With stilted movements, Max attempts to pull himself out of his suit jacket. Together, they manage to do it. As soon as he's free of it, he goes right back to clinging hard to Lucas. He needs that connection. He needs someone to hold him together while the world spins around him.
Lucas' whispers comfort him. He believes. In this moment, he trusts that Lucas won't let him fall. So, he does as he's asked. He lays back and pulls himself all the way up on the bed. Then he curls onto his side and attempts to drag Lucas in with him. So he can curl his body around the Medium and hold him.
Josiah appears at the bedside with a bottle of water in hand. He offers it to Lucas silently. The vampire guard's expression is neutral, his movements all passive and impartial. Yet, he stands like a stoic sentinel at their side, seemingly ready to ward off any danger that might approach.
Then his phone rings and he picks it up on the first ring. The other half of the conversation isn't audible, but he gives a few curt 'Mm-hm's' before finally saying, "I understand. I'll let them know."
Then he shuts off the phone and turns to the two of them to say, "Cassandra has gone. She won't be welcome back again. Erik would like the two of you to stay down here until the morning."
More directly to Lucas, Josiah adds, "Mr. Osborne realizes you have things you want to discuss with him, but he really must insist that it wait util then."
---
"It's one of the reasons why I could never agree with my sister about humans," Erik admits. If he's going to have to explain all, then there's no point avoiding this topic.
"She saw them as dumb animals. We know better."
He pulls out his phone, saying, "I'll update my man, Josiah, on what's occurred."
Josiah, of course, had already heard most of it. He, with his ears well placed all over this house. Erik quickly instructs him to have the boys remain downstairs for the night, that he would brief them fully in the morning. That should give him plenty of time to iron things out here with Eshe.
With that done, Erik beckons Eshe to follow him to the sitting room. "Let's get comfortable, shall we? The story is a long one."
"I got you," Lucas repeats, over and over. He'll say it as many times as Max needs to hear it, until his throat is raw and his lips are numb. "Okay? I've got you."
As Max lays down, Lucas goes half down with him, except he hasn't forgotten the promise of water. Before this night is through Max will need to re-hydrate himself. Just like the first days together, he needs to break down, to let the pain out. Only then can they try and figure out a way to move forward. Lucas had nearly forgotten Josiah in the other room until the water bottle appears in his field of view. He glances up, silently questioning the vampire before he slowly takes the offered bottle. "Thank you."
It seems strange that Josiah would help. Lucas figured the head of security would watch over them, to make sure either one didn't do anything rash, but to help even in this small way? Lucas turns again, gently carding his fingers through Max's hair and quietly reassuring him until the phone call is over.
"She...she's gone?" This is big. Whatever went on upstairs Lucas wonders if Eshe had a hand in it. He nearly asks, but Josiah stops him short. They were staying here until the next morning. He wasn't going to complain about that, not even protesting the last bit of what Josiah says. Erik can choke on his words tomorrow, but maybe later...later he can get a message out to Miles. A backup plan in case things really hit the fan here.
"Alright," He says instead. "Thanks, Josiah."
And now his attention is truly laser focused on Max, unbutton his shirt, unbuckling his belt. "Let's get you comfy, then I'm going to cuddle the absolute shit out of you, Max." All day and all night if he needs to.
---
"She's not the only one who thinks that way, unfortunately." Cattle, livestock, vermin. Some vampires considered humanity less than the animals they transform into. Eshe could understand the appeal. She had the very same way of thinking so long ago.
Eshe waits in silence until the phone call is over. She can only hope that Josiah keeps a proper eye on the pair. Lucas might have his hands full with Max, but she fears it might not be enough to prevent him from doing something foolish. Humans are unpredictable like that.
"Mmm, yes. Let's." She does follow and takes up the first comfortable seat offered to her, offering out her hand again as she does so. Reaffirming her word. She's cast her lot in with Erik, for good or ill. "Fortunately for you I'm a patient listener."
Most of the time, but this would surely be one of them. So much hangs in the balance now, it's difficult to focus on anything else. A misstep now, in these fledgling hours of this alliance would surely spell doom, not just for those in this mansion but well beyond.
It is Josiah’s curse that he must be in the middle of Max and Erik always. His first loyalty is to his Sire. That is the way of things. It cannot be changed. He cannot let himself grow too close to Max, because the Pet is still a threat, whether he means to be or not. Josiah must always hold himself apart.
But he’s not blind. He could see all along that this was wrong. And, despite how his duty compels him, he loves Max. He will always love Max. Even if he must some day put the human to death. He will bury some piece of himself that day too. He knows it. He prays it will never be necessary.
So, he helps where he can. How he can. It is the best he can offer. He cannot be Max’s friend. Or Lucas’ friend. But he can be kind.
Max closes his eyes and settles slightly at Lucas’ touch to his hair. He’s so tired. It would be nice to sleep. Lucas is here. He’s safe. But his eyes fly wide again when Josiah tells them that news.
“What?” He tries to sit up but fumbles weakly on the bed and ends up collapsing back down. “Why? What happened. Josiah?!”
The vampire puts a finger up, one quick sharp motion and Max falls instantly silent.
“Tomorrow, Max. We will discuss everything tomorrow. Please refrain from making any bold moves until then.” The vampire stares hard at Lucas while he says that last.
“If that is all, then I will leave you to each other now. I am needed upstairs.” Without waiting to hear any protests from either of them, Josiah turns and strides out of the room.
Max shifts in closer to Lucas again, clinging to him like a lost child. “Cuddling sounds really nice...”
----
He grips her hand tight. Telling this story will be... daunting.
“My sister did not appreciate the Accords,” he starts. “She delighted in disguising herself a young college woman and going out to have her way with young men at their campus parties. Max was one of those unfortunate young men. She intended to drain him and leave him for dead. It would have looked like alcohol poisoning to anyone, at first.
“But Max had more fight in him than she bargained for. Perhaps it was luck. Or fate. But, in the battle the raged that night between them, Max came out the victor. My sister was slain."
There is a touch of sadness in his expression, tainted with regret, and anger. So much he hadn't realized until it was too late. If he'd known, could he have stopped her?
"She had allies. Powerful ones. She had, unknown to me, been amassing an army. She meant to move against me. She would have, soon. Those allies were not pleased to see her put down by a mere human, as you might imagine."
Surely she can see where this is going now? They called for vengeance. An inferior human killed one of their own? They wanted blood. They wanted Max's head on a pike.
"But she was my sister. My blood. My grievance with him took priority. My right to satisfaction was strongest. So, I named my price. Not death, but servitude. It was the only way. I claimed him to keep him alive. If I ever relinquish that claim, they will come for him. They have not forgotten."
Lucas peered up at Josiah, his pale eyes wide. There would be no plea from him for Josiah to stay, not with the line so clearly drawn. He'd have to wait to try and contact Miles or anyone else. His immediate concern was Max now that it was just the two of them again.
"Yeah, it does." Lucas kept his voice low and soothing, kissing the top of Max's crown gently. All of his questions and worries would have to keep until the morning. And the anger simmering further back from it all. Lucas had the distinct feeling he was missing parts of the story. Not that they would frame these visits from Cassandra in any kind of positive light, he imagined, but he'd been deceived.
By Erik, most certainly, but the question remained; did Max lie to him, too?
"I'm not going anywhere." Lucas chose to focus on Max instead. The poor man was about to shake into pieces, so Lucas freed him of his belt and pressed the man close against himself.
"You're okay, Max...you're okay."
----
Eshe sat in stony silence. Erik's pain etched so plainly that it tugged on long dead heartstrings. She knew this pain well, not of a sibling's death, but someone she might have considered one were the circumstances different. And for her to meet her end by accident?
Now wonder the hounds clamored for blood.
As much as vampires now held themselves above the scrabbling cry of their beasts, it was still there. Howling in the distance. Roaring when it got the chance.
They'd want for blood and only Max's would do.
"Our kind has a long memory." She stated quietly. Servitude. The word was poison lead in her mind. Her back itched, a faint reminder of an era long ago and her own servitude to another.
"But even in servitude he is still human." Her words are measured again, amber gaze fixed upon an indistinct spot upon the floor. "What's done is done, and perhaps some of it can be undone. Make Max a true Pet, a human to cherish. A bright star in a long, suffering night. Two now, actually."
This was the treasure of it all. Though she doubted Erik intended for his Pet to fall for Lucas, and the opposite had certainly been true of her plans, it happened nonetheless. Her mind turned away from this rare joy, to churn on problems that still lay ahead.
"If these usurpers wish to rally against us, we would do well to have IOPSA on our side. You will have to curry favor through Lucas for that. He will need the truth, and he will need to hide it for everyone's sake. This isn't something I will ask of him lightly." Her gaze flicked to Erik again, softening at its hard edges. Her fondness for her Medium peeking through for a few moments before clouding over with a sliver of the rage she had held for Cassandra.
"I cast my fate with you now. You would be wise not to squander it." Erik would have to choose his path and for his sake, and the sake of the two humans huddled downstairs, she hoped he chose correctly.
Max dreads answering that question. Had he lied? Yes. To Lucas. To himself.
He's been telling himself it was necessary. It was his duty. It was his lot in life to do as Erik commanded. He told himself it wasn't so bad. It wasn't until he saw the horror, the anger reflected back in Lucas' eyes that he realized how far down the rabbit hole he'd fallen. Is there any way back out of this?
Will it really be okay?
He wants to believe as he curls up in Lucas' arms. He wants to be okay. He wants to find a way back to the happiness they had before it was so abruptly shattered.
"Lucas," he whispers, barely more than a breath, "Please don't go. Please..."
I love you.
---
"They had to believe," Erik looks into her eyes, his gaze full of cold steel. "They needed to believe it was a punishment. They required their pound of flesh. That mark he bears. That was my concession."
His guilt twists like a knife every time Erik sees it. That burn. That brand. Funny, isn't it? Max has forgiven him for it. He has never forgiven himself.
"The rest I did in an effort to ease the agony of his transition. I fear that damage is irreversible. If I could go back and do it again... No, I do not think I can say I would have done it differently. I did what I felt was needed." Not right. It wasn't right. But, it was the best he could do.
"But it has been long enough now. Max has paid his debt and more. I cannot release him, but I can acknowledge him. I can give him the long lead he desires... and deserves. So that he can bask in the light of your own bright star."
Lucas, that one is a treasure too, is he not? Yes, Erik finds himself inexplicably drawn to the boy. It's no wonder at all why Max has fallen for him.
Erik clasps her hand in both of his now. "Eshe, my dark queen, I will not squander such riches as your trust. Allow me to prove myself. This very morning Lucas will be given the facts. What he does with them will be... up to you."
"I'm not going anywhere." Lucas can hear his own voice cracking, quiet as it is. It mirrors how his heart cracks in two. Even if Max had lied, there had to have been good reason. He clung to that hope, because the love he held for the sobbing man in his arms was stronger. This was a hurdle they needed to face together, even if it happened to be a wall at the moment.
"I'm staying with you." The last word came out as a hiccup, snagging there as tears spilled anew down his cheeks. "Always..."
Because I love you.
Lucas drew his arms in as tight as they would go, curling around Max like a warm blanket. Nothing could move him now and nothing would, until morning. Only the sweet bliss of slumber would finally bring his tears to a standstill, but even in sleep he held Max tight.
----
Eshe understood. As a fellow walker of the night, she knew while the duality of their kind. The burden weighed heavily on Erik's shoulders but it was the cost of sparing Max's life. One hand for humanity and the other for the brutality of the wilds.
There was no going back, only forward, from here.
The path ahead was more uncertain, even as she vowed her support. The next few days may very well bear out the direction. A path towards a brighter future or a bloody one.
Slowly she cupped her free hand around Erik's, eyes cast downward at their connection. Only then could she allow herself a warm smile. Her bright light. If only she could truly lay claim to Lucas, a true Pet to be utterly spoiled.
"No, my friend. That will be up to my dear Lucas. You'll find him wiser than his years, he carries the burdens placed on his shoulders unflinchingly. He will be angry, no doubt, but not so much as to blind himself." And angry on behalf of his love, which Eshe felt certain Erik would understand. To that end, weren't they all concerned with the poor butler's well-being?
Lifting her amber gaze, her smile actually remained. "I will, of course, ask him to hold onto yet more dark secrets, but make no mistake he is not my Pet. Though I would have enjoyed making that a reality. I believe we can make the most of this new path, but the morning will bear it all out."
Though she had no need Eshe drew a deep breath, settling the beast within her for the time being.
"Until then, perhaps it;s best we retire for the evening?"
"I will place my trust in your judgment of the Medium," Erik answered. There was little choice. Yet, Eshe's judgment had not proven false yet.
"I would like very much to retire with you, but I should find Josiah and brief him before I do. Feel free to go on without me."
In truth, Erik desired more to hear what had transpired below from his right-hand man. How had the scene played out? Josiah was, of course, keen to relay this information. As keen as he was to hear what had been decided upstairs too. The two would speak for an hour before Erik finally did retire for the night. But he would be up again at sunrise, anticipating Max's morning alarm.
---
Max tossed and turned fitfully. But each time he almost broke from sleep completely, the warmth of Lucas next to him, held fast and tight, lulled him back to deeper slumber. That warm presence chased away the nightmares too. But, it couldn't keep the dawn from approaching.
At 5:30 am, Max's alarm went off, waking him with a start. He slapped the phone off automatically, but then he rolled back over on the bed and laid there gathering his wits. Everything that happened the night before came rushing back in a tidal wave of emotions. Fresh tears stung his eyes, and a gasping sob jerked in his chest. Why couldn't it all have been a bad dream? He looked to Lucas and sobbed harder.
Would this be the last time they'd hold each other like this?
Eshe dearly hoped her great confidence in Lucas would bear out. There was good reason she trusted his reactions, of course, because he had proven her right time and again, but there's always a note of human unpredictability involved. The added wrinkle of involving someone he loved so completely is another worrying factor.
This alliance had begun on the barest of threads, but skilled weavers could still turn it into a tapestry.
"Hold that thought for another time, then. The offer will stand." She could retire with Erik another time and get a better feel for her fellow Elder then. No doubt he would prefer to speak with Josiah on his own, she had meddled enough for the time being. Taking her leave of him, Eshe stalked off to her guest room. There were preparations to make on her own end in case everything went south.
---
Max's presence in his arms was an anchor against his own nightmares too, but still Lucas found restful slumber to be elusive. It had dimmed the heat of yesterday's anger somewhat. The alarm jolting him out of sleep made that and everything else come sweeping back in. Morning. Erik said he'd speak to them soon.
As Max began to sob Lucas wrapped himself around him once more, not bothering to hide his own tears even as he tried to soothe away his love's. This wouldn't be the last morning together, he vowed. Come what may, Max was too precious to let go.
Eventually his own tears began to slow and he squeezed the man briefly tighter. "Hey, maybe we should get some coffee going? Breakfast?" Lucas asked in a voice raspy with emotion. Maybe something mundane would help. He wasn't eager to go looking for Erik, but maybe the commotion would signal to the vampires that they were up and moving finally.
As much as Lucas dreaded what was to come there was no avoiding it.
Erik had simply nodded to her, keeping his expression neutral. But, oh, how he wishes he could abandon duty and retire to bed with her. Never has he regretted so much having to say no to such a thing. His relief is just as strong hearing the offer is not isolated to this moment.
"Another time," he allows his voice to belie how much he hopes for this. Another time, he will gladly go with her. Assuming the morning does not bring this all crashing down. Only Lucas can decide that.
Erik will wait until he hears Max's alarm go off. When he does, he rises from his sleepless bed and begins to groom himself for the day. Doubtless it will be some time yet before the two emerge. Time enough for him to shave and arrange his wardrobe. He will pick something soft, and hope it does anything to lessen the perception Lucas has that he is the villain here. For all the good it may do.
---
Max sniffles and nods his head, the movement brushing against Lucas' shoulder where he'd buried his face. "Okay." His voice is so small, so hesitant.
"I can go make us some." Maybe he'll add a little whiskey to his. "I can, um, make something to eat too but... we'd have to go upstairs."
They would have to go out into the main kitchen, which puts them one step closer to Erik. And one step closer to the end too, thinks Max, once Lucas hears the whole truth. How could he want to stay after that? That fear drags another hiccupping sob out of Max. He hugs in tighter, suddenly reluctant to get up at all. As if staying tangled up in Lucas' arms like this could somehow delay that outcome?
Eshe would wait until morning, making her plans, contingencies, while keeping a quiet hope that they could all navigate this dark day and come out the other side of it to the benefit of everyone.
She would meet Erik once she heard the alarm, waiting out of the rooms in a plain sundress that she wore like regal robes. She would stand vigil with her new ally.
Time would tell where this would all lead. To ruin or to a brighter future.
---
"Me neither," Lucas admits just as quietly. Talking to Erik fills him with unnatural dread, dripping slow down his spine. He didn't want to to have that talk. Couldn't that be left to someone with more clout, someone wiser than he, who could decide with a clearer mind? All he wants is right here in his arms.
Swallowing thickly Lucas doesn't fight Max's hold around him, he stays clinging tight, as if leaving the bed would suddenly make this whole affair vanish. It wasn't right, whatever had been hidden from him, but what scares the Medium more is he's not sure he cares.
"I promised you...I was with you no matter what, Max. And I promise you that again," Somehow Lucas keeps his voice from wavering until the last word leaves his lips. Now he can barely contain a tremble in them. "I'll always come knocking at the door. You can't keep me away, not when I..."
Now finally his voice hitches. Three little words carry so much weight. He needs to say it, but now isn't the time. Not with such a dark cloud hanging over them.
"I hope you know how I feel by now," He murmurs instead. "But I need to know what's going on, that you're going to be safe from someone like Cassandra when I'm back home. I don't know if I can leave knowing you have to--" He chokes up from the effort it takes not to bawl. "Max, I just want you to be safe and happy and loved. That's all I want, okay?"
Erik comes to Eshe's side holding two glasses. The crystal may be a clouded blue to mask the color of the contents slightly, but doubtless she knows the scent of blood.
"A little something to give you strength for the morning?" A little something to sip while they wait.
---
Not when he...? What? Max finds himself leaning in, hanging on Lucas' every word. He so desperately wants to hear them, the words left hanging between them unsaid. Is he right? Are they the three words he hopes for?
He should know by now... But what if he's wrong?
"I... " his voice falters. "I hope you know I feel the same way. And I... whatever happens, I never meant to hide things from you. I never wanted to. I was just..." So scared.
His fists clench up tight where he clings to Lucas. Another sob breaks in his chest. Lucas can't leave here if he thinks Max isn't safe. But Max can't leave with him. That's not safe either. What will happen? What will become of them if Lucas has to do the duty his job asks of him? Who will Max pick if he's called on to decide? Or will the choice be taken from him?
"I am," he croaks. "I'm safe. And I'm loved." By you Lucas. Loved by you, isn't he?
Happy is relative, and Max mostly is. It's good enough. Why can't it be good enough? Why did this have to happen?
"I'll tell you everything. I'll tell you. But I need you to promise me something first. Promise you will hear Erik out before you judge him for it?"
Taking the glass Eshe lifts it briefly, nodding her head. Her expression is solemn but radiates strength, a calmness she nearly feels entirely. Her French fluid as she toasts, "Lever nos verres."
And now they wait. It was a strange twist of fate that so much would be decided by two mortals. Moments like these made believing in fate an easy task. What else could it be?
A bright future, she hopes, and Eshe reached out a hand once more to Erik. This alliance would stand. Perhaps that would lend her fellow Elder the courage to face it.
---
Lucas finds himself hanging off of every word, too. Would Max be braver than he was? Could he say what obviously needed to be said? Still it was no surprise those words remained unspoken, but Lucas vows in that moment that he would speak them if this doesn't go all to hell. He would, because even if they both felt the same way, he should tell Max in no uncertain terms.
For now his attention is solely on the present and those words spilling from his love's lips. Safe. and loved, but not happy. Not entirely? How could he, being trapped in a gilded cage. But how could he leave with hungry wolves lying in wait just outside of the bars, ready to snatch the poor man up and rip him to shreds.
Erik had been protecting Max, as much as that truth sits uneasy in Lucas's mind. IOPSA could only do so much, stretched thin as they are, but was it enough?
He didn't want to be the to judge. Lucas knows it would be biased to Max's safety and well-being, and possibly his own benefit, too. A shade of dark grey, muddled and mired in murky morals. Exactly where IOPSA usually operates. The world isn't black and white, after all.
Lucas takes a breath, slowly nodding. "I can't make a call if I don't know the whole story. All...of it." His gaze drops as he pulls back just enough to simply clasp Max's hands, trying to force himself not to cry again. "Even the ugly bits. So I promise you, I'll listen to all of it."
Swallow down his anger on Max's behalf, his fear and worry.
"You should be happy, too, you know." Tears slip down his cheeks again as Lucas looks up to Max. "So I'm sorry for...all of this. But also, I'm not sorry for it. Something has to change. If Erik's serious about sending Cassandra away...that's a start. Right?"
he squeezes Max's hands, trying to bolster his own courage. "We should go find him."
Max gulps down air and grips Lucas' hands tight. He believes Lucas, with all his heart, but his love doesn't know how ugly the ugly parts can be. Will he really be able to hear them? Will he be able to forgive?
"You make me happy, Lucas..." he tips his head down, trying to hide more tears that are slipping out despite his best efforts to stymie them. That's why he's so scared now. He's found happiness in another and he can't bear the thought of losing it.
"If Erik really did send her away then... something really bad must have happened." He worries his bottom lip in his teeth.
Much as Max would like to think Erik did it for him alone, he can't. Erik had never had issue with it until now. Is it just that Eshe and Lucas are here to protest it? Or, is there more to this change of heart?
"I don't know. I'm really scared. Cassandra's territory sits to the North of here. If she gets mad enough at Erik, she might try to attack him." Keeping her as an ally was the point of all this in the first place. What does it mean for Erik if Max hasn't fulfilled his duty?
"I'm just terrified this change might be worse..."
There's only one way to find out. With some reluctance, still, Max pulls himself from the bed and does his best to make himself look presentable. Nothing will hide the fact that he's been crying, or that his hair is still mussed from sleep, but he can at least put on fresh clothes and brush his teeth. It will give him time to steel himself for the conversation that lies ahead.
When he can't stall anymore, he reaches for Lucas and looks to the door. "Okay, let's go find them."
---
Erik can start to hear the stirring of noises in the basement. The time is drawing near. With great reluctance, and one last gentle squeeze, he releases Eshe's hand.
"I suppose we should make our way to the dining room. I feel as if a discussion such as this should be made at a proper table."
When they reach the table, he will extend a hand for her glass. Best to take both of these to the kitchen now. Either Max will wash them later or... perhaps he will be doing so. Alone. Much depends on what happens now.
When Lucas and Max emerge from below, they will find him sitting at the head of the table in his usual spot. But he won't be wearing his usual expression of confidence. For once, he lets the wrinkles of worry show around his eyes.
Lucas keeps himself steady for Max's sake, and his own. Whatever the situation they find themselves in a few minutes from now he needs to keep his head above water. IOPSA would expect no less, but also Max needs someone to lean against, too. All the fear and worry that gnaws at him would have to wait until later to unpack.
If there was a later.
Another tightening of his hand, brief, before they both need to get up and get ready. Lucas wonders if speaking up is about to cost them both all of this...this love between them. Should he have just kept his mouth shut?
His heart twists painfully in his chest, already knowing the answer would be no.
"We'll get through this," Lucas promises instead. There had to be a solution, a reason why Erik would cut ties with Cassandra. Maybe it was all for show, and she would return when he left. Maybe there was another force at play here. With Eshe also in attendance Lucas couldn't rule that possibility out. It would all remain a mystery until they met with the vampires so Lucas focused instead on getting dressed. His t-shirt and jeans felt too informal for the weight crushing down on his shoulders.
He takes a deep breath, clasping Max's hand in his, smiling despite wanting to pull Max to the front door and fleeing from the mansion. They could do this, as long as they were together.
---
"Mmm, yes, it should." Eshe agrees without question. Come what may this discussion would be a difficult one. Both of their territories are at risk now, hinging on two human hearts. The irony is not lost on the Vampire Queen, but she remains quiet.
Instead of taking a proper seat Eshe perches herself to Erik's left, on the arm rest. Even this is like a throne to her, eyeing the pair of humans as they finally make their approach. Her lot has been cast, now only the outcome needs to be determined.
---
As they enter the dining room Lucas's gaze falls to Eshe first. The way she's seated isn't lost on him, sharing the head of the table with Erik. But what does it really mean? He takes another deep breath, smoothing down the fraying edges of his nerves, before looking to Erik.
The Elder's normally controlled expression is laid bare with worry. Lucas swallows hard, keeping his hand around Max's as he moves to take a seat.
"We need to talk." He says as evenly as possible, keeping a lid on the one mote of anger that still lingered. He would listen to what Erik had to say before rushing to judgement. "And I need the truth about what's going on here. About Cassandra and...about Max."
He glances briefly to his love, hoping that starting this way would also help the man to calm, at least for a few minutes. They all stood on the brink of something greater, but whether that was for good or ill remains to be seen.
Max's hand trembles in Lucas'. He can't even attempt a smile when they enter the room and he sees Erik looking so... tired. He rarely ever sees such a look on his Master's face. Only when the vampire is deeply grieved.
Each step forward Max takes now feels like he's impaling his heart deeper and deeper onto a jagged knife. Only Lucas' grip on him keeps him steady until he finally drops into the seat next to the Medium. His grip never loosens. It's the only thing keeping him from getting up and bolting to the kitchen. He'd like to use the excuse of making coffee or something stronger for them. But he needs to stay. He's part of this too. He's the cause of this.
"I will tell you everything," Erik answers solemnly. "I have already confessed all to Eshe. So if you cannot rely on my word, then take hers as proof." Surely none of them in this room can miss the implications of where she has chosen to place herself. Erik can only hope it works as some advantage to him now.
Max glances Lucas too, and he can tell from how his head is swimming that he must look so pale and sick. He feels it. But he's relieved, too, that Erik is willing to cooperate.
Erik's frowns sympathetically at his Pet, wishing more could be done to soothe him. But, he supposes that's Lucas' job now. His job is to cut straight to the heart of the matter. And so he shall.
"The truth," says Erik, "is that I have been using Max as a bargaining chip. I have been letting that woman, Cassandra, have her way with him as part of an arranged deal to keep her from advancing on my territory. And, no, I did not give Max any choice in that matter. You are right to despise me for that."
"Master," cries Max suddenly, "You know I-"
"Max," Erik snaps. "Don't..."
Erik turns his gaze to Lucas, waiting to hear what he will have to say about this.
Out of the corner of his eyes Lucas can see Max look to him. Lucas doesn't dare look back, his gaze focused on an indistinct point on the table just before the two Elders, bracing for impact. Even knowing that what he suspects is the truth doesn't save him from being rocked by those words of admission. Anger flashes in his gut, bending and twisting in on itself because it has no real way to escape. He wants to lash out, cut Erik down to size, take him to task for using Max as nothing more than bait. If he wasn't a part of IOPSA then he might have. Instead the only ripple in his expression is the clenching of his jaw, biting the inside of his mouth until a deep inhale through his nose sets the Medium firmly on his path. He can't afford to lose his cool, for all their sakes.
"What was your deal with Cassandra, not just about Max." At first his tone wobbles but Lucas presses forward. "What's at stake here?"
Beside Erik Eshe's expression is more withdrawn, but she watches Lucas with keen eyes, shifting her gaze to Max directly after. How would the Medium's love take to that measured question? Every word threatens to snap the uneasy calm like a thread.
Lucas ignores Eshe, though he can see her slight movement out of his direct line of sight. The question he dreads asking hangs heavy, making his throat clench tight. He wants to vomit but spits the words out instead.
Max's fingers clench tight around Lucas'. Max other hand shifts to the back of his neck to clutch at the brand, the symbol of his enslavement. He can feel Eshe's eyes on him like an uncontrollable itch. Bile rises in the back of his throat at Lucas' first question. The deal was to keep them safe. Max knew it was his duty. And now they might go to war over this. His own desires shouldn't matter in the face of that! But, before he can muster up the will to speak past the lump in his throat, Lucas asks that next question. Max feels it like a punch to the gut.
Erik flinches, and his eyes flick to Max. But he forces himself to refocus on Lucas. These questions demand answers.
"Cassandra's territory centers on Chicago, and encompasses the majority of Illinois. My territory extends into the bottom half of Illinoi as well. She contests my ownership of it, and would have moved to take it and possibly the city of Saint Louis away from me if not for the deal we have struck. Every season she visits me here to discuss matters that concern the disputed territory, and to agree on what developments will be made. During those visits, Max is expected to feed and entertain her. It is... was a bribe. Max paid it with his body."
The vampire master wants to look away, but he knows that he must not break eye contact. He must own this. It is the only way to prove how serious he is about making this change.
"I led Max to believe that this was the only way to keep the peace. I let myself believe it too. But it was wrong. And there is no good answer for this. The truth is I did not value Max as I should. I've treated him as an object and as a slave, not as a Pet. I used him when I should have been protecting him. ...It is no excuse for me to say that I didn't see it. Only an explanation."
"Erik..." croaks Max. He's stood up without realizing it. Part of him is drawn to his master's side, wanting to hold him and comfort him for the look of pain etched on his ancient features, but he stays glued in place. "I did have a choice! I-I wanted to help! I wanted to do it for you."
"No, Max..." Erik voice is low and tinged with regret. "It's something I never had a right to ask of you in the first place. I'm sure Lucas would agree."
Seeing Erik flunch sets Lucas on edge, but now that his gaze is fixed to the vampire he doesn't dare look away. In order to make any kind of decision he needs all the information he can get, even if he doesn't want to hear any of it. His heartbeats loudly in his ears, thrusting with angry energy. Max is more than just currency! His mind rails, balking at the insuitation between what is said and left unspoken. Even a Pet has more choice than that.
Then, at Erik's next words, he can feel the blood draining out of him, right out into the floor. A slave. Erik twisted saving Max's life somehow into making the man a slave. He nearly loses the tenuous control he has right there but Max leaps to his feet and pleads his master's case, knocking the wind right out of him.
Right then, in that singular, horrible momemt, Lucas finally understands what it means to have a broken heart. He could flee with Max, whisk him away from Erik, but Max would never really be free.
Love alone could not save him.
Erik's direct comment draws a sharp breath through his nose and wetness stinging at the corners of his eyes. He should say something. Anything. Yell or scream, let loose the anger roiling in his core, the fear that makes it sting deeper. Erik deserves it, and more, only he can't speak. An IOPSA officer would weigh the facts and make his decision as objectively as possible. Right now his vision is blurred with unscheduled tears instead.
Eshe keeps her gaze fixed to Max, but lays a hand to Erik's shoulder. "It's easy to paint yourself the villain, but it is the easy way out, Erik." Her admonishing is gentle, yet stern. "The way through this will be ugly and messy, but more than the Ozarks hangs in the balance now. Ambrosio, the jewel of the Eastern Seaboard, stands at the ready. I have cast my lot in with Erik's. We have much to learn from each other."
Lucas's gaze snaps to Eshe, who simply inclines her head in a slow nod. The implications are staggering but he feels like he's still missing so many puzzle pieces. He looks from Eshe to Erik, sizing up their expressions while his mind frantically tries to keep up with what's being said and left for him to read into.
"Why?" Lucas starts, his voice breaking as he tries his best not to crush Max's hand. "Why team up now?"
"I'll spare you the usual theatrics," Eshe's tone becomes clipped, allowing herself to mirror Erik's tired expression. "This is not simply for Max's sake. Ever since the Accord there have always been those who thought it was nothing more than a shackle. But they could do nothing but snarl about it behind humanity's backs, lest they be put down. Only now they have some bite, leverage to overthrow humanity. Alliances are being made and broken for far less appealing reasons than this one has been. It may still be decades but a war is coming. We've chosen to hold to the Accord, and together, we might have a chance of keeping it."
She levels her gaze to Lucas, crushing the pity she feels for him. This, too, she must place on his shoulders.
"If Erik's enemies smell blood in the water it will be his doom."
Max looks between Lucas with his fresh tears and Erik with his lips set in a grim line. Two lives. Two loyalties. Two types of love. How is he going to reconcile them? How can he be a loyal Pet to his Master and a faithful lover to Lucas at the same time? Is such a thing even possible? He sinks back down into his chair. His hand gripping tighter to Lucas.
Erik watches Max descend. And, in that moment the truth does reveal itself. If Max were allowed a choice, he would go with Lucas. Anyone could see that. But Max can't. Not ever. How could Lucas view Erik as anything other than the villain for this? And yet, it is as Eshe says, more complicated than that.
But Eshe has not finished with her revelations. So, he remains stone-faced and quiet as she lays down the true stakes, the wider picture that they all must see if they are to get through this. The war drums have already begun to sound, and IOPSA was bound to get involved sooner or later. Poor Lucas, for him the burden will lay heavy indeed.
"My doom," Erik says, picking up where Eshe leaves it, "will spell Max's doom." So much for leaving off dramatics. But, it is the truth.
"When Max killed my sister, he made powerful enemies. I regret that she and I were on opposing sides of the Accord issue. She and her allies viewed the Accord as an affront. They would see all of humanity subjugated to their rule. To think a human could murder one of their own...? It was too great an insult to their sensibilities. This is why they will stop at nothing to claim Max. Their thirst for revenge is driven by their hatred. Only by the strength of my influence have I been able to keep them back."
He steeples his fingers together and Looks Lucas dead in the eyes.
"The news Cassandra brought me today could foretell a shift in power that threatens to unbalance my precarious position in this territory. The opposition is making moves. Cassandra has withdrawn her support. I do not know for how much longer her truce will stand. I am vulnerable on too many sides. If not for Eshe throwing her lot in with me now, I may not have the strength enough to defend myself. Or Max."
"Erik..." Max whispers, "I'm sorry..."
"No, Max. Ultimately, this has nothing to do with you." Erik's expression flickers to pained regret when he looks to his Pet. But his resolve stiffens and with it returns his stony look of determination, which he levels on Lucas once more. "This conflict is inevitable. It will require us to put aside grievances and forgive trespasses for the greater good.
"That is what I am asking of you now, Lucas. If I make a vow to you, to change my treatment of Max, will you be able to put aside what has been done and look to a future together? I would much rather have you and IOPSA as my ally."
Not dramatic, Eshe insists, before she unloads the news in a tidy yet theatrical way. Vampires just can't help themselves, it seems, but the thought does little to soften the blow. Only Max's presence seems to steady him but even this feels wrong, like he's making the poor man choose a side.
So Lucas listens, lips pressed together to keep himself held together. It's by the barest of threads, holding fast against an internal tempest of warring emotions. None winning out against the other, but rising in intensity as each new bit of information is revealed.
Max killed Erik's sister. That alone would be trouble, but to hear she and Erik were on opposing sides starts to spell out the spider's web in frightening detail, leaving his head spinning. This went beyond Max and himself, beyond Erik and Max, beyond Erik and Eshe. If what the Elder is saying is the truth then the future sits precariously on the edge, held together by the webs these Elders have been spinning.
Even the strongest web could be cut and what that would be for the world at large, Lucas couldn't even guess. It wouldn't be good.
His heart thuds wet and heavy in his ears, so much so that Lucas almost misses Max and Erik's exchange. he does his best to keep a level expression, knowing he was hardly fooling anyone seated at the table. Each word hangs heavier than the last around his shoulders, until Erik makes his case. Already the Medium knows what the answer must be but Eshe's taught him well over the years. There's always a little time to consider every option.
Swallowing down the raging storm of emotions in his core, Lucas finds his voice, brittle but not broken. His pale eyes fix on each Elder in turn. "I need to check into a few things before I can give you an answer to that. And some fresh air wouldn't hurt."
Coffee, too. Maybe. His stomach can barely handle it right now but afterward, who knows. Now Lucas dares to sneak a glance at Max, voice quieting with a painful note of hope. "If you want to...come with me?"
There, Erik can see the realization forming in Lucas' eyes, the connections being made, the wide-spread implications. He's a clever boy. He can see the consequences that lay ahead of them, spiderweb cracks forming in the glass, all originating from this moment, the decision beneath his feet. Right or left? Up or down? He will have to choose. But Erik doesn't begrudge the man time to think. The outcome may not change, but Lucas deserves to consider it all before he takes the plunge.
"Of course," says Erik. "You are free to move about the grounds." Josiah will be standing by at a distance as a precaution, naturally, but Erik doesn't say so aloud.
Max looks to Lucas, eyes wide and full of many emotions, but the strongest of them is hope. Then, he turns to Erik, with a besieging look. Erik nods once. Max's focus swivels back to Lucas instantly.
He nods fervently. "Yes. I want to."
Lucas isn't the only one anxious to get away from this table. Some of what Erik has revealed is news to him as well. He knew Erik had to keep a tight guard on his territory, but he didn't realize how precarious the balance truly was. He hadn't realized a war was coming.
"You... want me to make some coffee first?" He asks as he stands up from the table on shaky legs. It's not cold outside, yet Max feels like his insides are frozen, and his limbs are stiff. Something warm to drink might help.
The hope in Max's gaze nearly bolsters his own, until those beautiful brown eyes flick over his shoulder, seeking Erik's approval. Lucas doesn't have to glance in that direction to know, only that once permission has been given now Max wants to leave the table. Lucas stands with him, nodding to both Elders before turning to vacate the room.
"Sure," He replies, almost absentmindedly. His thoughts are still spinning, clutching at every fragment of information he possibly could. All of it pointed in one direction.
All of it makes his head heavy and as they enter the kitchen together Lucas trails alongside Max like a lost puppy, eventually leaning into him, head resting against the man's shoulder. He wants to ask a million questions but nothing is voiced just yet.
For a few more moments he wants to pretend everything is okay.
---
Eshe remains on her perch as the two men take their leave, until at last they've gone. Although Lucas hadn't given an answer, she could see the wheels turning in that direction. It was the only way a proper IOPSA agent could act, and yet there were still unknowns. While she planned to fully back Erik, if Max was taken away how would that weaken her fellow Elder's position? If Max remained it meant maintaining a lie, with Lucas's help.
"What a curious thing fate is. How different would our positions be if you hadn't sent your Max after Lucas?" Her voice is tight, not even she was above the emotion of the morning. As she looked to the places their cherished humans had occupied a tear slips down her cheek.
"Yet we now have a new future to forge, do we not?"
Max walks slowly next to Lucas, almost afraid he'll need to catch his love in case he faints. It's like the opposite of last night when he was the one on the verge of collapse. When Lucas leans into him, Max does catch him in his arms and holds him tight. Silent tears drip down his face, and his breathing is still ragged, but he doesn't dare make a sound.
It's all gone so wrong. What if this is the end? What if the choice Lucas makes right now is to walk away from it all? Max can't blame him for it, but he can already feel his heart cleaving in two at the thought. Three little words want desperately to slip out between his lips, but he presses his mouth closed. He can't do it now. He can't use that to twist Lucas to his will or make him feel obligated to reciprocate. He has to keep them inside.
---
Erik watches the two of them go and feels, to his surprise, a profound sense of loss at the sight. Max is no longer devoted to only him. Lucas has claimed his heart. He told himself he wouldn't be jealous, and he's not. This feeling is... not anger. Just grief. Things are changing. So many things. And, despite having watched the world change for centuries, Erik finds he still hates change just as much as ever.
Eshe's words draw him out of his brooding again. "So, you knew the whole time, did you? Let me think myself clever?" He tried for something like a lightly teasing tone, as he rests a hand on her thigh in a gesture of comfort at hearing the tightness in her voice.
"It is the future I hoped to forge. I should be celebrating this success. Yet, I must confess: it has been a long time since I have felt so little control over my own destiny. It is not easy to trust in fate."
"Oh, if only I could make such a claim." Eshe's lip curls, her gaze holding the spot where Max and Lucas sat for a few moments longer before she turns to Erik. The mirth doesn't quite reach her eyes, but close enough that it's intent is clear.
"At least not until the pair of you waltzed into the bar did I realize what may be going on. It became very clear at the dinner party, but I couldn't help but wonder what game you were trying to play." Now her expression is whole and bright despite mirroring the same fear that radiates from her fellow Elder. "I believe we both bit off more than we could chew, hm?"
She leans in, stroking the back of her hand against Erik's cold, sharp cheek, her golden eyes flickering with wild excitement, alight as if she were a living being once again. "Frightening, isn't it? A taste of mortal life. I'd almost swear I could feel my heart racing. And it is thanks to our two little lights. Fate can be strange and wondrous, indeed."
---
Pressing his face against Max's chest Lucas clings tight until his knuckles are sore. he can't speak but hopefully his actions might in his stead. he doesn't want to let go. Despite the uncertain future, he wants to hold onto this.
Doing so means maintaining a lie, perpetuating that all is well in the house of Lord Osborne and that it has always been so.
Telling the truth means crumbling the foundation of Erik's territory, sending a rouge wave out from the epicenter to cause untold damage.
Complicating all of this is his relationship with the man in his arms. Lucas chokes down a sob but allows the tears to fall. If the truth ever got out it would call everything into question, his career, the years spent in training, it would all be swept away, too. And yet he can't resist the siren call of the truth. He had to know all of it, even the ugly bits. Why did Max leap to defend Erik, even after the horrible realty of Cassandra's visits had been exposed? It's more than mere loyalty, the Medium felt sure of it.
"Max," Lucas finally croaks. Each word is slow, spoken as if his tongue is made of lead, stomach curdling with every syllable. "What happened after Erik brought you here? What really happened?"
No matter what it costs him in the end, Lucas needs to uncover that crucial piece of the puzzle.
"I hope we truly haven't," Erik tells her. Bitten off more than they can chew, that is.
He's trying to look at it the way she is, as something exhilarating. But he just keeps thinking one thing, over and over. Wouldn't that just be like fate? To do them in with two lovers?
---
Lucas clings so hard to him. He wants to believe it's true. That Lucas wants to stay. He wants that so much. But he has to come clean. He has to tell the whole truth like he promised. Lucas has to know... even if it ruins them both.
"I..." A sob catches in his throat, and he convulses in Lucas' arms as if trying to let the words out physically pains him.
"I...need..." his knees are going out from under him again. He needs to sit down. He can't tell this story standing up. He doesn't want to tell it sober, either.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2021-03-11 01:33 am (UTC)Lucas' whispers comfort him. He believes. In this moment, he trusts that Lucas won't let him fall. So, he does as he's asked. He lays back and pulls himself all the way up on the bed. Then he curls onto his side and attempts to drag Lucas in with him. So he can curl his body around the Medium and hold him.
Josiah appears at the bedside with a bottle of water in hand. He offers it to Lucas silently. The vampire guard's expression is neutral, his movements all passive and impartial. Yet, he stands like a stoic sentinel at their side, seemingly ready to ward off any danger that might approach.
Then his phone rings and he picks it up on the first ring. The other half of the conversation isn't audible, but he gives a few curt 'Mm-hm's' before finally saying, "I understand. I'll let them know."
Then he shuts off the phone and turns to the two of them to say, "Cassandra has gone. She won't be welcome back again. Erik would like the two of you to stay down here until the morning."
More directly to Lucas, Josiah adds, "Mr. Osborne realizes you have things you want to discuss with him, but he really must insist that it wait util then."
---
"It's one of the reasons why I could never agree with my sister about humans," Erik admits. If he's going to have to explain all, then there's no point avoiding this topic.
"She saw them as dumb animals. We know better."
He pulls out his phone, saying, "I'll update my man, Josiah, on what's occurred."
Josiah, of course, had already heard most of it. He, with his ears well placed all over this house. Erik quickly instructs him to have the boys remain downstairs for the night, that he would brief them fully in the morning. That should give him plenty of time to iron things out here with Eshe.
With that done, Erik beckons Eshe to follow him to the sitting room. "Let's get comfortable, shall we? The story is a long one."
no subject
Date: 2021-03-11 02:54 am (UTC)As Max lays down, Lucas goes half down with him, except he hasn't forgotten the promise of water. Before this night is through Max will need to re-hydrate himself. Just like the first days together, he needs to break down, to let the pain out. Only then can they try and figure out a way to move forward. Lucas had nearly forgotten Josiah in the other room until the water bottle appears in his field of view. He glances up, silently questioning the vampire before he slowly takes the offered bottle. "Thank you."
It seems strange that Josiah would help. Lucas figured the head of security would watch over them, to make sure either one didn't do anything rash, but to help even in this small way? Lucas turns again, gently carding his fingers through Max's hair and quietly reassuring him until the phone call is over.
"She...she's gone?" This is big. Whatever went on upstairs Lucas wonders if Eshe had a hand in it. He nearly asks, but Josiah stops him short. They were staying here until the next morning. He wasn't going to complain about that, not even protesting the last bit of what Josiah says. Erik can choke on his words tomorrow, but maybe later...later he can get a message out to Miles. A backup plan in case things really hit the fan here.
"Alright," He says instead. "Thanks, Josiah."
And now his attention is truly laser focused on Max, unbutton his shirt, unbuckling his belt. "Let's get you comfy, then I'm going to cuddle the absolute shit out of you, Max." All day and all night if he needs to.
---
"She's not the only one who thinks that way, unfortunately." Cattle, livestock, vermin. Some vampires considered humanity less than the animals they transform into. Eshe could understand the appeal. She had the very same way of thinking so long ago.
Eshe waits in silence until the phone call is over. She can only hope that Josiah keeps a proper eye on the pair. Lucas might have his hands full with Max, but she fears it might not be enough to prevent him from doing something foolish. Humans are unpredictable like that.
"Mmm, yes. Let's." She does follow and takes up the first comfortable seat offered to her, offering out her hand again as she does so. Reaffirming her word. She's cast her lot in with Erik, for good or ill. "Fortunately for you I'm a patient listener."
Most of the time, but this would surely be one of them. So much hangs in the balance now, it's difficult to focus on anything else. A misstep now, in these fledgling hours of this alliance would surely spell doom, not just for those in this mansion but well beyond.
no subject
Date: 2021-03-20 05:28 am (UTC)But he’s not blind. He could see all along that this was wrong. And, despite how his duty compels him, he loves Max. He will always love Max. Even if he must some day put the human to death. He will bury some piece of himself that day too. He knows it. He prays it will never be necessary.
So, he helps where he can. How he can. It is the best he can offer. He cannot be Max’s friend. Or Lucas’ friend. But he can be kind.
Max closes his eyes and settles slightly at Lucas’ touch to his hair. He’s so tired. It would be nice to sleep. Lucas is here. He’s safe. But his eyes fly wide again when Josiah tells them that news.
“What?” He tries to sit up but fumbles weakly on the bed and ends up collapsing back down. “Why? What happened. Josiah?!”
The vampire puts a finger up, one quick sharp motion and Max falls instantly silent.
“Tomorrow, Max. We will discuss everything tomorrow. Please refrain from making any bold moves until then.” The vampire stares hard at Lucas while he says that last.
“If that is all, then I will leave you to each other now. I am needed upstairs.” Without waiting to hear any protests from either of them, Josiah turns and strides out of the room.
Max shifts in closer to Lucas again, clinging to him like a lost child. “Cuddling sounds really nice...”
----
He grips her hand tight. Telling this story will be... daunting.
“My sister did not appreciate the Accords,” he starts. “She delighted in disguising herself a young college woman and going out to have her way with young men at their campus parties. Max was one of those unfortunate young men. She intended to drain him and leave him for dead. It would have looked like alcohol poisoning to anyone, at first.
“But Max had more fight in him than she bargained for. Perhaps it was luck. Or fate. But, in the battle the raged that night between them, Max came out the victor. My sister was slain."
There is a touch of sadness in his expression, tainted with regret, and anger. So much he hadn't realized until it was too late. If he'd known, could he have stopped her?
"She had allies. Powerful ones. She had, unknown to me, been amassing an army. She meant to move against me. She would have, soon. Those allies were not pleased to see her put down by a mere human, as you might imagine."
Surely she can see where this is going now? They called for vengeance. An inferior human killed one of their own? They wanted blood. They wanted Max's head on a pike.
"But she was my sister. My blood. My grievance with him took priority. My right to satisfaction was strongest. So, I named my price. Not death, but servitude. It was the only way. I claimed him to keep him alive. If I ever relinquish that claim, they will come for him. They have not forgotten."
no subject
Date: 2021-03-21 03:55 am (UTC)"Yeah, it does." Lucas kept his voice low and soothing, kissing the top of Max's crown gently. All of his questions and worries would have to keep until the morning. And the anger simmering further back from it all. Lucas had the distinct feeling he was missing parts of the story. Not that they would frame these visits from Cassandra in any kind of positive light, he imagined, but he'd been deceived.
By Erik, most certainly, but the question remained; did Max lie to him, too?
"I'm not going anywhere." Lucas chose to focus on Max instead. The poor man was about to shake into pieces, so Lucas freed him of his belt and pressed the man close against himself.
"You're okay, Max...you're okay."
----
Eshe sat in stony silence. Erik's pain etched so plainly that it tugged on long dead heartstrings. She knew this pain well, not of a sibling's death, but someone she might have considered one were the circumstances different. And for her to meet her end by accident?
Now wonder the hounds clamored for blood.
As much as vampires now held themselves above the scrabbling cry of their beasts, it was still there. Howling in the distance. Roaring when it got the chance.
They'd want for blood and only Max's would do.
"Our kind has a long memory." She stated quietly. Servitude. The word was poison lead in her mind. Her back itched, a faint reminder of an era long ago and her own servitude to another.
"But even in servitude he is still human." Her words are measured again, amber gaze fixed upon an indistinct spot upon the floor. "What's done is done, and perhaps some of it can be undone. Make Max a true Pet, a human to cherish. A bright star in a long, suffering night. Two now, actually."
This was the treasure of it all. Though she doubted Erik intended for his Pet to fall for Lucas, and the opposite had certainly been true of her plans, it happened nonetheless. Her mind turned away from this rare joy, to churn on problems that still lay ahead.
"If these usurpers wish to rally against us, we would do well to have IOPSA on our side. You will have to curry favor through Lucas for that. He will need the truth, and he will need to hide it for everyone's sake. This isn't something I will ask of him lightly." Her gaze flicked to Erik again, softening at its hard edges. Her fondness for her Medium peeking through for a few moments before clouding over with a sliver of the rage she had held for Cassandra.
"I cast my fate with you now. You would be wise not to squander it." Erik would have to choose his path and for his sake, and the sake of the two humans huddled downstairs, she hoped he chose correctly.
no subject
Date: 2021-03-24 01:03 am (UTC)He's been telling himself it was necessary. It was his duty. It was his lot in life to do as Erik commanded. He told himself it wasn't so bad. It wasn't until he saw the horror, the anger reflected back in Lucas' eyes that he realized how far down the rabbit hole he'd fallen. Is there any way back out of this?
Will it really be okay?
He wants to believe as he curls up in Lucas' arms. He wants to be okay. He wants to find a way back to the happiness they had before it was so abruptly shattered.
"Lucas," he whispers, barely more than a breath, "Please don't go. Please..."
I love you.
---
"They had to believe," Erik looks into her eyes, his gaze full of cold steel. "They needed to believe it was a punishment. They required their pound of flesh. That mark he bears. That was my concession."
His guilt twists like a knife every time Erik sees it. That burn. That brand. Funny, isn't it? Max has forgiven him for it. He has never forgiven himself.
"The rest I did in an effort to ease the agony of his transition. I fear that damage is irreversible. If I could go back and do it again... No, I do not think I can say I would have done it differently. I did what I felt was needed." Not right. It wasn't right. But, it was the best he could do.
"But it has been long enough now. Max has paid his debt and more. I cannot release him, but I can acknowledge him. I can give him the long lead he desires... and deserves. So that he can bask in the light of your own bright star."
Lucas, that one is a treasure too, is he not? Yes, Erik finds himself inexplicably drawn to the boy. It's no wonder at all why Max has fallen for him.
Erik clasps her hand in both of his now. "Eshe, my dark queen, I will not squander such riches as your trust. Allow me to prove myself. This very morning Lucas will be given the facts. What he does with them will be... up to you."
no subject
Date: 2021-03-24 02:27 am (UTC)"I'm staying with you." The last word came out as a hiccup, snagging there as tears spilled anew down his cheeks. "Always..."
Because I love you.
Lucas drew his arms in as tight as they would go, curling around Max like a warm blanket. Nothing could move him now and nothing would, until morning. Only the sweet bliss of slumber would finally bring his tears to a standstill, but even in sleep he held Max tight.
----
Eshe understood. As a fellow walker of the night, she knew while the duality of their kind. The burden weighed heavily on Erik's shoulders but it was the cost of sparing Max's life. One hand for humanity and the other for the brutality of the wilds.
There was no going back, only forward, from here.
The path ahead was more uncertain, even as she vowed her support. The next few days may very well bear out the direction. A path towards a brighter future or a bloody one.
Slowly she cupped her free hand around Erik's, eyes cast downward at their connection. Only then could she allow herself a warm smile. Her bright light. If only she could truly lay claim to Lucas, a true Pet to be utterly spoiled.
"No, my friend. That will be up to my dear Lucas. You'll find him wiser than his years, he carries the burdens placed on his shoulders unflinchingly. He will be angry, no doubt, but not so much as to blind himself." And angry on behalf of his love, which Eshe felt certain Erik would understand. To that end, weren't they all concerned with the poor butler's well-being?
Lifting her amber gaze, her smile actually remained. "I will, of course, ask him to hold onto yet more dark secrets, but make no mistake he is not my Pet. Though I would have enjoyed making that a reality. I believe we can make the most of this new path, but the morning will bear it all out."
Though she had no need Eshe drew a deep breath, settling the beast within her for the time being.
"Until then, perhaps it;s best we retire for the evening?"
no subject
Date: 2021-04-06 10:59 am (UTC)"I would like very much to retire with you, but I should find Josiah and brief him before I do. Feel free to go on without me."
In truth, Erik desired more to hear what had transpired below from his right-hand man. How had the scene played out? Josiah was, of course, keen to relay this information. As keen as he was to hear what had been decided upstairs too. The two would speak for an hour before Erik finally did retire for the night. But he would be up again at sunrise, anticipating Max's morning alarm.
---
Max tossed and turned fitfully. But each time he almost broke from sleep completely, the warmth of Lucas next to him, held fast and tight, lulled him back to deeper slumber. That warm presence chased away the nightmares too. But, it couldn't keep the dawn from approaching.
At 5:30 am, Max's alarm went off, waking him with a start. He slapped the phone off automatically, but then he rolled back over on the bed and laid there gathering his wits. Everything that happened the night before came rushing back in a tidal wave of emotions. Fresh tears stung his eyes, and a gasping sob jerked in his chest. Why couldn't it all have been a bad dream? He looked to Lucas and sobbed harder.
Would this be the last time they'd hold each other like this?
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Date: 2021-04-07 12:00 pm (UTC)This alliance had begun on the barest of threads, but skilled weavers could still turn it into a tapestry.
"Hold that thought for another time, then. The offer will stand." She could retire with Erik another time and get a better feel for her fellow Elder then. No doubt he would prefer to speak with Josiah on his own, she had meddled enough for the time being. Taking her leave of him, Eshe stalked off to her guest room. There were preparations to make on her own end in case everything went south.
---
Max's presence in his arms was an anchor against his own nightmares too, but still Lucas found restful slumber to be elusive. It had dimmed the heat of yesterday's anger somewhat. The alarm jolting him out of sleep made that and everything else come sweeping back in. Morning. Erik said he'd speak to them soon.
As Max began to sob Lucas wrapped himself around him once more, not bothering to hide his own tears even as he tried to soothe away his love's. This wouldn't be the last morning together, he vowed. Come what may, Max was too precious to let go.
Eventually his own tears began to slow and he squeezed the man briefly tighter. "Hey, maybe we should get some coffee going? Breakfast?" Lucas asked in a voice raspy with emotion. Maybe something mundane would help. He wasn't eager to go looking for Erik, but maybe the commotion would signal to the vampires that they were up and moving finally.
As much as Lucas dreaded what was to come there was no avoiding it.
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Date: 2021-04-12 06:52 pm (UTC)"Another time," he allows his voice to belie how much he hopes for this. Another time, he will gladly go with her. Assuming the morning does not bring this all crashing down. Only Lucas can decide that.
Erik will wait until he hears Max's alarm go off. When he does, he rises from his sleepless bed and begins to groom himself for the day. Doubtless it will be some time yet before the two emerge. Time enough for him to shave and arrange his wardrobe. He will pick something soft, and hope it does anything to lessen the perception Lucas has that he is the villain here. For all the good it may do.
---
Max sniffles and nods his head, the movement brushing against Lucas' shoulder where he'd buried his face. "Okay." His voice is so small, so hesitant.
"I can go make us some." Maybe he'll add a little whiskey to his. "I can, um, make something to eat too but... we'd have to go upstairs."
They would have to go out into the main kitchen, which puts them one step closer to Erik. And one step closer to the end too, thinks Max, once Lucas hears the whole truth. How could he want to stay after that? That fear drags another hiccupping sob out of Max. He hugs in tighter, suddenly reluctant to get up at all. As if staying tangled up in Lucas' arms like this could somehow delay that outcome?
"I'm not... really hungry."
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Date: 2021-04-12 08:26 pm (UTC)She would meet Erik once she heard the alarm, waiting out of the rooms in a plain sundress that she wore like regal robes. She would stand vigil with her new ally.
Time would tell where this would all lead. To ruin or to a brighter future.
---
"Me neither," Lucas admits just as quietly. Talking to Erik fills him with unnatural dread, dripping slow down his spine. He didn't want to to have that talk. Couldn't that be left to someone with more clout, someone wiser than he, who could decide with a clearer mind? All he wants is right here in his arms.
Swallowing thickly Lucas doesn't fight Max's hold around him, he stays clinging tight, as if leaving the bed would suddenly make this whole affair vanish. It wasn't right, whatever had been hidden from him, but what scares the Medium more is he's not sure he cares.
"I promised you...I was with you no matter what, Max. And I promise you that again," Somehow Lucas keeps his voice from wavering until the last word leaves his lips. Now he can barely contain a tremble in them. "I'll always come knocking at the door. You can't keep me away, not when I..."
Now finally his voice hitches. Three little words carry so much weight. He needs to say it, but now isn't the time. Not with such a dark cloud hanging over them.
"I hope you know how I feel by now," He murmurs instead. "But I need to know what's going on, that you're going to be safe from someone like Cassandra when I'm back home. I don't know if I can leave knowing you have to--" He chokes up from the effort it takes not to bawl. "Max, I just want you to be safe and happy and loved. That's all I want, okay?"
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Date: 2021-04-27 05:34 pm (UTC)"A little something to give you strength for the morning?" A little something to sip while they wait.
---
Not when he...? What? Max finds himself leaning in, hanging on Lucas' every word. He so desperately wants to hear them, the words left hanging between them unsaid. Is he right? Are they the three words he hopes for?
He should know by now... But what if he's wrong?
"I... " his voice falters. "I hope you know I feel the same way. And I... whatever happens, I never meant to hide things from you. I never wanted to. I was just..." So scared.
His fists clench up tight where he clings to Lucas. Another sob breaks in his chest. Lucas can't leave here if he thinks Max isn't safe. But Max can't leave with him. That's not safe either. What will happen? What will become of them if Lucas has to do the duty his job asks of him? Who will Max pick if he's called on to decide? Or will the choice be taken from him?
"I am," he croaks. "I'm safe. And I'm loved." By you Lucas. Loved by you, isn't he?
Happy is relative, and Max mostly is. It's good enough. Why can't it be good enough? Why did this have to happen?
"I'll tell you everything. I'll tell you. But I need you to promise me something first. Promise you will hear Erik out before you judge him for it?"
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Date: 2021-04-29 12:52 pm (UTC)And now they wait. It was a strange twist of fate that so much would be decided by two mortals. Moments like these made believing in fate an easy task. What else could it be?
A bright future, she hopes, and Eshe reached out a hand once more to Erik. This alliance would stand. Perhaps that would lend her fellow Elder the courage to face it.
---
Lucas finds himself hanging off of every word, too. Would Max be braver than he was? Could he say what obviously needed to be said? Still it was no surprise those words remained unspoken, but Lucas vows in that moment that he would speak them if this doesn't go all to hell. He would, because even if they both felt the same way, he should tell Max in no uncertain terms.
For now his attention is solely on the present and those words spilling from his love's lips. Safe. and loved, but not happy. Not entirely? How could he, being trapped in a gilded cage. But how could he leave with hungry wolves lying in wait just outside of the bars, ready to snatch the poor man up and rip him to shreds.
Erik had been protecting Max, as much as that truth sits uneasy in Lucas's mind. IOPSA could only do so much, stretched thin as they are, but was it enough?
He didn't want to be the to judge. Lucas knows it would be biased to Max's safety and well-being, and possibly his own benefit, too. A shade of dark grey, muddled and mired in murky morals. Exactly where IOPSA usually operates. The world isn't black and white, after all.
Lucas takes a breath, slowly nodding. "I can't make a call if I don't know the whole story. All...of it." His gaze drops as he pulls back just enough to simply clasp Max's hands, trying to force himself not to cry again. "Even the ugly bits. So I promise you, I'll listen to all of it."
Swallow down his anger on Max's behalf, his fear and worry.
"You should be happy, too, you know." Tears slip down his cheeks again as Lucas looks up to Max. "So I'm sorry for...all of this. But also, I'm not sorry for it. Something has to change. If Erik's serious about sending Cassandra away...that's a start. Right?"
he squeezes Max's hands, trying to bolster his own courage. "We should go find him."
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Date: 2021-05-14 06:24 pm (UTC)"You make me happy, Lucas..." he tips his head down, trying to hide more tears that are slipping out despite his best efforts to stymie them. That's why he's so scared now. He's found happiness in another and he can't bear the thought of losing it.
"If Erik really did send her away then... something really bad must have happened." He worries his bottom lip in his teeth.
Much as Max would like to think Erik did it for him alone, he can't. Erik had never had issue with it until now. Is it just that Eshe and Lucas are here to protest it? Or, is there more to this change of heart?
"I don't know. I'm really scared. Cassandra's territory sits to the North of here. If she gets mad enough at Erik, she might try to attack him." Keeping her as an ally was the point of all this in the first place. What does it mean for Erik if Max hasn't fulfilled his duty?
"I'm just terrified this change might be worse..."
There's only one way to find out. With some reluctance, still, Max pulls himself from the bed and does his best to make himself look presentable. Nothing will hide the fact that he's been crying, or that his hair is still mussed from sleep, but he can at least put on fresh clothes and brush his teeth. It will give him time to steel himself for the conversation that lies ahead.
When he can't stall anymore, he reaches for Lucas and looks to the door. "Okay, let's go find them."
---
Erik can start to hear the stirring of noises in the basement. The time is drawing near. With great reluctance, and one last gentle squeeze, he releases Eshe's hand.
"I suppose we should make our way to the dining room. I feel as if a discussion such as this should be made at a proper table."
When they reach the table, he will extend a hand for her glass. Best to take both of these to the kitchen now. Either Max will wash them later or... perhaps he will be doing so. Alone. Much depends on what happens now.
When Lucas and Max emerge from below, they will find him sitting at the head of the table in his usual spot. But he won't be wearing his usual expression of confidence. For once, he lets the wrinkles of worry show around his eyes.
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Date: 2021-05-17 12:23 pm (UTC)If there was a later.
Another tightening of his hand, brief, before they both need to get up and get ready. Lucas wonders if speaking up is about to cost them both all of this...this love between them. Should he have just kept his mouth shut?
His heart twists painfully in his chest, already knowing the answer would be no.
"We'll get through this," Lucas promises instead. There had to be a solution, a reason why Erik would cut ties with Cassandra. Maybe it was all for show, and she would return when he left. Maybe there was another force at play here. With Eshe also in attendance Lucas couldn't rule that possibility out. It would all remain a mystery until they met with the vampires so Lucas focused instead on getting dressed. His t-shirt and jeans felt too informal for the weight crushing down on his shoulders.
He takes a deep breath, clasping Max's hand in his, smiling despite wanting to pull Max to the front door and fleeing from the mansion. They could do this, as long as they were together.
---
"Mmm, yes, it should." Eshe agrees without question. Come what may this discussion would be a difficult one. Both of their territories are at risk now, hinging on two human hearts. The irony is not lost on the Vampire Queen, but she remains quiet.
Instead of taking a proper seat Eshe perches herself to Erik's left, on the arm rest. Even this is like a throne to her, eyeing the pair of humans as they finally make their approach. Her lot has been cast, now only the outcome needs to be determined.
---
As they enter the dining room Lucas's gaze falls to Eshe first. The way she's seated isn't lost on him, sharing the head of the table with Erik. But what does it really mean? He takes another deep breath, smoothing down the fraying edges of his nerves, before looking to Erik.
The Elder's normally controlled expression is laid bare with worry. Lucas swallows hard, keeping his hand around Max's as he moves to take a seat.
"We need to talk." He says as evenly as possible, keeping a lid on the one mote of anger that still lingered. He would listen to what Erik had to say before rushing to judgement. "And I need the truth about what's going on here. About Cassandra and...about Max."
He glances briefly to his love, hoping that starting this way would also help the man to calm, at least for a few minutes. They all stood on the brink of something greater, but whether that was for good or ill remains to be seen.
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Date: 2021-05-17 01:49 pm (UTC)Each step forward Max takes now feels like he's impaling his heart deeper and deeper onto a jagged knife. Only Lucas' grip on him keeps him steady until he finally drops into the seat next to the Medium. His grip never loosens. It's the only thing keeping him from getting up and bolting to the kitchen. He'd like to use the excuse of making coffee or something stronger for them. But he needs to stay. He's part of this too. He's the cause of this.
"I will tell you everything," Erik answers solemnly. "I have already confessed all to Eshe. So if you cannot rely on my word, then take hers as proof." Surely none of them in this room can miss the implications of where she has chosen to place herself. Erik can only hope it works as some advantage to him now.
Max glances Lucas too, and he can tell from how his head is swimming that he must look so pale and sick. He feels it. But he's relieved, too, that Erik is willing to cooperate.
Erik's frowns sympathetically at his Pet, wishing more could be done to soothe him. But, he supposes that's Lucas' job now. His job is to cut straight to the heart of the matter. And so he shall.
"The truth," says Erik, "is that I have been using Max as a bargaining chip. I have been letting that woman, Cassandra, have her way with him as part of an arranged deal to keep her from advancing on my territory. And, no, I did not give Max any choice in that matter. You are right to despise me for that."
"Master," cries Max suddenly, "You know I-"
"Max," Erik snaps. "Don't..."
Erik turns his gaze to Lucas, waiting to hear what he will have to say about this.
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Date: 2021-05-17 03:31 pm (UTC)"What was your deal with Cassandra, not just about Max." At first his tone wobbles but Lucas presses forward. "What's at stake here?"
Beside Erik Eshe's expression is more withdrawn, but she watches Lucas with keen eyes, shifting her gaze to Max directly after. How would the Medium's love take to that measured question? Every word threatens to snap the uneasy calm like a thread.
Lucas ignores Eshe, though he can see her slight movement out of his direct line of sight. The question he dreads asking hangs heavy, making his throat clench tight. He wants to vomit but spits the words out instead.
"Why doesn't Max have a choice in this?"
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Date: 2021-05-17 04:18 pm (UTC)Erik flinches, and his eyes flick to Max. But he forces himself to refocus on Lucas. These questions demand answers.
"Cassandra's territory centers on Chicago, and encompasses the majority of Illinois. My territory extends into the bottom half of Illinoi as well. She contests my ownership of it, and would have moved to take it and possibly the city of Saint Louis away from me if not for the deal we have struck. Every season she visits me here to discuss matters that concern the disputed territory, and to agree on what developments will be made. During those visits, Max is expected to feed and entertain her. It is... was a bribe. Max paid it with his body."
The vampire master wants to look away, but he knows that he must not break eye contact. He must own this. It is the only way to prove how serious he is about making this change.
"I led Max to believe that this was the only way to keep the peace. I let myself believe it too. But it was wrong. And there is no good answer for this. The truth is I did not value Max as I should. I've treated him as an object and as a slave, not as a Pet. I used him when I should have been protecting him. ...It is no excuse for me to say that I didn't see it. Only an explanation."
"Erik..." croaks Max. He's stood up without realizing it. Part of him is drawn to his master's side, wanting to hold him and comfort him for the look of pain etched on his ancient features, but he stays glued in place. "I did have a choice! I-I wanted to help! I wanted to do it for you."
"No, Max..." Erik voice is low and tinged with regret. "It's something I never had a right to ask of you in the first place. I'm sure Lucas would agree."
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Date: 2021-05-17 06:25 pm (UTC)Then, at Erik's next words, he can feel the blood draining out of him, right out into the floor. A slave. Erik twisted saving Max's life somehow into making the man a slave. He nearly loses the tenuous control he has right there but Max leaps to his feet and pleads his master's case, knocking the wind right out of him.
Right then, in that singular, horrible momemt, Lucas finally understands what it means to have a broken heart. He could flee with Max, whisk him away from Erik, but Max would never really be free.
Love alone could not save him.
Erik's direct comment draws a sharp breath through his nose and wetness stinging at the corners of his eyes. He should say something. Anything. Yell or scream, let loose the anger roiling in his core, the fear that makes it sting deeper. Erik deserves it, and more, only he can't speak. An IOPSA officer would weigh the facts and make his decision as objectively as possible. Right now his vision is blurred with unscheduled tears instead.
Eshe keeps her gaze fixed to Max, but lays a hand to Erik's shoulder. "It's easy to paint yourself the villain, but it is the easy way out, Erik." Her admonishing is gentle, yet stern. "The way through this will be ugly and messy, but more than the Ozarks hangs in the balance now. Ambrosio, the jewel of the Eastern Seaboard, stands at the ready. I have cast my lot in with Erik's. We have much to learn from each other."
Lucas's gaze snaps to Eshe, who simply inclines her head in a slow nod. The implications are staggering but he feels like he's still missing so many puzzle pieces. He looks from Eshe to Erik, sizing up their expressions while his mind frantically tries to keep up with what's being said and left for him to read into.
"Why?" Lucas starts, his voice breaking as he tries his best not to crush Max's hand. "Why team up now?"
"I'll spare you the usual theatrics," Eshe's tone becomes clipped, allowing herself to mirror Erik's tired expression. "This is not simply for Max's sake. Ever since the Accord there have always been those who thought it was nothing more than a shackle. But they could do nothing but snarl about it behind humanity's backs, lest they be put down. Only now they have some bite, leverage to overthrow humanity. Alliances are being made and broken for far less appealing reasons than this one has been. It may still be decades but a war is coming. We've chosen to hold to the Accord, and together, we might have a chance of keeping it."
She levels her gaze to Lucas, crushing the pity she feels for him. This, too, she must place on his shoulders.
"If Erik's enemies smell blood in the water it will be his doom."
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Date: 2021-05-18 08:43 pm (UTC)Erik watches Max descend. And, in that moment the truth does reveal itself. If Max were allowed a choice, he would go with Lucas. Anyone could see that. But Max can't. Not ever. How could Lucas view Erik as anything other than the villain for this? And yet, it is as Eshe says, more complicated than that.
But Eshe has not finished with her revelations. So, he remains stone-faced and quiet as she lays down the true stakes, the wider picture that they all must see if they are to get through this. The war drums have already begun to sound, and IOPSA was bound to get involved sooner or later. Poor Lucas, for him the burden will lay heavy indeed.
"My doom," Erik says, picking up where Eshe leaves it, "will spell Max's doom." So much for leaving off dramatics. But, it is the truth.
"When Max killed my sister, he made powerful enemies. I regret that she and I were on opposing sides of the Accord issue. She and her allies viewed the Accord as an affront. They would see all of humanity subjugated to their rule. To think a human could murder one of their own...? It was too great an insult to their sensibilities. This is why they will stop at nothing to claim Max. Their thirst for revenge is driven by their hatred. Only by the strength of my influence have I been able to keep them back."
He steeples his fingers together and Looks Lucas dead in the eyes.
"The news Cassandra brought me today could foretell a shift in power that threatens to unbalance my precarious position in this territory. The opposition is making moves. Cassandra has withdrawn her support. I do not know for how much longer her truce will stand. I am vulnerable on too many sides. If not for Eshe throwing her lot in with me now, I may not have the strength enough to defend myself. Or Max."
"Erik..." Max whispers, "I'm sorry..."
"No, Max. Ultimately, this has nothing to do with you." Erik's expression flickers to pained regret when he looks to his Pet. But his resolve stiffens and with it returns his stony look of determination, which he levels on Lucas once more. "This conflict is inevitable. It will require us to put aside grievances and forgive trespasses for the greater good.
"That is what I am asking of you now, Lucas. If I make a vow to you, to change my treatment of Max, will you be able to put aside what has been done and look to a future together? I would much rather have you and IOPSA as my ally."
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Date: 2021-05-19 01:06 am (UTC)So Lucas listens, lips pressed together to keep himself held together. It's by the barest of threads, holding fast against an internal tempest of warring emotions. None winning out against the other, but rising in intensity as each new bit of information is revealed.
Max killed Erik's sister. That alone would be trouble, but to hear she and Erik were on opposing sides starts to spell out the spider's web in frightening detail, leaving his head spinning. This went beyond Max and himself, beyond Erik and Max, beyond Erik and Eshe. If what the Elder is saying is the truth then the future sits precariously on the edge, held together by the webs these Elders have been spinning.
Even the strongest web could be cut and what that would be for the world at large, Lucas couldn't even guess. It wouldn't be good.
His heart thuds wet and heavy in his ears, so much so that Lucas almost misses Max and Erik's exchange. he does his best to keep a level expression, knowing he was hardly fooling anyone seated at the table. Each word hangs heavier than the last around his shoulders, until Erik makes his case. Already the Medium knows what the answer must be but Eshe's taught him well over the years. There's always a little time to consider every option.
Swallowing down the raging storm of emotions in his core, Lucas finds his voice, brittle but not broken. His pale eyes fix on each Elder in turn. "I need to check into a few things before I can give you an answer to that. And some fresh air wouldn't hurt."
Coffee, too. Maybe. His stomach can barely handle it right now but afterward, who knows. Now Lucas dares to sneak a glance at Max, voice quieting with a painful note of hope. "If you want to...come with me?"
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Date: 2021-05-19 01:31 am (UTC)"Of course," says Erik. "You are free to move about the grounds." Josiah will be standing by at a distance as a precaution, naturally, but Erik doesn't say so aloud.
Max looks to Lucas, eyes wide and full of many emotions, but the strongest of them is hope. Then, he turns to Erik, with a besieging look. Erik nods once. Max's focus swivels back to Lucas instantly.
He nods fervently. "Yes. I want to."
Lucas isn't the only one anxious to get away from this table. Some of what Erik has revealed is news to him as well. He knew Erik had to keep a tight guard on his territory, but he didn't realize how precarious the balance truly was. He hadn't realized a war was coming.
"You... want me to make some coffee first?" He asks as he stands up from the table on shaky legs. It's not cold outside, yet Max feels like his insides are frozen, and his limbs are stiff. Something warm to drink might help.
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Date: 2021-05-19 12:15 pm (UTC)"Sure," He replies, almost absentmindedly. His thoughts are still spinning, clutching at every fragment of information he possibly could. All of it pointed in one direction.
All of it makes his head heavy and as they enter the kitchen together Lucas trails alongside Max like a lost puppy, eventually leaning into him, head resting against the man's shoulder. He wants to ask a million questions but nothing is voiced just yet.
For a few more moments he wants to pretend everything is okay.
---
Eshe remains on her perch as the two men take their leave, until at last they've gone. Although Lucas hadn't given an answer, she could see the wheels turning in that direction. It was the only way a proper IOPSA agent could act, and yet there were still unknowns. While she planned to fully back Erik, if Max was taken away how would that weaken her fellow Elder's position? If Max remained it meant maintaining a lie, with Lucas's help.
"What a curious thing fate is. How different would our positions be if you hadn't sent your Max after Lucas?" Her voice is tight, not even she was above the emotion of the morning. As she looked to the places their cherished humans had occupied a tear slips down her cheek.
"Yet we now have a new future to forge, do we not?"
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Date: 2021-05-30 02:47 pm (UTC)It's all gone so wrong. What if this is the end? What if the choice Lucas makes right now is to walk away from it all? Max can't blame him for it, but he can already feel his heart cleaving in two at the thought. Three little words want desperately to slip out between his lips, but he presses his mouth closed. He can't do it now. He can't use that to twist Lucas to his will or make him feel obligated to reciprocate. He has to keep them inside.
---
Erik watches the two of them go and feels, to his surprise, a profound sense of loss at the sight. Max is no longer devoted to only him. Lucas has claimed his heart. He told himself he wouldn't be jealous, and he's not. This feeling is... not anger. Just grief. Things are changing. So many things. And, despite having watched the world change for centuries, Erik finds he still hates change just as much as ever.
Eshe's words draw him out of his brooding again. "So, you knew the whole time, did you? Let me think myself clever?" He tried for something like a lightly teasing tone, as he rests a hand on her thigh in a gesture of comfort at hearing the tightness in her voice.
"It is the future I hoped to forge. I should be celebrating this success. Yet, I must confess: it has been a long time since I have felt so little control over my own destiny. It is not easy to trust in fate."
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Date: 2021-06-01 02:34 am (UTC)"At least not until the pair of you waltzed into the bar did I realize what may be going on. It became very clear at the dinner party, but I couldn't help but wonder what game you were trying to play." Now her expression is whole and bright despite mirroring the same fear that radiates from her fellow Elder. "I believe we both bit off more than we could chew, hm?"
She leans in, stroking the back of her hand against Erik's cold, sharp cheek, her golden eyes flickering with wild excitement, alight as if she were a living being once again. "Frightening, isn't it? A taste of mortal life. I'd almost swear I could feel my heart racing. And it is thanks to our two little lights. Fate can be strange and wondrous, indeed."
---
Pressing his face against Max's chest Lucas clings tight until his knuckles are sore. he can't speak but hopefully his actions might in his stead. he doesn't want to let go. Despite the uncertain future, he wants to hold onto this.
Doing so means maintaining a lie, perpetuating that all is well in the house of Lord Osborne and that it has always been so.
Telling the truth means crumbling the foundation of Erik's territory, sending a rouge wave out from the epicenter to cause untold damage.
Complicating all of this is his relationship with the man in his arms. Lucas chokes down a sob but allows the tears to fall. If the truth ever got out it would call everything into question, his career, the years spent in training, it would all be swept away, too. And yet he can't resist the siren call of the truth. He had to know all of it, even the ugly bits. Why did Max leap to defend Erik, even after the horrible realty of Cassandra's visits had been exposed? It's more than mere loyalty, the Medium felt sure of it.
"Max," Lucas finally croaks. Each word is slow, spoken as if his tongue is made of lead, stomach curdling with every syllable. "What happened after Erik brought you here? What really happened?"
No matter what it costs him in the end, Lucas needs to uncover that crucial piece of the puzzle.
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Date: 2021-06-02 12:59 am (UTC)He's trying to look at it the way she is, as something exhilarating. But he just keeps thinking one thing, over and over. Wouldn't that just be like fate? To do them in with two lovers?
---
Lucas clings so hard to him. He wants to believe it's true. That Lucas wants to stay. He wants that so much. But he has to come clean. He has to tell the whole truth like he promised. Lucas has to know... even if it ruins them both.
"I..." A sob catches in his throat, and he convulses in Lucas' arms as if trying to let the words out physically pains him.
"I...need..." his knees are going out from under him again. He needs to sit down. He can't tell this story standing up. He doesn't want to tell it sober, either.
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