FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Despite the power having returned to the condo not more than an hour ago, the storm outside continued to rage against the patio windows while stray bolts of lightning danced along the gray clouds rolling along the sky. However, the current weather had little on the squall of emotions that churned within a certain skunk's mind as Derrick thought over several issues he'd rather not have to deal with at the moment. Grunting as a roar of thunder caused his living room to shake, the mephit did his best to drown out the nose by folding his ears down on top of his skull while at the same time he kept himself mindful of the conversation he was having with another skunk two miles away.

"And what exactly am I supposed to do about him?" The seven foot mephit hissed as his fluffy white striped tail snapped back behind his back like an angry rattler.

A moment of silence followed the dry chuckle of an answer, "Protect him." Derrick actually stopped in his tracks at that.

"I hope that was a joke..." The tension lining the larger male's hand, of which threatened to crush the cellular phone in his grip, begged to differ however.

"Well, you did just ask..." A faint snicker made Derrick snarl through clenched fangs.

"Now's not the time, Jeff!" Derrick had to remember to keep his voice down as his current 'roommate' was currently on his bed knocked out. "I'm seriously bouncin' off the walls over here!" Another crash of thunder made the mephit jump slightly.

"...kid must have really gotten to you, if you're this worked up." Jeff admitted as he clicked onto the keyboard sitting in front of him. After leaving Terrance with Derrick, the smaller skunk busied himself with working nonstop to try and make sense of the mess he had unwittingly walked into, but so far all the other mephit had found was a puzzle wrapped within an enigma as he read over the contract that had been put out for both Jason and his son.

None it made any sense seeing as how...

"...he's...a nice kid. Plus, he happens to be part of the family." Jeff stopped what he was doing at, eyes wide in some surprise.

"Interesting to hear you, of all people, talk about family, Derrick." Silence reigned between the two men as Derrick tried to think over what he should say next. "Does watching over Terrance have anything to do with the fact that you and..."

"Don't find that sentence, Jeff." The larger mephit's words came out cold as ice making the smaller skunk shudder ever so slightly. "I left that part behind when Jason and I broke off contact with each other." Derrick tried to make himself believe those words, he truly did.

"Liar."

"Fuck you."

A tight net of anxiety wrapped itself around both skunks as they thought over situations and circumstances best left alone. It had been twenty years since the last time the lot of them had spoken as anything more than passing acquaintances, despite the fact that they all lived together in the same city. Still, that didn't stop the hurt they all felt when life decided to move on without their say so. Especially after Jason got married and had a son.

Jeff coughed before speaking, "Derrick, I'm looking as fast as I can through the network, but you know how it is..." At that, the larger skunk huffed before slumping himself into his plush couch, weariness battling with a strong sense of unease as he understood exactly what Jeff was going through.

Contract kills were always a bitch to handle, especially since the contractor didn't have to be a single person to hire a hit. Yet, this didn't have the feel of being a business kill.

It felt too...personal for that.

"Jeff, someone went through the effort of taking out a plane full of civilians just to get to one man..." Derrick thought back to the hour when he had heard the news; the shock still lingered underneath his skin as he recognized one of the names of the people who had died that day.

The news of the flight from Costa Rico which had claimed Jason Areseth's life had been a big blow to the mercenaries which the wolf had been sheltering under the guise of his construction companies, however, to find out that it was all a planned hit had made the pain of loss feel like a bitter poison. Not everyone liked Jason, many actually couldn't stand the fact that the wolf was 'using them' to line his pockets, or so some complained, but everyone could agree that he was like family. And amongst their small collective...you didn't mess with family and get away with it.

"...I know." Jeff whispered, the other skunk taking a minute to turn from his laptop to have a look at the gray clouds passing through the open window of his hotel room. The thundering bolts has long since passed overhead, even if the dreary sky above promised more bad weather, allowing Jeff to overcome his fears about using his mobile to call his friend.

"...do you think I should move the kid out of town?" Derrick asked, knowing well that it was a gamble, one that had the potential to pay off big...or get the two of them a nice set of body bags to line.

Jeff thought for a moment, "You know, normally, I'd say yes, but I think things will work out better for everyone if you keep the pup as close to the rest of us as possible."

"Unless one of was the one who put the hit out." Derrick didn't like that thought, but it was one of the few rolling through his head which made any sense.

"You're gettin' that feeling too?" A crash of lightning highlighted Derrick's darkened features.

"...I'd give anything to be wrong."

****

"Yo, Terrance!" The sleepy eyed gray and black wolf blinked as he stared at the imposing visage of masculinity standing with its back in front of him. The setting of the unfamiliar kitchen, not to mention the bedroom he had woken up within, had made the lupine feel somewhat ill at ease, or at least it did before the wall of black and white fur turned around to smile at him with a plate full of sausages and pancakes in hand. Instantly, hunger overruled the pressing fear of who this strange male might have been, though, that didn't stop the next question from slipping out of the younger man's gray tipped muzzle.

"Um...? Who are you?" Impossibly wide green and gold eyes stared up into the skunk's own hazel orbs with a mixture of uncertainty and need as Terrance rolled his fluffy tail in between his legs without thought.

"Don't tell me you don't remember last night," The wolf slowly shook his head as he watched the skunk's features slip into a slight frown; the fuzziness within his mind refused to relinquish the memories of the previous day.

"I'm sorry, but I..." Terrance began to say, right before his stomach decided to input its thoughts on the current matter at hand with a rude rumble. An embarrassed whine followed the young lupine reaching down to rub his very empty belly; the taste of cooked flesh was something Terrance had not enjoyed the pleasure of for a long while and sadly that fact was showing itself as the wolf began to drool slightly while looking over the steaming pieces of meat settled onto the plate in front of him.

A casual slurp of a long pink tongue trailing along the rim of a black muzzle made the skunk chuckle slightly, "Why don't you come and eat, and then I'll go over some things with you," The mephit casually made his way around the young wolf to head towards the living room.

Terrance's brain didn't get a chance to offer its opinion on the matter as the wolf's hungry stomach forced the young man to follow after the smell of hot meat and buttery toasted flour. Fifteen minutes later Terrance burped behind his gray stained paw as he belly finally quieted its incessant complaining. Small droplets of syrup matted the younger man's muzzle, but they were quickly swept away by a broad pink tongue as Terrance carefully shifted the plate on his lap over to the coffee table in front of him. Beside him, Derrick watched the other with something indecipherable shining within his hazel eyes.

"Thank you for the food, Derrick, and I apologize for having forgotten about you," Terrance bowed his head as he watched the mephit finish the last of his breakfast, a slow scratch at his naked groin caused the wolf to turn his head slightly as a sudden heat began to rise along the tips of his pointed ears.

"Forget about it, kid," The older man said with a disinterested wave of a hand. "I'm just glad you're not freaking out right about now." Terrance turned his head to the side to watch the sun rising from behind the cover of clouds rolling across the dawn, his eyes refusing to meet those belonging to the mephit as he thought over...everything.

"It's...just a shock to realize that everything you thought you knew about your life up until now was not what you thought." The knowledge of who his father really was, or rather, had been, left a somewhat bitter taste inside of Terrance's throat.

"It's not so bad," Terrance snapped his head to look at the skunk. "Well, if you think about it, this way was really information that was kept from you to protect from elements you weren't supposed to encounter, pup." Derrick sighed quietly as he watched the younger male slowly nod as his green and gold eyes slipped closed in contemplation.

The wolf sighed before picking up the two plates sitting on the coffee table in front of him. "Do you mind if I wash these?"

"Please, go right ahead." Derrick chirped as he waved the wolf forward. "I hate doing dishes anyway." Terrance chuckled before turning to go about his way.

Watching the younger man go about his way to the kitchen, Derrick couldn't help but to steal a stay glance at the slim, somewhat lanky form Terrance supported.

'Could you use some extra weight, especially with winter rolling around,' The skunk didn't want to imagine how the youth would have handled the coming of the snowy months here in the city. 'How long was has it been since he got kicked out of his place?' Derrick thought as he realized that Jeff never said. 'Gotta ask him later,'

When he heard the faucet start to run, Derrick took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking, "You know that things are going to be different from here on out, don't you, Ter?" The skunk already decided that the younger man needed a nickname because Terrance just sounded too snobbish for him to have say over and over again.

"...I guess?" The nervousness behind the voice had the mephit ruefully shaking his head.

"Sorry to tell you this, but things are gonna get harder for you before they get better, pup." Derrick figured that there was no sense in lying to the other, especially not with his life put on fate's roulette wheel from hell. "How much do you remember me saying from last night?"

"...that my dad was a mercenary...and it got him killed?"

"Ok, let me bring you up to speed then." Derrick watched as Terrance cautiously walked his way from the kitchen to the front while wringing his paws out with a white dish towel. "Someone put a hit out on you and you father." That got the gasp of fear Derrick was expecting. "But, me and the rest of the guys you dad had working for him are gonna do what we can to keep you alive, Ter."

Giving the pup a minute to let his mind come to grips with what he had just said, Derrick watched as Terrance found his way back to his side on the couch once more. "I still don't understand a lot of this..." Derrick nodded.

"What's the part that's most confusing?" The skunk raises his left hand and then began to count off on his fingers, "That you're dad was an ex-mercenary? That he was out sourcing jobs to other mercs? That someone killed him? Or that someone's now after you too?" Derrick didn't think his tone changed any, but in looking at the wolf on the verge of tears the older man felt somewhat ashamed of himself.

"I...just..." Terrance felt his throat close up as he thought over...

"Hey!" The young wolf jumped as a steady arm curled itself around his shoulders, "You're going to have to get over this soon, Ter."

"Get over the fact that the man I thought I knew for my entire life had a whole nother life I knew nothing about?! One that got him killed, and may get me killed, no less?!" The young wolf's green-gold eyes bore holes into the mephit's own hazel orbs as Terrance tried to find reason behind the madness that his world was falling prey to.

'Maybe coddling's the wrong answer,' Derrick sighed, turning his head to shake away a loose thought before returning his sight on the younger male. "Jason, your dad, he was who he was, and it got him killed. So suck it up and get over it."

The sudden impact of a fist slamming into his nose caused Derrick's head to snap to the side, more from the abruptness of the action than from the force of the impact. Hazel eyes blinked twice before the skunk turned to find himself with a face full of angry wolf as Terrance growled up at him, black lips rolled back showing a ferocious display of fangs which looked ready to snap at the other man, as the younger man shot the skunk a murderous look.

Silence, save for the gray and black wolf's growling, overtook the room before...

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" The sudden jollity shining on the mephit's face made Terrance's fury abate just a little as confusion settled in. "Heh, believe me, kid, that was not a strong punch, but I think we can work on that." Derrick cheered as he brought the younger man closer into his chest before running his knuckles along Terrance's scalp.

Terrance didn't know what to say to that as he stared agape at the older man.

"What?" The feeling of being so close to another body made the wolf lower the fist he still had clenched by his side down into his lap, his fingers unfolding as it did so.

"If you can get angry like that, then you can get focused enough to channel that anger into something useful." Derrick said honestly as he pulled Terrance out from within his encompassing embrace, a mischievous smirk lining the edges of the mephit's black muzzle.

"I...don't understand."

"You will, just give it some time." Derrick lowered his white striped head as he thought over something. "Or better yet, why don't we try something out..."

****

Twenty minutes later, Derrick parked his truck, a slightly unassuming black Dodge Ram, into one of the spaces of a vacant lot with a very confused Terrance sitting in the passenger seat. The gray and black wolf wasn't sure, but he was almost certain that this was not the way arguments usually ended, especially between two relative strangers. And yet, there he sat silently by the skunk's side as Derrick killed the engine to his truck and then began to unclasp the belt tied securely around his massive frame.

"Well, come on already!" The skunk chirped as he hauled tail outside.

Terrance, once again, didn't know what to think as he watched the older mephit swish his massive tail around while looking at the grayish building standing in front of him. Dressed in a white tank top and blue jeans, the older man looked like someone on his way to the gym, but in reading the sign on the front of the building, Terrance was sure this was a not workout center.

'Tony's Arms?' The young wolf thought in confusion as he unsnapped the buckle holding him in his seat. 'What are we doing here?' Turning to stare at Derrick, who nodded for him to hurry up, Terrance took a long drawn out breath before shaking his head bemusedly.

"Alright, come on." The mephit didn't bother to explain himself as he hurried across the middle of the street, the emptiness of the early hour of the morning giving Derrick reason enough not to check the crosswalk as he did so.

When the two men stepped into the building Terrance was immediately assaulted by the overpowering stench of gun oil and steel, forcing a sneeze from his muzzle. Blinking his green-gold eyes, the young wolf found himself somewhat in awe as he noted several figures regarding him somewhat in a self-aggrandizing way as their eyes swept over the fresh meat that had just entered into the lion's den. Tail slightly curling in between his legs, Terrance eased his way next to Derrick's side as he felt a nervous growl bubble up within his throat.

'Why are they...?' Terrance began before yelping when a booming voice suddenly echoed next to his head.

"HEY, TONY!!!" Derrick yelled as he walked over to a tiger sitting behind the front counter reading a magazine Terrance couldn't see.

A slow tilt of an orange and striped head followed an even slower raise of a left eyebrow.

"What?" the large feline barely seemed to acknowledge the skunk, despite the other walking over to him with his arms held out in a gesture symbolizing the want for an open hug.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Derrick asked as he walked over and then used one arm to lean across the tiger's counter.

"You've need money?" Tony inquired, an annoyed grunt slipped from his lips as he noted the mephit covering the issue of Gun and Ammo he was reading, or rather was trying to read.

"No."

"Then I'm thrilled to see you." The deadpanned scowl on the other's face spoke to contrary.

"Never lose that sense of humor, Ton." Derrick teased before turning his head to regard Terrance. "You got a free spot open? The kid here needs to practice." Terrance froze in place when bright amber eyes focused on his presence.

For several seconds the tiger said nothing as he ran his gaze along the young wolf's frame, the tip of a fang did, however, peek out as the feline dipped his head down below the lupine's waist.

"Number five." Tony disregarded Terrance at that point.

"Thanks, Tony!" Derrick gave the wolf an easy nod.

"The kid knows the rules?" Derrick kept the smile playing on his face in check as he rolled his neck back towards the tiger.

"He's not stupid." Terrance couldn't stop the blush that trialed across the bridge of his nose at the compliment.

"If he's with you, then he must be." Annoyance clouded both Derrick and Terrance's faces before the pair could stop it.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" The mephit looked honestly put back as he curled his lips up over his fangs.

"Heh, you'll figure it out." And at that, the tiger picked himself up, having been seating when he was speaking to Derrick, his eight foot frame towering over the smaller skunk, "I'll set it up for, just make sure the kid gets outfitted first before practice."

"Right!" Derrick tipped his head at the tiger's back as he watched the other man retreat into the backroom.

"What's going on, Derrick?" Terrance was halfway sure he already knew, but the confirmation would make his doubts dissipate.

A sudden overcast of seriousness overtook the older man's face, changing the once jovial aura Derrick radiated into a cool air of solemnity that made the young wolf blink in surprise. "You know what this place is, right, Ter?" A nod followed with an explanation, "Ever since our little 'talk' this morning, I've come to the realization that maybe coddling you isn't what you need to make it through this situation," Derrick's eyes shown with an intensity that made the wolf's throat lock up, "And because of that, I want to trust you with something that may help save your life." Derrick nodded to the left and then began to walk off. Terrance took a second to realize that the other man wasn't going to wait for him before he made motions to follow after the skunk.

"You're...going to teach me how to use a gun, right?" The wolf's voice was very small as he spoke. The numerous eyes around him caused the lupine to shudder as the fur around his neck began ruffle while at the same time a nervous rumble began to slip from his lips.

"Yep," Derrick took Terrance to the backroom where several lockers were kept before stopping in front of one, number seventy-eight and then swinging around to look at his charge. "I figure you can handle this kind of responsibility, after all, your father was pretty good in keeping himself protected, so I'm going to take a gamble that some of that has rubbed off on you." Derrick reached up to scratch his chin before opening his muzzle to speak...

"No." Terrance caught the mephit by surprise. "He never let me hold his guns." The wolf guessed what the other was attempting to ask and smiled when he watched the skunk click his muzzle shut. "I never wanted to, either."

"That's going to have to change now, Ter." Derrick turned around to unlock the metal box in front of him, pulling open the faded door and then slowly started to shuffle around the contents therein. "Someone's after your life, so you're going to need to be prepared to defend yourself."

Derrick found what he was searching for and then flipped around to find Terrance sitting down on the well-worn bench at his back. The skunk didn't bother to speak as he watched fearful gray paws clench tight onto the wood, claws digging into the polished material as the young wolf kept his head down to shadow his tremulous emotions.

"Am...I going to have kill someone just to survive?" The wolf lifted his face reveal teary green-gold eyes at the older man.

Derrick didn't say anything as he hung what he had in his hand over his bicep before going to sit next to the younger man.

"I'm not going to lie to you," The mephit began, his voice strong and unwavering as he spoke, "You just may." Terrance sobbed as he felt a gray haze slip over his mind. "But, I think you're tough enough to take responsibility for what that means." Derrick said, the gravity in his voice lifting just a touch as he reached out to curl an arm around the wolf.

Terrance hiccuped as he put his head onto the mephit's shoulder, his thoughts turning red as he imagined himself behind the trigger of a smoking pistol.

"I...don't want to hurt anybody," The lupine whispered.

"You may not have to, but you have to be ready for that possibility."

"I'm scared."

"Go ahead and let it out, then. I'm here for you." Derrick watched as Terrance let out a howl of a wail before folding himself into his chest. The dark cries that unleashed themselves from the wolf's throat drew several people from the front, but at their appearance the skunk merely waved them away. Most of them, familiar faces that Derrick could recall offhand, understood and returned to the front to go about their business.

When Terrance's fears started to abate, the wolf spared a nuzzle along Derrick's now wet shoulder and then pulled himself back so that he could look at the other man.

"Thank you, and, I'm sorry."

"You're welcome." The mephit smiled, the light of playfulness returning to his eyes for a moment. "Also, you don't have to apologize, I can understand what you're feeling." Terrance cocked his head at that. "What, you think I've never had to feel the weight of knowing I may have to end a man's life before? Come on, I'm not made of lead here." Derrick knocked on his left pectoral as he spoke.

"How do you deal with it?" Terrance honestly wanted to know as he own heart thundered so loud in his chest that he could actually hear the beat in his ears.

"Whoring." The wolf blinked at that. "Heh, being with so many random faces else helps me to forget about the faces which have passed between me and my own handgun before." Terrance tried to form a question, but his brain seemed to turn to mush at that. "Don't worry," The skunk wrapped his arm tighter around the younger man and then licked along the lupine's wet eyes. "It's not something you have to worry about, at least, not if Jeff and I can help it."

"But you..."

"Come on, pup!" the mephit hopped up and then presented the other with the item he had pulled out from the locker to the wolf. "We need to get you suited up, and then out in the range before Tony starts to wonder if we've started fuckin' in here." Terrance's ears turned scarlet as he looked into Derrick's hazel eyes, flabbergasted. "Hey, I would, but we've got things to do, plus, I don't have any rubbers on me." The mephit smirked.

Getting the bulletproof vest on the wolf turned out to be simple since Terrance's brain decided to go on vacation, leaving Derrick to heft the wolf up and then manipulated his unresisting arms to his leisure. Once he was outfitted, Derrick snapped his fingers in front of Terrance's face, drawing the other out of his daze,

"You're really going to have to get over being surprised by everything I say, otherwise you're going to have a heart attack before this month's out." The skunk's voice seemed to harden again as he led the lupine out to the range where a certain tiger was checking over the various pistols he had lined on the table in front of him.

"You know, another thirty seconds and I would have come after you," the tiger said without the least hint of a joke in his words.

"You always did like to take your time in getting off," Derrick chuckled as he picked up the .45 handgun with a mustang embroidered onto the side barrel up from the table.

"And you always liked to keep horsepower in hand, or was that under your tail?" the sly jab made Terrance's jaw drop slightly, especially considering how the tiger's neutral mask didn't so much as shift as he lifted his eyes to look at the skunk.

"Funny." Derrick huffed before turning to look at his charge. "Normally, I'd pick one out for you, but you tell me which gun speaks to you."

"Speaks to me?" The lupine turned to regard the mephit with a cocked eyebrow.

"It's not that complicated." Derrick shrugged before checking over the gun in hand. "Just look at them and then pick out the one you think fits,"

Terrance looked at the table once again, his green-gold eyes still somewhat puffy from crying earlier, however, that didn't stop him from noting the varying designs of the weapons placed before him. Different from his father's own collection of firearms, the guns on the table seemed to be less...refined than the ones he had seen growing up. Moving his paw over the handles of two different pistols, Terrance grunted as picked up a 9 millimeter.

"Interesting choice," Tony said as he watched the young lupine with a bored gleam glowing in his eyes.

"Small enough to conceal, with an external safety..." Terrance recalled something his father had told him once.

"You like it?" Derrick asked curiously.

"No," Two gazes focused on him at that. "but I think I should learn how to use it anyway." The wolf said, his conviction clear as he stared into the slowly rising grin dancing along Derrick's muzzle.

"Then let's get started..."

An hour later both Derrick and Terrance found themselves back inside of the mephit's black dodge, "You have some skill, but you need to remember to keep your hands steady when firing, otherwise you'll never hit your target." focused on his driving the skunk had to use his peripheral to note the somewhat disgusted look plastered on Terrance's face.

"I never knew it took so much effort just to fire a gun a one-thirds bigger than my own paw," The wolf looked down at his right hand, a sense of ill-at-ease making his stomach rumble as he thought over how easy it felt to hold the 9 millimeter even though the phantom feeling the weapon recoil in his grip still made his fingers twitch just a little.

"Don't let the movies and TV fool you, Ter, actually firing a gun the right way takes some time to learn, though with your abilities you should be able to master the 9 by the end of the week." Derrick wasn't sure if that counted as praise by the way the young wolf's face dipped into a scowl, but he wasn't going to renege on his words. "Since we still have some time, what do you want to eat?"

Terrance turned to Derrick, a confused look on his face, "Eat?"

"Yeah, that thing you do where you put food in your mouth and chew." The skunk snickered as he watched the lupine's green-gold eyes narrow at him.

"Um, I guess, whatever's easiest?" Terrance really hadn't thought about eating again since his mind was still in a jumbled mess.

"You're not used to doing things on the fly, are you?" A slow shake of a gray furred head answered the skunk. "Well, don't worry, I think I know of a place that makes fresh hamburgers." A growling stomach caused the mephit to crack up laughing.

Thirty minutes later, Derrick found himself regretting ever asking his charge out for lunch, "You...can eat," The skunk wasn't sure what else he should say as he noted the happy smile on the younger wolf's face. A happy wag of the gray and black tail made the skunk's concern ease, though.

"What do you expect?" Terrance burped behind a hand. "You did offer to try and feed a hungry wolf, after all."

"Yeah, but if you keep eatin' like this, I'm makin' you find a job." Derrick hadn't thought over his monthly expenses after he accepted the lupine into his life, but after getting the bill from the restaurant they just left, the mephit was seriously hoping that Jeff found Terrance's some kind of inheritance, otherwise he was going to make the pup get a gig somewhere.

"Heh, where are we going now?" Terrance easy smile made Derrick shake away the blues he had over his somewhat lighter wallet as he walked the two of them across the street, the traffic from the later hour forced the skunk to obey the flashing crosswalk sign.

"To the gym, it's time we got you some weight training in." Derrick made note of something on his left, before turning to regard the wolf. "You're not just going to sit around my apartment while life passes you by, protective detail, or not." The place in question being only two blocks away from the restaurant where they had just finished dining in at.

"But why a gym?" Terrance hadn't paid much attention to any of the athletic programs at his high school; the young wolf too interested in studying business and architecture so that he could take over his dad's business.

"Cause you're going to toughen up in order to handle some of the things that are going to come your way soon enough," Derrick said as they walked into the building and the up to the lady at the front desk, a buxom lapin wearing a smart two piece, before pulling his gym membership out of his pocket. "Can you sign the pup here up for a membership, honey?" the skunk purred while leaning over to stare at the rabbit.

"Sure thing, Mr. Goth." The female said just as she turned to her side to pull a small packet from a bin on her side.

"You're last name's Goth?" Terrance watched as Derrick gave a disinterested shrug before passing the information forms over to the lupine.

"Ok," Derrick said as he passed the documents back over the rabbit and then directed the younger man over to the male side of the gym. "With that out of the way, let me show you around."

"Um, shouldn't we wait to get approved, first?" Terrance looked to the female who was now typing his information into the computer in front of her.

"Nah, Shella only needs your info, the rest will be handled by me later on since this is your first time here. And before you ask," Derrick stopped Terrance before the wolf could open his muzzle. "this gym is owned by a friend of a friend. So you don't have to worry about anyone looking to cause trouble coming in here." The skunk said as he led Terrance to the locker room, even as he kept a weathered eye on the shadow passing by the front of the building.

"By 'friend of a friend', you mean...?" Terrance was almost scared to know, even more so once he noted the smirk lining the older man's muzzle.

"Yep!" A happily wagging white striped tail made the younger wolf chuckle.

"Oh. Ok." Terrance smiled and causing Derrick to chuckle as he brought the younger man's head into his chest to give him another noogie.

"You really are too innocent for words, pup."