#human!logan

The first time Oscar bites Logan, it’s an accident. 

Logan had been fast asleep, his back pressed against Oscar’s chest, the excitement of the race week finally wearing him down. Oscar had a hand splayed over Logan’s stomach, the feeling of it rising and falling nearly getting him in the sweet spot between sleeping and dozing. 

Logan had shifted, barely anything really, but suddenly his neck was right there; thick, pale and littered with moles, alive. Oscar had been entranced by the sound of his heartbeat, soft and slow, the blood rushing through the jugular vein. His mouth aches, nosing alongside the vein. Logan smells sweet, delectable and for the taking, neck exposed just for him.

He doesn’t even realize his fangs are out until Logan’s breath hitches, heartbeat almost erratic under the tips of his fangs. The burst of sweet copper snaps him out of his trance, Logan’s sleepy whine causing him to jerk back. 

The wound trickles slowly, the blood beading at the two pinpoints and all Oscar can do is stare, the sweet copper taste still heavy on his tongue. He feels sluggish, whether with fear or something else, he doesn’t know. Not even when Logan peers at him over his shoulder, the blood smearing and some wounded sound slips from the depths of his cracked chest. 

“If you’re gonna bite me, at least let me be awake for it,” Logan grumbles, sea green eyes narrowed at him, fluttering under the weight of sleep, words slurring, “I heard feeling the bite is the best part.” 

Fuck, is all Oscar can think as Logan falls back asleep. 

The second time is less of an accident, a heavy make out session hidden behind the thin door of Logan’s motorhome. Elias had stepped out, something about a dinner with the other trainers, leaving the two to their devices. 

The air had turned heavy the second Elias stepped near the door, fingers pointing at them warningly before the werewolf steps out, the door swinging closed behind him. They last fifteen minutes, the movie nothing but vague blurs of colors and muted dialogue before Logan is on him. 

Oscar can’t help but smile into the kiss, adjusting Logan on his lap so his thighs are over his, the material of his sleep shorts stretching across Logan’s thighs. 

“Eager?” 

“Like you’re not.” Logan says, rolling his hips just right. It usually takes Oscar a while to get to full mast, but the desperation that comes off of Logan is  so thick and heady it messes with Oscar’s senses. 

He grips Logan’s hips, stilling him. The American huffs, his hands flexing from where he had placed them on Oscar’s shoulders. His skin had turned splotchy, blood blooming the longer Oscar kept him still. 

It makes his teeth ache, shifting to make space for the canines. He feels Logan breathing turn heavy, his hips twitching desperately despite the grip Oscar has on him. His head is tilted to the side, skin so taunt Oscar can almost see the blood rushing through the veins. 

He ducks his head, nosing along the tendon, his teeth nipping the skin. Logan sighs, his body sagging into Oscar’s hold. It makes Oscar’s head spin, Logan, as human as ever, giving himself over to Oscar, ignoring the fact that Oscar can drain him dry. 

“Oscar,” Logan whines, his fingers digging into his shoulders, “Cmon, please.” 

Oscar smiles against Logan’s skin,  the tips of his fangs barely piercing into the skin. It’s not rare to get Logan like this, needy and desperate, but his teeth usually were never involved.  Logan pushes into it, mouth dropping open when Oscar moves him, shifting their crotches together. 

“Fuck.” Logan whimpers, grinding down, eyes squeezed shut. It’s between one breath and the next that Oscar digs his fangs in, Logan letting out quite the obscene moan as Oscar’s mouth floods with the metallic copper. 

Logan withers in his grasp, pushing in and out of Oscar’s hold as the venom does its work. Oscar only gives himself a few mouthfuls; Logan tastes delicious, sweet to the point of obsession. 

He laps at the pinpoint marks, his wondrous saliva closing the little marks. Logan is still panting on his lap, hips making aborted little thrusts almost subconsciously. 

Oscar dips a hand into Logan’s waistband, feeling the sticky residue of pre-come. Logan shivers as Oscar wraps a hand around him properly, the dry drag of his hand meeting his weeping tip. 

Logan lets out a whine, head tucked into Oscar’s neck, sucking lightly. It would take forever for Oscar’s blood to clot, but Logan is nothing if not determined. It’s too bad Logan is human, can’t always withstand the things Oscar wants to put him through. 

There were no side commissions to complete. No work in the middle of spring. No inspiration for a project bubbling up out of the blue, and the materials for his current ones were on their way. Rummaging around in their garage was too much work. Getting up only to sit down at his shitty computer felt like a waste.

Remus was, in every sense of the word, bored as fuck.

At times like these, the human would find his way over to Logan, drape himself over his boyfriend’s shoulders and ask normal questions like how long would it take someone to bleed out after having their dick ripped off by a lion? and on a scale of 1-10, how fuckable are giant squids?

But Logan was doing adult things, like taxes and filing taxes and chugging almost giant-sized cups of coffee. As cute as the furrow of his boyfriend’s brow and concentrated pout were, being disturbed was the last thing Logan would want.

Remus scratched a stain on his Fish Want Me, Women Fear Me tee, gaze drifting around the room. It landed on the painted guitar pick—bigger than his head, like most of Remus’ stolen goods gifts were—mounted on the wall.

Looking at the swirling landscape of a prairie in a hurricane, a grin spread on Remus’ face.

What were two boyfriends for, anyways, if not for twice the amount of Tomfuckery?

Remus catapulted himself off his bed, ignoring the music scale of pops his back released. A quick jog down the human walkways along the walls, a cheerful wave to a Logan perched on the literally giant-sized couch, and Remus found himself at the door of his other boyfriend’s room.

Well. Human-sized door.

Remus barged in, because knocking was only something door salesmen came up with to sell more doors—just like how shitting was only invented by toilet salesmen to sell more toilets.  

Sure enough, a massive, macab-dressed form was hunched over a tangled, all-too expensive sound system; wires and cords strewn around like tentacles from a god of the void. The giant was bobbing his head, strains of a guitar faintly protruding from bulky headphones. He drummed a beat out with colossal, black painted claws.

Remus trotted forward.

He could tell the moment the giant noticed him. Cat-like pupils flickered towards him, locking onto his movements like a predator staring down prey. It was hard to tell if the lightning that struck his nerves was from instinctual fear or...something else.

Not many humans had the balls to live and breathe near giant-dominated areas—or giants at all, for that matter. Remus and his former-friend-turned-partner were the exception, of course.

And yet, the rockstar in front of him seemed to bring out something different in people. Despite being one of the scariest motherfuckers you could find on a stage, humans and giants alike still flocked to him like moths to an inferno.

Because his music brought out that instinctual, stomach-plummeting fear and honed it. Used it. Celebrated it.

Remus screamed himself hoarse during his first concert, alight with adrenaline and sweat and terror as he was drowned out by speakers ten stories tall. Craning his neck back to see a performer that could hold him in his hand growl out a booming melody. Feeling his knees shiver as vibrations threatened to send him sprawling to his feet.

Remus had known since that first instant he was in love.

He wasn’t even the one that had found his way in the performer’s hand during one of his—ah, audience interactions. The rockstar would parade around a lucky soul like a toy, showing them off and riling them up and scaring them shitless, showing the world the monster he was.

That was all Logan.

Wasn’t like the nerd didn’t sign the proper wavers, they may have just...been shoved away before he could read them. Really, Remus oughta give Janus a medal for getting Logan in the front-row venue.

Remus waved, leaning over the railing he knew could splinter so easily in the giant’s grip. He heard a flash of blaring guitars as his partner slid off his headphones, before he shut off the program with a single click.

If anything, Remus’ partner certainly knew how exhilarating he could be.

The giant grinned, rows of massive, sharp teeth shining in his gay-ass fairy lights. “Hey, Remus.”

That fondness—the quiet, almost teasing lit he gave to someone roughly the size of his finger—was almost enough to send a ball of hellfire careening through Remus’ chest. “Hey, Virgil. What’s fucking?”

“Just runnin’ through the track we recorded last week.” Virgil Tempestas—a stage name, mostly—offered out a palm as long as Remus’ body. The human wasted no time catapulting himself into the soft flesh, jerking upright as the giant brought Remus to his chest. “The instrumental is mixed, which means we’ll probably hit our deadline, but...”

Remus craned his neck back, looking up at Virgil’s face. “But?”

“It just—the vibes aren't right.” His boyfriend huffed, running a hand through a shock of purple hair. “Like—the feel is underdeveloped, or overdeveloped, or the tone isn’t right. I don’t know. I want to be able to perform this live, and it doesn’t...flow. Here.”

With a few clicks, a drumbeat burst out from the sound system. Remus paused, letting the sound wash over him. Guitars joined in a few beats later.

He closed his eyes, imagined giant combat boots stomping around on a stage as big as a city block. Imagined a low, rumbling voice echoing far above him. Imagined fear pumping through his veins, hyper-aware of the powerlessness that pinned him in place and sent him screaming.

Remus imagined what of sound an angel made of chains and strings and churning metal would make, and opened his eyes.

“Bass-boost it, I want my ears to bleed.” He crawled over and leaned against the thumb—the thumb that probably stopping him from throwing himself off the giant’s hand. Virgil’s gaze flickered down to him, and Remus shrugged. “Other than that, sounds good to me. Top ten songs to get your shit kicked in to, definitely.”

Virgil snorted, but slid his headphones back on after a nod from Remus. The human took that moment to latch onto Virgil’s thumb and try to wrestle it to the center of his palm.

He failed—especially when Virgil demonstrated his ability to pin all his limbs down with one hand—but it was a valiant effort.  

After some fun and riveting times squirming under fingers as long as Remus was tall, the giant removed his headphones. Remus perked up as his appendages were freed. “Alright. How ‘bout now?”

Virgil pressed play. Deep, booming cords reverberated over him, through him, thrumming in his core. A shudder passed down his spine. Remus grinned. “It’s perfect. Gonna be a hit, I can feel it—Oh, c’mon, what’s got your dick in a twist?”

Virgil bit his lip—which wasn’t fair because that was Remus’ job thank you very much—as Remus frowned at the rockstar’s furrowed brow. The human was about to crawl up to Virgil’s beautiful face and force it out of him when he blurted, “I didn’t practice anything for a concert, I didn’t think to. I usually have a specific act in mind but things didn’t really work out so I don’t—feel like I know the song? And I can’t put on a show if I don’t even know what I’m trying to sing?” The giant sighed. “Yeah.”

Remus leaned back, considering. “You want an act.”

“Yes.”

The human stared up into eyes bigger than his head. “Then let’s make one.”

Those eyes widened, cat-like pupils dilating. “...You sure? We haven’t done that in a while.”  

The human’s heart fluttered at the hint of petulance in Virgil’s tone. Seemed the giant enjoyed their cat-and-mouse game as much as Remus did. It wasn’t harmful, just a bit of good, old-fashioned mortal terror and blood-pumping for the soul. Mostly, Virgil did it to test out new show bits or review an old trick, because Virgil was a prep who wanted practice with scaring the shit out of people.

Remus was the only one in their house who could stomach it. Wasn't his fault the looming, the growling, and the reminder of how helpless he was in the face of a monster setting his heart pounding with more than terror. They yearn for what they fear for and all that.

Well—he was pretty sure Logan did enjoy it, even if a few minutes of a game let him out of breath, stuttering, with his face flushed and voice a squeak. He seemed to prefer Virgil’s softer, snarkier side to even the just-for-pretendsies looming danger.

Remus once broke his arm on purpose on their backyard’s brick wall trying to see if he could fit his fingers into his shoulder socket, so.

“Are you kidding? Fuck yes.” Remus wriggled in Virgil’s palm, stopped from toppling off by a gentle claw pressing down on him. “Put me down so you can slam your hands next to me or whatever.”  

Virgil snorted, but lowered his hand down to the desk anyways. Virgil’s work desk was massive, even for giants; just a vast expanse of dark wood. His set-up barely filled half of it. “I haven’t even started the music yet, chill.”

Remus slid off the palm, before crossing his arms and pouting up at his boyfriend. “C’mon, I wanna see your fangs, pretty boy. Set upon me like a flock of vultures on a rotting corpse or whatever—”

Virgil leaned forward, setting his forearms on either side of Remus and looming over him. As a shadow fell Remus, he craned his neck back, only to catch sight of massive fangs splitting into a sharp grin. “It’s cute that you think you can tell me what to do,” Virgil Tempestas purred, voice reverberating down and through Remus’ core and fuck, fuck. “Patience, little morsel.”

Virgil leaned back. Remus’ heart lurched forward with him. He took a moment to try to shrug off the flush on his cheeks using his face alone, stopped only by Virgil snorting at his expression. The giant raked his hair back with his claws, stretching to grab a hair tie to put it back. Remus couldn’t help but shiver. Oh, this session was going to be fun.

With a click, the giant pressed play.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Virgil asked, laying a hand flat against his desk. Any growl was absent from his voice, a patently sincere look the only thing toward Remus.

Remus lunged forward, splaying his body across Virgil’s palm yet again. He blew a raspberry. “Duh. I got no reason not to be.”

Virgil watched him wriggle in his palm, and Remus resisted the urge to cringe away from that cat-like, predator gaze. The time for blue-balls was later, goddamnit.

Nothing left to do but enjoy the show.

The beat was nice, steady, a heavy drum pounding through the quiet of the room. Remus stretched as a guitar joined in the mix. He looked up, up, up into his giant’s eyes, and the human’s crinkled at the loving look Virgil directed at him.

The drums slowed, thrumming out a staccato rhythm, and—

Remus found the palm below him gone as Virgil tossed him up.

The guitars surged, fast and sending daggers piercing through his ears, no doubt drowning out the half-delighted shriek Remus let out. The human flailed, catching a glimpse of the ground so far from him, and his stomach lurched like a container of fucking pickle juice.

The back of his shirt caught. Remus twisted around to see two massive claws pinching it, dangling from a comparatively thin layer of fabric over a fatal fall. The fingers moved, and Remus grasped his shirt collar before it could choke him. He stopped in front of the giant’s face.  

Virgil’s mouth twisted into a scowl. Remus’ heart pulsed like someone shoved a screwdriver through it.  

And the giant began to sing.

Virgil’s voice was deep—it always had been, apparently. Remus couldn’t imagine anything but those low, crooning tones, pounding through his core like the world’s sharpest drums.  

The giant’s fangs were on full display. They shone in the afternoon light, slid against his lip like a sheathed sword, etched closer as the giant leaned in to purr a line in Remus’ face. Wicked-sharp, almost as long as Remus’ forearm, and very, very powerful.

Little morsel, the owner of those fangs had called him, hunched over Remus’ tiny form and looking at him like he was nothing more.

Little morsel, Tempestas had called him, and, well, wasn’t he right?

As the giant’s voice turned soft, he brought Remus away from his face. Those inhuman eyes crinkled into something almost like grief. Remus stilled as Virgil moved a massive claw up to his cheek, and the cool, sharp tip trailed down tiny, vulnerable flesh.  

The grip around Remus was iron, but under the stare of something so massive, the attention of someone his mind called a predator, Remus found he couldn’t move if he wanted to.

Virgil leaned in, and Remus’ body vibrated with that low voice. The giant’s gaze slide away, and Remus’ heart stopped as Tempestas’ face shuttered closed.  

The guitars exploded, and the giant moved.

Blaring bass, pounding drums, Virgil hunched over him, snarling lyrics to the human in his hand. His voice boomed, but Remus could scarcely hear anything over the roaring in his ears. He glanced away, only for an instant, and his gaze snapped back like a rubber band as Virgil’s shadow engulfed him.

Is this what storm chasers felt, staring down the eye of something so much more than you? The booming of thunder in your core, the crackle of lightning in the distance, craning your neck back overhead to see clouds, a gathering storm, a disaster in motion? Helpless to do anything but sit back and watch the rain pour?

It was certainly what Remus felt, staring up, up, up at Virgil. Staring up at his love.  

Remus laughed, slightly manic, and hoped the giant didn’t hear it over the thrumming of the music—

Only for it to turn into a grimace as Virgil dropped him on the table. The human scrambled back, on his feet and staring up as Tempestas launched into the second verse. Virgil tilted his head, slow, almost deliberate, running his eyes down the prey in front of him. Remus swallowed.

Tempestas took a step to the side, standing tall and pinning Remus with his gaze. His claws flexed. He prowled around the desk and—well, wasn’t it funny, how Remus almost felt like the one on a stage, putting on a show to the giant looming over him?

The rockstar leaned forward and tilted his head. Remus couldn’t do anything but stare back as the giant ran a claw down his shoulder. He leaned in, closer. Closer. His gaze turned soft. The dark clouds parted.

Something flickered, and Remus jerked back as the giant closed the final gap with a snarl. He slammed a hand next to the human, and—

The giant’s face filled his vision, his hands practically wrapped around him, his heat seeping into his skin. The sharp smell of peppermint wafted from Tempestas’ mouth. He was so close to him, almost making up his entire world.

Tempestas leaned back, gaze flickering away, and the iron grip around Remus’ heart tightened. Massive claws rapped a beat on the table.  

When Tempestas peered down at Remus, he didn’t smile, but was a near thing.

“You can feel it, can’t you?” the giant asked, voice sliding in-tune with the bass. The music blared on, and Remus’ heart leaped as Tempestas moved back to loom over him. “Of course you feel it. Why wouldn’t you?”

Remus craned his neck back, shivering as the giant’s shadow engulfed him. His eyes drifted to the claws so close to him, only to jerk back as something warm and sharp ruffled his hair. The giant smiled, fangs glittering.

“Thrumming, thrumming, thrumming.” His voice was low, that special sort of rumble that only emerged in performances. “The bass, your heart, the vibrations from my voice, up and in you and all around you." Tempestas leveled him with an expecting stare. “You feel that thrumming, that pounding?”

Remus nodded, adrenaline setting his nerves alight, and those massive eyes crinkled. “Thought so.” Tempestas hummed. “Let me ask you something more.”

Tempestas moved, standing over Remus from a diagonal angle. One way clear, it seemed: across from the giant and forward. No hiding spots on the expanse of the desk, but it would take the Tempestas time to reach out. Enough time to run.

If Remus’ legs didn’t give out before he could escape.

“Can you hear my voice?” Tempestas crooned. “It must be loud to those tiny, sensitive ears of yours.” The giant's claws stopped, flickered to point in the air. “Can you hear the pounding of the drums? If this were a real concert, your voice would be drowned out by them so effortlessly.”  

Tempestas leaned forward, chest five times as wide as Remus was tall pushing up against the desk. The storm tilted his head. “Can you hear the beating of my heart?”

Remus paused, ice flooding through his veins. The giant purred, “Listen. It shouldn’t be hard.”

And—he could. Blocking out everything except the natural disaster in front of him, he could hear it. It was slow, and so, horribly, loud. As big as a whale’s, pounding, pounding, pounding.

An amused breath of air sent Remus’ hair askew. Tempestas’ voice dropped low, reverberating through the human’s body like a swarm of locusts. “Can you feel anything but me?”  

A claw ran down Remus’ back. The pad of the finger pulsed with a massive pulse, surging with the beat. “Can you hear anything but my sound?”

That claw travelled to Remus’ chest, and bits of the human’s tee caught on its small, jagged edges. It slid under the human’s chin and lifted it up. Remus shuddered at the cold tip of it against his neck. “Remus,” Tempestas hummed. “Do you know how helpless you are?”  

A blush burned Remus’ cheeks. The giant grinned, fangs shining like chainsaw teeth, and the human’s knees threatened to buckle.  “I know what you’re feeling right now.”

The threat under Remus’ neck retreated. Remus’ hand shot to his throat, watching the giant examine a line of claws, each one almost as big as Remus’ head. “Maybe it’s a shiver down your spine. Maybe it’s the hammering of your tiny, little heart. Maybe it’s the blood running through your veins.” The giant’s gaze flickered over him. “You’re vibrating right now, Remus, and it’s not from excitement.”

Remus held a hand in front of his face, watching it shake like a leaf in a hurricane. He was, wasn’t he?

The giant leaned back, and Remus craned his head up, up, up. “You feel it.” He laughed, a sharp, booming thing. “Why wouldn’t you?”

The monster peered at him, gaze wide and unwavering, the gaze of a predator. “Do you feel the urge to run?”

The drums hissed, lightning-quick. The guitars surged like the booming of thunder.  

Remus bolted.

The pressure in his legs abated, burning as he pumped them faster, faster. Alarm bells blared, the music roaring in harmony with the static in his ears. A thin sheen of sweat crept down his forehead. A cackle behind him tore through the black noise in his head. Remus pushed himself faster—

He tripped, fell, went sprawling with the edge of the table an arm’s length away. He stumbled forward on his hands and knees, whining. It was right there. It was right THERE—

A massive hand slammed in front of Remus. Claws curled in on him like splintered branches.

Too late.

The human lurched back, whipping around to see the monster looming over him. The giant practically screamed the next lyrics. Remus’ cheeks darkened as he filled up his vision, overwhelming Remus’ ears with pounding music, snarled singing, the thrumming of a massive heart.  

Remus’ breath caught in his throat. He had to run. He had to run, get away, move, do anything to escape the behemoth before him. He couldn’t, he couldn’t, why was he frozen, why was he was trapped, why he couldn’t he move move from the predator he’s goiNG TO—

“Virgil?” Came a distant, quiet voice. “Oh. Am I interrupting something?”

The music stopped. Remus creaked open his eyes—when had he closed them? —as the giant in front of him rumbled, “Nah, we’re just having fun.” The massive hand around him squeezed, gentle, yet firm. The human’s heart fluttered. “What’s up?”

Silence. Considering, analyzing silence. Not judgmental, but sharp enough for you to wilt anyways. Remus could recognize Logan’s presence anywhere. Finally, their boyfriend said, “I was considering ordering Chinese shortly. Do you want anything?”

Virgil’s gaze flickered down. His fangs were hidden, gaze open, no trace of the thing of nature present just moments before. He spoke, and it was like the gentle patter of rain. “You want your usual?”

Remus nodded, adrenaline still clogging his vocal cords. He leaned back into Virgil’s palm, letting the warmth seep through his skin. “Vegetable Chow Mein for Remus.” A massive claw ruffled his hair, and Remus made a noise like a deflated balloon animal. “I wouldn’t mind some sushi. Don't care what flavor. Thank you, love.”

“You’re welcome.” Remus could hear the smile in Logan’s voice. He considered throwing a hand over Virgil’s hand to wave after him, but...it was so warm. After a moment, Logan called out, “Try not to overwhelm Remus before dinner.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Virgil breathed. His gaze flickered down towards Remus, slight panic in his eyes. Remus gave a thumbs up, sticking his tongue out for good measure. Virgil deflated a little in relief. Really, how could Remus ever be scared of such a massive dork?

Heh. Dork. After distant footsteps retreated, Remus sprung up from Virgil’s hand. “You found your bit?”

Virgil glanced away, almost like he was scared to look at someone the size of his finger. Pussy. “Uh, sure. You good, Re? I know I got carried away—”

Remus waved a hand. “I’m fine, you tall drink. You barely answered my question!” The human put his hands on his hips, trying for his best stern gaze. “I’ll climb up there and pull you down myself if I need to, bitch.”

The being who could overpower him with barely a thought snorted. “I don’t doubt it—but, uh, yeah. I got it.” Virgil smiled, his genuine one that was more eyes than teeth. “Thank you, really. You gave me a lot to work with—Well. One problem.”

“Yeah?”

“It is...a lot. Not really something I would consider doing spontaneously, especially with a stranger.” Virgil leaned in, folding his arms under him and setting his chin on top. “I can’t help but think it would be better to do it with, say...someone I know.”

Remus’ heart spasmed. He resisted the urge to clutch at it, in the process resisting the urge to bite down on his fingers and see if he was dreaming. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Virgil’s gaze turned soft, open, eyes shining like amethysts. “Obviously, it’ll be different. And only if you want to, of course, I don’t want to force you or anything—”

“I’d fucking love to.” Remus stumbled forward. He nodded, nodded again, looked up at Virgil with a fire in his eyes. “Yes, I want you to toss me around like a limp fucking French fry. Yes—”

“Hey, chill, I haven’t even released the song yet. My next concert ain’t for a while, either.” Virgil’s gaze turned sheepish. “I’ll tone it down a bit, too. Don’t want you to collapse before the show ends.”

Well, rude, but Remus didn’t mind. He surged forward, throwing himself against Virgil’s lips, and shuddered as he felt the giant let out a small gasp of surprise.

Logan's eyes shot open as he sat up. Did he fall asleep? Had it all been a dream? He was still floating on the open sea, but the shore wasn't visible from that point. Perhaps he only got dragged away. He decided going back home was the best… even if his compass wasn't working… Well, he could figure out his way back based on the position of the sun and the estimated time he had spent outside.

Hours had passed since he started rowing back, Logan had to remind his dad to fix the motor before he went out to fish again. Should he try another direction? No, he was quite sure this was the right way, and the sun setting only helped to further prove his point.

Logan stopped abruptly as something tugged on the boat. Oh right, he forgot to pull the net up. Something must have gotten stuck while he floated around. He took the edge of the net and pulled, quite confused as to why it was heavier then usual. He froze once he saw what it was.

There was a tiny person tangled in the net, was this a kid? No, it looked too old to be a kid but was the size of one...and they had a tail.

They were tugging the net trying to get out, as they muted several words in a language Logan couldn't understand. By how they sounded, he could only assume they were curse words or something of that nature. They hadn't noticed Logan's presence either. “Uh… I can help you, if you want.”

The, mermaid? Yeah mermaid seemed like the best term to use to describe them at the moment. The mermaid looked up at Logan, fear invading their eyes… no it wasn't fear, it was more like confusion? Whatever they were feeling right now, it only made them tug harder on the net.

“Hold on, you're only going to hurt yourself.” Logan didn't even know if talking to them helped at all, if he couldn't understand them it was more than likely they couldn't understand them.

Logan had to do something since talking clearly won't work. He reached towards the water to gently scoop up the mermaid, dragging the net along with them. He got his arms all wet but he was used to it, “try to stay still please.”

Of course they didn't listen, or didn't understand at least. It only made the process of untangling them longer, which apparently made them understand after a while.

Logan tried to be as careful as he could. They couldn't be more than a three feer tall taking their tail into consideration, which was more than half their body. Yellow and green scales decorated their tail, scales that reflected the sunlight which made them look like they were shining. The tail’s shape reminded Logan of a catfish, though he had never seen a yellow catfish.

Getting lost in his thoughts didn't mean that Logan had stopped working, he could definitely think as he untangled the net. He did however, become self conscious of the way he was staring at the mermaid’s tail. “I apologize in advance if I’m making you uncomfortable in any way.

Logan wasn't expecting an answer. “You speak English right?”

He froze, but was quick to shake off that feeling and keep working.“I do, and I wasn't aware you could understand me, let alone speak it.”

“I’m not great speaking,” they replied. “Or getting big hard words.”

Well, clearly the way they worded those sentences demonstrated that, “Then I’ll make sure to simplify my vocabulary,” the mermaid gave him a confused look. “I’ll speak with easier words,” Logan corrected himself.

It didn't take much longer for the mermaid to be free from the net, Logan left them on his lap as he put the net away. “You don’t have a tail,” they mentioned.

Logan looked down at him, “I do not. You’ve never seen a human before have you?”

They shook their head, “some like you?”

“Someone like me indeed, I’m kind of surprised you don't even know what a human is.” Logan was hoping they would help him get back to land, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen.

“A human… we don’t have humans here.”

Logan raised an eyebrow, “what do you mean you don't?”

The mermaid moved on Logan's lap to look over the edge of the boat and point at the sea. “We all live down there, no land on the surface.”

Logan felt the color draining from his face. He looked up, desperately trying to spot the shore or an island or something. What was going on? Had that… black hole been real? Where was he then?

A tiny hand on his chest brought him back to his senses. He looked down at the mermaid who looked at him with concerned eyes, “something wrong isn't it?”

Logan nodded, “if what you're telling me is true, I think I’m not supposed to be here.”

The mermaid hummed. They used the edge of the boat to impulse themselves back to the water.

“Wow, thank you I suppose.” Logan sighed and took the paddles again, thinking they had abandoned him.

He stopped when a hand got out from underwater, “I can help. Like you help.”

 “Not even an involuntary muscle twitch.” Janus responded, voice monotone. Roman pursed his lips in thought. Maybe he had to do it harder. He gripped the clump of hair with both hands and tugged hard.

 A small yelp and wince was all the warning Roman received before a hand reached out and grabbed him, taking him off of Janus’ head. “What-Wait! We were so close!” He was sure it would have worked if he had kept tugging like that.

 He was brought in front of Janus’ annoyed face. “No, you weren’t. We are done.” Janus let Roman off back on the coffee table before standing back up. “I’m going to bed.” Was all Janus said before leaving the room. Roman could only watch him go with a pout.

 He was sure it would work. He just needed another chance at testing it out. Roman smiled, a plan forming in his mind. He would show Janus that Disney logic was soundproof!

***

 Roman had had to wait a few days, knowing that if he tried anything right away that Janus would be expecting it. But now, a few days later, he was sure it was out of Janus’ mind. The perfect time to strike.

 It was morning and despite knowing Janus was awake, the human had yet to come down yet. Roman would have to be quick but he should have plenty of time. Roman saw Janus’ hat, face up on the small table near the door. Perfect.

 Roman took out his hook and climbed up the small table with ease. Once his hook was neatly wound back up and at his side, Roman climbed into the hat, shifting slightly before stilling. Roman grinned, now all he had to do was wait. And hope Janus didn’t look inside his hat before putting it on.

 Thankfully, Roman didn’t have to wait long. Janus came downstairs not too long after he settled down in the hat. And, also thankfully, Janus didn’t look as he picked up the hat and turned it over to place on his head. Roman had to grip the fabric within the hat though, to stop from falling right on Janus’ head, because he definitely would have felt that.

 Roman settled down softly into the head of curls, grinning at the success of his plan. Now all he had to do was give the hair a few more tugs to prove his theory correct. He grabbed a clump of hair, about to tug on it when-wait.

 Was...Was that the front door?

 Roman dropped the hair as he realized the fatal mistake in his plan. Janus only grabbed his hat because he was going to work.

 Roman gulped, realizing how screwed he was. He thought about yelling or even tugging on some hair to get Janus’ attention but stopped fast when he realized Janus was already getting into his car. If he said anything, he would surely be in trouble. And while he may not be scared of Janus anymore, Janus could still be quite intimidating when he wanted to be.

 Perhaps he could just hide until the day was over. Yeah, all he had to do was stay in the hat all day and no one would ever know he was there.

 Roman settled down for the long day ahead of him.

***

 When Janus entered his office building, Logan was there to greet him. “Hello Janus, have a good morning?” Logan asked, a polite smile gracing his lips. Janus returned it.

 “Actually, yes.” Which was surprising. And suspicious. Not seeing Roman before he took off for work probably meant Roman was planning something. He sighed but simply logged that information in the back of his mind. He’d deal with that once he got back home. For now, he was going to focus on work.

 “Did Remy finish those reports I sent him yesterday?” Janus asked Logan, who nodded.

 “Yes, in fact, they should be on your desk. I went ahead and already took a look at them. It appears section 4 and 6 might be off, so if you could take a look at those sections in particular, that would be helpful.” Logan explained, looking down at a few notes of his own.

 “I’ll do that. Thank you Logan, I’ll see you during the meeting.” The two parted ways and Janus headed up to his office. As he got to his floor, the intern met him in front of his door.

 “Good morning sir, can I take your hat and coat for you?” Virgil asked quietly, not quite looking Janus in the eye. The kid was timid and shy for sure but no one could deny that Virgil would eventually surpass over half of the people in this company. Even as an intern, Janus could tell the kid was smart.

 “Of course, thank you Virgil.” Janus took his coat off first, handing it to Virgil who placed it over his arm. He then reached up for his hat, beginning to lift it when he heard a small, almost inaudible yelp.

 Janus, having an idea of what, or rather who, could have made that noise, he slammed the hat back down on his head. At the weird look Virgil was giving him, Janus cooled his expression, giving the kid a simple smile. “On second thought, I think I will keep the hat today.”

 “Oh, uh, okay.” Virgil shifted but his anxiety didn’t allow him to question it. “I’ll be back later with your coffee.” Janus nodded and watched Virgil leave, not wanting to appear even weirder by running for his office. Instead, he put on his usual air of indifference and walked into his office like normal.

 He closed the curtains as soon as the door was closed, not wanting anyone to see inside. He then took a seat at his desk and sighed. “Roman, I swear if you are up there…” He let the threat hang there as he reached up to take off his hat, his free hand coming along and grabbing the borrower he knew would be there.

 “Hey!” Roman yelled as Janus retrieved him in a fist. The grip itself was not painful but it was tighter than usual. He was brought before Janus’ giant face, which looked more than a little annoyed. Roman’s own expression turned sheepish. “I mean...hey Janus! Funny, er, bumping into you here.” Roman let out a nervous laugh.

 Janus’ expression didn’t change. “I have a good guess on why you were on my head.” Janus hadn’t forgotten about the whole Ratatouille business. In fact, he had been waiting for a counter strike from the borrower for days now. He just hadn’t been expecting this. “But mind telling me why you decided it would be a good idea to come with me to work of all places?”

 Roman didn’t bother arguing about the first thing. Janus had him figured out and there was nothing Roman could say to convince him otherwise. The other thing though, that he had a viable excuse for. “I didn’t actually mean to come to work with you. I just, well, I...forgot?”

 “You...forgot?” Janus sent him a deadpanned look and Roman frowned.

 “I really did! I was so focused on my plan I forgot why you put your hat on in the first place! And by the time I realized, you were already in your car and I figured if I just stayed hidden you would...never know I was here.” Roman explained quickly, realizing his ‘brilliant’ plan hadn’t really shone all that bright.

 Janus looked at him for another moment before sighing. He opened his hand, allowing Roman to freely sit in his palm. “I believe you, Roman.” And he did. He knew better than most that when Roman got an idea in his head, he tended to ignore all the flaws in it. “Although next time, and I pray that there isn’t a next time, you will tell me before I get to work. I may be annoyed but I will surely be less annoyed than I am right now.”

 “Right, sorry.” Roman said, looking down.

 “Good.” Janus nodded, knowing Roman really was apologetic. “Now, I can’t really leave work just to bring you home, so we’ll have to think of something to-”

 Janus was cut off by the door opening suddenly. “Mr. Declan? I have your coff…” Virgil trailed off as his eyes widened at the sight of the tiny person in Janus’ hands. Roman, at the sight of the new human, froze completely while all Janus could do was facepalm with his free hand.

 “I-I...wh-what is-?” Virgil started, eyes not leaving the tiny man but Janus cut him off.

 “Welp, there’s no use in trying to hide it.” Virgil was too smart for any of Janus’ lies and this was a bit too much to even try and lie about it. “Virgil, meet Roman. Roman, Virgil. Roman here is my roommate.” Janus introduced them.

 Roman stared wide-eyed at Janus but seemed to realize there really was no use hiding. The best they could do now was make sure Virgil didn’t go spilling the beans to anyone else. He put on a smile and bowed in Virgil’s direction. “It’s good to meet you, Virgil!” ...He hoped.

 Virgil seemed at a loss for words for a moment. He came closer to the desk, setting the coffee down and biting his lip. “Um...sup?” He said, giving a little wave.

 Janus smiled slightly. So far so good, though he had already figured Virgil would not react poorly. “Now Virgil,” Virgil’s attention snapped from Roman to Janus. “Roman needs to remain a secret. I’m sure you understand why?”

 Janus watched as Virgil looked back and forth between Roman and Janus, gears turning in his head. He watched as the realization hit Virgil and he nodded almost solemnly. “Good.” Janus was glad to see Virgil saw Roman as a person as well, it was a true call to his character. “Glad everyone is on the same page.”

 Virgil fidgeted slightly, looking like he wanted to ask some questions but stopping himself. “Was there...anything else you needed?”

 Janus was about to dismiss him when an idea came into his mind. One that might work out better for everyone, though especially himself. “Actually yes.” Janus grinned and silently instructed Virgil to hold out his hand, Virgil did so, confused. That confusion turned to shock, however, when Janus dumped Roman into his hand. “I want you to watch him for me.”

 “W-Wait, what?” Virgil stuttered out as Roman himself was looking towards Janus in offense and surprise.

 “Excuse you! I am not a child to be watched!” Not to mention, suddenly being placed in another human’s hand was disorienting. Especially when he didn’t know that human very well.

 “I’m aware of that. But I am also aware of the fact that I need to get some work done and you being here will do nothing except distract me.” He turned back to Virgil. “I figured he’d have more fun tagging along with you anyway.”

 “I mean...yeah, I guess he can come with me. If, uh, you’re okay with it?” Virgil asked, directing the question down at Roman. Roman blinked in surprise, not expecting to be asked.

 “I...suppose I’m not entirely opposed.” He may not know this human and was more than wary of him but if Janus trusted him enough to hand Roman over then Roman supposed he deserved that trust.

 “Just make sure no one else sees him. And that you bring him back here by the end of the day, alright?” Janus spoke, eyes narrowed slightly as he looked Virgil in the eye. He trusted Virgil but he wanted to make sure these things happened.

 Virgil gulped and nodded. “I will, I promise.” He looked back down at Roman. “Anywhere in particular you want to hide? Cause I can’t exactly bring you out in my hands.”

 Roman thought for a moment, looking Virgil over. He pointed to the area where Virgil’s hoodie met his neck. “There seems good. I have a good view and I’ll be hidden from any passing humans.”

 Virgil nodded and lifted his hand, allowing Roman to get off himself and settle down. “Alright, I guess I, er, we will head out then.” He said, talking to Janus.

 Janus nodded. “Yes and thank you again. Roman, be good for him won’t you?” Janus smirked as he heard Roman take offense to his statement and then watched as the two left the room. Janus sighed in relief and settled back in his desk to get his work started.

***

 The clock read 4 o’clock when Janus started packing up his things. When he had realized Roman had hitched a ride with him that morning, he had been afraid he would not be getting any work done. Fortunately, Virgil finding out about Roman actually worked in his favor and he was able to get even more done than he had set out to do.

 Now all he had to do was wait for Virgil to bring Roman back.

 He need not worry though, as he heard his office door open. Virgil walked through the door, Roman still on his shoulder but Janus was surprised to see them engaged in a rather...interesting conversation.

 “I told you it wasn’t going to work you tiny pain-in-the-scalp.” Virgil said, smirking but also rubbing as his head. Roman huffed.

 “Oh shut it, debbie downer. How was I supposed to know Disney was wrong?”

 “Uh, easy. Because they always are?” At the tiny gasp, Virgil’s smirk grew wider.

 “You take that back!” Roman shouted, standing up on Virgil’s shoulder, causing Virgil to lift a hand up. Roman took it.

 “Make me Princey.”

 “Well, I see you two had fun.” Janus jumped in, seeing this going on for a while. He had never seen Virgil like this before. It was certainly interesting and quite the stark contrast from his usual demeanor.

 Virgil flinched, like he just remembered Janus was also in the room. “Mr. Declan! Uh, sorry we were just-”

 “No reason to apologize Virgil.” Janus interrupted and Virgil let out a breath. “You two seem to have become quite comfortable with each other.” Janus observed. Both Virgil and Roman’s faces went a bit red but neither denied it.

 “Roman’s pretty cool for an arrogant prick.” Virgil said, grinning. 

 “And Virgil is pretty cool for an emo nightmare.” Roman shot back, both of them now grinning.

 Janus smiled but had to admit, he hadn’t seen them getting along this well. “Well, maybe we’ll have to do this again sometime.”

 Roman turned to Janus, blinking in surprise. “Wait, really?” 

 “If that’s what you want. And as long as Virgil doesn’t mind?” Janus looked to Virgil, who shook his head, almost a bit too rapidly.

 “No, not at all! I mean…” he blushed lightly. “I wouldn’t mind seeing Roman again.”

 “Then it’s settled. But for now, Roman and I should be getting home.” Janus held out his hand and Roman climbed on from Virgil’s.

 “Bye Roman, see you...tomorrow?” They both looked to Janus and smiled when he nodded.

 “Bye Virgil!” They both watched as Virgil left before Janus turned his attention back to Roman.

 “So, made another friend, did we?” Janus asked and Roman shrugged.

 “He’s alright. For a human, of course.” Roman said but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “I see why you trust him though. He’s one of the good ones.”

 Janus grinned. “I told you, I’m a great judge of character.” Janus started packing up his things with his free hand. “Also I’m going to assume by the conversation when you walked in that I can say I told you so?” Janus smirked, while Roman pouted.

 “Yes, fine. Soak it up. I’ll be the one telling you I told you so next time.”

 Janus snorted. “We shall see about that.” He was interested to see what Roman’s next theory would be, though. “Pocket?” Janus asked, already moving his hand toward his chest.

 “Actually, could I…” Roman pointed to Janus’ head and Janus raised an eyebrow.

 “...Fine. You better not pull my hair though.” Janus lifted Roman up, who once again dropped onto Janus’ head of curls. His hat was then placed on top of Roman.

 “All good?” Janus asked, hand on the door handle.

 “All good!” Roman responded back. Just as Janus opened the door, he felt a slight pull at his hair and he tensed.

 “Roman…” He warned, only to feel Roman squirm.

 “I didn’t mean to! My leg got caught!” 

 Janus sighed, shaking his head. Though not enough to really bother Roman. Sometimes he wondered why he was even friends with the little guy in the first place.

 “Oh and Janus?” Roman said softly. “I’m really sorry again. Thanks for not getting mad.”

 Janus blinked, his frown turning into a soft smile. “Of course, Roman. You may annoy me sometimes but I will never let my anger get the best of me.” Especially when it came to Roman.

 So, okay, maybe he did know why he was friends with Roman.

 Roman smiled, settling down into Janus curls as Janus started to walk again. Janus, and now Virgil, were both good. Good people and good friends.

“Look, Logan, you’re a smart kid.” His mentor explained gently, hitting another one of Logan’s buttons by calling him a child. “I think this research of yours is really admirable, it’ll make a fine thesis. You’re really onto something here. But don’t go blowing it by hypothesizing outside the realm of reality.”

Logan did not deign him with a response, appearing a bit huffy as he began to pack up his papers. It almost appeared he was a pouting child, if not for his business attire indicating his seriousness.

“I don’t want to discourage you.” His mentor continued. “This is truly remarkable! If you could discover the disease that’s infecting the Chimera population, your research would be published for certain. I can help you gain the necessary resources, it may be difficult to gain access to live samples but until then I have some friends down in the lab-”

“Thank you.” Logan cut him off with a curt nod. “I… appreciate the assistance. But I want to re-investigate my own claims before I pursue this route.”

His mentor sighed knowingly. “I know, your first discovery is always difficult. Take your time, if you want to look into this ‘apex predator’ thing by all means don’t let me stop you, but remember that your thesis needs to be built on hard evidence- not just theories.”

“Yes, I understand.” Logan gave him a soft smile. He gathered up the last of his belongings, bidding his mentor farewell before heading out the door. As soon as he left the room, Logan’s smile faded. Evidence. How was he supposed to gain evidence of a creature thought to not exist?

Well, there was only one thing to it, Logan supposed- Logan would just have to find the apex predator himself. 

Now Logan was no fool, he’d grown up in the town of Sireville and knew the dangers as well as any inhabitant. It was a risky business, traversing into the forest, but Logan also knew that numbers would attract unwanted attention. He knew these woods well enough to recognize signs of danger as well as any anomalies that would prove he was on the right track. Logan was also intelligent enough to wait until the following morning, not venturing out at a time when night could befall him. To be caught in the woods at night never ended well. 

It would be perhaps wise to let someone know where he was going, but if something went wrong to the point where Logan couldn’t handle himself the only thing a rescued party would discover would be his remains. Logan shuddered briefly at the thought as he entered his kitchen, giving his mother a wave before gathering the necessary supplies for his trip.

“What’s got you all dressed up?” His mother asked, peering over the counter at his attire. Logan had changed from his usual business casual into something more fitting for the forest, equipping a sturdy set of boots over his hiking pants and throwing on his tactical long sleeved shirt. 

“Field study.” Logan explained, purposefully being vague as he finished packing his backpack. 

“Alright, be safe.” She frowned lightly at him. “Don’t wander too far, alright? And stay on the paths.”

“I’ll be alright.” Logan reassured her, purposefully avoiding making any promises as he stepped out the door. This certainly wasn’t the first time he went out to gather evidence, having done it on several occasions throughout his studies, but it would certainly be the furthest journey yet if his expedition proved successful. Logan had taken the necessary precautions, packing extra rations should the day grow long. He didn’t pack anything for camping through the night, intending on hiking back before nightfall. At the very least he wouldn’t be foolish enough to fall asleep in the middle of the woods with so many creatures patrolling.

Logan took a deep breath, stepping in amongst the trees that had grown so familiar. He made a quick pace, wanting to get as deep as possible before the light faded. The college student took note of his surroundings, waiting for any sign of the extraordinary that he had not viewed before. The further he traveled the less familiar the trees became, growing further apart- a sure sign that larger beings had pushed them aside and nature adapted to the creature’s whims. It was truly terrifying the things that some beasts could accomplish, the impact they could have on the world around them possibly without even noticing it.

What sort of beast was Logan tracking, anyhow? He began to ponder this, growing tense as the background chattering of birds became accompanied with the low shifting of some great beasts far off. Logan paused, observing his surroundings and trying to pinpoint the noise. Could that be his target? Surely not, it wouldn’t be so easy. And yet Logan hardly recognized this clearing, and the markings upon the trees were different from any left by a harpy taking flight. Instead the limbs seemed… weary, as if something of great weight had been draped across them.

Observing further, Logan grabbed his journal and began to take diligent notes of his surroundings, adding accompanying drawings when necessary for illustration purposes. Now keeping a keen eye out for details, Logan spotted a familiar slithering track upon the forest floor. A lesser field scientist might have dismissed it for that of a Chimera’s tail, but Logan noticed there were no accompanying footprints. Furthermore, the track was far too thick to belong to a Chimera snake. 

No, whatever creature laid these tracks was larger than a Chimera. Logan was practically giddy with excitement, scribbling frantically into his notebook. He was right! Some disease, indeed. Curiosity overtaking him, Logan wasn’t thinking clearly as he blindly followed the tracks deeper into the forest. The trees began to twist and curl in unnatural patterns, bent out of shape to make shade or revealing clearings of sunlight in others. Logan leapt over a fallen decaying trunk, pondering what other evidence he might discover. Perhaps some of the Chimera pieces? A discarded scale or feather? Or perhaps…

Logan froze, hearing a soft whistling noise coming from further up the path. It had a familiar pattern to it, slowly Logan recognizing the sound as faint snoring. He crept closer, now incredibly mindful of where his feet were placed. Logan peeked through the underbrush, barely holding in his gasp at the sight that awaited him.

Or perhaps the creature itself.

Logan couldn’t comprehend what was before him. At first, all Logan could process was the gigantic, ever so slightly shifting wall of red scales before him, aligned in the familiar pattern of a reptile. Before he even made an initial hypothesis Logan’s head snapped up at the sound of another snore, a hand going to his mouth at the sight. It seemed that this giant reptilian beast had a homo sapien upper half, not unlike a harpy or the merfolk. A naga. 

Logan had only heard tales of them, always assumed to be mere legends or perhaps having gone extinct ages ago. But looking at the sight before him the notion of going extinct seemed ridiculous. What could possibly wipe out such a gargantuan creature, clearly bred to dominate the ecosystem? Certainly nothing less than another meteor shower.

Entranced, Logan was ever cautious as he raised his pencil to his notepad, giving one practice skritch across the paper. He flinched at the noise, but the clearing remained undisturbed. Logan gave the tiniest sigh of relief, knowing that at any moment he could be in very imminent danger.

But what was the harm in staying one moment longer to observe? If the beast were to wake this moment, Logan would certainly be unable to outrun it should the naga pursue. He would be in harm’s way anywhere, so Logan took advantage of this opportunity and began to expertly sketch the creature. He had come this far after all. Best not to waste it.

Logan stuck his tongue out in concentration, not wanting to miss a detail even in his haste to finish and get out before the creature woke. His eyes glanced up every few moments, taking in the monster’s posture. It’s position was languid, relaxed back upon its own tail as if using it as a bean bag chair. It appeared to be quite pleased, likely taking pleasure from soaking in the sun that poured through. One arm lay across its forehead, the other straight back so its fingers just grazed the ground. Logan took careful note of these appendages, aware of the sharp claws on each one and how they twitched every so often in sleep. 

His drawing was beginning to take form, having captured most details he could from this angle. Logan was debating the pros and cons of attempting to move to get another angle when the naga let out a large yawn, briefly displaying its fangs. Eagerly Logan flipped to a new page, jotting down a new sketch before the sight disappeared entirely. Why, by his estimations one of those fangs could easily dwarf his entire arm in length. 

So enraptured in his work was he that Logan failed to notice the yawn was only the beginning of a chain of events. The creature’s claws left the ground, coming up to stretch above its head with a creaking of bones that got Logan’s attention. He froze, watching the intimidating beast stretch skyward as it lifted its torso and basked in the sun for a moment more. 

Slowly it dawned on Logan what a precarious situation he was in; his research would all be for naught if he died before presenting his findings. Logan clutched his journal to his chest, heart pounding as he watched the naga sniff the air. It didn’t take a student fluent in animal behaviors to know exactly what scent the creature had picked up as it frowned, tongue stuck out to sniff the air again.

Under normal circumstances, Logan would hope estimate that, being so small in comparison, a naga would pay a human no mind. There were much larger creatures in the forest that would make more filling prey. However, half-humans always seemed to have a dangerous curiosity about their counterparts, and Logan had trespassed into this being’s territory. 

Logan gulped, all color draining from his face as those piercing red eyes bore directly down onto him. Immediately Logan turned to run (a fruitless effort), but before he had even fully turned Logan felt himself yanked backwards and into the air, eliciting a cry from the startled human who frantically tried to keep a grip on both his glasses and his book as he found himself dangling painfully upside-down, only the grip of those claws on his left leg keeping him from falling to a quick demise. 

Logan found himself feeling a bit dizzy as he was brought before the naga’s face. Those fangs were perhaps a bit less intriguing as they cruelly smiled at him, the naga’s eyes boring into his soul as he was turned this way and that like a curious bauble. 

“Why hello there, my little morsel.” The naga’s statement rumbled with dangerous curiosity, sending a wave of warm breath over Logan that made the human shudder. If he were not so entranced with those perilous teeth (was that a venomous sac below the rearmost fangs?) Logan might have noticed the alarming glint in its eyes. “I don’t think one of you has ever wandered this far, not without my rancid brother getting a hand on them first at least.”

Oh good lord there’s two of them. Logan jolted at this newest realization. Two? No wonder the populations were dwindling so drastically.

“So what makes you so special?” The naga tilted its head, poking Logan with a single claw, eliciting a startled breath in from the human who was very surprised he hadn’t just been torn to shreds. For now the naga seemed amused enough to watch as Logan slowly began to rotate, clearly toying with him in its ‘playful’ demeanor. “Well? Go on then, does the meager human speak?”

“I-I-” Logan cringed, loathing the sound of his own voice as it had raised an octave. It didn’t help that all the blood was rushing to his head. He cleared his throat, holding on to the minuscule hope that such a beast could be reasoned with. “Yes, I can speak.”

With a flick of its wrist Logan once again found himself airborne, letting out a high pitched noise of protest before finding himself one skipped heartbeat later once again within the monster’s clutches, this time right side up.

“‘Squeak’ is more like it.” The naga chuckled, prodding Logan’s side. The human winced away from the touch, though it was difficult with how tightly the claws were curled around him. Logan could feel his journal digging into his side. 

Still, Logan couldn’t help but frown, feeling that he was being mocked.

The naga hummed, seeming to debate with itself for a moment. “So what were you doing spying on me anyhow?” It asked, its expression betraying a hint of confusion. “I heard your heart racing a mile a minute in that bush.”

Logan cringed. “You… you did?”

“Why I would have expected to find a hummingbird, I could hardly have missed it!” The naga scoffed. “And yet for all your jitters you didn’t move a muscle. Did fear make you freeze? Are you simply stupid?”

“No.” Logan answered, perhaps a bit too petulantly for dealing with a gigantic predator. He coughed, checking his temper. “I mean, ah, I was perhaps too absorbed in my own jubilation, as I had been looking for you.”

“For me?” The creature seemed to almost purr, its smile returning as Logan felt the grip around him loosen ever so slightly. “Oh, how you flatter me. Then of course you must have appreciated what you found?”

“Well...yes?” Logan turned a bit red, unaccustomed to this line of socialization. T’was a true pity his life was resting on his perilous social skills. “That is to say, you’re certainly extraordinary, surpassing all my initial expectations.”

“Hmm.” Pleased with this response, the naga settled to lay stomach down on its own scales, holding Logan out before it. The claws shifted again, now forming a sort of basin so that Logan could sit freely. “How so?”

By all of Logan’s calculations, this was going well. The creature seemed entertained enough to spare his life, for now. Logan just needed to keep the conversation going until… well, Logan preferred to focus on the present even as those perilous jaws loomed so casually above him.

“I suppose, firstly, your very existence was an unexpected surprise.” Logan adjusted his glasses, the frames having become skewed in all the excitement. “Very rarely are my assumptions incorrect, so I knew there was some manner of apex predator roaming these woods, but as to your exact classification I admit that was a mystery. There is a common understanding that nagas are creatures of legend, or perhaps long extinct. Certainly…” Logan paused, realizing perhaps this wasn’t the most logical point to bring up. “Certainly if others have discovered  you, none have returned to tell the tale.”

The naga gave a scoff. “That’d be my brother’s doing, no doubt. Did you know we used to be worshiped apparently? Back in the golden days we were like gods. That was before people like him started experimenting with other uses for humans. Wasteful, if you ask me, disposing of such large numbers so quickly-”

“I wholly agree.” Logan spoke up too soon.

The naga snorted, clearly amused by the human’s timing. “I, on the other hand, prefer to play with my food.”

“...ah.” Well, that was a less than ideal response. Logan cleared his throat, trying to hide his nerves as he curled a bit in on himself, readjusting the grip on his journal. “So, ah, you mentioned a brother twice now, as well as hinting at others. How many of you are there?”

The monster frowned slightly, and Logan immediately regretted his question. “...Well I hardly think it matters, we nagas keep to ourselves well enough. Lucky you for stumbling upon the best naga of them all.” This last statement was accompanied by a very cocky smile.

“Hmm.” Logan wasn’t certain he agreed, but naturally he had no subjects to compare. “I was merely curious as I conduct research on local wildlife and wanted to compare behavioral traits between your kind and the Coachwhip species, of which your scale pattern most resembles.”

The naga blinked, glancing down at its tail as if for the first time. “It does?”

“As far as I can tell, yes.” Logan turned to his journal, flipping back through the pages. He cursed, realizing his reptile notes were in a different book. “Alright, my apologies, I forgot my scale reference sketches back home, but see?” Logan pulled up the sketch of the naga himself instead, pointing at the tail pattern. “The pattern of your scales represents a braided whip-”

“Is that me?” The naga cut him off excitedly, Logan’s stomach lurching as he was raised higher. 

Logan blinked, glancing between his drawing and its inspiration. “...yes?” 

He watched the naga’s reaction very carefully, hoping the monster was pleased with what it observed. At first Logan worried that the beast would be enraged at the fact Logan had been spying for an extended period, or worse yet perhaps it would feel the need to destroy his notebook to remove any evidence of its existence. To his relief, the creature seemed to be almost pleased as it took in the intricacies of the drawing.

“You made this?” A careful pair of claws pinched at the journal. Logan tightened his grip, before realizing that in a strength contest either the naga would win or his book would be shredded. With this in mind he reluctantly released, watching the massive being lift the journal ever higher to view it above its head as if to shine light through counterfeit currency. 

“Yes, I have always been known for my attention to detail, and illustrations have been proven to assist in comprehension of reports-”

“Can you do it again?” The naga cut him off, handing Logan back his notebook.

“I, yes, I suppose.” Logan furrowed his brow, confused. “Right now?”

“Well it hardly appears as if you’re doing much else at the moment.” The naga gave a loud, purposeful yawn, displaying its fangs. “Of course, I’m certain I can find other, tastier ways to spend our time together…”

“Understood.” Logan grimaced, the monster’s subtlety lacking. “Very well then, is there a- particular feature you want me to illustrate?”

“Don’t go cutting any of my gorgeous figure off!” The naga scoffed. “I best be seeing my beauty tip to tail, you hear me?”

“It would be impossible not to.” Logan tried to hide his growing irritation. “But to create such a piece, I’ll need to be placed on the ground so as to have an appropriate vantage point.”

His request was considered. “Very well.” The naga agreed, setting him once again down on the ground. 

Logan stumbled, surprised to once again feel solid ground under his feet. It was astounding- just moments ago, Logan would have doubted his ability to experience this ever again. 

“Tick tock, come now with your tiny talents.” The naga poked him with an impatient claw. Quickly regaining his composure, Logan pulled out his writing utensil and opened to a clean page.

“Is there a particular angle you’d prefer?” Logan asked.

“I am a priceless gem, I sparkle from all angles.” The creature purred, striking a pose where it was once again draped over its own tail as if lounging on a fainting couch.

Logan huffed, fighting the urge to rant about how light reflection actually works. He glanced around, taking a few steps back and debating only for a moment if he should turn tail and leave.

“I hope you’re not thinking of running off on me.” The naga seemed to read his thoughts, raising a taunting eyebrow.

Logan jumped, focusing back to the task at hand. “I’m not.” He lied, finally putting his pencil to the pad. “Just finding the best setup location.”

The naga hummed, clearly not believing a word, but seemed satisfied to watch Logan work. A bit too satisfied, as it leaned up and attempted to watch over Logan’s shoulder.

“Stop looming, you’ll cast shadows.” Logan huffed. “And if you keep moving about I’ll never finish, sit still.”

“You’ll never finish regardless.” The naga pouted, but flopped back amongst its coils. “You’re taking forever.”

“It has hardly been a minute.” Logan debated in his head how slowly he could draw without generating suspicion. He wanted to drag this event out as long as possible, having full knowledge that if the naga was satisfied with Logan’s work he might deem Logan’s task- and thus his life- as finished. Logan shuddered at the thought.

Clearly bored, the naga’s attention was once again focused solely on Logan, preventing any escape attempts. It was quite distracting, having those piercing eyes staring down at him so intently. It was especially infuriating that Logan couldn’t guess as to what it was thinking. 

Why make him draw the creature again? Surely one drawing would be enough? Perhaps it merely wanted an illustration where it could be alert and poised. But what would come next? Would the naga request more illustrations, or would the monster be satisfied? What would occur if Logan’s pencil broke? Or perhaps the creature grew hungry before Logan was even finished? Would it bother to wait around long enough for Logan to complete his depiction, or would Logan be sent down its ravenous throat at the first sign of an appetite?

“What’s your name?”

Logan blinked, stumbling out of his thought process. “...pardon?” The question felt far too mundane considering the circumstances.

“Humans have names, don’t they?” The naga tilted its head. “What’s yours?”

Logan was still perplexed that it had thought to ask. “Logan. Logan Sanders.” 

The naga nodded, giving him a smile that might have been intended to be encouraging. 

“...and what is your name?” Logan asked finally, realizing that’s what it wanted.

“You may call me Roman.” The naga- er, Roman- introduced himself, accompanying the statement with a little wave of his hand and a half bow.

Under normal circumstances, Logan might be expected to say it was a pleasure to meet Roman. “Stop moving.” Logan reminded him instead.

“Well aren’t you a barrel of fun, Logan.” Roman paused, rolling the name around on his tongue as he tried it out. “Logan. Looooogan. Logan! You know, once you get used to it it’s not all that terrible.” 

Logan paused, once again feeling utterly perplexed as he peered up at Roman. “My name differs from yours in only three letters.”

“And what difference those three letters make.” Roman breathed an imaginary sigh of relief. He teasingly grinned at Logan. “Oh come now, I jest, live a little, Lo!” 

“My name is Logan, not Lo.” Logan corrected immediately, loathing when individuals shortened his name. Roman snorted. “What’s so amusing?”

“I just realized my choice of phrasing.” Roman’s grin turned sly. “‘Live a little,’ and you are also yourself little- should be quite easy then, eh?”

Logan refused to acknowledge the jab for several moments, eventually caving with the urge to defend himself. “I am above average height for a human being, actually.” Logan felt the need to inform him. 

“Well good for you.” Roman teased, and all of a sudden one of his knuckles was ruffling Logan’s hair. It startled the human enough to make him take a step back, pausing his work to readjust his appearance. The naga seemed to be finished toying with him, for now, and allowed Logan to fall back into the quiet lapse of his work. Unfortunately, with the naga’s round of questioning, Logan found his thoughts drifting elsewhere until he felt compelled to ask a few questions of his own.

“Why did you inquire about my name?” Logan asked, knowing he was venturing down a dangerous topic bringing up his own future. “It seems a bit sadistic to ask if you intend to… if you have ill intentions for myself.” 

It was a bold risk, but Logan was curious if perhaps this was similar to the phenomenon of humans becoming attached to animals after naming them. If Logan could market himself in just the right way, perhaps the naga would be more taken with the novelty of his artistic talents and find he was a valuable enough individual to not end his days within Roman’s stomach.

“Hmm, I like to know.” The naga’s noncommittal shrug squashed the hopes right out of Logan. “Speaking of, are you done yet?”

Logan’s blood ran cold. “Ah, no, not quite yet.”

“Hurry up, I’m growing famished.” Roman groaned, not encouraging Logan to hurry up in the slightest. “You take much longer and I’ll just have to settle for you.”

“Settle?” Logan refused to let himself perk up too much at the peculiar word choice. “So you’re...not going to….?”

Roman laughed as if Logan was a fool. “Oh please, you’d hardly be filling. I feast on Chimeras, you’re nothing.”

Logan had never felt more elated to be told he was nothing.

“A snack, perhaps.” Roman gave him a pointed look. “A tasty one at that, if you don’t get a move on. So chip-chop, Mini Muse.”

“A muse is a source of inspiration, not the craftsman.” Logan corrected, hurrying up all the same. His heart had begun to pound with a mixture of excitement and nerves. “There, it’s finished.”

“Oh do let me see.” With a great amount of slithering the massive tail began to unravel, curling around Logan as it stretched out. Before Logan could be constricted amongst the coils Roman reached down and once again scooped up the human. Logan lost his balance briefly, settling into a safe sitting position before presenting the journal to be viewed. “Why, it’s gorgeous!”

“I’m certainly grateful it’s to your liking.” Logan conceded. He never looked at his drawings with an artistic eye, focused solely on being anatomically correct for his diagrams. 

“Oh indeed, it’s amazing you can make out all my tiny features.” Roman squinted down at the paper. “A shame your works are so small, I wish to appreciate them more. You’re so fortunate to be graced with the real thing.”

“Indeed.” Logan deadpanned. He glanced at the sky, noticing the sun beginning to sink lower in the horizon. “It appears to be getting late, and I’ve likely wasted enough of your precious time. I’m certain you have several tasks which you must complete, so if you’ll just set me down-”

“Set you down?” Roman raised an eyebrow. “Why Logan, I think you and I have different ideas of how this evening will go.”

This was all the warning Logan got before Roman lunged, and a sharp pain shooting up Logan’s side. Logan hissed, completely in shock as his tense form attempted to process what just happened. His mouth gaped open, stuttering as he tried to react to the situation even as his mind clogged up.

The sound of a metal door clanging open drew Virgil’s attention up to where a small platform sat suspended about twenty feet above where he was currently stuck sitting. It was where people talked at him—well, talked was being generous. It was usually some pretentious asshole in a white lab coat and thick black glasses lecturing him, explaining that as soon as he admitted his wrongdoing and was deemed “safe,”‌ he would be released from this prison.

As soon as he realized it was exactly who he thought it was, his lip curled up into a sneer. A mocking smile, if you will. “Well, if it isn’t the head fucker’s lapdog. Come to tell me how awful a living creature I‌ am? ‘Cause I’m already well aware of that.”

“Your name calling is childish,” the scientist said, pushing his glasses up with the end of his pen, scribbling something on his clipboard. “So, I will ignore it and we can continue this like the civilized people we are.”

“Please,” Virgil snorted, his eyes moving to scan the chains connected to his shackles. They looked as if they were melded into the ceiling. However, he knew they were attached to a pulley and lever system. So, if he got too rowdy or too close to grabbing one of their own, they could flip the switch and his range of motion would be instantly limited.

Basically, if he was anything but cooperative with their degrading words and tests and was vocal about it, he got his chains tightened and moving was far harder than it should be.

Virgil assumed that their next step was a muzzle. He snorted humourlessly at the visual that created.

The scientist seemed to be preoccupied with whatever he was doing, so Virgil gave another test tug on the chains. Seeing if they creaked the same way the had done before. It was what had given him the idea that he could break them in the first place. The way that if he pulled hard enough, there would be the sound of something squealing and creaking and snapping above him. That had made the place go into lock down.

Lights flashing, sirens blaring, ringing harshly through the metal and cement room uncomfortably.

People shouting orders, barking sentences over intercoms. Scampering behind the thick glass that protected them. It was a viewing area out of his reach, but very much in his line of sight.

He’d never seen these fuckers so frightened for their safety.

And rightfully so. Virgil wasn’t thrilled to be here. He hadn’t done anything wrong!‌Gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd maybe, but nothing that should have warranted this as his punishment.

God, Janus was gonna kill him.

“We just want answers,” the man said, coming a bit closer to the hand railing, peering down at Virgil as though he wasn’t a threat. That made something stiffen within him.

He was very much a threat when he wanted to be.

“Then get the right fucking guy,” Virgil snarled back instead, tugging at the chains again, this time with a bit more force behind it. He was certainly testing the waters, see how far he could push this man before he broke and left through the same door he entered from.

They had seen each other a handful of times. This one was the seventh person to try and get a statement out of him.

The others had broken within hours. A single pull on the chains, a kick against the wall that shook them to their core, hissing, baring his teeth. The list went on. It was his main source of entertainment at this point. The faster he broke someone’s resolve or spirit, the more likely he would be able to find a way out of this hellhole.

Virgil was just biding his time at this point.

He had a plan, he just needed to find a way to act it out.

Though, there were a few different options he had in mind.

There was this one scientist that came in to talk to him. A young man named Patton Foster.

Bright, shining blue eyes, circular glasses and a trustfully bleeding heart. He was kindly and understanding and everything that he shouldn’t be in a place like this, or dealing with a person like Virgil. Patton had also been kind enough to tell him that he and another scientist, named Logan Collins, were good friends.

A crucial detail that should not have been shared.

Virgil had also nailed down when exactly his friend came around. It was usually when he was acting despondent. Not eating, not talking, not hydrating. Whoever ran this place obviously thought that he needed to be socialized for this whole experiment and confessional to work.

Thus, they had settled on a naive and easily manipulated young man.

Probably not their wisest choice.

If he could just get both Patton and Logan out here at the same time and be on his best enough behaviour (to ensure that his chains were as loose as they would go)‌ he could make a grab for one of them and use them as collateral over the other.

It wasn’t exactly sitting well with his morality, but a guy had to do what a guy had to do.

Besides, it wasn’t like he was going to hurt him.

“We have all the necessary evidence that pits everything against you,” the scientist said, so nonchalantly it made Virgil’s blood boil. How he couldn’t be bothered to even listen to him.

“You only heard his side of the story,” the Shifter spat, dark eyes blazing with heat, almost daring the other to say something against him. “You never asked for mine.”

“On the contrary,” he insisted. “We have been asking ever since you came here.”

“Oh, fuck you.” Virgil scrunched his nose in obvious displeasure, his hands clenched enough he could feel his nails biting into his palms. “You fucking humans think you know everything about me and what happened. You know jack shit.”

“Once again, I‌ feel the need to remind you of all the evidence we have managed to collect on this subject,” he said, tapping his pen against the clipboard, as if he was pointing to something too small for Virgil to read. “Not to mention everyone that testifies against you.”

“Ever heard of bribing?” He snipped, rolling his eyes and settling against the stone wall at his back. “Framing someone for something they didn’t damn well do?”

The scientist let out a resigned sigh. “Seems we’ve reached the end of our session then since you continue to be uncooperative. And yet again, we are no closer to you admitting that you are very much in the wrong.”

“I’ll admit I’m in the wrong when I’m dead,” Virgil tilted his head the other way, glaring at the slate grey that surrounded him. “Eat shit, lapdog.”

He had been more than tempted to kick the stone wall and send the scientist to his knees, where he belonged, but just barely refrained.

It would only put him higher on the facility’s shit list.

The sound of footsteps clicking away from him proved that the scientist was indeed leaving. As soon as he heard the door slide shut and he was left with his thoughts, Virgil relaxed completely.

He let his head rest against the wall, his eyes fluttering shut. The longer he sat in wait, the longer this whole thing would take.

It was time to pull at some heartstrings and use that weakness to his advantage.

—

It took a couple days.

Of course, when people say “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” they really meant it.

If Virgil had tried to rush through the process, it was far more possible to gain yet another failure.

Patience was a virtue.

(Even if his patience was wearing very, very thin.)

((You try being constantly degraded and treated like a villain every single day and not lose your temper once or twice.))

The chains connected to his wrists were the loosest they were ever going to be and that put the little platform directly in reach. They hadn’t thought that part out very well, but since he had never made a grab for anyone before, it hadn’t needed to be a concern.

He had also stopped eating, responding, doing anything remotely interesting, truthfully. Didn’t snark back, swear, kick the wall hoping to knock the scientists on their asses to elicit a fleeting moment of pleasure. He was completely complacent by their standards. Which was exactly what he needed them to think.

Even though his stomach was beginning to cramp on him, incredibly unhappy about this development, he needed to ignore it. Besides, starving himself was better than trying to choke down whatever mush they gave him.

The sound of a door sliding open made Virgil’s eyes flutter open, flickering up toward the platform.

There was a rush of relief when Patton stood at the railing, leaning over it as he glanced down at the Shifter. There was a worried look painted across the small features. “What’s gotten into you lately, bud?”

Bud. Virgil nearly snorted at the nickname. They weren’t friends. Maybe the term of endearment made Patton feel better when interacting with a being so much bigger than himself. Not mention had the power to change his size at will when not being held captive.

Virgil was still unsure if anyone in this facility knew he was a Shifter. Or if they had just enchanted the shackles around his wrists and ankles to keep them from shattering like glass again.

Though, if Virgil needed to play the victim to pull at the exact heartstrings he needed, then fine. He could play the victim. He dropped his eyes to the slate grey floor. “…it’s stupid.”

Acting so weak was a tad frustrating though, he would admit that.

“It’s not stupid,” Patton chimed in softly. “You’re starving yourself. Obviously something is wrong and it’s not stupid.”

“It’s just…hard,” the Shifter finally said, intertwining his hands and letting them rest in his lap. As long as no one saw his hands as a threat, this should work without a hitch. Being completely incapacitated was hard enough, especially when Professional Asshole made his daily rounds.

“What is?”

“Being villainized, every single day.” Virgil kept his attention anywhere other than Patton. “I‌ honestly didn’t do anything. And being told over and over again that I’m guilty for a crime I‌ didn’t even commit? It stings. In places I didn’t even know could sting that badly.”

Patton made a soft cooing noise, showing that he was actively listening. And probably buying it too.

Virgil wasn’t lying about most of it, believe it or not. Being seen as the bad guy did hurt more than he expected to. Though, what made it worse was being told to his face that he had done something he hadn’t fucking done.

It was annoying and repetitive and drove his blood pressure up.

“Poked, prodded, experimented on,” Virgil continued, before meeting the scientist’s eyes with the most pleading look he could. “I’m going to have these scars for the rest of my life. Reminding me of how I‌ was tortured for someone else’s wrongdoing. All because everyone think’s I’m bad.”

Adding a bit more of an over dramatic flare to it, he let out a sigh before slumping down against the wall again, keeping his attention to the side and closing his eyes.

Plus, the whole experimentation part was true, too. The most they had done was take his blood, use certain medicines to put him to sleep when he was being defiant. Truth be told, it wasn’t exactly torture in the traditional sense, but being here and constantly under supervision and surveillance was torture.

“I‌ don’t think you’re bad!”

That…honestly surprised him a moment. Shaking off the shock and schooling the expression instantly, he turned his head just enough to show that he had heard and was listening. “You don’t?”

“Well, I‌ know the evidence paints you in a pretty bad light,” Patton continued, sounding like he was fiddling with something. “But you really just seem like someone that got mixed in with the wrong crowd, you know? And that wrong crowd left you to be the one that got in trouble.”

Virgil couldn’t hide that surprised look. Whether he knew it or not, Patton had nailed it practically on the head. Ignoring the fact that Virgil’s groupies had done all of this on purpose and framed him for it when he had been at home with his family.

He left the hidden village for one day of gathering resources and all of a sudden he’s drugged and dragged back to this facility. Woke up in a cold stone room, wrists and ankles shackled with people standing above him as he blinked his way back into the waking world. Eyes blurred and head spinning, while scraping noises assaulted his hearing right to the brink of a pounding headache.

Then, being interrogated over and over again, trying to break his spirit and get him to admit that he was guilty.

To be honest, Virgil hadn’t even known what the “crime” he was being accused of was until they had told him in that condescending tone he was used to by now.

Humans were so full of themselves.

No, he wasn’t saying that Shifters were necessarily less full of themselves, but unlike humans—who were boring, useless (for the most part) and unbelievably helpless—Shifters had a reason to be. Being able to shift your size at will? Uh, yeah, absolutely a reason to brag about.

At least, it had been once upon a time.

Though, that didn’t take away from the shock he felt at Patton nearly nailing what had happened to him. “How did you…?”

“It happens more often then you might think it does,” he replied after a moment, his voice softer than before. More earnest. “Teenagers get swept up into the wrong crowd when they’re young and impressionable and end up making bad choices that can ruin their life later on.”

Virgil blinked, shaking his head in disbelief.

“It’s not all doom and gloom and horrible, though!” Patton continued, offering a more comforting smile down at the young man below. “They can make better choices and do better for themselves. Sometimes lessons are just…hard to learn.”

There was a long pause being shared between them. Virgil was genuinely confused on a lot of this, but there was one thing that stood out to him the most.

One thing that none of the others here had ever been to him. And he didn’t get it.

“…why are you being so nice?”

Patton frowned slightly. “What?”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Virgil clarified as if that statement made this whole conversation make more sense. “Everyone else in this damn building sees me as some kind of criminal mastermind that’s just itching to get back out there and ruin lives. Like I’m going to shatter these chains again and get my revenge. Hell, they won’t even look me in the eye. But you- you treat me like some sort of equal and I‌ don’t understand it.”

That heartbroken look that fluttered across Patton’s features hit somewhere deep in‌ Virgil and he was belatedly reminded of a friend of his making that same expression. “Because you’re not bad,” he repeated, wanting to reinforce that he truly believed it. “You’ve just made some bad choices.”

Okay, sudden realization, Virgil was going to feel pretty damn bad when the time came to use this kindness to his advantage.

Patton didn’t deserve it, but Virgil needed out of here. Patton just happened to be his key out.

Virgil’s eyes widened a little at that, feeling at a loss for words.

No. Stop it. Stop getting attached. It’s just going to make this whole thing harder. Remember what you have to do.

But that made a sour taste raise in the back of his throat and he shook his head. He dropped his gaze from the human standing on the platform and clenched his hands, nails digging into his palms as he tried to ground himself and remind himself that this was not the right time for his morals to come and play. This was the worst possible time for it.

Patton had to have some motive behind everything he was saying.

No one was nice for the sake of being nice. Especially not in a place like this. There had to be an explanation.

“What’s your ulterior motive?” The shifter said instead, keeping his eyes downward. He didn’t need Patton seeing this sort of weakness, it would only bring those puppy eyes out harder.

“My ulterior motive?”‌ Patton repeated in a surprised tone.

“Yes,”‌ Virgil barked. The sudden sharpness of his voice made Patton take a step back—he could hear the small clicking noises on the metal, he didn’t need to look up. But it made something loosen in his chest. He hadn’t meant to frighten him.

Fuck. You fucking idiot. Listen to yourself. He’s a human and he’s your only way out of here, stop letting your damned feelings get in the way.

Virgil grit his teeth. “No one is nice just for the sake of being nice. Especially in a hellhole like this and to someone like me. So what is it?”

It was Patton’s turn to be at a loss for words it seemed. Virgil side-glanced the human and his hands were fluttering, almost like he didn’t exactly know what to do with them.

“Please,” he finally seemed to have found his voice, looking more earnest this time. “You have to believe me. I really don’t have an ulterior motive. Why else would I try and get you to eat something? To take care of yourself?”

“Because a dead lab rat is of no fucking use,”‌ Virgil spat the words out as if they were poison. “In a world like this, Patton Foster, your kindness will be the death of you.”

If Virgil took one quick glance up toward the viewing window, he would see that the people behind it were starting to get antsy. Leaning forward in their seats, just waiting to see what their pet would do. They weren’t going to let him go when he admitted he was guilty. Why would they? No one had to know what they were doing if Virgil never got out.

So, before any of them could press any fancy buttons or Patton could backtrack toward the door behind him, Virgil surged up and wrapped his fingers around the human’s thin form. The scientist was yanked back down into the cell with him after he had secured his grasp.

He really didn’t want Patton getting hurt, he truly didn’t deserve it.

The cry he had earned himself though hit something far too close to home, and it made his stomach drop.

Actually, in his haste, Virgil had almost forgotten what exactly he was doing. The human was so light. Truth be told, when he was this size, he avoided people for this very reason. Shifters were rare enough as they were, and thought to be dangerous because of their ability and their history. So, when going into town, he stayed human sized, blended in with the crowd.

This was the first time he had held a real person and it was…what was it? Terrifying. He was holding an entire life and he could do whatever the fuck he wanted.

He shook the thought off though, that was not what this was about. What this was about, was getting the hell out of here once and for all.

However, he couldn’t focus on the terrified, squirming human in his fist.

Virgil’s attention moved to lock on the viewing glass. His eyes were hard, cold and steely, knowing full well that they could hear him clear as a bell. “I want to speak with Logan Collins immediately or Dr. Foster here gets it.”

There were orders being shouted, muffled behind thick glass but Virgil could hear it. They were terrified. Rightfully so. He had finally managed to get his hands on one of their own and they had no idea what he was going to do. It kind of gave him a bit of a rush, actually. Though, shaking that off, his attention turned down to the door on the platform. He was awaiting the one person that could grant him his freedom if this all went according to plan.

His attention shifted though, to the fluttering heartbeat he could feel pattering gently against his fingertips. The deep breaths being taking in, before wheezing out. He was hyperventilating.

Virgil had the urge to say something to calm him down, to find a way to reassure Patton that he wasn’t in danger—but there was no way he was going to be able to do that without the entire building hearing him. Showing that he had gotten attached would only make this worse than it already was.

“…why are you doing this?”

The soft voice cut through the thoughts in his head and Virgil’s eyes followed his mind. He was looking back down to the human staring right back up at him, glasses askew and trembling.

Because I‌ have to. I‌ have no other choice. This isn’t because I‌ don’t like you.

You’re not going to get hurt. 

I’m not going to hurt you.

On purpose, another side of him spoke up, you won’t hurt him “on purpose.”

“I‌ had no other choice,”‌ he said instead, wanting to keep his voice level and reveal nothing more than that. “You’re my only ticket out of here.”

Before either could say anything more, the door on the platform was sliding back open. He looked back up, wanting to give this man his full attention.

“You,”‌ Virgil hissed, upon realizing who it was. The one person he didn’t want to see was currently standing above him, peering down at him through those thick black glasses. “You’re Logan Collins?’

“Indeed,”‌ the scientist said. “Now, we would greatly appreciate if you returned my associate to his station and we can move on from this whole ridiculous endeavor.”

“No.” Virgil’s voice was cold, and his eyes darkened. “I‌ want out of here. You’re not getting him back until I get out.”

“That’s highly improbable,” Logan retorted, trying to appear stoic. Virgil could see the way his eyes kept darting to Patton anxiously.

Logan wasn’t as brave as he said he was.

Virgil knew it was hard to break him normally, but now, since everything Patton had told him seemed to be true, he had a leg up on the guy. Holding his friend captive was already fraying his stressed nerves and Virgil would just have to push a little harder to get what he wanted.

“Fine.” The shifter shrugged nonchalantly.

He then clicked his tongue, eyes flickering down to the terrified human in his hold, Patton’s wide teary eyes seemed to peer into his soul and fuck, don’t look at him too long.

It was far easier to glare at Logan then it was to hold Patton’s helpless gaze. Speaking of, he could hardly feel the weak struggles. They were certainly there, but there was certainly not enough strength behind the motions to budge Virgil’s fingers, and he was hardly holding him tight.

Humans truly were helpless.

“Fine?” Logan mimicked, almost unsure of what he meant by the word.

“Uh-huh,” Virgil retorted, looking more mildly amused than agitated. He just needed to ham this all up. Good thing he had been raised around over-dramatic family his entire life. “I can do this all day, y’know. You drug me, Dr. Foster here plummets. Maybe not to his death, but it is a bone breaking fall. Unfortunate as that would be, of course. You tighten my chains too suddenly—” Virgil wiggled his wrists clattering the metal chains for emphasis, “—the same fate befalls him. Now, you wouldn’t want that to happen to your friend would you?”

Logan’s shoulders tightened and Virgil had his answer.

“Now, neither would I,” his eyes lazily wandered the same room he had been staring at for, what, months now? “Then I propose a deal. You let me go, I‌ let Patton go. It’s that simple. A smart man like you, Logan, should know a good deal when he hears one.”

“That in no way, is a good deal,” Logan shot back, and Virgil could see his resolve flicker in that heated statement.

“Okay, well, this can now go one of two ways; you let me go and I‌ put Patton back where he’s supposed to be,” he clicked his tongue again, baring his teeth, “or I have lunch.”

That very statement made the whole room tense. He could see Logan bristling, but there was also something underneath all of that. The human in his hand stilled completely. Patton had even stopped breathing, holding his breath as if waiting for something more to happen. For Virgil to follow through, probably.

Thing was, it was totally a bluff. The idea of bringing a human even close to his face was, well, revolting. It was worse than the mush they gave him for sustenance now.

Virgil may not be a huge fan of humans after this, but they were still living, breathing sentient things that had families and friends and people that would miss them terribly. Taking that life away just because he could was wrong and cruel and unfair.

Virgil was mean, yes, but he wasn’t malicious.

“You wouldn’t,” Logan’s voice was crackling slightly, but still tough.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Virgil responded casually. “After I’ve been stuck here, and either forced to choke down whatever disgusting bullshit you people have given me for the past few months or starve to death. Why wouldn’t I‌ take the chance for something real?”

Logan had had his rebuttal at the ready and Virgil was just was ready to tear right into him as well, but both of them were shocked into silence.

“Because you’re not a monster!”

Patton’s voice was surprisingly loud for someone who was terrified out of his mind. It was possibly the adrenaline that was coursing him through him, initiating the fight or flight response.

But that sentence…

Not a monster.

“You’re nothing but bad person. What you did was unforgivable.”

“Just admit you’re guilty already! Stop pretending you don’t know what we’re talking about.”

“This just makes you look worse. Playing the victim in all of this?‌ Please.”

“Shifters, hah, like they have any morals whatsoever,” a familiar voice spat and Virgil nearly winced. A voice he had buried so well, he had almost forgotten all of the shit they had put him through. “You’ll be better off dead anyway. Not like a weakling like yourself could survive five minutes out there.”

“Stop being so useless and actually use that power to your advantage.‌ And if you don’t, I’m going to make sure you regret the day you were born.”

Virgil swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry as unwanted emotions flooded forward like a damn had broken. “What?”‌ The word was barely a whisper.

“You’re not a monster,” Patton repeated, his voice still wobbly with terror, but confident enough for the both of them. “You’ve made bad choices and hung around bad people, but you are not them.”

You’re a mistake.

The weak link.

No wonder your old family didn’t want you anymore. No wonder they did this to you, it was to get rid of you.

“Stop it,” he breathed, feeling his throat tightening.

“No. I‌ refuse to let you believe this.” Patton finally managed to wriggle his shoulders and arms free before adjusting his glasses and using the sleeves of his jacket to wipe at his eyes. Virgil was all talk, he knew that now. Even after all of this, he hadn’t been hurt. He was sure there wouldn’t even be a bruise in the morning. “I‌ told you before and I‌ stand by it; you’re not bad. And even after…all of this, I still don’t think so.”

“I‌ can’t—” Virgil sucked in a wheezing breath, his head spinning. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling light headed and the constant noise around him was too much and too loud and it was all just too much. “Out,”‌ he whined, while pulling forward and putting as much body weight into leaning on the chains as possible, “I‌ need out. I‌– air, please, it just—”

“Logan–” Patton began, but Logan seemed to be thinking about something else.

“I know what you are,” he said, causing Virgil to wince further, still trying to pull on the chains enough so they snapped and shattered again. He just needed to get the fuck out of here. “You’re a Shifter. Lives with a remote group of others in a hidden village. You and your people were created as a link of trust between giant and mankind.”

“I‌ need out,” Virgil snarled back, emotions bubbling just under the surface. What made his feelings worse, was the fact that Logan knew what he was. Knew where he lived. His family was in danger and it was all his fault.

Logan stayed unperturbed. “If you can break the chains around your wrists, I’ll let you go.”

Virgil wheezed, his breathing shortening. “You’re– you’re fucking with me.”

“I most certainly am not.” Logan almost seemed offended at the prospect of being disbelieved. “You break those chains, I‌ will see to it that you are released.”

“I can’t,” the Shifter snipped, “they’re.. fucking enchanted– if I‌ could break them, don’t you think I– I‌ would have.”

Logan rose a brow. “I‌ think you’re stronger than you’re letting any of us see,”‌ he said instead, pushing his glasses up. “Besides, you’re not going to get anywhere if you continue to succumb to your panic. What I‌ want you to do is take a breath in for four seconds, hold for eight and release for seven.”

Even though Virgil’s head was buzzing with adrenaline and he could feel the aching in his joints to move, he did what he had to. He couldn’t think like this, and with Patton so close to him, he didn’t want anxiety induced jerky movements to end up hurting him.

It took a few minutes, but his chest loosened and his lungs weren’t as restricted. He took a deeper breath, before shaking it off, coming down from the high. He could still feel his blood rushing in his ears though and adrenaline still pumped through his veins. If Logan was serious about letting him go if he could break these chains, that sort of electricity would be helpful.

Virgil licked his dry lips, before swallowing thickly. “You were telling the truth about that whole thing?”

Logan quirked a brow, curious as to which part Virgil was referring to. “The Shifter part?”

“No,”‌ Virgil rolled his eyes, “the part about me being able to leave if I‌ can break the chains.”

“Oh.”‌‌ The noise sounded honestly surprised, before Logan made a noise of agreement. “Fibbing certainly would not get me anywhere. If you can, indeed, get out of those chains, you will be free to go.”

“No strings attached?”

This time, Logan seemed genuinely confused. “I‌ do not see why strings would be important?”

Virgil just resisted from smacking his head against the wall behind him. Did the idiot really take things like that literally? Wow. He barely glanced the human still within the confines of his hand as he reached up and settled Patton back onto the metal platform.

Virgil was almost positive that Patton would have bolted the minute he’d been released and Virgil’s hand was away from him, though the scientist remained stubborn and pushed himself up from his knees to lean over the railing.

Though, Virgil didn’t miss the way Patton and Logan shared a look. Were they convening on what would actually happen if Virgil broke the shackles?‌ If they were truly enchanted, then this would all be for naught, but with the true desperation of release so close and the promise of freedom if he could do it…

“Tighten the chains.” The Shifter said, resilience blooming in his chest, even his body ached. He needed out and no amount of exhausted pain was going to keep him from doing exactly that.

There was a loud clank and Virgil felt the chains tighten soon after. His wrists were then almost pinned just above his head. He took in another breath, sending a look up toward the humans.

That was all the warning they needed it seemed and Virgil began to tug on the chains attached to his shackles again. The metal was biting into his already raw skin, but pain was nothing compared to the feeling of freedom. If it meant he got out of here without admitting he was wrong, or having the fear of being tested on again, then great. He could hear the creaking from somewhere above him, but that didn’t mean these suckers were going to snap yet.

He let out a pant, blinking his eyes open and blinking the wetness from them. He wasn’t upset—far from it really—but from the force he had had his eyes squeezed shut, the pressure had rose tears to his eyes.

Taking in another breath, Virgil shut his eyes again and pulled harder on the chains. The creaking from just above him worsened and before he could think to relax, the chain on his right wrist him loose. His eyes shot open as he heard some cement hit the ground. The shackle was still connected to him, but the chain was shattered in front of him. He’d done it.

Virgil could have almost laughed with the relief of it.

He was getting out. After however fucking long he’d been here, he got to leave scot-free.

His eyes shot up to Patton and Logan who both looked surprised and relieved, and surprised and awed.

Virgil’s attention flickered back up to his left wrist as it dangled uselessly above him. Turning around—as he could do that now!—he braced a foot on the cement wall, grabbed his left with and put his entire body weight into it. Using his new leverage point, his left wrist came loose far easier than the first one did and he fell back in surprise. He heard the two startled voices of Patton and Logan as the vibrations must have taken them to the ground too.

Virgil took a moment to register what had just happened. While his shackles were still on, the chains were broken. Virgil wasted no time in tearing through the shackles on his ankles before getting up onto his knees and turning to face the scientists.

However, he was well aware that Logan could have very easily been screwing with him, he leaned a little closer, just enough to loom as they both tried to get their bearings on the platform. “Just so you know, if you fucked with me about this getting out thing, I‌’m not above a bit of fun.”

“‌I told you already,”‌ Logan grunted, fixing his glasses and lifting himself into a stand, bracing against the hand railing as he winced. “There is no point in telling you a falsehood. It would reflect badly on myself.”

“Then get me the fuck out of this hellhole.”‌

Virgil was done. He was tired and just wanted to sleep on something that wasn’t solid stone and something that wouldn’t break his back or give him back problems at twenty-one years old. He leaned a bit closer to the platform, making Logan step back a moment, but Patton stayed in place, confident in the fact that Virgil was more bark than bite at this point.

Though, when he began to get gradually smaller, he reached a hand up and grabbed onto the hand railing.

Size shifting had been easier when he practiced it almost every day, but this part of him hadn’t been active for what had to have been a month or two at this point and that was clearly showing with how it buzzed in his head. Virgil had to focus far more than usual to get down to human sized and even when he was there, the Shifter was left panting, holding onto the railing with a white knuckled grip.

Not his best choice, but hey, at least he wasn’t down there in that cell anymore.

Patton shook off his surprise remarkably quickly before stepping forward and grabbed Virgil by the upper arm. It was weird seeing the guy at normal height. He didn’t linger on the thought though, before pulling Virgil up and helping the Shifter over the railing and onto the platform itself.

Virgil wheezed in another breath, light-headed and off put by everything for the moment as vertigo came and went a couple times.

“Are you–?”

“Fine,”‌ he breathed in response to Patton’s unasked question. “I‌… I‌ just need a minute.”

His head was spinning, the world was spinning in general. His stomach lurched and he swallowed it back.

Virgil couldn’t just stay here. He couldn’t. Bringing himself up onto his knees even as he tipped backward slightly, he looked between the two forms of Patton and Logan, squinting to bring them both into focus. It took a moment, but Virgil struggled to his feet and braced himself against the railing behind him. “Alright, I’m good,” he said, even if it was a bit further from the truth.

“You certainly do not look ‘good’ in that aspect.” Logan stepped forward, and Virgil very nearly twitched away from him.

“I‌ just need the hell out of here,” he insisted, “I‌ can figure out how to make the world stop spinning after I’m out in the open.”

Patton seemed unsatisfied with that, but didn’t push. Instead, he only offered an arm out that Virgil did twitch away from. Patton smiled at him, calm and reassuring, even as the Shifter’s eyes blinked up to him, questioning and confused. “I‌ don’t bite,”‌‌ Patton told him.

Virgil pressed a hand to his forehead, blinking a couple times before the world came back into focus and the nausea began to finally pass. “You’re not, y’know, mad about everything that just happened?”

“Nope,” Patton said, popping the ‘p’ with extra emphasis to prove it. “I’ll just help you get your bearings, so you can walk on your own when you feel confident enough to.”

Virgil still hesitated, not wanting to take the human’s offered help, if only to satisfy his need to do everything on his own. But if taking a step ended up with him face planting then his pride was going to take a harder hit. “Fine,”‌ he relented, looping his arm around Patton’s and stepping away from the railing. “But as soon as I can walk on my own, I’m going to.”

After nearly tripping and bringing Patton down with him, Logan came up on Virgil’s other side and offered his arm out too. Virgil felt red paint his face, this was so demeaning. Though he really didn’t want to end up dragging Patton down to the floor with him.

Needless to say, he looped his arm around Logan’s.

Navigating the facility would have been impossible without the scientists help, so when the doors to the building actually opened and real sunshine flooded over him, Virgil released a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. The sun was warm and the grass was soft. The breeze was cool and fresh and he was out. Free.

No more questions, no more sleeping serum, no more scientists in his face trying to press him into admitting he was wrong.

Virgil had hardly noticed he’d taken his few steps forward without Patton or Logan’s support. Not until he heard Logan clear his throat behind him, and the Shifter turned to see them standing by the sliding door leading back into the facility.

“Before we let you go though, I‌ would like to know,” Logan said, pushing his glasses up before tucking his hands into the pockets of his coat. “Did you really not commit the crime?”

“Fuck no,”‌ Virgil laughed incredulously, “I was framed. I‌ swear to God, I‌ can even give you the guys information that did it to me.”

Logan nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer.