FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 1

“Happy 20th Hatchday Astor!" His friends jumped at him from the cave entrance, with some of his favorite prey on display.

“Guys, you didn't have to. This meal had to have taken so long to find." His face flushed from overwhelming feelings, his tail thumped on the ground. How did I forget my 20th hatchday?

“For our best friend, nothing is too much. Being honest, we tried looking for more animals, but they appear to be dying out. Our luck is starting to run out down here after 4 years." Dread was spread across everyone's faces, most notably Walken.

“A-anyhow, we got a decent bunch for our dragon's special day." Walken pulled Astor closer to the fresh meal. Nesokia, beetles, grasshoppers and voles were spread out on a tall stone, ready to munch down.

“Are you two joining me or do I stuff myself full?" He offered a nesokia to Nabu, who pulled back immediately.

“I think I'll pass." Nabu turns around as Astor and Walken devour all the prey, making a bloody mess on the ground. Drops of blood fall next to Nabu's talons, earning nauseous expressions from him. “Bleh! I don't know how you two can just eat the blood, it's disgusting."

“My father taught me to get used to eating with blood as a spice, since there was a chance I'd be unable to learn water to clean it off. And to be honest, I've grown to love blood on my meat." After growing up with lightning, fire and wind came to Astor rather quickly. I wish my wind was stronger, I can barely lift my tail up.

He tried to shoot water from his talons, but nothing came out. Nope, still don't get it.

“I don't see the difference, really. Meat is meat." Walken happily continued to devour a large nesokia, crunching and making a mess all over his face. He grinned at the others, his teeth with blood and meat chunks across them. I'm glad he's not a bloodthirsty beast.

“Are you sure you can't get used to the blood? We know you can't learn water, so how else are you going to keep yourself nourished? Fruit won't be enough for a strong boy like you."

“I'm sorry, but the smell and flavor make me gag immediately. I'll go get your next gift ready while you eat… that." Nabu rushes off, his expression half disgusted.

“Why can't he wash the meat by the river? He's overcomplicating things in my opinion." Walken swallows another large prey.

“I think he doesn't want to admit that he hates meat. He's not as muscular as he used to."

“Oh, is that it? We could find alternatives once we leave the chasm."

If only we could...

“Found them." Nabu comes back with a batch of colorful fruits from the cave. “Hope you've still got space for some real delicacies."

Astor's eyes glisten at the beautiful batch: fresh reds, blues, greens, oranges and yellows placed above the clean boulder. He whistled rhythmically, then felt embarrassed.

“Enjoy them you two, I'm getting the next surprise ready."

“No you're not, you promised you'd try these someday." Nabu pulls Walken's tail, stopping him right before he runs away.

“But it looks weird and messy and the juice with the seeds isn't my thing." He pouts, stomping his foot.

“And yet you eat bloody meat." Astor reaches for a blue fruit. “It won't hurt you, I promise. Do it for my hatchday." Nabu chuckled a little to himself.

Walken was taken aback, defeated. “-I hoped you wouldn't say those words." He reluctantly munches down the blue fruit, face expressing discomfort. After several chewings, his expression changed. “Huh… I- like it. It's really sweet and sour."

“Great, that's another taste we all share. Told you it wouldn't hurt." The rest of the morning was spent on finishing the fruits and playing chase.

Earth shook around them, perking their attention as they braced themselves.

“Another land disappearance?." Parts of the cliff crack once more, diverging into all directions. Astor and Nabu use their wind to create a protection field around them, Walken crouches between them. I thought we were done with them months ago, we barely have any resources left.

“Are either of your wind powers strong enough to push the clouds away?" Walken wrapped his tail around themselves.

“Not enough, we tried from a new place but it failed."

The ground shook much harder, a familiar blue aura surrounded the entire chasm. Slowly, debris small and big rose from the ground as various chunks of earth disappeared.

“W-why's the entire chasm covered in this light? We'll disappear if we're not careful. I don't want to be taken again." Walken's body began to tremble.

We have to do something. “Let's run to the river, I don't see any vanishing aura over there."

They rushed, jumped and avoided any rising boulder or crack left over, as a large chunk of the cliff came crashing down behind them. The river side was mostly safe, they caught their breath by the waterfall as the commotion stopped.

“Are you okay?" Walken leaned his face close to Astor and Nabu with genuine concern on his face.

“Yeah… we're fine. It was a much bigger disappearance than before, what's going on?"

The earth stopped quacking, the water by the river calming down.

“Not sure, I've never seen so much of the land disappear at once."

“Great, another cave is gone." Nabu inspects beyond the river, only to spot a dead end. “And we're completely trapped with nasty water." He said grimly, covering his beak nostrils.

We can't keep living like this. How many resources did we lose back there? We need a way out, soon.

“Look at the waterfall." The water slowly turned a disturbing shade of purple and red coloration, as its awful stench plagued the air around them.

“No no no, this is bad. We won't survive long without a clean source of water to–"

“Typhure, what did you do?!" A new voice echoed from nearby, but no one was around them.

“It's not a big deal, love. I know you can fix it, my fishy sweetheart." Another voice spoke from the same place. Nabu approached the waterfall, the other following suit. They noticed a small crevice behind the waterfall where two dragons stood inside a cave.

“D-don't call me f-fishy, you know my face gets all red." The blue dragon spoke.

“Why else do you think I use it? You're so handsome with that shade of red on your lovely face." The dark gray scaled dragon grinned, looking at the blue dragon lovingly.

“As long as you d-don't use it in front of others, I'll allow it. Remind me to make a name to annoy you with, my pompous prince. Now, let me put away my instrument in your bag, I'll need to clean the water."

Astor and the others looked at each other with amusement as the blue dragon placed his claws in the water. They notice in shock: the water was turning back to a crystal clear coloration and the foul stench was gone. Maybe they can help us get out of here.

“Hey, can you hear us?. We're outside the waterfall."

Astor was pulled back, several talons and claws covering his snout.

“What are you doing? We don't know these dragons." Nabu whispered harshly in his ears.

“What choice do we have? We're trapped here without any food or a way out. They might be able to push away the clouds. Or at worst we take them on, three against two."

The wall behind the waterfall cracks, an explosion blasts several stones away, hurting the trio. From all the ruble, a coughing approached from the other end along with thin whiskers vibrating in the air.

“Typhure, what was that for?. You could've killed someone."

“I'm sorry, I didn't expect to blow up the wall that hard. But what matters is no one is dead, right? No one died over there?"

The blue dragon exasperated, slowly walking outside the cave. “Forgive my mate, he's still learning to control his p-power, and trying not to kill others." He glared at his partner, who responded with a grin and a wink, causing the blue's face to turn red again. “Anyways, I-I promise we mean you n-no harm. I'm Míngzé"

His scales shone various shades of blue, black and white; like water reflected off of them. His general form was as tall as Astor but on all fours and a longer body, with strands of green fur from head to tail, his talons were webbed and his tail was thin like a whip.

“I'm Astor. You showed up at the perfect time."

“Nabu" He stepped forwards. “It's lovely to see new faces after so long. Come say hi, Walken." He pulled Walken forwards, whose face was covered.

“Hi, don't mind my appearance, I'm not from around here." He slowly stepped back, stopped by Astor.

“None of us are, we've been trapped down here for several years with limited food and water. Neither of us can destroy that cold cloud above us so we hoped one of you had great wind mastery to help us." Please don't ask about Walken's unusual appearance.

“Sure, my mate can provide us with strong enough winds to break the clouds."

“You can call me Typhure, by the way." He spread his large wings, his dark scales shone like stars in the night sky. His form was the biggest out of everyone, including his mate. “And I most certainly can, but I'd like to inspect around here before leaving. Need to find some lovely gemstones for our vow ceremony. And for your hatchday as well, or did my fishy forget it's a month away?"

“M-my h-h-hatchday? I said it's not necessary. And can you p-please just call me Míngzé?." His face was more red than a pomegranate.

“I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. And yes, it is necessary; I want to give you the most special gift imaginable." He snuggled next to Mingzé, who grew a faint smile.

With a single swing of his large tail, he pushes the cave walls wide open. Various clutches of colored minerals revealed themselves stuck to the ground, along with another source of clean water.

How did the cliff not fall on us?. “Were you born with the earth element?"

“Yes actually, I have. I often forget, since my control over all my elements is more or less the same." The earth shakes, then water materializes from below them, flooding the entire floor to everyone's chest. Astor and Nabu held onto Walken, who reached his neck as far high as possible; Míngzé meanwhile shakes his head. After a while, the water evaporates into the skies.

“You did all that?."

“His favorite pastime." Míngzé groaned. “Love, what did I say about showing off to everyone you come across?"

Typhure pulls him close to his side. “Not to show off without you."

Small vines grow from below them, growing into an arch above the couple. Blue and gray flowers sprout across it, slowly blooming over their heads.

“Typhure, you handsome idiot." Míngzé covers his face, leaning on his shoulder.

I can't get a read on them. Is he alright with his mate's teasing?

“Would you like help finding gemstones? We can finish quicker and leave sooner. Anyone who knows how to control the earth, can join me. The rest, please keep my beloved occupied, I want to keep his gift a surprise."

“Sure, that'd be us." Walken pulls Nabu with him. “I'd love to learn how to master earth, all my attempts have been either pitiful or catastrophic."

“Oh. Now that I'm looking at you, you're not a typical dragon eh? Right this way please. Love, could you please wait outside?"

“Let's go Míngzé, we can chat outside." Both Míngzé and Astor rest by the river outside. The sun rays shone in the water.

“Can you believe him? He always goes above and beyond for me, even when I say it's not necessary. On one hand I really appreciate his efforts, but sometimes it can be too much."

“I could tell from your reactions. He is quite a lot." Perhaps too much, I don't get how this kind of love isn't tiring.

“The bright side is we're both princes, so we're allowed to be together. And outside his pompous demeanor, he's a real sweetheart."

“Allowed to be together? What do you mean?"

“A royal can't be with a commoner, that's it. Others think it's a waste of time for the royal dragon to be with a nobody."

“I've never heard of such, but I guess it makes sense?"

“It doesn't." Astor jumped back, taken aback by the sudden change of tone. “It's ludicrous and I'll make sure to abolish it once we succeed our parents."

Following this, Míngzé placed his webbed talon on his chest, steadying his breath for several minutes till he calmed down.

“I'm sorry for my rude reaction. There's… a lot of baggage in that topic. I'd rather not get into details, but it's really frustrating that such a mindset exists, it's ruined my siblings' lives."

“It's alright, no need to apologize to me. I can only imagine how much of a burden a member of royalty would have, it sounds like a lot of work as is."

“I concur, but I'd say it's worth it for the chance to brag about what we have. Although there's things that'd suit me better than them, there's nothing I can do about it." His voice turned sour.

I didn't think you'd be one of those royal dragons. Gotta be careful what I say next. “What kinds of things do you want?"

“Well-"

“You who carry the signs of virtuous change, hear me out." A new voice echoes around them.

“Hey, did you hear that?" Míngzé is also confused, his voice back to skittish.

A twinge of pain in his chest clouded his sight, making him lightheaded. A glowing light emerged from both his and Míngzé's chest, both glowing orbs of light with hints of gold and indigo respectively. He felt an invisible string attaching his physical body to this floating orb, like his life was about to be snatched away.

“I call to you, volt and sea, you must brace yourselves for hardship and heartbreak in your futures."

His bolt mark glows, as well as a new teardrop mark on Míngzé's palm.

“You must carry the hope and kindness for all life in the world. Although the pain will be great, you must overcome it, for the sake of every mortal in the world. Others will accompany you in carrying this burden, you'll meet them soon.

“When the world has lost all hope, you'll be the ones to save it and bring back the lost good in others.

“Find the place closest to their core, deep below the skies where no light can reach. There, you'll open the gates for the others to join you. I bid farewell, and never forget: the future must be restored and the cycle broken."

As the voice finishes, the floating orbs return to their respective owners, making the pain go away. Míngzé's face was raw horror, his eyes welled up with tears.

“Typhure, w-where are you?. I-I'm p-p-panicking again." Míngzé runs back inside the cave, Astor following after him. What even happened? Whose voice was that and what in gods' name did they say? As he passes by, his vision catches a strange form, or was it his imagination?

“My Míngzé, what happened?" As he shields a shivering Míngzé with his wings, he points his tail at Astor menacingly. “What did you do to him?."

“I- what? I didn't do anything, we both heard a mysterious voice speak in cryptic riddles and he panicked."

“Is this true?" He gently whispers between his wings.

“Y-yes, the v-voice said he-hear- that heartbreak awaited m-my future. P-please, tell me it's a cruel prank, I-I h- I hate knowing something u-unpleasant will h-hap- will happen." His face was a sour mixture of emotions.

I didn't hear heartbreak.

“There there, you'll be alright. No one can hurt you as long as I'm here, you hear me? I'll shred whoever lays a claw on you, my precious ray of sunlight." He embraces Míngzé, twining their tails together.

Astor takes a step back, sitting by the river deep in the cave.

Whose voice was that? Hardships and heartbreak await our futures? He shivers at the thought of more pain.

Like losing my parents and getting split up from my sibs wasn't painful enough, are my friends in danger by being with me? Should I leave or-?

“Astor, are you ok?" Nabu and Walken stood by both his sides, soft expressions on their faces.

“Míngzé broke down because a voice spoke, what did it tell you? Maybe it's nothing more than a fabrication to instill fear in us."

“It said that volt and sea must hold out against upcoming hardship and heartbreak in our futures. That we'd bring hope back to the world." Did it say any of this? I can't remember the exact words.

“... That's a lot of work to be mere lies. Hmm?" Nabu's tail swung across the floor, his wings shivering.

“Everyone, stay inside the cave." Typhure spoke carefully, as a group of shadows swarmed the entrance of the cave, blocking any potential way out. “Míngzé, go to them. I'll push them away and we'll dig our way out."

“T-Typhure, please be careful." Nabu rushes to Typhure's side, both ready to fight.

“Nabonassar, are you prepared to try the tips we discussed?"

“I must try. I don't wish any bad to befall my friends."

They both press their front talons against the floor, sending waves of stones against the shadows, pushing them out in a small earthquake.

“Go, I can hold them long enough."

Nabu rushes to the inside of the cave. “All of you, stay close to me. We're climbing out of here."

Astor and Walken stand by his side, Míngzé resting over Nabu.

Nabu dug his claws into the ground, pushing away the walls in front of them. “Run."

The walls parted away at a much faster pace, Nabu running in front as everyone followed behind.

“Keep going, I'm on my way." Typhure's voice echoed from afar, approaching closely. Various shadows creeped behind them, the walls behind them slowly falling apart around him. Slashes of fire and ice fired at them, repelled easily by Walken's boulders.

“Don't stop. Just Keep Pushing And We'll Get There In No Time." His voice shifted tone as they got further and further into the walls.

“Typhure, please be okay." Míngzé shouted, getting tired as the cave got darker.

“Stop running. You're about to-" Typhure's voice was barely audible, and the ground below them gives up, crumbling entirely. Everyone fell down into the dark depths, failing to catch themselves with their wings. Walken flailed in a panic, nearly slamming others with his tail.

“Walken, look at me." Astor lit his feathers up, sparks surrounding him as he provided light for everyone. The light showed the suffocating walls surrounding them, not allowing much room for movement or spread wings.

“Remember your breathing. Flailing won't do you any good." Breathe, breathe.

“Then what am I supposed to be doing? We're falling Astor." Walken's loud voice echoed above and below, showing no sign of solid ground nearby.

Typhure descends towards Míngzé, who's wings refuse to open. “I've got you, my love." He claws the nearby wall, attempting to catch his body to the wall with earth, but to no avail.

“Míngzé, can you sense a source of water below us?" Nabu said.

“Uh- I'll try." He closed his eyes, concentrating by Typhure's side.

“I'll help you." Typhure closed his eyes as well. Strings of water rise below them, surrounding the group.

“Grab onto each other, I'll make us a slippery ride." Míngzé slowly spreads his tail fins as the walls open, jets of water surrounding him and the others. His face was unrecognizable: filled with serious concentration, lacking any fear or insecurity.

The water latched onto everyone, pulling them towards the same direction in a slide motion. Astor's lights were miniscule compared to the large depths below them. From their slower descent, they could only spot a single light amongst the endless darkness: a large white flame surrounded by several statues.

The water finally descends the group to the ground, being absorbed into the earth. Astor releases more sparks from his body, lighting a bigger area around them.

Míngzé drops to the ground, exhausted and breathing heavily. He tried to get up but his legs gave up.

“My dear, take a rest. You shouldn't overexert yourself like this." Typhure's face was filled with genuine worry, his voice soft spoken.

“Love… your water isn't adequate for groups of dragons, it was best for me to do this. And… this also means you can carry me again."

Typhure smacks his face with his tail, Míngzé's teasing face unchanged. “You lazy squid, there's no need to tire yourself out. Just ask me to carry you." Míngzé hops to Typhure's back, wings wrapped around him, holding him in place.

“Thank you, Typhure." As soon as he finishes, he falls asleep.

“My precious fishy, rest well," he whispered, “I pray to the gods we don't find trouble down here."

“Can't you get us out of here?" Nabu asked, puzzled. “You moved the earth rather flawlessly, surely you can climb us out."

“I don't know how to climb upwards with my earth power, much less hold four others at the same time. We could stumble into lava or other dangers if we climbed blindly, plus I've yet to learn to use multiple elements at once."

“Why not have someone else use fire?" Walken scraped his claws on the ground. “One of us could hold the fire, while Typhure gets us out with his wind. You said your wind is good, right?"

“Walken, how would we get you out? You're the heaviest out of all of us. And also, it'd be difficult to keep the fire lit up with wind constantly putting it out." Nabu walks towards him.

“Guys!" Astor sets his foot down. “I believe we should figure out where we are first. We're not in a particular hurry to leave, are we?"

“We're still here," Typhure walks to the light, “we have our vow ceremony in three months; we can't stay here for long. And to answer your question, I can only fly myself with Ming on my back. Five of us, especially when two don't have wings, is difficult for me to do."

“You're right, my apologies."

Astor looked around. “We should start over there." He pointed to the white flame, surrounded by a group of statues in a circular formation.

Following the path, they look around for any sign of an exit, yet all they can see is pure darkness and stone. The air was significantly more suffocating and cold; which made it difficult to breathe properly. I know I'd welcome a change of setting after living in a ravine for 4 years, but we didn't ask the gods for this.

Astor is struck with a jolt of pain in his head, cringing and nearly fainting.

“Hey, don't strain yourself." He feels talons and claws catching his fall.

“We can take a break here until you feel better. Whatever the voice has told you is clearly messing with your mind."

Astor sighs. “Today was the best hatchday to grace my life, huh? We should find the exit soon. Why not get closer to the heat of the flame, it's cold down here."

As they approached the flame, the air surrounding them warmed up, odd particles started circling around them as the statues' eyes shine with a bright green and golden light. A feeling allured Astor towards the white flame, sensing a desperate yet calming aura.

“Míngzé, where are you going?" Typhure's voice was too faint, Astor's attention focused on the burning fire. The flame rose to the ceiling, growing even more intense, lighting the entire cavern. A figure of golden light walks from where the flame once stood.

“I've been waiting for you." The spirit shook their body, dusting off all the statues around them, revealing symbols in front of each. The figure takes the form of a feathered twolegs. “I am Asya, the water guardian of the Primal Sapphire."