Hope
Character/s: Ethan Winters, Darius Lupan, The Duke
Summary: Darius Lupan, a bioweapon mercenary, reflects on his time with Ethan Winters.
Darius watched Ethan in studious silence, red eyes inspecting he and the Duke's faces as Ethan handed over crystallized skulls to the merchant. His eyes lingered on the bloodied bandages on his hand, two fingers lost to a Lycans never satisfied belly never to return. Darius flexed his gloved hands in the pockets of his coat, he wondered if he could march on so unbothered if he lost any of his dear appendages.
Ethan Winters wasn't anything special, not on the surface level at least; not from what Darius could see. He was a normal man, with awful one-liners to boot, but Darius could feel something was bubbling just under the surface. He had felt it the moment he laid his eyes on his target, there was something off about him and it made Darius curious. He should have ignored it, curiosity killed the cat after all.
But, in that same vein, satisfaction did apparently bring it back.
He wasn't satisfied in the least thus far, more questions piled on top of each other as he accompanied the father through the village. He survived things humans shouldn't be able to, got up when he should have just stayed down. Darius was intrigued by the lords of the village but he could figure out their predicament rather quickly. Unfortunate souls kidnapped by a powerful woman willing to do anything to get her baby back and turned into monsters themselves.
Monsters was, perhaps, too harsh. And hypocritical. Many would call Darius a monster, he would even agree with them but not for the fact he was a 'bioweapon' as they so called him. That alone didn't make him a monster but his line of work however could in fact throw him in with the creatures deserving of a swift death. A mercenary, paid to kill and he did so efficiently. What was he to care, innocent or guilty, humans were all corrupt in one way or another. Needlessly cruel and abhorrent in their own right. He was just doing what someone else would have eventually further down the line, in a much more merciful manner.
Usually he would prefer the company of creatures such as the lords and indeed in the times he could leave Ethan unsupervised he found himself conversing with Donna Beneviento and Salvatore Moreau. They had been startled by his presence at first, his ability to freeze time and seemingly appear out of nowhere could be nerve wracking for most. After the initial shock they managed to have semi pleasant conversations—admittedly it was in attempts for Darius to further understand the situation he'd gotten himself mixed up in but he would admit they were endearing to entertain.
Alcina Dimitrescu had no patience for him, his first greeting being met with her three daughters attempting to slice him to shreds with their sickles. He had made a second attempt in the form of a letter, which he saw her swiftly throw into the fire. Her reply had been heard loud and clear. A shame, he would have been interested to hear about her own experiments but his morbid curiosity would have to go unsated.
Karl Heisenberg had been tricky to navigate, one moment grinning welcomingly the next caging Darius in metal scraps and all but interrogating him or, more accurately, less than subtly threatening his life. Maybe he garnered some interest from being able to escape the metal cage but Karl still had reasonable distrust for him, which Darius didn't help by being willfully cryptic. Their interactions thus far had been mostly hostile yet playful, Karl seeming determined to figure out Darius' apparent teleportation. Or 'Houdini Act' as he had been calling it.
His visits with the lords made Ethan uneasy and he let Darius know, an annoying amount if Darius was being honest. He knew when it was coming at this point, Ethan would furrow his brows and his nose would wrinkle slightly as he shifted from foot to foot and glanced from Darius to whatever weapon he had in his hands at the time. Then he would continue to remind Darius he didn't trust him and Darius would boredly remind him it was for the best he didn't.
Ethan wasn't aware Darius had a hit on him, perhaps had a suspicion but he never voiced it. He knew he was a mercenary, his nervous habit of asking too many questions as they were exploring an unsettling area of the village led Darius to answering more of them than he'd usually entertain. One of them being admittance to the fact he was only helping him because of his daughter. Darius couldn't claim to be morally correct or even bothered by morals to begin with, but he had his limits.
Hurting children was one of those limits.
A defenseless baby, human or otherwise, was not deserving of anything as cruel as what Ethan's daughter was currently enduring. Darius had shuddered at the knowledge of what was in the flasks each Lord held on to, he supposed that's one thing he couldn't share in common with the Lord's. He could never bring himself to be so nonchalant about such a thing. Perhaps this was a reason Ethan didn't mind having him come along, despite the blood on his hands Darius had a heart.
Well he didn't, he would remind Ethan, much to the man's chagrin, that his heart was currently locked away in a box. But that was besides the point.
"Darius I'm going now, are you coming?"
Darius snaps out of his reminiscing at Ethan's tired voice, weighed down by the situation and worried for his daughter. Red eyes locked onto pale green ones and he nodded wordlessly, pushing himself off from the tree he had been leaning against and following after the blonde after bidding the Duke goodbye. Ethan was quiet as they walked, the ever present crease in his brow tighter than ever as he trekked towards Beneviento's territory.
Darius couldn't help but be a tad bit anxious himself, ridiculous as it was. He'd barely managed to keep Ethan from slaughtering the Dimitrescu family, admittedly he had every right to do so but Darius couldn't help the empathy he felt for them. Thus, he kept Ethan safe and though there were a few close calls the mother and daughters were still safe in their castle. As enraged as they were about his escape, Darius knew Alcina would not chase them around the village and her daughter's were simply unable to do so at all.
Darius found Donna more accommodating so he hoped he'd be able to keep the Lord alive as well as the frantic Father. He didn't know if it was wise, what he was doing. Watching Ethan's back with a steady gaze he knew there was a chance once they had all the flasks Mother Miranda could simply summon the Lord's upon the both of them. On their own they were easy to dodge and escape but all at once may prove more challenging.
But for some reason or other he was willing to risk that and see this out to the end.
Ethan Winters wasn't anything special, but his love for his daughter was extraordinary and Darius admired it. He didn't fool himself into thinking this would be any type of redemption for himself, one good deed in a sea of bad meant all but nothing. But despite that, as he walked side by side with the jumpy man, Darius was hopeful.
