It was Ryden’s last shift at the Erzebeth’s. It took him some time to decide and finally rip that band-aid off. It just wasn’t the same without Bellamy around. Still, he couldn’t say that it felt good to quit. It left a bittersweet taste in his mouth as he left the building through the back door one last time, lighting up a cigarette out of habit as something to do on his way back home.
He was on foot, looking forward to a long walk back to Rein’s house, where he’d prep for going into the forest later that night to wolf out. He’d forgotten again that he wasn’t able to just drop by after work at Maya’s place and pass out on her couch, or bed if she let him. He didn’t need his bike to get there from work. He thought it would be easy to break that habit but it was much harder than he expected. Once, he got all the way to her building before he remembered he wasn’t supposed to be there. He had to make a conscious effort not to make that mistake again.
That was when Ryden saw a large dog sprinting towards him, barking up a storm. Honestly, he was ready to literally kick the puppy should it turn out that it was pissed at him for whatever reason and would rather bite than negotiate. But it wasn’t just a random stray - Soapberry didn’t really have any. It was Maya’s dog.
He panicked for a second, cussing under his breath, pretty sure that Maya was around and bumping into her was not something he was ready for. However, she wasn’t, and looking for her left and right didn’t make her manifest. Hermes was barking like he’d gone rabid and Ryden tilted his head at him, realizing that something was wrong. Animal ken was not a stat he’d ever invested in, but being a werewolf had its advantages when a dog suddenly came up to you, demanding that you follow it. Tossing the cigarette away, he followed, slipping Faye’s moon charm onto his finger to stall the inevitable. Hopefully, whatever trouble Maya was in, he’ll be able to sort it out quickly.
The dog took him somewhere much farther than Rein’s house, and it was good that Ryden could keep up because Hermes never stopped to check if he was. He was almost out of breath when they finally slowed, stopping some distance away from an idyllic-looking churchyard. At a first glance, it looked deserted, but it was too well kept to be abandoned. The church itself looked more like a stone country house and there was smoke coming out of its chimney. It was also well lit inside. The obligatory cross on the arch of the roof was taken down but the little cemetery was still there. At least the gravestones were.
Hermes got antsy. He wanted to barge in and Ryden stopped him with a soft click of his tongue. Then Ryden dropped low behind some shrubbery when he saw someone step out onto the porch. That’s when Hermes decided it was a good time to tell them off for taking Maya away. They immediately noticed the barking and Ryden resisted the urge to scream profanities at the stupid husky. He moved, sneaking around the churchyard as the men approached to investigate. Having almost made a half circle around the perimeter, he was now sure that it was full of people. Strange thing was, it wasn’t Sunday church time. How was he supposed to check if Maya was there without alerting anyone? At least Hermes had stopped barking and was now quietly following Ryden as he sneaked around, thinking his next step through.
Then Ryden remembered - wasn’t he a werewolf with supernatural speed and strength? What was he skulking about for? Giving Hermes a firm command to stay put, which the dog surprisingly obeyed, Ryden just walked up across the cemetery, alerting the people loitering - or keeping watch - there.
“Who goes?” One of them called out, all standing up ready to deal with a possible intruder.
“Hey.” Ryden approached casually, raising his hands up, in case someone was, for whatever reason, armed. “I’m here for the… thing.” He improvised, because church and people probably meant there was some kind of gathering going on. What kind though, hopefully they won’t ask.
“We don’t know you.” A smart one pointed out and Ryden countered. “Well I don’t know ya either, but I know some people inside, they told me to come. I’m Doug. Now you know me. Have a nice evenin’.” Hurrying up while he still got them too confused to react, he almost got away with it. Almost.
“Hey.” The smart one called out to him. Ryden paused and pressed his lip into a thin line as the man approached. “We’ll see Julian first. Then you can go find the people you know.”
Well, whatever. He’ll see how he’ll avoid that Julian guy later. Might be easier to get in with one of theirs accompanying him. He followed the annoying smart guy into the church. That’s when Ryden could focus on his scent. The smart guy was a werewolf too…
Movement outside the window caught Maya’s unfocused gaze. She blinked, paying closer attention to what she was seeing. The figure looked familiar. But it couldn’t be Ryden. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to come out here. Not when they both knew that the Man in Black was all up in this cult. He wasn’t here at the moment according to what she’d overheard in the car. But he could show up anytime.
More importantly, Ryden had left. So he wasn’t about to show up here with some harebrained scheme to rescue her. The figure disappeared below the window. Maya shifted back to listening more than she was looking.
After some time, she didn’t know how long, the door opened. She didn’t bother turning around. It didn’t much matter to her what they wanted. It wouldn’t be something that Maya would willingly agree to, but at the moment she didn’t have much choice.
“Come on,” the person at the door said, “It’s time.”
Maya hesitated. Obviously, she didn’t want to find out what it was time for. But she also wasn’t about to escape from this room. She’d already investigated any escape route from here. She’d have more luck on a ground floor. And she’d have more luck if everyone thought she was cooperating. She stood and silently followed the female werewolf out of the room. The stone floor felt cold against her bare feet. The flower crown atop her head felt heavier than its actual weight. She was running out of time.
Looking down from the top of the stairs, she froze. There, at the bottom, with only a shadow of doubt was Ryden Bolt. Who she hadn’t seen in weeks. Who had disappeared on her with half his Christmas present. Who had one point had probably been her best friend. Who had decided for one reason or another that he was done with her.
Her breath caught as her heart jumped into her throat. He couldn’t be here. It was too dangerous for him to be here. He had spent too long running from the Man in Black for that asshole to win because he had tried to rescue her. Or, possibly worse, he was here of his own accord for whatever this bonkers ritual was. Fear flashed across her face. But she quickly flattened her expression. They weren’t alone. If he was going to make it out, these werewolves couldn’t know that she and Ryden knew each other.
She took a step down the stairs, wincing as her ribs protested. But she did her best to ignore it as well as the man who had no reason, in her mind, to be standing at the bottom of the stairs. Instead her eyes had skipped down to the ground floor beyond, looking for the best exit point.
