The night air inside the underground holding cells was colder than usual, thick with damp stone and the scent of rusted iron. A single torch burned outside the bars, casting long, flickering shadows across the cell walls.
Joshua sat in silence, hunched on the stone bench, his wrists still red where the shackles had been. His head was bowed, eyes hidden beneath the shadow of his wild hair. Every breath he took was slow… heavy… as if the weight of tomorrow already sat on his shoulders.
Across from him, sprawled casually on the floor with his back propped against the wall, was Rowdy Von Blackthorn.
His black coat had been taken, his silver chains removed, and his boots sat in a corner like the guards hadn't known what to do with them. Still, somehow, Rowdy managed to keep that usual air of lazy defiance, even barefoot and stripped of everything but his attitude.
He watched Joshua for a while.
Then, as casually as if they were chatting in a tavern, Rowdy cleared his throat.
"So…" he said, twirling a splinter of wood between his fingers, "think they'll let us at least keep our underwear tomorrow, or are we going full moon?"
Joshua didn't respond at first. But a faint twitch tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Rowdy smirked. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not ashamed of what I got, hell, the public deserves a good show but I don't know if you are ready to be exposed."
That got Joshua to grunt, a tiny sound that might've been the start of a laugh.
Rowdy sat up, stretching his arms behind his head. "Seriously though, stocks? In the middle of the Human District? What happened to classy punishments, huh? Like exile. Or duels. Or... I don't know, being forced to listen to Queen Juliet talk about herself for ten hours."
Joshua finally looked up. His voice was low. "It's not the stocks that bother me."
Rowdy tilted his head.
Joshua stared at the wall for a moment, then said, "It's how they looked at me. Like I'm some walking disaster. Like I'm just... waiting to explode again."
Rowdy shrugged. "Well. You are kind of a walking disaster. But you're our disaster, you know?"
Joshua gave him a side-eye glare, but his lips twitched again.
Rowdy grinned and leaned forward, mock-whispering, "Besides… if you do explode again, just make sure you aim for Raphael's face. I'm begging you."
Joshua finally chuckled under his breath.
Silence passed between them again, but this time it wasn't heavy. Just quiet. Just calm.
Rowdy leaned his head back against the stone and stared up at the ceiling.
"You remember when we first met?" he asked suddenly.
Joshua raised an eyebrow. "You mean when I tried to attack you and you tried to beat me up?"
"Correction, I successfully beat you up."
Joshua snorted. "You almost broke my arm."
Rowdy shrugged proudly. "Old habits."
They both chuckled now, low and tired but genuine.
"…We've come a long way since then," Joshua murmured.
Rowdy nodded." Yeah we definitely did."
Joshua leaned back against the wall, staring up toward the faint torchlight.
"Thanks," he said softly.
Rowdy blinked. "For what?"
"For not letting me lose myself out there."
Rowdy gave him a lazy grin. "Hey, you'd do the same for me. Actually, no, you'd probably punch me first and then save me."
"I would."
Another pause.
Then Rowdy spoke again, voice lighter this time. "You think we'll get snacks while we're up there?"
Joshua frowned. "What?"
"You know… like fruit. Maybe a tomato thrown at us or something. I like tomatoes."
Joshua shook his head, laughing now, quiet, real laughter.
For the first time since the judgment, the crushing weight lifted, even just a little. Tomorrow would be humiliating. Tomorrow would be painful.
But tonight… at least he wasn't alone.
And that meant something.
The sun rose over the Human District with a vengeance, golden light pouring down on cracked stone streets and tall towers lined with judgmental eyes. The city buzzed with excitement, not for celebration but for humiliation.
Below the courthouse, the heavy cell door groaned open.
Two guards stepped in, grim and silent.
"Time," one of them said flatly.
Joshua stood slowly, his bare feet meeting the cold floor. Rowdy rose too, stretching as if he'd just woken from a nap.
"Gonna be a lovely day," he muttered.
They were led through stone corridors, past the underground armory and up into the light. When they stepped outside, the crowd had already gathered, hundreds of faces, all watching with anticipation as the "monsters" were marched toward the central square.
There, at the heart of the Human District, stood the public stocks.
The guards shoved them forward. Robes were stripped from their backs, until both stood bare, skin pale and bruised in the morning light. Gasps and laughter rippled through the mob.
Joshua said nothing, his face unreadable.
Rowdy glanced around, squinting at the crowd. "Huh. Didn't think this many people were interested in our bodies. Not even dinner first."
They were forced into the stocks, iron and wood slamming shut around their necks and wrists with loud clanks. The cold wind bit at their skin.
Then the shouting began.
"MONSTER!"
"DEMON!"
"DEVIL!"
"LOOK AT THOSE FREAKS!"
And then…
"LOOK AT THAT ONE, TINY AS HELL!"
The crowd roared with laughter.
Rowdy's head jerked up. "HEY! It's cold out here, alright?!"
Joshua glanced sideways, biting back a grin. "Didn't you say you were packing?"
Rowdy turned red. "It's bigger when it's warmer!"
Joshua chuckled. "Sure, sure."
Their quiet laughter carried despite the noise.
That's when the fruits began.
A tomato splattered across Rowdy's cheek, juice dripping into his eye.
He paused.
Then licked his lips and said, "Yummy."
Another fruit smacked his chest.
Rowdy grinned. "More!"
Joshua laughed harder, leaning into the stock as he struggled not to choke on it.
This only made the crowd angrier. Bananas, cucumbers, spoiled apples, they came flying from every angle.
Then came the rocks.
At first, small pebbles. Then heavier stones. They hit shoulders, ribs, thighs, leaving bruises, scrapes, bloody lines across skin.
Joshua grunted as one struck his brow.
Rowdy winced, spitting out dust. "You look like crap."
Joshua, blinking through the sting in his eye, smirked. "You look worse."
They both laughed again, blood trickling down their cheeks.
Then a few minutes later the crowd disappeared and the people went about their day.
And then, a small voice cut through the chaos.
"Are you a werewolf?"
They both looked down.
A little girl stood before them, barely six. Brown hair in twin buns, holding a torn stuffed rabbit. She stared up with innocent, curious eyes.
Joshua blinked. "Uh… yeah. I am."
She turned to Rowdy. "And you a vampire?"
Rowdy smiled, despite his busted lip. "Guilty."
The girl tilted her head. "Are you guys evil? My mom says werewolves eat people and vampires suck people dry."
Joshua shrugged. "I do eat people. But only the bad ones. You're safe."
Rowdy chimed in, "Same. I only suck the blood of bad people. You're definitely safe."
The girl giggled.
"Can you look more like a werewolf and a vampire?"
The pair exchanged glances.
Rowdy whispered, "We'll probably get whipped for this."
Joshua sighed. "She's too cute."
With a breath, Joshua's eyes shimmered to brilliant green. His pupils narrowed. His canines stretched longer, claws curling out from his fingers.
Rowdy's eyes blazed crimson, his fangs extending, nails blackening into curved vampire talons.
The girl gasped, wide-eyed. "COOL!"
Then she threw her hands up and howled, "Raaawwwwrrr! Grrr! Blehh!"
Joshua and Rowdy couldn't help it, they joined in.
"Grrrrr!" Joshua acting like a Werewolf.
"Blehhh, I vant to suck your BLOOD!" Rowdy acting like a Vampire.
The girl burst into giggles.
People nearby scowled.
"Look at those monsters! Trying to scare that child!"
"Where's her mother?!"
The girl looked up again. "What's your names?"
"Joshua."
"Rowdy."
She smiled. "I'm Jill."
Then she ran off, waving over her shoulder. "Bye, Bailey!"
Joshua blinked. "It's Jill."
Rowdy shouted after her, "BYE JILL!"
Both of them, still bruised, bleeding, humiliated… smiled.
Waved.
And for a moment, just a brief one, the world felt a little less cruel.