Sam is not having the best day. The mood in his gang, if you can call four outcasts a gang, was to put it mildly, low because their business had to be forcibly suspended.
The business itself consists of them entering some settlement or town, depending on which is closer, and splitting up in search of a target or targets, depending on how many of them the client needed. The targets are homeless children.
The client of their group and so far the only buyer is a person under the pseudonym "Madame".
She pays a pretty good Lien for every order, but there is one problem. She is a faunus and only demands humans.
If she bought faunuses, no one would bat an eye because a homeless faunus who was begging for a few liens yesterday and today disappeared without a trace, no one cared. but if humans started disappearing, the locals started worrying whether it was their children who would disappear one day without a trace.
The residents became worried and the local law enforcement officers in response ordered more patrols on the streets and checks on the gates, which made their work much more difficult and sometimes practically impossible to do.
If the situation was getting particularly bad Sam and his gang had to pack up and move to another town unfortunately dust has its price and due to the tense moods in the nearest town and in their gang due to another increase in the price of dust the four of them decided to relax while waiting for the small town to finally calm down and go fishing for a few days.
From what Ted heard when he was getting beer and other unimportant stuff for their trip, a certain wife finally got fed up with the fact that her husband had once again come home drunk as a skunk and that supposedly begging and pleading for him to stop drinking and get to work didn't help, or rather had the opposite effect because the husband started beating his wife.
So one evening when her husband came home in his natural state and collapsed on the floor pissing on the carpet, the wife decided that this was too much and she stuck every knife, screwdriver and every other sharp object she could get her hands on into his drunken ass and while he was bleeding out she climbed onto the roof and jumped head first onto the stone path.
Or at least that was the case if you believe one of the dozens of stories you could hear outside the store.
Since people love to gossip and when the wife's body was discovered, few were awake, in the next few hours the news spread around the town but like a game of telephone where everyone added their two cents to the news, blowing the situation out of proportion.
The only person who was supposed to see what happened in the house was a neighbor who discovered the woman's body on the stone path next to the home of the unlucky couple.
The neighbor herself, after notifying the sheriff, locked herself in the house and only talked to him about the whole incident.
But never mind, let the town continue to boil, attracting grimm from the area, and in the meantime we go fishing, thanks to which the mood in the gang will improve a bit.
Felix and Mike have already prepared the truck, fishing rods, tents, sleeping bags, a grill to be placed over the campfire and kindling, Ted has brought a crate of beer and Sam counted their slowly dwindling supply of Lien.
"Why does everything have to be so damn expensive?" he said in frustration to no one in particular, hiding the money in a bag and throwing it in his backpack
"Maybe letting Ted buy a whole crate of beer wasn't the best idea because we wouldn't wither if everyone had four bottles, but screw it, everything is ready so we go up the river to set up camp and relax." he thought then stood up and joined the others
After less than an hour of careful driving along a forest road, occasionally passing through deep puddles, we finally reached our destination.
After parking the truck at a safe distance from the river, our group set off in search of a place to camp where they would spend the next few days. The search ended as quickly as it began, because a stone's throw from where the truck was parked, there was a small clearing large enough for a campfire and tents.
Since there was dense bushes around the clearing and trees growing closely together, there was no way to park the truck any closer to the camp site, so we had to find the least overgrown route and carry everything to the site by hand, and because of all the thicket, one of us had to stay in the truck overnight.
Sam as the leader of their little group planned to settle this by drawing straws but before he could suggest that Felix stated that it was his truck and he would be sleeping in it.
Felix doesn't mind when any of us say that the truck is "ours" but the truth is that the truck has been his property from the very beginning and if it wasn't for him our "business" wouldn't be going so smoothly.
when everything was already in the clearing it was time to assign roles. Felix has the task of setting up the fishing rods, Mike and Ted have to go collect wood for the fire so that we do not run out in the middle of the night and Sam has the task of setting up the tents and starting a campfire.
Taking a folding shovel in his hands, he gets to work quickly digging a small hole and clearing the area of dry leaves and grass, throwing them in the hole. Then he starts setting up the tents.
As these were one-man tents Sam set them up fairly quickly. After a short break he started to light a fire which he also lit easily thanks to the liquid kindling and a lot of dry leaves and sticks lying around.
After making sure that the fire was burning nicely, Sam seeing that his companions had not yet returned decided to take care of the last matter that had been weighing on him since morning.
Without waiting a moment longer Sam took a folding shovel, some old newspapers and headed towards the largest bushes.
after taking care of business and burying the evidence Sam was about to get up when suddenly he heard something fast approaching their camp, thinking it was a deer or a wild boar Sam howled his hunting revolver and froze motionless waiting for the animal but instead of dinner for a few days a free Lien came to their camp.
The boy dressed in rags woven from dry grass and cattails could not have been more than ten years old looked at first glance like he had come out of a bullhead crash.
His arms and legs were replaced with metal prosthetics. The prosthetic arms ended halfway between the elbow and the shoulder, and the prosthetic legs ended halfway above the knees.
Sam took a folding shovel in his hands and slowly, trying not to make any noise, crept up to the boy who started looking around in one of the tents. Sam was almost behind him when the boy started to turn around, probably to check the rest of the tents.
Sam, not wanting to waste the opportunity, ran towards him, making a lot of noise, which made the boy aware of his presence.
Before the flat side of the folding shovel came into contact with the boy's forehead, he slid out six long metal claws from the space between his knuckles. Unfortunately for him it was for nothing as Sam was faster in his swing hitting him in the head with full force knocking him unconscious breaking the folding shovel in the process.
"holy shit I think I killed him." Sam said, nudging him in the side, breathing a sigh of relief as the boy groaned. It's not like he was particularly worried about him, it's just that if he killed him the group would lose a free Lien
"Damn kid's got a hard skull. Ok I need to call the others and do something about those claws because they don't look like they're decorations." Sam thought out loud.
Sam quickly ran to the truck where Felix was sitting to call him for help, get a rope from the box and a hammer from the crate to break or bend those claws.
"Felix! Grab the rope from the pack and run to the camp." Shouted Sam.
"Are you fucking crazy or what?! you're scaring the fishes away." Felix shouted back.
"Screw your fishes, it looks like we'll be able to fill the order for Madam much sooner than we expected." Said Sam.
"Heh that like how ? instead of setting up camp you went looking for lost kids in the woods ?" Said Felix, getting up from the foldable chair, seeing that his fishing was now over.
"It's more this kid found me than I found him but we're chatting here and he might be waking up." Said Sam pulling a four-pound hammer out of the toolbox.
"And why the hell do you need that hammer ? do you want to break his legs so he doesn't run away or what ?" Asked a puzzled Felix.
"The kid has claws almost as long as half my arm, we have to break them somehow before we can sell him. the last thing we need is for him to wake up on the back of a truck and slash at us with those claws." Said Sam walking quickly towards the camp with a hammer in hand.
"yeah I'll believe it when I see it." Said Felix taking the rope on his shoulder.
Sam reached the spot first. Seeing that their paycheck was still unconscious, he dragged him near the boulder that was to serve as a seat and began to bend and break his claws. Unfortunately, the boulder gave way before them. In the meantime, Felix reached the spot.
"Okay where you got that... oh fuck, I see you didn't lie." Said a puzzled Felix.
"Don't talk just tie him up, I run back to the truck, these claws are too hard so I'll try something else. " Said Sam
"What do you want to try? All we have to do is tie his arms behind his back and that's it, and if you're so worried, I'll bend them up at the elbows and tie them again." Felix said as he took the kid's backpack off his back and started tying him up.
"Okay do that and in the meantime I'll look for those two who went for firewood and they're still not here, tell them that they are to keep an eye on the camp while we're gone." Said Sam moving towards the forest.
After locating the two remaining members of the gang, informing them of the news, Sam returned to the camp, helped Felix load the boy into the cabin, settling him between them and put a bag over his head.
As they headed towards their destination, Sam pulled out his scroll and called Madam's number to inform her of their upcoming visit.
After receiving the return message Sam put the scroll back in his pocket and began to watch the boy to see if he woke up.
Fortunately he was sleeping like a rock not caring about the potholes and bumps in the road but he didn't make any sounds either. He only knew the boy was alive because he was still breathing.
"fuck, I hope I didn't put him in a coma" Sam thought to himself.
It took them three hours to reach their destination but they were almost there. The whole way Sam and Felix chatted about this and that just to pass the time, every now and then glancing at the boy to see if he had woken up and was trying to escape from his bonds.
The chatter stopped when they came around a hazel-covered bend and saw their destination.
Felix had been here many times but every time for some reason the sight of the manor gave him goosebumps and it wasn't that Madame's place looked awful, on the contrary the manor itself was quite nice.
It was just that every time they got close to the place Felix had this strange feeling that something strange was going on there.
For example, why the hell does she need so many children? the kid they're carrying right now will probably be the twenty-seventh or something around that. What does she want to set up an orphanage or something?
The truck slowly rolled down the gravel road while Sam looked at their destination.
He had been here several times before but each time he couldn't help wondering where Madam got the money for all this?
Her house or rather a small mansion was surrounded by a three-meter iron fence and seeing as how her property looked like the metal bars of the fence were probably infused with dust.
The iron fence was periodically supported by a stone brick pillar that held everything upright, and above the entrance road there was a low-hanging metal entrance gate, about two and a half meters high.
The manor itself was as if taken from a fairy tale or a catalog for the rich.
The building had one floor, a ground floor and judging by the small windows at ground level at least one level of basements.
The ground floor at the front had four windows and an oak door reinforced with metal rivets, above the main door there was a balcony supported by two carved columns, the first floor had five windows including glass balcony doors and on the roof there were three small windows.
The roof was covered with terracotta tiles and the walls of the manor were white, most of the windows were covered with curtains and a thin line of smoke was rising from the chimney.
Felix stopped the truck right in front of the gate and let Sam out so he could open the metal gate, then drove onto Madam's property and when Sam closed the gate behind them and was back inside, they headed for the main entrance.
After waiting for a while, Madam went out to meet them and finalize the deal.
Madame was a bunny faunus, she measured one hundred and seventy-five centimeters, she had two rabbit ears growing out of the top of her head and her hair as well as her ears were ginger.
"Hello gentlemen, show me what you have for me" Madame said with a slight accent.
Felix lowered the boy to the ground and, holding him with one hand so he wouldn't fall, removed the bag from his head.
Sam stepped forward and started talking.
"We welcome you too, but let's get down to business this time we have a boy for you who is about nine or ten years old, as you can probably see he looks like he's been in a bullhead accident, his arms and legs are replaced with prosthetics but his hands are topped with long metal claws which if you decide to go for it will have to be cut off or somehow locked in a retracted position, I said in an retracted position, because he did it in front of me so I'm sure it can be done." Said Sam with the speed and tact of a professional salesman.
"hmmm I will have to arrange for a smith to create custom-made shackles to block his claws and in the meantime I will put a shock collar on him and lock him in a cage for that time to make him soften up and be more obedient." Madame mused for a moment. That she would buy the boy was a fact the moment she received the message from Sam, now she just needs to agree with them how much Lien they will want for him.
"So ? I see you are interested in buying." Said Sam without dropping the face and act of the salesman even for a moment.
"Hmmm, I have to admit Mr. Sam you have an eye for customers. Yes I want to buy him just a question for how much?" Said Madame approaching Felix who was still holding the boy by the shoulders.
"And if it's not a problem, could I see him up close and check this and that?" She said looking back at Sam
"No problem with that." He said, showing Felix with his hand to lift the boy higher so that Madame wouldn't have to bend down.
Madame slowly checked the body of her future servant or rather what was left of him. According to Sam, he had been in some kind of accident but she doubted it. The way his prosthetics were put on and the fact that the metal arms and legs were connected to the flesh at practically the same height said something completely different. One thing was certain to her. the boy didn't get these prosthetics because of the accident.
Someone modified him, maybe even tried to turn him into a living weapon. The fact that he would soon belong only to her gave her a lot of joy.
"Judging by your facial expression I'm guessing you're going to buy him, correct?" Sam said as he pulled his scroll out of his pocket.
"That's right, I want to buy him, the only question is how much do you demand for him?" Said Madame, raising an eyebrow
"Hmm let's see, the boy is still young so it will be easy for you to teach him the basics, because I guess you are planning to use him as a servant or something like that, am I right?" Sam guessed
"Wow Mr. Samuel, are you able to read minds?" Said Madame with a teasing smile on her face.
"Unfortunately, I do not have this type of skills, although I must admit that our business would be much easier if I did." Sam said trying to get back on track with the conversation.
"But back to business, as I said the boy is young so you can teach him easily, he looks like he crawled out of a hole in the ground so he will probably be grateful to you no matter what you give him to eat and where he sleeps as long as he has a roof over his head and with the prosthetics you can use him to carry heavy things for you. So how about five hundred lien for the boy?" Said Sam still maintaining the façade of a salesman.
"Hmm five hundred is quite a large sum for a commodity to which I will have to contribute out of my own pocket. what would you say to four hundred and fifty..." Madame interrupted her speech because the boy awoke and started looking around right and left writhing in bonds.
Madame looked at the boy's face and her eyes lit up with astonishment.
"Ahem... after a second thought, I have to admit that five hundred is not such an exorbitant price." Said Madame handing Sam the required amount of Lien after which she turned to Felix.
"Mr. Felix would you be so kind as to put the boy by the front door?" Said Madame with a polite tone of voice.
Felix did as he was asked after saying his goodbyes, he and Sam returned to the truck then headed back out with payment for the work done to start their fishing trip in earnest.
When the truck left her property Madame took the boy by the ties and dragged him inside.
She couldn't believe her luck, finding silver-eyed people is like winning the lottery, everyone says their kind is on the verge of extinction or that they are already completely extinct and here you go, one solely for her, fufufu~ others will be so jealous when they come to visit to show off their servants and she will show them her own.
but now is not the time for daydreaming, she has a lot to do, first she has to put a shock collar on him so he doesn't run away and for the time it takes the blacksmith to carry out her order she will train him how to move, speak and behave in her presence and for disobedience and mistakes which he will certainly make she will give him a floging or treat him with the shock collar.
Because what better form of learning if not through pain? The child will also want to touch the hot iron until he burns himself and when he feels pain he will know not to do it again.
"What is your name, little servant?" Madame asked as she finally dragged him into the storage room where the cage was located, where he would spend his future nights.
"Chris" the boy said quietly
"So Chris from today on this will be your new home where you will clean, cook and do everything I tell you.
We will start your training soon so you will know what and how to do it and because your type of species is extremely rare I will take a slightly easier approach to you than to your predecessors" Madame said as she put a shock collar on his neck, she activated it by inserting an electric dust crystal into the appropriate slot on the collar and started cutting his bonds.
"But don't get me wrong little servant, just because you're special doesn't mean you get to slack off.
In exchange for a place in my home and the opportunity to serve me, I expect absolute perfection from you in everything you do. If I feel you're not up to my standards, I'll let you know one way or another." She said picking up the cut rope and getting up.
"but for today you can rest, I'll bring you something to eat and give you some bedding, I hope you like pork because I absolutely love it and if not, you better get used to it because you'll be eating what I eat." Madame said as she went deeper into the house.
"So this is my life now. It could be better, but it could also be a lot worse, but whatever, I have to look at the bright side, I have a roof over my head, I'll have food to eat if I do my job, and all I have to do is be there for her whenever she needs me. Besides, being a servant can't be that bad right?" Chris thought with hope, not knowing yet what awaits him.