[ic] Contact

[hisheartsdesire]

Tobias may one day learn to change the greeting on his voicemail. Until then, there's only the default.

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**Some thread content may be NSFW**

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[abduxel]

It's my ethereal good looks, actually.

You know, you're not like any vampire I've met.

[hisheartsdesire]

[And now, a curious look.]

Wh—well, what makes you say that?

[Why, do they all fall putty into his lap, or do all of them just hate his guts, or is it something else he can't think of?]

[abduxel]

[He says it matter-of-factly:]

You're so gentle and in-control.

[hisheartsdesire]

[Toby fights off the niggling urge to protest he'd never asked for this in the first place. Instead, he shrugs.]

Oh, I don't know about "in-control". You've already seen one of the fledgelings.

[He frowns as he remembers what they'd mentioned of Kanaya at the swear-in.]

[abduxel]

One of? How many did you make?

[hisheartsdesire]

—Why? Does it matter?

[abduxel]

Well, I might need to change my assessment of you, won't I? To answer your original question, the vampires I've met have all been so much more, uh - how do I put this - wantonly violent. Only every so often, when they aren't busy quietly brooding. Sudden massacres, that kind of thing. The bloodlust, you know, it gets to them.

[hisheartsdesire]

[Looking frustrated,]

It isn't like that, all right? [Because other immortals, YAY!] I'm not... I'm not looking to hurt anyone.

[Ah, but has he killed before? Of course, he has, and had even developed a taste for it back then, before he met Dorian.]

[abduxel]

To be fair, the only time I'd ever met vampires was when they were attacking me. For the most part.

But, that's why you're different. You're so gentle. Aren't you hungry, Toby?

[hisheartsdesire]

[That question and variations thereof always seem to key Toby up; this time is no exception.]

...I'm fine, there's no need for that.

[But if Abduxel has already learned to read Toby, he knows that's a lie. So many tells: the way he tenses up, turns his gaze away, tries to avoid that line of conversation...]

[abduxel]

How many have you sired? Have you killed any?

[hisheartsdesire]

[At least the topic has shifted away from his hunger, from blood and how wonderful it smells and tastes.

Defensive:] I haven't killed any. Not here. You already know about the one; isn't that enough?

[He wants to avoid making any more deals if possible.]

[abduxel]

[Their friendship is going so well. He ignores the question. His tone is casual, like he's asking if Toby is enjoying his new job at Starbucks.]

Is it better when you suck someone dry, Toby? Like, is that more satisfying if you get to see the light go out?

[hisheartsdesire]

What? NO.

[This is one of those moments he should've seen coming but somehow got completely blindsided. A little panicked but mostly confused, he tries to buy himself some time or look for a way out.]

...what do you want from me? What are you looking for, Matthew?

[He is on the verge of just wanting to flee.]

[abduxel]

[#bffs.

Abduxel looks at him plainly, his expression flat. He raises his hands, palms up, like calm down.]

I'm just curious. I've never been a vampire. Besides, I suppose that sets you apart from the vampires in my world, too. They like the taste of bringing death. Ask me how I know. [He winks, then, with a little smile.] But I was always an escape-artist, even before I died.

[hisheartsdesire]

[...Toby is conflicted. On one hand, he hates how easily Abduxel turns up the heat can pressure him or otherwise get under his skin. On the other, he thinks that he should be able to connect to or reason with the demon and thereby be rewarded.

So he glares at Abduxel, studying his countenance and body language, and... nothing seems off. It's as if Toby is just making a scene, that whatever animosity he might've detected earlier was all in his head. Or perhaps a misinterpretation on Toby's part. He eases slightly, though his expression remains slightly wary.]

—Is it common for demons to have relationships with vampires where you're from? How well did you get to know any of them; rather, any vampire other than myself?

[abduxel]

No. Demons and vampires tend not to get along well, where I'm from; your kind are considered to be cheating the Devil. But I wouldn't know, not first-hand. I was still in Hell before I was imPorted; I hadn't been to the mortal realm since the day I died, ninety years ago. They like to make sure everyone you ever knew is dead before they send you back.

The only way I really knew vampires was through stories, and on a few occasions, through near-death experiences. When I was still human, I mean.

[hisheartsdesire]

[Other than having his heart nearly fed to a siren and being turned into a vampire, Toby doesn't attract nearly as much supernatural attention as Dorian does. And though he had suspicions about Mister Wotton who "[has] so many names", he hadn't been certain. Was it madness to think he was the Devil, or perhaps some sort of demon?]

I should consider myself lucky; I was only gone for thirty years. [Not that Dorian was any more welcoming for it.] But "cheating the Devil", you say—how so?

[abduxel]

No one really knows how you work. What animates that forever-young cadaver of yours? Regular people, though, they think you're damned, that you've sold your soul to the Devil. But they're wrong, I think. Dorian did that. I did that. I guess it's possible, but then how does it spread the way it does?

[He got lost in a tangent there. He comes back to the point:] People think the Devil owns your soul but that you walk among the living, untethered from Him. Cheating Him. It doesn't make sense to me, really. Then, of course, you're stronger than us. That's probably the real problem: demons are an envious group.

[hisheartsdesire]

[The explanation stuns Toby into silent contemplation.]

I see. Not that I know how it works, whether in my world, this one, yours, or any other. But becoming... what I am, I never really died to begin with. Maybe it's just, I don't know. A strange condition. An unfair one, I guess.

[abduxel]

What do you mean by unfair?

[hisheartsdesire]

[He frowns.]

I meant it's unfair to you, to demons. Because you're right, I didn't sell my soul for this. I didn't even know it was going to happen, not until it was too late.

[abduxel]

Oh! [That's not at all what Abduxel expected him to be getting at, and when he clues in, he bursts into laughter.]

Let me tell you a secret about demons, Toby. Every one of us asked for this, quite literally. And that's all you need to know. Envious, sure, you're free and you're strong, but only by certain measures of strength. I don't need your pity, I really don't.

[hisheartsdesire]

[Toby is slightly taken aback, and yet again some part of him says to himself, You should've known better. Still, he would rather this comment than slip back into self-pity again—how easily that happens, and Abduxel knows how to twist the knife. Perhaps Toby is actually learning...

He sighs and shrugs.]

Ah, right. Sorry. He doesn't feel bad about his pact, and neither would you, and so it goes without saying you're all willing to pay the price. [He tells himself to stop here, but his mouth moves faster than his mind.] I don't know that I'm as free as you think I am, though. I may not have to pay anyone back or serve anyone, that much is true, but that doesn't mean there aren't other methods of being boxed in.

[abduxel]

Willing, well, that's maybe a strong word. But I deserve it, I got what was coming to me. I'm sure you know what that's like.

What boxes you in, Toby? Not being able to see the sun? You could. I offered you that much, once.