Walk With You – His Work Will Be Done
#3 of Walk With You
In memory of John Dye
Hehhey, and hello!
I've been working on this for a while now, and I was considering whether to post this as a huge one-shot or a miniseries, and I have finally opted for a miniseries...maybe best to post it like that, so that I'll get a bit more feedback, and see what you guys think. I've been having a ton of fun writing, that's for sure, and I am most curious to hear how this goes down...I think it can go either way. *chuckle* Consider this a mid-season replacement for The Hockey Hunk, or something. Just having fun with writing, doing the best I do.
As always, remember that all votes, faves and watches will help others to find these stories to enjoy as well!
*
"Good morning!"
The young vixen behind the desk seemed almost scared of the grungy leather-wearing wolf standing in front of her and smiling brightly.
"Yes?" the vixen asked in a small voice, her paws wrung tight against her lap.
"I'm Benjamin, hello," the wolf smiled. "I was told to come to ask for any jobs here at the town hall. Who could I talk to about jobs?"
"Well, are you a local resident here?"
"No, but I have a tax number," the wolf remembered, because saying that usually made furs believe that he was not an illegal immigrant, "I am skilled in..."
Benjamin searched his heart for the knowledge Father had bestowed upon him for this mission, and came up with the best explanation.
"...in doing odd jobs," the wolf smiled. "I'm quite good with my paws, heheh!"
"Well I really don't know..." the vixen sounded defensive as she watched the wolf, "I'm not sure we have anything open at the moment...I could check the computer...:"
"Oh, please if you could!"
The vixen had just stated tapping when an oak door opened, and a familiar lioness in a smart business dress came out an adjoining room and into the foyer of the town hall, her mane and tail showing harrowed signs of mind.
"Addison, dear, we've got a bit of a situation at the church!" the lioness spoke quickly, her paws wrung against her chest.
The vixen abandoned her computer and looked at the lioness.
"Yes, Mrs. Mayor?"
"Disaster!" the lioness declared. "Mister Phillips has had to leave to Milwaukee to visit a sick cousin, and we're now without a verger at the church! With all the work to be done, and my husband discovered some lost paint on one of the walls...oh my, and there's the Michelson wedding coming on next Saturday, and with all that storm damage on the church, my husband quickly needs someone to fix it up!"
"Oh, dear!" the vixen exclaimed.
Benjamin smiled.
"Oh that is terrible to hear, it is such a beautiful church," he said as he turned to face the mayor, "hello, ma'am, could I perhaps help you? I can do little repairs and tend grounds...I've done it before..."
"Who are you again?" the mayor lioness sounded curious.
"I'm Benjamin," the wolf grinned. "I just arrived yesterday! I saw you at the service at the church. It was very interesting!"
"Yes...yes..." the lioness eyed the scruffy lion from head to toe, sizing him up, Benjamin knew, wondering whether he was worthy of trust...hence why Benjamin put his trust in the aura that he knew would warm fur's hearts to him, at the right times.
"I can do painting, too," the wolf grinned, thumbs in his pants pockets, "and I'm not afraid of heights, if you need me on the roof! "
"Well it is a delicate thing...my husband' great-grandfather, pastor Randall, built that church with his own paws..." the lioness mused, "and I do wonder if I should ask Mr. Bolton from the joinery..."
"It is work Jesus himself did, ma'am," Benjamin smiled, "it would be an honor to me, ma'am, to help you here."
"Well..." the mayor rubbed her delicate muzzle, "we do want the church to be in good shape as soon as possible, since my son Jacob will be marrying his fiancé there later this summer...and it would be a shame if..."
"So let me help," I smiled, "I only need enough pay so that I can pay the rent at the local guesthouse. It is more than enough for me for this kind of work."
"Well...." the lioness appeared indecisive, a strange expression on the face of someone so determined in her career, Benjamin thought, but he knew that it was working. "I would have to ask my husband, of course..."
"Of course..." Benjamin smiled.
Cough-cough.
"Excuse me?"
Benjamin turned around, as did the secretary, and the mayor, to look in the direction of the sound, which was the front door of the town hall, upon where a lion in an uniform stood, carrying the badge of law enforcement and clad with all the vestments of such work, sidearm and all, Benjamin noticed, as he eyed the newcomer.
"Good morning ma'am," the lion spoke in a soft, resonate, gentle voice that filled Benjamin's heart with as much comfort as it brought sorrow, for he knew that voice well from many, many missions past.
The mayor's' smile broadened.
"Deputy Daniel!"
The lion tipped his hat a little and smiled.
"I hope I am not late for our meeting about the new traffic signs to protect the crossings around the school," the sheriff's assistant spoke quietly.
"Oh, not at all!" the lioness cheered. "I'll just have to make a quick phone call to my husband the Pastor and then I'll be right with you."
"Of course, ma'am," the lion nodded courteously.
"Just a moment," the lioness flashed another smile before she swiveled on her footpaws and backpedalled towards her office.
Benjamin nodded to the deputy sheriff in greeting, a quiet recognition hidden in his casual greeting, and the knowledge that the mayor had just been eye to eye with none else than Death himself. And he came in a beautiful form of a perfectly golden lion, with mane rich and varied in tone, so that light played upon it, whether from the sun or of Father's doing, Benjamin mused, as the lion slowly walked deeper into the foyer, perfectly at ease and in his disguise as the town's new deputy sheriff. How convenient that someone had been available at such a short notice to cover for the regular who was suddenly unable to carry on his duties? Must've been a godsend to these furs, Benjamin thought, almost wryly.
*
Sweating was a funny thing, Benjamin thought, as he wiped his muzzle and turned to look up towards the skies. He squinted as he did so, and let out a well-natured chuff.
"You are a having a good day, Father..." the wolf smiled.
It was great painting weather, he thought. A bit too hot, but the paint would dry well. Benjamin looked at the worn-out section on the wall in front of him and observed the subtle division where new paint converged with the old. He'd had to do some experimentation to get the blend just right, to match the old tone, but it was going to look well. He might have to put another layer in once the first paintjob dried out. It would all look so nice in the sunlight...Father's gaze upon the furs as they'd congregate...
The bang of a door quirked his ears, prompting John to look along the side of the building, towards the little steps and the door on the back, and as he watched, a rather familiar lion emerged, holding a bunch of folded cloth in his paws. He used an elbow to close the door behind him, and then, turning again, they made eye contact, and Benjamin waved cheerfully.
"Hello!" Benjamin smiled. "Such a lovely day!"
The lion's scowl was easy to see, especially since he walked rapidly towards the wolf holding the paintbrush. The wolf kept on smiling nonetheless, not caring for the displeased expression that did not soften even as the lion stopped a few yards away from him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" the lion rumbled.
Benjamin cringed internally - he'd seen the worst this mundane plane had to offer, but the guided tour of that place was impossible to forget, and hearing someone throw around the name so casually...human folly, he thought.
The wolf flashed his best smile and flicked an ear instead.
"Oh, I was just painting this wall," Benjamin replied.
The lion frowned.
"Did my dad put you up to this?" he snorted. "You're here for a day and already you're his slave..."
"Oh it was your mother actually, the mayor!" Benjamin smiled. "They needed someone to help fix up the church and I happened to be around and...here I am!"
The lion didn't seem impressed.
"So now you're painting the old shed...do you even get paid?"
"Enough to pay the rent at the guesthouse and to get a bus ticket to the next town when I'm done," the wolf replied, sticking to his cover story. "What they don't pay for is the joy of doing this, of course."
The lion stared at the paint-speckled wolf and shook his head.
"And you actually like sweating your ass off here, doing this for almost free?"
Benjamin grinned and swished his tail, as if to attract attention to the posterior in question.
"It is a good job," he said.
The lion shrugged and harrumphed.
"I'm surprised they didn't put you to do this, too," the lion showed off the bundled cloth in his arms.
"What is that?" Benjamin asked curiously.
"That's the drapes from the church," the lion replied. "Dad told me to get them to the town laundry to get them done."
"Ohhh so you're helping your father to set the church ready for the wedding?"
"What wedding?"
"Your mother mentioned a wedding..."
"I don't know about that, I just do what I'm told to do to spare the shit," the lion replied, "gotta go now."
Benjamin smiled.
"Catch you later!" the wolf waved at the surly lion going away.
The wolf shook his head gently.
"To know what they feel...to know what they think..." he wondered aloud.
"It is the ultimate question, Benjamin."
The wolf did not startle. He'd felt a tingling along his spine all the way from his neck to the tip of his tail, when the warmth the one lion he knew very well always seemed to emanate. Even he was not immune, he had discovered early on during their long association. But a blink in angel terms, he knew, but they had seen a lot of the furkind during that time, he knew.
Benjamin smiled a little as he turned to face the lion standing nearby, his perfect golden furs shiny in the sunlight, even if mostly obscured by the uniform he wore, complete with a sheriff's star.
"Deputy Daniel," the wolf winked, tail swishing as he regarded his colleague with a cheeky expression plastered all over his muzzle.
The lion grabbed the rim of his hat and gave it a little dip.
"Howdy," the lion grinned.
"Well my, my", Benjamin replied in his usual flirty tone, "I haven't seen you since the case with the homeless war veteran back in Chicago. Where have you been? On assignments or spending time with Him?"
The lion kicked the grassy ground with his booted footpaw, still looking nonchalant and shimmery.
"I was needed on the case of a seven-year-old girl with a brain tumor," Daniel spoke. "It was quite complex and required the attention of several angels to help ease the pain."
The wolf's ears drooped, briefly, unable to keep away the pain he felt upon hearing of such tragedy.
"She is with Father now," Daniel continued upon seeing the reaction.
"And that is good," Benjamin affirmed.
"And your paint is dripping."
The wolf swung around and saw thick droplets falling onto the grass.
"Oh damn!"
"They can mow the lawn afterwards," Daniel said. "It won't be an issue."
Benjamin rubbed his muzzle as he observed the mess, and then looked at the lion again.
"I did not know that you know about painting too," he said, "let alone groundskeeping."
"I did a stint for Queen Victoria during the 30th year of her reign, in Balmoral," the lion said, "I know a few things about lawn."
Benjamin snorted.
"Always bragging on about your celebrity missions," he grumbled. "I haven't had any yet!"
"Well you do know that celebrities rarely get angels...even if they'd need them," Daniel replied, "their souls tend to be very much at a loss..."
"So it's a challenge!" the wolf exclaimed. "I'm always up for a challenge!"
"Well, the other angels of death and I have been drawing lots on who gets to bring in Richard Dawkins' soul, and I've got a pretty good feeling," Daniel mused, "I'll take you along with me when the times comes if I get lucky!"
"Really?" the wolf's tail leaped into the air, almost brushing against the freshly painted wall.
"Only if I get lucky," Daniel said.
"Yeah," the wolf's tail lost some of its buoyancy, but remained hopefully flicky.
"So how are you settling in?" Daniel went on. "How do you like Mariposa?"
"I don't know, to be honest, Daniel," the wolf replied softly, "I don't know what's going on here yet. Carmel's here, but..."
"I already met her, yes," the lion smiled serenely, "getting busy with the pans and pots at the diner."
"Getting onto that squirrel's nerves," Benjamin chuckled happily.
"Sometimes the civilians may pose interesting challenges to our missions," the lion replied sagely, "it is an integral part of the job."
"I've done 641 assignments over 120 mundane years, I've met a few pains in the ass," Benjamin said smugly, "I've met Rudolf Höss. I know what unpleasant furs are like."
"I've met Rudolf Hess," the lion said, "don't spend the Nazi card so quickly."
Benjamin snorted.
"Where'd you learned that expression?" the wolf was curious.
"Back when I was helping those busy moms in Oregon to scourge online forums to stop a school shooting from happening," Daniel replied. "I picked up a bit of the modern lingo too."
"I saw that on the quarterly report, yeah," Benjamin winked, "good job there. How many souls was that saved?"
"The bomb would've killed over 50 children and teachers. I received a commendation for my effort."
"Good job that you guys sometimes also make sure that souls don't go to Father prematurely," Benjamin rumbled.
"Almost half of our assignments are like that, you know," the lion replied, "collecting souls is always a smaller part of the work, considering that only the truly pious get personal service...and the numbers keep dwindling..."
"Not here, I see," the wolf replied, pointing at the church, "I saw quite the sermon here yesterday...with massive turnout..."
"I wasn't here yet," the lion said, "I had things to wrap up in Monterey."
Benjamin grunted.
"Oh yeah?" he said. "Why is everyone else going to California except me..."
"We always go where we are meant to be, when we are meant to be," Daniel replied.
Benjamin flicked an ear at the lion.
"That's from page one of the handbook, right between_"Our Lord's Love Shall Shine Through Our Actions and Words"_ and "His Will Shall be Done Through The Manifestation of Our Mundane Forms"," the wolf licked his lips.
"You're finally starting to remember, good!" the sheriff clapped his paws together.
Benjamin tilted his head. The sun-kissed lion was almost too bright to look at, even for a fellow manifestation.
"So why are you here then?" he said. "What's your mission...or who...?"
"I don't know yet," Daniel replied. "I was simply put here, and I'm going to be business as usual until Father gives me the signs."
"What does it feel like, being a sheriff's deputy?" the wolf asked curiously. "I've been a prison warden and a soldier and a cowboy, but not a sheriff yet!"
"It's like any other profession, really," Daniel smiled, "Father gives me what I need to know and I put it into the best use."
Benjamin eyed the serene lion and chuckled.
"You even got a gun on a holster," he said.
The lion patted his hip and grinned.
"I've got a whole utility belt here, actually...sidearm, taser, pepper spray, pawcuffs..."
"Sounds like a good night in a dungeon if you know what you're doing..." Benjamin winked.
The lion shook his head.
"Don't you ever stop?"
"Father has decided that I won't, so I can't," the wolf replied adamantly. "It is my part here on Earth."
Daniel rubbed his muzzle.
"His ways are mysterious indeed."
"That's what Carmel was saying the other day, too, right before she kicked me out to the rain," Benjamin replied, still remembering the chill of the water soaking his furs, "but I got a ride to the town with John, the pastor's son, actually!"
The lion gave a curt nod.
"The mayor's son, too, I recall," he said, "she spoke most proudly of him."
"The pastor, however..." Benjamin tensed as he remembered the argument he and Carmel had witnessed while covertly observing the two males in the study, "he seems...I don't know..."
"Perhaps it is part of your mission here to find out more about him," the lion replied sagely.
"His worship was so strange, Daniel," the wolf shook his head, "full of...anger towards himself, and encouraging that in the others worshipping with him, Daniel...Father doesn't want sinners to be angry, does he now? He just wants them to find His light, so that they would no longer hurt themselves and their kin...He would never want them to be angry, would He?"
The lion adjusted his sheriff's hat and seemed thoughtful for a long time.
"It has been a very long time since Father spoke directly to the furs who inhabit the Earth," Daniel said, "that is why we have such an important job, Benjamin, to deliver his will upon Earth, to offer our inspiration, His inspiration, through us...to provide them with what they need to find Him in their hearts, where He always waits...that is our job, Benjamin."
"I kinda figured that bit out already, but thanks for giving me the rundown," the wolf replied innocently.
The lion quirked his brow, but only briefly.
"However, Benjamin, while Father decides to speak through us, it is up for the furs themselves to speak to Him...in prayer, in their hearts and thoughts and their words...actions...and some...like pastor John Randall Senior, age 51, they have learned ways that stir very powerful things within their hearts...within others...a gift of speaking rarely found among these furs...the gift to reach out..."
"I saw grown men crying, Daniel," the wolf's tail bristled, "I saw them weep for their sins and beg for forgiveness...not pray for his Light to touch upon them, Daniel, but simply begging for Him to come and take the sins away...and he was offering absolution of those sins, too..."
"It is how those of faith handle things down here, you know as much," the lion replied, "by offering that promise, they encourage those of faith to confess and change their ways so that they would not live in sin...but for many...it is a difficult path to walk...from the beginning to the end."
Benjamin always nearly shuddered when the lion used that word, no matter how soft-spoken he was, how his furs looked like golden silk, how his eyes were the brightest green, how...how his mane was a rich shade of red that shone like the desert sand when the sun would set...
"It must be difficult for the pastor," the wolf said, "and for John...he does not seem happy with his father...I'm not even sure he is happy with his faith..."
"I am sure he has his own reasons...father and son, that is," Daniel replied, "fathers and sons have had reasons since the beginning of time..."
A sudden crackle pierced the air, coming from a small plastic object attached to the lion's collar. Benjamin watched curiously as the lion touched a button on the side and spoke up in a professional, stern voice.
"Deputy Daniel here calling for dispatch, over."
A crackling voice replied, something Benjamin couldn't make out, really, but the lion seemed to have no trouble, for he was soon speaking again.
"Roger that, dispatch, I'm on my way," he said before releasing the item, "sorry, Benjamin, duty calls...someone's had excrement put into their mailbox, it's a matter for the deputy to investigate."
The wolf giggled.
"Someone took a crap in someone else's mailbox?" his tail swished gleefully. "It's not the pastor's is it?"
The lion batted the wolf's thigh with his thick, bushy-tipped tail, and let out a chuckle.
"No, it's not that one, Benjamin," he said, "I must go now, though...see you later, I presume."
"As we always do," the wolf replied solemnly.
The lion tipped his hat once more before he turned around, and walking slowly along the side of the church, he faded away, in a gentle shimmer of his light. The display made Benjamin smile, well aware that only he was privy to witness the sight, and with his grin well in place, he turned back to the wall of the church.
"If only I had a radio with some contemporary pop on it..." Benjamin mused.
*
Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed the story, and don't forget to comment - and tune out for more!