{"sf1_id":752008,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Chapter 7 part A","author":"Aeturnus","words":4248,"posted_at":"2014-09-02T22:11:00.000Z","tags":["Coyotetaur","Drama","Fantasy","Foxtaur","Human","tigertaur"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/752008-chapter-7-part-a","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/752008","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=752008\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Mr. Hudson and Mrs. Dew lose the election, and on the following\nday a liontaur and cheetahtaur are sworn in as the new mayor and deputy mayor.\nThe felinetaurs promise to return things to how they were, and they fulfill it\nin less than a week. The remaining humans are to eat their meals outside,\ndoctors and law enforcements no longer have to offer them their service, and\nteachers don't have to educate non-animaltaurs. A couple of doctors and the\nsheriff mention they'll continue to treat everybody the same regardless of the laws.\nMr. Durant has permission to do what he wants, and uses his new freedom to\ncharge furless lovers at least five extra dinars. A small number of animaltaurs\ndon't like the direction the mayor and deputy mayor is taking Cauldron.      Close to a hundred\nresidents left a month after the liontaur and cheetahtaur took office. As of\nnow the population stands at around five hundred. There are ten humans left.\nThe lack of employees and costumers forced several businesses to cut their\nhours, lay off a portion of their staff and/or close their store. Those who\nremain doubt the new mayor an deputy mayor have what it takes to save Cauldron,\nand some even regret voting for them.      Mr. Watson and Mr.\nGrey continue to provide what they can for the remaining humans. They have\npermission to keep a third of the meat that's brought in, which they give an\neighth to the humans. The extra hands are all temporary, and it'll stay that\nway until things improve. Both caninetaurs agree to try and wait another year\nbefore leaving, and they plan to bring the remaining humans with.      Martin stares out the\nwindow. Winter is almost over, and he has yet to hear from his dad. The\ncoyotetaur isn't sure how long he can wait. It's been a long time since his mom\nhad a full week at work, and things are dead when it comes to hunting. Nobody\ncan remember the last time hunters returned with anything worthwhile, and finding\nwhat the hospital needs is even worse. The coyotetaur hasn't had the urge to do\nanything since his dad left, and that includes tutoring Trevor. He doubts the\nhuman remembers much.      Martin sets the\ntable. Today his mom used some money she puts away for emergencies to purchase\nfood, and tonight they're about to have a decent meal after two days of hardly\nanything. The coyotetaur wants to say something about not waiting anymore, but\nknows his mom would never leave. Believing her husband will return is all she\nhas to look forward too. Martin studies frost forming around the windows. This\ncould be the last cold snap they witness in Cauldron. The coyotetaur holds back\na growl when somebody knocks on the door. He does his best to ignore it, but\nthe person never leaves. Martin opens it and finds Trevor holding a coin purse.      \"Trev, can't this\nwait? Me and ma are about to eat.\"      \"I promise this won't\nlast long.\"      \"Very well,\" Martin\nopens the door. \"Come in.\"      \"Thanks,\" the human\nlooks at his friend. \"When will you be ready to leave?\"      \"I can't say, Trev.\nI've never really thought about it much. Not with it being just me and ma.\nWhy?\"      \"I'm ready to go now.\nMy mom's at the farm, and Mr. Watson said she can stay there.\"      \"I see.\"      \"And if you want to\nstay, I understand. Just let me know so I don't have to stay.\"      \"Now hold on Trev.\nThis is all sudden. I have to tell my ma and make sure she'll be fine on her\nown. You know things are tough for us all. How long are you willing to wait?\"      \"Tomorrow morning. I\njust can't stay here anymore.\"      \"I'll give you my\nanswer tonight. Where can I find you?\"      \"At my house. Here,\"\nTrevor holds up the small leather pouch. \"I found this while I was going\nthrough my things, and thought you and your mom can use it. I've got no use for\nit.\"      \"Thanks,\" Martin accepts\nthe gift. \"You got anything to eat?\"      \"I'm fine. You need\nto spend some time alone with your mom. Sorry-\"      \"Don't worry about\nit, Trev, and I'll see you later tonight.\"      Martin closes the\ndoor and sees his mom standing in the entrance to the kitchen.      \"How much did you\noverhear, ma?\"      \"Enough. I won't be\nupset if you and Trevor leave, honey, and don't you worry about me. I'll be\nfine.\"      \"But I can't just\nleave you, ma. Not when we're unsure of when pa will return.\"      \"The last night we\nwere together we talked about that. I promised not to hold you back, and I'm\nkeeping it. It was only a matter of time before you were to leave.\"      \"How are we to find\neach other, ma?\"      \"I'm sure there's\nways, dear. I doubt your father gone far. Trevor should remember which\ndirection he went,\" Martha hugs her son. \"Go. Things won't get any better here\nfor you or for him.\"      \"Yes, ma,\" Martin\nreturns the hug.      \"Now, what's that\nthere Trevor gave you?\"      \"Dinars. Here-\"      \"You need it,\" Mrs.\nPatton throws up her hands. \"You'll need it more than I.\"      Martin nods, dumps\nthe coins on the table and counts a total of forty-eight dinars. He places\neverything back in the purse and sets it on a shelf in his room. Those will\nbecome useful when they come across a town.      \"Martin, honey, go\nget Trevor. I want our last meal together to be pleasant, and I want him\npresent.\"      \"Yes, ma.\"      Martin returns with\nhis friend in time to see his mom place two pans of roast beef on the counter.\nThe coyotetaur puts a chair by the table, and helps his mom dish everything up.\nHe watches Trevor from the corner of his eye. There's something on his mind,\nand chances are it has to deal with his mom. Martin will ask what's wrong next\ntime it's on his mind. The coyotetaur hands the human a plate and grabs his\nown. They discuss how far they should travel each day and what they should\nbring. Martin promises his mom he'll write to her when he finds his dad, or until\nhe knows for sure they're in the same town.       Martin ties a coin\npurse around his neck, places a couple of things into a knapsack and looks\naround. He decides to leave his rifle behind. The last thing he wants to do is\nlose it, or worse, have somebody steal it. Trevor has his knives if they need\nto protect themselves from anything. The coyotetaur sits at the table and\ncloses his watery eyes. He wants to take his time, but knows it'll become\nharder to leave the longer he thinks about it. Martin sniffs the air. He'll\nmiss his mother's banana-nut pancakes. The coyotetaur wants to tell Trevor he's\non his own, but he too is more than ready to leave. Cauldron's history.      Mr. Durant, a doctor\nand a couple of nurses are the only residents to demand to know where they're\ngoing. Martin agrees with Trevor's answer. They don't have to explain anything\nto anybody other than family and friends. The animaltaurs do their best to\norder Trevor to stay put, but nothing they say has an effect. Martin knows the\nconfrontation would've gone on if the sheriff didn't order everybody to leave\nthem alone.      Martin follows Trevor\nin the direction his dad went. The coyotetaur looks over his shoulder. He'll\nmiss spending time at the farm and hanging out in the woods, but not the\nsegregation and the crap some of the residents gave him for being friends with\nhumans. Martin suggests they stop at every village they come across and asks\naround. The young man adds it wouldn't hurt to stay the night if possible.      Martin reads\n'Acheron' on a sign. The coyotetaur remembers visiting the village a couple of\nyears ago with his dad to see how he handles business. The place is bigger and\ncompletely different than Cauldron. For one Acheron doesn't have segregation.\nIt'll be interesting to see how Trevor reacts to a place that isn't like what\nhe grew up in. Martin studies what his friend has on and chews on his tongue.\nHe would purchase Trevor some new clothes if he had the dinars to spend.      The coyotetaur points\nout the lumber mill and several other places that build furniture, boxes and\nadds Cauldron receives all of their carts from Acheron along with the amount of\nbusiness the villages gave each other. The coyotetaur looks around. It's been\nclose to two years since his last visit, and he can see Acheron isn't doing\nwell. Martin wishes Trevor saw the village when things were vibrant. He's\nunsure of how long they'll stay. It's barely past noon.      He places his foreleg\nin front of Trevor, points at a liontaur standing in the middle of an\nintersection and explains it's his job to direct traffic. It's one thing Martin\nwishes Cauldron had. The liontaur gives them permission to cross. The\ncoyotetaur leads his friend towards the general goods store and pushes him\ninside. He senses Trevor tensing up. Martin spots a pure white foxtaur behind\nthe counter and remembers her as Miss Bates.      \"Excuse me, ma'am,\nbut you got a map we can look over?\"      Miss Bates looks up\nand wags her tail. \"Oh my lord, Martin. It's a good to see ya again.\"      \"Likewise, Miss\nBates, and this here is Trevor.\"      \"Ya don't need ta\nexplain. I's a know what Cauldron's like and his kind they treat. He'll come\naround, but it's nice ta meet ya,\" the foxtaur smiles at Trevor. \"Ya welcomed\nin my store at all times I'm open.\"      \"A quick heads up, he\ntends not to talk when he's nervous, but he's polite once he overcomes it.\"      \"It's a all right.\nHow's ya mum, Martin?\"      \"My ma is doing fine,\nconsidering.\"      \"No need ta explain.\nBoth villages is in the pits. Acheron's population is less then ten hundred.\"      \"It's more than\nCauldron. It's shy being over five hundred.\"      \"I's aware,\" Miss\nBates nods. \"Is ya here on business or personal?\"      \"Personal. We've actually\nleft our home not too long ago.\"      \"I's a see. Things\nare a bit better here, but not a whole lot. Ya say ya want a map? Didn't ya use\none before ya left?\"      \"Sadly, no. Those who\nmight've had one either left, or used it for something else. All I know is my\npa went in this direction, or it's what he says,\" Martin points his thumb at\nTrevor. \"Have you seen my pa?\"      \"He'd stop by just so\nya know, but it was long ago. Ya have ta stop at the motel ta ask about. Ya\nmight ask there.\"      \"I will. Thanks.\"      \"Anything ya want\nwhile ya here?\"      \"Afraid not. We have\nto save what we have.\"      Trevor tugs on Martin's\nfur. \"We can work it off.\"      \"I've told you not to\ndo that,\" the coyotetaur lightly shoves his friend.\"      \"I's a afraid I's a\ngot nothing for ya ta do, but ask one of the mills or a resident. They may have\nneeds for ya for a day or two. Come by when ya ready ta leave and I'll give ya\nwhat ya need.\"      \"We'll take you up on\nthat offer, thanks. It was nice to see you again Miss Bates.\"      \"It's a nice to see\nya as well, Martin, and ya friend.\"      Martin exits the\nstore and sees Trevor is right behind him. The coyotetaur doubts he has to\nworry about his friend wondering off in an unfamiliar location, but it doesn't\nhurt to keep a close eye on him. He strolls down the road and spots the motel\non the other side of an intersection.      \"Martin, what's a\nmap?\"      \"So you can talk. I\nwish you would've said something back at the store. Miss Bates is nothing like\nMr. Durant,\" Martin said heartily.      \"Don't make fun of\nme. I don't know her, or this place, like you,\" Trevor said angrily.      \"Not every place is\nlike Cauldron. I'll show you what a map looks like when I find one. It'll be\neasier that way.\"      \"Well, all right,\"\nTrevor looks around. \"I don't know how long I want to stay here.\"      \"We won't. We'll stay\nfor the night, maybe two, and leave. Give me a chance to see where we're going,\nand how far it is from here. Acheron is in the same condition as Cauldron,\"\nMartin stops at another intersection. \"Stop, Trev.\"      Trevor stands beside\nhis friend, and takes in the sights. He notices several animaltaurs and humans\nworking and eating together, and overall having a good time, but wonders if\nthat's how things truly are in Acheron. He studies a couple of roves. There's a\ngood chance somebody will try and force him to clean and fix those. Different\nvillage, same duties. The young man blinks when Martin pokes his head, and\nfollows him to the other side of the intersection. He places a hand on the\ncoyotetaur's torso.      Martin studies\nTrevor. His actions shouldn't surprise him. It's his first time being in a\nvillage that doesn't have segregation. He'll grow use to it in time. The\ncoyotetaur leads Trevor into motel and rings a bell on the front desk. A\nslightly pudgy black and white tigertaur walks out of the back office. Martin\nsenses Trevor tensing up again.      \"You lads want\nsomething from Mr. Merlin?\"      \"A couple, yes.\nFirst, how much are your rooms?\"      \"Ten dinars a night.\nMr. Merlin has one free. Want?\"      \"Uh, sure,\" Martin\nhands over a coin and accepts a key.      \"Do not misplace or\nMr. Merlin charges more,\" the tigertaur said. \"What else?\"      \"Do you happen to\nhave a map? I'd like to figure out where we should go from here.\"      \"Yes, Mr. Merlin has\na map,\" the tigertaur twitches his nose and looks at Trevor. \"Easy, lad.\"      \"Please forgive him.\nWe're from Cauldron.\"      Mr. Merlin nods.\n\"What else Mr. Merlin can do for you lads?\"      \"I'd like some\ninformation. Did a coyotetaur named Zues Patton come by?\"      \"I believe one with\nthat name did so,\" a female tigertaur steps out of the office. \"I happen to\nrecall him saying he wants to head where there's work, and that's when he said\nit's Cea when he looked at our map.\"      \"Wh... what's Cea?\"\nTrevor asks.      \"Come see, I'll show\nyou two. Follow me,\" the tigertaur opens the counter-top door. \"Feel free to\ncall me Mrs. Merlin.\"      \"Yes, ma'am.\"      \"You happen to know\nwho this Zues is?\" Mrs. Merlin unrolls a map on a table and places paperweights\non each corner.      \"I should. I'm his\nson,\" Martin pulls up a chair. \"Come here, Trev.\"      The human stands on\nthe furniture and studies the piece of paper. \"Is this a map?\"      \"Yep. It shows where\neverything's at,\" Martin points. \"Here's Cauldron and here's where we're at\nnow.\"      \"We could've this for\nour hunting trips.\"      \"I agree.\"      \"I hear you two from\nCauldron. Lemme guess, looking for work?\"      \"We are, ma'am,\"\nMartin said. \"With how nervous he is should've told you.\"      \"We all could smell\nit. It's understandable,\" Mrs. Merlin points at Cea. \"This here is where your\npop went, and I suggest this where you two go. Port towns are always busy, or\nit's what travelers say so.\"      \"Thanks,\" Martin\nstudies the distance. \"Looks like it's about two hundred miles south from here.\nMaybe slightly west. Shouldn't take long.\"      \"Salem's at the\nhalfway,\" Mrs. Merlin points. \"I suggest you stay there for a night, unless you\nwanna sleep outdoors.\"      \"We may have too. We\ndon't have a lot of money to spend.\"      \"You two stay a night\nor two, and lemme see if I can find you work for the time being. Maybe do some\naround here. Work off your charge.\"      \"That's our plan.\nListen, did my pa say anything about me and my ma?\"      \"He said to me he'll\nbe back by when he has a place and extra dinars. Couldn't wait I see?\"      \"I could've, but he\ncouldn't,\" Martin nods at Trevor. \"Things are becoming worse for his kind.\"      \"I do believe that. A\nlot of former Cauldron's population came by while heading elsewhere. You may\nfind a few even at Cea.\"      \"Now that'll be nice.\nIt'll be good to see how they're doing,\" Martin nudges Trevor. \"Right, Trev?\"      \"Depends on who.\"      \"True.\"      \"You two done your\nthing with the map?\" Mrs. Merlin asks.      \"I'm done looking at\nit, and thanks for everything,\" Martin said.      \"Don't you thank me\nso. You've got to go and make the journey,\" the female tigertaur puts the map\naway and points to the door. \"Lemme know when you're willing to help. We've got\nneeds for you so.\"      \"You lads ready for Mr.\nMerlin to show you your room?\" the male tigertaur looks at Trevor. \"The lad's\ncalm.\"      \"He'll be fine once\nhe's use to this place,\" Martin said. \"We're ready.\"      \"Follow Mr. Merlin\ndown the hall, and re-call what I said. Lose the key and you'll pay.\"      \"We're aware.\"      \"Who... who clean the\nroves?\" Trevor asks nervously.      \"Pardon, lad? Mr.\nMerlin's ears aren't like they should. Speak up,\" the tigertaur said. \"Take a\ndeep breath or two, lad. Mr. Merlin don't like nervous costumers talking.\"      \"Yes, sir,\" the human\ntakes a deep breath. \"Who cleans the roves?\"      \"Mr. Merlin knows of\nseveral. Not a lot a few can do. Does the lad care to lend a hand?\"      \"If I have to, sir.\nMrs. Merlin said working here for a day or two will pay for our stay and food,\nbut she said nothing about the roves.\"      \"Mr. Merlin heard,\nand I say you work here first. Another person can handle the roves.\"      \"I can do that, sir.\"      \"Mr. Merlin hopes\nso,\" the tigertaur points at a door. \"And there's the room. Mr. Merlin hopes\nyou lads enjoy your stay. Come find me and the wife once you've had a small\nrest.\"      Martin steps in and\nlooks around. It's rather simple. There are two mats, and judging by the sizes,\none's for animaltaurs and the other is for humans. There's a small stove in the\nfar left corner, a couple of pictures and a table with a large black bowl and\npitcher. Beside the bowl is a towel rack. That must be for when costumers want\nto freshen up. The coyotetaur looks out the window and studies the sun. It's\nearly, but at least they don't have to sleep outside.      \"Hey Trev, how long\nyou want to stay?\" Martin walks away from the window and sits on a mat.      \"However long it\ntakes for me to do what they expect me to do.\"      \"They're not forcing\nus to work, and you're not required to do anything.\"      \"Are you sure?\"      \"Damn right I'm\ncertain. Look out the window, Trev, and tell me what you see. Do you not notice\nour kind getting along? Did you not notice my kind and your kind getting along?\nDid you not notice it while we were out there?\" the coyotetaur said.\n\"Considering you're allowed to be in the store and the motel should be enough\nto show you this place isn't like what you grew up in.\"      \"I want to believe\nyou, but I can't. It's my first time here.\"      \"You're right, and\nhopefully you'll get used to it. So, how long do you want to stay?\"      \"For how long we\nagreed to stay.\"      \"That'll work. Work\noff our room and some food. I may use some dinars and buy you something. I see\nyou didn't even bring a blanket.\"      \"What I had wouldn't\nlast the trip. You saw how bad it looked.\"      \"Then I guess it's\nsomething I'll have to buy, and don't say no. You need something to lie on, and\nI'm not going to have you sleep on my back.\"      \"All right,\" Trevor\nsits beside the coyotetaur. \"When do you want to head out and work?\"      \"Once you're done\nexamining my paws. I think I stepped on something,\" Martin lies down. \"Just\ncheck them all.\"      \"Maybe you should buy\nbooties,\" Trevor digs his fingers between Martin's toes.      \"Why when I can have\nyou do this?\" the coyotetaur grins. \"If I were to get booties, I'd still have\nyou check my paws. Face it, Trev, this is something I'll have you do whenever I\nneed it.\"      \"And be happy I have\nno problems doing it.\"      \"Then what's this crap\nabout me wearing booties?\"      \"They'll offer some\nprotection.\"      \"Good point, but I'll\npass.\"      \"I may have to see if\nthis place has any trimmers. Your claws are getting long.\"      \"Do that tonight,\"\nMartin winces. \"Easy.\"      \"Sorry. You've got a\nstone lodged in here. Hold your breath.\"      The coyotetaur looks\nat the ceiling and cringes as his friend pulls out the object.      \"I see no blood,\nwhich is good,\" Trevor massages Martin's paw. \"Think you'll have anything in\nyour hind paws?\"      \"I said to check them\nall,\" the canintetaur rolls onto his side. \"Now that we know where we're going,\nhow far should we travel each day?\"      \"Whenever we come\nacross another village, or until it's no longer high noon. The same as when we\nwent on those hunting trips,\" Trevor said. \"It also depends on how fast you\nwant to travel to Cea.\"      \"I'd like to get\nthere as soon as possible, but we can't exhaust ourselves in the process.\"      \"You think your dad's\nstill there?\"      \"I hope so, although\nI'm not sure how he'll react when he sees us and not my ma.\"      \"I'm sure he'll\nunderstand,\" Trevor finishes checking between Martin's toes.      \"I'm certain he\nwill,\" Martin stands and shakes his body. \"Say, Trev, there's one other thing\nyou can do.\"      \"No, not here.\"      \"You don't even know\nwhat I was going to say.\"      \"I don't need too.\"      \"Okay. What makes you\nthink I'd have you do that?\"      \"Just the way you\nsaid there's another thing I can do,\" Trevor said. \"It's what you usually say\nwhenever you want pleasure.\"      \"That wasn't even on\nmy mind, but now that you've brought it up, now it is. You only have yourself\nto blame, Trev,\" Martin stands and faces his friend. \"I was going to have you\nmassage my forelegs before we left, but not anymore.\"      \"Then-\"      \"Shush. Next time\nhave me finish what I'm going to request, and not blurt something silly,\" the\ncoyotetaur shoves the human with his left forepaw. \"Brace yourself, Trev.\"      Martin lunges forward\nand knocks his friend down. Catching Trevor off guard is the only way he can\nreceive the upper hand, and if he wants to end things quickly. The coyotetaur lies\non top of the human and licks his lips. He has him right where he wants. Martin\nscoots forward until his friend's head presses against his belly and sits. He\nshifts his body around so he doesn't run the risk of crushing the human, and to\nprevent him from escaping. Martin grins sexually at Trevor.      \"This is also for\ntugging on my fur.\"       Martin stares at the\nwall. It's strange falling asleep and waking up in a room that isn't his. He\nstretches his entire body and wakes up Trevor. Yesterday their duties consisted\nof minor repair work and moving things around. Today Mr. and Mrs. Merlin want\nthem to white wash the fence and maybe re-paint the exterior of the motel. The\ntigertaurs gave him his money last night, and told him not to be afraid to ask\nfor more than just a couple of free nights. An offer Martin won't pass up.      A waitress leads\nMartin and Trevor to a table and hands them both a menu. She mentions all of\ntheir meals are paid for by the motel. The coyotetaur reads through the options\nand decides to have the all-round breakfast that consists of bacon, sausage,\neggs and pancakes. He reads everything to Trevor, and explains what each dish\nhas to offer. Martin wrinkles his nose. Once again his friend is tense, and may\nnot have the courage to speak. The coyotetaur orders for Trevor, and explains\nwhere they're from and heading.      Martin and Trevor\nfinish white washing the fence by high noon, enjoy a heart lunch and go\nstraight to work preparing the building few a new paint job. They learn Mr. and\nMrs. Merlin will find somebody else to paint the motel. The pair finishes\nscraping off the old paint by dusk and head straight to their room to wash up\nbefore eating dinner. Martin asks the tigertaurs if they have any old blankets\nand explains why. They promise to show him what they have after he and Trevor\nfinish their meal.      Martin thinks about\nthe future. Tomorrow after breakfast they begin their journey to Cea, and there\nare two, maybe three, things he needs to do once they arrive: find work and his\ndad. The third involves finding a place to stay if he has too. The coyotetaur\nisn't sure when he should return to Cauldron. Something he'll figure out when\nthe time comes. Martin studies Trevor and wags his tail. He's happy at the\nprogress his friend made. He's no longer nervous whenever they step into a\nbusiness ran by animaltaurs. Martin places his chin between his paws. It'll be\ninteresting to know what his dad has been up too.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/712156-chapter-6.json"}