FSE

Furry search engine

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"Geez, can you slow down?" Shang whimpered to Grazar. "I'm getting airsick."

"Slowing down is not in my vocabulary, mutt," Grazar replied. "So, you better not throw up on my scales!"

Shang whimpered and I saw him hold his paw up to his mouth.

"N-No promises..."

I just sighed and shook my head. We've been flying in the air what seemed like half the day. The sun was already setting and we weren't even near Hawktown yet. I was honestly bored out of my mind. There wasn't much I could do on a dragon's back. I didn't even have a magazine on me to read or at least a book to read. I would even read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. There wasn't much to say. I have a sunset to my left and an airsick wolf to my right. How wonderful was this moment?

Grazar turned his head to look back at me.

"You're pretty quiet back there, Guil," he said. "Are you doing okay?"

I looked at him and nodded slowly.

"I'm just fine."

"You're not fooling me, Guil. You're bored, aren't you?"

Shang looked at me, and then he looked at Grazar.

"How could you tell he was bored?" Shang asked him.

"Pup, I've known Guil since he was a baby. He has that certain look on his face and he would not say a word for no more than a few hours. In this case, I wouldn't blame him. We're nearly at our destination and I know there's not much to do."

"Wow, you really do know Guil, huh?"

Grazar nodded.

"I have been around a long time. I was even around when his great-great grandfather was growing up. I must say, he has some...interesting ancestry."

This really got my attention.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him.

"Well, how should I put this? You are aware that you can easily turn into a wolf and a dragon, correct? Well...your ancestors... They were many different breeds. For example, one I remember was a wingless dragon."

"A wingless dragon? You mean he was born without wings?"

"Not necessarily. He was part of a group and he disobeyed the rules, so he had his wings removed...by having them cut off."

Shang and I gasped and the pup had a disgusted look on his face.

"Now, I'm really about to be sick!" Shang yelped out.

"What a cruel and unusual punishment," was my comment to what Grazar said.

"Maybe," Grazar continued on, "but he was still a good dragon. After him...er, the whole thing gets a little anomalous. He marries a wolf and they have a hybrid child. That hybrid marries a coyote and their hybrid marries a fox. Then, that fox comes across a panther and that panther meets a human."

This was bewildering me. What on Earth was wrong with my ancestors? Why were there so many hybrids during this timeline? I know there's love at first sight, but this is a bit too much. You have a dragon and a wolf that make a dragon/wolf hybrid, and then you have that hybrid with a coyote. Then, their child meets a fox and their offspring meets a panther and that child meets a human. This was really making my head spin and that proves that I've came from a very jacked-up family.

"This is making my head hurt," Shang whined out.

"Don't think about it too hard, fellas," Grazar chuckled out. "It's best not to think about past things and focus more on what you do have and look forward to the future."

He did have a point there. The whole 8 years of my life I've done nothing but worry and fret over things. A lot of this was enough to scar a child for life; make something in his mind just snap and he might go mentally insane. I hope no child would have to endure what I went through. I was held prisoner in a Masked Eagles fortress...and I was 5! What kid ends up in jail? That is mind blowing to the next level. But, I managed to pull through year after year. I even recovered from my amnesia despite having a building fall on me.

"I'll take your word for it, Grazar," I said to him.

"I am glad." He was quiet for a moment then he looked at me again. "That reminds me: You're 13 now, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Heh, the little runt is finally a teenager. Soon, you'll be on your way to adulthood... You're growing up so fast."

I gave him a weird look.

"You're not getting sentimental on me, are you?"

This little remark made Grazar laugh.

"No, it's nothing like that. You're just reminding me of your father. He'll be very proud."

I smiled. I do wonder what my parents were like when they were my age. I'll have to ask him later.

"Just take us home, you big lizard," I chuckled at him.

"Can do!" He then started to pick up more speed.

A half hour passed and the sun had nearly set. Finally, we arrived at Hawktown. I was home... I was finally home.

"I-Is this Hawktown?" I said a little shaky as I climbed off of Grazar's back.

"This is Hawkton, Guil," Grazar said as he smiled warmly at me. "Welcome home."

I slowly walked into the village that was still my home. I couldn't help but walk around. A lot had changed when I was still smaller. Some of the houses that I knew were...bigger. There were more people living here and it looked much busier than before. For instance, we now have a movie theater and amusement parks. There was even a little park outside the village. The village had...flourished overtime. It was really a sight to behold. The Masked Eagles invaded and burned down some of it and now look at it.

"Guil, I didn't think your home was this cool!" Shang yipped out.

"Me neither," I said to myself. I was really taken back by all of this. That's when I saw a familiar group eating at a table at an indoor/outdoor restaurant. I walked a little bit closer to the group to get a better look. That's when it hit me: It was my family.

I was hesitant...but I do not know why I was. There, in front of me, was my brothers and sister. Why was I afraid of going over there and just say hello? This wasn't like me to be scared of something so petty.

I felt something push me from behind. I looked back and saw that Grazar nudged me forward.

"Go on, Guil," he said. "Go to them."

I looked down and sighed. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. There was no reason to freak out. I can do this. I took a step forward...then another one. In a matter of seconds, I was walking toward them. They were busy conversing with each other that they did not see me come over. I finally got up to their table and I didn't say anything at first. After a few moments, I cleared my throat and I looked at them.

"Er, h-hello?" I said in a raspy voice. It was quiet but it was enough for them to hear me. They stopped their commotion and all three of them looked at me. They were shocked to see me as I was shocked to see them.

"G-Guil?! I-Is that really you?!" Galena cried out as she got up out of her chair and rushed over to me. Next thing I knew, her arms were wrapped around me in a heart-warming hug. "Oh my, God! You're here! You're really here!! We've been looking everywhere for you!"

I blinked and looked at her, then at Varin and Gull.

"You all...have been looking for me?"

"Of course, little bro," Varin said to me, giving me that same goofy smile he always give me. He comes over and joins Galena in the hugging. "Why wouldn't we want to look for you?"

"You are our little brother and part of our family," Gull said as he too came over and joined the group hug. "We love you, Guil and we're really happy that you're alright."

Wow... They really did miss me, but... A little portion of me still does not believe them. I don't know why but I will not make a big deal of it. I was home and I was reunited with my family.

"Geez, look how big you've grown," Galena said as they all stopped hugging me and she looked me over. I'll admit, I didn't have much of nice attire. I was wearing some clothes that I had gotten from Dragon City. I was wearing a blue T-Shirt with some black shorts. I was even lucky enough to get my hands on a pair of red and white sneakers. I still had my sword on me and I was even carrying a pistol around that I got from The Masked Eagles' fortress when I broke out.

"Well... I suppose I have gotten a bit bigger," I replied to her. Not that they were much to look at, either. Galena had changed her hairstyle since I last saw her. She pretty much had an emo-like hairstyle with her hair covering her right eye and she had some dark eyeliner and black lipstick. It was sending chills down my spine as she looked creepy as hell. She wore a black shirt that looked similar to a dress and she wore some blue jeans with a hole by her knees. She even wore some black sneakers along with that getup. I could've sworn I threw up in my mouth a little bit. Where on Earth did she get this outfit from and how can my brothers approve of this? Her fingernails were even black. Let me stop talking about this before I get completely sick.

Varin had a haircut as well. His hair still looked like Goku's, but it was shorter now. Maybe it looked like Cloud's from Final Fantasy, but I'm just calling it as I see it. He was also growing a little mustache and his beard was slightly forming. I always wanted to have a beard and mustache. He wore a red shirt that had a black skull with snakes slithering in and out of the two eye sockets and blue jean shorts. He was also wearing some brown boots that looked a little bit like Timberlands, but I couldn't really tell. I guess he was still trying to find his own style as well.

Then, there was Gull. Not much to say about him. He was still a dragon and not much is different about him. I guess I say he's gotten a little larger. He was still a white dragon with a yellow underbelly and blue eyes. I can tell just by looking at him that he's still a bookworm of a dragon. He always smiled that same smile when I was born and when I was growing up.

It was good to see them again and I still love them with all my heart, but... I still wasn't convinced that they put their time and effort looking for me. The only person I feel that was looking for me was Grazar. I will still keep it to myself until it is time to bring it up.

Varin looked at me and then he noticed the gun that I had.

"Dude, where'd you get that pistol?" he asked me in a surprised tone.

I looked at the gun and then back at him.

"Took it off some jerks back at the Masked Eagles' fortress," I replied to him. "I figured it would come in handy. I only use it when I really need to, though. I mostly have been using my sword."

"You sure you know how to handle those things?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty good around my sword and my gun."

Varin chuckled and leans his hand out to rub my head.

"Heh, I believe you, little brother."

I nodded slowly and I felt something nudge my leg. I looked down and I saw Shang brushing up against me and he let out a small whimper. This called Varin, Galena, and Gull to jump back a little bit.

"Where did he come from?" Galena exclaimed in total surprise.

I couldn't help but laugh at their reaction.

"Relax guys," I said to them. "This is my new friend, Shang. Shang, these are my brothers and sister, Varin, Galena, and Gull."

Varin, Gull, and Galena slowly waved at him and gave awkward smiles.

"It's nice to meet you guys!" I heard Shang say, but the strangest thing happened. Varin and Galena looked at each other and then they looked at me.

"What's wrong, guys?" I asked them.

"Um, are you okay, little brother?" Varin asked me. "You've been gone a long time and I think you might be going nuts."

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"Can you really understand what Shang is saying?" Galena asked me. "Because, all we did was hear him bark at us."

"Quite common for you two," Gull told them. "Grazar and I can understand him because we were naturally born to. You two are only humans and don't possess the ability to speak to feral animals."

"Then, how in the heck can Guil talk to him, then?" Varin asked him.

I was really confused. They couldn't understand Shang? Here it is right here, talking like a person. Wait a minute. I remember the same scenario...when I was rescued. I couldn't understand the wolves that rescued me. They gave me something...what was it? It was a seed... What did they call it? Oh yeah, now I remember.

"Do you know what a Wolf Seed is?" I stated to them. This made Shang's ears perk up and look at me. Varin and Galena looked at each other in confusion and just shrugged their shoulders. Gull had a serious look on his face.

"I do," he said. "They grow in the forest near here. Is that what you had?"

I nodded. "Yes, I was fed this seed by the wolves that had saved me. It allowed me to communicate with feral animals."

"A Wolf Seed?" Varin questioned as he rubbed his head. "Is that what it's seriously called? That's a little cliché if you ask me."

"Everything sounds cliché to you, Varin," Galena retorted. "If it'll help us talk with animals, then I want one." She leaned back down and rubbed Shang's head. "I wanna know what this cute, little guy is saying."

I saw Shang make the silliest face ever. Either from being petted on the head, or he was being attracted to my sister. His tail was wagging like crazy and this made me hold my head.

"I think you have a fan now," I said as I still had my hand up to my head.

All Galena did was giggle and continued petting his head.

"Oh, Guil, don't be jealous. If you want your head rubbed too, you can ask me."

She did not just go there.

"Sure, just like you probably still like having your toes tickled with a pillow feather."

She gasped and glared at me, her face completely red from embarrassment.

"I can't believe you just said that. I-I don't like it anymore. I-It's not as much fun as I thought anymore."

I rolled my eyes and smirked at her.

"Sure, it's not." I just so happen to look down at the ground and seen a bird feather. It looked like it was from a seagull. I leaned down and picked it up. I decided to tease her a little bit more. "Oh Galena, look what I just found."

"I-It's just a feather. So what?"

"So, you say you don't like it anymore? Well, why don't I see for myself?" I began to walk closer to her. I saw him gasp and scramble behind Gull, who started to laugh. Varin joined in the laugh.

"I-It's not funny! Stop laughing at me!"

I just smiled at all three of them. They were still the same siblings I grew up with and it was good finally getting Galena back for torturing me one time. She bought me a stuffed animal of a dragon and she would always hide it from me. It would always take me 3-4 hours to find it. It would be under the couch, on top of the refrigerator, or in a cabinet. Getting revenge felt really good.

I heard Grazar approaching from behind and he held his paw out. He was holding two Wolf Seeds.

"You got them the Wolf Seeds?" I asked him. "When'd you go find them?"

"I snuck off while Shang was acting like a total moron," he replied. That remark made Shang bark at him.

Varin and Galena smiled and they each took one and it didn't take them long to eat the seed. After a few seconds, they made disgusted faces and almost spat up the seed.

"Ugh, gross!" Varin yelled out. "It's so bitter!"

"Is it supposed to taste like this?!" Galena yelled out as well. "It tastes so stale!"

Grazar chuckled at the both of them.

"We didn't say it'll taste good," he said.

Galena shook her head and then she looked back at Shang.

"Shang, can you understand me?" she asked him as she sounded like a distorted robot. Shang just tilted his head at her.

"Yes, but why are you sounding like that?" Shang said to her. This response made her smile and she hugged him very tightly. He yelped and squirmed around trying to get out of her hugging. "Too tight...c-can't breathe!"

"Oops, sorry." She let go of him and he fell over on the ground, gasping for air. "I got a little too excited there."

"If this is how excited you get, I'd hate to see how pissed off you may get." Shang managed to recover and stand back up. He started rubbing his neck and he looks at her. "Well, all hugs aside, Guil told me that you are a wonderful cook, before he was taken away."

This compliment made Galena blush and she looked away a little bit.

"Well... I did learn from our mother. I wanted to be just like her when I got older. What brought that on?"

"I want to know what a grilled cheese sandwich tastes like! I've been dying to know!" Shang started to wag his tail and started bouncing around in excitement. Oh no, not again...

"He's not dying," I chimed in. "He just wouldn't stop bouncing around like a beach ball and drooling on the ground and rubbing his stomach."

"Oh, come on, Guil," Shang barked at me. "Don't stand there and tell me that YOU haven't had the same process if you were thinking about a certain type of food that you would really want to taste."

I chuckled and shook my head at him. "Nope, no food comes to my mind that makes me act like whatever you're doing."

"Oh really? Not even crab legs dipped in melted butter?"

Dammit, why did he have to say that? Even though I did want to try that, I maintained my posture and looked at him.

"A curious substance, yes, but that's not the point, you knucklehead."

Shang stuck his tongue out and giggled to himself.

"Well, I'd be more than happy to make us all dinner," Galena said in a cheerful manner. "It's been way too long since we've all been together as a family and we need those times again."

"I'm with Galena," Varin said licking his lips. "I could eat."

"When can you not?" Gull snorted at him. "You still owe me a hotdog after you ate mine that I was saving until tonight."

"Oh please. You weren't going to eat it so why are you complaining?"

"I'm complaining because you're going to make me change my mood to human stew."

Varin jumped and gasped. "You wouldn't!"

Gull just grinned at him and bared his teeth. Varin started backing away from him as he was freaking out.

"You have a sick sense of humor, Gull! You know that?! You're worse than Galena sometimes!"

I folded my arms and smiled a little.

"Hey," I called to them. "Are we going to eat or what?"

"Heh, since when are you a hungry boy?" Galena said as we all started to make our way to our new house. It was only a couple of minutes away. When we finally got there, it was bigger than I had thought. The bricks on the outside were a dark brown and the roof was a dark red. There was a huge porch that even a dragon could stand on. It looked like it was 20 feet in the air and there was a ladder installed. Varin, Galena, and I climbed up the ladder while Gull and Grazar flew up ahead while Grazar was carrying Shang. It didn't seem that long for us to climb up and reach the top. Once we got up there, the door was, of course, dragon-size. Galena did the honors and opened up the door. We walked in what looked like the Foyer. There was a round red and yellow carpet in the center of the room with a nice looking chandelier above up. The floor looked like it was marble and the wallpaper in the room was what seemed like a cream color. There were two sets of stairs that went up to the second floor where I saw four doors with two extra doors on the side.

I walked around a little bit in amazement and Shang did the same thing.

"This... This is incredible!" I said to them. "How in the world did this happen? All of this must've been worth a fortune."

"You're telling us," Varin said as he folded his arms. "It took a few years of hard work and getting job after jobs, but we managed to rebuild our house and make it even better."

"This house is just so awesome!" Shang yipped out as he stared up at the light from the chandelier.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," I said to Shang and he smiled at me.

"You all still want to eat, right?" Galena smiled as she turned to the left. "The dining room is this way and beyond that is the kitchen."

We then started to make our way to the dining room. There was a long table in the center of it that reminded me of the mess hall at the Masked Eagles' fortress. The table had a red cloth over it with a couple of candles on it and there was another chandelier on the ceiling. The tables weren't that tall but they could suffice. I wasn't that tall anyway. I was only 13. Man, we were really living fancy now. It's unnecessary, but I'm just thankful we still had a house to live in after the invasion 8 years ago. The wallpaper in this room was a plain brown, nothing really special about them.

Everybody took a seat and a few minutes later, Galena came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with some plates on it. She set a plate down in front of Gull and he smiled. I guess he ordered some sort of chicken. I couldn't tell because it was covered in ranch dressing. Varin got his plate next and he had a stuffed turkey I guess. Was he really planning on eating the whole thing? What a pig. Grazar got his plate and I had no idea that Galena would go that far to roast an ox leg. I just shook my head at the thought. She then made her way to Shang and she handed him a grilled cheese sandwich that he's been craving for so long. His mouth couldn't stop watering as he stared at the sandwich. Finally, Galena sat down next to me and set our plates in front of us. She had some Sloppy Joe and I had crab legs in front of me. Wow, she really had outdone herself.

All of us dug into our food simultaneously. I had to look at Shang when he took that first bite of the sandwich. He rolled out on the ground and his laughs and whines were muffled from him still chewing. After he swallowed, he let out a large howl and started devouring the poor meal. Goodness gracious, he can be an animal sometimes, but don't tell him I said that. I almost busted out laughing as I took a bite out of the crab legs, before I dipped one of the ends in the melted butter first. It was very delicious and I nodded toward Galena, letting her know that she had a fine job preparing it. I looked over at Gull and Varin as Gull was snarling at Varin because he was caught trying to take his chicken leg. I smiled softly but then I looked down. The thought came back to my mind again. Have they really been looking for me? Why couldn't I get that out of my head? I really want to ask them but I was still afraid to.

I took a few bites out of the crab leg and I slowly got up. Putting my utensils down, I sighed to myself and exited the dining room and headed outside. I needed some fresh air as I tried to sort things out in my head. I was just so conflicted. I couldn't get the questions out of my head. I then heard footsteps behind me and I turned around to see who it was. It was Varin, one of the people that I would least expect to check on me.

"Dude, what happened in there?" he asked me. "You just got up and left."

"I just needed some air, is all," I replied to him.

"You're my little brother, Guil. Even though it's been 8 years, I can tell when you're not being honest with me. Just tell me what's wrong. Everything has an answer, bro."

That's an understatement.

"Oh really? Everything has an answer? Then answer this: I feel like you and the others have done nothing to search for me. I feel like you did nothing and got along well without me. I want to know...have you guys really been looking for me when I went missing?"

"Wh-What? What kind of question is that? We're family, man. Even if we weren't family, thank goodness we are, we'd still look for you. We searched high and low for you but everywhere we looked, there was no sign of you anywhere. Some believed that you were dead and gave up the search, but not us. Especially Grazar. It was his idea to round up a search party and we were right there by his side. We took breaks here and there, sure, but every day we kept worrying about if you were alright and prayed that you were safe. When you were gone, even Gull was crying because he missed you dearly. It was sad times, bro. But, here you are: Alive and looking like a mature guy, also looking like our father."

Maybe there was truth in what he was saying, but I was having a hard time accepting it. I wasn't there so I cannot be sure...but that speech was very heartwarming. Maybe I can shake this thought out of my head and be with my family again and catch up on the 8 years I missed with them.

I finally turned around to face him.

"Perhaps you are right," I told him. "Maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions... I'm... I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Guil. You've been through a lot that no youngster should ever go through. We're all just really happy that you're back home where you belong."

I nodded at him.

"Thank you."

The both of us went back inside and we finished up dinner. After that, they finally showed me my new room. It was much larger than my last room. The wallpaper was slight dark red and the floor was a dark blue. My bed rested in the corner by a window and there were a couple of dressers around the room. There wasn't much in my room due to me being gone for so long, but I was happy nonetheless. What I saw on the bed surprised me: It was a stuffed dragon doll that my mother had gotten me when I was 4. It... It survived? I thought I would never see this again. I took my shoes off and laid on the bed, taking the stuffed animal and hugging it. It was very soft and it was warm. Just hugging this animal made me start tearing. It made me think of my mother and father. It's like I can still feel them around me...like they were hugging me. I was glad to still have their memories with me as they will never leave from my heart. Now that I'm home, tomorrow is a brand new day and who knows what's next for me? One can only wait and see.