Now garbed in his official work uniform, Mick was now all set to begin his first task. Before he could make a start though, he had to listen to Reginald's instructions to the letter lest he ended up making too many mistakes on his first day. However, as the Cat Demon continued to listen intently as he and the Imp walked up the stairs to the second floor, he found Reginald's words to be a bit more… condescending than he would have liked.
"While we all appreciate the fact that the Princess and her father admire all that you've done for her, all your familiarities must now cease immediately," he said, much to Mick's annoyance. "From now on, as a member of staff, you must not act so casually while addressing the Goetias. As such, you will now address the family as follows: Master, Sir, Madame, Your Majesties, or Miss Goetia. You are to remain silent unless spoken to. When you ARE spoken to, keep all answers short and to the point. Are we clear so far?"
"Yes," Mick answered respectfully, though still hiding a small scowl under his mask.
"And NO slacking off," Reginald continued sternly. "We may be a little understaffed since the Extermination but that won't stop the family from firing you."
Okay seriously, what A-hole spat in THIS guy's coffee this morning!? True, Mick understood that a tight ship must be run for a home such as this, but that didn't mean that this Imp had to talk to him like he was an idiot kid! Whatever. He'll indulge him now and figure things out later.
"Understood," he said, earning a small nod from the Imp as they both started walking through the second-floor corridor, causing a series of horrible flashbacks of the previous day to flood through Mick's mind.
"Now since you're new, we'll be starting you off with a number of different jobs to see where your talents lie," Reginald explained, quickly regaining the Cat Demon's intrigue. "If and when you excel at any specific job, THAT shall be your new official position. The Goetias expect top results from all members of the household no matter what the circumstances, so we find this method to be the most useful when deciding on each member's specific department."
"I see," Mick commented, nodding his head in understanding. "Sounds simple enough."
This continued for a few minutes until finally the two of them stopped just outside one of the guest bedroom doors, one which Mick seemed to find oddly familiar.
"Now, your first instructor shall be our resident head maid, Miss Jewel," Reginald stated. "Be sure to follow her example as carefully as possible."
However, the moment that particular name rang in his ears, Mick's eyes snapped wide open in horror.
"Wait, what?" he choked.
At that very moment, as if to add visual to the Imp Butler's words, the door of the bedroom suddenly slammed open, revealing a familiar face looking back at Mick with thirsty eyes.
"Hello, handsome," she said seductively.
The moment Jewel showed her grinning her face, biting her lower lip as she mentally stripped Mick down while looking at him from head to toe, only one course of action came to Mick's mind… RUN!
"Goodbye!" he squealed, quickly breaking into a run.
However, before the Cat Demon could even take a single step, he was suddenly pulled back by his tail and ended up flat on his face, once again he cursed his rotten luck for having such a long appendage.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold your horses, big boy!" Jewel giggled, dropping the end of Mick's tail to the floor. "No need to be so skittish."
"NO NEED!?" Mick repeated, getting back to his feet. "You tried to RAPE me!"
For some reason, Jewel turned sheepish at that.
"Yeah sorry about that," she said, placing a hand behind her head. "Normally I have my urges under a bit more control, but I'll admit I… kinda got a little excited back then."
"A LITTLE!?" Mick snapped.
"Well, can you blame me!?" Jewel retorted. "I mean come on! There I am, doing my job as always, then all of a sudden a hot, young hunk of meat comes running in, completely naked no less, and I'm NOT gonna take advantage of that!?"
Mick just couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did this Imp seriously have NO shame whatsoever!? Even the Succubi he used to work with had more restraint than this lady! Before another word could be spoken between them, however, Reginald regained their attention by clearing his throat.
"Despite your poor introduction, Michael, I'm afraid you don't have any say in this matter," Reginald pointed out. "Besides, while Miss Jewel admittedly may be somewhat perverted, I assure you that she takes her job quite seriously."
"Dead right," Jewel added with a small shrug. "I mean it IS Hell, if you can't handle a little workplace drama, then you're better off getting that fine ass of yours out of here."
Once again Mick felt his left eye twitch with anxiety. He's really supposed to work under this pervert!? The very idea made his skin crawl beneath his fur. What made it worse was the fact that he was going to be left ALONE with this Imp, so who knows what twisted scenario she's already cooking up in her head!?
"Very well," Reginald sighed, before turning back towards the stairs. "I shall leave you to it, Miss Jewel. Once you're done, you'll come to me for your next task."
"Fine." Mick sighed. "Can I at least have a taser or pepper spray?"
"We've tried those. ...They don't work." Reginald replied with a tired face at the memory of all previous attempts to control the Imp Maid.
"Peachy," Mick replied sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.
When Reginald was finally out of sight, Mick could only gulp as Jewel looked back at him with fluttering eyes.
"Well then, what are we to do with you then?" she asked playfully.
"You're the instructor here," Mick retorted. "You tell me."
However, Jewel merely waved a finger in Mick's face in response to such a remark.
"Ah, ah, ah," she said. "There'll be no backtalk, big boy. Not when there's work to be done."
Seeing that he wasn't going to have much room to argue, Mick let out a heavy sigh of defeat.
"What would you have me do?" he asked, lowering his head.
"Alright, first job: Cleaning!"
The moment Jewel made the announcement while gesturing towards the destroyed room she and Mick were now in, the Cat Demon's jaw dropped so far, it practically poked out from beneath his mask.
"Oh sweet mercy," he muttered.
In all honesty, he wasn't all that surprised to find out he would be tasked with cleaning this particular room. Still, now that he was able to get a second glance with a bit more light and without having to defend himself, he could easily see the full extent of the damage he added when he started fighting that abomination of a toy. Needless to say, seeing all the extra pieces of broken furniture, along with the new scorch marks didn't relieve Mick's anxiety one bit.
"As you can see, your tussle with the wooden pest has left quite a bit of destruction in this room," Jewel began, gesturing to the entire room. "So your first job is to get rid of anything that's damaged, and then assist me in cleaning up afterwards."
"In other words, everything has to go," Mick replied, quickly noting that there was literally NOTHING left that remained undamaged.
"Yeah, pretty much," Jewel agreed, giving a small shrug.
At those words, another sigh escaped Mick's mouth. True to Reginald's word, the Imp was indeed taking her job seriously, at the very least she wasn't trying to squeeze in any innuendos in her speech… yet. Deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt for now, the Cat Demon straightened himself up and mentally psyched himself for the task at hand.
"Where will I be taking all the junk?" he asked.
"Oh, just downstairs and out the back," Jewel instructed, pointing her thumb out the window. "Don't worry about sorting it or anything. Just pile it up outside and Buzz will toss the whole lot of them in the chipper later."
"Understood," Mick replied, literally rolling up his sleeves.
Seeing that Mick was somewhat enthusiastic about the work, Jewel couldn't help but smile… before biting her lip at the very thought of him sweating.
Quickly shaking her head to fight her urges, the Imp Maid quickly decided to distract herself by walking over to the pile of cleaning supplies she and Mick brought into the room with them.
"Now obviously carrying some of this stuff is a two-person job so-" she began, only to cut herself off when she noticed something off about the cleaning supplies. Taking note of everything a second time, she suddenly groaned and smacked herself in the forehead. "Aw shit! I left the vacuum downstairs. Just make a start with all this junk and I'll be right back."
Without saying another word, the Maid left the room at a hurried pace, closing the door behind her and leaving the Cat Demon alone to his own devices. Once Jewel was gone, Mick took one more look at the room, letting out another small sigh before rubbing his hands together.
"Right," he said. "Let's do this."
It took a little while for Jewel to find the vacuum cleaner, even longer for her to bring it back upstairs, but by the time she had managed to roll it back to the guest room, she felt glad to be back… mostly because now she will get to see Mick hard at work… From every. Single. Angle. Licking her lips as she places her hand on the doorknob, Jewel had expected Mick to have barely made a dent in his assigned work. However…
"What the what!?"
What she saw next as she reentered the room was nothing short of a bewilderment. Where there was once a room filled to the brim with damaged furniture was now an empty space devoid of anything bar the gashes and burns to the walls and floor. The only other things in the room were the cleaning supplies and Mick standing just beside the window, stretching out his back.
"Oh, you're back," the Cat Demon said, noticing the Imp's return. "I hope I managed to clear everything out okay. I… didn't overdo it, did I?"
Alas, Jewel was too flabbergasted to utter a single word, her mind trying desperately to contemplate just how Mick was able to clear out the entire room so fast.
"Wha…?" she finally uttered. "How did you…?"
Quickly sensing what the Imp Maid was trying to ask, Mick was quick to give her a decent answer.
"Oh, some of the stuff was already falling apart so all I had to do was toss everything out in pieces," he explained, pointing a thumb towards the window he fell out of. "Since the window was already broken anyway, it wasn't much of an issue."
Following Mick's digit, Jewel rushed over towards the window and leaned out. True to the Cat Demon's word, when she gazed out into the garden below, she found herself completely baffled by the sight of a large pile of junk resting right next to the woodchipper with Buzz once again laughing like a maniac as he kept throwing pieces of it in. As if the sight of the pile itself wasn't surprising enough, the fact that Mick somehow managed to toss all the pieces over the pool at such a distance, especially considering all the injuries he sustained the previous day, was an astoundment in and of itself.
"Oh my…" she gasped, unable to form any other words to express her amazement.
"So... shall we start cleaning then?" Mick asked.
Turning her head back towards the Cat Demon, her face still slightly contorted with her own astoundment as she saw him pick up a spray bottle and cloth from the pile of cleaning supplies, all Jewel could do now was go with the flow.
"Uh-huh,"
After that, Mick continued to mesmerise Jewel even further by displaying his ability to clean, she hated to admit it but if she was being honest, he seemed to be a much better cleaner than SHE was. She didn't even need to give him much intrusion, if any at all when they first started, from what Jewel could tell, Mick already had a strong idea of what he was doing, which was evident by how quickly he took to the job once they began. Literally starting from the top and working his way down, Mick began cleaning by literally using his tail to hang from the ceiling and dust everything from the ceiling down. After that, he used the same technique to wipe down the walls, getting rid of every trace of ash and grime. Next came the floors: After ripping up the scorched and tattered carpet and tossing it out with the rest of the junk, all that was needed was to sand off the splinters, and hoover up the dust. By the time the Cat Demon was done, the entire room looked practically spotless, and Jewel was left dumbfounded once again after seeing just how quickly he was able to carry the task out with very little help.
"Okay," Mick said, stretching out his back again. "What's next?"
After Jewel finally revived from her stupor, she proceeded to give Mick even more work to do. Since he was able to finish fixing up the destroyed guest room quicker than anticipated, the Maid had to bring Mick's cleaning schedule forward by a few hours and had him clean up the other rooms he had a hand in messing up. As such, he was tasked with vacuuming up the sooty footprints he had left, shampooing any tough stains out of the carpets, dusting off every speck of ash from the furniture, and wiping down everything in Stella's bathroom.
Watching everything from the sidelines, Jewel was left completely in awe. Not only did Mick complete the tasks given to him in record time, but he went above and beyond with each one, either by polishing the wooden furniture after he was done cleaning or thinking up easier, more efficient methods of cleaning than what Jewel had tried to teach him. Needless to say, seeing such diligence to the work was a fresh breath of air for Jewel since most newcomers would either take too long to train or were all too quick to start slacking off before they were inevitably fired. But with Mick, the very idea that he might just be a decent guy to work with actually made her tear up a little.
"At last…, we got a good one."
It was around 11:30 by the time Jewel allowed Mick to move into his next instructor, and sure as hell he wasn't that enthusiastic about it. After spending the last couple of hours cleaning while having a horny Imp Maid stare at him, his nerves were all but completely shot.
Following said Imp's instructions, Mick eventually found himself back in the Servants' Kitchen, where he was to receive his next task from the House Chef. At first, the room seemed as empty as it was before. However, unlike last time, there was an even stronger, more delicious smell in the air, carried by a waft of steam emanating from a large pot on the nearby stove. Daring to take a few steps closer he saw that the pot contained a bubbling brew of red, herby sauce just begging to be eaten. However, before the Cat Demon could even contemplate sneaking a taste…
WHACK!
… all of a sudden, the sharp blade of a HUGE cleaver suddenly embedded itself in the wood of the countertop, causing Mick to jump back in terror. Snapping his head around, the Cat Demon instantly found himself looking up in horror at the culprit behind the cleaver. A large, rounded Demon with a tortoise-like shell that spawned four crab-like legs at the base, along with large, fleshy arms, and the head of a vicious snapping turtle, with jagged teeth, fin-like ears, two long whiskers that dropped down past the bottom jaw and a purple silk bandanna wrapped around his head. If Mick had to take a guess, he'd say that this had to have been a Sinner who died at sea based on his appearance alone. Of course, this was all the more evident by the way the Demon spoke.
"Well then, what have we got here, eh?" it growled in an aged, gravely voice. "A Bilge-sucking landlubber hoping to steal from my humble galley?"
"N-no! Nothing like that, I swear!" Mick whimpered, practically wetting himself at how intimidating this Demon was. "I-I'm actually the new hire. Mick Nikos?"
Hearing that, the Turtle Demon scratched his chin in thought as he retrieved his cleaver from the countertop. At first Mick thought he was getting ready to slice him in two, however, much to his relief, all the giant beast did was chuckle.
"Ah, so you be one Reg was telling me about, eh?" he asked.
"Y-yes sir," Mick replied with a gulp. "And you're Mr McDowl yes?"
"That's CHEF to you, laddy!" the Turtle Demon snapped in response, pointing a clawed finger in the frightened Cat Demon's face. "And that'll be what you'll only address me by from here on. Savvy?"
"Y-yes, Chef!" Mick stammered, straightening himself out in response.
Satisfied with his answer, the Demon Chef turned away from Mick and took a look at the sauce cooking in the pot, giving it a small stir before tasting a little bit.
"So, the Master of the house has put you in my charge then?" he asked, not even bothering to turn his head as he reached for the overhead spice rack and started sprinkling small herby flakes into the sauce.
"Yes, Chef," Mick replied as he tried to regain his composure. "And if I may, I'd like to thank-"
But before Mick could say another word, the Cat Demon suddenly found himself being lifted off the ground by the front of his shirt. Daring to tilt his head down he saw the Chef giving him a hard glare with a beastly hiss.
"No, you may not!" he snarled, tightening his grip on Mick's shirt as he lifted him close. "Now listen here ye little interloper. How many Sinners have ye seen in this house?"
"Well, I-" Mick tried to answer, only to be cut off.
"That's right! Only me!" the Chef barked. "Why do ye think that is?"
Mick may not have had any idea of what this giant of a Demon was getting at, but one thing is for sure, he really needed to choose his next words carefully.
"I… I don't know," he answered honestly, hoping it was good enough not to test the Chef's temper even further.
"I'll tell you why," the Chef replied. "It's because Demon Royalty value their riches above all else and as such prefer to hire the cheap labour of the Imps. Yet I am still here. Why?"
"Are you gonna hurt me if I get the answer wrong?" Mick whimpered, unable to say anything else.
"It's because I slaved for over 300 years to get where I am!" the Chef snapped back. "And I won't be jeopardising my position for some nose-wiping little whelp who lucked into his. So you're going to have to pull your weight around here, otherwise, I won't hesitate to flog ye. GOT IT!?"
"Y-YES CHEF!"
Mick may not have had any clue what flogging was, but he sure as hell wasn't going to put himself in a position to find out. Once he was finally lowered back down to the floor did he allow himself to breathe a sigh of relief even as the Chef gave him another glare.
"Good," he growled."Now take off your jacket, grab an apron and start peeling those spuds over there!"
Following the Chef's clawed finger towards the 4 large sacks of potato, Mick frantically nodded his head.
"Yes, Chef!" he bellowed, undoing the buttons on his jacket and hurrying over to a nearby hanging rail on the wall. "Right away, Chef!"
As soon as he set his jacket aside and grabbed a spare apron from the same rail, Mick proceeded to wash his hands in the nearest sink, roll up his sleeves and start peeling the potatoes with the utensils provided.
Choosing to focus on his task, Mick tried to keep to himself as he skinned each spud with the utmost care, allowing him to recollect his thoughts as he worked. Of all the staff members he had met so far, the Chef was without a doubt, the most intense out of all of them. His mannerisms, the way he talked, the way he looked, the fact he claimed to have worked for the Goetias for 300 years, while normally Mick wasn't one to make that many assumptions, but those characteristics were definitely screaming the word "pirate" in the Cat Demon's mind. If that was actually the case, Mick will need to watch himself while interacting with him. The last thing he needed was to suffer the wrath of a pissed-off former buccaneer.
After peeling about twenty potatoes, Mick soon stopped what he was doing as a sudden thought came to his mind. Since this was a work-related problem, the most logical thing to do would be to ask his supervisor what he needed to do. However, this wasn't a normal situation. If he were to ask the Chef something so soon after starting, chances are he'd be clobbered or at the very least, scolded for being incompetent. Alas, he has no choice. If he didn't want to screw this job up, he NEEDED to ask for help.
"Uh… excuse me, Chef?" he called out with a small gulp, raising his hand to get the Turtle Demon's attention.
As Mick had expected, his voice easily annoyed the Chef as it interrupted his own work.
"Aye, what do you want?" he snarled, snapping his head towards the Cat Demon.
"H-how many of these am I supposed to do?" Mick asked nervously, gesturing a hand towards the bags. "Okay I'm sorry, but I don't want to cause any problems by miscounting or anything."
The Chef couldn't help but raise a curious eyebrow at that.
"All of them," he answered, inwardly wondering why this Demon would even care. "Most of them spuds are to be served to the staff, while only a small portion goes to the family. Be sure to put 20 aside for them."
"Yes, Chef!" Mick replied, giving the Turtle Demon a small salute and getting back to work.
For the next half hour or so, much to the Chef's surprise, the Cat Demon continued with his task with as much care and dedication as one could muster, which was an interesting change since most new hires didn't normally give a crap about preparing food. When Mick was about halfway through the sacks, the large Turtle Demon went to inspect his progress. Picking up a single potato from the large water basin, he found himself quite pleased with how cleanly Mick had managed to peel it. Putting the spud down, he then picked up another, and then another. However, no matter how many he inspected, not a single potato had any flaws, nor was a single chunk wasted.
At this point, the Chef couldn't help but feel somewhat baffled. Not only did the Cat Demon manage to perform his task splendidly but he managed to get a good chunk done in decent time too. Out of all those who came into his kitchen, not one new hire was ever THIS good. All of a sudden, something else managed to catch the Chef's eye, one which caused him to try to get Mick's attention.
"Stop," he said bluntly, causing the Cat Demon to gain a small shiver down his spine.
"Y-yes, Chef!" he replied, instantly halting his actions and wondering if he had done something wrong.
"You did not throw the skins?" the Chef asked, pointing towards the growing pile of peelings Mick had been collecting on the kitchen counter, his face twisted with curiosity since the trashcan was barely a meter away.
Daring not to let out so much as a sigh, Mick tried his best to explain his actions, hoping it wouldn't cause the Chef to lash out.
"I thought they might be useful, Chef," he said nervously.
"How so?" the Chef asked.
"Well, you can bake them, fry them, maybe boil them into a broth," Mick elaborated, listing off everything that first came to mind. "Given the nutritional value, it just felt like a waste to dispose of them."
At those words, the Chef twirled one of his whiskers as he contemplated how to approach this situation. Granted it was true that he didn't tell Mick to save the peelings, however, it wasn't as if he had actually told him to throw them away either. Plus there was some truth to Mick's words since the skins of the potatoes did have more nutrients than any other part of it, a small fact that one needed to know if one were to store them in one's kitchen. Unable to deny the Cat Demon's initiative, the Chef quickly made his decision.
"Aye, you have a point, laddy," he said. "Alright, once you've finished peeling, get some of the cellophane bags from the drawer and stick them skins in the freezer. We can figure out what to do with them later."
Feeling a wave of relief wash over him, Mick couldn't help but smile under his mask.
"Yes, Chef," he replied, quickly getting back to work.
Watching the Cat Demon carry on with his task without argument, the Chef's curiosity couldn't help but grow. Not only was this new hire performing well, but he even managed to impress him by taking his job a small step further when he didn't need to. Normally whenever a Demon did something like this it was due to them wanting to kiss ass with their superiors, and yet, this particular demon didn't seem to care… not that the Chef could tell anyway.
"Tell me, lad," he said, once again grabbing Mick's attention as he inspected the potatoes again. "How'd you learn how to prepare food like this?"
At first Mick didn't say anything, wondering the right words to use to give his answer. Eventually, he simply let out a small sigh and decided to keep it simple.
"Experience, Chef,"
"You're serious!?" Reginald gasped, feeling that he must have misheard Jewel's status report. "He's performing THIS well already?"
It had been several hours since Mick had started working with the staff, and the late afternoon was already starting to melt into the evening. Around this time, those who had been supervising the Cat Demon were called to one of the empty rooms of the mansion by Reginald to relay what they thought about the new hire. Needless to say, the Imp Butler found himself floored by how well he appeared to be doing, especially when considering the events of the previous day.
"I know, right!?" Jewel exclaimed, a bright smile plastered across her face. "And this is just his first day! If we give this guy a few weeks, he'll probably become one of our best."
Taking everything she said in, Reginald couldn't help but feel a bit curious himself. Even the Chef, who was quite known for his short temper among the staff, had nothing but high praises for the Cat Demon, which was something Reginald took to be more surprising than Mick's performance.
"Hmm… interesting," he commented, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "Well, even so, I believe we should still keep an eye on him to make sure no bad habits show. The last thing we need is someone who would take advantage of the Prince's generosity."
However, at those words, Jewel was all too quick to protest.
"No way!" she blurted out. "That kid has got this line of work down. It's like he's been doing it for years or something."
"Aye, and he used to be a busboy at some strip club, did he not?" the Chef added, stepping into the conversation. "Seems like he has already developed such a work ethic, says I."
Taking the words of both employees into account, Reginald couldn't help but wonder if he'd be as impressed with Mick when it would be time for him to supervise. Suddenly, that train of thought was halted, once he caught a glimpse of Jewel biting her lower lip.
"I know it's still early, but I for one will be glad to take him on as MY personal protege if it helps with the final decision," she giggled, a lustrous grin spreading across her face as she wrapped her arms around herself and started swaying her hips while lewd thoughts swamp threw her mind.
Rolling their eyes and groaning with irritation, both Reginald and the Chef once again found themselves witnessing another one of Jewel's moments of oblivious fantasy, something which they were both forced to see ever since she first started working for the Goetias.
"Oh, get over yourself, lass!" the Chef snapped. "You only want him because you want to FUCK him!"
Snapping back to reality, Jewel couldn't help but scowl at such a remark.
"That's beside the point!" she snapped back, not even bothering to deny the claim as she stamped her foot and her tail stood on end with agitation.
Not wanting this little spat to turn into a full-fledged fight between the two Demons, Reginald was quick to clear his throat to grab both their attentions once more.
"That's quite enough of that, thank you very much," he said firmly, making sure the pair of them heard him loud and clear as he placed his hands behind his back. "Now, I realise that this new hire has piqued your respective interests, however, I must remind you both that it is still too soon to decide where his official role should be. So until the Prince makes his decision, Michael shall continue to help ALL departments in the meantime."
Both employees had no choice but to nod their heads at that. If there was one thing neither of them would try to argue with Reginald about, it was the decision of their employer.
"Remember, the boy only has one body, so you can't simply play tug of war with him," Reginald continued. "We must be careful not to-"
SMASH!
"AAAAAAAAGH!"
All of a sudden, the whole room fell into silence. The moment the staff heard the familiar screams of rage coming from outside, every one of them froze in horror.
"Oh, dear,"
Mere minutes before that, while the other staff members were having their meeting, Mick was outside, his sleeves once again rolled up and his jacket hanging on an open window as he carried a large net and skimmed it across the surface of the pool. As it turned out, the next staff member he had to work under, much to his chagrin, was Buzz, the Gardener. However, for some reason, he didn't seem to be by the chipper as he and the Chef expected him to be. As such he was given the small task of cleaning around the pool while he waited, clearing away any leaves or pieces of debris from the previous day.
After spending a good 20 minutes skimming the water with his net, Mick soon started to wonder where Buzz could possibly be. Granted, given everything he had already experienced with the diminutive Imp's… quirkiness, the Cat Demon was all too happy to wait for him for as long as possible. However, if the resident pervert could take a moment to focus on her job, then perhaps it was worth giving Buzz the benefit of the doubt until he knew what he was like while actually working. He was mulling this over for a few minutes when all of a sudden something interesting happened to catch the Cat Demon's eye.
Staring into a nearby open window of what appeared to be the living room, he saw Snowflake curled up on the sofa, snuggling into a small velvet pillow as she blissfully snored away. Seeing his beloved pet wallowing herself in luxury, Mick couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Here he was, slaving away, meanwhile, his little fox was practically milking her role as Octavia's pretend pet as if her life depended on it. Not only was she sporting a brand new purple collar with a little silver bell, but her fur looked so sleek and shiny, Mick could only imagine that it must have been as soft as silk. Despite his jealousy, however, Mick could never be angry with the cute little thing. If anything, he was only happy that she seemed to be doing okay… still, that didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun with her.
"Comfortable, traitor?" he said, directing his voice loud and clear through the window.
The moment her owner's voice reached Snowflake's ears, they instantly perked up and she was wide awake in seconds. Snapping her head over to the window, the Kitsune Pup suddenly let out a small, frightened yip as she saw her owner's masked face. Fearing she was going to get a scolding from the Cat Demon, the tiny fox lowered her head in shame and whimpered guilty, a display Mick found both amusing and adorable. After letting out a small chuckle, Mick then clicked his tongue and beckoned the fox over, much to her relief and delight. Jumping down from the sofa and up onto the windowsill, Snowflake wagged both her tails and nuzzled her head into Mick's outstretched hand as he petted her through the window.
"Hey, girl," he cooed. "You being a good girl for Octi? Eh?"
The little fox gave a playful yip at that, once again causing Mick to laugh. Until…
SMASH!
"AAAAAAAAGH!"
"What the fuck!?"
Jumping in shock at the sound of Stella's screams, Mick found himself snapping his head towards the direction of the other side of the mansion. With his curiosity instantly taking over his shock, his eyes then narrowed as he turned back towards Snowflake.
"Stay down, girl," he told her. "Daddy's gonna check it out."
Nodding her head in response to her owner's instruction, the Kitsune then jumped down from the windowsill and hurried back over to the sofa, where she scurried beneath it in order to hide. Meanwhile, Mick put down his net and proceeded to hurry over to the side wall dividing the back garden from the front of the house, a large stone structure that was only accessible via a small wooden door that was usually locked during the night. Thankfully, it was left open for the Gardener during the day, so that he could access the entire grounds. Stepping through the door, Mick soon found himself gasping in shock as he turned a corner and found none other than Buzz sprawled out on the gravelly courtyard with shards of glass scattered around him.
Raising an eyebrow at the display, Mick couldn't help but wonder just what could have happened that led to such a scenario. Judging from the smashing sound and the glass shards, along with the gaping hole in one of the front windows that the Cat Demon only just now noticed, he could only assume that the Imp must have been thrown out… or knowing him, it was more likely that he jumped. Suddenly his train of thought was occupied by another of Stella's shrill screams.
"This is the last straw!" she stated, bursting through the front door, tossing out one of Stolas's potted plants, narrowly missing Buzz's head by inches.
"Now Stella, please calm down-" Stolas tried to protest as he followed her out.
"NO! I've had enough of this little shit, Stolas!" Stella snapped, instantly cutting her husband off. "You hired him, so you can FIRE him!"
He may not have known the circumstances surrounding the scenario playing out before him, but Mick knew one thing for sure, this was not going to end well for the Imp Gardener, no matter what happened next. Suddenly, something else managed to catch Mick's eye, namely Reginald, Jewel and the Chef watching the whole scene from the damaged window.
"What's going on?" the Cat Demon asked as he hurried over to them, his tone hushed just enough so only they could hear him.
"We don't know," Jewel replied in an equally hushed tone. "We heard the smash and came running, same as you."
"It would appear that Buzz has gotten himself into trouble again, whatever the case may be," Reginald added, remaining just as stoic as ever.
"You think Stella's gonna do it this time?" Jewel asked, turning her head towards the Chef for a brief moment.
"Aye," the Chef replied, giving a pitiful shake of his head. "He be headin' for the Hangman's noose for sure."
A little dramatic, maybe, but the Chef's statement couldn't be closer to the truth from what Mick could tell. Seeing the Imp sprawled out on the ground like that, his face twisted in a state of fear, the Cat Demon suddenly couldn't help but feel sorry for the little guy. Was he really going to get fired just as Mick was getting started? Seemed pretty unfair if one thought about it… then again this was the same Imp who set his balls on FIRE! But even so… that look on his face… that pleading look in his twitching eye… it was simply too much!
"Oh, bleeding hearts of the world UNITE!" Mick finally groaned before walking over towards the scene, much to the other staff members' horror.
"Wha… where're you going!?" Reginald gasped, his blank expression finally breaking, if only for a brief moment.
"Get back here, ye idiot!" the Chef added, sharing in the butler's astonishment.
However, all their pleas fell upon deaf ears as Mick continued on over towards the Imp sprawled out on the driveway. The moment he was within hearing range, he called out.
"Excuse me!"
Snapping their heads towards the sound of his voice, both Goetias looked back at Mick with mixed reactions. While Stolas gave him a surprised, yet curious glance, Stella, on the other hand, shot a glare that was so stern and hateful, it looked as though she was trying to burn a hole through his head.
"Oh, Michael!" Stolas greeted, letting his voice be heard first before his wife had the chance to snap at him. "Was there something you needed?"
Taking in a deep breath, the Cat Demon mentally braced himself and started his inquiry.
"If I may," he said, both politely and with a small, respectful bow. "What exactly is the commotion here?"
Before Stolas could answer, however, Stella quickly cut him off before he could.
"Not that it's any business of yours, CAT," she growled venomously. "But in case it slipped your little brain, we're in the middle of a dismissal here, so if you wouldn't mind, do piss off."
However, as much as Mick's sense of survival wanted to comply, his sense of morality quickly overwhelmed it.
"And what exactly is the reason for this dismissal?" he asked, openly defying Stella's order.
"I DID NOTHING WRONG, I SWEAR!" Buzz protested, silencing Stella before she could throw any more screams Mick's way.
"The thing is, Michael, dear Buzz was caught throwing a few specific items in the chipper," Stolas explained. "Turns out the items in question were something my wife wished to keep."
"You KNOW he does these things on purpose, Stolas!" Stella snarled, not giving her husband a chance to say another word. "Now I want him off my property this INSTANT!"
This wasn't looking good, if Buzz had been caught in the act as Stolas said, then there was very little Mick could say that would even come close to helping, except…
"If it came from the pile in the back garden, then that's my doing!"
The moment Mick said those words, everything went so quiet anyone would be able to hear a pin drop. Even those watching from inside were instantly baffled by Mick's confession, however, none were more so than Buzz, who looked up at Mick with a mixture of confusion and amazement.
"What?" Stella finally said, breaking the silence through gritted teeth.
"I said I'm the one at fault," Mick repeated. "I was the one who created the pile of junk out back, clearly I must have thrown some items that I shouldn't have. For that, I do apologise, however, given that, I must ask if you could possibly overlook Buzz's involvement in this incident. I'm sure he was unaware of my error when he disposed of your belongings."
At those words, Stella was positively LIVID with the Cat Demon before her. How DARE this filthy urchin interfere with her business again! And on his first day of work, no less! Seeing her furious scowl, even Stolas couldn't help but take a couple of steps back. However, instead of another scream, Stella chose to talk with as much composure as possible, attempting to prove that she was above arguing with some… peasant.
"Oh, I assure you, he was COMPLETELY aware," she said in a softer, yet somehow more unnerving tone. "And even if he wasn't, it still doesn't change the fact that this… IMP is completely insane."
"You're one to talk," Mick muttered under his breath, wincing as he quickly realised his little slip-up.
"Excuse me!?" Stella exclaimed, having only caught the faintest whisper of Mick's comment.
"Uh… what I meant was that it is unfair to say that he deserves to be fired just because of a few outbursts," he said quickly, trying to recover from his blunder. "As far as I can tell, Buzz here is no different than any other member of staff here."
Stella couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that.
"Meaning?" she asked.
Letting out a heavy sigh and seeing that the respectful approach clearly wasn't working, Mick decided to change tactics… time to be blunt.
"Look I'm just gonna be real here," he said with a deadpan look in his eyes. "Pretty much ALL your staff members are mad as loons, and if you fire any of them, there's a strong possibility that they're just going to come back seeking revenge."
Hearing that from inside, the other members of staff instantly gained offended looks on their faces for a brief moment, though it quickly faded once they allowed the point Mick was trying to make to sink in. After all, they couldn't really blame the Cat Demon for thinking that, considering there was some truth to his statement. Since the staff consisted of a perverted Maid, a Chef with severe anger issues, and a Butler who Mick could only assume is plotting everyone's demise after bottling everything up for so long, it was quite easy to assume that one of them may actually snap if they did lose their job. Thankfully Stolas also seemed to have been of the same opinion given how quickly he chose to speak up after that.
"Hmm, he does have a point, Stella," he said, daring to step closer to his wife once more. "Perhaps we SHOULD give these two another chance? After all, the poor thing didn't know any better, did he?"
As much as he hated to be patronised right now, Mick was still appreciative of the Goetia Prince's input. He may not have known whether or not his claim was actually TRUE, but thanks to Stolas's help, it was clear that Stella had no choice but to accept it, given how hateful her scowl appeared to be as she walked closer to the Cat Demon.
"Very well," she growled. "Since you're still new, I will overlook this little incident."
No one else may have been able to see it, but Mick was smiling under his mask upon hearing that… However, that smile instantly faltered when he felt a clawed hand wrap around his neck and lift him off the ground, forcing him to stare fearfully into Stella's glowing red eyes.
"But mark my words, you little wretch," she snarled. "Talk back to me like that again and I'll have your balls cut off and bronzed. Understood?"
"Y-yes, Madam," Mick choked, desperately gasping for air before he was suddenly let go and dropped to the ground, flat on his back.
"Remember your place, Cat," Stella said coldly as she walked away. "You WON'T be given another chance… Oh, and do clean up that broken glass."
And just like that, the Goetia stomped back into the house, her husband following suit as they both left the Imp and the Cat Demon outside. The moment they were gone, Buzz quickly got back to his feet, a baffled look still plastered across his face as he hurried over to help Mick back up.
"You… you stood up for me," he uttered, his eye continuing to twitch as he still tried to comprehend the possibility of something like that happening. "Why?"
Dusting himself off, Mick tried his best to come up with an answer that didn't sound ridiculous, eventually, he settled with just stating the truth.
"Let's just say… I hate unjust work treatment," he said with a heavy sigh, straightening himself out as he began walking back towards the direction of the sidewall. "I'll go grab some bags."
As he watched the Cat Demon walk away, Buzz started to feel overwhelmed with a rush of uncertainty and awe. No one, absolutely NO ONE, had ever spoken up for him like that, and now that someone has… he just couldn't stop smiling. Meanwhile, staring flabbergasted through the broken window, all the other staff members were also in awe, but for a completely different reason.
"You… you guys saw that, right?" Jewel asked, making sure she wasn't just seeing things.
"Aye, the wee lad faced the Mistress and lived to tell the tale," the Chef replied, letting out a low chuckle as he replayed the scenario in his head. "I tell ye, he's got balls of solid rock!"
Reginald on the other hand was of a completely different opinion.
"Or a death wish," he commented with a heavy sigh.
He may not have known what's to come at that moment, but Reginald knew one thing for sure. Now that he's pissed off the lady of the house in such a manner… Mick's days at the Goetia Household were surely numbered.