FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

~ Here we go again ~

"You know I hate this time of year." Cindre sulked. So hard his face seem to almost sag right off his face. "Awwhh, Cindeee!" cooed Adia, bouncing around his hindpaws. "But you look so cute!!" "Silence." "Hee. If you hate this so much, why do you do it?" The great, dark beast rumbled in heavy discontent. "I made a promise."

The sun was bright, but did nothing to impede the brisk wind. Ben and Cindre had been scoping out their target for weeks. It was long, boring work. And so they talked. About love, and their schemes. But mostly about the ever-broiling debate, over who's society was the better: Earth's, or Symbia's. "We have no starving masses," grunted Cindre, great ears pointed at the house down the hill. "You do so," countered Ben, wrapping up in his fifth sweater. "You have the landfallen." "The powerless are forgotten for a reason. And they don't starve." "I wouldn't call the gruel they are fed 'food', Cindy." "Don't call me Cindy." "Okay, layph, fine.." The two shifted, trying to warm. "We have religion, history," Ben said, after a long silence. "Culture! You just have your odd libraries. Symbia is boring." Cindre raised an ear in surprise. "Excuse me?" "Okay then, what faiths do your people have." "We observe Sol, the father of life. When warmth comes, we venerate it. We worship by partaking of the gifts given by the fowel of the plains." "Uh huh.." mumbled Ben, gazing down the valley lazily. "We paint great and detailed works each year, venerating the colours blessed on us by Father Sol." "Mmm hmm.." Cindre growled deeply, crossing his arms tight, baring sharp and grinding teeth. "Impetulant child.. if you can name one single thing, a shred, one holy tradition that could possibly compare to the heart-soaring, millions-strong traditions of the Symbian people, then, then.." "Then what, old bird." "Then I'll take part in it. In any fashion you desire." Ben sat up and grinned. "Any fashion? For serious?" The tall and shadowed beast scowled down at the young sapien boy with a deep anger. "Name it, boy."

~

With little Adia bouncing behind him, Cindre stalked down Main Street, Spring parade in full force around him. With a sour look, he looked down at a small girl, who was laughing at him with a wild glee. "It's the Easter Bunny! Do you have candy?!" The great beast rumbled again, ears drooping to the shoulder. "Here we go again."

---

"And that's when I knew I was screwed."

"I promise." Ringy was unusually.. juanty. Cindre didn't like this. He didn't like this at all. "Why did we leave the lape behind." "Adia? Oh, the little blue-bun is studying or nibbling or somesuch." "I see." They crunched quickly through the underbrush, half hacking and half burning through any stray branch that was foolish enough to stand in the way of a walking tinderbox, and a sledgehammer on two paws. "It's not far. If you really want to take the plunge, this is the only way we can get it done." "Fae Curtail," Cindre begun, dreading to actually voice the question. "What precisely are we on our way to." "Fire," she replied, as vague as she was bright in the eyes. "I see," he rumbled, concerned. "I need to flex my acetica to the best of my ability. I need to experience true flame. Only then will I be strong enough to defend-" "Defend the only two vestiges of the true light, yadda yadda, look here Cindy." "For the last time.." "Yeah yeah, ash-butt, look. Use those big ears and just listen for half a moment." Cindre grunted, and rather emphatically burst a short tree into white hot flame. One that was not exactly in his path. "Go on." "I understand what you need. I do. You find a source of fire or heat or light or whatever, and you learn its secrets, and you grow inside." Whipping her arm across her chest, she flung a poorly placed rock aside. The boulder shattered into a handful of chunks, each larger than she was. "As a sympath I know the process better than anyone," Cindre intoned softly. "And as a peer," quipped Ringy, "I've seen it more than anyone. So, trust me when I say this will be a true test, okay, Mae Grumble Pants?" The dark layph paused. "Grumble.. pants? You have been spending far too much time with Ben." He leapt nimbly to catch up.

It was an enormous space. Cliffs loomed high into a gloom above, trees reached deeply into the fog behind them. The area was hundreds of meters across, and Cindre took it all in slowly. "It's an arena." "A-yup. Perfectly round." "Fel, this isn't the first time you've spent the entirety of my patience." "Just wait here, alright, and I'll get things started." The cat anthro skittered to the centre of the cavernous area, and waved him over. With a ponderous sigh, he obeyed. When he reached the side of the poised and high-tailed fel, she hopped to face him, beamed with a gleeful malice, and dashed for the treeline, covering the football-field distance in a second of rapid scrabbles. As she sped away, she bellowed the most peculiar thing. "Dinner's ready, ya big leather coat! You can't burn this one! You can't burn nothing!!"

Adia pulled on her ears, raptured and wide sky-eyed, as Cindre's deep voice thunder-rumbled. "And so", he went on, "I turned around. Behind me was easily.. the single largest drake I have ever seen. It filled that arena to brimming. A mountain of flame, teeth bigger than I was. And it looked angry.. fie, I have never seen anything so angry." Adia squeaked quietly, using her new and so far, poorly mastered powers of healing, to soothe charred skin and brush away ashened fur, shaking her head in sympathy. The layphon winced in pain. "And that, to borrow from Ben's nonclamenture, was when I knew I was screwed."