FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

After breakfast we all headed round to the stables, which had a large penned up area for keeping wagons next to it. As we walked through the town I could see the true extent of the damage from the attack, several stone buildings were burnt out shells, some wooden buildings were now just hunks of burnt wood that littered the ground. The smell of death was still in the air, a group of furs were scrubbing blood from the ground and walls. Several wagons sat piled with bodies of the dead waiting to be buried, they could only dig so many graves in a day. Unlike the day we had arrived there was no sounds of cubs playing, no hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, the lives of these furs had been shattered and only sorrow and a deathly silence filled the void. It was then that I saw Travis, he was helping to move debris from one of the burnt out buildings, the large tiger that I had seen with the meerkat was with him. I felt a sense of relief knowing that he had survived.

As we approached the stables I saw that they had been badly damaged by the fire as well, half of the structure was blackened from where the fires had touched it and several dead bodies of the animals that had been housed there still littered the ground around it. I guess the bodies of the villagers were more important. Jason had said that some of the animals had escaped during the fire, some had been taken by various furs as they sped off to seek aid for the village. About half the animals which had been kept here died from the fires.

We walked round the back of the buildings to where the wagons were kept, several burnt out wagons lay near the stables, the fires had spread to them. Thankfully for us, our wagons had been placed further away and had been undamaged during the attack. I climbed up and looked inside to see that they had been untouched, no one had come and looted them, surprising considering most of the furs in the village had lost nearly everything.

"I had stocked up on supplies the day we got here." Eric said as he pulled himself onto the wagon. "I gave away some of our food, but we should still have enough to head East to the next village."

"Yeah, these folks are gonna need all the help they can to get back on their feet." Michael said. "I don't reckon this place will ever be quite the same."

"No... I don't suppose it will be." Eric agreed looking back towards the village with a sigh. A boar approached us while we were going over the wagons, I was the first to see him, Eric was the next one to notice him.

"Ah, Jacob!" Eric greeted the boar.

"Good day to you Eric." The boar replied with a gruff heavy voice. "Those Fooshnar* should be ready within the hour if you're ready for them."

"Excellent." Eric smiled, climbing down from the wagon. He walked over to Jacob and handed the boar a pouch of what I suspected was money. Jacob opened the pouch and suddenly had a look of shock.

"Eric... this is far too much!" the boar exclaimed.

"Please take it my friend. You did us a big favour in getting us those Fooshnar* at such short notice." Eric said with a smile, placing his paw on the boars shoulder.

"Even still..." Jacob tried to interject.

"Please, just take it my friend." Eric insisted. "If you feel you can't use it yourself then please give to some of the others who do need it. I leave it to your good judgement."

"You are too kind Eric, I will make sure everyone knows of your generosity." Jacob smiled, his voice full of emotion. "I will bring you the Fooshnar* as soon as I am able!" Jacob brought his fist to his chest and bowed in thanks, with that Jacob turned and hurried off.

"Just how much did you give him Eric?" Michael asked.

"Enough." Was all Eric said in response, a small smile on his beak. By the time we had readied the wagons for departure, Jacob had returned with some stable hands and three Fooshnar*. I had never seen one up close before, they were huge, about half the size of the wagons and looked like they were made of pure muscle. We had needed two Dandos* to pull each wagon, but just one of these creatures would be enough to pull a wagon. I ran my paw down the side of one of the massive beasts, admiring at just how everything about this creature radiated power.

The stable hands went over the new harnesses for the Fooshnar* with us so we could hitch them up ourselves, the process only slightly different from the ones with the Dandos*. Once we were hitched up, we climbed aboard the wagons while Eric said goodbye to Jacob. As nice as it had been to sleep in a real bed during our stay here, I have to say there was definitely a sense of home in these wagons.

We left the village, Cody drove the wagon while I stood atop it, just like I had arrived, reflecting on my time here. I had experienced so much here, I was not the same furson I was when I had arrived. I watched as the village began to disappear into the distance, and continued to stare even after I could no longer see it.

We travelled for hours into the day, stopping only when the sun began threatening to slip below the horizon. With practised ease, we set up the camp and got dinner under way. We had all been pretty silent all day, I guess we were all dealing with our experiences in Rengilar in our own way. We sat round a fire for a few hours, again in relative silence. As I stared into the fire I couldn't help but get flashes of the night of the attack, the bodies of the dead and dying, the fight I had with the wolf I would forever know as Dog-breath and how his life slipped from his eyes. But what was the most prominent in my mind was the experience when I lost control. Where had that come from? What was it? Was it something that exists within me and could rear its head again? One thing was certain, I didn't want it to make another appearance, I would need to become stronger to hold it in check.

"I'm going to head to bed." Eric said, breaking the silence and dragging me from my thoughts.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to turn in as well." Michael agreed. In the end we had all decided to turn in, the last few days had been pretty traumatic and tomorrow was a new day. I crawled into the wagon and Cody followed, we laid out our sleeping rolls, Cody laying his out right next to mine. We lay down and he snuggled up into me, I wrapped my arms round him and I felt him murr happily.

************

I opened my eyes to find that it was still dark and Cody sleeping soundly next to me. I decided I would try and sleep some more, but I heard some movement outside as someone was walking outside the wagon. I heard them begin to climb onto the wagon I was in, it was most likely Aceh wanting to restart my training. I heard them push through the flaps and I groaned.

"Please Aceh, it's not even dawn yet!" I muttered, but I got no response. I could hear him standing there, breathing heavily. "Aceh?" I muttered, opening my eyes and blinking away the bleariness of sleep. I couldn't believe it, standing there was Dog-breath himself... it couldn't be! His fur matted in blood as it poured from the wound in his neck, the bloodied knife in his hand as he stared down at me with glowing red eyes.

"You killed me!" He growled, "Now I'm going to return the favour!" He roared as he fell atop me. I grabbed his arms as I tried to stop the knife.

"Cody!" I cried, glancing to the side I saw Cody still sleeping soundly, not having been disturbed by our struggle. "Cody, please help!" I cried, my struggle against Dog-breath's attack proving futile. He had pinned one of my arms with his own and, despite my best attempts, I could not stop the blade from getting closer and closer to my throat. I glanced once more to Cody, in hope that he would awake and save me. As I looked I saw Cody's eyes open and glow the same horrifying red as Dog-breath's.

************

"AGGHH!!!" I screamed as I sat bolt upright. My breathing heavy and laboured as my eyes darted around, scanning the area. I took me a moment to realise that I was still in the wagon, and Dog-breath was nowhere to be seen.

"Malakye?" I jumped at the sound of Cody's voice. Once I looked and saw that his eyes were normal I began to relax. "Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Yes..." I muttered, wiping my brow and letting out a sigh of relief. "It was just a nightmare."

"You want to talk about it?" Cody asked sympathetically, but I just wanted to forget about it.

"No... let's just get some sleep."

"Okay then. Sweet dreams Malakye." Cody cooed before laying back down and back into a comfortable sleep with little effort. I just lay there and watched him. Why was I plagued with nightmares like I was? The dreams always change but they're always those eyes... I didn't want to think about it. I shut my eyes and just tried to slip back into sleep, silently praying to whatever guardian deity that would allow it, that the nightmares wouldn't return. I lay there, my eyes shut for Asurmen knows how long, but I couldn't fall asleep, that nightmare had shaken me; more than usual. I could tell Cody was having no problems sleeping, his breathing was slow and repetitive, almost hypnotic, I had tried to focus on that a few times hoping it would allow me to slip into sleep, but again I was unable to.

I heard movement outside the wagons, footsteps walking to the front. I felt my heart speed up and my eyes were wide open, watching the flap where Dog-breath had entered in my dream. I heard them climb up on to the wagon now, they were just on the other side of the flap, I felt my breath hitch and my heart pounding so hard I was expecting it to wake Cody from the noise it was making. The flap moved and as they entered the wagon, I couldn't move, I couldn't tear my eyes away... was I awake or was I dreaming again?

The figure entered fully and I felt myself relax, it was Aceh, his piercing blue slitted eyes staring down at me in the pre-dawn light that filtered in from behind him. I let out a loud sigh and enjoyed the feeling of breathing again.

"Get up, we train." Aceh said bluntly, not waiting for a response, obviously expecting me to follow his orders. Truthfully I was grateful, training would be a pleasant distraction from just laying here struggling to sleep. I carefully got up, so as not to wake Cody, and followed Aceh outside. When I got out he was standing a fair distance away from the wagons. When I was within a few feet of him he turned to me, his expression as stern and as serious as always.

"Morning." I said, a little jokingly. Aceh was not one for giving greetings.

Without warning though, he lashed out with a back-paw strike which I just narrowly managed dodge by stepping backwards. What the hell is he doing!? He followed up with left hook which I blocked, but the force of the blow sent me reeling back a few steps. I was going to shout at him but he didn't give me a chance, he was once again on the attack. He lashed out with a left and then a right, both of which I deflected but he followed up with another left hook, this one I back stepped and leaned back out of the way of. I kept forgetting how quick Aceh was, as he pulled his arm back into position he threw his other arm back using the movement to lash out with a round house kick, his hips and his leg aiming for my torso. I couldn't block it; I couldn't get into position fast enough. It was a split second decision, I threw myself backwards as I was already leaning back from dodging his hook and fell flat onto my back. As I fell I saw and felt his foot paw skim along my chest, I followed into a backward roll, careful to spread my wings as I landed on my back so as not to crush them, and rolled back onto my feet in a crouched position. Aceh had gracefully followed through with his kick and had spun full circle back into position. He glared at me for a few seconds before lowering his arms back into a relaxed position, I stood up straight, wary of him lashing out again.

"Good." Was all he said.

"What the hell was that for!" I yelled, "I only said 'morning'!"

"Test." He responded matter-of-factly.

"A test!?" I said disbelievingly. Aceh nodded his head with a grunt in confirmation.

"You move well, form is good. Good instincts." He said in praise.

"Well, thanks, I guess."

"You have learned Tiger Palm well, but it is not enough."

"What do you mean?"

"No good if you not able to attack. Defence is good but not enough." Aceh explained. Tiger Palm was a defensive technique, it blocks and deflects attacks to allow an opening to counter strike, but a skilled opponent would be able to overpower defence or not allow a counter strike to occur. I saw this each time Aceh and I would spar, each time I would find it harder to find an opportunity to counter strike and he would increasingly overpower my defence.

"What are you going to teach me then?"

"Tiger Palm."

"What?" I said confused. "I thought you said Tiger Palm wasn't enough?"

"Tiger Palm consists of two halves." He explained. "I have taught you 'Open Palm', now I will teach you 'Closed Palm'."

"Okay..." I said a little shocked. Aceh had never let on that Tiger Palm had two parts, I was going to assume that 'Closed Palm' was an offensive technique.

"Tiger Palm was developed by two brothers." Aceh began. "Both brothers came from famous clan and were competitive, the oldest was talented martial artist named Kronos, he created his own technique which made their father very proud. His younger brother, Jaras, was not happy with his brother getting his father's praise when he did not. He fought Kronos constantly and would always lose, but over time developed his own technique to beat his brother." Aceh continued, looking into the distance, the sun was now rising over the horizon and I felt the warmth of its rays as they washed over me.

"Both brothers became famous and their clan became more powerful, both were recognised as powerful warriors. The only ones being able to beat them were each other. However an issue sat before their father to name which one would succeed him as head of the clan." Aceh turned to look at me. "Whichever one was named would teach their technique to the rest of their clan and would be recognised as the most powerful. Their father knew that if he picked one over the other, he would lose the love of one of his sons, so he needed a test, one that would allow both his sons to prove which one deserved the title and not lose their love."

"What did he do!?" I asked, completely enraptured by the story.

"He had a third son, Machali, and got Kronos and Jaras to teach him their techniques. They would teach him for two years in both techniques and then test the two brothers against Machali. If either one were beaten by Machali, then they would not be head of the clan."

"Wow, that sounds brutal." I said.

"Always rivalry between tiger clans. To have a weak leader would be their downfall." Aceh explained.

"Yeah, but their younger brother was going to have it rough." I said, two years of harsh training to have a fight with his brothers. "What if Machali was unable to beat either of them?"

"Then he would train and fight them every month until he was strong enough to beat one of them." He explained. I could only feel for Machali, what a cruel task his father set before him, just so he would not lose the love of his sons. "So Kronos and Jaras taught their younger brother, and after the two years, he became a powerful fighter. But he was never able to come close to beating his brothers in their spars, and now he would fight them, both of them eager to prove who was the most powerful warrior. The time came and all tiger clan heads came to see which of the brothers would be named as next head of their clan."

"No pressure then." I said sarcastically, but Aceh continued on like I hadn't said anything.

"Jaras fought his brother first, the fight was long and brutal but in the end... he lost. He was beaten by Machali."

"No way!" I exclaimed.

"Next, Machali fought Kronos and he lost as well."

"How!? I thought you said that Machali couldn't come close to beating his brothers in spars?!"

"When training him, they only allowed him to use their technique and the technique their father had taught them as cubs, they would not allow him to use the other brother's technique against them. Their arrogance and rivalry would not allow it. In the fight, Machali was not as restricted and had practised by himself using both techniques, and combined the two into a new and more powerful one, Tiger Palm."

"So what happened next?"

"As both his sons had lost to Machali, he named Machali as the next clan head. Kronos and Jaras had no way to object to the ruling as they had both lost to him, and recognised his strength."

"That's almost like a fairy tale ending." I chuckled. "So what happened next?"

"Machali Amur lead his clan to new heights of greatness. He is my Grandfather."

"No way!" I said, I was amazed at the story of his grandfather, and equally amazed at the fact that Aceh had revealed something of himself. While it wasn't specifically about him, I now knew he came from a famous tiger clan and where he had gotten his fighting skills.

"Now, we shall begin." He said getting into a stance which I attempted to copy. I raised my paws so they were positioned on either side of my head and had my left foot paw forward and my right one a step back, facing sideways so it acted like a brace, and allowed me to keep my balance better.

"Lower your arms." Aceh said stepping forward and positioning my arms correctly. "Arms act like shield, protect head and chest. Closed fist is offensive, but importance is to protect yourself at all times." He explained stepping beside me and entering the same stance. "Basic strike," He said, demonstrating as a simple straight punch, his left followed by his right. "Always have guard up. One guard must be up at all times, even when attacking." He demonstrated again, his punches were rapid but it was clear that he didn't throw the second punch until the first arm was back in position. "Always guard, understand?" I nodded in response and began to practise. It took a while to get it right, I was tempted to throw the second punch before my other was back in the guard position, which Aceh would scold me for.

Eventually I got it and he got me to practise hooks and then the same round house kick he had attempted to hit me with earlier. The kick itself was easy, but the difficult part was that if the kick failed to connect, you must follow through so that you would spin full circle back into position. By doing this it allowed you to throw more force into the kick and still allow you to keep your balance and be battle ready. He got me to practise the kicks for well over an hour but I still hadn't gotten it quite right, but I had improved and Aceh seemed happy with my progress. At this point everyone else was starting to get up and make breakfast, shortly after Aceh ended my training session and we went over to help everyone.