Firesight
Dominion AcademyBook 1: Orientation
By: Firesight
5/26/2022
To Sarah, who initially set me on this path,
To Todd, who let me borrow a character and gave encouragement and feedback,
To Kelli for the cover art,
To Mark and Kevin for being there,
To Jeremy for being a good friend,
To Matt just for being interested,
And to everyone else I know but can’t think to mention…
This book is for all of you.
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed within are fictitious.
© Sidelight Publishing
All rights reserved.
Foreword: vi
Prologue: 1
I. Interview 18
II. Pickup 40
III. Warmup 60
Foreword:
Writing this novel was not something I originally intended to do. It sprung from a single drawing that a good friend encouraged me to write a short story about. But what began as a simple exercise in creative writing began spiraling outward, reaching in new directions until I found I'd created a fascinating new world and many interesting characters and concepts to populate it.
Some may read this and say it's an allegory for any number of things, but I can't claim to be that clever—the story went where it would and pulled me along for the ride.
For those unfamiliar with the anthropomorphic genre, imagine a world where animals evolved as opposed to humans, and history runs parallel to our own. In most stories of the genre, various species get along well and readily form relationships, both personal and professional, with those not of their own kind.
Yet it couldn't have always been that way. There has to be some point when rivalries ruled, when people tended to segregate themselves by species—when feline wouldn't associate with canine, rabbit with fox, or lion with hyena. Their competition might have moved from the hunting fields to athletic and business arenas, but would be no less bitter for it. If so, then there has to be a point when all the various species were just beginning to make the effort integrate their societies.
But such efforts would undoubtedly meet with resistance, much as they were in our own world. What if one such battleground was high school education and athletics? And what if it happened in the near future?
This is story of one such attempt at integration and of a basketball coach who will play a key role—a lioness whose journey will mirror that of her school, its students and instructors… and even the players she coaches.
And lest I forget, yes, this is an erotic story; everyone should find something to titillate in its pages. But it is not a grope-a-page sex fest. At its core, this is a coming-of-age tale that is ultimately about self-discovery and growth—of the ties that bind us, the magic of friendship (to borrow a phrase), and the spirit of competition. How life has a way of smacking us upside the head when we least expect it...
And ultimately, the choices we make when faced with impossible situations.
So enjoy the journey of Kamilya Kampo and her colleagues. And know that nobody in this story is perfect.
But all ultimately mean well.
—Firesight
81
Firesight
Prologue:
Founded in 1959 in the south suburbs of Denver, Dominion Academy was originally an all-male private high school for red foxes, drawing its student body from the large vulpine population of the city’s southern neighborhoods.
Despite an average enrollment of only five hundred students, it quickly established itself as one of the premier secondary schools in the state, boasting a long record of academic and athletic excellence, regularly fielding city and state champions in track, lacrosse, basketball and soccer. Among other innovations, the academy encouraged well-rounded pupils by putting equal emphasis on academics and athletics, requiring all students to be on at least one sports team.
With a motto of “The Expectation of Excellence,” Dominion’s standards were high; its application process rigorous. But its name alone was often enough to get students into the college or university of their choice.
Times changed, and Dominion changed with them. Two decades after its inception, the school opened its doors to vixens, increasing enrollment to nearly 700. A decade after that, a diversifying community mandated that all vulpine races be admitted; the school adding an additional academic and athletic wing to accommodate a student body that had grown to nearly 1,000. Within a few years, grey, swift, arctic and fennec foxes wore the traditional forest green slacks and dark red jacket of academy students, and were adding their own names to the annals of Dominion academic and athletic achievement.
Though previous rounds of integration were not without controversy or tension, they were eventually successful and nothing compared to what was to come.
Sixty years after its founding, the venerated academy had fallen upon hard times. As the city expanded, rival vulpine institutions sprung up, including larger Vantage Academy, and ultra-modern Alsant Academy, taking away a significant portion of the school's support. A depressed economy bit further into the academy's donation base, preventing needed repairs and upgrades to its aging, crumbling facilities.
Its name alone no longer enough to attract enough students or needed cash, the academy was struggling to remain relevant and keep its doors open. By 2022, it was clear that if new funding and patronage could not be secured quickly, the current crop of students could well be the school’s last.
It was then that a group of newly-elected local politicians came to the academy board of trustees with a proposal…
An offer of a lifeline that came with one major string attached.
Lead Story of Denver City Times — Feb 24, 2022
Academy Board of Trustees votes 6-3 to begin ‘full and immediate’ species integration
Feb 21—Despite protests and impassioned pleas from students and alumni alike, the Dominion school board voted 6-3 to become the first private or public school in the state to fully integrate, vowing to throw open their doors to students of all species in the coming year, asking only that they meet the rigorous academic standards the school had always required of its applicants.
"We do this with a heavy heart, but it is ultimately in the best interests of the school and our community," Jonathan Greyfar, the ranking member of the board, told reporters afterwards.
“This decision means that Dominion Academy will be on the cutting edge of education, and I have no doubt they will become a model school for species integration in very short order,” declared recently elected vulpine City Councilfox Aaron Gence. / He went on to dismiss as “baseless” suggestions that the board of the financially strapped institution had been bought off with promises of state money, saying that only operating costs and salaries would be paid.
The other two major vulpine private schools in the area, Alsant and Vantage Academies, both announced they would absorb what additional students they could, but emphasized there was no way to accommodate all the expected transfer requests.
At least one administrator of Vantage Academy, who asked to remain anonymous, stated that she believed no more than two hundred students could be placed at either institution “without compromising our own quality of education.”
She went on to note that “perhaps two hundred more” could conceivably be placed at the three other area public or private schools for canids or vulpines, but it would be step down in education quality for them, and a “massive inconvenience all around…”
Denver City Times, Page A1 — Apr 13, 2022
Failure to attract enough applicants necessitates move, Gence says
Apr 13—In a decision that quickly drew howls of protests from parents across the county, it was announced that newly integrated Dominion Academy would be filled with selected students from nearby public schools.
“This decision was made necessary by the surprisingly low interest level in transferring to Dominion,” a written statement from Councilfox Gence’s office said. Off the record, Academy administrators admitted that they had received less than a dozen applications.
When asked how students would be selected to go to Dominion, Gence said 500 students would be chosen at random from public schools across the county, based on species quotas.
In response to objections from academy board members that the move would result in lower academic standards at the institution, Gence brushed aside such concerns as “unwarranted,” / saying he had “absolute confidence in the faculty” to bring the new students up to speed.
As to complaints from potentially affected students and their parents, he pointed out that they had no cause to complain as their “tuition and bussing would be paid for in full,” and that their children would be “going to a prestigious institution,” adding that the “lucky” parents and students should in fact be grateful for the opportunity he was giving them.
His comments provoked outrage and accusations of arrogance. “We didn’t vote for this!” was heard from the audience more than once during the latest city council meeting and at least one incensed equine parent was heard to demand whether the Councilfox would send his own kits to Dominion.
Gence ignored the jibe, later saying that “parents know what is best for their children while I know what is best for my community. In time, all will come to see that this is for the best.”
Lead story, South Hills Spectator, page A1 — May 10, 2022
May 10—Ruling that the city council had not acted improperly; a state judge lifted a stay on ordering selected students to Dominion Academy, saying the courts had no authority to prevent the move.
In dismissing the case, Judge Verselt emphasized that he “sympathized” with affected families, but “redress only lies with local government or state legislature.”
The dismissal means that integration can go forward as planned, and will result in students being bussed into the formerly private academy from across the county at taxpayer expense.
Councilfox Aaron Gence was pleased by the ruling, releasing a statement that said in part, “the judge in this matter acted correctly as a matter of law, and recognized that we are simply doing our duty as elected officials to both improve the quality of education and serve the purpose of societal advancement in our city.
“I ask now that all parents and students no longer look to the past but to the future, and try to appreciate this for the wonderful opportunity it is...”
Denver City Times, page A1 — Sept 6, 2022
Sept 3—The opening day of school at newly-integrated Dominion Academy was marked by protests, anger, and a major gym brawl between feline and canine students that resulted in a least a dozen injuries, including two faculty.
In addition, at least a hundred students—all vulpine—staged a walkout during the first period, disrupting classes. Later in the day a fire alarm was rung.
Councilfox Gence asked for patience, noting that the school had had rough times during the previous rounds of integration, two and three decades earlier.
Critics were quick to point out, however, that in those instances new students were attending voluntarily, while this time hundreds were bussed in from all across the county, forced to attend Dominion against their will...
Lead local story, South Hills Spectator, page B1 — Oct 6, 2022
On the Brink of Anarchy?
School situation deteriorates further as Gence pleads for ‘patience and understanding’
Oct 3--A month into the start of the school year, the results of the great experiment of species integration at Dominion Academy can only be described as disastrous.
Vandalism and interspecies violence are rampant, fights and fire alarms occur daily, and there are even rumors of species-based packs and gangs being formed among the students, targeting rival races.
Many parents, particularly those of herbivores, are now withholding their children from going to the academy, fearful for their safety, and have demanded police protection before they return. / The Dominion Headmaster reported he could not afford to hire private security, but had asked the local sheriff’s office to step up their presence in and around the school, promising redoubled efforts and a crackdown on troublemakers.
For his part, Councilfox Aaron Gence again pleaded for ‘patience and understanding’, blaming a ‘few hooligans’ for the problems of the school, refusing to admit that there were any systemic problems and claiming “the vast majority of the students just want to learn.”
At least one Dominion faculty member was heard to scoff at that, retorting that “the vast majority of the students just want to leave. If [Gence] thinks the students want to be here, let him come and speak to them directly. But as mad as he’s made them, we can’t guarantee his safety if he does.”
Transcript: KDFX Foxwitness News, 10pm news — Oct 19, 2022
Fawn: Good evening, everyone. I’m Awentia Fawn, Foxwitness news. Our lead story tonight is a tragic one, coming from increasingly troubled Dominion Academy. For more, we go live to Vanguard Hospital, where our own Gail Sayen has been covering the story all day.
Gail: Thank you, Awentia. Earlier today, Janette Kalpar, a freshpaw snow leopard, was found in a girls’ locker room slumped under a running shower in a pool of her own blood, her wrists slashed in an apparent suicide attempt. She was immediately rushed here to Vanguard Hospital, where she remains in critical condition as of this hour.
Fawn: Gail, is it known that she attempted suicide, or is that only speculation?