FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Make note, this is a STORY BUILDER!!! I would also like to thank all of the furries who are leaving me comments; ALL are helping me make the future chapters better.

We are on our way home from Lillie's, a two hour drive in pitch black night... My breath fogs on the window as I drowsily watch the dark figures of trees pass... I hear my dad, his voice warm, commenting on how healthy Lillie's new baby looked... The vibrations of the car are soothing... I hear my mum agree with him; it isn't often that we get to see them; Lillie and Michael are always so busy with their jobs... I draw on the window; random lines... an occasional pair of lights flash as a car passes, we're on a country road... the wan light of the moon struggles to be seen behind passing clouds, lighting them up into beautiful pearlescent, puffy castles... I remember my mum laughing at a comment my dad made; I was too tired to hear what he had said... The back seat; so warm...

A flash! A screech! My eyes flew open... my dad and mum were screaming... a sudden, jarring halt and a sickening crunch... I lay on the back seat... I hear my mum crying and gasping... I push my head through the two front seats and look... and gasp... My father; impaled on a tree branch... blood pouring out of the wound; eyes glazed over... I cry out before looking to my mum... a massive wound to the side of her head... so much blood... so much blood...

***

"NOOOOO!" Mark cried out as he sat bolt upright; drenched in cold sweat and breathing heavily. He fought the urge to cry as the memory of his parents demise flashed through his mind. He found out the day later the fur responsible had been let off with light charges; apparently it wasn't his fault, it was the "stupid human" that wasn't looking where he wasn't going. There was no-one to testify against him as Mark was too traumatised to attend the session. They wouldn't have listened to him anyway; as a 16 year old human, he would have been ignored, such is the way nowadays.

He looked at the alarm clock: it was blaring 7:29 on its features. Mark groaned; it came flooding back to him what day it was: it was his first day at his new school. He got up, wiping his bleary eyes and smacked the stop button on the alarm as he anticipated it to go off. He stood up in his new room; Mr and Mrs Entrile were very kind. Mark was amazed that they held no discriminatory drop of blood in their veins; they were leopards after all. When his parents died, they offered to take him in. They knew his parents very well though he had never met them. They gave him the spare room, which was rather cosy and neat along with its own ensuite and wardrobe, they made sure he was alright during his recovery from the shock and gave him the old computer to work on. All in all; it was if he was their real son.

Mark stood in the centre of the small space and counted to ten slowly. Every two counts he either breathed in or out. He continued to count to ten at the same tempo, slowly moving through battle stances. After completing that, he added the strikes to the pattern. After 5 minutes, Mark had begun throwing kicks, elbow strikes and knee strikes before finishing with spear strike. Bowing; Mark picked up a towel from his closet and headed to the showers to wash off the newly accumulated sweat.

He wiped the steam off the mirror. A green eyed boy with golden-brown hair looked back. Mark dried himself off. He had a very lean figure; martial arts had toned his body well so he wasn't too muscled, yet he wasn't gangly. He fingered his eyebrow. A scar, running jaggedly from the top middle of his right eyelid to end at the hairline in the corner of his forehead was what he gained from the car crash; an almost microscopic compensation in comparison to the loss of his parents.

Coming out for breakfast, Mark sniffed the air and noticed that Mrs Entrile had cooked omelettes; he had a very strong sense of smell, as strong as that of a wolf he'd been told. The leopard smiled at him as he entered the kitchen.

"Good morning Mark, have a nice sleep?"

"You could say that." He mumbled and took his breakfast. He thanked her for the food and sat down to eat. Mr Entrile wasn't there; he had work today.

"I'm going to be driving you to school, you'll need to be ready in 40 mins." She said as Mark scoffed down his food.

"Alright." He made his way back to his room after he'd finished and put his plate in the sink.

***

"It's not easy being human." Thought Mark as he entered his new school. He ignored the surprised expressions and leers on the furs' faces as he walked past. "Heck, it not easy being a human in an anthro school either." Unfortunately, though Mr and Mrs Entrile were kind, they lived in an anthro area, most humans and furs don't mix so most humans live in small and sparsely scattered colonies. That meant that he had to go to the local school, rather than the human one that was an hour away. Mark himself had nothing against furs; but he knew he would soon tire of the discrimination against him. It all started years ago. Humans were on the top, there furs were simply animals. Somehow, an evolution erupted in almost every animal on earth; and the furs were created. Of course "man was made to inherit the earth" blah blah blah... which lead to war; and as the humans were grossly outnumbered: a terrible defeat. Now humans are simply disliked: a dying species. It is almost true as well: the number of humans were dwindling.

Keeping his face expressionless; Mark entered the glass double-doors to the office of Everfield Secondary. A mare was at the desk. Upon sighting him, she carefully teased her features into a smile, but Mark quickly noted the unease in her voice.

"May I help you?"

"Please. I'm supposed to be starting school here."

"Breathe Mark, breathe" he commanded himself. "Calm and cool."

The mare started slightly "sorry?" she said in disbelief. Checking her computer, her eyes widened. "Oh, here we are, Mark Beltire. Yes... well..." It became impossible to hide the quiver in her voice. "Year 10, Home group HL, Room 304, your timetable," She handed Mark the paper and retracted her hand as if she had been bitten, "there; have a nice day." Her tone was relieved, as if amazed she wasn't hurt.

"Thankyou." Mark sighed and gave her a sad, pained smile, letting his guard down for a moment to show he wasn't an emotionless killer.

The mare started again and something close to compassion glinted in her eye. "You're that poor kid from the car accident, aren't you?"

It was Mark's turn to jump. "You know about that?"

"On the grape vine. I'm sorry about what happened; and good luck on your first day."

Schooling his features into an expressionless gaze; he nodded.

"I most certainly will try..."

Consulting the map on the back of the timetable, Mark found his locker bay. Upon sight of him, the hustle and bustle of the bay paused. There was a fearful tension that hung in the air as he approached. Fortunately, the stillness of all the furs made it easy to spot an empty locker. Walking carefully � the chances of being tripped were more than just slight � he dodged the silent, watching bodies quickly and coolly and opened his new locker. Mark felt daggers in his back and sharp ears caught half-whispers. He knew all too well what was going through their minds: he sensed a fight was about to begin.

"Word certainly travels fast." He thought to himself. He sensed everyfur step aside to make way to three hulking masses. Three year 12's, he judges from the corner of his eye, approached him. They stopped three metres away. A wolf, a bear; and a jet black dragon.

To say he was surprised at the appearance of the dragon was almost an understatement; they were almost as rare a species as humans. Sworn enemies: the dragons were the main cause of the human's downfall and near-extinction; just as it was the other way around in medieval times. Some say it was the scarce dragons in hiding that brought about the ascension of the animals to furs. Thanks to the pitiful peace treaty; the dragons were forced to stop their actions, though it didn't stop their almost hereditary anger.

"And just what the hell do you think you are doing here, human?" The dragon said the word as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. Mark turned, facing the dragon.

"I am putting away my books." He stated calmly, and in a way that it was almost as if the dragon couldn't see the obvious.

"Is that so?" The three stepped forward slightly. A twitch in the dragons face showed Mark that he saw the veiled insult. All three were easily athletes of some kind; their muscles bulging beneath fur or scales.

"Breathe Mark..." his sensei's voice, or so, his father's voice came back to him. Mark readied his stance, shifting almost untraceably into a ready position and tensed: he was ready. The whispers through the other furs were fearful; they knew what happens when this particular fur gets a grudge: all hell breaks loose.

"Ryan!" Everyfur turned. A slightly smaller dragon, blue in colour and from the looks of the facial features: the black one's younger brother spoke up.

"Leave him be! He has done nothing to us!"

"Stay outta this Dean!" Roared the dragon now named Ryan. "This human will pay for what his ancestors did!"

Without losing his cool, Mark raised his hands into what couldn't be denied as a battle position. "Fine, come and get me!"

All three of the year 12's tried not to double over whilst laughing. A nervous laugh ran through the crowd. The bear bellowed.

"Stupid human, can you count? There's three of us and one puny you!"

"Well, as I could kick each of your asses individually at least three times, I guess the odds are even then huh?" Ignoring the blue dragon's horror at his taunt; Mark waited for them to charge. His father's training came back to him.

"Breathe in, out; every species has its weaknesses that can be exploited. Being what we are, we must defend ourselves. Are you ready?"

***

The bear was the first to lunge at him. As he did, all the info in Mark's brain set to work.

"Bear, ursine; tail. Hit it hard enough and he won't be able to sit down comfortably for an hour or so." He muttered under his breath.

As the bear came at him, Mark dodged and deftly kicked at the base of the bear's tail; sending the bear bellowing out in pain as the added force slammed him into Mark's locker. After a few seconds he staggered up, rubbing his tail to ease the pain.

The wolf was next.

"Wolf, lupine; Ears, feet or chin. Any of these will make him howl for the moon."

Mark ducked the charging wolf's punch and stuck his foot out; stamping on the wolf's paw smartly and sending him sprawling into the bear.

He was barely able to turn before a punch winded him. Instinctively, he dodged the next one but didn't notice the extended claw coming around. A collective gasp sounded from the otherwise silent crowd as a large gash formed along Mark's left cheek down to his collarbone. He retreated a safe distance to recover before looking at his opponent.

"Only a coward strikes his enemy when his back is turned. Face me, coward, and hit me."

"My pleasure." Ryan growled.

As the dragon lunged to attack, Mark shouted aloud. "Dragon; Wing joints, maw, tail-base and eyes!" Another gasp emanated: he had just named all of Ryan's weakest points. The black dragon faltered slightly, giving Mark exactly what he needed. Striking underneath the maw with an uppercut, he the grabbed the dragon's wrist and sent Ryan flying over his shoulder. The bear and wolf hastily got out of the way as the dragon collided with enough force into the locker to dent it slightly.

There was a shocked silence. All that could be heard was Mark's now rasping pants. All three of the strongest students in the school were in a heap because of a rather averagely built human. Mark stood in the centre of the circle, glaring at the three and trying to breathe. He hadn't realised how much blood he lost, however. A cry came in a familiar voice; the dragon named Dean had noticed his weakening stance and ever paling face. The sapphire blue dragon caught Mark on his way down. The last thing he saw were the bright blue eyes that showed concern and compassion in his eyes. The human drifted off with a smile of triumph on his face.

***

He heard voices, muffled but still noticeable to his sharp ears. He sensed the dragon, Dean on a chair across the room; dozing off gently. He was in a hospital; or so it smelled, and the muffled voices were outside the ward. Mark opened his eyes; it was dark, but there was still enough light to see. He sighed and slowly sat up, noticing the bandages covering the left side of his face and neck. "Must've had stitches." He thought to himself. He looked around; there was a coat on the chair beside him, Mrs Entriles he guessed, a card on his bedside table and a glass of water with a straw. Mark drank from the straw lightly; his throat was rather dry. Taking in too much, he accidentally coughed. Dean's eyes shot open and he immediately went to help.

"Are you alright? I'm so sorry for what my brother did. Does it hurt?" He was talking nervously, as if it was his fault that Mark was in bandages and not his brother's.

"I'm fine," Mark found it hard to speak for some reason. It came out small and softly. "Why do you worry for me; you should hate me like all the others of you kind." He said curiously.

"I'm sick of all these feuds and fights. I've had enough of the bad jokes and cruel sayings, and I definitely draw the line when it apparently gives someone the reason to give a human 11 stitches!"

"Oh, I didn't mean to offend." Dean's voice was shaking with anger, and his eyes were like blue flame. He calmed down.

"None taken, but I would like to apologize for my brother, and that of my family, they would almost look on today as though Ryan had done the right thing, and that you should be charged for the bruises he got, never mind your new scar."

"Heh, well thankyou, and apology accepted. I can't blame you're family for the years old prejudice they were brought up with."

Dean grinned. "Thankyou. You want to hang out sometime, maybe you could show me some of those moves you pulled on my brother. I'm never going to let up on him about this, beaten by his worst enemy, and within thirty seconds no less!"

Mark laughed which turned swiftly into a cough; his chest hurt. "Sure, as soon as I can get out of bed; looks like it's going to take me yet another week before I begin school."

"Alright then. Your um... foster mum would want to talk to you now that you're awake. I'll see you next week then hopefully."

"K. Bye."

The sapphire dragon walked out, notified the leopard and continued on his way out. Mrs Entrile came in. Fussing over Mark and making sure he was comfortable. "Oh Mark, I'm so glad you're awake! How do you feel?"

He smiled slightly. "I've been better."

The leopard chuckled slightly, "that's the way, and at least you've got your sense of humour back; that means it won't be long until you can come home. But please tell me because this is very important," her eyes were intent and her voice serious, "did you start the fight?"

"No," stated Mark firmly. "The three attacked me."

"Good, just making sure that you are blameless." Mark sighed.

"I don't think that will happen, Mrs Entrile."

"Oh, I'll see what I can do. You just get your rest."

"Okay. Night," now that it had been mentioned, He realised that he was in fact very tired.

"Night Mark." As he drifted off into a healing sleep, the leopard closed the door and made her way home to tell her husband the news.

***

Dean had been very nice to him. He had visited Mark almost every day during his week recovery; at the hospital or at home. At first Mr and Mrs Entrile were cautious, knowing all too well the prejudice as it had left Mark with yet another scar; but after hastily spoken apologies and proof that he wasn't cut from the same cloth as that of his brother, they began to accept him.

Dean was a boxer for the school team, and it showed; having almost no less muscle than his brother. He was rather big, and in the rather small house; it took a few goes before he could walk around the house without bumping something. He took it all in his stride though, having seemingly no ego or puffed up pride and apologised politely if he accidentally broke something. Mark and the sapphire blue dragon became close friends during that time and when Mark was able to be let out of the house on the day before school; they went and saw a movie and hung out at the shopping centre.

On Monday, Mark tried starting school again. This time, many of the furs treated him with a grudging respect or more fear than ever. The air was still tense around the lockers; but when he met up with Dean, everyfur seemed to calm down; if the dragon could make friends with him, so could everyone else. Whilst preparing his books, a paw tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around; it was making a beeline for his face. Quickly grabbing the wrist, he made to punch back, but found his own wrist locked. It was only then that he looked to the fur responsible.

A wolf. Brown furred with the most bizarre yet amazing black markings all over his body faced him. There was a grin on his muzzle, a friendly smile, and had eyes that were glinting with laughter. "Hi there, the name's Chris. I was wondering if we could spar sometime. You've shown well enough that you have skills."

Mark was surprised but only showed it slightly. "Sure, maybe sometime in the week."

"Sure, well, see you then." And with that; the wolf walked off. Grabbing his books, he quickly made his way to Dean and pointed the fur out before he disappeared in the crowd.

"Oh yes, he's the loner around here, doesn't talk to many people. He claims that all that black is real, but most think he dyes it. He isn't dangerous or mean or anything, but he is rather different in his own way."

They made their way to their classes and promised to meet up at lunch.

***

Class wasn't too bad, yet he could swear one of the teachers was picking on him. He met two other furs during the two periods; a rather kind fox who had recently moved here called Alex, and one of his friends, an otter called Murray. They helped him with a few things and offered to catch up sometime. Mark was amazed that there were more than two furs who were accepting of what he was.

At lunch, he met up with Dean, who in turn introduced him to Zack, a large tiger on the football team. Alex showed up out of nowhere and before he knew it; he had been accepted into a group of friends. He could sense something between the fox and the tiger; it was in the way they talked to each other, in their eyes, even how they moved. He realised that no-one else noticed this and decided to store it for later.

He was introduced to Jack, a rat that was afraid at first, then slowly calmed. Avery and Blair took a while to lower their guards; they didn't trust him, but relaxed after a while. Two weeks in, and Mark fitted in almost perfectly, all he needed was fur...

***

And thats the fifth chapter. Id like to give a BIG thankyou to Fenrir Wulfric who helped to get rid of as many mistakes as possible.