FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Thunder boomed on the cold, rainy night. Tark sat by his window, half­watching the rain that splattered against window, half­watching the ghostly reflection of his golden­scaled draconic face. The sky briefly flashed, then more booming. He pouted. It had to rain on this night, of all nights. The night that Super Fighter 13­X released. He'd been saving up his money for weeks. All of his friends were already talking about it online. The only one left out was Tark.

Tark moved to his bed and laid down. His tail's tip whipped around, expressing his frustration. His parents forbade him from going outside. Normally, they would have let Tark walk over to the game store three blocks away, get his copy, then return home. But with the thunderstorm, he was forbidden from leaving the house. He had his hoodie and his umbrella for rainy days, but something about the thunderstorm restricted his freedom. His mother had to cook dinner and his father had a conference call in his office, so no one could drive him.

Tark opened the laptop by his head. Social media buzzed with the excitement of the fighting game's release. He scrolled through statuses on the game's praiseworthy new features and fighters.

"Oh man, this game is sweet!" "Wow, love Nexar's combos. Anyone unlock his alternate costumes?" "Someone fight me! Message me!"

Tark slammed the laptop shut. That did it. He would go get that game tonight. The young dragon grabbed his hoodie. The store was close by. He could make it there

and back before his parents noticed. His hoodie and his jeans would get wet, but he'd just hide his wet clothes in the closet.

He made his way to the front door, careful not to let his claws tap against the hardwood floor. After double checking that his parents were occupied, Tark unlocked the door and quickly stepped out. He covered his face and the wind blew water towards him. He waited several seconds to see if anyone noticed the door opening, but when no one came out, Tark smiled and started heading over to the game store.

The clouds flashed again, and Tark covered his ears just as thunder bellowed, echoing across the town. His clothes were already all soaked, but Tark ignored the cold, clammy feeling and continued forward.

Cars zoomed by on occasion, and the young dragon hoped no one would stop and ask why he was out alone in the rain. He worried that some people would insist taking him back home, and then he'd get in trouble with his parents.

No one seemed to care though. They probably were just looking to get home, too, back to their hot showers and heated houses. With how cold the night was, Tark could empathize, and he hurried his pace so he could get out of the rain quicker.

A tingling sensation buzzed through his body. Tark stopped walking. Something wasn't right. From nowhere, he felt prickling along his scales. He didn't even get to guess what was happening when he heard a deafening explosion and his vision turns completely white.

When the young dragon came to, he found himself sprawling on the sidewalk. He looked around, a bit dazed. He felt the raindrops splashing on his face, and then he noticed his torso felt cold. Looking down, Tark saw that his clothes were torn apart, exposing his body to the rain.

Still dazed, Tark tried to get up on his feet, when he felt someone holding his arms. He barely registered that a wolf was helping him up. Looking around, he could see a small crowd

gathering. The canine was talking, and Tark could make out a few words, but his mind was still scattered. His body felt tight and despite the chilling weather, his felt some warmth blossoming in chest.

The wolf's eyes widened and he stepped back. The rest of the crowd acted strangely, talking amongst each other and looking uneasy. As his focus returned, the dragon realized his vision seemed off. His eyeline overlooked everyone's head, as though he stood on a step ladder.

Looking down, Tark could clearly see the ground moving further away from him despite his feet planted firmly on the sidewalk. To his right was a street lamp and as he stared at it, he could see his vision crawling up the pole. Somehow he was getting taller by the second. And the tingling in his body meant his growth spurt was just starting.

His tattered clothes, barely hanging on around his shoulders, ripped apart more as his growing body stretched it apart. The rest of his shirt tumbled off leaving him half naked in the rain. He didn't feel cold, the energy inside him keeping him warm. He adjusted his stance and noticed his feet straddled both sides of the sidewalk.

Already he stood twice as tall as everyone around. The spectating group thinned out, many running away from the growing dragon. The few who stayed kept walking backwards to keep the tall dragon in view. Their heads tilted back as the dragon surpassed the height of the houses around.

Tark was too stunned to move. He kept looking down at his feet, then around at the neighboring area, comparing his size and calculating how tall he was. Everything looked like toys to him. He took another step to adjust his stature and felt cool asphalt. A loud honk brought him back to the present. Tark realized he was standing in the street with a car about the size of a shoe next to his foot. He bent down to take a closer look, but the vehicle reversed quickly away from him.

The gigantic dragon turned around to look down the other side of the street. As he moved, he felt something metallic and thin against his tail. As the object fell, Tark turned around just in time to see a street light crashing onto the street, chipping off some of the asphalt.

The dragon held his arms up in apology, but nobody was around to see it. Eventually Tark felt the buzz in his body dissipate, and the dragon sighed in relief as the growth came to a halt. He understood now why he wasn't allowed outside during lightning storms. Tark frowned, there was no way his parents wouldn't find out about his disobedience now.

Tark perked his head. The tingling was back, spreading across his whole body. His eyes widened as he remembered what happened before. Before he could react, an explosion roared and his vision whited out again.