Lucius struggled to think clearly as he fumbled through the darkness. He could hear the beast moving towards him where he lay on the floor and he tried to back away as fast as he could, eventually hitting a wall.
The air went out of him, and his thoughts refused to stop swirling around in his head. What was that? What would he do? Was he going to die? Would it maul him to death like Apocalypse had done with Ravi?
No. No, he wouldn't go out like that. Lying there like a wounded deer wasn't going to get him to the top of any town, and he clenched his jaw as he tried reaching for his knife.
It didn't go well. Before he could reach his target the creature grabbed his arm and Lucius noticed it didn't have paws after all. It felt more like some form of human hand with the claws of a wolf, and he couldn't resist a frown as he was lifted from the floor.
The creature leaned in to sniff him, leaving a disturbing amount of saliva over Lucius' clothes and the latter would've screamed in horror if he hadn't been busy calming his heart down. Even worse, the creature didn't seem to appreciate his scent at all as it growled and threw him across the floor again. Still being close to the ground Lucius mostly ended up rolling rather than being thrown through the air but it still hurt and he let out a groan as his chest hit the hard floor.
He was soon picked up again, this time with an even harsher treatment and he cried out as his head hit the ceiling of the room. He was that far up? Why? The thought of what would happen if the creature would let go struck him, and a trembling breath escaped him. That would be the nice option, wouldn't it? What if it actively threw him into the hard stone floor? He'd be crushed entirely.
He had one arm left though, and if he had to choose one of the options he'd go with being dropped. So he hurried to bring out his knife and before the beast could go through with whatever plan it had in mind Lucius cut its hand, forcing it to drop him.
It let out a heart-stopping roar as Lucius landed on the floor, stumbling over as the impact sent a beaming pain through his legs. For some inconvenient reason it seemed his right foot was injured, and he couldn't seem to stand up properly.
"Fuck," he whispered as he proved unable to run, and readied himself for the creature's blow. Would it throw him again? Lift him up and crush him against the floor? Bite his head off? The spinning thoughts along with a second roar paralyzed him entirely.
To Lucius' great fortune a light suddenly burst through the darkness as someone opened the door to the room.
"Stop it!" A voice Lucius couldn't place called out and the creature hesitated as it looked over at the new appearance. "Stop it right now!"
As Lucius dared to open his eyes his first instinct was to close them again. The beast really was something. Had it not been hunched over he was fairly certain it would've reached the ceiling. He cautiously looked away from the threat to glance at the new person in the room.
"Tom?" Lucius whispered, but the man ignored him and instead walked over to stand between him and the beast.
"He's not a threat," Tom said, clearly not addressing Lucius, given the situation. "Back off, Richard."
Lucius' jaw dropped.
"... Richard!?"
The beast roared again at Lucius' voice and Tom, against all expectations, took a step forward.
"Back off," he repeated, words slower and more articulated this time and to Lucius' relief it seemed to work. The creature backed away and Tom waved his hand at Lucius to get out of the room. Lucius didn't hesitate to obey.
Tom appeared next to him shortly after, setting his candle down before closing the door and proceeding to lock it up again.
"What—I... I don't..." Lucius couldn't form a complete sentence as he watched Tom bar the door. "Just... What?"
Tom didn't respond. Instead he grabbed the candle and Lucius' hand, pulling him up to the first floor again and Lucius grimaced as his foot protested. Once there, Tom seemed to hesitate.
Lucius did as well. Was he supposed to say something? What would he say after such an experience? Where would he begin? His breathing increased to a rapid pace as recent events dawned on him and he struggled to regain his calm.
Tom suddenly turned to look at him briefly, scanning his saliva drenched clothes and knitting his eyebrows.
"Come," he then said with a low voice, dragging Lucius further into the house to a rather large bathroom where he proceeded to light even more candles with the one he was holding.
Lucius' eyes darted around, trying to grasp the situation. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, or if he could even expect something in the state he was in, but no matter what he wouldn't have expected a bathroom. His knees wanted to give out as the image of the large creature appeared before his eyes again and he forgot to breathe for a moment.
"I... I don't..." He placed a hand against the wall to lean on, fighting not to fall down on the floor and trying to stop his entire body from trembling. It was no use, and his breathing sped up again.
Tom noticed, and he walked into another room to return with a bucket of water. Lucius looked down at it, confused over what he was supposed to do with it but didn't, for better or worse, have to wonder for long as Tom emptied it over his head.
Lucius screamed and gasped for air as the cold water flushed over him, and Tom stood motionless, looking at him with a frown.
"Better?" he asked, and Lucius wanted to scream again.
'Better?'
Of all ridiculous or downright horrifying events in his life Lucius had to wonder if this wasn't the strangest one yet. First he gets attacked by a monster with the same name as a man working in the very building they were in, and then he's pulled away by a man into a bathroom without explanation and getting drenched in cold water.
He opened his mouth to say something that'd make his parents turn in their graves but he had no words. His mind wouldn't let the previous thoughts go and insulting someone wouldn't help getting rid of them. Instead he frowned at the sight of Tom pouring water into a bathtub in the middle of the room before crouching down to seemingly start a small fire underneath it. He was preparing a bath? It was too strange, he just had to ask.
"You're not..." His suddenly cold state forced his voice to tremble. "Planning to boil me... Are you?"
The corner of Tom's mouth twitched, but his expression remained serious as he placed a wooden lid over the tub and he shook his head.
"Or are you trying to drown me in acid or something?" Lucius suggested, wishing to get the most threatening options out of his head.
"I'm not going to kill you," Tom replied, standing up again as the fire started. "I'm preparing a bath for you—"
"But why!?" Lucius threw his hands out. "Why are you preparing a bath? Are we just gonna ignore what just happened!?"
Tom's eyes narrowed, but it seemed to be out of concern rather than annoyance and he ran a hand through his dark brown hair.
"He drools a lot," was his reply and Lucius wanted to scream. What the Waste kind of answer was that? The man in front of him was impossible to talk to. "You need to get clean and change your clothes."
"You're... You're really not gonna talk about it?" Lucius felt his confusion evolving into frustration and he shook his head rapidly as his voice grew louder. "Why not!? Why are you avoiding this? Why are you just answering me with rubbish explanations that doesn't even have to do with that—"
"Because I don't know what to say!" Tom suddenly turned to look at him, and Lucius could see evident worry in his eyes. "I don't know what to do. No one's supposed to know about it. Why were you even down there to begin with!?"
"Well why do you have a monster down in the basement to begin with!?"
"He's not a monster!"
"Oh, so what, he's an overfed pet? Is that it?"
"He's not a pet, he's..." Tom pursed his lips. "He's just Richard."
Lucius shook his head again. He'd heard Tom call the creature that very clearly back in the basement, but he wouldn't believe it just like that.
"Richard?" he therefore asked. "The guy who punched me?"
"Yes."
"The guy who certainly didn't look like a wolf beast the last time I checked?"
"It's him. The full moon does that to him."
Lucius' eyes narrowed in confusion, and his nose scrunched up.
"The... Full moon?" Brief memories of reading about mythological creatures as a child came back to him but he couldn't quite believe it. "So what, he turns into that every full moon?"
"He reverts into that during full moons," Tom corrected him. "He's not—He's not a human."
Not a human? How could he not be? Or rather, things like that monster back there didn't exist, did they? Still, the evidence clearly suggested otherwise. Lucius wanted to believe it was just a hallucination or someone trying to mess with him, but he'd really been thrown around across the room. His aching foot and the pain in his chest proved as much.
"You're, uh... Saying that's what he actually looks like?" Lucius still couldn't quite process it, but Tom nodded.
"He's, uh... He's a werewolf. He can disguise himself as a human but every full moon he has to return to his original form. It's the one night he really has to, and the one night he briefly loses his mind, or..." He paused, eyes narrowing. "His sentience."
"Uh... Huh." Lucius knitted his eyebrows. "So he can't think clearly?"
"He can't think further than a wolf could. He follows his instincts." Tom lifted the wooden lid slightly and Lucius stared as he proceeded to remove his gloves to feel the temperature of the water, revealing massive burn marks covering most of his hands. What the Waste was going on with these people?
Despite the weirdness of it all he still got out of his clothes in silence, safely hidden behind a changing screen and put a bathrobe on. There were too many questions going on in his head. Did Anthony know? What would Tom do to him now that he knew? Or even worse, what would Richard do?
He had to weigh the pros and cons of staying around in general. Anthony would be the best way to climb the ranks quickly but working together with the trio suddenly seemed more risky than he'd initially thought. Tricking Anthony was one thing and Tom wasn't much of a threat as long as he didn't have any weird substances on hand, but a giant wolf creature? He'd need an army for that.
And that was as far as Lucius knew, but how much weren't they telling him? Was Tom a weird creature as well? Was Anthony?
Most importantly, Richard certainly was, and Lucius wouldn't want to get on his bad side with that in mind. So supposing he'd get Anthony out of the way, what would the other two do to him? Who was Anthony to them? A boss? A friend?
"Please don't tell anyone," Tom whispered after they'd been quiet for a while and Lucius awoke from his thoughts, peering out from behind the screen. "He's—He's harmless at any other time of day. Or, as harmless as most others. He can't escape that room during full moons so... So he's just... Not a threat to anyone."
Lucius tilted his head. He wouldn't have thought Tom would be that concerned, or vulnerable for that matter. He'd figured he and Richard were about as calm and collected as Anthony, but reflecting on the conversation they'd just had it dawned on Lucius that Tom didn't know how to talk to people at all. His avoidance of confrontation and attempts at directing Lucius' attention to other, ridiculous things hadn't been part of some elaborate plan to shut him up or make him disappear. He'd simply panicked out of concern for Richard and acted accordingly.
"Do you..." Lucius had to smile at the thought as he walked over to sit down on a fainting couch by the window. "... Do you think people would believe me?"
"I'd prefer if you didn't risk it."
Lucius drummed his fingers against his knee.
"Pretty sure it wouldn't turn out in my favour," he reasoned. "I'd get killed."
"Most likely."
"So... What's really stopping you from trying to kill me right now?" Lucius scanned the man's appearance. He was in such a harmless position. What could he do even if Lucius suggested it? "If you're so scared of me tattling then why not get rid of me before I even get the chance to tell anyone?"
"I don't kill people." Tom stared into the fire, grey eyes dyed pale yellow by the light of the flames. "I can't."
Lucius chewed on his lip in thought. He'd become so used to people dying the idea of someone being unable to murder suddenly seemed strange.
"I guess... That's not too unusual."
"I also figure I just couldn't manage to kill you even if I tried."
"Probably true," Lucius agreed with a nod, then he frowned as he looked at Tom's hands again and his mouth acted before his mind could. "So, uh... How—How did that happen anyway?"
He instantly regretted it. Scars were a sensitive matter. Lucius of all people should know, and the man was wearing gloves for Dyris' sake, he obviously hid them for a reason. But with all the peculiar information he'd found out about the trio the more he wanted to learn, and it'd just slipped out of him.
Tom glanced down at his hands with knitted eyebrows, and Lucius grimaced.
"I—I get it. I shouldn't have—"
"Torture." Tom's smile was bittersweet as he touched one of the scars and Lucius wanted to die a little. Of all things it could've been. "Or, perhaps a punishment would be more accurate."
"Listen, It... It was none of my business. I shouldn't have asked," Lucius' voice lowered into a whisper. Of course there was a tragedy behind them. Who would actively scorch their hands like that?
Tom sighed.
"It's, um... Pretty inevitable when they're this visible. Skin as pale as this isn't doing me any favours there. I've gotten used to it though, so..." He looked up at Lucius with a vague smile. "And I'm sure you have to deal with a lot of scar related questions too, so you know what I mean. I mean, yours isn't visible like that but I'm sure people comment on it anyway."
He blinked as he noticed Lucius' horrified expression.
"... No? Do they... I mean, do you not—"
"How do you know?" Lucius whispered but soon changed his mind. Tom could've been talking about any kind of scar, right? "Or—Or why are you... Talking as if you know where it is?"
Tom's expression went blank, and he drew a breath as if he'd said too much.
"Oh, uh..." He fiddled with his hands. "Well... I mean, your voice for a start and... And your limbs."
Lucius wrapped his arms around his waist without thinking.
"What about them?"
Tom looked extremely uncomfortable at that point and looked around as if he considered running away.
"I thought—I mean, they're... Longer. Because your joints..." He didn't continue his sentence, seemingly regretting bringing it up as much as Lucius had regretted bringing the burn marks up.
Once again the room fell into silence, and they both stared into the fire. Lucius held his arms tighter around himself. So people already knew? Or, there was a chance they did if they'd heard of the condition, but no one had said anything before. Phil had commented on Lucius' unchanging voice at some point but that was it. Lucius supposed not a whole lot of people around him had been educated in the field though.
Anger rose in his chest again. Another reminder, was it? He'd never be rid of the scar or its symptoms or the memories that came with it even after nine years and despite him never actually showing it? It was one of those moments when Lucius couldn't regret what he did to his parents. It changed all the time. Sometimes he mourned them and wished he could go back to change things, and sometimes he wished he could do it all over again.
"Do you—" He interrupted himself, not sure how to formulate his sentence. "The people who did that to you... You made them pay, right?"
Tom spared him a brief glance.
"No." His voice was weak. "Or... They paid for what they did, but I didn't do anything."
"But did you try?"
Tom shook his head as a reply, and Lucius leaned back in confusion.
"Why not? They—They hurt you. Like, really bad. Don't you think they deserved it?"
"I... I do. And I did," Tom agreed, looking away from the fire and down at the floor instead. "But I can't just hurt people like that."
"Of course you can!" Lucius' anger turned into frustration. What was wrong with the man? "Don't you—Don't you think you're owed as much? After what they did to you?"
"They were important to me... In a way. Even if I'd had the chance to hurt them I doubt I could have."
"What does that have to do with—"
"Listen." Tom looked him in the eyes. "I know what you're saying, and sometimes I wish I would've done more. That I'd taken my revenge, but... Wishing someone would get hurt and actually hurting them are two different things. And I can't just..." He gestured with his hands as if looking for words. "... Kill someone, whether I know them or not, just because they deserve it. I'm—I'm just human. "
Lucius only stared at him. Not getting revenge was a human thing? Was that what he was saying? Not daring to kill those who wronged them wasn't human, it was cowardly and sad.
"I... Guess so," he still said. "Killing isn't easy. No one can blame you for being unable to do it."
... Idiot.
"Seems like the water's warm now," Tom removed the lid from the bathtub. "So you can go ahead."
"Ah..." Lucius rose from the fainting couch, not without being reminded of his injured foot and he suppressed a grimace. "Well, uh... Cheers."
Tom had gotten up to leave as Anthony entered the bathroom. He looked over at Tom and grimaced, likely having tried to avoid the man.
Tom scowled at him.
"I told you to go to bed."
"Well I can't sleep and I figured I'd get ready for the party now so I can sleep after—" Anthony came to a halt as he noticed Lucius and remained in silence for a while as his eyes darted between them.
"Am I... Interrupting something?" he finally asked, and the other two shook their heads rapidly.
"He's just in need of a bath," Tom said as he stood up, clearly not wishing to be present for any kind of follow up questions. "I helped heat it."
"But—"
"Seriously though, try to get to bed." Tom turned in the doorway just as he was about to walk out, looking between the other two men in the room. "Oh, and... Lucius knows about Richard."
Then he hurriedly closed the door and Anthony opened his mouth to call out after him but seemingly figured there was no idea. Tom wouldn't be returning to have that conversation.
Lucius sucked in a breath. He wasn't sure where to begin. Tom was clearly not out to hurt him but what about Anthony? How serious was Richard's secret to him and how far would he go to keep it?
"You know?" Anthony turned to him, looking him dead in the eyes. Lucius refused to appear scared despite his vulnerable position.
"Yes. I had an unfortunate run-in with him in the basement."
"Why?"
Lucius didn't reply. He refused to avert his gaze but what would he say?
"Why were you in my basement, Mr. Cromwell?"
"... I... Think I dropped something last time and came to find it, and since I couldn't I figured perhaps you'd moved it to the basement."
"What was it? What did you drop?"
Another moment of silence for Lucius, and Anthony continued.
"And how did you get in in the first place? And did you actually think I would put something you'd dropped behind a barred, locked door in the basement?" He shook his head with an amused smile. "You're probably skilled in more ways than one, Cromwell, but lying isn't one of them."
Lucius stared at the other man and clicked his tongue.
"So... What do you think I was doing then?"
"Seeing how it's you I figure you were either out to steal something or just snooping around for blackmail purposes." Anthony sat down on the fainting couch and leaned his elbow on the armrest. "Which I suppose you've found, in a way."
"I've talked to Mr. Reed," Lucius said, face remaining expressionless. "I've reached the conclusion that such information would both be too unbelievable for me to use and would only make me risk my own safety. So rest assured."
"So is that what you were doing then?" Anthony arched an eyebrow. "Snooping around for information?"
"I don't see how it would be surprising. As you said, it's me we're talking about."
Anthony sighed.
"Mr. Cromwell, with this recent information coming to light I have to ask... Haven't you ever considered embracing your last name? It would do you more good than this Reaper business of yours ever could, and I think it would be a more suitable identity for you."
Lucius narrowed his eyes. What was that supposed to mean?
"It wouldn't matter. Even if I would go to Wyrmdon and get the proof I need I only have my name. I have no family money and no legal business. It would just be a laughable attempt at trying to be someone I can't be."
"A family name gets you further than you think," Anthony disagreed. "Though I fear your reputation might already be stained by your current occupation... Perhaps a disguise would be in order?"
Lucius scoffed.
"Embracing my actual identity by coming up with a new one seems... Complicated. And dare I say dumb?" His lip curled. "I suppose people could recognize Cromwell traits if they knew my family but faking an entirely new Cromwell existence seems farfetched."
"Well... You do have a point. Though they say the closer you are to the truth, the better the lie." Anthony shrugged. "All I'm saying is that it might be hard to combine your first name known by lower class gangs with a high class last name without facing difficulties, should you wish for a life in high society."
Lucius frowned, considering it as Anthony rose from the chair. His issue initially with his last name was the possibility of being found by the authorities of Wyrmdon should they still be looking for him, but if he kept Lucius separated from his last name while still reaping the profit of looking like a Cromwell he could manage both his gang and getting somewhere in high society, couldn't he?
"Well I suppose I won't be able to get ready as long as you're in here," Anthony said as he turned to the door.
Lucius couldn't help but ask.
"Ready for what?"
"Oh, just... For my company's annual ball tomorrow evening. Between the council meeting and that I would really wish to get some sleep, so I figured I'd get most preparations out of the way now."
Lucius' mouth curled into a grin. An event featuring Anthony's shady side of life? He could only imagine how much dirt he could dig up at a place like that.
"Oh? You're hosting it here?" he asked as nonchalantly as possible, and Anthony sighed as if talking to a mischievous child.
"No snooping, Cromwell."
"I'm just trying to take interest in your company," Lucius defended himself. "Gotta learn something from you if I'm gonna climb the ranks, right?"
Anthony didn't look convinced, but he also seemed to give it some thought.
"It won't be here." In the end he seemed to have reached the conclusion that Lucius didn't need to know more than that, and Lucius pouted.
"Look, if you're gonna sneak around with your drug smuggling 'oh-so-legal' trading company then you can't expect me to just happily watch from afar."
"Except I do. And I'd appreciate it." Anthony smiled his charming, eye crinkling smile as he walked out of the room, and Lucius smiled as well.
His smile was of a more mischievous kind however as he'd suddenly remembered Anthony's suggestion concerning disguises, and he knew just the place to try one out.