Chapter 369: Deal

Author's note: With this one FINAL experiment (for the in-between chapters), I'm trying to be a little more on the nose with dialogue, character, and narrative. Please let me know if it's too simple or you like things less vague. You don't even have to give me an explanation, just if it is or isn't. Regardless, in the future I'll still shift between vague and simple depending on the point in the story. I just want to know how simple is too simple. For example if I said: "Thomas felt angered that Doevm said he was naïve. He wondered why Doevm would say that. He concluded it was because blah blah blah." I appreciate everything my community has contributed to my growth as a writer and this is the last thing I'll pressure you guys on for a while. Now back to the story…

"Human, monster, you talk as if those are two different things," Shay said.

Thomas cursed under his breath as another burst of steam rose out of his shoulder. New muscle tissue wrapped around bare bones, and his consciousness continued to inch away.

A part of him wanted to restart the fight before he lost control, but he needed answers. Although Doevm had already given him advice - learn to live with his nature - it was too dull. That couldn't be all there was to it. At any moment he could hurt those around him, possibly kill them. There had to be another way. If anyone else had answers, it should be the lycanthrope.

Thomas cleared his throat: "What do you mean? Monsters and humans aren't even close to the same thing. You were human once, weren't you? You can't say they're the same. Look at yourself."

"Of course I changed," Shay said. "After I was cursed, everything changed."

"You were cursed?"

"Lycanthropy is a curse," Shay explained. "It's an affliction of the physical and spiritual self. People that I placed my trust in traded my humanity away like a bargaining chip in return for crates of stale food. I woke up to find they had set my house aflame. They drove out of my hometown like an animal."

Shay drummed his claws along the wood, a strange sight. His paws were much longer, even considering his enormity. They were somewhere in between fingers and claws. The lycanthrope leaned close to Thomas and sniffed him. "I can smell traces of those rats. I let them scurry around this place but I wonder if I wasn't here, what would you have done to them?"

Thomas swallowed his saliva: "N-nothing. They're not my business. I just came here for the bandits, honest. If I knew how to control myself, I wouldn't be here in the first place. That's why I asked why you eat people. You don't have to, do you? Isn't there some kind of leash or a switch I can use? Anything." His stomach gurgled again and he suppressed a frustrated scream. He toyed with the dagger in his hands as he waited for his answer.

"No, you just don't understand. You're naïve, as I once was." Shay paced about the room, occasionally swinging his tail and tapping his claws. It was odd, intelligent but inhumane. He was broken in some way but Thomas couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Can you help me understand?" Thomas's voice wavered. "I don't even know the full extent of what's happened to me. I keep finding out new things or abilities but I can't help but feel like there's something obvious I'm not seeing. Please, help me. We are kin, are we not?"

Shay wrapped a claw around the top of Thomas's tiny head and lifted him into the air. The young noble struggled not to resist, knowing full well Shay could end him in a moment. "I can show you my ways, no strings attached." 

A bad feeling appeared in Thomas's gut: "I thought you said you wanted me to leave."

Shay gestured to Thomas's severed arm, still dripping blood: "Because I don't want to wipe up your blood. If we aren't fighting and you don't eat my people, there's no problem. Who knows, we could even be allies. I've been looking for someone to watch my back."

"Thomas," Doevm's voice echoed in Thomas's head through their mental link. "We've got the situation with the town guards under control. We can meet with you in fifteen minutes. Have you taken care of everything yet?"

"I-I'm busy," Thomas replied through the mental link.

"You sound strange," Doevm said. "Did something happen?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm safe. Really. I'll contact you later."

Shay, who had heard none of that, shook Thomas around. "I'm waiting."

Thomas looked away from the sets of eyes, which all seemed to bore into his mind, and let out a defeated sigh: "Yes, I would like to know how...sir."

The lycanthrope smiled but it seemed more like it was baring its fangs at him: "I am rendering you a service, so I expect something in return. It's only fair." He set Thomas down.

"And what would you expect from me," Thomas asked. 'What am I doing? I came here to kill him.'

Shay beckoned to lean closer. Thomas could smell blood on the creature's breath as he whispered into his ear: "The two Fisher children are hiding upstairs, aren't they?"

Thomas stiffened but he managed to hide his reaction: "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play games with me, Tom."

"It's Thomas actually,"

"Thomas," Shay snorted. "Tom, Thomas, whatever your name is, you might be a decent liar but you reek of those people. They were my neighbors, you know? Their father pointed our local War Monk to my house and prayed for my death. If any of the people here realize what you are, they'll stab you in the back. Why bother saving rats like them? You should really be more concerned about what I'll do to you if you lie to me again. I guarantee you, it'll be much worse than just an arm. Oh, and it doesn't matter if you hide your arm behind your back if I can see the steam rise up behind you."

'I'm disgusting.' Thomas thought. 'Am I really considering this? They're just kids. I don't know them. Still, they're innocent. But if I can be normal again...' He took a shaky breath and stepped back. "Can I suppress my hunger? Can you promise me that?"

The lycanthrope's next word was so full of brutal honesty that he might as well tear a hole through Thomas's chest: "No."

"W-what? No, there has to be a way. You said-"

Shay lifted his shoulders in a strange version of a shrug: "What do you want from me, a cure? I can turn into a human, yes. It'll make it easier for people to track me down and believe me, people will come for you. My offer is to relate to you my experiences and through them, methods to keep yourself in check. They will bring you as close to "normal" as you can get."

Thomas's mouth opened and closed but no words came out. Shay was strong. He must have lived for years as a monster. No matter what he had done in that time, the fact remained that he knew how to manage himself.

'It's just two kids,' Thomas thought as he walked up the stairs leading to the second story. Shay had waited behind, eagerly wagging his tail. 'If I don't learn how to help myself, a lot more will die.' Thomas found the door to the study and ran his hand along the scratch marks he had made while lost in his Shadox form. He took a deep breath and knocked.