FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Keith came to a stop beside Swift, who was standing in front of the concentration camp, looking at the traitorous foxes it held. And to the wolves, who more or less, surrendered after being overtaken by foxen soldiers.

"So what happens now?" asked Keith, who only saw the suffering of those within the camps confines. "Do you have a plan?"

Swift nodded, "Indeed I do." he spoke. "Unfortunately it involves one wolf, of whose company I do not enjoy sharing."

"You mean Stone?"

"One and the same." huffed Swift. A soldier passes by in front of the two canines, pushing the newest prisoner into the ranks of the others. "Every hour a new face, every day another lost hope. I fear in the coming days that our morale will hit an all time low. Look at their faces." pointed out Swift. "They're looking for someone to give them hope.", lamented the fox.

A sullen wolf catches Keith's eye. "I know the feeling. I've seen it many times before myself. That grim look of sheer misery with a faint glimmer of hope."

"Then you know what must be done?"

Keith had a general idea of what Swift meant but that would mean he was willing to go against his own beliefs and trust another wolf, namely Stone. "I do. But do you think he will fight for you?". A quick laugh escape Swift's maw.

"He may. Then again that wolf would rather see me dead than help me. You should know that." scowled Swift.

"Maybe he'll listen to reason if I have a chat with him. Maybe I can persuade him."

Swift was nearly at a loss for words. "For a long time I wanted to kill him, Wolf of Sorrow. But given the latest field reports, I may have use for him yet. The enemy of my enemy is a friend."

Keith was taken aback for a moment, realizing that the old sayings still hold true. Gazing to the horizon, Keith spoke, "An unlikely ally but desperate times call for desperate measures. A small smile crept out onto Swift's maw.

"Spoken like a true wolf."

The door to the office creaked open as Keith entered, finding the wolf and his mate sitting on a table staring out the window. "A word, Stone?" beckoned Keith. Stone sighed as he nodded to himself.

"Give me a moment, Tiff. I'll be right back."

"There isn't much time to spare but I have come to you with an offer from Swift."

"What are his terms?"

"They're quite simple really. Agree to serve Swift and you will be given a military pardon for your war crimes..."

"War crimes..." spoke an amused Stone. "What next? A key to the city after I helped save it? How long..." barked the wolf as he turned to Tiffani, showing her the distasteful look on his maw, "how long will it be before he decides to stab me in the back?"

"Regardless of your personal feelings for him. Swift has offered a full pardon, security for your mate, and a company in which you are to take command."

Stone almost couldn't believe it. "Anything from Swift has got have some kind of strings attached. Am I right?"

"No strings. Like I said he offers a pardon and your own command."

Stone turned back to Keith. "Well, brother, I have some terms of my own for you to take back..."

Keith stepped outside, a short sigh escaping his breath as he looked for Swift. His thoughts returning to those of his brother and his mate, awaiting an answer from Swift in their castle of glass.

"So what comes of Sorrow? Has he agreed to my terms or not?" an ecstatic Swift spoke, his smile hiding his true intentions.

"He agreed." Keith managed to sigh out. "I managed to make him agree to the terms, but he did have some of his own." the wolf said sheepishly.

"So what additions did our diva in distress add?"

"That's the thing." spoke Keith, holding back a smile of his own. "He asks that his wolves be set free along with him. Secondly, he wants the wolfess, Jillian, to be placed under his command. And finally, he wants you to go eat a dick. His own words."

The smile faded from Swift's maw.

"The first two I can do." spoke Swift, leading the way into the prison camp. "But that last one. Well, he can go fuck himself for all I care."

"So you two have an agreement?"

"We do. Now if you'll excuse me." the fox said, patting Keith on the back shortly before walking away. I have some other business to attend to. I trust that I can leave you to handle the details?"

"How could you, Stone?" Jillian heard herself say, amidst the sorrow of her soul and thoughts that were finding themselves thinking of Sami in happier times.

It was before the invasion, months at best. Sami and Jillian were sitting outside a local coffee shop, chatting up a storm. Both had just gotten a three day pass and weren't planning on wasting any of it.

"What about your parents?" asked Jillian, silently sipping her iced coffee. "Do you know anything about them?"

"Nothing that I can recall beyond my adoptive parents. Sorry."

"It's okay. I don't like talking about my parents either. So what do you have planned for today?" asked the lovingly curious wolfess, who rested her elbows on the table to cup her chin and smile.

"She was your daughter. You sick bastard. How could you leave her when she was so very young?" Jillian heard herself say again. "what did she ever do to you to make you leave her?" A tear welled up under Jillian's right eye. "If only you knew who your father really was. Would you hate him?" Her grasp tightening on Sami's tags as she sank deeper into despair.

"I loved her." came Stone's voice as he drew near to the crying wolfess. "I always will. She was of my blood. My flesh." Jillian stopped crying for a moment, her rage taking over as she stood up and confronted Stone, her fists beating into his chest while she cried.

"It's because of you that she isn't here with me anymore!" she sobbed, her fists finding their target as Stone took every blow. "Why! Why!?" Her blows becoming more and more weaker as Stone pulled her in for a hug. Suddenly she found herself holding Stone in her heated embrace, her tears soaking into the gray uniform.

"I know you loved her." lamented Stone as he held Jillian dear, resting her head against his shoulder to ease her painful sobs. "I loved her, too. I loved her so much that I couldn't let her live her life knowing that a monster like me was her father. No." he spoke, holding back his own tears. "I just couldn't let that happen to one so innocent. You have to understand that I didn't want her to grow up and become like me. I wanted her to live her own life. That is the freedom I gave her."

"What is she talking about?" a confused Tiffani asked, not knowing what to make of the situation that she was witnessing.

"Give us a moment, Tiff." a vulnerable Stone spoke, breaking apart from Jillian as he returned the wolfess' gaze. "I know it hurts, Jillian. Sorrow, it's a feeling I've come to know over the past few days."

"What do you mean?" a confused Jillian asked, leaving a look of concern on her face for Stone to see. Slowly Stone produced another set of tags from his breast pocket, the name on them one of which Jillian had come to know: Rai Black Wolf. "What happened?" she asks.

Stone knew that Jillian was in a frail state of mind and chose his next words carefully, very carefully. "She.." he began. "She was killed shortly after me and you parted ways. By an alien sniper. She never saw it coming."

"I'm sorry, Stone."

"It's been hard on me. Losing two daughters in a few days time. But I'm holding up. It's only me, you and Tiffani left now. There are no others." Jillian nodded solemnly as Stone wiped away the tears from her eyes. "I need you to be strong. For me. For Tiffani. We're all the family you have left now. And right now I need you to fight by my side. Look at these people around you." Jillian glanced around and seen that others were suffering just as much as she was, she wasn't the only one crying for those who weren't here anymore. "They believed in a free world where wolves and foxes can coexist. Sami believed in this. I have come to believe in it also."

"I don't know if I can." despaired the wolfess. "I'm not that strong anymore."

"You have to be strong. You have to. What would Sami say if she could see you now?"

Stone's visage faded as Sami stood in his place, her hand reaching towards Jillian as a smile emerged on her face. "Up and at 'em girl. We still have work to do." she heard Sami say.

The grim look faded from Jillian's face as she stepped forward, a confident look on her face. "What do you need me to do?"