Reid blinked in confusion, he had wanted to speak with McCullum, but he hadn't been planning on doing it tonight, nor had he really been in the mood to fight with the other man. Returning to London and even contemplating confronting the demons he'd left here was exhausting enough, now he was going to have to deal with whatever misconception the other man had gotten stuck in his head.
"Good evening McCullum, what can I do for you?" he said, barely repressing a sigh. McCullum didn't seem to relax any with the gentle tone, not that he ever had before but Johnathan felt he had to try at the very least.
"You can explain this!" McCullum gestured to himself and Reid blinked, not understanding what the other man was referring to.
"I beg your pardon?" He said, he considered letting his vision slip into the blood sight but decided against it. He was hungry enough as it was, he didn't need to tempt himself further.
"Oh I bet you think this is funny, don't you? A real laugh for you and your leech friends huh?" McCullum was gripping his sword tighter and Johnathan felt himself tensing for the potential fight, fangs digging into his gums.
"McCullum," Reid ground out, "you're going to have to explain what it is that you think I've done, I just returned to the city last night, I have yet to have the time to visit my family, let alone cause whatever trouble that you've got in your head to lay at my feet."
The Irishman grit his teeth, Johnathan could hear the grating noise in his jaw and it was followed by a rather deep growl that had the doctor shaking off some of his annoyance to pay more attention. McCullum stopped, which was surprising enough, but even more so was the way he took a deep breath, putting a hand to the bridge of his nose and releasing the hilt of his sword.
"You really can't tell?" He asked, voice pitching nearly into a hysterical laugh. "Am I actually, finally, losing my mind?"
"Tell what?" Johnathan was starting to get concerned, the other man was making even less sense than usual. "McCullum I can't help you if I don't know what's going on." Johnathan figured the risk was worth it and let his vision slip into the dark grays and reds that highlighted the blood in the body. McCullum showed up in front of him as a muted red shape, not as bright as he had in the past, his heart beating slowly in his chest, was he ill…? Reid blinked his vision back to normal and met the guardsman's eyes with his own, the smallest of ideas starting to form at the back of his mind.
"Geoffrey… what happened…?"
The hunter's shoulders slumped and he ran a hand through his hair, turning around for the briefest moment.
"I don't, I don't know. After I fought with you, after you let me go… I felt sick for a couple of days and then…" he turned to face the doctor again, the shadows at his feet and around his shoulders stretching and shifting in a way that wasn't humanly possible. But for an Ekon… Reid felt like the rug had been yanked out from under him. He took a breath, registering the scent of Ekon on the other man that he'd been disregarding before and pushed the shock to the back of his mind to focus on the problem at hand.
"When I came to you in the graveyard…" he trailed off, thinking back on the moment. Sure the Irishman had been acting a bit strange but Reid had brushed it off as a man swallowing his pride after having been so thoroughly beaten and his very ideals having been challenged. Still looking back he felt foolish for not having noticed.
"Yeah, it… well I'd really just realized it myself. I was still reeling a bit and you were a man on a mission…" he shrugged. "I meant to, but…"
"And you somehow think that this is my fault?" Johnathan didn't want to remind the hunter of his anger but he needed to follow this through.
"It was after I fought you! What else could it be?"
"Unless I'm under a large misunderstanding of how it works, I didn't know knowingly give you my blood." Johnathan couldn't hold the biting tone out of his voice when he spoke but by the time the words had finished escaping his lips an epiphany struck him.
"Wait, the Blood of a King, did… was anything done to it before you drank it?" He asked, McCullum's face was screwed into a frown and his brow furrowed as he thought about it.
"No? It's a relic, why would we change it? Did it not work for your elixir? Reid what is this about?" Most of the tension had fled from the hunter's form at this non sequitur.
"McCullum… Arthur was an Ekon, like me, the same bloodline as myself I'm told." Johnathan said slowly, not sure how the other man, being far more versed in the supernatural than Johnathan had been, hadn't known that before consuming it. McCullum just stared at him scarcely moving and barely breathing out a single
"What?"
"Arthur was a vampire, I-"
"My ears work just fine damnit," the hunter snapped, going from still to rapid motion in that too fluid way of a predator. Johnathan wondered if he was even aware of it. Now that it had been brought to his attention he couldn't help but notice all the ticks and quirks that pointed out an immortal.
"Are you telling me that we just would have, what, lost that vital bit of info?" The hunter continued. Reid shrugged at him, forcibly trying to remain calm when every instinct was telling him to challenge back.
"As a doctor I can tell you that vital information gets lost all the time. It happens."
"Dammit!" McCullum whirled around fists clenched tightly at his sides, shadows swirling in a way that had the doctor tapping his own connection to the darkness just in case things got hairy. He shifted Lisa to the other arm in hopes of being able to set the houseplant down gently if it came to that but he was really hoping that it wouldn't.
"Geoffrey…" Johnathan said softly. He knew the other man could hear him, but he wasn't sure he was processing right now. He didn't want to touch the hunter in case he lashed out but the doctor knew well how overwhelming everything felt just after the change. The shadows flared a little heavier for a moment and Jonathan was near certain that things were going to explode into violence but then everything calmed down, Geoffrey sagged, looking tired.
"What am I going to do…?" The hunter said, still not looking at the doctor.
"I can't answer that for you." Johnathan said, hesitantly starting to relax. "I found that the best thing…the only thing to do is to keep moving forward, take it one day at a time." Dr. Reid shrugged, the motion nearly shoving a full leaf into his face. "Do your men know?"
McCullum's shoulders rose higher as he seemed to curl in on himself, a dry humorless laugh escaped into the alleyway.
"You really think I'd be here now if they knew?" He said, finally looking at Jonathan again, an almost mad look in his eyes.
"They all seem to know you, I assumed…"
"Well you assumed wrong." McCullum snapped. He was quiet for long enough that Johnathan was about to speak up again but then the hunter continued. "They all keep acting as though nothing has changed. It's maddening. Even you, you walked right up to me, looked me in the eye and what… just didn't know?" His voice got louder, and he took a long, forced breath. Reid let him take a moment, trying to take the time to put his own thoughts in order.
"Knowing it now… it seems impossible to miss but before…" Jonathan thought back on the conversation in the graveyard. "Before I just thought that you were under the weather, I had half a mind to ask you how you were feeling, but if I'm being completely honest… I just had so much on my mind that it didn't seem particularly pressing. And you've never been one to allow someone else to assist you."
The hunter looked him up and down and then gave a heavy sigh.
"You're either helpless or purposefully obtuse." Geoffrey said, fingers still pinched on the bridge of his nose. "But that sounds like a vampire's glamour."
"Glamour?" Jonathan said, the word slipping out before he could even think about it. He had half a thought to invite the hunter to go somewhere so he wouldn't continue to be holding a conversation with a bag and houseplant in hand but he knew that the other would outright refuse. As it was McCullum was giving him a flat expression that the doctor wanted to smack right off his face.
"God above I forget how new you are to all of this. Did your Maker not teach you anything?" Geoffrey said. Jonathan thought back on the little he'd seen of his Maker, he realized that he'd much rather punch the entity again rather than speak to him.
"No, I can't say that he informed me of much of anything." Reid said, trying to focus on the texture of McCullum's coat rather than think of the sensation of cold dead flesh against his own. He wasn't entirely sure that he succeeded in suppressing the shudder that ran down his spine, but the hunter wasn't looking directly at him so he supposed that it didn't matter.
"You… really?" Geoffrey asked, all the smug attitude dropping in an instant.
"Yes."
"Wow… there's cold, and then there's that. We've noticed most leeches at least show their offspring the ropes, unless it's a Skal, then they tend to leave them for us, can't say that we complain all that much." the Irishman shrugged his shoulders.
"Well then, we have that in common." Jonathan said, watching as McCullum tensed up again, reminded of what he had confronted the other man for.
"Yeah, I guess we do." he said tightly. The doctor shifted from foot to foot, trying to think of what to do next.
"Do… do you want any help?" he asked, he didn't really want to invite the other man back to his home, but if the hunter was desperate enough to accept his help then there was no saying what else he might do.
"I… no. Not right now, you've… given me a lot to think about." McCullum said after a long pause, turning back around again.
"Well… it's a standing offer, please don't be afraid to take it later." Jonathan said, shifting his plant once more before continuing past the other man and out of the alleyway. Geoffrey didn't try to stop him, instead just let him past though the doctor could feel the eyes on his back as he walked away.
-Face your Fears-
Jonathan didn't really want to confront his family with how he was feeling now, but he didn't have much choice unless he wanted to sneak in with his luggage and then come back later. Something about that felt… wrong. So he took a deep breath, tried not to think about how long it had been since he'd done that last and then knocked on the door of the family home. It was late but not too late that he should come back tomorrow. After a brief pause the door opened and Avery peered out, looking confused and tired but brightened upon seeing the man standing on the doorstep.
"Master Jonathan!" he said, perking up immediately. His pleasant surprise at seeing who was standing in the cold night made the doctor's heart clench. He stood out of the way and held the door open, not making any mention of the few belongings that Johnathan was holding, nor the houseplant tucked neatly under one arm.
"Please! Come in, it's dreadfully cold out. I was just about to go to bed myself but I can put some tea on if you want?" the old man asked, taking Lisa from his arms the moment that he made it inside the door. The doctor took a moment to register what was being said to him, the conversation with Geoffrey had really knocked him off-kilter and given him too much to think about in the meantime.
"Oh, I'm, I'm okay Avery. Please don't trouble yourself, I can take care of anything else if you want to go to bed." Jonathan said, shuffling out of his coat and putting it up on a hook. The heat of the house immediately started to flood over him and he barely restrained a sigh at the sensation. Avery didn't comment on the bag of his personal effects but placed it on the stairs leading up to his room.
"Don't worry about me, honestly Master Jonathan, I'm just happy to see you home." the old man paused for a moment. "I… If it's not too forward, I was worried that you were never going to come back, something about how you left had a feeling of finality." Avery's voice was quiet but Jonathan felt that the old man may as well have struck him for how much the words hurt. Worse yet, there was no one to blame but his own cowardice. When he had walked out last time, he really hadn't been planning on returning, the idea of watching his mother continue to deteriorate and the need to chase after Lady Ashbury combined had been an easy choice to make. But now he was back in the city and the guilt was going to eat him from the inside out if he didn't at least make an effort to be a part of their lives for however long they had left.
"I… I'm sorry if it came across that way. A friend of mine had an emergency and I needed to intervene." Jonathan said. It wasn't a lie per se, but it was far from the whole truth. Avery gave him a look that nearly had the doctor sitting down to explain the whole story. Something about the way the old man could give him a glare made him think of every bad thing he'd ever done in his life. Chasing after himself and his sister when they were young probably had a great deal to do with how well the butler saw through them both and having been there more and for longer than his actual father only added to the guilt that Jonathan felt for lying to him.
"Of course Master Jonathan, it's good that you still think of others even when it comes at a cost to yourself." Avery said. Jonathan looked away to avoid having to meet the man's questing gaze any longer and instead busied himself with unpacking several items from his bag to place them in the cupboards where he usually stored them. He'd unpack the rest of his medical bag upstairs and he usually left all of the strange bits and bobs in his coat, Avery had stopped going through his coat after he'd started at medical school and was likely to have any number of strange items in the pockets. As long as he made sure it was empty when Avery sent it out to be cleaned, then he left it alone.
"I think I'm going to turn in myself." Jonathan said, still looking around himself so he didn't have to lie directly to the other man. Avery just sighed quietly, the doctor was fairly certain that he wasn't meant to hear that and said.
"Have a good night Master Jonathan." Avery turned and made a slow way out of the entry hall and Jonathan was left alone in the quiet house. He wondered if it would ever feel properly like home again or if the old ghosts and dark halls were going to haunt him for as long as he lived…
With a deep breath and the thought that moping wasn't going to resolve anything he took Lisa to the kitchen where she would at least get some sunlight when day came around and made sure that the leaves were properly facing the window before making his way up the stairs to the room that he'd grown up in. It was the same as the last time he'd been in here, though the few clothes he'd left tossed on the bed were tucked back away and most surfaces had been cleared of dust. Clearly Avery had continued upkeep on it in hopes that he was going to be back and the doctor tried not to think about how much that hurt, instead focusing on how his small home collection of lab equipment was still all in its proper place. There were no samples left here, he'd made sure to either take them all or to destroy them before taking off for Scotland.
The thought of Lady Ashbury had him wondering if she'd reached out to Charlotte now that they were properly back in the city. He certainly hoped so, the pair of them deserved some small portion of happiness, even if they didn't always see eye to eye. He'd look in on her tomorrow, give her the night to relax without worrying over him, hopefully. The doctor slowly unpacked the remaining items from his bag that he'd picked up from the lab over at Pembroke and realized that he'd left the rest of his clothes and effects with Lady Ashbury and shook his head, well that certainly settled his plans for the following evening. He looked back at the bed, neatly made behind him and wished momentarily that he could fall into it like he had before when the night reached this hour, having spent too long studying or Clarence had dragged him out on the town for once, the warm comforter closing around him and the soft creaking of the house lulling him into sleep.
Now though… he could hear Avery across the house, preparing for bed himself, his mother sleeping fitfully, and the sounds of their neighbors, and if he looked properly he could see the bright red pulse through the floorboards and through the wall… Jonathan took a breath, noticing how it raked icy daggers down his throat. Right. There were other things that needed addressing that he could no longer ignore. He stepped out onto the balcony and was no longer the good doctor returning home once more, but an Ekon forged in blood and pain. It took him a little longer than he would've liked to find something that was worthy of a fight, perhaps what he'd done actually was making a difference in the spread of the Skal population. The scientist in him had rebelled against the idea that defeating a creature made of blood was going to change how a disease was spreading but he'd given up on understanding everything that was going on in this madness when he'd woken up with no hole in his chest and blood on the mattress saying that there had been.
The rats that scurried in the alleyways would have sufficed but there was something in him tonight that needed the thrill, needed to take something down with his own two hands and feel the blood spatter over his claws. It wasn't something that he liked to acknowledge, he knew that he was a changed man after the war, in more ways than one, but that didn't mean that he particularly liked it. But there was nothing to do for it now and he was already darting over rooftops and down into alleyways, eyes picking out the pulse and glow of different denizens of the London night. He was far from home when he realized that he'd left his jacket and any weaponry behind and shook his head, he could get by without them. Just then his gaze caught on the dull glow of the hulking form of a Vulkod, the creature snuffling about in the graveyard, probably looking for corpses to dig through. Reid could feel his fangs heavy in his mouth as he looked over the edge of the hill, the shadows in his grip roiling around him without even thinking about it. The creature paused in its shuffling, probably able to sense that something was strange but it couldn't see him, likely couldn't smell him, Jonathan knew that he was outside of its' ability to sense.
He tensed, feeling every muscle as he prepared to leap out from the shadows and onto his prey. Before he even could it stood, lifting its head and looking off to the side. Jonathan didn't wait, instead leaping through the shadows and onto its back before sinking his claws in. He didn't know what it had seen, it didn't matter, it was his now. The Vulkod gave a howl and started clawing at him, barely managing to snag its own claws into him and throwing him off of it to the side. Jonathan snarled as he landed on his feet, firing a blood spear at the creature and trying to distract it from charging him directly. It dodged to the side and continued forward, claws raking down and through Jonathan's shirt and flesh alike. It closed over in an instant, but he still berated himself for not throwing up a blood shield before it struck. He swung with his own claws, raking through the muscle at its shoulder and its entire arm went limp, the tendons neatly severed. They would take longer to close up than a flesh wound, and the smell of blood in the air had every hair on the doctor's body standing on end and he grabbed at the blood in its veins with his own magic, holding it in place long enough for him to sink his teeth into its throat.
Sweet relief flooded through him and he couldn't help but bite down harder, claws sinking deeply into its sides as he did. It struggled in his grasp once his grip on its blood loosened but not for long as he pulled deep gouges in its flesh along its flank. He followed it down to the ground, barely resisting the urge to rip the flesh of its throat out as the blood started to flow thin. He stood up, some of the haze of battle fading and leaving him realizing the mess that he'd made of himself. There were the healed cuts on his arm and blood coating far too much of his face, that didn't stop him from running the back of his hand over it before he could stop himself. He looked at the further mess that had been made of his sleeve in disgust, mentally noting to ask Lady Ashbury what she did for bloodstained clothing when he saw her the next evening. When he looked over at whatever had caught the creatures' attention in the bushes there was nothing there, even letting his sight slip into the reds and greys didn't show anything unusual. Must've run off whatever it was…
Jonathan sighed and got to his feet, without his coat he didn't have anything to light the body on fire with, nor did he happen to have anything on his person. Well he'd just have to rely on the sun to get rid of the evidence, it was time to go home. There were still several hours before dawn but he could start by taking inventory of what he did have to work with, and get some baseline setups using his own blood. That way he'd have a decent comparison when he started investigating Lady Ashbury's. Plan in place the doctor started back the way he'd come, not aware of the shadows tailing him…
