#crowderiva

The noises of the city of Treviso at night slipped into the quiet of the abandoned attic through the crack glass of the broken window looking out to the canals. Lucanis sighed as he sat there with Viago, in a place that had once been a quiet comfort for them. A place where they did not have to put on the airs and personas of important Crows, but where they could just be Viago and Lucanis, two assassins sharing a bottle of wine (after Viago tested it, of course.)

If only it could be that simple now, but Lucanis knew it was not. Before his time in the Ossuary, he, Viago and Teia had only grown close to each other. Before he had left for that faithful mission, he'd found himself in both their arms, the three of them together. Both of them had warned him that the contract for Calivan felt wrong, but Lucanis was not one to turn down a contract to go after the Venatori.

He wished he would have listened to him. Now, things were complicated. The Antaam presence was even worse than the last time he left, and there were traitors in Treviso, both in the government and the Crows. And of course, the was the matter of him being an abomination now, bound to a demon that he was not sure yet if he was ally or enemy.

Viago had questioned him about the demon, on whether or not Spite was always there with him. The question had Lucanis grow quiet for a moment, sighing deeply as he felt Spite goading him on, taunting him about the man he loved throwing him away because of what he was now. It was a fear of his, that he would lose everything because of what Calivan and Zara had made him to be.

"Yes." Lucanis replied after a moment, taking a deep drink of his wine before he set his glass down beside him, closing his eyes and giving a long sigh before he continued. "He is always there, always watching, and talking. Mierda, he does not stop sometimes."

Opening his eyes, he looked up at Viago, and gave him a small smirk that was meant to be reassuring, but he wasn't so sure it came off that way.

◈

Send a ◈ for a first kiss between our muses. (technically first kiss after the Ossuary)

Lucanis did not really know what he wanted anymore. The Ossuary had broken him in more ways than he had ever imagined it could have. None of that had been made so obvious to him as it had during Caterina's funeral. The only relief he'd had was that Rook had left early, so they did not see the fight between him and Illario, the breakdown after his cousin had stormed out when Spite nearly snapped free of his tightly held leash.

Teia had managed to calm the situation, and Viago had taken Lucanis away to a private room in the Diamond to get away from the noise and the emotions of the wake that overstimulated both man and demon. Grief, it turned out, was a volatile emotion to mix with Spite.

Here and now, though, in the room quietly with the de Riva, Lucanis could finally at least calm himself and quell his demon's anger and frustration. Viago's hands holding tight to his arms to keep him from stumbling, Lucanis half-drunk and trying to hold back the stinging wetness in his eyes, for the first time since escaping that hell he thought that perhaps he would be all right.

His eyes were closed as he calmed his breath, listening to Viago's voice coach him through the breathing exercise to center him. Finally, he was able to feel the calm settle in, and even Spite's simmering anger eased beneath his skin and didn't itch so much. Lucanis opened his eyes, grateful to see Viago there, grateful that the Fifth Talon hadn't abandoned him after he came back from the Ossuary an abomination.

Lucanis had thought before he didn't know what he wanted anymore, but that wasn't entirely true. There was one thing he wanted, more than anything he could think of, and he was standing before him with a look of worry that Lucanis had never seen on his face before.

🍆 "Something to consider before you arrive at Salle."

Lucanis had a habit of not being very vigilant at checking his phone for messages, something that both Viago and his cousin were well aware of and would give him hell for. So, he had not checked the messages on his phone until he had arrived in Salle, and he was in a taxi from the airport already on the way to the hotel he was supposed to be meeting Viago at for their next contract.

First, messages from Illario, mostly yelling at him to call when he landed safely. Lucanis replied to those with a brief message saying he was on his way to the hotel. Then, he noticed the message from Viago, image attached.

Odd. Viago didn't often send pictures...

His eyes widened a bit when he opened the picture, and he was glad there was tinted glass between the driver and himself as he straightened up in his seat, hunched over his phone. Viago, fresh out of the shower and spectacularly naked. Lucanis checked the timestamp of the photo and noticed it was sent right before his charter plane took off from Treviso. A short flight, only forty-five minutes, but he doubted that Viago would be in such a state when Lucanis arrived.

Arriving at the hotel, Lucanis felt the anticipation of just what he would find in the hotel suite after he checked in. His suitcase rolled behind him as he walked to the counter, checked in with the fake name that he had made the reservation under. They had booked seperate rooms beside each other with a door between, though Lucanis did not see them using more than one room.

Taking the elevator to his floor, he felt like it was not moving fast enough to see what wait for him behind that door separating their rooms. Perhaps he was still naked, laying on the bed, touching himself while he waited for Lucanis to walk in. Or perhaps he was waiting somewhere concealed within the room, waiting for Lucanis to arrive so that he could pounce on him and take him without a word.

Lucanis licked his lips as the elevator, mercifully, opened for him and he proceeded at a quick pace down the hall, almost not caring if the wheels of his suitcase remained on the floor. Fortunately, there was no one in the hall this late in the evening, so he took advantage of an empty hallway to jog just slightly towards their rooms.

He almost passed by his, stopping dead as he swore in Antivan under his breath and took the keycard out of his pocket, checking the envelope to make sure he was at the right room number. Fumbling to get the card out, he dropped it and swore again, bending down and grabbing it as he mumbled under his breath. He stood quickly, swiping the key and opened the door and stormed inside, dragging his bag in behind him.

He shut the door, made sure it was locked and chained, and even left his suitcase in front of it for good measure as he moved into the suite and removed his tie first, tossing it onto the bed and then his jacket. He paused with his hands on the top button of his shirt, wondering if he should strip down before walking through that door separating their rooms. Perhaps just his shirt, and his boots, and he quickly discarded both.

He stood shirtless before the door separating him from whatever state Viago lay in beyond the threshold, and a shiver ran through him. Anticipation, or the chilled air of the hotel room, he wasn't sure. But he was only going to find out what Viago had in store for him if he stepped through, so with a deep breath he went to the door and opened his side, then looked at the last gateway between him and the Fifth Talon.

He tried the doorknob.

Locked. Of course it was.

Lucanis sighed, raising a hand and ready to knock, but then he looked down at the floor, noticing a lockpick had seemingly been slipped beneath the door. A smirk settled on his lips and he raised a brow, but he bent down to pick it up and then knelt before the door to get to work.

He didn't think he had ever picked a lock faster in his life.

"Like what? With my eyes? Is there another way I’m supposed to look at you?" Viago placed a gloved hand on his hip, giving Lucanis a deliberate once-over. His eyes dragged up and down with exaggerated slowness, just to torment him that little bit more. "If you’re looking for compliments, you’ll be waiting a while." It was fun, these private moments when he could tease Lucanis with small bouts of banter. They could act as if they were just two colleagues, friends, even, and not Fifth Talon and the grandson of the First Talon. They had met on this rooftop many times before, though less often as the years went by. But since Lucanis had escaped the Ossuary, with a personal demon attached to him - the very demon Viago had been trying to glimpse with his earlier glance - it felt right to return here, even if only for a reunion. "Is the demon always there?" he finally asked.

"I will always wait, as patiently as I can, for a compliment from you, Viago." Lucanis said with a melancholic smile, letting a sigh pass his lips as he didn't know any better way to say it.

The Crow hated feeling so uncertain about things, but it seemed to be a state of mind that he could not shake himself out of no matter how he tried. No matter how much he ignored the demon pacing on the rooftop behind them as Lucanis stands there in the cool night air beside Viago, looking out over the streets of Treviso from their private get-away from the rest of the world.

It was just over a year ago, the last time they stood on this roof together, right before that fateful contract in Minrathous. Lucanis intended to come back swiftly to seek out Viago, finally confront the feelings he had for his fellow Crow...

But that did not happen. Instead, he was ambushed, taken, tortured and twisted and changed into a suitable vessel for a demon. But Spite, as much as Lucanis could not stand the being, had also helped him survive the Ossuary and fought with him to keep from being turned into the twisted tool of the Venatori.

They called it a failure. Both Lucanis and Spite saw it as their own personal victories, though now they were permanently tied together. So really, did they truly gain their freedom?

Lucanis could not blame the question from the Fifth Talon, however, but he also could not ignore the way Viago's eyes had passed over him either, bringing a flush to his cheeks.

"Yes! I am Here! I. Am. Always. Here!"

"Maker's breath, Spite, stop shouting, he can't hear you!" Lucanis said with an exasperated sigh before looking back to Viago with a slightly sheepish look in his eyes.

"Fine," he replied curtly, eyes narrowing as he spied a group of Venatori in the distance. "We're not doing this." And to prove the absolute opposite, Viago drew his dagger, carefully coating the blade with poison, ensuring the oil was spread evenly. He had agreed with Lucanis that they would deal with the cultists while he and Rook handled whatever investigation was required. It was bad enough the Antaam had invaded their beautiful city, but now there was the added stench of blood mages. "Are you ready?" he asked, needing to be certain Illario was committed.

"I was just hoping not to get blood on this tunic. It is brand new." Illario lamented as he stood beside Viago, his own blades at the ready.

In truth, he did not mind taking down a group of Venatori. He might have been working with them behind the scenes, but they were just a means to an end, a tool to be used that he would quickly discard once he was finished with them. But, if one of them recognized him, especially with Viago around, it could put all his careful planning in danger.

He winced when he felt a pain in his head, a small ache like a needle in the back of his mind and he refocused his attention on the Fifth Talon and the Venatori gang they were stalking from the shadows.