Scarriden

The minute that Erin began to talk, Lucian’s opinion of her rapidly began to shift. He just raised an eyebrow as she asked what to call him, but Markus cut her off, telling her to answer the question. He wasn’t sure what to expect as she took off the mask, but the face underneath it wasn’t it. She was young, younger than him by a few years by the looks of things.

Her story seemed to make sense and aligned with what he knew about Isimir. Despite the bickering and the snarking at each other, he got the impression that there was affection between Markus and Erin, even if he wasn’t exactly sure of the nature of the affection. He decided not to dwell on it or on why he cared. He laughed and shrugged slightly as Markus asked if he thought she was still a threat. “One doesn’t like to make assumptions,” he replied, catching Erin’s eye and grinning. Her comment about Markus made him laugh just as he took a mouthful of his drink.

“Oh, I don’t know, he has his charms. And, well, he’s stuck with me just as much as I’m stuck with him, but he puts up with me like a saint,” he said, draining his glass. “And as for your earlier question, Lucian is fine. Or Luc.” He said. “We’re all friends here.” He sat down properly on the couch, throwing a leg over the arm of it as he did so. “So, come on, spill the beans, how do you know our darling Markus? Did he just save your ass multiple times and end up being stuck with you? Because that’s more or less what happened here,” he said, shooting Markus a grin.

He could tell by their banter that they’d been close, and that whatever had happened between them wasn’t still lingering between them or affecting their relationship. But despite seeing how much Markus trusted her, that just put Lucian more on his guard. If they were going to use someone to get to them, to get their guard down or to feed information back to this group they were dealing with, someone like her was the perfect target. But Markus just seemed happy to have his friend back.

The mention of BlackHawk just made Lucian glance away and take a long mouthful of his drink. He’d been on a job with some other villains when the news that BlackHawk had been killed reached them, and they hadn’t exactly mourned him. They were alive and he wasn’t, and that had just made them feel even more invincible. And now that memory jarred with his current reality. He got to his feet and poured himself another drink.

He had to resist the temptation to sigh as Markus said they could probably do with the help. They could, they needed as many people as possible in all reality and if they were being honest with themselves. Because Lucian got the impression that one of these days, their luck would run out and they’d be lucky to make it out alive.

But he still didn’t trust Erin. For her to appear from nowhere, just out of the blue like that, and contact Markus... it felt off. Maybe it was just that he wasn’t used to trusting anyone, period, but he didn’t want to just presume it was fine. He wasn’t even sure about letting her stay the night in case she tried killing them both in their sleep. After the few days they’d had, he didn’t feel like taking any chances.

“Can you give us a minute to talk, Erin?” Lucian said, fixing an apologetic smile on his face. “There’s only one bed so we need to discuss sleeping arrangements.” It was a lie and not a very good one, but frankly he didn’t care if he hurt her feelings at this point. “If you want to go clean up, the bathroom is just down the hall there on your right.”

Luc knew that Markus wasn't going to be terribly happy about this, and the first words out of his mouth just confirmed that. Lucian just rolled his eyes and folded his arms. Fucking heroes and their alliances and their unwavering trust in everyone they met. Markus had apparently realised he'd been a little harsh, but kept talking about how Erin wasn't really a threat, how she wasn't a threat to anyone but herself. He seemed sure that Isimir would never turn on them, would never betray anyone she cared about.

It was the story of torture that finally got Lucian to actually reconsider. The tale turned his stomach a little. He'd never personally been a fan of torturing heroes. It was messy and unnecessary and far, far too risky. One sure way to piss off the heroes was to attack one of their own, and then they'd swing in all guns blazing. It wasn't his style. But at the same time, he'd shrugged and said they were only heroes. Now, the thought of that happening to Markus... Goddammit, befriending a hero was compromising everything he'd stood for in the past.

He was about to finally retort to Markus' comment about him throwing away the only chance of help they'd ever had, when they both heard light footsteps on the floor and turned to look. Lucian just poured himself another drink and downed it in one as Erin began to speak. He still wanted to tell her to leave and not come back, still didn't trust her. But he glanced at Markus for just a moment, before looking back to Erin. Refusing Erin's help could drive a wedge between him and Markus, and they didn't need that right now. And besides, Markus did have a point. They needed the help before one of them was killed. As Erin told him to look after her Markus, something in Lucian twisted a little, a feeling he shoved away.

He sighed and rolled his eyes as Erin went to leave. "Stop." He glanced at Markus again, for just a moment. "You can stay. Hero boy here has a point, we need the help. But I have no fucking idea where we're all going to sleep, and this apartment is not big enough for three people, so we're going to have to seriously reconsider. And if I get any inkling that you're not completely and totally on our side, you're going to have me to deal with. Understood?" He said, raising an eyebrow.