FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Come on, let's get you back to the bed, I'm sure it still hurts much," Tom said, glancing down at her bandaged body. She nodded, though still miserable, she was very grateful that Tom still wanted to stick with her. And help he did. It seemed impossible to her that she had managed to get as far as the door, now she wasn't even able to stand back up. Tom had to carry her in his arms for the most part.

Once she was resting on Tom's bed again, he sat down beside her and asked, "Why don't you want to tell me?"

She stared at him in confusion and shock, then tears began splashing down her face again. Tom just remained still and silent, extending his right hand and placing it in her shoulder in a gesture of support.

"I ... I don't remember," she hiccuped.

"Only short images, pain ... and every time I try to think about them, they are gone".

Suddenly Tom jerked his hand away, as though he was shocked by an electric charge.He had seen a short but vivid image, blurred by pain and misery but at the same time razor-sharp. Tom stared at her for a while, then stuttered, "I just saw myself ... no, YOU, taking a stroke from a lash."

Her eyes grew, if possible, even wider.

"You can see it too?"

"It seems so."

...

"HERE! Did you see that?"

Tom shook his head, "Maybe we need to touch each other."

He almost automatically took one of her paws into his right hand, closing his eyes and concentrating. But this time was completely different. A warm glow seemed to come from their touch and he felt another consciousness beside his own thoughts.

<Shau'i?> he thought, <Are you here?>

<Yes!>

His eyes flew open and he stared at her.

<You really can hear what I think?>

As soon as the thought was formed in his mind he got a response.

<Yes! I do,> echoed through his mind.

"Incredible!" he exclaimed. Then Tom allowed immersing himself deeper in her consciousness and wondered what else was possible. Would it be possible to share her senses too? Again, as soon had the idea formed in his mind he began to smell something ... unknown. But before he could begin to think about it a rush of pain overwhelmed him, obliterating everything else. He flinched and almost cried out in pain himself, withdrawing from her mind hurriedly, until the pain became no more than a dull throb.

"You felt it?" she asked timidly.

"How can you stand this? It's horrible!" Tom asked, breathing hard.

She gave him a pained smile, "I have no choice."

"I'm sorry," Tom replied, "Was it any help when we shared the pain?"

Shau'i slowly shook her head.

"No. And I would never ask of you something like this. Just you being here helps much. Your mind is like warm and soothing water. It feels vast, like a calm ocean."

"It's very nice of you to say that," he replied.

<It's true. You are very nice to me. The first person ever that has been nice to me.>

<How do you know? You said you couldn't remember.>

<Somehow, a feeling.>

Tom just smiled, not knowing what to say, but very glad. Shau'i returned his smile as best she could. It was still a strange experience but they both liked it very much. It created a bond between them that would change their lives.

They remained silent for a long time, just basking in each other's mind. Shau'i was still very troubled deep down, Tom could tell, but over time she calmed down gradually. It seemed that even her aches lessened a bit, but that was probably due to the fact that she was now resting almost motionless on the bed.

*

Suddenly Tom noticed that it was already getting dark outside and jumped up. They had completely forgotten about eating dinner and only now he realized how hungry he was.

"Do you want something to eat?" he asked Shau'i.

She nodded, her grumbling stomach betraying her hunger.

After dinner Tom got his laptop again and continued with his work. He was a bit behind his own schedule and needed to catch up if he wanted to hand in his piece of the project in time. While Tom was deeply concentrated on the electronic circuit and the program for the microcontroller, Shau'i sat up beside him, put her left paw on his side and began to watch the screen and follow his thoughts.

At first she wasn't able to understand most things but soon she was fascinated how Tom thought about things like voltage, current, transistors, circuits and so on. Understanding ideas that were transmitted through thoughts was so much more efficient, any problem too abstract for words was perfectly clear. And for Shau'i it was something more. To follow Tom's mind distracted her from the ever present agony.

*

It was past midnight when Tom finally closed the lid of his laptop and put it away, too tired from his working-frenzy to muster a single coherent thought. But he had done well, he was on schedule again.

Only now he became really aware that Shau'i had fallen asleep with her head in his lap. Ever so gently he moved her head on the pillow and adjusted himself into a comfortable sleeping position. When he had settled down Shau'i suddenly shifted and snuggled her head into his shoulder, purring faintly.

"Sweet dreams."