The room was completely silent as Milica sipped her cup, none of the four men knowing what to say. Lucius had interpreted her caring, kind-hearted personality to be the norm, but as her narrowed eyes looked up from her tea to inspect her company he wasn't so sure anymore.
"Is that the whole story then?" she asked, placing the cup down. "Or is there anything else I need to know?"
"Mitsa, you know I only did it for you," Ivan tried, but was met with a glare intense enough to silence him.
"I don't know how many times I've told you to stop this." She folded her arms over her belly, eyebrows furrowing but not without a hint of disappointment in her eyes. "You need to accept things, just as I have, instead of putting people in danger for a hopeless pursuit."
She then turned to Lucius, to the latter's dismay.
"And you should not agree to follow strangers into the forest in the middle of the night. I like to think Samueli has taught you that much at least?"
"Well we—we were both going anyway," Lucius defended himself with an astounding uncertainty due to the stare. "He didn't put me in danger, I was going to be in danger anyway."
He did punch me though.
"This is your way of justifying your recklessness?" Milica was unimpressed, and she let her disapproving eyes shift between her husband and Lucius. "You could have died. Don't you realise that?"
Then she turned to look at Tom and Richard, who'd happily remained quiet throughout the conversation.
"And you..." Her frown let up just a little, and she sighed. "... Well, I have no idea who you are, but you look quite roughed up so please help yourselves."
She gestured down at the table where she'd, despite the early time of day, placed a tray of assorted cookies.
"And while I understand your worries, Ivan, I can't just stand by and have you do these things." She switched attention to her husband again. "What if you had actually died? From the sounds of it—"
"Are there chocolate in these?" Richard asked, pointing down at the tray and pursing his lips as Milica gave him an exasperated look.
"... No."
Richard slowly picked up a wheat coloured cookie as if concerned the woman would attack him. To make matters more awkward, she then stared at Tom long enough for him to grab a cookie as well.
"He really would have died," Lucius added to Milica's earlier sentence, receiving a devastating scowl from Ivan but he'd still rather make sure his actions were justified. "So please don't be upset by the outcome."
"I'm clearly very upset, but it's not about that cursed potion." Milica shook her head, grip around her arms tightening. "What if he would have died? What if he goes on yet another dangerous trip and doesn't come back?"
"Mitsa—" Ivan began, but she shook her head again.
"If something happens to you, and I don't make it, who's supposed to take care of the child?"
A chill swept through the room, and everyone except Milica stared down at the floor in silence. Lucius just wanted to get out of there. Neither he nor Tom or Richard were supposed to be around for where the conversation was heading.
He threw a glance over at Tom, nodding in the couple's direction and suggesting he say something, to the latter's utter horror. Lucius wouldn't have preferred it either but Tom was the one knowledgeable in medicine. If anyone could say or do something about the matter, it was him.
Tom, of course, shook his head as discreetly as he could, taking a bite of his cookie to imply he wasn't about to say anything. Whether it was because he simply didn't want to or because he had no advice to give, was anybody's guess.
Lucius supposed it made sense. From the sounds of it, Ivan had gone through several doctors to find a solution to Milica's decreasing health with little avail. Unless the problem was supernatural, Tom wouldn't know more than them.
"We were so close," Ivan argued. "If I can track them down again, we could have them make another dose of it."
"No, I think it's too late for that," Milica countered, the initial fatigue in her face finally returning. "And I need you here when the time comes."
"I don't think it would work anyway," Tom suddenly chimed in, nose scrunching up as he tried to sort his words. "Uh, that is... The potion can only speed up a healing process. If—If it's about a condition that the body can't handle on its own, it won't work."
He winced at the glares from both Ivan and Lucius, the latter mostly annoyed with his more and more apparent ability to make things worse.
"I just don't want them to have false hope," he whispered as he met Lucius' gaze. "If she wants him to stay, he should be more likely to do so if they know it won't work."
Lucius let his scolding expression go at that, since there was at least some truth to Tom's claim.
Ivan, however, did not let his frown ease up and Tom licked his lips, twisting his hands as he once again searched for words.
"I—I mean, it would... Help with bleeding or other complications during the birth, but... Even if it would help, I doubt we'll be able to track any other members down that quickly. If at all."
"Are you going to try?" Ivan wanted to know, and Tom sent a hesitant glance in Richard's direction.
"I—I don't know. Maybe..."
"Then you could potentially find them and have them make another—"
"Ivan, that's enough," Milica raised her voice, and Tom looked part relieved and part shaken by her tone.
"It can't hurt, can it?" Ivan protested. "Not if they're going after them anyway."
"I just—I can't promise anything," Tom tried, words starting to choke in his throat. "I wouldn't count on it as a potential solution."
"But you could try it, couldn't you?" Ivan suddenly seemed to realise something. "You could try to recreate it. You kept their notebook, didn't you?"
Tom was stunned by this, face paling as he definitely considered running away.
"No, I—"
"Don't you dare," Milica joined the conversation again. "You can't put an expectation like that on him, Ivan!"
Ivan mimicked his wife's folded arms.
"But he could."
"No, in fact, I forbid it," Milica declared, turning her eyes to Tom. "You're not allowed to try. I will not have you feel responsible if the outcome is undesirable."
Tom finally breathed out, and Ivan clenched his fists while averting his gaze, seemingly giving up at last.
"Uhh, so... You know, I think it's actually time for us to leave," Richard then whispered, cautiously entering the conversation as well. "Lucius needs to get ready for work, and we should... Well, you know... Do things."
"Right!" Lucius was quick to agree, standing up from the couch and nodding politely, if a bit hasty, in the couple's direction before grabbing his coat. "I think we've intruded long enough."
"Oh, of course, I must have lost track of time," Milica said, her soft, kind voice instantly returning. "Is there anything you need before you go? This one does seem in quite the rough shape."
She gestured to Richard, who tried shrugging it off, and Lucius was a bit insulted that the black eye Ivan had given him hadn't been addressed yet.
"It's just a couple of scratches, really," Richard claimed, not being entirely wrong seeing how the larger wounds he'd acquired had shrunk to thin lines already. "I'll look after those myself. Cheers, though."
"I hope everything goes well," Lucius said, already halfway through the door, only stopping for politeness sake or Samueli would have his head, should he find out. "May The Unity— Or... Wex—Wex-something? The one you like. I mean, worship. May they be with you."
Milica chuckled, waving her hand at the company. Lucius couldn't make eye contact with Ivan though, and his heart sank. Even though Milica was the one in danger it felt like he'd most of all let Ivan down.
Seriously though, he would have been dead.
Richard breathed out as they walked away from the house.
"I was about to die, for real. Why would they talk about those things with company around?"
Lucius nodded in agreement. It was a conversation they definitely could have saved for later.
Tom didn't comment on it. Instead he frowned, patting his coat.
"Richard, I think I left the notebook by accident," he then said, grimacing at the werewolf. "Could you go get it?"
Richard looked devastated.
"Don't make me go back there."
"Please, you know how I am with people."
With some reluctance, Richard obeyed the request and turned around to run back.
"Please don't tell him about Waker," Tom then said, looking after Richard as he entered the house again.
Lucius blinked.
"Waker?" He narrowed his eyes in thought. "... The man you and that Larkspur fellow was talking about? The one supposed to be dead?"
Tom nodded slowly.
"I—I'll tell him eventually, I promise, but..." He wrung his hands. "He needs to hear it from me, and... I need some time to figure things out."
"Gonna tell me what the Waste is going on?" Lucius arched his eyebrows, and Tom shook his head.
"I don't like talking about it. It's not something that will affect you anyway, especially since they didn't have anything to do with your friend's disappearance."
"As far as we know," Lucius muttered, still not convinced. He'd make sure to dive deeper into what was happening in that forest as soon as he had the opportunity.
His shoulders sank as he stared at the house.
"He should've found it already, shouldn't he? With that nose of his."
"No, he won't find it." Tom held up the notebook in his hand. "Guess I forgot to check my satchel."
Lucius shook his head in disapproval, and Tom shrugged.
"I had to tell you in private, and his ears are too good for whispers."
"So... Are you going to try?" Lucius nodded at the book. "The potion, I mean."
"No," Tom said, very decisively. "Like she said, it will only cause me guilt."
Lucius nodded, a little disappointed, but he understood.
Richard looked thoroughly displeased as he joined them again, and Tom put on an apologetic smile as he held up the notebook.
"Forgot to check my satchel."
"Fuck's sake, Tom," Richard growled, but also did not seem to doubt the lie, so Lucius assumed it wouldn't have been a surprising occurrence.
A yawn escaped his throat. Despite being up all night he knew, much like many recent nights, that he would not be able to sleep until much later, and he closed his eyes in resignation.
Such suffering in the name of knowledge, but he hoped there would be time to at least take a short nap once they reached Anthony's house.
***
"Is it impossible for you to make wise decisions!?" was yelled at Lucius' face as soon as he stepped through the door, but to his surprise it wasn't Anthony yelling.
It was much worse.
"S—Sam? What are you doing here?" Lucius blinked twice to make sure his eyes perceived things right. The group meeting them in the entrance hall consisted of Anthony, Samueli, and Eliza. Neither of the latter two made any sense. Samueli hated Anthony out of obligation, and Lucius doubted Eliza had much kinder thoughts about him.
"He was worried about you." Anthony folded his arms, wearing the same expression as Samueli. "Since you disappeared without a word."
"I knew I was right to have a bad feeling when you weren't home, and I can't believe you made me come here, to him." Samueli gestured at Anthony. "Just to make sure you were safe."
"Which you apparently weren't," Anthony added, not looking very upset by the insult.
Lucius decided he didn't like Samueli and Anthony getting along.
"And you had to involve poor Eliza in this?" Lucius tried to turn things around. "Why would you drag her with you this early in the morning just to look for me?"
"Muscles," Samueli stated rather bluntly. "In case he'd been the one putting you in danger."
"Or those two," Eliza said with a grin, pointing at Tom and Richard. "Whoever was responsible, really."
"I'm loving this," Ethan announced as he entered the room with a couple of chairs, looking about as excited as ever. "I love these people, and I love this group dynamic. It's delightful!"
Lucius threw a glance in Eliza's direction, cautious in case she'd say something about her first encounter with Ethan in front of Samueli, but she simply acknowledged his presence before turning her attention to the others again.
"I just..." Lucius gestured vaguely in the air with his good arm. "... Ivan offered to help me find Mabel, and—And how could I not take that chance?"
"You would not take that chance if it was dangerous," Samueli said, slowly as if Lucius didn't understand. "And like Lord Hargreaves says, it's obvious it was."
"This is from Ivan." Lucius pointed at his black eye. "He was upset with me."
"I wonder what that's like," Anthony muttered, followed by Ethan uttering a low 'ooooh' in the background.
"Wha—Why would he punch you?" Samueli shook his head before turning to Richard. "And this? Did he do this as well?"
"Well... No," Lucius admitted. "But I—I wasn't actually that hurt."
The entire group stared at him now, and Lucius grew more frustrated than flustered. Why did he have to endure a scolding like this? He was just as much of an adult as the others.
"Can I speak to him alone?" Anthony then asked no one in particular, gaze still fixed on Lucius.
That was new. Lucius wasn't sure Anthony had initiated a conversation ever since he came back from the dead. He was uncertain if that was a good or bad thing though.
Samueli let Anthony off with only a sceptical glare before nodding, attempting an encouraging smile at Lucius. It seemed he at least wanted him to finally get some answers, perhaps hoping it would keep him out of trouble.
It's not likely.
Lucius followed Anthony to the drawing room in silence. The chance of him saying something insulting was regrettably high for a person like him and he didn't want to upset Anthony further.
"So..." He smiled sheepishly as Anthony closed the door. "... Guess I missed my chance to introduce you to Sam."
"He cares a lot about you." Anthony smiled back, however with a hint of fear showing through. Had Samueli and Eliza threatened him that much?
"Yeah, he's... Very keen on keeping me alive." Lucius' gaze fell to the floor. "After everything."
Anthony's mouth twitched into a brief grimace.
"Well, then..." He eagerly switched topics. "Want to tell me what happened earlier?"
Lucius groaned. How could he have been gullible enough to think Anthony was up for answering questions?
He still relented, hoping the whole werewolf history could reveal something at least.
"Uh, so..." Lucius squinted in thought. "... Do you know what a garm is?"
Anthony cocked an eyebrow.
"I've heard of them."
"We ran into one while exploring some sewer tunnels, trying to find those Larkspur order people." Lucius failed to hide a smile as Anthony looked thoroughly confused by this. "So Tom and Richard stayed behind to deal with her while Ivan and I found a very stupid door that led to a secret hideout, where we found one of the Larkspur members."
Anthony only stared at him and Lucius stared back, expecting him to say something, but when nothing happened he had no choice but to continue.
"Ivan beat him to the ground."
"Who the Waste is Ivan?" Anthony threw his hands out in frustration. "Where are you finding all these people?"
"He's the owner of the land where my friend was buried, and that note about Larkspur was pinned." Lucius smirked, amused by the fact that the tables had turned confusion-wise. "He had business with them as well."
"And he gave you that?" Anthony pointed at Lucius' eye, frown deepening.
"Yeah, it's a whole thing." Lucius waved his hand dismissively. "The garm almost killed him so I used the healing potion on him, but apparently he wanted it for his wife who's very sick and very pregnant... And honestly? Pretty scary when she's angry."
Anthony went back to just staring at him, blinking as his mind tried to process a lot of information with little context.
"Anything else?" Lucius therefore asked and Anthony laughed, just not in a very amused way.
"What the Waste do you think? I don't even know what you're talking about. You're just opening up more questions."
Lucius folded his arms, lip curling.
"Wonder what that feels like."
Anthony sighed, squeezing his eyes together.
"At... At least tell me you got rid of the garm. Tell me there's not a huge, monster werewolf running around the forest."
"Well, I'm pretty sure she's alive," Lucius admitted, but hurried to deliver the seemingly better news before Anthony could complain again. "But I knocked her out, so she'll probably think twice before messing with us again.
Lucius made a face as Anthony gave him a tired look.
"... Probably not though."
"You... Knocked out the garm?"
"See, I climbed onto her back, making her crash against the ceiling in an attempt to crush me, and then rocks rained down and hit her head."
Anthony looked mortified.
"Wha—You... You did what?"
Lucius chuckled weakly, trying to laugh it off instead of actually reliving the memory.
"Yeah, I... I could've been crushed pretty hard."
"For the love of Rarin, Lucius, you have got to stop doing this." Anthony took a step forward, raising his hand and Lucius instinctively backed away.
He regretted it immediately, and Anthony's face quickly went from frustrated to distressed.
"I—I wasn't going to—"
"No, it's... It's fine." Lucius tried to smile again but his confidence failed him. Why did his body need to react that way? "... Guess I'm just used to being injured whenever hands approach me."
"I'm sorry." Anthony looked remorseful. "I—I should have figured."
"Who would do that?" Lucius had to laugh through his anxiety. ""Who would think that far? I know I didn't until now."
Anthony still frowned, releasing a sigh before holding out his arms again, this time in a more relaxed way.
Lucius blinked at the invitation.
For real?
He took a step forward. He couldn't overthink things. Not now, of all times. Anthony wasn't going to hurt him.
It was a welcome embrace. Even with Samueli back it had been a long time since Lucius actually received a hug, and by Dyris was he in need of one.
"I know I've been acting terribly since I got back." Anthony's grip around him was hard. "... But I don't know how to deal with this. How do I stop you from being harmed when no other options seem to exist?"
Lucius wasn't sure what to say. The fear from everything that had happened with the garm and the Larkspur hideout finally flooded over him, and his mouth trembled. Anthony was right, in a way. Danger followed Lucius wherever he went. It didn't seem to matter whether he tried to stay safe or not.
"Help me." He pressed his forehead against Anthony's shoulder, determined to hide both his blush and trembling until it went away. "Help me understand what's going on so I know what to do."
Anthony's shoulders slumped and he slowly pulled away from the hug, to Lucius' disappointment.
"Alright," he said under his breath and closed his eyes, taking a seat on one of the couches.
Lucius sat down next to him and waited for him to continue, but the room fell silent long enough to make him click his tongue in impatience.
"So..." Anthony relented, disgruntled as he seemed unsure what to say. "... Many years ago, my father—"
"Damien?" Lucius wanted to make sure, and Anthony nodded, giving him a look of disapproval for the interruption.
"He was approached by a shady group—No, not the Larkspur order," Anthony clarified before Lucius could interrupt him again. "Not really similar either. Instead of science on an earthlier scale, they were looking beyond worlds, attempting to shape their lives the way they wanted to by bending the rules of our reality."
"And you're telling me they succeeded?" Lucius' eyes were wide. "How?"
"It's not as fantastical as it sounds, it's more like their ultimate goal." Anthony shrugged. "But yes, to some degree they have succeeded here and there."
"That's the source of your immortality though, right?" Lucius raised an eyebrow to the implication that such a feat was 'not as fantastical as it sounds'. "This group? But why Damien? And why you?"
Anthony's expression darkened, but he drew a breath before reluctantly continuing.
"Damien has..." His frown deepened. "... An exceptional, unhealthy desire to keep his family alive, no matter what."
"Must be quite the desire." Lucius arched his eyebrows. "For him to attract attention from a group like that."
Anthony nodded slowly, eyes averted.
"He's obsessed."
"Can I..." Lucius hesitated, but he'd come this far. He might as well get all the answers. "Can I ask how it works? How were you—Or, they... Able to do it?"
"It's not so easy, obviously." Anthony frowned again in thought. "I don't know exactly how it works either. They're not fond of sharing these things with just anyone."
"Well, what do you know?"
Anthony scanned Lucius' face, possibly contemplating whether he should tell him or not.
"It's a painting," he then said, not making Lucius much wiser. "Our souls are locked inside a portrait resembling us, so no matter how old or injured we are, we will always go back to how we were at the time we were painted."
Lucius thought back to the portraits hanging in the BBT's gallery. Had he been staring at otherworldly paintings without knowing?
"How—How does that work? Do you just have paintings made and cast some kind of spell, or—Or curse or something on it?"
"From what I understand it's both the paint, and the painter." Anthony turned his head to look out the window. "Some outlandish paint containing who knows what, and an artist with knowledge of how to use it."
"Wow, that's..." Lucius attempted a chuckle, the usual crawling sensation around his ribs returning. "... That's incredible. Can't say I'm not jealous."
"I know it sounds nice, but I would not recommend it."
This time Lucius laughed for real.
"For real? Are there any downsides, really?"
"Well, you essentially cheat death by hiding your soul away, so neither The Unity nor The Waste will want to touch you."
Lucius gawked, almost scared by the desire surging through him. The Waste wouldn't want him?
The disgusting feeling around his bones intensified along with a stinging headache, but the idea that the Scourge disapproved only made it more tempting. Could he actually be rid of it? Could he avoid The Waste after all?
"Is that a problem though, since you won't die?" He asked, acknowledging what an irrelevant concept it was.
"There are ways," Anthony admitted, rather casually despite the topic. "You can destroy the painting, releasing your soul and inevitably suffering everything that should have happened to your body throughout the years."
Lucius scrunched up his nose.
"Oh..."
"Doesn't sound great, does it?"
"Still nice if you won't have to die for a really long time," Lucius still argued. "And if the soul just kind of... Disappears, you won't even know that you're dead after that."
Anthony arched his eyebrows, moving his gaze to stare out into the room.
"Sounds pretty scary to me."
Lucius hummed in thought, and tried staring at the room as well as if to understand what Anthony was thinking.
"Guess holy people of the sanctuaries wouldn't be thrilled by the idea..."
"Honestly, I'm not so certain they could do it even if they wanted to." Anthony looked at Lucius now. "They've already promised their soul to The Unity, so they should not be able to shove it away somewhere else."
Lucius grew cold, the sensation in his body causing his limbs to go numb.
"What, so... Your soul has to be... Free, or something?"
Anthony tilted his head.
"Well, I... Suppose you could say that?"
"So—So people who've supposedly been, like... Possessed, or whatever it is they call it, would also be unable to?"
"I assume as much." Anthony nodded. "Unless they're exorcised."
"Unless they exercise?" Lucius wrinkled his forehead, and Anthony shook his head with a smile.
"Exorcised, like someone performing an exorcism on them."
"An exorcism?" Lucius leaned in closer. "What—How does it work? Can you really get rid of blights?"
Anthony sighed, giving Lucius a pitying look.
"Immortality is not a realistic pursuit, Lucius. And even if it was, I really do not think it's a good idea."
"Well it's easy for someone immortal to say," Lucius mumbled, lips pouting. "But that's... Not really the only reason I'm asking."
Anthony arched an eyebrow, awaiting elaboration.
"... I... Uh, don't run scared now, but I—To be honest I think there's something off with me," Lucius said with a hushed voice, almost smiling at the understatement. "Just... I mean, doesn't it make sense when you think about it? I'm in constant danger, I put others in constant danger, and I have, um... Nightmares, and—and weird body aches. Just... You know. It's scary."
He had no idea how to sound convincing without telling the entire truth, and Anthony didn't quite seem to buy it.
"I don't necessarily think that's a blight possession, seeing how you often run into said danger willingly, and with your life in mind, nightmares shouldn't be a surprising occurrence, but... If you're really concerned I doubt it's hard to schedule you an exorcism just to be sure."
"They're that common?" Lucius blinked, wondering why he hadn't heard of it more often outside the usual tales. "What the fuck?"
"No, I think the arch priest of Wypera is the only one on the isle who knows how to perform one." Anthony held up a hand to clarify. "But you have some powerful connections, both with a Hargreaves and with the town chief, so... I'm sure we could arrange for him to come here."
Lucius grinned, excitement drowning out his discomfort.
"Yes! Let's do it!"
It was hard to express how much Lucius loved his position of power. To think it could even get rid of that mangy Scourge, and not a moment too soon. It was nothing but a nuisance without purpose anyway. If Lucius managed to cleanse his soul that meant he had a chance of creating one of those paintings, and who needed an old, glorified blight if immortality was an option?
Even if they sent a letter soon it would take some time to get the arch priest all the way to South Kerilia, so Lucius could just as well try to dig up some information on those paintings.
And who better to investigate than the man who came in contact with that strange group to begin with?