Prologue: Casualties

Story by Rathe on SoFurry

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#1 of Calling Cards Beginnings


Disclaimer: SCRREECH! Is this thing on? Testing one two three... Tap tap (tap tap). Mmmmm, okay. Hey there ladies and gents and welcome to Calling Cards Beginnings. There is M/M furry yiff here, so if you don't like it, nor or of legal age then the doors are on your left and right. Please enjoy some refreshments and enjoy Beginnings! Also, please let our author know what you thought. Comments, criticisms, outraged objections. Give it your best shot. SCREEEECH!

1943...

"Once upon a time, in a far away land, there lived a noble knight by the name of Arturius. Out of all of the citizens residing in the land, Arturius was the most pure as well as the noblest. He was protective of the innocent and fierce towards his enemies. His strength could shake mountains and his compassion could move the devil to tears."

"And one day, when Arturius looked out the window in his tower, he espied a pair of highwayfurs assaulting an elderly mouse. Now, being the virtuous knight that he was, the knight grabbed a sword and leapt out of his tower, landing with a mighty thud on the Earth. Immediately, he recovered from his fall and sprinted over towards the trio off in the distance. And he ran faster than the wind could blow, his chest heaving and his throat burnt dry as he reached the tussling group."

"Alas, when he arrived the highway robbers had already murdered the aged mouse and were looting his corpse. And when the valiant Arturius laid his canine eyes upon the corpse, his mind and soul were nearly flooded with grief. Enraged at the barbarity and savagery of the pilfering vermin, the knight took his mighty long sword and cleaved off their heads in a single stroke. Then, the knight fell to his knees and wept and grieved for the loss of life, not only for the aged mouse, but for the vermin he killed in retribution. No one, not even the lowliest scum deserved to die. However, he knew that sacrifices had to be made in order for peace to be preserved."

"It was said the canine knight wept for seven days and seven nights, flooding the land with his tears. On the last night, he came to a resolution. Using all of his resources and all of his talent, he would establish rule over all the lands and lay down a set of laws for all to abide."

"Arturius did just that. He built himself a mighty fortress, naming it Camelot after Reptillian name for Paradise. He united the land under him and strove to bring about an era of peace and prosperity, establishing a utopia on Earth. And all those who lived under his rule and protected by his laws were happy. And Arturius ruled for several decades and all was right with the world."

The sleek oil black panther glanced up from the enlarged and embellished book he was reading as he caught the piercing emerald gaze of the seven year old rabbit laying in front of him.

The young fur twisted his head to the side as his awkward ears wiggled all about. "Why was he sad for the bad guys, Uncle Ben?"

Ben the panther gently closed the book and replaced it on a close shelf, which was filled with many other children's books. "He was sad for them because he realized the value of life, J. He didn't want to kill them, but if he didn't then more innocents might have suffered."

J the rabbit stretched and yawned before jumping up with the power of youth and retorted to the seated feline. "Huh, if I was Arturius, I wouldn't be sad. I would take my big sword," the rabbit made the motion of holding an oversized sword in is paws, "and go about the country side, hacking and thwacking at all the bad guys."

Ben shook his head as he watched the youngster run and jump about, slashing away at imaginary foes and saving various damsels in distress. The feline blinked his azure eyes and yawned, his gaze moving towards the face clock on the wall

"Hey, J. It's time for dinner."

At the mention of food, both of the rabbit's ears sprang straight up as he swiveled his head, an innocent grin attached to his gleaming face. With a shout that belied his size, the lapin raced towards the kitchen with "Dinnnnnnnnnneerrr!" The feline smiled as he watched J run about, happy that the young fur still retained his innocence. The panther walked over to the ice box and pulled out a slab of already prepared meat with a handwritten note attached to the top.

Dear Benny,

I've already prepared the ground beef for J's and your dinner. Thank you again for looking after my little bro tonight. I'll make sure to make it up you when I get home tonight, -wink-. And speaking of which, J's bed time is at 8 p.m. Don't let him stay up any later, despite his certain protests. Enjoy the meat and have fun.

Hugs and Kisses,

Shawn

The panther's ears perked up as he read the note and he could feel his slacks pull tight as he thought to himself. "Make it up to me, huh? Hehehehe..." With paws of lightning the feline chopped up the meat as well as some vegetables lying about. Tossing the concoction over rice and pouring prepared gravy over it, Ben escorted the steaming plate over towards the small kitchen table, where the seven year old rabbit was bouncing in his chair with anticipation.

"Ooh, dinner, dinner, thank you, thank you!" the lapin chattered as he went to work on the section of food that belonged to him. J nearly choked on a large sized piece of meat and hacked and coughed it out as Ben chided him.

"Hey, hey. Slower their champ. Take smaller bites. Your bro would kill me if you died under my watch."

"Through a maw full of rice and veggies, J lowered and his eyes and mumble out, "Yeth Uncle Ben."

The feline and the rabbit ate in silence for a while before the young fur chirped up. "Uncle Ben, what's a Communist?"

The panther's eyes bulged out as he spat out a carrot slice that had lodged in his throat. "J, where did you hear that word?" the feline asked, his nerves unraveling.

The rabbit, naïve like most seven year olds, spoke up. "James Slimson from school said Mommy and Daddy were Communists, and that's why they were taken away."

The panther place a paw on J's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't believe a word that sniveling fox tells you, okay. Your parents were decent people, virtuous and kind to others. They spoke out against the injustice plaguing our nation and there were some furs who didn't like that. Your parents were heroes."

"Like Arturius from the story?" J asked, his green eyes fixed on the feline's blue ones.

"Very much so. They saw something that was wrong with society and they tried to fix it. They spoke out against discrimination, when people say and do mean things against others. They wanted a world where everyone was treated fairly and justly, just like Arturius, and the paid the price for their courage."

J glanced down at his plate, his ears drooping. "So if there wasn't discrimination, my mommy and daddy would still be here?"

The panther felt a pang of sympathy and grief as he nodded. "So don't let any other fur tell you differently, okay?"

J nodded and sighed. The young rabbit muttered under his breath in a tiny voice, "I hate them."

Ben caught the words that the rabbit grumbled and his face grew pensive and worrisome. "Hate who, J?"

The rabbit glanced up again, enmity and hate filling his usually innocent eyes. "The ones who discriminate. The ones who hurt others. The ones who took away my parents. They should all go away!" tears glistened in J's eyes as he looked back down at his food and sniffed.

Ben frowned and cleaned up the table, clearing the empty plates. "You're too young to hate anyone, J. And I don't believe your parents would want you thinking such thoughts. They would want you to be happy, compassionate and loving towards your neighbor." The feline walked over and hugged the rabbit. "Whatever you do, whatever happens in the years ahead, don't lose sight of your loved ones beliefs. If you wish to honor them, then uphold their ideals and promote peace. Be like the noble Arturius."

The rabbit sighed and nodded meekly before escaping from the panther's embrace and dashing off to his room. Flinging himself on the bed, the young fur curled up in his covers and sobbed hard into the heavy blankets that surrounded his eyes. He sobbed for his mother, whose bright smile he missed. He cried for this father, whose wise and just law he obediently followed. He missed them and he felt, deep down in his heart, that something wasn't right. There was no...closure.

The panther entered after the young fur and sat on the edge of his bed. Humming softly in a low melodious tune, the feline sang out.

Be at peace, little one

Let not your fears weigh you down

Yield to grace, little one

Enter the dreams, all around

Embrace love, little one

Let your heart open wide

Carry hope, little one

Against the impending tide

Show your hope, little one

Make a future that is all your own

Grow the peace, little one

And share, your joy, your love, with all you've ever known

With all you've ever known

By the end of the short song, J was fast asleep, having cried himself into a dreamless stupor. The panther petted the rabbit's head and smile before walking back into the kitchen and cleaning up the dishes. Being not very many, it didn't take very long and Ben retired into the queen sized bed that he shared with his mate, Shawn.

He laid on his back with his arms propped behind head as he thought over what he had told the young rabbit. Perhaps, he thought in hindsight, that he should not have been as blunt as he has with J. The rabbit could have stood to gain a few years before he learned the truth about the world. That it wasn't like the utopia Camelot in the stories. The panther closed his eyes and sighed. J needed to know sometime. And he didn't want the rabbit to go around thinking that his parents were Commies, just because they spoke out against the intolerant government.

The feline's thoughts were put on hold as the front door burst open and a hyper, suit clad rabbit, aged approximately twenty six years rushed through the bedroom door and pounced on the bed.

Ben smiled as his mate Shawn disrobed in mere seconds, a feat attributed to most naturally horny furs. "Hey there wabbit" the panther chuckled as the older rabbit grinned mischievously and winked at his mate.

"Hey there pussy cat. I told you I'd make it up to you for watching my little bro for me, didn't I? Well here I am. Come and get me, if you dare."

The jet black panther tackled the sliver furred rabbit, who helped the feline disengage from his own set of attire as they wrestled and rolled all over the bed. It was not long, not long at all in fact when two completely nude furs were panting and moaning as the panther pinned the rabbit to the cushy mattress beneath them.

Ben slowly licked up the side of the rabbit's neck, which elicited a moan from the horny fur, as he grinded his rock hard feline cock into Shawn's equally large rabbit member. Shawn couldn't help but thrust up into the panther's protrusion, causing spurts of pre to coat both cocks in a thin layer of natural lubricant. Ben moaned out as the sensitive tip of his black shaft was fondled by a silver rabbit paw. Shawn's smile grew larger as he received the desired reaction from his mate. His slickened paw explored the panther's dampened member as he thrust his maw up into Ben's gaping muzzle, taking the panther in for a deep and passionate kiss. Tongues moved about, clashed and wrapped around each other as they tasted each other's saliva. A silver rabbit paw came up, covered in panther pre and the lapin sniffed it before smiling gleefully. He broke the kiss he had with the panther in order to lick up all the sticky mess on his paw.

Shawn's eyes shined with luminous light as he licked his chops and squirmed down towards Ben's throbbing meat. Not wasting any time whatsoever with foreplay, the lapin gulped down the think black shaft, causing the feline to moan out in what can only be described as irresistible pleasure. The panther humped into the rabbit's greedy muzzle, pushing his shaft down the back of his lover's throat as he thrust deep and hard into Shawn's maw.

However, it didn't last long as Shawn stopped and turned around, lifting his tear shaped tail high. Ben caught sight of the pink pucker that was begging to be fucked, and being the sort of panther that yielded to pleas of yiff, the feline positioned the tip of his moist cock at the entrance of the rabbit's tailhole. Pushing his hips forward just a tiny bit, he readied himself to ram home inside Shawn's warm moist caverns and breed him like his bunny bitch.

CRASH! Went the glass of the window closest to the front door as glass shattered and scattered all about. The two lovers immediately scrambled about and pulled on their clothes as another window was shattered by something heavy and rectangular. The panther and the rabbit raced through the hallway's as more windows were broken all around them and a loud banging, accompanied by a loud angry voice, resounded on the front door.

"Come out of there, you Red Bastards. We know you're in there. Come the fuck out now. OR WE WILL COME IN!"

Ben and Shawn scrambled through the house and into J's room. Despite all of the racket the young fur was still sound asleep. Shawn fitfully shook his brother awake screaming over the noise.

"Come on, J. Get up. We have to go, now!" The older rabbit picked up his younger brother and placed him in the panther's arms as he dashed over to a hallway closet and seized a small hatchet.

The front door was kicked in and Shawn yelled out at his mate. "Ben, take J and get out of here. Go out the back door, I'll hold them off."

The panther shut his eyes and sobbed as he sprinted though the house, glass shards embedded into his footpaws as he carried his charge away from the chaos. Shawn glanced over towards the fleeing pair and smiled. He raised the hatchet and screamed incoherently as he charged forward, towards the figures in the doorway.

As Ben neared the back of the house, he heard five thunderous gunshots echoing through the wooden walls. The feline bit his lip to stop himself from heaving and sobbing and raced towards the back door and safety. But it was not to be.

Another gunshot echoed, closer than before and the feline felt something sharp yet dull impact the back of his spine. He tripped and J rolled out of his grasp as he collapsed on the ground. Ben placed a paw on the back of his spine, and felt a growing dampness. He rolled over to see a grinning fox wielding a pistol. The fox's eyes were full of madness and chaos. Deep swirling pools of endless torment and agony seemed to seep from those two crimson spheres. The vulpine raised his firearm and placed a shot between the panther's eyes.

The vulpine let out a maddened laugh as he shouted to his compatriots elsewhere in the house. "Another Commie dead boys. Looks like we got two for the price of one." The fox's eyes swiveled around towards the sobbing form of J who was clinging to the prone form of his brother's mate. "Wait a tic. Looks like we got ourselves a bonus prize." The cackling fox pointed the handgun at the sobbing seven year old rabbit, who trembled fearfully at the unfamiliar creature. "So, are you a Commie too, kid?"

J, unable to speak, held tight to the corpse of Ben, the panther. The fox cocked back the hammer and grinned evilly as he clicked a bullet into the chamber. "I'll take that as a yes."

And thus J glanced up into the face of chaos and madness and he grieved.