milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Damian wasn't surprised to find himself alone by the time night fell. Whoever chose to be in Nathaniel's bed near dawn was usually up and about long before he rose with the setting sun.

Now, however, he has taken to the grounds surrounding Milliways... or, more accurately, the skies. Usually he isn't keen on levitating where he can be easily spotted, but the desire to feel the wind in his hair is too much to ignore tonight. It is one thing that reminds him a little of the sea, though the air doesn't have that salty density to it. The sea has been a comforting thought throughout his long existence, even though he hasn't more than glanced it in centuries.

He loses himself in the sensation of flight, letting his mind go blissfully numb for a short while before picking an inviting, sturdy tree and sitting high in the branches so he sways lightly with the pulse of the wind.

Escapism can be a wonderful thing sometimes.

He's botherable by those who can climb well (or don't need to climb in order to reach him). He has no intention of coming down from his perch.

[[ooc: Primarily slowtimes, as the mun has an appointment and a worsening cough... plus homework. Slowtimes welcomed! ^^]]

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A quiet, mirthless chuckle is carried into the wind.

"I often find myself thinking the exact same thing. A thousand years of torture is hardly worth it for the power my immortality has brought."

And because he will never be a master vampire like Asher or Jean-Claude, he has reached the pinnacle of his power. There is nothing more than this for him, and that is quite a depressing thought.

Xaldin nods a little "You were real, though. That's important to hang onto."

It means a lot more than just the words sound like.

"I am still real... all too real," Damian whispers, more to himself than to Xaldin. He can tell there is a greater weight to Xaldin's words, but he doesn't know how precisely to place it. He simply doesn't know the warrior well enough.

He isn't sure what compels him, but he takes the bait that Xaldin unknowingly dangles. He is, after all, trying to distract himself. What better way than to learn about an unfamiliar but relatively friendly stranger?

"You were not real?" Call it a hunch.

"I wasn't. For ten years." he says quietly "I was a Nobody - a Mind and a Soul that had neither Body nor Heart. I do mean that in a quite literal way - even now I only have the barest amount of biology meant to run a heart and am mostly made up of magic. I'm real now, Xigbar is real now."

He laughs and it's not exactly innocent or free - but it's real and of good humour. "And trust me, not having biology? Drives me crazy. I was a biologist when I was Dilan."

That information gets a reaction, however subtle. Damian's eyes widen, his eyebrows arching as he considers such an existence... or lack thereof.

The last comment causes a small smile to pull at the corners of his mouth. "It seems irony is... multiversal."

Xaldin nods - he's good at picking up subtlety - and says "Something like that, yes. That is another reason why I probably don't have to worry about anything you might do when crazy. I probably have less than a pint of blood in total."

"Not nearly enough to make you worth the trouble, if you'll excuse the expression," Damian admits, his voice a bit more emotive and amicable.

"I will have to feed again before the night is over, something between a sip and a full feeding."

His smile is a little sharp, "Certainly not."

"Anyway. What chemistry I have is so different from human that the two species never managed to so much as interbreed. I believe the bar can provide anything, but I don't know about living things. You could always ask around."

"I have sampled what Bar has to offer. It does little to sate the thirst and tastes nearly as sewage would to a normal human. It is tolerable for a short period, but I much prefer a donor or two. Some of the lycanthropes from my world are here, but... much is happening at the moment, and I don't want to impose."

He would see to his hunger, yes, but he doesn't want to make matters worse by feeding on Nat... or on Jason, who had donated recently. He knows Liz is around, but he has never even met the wereleopard and knows Anita dislikes her. Things always seemed so complicated...

"Plenty of helpful people." Xaldin says with a shrug "You could put up an open call. Unfortunately I only know one living human and she's pregnant right now."

The smallest shiver runs the length of his spine.

"I would not take from her unless forced." And he means it. The horrors of his time in the are of She who made him were still quite fresh. Now that he is given a choice more often than not, he can be more selective. He will not endanger an unborn child's life.

Setting up an open call... That is certainly an idea. He doesn't know how he feels about it just yet, but it's something to consider. Anita forbade him from drinking from the unwilling, but those signing up would be on the same level as those he drinks from at Danse Macabre. "I will think about setting up an open call if my friends cannot provide me with what I need."

The good humour drains from Xaldin's face and he says, "And I'd kill anyone who tried, no matter the external forces on them." it's not a threat. He's just got too much on his shoulders already.

"You might want to do so earlier, just to have some willing donors on stand-by."

Damian doesn't blame Xaldin for such a serious reaction. In fact, he approves of it, vaguely pleased that the pregnant woman has others around her willing to protect her. That is as it should be.

"Your point is well made," he says with a thoughtful nod. "I will have to ask my mistress before the decision is made, either way." It was a compulsion. Anita serves as his Mistress just as Jean-Claude had as his Master but a short time ago. Such a move must be approved.

That attitude from Damian honestly makes Xaldin's skin cringe. Even as Dilan he didn't get the idea of asking permission to live.

Yeah, he followed Braig, but that wasn't because Braig owned him. It was just the way things were.

"You have to ask."

"Yes," Damian readily supplies. "Anita has forbidden me to drink from the unwilling. While those who sign up would no doubt be willing, I am already on her bad side. I would be unwise to do something like this without her approval, even if she just ends up waving her hand at me and saying 'Fine'. She is... dangerous."

The fact is, he's frightened of her, all that power that she is barely able to control. She has never mistreated him the way his former mistress had, but she had just as much potential for doing harm to him with all that power at her disposal. He doesn't want to know what her mind would conjure up as punishment if pushed.

"She sounds like my old superior." Xaldin says - and he's not finding the comparison pleasing. "He was something of a tyrant as well."

Damian frowns. "My former mistress was a tyrant. Anita may be... neglectful at times, but it pleases me to follow her orders most of the time."

It isn't like he has much of a choice, in the end. "In any case, she is my Mistress, and her necromancy is what causes my heart to beat and my soul to return to my body at sundown each night. Without her, I am reduced to nothing but a ravenous animal worthy of execution."

There isn't really anything to say to that. Xaldin's eyes are filled with pity, but he's not going to say that.

Neglect as something to be grateful for? Ick.

"If you see a blonde human-looking kid in the same kind of coat as me? Stay away from him." is where he chooses to go "Roxas' element is Light. I don't know what effect he'd have on a vampire."

Damian, for all his six-foot frame, suddenly looks smaller as he gives a visible shudder. His fear of daylight is enough to give added weight to Xaldin's words.

"I will," he promises. "Thank you for the warning."

Edited 2009-07-14 04:24 (UTC)

"Technically he's neither good nor evil. He's just a - a friend of mine called him a demented little creature."

"I will do my best to avoid him," Damian says resolutely. "Evil or not, sunlight doesn't agree with my complexion."

It's almost a joke, but not really.

Xaldin snorts a little bit "In Roxas' hands light doesn't agree with anyone's complexion."

Damian nods understandingly, falling silent. Best not to approach and accidentally incite the wrath of those with light at their command.

A gust of wind ruffles his hair and the edges of his clothing (thought not Xaldin's), and he feels the tree sway beneath him again. His attention is drawn inward once again as his thirst makes itself known. He forces it down for now, but it makes him think about signing up donors like Xaldin suggests. It is a topic that will keep his mind occupied for the rest of the night, if not longer.

"If it comes down to it - give me a call." Xaldin says after a moment "I can get you to Halloween Town. They're used to vampires."

Damian's eyes refocus onto Xaldin again. He has no clue where Halloween Town is, but the offer is still appreciated. It's a sign of goodwill, and he doesn't get enough of those to take them for granted.

"Thank you, Xaldin," he says sincerely. "I will call you if I have need. Kind regards to your lady friend who is with child. She is fortunate to have protectors such as you."