Hawknell What an honor

He arrived at the address given and, once he was at her door, he gave a couple of knocks. Except he got in his head and told himself it was too quiet so he knocked again louder, like a second later.

Apartment on the first floor.

---

Riddhi heard the first few knocks. Vampire hearing and all. But she was in the process of tossing her destroyed outfit from earlier that night down into the basement to deal with later. Locked the door again, then turned around, Riddhi made her way to the front door in a tank top and jeans. Stole a moment to glance in the hall mirror and frown. Then wince from the pain. Her face ached from where Xena's nails tore through her cheek. Then there were the gashes in her arms bleeding dark blood. Dark blood she'd mostly washed off in the shower before bandaging the wounds herself. What a fucking shitshow.

She could already smell him before she opened the door. A psychic. Tempting. Very tempting but after the night she'd had, Riddhi was feeling a little too tired to feed. Besides, this person, whoever they were, was going to help her out.

When the door was finally opened to reveal the individual healer on her doorstep, Riddhi attempted a friendly smile. "Hello. Come inside." She beckoned for him to enter and do so quickly.

Whoa. What a face. Like. The injuries.

He blinked and swallowed. "Hey. Um. I'm Gabe." Had they even exchanged names yet? Now he was.

The apartment was extremely a vibe. He felt like he'd walked into some kind of low key Disney Halloween movie set. Wild.

"Uh, so. How many injuries we talking?"

Truth be told, Riddhi wasn't sure how long she had before Xena was discovered by her leader. Before questions were asked. Before someone came knocking at her door with a torch. So, the faster the healer came inside and healed her, the better.

"Rita." Riddhi replied, stepping back so he'd have room. "Three. My arms and my face." Fortunately, she'd gotten out of the situation relatively unscathed, all things considered. Still, being injured on both biceps meant she was unable to really fly anywhere. Which was a shame, considering it's how she got around for the most part.

"We can work in here," Riddhi gestured to the couch in the living room before remembering her manners. "Can I get you anything?"

He followed her where she led. Alright. Three injuries. Offered her a grateful smile for her politeness and hospitality. "I'm good, thanks. Let's see... I'll start with the one on your face."

And giving her the opportunity to situate herself as needed, he attempted exactly that, bringing his hand close enough to do so.

Questions were tempting. It looked like an animal had done this. Now wasn't the time to ask.

It took about a minute. The wounds sealed, though there remained ugly scabbing lines and it would likely still hurt some to talk until she could heal it the rest of the way.

---

Face swipes healed 60%

Riddhi took a seat on the couch, making room for the delightfully smelling Gabe to sit beside her. Tantalising, really. Unfair, truly. She was tempted to pout but refrained. Probably too painful for such an action.

Instead Riddhi allowed Gabe to do his magic, wondering how it affected him. She could feel the muscle reforming, her wound closing but not healing completely. Not yet. She lifted a hand to her face after a moment and felt the scabbed over line on her cheek, her vanity a little crushed by this outcome but she supposed it would have to do. It was better than a gaping wound in her face, that much was certain.

Riddhi began the process of untying her bandages around her arms, which was a little easier said than done with one arm.

“Do you do this often? Heal strangers?”

"Not often enough to be good at it, apparently," he sighed, looking at her free herself from the bandages, wondering if it even mattered. Feeling a bit tireder, as usual, but little else.

He placed both hands around the wounded area, again not trying to hurt her much here.

Breathing out, he pulled at the attempt again. And. Did really poorly. Like. It was barely even noticeable, to his eyes, whether he managed to heal it at all.

He frowned at it as he felt the feeling come to a stop fairly sooner than the first.

"Shit. I'm so sorry."

---

left arm is 10% healed :(

Riddhi didn’t comment on his abilities, though she did wonder if she should have shopped around a little for a healer. Oh well, she was desperate, and Gabe was willing. Be grateful, Riddhi.

Perhaps it was still a worthy alliance to work towards. A healer could help her much in the future, especially a psychic healer. Interesting. She let her thoughts wander a bit as he moved to her arm, refusing to wince at the pain she felt as he wrapped his hand around her wound.

Apparently, it was all he could do for it. Which wasn’t much. She barely felt the effects of the healing process, just the barest hint of something happening. Riddhi tried not to look disappointed as he rightfully apologised. But she waved his apology away carefully with her other hand.

“Try this one.” Riddhi untied her last bandage around her other arm, hoping for a better outcome this time around. Perhaps he was new to this. That didn’t mean he didn’t have potential.

Difficult not to feel incapable. He'd said as much, warned her, was doing this for free. But it felt somehow worse that she was forgiving enough to give him a final shot.

Okay, Gabe. Just.

One more. One more try. He brought his hands around it. Noted how cold her skin was for the first time. Why was it so cold?

Black eyes took over, and he poured his life force into her quite literally.

This healed... So much better. If still not quite fully.

---

Right arm 70% healed

This time Riddhi recognized the feeling of her right arm mending, the skin pulling back together and the wound sealing. It wasn’t fully healed, but it was close enough, perhaps the best he’d done for her that evening, and she gave him a small grateful smile, wanting to stay on the psychic’s good side as much as possible.

She stretched out her arm a bit after he finished, making a mental note to find new bandages to wrap around her left arm which remained, more or less, the same as before the healer had arrived.

“Much better. Thank you.” And now, because nothing was ever free in this world, Riddhi stood up and moved towards her purse hanging in the hallway. “I know you said it was free, but I must insist on paying you for your trouble.” Riddhi could be kind when she wanted to, but ultimately it came down to her not wanting to owe someone a debt.

"I don't want it — really," he pulled away. At least he'd managed one thing well enough.

"You can, uh. Donate to a charity or something if you want. Or give it to a homeless person. Honestly."

He rose up, joints feeling extra creaky.

Riddhi hesitated, released her wallet back into her purse and offered a tight-lipped smile. She was tempted to argue, but so be it. She would just have to repay this psychic another way.

“Well, if there’s anything I can do for you personally, just ask.” Stole a moment to look at herself in the mirror again, glancing sidelong at the scab on her cheek. Hopefully it wouldn’t take long to fade. Riddhi hated when people asked her questions. Hated to show a weakness of any kind. Perhaps another reason to lay low other than her safety.

“When did you discover your gift?” She asked as she glanced over her shoulder at him. He looked to be in his thirties, but age was a fickle thing that Riddhi often had a difficult time deciphering unless someone was obviously a child or elder.

As she looked at him though, Riddhi noticed something strange. He seemed… older? Somehow? Maybe she’d only imagined it but something about his appearance was off-putting. Couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Interrupted him before he could answer her first question. “Are you… alright?”

When? Well-

He faltered at the second question, and also the look on her face.

"Um. I think so?" he asked. He did feel tired, but it was also late, so. That wasn't the weirdest thing. Maybe he looked tired.

"Long day, for me, so."

Riddhi didn’t think he was okay. She moved closer to peer at his face. It had definitely aged some.

“I think you should look at yourself.” It was more of a command than a suggestion as she gestured to the mirror in the hall.

Gabriel was... so confused. But. Okay? Okay. He walked to said mirror, lights on. And. When he saw his face, he recoiled quite suddenly into the wall behind him.

"What the f-" and his hand went to his hair.

And out. Came. A clump.

Riddhi observed him from a distance, head slightly tilted, expression thoughtful. Watched as he recoiled from the mirror and pulled out a clump of his hair. It was… disturbing to say the least. Hard to really care beyond realizing that he may not be the best candidate for a go-to healer if doing so caused… this… to happen.

“I’m guessing by your reaction that this is abnormal for you to experience.” Riddhi appeared concerned for him in expression and tone. “You should sit. Let me fetch you some water.” Water helped calm humans down, right? The last thing she needed was an uncontrolled psychic in her house.

It was more than abnormal. It was horrific. In the span of what, a year? He'd gone from glorious long hair to his hair brittle, breaking, falling out in his hands. His skin. His eyes. Wrinkles. And his hands — looking scalier, the skin gone from smooth to textured.

It all made him feel so lightheaded and sick. Gabriel was lucky to have a wall behind him already. He slid straight down to the ground in a brief blackout of a panic attack.

When Riddhi suggested he sit, she didn't realize he would do so on her floor. She halted her trip to fetch him water and instead stared at him, not sure what to do.

He was clearly experiencing a crisis and Riddhi was not expecting to have to look after a psychic after the evening she'd had.

"Come. Sit on the couch." She instructed, not taking no for an answer. He would not fall apart in her apartment.

He couldn't breathe. He literally couldn't even get up. He felt so paralyzed. All he could do was stare blindly upwards. Try to get air in what felt increasingly like crumpled lungs.

Meanwhile, nausea.

Riddhi refrained from sighing aloud as she registered he was not getting up anytime soon.

She knelt down in front of him, searching for his gaze.

"Look at me, Gabe," She said, stern but kind. He had helped her after all. She supposed she could do the same for him.

A wild-eyed animal, he stared her straight on, more an effort of her meeting the line of his gaze than her getting through to him.

But she had it, and as the world prickled around, he found her eyes to be the only things he could see.

Ah, there it was.

"Calm down." Said simply, and just like that, it stuck. Hopefully, it would help Gabe so he could peel himself up off the floor.

---

Success :3

Just. Like. That.

Gabe felt his heart rate decreasing, his chest slowly expanding. Vision returning. Life flowing. "Oh god," he ran his hand through his hair again, coming away with more strands.

"I'm so sorry. I just... don't know what happened."

Voice calm, a thick shell of safety around him, keeping him from panicking further. Even the nausea seemed to have dissipated.

The magic worked to settle Gabe down enough that Riddhi was no longer afraid they were about to pass out on her hallway floor. While appreciated, she waved a hand at his apology.

"I think I do." She offered a hand to help them up. "You are experiencing side effects of your power." That was clear. Though what the side effects were exactly, it was difficult to say. She narrowed her gaze in thought, studying the healer before her. "How old are you?"

Side effects? Him. He didn't... have side effects. Not that he knew of? But. He was calm as he answered, even if confused. "Tw... twenty four. I'll be twenty five this year."

He stared at her, waiting as she led him to an answer.

While Riddhi struggled to determine human ages, it was clear to her that Gabe was no longer twenty-four going on twenty-five.

"I believe using your magic has aged you. I don't know if that's temporary or permanent, however." Maybe by morning, he'd return to his former self. Riddhi doubted it though. Magic was a fickle thing. Worked in mysterious ways.

His magic aged him. His magic... aged him?

Gabriel blinked. Calm, but surprised still. Magic could do that? Age him?

"It makes sense," he heard himself saying. "I mean. My hair. Used to be like. Long and. Good. But now-"

Now it was falling out. Huh.

It was an unfortunate side effect. One that could lead to his demise, should he keep on healing. At least, Riddhi assumed that was a possibility.

"I'll fetch you some water."

With that, she disappeared from the hallway and into the kitchen, returning a minute later with a glass in hand.

Water would be good. He was suddenly aware of how parched he was.

Gabriel watched her go, thinking he was pretty comfortable here. In the hall. On her floor. Maybe he could stay here if he was just going to keep... getting older.

Old. He lacked the proper capacity to freak out, but when he could, oh boy. It would be a freakout. He took the water, and drank.

"Thank you. Uh. Rita?"

Riddhi watched as he drank, her eyes drifting to his neck. Oh, how easy it would be. Alas.

“Don’t mention it.” She paused, studied him for a moment, still sitting on her floor. Couldn’t be comfortable but she wasn’t about to tell him to get up again. Instead, Riddhi sort of awkwardly knelt down on the floor across from him, figuring the least she could do was entertain his thoughts on the matter now that he had calmed down. She was partly responsible for the state of him, after all.

She wondered how his power may affect him if he was immortal. Not that she intended on siring another. That would be a horrible idea. Still. Curious.

“I wonder if your power’s side effect would change if you were given eternal life.”

It was soothing of her to stay with him on the floor. He felt more comfortable here, less a mess. Somehow some kind of a friend?

And then she made him blink in surprise. But still calmly!

"Uh. Eternal life?" he asked. Like. Being a vampire? Wait. Was she a vampire? Holy sh-

Calm.

“Yes,” Said simply. Did he not understand? “I only wonder this because if you keep healing at the rate you are, you might end up in an early grave.”

Not that she cared about human life.

Well. Maybe a little. He did help her.

Oh.

Oh, that was. Sobering. He wasn't even in need of sobering. Gabe put a hand to his face, unsure. Prevented from panicking about it. Thoughts clear. Just considering it all.

"Are you a... vampire?" he asked. Like. Was she. Like. Offering.

Riddhi could lie if she wanted to. Could also make him forget this fact about herself if she told the truth. Being a vampire wasn’t a crime in and of itself, however.

“Yes.” How would he react to this news? Calmly, probably. For now, anyway.

"Whoa." Whoa...? Whoa. Good job, idiot. "Never really, uh. Met one before. Is..."

How did you ask this.

"Is this like. An offer...?"

Riddhi wasn’t in the right state of mind to be making life-altering decisions for someone else, especially when it meant siring someone who may grow to hate her as much as Xena obviously did. She had failed three times at siring. Failed over and over again, each time making the decision out of loneliness instead of from a place of logic.

But. She had to admit. Having a healer under her wing would have its benefits.

Whether that meant she was offering Gabe eternal life was a question she wasn’t really sure of.

She studied him closely for a moment. Wondered if maybe, maybe siring someone new — siring Gabe — was a chance at redeeming past misdeeds. At starting over.

It meant responsibility for another being, which she wasn’t really thrilled about, and he may still age regardless of the change. Wouldn’t that be just horrible? Given eternal life only to age way beyond anyone anyway. Would he just turn into sentient dust at some point? A moving, undead skeleton?

Hmm.

“Yes,” Riddhi finally answered, a little surprised by her own response though she kept it from showing on her face.

Whoa.

What luck that he'd taken this very late night request. What luck that he'd even seen it.

He thought about how he looked again, distressed by it under a thick blanket of calm. Would it help, if he was never going to die of old age?

Gabriel had felt put out by Ashley's refusal. A pact of psychic healers was an idea he'd really hoped for, and now he wasn't sure he cared for any other concept. Part of pacting was to be safe from vampires.

What if he was one?

"Okay," he decided, and like. Really decided.

No one had ever accused Gabe of taking his time and thinking things through. Why would he do that when he could leap before he looked.

"Do I just let you like. Bite me or something?"

Okay. Just like that, he was on board. It was a fairly quick response to her proposal but who wouldn’t want eternal life? Riddhi knew the downsides to being a vampire, knew them well, but it was all worth it for the power she was granted in return.

“I don’t need to bite you for the ritual to occur. You must drink my blood, then die.” Simple as that. “After which you must drink human blood and do so before the new moon or risk dying permanently.” They could find human blood easily enough before then.

“It may sound scary, but eternal life comes with many benefits.”

He looked at her for the first time. Really looked at her. Despite the slashes on her face, she was... really pretty. Like. Really pretty. She had a delicate, sort of birdlike look to her that disarmed.

How'd she get those slashes anyway, he wondered. It didn't matter.

She spoke of benefits and Gabe found he didn't care to hear about them.

"Tell me after."

Was he about to die?

cw: mentions of self-cutting

---

Riddhi nodded.

Standing back up, she went to fetch a knife from the kitchen. Tried not to think about what a terrible idea this probably was. How she should sleep on it. How they should both sleep on it.

Cutting into her own flesh was always her least favourite part, especially when she was already dealing with multiple injuries. She returned first with the knife, and knelt down in front of him. Brought the blade to her forearm and cut an inch and a half of her skin. Dark blood dripped from her wrist and she was careful to hold it away from her clothes as she extended her arm towards him.

“Drink.”

She cut her wrist in front of him. How did anyone just... do that. Holy shit.

Gabe kept his eyes on her face as he lowered to press his lips to her skin. This was... intimate. And the moment was immediately ruined by the taste of it. So bitter, awful.

He scrunched his eyes shut and took it in anyway. And... also, unasked, he poured one more bit of his life into her tonight, before pulling away. His expression was a bit of mischief and wrinkle for the bitterness of her blood.

Wow. He'd just done that, huh.

---

wrist healed 90%

Riddhi leaned back slightly as he drank from her wrist, remembering what it was like when she drank from Gayatri’s all those years ago. Bitter was certainly the word for it. It wasn’t entirely a pleasant experience.

She could feel something happening to her wrist however. Riddhi peered at the spot where her self-inflicted wound had once been. He managed to heal it pretty well, unasked too, which was a kindness. One she hoped to repay as soon as possible. She smiled a little.

“How would you like to die?”

What a question. The truly Gabe answer was "In an orgy, honestly," which he was stupid enough to say and then laugh about. "Sorry. Um. How did you go?"

The answer surprised Riddhi, and she chuckled jovially in response, a sly smirk on her lips. It vanished slightly as he asked about her own undeath.

“My sire suffocated me. I… do not recommend this method.” She tilted her head, wondering if maybe she ought to get something out of this.

“I could drain you of blood. Drink from you, if you like. The bite doesn’t hurt and it would be like falling asleep.”

It felt like a relief that she laughed with him. Gabe never meant to make people uncomfortable. He just had a one track mind sometimes. Like. Most times, honestly.

Shit. He was really doing this. She was gonna... drain his blood. Or that was what she was offering. He'd been in his fair share of accidents. Blood loss wasn't fun, even if it was disabling. But painless blood loss from a beautiful woman... maybe that would be better.

He shifted towards leaning against his elbow, assuming it would be easier if he was already mostly committed to lying down. Looked at her with a bit of heavy-liddedness to his eyes.

"Yeah. Okay. Let's... do that."

He kind of assumed she'd do it from the neck. Efficiency, and also, uh.

You know. It would just kind of make sense?

Once he answered, Riddhi watched as he adjusted his position. Perhaps doing this on the floor was the best idea and in the end, she was glad he’d stayed there instead of moving to her perfectly lovely couch.

Riddhi took the opportunity to gently straddle him for easier access to his neck, softly pushing his head to one side. It had been a while since she’d last had psychic blood but she did not worry about a descent into bloodlust this time around.

She looked him briefly in the eye and added, “You may feel the bite at first but it will go away.”

Then Riddhi pressed her lips to his neck, her fangs elongating as she bit into flesh and began to drink. It was sweet, and reminded her of the taste of lavender honey.

Oh hey. This whole intimacy thing hit better the second time. It was certainly a position to be in.

She warned him, and he was okay with a little pain, so he said "Okay," head turned away. But he kind of had to look at her, as much as he could, at least until her face was buried in his neck.

A little flinch at the very start, and then he relaxed into it. Swallowed against her. She was so cold.

"Um. 'Sit okay if I like. Hug you. While you, uh. Do that."

Consent was important even if he was about to die!

Riddhi moaned in response to his question, too preoccupied with lapping up as much blood as she could to stop and answer him properly. Hopefully he’d understand that was a yes.

Her head suddenly felt light, as a feeling of joy overcame her. This was a good idea. The best idea.

She drank and drank, not intending on stopping until she consumed every last bit of his blood.

Holy shit okay. He wrapped his arms around her, already starting to feel a little prickly. In. His face.

Also. She was like, real into this whole thing, huh. Her tongue was on his neck and that was sending at least some of the blood she was trying to drink definitely, like, southwards!

He might have bucked his hips up a bit, unable to help himself. Even as she was steadily draining the life from him, he was definitely a dude in a situation. But it was short-lived enough if she even responded to it. In response to the blood he was losing, his body grew stiller, but his breathing grew more erratic and his heart knocked madly against his chest. Trying so hard to replace the blood lost, only to lose more of it.

There was anxiety, confusion. Cold to his skin, then clammy with cold sweat. He wanted to struggle against her, too late, but could not.

Gabriel died there as his brain shut down. Still a little horny, but well-drained.

Riddhi’s only focus was draining Gabe of blood, her mind too high to really consider anything else that might come along with it, even as he pressed against her. Instead, Riddhi reminded herself to listen for his heartbeat, listening as it slowed down before it finally sounded for the last time.

It took a lot of energy and effort to break herself away from his neck but she did. There was nothing else for her to drain and she let herself gently fall backwards. Her legs still straddled him but her back hit the floor with a muted thud, and Riddhi stared upward at the ceiling, a dopey smile on her face.