Drift Fleet | IC Contact

[stefanged]

"It's Stefan. Leave a message and I'll get back to you when I can."

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[stefanged]

Sure. I don't think we'll find our game right away, and you've got my full attention, so...

[Stefan shrugs, unable to hide his amusement. Thanks for being considerate and not asking about the trainwreck that is (was?) his love life too.]

Fire away.

[monolike]

[The rumbling stops as they pass through the atmosphere and the shuttle autopilots them into the docking sequence, so Sorey unsnaps his harness and turns to face Stefan eagerly.] So, do vampires really live on just blood? How much do you need to drink? Is it only human blood, or can you substitute it with others? I'm assuming you can, since you seem to be doing fine.

[stefanged]

So uh, that depends from world to world.

[Stefan sits up straighter, holding onto his harness as if it were a safety blanket. The question doesn't bother him in the sense that it offends him, but it does remind him of how not human he is.]

As far as I'm concerned, I need blood to survive, but I mostly drink animal blood. The amount kinda varies - the more I drink, the better, since it's not like I can hunt whenever I want to.

[monolike]

[..........wait a minute]

Stefan are the Atroma starving you?

[stefanged]

What? No, of course not...

[He holds up his hands in a surrendering motion,] I take blood pills. They're just disgusting.

[monolike]

That's terrible. [FOLDS ARMS as they shuttle comes in to dock, landing gear lowering with a muffled clank] And there's no way around that? I guess if there were, you'd probably have tried it.

Are you at least getting the proper nutrition? I have no idea how blood nutrition works...

[stefanged]

I mean, I hunt. I'll take animal blood into bottles and I'll put those in a fridge and I'll drink those while we're in-between planets.

[Stefan winces at that clank, or maybe he's wincing at the SUDDEN UNEXPECTED CONCERN. It's hard to tell.]

I promise, I'm as healthy as a horse. Maybe healthier. [He flexes a (way too muscular) arm.] See?

[monolike]

Well... alright.

[right stefan it must be so strange for a friend to wonder if you're being starved when ur food is not provided. GOD.]

Okay then, if you insist! But you better tell me if that changes and if there's anything I can do to help, got it? [he probably thinks he looks stern when he points at his eyes and then points at stefan before climbing out of the shuttle.]

[stefanged]

[He looks very stern. Stefan's visibly struggling to keep a straight face as he gathers up his things and follows Sorey out of the shuttle.]

Sure thing, boss. You'll be the first to know.

[monolike]

[that's RIGHT

They make it to the edge of the forest and Sorey slips his bow from his shoulder, testing the string idly.] Oooh...feel that? The wind is really good right now. I think we're gonna have a good haul, Stefan.

[stefanged]

You can tell all that, just from the wind?

[Stefan tilts his head thoughtfully. Sure, he can smell some of his usual game - no matter the planet, some species are universal - but hearing the wind tell him is another.]

[monolike]

Well...not me, exactly. [Sorey tests the string again thoughtfully before sliding the bow back over his shoulder.] I have a pact with two wind seraphim. It's a lot stronger when they're here, but I can kind of feel it a little? If they were with me, they could tell you how many trees are in an acre of forest or how many birds' nests are in the branches. They're incredible; I'm just a proxy.

[stefanged]

No kidding. [He lets out a low, impressed whistle, taking a moment to stretch his legs before moving forward.] Maybe we should invite them along next time.

What do you mean by "proxy," though? They're letting you borrow that power?

[monolike]

[no dezel would aggressively protect all their game, idea vetoed]

More or less. [Sorey falls into step beside Stefan, picking his way carefully over gigantic sloping roots and through thick underbrush.] I have a pact with my Prime Lord, Lailah, and they make sublord contracts with her so that they can share their powers with me. It's weird here, since half of my friends aren't here, so I can't really feel too much of anything with fire or earth. But wind and water are really, really strong since Mikleo, and Dezel and Zaveid have been here for a while.

[stefanged]

[It all sounds so legal for something so... magical. Stefan ducks his head to avoid hitting a couple of branches, but slows down significantly to make sure that Sorey can keep up. If he's not careful, sometimes, he can run faster than even he wants to admit.]

That's still something. [He taps a branch as they pass it.] I can usually hear the animals long before I can see them, but I think you'll be beating me to the punch.

[monolike]

Enhanced senses are a vampire thing too? [The speed thing from earlier is definitely involved.]

[stefanged]

Yep. [He nods, jumping up a little higher to tap a particularly tall branch. (Sometimes, he's more of a kid than he wants to let on.)] Enhanced hearing, sight, general proprioception... taste's kinda off, since we don't need human food, but everything else's beyond normal humans.

[monolike]

[well ok now HE wants in on this so sorey runs back to tap it also before catching back up]

Interesting...that explains why you didn't bring along anything to hunt with. Did you ever get headaches at the start?

[stefanged]

Not that I can think of. But I also knew what I was getting into.

[Are they gonna compete to see who'll tap the branches first... because Stefan's not keeping score but this is a game he won't mind playing.]

I think my brother did? I can't exactly double-check with him, though.

[monolike]

[ok well sorey is gonna spot the next nearest branch and run for it, just barely smacking it with the tips of his fingers. IT COUNTS.]

Right... [Does Stefan have anyone from home here? Sorey resolves himself to ask later, when the mood is a little calmer than this one. It might be a painful question.]

Mm, I'm out of questions for now. But I'll probably think of some more! If you don't mind talking about it, anyway. Let me know if it gets to be too much.

[stefanged]

Not at all. You've been really accepting.

["Accepting about me," he wants to say, but that's veering into dangerously sappy territory. It's been a long time since anyone's outright asked without judging him at the same time. It's not a feeling he ever takes for granted, either.

Normally, at this point, he'd figure that he would pick up on some deer footsteps or maybe a small bunny rabbit... but so far, nothing.]

How much further in do you wanna go?

[monolike]

[Still kind of weird to hear Stefan say 'accepting' like there's something about him Sorey would be compelled to deny, buy it's clearly important to him. The blood-drinking thing must really turn people off.]

As far as we need! We must- Stefan, listen. That powder stuff is just. It's not gonna do it. I need meat. [aggressively hungry is the only kind of aggression you'll see out of this kid]

[stefanged]

[Aggressively hungry is, weirdly enough, a good look on this kid. Stefan can't quite help adopting the smirk on his face.]

Okay, well... if we must, it's a good thing we're more than prepared. I think I can handle all but one of these guys.

[monolike]

I hope you're better prepared than you are to play the branch-touching game because I [jumps up to touch a branch] am beating you.

[stefanged]

You're keeping score?

[He sounds almost offended as he leaps back to tap that same branch.]

In that case.... winner gets to buy the loser dinner.