Chapter 1

A lot of people know Rip based off the old story. This is the update starting from the new beginning. Its anthro but enjoy anyhow. Please point out any errors you come across, anything confusing and so forth.

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It was another one of those darker days when people didnt smile often. No one talked much anymore, no reason to really discuss anything except where food was going to come from or where the next camping spot would be. You could consider it normal everyday life, how the people here carried themselves. However, I was usually optimistic even though that got me into a lot of trouble with the downers. The only reason for the sinking morality in people was because of the war between humans and anthros but it wasnt always like this. We used to get along just fine whether humans hid their true feelings or not. Our kind has always been looked down on from the beginning. Mother told me the fighting started from a sudden peaceful rally. Anthros were trying for better living conditions. Humans owned everything, and there was nothing really we could do about it but ask. We asked, nothing would happen or we'd be given false hopes. We just couldn't take it anymore. My father was part of the peace rally before it erupted into what humans now call "feral regression". Typically, humans thought that we resorted to our primitive behavior under certain extremities, anger being first and foremost.

That, however, wasn't always the case. There have been some reports of anthros reverting, but personally I believe it has something to do with humans taunting them. Anyway, dad attempted to keep peace when it broke apart. It almost cost him his life. Somehow, he escaped death many unexplained times. Its even a secret to the family how he managed it. But about my family, my dad's name is Jack Keyston. He's a German Shepherd anthro, a pretty strong one too. Aged 25, he's a pretty great looking canine so my mom's says as she often gets jealous of him being away so much. My dad sported the common look. Black, brown, and tan markings, about 6 feet tall and a built defined body. My mom's name is Maria Keyston. The lovely, beautiful Husky she was. She's 23 years young. About 5 feet 6 inches, she was average height and sported a black and white fur coat. I hate to say it but man, my mom is really gorgeous. For a homeless lady, you couldnt tell she ever lived on the streets before. That's how nice she kept herself. Last but certainly not least, my baby sister. Her name is Diamond Keyston. A mix of both parents, though she looked more like mom. She is only 2 years old but unfortunately, she was born blind. Still, we treat her as if it was never a problem and she always seems to smile. Its a good thing too, keeps us smiling when we can. Her coat was black and white just like mom's but her tail did not curl like a husky's. It was more like dad's and kind of just hung there, wagging occasionally. Oh and there's me of course, named Mason Keyston. I'm a mix between my parents as well. Im only 6 years old with a coat just like my dad's almost perfectly. My tail however was like mom's, naturally curling up and over. Homeless just like the rest of the anthros here, we would have had a home if my dad didnt move around so much. He says its for our protection and we have to stay inside these crowded places with other anthros that often have no where else to go but want to hide during the unnecessary war.

Our current living spot was underground. It appeared to have been built and abandoned by humans long ago. One of the leaders found it some time ago, but recently moved us all here. It's always dark save for the camp fires built throughout the place. Its not safe practice as the fire burns all the oxygen needed to breathe down here. If safety and time allows, we tried to find flash lights or any other working sources of light to use instead of fire. This is yet one of the worse spots we've been too to date. I hate it here. Its hot, my fur's matted and it smells horrible. And we sleep on solid ground.

Oh how I wish for something good to happen for once! Mom knew we were suffering from the treatment and did her best to aid us. When the anthro guards were away, she'd sneak us near the entrance where cool and fresh air breezed in, but it was never for long. Maybe a few minutes. We didnt want to risk being discovered or giving away our position to wandering others above. When it was time to eat, mom always gave us her rations but each time we'd give it back. After all, she had to eat as well.

It was difficult to tell whether it was day or night if you werent in seeing distance of the entrance. Our sleeping patterns were often varied because of this. However, whenever dad did return, he'd tell us the time and entertain us with bed time stories of what he did for the day, often exaggerating for our amusement. I loved my family, it was small but fitting. Sometimes I felt I didnt need anything else but them in my life, no matter how bad things got outside of it. We always knew we had each other's back. But if there was anything worth changing, it would be spending more time with dad. I wish he hadnt become a fighter. I dont want anything to happen to him but he seemed pretty convinced he wasnt going to be killed by any human. I suppose that was a good thing, being so optimistic. Perhaps it brought him good luck. Who knows. My dad was just amazing really. His cheery attitude, his personality in general. He was always a giver, yet at the same time can be very frightening. Once, someone threaten mom. Let's just say that guy never showed his face to anyone again, mainly cause dad messed it up. I wanted to be just like him. Sweet and caring, but strong and protective. I think he knew that as well. During the times he was around, he'd play with me and my sister, kept us entertained. Though at the same time, gave examples of good morals to go by.

He once told me if I ever want something, never to give up trying to reach for it. Well, at this point, there's a lot of things I want. Like an air conditioner. Hot and humid here. Its driving me crazy!

"Mom, Im bored, and hot..." I told her while leaning back against her in her lap. She rubbed my forehead and sighed.
"I know sweetie..." I could tell she was unhappy without having to look at her. Her voice signified it, like she expected me to say it. My sister sat nearby playing with a few stones. She seemed busy enough, tapping them against the ground and throwing them within reaching distance. I groaned again, much to my mother's disappointment.
"If there was anything I could have done, you know I would have. Maybe soon enough we'll migrate to a new location." She said lifting me off her so she could stand and stretch.
"I'll be right back. Watch your sister." She then left disappearing into the darkness and crowd. I scurried over next to my sister nosing her cheek with a kiss to hear her giggle.
"Rawrrr...guess who!" She dropped the rocks and reached up to my face then laughed a bit. It made me smile to which she'd feel my face again and imitated me, also smiling herself. I believe she was trying to see with her hands. I made sure I always smiled when she did that, sometimes glad she couldnt see the horrible conditions we had to live in. Deep in thought, she pulled my ears yanking me slightly off balance. I caught myself though and laughed at it. She did too, thinking it was fun and probably funny too. A few good minutes passed by and mom returned with some news.

"The fighting has moved on from this area which might mean we'll get to go outside soon!" She seemed excited, but so was I.
"Finally! Fresh air from his smelly place. I cant wait..." Already I was beginning to get impatient. Jumping up to my feet also stretching, my destination was to explore some more around the place but was quickly stopped by a familar voice. Looking around, I spotted the witty voice. It was a friend of mine, named Shade. He was a black and white Border Collie, aged 7 I believe. Just a little bit taller than I was and more bodied, though not fat, just more muscles I guess. His left eye had distinctive markings, a "X" shaped slash of white fur over it. His vision was unbelieveably perfect in the dark. Both eyes were blood shot red for some odd reason though and he had oddly small pupils. And last but not least, he was the prankster around here.

"Mason bro, what's up? Still huggin' 'round momma huh?" Shade was an orphan also. No one really knew where he came from. Perhaps he was caught up in the crowds, got lost and ended up with us in the underground shelter. I asked him about his parents once, but he didn't say much. Just that it wasnt important and he didn't have anyone.
"Shut up, Shade..." I played it off, walking away from mother, as she just laughed to herself.
"Hello Mrs. Keyston." Shade said smiling innocently.
"Hey kid. Long time, no see. Where ya been hiding?" She held her arms out as Shade was already coming in for a hug and embraced him tightly.
"Oh just around. No where too special. Figured I'd come and play with Mason today if that's okay with you." He wagged his tail stepping back from her.
"As long as you two stay out of trouble and dont venture off too far, I don't mind." Mom gave me a look of suspicion as if I was really going to start trouble.

"Hey I'll be good. I promise and thanks. Love you!" Shade and I waved mom off as he ran on. I followed him till we were out of sight from mom. We ended up near a less crowed spot although the air was quite smelly. It was dark and hard for me to see but Shade had no problem and directed me accordingly. There was a dripping from the cave roof, creating a nice river of puddles where ever it led to.
"Oh dude, wow. That smell, ugh! Where are we?!" I held my nose tightly whincing from the intense odor.
"Oh whoops. I think we're standing in someone's toilet..." He lifted his foot as liquid dripped from it. Clearly it wasn't only water. Had I known we were talking into "wet" territory, I would've taken a different route.
"Ewww!! Nasty!" I jumped back unable to really see where I was going slipping and falling on the hard rocky ground scrapping my elbow. It hurt badly and natural instinct wanted me to lick it. But trying to lick elbows looked silly if not impossible.
"Ouch! Nnngh...my elbow..." Shade smirked and yanked me back to my feet.
"You big baby, its just a scratch. You'll live. Now keep following me and hold my tail so you wont get lost." We continued on with myself firmly clutching his tail. The path seemed to carry upward, as we climbed through rocks and ridges. He'd tell me whether to jump or to crawl, climb or to fall.

"Any tighter, and my tail will go numb. Are you afraid of the dark or something?" I didnt respond to him. I kept quite, trying to sniffle away the stinging pain in my right arm. Eventually we began to see faint light at the opposite end of our trip.
"Haha there it is! The other exit I found. Fresh air, and a nice cool breeze. There's even a lake out beyond the hill there." I let go of his tail and ran with a smile coming out of the ground and into the light. My eyes had to adjust before I could make out the brightly lit surroundings. I felt my tail grabbed tightly and turned my head to look over my shoulder. It was Shade.
"Lead the way buddy.." He commanded covering his eyes with one arm and clenching his teeth. For a moment I thought his fur was smoking.
"Uhh, um, okay." Confused, I shrugged and walked on wondering why Shade was suddenly acting strange.
"Just keep walking, okay? I helped you, now you help me." Nodding, I led us over the hill and sure enough there was the lake. It was huge. A vast, open, spacious, water hole. A few thick clouds had passed over the sun, shading the land of brighter light and Shade let my tail go finally. He peered around squinting still but looked like he was okay now.

"Shade? You alright...?" I held my arm, as the pain returned. I really needed to wash it. No telling what kind of contamination I got being in that dark abyss of a cave.
"Yeah, Im good. Let's get cleaned up, I smell like crap too." He took off running towards the body of water jumping in completely submerging himself. After a few seconds he surfaced, showering water everywhere.
"C'mon in, the water's nice and warm." He splashed around seeming to walk on its floor. Not wanting to be left out the enjoyment, I hopped in as well. I sunk to the bottom alright, as the water was fairly deep. My arms flailed, my mouth taking in water as I tried to scream for help. I was in sheer panic mode. Shade was doing his own thing, back stroking and humming to himself unaware his friend was drowning. Perhaps he merely thought I was joking or swimming underwater.
"Mason?...if this is a joke, you got me." More time passed by and no response from me.
"Mason!" He finally dove underwater where I was, my body limp and exhausted from trying to reach the air giving surface. Unconscious, unable to breath, stomach filled with water, I was tugged at from the depts of darkness. This darkness was extraordinary to me at the time, though I was not able to visibly see it. Something else was holding onto me. Dark mist wrapped around my ankles, arms, torso. My body finally fell on solid ground as Shade hovered over me. His expression horrified, uncertain, and panicked.

"Bro, wake up! You're not dyin' on me! Get up!" He attacked my body, slapping my face shaking me but ultimately nothing was working. My dad always said I was a tough one, that it was hard for me to stay down. But after today, it felt like I was letting him down. Shade suddenly remembered something he had seen done before. He parted my mouth, tipped my head back and started breathing air into my lungs then proceeded to press repeatedly on my chest. He cycled through this phase until I lept up vomiting, coughing, and hacking water out my system. He flew back wiping his mouth and spat frantically.
"Ugh! Sick!...just, disgusting! It got in my mouth!!!" Shade ran back into the water's edge dipping his face underwater and gargled. I grabbed my throat rubbing it, and laid back down trying to catch my breath. That was a scary experience I never wanted to go through again. The experience was so bad, I had tears in my eyes. I wanted to go back to mom. I had had enough adventure for one day. I curled my legs up to my chest wrapping my arms around them next and shivered weakly.

"I wanna go home, Shade. Take me please." Staring at the light blue abyss reflecting the sun's light, it had come to me that I aquired a newfound fear of water. Deep water to be precise. I hated it and stood up walking back towards the cave's entrance. Shade caught up to me and still spitting and wiping his lips.
"I thought you could swim dude. ...I'm sorry." He didnt say anything else, only then scratched behind his head. I glanced at him and cleared my eyes as the clouds blocking the sun vanished into nothingness. Shade hurried inside and I followed him holding onto his tail once again. After a good 15 minutes of silence, we made our way back to the crowds of people and took our seperate paths.
"Seeya later Mason." He didnt smile, or joke, or do anything funny like I half expected him to. I guess he was upset still, but I didnt blame him. He walked away before mother saw me approaching and noticed my drooping wet fur.
"Mason? What happened to you?" She checked over my body and noticed my wounded elbow. The plain water made it look fresh but at least it wasn't bleeding anymore.
"...I tripped in a big puddle of water, twice." She looked at me confused, probably knowing I was lying.
"You just can't stay safe for one second can you?" She scolded me at first but calmed down and gave me a soft hug after wrapping me up in old blankets.
"Im glad nothing worse happened hun." If she only knew what happened, something I planned on keeping to myself. There was enough to worry about and I didnt need that added to her list. Besides, if she found out, I wouldnt be able to go out again on my own.

Wow... great writing Rip, really great <3

very nice Rip =D