FSE

Furry search engine

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As he slept, he remembered it clearly. His past became his dreams, as the traumatic experience unraveled in front of him like a vivid image that haunted his sleep. The bat-hound hybrid remembered it.

It was a good warm day in the dry plains. The rock castle of the Schelkz family stood firmly against the flowing earth rock that bordered it with the plains where hellish creatures roamed freely in search for carcasses to scavenge. Rhynsa Vantwork, then a young 20 years old game keeper/youngest general in Schelkz monarch military, was watching a group of hellhounds riding towards the gates. He wanted to take a look, and started unfurling his wings when a soft furry hand was put on his shoulder.

"(Don't worry, Rhynsa, they're Winsel, our trusted ally. Our domain always have good trades of technology because of them)."

As Rhynsa turned, he was facing another black hellhound with red eyes that was slightly smiling to him. He was young, around his age, but looked grandeur with the royal robe assigned to him. In respect, he kneeled before him, but he demanded Rhynsa to rise.

"(My, have you forgotten that we're still friends? Rhynsa Vantwork, my batty friend...what can I do for you?)"

"(Well...uh, milord...)"

"(I'm Hynorsi to you, Rhynsa. Ask away)."

"(Why are you inviting a group of royal hunters to our kingdom? Is it another trade? Then why am I seeing a whole group of their military coming this way?)"

"(Oh, about that. Well, no wonder. Their king is coming and I'm going to greet them proper. As my top general, I suggest you lead our welcoming party to greet them. Both the king and his general must be together)."

"(To be honest, Hynorsi...I'm a little bit nervous. I mean, I'm still around your age of 20, right? That's mean if I have to stood in front of an older hellhound I might die of nervousness. Also...they won't think of me as your servant if I have these wings)."

"(Rhynsa...just forget the fucking wings. The Winsel family is a traditional hunting monarch family with a great bestiary. They might have seen weird hellish things that are far weirder than a hellhound with bat ears and bat wings. Their king and I grew in the wild once, and that's how I passed with my adaptation test. We both were once warriors. Now go, general. Welcome their party. I will be joining you shortly)."

Rhynsa just nodded, and flew away, thinking that it was only a matter of time until he was ridiculed in front of the guests and leaving the Schelkz in embarrassment. He just hoped Hynorsi was right.

Sometimes later, Rhynsa had made the welcoming party ready to receive the invited from the portcullis. They hellhounds came with fiery skull horses that looked magnificent with their black fire and such. What captivated him was the chained up three-headed giant demon dog that was walking slowly with the group, somehow trained to be obedient with its master. It made a slight growl, but it didn't signify any pain. Then, one of them saw him and made a smile. From the posture he could see that the rider was a black female hellhound and he never had seen that kind of a beautiful smile in his entire life. It was as if having his feelings awakened was worth it.

As a general, he was to accompany the king with his guest into the dining room, but before that, he was invited in a private meeting with the monarchs, which caused him to gulp and getting sweaty because of nervousness. Damn, he wished he could die....

In a big stone-walled room with flaming river of fire all around them, Hynorsi closed the door behind him with somehow only me, Hynorsi and his lovely wife, little Neri, and the king's party, which somehow struck me as weird. Where was the old hound he could call a 'general'?

"(Hynorsi...)"

"(Ensalder Winsel...)"

At first I felt something was strange. It was as if they were trying to pounce each other. Good thing Rhynsa's natural sharpshooting meant that he could stop the hellhound with throwing his knife, but the next moment he realized was a natural hug of friendship, making him sighed.

"(Goddamn it, Ensalder, you looked like hell. Where've you been up to?)"

"(We're in hell, Hynorsi, my friend. Oh, about my wounds? It's nuthin'. I was out hunting and I somehow found a giant fuckin' Ulshurfak with three heads. Good thing I never killed him, and he seemed too ordinary to keep so I want to give you Cerberus as a present. How's that, old friend?)"

"(Oh, come on now, Ensalder, we're barely even 21 yet!)"

"(Yeah, I keep forgettin' that my general is a year older than me.... Hey, who's that funny-looking bat-eared hound over there? Your general?)"

Rhynsa gulped hard and couldn't move. He could swear that this would be the end of his ego. He wanted to avoid eye contact but his black eyes would mean that he was actually staring at the young king. The king stared Rhynsa for a moment before saying, "(A fuzandre with hound face? Hynorsi, how's your relationship with that duke?)"

"(Duke? Oh, you mean Krozani? We're fine. The mine is shared and we started to help ourselves with each other's traditions. Why? Uh, is it because of Rhynsa's mix heritage? It's a long story and we don't want to talk history, right, Rhynsa?)"

The bat-hound nodded, yet Ensalder was still eyeing him. After a while, he said, "(You know what? In my studies I never have thought that the DNA of a fuzandre can perfectly spliced to make a cross-product between a fuzandre and a hellhound. They have a completely different type of strand that couldn't be replicated with the same amount of time, which, by time, means that a hellhound mutated faster than a bat does. But, this kind of anatomy is highly unlikely. Three pair of limbs growing in perfect sense? Goddamn it, dude, you're a marvel in genetic mutation!)"

"(Uh...I understand your fascination with Rhynsa but can you please talk in plain Hordo?)"

"(So, one question mark remains. When did it start? Is it the carrier DNA of your father, or your mother's replicating zygote that got you a marvelous body? Which one of your parents is a fuzandre?)"

Rhynsa wanted to reply, but Hynorsi somehow knew that the conversation had turned into an awkward turn, and said, "(Maybe you shouldn't discuss about your studies in our meeting. We have more urgent matter to attend to. Let the generals talk in behalf of us. Rhynsa, will you please?)"

Both Hynorsi and Ensalder's group left the generals alone in the flaming room. There was a silence before Rhynsa said, "(Uh...hello? Are you the...uh, general? I'm quite new, so...)"

The black hellhound just smiled. "(I'm quite new myself, you see. I'm still in my early 20s. Well, our generation seems to respect young ones, isn't it?)"

"(I...guess?)"

"(You don't need to think much about politics, my friend. Our job is to fight the enemies and lead our armies to victory. Anyway, my name is Anenka Kolvics, from the martial arts division)."

"(I'm...uh, Rhynsa Vantwork. I came from uh...what do you say...gamemaker?)"

"(A gamemaker of...deadmatches?)"

"(Oh, no, that's not even a general's division. That's an even organizer's job. I mainly plan traps and make strategies based on the terrain. My division is specialized in stealth, but sometimes we make it as a game so we won't get bored. Annoy your enemy and you get the better hand, they once said)."

"(Dude, that name's lame. It's better with special ops division. Who the fuck suggests that name?)"

"(Uh...I do? Maybe I should follow your suggestion...)"

"(Just go on, then. Tell your soldiers to adapt with that name. You can't make enemies tremble with that kind of name. It looks more like a joke. Hey, if you are finished, sit by me at the dinner, okay? I think we have a lot in common)."

Following that suggestion, Rhynsa had a better time around his army. That name change actually gave them a better respect of him (the previous one was rather forced). After it was done, and attending the dinner, Hynorsi and Ensalder summoned the two of them to a private place. They talked a while in a casual manner, before Hynorsi said, "(You know, our forces lack the training in firearms. I think it's great if Rhynsa here can teach us how to shoot properly while Anenka can help with the close combat training. You both are prodigies, right)?" Rhynsa was surprised. "(But, milord...I'm barely 20...)"

"(Age doesn't concern me. Both me and Anenka are still young. From the way I see it, you two get along pretty well in your first meeting. Maybe this joint training can help strengthen our friendship and quite possibly help making a better life)."

"(Well, I can agree with that. Rhynsa, how many spare rifles you can get?)"

"(You mean...immediately, milord?)"

"(Of course not, Rhynsa, this is a festivity night! I only ask how many are not currently in use because we need spares. You need your soldiers to teach them, right?)"

Rhynsa wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but at that time, he followed orders, and for the next five days, they were having a joint training. Most of the Winsel soldiers couldn't use rifles, which was great, since they had a very low supply on ammunitions that they could get from the blacksmiths. The soldiers were more proficient with arrows. Meanwhile, the division Rhynsa commanded had a better time to fight unarmed, including Rhynsa himself.

Three days after, Anenka and Rhynsa sparred with each other on a granite platform while being surrounded by fire. Sparring in a high temperature proved useful in awareness. Though Rhynsa had been taught to use short objects like a stick, he was still losing to Anenka's creativeness in fighting. After a short while Rhynsa was disarmed and kicked into the fire pit, which caused him to get heated a little. Anenka helped him out from it, and Rhynsa cleaned off the soot.

"(Your reaction to counter attacks is better this time, Rhynsa)," said Anenka while taking the stick. "(Although, you still can't counter a disarming attempt, and it could be fatal if you're a sniper. Also, don't make your rifle as a weapon, please)."

"(Why? I can fight with guns too, you know)."

"(They have a slight disadvantage over close combat due to their lightness. Hard wooden weapons are not strong enough to hit, so only use your guns in an urgent matter. Oh, and...is it just me or these sticks can't burn?)"

"(Special stone-carved sticks painted to look like wood. Most of our guns are made from this special material. We can't just walk to the surface and take the trees, right?)"

"(I guess you have a point there)."

Rhynsa again saw the black female hellhound from afar, just like what he saw the first day he started the training session. The hellhound was now carrying a tray with two strong drinks that were common in the town. Anenka made a smile while Rhynsa just stared at the hellhound in pure fascination on how she could have a very perfect body for him. Apparently oblivious to his attraction, Anenka walked to the black hellhound (who looked a lot like him), take the drink, and said, "(Thanks, sis, this is what we need)."

This statement snapped Rhynsa out of his attraction and quickly helped himself to look as normal as possible. Anenka still looked oblivious when he smiled to him and said, "(Rhynsa, this is my younger sister, Vilkila Kolvics. Though it seems that it's better for her to stay in our kingdom's border, she insisted to follow me to see the world, isn't that right, Vilki?)"

"(Oh, just shut up, An. I want to ensure my family's safe)."

"(Right...so, Vilkila, this is Rhynsa Vantwork)."

"(P-please to meet you, gorgeous hound. I, uh...pleased to meet you)."

"(Did that kick leave a mark, Rhynsa?)"

"(No...I was just covered in soot)."

"(That's the finisher of Anenka's kicks, so it might hurt a bit for those who couldn't stand his kicks. Anyway, boys, I'll see you back in. Your kings want to start a meeting so clean up. Anyway, Rhynsa, those are badass-looking wings you got there)."

She then left them while happily waving her long prehensile tail around, which again caught Rhynsa's eyes. This time, though, Anenka had realized his attraction to his sister, and out of sympathy, he patted his shoulder and said, "(You have the hots in her, right? I've noticed it for sometimes)."

The question caught Rhynsa off-guard and he tried to make an excuse, but Anenka again moved his hand, this time to Rhynsa's overly long batty ears, and whispered, "(I don't have an objection if you like her. She also likes your wings, Rhynsa. I want to talk to my king about this, too. I hope you do the same, for your own sake)."

"(But...)"

"(Don't try to think that I'm proposing a marriage! If there's a marriage between kingdoms the monarchs go first. I just want to ask if my king is willing to let the martial arts division stay to further your training while the rest of the soldiers go back to our kingdom to defend it)."

"(But...your king...)"

"(He won't be staying long. He's expecting a cub and he needs to be there when my queen delivers the prince. So, what do you say? You can have more time to be with her, and I get to train you further into our fighting style while my boys can upgrade their bow and arrows to stone rifles. Deal?)"

With nothing to say, Rhynsa made a reluctant smile and said, "(You've got a deal, hound)."

And so, everything he dreamed of was the part where his happiness started. Everything moved faster from that point. He always remembered the time when little Karni was born and grew into a pretty little hellhound cub, blooming like flowers in the treacherous plains of the underworld.

Yet, every happiness must end, and Rhynsa had endured it far too much to leave another family, the last of Hynorsi's heritage, behind to die. Now that he met Anenka, and the talk with Ifrit that changed him, his life had been dedicated for redemption to everything he had done to Ifrit and to every target's family that he had wronged by robbing them of their precious ones. It was the dream of change to him, and to his life from then on.