taxonomites | 023: [ visual ] / [ location: Hyperion Hotel ] Before I come undone

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023: [ visual ] / [ location: Hyperion Hotel ] Before I come undone

No, no, no -

"No!"

Cordelia wakes up with a start, sitting upright on her bed with her hands clutching her blanket like a lifeline. For several moments she looks around her in alarm, wondering where the hell she is and where the others are, wondering if this is another one of those times she unfortunately opened her eyes only to be sliced and diced again and--

Then she rests her head on her hands, and breathes. It's over now. It's over and done with and they're all safe but the images are still burned in her brain, like a vision that's been put on eternal loop.

Slowly - mindful of the pains that plague her - Cordelia gets out of bed. She looks down at herself, sees the numerous bandages that are wrapped around her body, and sighs.

And here she thought she'd be safe in Taxon. Pfft.

She gets up, and walks over to the mirror. Cordelia looks at her reflection, and bites her lip.

God.

"Mummy girl much?" she whispers.

[ ooc: backdated to a day after the horrors. ]

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"When?" Cordelia demands, rubbing her temples - as if that will help ease the ugly memories away.

Then she looks up, as if remembering something.

"Wait. Are you still human right now?"

He shrugs. It isn't an exact science.

"It depends. Having people who love you helps." It's not the experience itself, but what comes after that can make or break a person. Cordelia is fortunate to have a strong group of friends and a lover who will make sure she doesn't fall apart.

"Yes, I'm still human." He cocks his head in a curious sort of way. Why does she want to know?

It's also a blessing and a curse, since sometimes she can't drive them away with a knife, even if she tried.

"Sorry," Cordelia says. "It's just... I heard Dru--"

Saying that name fills her with so much rage that she has to pause for a while. "I heard her say you were. It must have been a bajillion times worse, for you."

Godric's expression darkens at the mention of Drusilla, but he recovers admirably, not allowing himself to simmer in his anger. Not now. He focuses instead on what's been said.

"Worse?" He ponders that a few moments. "It was frustrating. As a vampire, they never could have held me. I could have stopped it all before it began. But as a human I could do nothing, and I hated it." Godric isn't used to helplessness, and that more than anything has soured his experience of being human again.

"One thing you can say about these aliens, is that they know just how to make a bad situation a thousand times worse," she says, shaking her head. "But... I'm glad. That you seem fine. I mean... you are, right? No... lasting injury or anything?"

Godric shakes his head, a small smile on his face. It's very nice to know that Cordelia is genuinely concerned.

"No, no injury at all, thanks to Eric." The healing power of vampire blood is not something he intends to advertise, but Cordelia has a right to know why Godric is only tired, while Cordelia is still wrapped in bandages. But even if she were so inclined to ask for some, which he doubts, a list of the side effects would quickly change her mind.

"Are you recovering well, yourself?" He means in terms of physical injury, only.

"Eric?" she asks. "Oh, you mean the hot, tall, blond vamp you're always with?" It did enter her brain, the question on how come Godric seems okay now compared to her when he got much worse treatment in that warehouse than she ever did. Add the fact that he's still human, and yep - big questions to answer, right there.

Cordelia nods. "I think someone got a little too enthusiastic with the bandages," she says, waving one arm for emphasis. She's guessing Fred wrapped her up, but she can't be too sure of that.

"Yes, that's him. I'm his Maker-- his Sire," he adds, remembering that the terminology for the vampires she's used to is a bit different.

He can't help but chuckle at the excess of bandages wrapped around Cordelia. Her mummy comment hadn't been far off the mark.

"Better too enthusiastic than not enthusiastic enough. Infection wouldn't be a pleasant way to top off a thoroughly unpleasant experience."

"...oh," she says, curious now. "So he... did something to help you heal faster?"

Cordelia then rolls her eyes. "I know, I know," she says. "God knows how much I'm careful with the whole 'getting infected' thing. Except I'm usually the bandager, not the bandagee." It's probably better that she wasn't awake when her wounds were getting cleaned up, though - she's been on the receiving end of so much winces and sharp intakes of non-breath from a tough vampire that she knows the process is a lot more painful than it looks.

"He gave me his blood." He hesitates perceptibly, but continues. "Unless a person is on the verge of death, vampire blood -- of our type, anyway -- will heal that person, not turn them. It has side effects, however. We don't usually tell people about it, lest they decide it's some grand scientific experiment."

He trusts that Cordelia, of all people, won't decide it's a scientific experiment, and it's clear he expects her to refrain from going around and telling everyone about it if she doesn't have to.

"Side effects." Oh, she really doesn't like the sound of that. It's reassuring, though - and a bit flattering, really - that Godric is telling her about this, when he just said that this was something they usually don't do. "Like what?"

"A bond is formed between the human and the vampire who offers their blood. The end result is that the vampire can sense the location and emotions of the human in question, and the human feels uncomfortable if they're separated from the vampire for too long." He neglects to mention the whole sexual aspect, merely because he feels like Cordelia might consider it TMI, and what he's already said is probably alarming enough. Besides, he can't give away all their secrets.

"For Eric and I, it's not so different from the bond we usually have as Maker and Child. But it's easy to understand why it would be unwelcome to most people."

It would have been TMI if he mentioned anything like that. Cordelia looks a bit intrigued and weirded out, all at once.

"It's like putting them on a supernatural version of a leash, or something," she notes. "But yeah. I don't think I've ever heard of that before. In our world it's usually the human who gives his or her blood to vampires - unwillingly, I might add."

See? He's getting to know her better already.

"It can be a leash, yes, but it can also be a safety net. If the human is in trouble, the vampire will sense it and can rush to their aid. If a vampire and a human become lovers, it's typical for them to form a bond. Exchange enough blood, and the bond goes both ways."

"Typical?" she repeats. "So... it's, like, normal for some of them to couple up?"

"Almost all vampires of our type have human lovers, either casually or committed. Sex is almost as important to us as feeding, and they often go hand in hand. It's when the relationship becomes serious that a blood-bond is formed. So yes, it's normal."

That might be some TMI again, but she asked, and he'll paint a picture as best he can.

And in the spirit of TMI - "So, do you have... you know. A human lover? You know, before?"

...you may have created an inquisitive monster, Godric.

"I had no problem finding people to have sex with, but no, I had no regular lover." He'd been too tired, too lost in despair to keep a lover, even a casual one, until recently, and the one he has now is a vampire. But of course, he doesn't mention that, or offer any other explanation.

"...huh."

In a way, it's weird hearing about other vampires. She knows firsthand about Angel, heard about Levi and Shane, and now, Godric and Eric's. She shakes her head.

"Anyway. I'm really glad you're doing alright, Godric."

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023: [ visual ] / [ location: Hyperion Hotel ] Before I come undone

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