Zorro was a slave. He woke every morning at the crack of dawn to feed the livery of his master. By midmorning, he had to care for the
orchard. Lunch consisted of stale bread and whatever water was left in the bucket after his master drank; he was not allowed to get
more from the well. Afternoons were spent chopping wood, fixing whatever was in need of repairs, and running errands. At nightfall, he
was allowed to stop working, have a supper of more stale bread and leftover scraps from his master's family, then go to bed in his
wooden box. Zorro was a slave because he was a Furry: half-human, half-animal. Zorro was an arctic fox, a rare species in Los
Angeles. He had been purchased from the Trade at six, the youngest age allowed to work; he was now 16.
As a slave, he had no rights. He was considered property. He was not allowed to wear clothes, instead being forced to wear a shock
collar. He didn't mind his nudity; his thick fur made him hot in the summers anyway. He had never known another life and so he did not
expect freedom. Oh, he dreamed of it, of course, but it was more akin to a child's dreams of Santa Claus. He questioned why he mist
be a slave just for being a Furry, but these thoughts were never voiced. His master would have beaten him for such thoughts.
Zorro lived his life like every other slave, completely at the whim of his master's family. He was the slave of Los Angeles' General Ruter,
so his life was slightly better than that of other slaves. His bread was only stale instead of moldy and he was allowed water from the
well instead of the pond. Gen. Ruter was known among the Potentian leaders as being "nice" to his slaves: he did not beat them for fun.
His wife was a very spoiled socialite. She had her own slave, a rabbit-girl named Clarence who cleaned the house, cooked, and waited
on his mistress. Mrs. Ruter saw Clarence as a plaything; she brought her along to all events to entertain her friends. When they had free
time, Zorro and Clarence got along well. Clarence was around 25 years old and acted like a mother/big sister figure for him. They often
spoke of their fantasies of freedom. Their boxes were adjacent next to the shed, so they could speak softly through the plywood wall
without arousing suspicion or unwanted attention. Their ideas of liberty were hopeless daydreams, but even talk of freedom would
warrant the whip.
His master had three sons and one daughter. The eldest son had left home already and was only seen on holidays, usually too busy to
be concerned with a slave. The middle son, however, was two years older and somewhat sadistic. His name was Avery and he enjoyed
forcing Zorro to do meaningless tasks upon threat of the stick. The youngest son was Trenton, who was Zorro's age. They had grown
up together and were as friendly as slave and master were allowed to be. Callisto, the only daughter, was between Zorro and Avery and
had a soft spot for the fox. She liked to treat him as a mix between a little brother and a pet. Zorro had a crush on her, but this was
punishable by loss of certain appendages if discovered.
Overall, Zorro was a lucky slave. He knew of other Furries on his own street whose masters beat them for amusement and made them
go without food for days at a time. Other than Avery, his masters were relatively nice and Clarence was supportive. He accepted his
role and counted his blessings. He was a good slave.
However, this was all soon about to change. On his 17th birthday, Zorro will discover that he is a Superfur. No matter how he decides
to use his power, his life will change forever.