the turquoise Ford Mercury sable wagon and Friendly's Mom drove to the lake.

--

About an hour later, the turquoise sable wagon pulled into the gravel parking lot at the lake. There were lots of other cars and trucks parked all around, some with empty boat trailers. Friendly reached into Timothy's backpack and pulled out his yellow arm floats, popping open the valves and inflating them. Meanwhile Mrs. Brush helped Timothy to take off his blue t-shirt. Then the two boys made their way over to the beach.

Friendly helped Timothy to put on his yellow arm floats, and pulled his goggles down over his eyes as they waded into the lake.

Timothy waded in deeper as Friendly decided to dive beneath the water, emerging several seconds later and paddling along - his muzzle seeming to cut through the water like a hot knife through butter. Friendly dived again.

"I wish I could swim..." Timothy squeaked as the seat of his shorts submerged beneath the water. He continued wading until the water was up to his shoulders - though suddenly his feet left the bottom of the lake.

"Oh no!" Timothy cried, trying to turn around and wade back to shore, but his feet just spun round and round helplessly under the water. His arm floats kept him afloat, but he couldn't get back to the shore.

Friendly surfaced next to his little buddy and saw that Timothy was struggling.

"What's wrong Timothy?" Friendly asked.

Timothy squeaked as his feet spun round and round. "I... I forgot..."

"Oh... your training pants?"

Timothy nodded and sighed. "Please, I can't get to shore on my own."

"Don't worry buddy, I'll help you." Friendly smiled and dove beneath the water, reaching out with both paws he began to push Timothy to shore, kicking his feet as he held onto Timothy's waist. When Timothy's feet could touch the bottom, Friendly resurfaced and took a deep breath of air, removing his goggles from his eyes.

Timothy waded ashore, the outline of his overwhelmed Pull-Ups visible through his orange flame shorts as he emerged from the water.

"Poor Timothy." chuckled Friendly as he watched his little raccoon buddy waddle over to Mrs. Brush.

After Timothy had been helped out of his swollen training pants and had his shorts put back on by Mrs. Brush, he beckoned Friendly to come out of the water.

"Let's go and have a drink. I'm thirsty."

--

Friendly and Timothy sat together on a bench as they sucked on the little plastic straws in their juice boxes. As Timothy sucked on his straw a pale yellow liquid was being drawn out of the juice box. Friendly too had opted for apple juice as opposed to his favourite blackcurrant juice. Slurping up the last of the juice with the straw, Friendly put down his juice box and looked around at other cubs who were all playing together in the lake.

While Friendly was looking elsewhere, he didn't notice a six-year old norwegian rat approaching him and Timothy, wearing a pair of orange flame shorts that were very similar to Timothy's. Instead of white and blue flames, they had smaller yellow and red flames with black lettering which read "Chopper" on each leg. Timothy smiled as he noticed this, and stood in front of the newcomer. Friendly hadn't yet noticed as he was still watching other cubs playing.

"Hi! I'm Timothy. Look, our shorts are pretty similar!"

The rat smiled at Timothy and looked at the raccoon's shorts, and then his own. "Hey, they are almost the same! Cool!"

"Come look!" Timothy called to his friend, beckoning Friendly to join him.

Friendly paced over, but he didn't smile as he saw who Timothy was talking to.

"I'm Toby!" said the rat. He smiled as he looked up at the older fox.

Friendly didn't answer. He frowned and turned away, holding his nose with his paw.

"Come on Timothy, let's go and get something to eat."

"But... but!" protested Timothy, as Friendly held his paw and pulled him away.

Toby sighed and looked a little hurt, but he turned his attention to some other cubs similar in age who were playing in the water - jumping and leaping and splashing together. He went over to join them instead.

"Hi! I'm Toby. I'd like to play too!"

"Ewww! A rat!"

"Yuck! A sewer rat!"

"Eurgh! I don't wanna get sick!"

They all left Toby on his own in the water, he sobbed at the hurtful remarks the other cubs had made about him and he wiped his eyes.

"Oh well, I guess I'll have to play by myself..."

Toby waded through the water and smiled with excitement, as he tried paddling in the shallow water and returned to wading. He waded deeper and deeper. Right up until the water was up to his shoulders. Toby decided to try what the other cubs had been doing, jumping and splashing. He grinned and prepared to spring forwards, flexing his leg muscles and crouching slightly. Then he took a big leap - his feet left the lakebed. Up into the air Toby went, his tummy emerging from the water as he turned onto his back, falling back into the water with a splash. He lowered his feet to wade back to the shore, but something was wrong. Toby tried to get his feet to touch the bottom, but he couldn't reach it!

"Oh no!" Toby panicked, trying to swim back to the shore. His feet spun round and round in the water and frantically he tried to paddle with his arms.

"Help!" spluttered Toby, as he flailed to try and keep his head above water. His feet spun helplessly as he tried to swim. He squeaked in fright, trying again to get his feet to touch the bottom but it was no good. The water was too deep. Frantically Toby tried to swim, squeaking pitifully as with all his effort he wasn't getting any closer to the shore.

--

On the shore, Friendly's ears pricked up as they detected Toby's frantic squeaking, and the fox quickly turned his head to face the direction the squeaks were coming from. He saw that the little rat was in real trouble. Timothy too had heard Toby's squeaks and he gasped as he saw what was happening.

"Friendly, Toby needs help!" cried Timothy.

The fox sighed deeply as he looked at Timothy - imagining that it was his little raccoon buddy who needed rescuing. He nodded.

"I'm coming!" called the fox as he put his goggles over his eyes and dove into the lake, surfacing several seconds later just a few feet away from Toby.

The little rat squeaked pitifully as he struggled in the deep water, his spinning feet just doing enough to keep his head above the water but doing nothing to be able to get Toby back to where his feet could touch the bottom. Friendly dove again and peered through his goggles, it was then that he noticed Toby was wearing similar shorts to Timothy. He peered down and saw that Toby's feet were only a foot or so from the bottom, he reached forward with both paws and rested them on the seat of Toby's shorts, gently pushing the little rat back to where his feet could touch the bottom.

A few seconds later, Friendly surfaced next to Toby. The little rat looked shyly at the fox and sniffled.

"Are you okay, now?" Friendly inquired, shaking his head as he removed his goggles from his eyes.

Toby sobbed and reached out, embracing the fox in a cuddle.

"Thank you." Toby managed to say before spluttering and coughing. "Thank you for saving me."

"It's okay. I guess you're not a good swimmer?" Friendly asked.

"No... I thought I could touch the bottom..." Toby answered, spluttering a little. "I didn't know it was deep."

"Come sit with me and Timothy." Friendly invited, his paw on the seat of Toby's shorts as the little rat waded ashore with the fox.

--

Having recovered from his ordeal, Toby sat next to Timothy. The raccoon's arm floats squeaked as they rubbed against Toby's arm. The little rat looked at the raccoon's yellow arm floats and he sighed. "I wish I had some of those..."

Friendly then remembered something and he stood up.

"Stay there, I'll be right back."

Timothy and Toby looked a little perplexed at Friendly's sudden departure.

"I don't know why Friendly was so, well, unfriendly to you before. He isn't normally like that." Timothy said.

"I get treated like that a lot." Toby answered.

"Why?" Timothy inquired.

"Because I'm a rat."

"That's not a good reason!" Timothy protested. "I think you're really nice."

Toby smiled at the compliment, and fidgeted a little. "Do you... well do you get bullied just because you're a raccoon?"

Timothy shook his head. "I don't think so. I've only ever been bullied because of what I was wearing, or because of my training wheels on my bike."

"Why would you be bullied for what you wear?" Toby asked, "I've never been bullied because of what I was wearing. At least I don't think so."

"Well I... um..." Timothy struggled, "I suppose I just wasn't around nice people."

Toby nodded, "Yeah, I guess I haven't been around nice people either."

Just then, Friendly returned. He was carrying a couple of blue arm floats. He had already inflated them and presented them to Toby."

"Here, I used to wear these when I was Timothy's age. They'll help you to stay afloat if you do go in too deep again."

Toby looked up at the arm floats and beamed, gasping with delight as Friendly helped him to put them on.

"Wow! That's really, really nice of you!" Toby exclaimed with a couple of squeaks of delight. "Look Timothy!"

Timothy smiled back as he saw how happy Toby was, and he couldn't help but squeak in delight too.

"We have the best fox friend in the whole world!"

"Yeah!" Toby agreed.

Friendly blushed a little but smiled back at his friends, standing inbetween them with his arm around them both. He chuckled as their armfloats squeaked as they rubbed against him, and he put his paws on the seats of their shorts.

"Friendly! Timothy! Let's have lunch now." called Mrs. Brush.

"Come join us, Toby!" Timothy invited.

Toby looked a little unsure, but as Friendly and Timothy looked at him he nodded his head and smiled back at them, joining them on the tablecloth that Mrs. Brush had laid out.

After Friendly and Timothy had eaten their sandwiches and shared a couple with their new friend, they each reached for a juice box.

"Would you like a drink, Toby?" asked Mrs. Brush. "We have apple juice. Orange juice. Blackcurrant juice..."

"Oooh! What does that taste like?" Toby inquired.

"Absolutely delicious..." Friendly licked his lips as he sat next to Toby and sucked on the curved plastic straw, drawing out a purple liquid from the juice box.

Mrs. Brush handed Toby a juice box and helped him with the curved plastic straw.

"I'll stick with apple juice..." Timothy said, as he sat next to Mrs. Brush and struggled to put his straw in.

"Here, let me do that, Timothy." said Friendly, taking the juice box and straw and helping Timothy to insert the straw.

Toby sat next to Timothy and suckled on the straw. He grinned as he tasted the purple liquid and beamed.

"I like blackcurrant juice!" Toby giggled as he sucked on the straw again, drawing out the rich, sweet purple liquid.

--

After their lunch, they all went back into the lake. Friendly swam around, keeping an eye on his two friends in case they waded too far.

"Let's play that game where you go between our legs!" Timothy suggested.

"Oooh! What do we do?" inquired Toby.

"Stand with your legs apart and Friendly will swim under us!" Timothy answered.

"Okay!"

Friendly dived beneath the water and swam towards his raccoon friend from behind, swimming through Timothy's legs. Without surfacing, he then swam towards Toby and went through his legs, surfacing behind Toby and grinning.

"Shall I do a barrel roll this time?"

"Yeah!"

Friendly dived again and swam towards Toby from behind, going through his legs first. Completing a barrel roll as he went through, he then surfaced for a gulp of air before diving again and swimming through towards Timothy. As he completed his barrel roll he playfully opened the pocket on the right cheek of Timothy's shorts and put his paw inside, wiggling it around. Timothy giggled and jumped around as his older fox buddy tickled him.

"Heeeheeeheeee! Friendly that tickles! Heeheeeheee!"

Toby chuckled as he watched Timothy being tickled by Friendly and he squeaked. "Me next, me!"

Friendly had only just surfaced for breath, but he chuckled at Toby's enthusiasm and swam through the front of Toby's legs, completing a barrel roll he then opened the pocket on the left cheek of Toby's shorts, putting his paw inside and wiggling it around. Toby giggled and jumped around as he too was tickled with Friendly wiggling his paw inside the pocket on the rear of his shorts. "Heeheeheehee!"

Friendly surfaced and laughed too, as he saw Toby giggling. "That was fun. Shall we go where it gets deeper?"

Toby and Timothy looked a little unsure. "I'll be right there to keep an eye on you." Friendly continued.

"Okay." Timothy answered.

"Yeah!" Toby smiled.

Friendly dived and watched as both Timothy and Toby tried to swim, their feet spinning round and round in the water. He put his paws on the seat of Toby's shorts and surfaced next to him. The little rat smiled as he looked at the fox, still spinning his feet as he struggled to swim.

"Need a little help there, Toby?" Friendly smiled as he gently pushed on the seat of Toby's shorts.

"Yes please!" squeaked Toby as he looked at his blue arm floats, which were keeping him safe. He giggled as Friendly pushed on the seat of his shorts and his feet could touch the bottom.

"Help!" Timothy squeaked, his feet still spinning uselessly.

"I gotcha, buddy." Friendly answered as he dived beneath the water and watched Timothy's feet spinning round and round. The fox swam towards Timothy's round bottom, gently pushing on the seat of the chubby little raccoon's shorts as he pushed him towards Toby.

--

A little while later the trio waded ashore. They wrapped themselves up in their towels and changed out of their swimsuits. Timothy put on a pair of dark blue sweatpants with red and grey accents down the legs. Friendly put on a similar black pair of sweatpants. Toby on the other hand changed into another pair of shorts - which looked identical to the ones he had been swimming in.

"I... I don't really like wearing pants. I've got a few pairs of these shorts" Toby explained.

"Toby! We're going home soon." called a deep voice.

"Okay Dad!" Toby answered.

As Toby's shorts came out of the water alongside Timothy's, Friendly noticed something.

"Toby? I'm just curious, why is the pocket on the left of your shorts? On Timothy's the pocket's on the right."

"Oh... I um... I'm left handed." Toby answered, holding up his left paw.

"I've never had a left handed friend before!" Timothy called out, as he held up his right paw.

"I've never had friends like you before." Toby replied, smiling at the fox and raccoon.

"Come visit us sometime! We live in Wedgewood." Friendly answered.

"Oh, I live in Dumbarton." Toby answered.

"Let's make sure we can stay in contact. We'll let you know if we're coming to your town and you can do the same if you come to ours." Friendly suggested.

The fox opened his backpack and took out a notepad. Scribbling his address and phone number onto it, he then asked Toby for his address and phone number.

Toby was trying to tie the laces on his shorts, but he was struggling. Friendly chuckled. "Here, I'll help you Toby."

As Friendly stood behind Toby and reached around the chubby rat's waist, he held the two thick black laces and tied them up. Then he pulled open the velcro pocket on the left cheek of Toby's shorts and put the note inside.

"There, all done."

"Ready to go, kiddo?" asked Toby's Dad.

"Yup."

"Goodbye, Toby!" called Timothy.

"Bye Timothy! Bye Friendly!" Toby waved as he clambered into the back of an old light-blue four-door Nissan Micra. Friendly and Timothy then clambered into the back of Mrs. Brush's turqouise Ford Mercury sable wagon, and with that it was time to go home.

-- The End --