FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

After settling into the hotel room, the remainder of our Thursday had been spent exploring the convention center. We picked up our badges, found our table, planned how to divide it amongst the three of us, and passed out a few business cards when people stopped us to admire Armin's artwork on our shirts or the patterns on the satchels made by Eren. It was just enough excitement to get us hyped for the rest of the con. Or rather, enough excitement to get me and Armin hyped for the rest of the con.

Eren seemed completely unenthused and more than a little uncomfortable with everything. Once we had fully explored the halls of the convention center so we could visualize the map better, he was headed back for the room where he remained until the next morning.

Armin was the first one up, as usual. He had already dressed and brewed a pot of coffee when he nudged me awake at six a.m., way too early for anyone to be functioning as well as he was. I nearly fell out of bed as I pulled myself from the comfort of the heavenly hotel mattress then stumbled over to the desk to pour myself a cup of the temporary sustenance.

I was still half asleep as we carried the first few boxes of merchandise down to our table. Lucky for us, our table was close to the door. I wasn't quite sure I could manage carrying the box any further. With the first few boxes delivered, I was sent back to the room for the next box while Armin and Eren set up the table.

The next box was heavy as hell, filled with prints of Armin's work. You never expect paper to be as heavy as it is but it takes no qualms with reminding you that it was once a mighty and powerful chunk of tree when placed in large stacks. With a groan, I manage to push the down button to summon an elevator and nearly fall over as the doors open. The wolf from the day before rushes out to catch the box which allows me to regain my balance.

"Thanks," I say with a small chuckle, now fully awake thanks to the small boost of adrenalin . I try to take the box back from him so we can catch the elevator before it leaves us but he takes a step back and shakes his head. I frown, the elevator door closing behind him, but he seems unfazed and simply adjusts his grip on the box.

I sigh, defeated. If he wanted to help, I supposed I shouldn't complain. "Well, if you want to help, at least let me get another box." He made an over exaggerated motion of exasperation, his shoulders rising and falling heavily. I ignore him and walk back to the room, the wolf in tow. I make sure to pick a lighter box this time and return with him to the elevators.

When we arrived back to our table, Armin and Eren had already completed setting up the display racks and were organizing our samples along them. The wolf and I sat down the boxes we had been carrying and he scurried off deeper into the artists' alley before I could even thank him. I was annoyed by the sudden disappearance and huffed, making a mental note to get his name the next time I saw him.

Just as I was about to walk back to the room alone, the wolf trotted over again, rolling a small, metal, two-wheeled dolly behind him. He came to a stop before me with a small hop and saluted dramatically with the wrong hand which caused me to laugh lightly. "So that's where you went. Thank you so much! This will be a big help."

He bent at the waist into a low bow, spreading his arms wide. The phrase "At your service" came to mind. He then straightened and pushed past me to walk back to the elevators. Armin nudged me lightly before I could follow and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. I pressed my lips into a thin line and frowned. I appreciated his support of my romantic endeavors but this was getting silly.

I had to jog to catch up with my new friend and placed a hand lightly on his shoulder to get his attention.

"So we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Marco. Or Felipo. I don't really mind which."

The wolf nodded and, with the hand unoccupied by the dolly, reached for his badge that had been clipped to his shoulder and tilted it towards me. "Absolon" had been written with a flourish and a small cartoon doodle of the wolf sat below it. The small cartoon was throwing up double peace signs and sticking out his tongue with a wink.

I smile to myself as I examine the badge, "Absolon, huh? That's a really cool name." Absolon placed his paw to his cheek and lowered his head with a slight tilt to indicate his appreciation of the complement.

With the help of Absolon and his dolly, it only took one last trip to get the rest of our supplies to the table. I thanked him again and he disappeared into the depths of the artist's alley to, I assumed, take the dolly back to its rightful owner. With a wistful sigh, I took my seat behind the table between Armin and Eren. The two had finished setting out the displays so there was nothing left to do but wait for staff to open the room to the other con-goers.

Armin was surrounded by prints of his intricate art, full of gears and complex machinery, and was already working on a new sketch. A small sign sat at the front of his table telling people that he was mute so he wouldn't have to convey that to every customer that wanted a commission.

Eren's side of the table was covered in his own works and the soothing smell of leather was thick. Masks, books, satchels, collars, ears, and armor pieces covered the table and a few larger pieces hung behind us; a breast piece, a couple of corsets, and a large dragon head mask. He was cleaning his fingernails habitually and glancing around at the other tables.

My own works were displayed in front of and above me. Plush owls, cats, foxes, ponies, and other animals covered the table before me while delicate, laced jellyfish, wings, and tails hung from above.

It was another thirty minutes before the room would open and we had all agreed that we would stay at the table for the first hour of the day before starting shifts of leaving to check out the rest of the artists' works. This meant that there was another hour and a half before I left on my first adventure away from the table. So, I took out my yarn and needle and set to work making another bear.

Once the doors had opened, business took off immediately. Armin was getting commissions left and right. Eren's side was getting a lot of attention and I was already selling some of my smaller pieces. I also noted that we would need to bring more business cards next time.

By the time an hour had passed, I had three commissions and had made enough money to make up my gas share. It was busy enough that I was a little hesitant to leave Eren and Armin alone but they insisted. I was certain that part of Armin's insistence was due to his hopes of me bumping into Absolon again. I wondered if I should talk to him about toning down his shipping vibes.

Most of the artists were selling commissions, examples of their work displayed around their tables. I considered commissioning one of them but my walls were already covered in posters and art from Armin. I also needed to focus on buying as little as possible. All of my money needed to go to saving up for a place once I graduated, so I stopped at the one table I had decided to buy something from; Sage's Seasoned Jewelry.

Their table was at the far corner of the room and covered in glistening accessories. The girl manning the table had her long brown hair pulled into a high pony tail and was talking animatedly with a potential customer. I approached the table to examine her works silently but, as soon as she caught sight of me, she halted her conversation to turn her attention to me.

"You must be Filipo! I'm Sage! Or Sasha. Take your pick," she said while holding out her hand which I gave a tentative shake.

"Nice to meet you. How did you know my name?"

"Absolon was really descriptive. Take your time looking, I'll give you a discount on whatever you want, alright?"

"What? No, you don't have to do that! Why would you anyway?"

"Well, he told me to keep it to myself but Absolon is going to pay me back for whatever I discount. What's your fursona? Maybe I can help you find something."

I tried to hide my forming blush with little success. I'd have to be sure not to pick anything too expensive. I'd hate to take advantage of this kindness. "A bear," I answer quietly.

She gasped in excitement at my answer, "Then I have the perfect thing! I made it this morning! I knew they were a good idea!" She reached into one of the displays and held out two salmon shaped charms. One was the characteristic red and silver while the other was a rainbow. "If your some other kind of sexuality I can make that flag too. I have plenty! Straight, Bisexual, Asexual, Pansexual. I just didn't make them in salmon form."

I smiled and carefully took the rainbow charm from her hand. It was perfect. Sage clapped excitedly at my selection and began rambling about which strap to use but I insisted on a simple, brown string. It was natural and complemented the charm nicely. It felt nice having something around my neck again.

Before I continued around the room, I decided to find something from Sage's table for Eren and Armin as well. Armin hated surprise gifts but maybe I could convince them to do some sort of gift swap. I settled on an asexual, triangle pendant on a silver chain for Eren and pansexual crossed wings with a golden chain for Armin.

I made sure to thank Sage before continuing around the room. There wasn't much else that caught my attention. I did note that there was only one other person selling crochet items and no other leather workers; both good things to report back to Armin and Eren.

When I returned to the table, Armin was working on commissions, as expected, and Eren was in the middle of selling one of his My Little Pony satchels to a large, muscular man. Eren had been so doubtful when I insisted that he make MLP themed merchandise but, already, he had sold nearly half of what he had made.

I ignored the strange grin that the large man gave me as his concerned-looking friend pulled him away and I handed Eren his necklace. He and Armin were hesitant to accept the gifts but eventually agreed to the gift swap.

I reclaimed my spot at the table while Armin took his turn exploring the artist's alley. Once Armin returned, he handed us the small, hand-crafted plushes he had bought; a green bear for me and an grumpy little dog Eren.

After some prodding, Eren begrudgingly left his seat to find gifts for the swap. He hadn't exactly planned to leave the table for anything other than food. It took much longer for him to return, dropping a pair of paws in front of both of us. Armin and I paused our current commissions to try them on. They fit perfectly and were exactly right for our fursonas; brown and black for Armin and a pastel green for mine.

Everything was mostly uneventful until lunch time when our table had a pair of familiar guests.

"Oh wow! You guys are amazing!" Sage exclaimed while leaning forward to examine some of Eren's work, "Seriously! All of you! I'm so jealous!"

I glanced behind her to catch a wave from Absolon. I can't help but smile and wave back.

"Don't be jealous," Eren said with a grin, tugging at his necklace, "Your jewelry is cool as fuck."

Absolon tapped Sage's shoulder to pull her from her conversation. I bit my lip in an attempt to stop my smiling from growing as I watch him sign, "Translate for me. Tell Marco that he looks really cute. No. Wait. That would be weird. Tell him his work is cute."

They both turned to me and before Sage could begin her translation, I responded with my own signing. "Thank you for both complements. You can have something from the table for free if you like. Thank you for the necklace."

Sage and Absolon froze. Then Sage began to laugh. She laughed until she was doubled over with a hand on our table for support. It took Absolon longer to come out of his stupor and, when he did, he was facing the other direction and walking away.

"No! Wait!" I quickly stood from my table and grabbed his arm. He turned to face me but covered his eyes with his paws in shame. I couldn't help but laugh at how cute it was. "Alright. You don't have to look at me," I said pulling a note pad and pen from my pocket, "Just open your mouth" I wrote down my number as he slowly complied. I folded the piece of paper and placed it carefully onto the tongue of his suit. "Text me when you're over this silly embarrassment, alright?" I gave the back of his shoulder a reassuring scratch before returning to my table.

It was barely ten minutes later that I got the text.

???: Hey, Freckles, what's up?

I smiled, knowing instantly who it was.

Marco: Working on commissions. I shouldnt text 2 much. You should come back n get somethin from my table. =3

Absolon: Mmm. Missing me already?

Marco: Come on shy boy. That's called projection. No need for the macho act. You gotta be missin muh cute face. =3=

I stared at the message. God. What was even getting into me? I hoped I wasn't being annoying or coming on too strong.

Absolon: Oh yeah. That cute face and all those cute assets. ;)

I nearly dropped my phone at that one.

We talked like that for hours. Bantering back and forth, sneaking in flirts every chance we got, and of course I couldn't keep that stupid grin off of my face.

"You let that shit-eating grin get any bigger, it's going to bust your face in half," Eren said kicking me under the table, his own grin plastered to his face. "Your fuzzy boyfriend is keeping you from doing your commissions."

"Shush!" I scolded as I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. "Don't laugh at me. You don't get to poke fun until you have a crush."

I felt Armin poke me to get my attention before signing, "You know Eren doesn't have a heart to give to anyone."

"Dude!" Eren snapped playfully, "Rude."

Despite our flirting, it wasn't until thirty minutes before the artists room was going to close that Absolon found his way to our table again. I recognized the two following him from earlier in the day. The blond one had been buying something from Eren. If they knew Absolon, that explained the strange look he had given me. Was he really talking about me that much?

Absolon began to closely examine the works covering my part of the table, no doubt deciding what to take as I had insisted multiple times. While he browsed, the other two stepped forward to introduce themselves.

"Sorry for not speaking earlier," the blond said, "We promised Sasha that we would help with her table. The names Reiner and this is Bertholdt."

"Nice to meet both of you," I replied with a smile, "Sasha. That's Sage right?"

Bertholdt nodded and looked like he wanted to speak but Absolon suddenly stood up straight, a red beanie in his paws.

"Is that what you want?" I asked.

He nodded, opened his mouth, and popped the hat inside. He made a show of chewing on it before pretending to swallow it. Reiner and I laughed at his antics.

"Absolon!" a call rang across the room.

Absolon looked around frantically for the source of the call and his gaze eventually landed on a... Woman? Man? ... running in our direction. Their brown hair was pulled into a messy pony tail that bounced as they made their way across the room to take Absolon's face into their hands.

"Oh gosh I haven't seen you sense I packed you up and shipped you off to your new home. Your owner is taking such good care of you! Look at you all brushed and pretty!"

"Hanji, talk to the person before you talk to the suit. We've been over this." I hadn't even noticed the shorter man who had come to lean against our table. He had the meanest case of resting bitch face I had ever come across.

"Yes, yes. Nice to meet you," they shook Absolon's paw with both hands excitedly, "I'm so glad to see that you're taking good care of him." My eyes widened as I realized that this person was the maker of Absolon's suit; Scitan. Their suits were the first ones to really pull me into the community. I had dreamed of having a suit made by them but I never expected them to be standing right in front of me.

Absolon pulled his paw away and signed, "He's perfect. Thank you so much."

"You'll have to forgive them," Scitan's friend said to the rest of us as the two spoke excitedly, "Their focus and manners are lacking. Name's Levi, male pronouns, and this one is Hanji, neutral pronouns." He admired a piece of Eren's work absentmindedly as he spoke.

We finished introducing ourselves just in time for Hanji to jump suddenly from their conversation with Absolon to admire my works.

"Oh my god! These are adorable!" they said, picking up one of my crochet bears, "Do you have any tanuki? Or maybe you do commissions." I smiled brightly at having my work praised by my idol suit maker, "Yes! To the commissions I mean! We all do! I'm embarrassed to say we ran out of cards but I can write down our website for you."

"Yes of course!" they sat down the bear and stared at me as I worked to write down the necessary information. "You're a bear," they said, causing me to pause.

"I am. How did you guess," I asked while handing them the information.

They fist pumped the air triumphantly, "Yes! It's a game I like to play. I like to guess what people's fursonas are." They turned to Armin and asked, "Some sort of cat, right?"

Armin made a look of hesitation before making the sign for "combine."

"Oh shoot these are always so hard," Hanji stared at him for a long moment. It was long enough that Levi let out a long sigh which seemed to trigger Hanji's decision, "A cougar and a raven!"

Armin grinned, "Close! Raven and bobcat."

"A decent margin of error," they said before turning to Eren.

"Don't have one," he said simply.

"Aww. But you would make such a cute g-shep," they turned to Reiner and Bertholdt hopefully.

Reiner shook his head, "Sorry. Just here for ponies and this guy." He ruffled Absolon's fur to indicate who he was talking about.

"And I'm just here to spend time with my friends," Berthold said with an apologetic smile.

"Well piss," Hanji huffed, crossing their arms, clearly frustrated by their game having been spoiled, "I was going to say tiger and deer."

There was a moment of awkward silence pierced by the sound of my stomach growling, reminding me that I had failed to eat all day. Hanji spun to face me, a wide grin on their face.

"What a fantastic idea!" they exclaimed as if I had actually said something, "Let's all go out to eat! And I can explain to you three," they said, pointing to Eren, Reiner, and Bertholdt, expression suddenly tense and serious, "the error of your ways."

I could tell Eren wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea by the way he began to pick under his fingernails. I, however, was not going to pass up the chance to spend a meal with Scitan and Absolon. Maybe I'd even get to see what lay under that fluffy, foam head.

"You can always go back to the room and eat what we brought with us," I offered to Eren. "I promise not to leave you alone for long.

"Right," he answered, "And leave you two alone? You'd get kidnapped or something and I'd never see you again, leaving me to man this table all by my lonesome. We're supposed to leave soon anyway right? What do we do with our stuff?"

"We leave it here," Armin answered.

Eren was hesitant to leave our things in the trust of con security but, after some convincing from Hanji that they had left their precious merchandise countless times with no incident, he eventually agreed to leave it instead of carting all of it back up to the room. Sasha had joined us at this point, having seen our large, clustered group on her way out.

We divided into three groups to take three cars to the restaurant. Hanji knew the area best and so was leading the way in their beautiful sports car followed by Sasha's van and Eren's truck. I wanted to ride with Absolon but there was no way to make that work without it being awkward for someone, so I took my usual spot in the back of Eren's truck with Armin.

To say I was excited on the drive to dinner would be the understatement of the century. Just yesterday I was enjoying my usual life of not going outside my usual circle of friends and, now, I was on my way to dinner with Scitan and the first guy I had ever dared flirt with. I wanted to talk to Scitan about making suits so that perhaps I could make my own before buying from them but I also wanted to spend plenty of time getting to know Absolon better. Not to mention seeing what he actually looked like.

I was pretty disappointed when we arrived and I saw that Absolon wasn't leaving his head in the car. Was he seriously planning on leaving it on? Was he not going to eat?

I moved to stand next to him while we waited to be seated in the bustling pizza cafe.

"Are you not taking your head off?" I asked. He shook his head before staring at me through mesh eyes. "Are you not eating then?" He signed a "maybe" and I pouted.

"What?" he signed frantically, "Don't look at me like that!"

"I want to see your face though," I continued to pout and it must have been working because he turned away to escape looking at me.

"Not yet. Maybe at tomorrow's rave or the ball. You're going to both right?"

I smiled and poked his side playfully, "Is that your way of asking me to the ball?"

"Yes."

I honestly should have expected the answer and yet I was floored. It would be my first date. I wondered if he even thought of it that way. It was hard to tell when I couldn't see his friggin face.

Absolon pulled me from my daze by booping my nose with his. "You're sitting next to me right?"

I looked around and realized a waitress had come to seat us and everyone was shuffling to follow her.

"Of course," I took his furred hand and followed behind the group. I could be patient for one more day. If he didn't want me to see his face, it must be for good reason and I would do my best to give him some time. But the rave was my limit. If he didn't show me his face then, I was going to need to put my foot down.

Dinner went wonderfully. Every one talked about the con so far and past experiences. I found out that Reiner and Bertholdt had also never been to a con before. It was nice to know Eren, Armin, and I weren't the only con newbies. We talked about suites for longer than even I really wanted to thanks to Hanji's enthusiasm. Levi had to derail them to save the rest of us from listening to the finer points of how to mold teeth and tongues.

I was amazed at how well we all got along. Even Eren was starting to relax and have fun. He and Levi were bonding over their shared dietary habits. Eren didn't eat meat or eggs because he didn't trust every part of the animal to be used. Even if every part was packaged, some of it would go bad and be wasted. Even his leather was from the animals he hunted himself.

Levi didn't eat meat or any dairy because he didn't trust it to be clean. However, if he didn't know there was dairy in something, his outlook was "what I don't know won't hurt me" and, through this information, we also learned that he had no idea how to cook, lest he find out that something he enjoyed had eggs or milk in it.

Reiner talked about his little sister, Cassie, at some length and expressed his excitement about bringing her to cons now that he was convinced that the environment was kid-friendly enough. He explained how Rarity was his and Cassie's favorite pony and teased Bertholdt for having caved and purchased a Fluttershy keychain. "After all these months of insisting you didn't like the show!"

Sasha told us of her dreams to open a restaurant with her two sisters and how their moms were so excited that they were taking such initiative. They had apparently been concerned that their daughters would grow up to be lazy sense they were a wealthy family. Sasha had even paid for Absolon's entire suit alongside her own! That was amazingly expensive!

Armin was ecstatic to be with a group that could understand him without me or Eren translating. There was not a single person in the group who didn't understand sign. He did have to snap his fingers several times to get the attention of the large group, but he didn't seem to mind. He even discovered that he, Reiner, and Bertholdt had a mutual friend in his girlfriend, Annie.

And then Absolon. We actually didn't talk much. He seemed content to sit silently with his leg pressed against mine under the table. Once I had finished my meal, he even removed his paw to lace his fingers with mine(after wiping off the sweat that had formed thanks to the hot suit). I could feel his hand shaking as it slipped under mine and I couldn't help but smile, heat rising to my cheeks. I gave the hand a reassuring squeeze and we stayed like that until the group decided to leave.

When we arrived back to the hotel, we all exchanged phone numbers before going our separate directions. Those of us with tables wanted to get to bed early enough that we wouldn't be exhausted the next day and the rest had different panels they wanted to attend. Hugs were exchanged and Absolon insisted I give his nose a goodbye kiss.

Surprisingly, Eren was already sending texts in the elevator. "You and that Levi guy, huh?" I asked, causing Armin to grin and Eren to scowl.

"Dude, no. He's like twenty years older than me or something."

"Nine," Armin corrected.

"And what does that matter any way?" I asked.

Eren struggled to come up with an excuse to no avail.

"You're blushing!" Armin teased.

"Oh you're both so fucking full of shit!" Eren pushed past us to exit the elevator that had reached our floor.

As I showered and readied myself for sleep, I thought about how well today went and how tomorrow could go. Armin would back off a bit more now that he had a new mission in Eren and Levi. I'd get the chance to talk to all of the new friends we had made. I had a date. And I'd get to see Absolon's face. I wondered how I'd ever be able to get to sleep with all of the excitement over tomorrow.