FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

By the time the little river otter found herself safely on the ground in mainland Spontoon Island, she was positively breathless - from a combination of whirlwind excitement mixed with the slight pangs of air-sickness. The flight across the South Pacific had been bumpy and shaky, and though she trusted the giant wood and steel machines overall, there was still that gnawing fear of being so high up in the air, especially being buffeted by crosswinds and turbulence that threatened to split the plane apart.

She padded through the sand and through the rusty gates at the makeshift airport, which was really nothing more than a large grass and bamboo shack, a couple of wood hangars, and a cab-stand underneath a row of spreading palm trees. Beyond this, she could see the beautiful blue Pacific stretching out for an eternity.

"It's even more lovely this close," she whispered to herself, enchanted immediately with the water.

At the cab-stand, a dark sedan waited, engine gunning, and the otter rushed forward ahead of the rest of the small throng of passengers she'd shared the flight with.

"Please! Hello? Um, is English okay here?" she asked as she approached the harried-looking bear at the wheel.

He gave the otter a quick once-over then snorted. "Where you teenk you at, leetle girl? Where to?"

She set down her small assortment of bags and came closer. "Um, I'm...I'm actually looking for someone. Perhaps you know her? Leilani Perierre?" At his confused look, she forced her brown eyes to focus down at her paws folded in front of her. "She's...she's a really good diver. She has a business I think, called Perierre Salvage?"

The bear snorted again. "Don't know her. You want cab or not?"

The otter sighed deeply and nodded, opening up the sedan door and tossing her bags into the back seat before sliding in carefully. "I guess I need to find someone else I can ask then. Um...do you have a place where I could go to ask?"

"I take you for fifty dollars," the bear grinned over his shoulder.

"Fifty?!" She caught his scowl and then sighed, fishing into her sundress pocket. "Fine. Just please help me. I've come a long way to see her." Money exchanged paws and the girl had to hold on fiercely to the side door handle as the cab jerked away with a spray of sand and sped down the road.

"Why you look for diver girl?" the bear asked the rear-view mirror as he drove through the main thoroughfare of Althing, the island's largest village.

The otter managed a smile. "Let's say I'm a really big fan of hers. I've read about some of her amazing exploits. The buried treasures she's located, her work as a pearl diver, and all the shipwrecks she's helped locate and assist in raising. She's done quite a bit for Spontoon Island." She added with a haughty tone, "I'm surprised you don't know her, she's only one of the greatest divers in the world."

The bear snorted, which was obviously his forte. "Don't know her. Don't like otters. Don't like water."

"And yet here you are, surrounded by it," the otter retorted, still seething over the 50-dollar cab fare.

"Dah, that is true. Maybe one day I return to my home, when safe from war. Back to wife and family." The bear steered the cab across along street and down an alleyway. "All money I make I send to them. Keep them fed and warm in winter."

The otter's tone softened and she leaned forward a bit to rest her chin on the seat. "I had no idea. I'm...well, I'm sorry you have to be here. Why can't you go home?"

"Is make no difference. I go home soon. Maybe I get more generous otters like you."

The otter chuckled. "I'm Lilly. Lilly Dewitt." She ran a webbed paw through long light brown hair and added, "And that wasn't generosity. It was actually more of a fleecing."

"Mmm," the bear growled in agreement. "Dah, this is true. We are here, Lilly. Straight ahead. The Barrows. Dancing, drinking, lot of people. They help you. They know this diver." He sighed and looked at the metal tin beside him before stuffing his big paw around inside it, pulling out two 20-dollar bills. "Find your friend, Lilly." He smiled and thrust the money at her before stopping to let her out.

The otter grabbed the money and her bags and started to leave before turning around and giving the bear one of the bills. "For your wife and kids," she said gently.

The bear looked surprised but took the money and deposited it in the tin. With a bare nod to her, and the trace of a warm smile, he was gone again, tires squealing.

Lilly turned towards the sound of raucous laughter and swinging jazz music. The bear had let her out in a less-distinctive area of the small village. There was a multicolored row of sedans parked along the street and from there, she could see a large two-story complex with hardwood and bamboo trimmings, and multiple windows which displayed posters of pretty foxes, wolves, and other creatures in scanty sarongs and holding drinks or food. Across the top, a large billowing banner proclaimed this as Barrows and underneath it read, "Drinks, dining, exotic dancers, adults-only".

The otter frowned, looking around for perhaps a less-rowdy, quieter place along the street, but at mid-day, everyone seemed to be here right now. Steeling herself and taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she went through the swinging bamboo doors and stepped inside.

The dank smell of alcohol and musk permeated throughout, and the fog of smoke from numerous cigarettes was nearly choking. Her eyes began to water, causing her to stumble into a few empty chairs, and she nearly fell forwards into a group of rough-looking wolves in the middle of a serious-looking card game.

"Hey, watch it, rudderbutt!" One of them growled as he covered his dealt cards, and with the other paw shoved Lilly and sent her staggering away from the table.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She scampered away from the other tables and found a dimly-lit bar along one wall. Here a few creatures drank and laughed, while others stared lustfully at a pair of exotic dancers on a brightly-colored stage, two otters, wearing traditional sarongs and leis around their necks and webbed feet. As they moved, voluptuous breasts peeked out every so often from underneath the leis.

Seeing the otters made Lilly squirm a bit, suddenly mindful of her age and development, not quite an adult like them. She crossed an arm demurely over her chest and dragged her bags behind her over to the farthest bar stool before sitting down dejectedly.

"What'll ya have, pretty otter?" A large, muscled red fox shouted over the music.

Lilly was at a loss. Alcohol was obviously out of the question. "Um...M-milk...please? Um, chocolate?"

The fox slowly grinned and shook his head. "You're kinda young to be in here." But he turned and fetched a milk bottle from a small refrigerator beneath a row of spirit-covered shelves. "You alone?"

Lilly nodded, pursing her lips, whiskers twitching. "I'm um...l-looking for someone actually."

"Meeting you here?" He added a few teaspoons of pure cocoa and sugar to the glass of milk and placed it in front of her.

The otter crossed her feet under the stool and smiled, feeling a bit better. "Well, no. I need to find her but I have no idea where to look. Um, d-do you know about Perierre Salvage?"

The fox's expression seemed to go foggy a moment but then he beamed. "Oh yeah, Leilani Perierre. Hell, girl, you're way off course. She's in Tahiti, in the Polynesian islands, way east of here." He walked away to tend to a few customers, leaving Lilly alone to stew.

"Did you say Leilani? You're supposed to meet her?" A kind-looking poodle with sky-blue eyes and poufy white fur glanced in her direction and leaned closer to her stool.

Lilly blushed a little. "Well, sort of. I'm, um, I...I swim and dive back home in the States, but mostly just lakes and rivers." She looked proud. "I'm the best in my family too. I always catch fish and help others when they lose things deep in the lake. And I read about diving all the time, and about what Leilani's done over the past five years." Lilly took a sip of her milk and grimaced. "Well, anyway, I'm here to meet her and have her teach me to be a deep-sea diver like her."

The poodle grinned. "She's quite the gal. I've met her on a few occasions." He looked dreamy for a moment, then jerked a paw over towards the dancing otters. "Makes these two look like chopped liver put together. Yes ma'am, she's quite the gal."

Lilly frowned then. "Only, I'm going to have to figure out where to go from here. The bartender said she lives far away in Tahiti. I'll have to fly again and I have no idea when a plane would go there. Is it far, sir?"

"You can call me Scott. Scott Rogers. Yeah, Tahiti's pretty far yet, at least a three-hour flight with favorable winds and easy weather."

"I'm Lilly Dewitt." The two shook paws. "Nice to meet you."

"Same, Lilly. You'll have to excuse the rambunctious air around the Barrows. It's really not such a bad place, but you don't want to be in here after dark." He then looked closely at her. "Actually you shouldn't really be in here at all. How old are you?"

Lilly flushed and tucked her paws guiltily in her lap. "Seventeen." She quickly added, "But I'll be eighteen in two months."

The white poodle frowned and then got up from his stool, plunking down several coins. "Come on, let's chat outside." He paused to pick up one of her bags and hoisted it over his shoulder gallantly, then gestured for the girl to follow.

Outside, the air was cleaner and quieter, and eventually Lilly stopped coughing. "Now then," Scott smiled and set the bag down in front of her. "You need to get to Tahiti then, right?"

"Yes," Lilly said, wiping her eyes.

The poodle grinned and laid a paw on her shoulder. "I'll take you. No charge." He sighed and looked up at the sky. "I've been wanting to see that lovely diver again anyway."

Lilly was overjoyed and despite just meeting him came up and hugged him tightly. "Oh, thank you so much! I didn't know you were a pilot! You have a plane too?!"

Scott laughed and wiggled uncomfortably from the warm otter's embrace. "I have. She's The Trident. She might not be the best plane, but she's the best thing in my life and has never steered me wrong. She'll get you there alright."

Lilly looked suddenly a mess. "I-I really feel I should pay you. I-"

He stopped her with a raised paw. "It's fine, little lady. Fortunately for you, I've got a weak spot for otters. We just need to stop at my place first."

The otter looked suspicious and backed away suddenly. "Why?"

The poodle grinned and started walking away. "I need to get my swim trunks, fins, scuba tank." He looked back at her confused expression and laughed. "She likes to stay underwater a really long time." But Lilly saw a little blush in his cheeks and a sparkle in his eyes as well, and wondered if Scott knew Leilani far more than as just a passing acquaintance.

When they arrived at a private airfield some time later, Lilly was already wishing she'd stuck around Althing Airport and waited for a proper flight. The Trident was a monoplane with three piston engines and hard wooden propellers. As she stared at the body of the plane, she noticed the grey steel was marred by countless dents and scratches. Where pontoons should have been fitted below, to allow for take-offs and landings on the water, she instead saw two shabby sets of large rubber tires. Hastily scrawled across the nose and side of the plane was a red "44".

The poodle grinned, walked over to the plane's port-side wing, and struck a dramatic pose. "Like her?"

Lilly was lost for words and barely nodded.

"She was built in 1938," Scott explained as he walked around the craft, checking it over carefully, as he doubtless did every flight. "The KSM Aircraft Company in America. I bought her less than a year later but I didn't have money left over to fit her with pontoons, so I just fly her over the Spontoon Islands wheels- only. It was a bother to land at any of the fields because I had to get clearance all the time, so I got this private field for myself. No one uses it but me."

"Have you flown long?" The otter was still looking at the Trident with some dismay and uneasiness.

"I know what you're thinking," the poodle snickered and came back towards her. "The Trident is a fast and reliable machine." He pointed to one of the engines. "Max speed, 312 miles an hour. I've clocked her. She took first place during Speed Week of 1940. Plus I made some other modifications. She's got an experiential fuel booster pump that force-feeds fuel into the cylinders, which cuts down on misfires."

"Ex...experimental...?" Lilly's worry went up a notch.

Scott laughed and reached for her paw. "Miss Dewitt, please trust me. My passion is flying. I was making airmail runs before you were even born." He let go and smoothed a paw over the side of the Trident slowly. "I have a special bond with this lady. You'll see."

Lilly kept a tight hold of the seat edges as the plane dipped and swayed 20,000 feet up, coming in and out of snow-white, puffy clouds and blending into the beautiful blues of the horizon and the ocean far below. Every so often, the plane sputtered, and Scott would grin over his shoulder as he grabbed the steering rack and bucked the plane either higher or lower to compensate.

"I forgot to mention," Scott chuckled as one of the engines seemed to backfire, sending out a brief plume of smoke. "She can be a demanding lady sometimes!"

The otter grit her teeth and closed her eyes, praying to whatever gods existed in the sky to keep them safe. As if in answer, the plane sputtered a bit more than before, and all three engines suddenly cut out entirely. She felt as if she were in a high-speed elevator as the Trident dipped violently and started to drop.

"Ah, damn. Misfire!" Scott said and with the engines off, his voice seemed unnaturally loud and urgent. "Hang on, I'll start up the pump!"

Lilly jumped up from her seat, terrified. "You mean the experimental one?! We're falling!"

"Take it easy, otter," Scott growled, "I've done this before." He flipped a few switches on the console and looked anxiously on either side of him to see if the engines kicked on again. Nothing happened. They were still falling.

"Scott, please!" Lilly ran towards the back of the plane, looking madly for a parachute. "We need to get out of here before we crash!"

"I'm not leaving her!" Scott barked as he tried the switches again. "Takes some time for the pump to work! Besides, if you drop down into the ocean here, you'll never make it to shore! We must be 50 miles out still, maybe more!"

Lilly would have no part of it. The otter found one of the parachute packages and slung it quickly over her back, fumbling with the latches. She looked up at Scott and there was fierce determination in her eyes. "Maybe I don't understand your bond with this piece of junk, but I have a special bond too, with the water. I'll make it."

With that, the otter ran to the side door, threw it open and jumped from the plane. As she floated down by parachute, she glanced up above her, seeing the Trident much lower, and not a sound coming from her. She lost sight of it as it disappeared into a low-flying front of clouds and then she splashed into the water hard, instantly jolted by the warm water that surrounded her.

She burbled as she found herself tangled in the parachute cords and sinking deeper into the sea. With all her might, she clawed at the latches still around her back and swam free of the chute. As she surfaced, she looked wildly around her, trying to make out any landmarks, anything that would show her she was close, but there was nothing. Quickly she searched the sky again, trying to remember in what direction the Trident had been flying.

"Where...where is he?" She was worried now. She hoped Scott hadn't crashed. "Maybe he got the engines started. Maybe if I just wait here he'll come back for me and-" Realization sank in. The Trident had no pontoons, so there was no way it could land in the water and rescue her. Her only chance now was to swim.

Thinking for a moment, Lilly took off her dress, tied the sleeves together, and inflated it through until it made an adequate life preserver. Then she swam in the direction she thought she'd seen the Trident disappear into.

She was exhausted. Even stopping every once in a while to float comfortably on her back didn't ease the aches and pains in her arms and legs. As the day grew shorter, the water around her seemed to turn a bit chillier, and she shivered in her bra and panties. As the sun started to set behind her, she cried out in joy as a large piece of land in the far distance came into view.

"Tahiti!" she gasped. "That must be it!"

But she was still so far away, at least several miles. Painfully, the river otter swam forward, alternating between breast-strokes and underwater dives, trying to rest at least one muscle at a time. Over an hour later, she became deathly afraid she wasn't going to make it at all.

She had just stopped floating on her back to continue her agonizing swim when a burst of bubbles on the surface caught her attention. Fear gripped her. She had no idea what denizens of the deep filled these waters and was suddenly terrified that something here could make a snack of her. She backed away as the bubbles increased and kicked weakly, wincing.

A shape popped to the surface in a spray of water, long black hair, and dark brown fur and took a deep gulp of air. Lilly, stunned, couldn't believe who it was.

"Leilani? Leilani!" She suddenly cried out and hugged the surprised otter tightly.

The sea otter let out a startled churrrip? and looked at Lilly carefully. "Who are you?" she asked, pulling away from the river otter carefully and treading water in front of her. Her deep green eyes looked into hers with curiosity, and there was no smile.

Quickly Lilly explained who she was, her adventure flying to the Spontoon Islands, and then the harrowing trip across the ocean towards Tahiti with Scott Rogers.

Leilani frowned. "You just left him up there? Lilly, how could you?"

The river otter blushed and looked away. "I...I was afraid. I thought we were going to crash."

The sea otter sighed softly and took Lilly's paw. "Come with me. I will take you to shore." Lilly nodded and reached for Leilani's tail as the older otter turned and started swimming back to the island in the distance. "You are a brave girl, Lilly Dewitt," Leilani said as they swam. "You are fortunate I was diving for oysters in this area. My companion adores them."

Lilly nodded meekly. "I really...just...wanted to meet you. You are my favorite otter and I want to learn to be a diver just like you."

Leilani looked pleased. "I will teach you, Lilly. You have already demonstrated your swimming abilities, to be sure." She then grinned. "But I worry you must also learn patience, yes?"

Lilly sighed and stopped talking, feeling incredibly guilty. Very soon, the island shore came into view and Lilly could see several waves crashing onto golden sand. Not too far away, she saw a few grass huts, some parked sedans, and-

She gasped. Settled just a few yards from the shacks, neatly stationed and tucked under a large bamboo covering, was The Trident. She was so happy she let go of Leilani's tail, waded the rest of the way into shore, and flung into Scott's arms as he stood not too far from a roaring campfire.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Lilly exclaimed and reached up on her toes to kiss him softly. "How in the world did you get here?! And in one piece?!"

She heard Leilani giggling softly behind her, and turned to see the sea otter take a waist pouch from around her sarong and toss it to the poodle. "Your oysters, Scott."

The poodle blushed, seeing the sea otter, and walked over to embrace her in his arms, sharing a passionate kiss. He then looked over at Lilly and smiled. "I might not swim as well as you two. But you don't fly, so you don't understand my bond with my machine, Lilly."

Leilani slipped an arm around Scott. "Lilly, we all have special bonds. Just like your swimming ability, your bond with the water is no less than the bond I have with the deep, or Scott has with the sky. There is a special bond we all share, one that makes us who we are, and what we can ultimately accomplish." She walked over and touched the little otter's chin. "That is something I want you always to remember, if you are going to stay here and learn to dive with me."

The otter nodded, looking over at Scott with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry I left you up there."

The poodle blushed and then came over to hug her tightly. "Forgiven, forgotten. Come on, Lilly. I'll show you how to make oyster stew."

Leilani laughed and wrapped her arms around the poodle to kiss again. "Did you bring your scuba gear?" she whispered shyly.

Scott nodded. "I certainly did. I think I'll join you two on your dives, if that's alright." He pressed himself against her, warm and aroused. "As long as you and I can get some...alone time on a reef?"

Leilani blushed deeply. "And then we can make a special bond ourselves," she whispered naughtily and then winked and chased a laughing Lilly to the campfire, leaving the poodle warm and dreamy.

END