Foxes and Wolves

Chapter 1

"Hey, wake up." Angus urged as he shook a mass hidden under a mound of blankets.

Angus was a well built man, a good deal of muscle was attached to his frame that you could see. His brown eyes were directed at the mass of blankets, tan skin, and short black hair with sideburns. The man raised a thick brow as he heard a sound from the being under the blankets, though he shook his head as he grabbed hold of the blanket and ripped the blankets off! A more slender form was there underneath, wearing a reddish brown vest, a white longsleeved shirt, and light brown pants. A pair of hazel eyes opened and glanced at the partial Irish man.

"Leave me be Angus..." The thinner man requested before grabbing one of the blankets and pulling it over themselves again.

"Come on, you gotta wake up. If we're going to get to the Vila ahead of time, we'll have to leave soon."Angus replied as he grabbed the blanket and pulled it off, resulting in a groan leaving the thinner man. "Balto, come on. You told me to wake you up early and I'm doing that, now get up and let's start getting ready. Breakfast is downstairs and is getting cold."

Hazel eyes glared at the more wellbuilt man before they sat up, stretching somewhat before a yawn left em. The man's short red hair stood up in various directions due to it being bed hair still, they looked like they needed to shave though.Their chin and sides of their face were covered in small hairs, the man reached and scratched at it, feeling the small hairs prickle against his finger tips and under his nails. Course he didn't pay it much mind, his hair grew fast after all and that wasn't anything new.Pulling himself out of bed, Angus stepped to the side and noticed his friend's facial hair.

"You need to shave." Angus commented. "Even though last night you didn't have a beard trying to form."

"My hair grows quickly remember and since that time is almost here well...things are going into over drive a bit." Balto replied as he went over to the mirror.

Well he honestly did look like a mess,a simple shower would fix that along with a shave. Though he was going to wake up more first; getting drenched wasn't really the best way to wake up.

"I remember, it just seems faster this time. Anyway, come down to breakfest." Angus said as he headed towards the door. "You might as well eat before you do anything."

"Yes yes...I know." Balto answered as he reached for something on the small counter in front of the mirror though Angus didn't see it as he was already out the door at this point.

Coming downstairs a few minutes later,a red wood pipe that was already lit and in the man's mouth. A small trail of smoke leaving it and Angus shook his head slightly annoyed.Balto took a seat at the table and glanced at Angus, thin brows slightly lowered.

"You hid my....matches....." Balto started, clearly displeased.

"How'd you lit that thing?" Angus groaned.

The pipe was twirled slightly in Balto's mouth, giving a silent answer that only Angus could interrupt as a displeased one. A frustrated sigh left the Irish man, drumming their fingers for a moment before looking away. Sometimes it was hard to talk to the man before him, Balto was a rather odd sort in the eyes of many, he lived a mostly solitude life until Angus had stumbled into it. But in a way, the man was still living that old life. They seemed to struggle with...certain emotions. Granted there was a good reason for his difficulty with emotions yet there was moreto it than just the one good reason.

"You feeling okay?" Angus asked."You don't look so good."

"I just woke up." Balto replied as he removed his pipe from his mouth. "Angus, what's going on? You're asking me too many questions and going to far as to hide my matches."

"Maybe you shouldn't be smoking....it's not..."

"Angus....this can't be what's going on. If it is so help me.."

"Balto, I just think we should try to...figure out a way to....make things better for ya. You're not really going to the...country side are you like usual?"

"Of course not. I have too much work to do with this case but I should be able to end it before nightfall." Angus raise a brow and Balto noticed. "What now?"

"You realize how foolish this is...right?"

"I know my limits Angus, besides I've already agreed to met up with the annoying hound of a inspector."

"Why? You know that it's better to..."

"Angus! Please!" Balto was clearly getting annoyed and he took a moment to keep himself calm. "Don't start taking my head off in the morning, alright? I've been doing this longer than you know."

"Can you please get rid of the pipe then?" a puff of smoke left the pipe as Balto returned it to his mouth, giving it more oxygen to help the small fire within burn.

"No. Besides, if smoking was gonna be my downfall it would've happened a decade ago."

With that, Balto ignored every other attempt of Angus's to persuade him off of either smoking the pipe or dropping the case to leave for the countryside. But at least the detective was eating though..in Angus's mind nothing could taste good with the smoke in his mouth with the food. Oh well. Course when the meal was done, Balto rose and headed back upstairs to go ahead and shave. He always left his hair in the messy style that it sported whenever he woke up. It was just one less thing to do.