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Chapter 18: Flight

It felt as if time froze, for the instant he locked his gaze with the wolf's, forever seemed to come all at once. His heart pounded quickly, making up for the beat it missed, and preparing him to flee. He expected something to happen, but if nothing progressed, there would be no reaction, and he almost preferred it that way.

Seconds felt like hours, moments were lives. He felt his face burn with embarrassment, much of which stemmed from having been caught staring at the wolf, the other large portion being that he was staring at another male.

It was frozen and was fluid. His desperate attempts to flee from the situation were only supported through his halted awareness, yet it was fleeting. It was a situation he could not avoid. All he could do was avert his gaze, flustered, afraid to speak. The wolf spoke instead.

"Is everything alright?" he asked. He seemed genuinely concerned, and made a motion to move toward the fox.

Roger shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong," he quickly responded. He noticed the movement and scooted back a bit. The wolf stopped moving.

His breathing was quick, his eyes could not rest upon Hunter, but were able to look around him, just never directly. This seemed to cause more concern.

"Are you sure? I'm sorry if I did something bad." Hunter had approached him again.

The fox moved away again, but it was to no avail. A paw rested on his shoulder, and he held his breath. He finally managed to bring his eyes to meet the wolf's.

His brows were furrowed, but not in an angry fashion which he had expected. His face was not configured to laugh, but rather to show his discomfort, which the fox had expected. Yet, it was not for the same reasons.

Roger calmed down for a moment and collected himself. He saw a path of escape amidst the rubble of his exacerbated disaster. "No, I just... nothing is wrong. I was just making sure you're okay, that's all. The road hasn't been exactly all that stable."

The wolf nodded and laid back down. "Thanks, but I'm alright." He seemed sincere, and his tail thumped a couple times before resting. His eyes shut again and his face relaxed.

The fox stood up and said, "I'm going to walk around the pond, I'll be right back." He was relieved that the wolf had not noticed, though he pondered whether that was really the case or not. He decided to take his chances with it being a stroke of luck and he would walk off the bad thoughts that pervaded his mind.

He departed, leaving the wolf to lie in the grass. His heart began to settle back to normal. He had caught a long look at him, more than he really should have, and he was glad that he avoided a certain area. He imagined the instance in which he did look and was caught, and thought that the consequence would have been a bit more severe than what it had been.

Yet, why was he looking in the first place? He cursed himself. What's wrong with me? he thought. He's a guy, why am I having such weird thoughts? It's just... it's just a phase. I'll spend some time away, and I'll be fine. Maybe think about... what's her name? I need to find it out when we get back.

He continued to think to himself as he made his way to the other side of the pond. He could see the wolf had not moved in the time that it took him. He had been worried that the wolf would begin to follow him, effectively dashing his efforts of keeping his mind off him. Yet, as he thought that, his mind still wandered back to his friend, even in something as simple as if he were being followed.

He shook his head and continued on. There was a small building a little further ahead of him. He saw a few come and go as he approached it; it was just a restroom. He figured he would give it a visit.

After relieving himself and washing his paws and face, he exited. It had only taken a minute or two, but it served as a fair distraction: he felt uncomfortable in such places, and it was enough to pull his attention away.

He continued along his walk around the pond. He passed by a few various types of birds on the way, some of which took a swim in the pond. There was most likely enough living creatures in the pond that the birds were adequately fed.

He almost reached the edge of the park as he continued turning toward his point of origin. The pond felt bigger than it actually was, but maybe he was just tired. He felt it odd that he passed by only so few, as it was a park that clearly had much money put into it, yet so few utilized it. He shrugged. They paid for a service, and it was their choice if they wanted it to go to waste.

The stroll served as an excellent flight from the situation he had been in. His mind eased back into what it used to be: calm, collected, content. He noted that the wolf still had not moved in his absence, yet he had not really been gone too long. He still had a quarter of the pond to trek to reach him, though.

He checked his watch. It was still before noon and they had plenty of time to waste in the day. He took out his phone and began to check for movies as he walked the rest of the way. There was not much to be seen, but there was a movie that seemed to be convenient enough that they would be able to catch it with little downtime.

He finally arrived to where he started. The wolf was lying down still, unmoving except for the rise and fall of his chest. The fox could hear him snoring lowly.

He had been worrying idly for no reason. He sat down next to the wolf and sighed. He checked his watch, figured they would have about ten minutes of rest now, and then they could begin to move toward the theater, if the wolf agreed to the plan.

He looked around. There was no one to be seen. He wondered where everyone was, but figured they were probably at home or at work. Not everyone had that day off, after all.

He gulped inaudibly. He needed to wake the wolf up, but he felt if he did anything, blame would be placed upon him for things he had not done. He looked at the wolf who slept peacefully. He wondered how heavy a sleeper he was.

He tentatively placed a paw on his chest. There was no reaction. He pressed softly and shook the wolf slightly, afraid that the wolf would react negatively. He was prepared to retract and flee if the situation called for it.

Still no reaction. Perhaps he it would be better if he spoke it. He quickly said, "Hey, Hunter... wake up."

The wolf's ear twitched, but there was no other movement. He spoke it again a little louder.

The wolf moved and grabbed him. He panicked, but there was no time to react. Before he knew it, the wolf held him in an awkward position. It seemed he was still asleep and was using him as a pillow.

He was on the ground. He had his face against the wolf's chest, could feel the rise and fall, and heard the thumps of his heart, still slow from the sleep. He felt oddly warm.

He attempted to squirm away, but he was stuck. His left arm was free, but his right was not. His right arm was held onto in a somewhat painful position. He had to twist himself around so it did not feel as if it were about to break.

He felt something warm against the back of his paw and he strained his neck to look to see what it was. His paw was pressed against the wolf's crotch, and as soon as he realized it, he blushed furiously and redoubled his efforts to free himself. He managed to at least move his arm enough that it was in a safer place, and he began to call the wolf's name loudly.

Finally, the wolf woke up. He loosened his grip and the fox squirmed out, sprawling onto the grass. "I'm sorry," he said. He made a motion toward the fox and asked, "Are you alright?"

Roger nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

They stood up and discussed the plans. The wolf agreed.

As they headed toward where the theater was, the fox walked a little slower than the wolf. In the moment that the wolf was unable to see him, he looked at his paw, and felt his face flush. A thought ran through his head, but he shook it out.

He bit his lip. It was a pervasive thought.