VII - Fork
Warning: The first scene of this chapter is a bit dark and might be unsettling to some. If you want to avoid it, once Oxon finishes dressing, skip to the next scene. The first few paragraphs describe key outfit pieces that come into play later.
~~~(VII)~~~
One moment Oxon was enjoying a fun night and the next he was back in Prism. Stone walls with furs hanging on them indicated that he woke up in his bed in his family home.
"What in the hell?"
Getting out of his bed he quickly dressed in his wollen and fur outfit. Winter was upon them and as much as he enjoyed the cold, getting sick was a no go. After fixing his leather and bear fur outer layer, he grabbed his accessories. A trio of sashes were affixed to a freshly shined leather belt.
The sash on his left hip was green rectangular wool with a white horse in the center. On his right, nearer to his flank was a brown sash with a rounded bottom; its decorations showed a rooster and a moose stood under an oak tree. The final sash rested below his navel. It was slightly longer and made of a thin black cotton with a blue, eight spoke wheel in its center.
The last piece was a silver amulet that hung around his neck. It was roughly an inch in diameter and It held the same eight spoke wheel in its middle. On the back of the amulet was a bronze inlay of an acorn shined from a recent polish.
Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he's moved down the stairs to the main floor. "Damn, that was one weird dream last night, I think I need to fix my sleep schedule."
Taxus would probably be amused when he told him. His elder brother was always there to humor him.
Walking down stairs gave him a shock. The main room was charred and smoking. Furniture was flipped and torn, prints had claw marks running down them, ruining the images, and what was the worst was the pure grey forms of his family staring at him in a close formation.
His father, an older man whose prime may have left him, was standing the closest. His normally grey and green clothes were ripped and showing a nasty gash on his chest. He raised his hand and pointed accusingly at Oxon.
"You are no son of mine! No child I raised would be as worthless as you!" The monotone complexion was ruined by the sudden pouring of blood from his wounds and mouth.
His elder brother and mother stepped forward after. They each raised a finger as if to condemn him. As they spoke blood poured from wounds on their necks and chest.
"I thought you loved us? Why did you run away? We needed you to save us!"
"I can't believe you, after all the work I did to help you get stronger. You've become a criminal who preys on the innocent."
Stumbling back, he felt as if hands were clawing at his form, and the silver necklace began to glow red hot from their gestures. He felt searing pain on his sternum, even through the layers he wore.
"Father, mother, brother! What is the meaning of this? I never abandoned anyone!" He could feel himself sinking and a look down confirmed it. The faces of his friends were pulling him into the floor.
"Wait! You- you sent me away! I wanted to stay here and be with you!" He struggled in vain to shake off the limbs grabbing him. Their grip was too strong for him to get loose as his waist was sinking into the blackened stone. "I wanted to fight with you all! I tried to help!"
His brother now stood above him and rested his hand on Oxon's head. His normally kind face was set in a dead eyed look of disappointment. His brother, Taxus, then began to push him down further.
"You were supposed to use what I taught you to be an honorable man. Instead you shack up with the first group of low life's you found."
Oxon tried to plead his case to his brother. He tried desperately to tell him that he was still a good person, that he'd just made a mistake. The last thing he saw was the disdain in his brother's eyes.
~~~(VII)~~~
Oxon reawoke with a gasp. A face full of damp sheets greeted his panicked and wet eyes. He was slumped over the foot of his bed, his top half on top of the covers, and his legs and waist were hanging off.
Unprepared for the awkward sleeping position he fell all the way off with a heavy thud. The next thing he became aware of was a pounding in his head. Groaning, Oxon cursed himself and the morning that was quickly becoming a record for awfulness. He realized he was still fully clothed, he deduces that he must have stumbled in late and halfway made it onto the bed.
"Ughhhh… What was that?" Standing on unsteady legs, he made his way slowly to the bathroom. Stumbling to the sink he washed his face and took a few sips from the flowing tap. The mirror showed his face was a mess, hair sticking up at wild angles and deep bags under his eyes.
He knew he still had a few hours before he needed to start to get ready. He debated laying back down, but he didn't trust his mind when he fell asleep again. In the end he decided to take a long shower and get his look under control and just relax before his six pm shift.
~~~(VII)~~~
He wasn't able to fix the dark rings under his eyes, but thankfully the red glasses would help hide them. His headache had also blissfully left him. He removed his wrinkled clothes he'd slept in and changed into his uniform.
The club was preparing to finally open after a near week of being closed. They were warned that the break would only cause a higher number of visitors for the next few nights.
Like most recent examples, Oxon drew the short stick and was working that night. He knew about it last night and assumed he'd be fine the next day. Except he didn't have multiple heavy drinks in the equation. As per usual, his rule of never trusting Lisian was only strengthened.
Once he made his way to the bar, he picked up a list of drinks that were either low or empty. He received a few thumbs up from some of the guys. Unused to interactions of the sort, he gave awkward grins and returned the gestures when they occurred. The weirdest thing that happened was a pat on the back from a guy he had been sat with the night before.
"Good shit Ox, never knew you had it in you! Really aiming for the top, huh?"
Not being able to recall the reason had him accepting the praise out of a desire not to seem awkward. He didn't know what happened last night, and at this point he was beginning to worry. His memory from the celebration was fuzzy at best and completely blank after he was halfway through drink number three.
"Yeah, course man…"
He made his way further into the back rooms to retrieve the crates. It was clear the guys had no self control last night, at least thirty drinks were in need of restocking from last night. Three trips were needed in order to have the bar ready for reopening. He took his usual spot by the shelf and watched as the nights bartenders prepared their areas.
"As I live and breathe, Oxon! You're alive!" While no longer hungover, he could feel a headache forming from just one sentence. Turning his head he saw Lisian standing on the other side of the bar, the bastard managed to avoid working tonight.
"You have five seconds to split before I mount your head on the wall." Far from cowering, his smile got even larger. "I had quite possibly the worst night ever and I am choosing to exclusively blame you."
"My friend, whatever do you mean?" The snake placed his hands under his chin trying in vain to give off an innocent face. "I admit I gave you one drink, but everything after that was all you. It's hardly my fault you lost control of yourself."
While logically that was true. His pride and poor mood meant he wasn't going to be logical. "My frustration is immeasurable and my night was ruined. If I could get away with it, I'd execute you in front of city hall."
"And after I helped you become a man last night? Tell me, what was it like?"
"I don't remember half the night. Care to fill in some blanks?" The catfish grin and eye wiggle was not what he would call a sufficient answer. Nor were the strange innuendos.
His frustration was reaching its limit. That horrible nightmare, his pounding hangover, and the fact that he was still sore from an awkward sleeping position last night made for very little patience. The pulsing vein on his forehead tipped the cheshire asshole that it was time to let off.
"Hey, hey, chill man I'm just messing with ya." His expression relaxed into a more natural one. "It's nice to see you on your feet after last night. Me- someone had to drag you back to your room after you passed out at the bar. It was pretty funny to watch."
Great, he'd become what he swore to avoid. Becoming a drunk was not in his life goals, but he had to admit he enjoyed the first few hours. No, going back to that poison was a one way trip to alcoholism and he was far too young to throw his life away.
"Whatever, as long as I don't make a fool of myself I can live with it." The way Lisian didn't meet his eyes worried him. "I didn't throw up right, Li? Did I fight anyone? Start crying?" He ran through the more undesirable drunk types. Sad drunk he could live with, but a pukey or fighty drunk was a quick way to never drinking again.
"Well, you made some good impressions with the guys." The compliments from earlier made sense. "Though you might want to avoid the twins for a bit."
What?
"What?"
"Well you might not be on their bad side, though I doubt you made a great second impression on Melanie Malachite."
Oh brothers, please don't tell me I'm like Lisian when I drink? Please please please tell me I didn't flirt with a Malachite!
He began to sweat nervously, eyes darting about for any signs of the two.
"I didn't try to hit on her , right? I was told they were violently off limits." He'd been warned during his first few days that while the two were very attractive, they were also not one to be hit up. Some had apparently tried before and were never seen again. He began to fear not just the head on his shoulder.
"Well, I wouldn't call it flirting exactly. It was more like you were an overly excited puppy. Pretty funny actually, you should drink more often." A few snickers from the other guys nearby confirmed it and he felt his face heating up.
"The best part was when you called Melanie by her sister's name. Even worse was it was some sort of nickname or some shit. "Mil", ten outta ten my guy."
His red face showed the extent of his shame and embarrassment. "You think she'll let it go? I mean since I was drunk and all?" His heart hoped yes but the laughs of others told him no.
"Oh and it doesn't end there bud," oh brothers, how could it not stop there? "Once you became one with the floor, nobody was available to help you get back to your room and she graciously volunteered to help you back to your place." His hit eating grin came back like he knew it would.
"So, I'll ask again. How was your night?"
~~~(VII)~~~
The prediction of a busy night was underestimated. They anticipated needing extra hands on for the night. But the crowds that showed surpassed that within a few hours. The gang had to pull in extra bodies to handle the thick crowds.
In order to forget about his actions the previous night, he busied himself doing tasks that weren't required. He also did them multiple times. Not like he was good at anything else, no forests for miles. His only redeeming factor was the carry weight he could tolerate. Letting his mind go blank while working was about the only thing he felt was right. He'd seen the twins in the crowd a few times and immediately went to do any tasks as far away as he could.
He'd just avoided Miltia's attention by 'spontaneously' deciding to patrol the opposite end of the bar when an unexpected and unwelcome guest showed up.
"Hello there, random nameless mook, I was wondering if your boss was available?" Roman Torchwick was lazily leaning against the counter. This was the asshole that had them fight an unbeatable kid while he watched. If the man noticed Oxon's disdain, then he hardly cared enough to comment.
"I have another little operation coming up and need some non-animalistic support for a few side roles."
Oxon wanted nothing more than to feed the man his own cigar, but he was on the clock and official business like this meant doing his job instead. Grumbling, he went to where he knew Tony would be and informed him of the issue.
"Thanks for the heads up Oxon, head back and tell him that Junior will be in contact." Tony headed to the staircase that led to the main offices to speak with the top boss. Oxon felt like he couldn't be bothered to rush back to the jerk, so he made his way slowly and chatted to a few others about if they needed anything from storage.
He wasn't going to push his luck too much. Just enough to feel better about inconveniencing him. His work seemed to pay off if the bored and frustrated Torchwick was anything to go off of. "Finally! Are the lot of you this slow or just you?" It seemed he'd waited long enough to light a full new cigar. The frustration on his face was gratifying beyond comparison.
Heh, suck it.
"I was told to tell you to wait for Junior to contact you. Will that be everything you need?" He really wanted to be done with the guy, the events of that night would be forever seared in his mind. That helpless feeling was something he never wanted to repeat.
The bar phone rang and one of the bartenders went to pick it up. It was a direct line that connected to a myriad of other ones throughout the building, not just for outgoing lines. The conversation was hard to make out due to the din of the crowds, not like he particularly cared about it anyway. The guy hung up and gestured for Oxon to speak to him.
The guy explained that the boss was ready to speak with Torchwick. Someone was supposed to lead him up there, courtesy and all that. Since he wasn't technically doing anything important, Oxon of course had the privilege of escorting the flamboyant ginger.
The two made their way through the building in silence, anger rolling off Oxon in waves. Sadly, said silence did not last. Torchwick finally commented on the not so subtle looks. "You seem frustrated. What? Not gotten any recently?"
"No."
"Feeling inferior to my good looks and superior threads?"
"No."
"Personal maybe?" Yeah, he could say that. "What, I robbed a relative or something?"
"No relatives."
"Hmmmmm… Maybe a friend of yours was arrested the other night." The angry twitch in his face gave him all the info he needed. "Well it's hardly my fault, those fools couldn't deal with one damn kid. Clearly not like you lost much."
"I was one of those 'fools' you left, Torchwick." While the rest wasn't necessarily wrong, it still pissed him off to hear such casual disregard for the men he used. Even if he wasn't personally affected, he'd still hate the guy.
"Well now, this is a surprise. It seems one of you lot was smart enough to bounce before Vales finest picked you up out of the craters Little Red put you in." The fake cheer was sickening. How he wished he could hit the guy.
Growling in response seemed to do nothing but amuse the man. Probably got off on the suffering of others. "Yeah, lot of help you were, just fucking standing around puffing away."
"Like I was gonna be the one to test her out. Thanks to your noble sacrifice I was able to put together her fighting style. Appreciate it, really, I do."
Before the two could continue, they arrived at the door to Junior's office. Giving him a salty send-off, Oxon stomped his way back to the main floor. Torch-prick was Junior's problem now, and Oxon could go back to the relative stability of the club.
Once back to his station, he continued to complete minor tasks. He helped out by getting items like drinks and high-salt peanuts from storage. There were occasional arguments at the bar or on the floor, but he and a few others were able to set everyone straight.
All in all. The night was going fairly well.
~~~(VII)~~~
Junior was in a good mood. The reopening was a success if the noise from downstairs was anything to go by. The men were in good spirits from the celebration last night, and so far it seemed like things were looking up. Then he got a message that Roman was here and wanted to talk.
Junior had been both waiting for and dreading a meeting from the red headed thief in front of him. Though, he half expected Roman to not even bother showing up again. It had been almost a week since three out of the four men lent to him were arrested in a failed robbery. While he did not expect his men to hold a candle to any kind of huntress, the repeated failures were heavy on his mind.
"Hello to you too, Hei, what's wrong? Not going to greet little ol me?"
The man sat in one of the chairs set in front of his desk, thankfully he had the manners to extinguish his nasty habit before its smell stuck to his room. He'd had a glass of brandy on his desk, though he wasn't about to offer any to the man. This conversation was already giving the man a migraine.
"Roman."
"Why yes, good friend?" The man's grin didn't fit the emotions Hei felt, but it's what Roman was known for, being a prick.
"My men. Do you know what happened to them?" Even if there was nothing to be done for them, he had to make a show of it for the rest. Besides, he needed to know if any were talking.
"Last time I saw them was when I bravely led that huntress-tyke away from them so I could take her on. It was an epic clash of skill, but ultimately I won, and would have gotten away cleaner except for a real huntress joining the fray. But from what I hear, they got picked up by Beacon and given to the cops." He'd not heard about an adult helping the kid, from all accounts in the news, it was a fifteen year old kid that single handedly fought off the group. Now why would they keep out the elders' involvement?
"Do you have any information on them? I'd like to know if we might have to deal with them."
Roman leaned back in his chair and had a look of concentration. Surly he had something on them. "The squirt was some unknown from who cares, but the adult was none other than the Good Witch of Beacon. She was pretty scary if I'm honest. But get this, the kid, who is only fifteen, that interrupted my redelegation of goods? She got placed into Beacon early, a direct decision by the headmaster, one of my contacts in the force told me himself."
Admission into the top combat academy on Remnant? And a whole two years early? Now that was news. The school was known for some of the strictest standards, Hei knew this, he'd attempted to get the girls enrolled in order to boost their strength. Of course, he received a letter on his desk from the headmaster that politely asked him to reconsider his move. Needless to say, he kept away from that school and its dealings.
"Two years huh, I suppose you don't know the old headmaster's reasons?" A shot in the dark, but having info like this would be good for him. Sadly Roman disappointed him with a negative on that.
"Enough about the brat and her ladder climbing, the reason I'm here is for another deal." Roman was bold, he'd give him that.
"After the last time? When seventy five percent got locked up? No way." Hei didn't trust the man a wink to actually try to retain them longer than a night.
"I know the last time was rough, but we've had such a good relationship until then. I'm also not opposed to sweetening your pot." The thief pulled out a dust crystal and a stack of lien. The shine on the crystal was good, and the numbers he saw interested him. "Lets just say that my partners are well stocked in both lien and dust, and I can pay handsomely for a few good and smart minions."
Smart members he wanted to keep for himself, if he accepted, he'd give up some of the hardly above average ones. He had a few decent guys that he'd be willing to lend, not special, but good enough to satisfy Roman. If He could really get paid to rent them out and get dust as well? Then this might be worth it.
"If I agree to this, what reassurance do I have that you won't lose them and demand replacements?" As promising a deal as it was, He wasn't about to start bleeding men for the man. One here and there might be fine. But another catastrophic loss would end future arrangements.
"You have my word because the work I'm undertaking would get more tedious if someone was captured and they spoke to the law. I'll need competent people though, or else there would be issues down the line." As good a reason as any, self interest was a strong motivator.
"I can put together a list of people if I know how many you need. Don't worry about quality, I'll make sure the guys will know what's at stake." He was pulling out some files out of his drawer when the thief cleared his throat to grab his attention.
"Can I make a request? Send me the kid that was there for the last heist. He might be useful for our plans."
To say Hei was surprised was an understatement, while he hid it well, he was shocked the man wanted the guy. Sure, he was the only guy to make it back, but it wasn't like he was what one would call a high tier gang member. He searched deeper in the drawer for his file, and it wasn't a very impressive one. He handed it to Roman to look at and see for himself.
"Sure, not like he's all that special, he might be a little stronger than average, but his combat skills aren't really all that great." The only combat he's actually been successful in is when he is breaking up drunken fights. "I doubt he'd last a week, kid's not really cut out for this life. Your little excursion is so far the only crime he's committed, apart from joining a gang. Besides, he's a bit young isn't he?"
Roman's grin stayed strong as he read through the information given. "Oh don't you worry about his skills, I've been looking for someone like him for a while now. If all goes well, it will make things run even smoother."
Setting down the files, Roman gave a winning grin. "After all, someone young, alone with no family, and best of all susceptible to coercion and pressure? Well that's a real winning combo we've got here."
Down on the main floor, Oxon felt a shiver run through him despite the warm temperature of the main floor.
~~~(VII)~~~
Dun dun dunnnn! Things keep getting worse for our MC,will his luck ever change from anything other than garbage? I wonder what dear roman could want with him?
"Well it ain't his winning smile that's for sure" - Roman, probably.
As for an update schedule; there is none. I try to update at least once a week, or even more when feeling particularly bored. I mean, everyone benefits from more chapters right?
~~~(VII)~~~
OMAKE:
Oxon took the notes from the outstretched hand of Cinna. He was told that it was a drink order from the twins. Not unusual, they occasionally requested a drink or two after a shift. Reading the first half was normal. Miltia wanted a Watermelon Shrub and a Pink Squirrel. The second order was a bit off putting.
"Hey Li, I need help figuring out this order." The man in question had been relaxing at the bar hitting on anything with legs. So pretty much a normal night.
"Why you askin' me? I'm not on the clock. Ask one of the other guys." He tried to wave Oxon off but the paper wouldn't let him.
"Well, the request Miltia gave is pretty normal, but Melanie? Not quite. She asked for a regular drink, a White Atlesian. It's the next part that confuses me is this." He leaned over the counter and showed him the paper. "This right here, "Lisians head," what's this about?"
A spooked look was on his face for a brief moment before a cheshire grin made its way forth. "Oh? Which head? If this is how she wants her point to get across then I'm not against it."
"Which head?" Oxon was confused by the question but looked at the second paper anyways. "I don't kn- oh, yeah, actually it does clarify." He decided to read out the message for Lisian's benefit as well as his own.
"In case that itty-bitty bastard asks, I mean the head attached to his shoulders, preferably detached from them on a plate. He might talk big, but he's probably over compensating for his micro p-" A hand shot out to cover his mouth. Lisian had reached over to mute that sentence before the rest could be said. With a nervous chuckle he looked around to make sure none of the girls he'd been hitting on were near.
"Haha, good one, super funny." For once, the man's laughter seemed nervous. Just what did he do to get on her bad side? Oh, right. "Knew that'd come back to bite me."
Releasing Oxon's mouth, he finished his drink and started to stand. "Well, as much as I'd like to stick around and chat up more hunnies, I am feeling sleepy all of a sudden. Best get back to bed to be all rested for tomorrow. If you see any of the Malachites, Melanie especially, be a doll and tell her I went in the opposite direction or that I was never here." With that he not so subtly booked it out of the club.
As he watched his retreat, he noticed a flash of white from one of the balconies opposite the bar. The Malachite in white was leaned over the railing with a vicious smile as she watched Lisian make his exit. Once he was gone, she flashed Oxon a smile and a thumbs up before heading back to the room's interior.
I don't even want to know what that was. Sorry Li, no way in hell I'm getting in her way.