Social Circles by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters. You have been warned.
Summer vacation continued to drag along as it often did for the cubs after their initial fun at Space City. Xavier and Pent still hung out but with the chipmunk's responsibility for his chosen team sport, it wasn't as often as they liked. The rodent's first game had come and gone and his team was declared victorious. It was the first of what Xavier had hoped would be many victories throughout the season.
Pent on the other hand had gone back to secluding himself when he wasn't hanging out with his boyfriend. Little had changed about him, even though he was a little more outgoing when Xavier was around. When the fox kit was alone he stuck to his habits of reading or spending time doing various experiments in his makeshift lab that he had at home. Of course, when Samaliel needed something, the older boy was always there for him.
It had been about 2 weeks since Space City. Xavier's parents had regimented themselves to the sometimes demanding schedule of the chipmunk boy's lacrosse schedule. There were some days when he had to be at the field almost all day. The team would provide lunch and refreshments of course but on these days they would leave him to his own devices. Xavier was old and mature enough to not need parental supervision all the time.
However, there was one thing that Xavier hadn't quite outgrown just yet and that was how he tended to hyper-focus on one thing more than others. It was something that he shared with Pent, even though what they focused on was entirely different. Xavier's parents knew it could easily get out of hand, especially with how competitive Xavier was. They didn't think it would ever come to a head since the cub had pretty good self-control and wasn't very hot-headed.
One day at practice, Xavier was working on his passing regimens with one of his teammates. As the star player of the team, the chipmunk got just as much attention as he did on the school team. Regardless, he was treated with much of the same expectations as his teammates even despite him being better than the rest of them. The rodent didn't put up a fuss about it either as he liked nothing more than the sprot.
Xavier had been paired up with a newcomer to the team, an older and larger bear boy who had moved in from the northern part of the country. The bear's parents had forced him to join the team as he was a baseball player and the local baseball team wasn't actively recruiting. As such, he wasn't the best at the sport and was struggling with even the most basic of techniques. The chipmunk stepped over to the bigger boy who eyed him warily.
"What do you want?" The larger ursine teen asked.
The chipmunk cocked an eyebrow at him. "Nothing? I was just trying to show you a better way to pass."
"I don't need help. Leave me alone." The bigger boy huffed defensively.
Xavier walked away from him, deciding to just let the other boy be. He had never seen anything like it. To have someone outright turn down help was something he wasn't used to. The chipmunk decided to find another partner and the coach paired him up with another cub. He noticed the coach talk to the bear cub who gave Xavier back an awkward stare as if the ursine boy blamed him for the conflict.
The rest of the practice went by like normal. It was a warm day with the sun beating overhead them, making it more uncomfortable than it might have been otherwise. Of course, the coach allowed them time to rest and recover, but that didn't stop how hot it got during the summer. Towards the end of it, the whole lot of them was a sweaty mess. Many of them were taking advantage of the respite and took an open spot on the bench.
Xavier chose to stand up as he didn't like to inconvenience the other cubs. He sprayed himself with one of the spare water bottles to cool himself down. One by one, some of the other teammates were picked up by their parents.
"What's your problem, punk?" Someone spoke to Xavier, a voice he was only vaguely familiar with.
The chipmunk looked over his shoulder and saw the bear cub approaching him. "Huh?"
"You got me in trouble…you little twerp." The bigger boy shoved Xavier hard enough that he hit the ground, landing square on his behind.
The bear loomed over him, stepping on top of the smaller cub as if to assert his dominance. Moments later the coach realized what was happening and quickly came over to break the scuffle up. She reached in and grabbed the bear, pulling him off of Xavier so the chipmunk could get up. Xavier was a little taken aback. He'd seen his share of conflict before but he wasn't entirely sure what to think of what just happened.
The assistant coach came over after the coach called him over. The man questioned the chipmunk boy who said wasn't entirely sure what happened. He explained what happened when he first met the bear and wasn't sure how it escalated. There was the question of who was at fault here but Xavier was more well known to them and neither the assistant nor the coach herself thought he was behind it.
When Xavier's parents arrived to pick him up from practice, the assistant coach made sure to walk him to the car. The older male informed the boy's mother of what happened. The chipmunk boy wasn't hurt but the ordeal had happened all the same. The rodent got in the front seat and looked over at his mother who waited for him to explain himself.
"What? It wasn't my fault. The bear boy got upset at me because I tried to help him and he thought that got him in trouble." The cub said with a somewhat defensive tone.
She looked over at him before turning her attention back to the road. "I didn't say it was. I just wanted to make sure you are alright."
"Oh…I'm fine. He just pushed me on the ground. I hope he is suspended from the team." Xavier huffed seeming a bit frustrated with the situation.
The mother thought to herself for what she wanted to say. "I understand. Well, I'm glad you are alright. Sounds like you had a rough day at lacrosse. Do you want to get some ice cream?"
"Nah, I just want to go home and take a shower and relax. Thanks for asking though." The rodent cub looked out the window, distracted by his thoughts.
The older female knew something was bothering her son. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"Yeah, I don't know what there is to talk about. I just want to relax." Xavier just wanted to be done with the day.
She started the car without another word. It was evident the whole situation had bugged her son but there was nothing she could do about it. She figured it was because he was so used to being popular and well-liked. However, she also knew the cub's social status had changed a lot, especially since his relationship with Pent. She figured he had to still be getting used to not being as popular as he once was.
The chipmunk's mother took him home without another word. It wasn't the first time he acted like this. Typically whenever Xavier had a bad day, he became much more insular than usual. Just as they arrived at their home, the cub spoke up.
"Can I invite Pent over?" He said with a hopeful sound in his voice.
The woman thought about it for a second. "I don't see why not but I want you to take a shower. You've had a long day and you're a sweaty mess."
"Alright. I will. Thanks, Mom." Xavier got out of the car once they got to a complete stop.
Xavier let himself in the home and took off his shoes at the front door. Immediately he went back to his room to collect a change of clothes. He didn't even stop to say anything to his father, who was busy working on his studies on some work-related project. The chipmunk boy collected whatever was on the top of his drawers, quickly going into the bathroom and waiting for it to heat up once he turned on the spicket.
Steam soon collected in the room, fogging up the mirror as the rodent stripped his clothing and tossed them in the corner. The moment he stepped into the shower, he felt a sense of relief. The stress and minor drama from the day had gotten to him. Xavier closed his eyes as he allowed the water to cascade over him for a few minutes. Within moments his fur was soaked and dripping wet from the water pouring over top of him.
Xavier opened his eyes and grabbed the soap to wash his fur of the grime and sweat that had collected over the day. He wasn't that dirty but he knew it drove his mother insane when he smelt of body odor. Making sure to shampoo his fur and hit every spot before allowing the water to rinse his body of suds. When he was done he stood there for a few minutes and then finally stepped out of the shower.
The chipmunk boy dried himself and thought about what he and Pent could do. Before he put much thought into it, his stomach rumbled reminding him that he still needed to eat something for lunch. After all lacrosse practice always ended just before his usual meal time. Once he was dried enough, he put on his clothes and headed into the kitchen. His parents were nowhere to be seen but he was old enough to make food himself so it didn't matter.
Xavier focused on making a rather simple sandwich. Just some lunch meat condiments and a few toppings. It was by far from the fanciest of lunches but he didn't care for anything else. Sitting down at the table he again thought about what he and Pent could do. He chowed down on his sandwich and racked his brain for a few moments. They could always laze about but the rodent cub wasn't a boy who liked sitting around and doing nothing.
Eating his sandwich didn't take very long but he was in such a rush that he didn't get himself a drink or chips. Xavier got up from the table and grabbed a small bag of chips while looking out the window from the kitchen. Outside it was getting dark out as the clouds were starting to gather. It was a stark difference from earlier in the day during lacrosse practice where it was mostly clear.
He didn't spend much time looking out at it.
Xavier wasn't too worried about it raining. The chipmunk sat back down and ate the rest of his meal. Cleaning up after himself once he was done. When the table was clear, he went back to his room to grab his phone and see what Pent was up to. He still hadn't figured out what he wanted to do with the other boy but that didn't matter to him right now.
The rodent began to text into his phone. "Hey, Pent. You there?"
It was a few minutes before the fox answered. "Hey, Xae. How was lacrosse?"
"It could have been better but I don't want to talk about it. What are you up to?" Xavier didn't want to revisit the conflict he had earlier with the bear cub.
Pent responded after a moment. "I was working on a project."
"A project? What kind of project? School is out." The brown-furred boy couldn't help but be curious about it.
The other cub responded before long. "Just a personal one. My brother wanted to make the RC cars faster so I figured it was easy enough to do myself."
"Ah, that's cool. Are you almost done? I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come over tonight."
The Arctic fox immediately responded. "Oh, yeah. It didn't take me long. I just have to put it in the car for him and make sure it doesn't overload the circuitry because of the allowed capacity for voltage."
"Oh, okay. So do you want to come over in a bit then?" Xavier asked the same question again since it hadn't been answered.
Pent typed back. "Yeah, totally. I'll be over in an hour or two. Sound good?"
"Yeah, see you then." The chipmunk put his phone away.
Immediately he began thinking again about what they would do. Sure, just lazing about was an option but it wasn't something that suited either cub. He padded towards his bed and looked outside. He could see that it was starting to sprinkle a little bit and wondered if that might hamper Pent's ability to get there. After all, he knew that his boyfriend would likely have to bike over and thought about asking his parents to pick the other boy up.
Xavier headed back out of his room and into the hallway leading towards the living room. He looked around and saw no signs of his parents. He heard nothing either so he decided to see if they were around.
"Mom? Dad? Are you guys home?" The chipmunk boy shouted so that his voice carried through the house.
There was no response. He assumed it likely meant that they were out and about. Looking over at the coffee table in front of the sofa he saw a small slip of paper. The brown-furred cub picked the little thing up and looked at it. Reading it showed that his parents had gone to the store. The boy fingered his pocket again and pulled out his phone.
"Hey, Pent. It starting to rain over here. So hold off on coming over until it clears up." The boy typed, hopeful the other cub would read it.
A few minutes later a thumbs-up emoji popped up. Xavier was glad his boyfriend had read it. He didn't want the fox to get hurt because the roads were slick. The chipmunk contemplated what he would do for the time being. He decided to turn on the television and see if there might be something on that he could watch. He sat down on the couch and turned it on before scanning through it.
Xavier decided to watch a game of baseball. It was far from his favorite sport but it was better than nothing. As time passed the weather outside seemingly got worse and worse. The rain picked up with the winds pushing it against the windows, making it all too obvious it was storming. Before long he could hear the familiar sound of thunder in the distance. It didn't seem like the weather was going to let up anytime soon and he was glad Pent had stayed home.
It was a while before his parents returned home. When they did they quickly raced through the door. Xavier looked back at them. The boy's parents were soaked as neither of them had prepared and brought a rain jacket.
"Xae, could you grab us some towels? Your father and I got caught in the weather." His mother said to the boy, surprised to see him alone.
The cub nodded and quickly jumped up from the chair. He went over to the bathroom and collected two towels and went back to them. Xavier handed it over to them.
"Where's Pent? Did you say you wanted him to come over?" His mother asked.
The chipmunk boy frowned a bit. "I told him to stay home because the weather got bad."
"Oh, well that's a good idea. It's pretty crummy out there. What are you going to do now then?" The woman dried herself off and waited for her husband to do the same.
Xavier hummed. "I'll figure it out."
"I don't mind taking you over there once the weather clears up, Xae." His father suggested as an alternative.
"I'll be alright. I'll just let him know tonight is off. I'll find something to do." The rodent cub didn't want to be a burden to his parents.
They nodded and he went on his way. Now that his parents were home, Xavier knew he couldn't hog the living room anymore. The boy padded over back to the couch and turned the television off. He wasn't sure that his parents wanted to watch television and he wasn't one to just leave things on for noise. Besides his parents had taught him that leaving electronics on was wasteful.
The chipmunk boy went back to his room and decided to go back to the computer. Looking behind him, through the window, showed the weather showed no signs of letting up. He turned back around and started to boot up the computer. It didn't take long before the screen showed up and he scrolled through the various programs he had on it. It wasn't long before he got a message on one of his social applications.
"How's it going, Xavier? Still playing lacrosse?" It was a message from a friend whom the chipmunk hadn't spoken to in some time.
The rodent wasn't entirely sure what to make of the random message. "Uh, yeah. What's up? It's been a while, Matt."
"Yep. You were pretty upset with me. I'm surprised you are responding." The otter's reputation was well known for being somewhat problematic.
Xavier hesitated before responding again, remembering the stunt his old friend had pulled in the past. "Right…well….What do you want?"
"What if I told you I could get you a date with that girl Sasha that you always told me you wanted to go out with?" The other boy had worked up a plan to get back into Xavier's inner circle.
The brown-furred boy's face scowled. "I'm not interested. I'm still dating Pent."
"So you've completely jumped the fence for him? No more interest in girls?" The otter figured he could convince Xavier to go back to what he saw as normal.
The rodent thought about blocking him without responding but did anyway. "Does it matter? Leave me alone. I want nothing to do with you."
"So be it. I thought you wanted to be popular again but I guess not." Matt did not respond again after that.
Xavier couldn't help but feel a little upset after that conversation. He wasn't going to just cut Pent out of his life to be popular again. The fox boy made him happier than any girl ever had in the past. He blocked Matt, making sure that he'd never hear from him ever again. On the same application, he saw an avatar for one of the girls who was on the lacrosse team. She wasn't someone Xavier talked to too often but he wanted to pass some time.
"Hiya, Leah. How are things?" He asked shortly without putting much thought into it.
It was a few moments before she responded. "I'm alright. What's up, Xavier?"
"Just seeing what you were up to. Is it storming over there as well?" The chipmunk wondered if she might be busy because of her response.
She took another few minutes to respond. "Yes, Xavier. What do you want?"
"I was just looking to talk. I'm bored." The rodent tried being honest in hopes she would listen to his request.
Leah responded after a few more minutes. "I'm busy sorry."
The chipmunk boy decided to drop the issue. It didn't bother him since Leah wasn't the most sociable of girls with him. He figured she was likely talking with other people or doing something else entirely. Instead, Xavier decided to visit his favorite lacrosse site, the one for the official national league. There were a few new articles on there but he was more interested in the video content than anything else.
Xavier had never been so bored before. Usually, he had other people to talk to but his usual social mediums were all but empty. Many of his so-called friends had de-friended him when he started hanging out with Pent. Now that he was dating the other boy, and that it was publicly known, it was even more of a problem. He wondered if he should talk to Pent about it, wondering if it would hurt his feelings.
Over at Pent's place, the fox boy was finishing up with his brother. He had installed the new battery in the RC car. He was racing the thing with Samaliel and allowing him to win most of the races as he knew it made the younger boy happy. When the RC car was finished, the salt and pepper fox asked his brother if he wanted to play some games. It was far from Pent's favorite thing to do but since he had nothing else planned anymore, it didn't seem to matter.
Samaliel led the older cub back to their room with the RC car they'd been working on under his arm. He had a big smile on his face, feeling rather prideful about how fast the RC car was now. They walked together down the hall and into their room where the younger boy turned on their console. The smaller fox already had an idea of what he wanted to play and knew Pent would play regardless of what it was.
The salt and pepper fox picked out Splatoon 3, a personal favorite of his and one he remembered his brother was somewhat familiar with. He plugged it in and handed one of the controllers to the other boy and started up the game. The two cubs sat on the ground together and waited for the match settings to load. Of course, they were set to play on the same team since the game had some element of surprise designed
into the strategy of it.
Each of the boys picked their characters. Samaliel had designed one for the other fox in the past, even if he didn't remember it. The purpose of the game was a turf war style shooter. Each player was given a paint gun and was expected to paint the map to gain control over the ground. The other team would try to prohibit it and was designed so that the players could kill one another to keep them from gaining any more territory.
Samaliel and Pent started at a launch pad that hovered high above the streets of Splatopolis. The two fox brothers rocketed off the pads with ink pushing them from behind. The white fox was a fan of the dual pistols, known in the game as dualies. He continued forward toward the area of conflict. As he pushed into the zone, he had to squirt his gun's paint on the ground to claim it.
He looked to his right, finding another player racing towards him in the style of a squid. Pent reeled back to keep his distance, watching as the squid tracked back and forth in the colorful ink left on the ground. Soon they popped up, the other plays gun a blaster spurted forth a large blob of ink that easily felled Pent. The KO screen popped up with the usual timer ticking down for him to respawn.
Samaliel was just mere meters away and the all too familiar squeal and explosion from the other fox's character demise alerted him to watch happened. Quickly he panned over and launched a single blast from his rifle. Two was enough to get the retaliatory strike and land his first kill for the match. The two cubs highfoured in the room as they enjoyed in comradery of the moment. It was a brotherly moment of bonding.
Pent launched off the pad again, hopeful that he could make up for his untimely death. He was far from good at the game but he figured he could at least get one kill before the match ended. His character swam forward through the ink, making good speed forward. He wanted to be as sneaky as possible. Watching in front of him he could see two other players busy in mid-combat. The fox knew this was his chance to score a kill.
Quickly he swept past them and revealed himself, squirting both of his guns as he neared them. With the help of the other player on his team, he was able to defeat the opponent in front of them. Both of the character's thumbs upped at each other and Samaliel and Pent shared another high-foured again. The music in the arena began to change in pace and tune as it neared towards its end.
Pent and Samaliel continued the rest of the match at a high-paced fever pitch. Samaliel was much more speedy with his felling of foes, following the other fox around to offer as a sort of backup to his brother. The white fox was much more aggressive with his younger brother offering him combat support. After all the salt and pepper boy was much better at the game than he was. By the end of it, the older boy had scored a few kills.
The whole match only lasted a few minutes. The winner was declared after the points were tallied. The two fox boys team had come out on top by a mere 50 points. It was a close match that was just as intense as it normally was. The white fox looked at the other boy who smiled back at him. Pent wasn't in the mood for another round but decided to go through with it all the same. They kept at it for a while until Pent figured it was time to do something else.
The older fox didn't spend much time thinking about it. His preferences in activities made it easy to indulge in them. Pulling a book off the shelf, Pent immediately focused his entire attention on a book. He could hear the continuous sound of the video game his brother was playing in the background but he was able to ignore it. Samaliel spent a while longer until he grew bored of the repetition that was present and the somewhat frustrating nature of occasionally losing.
"How are things going with Xavier anyhow, Pent?" The salt and pepper boy was a bit curious about it.
The white fox was so hyper-focused in his book that he didn't hear his brother at first. The younger cub chuckled at him before tapping him on the shoulder.
"Earth to Pent. Ground control is calling." Samaliel made a joke since his brother was absorbed in another astronomy book.
The white-furred boy looked up at his brother. "Oh….sorry. Yeah, what did you say?"
Samaliel repeated the same question, not surprised his brother hadn't heard him the first time.
"Things are going good. I like him a lot. We spend a lot of time together." Pent's face smiled upon saying the latter part of the comment.
The younger boy kneeled next to his brother. "I'm glad. I'm happy things are working out for you. Do you love him?"
"Yeah. I do. He's my prince charming." The bigger boy said with a big smile on his face.
The salt and pepper cub chuckled again. "You're so funny. You've changed a lot since you started hanging out with him. You know that?"
"What do you mean?" Pent didn't realize much had changed.
Samaliel hummed. "Well for one…you are much more willing to be outgoing than before."
"I just want to make him happy. Just like how he makes me happy." Pent had a look of sincerity in his eyes that was all too obvious.
The younger brother smirked at him. "Of course you do. You're such a sucker for him."
"I guess so. He's my boyfriend after all now." The white fox's face lit up again.
The smaller cub nodded and smiled before walking away. He didn't want to make the conversation any more awkward than it already was. He knew that Pent wasn't the most open person when it came to how he felt. But when it came to Xavier, the older boy was a different cub. The arctic fox soon returned to reading his book, forgetting about the conversation. His entire focus turned to the content in front of him.
Pent remained there until it was time for dinner. It wasn't until his stomach started to rumble that he was reminded that he had other things to do. Such was the way of things for the young cubs, especially when he was absorbed in a good book. The white-furred boy put his book away and headed out to the living room. Sure enough, Samaliel had set himself up on the front television where he was playing some single-player games.
"What do you want for dinner?" He asked the other boy but didn't bother to even look over the couch.
Samaliel grunted as he responded. "Whatever is fine."
The older boy rolled his eyes and went off to the kitchen. It was far from the first time that his brother had not put much thought into it. Still, that didn't stop how annoying it was. He made his way into the kitchen before the phone in his pocket rang.
"Hello?" The fox kit wasn't used to getting phone calls and wasn't entirely sure who it could be.
Xavier's voice sounded from the other side of the line. "Sorry, we couldn't hang out today. The weather got crummy."
"It's alright. I ended up just doing stuff with Samaliel and reading." The Arctic fox started working on dinner while talking on the phone.
The chipmunk had just finished a meal himself. "That's good. Do you want to hang out after my lacrosse game in a few days?"
"Sure. I was already planning on going to watch you play anyway." The white-furred boy decided on some plant-based chicken for him and his brother.
The chipmunk's voice perked up. "Cool. I'll look forward to it then. Anything else up?"
"Nah, I'm just making dinner. It's a low-key night. How about you?" Pent put the veggies and potatoes on the stovetop.
Xavier thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure. It's pretty boring at the moment. I have a silly question for you."
"Yeah, what's that?" The fox was fine with not hiding anything from his boyfriend.
The brown-furred boy huffed as he wasn't sure he should ask the question. "Does it bother you that I'm your only friend?"
"No, not really. Why?" Pent wasn't bothered by the question as he trusted the other boy entirely.
The rodent was glad he didn't offend him. "I kind of was thinking maybe I could help you make new friends if you want."
"I don't need any other friends, Xae." The white fox began setting the table while waiting for the food to finish.
The chipmunk hesitated before responding. "It's just that we can't always be around each other and stuff and I don't want you to be lonely."
Part of the reason Xavier had suggested this was because of how his own social life had changed since he had started hanging out with Pent.
"I'm fine being alone….if you want to hang out with other people I am cool with that." Pent was keen enough to read between the lines.
Xavier felt bad that his boyfriend had figured it out but there was no going back now. "You're sure? I don't want to make you feel upset or lonely."
"Nah. It's fine. Besides…I know that I can be kind of boring sometimes. Samaliel tells me all the time about it." The white-furred boy sighed as he admitted it.
The brown-furred boy hesitated as guilt filled his conscious. "Pent…that's not what I meant."
"You didn't say it. I did. It's fine. I'm not going to be jealous if you hang out with other people." Pent began serving up the food.
Xavier felt like maybe he had crossed the line and needed to make sure he didn't. "Are you sure? I don't want you to feel lonely."
"Yeah, I'm sure. I promise it doesn't bother me." The fox boy wasn't one to be overly jealous.
The chipmunk sighed in relief. "Thanks, Pent. I appreciate it. Enjoy your dinner. I love you."
"I love you too." Pent hung up and called his brother into the kitchen.
Samaliel soon joined the older boy and grabbed them both drinks. Pent was glad his brother was helping out without asking for a change. They sat down together across from each other. The salt and pepper boy began eating when he noticed his brother was playing with his food.
"Is something wrong?" The younger fox knew when something was bothering him.
The older cub shook his head. "Nah."
Pent started eating after
that, kicking the negative thought to the back of his mind. Of course, part of him wasn't sure how to respond to the conversation with Xavier. He was fine with allowing it but part of it bothered him. He finished his food a bit slower than the younger boy who didn't say another word to him for the remainder of the meal. It was strangely more quiet than it usually was between the two.
It wasn't until they started cleaning up that Samaliel decided to confront the issue. Even while cleaning, he could see that his brother was somewhat distracted.
"Please tell me what's wrong. I know something is bothering you." The younger boy got up to join the older cub to get him to confess.
The bigger cub sighed. "I think Xavier is getting tired of spending time with me."
"What makes you say that?" Samaliel knew his brother could sometimes be an anxious boy.
The older boy looked down at the table. "He wants to hang out with other people."
"Pent...you know not everyone is like you, right? There's nothing wrong with him hanging out with other people." The salt and pepper boy rubbed his brother's back.
Pent looked over at his brother. "What do you mean?"
"It's just that...Xavier is a social boy. You can't spend all your time with him." Samaliel took his hand off the other cub.
The white fox thought about it a moment. "I guess you're right."
"Just relax, Pent. He likes you...maybe not as much as you like him but he likes you." The younger cub went back to the other side of the table to finish cleaning.
The two cubs went back to drying dishes as that was all that was left now. Pent's mind was still awash over his conversation with Xavier. Part of him knew his brother was right but the other part of him was still worried. After all, he was still very inexperienced in the whole social structure of not only friendship but a relationship. The two brothers didn't take much longer to finish the chore and Samaliel was rewarded with an ice cream cone.
Pent decided to go back to the room. He wanted some time to think and to be alone, deciding that he'd push the supposed problem to the back of his mind. Absorbing himself in a book quickly relaxed his mind, even if the content of the book was just as complex as it always was. His usual creature comfort of Science books was something of a way for him to just forget everything else.
By the time it was time to sleep, Samaliel had come to the room yawning. He was none too surprised to see the older fox reading. It was something that was all but normal for both of them.
"Come on, Pent. Get some sleep, alright? You can finish that book later." Samaliel poked his brother as he went around him on the bean bag chair.
The white-furred fox mumbled. "It's just 32 more pages."
Samaliel chuckled, knowing full well that Pent couldn't be dissuaded. The younger boy hopped up to his bunk and just let things be. It didn't take the fox cub much longer to finish his book. He was a pretty fast reader and was able to absorb much of the information through a first pass-through. The white fox turned off the lights and went over to the bed. Standing on the ladder, he gave his brother a quick kiss on the forehead.
When it was time for him to finally hit the hay, Pent's mind was still troubled. Looking out the window and gazing into the stars brought him a bit more peace. It was only then he decided that his brother was right and that it wasn't a problem. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried to relax. His mind eventually fell to sleep, gazing into the dreams of his own life and what may be to come.
