FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The air was a comfortably cool in the king's courtyard, unlike the bitter cold weather outside the city. With ground being the perfect combination of firm and moist, the wolfen were able to set up their tents with relative ease. They were very strange compared to the woven branch shelters the wolfen rest in, but with a little direction from one of the soldiers standing around, they were able to set up their cap relatively easily.

Once Verik finished setting up his tent, he lied back on the cool grass and stared up into the dark cloud-covered skies. Snow was still falling, swirling around in the wind like a swarm of white locusts. However, not a single snowflake touched the ground. They all seemed to fade away and disappear a couple feet above the tree tops.

Lyan looked up with an uncomfortable expression. “This place is too strange." He grumbled. “I mean, it's kind of beautiful, I'll give it that, but it just feels so unnatural."

“It's not natural at all." Emmaline's voice sounded from down one of the paths. “There are so many enchantments all around this whole city. The only thing natural about these trees are the seeds they started as."

Verik's ears perked and he sat up quickly. Seeing Emmaline walking down, escorted by a few soldiers, he got to his feet and went to greet her. “You're finally back. How did it go?"

She nodded, smiling. “It actually went quite well. They have more herbs, roots, and other medical materials than I have ever seen. Most of it, I had no idea it had any medical uses. I have so much to learn from them. I'm going to be working with them in their infirmary while they train me in all their practices. I should be just as knowledgeable as their top doctors before long."

“I'm happy for you." Verik said, trying to sound as positive as possible. “And our prisoner?"

“He was fed a paralyzing mixture the doctors made. His mind is conscious, but he is completely unable to move his body. That way, we can have full access to his thoughts without the distractions of his struggling. It's actually quite ingenious. I have no idea who discovered how to create that mixture, but he had to have been brilliant."

Her enthusiasm relieved his tension a little. He was still fighting the sick feeling of suspense as they waited for the meeting with the king. Anything could be happening to his sister and he was powerless to protect her.

“Anyway, he was moved into another part of the castle. I was told that the king will meet us there after sundown."

Verik scowled at this. “That's in several hours. We've already been waiting since sunrise!" He growled indignantly.

“Just try and stay calm and patient. Tonight, we will figure everything out and then by tomorrow, we will be on our way to rescuing them with a solid plan."

Verik sighed and sat back down on the ground. “Yeah, you're right."

Somewhere in the distance, Verik could hear the sound of wooden wheels rolling over the stone walkways throughout the courtyard. With it, came the pleasant scent of meet. Pretty soon, all the wolfen were looking into the direction of the scent, waiting in anticipation.

The sound kept getting closer until a human pushing a cart entered their camp. By his clothes and slouched posture, he was clearly not a soldier, most likely just a servant. His whole body tensed when he saw all of the wolfen staring at him. “Here…uh…" he stammered while looking around.

A few of the guards chuckled at his obvious display of nervousness.

Clearing his throat, the human began again. “I'm here to deliver this to you." He spoke slowly, his eyes constantly glancing over to the soldiers, probably for reassurance. “Courtesy of the king from his own royal butcher. Uh…take all you need…or want…uh…"

Emmaline walked up to him and smiled, a soft and friendly expression on her face. “Thank you." She told him.

The human raised his eyebrows, quickly nodded, and walked out of the camp.

Once he was gone, the wolfen gathered around the cart and looked in. It was filled all the way to the top with red meat. Verik leaned in and sniffed it. It smelled good enough, but he didn't recognize the scent. “It's not kelderan. What is it?" He asked.

Keil looked at it, fascinated. “It must be meet from a cow. The pieces look about the right size as well. It's a species of prey that the humans have almost entirely domesticated a long time ago. You'll pretty much never see them in the wild anymore."

Lyan reached into the cart and picked up a piece and examined it. His eager expression suddenly fell. “What's this? When did they even kill it? There's no blood and…is this salt?" He brushed off a few white flecks from the surface.

Keil sighed and shook his head. “Humans are different than us. Just get that into your head and deal with it. Now eat up and regain your strength. You will need it."

As each of them grabbed several pieces of the meat, Emmaline spoke up to everyone, “Try to eat a little slower than you normally do. It'll make the humans more comfortable."

Lyan grumbled something under his breath as he retreated into his tent to eat. Verik and Emmaline sat down together. “It must be nice to be able to see into the human's minds. Being able to know everything that they want will be very useful in the future."

Emmaline swallowed a bite of meet and leaned back, looking off in the distance. “Yes, it is useful, but I definitely cannot describe it as nice. I can't pick and choose what I get from their minds. I hear all their thoughts and see exactly what they think of us. It takes all my willpower to maintain composure when I can feel the genuine fear of everyone around me when they look my way. The walk through the city streets…" she paused, her eyes tearing up a little. “Not only am I a wolfen, but these…demonic features," she says, gesturing to her scale-covered legs and tail, “instill even more fear and disgust in their minds."

“Hey," Verik pulled her close and licked her muzzle gently, “it will get better. Soon, they will see us as friends. You'll see."

She leaned her head on his shoulder and chuckled softly. “If we live through the battle, that is."

“True." He glanced over at his brother, Gerrin, sitting perched in one of the trees, staring silently into the sky. “You still can't hear any of our thoughts, can you?"

Emmaline shook her head. “No. I can't even feel your life's energy. It's as if you're not even here. I don't like it all. Something feels…wrong."

“I'll bring it up when we're talking with the king. Maybe the human magicians can find some way to fix it." Verik shrugged. “I know nothing about human magic, though. Maybe even Karthan can help. Have you spoken to him?"

She pulled out the large egg-shaped stone from one of the pockets in her bag and held it up. “I speak with him all the time. But he knows nothing about what has happened to you. We have the same problem. Since we cannot even detect your life energy, we cannot even tell if there is some kind of spell on you. He thinks that the human magicians will probably not be of any more help, but it's worth a try."

“Well, I guess we'll find out soon." Finishing the last bite of his food, he pushed himself to his feet. “I'm going to get some rest. This day has been just exhausting." He walked over to his tent and crawled inside.

Once his eyes were closed, it didn't take long for sleep to come over him.

/.\ /.\ /.\

An unnerving cold gust blew through his fur. He opened his eyes, but instead of seeing the human tent over his head, there was nothing—complete darkness. Pushing himself up, he could see that he was now on top of some rough stone surface. Where was this? How did he get here?

“Help me!" A female wolfen's voice cried out somewhere in the distance.

Verik jumped at the sudden sound and glanced around frantically trying to see where it came from. “Syla? Is that you?"

“Help me, Verik!" The voice cried out again.

It definitely was not his sister's voice. “What's wrong? Where are you?" He shouted into the air.

“Verik, please!" It begged and then immediately let out an agonizing shriek as if it was dying.

Verik gasped and his eyes shot open. He was back in his tent, staring up at the cloth surface. Apparently that was all a dream. He rubbed his head, which hurt a little bit.

The flap of his tent opened and Keil poked his head inside. “Get up. The king's ready to see us!"

To Be Continued…