destinystrings | Slow Down, You Crazy Child

Who: Maugris and Johnny for the first thread, then Maugris and OPEN
Where: A little restaurant in Virgo near the border with Libra, then wandering through the city back in the general direction of Pisces (so somewhere in Virgo, Leo, or Capricorn)
When: July 12th; just after nightfall, then during the 13th hour
Summary: Maugris finds someone he's got something in common with and has some dinner, then decides to see this whole 13th Hour business is about.
Warnings: Probably nothing in the thread with Johnny. 13th Hour threads will probably involve violence, possibly accompanied by foul language.

Maugris stepped off the tram, grateful that they ran as late as they did. He'd probably end up walking back... but considering his plans for the night after this, that might be just as well. He glanced around, and yes, there was the restaurant.

He really, really hoped this was the right move. But if this Johnny guy was Kindred, he might know if there were others in the city - and how things got managed around here. If he was really, really lucky, there might be some sort of system set up for getting ahold of blood without going after people at all. But he'd just have to see... hopefully they could talk privately enough to manage this.

Oh, well. Nothing for it but to find out. He took a deep breath, a habit he'd never quite shaken, and stepped into the restaurant.

---

Well, that had given him a lot to think about. Maugris whistled to himself as he headed back toward the apartment building. Slow down, you crazy child, you're so ambitious for a juvenile - but then if you're so smart, tell me why are you still so afraid?

He took his time, enough that he was certainly still out when the sky turned red and the buildings changed around him. His lips twisted a little - the changes were an unpleasant reminder of Metatropolis's fate - but he kept going, still whistling nonchalantly. When will you realize, Vienna waits for you? It was still a long walk back; time to see if he could entice something to come out so he could give this Persona thing a shot.

What turned up gave him a bit of a start - a little floating cape with a jack o'lantern for a head. "You're not one of the Pumpkin King's, are you?" he asked. "I don't even have his damn ring anymore." The Pyro Jack just laughed at him and twirled in a circle, and flames spouted from its lantern. Maugris dodged away, but not fast enough - the flames licked at his jacket, and he couldn't help but cry out as the flesh of his arm started to burn.

But the damage - though it was quite nasty - wasn't the worst of it. Vampires feared fire even beyond their ample reason to do so, and while Maugris usually managed to resist, this time the Beast's instincts were too strong for him. He broke and ran, running as fast as he could away from the source of the flame. But the Pyro Jack had found prey now, and it followed. So anyone else out and about would find a vampire deep in Rotschreck being pursued by a laughing Pyro Jack.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Maugris frowned a little. Okay, Johnny had a friend who was off limits, fair enough. "I'm not actually sure what demon blood would do to me. I think I'd want someone with a very big stick standing by just in case if I ever tested it out. But I should be able to tell normal animals from demons, at least."

He sighed a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've never actually tried getting blood from hospitals before. I know people who do, but it's usually an under-the-table thing where they know someone on the inside. Having somebody I'd feed from regularly... basically what you said. It's a nice option if I can get someone willing, but that would take a while." He also wouldn't be getting a lot of blood at once, which meant trying to use his Thaumaturgy a lot or to heal quickly would be a problem. All the more reason to get to work on that whole Persona business.

He glanced up at Johnny warily. "... Vampire blood works, sort of. Though obviously it makes the other guy hungrier. The real problem is that drinking vampiric Vitae causes a blood bond. This sort of... mystical connection that makes you inclined to serve the person you drink from, a kind of obsessive love. I don't know if that would happen with your blood, since I'm guessing that was an offer, but it's hard to know for sure."

He was operating on the assumption that Johnny was a relatively nice guy and wouldn't end up trying to force or trick him into drinking to take advantage of that particular issue. It was better than finding out one way or the other after the fact.

"Really?" That was new information to him, he'd never heard of something like that happening. There was, of course, the bond between a vampire and the one who made him, that was understandable enough even if he'd never had to feel it himself, but a bond like what Maugris was describing just sounded like a demon's curse to him.

"Hmm...well, I've fed our kind back home and some in the city I was in last as well, nothing like that ever occurred. I can understand your hesitation, though." His thoughtful look morphed into a playful smirk. "Don't worry, though, as handsome and charming as you are, I assure you that isn't the type of relationship I'm seeking!" The playfulness slips away and his smirk fades more into a smile. "I'm only looking to help."

"Right, well, uh." Maugris looked just slightly uncomfortable - he wasn't entirely used to being flirted with. Well, except by one person he knew who hit on everyone, so it hardly counted. "It... should be fine." The initial bond was weak enough that he ought to be able to make himself avoid Johnny of his own accord and give it time to fade.

"It may not happen with you at all - if it does it shouldn't be more than I can handle. It's not a bad idea to try." If only because Maugris was starting to get to the point where he needed to avoid seeing or smelling blood of people he didn't want to attack. Some of Johnny's would give him a couple more days to work out a long-term solution, or at least get better at catching animals.

Johnny tried to keep his amusement limited to the small smirk on his lips; it had really been a while since he'd purposefully made someone uncomfortable with his flirtations. Well, anyone who wasn't Otoha. "Right, then! How would you prefer to do it? Perhaps a wine glass or would you rather drink straight from the source?" It wasn't a come-on. Not in Johnny's mind. But it certainly came out like one.

"Ah... I think a glass might be better." If he'd had the blood to spare he might have been blushing. Flirting was a lot easier to deal with when he knew it was coming from someone who did it with everybody. Besides, it was easier to be surreptitious with a glass, and sucking on somebody's wrist in the middle of a restaurant would raise some questions.

Not that he hadn't had problems with blood in a glass before, too. But some people were just stupid

Slow Down, You Crazy Child

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