FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_ Part 3 _

In the days and weeks that followed those initial discussions, I managed to get somewhere approaching comfortable with the idea of travelling all the way to Polcia. I'd also got used to fact that I'd be heading there with Sasha in tow.

Time had been taken from work, flights booked, and accommodation for the first few nights organised. Before all that, Polcia was always some distant, fantastical idea, one that I may or may not go through with someday in the future. Well, the future had arrived. It _was_happening; a fact that sent my anxiety spiralling up and out of control as time marched towards the departure date.

Even then, no matter how upset my stomach got in the last days leading up to it, nor how difficult I found it to sleep in the nights that followed, everything dialled way up once that Saturday morning rolled around.

"Make sure to stay in touch," called Ma, shadowing me along the dawn lit hallway... just like she had been from the moment I woke up.

"I will."

"And let us know once you get there."

I tugged my trolley bag from the wood onto the living room carpet. "Will do."

"Call us if you want to," Dad said, standing in front of the couch. His paws were more grinding than wringing. "Whenever. Doesn't matter the time."

"I'll keep you up to date." I sucked in a sharp intake of air. This whole dance was doing nothing for my cramping stomach. "Promise."

"Are you okay?" asked Ma."

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"If you like..." At last, Dad settled onto the couch, leaning down in my direction. Still his paws refused to settle. "We can take you and Sasha to the station, or drop you off downtown. It'd save you part of the journey."

"No, we're good."

"It's no trouble."

"It's fine!" My stomach tensed. I shoved a paw to it. "_We're_fine."

"Have you taken something for your tummy?"

"Yes."

"Are you taking the bottle with you?"

"Yes, Ma," I spat back through gritted teeth. "Stop fussing!"

"I'm a mother; it's what I do."

Having my parents watching over me, their eyes wide and watery, tails tight and still, all helped take the snap from my voice. "I'll be okay. Really. Don't worry about me."

Dad reached down, gesturing me closer with a flick of his fingers. I took a seat on his paw. Soon enough he was bringing me up to his lap. "Make sure you take care of yourself."

"I will," I replied, spreading my arms as he hugged me into his stomach. "You as well."

"Don't forget to call," Ma reminded me. Again. She leaned down to join us.

All this attention, causing all this emotion... Gods, the guilt crippled me almost as much as my stomach. I hoped the medicine would kick in soon.

"Tell Luka and Nadia I said bye when they wake up. Art, too, whenever he calls next."

"We will," Ma insisted, standing up straight while Dad lowered me back to the carpet.

Finally I had peace. Turned out that didn't help my tension any more than their fretting.

"Guess I'll be off then." I towed my trolley over to the door. Nursed on my shoes and jacket. My parents followed. Their door opened as I opened mine. In silence, they joined me out on the front step.

The birds were already in full voice, singing their welcome to the sun rising beyond the houses opposite. I glanced back from our front path to find Dad stood statuesque on the porch, arm wrapped around Ma's shoulder. His tail around her waist. We all shared a wave as I convinced my legs to carry me the rest of the way. Their smiles were forced. Mine, too.

"See you," I called. The effort it took to keep my voice level stopped me saying anything more.

"Have fun," Dad called. "Take care."

Ma said nothing. She simply watched on from his side. My ears splayed out as wide as her's.

I pried my attention away from them, fixing it instead to the walkway ahead. The walkway that would soon be carrying me down the road, and soon allowing me a short period of solitude.

The night before, I'd agreed to meet Sasha down at our local train station. I knew leaving the house would play out like it did. No way was I gonna do all that family stuff right there in front of him. This proved tough enough to deal with already, and all the jokes he'd have thrown my way over it would've made it even worse. I had tried to think up some excuse beforehand, but he didn't seem to mind enough to even need one. Maybe he needed the alone time, too.

In just a few short minutes since leaving the warmth of home, I was sat there with him on the cold, abandoned platform. The 6.14 train into Zelengorod Central would be arriving soon. Time enough to distract myself with some small talk before the journey began for real.

"Couldn't stay natural for long, huh?" I pointed up at his head fur; back to the same bold red he'd kept it right the way through finishing school and university.

"Taking full advantage of my time away from work." He dragged a paw through it, grinning. "Man, I can't believe the day's finally here. Can't wait to get going."

"Yeah." I heaved my trolley closer. Made sure, again, that I had everything vital zipped up in the front compartment. "Been a while coming."

"You good?"

"Course."

"Sure?"

"I've had this from my parents since the moment I got up. I'm good. Really!"

"Alright." Sasha leaned away, holding up his paws. "Just figured the way you've had Polcia on the mind, you'd be buzzin' for this, too."

"I am."

"Then how 'bout telling your face about it."

That earned a brief chuckle. "I'm tired is all. And anxious... about flying and stuff, I guess."

"Ahh, man. Flying ain't anything. It's all the screwing around at the airport that's the problem."

"Thanks for reminding me."

Sasha snorted. "Don't worry over it. Everything's gonna go great. Trust me."

Our train pulled into the station a minute or two after. Lucky, really. Judging by the departures sign, the next two due along were without a compartment for passengers our size. The off-peak service was truly an unmitigated suckfest on this line, despite all the operator's supposed efforts to improve things. We'd probably get said improvements around the same time plane companies offered us seats that didn't cost a small fortune, even on short haul.

I did what I could to set my logistical annoyances to one side. After all, a full day of travelling would no doubt stoke up plenty more before we made it all the way to Arlone. At least the train was mostly empty. Not often we got a seat when heading in the opposite direction for work.

Hell, our luck was in for the next leg, too. The carriage barely filled a third of the way before we departed on our travels west. It'd take almost three hours to get down river to Taraski harbour; a prospect much more tolerable with soft seats, plenty of legroom and, hopefully, peace and quiet for the duration.

Outside, sleepy suburbs soon replaced the bustling city. Those in turn quickly surrendered to the sprawling green fields and forests beyond Zelengorod's outskirts. Conditions all around me were perfect. I could relax, rest up... maybe even catch a nap...

...Dazed, groggy, I stirred somewhere outside Novolesk, close to halfway to our final stop. We'd picked up a few more passengers along the way, but not enough to create much of a racket. That went for the main compartment, too; the movements up there were kept to a subtle minimum.

Back down here, a few stray conversations could be picked up from around the carriage. More Velikan than Polcian, I might add. Even the bear cub in the seat across the aisle sat well behaved, playing some game on his handheld console while his Ma read a magazine. It all helped to keep Sasha snoring like a chainsaw in the window seat next to me.

As fast as I saw them, Novolesk's skyline disappeared beyond the hills between us. In that moment, I thought about Niko, our old friend from The Roscha now living there. Our group chat was a nice way to stay in touch, but I'd not seen him in person since his flying visit back home following graduation last summer. He'd finished his engineering degree out here, and got some great position as a trainee at the construction company he'd interned at. I was happy for him, really. Good to see one of us make it outta RechnayaRoscha.

Turned out the nap I caught between Zelengorod and Novolesk would be the one and only. Apparently my body wanted to tackle the world with six patchy hours of sleep. So be it.

Sasha came to as we rolled past Kremensk an hour later, the hilly sprawl of Velika's second city visible beside the sea and beneath the pink-stained horizon. His nap clearly did him good. Put him right in the mood for a solid round of chatter.

"You ever been there before?" he asked, brush swaying between us.

"Yeah." I joined him in peering out the window. "Long time ago. We visited my aunt a few times, before she moved back to Zelengorod. That was like... ten years ago now. You?"

"Never. Dad went there for some dental convention a couple years back. Didn't have much to say about it." Sasha shifted, seeming to scan the skyline for something. "Except that the Polcian district he stayed in for it was big. Like big, big. Had its own conference hall and everything. I never knew Kremensk had a lot of Velikans like us living there."

"I don't think it does." He turned to me. "Clue's in the name they give it. There's plenty of Polcians moving in. Velikans, not so much."

"How d'ya know that?"

"I read the news. Plus, we've got a satellite office there. The district, not the city proper. Sucks if you can't fit there, I guess..." He raised a fist to his mouth, reacting with a gaping yawn. I scoffed back. "Sorry for being boring."

"Hey, c'mon. I was up at four-thirty to get ready this morning. I'm amazed I'm functioning this good."

"You mean the two hour nap wasn't enough for ya?"

"Man, I think I could sleep two days and not feel right." Sasha pulled himself up onto his feet. "Seriously."

"Where you going?"

"Coffee. Need something to get me through." I got a face full of his brush as he squeezed on past. "Want anything."

"Your arse outta my face."

"You love it."

A cuff of his tail sent it flailing into the aisle behind him. It flicked back hard enough to get the bear cub opposite glancing up from his game. "Coffee would be good. Didn't sleep so great last night, either."

"Cool. I'll see if they've got anything breakfasty that don't cost a fortune on the go, too. Sound good?"

"Sure." I glanced back out at the cityscape. "I'll get whatever you get."

"How adventurous," he jeered back. His tail was still in batting distance. "Alright, no problem. Back in a bit."

He navigated himself down the aisle, dodging limbs, bags and every other obstacle left there by other passengers; a good time for my trolley to start calling out from the racking above.

I wobbled my way up to my own two feet. The train ride so far had left them badly out of practice. My trolley's zip pocket sat within easy reach. What I wanted from inside, not so much. Flicking through my travel documents, my passport, and a few other bits of paperwork I'd brought along, just in case, I finally got hands on my book... or, more precisely, what I'd been keeping safe inside for the last few weeks.

Back in my seat, finally with a moment of privacy, I thumbed through to the sheet of paper I'd left hidden away.

Its edges were worn, corners curled. The fold I'd created down the middle had grown all the more crumpled. Regardless, the contents never failed to be of interest.

Dylan and Jennifer Tressider. Those names meant more and more each time I read them. That information I'd been privy to ever since I'd begun this journey months before. It was what followed that allowed me to know and to do so much more...

Home address as listed in census: 285 Old Mill Road, Victory Hill, Arlone AR1965

Telephone: Unlisted

If only that second line could have been as forthcoming as the first. Having the names and address of my parents went far beyond what I could've imagined this time last year, but a means to contact them would've been all the better. The idea of daring to turn up unannounced on their doorstep... It came with such a risk. I didn't want to freak them out, but on balance, would a call from someone claiming to be the son they left in Velika do any less? That question could wait, for now. My search had dug up more information that I still, weeks later, needed to digest fully.

I unfolded the printout, finding just enough time to read 'Dependents' before a paw clamped down on my shoulder.

"Man!" Sasha gestured back down the carriage. "The buffet car is ridiculous."

"Huh?" I threw my book closed. "What?"

"They've got all sorts. Zapekanka, syrniki, and all kinds of cooked stuff. Coffee, soda... I think I even saw pizza wraps."

"Pizza wraps." My ears perked. "For real?"

He flashed a grin. It grew even wider at my grumbling stomach. "Wanna check it out?"

"I guess I am pretty hungry."

"No shit." Sasha grabbed his own bag from the racking. "Come on!"

He hadn't been lying. Okay, they might have been on the greasy side, but damn it, I had myself pizza wraps and strawberry soda for breakfast. Healthy? No. But after all, this was supposed to be a vacation. I stuffed myself pretty full in prep for our final stop in Taraski. If I'd foreseen the length of the walk between the station and the harbour proper, I'd have been more controlled in my eating...

We followed a group of passengers from our train, winding through a long set of tunnels that I figured ran underneath the harbour building. Plenty of others joined us along the way, pouring down from escalators that led from the surface. After... I don't know how much walking, and perilously close to showing my breakfast the light of day again, that light grew even bolder before us.

With the call to board made, our passes collected and scanned, those tight tunnels at last gave way to a wide expanse of concrete outside. The salty sea air tickled my nose, but not enough to distract me from the view ahead.

"Okay," Sasha muttered. "That's big."

Our ferry to Bolstrovo lied in wait for us, lurching with the steady tides below. Like a mountain of metal, it stretched almost high enough to touch the clear blue sky. A wide walkway connected it with the harbour building, trembling with the footfalls of larger Velikans beginning to board above.

I'd never been so close to a ship this size before. Sure, I'd seen plenty back home, on the river near the docklands, but this here... This was something else.

"Y'know." Sasha rubbed beneath his chin. "This'll be one of the last times we experience this for a while. After Bolstrovo, everything's gonna be smaller. Or maybe I should say, normal."

"Yeah, exactly." I snatched my trolley closer, tugging it along with me. "Come on."

"Damn." Sasha rushed to follow onto our boarding bridge. "You've perked up."

"What can I say... The power of pizza wraps, I guess."

Once inside, the ferry's interior offered a first taste of an offering truly focused on people our size. We had a lot in place back home in Zelengorod, and in other Velikan cities to an extent, but this didn't compare. This wasn't a compartment on a train carriage, or a walkway running beside and below a bigger, wider pavement; everything here had been designed and built for us, and presented in a way that appeared as more than just an afterthought.

Yeah, the bigger travellers had the bulk of the ship above, but you'd have never known it. We had so much space to sit and to stretch out, while shops and eateries in their own section towards the back of the ship catered for us and us alone.

I gripped my trolley handle tight in my seat, peering out the window at Velika's coastline slowly rolling from view. The knowledge that soon, after a single flight across the Sovereign, we'd be touching down in a place where this wouldn't be just commonplace. It would be everything. Thinking over that got my tail swaying for the first time that day.

---

"I can't get over that," Sasha moaned, his ears low and muzzle creased. "I just can't! Where the hell do they even get off?"

"Man, we've been over this." I kept my paw across my eyes. Almost a full day of travelling thus far, crossing four time zones, had finally taken its toll.

"You're taking it real fuckin' well, y'know." He flopped back hard in his seat, arms folded. His grumbling sure as hell wasn't helping my headache. "I'd call 'em sizeist if they weren't our size."

"Let it go--"

"Speciest? Racist? Whatever fuckin' '-ist' covers this, that's them.That's Linvendian passport control. Pricks."

I did my best to stay quiet and leave Sasha to cool off. All the excitement that came with the ferry crossing, then the flight from Bolstrovo had long faded by the time we caught this 'fast train' to Arlone. A fact that Sasha left little doubt over.

"I think I'm still tingling after going through that damn body scanner." He rubbed up and down his arm. "Never seen anything like that back home."

"It was only an x-ray machine."

"You sure? Wasn't like any x-ray machine I've ever seen. Damn thing looked like it was gonna teleport us off someplace."

"Yeah, well it's like you said earlier..." I paused to yawn, and to gauge how pissed any more of a reply might get him. Inconclusive. "The hassle at the airport is always the worst part of travelling."

"When I was talking 'bout hassle, I was talking more about late gate changes, delays, those kinda things. What I wasn't talking 'bout were things like despot prick border agents making my life hell."

"Comes with the territory."

"Are ya seriously suggesting they were in the right with all that!?"

"I'm not suggesting anything." Raising my paws helped put him all the way back into his seat. "We got through it. That's what matters."

"Yeah, you're right... Still pissed, though."

"I noticed--"

"Questions like, 'have you ever worked for the government of Velika?' and 'Are you carrying any materials that may pose a risk to the nation of Livendia?'... I mean what? What the fuck kinda question's that?"

"Man, I know! I had all come my way, too."

"What you getting pissy with me over?"

"_Me!?_I'm not the one moaning. All you had to say was 'no', then 'no' again. Not hard."

"On top of that--"

"Sasha, come on--"

"No, no!" He jabbed out a finger. "On top of all that, they dumped our bags into that other damn scanner, fucked around with your laptop--"

"It's Polcian immigration; they don't fuck around--"

"Acting like... we're in some basement budget Jenson Bruin movie or something. Government agent shit."

I left him to poke and rub at the studs in his ear, staring up instead to the screen above the empty seat ahead. It showed all eight of the carriages as having 'plenty of seats' in Polcian, and few other languages I couldn't read. Lucky with how much noise we were making. The few passengers around us had thrown a few glares our way. In particular, I wondered if the coyote one seat down and across the aisle was more interested in the shouting, or the Velikan language being bounced off every wall in here. Guess some things are the same the world over.

"...Throwing things like 'further inspection' at me like it's worth a damn."

"Are you still going?" Screw it. My turn to bitch and moan. "Look, man. You didn't help yourself. Getting an attitude."

"You weren't there."

"No, but I was at the next desk over. The fact I could hear you bark 'why does that matter?' not once, but twice, was never gonna be a good thing."

"That uppity husky started it."

"And he could've damn well finished it by throwing you on the first plane back to Bolstrovo." He didn't respond. Time to wind this down, for both our sakes. "Listen, I agree with you; it was all _way_over the top. Just do me a favour, okay?"

"What favour?"

"Keep it cool when we're heading out to go home, yeah?" I made a point of smiling. "I really don't wanna see what the inside of a cell at Linvendian border control looks like."

His shoulders rocked with a sigh. "Deal."

The absence of raised voices between us came welcome for a good while. No surprise a trip this long and with this many legs had got under our fur. But, the further we glided from the airport, the easier it got to put the nonsense of a three-hour adventure in immigration behind us. At last, we could focus more on the positives than the negatives... like the fact that we'd finally made it. We'd arrived in Polcia.

I left Sasha to sit back and rest his eyes, leaning past to get a better glimpse out our window. On first review, nothing stood out as unusual. It all resembled the standard countryside view from a train barrelling through the night. Regardless, the fact we were aboard a train like this was cool in and of itself. Forget how damn new it was, forget the luxury seats and fully functional heating, and forget the screens scrolling with info on the capacity, our position on our journey and even the weather outside. No, impressive as all that was, what truly made this special was the train itself... It was _our_size. The whole damn thing. Just like the ones that ran between the Polcian district and the city proper back in Zelengorod.

Silhouette after blurred silhouette raced on past, helping to convince me that Sasha's mute, unmoving state might be something worth imitating. After all, there were only so many times I could count the stars. But, as it turned out, I wouldn't have long to wait for the view outside to get that much more interesting.

Black shadows broke to reveal a few lights bunched up together in the ever decreasing distance. More appeared with each passing moment as tall hills gave way to shallow grassland beyond. The darkness lost its intensity, allowing the silhouettes we passed to grow into much more than non-descript shadows.

Still I let Sasha rest, watching the world take shape. The shadows outside began to resemble... plants... Trees. Smaller trees!

I didn't get the chance to process that fully. A haze of shapes flashed on by. Then another. Bright and all-encompassing. I crept closer to the window. In that moment, the world outside was all that existed. Until Sasha had his way anyhow.

"Kaz." He sat forward, blocking me from the night.

"Huh?" I followed his glance down to his lap... My paw had found his thigh.

"If you wanna cop a feel, I don't mind, but please ask first."

"Yeah, right." I shoved him back into his seat, getting a rush of laughter in return.

"I'm just an innocent fox. Please respect my boundaries."

"You're about as innocent as it is daytime." With that offending paw, I pointed to the window. "Check this out."

Those rapid bursts of light had slowed. Revealed themselves. Amongst all those small... normal sized trees, buildings emerged. Small buildings. Houses.

'We are now approaching New Oak,' the announcer stated, cold and robotic_. 'This station is the start of the Arlone Metro fare area...'_

I left it to drone on about who knows what. Screw fare charges, we had a whole new world unfolding before us here!

Another house passed, then a few more. A cluster of trees faded everything to black again, before a whole village worth revealed themselves, sat peacefully at the base of the embankment our train ran atop.

"Man, those are cars!" Sasha barked. "Actual cars. On roads."

"It's like your complex... but a town."

We rolled past road after road, lined with more houses than I could count. A grocery store stood out. Then a school. More houses followed. All were scaled down. As were the street lights, the bridge we passed over. Everything!

"Oh, damn!"

"What--?" I turned to get a face full of Sasha, arms, legs, tail and all sorts waving and scurrying, almost bundling me out into the aisle with him. "The hell's got into you?"

No answer. A thud rang round the carriage; his knees clattering the seat he lunged onto. His tail waved flaglike while he peered out the window opposite.

"Sash--"

"Come look!"

I dragged myself up and out into the aisle. A fair number of the others aboard were glancing our way by now. I'd soon forget about them.

The world beyond our window had impressed us enough... but that'd only been the start. "Gods..." I climbed into the seat facing Sasha's, crawling until my nose found glass. "Look at that."

If what we'd seen before constituted a town... then this outside lied way closer to a whole damn city! A street ran parallel with our track above, flanked by stores serving dozens upon dozens of locals, all our size, working their way between them.

That street led onto a junction, heaving with cars, buses and trucks pouring in from all directions. Headlights and brake lights danced, moving in and out, towards and away from one another, while busy crowds waited to cross beneath their own red signals.

Beyond the busy scene in the foreground, above the lines of stores, terraced houses and more, rose row after row of light. Towering apartment blocks watched out over everything, alone and without the need for support. No 'Velikan-sized' corner store or end row house required for them to be built into here. What's more, not a single sniff of a larger person anywhere. This whole town was for smaller folk. Like us.

"This is amazing," Sasha announced, voice barely a gasp.

"With you. I've never seen anything like this... Not even in Bolstrovo."

The city vanished. A strip of concrete replaced it, cast in yellow-white lighting. On the wall beyond, a sign reading 'New Oak' confirmed our location, as did the crowd panning into view, waiting to board our soon to be stationary train.

They peered in with face bending bemusement. Special mention for the hoodie-wearing hedgehog standing perfectly in my eyeline, almost forgetting to follow everyone else aboard. Right then, I got awful aware of my nose pressed to the glass. "Let's get back to our seat."

A glancing over at Sasha revealed he'd been sharing in my experience. Rolling her bike down the platform, a young rabbit gawked in as if he'd up and sprouted an extra head right there before her. "Yeah, alright."

We retreated to our side of the train, ducking into our seats as casually as we could. No matter. It'd take way more than that to kill my buzz completely. The automated announcer soon piped up to confirm what I'd read from the screens above.

'This is the Crossplains service to Arlone. The next station is...'

Sitting here, catching a glimpse of this 'New Oak' place was cool enough... but it'd be nothing compared to our final destination. My paws rolled over each other, digging deep beneath the fur. A subtle jolt moved us as we coasted away from the station. Sasha's grin matched mine, only growing wider once we caught sight of the bold carpet of light stretching off towards the horizon.

---

"Man, c'mon," Sasha yelled from the other side of the ticket barrier.

"Hold up." I pulled my pass from my pocket on the third attempt, crashing through with my trolley in tow. "You're not carrying one of these."

"Yeah, 'cos I'm not a fool." He rolled the shoulder bearing his backpack. "Come on!"

The station crowd stood thick almost to the point of impasse, even with its constant motion. I'd never seen this many people our size in one place before, my work commute included. Not that I had the time to stop and stare. The effort required to keep up with Sasha's swerving run for the exit made damn sure of that.

"Wait up," I called, doing my best to close in. My shoulder bumped someone. Then my knee with someone else. My trolley hit something, right before my tail surged with the pain of a paw stomping down. "Damn it, wait--!"

He did. So fast that I barged right into him. Neither of us really cared, though. Not with the blinding torrent of colour blasting us from all directions.

Fresh night air brushed through my fur, far cooler than station's interior. We'd made it outside... but somehow felt more enclosed. If there'd been hundreds inside, there may well have been _thousands_out here on the pavement. They filled every trace of every street leading to the four-way junction we'd exited out onto. Countless voices combined to generate something closer to cannonfire than a choir, echoing off the massive skyscrapers reaching for the stars, and the electronic ads fixed to each and every one of them. Every colour imaginable poured out like neon waterfalls, crashing down to emphasise the spectrum presented to us here on ground level. Fur colouring appeared to be real popular to Polcians, those our age especially, judging by the crowd. From the leopard with his blue-tinged head fur, to the wolfess showing off shoulder-length strands of electric pink and yellow, so many had altered themselves in some way. This whole damn place was an assault on the senses. Enough for my legs to twitch with the idea that the best way forward might be to hurry back inside.

"Hey, Kaz," Sasha yelled above the crowd. "You know what?"

"What?"

"Maybe you shoulda done something with your fur, too."

I huffed. "Fur clay's plenty for me."

The unending flow of pedestrians forced us to the station's outside wall. "You seen all this, though? It's wild."

"Like a paint factory went and blew up."

"Yeah, but not just that." He motioned a paw through the air above us. "There's nothing else. This is it."

"What are you talking about?"

"We're a long ways from downtown back home. Ain't no walkways. No shelters. No watching for bigger folk stumbling 'round or stepping wrong. It's all us. Everything." His jaw hung open, eyes almost sparkling with his gazing up towards the night sky. "It's... just fuckin' wild."

"Welcome to Polcia." A slap on the back pulled him from the clouds. "Let's get going."

Just one step away from the wall pulled us deep in the currents flowing along the pavement. We soon found our place within, allowing them to carry us along for the ride.

Arms tight to my sides, trolley handle clasped tight, I took in more and more of the city as it revealed itself. Everything was in Polcian: the animated adverts, the street signs, shop fronts. Everything. Not a trace of Velikan nor our alphabet to be found anywhere. As if the neverending neon and the constant roar of chatter wasn't disorientating enough.

A burst of electronic music pricked my ears, drawing me to its source. A door swung open to my right, allowing a group no older than their teens to exit the strobe-filled darkness inside. The patterns in their fur outdid all those we'd seen so far. A black fox had his face fur coloured in full white; the golden vertical stripe over his right eye the only exception. Whether it was a costume or a fashion statement, he'd damn sure gone to a lot of effort over it. I wanted to study the rest of them to get a better idea. Sasha reached out to stop me before I got the chance.

"Crossing," he explained once I turned back to him. "You good?"

"Think so." Dense traffic lumbered across our path. All our size. Despite the volume, it sent out nothing like the same level of vibration compared to back home. That wasn't the only difference, mind. Even with all these cars racing by, the motorised whirring they generated barely topped the voices around us. "They're electric."

"Huh?"

"Listen."

Sasha raised his ears, glancing around before confirming, "What am I listening for? I don't hear nothing."

"Exactly. Not a petrol engine anywhere in sight... or sound."

"Huh..." He rubbed under his muzzle. "Kaz?"

"Yeah?"

"Where we going?"

Back to the street I turned. The relentless flow of traffic continued, made up by way more slick, ultra-modern designs than I first realised. "I don't actually know."

"What d'ya mean you don't know? D'ya know where the hotel is at least?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know that. I mean... I was busy taking everything in."

"Right." He snorted, labouring the adjustment of his shoulder strap. "Yeah, this is all pretty mega, but you wanna head over there anytime soon? I don't know 'bout you, but I'm tired as hell."

That statement alone had the power to bring my own fatigue back to the fore. Near instantly, my legs grew stiff, eyes heavy. Arms tightened as I pulled my trolley to my side. A nice, soft bed began calling out my name.

"Where_are_ we staying?"

"Twin Spires. It's only a few streets over. Ten minute walk or so."

"I'm done walking for the day." He shifted past me, pacing away from the crossing. "Let's grab a taxi."

I didn't argue. No sense in trying to change Sasha's mind about something. We found one inside a minute, coming to a stop with the rest of the traffic our side of the junction. All curves, tinted windows and yellow-gold paint; its design was even more modern than the other cars around it. Swanky as it looked, it couldn't begin to prepare us for what we found inside...

"Good evening, gentlemen," came the voice from the driver's seat. Formal, maybe as far as stiff. "Where would you like to go today?"

"Hello," mumbled Sasha as he climbed inside, feeling his way around the Polcian language. "We go to Twin..." He didn't waste time in jumping back to Velikan. "Holy shit... Kaz!?"

"What?" I joined him with my trolley on the back seat. The door eased closed before I got the chance to grab the handle. "...Cool."

"Kaz... Check out the driver."

"Driver?" Wide eyed, Sasha had pressed himself as far into the corner as he could go. He flicked out a finger. I didn't follow until our... driver piped up again.

"I'm sorry, that isn't a location I'm familiar with. Could you repeat your desired destination?"

I glared at the driver's seat. The empty driver's seat. No signs of life through the divider window. Just a standard looking interior... minus someone to actually use it. Every strand of my fur stood on end. Sasha's, clearly, was there already.

"Where's the damn driver?"

"Driverless car." I peered around the headrest to see more. A big screen under the fare counter stated 'Awaiting Destination'. "We're ten years at least from this kinda stuff back home. I didn't know they'd rolled these out already--"

"That's cute, but I think I'd prefer an actual fuckin' driver."

"It's totally safe. They test this stuff to death--"

"Sorry." The 'driver' cut me off, adding, "Your language doesn't appear to be one that I recognise."

A horn blasted from behind. Ahead, the lights were green and the roads clear. The car juddered into motion.

"Roam mode activated."

"Hey," Sasha screamed. "What the f--"

"Awaiting destination."

"Kaz, it's gone rogue!"

"No, it--"

"I don't trust this cyber shit. Fuckin' robo-taxi." He slammed a fist at the divider. "Where you take us?"

"Calm down! We were holding up traffic." I leaned forward, pulling out my best Polcian to say, "Take us over to Twin Spires Hotel. Gelder Street... Please."

"Twin Spires Hotel," the voice repeated. The indicator flicked on and the steering wheel began to spin, merging us into the right hand turn lane. "Estimated arrival in... two and a half minutes."

"There." I smiled at Sasha. "Easy."

"Sure." He sighed hard, relaxing into his seat. "Real easy."

A short drive and an awkward search for the currency card scanner later, we'd arrived out front of our hotel. Its brickwork rose up high above, towards the spires it must've been named for. It gave the impression of being on the older side, though that might have come from being one of the few structures around here not covered in an electric rainbow.

Automatic revolving doors gave way to the main reception hall. A strip of plush red carpet guided us across the marble floor, ending at a wide wooden front desk. Above hung an impressive golden clock, hands closing in on 11pm. Seeing all this splendor... I damn well hoped the offer price I saw online wasn't a typo!

The odd glance I got from the more formal, business-suited guests roaming the lobby had me conscious of my loose-fitting trousers and grubby trainers. In turn, the sheer indifference from everyone else helped me to not care too much. Soon, our attention turned to the check-in counter, and the lack of any staff there to greet us.

"Ring the bell," Sasha suggested.

"_What_bell?"

"I dunno!" We scanned the counter, searched under a couple of signs advertising breakfast deals, but nothing. "Hello--?"

"Alright," I grumbled back, ears splayed. "Don't think shouting's gonna help anything."

"How d'ya suggest getting ourselves checked in then?" This marathon trip had seriously scrambled our heads. We needed beds to crash into before we got at each other's throats for real. "Hey, check this."

Sasha pointed down at the desk, or rather, at a monitor hiding within. It asked us to 'select a language' from eight options... of which Velikan wasn't one. Again.

I pressed down on 'Polcian', and thank the gods, we were on our way. Standard check in questions followed. Easy enough to almost literally sleepwalk through. The last request it had for us however stopped me fast.

"Please... scan--"

"Please scan your paw," I said, reading off the instruction to put Sasha out of his misery.

"Why?"

"Security maybe? I dunno." My pads spread across the warm glass. A shrill beep followed, finishing with one final instruction. "Your turn."

"Huh?"

"Your turn. It's wants a scan from the 'second guest'."

"Fine." Sasha slung out his paw, sending a meaty slap through the reception area. His muzzle twisted like he had a bad taste in his mouth. Thankfully the beep of acceptance repeated. I didn't want to see where he'd go from there if it failed.

"Thank you."

"'Thank you' for what?"

"I'm just reading off the text," I grumbled. "We're all checked in."

"Cool." His fingers drummed at the screen. "Do we get keycards, or...?"

"Man, I really don't know." I scanned for a slot or something similar that might've fed them out to us. No luck. "This is all new for me, too."

"Never said it wasn't--"

"Let's just head up to the room." The screen gave the number as 738. "Maybe then we'll get more of an idea over what's what."

We dragged ourselves and our belongings across to the elevators. Conveniently, one sat in wait with its doors wide open. Less conveniently, we found no sign of a button panel for us to use.

"This place is starting to piss me off," Sasha snapped. "I don't feel like solving a puzzle every five seconds."

I left him to stew. No trace of anything on the wood panelling either side of the doors.

"Stupid place."

"Yeah, I'm not arguing." Gritted teeth kept my voice down. Having a row would've topped this evening off perfectly. "Help me look. There must be something somewhere."

He groaned, whipping his head left, then right. "It's not like there's many places to search." His fist connected hip height with the panelling beside him... A label stuck to the woodwork came half into view behind his tail.

"Move." I waved him aside. His sidestep revealed a pair of hinges, along with the sticker's full message. "Accessibility?"

"What like... disabled?"

"Yeah." A small groove offered enough space to slip a finger inside. One soft tug pulled a panel open, revealing a set of call buttons.

"Why's it all hidden away down there like that?"

At that point, all I could offer back was a low, tired grunt. I hammered the button for our floor. A ping sounded, the doors closed and soon enough, we were on our way upwards. I hoped that might be the last challenge for our evening. Big mistake.

"Imma kick it in." Sasha stomped back, teeth like fangs, lining up our door. "Seriously! Outta the way, Kaz."

"Just hold up, man!" I tried the handle again, pushing and pulling in all directions. No sign of a lock button, or anything else that might grant us access. "There's gotta be something."

"Screw this, I'm gonna try find someone at reception." He marched back down the hall, towards the elevators. "At least I know how _these_fuckin' things work now."

"Wait, there's gotta be--"

"I'm done waiting!" His paw slashed the air. "This is a joke. A shit one."

"Hey!" We turned as one to the hollering from behind. A stag, eyes half closed and scowl fully present, leaned out from the room next to ours. "What's with all the damn shouting out here?"

I open my mouth to apologise. Sasha beat me to the punch, limited Polcian and all. "We try to enter."

"What?"

He grabbed the handle and shook. The racket it made almost matched his voice. "Our room! We try to enter. This is all."

The stag grunted, putting a hand to his hip. "Have you tried the scanner?"

"Scanner?"

"The scanner!" He stamped further from his room. For a second, I worried he might come for us. "Look at the wall. Next to the door."

"Paw scanner," I muttered in Velikan. Following the guy's direction, we found a shiny black panel at shoulder height. A press of my paw brought it to life. It turned green. The door clicked. One twist of the handle opened it with ease. "...Thank you."

Another grunt from our neighbour. With a shake of his, he disappeared back inside. "Damn tourists..."

"I understand that," Sasha yelled, undeterred by the slam of his door. "...Prick."

"Let's just get inside." I rolled my trolley over the threshold. "Before we get kicked outta here."

He took his time about it, glaring down the hallway. Eventually he joined me. "At least we know the story behind that scan at reception now."

"True." The lamps atop each bedside table powered on of their own accord. "Huh... Cool."

"Some kinda hint about it woulda made for a nicer welcome, though."

"It would." I dumped my baggage in the first spot I could find. "But I guess this is all standard stuff around here. Automatic lights included."

"That doesn't help us much." Sasha tossed his bag onto the closest of our twin beds. A short jump sent him crashing down beside it. "Oh, man..." He cracked a yawn. "That feels good."

That left me with the bed furthest, beneath the window. Even up on the seventh floor we couldn't escape the glow of the world outside. A searing, bright blue advert for some local soda brand played out on the building opposite. Thankfully, the blinds I tugged down did a good job of shutting it out. "I'm amazed people can walk down the streets here without breaking into a seizure."

"Maybe the guy next door will be the first. Can hope."

"Kinda harsh." I settled down with a reflexive grunt. My bed stayed firm, but offered enough give to let the aches and pains of the day melt away. "We _were_making a racket out there."

"Didn't give him the right to go talk like there's somethin' wrong with us."

"Let it go. Don't let one dick ruin your holiday."

"Fine." Sasha dragged out a sigh, spreading out across his bed. "Damn, I could really do with a shower."

"Feel free."

"Gotta get up to do that."

"And?"

"Can't." He rolled onto his front, tail swishing above. "Tired. Comfy."

"Yeah..." I dropped back to lie sideways across my bed. The swirled ceiling pattern matched well with the inside of my head. "Same."

It required a whole lot of time, and even more effort, but we did find our way back to our feet. The process of unpacking gave me a better chance to bask in our newfound surroundings. Decent beds, clean sheets, plenty of space, and all in the heart of the city: getting all this for not far over a hundred Krona per night was one hell of a deal. I hated to think what the full price might've been.

The patter of Sasha's shower travelled from the en suite bathroom in our entry hall. I had space at last to retreat within myself for a while.

A black wooden desk became home for my laptop. The shallow walk-in wardrobe in turn would house my best shirts. Last but not least, my book took pride of place on my bedside table.

Embranchment, its golden-printed title shone bright under the light of my lamp. The story itself was easily Pascal Tasse's best, full of space-age action, twists galore and all kinds of other good stuff. I might have read through it five times already, but I had no qualms about enjoying a sixth run. Not that I figured I'd be making much progress with that on this trip.

I stripped out of my clothes, loosely folding my shirt and trousers in wait for a repeat usage. With the four hour time difference behind home, the clock hitting eleven-thirty took me to twenty-three hours awake. I didn't much feel like seeing it through to the full day's worth.

Slipping beneath the duvet allowed the mattress to pull me deeper. It eased the strain from my muscles. Gave me the chance to focus on familiar thoughts.

Those doubts back on the train from Zelengorod had made it clear across the Sovereign, touching down with me here in Polcia. Alone, thousands of miles from home, from my family, they weighed even heavier. Again and again, I posed myself the question over whether I could really go through with this plan of mine. The more I thought on it, the more I analysed every detail, the crazier it all sounded. Essentially, at the very heart of the matter, I'd done all this work and come all this way, just to meet up with strangers. My blood, yes, but still perfect strangers. It was insane... and eventually, somehow, Sasha would need to know about it. All of it.

I puffed out my cheeks, running a paw over my face to hide the bathroom door from my periphery. Why did I bring him here? Why wasn't I braver? I could've come alone. I wanted to come alone. I'd practically talked myself into booking the trip and making my own way here. My parents would've got over it. They always did. But from the moment Sasha asked to tag along... I'm not sure how I could've let him down. After all, we'd always done everything together.

"What's up?"

"Shit--" I jolted hard enough to banging my head on the backrest. "...You made me jump"

"Really?" Sasha smirked. "Didn't notice."

"Use enough of the hot water?"

"I wasn't that long." He adjusted the waistband of his boxers, tossing his used clothes to the floor. I could see the weight of his eyes from here. "Are you seriously gonna read right now?"

"Huh?" His nod to the side table drew my attention back there. To my book. "Oh... No. Just figured I'd get everything unpacked."

"Was gonna say." Sasha tugged his duvet free, springs squeaking as he settled. "Dunno 'bout you, but I'm in no damn state for anything but sleep."

No arguments here. I wriggled deeper under my covers. My pillows helped ease my head.

"So tired. Might not wake up again."

I spluttered "Gods, don't say that... But I get the feeling."

No response. The squeaking stopped, replaced instead by snoring. Sasha made it barely even halfway into bed, the brown and white of his legs and paws still visible. He definitely had the right idea, though.

I shifted over onto my side, pulling my covers tighter. The golden print kept shining from my book's cover, lasting for as long as I allowed it beneath the bedside lamp.