{"sf1_id":636022,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Chapter 3","author":"Aeturnus","words":4593,"posted_at":"2013-12-22T19:05:00.000Z","tags":["Animaltaur","Coyotetaur","Human","Hunting","Wolftaur"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/636022-chapter-3","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/636022","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=636022\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"3 Trevor has the day off so he and Martin can\ngather and build supplies for their trip. All he has to do is bring Mr. Watson\na deer. The young man makes a couple of torches out of a bundle of sticks and\ndry moss first thing in the morning. It's one of several tricks his father\ntaught him throughout the years, and it's something he'll be sure to show his\nfriend. Trevor grabs a couple of leather pouches before heading over to\nMartin's house. It wouldn't hurt to bring home plants that are edible and\nuseful for treating wounds and illnesses. Martin buys two boxes of rifle ammo, and\ntries his hardest not to fold back his ears and bare his teeth at the demands\nthe owner of the store makes. If Mr. Durant, a wolftaur, wants meat to sell,\nthen he can go out and fetch it himself. Plus the caninetaur's attitude towards\nhumans is despicable. Martin leaves in disgust. Mr. Durant just had to make a\ncrude remark regarding his friendship towards Trevor. The coyotetaur would take\nhis business elsewhere if Cauldron had another store. Martin spots a family of cougartaurs\nplacing their belongings into a cart, and nods when they ask for Trevor. The\ncoyotetaur stops by his friend's house and finds it empty. He scratches the\nback of his ear. The only place he knows Trevor will be at today is his house,\nbut even then there's no certainty. He does remember his friend saying he has\nthe next couple of days off. Martin takes a shortcut and finds Trevor helping\nhis dad spreading hay in a cart. \"Hey Trev, the Mault's want you,\" Martin\nenters his backyard. \"You'll see why.\" \"All right,\" the human jumps out of the\ncart. Zues watches his son's friend sprint out of\ntheir yard. \"What's going on with them?\" \"They're leaving, pa. They didn't tell me\nwhere, though,\" Martin said. \"I saw them loading a cart while I came home.\" \"Hm, that's a damn shame, but nothing we\ncan do about it.\" \"Is this the cart Trev and Willson worked\non? Looks new.\" \"They both put a lot of effort into\nrepairing it, but I did inform Trevor it's to stay here, and before you say\nanything, it's to prevent somebody from stealing it.\" \"Thanks for looking out for him, pa.\" \"He put a lot of work on it, and it's only\nfair to make sure it stays safe,\" Zues spreads around a little bit of hay.\n\"That should be fine.\" \"What's with the hay?\" \"Protect your supplies for one, and to soak\nup blood.\" \"I'm back. They wanted me to hook up the\nharness, and give me some food for our trip,\" Trevor looks at Zues. \"Mr. Mault\nsays farewell, Mr. Patton.\" \"They could've said that to me before they\nleft,\" Martin's dad said. \"When you boys leaving?\" \"Early morning, pa. As the sunrises.\" \"Good. Get a good start on your travel. How\nlong you two plan on staying away?\" \"Three to four days. Depends on certain\nthings.\" \"That should be plenty of time, and be\ncareful. I shouldn't have to explain why.\" \"We know, pa.\" \"Come inside, there's some things I want to\ntell you,\" Zues said. \"You stay put, Trevor.\" \"Yes, sir.\" Martin licks the tip of his snout. The\ninformation can mean only one thing. The coyotetaur sits by the table. Zues closes the door and looks at his son.\n\"If trouble is out and about, you make it back, even if it means leaving you\nknow who behind.\" \"You can't be serious, pa.\" \"I am. I know you two are friends, but your\nlife as more value than his.\" \"No it don't, pa. His life is as important\nas ours.\" \"I don't value his as much as yours. He's\nnot our concern. Save him if you must, but only if you think you can.\" \"That's what I'm going to do, pa, whether\nyou like it or not,\" Martin said. \"If he dies, what are we to do if we become\nill? I haven't met an animaltaur who knows what plants cure what.\" \"I'm sure the clinic can train somebody,\nbut you've got a point,\" Zues points to the bullets. \"Leave a box behind.\" \"Yes, pa. Anything else?\" \"One. As I said, make sure he doesn't take\nhome everything. Now go outside, and put on the harness. I want to make sure it\nfits.\" Martin walks outside and informs the human\nwhat he's to do. The coyotetaur puts on the harness and adjusts the shoulder\nstraps, and looks down as Trevor fastens and tightens the straps that go under\nhis torso. Everything fits right. Martin helps Trevor hook the harness to the\ncart, and grabs the handles. The coyotetaur smiles. It's almost like being at\nthe farm. His friend tells him he's done. Martin takes a couple of steps\nforward. The cart moves without any problems, and his dad seems happy with the\nresults. The coyotetaur takes off the harness and places it in the cart. Trevor heads home to drop off some of the\nfood, and to inform his mom where he'll be eating and staying for the night. He\ngives her a hug but doesn't say anything. No amount of words will raise her\nspirits. The young man grabs his knives and leaves. He returns to Martin's\nhouse in time to see Mrs. Patton put several chickens in the oven. Trevor and Martin spend most of the evening\npreparing for their trip. The human makes a few more arrows and sharpens his\nknives while the coyotetaur cleans his rifle and shows him how to load it.\nTrevor follows Martin into his room after dinner, and massages his under chest.\nThe coyotetaur closes his eyes and pants happily. Now if only he could receive\nthis sort of treatment every night.  They place their things into the cart at\nthe crack of dawn, eat a hearty breakfast and leave. Martin and Trevor agree to\ntake their time heading west-north-west, and know they can always use tomorrow\nto travel if they have to. The pair stops several times throughout the day to\ngive their bodies a chance to cool down, and so Trevor can gather flowers,\nleaves and roots. He informs Martin what they cure and how to prepare them\nbefore use. Martin and Trevor come across a lake at\ndusk, and agree to stay put for the next couple of days. The human puts away\nthe harness and goes to work building a fire pit while the coyotetaur gathers\nand chops up firewood. Martin lies down and crosses his forelegs, and watches\nTrevor shave woodchips off a stick. Everybody in Cauldron could learn a thing\nor two from his friend if they would take the time to see what he's capable of\ndoing. The human place a flint rock by the pile and strikes it with his\nhatchet. Sparks ignite the tinder after the tenth hit. Martin tosses some twigs into the fire and\nlooks at the two moons. It's too early for them to make dinner. The coyotetaur\nstudies Trevor and grins. There is one thing they can do while the night is\nstill young. \"Know something, Trev? It's been a while\nsince we had a good frolic.\" \"I don't care. I'm not in the mood.\" \"Well too bad. I am,\" Martin stands and\npushes his friend with his paw. \"Come on. Let's see if you still got it.\" \"Leave me alone, please.\" \"Aw, come on. You're no fun. Besides, I\nwon't leave you alone until you do what I want you to do.\" \"I said no,\" Trevor shoves Martin's paw\naway. \"Now go lie down.\" \"You're in no position to order me around,\nhuman, and if you want me to lie down, you'll have to make me,\" Martin stands\nbehind his friend. \"Besides, if you don't frolic with me, I'll sit on you and\nnot let you up until tomorrow.\" \"Right.\" \"Are you calling me bluff?\" \"What if I am?\" \"Then I'm afraid you've left me with little\nchoice, Trev.\" Martin shoves his friend onto his face,\njumps over him and lowers his rump. He looks between his legs and grins\ndevilishly. Trevor doesn't want to wrestle, but it appears he doesn't want to\nbe sat on either. \"So you know, Trev, I'll let you up if you\nwrestle me.\" \"Fine, you win. Let's wrestle.\" \"That's what I thought, human.\" Martin turns around in time to see Trevor\njump to his feet, and swings his right foreleg. The human deflects it with\nease. There's no point in attacking his friend with the same move. Next time he\ncould grab his paw and either twist it, push him back and/or do something\ncompletely different. It's one mistake Martin made a long time ago. The\ncoyotetaur eyes his opponent and lunges forward. Trevor jumps to the side and waits for\nMartin to land before executing his next move. The young man grabs the\ncoyotetaur's left hind leg, leans into it and then pulls back. He let's go the\nmoment his friend struggles and jumps back. Terk and Max taught him to always\nwait for an animaltaur to make a move, but it doesn't mean he should stand\nstill. Staying in motion makes it harder for his opponent to land an attack,\nand makes it easier for him to jump out of the way. The only thing he has to do\nis avoid tripping over his own feet. Neither one receives the upper hand\nthroughout their match. Trevor dodges every move Martin uses, and counters with\nhis own whenever possible. Several times the coyotetaur thought he had the\nhuman beat, but his friend would slip out of his grasp. Trevor hasn't had any\nluck of knocking Martin off his paws, but he's came close a couple of times.\nThey've done an excellent job of staying away from the fire and avoiding\nknocking each other into the cart. Martin fakes going in one direction and\ngrins. It's rare for Trevor to fall for a simple trick. The coyotetaur pushes\nthe human onto his hands and knees with his left foreleg, and stands over him.\nHe allows Trevor to crawl out from under him before slamming a paw onto his\nback. The caninetaur pushes the human around and teases him. He lies on top of\nhis friend and wags his tail. It's been a while since he won. The coyotetaur\nstands, looks between his legs and grins as Trevor crawls out from under him. \"It seems you might've lost your touch\nthere, Trev.\" \"No. I didn't want to hurt you.\" \"What? That never stopped you before.\" \"We're close to Cauldron whenever we\nwrestle,\" Trevor said. \"I can't run the risk of injuring you out here.\" \"If that's the case, then I want a\nre-match, Trev, and next time don't go easy.\" \"Oh, I won't.\" \"That's the sort of thing I want to hear\nfrom you,\" Martin wags his tail. \"Come on, let's head to the lake wash this\ndirt and sweat off.\" \"What about your rifle?\" \"I know I'm taking a bad risk by doing\nthis, but I'm going to leave it. Somebody could easily take it if I were to\nlean it against a tree and/or worse, I forget about it. Besides,\" the\ncoyotetaur sniffs the air, \"I don't smell anyone.\" \"They could be downwind from us.\" \"True, but I'd sense their presence once\nthey're close enough, and way sooner than you.\" \"But-\" \"Trev, my gun'll be fine. It's hidden in\nthe cart anyway,\" Martin pushes his friend and points. \"To the lake. Now.\" \"All right, all right. I'm going.\" \"Good,\" the coyotetaur smiles. \"You think\nthis is a good spot, Trev?\" \"It can't get any better. We're close to a\nwater source. We're bound to come across some game.\" \"No, not some. A lot. Let's show the\nvillage we make a good team.\" \"If they don't already know that then\nthey're fools,\" Trevor steps into the water and splashes his face. \"This is\nnice.\" \"It does feel nice after a long day of\ntraveling,\" Martin follows his friend. \"I agree. They are fools if they think\nyou can't take down game.\" \"At least my dad proved them wrong with\nwhat he knows.\" \"Yeah, and it's a damn shame my kind would\ntake everything he brought back.\" \"Mr. Watson and Grey said they'll make sure\nthat won't happen to me.\" \"I'm certain they won't,\" Martin scrubs\nwater under his armpit. \"Hey Trev, why'd you stop allowing my ma to tutor you?\nI know she hasn't kept her deal of the bargain, but neither has you.\" \"I shamed her is why,\" Trevor stares at the\nwater. \"The books she gave me? We used them to keep warm last winter.\" \"It did become rather cold, and I've got\nfur. I'm certain my ma would understand.\" \"But I wouldn't be comfortable telling her\nknowing she bought me those books. I shamed her kindness.\" \"No you didn't. Trev, listen. Things are\nrough, and your parents did what they did to stay warm. Buying more books won't\nbe a problem. Is that why you gave me the silent treatment those few days?\" The human nods. \"I-\" \"Don't say anything. What's done is old,\nand we're still friends. Come on, we better return to the fire.\" Trevor nods. He'll tell Martin's mom what\nhis parents did when they return. She has every right to know. The human hangs\nhis clothes on the cart, places a blanket on the ground and sits on it. He\nlooks at the sky. There's a full moon and a half moon. He doesn't know their\nnames, and neither does Martin. The young man helps the coyotetaur make dinner,\nmassages his paws and legs after they're done eating, and lies down beside his\nbody.*** Martin and Trevor discuss their plans\nduring breakfast. The coyotetaur figures it'll be best if he doesn't kill\neverything he comes across. Three will be enough. He doesn't want to attract\nany unwanted attention. The human plans to set up several traps and check them\ntowards the end of the day. He doesn't expect to catch anything in a short\nperiod. Once he's done setting up and baiting traps, he'll hunt for birds.\nHe'll use the trip back to Cauldron to gather more plants. Martin has Trevor tie a pouch around his\ndiaphragm, places extra bullets inside and grabs his rifle. The coyotetaur\nwarns the human to be careful before leaving camp. The caninetaur shakes his\nhead at what he said and chuckles. His friend should be fine. He sniffs the\nair. There's a herd of deer not too far from his location. Martin follows his\nnose and sure enough he finds his target. He counts nine. The coyotetaur crawls\non his belly, raises his rifle and squeezes the trigger. One of the deer falls.\nThe coyotetaur investigates his kill and nods. The bullet went right through\nits neck. Trevor looks up when he hears a loud pop.\nMartin must've caught something already. The human goes back to setting up and\nbaiting a trap and leaves. He'll make two more and spend the rest of his day\nhunting birds and anything else he comes across. The young man ties some rope\naround a couple of branches and makes a noose. Trevor studies his handiwork and\nknows his dad would be proud. He grabs his bow and a quiver of twenty arrows\nfrom camp, and heads in a different direction than Martin. The human spots a\nturkey and pulls out an arrow. Trevor and Martin cover their kills in the\ncart and agree it isn't a bad haul. The coyotetaur brought back two deer, and\nthe human brought back two turkeys, a hawk and several other birds. He'll check\nhis traps by nightfall, and take them down if they didn't catch anything. The\npair is happy with what they have and know it'll keep them and Mr. Watson fed\nfor a couple of days. Martin asks Trevor to build a fire so he\ncan make dinner, and prepares another slab of meat. The trip has done them a\nlot of good. Their friendship has been strong for quite some time, but the last\ncouple of days have made it stronger. Plus the human needed to leave Cauldron.\nThe last couple of weeks have been hard on him. Martin places dinner by the\nfire and lies down. There is one thing he can do that'll help keep his friend's\nmind off things. \"I'm not sure if you're aware of it, Trev,\nbut I've been meaning to teach you how to read and write myself,\" Martin said.\n\"It's the main reason why I bought all of those books.\" \"I saw all of that, but figured you needed\nthem,\" Trevor said. \"What do your parents think?\" \"I'm unsure, and I don't care. It was my ma\nwho insisted I teach you considering she hasn't. Before you ask why, it's\nbecause your kind deserve an education as well. I'm certain the others are\ngetting tutored by their parents, but I know you're not.\" \"They are. Some offered to tutor me, but I\nturned them down. Things were busy at the farm and at home.\" \"I remember those days. I miss them.\" \"Same here,\" Trevor feeds the fire. \"You\nwon't mind keeping those books if they were meant for me to take? I've already\nshamed your mother; I don't want to shame you.\" \"Yes, they are for you, and that's okay. I\ndon't have a problem keeping them, but you have to come over every day. I'm\ncertain my parents and neighbors will have a problem with it, but they'll have\nto deal with it,\" Martin checks the meat. \"Just a little longer and it'll be\ndone.\" \"When do my lessons start?\" \"Tonight. How much do you remember?\" \"I... can't say.\" \"Don't say a word. I was planning on\nstarting from the beginning anyway,\" Martin points. \"Sit here.\" Trevor does so. \"See this stick? It's your charcoal. See\nthe dirt? It's your plywood. Now write the alphabet.\" Trevor nods and writes an A. Martin tells\nhim that's the correct way of making it, erases it and tells him to write the\nnext letter. The human thinks about it for a couple of seconds, remembers it's\nthe B and writes it. The coyotetaur nods in approval and erases it. They repeat\nthe process until he completes the alphabet. The only letters the young man has\nproblems writing are Q, Z, W, M, S, P and R. Martin grabs another stick, writes a word\nand asks Trevor to read it and then spell it. The coyotetaur starts out with\nsimple words such wet, hat, mat, sat, sit, hit and so forth. He loses count at\nhow many words he written, and decides to call it a night after he writes stop.\nThey'll proceed to harder words when they return from their trip. He isn't sure\nwhen he'll have the human read from a book. The coyotetaur tosses their sticks into the\nfire, and follows his friend when he goes to check on his traps. All of them\nhave been tripped, but only one caught a hare. Martin cringes at the sight of a\ncreature strangling to death, but knows certain things has to be done if he\nwants to survive. Trevor gathers everything, and they head back to camp. They\ncover their kills with several hides and some hay and eat dinner. Trevor feeds\nthe fire, places his blanket besides Martin and lies down. They have breakfast at the crack of dawn\nand head home. Martin and Trevor discuss who'll receive what, and if they\nshould give anything to the general store. By noon they come to an agreement.\nThe coyotetaur lays claim to one of the deer and a turkey, the human has the rabbit,\nthe hawk and birds, and they know Mr. Watson is likely to take the other turkey\nalong with the deer. Martin and Trevor know it isn't their responsibility to\nprovide food for the entire village. Martin and Trevor returns to Cauldron the\nfollowing afternoon and stop by the farm. Mr. Watson has his sons bring a deer\nand a turkey into his barn, and gives the pair a five dinar coin. The\ncoyotetaur pulls the cart into his backyard, and helps his dad unload the last\ndeer, turkey and some of the birds. Zues has no problem allowing Trevor to take\nwhat he wants, and promises him some meat. The human strings up what's his and\nheads home. \"Did you boys run into any trouble?\" Zues\nasks. \"No, pa.\" \"Good, and I'm aware of Mr. Watson claiming\nsome. He said so yesterday.\" \"We'd stopped by the farm before heading\nhere.\" \"Yes, I'm aware. Mr. Durant also told me he\nwants his share.\" Martin takes a deep breath. \"What you tell\nhim, pa?\" \"Nothing, so don't become cross. I said\nit's up to you if he can have anything, and if he seriously wants something to\nsale, he can go out and get it himself.\" \"I appreciate that,\" Martin nods. \"I just\nhope Trev doesn't have any problems with him.\" \"I'm certain he will. Nothing we can do\nabout it,\" Zues said. \"Let's clean, gut and put everything away before your\nmother comes home.\"  Trevor adjusts the string on his shoulder.\nWhat he has isn't much, but it'll keep him and his mom fed for at least a couple\nof weeks. He doesn't expect Mr. Patton to stay true to his words, but it\nwouldn't surprise him if Mr. Watson gives him something. Trevor looks over his\nshoulder. It wouldn't hurt to return to his friend's house, and help them deal\nwith the deer and clean the cart. He and his mom can use the hay. It'll help\nthem stay warm during winter. He's halfway home when hears something from\nbehind. Trevor turns around and spots Mr. Durant sprinting towards him. The\nyoung man doesn't move. It wouldn't take the wolftaur long to catch up to him.\nHe tightens his grip on the string. Martin told him the demands Mr. Durant\nmade. Trevor would give the wolftaur something, but he doesn't have much to\ngive. He stays calm as Mr. Durant stands in front of him. \"You know why I'm here,\" Mr. Durant points\nat the birds. \"I'm here for what's rightfully mine, now give them.\" \"No.\" \"Excuse me?\" \"You're not getting any. I-\" \"How dare you. Our needs has more\nimportance than yours, now give it here,\" Mr. Durant reaches for Trevor's kills\nand growls when the human pulls them away. \"You disobedient little bastard. I\nsee Mr. Watson allowed you to think you're an equal.\" \"If you want meat to sell, go out and get\nit yourself,\" Trevor said. \"This is for me and my mom.\" \"For the last time, give me what's mine or\nthis'll get worse, and you won't want to see the outcome.\" \"What seems to be the problem here?\" a\nfemale spotted hyenataur walks up to the pair. \"This, thing, won't back up his part of the\ndeal,\" Mr. Durant points at Trevor. \"Is that true, Trevor?\" \"No, ma'am, I never made a deal with him.\nAsk Martin if you'd like. \"His kind are obligated to give us-\" \"Wrong, Mr. Durant. They're not. If he\nwants to give you what he has, it's up to him, but he doesn't have to,\" the\nspotted hyenataur said. \"Now I suggest you return to your store.\" \"This issue isn't over you little bastard.\" \"Threaten him like that again and I'll haul\nyou off myself, now git.\" Trevor keeps his eyes on Mr. Durant. He'll\nvisit Martin and tell him about the conversion once he's done helping his mom\nclean and chop the birds. \"In some ways, Mr. Durant has a point, and\nI told him a lie,\" the hyenataur looks at Trevor. \"It truly was your father's\njob to supply the general store with meat, and now that duty falls upon you.\" \"I didn't know.\" \"I know you weren't aware, but you know\nnow. Who all received what?\" \"Mr. Watson took a deer and a turkey in\nreturn of the cart he gave us. Martin's dad claimed another deer and turkey,\nand several other birds. What I have is all that's left.\" \"I see. Not a bad haul. When's your next\ntrip?\" \"I'm not sure. I have to inform Martin and\nMr. Watson what I just heard.\" \"Very well,\" the hyenataur nods. \"One other\nthing I should mention is it was also your dad's duty to supply the clinic with\nmedicine.\" \"What? I thought-\" \"Didn't your old man tell you any of this?\" \"No he didn't, but now I wish he would've.\" \"I'm sure hearing it from somebody other\nthan your old man is a shocker,\" the animaltaur said. \"Once you drop off those\nbirds and rabbit, I suggest you head to the clinic and drop off what you have.\nI hear they're running low on stuff, and may need you to go out and gather\nmore.\" \"I will.\" \"I truly am sorry for being the one who had\nto tell you everything, and with that information told, I bid you farewell,\nTrevor.\" \"Excuse me, Mrs.-\" \"If it involves your house; no, it belongs\nto you and your mom. Now if you don't mind, I've got some other business to\ntake care of.\" Trevor nods and thinks about the\ninformation the hyenataur told him. He'd ask his mom if what the animaltaur\nsaid is true, but chances are she won't know. Now he understands why his dad\ntaught him so much. The duty of supplying the village with food and medicine\nwas bound to become his. Trevor doubts his dad meant for it to happen so soon.\nThe young man heads home, helps his mom clean what he brought back, but doesn't\nmention the conversation he had with the spotted hyenataur. He returns to Martin's house by dusk, and\ntells him the news. The coyotetaur promises to help in any way he can. Trevor\nnotices the hay is still in the cart, and decides to turn what's good into fire\nbundles for the store. It's well into the evening when he and Martin finishes.\nHe looks up to see Mr. and Mrs. Patton walk towards him. Martin's dad hands him\nsome venison and a small flint. His friend convinces him to tell Mrs. Patton\nwhat came of the books she bought, and comes close of breaking down when he\nexplains the situation he and his parents were in last winter. Trevor calms\ndown as Mrs. Patton informs him it isn't the end of the world, and invites him\nto stay for dinner. Trevor walks through Cauldron. The village\nhas always been peaceful at night. He looks at the clear sky. There's a double\nfull moon. Shame he can't enjoy the view with his dad. The young and closes his\neyes and shakes his head. He's unsure of what to do tomorrow. He doesn't want\nto quit working at the farm, but he may have to if he can't handle his extra\nduties. At least he'll receive some help from Martin. Trevor shuts the door to\nhis shack, and finds his mom sound asleep. He kisses her cheek, crawls onto his\nmat and stares outside. He'd like to leave Cauldron and go to a place where\nresidents are capable of taking care of themselves if he knew somebody would\ntake care of his mom. Until then he's stuck.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/612327-chapter-2.json"}