Daily Life With Furry Girls

22 - Fox Hunting

'Oh!' said Cani when she checked her mail after breakfast.

Guy, who was the only other one in the living area at the time, looked up from his Versaty. 'What is it?'

She grinned. 'I've just been challenged to a duel by a rival gamer called NotSoTammy. I've played more often against her and we're pretty evenly matched.' She looked up at Guy. 'A new game which hasn't been released yet. The gaming company wants to sponsor an event for charity and asked her for an idea and she suggested a duel between us since we've become known in the scene recently.'

Guy smiled. 'Sounds like a great idea. You're accepting it?'

Cani grinned wider. 'Of course!'

***

The girls and Guy gazed out over the tumultuous crowd filling the brightly decorated hall. There were members of every species and none seemed to be in the majority. With all the colourful clothing, caps, and skin or fur it was a giant slow kaleidoscope surrounded by giant screens on which the trailer for Hunt played, the virtual reality game which was about to be played live to raise money for neuroscience research and help people whose nervous system is failing. The players themselves would be playing in separate rooms where they could concentrate on the game.

Mami read the name tag on the room designated for Cani. '3YC?'

Cani grinned. 'Yep.'

Mami looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

'The answer to my name.' Cani said. 'Can I? Yes. Yes, you can. Y y y c, 3YC.'

Mami chuckled. 'Right.'

Cani smiled deviously at Guy. 'So anytime you say my name..'

Guy blushed and chuckled. 'Thanks.'

A young man with his shirt hidden by numerous badges came up to them. 'Hi, I'm George from Two Number Entertainment.' he said and unlocked the door. 'I'll be guiding you through the use of the virtual reality equipment and the rules of the game.'

Inside the room were a couple of couches , tables next to them, a fridge, several computers, and large screens displaying the game. But the main object of interest was a dark blue circular mat in the centre of the floor with a thick wire leading to one of the computers.

George walked up to the mat and gestured at it. 'This is what the new game is all about, the Opercé. The mat that senses anything that happens on top of it.'

Everyone gathered around it and George switched one screen to a test program with a simplified model of a person on it, then went back to the mat to stand on it. The moment he moved onto the mat the model on the screen moved in the same manner.

'So it senses every movement above it?' asked Guy.

George nodded, the model as well. 'Yes. It senses the complete position of anyone standing on top of it.' he said and moved his arms and legs to demonstrate. 'We'll be releasing the specs and driver for this thing soon and anyone can build peripherals to interact with it.' He stepped off the mat. 'And that's where this game comes in. It's designed to let players move as close to real life as possible in combination with the virtual reality glasses. Lean forward and you move forward, lean sideways and go sideways, back, etcetera. And the more you lean, the faster you go.'

Cani rubbed her hands. 'Well, let's get going.'

The gang watched while Cani went through a tutorial parkour and the system was set up to her preferences. Mami sniggered and made sure to take pictures in her most embarrassing poses for the calibration of the virtual model.