FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Oh, onward.... Huzzah! And as I have mentioned before, ratings and tags, tho I'm not too good at doing either accurately... lol Are inclusive of the whole story not just this chapter. Thanks for reading!

DAISY AND BOSS: 11 - Believe Me When I Say

Daisy stood on the porch for quite a few minutes after Boss' car disappeared around the bend in the driveway. There was a chill on the breeze, but the sun had come out and was warm on her face. The puddles in the gravel driveway reflected the blue sky and birds chirped and chattered in the branches of trees. She took a breath and the world seemed to breath with her, a sigh, and the wind picked up, tugging at her skirt and sending tingles across her flesh.

"Tuesday." She said, testing it out in her head. Boss would come back and they would go into the city on Tuesday. She could hear Velvet and Lilac splashing and laughing as they helped her mother with the dishes in the kitchen and with a wry smile she went back inside to lend a hand. Sometimes having two three year old kids help with a chore, you needed extra hands. Flossy gave her eldest daughter a fond smile over her shoulder when she came around the corner into the kitchen.

"See him off all right?" She asked. Daisy nodded casually, she knew the cheerful tone. There were questions burning just under the surface of her mother's innocent inquiry. She wasn't disappointed. Flossy pursed her lips and thought a moment before asking what she really wanted to ask. "So, you're going to see him again?"

Daisy picked up a dish towel from a hook and plucked a clean wet plate from the hands of Velvet just before the little goat lost hold of it and it plummeted to the tile floor and certain doom. Velvet grinned up at her with soap suds on her cheek and went back to enthusiastically rinsing, water spraying everywhere. Next to her standing on her own stool at the dual sink was Lilac armed with a scrubbing wand. Flossy was helping her get all the nooks and crannies with the brush, and soap rose in fluffy mountains of suds, threatening to overtake the divider separating the wash water from the rinse. Daisy dried a few more plates before answering her mother.

"Tuesday. He's going with me to the college." She nodded. This answer made Flossy frown over Lilac's shoulder, starting and rethinking what she was going to say with a soft huff.

"You know, I offer all the time, Daisy..." She looked up, wounded. "But you never want me to drive you anywhere." Lilac tipped her head straight back so that her nose was directly under Flossy's chin and bleated cheerfully.

"You can drive me and Velvet, Gramma!" She exclaimed.

"To the park!" Velvet squealed, an especially large wave of water arcing out of the sink onto the tile as she shoved a plate to the bottom of the sink in her excitement. Both does smiled at the endearing twins. Daisy shook her head.

"Mom, you have so much that you do everyday..." Daisy put a stack of clean dry dishes up in the cupboard. "I just feel bad, you carting me around all over the place."

"I don't mind." Flossy shrugged. "I'm not that busy!"

"Yes, you are." Daisy arched her brow. "You have the twins most of the weekend, Petunia has piano on Fridays, May has soccer three days a week. You volunteer at the Salvation Army... Clover and Bluebelle have track in the summer and skiing in the winter... What am I forgetting?" Daisy watched her mother roll her eyes and grin.

"Nothing!"

"Book Club!" Daisy pointed. "You host Book Club. And clean... everything! And make dinner every night, you do all the laundry..." Daisy opened her mouth as another list of things occurred to her. She didn't get a chance. Flossy snatched her damp towel and snapped her with it playfully.

"All right! All right!" She cried. "Enough, I get the point. You think I'm too busy... You know, you help with a lot of that..." She pointed out dryly.

The twins squealed with laughter and Daisy chuckled too.

She didn't mention the fact that she also didn't want Flossy to drive her in the city because her Mother had a terrible sense of direction, and they would probably both end up lost. And what were two does against the world, really? She knew what was out there... And her Mother had about as much a chance as she did, so she just rather not.

Rubbing her arm where the towel had left its mark on her sleeve. Having railroaded her Mother's questions for the moment, she took the opportunity to escape.

"I'm going for a walk... Alone!" She cut the twins off before they could say anything and both pouted but didn't object. Flossy raised a brow.

"Where are you walking?" She asked, hanging up the wet towel to dry and draining the water from the sinks. Daisy spoke before she even knew what she was going to say, but as she did, she realized it had been her plan all along.

"The waterfalls. I'll take the trail behind the house." She said, surprised at herself. The falls were easily a three hour hike, hardly an afternoon stroll. Flossy's reaction was surprised as well, her hand freezing for a moment as she hung up the towel.

"Okay... Be careful. The trail is probably pretty wet."

"I will."

Daisy picked up the purple coat Boss had bought her and her now dry rubber boots, but instead of putting them on and heading out the front door, she turned and walked with them towards her room. The entertainment area off the hallway leading to her room had a sliding glass door that overlooked the backyard and the head of the trail. She sat on the couch and put on her boots, and stared down at her feet. And took them off again. Thinking of the length of the hike she left the coat and boots and went to her room to change, closing the door behind her. She stared at the rumpled bed before going and laying down, turning her head to look out the window as Boss's scent pervaded her senses. It wasn't really strong there on the sheets, but it was there. Leather and some kind of masculine shampoo, and under that a canine musk that made her shiver inexplicably. Similarities to what she feared most were there, but tempered with comforts. She sat up, reached inside her bedside drawer for her headphones and her Ipod and rolled to her feet. She tossed a couple granola bars, a bottle of water, and a notebook and pen into a small backpack, changed into a t-shirt and a pair of jeans before heading back out of her room. She put on the jacket, but left her boots behind as she slipped out of the sliding door and hopped down off the back porch onto the path. Putting her headphones on she turned her Ipod to shuffle and started into the woods, the sunlight slanting thru the trees as music burst into her head.

She didn't fear being alone in the woods like she did in the city. The trees and birds and small animals that lived there were a boon to her skittish mind, and when she hiked she could let all the stress and fear go and just enjoy herself. She wasn't Daisy Fields the Victim, she was just another beating heart in the forest.

Back at the house Daisy had been gone less than an hour before Flossy heard the doorbell. She stood from where she sat, working on a knitting project while the twins played on the carpet with legos, to answer the door. Opening the door she grinned and stepped back immediately to admit the visitor. It was a young American badger, and a familiar face.

"Sarah!" Flossy exclaimed. "How are you!? What brings you?" The badger blinked her small black button-like eyes and smiled widely as she stepped in and scuffed her feet on the welcome mat. Her round low set ears twitched when she nodded.

"Hi Mrs. Fields! Oh, I'm good!" Sarah Brockley's voice was slightly deeper than the average female's, and she moved with a purposeful nature, her limbs stocky and on the short side. She was quite lovely by badger standards, not too thin, not too tall, heavy coat coarse and shiny with natural oil. Unlike the more classically recognized European badger, Sarah's fur was cinnamon brown that was frosted with gray and white guard hairs. It darkened to black at her paws, which were large and tipped in curved non retractable claws, and her face was delicately pointed and dark with a wide 'w' of white marking it in the traditional badger stripe. She was casually dressed in a college hoodie and jeans.

"I was actually hoping to borrow Daisy's guitar... Is she home?" Sarah asked hesitantly. In the past, Daisy and Dahlia together had been very social, making friends wherever they went. When Dahlia had been killed Daisy had withdrawn from everyone, eventually having to be home schooled. Most of their friends had given up on trying to stay friends with Daisy. All but Sarah. She still occasionally called the house or stopped by. She lived not too far away, and she had been Daisy and Dahlia's best friend. In true badger fashion, she had stubbornly kept the friendship alive, albeit one-sidedly.

Flossy shook her head and waved Sarah into the living room. The badger greeted the twins with a little wave and they grinned up at her before continuing to bicker over certain pieces they needed for rivaling lego castles.

"Ah, no, sorry... actually she went for a hike just a little while ago." Flossy apologized. "It's so nice to see you, I'm bummed she missed you. How's college?" Flossy picked up her knitting and put it in a basket next to the couch, making room for both of them to sit down. "I'm sorry, would you like something to drink?" She asked just as Sarah opened her mouth to answer. Sarah laughed and shook her head.

"No, that's okay. I'm good." She looked out the window and to the beautiful sun shining thru the glass. "Where did Daisy go hiking?"

"She said she was headed up to the falls on the trail behind the house." Flossy gestured, and her face brightened. "She really didn't leave that long ago, you could probably catch up to her!"

"I was just thinking that..." Sarah deliberated, wiggling her fingers where they rested in her lap, making her claws click together with a raspy clatter sound. It was a habit of the badger that annoyed some and endeared her others. "Haven't been that way in years!" She stood, decided.

"I'll show you the best way to get on the trail." Flossy showed her to the back rec area and opened the sliding glass door, pointing at the trailhead visible at the edge of the yard. "Right there connects in with the main trail. If you hurry, you'll catch her, she likes to stop and make notes about plants and things, you know Daisy."

"Yup. Thanks Mrs. Fields!" Sarah grinned and set off with a wave at a trundling jog that ate up the yards relentlessly. Sarah was not a sprinter, but she was very fit, and she could keep that pace nearly indefinitely.

Daisy was crouched in the middle of the trail, headphones on and blaring, notebook on her knees, pencil scribbling madly with her attention firmly fixed on a grouping of mushrooms at the edge of the trail when Sarah caught up with her twenty minutes later. Sarah stopped a short distance away, knowing the doe well enough to wait until she noticed her. Daisy was easily startled, to say the least. Even so, Daisy jumped to her feet like a spooked cat when she noticed the badger standing a few yards away. She pulled the headphones off and clutched her chest.

"Jeez! Sarah..." Daisy huffed, regaining her breath. Sarah waved with an apologetic grimace and walked up the trail the remaining distance between them.

"Yeah, sorry!" She reached out and patted Daisy on the shoulder. "I wasn't sure the best way to get your attention." Daisy gestured to her notebook.

"There isn't one when I'm out of it like that. It's okay." She smiled at her childhood friend. "What are you doing out here?" Daisy asked, dropping her hand from its clawed position on her coat front. Sarah pointed one curved nail at Daisy.

"Looking for you. Your Mom told me where to find you." She grinned. "I was hoping you'd let me borrow your guitar. I'm taking a class, but in the event... I should say likelihood that I fail... I'd rather not buy one of my own, you know?" Sarah knitted her fingers and looked hopefully to Daisy, who frowned in concentration.

"Um... yeah, I'm not sure where it is though... I would have to dig for it." Daisy thought back to the last time she had seen the guitar and her mind stuttered and veered towards a memory of her and Dahlia practicing. Dahlia had always been better at the guitar that they shared, so Daisy had mostly sung along with while her sister played it. As if reading her mind, Sarah ran her claws thru the fur at her neck and sighed.

"You guys were really good, I remember that trophy you got..." Sarah was remembering Daisy and Dahlia when they had entered their sixth grade talent competition. Daisy had sung and Dahlia had played the guitar, they'd had a blast, and blown away the competition.

"Yeah... I remember that." Daisy murmured, her eyes distant. "I thing Petunia was going to learn, there for a while, but she decided she hated it. Started learning piano instead." Daisy looked to Sarah, her eyes coming back into focus. "I'm pretty sure it's been in storage ever since."

"You don't play anymore?" Sarah asked. Daisy looked down at the mushrooms she had been enthralled by a minute ago. The tiny faultless world. Every detail so perfect, so fragile. One wrong step, and it would be crushed, gone forever. She felt her throat tighten slightly and it showed in her voice when she answered.

"No... Not anymore..." Daisy turned and started walking further up the trail, and Sarah followed silently.

The stopped again a while later when Daisy spotted a bush she'd never seen before just off the trail. Sarah waited on the path while Daisy waded into the thick underbrush to break a stem off the red bush so she could press it in her plant book when she got home. Sarah watched all of this with a patient eye, she was used to it. And she knew that Daisy was just trying to figure out what she wanted to say.

"I still really miss her, Sarah." Daisy said without turning around to look at her badger friend. Sarah was looking back down the hill at how far they'd come, but focused back on the goat girl when she spoke.

"I do too, Daisy... I think about Dahlia all the time." Sarah studied the back of Daisy's head, wondering what was different about her. Something had happened. She never talked about her sister. "But I try to think about the happy times." She added, hoping to the almighty diggers she wasn't upsetting her friend even more.

"Sarah, if you knew what I thought about all the time, you would think I was crazy." Daisy raised her head and looked at the sky. There were grey rain clouds rolling in from the west and the sunny morning had begun to look like a rainy afternoon.

"I don't think you're crazy... except for this hiking in December thing... I guess that's kind of crazy." Sarah quipped, looking up at the sky as well. Daisy turned around with a short laugh that only barely reached her eyes.

"Yeah." She admitted. "It looks like it's going to start raining again. We should probably head back." They turned down hill and started making their way back.

"Daisy, What's up with you today? What happened?" Sarah tentatively asked as they made good time down the trail home. "I talked to you on the phone last week and you seemed like you were doing really good. Today you seem out of it." The badger nearly cringed when Daisy stopped and looked at her. But Daisy actually smiled, them, a real smile that reached her golden eyes.

"I'm gonna be okay, I really am..." She insisted. "Actually, I think I'm... I don't know.... I met somebody yesterday..." She trailed off, and Sarah was amazed to see that she was blushing, the insides of her ears darkening. Sarah pointed and gave a shuffling little hop of excitement.

"You met a GUY!?!" Sarah's normally low voice rose several notches in amazement. "Daisy!! Really!? Who!?" She clapped her paws together with excitement and crowded close to her friend, leaning in as if it were a secret and every tree in the forest was trying to eavesdrop. Daisy laughed and tugged at her ears in embarrassment.

"His name is Boss. I think I really like him..." She admitted. Sarah prodded her gently and rolled her paw in a continuation motion. Trying to wheedle more information out of her friend.

"Aaand?" She giggled. "Well, what kind of fur is he? Where did you meet him!?"

"He's really tall, with white fur... And he's a detective for the Portland police. He gave me a ride home when I got lost going to the college yesterday." Daisy added in a rush, purposefully leaving out that Boss was canine. Sarah saw right thru that.

"Goat?! Rabbit? Deer! Horse? Sheep! ...Albino moose!?!" Sarah took wild guesses and Daisy shook her head at each of the guesses, making a face at 'moose'.

"God, No! No, he's not a moose! That's the crazy part, Sarah!" Daisy gripped Sarah's shoulders, getting her to really stop and listen. "He's canine." Sarah stopped wiggling and went stock still in shock, her jaw dropping dramatically.

"You're shitting me!"