FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Uh… is this really okay?" Tohru's voice was full of uncertainty.

"Don’t worry, it’s a replica created from the original casting." I ran my fingertips across the bronze plate, tracing the path of the engraved inscription."Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, with conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand. A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand. Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command. The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she with silent lips. 'Those unseen, those unheard, you will stand on your own two feet, proving your worth, not as a burden!'" I recited the text in its original language, as Tohru requested.

"Judging by the content, it seems to be a poem commemorating the victory of the Lunar Independence War, paired with the statue." Tohru fell into deep thought for a while, so I continued speaking. "So it's probably at least two thousand years old, but radiocarbon dating can't be used due to fallout contamination, and there's no reliable evidence to explain why the New Colossus was buried beneath the Mare Tranquillitatis base."

"Thinking about how the Lunar launched its war of independence against the Gaia Union back then, and then looking up at the Empire's Heart docked there now, isn't it a strange feeling?" Tohru said, pacing back and forth in the studio.

"History has a weird way of repeating itself." I tried to joke, undoing a few buttons on my collar. Was it just me, or was it getting hotter?

"…The meter is off." Tohru said something I didn't quite catch.

"What?" I fanned my shirt at the collar, trying to relieve the heat.

"When I first read it in the journal, I had this feeling." He continued. "Why are there only twelve lines*? And the meter is off." I heard some metal clinking, but I had no idea what he was doing. Why didn't I know what he was doing? "I need to see the original artifact. I have some questions."

Tohru seemed to say something else, but I couldn't make it out. Every word blurred together, and even the oscillations of his aura became hazy. What's happening?

A wave of dizziness hit me, and suddenly my legs gave out, unable to support my weight. I collapsed onto the floor.

"Hey, are you alright?" I felt the muntjac's soft hand and his warmth. But… that's all. It was as if I had suddenly disconnected from the world, and everything plunged into nothingness.

Oh, and there it was, that faintly disgusting musk scent.

That heavy musk scent—it was almost nostalgic, like it triggered some deep-seated memory. Of course, the accompanying headache that felt like it was going to explode from the inside wasn't part of the memory.

Oh my, how could it hurt this much?

I tried to recall what happened yesterday, why I was suffering like this, but I found my memory cut off after leaving the bar. It was all a blank. I had no idea how I got back to the dormitory or how I managed to crawl into bed.

And to make matters worse, I realized that my senses still hadn't fully recovered. Everything around me was a silent, empty void. I could still hear various faint sounds, of course, and smell things, even feel the vibrations transmitted from afar. But after years of living with my senses fully extended, I had grown accustomed to a world filled with oscillations, and had forgotten what it was like to rely on my neural interface alone.

I rubbed my temples, trying to sit up, and noticed that not only was my goggles not on my face, but something else was… pressing on… no, hugging my left arm. My fingertips felt short, coarse fur, warm, small, with shallow breaths.

Oh, shit.

There it was again—the heavy musk scent.