{"sf1_id":670003,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Chapter 4","author":"Aeturnus","words":5409,"posted_at":"2014-02-20T01:29:00.000Z","tags":["Animaltaur","Coyotetaur","Human","Wolftaur","story"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/670003-chapter-4","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/670003","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=670003\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"4      Martin studies a\nflower Trevor gives him and drops it into a leather pouch. The name slips his\nmind, but the petals can help with a stomachache. The coyotetaur sticks a\nhandful of moss into another pouch. He already knows the plant can stop\nbleeding. It's one of several things his friend taught him the first summer\nthey worked on the farm. Martin follows Trevor and sticks a couple of flowers\ninto his pouch. The job isn't like working on the farm, but it'll do. One of\nthe doctors at the clinic promises to pay him ten dinars a week if he brings\nback a decent amount of flowers, leaves, roots and other items. Plus it gives\nhim a chance to be with Trevor.      The animaltaur\nstudies his friend. Trevor seems to be handling the extra work just fine.\nMartin shakes his head. It's been well over a week since the human told everything,\nand it still bothers him an animaltaur had to tell him about his dad's duties.\nHe thought Trevor's parents didn't hide anything from their son, but that\ndoesn't seem to be the case, unless his dad wanted to avoid burdening Trevor\nwith more work. Martin doubts he'll ever know the exact reason.      They drop off what\nthey have at dusk. Martin bites his tongue as one of the doctors give Trevor a\nhard time for not finding what they need. The coyotetaur wants to encourage his\nfriend to quit and tell the staff they can find their own crap, but knows it's\none thing the human would never do. He doubts the doctors even pay Trevor a\ndamn thing. Martin leads his friend out of the building. He's hurt, but he'll\nnever admit to it.      Martin leads his\nfriend into his room, shows him where to sit and hands him a book. Trevor's\nmore than ready to read a short story. The coyotetaur lies beside the human and\nhelps him whenever he needs it. He tells Trevor he's came a long way, and\nmentions it's only a matter of time until they move onto something more\ndifficult. The coyotetaur hands the human a piece of plywood and charcoal, and\nasks them to write their names. He twitches his ears. His dad must be home.\nMartin tells Trevor to stay put and leaves.      \"You're home kind of\nlate, pa.\"      \"I realize that. Mr.\nGrey had us stay late so we could butcher a couple of cows. Mr. Durant needs\nthe meat to sale. I also suggest you and Trevor go on another hunting trip, and\nsoon. Is he here?\"      \"Yep. He's in my\nroom. He's come a long way.\"      \"And it shows at\nwork. He's doing a bit more, which is good.\"      \"I'd hope so,\" Martin\nsaid. \"Where's ma?\"      \"She has to stay\nlate. I guess a small number of employees quit and left town. Can't say I blame\nthem,\" Zues said. \"How was your day?\"      \"Not bad. The only\nthing that ruined it was when one of the doctors gave Trev a hard time for not\nfinding what they need.\"      \"You boys may not\nfind everything they need, not with how dry it is. They should realize that by\nnow. How'd he handle it?\"      \"It's hard to say,\"\nMartin looks towards his bedroom. \"He never admits to anything. With him nearly\ncrying when he told ma about those books is the closest I've seen him cry.\"      \"I've noticed. Why\ndon't you send him home so we can make dinner? It should be done by the time\nyour mom arrives.\"      \"Yes, pa.\"      Martin steps into his\nroom, and informs Trevor his lessons will resume at another day. The coyotetaur\nstudies what his friend written. The spelling and handwriting is far from\nperfect, but that too should improve with more practice. Martin closes the\nfront door once his friend leaves and joins his father in the kitchen.      \"Is there more, pa?\"\nMartin grabs three pans.      \"Yes, and I didn't\nwant Trevor to overhear. It's why I had him leave,\" Zues places three pieces of\nvenison on a plate. \"Now you know I never had much love for his kind.\"      \"I'm aware.\"      \"Don't interrupt me,\nplease,\" Zues brushes sauce on the meat. \"I still don't have much love for\nTrevor, but I've grown some respect for him. He's a hard worker, and I have yet\nto hear him complain. It's one reason why I feel Mr. Watson should tell him the\nbad news, and not have him hear it from me. He deserves that much.\"      \"Is he?\"      \"Being let go? Not\nyet, but his days are about to be cut. Mr. Watson wants him, and to some extent\nyou, to go on more hunting trips. The store needs more meat.\"      \"But how are we to\npay for it, pa? The clinic doesn't pay Trev, and I only receive ten dinars if\nI'm lucky. That isn't enough for what we need, and I doubt he'll make a deal.\"      \"It's something we'll\nfigure out, and I'm sure it'll be brought up at the next meeting. I don't\nexpect him to allow humans to be in his store when our kind are still looking\naround.\"      \"Thanks, but don't\nbother pa. You know Mr. Durant won't agree to it,\" Martin said. \"I know I\nshouldn't worry, but what is the human population to do?\"      \"I don't know, but\nI'm sure Mr. Watson will say something.\"      \"Pa, I have to ask:\nWhy do our kind treat humans so bad?\"      \"I can't answer that,\nI'm afraid, but things are slowly changing. I noticed more of our kind spending\nmore time together with them. Look how often your friends play games with\nTrevor and his friends.\"      \"It's too bad they\nall left, pa.\"      \"You're right, I'm\nsorry.\"      \"Did it upset you\nwhen I became friends with Trevor?\"      \"I'll be honest, it did\nat first, but me and your mother grew use to it. There's worse things you can\ndo,\" Zues shakes his head. \"You can blame your granddad for my dislike towards\nhumans.\"      \"So why not change,\npa? He's no longer around.\"      \"You should know the\nanswer to that. I'm stubborn. Plus I'm afraid of what'll happen to us if we\nchange our opinion. Do I wish things were better? Yes, but I'm in no hurry to\nask for change. I'm sure there are humans who have it worse elsewhere.\"      \"Things can't get any\nworse here,\" Martin said. \"Will Trev have to work tomorrow? I'd like to discuss\nwhere we should go and when.\"      \"That's up to him,\nbut I don't expect him to leave early. He never has,\" Zues places the venison\ninto the pans and puts them in the oven. \"I suppose we don't have any bread?\"      \"No we don't.\"      \"Here. Head to the\nstore and buy a loaf of bread, and some cheese as well,\" Zues hands Martin a\ntwenty dinar. \"Your mom should be back by the time you return.\"      Martin ties a coin\npurse around his diaphragm and leaves. Hearing his dad express his opinions\nregarding the human population is nothing, and he's not upset over his honesty.\nAt least he admits to having some respect for Trevor. The coyotetaur sniffs the\nair and studies the sky. It looks like rain. Martin enters the general store\nand holds his breath as Mr. Durant glares at him.      \"So nice of your ass\nof upliftin' your part of the deal,\" the wolftaur said.      \"Look, Trevor and I\nhad no idea, okay? So drop it already,\" Martin said. \"You'll get everything we\nkill on our next trip.\"      \"I had better, or I\nmay pay a certain bastard a visit.\"      \"You know the law,\nMr. Durant. Is going to prison worth it?\"      \"Worthless law if you\nask me. Damn, good for nothin' humans don't deserve protection.\"      \"You done? I'm only\nhere to buy stuff, not hear your crap.\"      \"You'd say that,\nfurless lover. Be grateful I don't give the likes of you the same damned\ntreatment.\"      \"And be happy there\nisn't another store.\"      Mr. Durant holds back\na growl. \"Pay for what you need and get out. What you need?\"      \"A loaf of bread and\ncheese.\"      \"Here,\" Mr. Durant\nplaces the items in a small sack. \"Fifteen dinars.\"      \"Include these,\"\nMartin places a couple of apples and three bananas in the box.      \"Twenty even. Lemme\nguess, them for the bastard?\"      \"None of your damned\nbusiness,\" the coyotetaur tosses the coin on the counter and grabs his things.      Martin leaves the\nstore in disgust. Mr. Durant has always been nasty towards him, but today he\nwas downright awful. The coyotetaur looks over his shoulder, and spots the\nsheriff strolling down a side road. He sprints up to the animaltaur and informs\nhim the threat Mr. Durant made. The sheriff promises to keep a close eye on the\nwolftaur, but can't arrest him until he does something illegal. Martin returns\nhome just as it's about to rain, and sees his mom checking on dinner.      \"You and your father\ndone an excellent job, thanks honey.\"      \"Don't mention it,\nma,\" Martin sets the box on the table. \"I bought more than what pa wanted.\"      \"That's fine,\nsweetie. He's out back setting up the tub. Catch all the rain we can,\" Martha\nsaid. \"Something the matter?\"      \"It's Mr. Durant.\nHe's always said something mean regarding me and Trevor, but today he was\nworse. He even made a threat.\"      \"Not much I can say\nbut ignore his words.\"      \"I know ma, but\nthere's times I just want to drive him out of the store,\" Martin said. \"I did\ninform one of the sheriffs, however.\"      \"That's good, honey.\"      Martin's dad sprints\ninto the house and looks outside. \"It's coming down all right. Hope it lasts.\"      \"Shame we don't have\nadditional pans. We could use the extra water,\" Martha said.      \"That we can,\" Zues\nlooks at his son and holds out his hand. \"Well?\"      \"I, uh, I bought a\ncouple of other things.\"      \"That's fine.\"      \"Pa, what'll it take\nto kick Mr. Durant out of the store?\"      \"A lot. Why?\"      \"You know why, pa.\"      \"You're right, I do,\"\nZues said. \"Not much we can do, honestly. Too many of our kind has the same way\nof thinking as him. Tell me what he said this time around.\"      Martin explains the\nconversation, and notices his father's expression darken.      \"I'll bring all of\nthat up at our next town meeting. Threatening somebody, even if they are lesser\nthan us, should be a crime,\" Mr. Patton said. \"And he shouldn't have the right\nto talk down somebody because of who they're friends with.\"      \"I did tell him he\nshould be happy there isn't another store.\"      \"And he should, or he\nwouldn't be in business.\"      A flash of lightning\nand a loud clap of thunder cause everybody to look outside.      \"Knowing one thing,\nwe're done being outside for the day,\" Zues stands at the window. \"The wind is\nstarting to pick up.\"      Martin bites his\nlower lip.      \"Don't worry about a\nthing, dear,\" Martha kisses her son on the cheek. \"I'm sure Trevor's house will\nbe fine.\"      \"It's not just his\nhouse I'm worried about.\"      \"You can head over to\nthat side of Cauldron tomorrow morning. The weather's too intense to do\nanything now,\" Zues sits at the table. \"Let's see how well we cooked tonight's\nmeal.\"       Martin stares out his\nwindow. What a difference. Last night things were blustery, and now the skies\nare clear. There's a good amount of debris in the road and on houses, but no\ndown trees that he can see from his room. The coyotetaur stands and stretches\nhis legs. The wind kept him awake for most of the night. Martin sniffs the air.\nIt seems his mom decided to make pancakes. The coyotetaur shrugs and leaves his\nbedroom. It wouldn't hurt to clean around the house before breakfast.      The coyotetaur places\nthe last of the branches in a pile, and checks the tub. There's a quite bit of\npine needles and leaves in the water, but nothing serious, although it'll take\nthem a while to get everything out. A chore he'll work on after breakfast.\nMartin washes up and sits at the table. Shame Trevor isn't present. They can\nhave him check and repair the roof. The coyotetaur explains to his dad his\nplans, and nods when he tells him don't bother. What's in the tub might be\ndrinkable, but isn't worth the work.      Martin surveys the\ndamage as he strolls through the village. A couple of houses are missing\nshingles, but other than that nothing serious. Martin heads to where the humans\nlive, and finds Trevor on top of his roof.      \"Fancy seeing you up\nthere. Thought you'd be at the farm by now.\"      \"I was there long\nenough to tell Mr. Watson I have to replace my roof. This alone will take all\nday,\" Trevor looks at Martin. \"Do you have a saw and/or ax with you?\"      \"I knew I forgot a\ncouple of things. Why?\"      \"Look in the back and\nyou'll see.\"      Martin walks to the\nother side of Trevor's house and freezes. The top of a large tree rests a\ncouple of feet away from the building.      \"Don't worry. If it\nhad hit, it would've been quick,\" the human takes off a shingle and tosses to\nthe ground. \"Mr. Watson will send his workers here to help take care of it.\"      \"I'm happy it did\nmiss. Did it hit anybody else's?\" Martin asks      \"One. Thankfully the\nfamily who lived there already left. You'll see what's left if you walk hundred\nor so steps down the tree.\"      \"I'll take your word\nfor it. You know if anything else has damage? How does the inside of yours\nlook?\"      \"There's a good\namount of repair work to be done, if that answers the first question. Nothing\nserious. Mainly just have to replace roves,\" Trevor tosses another shingle to\nthe ground. \"As for the second, not so good. The mats has to be replaced, our\ncupboard is soaked and may have to be replaced. I'm not sure how long it'll\ntake for the ground to dry.\"      \"Has Mr. Watson been\ndown?\"      \"Not yet, but he may\nhave a small number of us sleep in his barn.\"      \"I'm certain he\nwill,\" Martin looks around. \"I'm just happy we didn't have any casualties.\"      \"Don't say anything\nyet. I haven't seen everybody yet. By the way, thanks for coming down.\"      \"Don't mention it.\nListen, I'll be back. I'm going to grab our cart and a couple of tools.\"      Martin runs back to\nhis house, and finds his parents dumping water from the tub.      \"I thought you'd be\nat work by now, ma.\"      \"I'm off for the day.\nA branch fell on the hotel. Nothing big, but it'll take a day or so to make\nrepairs,\" Martha looks at her son. \"So how's it like it over there?\"      \"Trev got lucky. A\ntree came close of falling on his house.\"      \"Oh, my.\"      \"Is that the only\nreason why you ran back here?\" Zues covers the tub.      \"Yeah it is. I'm\ngoing to help chop it up. Trev says those who work at the farm will be there by\nnoon, maybe sooner.\"      \"You know where the\ntools are, and you know to put them back when you're done.\"      \"Yes, pa,\" Martin\nlooks at his mom. \"You know if the hotel has any old mats and cupboards? Trev\nand his ma might need them.\"      \"No I don't, honey,\nbut I can go ask. What was he doing when you left?\"      \"Repairing the roof,\nand he already told Mr. Watson it'll take him all day.\"      \"It might be longer.\nOthers may need his assistance,\" Zues said. \"I presume Mr. Watson didn't tell\nTrevor the bad news?\"      \"If he did, Trev didn't\ntell me,\" Martin places a saw and an ax into the cart. \"How much firewood you\nwant me to bring back?\"      \"Not a lot,\" Zues\nscratches his chin. \"I'll come with.\"      \"Thanks, pa.\"      \"I'll head to the\nhotel and see what they have,\" Martha said. \"How long will you boys be gone?\"      \"This shouldn't take\nlong if the entire village pitches in,\" Mr. Patton kisses his wife. \"See you\nlater in the day.\"      Martin and Zues make\nit to the down tree just in time to see Mr. Watson and a few others arrive.      \"Slow day at the farm,\nMr. Watson?\" Martin asks.      \"No more than usual,\"\nthe wolftaur studies the tree. \"This came too close.\"      \"You're telling me,\"\nMartin looks around. \"Where's Trev?\"      \"I'm here. I was\nputting away the shingles Willson brought,\" the human walks out of his house.\n\"It'll be a while before I put them up, though. Give everything a chance to\ndry.\"      \"What about your\nmats? Think you still need new ones?\" Zues asks.      \"Yes, sir, but the\ncupboard still looks to be in decent condition.\"      \"You know you and\nyour mother are welcome to stay at the barn,\" Mr. Watson said. \"Trevor, there's\nsomething else I need to tell you. With the extra duties you have, I've decided\nto cut your days. You're only needed for a couple of days.\"      \"I was hoping you'd\nsay that, sir. I know there's a strong chance I'll-\"      \"We'll,\" Martin said.      \"We'll have to travel\nmore in order to find game.\"      \"As I'm aware, and\nI'll be sure to prevent Mr. Durant from hoarding everything from you and the\nother humans. It's one thing I plan to bring up at the next town meeting,\" Mr.\nWatson said.      \"When is it, sir?\"\nTrevor asks.      \"Three days from now\nproviding the storm hasn't damaged town hall too badly,\" Zues said.      \"It hasn't,\" a\ncougartaur said, \"it still be on.\"      \"Well, there you go.\nAny reason why?\" Zues looks at Trevor.      \"I'd like to attend,\nsir.\"      \"I've been to one,\nTrev,\" Martin said. \"Those things are boring.\"      \"I don't care. I want\nto attend.\"      \"It wouldn't hurt. He\nhas the right to know what's going on,\" Mr. Watson looks at the tree. \"Well,\nlet's get to it. This tree won't cut itself.\"      Martin hands his dad\nthe saw, pulls out the ax and looks around. Only twenty residents are present;\nnine animaltaurs and eleven humans. Chopping up the tree may take longer than\nwhat his dad expected. The coyotetaur helps Trevor and a couple of others\nremove the branches, and watches a small number of humans put them into a pile.\nBy noon they're busy putting logs into carts and hauling them to the farm. Mr.\nWatson will have the rest of his staff chop everything into smaller pieces\ntomorrow afternoon.      Martin stretches his\nupper back and shoulders, and asks Trevor to massage them. Tonight he'll stay\nin the barn with his friend. The human finished repairing his house shortly\nbefore dusk, and has plans to help wherever he can the next couple of days. Trevor\nand his mom will receive a couple of old mats and additional blankets from Mr.\nWatson once they're able to return home. Things in Cauldron should return to\nnormal two to three days from now. Martin lies down and wags his tail as Trevor\nlies beside him. Just like old times.***      Every settlement has\na group of leaders that create laws and take care of other issues. Villages\nwith a population of less than two thousand usually have one mayor, a deputy\nmayor, a couple of judges and several sheriffs. Larger towns have two mayors.\nThe second mayor gives the residents an extra person to turn to whenever things\nbecome hectic. Every year all of the mayors are to meet at the capital of\nBantam, and give a report to the government regarding the progress they've made\nin the town they run. The governor has the power to throw a mayor out of office\nif he, or she, thinks they're not doing a proper job.      There has only been\none human judge in Cauldron's two hundred fifty year history, and he only\nlasted one term. Since then the animaltaurs have made it clear the village\nbelongs to them. Two hundred years later and close to a third of the population\nstill think like their parents and grandparents. The current mayor and deputy\nmayor have shown interest in wanting to improve things for humans, but they've\nbeen slow to act on their promises.      Trevor looks around\nas he follows Martin and his parents into town hall. He's been by the building\nmultiple times, but never inside. He always thoughts humans weren't allowed to\nattend meetings until Mr. Watson told him otherwise. There appears to be over\ntwo hundred residents in attendance. Some smile and either wave and/or wag\ntheir tails when they see him, but others ignore him and/or fix their eyes on\nhim. Trevor nods when Mr. Patton tells him to sit on Martin's back. The\ncoyotetaurs claim a spot close to the front and sit. The human wraps his arms\naround his friend's chest, and tightens his legs so he doesn't slide off.      It takes over a half\nhour for everybody to situate themselves. An official opens the windows and\ndecides to keep the doors open. The more air they receive the better. Everybody\nstands when the mayor, a tigertaur named Mr. Hudson, the deputy mayor, a spotted\nhyenataur named Mrs. Dew, and two judges, a liontaur named Mr. Dura and a wolftaur\nnamed Mr. Lowell, take their spot. They all notice Trevor's presence, but only\nMrs. Dew acknowledges him.      For the first half\nhour they discuss the dangers some trees pose to the village. Majority of the\nresidents agree close to three dozen trees should be removed out of fear they\ncould fall on several houses, but a small number insists they help keep\nCauldron cool. In the end they agree to cut down twenty trees. Mr. Hudson and\nMrs. Dew will mark which ones to remove tomorrow afternoon. The next order of\nbusiness: water restrictions. Mr. Durant starts things off.\"I propose we increase the\nrestrictions of water on those who don't need it the most,\" Mr. Durant points\naggressively towards Trevor. \"Put it simply: our kind needs comes before his.\"\"That's a rather bold statement to\nmake, Mr. Durant,\" Mrs. Dew writes some notes. \"Care to explain why you feel\nthat way?\"\"As I've already said: we're the\nsuperior species. Plus we needs more water than they do. In all honesty, I'm\nsurprised we haven't rid Cauldron of those... pests,\" Mr. Durant glares at\nTrevor. \"Especially those who ignore deals that was made.\"\"May I say something regarding what\nMr. Durant said, Mayor Hudson?\" Mr. Watson raises his hand.\"He's done speaking, so yes,\" the\nmayor said.\"Mr. Durant, do I have to remind\nyou that them pests, as you call them, are vital to Cauldron? Who do you think\npicks the produce you sell? The meat? Sure, our kind helps in that area, but\nmost of the hard work fell onto humans,\" Mr. Watson said. \"Also, if we rid\nCauldron of all humans, who will we get to work the fulleries?\"\"We're well aware of other methods\nof washing towels and sheets, Mr. Watson,\" Mr. Dura said.\"Then what's stopping us from\nswitching over? The conditions humans work in are disgusting.\"\"They have no room to complain,\"\nMr. Durant smirks. \"If it weren't for their bosses, they wouldn't have a shack\nto live in. They also don't have a voice-\"\"Then I'll be their voice. Besides,\nI would give them a house on my land, and not degrade them like they are.\nThey're hard workers, and they deserve better treatment,\" Mr. Watson points at\nTrevor. \"Take Trevor for example. Out of all the humans that worked on my farm,\nhe worked the hardest. He even worked harder than some of our own.\"      \"It's a pity he can't\nread and write,\" Mr. Durant said heartily.      \"That's not his\nfault, and you know it. The blame falls onto those who decided to take their\nschool and then refused to teach them.\"      \"Are you insinuating\nwe're to blame, Mr. Watson?\" Mr. Lowell asks.      \"Those who sat in\nthose spots prior to who's there now, yes,\" Mr. Watson looks at the judge.\n\"Although to be fair, your honor, you could do more to make sure everybody receives\na proper education.\"      \"Who in god's name\nshould have to waste their time teachin' those fools?\" Mr. Durant points at\nTrevor.      \"It's their job to\nteach, and they should be required to do so, animaltaur and/or human,\" Mrs. Dew\nsaid loudly. \"I propose we hire teachers that don't have a problem teaching\nhumans how to read, starting next school year.\"      \"But who would bother\nwastin' their time teachin' them?\" Mr. Durant asks.      \"I would,\" Martin\nsaid.      \"Pardon?\" Mr. Dura\nlooks at Martin. \"You've got words to speak?\"      \"I said I would teach\nthem if I could.\"      \"Of course you would,\nfurless lover,\" Mr. Durant said.      \"Your petty insults end\nnow, Mr. Durant,\" Mrs. Dew fixes her eyes on the wolftaur. \"Anymore insults from\nyou and you'll be asked to leave. And let this be a warning to the rest of you.\"      \"Yes, ma'am.\"      \"Good,\" the deputy\nmayor looks at Martin. \"It's nice of you to offer, but we'll have to find\nsomebody who's more qualified.\"      \"I'm aware, ma'am.\"      \"Current teachers\nwill be given two options: teach humans and keep their jobs, or refuse to do so\nand lose their job,\" Mr. Lowell said. \"Humans deserve to have a proper\neducation, and it is required in Bantam everybody has one.\"      \"What about those who\nare no longer fifteen?\" Mr. Watson asks.      \"It'll be put into consideration,\nbut right now we ought to return to the original topic,\" Mr. Hudson said.\n\"What's your take on Durant's proposed water restrictions, Watson?\"      \"I think it's preposterous,\"\nthe wolftaur shakes his head. \"Humans need as much water as we do, and shouldn't\nhave to deal with stricter restrictions.\"      \"And you know I think\nthose beings don't need as much,\" Mr. Durant said.      \"We are all well\naware of what you said,\" Mrs. Dew said.      \"The restrictions on\nwater doesn't change. Mr. Durant has a point when he says humans don't need as\nmuch, but Watson has a point when he says they're vital to our village.\nHowever, they're to only get water from their well,\" Mr. Hudson looks at\nTrevor. \"Don't think I didn't spot you take water from our well.\"      \"He was filling a tub\nfor my bath, Mr. Hudson. Be mad at me,\" Zues said.      \"I see. Then I take\nback what I said,\" the tigertaur said. \"What's our next proposal?\"      \"With the storm we\nhad recently, and the recent vacant houses, I suggest we allow them to move\nin,\" Mr. Watson nods his head towards Trevor.      \"No. No way I'm\nlivin' next to such filthy beings,\" Mr. Durant said, \"Humans can stay where\nthey belong. Besides, what if those who left come back?\"      \"Durant has a strong\npoint, Watson,\" Mr. Hudson said. \"Humans are to stay where they're at, but\nwe'll do our best to give them supplies for repairs and other things for\nwarmth.\"      \"And they will\nreceive such supplies,\" Mrs. Dew said.      \"Shouldn't ours have\ntop priorities?\" Mr. Durant asks.      \"Top priority of\nwhat? Repairs are done, Mr. Durant, and most of the work was done thanks to the\none you despise the most,\" Mr. Dura nods his head towards Trevor. \"It's high\ntime we do them a favor and make improvements to their homes.\"      \"Wasteful. Shouldn't\nthat-\"      \"Enough!\" Mrs. Dew\npoints to the door. \"You're dismissed, Mr. Durant. Leave now or we'll throw you\nout, or worse. I've heard enough.\"      Mr. Durant flattens\nhis ears and heads towards the door. He watches Trevor from the corner of his\neye and holds backs a growl as he exits the building.      Things returns to\nnormal and the residents discuss the issue of segregation. The mayor comes to\nseveral conclusions. Humans no longer have to sit outside, but they still have\nto sit in their own section and are to give up their table if there isn't\nenough room for animaltaurs. Mrs. Dew adds she'll inform Mr. Durant he's to\nallow humans to shop at all times or he'll lose ownership. The deputy mayor\ntakes a deep breath, and apologizes to Trevor for taking so long to make\ncertain changes. The meeting comes to an end.      Martin strolls out of\ntown hall with Trevor still on his back, and informs his dad they're going into\nthe woods. There are a lot of things he wants to say to his friend, and knows\nit'll be best if they're alone. The coyotetaur enters the outskirts of the\nforest and wags his tail. It's been too damn long since they had the time to do\nthis sort of thing. Martin looks over his shoulder.      \"What do you think of\nthe changes, Trev?\"      \"I'm doubtful they'll\nlast,\" Trevor shakes his head. \"As for school, it's a little too late. I'm the\nyoungest one here. All the others left with their parents.\"      \"You know I'll still\ntutor you,\" Martin said. \"Why do you think the changes won't last?\"      \"Those who are left\nare likely to replace the current mayor and deputy mayor, and they'll put the\nrules back to how they were, or worse.\"      \"I hope you're wrong,\nTrev.\"      \"I hope so too.\"      \"Do you think Mr.\nDurant will allow you in his store?\"      \"He might, but it\ndoesn't mean I have to. I get what I need from Mr. Watson.\"      \"Lucky you,\" Martin\nsaid. \"Listen, Trev, if things don't improve around here, would you be\ninterested in leaving with me?\"      \"I thought about that\never since we came back from our trip, and I'm ready to leave now. Only thing\nthat's stopping me is my mom. Who's going to take care of her?\"      \"You know Mr. Watson\nwill. He may even allow her to stay on his farm.\"      \"I know, but I'm also\nscared to ask. He's already done plenty for us.\"      \"Just explain what's\ngoing on, Trev. You know he's good at listening,\" the coyotetaur said. \"Plus he\nhas a lot of respect for you.\"      \"I'm aware.\"      Martin nods, \"Well?\"      \"I don't know. How\nlong do I have?\"      \"As long as you need.\nHey, do me a favor. While you're back there, see if you can pull off some loose\nclumps of fur.\"      \"That can wait until\nlater. I'd rather use a brush.\"      \"That'll work,\"\nMartin stretches his arms. \"When do you want to leave for our next hunting\ntrip, Trev?\"      \"Three days from now,\nand this time we kill whatever we come across.\"      \"No, Trev. We kill\nwhat we need. I don't want to burden myself on the trip back. Do we drop off\nour catch at Mr. Durant's store or take it to Mr. Watson's farm?\"      \"Mr. Watson. We have\nto prepare it for Mr. Durant. I don't want to, but I have no choice.\"      \"I hear ya, Trev.\nWhat about the clinic?\"      \"I'm to drop off what\nI collect at the front desk and leave,\" Trevor shakes his head. \"That's the\nmain reason why I want to leave. Sorry for saying this, but I want to go\nsomewhere that will appreciate my hard work.\"      \"Don't be apologetic\nfor talking about yourself, and I don't blame you,\" Martin licks his lips.\n\"Hang on, I feel like running.\"      Trevor grabs the\ncoyotetaur's diaphragm and tightens his legs. Riding on Martin's back has\nalways been his favorite thing to do. He loves having the wind rush across his\nface and through his hair. The young man tightens his grip the faster the\ncoyotetaur runs. Martin must have a lot of pent up energy he wants to burn off.\nShame the wind couldn't be a couple of degrees cooler.      They return by dusk,\nand head straight to Martin's house. The human walks into the backyard and\nwaits for his friend to bring him a brush. Trevor examines a couple of bruises\non his arms. They had a couple of good frolics after the coyotetaur's run. The\nhuman won the first match, but lost the second and had no choice but to\npleasure the coyotetaur. Martin hands him a brush and lies down. Trevor removes\na good amount of loose fur, and does the same thing for Mr. and Mrs. Patton.\nThe human places what he can in a couple of sacks, asks Mr. Patton to keep him\ninform on when the next meeting will be and leaves.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/636022-chapter-3.json"}