Relaxation: Chapter 1
Written by Xijque

   It had been a long day for the fox.  It almost seemed like anything
that could go wrong did just that.  At some points, things he had thought
couldn't go wrong ended up on his desk, needing to be fixed.  But it was
Friday, now, and he wouldn't allow such things to worry him for the next
two days.

   He smiled at the bulletin board at the bottom of the stairs leading
to his apartment.  For some reason, he always liked the randomness of the
colors and sizes of the paper; it was like a collage of life.  He turned
and walked up the stairs, taking them two at a time.  He was just a few
minutes away from a hot shower, left-over chicken, and whatever movie
happened to be on TV.

   After getting to the top, he walked past his neighbors' doors
before arriving at his.  Making quick work of the lock, he practically
ran inside and carelessly slammed the door behind him.  He'd never been
this excited about doing next to nothing in his entire life.

   ● ● ●

   It had been a long day for the wolf, too.  Unlike the fox, however,
he hadn't been looking forward to getting home all day, as the fox had;
his plans formed when he first laid his eyes to the fox's lithe body.  He
immediately decided that he'd rather follow the fox home than continue on
to his own.  His new plans were cemented when the vulpine, who was a few
paces ahead of him, turned into one of the many apartment buildings in
the area.

   Without hesitating, the lupine followed his target – no, his prey –
into the complex.  He had learned, thought experience, that people only
remember you if you look unsure of yourself.  With that in mind, he held
his head high and didn't bother to look around. He did, however, catch
the fox smiling at a mess of papers on the wall.  He never understood why
people bothered with that crap; as far as he was concerned, it was just
litter stuck to the wall.  On his way by, the wolf pulled one of the
fliers down and stuffed it in his pocket.

   Having taken his time walking up the stairs, the lupine reached the
top just as his quarry was turning the handle to his door.  Just as
calmly, the wolf strode up behind the fox and slipped the flier into the
doorway, preventing it from latching.  If the fox was as oblivious as the
lupine thought he was, he wouldn't even realize.  Since he now had a
simple way to get to the fox, the wolf decided to wait until his prey was
distracted before continuing the chase.  After a few minutes of leaning
against the wall, the canine lightly pressed against the door and
silently sauntered into the fox's home.

   As soon as the door clicked closed behind him, he know that being
quiet wasn't necessary.  A mess of clothes thrown around the place and a
very distinct noise led to only one conclusion: the fox was in the
shower.  Walking down the hallway, he peeked into the bathroom through
the slightly ajar door.  The fox-shaped silhouette on the shower curtain
confirmed his suspicions.  The wolf grinned to himself.  He couldn't wait
to make the fox dirty again.  For now, though, he just walked into the
living room and sat on the couch.