FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Oooofffgghh" all the air in my lungs is jettisoned when something collides with my stomach.

"That wasn't where I told you to sleep newbie." Bolt's cold voice says. I groan and slowly open my eyes only to see the room covered in dim gray. I throw my hand on my stomach and grab the object that was thrown there. Seeing a piece of leather with a hole in it. "Put that on."

"Thanks." I distort the word so much the sarcasm is lost somewhere in translation.

Bolt looks down at me then nods. "Get dressed then come out to the training grounds. You're the last up, so stop lagging behind." Bolt walks away and I can hear the door shut behind her.

Lagging behind?! Who does she think she is?! I've made the most progress out of anyone in this group and she has the audacity to say I'm 'lagging behind'!? I slam my small hand into the ground beside me, surprised when it just sinks instead of stopping. I look to where my fist lay and see furs, I'm surrounded by furs. I must have fallen asleep here practicing. With more effort than expected I sit up, my eyes just barely above the top of the frame. I go to stand but the ground beneath me shifts causing me to fall back into the pit face first. Fantastic, defeated by blankets. If I don't get out of here soon Bolt will come back looking for me and see me like this. I won't give her that satisfaction. I root around for that sorry excuse for clothes that was tossed to me and I grip it between my teeth. I return to my somewhat stable seated position and stretch, just barely getting a grip on the edge of the bone frame. Counting down from three I give one pull with my arms and push with my legs vaulting over the side and landing on the floor back first. "Gaaagghh." I let out a groan when I land and quickly stand and begin getting dressed. Not as graceful as I would have liked but it worked. And this just goes like this, simple enough. The leather had the added luxury of strings to be tied together. The leather piece comes down to my shins, whether or not that was intentional or a mistake due to my size I don't know.

I move to the door and see two separate latches, one higher up and one at my level. Bolt did say Quarry did live in these barracks. And if he's the one designing them he would make sure he would have a way out. Then my guess is he doesn't sleep in those 'beds'. Maybe the hammocks. I pull on the second latch and the stone door swings outward. The gray of the room being washed away in dull color. I walk out again into the pouring rain, my exposed fur immediately drinking all the water that comes into contact with it. I walk down the curved path once again, towards that plaza where I first woke up and find the entirety of the Fourth Wave waiting along with a tall lithe Beast covered in a black pelt and a relatively tall blue amphibian with golden hair.

"There's the missing newbie!" The female blue amphibian calls out. "Alright Shield, I take half you take half and we pit them against each other. Last team standing has the better trainer, what do you say?"

"Not everything's a competition 72. We're just trying to train them, sending them to the Aether defeats the purpose." The tall Beast, Shield, shakes his head wearing a slight smile, while leaning against a massive tower shield planted into the mud and tapping his right foot.

"I'm just trying to make things interesting." 72 throws her hands up and walks a few feet away.

Getting closer I approach Shield and give him a small nod. "Sorry for being late." The words come out barely recognizable, but still recognizable.

"Don't worry abo. . ." Shield stops midsentence then stares at me. "How did you learn to talk so fast?!" He squats down almost to my level, unable to get that low without fully sitting. "It took me six days and it took King two weeks! So how did you manage barely two days?!"

"I practiced." I enunciate, getting my clearest word yet.

"That's amazing." Shield's smile grows, revealing the fangs most Beasts seem to carry.

Finally an appropriate reaction. Bolt could learn some much needed social skills from him.

"Are you still stalling, or can I finally send your team back to the Aether?" 72 strolls over through the mud, each accompanied by a slight sucking sound as the ground refuses to let go.

"This little guy can already talk." Shield gestures at me with his head, using the point of his mouth.

"You're just trying to get me to pick a lame newbie for my team." 72 scoffs.

"You would be lucky to get me." I stare at here, my voice becoming clearer with each word I utter.

"I want him for my team." 72 says immediately.

"We're not doing teams." Shield stands up.

"Fine, but do you think this is nameworthy?" 72 asks.

"It's impressive, but I don't think it warrants a name." Shield says as he's walking back towards the main group.

72 starts to follow before I grab her arm. "What do you mean nameworthy?"

"Well you know how you couldn't remember your name when you got here?" 72 asks, and I give a short nod in the affirmative, "Well it's like that for everyone, we have no idea about anything before this, none of us do. But we can't go around without names. So we give each other names based on events, achievements and such. It all started with the First Wave, Shield got his name for sacrificing himself to save the others, and this was before anyone knew we were practically immortal. Mine is 72 because that's the record for holding my breath underwater, 72 minutes. So far no one has come close to beating me, and I'm still trying to beat it. So they call me 72, but I'm hoping they call me 73 someday." 72 smiles then walks off towards the main group.

_ So names are earned here. How did King get his name? He's not in charge from what I've seen. It is possible he gave it to himself. I could ask him directly, but I would more likely get a straighter answer from one of the other members of the First Wave. Also how did a name like Crispy come about? I can't imagine it would be good. She seemed to have an aversion to the storms, they do seem to be intense, but King seemed unworried, but more and more I'm beginning to doubt his intelligence. Could she have been caught out in a storm? Then you have the obvious names, Smith is the blacksmith, Hide works with hides, leathers, furs, etc. And Quarry does all the stonework around here. So it looks like I could get a name based on occupation, or on some heroic deed, an amazing feat, or a tragic mishap. I'll have to watch my step for a while, I don't want to end up being called something like 'Squashed'. _ I shudder a bit at that thought.

Pulling myself out of my thoughts I walk over to the group and stand next to the other two beasts. The tan one still nervous as usual. I don't think I've seen her head stay still once since we got here. And the massive brown fluffy one who gives me a smile. I give her a smile back and focus on the two armed individuals in front of me.

"Alright Fourth Wave, welcome to your first day of training!" 72 shouts.

"We were told you've already been briefed on the different corps?" Shield asks looking around the group, seeing some nods he moves on. "Alright, no matter what corp you're in you'll need to know how to fight." Shield says as he hoists a tower shield made of stretched hide across a bone frame onto right arm, while holding a long spear composed entirely of bone in his left.

"So we've brought some toys along to help you guys. It's first come first serve, so I would hurry." 72 says as she points to a chest made of bone and leather on the paved part of the plaza.

"You want us to train in the rain and mud?" A tanned female Triclops asks.

"Yes." Shield looks at her.

"That's stupid!" The male Bird with the orange, yellow, and green plumage yells.

"The Daemons will attack during light storms, so get used to it." Shield says with a smile.

I look back at that other male Bird, bright blue feathers with a ring of red and green plumage, added with his long black hair. It's always the other two talking, that one hasn't said a single word. And neither have the male Triclops. The other Beasts I understand but I don't understand why the others haven't spoken yet. I stop my train of thought and go to the chest while the others are still arguing, having left before anyone else I get first pick of the weapons. I have to shove the lid open then actually climb onto the lip to see into the thing. The interior has many different weapons made of blunted bone. Many of which are bigger than me. Sifting through the dull weapons I find a large bone dagger, small in some people's hands, but in mine it becomes a longsword. This is probably the best thing I'll find in here. Unfortunately due to my size most of these weapons are too large. Climbing back down from the chest I walk back over to the group, trudging through mud once again. My feet getting sucked in with every step I take. The arguing just now getting over the group starts moving over to the chest, apparently no one saw me go over and make my selection already.

"You already got your weapon!? You are definitely on my team." 72 states enthusiastically.

"We are not doing teams 72. This is for training, not competition." Shield groans.

The two continue back and forth until the rest of the group come back with various weapons.

"Alright, today we are going to get you used to fighting. We'll get techniques down later." 72 looks at all of us with a smile that makes the rain feel warm.

"All the weapons in that chest are dull and blunted so you won't be killing anyone with them." Shield smiles. "Unless of course you have enough brute strength applied to the right place."

"So that means you go all out, if you die you just come back in another five days, not a big deal! So have at it!" 72 looks at all of us with a wild grin. We all look at each other confused, not quite sure what to do. Until the turquoise male Fish sweeps the legs of that male tricolor male Bird who's always talking with his spear and jabs the blunted end into his throat, pinning him into the mud.

"Now that's more like it!" 72 claps cheering. Shield just smiles watching the events unfold.

Hearing 72's words of encouragement sends a pulse of energy through the rest of the Fourth Wave, inciting a muddy battle royale. Three of the Triclops are locked in a grapple on the ground, all of them completely black and obscured, making it difficult to distinguish the individual shapes. The other Triclops, one of the males who hasn't said a word, is on the defensive against the ash gray female Bird, using a large greatsword as a shield against her wild unfocused staff strikes. The other male Bird covered in blue hangs back, walking around the edge watching the fighting. The female Fish with teal skin is lying unconscious besides the two female Beasts standing back to back. And I'm standing unnoticed, unseen by anyone.

I take a deep breath and submerge myself in the the mud completely, making sure to rise slowly back out of it. I hang low to the ground and stalk on all fours towards the ash gray Bird who's so focused on the Triclops she's oblivious to everything else. Upon reaching her I stand up and leap out of the mud grabbing the feathers on her legs. Knowing full well that I don't have the strength to do damage with a blunt weapon in any non-vital area. As soon as she feels my grip she gets shocked out of her attack and looks behind her, but is stopped by the Triclops in front of her as he now goes on the offensive. Her body start shifting more and more but I manage to hold on and keep climbing upward. As fast as I can I maneuver around the wings growing out of her back, then take advantage of the small nook the wings create as they connect to the back to use as a foothold. I take a deep breath and jump one more time pulling myself over her shoulders and straddling her neck like a child would a parent. I take the large dagger I strung around my back raise it above my head and bring it down with as much force as I can onto the top of her head. The force driven to one point on her crown is enough to cause her to stagger, which opens her to a blow from the Triclop's sword she had been engaged with, sending her sprawling through the mud. Immediately after I send that first blow I tighten my limbs again and spring forward towards the face of the Triclops directly in front of me. With his sword currently in full swing, he's down two arms, and the other two are hanging useless due to the shock factor of seeing a one foot Beast leaping at him with a dagger. Using the momentum I gained from springing off the Bird I point the dagger forward one hand wrapped around the hilt, the other hand pushing the pommel from behind for extra force and stability. I aim myself between his eyes, when I make contact the force makes my arms numb, and sends him falling backward while I follow him down. I lie on top of my conquered foe for a few moments before standing triumphantly, only to be sent gasping to the mud by a sharp pain in the back of my neck. Gasping through the pain I flop myself over in the mud and spit out nature's soup to see that male blue Bird who had been watching the fight earlier, but didn't do anything. He's holding a dagger smaller than mine in his hand. He looks at me then walks away somewhere else, then I hear a thud a not too long after that.

"Alright everyone we have a winner!" 72 calls out.

"This wasn't a competition." Shield says. "We have one person left standing right now. So now that you have a taste of combat I want everyone to rest for a few moments then swap weapons, try something new!" Shield says.

I prop myself up on my elbows to see who was left standing in this mess and see that Bird who took me down. I snort in disgust and drop my elbows out from under me, letting the mud take me.