FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Sunlight peered through the bamboo blinds, flooding the small six-sided cell with glowing radiance of a beautiful Pantalan spring morning.

At least, that's what her neighbors would say at the very least. ScatteredStars grumbled, momentarily covering her eyes with a single paw, although the light still did its best to creep in between every talon, the morning trying to invade the poor NightWing's sleep no matter what. But just as soon as she'd managed to claw back a moment of shuteye, a high pitched whirring sounded from behind her head.

ScatteredStars shot up, panting, before shaking her head and regaining her wits, grabbing the obnoxious whirring object and flicking a small key on the back, silencing it.

7:40.

Too early.

But early was required, at least if she still wanted to earn a few scales today for important things, like eating, or more sculpting clay, or...

Alright, brain, I get it. Time to get up, and maybe I can get some coffee.

She set the alarm clock back down on her bed, oozing out from under the blankets in the most ungraceful of fashions before crawling her way to her kitchen table, or what passed for one in this tiny apartment. It was small, and not very luxurious, with a few firesilk lanterns strung up above, a small icebox that could hold a few meals, a bed, a single rug, and even a bathroom, minus the bath part. Or much in the way of room. Regardless, it was home, provided she made rent of course.

Right. Rent. Daytime. Work.

She gathered her belongings, a small set of satchels she could sling around her body, tucking nicely behind her wings. They contained the essentials: a quill, some ink, an art book, some clinking scales, a house key, and even a few dried berries for snacks. With that, she opened the door and headed out into the bustling hallways of Cicada Hive.

Morning continued to creep in through every open door, filling the crowding halls with light and, most annoying, dragons full of cheer and wonder and happiness. Without coffee. But soon she'd have a nice warm glass of wake up potion, and be on her way to work.

After ascending up, she worked on dodging the hustle and bustle of merchants getting their stalls ready in the marketplace. The smell of cooking meats, brewing drinks, fresh linens, all manner of scents flooded the air. Everyone was in a mad scramble to be ready for the morning rush, when dragons from all over the Hive, SilkWings and HiveWings alike, would flood every inch of the massive space. Unless you were lucky like some of the most established merchants with permanent storefronts built into cells along the walls, it was always a rush to secure the most optimal stall location in the maze of shops.

Finally, after far too much chaos, she arrived at her destination. The most wonderful, amazing place on either continent.

The Twisted Bean.

The stall had two little dragon sized stools next to what was a rather haphazardly stacked series of concrete blocks with a set of wood planks running across, or rather what was painted to look like wood. She couldn't imagine a small stall owner like this actually affording real wood, even if new trees were finally beginning to grow across the endless flats. But it looked the part, as did the owner, a small RainWing with a rather bouncy, happy attitude that more than made up for the rather lackluster appearance of the stall. And the smell, oh the smell of coffee, brewing freshly, waiting to be held in her talons.

"Morning, Stars!" came a shout from behind the stall. The RainWing was smiling almost as bright as the sun. Her scales were awash with many colors, flickering between green and pink along her eyes and nosetip.

_At least unlike the sun, she provides coffee. _

"Good morning, Soursop." She managed through the haze of sleepiness.

"What can I getcha? Got your regular, or got adventurous new tastes!" Soursop smiled out.

Stars reviewed the menu posted above in mostly-legible writing. Her usual was just coffee with a few drops of honey, but she did have to admit being curious about "Watermelon Splash" or "CoffTea!" with an exclamation of course because it is that exciting. But the usual was always the most reliable, and given her day today, she didn't want to do too much to shake things up. Maybe tomorrow. "Just the usual, please."

"Coming right up!" and after a moment the RainWing had disappeared behind the counter, with several crashes and clangs of various metal accessories likely finding their new nest on the floor.

Stars chuckled to herself a bit. She couldn't help herself, Soursop was an adorable little bean, even if she was as graceful as a boulder. But she was also one of the few Pyrrhian natives in the Hive, and from the Rainforest to boot. Most however found themselves drawn to Cricket University of Freedom Hive for exchange programs or research, or to marvel at its massive telescope that had been built by the SandWings as part of a cultural exchange years ago. But Cicada Hive? It was basically the middle of nowhere. Beyond the birthplace of the original revolution that resulted in Freedom Hive's renaming from Wasp Hive, it was just a city like any other.

Like any other city, except here she was no one, just another if rather unique face in a sea of dragons. No expectations, no grand ideas of serving the tribe, no worries about how she could do this or that with her mind reading. No, here she was just a dragon. She patted her little chunk of skyfire looped around her neck on a string. It was the only thing that kept her from going mad with the bustling crowds around her, keeping the world nice and quiet, and her anxiety at bay.

"All done!" the cheerful voice behind her exclaimed, knocking her from her thoughts. "And don't worry, this one's on me today for being such a good customer! I love seeing your face every day, it makes me smile."

ScatteredStars blinked for a moment, almost frozen in fear. Social interaction beyond 'thank you.' "Y-...you too. Thank you." She managed, with the same deep seated dread after responding "You too" to waiters telling her to enjoy her food. But thankfully the RainWing was oblivious to her awkwardness, beaming a smile as the first of many morning customers began to flood the stall, HiveWings queuing up one by one, with one or two SilkWings making their own separate line. She sighed momentarily at that, never understanding the disdain those two tribes have for one another, but at least the schools were moving past that, as was many of the other Hives.

Schools. Moons above, I'm going to be late!

She hurriedly downed her morning delight, tossing the paper cup into a nearby compost chute before scrambling through the crowds again, finding the nearest doorway, spreading her wings and taking flight. Up and up she went until she finally found the entrance to the schooling district. Her talons clicked on the stones in an almost rhythmic pattern as she scampered towards Silkworm Hall, classroom 109.

Don't panic.

She clutched her skyfire tightly in her forepaw before she opened the silk-spun door to the classroom. She was immediately greeted by a bunch of dragonets staring at her, eyes full of curiosity and eagerness to meet their new sculpting teacher.

***