Everything becomes so much clearer after a nice sharp snap!  Shallic learns this on his first shift at The Lunar Lure.

21. Snap

“And a margarita for… ah here you go, sir!” Infurno said with an anxious smile, as he set the drink down on the table. “Okay now table twelve is next and then I need to go wipe down table three, or was it four?” He mumbled to himself, trying to keep sense of all of the orders he had on his plate. While the black and red furred fox was enjoying his new job at The Lunar Lure, the flurry of orders and customer demands was nearly impossible to keep track of. Luckily he knew that he had his safety net, his Boss, Matts watching over him tonight. The wolf had promised him ‘if you’re struggling with anything, I’ll tell you what to do.’ Those words were comforting and gave Infurno the confidence he needed, even now he could hear them echoing like a song stuck in his head.

He glanced down at his notepad once more, just to be sure. “Table twelve, where is that?”
Snap. A sharp sound rattled Infurno’s mind all of a sudden as Matts’s finger met the palm of his hand with considerable force. The fox stiffened as if a jolt of electricity had shot down his spine; all of his muscles went tense for a brief moment and his posture stiffened into an almost militaristic pose. Every thought in his mind scattered for just a few seconds, before clarity returned to Infurno along with his senses. The words of his Boss rang clear in his head once again; table twelve was on the other side of the bar!

Renewed purpose drove the fox’s every step, and a wider more confident smile spread over his features as he could feel his training kicking in. Infurno could see his drinks on the bar waiting to be delivered. One by one he carefully placed them onto the drinks tray, but struggled as soon as he had to begin moving; there were simply too many busy club-goers for him to confidently keep the cocktails from spilling over. Snap. Once again the sound of Matts’s fingers reverberated through his mind like an empty cave, bouncing off of every wall and never quite fading into silence. The sound made Infurno stiffen once again, posture perfecting as he jolted upright without spilling a drop of the colourful potions. Snap. The instant he heard that second snap Infurno took off with his order at a brisk pace.

The fox glided across the bar with the grace of a ballet dancer, weaving in between of the thicket of dancers and laser focussed on his customers. His expression was quiet and concentrated, but pleasantly so in the same way that his muzzle was curled into a dazed smile and his eyes half lidded. There was a fog of blue and purple hanging over Infurno’s mind, with a clear window between the clouds just small enough for him to focus on his work and his work alone. Every other thought and distraction was pushed behind those clouds of enthrallment; it was a welcome reprieve for his usually over active mind.

The order was finished and Infurno was still floating on a wave of his Boss’s influence. Though his mind was still focussed on his job; he’d delivered all outstanding orders, now all he had to do was snap, snap. The fox stopped in his tracks, stiff and silent once again in response to the dual snaps. Matts may have been half way across the room, but those resounding cracks of sound might as well have been right in Infurno’s ear. There was nothing but pure white static in his head for a few brief moments; just empty space that, like a good employee, he would let his Boss fill. Snap. Further emptiness smothered the fox’s thoughts as his eyes began to flutter. The snaps were getting closer and louder. Snap. Infurno stumbled slightly before realigning his posture just as trained. There was no worry or hesitation in his mind. Not that there was room for any. Whatever his Boss had planned for him was exactly wha- snap.

The fox came to his senses a few hours later, vaguely remembering his time on shift, though the specifics flew by him in a pleasant blur of blue and purple. It was like the details were obscured by the fog of his Boss’s control, one that he didn’t care to breach at the moment. Infurno’s eyes flashed open and he sat up with a start as he realised he was in Matts’s office; why wasn’t he busy working? Before he could spring to his feet to rush downstairs, the fox felt a familiar blue furred hand come to rest on his shoulder, immediately quelling his fears.

Tension oozed out of every muscle as Infurno sank back down into his chair with a content sigh; it was all part of his Boss’s plan.
“Shift’s over,” chuckled Matts. “I just wanted to keep you here for a while to tell you what a great job you did tonight.” Those words struck Infurno like a heart-shaped arrow. He’d done well at his job, he’d impressed his Boss! But more importantly, he’d impressed Matts, even if he couldn’t remember half of it.

“I aim to please,” beamed Infurno with a flustered wag of his tail. The bartender set a glass of something expensive looking down on his desk, before leaning back and turning his full attention to his employee.
“And I aim to make sure you do,” he said with a smirk before, snap! This one was much clearer, rebounding around the smaller room without being masked by heavy music. Infurno stiffened for a moment before sinking into his chair with a relaxed smile. Snap, snap. The fox wanted mouth out a ‘thank you’ but couldn’t get his jaw to close after opening it. It didn’t matter though. Nothing mattered besides listening to his Boss’s rewardi- SNAP!




What was he thinking?...



SNAP