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Taur virus 3

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Taur virus 3

The loud tune music of the news channel rang into my ears and woke me up in an instant.  I was so distracted I failed to notice the subtle contradictions with what I've grown used to, such as using the TV suddenly turning on while I heard no one around or the fact that it was actually the news channels instead of the usual Warner Brothers or Fox.

My first thought was to reach for the remote to try to mute the TV as there was some news about the latest outbreak of the famous 'taur virus.'  I only managed to make out those two words.  The mention of the disease brought back a couple of flashes to my mind.  I could remember seeing the nurse telling to go home, my parents giving a surprised yet scared look on their faces seeing a human looking cat, much like cat taurs tended to look like.  Thank goodness everything was just a dream, or so I thought.

My nose twitched as I sniffed the air noticing an odd smell, something I never thought I would recognize in my house.  "W-when did I get a cat?"  I mumbled groggily as my hand redoubled efforts prodding around, at that time my mind didn't notice that was off either.  "And where is that freaking remote?"  The sound of the news was getting louder and more annoying as I started to be more aware, forcing me to open my eyes and come up with the surprise that I wasn't in my own room.  Even more, I wasn't even normal. My view wandered to my reaching arm.  It was completely furry, covered in black and white fur.  I watched at it stunned at first as I spun it to see my paw pads and my sheathed claws.  That's when everything that happened the day before hit me.  I had contracted the 'taur virus'.

It all happened so fast I still couldn't believe it wasn't a dream.  I had gone from a young man annoyed by the cleaning habits of my parents and suffering from a limited circle of friends to the type of freaks that my parents joked about and probably be the worst day of school in my life.

With reluctance I tried to sit up to notice, more like remember, that I had the hindquarters of a big cat.  With a glance at the TV I noticed that on the upper corner of the screen that showed a message from the alarm service that only made my memories clearer.  I was staying in the 'Four Legs' Inn and not really thrilled to have the first couple of weeks free.

"Oh great, the nightmare was real…"  I muttered, finding the remote on the nightstand and lowering the volume to a more harmless level for my ears as I tried to find a way to stand up.  Several things went through my head.  Though now, I wasn't worrying that I changed but more on how I would be able to interact like this.  From what I knew, taurs were the scum of society.  So far that was the view I had of them because of my parent's teaching.

I looked around at the bags of clothes Trish helped me buy and at my shirt I wore yesterday.  She made the right call in forcing me to get them.  I only remembered half of them, it was the fastest shopping trip I've ever had.  Anyway, among the contents were just several soft shirts, some shorts for the hind legs, and some cuffs for my paws that gave the idea a taur was wearing shoes.  Kind of odd but I guessed that would make first timers feel more human, not that it actually helped.

Getting dressed was a troublesome ordeal.  Putting on the shirt was an easy task.  It was the shorts and cuffs that brought most of the problems.  I ended up tripping and falling down several times as I tried to get the shorts and the cuffs on my hind legs, turning and stretching to reach for my back paws for the cuffs or when I attempted to kick my shorts up.

After several tries and falls I managed to get dressed.  The cuffs laces tied, the back of my shorts buttoned to allow my long tail to be free and my shirt on.  I knew pants were not mandatory for taurs but I refused to be forced to go out naked from the middle down.  Anyway, I gave myself a look at the full body mirror that was placed in the room and thought I was silly and 100% weird.  My long black fur around my neck and shoulders was accentuated by the shirt giving me a small mane.  My pants were baggy enough to not cause any itch nor making me look ridiculous.  I got ready, picked up my backpack with my laptop in it and exited my room.

The hallways were a tad busy at the time, and no wonder, from what I knew this was the only taur inn in the city.  It was supposed to provide a safe place for everyone that's changed within its limits.  I could see a weasel taur, white furred, wearing a formal suit while holding a briefcase.  It was a bit funny yet interesting considering the proportion of the legs with the torso of the animal.  There was even a cow taur lady that passed by me wearing nothing more than a shirt, what looked like an apron that covered her now decent cleavage passing by.  Aside from them there were many others to count, exiting the bathroom, rushing back into their rooms and exiting from them.  It was Wednesday and many people had a busy day ahead, especially me.

Venturing out I couldn't help to feel like a freak - pretty self-conscious about my appearance, yet everyone being in the same situation.  I managed to get into the bathroom for the taurs my size.  I was so grown used to be taken to school or being woken up I hadn't really bothered much paying attention at the time.

I didn't shower because it would take too much of my time and I was sure drying myself would take a while, so I went past the communal shower area (big enough to have huge taurs in them), and brushed my teeth and washed my face to wake up, which made drying troublesome.  What caught my attention the most were the toilets.  Their shapes were something I've never seen in my life, and really won't mind trying to detail them, but just by looking at it, it was easy to see how it was usable.

Afterwards, I moved over to the bathroom and proceeded over to the cafeteria area of the inn.  It wasn't hard to find it in the building. From my point of view the place was made up by a lobby, a living room, the guest rooms and a cafeteria. I Once read an article that rated taur hotels as 3 to 4 star hotels, the taur inn was rated as a3.5.  I arrived to an area that was filled with long, low tables that went from almost one from a side to the halfway across the room. 

There I noticed something: there were no chairs in the vicinity.

All of the dining taurs, which were about eight of, were lying on the floor with their animal parts flat on the ground.  I moved over because as a couple of taurs ladies walked in and out of the kitchen carrying trays of orders for the guests.  Among them was the same cow taur miss that I saw in the hallway serving some pancakes and a glass of milk to a lion taur. I was starting to wonder about where the milk came from…

"Mr. Finway?!" I heard a voice calling me from a corner of the room. It was the owner of the inn, a collie taur sitting by the table.  He was carrying a bunch of documents and since yesterday, my entrance was a bit rushed.  I guessed there was still paperwork to do.

With nowhere to go I moved over there.  On my way I passed by the counter, attended by a nice old bunny taur lady who asked me what would I want?  I immediately asked for some scrambled eggs and milk (trying to ignore the possible source for that).  Having paid for my breakfast I sat with the collie as I waited for my order.

"Well, good to see you up," he said as I sat down on the other side of the table.  The moment I got myself comfortable with my position he offered his hand for a handshake.  "Well, I was in kind of a rush yesterday so I didn't get to go into detail on a few points.  As you know, my name is Norman and I'm in charge of this place."

I nodded and shook his hand with my paw, being careful not to scratch him while doing so.  "I know.  We didn't get to agree on my parents' permission to stay here…" I started speaking until he raised his hand paw to stop me.

"Relax.  Your friend Trish called me too.  She kind of explained the situation so I won't press much on the issue.  But I still need your parent's signature on this document," he said tapping a sheet of paper which I reached and started skimming.  "It's a written agreement that you're parents have conceded in you staying over here as well as us taking responsibility for your safety while within our walls."  The whole contract seemed to be legit and true so there wasn't much of an issue aside from having my parents sign it.

"Ok, I just hope I can talk with them. They're a bit 'scared' of taurs," I commented as the cowtaur arrived with my order and carefully set then on my table. "Thanks miss…"

She gave a small laugh that resembled a moo.  "Oh dear, please call me Bella," she said patting my shoulder.  "I'm the head cook in charge of the cafeteria.  If you're in for a between meal snack the kitchen is always open."  She chuckled again scratching my ear. That nice feeling never grows old.

"Thanks, I'm Marcus Finway by the way."  I said while setting the documents aside to make room for my breakfast, glad I was still early for class.

"Wait, are you related to Martha Finway?" Bella asked with a slightly serious tone.  I didn't thought it would be much of an issue so I simply nodded.  "Martha Finway?  The woman who badgered the restaurant I worked at for letting a taur work there and had me fired after several complaints from her friends and group?" She asked incredulous.  By that time she stopped scratching my ear and I noticed what was going on.  Her face expressed a bit of anger and surprise. I was now starting to notice a new level of consequence of my parents' actions.

"I-I'm sorry, my-my parents are so scared of taurs..."  I started explaining, quite scared looking at her, but couldn't come out with anything.  In my mind I could only imagine what the woman has been through.  I turned around to see her sight in disappointment.  Her optimist personality from not long ago seemed to turn a tad bitter as I seemingly stroked a nerve.  She just gave me a snort and turned around to head back to the kitchen.

I looked at Norman with a slightly depressed mood.  I wouldn't have liked to find out of my mother's campaigns this way. He simply took a deep breath and spoke, "don't worry about her, she has the one year strain and she's been having some trouble adjusting and letting go of the past."  I still felt terrible.  "But to be honest, I never expected you to be the son of Martha Finway."  I could feel a neutral position in his voice, all I could guess it was safe to talk to him.

"If it's not much of an issue…" I asked as I started drinking my milk through the straw, "what are the things my parents done?"


So far, in all my years of taur virus quarantine, I’ve never really paid much attention in my parent's actions. To me, they were just being paranoid and I didn't want to get involved.  I've only known  a few 'crusades' my mother had done for the community, such as the debate for allowing taurs to frequent public places such as parks 'where children can be exposed to them.'  At least that was my mom's opinion. I also remember her opinion and campaign to get Miss Hawthorn, the math teacher with the 26 month strain out of the school.  Back then she spent her days arguing with the school personnel as well with the principal, but never directly with the wolf taur herself. In retrospect, I guess I should have been slightly more interested in my parent's actions since they had a consequence on my social life.  I looked back and noticed that people at school tended to be mad at me on occasion, most likely because my parents have made their's or a relative's life a tad harder.

Norman looked up thoughtfully and started listing. "From what I know, your parents are two of the main members of an anti-taur group, so far they've been asking for small businesses of some neighborhoods to avoid having people infected, even if they aren't in the contagious stage, touch or interacting with neither customers or consumable items which led to Bella's dismissal from her restaurant.  Now, don't worry about her, she's just in shock, and it's natural, but she understands you aren't your parents and will be able to forget that."  I still felt bad about that.

I kept eating my breakfast as I heard him continue on.  "Aside from that I've heard that there is a problem with a school and a wolf taur teacher.  The anti-taur group argues that it's unethical to have a virus carrier so close to the students.  What they don't really know is the amount of work and effort the people have to pour into overcoming this situation, if one can't keep working for, say 2 years, then he is in financial trouble. I'm just lucky I managed to get into the hospitality business that's out of the issues…" And he went on listing some of anti-taur groups activities. I had to admit, this man was well informed.  "The latest I've heard was the petition for moving the inns out to the countryside." He gave me a chuckle. "That will never make it, though, mainly because it's done under the premise we aren't even human when in this form."

I couldn't say much, to my parents being a taur was like a degradation of a person.  Considering it was a risk to expose people to those already infected, there was nothing one could do but avoid it. Even worse, they could even dare to be paranoid enough to treat people that have been weeks after they were out of the infectious stage. Also, they never liked animals and it wasn't hard to make the connection.

Taking a glance at the time on my cellphone I discovered that, aside from the several numbers of calls from my parents, I was late.  Well, it was 30 minutes before classes, but I assumed It would take me more than half an hour to get to school.  "I'm sorry, Norman, sir, but I have to be going right now."

Norman looked at me and understood after a glance at the clock. "No problem kid.  I guess I overdid in my explanation."  He stood up and before leaving he said, "take care."  I guessed I would need to be since my parents seemed to have made me infamous. Grabbing my backpack with my laptop in it I stood up and left the inn.

As I made my way out, I took a look at my cellphone and took notice of the 10 calls I got from both my parents.  They were probably worried but I really didn't know how to talk with them.  It would be a matter of time before I was forced to confront them.  They probably missed me but I wondered if that feeling outweighed her actions.

----

To my surprise it took me less than expected to get to school.  Having four legs and the condition of a taur did help me.  I felt so stable when taking a step that it was quite easy to preserve some energy.  My stamina had increased to the point I wasn't feeling tired after crossing the 10 blocks at a steady pace.  I didn't even notice how my walking seemed to be more natural in comparison to the day before.

I was close to arriving under 20 minutes and without breaking a sweat (or pant, since mammalian taurs had no sweat glands).  I started to wonder how easy this would make my cross country activity.  I just remember I forgot of telling the other team about the coach change.  Miss Hawthorn, aside from a laugh at my ironic situation, will definitely give me a lecture. The train of thought was broken as I arrived at the school's grounds.  As usual, some students were hanging out by the benches on the yard waiting for the bell to signal the start of their classes.  And as usual, every time a new taur came over people turned to look at the quadruped and figure out who was under the fur, scales, or feathers.  And I wasn't the exception.

"Check out the new taur.  It's been a while since there was a cat," commented one of them.  Well, it was actually a whisper that my now potent ears could pick up. I moved over to find a seat keeping it cool while eavesdropping.

"I think he's kinda cute, I like cats," one of the girls said.  I took notice of who said each thing.  I may wanna talk to her later.

"But still I wonder who the new fleabag is?" Said another voice, which I recognized.

"Steve, that was uncalled for," said the girl, then I realized, that was Emma, the girlfriend Steve mentioned a couple of days ago. "You shouldn't try to be so mean to them. Let's ask him."

"Come on, he's sick.  I don't wanna risk getting that virus."  He shut up for a second as I climbed up the stairs to get in the building.  And then he yelled, "Hey dude? What's your name?!"

I debated whether to answer or not. Reveal my identity to a douche or save it for later.  Either way they were gonna find out, but it was better to not say it for now.  I moved on into the school, had to head to the secretary anyway.  A standard procedure to keep track of the taurs around.  The sound of the bell muffled Steve's comments when they were starting to sound offensive towards me.

---

Secretaries were always an annoyance to deal with, to be honest.  The school must be paying them too low or exploiting them for having them act bitterly with the students.  All I had to do was go over and say I was a taur.  She just ushered me into filling some documents and then told me I could go to class.  And just like that, the procedure I thought would take away an hour of class didn't last more than 20 minutes.

The hallways were empty, no one to ask who was the new taur.  The idea of saying another name instead of mine was starting to become more and more tempting by the moment.  But in the end, lying only makes matters worse.  I begin to wonder what I would do afterwards as the near future began to look very uncertain.

I stopped just by the door to the math classroom.  It was my first class and the least I wanted to be in. None of my few friends were there and Miss Hawthorn was in there.  My ears perked as I heard the wolf taur clear her throat to announce that the class would be beginning formally.  Soon she would start attendance.  I had to get in but I couldn't help but to hesitate.

"Come on in."  I heard Ms Hawthorne call from the inside.  Her wolf side granted her as much enhanced hearing as my cat side granted me enhanced eyesight.  I certainly couldn't escape now.  "I know it's hard to go through the change, come on in," she called.  I wasn't sure if she knew who I was, but she tended to treat kindly all new taurs with a pang of shyness after they changed.

Taking a deep breath I made my way into the classroom.  Immediately I started getting glances and stares from the students.  A bit of an uncomfortable moment, but it was quite the usual.  I mean, I used to take a look at the newest taur as they arrived into the class.  My first thought was to get to my seat by the window but the problem was I could no longer sit as a normal human, so I had to make my way to the right side of the room, the opposite way, where there was a single row of desks for taurs.  I moved over to the last desk and sat down.

"Very well, since I don't hear anyone else in the hallway I'll start with the attendance."  She cleared her throat and looked at the computer, starting to read the names out loud. "Emily, Achbar?"

"Here."

"Carlos Arias?"

"Here."

"Hellen Billings?"

"Here." She went on till she reached my name.  Although I could notice that all that time she glanced at my usual now empty seat with slight curiosity.  Probably sensing something was amiss.

"Marcus Finway?" She called looking at my usual seat.  I couldn't help it.  I felt a slight knot in the throat as I raised my hand.

"Here."

The moment I said that people turned over to stare at me.  Those that didn't know me simply gave me a quick glance.  Those who did stared for quite some time.  I could even see some satisfaction and amusement at the irony that I was in that I've avoided all this time.  Even Miss Hawthorn made a pause for a surprise before giving me a slight smirk before continuing with the listing.

The class was quite normal, as well as troubling.  I still had to narrow my eyes and force my vision to see the blackboard.  Even though there was no reason for me to be at the back of the class, and me being aware of that, it was too late to move forward without making an embarrassment out of myself.  I started working on the algebraic and integral math problems.  Occasionally I had my pen's case zipper get caught in my fur, which caused some of the students to laugh when I let out a mild yowl.  Aside from that there was no big issue.  A little part in me reminded me things weren't as different as I could have thought. Reassuring myself of that, I continue working and paying attention.

After the class, I could see most of the people leave.  I didn't know many people to have them come over to ask how was I doing.  It took me a bit more time to get my stuff ready to leave, especially since I didn't know how to stand out of the desk.  I was the last left in the class, and just as I made my way to exit when…

"Mr. Finway." My ears perked as I turned around to look at the wolf taur teacher looking at me with a smile. "I guess this is why you didn't give out the message to your teammates."

"I know, I'm sorry," I answered, as usual, though more of a custom, I kept my distance from the teacher.

"Relax, I guess that you've changed yesterday. I overheard the nurses talking about an infected student in the cafeteria.  Didn't expect it to be you."  She said while packing her books inside her saddle-like bag.  I could imagine her getting back at me for all the threats I've done before or my attitude about taurs. Yet, she just passed by and petted my shoulder, without saying anything. That turned out to be a surprise to me. "Take care" was the last thing she whispered.

"Wait what?" I turned around to look, only to see her tail waving as it disappeared behind the door.  I tilted my head and only muttered the word "weird." I never expected that reaction…
Here's the next part of the taur virus, corrected. Marcus wakes up in a new place ready to face his new day at school. So far lots of surprises, and the day isn't over

As always any comment is appreciated. Be it a critic (as long as it's reasonable), praise, opinion or just a comment.

The setting was created by :iconcooper3: as well as the characters like Marcus and Trish ^^

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TealMahogany's avatar

Hey, I found a few grammatical errors in paragraph 26

I put them in brackets below, and fixed them

If I’m overstepping my role as a reader, please tell me.


So far, in all my [8(remove)][eight] years of taur virus quarantine[,] I’ve never really paid much attention in my parent's actions. To me, they were just being paranoid and I didn't want to get involved.  I've only known a few 'crusades' my mother [had] done for the community, such as the debate for allowing taurs [to] frequent public places such as parks 'where children can be exposed to them.'  At least that was my mom's opinion. I also remember her opinion and campaign to get Miss Hawthorn, the math teacher with the 26 month strain out of the school.  Back then she spent her days arguing with the school personnel as well with the principal[,] but never directly with the wolf taur herself.  In retrospect[ive(remove)], I guess I should have been slightly more interested in my parent's actions since they had a consequence on my social life.  I looked back and notice[d] that people at school tended to be mad at me on occasion, most likely because my parents have made [them(remove)][their's] or a relative's life a tad harder.