FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The cool night air brushed against the soft glow of the crystals, whisking by gurgling streams and rushing around roaring waterfalls. Tall flowers, the size of sunflowers, lit the small pocket of space near them with their bioluminescence. They emitted strange sounds--like quiet babbling before a sermon. It was a peaceful place--quiet, mostly uninhabited except a small village that sat in the heart of the marsh. The nice thing about Waterfall was the abundance of hidden alcoves available to anyone who didn't want to be seen.

One such person--a stocky, hooded figure--appeared in one such place as if it had just stepped through a normal door. Strangely, however, no doors existed in this part of the marsh.

There was only the soft chirping of crickets and the pleasant trickling of clear water as he sat at an out of place bench, right next to a huge glowing flower. Skeletal hands clutched some kind of baked good in a pie tin, though he made no move to start eating it. He stared down at it for a solid five minutes, unmoving, before he broke the calm spell of quiet.

"I never wanted this," he muttered in a baritone. The crystals on the ceiling twinkled in reply. "I... I wish I could tell someone..."

He could not. He knew there was no way he could bring himself to lay this burden on anyone else--this grievous knowledge. His world was not what he thought it was. And now that he knew, his life would never be the same. He knew, and now there was no way of unlearning the information.

He laid the pie plate down on the bench and propped his forehead on both hands. "I just wasn't ready for the responsibility."

"I just wasn't ready for the responsibility. I just wasn't ready for the responsibility." The flower murmured the words again softly, forever repeating itself without knowing the weight behind the sounds.

"Another monster was the victim of a vicious hate crime late last night. Witnesses say that around 3:00am, this monster was attacked by a human man who stopped his vehicle and stepped out to land several blows on the monster. This happened near Stark Avenue and 3rd Street in Ebott County, just as the monster was exiting a convenience store and walking home to the apartment complex across the way. The identity of the monster will remain undisclosed until further investigation is underway, seeing as the monster in question was underage."

A graphic appeared above and to the right of the woman news anchor's head--glitchy, rough video of a vaguely shaped human moving its arms at sharp angles next to another shadowy figure. The words "Monster Hate Crime Continues?" appeared in bold lettering as an overlay.

The face of the next newscaster held a well-placed grimace. "How terrible. That poor kid." His tone was shaped to be something like sympathy. The female who was reporting before nodded in agreement. "Indeed it is, Jim. We hope he recovers quickly and the assailant is caught by police, though because of the difference in monster and human rights, a case against the human may be tough to bring to court. In other news..."

Holly turned her television off before the next segment could begin the corners of her mouth were turned down as if she'd just tasted something sour. Not only was the hate crime near where she lived, but the fact that one of her race had ruthlessly attacked what was apparently a child monster made her feel deep shame and sympathy. Plus, the fact that monsters were still struggling to obtain the same rights that humans did... ugh. Holly didn't even want to start going down that path of thought this morning. The sound of soft, pattering rain soothed her slightly, so she focused on that for a few minutes. It was a pale gray out, still bright, but not obnoxiously sunny.

She browsed through a few bookmarked websites, impatiently shaking her leg beneath a small desk as the loading screens crawled by. Cheap apartment wi-fi was the ultimate test of patience. She maximized the window for Skype one more time, leaving message for a particular user that had an extensive chat history with her:

12:37pm You: hey doof

12:37pm You: watcha up to, haven't seen u on in a while

12:43pm You: I started hunter x hunter finally, it's p good. Gon is adorable omg

There was a large gap in time between messages, in which Holly checked other sites and answered notes on her art page. Someone else trying to get free art, as usual. She rolled her eyes before popping back into Skype. There were no messages back from her sister. Holly sighed and typed in a new message.

1:25pm You: aw guess u busy

1:26pm You: we should do skype chat sometime, I miss u

1:26pm You: lava u sis

1:27pm You: let me know how move to apt goes, let me know if u need anything

Holly's mouth went taut. She ran through recent messages with her sister, just in case Michelle had mentioned if she'd be busy today, but there wasn't anything indicating that she would be.

"She's probably packing or something," she mumbled to herself.

Movement caught the corner of her eye and she glanced out of the droplet-covered window to see two people milling about in the parking lot. She didn't pay it any mind at first, though the colors of their clothing stuck in her mind's eye. 'Who even wears that bright a shade of yellow anymore? Maybe people who were stuck in the neon fad of the 80's?'

But there was something familiar about those two colors. Blue and yellow...

Her neck cracked with the speed of which she turned to look out the window again. This time, she actually got out of her squashy office chair to get a better view.

Two monsters walked along the sidewalk, holding hands. Holly had heard of these two through rumors in the apartment complex--most in hushed, worried tones, as if telling her to watch out for them. At the moment she only felt excitement at the chance of meeting them.

Before her brain could scold her for being a complete imbecile, she banged open the window and shouted, "Hey, guys!"

The pair stopped and looked over, though it took the short yellow one ('Is she a dinosaur...?') took a moment more to find the source of Holly's voice. 'Oh, uh, crap. Now or never I guess,' Holly thought, now going red as they peered at her with bewilderment.

"Uhhh. Well, I haven't seen you around and I was wondering if you wanted to come up for a cup of coffee or something?" she asked, her voice sounding more and more strained with every word. The pair of monsters glanced at each other. The blue one shook their head, a bright red shock of hair flowing in the stormy wind. Holly's heart fell, but now the yellow one was tugging the blue monster's hand and leading towards the woman's apartment. "I'm 206!" Holly called happily. "Meet you at the door."

She unbolted the lock when an impatient knock battered the door. The woman guessed this was the blue monster. She swung the door open too see a tall, svelte blue fish-lady standing next to a short, yellow lizard. They both appeared female, though it was difficult to assume since they weren't human. Holly immediately noticed the blue monster's eye patch, then the white lab coat the yellow monster wore beneath a a clear rain poncho.

"Hi! Hey, sorry if that was, uhm, weird. I just, well I wanted to meet the neighbors I haven't spoken to yet. Come on in! I have coffee, tea, cocoa... or water or whatever." Holly realized she hadn't moved to allow them in and she did so with a nervous chuckle. "Sorry, sorry. I haven't had company in a while. Uh, here, you guys can sit at the table."

The short yellow monster sat hesitantly. "Um, h-hey, thanks for the invite. I'm, uh, Alphys. This is m-my girlfriend..."

"Undyne," the fish monster cut in. Holly introduced herself before sticking her hand out for a handshake, which Alphys took right away. Undyne frowned and didn't move to take the offered greeting, however.

Holly cleared her throat and clapped her hands together.

"Uhm, ah. S-so! Did you two want anything?" She gave them a strained smile.

"I'll have uh, hot cocoa? Please," Alphys requested. Undyne crossed her arms and didn't say anything in answer. "U-uh, Undyne likes tea..." Alphys answered for her girlfriend.

"Okay. I have chai, I'll make that for you if it's okay?" she asked the fish monster. Undyne shrugged noncommittally.

Holly busied herself in the humble apartment kitchen, putting a kettle on with enough water for the three of them.

"So, ah. You two have lived here for...?"

"Six months," Undyne answered brusquely.

"Y-yeah, we've been here aw-while now. Just been, uh, busy, you know. Moving in and f-finding jobs nearby," Alphys added.

"Mm, yeah... job hunting has been difficult the past decade or so. The U. S. economy's been a bit--lacking." The woman paused between words to reach a cup that was high up in the cabinet--one of the less-used, "fancy" ones for guests. Things were quiet again as she bustled about, letting Undyne's tea steep and mixing a packet of pre-made cocoa into Alphys's cup. Holly always had cocoa on hand. It was, she believed, a necessity. Not only did it warm her up on cold days, but cocoa just seemed sort of like a hug from the inside for the days she needed cheering up.

"Mmkay, here ya go Alphys. Undyne, yours is gonna be just another minute since it's steeping, but I got the half and half for Alphys's cocoa--in case you wanna cool it down." The woman sat down with a cup of leftover coffee she'd microwaved while making the other two drinks.

"Sorry if inviting you in all the sudden was weird," the woman started, warming her hands around her well-worn mug. "I just... I'd heard you guys moved in a while ago, but I never saw you."

"Tch." Undyne's face twisted like she'd just tasted bitter medicine. Holly blinked at her owlishly. Alphys ducked her head and poured a bit of the half and half into her drink, not meeting anyone's gaze.

"Oh, right, I should, uh." Holly got up and added honey and cream to Undyne's tea before handing to her. Undyne held it away from her body as if it would explode any moment.

"I-it's fine, we haven't really spoken to many huma--um, people, s-since we moved in. It's nice to have someone friendly around," Alphys piped up in answer to Holly's earlier comment.

Holly gave Alphys a warm look. "Honestly, I don't get a lot of visitors. And, well," she cast her eyes down. "I haven't met any monsters in person before you. I was a little curious," she admitted.

Apparently this was the exact wrong thing to say. Undyne slammed down her tea, splashing it onto the wooden table and leaned in to get right in Holly's face. Holly squeaked and shrank back as much as her chair would allow, her eyes wide.

"Curious, huh? Wanna know what the freaky monsters are like up close? Wanted to study us and check us out like animals at a zoo?" Undyne hissed, her one visible eye narrowed. "Maybe you wanted a couple of monster friends so you look like the perfect vision of civil rights. Such a martyr, right? So sweet and nice and fake. Ugh, humans make me wanna barf." The fish monster leaned away. Holly released a breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding.

"N-no...! I-I, I just, wanted to--" Holly stammered, but Alphys butted in.

"Undyne! That's not fair! She was just being nice," she said, her voice a click higher than it had been a moment ago. Undyne's eye flicked to her before going back to glaring at Holly.

"I'm going back to the apartment. Come back whenever," Undyne told Alphys, but then softened her tone to add, "Text me so I know when you're walking across." She addressed Holly with more than a little hostility. "My girlfriend had better not have one scale out of place, human, or I will come back and put a spear through your gut."

She stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her. Holly sat in stunned silence

"W-well, that was, um."

"I'm sorry," Alphys squeaked, her eyes glittering with sudden wetness. "She's not a bad monster, she's just... w-we've been through a lot up here." She took a sip of cocoa and fiddled at the hem of her coat, not quite meeting Holly's gaze.

Holly's expression softened. "I understand. It's okay. You guys don't have to be friends with me or anything. I just wanted to, I don't know. Be a good neighbor or... something. I'm sorry if it was rude to be curious." She hesitated before reaching out a hand to touch Alphys's claw. The monster tensed, but then gave Holly a watery smile. Holly couldn't help but find her adorable--Alphys had the nerdy look about her with the glasses and the front teeth that stuck out, but she had a warmth and kindness to her that extended to her face. It put Holly at ease, for some reason.

"I appreciate the gesture, honestly," Alphys sighed. "I'm just not sure Undyne's gonna warm up to a human so fast." She glanced at her phone. "She'll be upset if I stay here too long, so I'm gonna, uh, go. B-but thanks for the drinks." She stood up, moving to leave, but then paused. "Y-you... wanna swap numbers?"

Holly tilted her head curiously, but nodded and dug her phone out of her pocket. Alphys grabbed it and tapped the numbers in on her contacts page, then gave the phone back. "T-text me, um, whenever you f-feel like it," she said in a small voice. Holly nodded and Alphys tapped a message on her own phone, which Holly assumed was to Undyne as requested.

"Bye, Alphys... it was nice to meet you." Alphys gave a little wave and headed out.

As the door closed, the woman couldn't help but to feel even lonelier that she had before Alphys and Undyne had stepped inside the apartment.

Holly didn't see the two of them in person again for a long time, though she texted Alphys frequently. The short monster seemed much more confident when texting than when talking aloud, which Holly could relate to. It was much easier to say what you meant when you weren't at war with your own social anxiety. Holly learned that the two monsters had moved three times in the past three years, searching for jobs that were close enough together so they could live in the same place. They'd started dating officially shortly after they emerged from the Underground, and Undyne especially did not want to separate now that there was no need to do so. Alphys worked as a community college professor, but she was working on becoming a professor at a more prestigious college that was very open about accepting monster students and staff. Undyne worked at the baseball stadium about thirty minutes away as a security guard, often working late nights for concert events and the like year-round. Holly also learned that Alphys and Undyne adored anime and were always trying to find good new shows. Alphys had even asked if Holly knew about Crunchyroll, which made her laugh. Of course she did, Holly'd had a subscription for so long, she was hesitant to think about how much money they'd made off of her in total.

Things went back to normal; at least, they did for a little while. Holly would get up, get showered and dressed, go to work, come home, sit at her laptop for hours, and repeat the same routine every day. Occasionally, she had to go out to get groceries and the like, but otherwise she really didn't find the energy to go out for the hell of it. She started chatting with Alphys via text on the regular, though it didn't hold a candle to having friends she could visit in person. Michelle hadn't messaged much lately either. As Holly suspected, her sister had been incredibly busy, getting paperwork together, packing, and getting all the last-minute details in place before she set foot into her rental home.

It was another soporific day at work when Holly dropped into a free seat in the lounge room, cracking open a can of soda for the perk of caffeine. She pulled her phone from the pocket of uncomfortable work pants, unsurprised to see another text from Alphys.

12:01PM Alphys: hey are you free tonight?

Holly checked the time in the top corner of her phone: 1:49PM. So Alphys sent that message awhile ago, probably knowing Holly would get it later. Holly wiped condensation from her palm before texting back.

1:50PM You: yeah, I get off work at about 5. Why what's up?

Alphys didn't text back for a minute or two, so Holly took a long gulp of her soda. The phone buzzed and lit up quicker than she expected, though.

1:52PM Alphys: Undyne's going to a friend's tonight, so maybe we can hang out at your place?? ^ . ^;;

1:53PM Alphys: We can watch a show maybe?

Holly blinked in surprise at the words on the screen before grinning and sending a text back right away.

1:53PM You: Ooh yeah that sounds like fun! Maybe the show you like so I can see why you talk about it so much :P

1:54PM Alphys: Haha, yeah. I talk about it that much? >////<

Holly cringed a bit at the response. Alphys was notoriously self-conscious, so she began to text back a reply that would offset the teasing a little.

1:54PM You: Lol yeah you do, but it's ok, I probably talk your ear off about all my fandoms

1:54PM You: So yeah around 6 is good, I'll make dinner too so don't eat anything

1:55PM Alphys: Aww you don't have to do that

1:55PM Alphys: I've got stuff here

1:56PM You: Nah it's cool, I haven't cooked in a while and I kinda like to once in a while

1:56PM You: Plus I like entertaining company :P

1:57PM Alphys: lol ok then, I won't fill up before I come over

1:57PM Alphys: I'll text you before I head over

1:57PM You: Sounds good, seeya tonight, gonna eat lunch so ttyl

1:58PM Alphys: kk cya! ^ . ~

Holly closed out of the conversation and ate her pre-packed sandwich, humming to herself slightly after the conversation with Alphys.

The rest of the workday was uneventful, save for an overactive child screaming and pushing all the clothes off a nearby display table. Holly had given the uncaring mother a very strained smile when she refrained from moving to help clean up the mess her kid had caused. Holly found it very difficult not to breathe an obnoxious sigh of relief when the overhead speakers announced that the store would be closing within thirty minutes. She took the last few customers in line, telling new customers trying to hop in that she was only taking whoever was already available. She managed to keep the retail smile plastered on her face, despite the bitching and moaning from the people she'd turned away.

Finally, she closed up the register and finished cleaning out the fitting rooms before clocking out, grabbing her purse, and hitting the road. Her feet throbbed in her overworn "nice" work shoes, but at that point she was just relieved to be going home.

Ten minutes later she threw open her apartment door and flopped unceremoniously onto her crappy couch. She didn't resist the urge to groan indulgently into the cushions. Remembering what she'd promised Alphys, she wiggled around to reach her front pocket and pulled out her phone. 5:23PM. Enough time to change clothes, wash her face makeup off, put her hair up, and start on dinner. But first, a few more seconds groaning into the couch cushions.

'Okay, get up now. There's a fancy coffee maker thing in the kitchen, remember? C'mon Holly, you've got guests coming over.' She often had to bribe herself with rewards. Sometimes it worked. Moreso when she had an obligation. She rolled off the couch and got to her feet, stuffing on a pair of slippers before walking on the cold tile in the kitchen. She grabbed a dirty mug from the sink that appeared well-used and washed it out quickly. It was a Disney-themed coffee mug that was taller than normal mugs; she'd gotten it from Michelle two Christmases ago. Now it was pretty much the only cup she used for drinks.

The Keurig on the counter whirred to life after she pressed the correct button. It was one of the first things she'd bought for herself since coffee was a necessary resource for any retail employee. She went to her room and changed quickly before coming back to enjoy her coffee and peruse the fridge for ingredients. She knew there was fresh chicken she'd just bought on sale...

After a bit of searching, she ended up with a box of penne and a jar of pre-made marinara sauce. Chicken marinara--quick and simple. She got out the pans necessary and fell into the ritual of home cooking, humming to herself as the fresh chicken breasts sizzled merrily.

Dinner was nearly done a short while later when Holly's phone buzzed. 'Ack, six already?' She texted back, giving Alphys the go-ahead to come over. Holly had gone the extra mile to put out two servings on plates when the knock came at the door. She flounced over and opened it, giving the short monster a grin.

"Perfect timing! I literally just finished dinner. Chicken marinara," she told Alphys.

"Oh gosh, I can smell it from here," she commented. Her stomach growled and Holly laughed.

"Okay, okay, come in. I won't torture you anymore."

The two of them scarfed down dinner at the table and chatted, the meeting much more relaxed than the first. Holly was glad she'd kept texting Alphys, since it seemed to help her feel more comfortable making conversation in person.

"So I brought over Mew Mew Kissy Cutie!" Alphys reached into a messenger bag she'd plopped near her chair and pulled out a DVD case with a faded cover.

"Awesome! Let me go put these plates in the dishwasher and we'll put it in."

She and Alphys watched several hours of the show, since the DVD had a "marathon mode" that played one episode after another while skipping the intro and credits. Holly made the occasional comment here or there, comparing the anime to Sailor Moon and Tokyo Mew Mew, and Alphys seemed excited to learn about new anime. It was so easy to fall into deep conversation of headcanons and theories with her that Holly found herself wondering if she'd ever clicked with anyone as quickly as she had with Alphys. Being total nerds probably had something to do with it.

Alphys checked the time on her phone and made a noise of surprise. "Oh g-gosh. It's been four hours, haha. I should probably head home," she lamented. Holly laughed and patted her shoulder.

"Well, you know where I live. This was fun, you should come over again sometime!"

"Y-yeah!" Alphys agreed, her cheeks darkening to deep orange. "I'll just leave the DVD here since we didn't finish. I'm gonna text Undyne and let her know I'm coming back home."

Holly's smile fell. "...Does she make you text her for everything?" she asked before she could think to word the question more tactfully.

"Oh, n-no! It's just, well..." Alphys's eyes darted to the ground. "There are a few human who... d-don't really seem very nice," she explained. "Undyne just worries and wants to know when I'm walking by myself."

Holly felt guilty for asking. Of course Undyne would worry; humans were known to sometimes attack monsters unprovoked. The thought was sobering. "Well, now you make me want to make you text me, too, now," Holly laughed uneasily. The edges of Alphys's mouth tugged upwards.

"Yeah... D-don't worry, I'm not very tough, b-but Undyne was Captain of the Royal Guard, back in the Underground."

"Whoa... well I guess you're set, then! Stay safe, Alphys. See you again soon," Holly told her as she headed out the door. Alphys blushed.

"Definitely!"