Chapter Text
This time when Mako woke up it was less unpleasant as he actually slept on a bed that night. Unfortunately, he woke up at around three in the morning to his phone ringing. He was apt to let it ring, but after a good five minutes of it not stopping, he stomped into the main hall where the land line was and near tore it off the wall. In light of just growling menacingly into the receiver he just condensed everything into 6 words. “It's three in the fucking morning.”
A voice not unlike a hyena snapped and crackled through the ancient land line. “Well, I can't phone ya during lunch time, can I?” He seemed to laugh at his own joke as Mako narrowly resisted crushing the yellowing plastic phone in his grip.
“Jamie.” This stopped the scarecrow cold.
“Ah! Ya used my real name. I’m flattered. Whaddya need?” The farmer could imagine him leaning on his elbow and batting his non existent eyelashes.
“Three. In. The. Fucking. Morning.” He was about to slam the phone down decidedly before hastily putting it back up to his face. “How are you even calling me!?”
This seemed to throw the scarecrow as he stammered a little. “Uh, well, yaknow. I got spooky ghost powers ‘n all that.” There was a long silence as Mako was not buying it. “Also, people drop a ton of junk in this field. Like for instance, cellphones.”
The human hunched his shoulders. “People are trespassing in my field?”
Again, Jamie seemed to think he was focusing on the wrong thing, mainly, anything but him. “Well, not now. Just...in general like, yaknow? Most of the time it's ta look at me, but other times it's just to fuck around.” There was a sudden exclamation from over the phone. “Ah. I take that back. I think there are some people here now.” Mako turned to look out his windows and noticed some floating lights flickering through the field. “Their using their cellphones for light.” The scarecrow tutted. “Bad idea, gonna drain your ba~ttery. Oh no, wait one guy has a lighter!” Mako was about to say something about staying still and not drawing attention to himself before he cut in. “Their gettin’ close, I'll have to call you back, hugs and kisses!”
The line went dead and Mako slammed the phone down before grabbing the gun he has put by the door and unbolting it in the same motion. He scanned the field and could immediately pick out the lights and that they were moving closer to a less than inert scarecrow. He hadn't bothered to turn any lights on when he went to answer the incessant phone so he had to rely on his voice to get the trespassers attentions. “HEY!” His voice carried and five phone screens turned towards him as one guy seemed to throw something and then yelled.
“SCATTER!” The lights went flying in all different directions except for one who seemed to stay by the scarecrow. He let the teens go as he didn't think they would come back anytime soon, but went to investigate the light by the annoying straw man.
As he got to the small circular clearing where Jamie was, he found the object that had been thrown was the lighter that the monster had mentioned as well as said monster smoking slightly and laughing as he stumbled down from his perch. “Did you see that!? The looks on their faces! Amazing!” He seemed almost out of breath with laughter despite Mako doubting he really needed to breath. “And the guy just chucked the lighter? Like that’s gonna do anythin’?” He doubled over once more before picking up said lighter and flicking it experimentally. “Oh, it’s nice one to.”
Mako snatched it out of his hands to a sound of anger. “Not in the field. You'll set the whole place on fire.”
Jamie snorted. “Wouldn't be the first time.” The farmer's expression darkened as he noticed the scarecrow was smoking slightly. He pointed at the small smolder spreading on the things arm and raised an eyebrow. “Hm? Oh ha! Bugger got me.” He swiftly patted it out with his mechanical arm and turned his attention back to the lighter. “Can I please have it mate? I found it fair and square.”
Mako was not moved as he put it in his front shirt pocket. “I don't trust you with fire.” He started to walk back to the house.
Jamie scoffed dramatically and followed him almost without thinking. “I don't set anything on fire I don't mean to.” While Mako maintained his silence Jamie kept going. “I didn't want to have to do this but I'm willing...to make a deal with you.” He crossed his arms like he had just laid out his trump card, but the farmer didn't even stop walking or turn around. “Don’t you know what that means? It's like...magically binding or something. 100% cannot be broken. You agree to give me the lighter, I agree tooooo.” His eyes seemed to spin in his head as if contemplating what he wanted to say. “Not burn down your farm.”
Mako didn't want to listen to anything that this thing was saying and he definitely didn't want to make any deals with him, but he also wanted to protect his farm and his livestock when they came. He stopped, causing the straw amalgamation to bump into him before righting itself. He turned halfway around and his eyes seemed to burn through the already charred scarecrow. “Why should I believe you?”
Jamie seemed exasperated. “I just told ya, it's a magical contract. I can't break it so you got nothing to worry about. My word is bond and all that.”
Mako didn't doubt that the apparent firebug could find other ways to burn down his house, but he still felt wary giving him a lighter. After looking at the slightly smoking figure up and down he reluctantly fished the lighter out of his pocket. “No lighting anything of mine on fire.”
The scarecrow crossed his questionably existing heart with one hand and stuck the other one out to shake. “Cross my heart and hope to…” He dissolved into a fit of giggles. “Well, I promise is what I mean. If you give me the lighter.” Mako looked at the oil and rust dirtied hand before he sighed and shook it with the hand that was holding the lighter.
Nothing happened. Mako didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't nothing so he was slightly surprised. He thought maybe some lights would glow or maybe he would get branded like the man with questionable morals that he was, but the wind just rustled the hay of his bargaining partner and nothing else happened. He released the hand and the lighter and Jamie eagerly examined his prize. “Oh, this one’s a beauty.” He rubbed his gloves over the side to clean it up slightly until it shined in the faint glow Jamie seemed to exude.
Mako just gave a withering look before turning and finally making it back to his house. He went to shut the door thankful that the monster had not followed him and was still playing with the lighter. He threw one last look over his shoulder. “You break our deal, you get thrown in the nearest lake.” He would have threatened to set him on fire, but he doubted that would dissuade him much.
The scarecrow make a noise of frustration and seemed to bend over backwards more than someone with bones would be able to. “I told you ya big lug, I phy-si-call-y can’t. Here, watch.” Mako didn't want to ‘here watch’ anything this thing could do but the it moved fast despite its uneven legs and promptly held the lighter flush against one of the outer curtains on the farm house. Mako made an aborted yell before he realized the seemingly untreated lace curtains weren't catching. On the contrary, they seemed to repel the flame like water off a duck's back. “Yah? Okay? So quit your worryin’. Its aaaaaaall gonna be fine.” The farmer couldn’t help but see that as foreboding as the amalgamation of magic and machine wandered back into the cornfield while transfixed by the flame the small device produced.
Mako slowly went back inside and locked the door as he wondered if he would ever get a normal night's sleep in this place.