The weekend seemed to be starting off great, but that sentiment immediately changed as soon as the team entered the main lobby of the resort. There were several guys milling about and chatting amongst themselves.
They weren't human. Each of them had a thin layer of fuzzy fur, a muzzle or snout, strangely shaped ears, and even a tail that somehow moved behind him.
"What the –?" Cory wondered aloud.
"Was there a costume convention of some kind held here?" Ari pondered.
There were all sorts of animal-dudes. Some had strange horn-like attachments on their heads behind their ears and an oddly-shaped bulge in their crotches. Others seemed to resemble kangaroos with long tails and pointy ears. Each guy seemed to be in incredible shape as even their muscles were pronounced through the fur. They all had different kinds of athletic builds, some stocky, some ripped, some toned, and some downright massive. One particular group by the front desk eyed the football team as they came inside.
One super buff roo-guy raised a curious eyebrow as the team approached and said, "You wouldn't happen to be those boys from State U by any chance, would ya?"
Coach Williams stepped forward and said, "That's us. Name's Coach Williams. Assistant Coach Thomas is back at the buses. You fellas just leaving?"
One of the beefy cow-guys chuckled. "Not exactly."
"Hate to break it to ya, but apparently someone in the office flubbed some numbers," the roo-guy said. "I'm Rick. We had booked this whole place for ourselves this week."
"So did we," Coach said with a frown.
"So I've been told," Rick said. He huffed. "Look, there's enough for both of our groups and then some. They insisted that there'd be a discount in it for both of us. I don't mind if you don't. We'll just need to coordinate our schedules in using the facilities. Hell, I got a few pro trainers who might be willing to lend a p– hand or two with your boys."
"Who does he think he is calling us 'boys'?" Rod complained. Another really tall, really buff roo-guy eyed Rod and dangerously narrowed his eyes. Rod looked away. Cory almost snorted at Rod getting put in his place by someone bigger than him.
"Well, if we've got no other choice," Williams said reluctantly. "Fine. Let's see if we can make this work."
Rick grinned. "Awesome! I'm glad to hear it! And I'm sure we can come to some sort of..." his eyes gave Williams a once over, "... arrangement over some lunch."
"See y'all around, fellas!" the cow-guy from earlier said with a pleasant smile and wave. The rest of the guys left, and Williams and Rick walked up to the front desk.
"What was their deal?" Ali asked.
"Furries, that's what," Rod grumbled. "Don't ask how I know."
"Ugh, great," Ali said. "Man, why do we have to share this place with that kind of weird meetup going on? That's messed up!"
"Never heard of one just for guys though," Cory said. "But whatever. As long as they leave us alone, I can ignore them." Coach Williams and Assistant Coach Thomas argued with the front desk staff for a while. Even Rick seemed to get involved. But eventually both coaches gave up and started handing out keys. Williams and Thomas then went off with Rick, likely to discuss schedules and such.
"I hope I can ignore them," Ali said with a shrug. "Dudes dressing up like cows with udders is just freaky." He shuddered.