Lucius could already hear Samueli's scolding voice in his head as he opened the door to Anthony's house later that day.

'Don't just walk into someone's house without knocking, Lucius,' he imitated in a low voice. 'They may be anglers but we're better than that.'

Well Lucius wasn't, and he wasn't the slightest ashamed. He barged into the entrance hall with the confidence of someone who might as well have owned the place and looked around.

Logically, he'd assume Ethan had acquired a guest room upstairs. They were much bigger than the few on the first floor and had a better view over the neighbourhood, so why wouldn't he?

Just as he was about to walk up the stairs however Ethan actually appeared at the top of them, now looking much healthier than last time Lucius had seen him. The tangled mess that had been his blood coated hair was now clean and pinned back in a surprisingly elaborate hairstyle Lucius had to imagine must have taken hours to do by himself, and he'd changed out of his torn garments into what was most likely Anthony's clothes, given the lack of fashion.

"Oh!" he said as he walked down the stairs with a grin on his face, holding what looked like a silver tray containing a teapot and several ink jars on it. "Lucius, right? Didn't think you'd be back so soon."

Lucius decided not to comment on the amount of ink jars.

"Anthony told you what happened?"

"A little, but I could also guess, considering his mood."

Lucius glanced around.

"Is he... Around?" He really wished he wasn't, or he would with all certainty have dumb opinions on Ethan and Lucius talking.

"Oh, it's that odd time of day." Ethan made a dismissive gesture. "Richard's asleep, Tom went to bed just a few hours ago and I just dragged Anthony out of bed to give him lunch."

"Huh..." Lucius nodded, having forgotten about the men's inconvenient sleep schedule. "That's kind of you to make him lunch."

"He always forgets to eat." Ethan shook his head. "I mean, of course he doesn't need to, but he gets so cranky and honestly? It's insulting that he won't eat food when he's perfectly able to but I'm not."

Lucius blinked.

"Alright, so first... He doesn't need to eat food at all? And second, you can't eat food at all?"

"Didn't he tell you about his condition?" Ethan frowned as he tried to remember. "Pretty sure he said he did."

"Well, he does leave out a lot of things." Lucius rolled his eyes but reluctantly moved on from being mad about it. "He did tell me though. About his immortality."

"Right, so..." Ethan shrugged, giving Lucius a pitying smile to indicate he was being slow. "... Don't really need to eat if you can't die."

"Oh... Right." Lucius nodded slowly, seeing an opportunity to lead the conversation where he wanted it. "Guess there's a lot I don't know about all this."

"Most don't," Ethan said as some kind of comfort. "But I imagine you'll learn more now that Anthony, Richard and I have been exposed."

Lucius scoffed.

"Yeah, except Anthony won't tell me anything."

"He's inconvenient like that." Ethan nodded in sympathy. "But I believe he's doing it for your sake. That's usually his reason when this happens."

"Maybe..." Lucius grimaced, half wishing to derail from his initial goal by asking about just how many times 'this' has happened, but deciding against it and instead attempted his most endearing smile. "... I don't suppose you could tell me anything?"

Ethan let out an airy laugh, knitting his eyebrows in the process.

"I mean... Personally, I wouldn't mind. But Anthony's asked me not to and he is my brother, so..."

Another approach then, Lucius figured, and he lowered his eyelashes in a disheartened expression.

"I just want to get to know him better... But he won't even give me the chance."

It wasn't a lie, but there was definitely an exaggeration in his dejected tone.

To his pleasure Ethan did look taken aback, but to his displeasure it wasn't out of empathy, and he blinked as the vampire leaned forward to inspect his eyes.

"You're... Not as human as you claim either... Are you?"

A chill went through Lucius and his stomach turned into a knot. What the Waste did this man know? What could he see? Regardless, he had to laugh it off.

"What?" He chuckled, looking at Ethan as if his stare was creeping him out. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because there's something off about you." Ethan tilted his head, scanning Lucius up and down. "A strange... Air around you, if you will."

"Uh huh..." Lucius nodded in a way to imply he was agreeing while actually thinking Ethan was nuts. "... So what? Some kind of feral, murderous aura? A werecat perhaps?"

Ethan looked unimpressed by the mockery.

"To be honest? The opposite. A kind of sensation that I want to like you, despite not knowing you at all."

Lucius cocked an eyebrow.

"Maybe I'm just charming?"

"Maybe..." Ethan agreed but still narrowed his eyes at him, actually looking more curious than suspicious. "... Not that it necessarily would be a bad thing, but it would be good to know."

"Well, afraid I have to disappoint you." Lucius shrugged, frustration building from the anxiety and his wish to get back on topic. "But, uh... I guess you won't tell me anything then?"

Ethan made a thinking grimace, eyes wandering down to the tray in his hands.

"Well... I'm not allowed to tell you anything," he repeated to Lucius' disappointment, but then his face shifted into a smile. "But then... I don't think there's any harm in pointing you in the right direction?"

"I don't see why there would be." Lucius stepped back with a smile as well, holding his hands up in a shrug of equal mischief. "Especially if there's no proof you pointed me there."

Ethan chuckled, nodding in approval at the man in front of him.

"Maybe I do like you, supernatural or not," he then said, holding the tray forward. "Hold on to this, will you? And I'll go get ready. We're heading out."

Lucius gladly accepted the tray and followed the vampire with his gaze as he left towards the sitting room. He stifled a victorious cheer.

"Ethan!" a voice then rang through the house, loud and grim enough to make Lucius flinch. Had Anthony not emerged onto the balcony above he would never have connected the voice to him.

"Ethan, where the Waste are you!?" Anthony continued, barrelling down the stairs while wiping his face with a handkerchief. "For the love of Rarin, I'm going to wring your neck into a second death and throw you to the sirens!"

Lucius didn't have to look hard as Anthony removed his handkerchief to notice his mouth, chin and waistcoat being covered in a dark blue liquid, and he quickly stared down at the tray with the teapot and ink jars.

Fucking fiddlesticks.

Anthony stopped abruptly at the bottom of the stairs as he spotted Lucius, gaze immediately switching to the silver tray as well.

"Lu—What? You did this? Wha—How? Why?" He shook his head, covering his mouth with the handkerchief again. "I know you're angry, but this?"

Lucius' mouth fell open and he turned his head to glare in Ethan's direction, spotting the man who had stopped to view the spectacle from a safe distance with a smug grin on his face.

"I didn't—" He turned back to Anthony. "I haven't even been in your room! And how could you not notice you were about to drink a cup full of ink?"

"That's what he gets for drinking coffee," Ethan declared from further away, not looking the slightest concerned that Anthony's expression darkened again upon spotting him.

"You drink coffee?" Lucius had to ask though, wrinkling his nose. "Yeah, alright, you deserve it."

"It's just coffee." Anthony was already heading towards Ethan who made his way around the room to avoid him. "I can drink whatever I want, and it's not like I always look closely enough just to see if I'm about to drink ink or not."

Ethan had reached Lucius again at that point, grabbing the teapot from the tray to arm himself against his approaching brother.

"You can't threaten me with more ink," Anthony growled. "My clothes are already ruined anyway."

"Good riddance," Lucius mumbled, only loud enough to receive a snort from Ethan's direction. In a way, Lucius wished Anthony would have heard him. As long as that man refused to talk to him Lucius would hold back no criticism.

"Oh, I wish Richard was here to see this," Ethan sounded genuinely regretful as he took a step back. "He would love it."

"I'm sure he'd find it funny if I cut your hair off too," Anthony hissed back. "How about we find out?"

Ethan's eyebrows fell into a scowl, mouth opening in disgust at the suggestion.

"Try it and your shoes might accidentally end up in the pond."

"Oh you mean where I'll toss your body once I'm done strangling you?"

"No, the other pond. You'll find there's a lot of space since I will have cooked all your ducks."

Anthony glared.

"You leave the ducks out of this."

"If you leave my hair."

"Dyris," Lucius mumbled, looking over at the large clock on the wall. What a waste of potential sleep-time.

"Maybe I should poison Tom's blood next time you come by," Anthony suggested. "See how you like having your food ruined."

"Joke's on you, I can handle poison just fine." Ethan flipped a lock of hair over his shoulder. "I'll barely notice."

Anthony folded his arms with an intrigued smile.

"I'm sure I can find a strong enough poison."

"So I don't know him that well, and from what I know I can't be certain, but I think Tom would actually like to... Not be poisoned?" Lucius grimaced at the two. "He could die. Most likely will, if you use a very strong kind."

Anthony and Ethan both stared at him with blank expressions for a long time. Lucius reached the conclusion that they had forgotten what poison did to mortals and were now trying to come up with an excuse to not admit it.

"Well, if you're done with..." He gestured at the scene in front of him. "... This, I'm gonna excuse myself."

He then began walking up the stairs only for Anthony to call out to him.

"You, uh... You're staying here?" Then he paused. "Why are you here in the first place?"

Lucius turned his head, settling on half a lie.

"To take a nap."

"A... Nap? Here?"

"Yeah. I'm still looking for a place near the town hall and my bed at Sam's place is... Not great, so I might as well."

There was no protest, either because it was so ridiculous or because Anthony really didn't want to argue more with him, so Lucius nodded, sending Ethan a brief look to somehow imply that he come wake him up later for whatever hints he had available, and then he retreated to the room he used to stay in before.

***

Oh what a mistake, Lucius realised as he stifled a scream. Ethan may have kept a distance, but waking up to see a figure with red eyes standing in the shadows next to his bed was less than thrilling.

"You could have knocked," he whispered. "Give me a warning."

"I shroud-walked," Ethan explained, gesturing back at the door. "So no one would notice me on the way."

"You what-walked?"

Ethan looked hesitant, but appeared to swallow his pride.

"I poofed my way in here."

"Oh. Right, it's just... New." Lucius sat up to look out the window. The sun had almost set, so he must have gotten at least a few hours of sleep. At least enough so he could pay attention to what people were saying again.

He spent an awkward moment staring at the man, waiting for him to move.

"You can sit down, you know."

"Oh, no." Ethan looked at the spot next to Lucius on the bed where the last rays of sun shone through the window. "People like me can't go in the sun."

Lucius was mortified.

"You... You can't be in the sun? At all?"

Ethan shook his head, and Lucius grimaced.

"So do you, like... Die?"

"No," Ethan replied, and then waggled his eyebrows. "But I fry."

It was the dumbest of things to joke about, but Lucius did appreciate dark humour from time to time so he ended up smiling anyway.

"Guess that's a difference between you and Anthony then," he said, getting up from the bed to fetch a chair. "Because I know I've seen him in the sun."

Ethan scoffed.

"Anthony's not even dead. There's a big difference."

"Well, I'm here to listen." Lucius dropped a chair next to Ethan and sat back down on his bed.

"Alright." Ethan obediently sat down as well. "First of all, Tom has a stash of books about these kinds of things, and I'm sure you could have stumbled upon them on your own so I wouldn't be to blame there."

"Wait, he does?" Lucius gawked. "I've never seen them, and I've gone through his bookshelf before."

"Secret stash," Ethan clarified as if he was speaking to an idiot. "I'll show you later."

Lucius only nodded, letting the vampire continue.

"Honestly though, I'm not sure how to explain Anthony's deal." Ethan made a face. "Not a whole lot of books on that subject, and... In a way I guess Anthony's keeping things secret for a reason there."

"Well, some hints at least?" Lucius tried. "Or, at least about your organisation?"

Ethan's face suddenly scrunched up, and he turned his head away.

"Not mine," he whispered. "Just theirs."

"Oh..." Lucius blinked. "I thought it was a family thing."

"It is," Ethan replied, proceeding to sit up straight and exhale before turning to Lucius with a smile. "Anyway, I think Tom's books are a good start."

Lucius didn't want to be ungrateful, but there was too much mystery surrounding the BBT and Ethan's family for him to give up so easily.

"So... You haven't been involved with the BBT? Or Anthony's former position in town?"

Ethan's face didn't move a muscle from that bright smile as he shook his head.

"Nope."

"No trade at all?"

"Well, I do have a, uh... Friend who's a merchant, and we travel together a lot so I've picked up some things," Ethan tried, but Lucius pursed his lips and he sighed. "But, no. No real occupation."

"So what... Are you?"

Ethan stared into the air, pondering the question for a while.

"A dancer," he then said absentmindedly. "Or, I was before I died."

He then blinked, returning to reality.

"Well, no trade or political business anyway."

"Huh," Lucius uttered, masking his disappointment. "Yeah, not really similar professions."

"Indeed not," Ethan agreed, and then tilted his head. "But then again, what about you? You're the town chief after all."

Lucius frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you must be a singer, right?" Ethan gestured at him. "I know you have some kind of double identity going on, but that's two very different professions as well."

Nausea welled up in Lucius' chest and he struggled to draw a breath.

"I'm not," he managed to whisper. "Far from it."

"Really?" Ethan looked at his legs. "Because it looks like—"

"I know what it looks like," Lucius snapped, regretting it immediately but refused to apologise. "Turns out everyone knows, just because I look and sound a bit different."

"If it's any comfort, it's mostly because I've met a lot of people with similar... Conditions, in my time. I used to dance after all, and spent a lot of time with other entertainers. And when you've been around for as long as I have—"

He interrupted his sentence as he noticed Lucius' eyes widening.

"Ah, right." Ethan rolled his eyes. "The gossip-ban."

Lucius' discomfort was almost washed away entirely. Finally, he was getting somewhere again.

"How old—"

"It really isn't relevant," Ethan attempted to interrupt him but Lucius fired back immediately.

"Do you age? Does Anthony age? How long have you been around?"

"Undead people don't age," Ethan admitted, averting his gaze in discomfort at the bombardment of questions. "Our bodies remain the same."

Lucius' eyes darted around in thought.

"Wait, is that why Damien looks so young?" he then asked, and Ethan flinched. "Is he undead too?"

"... No."

"Is he like Anthony then? Just immortal? How does someone even turn out to be 'just' immortal? It had to happen somehow, right?"

Ethan shrugged and let out a sigh.

"I don't know much about it." A bitter smile formed on his lips. "Honestly, I'm not sure how much they know."

Lucius exhaled his disappointment.

"Wha... How—How can they not know? They were there, weren't they? How could they forget something so important?"

"Don't think they forgot, I just don't think they were told much about it. Lots of secrets around the people involved."

"Ugh," Lucius uttered, running a hand through his hair. "And just when I thought I was getting somewhere."

Ethan gave him a sympathetic look only to trade it for a thoughtful frown only moments later.

"There is one person I imagine might know though," he said, and Lucius perked up. "If anyone knows anything about it it's him."

"Who?" Lucius leaned forward as if they were whispering. "Where can I find him?"

"His name is Cyril," Ethan leaned forward as well in a rather dramatic manner and Lucius wondered if he was mocking him. "He's... Well, I'm not exactly sure what to call him, but... He gathers information. It's like, the one thing he does."

"That's great!" Lucius threw his hands out. "Where can I find him?"

Ethan let out an awkward laugh.

"Yeah, so... I don't... Exactly know."

Lucius opened his mouth to groan but Ethan hurried to continue.

"He moves around a lot. Keeps to himself and isn't too fond of people, so he's hard to track down but... He's part of the BBT, so maybe you could ask Anthony."

"Doubtful." Lucius rolled his eyes. "He'd know what I was up to and refuse."

Ethan looked as though he was about to protest, but then he nodded in sympathetic agreement.

"Well, I'm running out of options," he finally said, and Lucius almost panicked. He couldn't give up. He had to know. There was a reason Anthony wouldn't tell him, and if it was that great of a secret how could he just call it a day and move on with his life?

"Could—Could they have written it down somewhere? This Cyril's location, I mean?"

Ethan arched his eyebrows, once again shrugging.

"Probably? They do want access to him, so they should have some kind of note somewhere."

"At the BBT manor?" Lucius continued, only to receive a sceptical look from the vampire.

"You're not planning on breaking in, are you?"

"Got a better idea?" Lucius mimicked the expression. "You said you were out of ideas."

"It's just... Starting to enter dangerous territory for something so trivial."

"Trivial?" Lucius had to laugh. "Immortal mysteries are trivial? Are you fucking serious?"

"At the risk of your life? Yes?" Ethan suggested. "You're mortal after all."

"What, you think they'd kill me on sight?" Lucius still looked amused, but Ethan grimaced.

"Hopefully."

Lucius cocked an eyebrow.

"At best?" he asked, and Ethan nodded. "What, you think they'd sell me? I doubt Anthony would allow that."

It was Ethan's turn to arch an eyebrow.

"... Sell you, of all things?"

"Yeah like, you know... Those people who've disappeared because of them."

Ethan snorted, expression surprisingly dark for someone who was laughing and Lucius' lip curled. He wasn't so sure rumours like those were funny, even to him.

"Do you know what the manor looks like on the inside?" He circled back to the actual topic. "I could use some pointers to get in there safely."

"I do know that," Ethan confirmed, a look of concern spreading across his face. "You... Really want to try though? I'm not joking when I say it can be dangerous."

"Then that's on me," Lucius assured him. "I'll do it regardless, but my chances at succeeding increase if you're around."

Ethan stared at him for a while, finally releasing a heavy sigh.

"Alright," he said. "Anthony would be upset if something happened to you after all."

Lucius ignored the heat rising in his cheeks, reminding himself he was still angry with the man and if he cared so much he could very well show it.

"Well then..." He rose from the bed to grab his coat, giving Ethan a triumphant smile. "Let's go break into the BBT."