4. Loss

[hismasterpiece]

[Action -- After Nightfall on the 11th]

[A pale young woman wanders into the village, twisting her hair round her fingers compulsively. She's hungry.


She's STARVING.

A whimper escapes her lips as she collapses by the fountain, and she calls out weakly:]

Spikey? Love sundae? The jaws can't bite; the claws can't catch.

[/Action]


[Drusilla has returned from death. Her DP is that she has lost the ability to go gameface and, therefore, to feed on victims using her fangs.]

Comments

[magentarific]

To feed? [ What. ] We've got some leftovers at our house if you want.

[hismasterpiece]

Only blood will do. [Her tone is rather brusque in spite of the weakness.] I must feed on the nectar of the living.

[magentarific]

[ Blood. Wait, is this that vampire that Willow warned everyone about a while ago? Nevermind that she recognizes the voice. At least it's all connecting now. ]

You can have some of mine if you promise not to drink all of it. Long as I don't lose too much I'll be fine in an hour or so. You kill me I'll kill you right back when I do get back.

[hismasterpiece]

You? Kill me?

[The thought rather amuses Drusilla. But -- free blood?]

I won't kill you. But I will....turn you. If you like. Into family.

[magentarific]

Uh.. thanks. [ She's not really sure she wants to be a vampire though. Actually, she's pretty sure she doesn't. ] But I think I'll pass on that. I prefer real food and if you turn me into a vampire, you don't have emergency rations. I like the sun, too. Thanks for the offer though.

[hismasterpiece]

Then.....a feeding.


And then I shall owe you a favor.

[She wasn't sure about that.]

One shining glittery favor, just think of it.

[magentarific]

You don't owe me anything. Everything's free here, if you wanted you could've went into the grocery store and sucked the blood out of some raw meat. That'd just be gross though, I don't know how good their sanitation is there might be weird stuff in the meat before it's cooked.

[hismasterpiece]

Sucking raw meat? [She grimaces; that sounds horrible and indelicate.] I'd be happier with a rabbit. One shining, glittery rabbit.

[It might almost be time to pass out from the hunger again.]

[magentarific]

Uh huh. Point stands, but that's why you don't owe me anything. So how do we do this?

[hismasterpiece]

Rabbits favor traps. Rabbits love to fall into horrid sharp traps, snap snap! Snap them up and pinch them and bleed them.

[Well.....it's sort of instructional.]

[magentarific]

I'm not going to step into a rabbit trap. Aren't vampires supposed to have teeth? Though I guess that'd hurt more anyway.

[ She thinks for a second. ]

How about I just make a deep cut in my arm?

[hismasterpiece]

They have taken my......



A deep cut would work.

[Uncharacteristically straight-talking when in her deepest need.]

Slice it and I will sip.

[magentarific]

Got it. [ Yuri takes out a knife from the back of her shirt-- it's a good place to keep weapons, okay? and then she rolls up her sleeve and cuts deeply and quickly along her arm. ] Hurry up, and let me know if it heals too much and you still need some. [ Yuri doesn't know how long this is going to take, after all, and since it's definitely not a fatal wound with her it'll heal pretty quickly. ]

[hismasterpiece]

[Without answering, the vampire seizes her arm and drinks greedily. She won't take too much; why would she kill a willing victim like this, when she is in such dire straits?



The meal is delicious. Delicious.]

[magentarific]

[ Yuri holds still. She doesn't make any noise that indicates that it really hurts or anything. Something like this doesn't really bother her. After a little bit, Yuri does feel a bit dizzy. It won't last for long, but it's still there. ]

Feel better?

[hismasterpiece]

So much better! [Still lonely, though. So lonely. But at least not dying anymore.] We shall have to play again soon!

[magentarific]

If you get hungry again just let me know.

[ Yuri figures she's a lot less likely to die than anyone else is, if only because she can start healing. In fact, in about a minute more it looks like the skin's already replenishing itself where it'd been cut. ]

[hismasterpiece]

I shall.



You. You are nearly like...like family. But not. Not not not.

[Still -- Yuri might be the closest thing Dru HAS to that kind of thing here.


It's almost a thank-you.]

[magentarific]

That's probably a good thing that I'm not. My family doesn't tend to have good endings.