FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

You'd wandered outside, struck with the sudden desire to go for a walk. Now, you were hopelessly lost. The familiar roads around your house had wound and weaved their way into an incomprehensible tangle of pathways that crossed and interwined, bathed in a silvery, ethereal mist that seemed to glow and pulse in a slow, steady rhythm, almost as if it was breathing. You found your own breath slowly synchronizing as you wandered in a daze, only the smallest nagging voice in your head anxiously reminding you that you were lost.

The path beneath you was suddenly made of stones. You were sure it was dirt just a moment ago, but couldn't remember moving. You looked behind you, and as far back as you could see, the path was cobbled stones and fallen autumn leaves. You looked ahead.

A deer, giving you a thoughtful, appraising look. You blinked, finding it difficult to focus on him through the slowly receding mist. It was thickening around you, creating a perfect circle around you of silvery walls. The deer smiled and lifted your chin, meeting your confused gaze with a set of three, brightly colored eyes.

"Lost?" He- She- They asked you.

You swallowed, the grip on your chin keeping your entire body rigidly still. You found it very difficult just to answer the question. You swallowed again, and the deer tilted their head slightly, looking bemused. Just the head tilt was so much movement, with such an impressive set of antlers moving with their head.

"Yyyes." You managed to push through your lips.

"Oh dear." The deer replied, pushing your chin to the right and stroking a long finger up your neck a little. Your body was completely paralyzed. "Say something else." They demanded without explanation.

"L-Like what?" You managed to say, with some difficulty.

A mirthful chuckle seemed to come from all around you. It was like the deer's laughter came from the mist itself.

"Something else." They commanded.

"W-Why are you-" You began.

The deer pressed two fingers into your neck suddenly, creating a painless pressure on either side of your throat. In a smooth elegant movement, they brought their fingers together, and then flicked them up. A wispy stream of mist, warm to the touch, flowed from your mouth, your words disappearing as the deer guided the mist into their nose, breathing it in and letting out as sigh of contentment.

You tried to ask what they'd just done, only to find that your voice was... gone. You could still try to talk, still move your throat as if you were talking normally, but no sound escaped your lips. The deer smirked at you, reaching up and playing with a dangling red feather that hung from their antler. They seemed to enjoy your fruitless struggle to speak, before clearing their throat abruptly. You quickly shut up, despite the fact that you made no noise. The deer's smile widened ever so slightly at your good manners.

"I do have a lovely voice, don't I?" The deer said, in a perfect, exact mimicry of your voice. You flinched visibly, staring in horror as the deer's smile widened even more, stretching up the sides of their face as another set of eyes opened, just for a moment. They all blinked, and the deer just had three again.

It wasn't a mimicry. It WAS your voice. They'd taken it from you, and- and without it, you were left mute, helpless, silent-

"Shhh. Relax." They said, your own voice resonating through the mist. It was like thinking aloud to yourself, only... louder. You feebly attempted to speak again, and the deer humored you, letting you flounder in completely perfect silence before gently shushing you again. "Come now, no need to worry. I'm just borrowing." You- they explained to you. "I can borrow it for a while, can't I? Just tell me if you need it back."

You took the bait, opening your mouth wide and trying desperately to at least make even the slightest hint of a noise, even a humiliating croak, to no avail. The deer peacefully smiled at you, waiting patiently for you to give up. You didn't waste much time, the utter helplessness causing you to eventually close your mouth and swallow thickly. All you had left was your pleading look. The deer smirked again, just for a moment.

"Wonderful." They said in your voice again. You'd already forgotten what they were supposed to sound like. "Thank you, my dear. Now, I'm sure I have your undivided attention, but do feel free to interrupt me if you have any questions." They said, turning the gaze away from you and walking in a slow circle around you. Their eyes were on the mist around you, denying you even your ability to give a pleading look. Your feet felt cemented in place, your whole body rigid, even though you wanted nothing more than to turn around. With the deer behind you, you could do nothing but stare into the mist and listen to your own voice speak to you in a slow, steady rhythm.

"It must be strange for you." Your voice droned, slow and clear. It was so odd to hear yourself talk in a way that you never would. "Hearing your own voice, and nothing else." The deer slowly came back into view, though they still weren't looking at you. Without even being able to see their mouth move, and way their- your voice seemed to come from all around you, feeling eerily like your own thoughts.

"Oh my. I hope this isn't distressing for you." The deer said, turning to face you once more. "Oh, no no no. I don't want you to do anything but relax right now." Your voice told you, as the deer silently stepped closer to you again, eyes opening wider than before and drawing your gaze to them. "Relax." They commanded you again, causing you to shiver and feel a chill run through your body.

"Now, I suspect you're beginning to have a little trouble - just a little - telling your voice from your thoughts?" The deer asked you, followed by a blink of all three eyes that you mimicked unconsciously. "After all, you're used to this voice telling you the truth, aren't you? Your used to this voice belonging to you." They reached up under your chin and pulled your gaze to theirs again. "But... even if it belongs to me, it's still just as trustworthy, isn't it? Still the same voice, right?"

You blinked and swallowed. That... didn't make any sense. Your trustworthiness didn't come from your voice, it-

"Oh? You don't believe your own words?" The deer asked, tilting their head again. "Then... if I were to tell you that your jaw was going to loosen, and fall limp the moment my fingers stop holding it up, that wouldn't be true, would it?"

Suddenly you were in doubt again. Your jaw was feeling loose already. How could they have-

The fingers suddenly dropped out from under it, and your mouth fell open. Your tongue lulled over your lips as you blinked in surprise.

"I see." The deer said, with a smug smile. "It's a good thing to trust yourself, after all. You know what's in your own head." The deer gently pushed your mouth closed for you, pushing your tongue in and making you shiver from the feeling of utter helplessness. "Now, if you were to tell yourself how you're feeling, I'm sure it'd have to include how heavy your body is feeling. How hard it is to hold yourself up, even. It's like you're just barely holding on, just barely keeping yourself standing."

You were... They... were right. You felt yourself swaying on your feet, losing your balance. It felt like at any moment you could topple over.

"But if you were to fall, you know I'd catch you. You'd fall into a nice, soft embrace, and you'd feel so warm, so comfortable. You know that very well. In fact, you're looking forward to falling, aren't you?"

Looking forward...? You... You supposed that was true. It would be nice to finally put your heavy, exhausted body to rest. That... sounded very nice, actually.

The deer gave you a push. You let out a silenced squeak as you fell backward, your limbs not responding to you as you tumbled backward and fell into a warm, comforting pile of leaves. There was no cobblestone path, no pain. You didn't even feel like you'd fallen all the way down, more like falling into your bed backwards. You were laying limp, your eyes closed, though you didn't remember closing them.

It felt like you'd been sleeping for a long time. Slowly, you opened your eyes, only to be greeted by those of the smiling deer over top of you. They were gently stroking your chin again, making your eyes roll up slightly. Suddenly so gentle, so... tender.

"You're a lot of fun." You- they said. It was so hard to tell the difference. "And such a good boy you are. So good, so attentive. You've listened to every little word I've said, and done it so well, committed them all to that vivid memory of yours."

Vivid memory? Yes... that's right. You could remember it all. Every little word, even each of your breaths. You tried to speak a response, only to find you were still completely muted.

"Now, I'm going to offer a trade. I want the product that lovely little memory of yours created, and in exchange, you can have your voice back."

Your voice? That... you needed that. The decision was easy, though... you did want to remember this moment. Surely you couldn't let them keep your voice, but... you could let him keep stroking your chin for a little while longer.

"Aww, someone's enjoying themselves." The deer purred, gently stroking up the side of your face and running a few fingers through your hair. "I'm sure you could just lay here forever, couldn't you?" They whispered. "Or as long as I'd let you."

A little pang of worry struck you. They wouldn't make you leave, would they? Were you running out of time?

"Now now, none of that. You're so much more adorable when there's not a worried thought left in that head of yours." The deer purred, before pulling something from your hair and tossing it aside. Just like that, you'd completely forgotten what you were worried about. You gave them a little smile, and they returned it twofold.

The deer treated you to some more tender petting, though you couldn't even begin to guess how long it went on. Time seemed to flow strangely, picking up speed only to pool and circulate for a while. You only realized something was different when the deer began to whisper to you again.

"Think of it all. Walk yourself through it for me, one step at a time. Everything that brought you here."

Your thoughts meandered. The walk, the mist, his appearance... and every wonderful little thing that followed. Even as surreal as it was, you could remember it all. Without warning, the deer leaned forward and gave you a kiss, pushing something from their mouth into yours. Your eyes widened slightly in surprise as something slipped down into your throat, and you let out a small squeak of surprise. The noise startled you a little, as if you'd forgotten that you were once capable of making noise.

"And now for your end of the deal." They said, in their original voice. It sounded so unfamiliar to you now.

The deer stroked over your hair again, and gently plucked a single yellow leaf from it. They admired it tenderly, and then hung it from antler. You blinked, staring up at them in confusion, before they brought a finger to their lips once more.

"Shhh. Sleep."

---

You were crashed out on the couch. You didn't remember getting home, and barely remembered leaving to begin with. Groggily, you rubbed your eyes, and looked at the clock. It'd only been a few minutes, thankfully. You reached up to rub your eyes and scratch your head, only for your fingers to catch something in your hair, a single leaf. You stared at it with a strange mix of emotions for before folding it up and tucking it into your wallet, and laying your head back down.