FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

1.

What in God's name was I doing here? Internet dating? Me? No. It sounded absurd but here I was, stood in the cool, summer breeze of Los Angeles. The skies overhead darkened a little, a shade of deepest purple blended with a flourish of orange and yellow. Sunset in LA was always a beautiful thing. It was one of the things I'd looked for in an apartment, a view of the sunset. I huddled in the leather jacket I'd donned for the evening. I was suddenly cold. I could have walked around LA at night in a tank top and I'd have been fine, so why was I so damn cold? Nerves, perhaps? Yeah. That sounded about right. I had been speaking with Jonah for almost three months now, and in those months I'd grown comfortable enough around him to propose a face-to-face meet. I was not the kind of wolf that just proposed meetings with strangers. I suppose that showed how much I liked Jonah. The following week was the longest week I have ever lived in my whole life. And now here I was. Half seven on the Friday evening, sat on a bench across the road from one of the busiest looking McDonalds I'd ever seen. I pulled my mobile from my pocket. He was supposed to have been here at half seven. It was now seven thirty-four. Had he ditched me? No. No. Relax. He's probably running late. Yeah. That's it.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. What was I doing here? I was in my mid-twenties, I was slender but toned thanks to a regular swim routine I did three times a week, and to be honest I know I'm not the best looking wolf in the pack, but I still reckoned I was cute, adorable even. I stood at five-seven, in my family I was considered small. I had a mother standing at five-seven too, but my father and two older brothers all stood at six-plus. I didn't begrudge them though. I liked being small.

I shuffled on the bench, trying to find a comfortable sitting position to be found in when he eventually turned up. I was dressed in what I called casual wear. This was a first meeting. No need to dress up and make a big show. We would be having coffee and possibly a movie. Nothing more. Nothing less, I hoped. Did that make me prudish? I don't know. I had come wearing a white tank top underneath a short-sleeved, hooded sweatshirt done in black. Blue denim jeans with one of the knees shredded from some camping accident a couple of months back, and a pair of white running shoes with a blue Nike swoosh along the sides. A pair of black wristbands around either wrist. A loop done in silver threaded through the tip of one ear and another silver ring encompassed my right ring finger. I definitely looked like a student. No point in lying about that fact.

I was a student. I was doing preternatural studies. That sounds bizarre doesn't it? It shouldn't.

In 2007, the preternatural world was outed. Vampires, werewolves, zombies, the lot were exposed and for a brief two months the world panicked. News channels reported numerous accidental deaths, shootings and the like. Three years down the line and now the preternatural are treated like tourist attractions. Did that bother me? That the boogeymen of the world were now running their own businesses and had legalisation to prevent being shot on sight? Nah. Each to their own. I had an understanding of what it meant to be treated like one of the monsters. I worked hard, I went to college, I studied hard, I got a position within a preternatural studies group and have even been told that if I wanted I could work on retainer with the police, helping solve preternatural-based crimes. Did that stop my parents from kicking me out when I came out as gay? Don't be foolish.

I left home, moved to LA and never took time to look back. I wanted nothing more to do with them. I'd heard nothing from them until recently. Turns out my eldest brother, Thomas, was getting married and an invitation to the big day had been forwarded to my home. It had been one of those moments when you wonder how life would have been if they had accepted me on the spot for what I was. Would I still be living there? Yeah, probably. I was in my mid-twenties. It was good I was living out here on my own. Wasn't it?

I must have been thinking too hard, because I never noticed that someone was leaning on the back of the bench looking down at me. Standing at six-foot-four, the lion was broad-shouldered and buff. He looked like he did more weights than I did, by a couple hundred. He was muscular, but it looked fine on him. Muscles on me made me look top heavy. So I settled for toned and slender. His fur was a chalk-white, hints of yellow here and there from over head lampposts. His eyes were a paler blue than mine, almost white. So cold looking but so full of warmth in that instant. His mane an off-white shade, scraped back from his face, save for a couple of rebellious strands that spilled forward. He had bound the mane in a thick braid that spilled down his back and almost brushed his waistline. He'd come tonight dressed in what looked like a pair of black denim jeans, black running shoes and a fitted dark blue t-shirt that made his eyes look that much paler in comparison. Jonah looked beautiful. There was no other word for the way he looked tonight. "Did you wait long?" he asked in a deep, almost cultured voice. I recognised it from one or two phone calls we'd had over the last three months. "No. Not at all. I'm just glad you turned up at all," I replied, realising how desperate I sounded. I blushed and couldn't stop it. "There's no need to be embarrassed. Internet dating is full of time wasters these days. There are few and far between who are honest enough to meet up in person." He walked around the bench and smiled down at me. I stood and realised how close we were. Another blush crashed over me. I looked away, down the street and suggested, "There's a Starbucks down there. Shall we go?" He grinned back at me and replied, "Sounds wonderful, Sasha." He fell into step beside me and we walked side by side. I was still a little nervous but at least the initial meet had not ended in disaster. Thank the Lord for small miracles, I suppose. I walked, hands buried in my jacket pockets. In the summer breeze I could have done with stripping out of the leathers. I'd wait til we were at the Starbucks before that happened. Was I worried Jonah would molest me on the spot? No. He wasn't that kind of lion. I hoped.

Sex was a wonderful thing, but I preferred to have it with those I loved. I never did casual sex, which seemed to have baffled some of my earlier endeavours in the internet dating game. Jonah had been right. There weren't many who dated online and were honourable and honest and not sex-addicted. Bitter? Me? Nah. Let them have their one night stands. Each to their own, remember?

Ten minutes later we were sat in a private booth at a Starbucks in Malibu. The streets darkened more, the lampposts blazing to life and illuminating the various shennanigans going on tonight. It was Friday, there were bound to be a couple of boozers out tonight. The Starbucks we were sat in was open til midnight. I sat beside the booth's window, hot chocolate warm in my hands as Jonah watched me from the other side of the small table between us. He'd ordered a coffee, black. He watched me as he stirred the black liquid with a small, plastic spoon. I almost said, "What?" but figured that sounded rude considering what we were to one another. So I settled for, "Is there something on my muzzle?" He grinned again. A brilliant flash of white. His whiskers even twitched a little when he smiled. "Your nervous still, ain't ya?" he asked in that deep, rolling voice. I shrugged and figured I should be honest. "I am a little. I don't date normally, and I've never done it via the internet before, either." "Ahh, so that's what it is? Its almost like we haven't spoken before," he grinned. "What do you mean?" "This feels more and more like a first encounter, instead of simply being the first time we've seen one another face to face," he explained, "Like the last three months never happened." I understood where he was coming from and looked a little ashamed of that. I shook my head, shook out the doubt and replied, "I'm sorry. I'm crazy nervous." He nodded and asked, "What do you have to be nervous about? I'm not some violent killer looking for his next target. I'm not a rapist looking for some tail. I'm here because I like you." "Because you like me?" I repeated. Disbelief? "Yeah. Is that so hard to believe? Whether you believe it or not, your a good looking wolf, Sasha, and your good conversation too." I blushed again, hot and red under the charcoal grey fur that lined my body. "T-Thanks," I stammered, I smiled too. Yes. Things were looking up. I was relaxing a little now. Jonah noticed and grinned, that brilliant flash of white again. "So, tell me about yourself? I know the mundane things, like hobbies and such, but you never mention your education, work or even family." "Family is kind of a sore topic with me," I admitted. "How so?" he asked. He lifted his plastic spoon from the coffee and licked it. It wasn't a seductive gesture, although it did look nice. Oh, to be that spoon. Yeah right. "I left home because my folks didn't like what I was." "Homophobes? Seriously?" I nodded and explained, "I think it was the initial shock of having a gay son that caused them to kick me out. I recieved an invitation to my eldest brother's wedding the other day. I'm in two minds about going." "Naturally." "What about you? Your in your late-twenties. You must still keep in touch with your family?" I asked, changing the subject. Enough about me. Lets talk about you. "I do from time to time. I work as a part-time biologist at UCLA, looking into preternatural creatures and the like. I moved out when I turned nineteen, and visit them in Nevada three times a year, work permitting of course." "Your looking at preternatural creatures?" I repeated. He nodded. "What do you do?" he repeated his earlier question. I blushed again. "I'm a student." "Ahh, a tax-dodger?" he grinned as he said it. "No. No. I am doing an honours degree in preternatural studies. I've even been asked a couple of times to help out within preternatural criminal cases," I explained. Impressed? I would be. Jonah sipped his coffee and then made a gentle whistle with his maw. "That's some career your looking at, Sasha. Think you can handle it?" he asked. I frowned a little. Not understanding what he meant. So I asked, "What do you mean?" "Preternatural criminal cases are some of the most gruesome crimes out there. The monsters tend to be more inventive than most human psychopaths. I've seen photographs, videos, and almost lost my lunch a few times. I have no desire to explore those kinds of scenes in real time." At least he was honest. I preferred that to the more mundane, "You can do it" BS that most people would have adopted instead of challenging me. Another brilliant smirk. "In some respects its going to be like stepping into someone's nightmare." "Yes. But I'll be helping people. Besides, if someone is killed and had to endure the nightmarish conditions before death, then I can handle simply looking at the aftermath," I explained. He considered me for a moment over another sip of coffee. His eyes. Those pale blue-white orbs were examining me. It was like being examined by an x-ray machine. Should I huddle in on myself? No. Resist that urge. He took a mouthful of coffee and swallowed. He touched his cup to the table while he eased his free arm over the back of his chair. He looked picture perfect, even in a coffee shop. I stifled another blush. He asked, "Have you wanted to help others all the time?" "What do you mean?" I asked as I raised my own cup and sipped the sweet, chocolate brew. "Have you always wanted to help others in general, or is this something you learned about yourself recently?" Truth again, I suppose. "I went into preternatural studies and looked into the idea of being on retainer with the police because I know what its like to be considered a monster. I know how lonesome it can be. I understand them. I figured that understanding alone was worth more than what most lecturer's in the field would ever comprehend. I studied hard, I learned and still had that understanding, no matter what I read or witnessed on video, I understood." I looked at the table for a moment and then back up again. "Having your own folks consider you a freak is something that either breaks you or pushes you forward. I was lucky. It pushed me forward." Jonah made a small "wow" with his maw and smiled at me from across the table. "You truly are remarkable," he grinned. I smiled back and added, "Glad someone thinks so." "I do. Believe me, I do. I have no doubt you'll be doing amazing things in the coming months, Sasha," he said. He took a final swig of his coffee and set it back down on the table. "Shall we go see what movies are available?" "Your not bored with me then?" I asked as I stood up. He followed suit and replied, "Now why would I be bored? Your good conversation remember? And your not bad looking either." I grinned back and said, "Speak for yourself." Jonah paid the tab we owed and we stepped out into the summer breeze of the LA night. There was a theatre a good four blocks east from the Starbucks. I turned to head in that direction when Jonah's hand found mine. I stood in the framed threshhold of the Starbucks, one hand lost in Jonah's larger one. He pulled me back towards him in one sweeping motion. I was suddenly pressed against his body. The warm line of his fur pressed against mine. And lower still, I could feel him. Feel him press against his jeans, pushing out to touch me. I blushed again and touched my free hand to the swell of his chest through the thin material of that fitted tee. A thought crossed my mind. If I asked, would he flex and possibly shred the tee? It was possible, I suppose. Those pale-blues found mine as he looked down at me. The fine texture of his chest fur peaking from the deep v-neck of the shirt. I brushed a finger a little too close and that earned me a gentle shudder from the taller mammal. What was I doing?

I smiled and pulled back from the lion. He let me go, but there was an understanding there now that hadn't been there before. He liked me. I like him. Would I be considered a whore if I slept with Jonah on the first date?