Nightshift 40 - M31-M40 Hallway

[kindalikedit]

[From here]

Dean's flashlight flickered as he focused it on the room's door. M31. He had a winner. Normally he'd just let himself in - either by picking the door or kicking it down - but for some reason he didn't. Instead Dean knocked, rapping the door with his knuckles and waiting to be let in. Standing here felt good - he was supposed to be here and, his new-found confidence told him, he'd report. To who and for what? Dean didn't remember quite yet but it didn't seem to bother him at all as he waited outside in the dark, keeping an eye and ear out for anything that went bump in the night and needed to get bumped back. All the aches and pains from the last couple of nights here ceased to bother him as much as they had earlier: the cuts, the bruises, the bandages, everything took a backseat to getting into M31 and answering that compulsion.

Comments

[sir-savien.livejournal.com]

Kvothe noticed the man entering the hallway and thought nothing of it, there were so many people around most of the time and this was the way to the clinic anyway. He ignored the other as he continues on, no other injury besides the cast on his hand visible in the way he moved and the black eye probably wasn't visible in the dark. All he was thinking of was getting back to his room, taking a couple of the pills from the bottle tucked in his waistband, and getting some sleep. He'd told his roommate many times now that there wasn't anything to fear inside the patient blocks themselves and he'd believed it, he wasn't prepared for any danger although he had to stop himself from glancing toward a movement in the corner of his eye that he was certain wasn't there.

[idolism]

Ahh… His eyes slid closed for one brief moment. Let’s do it.

The circumstances weren’t perfect, but when were they ever in a place where he had to scrabble to retain his dignity? Just because he took what he needed when he needed it didn’t mean he’d be rougher than he had to be--the only thing gained would be a few aches, and the only thing lost would be blood.

If all goes well.

Aidou couldn’t have it go any other way, and when he finally moved, he did so with full concentration. Hesitation would only slow him down now. The vampire sprung forward like a tensed coil being released when he had a clear opening at the other prisoner’s back, moving to strike the pressure point in the neck, light enough not to kill, but hard enough render most people insensible. To feed, he needed to go unseen, and to do that, an unfortunate amount of harm had to come to those he fed from. It was probably the most merciful attack anyone would ever see in Landel’s Institute.

Practically in the same motion, he was ready to carry out what had sort of become a routine. One free hand to catch the flashlight if it dropped from a slack hand or otherwise restrain the body against his chest if the boy happened to struggle. The other would do the same, only it’d be clamped over the mouth to silence noise and tilt the neck at the right angle. The boy’s weight itself would hardly be difficult to handle, and being behind his mark made his position advantageous in that he could quickly sweep them both into one of the rooms and out of the hall, like they’d never been.

M39 was empty, he could tell. It’d do.

[sir-savien.livejournal.com]

The blow took Kvothe by surprise, his vision darkened for a few moments and he felt numb though he didn't quite black out. His mouth opened but the reflexive surprised sound was smothered by a strong hand over his mouth and before he could try to react he was pulled into a neighboring room. He tried to struggle but it was difficult, just clinging to conciousness. Everything felt distant, though not quite so distant that he didn't recognize how dire his situation was, and he couldn't even call for help...

[idolism]

It was a use of power that Aidou didn't usually turn to more than once a night, considering the results that were sure to follow, but the first thing the vampire did when he had them both inside the room was to close the cell door and let ice wash over the frame and locks, sealing them in until the moment he decided otherwise.

He was getting more cautious, not more reckless, and that would only work in his favour while others faltered.

Even while he parted his lips to reveal his fangs, and blood glow made his eyes glow a mercurial red, he held the defenceless male in such a way that he avoided touching injuries. Drinking from the source shouldn't have been painful, and even one subduing blow was one too many, but that was Landel's fault. Everything about these circumstances was.

A faint buzzing in his head accompanied his careful tipping of the boy's head, a mix of bloodlust and fatigue from the sudden bending of elements. It all faded to silence when his fangs pierced skin and he tasted blood. Aidou's eyes only flared brighter. No drugs, he noted absently, and was glad the stranger hadn't gone to the clinic to pop pills while he'd been there. Ill-health, inhuman dispositions, medication, they all warped the taste and sometimes even the potency of the blood, but this one was relatively healthy. In the end, it didn't really matter. His blood was fresh and normal, unlike the remnants he'd been able to taste in the back of his throat throughout the previous night outside. Fresh, and soothing.

[sir-savien.livejournal.com]

Kvothe shivered from a sudden chill from the direction of the door and tried to struggle, but he couldn't break the hold on him and he could only use one hand to begin with. Then his head was being pulled to the side, there was a warm, wet pressure against his neck followed by a sharp sting. He sucked in a sharp breath of shock as he realized he'd been bitten and panicked thoughts of shamblemen and other creatures that he knew did not exist, though could he really be so sure in a place? He half expected his captor to try to rip his throat open after that, but it didn't happen and Kvothe was afraid to move too much in case he might open the injury further or make whatever it was change his mind. His racing heart made the blood flow faster.

[idolism]

It was amazing what a good meal could do. The people who could get actual nutrients from human food took that for granted.

He flexed the hand not pressed over the boy‘s mouth, where it was closed around Kvothe’s forearm and pinning him tight, digging his fingertips in slightly before relaxing. Each second that ticked by was a distant, vague warning of his limited time--what was more prominent at that moment was the stream of blood and where its limits lay. Fear had its own taste, and it kept Aidou grounded, when he almost, almost wanted to keep going, even though he knew that taking too much blood could mean serious repercussions for the one involved.

Taking too little was a waste, and it’d be all too easy to leave someone with more than just benign symptoms of blood loss. Like death, for example. A quickened pulse was that much more tempting, like it was daring him to take his fill.

The vampire’s eyelashes lowered; he drank until he neared that unspoken line between leaving a human weak and leaving a human in danger, and with a flash of greedy reluctance, slowly pulled his fangs back. He ran his tongue over the marks he’d left when he did so, careful not to let any excess escape. That would… have to be enough. And it would be for one or two days, as he could already feel his belly warming at the fresh blood.

Now that he was fed… he had somewhere else to be, didn’t he?

As though the color was returning to its proper place, the ice he’d used to freeze the cracks of the door vanished with an unnatural speed along with the crimson glow from his eyes, returning them to blue. Granted, the bloodlust was slower to drain away. His instincts were still awake and whispering as he lifted the body in his arms and moved to the closest bed, setting the boy down on his stomach. The flashlight, Aidou grabbed and set aside, out of reach for the few crucial moments it would take the vampire to slip away in the dark. And by the time the boy rolled over to look, it’d be like he’d never been. It felt easier to move in the night, the time where he was most comfortable, when he felt almost normal again. Faster. Better. Full.

_{[to here]}

[sir-savien.livejournal.com]

Before Kvothe could change his mind and take his chances with what those teeth could do to his neck, his head started to spin. The only thing holding him up anymore was the arm holding him to the chest of the man behind him. He felt dizzy, light-headed, and he couldn't have said how long it lasted when the mouth slowly pulled away. If he could have have seen much in the darkness he would have seen black spots dancing in front of his eyes.

He sagged as the grip on him shifted and then he was aware of being moved, he may have passed out because somehow he was lying on his stomach on what felt like a bed without really knowing how he got there. By the time he felt like he could raise his head without falling off, the room was empty. After laying there for a few moments just breathing e groped around until his hand landed on his flashlight and he let out a sigh of relief, glad that he at least still had his light. Slowly he gathered himself enough to rise, wobbling a little as the dizziness returned for a few moments. Fortunately it passed quickly and he raised his good hand to his neck. His fingers came away damp.

He fumbled his flashlight on and set it in his lap so that he could hold his hand in front of it, there was a red smear across his fingertips. Blood. He cursed under his breath as he took hold of the flashlight again and slowly stood, it took a moment of leaning on the table but he stayed on his feet. After a few deep breaths he walked slowly to the door, and once he'd gotten out of the room he walked with his shoulder to the wall just in case. He would not panic. He would get back to his room. Then he could stop running on willpower alone and pass out properly. He was probably in some kind of shock, he reflected as he stumbled toward the end of the hallway, from the surprise of the attack and the blood loss.

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/616267.html?thread=51093835#t51093835)]

Because of his delay, he expected to have to run to catch up to Kvothe, so Tony was surprised to see his roommate not yet at the end of the corridor. He trotted up to his side. Then he got a glimpse of Kvothe's pale face and... was that blood?

"Kvothe! What happened?" Without asking permission he tried to take Kvothe's arm and help balance him.

[sir-savien.livejournal.com]

Kvothe resisted a bit as Tony tried to take his arm and paused with his shoulder still against the wall. It was like his roommate had some kind of extra sense for any kind of trouble, he thought. "...I'm not sure," he says, and it's almost true. "I'm just tired, I'll be fine."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"Yeah right," Tony said. "I know you wanted to walk back alone, but you didn't have to run off like that. It will only take me a few minutes to get you back." He drew back a few steps since Kvothe didn't seem to want his help. "I'm getting tired of you always pushing me away and then making it worse for yourself. Either actually take care of yourself or get used to having me for a friend." Even in the dim light, his dark eyes seemed to flash, as he put words to his vehement feelings.

[sir-savien.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, but the constant hovering is starting to drive me crazy!" He sighed. "Sorry. But I'm not used to anyone worrying half as much as you do. It's not as bad as you seem to think." He leaned heavily against the wall for a moment, tired. "And I'm sorry if I'm not content to sit quietly in our room or the Clinic and just wait for something to happen but if I don't try to do something I will go mad," he said, vehemence leeching out of his voice and being replaced by exhaustion. Suddenly, he fiercely missed the road.

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"You're just going back to the room tonight," Tony countered. He wasn't sure what to say about the blood. "I'd feel better about this if you didn't get bruised or bloody every time I missed you for a minute." In a way, this was worse than the kind of dilemmas and scrapes Tia used to drag him into, because Tia, at least, would admit there was a problem. Kvothe seemed to want to pretend there was nothing going on, which irked Tony.

"Maybe after tonight, I'll just have to pretend I don't care."

[sir-savien.livejournal.com]

Kvothe was silent for a few minutes, leaning against the wall, head bowed. He liked Tony, he was a good friend, but he felt crowded and it seemed like the only choices were being watched and fussed over, or driving him away entirely. Which he didn't want to do. "Tony...it's not that I don't want you to care. I'm just used to being alone, dealing with my problems alone. Where I've been before, showing weakness would have been like slaughtering a deer and then standing there to wait for the wolves. I'm not used to anyone pursuing it so much." He sighed. "...Let's just go back to the room."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"I am just not able to ignore someone who's in pain or bleeding. You do know you're bleeding, don't you?" Tony was beginning to think that Kvothe just wasn't aware of reality when it came to how he got his injuries. Maybe that was it.

He got to the junction of the corridors and turned back toward their rooms. "Maybe if you stay in your bed, you'll get hurt less."

[gone here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/603918.html)]