For information about our two protagonists check out the following links!:
Silas Storwan: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/35004683/
Tidus Storwan: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/35004874/

Storwan Industries is the main setting of our story for Cecil and his friends, but to understand how the company came to be, we first must learn about how it all began...

Storwan Industries was created by Silas’ ancestors when Avians first began pursuing economic ties with land-dwelling anthros. Being one of the first companies to seize upon this market allowed Storwan Industries to grow rapidly and expand into many different areas of commerce. Silas’ father deeply valued preserving the legacy of Storwan Industries and had hoped to groom his heir into being the ideal leader to hand the company over to.

To his great disappointment, his son Silas seemed to be lacking. Despite being a smart lad, Silas had a gentle demeanor and enjoyed engaging in creative endeavors like painting, ballroom dancing, and cooking. Silas’ mother had no issue with Silas’ interest and even enjoyed joining him on his endeavors quite often. However, Silas’ father was dismissive of his hobbies, to say the least, his father’s greatest disappointment in him was due to Silas’s gentle spirit.

Silas’ father believed that kindness and compassion had no place in a business boardroom, and thus he attempted to control every aspect of his son’s life in hopes of molding him into a more ruthless leader. Things finally came to a head, when Silas’ father revealed that he had arranged for Silas to be married to the daughter of a competing company in order to expand their assets.

When Silas balked at the idea of marrying a stranger, his father once again accused him of weakness, mourning that Storwan Industries would pass into the hands of someone so unworthy. Silas had finally had enough of his father’s disregard for his feelings and fled into the night, leaving behind everything he had ever known and carrying nothing but the clothes on his back with him.

He eventually found his way to a seafaring town on the east coast of the United States, where he attempted to find work as a dockhand. Given his privileged upbringing, he quickly found himself worn ragged by the unprecedented amount of manual labor thrust upon him. The other dockhands were quick to make fun of Silas, assuming him to be a down on his luck city boy who was getting his first taste of a hard day’s work. Their jeering quickly ceased when Tidus, a young Pelican, who was a respected member of their crew told them to lay off the newcomer.

Tidus attempted to comfort Silas, telling the Stork that the other dockhands weren’t usually so bad and that they were just a rowdy bunch. Tidus eventually discovered that Silas had nowhere to stay and offered the newcomer a cot at his humble lodgings. The two Avians became fast friends, with Tidus teaching Silas work tricks like lifting with his knees, and Silas in turn taking over food preparation for the two of them, preparing delicious seafood stews that earned him many new friends at the local tavern.

Tidus was quick to open up to Silas about his past as an orphan whose father was a sailor and his mother had been a bar wench. His mother had passed away when he was young and the dockworkers took him in, having him shuffle between their houses to whoever could spare an extra cot and a bowl of broth. While Silas was perturbed that Tidus had such a chaotic childhood, Tidus merrily dismissed his concerns, stating that the dockworkers’ families had been kind to him and that everyone at the docks was his family in some way, despite him not having a family name to call his own.

Tidus’ story unlocked a deeply buried sadness within Silas as he realized that despite the privileges his upbringing afforded, he grew up in a home mostly devoid of love. This made Silas break down in tears, which in turn caused Tidus to begin to apologize profusely, not understanding what he had done wrong. In an attempt to make Silas happy, he pulled out a tiny little concertina accordion and began to do a wild jig as he played a lewd sea shanty. Seeing the Pelican’s frantic antics did elicit some chuckles from the Stork, calming him down a bit.

Tidus then joked that he was the best dancer on the docks, causing Silas to roll his eyes and offer to teach Tidus how to properly waltz. Tidus seemed a bit embarrassed at first, but Silas took him by the hands and the two Birds began to do a simple two-step waltz.

Tidus blushed heavily as he said that it was difficult to learn to dance with no music, so Silas began to say the steps in a song-like pattern, eventually humming the beats of the steps. As their brief dance came to an end, the two Birds stared deeply into each others’ eyes before Tidus raised his bill to Silas’, laying a tender kiss upon his beak, which Silas eagerly returned.

The next few months were spent in peaceful bliss, as the young Avians worked hard during the day and made love throughout the night. Having moved to sharing a bed, Silas held Tidus in his wings, with the latter resting his head on his lover’s chest.

Silas asked Tidus if he had always wanted to stay at the docks, which caused Tidus to pause momentarily before quietly replying that he was ashamed to admit it, but he always hoped that he would be able to save up enough to buy his own boat and sail around the world.

Silas asked why he would ashamed of wishing for that, to which Tidus answered that his own father had walked out on his mother to sail the sea. Even though Tidus considered everyone at the docks his family, he still yearned to see what lay beyond the horizon.

Silas looked down into Tidus’ eyes, and said that it was still possible for him to achieve his dream, and offered to devote his life to helping him attain it. Tidus merely chuckled as he tenderly caressed Silas’ cheek and said that before he didn’t have anything tying him down to the docks, but now that wasn’t true anymore.

The next morning the duo was faced with an unexpected turn of events as a limousine pulled up to the docks, with Silas’ old butler emerging from the car. The servant took a moment to recognize his former master, as the young Stork had matured into an adult during his time on the docks.

Still, once the butler was sure that he had found Silas, he dropped on his knees before his former master, begging him to return home. Silas turned away, claiming the butler had mistaken him for someone else, but the butler continued that Silas’ father had passed away during his absence and now his mother was at death’s door herself.

Hearing of his mother’s condition, Silas wasted no time returning to his childhood home, bringing Tidus along to help steady his nerves. Silas burst into his mother’s bedchambers, finding her a shell of the elegant lady he had once known.

Upon seeing her son, she beckoned him to her side. With tears in her eyes, she begged his forgiveness, saying that Silas’ father had forbidden her from searching for him, as he was certain that Silas would soon return due to his perceived weakness. However, the longer Silas had spent away from the mansion, the more the guilt had seemed to consume his father as he descended into alcoholism.

He passed soon thereafter, and his estate passed into the ownership of his wife. Free of her husband’s oppressive grip, Silas’ mother finally mobilized all resources available into finding Silas and returning him home. It had taken a significant amount of time and money, along with a fair slice of her health, but she had finally received information about a young Stork that had mysteriously appeared on the docks on a not too distant shore some months ago.

She then gripped her son by the arms and marveled at how he matured. She felt the sinewy muscles that had developed upon his arms and saw a calm tiredness in his eyes that came from a hard day’s work.

She then peered over her son’s shoulder and saw Tidus standing close behind him, his sailor hat in his hands in an attempt to be respectful in such an austere setting. She quietly beckoned to the Pelican, taking his hand into her own as she asked if he had watched over her son in her absence.

Fighting back tears he smiled and nodded at the ailing matron. Silas’s mother smiled as she extended one of her hands to Silas, taking his hand into her own before giving his to Tidus so that the two were now holding hands. She smiled at Tidus and quietly said, “Thank you,” before shutting her eyes for the last time.

Things moved in a flurry after that point, as there came many tears, a funeral, and more tears thereafter. After the funeral, the reading of the will took place, and to Silas’ shock, he found that all of Storwan Industries’ assets had been willed to him.

The attorney had said that his mother had stated in her will that Silas had spent his whole life being molded into taking over Storwan Industries one day, but now she offered him a choice.

He was free to walk away from the inheritance and go back to his quiet, yet happy life with Tidus, or if he so chose, he could take Storwan Industries and truly make it his own, not a remnant of his father, but his own legacy.

Tidus quietly rose from the proceedings and stated he understood if Silas wanted to return to the world he had come from, with Tidus having no right to keep him from that.

Silas immediately stood up and took Tidus’ wings into his own. He calmly stated that he was curious about what he would be able to achieve at the helm of Storwan Industries, but he had no interest in finding out if Tidus wasn’t by his side.

He then swept the shorter Bird up into his wings and twirled him around before planting a kiss on his bill, much to the embarrassment of the attorney watching their very passionate display of affection.

Silas officially took the helm as CEO of Storwan Industries, with Tidus as his Executive Vice President. When it came time for Silas to fill out the paperwork to officially bestow Tidus the title, the documentation required Tidus to provide a last name. The two Birds exchanged glances with each other before smiles crept upon both of their faces. Along the dotted line, Silas wrote the name, ‘Tidus Storwan.’ It wasn’t a marriage license, but there were always be time for that down the road.

Silas’ intense business training by his father in his youth proved to be well ingrained into him, but what stood out to anyone who observed Storwan Industries’ shift in business practices was its new compassion towards its labor force.

Spending on employee benefits skyrocketed, making Storwan Industries THE place anthros of all kinds wanted to work for, be it blue-collar positions or upper-level management roles.

The company’s relationship with the shipping industry was particularly renowned, as many workers from a certain dock were brought on and given their years of experience in cargo transportation Storwan Industries also became known for getting products delivered to consumers far quicker than their leading competitors.

Those early years were filled with hard work and massive strides in the company’s development, yet despite all of this Silas and Tidus felt that something was missing from their lives. One day Tidus asked Silas if he had truly felt that he had finally made the company his own, as opposed to simply carrying on his father’s legacy. Silas sighed as he admitted that he felt his own legacy was somehow lacking, for he had learned so much along his journey and he was left to wonder who would carry those lessons on after he was gone.

Tidus then merrily suggested that they could use an heir of their own. Silas immediately beamed at the idea, happily asking if Tidus thought they should have a child. Tidus was caught a bit off guard by the sudden shift in Silas’ mood, but upon thinking it over for a moment, he warmly smiled and said that nothing would make him happier.

They then began the process of adopting by contacting an agency and setting up an appointment to meet some potential candidates for adoption. When the fateful day came, Tidus agreed to handle the paperwork while Silas went to watch the children playing during their recess. Silas saw many little cubs bouncing about, but his eyes fell upon one cub that was standing off in the corner.

He ventured down to the playground and saw what looked like a little Mole girl, who was wearing a pullover sweater and a skirt that seemed too long for her. She was also holding herself up with a child-sized walker, similar to what an older anthro with limited mobility would use to get around. Upon a second look, Silas realized that although she mostly looked like a Mole, her body was strangely elongated, giving her a pronounced hunch in her spine.

Silas sat next to the young girl, and asked her name, to which she shyly answered “Katie.” Apparently Katie was eight years old, liked coloring, and her favorite food was noodles with melted butter. Katie was surprisingly talkative, seemingly glad for the company as most of the other children were busy running about, which her body structure wouldn’t allow her to do.

Silas then gingerly asked if Katie liked playing games with the other children, causing Katie to go quiet. Her initial shyness returned, as she replied no. Silas then asked if that was because she had difficulty playing with the other children. Katie shook her head and quietly responded it was because she was born different.

Silas tried to kindly assure her that she couldn’t help being born with her condition. Katie looked at him with a confused expression as she said she wasn’t born with a condition. She said the other kids avoided her because her mommy was a Mole while her daddy was a Ferret.

This took Silas aback. He had heard about hybrid children existing but he had never seen one with his own eyes. This explained the odd contouring of Katie’s body, as if she had the elongated spine of a Ferret, but lacked the proper musculature to support herself, which also explained her need for a walker.

He then saw Katie had begun to shuffle away, causing him to ask where she was going. She turned and said she understood if he didn’t want to talk to her anymore, as most of the potential parents that came to interview the kids at the orphanage didn’t want to talk anymore after they found out about her.

Silas balked at this and placed his hand upon the girl. He said he didn’t want to stop talking to her at all. He continued that he and his partner came to the orphanage that day to meet a nice child to share their home with and he was wondering if Katie would consider making his home her own.

At first, Katie seemed shocked, but then she quickly started bouncing up and down giddily as she attempted to hug Silas only to trip and almost hit the ground. Silas quickly caught her in his arms and held her tight.

He and Katie began making their way to the orphanage’s office, ready to fill out the paperwork when they heard what sounded like shouting behind the door. Tidus erupted from the office, looking positively livid. He turned, saw Silas, and rushed over shouting, “They’re denying us the ability to adopt because we’re what they call a ‘non-traditional’ household. What kind of malarkey is that?!”

Katie clumsily ducked behind Silas, clearly scared of the shouting stranger before her. Silas immediately placed his wings on Tidus’ shoulders to calm him down. After some quick shushing on his part, Silas introduced Katie to Tidus. Upon realizing his disastrous first impression, Tidus began to apologize profusely for scaring the young girl.

Silas then began to elaborate on the unique circumstances around Katie’s birth. Tidus was taken aback and cautiously asked if Silas was sure about this.

Silas said he hadn’t been so confident in a choice of his since he had fallen for Tidus, and they were the perfect family for Katie, as they had all of the resources at their disposal to make sure she had a healthy, happy life.

Tidus looked downward at the timid Mole-Ferret girl hiding behind Silas with a wry smile on his face. He bent down on one knee and said he was sorry if he made a bad first impression but that Silas was right, nothing would make them happier than giving her a loving home.

Silas then told Tidus and Katie to excuse him for a moment as he straightened his bowtie and marched toward the office that Tidus had just emerged from. Tidus gently lifted Katie into his arms and said, “If you think I’m scary you should see him in action, he deals with lawyers every day!”

However, despite his best efforts, the adoption agency brought forward the fact that as a non-traditional family, Silas and Tidus were lower priority adoptive parent choices. This was further compounded by the fact that given Katie’s unique health issues, she would need to be deemed in relatively stable condition before she could live with Silas and Tidus.

Silas attempted to use every legal trick he could remember and even pleaded in front of judges that as a CEO of a wildly successful company he was more than equipped to deal with his potential daughter’s medical expenses. All the judges he spoke to noted that not everyone had his resources, and to bend the law to suit him could lead to a dangerous precedent.

Things spiraled out of control even more quickly when it appeared that the stress from the prolonged adoption process had taken a toll on Katie’s health. Katie had already suffered from a slew of medical issues that were quite common to hybrid children, such as skeletal dysplasia and incontinence. Tragically, it was these same conditions that made receiving medical clearance almost impossible, keeping her out of Silas and Tidus’ custody even longer.

The final nail in the coffin came when Katie developed a heart arrhythmia that left her in a declining state. Despite their best efforts, Katie died in the hospital before she had the chance to be officially adopted by Silas and Tidus.

Silas cried for days on end after she passed. Tidus did his best to hold Silas together, but he too was grieving, having come to love the little girl he had fought so intensely to bring into his home. Tidus eventually offered that they could try again, hopefully the work they had already done would make the process of adopting another child a bit easier.

Silas miserably shook his head and said Katie’s case had allowed him to do some research into the challenges facing hybrid adoption. He had found that many children of hybrid unions that hadn’t been aborted or abandoned were left at orphanages due to the stigma.

Worse still was the fact that these children were hardly adopted due to that same stigma and many of them had advanced medical needs just like Katie had. He continued that even if there were parents interested in adopting hybrids, anyone deemed ‘non-traditional’ would be overlooked or would have to wait for medical clearance.

Silas tearfully raised his head to meet Tidus’ eyes and said that what truly made him feel horrible was learning how so many innocent children were being denied safe, happy childhoods just for the way they were born. Katie was a just one drop in an endless sea that no one seemed to be paying any attention to.

Tidus nodded, solemnly realizing why Silas was so distraught. His own childhood had been emotionally vacant through no wrongdoing of his own. How could he not empathize with a whole throng of children suffering similar fates?

As Tidus asked himself this question, realization washed over him. He stated very firmly, “Let’s go get them.”

“Come again?”

“You said it yourself, there are countless kids out there who are being denied homes. Meanwhile, you and I are sitting here in this big empty house. I told once that I dreamed about sailing around the world. I don’t regret for one second leaving those docks behind if it meant spending the rest of my life with you, but that horizon has always called me and it still is. This time though I know what the treasure is waiting for me and it’s the family you and I are meant to have together.”

“Tidus… the law though.”

“You said it yourself, the law isn’t on our side. We tried doing things their way and we lost Katie, but there are countless others out there.”

Silas looked shaken for a moment as though he couldn’t believe what his partner was saying. Timidly he asked, “Do you really think we could do it?”

“We ARE the only ones who can do it.”

Silas was taken aback for a moment, but then he saw something in Tidus’ eyes. A glint? No a fire. The same fiery passion he had fallen in love at the docks all that time ago.

The next few months were filled with a flurry of activity. Extensive research was done into the needs of hybrids, which proved to be difficult given the fact that the subject was usually considered taboo. From what little they were able to gather, the issues that had afflicted Katie were surprisingly widespread, with physical deformities and incontinence being particularly common.

Further research revealed that these issues often continued into adulthood for the small portion of the hybrid population that managed to make it into adulthood, with data revealing that hybrids were the largest adult demographic of Anthros to purchase incontinence supplies outside of senior citizens.

This particular detail made an impact on Silas. He immediately recalled that many hybrid children suffered from abandonment on some level when growing up. He began to theorize that perhaps such conditions could lead to arrested development. If that were truly the case, then perhaps diapers and other infantile accouterments could instead be utilized in a therapeutic capacity.

The more Silas crunched the numbers, the more concrete his theories became. Meanwhile, Tidus was working on his own project, spending just as much time putting all the details together.

Then the morning finally came. It had been months since Katie had passed away, but the pain was still fresh. Silas imagined that the pain would never fully fade, but at least her death would not be in vain, at least if he had anything to say about it. He and Tidus made his way to docks, the very same docks where they had met.

There waiting for them was a ship. Well, ship felt like too small of a word to describe the vessel before them. It was massive, almost like a condensed version of Storwan Industries, with every amenity imaginable.

Tidus stood in front of the ramp leading onto the ship, beaming at the results of his months of labor. He turned to Silas and chuckled, “If you had told me a few years ago that I would be captain of a tanker like this, I would have said you had too much saltwater in your morning coffee!”

Silas turned away, holding his hands to his chest as he murmured, “Still, I have to wonder if this is what’s best. When I took on Storwan Industries after mother passed, I actively made the choice to be responsible for the employees and the shareholders. I can’t help but feel that no matter how pure our intentions may be, this is ultimately a selfish decision… just because we couldn’t save one little girl.”

Tidus grimaced and let his partner’s words wash over him. After staring at the ground for a moment, he reached forward and took Silas’ wings into his own. He looked directly into Silas' eyes, “You’re right, you know. This is a selfish decision, but that’s what makes it so damn important. You told me you wanted to have a kid so that we could have a legacy. Well, this is going to be our legacy! You said that you wanted to see what you could do at the helm of the company with me by your side, well that’s just what we’re doing right now!”

Silas paused for a moment before smiling tenderly, “You’re quite right, dear. It wouldn’t make sense to quit now before we’ve taken our first steps on our journey.”

The Stork began to ascend the ramp to the ship before turning and offering his wing to his partner, “Shall we, then?”

Tidus grinned and said, “Not quite, I’ve got just one more thing to show you before we climb aboard this old clunker.”

From his pocket, Tidus pulled out a small panel with a big red button placed squarely in the middle. He pushed down on it and a tarp at the side of the boat began to rise, revealing in large golden letters, “New Horizons.”

Silas was awestruck as he exclaimed, “Oh Tidus, how lovely! It’s absolutely breatht… wait. Is that solid gold embossing? How much did that cost, exactly?”

Tidus nervously gulped and felt the sweat begin to gather on his brow as he replied, “Well would you look at the time! We should have cast off ages ago, all abroad who’s coming abroad!”

The Pelican then ran past his partner towards the ship, but right before entering he turned around and cheekily asked, “You coming?”

Silas chuckled and said, “I’ve won’t miss it for the world,” as he came forward and took Tidus’ wing into his own, ready to start the journey of their lives together.

~END~

Link to Chapter 1: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/35085706/

Thumbnail art by  thecushytushydeer