It was getting late, but it still wasn't as late as the menace had initially thought he would be staying out. People moved through London at night- some as regular daywalkers and then others as shadows just beyond the sight of normal humans. They were but movement in the corner of one's eyes, a glimpse of something that was then brushed off. After all, it was a legitimate-looking ambulance that arrived outside of Julian Pomeroy's apartment building, followed by another unsuspecting vehicle. The maroon van pulled into the garage shortly after and several people in worker's uniforms climbed out. When they returned, they had computer parts with them, and packed them away before driving off with them.

As for the ambulance? An injured man was loaded into it with shards of glass embedded into his skin. He was hauled away, but not to a hospital. No, he was brought to perhaps the most secretive army base in the United Kingdom instead. Then, following that came a black Mercedes Benz with tinted windows, following behind it with police lights flashing. Thank goodness, they all arrived in time before too much damage was done.

Now, instead of the dimly lit office of Julian Pomeroy's home, Alois sat on a bench under fluorescent lights that bounced against linoleum floors. He was in the medical wing of the base and was waiting to speak with Elizabeth, who was in the process of running around and assessing the situation. When the woman finally did arrive, she marched out of the room where the Pomeroy was being treated with clipboard in hand. Closing the door behind her, she stopped in front of the menace with her hand on her hip and a rather cross expression on her face.

"What on earth were you thinking?!" she demanded, but the demon wasn't sure what she was talking about.

"You're going to have to be more specific." he said, not bothering to mask his confusion.

"He has a minor concussion and glass in his face! Now we have to wait until he wakes up before we can get anything out of him!" the angel informed, obviously frustrated by the situation. "Thank goodness you didn't smash the computers, too, so at least we have those to comb through in the meantime..."

"You're welcome."

"It's not funny, Alois."

"I know it's not. That's why I knocked him out and called you instead of killing him." Alois stated rather bluntly. Elizabeth, however, took his directness as nonchalance and thought that he was being far too casual about the situation.

"You didn't have to slam his face through a glass table." she said. "I know that this whole thing is personal to you, but you're still a professional. There's no reason for you to throw a temper tantrum while on duty."

There was a pause as the menace rolled his eyes without thinking. "Dully noted, Dame Hellsing." He tried his best to keep himself in check around Elizabeth, but his patience was already wearing thin and the emotional strain of everything was starting to get to him.

"Very mature, Jim. There's no need for the attitude."

"I still don't see what exactly I did wrong, here? I noticed a possible connection, did not kill my target in favour of helping further your investigation into a matter that is possibly of biblical proportions, and made it so you could apprehend him easily. I didn't have to do any of that, but knew that it would benefit the greater good if I held back. So I did, and here we are. You have a possible lead, and somehow, you're upset by that."

"Held back?!" the woman echoed, shaking her head lightly with an incredulous look. Pointing at the door, she declared: "Look at him! His forehead's bleeding and his face is been ripped to shreds! I'm upset because despite the fact that you brought him in, he's unconscious!"

"What was I supposed to do? Ask him nicely? 'Pretty please with sugar on top, will you come with me to my friend's super secret military base to be questioned for conspiracy?'"

"You're supposed to arrest him!" Dame Hellsing replied, obviously frustrated as she raised her voice. "Like any other cop! Arrest him at the scene and then hold him for transfer!"

"Then don't send an assassin!"

"I didn't send an assassin! Apparently, the Round Table thought it was a brilliant idea to send a complete hothead who doesn't know the first thing about decency!"

Alois furrowed his brow. How dare she talk to him of decency? How dare she command him on how to feel and react, when in his mind, he had done the right thing in the end? She wasn't there. She had no idea what really happened. How dare Elizabeth talk down to him from up on her high horse, telling him how to give her a favour? In fact, he had taken it upon himself to inform her of this lead for her sake, yet here she was, insulting him and reminding him that he is not a "decent" man.

Clenching his fist, he pressed his lips together in a thing line and glared at the woman. She had trapped him, in a way. She hadn't even realised it. If he raises his voice, he will have essentially proven her right, so once again, he had to make a choice. With that realisation, he stood up from his seat.

"Fuck you." he said back, his tone angry, but his volume low. It was the most he could do and already, he was pressing his luck. With that, he turned and began walking the other way, leaving the woman reeling. Blinking, Elizabeth struggled to figure out what had just happened for a moment, only for what the man said to finally register.

"How dare you?!" she called out angrily. "Jim! Jim! You get back here!"

"I'm not going to take this." the demon replied, failing to look back at her. "You're welcome for the help, Elizabeth. I'm going home."

Despite having accused him of throwing a tantrum, Elizabeth let out a frustrated growl, having lost all words to convey her feelings. Gripping her clipboard tightly in both hands, now, she watched her in-law's back as he left the scene, as if hoping that he would somehow feel compelled to come back. The moment never came, however, and he eventually disappeared. He left Elizabeth alone to stew over the situation, having elected to not allow her to take her frustration out on him.

As she continued her rounds, trying to see if anyone has any kind of information to give her. The victim of the Ring of Hilarion's computer hasn't turned up with anything really substantial. There were names in e-mails that could vaguely be about something they were looking for, but they had no way of confirming anything right then and there. The Intel department was working on it, but these things take time. Time was something that Elizabeth didn't want to spend, however. She wanted results as quickly as possible.

Yet, she couldn't stop dwelling on the menace's uncharacteristic behaviour, having nothing else left to do. Alois was always polite to her and never swore intentionally in her presence. She couldn't believe he would lash out like this and had no idea just what had gotten into him! Alois was a vicious combatant who did everything he could to kill his target, yes, but there was still no need for injuring Julian Pomeroy like that! The personal nature of Alois' mission with the Pomeroys had clouded his head and made him think less like a soldier and more like a child. Yes! That had to be it. He needed to learn to control himself if he was going to work for her.

With that thought, the phone rang. She already knew without looking who it was. It was her cousin and Alois had arrived home. The bluenette was calling about Alois' attitude. She knew it. She knew it without looking and she did not want to answer right away. At the same time, however, she did. The woman wanted to speak her mind, but more than anything, she wanted to vent. That is why she decided to pick up the cellphone and place it to her ear.

"Hello?" Elizabeth greeted, trying her best to seem hospitable.

"Hello, Lizzie." Ciel replied, his tone of voice somehow indicating that he was somehow unaware of the situation. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, not at all." the woman sighed. "I'm currently fighting for something to do while everyone else is processing data."

"That's a shame. Is Pomeroy not awake yet?"

"I suppose Jim already told you about what happened at the apartment..." She couldn't believe how nonchalant Ciel was being about all of this. He didn't seem fazed in the slightest, although knowing him, he wouldn't. Perhaps it wasn't so "unbelievable" after all. Alois was strange, but Ciel was just as strange, himself.

"He did." affirmed the Watchdog. "It's quite something, isn't it? I'm kind of surprised he did that!"

"I know! He slammed a man's face through a glass coffee-table! I haven't been able to interrogate him yet, because he hasn't woken up!"

"That's a shame… I hope you can get something out of him, soon. It's a pretty good thing that Jim caught him, isn't it? I'm really rather impressed!" There was an unmistakable smile in the man's voice as he said this, speaking with such fondness.

Arching an eyebrow, Elizabeth took the phone away from her ear for a moment in order to look at it. She wondered if she heard that correctly. Then, she brought it back again to inquire:

"Are you serious? He's the reason why there's glass in that man's face!"

"I know. It's quite something. I can't believe he kept him alive!" Ciel chuckled, confusing his cousin even further. "I'm quite proud of him."

"Ciel, this is very serious. He slammed a man's head through a coffee-table, injuring him, and knocking him unconscious."

"Why are you speaking so slowly? I heard you the first time. Are you able to hear me on your end?"

"Are you? You don't seem to be understanding why this is so serious, Ciel. First Jim didn't understand, and now you? Am I missing something?"

"Perhaps? I don't know. It is a problem that Pomeroy is unconscious, but he's at least unconscious and not dead." answered the bluenette, who was now almost just as puzzled as the angel was. "Given Jim's history of dealing with people like him, I'd say this is some serious progress."

"How? I'd say that it's regressive, if anything." Elizabeth protested. "Ordinarily, he can make calls and carry out missions without a single outburst. What makes this so'impressive?'"

"Alright, first of all, 'without a single outburst?' Lizzie, an ourburst is an outburst, whether it's beneficial or not. You just don't know about them because they were either beneficial to the mission or you simply weren't there. You're also not accounting for his connection to his objective and the reason why he is carrying it out in the first place."

"His personal feelings should not come into play." the woman replied. She paused, waiting for a response, but all there was on the other end was silence. "Hello? Are you still there?"

"Yes, I..." Ciel began before scoffing lightly. "I'm sorry, but… do you hear yourself? Jim's personal feelings shouldn't come into play during a mission that hinges on the fact that he personally understands how these people think and operate from his own traumatic experiences? Am I understanding you correctly? I'm sorry, Lizzie, but that isn't how trauma works at all. You can't just 'turn it off' when it's inconvenient. Honestly, I'm kind of shocked that you would imply otherwise. You operate in a base full of soldiers. Surely you know a thing or two about people who go through traumatic experiences?"

Pausing, the woman considered this for a moment before shaking her head. "It isn't constructive."

"That's sort of an understatement."

"No, his actions weren't constructive."

"Lizzie..." the Phantomhive began, speaking slowly as he tried to help what he was saying sink in. "You really don't understand at all. I assume you're part of the reason why Jim is so… upset? It's hard for me to describe him right now… He's just… Sitting there. You need to apologise."

"Ciel, I really don't-"

"Understand." the man interrupted. "And apologise."

It was surprising to Elizabeth how earnest the bluenette suddenly became. He had gone from speaking proudly of his husband's actions to suddenly instructing his cousin rather seriously to apologise. She really needed to think about that for a while, as she now wondered just what was going on. This was going to take some serious thought.

After hanging up with her cousin, she sat at her desk, resting her elbow on it's surface and her chin in her palm. With her other hand, she tapped her fingers as she thought back on the menace. What did she know about him? She knew he wasn't completely "alright," but knew that he was competent and for the most part, a healthy, well-adjusted individual who she could trust. She knew he struggled with things at times, but maybe Ciel was right. Maybe she didn't know the full gist of things. After all, he himself told her that it was far beyond her to even imagine. She left her duties at HELLSING to go through the motions to actually get to her for a moment in order to ponder this, and slowly, as her mind wandered from the source of her initial stress, her head began to clear and she wondered just what exactly was going through the blonde's head. Indeed, she was missing something, but knew her cousin was aware as to what it was. Elizabeth knew that she simply did not get to see that side of Alois. It was the side of him that struggled and the side of him that did things he wasn't supposed to.

Picking up the phone again, she stared at it for a while, wondering if she really should call. Going through her contacts list, her finger hovered over the button, just a quick motion away from calling the menace. In truth, Elizabeth wasn't even sure if he would pick up and listen to her. All the Hellsing could do was hope that both of them had calmed down enough to listen to each other.

Taking a deep breath, she boldly took the plunge and pressed the button, raising the device to her ear and listening to the dial tone. It rang, and rang, and rang, and rang… Alois was obviously taking his time as he debated on whether or not he wanted to actually talk to the angel, but knew that it was inevitable.

"Hello, Elizabeth." he greeted upon answering it. "How may I help you?"

"Hi, Jim..." Elizabeth replied in turn, but then she paused. In truth, she wasn't sure what she was doing, but knew that she needed to do talk to the menace anyway. "I wanted to… apologise for scolding you, earlier. I haven't been able to come up with any results as of late and the stress has been sort of getting to me, but that still doesn't give me the right to take it out on you."

"I know." the demon answered, his tone slightly more pleasant than before. "I figured it was something like that. It's fine. I do it too, sometimes."

"I'll do my best not to do it again in the future, but are you certain you're alright?"

"Yeah. Like I said, I do it too. I try not to, but it's a really bad habit of mine that I'd like to fix. I feel you. I'm sorry I swore at you, too. It just felt like you were judging me and I didn't like that it felt like you weren't accounting for what my job entails. That's why I was mad."

"I wasn't trying to understand you, you're right." Elizabeth shamefully confessed. "I know you have a personal connection to the assignment, and I realise now that asking you to try and push that aside is not only impossible, but wrong. I wasn't trying to find out why you did that. In truth, I still don't really know… We come from very different worlds, so sometimes, I think it feels like there's this clash of culture between us."

"That makes sense. That's kind of what got on my nerves." Alois replied. "It felt like… It felt like I was being looked down on and being held to a standard that I'm incapable of reaching right now. I can't be a perfectly moral person because… I hate to say it, but I've kind of had to learn to have them as I go. Smashing that guy's face into the table wasn't the 'nice' thing to do, but I wanted to do it. I kind of wonder if it's bad that I don't feel guilty about it, even."

"Were you angry?"

"Well… Yeah? I was pissed off." The menace said, trying to find the right words. "I was already pissed off because I missed a chance to kill him once already and I didn't like having to pass it up again. I knew that it could help you, though, so I had to. Honestly? I just wanted to hurt him. Plain and simple. If I can't kill him, hurt him instead. It wasn't necessary, I'll give you that, but it made me feel a lot better."

"So you made the choice to spare him for a little while, but you still hurt him?" Elizabeth inquired, still trying to wrap her head around this. "Why? You're going to get to kill him either way..."

"I don't care how he dies." corrected the demon. "I'll kill him, sure, or HELLSING could kill him when you're done. I don't care, as long as he dies. It's not… It's not about punishing them, really. It's about putting a stop to them. Killing them is the only way to make them stop trafficking people, so they have to die. That's all there is to it. I already punished those responsible for my suffering. This is about ending the suffering of others like me. I was angry because that low-life son of a bitch has an uncountable number of people in slavery, yet he gets to live just a little while longer."

Pausing, the man listened and waited for a response. When he didn't get it, he added: "I know I shouldn't hurt people like that. I know it's wrong. But I don't see him as 'people.' To me, he's just a monster who's gonna die either way. This way, he's at least useful somehow. Does that make any sense?"

"It does." the woman replied. "An almost scary amount of sense..."

"Do I scare you?"

"No. No, you don't. You're just… different." She said. "Really different. On occasion, I'm reminded that we're from different worlds and it's sort of shocking, but I know you have the best intentions at heart."

"I'm a wildman and you're a dignified lady." Alois observed.

"Sort of. But less harsh."

"I don't think it is." the demon replied, speaking rather earnestly. "I think I am in a way. I'm certainly uncouth and can't get the hang of the whole 'nobility' thing. I don't really get 'honour' and I don't really get the standards and manners, sometimes." He was quiet for a moment, but then he asked: "Can I tell you something?"

"Certainly." The Hellsing replied. "What is it?"

"Well… Ciel knows about this and says I shouldn't worry about it so much, but… I really do worry about my status when it comes to everybody else." he said, stalling for a moment in order to choose his words carefully. "I came from being the lowest of the low in society, but am surrounded by all of these nobles all the time. I know that… You probably don't mean it in this way, but sometimes, I worry that I'm being looked down on. Even though I'm married to Ciel, blood is important. Titles are important. Being old money is important. But I..? I have none of those things and never will. It's like I'm allowed here, but… Not quite, if that makes sense?"

"Oh, Jim..." Elizabeth cooed. It was unlike the menace to express such sentiments, but it seemed as though this was something that weighed heavily on him for a while. He outright stated parts of it before, though never with the same amount of vulnerability. Before, it was "other nobles" that made him feel this way, but now? Now Elizabeth realised that it could be her as well.

"Did my scolding make you feel that way?" she asked, waiting patiently for the reply she didn't receive right away.

"A little." the demon confessed. "I know it's part of your job, but I can't control how I feel. Realistically, I know it's silly and I know that it shouldn't matter. I also know that you most likely didn't mean it like that. There's just a little bit of doubt in the back of my head, I guess."

"You're a perfectly good man, even without a noble bloodline! Honestly, if this were olden times, you would have become a king by now!"

"The middle ages sucked, though. Why would I want to be a king back then? I like wi-fi too much."

"I mean if you were born a few centuries earlier and had never even heard of wi-fi before." the woman replied.

"Still wouldn't wanna risk it. I'm married to a baronet, and I think that's the best I'm gonna get. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy! Very happy! I've got a family, a good job, and a comfortable house… It's just that there's sort of this 'barrier' between me and being on actual, equal footing with all of you. You can't really fight your way through that."

"Since when have barriers ever stayed in your way for long?" scoffed the angel. "Aren't you the one who broke an anti-demon barrier with your bare fists? And then an anti-supernatural barrier with magic gauntlets? You're also currently a the honourable spouse of Sir Ciel Phantomhive and one of HELLSING's highest-ranking agents. Don't settle for less. It's unlike you."

"Are you suggesting that I overthrow the monarchy?"

"Well… Maybe not that."

"It sounds to me like you're asking me to overthrow the monarchy."

"Please don't do that."

"If you insist, I guess I won't."

"Jim..."

"Yes?"

"Don't." the Hellsing ordered. She knew he was joking, but it was never a good thing for a demon like him to joke about something like this to a HELLSING agent. Since she knew he wasn't serious and also didn't want him to get in trouble, it was no big deal, but if he said that to the wrong person? It might be.

"I won't. Her majesty is safe from me." Alois had no interest in the crown. What he did have interest in was playing the game of nobles, given his frequent interactions with them. It seemed like he didn't understand them at all at times, but in reality, he understood them in ways that they themselves couldn't even name. That is why he was so concerned. He knew the game well and worried about how he was perceived. "Even though she's not a scoundrel, I promised to protect her, too, if I have to, didn't I?"

"You're not a scoundrel, Jim..." Elizabeth said, wishing that he would stop referring to himself that way.

"How dare you? Even though I don't like being looked down on by you upper class types, I don't want that part of me to be erased, either! It's the reason why I'm so tough!"

"'The Lion' is really a fitting name… Historically, people would obtain that title for being especially brave and ferocious. That's what people think of when they hear it."

"That explains a lot. Soldiers keep saying I'm 'too pretty' to be a lion!"

"You're pretty, but deadly." the woman giggled. "You're scary when you're serious… I feel bad for anyone who's on the opposing end of you."

"Coming from you, that's a pretty big compliment!" Alois laughed in turn. He seemed to be perking up quite a bit, now. His laugh was hearty, the kind where Elizabeth could just picture him throwing his head back to utter it. "You could probably wipe the floor with me."

"I'm not so certain. You aren't classically trained, but you're not a novice. You've taught yourself quite a lot already and fight like I've never seen before."

"Really? I just do what makes sense." the man said. "I read combat manuals quite a bit, so I know some basics. It's practicing form that's hard. Ciel got me a knife, actually, and I need to practise using it. Thing is, there's not really a place to do that, 'cause I don't wanna hurt anybody."

"Would you care to spar with me sometime?" the woman suggested. "I specilise in swords, primarily, but I know a thing or two about blades."

"I don't know if I feel good about doing that." Alois confessed. "It has a pair of brass knuckles attached to it that I'm worried about using. I'd feel bad if I punched you or stabbed you… But then again, I'm worried about you stabbing me! You're not an amateur! You could really hurt me!"

"Jim, how do you spar normally?" the woman asked. "You do hold back, don't you?"

"A little, but Ciel and I tend to be a bit serious, since that's the best way we can learn to react in a realistic battle situation."

"Jim… I have a question..."

"Yes?"

"Is it a male thing to roughhouse like that, or a Phantomhive thing?"

"Both, probably." Alois stated rather bluntly. It was good to hear him conversing normally again. In fact, talking to Elizabeth actually improved his mood about not being able to kill his target! Both of their attitudes improved greatly as they were now distracted from their problems. It was a sign of a good friendship.

While Jim was being Jolly, however, his husband was busy patrolling his home, making sure that no unruly teenagers were out of their rooms without permission. Ciel was fine having them stay in the mansion, but they had to abide by his rules. Once they are in their rooms for the night, they cannot leave them until morning. Sebastian suggested simply locking them in there, but Ciel believed that giving them the opportunity to do the right thing is the key to earning their trust.

At the same time, however, he didn't want a bunch of unruly teenagers running around his home, touching all of his stuff. This desire manifested when he sensed a presence in the green room. When he opened the door to investigate, he spotted a pair of teenagers playing with a knife that was previously displayed on the wall. It was the so-called "leader" of the group, Brittany, and one of the boys. Both of them appeared to be the two oldest members of the group, so Ciel thought that they should know better. Obviously, they didn't, but they should.

The girl was swinging it around, slashing and stabbing at an invisible opponent. Both teens were laughing as she did, even though she came dangerously close to the other at some points. Just because they were werewolves and could regenerate to some extent didn't mean that they were invincible or couldn't feel pain. If that were a blessed blade, depending on how powerful it was, it could actually leave a permanent scar, or worse, if they stabbed or slashed each other somewhere vital, they could actually die. Worse still, it would get blood on Ciel's carpet and he had a problem with that. Thus, he came walking up to the pair, ready to spoil their fun.

He was careful to approach from behind in order to avoid the girl's swing and somewhat reveled in how the colour drained from her compatriot's face as he approached. The lad's smile fell as he looked past her at the demon and then to her. "Brittany..." he tried to warn, but the girl was having too much fun to notice the tone of his voice.

"Hey, Taylor, watch this!" she declared before turning around with the dagger firmly in her fist, making a wide swing. She started from the bottom and slashing upwards, but before she could complete the arch, however, her hand was stopped and her wrist was grabbed in the air. The grip was hard, startling her, but it soon switched so that her new flesh-and-blood opponent had his thumb on her tendon. He applied enough pressure that it was painful for her to keep that tight grip on her knife, prompting her to let go with a loud yelp. "Ow!"

It never hit the ground. Instead, her opponent took it from her, now having the perfect opening to strike her abdomen with it. He didn't, however. He wasn't in any danger and there was simply no need. After all, there was the carpet to worry about, as memory serves.

"Don't play with weapons." the Watchdog sternly warned. "Especially weapons that aren't yours."

"How did you do that?" gawked Brittany, her eyes wide as she looked up at the demon.

"I'm actually trained in the use of these weapons. You're not. Now, may I have the sheath?" Releasing her, Ciel held out his hand expectantly. Sheepishly, the teen complied, having been so stunned that she couldn't think to protest. "Thank you. While not trained, you could still hurt someone, swinging this thing around. You could slash your friend there, or since you're a novice, hurt yourself."

"I was being careful."

"Of course. That's why you sneaked out of your rooms in the middle of the night and started making these massive slashing movements. How foolish of me to not realise..." Sheathing the weapon, the rather unimpressed demon gestured to the door. "To bed with you. I'm going to walk you there to make sure you go. Do I need to ask the butler to lock you in?"

"You don't need to treat us like prisoners, you know..." huffed the other teen, folding his arms. His protests weren't met with the reaction he wanted, however, as the bluenette merely looked to the dagger before looking to the youth with an incredulous expression. Without words, the demon had conveyed how ridiculous he thought that was, and how fighting it wasn't going to work.

"Learn how to use a weapon better, then. No one who actually uses knives would ever do that." the bluenette stated.

"Why not?"

"Because it's stupid." he said. "You can tell who actually knows how to use a weapon by how they hold it and that includes outside of actual combat. Always treat a weapon like it's dangerous, even if it's in your hand. I know most people don't use them frequently, but good lord, I would have thought that at least that last bit was common sense."

"Could you teach me how you use it?" Brittany asked as she and her friend followed behind him en route to their respective rooms. For once during this visit, she was hopeful, but the demon had to shoot her down.

"No." he bluntly replied. "If you want to use weapons, try to join HELLSING. You'll need a reputation of being a responsible person first, however, as letting in supernaturals without a recommendation from an existing agent doesn't really happen. And no, I'm not going to vouch for you."

"Oh, come on! Wasn't I at least a little good?"

"You have ferocity, but you don't have a respect for weapons. In some ways, the latter is more important. Earning the trust of your peers in the organisation as a supernatural is hard and you certainly won't do it if you go around, acting like you'd be fine with maiming everyone you come across. You've got guts, certainly, but you lack professionalism."

"I'm not a kid, you know." the girl protested. "I'm not stupid. If you tell me how to do it, I'll do it."

"Spoken like a true angsty teenager." With that, he stopped in front of a guest room door and gestured for her to step inside. She didn't, however, instead walking past it to the next door down.

"I'm going to stay in the same room as my friends."

"As long as you aren't playing with sharp things or things that explode, I am not bothered."

Rolling her eyes, she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her in an aggressive fashion, startling the other girls inside. They looked like they had been talking, all the while getting ready to pile in to the large bed in the room that was much to large for even all three of them to fit in. Looking over at her, Lilian was the first to speak up.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Did something happen?"

"The eyepatch guy is a fucking twat, that's what." Brittany scowled. "He keeps talking to me like I'm an idiot!"

"What did he say?"

"He said he wouldn't teach me how to use a knife because I'm too stupid, apparently." Shrugging, she added: "I mean, I probably shouldn't have been playing with it, but still. He didn't need to be rude about it."

"He'd probably be nicer if you didn't sneak out and play with knives, don't you think?" inquired Lilian, causing the third girl to snicker. "I think he's nice enough. We were just talking about him, actually."

"How he's a completely wank-stain?" the lead girl asked.

"No, actually..." Lilian replied. "Sierra and I were actually talking about how he's actually kind of cute?"

"He was really charming, I thought." Sierra chimed in. "He's got muscles, and eyepatch, he dresses nice… The title is nice too, innit?"

"Shame he's married to a bloke, though. Don't think we'd be really his type."

"Unbelievable. You've really been taken in by that?" Brittany gawked while pointing to the door.

"I mean, I'd probably take him in, if you know what I mean?" Lillian laughed, only to be elbowed by her equally amused compatriot. "His husband's nice, too, though. They're both really good looking."

"They're both pains in the ass!" the self-appointed leader of the group declared. "How do we even know that they're legit, huh? They could be marching us into an execution and you're just sitting there, talking about how cute they are! Don't you watch movies? Government organisations who deal with shit like this are always up to no good."

"But what if you're wrong?" Sierra asked. "They know that we're werewolves and how we work, when we didn't. They also seemed like they wanted to help us know better."

"It could be a lie to get us to trust them, Sierra! God! Why do you always trust everybody who tells you anything? It always gets you in trouble!"

"Bri. Stop. You're not helping." Lilian butted in. "You're the whole reason why we're in this mess in the first place! You said that everything would be better if we just followed you and it's not. We just ended up stranded in the woods with no clothes, food, or water. We did things your way. Now let's try to do it this way."

"How was I supposed to know? I thought we would have instincts that help us find all of those things! I thought that maybe we could build shelter and develop it into something."

Rolling her eyes, Lillian couldn't believe this. She had become disillusioned with her leader's ways and now had begun to question things. "A society for werewolves? Who would populate it? Yours and Taylor's babies? None of this makes any sense anymore. What were we supposed to do? What are we gonna do if we run now, even? We'd be right back where we started out in the woods. The only other option would be to go home and hope we don't die when we get there."

"The woods is at least better than living with a dad that hits you." Brittany replied, folding her arms as she paced. "Or are you okay with that?"

"I'm not. I'm gonna stay put and take this chance I've got now." growled the other, narrowing her eyes. "You're going to sleep in your own room, now, or fuck off out of here. Go ahead and run away. I don't care what you do anymore. Go starve in the woods yourself, if you want. I'm not going with you."

The alpha of the group sputtered for a reply, furrowing her brow and clenching her fists at her sides. She then set her sights on the other girl in the room and scowled. "Sierra? You're going to come with me, right? You won't leave me alone, will you?"

Sierra opened her mouth to speak before closing it again, hesitating on what she was going to say next. She was nervous. She was scared. She knew that Brittany was going to judge her if she said "no," but in truth? She didn't really want to go. She didn't really want to go to Phantom House either, really.

"I want to go home..." she finally said, her throat tightening. "This isn't fun anymore… I just wanna go home..."

"Ugh! You're boring!"

"Brittany!" Lillian scolded before turning her attention to Sierra, gently rubbing her shoulder and softening her gaze. "It'll be alright, Sierra… We can talk to the demons tomorrow and see if they can help… I think I remember them saying we could live in London, so in theory, that means with your parents, too!"

"I miss my mum and dad..." the youngest of the three said as her eyes began to leak profusely.

"I know. It's okay… Everything's gonna be okay..." Lilian wasn't entirely sure if she was telling the truth, but she hoped she was. She didn't completely know whether she could trust the demonic duo or not, but she wanted to believe that she could. At least she knew that she couldn't trust Brittany. She would hope that things would turn out better than they have thus far.


A/N: This was done hours ago, but I forgot I finished it? I want to get back to main plot, but getting back to main plot is so scary! I have to like... Know what I'm doing and saying? What's up with that?

Uh... Let's see... What else...

All of you had really great things to say about Alois' character in the last chapter. You really hit it right on the head! Hopefully, I keep my momentum and keep things interesting!

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!