damned_institute | DAY 23: BREAKFAST

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DAY 23: BREAKFAST

That hadn't felt like an entire night.

And his goddamn head hurt. Pounded, even. Enough that he wondered if he was going to end up playing another round of "Christen the nurse" this morning.

Maybe it was because he'd spent so much time and energy trying to find Nowe. That could be the reason behind both those problems. Just the thought of it made his stomach turn, made him want to fucking choke something.

Still, there was shit to do. He forced himself out of bed to put away his pens and the other leftovers from the adventures that didn't happen last night. He'd have to try to talk to Sora today, to see if they could just do tonight what they were going to do last night... and to see if the kid was doing alright.

...he just wished his head would stop hurting. That was probably the result of just how badly he'd overreached himself the previous morning.

The nurse that showed up to get him was cheerful. He grunted at her, listening to her with only half an ear until she mentioned all the excitement, about someone pretending to be a patient, all that crap that Landel had mentioned.

Renji gave her a narrow-eyed look. "Dr. Landel is a goddamn lying coward, and he's lying about that, too," he said. Whether it was true or not, there was only so much good cheer he could take on a shitty morning. "I hope he chokes on a cock." No matter how much venom he put in that statement, it wasn't enough.

Then he had to listen to a lecture about language and gratitude for the rest of the walk to the cafeteria, so maybe it wasn't worth it after all. She dragged him through the breakfast line, and he ended up with granola and toast and tea and a cinnamon roll, because not even a shitty fucking night could ruin his sweet tooth. Though that thing was looking a little too sweet.

The cafeteria was pretty much empty; he had his run of the place. He sat himself about as far from the doors as he could get, and proceeded to stare at his breakfast.

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"Like I said. There are some things, that can get under my skin easier than others. It's just that...none of my enemies or prey has lived long enough to actually throw such an insult at me," he replied grouchily. If he was going to hunt, he was going to do it with a focused mind. After all, it was far too easy to be blinded by rage. It was best not to get too worked up about it right now.

"See, that is the bad thing about being notorious. My past and my life has been recorded in many books. All he had to do was read them," Alucard spoke, his tone still rather gruff.

"It only matters now, just because he was foolish enough not to hold his tongue. Had he simply left, I wouldn't have pursued the matter."

Hm... Adelheid leaned back, thinking. On the one hand, if that was a human, he had made Alucard swear not to hunt them. On the other, the man had kind of brought it on himself. It was an interesting ethical quandary; especially since he was certain that the other wouldn't be appreciative of any efforts put forth on his behalf. "I do suppose that he should have held his peace, or at least not gone to such lengths to bait you. Although..." Although he still considered Alucard a bit dense for both falling for the bait and for falling with such passion that the boy would be certain to do it again.

"Which is he?" Adelheid was quiet, yet still calm; surprisingly so, given the situation. Family was dear to him, so he understood Alucard's position, but there was still that niggling doubt. "Prey, or an enemy? Or rather; is he one like you, or more like me?"

A clearly warning tone accompanied that last question; if the one was human, then Adel would protect him. That was the agreement he had reached, and he wasn't going to let Alucard think that he could kill a human for a mere insult.

"It's his fault. I'm still wondering if I should have him beg for mercy before killing him," he wondered aloud, his tone of speech taking on a sharp, wicked edge. It was nothing more than a few, mere words, but picking on a lesser vampire was one of Alucard's hobbies too. Aidou healed too fast to be a human anyway.

At Adelheid's next question though, Alucard let out a harsh bark of a laugh. "Enemy. He claims to be a vampire, and in our ethics, it is suicide to show such disrespect to an elder. More so a king. I simply must discipline him."

His anger was again, ebbing away to be replaced by that thrill he loved when he was allowed to hunt. "I suppose that settles your question then? He isn't human, and thus I can do whatever I want."

"Hm..." Adelheid considered that, resting his hand on his chin and gazing at the red staining his finger. There was definitely a question of fault and blame, and yet Adel had noticed something. "...and yet he had only said such things after you had clawed him across the face."

He was silent for a moment, then turned once more to the vampire. "He is outside of our agreement, perhaps, but you may wish to reconsider your hatred of him. For some of us, drawing blood would have resulted in much more than harsh words. Besides, he is one of the few of your kind here; you should consider this carefully."

For Adelheid, at least, drawing blood was a very serious, very dangerous matter. One that he was still feeling weird about, letting Alucard taste that blood. To simply claw because of an insult...

"This little feud of ours has been going on for a while now," Alucard shot back, now absently grooming the blood off his clawtips, and wiping the smears off the table to remove them. Mmm. It was sweet, and it actually was more of an incentive to hunt the little bastard down. "It has only escalated to this over much...talking on both our parts. Of course, Aidou did try to kill me last night..." the vampire added absentmindedly, his perpetual smirk returning.

Everything was simmering down quite nicely now. "He claims to be a vampire, that is the key word. But yet, he has breathing and a heartbeat. Perhaps, no...if. IF he actually manages to convince me about his being one of my own, then perhaps I may spare him," he spoke, with all the mannerisms of a playful housecat.

Adel raised his eyebrow at the first statement, somehow finding it tremendously amusing. "Did he try to kill you before or after you enacted your plan to hit him with that monster? I may not have your senses, but even I could smell the lingering scent. And, again, there is much worse that could have been done over such a slight."

Honestly, the entire situation was starting to become less serious and more humorous, somehow. Perhaps because it was all intensely silly to an outside observer; both vampires were taking such offense at each other for such small things, things that Adelheid had long ago learned to just put up with and deal with as best he could. Perhaps, when one lived so long, it was necessary to hold on to such things? Or perhaps it was simply a question of power, power that could make one feel each slight like a knife...?

A slight grin and a shrug answered that playful smirk of Alucard's, and Adelheid added, "I suppose that's the best that can be expected. As well, don't forget the other terms of our agreement; if you've found any worthwhile information or items, I'll pay for it." A pause, and he continued, "That is, of course, assuming that you have found anything... I imagine that, with your personal mission, such would not be the case."

From little arguments on the bulletin, to exploding corpses. Yes, they had come a long, long way. And Alucard hadn't even started with the fun either. "Hah. I wager he was already trying to eliminate me before. Something about being a rampant 'E-class'," he replied. Again, Alucard had naught the foggiest idea of what an E-class was.

If that was simply a term to describe a ghoul, however...

"And yes, I know I'm going quite far, because of a petty squabble. But trust me, between vampires, or any other creature which lives this long, every little bit matters. It at least alleviates the boredom which comes, when you have too much time and nothing to do at all." But enough of that. He was already missing his Master as much as it was. He yearned for her directing his warpath...and he just missed her in general.

"Of course. In fact, my so-called 'mission' might have me stumble upon something interesting, even."

That made Adelheid tap his chin again, thinking for a bit. For as long as Dracula had lived, he still wasn't the oldest being that the German knew. Perhaps it was different, when one had been human and was later divine? It was certainly something to wonder about, later.

"I don't know about the system he's referring to, but 'E-class' generally refers to the lowest class of whatever is being referenced to. An 'E-class' fighter is barely worth mentioning, an 'E-bracket' race is hardly heart-pounding, and such to that extent." He wasn't sure, but that was his best guess; referring to a very low-class vampire, one with few powers. Which, considering the locale, would likely describe both of them.

Still, he thought that there was at least some progress made. 'Progress' being a nebulous term, naturally. "So long as you realize that it is nothing more than a petty squabble, then I suppose there isn't much more to say. And once you find something, let me know and we can arrange something. Or, should we simply go to the same place tonight, and see if you've earned more?"

The teenager grinned as he started standing up; so long as he was allowed to set the terms, he could handle this. Not that he harbored any delusions as to Alucard wanting to change the situation around, but for now it seemed safe enough. But then, then he faltered for a brief moment. Something gnawed at the back of his mind, and who better to ask than another monster? "Alucard... might I ask two questions about your state?"

"Ah. So it is as I have thought. My pride and title demands I'll have to prove him otherwise then," he spoke serenely. Labeling someone like him as something a little more than a ghoul servant, it was a blow to his already beaten pride. And now that a mere boy had dismissed him than nothing more than a pestering gnat, Alucard was so tempted to prove him wrong. Unlike his dream of killing the Head Doctor and eating him, the vampire could, and would inflict grievious injury to Aidou.

"Alright, that sounds good to me. I'll see if I can get some exploring done tonight."

With a wave of his hand, he nodded at the last question. "By all means, shoot."

"I've explored most of the second story near the patient's blocks; hopefully there will be no need for covering the same territory twice, correct?" A bit of a smile at that; he would have hated for Alucard to obtain that Adelheid would not pay for; that would make him seem to be other than a man of his word, and such he would not abide.

As for the other question? He took a deep breath, then looked into those gleaming eyes. "Firstly, do you suffer from a... 'beast', or otherwise fly into bloodthirsty rages which you can not control? And secondly, if so, what have you done after falling into such a state?" Only another monster could speak on the situation, right? And if someone else knew about how to handle it, then Adel would at least know something, wouldn't he?

"Correct. I thank you for telling me this in advance," he replied smoothly, nodding once. To tromp through hostile territory -while fighting off any monsters- to earn nothing, that would make things between the two of them go sour almost immediately. And Alucard did not want to lose his only source of willing food.

At Adelheid's last question, however, Alucard grinned, licking his teeth. "Bloodlust, hmm? Well..that depends. I do have an 'inner' beast, so to speak. But as long as no one actively tries to aggravate me into losing my temper entirely...such uncontrollable rages should be easily avoidable."

"As for what I have done...well..." he hadn't really flew into such rages in quite a while. Integral kept him controlled. Alucard kept his hands neatly folded on the table. If one looked closely, one would be able to see faint inscriptions upon the pale skin.

"I go on a rampage, what else?" After which, Integral would bring him back to reality with a harsh tug on the leash.

Nor did Adelheid want to lose a potential strong ally; so long as he had a possibility of using Alucard's tremendous strength to his own advantage, he would want to keep that option open for as long as possible. Besides, it didn't hurt to let the vampire know that Adelheid hadn't been helpless nor had he been sitting around doing nothing; they were both warriors, of a sort, and thus an arrangement could be made.

The teenager listened to what the vampire said, nodding and noticing that there wasn't as much of a similarity between his condition and the vampire's own. Still, there was some. "Yes, I imagine you do; you likely kill anyone you meet and feast on their blood, or not as the whim strikes. But what about afterward? When you return to yourself and realize what you've done? What then?"

Now that he remembered...it was quite a while since he had actually gone a rampage. One that Master didn't point him to, anyway. She kept him calm and under her thumb most of the time, but not in here. Sure, the freedom was a change, but the rush was starting to wear off, and quickly.

"Actually, I simply tear them apart and maybe consume them whole," he added breezily, as if discussing something of little importance. "I don't...think when I'm in one of those mindless rages. As for the aftermath, however..."

Alucard purred.

"I do not feel remorse, only satisfied after the smorgasbord."

...he honestly should have known better, than to expect anything but a monstrous answer from a, well, monster. While it was true, there was a sense of pleasure from the rampage and the killing, just thinking about the vampire replete and satiated after tearing anyone he had met apart made Adelheid's blood boil. If only the situation didn't call for this sort of arrangement, he'd have seen about putting an end to the legend for himself.

As it was, he was more than done with the situation. "So long as you do not succumb to that bloodlust, there shouldn't be as much to fear. Please excuse me." His tone was clipped and polite only out of reflex as he stood and turned to leave; he wasn't going to become like that vampire, never...!

Hmph. That ended well. Adelheid looked nothing short of disgusted, and maybe a little angered at his reply. He did ask, and Alucard simply answered as honestly as he could. But as long as Adelheid didn't threaten to hammer a stake through his chest, Alucard wouldn't lift a finger.

"Excused."

And, Alucard went off to go take a shower. Was the scent of Necrit that strong?

((Went: here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/88586.html?thread=5281802#t5313802)))

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DAY 23: BREAKFAST

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