FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Tokam opened his eyes. He groaned as he slowly lifted himself up and stood. He nearly toppled over at first. Every inch of Tokam's body felt as if it were on fire. He groaned in pain. It took all of his willpower just to stay standing. As the pain slowly faded, Tokam began to take in his surroundings.

He was underneath a small tree that was growing near a stream. Tokam took several steps forward, until he was waist-deep in the water. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink down until the water was up to his neck. Despite the comfortable temperature, Tokam began to shiver. Suddenly, he heard a loud snap from behind. Tokam whipped his head around. There was nothing there.

Tokam narrowed his eyes. He felt something brush against his shoulder. "Whoah!" Tokam cried out as he leapt up and dashed onto the shore. He quickly spun around to find a small eevee giggling where he had been seconds ago. Tokam struggled to steady his breathing while he looked over at the pokemon.

She appeared to be about the same age as he was. Her light brown fur was completely drenched. Tokam glared at her as she started to roll around in the water, laughing. "Why would you do that?!" he demanded. When the eevee was finally able to contain her laughter, she looked up at Tokam and shrugged. "I thought it would be fun," she replied. Her voice was soft. It reminded Tokam of his mother's voice, only...happier somehow.

Tokam sighed and turned to walk away. He cried out in pain as his right leg gave out from under him. The eevee leapt gracefully out of the stream to land next to him. She shook herself dry, sending several drops of water onto Tokam's scales. "Are you alright?" she asked. "I'll...be...fine," he said through clenched teeth. She glared at him. "No, you won't. I'm getting you to a healer." Tokam groaned in protest, but she simply got behind him and started to push. He was too weak to stop her, but he continued to complain and insist he was fine.

About fifteen minutes later, Tokam gave up, and allowed her to move him in silence. "What's your name?" the eevee finally asked after the quiet had become unbearable. "Tokam," he muttered. She nodded. "I'm Aisha." Tokam was about to respond, when Aisha suddenly stopped pushing and walked up to sit next to him. She stared up at the sky. He followed her gaze, but all he saw was the forest canopy.

Tokam turned back to her. "What are you looking at?" he asked. Aisha kept her eyes locked on the sky. "I'm waiting," she said. Tokam sighed. "For what?" Aisha grinned. "That!" she cried. Tokam looked up to see a bird circling above the trees. At Aisha's cry, it dove down and alighted on the ground. As it landed, Tokam recognized it as a pidgeot. "Hello Fikusa," Aisha addressed it.

The great bird bowed its head to her. "Welcome, Aisha," she said. The pokemon's voice was slow and melodious. She turned to look at Tokam. "And you are?" Fikusa looked him over, as if examining a piece of prey. Tokam gulped. Before he could reply, Aisha stepped forward and spoke. "This is Tokam, I found him in the woods. I think he needs a healer." Tokam glared at her, then focused on Fikusa. "I tried telling her before ma'am, I really don't need a healer, I'm fine..." The bird pokemon slowly extended a talon as he spoke, then lightly tapped his right leg.

Both Fikusa and Aisha jumped back in shock as Tokam screamed in agony. Fikusa shook her head. "I'm sorry to tell you, but I'm afraid you do require a healer, Tokam. You've pulled a muscle in that leg," she gestured with her wing. Aisha glanced over at him smugly. Tokam sighed. "Fine, I'll go to the healer." Fikusa let out a light laugh. "You're looking at her," she said. He tried to hold in his panic. He couldn't be treated by a bird pokemon! Apparently, Fikusa could see his anxiety. "Don't worry," she said. "I don't eat my patients...mostly." Aisha giggled.

Before Tokam had a chance to react, Fikusa spread her wings and grabbed Tokam in her claws. He cried out. Aisha grinned up at him. "I'll visit you later!" she said. With that, Fikusa flapped her wings and Tokam went soaring upward. He gripped tightly on to one of her talons and shut his eyes as he wailed in terror.

As they continued to climb higher into the sky, Tokam forced himself to relax. He then gradually opened his eyes. He gasped at what he saw. The view was stunning, even more beautiful than the view from his old tree. Tokam could see the entire region.

To his left, he saw a shining river flowing into the sea. Beyond that was a massive desert, that extended north, and ended at cliffs far in the distance. Even further west, Tokam saw a second river, and a forest behind it. North of the forest were the snowcapped mountains he had seen from his tree.

As Tokam turned his head to look forward, or north, he saw another mountain range, shrouded in mist. North of that was a third forest, and the cliffs he had seen before. Tokam then turned his head to the right and saw a missive ocean. The sun glittered off the waves, and he could see pokemon swimming parallel to the shore.

Fikusa laughed as she saw the look of wonder on the little treecko's face. "It really is amazing the first time you see it," she said. Tokam nodded, his mouth hanging open, as for the first time in his life, he beheld the majesty of the land he called home. Fikusa tilted her left wing down slightly, allowing them to slowly turn south. Then she folded her wings to her body, and...they plummeted.

Tokam screamed in terror as the trees rushed up to meet them. Fikusa spread her wings at the last second, slowing their descent. She landed on a branch that extended from a hollow in an oak tree, very similar to Tokam's old nest. Tokam peered down at the forest floor.

"Wait a minute...this is the tree right above where we took off from!" he yelled. Fikusa giggled. "Yes, but I knew you would enjoy the ride," she said softly. Tokam grunted. She gently released him from her claws onto the branch, then nudged him into the hollow. As Tokam stepped inside, he found that a huge nest had been built inside, woven of feathers and twigs.

He gingerly lowered himself into the nest. It was amazingly soft. Fikusa walked over to the nest and handed Tokam a light brown seed. "Here, eat this." Tokam took a bite out of the seed. The shell crunched under his tech as he chewed. The inside of the seed was sticky, like a type of gum. As he chewed, Tokam's mouth became numb. His vision began to fade. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was Fikusa propping up his injured leg.

* * * * *

Tokam opened his eyes. For a moment, he thought that he was back at his old hollow, that he was leaning against his mother...then he remembered. He was at the healer's nest. Tokam groaned as he sat up. He rubbed his eyes as he yawned. When he opened them again, he saw that he was not alone. Aisha was curled up at the edge of the nest, asleep.

As he turned to look out of the hollow, he saw that a little pidgey was standing out on the branch, looking in at Tokam. The bird hopped inside. He appeared to be the same age as Tokam and Aisha. The pokemon tilted his head. "She's come here every day waiting for you to wake up, you know," he said, extending his wing to point at Aisha.

Tokam glanced over at her, then whipped his head back to gape at the pidgey. "Wait...every day?! How long have I been out?" he asked. It studied him for a moment. "Three days," it finally responded. Tokam sank to the floor.

The bird pokemon hopped closer. "You're Tokam, right? I'm Buson," he said. Tokam looked up at him. "Hey," he muttered. Buson stared at him. "What happened to your mother?" he asked suddenly. Tokam's eyes widened in surprise. "Why...?" he trailed off. Buson looked at the floor. "You talk in your sleep. Aisha and I couldn't figure out why you kept talking about your mother."

Tokam nodded, trying to hold back tears. "She's dead," he answered. Buson took a step back. "Oh...I'm sorry..." he turned towards the hollow's entrance. "It's fine," Tokam said. Buson hopped out onto the branch, then turned to face Tokam again. "By the way, nice necklace," he smirked. Then he flapped his wings and took off. Tokam looked down at the locket. He had almost forgotten that he had it. "It was my mother's," he whispered.

* * * * *

Hundreds of miles to the away, two pokemon spoke in secret. "You've failed me," the first voice said. This voice was deep. It spoke clearly and calmly, with all of the authority of the earth itself. "Forgive me, master." The second voice was just as deep as the first, but it wavered and the speaker was clearly terrified. "I thought that you wished them dead..." "NO!!" the first voice roared. The ground seemed to shake from its fury.

"They must be alive next time..." it said. "Yes, my master, I will prepare a squad now," the second voice said quietly. "No...we must wait... Gather more forces...Grow in strength...Then we will get the sacrifices we need..." the first voice rumbled. "Very well, master."