cocks the shotgun, eyes narrowed "What the hell you doin' here, huh?"
hey big guy I’m just passing through.
"Passin' through, huh? You think I'm stupid? I know a thief when I see one!" aims the shotgun at merry
thief, really?! look at me! points to self am i a thief? no sir, I ain’t no thief. I’m just trying to find shelter from this dang thunderstorm! you see merry was telling the truth but you weren’t letting her off that easy
narrows his eyes, slowly lowers the shotgun "Thunderstorm, huh? Well, you could've fooled me. Just don't get any ideas, ya hear?"
smirks no ideas here, just gonna sit here til the storm passes… hopefully looks at the sky
leans against the wall, eyeing merry warily "Well, I ain't about to let you cause no trouble. You wanna stay, you stay. But don't you dare try anything funny." keeps a close eye on merry
would it be alright if I lit a cigarette?
scratches his beard, grumbling "Fine, but don't go setting fire to anything else, ya hear?"
ya, ya. lights cigarette and blows smoke rings thank ya.
pulls out a bottle of moonshine from behind the bar "You want a drink, I reckon I can share. But remember, I'm watchin' you." slides the bottle towards merry
takes the bottle and takes a swig hmm.. not bad big guy.
grins "Not bad? Well, I'll take that as a compliment. Name's Zeke, by the way. And don't go thinkin' you're staying here for free.
I’ll help you with the chores for a couple days and then I’m outta your hair.
nods approvingly "Deal. Now get to work, ya lazy good-for-nothin'. We got plenty to do around here. Start with muckin' out the stables."
merry worked hard all day long doing every chore Zeke told her to do, including mucking out the stables and even feeding the chickens and cows
watches merry work tirelessly, begrudgingly impressed "Well, I'll be damned. You're actually pullin' your weight. Keep up the good work."
next morning merry woke up with a sore body and sat up in the hayloft where she had been sleeping
notices merry waking up "Rise and shine, sleepyhead. Looks like you ain't used to hard work, huh?" smirks and hands her a glass of water
Chuckles and drinks the water shut up zeke, you ain’t used to waking up early either. I’m used to this kind of life.
grumbles "Oh yeah? Well, we'll see how long you can keep up with this pace. Ain't no one lasts a week around here."
well.. I’ve done this my whole life so I’d say I can last more than a week around here.
leans in close, his voice low and serious "You think you can handle it, huh? Well, let me tell ya somethin', girl. This ain't no walk in the park.
I know, I lived this life my whole life.
narrows his eyes, sizing up merry "Is that so? Well, let's put you to the test then.
ok, what do you have in mind?
smirks "How about we see who can milk the most cows in under an hour? Loser takes on all the chores for the next week."
rolls up his sleeves, cracks his knuckles "Alright, let's get to it. Don't expect any mercy from me, girl. I'll show you how it's done."
grabs a bucket and heads towards the barn, motioning for merry to follow "Alright, let's get those cows milked. Don't slow me down now."
her cow milking skills were better than yours Zeke
puts on his best poker face, determined to win "Oh, you think you got skills, huh? Well, we'll see about that.
grumbles and scowls, begrudgingly admitting defeat "Well, I'll be damned. Looks like you ain't so bad after all. Guess I owe you a week of chores."
ok, let’s see what you got.
grins slyly "Alright, since you won fair and square, how about we make a little wager? If I can catch a wild fox with my bare hands before sunset, you owe me a week of chores. Deal?"
sets off into the woods, moving swiftly and silently, tracking the wild fox "I'll show that little varmint who's boss!"
hours later, merry spotted a wild fox
spots the wild fox too, a sly grin spreading across his face "Well, well, looks like I've got myself a challenger. Time to show what I'm made of.