Burdens [Furry BxB]

Chapter 10 - Sanguine

Roger woke slowly. He was in a bed unfamiliar to him, in a location unknown. His vision began as blurry, but as he looked around, he saw Hunter to the side, seemingly to be working on homework.

He saw something white on his nose, so he grabbed at it. He pulled out a tissue, soaked in something a deep red, and the world faded again.

He woke a second time and remembered not to pull out the tissue. He slowly sat up. He looked over at the wolf and asked, "How long was I out for?"

Hunter perked his ears and looked over. His tail waved slightly as he responded, "Maybe an hour?"

Roger groaned. He got up, feeling slightly sore. Maybe he really was coming down with something, he thought. He hobbled over to the wolf to see how much of the homework he had managed to get through.

To his surprise, it was nearly complete. There were a few mistakes here and there, but nothing too incredible, it just seemed there were a few problems with addition and carrying numbers.

He put a paw on the wolf's shoulder and complimented him. "Good job. I'll help you out with the rest. And uh..." he trailed off.

He removed his paw and fidgeted. "Sorry."

The wolf nodded in acknowledgement, attempting to be humble, but his tail betrayed his feelings.

Roger continued, "So what happened out there? I can't remember too much of it."

The wolf leaned back in his chair and gave a somewhat defensive position. He looked at his desk and softly said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Roger remained silent, so after a moment, the wolf continued, "We were playing ball, and it was fun, and I wasn't thinking. I tackled you, and you weren't ready, and I shouldn't have." His voice began to quiver.

The fox found a chair, pulled it next to him, and sat down, facing the wolf. He said softly, "Hey, look at me." The wolf did so.

"It's okay, I just passed out. You had fun, didn't you?" the fox asked. The wolf nodded, so he continued, "It's not your fault."

Hunter nodded, accepting, and went back to working his homework, with the help of the fox. It was finished in nearly no time at all, and they had plenty of time to spare before he had to go home.

He had realized that the bed he had been asleep on belong to the wolf. He recollected his thoughts.

It was a soft bed. He figured he had been pretty comfortable on it, in spite of the pain he felt. He figured if he was not sore, he would have enjoyed his nap more. He made note of the bed and decided to ask his parents later to see if he could change out his mattress.

A quick glance around the room and he was able to discern the wolf's interests. There were posters of various football teams, which he already knew the wolf did not really care about. There were various swimsuit models as well, as Roger expected to be there.

There was no TV or computer. There were various types of sporting equipment around the room, though. The room was light blue.

There were drawers, closed and everything seemed to be organized for the most part, though without actually investigating, it was impossible to tell for certain.

Hunter mentioned the posters. "My mom put them up there. She thought I would like them."

In response to if he did, he said, "They're okay."

Roger sat quietly for a moment. He tried to think of a question that would at least make the situation less awkward. He would have offered to play ball again, but that would probably have bad results if he learned anything from the first time.

He asked, "So, do you have a girl you're interested in at school?" He was sure that this would be at least a safe enough topic and a common enough one.

The wolf shook his head. "No one?" the fox asked. Another shake. He seemed to be saddened by this.

Roger patted him on the shoulder. "You'll find someone, I'm sure."

Hunter's tail waved a bit. He stood up and stretched and went to grab some water, asking if the fox had desired any. There was an affirmation and the wolf was gone.

Roger stood up and began to pace around the room. He stretched his legs slightly and removed the tissues from his nose. He closed his eyes as not to see the blood. He pocketed them, not seeing a trashcan anywhere in the room. It was not ideal, but he did not want to leave trash around, especially that of which had his bodily fluids.

The wolf returned with glasses of water. Upon seeing Roger, Hunter wagged his tail slightly for only a second. The fox noted that seemed to be his reaction to seeing him lately. He accepted it as a better alternative than the prior reactions.

They sat back down and the wolf asked, "So... do you have a girl your interested in, then?"

Roger figured the question would come back to him. He hesitated, then nodded slowly, giving a soft, nervous laugh. "Well, yeah. I mean, I've seen her around, and... yeah."

"What's her name?" Hunter asked.

"You see..." Roger began. "I... uh, don't really know. I haven't spoken to her."

There was a nod of understanding. The fox looked away for a moment, then said, "I'll point her out if we see her."

Hunter nodded, then put his head on the desk, looking up at the fox. He seemed as if he wanted to ask something, so the fox prompted, "Got something on your mind?"

The wolf nodded but remained silent.

Roger fidgeted in his seat and waited, but realized that if he continued to wait, it would never come. "What's up?" he asked the wolf finally.

"We just have tomorrow, and then it's the weekend," he responded with a smile.

The fox nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's something to be happy about."

Hunter flicked an ear, and then asked, "Can you spend the night tomorrow?"

At first, Roger was taken aback. It was not a question he expected, and it was not something he usually did, even amongst his already well-established group of friends. He hesitated and saw that his hesitation immediately caused the wolf's mood to deteriorate.

Not wanting to commit to an answer, he responded, "I'll ask my parents, okay?"

It seemed to be enough. The wolf's mood had returned to being somewhat excited.

Roger sighed. He checked his watch and figured it was time to head home. It was earlier than when the wolf usually left, but he felt the situation was getting to be a bit awkward.

The wolf nodded when told of his departure. He seemed to be saddened by the news but agreed anyway.

They exited the house, Hunter leading the way since Roger had no idea how he had gotten to Roger's room in the first place.

Outside, he turned around and said his farewell. The wolf returned it, but also with a hug, to the fox's surprise. A whisper was in his ear, "Thanks for coming today."

Roger, unsure of what to do, returned the hug lightly and briefly, before pushing away. He said, "It's no problem."

The fox, though, felt it was becoming one.