Welcome to Gaia! ::

The younger man followed behind Jeremiah, taking note of the small things that indicated a life here - the man had a partner, probably the one he saw at the show - the hobbies and normalcy that seemed to be strewn around. Lucas wasn't sure why he was dismayed. He had to worry about what would happen if his important two were near him at all, and the other side...got some sense of happiness.

That slightly lifted his dark demeanor. It was what he wanted, after all - life. And this place...it was a place well lived in.

Lucas exhaled slowly and took a seat when indicated, eyes briefly resting on the cat that was staring at him. "Nice to meet you, Hellbine. I'm Lucas." He tipped his head cordially to the feline, knowing there was an importance in acknowledging all the powers at play. Besides, if Rosalinde knew he was discourteous to another of her kind, she'd probably claw him apart herself.

Exhaling slowly, he shook his head slightly at the askance of a drink. "No, I'm...trying to hold onto the memory. All the pain and taste and sensory experience of it all, so I don't forget what it's like, or what's at stake." His jaw clenched, still tender from smashing his teeth together fighting the effects of the salve from before.

"I suppose that means it wont work for me like it did for you," he started to say, haltingly. "I don't dream of it. I never have. And I have no gifts, just a curse of beast and burden." Sometimes, knowing was as hard as not.

Lucas swallowed with difficulty. He realized that in being the monster, he was something akin to canine now - maybe even Rosalinde would spurn him. Even so, he let his hand rest at the side, palm up, fingers relaxed, so Hellbine could do as he pleased.

"It's just the first time it's finally felt real," he replied quietly, though through tightly clenched teeth. "I've heard about this place for over a month and it didn't really sink in until -- " Until Autumn disappeared. Until Thorne ran away. Until Aleksy called me a wolf. " -- until it was in my face." He paused, loosening the muscles of his jaw to try and talk like a normal human being. "Autumn wanted so desperately for me to not be involved, so I -- did my best not to be." That's a lie. He asked too many questions, didn't do enough to answer them on his own.

Alg. He remembered that name, remembered who it was, and smiled faintly despite himself. "The detective and the author, fighting otherworldly battles. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?" There was a small touch of sadness to his voice, but his smile was true.

He subtly shook his head at the question, glancing down to his hand out of habit now. "Just my hand, and only when she touched me." A pause. "Eve - she's a part of it too, I don't know if you know who that it but I just assume you know everyone," another flickered smile, "her feet changed. And I think it was probably just in the presence of -- of Lady. That's what we call her." Pale eyes shifted between Hellbine and Jeremiah, feeling like a right a** for intruding on their lives like this. "It hurts if I think about shifting, and -- I've had -- pain, in this arm," he lifted his prosthetic one, his expression tight at the confession of it to a stranger, "but nothing else."

And he was grateful for it, stroking his thumb over the kitten's downy fur with the faintest smile. At least something could accept him. "Nice to meet you too," he murmured to the feline, heart tired.

Glancing to Jeremiah, his smile twisted a touch more wry. "Old habits die hard," he shrugged one side of his shoulder, not going to bother Hellbine with a full gesture. "If only one of you had the magic to make a were-cage. Just in case." He knew well it was an impossibility to actually prepare for the 'could be' when they didn't know a damn thing. What if they weren't a danger in the Otherworld? What if caging them put them in danger? Too many variables, not enough certainty. Lucas did not like his odds.

"Pax said being there too early would be bad. I had a taste of bad. I don't want anymore bad." The veteran sighed softly, though arched a brow at the detective's choice of words. "Makes sense? None of this makes sense. Two disabled folk are going to be shapeshifters. That's either a genius move or a gross oversight." He chuckled, the sound thin and humorless.

Lucas paused for a heartbeat before adding softly, "Is there anyway to make sure people can't get there?" Another pause. "I just...I wish I could block Autumn. Block Zac, your Zac. Just...let us be monsters for a day in a place we can't hurt anyone."

The man's expression fell entirely, something like horror in his eyes. "Just because -- just because they're a couple? Because you're -- ? It happened?"

Oh s**t. Oh balls oh s**t oh god no.

Lucas turned his worried gaze back to Hellbine, scritching in part to try and calm himself as well. He noted the vines, the lazy shift of green around his feet, and thought of Rosalinde. Thought of the people he'd met and loved and would put himself down for. If ever there was a no-win situation, he felt like Other Ashdown was the embodiment of it.

"I've..." He drew in a short breath and exhaled it through his mouth, trying not to let himself get riled up again. "I've apparently done this fifteen times." His eyes shifted to Jeremiah, worried and upset and all manner of things that made his heart feel heavy. "Fifteen times and I haven't gotten it right. Supposedly. And the flicker of past that I saw, there was -- blood. And torn skin. In my mouth." He swallowed, audibly. "My boyfriend's."

Lucas shook his head and looked back to Hellbine. He was not doing a good job of keeping his calm. "I'd do anything not to fail them. But if it comes to it and...something needs to be done about me, and you can do it, just...do what needs to be done." His words fell soft, practically a mantra. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want us to be happy."

Lucas looked a little unwell. "That's probably one of the least of our worries at the moment." His shoulders deflated a little. "At least you guys can help each other. That's...something."

He gently scratched underneath Hellbine's chin, and if the cat wanted to become a gargoyle on his shoulder, he wasn't going to stop him. The feline was truly helping ease his tightness even a little, giving some grounding to his wild thoughts.

"Can't blame a man for trying," he sighed deeply, seeming to settle more into what was happening and his helplessness in it. There was little more that he could do other than what was already in place. Lucas looked to Jeremiah, held by the older man's intense gaze. "I have no interest in dying, Detective, I assure you." The smile he offered was tired. It wasn't the first time he'd have to spite death. "If there's no other choice," he agreed, "and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure there is a choice. I'm not ignorant enough to think it ends with me."

He took another deep breath, letting it out slower. "Is there anything else I can do? To prepare, to research? I can't go there again until the full moon, but man, I'm bad at being idle." Lucas cracked a slightly more earnest smile.

As horrible as the idea sounded, given Aleksy's warning, Lucas found himself wanting an Othercat. He absolutely worshiped Rosalinde and Hellbine was fast becoming an entity he wanted to stuff in his pocket and take home. Of course, he did no such thing, keeping his scritches continuous, simply smiling a little at the purrbox. "You're precious," he informed the vine-growing feline.

"I served," he said by way of explanation, nodding slightly towards Jeremiah. "If ever you've met a dog with a bone, it'll be me." In more ways than one.

Lucas mentally pat himself on the back for having chased the avenue of information early on, grateful for Zac's help and making a mental note to send him a 'thank you' text once he was out of there. "I'll take that to heart," his words were grave, "and I'll keep you apprised as I can. Or through Zac, he's been helping me a lot." He paused, before adding more lightly, "You did good with him." Another pause. "I'm pretty sure being a werewolf constitutes as a large use of magic. I can't...I can't imagine my body being reshaped to be something else as anything but a potent magic." And he didn't sound happy about it.

Hellbine understood. Of course he understood! The vines that were going to root him to the chair already spoke of the cat's otherworldly intelligence. Even so, Lucas laughed softly under his breath, gently rubbing behind an ear. "And you know it, don't you? Good." He hoped Rosalinde wouldn't be able to tell he was bonding with another of her kin. She might never forgive him.

"If only," he agreed with Jeremiah's insight, exhaling with amusement. "You might be out of a job though, if the populace was more like us." It was his light attempt at a joke, mostly because the detective seemed a bit more smile-inclined now and he didn't want to rain on that parade. It didn't seem like it was something the man did often.

Lucas accepted the card, tucking it into his pocket. "I'll text you when I'm out of your hair," he promised. He was trying to keep his smile, but it was a struggle with the reality of a full moon not nearly as far away as he would have liked. "I'm pretty sure it's every full moon, and uh...I hope we have some means of getting there and back that isn't harassing you or some unfortunate other once or -- or twice a month." He shook his head, brow knit with all the worries he was carrying.