FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Perfect timing..." You say aloud, overlooking the large high school parking lot you were turning into. "Not another car in sight. You're going to have plenty of space, Sophie."

"...Yeah." The voice next to you weakly lets out. A voice deeply lacking in any sort of enthusiasm or, ironically, drive.

You parked the car in a space that provided a view of practically the entire expanse of pavement and yellow lines. A few street lamps adorned the area, with cylindrical stone bases that helped divide the lot into sections. The lamps were pretty much the only thing possible to hit.

Turning off the car, you turned your head towards the passenger side seat. There your daughter sits, unnervingly still, staring out into the depths of the lot as if there were ghosts only she could see. You noticed the street lamps in particular caught her eye.

"Hey, Sophie..." You say gently, breaking her trance as she turns to you. "It will be okay. I'm gonna make sure everything goes smoothly."

She stares at you for a second, a slight shake in her pupils, before nodding. Her look gave you a familiar sense of something. For a moment, you saw her as she was a little more than half a decade ago: a timid little wolf, perpetually nervous from her own insecurities and paranoid worries. Then, in a blink, she had grown multiple heads higher, with subtle differences of her eyes, ears, and muzzle that nonetheless matured her from young child to teen. She was growing up so fast. For a second, you cursed how unfair it was you had met your daughter so late in her life.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it." She says, bringing you back to reality. Her eyes peer back toward the lot. "I'm just a little worried...."

"That's perfectly fine." You reassure her. "I understand how you feel."

"You do? Were you scared when you first learned?" She looks back at you, a few of her nerves seemingly quelled by her intrigue.

"I was. At first I thought I'd be fine, but when I actually sat behind the wheel for the first time..." You recall, thinking back to your first drive with your own dad. "...Well, I suddenly didn't really feel the most ready."

"Hehe..." She lets out a weak chuckle. "I already feel like that, and I haven't even gotten in the driver's seat yet...."

"Well nothing bad happened then, and I'm gonna make sure nothing bad happens now. I'll always be there to keep you safe, Sophie."

Her muzzle lifts into a small smile. It's one you're definitely happy to see.

"But now you have to keep me safe from myself." She remarks. "And you, too."

"I think we'll be just fine." You say, assured and confident. You unbuckle your seatbelt and open your door. "Now, we'll start really simple. We'll keep the car off so you can get a feel for the controls."

Though reluctantly, Sophia nodded and did the same. After you both stepped out of the car, you waited as Sophia went around over to your side. She really was getting tall, you think to yourself, feeling sad, happy, and proud all at once. You knew that wolves were a naturally tall species, but you suppose your experiences with your little girl had you subconsciously thinking she was sure to be exempt.

Once she slid into the driver's seat, you hung by her side, leaning over a bit from the outside of the car. You watched as Sophia eyed the steering wheel and dashboard, though not daring to try anything.

"It really is simple. You've got the wheel to turn, and the pedals to stop and go. That's all you really need to know for now. Go ahead and put your hands on the wheel." You instruct. "You won't be able to turn it much until we start moving."

Doing as told, Sophia reached forward and took hold of the wheel. Her grip was a bit wider than a 10 and 2, though the particulars of it didn't matter too much at this state.

"Like this?"

"That's good. We're just getting you used to it, so you can adjust however you feel is most comfortable." You say. "Now, do you see the two pedals below? There should be a wider one and a taller one."

Sophia arcs over, peering down below the dashboard. After a second, she nods.

"I see them." She says plainly.

"Good. Now, this next part is going to be a little different for you than me."

"O-Oh." The calmness of her tone wavered.

"Don't worry, it shouldn't be too different." You say assuringly. "While driving, you're going to have your right foot positioned so that it can easily pivot to and press down on either pedal. I use the heel of my foot to do that, but you're going to have to find what feels right for you. Go ahead and try pressing them for a bit. Oh, and you can move the seat around how ever you need, too."

You watch as Sophia, still staring down, shifts about in very slight and particular increments, searching for what felt best as she pressed either pedal down. After a bit of fiddling, and moving the chair forward a bit, she seemed to stop adjusting. She pressed on the brake, then the gas, then the brake again.

"Does that feel right for you?" You ask.

"...I think so."

"Alright. You won't have to use the gas pedal much, if at all today. Once we put the car out of park, it will move slowly on its own."

"It'll move on its own...?!"

"That makes it easier for you." You're quick to put in. "That way, you'll only need to focus on when to use the brake. That's the wider pedal."

You take a step back, getting the full picture of your daughter in the driver's seat. Hands awkwardly on the wheel, foot hovering over the brake pedal as she looked down to scrutinize it. She was going places. Eventually.

You walk back around to the passenger's side, settling in next to her. She turns her head slightly at you, and you can tell by the droop in her ears that she knows what will happen next, further confirmed as you buckle yourself in.

"So, you ready to start moving?" You ask, although from the look of her, you think you already know the answer.

"U-Um..." She hesitates, looking out at the lot. "...I'm not sure."

"I'll make sure nothing happens. And we don't need to go for very long, either."

"..." With a deep inhale from her snout, she appears to give it some thought. "...Okay. I'm ready."

"Alright, we'll take it real slow. You don't need to touch the gas." You tell her as you take the keys from the cup holder, offering them to her. "Can you put this in the ignition? Just give it a twist after."

Sophia takes hold of the keys carefully, as if they were fragile. Before long, she twists it in the ignition, and the car rumbles to life. You notice Sophia's claws unsheathe as she clenched the wheel, and her pupils shake. You can practically hear the increased thumping of her heart. In an attempt to remedy her fears, you place a hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be okay." You say firmly.

She stares at you for a second, takes a deep breath, and then nods as she turns back to the lot. She shifts around a bit before settling into her spot.

"All right. Once I life the parking break, and put it into drive, it'll start rolling forward. Just focus on using the wheel and the brake."

"W-Which one's the brake again?"

"The one on the left. Don't stomp on it, just gently press it down when you want to stop." You explain. "...Ready?"

"...R-Ready." She shakily repeats.

"All right." You say, reaching over and lifting the parking brake. Then, you shift the car into drive.

The car begins rolling forward at a snail's pace. It would take nearly half a minute before the two of you would reach the curb at the other end. You take a glance over at Sophia, noticing her grip on the wheel had only strengthened. You may had been nervous your first drive, but it was safe to say she was probably a level or two above what you had felt then.

"Try the brake a couple times." You suggest, predicting it would help her state of mind the most to first get a feel for stopping the car. "Gently press on the left pedal."

On cue, you felt as the car begin a gradual stop from an already slow pace. Once stationary, Sophia simply sits for a moment, before the car eeks forward an inch and stops again. She repeated the process a couple of times, allowing the car to travel more distance between each stop. She appeared to be doing better, you think to yourself.

"You're doing good, Sophie. You can use the brake whenever you need." You say encouragingly. "Now, do you think you can turn left after those spaces?"

"M...Mm-hm." She manages to let out, giving the pedal a break for the moment. "I'll try...."

The car continues on, uninterrupted from any further braking. After she passes through the two empty parking spots, you watch as she carefully yet awkwardly twists her arms around the wheel. The car in turn breaks from its straight-line path into a very wide curve.

"The farther the wheel, the sharper turn." You advise. "The car will go straight once the wheel is back to neutral."

"...Is this good?" She asks after turning the wheel back, a little faster and just as awkward.

"It's a good start, though we're a little crooked. Trying turning just a little to the right."

Following your advice, Sophia turns the wheel a bit to the other side, and then left again after having overcorrected. After a few more adjustment, and a brake here and there, she had successfully realigned the car between the rows of parking spaces.

"How're you feeling?"

"Um... Better...I think." She answers, eyes focused ahead intensely.

"You're only going to improve." You say. "Try taking a right turn up ahead."

"A right... U-Uh... I can't see that side as well."

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye out for you. Remember, this is all about getting a feel for driving. You don't need to be perfect."

The strategy behind getting her comfortable, at least for today, was just to have her drive a couple of loops around the lot. Having her start with the brake and wheel, and possibly working her way up once she started getting the hang of it.

And, as you continued to monitor her driving, it seemed to work decently well. Granted, she wasn't doing anything too intensive, but the important part was seeing how her posture loosened with every completed loop. You wouldn't say she'd be out on the roads in no-time, but she was certainly making progress.

"You're doing good, Sophie. You're doing good."

"It is...starting to feel a little better." She admits. "But if another car comes in, it's not gonna stay that way."

"Well, you know how to turn, and you know how to brake. I don't think anyone would care if you took up two spaces in the middle of an open lot."

"I guess...."

"...You know Sophie, even if you're scared, I'm still really proud of how far you've come."

"How far?" She repeats, confused. "I've barely done anything."

You glance at her with a nostalgic smirk.

"I wouldn't say that. I remember a time when you didn't even know how to unbuckle your seatbelt."

You manage to spot a tinge of red seep through the fur on her cheek.

"That's not fair. I'd never been in a car before."

"And now you're driving one."

"Well, barely...."

"'Barely', huh? If that's the case, then why not try giving the accelerator a light press?"

"..." She takes a few seconds to respond. "...I'll hit a pole."

"As long as you don't stomp on the pedal, it's going to be fine. I know I can trust you to be careful."

Sophia takes another pause, accompanied by a deep inhale, but doesn't respond. Instead, after a moment, you listen as the rumble of the car strengthens the slightest amount. A change that was matched by a subtle shift in the car's speed before quickly tapering off. As small a difference it was, there was a much more evident change in Sophia's bearings at the wheel.

"You're in control, Sophie. The car's only going to go as fast as you allow it." You say calmly, noticing her breathing had gotten a little louder.

Still without a word, the car began to reclaim its lost modicum of speed, though not daring to go any faster than that. While Sophia's attention is deathly on the road, yours is more concerned about how she had gotten into the rhythm of long and louder breaths.

"Sophe?" Your tone picked up a hint of concern.

Sophia's head flicked an inch in your direction with a twitch of her ears. Her eyes stared at you for a moment, small and shivering. She was certainly nervous before, but this was something else. You needed to sto—

"*Gasp*!" Sophia's sudden and sharp exclamation pierced your heart, which continued to plummet as the car lurched forward due to an abrupt braking. Your own startled eyes darted forward to the cause.

Up ahead, skittering away due to the brief commotion, was a squirrel. Apparently, it had managed to wander within the path of the car, and had gotten close enough to catch the two of you off guard. You breathed a sigh, quickly overcoming the short-lived sense of danger. The car hadn't even been going that fast, it was really just Sophia's reaction that startled you. A sudden, shaky breath next to you turned your attention to your daughter.

The first thing you noticed was a small shine in the corner of her eye as she stared ahead. Her upper arms were tucked into her sides as she clenched the wheel, and her ears folded over her head. She remained frozen for a few seconds, broken only once the tear started to trickle downward as she abruptly wiped it with her hand. Something about it looked...familiar.

"I...I'm sorry." She says after a moment, weirdly plain and off-put, sounding as if she herself didn't know exactly what happened. She had gone from completely frozen to a slight tremble.

"It's okay." You collect yourself, mostly from trying to place what was bothering you. You reach over and lower the parking brake and shift the car into park. "We can stop here for today."

Sophia sits in silence for a little longer, staring at her slightly tear-stained hand.

"...I-I don't know why I'm—" She interrupts herself to wipe another tear. "It's...so stupid. I shouldn't be...."

Again, she wipes another tear that formed.

"Hey, Sophie..." You softly pat a hand on her shoulder, and she turns to you. "It's okay."

As you finally get a good look at her, you realize what she reminds you of. She appeared eerily similar to a time before she called you "Dad", after having woken up from a nightmare. You remember carrying her to your room, where she told you how she was about to get hit by a car in her dream, and how it hadn't been the first time she's had that nightmare. It isn't hard to connect a few dots....

"You did great, and I'm proud of you." You give her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "There's a new chicken place around here, isn't there? Why don't we get takeout to celebrate?"

"I..." She begins, though doesn't go anywhere with it, instead turning back and giving a small nod.

With that, the two of you open your respective doors, and step out of the car. As you walk around the front to swap seats, you stop her and yourself, and hold your arms out. Sophia looks at you with saddened eyes for a moment, before allowing herself to lean into your hug.

The need to lower yourself to embrace her was long gone, as was your ability to lift her into your arms as you had before. Yet as you held her in your arms, your mind still registered her as that precious little wolf who so often needed a shoulder to cry on. The more things change....

"It's so embarrassing..." She mutters. "I don't know why I was crying. It's...so s-stupid."

"Not at all." You respond, doing your best to be her rock, as you've always aimed to be. "It's understandable, with what you've been through."

"I just...thought I wasn't that girl anymore." She says, with a hint of frustration. "...I was so pathetic."

"Well, no matter what, you're always going to be my little girl. But you never were pathetic, so get that out of your head." You affirm. "I don't want to hear you talk like that, okay? Don't even think it."

"..." She remains silent, simply leaning against you, keeping a very subtle sway. The two of you stay like that for a good while. "...Thanks, Dad. Y-You always..."

You wait for her to finish her response, but after a bit, it seems that she can't. That's okay. You got the gist. Supporting your daughter will always be your number one priority. Always.

Once the hug is broken, you noticed her expression had been lifted into a weak grin, as difficult as it was to tell.

"You're growing up too fast, Sophie." You tell her, bittersweet.

"Hehe... Sorry, Dad." She says, wiping the last of the tears in her eyes. "I'll do better next time. I promise."

"You will, but be proud of the progress you've made."

"Okay." She nods. "I will."

"Good." You smile. "Now, think about what you're going to want to order. And text your mother if she wants anything."

Sophia smiles back, before the two of you walk to your seats. Regardless of the squirrel incident, teaching Sophia anything was something you always greatly looked forward too, so you won't mind if it takes her a little longer to learn. It'll be a sad day once you've taught her everything you can as her father, but that'll also be a day to be proud too. You remember her first reading lessons with you. They were some of your most cherished memories, after all....