Lucien, the Great Nonagon is having second thoughts...?
[He sidesteps to Lucien's side to peer around Lucien at the book. He would squat down, but he isn't sure if he'll get back up as gracefully or easily as he got down there. He leans over the crutch instead.]
he will keep his book, thank you very much - standing up to lean back against one of the shelves, flipping through it idly, licking his thumb to turn the pages. ]
... Suppose Vampirism is one way of extending your life. Not a suggested one, mind you.
[He glances disappointingly at these bookshelves, but just happens to look up. He double-takes at a book up on a higher shelf.]
Why? I'm practically sitting in the grave already. I could just get you to sell me some of your blood, too. You "know where it's going," right? [He is looking up and down at these shelves not unlike a cat trying to gauge distance.] Sounds like I will have it made.
[Alright, goodbye. He puts a hand above his head to grab onto a higher shelf, testing it. He's getting ready to climb this.]
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. You should know my prices would be exorbitant and I'd be very unreasonable about it.
[ watching this disaster about to happen and making no moves to stop it. maybe his hunger is for watching chaos unfold, because there is definitely a ladder around but he's not going to be the one to go find it. he'll step over nearby to lean against one of the shelves there, closing his book to watch this happen. ]
My warning comes only in the sense that the fashion involves quite a few leaps I'm not sure you'd be able to pull off.
[He steps up. Then stretches his arm high above him.]
Oh... that... does not... surprise me... in the least... I'll have to... get... a second job.
[He can get the tips of his fingers over the edge of the shelf, and he can brush them along the bottom spine of the book, but there is no way in hell he'll be able to grab it.
He shifts his foot... rises unsteadily up so he can put his opposite foot on the next shelf above for support while he holds onto the top shelf with his finger tips. Hm... He is paused, thinking.]
Are you trying to say that I'm ugly? You could just say it without beating around the bush.
[He hefts the crutch up through his hand, lengthening it above him. He uses the under arm rest to catch the top of the book spine and... carefully begins tipping it out. The shelf beneath one of his feet creaks.]
[ he looks at the shelf and then back up at him starting the stretch. he does not need the ability to see the future to see what is about to happen, but still. he is just letting it continue. ]
Aye, I’ve a terrible reputation for holding my tongue in the sparing of other’s feelings. Please, are we schoolchildren? I think you’re fishing for a compliment. Very well. Of course you’re pretty, Mary-ann, the boys are beating down the gate for your enormous brown eyes and darling Menagerie Coast accent.
[ coming over to where he’s climbing the shelf to lean in and peer up at him, play acting a serious evaluation. ]
Maybe a little on the skinny side, but what can you do. You’re plenty handsome without being annoying about it. My comment is to point out that all that black would wash you out. You’re pale enough as it is.
I wasn't fishing for a compliment. I thought that was the whole look here anyway. You know, washed out. Too pale. Like you're starving for blood. You're not making a very good case here for not being a vampire.
[Rolling his eyes as he pulls this book sideways with the crutch. He shifts it a bit...... and allows it to drop out of the shelf and right down toward Lucien's head.
He's already smirking about what may be, if not a victory, an annoyance, but
the shelf below his foot splits right at the edge. He has one second of realization before the shelf splits all the way down the middle and dumps him directly down on top of Lucien.]
[ it successfully bonks him directly on the head and he’s turning up to start being a bitch about it the moment the shelf breaks, which really he should have seen coming.
strength is not his … strength so there’s no hope of being caught and spared the worst of it. not to ruin the romcom moment but he does not even try to catch him. it doesn’t matter, he doesn’t have a choice considering he didn’t dodge either - at least viktor is getting a softer, tiefling landing. he collapses in a heap on the floor and against the next aisle with a huge thud. it rattles the shelf he hits hard enough a pile of books slides off it - ’strihari: an explorer’s guide,’ ‘balanced blood: a keto-friendly cookbook for the modern vampire’ and ‘fangs for all the memories: a biography of elvis (vampire)’ all fall in quick succession also bouncing off lucien’s head. ]
[Lucien might not have tried to catch him, but Tiefling bod is better for a busted body to fall on than the hard floor.
He lands with a pained groan, and then his entire body tenses up when the other shelf gets whacked. The sliding books are a death knell. One at a time, they plop down. He actually throws his arms out after the first to smother Lucien's head in a pathetic attempt to protect it. WHAT IS HIS SKINNY ARMS GONNA ACCOMPLISH?
Live, Laugh, Bleed lands with a final plunk beside them. It is TOO quiet in the aftermath of all of that noise.]
Are you, um--hungry? I think this is a great time to find something to eat.
[ to be fair between the skinny arms and his own horns his head is probably just fine. he’s got a thick skull anyway.
there’s a long beat in the silence where his face is so, so still and the only sound is the last shifting of some books and his tail lashing hard enough to hit the floor with a thump. clearly deciding whether or not to Be Mad but no. this is his own fault. reaching up to pat viktor on the cheek, sighing out so, so deeply. ]
Starved. You’re buying.
[ a confused employee pokes their head down the aisle to take a look at … this, and lucien just waves. ]
Embarrassed, he very slowly and timidly lifts his hand to wave pathetically at the employee who looks in on the absolutely horrendous mess they are going to have to deal with.]
Not sure if we'll be able to find anything not raw.
[MOOING? Bleeding.
He unsteadily starts getting back up, wincing, trying not to slip on books, Lucien's angry cat tail, or Lucien himself. WHERE DID HIS CRUTCH GOOO.]
[ he'll get up too, brushing off his clothes and fixing his hair. vain ........ he also seems completely immune to embarrassment. it's fine. they just made a huge mess and he will stroll on out of there. ]
What's a little blood between friends?
[ are they friends now? he'll look around, kick some books aside and pull viktor's crutch out from the pile - holding it out for him. ]
[ he learned too young that having a pretty face means you can get away with almost anything, even across a couple of different lives. shit is crazy. ]
It takes a hot minute because it's Viktor, but he drags Lucien to the Bitter Bite. If it wasn't for tourism, the two of them walking in might have stopped a lot of people inside dead in their tracks. An Infernal and a 80% dead and busted dude? Yeah.
But Viktor walks through to the bar like he's been here already. The bored bartender looks like they should be in an Anne Rice novel if not for the fact they are terrifyingly tall. They ask, "Back again?" but are unabashedly looking the whole time at Lucien like a German.]
Ah, came to collect.
[Their hummed "mhm" can be felt in the back of the throat; they yell something over their shoulder above the music. Before Viktor can give Lucien an explanation, a dried-up waif runs up yelling a garbled version of his name. He's got one of the siphoning systems protruding from the face which he so very hurriedly shoves in Viktor's space. POINTING!!]
Again? What are you trying to drink from, a stone cow?
[ if he's used to anything, it's being stared at by the bartender in just about any place he's ever decided to traipse into. the staring only inspires him to level a look back, defiant, daring.
But this whole drama playing out is so much more fascinating, watching it unfold, moving from leaning on an elbow on the bar to sitting up more fully - tilting his head like a curious animal. ]
[The guy's expression is definitely, "What's a cow?"]
Open.
[Viktor ducks his head down and in when the vampire's face protrudes a bit more. The vampire stares at Lucien while being inspected. Viktor squints; it's hard to see in the low light. So he gives up and pushes two gloved fingers under the plate on the side to feel around.
His eyes move back and forth, but raised to the middle distance as he feels and tinkers.]
You're biting too big! [Over the music. The unfortunate part is, a small crowd is beginning to gather around.] You aren't trying to swallow them, you're trying to drink! It's pushing the chambers back and pulling the tubing out!
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[He sidesteps to Lucien's side to peer around Lucien at the book. He would squat down, but he isn't sure if he'll get back up as gracefully or easily as he got down there. He leans over the crutch instead.]
...Kind of small, if you ask me.
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[ he'll take a look at the book again, snorting. ]
I've always heard it's how you use it that counts ... ?
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I meant the fangs.
[He turns away very quickly to pretend he is looking at books again to hide his smirk.]
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[ all fanged grin at that, what a fucking dork.
he will keep his book, thank you very much - standing up to lean back against one of the shelves, flipping through it idly, licking his thumb to turn the pages. ]
... Suppose Vampirism is one way of extending your life. Not a suggested one, mind you.
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Why? I'm practically sitting in the grave already. I could just get you to sell me some of your blood, too. You "know where it's going," right? [He is looking up and down at these shelves not unlike a cat trying to gauge distance.] Sounds like I will have it made.
[Alright, goodbye. He puts a hand above his head to grab onto a higher shelf, testing it. He's getting ready to climb this.]
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[ watching this disaster about to happen and making no moves to stop it. maybe his hunger is for watching chaos unfold, because there is definitely a ladder around but he's not going to be the one to go find it. he'll step over nearby to lean against one of the shelves there, closing his book to watch this happen. ]
My warning comes only in the sense that the fashion involves quite a few leaps I'm not sure you'd be able to pull off.
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Oh... that... does not... surprise me... in the least... I'll have to... get... a second job.
[He can get the tips of his fingers over the edge of the shelf, and he can brush them along the bottom spine of the book, but there is no way in hell he'll be able to grab it.
He shifts his foot... rises unsteadily up so he can put his opposite foot on the next shelf above for support while he holds onto the top shelf with his finger tips. Hm... He is paused, thinking.]
Are you trying to say that I'm ugly? You could just say it without beating around the bush.
[He hefts the crutch up through his hand, lengthening it above him. He uses the under arm rest to catch the top of the book spine and... carefully begins tipping it out. The shelf beneath one of his feet creaks.]
no subject
[ he looks at the shelf and then back up at him starting the stretch. he does not need the ability to see the future to see what is about to happen, but still. he is just letting it continue. ]
Aye, I’ve a terrible reputation for holding my tongue in the sparing of other’s feelings. Please, are we schoolchildren? I think you’re fishing for a compliment. Very well. Of course you’re pretty, Mary-ann, the boys are beating down the gate for your enormous brown eyes and darling Menagerie Coast accent.
[ coming over to where he’s climbing the shelf to lean in and peer up at him, play acting a serious evaluation. ]
Maybe a little on the skinny side, but what can you do. You’re plenty handsome without being annoying about it. My comment is to point out that all that black would wash you out. You’re pale enough as it is.
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[Rolling his eyes as he pulls this book sideways with the crutch. He shifts it a bit...... and allows it to drop out of the shelf and right down toward Lucien's head.
He's already smirking about what may be, if not a victory, an annoyance, but
the shelf below his foot splits right at the edge. He has one second of realization before the shelf splits all the way down the middle and dumps him directly down on top of Lucien.]
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strength is not his … strength so there’s no hope of being caught and spared the worst of it. not to ruin the romcom moment but he does not even try to catch him. it doesn’t matter, he doesn’t have a choice considering he didn’t dodge either - at least viktor is getting a softer, tiefling landing. he collapses in a heap on the floor and against the next aisle with a huge thud. it rattles the shelf he hits hard enough a pile of books slides off it - ’strihari: an explorer’s guide,’ ‘balanced blood: a keto-friendly cookbook for the modern vampire’ and ‘fangs for all the memories: a biography of elvis (vampire)’ all fall in quick succession also bouncing off lucien’s head. ]
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He lands with a pained groan, and then his entire body tenses up when the other shelf gets whacked. The sliding books are a death knell. One at a time, they plop down. He actually throws his arms out after the first to smother Lucien's head in a pathetic attempt to protect it. WHAT IS HIS SKINNY ARMS GONNA ACCOMPLISH?
Live, Laugh, Bleed lands with a final plunk beside them. It is TOO quiet in the aftermath of all of that noise.]
Are you, um--hungry? I think this is a great time to find something to eat.
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there’s a long beat in the silence where his face is so, so still and the only sound is the last shifting of some books and his tail lashing hard enough to hit the floor with a thump. clearly deciding whether or not to Be Mad but no. this is his own fault. reaching up to pat viktor on the cheek, sighing out so, so deeply. ]
Starved. You’re buying.
[ a confused employee pokes their head down the aisle to take a look at … this, and lucien just waves. ]
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Embarrassed, he very slowly and timidly lifts his hand to wave pathetically at the employee who looks in on the absolutely horrendous mess they are going to have to deal with.]
Not sure if we'll be able to find anything not raw.
[MOOING? Bleeding.
He unsteadily starts getting back up, wincing, trying not to slip on books, Lucien's angry cat tail, or Lucien himself. WHERE DID HIS CRUTCH GOOO.]
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What's a little blood between friends?
[ are they friends now? he'll look around, kick some books aside and pull viktor's crutch out from the pile - holding it out for him. ]
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[SAY IT ANOTHER WAY.
He is already hopelessly trying to pick up books and put them on the shelf broken by his two pound ass. He was an Academy boy, LOOK.]
Don't...... kick them...
[After the last book he deposits, he reaches out to take the crutch.]
Thanks...
[Sadly and sheepishly looking at the mess of books he can't help... Starts walking!!]
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[ watching him ......... put books back. he does not help. he will sling an arm around his shoulders when he starts walking out at least. ]
Need to sell your blood to afford food?
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Vampires are definitely going to eat him later.]
No, I don't need any.
[He doesn't explain.]
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Alright, surprise me then.
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[DON'T CHALLENGE HIM.
It takes a hot minute because it's Viktor, but he drags Lucien to the Bitter Bite. If it wasn't for tourism, the two of them walking in might have stopped a lot of people inside dead in their tracks. An Infernal and a 80% dead and busted dude? Yeah.
But Viktor walks through to the bar like he's been here already. The bored bartender looks like they should be in an Anne Rice novel if not for the fact they are terrifyingly tall. They ask, "Back again?" but are unabashedly looking the whole time at Lucien like a German.]
Ah, came to collect.
[Their hummed "mhm" can be felt in the back of the throat; they yell something over their shoulder above the music. Before Viktor can give Lucien an explanation, a dried-up waif runs up yelling a garbled version of his name. He's got one of the siphoning systems protruding from the face which he so very hurriedly shoves in Viktor's space. POINTING!!]
Again? What are you trying to drink from, a stone cow?
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But this whole drama playing out is so much more fascinating, watching it unfold, moving from leaning on an elbow on the bar to sitting up more fully - tilting his head like a curious animal. ]
Aren't you fascinating.
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Open.
[Viktor ducks his head down and in when the vampire's face protrudes a bit more. The vampire stares at Lucien while being inspected. Viktor squints; it's hard to see in the low light. So he gives up and pushes two gloved fingers under the plate on the side to feel around.
His eyes move back and forth, but raised to the middle distance as he feels and tinkers.]
You're biting too big! [Over the music. The unfortunate part is, a small crowd is beginning to gather around.] You aren't trying to swallow them, you're trying to drink! It's pushing the chambers back and pulling the tubing out!