Burdens [Furry BxB]

Chapter 49 - Positive

Hunter was still not present, so Roger figured that he was still at practice. In reality, his meeting with the teacher did not actually take very long, so it made sense to him.

He wandered off toward the small stadium that they had. The grass was usually freshly cut, much to the annoyance of the teachers and students during class. It was surrounded by a rubbery type of material for its track, and to the two sides were some seats for spectators. There were white lines that were painted whenever the grass was cut, usually by students that had needed to work off some trouble that they had gotten into.

The fox made his way onto the stands, sat down, and watched. The football team was still practising, running back and forth in different positions, throwing and catching the ball, running into each other in ways that made no sense to the fox, but he was sure that it was much more complex than he gave it credit for. He spotted the wolf amongst them, ramming into the other members when acknowledgement was given, and knocking them onto their backs.

They would try to knock over the wolf but to no avail. He was rooted to the ground for the most part and they could not break his stance, though it was by no means an easy defence. Roger attempted to recall any information he had on their football team, but all he knew was that they were but average, won every so often, but lost just as many games.

He could pinpoint their star player after a moment, mostly judging from the interactions the other players and coach gave him. A polar bear, he noticed, a fairly rare kind to find around the area, but they existed.

Roger looked around the stadium for other signs of movement. He noticed that a few females were off to the side, in uniform, performing cheers. There were some that merely stood around, some that sat, and one or two that observed the football team with more than a passing interest.

He had not noticed the end of practice or what even signalled it, but the team began to head toward where he sat. The locker rooms, and consequently the showers, were behind him.

Hunter was beside him, clapped him on the shoulder, and asked, "So how'd I do?"

Roger shook his head. "Good? Great? I have no idea, man, I'll be honest. You could do awful and it'd still be better than what I could do, and I'd judge it as such. Besides, I just got here a few minutes ago, had a meeting with Mr Levy."

The wolf quirked his head. "Oh? What about?"

The fox bit his lip. "Ah, well, nothing important. He did give me a study guide, though, for the test, so we could work on that and prepare you a bit for what's coming. If we work on it enough, you should easily ace the test."

Hunter nodded and smiled. "Sounds good. I'm going to go take a shower, so I'll be back soon, okay?"

Roger shrugged. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll be here."

The wolf ran off toward the locker room. Roger stayed on the stands, looking at the field. The equipment was being put away by a couple of students and the coach. The fox wondered why the team could not do it themselves, but he thought better to ask.

The cheerleading team was putting away their items, as well. Most of them left, but a few of them stayed behind, chatting amongst themselves.

A little while passed by and then he heard footsteps behind him. The wolf was returning holding a large bag as well as his backpack. Roger figured it was his sports equipment and clothes and readily dismissed it.

They took their leave of school and headed toward the park. The fox was allowed to meditate on the practice he saw whilst they walked. The wolf had been wagging, it seemed while practising, though it could merely have been the movements they had to do with their bodies in any case. He was unsure, but the way Hunter acted usually in regards to football, he was fairly certain that he was enjoying himself.

The coach wanted to take that away from him for academic purposes, but it was a pointless pursuit as far as the fox was concerned. The coach could see things one way, but the fox saw them another, and he saw that the wolf would do fine as long as he was given the chance. Taking away what he enjoyed would only hinder the process.

But, of course, there were rules and stipulations and guidelines they had to adhere to, he was sure. Perhaps maintaining a good grade point average was something along those lines. He did not know, he was not into their sports programs, but Hunter was. Perhaps he could ask.

He was glad that the teacher would put in a good word for him, though. He found it odd that he would trust the fox so readily, but he did not complain about it. It was best to accept the boon and regard it as such rather than question it and turn it into a curse.

His mind wandered to the comments about his attitude and demeanour. Had he really been more positive of late? If he had, then why? He tried to think of what reason the skunk would have to say that about him. Maybe he was right, as is the outside observer would have the best, unbiased view in many cases. He did not feel different.

What major changes had occurred without his knowledge? It was in the past week, so it was most likely due to having to tutor the wolf. Was it more the tutoring, or that he was with the wolf, or maybe merely just out of the house more than usual?

In the back of his mind, he thought that perhaps it was that he was just stressed out and found no time to be negative. So little and so much had occurred recently, and it was taxing. His feelings and anxiety had pained him for so long.

"Thinking about something?" the wolf asked him, interrupting his thought.

"Uh, well, kind of, I guess," Roger responded. "Hey... do I seem different? I mean, different than last week."

The wolf thought about it, and then responded, "Well, you seem happier."

If that was the positive change, then it was a change he was stuck with. He knew the source, but he tried to deny it. He looked at the wolf and asked, "Happier?"

Hunter nodded. "Yeah, at first you seemed just kind of... I don't know, tired of everyone. Mad, I guess. You smile a lot more now."

The fox nodded. "I guess. I mean, it's nice to have my best friend around, you know? And my face has been hurting a bit lately," he joked.

He was pulled into a sideways kind of embrace for just but a second. The wolf wagged and said, "Yeah, it is."

Roger smiled, not just from the embrace or the joke or the response, but from all the things that his situation implied.