Lucius couldn't die so easily. If Anthony had the luxury of being immortal, Lucius would just have to balance it out with some luck and determination to stay alive.

Before the garm could throw him into the ground he defied the pain in his restrained arm and used his weight to swing forward, letting his knife slice the beast over her eye.

It didn't reach very deep, but it was enough for her to let go of Lucius' arm out of shock and pain, so the latter took his chance to slip underneath her. With the advantage of her back being free to stab away at, Lucius quickly had to weigh his options. There was no way a knife in her lower back would do much to stop her, so it was either running and hoping her size would stop her from following him quickly enough until he reached the stairs, or he had to climb.

A glance over his shoulder revealed no convenient way across the water to continue running, so reluctant as he was, Lucius had to pick the second option.

Most creatures had a sensitive neck after all.

So before his mind went back to rationality he jumped up to grab the garm's fur, fighting every inch of his brain screaming at him to stop as he began climbing up to the back of her head.

Naturally, the beast was distressed, trying to throw him off and grabbing at him with her paws. Her massive arms failed her though as she had no chance reaching all the way to her back, and Lucius took his chance to plunge his knife deep into her neck.

A shrill cry from the beast had Lucius paralyzed for a moment, but then he noticed she began lowering her entire body closer to the ground and he made a quick escape off her back before she jumped up to crash against the cave's ceiling.

It happened too fast for Lucius to even consider what would have happened had he not been quick enough to roll off, and he liked it that way. He'd let the panic rise some other time, assuming there would be one.

He still had to consider his current situation, having latched onto the garm's arm so as not to fall into the water and therefore still being at risk of being smashed against something.

Water would likely either crush or drown him, and the werewolf would either crush or gut him, so which one did he prefer?

"Cromwell..." Ivan's voice suddenly reached Lucius' ears, and the latter stared in astonishment at the man who, despite a deep gash in his stomach, managed to lift his arm and point it at the ceiling.

Lucius let the ceiling have a brief moment of attention before he caught on to what Ivan meant.

Oh fuck... Again?

He sucked in a breath. It would kill him if he failed, but he'd fail automatically if he didn't hurry up anyway, so off he went to near-certain death as he used his remaining strength to climb back up onto the garm's back.

She was ready this time, both to Lucius' advantage and horror as she immediately hunched down to jump again. Perhaps it was just as well that she did it quickly, because he'd barely managed to reach her neck before he let go of her, once again barely avoiding being smashed against the ceiling.

The garm, of course, did not, and she let out a broken whine as her back struck against rock. As Ivan had predicted as well, the already cracked parts of the surface finally let go and large chunks of the ceiling rained down on her, one of them landing hard on her forehead.

All air went out of Lucius' lungs as he landed on the hard walkway, but at least he was alive. His limbs made their discontentment very clear though.

A relieved, breathy laugh escaped him as the garm now tumbled backwards, body not quite wishing to obey her and she let out a weak growl as her consciousness began to falter.

Lucius hurried over to Ivan as soon as he could confirm the beast to have fainted and that no more rocks would fall from the ceiling, but the sight in front of him forced his legs to slow down.

Was he even alive?

He kneeled down in front of Ivan, trying to ignore the wound for the time being and instead focused on his eyes.

"Ivan?" he tried, hoping that his first name was more likely to reach through. "Can you hear me?"

The light in Ivan's eyes was fading, and Lucius' stomach turned as he inevitably inspected the wound.

He wouldn't survive it. That much was apparent. Even if that Larkspur potion had healing properties, could it manage a wound like that?

Even so, there was no time to hesitate. Ivan was at risk of dying at any moment with all that blood escaping his body, and why would Lucius not help him? The potion was for him anyway.

But do I really know it will work? He's so far gone as it is, I might as well be wasting it.

Lucius blinked, mind trying to process the thought. He was pretty sure that's not what he would think at a time like this.

Isn't it better to keep it? Save it for when it can actually be of use?

He blinked again, shaking his head and trying to make sense of his mind. He wouldn't think that, would he? But it sounded like his thoughts, or at least he thought it did.

But weren't his thoughts right? What if it was too late to save Ivan? He'd use something so potentially powerful for nothing.

Then his mind went to Milica. He was her family, and the father of her unborn child. Would it be all right for Lucius not to even give them a chance to be together again? And how many times had Ivan saved him already? Or prioritised his safety in general? Placing him where he'd be least in danger, having him hold on to his knife, grabbing him when the door almost knocked him into the water, not to mention disarming the man who tried to shoot him.

How could he not try to save him?

It wasn't hard to find the potion inside his coat, and fortunately the glass had survived the attack. All Lucius had to do was figure out how to apply it. It was an elixir, so drinking it would be the logical way to go, but he doubted Ivan could swallow in his state.

In the end, Lucius took a chance and poured it over the gash in Ivan's stomach. It would still come in contact with his blood, and if anything he figured something that heals would do its best work at the very place it's supposed to heal.

And then he waited.

He tried listening for any signs of Tom and Richard heading their way, or if the garm's breathing changed in a way suggesting she was waking up, but aside from the rushing water he could hear nothing.

"Come on, Ivan," he whispered, a sadness he hadn't expected welling up inside him. He wanted to call the man an idiot, or a reckless masochist, but in the end Lucius ended up admiring him. Perhaps it was because of his ability to have made it so far despite everything, or simply because the idea of being valued over someone's own life was immensely flattering.

Lucius pursed his lips. Was that why? Had his Scourge pact worked its magic and made someone shield him against their actual will?

His eyes widened all of a sudden as he noticed the rapid onset of red tissue forming around the edges of Ivan's wounds, and he leaned closer to witness the miraculously quick recovery of a human body.

For a moment he wondered if this was how Anthony had survived, but as the gash closed further he could conclude that it would still leave some massive scars while Anthony's skin had healed completely.

And Anthony definitely died under that ice.

He carefully placed his ear against Ivan's chest to confirm his breathing. It was an alarmingly slow heartbeat, but it was there, and Lucius let out a trembling breath in return.

Then he finally felt it. The excruciating pain in his arm where the garm had grabbed him. It was joined by a sting blooming around his ribs from when he'd fallen to the ground, and he had to gasp for air. The danger had forced his body to forget about pain and allow him to move, but now that it was all over, bodily restrictions applied again.

"Lucius!" Tom called out, and to Lucius' further relief both he and Richard were on their way towards them, the latter looking about as roughed up as one would expect from a fight with a garm, but still alive.

"What happened?" Richard asked, a frown forming on his face as he looked from Lucius and Ivan to the unconscious werewolf. "... How?"

"Rocks." Lucius used his good arm to point upwards. "From the ceiling."

Richard looked pleasantly surprised.

"Wow, that's some luck right there."

"Not really," Lucius muttered, not so sure luck deserved credit for his near-death sacrifice. "I guess it was the one way for me to take her down though, so... A little luck, I suppose, that it was an option."

"How is he?" Tom sat down next to Ivan and inspected his wounds, arching his eyebrows at the speedy process. "... You gave him the potion?"

"Yeah, I..." Lucius shrugged. "... He was gonna take it anyway, right? Seemed like the natural solution."

"I assumed he would save it though." Tom lowered his glasses to get a better look up close. "For potential injuries in the future, not that he didn't need it now."

"I dunno, I figured he wanted it for his leg, so he would've taken it soon enough anyway." Lucius pointed at the man's cane. "Should have the same result."

Tom pinched his lips together, and he picked up the empty bottle.

"It wouldn't have worked on his leg anyway," he said. "This should only have about the same effect as a werewolf's ability to recover. It can heal your body at an astounding rate, but it can't fix injuries from before."

Lucius let out a disappointed, and rather remorseful, sigh.

"So... What? They tricked him?"

"I don't know," Tom admitted. "I'm surprised it worked to begin with, but they should have known better than to promise something like that."

The group perked up as a pained groan escaped Ivan's mouth, and Tom placed two fingers against his wrist.

"Pulse is decent," he declared. "He must have recovered most of his blood."

"Oh good." Lucius exhaled, throwing a glance at the garm. He'd be very happy to get out of there as quickly as possible. "Should be safe to move him then, right?"

Richard sneered.

"Alright, you go ahead and carry him then."

Lucius scrunched up his nose. Mocked for his stature? Now?

"... The garm injured my arm. I don't know how much." He gestured over the rest of his body. "And I've fallen off her back twice."

Both Tom and Richard sighed.

"So there are two people to drag out of here?"

"If you revert back you could probably carry them both in one go," Tom suggested, and Richard gave him an exasperated look, upset Tom had forgotten that he was injured as well.

"I still think I can walk," Lucius protested and stood up from the ground with some effort. "How about you just support me, Tom, and Richard can get Ivan out of here whichever way he wants."

He glared at Richard.

"Except throwing him in the water."

"Why would you even think that?" Richard was yet again offended. "Because I'm a werewolf? Because you think I'm a scary monster? That's discrimination."

"Can't believe... Someone like you..." Ivan suddenly whispered, voice hoarse and weak. "... Is a werewolf."

Clearly there were no limits to the insults currently flying around the tunnels, but Lucius was relieved the man was awake and talking, and that he wasn't too disturbed by the werewolf revelation even after the shock had died down.

"It's all right now, Ivan." Lucius kneeled down next to him again. "Your idea with the ceiling worked, and we'll get you out of here right now before the garm wakes up."

"I'm..." Ivan shook his head. "I can't possibly survive this. You just tell Milica to..."

He frowned, finally noticing his surprising lack of pain despite what the werewolf had done to him, and he slowly sat up to stare down at his stomach.

"You—" He traced a hand against his newly formed scars, eyes widening. "What... How?"

"You were dying," Lucius informed him as if the man hadn't come to terms with the fact yet. "So I gave you the potion."

Ivan looked over at the empty bottle Tom was holding.

"... The potion... Worked?" He stared down at his stomach again. "It—It actually healed all this so quickly?"

"It's remarkable," Lucius agreed with a nod, but then he grimaced. How was he supposed to tell the man that it likely hadn't affected his leg? With his luck he'd get punched in the face.

Ivan couldn't stop staring at his recent wound.

"And it was just one dose?"

"Well, yes, as that Larkspur man said." Lucius gestured at the empty bottle. "Would've been daft to half-ass it with a wound like that."

Then Ivan punched him in the face.