Fantasy In Company of Spiders (One on One)

[Yamiiga]

It was another boring day at the office. His minions, or rather, his employees were working slow as usual. The boss of these employees was sat at the front of the room, his desk facing the rest of them, so he could watch their process and make sure that no one was wasting time. Xime looked at the clock and frowned, he had so many appointments today but none of them were very interesting to him. The only thing that was interesting was the finance, it was the only thing that changed in this place. He stood up and began to walk around the room, glaring at his employees, even shouting at a couple of them to work faster.
"What do I have to do to make you work faster!? Do I need to inject energy drinks into your blood stream!" He shouted at no one in particular. A mixture of groans and sighs came from them, they were all used to their bosses behaviour. Xime looked at the clock again, "Wheres the accountant?" He asked the room, no one answered him. Xime sighed as he palmed his face, a slight movement could be seen under his shirt, although no one seemed to notice or care. "Well if anyone finds him tell him to come to my office." Xime mumbled before going into his actual office.

He sat down on his chair and sighed, "Why did I chose to work here... Humans are so slow..." Xime mumbled to himself, rubbing his temples.

 

[wereplatypus3]

Theon was sitting at a table pressed into the corner of the break room, a half-eaten poppy seed muffin next to him. He was hunched over his laptop as his fingers flew over the keys, letting out a chorus of taps and clicks. He was finishing up a spreadsheet for the Griffin account, an important account that it was absolutely vital to balance by the end of the week. He was so invested in his writing that he hadn't noticed anyone else enter the room.

"Ahem," a voice coughed from behind him, startling him. He flinched before turning to see the source of the noise. His coworker Lottie was standing just a short distance away, her hands on her hips. The dull red pantsuit she always wore went well with her frizzy, red hair. "Theon, what the hell are you doing in here? Break time ended over an hour ago," she said, a skeptical look on her face.

Theon just frowned sheepishly. "Oh, well, I... had an important spreadsheet I had to finish up, and...it's just much quieter in here. Easier to focus. I always struggle to concentrate out there. You know, with King Toth breathing down our neck and shouting at us all the time." King Toth was a nickname many of the employees in this department had for their boss due to his overbearing and authoritative attitude, and Theon had said it with no small amount of venom.

Lottie ran her hand through her hair. "Well, if you had been paying attention to that shouting, you'd know he was looking for you!" Theon eyes widened behind his glasses. "Yeah!" Lottie continued, "He wants you in his office now, and he didn't sound too happy."

Theon quickly gathered up his laptop in his arms and shuffled towards the door, anxiety clear on his face. "Oh, hell. I'll...I'll go right now." He did not want to go to Mr. Toth's office in the slightest, but being late when he was expected in Mr. Toth's office was something he wanted even less. He stopped at the doorway for just a second. "Thanks for getting me, Lottie. Uh...you can, uh...have what's left of my muffin." Lottie just waved him off, and he took off towards Toth's office.

On the way there, Theon's nervous mind ran through all the possibilities of why his boss would want to see him personally. Did he want an update on an account? Did he want to threaten him with lay-offs? Maybe the guy just wanted to eat him. That last thought was only half ridiculous to the accountant. Mr. Thoth did have quite a few nasty rumors going around about him, even disregarding his generally unpleasant demeanor. Rumors that almost made the man out to be a literal monster. There was his unusual skin tone, which Theon had chalked up to a genetic condition. But some of his coworkers had told him that they had spotted actual fangs in his mouth, some said that he had a forked tongue, and one had even said she thought she saw a tentacle writhing under his shirt. But both of those had just been silly jokes...right? Just coworkers making up stories to deal how much they disliked the guy, nothing more.

But there was no more time to ponder that. He had arrived at Mr. Thoth's door. Theon took a deep breath as he clutched his laptop to his chest. He opened the door carefully, then poked his head in, his messy hair partially in his eyes. "Uh, Mr. Thoth? You...uh, you wanted to see me?"

 

[Yamiiga]

Xime looked up from his computer, he was currently eating something out of a plain white bag. He pulled his hand out, it was filled with cooked insects. He didn’t really care if it creeped out his employee, he was here to work not be a lifestyle coach. He shoved the food into his mouth and as he chewed he looked at the clock, then looked at Theon, finally giving him some acknowledgement. He swallowed before he spoke.

“Finally. Someone who’s on time for once.” Xime complained. He pointed to the chair opposite him, they was no way in hell that he was going to get a crooked neck talking to him from across the room, that was the last thing he needed. “Sit down, Theone? The...on? Whatever.” He demanded. He always struggled to pronounce human names, they were so stupid, always added extra letters or letters that sound different depending on the context. They never had to do anything the easy way.

“I need you to start the...” Xime said before glancing at the computer screen, he was squinting due to the brightness of the screen. “Morgan account.” He finished. He put his hand back in the bag and grabbed some more insects. “I need it done for tomorrow morning. I’ll be here after closing so you can stay if you need to.” Xime explained. As he spoke his top began to slightly move, Xime had an itch under his shirt and he couldn’t hold back any longer.

“That’s all. You can go.” Xime said as he waved his hand to shoo him. Finally he put the insects into his mouth and looked at the computer screen again. He started to type, part of him wished he could use his extra hands at work, he’d be able to get so much more done. He couldn’t though, he didn’t want to risk being caught and end up as some sort of experiment.

 

[wereplatypus3]

“Finally. Someone who’s on time for once.” Mr. Thoth said in his typically abrasive tone. Theon resisted giving a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't late! "Sit down, Theone? The...on? Whatever," Mr. Thoth continued. Theon nervously shuffled forward to sit in the chair that his boss pointed him to. He was going to tell Mr. Thoth the correct pronunciation of his name when he noticed something very strange about what his boss was eating. He was tossing something into his mouth from his hand. Theon hadn't been able to see it from across the room, but now that he was sitting right in front of him, he could see it very clearly. Mr. Thoth was eating bugs. BUGS! Cooked bugs, sure, but bugs none the less. Theon could only stare as Mr. Thoth shoveled the insects into his mouth.

He was gripped with fear as he sat there, but he tried to rationalize what he had seen. It wasn't an incredibly odd thing to eat bugs, not really. Not if they're cooked. People all over the world cooked bugs for food! Maybe Mr. Thoth just had...exotic tastes? “I need you to start the...” Mr. Thoth continued on, either not noticing or not caring about Theon's discomfort at his meal choice, “Morgan account. I need it done for tomorrow morning. I’ll be here after closing so you can stay if you need to.”

Theon was once again about to respond when he noticed something else very strange. Something under Mr. Thoth's shirt was moving. Moving! It ruffled under the fabric, moving in a back and forth motion. Mr. Thoth didn't seem to have any sort of reaction to it. What could possibly be in there? It wasn't small, no way it could be a bug. Was it...a tentacle?

“That’s all. You can go," Mr. Thoth said, waving him out with his hand. Theon nodded vigorously and stood up. He took one step towards the door before stopping himself. He looked back to Mr. Thoth for a second before working up the courage to speak. "Uh, I just have two things I should say first, Mr. Thoth. The first is, well... the Morgan account will take a decent amount of time, so...I'm going to have to stay after closing for quite a while. I, uh, just thought I should let you know ahead. Also, uh..."

Theon tapped on his laptop nervously for a second, internally debating over whether he should ask his next question. There was something very strange about Mr. Thoth, something he clearly had never been paying attention to before. He had to try and figure out what that was. If he started small, maybe his boss wouldn't get suspicious! "What are you eating? I'm sorry, it...it just looked pretty good and I was wondering where I could get some. If you wouldn't mind telling me, of course."

 

[Yamiiga]

Xime looked up from the screen and frowned in annoyance, of course he wouldn't just leave. "I said that was fine. Just don't get in my way." He mumbled. He listened to his second question and bit his lip, he held back his laughter for a few seconds but he just couldn't contain it any longer. Bugs? His employee was really asking about bugs? How stupid. "Bugs... You... You can just get them from outside. Obviously!" He chuckled loudly. Everyone in the other room could hear him laughing, Xime never really laughed very often at work so it was kind of scary to hear him chuckling.

Xime immediately stopped laughing as a thought came to his head. Why was he eating cooked bugs when they had an infestation in the break room?

He stood up, bag in hand as he walked over to Theon. "Here." He said, handing it to Theon. "Tell.. uh... 'whats her name' to cancel the exterminator. I'll deal with it myself. I have time before my next appointment so I might as well deal with it." He ordered. Xime then walked out of his office, the whole office stopped and stared, "No one is to go in the break room! If I see anyone peeking in or evening stepping foot in there then you'll be in some serious trouble AND IT'LL BE WORSE THEN GETTING FIRED!" Xime shouted. He then hurried into the break room, slamming the door behind him.

Xime smiled widely, he started to drool. He unzipped the holes on the side of his shirt and his extra arms just popped out, happy to be released. He sighed, "Ahhh... That's better.." He murmured. He then walked over to the fridge and got down onto his knees. Xime reached his hand behind it and was trying desperately to find something, it wasn't very often that he could let himself go at work, so he knew he had to make it worth it. "Ahah!" Xime said as he found something. He pulled it out and frowned in disgust, a old crusty sandwich. "Who the hell put a sandwich behind the fridge!?" Xime yelled loudly. He took a deep breath, he couldn't get angry over a sandwich. He had to be quick before that stupid boss from the other sector came. Oh man how much he hated him. He was always trying to get into Xime's business and personal life, he always tried to get him to go out for drinks. He was annoying.

 

[wereplatypus3]

Theon braced for impact as he stood waiting for his boss's reply. "I said that was fine. Just don't get in my way," Mr. Thoth replied to Theon's first question. He definitely didn't have to worry about Theon getting in his way. Theon was an expert at keeping to himself. Plus he wasn't sure that he wanted to interact any more with this unpleasant person than he had to.

It was his boss's answer to his second question that threw him for a loop. "Bugs... You... You can just get them from outside. Obviously!" Mr. Thoth said, giving perhaps the most menacing chuckle that Theon had ever heard. Clearly his boss did not think that bugs were a strange thing to have for a meal at all! Or perhaps...maybe he was using it as a way to intimidate his employees? Maybe his casualness about eating insects was done on purpose to cultivate his monstrous persona? That's what Theon told himself at least, wanting to believe in the most rational explanation.

"Here," Mr. Thoth said, handing his bag of bugs over to Theon. Theon freed one hand from holding his laptop to grab it, trying (and failing) to resist gagging. "Tell.. uh... 'whats her name' to cancel the exterminator. I'll deal with it myself. I have time before my next appointment so I might as well deal with it."

Theon scarcely had time to ask what Mr. Thoth was talking about before the grey-skinned man had dashed out of the office. He could hear him shouting through the door, threatening everyone to stay out of the break room. Theon carefully placed the bag of bugs back on Mr. Thoth's desk with two fingers, not wanting to contaminate his entire hand. This had been a very strange meeting, that was for sure! He quickly shot Lottie a text about cancelling the exterminator. While he wanted to meditate on the event of the past few minutes, Theon realized that he had to get started on that Morgan account or he'd probably be there until tomorrow morning. A lot of work to do for that account! He made his way out of the office back to his desk, leaving the bug bag behind.

Theon tried to focus on his work, but it was simply impossible. His mind kept wondering to his meeting with Mr. Thoth. Something was just not right about that man, something that seemed to defy reasonable explanations. He had to try to ignore the rumors about Mr. Thoth before, but now his supernaturally-minded brain was starting to jump to similar conclusions. But surely Mr. Thoth wasn't really a monster. Real monsters wouldn't work at big office building, right? He's just an asshole, a regular one. But the thought kept nagging him. Eventually, Theon realized he had to do something really risky to truly alleviate his growing suspicions. He had to sneak a peek into the break room. Why would Mr. Thoth demand everyone stay out of that room? It was an odd request. Was he doing something...strange in there? Even at the risk of losing his job, Theon had to see.

Saving his work and leaving it behind, he made his way cautiously over to the door leading into the break room. He briefly reconsidered returning to his seat one more time. No way, he had to see what Mr. Thoth was doing in there. Even if just to alleviate his fears over what Mr. Thoth might actually be. Summoning his inner courage, he quietly cracked open the door to take a peek. If Mr. Thoth showed any type of response, he was ready to pretend like he was just getting a drink at the nearby water cooler.

 

[Yamiiga]

Xime stopped as he heard the door squeak a little. He stayed perfectly still for a few minutes, before he shrugged his shoulders and started to reach behind the fridge again. He grinned widely as he felt something crawling around behind it. "Here we go." He murmured to himself, drool dripping from his chin. He hadn't eaten live bugs in a while, so this would be a nice treat for him. Plus he hadn't had a chance to hunt for ages, he was always so busy with work. He was surprised he hadn't thought of this sooner.

Xime pulled his arm back and took a peek inside, his smile widening. "Oh yes..." He hissed. He fidgeted around a little bit, trying to fit one of his lower arms into the gap. He sat as his arm began to try and grab more bugs. As he waited for more, he opened his hands and before any of them could escape he threw them into his mouth. A sickening crunch echoed through the room as he non nonchalantly ate the bugs. "I forgot how good these taste~" He murmured, pulling his bug filled hand out. Xime frowned when he heard someone shouting for him.

The guy who was calling for him was the manager of the design department, also known as Mr.Tate . He saw Theon and smiled, "Hey, have you seen Mr. Toth?" He asked. "For once he'll be surprised I'm early!" He chuckled, playfully slapping Theon's back. Xime's eyes widened, why did the voices sound so close?

He shoved the rest of the bugs into his mouth and swallowed them quickly. Xime wiped his face before turning towards the door, he frowned when he saw two shadows through a small crevice underneath it. Xime stood up and put his arms back in, zipping up the wholes before leaving the break room. "Ah! There you are! What are you doing hiding in there?!" Mr. Tate teased. "Having lunch." Mr. Toth mumbled. "Aw come on! Aren't you happy I'm early!" Mr. Tate said as he pinched Xime's cheek. Xime glared at Theon, "I thought you were supposed to be working on the Morgan's account." He hissed.

Xime then walked back to his office, Mr. Tate following behind him, talking to him loudly.