FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Patience was not one of Nathan's strong suits, as he had been quickly finding out. A breeze blew through the bushes, rustling the leaves. With his golden fur, he was ill suited towards blending in the coniferous forest, the brown trunks and detritus far from the Savanah grasslands it was made for. It was a stroke of luck that he had found a dying bush with golden leaves to hide in. For the past hour and a half, he had laid in wait, motionless, waiting for Adala to pass by. He had already seen her walk by several times, each time drawing closer to him. It was maddening how much he wanted to give chase whenever he saw her.

The crackling of dead branches made him freeze. On cue, Adala emerged between a pair of trees. Waiting for the prime moment, he coiled his muscles, readying himself if she moved closer. Moments passed as she drew nearer. The closer she got, however, the slower she moved, eventually slowing to crawl.

The seconds ground to a standstill as she stopped, slightly further than he wanted her to be, standing calmly as she looked around, nose twitching. Her eyes eventually settled in his direction, not even moving to blink. The way she stood, her gaze unmoving made the fur on the back of his neck stand on end.

The silence sat over the two before Adala spoke, unslinging her bow and holding it in her hand. "You know I'm looking at you, right?"

Snarling, Nate lunged forwards, leaping through the air in an attempt to pounce on her. Without hesitation, she slid her grip downwards on the bow, swinging it in a swift arc and striking the side of his head. The impact stunned him, sending him sliding across the ground. Blinking to clear the spots from his vision, he barely caught a glimpse of Adala running away. Still determined to make the best of this encounter, he clumsily scrambled to his feet, giving chase.

Like the other times he had tried to catch her, it was a futile effort. For the first moments of the chase, he managed to make huge gains on her, sometimes even catching a tuft of fur in his fingers. His speed was quickly cut short though, the burning of his muscles forcing him to slow down, his lungs heaving for oxygen. Still he tried, but she always seemed to be able to run that extra minute needed for her to escape. It didn't help that she ran low to the ground, using both her arms and legs to propel her.

Eventually, like every other time, he gave up, falling to his knees, wheezing and fanning himself. It boggled himself how easily his body gave up, when every time he started he was actually faster than Adala for a split second. Dizziness slowly set in, as had come to expect, and he flopped over onto his side, rolling onto his back and starting up at the sky.

The sun's brilliance sparkled through the dense branches of the canopy, sending little motes of light flitting across his body. How many hours did he have left before sundown? Four hours? Three? And then she would be gone, headed home in his car, leaving him to fend for himself on the walk home. And then there was his opponent, Adala's friend. With how angry she was, Nate figured there was a good chance Adala would simply let herself get caught, if only to aggravate him.

It took several full minutes before he managed to bring his breathing back under control. Yet even with all his energy back, he made no attempt to move. It was bound to repeat itself: Nate ambushes Adala, misses, and loses her. He needed a better plan, but he could think of none.

HIs thinking was cut short as the sharp crack of a branch breaking above shot through the forest. Before he had the chance to think, lightning shot through his body, deeply ingrained instincts coming alive. Suddenly the world became more vibrant and alive around him, from the green leaves above to the chirp of the birds in the distance. He flipped upright, standing in a fighting stance, claws bared as his ears twitched erratically, listening for whoever approached. Knowing his luck, it would simply be Adala, come to gloat over his lack of skills.

"Easy friend. I'm just here to talk." A female called to him, her voice emanating from above him.

Nate gaze snapped upwards towards the source. Perched on a branch was another lycanthrope, almost a mirror image of him. Her fur was golden yellow, with black spots in a denser pattern than his. Her build was more muscular than his, comparable to a martial artist, and she stood with unwavering balance. Emerald green eyes regarded him with curiosity as she balanced atop the limb without any difficulty.

Relaxing, he tilted his head, eyebrows raised. "I take it you're my competition?"

"I am." She chirped cheerily, hopping down from the tree, landing without even a whisper. "Faith LeBlanc." Extending her hand, the slightest trace of a French accent in her voice was evident as she introduced herself.

"Nathan Laithe. Just Nate is fine." He answered, shaking her hand. "You're sure you want to be so friendly with the competition?"

"No offence Nate, but you're not much for competition." Faith countered with a sigh. "You are definitely not what Adala had me expecting. You're loud and clumsy and all over that place."

Nodding and kicking around the dead pine needles a little, he could find no reason to disagree with her. "Well what else do you expect putting a guy who knows next to nothing into the wilderness and expect him to track down someone who knows a lot more than he does?"

"I agree. It's pretty one-sided as far as I can see."

"Frankly I'm tempted just to give up and start walking home at this rate." Gazing around, Nate surveyed the forest. "That is, if I can actually figure out where home is."

Faith pursed her lips, turning to point behind her. "Well, if you do lose, I'll give you a ride home. My car is in that direction."

"Thanks. It'll probably end up with me losing anyways. You're definitely better than me at tracking."

"Yeah, about that, I have a proposition." She placed her hands on her hips, giving an encouraging smile. "How about we work together?"

He raised an eyebrow, the look on Faith's face tickling Nate's curiosity. "What do you mean work together?"

"We try to catch Adala together, and I teach you how to track and move like a proper lycan. What do you say?"

The sides of Nate's mouth curled up a little at the slight glimmer of hope Faith had given him. "I'm in. Nothing else to lose."

"Awesome." Faith slapped her hands down on his shoulders. "First of all, you're doing everything wrong."

"Wrong? What did I do wrong? I found a nice spot I could blend in, I stayed still, stayed quiet, waited until she got close and pounced, what's wrong with that?"

"What you did wrong was wait for too long." Releasing him, she knelt down to draw a simple map in the dirt. "Adala came by at least five times before you pounced. She doesn't repeat her path whenever she's being followed. She knew you were there."

"And she was teasing me. Fuck." Nate hissed in response.

Faith raised an eyebrow at his reaction. "A little pissed at her?"

"More than a little. Just teach me how to take her down and let me do the rest."

"Alright then. Just follow my lead."

***

It took hours before Nathan finally had a firm grasp of the basics. Or more accurately, he was able to final run using his arms as well as his legs. Though he hated how crude it felt, he couldn't dispute how much faster it made him. Add to that his new found ability to climb trees as if they were nothing, and his enhanced sense of space and balance, and he hoped he stood a chance.

The plan was simple: Faith would find Adala and drive her towards him, and he would pounce from his perch on the tree and hopefully catch her. But as simple as it may have seemed, it all still hinged on him. And so he waited, perched upon the branch, claws sunk firmly into the bark for extra traction, listening for the sound of chase.

The sign came sooner than expected, the sound of breaking branches and rustling leaves, reaching him, sending a jolt of lightning through his body. Muscles tensed, ears perked, fur stood on end, and eyes scanned the ground below. The rustling of bushes in the distance caught his eye instantly as two blurs bolted out of the foliage. Faith was hot on the tail of Adala, fingers brushing the long fur of her tail as she desperately tried to stay ahead. Crouching down, Nate readied himself, steadying his breathing and honing his focus. As planned, Faith broke off, dashing out of sight, leaving a clear path to Adala.

The seconds it took for Adala to run into his trap felt like minutes, but it was nowhere near as long as when he pounced. In that moment, everything in his body seemed to click together. Energy unlike nothing he had felt before surged through his limbs, launching him forwards, the wind flowing over his body, eyes wide and bright, ears locked forwards, claws outstretched, all driven by a single, unbelievably strong impulse in his mind: chase.

His first pounce would have caught her if she hadn't moved at the last moment. He landed, not with a thud, but with barely a whisper, eyes locking with hers. The two stared at each other for a split second, Adala's eyes wide, not out of anger or spite or fear, but with a startled realization that the tables had now turned. Unlike before, she made no attempt to strike him, instead instantly turning to run. Without rising up, Nate lunged forwards, claws finding purchase in the soft earth.

Everything about his body felt new in this moment, and yet strangely familiar. The powerful strokes of his legs, the heave of his massive lungs were new, and yet not new. Effortlessly accelerating much faster than Adala did, he flowed forwards, closing the distance between the two before she had a chance to fully turn around. He leaped into the air, arms outstretched, seizing her shoulders and knocking her to the ground. Unprepared for the sudden weight of Nate coming down upon her, she stumbled, bow and quiver tossed aside, falling to her back on the ground with him atop of her.

Pinned beneath him, Adala made no attempt to escape, their faces only inches apart, breath washing over each other's face. A full minute passed before she spoke, the stunned expression on her face never leaving. "Oh.... Okay... That was impressive."

Panting heavily, Nate nodded, speaking breathlessly. "Yeah, yeah it was incredible. I've never felt that before."

Adala shook her head. "I think you have. Your first night turned."

"I..." Nate's voice trailed off as he recalled the night. As much as he wanted to forget that night, she was right. The freedom from all of his human shackles he felt in those short moment was both euphoric and liberating, and it filled him with the sense he could do anything.

A grin tugged at the edges of Adala's mouth. "We should probably move before Faith starts making dirty jokes about you trying to screw me."

"Probably a good idea." He said with a quiet snort, as he stood up, offering a hand to her.

"You seem to be a little less angry with me."

"Because you're learning, and you're actually one of the quicker learners I've known."

"I had some help."

As if on cue, the branches above creaked, drawing their eyes upwards towards Faith, perched upon a limb. She waved, smiling even brighter than before. "I said catch her, not grind her into the ground, but that's close enough. And plus, Adala hasn't had a good guy go down on her in a long time."

"Wha-buh-I..." Adala's blush was bright, visible from even under her thick fur. She stuttered several more times before she shook her head to set her thoughts straight. "Never mind that, you helped him?"

"Yeah. Why not?" Faith replied plainly, her head tilted slightly.

"Because he was supposed to learn for himself, not get hand fed the answers from you!"

"Hey!" Nate snapped at her, the fur on the back of his neck standing on end. "You just dropped me in the middle of nowhere and expected me to learn all this with nowhere to start!?"

"Oh, and now you're not so high and mighty now aren't you?" Adala hissed back, her anger returning. "Quick learner my ass."

"Adala, come on." Faith rebuked, hopping down from her brank. "Nate's right. You didn't give him enough to go off of."

Reigning in her temper, she gave an irritated whine. "I needed to teach him a lesson! He was being a fucking know it all."

"I know fuck-all about you guys! For all I know-" Nate yowled at her before Faith silenced him.

"Shush, both of you. You're both right and wrong, alright? Adala, you should have given Nate a chance to learn the basics. Nate, you were being a bit of an ass to Adala." She lowered her hands, having raised them to stop their argument. "I think you both have had enough of each other for today. Adala, give him his keys, we're all going home to cool down."

Begrudgingly, Adala inverted her quiver, dumping his keys on the ground before spinning on her heels and leaving with a huff. Faith, lips pursed at her friend's reaction, picked up the keys and tossed it over to Nate. "I'll give Adala a ride home. You drive safe Nathan."

***

Rolling into the parkade of his apartment building, Nathan glanced up at the rear view mirror. Over the drive back, he had recalled how he changed back while meditating, and hoped that it would work a second time. It had, to a point. His canines were still elongated, while his fingernails were replaced with sharp, feline claws, something that Daryl spotted almost immediately.

"Feeling catty dude?" He quipped with a smug smirk.

"Yeah, and you're starting to look more and more like a chew toy." Nate countered with a chuckle.

"Hey, if a little chewing from a lycan will get Adala looking my way..."

Daryl's raised an eyebrow and smirk drew a laugh from Nate. "Hah, fat chance. But a warning, she's a moody bitch."

"I hope you mean bitch as in female dog."

"Nope. Her roommate's got a better attitude though."

Daryl turned around in the couch with a raised eyebrow. "Really now? She has a roommate?"

"Yep, complete polar opposite of her."

"Huh. Maybe I should become a lycan. You seem to be getting the lion's share of the ladies' attention lately."

Laughing off Daryl's reply, Nate retired to his room, tossing his backpack into the corner and flopping backwards onto his bed. He brought his hand up into his field of vision, examining his claws and recalling how easily he had turned back. Maybe with luck... He closed his eyes, willing himself to turn over into his lycan form. Furrowing his brows with concentration, he snapped his eyes open only to find nothing had happened. In fact, it seemed to do the complete opposite, reverting his claws back into fingernails. "Ah, fuck it." He mumbled idly, reaching for his cell phone. The messages were as he expected, calls from his coworkers asking where he had disappeared to, including several from his manager. He cast it aside on his nightstand, sighing in frustration. While Adala's antics didn't quite cost him a job, they did cost him the good will of his superiors, which would undoubtedly make getting new exhibits approved much harder. The more he thought about her, the more irritated he became, to the point of where he felt the first stirrings of his lycanthropy emerging. While he was glad he was turning, the way it was brought about was not how he wanted it to happen. Pulling his clothes off, he turned fully, rolling onto his belly and staring out the open window into the pitch black city, rumbling with irritation.

His thoughts, thankfully, were interrupted by the rattle of his phone vibrating across the nightstand. Not recognizing the number, he hit the answer button. "Hello?"

"Better be careful about who sees you change. I can see you right now."

Squinting out the window, he recognized the voice. "Faith? That you?"

"Yep. Look left and up a little."

Adjusting his gaze, he finally found her, silhouetted in the light of an apartment porch, the flick of her tail revealing her lycan form as she leaned forwards on the railing. "You know you're sounding like a stalker."

"Should have worded that better, huh?" She chuckled.

"Can't complain if someone like you is stalking me. So what's up?"

"I dunno, just calling to see if you got home okay." She took a seat as the light behind her lowered.

"Took a bit of getting used to driving as a lycan, but I got a handle on it. How's Adala, she still angry?"

The sigh from Faith told him everything. "Still fuming. She's a lot better a person than you think, just sees red a little too easily."

"I noticed."

"Yeah, well wait until tomorrow. She loves celestial cycle celebrations, so she'll be a lot nicer there."

"What is the celestial cycle anyways? Some kind of religious thing?"

"Sort of. It's a lycan belief that everyone is born under a constellation. We believe that it plays a part in who we become and where we go with life."

"I don't believe in superstitious stuff like that."

By the tone of Faith's voice, Nathan could only assume she had eyebrows raised. "Well I believe in it, so does Adala. I was born under the constellation of the Sunflower."

"And that means?"

"A whole bunch of stuff, but the general jist is that it's a good sign for me."

"And Adala?"

"She's got an odd one. It's the-"

Faith was cut off as Adala moved in behind her, pulling the cell out of her hand to talk. "Sorry, Faith's gonna watch a movie now." Her snappy statement was followed by the beep of call being cut.

Nathan growled, casting his cell phone aside on the bed and watching Faith being pulled inside by Adala. While he didn't like to think the worst of people, Adala was quickly working her way up his list of the most hated. It made him think: what would be worse? Staying a lycan and keeping Adala off his back, or trying to keep his human life, and possibly having Adala pester him to turn back.