FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Author's Note: This is a continuation of the story in "Human Enough." I hope you all enjoy- AK

Michelle and I were walking along the beach. My arm was wrapped around her shoulder, holding her close. Her head was rested on my body as we walked along. Across the water, the sun was setting, painting the sky with beautiful shades of reds and yellows.

"It's beautiful." Michelle said as she looked to the horizon.

"It is." I answered. "But it's got nothing on you."

Michelle gave me a playful look and a smile. She grabbed me close and kissed me. She was fantastic. Her kiss was sweet and she smelled of...coffee?

I woke up, the dream I just had still fresh in my mind. Almost as fresh as the strong coffee smell in my nose. I opened my eyes to see my father standing before my bed. He was dressed in a power suit and tie and in his hand the reason why I was now awake.

"Good morning. " He said to me. "Did you sleep well?"

I nodded groggily. I would have slept much better if I could have continued with my dream. Or if my dream was even close to being a reality.

"Do you remember Mr. Harding?" my dad asked me.

"Yeah. I'd rather not though."

My dad let out a small chuckle. Stephen K. Harding (he always included the K) was the congressman from our district and he lived in town. I remembered him because I dated his daughter, Marie, for about two years back in high school. I thought things were perfect until I caught her making out with the captain of the football team. Apparently I wasn't 'exciting' enough. Funny enough, the captain apologized the next day to me. She never did. Michelle had never liked her. I think now I understood why.

"Well he has invited us all to a dinner at his house tonight. I've sent your tux to the cleaners to be cleaned. It should be ready today."

"Great." I said, trying to hide the displeasure in my voice.

"Well I'd better be off. Companies don't run themselves. I'll see you tonight."

"Alright. See ya."

"Take care, son." He said with a degree of affection that was uncommon for him.

My dad was many things, but he was not a fool. I think he could tell I wasn't happy about going to the Harding's. Maybe he also knew that I was angry with him over Michelle's injuries. He knew Michelle and I had been close as children. He had caught us staying up very late one night, watching TV. I remember Michelle telling me how Lisa had yelled at her for doing that. My father didn't say anything to me that day. He probably thought I'd grow out of it.

I laughed to myself at how wrong he was as I threw the covers off of my body and went into my bathroom. I loved having my own bathroom. One of the perks of having money I suppose. I jumped in my shower and let the warm water bathe over me. I couldn't help but think of the dream I was so rudely awakened from. One day Michelle and I would do that: watch the sunset on the beach together. And we wouldn't care who saw.

I stood under the hot water daydreaming for a little longer before I turned off the taps, wrapped a towel around my body and went back into my room. On my bed was a tray with breakfast on it. Eggs and toast with a glass of Orange Juice. As I reached to grab the glass, I noticed that something was written on the napkin.

"Enjoy breakfast. I love you. - Michelle."

I wish I hadn't been in the shower when Michelle delivered my breakfast. I would have grabbed her close to me and kissed her for as long as I could. I doubt she'd mind. I ate my breakfast rather fast and put the napkin, (which I didn't use) in my schoolbag. I didn't want anyone to find it. We'd both be screwed.

I headed downstairs and saw my mother watching one of those boring news channels that thought a man who could eat nails was breaking news. She was wearing a sundress that looked like it belonged on the pages of a fashion magazine.

"Good Morning Andrew."

"Morning Mom."

"It's so nice having you back home. When do you go back to school?"

"End of the month. Wish I could stay here though."

Actually, if I thought it would work, I'd beg on my knees to stay here. Not only for Michelle, either. I hated the college I was going to. It was all a bunch of rich snobs. I know there are several people who would think that I fit right in with them, but trust me I'm different. I don't care about stocks or bonds or the price of steel in Yugoslavia or anything like that. Not interested.

"Did your father tell you about the dinner tonight?"

"Over at Mr. Harding's, yeah."

"I was just going to go send Michelle to go and get your tux while Lisa tidies up."

"I'll go with her." I blurted out. "I...could use the exercise."

"If you say so. Keep an eye on her. All the news reports say that a lot of freefurs are inciting an uprising of sorts. There's one on the news now."

Sure enough, there on the screen was a picture of a fox anthro being handcuffed and shoved into the back of a police car. His t-shirt read "Freedom for All!" Apparently the anthros who were "pets" on the west coast had already tried rebelling twice.

"It's a shame." My mother said. "All these furs causing violence. It's terrible. They should know their place and accept it. I think servitude is perfect for them. They get a home and food after all. Could you imagine if Lisa or Michelle were free? What ever would they do with themselves?"

I didn't know about Lisa, but I was pretty sure Michelle's plan would involve me and her together. That's really the only part I cared about.

"Tell Michelle I'll meet her at the gates alright?" I said trying hard not to be sick over my mother's attitude.

"Sure. But watch her Andy. You never know."

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on her." I added with a smile as I walked out the front door.

I walked the long pathway which led to the front gate of my house. My house was fairly big I thought, but it was still considered small by many others. Mr. Harding's had a mansion that would dwarf a small park. My thoughts returned to the dreadful evening that was ahead of me. It was only a tap on the shoulder that brought be back to reality. I turned to see Michelle wearing a warm coat and a scarf to cope with the cold weather. Her white fur seemed to glow with beauty.

"Good Morning Master Andrew." She said with a wink. "We should get going."

I nodded and turned around and opened the gate.

"Just wait until we get past the house." She whispered to me. "We don't want your mother to see us."

"Smart girl." I said.

She smiled at me and we walked, rather briskly, past the gate and around the large perimeter of the house. After a few minutes of walking, we were finally out of the way of any windows.

"We should be out of eyesight n..."

I didn't get a chance to finish the sentence before Michelle grabbed me close and kissed me hard.

"I still can't believe it." She said to me when she broke the kiss.

"What?"

"That this is real. You and me."

"Believe it."

I grabbed Michelle's hand in mine and we started walking towards the center of town. It would be crowded with people there, so we wouldn't be able to carry on like we were. She leaned against my body as we walked. The air outside was chilly and I could see my breath as we walked.

"I'm surprised your mom let you come with me." Michelle said. "I think she's afraid because of the uprising reports."

"She did tell me about them." I said. "I didn't pay attention to the news much at school. What's going on with that?"

"In California, A free anthro named Joshua Black has been aiding anthros who run from their masters and has been encouraging anthros to fight. And he's getting really popular among anthros. He said that he would be coming to this area to spread his words."

"I'd love to help him."

"I'd love to strangle him."

I stopped walking for a moment and gave Michelle a puzzled look.

"Why? He's trying to help you."

"No, he's going to get me killed. Don't get me wrong, I don't like being forced to serve your family or getting beat for saying your name. And the fact that I can't be openly dating you makes me want to cry. But violence is never the answer. All he's doing is making people like your mom and dad angrier and more likely to beat us. Besides, he wants anthros like me to hurt the people who "own" us. I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want to be free."

"I want you to be free too. "

Michelle rested her head on my shoulder for a moment and we continued walking. As we got closer to the center of town, we were forced to separate and put on the mask of a master and his servant going into town. The center of my town had several boutiques and shops where the wealthy spent money on overpriced things they didn't need. Also in the town was Mr. Monetti, the tailor my family had used since I could remember.

His small shop seemed out of place among the gaudy boutiques that surrounded it. It was simple. That might be the reason why I liked it so much. I walked into the shop followed by Michelle. The smell of leather from shoes that Mr. Monetti swept into my nose as the bell attached to the door rang. Mr. Monetti came from out back. He was a very short man who had to be about 80.

"Good morning, Mr. Monetti."

He adjusted his glasses and stared at me for a second.

"Andy, my boy." He said softly with a thick accent. "So good to see you. Here to pick up your suit?"

"Yes. Mind if I try it on, real fast. I want to make sure it still fits. It's been a while since I had to wear it."

He nodded and went to the back. He returned quickly with the suit and a pair of shoes I could use to try the suit on. I went into a fitting room and put the suit on. I was surprised; it still fit very well. I tied the bowtie and walked outside.

"How do I look?" I asked Michelle.

"Quiet Dashing, Master Andrew."

"You're a good looking boy." Said Mr. Monetti, patting my cheek."

"Thank you both. Has my dad paid already?"

"Yes. He paid when he dropped of the suit."

"Ok. Let me get changed real fast and we'll get out of here."

I threw on my old clothes thanked Mr. Monetti and walked out with Michelle holding my suit. I really hated to see her waiting on me ever, but we had to keep up appearances.

"You really did look dashing." She said to me outside the shop.

"Thanks. You look stunning every day." I said in a whisper.

"A-A-Andy." Said a voice. I turned around to see Mr. Cunningham and his wolf Sam. Mr. Cunningham was only slightly older than my dad, but looked to be about as old as Mr. Monetti. He was always shaking and always stuttering. As a kid I wondered just what was wrong with him. In contrast Sam was tall and muscular. He looked like he could move a car and he could see over my head.

"Good morning Mr. Cunningham." I said.

Normally, I would have greeted Sam, too, but I didn't like him. He was a bully to the other anthros who worked for the Cunningham family and other anthros in general. He felt like he was superior to them.

"A-a-a-are you g-g-going to mi-mi- Mr. Harding's?"

"Yes. Will you be there?"

"Y-yes. I am eager to s-s-see the invention."

"What invention?"

"Mr. H-Harding is going to be unveiling a new in-in-invention."

"My dad didn't tell me that. Any idea what it is?"

"No. But it must be something special if there's going to be a d-d-dinner. Well, we'd best be off. C-c-come along Sam."

"Take care, Mr. Cunningham, Sam." I said

Sam grunted, which I could only assume was his way of saying goodbye. Michelle and I walked back to towards my home.

"I really don't want to go tonight." I confessed when we were away from prying eyes.

"Because of Marie?" Michelle asked.

"Yeah. And because dinner parties are boring as hell."

"You'll live. Besides at least you'll get to see some new invention."

"I could think of things I'd rather do."

Michelle looked around before planting a kiss on my lips.

"So could I. But even you have to keep up appearances. For now."

As Michelle and I got closer to my house, we stopped talking and resumed the mask of the master and servant. My thoughts raced on what this new invention could be. I had a gut feeling, knowing Mr. Harding, it was something politically relevant, but what could it be?

I walked in the door first, with Michelle trailing behind me carrying my suit. My mother was still watching the news, when it flashed on the screen. An image of an anthro wearing a suit and tie and shaking hands with other anthros. The caption below read "Joshua Black comes to the East Coast." That's when it hit me. Whatever this new invention was, it was a safe bet that it had something to do with the paranoia everyone was feeling about an anthro uprising. The only safer bet was that whatever the invention was, I wasn't going to like it.