FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

She stood on the edge of the Denver Colorado, Boulder Campus, watching the tooing and fro-ing of people, a fairly even blend of furs and recoms alike, all the colours and species of the rainbow conversing, smoking, sitting under trees and reading from e-books to physical, dead-tree books or typing away on a variety of flexi-comps.

She took a sharp, audible exhale. This, was what she'd worked towards, gotten the citizenship and everything for. Her big O.E. had brought her to want to stay in America, and the eventual meeting at the dairy convenience stores they call them over here, in NorAm. where she met a suave and dapper Thylacine like herself.

Weeks of bein wooed and wining and dining and it made her feel good, and special rather than an outcast...and then, when the deed was done, he was gone.

Stroking her belly, fingers brushing across her pouch, the young mother smiled. I do this for you, little nipper. Gotta start making more money than just flipping burgers, if you're gonna get a good start in life.

******

She signed in on the pad, her name for posterity, on the register.

Bronwyn Corinna

So here she was, in University, and she would find it hard. But she would perservere, she would get the qualifications for herself and the life developing in her pouch. And maybe, this would make her feel just that little better about herself.

******

Many weeks later

It was turning out harder than she'd anticipated. The commute to the restaurant, and to the University and back again, trying to catch sleep, it was wearing on her, fraying her nerves. And not being eligible for a fraternity, there was a limited support base, and her parents were back home. And, stubborn pride prevented her from communicating her problems to them.

She had left, with a tense atmosphere, relented only insofar as keeping in touch was concerned, but she didn't want to stay in the community, to find herself a handsome young thylacine (now, even less so than before).

But it was wearing her down, as she was living hand-to-mouth, subsisting on dorm food, catching up on sleep, and had been this close to ripping the jugular out of her room-mate. And other such murderous thoughts were cascading through her brain.

Staring at the computer screen, bags under her eyes and a strong cup of coffee beside her, she was trying to work on the practical test but it was escaping her, flittering away like a piss in a tsunami.

"Code Line Three-Five-Underscore-Zed-Zed-Forward Slash-X Drive," came a voice from behind her, and in her sleep-weary mind, she jumped suddenly, knee knocking the table, coffee spilling, cascading over the keyboard, which sputtered and died.

"Fuck! Shitting Fuck!" she snarled, turning to the figure behind her, and proceeded to lay into him, tearing him a new strip for frightening her, before....seeing his cool calm, and anger at being so tongue-lashed.

Bronwyn's jaw gaped, she realized now, she was being unfair to the roo, a flush traced it's way into her ears, her ears flattening and she ducked her head just so, sheepishly gazing up at him. "Sorry, it's just...I've had a crappy few weeks. I haven't been making as much as I'd like, I'm subsisting barely and..." she shook her head, " Just Sorry," she whined and turned to leave.

The kangaroo laid a hand on her bicep, "Well, you were a bitch," he bluntly remarked, and Bronwyn couldn't help but nod shamefully, but seeing the hang-dog-tired look in her expression, his own softened a little, "But hey, I've had worse ass-reamings from my professors. So seeing as you owe me an apology, what say you make it up to me," he replied with a rakish grin.

"I'm...I'm not looking to get into a relationship...ever," was Bronwyn's curt reply.

The kangaroo staggered back, leaning on his tail and clutching a hand to his chest as though mortally wounded, hamming it up, and drawing much eye-glancing, but he ignored them all. "M' lady, you wound me so. But no, I would never sully your virtue so...well..maybe a little. But hey, totally get it. Hoes before Bros, right?"

Bronwyn gave him askew glance, head cocked slightly, splayed ears, "What are you prattling about?"

The kangaroo brought a couple of fingers to his lips, flitt-wiggling his tongue between his fingers, causing Bronwyn to blush again, "I'm not a...I mean I don't look at girls like that..."

Smirking a bit, but the boomer shook his head. "Okay, nice to know. Or maybe you just don't like kangaroos, anyway it doesn't matter," he forestalled any further remarks. "I'm a Senior, and frankly it'll look good on my file if I tutor you. And you really could do with the tutoring. And sleep. So you go sleep, and tomorrow begins higher learning!" he declared, taking a solemn pose.

******

Bronwyn, would soon flourish under Richard's tutelage, and his jovial outlook on life soon cheered the Thylacine right up. And, she invited him out to coffee, and this became a regular occurrence. But, soon as things do, they parted ways.

He left college, and in a couple of years (her roomie put her on to her little sister who has prior experience nannying), Bronwyn soon got her diploma, and she got a job in Texas, working in a cubicle but the pay was good. And she was able to afford day care for her daughter, who she named after the Basin on Mars.

Time wore on, and Hella would be Three, when someone new walked into her life...and not-so-new to Bronwyn.

Richard came back, in a most unanticipated fashion.

******

The ambulance shrieked it's call, and the EMTs were keeping the joey alive. She had ingested something, which was making her ill, rather dangerously so. Her mother, was clutching her clammy paws, stroking her hand and was keeping back the tears for Hella, being brave for her little girl.

The ambulance vtol touched down, the patient was wheeled out into surgery, for a stomach pump and, to repair any damage.

As she found herself an empty room, filled up with medical equipment, Bronwyn took to great wracking sobs, letting it all pour out of he in a great wave of unctonrolled fear, at the possibilities.

A hand laid on her, and a voice...that she hadn't heard in a while spoke to her. "Bronwyn?" he spoke, shock, surprise...and a whole flood of other emotions crept into his voice.

Richard's first instinct to ask, how she'd been but clearly, that would have been in poor taste so he simply said nothing more, providing a shoulder to cry on.

The chemicals had caused some minor scarring of the trachea, but this was repaired with grafts, her stomach was pumped and overall, the little girl came out none the worse for wear.

Her mom, would wind up seeing more of Richard, who would always find time on or off duty, when not repairing the computers and doing nursing stuff, to see in on Bronwyn.

A year-long courtship ensued, and the pair married. And for Three good years, they remained in Texas.

And they got another good bit of news, by the time Hella was six (although in retrospect, the news wasn't so good for her)

Mom had a new job offer, back in Australia to open up a job offer.

Bronwyn would be going home. And enough time had passed, that she wasn't concerned. Although, it had hurt her that her parents had refused to come to the wedding (they'd had high hopes of their daughter marrying a good Thylacine boy after all).

Richard, was fine with it. He figured, in the meantime he could go back to College, "University," Bronwyn would correct her American-roo husband.

To University, then where he would get a Doctorate and he could take a his internship as a Doctor in the nearby hospital.

Hella, on the other hand was not so happy about this turn of affairs.