FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

He groaned as they pulled into the driveway. They lived beside a hill and their driveway was sloped downward even further. Good thing the garage was completely sealed from the outside, or the boxes and important papers they put there for storage would have been ruined. They would have to practically swim inside, he thought briefly as he opened the door and felt some of the cold water pour in over his feet.

He shivered as he stepped out of the car, the water a bit over his knees. He shut the door and hugged his tail to himself to keep it relatively dry through the hard rain that was still pouring over him. He waded over to the covered porch, which they had dug a ditch around, so it was relatively dry. He shook off slightly before walking in, his mom in the middle of making some obscure recipe.

He was never sure if it turned out right. It seemed as if what she makes would turn out bad even if she had some skill at cooking. On most days, he ended up cooking for himself and letting his father eat the barely edible 'food' his mom makes. But today, because he was in a bad mood, and because Alex was at least part of it, he decided he would make enough for two.

He put his stuff up and got clothes together, taking them into the bathroom. He stripped off the wet clothes, pulling his fur in every direction as he did so. He smoothed out his fur, looking back at the full length mirror screwed onto the back of the door. He turned around slowly, taking in the patterns on his fur and each and every scar that peeked through.

He hated the scars. The pendant still around his neck may have been one memento of his past, but it was not the only. The scars remained. He remembered all of them. Every story, every past torment. Brushed out, his fur covered all but a few of them, but wet and plastered everywhere, laying mostly flat, more showed through.

He sighed and sat on the edge of the tub, turning on the water and waiting for it to warm up. For someone who loved cold weather as much as he did, his parents found it weird he liked such scorching showers. He shrugged it off and muttered something about balance. That's what he supposed it was. Balance in everything.

He pulled the curtain across and pulled up on the plunger, gasping slightly at the sudden rush of cold water before it warmed up and he was able to relax under the steamy spray. He stood there for a while, just letting the water splash over him. Letting it wash away all the bad.

He looked up into it and closed his eyes, letting it wash away the sticky residue the school's soap left on his fur. He grabbed the shampoo and ran it up and down his body, gently soothing the scars and cleaning the dirt and grime of the day away. He payed more attention to his face and tail. Generally, it was only his tail he lathered up again and again, getting the colors to almost shine and making it softer than velvet. But because of the incident in science, he gave that same attention to his muzzle, chin, and ears.

He smiled again, remembering Vlad's kiss as he got out and the colder air kisses his wet fur. He loosely wrapped a towel around himself. He had time, and drying off when the bathroom was still full of steam would get him nowhere. Just replacing the water with sweat. So he sat on the side of the tub, reliving this afternoon in his head and fantasizing about what could happen in the future.

His thoughts are relatively tame, but it's still enough to make him blush slightly. He had a mate. Something he thought might not happen for a long time - years after this at least. And only one whom he already knew.

That was the trouble, for him. He couldn't do what the other furs did, driven by instinct. Or what the humans did, 'dating' for a month and right back to another. Not to mention the one night stands and cheating. No, he had to know them already. And he was always scared to make the first move. Always scared of rejection. Nobody, it seemed for a long time, would ever want to date their friend.

And maybe that's why he befriended the people he liked. It was safe. No worries. Just silently and secretly crushing on them with almost no hope of them ever liking him back. But there are always deviants. Always outlying factors. Statistically, he couldn't be the only one like this. Not even the only fur. So he waited. And with patience can you reap the greatest rewards.

He toweled off as best as he could, his fur still a bit damp, but manageable, he starts brushing it out. It actually helped relax him, but he knew most furs didn't bother with it unless they were doing something formally. So he brushed his fur, unmatting it and helping most of the trapped water into the air or down his legs onto the bath mat. After he did everything but his tail he got dressed and walked out. He put the brush in his pocket and went to put his wet, dirty clothes in the laundry.

He went to his room and locked the door. He stretched out on his bed and sighed, laying on his belly. He took a while in the shower, and he knew he was going to have to start cooking soon, or he might have been tempted to play around a bit. He smiled and pulled the back of his pants down a bit, freeing his tail. At least he could make his tail fluffy again.

He pulled out the brush and started pulling it through his tail, gently pulling at the knots and making the fur patterns again recognizable as what they were. He wondered it Vlad had any patterns like his. If he did, they weren't visible normally. But then again, neither were a few of his own. So he kept brushing hit tail out, making the designs fine and almost crystalline in their detail. As he finished, he hugged it to himself.

Sure, it messed up the fur a bit, but it was soft and comforting to do, so he snuggled into it. He pulled his pants back up and tucked his tail through the crudely cut hole. They really need to make pants for furs, he decided as he walked out of his room to make dinner. His stomach growled at the pungent smell of whatever his mother had made, and that assured him of the fact that he was ravenous.

He walked behind his mother, ignoring his stomach and rifled through the fridge. He looked around, going through everything a few times before giving up on anything fancy and settled on a couple of burgers. He grabbed two pounds of beef from the fridge and seasoned it, mixing it up and forming the patties. He grabbed out the hotplate and put the burgers on. He generally stayed away from stuff like that. The grease that spit up didn't hurt much, but it messed up his fur.

So he tried his best to stay away from the hotplate when he didn't need to tend to them or flip them. He made it through without incident, though. He turned the hotplate off and waited for it to cool down, sputtering out grease on the counter. He moved them over to a paper plate and called his dad in to get some. He grabbed two and put them on buns before sitting down, his tail instinctively curling around out of the way and into his lap.

He happily ate his fill and then went back to his room. He quickly got done with his homework and settled into bed, thinking of the day's events. He absently combed through his fur with his fingers, wondering what Vlad was up to right now. Alex was rather surprised to find he couldn't imagine the dragon's life outside of school. Who was he, really? What was his story? His past?

He lingered on those thoughts a while before putting them aside; as one might do to a book. It was better not to linger on anything that could bring back bad memories. Or give his imagination more nightmare fuel.

His mind briefly flashed back to the dragon's eyes. How every once in a while something would show through. Why couldn't the fox read him? But then his mind went quiet and he was able to relax, thinking of anything and generally everything for fleeting moments without focusing on anything in particular.

He curled up, hugging his tail to his chest as he thought of what might happen tomorrow. So much could change in just a day. Just the last few was more than proof enough it could happen. He drifted off to sleep, hugging his tail, wishing it was the dragon who had been so kind to him. What would happen tomorrow? Well, the only way to find that out was to wait.

He woke up before his alarm went off and got a quick shower, hurriedly brushing his fur out and putting on his clothes before heading out to catch his bus. The bus ride there was uneventful. Most people just slept through it, so he had time to relax, smoothing out his fur and making himself look his best.

He got off and headed to the pillar. He was the first one there again, but he didn't mind. He sat down and leaned his back against it, waiting for the others to show up. Jenna seemed to pop out of nowhere, pouncing on him. "Hai, Alex." He pushed her off of him. "Hey." She pouted slightly "Why does everybody take so long to get here?" He shrugged and settled back against the pillar again. "Busses? Car troubles? Sleeping in? Stuff happens."

He watched her sit down and then scanned the crowds of people. Not all of them were humans, but most happened to be. He didn't see or sense any of the group besides Jenna, so he just did what he was best at. He watched. Listened. A silent observer of what seemed like a whole different world.

Eventually, as other busses came in, or they got here by other means, the rest of the group started to trickle in. Alex smiled at all of them, nodding to acknowledge them. When Vlad came, he actually found a real smile on his face and waved at him, controlling himself. Always control. Always balance. Don't panic.

Vlad sat down next to him and he nuzzled slightly into him. He didn't think any of the others saw, but so what if they did. It's not like it was a secret anymore. One less thing he didn't have to hide. He closed his eyes and leaned back, enjoying the presence of his few friends. And of course, more than the rest, Vlad.

He pulled out his music player and put in the buds, suddenly drowning out everybody. Music was a gateway. A passage into a totally different reality. It truly transcended everything else and made the fox seem that much more infringed from society. Silently watching, judging, feeling. 'They're so happy... A bit of drama and sadness here and their, but none of them have really experienced life yet'. ...So naïve.

But he cleared this thought away, locking it up. 'Judge people from where they stand, not from where you stand. They can't understand you, maybe you can't fully understand them.' He closed his eyes and listened, imagining a perfect world. Where nobody would hurt him. Nobody would bully or abuse him. Nobody would silence him.

He felt Vlad nudging him, so he opened his eyes and looked over. In the half-second it took to pan his head over to the dragon, he saw what was going on. Everyone was dispersing, going to class. The bell had rung and his music had drowned it out. He pulled out his earbuds and smiled at Vlad, putting his player back in his pocket and grabbing his stuff. He hugged him and kissed his neck lightly before running off himself, his tail waving behind him.

He got into History and sat in the back like usual. He tried to control his smile, but even if he was able to do that (which he wasn't), his tail thumping lightly against the wall gave his emotions away. Always the hardest thing to control.

He read the board and his tail faltered for a bit before continuing to wag happily. Today we were learning about the enslavement of the furs. Oh, joy! But not even that and his racist teacher could get to him right now.

And there she was. Crouched over her desk, typing away even after the bell rang. 'Less time I have to deal with her,' Alex thought. But eventually she stood at her podium in front of the class. She looked rather ridiculous when she did so. She was short and squat. She had to use a step ladder to get up enough just so she could see the students over the top of the podium.

She cleared her throat and Alex rolled his eyes. "The beasts," she said much louder than she should of, "were encroaching on human land. Instead of trying to stop them, instead we let them. At first it was out of generosity. Letting them hunt or poach. But then they got more greedy. Tried to take the land as their own, expanding. So we let them in further, even to the very core of our civilization. In chains. They were becoming too dangerous to be let alone.

"It was nice for a while. Having a slave. They were still slaves when I was a little girl. We even bred them sometimes. When somebody ordered a special mixed breed or tried to create a slave with traits perfect for their new job or environment. They were unique and colorful. Sometimes merely used for aesthetic purpose. But they were now in their place. They wanted in the land and we let them. But even though they were fed and clothed - for free, I might add - they still wanted more. So they started to revolt."

Here she broke off. A perfect time for another view, so the fox spoke up. "Humans had been slowly draining the furs land of resources for generations before. The land we had been forced onto and set as 'ours' was all but barren and overcrowded. So we started fighting between ourselves when times were at its toughest."

Here she tried to cut him off, but he kept talking over her. "Furs were wrongly enslaved and anyone who put up a fight was killed. They took kids from their homes and threatened them to get parents to submit and be put in chains. Even if that wasn't enough. The women were raped or forced into sex to cross breed or just for human entertainment. They were underfed, overworked, and beaten almost constantly. So they started to revolt."

All eyes were on him, and he started to get nervous. He wouldn't show it, would act as if he was some brave hero for standing up to the teacher. "Excuse me. Who is the teacher here?"

He grinned. "A teacher is merely one who teaches. Everyone in this class could be considered a teacher. You tell them one side of the story. I told them the other. Everything has two sides. Balance is needed for everything."

" I am the teacher. I teach my class. And_you_ listen."

"I'm listening very closely. History is written by the victors. But who won the Great War? Why is a whole two decades of recent history skipped over?" She got down off her pedestal and stormed over to her desk. At first, Alex thought she gave up. But she pulled out a discipline slip and filled it out, sending him on his way.

It wasn't too big a deal. They could be argued. Overturned by most any administrator. So he went up to the office, hiding the referral and asked to see the assistant principle. The clerk didn't argue, she didn't even look up from her desk, just pointed down a hall, so Alex went past the swinging barricade and walked down to a rather cramped office, knocking on the door.

"Come in." The voice was gruff, and if you didn't know him, you would be intimidated by his voice alone. To say nothing of the retired linebacker's huge frame. "How can I help you.?"

He had been thinking, as with his one other visit here, how that rather small chair could support him, but he brought his attention back to the matter at hand. "I was unjustly given a referral in Mrs. Bellos's class. I want to get it cleared away."

"Bellos... Can I see the referral?" The fox handed it to him. "'Obscenely interrupting class with fabricated information and being severely obstreperous.' What is this? Is this supposed to make her look smarter?" Alex kept quiet while the AP searched through a dictionary.

"Two O words... Obscenely... Offensive to accepted standards of decency or modesty; repulsive; disgusting. Oh, that's nice. Obst-obstreperous. Who made this word? Hmm... noisily, clamorously, rowdily, or stubbornly defiant or aggressive. So you rudely interrupted class with fake information and were noisy and stubborn?" He looked at Alex as he said this, making sure there was no way this could have not been directed towards him,

"She was teaching about slavery. I just put in the information she 'forgot' to mention. I didn't make up anything. And as soon as I said everything I kept quiet."

"And then she gave you a referral?" He nodded quickly. "I'll look into this. But for now, especially with Mrs. Bellos's reputation, you can stay in the office until the end of the class period and then you can go to break and continue with the rest of the day."

"Okay. Thank you." He retreated out of the AP's office and sat down in the main office, taking off his backpack and setting it beside him. He waited there, idly running his fingers through his fur more out of boredom than any need to smoothen or straighten it. It seemed like forever, but eventually, the bell rang and he left the office. The receptionist still hadn't looked up once and he thought about how bad she must be at her job as he headed out towards the pillar.

Even with the office's relative proximity to the pillar, he wasn't the first one there. Jamie and Jenna were already there. And Miyuki was just ahead of him. Jamie's face was really red, and he failed to be nonchalant about it, but Alex figured now wasn't the right time to tease him. He smiled and waved at them. They waved back. Luka was still not talking to him, but other than that, it seemed as if most everything was going back to normal.

Vlad showed up a few minutes later and sat down across from Alex. He seemed guarded, and the fox was worried for a minute that he had done something wrong, but Vlad smiled at him and he relaxed again. A mate could change your life, that he knew already. He hoped Vlad was a change for the better.

He loosely followed the conversation, adding his own opinions to seem as if he was interested while his mind was elsewhere. A few more minutes led to the end of the brief break and he started to his next class. Masonry was boring. There was no actual work. Nothing to do but sit and listen to the monotonous lectures of the instructor about the theories behind the profession and its historical background.

He could probably sleep through the class without anyone noticing. Half the kids already did. But if they happened to get their first test soon, it would probably be a good idea to listen. "...Masonry boasts an impressive compressive strength but is much lower in tensile strength unless reinforced. The tensile strength of masonry walls can be strengthened by thickening the wall, or by building masonry piers at intervals. Of course, you have to remember that where practical, steel reinforcements can be added.

"Masonry walls have an endothermic effect of its hydrates, as in chemically bound water, as well as unbound moisture from the concrete block, as well as the poured concrete if the hollow cores inside the blocks are filled. Masonry buildings can also be built to increase safety by reducing fire damage, such as the use of fire cuts during construction."

Ugh... So boring. So the fox tuned him out. His mind wandered to many things, thinking over everything, but didn't settle on any one thing long enough to actually solve any problems. But it was time to relax. Well, as much as possible.

He almost fell asleep with the boring lecture in the background, but he was pulled out of his daze when the bell rang. So he quickly packed up his stuff and headed out for lunch. Even trying to get out of the class and to the lunch room before the crowds came was fruitless, and when he got there the lines were all already full. Alexos groaned and quickly got behind everybody before even more people came.

When he finally got out of line with his food he was surprised to find that he was almost the last one to the pillar. Somebody had written messages and graffiti with chalk on the pavement all around the pillar and had made a circle surrounding it with an arrow just outside pointing towards it labeled 'freaks'. He shrugged and kept going. It should be washed away by morning. He squeezed in beside Vlad and smiled at him.

After eating his daily dose of what the school called 'food', he relaxed, listening to an argument between Jamie and Luka about which of two games were better. He had only heard of one of them before, and hadn't even played that one, but it seemed as if Luka was losing the argument. This game has this feature, but this game has this one. The graphics are better in one game, but it has no real story. The unlockables are better in the other game. And so it went, back and forth.

But eventually Jamie seemed to win and made a big deal of the fact that he won. It was a bit annoying, but he wasn't in-your0face about it, so it was easy to ignore it. Luka pouted for a bit, and then they were all buddy-buddy again. Jamie was trying nonchalantly to flirt with Jenna, but it was very obvious to everybody, it seemed, but her. It was almost painful, seeing him keep trying and falling on his face, and if I made a mental note to find out if she was ignoring him or plainly didn't see it.

Trent was sitting there, oddly quiet for now, and the fox went to check it out. He got up to throw away his trash and on his way back he sat down next to Trent and tried to start up a conversation. "Hey." Trent jumped like his tail had been yanked. He looked around nervously before he smiled back at me.

"Sorry about that. Hey. What's up?"

The fox shrugged. "Nothing much. One boring class after another. What's up with you?"

"My parents have been on my case about my grades more than usual. I think something might of got to them." Trent's parents were human. Or, his adoptive parents were. His parents had died in a fire at their home when the mouse was still a small child. His parents were humans who actually cared about the furs and their condition in life.

They couldn't have any kids of their own so they adopted two of them. His brother, a husky who was abandoned at 11, was a senior, but they all but pretended each other didn't exist a school. Trent was always nervous and jittery, he says it's from being in one foster home after the other before he found the Altons. Whatever the reason, he seemed quiet and reserved for a few days and in contrast to his usual excitable nature, it seemed to be cause for concern.

"Your parents love you. They're not going to suddenly hate furs one day. If your grades are good, don't worry. If they aren't ask somebody for help. Simple as that. Ask your brother. He should have taken all of them."

"Have you met my brother?"

Well, a few peeks in the hallway, but not many words. "A few times. Seems smart enough." Honors classes and varsity soccer. He looked good, to say the least. Eye candy with a girlfriend. Oh well. I had a better guy, anyway.

"He's evil. And you should see him at home..." Alex tuned him out, nodding occasionally when it seemed appropriate. When Trent finally got down off his soapbox, he made his reply. "He's still your brother. Ask him for some help. Or ask the teachers if you're having trouble."

And with that, he went back to his spot beside Vlad. He caught the end of a conversation between him and Miyuki. "...We should call you ruffles." And saw her grinning widely and Vlad facepawing at the comment.

"Do I want to know?"

"No!" Vlad said at the same time that Miyuki said "Yes." Vlad elbowed her and glared, so she stuck out her tongue at him and kept quiet.

You have such weird friends....Coming from the guy who talks to himself more regularly than anybody else. But at least they didn't shun him. He shrugged, smiling over at Vlad. "And now I want to know what you guys were talking about."

Vlad shot him a glare that could cut, but he laughed it off and nuzzled into the dragon. "Lighten up. I'm kidding. ...kinda."

Vlad wrapped his arm around the fox, and his tail started wagging. He looked up and saw Vlad's eyes tracing it back and forth. He giggled at the sight, but then blushed and looked away. Damn white fur. Always showed everything. He just tried to relax against Vlad, smiling absently as he listened to everyone and watched the crowds migrate toward the buildings as lunch was coming to an end.

He pulled away from Vlad, getting up and purposefully swishing my tail against him. "Oops, sorry hun." A few of them other members of the pack looked at him oddly, but they shrugged it off, mentally if not physically and followed suit as he started to pack up. He leaned against the pole, not wanting to sit back down for the whole minute he had left.

As the bell rang, everybody started to scramble off to class at different paces, and he stayed and waited for Vlad to be ready. Their classes were almost right next to each other and he liked to walk beside the dragon. He looked over and Vlad grinned at him and extended a hand to help him up. He rolled his eyes and hefted the dragon up. He was hugged tightly, but nobody was really around to see it. And since nobody was really around, he hugged him back and smiled as he kissed him.

It was amazing. It still had that electric feeling, but it was more than that. There was a fine line between kissing somebody and being kissed. Just feeling Vlad relax and press against him, he felt amazing. He pulled away as he heard the minute bell ring, smiling at Vlad again. There was even a blush visible on his cheeks. He stepped away awkwardly and motioned to the building their class was in.

They had to run to get to class, but he made it, and he was sure Vlad got there too. If not, one tardy wouldn't hurt. It was weird, he thought as he walked back to his desk, tail waving rapidly behind him. He had kissed a few people, guys and girls. Not many, but a few. And none of the others felt like this. So wonderful. Made him feel so remarkably happy.

And Vlad wasn't a bad one. Wasn't evil. He was nice. And it seemed as if he cared about him. Now his tail stopped wagging. He started to doubt himself. Did he deserve somebody like Vlad? Somebody who could make him happy. Maybe he was supposed to make somebody else happy. He tried to push that thought away. If it had to happen, he would deal with it when it came. So long as Vlad was happy, he was fine.

He never expected to have another mate anytime soon anyway. But he hoped with all of his being that they could be together. He forced himself to put away all the bad thoughts. All the doubts. All the negativity. That wasn't something to linger on. They were happy. Whatever tomorrow would bring, they would face it together.

When the bell rang, he grabbed his bag and left. He had been daydreaming and hadn't even pulled anything out of it, so all he had to do was grab it and go. He wasn't in a real rush to get to english, but some classes he couldn't wait to get out of. This was one of them.

He got to his next class just before Vlad and they sat and talked until the bell rang. Just yesterday he was scared of seeing the dragon again and now it was amazing to even be near him. His eyes, the way his tail curled, the bottom of the accents on his shoulders that showed below his sleeves. He wondered again if there were more other than on his shoulders. Where they would be. What they might look like. But the bell made him look to the front of class and stop glancing out of the corner of his eye at Vlad.

"And today we will learn about the different types of essays, how to write them, and how they will be scored. The first is the narrative essay, or telling a story. In a narrative essay, the writer tells a story about a real-life experience. While telling a story may sound easy to do, the narrative essay challenges students to think and write about themselves. When writing a narrative essay, writers should try to involve the reader by making the story as vivid as possible. Narrative essays are usually written in the first person to help engage the reader. "I" sentences give readers a feeling of being part of the story. A well-crafted narrative essay will also build towards drawing a conclusion or making a personal statement.

"The second is the descriptive essay. A descriptive essay paints a picture with words. A writer might describe a person, place, object, or even memory of special significance. The descriptive essay struggles to communicate a deeper meaning through the description. In a descriptive essay, the writer should show, not tell, through the use of colorful words and sensory details. The best descriptive essays appeal to the reader's emotions.

"The third is the expository essay. The expository essay is an informative piece of writing that presents a balanced analysis of a topic. In an expository essay, the writer explains or defines a topic; using facts, statistics, and examples. This type of essay is written in the third person.

"And finally there is the p ersuasive essay. You have to convince somebody of something. While like an expository essay it presents the facts, the goal of the persuasive essay is to convince the reader to accept the writer's point of view. The writer must build a case using facts, as well as examples, expert opinion, and reasoning. The writer should present all sides of the argument, but choose one side and show why it is the correct one. We will be working on Narrative essays today."

And so we did. Oddly, for essays, we worked in groups. But there were some teachers I suppose who use groups for everything. Less papers to grade. Less people to keep track of. It was weird, almost as if she was asking us to give a memoir. "Find something you both have in common and write about that story." So after a bit of an awkward conversation, and a mental note that after a while I would have to get him to open up more, we set upon writing the best fake memoir/story we could think of.

It was nice, and a bit silly. But it was fun. That is, until we had to present it to the class. But we still got an 'A', even with a few skeptical looks.