Dear Friends of the Furry Fandom,

I wish to thank you all for reading my first furry fan fiction.

Ever since I was younger, I have always loved to write. I’ve always enjoyed writing and creating worlds and unique characters. When others in my English class would groan and curse doing a writing assignment, I got excited and accepted the challenge head on.

As an artist of the written word, I want to paint beautiful images in a person’s mind. To take them to places they have only dreamed of and for them to experience something fun, fresh and new.

I have been a fan of the Furry Fandom for many years, first discovering it back in 1999, enjoying various written works and the art that sometimes accompanies those stories. Especially from writer Bernard Doove and his Chakat Series and Tales of The Foxtaur Clans.

Now I feel that it is my time to throw my hat into the ring with this story, which was originally inspired by the lovely Vix, aka Rika and her Freak Show Badge Commissions.

With such a variety of her badges and meeting with some incredibly kind and wonderful members of her Picarto.TV Art Stream, I was inspired to write up a story of how my character, Tobias Foxtail, would join her Freak Show via a Freak Show Badge that I commissioned her to do. I also wanted to include as many of those streamers, several that I am honored to call my friends, as possible into my story, as they gave me the inspiration and encouragement to continue this creative endeavor. Without them, this story would not have been as rich and rewarding as it is now.

None of this would have been a reality without the friends that I have made in Rika’s Art Stream. I personally wish to thank each and every one of you for making this all possible.

It took me over three weeks, many hours and plenty of perseverance to make all of this possible. But I was not alone.

I personally wish to extend a sincerest thank you to  Styphiorwilde, who was my main editor on this project. I have never had such a quick and responsible editor like him who took the time to make the edits required for this story. So I thank you my friend for your hard work and dedication.

I also wish to credit all those who participated in this story. Thank you all so much for becoming part of my creative endeavor. It is so much richer and more complete thanks to each and every one of you.

(***In Order of Appearance:  TobiasFoxtail,  RikaFoxPawzer,  Styphiorwilde,  jayjkay10,  Summertime,  ECH00,  CosmicWuffy,  Xmotionh,  Beagle.in.red,  Thelo_Nammer,  Momobeda, Mohawk Lion, Smudger, Wes Husky, (Sadie), Kashi, (Azalea),  SpykeTyranno, :iconLeonSarambi,  Galak_Songster, Vulken Fox,  Congo-Cheetah, (Boba), (Ersatz), Rengi Gungen, Raziel_1984,  Bakasnowbunny, Luna Wolfsong, Striker Fox, ChenelleV,  Pen-Like-A-Brush,  Revanchiset***)

And of course, I personally wish to thank the incredible  RikaFoxPawzer. Without your Freak Show Badges and your willingness to share your creative talents to the world, this story would never have been possible.

So, without further ado, I welcome you all…to The Greatest Freak Show on Earth…

*draws back the curtail*


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Freaka’s Furry Freak Show
Tobias’s Story


Act I

The young fox was panting heavily as he ran across the dark field, running as fast as his foot paws could carry him. Luckily, he was an excellent runner. But unfortunately for him, he was sadly use to this kind of thing. He would try so hard to fit in, to be helpful to others, only to be told to take a hike. To leave. And at worst, run out of town by the locals.

In his travels from town to town, he tried to go out of his way to be a friend to others and to be a helpful, happy soul, but in the end it all ended the same. Someone would laugh at his appearance. Or tease him for being different from them. And even some furs trying to ride him like a pony.

His latest efforts to try and fit in not only failed, but really put him in a pickle. For sadly, he had to defend himself against a fat, arrogant, stupid white rabbit bully who self-proclaimed to others that he was better than him because he was rich and that his daddy was the mayor of the town. One argument lead to another and the two eventually tussled. The young fox won the fight, but the bully used fear, hate and his precious “Daddy” to turn the people of the town against him.

This lead to him to literally be run out by the townspeople, who carried pitch forks, shovels and even torches. Like a scene out of the movie “Frankenstein,” the fox ran as fast as he could, eventually hiding behind a thicket of bushes by a small creek.

One of the villagers, the overweight rabbit mayor of the town himself, cried out into the darkness.

“…and stay out you four-legged freak!”

Tobias had heard those words so many times that they shouldn’t have bothered him. That those words shouldn’t have affected him the way they still do, but the sting of those words still pierced his heart deeply every time they were spoken.

He couldn’t help being born with four legs like a feral fox and the upper torso of an anthro fox.

He was a foxtaur after all.

Taurric furs have always existed alongside anthros since the dawn of civilization, like the rest of the known world. While anthros outnumber taurs 4-to-1, most anthros would see a taur in their lifetime. In most of the modern, civilized world, taurs and anthros exist peacefully. But sadly in some countries, societies, counties and towns, taurs are not welcomed by their anthro brethren. At worst, they are just down right discriminated against. All because they look different and have different needs.

This was sadly the case for Tobias and his parents as they tried to find a better life for their son. But tragically it was not meant to be. At the age of 16, Tobias’s parents were slain by a gang of anthros who hated taurs as they traveled to another town to find work. Tobias escaped, but knew in his heart that he couldn’t let this horrid incident taint his perception. He knew deep down in his heart that there were good anthros out there. He had known some in his travels from town to town when he was just a young kit. But he was unsure and scared as he continued his journey through life.

From that day onward, he only carried the cloths on his back and money in his saddle bags, hoping that one day he would find a place where he could belong. There were times when he almost found a friend and a place to call his own, but either his friends would turn on him or would be beaten up due to their association with a taur, they used him for their own personal gains, he was told to leave because they were not comfortable being around him or the town would fall onto hard times, forcing those who had enough sense to leave.

Now at the age of 26, he was wondering if it was all worth the trouble. Why keep living if no one would ever truly accept him. While some anthros were kind to him, others only wished death upon him, just for living. He needed a friend now more than ever in his life.

The humid air of early June hung heavy, even as full night cloaked the land in darkness.

In a clearing near a strange large tent glowing with the light of a carnival fair ground in the distance, he found respite from his pursuers.

Tobias then sat on a cut down tree stump, crying and sobbing like a little fox kit.

He had no one in the world to be his friend. He cried out to the night sky.

“Why am I such a freak!? What’s the point of living if I’m going to be treated like this every day for the rest of my life!? Why was I even born at all!? Why do I even exist!?”

As the young foxtaur continued to cry out into the night and sobbed to himself, putting his hand paws into his face, he was unaware that someone had been listening to his sad pleas. Ready to give him the answers he had been seeking for so long.

Like as if he had summoned a genie from a magical lamp, a twisted, yet somehow charming arctic blue fox was riding toward him from the darkness. On a scooter that matched the color of her outfit, she rolled up to Tobias and placed her right paw on his taur side barrel.

She turned to him and spoke sweetly and softly.

“Why are you crying my freaky little freak?” asked the harlequin blue fox, smiling a wicked grin from ear-to-ear.

It took Tobias a moment to realize that someone had placed a paw on his side before he yelped in fright and leaped off the stump as he turned to face the mysterious figure.

Staring before him was a blue arctic fox dressed in a harlequin outfit, wearing a jester’s hat. Her appearance was grotesque, but strangely charming. Even cute to those of a different mindset.

She had a big black nose, a blue, white & teal face, short black hair, a row of gnarled teeth and glowing orange and yellow eyes. On further inspection, her left eye’s pupil was that of a red strawberry. Very odd indeed to the startled young foxtaur.

Her left ear was tilted back; a scar could be seen coming down her right eye. Her tail was half white and half blue with a half black and half white tail tip. The right side of her mouth was that of a toothy, creepy grin, but her left was sad and droopy.

Her harlequin outfit was a mixture of deep reds, light reds, deep browns, tans, teals and goldenrod.

Her left leg had a traditional spat that was a deep brown with gold buttons. Along with a light red leg cover with yellow diamonds. Her right leg was a traditional legging with deep red and tan strips.

Her coat tails were a deep brown on one side and a deep red with tan lines running down on the other. Her pants were puffy, each with diamond patterns of either red or yellow diamonds.

Her vest was deep brown on her left side and deep red with goldenrod strips on the other. A cute little smiley face button with a single curl of black hair was proudly displaced on her left side vest. And a frilled collar around her neck with light red and goldenrod pedals. Even smaller yellow triangles could be seen right near her neck fluff.

Her arm cuffs were a deep brown with gold buttons and a teal line running down it, but only her left arm had a sleeve with deep red and tan lines. Her left paw was white while her right paw was blue.

And to top it all off what her fool’s hat: a traditional 3 loose peaks with gold bells attached to each one. One peak was a deep red, the second was a deep brown and the third was a diamond pattern of goldenrod and light red.

In all his 10 years of traveling the land, Tobias had never seen such a creature before him.

The foxtaur was about to run away in terror before the blue fox held up her paw to stop him.

The mysterious harlequin then used her other paw to begin pulling out a multi-colored handkerchief from her sleeve to the teary-eyed foxtaur. And like any good handkerchief trick from a harlequin jester, it continued on for a good solid minute as each one was tied to another, and another and another.

Tobias sniffed and found a little humor in what the blue fox was doing. He smiled a little and chuckled. He used the handkerchiefs to wipe his matted fur and blew his nose loudly like a trumpet.

The harlequin jester then began laughing. A chuckle at first, which then rolled into uncontrollable laughter as she literally fell to the ground and rolled around laughing.

Tobias was confused, but then laughed a little himself.

After they enjoyed a hardy laugh together, the blue fox picked herself up and then spoke.

“I know you’re afraid, but please don’t be. I’m a friend.”

Tobias stopped when she said those words.

“A…friend?” he thought to himself. “I’ve never been asked to be someone’s friend, just like that.”

The foxtaur turned to her and spoke.

“Is that so harlequin jester? Why would you want to be my friend? And why did you call me a ‘Freaky Little Freak’?”

The harlequin fox just smiled at him, giggling.

“I know that you’re all alone in this world. I can tell just by the look on your face. You’re sad, angry, confused and alone…without anyone to love and to be loved by. I’ve known those feelings all too well. I want to be your friend.”

Tobias was stunned. He had never been told outright so quickly that someone wanted to be his friend like that. His voice echoed with skepticism as he spoke.

“I’ll ask again. Why would you want to be my friend? I don’t even know you.”

He placed his paw on his chest before spreading his arms out.

“Look at me. I’m a foxtaur. I don’t belong with anthros. And I have yet to find a village or town that will truly accept me for who and what I am.”

He paused before he spoke again, in a sad tone as he frowned.

“I’ll never belong anywhere.”

The blue fox just shook her head, like she knew a deeper truth, and smiled as she leaped toward Tobias, wrapping her arm around him with excitement and poking at his fluffy chest.

“Come on now! Of course you belong! You belong with me and my Freaky Friends in our wonderful traveling band of Freaka’s Furry Freak Show! We’re all freaks there. And most important, we’re a family. We always stick together through thick and thin! No matter the odds. And trust me, you’ll be normal compared to our other acts!” she exclaimed with a snarky and copious laugh.

“You’ll never be alone as long as you’re with us. And I will always be your friend, no matter what happens. Now come on foxy, give me a smile.”

Comforted by the blue fox’s words and the prospect of a place to call home, Tobias began to smile a little. But the blue fox wanted more.

With a bit more snark in her voice, she once again spoke. “Really? That’s what you call a smile. Come on now, silly foxtaur. I want a REAL SMILE! Like THIS!” she exclaimed as she grabbed both sides of her mouth with her paws and really stretched it to make a creepy, happy smile.

Tobias was shocked and scared, but he knew this might be the only chance he would ever get to have place that wouldn’t chase him away like an animal. So he complied and gave the biggest smile he could give to her.

In a happy voice, the blue fox spoke.

“See? I told you that you could give me a BIG SMILE! I love you already!” she exclaimed as she hugged her new best friend.

Tobias was surprised. He had not been hugged by another in so long. But it felt so good. He returned her hug with a nice, hardy foxtaur hug, really using his upper body strength to squeeze the harlequin fox jester. She was a tad out of breath due to his taur strength, but she enjoyed every minute of his hug. She knew she had found a new friend…and a brand new act for their traveling Freak Show.

She then leapt down and spoke again.

“I knew you were a perfect candidate the very moment I first laid my Strawberry Eye on you! That’s because I know deep down that you do have a special talent. And I will personally bring it out of you myself. That and my magician friend told me how to do it anyway!”

She laughed a cackling laugh and then winked to the young foxtaur as she stuck out her long, deep pink tongue.

Tobias was freaked out for sure, but he was now more curious than ever. A magician who knew about a special gift he had deep inside himself? A freaky blue harlequin fox who actually wanted to be his friend? And the opportunity to finally have a place to call home that would treat him like family? It all seemed too good to be true. And with a possible mob still on his tail, he needed an escape.

He turned to his new “friend.”

“Okay, Miss…?”

“Oh! Where are my manners? I am Freaka.”

She reached out her paw and immediately shook Tobias’s with such force and vigor he almost felt his arm coming out of its socket.

“Right? Freaka. So…you’re the owner of Freaka’s Furry Freak Show?”

She then looked funny at Tobias.

“I don’t see anyone else around here named Freaka” she said with a snarky voice. “So yes. I am THE Freaka of Freaka’s Furry Freak Show at The Berry Meat Carnival.”

With that, Tobias smiled at her.

“Then I would be honored to join you and your traveling Freak Show, Freaka” said the foxtaur with a bow from his upper body, bending down using his fore legs.

With those words, Freaka jumped for joy and laughed like a mad woman.

She then turned to the foxtaur.

“And your name?”

“Tobias. Tobias Foxtail.”

“Tobias. Such a beautiful name. And you’re pretty handsome to boot” said Freaka flirtingly as she winked at the foxtaur, before letting her long tongue out.

She did speak the truth in many respects.

Tobias was a pretty handsome foxtaur by all accounts. He had a traditional orangey-red and white fur coat that stretched from his muzzle all the way down to his chest and under his taur underbelly. Black foot and hand paws like a traditional red anthro fox and a big, long bushy foxtail with a white tip. His eyes were a charming and warm orange-amber and he had the most playful smile when he was happy. His black nose, black ears with white inside were all traditional fox colors and he had a cute little black mark on either side of his muzzle. And to top it all off was a beautiful head of deep red hair.

Freaka then picked up her scooter and waved to Tobias to come with her.

“You’re gonna LOVE our Freaky Family!” she exclaimed as she smiled and winked to Tobias.

Even though he was scared, he somehow felt excited as well. He had always heard about these traveling freak shows, but never attended one. And with the thought of a new friend and a new life, he felt like his life was finally changing for the better.

Tobias felt empowered.

“Lead the way Freaka!”

“With pleasure my freaky little freak!”

As she led the way, Tobias was easily able to keep pace, even outpacing her, giving her a playful wink as he began to outrun her. She liked the challenge and began to race faster on her scooter, trying to keep up with the foxtaur as they raced to the Berry Meat Carnival grounds.

And for the first time in a long time, Tobias felt happy and hopeful.


Act II

Both foxes finally made it to the entrance of The Magical Midway, a long stretch of ground at The Berry Meat Carnival. Freaka was a bit out of breath, but still kept smiling.

“WOW!” Freaka exclaimed as she continued out of breath. “What I heard was true. You taurs are the fastest runners in the world!”

Tobias felt proud to hear those words. With confidence, he spoke.

“That is true. In the days of the Greeks, the greatest marathon runners in all the known world were taurs.”

“I…can…see that…wow. Just…give me a moment.”

Tobias happily waited as Freaka finally caught her breath. And together, they began their walk toward The Magical Midway.

As they walked the fairgrounds, the lights, sights, sounds and smells of the carnival filled the humid June air. Children were laughing, crying and screaming as various freaks performed magic tricks, crazy stunts or selling refreshments.

As they walked toward The Main Tent, Tobias saw a blue and white fox with a dark blue nose and two red strips on his blue and white tail. Next to him was an ice cream cart and several eager children awaiting their frozen treats.

Cloaked in a bluish grey hood and a long blue ice staff hanging on his back, the fox grabbed several plastic cups from the cart and waived his blue paws. He had a twisted glint in his left eye, which was covered with a white patch of fur on his blue face. Like magic, several pillars of ice formed to hold each cup. And with another wave of his paws, a mass of ice crystals and snow flurries began to swirl around, filling all the cups with frozen white ice crystals. Once it finished forming, he grabbed a big dispenser bottle and began pumping a red and yellow liquid syrup onto each one. Each of the children grabbed their treats and thanked him.

With his task completed, he then turned to Freaka and Tobias, his tuff of black hair sticking out from under his hood. He once again preformed the same task as before, creating two more treats with extra syrup this time and reached out to hand them to the two foxes with a wicked toothy grin.

“Care of a Strawberry Lemonda Snow Cone?”

With that, Freaka quickly reached out to devour the frozen treat in an instant. As she did, she than began to have a brain freeze as she staggered. Tobias tasted his snow cone carefully, enjoying the flavors that danced on his tongue.

After her brain freeze thawed, she shook it off and then introduced the chilly blue fox.

“This is Styphior Wilde. Our Sorcerer of Snow and Ice. And the maker of the best Strawberry Lemonda Snow Cone that you will ever have in your life! And Styph, this is Tobias, our newest family member.”

The snow fox shook Tobias’s paw. In a deep, creepy and yet soothing Irish-like accent, he spoke to the foxtaur.

“A pleasure to meet you. I have traveled to many lands in my lifetime and experienced the greatest wonders of the world, serving Presidents, Celebrities, Debutants, Tyrants, Ministers and Sultans with my culinary frozen delicacies. I have even met a taurric creature or two as well, but none as unique as you. There’s something…very special…about you. I think we will become the best of friends…and brothers…you and I.”

Tobias was beyond honored and humbled to hear such kind praise.

“Th…thank you Styphior. It truly is an honor to meet you as well. Thank you for your incredibly kind words. And thank you for the snow cone. It’s beyond excellent.”

Styphior smiled a creepy smile to Tobias.

“Think nothing of it my foxtaur friend. But I do have one request?” Styphior said with a creepy, toothy grin.

Tobias was hesitant, but knew he could not mess up his opportunity to make a good impression.

“Of course. I will do my best to answer. What do you need?”

“When we have a moment, I’d like to try every item at the local burger joint in the next town over. This is my first time in these United States since I joined Freaka’s traveling show and I’d been very curious to try the local cuisine. It will help me to create even better tasting treats for The Freak Show. And with a taur’s stomach, I’m sure you could use a good meal as well” said Styphior with a hardy laugh that resembled that of the famous Count Dracula.

Tobias was very surprised to hear that from the Sorcerer of Snow and Ice, but he complied regardless.

“Of course. Anything for…my new brother.”

Styphior laughed his Count Dracula laugh and then gave the foxtaur a hug.

“Then we shall go sometime later this week when you are fully settled here. But for now, I must return to my work. Have fun showing Tobias around Freaka” said Styphior as he playfully winked to the harlequin fox before returning to his cart.

As they continued to walk around down The Magical Midway, another freak was entertaining the children with what appeared to be two demonic, yet dopey looking hand puppets that strangely resembled two popular children’s cartoon characters. The red and white wolf was dressed in a camper’s uniform, complete with grey shorts, a muted red T-Shirt, a blue camper’s vest and a blue & white hat with a blue pine tree on the front. On his right paw was a deer puppet with the same exact hat that the young wolf wore, who also dressed in a similar camper’s uniform. On his left paw was a young female unicorn puppet with a pink head band, a pink horn and a thick pink sweater with a mysterious yellow pyramid eye on it. Both of the puppets began to glow as the wolf continued his tale.

“And then appeared before our heroes a mighty creature of myth and fantasy. For you see, Deerper & Mabelcorn had summoned…The Centaur-taur!”

And right as Tobias and Freaka walked up to him and the children at that exact moment, the children turned to Tobias and began to scream. With a jolt, they scattered away.

With big yellow demonic eyes and a massive toothy smile, he turned to the foxes.

“Oh, hi guys! You really scared the jeepers out of those kids, didn’t ya fella!?”

Tobias felt ashamed for unintendedly scaring the children.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to” he said with a sad frown.

The red wolf with red hair, two little horns on top of his head and little spikes on his red and white wolf tail just smiled and laughed.

“Don’t worry about it. If anything, you made our story even scarier! We love that!”

Freaka giggled greatly as she introduced the wolf.

“And this is out happy little camper Jipper. We found him wandering around an abandoned campsite in the middle of a small national park near a small town. I think it was called…Govity Falls? Gravy-ity Falls? Eh…it’s doesn’t matter. What’s important is that he loves to entertain the children with his demonic hand puppets.”

She then realized something.

“Oh, where are my manners. This is Tobias, our new member of our Freaky Family.”

Jipper then piped up.

“That’s right Freaka. Thanks again for finding me. I still wish we could have found that 3rd Journal though. But it beats eating squirrels for breakfast, lunch & dinner. And it’s a pleasure to meet you Tobias” he said, then looked down at his puppets and extended both paws.

“Say hi to my friends Deerper & Mabelcorn. I’d shake your hand personally Tobias, but I don’t think Deerper would appreciate that” said Jipper with a creepy giggle.

“It’s…wonderful to meet all 3 of you. And I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other soon.”

Jipper just smiled and laughed.

“Of course Tobias! We’d love you to help us more with our stories if possible.”

Freaka then interrupted.

“I need to help Tobias with his own performance first, but I’m sure once he is more comfortable, he’ll lend you a paw. Or four!”

And with that, the two just laughed hysterically, with Tobias eventually joining in.

“Okie dokey then Freaka! Thanks for stopping by. See ya Tobias!” said Jipper, waiving his two puppet friends arms in unison to say goodbye to their new friend.

As they continued their walk, Tobias then realized something and started to talk to Freaka.

“A performance? I’d thought being a foxtaur was freaky enough for a show like this.”

Freaka pondered for a moment before speaking.

“While that is true, you need to develop a proper act. Don’t worry though, I will help to train you every day to make it the very best act Freaka’s Furry Freak Show has ever seen!”

Tobias felt reassured as the two continued toward The Main Tent.

Soon they stopped as they came across a raised platform with two very funny looking furs on stage, both dressed in jester outfits that corresponded to their fur colors. One was a black female hyena with white facial spots and a tuff of red hair. The other was a bright strawberry red fox (who sometimes moonlights as a coyote) with white fur and a yellow outline that separated his belly fur from the sides. He had green stipes on his right thigh and purple strips on his left thigh, along with green and purple strips along his tail. A tuff of black, sparkling hair adorned his head. Along with a lime green nose.

Together, they were *drum roll please* “The Comedic Strawberry Duo: Majira and Echo!”

As the crowd gathered, with Freaka and Tobias within the crowd, the two immediately began to spring into action with their famed comedy act.

“Hey Majira!” said Echo with enthusiasm.

“Hi Echo!” said Majira with toothy grin.

“Do you want to hear a joke?”

“Sure Echo. What is it?”

“What’s red, white, grey and blue all over?”

Majira took a quick moment to answer his co-host.

“Um…a strawberry sundae being shared by Nick and Judy?”

The crowd giggled at Majira’s answer.

She then took a black and white striped mallet with a tuff of red fur to top and whacked Majira across the face with it, which caused the crowd to laugh hysterically at Majira’s misfortune.

Echo then turned to the audience, answering her joke.

“IT’S YOU SILLY!”

As Echo laughed like a mad woman, Majira picked himself up. He then retaliated with a mallet of his own, this one was colored red, green, purple and black like his fur pattern and smelled of strawberries.

“Hey Echo?”

“What Majira?”

“A screaming yeen.”

“A screaming yee…” but before she could finish, Majira hit Echo’s foot, which was met with the hyena girl’s scream.

“YEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!”

The crowd could not get enough of their crazy antics as they laughed at Echo’s misfortune as she hopped on her flattened foot, trying to console her smashed foot paw. Majira then retorted to the audience.

“So that’s what a screaming yeen sounds like” said Majira innocently, with a hint of snark and a playful wink. The crowd roared with laughter.

As Echo regained her footing and tried to charge at her co-host, swinging at him, Majira just placed his paw on top of her head as she furiously attempted to punch him. But she was clearly too short next to the tall Majira.

The crowd applauded and laughed hysterically as their zany antics on stage continued.

Echo then snuck up on Majira, bopping him on the head with her mallet. And what looked like something right out of a Tex Avery cartoon, little strawberries were circling around Majira’s head, along with a big bump. After shaking it off, he pounced on Echo as they tussled back and forth on stage, creating a puff of smoke around them with random items flying out.

Tobias was quite impressed by the display, but then realized something before turning to Freaka.

“Are they…what I think they are?”

Freaka then nodded to Tobias, continuing to watch their act.

“They’re both toons from a parallel dimension. They somehow landed in our world when that big atom smasher in Europe a few years ago caused a shockwave throughout the planet, causing a random time/space rift to open that literally caused Majira and Echo to come tumbling out of their world and into ours. Luckily for me, I came across them in Kansas City, Missouri just before they were taken off to be carved up in a laboratory. Now they have a new home in my Freak Show!”

Tobias admired what Freaka had done for them, now more at ease with his choice of joining her Freak Show.

To close their act, Echo then apologized to Majira, offering him a great big strawberry the size of his head. Majira gladly took the strawberry with both paws, hugging it like a child hugging his favorite stuffed animal. But what Majira didn’t notice was that it had a lit fuse that was about to go off, lighting like a firework sparkler.

Three…two…one…BAM! The strawberry bomb exploded in Majira’s face, covering his entire body with strawberry juice and pulp. Another tussle ensured until a steam whistle went off, which caused the two to stop in their tracks and face their audience.

“It looks like it’s time to go folks” said Echo sadly, the crowd going “Aww …” in disappointment.

But then Majira in a chipper voice spoke up with a great big cartoony smile.

“But we’ll be back before you know it my little strawberries, so stay tuned!”

After saying their goodbyes, they both took a bow, but not before they then began to chase each other around on stage before the curtail closed.

As Tobias and Freaka continued their walk down The Magical Midway, a grey and white wuffy dog with a checkered scarf, light blue teal markings and teal blue hair named Cosmic was performing a most unusual act for a group of children. With a paw reaching down his throat, he began to pull up a string of many socks tied together like a sword swallower. The children were equally grossed out and amazed as he finished his trick, with them applauding after he finished.

In the distance on the other side of The Magical Midway was a massive carousel, but one with various anthros morphed into ferals. Large wooden spikes pierced their backs, with elegant saddles and reigns gracing their backsides and mouths. It was considered by Freaka herself to be the crown jewel of The Magical Midway.

Another freak show performer was off to the side, preforming a unique illusion with nothing but a simple gold pocket watch.

With a careful hypnotic trance, he waved his paw and made the female tiger in front of him bark like a seal, making the audience laugh and applaud. And with a snap of his paws, she came too in an instant.

“Let’s give a big around of applause to my lovely volunteer” said the blue and white wolf with a big toothy grin.

As the crowd dispersed, both foxes approached the wolf. Wearing a black coat with a reverse green on the inside, he was truly a sight to behold. His eyes were that of orange and yellow swirls. His tail, a light shade of blue with a deep blue tip. His claws were jagged and a tad feral. And he sported a tuff of green hair on top of his head.

“And this is the Master of Hypnosis himself. Mr. Jack Linch.”

The wolf expended a paw of friendship to the foxtaur, speaking in a French accent.

“A pleasure to meet you, dear boy. It’s so nice to see a fresh face added to our ranks. Here, take this wallet that I conned from a young naïve gentleman earlier this evening. I think you could use a new saddle bag personally. And this.”

Mr. Linch then handed Tobias the wallet and a bottle of water that appeared to have an erupting volcano on it, with French text.

“It’s thirsty work at this Freak Show, so keep hydrated” said Mr. Linch.

“He’s right you know Tobias. Always stay hydrated” chimed in Freaka.

Tobias then thanked the Master of Hypnosis for his gifts before they continued their walk.

Just before the entrance to The Main Tent, Rika stopped Tobias dead in his tracks, dragging him off to the side to eagerly show him a very special person. Before them was a wooden box with a little red closed show curtain. With a proud introduction, Freaka spoke. As she did, a little red show curtain began to open before them.

“And this is one of my best friends in all of Freaka’s Furry Freak Show. The legendary Puppet Magician…Beagle in Red! He’s the one who helped me to find you out there in the field.”

As she finished, the curtain opened fully and emerged was a wooden puppet Beagle dog with a top hat.

Tobias gazed upon the wooden red and white beagle puppet, inspecting him further. With mysterious blue eyes staring back at him and holding a King of Hearts and a King of Diamonds playing card in each paw, he appeared to be quite old. He might have been as old as the Freak Show that surrounded him. Wearing a burgundy bow tie and a top hat with two Joker playing cards in the burgundy colored brim, he smiled back at the two.

“We can talk for hours about what’s going on around here. The weather, our horoscopes. Where to get the best strawberries and lemonda on Earth. Anything. He is quite the conversation partner” said Freaka with a big grin.

The mysterious puppet then moved up and down inside his wooden booth…with no strings pulling him whatsoever. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came from it.

Suddenly Freaka started to laugh uncontrollably.

“Oh yes! I remember when that guy lit himself on fire! Oh he was a real hot dog indeed!” laughed Freaka like a mad woman.

Tobias was beyond confused.

“This was the guy who deduced where I was and told Freaka how to release my ‘Special Talent?’” he thought. He did have some skepticism, but that too would soon disappear with the next thing that happened.

The puppet magician then began to move on his own accord.

The Beagle’s wooden puppet mouth then began move on its own, opening its mouth wide before…DING! A Fortune Card popped out in the front slot of his wooden booth.

Tobias then took out the Fortune Card and began to read aloud.

The fortune read as followed: “Expect to see two white shooting stars on October 13th.”

“What does that mean?” said Tobias aloud in a confused voice before Freaka responded.

“Well he likes to give fortunes to those who are either good of heart…or evil of heart. But I can tell that this is a very good fortune for you. He knows you’re good of heart!”

Tobias was reassured by Freaka’s words, trusting her and the mysterious Beagle in Red, even if he really didn’t know what it all meant. Tobias then thanked the Puppet Magician, who just nodded and winked at him before he pulled himself back as his red show curtain closed.

As the foxes finally approached The Main Tent, Tobias saw the main entrance to the tent. At over 20 feet tall, a 3D model of Freaka’s face was shown in all its full glory, with an open mouth and a long red carpet tongue leading to The Main Tent entrance.

“I still think they could have made my face creepier” said Freaka to Tobias as the two made their way to Thelo: The Ticket Taker. Dressed in a grim reaper cloak, the grey fox with a yellow highlight down his top muzzle peered at them. With a quick flash of her smile and a wink, Thelo: The Ticket Taker immediately knew that Freaka had a new recruit, letting both go without a hitch.

“I run this show, but I do have great help. Especially from my Emcee coming up” said Freaka with a smile.

“I can clearly see that” smiled Tobias as Freaka unfurled the tent flap and escorted Tobias into The Main Tent.

Inside the tent was a large circular arena with two separate tent poles and lights shining down. Trapeze and high wires adorned the canopy, with rows and rows of seats on either side at ground level. The mad, the macabre and the mysteriousness of the Freak Show electrified the air.

A new act was about to begin. The announcer took to the stage.

This was Momo, Freaka’s second-in-command and head Emcee to Freaka’s Furry Freak Show at The Berry Meat Carnival.

He was a handsome Metaservian, a very rare anthro in all the world. With tall, thin ears like a fennec and lynx combined, he smiled and greeted the crowd with gusto.

His fur color was a shade of brownish grey with darker grey/black markings around his eyes like a bandit’s mask, stipes and spots on top of his head and along his backside, a grey/black ‘V’ mark on his chest with upper cream colored fluff and a cream colored belly and spots along the top of his enormously long tail.

He wore a royal blue ringmaster’s uniform with a gold and purple trim along the edges. With a traditional top hat, his long ears poked out via slits cut in the brim. His long ears were adorned with multiple earrings of every color of the rainbow.

And while he was short in height, he had a big and commanding presence that rallied the crowd as he introduced the next act.

“Now presenting, from the former Soviet Union, the greatest mad scientist to grace the grounds of Freaka’s Furry Freak Show at The Berry Meat Carnival. The Master of Evolutionary Alchemy: Mr. Lev Petrovich!”

And with a puff of green smoke and purple haze, a 6-foot-5-inch-tall thin lion emerged, spreading his arms as he greeted his adoring fans. He then bowed to his audience as they applauded wildly. His right eye glowed with a catlike black pupil in the center. His brown fur gleamed in the light of the stage. And light reflected off of his dirty white lab coat and black rubber gloves. On his belt, a complete set of test tube vials with toxins and various mutagens that vary every color you can imagine.

In a thick Russian accent, he spoke with a disturbing smile.

“Thank you, thank you, you are all too kind. Now before I begin, a brief story from my past. As a young lion cub, I LOVED science. And science loves me. She is my muse. She is my lover. She encourages me to make all anthro kind better through the POWER OF EVOLUTION! Why let nature make us more enhanced in several millennia when I can make it EVEN BETTER RIGTH NOW!”

And with those words the crowd was shocked and fell silent. With that cue, Petrovich began to drum them up again.

“So, I ask you. Are you ready to explore the possibilities of the world? To show nature that I can make her look foolish? Do you want to see something that will shock and make you tremble in pure fear!?”

With that, the audience roared with a resounding “YES!”

“Well then what are we waiting for!? Let’s get on with this show!”

The audience cheered and applauded wildly once more. As the crowd died down, Petrovich once again spoke in his thick, crazy Russian accent.

“I will need two volunteers from the audience. Who will they be…”

As Petrovich peered into the crowd he spotted two “volunteers” and then called them both down.

The first was a young husky woman, who looked like your typical stuck-up, fashion obsessed princess with traditional gray, black and white fur.

The second was a chilled out blue wolf with a green checkered scarf, a blue nose, a blue and white face, blue hair with green tips, blue eyes with green pupils, one blue paw on his left foot and a white fluffy chest with a blue “Peace” symbol pattern on it.

“So what is your name my beautiful little bowl of Borsch?” spoke Petrovich with a glint of madness and affection in his eyes.

The young husky woman seemed to scoff at Petrovich’s words as she answered him.

“It’s Olivia, you weird-o. Gosh. I always run into the weird-o’s around here.”

He then turned to the young blue wolf.

“And what is your name, boy.”

“It’s Smudger, sir. And I think you’re cool.”

Petrovich then turned to his audience smiling.

“Let’s hear it for Olivia and Smudger everyone!”

After the crowd cheered, Petrovich attended to his “volunteers.”

“I think it’s time to make both of these “Neanderthals” evolve into something greater! Wouldn’t you agree!?”

As the crowd cheered yet again, Petrovich quickly removed a brown vial from his belt and threw it at the foot paws of Olivia. As the brown and black smoke consumed her, her body literally torn itself apart, forcing her to become larger, grow razor sharp teeth, long black horns and monstrous claws. Her new body forced her to stand up taller, as her once beautiful curly tail extended and became long and dino-like. Her fur fell off in clumps and her skin became scaly and brown. She began to resemble a Deathclaw from the Fallout series.

And with snap of his wrist, another potion vial smashed at Smudger’s foot paws, enveloping him in a cloud of blue and green gas. As it surrounded him, he began to transform into a monstrous beast with several more eyes, two tentacles springing out from his back, massive razor sharp fangs and claws. His tail became long and dino-like as well, but he kept his beautiful blue, white and green fur, now looking more long and thick.

The crowd was mortified and screamed with terror.

Petrovich then spoke to his crowd.

“Now who wants to see a REAL War of The Monsters!? Let’s let them fight it out to see who is the better evolutionally superior!”

And with that, he motioned his paw to let then have at it. With claw swipes, bites, grabs and lunges at each other, it truly was a sight to behold. Each one trying to one-up the other for evolutionary supremacy. But with a carful opening, Smudger then grabbed at Olivia’s throat, biting hard into it and letting her blood ooze out. The blue monstrous wolf, Smudger, was the victor!

The crowd screamed and applauded, some poor ignorant souls even thinking that this was part of the act. Luckily for the management, all attendants of this performance had to sign a waiver for any damage and possible loss of life.

Tobias was beside himself as he witnessed this incredible display of madness.

Meanwhile, Freaka enjoyed a big box of strawberries, thanks to her blue husky vendor Wes, and turned to Tobias.

“I think she should have bit into one of his tentacles personally. Now THAT would have been a show!”

Tobias was in complete shock, mortified at what he was seeing…and beginning to think if this would be an act that he would be a part of. In a scared and timid voice, he spoke to Freaka.

“Am I…going to be a part of his act?”

Rika turned and grinned a wicked grin of satisfaction.

“Well…only if you want to…”

Tobias furiously shook his head and shouted.

“NO! NO! I don’t want any of that!”

Freaka turned to the foxtaur, teasing him.

“Are you REALLY SURE! I think you would make an AWESOME MONSTER!”

“Please Freaka. I’m already weird enough looking as is.”

“Oh nonsense! You can never be too weird at Freaka’s Furry Freak Show!”

Tobias then began tearing up a little, pleading to his new boss.

“Please Freaka, it’s bad enough to be called a freak by others and run out of town just for trying to help them. I don’t want to be eaten.”

Freaka then looked into the foxtaur’s eyes.

“Trust me on this Tobias, by the time we develop your act and you have gotten to know your new family members better, you will be PROUD to call you’re a freak! Besides, I’m just yanking your chain. Chill out and have a strawberry!”

And with that, Tobias took a strawberry from her box and ate it.

“It’s really good Freaka. And thank you.”

“Oh don’t think anything of it my freaky little freak. Besides, I got a lot more to show you!”

And with that, they took their leave from the Main Tent to continue walking into the back, where a secondary tent, The Practice Tent, was just nearby.

In the middle of the stage were four freak show acts practicing for the next show in the center ring.

The first up was the white, black and green cow Sadie. With long white claws, black and white striped horns, black and white striped arms and legs, green hair and multiple tongues coming for her split open mouth and the mouth on her belly with razor sharp teeth, she looked like something right out of the movie “Beetlejuice.” All while perfectly balancing on top of a big, red rubber ball.

The second was Kashi, a golden furred fennec juggler who had the most uniquely long bushy foxtail, which sported a full rainbow pattern. With beady eyes and a creepy grin, he was skillfully juggling multiple severed limbs up in the air.

The third was Azalea, a white and brown sabretooth cat whose entire body was completely chopped up, but floating in mid-air as ghostly green mist tethered them.

The fourth was Spyke Tyranno, a large, 8-foot-tall dragon/jackal hybrid in a cheetah print jungle leotard. Around his waist was a big black double prong powerlifting belt; complete with his favorite belt buckle of a white ghost with a big red ‘No’ symbol across it. He was a truly unique specimen among Freaka’s Freak Show. With blue eyes, brown fur, grey arms and legs, a large green dragon’s tail with a tuff of red hair at the end, a yellow dragon’s scaly belly and green & yellow dragon wings spread out from his backside, he was truly an amazing sight to behold. His face was that of a jackal’s, but with small dragon horns coming out of the top of his head. He was muscular, but also had a bit of chubbiness in his face and belly.

As Freaka and Tobias were walking up to him, he was literally bending a large beam of pure steel like it was made of thin rubber.

He then looked over at Freaka and Tobias as they passed by and gave them both a big, gentle smile, closing his eyes and giving a friendly wave of his big grey paw to them while holding the enormous steel bar in his other paw with ease. Freaka and Tobias also responded in kind with friendly waves of their own.

Eventually, the two foxes came across a golden furred lion with a magnificent red mane and a tuff of red fur on the tip of his tail. His 1920’s styled outfit looked like it came right from pages of the novel “Heart of Darkness,” or an outfit worn by the animal trapper in the original “King Kong.” A tan button down shirt, cargo pants and a black leather belt with various knives held tight around his waist. He also wore a Newsies cap, an eye patch on his left eye and his shirt of opened, revealing a tuff of fur on his chest.

With a crazed red eye and a snarling grin, he carefully and skillfully threw his knives at his target, a lovely lioness that was spinning on a great big red-and-white bullseye.

Freaka called out to the master of blades.

“Hey Leon! I have new recruit to introduce you too!”

The lion finished throwing his second knife, which almost nicked the ear of his lovely lioness assistant. He then came over to the young foxtaur and shock his paw with vigor.

“A pleasure to meet you boy! It’s always nice to meet a new addition to our Freaky Family. And my, my, what an awesome freak you already are! Even in my journeys through the darkest jungles I have traveled with my mentor, I have never seen a foxtaur so beautiful and handsome!”

Tobias was quite flattered to hear such kind and generous words from someone like the lion.

Before Tobias could respond, Freaka interrupted.

“So this here is the greatest knife thrower in all of show business, Mr. Leon Sarambi.”

The lion turned red at hearing Freaka’s high praise.

“Oh, you’re gonna make me blush Freaka.”

“Oh think nothing of it. Hey Leon, why don’t you tell your tragic backstory to my new recruit Tobias.”

The lion then smiled a toothy grin and began to laugh.

“Of course Freaka! For my freaky little vixen, anything!”

With a hardy, boastful laugh, Leon placed a firm paw on Tobias’s shoulder. He then recounted his story to the two. Freaka listened while enjoying a bag of strawberries that she somehow acquired from out of thin air.

“At the age of 5, my horrid excuse of a step-mother left me at a local carnival. She probably wanted to dump me after my loving papa passed away. I wandered the carnival grounds for many hours, with no one listening to my pleas for help. I still remember crying by the train cars where they kept all the freaks. I wondered around there until I noticed something shiny out of the corner of my eye: a knife. I was so excited to pick up that beautiful knife, but then a scar riddled hand grasped at my arm, the arm that belonged to my future mentor. He had a toothy, grinning smile when he grabbed my arm. I struggled so much to get away, but he would have none of that. He insisted that I become his apprentice for grabbing one of his best knives. And ever since that day, I’ve been making my living as the greatest knife thrower in the world. Eventually finding Freaka and her traveling Freak Show.”

He then removed his cap and took a bow. Freaka applauded wildly, with Tobias following her lead.

Leon then eyed up the young foxtaur.

“Maybe you can be part of my act? I’ve never had a foxtaur as an assistant!” said Leon as he roared with laughter.

Tobias became quite unnerved, but then Freaka came in to keep him calm.

“Don’t worry, I have a much better act in mind for you my freaky little freak” she told Tobias before she then turned to Leon.

“I think young Tobias has another path he must follow first before he may cross paths with you again.”

Leon frowned a little, but then resumed his prideful smile.

“Alright Freaka. I’ll let you help him develop his own special performance first. But if he ever wants to partner with me, I’ll make sure to sharpen my best knives for the ACT!”

And with those words he once again threw another knife at his lovely lioness assistant, perfectly placing is near her other ear. And with his uproarious laughter, Freaka and Tobias took their leave.

Soon they came upon a grand stage with lights of reds, purples, yellows and greens, all shining onto the world renowned singer Galak Songster. With duel microphones, he sang a duet that would put even the greatest duet couples to shame.

With one head singing a swinger’s tune, and the other yelling out the lyrics of a punk rock ballad, the two seemed completely in sync with one another.

For you see, Galak was the only two-headed singing fox in the world, who had exclusive rights to be a part of Freaka’s Furry Freak Show.

His left side was dressed in a traditional Rat Pack outfit, fitting the 1950’s classic black pinstripe dress style, while his wilder punk right side was clad in a torn up black T-Shirt, ripped jeans and a black and white side belt. The Swinger’s hair was in a perfect green pompadour, while his Punk counterpart’s green hair was thick, ruffed and a mess. And if you looked carefully at his foot paws, his crooner left leg paw was perfectly neat and trimmed, but his right punk counterpart was sharpened, looking more feral.

You would not think that a duet of swing and punk rock could work, but Galak made it look so easy.

As Galak finished his number, Freaka cheered and whistled wildly, hitting herself in the head like she were like the Wolf character from the Tex Avery animated classic “Swing Shift Cinderella.” As Galak’s Sinatra-esque head winked at the lovely Freaka, the blue fox completely fell flat on her back, star stuck with little strawberries floating around her head.

After jumping up and shaking herself, she then ran up onto the stage, dragging Tobias in tow behind her.

“That was an incredible number Galak! You just know how to make a blue fox turn red!” she smiled as she literally turned red all over, before returning to normal. Tobias was beyond impressed.

“I’ve never seen an act like yours. You’re incredible!”

The Swinger Head smiled, speaking like The Chairman of The Board himself.

“Think nothing of it son. We’ve been doing this act for as long as we were kits” as he winked to his Punk side.

The Punk Head then spoke up.

“Speak for yourself old timer!” as he used his right paw to point to himself. “Our sound is a fresh, young, fist to the face! We’re the best at what we go! Down with the establishment!” as his right paw gave the famous “Devil’s Horns.”

Freaka could only giggle as the two had one of their famous back-and-forths between each other.

Freaka piped up with a great big whistle. The two heads simmered down as they turned to the two of them.

“I want to introduce our newest recruit, Tobias Foxtail. He’s going to be joining our Freaky Family. He doesn’t have an act yet, but I will find one for him myself.”

The Swinger Head then spoke to the foxtaur, placing a paw on his shoulder.

“Son, I know you’re gonna have an incredible act. You got the best teacher in the business right there” he said, winking to Freaka. And right on cue, Freaka spun around and fell straight onto her back, grinning and sighing like a star-struck fan.

The Punk Head then chimed in.

“Yeah, you’ll be fine. But you gotta remember that rules are for losers! Break em’ all and never look back. Pure Anarchy BABY!” he cried out, taking a lighter from his jean pocket and blowing on the flame, making a small fireball appear.

“I’ll keep both of your suggestions in mind as I develop my act” said Tobias. “Thank you very much you two.”

“Anytime, son.”

“Smell ya later!”

As Freaka and Tobias took their leave to allow Galak to continue his singing, they continued their walk to the end of The Practice Tent. But before they did, they saw another act in practice. A young orange and white fox with blue cyan markings on his body and ear tips ghosted back and forth at incredible speeds. He was literally juggling orange and purple sewn pumpkin balls back and forth across the stage…to himself. For you see, the young speedster Vulken was the greatest Super Speed Juggler in all the known world.

The fox, with an insane hyperactive look across his muzzle, then looked out of the corner of his eye to see his friend Freaka and a new face next to her. He immediately stopped and then zipped up to the two. He then spoke like a fast talking salesman on a sugar high and childlike wonder in his voice.

“Hey Freaka what’s up? Who’s you’re friend. He seems really cool. Hi I’m Vulken. Nice to meet you?”

Vulken then rapidly shot out his arm and shook Tobias’s paw so quickly that he felt like his arm was about to fly off.

“You seem like a really cool guy. I think we’re gonna be the best of friends you and I” said the speedy Vulken.

He then looked at Tobias’s foxtaur body.

“OH WOW!” the speedy fox exclaimed as he literally zipped around Tobias to observe every angle of his taurric frame.

“What are you? Oh wait I should know this. Oh that’s right. A foxtaur! It’s so rare to see one around these parts. Let alone in a crazy Freak Show like ours! I think you’re the first taur we’ve ever had whose joined us. Welcome to our Freaky Family my Brother in Legs!”

Vulken then gave Tobias a great big hug.

Tobias was surprised, but he loved what Vulken had said: his Brother in Legs. He never had a brother before, and it brought comfort and happiness to him. Tobias then responded in turn, feeling the friendship from his new fox brother and returned his hug with an even stronger foxtaur hug.

Freaka then clasped her paws together.

“Ah, I knew you would make a new friend here my freaky little freak. And you even have a new brother too! And the fastest one in our Freak Show. You’re very lucky.”

Tobias and Freaka then waved goodbye to the speedy fox juggler as they made their way out of the tent.

To get to the housing quarters, they had to walk past the various train cars that held more of the “feral” freaks of the circus. One contained a hysterical hyena in a frilled collar and cuffs, laughing as he clutched the bars of his cage. Another contained a crocodile who was so large, that his massive tail stuck out of the bars of his cage. And as they passed another cage, Tobias jumped away as a sharp clawed paw reached out of its cage. A crazed blue and white stitched plush sabretooth cat with teal claws stared back as Tobias with multicolored eyes. From its center pupil outward, yellow, green, purple, orange and yellow spread out, with a solid black slit. But those eyes were not just in her head. But one was on each of her arms and one on her tail too.

Freaka then came up to the blue sabretooth cat, playfully scratching under her chin and rubbing behind her ears. She closed all of her eyes and purred happily as she did so.

“Don’t let Ersatz scare you Tobias. She’s quite a big sweetie cat once you get on her good side.”

Tobias was still shaken, but composed himself. He then noticed a big zipper on her chest.

“Why does she have a big zipper on her chest?”

Freaka took a moment to think, then answered.

“I don’t know. I’ve always been curious myself. Let’s find out!”

Before Freaka continued to reach for her teal colored zipper, Tobias yelled out “STOP!”

Freaka paused, then turned to him.

“Oh, come on Tobias! I wanna know now!”

Tobias then thought up of a quick response.

“But I thought you were going to show me my ‘Inner Talent’ O’ Great Freaka” spoke the foxtaur as he bowed and then curtsied her.

Freaka then finished petting the big cat’s head and then continued walking with him.

“You have a point Tobias, but I still wanna know what’s under there on of these days” pouted Freaka as they continued to walk to the housing quarters.

As they entered The Housing Tent, they saw a group of freaks at a large table playing a round of poker.

(Continued in Part 2)