[ The bandage on her left arm has some blood on it, almost as if it's seeped through the layers. She draws her arm back and tenses up - a gut reaction - and she pauses. ]
N-no, no, it's okay. Just a little accident, seriously.
[ But it is clearly not fine, judging by the blood and the nervous expression on her face. Unbeknownst to her, her hands are gripping her jacket very tightly. ]
[The fact there's blood seeping through is the last straw as far as he's concerned. His expression turns serious and he shakes his head.]
There's nothing "little" about having blood-soaked bandages on your arms. C'mon, I'm a doctor. Let me at least take a look and change out your dressing.
[Rather than force her though, he turns and goes to get his medical bag, bringing it back to set on the bed. He then proceeds to take out some fresh gauze and ointment, before heading to the bathroom, where he dampens a towel and finally returns to sit on the bed beside her.]
[ She looks at the tools in his bag and considers this, watching as he goes to the bathroom and following him when he returns. ]
I... [ She hesitates for a moment and considers her options. One, let her probably pretty awful wound get worse but keep her pride - which will be lost anyway, probably - or two, allow Vanitas to tend to it and deal with the fear in the moment. The second one is slightly more favorable.
So, even though it takes a moment, she lowers her arms and moves her jacket off to the side. ]
Mmm. Don't let my age fool you. My father was one as well.
[Hence where he learned a good deal of his knowledge from, although not all of it. But that's a story for a later time. Right now, he focuses on trying to coax her into allowing him to treat her, by patiently sitting and rolling up his sleeves to keep the damp towel from wetting it.
Once she finally agrees, he smiles slightly and nods with a humorless laugh.]
Don't worry, I'm sure I've seen worse.
[And been through it, too. But for now, he merely unwraps the bandages in order to examine the wounds themselves. Once he's certain it's safe, he gently dabs at them with the cloth, until he's certain they're cleaned of any blood and debris that might be in them.]
[ The arm wound is...not great, to say the least. It quite literally looks like someone tried to rip her arm apart. Thankfully, there's no bone showing, but there's certainly exposed flesh that shouldn't be there. There's sign of infection starting to form. It's not great. ]
...I...sure.
[ They're married, and she has nothing to lose by sharing. ]
Ever heard of...the undead? Zombies? The end of the world, and what happens when people become those...?
[That's enough to make his expression turn serious as he goes into doctor mode, treating the wound with disinfectant and then fishing around his bag for a set of sutures and an anesthetic in a syringe.]
Only in lore and fairy tales. Though there was a time when vampires didn't exist, and they do now, so... [So he believes her.] Is that what did this to you?
[Taking up the syringe, he tests it a little bit, then takes her arm in his other hand, pausing to glance at her.]
[ She glances away from the tools, dreading the procedure, but what can you do. She'll grin and bear it, or she'll get sick from an infection, so... ]
Mm, I thought they weren't real, either. And then it happened, so...yeah. I'll have to ask you about the vampires at some point.
[ Because she will press on but she may also have a meltdown if there are vampires trying to kill her here like the zombies are. Once in a while is...manageable, but. Man. ]
Go for it. And yeah, it was an undead that did this. It tried to eat me as I was fighting off a couple of others. I was on my own.
[Treatments are rarely easy, he knows, so he goes slow to give her the chance to decide whether or not to let him help. She's within her rights to refuse treatment, after all.]
Heh, sure. We can trade horror stories, how about that? [He laughs, though it's mostly humorless.] Don't worry, most vampires are well-behaved these days. After the war.
[Carefully, he injects her with just enough of the local to numb her arm a bit, and while that takes effect, he digs around for another syringe.] Antibiotic. Just a dose to help you fight off the infection. [With that, he repeats the procedure, being as gentle as he can be.]
Yeah... It's not easy fighting multiple opponents on your own, especially if you're not used to it or don't have the tools necessary.
[ A war...there is so much lore here to unlock. She keeps her eyes trained on his as he speaks, and it serves as a grounding point, a way to keep her focused on something as the injections go in. Honestly, it's not the worst thing she's experienced, even if she's shaking a bit and gritting her teeth from the pain.
When the pain begins to pass, she nods in understanding. ]
It isn't. I...am armed, but I've never been trained in fighting or anything like that. I just...took something that I knew how to use and figured out something to keep myself and my friends alive.
[He sets the syringes aside to be sterilized later, and for now prods at her arm to test the numbness. Once it seems suitable, he takes up the sutures and begins closing the wound, using the utmost care so that it hopefully won't leave as noticeable a scar.
Hearing she wasn't trained to fight, he raises a brow curiously, and whistles low, appreciatively.]
Then you've done damn well to keep yourself alive. Fighting isn't something most people are born knowing how to do. It took me a great deal of training.
[At the question he grows silent, fingers still working deftly.]
...not anymore. I did for years, but... I have a companion now. He... He's my shield, really. He's a vampire, so he's stronger than me, faster, too.
[ Her arm is numb enough to not feel the pain from the sutures. She is rather impressed by Vanitas' prowess in all of this, but gets a little embarrassed at all the credit he's giving her. ]
Is that so? I guess I've never thought of it that way. It helps that my weapon has a couple of nice upgrades that help me through it, honestly.
[ Hearing, though, that he has a vampire aiding Vanitas does a little to assuage her worries about them. It's good to know that they aren't like the undead; that they have wills and thoughts of their own. ]
He's a good person to have on your side, then. And give yourself some credit, too, for operating that long without anyone. [ ... ] It must've felt lonely, fighting by yourself for that long. You seemed like you were hanging onto someone named "Luna" in your sleep this morning, so I guess that got me wondering.
[Thankfully the suturing of the wound doesn't take him long, deft as he is with the needle and thread. He nods a bit, smiling slightly.]
Tools of the trade play a large part in getting by, it's true. I myself have to make up for my lack of strength and speed with my mind.
[Meaning he has to be slicker than his opponents. Though the mention of Luna has him freezing up in the middle of putting everything away. His expression falls, becoming sadder and more forlorn.]
...Noé is my partner. We met not that long ago, really, but I trust him with my life. ....Luna was... a parental figure. Another vampire. They took me in after rescuing me from a bad situation. I owe my life to them. They were the original Vanitas, who I took my name from.
[ She watches as his expression falls at the mention of that name. Noé sounds like a person that's still present, but the way he talks about Luna is the way she talks about a certain someone, tonally. And if he took their name, then... ]
I think I understand a little more, now, why you were holding on so tightly. It makes me glad I didn't wake you up, after all. If all you have are memories of Luna, then it's important to hold onto them as best as you can.
[ She goes quiet for a moment, and looks over her newly dressed wound. He really did her a favor with all of this. She may have needed medical intervention far more severe than this if things continued to progress poorly. ]
Was that 'bad situation' what you were referring to, when you talked about trading stories?
[Normally he's not so easy to read, but the combination of alcohol and inadequate rest has left him more vulnerable than usual. He remains quiet again for a few moments, debating on how much to admit and how much to deny. If he really was clutching hard, there's no point in trying to deny it.]
I... Yeah. I guess you're right. Nothing is straightforward where they're concerned, but... I can't simply pretend they were never a part of my life. They made too much of an impact for that.
[Both for better and worse. For now, though, he merely hums quietly in the affirmative.]
If you want. We don't have to talk about uncomfortable things if you don't want, but... [He rolls up his left sleeve, revealing a large, ugly scar.] ...I feel that we're not so different, you and I.
That's a fair way to look at it. Things with parents and parental figures are rarely ever straightforward, huh?
[ Her experience is vastly different from Vanitas', but complex nevertheless. She shrugs and gives a wry smile with that statement, feeling the hollowness from her own strained relationship with her family for a moment. It's immediately dispelled when she sees that large scar, though, on his arm. Her eyes get wider. She found Vanitas strikingly handsome when she walked into the hotel room earlier, so something about seeing it makes him feel more approachable. ]
Oh, um, no, it's not that I feel uncomfortable talking about it. [ Which is saying something in itself. ] It's more that I feel like I'm being nosy by asking you this stuff, so it's okay if you don't want to tell me anything, but I really don't mind if you do. I asked, after all. [ ... ] And I get the impression that you're probably right.
[He knows that his own relationship with Luna was convoluted in a way few parental relationships could be, given the nature as a vampire, but... that doesn't stop children and parents from not seeing eye-to-eye or having dilemmas between them. Thankfully it appears that showing her his own injury might have been the way to go, to let her know it's not just herself who is disfigured and having had a hard time in their admittedly short lives. Smiling wanly, he lets his arm drop into his lap.]
It's not something I usually bring up, but in light of what you've been through, and the fact we're married-- [He laughs a bit, shaking his head.] --I don't mind sharing it with you.
[He pauses then, before continuing.]
My mother died bringing me into this world, and my father and her traveling performers were killed in a vampire attack...
[ That gets a little chuckle out of her, because admittedly, she hadn't been thinking too hard about that part. But if he opted out of sharing, she'd accept it. It makes her happy, admittedly, that he's choosing not to do that.
She brings her knees up to her chest, like she's getting comfortable for this conversation, and her expression drops when Vanitas talks about his parents. ]
That's terrible. [ She assumes so, anyway. It's hard to know that one's mother passed giving birth to them, she imagines, and to lose your father on top of that... ] I'm sorry to hear that. Did your father die when you were younger, or was this relatively recent?
[He seems flustered by the word "wife", but doesn't stop with telling part of his story for her. It sometimes feels freeing to let others know of his pain, but rarely does he even indulge in such a luxury. He almost never trusts anyone enough to do so. Yet with her... He feels a kind of kinship.
Though he isn't one for pity, even if he knows his story is sad and tragic. So like any good idiot, he tries to brush it off.]
It was a long time ago, when I was much younger. Probably close to ten years or so now. [He grows silent, thinking back on that day as his expression clouds over.] After that I was taken in by the Chasseurs, the church's vampire hunters. I wanted revenge for what happened, so they began training me. ...at least until a rogue one of their number kidnapped me. Dr. Moreau.
[ Mm. Ten years is a while ago, but it doesn't make it hurt any less, she thinks. At least, that's how it'd feel if she were in his shoes. She has a tendency to assume, but he's continuing with his story, so she follows along. ]
That explains how you learned how to fight. You were training to take those out, who took something from you...
[ Revenge isn't quite her style, but then again, she feels aggression towards the undead, for the one she loved turning into one and making her kill him with her own two hands, for putting her in this position. And it was never truly their fault, either.
The words "rogue" and "doctor" in the same sentence, though, don't mean something good. She has Words about some of the doctors she's been working with recently. ]
[He nods, eyes not meeting hers. It's easier to act as a dispassionate storyteller when he can't see the emotion in another person's eyes. He doesn't need or want the pity of people, no matter who they are.]
Exactly. They taught me the tricks and methods used by professional vampire hunters. All so I could avenge my family.
[He hesitates only briefly before continuing, voice becoming even more detached and distant. His eyes take on a faraway look, like he's staring into the distance despite only looking at the wall beside her.]
Moreau was researching vampires. How to become one. He used us children for his experiments, trying to create pseudo-vampires. These are the result of his testing.
[He covers the wound on his arm with his other hand, eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.]
[ She was expecting something bad, what with the mention of research, but bringing children into this, trying to turn them into a different creature entirely? Coupled with that very deep scar Vanitas just showed her – it's enough to set off something in her brain.
Vengeance may very well be her style, after all, because she holds out her good (better) arm, away from Vanitas, and with a flick of her wrist, something materializes in it. A white baseball bat, to be exact, something that might not even exist in this era but it looks like a weapon nevertheless. It starts glowing a shade of bright blue – one that looks like the color of his eyes, ironically. ]
You know, if you wanna bash this guy's skull in or something, say the word, because I wanna be there when it happens.
[ Then, with a disgruntled sigh, the bat de-materializes and she places her hands back in her lap. ]
I can't stand people who mess with kids like that. [ And it certainly doesn't help that she is talking to a victim of said experimentation right now. ] I've undergone a handful of those myself, but not as a kid. ... I can't stand to look at my body these days because of it. That's why I was so afraid to let you examine my arm.
[Most folks are protective of children, but few more so than those who suffered as kids themselves. So perhaps it's not entirely surprising that Vanitas finds himself facing a woman armed with... a bat, of some kind? A glowing, blue one at that. Seems blue is in vogue for supernatural powers. It's enough to make him chuckle a bit, even if it's wryly.
He appreciates her enthusiasm and desire to right the wrongs that were brought down upon him. Even if he'd have a hard time saying so. He traces a gloved finger along the edge of her weapon, smiling serenely.]
I would love nothing more, honestly. Personally, I'd like to gouge his eyes out like he wanted to do to mine, but beating him senseless would work too.
[He laughs again, though it's humorless and bitter.]
Nor can I. [Though his gaze does fall back to her as she admits to having been in a similar position.] We truly are a lot alike. I'm sorry for that. But you don't have to worry, I won't judge you or think any less of you for being injured or marked because of what you've gone through.
You can take his eyes first, and then we can beat the shit out of him. You should bring your vampire friend, too.
[ There's a whole story behind the bat, but one that she'll tell him later, at a better time.
Kara cracks a smile, because it's true that they are pretty similar in different ways. Different experiences, but the same sort of trauma. It's interesting how she stumbled across someone like him on a night of poor decisions, but it's making her start to regret her decision much less. ]
Thanks. ... It means a lot. [ Her overall demeanor is less guarded now, too, than it was earlier. Progress! ] The same goes to you, too, Vanitas. I'm not happy that we have so much in common, but it's nice to feel understood.
Heh, sounds like a plan. I think Noé would like to remind him not to refer to people as numbers again.
[Her ability to smile in the face of such information helps him to as well. These things are always easier to handle when there's someone else there to support you, after all. It's no different for Vanitas, despite what he might claim. Besides, if he was going to be stuck married to someone, he'd rather it be a person who can sympathize with and understand his struggles.]
Mmm. I won't show you them all, but... my body is a compendium of injuries from everything I've been through. You don't need to feel self-conscious around me. I won't ever judge you for something so trivial and beyond your control. [Carefully, he takes one her hands in his own gloved one, holding it lightly.]
[ Kara may not have as many scars as Vanitas, but the principle is the same. They've both been through so much that their bodies are no longer the same. His understanding is noted and she feels glad, actually, that they both made the decisions they did the other night.
When he takes her hand, pink immediately rises to her cheeks. It's a simple gesture, but it is quite sweet. ]
Y-yeah. I appreciate that. Seriously. You won't hear a vile word from me about yours, either.
[ And she finally gets a cheeky grin on her face, a big smile that unmistakably shows her gratitude as she then lightly holds his hand in return. It's a silent display of solidarity. ]
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N-no, no, it's okay. Just a little accident, seriously.
[ But it is clearly not fine, judging by the blood and the nervous expression on her face. Unbeknownst to her, her hands are gripping her jacket very tightly. ]
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There's nothing "little" about having blood-soaked bandages on your arms. C'mon, I'm a doctor. Let me at least take a look and change out your dressing.
[Rather than force her though, he turns and goes to get his medical bag, bringing it back to set on the bed. He then proceeds to take out some fresh gauze and ointment, before heading to the bathroom, where he dampens a towel and finally returns to sit on the bed beside her.]
I won't hurt you, promise.
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[ She looks at the tools in his bag and considers this, watching as he goes to the bathroom and following him when he returns. ]
I... [ She hesitates for a moment and considers her options. One, let her probably pretty awful wound get worse but keep her pride - which will be lost anyway, probably - or two, allow Vanitas to tend to it and deal with the fear in the moment. The second one is slightly more favorable.
So, even though it takes a moment, she lowers her arms and moves her jacket off to the side. ]
Sorry. It's...probably not going to look pretty.
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[Hence where he learned a good deal of his knowledge from, although not all of it. But that's a story for a later time. Right now, he focuses on trying to coax her into allowing him to treat her, by patiently sitting and rolling up his sleeves to keep the damp towel from wetting it.
Once she finally agrees, he smiles slightly and nods with a humorless laugh.]
Don't worry, I'm sure I've seen worse.
[And been through it, too. But for now, he merely unwraps the bandages in order to examine the wounds themselves. Once he's certain it's safe, he gently dabs at them with the cloth, until he's certain they're cleaned of any blood and debris that might be in them.]
Is it something you want to talk about?
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...I...sure.
[ They're married, and she has nothing to lose by sharing. ]
Ever heard of...the undead? Zombies? The end of the world, and what happens when people become those...?
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Only in lore and fairy tales. Though there was a time when vampires didn't exist, and they do now, so... [So he believes her.] Is that what did this to you?
[Taking up the syringe, he tests it a little bit, then takes her arm in his other hand, pausing to glance at her.]
I'm just going to numb the site a bit, okay?
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Mm, I thought they weren't real, either. And then it happened, so...yeah. I'll have to ask you about the vampires at some point.
[ Because she will press on but she may also have a meltdown if there are vampires trying to kill her here like the zombies are. Once in a while is...manageable, but. Man. ]
Go for it. And yeah, it was an undead that did this. It tried to eat me as I was fighting off a couple of others. I was on my own.
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Heh, sure. We can trade horror stories, how about that? [He laughs, though it's mostly humorless.] Don't worry, most vampires are well-behaved these days. After the war.
[Carefully, he injects her with just enough of the local to numb her arm a bit, and while that takes effect, he digs around for another syringe.] Antibiotic. Just a dose to help you fight off the infection. [With that, he repeats the procedure, being as gentle as he can be.]
Yeah... It's not easy fighting multiple opponents on your own, especially if you're not used to it or don't have the tools necessary.
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When the pain begins to pass, she nods in understanding. ]
It isn't. I...am armed, but I've never been trained in fighting or anything like that. I just...took something that I knew how to use and figured out something to keep myself and my friends alive.
[ ... ]
Do you fight alone, Vanitas?
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Hearing she wasn't trained to fight, he raises a brow curiously, and whistles low, appreciatively.]
Then you've done damn well to keep yourself alive. Fighting isn't something most people are born knowing how to do. It took me a great deal of training.
[At the question he grows silent, fingers still working deftly.]
...not anymore. I did for years, but... I have a companion now. He... He's my shield, really. He's a vampire, so he's stronger than me, faster, too.
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Is that so? I guess I've never thought of it that way. It helps that my weapon has a couple of nice upgrades that help me through it, honestly.
[ Hearing, though, that he has a vampire aiding Vanitas does a little to assuage her worries about them. It's good to know that they aren't like the undead; that they have wills and thoughts of their own. ]
He's a good person to have on your side, then. And give yourself some credit, too, for operating that long without anyone. [ ... ] It must've felt lonely, fighting by yourself for that long. You seemed like you were hanging onto someone named "Luna" in your sleep this morning, so I guess that got me wondering.
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Tools of the trade play a large part in getting by, it's true. I myself have to make up for my lack of strength and speed with my mind.
[Meaning he has to be slicker than his opponents. Though the mention of Luna has him freezing up in the middle of putting everything away. His expression falls, becoming sadder and more forlorn.]
...Noé is my partner. We met not that long ago, really, but I trust him with my life. ....Luna was... a parental figure. Another vampire. They took me in after rescuing me from a bad situation. I owe my life to them. They were the original Vanitas, who I took my name from.
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[ She watches as his expression falls at the mention of that name. Noé sounds like a person that's still present, but the way he talks about Luna is the way she talks about a certain someone, tonally. And if he took their name, then... ]
I think I understand a little more, now, why you were holding on so tightly. It makes me glad I didn't wake you up, after all. If all you have are memories of Luna, then it's important to hold onto them as best as you can.
[ She goes quiet for a moment, and looks over her newly dressed wound. He really did her a favor with all of this. She may have needed medical intervention far more severe than this if things continued to progress poorly. ]
Was that 'bad situation' what you were referring to, when you talked about trading stories?
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I... Yeah. I guess you're right. Nothing is straightforward where they're concerned, but... I can't simply pretend they were never a part of my life. They made too much of an impact for that.
[Both for better and worse. For now, though, he merely hums quietly in the affirmative.]
If you want. We don't have to talk about uncomfortable things if you don't want, but... [He rolls up his left sleeve, revealing a large, ugly scar.] ...I feel that we're not so different, you and I.
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[ Her experience is vastly different from Vanitas', but complex nevertheless. She shrugs and gives a wry smile with that statement, feeling the hollowness from her own strained relationship with her family for a moment. It's immediately dispelled when she sees that large scar, though, on his arm. Her eyes get wider. She found Vanitas strikingly handsome when she walked into the hotel room earlier, so something about seeing it makes him feel more approachable. ]
Oh, um, no, it's not that I feel uncomfortable talking about it. [ Which is saying something in itself. ] It's more that I feel like I'm being nosy by asking you this stuff, so it's okay if you don't want to tell me anything, but I really don't mind if you do. I asked, after all. [ ... ] And I get the impression that you're probably right.
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[He knows that his own relationship with Luna was convoluted in a way few parental relationships could be, given the nature as a vampire, but... that doesn't stop children and parents from not seeing eye-to-eye or having dilemmas between them. Thankfully it appears that showing her his own injury might have been the way to go, to let her know it's not just herself who is disfigured and having had a hard time in their admittedly short lives. Smiling wanly, he lets his arm drop into his lap.]
It's not something I usually bring up, but in light of what you've been through, and the fact we're married-- [He laughs a bit, shaking his head.] --I don't mind sharing it with you.
[He pauses then, before continuing.]
My mother died bringing me into this world, and my father and her traveling performers were killed in a vampire attack...
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[ That gets a little chuckle out of her, because admittedly, she hadn't been thinking too hard about that part. But if he opted out of sharing, she'd accept it. It makes her happy, admittedly, that he's choosing not to do that.
She brings her knees up to her chest, like she's getting comfortable for this conversation, and her expression drops when Vanitas talks about his parents. ]
That's terrible. [ She assumes so, anyway. It's hard to know that one's mother passed giving birth to them, she imagines, and to lose your father on top of that... ] I'm sorry to hear that. Did your father die when you were younger, or was this relatively recent?
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[He seems flustered by the word "wife", but doesn't stop with telling part of his story for her. It sometimes feels freeing to let others know of his pain, but rarely does he even indulge in such a luxury. He almost never trusts anyone enough to do so. Yet with her... He feels a kind of kinship.
Though he isn't one for pity, even if he knows his story is sad and tragic. So like any good idiot, he tries to brush it off.]
It was a long time ago, when I was much younger. Probably close to ten years or so now. [He grows silent, thinking back on that day as his expression clouds over.] After that I was taken in by the Chasseurs, the church's vampire hunters. I wanted revenge for what happened, so they began training me. ...at least until a rogue one of their number kidnapped me. Dr. Moreau.
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That explains how you learned how to fight. You were training to take those out, who took something from you...
[ Revenge isn't quite her style, but then again, she feels aggression towards the undead, for the one she loved turning into one and making her kill him with her own two hands, for putting her in this position. And it was never truly their fault, either.
The words "rogue" and "doctor" in the same sentence, though, don't mean something good. She has Words about some of the doctors she's been working with recently. ]
Go on.
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Exactly. They taught me the tricks and methods used by professional vampire hunters. All so I could avenge my family.
[He hesitates only briefly before continuing, voice becoming even more detached and distant. His eyes take on a faraway look, like he's staring into the distance despite only looking at the wall beside her.]
Moreau was researching vampires. How to become one. He used us children for his experiments, trying to create pseudo-vampires. These are the result of his testing.
[He covers the wound on his arm with his other hand, eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.]
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Vengeance may very well be her style, after all, because she holds out her good (better) arm, away from Vanitas, and with a flick of her wrist, something materializes in it. A white baseball bat, to be exact, something that might not even exist in this era but it looks like a weapon nevertheless. It starts glowing a shade of bright blue – one that looks like the color of his eyes, ironically. ]
You know, if you wanna bash this guy's skull in or something, say the word, because I wanna be there when it happens.
[ Then, with a disgruntled sigh, the bat de-materializes and she places her hands back in her lap. ]
I can't stand people who mess with kids like that. [ And it certainly doesn't help that she is talking to a victim of said experimentation right now. ] I've undergone a handful of those myself, but not as a kid. ... I can't stand to look at my body these days because of it. That's why I was so afraid to let you examine my arm.
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He appreciates her enthusiasm and desire to right the wrongs that were brought down upon him. Even if he'd have a hard time saying so. He traces a gloved finger along the edge of her weapon, smiling serenely.]
I would love nothing more, honestly. Personally, I'd like to gouge his eyes out like he wanted to do to mine, but beating him senseless would work too.
[He laughs again, though it's humorless and bitter.]
Nor can I. [Though his gaze does fall back to her as she admits to having been in a similar position.] We truly are a lot alike. I'm sorry for that. But you don't have to worry, I won't judge you or think any less of you for being injured or marked because of what you've gone through.
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[ There's a whole story behind the bat, but one that she'll tell him later, at a better time.
Kara cracks a smile, because it's true that they are pretty similar in different ways. Different experiences, but the same sort of trauma. It's interesting how she stumbled across someone like him on a night of poor decisions, but it's making her start to regret her decision much less. ]
Thanks. ... It means a lot. [ Her overall demeanor is less guarded now, too, than it was earlier. Progress! ] The same goes to you, too, Vanitas. I'm not happy that we have so much in common, but it's nice to feel understood.
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[Her ability to smile in the face of such information helps him to as well. These things are always easier to handle when there's someone else there to support you, after all. It's no different for Vanitas, despite what he might claim. Besides, if he was going to be stuck married to someone, he'd rather it be a person who can sympathize with and understand his struggles.]
Mmm. I won't show you them all, but... my body is a compendium of injuries from everything I've been through. You don't need to feel self-conscious around me. I won't ever judge you for something so trivial and beyond your control. [Carefully, he takes one her hands in his own gloved one, holding it lightly.]
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When he takes her hand, pink immediately rises to her cheeks. It's a simple gesture, but it is quite sweet. ]
Y-yeah. I appreciate that. Seriously. You won't hear a vile word from me about yours, either.
[ And she finally gets a cheeky grin on her face, a big smile that unmistakably shows her gratitude as she then lightly holds his hand in return. It's a silent display of solidarity. ]
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