FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

(Naki)

Well after our exciting evening the rest of the journey was blissfully dull. Thanks be to the Goddess of Fortune Lia. We arrived at the farm house that housed Romulus' family and I took a moment to glance up out our countdown timer. It seemed we had 60 hours left. I grimaced for a moment before straightening my facial features.

"Something wrong?" asked Zen seemingly having caught my brief facial tick. "60 hours left. I would imagine before it get's dark we need to find a way to fortify Master Romulus' home from attack within and without." I decided to leave off the fact that I was feeling rather drained from the latest encounter.

"Rain?" said Zen and the owl hopped over to us in eagerness. "We need a bunker." which had me looking between them in some confusion. I mean I knew what the word meant but how? "Above or Below?" which honestly did nothing to help my growing confusion.

"Best do it Below." Before I knew what necessarily was happening I was getting tugged along by the talon of the owl. "Your helping yes?" and it seemed I couldn't refuse so I didn't. I just gave a long sigh before I nodded. Before I could say much else the owl in front of me seemingly dove into the earth like one would dive into a river and before my eyes and to my disbelief began to churn soil into a pile as he dug a trench.

Belatedly I realized he had left me a level one shovel so I began to use that a bit further away to meet him but honestly at his speed it was just insane at how fast he was managing to make the defenses. Only his name and health bar on the party list convinced me that he wasn't dead as he had soon vanished from my line of sight and range of hearing.

~~~~~~~~~~~A Few Hours Later~~~~~~~~~~~

I felt myself all but collapse into a sweating heap onto the ground. Rain's help had been invaluable but damn if the work wasn't killer. I hadn't even noticed that I had several notifications just hitting the ground unable to move utterly exhausted.

It took me several minuets to realize that Rain was attempting to dunk a bucket of water on me. It took me even longer to realize I just didn't care and let myself get soaked. It felt very refreshing and I couldn't even bring myself to complain despite now looking like I had joined the wet T-shirt contest. I just exhaustedly began to sink down a little in the shallow mud that had been created from his actions.

The owl apparently having expected me to just jump up after the soaking hauled me up from the ground and took a look at me. "You okay dude?" he asked of me. "Just mentally tired." I replied with a heavy sigh. He kept me upright and got me walking towards the house an unknown spell of his restoring my clothes to their undampened state though it did nothing for the stains from the temporary mud. Maybe if I dropped it into my inventory it would clean that off but I was to tired to care at present and I didn't want to strip in front of some strangers and such.

With a groan at my fatigue I pushed myself towards the house with the Owl's help. We managed to get there though I felt like I was stumbling like a drunk person which the Owl was ever so helpful in mentioning to me as he made it across the threshold. I followed and considered just collapsing to the floor and letting it swallow me.

Then I thought better of it. Someone had to keep watch later in the night and it might as well be me. Even if I wouldn't be of much use during the fight that would occur. _"Stop it!" _I mentally berated myself and though I needed his support I did force myself into taking more of my own weight and therefore lighten the Owl's load. Who promptly decided that was me trying to keep my own balance and completely relinquished his hold which made me hurriedly adjust myself lest I face plant. I know my face had fallen into a grimace. One I didn't bother to correct when I heard Zen and the rest approach.

"Everything okay?" he asked of me in concern and I groaned at him before sighing and attempting speech once more. I failed miserably and Rain decided that NOW was the perfect time to help me. "He's tired. Can't even walk." I gave him a somewhat annoyed animalistic growl which caused Zen to chuckle and Rain to bap me on the back of the head..."OW!" "Oh come on. It didn't hurt that much."

I stopped myself from growling out my next reply and instead turned my eyes to take into the home. Even if all the furniture was wood and it didn't look that big on the outside the inside was far more spacious than it honestly had any right to be.

Simple kitchen with their equivalent to a refrigerator known as a chilling box. Sink with working pipes and stuff to draw up water. A table with three wooden chairs their backs having been carved into a heart design residing there. The color was natural too as was the wood flooring. Not far from the kitchen there was a stair case heading up and path to another room from which Romulus and two other voices could be heard. Presumably he was talking to his family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn's early light broke up two individuals with sticks in the dirt. One of them is a small blond child and they seem to be explaining something very slowly to and adult in a robe that seemed to be listening .Together they trace a symbol in the dirt and the adult makes a hand motion as if batting away a fly. They sit down lotus style and close their eyes the air around them fluctuating slightly and while the Symbol in front of the Eleven Girl glows a proper forest green the one in front of the human glows blue For a moment...then it explodes in a cloud of dust covering the two.

Sounds of coughing emerge from the cloud and once it clears by a sudden gust of wind they are revealed covered in dust and disheveled. "What did I do wrong?" Said Naki with a sigh looking down at the remains of his symbol. "I think you were quite literally trying to hard." said the young one.

"Again?" suggested Naki moving to grab the stick and remake the symbol. "Again." agreed the girl and watched him make it more carefully this time. Once it was made and checked for accuracy by his teacher Naki closed his eyes and carefully pulled Mana to himself once more. True he was human...so it was supposed to be more difficult for him. But as he pulled it into his body he felt it travel along the paths known as meridian's and down to the center of his body where the Mana Core resided. Once at his core it was absorbed and processed. Naki breathed slow and deep picturing it in his mind's eye. The symbol he had drawn before was supposed to be related to plant growth and other plant based magics. However the symbol alone was just a means to facilitate the process. Without the rest of the spell it was just a symbol that could hold Mana.

While again still useful undirected Mana Or "Wild" Mana as it was known was dangerous. it could have any number of untold effects. Naki moved the processed Mana down his meridian's to his palm and then invested the power there into the symbol he drew cutting it off sooner than before and while that seemingly worked well enough that there wasn't an explosion like before it still seemed incomplete.

Naki couldn't help but to sigh in slight defeat feeling as if there was something that he was just not understanding about the process but that it was just beyond the edges of his mind. That if he simply attempted to grab for it he could hold it...but to much pressure made in the attempt and he would break it.

_Dammit! _Said Naki in his mind trying to temper his frustration at his lack of progress. It was then that he turned his mind's eye to his magic core and while he wasn't quite familiar with it as most mages were yet...he decided to see what happened if instead of attempting the same configuration again he instead channeled and processed Mana to fill his Core.

It seemed his teacher thought that the exhausted human had fallen asleep so she left him to it wandering towards the house. However to Naki green glowing lines of Mana reached from the earth and bore into his feet their entrance should have left him bleeding however it only served to keep him rooted to the spot unable to do anything but to hurriedly refine the earthen mana into liquid mana in his Core. His speed was not great though his pace was feverish as he truly feared what might happen if he were to fail in the attempt. His Core could break or even shatter and then the young mage would never be able to cast magic again.

Naki desperately focused grimacing where he laid on the earth feeling the stress of the situation the mana around him responded as if bound to his emotions. Around him the ground burst into countless blooms. Cherry Blossoms grew with supernatural speed around the young man wrapping around him as if they were caressing a lover. At their touch his troubled expression calmed and peace seemed to flow through him allowing him to complete the first basic stage of refinement. The exhausted young mage just laid there panting seemingly not realizing the sudden change he had caused to his environment. At the barest edges of his mind he felt a slight brushing of consciousness. At first he ignored it thinking it was just the wind blowing through his hair. But when it became more persistent he paid attention.

_Hello? _He said quietly in his mind. _Can you hear us? _ came a small voice. Almost like a young boy. Though there was quite the depth to this voice. As if it had been around for quite some time. _I can. To Whom am I Speaking? _He replied unable to help the slight nervousness in his thoughts. _I suppose the simplest name for us would be Sukura. But understand that while we may operate under one name we are not one person. _ Naki nodded his head in understanding before asking _Why did you contact me? _ "_We will answer that later. For now we have a proposition for you." _Naki frowned then swallowed. _I'm listening. _ He responded.

_We wish to form a contract with you. In exchange for giving us shelter we will defend you to the best of our ability. The cost of this union will be your blood. You help us and We help you." _ Naki took a moment to think it over. _And How will I keep you fed? Surely you'll need more nutrients than what I can give you from the food I eat alone. _ There was a long pause and for a moment Naki thought he might of scared them off with the question. _An hour every day in the morning we will need you to absorb sunlight and nutrients from the soil. We will let you know when this needs to happen. Do you accept? _ Naki took a breathe and released it. _I do. _

_Nakishodo Glitterfox we hereby bind you to our contract between yourself and us. To protect one another and keep one another safe till death do us part. _ At the end of the sentence that was spoken in his mind Naki cried out in pain as it felt as if roots and the like were burrowing into his skin. So much pain in fact that it almost made him black out. He fought to stay conscious as it felt like the Cherry Blossoms were eating him alive. It seemed to last for hours though in reality it was about 30 mins. When it was done he shakily attempted to sit up. Knowing something was different but not quite sure what had changed.

He stood up slowly and while it did take him some effort there was a definite change in how his body felt. He decided to pull up the Status Window and in doing so was shocked to find that his race was now listed as Unknown. Slightly panicked but trying to remain calmed he wondered what this would mean for his real body outside of the game when he eventually got free. Relax. Came Sukura's voice and Naki jumped looking round for the flowers but not finding them. "Where are you?" He asked in his mind and they replied _We are one now. You are us and we are you. You'll retain your individuality...think of us like a roommate that has moved into your mind. We can both work independently of one another but achieve our best results when we work together. " _ Naki swallowed and managed to remain calm.

Right. Cuase it's perfectly normal to have a plant that you signed a contract with start talking in your mind. It happens everyday. It's FINE _ There was a brief pause before the next reply. _Was that sarcasm? Naki facepalmed and resolved to get moving remembering that they still needed to make sure that Master Romulus survived the next...actually how much longer was it now?

He checked the Quest Log and saw that the time remaining was 36 hours. And the party list was still active showing that Romulus was at full health as was Zen and Rain. Speaking of the trio I'd better figure out where in the heck they are at.

Turning towards the house Naki called "RAIN? ZEN?" his voice might have been a little louder than intended as the sounds of someone falling out of bed reached his ears. "DO YOU LIVE IN A BARN?!?!?!?" shouted Rain apparently I had woke the poor avain up. I couldn't help but to giggle to myself feeling slightly bad about the situation.

Then my stomach growled at me as if it were a feral animal in need of food. "Making breakfast!" I called in an attempt to cover the fact that I had woke him up. "With what? You don't have any meat." shouted back Rain as he became visible in the door frame.

Before I could open my mouth to protest he flicked his talon at me. "You stay here. Make fire. you cook what I bring back." before I could say much else the Avain took flight and was soon out of sight. When I brought my gaze back down from his take off I saw Zen smiling ruefully. "Next time try an alarm clock bud." he said to me jokingly.

"Next time I'm going to go find a pissed off brown bear to come charging through the house." I quipped back which made him laugh. "Fine but make sure it's had plenty to eat first." "Deal." I replied smiling. Zen gave me a slightly shocked look "I was joking man." "Oh I know. but that doesn't mean I can't find one."

"Did your flowers get wound extra tight this morning? Did someone start a forest fire?" His tone while still light seemed concerned. "In...a manner of speaking yes. My flowers are wound Extra tight." I replied.

"Ya need to relax. All that stress ain't good for ya. Or yer heart." "I'm working on it." I replied before breaking into a deep yawn. "Alright better get some sticks together and dig out a fire pit." I sighed and went to go look for the fallen limbs and stuff from the nearby trees.

"I'll stay here on guard." Replied Zen and I nodded as I walked off towards the edge of the property and to the edge of the forest nearby.