User:Nikon/Changing Perspectives

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Revision as of 23:51, 13 December 2007 by Nikon (Talk | contribs) (Final story after Edits from Bard and Felix.)

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This is a story I wrote after a discussion in #transformations about Jon's story, A Kind of Paradise. It's set in the same story universe. This is the very first story I've ever finished, please be kind with comments. Thanks to Bard and Felix with editing, I would be lost without you two.

Changing Perspectives

Author: Nikon

November 17, 2007

I'm a human. But I'm also a fur. I dream of being a being that walks around on two feet, and is covered in fur, with a muzzle, and tail. I go to cons, wear fake ears and tails, and have lots of friends who do the same. Lately though, things have gotten a bit strange. More and more folks are getting into the community, and more and more are claiming to be actual furs. Not humans with animal souls, but actual furs. Some of us just laugh them off, but not the old timers, the ones who came in before me. And lately, what I've been seeing at conventions and meetups, has me questioning my sanity.

Current Mood: WTF?

Current Music: Alice Cooper - 9 – Poison

---

Tim stared at the LJ post he just put up, then over at his roommate for this con. Joe had fallen asleep again in his fox ears and tail, though Tim could almost swear they didn't look like faux fur. He shook his head, feeling his headbanded raccoon ears slide a bit. “I'm going nuts. Maybe I just need a walk.”

It took forever for the elevator to get to his floor, but that was normal at cons. Tim let his mind wander a bit; turning over the strange things he'd seen so far this weekend. The ears that shouldn't have been able to move. The same with tails. Folks that looked to be in full suit out of the corner of his eye, but turned out not to be when he looked at them.

The elevator dinged, opening for him to get in. Tim stepped in, lost in thought. He didn't notice the skunk or fox in the elevator with him until one spoke up, “Going to the Lobby, dear?”, someone asked.

Shook out of his thoughts, he jerked his head and stared. “Oh, um, yes. Sorry.” Tim looked at the pair. They looked so real. There was no way no way they could be wearing suits, but still alarm bells about his sanity went off in the back of his head. Another ding, and the doors opened to the low roar of hundreds of folks talking.

Stepping out of the elevator, a headache instantly slammed into his skull. Everyone seemed to be in suit. 'It's not possible', he thought to himself, ‘there can't be that many!’ But everyone was anthro there in front of him as he walked out to the lobby of the hotel. Somehow he got himself over to one of the benches in the lobby, and put his head in his hands. The migraine making it feel like his head is about to explode.

Tim felt a hand, an odd hand, touch his shoulder. “Are you alright, Blue?” Blue was Tim's character's name, as he played a blue raccoon online. The voice was familiar, so he looked up. He saw a paw, not a hand, but a paw! The claws tipping it. That fur. It could only be a-- a paw. Then up at the anthro, the fur, standing over him. Tim blinked a few times, and saw a kangaroo. One that looked so real that it must have hopped right out of a zoo. Except for the bigger head, the intelligent eyes, the more dexterous hand-- paws, the--

“You don't look so good, want me to get con staff?” the kangaroo asked. His, its muzzle moved perfectly with the speech, there was no way that was animatronics.

Tim was feeling that he really must be losing it.

He looked at the roo, helpless, clueless, and then spotted a namebadge. ‘Bounder’ it said, one of his friends from furnet. “Bounder? Oh, please go and get someone, my head feels like it's going to explode.” Curling up tightly, Tim clutched his head in his hands.

“Ok, I'll go have someone get Perry.” Bounder said.

Tim heard the roo hop off. Not walk, hop. Tim heard the THUMPTHUMPTHUMP of the hopping. He looked back up. Every species you could think of was wandering the lobby, with the stray human here and there. And the smells. Smells that he hadn’t noticed before. Not just fanboy funk. Different smells. Like the last time he'd been to a farm.

The kangaroo with his friend's name came back, followed by a husky. “Bounder?" Tim asked. "Is that you? And when did you get a suit?” Another wave of searing pain pulsed through his skull, and Tim clutched his head again. It was like his skull was going to explode if he didn't hold it together.

“Suit? I haven't gotten a...” Tim looked up at the shock on Bounder's face-- muzzle-- whatever.

“Oh. Perry, let's get him to a quiet room-- is one of the meeting rooms open?”

A warm furry arm snugged around Tim, helping him up. Furry-- furry-- it just couldn't be--

Perry, the husky, looked at him. “Do you think you can walk for a bit?”

Tim nodded as he was helped down one of the hallways by a kangaroo and a husky. ‘Yeah, this is normal’, he thought.

Tim was led to one of the rooms used to host panels during the day, full of chairs. He blinked as he noticed that all, all, the chairs were tail friendly. They were all arranged facing a table that the panel members would sit at. The husky set Tim down at the edge of a row of chairs.

Perry smiled at him, “Just lie down if you need to.” Turning to close the doors, he called someone named Fox over the radio to please come to the conference room, quickly.

Bounder sat sideways on one of the chairs. “How you holding up Blue? Feeling any better?”

In fact Tim was feeling a bit better. Especially now that he was away from the crowd. Still he felt very odd, laying here with a Kangaroo and Husky looking over him. “Yeah, a bit. Just-- I think I'm losing my mind.”

Bounder put his paw on Tim's knee. “I understand completely. Fox'll be in here in a moment, he's best with explaining things to newbies. But I guess I should tell you now, everything you're seeing is real. Yes, real. Are you feeling any changes with yourself at all?”

Tim stared, blinking. His mind ground to a halt from what Bounder had said. He didn't feel any different himself, but-- The rest of the world-- That can't be! He was here. And they were there-- here. “No, I don't feel any different, but you all-- You're all anthros!" He sighed. "It can't be true, but-- I feel so confused.”

There was a knock on the door, and a fox peeked in. Somebody, something nodded, and the fox came inside. Looking right at Tim for a moment, he turned to Bounder, “What's going on?”

“Um... I think the field just collapsed for Blue, I think. I mean, he can see us.”

Fox looked at Tim again. “Well-- well then! Welcome to the Twilight Zone, Blue. Just kidding, but really, we are furs. Anthros. Morphs." He took a deep breath and let it all out in one long explanation: "This is real. There are just over a million of us, and these cons are where we can get together and meet without worrying about the norms. This has been going on for about 20 years now, and our population seems to double each year. No one has any idea why it happens, but it just does. It seems that being here, at this con, has broken down the 'field', as we call it, and allowed you to see the world as it actually is.” Turning to Perry, he asked, “Can you get him a glass of water, it looks like he needs it.”

Tim watched Perry get him the water. Perry was digitigrade, walking on his toes. Tim just watched, admiring the movement. Seeing those legs in motion was another nail in the coffin of his sanity. This was real. Tim turned to the fox and roo. He pointed to each of them in turn. “So, you're really a fox, you're really a roo, and you're really a husky? And I haven't been going insane the last few cons?”

Fox smiled. “Yes on the first three, and no on the last one. Trust us, we all know how you feel. We all went though the same thing, though it was us that was changing.”

Tim looked from one to another to another and back. “So, I guess, my next question is, well, what now? I mean, I can't go acting like I see talking animals; they'll lock me up. I mean-- I feel like I've just been let in on the biggest secret ever, and I can't tell anyone.”

Fox put a paw on Tim's shoulder. Tim felt the pads though his shirt, and the small claws. “It's ok, there's still another whole day of con, and I'm sure some of the locals of your town can help. Granted, this is the first time I know of where someone who hasn't been transformed could see us.”

Perry handed him some small orange pills. His claws against Tim's skin felt-- strange. Trying to focus on reality, the new reality, Tim looked down at the pills. “Some Motrin," Perry supplied, "for the headache, should help till you get use to reality.”

Looking at the pills, Tim shook his head, and then popped them in his mouth, gulping the pills down with some water.

“Thanks, you all. I feel a lot better now. Um, could you show me around the con? You know, tell me who is who? I don't think I'll recognize anyone anymore. I-- This isn't what I thought the rabbit hole would be like.” Tim stood up, a little shaky, but quickly getting his legs.

He got a shock as he was suddenly hugged on three sides. He hugged back, knowing that his friends were still his friends, even though the world had changed. He knew he could handle it.

He knew that the world had changed.

In a good way.

---

November 18th, 2007

Guys, disregard the last entry. Something came up at the con, and helped me get my head on straight. In fact you could say my eyes were opened. I'll say one thing, life will not be boring again. Going to head to bed now. Been a long night, met a lot of new furs, and there's still a long day at con tomorrow before we all head home. For now, I'm going to fight for my half of the bed.

Current Mood: Happy

Current Music: A fox snoring