FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Hey, have you been waiting long?" When I arrived at the archive room, Aether was already standing by the door.

"Not at all; I just got here myself," he replied, glancing down both ends of the hallway. He strapped his terminal back onto his wristband and added, "You have a knack for discovering deserted spots."

"It seems to have become a habit," I replied with a smile. "With everything digitized now, even indexed data is just a click away—no need to come here physically." After logging in at the control panel by the entrance, the sliding door opened, allowing us to pass through. "I checked the records. No one else has used this room all year except me."

"Hmm," Aether murmured, stepping inside first.

What greeted us was a room with glass display cases standing on red carpeting, while rows of bookshelf-lined walls extended into an endless depth.

"I thought you might like this place," I said cautiously, watching Aether survey the setup. "The archive room is essentially a library."

"So, you think someone raised in a library, destined to spend their life working in one, would enjoy hanging out in yet another library during their free time?" Aether shot me a look with his yellow eyes.

"Uh… well, if you put it that way…" Rationalism above, what was I thinking?

"I'm teasing." Aether nudged my shoulder lightly. "I like it. Thanks."

"Oh," I muttered, my ears growing hot and reflexively folding back. I awkwardly brushed at them. "That's great to hear."

"Is that the Dead Sea Scrolls?" Aether’s attention was drawn to a display case with scrolls, and he quickly moved toward it.

"Yeah," I replied, noting the black wolf's tail wagging rapidly. I gestured to two nearby exhibits. "There's also the Rosetta Stone and the Epic of Gilgamesh."

"By Rationalism, I could spend all day here!" Aether stopped before the Epic of Gilgamesh display, softly reciting: "' He who saw the Deep, the foundation of the land,

Who knew the proper ways, was wise in all things.'"

"You can read ancient texts?" I asked, unable to hide my surprise.

"Specialized training," Aether replied with a grin, his sharp white teeth stark against his black fur. "You can read Inuit syllabics, can’t you?"

"Ancient scripts and archaic scripts are completely different things," I muttered, to which Aether responded with a mysterious smile.

"Oh, come see this!" As we entered the paleontology section, I tugged at Aether’s sleeve.

The black wolf raised an eyebrow in question, and I pointed to an orca skeleton suspended from the ceiling. Then, opening my consciousness, I invited Aether into my mental domain, summoning echoes of ancient oceanic songs.

For a moment, we stood in silence, immersed in the resonant melody, our spirits swept along the tides, diving into the vast, deep abyss.

"It’s like the Dragon Song, but not a language…" Aether murmured. "At least, not one we can understand."

"Perhaps 'hearing' and 'understanding' aren’t quite the same thing," I whispered, diving deeper into my consciousness. Gradually, blurry images began to surface.

Light pierced the ocean from above, distorted by the rhythm of the waves. A shadow swept across, leaving streams of bubbles in its wake—no, not a shadow, they are…pod mate.

More shadows appeared, their streamlined forms dancing gracefully as they sang songs of homecoming, guiding all wayfarers back to their origins.

"Wow," I gasped, breaking free from the awe-inspiring vision. "I didn’t expect such massive creatures to be social animals."

"Just like gray wolves," Aether said reverently, rubbing the fur on his arms.

"I wonder where they’re headed," I mused, stretching my hand to its fullest and holding it near my muzzle, trying to recall the peculiar sensation of moving through the currents.

"I’m curious too," Aether replied, naturally taking hold of my outstretched hand. "How about we find out together?"

My ears shot upright, and I almost pulled my hand away reflexively, but Aether’s gentle grip stopped me.

"Of… of course," I stammered, staring at our entwined hands. Realizing that staring wasn’t helping my nerves, I tried to avert my gaze, but Aether’s emanating wavelength held me still.

It was filled with a desire to understand and an empathy willing to listen.

Opening myself, our mental domains intertwined.

In this shared state, I cautiously created ripples for Aether to follow until we perfectly synchronized. Then, expanding our awareness to touch the dimension of time, I reached for the ancient past.

But nothing happened. Around us remained the towering white skeleton and rows of bookshelves.

"Sorry," I said, scratching my ears with my free hand to hide my embarrassment. "I guess I got nervous. It’s been a while since I tried."

Aether chuckled, his soft laughter making my ears burn hotter.

"Don’t worry; it happens to a lot of people," he teased, and my tail instinctively tucked between my legs.

"Maybe you’ve seen enough dead animals?" I suggested, straining to keep my tone steady and desperate to change the subject. "The next exhibit is interesting too."

"Lead the way," Aether said with a wider grin, his tail wagging twice in quick succession.

Notably, he didn’t let go of my hand.

We wandered further, exploring frozen moments of the past.

In the religious artifacts section, Aether discovered a collection of relics claiming to be the genuine Spear of Longinus and eagerly studied them for a while. When I played The Rite of Spring on an old vinyl record, Aether gave an approving nod, acknowledging my taste with mock seriousness.

When we reached the innermost room, I introduced the highlight of our trip.

"Behold, the Academy’s archive terminal!" I exclaimed theatrically, pointing to the desktop terminal on a raised platform in the circular room's center.

"Isn’t that connected to the intranet?" Aether tilted his head, visibly puzzled.

"That’s what I thought at first," I replied, climbing the steps to log in and start operating the terminal. "But I soon discovered that some Academy records are only accessible from this terminal."

"I see," Aether said, stepping closer. "What do you want to show me?"

"This is the database of every Senate Wolf who’s ever studied at the Academy," I said, pulling up files that were projected above the terminal. "Among them are my… parents."

"Oh…" Aether murmured, inching slightly closer.

"Because the data has been anonymized, I can only identify a few likely candidates," I said, adding filters to the search. The terminal listed seven male Snows and nine female Grays. "It feels… strange." I scanned the tables for details like height, weight, course lists, tower rankings, and adamantine weapon designs—important and trivial records alike.

"Can’t you distinguish them by their adamantine weapons?" Aether asked. "Everyone’s should be unique."

"Normally, yes, but…" I overlaid the Snow records, allowing Aether to see for himself.

"Why do their adamantine weapons all look like Winter Chill?" He quickly spotted the key detail, pointing at the projection of the Scottish claymore with its distinctive hilt angling toward the blade.

"Not just similar—identical," I explained, highlighting the record of a candidate likely to be Qana, who had the highest tower ascent ranking. "Qana broke records and crafted a complete adamantine weapon, sparking a trend and fanatic following. Back then, every wolf who could afford it styled their weapons after Winter Chill—even some from other species joined in."

"Mass psychology is always fascinating. I never expected Snow to be a trendsetter," Aether remarked with a chuckle before falling silent, meeting my gaze.

I knew he was trying to lighten the mood, giving me space to prepare myself.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled up the files of those who might be my parents once more.

“When I first discovered the Academy kept these records, I instinctively ran away, curling up on my bed in the dorm room.” I recalled those sleepless nights and forced myself to continue. “When I finally prepared myself and identified a few candidates who might be my parents, I broke down crying on the spot, even though I wasn’t sure why.” I gestured to the floor. “After many more days, I could finally look at these... data without becoming too emotional. It’s not that it made me feel closer to some abstract concept, but...” I raised my hand and lightly touched the holographic projection above the terminal. “It’s proof that they existed—that this happened and was remembered.” I sighed and lowered my hand. “Even if that proof only exists in a terminal no one ever visits.”

Honestly, I couldn’t explain what I hoped to achieve with my actions. Dragging Aether along to “meet the parents” like this—what benefit could it bring to either of us? I had no idea.

But I knew I desperately wanted someone to hear me say these things, even though it wouldn’t change anything. Perhaps it was simple selfishness.

Aether leaned closer, gently resting his chin on my shoulder. My tail wagged involuntarily, brushing against his fur and clothes, creating a soft rustling sound.

After some time, Aether seemed to notice something and stood up straight to examine one of the documents. He swiped a few times on the terminal.

“This... isn’t what I think it is, right?” He pointed to a few pinned records, each marked with a gray icon in the corner.

“Oh, yeah,” I replied softly. “That means they died or went missing while enrolled at the Academy.”

“That’s... quite a lot. The Academy is less concerned about cadet safety than I thought,” Aether murmured. “And almost all of them are Snows...”

“Yeah, usually tower accidents,” I said, scratching my ear. “Those incidents probably lower the average life expectancy of Snow.”

“Exsanguination, head trauma, organ failure, bisection...” Aether shook his head. “Very masculine ways to die.”

“Everyone has their stereotypes,” I shrugged, pulling up other cases. “Female Flash, electrocuted due to equipment mishandling; male Ash, mysteriously lodged in a wall; female Gray, whole body inexplicably liquefied; male Gray, food synthesizer-related accident.” I paused awkwardly as I realized that was it—Snows accounted for over 90% of the deaths or disappearances. “Who knew food synthesizers were so dangerous?”

“Right?” Aether gave me a teasing grin and didn’t press further.

We messed around on the terminal, looking for anything interesting. Eventually, we unearthed a photo of Master Field and Master Sunflare together, confirming without surprise that Master Field looked exactly the same two centuries ago as he did now.

Just as I thought of a few jokes about dragons to show off my wit and charm, I noticed Aether standing with his arms crossed, watching me.

“Uh... what is it?” I asked nervously, unsure if I had done something wrong.

“I’ve been patiently waiting all night, and you’ve said nothing,” Aether said slowly. The canine teeth peeking through his black fur suddenly seemed much more menacing.

“Uh...” Hadn’t I been talking the whole time? And what was with this “last chance” atmosphere? Was I supposed to do something? No way—it couldn’t be... but maybe? No, that’s strange, but also logical. Rationalism witness, whatever! “Do you want to date me?”

I hadn’t even finished speaking when Aether snorted, covering his face with his hands.

"Rationalism above, Richter!" He looked like he was trying to hold back, but two seconds later, he gave up and burst into uncontrollable laughter, the kind that leaves you gasping for air. "Are you in a rush or something?"

Overwhelmed with embarrassment, I stood frozen, unable to respond, and decided to shut down my brain entirely to avoid dying of shame.

After some time, Aether finally calmed down, wiping tears from his eyes. He removed his terminal, swiped a few times, and handed it to me.

“I just want to know why you had no intention of telling me this,” Aether said seriously. I turned my attention to the screen, watching the video play.

It showed a Snow curled up on the ground, clutching his crotch in pain and writhing occasionally.

The white wolf’s tail had a tuft of gray fur. No wonder he looked familiar.

“Well, uh...” I stammered through every meaningless syllable I could think of, but Aether patiently watched me with his yellow eyes. In the end, I had no choice but to explain what had happened.

After I finished, Aether didn’t respond immediately. The brief silence made me uncomfortable, so I repeated what the others in the cafeteria had said about the “incident.”

“And what do you think?” Aether finally asked.

“Huh?” I tilted my head, unsure of what he meant.

“What do you think of Hunter’s actions? Why do you believe he shouldn’t be blamed or punished?” Aether enunciated each word clearly, his yellow eyes focused on me.

I hesitated, unsure of what to say. Aether exuded a wave of encouragement, patiently waiting for me to gather my thoughts.

“At the most basic level, I think Hunter’s aggressive behavior has already ended, so there’s no justification for ‘teaching him a lesson,’” I said, Kotetsu’s figure flashing through my mind before I shook my head to dispel it.

“But as others pointed out, if there’s no punishment for inappropriate behavior, wouldn’t that enable Hunter to keep treating people poorly?” Aether tilted his head.

“I find it hard to understand the justification for punishment...” I said softly, imagining the scene if I had beaten up the chocolate Labrador. “Without clear evidence that punishing Hunter would prevent future incidents, I don’t see any logic in it.”

“So, you think someone can behave badly without any consequences?” Aether asked.

“No... I think consequences are inevitable,” I replied. Every action has consequences. “But when it comes to punishment, in Hunter’s case, even if punishment were meant to ‘correct’ something, I don’t think it should target Hunter himself.” I scratched my chest, trying to shake off the sticky feeling of Hunter’s thoughts from my memory. “If punishment is warranted, it should be for whatever made Hunter this way.” Like... us.

“But aren’t you saying Hunter has no agency? If everything is caused by environment, systems, or some upper-class oppression,” Aether chuckled softly, “doesn’t that imply individuals have no value or meaning, incapable of taking responsibility for their actions?”

“I... I don’t know.” I admitted I hadn’t thought it through deeply. “I probably need more time to clarify my true thoughts.” I tilted my head, Kotetsu’s image flashing again. “Kotetsu said I equate my situation with Hunter’s.”

“And what does that mean?” Aether raised an eyebrow. I thought I saw his eye twitch but wasn’t sure.

“I guess it means I hope that if I acted like Hunter, someone would forgive and understand me, realizing it’s not entirely my fault?” I tried to articulate my feelings but found it difficult. Hopefully, Aether wouldn’t wonder why I struggled to speak so disorganized and illogical.

“Do you think that’s accurate?” Aether asked again.

“I... I don’t know.” I could only admit once more. “I wish there were simple ways to get clear answers for some things.”

“I understand, but that would make life less interesting. Still, I think we’ve spent enough energy worrying about this tonight.” Aether shrugged. “As for my answer, it’s simple and clear—yes.”

I froze, not immediately understanding what Aether meant.

Then, he leaned forward and gently licked my nose.

The sensation was electrifying, causing me to shudder violently—a reaction larger than anything I’d ever experienced. When Aether opened and enclosed my snout with his mouth, the light scrape of his fangs and the heat of his breath made me let out a low moan.

Encouraged, Aether placed his hands on my shoulders to steady me. I wanted to respond, but my clumsy attempts left me looking like I was having a spasm, arms awkwardly raised midair.

Abandoning any pretense, I instinctively extended my tongue, brushing against the inside of Aether’s mouth.

He immediately pulled back, covering his snout.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked anxiously, worried I’d messed up again.

“No, just a regurgitation reflex—it’ll pass in a moment.” Aether rubbed his snout with both hands.

“Oh, sorry,” I said, scratching my ear and feeling heat rush to my face. “I didn’t think; I just followed...”

Aether clasped my snout, stopping me mid-sentence.

“Shh,” he whispered, his yellow eyes full of amusement. “If I’m not mistaken, we still have some progress to make.”

With that, the black wolf softly enclosed my snout with his mouth. This time, I didn’t freeze but opened myself to him, letting him embrace me fully.

We explored the unknown together, curious about the possibilities on the other side.

In the starless, pitch-black night, faint gray snowflakes began to fall.