FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

You wouldn't expect to see things the way they're seen on Erf. You'd find anthropomorphic animals in every possible direction. It wasn't abnormal to find bipedal bears conversing with anthro rabbits. In fact, things were so different from the way you'd expect them to be, that one might think they were dreaming. This little adventure begins in a place in the wild frontier of the Pacific Northwest. Our setting: PacWest Mining and Metals Co.

Enter our friend, Sender. Sender was a forty-two year old mixed-breed canine standing just over six feet tall. His lineage seems to be hidden as a mystery to even him, but he does have some wolfish tendencies about him. No stranger to constant fights in his life, most of them in bars, Sender has learned to take care of himself in any circumstance that may arise. A little farther back in his family history, Sender also took on the job at PWMM to support his family after his father's passing, which he seldom mentions to anyone. As for his romantic life, he's kept most of it a secret due to him being a gay in what could otherwise be conceived as a mostly homophobic world. Well respected among his fellow coworkers for his honesty and hard work, this field foreman also gives to the local soup kitchen, albeit anonymously. He also cares for his slowly aging uncle.

Opposite all this lies Woolrich; an aristocratic German Shorthair Pointer. At thrity-four years old, this five foot, five inch athlete has a Master's Degree in business as well as his Graduate School diploma. Although a tad out of touch with real life, Woolrich is a fair-minded hard worker. Unlike Sender, Woolrich is a stranger to any form of manual labor due to his more privileged upbringing. He works as Vice President to PWMM, though lives alone. Dating never seemed to go well for him wither, as it seemed that he'd never managed to sustain a long-term relationship. Work was basically everything to Woorich. Though he'd rather stay in his office, he was unwillingly sent into the field to investigate the workings of one of the mines in the Pacific Northwest.

You'd never expect that these two could ever become anything more than the two most respectable of coworkers toward each other, but you're about to learn just exactly what they went through, and how they ended up when everything finally came out.

"Another morning, another paycheck," Sender commented to himself as he woke from his slumber with the brightness of the morning sun shining through his bedroom window. Stretching out, he climbed out of bed, rummaging through his wardrobe closet. He picked out his usual work outfit of slack and a beige button-down dress shirt. The wolfish canine dressed himself before looking into his wall mirror. He gave a bit of a smile in the mirror as he headed out of his room and into the kitchen.

Sender proceeded to go into his usual morning routine of making both his family's breakfast, as well as making a side dish for the others that visited the local soup kitchen. He felt himself to be quite pleased with his skills, both in and out of his job.

Often, the only one he saw in his early morning hours would be his uncle, whom he took care of and lived with. He set out the meal for his uncle; a slightly older, slightly bigger mixed-breed canine. "You need your strength, Uncle. Eat up."

"You fuss over me too much, Sender," the older canine commented. "You should be more concerned with finding someone for yourself." He sat down at the table and began eating.

"Just try not to get into too much trouble," Sender replied back as he drank some of his usual cup of morning coffee. Sender gave his uncle a soft, caring hug before heading outside to his vehicle. "Well, here we go again," he said quietly.

As luck would have it, Sender didn't have far to go to reach the PWMM, and even less of a distance to get to his usual location. As he got out of his truck, he was greeted with a slight breeze that blew some of his fur back.

Woolrich, one of Sender's bosses was not too far from Sender's location either. Sender assumed Woolrich was simply discussing some sort of a business matter with the higher-ups of the company. He rarely ever saw Woorich, let alone got the chance to speak with him directly. It was always through a secretary or someone that 'would pass the message along', though the message was never returned.

As Sender was ready to head to his usual area to check in on where he was to be placed for the day, only to be met with another of the higher-ups o the plant.

"Sender, is it," the worker asked, peering over a clipboard. "I need to discuss something with you. Mr. Woolrich is here on a very important business matter, and, despite your... track record here, your assistance in real world knowledge is needed. I expect, given your position as senior foreman here, for you to put your best foot forward."

"Yes sir," Sender replied with a soft nod. "I shall not let you down."

"You'd best not, Sender," the worker replied. "Now, off to work with you. You are on company time."

Sender immediately nodded as he headed toward Woolrich, whom, it appeared, had just finished chatting with the others. This was the first time that Sender noticed something rather interesting. As he looked at Woolrich, he found himself attracted to him. How? This was the first time he'd ever approached him, and this was the reaction he felt. He had little time to think about it before Woolrich approached him.

"Sender," the man replied to him. "I'm Woolrich. You and I will be working together a little later today, exploring the mines of the Pacific Northwest together."

"That sounds entertaining to say the least," Sender replied. "Biggest amount of entertainment I'll have seen since working here."

'Heh, this one's got an interesting quality or two about him," Woolrich thought to himself. It would seem as though he was developing a bit of a likeness for his new partner already. "I will meet you right here after your lunch hour. Be prepared. This job will likely consume most of your remaining work day."

Sender nodded. "Of course, Mister..."

"Drop the 'Mister' business. Just Woolrich, please," he added.

"After lunch. Understood. See you then, Woolrich."

It seemed as though Sender finally found a reason he was being trusted in the company as more than just the 'salt of the Erf' as he was often referred to as. Sender's day went by rather normally for him as he worked in the plant. He had nearly forgotten everything that was to happen after lunch; that is, until a bit of a commotion raised during lunch.

"What do you mean Woolrich has been kidnapped," one man commented.

"It was by those pesky otters again, sir," another commented. "I heard them going on and on about their dams being destroyed."

By now, Sender made his decision to intervene. "Forgive me, sirs, but if you'd allow it, I could go and search for him."

"Why would we leave something as important as this to you, Sender," the first man commented again.

The second one then chimed in. "Perhaps this is a good idea, sir. It will keep him away from the plant long enough for us to finish our big project."

"Ah... yes, perhaps your right." The first one looked back in Sender's direction. "Alright, Sender. The otters are just off the coast. I expect you to come back with him in one piece. Mr. Woolrich is very important to this company, and I will not lose him to these otters. Prepare yourself. I want you out there immediately."

"Yes sir. Understood sir," Sender said as he quickly went to his truck and climbed in. 'Finally,' he thought. 'I get my chance to be alone with Woolrich. Maybe I'll get my chance to tell him how I feel about him.'

Sender started up his truck and began to drive toward the coast, where he was quickly met with an otter that was waiting just on the shoreline. As he climbed out of his truck, the otter approached him. "You must be the otters that kidnapped my boss."

"And you must be that idiot Sender that Mr. Woolrich was going on about," the otter retorted back in a somewhat gruff voice.

'He's been talking about me,' Sender thought to himself. "Take me to him, otter. Now."

"My pleasure," the otter smirked. "Not that it will do you any good. Now!"

Before Sender had a chance to react, he was ambushed by several other otters who grabbed him, and forcibly shoved him in the direction of the Shorthair Pointer, who was tied against a tree.

"What exactly do you hope to accomplish having me kidnapped," Woolrich hollered out.

"You're going nowhere until your company stops what it's been doing to our dams," the otter commented.

"What exactly do you mean," Sender asked as the otters stepped away after having tied him up.

"The materials your company have been using have been ruining our environment, as well as our dams," he said. "Your company has ruined many homes leaving several of us stranded with nowhere to go. You may seem to be of the belief that the company you work for is doing things to help this planet, but what you don't know is that we aren't the only ones affected."

"My wife and I recently lost our homes because the sludge that comes from the waste dumping from your company breaks down the walls," another otter commented.

"And I've had to rebuild every day just so I have a safe place to live," the first commented again.

"I had no idea," Woolrich replied.

"Well, too bad for you, because you and your little friend here aren't going anywhere," the otter told them. "Let's get back to work, men. These dams won't build themselves."

The two otters then left, leaving Woolrich and Sender tied to the trees.

"You shouldn't have come here, Sender," Woolrich said, looking at him. "You've put yourself in danger just being here."

"I had to come, Woolrich," Sender answered. "I... I couldn't bear to see you getting hurt."

"What do you mean," Woolrich asked.

"Woolrich, from the first time we met; the first time I laid my eyes upon you I felt an attraction to you that I haven't ever felt for anyone. When I heard that you were in trouble, I offered to come because I wanted to save you," he told him.

"Sender..." Woolrich paused. "I must say I'm quite please to hear you say that. Looking at you makes me happy. I don't care what the company has to say about you. I happen to see you as a very strong-willed and caring individual. And it's that which makes me feel my own attraction to you."

"You mean you..." Sender looked stunned.

"Surprised, are you? Yes, I'm quite happy knowing it's you that came to save me, even if it did result in you getting caught as well." Woolrich smiled.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Sender smirked, revealing that somehow he had one paw free. "Those otters were in such a rush, they weren't paying close enough attention to what they were doing." He reached down to where the ropes were tied around his waist, and undid the knot that tied the rest of his body to the tree before walking over toward Woolrich. He seemed so comforted by Woolrich's words that he leaned in and kissed Woolrich's cheek before untying him.

"Well, aren't you the smart one," Woolrich smiled after he was freed. He leaned over and kissed Sender on the cheek in return. "Come on, we've got to get back to the mining company."

"You're not going anywhere," one of the otters said, coming into the clearing.

"Before you go getting all bent out of shape... how about we work together. I never knew that our company was causing so many problems. Perhaps we can come to an agreement and shut down the plant." Woolrich told him.

"You expect me to believe you have that kind of influence on a company as big as them," the otter said with a dirty smirk.

"I'm the Vice President of the company. I have a lot more influence in that company than you'd expect." Woolrich told him. "Come on. We'll take care of this right now."

The otter just looked at him rather amused. "Alright then, let's go."

Sender looked at Woolrich and snickered. "You're brilliant, Woolrich."

"I didn't become Vice President by being dim, Sender," he said, following Sender to his truck. They climbed into his truck and Sender drove back to the company, though on the way, it seemed there was more on Sender and Woolrich's minds than just settling the issue with the company. Woolrich snickered a bit as he looked at Sender, who, although he was driving, appeared to have a boner as he drove. "Sender, are you alright?"

"I... yes, just... Woolrich, I have to be honest. I think you're really hot. When this is all over, I... I would love it I could treat you to dinner." Sender smiled, rubbing his own crotch. "And, maybe something else," he giggled.

Woolrich gave Sender a simple smile as they drove the rest of the way to the mining company. When they arrived, they got out of the truck, met shortly after by two of the otters. The group wasted no time in heading for the entrance to the plant, and once they did, they headed for the main offices. Woolrich scanned his ID badge then ushered the others through before meeting up with the remaining higher-ups of the plant; one of them being, as Woolrich had hoped, the President to the company.

"Woolrich, my boy," the President, a jaguar that was dressed in a business suit said happily. "I see you made it back safely.'

"Yes," he said. "I did, but we have a problem. I'm assuming you have not been made aware, sir, that while this company does its' best to keep everything running smoothly, not everyone outside of the plant has been able to enjoy their day to day life with this plant up and running."

"You don't say," the jaguar queried.

"Because of the waste your plant has been producing and dumping into our waters, our damns keep breaking down," the otter told him. "Several of us are lucky if we can keep our homes in one piece for a week."

"That is a problem," the jaguar said. "It is not the company's want nor wish to destroy the homes of others within the workings of our job here," he continued. "If this is what has now happened, we may have no choice but to cease operations here at PCMM. I was unaware of the negative effects this plant was having on you otters."

"But, sir," Sender commented, "without the plant, many of us would be out of a job."

"Not to worry, Sender, my boy," the jaguar gave another laugh. "I'd not shut down the plant if I didn't have a backup plan. As it so happens there's another place that could use your help just a tad further south of here. I would be happy to employ the entire company to work at our hotel, as we're always looking for new staff."

The otter looked at the jaguar with a bit of a smile. "If you could do that... our homes would all be safe again."

"Indeed they would," the jaguar replied. "I shall send word throughout the company today, Mr. Otter. Please return to your home and tell your family and friends that they'll need not be worried of losing their homes ever again.

And so, that's just what the otter did. True to his word, the jaguar had the plant ready to cease operations by the next day, and all of its' workers were prepared to move on to their new job working at the hotel they'd been told about. Everything, it seemed, was finally taken care of.

But what of Sender and Woolrich, you might ask. After their little adventure together, they decided to officially hook up, with Woolrich moving in with Sender to help take care of his uncle.

It's now been about a year since things transpired, and the two of them couldn't be happier. Sender's uncle was, more than anything, happy to know that Sender finally had someone to call his. Woolrich was happy in knowing that he not only had a relationship, but it was with someone he knew he would love and cherish for years to come. Sender himself was overjoyed in knowing he'd be with Woolrich in both work and his home life as well, and he felt sure that this time his relationship was one that would last many years.

THE END