Dragon Descending

[Asa]

It wasn't three nights.

It was the fifth night after he'd speared Jacob White that Asa returned to the Chapter House. He'd even brought a gift: a duffel bag that shifted and chittered, full of mice offered as reptile food from pet stores. Asa was dressed more functionally this evening. Jeans and hiking boots topped by a flannel and all-weather soft shell.

Just in case Maddox was... in a mood.

Five nights instead of three. Not because Asa was inattentive or mean spirited, but because the Man could hold on to that knowledge like a life-line, staving off the most rigorous opportunities of enlightenment that impalement provided. As the third night slid away into memory, had Maddox let the fear, anger, and hunger consume him?

"Maddox."

Asa stood at the top of the stairs, his deep voice wafting downward.

[White]

He had been a second to one of his seniors once in boxing. The man had been against a monster of an in-fighter, lost his rhythm, lost his guard, and then was then hooked right in the ear. He went down like a sack of wet cement. Afterward, he just kept muttering 'it's raining' over and over and blood trickled from his ear. It was alien to watch, this upbeat arrogant teen reduced to a muttering wreck.

Jacob could understand that now. At first, he wasn't sure when the third night would start. Did the first night of impalement count? On the fourth night, with every passing moment, that hot dry wind hunger and pain eroded his mind. When he woke again there was very little left off what Jacob usually was. But like his senior, there was a lot of what he really was.

Some part of his was aware of his name, a small part. Like half asleep in a dream, his consciousness rose closer to the surface but did not breach.

[Asa]

Asa let the silence extend before finally starting down the stairs.

The silence probably meant the other man had exhausted his Vitae. Perhaps he'd Frenzied at some point and the Beast had drained him in attempts to free itself -- but in the absence of sounds of incoherent rage or fear, that time was past. Likewise, if Maddox were conscious, he would have answered. Asa very much doubted he was the sort to not respond out of pure spite.

Asa dropped the duffel bag and picked up one of the other spears, gently prodding Jacob with the dull end.

Sorry to not progress further, but I have no idea if Jacob is Torpid or just silent/in a fugue.

[White]

His eyes snapped open, uncomprehending and clear. After a moment a barely audible rasp, "you are late." There was no emotion in the words, but a suspicious comprehension grew in his gaze.
"Time to come down?" He didn't let himself hope, which was easy in the wasteland of his mind. The only motion from the Shadow was his eyes following the Prince.

[Asa]

"Yes, I am."

Asa didn't bother debating semantics with the hanging man. Perhaps Jacob was even learning to be gracious and offered to accept that pretense rather than accuse of Asa of lying.

Which, he had.

"Nearly. First...," the Ventrue approached with the duffel bag. "If these aren't to your liking, one or two will at least knock the edge off. There's a knife in the outer pocket."

The last was offered with the most genuine concern he'd offered so far. Impaling a man was one thing, forcing him to get fur in his fangs was something else entirely. Asa closed the distance and held the bag up within Jacob's arm's reach.

"Just let me know when you're done and I'll bring you down."

[White]

He appreciated the knife, dull eyes looked over his hands as he did the grisly work. Bringing it to his mouth. He repeated once more. The influx of blood, like the return of feeling after an intense cold, brought the pain roaring back. By now a familiar feeling, if no less shocking.

"I'll have the rest on the ground if you don't mind." He licked the bloody knife clean and dropped it back in the outer pocket.

[Asa]

Asa watched carefully as the other man fed.

He wasn't a voyeur (when it came to Feeding) nor was the sight particularly riveting -- but he wanted to see how close the Beast was to the surface. Whether hands shook, or the knife was used, or if self-control was evident. As Jacob finished, he flooded his own body with Vitae.

"Very well."

More care was taken to lift Jacob than had been to drive the pole through his body. Asa lowered them to the ground and pulled the rod out with a quick, sudden jerk.

"Would you like to discuss the experience, or would you rather retire to your Haven?"

[White]

Involuntary air pressed out of Jacob in a wheeze as the spear was removed. It looked at the Prince blankly as he asked his question, a gaping hole where his midsection should be. He reached over and dragged the bag to him, completely incapable of sitting up due to a lack of abdominal muscle function. He reached in the bag, first for the knife, then for a mouse. He repeated his earlier silent ritual, driving the knife up through the throat and into the brain. He drank and then repeated with purpose. As each mouse is drained, the hole in Jacobs midsection is closed further.

"Sure."

He stood hesitantly, leaving the bag and knife to take his shirt where is lay in a heap. Deposited five nights ago. He put it on, before returning to place the knife back into the bag.

"Any specifics? Or want to listen to me ramble?" His voice held only enough intonation for the two questions to be clear.

[Asa]

"Excellent."

Asa wouldn't have been surprised --or even judgmental-- if Jacob had wanted to retreat to the security and comfort of his own Haven immediately.

The man I met six night ago probably would have.

He began ascending the stairs, headed for the remains of the library. No effort was made to clean the spears or floor -- Jacob Maddox's detritus would join that of others; a reminder.

"I'd like to listen to you ramble."

[White]

Jacob nodded, following the Lord.

"It's not easy to break the mind. In a way that it can return, at least." He didn't know if he would completely, but maybe that was a good thing. "This seems a good method. It preys on the fears of both man and beast. At first the knowledge of future pain, then the uncertainty. While logically the pain should not increase, the uncertainty made it."

He paused.

"The Beast became increasingly present."

And again.

"The hunger and suffering heightened it, the pressure drove my mind along a knife's edge. At some point, I must have frenzied."

And again.

"I don't remember. When I woke again all the life in my mind had drained away, all the rough edges blasted away by the grating wind of sensation. Good and bad. I was, and am, more basic."

He finally made eye contact, he looked very tired. "That will come back. I have learned. If you have thoughts, please share. Then I will retire."