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Part 21 - Escalation

(Nathan)

Thankfully, journeying back from the old wolf's home proved far less eventful than the visit itself. Even with the echoes of Alexei's terrible argument with Maxim ringing in his ears, Nathan still possessed a wariness over bumping into the gang that had been hassling them again. So, it came as a welcome relief that all throughout their walk down the hill, along the side streets and back to the shop, the group were nowhere to be seen.

Later that evening, they finally discussed the incident at the elder's home over dinner; a thick, meat and vegetable soup accompanied by the doughy black bread Nathan remembered fondly from his first day in Velika. If not for the topic of conversation, he'd have found it all that much more enjoyable. What's more, once made aware of the strength of what had been said between the two wolves, Nathan's guilt over his actions at the house on the hill flushed even stronger.

After dinner, the remainder of the day passed quickly and quietly. Nathan found comfort in that, much preferring an evening of calm as opposed to that which he'd been fearing; one where Alexei decried him the cause of his heated exchange with his elder and made little effort to hide those feelings.

With that in mind, Nathan begrudgingly opted to leave the wolf wallowing in silent despondency, fearing that any attempt to cheer him up would turn his thoughts into reality.

It had barely gone ten by the time they headed to bed that evening, apparently tacit in their desire to get this day over with as swiftly as possible. The warm glow of the bedside lamp filled the bedroom as Nathan padded up the makeshift staircase of books and boxes to Alexei's bed, the giant wolf already lying there, staring quietly up to the ceiling. He stripped down to his boxers and walked up from the foot of the mattress, past Alexei's large paws, up to his midsection to eventually arrive level with his bare chest.

"It's cold this evening." Nathan mumbled, his small talk an effort at cutting through the awkward silence that had grown between them. "Definitely gonna need a duvet I reckon."

Alexei moved his head, peering down at the husky with weary eyes. "I am thinking same."

"I... it's... we're lucky, really," he replied, wringing his paws anxiously. "Imagine what an evening like this must be like for the shorter-furred species." He huffed inwardly at himself, realising the inanity of his words.

Alexei snorted lightly, a faint flicker of a smile suggesting he'd had the same thought. With a gentle paw, the wolf moved Nathan up onto his chest.

"This is also helpful," Nathan said, lying on his stomach while Alexei's paw rested atop him. "Real warm." He wriggled forward, freeing his head so that he could look up to the wolf's muzzle.

"Happy to help." Alexei's small smile endured, though the usual brightness to his expression remained absent as he directed his gaze back to the ceiling.

Nathan swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Alex, I just wanted to say..." He paused, waiting until he'd won back the wolf's attention before adding, "I'm so sorry for causing this mess. It's my fault... If i hadn't been so pushy earlier, forcing you to kiss, we... this never would have happened if it weren't for my selfishness."

Alexei remained silent, a flick of his ears the only show of emotion in an otherwise stoic expression. After the longest time, he sighed heavily, slowly rubbing his paw over the husky's frame. "It is not as if I tried hard to stop you." Nathan didn't know how to answer, running his claws through the grey chest fur beneath him until the wolf rumbled a growl. "If I am to be upset with someone, it should be my grandfather."

"I really think... he..."

"Hm?" Alexei cocked his head slightly. "What is it you think?"

Nathan looked away, taking a second to properly formulate his response. "You know him better than me, but... he's still your grandfather. I don't think he meant half the things he said. Well, he probably meant it when he said he didn't want to see me again, but all those things he said about you... no, I'm not having that. He still loves you."

"But this is not enough, even if true. I wish for him to accept you... Polcians."

Nathan gave a sad smile, stroking softly at one of the wolf's white-furred fingers. "What if he never can? He's held his beliefs for a long time... It's hard to change something like that." Alexei huffed, to which Nathan added tentatively, "The question is... would it stop you?"

"What?" Alexei sat up quickly, securing the husky against his chest with his paw.

"I'm sorry," he gasped, shocked by the sudden, lurching movement. "I shouldn't say things like that; talking about going against your grandfather so soon after helping to cause this problem... it's just--"

"No... it is okay. I do not wish for this visit to be the only time I see you. I do not wish us... to be just friends."

Nathan smiled, nosing at the wolf's chest. "There's no reason for that to happen, even if Maxim wants it." He looked up to those familiar amber eyes. "This isn't the store. You don't need to get his approval for this." He gestured Alexei closer, planting a soft lick upon his muzzle tip.

"This, I know." A full smile broke upon the big wolf's face for the first time that evening, right before he leaned in to offer a gentle kiss in return.

Nathan's breath began to quicken, the soft caress of Alexei's lips asking to be sampled again and again. 'I can't though, after what's happened. Regardless of what he says... this is still my fault.'

He reached up a paw, slowly rubbing the wolf's white smattered grey muzzle instead. "I really believe he'll come round though... he won't disown you for this."

Alexei pressed his nose to the curve of Nathan's bare stomach. "Thank you for trying to make me happy."

"The least I could do," he replied, resisting a frown of concern. 'I just hope I'm right.'

Even with Alexei appearing to harbour little if any ill-feeling towards him, Nathan still felt awkward to be lying here in his grasp. Despite the positivity of their conversation, he just couldn't shake the idea that his careless, thoughtless actions may have seriously damaged Alexei's relationship with his only family. He wondered if deep down his wolf thought the same.

Nathan did eventually work up enough courage to give Alexei a peck on the nose, but the heavy sigh that blew through his fur stopped him before he could act.

"Some of the things he said... they were very hurtful."

Nathan's ears dipped, guilt returning in full force. "You mean the whole 'petulant child' thing you told me about?"

"No... actually, yes, but I speak more of him saying that my thoughts and my feelings are wrong... that they are against nature." He growled his last, a sad pout taking the place of his fleeting smile.

"Well, he's wrong!" The force of Nathan's reply pulled the wolf's eyes wider. "He's wrong and you shouldn't believe him, alright? It was cruel for him to say that to you." Alexei's head moved closer, his expression unreadable. "You really think he's right? That it's against nature? Tell me if it feels 'against nature' when we do this." Nathan cast aside his discomfort, his guilt and threw himself into a kiss that he believed to be as much for his wolf as it was for him.

Any resistance Alexei had towards the embrace surrendered near instantly, pushing his head forward to offer as much passion into it as Nathan did. Their mouths crept open at the same time, the husky's smaller tongue brushing over the slick yet rough texture of the wolf's as they shared themselves further. It still felt unusual to kiss in this manner, what with the huge size difference, but did little to harm the experience. They caressed one another softly; Nathan's paw running over the side of Alexei's muzzle while the wolf slowly trailed two fingers down the little husky's back.

After a full minute and then some, they parted lips, gently nuzzling one another as they gazed into each other's eyes. For the moment at least, the drama and sorrow from the afternoon faded to become a distant memory.

"So?" Nathan asked breathlessly, his heart racing. The taste of the wolf lingered pleasantly. "Did that feel wrong... unnatural?"

Alexei sighed gently, breathing equally quickly as he lied back down. "No... I am thinking it was very natural... It was perfect."

"Good," he replied, sprawling out face down among thick, white chest fur. Alexei's heart pounded like a drum beneath him, its soothing rhythm only partially pulling his attention away from the reaction in his crotch. "That's how it felt to me, too."

Alexei groaned contently, playing with the husky's curled tail before removing his paw from atop him.

Nathan rolled onto his back and traced its movement, smiling as it neared the profound bulge contained within the giant wolf's white boxer shorts. He beamed even brighter once Alexei began to adjusted the fabric with a low moan. "Looks like you feel exactly the same way as me, in fact."

"Do not hold it against me."

Nathan snickered, moving his paw to his own crotch. "And what if I want to hold _it_against you?"

"To think that it is you that called me filthy at the Polcian district," Alexei scoffed, finishing his readjustments.

"You are," he retorted, "but I never denied I was, too."

Without warning, everything began to shift, Nathan's equilibrium faltering as he slid off the side of Alexei's chest and landed front first in the wolf's paw. By the time he'd gathered his bearings, the husky found himself lying face up upon one of Alexei's pillows. "What the..."

Nathan looked to his left as one of the wolf's hand paws thumped down beside him. He swiftly turned his gaze upwards, taking in the sight of Alexei's wide, lupine grin flashing down at him while his huge frame hovered above. "Alex... what are you...?"

Slowly, the wolf rubbed his other paw down his chest and to his stomach, smiling alluringly as he slid his thumb between his boxers and hip.

Nathan grunted, eyes fixed upon his wolf's crotch as the white fabric slid away to expose his erection. "By the gods," he whispered breathlessly, throwing his head back and moving a paw to his own painfully erect length.

"No," Alexei groaned throatily, nosing Nathan's paw away from his loins. The husky peered back at the mountainous wolf's thick member, complemented by a pair of large, grey-furred spheres hanging between massive, powerful thighs. Keenly, he began to wiggle out of his own underwear. "What... you got in mind?"

"I am wishing to know if something else feels natural." Alexei pressed his other paw down to the mattress, proceeding to maneuver his enormous frame downwards.

To Nathan, it felt as if the whole room shook as his wolf crash landed upon the bed, leaving the tip of his smiling muzzle hovering inches above. "If you're doing this to spite your grandfather... you don't have to."

"I do not. I do this because I wish to."

"I--" He barely had the chance to reply by the time Alexei's cold nose pressed down upon his stomach, followed quickly by the exhilarating sensation of the wolf's long tongue lapping purposefully over his crotch.

Whimpers and whines echoed out from Nathan's muzzle, his eyes rolling back as the roughness of Alexei's tongue sent warm, heart stopping tingles through his body. He grabbed the pillow beneath him with both paws, panting euphorically as Alexei expertly nursed and explored his throbbing shaft. The wondrousness of the lupine touch soon had Nathan bucking his hips instinctively, inwardly begging that it'd never end.

Blasts of breath from the giant wolf's nose washed soothingly over Nathan's body, bathing him in warmth and heightening an experience that would soon intensify even further. Alexei lifted his muzzle and began to trail a blunt finger claw through Nathan's chest ruff, wearing a taunting smile as he dragged it slowly across the husky's rounded stomach and down to his now sticky erection.

Nathan yelped in pleasure all over again, the soft rub of a leathery fingerpad across his pre-soaked shaft accompanying the renewed, persistent lapping of the wolf's tongue.

"Do you... enjoy this?" Alexei murmured between licks, his golden eyes alight with joy.

"I don't think I could begin to tell you how much I am."

"I am thinking... perhaps you do not have to," he retorted, giving the husky's hard, wet length one final, affectionate lick. "Your body tells me all I must know."

Nathan huffed gently, catching his breath before sitting up to kiss the top of the wolf's muzzle. "How about I return the favour? Let your body tell _me_a thing or two."

Alexei grinned, promptly throwing himself down onto his back. The resulting impact shook the mattress heavily, resembling a short, violent earthquake to Nathan as the large springs below shifted against the strain.

"Oh my gods, Alex!"

In a flash, the wolf reached out his big paws, scooping Nathan up after he'd been bounced and jolted awkwardly upon the pillow cushioning him. "I am sorry! I did not mean to."

"It's fine, hon," he chuckled, smirking as he lied back in Alexei's cupped paws. "That was... pretty impressive, and I'm slowly getting used to you big, clumsy Velikans throwing your weight around."

Alexei grinned with a flick of his ears, resuming his gentle rubbing of the husky's aching loins with his thumb.

Nathan began his low moaning all over again, writhing in pleasure within those warm palm pads as he moved closer to the giant wolf's impressive erection. "If you keep this up, you're gonna have a terrible mess in your paws.

"We do not wish for this," Alexei chuckled, easing up on his intimate stroking. "At least, not yet."

Nathan snorted in response, scritching and nuzzling at the digit that had been pleasuring him. As he neared his wolf's musky, grey-furred crotch, Nathan reflected on the way Alexei had thrown himself down to the bed just moments prior. He basked in the intoxicating idea that even with the enormous power he could exert with just the simplest movement, Alexei still had the capacity to be so incredibly gentle and affectionate. The way in which he had quickly rescued him from the harsh trembling he'd generated had been just another in a long line of examples. For that, Nathan loved his wolf that much more.

"Let me know if it is too much," Alexei rumbled, wrapping the paw that held Nathan around his towering length.

"Yeah," he replied, noncommittally, more focused upon the thick shaft standing a shade taller than he did. He took a deep breath, savouring the strong, lupine scent that dominated the air. Not content with experiencing it just once, Nathan inhaled again, at which point he couldn't resist wrapping his arms around the flesh of Alexei's wolfhood.

By the time he'd linked his paws, a struggle given the girth between his arms, the husky could feel Alexei starting to stroke himself. The movements started off slow, tamely sliding Nathan up and down his erection so that the husky's own rubbed pleasingly against it. Slowly but surely, Alexei upped the tempo as he continued, as well as the pressure he exerted.

Even with the force of the grinding increasing, along with the firmness of the wolf's paw, Nathan held no fear, nor anxiety in his mind like he did the last time. He believed, no, he knew that he found himself in complete safety within Alexei's grasp, just as he'd always been since arriving here and meeting him in person for the first time. Looking up to those sweet, amber eyes watching over him only aided his increased bravery, leaving Nathan certain that he could put his complete trust in his wolf, maybe more so than he could anyone else in the world.

"Come on, Alex," Nathan panted, losing himself in the heady sensation of his leaking erection dancing across Alexei's. He clamped his arms tighter, proceeding to drag them up and down the wolf's tree-like shaft with every pump of his paw. To add to the effect, each time he reached it, Nathan licked and nosed at Alexei's increasingly sticky head, letting its sharp taste linger upon his tongue and strong scent overwhelm his nostrils.

The wolf growled, shifting about in ecstasy as they continued to work at each other. The effect of his pumping snowballed; the faster he went, the more the little arms and tongue of the husky pleasured him, which in turn upped his tempo even further.

Nathan gruffed, trying but failing to turn his enjoyment into words as his head rocked back and forth. The force of the movement felt rough and intense, but not once did it hurt. Rather, it felt exhilarating, as if doing laps on an adrenaline-pumping, high-speed rollercoaster. The only exception in that was rollercoasters didn't usually smell as male or as irresistible as Alexei's loins, nor did they grind his own to the point where the pressure inside them pent up to an extent never before experienced.

"Do this... still not hurt you?" Alexei groaned, stickiness pouring down his shaft like a waterfall. Slickness soon drenched both his crotch and Nathan, allowing him to intensify his stroking even further as both paw and husky glided easily over his rock-hard length. He gave out a short bark seconds later, letting his upper body crash back down to the bed to shake it all over again.

"Not at all," Nathan yipped in response, his shaft pounding like a second heart as the wolf's power and musky pre tipped him over the edge. The climax rising within him felt so strong, so long overdue, as if something that had been building from the moment he'd first spoken to Alexei two years ago.

With an almighty howl, the wolf beat him to the punch. He bucked his huge hips upwards, entire body shuddering as he released himself like an enormous grey cannon. A massive spurt of seed fired upwards, arcing through the air before splashing down upon Alexei's stomach. Three more impressively-sized shots followed, adding to the matted white mess splattered across the giant wolf's midriff.

Both the sight and scent of Alexei's immense climax finished Nathan off. He grunted loudly, thrusting his hips and wanting shaft against Alexei's and came explosively. Two large shots spurted across the side of the wolf's still throbbing anatomy, blending together with the remnants of his pre in a delightfully hot, strong, sticky mess. A third and final blast came with a contented yelp. If not for the giant paw supporting him, holding him close, Nathan felt certain the knee-buckling sensation of his climax would have caused him to fall.

Alexei rumbled imposingly, tilting his paw to allow the little husky to recline within it as he guided him up to his chest. As Nathan passed the wolf's stomach, eyes half-lidded from the heaviness of his panting, he got a better view of the matted, white-smeared clump of grey fur below. He couldn't help but smile, knowing the role he'd played in helping to create it.

"Did... you enjoy?" Alexei forced the words out between his own panting, licking the husky's muzzle with a smile.

"It was... amazing." Nathan reached out for the large grey muzzle ahead of him and gave it a kiss. "Really... I don't think I've never come as hard as that before," he snickered, offering Alexei another peck. "How about for you? Did it feel 'natural'?"

"Just like our kissing. Natural. Perfect." The wolf's smile grew into a grin. He peered past the husky and down to his stomach. "I am thinking the mess I have made shows this also."

"Yeah, I'd say so." The husky gave a sly wink and a huge smile. "You Velikans certainly don't hold back in that department. I mean, you could drown someone in that!"

Alexei laughed loudly, licking slowly at Nathan's wet, sticky stomach. "Then we should clean up. I would not wish for you to have an accident."

After a short shower together, one that involved as much hugging and kissing as it did actual cleaning, the pair returned to bed. They spent the next half hour cuddled up together, undressed and basking in their respective afterglows; Alexei lying on his side, half-curled with his little husky held close against him in both paws.

Nathan would have been delighted to fall asleep secure in his wolf's grasp. In fact, he'd begun to sense his head droop and his eyes getting heavy around the time Alexei's whispered voice broke the intimate silence.

"Nate... may I ask something?"

Nathan stirred out of half-consciousness, the wolf's long muzzle nuzzling the top of his head. He responded by burying his nose into the warmth of Alexei's chest fur. "Of course you can."

"I wished to ask about... back at my grandfather's home."

"Right." Nathan's eyes shot open, sleepiness fully cast aside as the guilt and anxiety from that afternoon reared its head again. "Anything in particular?"

The wolf's ears folded back a little. "After my grandfather walked in on our kiss. When he yelled and began to walk forwards across the room... I pressed you to my chest... I wish to know, was I too protective?"

Nathan cocked his head, puzzled by the timing of the question. "You... No, no I don't think you were." He reached out to stroke at Alexei's muzzle. "Why d'you ask?"

"I have been thinking back to the times when you have said I am too protective, that I treat you as 'inferior'. I--"

"Oh, hey, no." He began to rub at the short fur of the wolf's chin with more intensity. "This afternoon... that was different. I'm glad you were there to protect me." That drew a smile from Alexei, before Nathan added, "I think you've been doing well on that front. I don't feel so helpless here now that you've given me space to do things for myself at dinner, let me help in the shop and everything else."

"I am happy to hear this. I am glad that what I have done has made you feel more at home here." Alexei's smile faltered and his white-tipped ears dipped again. "I just... I am wishing for my grandfather... Why can he not see that Polcians are equal to us?"

Nathan bit his lip, frowning sympathetically. "Maybe one day he will... Until then, I guess we'll have to be patient with him." He gave the wolf a soft, loving peck on the side of his muzzle.

"I will hope for this," Alexei mumbled, not sounding entirely convinced.

"Either way, wait and see how the land lies between you two before pressing him about it again." Greeted with silence, Nathan continued. "We gave him quite a shock today, thanks to me. That probably didn't help his reaction."

"I am thinking you are right. But yes, we shall wait, see."

With a large yawn, Alexei leaned down and gave the little husky another nuzzling, keeping him secure to his chest with his left paw while reaching out for the lamp with his right. "Let us go to sleep. I must wake early to open the shop. There is also finance work to do before the end of this week, for when the month ends."

"Sure. I don't mind an early start."

"Oh... You do not need to also. If you wish, you can sleep longer. I can come back up later in the morning to spend time with you."

Nathan licked at Alexei's nose. "I wouldn't want to stay up here alone. I can come down to help, maybe even do that number work for you on my computer... if that's something you're happy with."

"This is something I would be very happy with... but you wish to work again?"

"Honestly, helping you out in the shop doesn't feel like work at all. I want to do it."

The wolf's sleepy eyes lit up. "Okay, we shall both wake to work in the shop. Thank you."

"Great." Nathan adjusted himself within Alexei's grasp, getting himself comfortable as the light went out and the wolf rolled onto his back. "And you're welcome. I look forward to it."

Alexei whined happily, settling down and giving Nathan a little squeeze with his paw. "Goodnight, little husky."

Nathan chuckled, hugging at one of the fingers resting atop him. "G'nite... big wolf."

The remainder of the week flew by, with Wednesday and Thursday proving to be incredibly busy in the store. On reflection, Nathan figured the busyness helped him, and possibly Alexei too, to put the unpleasantness of events at Maxim's home at the back of their minds. Both Alexei and Erik rushed around in the workshop, starting and finishing various projects for the deluge of customers that had descended. Nathan meanwhile spent a large amount of time in the back office, processing and updating the accounts for the month's end. It took longer than he'd expected it to, what with having to consult the old paper documents on several occasions, but the enjoyment he felt to be assisting his wolf barely wavered. Not only did this all prove significantly more interesting that the usual monotonous nature of his work back home, but he happily realised that he'd begun to understand certain Velikan words and phrases present in the documents.

'Wow, much more of this, and I'll be fluent in the stuff!' he joked inwardly, but honestly musing over how long it would take to learn Velikan and to speak and converse in it effectively. Those thoughts stayed with him all the way through to Friday afternoon, when the manic rush in the shop finally eased and the latest accounts work had been completed.

"It has been a tough week," Alexei stated breathlessly, focusing on his measuring up of the wooden plank atop his bench. "I cannot remember the last time we had this many customers at one time."

"I don't know how you guys do it," Nathan responded, standing atop Alexei's workstation while sanding down the tight folds within a patterned section of wood. "Dealing with all that with only two of you here."

"I am thinking you helped us with this. If not for you, I would have been busy in the office." Nathan couldn't resist a joyful grin, to which Alexei responded in kind before looking across to his apprentice at the bench opposite. "Erik, if the shop is quieter tomorrow, you may take the afternoon off. Think of it as small reward for the time you have worked alone here in the past two weeks."

"Oh," Erik muttered, barely acknowledging the wolf as he kept his eyes down to his bench and his current work project. "Thank you."

Alexei frowned a little. "Are you okay?" When Erik failed to reply, he set his pencil and ruler down and focused squarely on the snow leopard. "Erik? Is there a problem?"

"Huh?" Erik finally seemed to snap out of whatever dream or mood he'd been lost in. "Sorry, Alex. What did you say?"

"I asked if you were okay. You have not seemed yourself for the last few days. Are you still thinking of Sunday, the mistake you made?"

Erik smiled, clearly forced, flicking his eyes to Nathan before focusing back on Alexei. "No, it's not that. I'm sorry, things have been... I have not been sleeping too good lately, and with the store being so busy I am just so tired."

The wolf nodded. "More reason for you to only work tomorrow morning. Also, do not come in for extra work on Sunday. It is not healthy to work every day."

"Damn, Alex," Nathan snickered, setting down his little square of sandpaper. "I wish my boss was like that. I'd love to be thrown an afternoon off here and there."

"Erik deserves this. It is from his hard work that we can spend so many days visiting the city and relaxing upstairs."

"True enough." He turned to Erik and gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks for that by the way. I really appreciate it."

Rather than pull the young leopard out of his oppressed mood, the thankfulness Alexei and Nathan showed him only appeared to distress him even further. He sighed and let his shoulders sag, setting down the section of wood in his paws with a clattering thump.

"Erik? Are you sure all is okay?" Alexei rounded his workbench and moved towards Erik's, stopping alongside him. "If there is problem, I wish to know. You can tell me."

"No... no." Erik looked up to the clock on the wall behind him. "I... will take you up on your offer, about only working tomorrow morning. I'll be glad when it's the weekend." Another feline smile followed, again seeming forced.

"Just a few minutes until this time," Alexei replied, "but, you are sure there is no problem?"

Erik closed his eyes, shoulders slumping even further. "To be honest... there is."

"I knew it." The wolf threw his arm around him. "I know you. If you are not joking and smiling, then something is wrong--"

"Can I speak with you, Alex? Please?"

The sudden interruption clearly took Alexei aback. "Oh... yes, sure." He stood there, smiling down at the shorter feline, waiting for a cue that never came. Nathan took little time in realising his presence might be an issue for Erik if he wanted to divulge something personal. Before he could make any sort of indication of that possibility, the wolf flashed his eyes towards him with a sudden look of realisation. "If you wish for this to be private, we can speak Velikan." He turned to face Nathan fully. "Nate, you would not mind this?"

"No, of course not. It's between you two, none of my business."

"Thank you," Erik muttered, looking even more upset, "but... I would prefer do this in true privacy."

"I understand." Alexei lowered his voice, failing to mask it enough so that Nathan couldn't hear, if that were the intention. "Is it to speak of something at your home?"

"Yes... in part," the young leopard answered, slowly moving away from his station and past the wolf. "May we go into the office? It will only take a moment."

Alexei glanced apprehensively back towards his bench, prompting Nathan to say, "It's okay. I'll be alright out here."

"Okay. We shall not be long." The wolf turned away, disappearing into the office with Erik and closing the door behind him.

Nathan glanced around the workshop, wondering what he could do to keep himself occupied. Atop the bench, there wasn't exactly a wide variety of activities with which to pass the time, other than to continue sanding away at the detailed piece of wood sat in front of him.

"Problems at home," he muttered lowly, retrieving his small corner of sandpaper again. "Poor Erik. No wonder he's here working so much."

For the next couple of minutes, Nathan rubbed away at the grainy, hard to reach places upon a piece of wood measuring at least fifteen feet in length. Fortunately, these sections were restricted to the rosebud patterning at either end, making the task far less daunting than it could have been.

While he worked, he considered the two Velikans and their home lives. Between Alexei's grandfather and whatever, evidently sizeable issues Erik faced, they both had problems that made his own seem not all that bad. Sure, his parents were overbearing to the point of suffocating, but at least he lived several hundred miles from them. They didn't live on a house atop a hill that overlooked his home like Maxim's did to Alexei's. Also, he knew deep down they only did what they did because they cared about him, even if it could be gut-wrenchingly irritating on occasion. Even so, they'd never done anything so bad as to reduce him to the point where he felt compelled to have a private chat with his boss, assuming of course that Erik's problems were indeed with his own parents.

So lost in his deep thoughts and his woodworking, Nathan's ears barely perked up at the short, single clang that resonated from the front of the shop. It took him a few seconds to process the sound, recognising it as being a muted ringing of the bell that hung above the store's front door.

Almost instantly after that, a series of tremors half a second apart began to rock the floor beneath him, quickly gaining in intensity. "What in the gods...?" He spun around to face towards the archway leading out to the shopfront, only to be greeted by the harrowing sight of both the gaping blackness of a huge, unzipped backpack and a splayed Velikan paw heading towards him. "Fuck! Alex--"

Nathan couldn't even blink in the time it took to be viciously grabbed and shoved into the dark depths of the massive container. He tumbled and twisted, hitting its bottom with a thump softened only by the give in the bag's fabric. Dazed and disorientated, he rolled over just in time to see the light above him quickly die as the zipper closed, throwing him into total blackness. "Alex!? Help!"

Help wouldn't come though. The entire backpack began to shake in a similar fashion to the tremors that came before, no doubt caused by the momentum of its owner making off out of the shop. Nathan's breathing began to quicken uncontrollably, his heart thumping as hard as his fists did upon the material surrounding him. "Hey, let me out! What the fuck are you doing!?"

It soon became glaringly apparent that nobody would answer his desperate cries, either unhearing or uncaring of them. Nathan eventually stopped shouting, stopped struggling and merely lied there in shock as the dizzying, relentless rocking continued. He began to whimper and his paws started to tremble as it hit him. This was real. This was happening. 'I've been abducted.'