“Good morning New Furian City, it looks to be another beautiful day with highs in the mid seventies and we’ll be starting out with a cloud-free sky. Later today we should . . .  an approaching cold front . . . for traffic, Aria? *static*  heavy on I – 34 . . . injury accident . . .*static* . . .  mess. . . *static*. . . ”

“Ah, now that’s music to my ears,” noted the wolf in a silver convertible, “away from the noise.”

The lupine turned off his radio and brought the top down as he sped on the highway to the countryside. With the breeze whipping through his headfur and blowing his tie back, the wolf slipped on a pair of sunglasses as he got comfortable for the trip ahead. Being reminded of the tie about his neck, he decided to loosen and toss the garment into the wind. A hearty chuckle ensued as he unbuttoned the top of his dress shirt, exposing more of his confined fur to the fresh air. Just as he was going further in unbuttoning, his Redberry rang. Checking the ID, he noted it was the office and sighed as he picked up.

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Mr. Calidan, the meeting has been rescheduled for Monday, but we need your approval on materials before then.”

“Have it ready for me in the morning before the meeting, you’ll have my thoughts on the spot.”

“Yes sir, but I really recom--”

The call’s connection was lost and the wolf simply threw the paperweight into the seat next to him, smirking at the thought of him not being bothered again for the remainder of the weekend. After getting up and prepared early for a meeting cancelled at the last minute and now postponed, the chaos was enough to have the lupine steaming mad. Yet, out on the open road, he was relaxed and could escape from the responsibility for now.

It had been a number of hours driving before he reached his private cabin far in the woods. The entrance driveway was kept overgrown to keep out any wandering motorists from heading far into his secluded space. Pulling his vehicle behind the cabin, he stepped out to survey the property. While the entryway had been left to grow, the remainder of his wooded escape still possessed a rustic appearance without being too run down. Going up the porch, he was pleased to see the planks retained their weathered look, but weren’t left as poorly maintained as to injure any guests he would have brought.

Upon entering the structure, the presence of certain items did break the theme of the escape, but was done for the sake of accommodating to those not true to the down to earth lifestyle. It was his interest in nature that would attract company, but their insistence for comfort made him keep items such as: a leather couch, large screen plasma television, fully stocked kitchen, and king sized beds for the bedrooms present. He didn’t like the idea of indulging in the modern comforts of home while being surrounded by wilderness, but a refrigerator of always chilled beer was hard to pass up.

Kicking off his shoes, he padded his way to pick up said beverage from the chill chest. The lupine continued his one pawed disrobing with his dress shirt, slacks, and socks being thrown in no particular direction. Plopping his still boxer clad rear across the couch, the wolf put a paw behind his head and admired his own physique as he sipped on the beer. The days and hours spent in the company fitness center paid off with his well defined musculature imprinting the peaks and valleys underneath his short, white abdominal fur. The wolf made a toothy grin as he gazed past his hips to view the finely sculpted, black furred legs that were shamefully hidden from the world in his required pantswear. He glanced at his full, but not bulging, biceps that were the objects of admiration for mostly female, but also some male colleges. The recollection of being eye-candy at work brought the lupine some discomfort, so he lost the boxers to relieve the pressure.

Turning his head upward to regard the chandelier of unlit candles hanging above, the wolf idly ran his paw across his growing appendage, but was lost in a buzzed world of thought. It was nice being admired and flirting, he didn’t mind playing the game. Yet it was a game he kept playing with no grand prize, just parting gifts as a way of saying, “thanks for playing”.  He had gone on numerous dates with the girls and guys he met; with the prospect of finding a mate, he wasn’t going to turn someone down just for their gender. However some trains of thought ran the same tracks, regardless of the furreson. He brought his paw up from his member to count off the events that he encountered so frequently, it became predictable.

“One, hey I noticed you across the way and looked like you could use some company. Two, you seem nice want to head out another night? Three, we have so much in common; I don’t remember what, but you sure are handsome. Four, I had a great time tonight, want to come inside? Five, well I’m going to hit the sack, you want to join me?”

Sighing, he dropped his counting paw off the side of the couch. Sleep began to take over after having to get ready so early in the morning.

“Why do I always turn them down?” he whispered to himself. “. . . guess having a yiff with just anyone will have me always going back for all the wrong reasons.”

He had succumbed to the fatigue and closed his eyes as the daylight began to fade to orange evening.  Meanwhile, along the outskirts of the forest, a figure moved in the underbrush.

“Darned GPS,” the furre grumbled, “last time I decide to use a unit designed for the road on the trail.”

The fox had been in the thicket of trees since morning. He was wandering deep into the forest to get lost in nature as well as test out one of his gadgets received for his birthday. The vulpine was confident he could find his way back if the device failed, but in trying to avoid a feral mother bear and her cubs, he had neglected to set a trace. With the daylight fading and area under the trees getting dark faster, the fox decided to take a load off on a fallen log and assess his situation.

“Doesn’t look like there’s a suitable place to pitch a tent, much less try to start a fire,” the vulpine contemplated, surveying the grounds.

Sighing, he dropped his muzzle into his paws. Peering through the slits between his digits in hopelessness, the fox caught a glint of light a few hundred feet ahead of him. Jumping to his footpaws, he grabbed his gear and dashed towards the source of the reflection.

“Nothing in nature’s that shiny,” he mused. “There’s got to be someone else out here.”

Climbing the gentle slope up to the light, the vulpine was amazed by the sight before him. While expecting some metallic object to be the origin of the shine, he didn’t anticipate a luxury convertible to be out here in the middle of the woods. This was the kind of car driven by business executives in the city hundreds of miles away. While the fox did see some students with new cars on campus, none drove their precious vehicles out into the dank wilderness. Shaking off the surprise, he padded his around and up the porch to knock on the door. 

Within the cabin, the sudden break of silence startled the wolf from the couch to the floor. Still semiconscious, the lupine made his way toward the entryway, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Yawning widely, he opened the door to see a pair of brown orbs staring at him.

Propping his body against the frame, the lupine asked: “Can I help you?”

“Oh my God,” was the young fox’s reply.

The wolf dropped his head and saw the tip of his red member poking out of his sheath. 

“Oh. . . I should probably put some pants on,” he said nonchalantly.

Following the wolf’s gaze, the vulpine also noticed his excitement showing and blushed under his rust colored fur.

“That wasn’t the reason for the outburst,” the fox began nervously, his sights trailing the lupine as he disappeared into the cabin. “Though I haven’t seen you in the fur, Cali-san, that was said since I hadn’t expected to see you out here.”

“Cali-san?” the lupine repeated, as he found the slacks he threw aside earlier. “I haven’t been called that in years and the only furreson that ever called me that was--”

“Me, Danny-chan,” the vulpine finished.

“Danny, it’s been ages!” the wolf exclaimed, embracing the younger furre in a tight hug.

The fox giggled as his nose was ticked by the wolf’s fur and scent. 

“Ages since we’ve talked, but this is the first time we’ve met physically Cali-san,” Danny corrected. “Have you always been this yiffy under your primp and proper clothes?”

The wolf laughed: “Naughty fox. I’ve always had a build, but only got a chance to work on it some months ago. And you can call me Sam, remember?”

“Right, of course Sam,” the vulpine replied, pulling back from the older furre. “Well knowing you’re here, I suppose there wouldn’t be a problem if I pitched my tent and started a little campfire right outside?”

“Oh, you don’t want to come in?”

“I would like to, but I didn’t come this far into the woods to end up sleeping indoors for the weekend,” Danny explained. Seeing the disappointment in the wolf’s eyes, he added: “But I could spend the second night with you and just have tonight to sleep outdoors.”

“Alright,” Sam answered, “well you can setup in the back, there is a clear area and a pile of wood you can chop up if you need it.”

The two nodded to each other and left to their respective tasks. Danny set his camping supplies on the ground and Sam watched through the cabin window. As the fox went out in search of kindling, the lupine decided to scrounge around the kitchen for food that would be acceptable for Danny’s desire to have a nature-bound experience. Since Sam was an enthusiast as well, finding the right supplies didn’t take long and he took the haul out to where the fox was settling in for the night. Noting that Danny hadn’t returned or had a major collection of wood for the fire, the wolf set out to cut some firewood for both him and the vulpine. 

Danny didn’t go searching for firewood far from the cabin, seeing as it was getting late and the light was disappearing fast. Most of the wood he did find was moss covered or moist and unsuitable for burning. He returned to the sound of chopping and found Sam splitting large chunks of wood with a heavy ax. He watched the wolf’s furred muscles ripple with each swing of the blade. Each heavy grunt from the lupine brought extra tightness to the fox’s pants. To distract himself from the situation, Danny went over to set up the tent.

As the lupine chopped, he did note the fox staring out of the corner of his eye. He made a note in his mind to play a little with the fox and included extra exhaustive sighs following his swings to see how Danny would react. Even under the dimming light, the wolf could see the bulge in the other furre’s cloth covered crotch. Sam had to hold in his amusement when he saw the fox dash over to the supplies and try to ignore the wolf, but upon hearing the instructions the vulpine was reading, he couldn’t help but let out a snicker. Planting the ax in the stump, the wolf picked up some wood chunks for the fox.

“What’s so funny?” Danny asked as he tried to read the instructions under a flashlight. 

Dropping the fragments  into a makeshift fire pile, the wolf answered: “Seriously? The instructions say to insert pole two into hole D?” 

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Sam waved off as he headed back inside.

“Aw that’s just wrong, and you think I’m naughty?” the fox asked, following the older furre.

The lupine just chuckled and put his paw on the handle. Before going completely inside, another paw on his back made him turn around. A fidgety fox looked into the wolf’s eyes and stated: “A campfire isn’t really a campfire if it can’t be shared with fellow campers.”

Still clad in only his pants from earlier, the wolf helped the younger furre properly set up his tent and build a fire using the flint and steel carried in the fox’s backpack. As the flames licked their way up from the kindling to the larger lot of wood, the two sat next to each other, and munched on the snacks Sam had set aside. When the flames reached their full strength, the treats were nearly gone and both shifted the evening activities to find out what had happened in the years they’ve been out of contact. Danny was in his second year of the University and told the older wolf stories of everyday occurrences in the dorms. The lupine was not surprised that life in the “peculiar institution” hadn’t changed since he graduated. Sam relayed his experiences and doled out advice not just for how to survive the University, but also for life in general.

This exchange of ideas eventually brought them to talk about their philosophies, and the wolf realized Danny had a lot more in common than he had known. He listened as the fox explained his worldview and observed his passion for ideas when he would smile widely or start using gestures to bring a particular point to attention. While Sam could understand most of the vulpine’s views, they weren’t in total agreement on everything. But both of their moral compasses were tuned to follow the same ideology of a good furreson. Their talk ended as the fire died in glowing embers and Danny threw sand on the scorched remains to make sure the fire was out.

It was deeply late in the night, the sun having long set before the fire had been started. They stood up and did a brief stretch before exchanging “good nights”. The fox stepped into his tent and Sam brought an armful of the leftover wood chopped inside with him. Setting the material down by the fireplace, the wolf went around the cabin to turn off the lights and heating. Opting for the rug on the floor instead of the bed, the wolf brought a blanket from the bedroom and went to sleep as a breeze was growing outside.

 The shift in the nighttime air was only the beginning of things to come. An arctic air mass was making its way across the territory and only a mile wide line of thunderstorms was the precursor to plunging temperatures. The winds were strong enough to penetrate the thick canopy and snap off pieces of deadwood. Lightning flashed above and rain began trickling onto the ground below. Both furres slept soundly until a loud crack and earth shattering rumble stirred them from slumber. Danny awoke to find himself drenched with a fallen branch poking a hole through his tent. Being outside meant being exposed to the full force and sounds of nature’s wild side and the fox was frozen from fear. He saw a shadow dash around his tent during a stretch of continuous lightning strikes. The zipped flap to his shelter flew open and the silhouetted figure stood menacingly against the night. Forgetting where he was in his dazed state and feeling light headed, the vulpine fainted. The wolf slipped his arms into the tent and pulled out the unconscious fox.

Danny came to and found himself wrapped up in blankets in front of a roaring fireplace. Looking around, he didn’t immediately register where he was. The last thing the fox recalled was being outside, then seeing a monster in the night, and now sitting indoors. Trying to think of why he couldn’t remember much else, he brought a paw to his throbbing head to find gauze wrapped across his right ear. Running his digits across the bandage, he hit a particularly sore spot and seethed at the pain.

“Ah good, you’re awake.”

The vulpine turned around to see a smiling wolf pad towards him with a tray carrying two mugs of--

“—hot cocoa?” Sam asked, setting the tray on the table behind them.

Danny nodded as he took one of the mugs and looked into the dark pool of chocolate. The marshmallows floated on the surface of the drink, frothing as the sugary mass melted into the liquid. Bringing the beverage close for a sip, the steam tickled his nose and the sweet aroma of the drink made his maw water. When the first drop hit his tongue, the fox’s taste buds can alive and he sipped the hot beverage with enthusiasm for the taste as well as warming his core. The lupine smiled as he saw Danny down the drink with vigor and watched with a cautious eye as he took his own mug.

“You took quite a hit to the head there foxxy,” Sam brought up between sips, “hopefully you still remember everything after that branch fell on you.”

Danny stared at the wolf curiously. The lupine was concerned with the look he was getting from the fox.

“You do remember who I am, don’t you Danny?” he asked pleadingly

The fox took a few seconds to focus on the wolf’s appearance and within seconds he was able to recognize Sam. But rather than tell the lupine he was remembered, Danny stared off to the side to contemplate his plan before looking back with the same confused stare. Putting his thought to action, Danny squinted and tilted his head curiously as his muzzle got closer to the wolf’s. Sam sat stark still, his heart hoping that the younger fox didn’t forget him that easily. As the space between them closed, the wolf could feel the fox’s breath on his nose, with his own breath bated. Not a moment passed before Danny leaned in to place a kiss on the wolf’s lips and pull back with a grin plastered on his muzzle.

“You crafty little punk,” Sam uttered under his breath, lunging at the fox.

The vulpine yipped as he brought the blanket over his head and balled up under the covering. A few seconds passed and Danny thought Sam was only waiting for him to come out, but that theory didn’t last long as he felt the wolf’s large paws come from every direction around the fox. The lupine could hear the giggling from under the covers as his digits danced around the blanket, giving Danny the tickle attack of his life. Soon, the vulpine had loosened his grip around the blanket and Sam slipped in underneath to tickle the fox more directly.

The masses of fur under the blanket lasted until the younger fox was out of breath from the attention, and the wolf  pulled the covering around them as they watched the flames lick the air in the fireplace. Danny rested the good side of his head against the larger wolf’s bare shoulder. Sam kept them in an embrace with one arm around the vulpine and another supporting himself in a seated position.

“Hey Cali-san?” the fox asked, gaze focusing on the flames.

“Yes Danny-chan?” the wolf replied, his vision filled with the orange fur of the vulpine’s head.

“I had a great night, we should do this again tomorrow; you know, without the hurt,” he finished, rubbing the bandaged injury.

The wolf chuckled, “we will, I’ll make sure of it.”

Danny regarded the lupine above him and their eyes met again. The fox smiled and wanted to say something else, but he was tired and ending up yawning in Sam’s face.

“Sorry, that was rude.”

“It’s alright, you’re tired,” the wolf reassured him, “just go to sleep. I’ll be here to hold you.”

Eyelids heavy with fatigue, the fox nuzzled his head further into the wolf’s chest and Sam held tightly with both arms, his back against the coffee table. As the vulpine dozed, his soft snores filled the air with the crackle from the fire dying out. Sam too felt sleepy and rested his muzzle on the fox’s head, his deep breathing soon joining Danny’s in a world of dreams and fantasy.