{"sf1_id":609998,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Chapter 1","author":"Aeturnus","words":3931,"posted_at":"2013-11-04T00:54:00.000Z","tags":["Animaltaur","Coyotetaur","Fantasy","Human","caninetaur","felinetaur"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/609998-chapter-1","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/609998","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=609998\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Taur World: Home Sweet Home1 There's a planet much\nlike ours known as Zeploid. The planet circles a sun, has two moons, and is\nsurrounded by planets, asteroids and comets. It takes Zeploid four hundred and\nten days to orbit the sun. Their calendar only mentions the number of days that\nare in a year and the seasons, and their first day of spring marks the\nbeginning of a new year. There are four continents with the biggest one being\nclose to twenty million square miles, and one nameless ocean that covers sixty\npercent of the planet. Species evolved into what they are now just like on\nEarth. The one difference; there are two dominant species on Zeploid: humans\nand animaltaurs. Animaltaurs are like\ncentaurs of Earth myth lore, except they're not part human. Caninetaurs,\nfelinetaurs and hyenataurs make up the species. Their average height and length\nis anywhere from eight to eleven feet tall and seven to eight and a half feet\nlong, and their weight ranges from three to five hundred pounds. Animaltaurs\nbecome full grown at around ten years old, and hit sexual maturity at around\ntwelve. It's common for animaltaurs to wear clothes on some continents, but on\nothers they choose to be nude. Females go into heat four times a year, and give\nbirth to one cub after a hundred and thirty days of being pregnant. It's rare\nfor them have twins. The legs of an\nanimaltaur are three and a half to a little over four feet long, and their paws\nare between ten to thirteen inches wide and seven to nine inches long. Every\nanimaltaur has two sets of ribs. The one in their chest protects their heart\nand lungs, and the one in their torso protects their stomach, liver and small\nintestines. The rib cage in their torso ends two thirds down the animaltaur's\nbody. The length of their tail varies between species, and their spine starts\nat the base of their skull and ends at the base of their tails. Humans age a bit\nslower, but they become full grown before they're thirteen. Females hit puberty\nwhen they're around eight years old and can grow anywhere from five feet five\ninches to around six feet and weigh a hundred thirty to a hundred seventy\npounds. Males don't hit puberty until they're ten and can grow to around five\nfeet nine to six feet five inches and weigh one hundred seventy to a little over\ntwo hundred pounds. Female have their periods every thirty-five days, and may\ngive birth to one to three babies after a hundred fifty days. Very few have\nfour babies. Humans are considered an adult by the age of sixteen. Fertile land was\nplentiful when humans and animaltaurs started to migrate and create their own\ncolonies and settlements, but in time conflicts would arise. In some cases both\nsides were able to come up with an agreement, but in others there was\nbloodshed. The longest war took place on the largest continent, and it lasted\nfor close to five years. Generations later humans and animaltaurs have found\nways to live together in peace. Each continent and independent country has\ntheir own government, but they all share the same currency called dinars. A\ndinar is a copper coin that has a one, five, ten, fifteen, twenty and so forth\nprinted on both sides. One hundred is the highest amount. Bantam is the\nsmallest continent at around three point five million square miles. Majority of\nthe population live within two hundred fifty miles of the ocean. Criminals tend\nto live farther inland. They know the authorities won't track them if they have\nto travel great distances into unfamiliar terrain. Bantam is best known for its\nports. Cargo boats and fishing vessels pick up and drop off supplies and crew\nall year round. A quarter of what the population eats comes from the water, and\nthe rest comes from farms and the woods. The ports provide steady work. Those living on\nBantam haven't had the same kind of problems as those living on other\ncontinents. Humans and animaltaurs were quick to resolve a dispute without\ngoing to war. Both creatures realize they have to work together in order to\nprosper, but that hasn't stopped a third of the population from having some\nhate towards each other. Humans and animaltaurs have their own hotels, schools,\nand restaurants in a small number of villages, but in others they share\neverything. Some doubt segregation will ever end in villages with a population\nof around thousand. Bantam is the only continent to outlaw slavery, but that\nhasn't stopped some animaltaurs and/or humans from finding ways around the\nrule. There are two major\nmountain ranges and several small ones throughout Bantam. The biggest mountain\nrange runs north to south on the east side of the continent, and the second\nruns southwest to the northeast on the northwest. There are several dormant\nvolcanoes on Bantam. The rest of the continent consists of grasslands, forests,\ndeserts and a couple of swamps.  If possible, humans\nand animaltaurs are to attend school and/or be homeschooled until the age of\nfifteen. Every settlement allows the youth to take a couple of months off\nduring the summer to help on a farm and/or at a port, and in some places, it's\na requirement for them to work during their vacation. Along with reading,\nwriting and math, humans and animaltaurs learn basic survival skills, carpentry\nand other abilities that'll help them into adulthood. Those who want to further\ntheir education may attend a university. On the southwest lies\none of the busiest ports in Bantam known as Cea, and close to two hundred miles\nnortheast is a village known as Cauldron. It's one of several places that allow\nsegregation. Animaltaurs has always made up the majority of the population. At\none point there were over a thousand residents, but only a hundred were humans.\nHumans had their own businesses for several decades, but were forced to close\ntheir stores due to lack of costumers. The animaltaurs went as far as to take\nover the school meant for human children. The human population\ndwindled to below fifty within five years. Those who left knew they had no\nfuture in Cauldron. The families that stayed doubt they can make the journey to\nwherever things might be better. Only ten humans are under the age of fifteen.\nAnimaltaurs have agreed to serve humans, but they're to follow strict\nguidelines. They refuse to allow children to attend the same school as cubs.\nOnly half of the human population can read and write. While most of the animaltaurs\nhave very little love for humans, there's a small number that wishes things\nwere better. The authorities do treat everybody as an equal, and they have\narrested several animaltaurs for mistreating humans. The hotel, the farm\nand the fulleries are the only places that allow humans to work. Those who work\nat the hotel are to replace sheets, warm up water and bathe costumers, and\nprepare the room for the next guest. Those who work at a fullery have to wash\nsheets and towels. The process starts with a small number of humans stomping on\nwhat needs to be cleaned in ankle deep water and chemicals, which includes\nurine, wringing and rinsing them out, and hanging them to dry. Most humans have\nto work there in order to pay off their home the owners of the business gave\nthem. Cauldron's farm use\nto be two different farms: Watson's Farm and Grey's Farm. Watson grew most of\nthe fruits and vegetables, and Grey produced milk, cheese and meat. Nobody in\nthe village is sure on when the owners agreed to merge. Things were doing great\nfor a long time, but years of little rain and warm temperatures has made things\ntough, and with the farm not doing well has made things rough in the village. Cauldron's farm is\nwhere Trevor, a white human with a dark tan, and Martin, a grayish-brown\ncoyotetaur, met. Trevor was eight and Martin was nine when Mr. Watson, a\nwolftaur, had them pick blueberries on their first day. Martin had no idea what\nto think about the human, and was rather shy around him, but in time he grew to\nenjoy his company. On his fourteenth year he learned something new: Trevor\ncan't read. The coyotetaur's mother, Martha, agreed to teach the human how to\nread and write providing he grooms them. The fact they have different\nbackgrounds doesn't bother them. Martin has had a more\nluxurious life than Trevor. The coyotetaur's parents have jobs. His father,\nZues, manages the dairy farm and his mom works at the hotel, and they live in\nthe more upscale part of Cauldron. Martin has no interest in rubbing what he\nhas in his friend's face, and invites him over whenever possible regardless of\nwhat his neighbors think. Trevor's mom works at one of the fulleries, and his\ndad is a woodsman. Neither of them can read, and although they're not happy\ntheir son has to be taught by an animaltaur, they knows it's the only way he'll\nhave a chance at a better future. They live in a shack. All of the humans and\na small number of animaltaurs consider Trevor's dad to be the best at what he\ndoes, and Trevor is a close second. They both know what plants are safe to eat,\nto use as medicine, and ones to avoid. Trevor's dad can't hunt with a gun, but\nhe's dead on with a bow and has taught his son how to use it. Trevor shares\nwhat he knows with Martin and a few others whenever possible. The only thing Trevor's\ndad hasn't taught his son is how to throw knives. A foxtaur at the farm is\nguilty of that Martin, now fifteen,\nstands shy of eleven feet tall and has a body length of around eight feet. He\nweighs roughly four hundred pounds, and has the basic fur colorations of a\ncoyote. Trevor is fourteen years old, stands at around six feet one inch and\nweighs over a hundred and eighty pounds. Years of working at the farm has made\nhim rather strong. The coyotetaur likes to think his friend is an animaltaur\nstuck in a human's body. The fact Trevor has the ability to beat a creature\nthat's close to twice his weight shows how strong he is. It's something Martin\ndidn't expect to happen one of the times they wrestled. Martin and Trevor run\nthrough the woods with their friends: two humans, a black furred and an orange\nfurred foxtaur, a wolftaur and a tigertaur. The coyotetaur and human have the\nday off, but are to report back tomorrow morning. For most of the afternoon the\nyoungsters have done nothing but play Capture. While the animaltaurs have to\nphysical restrain their opponents before carrying them away to prison, the\nhumans just have to hit them with a small pebble from their slingshot. The\nrules don't change regardless of how outnumbered things are between the animaltaurs\nand humans. Today everybody\nagrees on a best two out of three. Trevor's team took the second match, and\nMartin's team won the first match and is on the verge of winning the third. The\nblack furred foxtaur and wolftaur were caught right off the back, but the\ncoyotetaur and tigertaur caught two of the three humans shortly thereafter.\nTrevor has been the hardest to catch in all three matches. Martin follows the\ntigertaur but stops when they hear a whistle. Both sides use whistles to inform\neach other when they're caught and/or found somebody, need backup, or they're\nhurt. \"I take it he\nfound'im,\" the tigertaur said. \"It's my second\nguess,\" Martin said. \"My first is he finally learned how to whistle.\" \"Ya, probably. Let's\ngo.\" Martin follows his\nfriend. The orange furred foxtaur may have found their last opponent, but it\ndoesn't mean the game is over. That's how they lost the last match. The\ncoyotetaur holds back a chuckle. Things will become interesting when, and if,\nTrevor has to be by himself whenever they play Capture. It'll be tough but he\nknows the human can do it. The animaltaurs find their friend by a tree. \"I'm hit. Thought I'd\nhad him, but he got me here,\" the foxtaur points to his shoulder. \"May have\nused his last pebble if it'll help.\" \"Maybe, but he may\nfind more. Which way he went?\" Martin sniffs the air. \"I can't pick out his\nscent.\" \"There,\" the foxtaur\npoints. \"We get'im and\nmake'im pay,\" the tigertaur said. \"Yeah, but he's\ndownwind. His pa taught him well,\" Martin said. \"Come on. Can't allow him to\nget too far.\" Trevor ducks under a\nbranch and looks over his shoulder. There's only two animaltaurs left, but\ndoubts he put enough distance between him and them since the foxtaur whistled.\nThe human comes across a small clearing and looks around. He needs to find a\nplace to hide if he wants a chance to win. The teenager checks his pouch. He\nhas one pebble left and knows he doesn't have enough time to find more. Trevor\nspots a hole and tosses a rock inside. Nothing comes out. He climbs in feet\nfirst, pulls a branch over his head and spots a couple of animaltaurs run into\nthe clearing. He holds his breath. Martin jumps over a\nlog and sniffs the air. There's still no sign of the human's scent. The\ncoyotetaur scans the area. He's about to run off when the tigertaur points at a\nbranch. The coyotetaur is about to shrug it off, but decides to study it a\nlittle closer. That has to be where Trevor is at. The caninetaur lowers his\nnose to the ground. He picks up Trevor's scent. From now on he'll stop sniffing\nthe air when it comes to tracking his friend. Martin motions for the tigertaur\nto stay put and follow the scent to the branch. The human's scent becomes\nstronger. The caninetaur pulls it to the side to reveal a hole but doesn't find\nhis friend. Trevor crawls deeper\ninto the hole. It'll be a miracle if they don't find him. The human stops\nmoving and covers his head with dirt. He watches Martin toss the branch to the\nside and look inside. The coyotetaur doesn't see him. He overhears the\nanimaltaurs discuss looking for another opening. Trevor stays put. Their plan\ncould be a trick so they can grab him as he crawls out. He's unsure of how long\nit's been, but he can't hear their footsteps and/or voices. Trevor shimmies\ntowards the entrance and looks outside. They're nowhere to be seen. The young\nman climbs out and stands. His mom won't be happy with how dirty he is. Trevor hears a twig\nsnap, readies his slingshot and follows the sound. He spots the coyotetaur\nsniffing the ground. The human stands behind a tree and aims at Martin's rump.\nHe's about to fire when somebody knocks him to the ground and slams their paw\nonto his back. There's no way for him to escape. \"Caught'im,\" the\ntigertaur cries. \"Caught'im aiming at you.\" \"Guess this means we\nwin once again,\" Martin whistles loudly and lowers his head. \"What you got to\nsay about the outcome, hm?\" \"Nothing, other than\nto watch my back next time.\" \"A mistake you won't\nmake again, but next time we may just go after you first.\" \"Naw. You enjoy a\ngood chase.\" \"True. I'll give you\nthat,\" Martin raises his head and looks around. \"Guess today makes it\nanimaltaurs ten and humans four.\" \"We could be doing\nbetter if we weren't outnumbered,\" Trevor said. \"You drive a good\npoint, but that's how war works, so deal with it.\" \"Let'im up?\" the\ntigertaur said. \"Yes, let him up.\nWe've won,\" the coyotetaur said. \"Ugh, that's better,\"\nTrevor stands and brushes dirt off his pants. \"The others say to\ntell you they went home,\" the black furred foxtaur said. \"Where was this one\nat?\" \"I was about to ask\nhim myself,\" Martin blows dirt off of Trevor's head. \"Where'd you hide that\ncaused you to become so dirty?\" \"In that hole you\nfound.\" \"Rather gusty, and I\nask you not to do it again. I don't want to tell your ma her son's gone.\" \"Okay, I won't do it\nagain.\" \"Good,\" Martin looks\nat his friend. \"Me and him better git. He needs to wash up, and I'm sure my ma\nand pa want me as well.\" \"Get'im nice and\nclean,\" the tigertaur said. \"See ya at the tomorrow.\" \"Later,\" the foxtaur\nfollows the felinetaur. Trevor and Martin\nhead in the opposite direction as their friends. The coyotetaur grins. It's not\nhis responsibility to make sure the human stays clean, but he may dirty himself\nup just so his friend has to bathe him. He chews on his tongue and shakes his\nhead. His bath can wait, but he'll have Trevor trim his claws. They arrive at\nMartin's house. Trevor stays outside and pretends not to notice some of the\nstares the coyotetaur's neighbors give him. They will always have something\nnegative to say regardless of how he looks. The young man peers inside and\nspots Martin's mom in the kitchen. His nose picks up a rather pleasant scent,\nand spots a pie on the counter. \"Ma, you know where\nthe clippers might be?\" Martin looks around. \"It's that time Trevor uses it.\" \"Here,\" Martha pulls\nthem out of a drawer. \"Should've warned you. I've done some rearranging in\nhere.\" \"Oh. Thanks. How\ncome, ma?\" \"Keep me busy all\nafternoon is all, really. I enjoy my time off, but I also despise it,\" the\ncoyotetaur looks outside. \"Hello Trevor. Thank you for staying out there and\nnot tracking dirt in here.\" Trevor smiles and\nnods but doesn't say a word. He listens to Martin explain to his mom what they\nwere doing. \"Well then, it'll\nexplain why he's dirty,\" Martha smiles weakly. \"I won't keep you any longer.\nGet them claws trimmed. I hear them clicking against the floor.\" \"Yes, ma,\" Martin\nheads outside and looks at Trevor. \"You better ask her, runt.\" \"Ask me what,\ndarling?\" \"When's... my next\nlesson, Mrs. Patton?\" \"I almost forgot. It\nwon't be for a while I'm afraid. I'm sorry. I'll inform you when it's time,\nokay?\" Trevor nods and\nfollows Martin to the back. A voice in his head tells him it may not happen.\nMrs. Patton has been rather busy for quite some time. The young man fills a\nbucket with water from a well, sits on the ground and goes to work. He shortens\nthe coyotetaur's claws by quite a bit without drawing any blood. He washes some\ndirt off his arms and head once he's done, informs Martin about the hunting\ntrip his dad plans to take him on and asks if he'd like to tag along before\nleaving. Martin shakes his\nhead. He does enjoy having Trevor do simple tasks for him, but he also hates\nhow willing he is at accepting certain excuses. It's been close to a year since\nhis friend's last tutor session, and he doubts his mom will ever return to\nthose. Then there's the village. The coyotetaur knows not every animaltaur is\nrude towards humans, but the majority of them seem to think they have the right\nto walk over them. Martin has thought about leaving Cauldron, but he hasn't\nmentioned it to Trevor yet. He'll be sure to say something when, and if, the\nfarm goes under. The coyotetaur\ntwitches his ears. His dad must be home. Martin stretches his front and back\nlegs, places his hands onto his lower back and stretches his upper back and\nchest and shakes himself. He's beat and all he did today was play several\nrounds of Capture. Martin should've had Trevor massage his body when he had the\nchance. There's always next time. The coyotetaur walks into his house. \"What's the word on\nthe farm, pa?\" Martin puts the clippers away. \"Not too good, but\nyou and Trevor are to still report,\" Zues looks around. \"Where's the little\nlad? Was hoping to have him brush my fur.\" \"Trevor went home\nsome time ago. His pa returns today.\" \"Then I guess my\nbrushing can wait. Anything else on your mind?\" \"He asked if I'd like\nto go with on their next hunting trip. He'll ask his pa tonight. Will it be all\nright?\" \"I suppose it is, if\nit's okay with Trevor's dad,\" Martha sticks several pans of meat in the oven.\n\"Providing you keep up with your chores and don't back talk.\" \"Yes, ma,\" Martin\nbites his lower lip. \"Ma, I got to ask you something. It involves Trevor.\" \"Yes, what about him?\" \"Why did you stop\nteaching him how to read and write?\" \"You know the answers\nto that,\" Martha shakes his head. \"Things been rather busy. Besides, I'm not\nthe only one in the house who can teach him those things. You can do it too,\nyou know. You're no longer attending school.\" \"Perhaps I will. It's\nonly right.\" \"What's that to mean,\nMartin?\" Zues asks crossly. \"Trevor still does\nhis part of the bargain, but none of us have done ours.\" \"We do allow him to\nstay over and eat our food, and no more of this, understood?\" Zues points his\nfinger at his son. \"If you want to go on his dad's hunting trip, you'll drop\nit. Clear enough for you?\" \"Yes, pa.\" \"Good.\" \"Unless you need me,\nI'll be in my room.\" \"Go on. I'll let you\nknow when I need you,\" Martha said. Martin nods, closes\nthe door to his room and sits on his mat. He looks out the window. His parents\ndon't seem to care about Trevor's education and/or future. The coyotetaur nods.\nIf his mom has no interest in teaching his friend how to read and write, he\nwill. Martin lights a couple of candles, and grabs a book. He'll inform Trevor\nhis lessons will start up again on their next day off. The coyotetaur\ndoesn't say such much for the remainder of the evening. What his parents said,\nespecially his dad, about Trevor has left a bad taste in his mouth. Martin\nthought they enjoyed having the human around, but it sounds like they view him\nto be a pest, which is a damn shame. His parents know Trevor is a hard worker,\nand has done an excellent job of brushing their fur and trimming their claws.\nThen again their attitude towards his friend shouldn't surprise him. Neither\nhis mom nor his dad has any love for humans. Martin can't wait\nuntil he's older and in charge, providing he's still in Cauldron. The one thing\nhe'll abolish is segregation. No longer will humans have to eat outside, wait\noutside the store until all of the animaltaurs are done shopping, or work in\nawful conditions. If certain residents don't like it, then they can leave, and\nthat includes his parents. Humans deserve to be treated as an equal. The young caninetaur\nhelps his mom clean and put away the dishes, and heads to his room. He makes a\nlist of things he'll need for Trevor. Books, charcoal and some plywood to start\nout with, and the rest can wait until later. The coyotetaur chews on his\ncharcoal. It wouldn't hurt to see how much Trevor remembers. It's something\nhe'll bring to his friend's attention tomorrow afternoon. Martin blows out his\ncandles."}