[ They've figured out by now that the most comfortable place to do this is with Welt lying slightly reclined on a sofa and Midnight next to him, sitting in a chair pulled from the table, holding Welt's arm steady as he sucks gently at the flow of blood from the inside of his elbow. There are snacks and fruit juice on the side table next to them, along with tissues and bandages. It's a pretty well-oiled machine by now.
The only awkward part on Midnight's part was having to send the first text, sitting down and making the initial explanation. "It's ice cream incident. It'll only be until there's no danger in taking the blood at the grocery store." And that's the truth! It really is. Midnight was even willing to call it a mental block, something that he'd get over at some point soon. Very soon. He never meant to make this someone else's problem, and he means it.
The actual process, though... Well, as long as Welt was willing, Midnight's done a couple of feedings before, enough to make figuring out logistics relatively easy. Is... is this normal now? Midnight's not really thinking about it in those terms, outside of not wanting it to be normal, but at least the process is smooth now. (He's serious about this being temporary. The only awkward part of this whole mess was having to show up at Welt's door in the first place.)
He pulls away, licks his lips, then grabs an alcohol wipe and presses it against the fangmarks. ]
Think I'm done. Phew.
[ He feels a lot better. Warmer. Less hungry.
(Does he think about this in terms of having his mouth on someone else's skin? Honestly, yes and no. Yes, in that it's necessary; no, as in... Come on, it's like sucking out poison from a scalebeast bite, except he's the one benefitting from the process. Midnight's good at focusing on the bigger picture.) ]
[ Somehow, despite the longevity of his life and the innumerable incidents he's experienced thus far that would sound like tales out of a science fiction novel to anyone else, Welt has never had a vampire drink his blood. It's...well, truthfully it's a much tidier and quicker affair than he'd imagined it to be. No blood dripping all over clothes and carpet, no violent impulses to sink fangs into delicate flesh and suck until there's nothing left.
So much for all the novels he'd read in his youth.
But, he thinks to himself as he takes over pressing the alcohol wipe to his skin and propping himself back up to a more seated position, he much prefers it this way. Less cleaning to do, for one. ]
How are you feeling?
[ Never mind that he'd been the one to get sucked on like some sort of juice box; if he can lose his whole body and still come crawling back then a little blood loss definitely won't kill him. ]
[ Well, that all sounds very messy! Despite Midnight's appearance, his personal habits are surprisingly fastidious. All that blood from an attack would definitely be way too hard to clean.
That's neither here nor there, though. Midnight licks his teeth, snags two cartons of juice from the table, and offers both flavors — orange and apple — before taking the remainder for himself, holding it in his hand. He'd... like a sip, if only to rinse his teeth off, but he's still antsy about the endeavor. (Sipping a sippy straw is an endeavor now. Incredible.) ]
Mm. Much better. [ Midnight leans back in his seat, tapping on his carton and watching Welt go about patching himself up. This is the same response as last time, and the time before, but this one seems more thoughtful than before. ]
Don't like the idea of squeezing you dry, though. I... want this to be the last time, at least for a little while.
[ He takes the apple juice box with a grateful smile, feeling only the slightest bit light-headed as movement after all that blood loss finally starts hitting him. He's never given blood before (though he's had plenty taken from him against his will) but Midnight has been so courteous about this whole affair that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to offer his blood up the next time a struggling vampire lands on his doorstep.
Then again, maybe this is just a Midnight special and he really shouldn't be so trusting of all other bloodseekers in the future. ]
It'll take a lot more than that to squeeze me dry, don't you worry. But I appreciate your consideration all the same.
[ He really means it; all his future experiences with vampires are going to be held up to this one and they are all probably going to fall short to be honest!! ]
Still, you should worry about yourself more. [ Or don't, because there are probably plenty of people worrying enough for him. ] If you need it, I'm sure there would be plenty of people here willing to assist. [ With being voluntary juice boxes, that is. ] Though....I guess that's not really the problem, is it?
Well, yes, but I'd like for you to walk around without a bandage for a bit, all the same.
[ Welt is far from clumsy, and he's the sort of person who tends to attract other good, sensible people who will eventually notice upward of six puncture marks on his arm. Really, even without Welt's personal comfort in mind, a change in plans is far overdue.
Does Midnight actually have a plan? Well... a few... multiple, because he hasn't thought any of them through enough to figure out if one is more likely to succeed than the other.
He sighs, punctures his orange juice, and takes a beat to stare at Welt's progress with his box before taking a cautious sip of his own. That's right. Baby steps. ]
It's... more than that, yeah.
[ He fiddles with his straw for a bit. ]
Bit of a belated question, I realize, but was there a particular reason why you decided to help me? I never did give you much in the way of an explanation outside of telling you that I needed blood for a bit. I was a bit surprised by your alacrity.
[ This isn't actually him avoiding the topic... It's more of a tangent he's aiming to loop back to the point. ]
[ Between the juice box in his hands and the bandaids on his arm, Welt feels a little like a child again being told to rest after a particularly bad tumble. It's a strange feeling but not entirely unpleasant, and his expression is clear as he listens to Midnight take the long way around.
Which is fine; he's got time and no desire to force answers out like toothpaste being squeezed out of its tube.
The question's something of a surprising one though, his eyes widening behind the rim of glasses as he takes another sip of his juice. Not entirely unexpected though given the strangeness of the situation; it's not every day a guy just casually lets a vampire suck their blood without any sort of explanation beforehand. At least the answer's easy enough to give. ]
I consider you a good friend. [ For all that they've known each other for a mere handful of months. ] Of course I'd help.
[ Okay, fine, he realizes how absolutely naive and guileless that sounds. ]
I haven't exactly had the easiest life—though I'm sure you could say that about a lot of folks around here. But I've always had people looking out for me, people offering me their hand even when they could have used more of a hand themselves. People who took me in when I was looking for a place to stay, and who never asked me about how or why I ended up where I did.
[ He shrugs, a crooked smile on his face. ]
I guess you could say I wanted to pay some of that forward. Do the same for others what those people did for me.
[ At some point in the conversation, Midnight picks up a leg and pulls his ankle to himself in a lazy half-crisscross, sipping quietly at his juicebox. Someone who, over the course of a life of hardships, relied on the kindness of others to pull through to the other side, someone now in a position to help others in kind. He knows kindness isn't especially rare... But it's not that common, either. ]
Then I have those people to thank as well, don't I? For caring for you so well, so kindly, that you now sit next to me, treating me with the same generosity.
[ Midnight sits for a moment, tapping his juicebox with a finger. ]
I suppose... I don't have quite the same relationship with others. I asked you somewhat out of convenience, seeing as how we live so close, but even if we'd been living quite a ways from each other, I think you still would have been high on a very, very short list. I'm... uncertain as to who else to ask, honestly speaking. Which is none of your concern, I realize. It's just.
[ Midnight gestures with his juicebox. ]
It's either this, or, ah, finding my appetite for the city's food again, and I can't tell which would be an easier endeavor.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action; sometime in early September;
The only awkward part on Midnight's part was having to send the first text, sitting down and making the initial explanation. "It's ice cream incident. It'll only be until there's no danger in taking the blood at the grocery store." And that's the truth! It really is. Midnight was even willing to call it a mental block, something that he'd get over at some point soon. Very soon. He never meant to make this someone else's problem, and he means it.
The actual process, though... Well, as long as Welt was willing, Midnight's done a couple of feedings before, enough to make figuring out logistics relatively easy. Is... is this normal now? Midnight's not really thinking about it in those terms, outside of not wanting it to be normal, but at least the process is smooth now. (He's serious about this being temporary. The only awkward part of this whole mess was having to show up at Welt's door in the first place.)
He pulls away, licks his lips, then grabs an alcohol wipe and presses it against the fangmarks. ]
Think I'm done. Phew.
[ He feels a lot better. Warmer. Less hungry.
(Does he think about this in terms of having his mouth on someone else's skin? Honestly, yes and no. Yes, in that it's necessary; no, as in... Come on, it's like sucking out poison from a scalebeast bite, except he's the one benefitting from the process. Midnight's good at focusing on the bigger picture.) ]
no subject
So much for all the novels he'd read in his youth.
But, he thinks to himself as he takes over pressing the alcohol wipe to his skin and propping himself back up to a more seated position, he much prefers it this way. Less cleaning to do, for one. ]
How are you feeling?
[ Never mind that he'd been the one to get sucked on like some sort of juice box; if he can lose his whole body and still come crawling back then a little blood loss definitely won't kill him. ]
no subject
That's neither here nor there, though. Midnight licks his teeth, snags two cartons of juice from the table, and offers both flavors — orange and apple — before taking the remainder for himself, holding it in his hand. He'd... like a sip, if only to rinse his teeth off, but he's still antsy about the endeavor. (Sipping a sippy straw is an endeavor now. Incredible.) ]
Mm. Much better. [ Midnight leans back in his seat, tapping on his carton and watching Welt go about patching himself up. This is the same response as last time, and the time before, but this one seems more thoughtful than before. ]
Don't like the idea of squeezing you dry, though. I... want this to be the last time, at least for a little while.
no subject
Then again, maybe this is just a Midnight special and he really shouldn't be so trusting of all other bloodseekers in the future. ]
It'll take a lot more than that to squeeze me dry, don't you worry. But I appreciate your consideration all the same.
[ He really means it; all his future experiences with vampires are going to be held up to this one and they are all probably going to fall short to be honest!! ]
Still, you should worry about yourself more. [ Or don't, because there are probably plenty of people worrying enough for him. ] If you need it, I'm sure there would be plenty of people here willing to assist. [ With being voluntary juice boxes, that is. ] Though....I guess that's not really the problem, is it?
no subject
[ Welt is far from clumsy, and he's the sort of person who tends to attract other good, sensible people who will eventually notice upward of six puncture marks on his arm. Really, even without Welt's personal comfort in mind, a change in plans is far overdue.
Does Midnight actually have a plan? Well... a few... multiple, because he hasn't thought any of them through enough to figure out if one is more likely to succeed than the other.
He sighs, punctures his orange juice, and takes a beat to stare at Welt's progress with his box before taking a cautious sip of his own. That's right. Baby steps. ]
It's... more than that, yeah.
[ He fiddles with his straw for a bit. ]
Bit of a belated question, I realize, but was there a particular reason why you decided to help me? I never did give you much in the way of an explanation outside of telling you that I needed blood for a bit. I was a bit surprised by your alacrity.
[ This isn't actually him avoiding the topic... It's more of a tangent he's aiming to loop back to the point. ]
no subject
Which is fine; he's got time and no desire to force answers out like toothpaste being squeezed out of its tube.
The question's something of a surprising one though, his eyes widening behind the rim of glasses as he takes another sip of his juice. Not entirely unexpected though given the strangeness of the situation; it's not every day a guy just casually lets a vampire suck their blood without any sort of explanation beforehand. At least the answer's easy enough to give. ]
I consider you a good friend. [ For all that they've known each other for a mere handful of months. ] Of course I'd help.
[ Okay, fine, he realizes how absolutely naive and guileless that sounds. ]
I haven't exactly had the easiest life—though I'm sure you could say that about a lot of folks around here. But I've always had people looking out for me, people offering me their hand even when they could have used more of a hand themselves. People who took me in when I was looking for a place to stay, and who never asked me about how or why I ended up where I did.
[ He shrugs, a crooked smile on his face. ]
I guess you could say I wanted to pay some of that forward. Do the same for others what those people did for me.
no subject
Then I have those people to thank as well, don't I? For caring for you so well, so kindly, that you now sit next to me, treating me with the same generosity.
[ Midnight sits for a moment, tapping his juicebox with a finger. ]
I suppose... I don't have quite the same relationship with others. I asked you somewhat out of convenience, seeing as how we live so close, but even if we'd been living quite a ways from each other, I think you still would have been high on a very, very short list. I'm... uncertain as to who else to ask, honestly speaking. Which is none of your concern, I realize. It's just.
[ Midnight gestures with his juicebox. ]
It's either this, or, ah, finding my appetite for the city's food again, and I can't tell which would be an easier endeavor.