FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"You're bat shit crazy you know that?" the question rang out from the small headset resting on the rocks mere inches from my head. "Mike? You there buddy?" the questions continued, the voice sounding distant as everything slowly faded into darkness.

"Your time is not now" a masculine voice with a serpentine hiss comments calmly as I lose consciousness.

"Ugh... my head" I complain as I curl up into a ball, winching in pain and holding my head between my hands.

"You are lucky to be alive, human. Now tell me, what brings you here? Given your climbing equipment and lack of body armor I doubt you knew I inhabit this mountain. So what is it you search for?" the same masculine voice asks, the sound catching my attention. I slowly uncurl and look around, finding nothing but darkness.

"W-who are you? Where am I? What happened? How long have I been out?" I ask in confusion, noting the musty smell in the humid air, the sound of water trickling down a wall somewhere in the distance.

"So I take it you don't remember anything of how you came to be here?"

"Should I remember?"

"No, no I guess not... Allow me to introduce myself, again"

"Again?"

"Yes, again. My name is Saleri. Now tell me, what brings you here?"

"I... I don't even know where I am. The last thing I remember is packing a backpack for something... and an explosion. I remember something exploding, and then darkness. Now im here.. speaking of which where is here? And why is it so dark in here?" I groan and slowly sit up, looking around in the darkness trying to discern any one thing from another.

"Here... Here is my home" with those words a small fire lit in a hole in the wall, barely casting any light. But slowly the fire spread through channels in the walls and ceiling, and eventually ruts in the floor covered by glass. The flame filled the cave with a warm yellow light, illuminating a dragon.

A dragon? An actual dragon? Sitting here in front of me... and I'm in his home. Or is it her? How did I even get here..... Uh oh. Am I ever going to leave here? "S-saleri?"

"That is my name. And yes you will eventually leave this cave, but not until I can trust you" the dark pink dragon comments. "And yes, I know. I'm not what you typically expect to see in a dragon. Don't say anything about it and we should get along just fine"

"With all due respect I have no clue what to expect from a dragon. You're the first one I've ever met... and sadly enough these aren't the worst circumstances under which ive met someone..."

"I fail to see how my saving your life qualifies for poor circumstances" Saleri replies quickly.

"It doesn't. The fact that I needed you to save my life does"

"Ah... well about that. We both might not make it out of this alive" Saleri comments coldly.

I'm going to die here... at the hands of the creature I have so long sought out. What kind of sick cruel joke is this? "w-what do you mean?" I ask fearfully.

"You remember that explosion?"

"Yes sir"

"Well that was an attempt against my life"

"What?"

"The explosion was a bomb dropped by a fighter jet. You see, a few years ago a human disappeared in these mountains. Last year, someone else saw me land on a ledge in these mountains and went to the authorities. A few months ago aircraft began to fly through the valley between the peaks, searching for me. Well one found me. And ever since they have been throwing bombs at me" Saleri says with a sigh.

"So how does that affect my chances of getting back home... wherever that may be?" I ask confused.

"Turn around. You see that pile of rubble?" Saleri asks in exasperation.

"... It's blocking the exit isn't it?"

"Exactly. They dropped a second bomb as I dragged you into my cave. You're lucky you didn't get crushed by one of the rocks..." Saleri glances at the floor as he speaks. I follow his gaze to find a blood trail marking the floor. I instinctively look down to check myself for any open wounds but find nothing. I then look up at Saleri and notice his left arm is bleeding profusely.

"M-may I come closer?" I ask tentatively, slowly dragging myself to my feet.

"There really isn't much I can do to stop you is there?"

I pause for a minute to consider what Saleri just said before responding. "No, I guess there isn't. But if you don't want me to I won't"

"Is there really any point in pushing each other away? We are both stuck in here together, and this very well may be a grave for both of us. Why rest alone?"

"That is a fair but morbid point" I comment dryly as I slowly approach Saleri, kneeling before the dragon to inspect the wound.

"You should worry about your own injuries before tending to mine"

"Whatever wounds I may have are beyond my ability to treat. But this, I can help" I reply as I remove my backpack and search through it. Eventually finding what I am looking for, I pull out a bandage and a silver flask. "This might just hurt like hell"

"Don't even think about it" Saleri snaps as he yanks his arm away from me.

"You saved my life for a reason. I don't know what that reason is, and I may never know. But I refuse to allow an infection that I can already see starting end yours. If you want to make it out of here alive you will have to bear with it. I'm sorry but it's how it is. Besides, a mighty creature such as yourself shouldn't be brought down by something so pathetic as an infection"

"..... Make it fast" Saleri says reluctantly as he slowly extends his arm to me.

"I'll make it hurt as little as possible" I say tenderly as I sit down, pulling his arm into my lap. I open the flask and hold it over the wound with one hand and hold Saleri's paw with the other as I pour some of the spirits over the still bleeding cut. Saleri tenses up instantly and lets out a whimper as the cold fluid flows over the wound. I pat the gash dry before wrapping his arm with the bandage. "Was it really that bad?"

"Just how many times have you done that to yourself?" Saleri says, spitting the words like acid.

"Enough to know it's one of the worst pain's I've ever felt" I say tenderly as I gently rub his arm.

"Then why the hell do you try to make it seem like what you just did didn't feel like the fire of hell is burning in my arm?"

"Because taking your mind off of it distracts you from the pain... so how are we going to get out of here?"

"We can always try to clear out the rubble" Saleri comments sarcastically

"So what you're saying is you don't have a clue how we are going to get out of this alive"

"Exactly"

"Is there more to the cave? A hoard? A pile of junk? A bookshelf with trinkets on it? Anything at all?"

"There is a pick axe in one of the side rooms somewhere. It is an abandoned mine this cave"

"That helps a lot. Have you ever explored deeper within the mine?"

"No. why?"

"It's a mine. There is another exit somewhere" I say happily. "It might need a little bit of digging, but there's another exit around here somewhere. Just got to find it is all"

"You really think so?" Saleri asks, genuinely curious.

"I'm positive. Le... you look exhausted" I lean closer to Saleri and lay a hand on his shoulder. "How long have you been awake?"

"I've been watching over you for the past four days, hoping you would come to"

"Why do you care so much?" I ask as I hug the dragon.

"You're the first person to come into these mountains in over fifty years that hasn't tried to kill me at first sight... I.. I get lonely. I heard you scream when the bomb went off and I wanted to help you.. But I fear I may have sealed your fate in this stone tomb that is my home"

"Words cannot express how that makes me feel. Come on, you need rest before we try to get out of here. If the military really wants you dead they will still be around when we find the other exit, and we are going to have to run for it" I get up and walk over to the pile of blankets by the wall and re arrange them before sitting down and patting my lap.

"If you insist, I won't deny it" Saleri says as he pads over and lays down, pulling me into a hug as he curls up on his bed and quickly passes out. I wander in thought as I lay next to the sleeping dragon, trying desperately to remember how I came to be here.