[closed] run fast don't stand in the sun there's too much work to be done

[cryptsleeper]

Who: Alucard and Viktor
What: Fucking around with dhampir blood experiments
Where: Viktor's lab, mid September to mid October
Warnings: Human experimentation, references to animal experimentation.

Comments

[cryptsleeper]

It's not belonging, precisely. It's more...[Alucard pauses, looking for words. He is not Sypha. Words are hard. Action has always come easier.]

I've been allowed to define myself here on my own terms. Building that has more weight, and the only important part of home or my parents has been the usefulness of my blood to your situation. That could have never come to pass in Wallachia.

[techmaturgy]

Yes, I understand.

[A little smile pulls at the corner of Viktor's mouth. He more than understands--he feels very similarly about the lack of expectations. About being able to put his name to his own work, without being dismissed or ignored simply because of where he came from. Alucard might be coming from a different place, but the principle of it is still the same.]

I have ownership of my work here in a way I did not, back home. [that does not, however, mean he has no desire to return, though he doesn't think he needs to say how complicated it is.]

Not that I really want to publicize what we're doing.

[A joke! Maybe!]

[cryptsleeper]

It's nice, when your name is on your own terms. I don't think I realized how much that meant until a few months ago.

[Alucard doesn't ask if Viktor has any sentiments towards home. Jayce has made it clear that it is a complicated prospect, and the dhampir will not poke the bear without due cause.

He can't help but grin at Viktor's statement though.]

Well, I don't either. At the very least, I don't have enough blood to give. And if this potion continues to work, then I will consider it fortune on top of fortune. It needs so little.

[Back to science though, just for a moment.] Still feeling good?

[techmaturgy]

Yes, then the problem will become lack of sap, rather than blood.

[It’s unsaid, but implied—Viktor does not want to be reliant on medicines or treatments that might ultimately fail. He’s grateful for the temporary solutions, but he views them as just that: temporary. If he can achieve it, he would rather take drastic measures to fully rid himself of pain and the prospect that one day, his body might start to reject these treatments. He’s sure certain parties might feel differently, but that isn’t a conversation for now.

Not that he isn’t glad for this, in the meantime. Viktor offers a nod.]

Surprisingly, yes.

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard follows the implication. He understands.]

We're merchants for time. What we have for now is a larger purchase than expected. That's room to work without panicking as badly.

[The dhampir smiles slightly. It is soft and fleeting, but the warmth lingers in his voice.]

Just let me know what the steps beyond this are, and I will do what I can.