The Price Of Humanity (TMOE #3)

Chapter 7: Apologies

Richard's eye twitched, but he still let out a wry chuckle.

"For better or worse, the full moon lets me— or perhaps forces me to forget. I'm sure the pain I felt is still somewhere in there, but my mind won't let me remember it."

"Bet you're not too happy with Ethan though..." Lucius lowered his voice, hesitant to bring it up but wanting to confirm whether there was bad blood or not. "... Danger aside, it was an awful thing to do."

Richard's smile died out.

"Well it's... Harrowing, not just that he did it but that he knew how to do it to begin with." He threw a glance over his shoulder. "Though honestly, I think Tom is more upset than I am. The headache from losing his glasses doesn't help either."

Lucius nodded slowly, not without a frown.

"So speaking of Tom, can I ask what you two... Are?" He waved his hands in defence as Richard raised an eyebrow. "Just that you're so close, you know? And Abram said you had to come along because Tom was going, so... Is there something— Or, well— You know..."

Richard turned his head forward again to look at the sky.

"He's my pack."

Lucius blinked, following Richard's gaze as if that would clear things up.

"Pack as in the wolf kind of thing?"

"And the werewolf kind of thing."

"Right, of course." Lucius smiled sheepishly, but stepping on toes had never stopped him from being nosy. "But if you got a pack... Where's the rest of it?"

"It's just Tom."

"So just... The two of you? A pack?" Lucius almost laughed, but swallowed it down as Richard's gaze flickered in his direction, and instead he cleared his throat. "Yeah, I mean... Sure. I guess I just imagined that a werewolf pack would be a little... Bigger, and probably consist of, well... Werewolves."

Richard's bitter smile returned, and Lucius noticed his hands clenching.

"Only fair to imagine that, huh?"

"Well... Is it wrong?"

Richard slowly stood up from the floor.

"No."

Then he walked off, and Lucius couldn't even bother being surprised. If he was anything like Tom, uncomfortable conversations equaled cues to run away. Lucius acknowledged he may have entered a too private territory but he also refused to feel bad for wanting to learn.

"Oh, Mr. Cromwell?" Ermina, the ship's mortal physician, took a couple of steps up on the forecastle stairs to get Lucius' attention. "You still haven't eaten, have you?"

"I'm not... Hungry, Miss Davitaia," Lucius lied. For once he wouldn't have minded eating, but he had no desire to step away from the sun. "But nice of you to think of me."

Apparently Ermina had no intention of giving up, possibly having spoken to Mr. Harmon about Lucius' health and knowing better than to let him be.

"No vampires are around. Even those who aren't resting are continuing their work down on the orlop deck, far away from the sun. And also far away from the galley."

"I'm..." Lucius hesitated, unsettled that she'd read his emotions correctly. "... I'll just go a little later."

"Or you can go now," Ermina insisted and waved for him to follow her. "Don't make me fetch Miss Garlic to carry you."

It was a real possibility so Lucius quietly obeyed, but not without pouting.

The middle deck was eerily quiet as he reached it. The occasional mortal ran past in order to get upstairs with supplies and Lucius could hear voices from the direction of the galley, but compared to the usual liveliness it was unsettling. He still had no desire to join in on any meal, so he strolled in the other direction.