FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Wee!" the tiny, blonde girl giggled as she ran after a few butterflies. They fluttered around her, their pretty blue wings enticing her even more. "Butterfly, grandpa!"

"I see, Sunshine," the much older male replied, keeping a close eye on his young charge. Two large, intimidating guards from the village of Arkei walked silently behind him, looking over at their young princess to make sure she didn't hurt herself. He couldn't help but smile when she gently caught one of the two butterflies to closely inspect its wings. Although her claws were that of a young pup's, they were beginning to grow strong and sharp. Despite this, she handled the tiny creature with care and promptly let it go to join its companion. "Don't play around too much. Your auntie went through a lot to get you to look so nice."

"Yes, grandpa," the little princess obeyed, running over to him and taking his outstretched hand. She hummed cheerfully, watching the other residents of the forest connecting her tribe's and the Vishtaal. Her aunt had warned her about going out this far, lest one of them kidnapped or harm her with their strange magics. The little girl shivered in fright. Despite all her warnings, her grandpa was taking her there today! "Grandpa, why are we going to the Vis-... Visk-..."

"Vishtaal," he corrected.

"Vishtaal," she repeated with some difficulty. "Why are we going there?"

"Because your parents want you to meet a prince," he answered. She was much too young to truly understand the circumstances, so he didn't go into great detail. After all, he would have plenty of time to tell her more when she was older. "They want you to become his friend, you see."

"Friend? A new friend?" Sungleam said excitedly, bouncing around. She then stopped, baffled. "But he's a Vishtaal!"

"So am I, Sunshine," her "grandfather" pointed out. He smiled when she looked up at him with wide, curious eyes. "You didn't know that? Couldn't you tell by the color of my fur? It's not like the others from the village, is it?"

Sungleam carefully looked him over. True, she had always known that he was different. That not only was he _not _related to her in any way, but that he was also not a part of her tribe, the Arkei. The differences in fur color between the two tribes were obvious: Arkei dragons, while also furred, had natural colors. Deep browns and corn blondes were commonplace. while the Vishtaal dragons had bright, unusual palettes. Yet, despite these major differences, he was still her grandpa. Long ago, her parents had allowed him entrance into their village despite the brewing hostilities. For some reason, he had taken a liking to her ever since she was born, and had treated her as his own grandchild. Why did he do all of this? She had no idea. Sungleam guessed she would know in time (at least that was what everyone always told her whenever she wanted to know something).

"Yes, you are a Vishtaal..." she said simply. "One of them."

His smile wavered. "Does that mean you don't like me anymore?"

"No!" Sungleam said quickly, shaking her head so fast her hair whipped about her face. She looked up at the hand that was holding her own, his bright red fur looking even more unusual against her golden complexion. Sungleam smiled. "I still love you, grandpa."

"And I still love you, little one," he smiled, stooping down to pick her up, fixing her hair as the little girl giggled happily, coiling her tail around his arm. "Always will."

"We're here, Ingway," one of the guards said.

They had stopped at the entrance to the Vishtaal village. A pair of guards, slimmer than their own, stood on either side of a large gate. Ingway handed one of them a slim rolled scroll which he inspected cautiously before nodding to the other.

"I trust everything is in order for our visit?" he asked, pleasantly.

The guard nodded, bowing his head to the old dragon in a sign of respect and motioned for the gate to be opened before ushering them inside.

Sungleam looked around and gasped at just how many strange people were gathered around her. Their village didn't look too different from her own, yet her skin crawled at the sight of the foreign, mysterious weapons, food, clothes and artifacts. No doubt, they were used to enhance their strange spiritual powers. Granted, all of the Sekrei were spiritual. But the Vishtaal had developed a strange ability to use that and twist it into dark magic. Her aunt had often warned her of this. To use their natural gifts in such a way... It was an absolute disgrace!

Everyone's eyes were on the small group as they made their way towards the center of the village. The guards made sure the crowd gave Sungleam a wide berth. Anyone who got a little too close risked suffering a crippling slash or worse and although the citizens obviously didn't like their old enemy setting foot on their land, they knew better than to pick a fight with her impressive entourage. Should anything happen to the young princess, their home would be plunged back into the bloodiest times of the war. Something no-one was really keen to relive.

Of course, there were some who couldn't resist the urge to demonstrate their distaste. One of the women,

keeping her distance from her two bodyguards, growled at Sungleam in disgust, trying to intimidate the pup. Sungleam, of course, was slightly disturbed at this show of aggression. But wasn't raised a coward. She simply peered back at the woman and carelessly flicked her tail at her, making the woman flush with anger. She scrambled back, muttering, as one of the guards snarled at her.

Soon enough, the procession stopped in front of a small group of dragons standing near a tall, elaborate gold fountain. There stood a tall, yet slightly frail woman with pure white fur. Her horns were a beautiful gold, curving elegantly around the sides of her head. Her ruby eyes looked down at her in curiosity, but they held no hostility. In contrast, a young girl, whom Sungleam assumed was her daughter, glared back at her, as if she had greatly offended her just by standing there. She took after her mother, but her fur was a pretty, midnight blue. Her horns were a silver instead of gold, likely taking after her father. She was dressed in a pretty purple dress that conveyed her important lineage.

More importantly, she noticed the youngest of the three: a thin boy with faded silver eyes. His fur was the darkest shade of blue, but it was obvious that he was related to the two. His horns were a unique aquamarine color, with his braids tied back and left to hang loosely behind him. He was dressed in simple, yet stunning black clothes trimmed in silver.

Sungleam knew just by looking at him that he was the prince of Vishtaal.

"Good evening, Odette," her grandfather said, bowing in respect. Sungleam mimicked him with her own curtsy, not wanting to appear rude. "I hope we're not late?"

"Not at all," Odette smiled, stepping forward. "Right on time, Ingway."

"I'm glad," Ingway said, straightening up. He smiled down at his grandchild. "And this is little Sungleam."

"Hello," Sungleam said, waving at the pretty lady before her. "Thank you for having me."

"Oh, she's adorable!" the queen gushed, patting the princess' head. Her daughter sneered and snorted in response. "Son, come here. Say hello!"

Dusk audibly sighed and walked forward. He stared down at the smaller child. "Hello, I'm Dusk," he said quickly.

Sungleam looked at his outstretched hand. She slowly extended her own and clasped his in a firm grasp. The older boy was slightly surprised at her strength, even with the rumors of how physically strong the Arkei were.

"Hi! I'm Sungleam," she said with a small smile, assessing her new "friend."

Odette smiled at the children, gently nudging her son back towards the castle. He took the hint, giving forth a deep sigh before slowly leading the little Arkei girl away.

"Come on then. I'll show you around or.. Something."

Ingway chuckled, watching the girl bounce after her unknown betrothed.

"Just hurry up. You said if I played with you, you'd be quiet but you keep giggling like a twit."

He flapped his wings in irritation, turning on the maid as she covered her mouth to hide a giggle of her own.

"You too, Millie. Not one word of this to anyone.. I'm only doing it because mother asked. And if it'll keep her from messing with my stuff."

"I'm sorry, prince," Millie snickered. "It's just it's so rare to see you acting, like... well, a pup!"

"Hysterical," Dusk said icily.

"There!" Sungleam said proudly, hands on her little hips. She looked over her "masterpiece", which was really just Dusk covered from head to toe in brightly colored ribbons courtesy of Millie. Dusk glared back at her, tail lashing about angrily. She only giggled in response and looked at the other female in the room. "Miss Millie, do you think he looks pretty? Did I do a good job?"

"He looks gorgeous!" Millie complemented. "You're a regular little fashionista!"

"Yay!" Sungleam cheered.

"MILLIE!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Millie said, raising her hands to protect herself before Dusk could stomp over. "I'm just playing around, prince!"

A knock on the door interrupted the ruckus. Millie politely excused herself and opened the door to reveal Ingway and the two Arkei guards. The three men walked in, the bodyguards relieved to see their little princess safe. While they knew this was an important meeting, they still didn't know what to expect from the Vishtaal.

"Is it time to go home?" Sungleam asked, standing up from the small mat. She pouted, poking her lip out. "But I was having fun!"

"I wasn't," Dusk growled.

"I'm afraid not, Miss," one of the guards answered her. "It's raining cats and dogs outside, and I overheard one of those mages say that thunder would follow soon. With all do respect, I don't think we should move until tomorrow."

"I think that's a smart move," Ingway agreed. "I've already asked your mother, young Dusk. She said it was alright. Hope you don't mind your little friend spending the night."

"We get to have a sleepover!" Sungleam laughed, taking Dusk's hands and jumping up and down. "Isn't that great?"

"Great..." Dusk groaned.