[Beltane] Playing With Fire

Lucas joined in her laughter until she twirled him a little too hard and his arm twisted awkwardly. Fortunately, she eased up moments later and he was no worse for wear.

When she allowed herself to show some vulnerability and their eyes met, Lucas knew he had made the right decision in choosing to side with her over Zhi.
"It's okay. I've been known to be disarming in the figurative way. Whereas you can be in both the figurative and literal way. "

The Gravewight winked at her, joining in on the flirting by being playful with his banter.

After she was done checking out his arm, he led the two of them away from the Chevaliers so they could have more privacy. Despite how many people were in attendance, there were small pockets of space here and there scattered by the poolside close to where the music was being played. They ended up next to one of the cabanas that had been rented out but the group who claimed it were out swimming.


He knew that she was already on edge because of something else that was going on and what he was going to share with her was likely going to make Eurydice even more on edge. With it being just the two of them, he gave her hand a small, reassuring squeeze. The bravado from earlier was gone. His gaze held a gentle quality to it once more and his body language was relaxed. He hoped by creating a calming energy in himself he could help her feel less on edge.

"There's something I need to tell you. "At that moment, the DJ switched over to a slower play list that encouraged folks to get cozy with each other. He used the opportunity to draw her in closer to him like one typically does when slow dancing.

"Watch out for Zhi."To the casual observer it would look like Lucas was whispering sweet nothings into Eurydice's ear.
"He's working on cracking your mortal ID. He's either going to swing at you directly or at someone or something you care about that's attached to your mortal identity. "

His body stiffened when his mind saw all of their enemies surround him. His initial response was to pull away and go somewhere safe. Somewhere far, far away from this party. But then he felt the power Eurydice radiated and he realized that there was no safer place to be than with her.


Instead of pulling away like he had initially wanted to do, his hold on her body grew more secure.  Everything else faded away as his sole attention and affection was for the Summer Dragon and the Summer Dragon alone. He regaled her with his tale of carousing with various members of Spring court. He shared with her how many of them had wished that she was going to become the one who broke the Glass Ceiling and became a knight. While he continued forward with his socializing with the social elites within the Verdant court, he learned of how Zhi wanted to take a swing at her. No one was foolish enough to risk saying Zhi was trying to crack Eurydice's alt ID because they did not want to risk Zhi's wrath, but he was able to piece enough of the information together to determine that's what they meant. There were dealings with Winter as well as Zhi called in favors, but he wasn't sure who among his court was involved. 

"At first, I admit. The idea of going against the interests of some of my court members scared me. There are so many secret agendas and I'm not privy to 99% of them. But then I thought about how you changed courts as a result of your grief. You deserve to be able to grieve. I'll back that play a hundred times over someone who is being cruel and vindictive. Then when I saw that look you gave me earlier...the genuinely concerned look, and that's when I knew I had to do this. I had to help keep you safe."

He tilted his cheek into her hand, his bright blue eyes filled with awe as the combined effects of her mantle and the contract she used on him leaves him completely awestruck of her.

"Let me stay by your side tonight to help protect you or I can follow you in a more discrete way if you'd prefer that."

Lucas was visibly distraught as he watched the violence erupt between Loki and Archie.

At first, he didn't even notice that Eurydice was squeezing his hand because he was so lost in his thoughts. His mind was reeling back to his conversation with Fawkes and how Maks life came to an end so abruptly. Did the Winter Ogre make stupid choices? Absolutely. Did he deserve to die as a result? In the world of mortals, yes. But in the Lost world...? No, at least not in Lucas' mind. They were all so fucked up because of their time in Arcadia. They needed restorative justice, not the death penalty unless they did something truly grievous.

And maybe Archie had. Maybe he completely deserved whatever was coming to him because he had been trying to enslave other Lost. Linden and Riley, however, they didn't deserve to see their Motley mate beaten to a bloody pulp in front of them. 

His mind snapped back to the present, his eyes briefly staring at Eurydice's hand on his before his eyes met hers again.

"This could get really bad. Linden and Riley are both in his Motley."

Was there anything he could even do to stop Loki? No, not directly. There was a good chance that Eurydice could with how powerful she was. However, he didn't want to try to force or persuade her into putting herself into a situation where she could face political backlash from within her ranks. Then again...Summer couldn't fully be on board with something this public, could they? He could at least ask and not try to push any action using his presence or any other social skills he had.

"Fuck...I just came to warn you about something and now I want to ask you if you can join the fray. I--I don't want to see Riley or Linden get hurt. Hell, I don't know Archie but I can't see anything good coming from this. Even if what he did is true..."He shook his head.

"Do you think you could get Loki to cool down or is being by him gonna get you jazzed up too? His mantle packs a hell of an angry punch." He squeezed her hand in turn, wondering if there was a way he could help Eurydice feel more grounded. The two of them had spent a decent amount of time together, including their dance.

"I have the contract that helps folks feel more grounded if  their clarity has taken a beaten. I could use it on you if you could use the extra oomph of protection or on Loki if he calms down enough to speak with me."

He had an uncertain look that suggested he wasn't sure how useful any of his suggestions were but he felt like he needed to try something to help this situation de-escalate.

"Damn. All things considered, he showed an impressive amount of restraint. "

As awful as the violence was, the accusations were even worse. Someone like Loki wasn't going to reveal dirty laundry like that unless he was confident in his sources. Otherwise, his reputation would be the one getting punted into the gutter.

"I hope Sweeney is doing okay. " This wasn't the time or place to dive into the specifics of what happened. He at least wanted to acknowledge that he was aware that her Motley mate had been wronged.

"I'm not sure how much longer this party is gonna last. Are you sticking around or is this when team Chevalier bounces?"

With how many cameras were around, the Winter courtier didn't feel like making social rounds any more. Mingling in popular Summer or Spring watering holes over the next couple of days seemed like a better plan of action.