Burdens [Furry BxB]

Chapter 4 - Reprieve

The fox had shouted in rage and frustration, and he was quickly filled with regret.

Any feeling of anger he had quickly abated. He knew he had made a mistake the moment his words left his mouth.

He did not see a fist reared back in retaliation. He did not see fangs or teeth, claws or otherwise. He heard no snarls or growls. It was not as he expected. He argued with himself whether or not it would have been better.

The original mass of light grey fur shrunk slightly. He saw folded ears and a figure hunched over. He did not realize that someone as big as Hunter could get to be so small.

There were golden eyes that stared at him, with eyebrows furrowed.

From his position, he saw a tail tucked and heard whimpers. There was no anger in the wolf, none that was visible by Roger. He only saw fear.

He attempted to approach the wolf, but he cowered and curled up even more, despite what the fox had thought possible.

Roger softly muttered a curse to himself. He began to attempt to calm the wolf down, saying, "Shh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I'm not angry at you." He stood up and smiled, "See?"

It was of little effect. The wolf still cowered, appearing to attempt to hide behind the table. He managed to sit on the ground, though at what time he managed to remove himself from the chair, the fox did not know. Between whimpers, he managed a wavering, "I'm sorry."

Roger attempted to approach again. There was no more room for the wolf to back up, so instead, he closed his eyes and braced himself for an impact.

The fox moved forward slowly saying, "Shh, it's okay." Nothing seemed to change. He managed to bring his paw out and slowly touched the wolf's shoulder. As soon as his paw came into contact with it, there was a yelp, and the wolf had fallen over and began to shake.

He rubbed the wolf's shoulder softly. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," he told him. "I'm sorry I got upset. I didn't mean to."

The wolf's eyes were shut and tears had fallen. He at least stopped shaking but managed to sob out another apology. The fox quietly cursed himself again.

He managed to coax the wolf into sitting on the chair again, but his tail was still between his legs and his ears were still folded. There were sobs and soft whines, and his paws were on his lap, holding onto his pants in his fists. The fox rubbed his back softly and attempted to calm him down.

It took a few minutes, but the wolf finally managed to stop. He still did not look at the fox in the eyes, but stared at his homework and picked his pencil back up and resumed to work on it, as if it were a punishment.

Roger patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, we'll do this together."

Hunter only nodded. Not a single noise came from him, be it a word or whine or whimper. He merely heard and responded in motion, mostly that of moving his pencil on the paper.

Roger frowned. He had not envisioned the tutoring experience to be like this. Had he really been that frightening, to cause someone like Hunter to cower and cry? If he was, he certainly did not believe it to be so, before or after the event. In his head, he wanted to blame anyone but himself.

They worked through the homework with the fox guiding the wolf through the steps just as they had before. The only difference was he eventually supplied the necessary information for the wolf to be able to arrive at the answer, aside from just having the formula, yet it was still not the wolf's work alone. The fox figured he would leave the whole teaching portion until another time since he did not think he could teach him anything at this time.

When it was finished, the wolf set his pencil down and continued to stare at the desk, though his eyes wavered every so often, quivering as if a flame in the breeze. His tail was still tucked under him, and he held his paws in clenched in fists, unmoving.

Roger got up, which caused Hunter to recede a little, folding his ears back. "It's okay," he said to alleviate the fear and perhaps at least rid the wolf's perception of him being a threat. It only worked slightly, and he continued, "I'm just going to get us some water."

He left the room and travelled downstairs. He did not know the wolf and had left him alone in that room, but he felt his belongings were secure. The wolf did not seem the type to delve into theft or intrude upon his privacy, especially after he witnessed the mental breakdown that had just occurred.

He found a couple of glasses in the kitchen. It was nearing the late-night and he figured the wolf would return home soon. He wondered how he would get there, and figured that would be a question he would bring up when he returned to his room. If anything, it might make the wolf start speaking again. He put some ice in the glasses and filled them with water. He then returned upstairs, his mind still reeling at what he had done.

Hunter was in the same position, at least before being hunched over from his sudden movement. His ears were still folded back, and he did glance at the fox upon entrance before turning his gaze downcast. Roger realized that it was not really him the wolf had looked at, but rather what he held. Perhaps he was thirsty.

He put a glass down and took a sip from his own. Hunter did not really move for it, but rather sat there hesitantly. Were he thirsty, Roger imagined he would have gone for it. Maybe he thought it was dangerous. Maybe instead of looking for water in his paws, he sought what weapon he could have brought.

Several possibilities ran through his head, none of them pleasant.

He said, "The water isn't poisoned, you can drink it. Though I guess if you're not thirsty, you don't have to, I just figured...." He looked for the words but discarded them. "Well, anyway, how are you getting home? Are you far away? My parents should be getting back soon, one of them can drive you, I'm sure."

The wolf shook his head and managed to say, "No, I live close to here. I can walk."

The fox nodded. "Okay."

The room was silent for a moment.

It took a minute, but the fox cleared his throat and apologized, "I'm sorry about tonight. I don't know what came over me, and I didn't mean to say what I said. You'll get through this, and I'll help. I just want you to know, I'm not going to hurt you, alright?"

Hunter was still, but eventually, he nodded. He moved a paw and took the glass, and then finished it in one go, ice along with the water. Apparently, he was parched.

Roger was slightly relieved by that and stood up. There was no flinching this time around, which only offered more relief. He was still careful not to approach. He said, "Well, it's getting late, and we need to grab some sleep. I don't want to kick you out or anything, but I don't think you want to really be around here at the moment. So, I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I promise I won't yell at you or anything."

The wolf nodded and slowly got up. He placed everything where things should have been, chair at the table, glass in paw, and he grabbed his bags and put on his shoes. He was at least polite about his proceedings, although the fox subconsciously attributed the politeness to fear.

They managed their way downstairs, and the fox retrieved the glass. He opened the door for the wolf, who murmured a farewell and walked away from the house. The fox noticed that the further he got from the door, the better his form seemed to get. He began to stand up straight, carrying himself with more fervour.

The fox sighed. It had been a long day. He closed the door, put the cups away and went to his room. The only thing he felt aside from being tired was resentment at his disdainful behaviour. He argued with himself the night and eventually fell asleep in his bed, sweating over how better not to repeat the actions of that day. He did not look forward to tomorrow, as he never really did, but he at least looked forward to the chance to redeem himself. He did not want to be in the hated light he cast upon himself.

Tomorrow came fast and yet felt like forever.