(Rabbit)
Rabbit watched helplessly as the stranger brought up a gloved hand slick with blood, which made him take another step back. The man stared at the blood in puzzlement, as if only now realizing that he was wounded and bleeding.? He said something in a language Rabbit didn't recognize, let alone understand, and then collapsed to the floor.
"Oh, sh-shit," stammered the little vampire, staring down at the unconscious patron.? His immediate impulse was to kneel down next to the man, but he didn't want to risk getting close to him with all that blood about.? The sharp metallic tang was already threatening to overpower him and it was taking all of his willpower to resist. But he had to do something, and fast. ?
"Klaus," Rabbit hissed urgently.? "N-need some help here."? The muscular barman came over and saw the stranger lying on the floor with blood.? The man knelt down quickly but gave the little vampire a suspicious look. ?
"It w-wasn' m-me!" Rabbit said.? "H-honest!? I think he c-came in like this."? People were starting to look their way but fortunately most were not close enough to see the blood and just assumed the man had had too much to drink.? "Can you take him to one of the p-private rooms? I'll go get someone who can h-help."
Klaus picked the fallen stranger up and carried him off to one of the private rooms.? After noting the room, Rabbit hurried into the crowd, looking for one of the Dionysus regulars whom he knew could help in situations like this, trying not to think about what this was likely to cost him.? He found her sitting with her usual escort, sipping a glass of champagne. ?
"Excuse me, Doctor H-hirono?" Rabbit said, trying to keep his voice down but still be heard over the club noise. "W-we've got a patron who, uhm, kinda needs your help?? If'n you d-don' mind?" he asked, looking hopeful.
The lady turned to regard the anxious little vampire with a cool calm gaze, her face reminiscent of a Japanese Noh-mask even with her short dark hair jutting out all stylishly modern.? "Well, well, if it isn't our dear little Rabbit," she said, setting her glass aside.? She let a moment pass, evidently enjoying his discomfiture. "Are you asking for yourself, or for your boss?"
"For myself," Rabbit managed, trying not to fidget nervously but failing.
"You know I come here to get away from things like that." Her escort, a tall man of indistinct ethnicity but a heavily scarred face, glanced at her as if asking if she wanted him to send Rabbit packing, but she waved him back, keeping her gaze fixed on the little vampire.? "You also know I don't do favors for free."
"I kn-know," Rabbit said, swallowing uneasily.? "What d'you, uhm, w-want?"
"Why, I want you to pose for me again, dear boy," she said, grinning pleasantly though with her eyes keeping their fixed stare on him.? "I've had an outfit picked out for you that I've wanted to photograph you in for months."? She paused to take a sip from her glass and then set it down again, cocking her head at the little vampire inquiringly.? "So, do we have a deal?"
"Y-yeah," Rabbit said, wincing in spite of himself.? "But you need to come n-now.? He's bleedin' pretty bad." He bit his lip, adding "P-please?"
"Very well then."? The doctor turned to her escort as she stood up.? "This shouldn't take long, Sab.? Wait for me here."
Rabbit took her to the private room Klaus had chosen and stood anxiously just inside the door as Hirono examined the unconscious stranger who was stretched out on a cushioned sofa.? The smell of blood was even worse in the enclosed space and Rabbit didn't want to be any closer than he had to be.? But at the same time, he couldn't help staring at the man's face.? Even pale as he currently was, there was a handsome beauty that lingered there.
"Strange," the doctor said after a moment, running her hand back and forth about a foot over the stranger's body.? "Not from around here, I think. But wounded, yes.? Fortunately whatever it was didn't nick a major artery."? She went silent, lowering her hand to just above where the wound in the man's side was now visible.? As she began chanting, a soft purple mist seemed to flow down from her fingers.? As soon as it touched the man's skin, the wound began to grow smaller as the flesh around it was restored to it's previous state.? Rabbit watched in anxious silence until the skin was completely whole again.
"There," Hirono said finally, waving the last of the purple mist away with her hand.? "He's stable now.? Will probably be a bit weak from the loss of blood.? And he will probably have to deal with some discomfort as his body deals with the restored tissue, but he should be okay in a few days." She stood once again, stopping to face Rabbit as she made ready to leave, favoring him with one of her smiles that only made the little vampire shiver.? "I'll let you know when I'm ready to have you pose.? The outfit shouldn't require any refitting." She smirked as she added "I still have your measurements from the last time, after all. But we will have to do something about that hair of yours," she went on, running a hand disapprovingly through his blond locks.? "Yes we will."
"Th-thank you," Rabbit managed as Hirono went back into the main club area, passing him without so much as a parting glance, the anxiety he'd been feeling seeming to leave with her.? He then looked back to where the stranger was apparently sleeping quietly.? After a moment's thought, he took a blanket from the room's large bed and spread it over the man.? He then dimmed the lights and left the room quietly, closing the door behind him.
A short time later, the little vampire returned, carrying a tray with a mug of broth, a bowl of meaty stew, and a pot of tea, which is set on a small table near the sofa.? Returning to the sofa, he cautiously gave the man's shoulder a gentle touch.? "Uhm, mister?" he whispered experimentally.? "Are you awake?? I, uhm, b-brought you somethin' if'n you're hungry."
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[Roue]
Whatever happened once Roue hit the floor was going to become a big black hole of mystery to him.? He seemed to be stuck between fading in and out of dreams, some nonsensical and others pulling from elements of his memory, an amalgamation of everything that was churning inside his head.? The most pervasive seemed to be a replay of the events that led him to this situation but that was not the worst of it.? Every time he came to the moment where he began casting the ice wall, he tried to remember the assassin's face but try as he might, the face always seemed to appear half in focus.? Then after a few seconds, it would twist into an angry visage of his mother, her lips curved in a most ugly manner, her arm stretching out and then throwing that kunai at him.? His pulse would quicken very rapidly as he turned around and ran in the opposite direction as the ice wall gained in size, presenting this temporary obstacle.? He would keep coming back to this over and over and over again, and it was agonizing.? If there was someone watching from outside all of this, they would see a very pained expression on his face.
He felt feverish.? Inside the dreams, he felt his body growing hot and his throat starting to constrict, making him feel like he was choking.? The smoke that he had inhaled was still irritating his lungs.? Sweat started appear across his body, but just as it seemed he was going to alight himself on fire, a strange sort of coolness seemed to awash him from head to toe.? The pained expression that he wore started to relax and a sense of calmness took over instead.? The dreams that replayed like a broken tape had dissipated, instead replaced by this greyish white smoke.? Try as he might clear it, waving his hands in front of him to try and get the air cleared, it just kept coming back.? Then just as suddenly, his mysterious host's face floated into view and spoke to him, but try as he might, he still couldn't understand.? Who was he and why was he appearing in his dreams?? That seemed to be enough to knock him out of his stupor, and just as Rabbit reached out and touched his shoulder, he convulsed and his eyes started to open.
As his consciousness brought him back, his head began to pound like a heavy drum.? He propped himself up on his elbows, the mere action of which seemed like a giant chore and made him feel like he was out of breath looking around.? His head swiveled as he tried to take stock of the room, trying to figure out just where he was, when his eyes alighted to Roue's and a sense of panic rapidly took over.? He sat up at the speed of light, scrambling backwards until his back hit the sofa's arm and he nearly careened backwards, stopping himself just in time, now looking down at the flood behind him.? He wheezed as he tried to calm himself down, turning back to Roue who seemed to be just as apprehensive.? Waited a minute...wasn't he bleeding before?? His alarmed response caused a sharp twinge in his side, wincing as his hand touched where he was previously wounded.? When he didn't feel any wetness, he brought his hand back up to his face and examined the glove.? No fresh blood and what was on then was now dried and crusty.? Pulling both of his gloves off, he lifted the bottom edges of his bloodied vest and looked at his skin.? Though there was a slight scarring where he was cut, the wound was no longer there and the skin had closed up.? Roue looked back to Rabbit, his eyes wide open and confused.? This still didn't explain what happened and how he ended up here.
"<Wh-who are you?!? What do you want with me?!>" he exclaimed, raising one arm up in defense, his finger splayed and pointed towards his host.? He was just about to act before the other could, but then it hit him.? A nice, fragrant smell of food.? Turning, he now noticed a side table with some dishes on it, a cup of tea, some kind of soup and another tall container with a clear liquid inside.? His stomach violently growled in response, causing the wizard's cheeks to become rosy and so he meekly looked away.? The intense hunger he felt took over, however, and without wasting a single moment, he swung his legs over the sofa's edge and took to the food with gusto.? Screw being ceremonious and noble, he thought, I'm so hungry I could eat a Peco-Peco.? He shoved as much of the stew into his mouth, moaning out in response to the deliciousness that assaulted his tongue.? He guzzled the other liquid which he now recognized as a type of broth, followed by the tea.? Roue ate ravenously until each bowl and container was emptied, fully satisfied and no longer affected by the sharp hunger pangs.? Taking a few minutes to get his breath back into control, Roue then turned back to the boy and placing one leg beneath the other, took hold of both his knees and deeply bowed his head.? Though he was still suspicious of the other, the doubt that he would be fed first and then attacked seemed to go away.
"<I thank you for this generous offering of food,>" he said, raising his head.? Tilting his head, he examined the other, as he raised one finger and pointed to his own lips.? "<Can you...do you understand what I'm saying?>"
Tag Rabbit.
Luukasama