FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Friday May 11th

For the first time this season, Vincent Wei (Dhole, F+, HNT) genuinely felt hopeful.

It didn't help that only one team wanted him in the off-season, and it wasn't even the team that he had been on. Then after finally getting his feet wet in the new organization, he got traded to a team that specifically requested him. Granted, he was reunited with two other ring-bearers from a couple years back, but things were different on the Rapids, and it wasn't until Zip-Nut [Xavier Knutten (Squirrel, G/F, SPO)] went down with an injury did he even find an opportunity to shine again. Which made it very disappointing when, a week later, he got packaged with a rookie and a future draft pick to be shipped off to the basement-dwellers of the season. For three weeks he put up solid numbers as the only seasoned veteran in an extremely young starting lineup, getting a little bit of satisfaction when the Keystones succesfully beat his former Spokane teammates. And then the most painful rebound attempt happened against the Moonshiners, when something just snapped in his leg after he came down awkwardly on Paul Teronura's (Otter, C, TEN) giant webbed paws.

The doctors told him that he'd recover shortly after the end of the regular season, but it may as well have been a career-ending injury. Pittsburgh may not have been mathematically eliminated from the post-season, but the writing was clearly on the wall, and the aging canine seriously considered making plans to retire while watching loss after loss pile up for the Steel City club. He knew he could do more and he wanted to do more, but V-Way truly felt no one was going to give him a chance to go out with a bang.

That is, until Stefan Calico (Tabby Cat, Owner/GM, HNT) did the unthinkable.

When Vincent's agent had told him that the Mayors wanted him back, he scoffed, claiming that it was much too late to be playing April Fools jokes. But the deal was real, and the dhole found himself back in Alabama, seeing the same rehab doctor that Tyler Kiko (Goat, F, HNT) had three years ago and attending practices with all of the other members of the Huntsville club. Much like his time in Spokane, things just were different now between him and his former-now-once-again teammates. His end-of-season plans just got delayed by a playoff run, one which he believed would not see him on the floor for any length of time.

But then the feline had a long conversation with him in the owner's office. The spiel started off like any other, with why Vincent was needed and respected for his playoff experience and work ethic in the post-season, that his familiarity with Coach [Howard] Schnitthund (German Shepherd, Head Coach, HNT) and the other veterans would foster better teamwork between them and the younger players, how his skills would be best served in the final weeks of the regular season by helping their rookie guard grow into a point forward. It felt like a lot of lip service, until Stefan offered a challenge to the British Asian:

"We need a dedicated defensive coordinator. [Philip] Ringer (Rat, Asst. Coach, HNT) is good, but his strengths seem to be on zone and perimeter D. If you can assist us in getting Nina Lime (Wolf, G, HNT) ready for the playoffs, I want to add you to the coaching staff with a nice long contract after this season's over. If you'd rather play, we'll take it year by year. Right now, though, you gotta finish your rehab so we can get you up to speed on how and where you'll be utilized during the post-season."

The past couple weeks had gone by in a blur, with the dhole adding extra focus on Nina during a 5-day break within their 6-game road trip. When she took the floor at the 3-guard in the Still, she performed decently for her first time against seasoned forwards, taking a lot of advice from the veteran front court enforcer. The wolf put up similar numbers in limited minutes against the deep reserves of the Bikers, and Vincent knew that her real test would be up against the team that did not extend his contract in the off-season. V-Way was reluctant but shared some of the Howlers' "secrets" with his eager lupine pupil, knowing that she would need to take advantage of such information when the time was right.

Just before the Mayors took to the floor of Treasure State Arena for pre-game shoot around, Coach Schnitthund clapped Wei on the shoulder to congratulate and thank him on a fine job with Lime. "I hope you like wearing that suit and tie," he joked before heading to the scorers table to submit the lineups. Watching his friends and younger teammates in their orange road jerseys, the canid had to really think about his answer to that.

"Maybe."

* * * * * * * * * *

Tuesday May 15th

Stefan Calico was not happy.

It wasn't because his team had failed his expectations, in fact the Mayors had exceeded them tremendously. Rebuilding from nearly scratch, bringing a bunch of players from different teams together as one unit, all under the guidance of a fledgeling coach, and Huntsville should've been in the same position at the bottom of the league as they were last year. And despite the roadblocks that he himself placed by making a few key trades that should have rattled any other club, the team did their job and became the ambassadors of his vision of Teamwork and Respect and Growth. They may not have won the division, but earning the #4 seed in the playoffs was definitely a cause for some celebration.

It wasn't because he still hadn't found the right candidate to fill in the General Manager's position, in fact he had narrowed the list down to four individuals that each had their pros and cons. All the extra work that he had put in at the beginning of the season allowed him the time to let the team run themselves into the position they were in now, earning home court advantage in the first round against their neighbors the Tennessee Moonshiners out of Nashville. He was no longer overburdened with offers and deals coming in from the other GMs of the league, with the trading deadline long past, nor did he have to worry much about the stadium maintenance as Natalie Marlowe (Vixen) had been promoted from being his administrative assistant to Explorer Stadium Facilities Manager. The announcement of who he'd select for the Mayors' GM position would have to wait until after the end of this season, but having those responsibilities off his back should've been something he could be celebrating.

It wasn't because Philip Crota (Smooth-billed Ani+) has passed away, someone that was close to the FBA but not necessarily an integral part of its operations like Jackson Price (Fisher+) was. The feline did send his condolences to the avian's husband Joey Cox (Roadrunner, G, BAL), as well as call both his first ex-boyfriend and his most recent ex-girlfriend just to ensure that they were both doing okay and that he did sincerely miss them. While the loss of the author did contribute to the tabby's unhappiness, it wasn't the real source of his emotional distress.

It was the large well-dressed lupine standing in his office.

"So what do I owe the pleasure of your visit all the way down from Canada, Mr. Likand?"

"Everyone's disappointed in you," growled the visitor.

"After only one season, Zugor? Because we're at #4 in the conference?" quipped Stefan.

"We trusted you to follow through with our request, specifically for Huntsville," replied Zugor Likand (Dire Wolf), "but I've already checked over at the FBA front office regarding the proposal and we did not appreciate your additions."

"If you're not willing to buy me out and get your own paws dirty, you have to expect me to cover my tail," hissed the feline.

The lupine furrowed his brow. "Why play this game with us, Stefan? You could've bought us out too... or is Daddy not on your side?"

The tabby's tail twitched and his ears flicked rather noticeably. "I'm not dragging my father through any more risky ventures, no matter how much he's been wanting to give me. You have to understand that this joint opportunity in a largely untapped market is something that I want, but I still have to appease the market I'm in, otherwise I would not have been able to acquire your precious Mayors."

"All you're doing is providing hope for these rednecks," remarked Zugor, "who'll just run you out of town with pitchforks and torches when the truth comes out in a few years."

Stefan leaned his elbows on the desk and rested his chin on his paws. "By that point FBA HQ will have determined that our proposal is legitimate enough to move forward with it, or one of us will have bought the other out and made the point moot. Either way, we'll make enough money by then to offset any premature investments that have been made. But until then, let me handle this part of the project my way and tell everyone to not worry about me so much."

The wolf just stood there for a long moment, while the cat sat at his desk with his tail still twitching. The silence between the two went unbroken for a fairly uncomfortable minute, each studying the other's body language as the lupine's stoic standing posture sharply contrasted the feline's seated comfort and visible annoyance. Finally, Zugor simply turned about and made his way to the door. Before he opened it, however, he said: "I'll give your regards to 'Mother'."

The tabby cleared his throat before he replied: "'Mother' will see me in a few months like every year, 'Brother Growler'. And, no offense, but I hope I won't have to see you again until then either."

"Hmph," snorted the wolf before he slipped out of the office.

* * * * * * * * * *

Wednesday May 16th

Telki Holland (Chinchilla, G, HNT) swallowed her breath nervously.

The practice facility was completely empty, not just because of the early hour, but also on the orders from Head Coach Howard Schnitthund to rest up after their intense scrimmage session on Tuesday. Once the team had learned that their opponents would be the Moonshiners, it had been nearly nonstop drills and training exercises geared specifically to take on their divisional neighbors from Tennessee. Another practice had been scheduled for Thursday, but the rodent just couldn't relax until then.

She took off sprinting from the baseline towards the opposite end of the court, running the suicide drill. Upon touching her starting baseline, she dashed towards a rack of balls set up at the three-point line to the left of the basket. With a stop and a pop, the longball she fired off rolled around the rim and off to the side. Cursing silently, she ran back to the starting baseline and repeated the suicide-and-longball process, sinking four of her next nine attempts.

This was her first playoffs appearance ever since she got drafted three years ago by the Bradford Bantams. In the middle of her rookie season, though, a big trade sent her to the Spectrums in the Western Conference. Unfortunately that team had fallen out of playoff contention after she got suspended from testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs that the Santa Ana coaching staff had told her were just vitamin supplements. She was then sent to Des Moines in the off-season, where the Blanks just couldn't pull it together in the final games of last year's regular season, handing the final post-season slot to her former team in California. Despite being stuck on the bench here in Huntsville, she actually felt more welcomed and challenged by not only the staff but also her fellow players, to prove that she was more than just a pretty body with a great eye for three-pointers.

With the rack empty, Telki finished her last suicide and panted heavily, jogging around the court to gather up the basketballs to refill the rack. Once that task was completed, she strode over to her pack and guzzled down a little bit of vitamin water. Drying her matted pelt of any excess sweat, the chinchilla went back to her starting point on the baseline and resumed practicing.

Part of her had wanted Nina to be here with her, as she was one of the other two players on the team that didn't have any playoff experience. Unfortunately, the rookie was being monitored closely by the coaching staff ever since she got the additional training to be converted into a swingfur. Telki just assumed that big boss Calico didn't want his prized #1 draft pick getting injured or exhausted before any of the post-season games.

Another part of her had expected Quovaedis Broyles (Siamese Cat, F, HNT) to also defy the coach's orders and squeeze in some practice or even some exercise with her. He was a fellow second round draft pick from 2009 that also hadn't seen any playoff action, having served his draft contract with the dead-last Kansas City Clefs for the past two years before getting picked up here in Huntsville. The feline had been wavering between the starting line and the bench for most of the season, the inconsistencies in his game making it difficult for everyone on the team to figure out how to include him in the offensive flow. Telki wondered if his friendship with Huckens Storrs (Raccoon, F, TEN) was somehow affecting him as well, seeing as they were going to be facing off against each other soon.

Once again the rack was emptied, the rodent having improved to five out of ten after this round of suicides and shots. She collected the wayward basketballs to rack them up again, then returned to her pack for internal hydration and external drying. One more round, she thought, then off to the weight room. Not gonna let [Jeff] Random (Pit bull, G, TEN) or [Thea] De Csepel (White German Shepherd, G/F, TEN) push me around.

The thoughts of her direct matchups on the Moonshiners only stirred up the feelings she had when Aina La'ia (Lemur, G, ALB) had been traded away early on in the season. The same anger had been awoken when Nicky Brown (Cockatoo, F, PIT) had been traded away as if punishing the team for not sweeping their 6-game home stand in April. Those upset emotions had been simmering for the past month as the team had one last opportunity to make a run for the divisional championship when the Biloxi Mudpuppies struggled, but the coaching staff had already made the decision to concede the chase in order to keep the stars and starting players healthy for the post-season. And while Telki had used the game against the Dakota Bikers as one outlet of her frustrations (and getting Player of the Game honors as a result), she was still determined that she wanted any kind of championship.

Eight of ten shots had been made in her third pass. Her rage had made the drill fly by without any effort, but her body was shaking hard. Her mind went back to the embarrassing press conference in Santa Ana, and the interview slip-up with T.Matt Latrans (Coyote) after her trade to the Des Moines Blanks. She was panting hard as she ran to her pack and drained her drink bottle, balling her towel in her paw and rapping it against the side of her head to shake herself out of her train of thought. She could swear she saw a bottle of pills at the bottom of her pack, but a blink of her eyes and a smack of her paw at the offending item assured her that it was just an illusion.

She was going to hit the weights. She needed to stay focused. She needed to get a grip.

She needed to stay sober.