FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Damn, it's a nice day out.." John said to no one in particular as he continued his stroll. Presently, he was on his way home from his day at work and rather than waste gas and money driving to and from, he'd decided long ago to just walk. It was good for the environment as well as his body.

He always enjoyed his walks along the coastline, particularly when they took him to the lighthouse at Steamer Lane; it was always a hub of activity that continuously buzzed with various people and furs going about their days.

John was a man in his early twenties, quite healthy with a lean and virile physique. His hair hung down past his shoulders and was dyed a brilliant blue. He also had the most brilliant eyes, very distinct in their yellow hue. People had always teased him about it when he'd been younger. At that time he was naturally more prone to react to them than he was now, but even then he displayed an utter disregard of other's negative opinions of him. The fact that he chose to walk around with blue hair clashing with his yellow eyes more than illustrated that.

As he continued his trek, he smiled as he noticed one of his favorite couples. At the moment, they were sitting on the grass outside the lighthouse. The dragon's head rested in the otter's lap as she gently stroked his long black hair, all the while just gazing longingly and lovingly at each other. He didn't know them personally, but they were his favorite couple because he so admired the beautiful relationship they so clearly shared; it was the kind of bond he himself hoped to someday share if he were to ever find that special someone. John left the two of them to their flirtatious playtime and began meandering his way back to his home.

On a whim, he decided to take a detour through Capitola on his way. The quaint little town just made him smile for some reason, any visit there was always a unique experience.

"One scoop or two?" asked the woman on the other side of the counter.

"Two please." John responded while giving the young woman a warm smile. He paid her and walked out onto the street, chocolate ice cream in hand. One of his favorite things to do on Sundays was to come and watch the musical entertainment that always took place on Capitola Beach. He always got there early so as to avoid the crowd and plopped himself down on a bench and waited, enjoying his frozen treat.

John also enjoyed what he, or rather Stewie, referred to as 'people watching'. He loved to just watch everyone go about their day and speculate what they may or may not have been up to.

The entertainment that night just happened to be a Credence Clearwater Revival cover band. Before long, John's foot was tapping and his head gently nodding to the beat of 'Proud Mary'. He loved the classics; all the old bands never failed to bring a smile to his face. Because he'd been virtually the only person in his age group who felt this way, he'd had to stomach 4 years of rap, hip hop, and pop laden high school. However, he'd been fortunate enough to attend a school that was very diverse and had been able to find people who shared his interests.

10:00 PM

"Thanks for everything, guys. You're awesome." Said John as he dropped a bill in the hat at the base of the stage.

"We love what we do, son. Hey, I think you left a fifty by mistake!" the lead singer called after John as he began to walk away.

"I know. It wasn't a mistake." He replied with a smile. "I know what you're thinking, so let me explain. Due to some family issues that should remain irrelevant, I came into a small fortune at an early age. While I, and many others, might have chosen to use it to bolster their own life.....I am much more content to use it to bolster the lives of others. There is a crucial concept that most people in this world don't seem to understand; the difference between the words 'want' and 'need'. I know that this substantial wealth is not necessary for me to sustain my existence, so it only makes sense to me to spread it around to people who actually have genuine need of it. Give credit where credit is due. And you guys may not have genuine need for these funds, but I loved your show and I just wanted to give you a little something that might help you get some new instruments, or even just go somewhere nice for dinner. Whatever it is, it brings me joy all the same. Have a good night, gentleman." Said John, walking away with a content smile as he left the men to ponder his words.

John sighed in contentment, once again feeling the sand of his beach between his toes. The only reason he called it 'his' beach was because he'd had his house built there; in the midst of a small grove of natural palm trees that provided shade for the whole day. The beach didn't technically belong to him and he didn't usually ostracize himself from others, but John liked his privacy every now and then. The sheltered cove had always been a favorite spot of his when he'd been a child, and this was the one instance in which he'd used his wealth to fund something special for himself. He'd done his best to insure that he remained the only one with knowledge of the little cove, because it was also a great surf spot. Surfing was his escape from the society and its sometimes-hectic confines, and he even had a floodlight installed so he could surf at night when the mood struck him.

He walked calmly across the beach, enjoying the breeze caressing his skin and flowing through his hair. He shed his clothes and waded into the gentle surf; letting the cool water wash away all the sweat he'd accumulated dancing as hard as he had at the concert.

After soaking and relaxing for about ten minutes, John waded back onto the beach and donned the robe he'd left out for himself. He walked into his little cabana and made his way to the bathroom, stripping once more and turning on the shower.

"Ahhhh." He sighed as the warm water eased his tense muscles and washed the saltwater and abrasive sand from his skin. He would have stayed in longer had it not been so late and had he not been so tired, so after another ten minutes he turned off the flow and dried himself.

John stirred slightly from his sleep as a small noise outside slightly disturbed him. He just dismissed it as a fish jumping and rolled over to continue his slumber. He might have actually gotten back to sleep had it not happened again ten seconds later. He sighed with exasperation, got out of bed and donned his robe once more. He walked to the closed and retrieved the 357 magnum he kept for self-defense, and cautiously made his way t the door.

He stepped out onto the beach ad was greeted with a beautiful, starry night. The moon was full and the water shimmered brilliantly with its light. He'd have been more inclined to admire it if he hadn't been preoccupied with the frantic splashing just over thirty yards offshore.

After about a minute of just watching what looked to him like a struggle of some kind, the splashing stopped. He waited tentatively to see if anything else happened, when he noticed a continuous ripple on the surface of the water that appeared to be getting closer. John raised the pistol to eye level and steeled himself for whatever might happen.

As the object, whatever it was, slowly approached the beach....a strange shape began to materialize before his eyes. John had seen anthros before, hell he dealt with them every day. But the creature that slowly began to emerge from the water was something that he'd never seen before.

It, or rather she, appeared to be some kind of anthropomorphic shark. She staggered onto the sand and fell to her hand and knees.

She whimpered and reached out to him weakly with her webbed hand, apparently in a great deal of pain just before falling forwards and losing consciousness.

It was at this point that John could clearly see that she was bleeding heavily from a wound on her hip as well as her lower leg. He slowly lowered the gun as his sense of danger slowly began to give way to concern. He knew that it was perhaps unwise to get involved with something like this, but his natural sense of empathy as well as his genuine desire to help somehow compelled him to tentatively walk over to where she lay and examine her.

He'd been so dumbfounded by her sudden appearance as well as the fact that he'd never seen anything like her, that he'd never actually looked at her closely.

She had a tail like that of a thresher shark, except longer and more flexible. While the sharks that he'd seen had placcoid scales with a rough texture that resembled sandpaper. But when he gently ran his hand along her leg to check the severity of her injury, he was surprised to find that her skin was remarkably smooth to the touch. Despite the current situation, his eyes ran down the length of her lithe body and came to rest on her chest. While her exact species remained a mystery to the human, she still had breasts....and rather beautiful ones at that. While it was obvious that she was related to some type of shark, her maw was not the ferocious visage of death that people had come to associate with them. She had a very gradual and soft curve to her snout that surprised him to say the least. She also had gill slits on her neck. John, despite not having seen anything like her in his life, found her strangely beautiful. Despite the fact that she was unconscious, she seemed to exude a certain aura of elegance.

He shook himself as he remembered that she, in fact, was seriously hurt and that her life could very well depend on him at this point. John threw away his misgivings as he moved to lift her gently off the sand and carry her to the house. Her breathing was erratic and she was shivering slightly.

John entered his living room with the strange creature in his arms. He laid her on his couch and went to get some bandages and coagulant for her injuries. He rummaged around in the kitchen for some cloth and shuffled through his bathroom for some medicine.

Several minutes later he returned to her and gasped softly upon seeing that her bleeding had taken a turn for the worse, blood seeping onto the upholstery. John immediately knelt down next to her and applied some of the coagulant to the deep cut on her leg. She visibly winced and whimpered in pain, but did not awaken. Her breathing remained quick and shallow, and he quickly applied the medicine to her other wound and wrapped them both in pieces of a towel he'd cut.

Even with her injuries at least temporarily cared for, she still appeared restless and she still panted, sweating profusely.

Since he hadn't the slightest notion as to her species, John wasn't exactly sure of her susceptibility to normal medications, but he decided to take a chance; for he knew that if her condition persisted....bad things might happen. He once again made his way to the bathroom and retrieved a bottle of Nyquil. He returned to her, pouring the turquoise liquid into the plastic cup that came with the bottle. His hand gently cupped her chin and slowly poured the liquid into her open mouth. Little coughs and sputters followed, but John persisted. He tilted her head back and was relieved as he felt her throat muscles undulate as she swallowed.

He waited about a minute before her breathing began to slow and return to something resembling normal.

"I don't know exactly what or who you are, but just know that I want to help." He whispered as the strange anthro shark at last started to rest peacefully. John walked out of the room and returned a minute later with a blanket. He draped it over her form and chuckled as he saw a smile slowly spread over the tip of her snout.

He plopped himself down in his living room chair and just watched her for a while, wondering what exactly she was and where she'd come from. He decided that he'd inquire about these things when she'd recovered and if she turned out to be accepting of his assistance. He himself wasn't exactly sure what had coerced him to come to her aid, instead of telling someone about the strange creature that had come to him in the night, but there was something about her that had just pulled him in for some strange reason.

Thirty minutes past before he was asleep once more, his slumber slightly restless as his subconscious struggled to wrap itself around the events of the past hour.

Aurora stirred slightly as the sunlight from the window washed across her face. Her eyes slowly opened as she tried to make sense of where she appeared to be and why she was covered in a blanket. No sooner had her vision come into focus than her eyes fell on the human sleeping in the chair across the floor from her. Upon seeing him her memory jumpstarted as she remembered the night before.

"Mmmmm." Murmured the human as his eyes slowly opened as well. He yawned and stretched a bit before his gaze fell on her. The two of them just stared at each other for close to ten seconds, neither of them making a sound.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you're feeling at least a little bit better." He said with a warm smile, finally breaking the silence.

She just continued to stare at him for several more seconds.

"W-where exactly am I?" she said in an uneasy voice, her expression still slightly skeptical......as if she didn't quite trust what was happening around her.

"So, I see you can speak. I was getting worried that I wouldn't be able to tell you how pretty I find you."

Although she remained wary, Aurora was slightly taken aback by his statement. She'd always been proud of the way she looked, but hearing a male she'd just met comment about her in such a way slightly eased the tension she felt about the situation.

"W-well thank you, but I don't believe you answered my question." She pressed, still slightly confused.

"Fair enough. You're in my house in a sheltered little cove in Santa Cruz. It appears you had some kind of debacle last night. You were in pretty bad shape, deep cuts on your upper and lower leg. I think your wounds should be a bit more stable now. I know you may not trust me, but I think it would behoove you to stay here for a while until you heal."

"I see, yes. I was stalking a school of tuna when one of my less-evolved ancestors decided that he didn't want to share."

"How did you manage to escape?" John asked.

"I punched him in the nose."

"You're kidding...." He said in disbelief.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"I thought that was just a myth, I can't believe it actually works!" he said with a laugh.

"Well, apparently it does. But he did manage to injure me in the process, as I'm sure you can tell."

"Yes. Now, I've answered a big question of yours, now here's something I'd like to know." Said John.

"Alright, I guess that's fair. What can I do for you?" she asked in a playful tone. Suddenly she realized that her feeling of apprehension had completely disappeared. There was something about this human's mannerisms that seemed to put her at ease. She had to put her guard back up and hesitated with her answer.

After waiting several seconds and sensing her unease, John put up his hand to stop her as he tried to put her back at ease. He'd wanted to know what kind of creature she was and where she'd come from, but he figured that she might not feel comfortable divulging such information to someone she'd just met....which he could understand and respect "Don't feel obligated, I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you into doing or saying anything that you don't feel comfortable with. I understand that this must be a lot to take in; with your injuries and being in this strange place. You can tell me when you're ready and feel comfortable." He reassured her with a smile and a gentle caress of her cheek.

Aurora was awestruck not only by the empathy of this young man, but also his brazen, yet sweet caress of her cheek. However, she soon relaxed and just let him rub her skin gently.

"I thank you........... what IS your name by the way?" she asked him.

"John, John Taylor. It's nice to meet you.....um....what may I call YOU?"

Once again, her feelings of natural distrust began to show itself, but through her minor interactions with John, he'd done nothing but show her compassion and understanding, as well as taking her into her home and helping her convalesce. So, she decided to let him know to whom he was speaking.

"My name is Aurora."

"Aurora.....wow. That's a beautiful name. It's nice to meet you, officially." He said and extended his hand to her.

"Thank you, John. I'm not sure exactly why you chose to help me, but I'm glad you did."

"You're most welcome. It just isn't in my nature to abandon someone or something in as bad of shape as you were. I only wish that we could have met under more pleasant circumstances." He replied.

At this point, Aurora's stomach emitted a soft rumbling noise. She flushed with slight embarrassment and looked at him shyly.

"Say no more." He said sweetly as he got up from his keeling position and made his way to the kitchen to fix her something that he was sure she'd like......