FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Star hadn't moved from his spot on the ground for a few minutes now, the only movement he made was curling up in a ball and shaking heavily. Not that he was shaking from the cold or anything, it was early in the spring months, but shaking from the sudden wave of repressed memories racking and bouncing around in his head. He had hidden them for a while now, the nightmares were becoming less frequent and his paranoia was becoming less evident. A shame that all that progress had to go to waste. He took another minute or two to calm down, but still he was quivering with a nervous expression. The fire was still blazing but the worst had come and passed.

The full moon was shining brightly down across the cloudless sky, the combination of moonlight and the light shining from the fire made it easy to see. But Star didn't want to see, he didn't want to see the chaos that he alone had caused to this entire ecosystem. Entire families' lives ruined because of another mistake, and thats all that went through his mind, mistakes. His life was built up on mistakes. Everything he had ever done was a mistake. How did he even ever get into Nero's guild anyways? Let alone the Guildmasters assistant. 'The guild...' The guild had totally slipped his mind, they are probably worried sick. Hopefully the news of the fire hadn't spread that far just yet. If there was one thing he didn't want to deal with, is the constant barrage of questions that are sure to be asked by the rest of the guild members.

He slowly got up, his body numb and pale as he still quivered. Instead of going through the badlands again, he decided to take the main road leading from Presidium and Thousand Oceans; most stops and dungeons were relatively close to the main road, and thankfully was flat, and for the most part, a straight shot toward either location. A portion of Flaming Dusk stuck close to the path, a good half hour walk until anyone was technically out of the forest. In retrospect, the main path was much safer than the badlands, and arguably shorter as bandits seldom attacked on the roads and prefered to stalk any weary traveler or tourist who was unlucky enough to get lost. He could have easily passed off as a humble merchant or sightseer instead of a guild member. He let out a sigh and finally started his trek back to Nero's Guild, and he was certainly not looking forward to giving his report.

~~~

Star had been walking down the path at a sluggish pace for a while now, the forest still hugging along the path, so he hadn't gotten far. He assumed the main stretch wasn't too far away, and when he hit that, it would still be another hour or two of walking, three in his condition. The fire had just about died down in this part of the forest, but the heat was still pressing against his face. Earlier, Star had tightened his Focus Sash around his neck, and tucked his nose inside. At first glance, most Pokémon, when faced with the task of describing the hellhound, would take the simple sash for granted. Some would say that the explorer hated the cold, or just wanted to look fashionable. Some would even go as far to insult him by saying he needed it because he couldn't take a hit, as per its function to protect the wearer from any moves that were to knock them out in one hit. That was not the case. To Star, no one could ever understand what the sash meant to him. It was much more than that. Ever since he could remember, he wore that sash. From when he was a Houndour living in Shettle Forest, he had that on. It wasn't until the incident when he learned of its true value to him, when it became a part of him, and to take that part of him away was the worst thing you could do.

The sash made him feel safe, invulnerable from anything that could ever get in his way. Without it, he felt weak and frail, an open target ready to be struck. His defenceless, sensitive side. This was the side that he never wanted to show. It was a wall in a way, to keep his weaknesses hidden away, so that no one could ever use them against him. Most Pokémon saw Star as someone to be respected, feared even. He learned to hide his inhibitions with bravado and a sunny smile, learning to laugh at everything. Everyone saw him as such, but one bad day, and the ruse could be swept away just like that. And as he trembled, with his sash tucked tenderly under his neck with his nose stuffed in, and nervous demeanor on his face, he felt that vulnerable side. He felt years of built up mental barriers being broken down by waves of repressed memories. You would think that time would heal all wounds, and that people can just get over things. To some, it's that simple, but to Star, he could never forgive himself for what he did. All he could really do now was close his eyes and try to calm down. Ignore the fire, ignore the outlaw, ignore his insecurities. Take deep breaths and walk steadily. He just hoped soon that he would get out of that damned, charred forest.

~~~

The moon shone brightly down on the lonely dirt road. Star was long gone from Flaming Dusk, only a faint smoke stack fluttering above the trees showing any signs of the forest. "Only an hour to go," he kept telling himself to push him to keep going, but in reality, all it did was remind him on how tired he was. He could have stopped and camped out in a hole or under a tree, but Star was stubborn as he was lax. At least he managed to push his mental issues back to the depths of his psyche, and he wasn't as anxious as before, almost fine in fact. Even though he had fixed his mental status, he was still exhausted, and his adrenaline rush had worn away long ago. He did have a couple of bruises and cuts and had a fine layer of soot splattered on his body, but other than that he was fine. He kept walking, his pace slowing with every step. His stomach growled loudly since he hadn't eaten anything since that morning. His mouth was dry from thirst, and his eyes struggled to stay open.

A few more seconds of walking and Star was forced to stop, tripping over his own legs and landing off the road, using a tree as support to get up. 'Alright...I'll take a break...' he thought to himself as he sat up against the tree, popping open his treasure bag. Not much inside, a bundle of oran berries was the only thing remaining. Star growled and gave a light punch to the tree. His other supplies must had fallen out of the bag during the run out of the forest. He grabbed one, and put the blue treat in his muzzle and chewed it, spitting out the stem a few seconds later. He took a deep breath as his body relaxed, the oran berry taking its effect. He closed his bag and got up. 'Hopefully that will be enough to give me time to find some water,' he thought as he slung his bag over his back and slowly moved deeper off the path into the brush.

Eventually he found a small pond. The weary explorer let out a belated sigh and threw his bag off to the side and flopped his battered body down next to the pond. Despite the juicy, energy filled berry, he still had a difficult time keeping his eyes open. But even though his eyesight was impaired from fatigue, he peered into the deep blue water, the same color as his fur. He could see his reflection, dulled by the night. A weathered Houndoom, with worn violet eyes, eyes that look like they have seen everything. A Houndoom, with a dusty indigo coat, with cuts, bruises and soot covering every inch. He could see dull and scratched silver rings on each leg, and around that Houndoom's neck was a dirty Focus Sash. He sighed again, drooping his head as he remembered the events that transpired not to long ago. He rested his head on his folded front paws as he used his long pointed tail to grab his treasure bag again. He kept his eyes to the water as he grabbed another berry in the bag, eating the treat whole again. It wasn't until the water started to ripple slightly that Star finally snapped out of his stump, the ripples distorting his image. The hellhound slowly raised his head, following the tiny waves until his gaze rested across the pond.

Star let out a small gasp and froze for a bit. A Zorua was across the pond on a tiny ledge, laying down in a similar fashion as Star. He couldn't make out its features from where he was, but he could clearly see droplets every so often falling from its face into the pond below. From what Star could tell, it was crying. Normally, Star would attempt to avoid these situations. Even though his intentions were headed toward the right direction, he always ended up making the Pokémon feel worse. As much as he tried to ignore it, his conscience kept telling him to help, or at least see what's wrong. He quietly sat up and reached into his bag, grabbing another berry and wrapping it firmly in his tail. He slowly made his way around the pond, the fox's sobs growing more audible as he crept forward. He managed to sit next to the Zorua without detection, the fox unaware of anything going on at the moment. After waiting awkwardly, Star slowly slipped the berry under its nose. The Zorua let out a surprised yip and sat up, rather painfully in fact. The fox turned its head and looked toward Star with tear filled eyes. Star tried his best to give a warm smile to try and show that he was there to help, but the Zorua shuddered and lowered itself toward the berry, giving it a quizzical look. Star motioned for it to eat the snack, and it reluctantly took a tiny bite. Star smiled a bit and sat down, but again, the Zorua whimpered and backed away from the Houndoom. Star always seemed more intimidating during the night. The Zorua took another bite of the berry and somehow managed to lighten up. Star used the opportunity to wipe a tear from it's tired eyes and moved closer to it. Both pokemon stared at each other, wondering if either one would do anything rash.

Star used this chance to get a good look at the Zorua. The fox had to be a vixen. Star was unusually familiar with anatomy, (although he very much dislikes it when mentioned around him) and based on her stature, she had the build for an average female, unless it was a rather feminine male, but that was unlikely. From her size, he could assume she wasn't very old, ten years at most. Her fur was a pale grey color, like a normal Zorua. Her collar was black, and her tuft and end of her tail were a bright red, although her fur was more well kept and curly. The only other unique thing distinguishing her from a normal Zorua would be her pale pink eyes. She had a large gash across her forearm which she tried to soothe by rubbing it, but to no avail. The thing that caught Star's attention the most was that she too, was covered in bruises, cuts, and soot. Star could only guess where those came from.

He shuddered a bit but kept it to himself, and kept his smile firm. The vixen gulped down the rest of her berry and sighed, looking up at Star with her innocent pink eyes. She cleared her throat and began to speak in a soft and high pitched voice. "Did you get stuck in the fire too mister?" she asked. The question caught Star off guard and he struggled to answer.

"Well, I was-" he stammered before the fox spoke up again.

"It was scary. My brothers told me to run while they went to help other Pokémon," she continued. Star could feel his heart wrench and fall in his chest. "Then this big tree smashed into the ground and knocked me down a ridge, and my arm started to hurt. It feels better now though thanks to you!" she said rather happily, which caught the Houndoom off guard once again. He managed a smile and gulped stuttering a question, which he felt like he would soon regret.

"W-Where are your parents?" he managed to say.

"I don't know," she replied. "They were out picking berries for breakfast tomorrow when the fire happened, but I'm sure they'll come and find me soon." Star did his best to hide the tension in his voice, he had a hunch of exactly where they were, and it wasn't pretty.

This changes everything, it changes it greatly. Originally, the explorer had only intended to comfort the Zorua until she went on her merry way. He had not considered that she had a warm and loving family to return too, one that had unfortunately been killed by a recent forest fire. She didn't know this, she was still young, naive, innocent. Star on the other hand, he did, and it put a horrid taste in his mouth.

Star was never too keen on fighting, he always felt that there was a different approach to things, but others ridiculed him for it. He learned to simply avoid fights with excuses in exchange for telling the truth that he didn't want to fight. Nonetheless, he was still a suburb fighter, able to fend for himself. He wouldn't be the Guildmaster's right hand man if he wasn't. But whenever it had to be done Star always felt bad, knowing that he could have done it another way, and saved some bloodshed. It left a similar taste in his mouth, bitter and wretched. Then came the times where a certain someone comes into the guild, with a certain job in mind. One that can't be put up on any job board or in any mailbox for an eager explorer to wake up too. This one goes directly to the Guildmaster himself, and from him, it went to Star. How he loathed those days. It was a day much like today, actually. Most jobs say to bring an outlaw back alive, but these, were the outlaw is too much of a danger to the safety of others and their villages 'Hits' are called on them. Star hated fighting, but killing was twice as bad. It is only natural after all. Most guild members never had to deal with these jobs, only Star himself. And each time he completed one, that same taste lingered in his mouth.

And here that taste was again. It wasn't enough he killed a bandit, he was a criminal, though. The thought that he essentially killed off an entire forest full of innocent Pokémon shattered his will and his heart. He tightened his sash around his neck some more and looked down at the Zorua. He couldn't just leave her here. He managed to push the right words out of his throat. "What's your name?" A simple question, maybe break the ice some more to get her more comfortable, and more comfortable she will have to get if his plan is going to work. The vixen looked back up at his purple eyes.

"My name is Scarlet," she smiled, almost confident in the way it sounded.

"Well, Scarlet," Star began. "My name is Star. I work at Nero's Guild at Presidium not too far from here." The Zorua sat back and let out a gasp in awe.

"Woah, you're an explorer? That's so cool! My friend's cousin was an explorer and he-" Star cut her off by clearing his throat.

"Anyways, yes I am an Explorer, a very high ranking one in fact," he continued, hoping to excite her a bit more.

"Really?" she said eagerly. "What do you do?"

"Well, I am the Guildmaster's assistant," he said, with a bit of bluster at the end. She wagged her tail in response and let out more 'aahhh's and 'ooo's. "Well, I was thinking, maybe I can take you somewhere safe, and send out a team to find your..." he struggled to make out the word. "...parents." The final word was said with so little enthusiasm, it almost made Star cringe, but it seemed the Zorua didn't catch it.

"That sound's awesome! Are you going to show me your guild? Is it big?" Naive, like he said. "Are there super nice Pokémon like you?" Like you? That phrase echoed throughout his head and pinged around his skull like a rubber ball. He felt like he was nice, he was always generous, maybe too generous for his own good. He never turned down a job, and he always treated his recruits fairly, for the most part. And helping this Zorua, Scarlet, he guessed it was pretty nice of him, even for his troubled heart. He could see that. He let out the largest smile he had given that entire night, showing off his razor sharp teeth.

"Sure kiddo, I'll give you the grand tour when we get back, okay?" She let out an excited squeal and hopped in the air, surprisingly high for her injury.

"Awesome! I can't wait! I just hope my parents know where this Presidium place is," she said.

"Yeah...." Star mumbled to himself, he knew he had to tell her eventually. Might as well let her enjoy herself. Maybe the news will have less of an impact if she was happy, right?

Star grabbed his treasure bag and slung it around his back. "Come on Scarlet, get in my treasure bag, I'll carry you." She obediently hopped in the bag, her head sticking out the top for air, the tuft on her head frazzled. She nodded, and soon Star was off on the road once more.