It was four months after the Thanksgiving fury flu that the first worldwide census was conducted. Prior to the pandemic, the planets population was over eight billion; carbon dioxide emissions were at a level that was considered unsustainable. Now the planet stood at four billion. While the fury virus did kill people; it was only those who were elderly, terminally ill or already immunocompromised. This equaled to approximately one billion of the population killed. The remaining three billion was due to humanity fighting back and trying to maintain their status as the dominate species. Automatic weapons and long range ballistic missiles while were advantageous to the human armies at the start, these were soon rendered ineffective once furies were able to organize and started to cast magic. Said magic causing guns to back fire; missiles failing to launch or heading off course. Furies refuse to use fire arms due to their ears being extremely sensitive to the gunpowder exploding and the smell of spend powder being overpowering and unpleasant. However they were able to use more low-tech but just as effective weapons, such as the compound bows, spears and assorted bladed weapons. This allowed furies as well as their ability to glamor themselves to get in close to the human armies and rout them.
While these events were happening in nations that were not as developed as America, Canada or in Europe, that didn’t mean they were not experiencing their own hiccups with transitions of power. Several members of the United States Congress and Senate managed to hide themselves away in an old cold war era bunker; Coming out of their shelter, these men thought they could help reform and reorganize the government. They were shocked when furies were now running things and the former madam vice president was now madam president. Being members of a fringe element of the G.O.P, these men soon found themselves in a small fortified communities located in remote towns all across the nation. Many humans who were considered themselves to be the superior species managed to band together as a form of resistance. Mostly consisting of White supremacists, doomsday preppers and right wing evangelicals; they vowed to take back their country and lands by force.
One night during the cold days of December, a few of these self-styled freedom fighters decided to go hunting. They heard the Presidential address made by the vice president now a female otter fury; all refused to abide by the no hunting fury warning. It wasn’t too difficult to pick up a trail of furies in the snow as their tracks were easily identifiable. What these men saw shocked them. The furies in question were mating with each other. A cobra fury getting it on with a mongoose fury; a wolverine fury getting rutted by a massive elk fury. They quickly lined up their shots from the hunting rifles they had. Several loud cracks in the cold night soon silenced the moans that were coming from the furies. The human hunters celebrated by dragging their trophy kills back to their fortified community.
It wasn’t long before the community was raided by a group of vengeful furies out to defend themselves and their families. Most assumed that these furies would kill the hunters; but a more fitting method of punishment was devised. Tired of all the killing, the furies snuck into the community at night, glamoring themselves to look human or appear invisible; they crept and collected every fire arm they could find. Destroying each and every noisy weapon as most slept. Finding the corpses of their brethren propped up as trophies made a few furies seethe with rage; but they channeled that anger by collecting the dead furies and leaving for the evening. When morning came, the human community was left with only a handful of pistols to defend themselves. The missing fury bodies and a pile of melted metal from the weapons taken, was clear retaliatory albeit non violent act of revenge by the nearby town full of furies. Their message was that 'we furies are not violent by nature, but will defend ourselves when required.'
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It was around the middle of March 2024 when a breakthrough in medicine at a Canadian research hospital was created. Designed to help ensure the fury population doesn’t reproduce wildly out of control a specialized version of fury contraceptive was invented. It was designed to suppress a female fury’s heat cycle; a boon for adolescent teens and newly bonded couples who were not ready to start a family. Brittany Soulfang-Proudhoof grumbled at this news; lamenting that she could of used this when her first heat cycle came. But she was now roughly five months pregnant and clearly showing as she rested with her mate Jake Proudhoof. Her solace was that her BFF Allison was also now pregnant with Jimmy Proudhoof's cub.
“I can’t wait for our cub to be born,” Brittany an anthro gray wolf fury was cradling her swollen belly; smiling as she feels the tiny kicks coming from within. “They feel like hooves,” Brittany smiling as her mate Jake, an anthro stag-deer places a hoof hand of her belly and grins as he too can feel the kicks.
While spring was coming in strong; signaling and urge for some to mate, it also brought another issue. An issue that all furies were not liking; regular checkups regarding flea and tick infestation. This was an inconvenience that all furies with fur or feathers had to endure. Less so for those with scales, but they still had to check as well. Fine tooth combs, specialized shampoos and oils made for some unpleasant evenings for parents to perform on their cubs and each other.
No one was more bitter with this then Bob Clawfoot. An anthro black bear fury, he spent many a night having to help his wife Atoli as they applied the oils and lotions to each other and their daughter Sora. An eight month old baby bear cub fury who was apt to crying when awoken for any inconvenience. Bob’s brother an anthro spotted leopard fury name Ezekiel and his sister Evelyn; an anthro bear fury were busy examining each other’s bodies for the blood sucking parasites. Each getting an intimate look at the other’s anatomical features.
“Please hurry up Zeke,” Evelyn sighing as her brother’s checking is lingering a little longer at her crotch then necessary.
“You don’t want a tick in your folds do you,” Zeke doing his best to remain calm; how ever the sight of his sister’s sex is causing him to get aroused; “so let me finish.”
“Why can’t our older brother do this,” Evelyn grumbling; her irritation at the for front as she can hear the crying wails of a baby in the next room.
“Because he is busy with our niece,” Zeke taking a tweezer and pulling a tick off his sister and showing it to her; “found one.”
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“Just hold steady as you line up your shot,” the mute swan furry speaking softly as her mate, an anthro cardinal fury was target practicing with a bow and arrow.
“It’s a lot tougher then what one sees on t.v,” the cardinal fury letting the arrow loose and missing the target wildly.
“You need more practice,” the mute swan fury remarking as she pulls back on her bow; hitting the bullseye a hundred yards away. Turning to her mate Ruldolph as he once again lines up his shot. “Don’t force it,” Penny speaking; “and always take your time.”
“It would be so much easier if our sense of hearing could handle the loud noises of a rifle,” Rudolph remembering his first time trying to fire one of the guns Penny’s father had.
“Don’t forget that the smell of spent cordite,” Penny blanching at the same memory; “just as bad as perfume.”
Ruldolph doesn’t answer as he lets loose his second arrow. While it wasn’t as widely off target as his first; this one managing to hit the target, however missing the bullseye mark.
“Better,” Penny nodding; “but you are still rushing your shot.”
“How is you sister Elly,” Rudolph watching Penny take aim; “I here she has been with scabs more and more of late.”
Elly became a green feathered parakeet furry as she was engaged in a forceful rut with Scabs; who was a Doberman fury. This was shortly after their father a doomsday prepper tried to shoot a deputy as he tried to take the back roads out of town. At first Elly was acting scared and timid around Scabs; it was shortly after that Penny told the Doberman fury that her sister has a mild dog phobia. Or now had.
“Why do you call your friend Henry, scabs?” Penny letting loose her arrow and scowling as it hit the edge of the bullseye.
“Because of a massive road rash he got from wiping out while skateboarding,” Rudolph chuckling as he line up his third shot; “he tried to do some triple flip but ended up scraping skin on asphalt. Everyone started calling him scabs because of the scabs all over his body.”
“Ha,” Penny unable to hold in the laughter as Rudolph third shot manages to land hallway between the outer and inner bullseye rings.
“They called me pus because of a sinus infection,” Rudolph admiring his third shot.
“And your friends Lankey and slag,” Penny taking her third shot; “what is the story behind their nick names.”
“They were stoned off of weed and they got their names because of the way they moved,” Rudolph answering. Plus they have a thing for each other.”
“I guess that explains why they haven’t found a mate,” Penny letting her last arrow fly and watching it hit the bullseye dead center, causing her to smile despite her beak.
“Guess you win,” Rudolph putting his bow down; “you want to claim your prize now or wait until later?”
“Let’s wait for later,” Penny handing her bow to the cardinal furry; walking to the target she collects all the arrows and returning them to the shared quiver. “I need to pick up my anti-heat pills at the pharmacy and a few bottles of unscented shampoo.”
“So later this evening it is then,” Rudolph approaching his avian mate and giving her a light peck with his beak. His avian penis beginning to peak from his red feathered covered vent, while Penny’s pert nipples started to stiffen and peak through.
“Rudolph Rot-Feder you are incorrigible,” Penny still having a hard time pronouncing the German surname that translates to red feather; “but yes. Later this evening,” Penny return the kiss as the two leaved the wooden glade to return back to town.