FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"You have a beautiful house. I do love the flowers, by the way. Not gonna lie, I was expecting them to be... bluer."

Azure chuckled.

"Well, you're a blue tiger yourself. Got any flowers in your place? Are they blue?"

"They aren't," Xyln admitted, tilting his head. "Yeah, it was a stupid idea. Sorry."

"Don't be, hun."

The tiger stretched and let out a long yawn. It hadn't been a particularly long day, but he'd been feeling more easily tired these last few summer weeks. He'd always found getting proper sleep more difficult when the weather was so warm and sticky, but it was getting more and more frustrating nowadays. And he'd barely done any exercise either - it had been a short walk to Azure's place, and then they'd just had a really satisfying meal and toured the house, which wasn't particularly large anyway.

Just like with the flowers, Xyln had expected something different, but he wouldn't have been able to say what or why. It was just a welcoming, medium sized place, which was actually pretty cool in the tiger's opinion. He'd particularly liked the big mirror near the entrance. It had a beautiful frame painted in golden and blue.

"You don't need to stand up all day by the window," the skunk said, still smiling. He patted the empty place by his side on the couch. "Sit down. You look tired."

"I am, yeah," Xyln admitted, sitting down. "Don't know why."

The tiger knew perfectly well why, but he didn't want to discuss his problematic lack of sleep when the skunk in front of him was... well, known for being prone to make others sleep. Among other things.

That wasn't true, however. A part of him did want to tell the skunk about it, but a different part of him - the self-conscious part, that is - had a feeling that trying to bring up the matter of hypnosis with such a poor excuse would have been a bit pathetic. Neither him nor Azure were teenagers anymore, and they should be able to talk about it with no need of silly excuses. They would only make the situation weird.

"So uh are you going to hypnotize me?"

Of course, getting straight to the point could create an even weirder situation. Xyln regretted his own words instantly.

Azure, however, just chuckled again. He looked amused.

"What? I have to admit I wasn't expecting that."

"You weren't? I mean..." The tiger tried to find the right words to fix the embarrassing situation he'd placed himself in. "We're in your place. I like... er, spirals. You like spirals." Oh no, the tiger thought to himself. I should be calling it by its name, not using silly euphemisms. "Y-you know, hypnosis! So I kinda thought it was bound to happen."

"Yeah, I guess it would only make sense," the skunk admitted. He seemed like he was considering it for a second and then gave the tiger an apologetic smile. "If it were any other time of the year, I might take up on your offer, but not right now. I'm... on vacation. So to speak."

"Oh." Xyln hadn't been expecting that answer. "Vacation? I guess it makes sense. We're nearing the end of summer right now."

"It's because of Skunktember," Azure explained, still smiling.

Xyln blinked a few times, confused. Had he... had he heard that word before? He had the feeling he had at least read it in a few forums online, but he actually had no idea what it meant. Azure seemingly perceived his lack of knowledge and his smile grew wider.

"Oh, Skunktember is like a month for us skunks. We allow ourselves to just... you know, celebrate our skunkness and relax a bit."

"Wait, is that a thing?" Xyln asked, with eyes wide. "You're kidding, right? There's no way you guys get a whole month for yourselves."

"Why not? We deserve it."

"Do tigers get a month? Septiger or something like that?"

"Nope. September is aaaaall for skunks. That's why it's called Skunktember."

The tiger blinked a few times, confused, then crossed his arms on his chest and leaned back.

"There's no way that's true," he claimed, with a knowing grin. "Plus, I bet it's not even recognized."

"Why not? Skunks are the best. And it's not hard to get something recognized on the internet nowadays."

Xyln opened his mouth to complain, but then hesitated. Maybe Azure was right. The internet worked in strange ways and besides, skunks had always been quite popular. Their fur looked so smooth and they had such big tails that it was no wonder one could find so many pics of them online. Not that Xyln had looked for skunks in his spare time - he'd always been more of a feline lover, he thought. But they certainly had that special kind of magnetism, so it wasn't that surprising that they had appropriated September just for them.

"What'cha thinking about, hmm?"

Azure sounded slightly amused again. Xyln thought maybe he'd been considering the skunk's words for a short while now.

"I was thinking maybe you're right," he admitted.

"About what? That skunks are the best?"

"Yes. I mean - no, not that, the fact that you got September all for you guys. You've always been pretty popular on the internet, right?"

"Maybe." Azure scratched his chin. To Xyln it looked like a weirdly premeditated gesture, as if the skunk was waiting for something to sink in. Then, his gaze turned to the tiger and he gave him a knowing grin. "I bet you've contributed to that popularity too, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"All I'm saying is you seem to be a skunk fan too. All the more reason for you to celebrate Skunktember, don't you agree?"

Xyln chuckled. He didn't... Well, he actually did like skunks a lot. There was no use in hiding that from Azure - after all, he had chosen straightforward talk at the beginning of their conversation. If he'd had to rank his favorite species then skunks would have probably been at the top, followed closely by felines and dragons. He'd never thought about it, actually, but he could clearly see now that skunks had always been there.

"Celebrate Skunktember? How?" he asked, with a smile. "I'm just a regular tiger. I guess I'll have to stick to regular September myself."

"There's not much you need to do, honestly. It's just about celebrating skunks, appreciating them, giving reasons why skunks are the best, that kind of thing. No big deal."

"Yeah." Xyln rubbed his temple with a paw. Man, that summer heat was really getting to him. "I guess I can do that."

"You can." Azure patted his shoulder gently. "You okay there? You look a bit groggy."

"Ah, I just haven't been getting enough sleep the last few nights. Nothing too serious, but I guess I'm more tired than usual. Heh."

"Do you want some coffee? I don't drink the stuff, but I may have some left..."

"Nah, I'll survive. Thanks." Xyln smiled, appreciating the offer. The skunk's hand on his shoulder felt oddly reassuring.

"I'd offer some zonks, but you know what month we're in." Azure's eyes were now staring right into Xyln's. The tiger was experienced enough with hypnosis to know there was nothing weird going on, but it still was a slightly intimidating sight. "You know, the month right after July and August."

"Yeah. Skunktember."

"Exactly," Azure's grin grew wider. "Ever heard of September?"

Xyln held his gaze for a few seconds. Had he... had he heard that word before? He had the feeling he had at least read it in a few forums online, but he actually had no idea what it meant. Azure seemingly perceived his lack of knowledge and patted the tiger's head gently,

"It's like Skunktember but for shepherds," he explained.

"Oh. Yeah. Now that you mention it, I think I've heard about it." Xyln nodded slowly. It made sense. "But skunks are better," he added, with a shy smile.

"That's right. Skunks are the best."

There was a weird tension building in the tiger's forehead and he could swear he'd seen golden and blue somewhere but - yeah, the mirror by the entrance. That had to be it. He quite liked the beautiful frame.

"I bet you'd love to celebrate Skunktember," Azure's voice came, pushing those thoughts away. Brought back to reality, Xyln remembered he was sitting on the couch, next to the big skunk. He'd been patting his head at some point, but now he was just leaning back, looking at him with that amused grin of his.

"Yeah! I'd like that a lot," the tiger answered, his tail swishing excitedly at his back. Oh, it wasn't difficult to tell at all, was it? He couldn't hide the fact that he'd been meaning to celebrate Skunktember for months - he'd only needed to find a skunk that would give him proper instructions. There was no use in keeping that secret, and definitely not from Azure, who was seemingly capable of reading him like an open book.

"So how does a tiger celebrate Skunktember? I bet you'd like to know," Azure said, raising an eyebrow.

Xyln realized that was exactly what he'd been asking himself for the last few months.ç

"Yeah! I mean, I've been wondering..."

"It's very easy, you see. Basically, all you have to do is follow skunks along and do as they say for a whole month. Gotta make us feel happy during our special month, don't cha think? It's about celebrating skunks after all, so you have to make sure all our wishes are fulfilled. Piece of cake, hmm?"

It seemed easy indeed, but there was a part somewhere deep within the tiger's mind that rang an alarm. Azure's words sounded... oddly suspicious. Familiar, to some extent, as if he'd seen them in a different context before. Was the skunk trying to hypnotize him?

But he can't, Xyln thought. He's on vacation. Skunktember and all that stuff. That was right. There was no way the skunk was doing that right now. There had been no induction, nothing that the tiger could identify as a prelude to hypnosis. Plus, Azure had said he wouldn't hypnotize him. As much as he'd like a few hypnotic shenanigans to take place, the tiger trusted the skunk would keep his promise.

And they were on Skunktember after all.

Maybe he just wanted Azure to hypnotize him so bad that he was seeing things when nothing weird was going on. The tiger took a deep breath in and tried to calm down. He had to stop behaving like he was five years younger.

"I'll do my best," he replied, trying to play the 'nice, but not too much' card and giving Azure a playful grin. "But you know, I'm a big cat after all. We're not the best at pleasing."

"Sure, hun. Oh, you know what would be nice?"

The skunk's voice oozed excitement. It seemed to hide a promise and Xyln's heart began beating a bit faster for some reason, as if he already knew the answer.

"What...?" he asked. Feeling this excited about a question was a bit weird.

"That you were a skunk." Azure's eyes gleamed enigmatically. No hypnotic charms of any kind - just pure amusement. "That way you'd be able to enjoy the Skunktember experience at its fullest."

"Uh, I don't know..." Xyln answered, scratching the back of his head and smiling sheepishly. "I'm fine being a tiger, really. I like the feline life. Plus, there's no way I could change that."

"But it'd be fun, wouldn't it?"

Xyln opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. Azure's words seemed directly aimed at his inner wishes - the growing feeling that the skunk could see all the secrets he tried to keep for himself was intensifying. He'd always liked skunks after all. He couldn't hide the fact that he'd fantasized about being one. Once or twice. Maybe more.

But actually being one...

"I mean..." He began, but then he had to clear his throat. "I mean, yes, it would be really fun. I like skunks. Skunks are..."

"Skunks are the best."

Xyln nodded. Then, he nodded again, but he wasn't sure what he was nodding at. He was sitting on the coach and it felt like Azure had been scratching his head tenderly, but the skunk's arms were crossed on his chest, so there was no way that'd been happening. Maybe it had happened before. Maybe Xyln was beginning to mix up those things because of the heat and his lack of sleep.

"I'd really like that," he heard himself say, and he knew he meant it. "Being a skunk sounds wonderful."

"I knew you'd agree with me." Azure winked an eye. "I can see you really want it, eh?"

"Yeah! I..." Xyln blinked. He hadn't seen another flash of golden and blue, that for sure. The mirror. He suddenly felt elated for some reason. "I've always wanted that to happen. Ever since I was little, I've wanted to be a skunk. Having that coat of smooth, dark fur. And the tail... Gosh, I'd love a tail like that." The tiger was so lost in his own enthusiasm that he couldn't stop himself from pointing directly at Azure's tail. At first, he hoped he wasn't embarrassing himself, but the skunk's grin simply grew wider. "So big and thick. And... I could, you know, I'd give up all my stripes just to have a single stripe of white fur going from the top of my head to the tip of my tail. That'd be... That'd be amazing..."

He stopped to catch his breath. Those last sentences had felt like a volcano erupting, a natural force just driving all those words out of his mouth. Now that the eruption was over, he felt strangely empty and tired, almost cold. Azure had placed a hand on his knee and was still grinning.

The tiger felt suddenly embarrassed. It wasn't like him to blurt out his inner desires like that. After such a long rant, what was the skunk going to think about him? I can always pretend it was a joke, I suppose, the tiger thought. But now that everything had been said he didn't want to take it back. Azure's hand on his knee felt reassuring. Maybe his confession had been the right thing to do after all.

"It's such a shame that you can't be a skunk," Azure said. His words made Xyln feel slightly sad. "If you were a skunk, of course, things would be different. Skunks are the best. Since it's Skunktember now, all your wishes would be fulfilled and you'd be happy. You could even pretend to be a different thing."

"That only makes me want to wish it more," Xyln warned the skunk, his ears lowering down.

"Maybe you're just a skunk pretending to be a tiger for Skunktember."

A part of Xyln's mind let those words sink in. The other fought them immediately and, again, a weird tension built in his forehead as the battle unfolded.

"That... that doesn't make any sense," he mumbled. His head felt weird, like a muffled battleground. "I'd... well, I'd know..."

"I bet you would. If you were a skunk, you would know that you're a skunk."

Xyln opened his mouth to answer, but Azure was quicker.

"You'd love it though, wouldn't you?"

"Yes." The word escaped his lips without him even realizing it. "I'd love it, but..."

"It only makes sense that you're a skunk pretending to be a tiger, right? You'd love it so much. And Skunktember is for skunks to do all kinds of things they love, so you'd do that. Don't you think?"

There was a brief silence. Xyln tried to build a good response, something that made sense. It was like swimming against the tide, and the sea was swallowing him.

"I..."

The tiger's? mind felt heavy and soggy for a split second and then it appeared to sink right to the bottom of the ocean, but it didn't. It stood perfectly still as Xyln sat on the couch and nothing ever happened to it. It wasn't smoothened or manipulated at all, it just waited patiently as long as the silence lasted. Nobody was speaking over it, whispering commands. There wasn't a hand on his chin. No golden and blue.

The silence only lasted for a few more seconds. Then, Xyln was perfectly awake and Azure was speaking.

"You really look like you could use some sleep. Don't be afraid to ask if you need a bed, hun."

"Nah, that's okay," Xyln answered, scratching the back of his head. "I'll survive. I just don't want to waste the afternoon by sleeping. We don't meet every day."

"You seemed to be willing to 'sleep' for me earlier, if I recall correctly," the skunk pointed out with a teasing grin.

Xyln tried to hide his embarrassment under a soft chuckle.

"Well, maybe. But you said it yourself. It's Skunktember. Making you work on this month wouldn't be fair."

Azure nodded.

"So, if you don't want to sleep, and you don't want to be made to sleep, then what do you want to do?"

Xyln hesitated.

There was... for the last seconds, there had been something he'd wanted to say. He'd felt the words climbing up his throat slowly but surely, and they showed no sign of stopping. They had nothing to do with what they were talking about, but it was all the same. It was a need, like something his body had to do - a sentence his lips had to pronounce.

He squirmed uncomfortably on his seat.

"What do you want to do?" Azure insisted.

Xyln didn't know. His mind was too focused on the sentence he wanted to say.

"Uh..." was all he managed to say.

He was expecting Azure to repeat the question for the third time, but another question came instead and it impacted on his confused mind like a bullet.

"What are you, Xyln?"

A shiver went down his spine.

There were two answers on his mind. One of them had to be real, Xyln thought, or else it wouldn't be there, but his thoughts kept moving from one to the other. All the while, the forbidden sentence he must say but didn't want to say kept insisting on the back of his head, pulsing and pushing, begging to break free. It was difficult to focus on both contradictions at the same time and the effort was beginning to overload his brain.

He felt the tension increase, until his own grip on his mind softened and he decided to give up. There was no use in keeping those words inside after all. He let them take over.

"Skunks are the best," he murmured.

"Skunks are the best indeed," Azure cooed.

He was... sleep-walking.

At least that was what it felt like, even though he was completely awake. He knew he was. There was no way he was asleep. He would have known.

Azure was guiding him down the corridor, towards the mirror he'd liked so much. They were both standing in front of it now and Xyln could see the beautiful golden and blue frame. One of the bigger skunk's arms was around his shoulders now. The reflection on the mirror's surface was so clear and easy to look at. Back and forth. Nothing was swinging. Nothing at all.

"You are a skunk," Azure observed.

"I am... a..." Xyln repeated, with a bit of effort.

The tension on his mind still hadn't evaporated completely. It felt like rust making the gears on his head turn more slowly now, even slower. Something kept his attention prisoner, something he must look at even if it wasn't swinging - something he must look at as he remained awake. Back and forth.

He was a... He didn't know what he was.

"You are a skunk," Azure insisted.

Xyln had a feeling there was something wet around his tail, but that was impossible. His tail was thicker than that, bigger. A beautiful, white stripe splitting it on half, dark blue fur at each side. It weighed more now, although it had the same weight as always. It had always been heavier like that. A nice, wonderful skunk tail, hanging limply now, but ready to curl around a friend. The idea made him feel warmer.

He was a...

"I am a skunk," he realized.

Yes. That made perfect sense. Even his slow, hazy mind could understand that. It was working all by itself - nobody whispering those ideas into his ear as he kept track of something shiny and captivating. There was no reason why he'd have a skunk tail but not be a skunk. They were on Skunktember. He could be whatever he wanted. He'd pretended to be something else for a while - he couldn't recall what exactly and it wasn't important - but now it was time to go back to being a skunk. A dopey grin formed on his lips and he saw it clearly on his reflection.

He loved being a skunk.

His body felt like it was sinking on a pool full of warm water. Something seemed to be climbing slowly and pleasantly - and then again, whenever Xyln tried to think about it he realized there was nothing climbing at all, and his fur had always been that particular shade of dark blue, no stripes at sight except for the long, white one that went from the top of his head to the tip of his big, heavy skunk tail. His body had always been slightly stout like that - feline proportions were for cats, after all, and Xyln wasn't even sure why he was getting that idea.

He was a skunk. He'd always been a skunk.

This idea swirled and looped in his mind for what felt like an eternity.

And then a loud, piercing snap broke the cycle.

"You seem to really like this mirror," Azure pointed out, still with an arm around his shoulders. "You know, I can tell you where I got it."

"Nah, that won't be necessary," Xyln answered. The gears on his mind began turning again, regaining their usual pace. Mists evaporated as if they'd always been an illusion. He'd been sitting on the couch and now he was standing there, in front of the mirror. Nothing had happened in between. "Two skunks with the same exact mirror? Come on. It will be weird."

"As weird as you want to make it. I see no problem myself."

The bigger skunk patted his shoulder and guided him back to the living room, where they'd been chatting before. A stray thought in Xyln's mind whispered that there was something different now, something that hadn't been quite like this, just a few minutes ago. He disregarded it quickly - definitely just an effect of the heat and the lack of sleep. It could make people think all kinds of weird things.

The smaller skunk stretched and let out a long yawn.

"I think I'll get some blue flowers," he said, feeling the weight of his tail as he glanced at the mirror. "I like how they look and plus, they make perfect sense."

"Getting them to celebrate Skunktember?"

"Heh, kinda. I deserve a gift even if it comes from myself, don't I?" Xyln asked, winking an eye. He loved that month.

Azure chuckled and sat back on the couch, crossing his arms behind his head. The bigger skunk's blue pendant rested temptingly on his chest. He looked quite proud of himself, although Xyln wouldn't have been able to tell why. There was probably no use in trying to know what was going through the other skunk's mind, Xyln thought.

"You still look like there's something on your mind," Azure observed.

Xyln grinned. His host was good at reading other people, though.

He could have looked for a silly excuse or phrased the question in a different manner, but they weren't teenagers anymore. Plus, it was Skunktember. He deserved to be straightforward for once.

However, it was still an embarrassing thing to say out loud.

"Yeah, er... There's something I wanted to ask you." Xyln cleared his throat and gave Azure a shy smile. "Are you going to hypnotize me?"