[Arthur just nods along with his retort about being light, because sure he is, but it's always better for the horse regardless to have something to help better distribute the weight. He'll be asking for his own saddle back here soon.]
I've met folk, but I ain't so sure about meeting villains. How you deciding who's one of them?
[After all, Arthur himself is a bad man by his reckoning, but he wouldn't say he doesn't have teeth, even if he's trying to be better than before.]
I don’t even really know. I don’t think I’ve even met any of them yet. [He has.] I was just warned about them, and now you just warned me about some folk who won’t be so forgiving. But now that I say it out loud, I think you just mean you.
Robert mentioned people with very unusual names and god-like powers. The sheer density of these sorts of people here is astounding. I had to go all the way to the steppe to meet just one or two. There’s people who fly here. You’re not from somewhere people fly, are you?
Only if they using a hot air balloon, or stood too close to some dynamite.
[But people with powers, huh? He thinks of Tristan, really.]
I think I met a couple with magic powers, but nothing about gods. Apparently a couple of them can make things glow, but magic ain't real where I come from. Some conmen might want you to believe it, though.
You're right, but I know what you mean. I won't deny that there's some odd things that I've seen, stuff I can't explain, but no one is turning themselves or other things into lightbulbs.
[They're not far from the hospital now. Arthur's expression shifts as a thought occurs to him.]
But no, I ain't been supped upon. Just, maybe there was a time I found a feller who was doing that to folk. Not here, but I didn't get the chance to chat with him too much before I shot him dead. He claimed to be with the undead, and implied he was a vampire, but I dunno...
[He shrugs his shoulders.]
Guess I was wondering if you knew what drives a man to do that sorta thing, short of being insane.
Danny? You can’t go making up diminutives, and we- I agree we can be on a first name basis, but to go directly to diminutive is so intimate!
[This man, from what by all accounts was a normal enough world… had vampires as well?]
I see. I hadn’t met any, though… Perhaps I’ve met much stranger things. I’m not even sure how to explain them, but there was rumor of a vampire in the town I was in. [Besides himself.]
Oh, well. As far as I can tell, it’s just the craving for blood. Some people eat clay and dirt, you know. It doesn’t need to directly be insanity, so much as that animal part of man’s mind that still has instincts.
What the hell are you talking about? Diminutive? Have you looked in a mirror? You're about as diminutive as it gets.
[He does not give a shit about this drama over first names, sorry, Danny.]
You think part of our mind makes us wanna eat each other? I get it when it comes to... well, desperate times, but this man was in the biggest city I've ever been in. Well dressed too, hardly what I'd call desperate. I still ain't sure I believe his claim.
[Finally they arrive at the hospital, and as Arthur is hopping down from his horse, he keeps talking.]
Ain't they supposed to die in specific ways? He fell pretty quick with a bullet in his skull, more like a man would than some undead creature.
[That gets a little bit of a laugh out of him, though it turns into a bit of a cough towards the end.]
I think that'd just make people think you were sweet on me. I ain't seeing how calling you Danny is quite the same. But if it gets your panties out of a twist I can just call you Daniel, okay?
[As Daniil climbs down, he does watch him, wondering how that ankle is doing. Not well, it seems.]
That man, vampire, whatever moved real quick for someone that might be unhealthy, but I guess there ain't any telling what was the matter with him. He's dead in either case.
But, you doing okay over there? Didn't screw up your ankle too bad, did you?
It seems I really will look sweet on you. Come help me walk, please.
[He can save correcting him for when he’s in a chair and not at his mercy.]
It could have been supernatural, but still. Destroying a brain is destroying a brain. Everything complex enough to need one needs it to live. I’ve never seen anything regrow a brain. You could ask on the network, maybe.
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[Daniil did prefer a saddle, though. And he had to agree, Arion would probably prefer it too. Without a blanket at the very least this was a problem.]
Of course. I’ll send payment as soon as we get to the hospital entrance.
Have you met the “some folk” yet? I heard even the villains around here have no teeth.
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I've met folk, but I ain't so sure about meeting villains. How you deciding who's one of them?
[After all, Arthur himself is a bad man by his reckoning, but he wouldn't say he doesn't have teeth, even if he's trying to be better than before.]
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Robert mentioned people with very unusual names and god-like powers. The sheer density of these sorts of people here is astounding. I had to go all the way to the steppe to meet just one or two. There’s people who fly here. You’re not from somewhere people fly, are you?
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[But people with powers, huh? He thinks of Tristan, really.]
I think I met a couple with magic powers, but nothing about gods. Apparently a couple of them can make things glow, but magic ain't real where I come from. Some conmen might want you to believe it, though.
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[Is magic real where he’s from? He doubts it.]
I’ve met someone who glows. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but their powers are real.
Back home, I don’t think magic was real either. It’s hard to explain, and you’ve already complained about how much I talk anyway.
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[They absolutely have.]
You're right, but I know what you mean. I won't deny that there's some odd things that I've seen, stuff I can't explain, but no one is turning themselves or other things into lightbulbs.
[They're not far from the hospital now. Arthur's expression shifts as a thought occurs to him.]
Hey Doc, you ever treat anybody who drinks blood?
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[Daniil pets and soothes his horse, immensely grateful to be on his back.]
Don’t call me “Doc”.
As a matter of fact, I have. Why do you ask? Been supped upon, sleeping outside like you do?
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[You've only made this worse for you, Dankovsky.]
But no, I ain't been supped upon. Just, maybe there was a time I found a feller who was doing that to folk. Not here, but I didn't get the chance to chat with him too much before I shot him dead. He claimed to be with the undead, and implied he was a vampire, but I dunno...
[He shrugs his shoulders.]
Guess I was wondering if you knew what drives a man to do that sorta thing, short of being insane.
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[This man, from what by all accounts was a normal enough world… had vampires as well?]
I see. I hadn’t met any, though… Perhaps I’ve met much stranger things. I’m not even sure how to explain them, but there was rumor of a vampire in the town I was in. [Besides himself.]
Oh, well. As far as I can tell, it’s just the craving for blood. Some people eat clay and dirt, you know. It doesn’t need to directly be insanity, so much as that animal part of man’s mind that still has instincts.
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[He does not give a shit about this drama over first names, sorry, Danny.]
You think part of our mind makes us wanna eat each other? I get it when it comes to... well, desperate times, but this man was in the biggest city I've ever been in. Well dressed too, hardly what I'd call desperate. I still ain't sure I believe his claim.
[Finally they arrive at the hospital, and as Arthur is hopping down from his horse, he keeps talking.]
Ain't they supposed to die in specific ways? He fell pretty quick with a bullet in his skull, more like a man would than some undead creature.
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[Hes clearly embarrassed here.] Call me “Doc” if you must. [He lets out a frustrated sigh.]
[Even the people he works with call him “chief”.]
No, it’s not quite that. A healthy person shouldn’t have these urges. But when we become sick or injured, such things can happen.
I’m not aware of any animals that can cope with a bullet in the skull. [except me, apparently.]
[Daniil sighs, looking over the edge of his horse like it was a cliff. He slides off, landing on his good ankle, and hissing as he tests the other.]
No good.
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I think that'd just make people think you were sweet on me. I ain't seeing how calling you Danny is quite the same. But if it gets your panties out of a twist I can just call you Daniel, okay?
[As Daniil climbs down, he does watch him, wondering how that ankle is doing. Not well, it seems.]
That man, vampire, whatever moved real quick for someone that might be unhealthy, but I guess there ain't any telling what was the matter with him. He's dead in either case.
But, you doing okay over there? Didn't screw up your ankle too bad, did you?
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[He can save correcting him for when he’s in a chair and not at his mercy.]
It could have been supernatural, but still. Destroying a brain is destroying a brain. Everything complex enough to need one needs it to live. I’ve never seen anything regrow a brain. You could ask on the network, maybe.