FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A fox crept slowly down a dark corridor, the wooden boards underneath creaking eerily under his weight. He visibly trembled in the darkness, though the flashlight in his paw offered enough light to get around. Every now and then, a sound outside would make him flinch, or something would shift upstairs and make him glance worriedly up at the ceiling. He tried to stay focused, though, for this fox had a mission: get the fuck out of this godforsaken house.

Something rustled behind a nearby door, shaking the wood against its hinges. The fox aimed his light at the door nervously. That was supposed to be the way out. Something was definitely moving behind that door, though, and he wanted out of this house if it was the last thing he did. Deciding to take the chance, he shakily grabbed the door handle and flung it open.

There was nothing there.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he took a step forward -

...and heard the sound of rugged breathing behind him.

The fox froze. Closed his eyes.

Don't turn around, don't turn around, don't turn around...

_ _ He turned around.

"AAAAAGGGGHHH!!!"

_ _ "Fuck!" Four boys reeled back in their seats as the game character on the TV screen got attacked by a terrible zombie-like creature.

"Fuck this, I'm not watching this in the dark." One of them got up and undid the window blinds, letting in the bright sunlight.

"Oh come on, it's not that scary," said a bored-looking tiger. "The game's not even that good."

"That was only the tutorial," said Seth, pausing the game. "Give it a chance."

"I don't like horror games anyway..."

"Stop whining, Shane," said a wolf sitting on a beanbag chair. "You don't have to watch if you don't want to."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do?"

"Go play League!"

"By myself?"

"Uh, yeah!"

Seth rolled his eyes and tuned them out, resuming his game. The two stopped their bickering immediately and watched the screen, instantly drawn back in despite their squabble. A raccoon sat close to him on the same bed. Unbeknownst to Seth, his eyes were trained on the jackal's face rather than the television screen. He said nothing, just sat with a weird stare while Seth was engrossed in the game.

"I'm hungry," said the wolf absently.

"You're always hungry," Raymond the raccoon said suddenly as he stood. "I'll get some more snacks. Want anything, Seth?"

"Yeah, I'll have a coke," said Seth without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Sure." Raymond left.

The wolf named Dylan waited for a cut scene to finish before piping up. "Have you seen the speedrun for this game? It's like an hour."

"People have already finished the game?" Seth asked incredulously. "It's only been out for a day!"

"Yeah, it's nuts," Dylan agreed.

"Not really," said Shane lackadaisically. "I could finish it in a few hours easy."

"That's because you don't pay attention to any of the story," said Seth. Even as he spoke, he still stared at the screen while his paws fumbled with the controller. "You just rush through it all."

"I don't care much for story, you know that," Shane responded with a wave of his paw. "I care more about gameplay."

"But the story is, like, half of the game!"

"Mhmm. You can play your way, I'll play mine," Shane said noncommittally. "Say, I've been thinking. You guys wanna have a LAN party sometime? Next week maybe?"

"Next week?" Dylan replied. "That's awfully close. Do we even know enough people to have a LAN party?"

"Sure," said Shane. "I can invite some more people from the gaming club. And I'm sure we can find more to bring between the four of us. What about you, Seth?"

Seth shook his head. "Can't go next week. I have to go to this stupid dinner thing with one of my brother's friends."

"Dinner with a friend?" Shane asked skeptically. "Is it like a date or something?"

"No, it's not a date," said Seth. "More like a gathering. Both our families are gonna be there."

"Huh. Still sounds kinda like a date," Shane laughed. "Could be a 'meet the parents' type of deal. Can you imagine if your brother of all people turned out to be gay? How funny would that be?"

Seth chuckled nervously. "Heh. Funny."

"What about being gay?" Raymond had returned with two cokes and was standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Nothing. We were just talking about how weird it would be if Seth's badass brother was gay," Shane said nonchalantly. "Seth's got some dinner party thing going on next weekend."

"Cool." Raymond stepped forward and handed Seth the drink. "Here's your coke."

"Thanks," said Seth, reaching for the can. He saw the raccoon flinch when their fingers brushed briefly, but thought nothing of it.

"Hey, where are the rest of the snacks?" Dylan inquired.

Raymond blinked. "Oh. I...must've forgotten them. Sorry."

"Seriously, dude?"

"Anyways, I was saying we should have a LAN party at some point," Shane continued. "Just something cool and different we could do. You onboard?"

"Yeah, totally," said Raymond, still a bit flustered. "The house should be free if it's a Saturday night."

"Awesome. Seth, can you make the Saturday after next?" Shane asked.

"I dunno. Maybe later," said Seth distractedly. Most of his attention was still on the television. This new horror game was awesome!

"Cool!" Shane smiled for possibly the first time since he had arrived. "We'll do it sometime! And you can invite that girlfriend you keep telling us about, Seth."

Raymond glanced at him from the door, but Seth could feel everyone's eyes on him. "Yeah. Maybe."

.....................................

A few hours later, Seth sat in awkward silence as Zack drove him home. The older jackal hadn't said a word to him since he picked him up, and now it was beginning to get uncomfortable. Was he mad at him for some reason? Seth decided not to question it and stared at the road ahead of them.

Zack must have felt the awkwardness too, for he spoke uncertainly halfway through the ride, "So...how was your friend's house? Did you have a good time?"

Seth frowned at the uncharacteristic concern from his brother. "It was fine I guess."

"What's his name again? Randall?"

"Raymond," Seth corrected. "Why?"

Zack shrugged. "Just asking."

Seth gave him a weird look and went back to staring out the window. Not a moment later, Zack started speaking again.

"So what's he like?" He asked. "Is he...nice?"

"Yeah..." Seth mumbled in confusion.

"Would you say you're good friends?" Zack inquired.

"Well yeah, we've known each other since like third grade," said Seth. "What does that have to do with anything? Is something wrong?"

"No," Zack replied a little too quickly. "I'm just trying to make conversation. Don't want the car ride to be boring."

"Since when did you care about boring car rides?" Seth could tell his brother was acting very strange. "You never talk anyway."

"What, I can't bond with my brother?" Zack said somewhat defensively.

This is really weird. Zack didn't bond with anyone. It just wasn't something he did! It was totally unlike him.

"So you two are good friends, huh?" Zack continued. "Would you say you're close?"

"Yeah, we're friends," Seth said impatiently. "But why -"

"How close?"

Seth opened his mouth, stopped, and groaned, hiding his eyes with a paw. "I'm not...gay if that what you're asking."

"I never said you were," Zack said with a laugh, though it sounded like one of relief. "Just want to know more about your friend, that's all."

"Well, there's not much to say about him," Seth mused. "He's just a friend that I've known for a long time, and we like a lot of the same things. That's it."

"Okay," said Zack plainly. "So do any girls meet at his house on weekends, too?"

"No, it's just me and some gamer friends. We're all guys. Zack, why -"

"Anyone you're interested in?"

"Not really - wait a minute!" Seth exclaimed. "This is about my girlfriend, isn't it? That's why you were asking all those questions?!"

"So you do have a girlfriend," Zack accused. "Who is she?"

Seth shook his head and looked away. "I don't have to tell you and I'm not going to!"

Zack wasn't taking no for an answer. "Yes you will, and you'll do it right now."

"Why?"

"Because I'm your older brother and you'll do what I say!" Zack growled.

"Just because you're older doesn't mean anything," Seth snapped. "You're not my mom!"

Zack scoffed. "Oh, grow up. Just tell me. It's not that hard."

"No."

"Why not?" Zack pressed him. "What's the big secret? Did you meet her online?"

"No."

"Is she out of state? Is she racist or something?"

"No!"

"Then what?"

"I'm not. Fucking. Telling you!" Seth shouted.

"Language!" Zack snapped.

Seth slumped in his seat and avoided his brother's gaze. "I don't know what Charlie sees in you," he grumbled.

Zack gaped and then turned away, visibly swallowing his anger. He took a deep breath and spoke again. "Speaking of Charlie...we're going to a dinner party with his family next weekend. So I expect you to be on your best behavior."

"Whatever."

"Seth -"

"Okay! Fine..."

"I mean it," said Zack. "Be pleasant and show respect. We want to make a good first impression."

"What, so they'll let you fuck their son?"

Zack froze. Seth froze. The words had left his mouth before he knew what he was saying.

Seth immediately tried to take it back. "I-I didn't mean -"

"Shut the fuck up."

And that was that. Seth fell silent again and the rest of the ride was spent in delicate suspense.

.................

BOOM! BOOM!

Zack slammed his fists into the punching bag he had set up in the garage, growling lowly as he did so. Normally he would do this kind of thing during one of his workouts, but not this time. After his argument with Seth just minutes ago, he needed to blow off some steam.

Why is he acting like such a stubborn bitch?_This thought and more went through his head as he delivered his punches. _Why can't he just own up to it and tell me? Damn idiot.

_ _ His thoughts were cut short as someone opened the door to the house and stepped in.

"Zack, stop it and talk to me." It was Geoff.

So his parents had found out about their argument. Zack wasn't surprised; he figured Seth might open his mouth before too long. He obediently took off his gloves and moved to stand in front of his father. He grew concerned when he saw the stern look on Geoff's face.

Geoff cut straight to the point. "So what is this I hear about you shouting at your brother today?"

"He was being stubborn," Zack answered with a nonchalant shrug. "I asked him a simple question and he -"

"It sounded to me like it was more than just a simple question," Geoff interrupted. His glare could melt steel. "I was told you were prying for information."

He'd have to speak to Seth later for this. "Like I said, he was being stubborn and not telling me what I wanted to know. He's hiding something and -"

"And from now on, you'll leave him alone about it," Geoff snapped, beginning to raise his voice. Zack just hoped he didn't start yelling. His father was quite scary when he yelled.

"But why? If he has a girlfriend, you'd wanna know about it, right?" Zack questioned.

"Because he's right. It's none of your business!" Geoff growled. "And you're going to apologize to him to shouting at him, understand?"

"Sorry, I can't always control my anger," said Zack. "I'm trying to get better."

"This isn't your anger management problems being triggered," replied Geoff. "This is you throwing a tantrum."

Zack boggled. "What?! But didn't he tell you what he said?"

"I don't care what he said. He's your brother and you're going to be nice to him," said Geoff. "You can't keep blaming these things on your anger. You're being immature and you need to stop. You had no right to yell at him like that." There was that word again. Immature.

"But what about Seth?" Zack protested. Was he really taking the blame for all this? "He's -"

"Your mother and I will deal with Seth," Geoff interjected. "But you need to work on yourself."

"What do you mean, 'work on myself?'" Zack inquired.

"Stop resorting to anger and hitting things when things don't go your way," said Geoff. "Your mother and I thought Charlie was going to help you mellow out a little, but you're starting to act out again." He sighed sadly. "Tell me what you want when you grow up. What do you want your life to be like?"

Zack thought hard, scratching behind an ear. "I dunno...lots of friends, a stable job. A mate, Charlie ideally."

Geoff nodded in approval. "Well, if you don't change gears, I can tell you with confidence that none of that will happen. Not only that, it's likely that this 'paradise' you want won't happen right away. So you need to be prepared to deal with that without losing your cool."

That word triggered Zack's memory, taking him back to yesterday when Mr. Wagner had announced the art show. Paradise...

_ _ "So if I were you, I'd take a good look at myself and try to improve, no matter how angry I get. No more yelling at your brother and no more tantrums or there will be consequences. Understand?"

Zack stared at the floor. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now I want you to come inside and..." Geoff sniffed the air. "And take a shower. Dinner's almost ready."

"Okay." After his father had left, Zack put his gloves away properly and followed him inside. Aside from Geoff's admonishment, Zack's mind was going crazy with that one word his father had uttered. Paradise.

He had a painting to plan.