a werewolf n' a witch [platonic!maxneil]

《chapter cinco》

"haha! so you couldn't find max for the whole day yesterday?" david laughed.

"y-yeah...i'm sorry," neil apologized, looking down at his lap with his ears tucked.

"it's okay!" david assured, arms crossed as he leaned back into the couch. "he likes to hide in the attic sometimes. maybe you should check there next time?"

"o-okay."

"let's start this interview now! it'll only be the short version since you're not officially working here," david informed, flipping a paper over the clipboard he was now holding. man, how did he do that? "i'll be asking some questions from you first."

neil stared at him, posture tense and ridged.

"so neil...have you lived in sleepypeak since birth?"

"um..no..i was born in lakelilac," neil's voice was shaky, like the wrong question would make it fall apart. he looked down at his lap where his hands were balled into fists.

"lakelilac, huh? it rains quite a lot there, right?"

"y-yeah."

"okay, what about your date of birth?" david questioned.

neil looked up, "uhm..i.." he looked back down at his lap, "don't know."

"oh? then age?"

"around 11, i think."

"full name?" david tried to keep his voice professional, but curiosity and amusement shone through a little bit.

"just neil..."

"well aren't you mysterious," david purred, writing down what little information he knew about the boy. "but i must really wonder why a 11 year old kid is all alone looking for a job?"

"well...that's, um-" neil stammered, looking off to the side.

"it's fine if you don't want to tell. i would never force you to tell anything you don't want to. do you have any questions about the job?" he asked.

neil looked up, ears raising up, shooting out of his thick, fluffy hair. "yeah..i have two questions."

"go ahead."

"why was i chosen as max's bodyguard? wouldn't it have been better to hire someone strong and reliable?" neil cocked his head to the side curiously.

david gave the brunette a small smile. "my intention at first was to just let you live here, but i still decided to see if you would be a good bodyguard for max. i was pleasantly surprised that you were actually so strong!" david exclaimed.

his smile dropped for a moment, and he stared into neil's eyes. "your strength and agility almost reminds me of a...

werewolf."

neil flinched, eyes widening. his ears flicked down and his posture went completely stiff.

david's signature smile returned to his face full force, and he beamed at the child. "but there's no way you could be one haha! werewolves went extinct many years ago!"

"y-yeah...i'm just a normal weredog." neil tried to sound confident, but he ended up just sounding unsure.

"but there's been lots of rumors...that there are still some werewolves left, and that they have become quite valuable in the black market. that's why many hunters are constantly looking for them," david's voice was eerie, and it was betraying the small smile on his face. it creeped neil out.

neil continued to look down at his fists, now clenching his blue jeans. "yeah...i heard something like that too.."

"so, did you still have a question?" David asked, going back to his happy façade.