Burdens [Furry BxB]

Chapter 7 - Impropriety

The embrace held for a moment. Roger struggled to free himself, and it was only somewhat to an effect, as each time he squirmed, the wolf loosened his grip.

Finally, he managed to separate. He straightened out his clothes and stepped back. "Well, I didn't really expect that."

Hunter's demeanour had completely changed. He was swaying his tail slowly, looking at the fox directly, a slight smile upon his face. His ears were up and it seemed as if he had forgotten all of the previous transgressions.

Roger sat down first. Hunter followed suit. He figured now would be a time to finish up the homework. mentioned as such.

The stance returned again. The wolf put his paws in his lap, shoulders forward. He looked defeated, but this time he did not look away. Rather, he sat there, wagging his tail slowly.

They worked through it slowly, as they had been doing. Something was different, as the fox picked up. The wolf had been more receptive to the ideas. Perhaps he was finally coming to understand the material, perhaps all it took was time and then it would just click. Had it been really enough time?

Maybe it was something else. Was it because of him? Roger did not want to rely on that idea. It was just a thought, baseless and lacked validity. Still, he thought that if he could inspire fear, perhaps he could inspire confidence? He entertained the idea in his head a moment before discarding it and saying that it was just enough studying that paid off.

The homework was still slow, as he noted to himself. It was still arduous, but much easier than the previous night. Indeed, it seemed that having the wolf be a bit comfortable worked to their advantage; that the wolf's learning prospered and the fox's efforts did not have to be so strenuous.

Maybe he could put a little more trust in his idea, he thought.

It still took another half of an hour to finish the homework. It was not so bad; the sun was still up, but barely.

Roger's stomach grumbled, but he ignored it. He had not eaten and did not really feel like bringing it up, but Hunter had quirked his head at the noise. "It's nothing," he explained. "Just a little hungry, that's all."

He stood up and stretched. "Well, homework is done and it's getting a little late. Did you want to call it a night?"

Hunter frowned and let out a quiet whine that the fox had trouble picking up. He merely shook his head. Had something so simple changed the wolf so drastically? The night before he looked like he wanted nothing else than to leave.

He shrugged in that case. He sat back down and asked, "Well, what would you like to do, then?"

The wolf thought for a moment, and then smiled and asked, "Can we play ball?"

Roger paused for a moment, then responded, "Uh, I don't have a ball, and I don't think I'd be any good at it, even if I did...."

Hunter folded his ears and looked sad, but recovered quickly. He said, "Maybe we can talk? And tomorrow, you can come over to my place instead, and I can teach you how to play ball." He had added the last part in a hopeful tone, bordering on interrogative.

The fox hesitated. He did not think he could actually learn to play football, it just was not his strong point. He was not weak, but he was small, and frail in comparison to the wolf in front of him. If the wolf tackled him, it would be over. However, if he kept denying the wolf, the work he put into reestablishing good relations would be for nought. He agreed, "Alright, but you'll have to go easy on me, okay?"

There was an eager nod from the wolf, signifying his acknowledgement and agreement.

Roger asked, "Well, what do you want to talk about?"

The only response was a smile and shrug. He sighed and tried to think of something to discuss. What did he know about his new friend? What did he know of anything he might be interested in? So far it seemed all he cared about was football, and the fox really knew nothing of it. Maybe teams? He decided to try.

"What's your favourite football team?" he inquired. He felt it was a gamble, because the wolf wanted to talk about that in-depth, he would have nothing to contribute. He hoped he would not have to, but if it ended up to be in that situation, he would have to change the subject somehow. He prepared for it in his mind.

However, the wolf shrugged and sheepishly responded, "I don't know... I don't really know any teams."

Roger was confused. Had the wolf not been an avid supporter of the sport? "What? Why not? Don't you watch football, or maybe keep up with it?"

He shook his head. "No. I just like to play it."

Huh, Roger thought. That's strike one for me.

"Well... what did you like to do back home? Did you play ball a lot with your friends?" he asked. He figured this was a good question since an active guy like this surely had an active childhood with his friends.

The wolf retracted even further. "N-no... I didn't really have..." He trailed off and was quiet.

Roger bit his lip. "Surely you must have had some friends back home?" He thought the situation incredulous. What kind of kid did not have any friends? Still, it looked like he was doing poorly in the question game.

Hunter shook his head. "You're my first friend." He seemed sad, but the fox could tell that he was thinking of the situation, and a smile crept on the wolf's face, and he looked back at Roger.

Finally, the fox came up with another question after a somewhat long pause. He asked, "Well, how'd you learn to play ball, then?"

That was a safe question. He knew how to play football, he had to learn it from somewhere, and that could be discussed. He felt he had overcome the negative air he had created.

"I learned when I was a pup," he began. "My dad taught me to play and we used to play all the time." The wolf seemed to be happy reminiscing about the past, yet this facial expression began to change. "I can't anymore though, 'cause..." he continued but trailed off. He frowned and looked off to the side.

In a soft voice, he finished, "He's gone."

The fox cursed himself. He thought to himself, What is wrong with me? Why can't I talk to this guy without making him feel horrible?

Roger spoke, "I'm sorry. I'm not really good at these questions, as you can see. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow."

The wolf stood up slowly and nodded. Everything the fox had worked for was gone. The happiness he had created had disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared.

They made their way toward the door and the fox let the wolf out. He stood in the doorway and watched politely as the wolf slowly walked away. There were a few water droplets on the concrete floor as the fox could see from the light he had turned on. Was it beginning to rain?

He looked up. No clouds. He realized it was not just water.

Shit, he thought. How do I fix this?

He paused for a moment, then ran forward. He made stepped in front of the wolf, who had made it to a step so that in order to be in front of him, he was on a lower part of the ground.

From there, the fox only came up to about slightly above his belly. He looked up and saw that the wolf had been crying.

Roger hugged him and said, "I'm sorry, don't be sad. We'll play ball tomorrow, okay?"

He felt a paw on his shoulder, which seemed like a weak attempt at a return hug. He has then pulled away and he looked up at Hunter, who just smiled softly, the pain still evident in his face.

He heard through a hoarse voice, "Thank you."

The wolf continued past the fox and went home.