Vices and Maces

Chapter 13: Roman Acts Like a Mom

CW: mentions of poison, near panic attack, blood, mentions of hospital and implied death

As soon as the leader of Bleeding Rose got out of sight, Janus went the opposite direction. It was best not to continue the fight, she was feeling dizzy anyway. She wasn't hurt, not badly at least, and she didn't inhale a lot of smoke. Her head was fine so that wasn't the problem, the problem was she was having second thoughts about killing Poisoned Thorn.

Poison!

As soon as she got into an alley, hearing the sirens of firetrucks, she peaked under her shirt where the morning star had nicked her. There was a small scratch, but she heard rumors of it being poisoned. It really fit his name...

She'll get some doctors to look at it later, there were some that worked at Virgil's factory. He wasn't allowed in a civilian hospital, and worked around dangerous weapons every day, so they always had at least one in the factory during the day.

She really didn't want to think about it now, hopefully it was a slow acting poison, if there were any in her wound at all. The gun was set in front of her, ice creeping on the corner of the magazine. There were less fire crystals in it, but there were a few more shots. It was jammed, so no one should open it except for someone with heat resistance like Virgil, who although can feel heat, isn't hurt by it. His fingers were covered in scar tissue anyway.

Then there was the halfling. He said fire doesn't hurt him, so he had to be part fire fairy. It was rumored that a week ago, someone had run into a fire fairy from Bleeding Rose... were they the same? No, he was described as a tall fairy with fangs and black hair, not tusks and a green mohawk... Brothers?

Janus hugged her knees to her chest, thinking about Thorn. Saving her the first time could be brushed off, he just caught her when she fell from the sky. But he stayed in a burning building long enough to grab her, even when she tried to kill him. Plus it wasn't like she could have gotten out on her own, she wasn't injured or trapped. So why?

She squeezed her fists. He's just toying with her, that's all. He's just having fun fighting her, but once he gets bored, he'll kill her. He's not above killing, he's to blame for several deaths in Wolfsbane.

Was it even fair to continue to go after him? Was it even smart to continue? After all, she wasn't getting close to winning. Too focused in trying to kill him to notice when she's going to do something self destructive. Not to mention, he saved her both times.

She shook her head. It was pointless thinking about this now, right after Black told her to finish the job. She had to kill him, it wasn't a choice anymore. But she was not going to use the gun that sat in front of her. Not after that fiasco.

Janus rubbed her eyes before carefully picking the gun up again, standing up. She could figure everything out later, she should head back to the factory.

~~~

Remus decided to go straight home, not bothering with work. As soon as he closed the door, he crashed onto the couch again. His jacket and face was covered in soot, which rubbed off onto the couch. Roman can yell at him later about it, he didn't care.

Maybe the bounty was getting out of hand. A building burned down! But then again... it was really fun. Dangerous, crazy, and stupid but totally fun. He- she- they were really interesting. The next time he meets that shifter, he should really ask for their pronouns.

He was about to fall asleep when his phone went off in his purse. Remus groaned when he grabbed the bag, searching for his phone. He ended up putting his whole arm into the bag before he found it, pulling it out. It was a call from Roman and he quickly answered, but for once he wasn't in the mood to rub it into Roman's face that he ran away from the guards. To be honest he completely forgot.

"Yellow," he answered.

"Remus, where are you?!" Roman shouted through the phone. "I told you to not run away from your bodyguards!"

"And I told you it was stupid that I had them. Hell, I went through a fight without them today and lived."

"What?!" Roman shouted into the phone.

"Oh I'm fine! I just said I lived. All I got was a few scratches and bruises. I am tired though, so I'm gonna take a nap. As I was about to do before you so rudely woke me up."

"Remus, stay where you are, I'm coming home. Put pressure on any injuries!"

"I'm not bleeding out! I'm fine!" Remus pushed himself so he was on his side. "I'm not a little kid that needs to be protected."

"I'm coming home anyway, stay put."

"Fine," Remus sighed, ending the call. He curled up on the couch, yawning slightly. He decided to have a small nap while Roman was on his way home. His adrenaline always crashes after fights, and it didn't take long for him to be out like a light.

Of course to him it felt like nothing since a quick hand grabbed his arm and shook him. He glared up at his brother who just looked worried.

"You are hurt! You're not fine!" Roman argued.

"I'm napping cause I'm tired!" Remus smacked his brother's arm away.

His twin growled. "You're bleeding."

"My arm is fine, just a small scrape."

"What about your wing! It's damaged!" Roman gestured to it.

"It's a small nick! I'll live."

"You know how dangerous it is to have an injured wing. What if it tears more! Remus, what if something catches on it and it rips your wing off! Wing replacement for fae is incredibly difficult."

Remus sat up. "Like hell I'd replace my wings. If they tear, then I'm not going to get any fucking replacements. These are my pride and joy."

"Then why aren't you taking this more seriously!"

"Because it's a small injury, and clearly not my first." Remus gestured to a few other nicks in his wings. "I'll be fine. You're just worrying over me for no reason, like you always do."

Roman's face burned with anger. "For good reason. We live dangerous lives. I don't want to see you in the hospital."

Remus stood up and started walking off. "Oh, like you were. And mom?"

"Stars- exactly like mom!"

"Hey, if I'm ever in danger of dying, you can just turn me into a vampire. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go wash the soot off before Kayden gets home."

Roman sighed and sat down on the couch, frustrated that his brother wasn't being careful. He squeezed his fists tight as he took a deep breath, relaxing them as he released his breath. Grabbing his phone, he went into his contacts and clicked one with a daffodil picture.

"Hello B man! Whatcha need?" a cheerful voice asked. That was Sal for you, always in a good mood, much like Remus. Those two were best friends for a reason.

"Hey Daffodil, remember that address I gave you?"

She was quiet for a moment. "When?" was all she asked.

"Tonight."