kore_logs | Compromises

Who: Dilandau Albatou, Mina Barrett
Where: Mina's house
When: Day 98
Summary: Mina needs to eat and Dilandau needs to heal fast. Can the powers she offer be too good to be true?
Warnings: Self-injury, blood drinking.

Had anyone seen Dilandau heading towards Mina's house early on the 98th day they might have thought the scowl on his face meant he was in another of his bad moods. In truth it was an attempt to hide his trepidation at the exchange he was about to make with the blood-drinking demon for his good health.

The price for her service was steep. He had to sacrifice three pints of blood and then drink one pint of hers, which ought to heal him completely. The foreign measurements meant little to him, but after playing around with some glasses from the bar and some water he was sure that was nearly two almuds of blood. She claimed he wouldn't need medical intervention if he gave up that much, but he knew perfectly well that after draining that much from his veins he'd be too weak to stop her if she decided to take everything left too.

Due to this, he'd been preparing himself for the last few days. He'd eaten plenty of red meat to promote healthy blood and had slept as well as he'd been able. His knife was razor sharp in order to open his arm with the least amount of scarring, as was his sword in case he needed to decapitate the woman he was meeting. The pint glasses were in a bag so that both he and she could be sure no one was taking too much. Short of taking a helper to watch over the deal, he was as ready for this exchange as he could be.

It was a risk, he knew, to trust something so far out of his own experience, but he had little choice. With his ribs still half-healed he was useless, unable to hunt, unable to fight, unable to so much as run if something tried to attack him. His awareness of his own vulnerability left him stressed enough that he was unable to relax and the constant pain frayed his already-thin temper to the point where he was in danger of turning what few allies he had left against him. He had no real choice.

And so when he reached her house he stood to attention, smoothed out his expression and knocked firmly on the door, hoping that vampires couldn't smell fear.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah, the effects of ghouling. Mina rarely indulged in such an art. Frankly, she found it to be more trouble than it was worth. But at the moment, living in this hostile place, surrounded by the most dreadful people, she had to admit her ego was soothingly stroked by the whole thing.

She wouldn't abuse it, of course. But that didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy it.

"The end of the week will be sufficient," she said, feeling very high and mighty.

"What vessel should I bring it to you in, my lady?" A pint glass seemed inappropriate. For her, it ought to presented in a finely carved bottle, so she could keep it on her table as he once kept his best vino, to be savoured when the time called for something sweet.

Mina chuckled, standing up and walking into the kitchen, to fetch him one of her many bottles. "This will suffice," she replied, tossing it over to him. "And none of this 'my lady' nonsense," she added.

Her laughter fizzled in him, making him feel oddly giddy. He caught the bottle and tucked it carefully into his bag so that it wouldn't break.

"Shall I call you Doctor? That's the title you laboured to earn, after all."

Now that he was standing where he'd previously sat he could see the mess he'd made of her kitchen. He wiped up the spilt blood with his bandages, tucked them into the bag and put his shirt back on.

"Let me wash these glasses. I shouldn't leave mess in your house after you've been so generous to me."

Common decency dictated she ought to stop him. But the kitchen really was a mess. And again, Mina was deriving some satisfaction from this respect, after three months of disrespect.

"Doctor will do," she said.

"Doctor it is, then."

He tidied efficiently, with the thoroughness of a soldier who'd learnt from long years of experience that doing a job sloppily meant doing a job twice. In short order the glasses and his knife had been washed, the table cleaned and various little imperfections wiped. He paused expectantly, waiting to hear her verdict on whether his work was sufficient.

Goodness. He was an eager puppy.

There was never any surefire way to predict just how ghouling would impact a person's personality. Mina herself was of the opinion that it just drew out a dormant part of oneself. At least in the presence of the regent. She had to admit to some surprise in this case, however. She'd expected something a little more militant and a little less.

...cute.

"Thank you," she said, nodding in approval.

That praise filled him with the same sort of glee he'd last felt at being promoted to a guymelef pilot. It was with some trouble that he bit down on the grin that was threatening to spread over his face, as he didn't wish to lose all of his dignity completely.

"Do you need me to do anything else for you today?" He'd originally planned to run until he fell over once he was healed, but that now paled into unimportance compared to repaying some of his gratitude.

Mina briefly considered inventing some tasks for him. But really, that was an abuse and she wasn't like that, generally. Tempting although it could sometimes become.

"I think that will suffice," she said. "Do tell me if there are any relapses or unpleasant side effects."

Other than the obvious...

"I will, Doctor Barrett." It felt insufficient to acknowledge her with his usual dip of his chin. He lifted his hand to his chest and inclined forward into a small bow. It was a courtly gesture, arising from somewhere he didn't remember. Perhaps he'd seen someone perform it on one of those dull diplomatic trips.

He picked up his bag and readied to go, though not without shooting her further looks, just in case she changed her mind about there being nothing to do.

"Shall I leave you now?"

"I imagine you have things to attend to," she said, bowing her head slightly. Mina wasn't the sort to curtsy and the bowing just felt awfully silly to her, really.

Oh, this one was going to be trouble, wasn't he?

"Then I'll return this bottle to you. Don't wait to call for me." He turned, though not without one last look to burn her image into his memory.

As he walked out of the door he was already planning on reasons to come and visit again soon.

Compromises

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject