As soon as Carter set him down, Avi bolted for the toilet and proceeded to heave up bile and the small amount of soft, flat bread he'd been able to stomach only an hour or so ago. When he was done, he shifted back and twisted to lean into the cool, metal divider between the stalls.
Wordlessly, Jacek handed over his mask and Avi took it gingerly, twisting it between his hands with a small frown. "Feeling better?" his friend and attendant asked, crouched between him and the rest of the people in the bathroom. Carter was lingering in the stall doorway.
Avi nodded and rubbed a hand over his face. "That never gets any better..."
"Sir,"Jacek began, and lowered his voice. "You and the...human... I don't think it's a good idea--"
He was cut off by the door to the bathroom opening and a man--carrying a galaxy-clad woman--stepped inside. As did a man who seemed to be entirely made of gold. Avi blinked at him, looking over Jacek's head to watch as the trio entered the room. The first man's gaze swept the room, lingered on him briefly and then settled on Jacek.
"So this is where you went off to..."
Jacek bolted to his feet and whirled around to face the man. "Arden..."
"Jacek." Arden inclined his head and then strolled further into the room before he leaned against the wall and slide down it until he was sitting on the floor, the woman in his lap. His attention turned to her. "Lark..."
She didn't seem to respond and Jacek pushed past Carter and out into the main part of the bathroom. "What's wrong with her?"
"She can't feed properly."
"With friends like you, who needs a medical license?" - Paimon, Aether's Heart
“It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” - Grace Hopper.
He pulled down the collar of his suit a little more - he wasn't sure where exactly Lark needed to feed from, but his neck seemed like it was the perfect spot. That was where vampires always fed on people, wasn't it?
...He hadn't read a lot of vampire stories growing up.
"She can feed on me now," he said. "Just let me know what I have to do."
Between his drunk uncle, this whole feeding business, and Avi running off to throw up in a stall, Mal was having a hard time keeping the whole 'calm and professional' act together. It was all too over his head and all too stupid.
"What never gets any better?" Mal said, looking over at Avi. "Is it going to get any worse?"
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
Carter was trying to keep as calm as possible, even though he was still lurking in the bathroom stall. It became quickly apparent that evidently space vampires existed and he had never encountered something quite like that before. He slowly thought about the glimpses of the future he had seen in the past, repeating back to himself, You're young. You know you're young. And you know that this is just the beginning of your adventures. Seeing Avi in so much pain was painful to his heart but he still couldn't move from his position.
Arden glanced towards the gold man and nodded. “That’s fine, let me just..” He trailed off and with a little awkward manoeuvring, moved Lark from his lap into Télos‘. “Just put her face by your neck. Instinct will take over.” He frowned and shifted uncomfortably. “There may be some... side effects, so be prepared for that.”
* * *
Avi watched the exchange with mild fascination, aware of Carter and now the little lion lingering in the doorway. “Throwing up while pregnant,” he said distractedly, not really focused on their conversation anymore. Arden and Lark were something he’d never encountered before and though he felt miserable, he couldn’t help watching them interact. “It’s not a pleasant experience.”
He was so distracted that he completely missed Jacek pushing past them and back into the stall. “Sire, please put your mask back on—”
Avi blinked and focused on his friend. “Why? They’ve already seen my face and seen me throw up. You think such a thing as tradition is important anymore? When the ship we’re on is on fire?”
"With friends like you, who needs a medical license?" - Paimon, Aether's Heart
“It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” - Grace Hopper.
The side effect comment was a little worrying, but Télos did as requested - he carefully and gently moved her closer to him. With her face so close to his neck, it wasn't hard to imagine what would probably happen a second later. Part of that scared Télos, but he pushed aside the fear as best he could.
Flynn lurked between the different groups - Carter watching over the members of royalty, the god and the space vampires, and then the drunken lion with assorted forest companions. He didn't have much experience in dealing with people that didn't come from his Earth, which was one reason he was regretting taking his grandmother's place at this meeting.
Chills spread all over his body as the emotions in the room built and Flynn snuck out to an empty corridor, hoping no one would notice he was gone.
Arden watched them close for a moment, waiting with growing dread. What if Lark couldn't actually feed this way? What if she was too far gone? He sighed and leaned back heavily on the wall. A moment later, Lark stirred and then she struck. Arden winced and shifted, wanting to see if he could help but not sure if he could. Now that Lark was attached to the gold man, it was probably best if he didn't move her. As much as they didn't agree on everything, that didn't mean he wanted her to die.
* * *
Jacek silently watched Flynn go before he turned back to Avi and Carter. "Fine," he spat and climbed to his feet. "Fine. Don't listen to me, and don't you come complaining to me when there's complications!"
With that, he stalked out of the stall and towards the exit.
* * *
Avi watched his friend and bodyguard leave, and sighed. "I did not mean to make him this mad," he muttered, leaning back heavily against the stall wall. He rubbed a hand over his face and then raised the mask up until it was level with his face. His stomach had settled, and so had his emotions. At least, partially. He didn't feel as bad as he had a few moments ago. "And he has a point..."
"With friends like you, who needs a medical license?" - Paimon, Aether's Heart
“It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” - Grace Hopper.
Télos stiffened ever so slightly when Lark struck, but he didn't fight her. He had been the one to volunteer for this. If Lark needed to feed on him, he'd let her. He was the safest option, anyways.
"I hope this is helping," he said, gaze torn between watching Arden and trying to get a look at Lark. Maybe it was a little gross to do, but he couldn't help but wonder what it looked like from the outside. He wasn't exactly used to people feeding on each other.
xXx
With Télos preoccupied, Nadira was finally able to rejoin Codix. They were resting up against one of the walls together. It was a good way to support Nadira, and ran the dual effect of hiding the slit in her leg when she leaded against him.
Charlie was quick to join them, even though they weren't supposed to know each other. Nadira hoped that the chaos of the past hour was enough to deflect any kind of suspicion - everyone else would be too preoccupied to realize that something was off about their trio.
Carter stepped back to Avi's side, trying to decide what was the appropriate thing to do in this situation. He hoped he wasn't overstepping or causing more issues when he looped his arm under Avi's to hold the...well Carter wasn't exactly sure what title Avi had.
"I know you didn't mean to make him mad, Avi, but I do not know why you would hide such a beautiful face."
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