Prompt from RectifiedPear: I'd like to tweak it to Todd/Chief and have it be Todd comes looking for Copper, but finds he's not around, and realizes he likes Chief's company a bit more.
….
"Copper, Copper I need to talk to you."
Todd frowned when there was only silence.
"Copper?"
Slowly, Todd slunk closer to the kennels, keeping low to the ground.
"You know I can see you right?"
Todd flinched, practically jumping up into the air at the gruff voice, before darting into a nearby bush, curling up as small as he could.
Outside, in his old kennel, Chief rolled his eyes. Yes, maybe it was a little odd for him to be simply talking to a fox, rather than going after him with teeth and claws, but after his Master's announcement that Copper was going to be taking over as head-hunter, he wasn't feeling in a very… hunting mood.
Besides, the fox was kind of cute… in a pest sort of way.
"Kid." He tried again, frowning when the silence continued.
Did the fox actually believe that ignoring him would just make him go away?
"Kid" His voice was louder this time, which seemed to work.
Carefully, the fox crept out of the bushes, eyes wary as he remained tense.
"Copper's out." Chief explained, "He probably won't be back for hours. Was it important?"
"Ummm… not really." The fox looked a little unsure, "I was just- I just wanted to hang out."
"You can hang out with me then." Chief shrugged, "I could do with the company."
The fox looked stunned, standing there in shock, "Oh…" He finally seemed to settle on, "… I-I don't know."
"Am I that terrifying?"
"… Yes?"
Chief could understand that, finding himself surprised when the fox moved a little bit closer, almost curiously.
"So…" The fox looked around, "… I'm Todd."
…..
The day turned out to be… not all that bad.
At first, their conversation was stilted, the awkwardness of a professional hunting dog and a fox still hanging around them.
Once that passed, Todd was amazed to find that Chief actually had a wicked sense of humour, making jokes out of nowhere, ones' that made Todd cackle in delight.
Copper never made jokes like that nowadays… not after he returned from that winter away and came back all grown up and serious.
"Hey." Chief's voice broke through his trance, "Don't you know it's rude to ignore your elders?"
"S-Sorry!"
"… You don't need to be so scared." Chief looked a little bit hurt, "I'm not going to hurt you."
"I know, it's just- "
"- Just?"
Todd shrugged, "It's just…. A bit strange."
"You used to play with Copper? How is this any different?"
Another shrug, "It just feels different. I don't know how else to describe it."
There was silence for a few moments, before Chief smirked and leaned over, licking Todd on the cheek.
"How about now?" He asked, "Feel any different now?"
"I-I-I- "
"- Come on." Chief shuffled to one side, gesturing for Todd to come next to him, "Just until they return."
Todd perked up, rushing over and curling into a ball by Chief's side, his eyes peeking through the orange fur of his tail.
'Cute' Chief thought to himself, keeping an ear out for the truck.
Not that he would ever say it out loud.
