Journeymen: A Bond Formed
#1 of Journeymen
Greetings all, no I'm not dead and no I've not stopped writing. This is a new series I've cooked up. However I must give credit where credit is due. This was Dasher Cheetah's idea, rather he inspired me to write it. Therefore I dedicate this entire series to him. He has been a true friend and its been an honor to know him. There is no yiff in this chapter, but just wait, its cummin.
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Journeymen: A Bond Formed
Mark walked along the dirt path that led to his house. He was walking back from one of the families many cattlefields. His family owned a lot of land, in fact they were one of the largest cattle producers on earth. Granted that wasn't hard these days as not many people farmed anymore. Technology had progressed to the point where machines could replicate food. There were many who embraced this technology, but many more who refused to eatsomething a machine made. Society had labeled these people traditionalist and it was what kept the family farmrunning. Mark and his family produced high quality cattle for high quality beef. In fact, they produced specialty beef.Many farms produced a genetically modified beef. Many ate it, but many didn't. The true traditionalists likedorganically grown food. Marks family produced Black Angus cattle, they were one of only a few who did, certainly thelargest producer. It was a moderately successful operation, but it wasn't without its problems. The main problemwas that there was so much to do and simply not enough help. Paying very many farm hands was out of thequestion because money was tight. Just because the operation was moderately successful didn't mean that therewas plenty of money. In fact most of the families money went into keeping the farm running. Much of the farm's income went to maintenance of the property. Much of the income though went to pay taxes on the families holdings. Taxes were high on property because of the massive population of Earth. There were space colonies, but most preferred to live on the human home world. The humans anyway. Mark was fifteen years old, and had never seen much outside of the farm and the surrounding area. His job was to make sure his chores got done, and that the farmhands that they did employ did their job. Being a sixteen year's old, he was more than capable of doing this, but he had always wanted more. More help was badly needed on the farm, but the money simply wasn't there. Theanswer to the problem was something called a furry.
Genetic Engineering had become the latest craze in the world. Scientists could do just about anything, and on the list was making a furry. It was a cross between a human and an animal. It was highly desirable as a worker as it possessed the good traits of whatever animal it was crossed with. For example, a human/horse mix would be strong and good for hard work. The problem was that most humans looked down on furries as impure. They still possessed a lot of animal instincts, sex being the most prominent. They were treated as pets and second class citizens. However,all of this was far from Marks mind. His dad was finally getting him one, and that's all he cared about. He was getting a German Shepard. It would be both a farm hand and a pet, but the problem was it was a used pet. Meaning that it had a previous master, who treated it very badly. As Mark neared his home,he could see the shuttle of the delivery service. He ran quickly upto his house. His dad met him at the side door of the house. Marks dad was something to behold indeed. He was six foot tall and 250lbs of pure muscle. He had lived a hard life. Years of farming, and the hardships endured by him in that time had taken much of his personality. His only purpose now was the farm, and its running. "Mark, the dog is here. He may be your pet but he's my farm hand first." Mark stood in submission in front of his father, he knew better than to argue with him. Mark had learned how to deal with his father long ago. "Yes Papa," replied Mark. "Go get him and get to know him. Tell him whats expected and then get him to work." "Yes Papa," replied Mark, he then ran through the house and out the back door. The shuttle dropped off a German Shepard furry, which Mark signed for, and then left. The two stood and looked at each other for a moment. Mark examined the large dog. He wore only a pair of shorts. They had no need for shirts as they were covered in fur. There were many scars on the canine's body, mainly on his chest and arms. Mark hesitated as he looked at the canine's groin and then looked deeply into the furry's eyes. He could see a mixture of emotions. Hope, fear, anger, dread, all mixing and swirling like a storm deep within him.
As the boy studied him, the German Shepard looked deep into the boy's eyes. He could see the innocence of the boy, the love within him. It was then that the furry heard the father's voice. " Mark, stop standing there like a dumb ass and get that thing to work. You have stables to clear out and fresh hay to lay down in them. I'm going out for the night. I'll be back tomorrow and your chores better be done or there will be hell to pay!" With that, the father left and the furry stood there dumbstruck. A single tear ran down the boy's face. It broke the furry's heart. He was twenty two years old in human years, and he had never seen this before. It was always human against furry, but he had never seen a human father mistreat a son before. Certainly it happened, but he had never witnessed it. He walked upto the boy, got down on his knees, and hugged him tightly. Mark gasped at first, and then buried his face into the furry's shoulder and cried for a moment. Then, with a deep, soothing voice, the furry spoke. " Mark, its going to be ok. I'm here to help you now." Mark looked up and saw the care in the dog's eyes. "W-Whats your name?" The dog smiled and then replied, "Your the first master I've had that asked for my name. However, its Lucas. I don't have a last name I'm afraid." Mark buried his face into Lucas' chest and said "thank you Lucas."
After a moment of embracing, the two got up and walked towards the stables. "So," began Lucas, "tell me about your farm here. It looks very large for a farm." "Well it is," said Lucas. " Its one of the last large cattle farms left. We have a lot of land, but few farm hands. Father realized he could buy you and make you work for us for no pay. So he did. However, I convinced him to let you be my pet. So that you would report to me and not him." Lucas listened intently, for reason unknown to him Mark showed concern for him. Nobody had ever shown concern for him since his birth, he thought for a moment and then commented. " Your father seems like a harsh man." Mark laughed, and then replied, "it wasn't always this way. There was a time, when my mother was living, when he was a loving father and a good man. However, life took that from him. We are barley holding onto the farm right now, and we may not last the year. He's just angry and taking it out on everybody." As they reached the stables, the first thing Lucas noticed was a dark bruise on Mark's back as he bent over to pick up a rake to pull out the old straw. "The horses are out back in the field behind this barn. So we can open the doors and leave them open." "Mark, what happened to your back?" "Hmm, oh...that. Well, father gets angry when he gets drunk. I didn't finish my chores and he hit me with a shovel." This shocked Lucas, he had been treated badly since birth, but that was different. He was a furry, they were always treated as sub human. Mark was a human, he was a "higher bread" as they were often referred to.
As they worked they talked, Lucas still didn't fully trust Mark. However, there was just something different about him. Lucas had came to the farm fully prepared to reject the family there and make them force him to work. Instead he found himself in the presence of somebody who treated him as if he was a "normal" person. As they worked, the boy asked him to please hand him a rake, or please come here. There were no orders, furthermore, there were no comments on his physical build. His old master had taken advantage of him and would often rape him. However, this boy had no intentions of doing that. Granted he did catch Mark looking at him when he thought Lucas was too busy to notice. It amused the canine considerably. In fact, he had noticed a tent in Mark's shorts and several times when he caught him looking at the canine's build. Lucas was very well well built, even for his species. He could easily outrun, outfight, and outwit anybody he came up against. His past had made him strong, and surviving as a fur had made him smart. They worked for most of the day, only taking brakes to eat and get some water. Lucas was amazed to find that Mark worked as hard as he did. The work was equal. At the end of the day, the stalls had fresh hay in them and the entire barn was cleaned out. The horses would remain out in the field until the next day. The stalls were designed to have an opening on the outside wall of each stall so that the horse could see the outside as well as see inside through the stall door.
Lucas went to put the rakes and tools up and Mark turned out the lights in the barn. As he returned he found Mark laying in one of the stalls on a pile of hay looking out at the night sky. The lights in the stall were off, but Lucas could see nonetheless. He hesitated for a moment, but then walked in and lay down beside Mark. The human was startled at first, but soon wormed his way over to Lucas and wrapped his arms around the canine's powerful chest. Lucas didn't mind, in fact he almost enjoyed being a source of comfort. As they lay there Lucas surveyed the room. He had noticed that there had not been any horse manure in this one. The walls were not worn as in the other stalls. There was also various items in the stall. A mirror, a trunk, and a small fridge. "Mark," asked Lucas, "Do you sleep in here?" "Yes," said Mark sleepily, "father gets angry a lot, its safer to sleep out here. Besides I can look at the stars." Lucas looked up, he had began to feel a special attachment to the boy. One he had never before felt. He would protect him. Lucas decided that he would be the boy's protector from his father and the world. Mark had earned the canine's loyalty this day. For the first time in his life, the boy had made Lucas feel as if he were worthy of living. He had even called him by his name. "Lucas," asked a very sleepy Mark. "Yeah," said the canine in a low, soft voice. "Will you sleep with me? I like the feeling of you beside me, I feel safe." Lucas smiled, "You are safe, Mark. Rest your tired eyes, sleep and fear not. I'll be your pet and protector." Mark drifted off to sleep. As he did Lucas shifted and wrapped his powerful body around Mark. Nobody would harm the boy while he was breathing. For the first time in his life, Lucas felt as though he really belonged, and Mark felt completely safe. Both fell asleep in each others arms. Two deep holes were filled, and each could feel it but nether fully understood it. Crickets sang the new friends to sleep. They drifted through dreams, resting for tomorrow.