018 [Spam for Rex] Backdated to last night-ish

[whattasteisthis]

[Armand doesn't like being blackmailed, but what he doesn't like more is having what he believes to be his property messed with. The whole matter with the Joker earlier that night left a bad taste in his mouth. More than a bad taste. And that's what surprised him the most of the whole matter. He certainly didn't care that two people had been killed

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[stopthat_destro]

[Rex is slumped against the TARDIS console, sulking. He's too frustrated to work on his other ventilator-- not that it would do much good. It's nowhere near complete enough to be of any use right now. And he's had enough of shouting and kicking at the door in hopes that somebody would hear him. Logically, he knows that he has the spare in his room, but-- loathe as he is to admit it-- he's afraid to venture out and get it. He doesn't know what Joker's planning, and he doesn't want to get caught in it. And he's afraid that if he sets foot outside without his ventilator, somebody could take advantage of that vulnerability long enough to do some real damage. He's at least safe here, and the Doctor will return. He has to. Nevermind the explosion he heard.

When the door opens, he jumps to his feet, torn between relief and fear, and then... profound confusion when he sees that it's Armand.]

Armand?![And he has... the ventilator. Rex looks up at him, brow furrowed in confusion, then down at the device before he grabs it. He runs

[whattasteisthis]

[Armand watches all of this with something of an avid stare. He doesn't know what any of it means, of course, but the fact that Rex is breathing and well seems enough for the vampire. The thank you, though, takes him by surprise. It's been literally hundreds of years since he's been thanked for much of anything. He doesn't know how to answer properly anymore.]

No, I had to kill for him to retrieve it.

[The vampire, again, found no guilt in doing so, but found no pride in it either.]

Are... [you alright? Are you well? Are you breathing? Are you in need of blood? But none of those escape his lips, he simply straightens and puts space between himself and the scientist.]

[stopthat_destro]

[He looks at Armand carefully.] Who?

[Rex keeps his distance for now, feeling quite uncertain about this. Mostly, he's surprised that Armand even did Joker's bidding for him. Normally, he'd be thrilled, take advantage of the situation, but he's a little out of sorts right now, so there maaay be a little bit of Stockholm Syndrome affecting him.]

[whattasteisthis]

[Armand straightens his cuffs, in his typical desire to control things around him, and stays where he is. Nonetheless, he surrenders the names.]

Sam Tyler and Prefect.

[stopthat_destro]

[He nods. It doesn't really affect him, whether they live or die, so he doesn't really care enough to feel upset over their deaths. Prefect is a little regrettable, but it's hardly his fault. He moves closer to Armand, mostly because Armand's in the doorway.]

I should leave... I've been trapped here all night. [His voice betrays some bitterness, anger over the situation. He hates the vulnerability Joker forced on him-- no, that his accident forced on him.]

[whattasteisthis]

[Armand steps closer as well, until he realizes that the door is almost directly behind him. He feels incredibly stupid, so beyond stupid that his anger flares underneath his skin, boils in his chest. He looks darkly away before stepping to the side, his mind quickly turning toward a plot of revenge. How could he make the scientist truly grateful?]

You are not safe.

[stopthat_destro]

[Rex laughs, all bitterness and anger.] Of course I'm not safe. I'll never be safe here, especially while-- [He stops himself, touching his ventilator slowly. He hates it here; he's even beginning to hate himself and all of his stupid weakness, his emotions, the instability, everything the Barge piled onto him after tearing his life away.]

[whattasteisthis]

[Armand knows the sound of that laugh. Not from Rex, but from Lestat and it chills him to hear it from the mortal. His own dark anger bubbles slowly away as he raises his arm and rolls the sleeve away from his wrist. He presses his thumbnail, just above the series of white lines already in his arm, and slices it open.]

If you give me a bottle, I will fill it.

[stopthat_destro]

[Rex is a little surprised by this turn. Usually, Armand tries to push him into imbibing, but this time it feels different. He looks around, trying to find a container. It could be interesting to study, it could... Why does he just want to take it all in?]

I...

[He's fighting against impulse and desire, but he's tired. He feels weak and angry, and this is the only thing that makes him strong. But why should he think that Armand makes him strong? He's part of the problem. Rex growls in frustration and pulls off the ventilator.]

I don't need a bottle.

[Thanks for the addiction, Armand.]

[whattasteisthis]

[You're welcome, baby. Armand doesn't feel any guilt about getting the scientist hooked. None at all. But he is offering it under different pretenses than before. He wants to make Rex feel stronger and this is the way that he can. Nonetheless, his intentions are hardly innocent in that regard.]

Take as much as you like.

[He knows he'll heal, even if it's slowly and he'll be at the mercy of Rex, but at this single moment, that doesn't matter. And boy does it confuse the ever-loving shit out of him.]

[stopthat_destro]

[Rex nods listlessly and runs his tongue up Armand's wrist to catch the blood that's already dripped out before clamping his mouth down on the wound. It's not an intimate gesture, just an act of desperation. This shouldn't taste good, and it certainly shouldn't feel good, and he doesn't quite recall it being like this before. Regardless, he pushes these thoughts away, closes his eyes and drinks, not even caring about what's going on around him. He doesn't know when to stop, however, and Armand's going to have to pull him off when necessary.]

[whattasteisthis]

[Armand closes his eyes as well, focusing on keeping his senses going, to listen for danger if there could be any. As he does though, he can feel them weakening with every gulp he can hear Rex take. Things begin to dim slowly and the vampire feels that stopping point arrive. He reaches slowly for the scientist but stops himself. Confusion keeps him from stopping the mortal, maybe he'll understand if he allows it continue past. Maybe he'll realize something.

Maybe.

So, he allows Rex to continue to drink, even as his legs begin to grow weak and Armand sinks to his knees.]

I really wish I had some kind of transition icon between crispy and ALL BETTER :V

[stopthat_destro]

[Rex doesn't really think anything of Armand's growing weakness, not until the vampire begins to collapse. He stops himself, looking down at Armand in confusion. Armand killed for him, he saved him, he made him strong-- no, no, no. Armand hurt him, abused him, took advantage of him, kidnapped and killed him.

Rex hates him. Why is he letting Armand in? He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to block out how strange it feels when the blood begins to repair him better than any doctor ever could. He breathes like a man who'd just been drowning, then opens his eyes and sinks down to Armand's level, watching him carefully, the expression in his eyes conflicted, confused.]

Why? [He pauses, swallows.] What are you doing to me?

LOL. Shaved is good enough!

[whattasteisthis]

[Armand's eyes are somewhat glassed over and his usual silent breath (if he even takes it) is now thick and he's visibly struggling to stay upright. Why? Well that's a good question. A very good question. The vampire is more than tempted to just give nothing but mouth but the same confusion the same uncertainty that had been pressing at him since his return surfaces instead.]

The library. After... [he has to almost catch his breath, as stupid as that sounds to him.

But this entire change boils down to that one hour in the library after the child flood, when Armand's memories were scrambled and unstable. When Rex came to him. The vampire works to keep at least sitting upright as he feels himself swaying dangerously between states of consciousness.]

... A few hours. I will heal.

I need more of them, since SUDDENLY HAVING HAIR IS ILLOGICAL... even with fancy Anne Rice blood

[stopthat_destro]

[This is an interesting turn. Armand weak, while he's strong. He wishes he could take advantage of it, but right now he's too confused, fighting between hatred and something else, something unidentifiable. He lowers his head, thinking. The library... There had been many meetings in the library, and that doesn't answer his second question.]

They'll be looking for you. [His voice is flat, emotionless. He takes Armand's hand and applies some pressure to the wound on his wrist, not that it'll do much good at this point.] Elevate the wound. [Pause.] I have some blood in my cabin.

[Of course, it's Adam's, so who knows what that'll do.]

Anne Rice blood is ~magical~.

[whattasteisthis]

[Armand knew they would be looking for him, knew that he would not be able to fight against them. His warden had said that she would listen to him if he spoke but he doubted she would believe a word from his mouth. Instead, he focuses now on keeping at least semi-aware of his surroundings, but still misses the feeling of Rex putting pressure on the wound.]

They will take me to zero, I will heal there.

[And it was safe, if nothing else. Plus, he's pretty sure that Harper would so not approve of Rex harboring him from the wardens long enough to talk to Claire.]