video; un - usernamehere

[narcolepsy]

[ the video flickers online on before two wide red eyes fill most of the screen. ]

Oh! My apologies...

[ the camera pans back so a face is visible instead, showing a faint strawberry blonde wearing a fancy, high collared white shirt with a fluffy cravat. he looks a little pale, brows set into a vague frown, and with his bottom lip caught between his front teeth in thought. it looks reddish and like he's been nibbling on it for a while without thinking about it, and here and there there's a flash of small but sharp fangs. ]

Hello, my name is Baein. I was wondering if anyone knows whether people close to you would also get stuck in the time loop and come with you, or if you've found you always arrive alone? If it's possible to meet people you know here?

[ there's a distinct noise of his stomach grumbling and baein curls his arm around it, eyes widening even more before he looks up at the camera again before he takes a breath and straightens as if nothing happened. ]

Anyway, I'm looking for two people like that. They're of faery court and werewolf clan.

Comments

[narcolepsy]

[ the noise he lets out is startled, confused amusement lining the edges as he leans back to blink at daeshim. the burn behind his eyes is momentarily halted, and baein finds himself relaxing again. ]

You did before...? A-a wheel?

[ baein is starting to wonder how he's faring in daeshim's world. then again, if he's tiny as a vampire, he could hardly hurt anyone. the fact that daeshim can turn him into something small doesn't seem to face him though. ]

... it would hurt me. I never ever want you to get hurt because of me. But... I'm still a vampire.

[faeshim]

You were very adorable.

[and daeshim looks pleased, almost proud of himself, even if the arrangement didn't last very long. for reasons. very understandable reasons.]

And I am a Fae. Not human. I am not something you can harm.

[he doesn't know that he's actually the one who could hurt baein.]

[narcolepsy]

Dae...

[ baein just huffs out and shakes his head, so incredibly fond. no matter what, daeshim is charming in any shape or form, anywhere. ]

...you're a little like the Jasper I know, then. He's an elf— well, seelie.

[ but baein is sure he could harm jasper. has indeed done so before, unwillingly, lost to the curse. ]

But he isn't impervious to— to me hurting him.

[faeshim]

I will mushroom if you start to hurt me.

[yes, he just used 'mushroom' as a verb.]

[narcolepsy]

"Mushroom" me...? Weren't you going to shrink me?

[faeshim]

I can do that. I can also-

[one moment, baein is talking to him, his arms still half around him. and the next, his embrace is empty.

but daeshim isn't gone. a glance down will reveal his clothes in a pile, as if the fae just vanished right out of them. he didn't...he didn't because he didn't actually vanish, he just turned into the small lavender mushroom in the center of them.

the mushroom wobbles. it could be just a little bit of breeze in the room...or that could just be how a mushroom waves.]

[narcolepsy]

W-wah—!

[ he really should've been ready for it, because daeshim spoke as if he was going to start something. but baein still gasps in confusion, startled as he jumps back a step, eyes darting around the room and then down. ]

You... Daeshim?!

[ crouching down, baein barely dares touching the mushroom, mouth opening and closing wordlessly. ]

[faeshim]

[it grows still. the mushroom's cap is a very distinct shade of purple, identical to daeshim's hair. the stem, a warm tan color, not so different from his skin.

if baein tried to step on the mushroom, he'd find that it moves, the movement actually seen. or maybe there would be a little puff of spores, and a new one would soon shoot up.

he's a very persistent little mushroom.]

[narcolepsy]

[ baein wouldn't even begin to try and step on him. he does reach out to trail a finger down the cap though, if he's allowed. he looks a little worried at first, unsure about what's going on. ]

Did... did you mushroom yourself?

[faeshim]

[baein can always be trusted to be gentle. the mushroom...well, it feels like a mushroom, though possibly a little warmer than normal. one moment the vampire will find his finger trailing down the cap, and the next moment along daeshim's nose after he turns back.

it's enough to make the fae smile.]

If I'm hurt, that happens. Can't be hurt any more after it does. You see?

[narcolepsy]

[ baein blinks and startles, but he doesn't move his finger away. ]

How...? Isn't a mushroom more delicate?

[ he doesn't really think he believes it. not quite. ]

[faeshim]

Not at all! Mushrooms are tough! Can live for thousands of years.

[daeshim is only a baby 'room by their standards, and near to biologically immortal.]

A little bite won't hurt.

[well. it won't hurt him.]

[narcolepsy]

[ baein stills, hand still outstretched, blinking slowly at daeshim before he pulls back. ]

I'm... I'm not biting you. I couldn't.

[ yet, baein feels like he's losing this battle, little by little. ]

[faeshim]

You risk hurting someone if you don't.

[and he knows baein could never forgive himself for that. daeshim frowns at him. sometimes he can be a voice of reason.]

You cannot change what you are. [he pauses, mouth twisting, emotion seeping into his voice.] You will lose yourself in this fight, and I have already been taken from you once...

[he's not leaving until he does it. or putting his clothes back on either, apparently.]

[narcolepsy]

[ for a very sudden moment, it registers to baein that daeshim is sitting naked in his pile of clothes, and the prince hitches on no air at all, feeling a weak imitation of a flush grow on his cheeks even if it can't be seen.

it's both from daeshim's words as a voice of reason and the way he's so casual about his undress, and baein rubs at his face once before he bites his bottom lip, worries it between his teeth to abate the desire at the back of his throat. for a second he's not sure if it's hunger for blood or just daeshim. he assumes it's both.

and he can have one but not the other. ]

You're right... of course.

[ because he can't change himself. this is what he is now. he swallows the lump at the back of his throat when he's reminded he's still alone here in a sense. because daeshim, his daeshim isn't here. ]

How should I...?

[ lifting a hand, baein's fingers curl hesitantly, even as he brushes them across the daeshim's arm, but pointedly keeping his eyes away from any other lower part of the fae. ]

[faeshim]

[he isn't the daeshim that he knows, tall and strong, with muscles made from training and - just being what he is too, really. but he wouldn't give any less of himself, even if bae doesn't realize that just yet. it would be understandable if he wasn't ready to accept it either.]

However you want!

[he can't stop himself from scooting closer, almost into the vampire's lap. old habits die hard.]

However is easiest for you, which is probably where the skin is thinnest...

[daeshim hums in thought as he looks down over his own body.]

Here...or here. Maybe here.

[the base of his neck, the inside of his elbow, the inside of his thigh - all these places and more are pointed out.]

[narcolepsy]

[ of course, baein wouldn't put it past daeshim to be exactly as the one he knows in the end, just from different circumstances. but baein is too locked up into his own hesitance and fears that it's hard to realize what's right in front of him.

well... now it's difficult not to realize, especially when daeshim all but scoots into his lap and this time the vampire ducks his head, eyes averted at first. daeshim is offering this, as selfless as he's always been, no matter what universe, and baein swallows hard. he feels like crying, but instead he laughs, brittle as he follows the fae's words. he's so so fond, no matter what, and it's what his expression reveals as he looks back at the fae. ]

You should choose. It doesn't hurt for me and I'd rather it doesn't hurt as much as possible for you too.

[faeshim]

Here, then.

[it doesn't take the fae long to decide, tapping a place at the base of his throat, just above the collarbone. he's the one who's told baein that he is what he is, and isn't that where vampires normally drink from? plus, if daeshim did have any reaction to the bite, bae wouldn't be able to see his face from there.

he cups the vampire's face at first, that oh-so-serious expression on his face as he looks into his eyes.]

I'll count to ten. That should give you enough time without rushing.

[he pats his hair in what might be a strange little gesture, but also wholly fond. dae's hand slides to the back of his head next, to help guide him to the spot.]

[narcolepsy]

[ baein can't help but stare into daeshim's eyes, get lost into how deep they are when the fae looks at him, gently cradling his face, and baein's shoulders sag before he swallows and nods quietly, a small, grateful smile on his lips. ]

Ten. Right, all right.

[ his voice feels far away, a little shaky, before his eyes dart to look at daeshim's collarbones, and to how his pulse shifts against his skin at the base of his throat. the pull has been manageable up until this point, but the moment the fae tugs the vampire closer, fingers burying into his hair and gently holding him against his throat, baein can almost physically feel how his resistance crumbles to dust.

and so he bites into the skin there, feels it give almost immediately. warmth fills his mouth and the taste is sharp and overwhelming and almost immediately addicting and daeshim, and the vampire can't help but suck more mouthfuls of blood, not even noticing at first how his body locks up as he's pressed up against daeshim.

it starts at the hollow of his throat, spreads like a wildfire of intense and burning pain, and it feels like he can't let go, can't pull away at first, and so he panics and chokes on it, a strangled, muffled noise escaping him, and his eyes widen impossibly.

he can't see it himself, but the moment he's face to face with daeshim again, black vines are spreading from somewhere under his collar, crawling under his skin like a web. the world is blurry along the edges as he stares at the fae in confusion, and something in him is convulsing with the liquid fire that seems to want to eat him from the inside. ]

D...Daes—hi...m...?

[faeshim]

[the pain is quick and literally piercing, with the worst of it over before daeshim can have a reaction at all. by the time baein starts to draw, the area feels more uncomfortably numb than anything.

daeshim counts aloud, trying not to get distracted by the feeling of his fingers in baein's hair, and the way he doesn't smell like the woods. because of course he wouldn't.

there's a tingling in his extremities by the time he reaches five and six. the fae wiggles his fingers and toes to chase it away. by eight...nine...he feels a little colder, or maybe that's just his excuse to press himself against baein even more.]

Ten.

[he announces it proudly, letting the vampire withdraw before he moves. he's expecting to see the other with a little more color in his face, and a little less desperation in his eyes.

that's not what he sees.]

Bae...

[his breath hitches when the other starts to choke, and some of the darkened blood is spit out. daeshim suddenly doesn't know what to do with his hands, wants to help but isn't sure how...

no. oh no.

the fae tries to call the vines back, only they won't return to him. they're the magic of life, it's their job to choke out death and the darkness.]

Bae! Spit out it!

[narcolepsy]

[ it's like being underwater because baein can barely hear any of what daeshim says, he just sees his mouth move, but no sound coming out with how loudly the blood rushes through his ears, how deafening it feels.

a pitiful noise escapes baein's lips, a whine that's exhaled almost like a deflating noise, which would be funny because he doesn't actually need to breathe, but it isn't. because it feels like he's getting choked and he can't breathe. some of the blood he ingested bubbles up in his throat and into his mouth as if trying to drown him, and it spills out down his chin and onto his white shirt. the prince barely manages to raise a shaking hand to his chest and curls his fingers in the fabric, curling forward as he starts to choke and cough all over himself, dark blood splattering on his clothes and the floor and some probably on daeshim too.

he needs it out. out out out.

but it also feels like claws digging themselves into him, keeping a vice hold on his body. baein hasn't felt a fever since he turned, but it's back with a vengeance, as if it really wants to kill him this time, and he feels clammy and caught between absolutely burning hot and icy cold. ]

[faeshim]

I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

[he hates the color red, and it splashes all around him, down bae's chin and onto his knees. and all he knows how to do is pat him quickly on the back and try to get as much of the poison out of him as he can.

because that's what it is - a poison for bae. he is a poison. and while the fae doesn't cry (maybe can't cry, he's not sure) the pained whimpering sounds that escape him sound a lot like sobs.]

[narcolepsy]

[ baein doesn't flinch away from the contact, rather he curls into it, chases the warmth that is daeshim's hand, because while the blood is burning his insides like when he felt the sun shine on him a week ago, daeshim's hand feels like an anchor.

the coughing and gasping subsides after a little while, when he can't get more of the blood out. and then he hears the whimpers from beside him, and all baein wants to do is tug the fae closer, apologize for scaring him. ]

D-don't... apologize.

[ the words are caught in his throat and he coughs again, tries to breathe through the burn of the fever that's wracking through his body from nowhere. he needs to lay down, and he slides down to do just that, too tired to move out of the puddle of blood, but still close to daeshim, fingers fumbling to find the fae's. it doesn't hurt as much now as it did at first, but baein feels like he just has no energy left. no powers to speak of. ]

[faeshim]

I vowed...I made a vow that I'd never hurt you...

[he's broken his word. even an outcast among the fae should never do that. daeshim clasps both of his hands around one of baein's, holding his breath as he watches him until his lungs are burning and screaming for oxygen.]

Are you...?

[well. 'alive' wouldn't be entirely the right word. his voice trembles as he watches him for any signs, slowly lying down beside him. if baein never moves from that spot, then daeshim won't either.]

[narcolepsy]

[ it's easier to speak in a whisper, and so baein does that, closing his eyes for a second. it feels like he's burning up, skin clammy against the air around them, against the cold that naturally comes from inside him now. he's shivering from it, fingers trembling against daeshim's hand. ]

You... didn't. Didn't know. I— didn't. What even happened...?

[ he's so tired, much more than before, but when the fae lays down, the vampire shivers and tucks himself closer against the warmth, tries to will his body not to shiver as much. ]

You smelled good... still do. Your blood. I don't understand.