Cody tried not to keep staring at the ferret as he worked. A second night was promised if he absolutely had to, but with the clerk’s shift only starting 2 hours ago, the coyote wasn’t sure he could keep awake that long. He continued staring out the window into the blizzard. The same sight as the night before, hardly changed. Even during the day, it hardly seemed to get light out, between the latitude and blizzard raging outside.

Cody stood for a moment, and took a sip of the coffee Thomas gave him a few minutes prior. A nice perk, and he’d seen the ferret let a few kinder folks with refill mugs leave if all they got was coffee. “Why bother?” he’d told the coyote.

He walked over to the door, taking a step out into the blustery cold. The fur of his nap bristled and fluffed, but he only felt the cold seep in after a moment standing there. “To think my ancestors probably just curled up in the snow in weather like this,” Cody mused with a dry chuckle.

Thoughts swirled in his mind as he looked towards the black clouds above. Abandoned. Ejected. Hated. He looked down into his coffee, as if for something else. No words came.

‘Selfish.’ ‘After all he did for you.’ The coyote practically stumbled back, leaning against the wall. “Stop it…” he whispered to the empty lot before him.

‘What made you think this would be different? What made you think this would work out?’

“Because I loved him,” the coyote choked, his throat tight. “Stop…”

‘You loved the idea of him. You loved the idea of being cared about, of being important to someone, why would—’

“I SAID FUCKING STOP!” Cody shouted, as salty ice formed below his eyes. “Fucking fuck off!” His voice didn’t even echo in the snow, as the thoughts quieted, leaving him panting, and shaking. “Fuck,” he said, much more quietly, wiping his face on his coat with a sniff before turning back inside. Away from the cold. Away from even colder thoughts.

As Cody stepped back inside and wiped his shoes on the carpet, splaying his toes to get the snow out from under them as well, he caught a whiff of a new scent. Or not so much new as new-in-context. He returned to his backpack, sniffing around it briefly, and then down at himself. Nothing. Maybe Thomas took a cue from him to ‘stealth’ today?

Cody shrugged it off, settling back down to sit again, and look out into the snow, letting the din of truckers coming and going roll past as he focused on the falling flakes, as they danced and wheeled about. “Maybe I could just get a job here?” he mused to himself. It was peaceful enough. The truckers had been friendly. It was a nice change from what he’d seen where he grew up.

“...Cody…”, Thomas said, perking up the coyote’s ears. As they swiveled for a fix, the bustle settled into a few distinct voices. He couldn’t clearly focus on the ferret anymore, but he knew he’d heard his name amongst the various sounds, a few new ones blending into the mix.

Before turning his head to see what the ferret was up to, the scent of rubber graced his nose once more. And in caution again, he sniffed at himself, downward, then towards his backpack. Nothing. Only a faint hit, not the warmer one. Not the strength he picked up.

“Ah, you Cody?” spoke an unfamiliar voice, and as the coyote turned his head to his addresser, his eyes widened. The question of the scent was immediately answered. The timberwolf before Cody stood easily half-again the coyote’s height, if not more, a trucker given the vague stereotype of a white t-shirt covered by an unbuttoned plaid flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up partly, and jeans. All of which seemed like they were moments from clinging to the timberwolf for dear life.

But the biggest attention grabber for the eyes was in what wasn’t covered by the clothing; a smooth, soft gloss took the place of the normal fur of his hands, forearms, face, and even a bit peeking out from under the shirt. Was that…?

“Er, y’alright there? Hope I didn’t uh, interrupt somethin’,” the wolf spoke softly. As his stance shifted, it elicited a faint ‘sqrk’, similar to the sounds during the cuddling session the night before.

“I...yeah, that’s me, sorry, um...who did you say your na-I mean, what did...yeah,” the coyote stumbled out before looking up to greet the wolf’s soft expression.

“Hah, I ain’t yet. ‘Name’s Brandon,” he replied, extending one of those thick handpaws to shake, which nearly swallowed Cody’s. Rubber. It really is. Warm, soft rubber, not...solid? “Thomas over there said yuh were in a bit-of-a bind n'… well, I’ve known him a good while, n’ trust him t’ only point out someone ah can trust.”

“Trust…? Thomas...me?” Cody asked. Words were hard at the moment as his brain tried critically to process the sight before him, and kept ending up in places that would embarrass him and nearly sent his face into a beet-red blush. But he kept it in check.

“Heh, he didn’t think ya’d drink much o’ that coffee yet, guess he was right,” the wolf replied with a chuckle, as he walked around the row of chairs to take a seat in the empty one to Cody’s side. The heady scent of latex was absolutely unmistakable.

Cody kept silent for a moment as he followed Brandon’s steps, looking briefly down to catch sight of his paws in a similar open-foot shoe to the coyote’s, letting the glossy sheen of the paws and toes show, exposed as they were. “What’re…” he started, before shaking his head, and looking back up to Brandon. “Sorry, I uh…”

The timberwolf laughed, giving the coyote’s upper back a pat with one of those thick, glossy paws. “I get it, don’t worry yerself there; Thomas s’like that when ah first met him too. S’what you think exactly.”

Cody thought he might faint at the thought. “You’re really…”

“Rubber, latex ah guess, n’ air, yeah. But uh, that aside fer the moment,” Brandon started. He struggled for words, before beginning. “Look, ah know I ain’t the smoothest when it comes t’ greetin’ folks fer somethin’ like this, usually that's just my hide, but I’ve got a proposition. My hauls are pretty long, n’ with how dark it gets this time of year, the drives are pretty borin’ n’ quiet. So, in exchange fer some company on the drives, yer free t’ ride along with me. No other ulterior motives, I promise. Tired o’ drivin’ alone, n’ I’d rather help a friendly fellah out than just anyone. Yer free to leave at any time – at least if we’re somewhere safe, ain’t about t’ letcha get off if we’re just somewhere in the middle of the woods...not that ah can really stop yuh but...y’know, wouldn’t be right o’ me to not try,” the wolf said, rubbing the back of his head lightly with a chuckle at the last bit, eliciting a few more rubbery squirks.

Cody sat listening, his eyes slightly wide, but with a lightly tired laze he tried to push back. “You...want me to ride with you? On your truck?” he asked, only barely realizing he was just repeating the wolf.

“Yeah, basically. Ain’t gotta do anythin’ on the truck, unless yer handy n’ wanna if somethin’ happens. Look, I know this is a lot at once, so I ain’t gonna be surprised or upset if y’ say ‘no’. But I know how much it sucks t’ feel abandoned, n’ if I can help in some way and it gives me a lil company too…”

“...Most folks I guess think you’re...well...this isn’t what I think but, ‘weird’?” Cody asked, wincing slightly as he realized how awkward that sounded. Not the fastest tonight, he thought, and took a sip of his coffee.

“Yyyeah, guess so. N’ ah figured you wouldn’t, cause...well, wolves have a pretty good sense of smell, even like this,” Brandon replied. Cody’s toes curled slightly as his mask failed. No hiding that blush. “Besides, Thomas wouldn’t point me your way if he thought you’d be put off. And it’s...well, nice, fer stuff t’ be the opposite of that,” the wolf added, his own cheeks a touch pink as he spoke.

“That...fuck it. That sounds like a change of pace I need," Cody said.

‘What’re you doing?’

“I’ve been wanting to see more of the Northern lands,” the coyote added.

‘What’re you doing this’ll never work!’

“And I...I don’t know what I’ve been waiting for, here,” Cody replied, swallowing as he did his best to ignore those thoughts. “Maybe this, this kinda thing.”

Brandon smiled, and let out a cheerful laugh. It was a warm sound, slightly reverberant, in a way that cemented the wolf’s description. Rubber and air. “What, some kinda adventure? Heh, can’t really say it’d be an adventure of a typical sort, but…” he extended his paw to shake again. “We’ll figure out anything as we go.”

Cody took that giant handpaw in both of his own, both to squeeze and lightly rub to confirm for himself a third time that his eyes weren’t deceiving him. Warm, soft, squeaky, squishy. “Uh...then, yeah, I guess so. As long as I won’t be in the way.”

“Not a bit. Grab what you need, and meet me at my truck out back. We’re gonna drive a bit further on t’night, it’s pretty early still, for me at least,” the wolf asked, holding up his own coffee. A gallon mug. The coyote figured he’d ask later.

Cody nodded, and felt a smile cross his muzzle for only the second time yet at the truck stop. “Yeah,” he replied, with another squeeze to the wolf’s paw before he released it, nodding again as Brandon stood, striding off towards the back of the store towards the trucker exit. As the wolf left, the coyote stood as well, letting out a deep sigh as residual tension left him.

“He’s got a heart of gold. I wouldn’t have pointed him toward you if I didn’t trust him,” came Thomas’s voice, causing the coyote to quickly turn to face the attendant. “Sorry, I guess you were too focused to hear me walk up. But I mean it,” he added.

“Where the hell did you even meet him?” the coyote asked, his voice quieter than usual. “What even…”

“He stopped in one night while I was working, and just kinda...hit it off well. He’s stopped in many times over the past couple years to say howdy and for a hug,” the ferret replied, rubbing the back of his own head with a slight sheepish expression.

“You mean he smelled you stealthing and realized you’d be friendly?” the coyote teased. He felt lighter, easier, more at-ease than he had. “I’m teasing.”

“And right,” Thomas laughed, shaking his head. “I know he’ll take good care of you.”

The coyote stood, and after a brief pause, embraced Thomas in a tight hug the ferret returned. “Thank you. You’ve been incredibly sweet.”

“You can thank me by giving me another hug like that in a week; should be back by here then,” the ferret replied, releasing the hug and patting Cody’s sides. “Now grab a fresh hot coffee, and some food on me, and get on the road.”