FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It had been rough, to say the least. One order after another, burger after burger. The smell of grease and minimum wage permeated the kitchen after the cluster fuck of that Friday evening rush. Of course three buses of kids wanted their fast food right before close. Thomas wished he could say he was frustrated at having to deal with such a shit night. Or even relieved that it was done and over with. Any emotion would have been nice really, but instead he just felt heavy. Like the cells in his body were each made of something dense. Led maybe?

The young gray rat gently shook himself out of his thoughts, turning an eye to the fox across the sandwich table from him. Her green eyes were downcast, sweat dripping through her coat of orange and white fur.

"You look like I feel, Beth." Thomas chuckled humorlessly as he glanced into the now empty lobby, taking a moment to lean against the cooler behind him. Like a blocked pipe getting overheated, he couldn't help but heave a relieved sigh at the chilled metal pressing against the back of his shirt. Off came his rubber gloves, tossed into the over stuffed garbage can, never to be remembered.

Bethany took a moment to wipe her forehead with a napkin before tossing it onto that growing pile in the trash. She smiled tiredly, unbuttoning the outer coat to her uniform and tossing it unceremoniously into the nearby office, leaving her in a tattered and faded camouflage tank top. Her hands went to her black slacks, already stained and smudged from countless other miscellaneous kitchen spills, and dusted off the sweat and grime that had built up in her own gloves. "That must be some ugly on me kid, 'cause you look worse than usual." She reached into her pocket, pulling out a box of cigarettes and shaking it for the other mammal to see. "Wanna catch a break before we clean this shit?"

With a soft breath, Thomas pushed himself off the cooler and heading towards the kitchen door, propping it open to let the gentle Summer night cool the kitchen. Beth followed him out the door and pushed a cigarette in his direction, which was gladly accepted. He resumed his leaning on the outside wall as he popped out his bic and lit up, taking a small inhale. Beth followed suit and soon they stood in silence, enjoying the first real respite they've had in hours. Thomas pulled out his phone, checking the time.

"Fuck's sake..." The rat sighed in defeat before drawing another inhale, the sweet sting of the smoke meeting his tongue and throat. "Weren't we supposed to be closed and out of here an hour ago?"

"Yup." Beth took a seat on the curb, shoes tapping idly on the empty parking lot's pavement as her tail carefully kept itself up and away from the ground. "Hey, it's a bigger paycheck."

"Bigger paycheck... Yeah, alright, but how are we supposed to use the money if we're always stuck at this shit hole?" Thomas huffed. There went the last of his emotions for the day. Too bad said day started an hour ago.

Bethany's tail swished to the left, careful not to pick anything off the ground, giving room to her right. She patted the now free spot next to her. "That's what days off are for Tommy." Thomas rolled his eyes at the nickname, but said nothing. He once again changed his spot so he could sit next to the fatigued fox, who wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "You know, you're my favorite coworker. You get your shit done."

"And you're a freak for still working here." Thomas nudged her with his elbow, provoking a snicker.

"Puts you right in that boat with me kid." She tugged him closer, laughing wholeheartedly. "I'm a manager, I get paid sixteen an hour. You're still on minimum wage. That makes you the freak I believe." She rested her chin on his head, giggling. The rat couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from turning up. Bethany's muzzle twisted on his head, her grin pulling his spotted gray fur in a ticklish way. "There's that smile. You gotta learn to chill out."

"Yeah, yeah, so you keep saying." Thomas let out a quiet laugh of his own. A little dry, and unfamiliar to the air, but not unwelcome. "Thanks Beth. I really needed this."

The fox nods, pulling away to take another pull of her cancer stick. "Sure thing. I'll always have an extra cigarette for you." Thomas smirked, pulling on his own, before leaning into the older female.

"You know that's not what I meant." He closed his eyes, happy to have his head resting on her side. "You're all I got these days."

Bethany let out another laugh, though much softer as she nuzzled his head. "You're a sap Tommy."

"Never get to be one elsewhere. Might as well annoy you huh?" He gently peaked an eye open at her. She smiled wryly down at him, meeting his gaze for a moment before her eyes widened. She jumped up, dropping Thomas on the ground roughly. "Ow, hey! What the fuck?"

"Shut your trap! I almost forgot something." With a grin she ran to an old silver minivan, the last car in the parking lot,, unlocking it and reaching in the back for something. Thomas grumbled and rubbed the wrist he scraped on pavement as he watched her dance back over with something in her hand. "Here you go fuck-wit. Think I'd forget?" She tossed what was in her hands to the rat, who caught it with a withering stare. Her grin only grew as he looked at the box in his possession. It was covered in green and gold wrapping paper with a bow glued to the top, It was obvious the wrapper had never done much of it before with the amount of mangling and tape across the colorful coverings. But they still managed to hide the contents beneath.

Thomas frowned and looked up at her. "I specifically remember asking everyone not to spend any money on me." Bethany rolled her eyes, deep fields of green iris settling back on the rat.

"Come on kid. I know you didn't get anything elsewhere. Besides, how often does somebody turn nineteen?" Bethany took her spot next to Thomas, putting her arm around his side. "So come on, open it already!"

He popped an eyebrow up at her."I'm sure there's thousands of people reaching the age on the daily. I'm not special." Bethany dug her claws into his side, jabbing him playfully. The rat squeaked, chittering instinctively at the poke. A blush began burning past his cloudy gray cheeks, turning them bright red. He sighed with a chuckle, the blush not fading. "I really hate it when you do that." He straightened his whiskers with one hand while he turned his gift over in his hand, eyeing it to avoid her gaze.

"I know, and I don't care." Bethany's voice was smug, and even though he was trying his best not to look at her, Thomas knew her tongue was sticking out.

"You are _not _to mention I accepted a gift to Lisa. That old mare is looking for any excuse to throw me a fucking party..." He stared at the rectangular box in his hands.

"Yeah yeah yeah, just open it!"

With another sigh he began unwrapping his impromptu gift, green and gold peeling away to a teak wood box, lined with hand painted roses on a vine snaking along the sides. Dancing dragons with wild eyes and manes wrapped their silvery bodies to the box, meeting each other at the top. Their paper thin forms were held in place not by glue, but instead seemed to weave inside the wood itself, both entangled with the painted flowers and deftly avoiding them. His curiosity was peaked as he ran his thumb over the wider length, undoing a small hook holding a sliding piece of wood adorned with the golden sigil of the Dragon Council, with the Artisan's Hammer painted below it. Resting on the soft red velvet woven into the inside of the well crafted box was a beautiful spear tipped knife fixed to a leather bound hilt, a single green gem proudly peeking out through the bottom.

He let a shaky breath out, taking the knife to feel it's weight. "The balance is incredible, is this an Artisan's creation?" He stared in awe at the strange blade.

Bethany nodded. "Straight from the City Tower Artisans' Guild, and made by The Dragon itself. The gem is enchanted with some sort of durability thing or other. I'm not a scale-bag so I don't know. I do know that the gem itself is williamsite though." Her smug smile softened to a more genuine one. "Flip it over, the blade has some writing."

At a genuine loss for words, Thomas spun the weapon around. Burned onto the shimmering blade in the way only a dragon's fire can produce was a single word. "Edgelord?" He glanced at the fox next to him, who started laughing again, putting out her cigarette on the parking lot and leaving it.

"Well duh. When most people find a hobby they take up shit like gardening or uh, I dunno... Pottery or whatever. You're an angsty teenager who collects knives. Little edgy huh?" Her laughter returns threefold as she appreciates her terrible pun for the both of them. Thomas continued to admire the craftsmanship of the knife, hands running across the leather bound hilt, finding no glues or other sealants. Instead a magical sear at the top perfectly melted the leather to the strange material beneath, bound again at the bottom by the williamsite stone, the gem twisted beautifully into the hilt's leather, binding it tighter than cement. "Has a really cool looking sheath with a belt loop attached so you can carry it around, but I forgot that at home. You're working tomorrow's night shift with me again, right? I'll bring it then." Beth pulled him into an awkward sideways hug, staying weary of the knife.

Thomas laid the knife gently back in the box before returning the hug. "But how did you even afford it?" She squeezed the smaller mammal tightly before releasing him.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you kid. I still don't myself. Happy birthday Tommy." She stood up from the curb, heading inside and leaving the rat alone to ponder the knife. His knife, he supposed. He pulled it out once more, running one of his fingers gently against the blade's edge to test its sharpness. His eyes widened at his now bleeding index. This was the sharpest knife he'd ever held in his life. He popped his finger in his mouth, using his tongue to halt the blood flow as he idly, though now very carefully, gazed at his gift.

He enjoyed the gem's sparkle beneath the fluorescent parking lot lights, dazzling yet still subdued. The blade itself shone with it's own beauty, a prismatic myriad of colors gently reflecting off the strange material, running down either side as he tilted it.

He placed the deadly work of art back into the box, closing it with a tender care. With a shake of his head and a smile he couldn't stop, he followed his crazy manager back inside.