I'm A Little Unsteady

“Feed on me?” she echoed his words back at him. Persephone was incredibly torn; she hated the idea of anyone feeding of her– weakening her, however it was a good way to gain trust. And finally, more indulgently, she wondered how it would feel. She smiled at him, biding her time. “How.. much do you need? If there is a quantifiable amount,”.

“However much you’re willing to give. It won’t hurt. But, you should probably take a seat.” He couldn’t describe the feeling to her. He was always the one taking and never giving. “It doesn’t hurt,” he repeated. “but I’ve been told that people feels like a bit of exhaustion, depending on how much I take.” He didn’t mention anything about memory. He didn’t plan on going that far with her so she wouldn’t need to worry.

“No, you can’t eat me!” Astrid practically shrieked.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to frighten you. I don’t eat people. I don’t want to eat you. I just need some of your energy.”

‘ i… well, i’m flattered, but… ’ but where was the harm, really? ‘ you won’t go overboard? ’

“No, I swear. I just need a little boost.” He hoped he wasn’t coming off too desperate, even though he was.

Kennedy stared at the man for a while, wide eyes with the fires of panic behind them. She didn’t trust a lot of people, especially not men that were older than her, but after a long pause she nodded slowly and awaited his next move. 

“Thank you,” he said softly. “Uh, could have your hand?” He held out his own for hers to rest on.

“Feed on me?” she parroted back, her expression carefully schooled into something neutral despite the strangeness of the request. Her eyes narrowed for a moment as she studied his face and recollection caught up to her. “Right. You’re the vampire. Dustin.” She folded her arms across her chest, squaring her shoulders. “Wouldn’t that leave me weak?”

He hated being called a vampire. There was something about the word that he couldn’t seem to relate to. Still, he understood why people referred to him as such. “That’s me.” He offered a weary smile. “And what’s your name, again?” Thought over her question. “Depends on how much energy I take from you. I can’t sense that you’re in any particular mood.” She wasn’t angry or depressed from what he could tell. When people were it was harder for him to stop himself from feeding off their mental energy. “I can control myself.”

elaine looked up from the book she was reading, seeing dustin in front of her a smile made it’s way on her face before she noticed the tired look on his face. ‘ feed on me? ’ she repeated before slowly nodding her head. ‘ i’m sure we’re going to need your strength, so be my guest. ’ 

“thank you, elaine.” he hated asking this of her, but he was near passing out if he didn’t get some sort of fix. “may i take your hand?” he found it was easier on the person if he did this, rather than clutching to the sides of their skull.

“Can you… do what to me? What?” Pandora’s eyes widened in confusion. “What does that even mean — ?”

“I...Sorry, I should have phrased that better.” He paused, thinking of a simple way to explain his power. “You eat food to get energy. And you patch yourself up to heal. I don’t need any of that. What I do need is mental and emotional energy from other people. I haven’t fed in a few days. So, as you can imagine, I’m starving.”