Chapter Text
Finally, silence came over the bloody hellish night down in the sewers. The smell down there was not any better back up by the docks, but Jonathan would take this over being deep within the bowels of London’s underground any day. Jonathan released a prolonged sigh and pushed the last of the fallen Skal corpses out of his way. It seemed lately that most of Johnathan’s work now had been around cleaning up the cluster of Skals that seemed to pop up like weeds around the thickened and overcrowded places in England.
London was especially a thicket of mazes and hiding places for creatures of the night; it was no wonder that they all seem to pool here in this spot and any other cities built like giant puzzles. The animals liked to dwell and terrorizing all who made London their home, but suffering was upon the working class and poor than any other class. That may be because of the illustrious bigot Lord Redgrave or the endless wealth some people’s pockets had. Standing upon the less fortunate side, Johnathan saw the lasting effects of money, and Johnathan was incredibly blessed to have been born in the class he was. Partaking in the somewhat fresh air, Jonathan could see Geoffrey coming out of the abyss as he started wiping away the blood that was running down his nose onto his sleeve.
“What a night.” The gruff Irishman muttered. “I don’t know how I am going to get all this blood out of my clothes.” Johnathan took a look down at his attire, something he had indeed been dreading doing since leaving the underground, and yes, as he had feared, he was as much as a bloody mess as Geoffrey’s sad estate of clothing. There was no way he was going to make Avery deal with this. He would lose his clothing at the Hospital, wearing his second pair, and make something up about being mugged at night.
“See Geoffrey, what did I tell you about working as a group than an alone wolf?” Johnathan said, trying to show the hunter that he was not like the other vampires who would seem to have selfish wants and self-preservation in mind. He was determined to show Geoffrey that he still had some humanity and what Geoffrey was taught was false.
“I see that you are still trying to get off the list. Aren’t you, Reid?” Geoffrey said with a hint of cockiness. “Be grateful that you are at the far end of that list.” It was Geoffrey’s way of saying that he had been given a great deal of leniency compared to others and could walk freely at night without getting hunted down anymore.
“My, how honoured I feel.” That was dry coming from Johnathan, but sometimes he sure as hell felt tested by the hunter and sometimes he felt like it was getting him nowhere else.
“So you should see we don’t hand things like this out every day or night in your case,” Geoffrey said, looking at the oncoming rain. It was going to be a stormy London morning indeed. Johnathan sighed again and said his farewells to Geoffrey as he started his way towards the Hospital.
Johnathan’s mind keeps repeating one of his mother’s old sayings slow and steady wins the race. He knew that he would change Geoffrey even if the man were incredibly stubborn, but Jonathan was likewise persistent. No one could not learn to get along with Jonathan Emmet Reid. The man was too annoying in the way of a pure heart not to. Only the evil and stupid continued hating him, but none of them ever stopped him for long, and most would live to regret such a deed. Geoffrey was not in that category. Luckily, there had been things that made Geoffrey redeemable he had a balancing quality. Whatever wrong Geoffrey did was the same amount of good as well. He was a seesaw with one rider, depending on the day. Up the end of wickedness or down the side of purity, and people like him seem to balance out the world, and it was not like Johnathan was ever going to know the real Geoffrey McCullum. All he knew was the Geoffrey of Priwen. Only his men would be privileged to see the man for who he was, and Jonathan was some messenger in the night, he was not one of the soldiers of the guard, but there was still some hope that these joint dealings could benefit both and end some tensions between the pair.
“Good morning Doctor Reid.” One of the night guards at the Hospital said as Jonathan entered the grounds. The morning was not that far off by now, and Jonathan was very keen to get to his office. “You look a terrible mess, Sir.”
“Yes, it is what you get from dealing with drunk men playing with knives by the docks.” Jonathan knew that the regular staff was getting used to his bloody appearance by now, and no one was questioning it anymore. Not that anyone could prove anything. The good Doctor was saintly in the lower parts of London, and everyone there would vouch for the Doctor in a heartbeat. “I happen to save one of them a finger, so lucky I was nearby.”
“You are sure good to them, people Doctor Reid. What would the world do without you?” The man said as he seems to be wanting to waste time for the morning guard to take over.
“Well, I guess. Do what has always happened.” Jonathan said politely, nodding to the man and walking through the doorway.
“Probably die, I guess.” The man said gloomily to himself, trying not to think about it. Such subjects were not a pleasant thing to think about anyway.