Chum Teeth
I want to get off Mr. Bat's wild ride
Chum was going places. Mentally and physically, they were on a wild roller coaster of movement and confusion. Someone was holding them, that they knew. Chum couldn't orient herself, and were she any less experienced a sailor she might've gotten sick.
Once the ride ended, she finally got her bearings. Wooden treehouse. Lots of people, many of whom were familiar. The bat man, holding her collar. The slight scent of alcohol. The visual confirmation of a barrel with a spigot. In moments, Chum had slapped and wriggled out of the bat man's grip, rushed over to the cabinet with the glasswares, and took possession of the largest cup available. Then she poured a quick splash directly into her mouth before she started filling her chosen drink vessel.
"Ohhhoho, Thas cap'n stash quality right there…"
She said, the tiny taste appearing to activate all her goblin neurons… then she registered mentions of buying the alcohol and paused, only barely remembering to shut off the tap before the cup flowed over.
"Um. 'M I gonna owe ya for this cup? Ain't got coin on me right now, but uh… I got workin' hands?"
Chum's teeth appeared in a sheepish smile as she hoped and prayed that she didn't accidentally press gang herself into a new boss.
Pete was more just in surprise than anything else as he watched her drink almost all of the his Brandy, confused as to what the hell he was even looking at. Was that a troll?
Whatever it was, he took a sigh and muttered out, "I'll hold you to that," before downing the rest of his drink.
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(
@Jenhal Collab)
Putting Chum down so she could go inside, Batman noticed out the corner of his eye Kassandra sitting on the tree branches above the house. Pete kept the door open for Bruce, but he waved him off, turning to walk to the Spartan.
"I can take watch." He simply told her. "Both our groups have been through a lot today. And I'm sure you could use some food."
Kassandra opens her eyes to look aside at the costumed man. Interesting choice of armor.
"It's fine. The house is too crowded for my comfort." Kassandra tells him. She does feel a hunger growing, but she can function without for the night.
"I'm speaking from experience." Bruce told her. "You fought a dinosaur, outran a forest fire, and helped half your friends survive death. That tires people out, even me. And if you want to stay awake, some food and drink will help. And you don't need to be inside for that."
He could tell it wasn't just how crowded it was inside that made her stay out. Something else was bothering her. Whether paranoia or perhaps mistrust of these new strangers, especially since she wore armor and held weapons older than anyone else inside the house.
"And I speak from experience that I am fine after those ordeals." Kassandra retorts very plainly, without any anger or even the slight irritation she does feel for this man. She turns her head to look at him. "Maybe follow your own experience and go inside to recoup." She shrugs and looks back out at the distant fire.
"A fire like that would drive other beasts here as it drove us. Scared and hungry monsters could be coming on us soon. We need to be vigilant."
"Spartan, right?" Batman simply said after she finished.
"Spartan woman. The only women to birth real men." Kassandra answers. "And you? A race of…bat people?"
Batman was unphased by her question. "Let's say it's my way of striking fear into the hearts of my enemies." He explained. "What is the state of Sparta in your world?"
"I can respect that." Kassandra agrees and considers his question. So he knows Sparta.
"It's state? War, it's best state. Athens would have all of Greece united under its colors and creed, but Sparta fights on rather than be under the rule of high-minded philosophers and…boy-lovers." She laughs very quietly at that barb.
"So Athens is breathing down Sparta's neck?" Batman mused. "Were you battling against them before you came here like the rest of us?"
"No. I had just helped beat them back from Argos when I was taken." Kassandra answers. "Athens prowls the waves, Sparta holds the land. Might go either way."
"I take it you'd rather be there to push them back if they tried taking Sparta?" He questioned.
"If I could. But I have other enemies waiting in Greece when I return. If I return and if my world is still intact." Kassandra tilts her eyes up to the sky. "I saw a universe die. When you see that, suddenly your war and the war of your homeland seem so small."
"So you and your group have gone through this before?" He had deduced that the others in the forest knew more about this situation with the universe hopping than the others did. "How did you see a universe die?"
"From our ship. We rescued as many as we could watching these holes form everywhere. It was like nothing I had seen before." Kassandra snaps her fingers. "And like that we were gone and so was that universe.
Her group had a lot to answer for when the morning came. Questions a plenty for what exactly they've been up to before coming here. But for now, his focus remained on Kassandra. "I can understand that feeling. I've been witness to quite a few world ending events in my own universe. They're never easy to digest mentally. Makes you feel inferior to forces beyond what you believed to be possible." He explained. "But if it's any consolation, as small as you feel your home is, it's still as important to protect as a whole galaxy. No one is insignificant to protect when there's still good left in them."
"My name is Kassandra of Sparta." She introduces herself to the man at last, allowing herself to smile but does not relax. "Thank you for your assurances and conversation. I will admit, I am more of a solo warrior when not on a battlefield." Kassandra sighs and shrugs. "And in this war, I will admit I find myself outdone. Today I could do little more than fire one arrow and run for my life. Even this armor seems laughable to something like the one Abby wears." She takes off the helmet letting her hair down for the time.
"It saved me from the fire as I ran, but to many of the weapons I've seen, feels like it is too brittle. Yet, I cannot see myself parting with it, or my weapons, crude as they seem."
With a few moments of silence, Batman pushed his cape away to reveal his utility belt. He then pulled out a batarang to show her. "This is all I fight with." He told her, before pressing the release button on the side for the batarang to be fully extended. "I have a few more gadgets and weapons, but all of them non-lethal. I don't believe in killing, and I certainly don't believe in guns." He explained, holding out the batarang for her to hold.
"The weapons the others use, they're loud and clumsy, used often by cowards who don't believe in protecting, but hurting to get what they want. So I understand how you feel. You're a warrior out of time, put into a battlefield centuries ahead of the technology of Sparta, or Athens, or any other city-state of your world. And I'm sure once I'm explained the situation by your group, I'll be in the same place you're in of being outgunned and under-powered. But I've also fought gods, superhumans, aliens, and even witnessed the destruction and rebirth of my own universe at the beginning of time. All while using this." He tapped his head.
"Strength only works when you know how to use it. And being a Spartan, you certainly know this to be true. Don't let your doubts drag you down to using the weapons of cowards. What you have may need some refinement, perhaps an upgrade or two, but I wouldn't trade something as simple as this," he put his hand on his utility belt, "for something as loud and blunt as what those mercenaries we faced have."
"And if it's any consolation," he continued, pushing his cape around his body once more, "I know of a woman in my world who is also from Greece. Born to an island of incredible warriors, all of which are female, and were greatly influenced by Sparta. She fights with a shield, a short sword, a lasso, and wears an outfit not dissimilar to yours. And she's managed to kill gods with just those weapons." Food for thought.
Kassandra looks over when the cape is moved and makes that particular sound. Not a cloth cape, no it is more sturdy than that. The weapon he presents warrants a lean towards him, and the full extension a rise of both brows and a wider smile. She takes the batarang in her hand and carefully feels the edge as she listens to him. She can hear the wisdom in his words, the solemnity as he tells of what he has faced. There is an errant want to throw his weapon, see how it travels, that is ignored. Would just be rude.
"Thank you for your inspiring words." Kassandra hands his weapon back to him.
"Only one correction. I do not think any of our number who use those weapons from the future are any kind of coward. I have a….lover…named Brigid who is elsewhere, and she is still a warrior the same as you or I. I would say the same of others." Kassandra frowns a moment.
"Except Deadpool. Not a coward, but a buffoon." She amends her own statement.
"But thank you all the same…..hm. I did not get your name, dark warrior."
"Bruce." He gave his real name, but not grabbing the batarang when she offered it back to him. "Keep it," he told her, "may come in handy." With that, he turned back around to head inside, if for nothing else to get himself something to drink. He'd take watch around the house as well, both to keep watch for predators, and to watch Kassandra.
She had a long day. Better safe than sorry.
"Thank you again." Kassandra watches Bruce leave, carefully presses the edges of the batarang back in to make it safe to place in a pocket of her own belt. It might never see battle with her, being so small, but she would not turn away a gift that may tip a conflict in her favor. After he leaves, Kassandra also decides to step inside for a little something to eat and drink before resuming her perch on the outside. She feels better for it, and sleeps knowing Bruce is also out there to alert of danger.
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(
@Amber Franklin Collab)
Abby takes off her helmet and sits on the floor next to Alec, wiping the sweat from her brow.
"Now that there was a crazy time. But, I gots a souvenir." She takes from a pocket, the still bloody and partially charred Rex tooth she'd taken, showing it to her boyfriend and smiling proudly.
"That big boy from the crash came back for more. Took this for all the trouble. Cool ain't it?"
"Oooooh~" Alec gently tries grabbing it to look at it further. "Why do you always get the cool gifts?" He looks to the tooth, then her armor, and thinks about the gun, the cube she has in her room, did she also have a lightsaber?
He sighed, before putting his head back down on the pillow. "What's it now? Two weeks before I became completely useless?"
Abby lets Alec have the tooth for a closer look, in exchange having a drink of the Brandy he got from the Hunter.
"Oh come on now Al." Abby turns around and kneels at his bedside to reach over and stroke his stubbly cheek. "You'll be back on yer feet and kicking ass with me soon enough, dont you worry about that." She whispers "I know just how much a
man you are." And winks.
Alec chuckles at her remark, before leaning over to kiss her gently on the lips; leaving them locked together for a few seconds to enjoy the feeling. "If we get out of this. What say we... Take a vacation together?" He asked once they broke away. "Take a shuttle, find a quiet place to relax. Think we can just say we're on assignment to scout ahead without questions, eh?"
Abby gives him a small quick kiss on the cheek when they part.
"
When we get outta here, yeah, let's have a vacation. Somewhere nice. Like Zion Valley. I'd love to see what that place was like before the bombs." She trades him back the tooth for the Brandy. "Then after that, I wanna go home, get Rex and some of my favorite stuff. Then, we're gonna move in together." She nods at each point.
"Oh, absolutely." He agreed with the moving in part. God only knows what chaos they could do together on the Citadel. "Tell me about Zion Valley. What's it like in your world, and what's been told about it."
"Oh man." Abby gets a dreamy, far-off look in her eyes. "It's beautiful. Bombs didn't really touch it. Its got these high red rock walls, real green trees, clean rivers, clean air. Fruit growing wild. Got mutated bears and biiiig Geckos, so thats the only downside." She shrugs and lights up as she remembers something else.
"Oh and the sky! I know its the same sky no matter where you go, but in Zion, I swear the stars are brighter at night."
He draped an arm around her shoulders as she spoke about Zion, bringing her in closer. "Definitely should visit that then. What's some other places we can visit?" He just wanted them to talk. About whatever they could come up with. Felt nice and comforting in this rather stressful situation
"I think any place that ain't a ruin." Abby leans into Alec, kissing his cheek. "With a beach. I seen ads all over with these women lounging on a nice clean beach in nearly nothing. I'd like to give it a try."
"Now THAT I'd be completely for." He remarked, because... do I have to explain why?
"Love to go to one of those luxury planets to. Like, in my world, there's a place called Illum. Big garden planet owned by a race called Asari, you'd love them," Asari seemed right up Abby's ally, "it's absolutely filled with luxuries, it's glamorous, if we can get ourselves enough credits, we could totally rent out a high rise apartment in one of the tallest skyscrapers and live like kings."
"I got five big bars of gold at the Lucky 38 back home. Would that be enough?" Asks Abby
Alec went wide-eyed within milliseconds of her saying she had big bars of gold at home. "...... Yeah, that'd be enough."
"Good. Bring some more muscle to haul those out cause them bastards are heavy when you try to carry them together." Abby kisses him again and laughs "Don't know if we'd have room for them anyway, might as well cash them in instead."
"And I think we could get a good price for them!" He said, laughing halfway through his sentence as he imagined them rolling up on Illum, dressed in tuxedo and dress, like cocks of the walk multi-millionaires. He pushed her up to the cot and moved aside so they could cuddle together, wrapping his arms around her back and staring into her eyes. "Did I tell you I love you today?"
Abby, forgoing taking off more of her armor, lies down on the cot beside Alec and embraces him as well with one hand on his hip and resting on the other as she looks at him, smiling.
"Ya have, just before we got on that shuttle." She kisses him on the chin, and lets the warm silence linger a while as she does her best to enjoy this calm time.
"You know I can't really sleep in this getup." She laughs and kisses him again, climbs out of the cot.
"I'll be sleeping here on the floor. Just in case shit hits the fan." She bends down to give him a long soft kiss on the lips, then sits on the floor with her back against the cot, Death Pod on her lap, eyes closed and head back.
In the short amount of time between her kiss on the chin, standing up, and kissing his lips, Alec had somehow fallen asleep; already snoring as she said, 'I'll be sleeping on the floor.' He was out cold, with his hand still extended out from where she was next to him.
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(
@Noble Scion Collab)
With everyone inside, Vivi would find the small room the hunter said to put her savior in. The place looked like a guest room, with some decorations on the walls. Skeleton heads of different dinos, and some books on survival tactics. The cot looked like it hadn't been used in forever, with dust clearly on top of it and the stiff pillow. But, it would fit the mystery man, still shrouded by his massive hood, so she still wouldn't have seen his face until she pulled it down.
Vivi made her way inside and placed her 'package' down on the cot, deciding comfort would be best, despite the dust. She wasn't a medic, if anything she was a threat, it made her wonder if she should go find someone else to take care of the man rather than putting him at risk by having her around. After feasting on that soldier, she wasn't even sure if she trusted herself.
Yet it didn't sit right with her to just leave them alone, so she retreated to a corner of the room, curled up, and tried to avert her eyes from the defenceless saviour, like her mere gaze might hurt him.
Once his face was visible to her, Vivi could finally make out what he looked like.
The stranger's scars looked old, like they had been there for years, even though they were still so explicit. His eyelids also twitched like he was having a nightmare, with his head twitching to the side slightly, or his fingers lightly tapping against the cot softly.
His outfit was also covered in dirt and dried mud, while his face looked just as dusty from the ash from the fire. And his hands glowed a faint purple like the blades he formed from his wrists to cut through the trees.
Suddenly,
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAASP!!" He inhaled quickly, sitting up from the cot, before hyperventilating. He was in a panic, quickly scanning the room as he tried focusing on something. Anything. He'd fall off the bed, feeling dizzy and wobbly legged, and when he saw Vivi, he shouted, "AH!"
Then fell on his behind and crawled backwards into the opposite corner she was standing in. He covered up his face with his hoodie and brought his knees up to his chest to hide his face even more. If she thought he was scared of her appearance, what he began muttering would suggest otherwise. "I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry..." He muttered quickly.
The man suddenly waking up was a little startling, though her gut told her to be worried that he was suddenly scampering around after having a tree land on him. She may be a vampire, but she was a bartender first and foremost. Her mother had always taken pride in her hospitality and she intended to do Emma proud, even if she was going through an existential crisis.
"You need to rest." she said in what she hoped was a reassuring manner, trying her best to hide her fangs from view as she slid up onto her feet and began approaching. It appeared she wasn't the only one having a rough time, which gave her a grim sense of kinship with the stranger.
"My name's Vivian, you saved my life, and I did the same in return. Are you okay? How much do you remember?" she said with a soft smile, hoping he hadn't heard her breaking down with him on her back on the way to safety.
The man looked up to Vivi through his fingers as he also didn't want her to see his face. He recognized her. ".... Y-You're the sad woman." He spoke with a small stutter. "D-D-Don't look at me. I-I'll make you feel worse." He explained, before closing his fingers to block his eyesight. A creature like him would only make her feel ill. And she was sad enough after she ate the man and felt regret for it
The vampire gave a deep sigh.
"So you heard that, huh.." she grumbled, unsure of how exactly to talk with the man that seemed to have some issue with her seeing his face.
She sat down again, and once again ripped her since tatter clothes again, creating a new blindfold around her eyes. She wasn't going to lie again, but it might relieve some of the man's own distress.
".. I guess I'm not the only one with problems. For what it's worth, it's nice to hear someone caring for me despite knowing what I am, even if I don't know how." Vivian said bitterly, clearly reflecting on past experience.
"What's your name? I promise not to try and look at your face."
Upon hearing her rip off her clothing, he again opened his fingers just enough to see through the cracks, watching her blindfold herself again. That seemed... very kind of her to do. "Drake..." He answered after a long pause, lifting his head up more.
"I saw you... You killed the man and ate his neck." He said, but with no sense of judgement or even fear of her. In fact, he sounded slightly curious. "You're a vampire?"
"Yeah. Vampire, bloodsucker, monster. I've been called many things and it hurts that they're true." Vivian said after a moment of silence, slight exasperation in her voice. She didn't like the subject but people deserved the truth at least.
She was entirely unused to the tone of voice she was hearing, since it was usually filled with hate. She usually tackled with apathy. Vivi had gotten quite good at keeping her face neutral, or so she liked to think, but this time she just kelt her head down.
"I don't usually bite people, honestly. In fact, I hadn't bitten anyone in several years until today, but today's no ordinary day." she continued, once again lapsing into what she found to be a comfortable silence, a slight hurt in her voice at the admission.
".. But uh.. How about you, Drake? Are you a wizard of some kind?" the maid slipped in, wondering if she might feel a little better if she knew a little more about her conversation partner.
"N... No." How do you explain what he is? His master never gave his species a name. They weren't human, they were something new. He just referred to them all as 'children.'
"I'm... uh... I-I'm not... Sure." He answered truthfully. "I-I'm not worthy enough for a name for me. It'd be disgraceful to clarify what I am. A waste of breath and words." He sounded unemotional as he said this, though there was a small hint of sadness. Like he was repressing the emotion.
"Well, whatever you are, I'm thankful for it. You saved my life, along with that other wizard... I.. Apologise for my breakdown." she said with a small, solemn nod.
For a bartender, she'd never been that good at conversations, nor had she needed to be considering nobody ever even thought about talking to her. It was especially difficult considering they were apparently from different worlds, and while she had questions, she wasn't entirely sure if she knew which ones to ask, or if they even wanted her to ask.
They seemed to be.. Struggling, much like her.
"So.. Ah.. What's your world like? Mine's pretty green, at least from what I've seen of it. Knights everywhere, checking in every now and then to see if they should cut me down yet, rowdy dwarves, beastfolk taking solace in one of the only bars that'll accept them.. All that sort of stuff." The vampire reminisced, a bitter undertone in her voice at the beginning, slowly growing softer and fonder of what she knew as her home.
"It's okay." Drake told her. "... I'm sorry for... being scared. I-It's not you, it's... me. No one likes looking at me." He said that like it was a fact.
"Yours sounds better than mine. I don't know mine." He answered. "I only know little from books. And what I was told.... He said what world there was to explore wasn't worth it. At least until we were ready to leave home."
"Hah, I can't imagine your face is worse than anything I've already seen, but if you're that conscious about it, it's fine." the vampire said, bemused. It was strange hearing of such a problem considering one of the 'blessings' of vampirism was beauty.
"Frankly, I don't know all too much about my world either, I hadn't been outside the tavern in an age, and when I was, it was to go collect or buy things for the bar while supervised. A whole hassle really, Emma had to fill out forms for it.." Vivian reminisced, shaking her head as she remembered where she was.
She didn't get to talk to people often. Emma made for good conversation, but that was different. This was.. Nice.
"You spoke of leaving home. Are you a nomad then?"
Since her eyes were blind-folded, Drake moved his face up further to look at her. His scars were more visible to see, reaching up from the top of his head, down past his eye, and to the bottom of his chin. He listened to Vivi talk about her own struggles, and this 'tavern' she was fond of. It sounded nice.
Peaceful. "Maybe...." He admitted to her when she asked if he was a nomad. "I ran away to get away from him. I don't know if that means I'm a nomad when I'm still running."
The vampire shrugged. "Well, I doubt whoever is chasing you will be able to find you here." she mused, melancholy. The tavern was probably running just fine without her, but Emma would be worried sick. She hadn't gotten a chance to say goodbye.
"You mentioned 'we'? Are there others like you?" Vivi wondered, trying to make idle conversation more than anything else. She had a feeling the topics they were moving towards would be bitter for the man, and it was probably best to try a different direction.
"You don't know that." Drake said with a tinge of fear in his voice. "He was so angry when I left. I was his favorite. And I betrayed him by running away.... He'll find me anywhere." He was scared of 'him.' Very scared.
"He made dozens of us. Most died because... well, they couldn't handle the process. But he's gotten better at making us. He likes to think of me and a few others as his 'prize breeders.' Our genetics help make the newer ones adapt easier.... I don't like it though.... Hurts." He stared off into the distance past Vivi, his mind going down to the places that made him feel.. many things, to say the least.
"No, nonononononono, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it," he repeated, nervously twitching his fingers against his knees as he started to become panicked again.
"You're okay, Nobody's here." Vivi said soothingly as she slid across the room, using her life-sense once again to find him, placing a cold, pale hand on his as he began to panic. They seemed incredibly on edge, and she doubted the stress of suddenly transporting to some strange foreign planet was helping at all.
Whatever place he was from sounded.. Terrifying, frankly. It was like the stories she'd heard about liches using human sacrifices for the sake of immortality. She'd never exactly been the soothing type, and was wondering if a vampire moving towards him would even make him feel any better.
She retracted her hand and slid a little further away.
"I'm here if you need me." Vivi whispered quietly, wondering if she should just leave him on his own, but unwilling to commit to such a decision.
Drake's body froze once Vivi put her hand on his twitching one, like a deer frozen by a car's headlights. Even though she felt cold to the touch, she would feel his twitching quickly stop. It was... nice. When she backed away, he slowly put his other hand over the one she touched, and looked at it with marvel she did that.
"Th-Thank you... You're very kind." He told her softly, stuttering a little as he felt... relieved. "I-I'm sorry. I get very... frazzled, sometimes... Did 'Emma' teach you to be kind like this?"
While she was glad Drake seemed to have snapped out of that strange state he'd been in, Vivi was a little confused by the question. ".. What do you mean? This is just... Ah.. " she trailed off, suddenly a little embarrassed at the compliment. her face flickering through a number of emotions. Distrust, confusion, consideration, before ending on a small smile as she turned her head away.
She wasn't great at telling truth from honeyed lies. if he was mocking her or being genuine, she couldn't tell, and not being able to see his face certainly made it harder. The vampire rubbed her arm shyly, a way she was entirely unused to feeling considering most people she met were given nothing more than a cold stare back and a drink.
"..Emma didn't teach me to be a kind person, just to take the glaring on the chin and be strong. I just thought.. You needed a little company. No big deal." Vivi mumbled back, reluctantly accepting his words. To think he'd call a monster like her kind! What a fool.
Though she wasn't complaining.
"But... Do you think I'm... hideous?" He asked her, like his looks were defining whether she would like or hate him. "He always told me I was going to be shamed and shunned because... people are cruel to what they perceive as ugly." He quoted, rubbing his index fingers along his scar.
Vivian simply shrugged. How was she supposed to answer a question like that? His experiences were unknown to her, and the looks of disgust she'd received had always been more for what she was rather than how she looked.
"Well.. looks aren't everything." she said after some thinking. The thought almost made her laugh. She'd received more slander for being a vampire, despite the gifted beauty she held. She expected that appearance did nothing other than woo those at face value.
"People care more about what you represent. They saw me as a monster, a thing to kill their families in the night, and I couldn't blame them for thinking that. You? To me, you're a hero that saved my life, you didn't have to, nobody would've cared if you didn't, but you did... But none of that really matters. All that matters is.. What do you think of yourself? " she spoke up. It was a bit melodramatic, but she'd meant the things she'd said. Good, honest words. Emma would've been proud.
"........" Drake just looked straight ahead at the wall, staring off into space again as his mind went blank to her question. ".... I don't know." He answered honestly. ".... Thank you though." He again told her. "It's a nice question to ask." But one Drake seemed mentally unable to answer.
"If it means anything. I don't think you're a monster. That man you killed was bad. I don't blame you for it."
Vivi cringed at the last sentence as the memory bitterly lounging in her head suddenly made itself known once more.
"I.. Don't know what came over me. The heat of the moment just amplified the hunger. Your words are kind but I think you should be a bit more careful of me, like those at home." she mumbled back.
It was a foolish dream to think she could hold back her nature for her entire life. She was bound to crack at some point, and today just seemed to be the day.
"I hope we can get back soon, to our worlds that is. At least there, even if I forget myself, people will be prepared to stop me." she sighed wistfully, her head falling to the side. It hadn't even been a day and she could already feel the homesickness settling in
Drake watched her become melancholic as she returned to her previous thoughts of being an evil monster to this group. An idea struck into his head, one to cheer her up.
"Can I see your hand?" He asked her.
Raising her head, she tilted it inquisitively at the question.
"Uh.. sure." Vivi answered, raising her hand and holding it in front of him
He gently took it with both of his, turning it around so he palm faced the ceiling. Inhaling, he then blew a strange pink energy across her hand, like he was blowing fire from his mouth. It wouldn't hurt, in fact it would tickle, as a warmth engulfed her hand, then traveled along her body and up her spine.
It would be a sensation that was hard to describe, but would be immensely comforting and even relaxing, as her mind felt that strange warmth envelope her. The best way to put it was if she was a plant, and the fire Drake blew out was sunlight absorbing into her skin, leaving no marks at all.
The sensation was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. It made her shiver at the mere sensation of it.
"That's.. Amazing." she said after a moment of silence, clearly speechless by the act. Though she remained a little tense at the idea of having a spell cast on her, a small section of her mind warning her that it was all just a way to lull her into a false sense of safety.
"What is it? Did you learn it from someone? Or is it just something you know how to do?" she asked, shifting her mind to more pleasant thoughts. He was just being nice, there was no reason to think such dour thoughts.
"It's just... something I do." He said with a little smile. "I just make the receptors in your skin feel 'warm.' My master preferred it when I did it along his hands as a comfort thing." He explained.
He was happy she was happy. And he gave a little yawn after he finished speaking.
Vivian shrugged at his words, frowning at the term master, but deciding that it was a question for another time considering his yawn.
"Aha.. I haven't needed to sleep since I was a child, but I can tell you're tired." she chuckled amicably, before standing up and moving towards the door.
"Get some rest, I'm going to.. Go meet the others and keep watch, I suppose." the vampire continued, A slightly pained expression taking hold of her face as she creaked it open and slipped out. "I promise not to go far."
.. And with that, she disappeared.
Drake smiled lightly as she left. She was nice. And he felt safer now, knowing she was around.
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THE NEXT MORNING:
Once everyone was awake in the late hours of the morning, just about to reach early afternoon, with the sky completely cloudy to the point it looked to rain in the next couple of hours, the newbies were given the up and up of what the hell was going on.
The weird holograph lady in charge of this chaos, their first arrival back on the ruined earth, how the teleporting seems to be removing important people from worlds being invaded by the hologram lady, with the ruined earth being a sort of prison for said 'scattered' people of the multiverse, the strange centurion robot they fought off before escaping the planet, and its eventual death as the whole galaxy was destroyed right after they escaped thanks to a mass amount of energy created by paradoxes building on top of each other to the point of destabilizing reality.
And now they were trying to find out who this hologram lady was, and got trapped on this planet by accident.