FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

And here's the next part of the story. As always, all constructive criticism is welcome. Enjoy!

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"Here you are, Master."

"Hmm?" Just as the bus was pulling up to take me to the mall where I worked, Clara handed me a smart phone. At first glance it looked almost identical to my own.

"It's a special phone Mewstress had made. It links you with her and all of us other minions on a completely safe, secure network." I powered on the phone and scrolled through it a little. It seemed pretty normal for the most part, but a couple of programs jumped out at me. MyHack? EmerSpell? What the heck were these?

"Oh, and Mewstress said not to use any programs you were unfamiliar with." My finger froze mere centimeters over the EmerSpell icon, which looked like an old fashioned scroll. "She'll walk you through them if you need them, but they're only meant for emergencies."

I nodded gently, slipping my current phone out of its holder on my belt and replacing it with the new one. Given the way today was going, I was afraid I might pocket dial something and open up a hole to another dimension or just have it explode on me. Katie and I really needed to have a talk about spacing out all these little surprises she's been springing on me. I slipped my normal phone into my pocket and prayed the rest of the day went a lot more normally.

Clara clarified a little bit about what her exact role was as the bus began to pull up. She was basically going to act as my bodyguard, and basically just keep an eye out for trouble. It seemed a little overcautious to me, especially since I only just found out about Katie's secret identity, but I didn't want Clara to be upset or think she failed her Mewstress or Master. Clara told me to just act normally in the meantime, like she wasn't even there.

We boarded the bus shortly thereafter, getting a set of seats near the front. I pulled out my normal phone to check up on my messages, games and other stuff that I'd normally do when I'm on the bus alone. Clara seemed more than content just watching and scanning the crowds of people that came on and off the bus. I felt a little bad not interacting with her more, but I wasn't exactly experienced with how one should interact with their body guard.

About halfway into the roughly half hour trip, Clara pulled out her own phone and began doing something with it as well. Judging from the one fingered typing, I assumed she was texting someone. Katie, maybe? Or maybe it was just a friend or fellow minion? The semi-public place kept me from prying for too many details, and I was absorbed in my latest Conflict of Clubs game anyway.

"Who's my favorite guy in the whole wide world?" Before I could react or even ask what the heck she was doing, Clara had shifted positions and was now sitting my lap, arms around my neck and giggling cutely. I could swear my blush was visible even through my fur as I tried to figure out what she was doing. "Oh, I think I'm just gonna give you a big kiss, right here!"

What?! Where the hell did this come from?! Clara's lips slowly pulled closer to mine as my mind raced, trying to figure out why this relative stranger of a girl was suddenly acting so affectionate, while also trying hard not to think about how beautiful of a girl was sitting in my lap as well. I put my hands on her hips, though I'm not sure whether it was to hold her closer or shove her off me. Was this some kind of test Katie had cooked up? Should I reject Clara? Really embrace her? Aw man; her lips are RIGHT there now! I shouldn't kiss her! Katie would kill me! Or will she be mad if I reject Clara? What the hell do I do?!

"Master, don't react to what I'm about to say, but I think we're being followed."

It took me a moment to realize Clara's lips weren't getting any closer, and that her normally playful tone sounded much more serious. I did as she asked in not reacting, though that was mostly from my brain trying to play catch up. She pulled away a little before shifting herself next to me, holding her phone up in a classic selfie position. The bright flash of the camera finally snapped me out of my funk as Clara returned to her seat next to me.

"Oh, that came out so good, honey! I'll send it to your phone right now so you can check it out, O.K?" Clara's playful tone returned as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. When my new phone began to buzz on my belt, though, she looked toward it very intently.

"Um, sure... kitten..." I quickly pulled out and opened the new message I'd received from Clara, which had the picture she had just taken attached to it. The two of us were barely in the picture, and I quickly realized that was because we weren't what had caught Clara's attention.

-Rat. Brown fur, black hair, leather jacket. Bad feeling, been watching us since we got on. Didn't turn away when we got close.

It didn't take long to find the person Clara referred to in the picture; the guy looked like he came out of central casting for some 70's or 80's movie as a cheesy gang member who spent as much time combing his hair as he did riding his motorcycle and stirring up trouble. He definitely wasn't someone I recognized, either as a friend or otherwise. What caused Clara to pick up on him as someone dangerous and after us, I wasn't sure. Maybe it takes a criminal to spot one?

Another text came from Clara, followed quickly by a second one.

-Think I saw a gun under his jacket.

-Don't worry; talked to Mewstress already. She has a plan.

...I'm not sure which of those statements frightens me more right now...