[M] Once Cursed, Twice Damned {Lyra & Midori-Hime}}

"Late, again," the handler spoke first in a harsh, decisive tone of voice although he was visibly nervous recalling the last time the witch had taken criticism oh so kindly. Alas, he had taken precaution this time and wore a protection talisman around his neck. It was but a mere piece of enchanted paper parchment but it warded off bad magic. In his eyes, though, all magic was bad.

"Call me conventional, but I stick to tradition," Mathian retorted and smiled a sour, wicked smile as he settled into his seat paying the wolf hardly any mind. He had decided to appear unbothered, to pretend as if nothing had happened between them. He intended to persevere in his intentions. After all, the memories would eventually fade away... the taste, the smell, the feeling, no matter how incredible, would inevitably disappear, for hell would freeze over twice before he'd jump into bed with a werewolf ever again. Slowly, he started to breathe, in and out, regularly, although his heartbeats would falter each time he thought of giving the wolf a nonchalant glance.

"I'd call you many words, but conventional - I don't think so," the handler scoffed lightly, visibly disgusted by Mathian's mere presence. It seemed to be enough to piss some people off, he thought. It ran in the family, he added. If the handler was throwing bait, Mathian was not going to bite into it. He just smirked and leaned against the table, tapping his fingers against it. The handler cleared his throat, adjusted his tightly-fitted tie and fetched his stack of papers, leafing through them to find the perfect mission for them. He searched for something... special.

"Seeing as how you both --" he gave them a stern look before stopping to inspect one of the papers he'd come across, etching a mysterious smile on his face, "seem highly unreceptive even to the most basic of tasks, I deem it highly fit to gift you a mission even an idiot would be able to complete, blind-folded and with his hands tied behind his back," an air of loftiness surrounded him as he spoke so derisively, earning a not-so-subtle eye roll from Mathian. "You two have until sundown tomorrow to rid the dungeons in the eastern corridor of a pesky ghost. Convince him to leave and head towards the light... and I won't report any kind of incompetence on your part to the Board. Should you fail... well, we all know what happens next. That would be all,"

"What a dick--" Mathian exclaimed, faking a gasp of surprise. "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to say it outloud," he added, his lips pulling into a smirk. The handler clicked his tongue and turned around to walk away while he still felt good about himself, leaving behind his documents.

"You're all cut from the same cloth..." he murmured under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Highborn asses," he added and slammed the door behind him, leaving the two of them alone. The silence that followed and engulfed the room was frightening. He took in a deep, shaky breath and finally looked at Theo, directly into his eyes and said as nonchalantly as possible, for it was the bravest thing to do, and he needed to be brave,

"Y'know an exorcist? Pretty sure we're screwed," he stood up and leaned over the desk to grab the papers the handler had left behind. There were plenty of other feasible missions to choose from, yet the man had opted for one that was the least descriptive. No name, no origin, no suggested modus operandi. Just get rid of it. Whoever wrote it must have been either desperate or not involved enough. "I hate ghosts," he whispered, commenting more to himself than making conversation, "If you're gonna die, then stay dead." He threw the papers away, and turned back to Theo, almost making the mistake of letting his gaze linger across the wolf's lips and the memory of how he'd nibbled them and sucked them in... but his eyes quickly darted away towards the door. "Shall we?"

Theo ignored the snide comments their handler was throwing at Mathian, yet when he decided to call him out as well, Theo narrowed his eyes coldly. He wanted to throw a rebuttal back at the man, ask him what the hell did he mean that they weren't competent enough to complete a mission? They had busted their asses for these stupid missions. Nearly died for them... Yet at the end of the day, they had still completed every one of them!

Theo's nostrils flared a little with each deep breath he took, willing himself to calm down. He blinked a few times to refocus on the details of their new mission. Why was he so worked up? Obviously their handler was being a total asshole, but his heart was utterly pounding right now. Was it because they were on the verge of a full moon... or was it something else? Theo chanced a quick glance at Mathian as he brazenly called their handler a dick, his stomach dropping to his ass the moment he laid eyes on the warlock. Well fuck...

Theo was unusually jumpy as the door slammed shut and he looked to the paperwork on the desk with a grim stare, his jaw tense. With a hard swallow, Theo finally turned to meet Mathian's gaze with a perfectly level stare, even if it took everything he had to accomplish it. Though Mathian's poor choice of wording made Theo flinch just the slightest bit, having almost misheard what he'd said for a moment there. "Ya think?" He retorted sharply and then let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through his long auburn locks. Theo then quickly snatched the papers from the warlock's hands, looking them over with a gradually deepening frown. "Yeah... We're fucked."

"Do you want to fuck or get fucked?"

He suddenly shoved the essentially useless paperwork back to Mathian and quickly averted his gaze. "You and me both. At least we have that much in common..." He muttered, turning to follow Mathian out the door, starting towards the Eastern corridor. Just the thought of going down into a haunted dungeon gave him the creeps and made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "I guess... I dunno, we find out what it wants? Why it's still here?" He asked as they walked down the halls with purpose. At least, he was... Theo's thinking was that the sooner they got to it, the sooner they could get it over with.

Mathian was sure the handler had screwed them over one way or another. Ghosts were tricky. Not only were they capable of possession, but they also had nothing to lose. They were already dead, stripped of their earthly bonds. Those who chose to remain in this realm, well, those always meant trouble. Those who were summoned were far from friendly either. He wasn't quite intent on musing over it, but it was either that or recalling the events, positions, and all the irksome things he'd said while he was either pinned down or bent over by none other than the fella in front of him.

They walked out of the plain, furniture-barren room and continued their ghost-related banter as they dragged themselves through the hallways. Mathian made sure he was one step ahead, for even looking at parts of him brought back memories. "It wants to not make this easy, I'm sure," he murmured, at terms with the fact that luck didn't favor them. So far they'd been faced with a rabid vampire, a bloodthirsty mermaid, a wacked sorcerer, and a tricky oracle who wronged them most, Mathian concluded. She was to blame, he was certain. Had she not told them, perhaps, they wouldn't have... done all that. Oh how content she must be feeling right now. Mathian balled his fists as anger tickled his fancy. Maybe he should make her pay.

"Ghosts stick around for two reasons. Either they have unfinished business or someone else has unfinished business only a ghost can take care of," he focused on giving some inside ghost-related wisdom instead of fawning over ideas of revenge. He still walked a tad bit odd, as though his hips hadn't fallen back into place.

The path to the eastern quarters went through a vampire's nest. Mathian knew they were close because the smell of animal blood was becoming more... pungent and strong with each step. He slowed down a little bit and pointed to the left at a branching hallway. "Let's go this way," he suggested but before he could follow suit, he saw someone he'd been avoiding for almost a week now. The freakishly creepy vampire he'd done business in the boiler room, the kind of freakish that wore eyeliner, painted his nails black, and wore funeral clothes day and night. He came sauntering out of the nest's foyer, wiping pig's blood off his face with his sleeve.

"Why don't you come my way, Matty," he exclaimed, plastering a smile on his pale, blood-smeared face. Mathian froze instantly, gritting his teeth. Shit, he cursed inwardly and frowned. "I thought I smelled a witch, or rather... the witch."

Mathian gave him an eye-roll that went so far back he could have gone blind. "Sorry, I forgot to shower," he delivered a snarky one-liner, narrowing his eyes. The vampire simply chuckled and gestured him to come closer, saying in a commanding tone of voice,

"Come, we've a deal to uphold,"

"Not now," Mathian spoke briskly, turning to glance at Theo.

"Now." The vampire commanded, narrowing his eyes into slits of pure bad temperament, which sent shivers down Mathian's spine. "Tell your mutt to wait here, someone'll fetch him a bone to chew on," he added, sizing Theo up and down with hardly any interest at all.

Mathian turned to Theo again and said, "You go, I'll be right there," he didn't want Theo to see anything that might follow suit. He didn't want him to know anything... though he was sure the wolf would suspect the worst of him. But somehow, the idea he might didn't bode with him well.

Theo pondered that for a few moments, trying to imagine why a ghost would be lingering around in this place. Then again, if he died here, he might revel in the thought of haunting their handler. However, he soon broke out of his thoughts of revenge when he happened to notice the warlock's odd gait as he followed him through the halls. What was his problem, he thought, until it suddenly hit him like a brick. Theo tensed immediately and he felt a bit of heat coming to his cheeks. It couldn't be... from that, could it? Theo had to hold back a groan, just wanting to crawl into a hole and die.

Suddenly the scent of stale animal blood drew his attention away from Mathian's ass, which was both fortunate and not, once he realized they were entering the vampires' quarters. A shudder went down his spine at the thought of running into any of those bloodsuckers and when Mathian suggested and alternate route, Theo wasn't about to argue. However, it did make him wonder why Mathian was so eager to bypass the vampire's nest. Maybe he knew better than to drag a wolf through their territory, yet on the other hand, it seemed like the sort of thing Mathian would enjoy. If only to watch Theo squirm uncomfortably and possibly start some drama.

Well, it seemed he wouldn't have to wonder long, turning sharply as one of them called to Mathian. He would have laughed out loud at his appearance, except he noticed the sudden change in Mathian's demeanor and eyed the vampire suspiciously. Theo simply listened in on their exchange, until the vampire gestured to Mathian. His eyes widened, looking to Mathian sharply, wondering exactly what sort of deal Mathian had made with this blood sucker.

He suddenly bristled as the vampire dared to command Mathian, as well as throwing insults his way. "I don't think so. We have shit to do, Leech. He can fulfill his end of the deal later." As if for emphasis, Theo grabbed the warlock's arm and yanked him back behind him, putting himself between the two. Heat was radiating off of his body as he stared the vampire down cooly, the corner of his lips twitching as if he were a moment away from letting out a blood-curdling snarl.

Mathian imagined a situation where things wouldn't escalate. It was a nice thought - Theo walking away. The wolf would grunt and grumble but eventually leave the witch to his own devices, disinterested in the way the vampire had casually insulted him and his kind and with half a mind set on ridding himself of their next quest. Mathian would be left alone with the crafty blood-sucker; they would exchange some snarky one-liners and call each other derogatory names, but they would eventually settle their difference and Mathian's debt would be paid. Unfortunately, this nice thought would never come to fruition, for Mathian would now have to pay his debt in blood.

Yanked away to safety, Mathian was taken aback by the wolf's sudden heroism, though he wasn't as naive to think the wolf actually cared about him. After all, the vampire got on everyone's nerves - in fact, Mathian was sure the guyliner hated himself the most - especially since the feud between the vampires and the werewolves was centuries old. Yet, he could not help but feel protected... he felt the wolf's heat against him, a too familiar warmth that had plagued him for days resurfaced... It was this horrible, creepy-crawly feeling that was good in the oddest of ways, if that even made sense. Yet, he barely moved away, standing as close to the wolf as he possibly could, looking up to see the tension in his shoulders and his neck as he stared down at the vampire. He shivered slightly at the sight, the beats his heart was skipping an insensible amount. Crap, he cursed under his breath not liking that one bit.

The vampire on the other hand had barely flinched when Theo positioned himself between him and his prey so abruptly. Not even Theo's cold stare and teething snarl could shake him and make him take a step back. What the wolf actually managed to do was alter the conditions of their deal. Mathian sidled behind Theo to take a peek at the vampire's reaction. He was met with a pair of eyes so red they could have been oozing blood. The pupils shifted and narrowed into slits, glinting with murderous intent. Yet, the bottom half of his face was smiling a polite smile. He knew exactly what that meant. He also knew the vampire would get away with it.

"You are right," the vampire finally said, sighing with pleasure. "Why rush it? Half the fun is in the inevitable suspense." He threw Mathian a sneaky wink, licking his bloody, dried-up lips. "Please do your shit. I will find you when you finish," he said with an ominous chuckle and turned away, disappearing back into the foyer.

He didn't say much but Mathian understood plenty and boy was he mad at the wolf. A frown grew rapidly on his face as he punched the wolf's back lightly, huffing in a sarcastic tone of voice, "Are you wolves allergic to common sense? Cause I'd love to knock some into you right now," he bit down hard on his lower lip, grunting at the wolf as his nose wiggled and twitched. "He's not the kind of bear you poke," he added in an undertone, running his fingers through his tousled hair. He'd poked plenty of bears in his lifetime, in fact, he loved it, but poking this particular bear wasn't something he could afford in his current condition.

Of all the vampires residing here, that had the be the most sleazy, unsettling, and disgusting one. What the hell was Mathian even thinking, dealing with a creep like him. Then again, this was Mathian he was talking about. Why wouldn't he? However, after watching the vampire slink away, Theo had the sinking feeling that he'd made matters worse for the warlock. But why should he care? Mathian's back alley dealings were getting in the way of what was already a taxing mission, and he had no one but himself to blame for getting mixed up with a creature like that. Or so Theo told himself. Yet for reasons he couldn't explain, the thought of that vampire even touching Mathian did not sit well with him at all.

"Oh and by the way, The Child Catcher called... He wants his clothes back!" He called out. Even though he was out of sight, he imagined the creature could still hear him. However, before he could move along, Mathian's sudden punch to his back startled him. He turned on the warlock sharply, his eyes hard as he stared him down. "Exactly, So why the hell are you getting yourself mixed up with his kind, Matty?" He hissed lowly.

"Come on..." He grumbled, quickly giving Mathian a yank to follow him down his little bypass. He definitely wasn't eager to run into any more bloodsuckers on their way down there. "Just what kind of a deal did you make with him anyway?" He asked, trying to ease himself of that worried feeling in his gut.

Theo had yanked him once again, perhaps even harder, and posed a question "Matty" didn't want to answer. He stumbled after him, holding onto his frowning face and sucking on his lower lip. He cleared his throat and fumbled for words, but for reasons unknown and feelings unsure, no words came. Usually, he had no reservations about speaking the truth, for what others thought of him, unless they were in the Board, was of no concern to him. Alas, the damned wolf seemed to be messing with his head a lot lately. Finally, he resorted to dry, deadpan humor and with a hint of a sour half-smile, he said,

"I do things on a whim," he paused, quickening his pace so he would keep up with him and look him directly into his predatory eyes and say scoffingly, "Things that are not your business." Even though Theo had seen a whole lot of business going on in Matty's pants, it wasn't like they were suddenly all close and stuff, he thought. It meant nothing.

As they walked through the hallways, each narrower than the one they left behind, the temperature of the area was slowly dropping and the light that showed them the way was slowly diminishing. Mathian took notice of the change, but was hardly affected by it. He couldn’t really quite avert his eyes away from Theo when he said, quite confidently,

“I can take care of myself just fine. Vampires don’t scare me,” whether he believed that or not was questionable, but he didn’t want to seem vulnerable. Right then, as he begrudgingly stared at the wolf who had scorned him, a sudden cold wave shot through him and left him in a daze, his vision lost clarity, his frown mellowed, his footing lost balance and he looked as if he was going to faint but his back simply fell against the stone-cold wall behind him. For a moment there, he shivered uncontrollably as a child’s cry rang in his ears and he stood there stock-still. He was certain a ghost had just run through him.

“Fuck,” he gasped, looking up at the wolf with a weak glint in his eyes, “I think we’re here." And he was right for just a few feet away from them stood a massive, iron-wrought door that defied the laws of physics and seemed to bend out of shape to accommodate the narrow-like properties of the walls surrounding it.

Being what he was, Theo hadn't really noticed the change in temperature, nor the way the light was growing dimmer. Instead his attention was focused on the warlock, even if he told himself he didn't care. Theo narrowed his eyes at Mathian's snarky comment. "Right... Except when it interferes with my business," he said lowly. That was the real reason he was so bothered, wasn't it? It had to be.

Theo then rolled his eyes hard at Mathian. "Yeah, clearly." He grumbled sarcastically. With a irritated huff, Theo turned his amber eyes forward, intent on ignoring the warlock until they reached the Eastern dungeons. However, as Mathian's steps slowed and then swayed, Theo's attention was quickly drawn back to the warlock once again. "Mathian?" He asked warily, wondering what had suddenly come over him. He looked pale, eyes glazed over, almost like he was about to fain- "Shit!" Theo gasped, darting towards Mathian as he fell back against the wall. "Mathian?! What the fuck-"

Suddenly a chill went down his spine then, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. There was something here, Theo was sure of it, but he couldn't see anything as his eyes searched the hallway. He'd never felt so unnerved before. Not even when they were trapped in that sorcerer's manor. Quickly Theo's golden eyes flickered back to Mathian when he spoke, frowning deeply as he turned to look at the strange iron door that he was sure hadn't been there just a moment ago. "Fuck... Are we really going to do this again?" He muttered darkly. He really wasn't enjoying a moment of this. Not one bit.

"Ugh, come on. Let's just... try to get this over with as quickly as possible." He sighed, though his whole body was on edge as he held out a hand to help Mathian up away from the wall. "I mean... It's just a ghost. It can't physically hurt us, right?" He said bluntly, trying to be confident, though there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

Mathian breathed deeply trying to suppress the brimming memory of the last time he had encountered a ghost. He was barely a child, blissfully unaware of his younger sister's diabolical nature. She had just started experimenting with ghost summoning and possession and already she had mastered the art of incompetency. She could not control the monster she had summoned but the monster did not hurt her. He had a go at Mathian. It had been months before he was able to sleep soundly again. Of course, as it was a Brumitt family tradition, she never apologized and he never forgave her.

He frowned at the unpleasant memory and finding balance and strength to stand up, he pushed himself away from the wall and blatantly ignored Theo's kind, though surely forced gesture. He was most definitely not going to touch him again, or so he believed. He clicked his tongue at Theo's comment and shook his head. "Ignorance is bliss, it seems. Is it a wolfish trait?" he threw in a blunt comment as well followed by a rhetorical question and proceeded with proving Theo wrong. "Let down your ground and see what happens. Once they get inside you, none of your organs are safe," as he spoke, a growing, smug smirk graced his full, glowing lips. "I hear liver is their choice morsel," he gave him a small wink, but soon enough, the reality of the situation hit him.

There was a good chance Theo might get possessed. That cocky, self-satisfied smirk disappeared from Mathian's lips as quickly as it had come and a frown grew instead. Shit. The wolf had little to no knowledge about ghosts or how to protect himself. Moreover, if he were to get possessed, Mathian would be in big trouble. He sighed when he realized what he had to do. He'd have to share the power of his anti-possession tattoo with Theo. Oh yes, he absolutely had one, but he'd have to touch him...

He approached the wolf and blurted out, "Take off your shirt," as he took off his hoodie and t-shirt to reveal a naked, slightly bitemark-ridden chest. For a moment there, he forgot about what had happened between them, for his mind was more focused on making sure he could clone the tattoo onto Theo's chest.

"Ugh... Fuck you." He grumbled quietly, drawing his hand away to cross his arms over his chest. Though he didn't like the sound of that either. Did that mean that the ghost could actually harm them? Though as Mathian went further to give him an example, Theo felt his stomach drop to his ass. He couldn't help it, the expression on his face clearly disturbed by the thought, but Mathian's wink threw him off once again. "Y-you're just fucking with me again..." He growled, shoving past him and stepping up to the gate, trying to look beyond it warily. He was, wasn't he? God, he really hoped that was the case.

Then suddenly the wolf whirled around on the warlock, completely taken aback by the command. "Excuse me?", he asked in an incredulous tone, though before he'd even got the words out, Mathian was already stripping himself. "Mathian? W-what the actual fuck?" He stammered, frowning. His amber eyes wandered for a brief moment, suddenly recalling the night he'd marked the warlock's body with his teeth. His own marks had long disappeared and he'd almost forgotten that it would take longer for Mathian's to fade as well.

Suddenly he felt tense for a much different reason, but Theo quickly reminded himself that it had meant nothing, and clearly the warlock hadn't thought anything of it either. Besides, now was hardly the time to worry about any of that. He only hesitated for a moment longer before sighing and quickly lifting his shirt up over his head. "What is this going to do?" He asked with a skeptical raise of his brow.