He'd forgotten what mutated amalgamations werewolves actually were. The stringy cluster of nerves and blood vessels that clung to Richard's optic nerve made what Ethan had done even more cruel. It wasn't just the eyes at risk. The connections to Richard's brain accessible through his eye sockets could easily be severed or damaged, and the consequences could be devastating. Ethan could only pray to the stars that whatever parts of Richard he'd sacrificed when tearing the eyes out of his skull would be worth it.

For better or worse, he was forcefully submerged by flailing claws moments after, saving him from the worst of an ear piercing roar as well as the blood spurting out of Richard's eye sockets. The fact that he couldn't breathe remained though, and his drained body was about willing to let the waves take him had it not been for his slightly more stubborn mind. So he held out, waiting for the effects of his recent, unforgivable act to begin.

Thanks to a werewolf's dependence on quick recovery it didn't take long, and Ethan kept a firm hold under Richard's arm as the latter began shrinking, fur retracting into his skin and his limbs straightened out to form the human parts of his transformed body. Most importantly to Richard, his eyes began moving back into his skull.

It was the safest, most convenient way for a werewolf to reset their bodies when something was off. Ethan had, to his great relief, managed to only pop Richard's eyes out without severing the nerve. Therefore, Richard's body felt no real need to heal it. Instead it reacted to an instinct developed to put body parts back in their original place by using their natural shape changing.

That part alone was enough for Ethan to feel horrible, but the unforgivable had not even begun. While Ethan hurried to tie the rope around Richard he felt the dread rising around them. The moon could not affect a vampire like him, not physically, but he could still sense it in the air. A werewolf in human form under the full moon was not natural. It was an impossibility, and a defiance against their very existence.

Most of all, it was a literal, living nightmare.

"I'm so sorry," Ethan whispered, voice thick and broken as he tugged weakly at the rope, signalling to the others while trying to hold Richard steady as his body began convulsing.

The unforgivable started in his arms. His human skin burst into a cascade of blood and tissue to give way for massive, werewolf-sized bones, pipes piercing and twisting around themselves before quickly withering and being replaced by new ones. Sharp teeth tore through Richard's upper lip and grew in multiple layers along his jaws before spreading further into his mouth, muffling part of a soul crushing scream while the skin around his eyes stretched and cracked to give way for big, despairing eyes.

Ethan looked away. It didn't feel right seeing how it was his fault, but witnessing the clash of werewolf transformation and human regeneration would do neither of them good.

"It... It will be fine," he had the audacity to whisper to the trembling heap of growing and decaying body parts. "You'll be fine."

No one could utter a word as they were finally pulled up on deck, Ethan gasping for air where he'd landed hard on the floor and Richard's body still writhing and belching out bones and tissue without a moment of rest.

Ethan accepted the next moment. He'd already expected it after all, so as a kick connected with his head he didn't bother moving, nor protecting himself. He'd take the consequences without a word.

Another kick, and Eliza's panicked voice rose above the tumult.

"Tom, stop it!"

Ethan was well acquainted with pain. Even if he hadn't been too exhausted to feel it he wouldn't have paid it too much mind, not to mention Tom's physical strength being subpar at best. What bothered him was the look on Tom's face as he grabbed Ethan's shirt to turn him over.

"You forced him to transform!?" Tom, who usually preferred to avoid any kind of confrontation, was shaking with wrath and it seemed as though the entire crew were withdrawing slowly from the murderous tone in his voice. "How could you make him human during a full moon!?"

Ethan averted his gaze.

"I'm sor—"

"Look at him!" Tom grabbed Ethan's hair to turn his head, forcing him to look at the half whimpering, half screaming shape supposed to be Richard. A blend of teeth and skin was shifting and crawling over his face while he tried to breathe through the cavity supposed to resemble a mouth. His tongue was splitting apart rapidly to be replaced by another one, resulting in one big mess of blood and saliva sloshing down on the floor where he soon collapsed over twisting, snapping legs.

"I know. I— I didn't want to," Ethan whispered, balling his fists as regret finally spilled forward. "But what else could— I... I promise, had there been another way I... I would never have..."

Tom gritted his teeth.

"You can't excuse that. You can never excuse forcing him to do that."

"He'll... He'll be fine. He'll recover," Ethan tried. "And he probably won't remember—"

"What kind of inhumane reasoning is that?" Tom's grip tightened while nodding over at Richard. "What kind of monster would try to defend themselves by shrugging that off as 'fine'?"

It was out of Ethan's hands. The implication that he was less human than others always struck a nerve, and a very bad one at that, so he couldn't stop himself.

"I wouldn't be one to talk about monsters if I were you, Tom," he uttered. "Certainly not right now."

The words were about as effective as he'd predicted, and Tom unthinkingly released his grip while taken aback.

"I... Didn't—"

"That's enough," a weak, still alarmingly injured Abram said while limping up to them. His arms were torn from the multiple damages to his wings and his neck was swollen with blood oozing out of a large gash, but he'd still managed to reclaim his position of authority after returning to his human form. "There's no need for that, Ethan."

Ethan narrowed his eyes, but relented under Abram's gaze.

"... Sorry."

"Let's give the two of them some breathing room," Abram continued, taking Ethan's hand to gently pull him up from the floor. "He won't return to himself until the full moon is gone and if anything can help Mr. Ambervale right now, it's being with Mr. Reed without other forms of stress around him."

Ethan looked down at their hands, heat rising to his cheeks but he still wasn't happy with things. He'd resolved the situation but in a horrible way and depleted all his strength in the process, and absolutely no one would stop to consider thanking him for saving them, and then he'd gone and made the mood worse between him and Tom.

"If you say so," he mumbled, throwing a last glance at Tom, currently in the process of trying to comfort Richard's tortured form, before letting Abram lead him away.

"So, uh..." Eliza awkwardly piped up again behind them. "... Maybe we should check on Lucius?"

***

Author's note: What a NICE, PEACEFUL time they're having! :D Surely Ethan is feeling a lot better now and everyone's happy and content. As always I'd love to hear your thoughts on the (second part of) the chapter!

Additionally, I and some other writers have noticed that chapters tend to be cut sometimes in the middle of everything with the page claiming it's the end of the chapter. I'm going to try adding these author notes to the end of all upcoming chapters so make sure you see one because that means you've reached the proper end of the chapter and not like, the glitchy middle of everything kind of end...

Sometimes it helps refreshing the page if you notice it happening.