By Dyris, was Eliza Garlic chatty.
Lucius barely had a chance to say anything as they walked through The Entrails to reach the finer parts of town. Eliza didn't seem bothered by the fact that she did all of the talking whatsoever.
"Sorry, I only brought one umbrella," she said as she held Lucius closer to shield him from the rain.
Lucius replied with an awkward smile, ears reddening without his permission.
"So, if you're Lucius then you must be that, uh, town chief's relative Sam's been talking about, right?" she then asked, and Lucius nodded.
"I am." Despite his wish to run away he did enjoy talking about himself, even if it was his other identity, and he didn't exactly have a choice but to walk considering Eliza's blood-stopping grip on his arm. "We're cousins."
"Oof, that's gotta be rough," was her reply as she kept staring forward, and Lucius raised an eyebrow at her.
"... How so?"
"I mean, she's pretty much... In over her head, don't you think?" Eliza made an effort to sound careful but her amused smile gave her away before the rest of her words did. "And when I say pretty much I mean a lot."
The corner of Lucius' mouth twitched, but he swallowed the offended yelling down and bit his knuckle instead as if in thought.
"I like to think she's handling things quite well, but perhaps I'm..." He grimaced. "... Biased."
"Things have been a mess since she assumed her position." Eliza laughed under her breath as she adjusted her umbrella to keep covering both of them. "As if The Entrails and surrounding areas didn't have it rough enough before, now the anglers are disgruntled as well. And who's that gonna affect?"
"The... Anglers?" Lucius asked, knowing the answer Eliza was looking for but couldn't quite grasp why.
"The worms," Eliza confirmed Lucius' suspicion, and he gave her a disapproving look. Wasn't it enough that they referred to them as that? No need to embrace it.
"I'm sorry, I don't want to sound rude. I just want to clarify." Eliza turned her head to fix her gaze on Lucius, though despite the serious topic her expression remained kind. Perhaps it was the charming effect Lucius' Scourge pact had on people, or she was genuinely affectionate even towards people she barely knew. "The upper crust are used to getting what they want, and when they don't they seek it out elsewhere. They'll bleed the lower classes dry, if not for business, then for revenge."
"That's—" Lucius bit his lip. He knew he couldn't change things within a day or expect to run over the richer class without any retaliation, but he liked to think he'd handled it somewhat well so far. He'd even been polite to Mr. Whitbrow, for Archon's sake. "So—So what, things are gonna get worse because she tries to help the lower class? How the Waste is she gonna make things better if she can't upset the anglers?"
"Beats me." Eliza shrugged, sending the water drops on the umbrella falling to the ground. "If someone knew, then it wouldn't be such a big problem, would it?"
Lucius wanted to let out an exasperated groan so desperately.
"So right now all she's successfully managed to do is anger everyone, instead of fixing things? That's..." He looked around the bleak area just as they were about to exit The Entrails. "... That's a bummer."
"Oh, it's not that bad," Eliza tried comforting him. "Most people I know, me included, do think she's trying her best and means well. We just think she's a bit clueless on what she's doing."
This did not make Lucius feel much better.
"The others, well... They're a bit suspicious," Eliza continued. "Why would an upper class lady care about The Entrails unless she has something to gain from it, after all?"
"Uh, because a town chief is supposed to take care of everyone in town?" Lucius couldn't help but reveal his offended side at that. "And they need it the most. Even high society stuck-ups should come to terms with losing a little for others to simply survive."
Eliza's expression grew darker, and her eyebrows knitted in concern.
"Yeah, well... The lower classes have never been supposed to survive." Her voice turned an appropriate amount of grim, and a bitterness flared in Lucius' chest as he thought back to the Hydrina execution. "That's how the town works. How the rich remain rich. They don't say it out loud, of course, but each decision makes it painfully clear."
"Yeah, I..." Lucius decided against letting his thoughts linger on the past at the moment, afraid too many emotions would surge forward. He remembered Joseph had said the same thing when they met in prison, but he wouldn't have guessed it was a generally known fact by all. "... I know."
Things couldn't stay that way though. Lucius wouldn't allow it. If the higher class wanted the world for nothing, he'd make them pay a hundred times as much.
"A hundred times nothing is still nothing, you know."
Not now, Wrinkleface.
"... Guess Lucia's got her work cut out for her then," he then said with a low sigh. "I know keeping just a gang happy can be a fucking chore, so imagine an entire town."
Eliza tilted her head.
"Wait, you're not the Shallow Reapers Lucius, are you?" Her eyebrows arched in realisation before Lucius could reply. "You are! I mean, how many Lucius people do we have in town anyway?"
"Yes, I—"
"So you know Samueli from the Hydrina times and you associate with the upper class and the Reapers?" She snorted. "You're a hard one to place for sure. Lorenzo said you quit the Reapers though."
Lucius' lip curled at the 'quit' part.
"You know Lorenzo?"
Eliza waved her hand dismissively.
"Oh, everyone knows Lorenzo. He's not exactly a quiet person, plus he's the only one who can match me at arm-wrestling."
"Right..." To his dismay, Lucius couldn't help but smile at some of the memories with his Reapers. He'd tried arm-wrestling Lorenzo once or twice too with little success, but he knew Telmo could definitely beat him. "... Well, things didn't turn out so great in the end."
"Does it have anything to do with this Lord Hargreaves?" Eliza cocked an eyebrow. "Association with an angler seems like a pretty big risk among Reapers."
Lucius' expression darkened, and he found himself averting his gaze.
"More or less."
"How did you even end up in company like that?" Eliza halted briefly to take a long step over a water puddle, and Lucius followed her example. "I have a hard time imagining a connection between a gang like the Shallow Reapers and a Hargreaves."
"Well, we stole from him," Lucius explained, rather plainly. There wasn't that much more to it at first. "He caught me and made me work for him, and... I dunno, we got to know each other."
Eliza laughed.
"That's one way to meet new friends." She then let her amused voice die out to take on a more serious tone. "But... Are you sure he's safe to be around though?"
Lucius turned his head in her direction, knitting his eyebrows as a sign for her to continue.
"Well, what with the BBT and all that stuff going on." Eliza tried gesturing something with her umbrella-occupied hand. "You know, people disappearing and all."
Lucius' frown deepened. Sure enough, Joseph had mentioned something like that as well. That there had been several occasions where people had disappeared out of the blue and there had been BBT members nearby. Most seemed to expect some kind of slave trade, given the organization's initial purpose as a group of highly esteemed merchants.
"I've... Or, I never noticed anything like that when I was with him, but..." Lucius shrugged, pretending to at least consider the idea. "... I guess I haven't known him for that long either."
"On the bright side I've heard Richard lives at his place now for some reason, and if he's doing well I have to imagine the Anthony-part of the organisation may not be the problem." Eliza narrowed her eyes in thought, and Lucius blinked.
"Oh, you know Richard too?"
"Well, sort of." Eliza grimaced, possibly at another thought. "We grew up on the same street, actually, but he sort of kept to himself. His entire family did, to be honest."
Lucius pursed his lips. He didn't have much knowledge of werewolves like Richard. Did his entire family consist of werewolves, or was he the only one? He was pretty sure Tom mentioned them being another species, so he must have been born one at least.
"We played sometimes though," Eliza continued. "Me, him and other kids from the neighbourhood, and he was nice enough. Bit of a temper, but I was no better."
Then her gaze fell to the small water puddles on the ground.
"But something happened." Her voice was low, and a sense of dread fell over Lucius. Had people found out somehow?
"One day his family just disappeared. No one knows where, or why. They were just gone all of a sudden. After a year or so Richard returned, but he was the only one and he wouldn't talk about the others. All I know is that he returned with that weird scientist fellow, and that he's never left his side since then."
"Tom?"
Eliza shrugged again.
"Probably. Don't know the man."
That was possibly the first person Lucius had heard her not knowing of, so Tom must have been from some other town before.
"That's... Odd," he replied, not sure what to say about it. Even if the incident had been werewolf related there was no obvious explanation for it. "I don't suppose it could have something to do with that BBT rumour?"
He didn't want to suggest it. Of course he had to dislike the idea of Anthony being involved in such horrid business, but the two topics had been brought up so close to one another.
"Seems unlikely Richard would stay with Lord Hargreaves if so," Eliza said, but also didn't seem entirely opposed to the theory. "Unless he's kept against his will."
The idea was disturbing to say the least, and Lucius suddenly felt bad about the barred door in the basement. It being a place for Richard to stay during full moons was one thing, but they didn't keep him there at other times, did they?
"Well, he seemed cheerful enough to be all right." Lucius attempted some comforting words. "Let's hope all that stuff about the BBT really are just rumours."
"Agreed." Eliza smiled, and then tilted her head. "What does BBT stand for anyway?"
Lucius paused, opening his mouth to reply but realising he couldn't.
"I have no idea."
They shared a laugh and Lucius almost forgot about where they were going until they rounded the corner of the street where Anthony lived.
He sucked in a breath, wishing it was simply the weather that made him shudder.
"I'm not ready for this," he mumbled, but Eliza still pulled him along.
"I promised Samueli I'd get you there safely, so that's what I'm gonna do." She loosened her grip to pat him on the shoulder instead. "And if it makes you feel better I can stick around for a bit, maybe say hi to Richard, and if I hear them talking about selling you I'll get you out of there."
"Too dark." Lucius shook his head, but the idea of having Eliza there honestly felt pretty good. "But yeah, you could probably stay for a bit. They're pretty nocturnal so I'm sure Richard's awake."
A thought struck him and he looked up at the sky to look at the moon. Fortunately it was far from full, so canine hazards were an unlikely possibility.
He sighed as he placed a hand on the gate. He hadn't prepared some fancy speech or blackmailing tactics to make Anthony speak the truth yet, and he had a feeling the man would go through lengths to keep lying. All Lucius could hope for was that his Scourgeish charm would prove to be some help.
"In we go." Eliza kicked the gate open before Lucius could protest, and it slammed into the fence with a clang. Certainly not the manners one would show in these parts of town, and Lucius wondered if she was corrected by Samueli on a daily basis as well.
"I'll be honest, I'm not sure what to say," he then whispered, panic growing as they neared the door. "There's a big chance I'll lose my temper if he tries to lie again, and I don't think that'll work to my advantage."
Eliza licked her lips, allowing him a brief look of what seemed to be amusement.
"Then don't lose your temper."
"It's not that—" Lucius began, but Eliza had already knocked on the door and his stomach turned into a knot.
The inside was, to his relief, quiet and no candles were lit in the entrance hall. Even if they were home, they'd left no sign to indicate so, and Lucius saw his chance to escape.
"Ah, perhaps they're not home," he suggested, and pulled Eliza backwards. "I'll just come back at a later time."
Eliza didn't let go of him though.
"It's rude of me to announce my presence. I've never even been here."
Lucius gave her a look of disapproval. So kicking people's gates was good and proper but asking if anyone's home was going too far?
She still wouldn't let his arm go, so he uttered a resigned sigh before raising his voice.
"Hello?" His voice echoed around the hall. "It's Lucius!"
The idea that Richard may not be in a human form at the moment struck him, and he hurried to continue.
"And I brought a friend!"
"Aw, that's nice." Eliza smiled at her newly appointed title, and Lucius gave her a hasty smile back before looking around.
They remained silent for a minute after that. Even if they had heard him the house was large and getting to the entrance hall could take some time depending on where in the house they were at the time, not to mention if they were busy with something.
Eliza nudged him to call out again, and Lucius obediently opened his mouth to do so right as Tom and Richard appeared at the top of the stairs.
Richard peered down at the two of them.
"... Eliza?"
"Hello!" Eliza raised her umbrella-hand as a greeting, but the werewolf didn't greet her back.
"What, uh..." Tom addressed Lucius, slowly walking down the stairs as if preparing to retreat if needed. "I didn't think you'd be back for some time, given... Well, your feelings about everything."
Lucius grimaced at the memory. He'd thrown quite the fit once he'd talked to all three of them back then.
"And why did you bring Eliza?" Richard gave Lucius an accusatory look. "You know... Here? Didn't know you two knew each other to begin with."
"I'm here to make sure he doesn't run off!" Eliza grinned, tugging at Lucius' arm which had begun losing most of its blood at this point. "Samueli said he and Lord Hargreaves need to talk!"
The other two squinted in confusion.
"Samueli... Who?" Richard asked.
"I... Don't think Anthony is awake right now," Tom said, trying a polite smile in Eliza's direction, but the latter didn't seem very impressed.
"I'm sure he can wake up, since Lucius went through the effort of coming here."
"He's such a poor sleeper." Richard shook his head, supported by a nod from Tom. "Shouldn't wake him up for something like this. Especially since there's not a lot to talk about."
Lucius' temper was already fading at a rapid pace.
"Not a lot to talk about?" He resisted spitting on the floor. "How fucking stupid do you think I am? You think I'm buying the 'oh I miraculously recovered from more than one certain death' explanation? I don't need an education to know when someone's dead or not."
"Well, given him being alive right now, perhaps you do?" Tom suggested, but his expression was uncertain and Lucius took it as a sign to break him first.
"Really, Tom?" He cocked an eyebrow. "So tell me, how did he recover?"
Tom's gaze darted between the others in the room, and Lucius was pleased to learn that this would prove rather easy.
"You're educated in medicine, aren't you?" Lucius continued, taking a step closer to the stairs. "So you should have no problem telling me, even if it was a 'miraculous' recovery. How did one bullet in his chest and one in his stomach—And this is me being nice and assuming nothing vital was damaged— not cause him to bleed out in the water? How did he recover from drowning underneath ice for such a long time? I was there at the docks for more than an hour afterwards."
"Well, I—I'm not..." Tom looked at Richard for help, and the latter sighed.
"Maybe it's unlikely, even to a degree where Tom can't explain it, but what's the big deal anyway? He's alive, isn't that all that matters?"
"You know that's not all that matters." Lucius clenched his fists, and he considered asking Eliza to hold him back. "I know you're lying to me, and I want to know why! Why the Waste are all of you so—"
"Listen," Richard interrupted him with a brief glance in Eliza's direction. "Just—Just leave it, alright? There's nothing to talk about, there's nothing weird going on if that's what you're saying. We're just as normal as everyone else."
As if summoned by the sentence a cloud of smoke suddenly covered Lucius' eyes, and much to his confusion a gust of wind swept through his hair. He could hear Eliza uttering a gasp of bewilderment as well from behind him, and he turned around to spot the appearance of a new person between them.
Lucius drew a breath before taking a step back, eyes wide at the impossible existence in front of him.
"Sorry!" A man with porcelain skin turned in his direction, clothes barely holding together and smeared with blood. In fact, most of him was covered in blood. His long, dark brown hair was tangled by the gory mess, most of it having fallen out of what must initially have been an elaborate braid. "You won't believe what—"
He paused as he met Lucius' gaze, eyebrows furrowing at the sight, but Lucius was preoccupied with a sight of his own at that point.
Human eyes were not red.
"Wait, you're—?" The man began at this, but wasn't allowed any more time to read the situation.
"Blight!" Lucius yelled and Eliza, who'd only barely managed to process the sight, needed no further announcement in order to swing her umbrella towards the creature, successfully whacking him hard over the head.
Judging by the man's movement and the umbrella's impact, Eliza may actually have undersold her physical strength.
"No no no, wait!" the blightish man said as the two humans stepped back to ready another blow, Lucius quickly bringing out his knife as preparation. "Don't hit me! Stop—"
To Lucius' horror, the fangs now showing in the man's mouth were, quite obviously, not human either, and he dodged to the side before slashing his knife forward.
The target shot back to avoid it only to be struck once again by Eliza's umbrella, and he barely managed a frustrated groan before it landed on his head once again.
Lucius took his chance to kick the man's leg, and despite his initial fear from the sudden appearance of something not human, it was clear he and Eliza had gained the upper hand.
The lack of assistance was disappointing though, and Lucius dared a glance in Tom and Richard's direction. To his astonishment Richard had broken into laughter, and Tom held a hand against his mouth. It may have been meant as a sign of shock, but even from Lucius' hasty glance it was clear he was holding back a laugh as well.
It occurred to him that perhaps the man was not supposed to be kicked after all.
"Oh, nice! Very nice!" the blood smeared, beaten man said through gritted fangs as he part scowled at the two men still situated on the stairs and part blocked Eliza's umbrella with his arm. "Just stand there and watch, why don't you?"
Lucius lowered his knife then. So they did know this person.
"Eliza, I think we should stop it," he then whispered to the woman before she could land yet another blow. "I don't think he's dangerous."
"He can be," Richard suggested with a smug grin. "Better whack him again."
The blood covered man scrunched up his nose as though he was about to hiss at him.
"Wha—What's happening?" Eliza could finally form a sentence as she lowered her umbrella, and her eyes refused to move away from the unknown presence. "What—What is this? What is he? Where did he come from? He was—We were standing right here." She pointed in the middle of the room. "And then su—Suddenly he was here as well?"
Tom turned his head towards Richard with a concerned wrinkle between his eyebrows, and Lucius wasn't so sure he liked that. They'd better not be trying to come up with more lies. He was so tired of lies.
"What is he?" he therefore joined Eliza with his most demanding, town chief voice, and to his pleasure Tom flinched. "Who is he?"
Another gaze exchanged between the two men, before Richard rolled his eyes and gestured a hand forward, suggesting Tom speak.
That couldn't possibly be the best option, Lucius thought as he remembered what a social mess Tom could be, but any answer was better than nothing.
"Well then, um..." Tom began, eyes shifting towards the man in question, who also seemed to grow frustrated from the apparent suspense. "So—So you know how there are tales about—"
"Oh for the love of teaspoons!" The blood covered man groaned and waved Tom's attempted explanation away. "They know who Anthony is, right?"
"Right, but—"
"I'm Ethan." The man, apparently named Ethan, turned to Lucius and Eliza while straightening his waistcoat. "Ethan Hargreaves."
Lucius' eyes widened.
"Har... Greaves?"
Ethan nodded, flashing a smile that clearly showed off his fangs again.
"I'm Anthony's brother."