Looking around the barn, Hank could tell Richard didn't use it much. There were two stalls full of clutter that clearly wasn't his, and the ladder leading up to the open loft had three broken rungs, so he'd probably never been up there. That was something Hank decided to change. It was unlikely a fox could climb all the way up the outside to get in on the second floor, but that wouldn't stop large birds from making their nests up there. Taking the ladder down, he set it by the door to take with him later. The first thing they did, once the barn cats had scattered, was focus on the mess. Richard swept up the feathers around the outside while Hank forked the soiled straw bedding into a large sack to be tossed out later. A hose was dragged across from the stables and Hank scrubbed while Richard hosed the bloodstained stall and floor.

While they were cleaning, they swept the open floor around the stacked straw and hay bales to get rid of any debris and clean it up. The stalls were next. The stuff inside was all pretty old. Rusted attachments for tractors and ploughs that were long gone. Old tools that hadn't been touched in years and would be more useful in the garbage than clogging up Richard's barn. They removed the items, giving Richard two more large stalls he could use for whatever he wanted. They'd probably been used for pigs or sheep in the past, but they could easily be re-fitted to hold horses instead.

Once the cleaning was done, Hank led the way around the edge, looking for a broken plank in the wall or a hole leading outside. Surprisingly enough, he found nothing. He pushed on every plank and ran his boot along the earth by the wall. Nothing. No holes, no scrapes, not even a loose plank. That was pretty impressive, considering the age of the place. It seemed the previous owner had been quite proud of his barn, which was surprising, given his age. Then again, he'd had a team of young farmhands helping with things like that towards the end.

"So where did it get in?" Richard asked, looking around with his hands on his hips. Hank wasn't about to suggest the second floor just yet. Not when there was a more obvious possibility.

"Do me a favour and close that door." Hank waved at the large door on the right while he pulled the one on the left. Curious, Richard dragged the heavy door shut and watched as Hank bolted them. Stepping back, he rested his hands on his hips, checking the hinges and frame. They both saw it, though Richard couldn't believe an animal so big could squeeze through a gap so small. "Ah-ha, that'll do it..." Hank knelt where the two doors came together and balled his fist, easily able to fit it in where the worn corners were supposed to meet.

"Are you serious?" Hank chuckled at Richard's disbelieving tone.

"I know they look pretty big, but most of their body is fur, and they can collapse their ribs quite a bit. So long as the head can fit, the body can follow." The gap couldn't have been bigger than nine or ten centimetres. That didn't look like much, even with daylight streaming through the crack. "Don't worry. Now we've found it, I know just how to block it up. I'll add a thick edging along the bottom rail. That'll strengthen the base and make sure these corners come together properly." Richard would have to keep an eye on the place to make sure nothing was digging along the bottom, but that would be easy.

"Thanks. Is there anything you'll need? Wood? Nails?"

"Don't worry about it. I have a lot of this sort of stuff stored in the barn for emergencies." That was all well and good, but this wasn't an emergency, and he'd hate to use up Hank's supplies. He wasn't poor, but farms cost a lot to run, and as a livestock farmer, Hank needed all the money he could get for feed and upkeep for his own animals.

"At least let me know how much it will cost so I can reimburse you!" Hank huffed fondly as he pushed to his feet. It was a relatively small job, one that would take barely a few hours. Fixing the ladder would take even less, but that could wait until later. Since they'd found the entry point, it wasn't a huge issue, and there was probably nothing up there. By the state of the rest of the junk they'd found, he didn't expect there to be anything useful, but it wouldn't hurt to look. With that in mind, Hank took the ladder back to his own barn and gathered supplies to fix the door.

While he was gone, Richard turned his attention to the horses. Once they were loose in the fields, he was free to muck out the stalls. It was a relatively small job day-to-day. They did a big clean about once a month where they completely stripped the bedding and hosed the place down, but that day was just a quick clean. He went from stall to stall, forking out any soiled patches and replacing whatever bedding was lost. He needed to make a few trips to the manure pile between stalls, but it didn't take too long. Once the bedding was refreshed, he emptied and cleaned the water bowls, which were more like sinks than actual bowls, complete with taps. The last task was to refill the hayracks on the wall so they didn't get hungry in the night, and of course they'd be expecting their feed buckets when they returned from the fields later. It averaged out about fifteen minutes per stall for Richard to work his way through, and during that time, he could hear Hank hammering away at the barn door.

Hank wasn't joking when he said he had a supply of wood in his barn. He rarely threw anything out, so whenever he finished an odd job, he kept the leftovers for later. That meant he had a stock of thick wooden beams from various renovations and builds tucked away. The colour obviously didn't match the red of the barn, but that was easily fixed. Closing and bolting the doors, he got to work. The wear was even more obvious from the outside, though not unexpected. The barn had been there for decades. Getting to his knees, Hank set up the new beam and started measuring. It needed to be high enough that it wouldn't drag along the ground, but low enough that it would deter unwelcome guests and block the hole.

Setting the two beams along the door, he managed to get them so they touched and lined up with the crack. Having done similar work before, he knew the wood needed to be propped at the right height for hammering, and he had some old tiles that were the perfect thickness for the job. Humming to himself, Hank grabbed his hammer and nails and got to work, slowly making his way along the door. Richard walked by a few times as he went, pushing the wheelbarrow back and forth. It wasn't a big job, so it was really no surprise that Hank finished and packed away first. Since Richard was still busy, Hank went off on his own rounds, checking in with the various animals and giving Connor a good run around.

It almost seemed like fate that he returned in the late afternoon when Richard was feeding the chickens. He watched his slim figure enter the pen and crouch by the coop, obviously checking in with the hens. It was unlikely he'd hop the fence without him being there, too wary of Sumo's distant form slumped on the deck at the house. There was also no telling when Connor might come zipping across the yard. In fact, Hank had no sooner had the thought than Connor barked and raced up to the fence, tail wagging in greeting as he leapt up and planted his paws on the top beam. Since his head was in the coop, Richard visibly flinched, almost falling in his haste to pull out.

"Connor, down boy!" Hank was almost laughing as he laid a hand on Connor's head to push him down. Richard clicked his tongue as he stood and dusted himself off, rescuing his feed bucket before the hens knocked it over. Their small trough was full, so it was time to see to Nines and the injured hens. "How are they doing?" Hank asked as he leaned on the fence.

"Still quiet." That wasn't unusual after an attack. It could take two or three days for them to come out again. "Thanks for fixing up the barn. It's good work." Hank nodded at the compliment, though it was really nothing to him. He'd done a lot of similar jobs before. It went without saying that Hank helped Richard over the fence and into his pen, where they checked on the hens together. Since he'd nursed injured chickens before, Hank gave them the once over, parting their feathers and looking at their wounds. So far so good. They hadn't pecked at each other, and they were both sweet girls.

"They're probably still feeling the effects of the attack, so we'll keep an eye on them to be sure, but so far they don't seem interested in fighting." That was good. From what Hank and Luther said, it could get messy, and Richard didn't want to see that. It was shocking enough to see the mess the fox had left behind. Hank had been sensitive enough to dispose of the bodies, or rather, he'd offered them to Sixty and watched him happily cart them off to the treeline to enjoy later. Hank had never been one for waste, but since they'd been killed by a fox, he wouldn't risk eating them himself. You never knew what a fox might be carrying. That wasn't a concern for Sixty. He ate all sorts, and he was smart about what he ate. If the meat was bad, he would have turned his nose up and walked off.

Nines was much like the hens. Quiet and feeling sorry for himself. He graciously allowed Hank to pick him up and check him over, and greedily accepted any pets and coos that Richard offered. They topped up his feed and water, and Hank mixed in his medication to ensure he remained as healthy and pain free as possible. Since he seemed lethargic, Hank returned him to the cosy crate and shut the lid. The hens in the main coop would probably perk up the next day, so Nines and the injured hens could take turns coming out of their crates to walk around their pen and mingle safely with the flock.

"Are you free now?" Richard was immediately on edge at the question. Hank sounded far too innocent to have asked with good intentions. The amusement in his soft blue eyes didn't make him feel any better about it, either. Richard's brows came together as he frowned, dark eyes wary and suspicious.

"Why?"

"Answer the question first." Richard had the horrible feeling that Hank would know the truth either way. The horses wouldn't need to come in for a few hours yet, and he didn't have any training set for that day. Not even Allen was there to give him an excuse. Hank waited patiently, trying hard not to grin at Richard's discomfort as he looked for an excuse to turn him down.

"Yes, I'm free." It was a grudging admission, at best.

"Great! We'll get you back in your yard and I'll bring Sumo over for an introduction." That's what he'd been afraid of, and it must have shown on his face. "Don't worry, Sumo wouldn't hurt a fly!" Richard was quite sure that he would hurt a fly. In fact, he was convinced he'd probably maul any small animal, including him! Stammering out objections did little to dampen Hank's spirits as he helped him over the fence and headed up to the house with Connor on his heels. Eyeing the back door, Richard considered going inside to hide. Hank probably wouldn't break his door just to force him to come out, but he'd certainly think him a coward if he left.

As he saw Hank walking Sumo around the side of his house, he began to think that was preferable. There was something almost proud in Hank's gentle eyes as he noticed him still standing by the fence, as if he'd expected him to disappear. Once they were within speaking range, Richard started to back off, which was enough of a sign for Hank to stop walking. There was almost ten feet between them, and Richard didn't look keen on getting any closer. Sumo was panting happily, tail wagging with excitement at being put on the lead and taken out. It was rare for Hank to put a lead on him these days. With such a vast property, it was rarely needed. He was free to go anywhere he liked.

Unlike Connor, Sumo was patient, so where Connor would have been champing at the bit to get to Richard, Sumo was happy to stand beside Hank panting and wagging his tail. His tongue lolled out as he looked up at Hank and then at Richard, almost questioning his human on what he should do. He was curious, of course. It wasn't every day he was walked to someone else's house, and he'd seen Richard around the yard. He'd even smelled him on Hank's clothes when he came home, especially that week. That suggested he was friendly. Hank wouldn't spend time with someone who wasn't friendly.

Richard watched as Sumo's head darted backward and forwards, clearly excited as he wagged his fluffy tail. Richard was less than enthused. His heart was already racing as he stared at the great beast that had been walked onto his property. His legs felt stiff, and he wasn't sure he could move, at least not until a loud bark sounded right beside him. The yelp that fled his lips as he stumbled away from the fence was almost girlish, making Hank guffaw loudly as Sumo woofed and padded in a circle. Looking at the fence, Richard saw Connor on his hind legs, hopping on the spot as his tail wagged. His ears were low, head tilting and befuddled as he took in the sight of Sumo and Hank standing in Richard's yard. He seemed almost wounded as he turned his big brown eyes on Hank, a small whine trapped in his throat.

"Connor, stay." Connor seemed less than pleased with the order, but grudgingly obeyed as he lowered himself to all fours and paced the barrier. Richard sighed and rubbed his brow, still unable to work himself up to moving forward. "If you won't come here, I could bring him there." Despite the words, there wasn't a trace of impatience in his voice. He simply thought that might be easier. Richard nodded with a sigh. He certainly wasn't getting any closer on his own. Not that I want to get closer to that lumbering beast.

Pulling the lead, Hank took a step closer to Richard before stopping. Sumo followed the pull, a little confused as Hank stopped. He looked between them curiously as if waiting for a sign. When Hank didn't encourage him on, he sat, tail still wagging. Hank murmured simple words of praise while seeing how Richard was doing. He didn't seem thrilled, but he hadn't stepped away either. It seemed he was at least willing to give this a try, which was good if they intended to continue their little trysts. If he couldn't get used to the dogs, it would be a permanent thorn in their relationship. It would be nice to ask him over or suggest putting a gate in the fence and things like that.

Richard got a little shakier as they closed in, but did well at standing his ground. At five paces, Hank heard him curse under his breath. He wasn't sure if he was praising Richard or Sumo at this point. The sound of his voice seemed to calm him at least as he folded his arms and tucked in his hands. At three paces, Richard was close enough to reach out and touch Sumo if he wanted to, which he very much didn't. Setting a hand on Sumo's head, Hank had him sit and waited for Richard to make a move.

"Go ahead. I'll hold his collar." Hank was as good as his word, reaching down and holding the heavy leather strap with one hand and teasing his floppy ears with the other. Sumo was more than happy with the attention, tail thumping loudly as it swished back and forth. On the other side of the fence, Connor lay down and poked his nose through the fence, the picture of misery and neglect. For now, Hank had his attention fixed on Richard, still waiting for him to move. Richard tightened his arms, almost like a resolute child determined to refuse. "Go on. He won't bite, I promise." A promise like that didn't mean much with animals. They were unpredictable. Despite that, Richard had a lot of confidence in Hank and his judgement. He hadn't steered him wrong so far.

"Alright..." Taking a breath to work himself up, Richard slowly pulled a hand free and reached out for Sumo. Hank placed a hand over his snout, encouraging him to keep his head down for now so he didn't spook Richard. It was almost like Sumo understood on some level as he watched Richard's trembling fingers getting closer to his head.

"That's it...Take your time..." Richard cursed internally, feeling his cheeks heat at the praise. He felt like a child being coaxed into walking for the first time. "There now, it's not so bad..." Richard hated that Hank was actually right. Now that his fingertips were lightly brushing Sumo's fur, it wasn't as scary. The fur on his head was short and glossy, soft against his fingertips as he stroked. Hank moved his larger hand away from Sumo's snout to cup his smaller hand and guide it down. Richard swallowed as he watched their joined hands resting atop Sumo's head, and followed Hank's lead as he started a series of longer strokes down his fluffy neck.

The fur on his neck was rougher and slightly longer, but not coarse. This...actually isn't so bad...He wouldn't say it was nice, but it wasn't scary. The slobbering mouth and sharp teeth were still a concern, but he wasn't worried so long as Hank was guiding his hand. With a little encouragement, Richard moved to tease Sumo's floppy ears, watching them twitch as he opened his mouth and panted happily. Hank's grip on his hand tightened, keeping him in place as Sumo dragged himself closer, until his large flank was touching Richard's leg.

"You're alright..." That much was true. Although he'd tensed, he hadn't pulled free and run away. Sumo seemed oblivious to the tense mood as he turned his head up and continued panting. He looked like he was smiling as he licked his chops and stared up at Richard, his black nose twitching as the hand returned to his head. "Let him smell you." This was the part Richard was less than thrilled about, but he grudgingly allowed it as Hank led his hand towards Sumo's wet nose. Instinctively balling his fingers, Richard froze as Sumo edged closer and snuffled his hand. His nose was cold and wet on his knuckles, and was soon followed by a less than pleasant warmth as Sumo's tongue teased his skin.

"I-I think that's enough for one day." Richard was the picture of disgust as Hank let him pull his hand back and he immediately wiped it on his pant leg. There was all sorts of bacteria in that dog's mouth, giving him the immediate urge to wash his hands. Hank chuckled as he watched, kneeling and ruffling Sumo's large body. He had no such reservations about accepting Sumo's licks and kisses, though he turned his face to spare his lips at least. Richard looked aghast as Sumo licked his cheek, a look that clearly said he wasn't kissing him until he was clean.

"You did well for a first meeting." What do you mean first? Wasn't once enough? On the other side of the fence, a loud whine caught their attention. Connor had now turned on his side like the most wounded animal, large brown eyes staring at them as if he'd been betrayed. "Don't be so dramatic!" Connor yowled, almost in argument as Sumo padded over to nose his sulking snout. "Come on now, you're a big boy." Connor rolled to his other side, looking over his shoulder to ensure Hank knew he was officially being snubbed. Hank chuckled softly. He'd get over it by dinnertime. They never argued for long.

"Well...Thanks again for helping today." Hank probably had a lot to do on the farm, and it would be time to bring the horses in soon. Despite that, Hank seemed hesitant to leave as he tugged Sumo's lead to bring him to his side.

"You want to grab a bite to eat later? It's not Sunday dinner, but Rose's food is always good." Hank tried not to seem too hopeful as he waited for Richard's answer. He could tell he was surprised to be asked, though he really shouldn't have been. They were friends and neighbours. Hell, they were fucking! He should expect that he'd want to spend time with him.

"Yeah, I'd like that...Same time as before?" That sounded good to Hank, so with that agreed, he led Sumo around the edge of the house. Richard watched him leave with a giddy feeling in the pit of his stomach until he turned and found Connor staring at him. "What are you staring at?" Connor rolled to his paws at the grumble, panting and wagging his tail as he edged closer to the fence and poked his nose through. "Not a chance!" The small whine almost made him feel guilty, and seeing his ears and tail droop did have him thinking about it. Thinking. Not doing. Licking his nose, Connor nudged even closer, big brown eyes looking hopeful. Richard huffed, determinedly looking away until another whine reached his ears. "Don't look at me like that!" Connor did not stop looking at him like that. Heaving a sigh, Richard edged a little closer. To his credit, Connor stayed still, perhaps understanding that any movement would spook him. Finally, Richard reached out and brushed his fingertips on the top of his snout. "There, one stroke!" It would be a lie to say his chest didn't puff a little as he drew back, and Connor seemed just as pleased as his tail resumed its usual happy wagging.