{"sf1_id":838750,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Unlikely Kinship","author":"The Tailless Bobcat","words":3026,"posted_at":"2015-03-26T12:48:00.000Z","tags":["Anthro","Deer","Friendship","Segregation","Wolf","boston","hurt","loyalty"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/838750-the-unlikely-kinship","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/838750","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=838750\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"Author's Note: This was originally a story I had done for an online professional writing course. The ending was edited from critical feedback and is much different from the one I had originally.","content":"\nThe\nsidewalks of lower Boston were teeming with deer. Not your regular kind, I should say, but with bodies more human than the stark normality of our\nEarth. They walked about, their furred forms clothed by garments of various\ncolor, their hooves an endless parade of clacking that dictated the day as\nquite busy. Indeed, even in this animal-run reality, things were always quite\nas busy as you would picture them here. Even the traffic (which were driven by\nmany humanoid versions of everyday animals) was choked, its exhaust cloaking\nthe city in a slight haze of gas. Amidst the sea of fully clad red-orange came\na large grey; a wolf, upright like the rest, pacing normally, his slick tail\nbobbing slightly in the wind. He wore a black business suit; unbuttoned to show\nthe white collared shirt he wore underneath, and carried a heavy briefcase. He\nwas James Ian Fawkes, youngest of the Fawkes pack, and he was panting with\nthirst. As he rounded the corner, he spotted an antique-looking bar, crossed\nthe street and entered into the dimly lit restaurant.\n            This\nwas The Tawny Doe, one of James' favorite hangouts. It was where all the\nherbivores came to socialize on lazy Saturday afternoons. As it happened, it\nwas around that time, as James could spot a beaver, deer, horse or ass sunk\ninto a chair at every corner. He spotted the bar towards the back and strutted\nforward, taking his seat between two antlered bucks, both whitetails. The one\non his left was taking a heavy sip of Budweiser.\n\"Hey, Andy,\" James asked the deer to the\nleft, \"How's it goin'?\" The buck stopped mid-drink, his brown eyes wide in\nsurprise. He put his beverage down and turned his head to James, the corners of\nhis mouth wide in merriment. \n\"Hey,\" the buck said, \"James! My wolf. How's it going, dude?\" He\nthrust out a hoof-adorned hand. \"Good, man,\" he answered, taking his shake with\na paw, \"very good. Just sacrificed\nanother boring hour of listening to my dad to come here.\" Andy's eyes went wide\nat the wolf's comment. \n\"Oh yeah?\"\nJames sighed. \"Yeah...\" His ears folded back. \"I mean, you would not believe the shit that comes flying out of\nmy dad's muzzle. He's, like, all for Brian Cheney in the mayoral race for\n2016.\" The deer's eyes squinted in an ugly sneer at the name. \"Ugh, that bobcat? He's gonna' make things worse\nfor us plant-eaters all over again!\" \"Exactly,\"\nJames agreed, shaking a finger, \"and d'you know what my dad said when I told\nhim that? He said, \"Anything that'll keep predators\nabove herbivores is a good thing.\"\"\nThe wolf shook his head, scowling. \"Lord Almighty!\" The buck looked at his\ncanine friend with concern, his ears half-flattened. \n\"You don't believe in that much, do you?\"\nJames glanced at Andy with his green\nseething eyes. \"You're damn right I don't,\" he hissed, \"'cause if I did, well, it'd be the Civil War all\nover again.\" Andy, after a second of silence, resumed drinking his beer, his\neyes watching the pretty lean doe that bartended the joint on Saturdays. He\ncalled her over. \n\"What d'you want, hon?\" The doe was darker\nfurred, her black mascara complementing her orange hide quite well. \"Um,\nactually,\" Andy sputtered, pointing back to James, \"it's for my friend here.\" The\ndoe met James with a hard glare. \n\"What do you want, wolf?\"\nJames crossed his arms and calmly answered,\n\"Heineken, please.\" The bartender walked away without acknowledgement. When she\nhad fully disappeared, Andy once again laid eyes on his friend. \"So how'd you\nget out of work this time? Same trick\nas last week?\" The wolf nodded, smirking. \"Yup. Just said to my boss that I had\nto see a friend, and away I went.\" He swiped his paw at those last words. Andy\ncould see his tail wag slightly, perhaps in contentment at his past decision.\nAfter another silent moment, the buck decided to speak. \n\"Hey, James,\" he questioned, \"Do you ever\nthink that your dad may catch you hanging out with us plant-eaters one of these\ndays?\" The wolf (who had been watching the bartender bring his drink) furrowed\nhis brow in thought, his paw rubbing his whiskers, before giving thanks to the\ndoe. \"No,\" he replied, picking up his glass, \"Why would he? I've been telling\nfibs for, what, four weeks now?\" \n\"Five,\"\nthe deer corrected, taking a sip of his own, \"and a quarter, to be exact.\" The\nwolf downed his glass of beer and set it on the table. \"Whatever,\" he said, \"my\npoint is: dad's not gonna' find me\nanytime soon.\" He leaned closer to the buck. \"Andy,\" he asked his friend,\n\"what's the time around here? I have a feelin' it's around dinner.\" The buck\nset down his empty glass, glancing at the bulky watch on his right arm. \n\"It's 'bout 5:30.\"\n\"Oh, shit,\"\nJames cursed. He sprung up from the stool, paws fidgeting at the suit buttons. Andy\nglanced up at the hurrying wolf. \"Gotta' go somewhere?\"\n\"Yeah,\"\nJames responded quickly, \"Don't you remember? My dad loses his cool whenever he\nfinds out I've been away past six.\" Without hesitation, he rushed to retrieve\nhis briefcase and sprinted out the door, heart hammering in his chest. \nThe Fawkes mansion lay on the corner of Chelsea\nand Warren, first one in the small suburb to the right of the bridge. Its\nlocation was convenient for James, as it made trips home from the South easier.\nAs he marched up the stone steps, his lupine ears caught snippets of inside\nactivity: pots and cans clanging, along with friendly chatter. He rapped on the\ndoor. An elderly wolf answered, his muzzle twisted into a smile. \n\"Hello, son,\" he said, \"glad you could\nmake it. Come on in.\" He led James through a velvet hallway to the dining room.\nOccupying the chairs was his family. His mother sat at one end, while his\nbrother Miles and sister Catharine sat on the left. James sucked in a breath\nbefore seating down into a vacant spot next to his wife Arlynn. The family's\nheads were all turned to Mr. Fawkes as he gave grace. Then, when the elder wolf\nhad finished, the family immediately began digging into their meal of lamb and\nroast rabbit. Halfway through the meal, Catherine struck up a conversation with\ntheir father about her day. James initially paid no mind to it, focusing on\neating his supper. However, when his left ear cocked to the side, he heard\nsomething that froze him still. \n\"...And when I was driving into the south\nend,\" she had said, \"I saw James go into the Tawny Doe.\" The whole family's\neyes were on him now, lupine eyes staring into him with pity. \"What?\" His ears\nwere drawn back, tail curled inwards in fear. \"I,\" he stumbled, \"I was just\nseeing a friend...\" \nAt the head of the table, his father\nglowered at him, fangs bared. Without hesitation, he rose and marched over to\nhis son. The family looked on as the elder wolf took James' ear and dragged him\nto his room, his yelps fading along with the feeling of disappointment. \n\"What I need to know,\" the elder Fawkes\ndemanded, \"is why you were in the southern end this afternoon.\" He was seated\nin a wooden chair across from his son. The latter sat upright on the edge of\nhis mattress, staring down at his feet. \n\"I told you,\" he muttered, keeping his\nhead low, \"I was just seein' a friend.\" Light played on his muzzle, twinkling\nwith shadows before vanishing. Then, his father leaned forward and hissed,\n\"Who? Is he a herbivore?\" He spat the\nlast word with such vehemence that James did not initially look up. But when he\nremembered his father's past threats against restraint, he lifted his head,\nmeeting his eyes, yellow like fire. He nodded slowly, watching his father's\nvisage morph into an ugly scowl. \n\"You sicken\nme,\" the elder wolf growled. He sat up in his seat, fur bristling on end. \"All\nthose weeks,\" he scolded, \"you told me this friend of yours was from\nour end!\" James said nothing in rebuttal, staring at his father blankly. He\ndidn't need to; the truth had been spoken, and it would get worse from here. Predictably,\nit did, as his father shot out of his seat and gave him a hard cuff across the\nmuzzle. His nose dripped with blood, long red strands reaching (and staining)\nhis pants. \"That is what you get for lying,\"\nthe elder wolf growled. He stormed out of the room immediately, leaving James\nto his own devices.\nThe following day, James returned to the\nTawny Doe in hopes of finding Andy. However, the buck was nowhere to be found,\nso he sat himself at a booth near the bar. He ordered two beers as he waited, mostly\nout of kindness for his friend. At this point, their friendship transcended the\nroles of predator and prey, highly disregarding the animosity that would\nusually exist between such species. \nAs time stretched on, James touched his\nnose. It had healed from yesterday's events, but there was still a tiny blot of\ndry blood near his right nostril that covered the hole. This made James angry. All\nhe wanted was his friend, not another traditionalist lesson about who not to\nhang around. He sighed. I'll just forget it\nfor now. \nAndy finally appeared just as the drinks\narrived, dressed in the same jeans and tank top he'd worn the day previous. The\ndeer stopped, smiled at the doe handing out the glasses and sat down, sliding\ninto the seat in front of the wolf. \"Hey,\" he asked, \"how're you doing?\" He\nspotted the Budweiser glass in front of him. \n\"Is that for me?\" \n\"Yes,\" James replied, taking his\nHeineken, \"and I need to talk to you about something.\" The buck blinked. \"Okay,\" he breathed out, \"'bout what?\"\nThe wolf took a swig of beer, returning it to the table. \"It's about my dad.\nLast night, when I got home, I sat down with everyone for dinner, and\neverything was fine for a while. Then I overheard my sister telling my dad that\nshe saw me coming here.\" Andy glanced up from his beverage, gulping his fill\ndown. \"I bet that didn't go over well with everyone else.\"\nJames nodded. \"No,\" he admitted, \"it\ndidn't. And to make matters worse, my dad dragged to my room and slapped me in\nthe muzzle for being a liar.\" Andy winced at that last detail. \"Ouch,\" he said.\nHe sighed, watching the scenery beside them. After a few seconds, he turned\nback to his friend and asked, \"What do you, um, think he's gonna' do next?\"\n\"I-I don't know,\" answered Jake, \"but I have a feelin' it's probably gonna' be\nsomething worse. I just do.\" \nWhen James came home that night, it was\nstill over twenty minutes before curfew. But that didn't stop his dad from\npreventing entry to the mansion. The elder Fawkes had installed bumps on the\nsteps. Incidentally, James had tripped upon those, landing with a heavy crash\nupon the wooden planks. \"Well, hello, son,\" crooned a familiar voice, \"let's\nbegin our plan, shall we?\" His muscles, numbed from the fall, were barely\noperable. Despite this, James gazed up and saw his father. His form towered\nover the splayed out youngster, a coiled up whip in his paws. \"Fuck you,\" James\ncursed. He could barely say the obscenity, coming strangled out of a beaten\nmuzzle. His father drew back and kicked his son hard in the head. \"Get up,\" he\ngrowled, \"now.\" With a bit of\nstruggling, the young wolf forced himself up. Once he was on his feet, the\nelder grabbed his lapels and pulled, drawing his offspring closer to his\ndeathly eyes. \"You are not permitted back into the Fawkes pack,\" he snarled,\n\"until you kill your herbivore friend.\"\nJames' breathing became constrained. How could he kill Andy? He was the one\nwhom he loved hanging out with. The stories they told... they would all become\nmemories if he died. \n\"N-no,\" he sputtered out, fighting back\ntears, \"no.\" His father growled.\nLetting go of his son's shirt, he proceeded to unfurl his whip. Without pausing,\nhe struck James across the back. \"Call him,\" he ordered, \"or you'll get the\nlash again.\" James nodded, fighting his whimpers and tears. The youngster\ngroped for his cell phone in his pocket, his heart pace quickening. A beep. He\nextracted the device, rapidly dialing Andy's number. When the dial tone ended,\nthe buck's voice emanated from the speaker. \"Hey, James,\" he said, \"are you at\nhome?\"\nJames breathed in and out. \"Yeah, I\njust...\" He looked back at his dad, who glared at him commandingly. \"Just, uh,\ncome over, 'kay? Um, it's important.\" The two quickly said their goodbyes\nbefore hanging up. After a moment of silence, the wolf started sobbing. \n\"Wolf\nup,\" snarled the elder lupine, slapping James' head. He held it in as best as\nhe could. All the while, his mental state remained torn, divided between\npleasing his pack or his friend. On one paw, he had a family that was\npersuading him to stick to the traditions of his kind. On the other, his\nnewfound friend had opened his eyes to the possibility of equality, where\npredators could commune with prey without hunger or malice. As he stared at the\nhorizon, an unfinished decision hung before him. It was there in the shadows\nand in the orange light that colored the evening sky. It also persisted in his\nfather's bated breath, miniature warm gusts that ruffled the fur on his nape. Why did I let myself suffer, he thought,\nwhen I could've explained how nice Andy\nhad been to me?\nPink lines had just begun to mark the sky\nwhen a red van pulled up into the Fawkes' driveway. In the driver's seat was\nAndy, his concerned face eyeing James as he stepped out of the car. A claw\ntapped the grey wolf on the shoulder. James turned and saw his dad, who was\nholding a small pistol in one paw. The old wolf leaned forward and whispered, \"Get\n'im raw.\" Then, he placed the weapon in his son's paws. With much force, his\ndad brought the gun right between the eyes of Andy, the elder's fingers wrapping\naround those of his offspring. No. James\ndidn't want to do the inevitable. Tears streamed down his ruff as six weeks of\nmemories flashed before his eyes. \nThe\ntwo discussing about the plight of herbivores in Boston just hours after meeting\neach other. Their talks about politics, sports and general city happenings\n(which were generally warm hearted). Andy's willingness in preferring American\ndrafts to European lagers. Their fondness for Patriots football, of which Andy\nwas a major fan. Their hands, interconnected in unprejudiced friendship. Th--\nBANG!\nThe buck dropped to his knees, his eyes\nwide with horror, focused on the hole made by the bullet. He coughed loudly and\ndryly, lurching forward, his hands clutching the fatal, bleeding wound. Only at\nthat moment did he give up life, collapsing forth with rolled back eyes. He\nclosed them for one final time.\nFor a brief, tense moment, the world\nstood still. Only Andy's blood moved, gushing out and staining the dark grass.\nThen James rushed forth and hugged his friend's body, the one that his father\nforced him to exterminate. The embrace wasn't long, as the murderous old wolf\ntore James away from the corpse. \n\"No,\"\nhe shrieked, pushing his dad aside. He straddled the body, splaying over it as\nif Andy were still alive. \"Son,\" his parent said, \"let's go back inside.\" He strode\nover, squatting by his son's side. \"You did a fine job, James Ian Fawkes. Made\nus proud.\" The young wolf sat up, his tail stiff with rage. \n\"I made\nyou guys proud? It was you,\" he snarled,\n\"you and your manipulative ways!\" His\nbreathing quickened, tears gushing from his eyes. \"If you say that your love for us is unconditional,\" he shouted with a\nraised finger, \"show it, and don't\never, ever judge my friends for who\nthey are!\" His father stared at him for a few seconds before heaving a sigh. \n\"Alright,\" he droned, getting up, \"have\nit your way.\" He looked at his son. \"But the very next time you see a\nplant-eater,\" he instructed, \"don't ever\nbefriend it.\" With that, James' father quietly retreated back to his mansion,\nslamming the door shut. Only James and Andy's body remained, the latter a\nmartyr for parity in an oppressive city.\nThe wolf glanced at the dead buck's\nvisage, observing a sagging mouth. He drew back his head and howled a call so\nmournful that he was sure the herds of southern Boston could sense it. Then he\ndropped down and sobbed. At that moment, all James wanted was equality between\nspecies to end the senseless slaughter of individuals like Andy. But we all\nknow that such changes (even in our mundane reality) must take time to foster\nand develop, and James' longings were no exception. As the young wolf rose, he\ncould visualize himself as an old, stately fellow, telling his grandpups about\nthe fight for freedom back in the old days. \nThen he stopped, considered and announced\nto the air, \"I, James Ian Fawkes, will change the world forever.\" He knelt down\nand kissed Andy's forehead. \"For you, my buck,\" he whispered, \"and all of your\nkin.\" With thoughts of a dreamer and a revolutionary, James slowly rose up, his\ntail drooping, and took in the dusk air, coupled with the slight tang of\nspilled blood. He then padded back into the mansion, his prison of misery,\nwhere he would work to expand whatever ideas he had in mind for species\nequality. Ponderings bold enough to shake a city out of its segregated state.\nThe young wolf hoped for the aforementioned effect, but like most great ideas,\nit would take time for their influence to grow, and he would be their catalyst. \n    \n"}