FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Life was nice, but it was also hard; he loved his job, he had great friends, but he wished that his relationship with his mate wasn't in bad terms. Not that it was in real bad terms like some other couples he met before, but it wasn't an example to follow either, for they didn't communicate with each other except for emergencies and legal concerns. Maybe it was for the best since it gave him time to think things over and see how some of the things he did weren't the best choices; of course, he knew that he wasn't the only source in their distance, but he couldn't escape his responsibility.

«Could you give me the report? You now, the one you said that would be done this morning? It's quite urgent...»

The voice of his supervisor rang in ears, bringing him back to the reality of his work environment; he had to stay focused, or he could be fired and that was something he wasn't looking forward to it.

«It's on your desk, under the big pile of papers; I put it there this morning and since then, people have been piling other files and document on it»

He didn't like the look he received, but he knew that there was nothing to fear from it; it was simply someone that was trying to reinstate his power in the office, but wasn't always successful in doing so. Maybe because he was afraid of someone taking his place, or maybe because he knew that he wasn't popular enough to stay in power for long...

«There is someone that is waiting for you in the lobby, sir»

Someone was waiting for him? Who could it be? He wasn't expecting anybody today... and the fact that this person didn't call him before made him wonder what sort of business it wanted from him.

He wandered in the corridors; the plants and the water coolers greeted him, silent observant of the daily life of the office. So much secrets passed in front of them that if they would come to life, it would be for a short time only; someone would make sure that would stay silent, to keep the secrets hidden forever...

The lobby was a nice, little room designed to welcome potential customer, new applicants and to calm down the occasional angry customer that would come storming the office; it would have to brave the bureaucracy before even talking to someone, an act that only someone with either a lot of time or a little sanity left would do. He would praise such a person, for that act would indeed pass in the company history; an individual that braved the madness of paperwork and structural nonsense to complain...

There were a few people he knew; he didn't pass a lot of time in this room, not wanting to interact with potential clients. It wasn't his cup of tea and he made peace with it; there was thing in life that you couldn't do as well as others...

«There you are; you sure took your time to get here, now didn't you?»

That voice... no, it couldn't be; she couldn't be here... it was simply impossible; this was his workplace...

«Are you that surprised? Come on, says something, don't be shy, now»

There she was, his mate; it have been so long since he didn't see her, but he didn't understand why she was here. He didn't have anything to give her, nor he did he have anything to say really to her... for now; maybe later, one day, when his reflection would be more advanced, he would be capable of saying what was on his mind, but for now, he wasn't. The memories were too fresh and too associated with negatives feeling to make him really open toward her.

«Hi; what are you doing here? I don't remember having any important business with you recently...»

She looked at him, smiling; he was confused that she was in such good mood, but again, maybe a good reason to be such mood, reason he didn't need to know right now... or maybe he did, since it could affect him in way he didn't want to know. Maybe it was lawsuit, maybe it was some positives news; he just couldn't understand why she could tell him over the phone and why she had to come in person to tell him this news.

«But I have important business indeed; don't worry, this will make the situation between us much better, just like in the old days... Don't you remember? These days when were together? Don't you when to go back to this state?»

«Wouldn't it be utopic? The past is the past; there are things that happened between us that cannot be healed that easily and you know it; maybe, with time, we will be able to make peace together with these traumatic events, but for now, I think that we should walk your paths separately, until we will be able to move forward and heal these wounds»

She smiled at him, not even fazed by what he said; was she even listening to him? Or the plan she had in mind overcame any possibilities, including non-cooperation?

«Could you come outside? I need to tell you something important and I don't want to say it in front of everybody»

She pointed at the team working in the office in front; he couldn't why she didn't trust, for they were pretty much harmless, funny and witty sometime, but he supposed that some things were better said in some sort of privacy and not in front of everybody. After all, they could spread the rumour like wildfire and he could feel it for months...

He waited a moment; he didn't to follow her too close... there was something in him that kept telling him of keeping his distance, that he shouldn't approach her...He then followed her outside, but she was nowhere to be seen; seems like she decided to leave him waiting, maybe she tired of his decision to keep her waiting...

«Are you here? Did I make you mad? I'm sorry if I did, but you... ggaww...»

He was silenced by a rag that was forced on his face; by itself, a rag would not be a problem, but... the smell... it smelled like... chloromorph... He swore he heard her laugh before his conscience left him, but maybe it was due to the effect of the drug he just inhaled...

He dreamed of music, shadows and distances; the drug induced sleep he was in was not something pleasant, but at least it wasn't nightmare... yet. Dreams had this wonderful capacity to make everything possible happen, even though reality could sometime match them...

When he opened his eyes, he regretted the dream he was in; reality, as he thought, had a way to make itself an impressive competitor and it didn't fail this time to terrify him. In was in a room, but not any old room; this was his old room, where he used to sleep, dream and think about the future with his mate, before they had... that argument that set them apart, placing them on different paths.

He tried moving, but he could move neither his arms nor his legs; there were restrains holding him to the bed, made out of nylon. This wasn't the time to have any erotic fantasies, even though a part of him seemed to enjoy the situation; after all, the loss of control, the fact that anything could happen to him... there something exciting in this premise. But he knew that this wasn't a good time to be turned on; this wasn't a person he could really trust... anything could happen, from rape to something even more horrible.

The fact that plushies were staring at didn't help him. There were so many, from so many different species; he used to know some of them since some of them were present when he was still with his mate. But these a small minority; the rest were newcomers, fact that crept him out a bit; did she start collecting them after they separated, or did she simply got them out of her closet when he left? Maybe it was because he was tied down, but was almost like he could them judge him, follow his futile attempts to remove his strappings; there something disturbing about that fact, about them being judge and jury of his actions and struggling. His attention was too focused on fighting these paranoiac thoughts to hear the door open.

«Don't panic, nothing bad will happen to you; I had to ¨calm¨ you before bringing you here, so you would be more receptive»

He looked at her; he had to restrain himself from hurling insults to her, as he wanted to make sure that his situation wouldn't get worse. She didn't appear that stable to him, even though her discourse seemed rational and calm; did she lose her mind or was it part of much bigger plan? And if there was such a plan, why was he part of it? Was he just a pawn, destined to be moved toward a goal, or was the target? So many questions popped in his head, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to get the answer from her; the least he could try was to reassure himself...

«Where are we? Why am I here? What do you want with me?»

She looked at him and smiled, once again; he didn't like her expression, too serene, almost uncaring... As if there were no problems, as if what was happening right now was just a minor inconvenience that was just about to be resolved...

«I told you I want to make the situation between much better; of course I could have waited and waited, but the solution I found is much better for both of us. You will see and I'm sure you will agree with me. To find a solution, I had to resort to find a ground that resonated more positively with you, but I had to make some arrangement so it could somewhat neutral for me; after all, this is your place...»

He looked at her grab one of the plushies on the shelves; maybe she wanted to pass her message better by pretending that the plush was talking on her behalf, like when a nurse was talking to a sick child, to make him accept a painful or difficult treatment. Or maybe it because she thought he was too dumb to understand her and that she had to lower herself to make her message clearer...

It took him little time to recognize the plush in question; he usually didn't care much about plushies, but this one was a particular case since it a childhood memento, a keeper of his deepest secrets. A pink and white stuffed husky that he named Pinkmoon because of the little design it had on its legs and nears its paws. It was an adorable plush, one that accompagnied him throughout his childhood, but he wasn't a child anymore; sure, the memories were still present, but he to pass over them... he wondered what was the point of showing that plush and how did she get it?

«Did you take me away from work, strapped me on my own bed only to show me one of my old plush? You know, you could have showed it without drugging me...»

«Who said that this plush was only there to remind you of your past? Maybe it has a lot more uses, like making you into one of them»

He couldn't hold his laughter; he knew that she liked to dream, but this was beyond a simple daydream; like she could turn him into a plush... the possibilities were nil, even she wished, prayed or cried for it, he thought, not restraining himself.

«Oh come on, I know that when you were young, the message ¨If you believe in yourself, you can do anything¨ was strong, but this is ridiculous; you can't transform people into plushes, even if you desire it. You just can't.»

She stared at him, her smile weakened, almost forced; seemed like she didn't expect resistance from his side, nor did she expect him to mock her. Not that she expected things to be easy, but it seemed like she had a fragile ego in this case, for it couldn't support sarcasm...

«It's easy to critique someone, but it's the only thing you were able to do when we were together; but don't worry, I know you are scared, but this will not hurt you. There is things in life you can't always understand, but it doesn't mean that these thing can't be possible...»

She placed the plush on him, the lifeless eyes staring at him; if he wasn't tied up, he could find that moment cute, but this was getting really disturbing.

Especially when he heard her start reciting obscures words that seemed meaningless to him; was it in Latin? Was it in another language that was supposed to make sense only to those that were initiated to this particular form of expression? Maybe it was made up, a creation that was made only to scare him, but had no effect in real life what so ever.

That what he thought, but he admits she was really good at pretending she believed in this creation. Especially when she placed her hands on him, elevating her voice and chanting faster, as if the rhythm of the words was relevant to that ritual.

Or maybe he was wrong; there was a strange feeling that started coursing through him, from his spine to his feet. A strange warmth that didn't seem natural; what she was doing couldn't be the real reason, now could it be, he questioned himself, panic starting to cloud his mind once again.

He tried to move his arms, only to realise that he had no more feelings in them; he looked at his left arm, thinking that the nylon cut his circulation, but what he saw was beyond his comprehension. His arm was smaller, much smaller than a human arm; it seemed made out of the same material that plushes were made out of, except that it used to be his arm...

It was pink and white and bore the same design that his plush Pinkmoon harbored; was he being transformed into the same plush? How could that be possible? He didn't understand how, but by looking at what was happening to this other arm and his legs, it didn't take a genius to make links between that ritual and the plush that was placed on him, still staring him with his empty eyes.

He wanted to talk, but she placed a hand on his mouth, as she removed Pinkmoon from his chest; even though he wanted to yell, scream against her, it would serve no purpose, as the transformation was still advancing, claiming his body little by little, making him wonder if he would lose his mind and spirit to it. Would he disappear in some sort of eternal darkness? Would he still retain it? Or would he go insane from the transformation, unable to talk but tormented by his state by each passing moment?

Light left him, as his vision started to blur, a sign that the transformation was now affecting his head and face; he closed his eyes and tried to remember, maybe for the last time that he was someone, and not a plush...

Silence came; it was strange, not being able to feel anything; he couldn't smell nor touch, but strangely, he could still see and hear. He was even more surprised that his mind wasn't destroyed; seems like his mental equilibrium was strong enough to survive the transformation, but could it survive the passing of time as a stuffed animal? Reality wasn't the same anymore; he was just a toy now and he was sure that she had plans for him...

And he wasn't wrong on that part; he could still see her smile when she grabbed him and brought him outside of his own room, room that he wouldn't need anymore, unless there could be a way to reverse that ritual. But again, how could a plush be powerful enough to reverse some sort of curse? The transformation didn't give him any powers nor abilities; he couldn't move on his own, fact that would severely hinder any possible tentative.

He saw the car and didn't feel anything when she placed him gently on the passage seat while she turned on the engine. It was strange to watch the world as a plush, unable to interact, but able to see all and hear her talk about all sorts of things, from daily life struggles to reaction on traffic jams. He couldn't much of the outside world, thought, so he couldn't know if she was right or if she was exaggerating some of her complains.

«Here we are; your new home, from now on. Aren't you happy that we are not fighting anymore?»

He wanted to reply that he enjoyed his situation before, but since he couldn't talk anymore, all he could do is listen to her agreeing with herself, taking the conclusion that his silence was the proof that her intervention was a complete success to their problems.

«From now on, you will see that your life will be much better»

He couldn't see much, but he felt a small impact when she landed with him on her bed; there was something a little sad to the fact that this was the only way she found to have him back into her life, but as he thought, maybe it could work, in a long term relation. After all, nothing was stopping her from talking to him now and he could listen, but the problem was that he could reply; maybe, one day, he would find a way to reply...

«I have the feeling we will have a lot to talk about»

She hugged him; indeed he could get used to this...