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"You have got to be ******** kidding me."

Lucas was livid. Standing near Autumn's apartment, staring at his best friend like he'd just revealed himself to be the grand master of his entire time in Ashdown, he was very nearly shaking with anger. "Your girlfriend is PRINCESS?"

Deacon, for all his calm mannerisms and affable nature, looked as shocked as Lucas was mad. "You never said her name was Autumn, you just called her Princess. How was I supposed to know?"

"By saying her name!" the darker-skinned man hissed in return. "She's my friend and you're my best friend and yet somehow, ********, both of you neglect to tell me you're dating?"

"Why are you so angry?" the blond countered, expression darkening in warning of imminent shutdown.

Staring at Deacon - Avery, as he called him - Lucas felt his hand flexing, his prosthetic following suit. He knew damn well he couldn't keep needling at the man, least of all over who he chose to date, but...but this was his Princess. This was Autumn! And -- and it was his best friend, and yet -- and yet --

Here he was, in the dark. Again. It was becoming a familiar and bitter place.

There was a long strain of silence. Deacon worked his jaw to try and loosen his tension, finally saying softly, "Luca."

Lucas didn't turn, but his eyes flickered towards the man.

"It's important to me you're okay with this." His blue eyes, usually calm and clear, were troubled. "She's going through a lot of s**t and -- "

"I know that!"

" -- she needs the support and not your sass." Deacon finished with his eyes slightly narrowed, Lucas making a faint sound in his throat in response. "So just suck it up and don't upset her crows."

Pale eyes flickered towards Deacon. "Her what?"

"You don't know -- ?" The taller man sighed softly. "You need to learn to communicate better."

"Understatement of the year," Lucas grumbled, looking moodily towards their destination.

"Jesus." Lucas barely breathed the word, and Deacon nodded.

"Don't be alarmed," he advised, glancing over as Lucas' eyes widened considerably, looking back in time to see a large crow coming right for them. It landed neatly on his shoulder - giving him an enormous sense of shock, and then peace. What had Autumn called this one...? "Russell." He smiled as Lucas looked horrified, the bird so familiar with the blond.

"This is it. I'm going mad. This is what it feels like," Lucas muttered.

The blond rolled his eyes but let it be, looking to the large bird and lifting his hand to slowly, gently, rub the feathers at the base of his beak. "Don't worry buddy, I'll bring in all your gifts and tell her you guys miss her."

The swears that fell from Lucas' lips were not in English. He grumbled and growled and picked his way around the murder, agitation flaring. Birds moving in on his friends. At the door, he cast a dimly annoyed look towards Deacon before knocking, crossing his arms and behaving. No more breaking in. Not yet anyway.

Deacon, for his part, was content with Russell, watching the other birds calmly. They were all a part of Autumn's joy, and as such, he counted himself quite lucky to be considered trust worthy.

Opening his mouth to explain, he was immediately cut off, and -- and Autumn spilled everything. Terror dawned on Lucas' face as he realized Autumn also didn't know they were friends -- and proceeded to tell Deacon everything.

Everything he hadn't told his best friend.

"You're a what?" Deacon asked sharply, looking at his friend darkly.

"Princess," he growled softly, "this is my best friend, Avery, as in Deacon Avery Steele. Avery, this is my best friend on this coast, Autumn Smith, a-kay-a Princess. <********>" Lucas covered his face with one hand and went inside, not addressing anything else that had been said. He didn't know how to. The pressure of it all was too much -- and his agitation was only making it worse.

"We are not done, Luca." Deacon turned his attention to Autumn, apologetic. "I'm sorry, I never said who I was here for, did I?" Leaning in - careful not to dislodge Russell - he kissed her sweetly. "And don't apologize, you don't owe me anything. I'm not going to begrudge you your space. But this guy," he hooked his thumb at the large crow, "might have a bone to pick." Gently rubbing the crow's beak again, he apologized, "I have to go in buddy. She'll see you again soon."

From inside, Lucas watched through one of the windows, his expression bordering on hurt. He swept it up and away, a soldier's neutrality in its place; there was nothing to be done for it.

Deacon followed Autumn in, sitting down carefully within perimeter of the two of them. Blue eyes glanced to her with concern - he wanted to take her hand - but he wasn't going to undermine what was going on here. Especially given that she'd just revealed what Lucas, the man he'd walked through hell with, wouldn't share.

For his part, Lucas was struggling to not just shut down. Like Deacon, he had his own means of dealing when things got to be Too Much, but he knew he could handle this. He just didn't want to. A glance was spared to Autumn but little more, mostly staring at the floor as if it held some great secret to solve the entire conundrum. "He's not a part of it," was all he finally managed to say, completely glossing over the parts about himself. "I have fought to keep people out of this s**t and it doesn't seem to matter. Aren't you afraid he's," his chin lifted towards Deacon, "next?"

Pale eyes finally turned upwards, his gaze heavy. "I don't want to see either of you in this position, but here we are. He doesn't need to know anymore than is necessary, it isn't going -- "

"I'm not a child, Luca, stop it," Deacon cut him off tersely, earning a sharp glance. "Autumn let me in to her life and there are things you just can't deny - and you, apparently, are going to have to come face to face with it sooner than later."

Lucas gave him a baffled look. "The hell does that mean?"

Taking a deep breath, Deacon let it out slowly, looking between his best friend and his lady. "It means she has things in this world that show her as special. That she's been touched by the other one." His gaze hardened. "You know there's a high chance you're going to experience something, too. But you have people around you." He paused, suddenly looking for clarification. "Wait, are they involved -- ?"

"DON'T--" Lucas drew in a sharp breath through his teeth, hands out, and let it out with the faintest growl. "Don't bring them up. Don't talk about them. Don't even say their names." It wasn't so much a request as it was a demand. There was a possession in his words, an insistence of boundaries put in place.

"If you put it out there, this place will swallow it up, and if it touches Nico - " Lucas looked at Autumn, murmuring his aside as if to undo the situation he was in currently, " - my brother, by the way, they came together - it can't touch him. I'm going to send him away because you're accepting the responsibility of being here," Lucas' eyes turned to Deacon, "but not him."

The blond frowned, rubbing his palms together slowly. "He's been busy with that friend of yours. He's computer savvy but I don't think he suspects anything."

"And we'll keep it that way." The words came between Lucas' teeth like a threat. He had to visibly breathe, in - hold - out, and click his jaw before his expression resembled more himself. "We just came to make sure you weren't going to stay locked in your room." His pale eyes rest upon Autumn's face, but he was guarded. "You can't save me, Deacon knowing s**t wont change anything, we're good then?"

Deacon immediately started to reach for Autumn, but paused when he saw a flicker of movement from Lucas. He frowned, watching his friend, but knowing they had to have a moment. He was just a silent witness to it.

Lucas shifted his feet, inching forward on his seat, agitated. But he was looking at her, at Autumn, and listening, and -- no. No no no no no! "No, no, Princess, no, this isn't -- "

If ever there were poster children for Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, it was them.

He pushed himself over to her, sat next to her and wrapped both arms around her shoulders, drawing her in for as close of a sideways embrace as he could manage. "Princess, I -- look. It's not you, it was never you." Lucas tried to make sense, but it was hard, everything jumbled and fractured in his thoughts. "I don't hate you, I friggin' love you enough I'd put a bullet in my brain before I'd ever risk even a fraction of your happiness," he pressed a kiss to her brow, "especially with my best bud. My problem is -- it's me."

This was harder. His throat felt too tight, his jaw ticking to find the words. "I'm a cancer to you and everything you believe in," he finally said, slowly and deliberately, words edged in a deep seeded sadness he hadn't been able to express. "You're fighting for what you know to be right and I'm the brakes. I'm -- I'm supposedly just a tool for that a*****e. Do you know how that feels? To find this beautiful, funny, talented, scary woman and know that for reasons beyond me, I can't be on her side?"

His voice cracked a little, and it was there that his fear with Autumn lay bare. "I want you around. I want to bring you flowers and spoil Rosalinde and talk to you about all this and take pictures of you two being disgustingly cute together, but I don't..." Lucas lost his words for a moment, continuing softly, "I don't know that I should. I don't...think it's a good idea."

There was a few heartbeats of silence before Deacon spoke up, just as soft. "It's not for you to decide." His voice was touched with a bit of sadness, as if he had a mind what Autumn's answer was going to be. He'd already had this discussion with her. "You both take a risk, apart, or together."

"Princess," he started, trying to gently protest, but she was opening the flood gates and would steamroll him if she didn't get it out. So Lucas let his Princess say what she needed to say, not letting her go, not loosening his hold at all. He watched her with his sad pale eyes, tried to choke back at laugh at the spider comment (and failed), bowing his head to kiss the tears on her lashes before they could fall.

Lucas could only marvel at her strength and determination. He hoped it would be enough, for both of them. "Rosalinde may like me less once I have a lot more fur and teeth," he replied, tried to joke, but the reality of it made his voice tight and raw. "And I don't want you to risk it, Autumn, that's -- that's why we're on opposing sides. I would gladly die if no one else had to. Gladly. Knowing that you and boat-boy here could have a future? I could go, knowing that. The possibility of happiness is something that I want you both to have. More than anything, I don't want anyone to die for this war of faeries and gardeners and s**t we didn't sign up for."

And that was their divide. Lucas wanted them happy. Autumn wanted them free. Unfortunately, Autumn could only get what she wanted...if Lucas' side won. He was bound to the Enemy, for better or for worse, it seemed. "I don't -- I don't know that there's any real 'winners' here," he said at last, trying to put his thoughts into words. "I'd never hurt you. Not ever. Please know that."

"She knows," Deacon said quietly, having shifted closer to them. He put his arm around the two of them, his other hand resting on Autumn's elbow. "I don't know the half of what is going on since you wont tell me," he shot Lucas a look, the likes of which made the other look away almost sheepishly, "but it's not something either of you can change. The best you can do is try to make it work for you instead of whatever 'sides' there are." The blond was a bit lost, but he had his opinions and was not above sharing them, especially if his best friend was being an assmonkey to his lady.

"Autumn has done this longer than you, she probably knows better than anyone what the risks are. You - neither of you can resign to being a pawn in someone else's game." His voice was soft, low, but serious. "I know the place scares the both of you, it scares me, but there's got to be a way for you both to win. Life isn't that black and white, and Big Bad Wolf here should know that best -- "

"You're an a*****e," Lucas informed Deacon snidely, hugging Autumn closer still. "You don't deserve my Princess." Snorting softly, he returned his eyes to the lady in question, his expression softening again. "I don't know what's going to happen on the full moon, but...don't go in, if you can help it. Just don't go. I can't hurt anyone if there's no one to hurt."

The blond gently rubbed Autumn's arm, glancing between them, letting them figure it out as they needed.

"I know," he replied miserably, "but I've also seen you find a way in. All I'm asking is -- is don't do it on purpose. Please." Lucas gave her as serious of a look as he could muster, which wasn't very convincing when he looked so sad. "I'm a ********' -- a were, Autumn, and if any lore in the world is true, I'm not going to have control. I wont even look like me, if I had to place a bet. The Otherworld will twist me, I'm sure."

His voice was quieter as he continued until he fell silent, expression reserved. Lucas nodded in mute acknowledgment of Autumn's words.

Glancing between them, Deacon mostly retained his neutral expression, though a faint frown dimpled his cheek. "There's nothing anyone can do?" he asked, brows knit in concern. "You can't -- take him across in a place he'll be contained but safe? There has to be a better option than just letting random happenstance take the wheel."