{"sf1_id":612327,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Chapter 2","author":"Aeturnus","words":3068,"posted_at":"2013-11-10T21:44:00.000Z","tags":["Animaltaur","Coyotetaur","Human","Wolftaur","tigertaur"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/612327-chapter-2","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/612327","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=612327\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"2 Cauldron's farm has\nbeen the main source of employment, and the driving force behind the village's\neconomy for over a hundred years. Animaltaurs and humans work together picking\nand cleaning fruits and vegetables, milking and butchering cows and other\nlivestock, and delivering goods to the general store and other villages. Those\nwho would visit the farm agree it was one of the biggest in the southern\nlocation of Bantam. Not once in the farm's history have the owners segregate\nthe workers. They expect every animaltaur and human to work and eat together,\nand to sleep in the same barn if things are extremely busy. The current owners\ndon't have a problem voicing their opinion on how the village treats humans. Things at the farm\nhave gone downhill for the last six years. With fewer produce to pick and\ndeliver means less money, which then affects the workers and with so many\nanimaltaurs and humans out of work adds to the economic problems for Cauldron.\nThe residents have seen storms surround the area, but very few hit the village.\nThe lack of jobs has forced several families to leave. The population went from\nclose to a thousand to around seven hundred fifty within a couple of years, and\neverybody knows the number will continue to drop if things don't improve at the\nfarm. Martin lifts the last\nbundle of hay into a cart, looks at the sun and guzzles some water. It's bound\nto be another warm one, and it isn't even summer. The coyotetaur looks around.\nHe has yet to see his friend. It isn't like Trevor to be late and/or miss a day\nof work unless he's sick, and the human looked fine last night. Martin follows\na small group of animaltaurs to the dairy farm, and unloads the bales of hay\nfor the remaining cows. Cauldron had close to eighty cows, but now there are\nless than thirty. The coyotetaur looks\naround. Just like with cows, the number of employees dropped like crazy. There\nare only twenty animaltaurs working on the farm, which doesn't include the\nfarmers' family, and one human. All the other humans quit and/or were let go.\nMartin knows why Mr. Watson and Mr. Grey haven't done the same to his friend:\nhe's a hard worker, and doesn't give them any lip whenever they have an extra\nchore for him to do. All of the animaltaurs who still work on the farm has a\ngood amount of respect for Trevor, and some even taught him a couple of things. Willson, a light\nbrown foxtaur with big ears, taught Trevor how to throw knives, and bought him\na set of throwing knives for all his years of hard work. Terk, a liontaur with\na reddish-brown main, and Max, a tigertaur, are guilty of training his friend\nhow to take down and prevent an animaltaur from getting back to their feet. Mr.\nWatson knows the hardship Trevor's parents are in, and has made a deal with\nhim. He receives sacks of food, bundles of firewood and other supplies instead\nof dinars as payment. The animaltaurs who are left has yet to give his friend a\nhard time for not being able to read. It's a shame the same can't be said\nregarding humans. Martin ties a sack of\napples and places it in a cart. He looks at the sun. It's almost noon, and\nTrevor has yet to arrive. He'd ask if he can go see what's wrong with his friend,\nbut doesn't want to burden the others with extra work. The coyotetaur helps a\nwolftaur tie a sack of plums, and spots something kicking up dust. \"Someone must've\noverslept,\" Willson said. \"Odd to see him run like he does without any human\nfoot protection.\" \"Like I said, Trev's\nan animaltaur in a human body,\" Martin said. \"I'd wager he has a\nexcuse why he's late,\" Max said. \"Sorry I'm late,\"\nTrevor accepts some water from a wolftaur and climbs into the cart. \"It'll be fine this\nonce, but next you'll to bathe us all,\" Terk said jokingly. Martin studies his\nfriend's expression. \"What's wrong, Trev? You usually crack jokes when we make\npetty demands.\" \"It's my dad,\" the\nhuman closes his eyes, \"he never returned yesterday.\" \"Now don't jump to\nany of those conclusions,\" a wolftaur said. \"Perhaps he's staying out later?\" \"But he usually says\nsomething if he does. He didn't in both cases,\" Trevor rearranges some of the\nsacks. \"How much work I have to make up for?\" \"No worries, kid,\"\nthe tigertaur said. \"Lateness happens, and you've got a excuse.\" \"And here comes Mr.\nWatson,\" the liontaur said. \"Be honest is all we can say.\" \"I know.\" \"Fancy to see you've\nfinally joined them, Trevor,\" Mr. Watson said. \"Anything I should know?\" \"Yes. My dad never returned,\nsir,\" the human looks at his boss. \"Mom thought of staying home, but can't.\" \"I know. What's his\nface has an iron fist,\" the wolftaur said. \"When's your father supposed to\nreturn?\" \"Yester afternoon,\nsir.\" \"Well, I'm sorry to\nhear that. You know I'll help in any way I can.\" \"Thank you.\nAnything-\" \"Don't finish that\nline,\" Mr. Watson raises his hand. \"You do your fair share of work, and then\nsome, and you've done it for so long. It's only right I help out any way I can.\nHow's your mother?\" \"Silence, sir.\" The wolftaur nods.\n\"If she was home, I'd give you the day off to be there, but she's not, and\ndon't be scared to take some time off. You may need it.\" \"I'll let you know,\nsir.\" \"I know you will.\nYou've never hid anything from me before,\" Mr. Watson said. \"Go help in the\ndairy farm. Willson? Take him.\" \"Aye, sir,\" the\nfoxtaur stands by the cart. \"On my back, you, and hang on.\" Martin chews his\ntongue the longer Mr. Watson stands there. There's something else on the\nwolftaur's mind. \"Martin and you two,\"\nthe caninetaur points to a cougartaur and dingotaur. \"I'm afraid the farm won't\nneed your assistance anymore. I'm sorry things have to end like this, but until\nwe receive some rain, we don't have much of a crop. You three are free to stay\nor go. Either way I'll pay you for the day.\" Martin places his\nhands on the cart. He knew this day was bound to come, but the news still\nstings. The coyotetaur watches the two animaltaurs leave, but decides to stay.\nHe looks at Mr. Watson. \"Can I ask you a question,\nsir?\" \"Does the question\ninvolve Trevor?\" Mr. Watson sees the caninetaur nod. \"He's still needed, but\nI'm unsure of how long. I didn't want to say what I had too in front of him,\nand I'm aware he'll find out. I provide you'll encourage him to stay?\" \"I will, sir. At the\nend of the day, however.\" \"That's fine, and\nthank you for staying.\" Martin nods and\ntwitches his ears. He can already imagine what his mom and dad will say when he\ntells them the news. The coyotetaur takes a deep breath, drinks some water and\nreturns to work. Mr. Watson has done the right thing by allowing Trevor to\nstay. His friend needs the job more than ever if his dad never returns. Martin\nputs the last sack into the cart, and helps push it into the barn. Martin stays on the farm\nuntil Trevor is done for the day, and tells him the bad news while walking him\nhome. The coyotetaur doesn't have to encourage his friend to continue to work\non the farm. Instead the human surprises him by asking if he still wants to go\nhunting. Martin doubts his parents will have a problem with it, but it wouldn't\nhurt to ask again. The coyotetaur studies the shack Terry lives in. The site\ndepresses him even more knowing there's a chance his friend and his mom may\nlose it. He heads home. Trevor needs to be alone with his mom. Martin takes his\ntime. There's so much crap floating around in his mind he can't think straight.\nThe coyotetaur wants to help Trevor and his mom in some way, but can't think of\nwhat. He knows for damn sure his parents and/or neighbors won't take them in as\nservants. The caninetaur stops by the general good's store and buys a small\namount of school supplies. Being out of work won't stop him from teaching\nTrevor how to read. Martin spots his house and takes a deep breath. Time to tell\nhis mom the bad news, providing his dad hasn't already. Martin finds his\nparents in the dining room. \"There's... something I need to tell you, ma.\" \"I've already told\nher,\" Zues said. \"Neither of us are too happy with Watson's choice of keeping him but getting rid of you.\" \"Please stop talking\nlike that, pa. You know he's my friend, and it upsets me whenever you say stuff\nlike that,\" Martin sits by the table. \"And you know Trev's a hard worker.\" \"I know he is, but\nI'm sure there are better and more capable humans.\" \"But there isn't, or\nthey would still be at the farm,\" Martin said. \"Can we please talk about something\nelse?\" \"Very well. What's\nyour plans now and what's those for?\" Martha points at the supplies. \"These are for\nTrevor, ma. I plan to tutor him, and as for my plans, I don't know other than\nlook for work.\" \"If such a thing is\npossible,\" Zues said. \"I suggest you save your money. Who knows when things\nwill return to how things were.\" \"Yes, pa.\" \"Something else on\nyour mind, Martin?\" Martha asks. \"It involves Trev,\nma. He still wants to go on that hunting trip, and he asked me to come with.\"\"You already know you may go, but\nbe sure to prevent him from taking everything you kill,\" Zues said.\n\"Understood?\" \"Yes, pa,\" Martin\nlooks at his dad. \"Did Trevor tell you-\" \"What came of his\nfather? He has. Not much we can do for him or his mother. However, I told him I\nexpect him to come by tomorrow and bathe me.\" Martin takes a deep\nbreath. \"Shouldn't he be with his ma?\" \"He has tonight, and\ndon't you dare start. If he wants to be with his mother then he wouldn't go on\nthis hunting trip,\" Zues said. \"And don't expect us to give him any pity.\" \"Having him here may\ndo him some good,\" Martha said. \"Once he's done his thing, you can tutor him,\nand that could help keep his mind off certain things.\" \"Or until he returns\nhome, ma. I may wait on tutoring him. I'm still working on a couple of things.\" \"Do what you must\ndo.\" Martin nods and\nexcuses himself. He places his things on a shelf and shuts his bedroom door.\nThings between him and Trevor won't change, but his dad may make things a bit\nmore difficult at the farm. The coyotetaur lies on his mat and yawns. He'd ask\nhis parents not to treat his friend any differently, but knows he has a better chance\nof telling a tree to move out of his way. Martin rolls onto his side, rests his\nhead on a pillow and stretches his legs. He can't wait to see Trevor tomorrow\nafternoon.*** Trevor fills a couple\nof buckets and studies the sign by the well. He has no idea what it says. The\nhuman carries the water back to Zues' house and fills a wooden tub that's three\nfeet deep, five feet wide and seven feet long. One more trip should fill it up.\nThe young man pours the last of the water into the tub, and prepares the\ntowels. It takes between three to five towels to dry off an animaltaur, and the\nexact number he needs depends on how much excess water they can shake off. The young man lays\nout a brush and clippers. Martin's dad wants him to do more than bathe him and\ntells him he should know what needs to be done by now without having to be\nreminded. Trevor bites his tongue and nods. He knows Martin's parents don't\nhave a lot of love for his kind, and it shows with some of the things they say,\nbut they can also be nicer than others when they want to be. The young man\nwatches Zues step into the tub. He dampens the caninetaur's fur, scrubs it with\nshampoo and rinses it off. Trevor rolls out a towel for Zues to lie on, and proceeds\nto dry and brush his fur and trim his claws. Trevor makes sure\nMartha and Martin doesn't need a bath, and uses the opportunity to wash his\nface and arms. He drains the tub and remembers the sign. The young man explains\nwhat he saw to Zues, and asks what it says. The coyotetaur says he has to see\nit for himself and leaves. Trevor puts the shampoo, brush and clippers away,\nand hangs the towels on the edge of the tub. One of the coyotetaurs will take\ncare of them once they're dry. Zues returns. \"It appears they're\nputting a restriction on water usage, starting tomorrow. We can still drink and\ncook with it, but no more baths. I saw the sign yesterday, but didn't bother to\nstop and read it. I wish I would've,\" the coyotetaur looks at Trevor. \"I\nshould've had you save the water. Not your fault.\" \"What else it say?\"\nTrevor asks. \"The last thing it\nsaid is they're unsure of how long the restrictions will last,\" Zues studies\nthe towels. \"Knowing one thing, those towels should give your mother something\nto do tomorrow. You're free to go.\" \"Come on you, I'll\nwalk you home,\" Martin leads the human out of the yard. \"How were things on the\nfarm?\" \"Eh, same as usual.\nMr. Grey told your dad not to hold Mr. Watson's choice against me.\" Martin looks over his\nshoulder. \"Did he?\" \"No, not really, but\nI'm sure yesterday is a reason why he had me bathe him today.\" \"Yeah, sounds like pa\nall right. Listen, I'm sorry for what he said regarding your ma.\" \"He said worse. The\nbest I can do is bite my tongue.\" \"You shouldn't have\ntoo, but it's probably for the best,\" Martin said. \"How's your ma?\" \"She's the same as\nyesterday,\" Trevor shakes his head. \"She said she's going to ask for more\nhours, but I don't expect it to do well.\" \"Yeah. Mr. What's-His-Face\nis rather tight. Say, when you want to head on this hunting trip?\" \"Eight days from now\nsound fine?\" \"Hell yeah. What Mr.\nWatson say?\" \"Not a lot, but he\ndid say we can use one of his old carts. Willson says he'll help fix it up. All\nwe need to do is bring them something.\" \"That we can do,\"\nMartin scratches under his chin. \"How long should this trip be?\" \"Three, maybe four\ndays. One day to travel, one or two days to hunt, and I may use that time to\ngather some other things, and the fourth to return.\" \"Sounds like a good\nplan. Do you expect us to find a lot?\" \"If we head north.\nThat seems to be where it rains the most.\" \"True. Damn shame the\nrain doesn't head down here.\" \"That would be nice.\" \"Anything else on\nyour mind?\" \"One. I just hope we\ndon't tangle with whatever got my dad.\" \"If I sense it, I'll\nhave you ride my back and run back into town. We'll ditch the cart if we have\nto,\" Martin said. \"Has anybody found your pa's stuff?\" \"No. If they did\nthey're most likely hiding it.\" \"Hearing crap like\nthat really... I can't put it into words how mad that makes me,\" the coyotetaur\nshakes his head and says loudly. \"And some of my kind are too damn stubborn to\nchange.\" \"I'm sure things will\nchange several years from now.\" \"Providing Cauldron's\nstill around. Listen, Trev, I don't expect it to last long if things don't\nimprove at the farm.\" \"I know. That's what\nworries my mom. Where are we to go?\" Trevor said. \"Neither of us can read, and\nshe isn't much of a woodsman.\" \"True, but both of\nyou are hard workers. I'm sure somebody at another village won't care about the\nother thing. They may even help you.\" \"We can only hope.\nI'll see you tomorrow.\" \"Yeah, later.\" Trevor closes the\ndoor to his shack. He has an idea what Martin was about to hint at, and he\nwould've agreed a fortnight ago, but now he can't. He doubts his mom can take\ncare of herself, and the only people that helps them is Mr. Watson, and to a\nlesser degree, Martin. Everybody else has their own problems and/or does their\nbest to pretend they don't exist. The young man sits on\nthe ground and looks around. In some ways they're better off than some of the their\nneighbors, but in other ways they're not. For one his parents actually own\ntheir home, but it isn't all that big. It only has one room. In the center of\ntheir shack is a fire pit, and in a corner is a small cabinet that holds less\nthan a dozen dishes and little food. The only other furnishings they have are a\ncouple of mats. There are no decorations on the wall. His parents taught him\none very important thing at a young age, and that is to always be happy with\nwhat he has. Trevor sits outside\non a log and makes arrowheads. So far he's made six arrows, and has plans to\nmake more before they go on their trip. He looks at the sky. It's late and his\nmom has yet to return home. Tonight there's a strong chance he'll have to eat\nby himself, and what he has isn't much: a couple of apples and some rabbit\nmeat. Trevor closes his eyes. He needs to go on his hunting trip, or they won't\nmake it to fall, and they can't rely on Mr. Watson giving them a sack of food.\nNot with how bad things are at the farm. He thinks about what Martin hinted at\nnot too long ago. He hates the idea of leaving his mom, but he may have no\nother choice.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/609998-chapter-1.json"}