Burdens - Chapter 77: Recovery
#77 of Burdens
Chapter 77: Recovery
Roger had watched the ferret and wolf practice for what almost seemed all day, but had really only been about an hour.
"Okay, one more," Brandon said. He was breathing heavily and his clothes were damp from sweat and dew from the grass.
Hunter nodded and wagged. He did not show any signs of fatigue, in contrast to the ferret and fox.
Suddenly, the wolf lunged forward. The ferret turned to evade, but he was too slow. Since it would be the last time, it seemed Hunter had put more effort into it.
It was a blur and then there was the wolf atop the ferret, holding him down. There was some struggling, but the wolf would not budge.
Roger blushed lightly as he witnessed the event. His mind ran a bit wild, but he wrenched it back into submission.
The ferret was freed, and then said his farewells. He mentioned that he would come by again tomorrow, and eventually he would see if he could buy more time.
When left to their own devices, Roger and Hunter resumed their studies. It was nice, the fox thought, to have a bit of a break. He felt as if he would die if he continued.
Another day passed and the ferret made another appearance. The fox could not help but imagine inappropriate instances when he saw how close they were. It was always short-lived and never enough time for him to get too distracted or even convince himself that it was a possibility, but it was still not preventative.
And then the weekend came. Where was time going?
The Labrador managed to make an appearance. Like Roger, he was also learning, and he had the wind knocked out of him on more than just a few occasions. He laughed it off, though.
And then the ferret made an appearance. Only but an hour like usual. but now the fox had to participate, since it would be uneven.
He began to learn the different plays that they would have gone through with a full team, and it took a while to remember them, but eventually he did. Dan was much quicker on the uptake, but he was more used to the physical type of memory.
Even after Roger had quit and the ferret had left, the wolf and dog kept at it, though eventually only Roger and Hunter were left.
They took their showers and studied. The more the event occurred, the more comfortable Roger was with the wolf seeing him in just a towel, and he even began to change while the wolf was in the room. He was able to control himself for the most part, but every so often he would have to turn away fairly quickly.
it was that night that he was able to remove his boxers. He was blushing heavily, especially as he felt the wolf hug him, but he told himself that it was no different than any other night. Still, he made sure to hold the wolf's paw higher than usual.
He woke with no incident, and the day followed like any other day. They practiced, they studied, and they sat by each other, enjoying the lazy day. Doing nothing had become just as exciting and enjoyable as going out and doing something. In actuality, the fox enjoyed it more, because it gave them privacy.
Then there was the regular school week. They saw each other during class and after, but less so from the ferret and Dan. It seemed they had become busy in that particular week, but Roger did not mind.
He was getting used to the physical abuse he was putting himself through. It hurt less, but still hurt.
He had committed himself to playing with the wolf, but his body was crying out for him to go back on his word. He did not want to, though. It would hurt the wolf worse than it currently hurt him.
He tried to introduce the wolf to some movies he had at his house. Just simple things here and there, kids' movies, family films and the like. Each and every single one was more captivating than the next to Hunter, regardless of the story or type or length or quality. He got lost in them. After they were done, it always seemed that he was sad that they ended.
Roger paused one day, though. Had it been over a month since they had met? He reminisced. He remembered how he had treated the wolf, and he remembered everything that had happened afterward. His most vivid of memories were always the most embarrassing, but he would not trade them away for anything.
The clarity he had experienced before had not faded like he thought it might. It turned out all of which he had planned that night was unnecessary to have written down, since he easily could think back to it. It felt as if someone had flipped a switch that turned on the lights in his head, and suddenly he could see all that was dark before.
Day after day, it only seemed to be sharper. It was with his new focus that he could see the changes in the wolf, as well. He seemed less reclusive than he had been in the past. It was as if he were happier.
Could he say that about himself? He felt that things had been different for him, as well. He was out of his house a lot more, with friends that he would have normally have seen at school and the occasional get together. He had never expected to be friends with anyone that had been on the football team, it was merely not his group that he normally associated with, but after having been with Hunter, things seemed different. They were not bad.
A day of days and he had taken the time to finally just sit and let his mind go blank. He looked over at the wolf who had been staring at a book, writing in his notebook. He looked back and smiled. Roger could hear the swishing of the wolf's tail against the sheets.
He smiled back and glanced at Hunter's tail. It had not been the one moving.