FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The scene was a disaster. It looked like someone had detonated small explosives around the place. It was a complete disaster."I hate housecleaning." Achaius mumbled to himself as he pulled out a trashcan. He began walking around the room, picking up trash by clenching his toes around it. He passed by the trashcan and dropped the contents of each of his four paws inside of it. He bent his upper body down and picked up all the magazines off of the floor and arranged them in a pile on his shelf. It had been a while since he last cleaned the house, and there were a lot of things to be done.

He picked up all of his bedding and put in a pile to be washed. He still had a surprising amount of laundry despite the fact that he did not wear clothing. After getting the first load started, he still had a lot of bedding to wash. He groaned and picked up the dirty dishes that had made it into his room. If he didn't eat in bed so much, he wouldn't have to clean these up. Underneath a mostly empty pizza box, he found a movie he had rented two weeks ago. "Great. This late fee is going to be a big one."

When sweeping under the bed, he found two library books that had been due back a week ago. He stared at them and sighed. He forgot about them and didn't even read them. He set the movie and the books outside the door. After cleaning up several building projects of legos, he vacuumed the room. It had been two hours and he just finishing up with one room. He checked the fridge to appease a sudden hunger that fell over him. The only thing he found was half a gallon of milk, and condiments that he never used. "I'll have to go shopping sometime too." He drank the rest of the milk. After washing out the jug, he tossed it in the bin filled with unsorted recycling.

The mail was filled with junk catalogues and bills. The individual bills seemed daunting enough as it was, but the sum of them was enough to make him stop breathing for a moment. The utility bills would leave him with almost nothing as it was, but the credit card bill would put him in serious debt. How had he spent so much money? His taur stomach growled at that moment. It might as well have started yelling, "Me! Me! It was me!". Being a taur made him need at least twice as much food as an anthro, and it was costing him every cent he had. He was about to go clean the bathroom when he looked at the clock. The time was 4:11. He had almost forgotten his dentist appointment.

He grabbed his trail pack and rushed out the door. He was two minutes late, and the run there left him winded. The appointment didn't last very long. He headed straight to work. After his shift was over, he had to walk home on sore legs. Hours and hours of moving heavy boxes in that dull retail story. The first thing he wanted was to lie down. Before he got to the bedroom, he saw the books and the movie lying outside the door. He growled realizing he had wanted to drop those off while he was in town.

Now both places were probably closed. The late fees would be even larger now. He unbuckled his pack and let it slide to the floor then flopped into bed. He rolled over on his side and let his legs rest to the side. The relief was wonderful. After trying for about a minute to get his leg in a comfortable position, he gave up and just pulled his legs off and laid them side by side by the pillows. He wiggled his toes to try to amuse himself, but his head was too clouded with worry.

How would he get out of this debt? How could he continue living on what he did? What else did he have to remember to do? He then remembered that his rent was due in a week. He sighed and closed his eyes. Life was getting too crazy. Is this how it would always be? He tried not to think about it and just lay in bed. Maybe he should call his friend, Fergus. He could give him some advise. But his phone was on the table all the way on the other side of the room and the bed was so comfortable. He could stay in bed for a few minutes before calling Fergus.

About half an hour later he sat up and put his legs on one at a time. He walked over to the table. The moment he picked up the phone, the doorbell rang. He gave grunt of slight irritation at having to walk to the front door on his tired legs, but his mood changed when he answered the door. Fergus was standing there wearing a polo shirt and pair of black slacks. "Oh hello, I was just about to call. What are you doing here?" "Today is Friday. I'm here to watch a movie at your place, as is our custom on Friday." "Oh right. I completely forgot about that. Come inside."

Fergus set down his briefcase by the door and walked to the humble television setup. He loaded up a DVD that he had brought with him. Achaius closed the door and made his way to the sofa. Fergus handed took the remote and said, "I think you'll enjoy this one. I know how you like anime so I found this for you." He had a seat in the recliner and pulled up the leg rest. Achaius spread himself across the sofa. Since he was a taur, Achaius never used the recliner. He just had it for guests. Fergus was the main user of it, and there was an imprint on the cushion showing that Fergus had a habit of sitting with his tail curled to the right of his legs. Fifteen minutes into the movie, Fergus glanced over at his friend on the sofa. Achaius was watching the movie, but his eyes had a somewhat bored or distant look to them. "Achaius" Fergus began as he paused the movie. "What is it? I thought you would like this movie." "I do like it so far." "You seem a bit off. Usually you take you head off after the first five minutes and start wagging your tail. This one even has cats. You love cats." Achaius was quiet a for a few moments before saying, "I don't know. Just feeling a little tired." "Tired? Are you feeling well?" "I'm fine. Don't worry about it." Fergus sighed and rubbed his temples a little bit. "You are one of a handful of people I care about enough to seriously be concerned with their well being. I am not the kind of dragon who talks about it. So the fact that I am bringing this up should tell you how odd you acting. Now tell me what is wrong." Achaius looked down for a moment then said, "I don't know. Things are just so confusing and stressful. I have so much stuff to do and think about." "I understand, but that never before upset you. You were always optimistic and focused on how much better things could become. What happened to being happy most of the time?" "I just realized how bad my situation was. I have bills and debt that I can't pay." "You know ou can always get money from me. I have more than I can spend." "I know that. It's just that my large diet makes my grocery bill so big that I can barely get by. You know I want to start a family someday when I find the right person. How can I do that if I can barely get by feeding myself?" Shortly after saying this his stomach growled again. "What have you eaten today?" "I drank half a gallon of milk before going to work." "Is that all you've had today?" Achaius nodded. "Let me take you for some dinner. You could use some." said Fergus as he shut off the television and got out of the chair.

Achaius couldn't argue with that. He got out off the couch and fetched his pack. Fergus got his suit case and stepped out into the fresh air of the evening. Achaius followed and shut the door behind him. "So where are we going?" Achaius asked. "A little pub I go to every now and then. It's not the atmosphere I usually surround myself with, but they can do amazing things with meat."

Achaius followed Fergus who took them down streets that Achaius was not familiar with. Fergus seemed to know where he was going though. After twenty minutes of walking they arrived in the small parking lot of a little bar and grill establishment. "I never knew this place was here," said Achaius as they approached the door. A proud grin spread over Fergus' muzzle. "There's plenty more you could learn by being having me as company."

They found an empty booth and sat down. Achaius had to lay across the seat, but he was accustomed to doing this. Fergus quickly turned his menu to the second page and only glanced over it briefly. Achaius was looking through his menu slowly. An overwhelming list of choices greeted him on every page. He turned the pages wondering not just what to order, but to how to start narrowing down his choices. "I never heard of half of this food. I don't think I'll ever be able to decide." The waitress brought them each a glass of water. "Have you decided what you'd like to eat yet?" said the tall squirrel looking at them with a notepad and pen ready. "The usual steak for you, Fergus?" "Yes, that sounds great." "I haven't met your friend here." She said turning to Achaius. He didn't want to slow things down, was frantically looking through the menu. "I don't even know what section to order from." He said in a nervous voice. "Just start out with a steak for now, and we can order more food later. You can eat several of these meals in one sitting with that big stomach of yours. Does steak sound nice?" They ordered two steaks. The waitress took Fergus' menu and left the other for Achaius to look over.

The two talked while waiting for their food. "What's happened to you?" Fergus began. "I've never seen you act like that about a simple food order." "But it's a really big menu. There was a lot to choose from." "That doesn't matter. You normally see big menus as 'an adventure for the palette.'" Fergus replied making little air quotation marks with his claws at the last part. Achaius had nothing to say to that. Instead he just sighed and lowered his head a bit. "Hey, don't worry about it. Just tell me what has going on." Achaius thought for a moment. "Too many things are going on. My dishwasher just broke. I've got more bills than I have money in the bank. I have dept on top of that to pay somehow. I have things I've rented to return. I started what seems to be a never-ending housecleaning. I have appointments to remember. My rent is almost due. I just realized my job is a dead end and will only pay for what I eat, let alone all my other expenses." "And it is worse since you want to reproduce to make your species live on." "Exactly. It's just so... "Stressful?" "It's more than stressful. I feel like my entire existence will be a failure." "Don't say that. You have plenty of opportunity to have children someday." "But I need to be able to support myself. I can't just depend on you bailing me out of debt for the rest of my life. My children won't have anybody to pay for their food." "Other taurs need just as much food as you do, and they have plenty of offspring. You know how big chakat families can be." "But they don't live here. I'm probably one out of ten taurs at most in this town. They don't pay me extra for all the heavy labor I do. I don't get state food discounts on my groceries either. I'm not a recognized species yet so I can't get any of the discounts even if I move." "There must be some way to live with the expenses. The other few taurs and chakats in this town manage to live a normal life. How do they do it?" "I met a few of them. They all have high paying professional jobs. I know one moved here to start his own dental clinic. I had an appointment with them today." "How did that go?" "No cavities. He said I had some of the cleanest teeth among all his patients." "Well there you go. You have that going for you at least." "A whole lot of good that does me."

They were both quiet for a while. Fergus thought while Achaius looked over his menu. The waitress brought their steaks to the table. Fergus thanked the waitress and began cutting up his steak. Achaius quietly ripped chunks off with his fork and started eating. He hadn't had any solid food all day and the steak felt very satisfying in his mouth. "This steak is amazing. You were right about this place." Achiaus said as he took another bite of the succulent meat. "I am glad you enjoy it. You could use something to be positive about today." Achaius didn't respond to this. He just kept eating the steak. He took no time at all to finish the steak and start appeasing his hunger. He wiped his mouth and smiled a little bit. "Hey, there it is," said Fergus noticing his friend's expression. "There's the Achaius smile I know and love." Achaius stopped smiling for a bit so his problems wouldn't be simply ignored now. "Yeah, but the rest of Achaius still has things to worry about." "Well maybe the way you are living is a problem. Perhaps you need to take up a different lifestyle." "What do you mean by that?" "You need a life that doesn't give you so much to worry about." "Everyone would like a lifestyle like that, Fergus. If they could, everyone would just take the easy way of doing things. There isn't a way I can just take it easy and not worry about things." "You assume too much, my friend. I just recall a way that will let you do that, and only a small percentage of people find the idea appealing." "Do you now have magical dragon powers to grant wishes?" Fergus chuckled and opened his briefcase. "Not quiet, but have a look at this. I think you might be the kind of person who would be interested." He said sliding a bound stack of papers over to his friend. Achaius recognized it immediately. The title "LEGALIZED DOMESTICATED COMPANION APPLICATION ANC CONSENT FORM" was typed in big bold letters on the top middle of the page as if to make take extra care so someone wouldn't mistake this form for another one and fill it out by mistake. Achaius looked at the fat contract in surprise then asked, "You think I should give myself away as a pet?" "Domesticated companion," Fergus corrected out of habit for being meticulous about his word usage. He thought it would be easier if everyone else talked like him so things would seldom be misunderstood. "What's the difference?" "That depends on how you choose to fill out the contract." There was a pause after this. Achaius looked Fergus over for any signs that this was some sort of practical joke. He found none. Fergus was being serious. "Why do you even have this contract with you?" "In case I might need it." Fergus responded casually. Achaius decided not to inquire any further. Fergus had said the same thing about a crossbow and an air horn before, and Achaius had been unable to get his friend to give any other reasons for carrying them around. "So you're saying I should become a pet." "Domesticated companion" "Fine. So you're saying I should become a domesticated companion?" "I'm saying that you have very few other options. Do you have any ideas?" Achaius thought for a moment and slowly shook his head. "I guess not, but I don't know about this. I've thought about it before, but there's so much paperwork and legal stuff. I don't know what horrible kinds of things I could be getting myself into." "I understand your concern. That is why I am here to help you fill this out." "Right now?" Asked Achaius. Fergus took out a pen and nodded. Achaius took the pen and began filling out the basic information section on the first page. After a few minutes he came to the sections that started asking him much more personal stuff about his life. "I don't know... I don't feel very comfortable answering some of this. It's asking me about my political and ethical beliefs along with a bunch of other weird things." The waitress came back with her notepad. "Did you need anything else?" "Yeah. We'll have another order of steak and a couple of drinks." Fergus said. "What kind of drinks would you like?" "Drinks? Fergus are you sure about this? You know I don't drink. It leads to accidents." Achaius said. "You're thinking of automobile accidents. You do not even own an automobile. Additionally I would not worry if I were you. Your body size makes it as difficult to get you drunk as it is to feed you." "But why are we getting drinks?" "It will relax you so you will have an easier time filling out this paperwork."

Fergus ordered some expensive beer and Achaius hesitantly decided to get one of the bright sugary drinks after looking at the pictures. Achaius made short work of the steak, and they both took time with their drinks. Achaius was on the third page when he finished his drink. Fergus ordered him some more food another drink. He kept doing this whenever Achaius had finished one or the other. An hour later Achaius was almost a third of the way done with the contract. The questions only got more and more detailed and confusing. This was going to be a long night.

Achaius opened his eyes and groaned. He felt like someone had used his head as a battering ram and then played a couple games of bowling with it. The only thing he knew right now is that he was in bed. "What happened last night?" he grumbled.

"Now there is something that has been said in countless terrible movies," said a mysteriously loud voice. Achaius looked around the room just as it was filled with a blinding light. Achaius shut his eyes tightly and groaned loudly. "My apologies," the voice spoke up. The light dimmed, and Achaius opened his eyes to see who it was. Fergus was standing in the middle of what Achaius recognized now as his room.

"Fergus, what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking after you."

"What happened last night?"

"I wonder how many times that has been said throughout history. We may never know."

"Do you know what happened last night?"

"Yes. You probably can figure out already that you have a hangover and therefore got drunk." Achaius groaned and tried to roll over. He felt himself rolling over, but he was still looking at the same thing. His head didn't move. He looked down and saw the rest of his bed with nothing in it, not even his body. He gave a yell of panic as his body was missing. He tried moving around and felt it bumping into walls of a small, enclosed space. His yell of panic carried on as the weight of his situation sank in. Fergus sat beside the bed and shoved a wadded up pillowcase in his mouth. "Be quiet and just calm down," began Fergus as he picked up his head. "Your body is fine. It is in the back of my vehicle. Just take a moment to relax and I will explain everything you want to know."

He stroked Achaius' head. He moved his strokes from the nose to between the horns. Achaius stopped trying to make noise through the pillowcase and started to nervously chew on it. Fergus rubbed underneath the lower jaw and the little bit of neck that was still connected to his head. Achaius relaxed quickly from the treatment. Fergus pulled out of his mouth and tossed it aside. "Achaius smiled a little bit even though he was still having the worst headache he had ever experienced. "Thanks"

"It is not a problem. Now let me begin with the moral of the story. You shouldn't drink like you did last night."

"How did I drink last night?"

"Just let me just give the summary. You drank a few of those cherry blasters and worked on the contract. You said they were good and asked for more. You had eaten and had a large body to handle more, so I ordered you a few more. You enjoyed them and you were fine. I helped you with a few complicated pages, and had step out. I told the waitress to put any of your orders on my tab and went outside to make a few calls. When I came back you had separated your lower half from the rest of you. Your taur half was stumbling around the place, bumping into stuff, and the rest of you was still drinking at our table."

"Why didn't they cut me off?"

"You only one drink while I was gone. Before I left, you were just acting like you normally do. You were cheerful and silly. To be honest, I could not distinguish between your normal behavior and intoxication. I figure the alchohol took some time to get to your head."

"What happened after that?"

"You finished your drink and told me you had finished with all the paperwork. Then you to guzzled down my beer and started charging your taur body around the pub, knocking over chairs and table. You wouldn't stop when we told you to, so I had to help some guys bring you down forcefully. At that point, the part of you that was sitting at the table threw up on the floor. You then passed out. I had to come back with my vehicle to take you home. I was lucky the men at the pub helped me carry you into back seat. I drove you back to your house, and you can figure out the rest."

"What about the papers?"

"I briefly glanced to see if you had them all done. You did, but I did not get a chance to see how you filled the stuff out. When you saw me looking at the papers, you took them from me and told me that it was too private for me to see. I mailed it in on the way to your house."

"So now what happens?"

"Now we take you to get adopted. We should leave soon."

Achiaus swallowed nervously, but since he was just a head, his neck hole just flexed and constricted a bit. "Should I pack anything?"

"I've already packed your favorite books, cell phone, legos, bedding, and plushy in your trailpack. I loaded it in my car. Is there anything else you need?"

"What's going to happen to my house?"

"I helped you with the legal stuff upfront. As your beneficiary and primary contact, I receive secondary ownership of the house. With your legal status as a pet, I am given full responsibility for all property and financial obligations of said property. I paid your rent too. Do not worry about it." Fergus petted the head some more and stood up with it. "We're leaving now." Achaius looked around and silently said goodbye to the old place. He may never see it again. He would be starting a new life now. A part of him was sad, but another part of him was curious and excited.

Achaius could see his body in the back of Fegus' van. He tried to stand up but stumbled and fell over causing the van to shake a little bit.

"Easy there, tinker toy." Fergus said with a chuckle. "Just relax and enjoy the ride. I buckled you up but have not put all your legs on yet." Achaius relaxed as he was told. Fergus unlocked the van with a key remote and opened the door. He set the head in the passenger seat. Achaius wondered if this was safe. In the meantime, Fergus had already buckled up, shut the door, and started the engine. "The drive is short. I assure you no accident shall befall us during that time." Achaius had some many things on his mind at the moment. What would it be like? Would he get adopted? Would he lose his friends? The trip was silent. There was so much he wanted to say and ask, but his mind kept working and thinking of new things. There was so much to ask that he didn't know where to start. Maybe things had gotten to his head. He didn't used to think like this. He should just relax. He closed his eyes and tried to think of happy things like he used to, but the first thing that came to his mind was how he would get out of debt. A few moments later it occurred to him that he no longer had to worry about that, but similar thoughts continued to cloud his mind.

"We're here," said Fergus. The trip was a lot shorter than Achaius had expected. Perhaps he had been too deep in thought to notice the trip.

"Already?"

"You usually walk to this place. It's not that long of a drive." Fergus said. "Now let's get you back together so we don't frighten anyone. He opened the back of the van. Fergus left Achaius' head in the front seat while he went around to the back. Achaius could feel someone picking up his legs and putting them back onto his body. Fear struck as horrible memories flashed back through his mind. Fortunately this passed quickly since he knew it was his trusted friend who was back there. Once the legs were on, Fergus opened up the passenger door and scooped the head up in his arms. Achaius looked around at where they were. Fergus had never told him where they were going. He was surprised when he recognized this place. The smooth black parking lot with small bushes around the edges was something he had seen many times before. They were at the local pet store. Before he parted from his thoughts, Fergus had already put his head back on his neck. Achaius stepped out of the back of the van and gazed at the pet store. He had often dismissed the aspect that this was a pet store knowing that the store had many things that people found useful for themselves. But now he actually was a pet, and this was a store for pets like him. It felt like he was going to a different place. These thoughts rolled around in his head as Fergus led him across the parking lot.

In the store, they walked over to the side of the store where there was a big room lined with cages. Just outside the door to this room was a bear that was the employee in charge of adoptions. Fergus explained he was here to drop off Achaius for application. The bear led them inside the room. Achaius looked around at the cages filled with furs. Most of them were filled with ferals. He could not tell which one were sentient and which ones were not. The anthros he passed waved at him silently. They were all lying on a little mattress and blanket. Finally they reached a larger cage that was empty. The bear opened the door and motioned for Achaius to step inside. Achaius hesitated looking at the cage. Fergus patted him on the back.

"It'll be okay. Just relax and enjoy yourself."

Achaius nodded and stepped inside the cage. The door was shut and locked behind him. He turned around and looked at his friend through the bars. Fergus waved goodbye and began to leave.

"Wait!" Achaius spoke up.

"What is it?" said Fergus turning back to Achaius.

"Will I ever see you again?"

"Yes you'll see me plenty of times. You can call me whenever you want too. Try to relax. Good luck with your new life." With that Fergus left. Achaius sat down on his mattress and closed his eyes. He wondered if he had made the right decision.