FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"And that's...that, I guess," said George, finishing his story. "I traveled around, get more allies, and go back home when I have the chance."

Arcturus nodded in confirmation of the end of that story. There was a silence in the group hearing the stories. The people of Earth, those who George left, did not expect him to have his own adventure, one that was also full of danger and death-defying moments comparable to Zardes and his own group's attempt to prevent another hellish invasion. In comparison to what the Organa crew talked about, the hellish team felt that theirs were pale.

The only one who was not that impressed was the goat demon, who happened to be one of the princes of hell.

"So, that's the story? You run around trying to solve a mystery and end up having to fight black slimes?" he said. "That's lame as shit."

"At least we got to travel around in space instead of getting into the core of this planet," said Sel. "And besides, you can't even use magic out there in space."

"No magic out there, sure, but you don't fight someone on their own home turf unless you're perfectly sure they're not a problem," said Belial. "And besides, this 'backwater planet' of ours mean that your problem is not our problem."

"Our, Belial?" said Ammon, his furless, gray-skinned Fuzandre, a demonic-looking bat with human proportions. He chuckled hearing his remarks. "You twisted your tongue or something."

"Unfortunately, I did not," said the goat demon with a smirk.

"Anyway," said Zardes. He had been George's friend and mentor as a dragon rider, though he knew whatever George had been through clearly was beyond his teachings and he could no longer teach the human anything anymore. "It's good to have you back, George."

"If the Underworld problem did not distract him, I bet he'd be so desperate to find you two," said Itresil, Zardes's dragon partner. She told the Organa crew that she was a demon dragon due to her lower jaw splitting into two and her generally demonic appearance.

They all talked and laughed and drunk all through the night, surprised by the voice of Organa the living ship when they decided to take the party into the ship. It was even more surprising for her crew that she liked to party when she still had a Vyrnian body, though she knew she could only watch and play the music for them, which was a techno-trance contemporary Vyrnian music the Earthlings called 'weird sound collage'. Only Itresil and Arcturus stayed outside, along with several other who seek privacy after a drink.

"So," said Itresil. "You're not lying, after all."

"You still doubted me being an alien?" said Arcturus.

"I did, and I did not even consider you as one despite of that ship," she said. "But I'm glad you take care of George, even if he ends up losing a hand."

"Sorry about that," said Arcturus while rubbing his scaly head.

The dragon then walked away from the ship, with Arcturus following close.

"What will you do next...after you got your home world back?" she asked.

"I'm...not sure. I missed out my chance living through the unstable time of my people's history and I admit, it still feels weird sometimes. My father told me that I don't need to be burdened by the fate of the Vyrnians and just follow my heart, but I...don't feel like leaving the people I've left a long time ago, especially not after the devastation of the coming battle."

"I know I don't know anything about your struggles, but I can give you an advice. Your obligation towards your scattered people is to prevent their extinction, but nothing else. So, when it's all over, let them govern themselves. By then, your journey is finished."

"Then what should I do?"

"Travel," she said. "Maybe take an extended holiday or something. From what I can tell, you're a tense Vyrnian out for revenge and a very strong prejudice against your enemy. Not that I'll judge you for that, but I will say this. No one is the winner if it's revenge. You just have to accept that you are part of the struggle. Don't punish yourself for neglecting your duty."

Arcturus was deeply affected by Itresil's advice. Despite of her being a demon, she gave out a wise piece of advice that seemed to make Arcturus understood what he would do next when he returned back to the conflict. There was, however, one thing he was worried of, and that was death.

He had already accepted that his friends were already long death after the Exodus, but he had never seen how they died. With the Trikelian danger came close to becoming a reality, he would try his best to not let his friends die, but his realistic mindset knew it would be impossible to prevent them. Each had their own motivations to do their own jobs and Arcturus would only make things worse if he intervened. He knew that he would be forced to make hard choices, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for it.

As Arcturus relayed his concerns to Itresil, Kilkaja, who by this time had finally embraced his role as a Sage, stood away from the ship. Sel was busy talking to her allies, all former pirates, for an eventual war against the Trikelians. Kilkaja was supposed to be involved in the Nuoevan's coordination, but that job fell to Akjati, who the young Nuoevan knew would be a better leader compared to him. Still...he wasn't sure if it was right being involved with his old crew while he finally had a group of his own people to help.

His thoughts and his reservations in party settings (he got his tail cut due to a mishap in one of said parties) led him to walk out into the desert of Earth's Central Region. He was fascinated by the ruins near where Organa parked, now with even more activities due to the hellhounds and ash hounds starting an embassy, similar to Akjati's Nuoevan settlement. It was working right, and he had already sorted out the former slaves that Najha and he saved, which still put a burden on his heart when he was forced to kill one for being too stubborn. Kilkaja tried his best to change his heart, but in the end, he was already too far gone to even consider a Sage's help.

As Kilkaja was contemplating of what he did two months ago, he felt a dark heart. A very dark heart full of emotions that he never thought possible for a normal person. It started to choke him empathically as he was being overwhelmed by this person's unrepentant.

"Hey, you alright there?" said the voice. It sounded so soft, so different from the heart he had. Kilkaja's started to grasp for air, but he stayed strong and quickly shut himself off from the emotions. He trained himself to do this so he could focus on one emotion at a time, but he never thought he would use it defensively as if he was attacked empathically.

Kilkaja felt a big leather cloak enveloping him before he saw that it was a leathery wing. He turned to see the hairless, gray-skinned bat person. George called him a Fuzandre, an Earth version of a Kelawar except this one had his hand as his wings, unlike a Vyrnian's wing arm. Kilkaja wondered how they grasped things until he saw this fellow used his prehensile tail to drink from a cup.

"I'm fine," said Kilkaja.

"I heard from the human. You are an empath," he said. "You sense emotions and that is why you go out here, so you're not overwhelmed. Not sure how he can talk Hordo without his tongue burned, or even anyone of your ragtag crew for that matter. In fact, we're talking with my language."

"Universal translator. Very helpful," said Kilkaja. "And, uh...."

"Oh. I'm Ammon, by the way," said the Fuzandre. "Can't extend my hand, since, well..."

He showed Kilkaja his wings, and the Nuoevan understood.

"That's alright. I get it."

"So, care to tell me why you're convulsing like you're being choked?"

"It...may sound very stupid, but I read your heart. Unintentionally. It's just...darkness and violent swirl of emotions. It is evil and...unrepentant. No offense."

"None taken. I'm a demon, after all," said Ammon casually. "We can act like we're trying to help, and we can, but that means giving away what we are."

Kilkaja chuckled. "That remind me of someone I don't really know. His heart was also a chaotic mess before he manages to sort it out."

"Ah, well, good for him," said Ammon as he took a sip. "I noticed the scar on the base of your tail. That's gotta hurt."

"I...uh...."

"Okay. It's personal. I've seen that face from anywhere," he said. "My boy has that face whenever the topic about his brother comes up."

"My boy?"

"That goat demon who looked fearless and bloodthirsty? He's my boyfriend. Sounds fucked up, considering I'm technically his 'brother' for usurping his real brother's throne, but I am not really a demon, so we're good on that."

"Oh," Kilkaja said. "Never thought that would be the case."

"Yeah, people I know say that often. Not only we're both from different races of demons, but we're also gay. But who cares? We both got each other's back, and...I happen to get to know him better."

"You take that treatment rather well. People look at me and my girlfriend whenever we walk around a colony hand in hand. A Felinian and a Nuoevan loving each other is apparently weirder than being gay."

"Felinian? Ah, you mean the alien feline lady. She's a little provocative. And fearless, too. Bel's like that, too, but he can be a hot-head at times. They say opposites attract, so..."

Kilkaja nodded as Ammon sipped from his cup again.

"Have you...ever considered trying to justify what you're doing...only to find that nothing can change it?" asked Kilkaja after a long, silent pause.

"Like the choice of whether we should kill them or not?"

"No, it's like...." Kilkaja sighed. "It's like when you want to help someone see things from a different perspective, but they're already too far into one they shut their eyes up."

"Like a cultist, you mean?"

"Something...something like that?"

Ammon rubbed his hairless, bat head. "You got the wrong guy to talk about it, buddy. Before I became a demon, I was a Vessel. I was born for the sole purpose of becoming the body of a demon ruling the realm of darkness. I managed to take away his powers and sealed him in another Vessel's body. That Vessel was already gone, but I was aware that we could've just keep him in a different body that's not a Fuzandre. Look, my point is, sometimes you don't have the choice to save them, alright? If they die, they die. I know I sound cruel, but you need to know that you still need to survive before you consider someone else's fate. I learned that the hard way."

"I guess that dark heart of yours really wasn't an exaggeration after all," said Kilkaja, now slightly uncomfortable with the bat demon. "You really are a demon."

"Pseudo-demon, but you get what I mean." Ammon kept drinking until his cup was empty. "And I have a feeling you're starting to become worried around me."

"Should I?"

Ammon chuckled. "If you're an enemy, then you should. Right now, we're still on good terms. You helped returned Zardes's lost friend back and he's grateful to all of you and your ship, for some reason. Enjoy the stay. The fight's coming for you, so you gotta set things straight first."

"If we meet again," said Kilkaja. "Can we share another drink? One that's unbiased?"

"Maybe. Maybe not," said Ammon. "By that time, I'll be deep inside this hollow Earth, ruling my realm. I'm not a betting type, but I know you'll be burned to death the moment you stepped through that portal. It's hot as hell down there."

"You're brutally honest, aren't you, Ammon?" said Kilkaja with a chuckle.

"Demons can be honest, too. One thing to scratch off your stereotype against us."

Ammon stood up and started walking back to Organa where the other Earthlings had finally finished the party and resting for the night. Kilkaja did not dare to read his emotions again, but it was a good talk, nonetheless.

Then Kilkaja realized that he had not told Ammon his name, so he said, "I haven't told you my name, have I?"

"Don't really care about it."

"Don't be like that. I'm Kilkaja."

"Kilkaja, huh? I like that name," said Ammon, who smiled without facing the Nuoevan.

"Ammon's a good name, too," said Kilkaja. "See you around, Earthling."

Ammon audibly chuckled as he walked towards Belial, with Sel walking towards Kilkaja. Belial noticed Ammon was walking from Kilkaja, so he said, "Good talk?"

"Something to remind my conscience, if I haven't discarded them already," said Ammon.

"You haven't and you cannot. You're not exactly a demon, so, you still got a long way to go."

"That's why you like me for that, right?"

Belial chuckled. "Oh, fuck off."

The two demons then walked side by side back to the campsite, with Kilkaja watching them as Sel came to him.

"Good talk with the locals?" said the Felinian.

"More or less," said Kilkaja. "How's the Frontier?"

"They have many to spare. Hard to convince them to fight a Vyrnian fight, but it's better than none."

"I..."

"Yes, I know. We're all scared of what comes next," said Sel as she embraced Kilkaja. The warmth in her heart calmed Kilkaja. "The Trikelians on Vyrn, the possible all-out war, and what comes after...it's all so frightening. I'm scared, too. But if it is to ensure we can all live without fear and to see this galaxy unite...I'm willing to steel it up and fight."

"Yeah," said Kilkaja. "You're right."

"So, why don't we enjoy it while we can? Consider it an appetizer for what will come next."

This time, Kilkaja smiled and followed Sel to Organa, holding each other's hands. The future was still not set in stone for them and they did not know what would come for them in the uncertainty of that galaxy's fate, but Kilkaja was sure of one thing.

He knew he could trust his friends, and they in turn would let him weigh his heart's burden. He knew his friends would support him, as did the Nuoevans that helped him understood his responsibilities and burden as a Sage. Kilkaja was aware that he was not Sage material despite his empathic powers, and he was certainly not a leader, but those did not matter.

While there's life, there's hope, after all.