FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Diana let out a meek sigh, sipping on a cup of warm milk that the owners of the barn graciously gave her before her meager group of three headed inside of the place. While they weren’t allowed to sleep in the homestead due to a lack of space, the barn was rather cozy, fitted with stacks of hay, tools, half-finished wooden projects, and much more.

The owners, Danny and Sam, only had a few cattle and sheep outside, and had mentioned that they worked more on the farm than anything else... Which means that if she grew hungry during their stay, then she’d have something to eat.

...Though, Diana was extremely grateful that Melisandre, a charismatic Fennekin pokemorph, was able to sweet-talk Danny and Sam to let them stay in their barn for the night so they’ll be out of the rain. It would be awfully unfortunate if a sweet little Buneary pokemorph like Diana were to go cold, or if someone like Mercy, a Pichu pokemorph, were to get sick!

...Melisandre is very good at sweet-talking people, Diana has come to learn over the years.

Speaking of the girl, Melisandre was quietly conversing with Mercy about something— it was hard to hear from where Diana sat, but it sounded like they were talking about... books, and the like. Though, the choice of topic was odd coming from Melisandre, since she knew that the girl could barely even read in the first place. Perhaps Mercy brought it up, since that is a typical conversation piece for her— and maybe Diana should stop thinking about it and go talk to them, but... well, the haystack she was sitting on was just too comfy...

“Hey Diana,” Mercy called out, causing her to jump up a little, “Did you know that Melisandre doesn’t know what the word indigested means?”

Melisandre pouted a little, lightly slapping the Pichu’s arm. “Shut up!” She whined, “I can’t help that I’m not as smart as you, miss smarty-pants!”

Diana... couldn’t help but giggle at their antics. She was so glad Mercy decided to join them a few months ago. “Well, to be fair, I don’t know what indigested means either,” she said, before sipping from the cup.

Mercy soon pouted as well, folding her yellow arms. “You both are dummies,” she said playfully, before shaking her head. “I’m going to go to bed. But when I wake up, I’m going to teach you two alllll about the words in the dictionary!”

“Oh no, learning, whatever will I do?” Melisandre said while smirking. “But yes, we all should go to bed so we’ll be well rested. Hopefully, the rain will stop by morning and we can travel over to the next town.”

Diana nodded along to that, and set aside the now empty cup. She’ll return it in the morning, since it’s raining pretty hard outside, and the owners of the barn are probably asleep by now. Melisandre went over to sit in a mostly finished rocking chair— it still needed to be polished, and closed her eyes, deciding to sleep there. It was certainly better than the places she has slept in the past. Mercy quietly rolled her eyes, and went to sleep on top of a stack of cleaned wool, leaving Diana to rest on the bales of hay all by herself.

The Buneary pokemorph let out a sigh, and nuzzled into the hay while closing her eyes, letting the sound of the rain tapping against the barn’s roof to lull her to sleep...

—

Diana woke up feeling hungry.

She lightly yawned, and pushed past the stray hay that had settled around her while getting up to her feet. The air now had a light chill to it, which caused her to shiver. It was extremely dark, but noticeably, the harsh rain had slowed down to a light drizzle. Perhaps she should grab something from the farm so her stomach wouldn’t feel so empty...

She rubbed her arms, and was mildly thankful that she was wearing a long brown-ish yellow nightdress so that her feet, hands, and head were only left out. She glanced around the barn, and her ears twitched, trying to use the sounds of her friends as guidance to lead her way to the entrance... but...

“Guys?” Diana called out, not hearing them at all. “Are you... here?” She felt a little silly for asking that, since where else could they have gone?

...However, as the silence droned on, she soon realized that Melisandre nor Mercy were in the barn anymore.

She frowned a little, and scratched her head... before lightly shrugging to herself. They probably went out into the field to get something to eat as well. She just hoped that Melisandre wouldn’t try to take down a cow or something...

Carefully, stretching out her hands to feel around, she slowly made her way over to the front of the barn, finding that the door... was lightly cracked open. It seems like her friends went outside after all. Maybe she’ll meet up with them in the field...

Diana slipped past the cracked door and went towards the field, walking out and onto the wet grass... Which caused her to pause, and bite down on her bottom lip. She walked even slower, and— and couldn’t help but let out a short giggle. The pads of her feet were so incredibly sensitive, that it was difficult to walk through the short, wet grass. And, since it was cold, it only made them more sensitive.

She’d usually ask one of her friends to carry her if they did walk through an area that was sensitive for her, but... well, she couldn’t quite see her friends yet. At least the farm wasn’t too far of a walk, and once she was over there, she’d be stepping on hard dirt—

“Hey, stop it, you— mh!”

Diana stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Melisandre’s desperate voice, and felt her heart sink a little as she glanced around. Though it was dark, she could see hulking silhouettes in the distance, of which were carrying... her friends!

A soft gasp escaped her, and she crouched down a little, trying to make herself smaller incase one of the hulking cloaked figures decided to glance back. They continued to walk forwards, and Diana took one last glance towards the barn and the homestead before moving forwards slowly, making sure not to make much noise as she followed them.

For the most part, she stayed on the grass, just barely able to keep herself from vocalizing how ticklish the grass was. Shuffling through the grass helped, but even then, the faint tickling sensation was always there.

One of the figures suddenly stopped, and Diana’s heart leaped to her throat, quickly stopping as well...

...She let a sigh of relief when the figured continued to walk, merely adjusting their grip on Mercy. If she were to get caught, then who would save her friends? Not to mention that she had no clue what the large figures were going to do to them...

The little Buneary pokemorph followed them even more carefully than before, and tried to keep a good distance from them while still being close enough to see them.

She nearly lost sight of them a few times, especially when they went through a thick, and... rather spooky forest, but by some miracle, she was still able to follow them.

By now, she has been following the figures for nearly an hour... or so. Mercy was better at judging the time than her, so she could only guess how long it has been. Though, before too much longer, she could see a rather infamous medieval castle looming in the distance, making her pulse quicken. The grey, slick bricks seemed to radiate darkness, causing Diana to lightly tremble with fear. If she thought the forest was spooky, then she was no match for the absolutely terrifying haunted castle that the figures were heading to. She remembered Melisandre talk about it a few times, but hoped that the stories were false...

Though, at the thought of never seeing her friends again, she bravely continued forwards. The pink pads of her feet have grown numb, and they no longer felt ticklish. She almost missed the sensation, since it would’ve relieved some of her fear and anxiousness, but she knew that if she stopped to try and bring some warmth back, then she may lose sight of the people who took her friends.

Soon enough, the soft, green grass she had been walking on slowly turned a dead yellow, grass, of which felt horrible to walk on. It gave off an itchy sensation, but she wondered if the feeling would be different if her feet weren’t so darn cold...

The figures soon began walking up the steps of the castle, and by this point, her friends have stopped struggling at this point, finding it useless to fight against them. It was a sad sight, especially since Diana knew Melisandre wasn’t the type of person to simply... give up, but it only made her more eager to save her friends.

Diana stayed back for a while, watching as the figures entered the castle. Once they were out of sight, she hurriedly made her way up the stairs, hoping that nobody around would see her...

Thankfully, she made it up the stairs without incident, and she... stood at the front door, taking a moment to think... She wondered how many of those... cloaked figures there were, and if there would be any on the other side of the door...

Eventually, she let out a sigh, and slowly opened up the front door. She was a little surprised when she saw that it was unlocked, but was even more surprised when she didn’t see anyone inside the large entrance room. At least she didn’t have to pick the lock...

Carefully, she stepped inside while softly closing the door, making sure not to make too much noise. She glanced around, seeing that there were torches on the walls— which, while it only gave off dim light, it was still better than nothing.

Diana swallowed the saliva that had been accumulating in her mouth while creeping into the nearest hall, keeping her ears pointed upwards so she could hear better. She really hoped that this place wasn’t haunted, because if it was, then... well, she loved her two friends, but she highly doubted that she could get past a ghost to save them.

There weren’t many decorations on the walls on the castle, save for the occasional dark looking painting or a full suit of armor. She didn’t stare too long at the paintings, finding them to be generally uninteresting— it was just some guy over and over again, but at the next suit of armor, she... stopped, eyeing it up and down before settling her gaze on the mace that it was holding.

Looking back up at the helmet again, her breath caught in her throat when thought that glowing red eyes were looking down at her, but... figured that it was merely a trick of the light since the ‘eyes’ only appeared for a second.

Slowly, while keeping her eye on the helmet— just in case it wasn’t the lighting, she grabbed the mace with... mild difficulty. She had to pry the metal fingers of the gauntlet off of the wooden part of the mace, and when she finally got her hands on the weapon, she found that it was a little difficult to hold. Her hands were too small, and it was just a little heavier than she would have liked for it to be, but... well, it was better than nothing.

Diana gave one last look to the armor, before slowly walking down the hall again, listening for—

“Eep!” She jolted out of her skin when something large clattered to the ground behind her, and she turned her head to see that the suit of armor had fallen to the floor.

Her poor little heart pounded in her chest, and she hurried down the hall, hoping that she wasn’t going to get immediately caught. She didn’t think the thing would fall over like that! If she did, well, she never would have messed with it in the first place!

She stood at the end of the hall, softly panting while gripping the mace tightly. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to use said mace for fighting, and instead use it to deter people from attacking her, but... well, she just didn’t know what the people who captured her friends were like. She didn’t even know why they captured her friends in the first place...

Luckily, after listening out for several torturous moments, it seemed like nobody was going to check out the noise. Diana let out a sigh of relief, before slowly going down a different hall. Since it was warmer in the castle than outside, she could slowly feel sensation coming back to the pads of her feet and hands. The... stone floors of the castle were mildly slick from the damp air— or at least, she thinks it’s stone. Mercy would be able to tell her what it is, but... well, Mercy wasn’t with her right now.

Diana stopped in the middle of the hallway, furrowing her brow when an interesting smell hit her nose. It smelled very... concentrated, like it was some floral oil of some kind. Her smelling abilities weren’t the best, but due to how strong the scent was, she was able to easily follow it.

...Though, as she came closer and closer to the origin of the scent, she began to hear a few voices, as well as... laughter...?

She swallowed heavily, and pushed open a door, seeing... a number of cells lining the walls of the next room. While holding the mace even tighter, she stepped inside, glancing around. She didn’t see any of her friends in the cells, but she did see their clothing, of which was folded into a neat pile on the floor in one of the cells. She... didn’t know how to feel about it.

Diana... slowly frowned, still not seeing anyone around. Off towards the end of the room, there was a stairwell leading downwards— of which seemed to be where the voices, laughter, and strong floral smell were coming from.

Slowly, she went over and stopped at the top of a stairwell, looking down into what she assumed was the basement. The torches provided little light down the stairs, but she could see that it was curved; it was a spiral staircase.

She bit down on her bottom lip nervously, and her bunny-like ears lowered, feeling very nervous. She remembered how many of those cloaked figures there were earlier, and judging by the noises coming below, there were probably a lot more. While Diana wanted to save her friends, she... also didn’t know if she could take all of them on...

Diana gritted her teeth and steeled her nerves as she carefully made her way down the stairs, ignoring how her heart was pounding out of her chest. She began to lightly tremble some more, but even still, she bravely continued down the stairs, trying her hardest to focus on the voices instead...

The voices sounded very familiar— perhaps her friend’s voices? But there was one other voice that didn’t sound quite familiar at all. Was it a voice of one of the cloaked figures, or... perhaps, someone else’s voice? She... didn’t know, and that merely made her tremble even more.

She continued to slowly walk down the stairs, and felt... terrified, of what she was going to see.

There was laughter, yes, but... but what if... what if—

Diana’s breath caught in her throat when her eyes finally came across the scene, feeling her heart momentarily stop in her chest.

Melisandre was hanging from the ceiling from her wrists, of which was incased by a thick set of metal handcuffs. Her ankles were also cuffed as well, as to stop her from moving around too much. Mercy’s wrists and neck were locked in a medieval looking device— a pillory. Both of her friends— and the other two girls too, were clad in a thin, ragged cloth, of which was barely covering them.

A little behind Mercy was a pale human with black-ish hair and blue eyes, strapped in a wooden chair of some kind with her ankles encased in wood, leaving her feet vulnerable. Although Diana has only seen her a few times, she remembered the human to be an energetic girl named Molly. She has seen her in the city, and they got together fairly well, but... she didn’t know why she was here, of all places. Had she been captured too?

Near the corner of the chamber, she spotted the final girl— someone she has never seen before, who was also the last victim. They seemed to be a... neopet of some degree— a Strawberry Zafara, if she had to assume. The girl was strapped down to a table, with her wrists and ankles strapped in wood in a similar way that Molly’s ankles were.

It was a terrifying sight for Diana at first, but what shocked her the most was that the cloaked figures were... tickling them.

The neopet on the table had two... torturers, around her, who of which were tickling her armpits and feet with their oiled-up gauntlets. Even though the girl’s situation seemed hopeless, she trashed around on the table as she laughed weakly, desperate to get away from their hands.

Molly’s feet were being tickled by these fuzzy little... poms, that were coming from a thin white stick. Uncontrollable laughter spilled out of her, unable to hold it back at all. She must have been there longer than everyone else in the room, since she wasn’t fighting back at all.

Mercy’s sides and stomach were being tickled by a torturer, and out of everyone in the room she was struggling the most, flinching and squirming at each touch, letting out shrieks and squeals. However, the torturer merely seemed amused by her pathetic attempts to not laugh, causing them to tickle her harder.

Finally, Melisandre was being tickled by her feet by the oily gauntlets of a single torturer. She was crying from how hard she was laughing, but even still she managed to kick the cloaked figure in the head a few times. They... didn’t seem to care, continuing to tickle her poor, abused soles.

Diana watched all of this with large eyes, loosening the grip on the mace in her hands. She watched as Mercy slowly gave up, letting the torture do whatever they pleased, and as Molly became hysterical from how much her toes were being tickled in that moment. She watched as Melisandre cried with laughter, and as the girl she has never seen before tilt her head back with loud laughter— one of the tortures took the opportunity to tickle her neck, and she screamed.

Diana’s eyes widened more and more, and... slowly remembered when her feet were being tickled by the wet grass. Her toes curled against the cold stair she was standing on, thinking back to the sensation that made her giggle earlier in the night...

She didn’t flinch when a metal gauntlet gently landed on her shoulder, and she simply watched as the figure took the mace from her hands and handing it to someone behind them. The figure took the time to massage her shoulder for a moment, softly rubbing their thumb against the tender muscle between her neck and shoulder, before guiding her forwards, resting their arm across her back.

They lead her to a wooden stock that rested mostly the ground, opening it up for her. The figure who had her mace set it to the side, before going over to sit her directly in front of the device, guiding her ankles and wrists into the slots. They closed the stock, making sure to lock it up tight.

Diana bit her bottom lip nervously, not sure how to feel about her hands and feet being directly in front of her like this. However, she wasn’t able to think too much about it since one of the torturers began to expertly tickle the pads of her feet with their recently oiled-up gauntlets. Laughter immediately bubbled out of her, watching as gauntlets attacked both her feet, and then hands. The floral smell was very strong now, and seemed to make her even more sensitive than she already was. The other torturer reached under her nightdress and began to tickle her sides and tummy, causing her to quickly become breathless from how much she was laughing.

Tears pooled in the corner of her eyes as her chest heaved up and down, and it wasn’t because she was upset. A maddening feeling quickly went over her, and she soon was just as hysterical as the other girls in the room. She could hear Mercy squeal and cry with laughter, unable to hold it back any longer, and Diana couldn’t help but laugh even harder.

A third torturer soon went over to Diana, and began tickling the back of her neck, eliciting a particularly loud squeal from her. She panted, feeling lightheaded as the minutes ticked by, and briefly wondered if she was going to pass out— but wasn’t given much time to think about it since her three torturers were tickling her so much. It didn’t seem like they were going to stop anytime soon, but she didn’t mind that fact too much.

However, as she was being tickled, she didn’t notice the dark figure standing on the stairs, watching her closely with their bright, red eyes...