Wolf’s Bane

“ALL RIGHT! Alright, sir, don’t hurt me! I’LL TELL YOU… I’ll tell you why I’m here!” said the stranger that Jack found hiding behind the bushes of his parent’s house.

“YOU’D BETTER OR YOU’LL BE HAULED TO JAIL FOR TRESPASSING! NOW SPEAK!” ordered the muscled foreman as he stayed sitting down on the man’s abdomen with one hand holding his collar and the other aiming a fist at the man he just captured.

“What on earth is happening out here? JACK? Who the heck is that?!” asked an elderly man who had rushed out of the front door and into the patio. “What is he doing here in the middle of the night?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out, Dad.”

“Sir, I’m just someone who happened to be around here looking for a job. Please, let me stand up and explain myself.”This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

“Jack, son, please… let him speak with a little dignity… But do check if he’s armed…”

“I’m not! I swear, I don’t have any weapons,” whined the frightened guy with bright yellow hair as he was dragged from the ground to his feet in one swift motion by his captor.

“What do you call this, then?” asked Jack in a demanding tone after finding an axe hanging from the guy’s belt at the back of his pants.

“Wait, isn’t this one of the axes that we award to our lumberjacks who pass their permanent status with the company?” his father gasped.

“It sure is, Dad… Alright, where the fuck did you get this from, creep?”

“It’s from a friend who recommended me to you guys. He wanted me to practice with it before I applied for a position in your lumberyard so I have a better chance of being accepted. And he said that if I kinda dropped his name, I would be able to get in.”

Jack’s thoughts: Wait, so if this is Max’s axe, whose axe was the one we saw in Eron’s camp?

The younger Schneider refocused his attention on the terrified man in front of him. “Well, the final decision still falls on me so tell me who the hell you are first and who your backer is before I give you any answers.”

“Alright, please. My name is Orlando De Narra and the one who’s helping me out is Maximilian Fuchs.”

“You’re Mad Max’s recommended worker?” the older Schneider cut in. “Yes, he did tell us about you, but through email. You received a copy of that too, didn’t you Jack?”

“I did, Dad, but I hardly thought that you would be coming over to our house just to apply for a position in our lumberyard, boy.”

“I’m sorry, I know it’s already quite late at night but I just happened to be near the area and thought of making a quick stopover here. I’m sorry if I was acting like a sneaky stalker or something like that, but you were all so busy talking I Didn’t want to interrupt.”

After a long pause, the oldest man in the group finally broke the silence. “Jack, your call?”

Jack sighed before answering, “It’s too late for me to talk to you tonight, so just go over to the lumberyard in the morning, Orlando. And just to make it clear, it’s not who recommends you that gets you in… it’s how you answer me during the interview and how you perform if you do get hired. Is that clear?”

“Y-yes, S-sir… Thank you, I’ll see you tomorrow. I promise.”

+++

So now, here was Orlando, once again standing a little shakily in front of him. Now Jack was wondering if the young man was a little scared because of him being in this room or because he was talking to Max earlier.

And the foreman couldn’t help but wonder if it’s the latter.

“Ok, close the door behind you, Orlando, like I said earlier, then sit down.”

“T-thank you, Sir.”

“I’d rather you call me Boss since I’m not exactly part of any royal line. But before I start asking questions about you, can I ask you about something – or someone – else…”

Jack could have sworn that Orlando swallowed hard first before he sat down. He then nodded before replying. “Of course, Boss. Whatever you want.”

“Alright, can I ask you about Max first and what your arrangements are, without you telling him?

+++

“Wow, that smells really good, kids. Let me guess, steak and eggs?” asked the hungry motorbike owner as he followed his landlady into the informal dining room and kitchen area of the Villa.

“Haha, I know you like meat, Eron, and so does Mama Diwa, so we decided to cook that for lunch, even if a lot of people prefer it for breakfast,” the eldest child replied while scooping out the food onto the serving plates.

“Erica, go ahead and feed me steak anytime, breakfast, lunch, or dinner and I will be a happy man. I am a total meat-a-saur.”

“Don’t you mean predator? It’s what we studied today in our home school books,” interrupted little Katya as she climbed on her chair with a smaller stuffed animal, which was a white pony this time. “There’s no such thing as a meat-a-saur.”

“I’m afraid you’re looking at him right now, baby girl. RRRAAAAAWWWRRR!” exclaimed Eron jokingly as he play-tickled the youngest Wolf child making her burst into delighted giggles. “Watch out, I’m going to get youuuuu!”

“NOOOO! Baby Pony, protect meeeeee!” squealed the littlest girl in the room while raising her white and fluidity stuffed toy as a shield against the mischievous but comical boarder who was now tickling her from behind. “The big bad wolf is about to eat meeeee!”

Eron almost choked at what he heard. “Wh-what? Me, the big bad wolf?

Katya gave him an impish smile and whispered her explanation as if she was sharing a secret. “Wuf Wuf said that you’re a nice big bad wolf, not like in the stories, because you will protect the three little pigs instead of eating them.”

“Hey, tell your stuffed wolf I’m not a pig, ok? Ahahaha!” the slightly chubby Erica retorted while she put the loaded plates on the table.

“Yeah, besides Eron isn’t eating anybody, right, Eron?” Macky interrupted while serving himself some steak.

“Uhhhh, yeah… I’m not… that bad…” The Charmer replied awkwardly as he also started to serve himself. Although I wouldn’t mind ‘eating’ a certain someone… Shut up, Eron! She’s just right there! Besides, you don’t fucking deserve her, remember?