text; un: eriks

[underbluesky]

I understand that our blood carries power in this place it didn't have before.

Is there a way to know what it does without risking spilling it out in the open?
I'd rather not have any unpleasant surprises.

[. . .]

I only want my blood tested for "magic". Nothing else.
I'm not willing to be strapped into any equipment, either.

Thanks in advance.

Comments

[underbluesky]

[For his work...? Vash's breath quickens despite himself, and the Omni shakes slightly in his hand. He waits for it to steady before he starts typing again.]

Are you a doctor?

[Please, please let it be as innocent as that. Doctors are important. It doesn't necessarily mean anything.

The explanation that his blood is more valuable before it's been used for anything makes him vaguely want to be sick, though; it makes him want to hurry up and get it over with so that it's back to whatever the ordinary potency of blood is around here, but he doesn't dare do that without knowing, either. He's not sure he could take destroying another city. It's too much.

At length:]

I don't want to spill it before I know what it does. You can have the first use, if you want, as long as I can leave whenever I choose.

[Weird how he keeps emphasizing that part, huh,,]

[cryptograms]

Not a medical doctor, but yes.

But I can assure you, I'm quite familiar with the process despite that.

[ Yet another normal thing to say, and yet Ford moves on like there's nothing to be worried about.

Vash's comment, on the other hand, is a little odd. Naturally, he doesn't quite understand what Vash means. ]

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to leave. Once I've extracted a sample I can work on it whenever is convenient. I could even store it for several months, if you wanted.

[underbluesky]

[What other kind of doctor is there, though...? The answer puts him ill at ease, but it's Ford's confusion on that last point which has him really uncomfortable. On the one hand, it should be a relief that maybe this man cannot follow his line of implication because it simply wouldn't occur to him to hold Vash against his will.

On the other, maybe it's only because Ford doesn't realize what he is, yet. A fellow human's blood probably wouldn't be that interesting to him, after all. Again, a lengthy pause follows, before finally:]

That's not what I meant.

[Maybe Woe is right and this is a mistake. He can still get out of this before it's too late and it's obvious he isn't human and could be worth experimenting on. Maybe he should.]

[cryptograms]

[ Fortunately for Vash, Ford does actually know how to recognize when someone is uncomfortable with a possible course of action.

Unfortunately, his capacity for being reassuring is questionable at best. ]

If it helps, I'm a human without any supernatural abilities. There's a good chance I couldn't stop you from leaving even if I wanted to.

[underbluesky]

[It doesn't, really, and Vash is a little stymied on how to actually even respond. He doesn't want to be rude about it but it's also just ...???]

I see.

[There's more than a good chance; Vash is aware of how easily he could level this entire city. Yet the thought of hurting someone to protect himself still makes him feel ill.]

I'd rather it didn't come down to that, though.