Chapter 2: Strangest Stranger
After Seth's humiliating prank on Adam, the Lycanroc did his best to expect the unexpected. He didn't like being the butt of anyone's jokes, but Mr. Seth was his new boss, so he pretty much had to deal with any of his spontaneous pranks. He wasn't taking any chances of upsetting him and being sent to jail.
Luckily a majority of his day was normal. In the morning, he would hear the breakfast bell, go downstairs, say "Good Morning" to Mr. Seth, Howie, and Klaus, and take his breakfast upstairs. Then he would put on his uniform, and meet Klaus in the foyer for his orders for the day.
He only had to do little things, like cleaning the floor in certain spaces, sweeping the driveway, or tending to the garden in some way, shape, or form. Normal things you'd expect someone to do when working in a manor. It was fairly easy... most of the time.
The catch was Mr. Seth, who was always there somehow. When he cleaned the floor, the fox would sit on his cleaning cart and make small comments, like "You missed a spot" before throwing a napkin or something similar on the floor. Then he laughed when Adam picked it up. He also liked to hide things like his cleaning supplies, and often spurred moments of hide and seek by becoming invisible when Adam had a question for him before hiding in a random spot in the house. He felt less like a hired servant and more like a babysitter each day.
The Zoroark usually tried to make conversation with him, but Adam had no interest in conversing with his somewhat childish boss. He just wanted to get his daily tasks done efficiently so there wouldn't be any pile up.
Because somehow, in a manor with only three people in it besides myself, there's a new mess every day. I seriously wonder how Klaus managed as the Head Servant by himself before I got here...
And today was no different. Or so he thought. It began with breakfast. He went downstairs in response to the breakfast bell, as per usual. Seth was already downstairs and had begun eating. Adam did a polite bow, and smiled.
"Good morning."
He grabbed his food platter, but before he could leave to go upstairs, Seth called out to him.
"Wait, Adam, why don't you stay downstairs and eat for a change? It couldn't hurt could it?"
Adam felt really awkward. As much as he wanted to turn the Zoroark down, he felt slightly guilty about doing so, and sat back down.
"Um…alright."
He removed the cover from his plate, revealing delicious looking pancakes with strawberries on top. He poured the syrup over them, and began cutting them up and eating.
Seth smiled at him and sipped his coffee.
"See? I'm not gonna bite ya."
Adam only nods, and continues eating. He may have agreed to eat downstairs for a change, but that didn't mean he wanted to engage in conversation.
"So uhhh, what did you do before all this? You know, besides all the stealing? Did you have a job?"
Seth snickered a little, and Adam silently grumbled.
"Not much. I lived a normal life just like everyone else."
Seth bit a piece of toast and nodded.
"I see I see. Where'd ya live? I don't go into Mauville City often. Is it nice?"
Adam shrugged and continued eating.
"Eh, it's okay."
Seth only chuckled in response.
"Are you originally from Mauville, or did you move from somewhere else?"
Adam keeps eating, trying his best not to show complete disinterest in the attempted conversation.
"Nope. I'm from Lavaridge."
He looked back down at his food, only looking back up when Seth chuckled as a response.
"You reeeeeeally don't wanna talk to me, huh?"
Adam stopped eating for a moment. He stared at the smirking Zoroark, unsure of how to respond.
No shit. Of course I don't. But I can't just tell him that.
Seth finished off his coffee and stood up.
"You don't have to answer, it's written all over your face heh. But don't worry. I plan on changing that. You may be here for "community" service, but seeing as you'll be staying for a while, we might as well get used to each other right? Be friendly and all that."
Adam was visibly confused. Who would want to try to be friends with a supposed convict? Adam had met many people in his lifetime and Seth was definitely one of the stranger ones. But he did at least agree, somewhat. If he was going to be living here for a while, he might as well make the most of it. At least until Detective Vega finishes his investigation and he can leave.
"Um…I suppose so."
Seth claps his hands together and wipes his face off.
"Perfect! I know just the thing for us to do then. When you're finished eating, meet Klaus in the foyer like you've always done, and he'll instruct you on what to do next."
With that, Seth leaves the dining room quickly, clearly excited. Adam sighed as the Zoroark left him alone.
I just wanted to eat my breakfast in peace…
Soon after he finished eating, he met Klaus in the foyer as he was told. The Blimp Pokemon hands him a box.
"That's your uniform for the day. After you've changed, Master Seth is waiting for you at the courts in the back."
The Lycan eyes the box suspiciously, before squinting back at the Head Servant.
"This isn't another girls uniform is it?"
Klaus chuckles and waves his suspicions away.
"Nonsense, I fetched that uniform myself. Besides, the master won't be doing something like that again."
Adam raises a brow as he opens the box, revealing an exercise outfit, consisting of a tank top, a pair of shorts, and a sweatband. He closes it back up and holds the box at his side.
"What makes you say that?"
Klaus adjusts his monocle before using Psychic to grab a water spray bottle and spraying a nearby plant.
"Well, the first time was merely a test of sorts, to see how you'd respond to his actions. Not something solely meant for his amusement, though I won't say that that wasn't a part of his reason for doing that."
Adam only grows more confused.
"Sorry what? A test? Klaus what are you saying?"
He floats over and sprays another plant lightly.
"I'll put it this way Mr. Stonehide, if you had responded rashly or angrily when finding out you were being toyed with, Master Seth's approach to you would be different."
A lightbulb went off in Adam's head.
"He was trying to see if I would resort to violence easily as a response to provocation, while also entertaining himself by messing with me, right?"
Klaus sprays Adam in the face with the spray bottle, making the Lycanroc stumble back a bit.
"Wrong. He wasn't trying to test how you respond to provocation, he was trying to gauge whether or not he could comfortably toy with you. Master Seth has his reasons for having you here, which I'm sure he plans to tell you eventually. Aside from that, he genuinely wants to be friendly towards you. I'll just say, if he believed you to be a common criminal, you'd be rotting alongside them in Hoenn Prison."
Klaus floats on to the next plant, leaving Adam even more confused than when their conversation began.
I just don't understand either of them. *sigh* Oh well, best not keep him waiting.
After changing into the sporty shirt and shorts alongside a blue headband, Adam makes his way to the backyard. He spots Mr. Seth, wearing the same uniform as him, sitting on a bench by the tennis court. The Zoroark's disposition brightens when he spots Adam walking over.
"Ah there you are! I was beginning to think you got lost!"
He walks over and hooks an arm around Adam's shoulder, making him slightly uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what the Zoroark had planned for them, but he kept his guard up just in case he was up to something.
"Sorry, I was talking to Klaus about something. I'm ready for…what are we doing?"
Seth walks to the side and grabs two tennis rackets from a pile of other sport related items. He walks over and hands one to Adam.
"You and I are playing games today! Tennis, Mini Golf, and then I have a console in the living room!"
Adam raised a brow while tilting his head with mild skepticism.
"Really? Games? Does this even count as "community" service? Not that I'm complaining or anything."
Seth laughed and walked to one side of the tennis court.
"Sure it does! As long as you're under my employment, I decide what counts as community service work. And today's work is to entertain me by being my game buddy for the day. Now come on, let's play!"
Adam shrugged his shoulders. He'd never played Tennis in particular, but he knew the rules, and was definitely no slouch when it came to physical activity. Hell if it meant not getting to do chores, he wouldn't object. He walked to the other side of the court and readied himself.
Seth was serving first, but when he threw the ball up, his eyes glowed gold, and suddenly a purple cloud of smoke enveloped the court. The ball disappeared in the cloud, and Adam heard a firm smack. Adam took a swing, at least attempting to return the ball. The smoke cleared, showing that Adam had missed the ball completely. Seth laughed and donned a clever smirk.
"I might have forgotten to mention that my courts follow a strict rule of there being no rules. Anything goes Lycan-boy. 15-love."
Adam rolled his eyes. He half expected it to be a normal game of Tennis, but this turn of events made more sense.
That's alright, two can play at that game.
Seth went to serve again, but this time, Adam was ready. When Seth smacked the ball across the court, he used Night Shade again, and Adam used Counter to ensure he returned the ball, knocking it back towards Seth. Before the Zoroark could move however, he used Stone Edge to create miniature stone pillars by Seth's feet, keeping him in place as the ball sailed passed him.
Adam tossed his racket back and forth with pride, and Seth matched his smile.
"Nice one Adam! That's the spirit! Now it's a game! 15 all!"
He tossed the ball once more, not using Night Shade, and Adam returned it like normal, hitting it towards the far side of the court. It was still returned however, as Seth used an Illusion to make a clone of himself and return the ball. Adam barely had time to use Counter to return it.
The two kept going with this back and forth. With Seth creating more clones, and using Night Shade to cover the court. Adam did his best to return with Counter, and used Stone Edge to create pillars that would block the ball and return it as if he'd hit it. This went on for about an hour before both of them collapsed from exhaustion by the net, rackets in hand.
Seth looks over at Adam and smiles.
"I *huff* didn't think you'd last this long. *huff* Most people quit once they realize I play dirty."
Adam wipes the sweat off of his brow and chuckles a little.
"I didn't want to let you get away with that, so I decided to fight fire with fire. I did have fun though, even with all the clones."
Adam gives Seth a side glare, making him laugh.
"Ha! You have no room to talk with those pillars. Damn things ruined my entire strategy. But it was well played."
The both of them stand up, and wipe off their clothes. Seth puts his racket aside.
"I was gonna make you play No Rules Golf, but after that I think you deserve a break. Go freshen up, have some lunch, and then we can relax and play some games in the living room. You don't have to worry about putting your uniform back on, just wear whatever."
Adam nodded, and started to go back inside.
He didn't think he'd be playing a full match of no holds barred Tennis in a place like this, but there he was. He admits that he can be very competitive in any given scenario, and loves a challenge. So Seth's little cheating spin on Tennis made things more interesting, and made Adam all the more determined to beat him.
Hm. That was actually kinda fun…
He went to shower, then made his way to the dining room just in time for lunch. Howie was just about to ring the bell, when he saw Adam.
"Ah, perfect timing. Today's lunch is a crispy fish sandwich."
He puts a platter on the table and takes the top off, revealing his meal.
"It looks great, thanks Howie!"
The Sneasel nods and turns to walk back to the kitchen, before stopping.
"Hey Adam, I got a question for ya."
Adam, swallows the bite he had already taken, and looks over.
"Hm? What's up?"
Howie walks back over and sits on the table next to him.
"Before you got here, the boss explained to us that he paid your bail and that a convict would be stayin' with us for a while. He also said some other things that I wasn't listenin' enough to hear, but he ended it with that we should treat you like a normal person, instead of saying to keep an eye on you, or to be careful since you might be dangerous. He wanted us to treat you like we would another guest, as opposed to a servant or someone who could hurt us. So with that being said, I just wanted to know…"
Adam gulped down the bite he took. Howie seemed like an interesting person so far, so he wondered what he wanted to ask. He took another bite as he waited for the Sneasel to continue.
"What kinda women are you into?"
Adam nearly choked on his food. He coughed a bit but swallowed the bite he took, and drank some water.
"Huh!?" Huh?
Howie laughs and hands Adam a napkin.
"Come oooon, we're both guys, you can tell me. I just wanna know more about ya is all. Don't be shy!"
Adam wipes his face off and turns completely red.
You wanna know more about someone and that's the first thing you ask?!
Adam looks away, and Howie tilts his head curiously.
"I'm uh…I'm not into women…"
He waits for Howie's reaction before continuing. He knows most people don't care but he's always been sensitive about his sexual orientation. He feels relieved when Howie chuckles instead.
"Ohh you're- got it! Sorry man, didn't mean to make it awkward for ya! It's all good, I couldn't care less who ya like, if anything I just have more questions! Like what kinda men do you like in that case?"
Adam laughed alongside him, feeling a little less awkward.
"I never really thought about it. I only dated one person before all this, so I haven't explored that kind of thing."
Howie puts a claw on his chin and nods.
"I understand! Then let's give you a little hypothetical. Let's take the boss. You've been here for a couple weeks now, what do you think of him so far?"
Adam looks down at his food. He'd been trying to avoid Mr. Seth when he wasn't working, so he hadn't seen much of his personality outside of his pestering and teasing. He seems somewhat childish, but not in a "he needs to grow up" way, and from today he learned that he likes to have fun.
"The simplest way to put it is that he seems strange, I guess."
Howie laughs loudly and covers his eyes.
"Fair enough! But that's not what I meant. I mean, he's a good lookin guy isn't he? Do you like playful guys? Do any of his qualities appeal to you?"
Adam turns red again and looks away.
"I-I can't answer those! What if someone else hears?"
Howie chuckles and walks closer, and moves the now empty plate out of the way.
"It's fiiiiiine, the only others here are Klaus and the boss himself. So no need to worry. But I understand if you don't wanna bother. Truth be told…"
Adam backs away slightly as Howie leans in to whisper.
"The boss is 25 years old now, and hasn't dated anyone yet. He's been devoted to his work from a young age, but now he has a lot more free time. Someone like you would be a perfect match for him, hehe."
Adam turns a brighter red and gets back up.
"Alright alright! I'm finished eating so I'm gonna go meet up with him like he told me to bye!"
Adam exits the room swiftly, leaving behind a laughing Sneasel.
He walked through the hall, doing his best to calm down after Howie's obvious teasing.
What did he mean, someone like me?
The last thing he wanted was for him to start looking at Seth in that way. It's only been a few weeks first off. Second, he didn't want to get involved with some oddball rich guy. He knew Howie was just trying to mess with him, but still, he didn't want to think about it.
He goes upstairs to the bathroom to wash his face and clear his head before meeting Mr. S-... Seth in their massive living room to play some video games. Seth was already there waiting. He had apparently gathered some snacks, chips and soda for the both of them.
"'Bout time you showed up! We aren't getting any younger, you know."
Adam sat down next to him, rolling his eyes. He grabbed one of the controllers and put it in front of him, but Seth put his paw on top of it.
"Ah ah ah! I have something for you first."
He reaches behind him and hands him a box, and Adam looks at it suspiciously. This wouldn't be the first time he had been given a gag gift from Seth. The first one was one of the cleaning liquids he was looking for to wash the floors, that he had spent all day trying to find. Another time he gave him a cup of water on an especially hot day, and he was outside working. But it was an illusion and it disappeared as soon as he went to drink it. Seth did tell Klaus to get him some lemonade right after so he wasn't too upset about that one.
"Is this another of your pranks? This isn't gonna disappear too right? My ass still hurts from when you replaced my chair with an illusion that one time."
He stared silently as he opened the box, where a new cell phone had been placed. It was a better model than his old phone, and much more expensive. Adam remained skeptical, and raised a brow at the Zoroark.
"Is this gonna explode or something?"
Seth laughed loudly, and shook his head.
"Pfft, no! Klaus told me that you never got your phone back from the police. So I had him order a new one for you. It actually arrived early. I already paid the bill for your first month, so you'll be able to use it right away. Take it. It's yours."
Adam was actually touched. It was an actual gift, and a thoughtful one at that. Adam put the phone down carefully and stood up.
"I don't understand…Aren't I meant to be a…a servant? Why are you being so generous?"
Seth chuckles and leans forward on his paws.
"Well Adam, something you'll come to learn is that I treat my servants like family. But only those who are willing to reciprocate my familial gestures. If you hadn't agreed to play games with me today, or if you had let me win because I'm your boss, I would have understood our dynamic better. But you've gone along with my jokes, and played along with my antics. Most people have not. Hence why the only people living here now are myself, Klaus, Howie, and now you."
Adam sits back down and sighs. He didn't fully understand, but even he wouldn't complain about someone trying to be nice. Though he felt a bit like an asshole for avoiding the Zoroark when he wasn't working.
"Alright fine…I get it. Thank you for the phone. I ..I appreciate it. And that Tennis game isn't over by the way, we are gonna finish at some point right?"
Seth laughs and switches on the HexBox.
"Whenever you're ready to lose we can play. But for now, you get to be a victim of my gaming skills."
Adam picks up his controller.
"This'll be different from last time! I'm ready for whatever cheat you've planned!"
Seth picks a game he had installed, and they get started.
(Later that night)
After the two of them spent the rest of the evening playing together, laughing and enjoying themselves, Adam went to his room for the night. Adam got to see a side of his employer that he hadn't yet. Sure he knew was a playful jokester and loved pranks, but he didn't realize that it actually caused people to leave him. He would have to think about that next time he came close to losing his cool as a result of his pranks.
The Lycan flopped on his bed, and decided to set up his new phone. He wanted to get it out of the way now so he wouldn't have to worry about it later, otherwise it'd be a hassle.
First he thought about whose contacts he would add. He didn't really have any friends in school, he knew Ethan's number, but he wasn't going to go out of his way to speak to him any time soon. Then he remembered Detective Vega gave him his card so he could keep in contact with him.
He got up and looked around in his drawers and dresser until he found it. Just like he'd hoped, it had the Detective's phone number on it. He added him to his contacts.
Hm. I haven't seen or heard from him since…
Adam has a brief flashback of his last meeting with Detective Vega, where he was wearing a maid dress and was made to look cute. His face turns red from embarrassment.
Yeah I definitely need to apologize for that. I hope he didn't give up or anything because of what happened.
The aforementioned Detective was actually working overtime at the office. He had finally convinced the Chief to let him have a look at the evidence for the Stonehide case, though he was acting strangely while they spoke. Victor was trying to see if anything was overlooked. He was looking over the testimony from the neighbors, which seemed odd in their own right, when his phone buzzed. He grabbed it out of his pocket, and read the text from the unknown number.
Unknown: Hey! It's Adam, the Lycanroc. I was given a new phone and decided to reach out to you and thank you for helping me out with my case. And I also wanted to apologize for our last meeting, it was a prank my boss was playing on me. If you ever wish to contact me with information or to get information, you can call or text this number. I'll try to help however I can.
Victor smiled a little, he was glad he finally had a way to reach him, he could ask him important questions and gather testimony that was apparently never gathered from Adam himself, and make his investigation way easier. It would still take a while, but at least there'd be less eggshells for him to walk over.
Me: Of course Adam, it's my job to make sure a proper investigation is conducted, and that any and all evidence collected either proves or disproves your apparent conviction. I'll appreciate your cooperation in the future, and feel free to reach out to me whenever you need anything.
He had to make sure he didn't give any sort of hope to him. He may seem like a nice and somewhat sweet Lycanroc, but there's always a chance he's a complete criminal underneath that pleasant façade. But that chance didn't mean he would do his job any less diligently. Whether he's the true criminal or not, the Glaceon was bound by his word.
He set his phone down, and got back to work.
(End Chapter)