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CW: CHARACTER DEATH

[ The woman in the video is in her 30s, her distinctive hair loose around her shoulders, the white stripes making her pale skin quite noticeable. She shifts nervously as the message begins to broadcast, her expression uneasy while her eyes don't quite focus on the camera. Sure, she's looking in that general direction, she's just... not actually seeing anything. After a few moments, she finally speaks, southern drawl thick with nerves that make the words waver slightly. ]

Has anyone... Has anyone died recently? Here, on the station?

[ A pause. ]

Has anyone else died and woken up again?

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Nor do I wish to hurt you.

I think, likely, it is worth the risk for both of us. Afterward, we will see what happens. I promise, I will be fine.

Give me your hand, my lady.

[ Someone who wants to touch her but not hurt her. How strange a thing that is now. And maybe... Maybe he's right, and it is worth the risk. Can she be selfish enough to take this chance to find out?

One breath, two, and then she holds her left hand forward, the sleeve of her jumpsuit moving up to expose her wrist and part of a series of numbers tattooed into her skin. -827 ]

Don't hold on too tight, in case I need to break the connection.

[The numbers are impossible to miss, and he suspects they were not put there out of goodwill. For now, he does not speak of it.

Another time.]

Of course. If it's too much, break away as quick as you must.

[With a gloved hand, he takes hers by the fingertips gently. Leaning in, his fangs sinking into the flesh of her wrist, beginning to drink in the blood that rises to the top--

Oh, but what an odd sensation it is, to be drained as well in a way. It confuses him a moment, yet what else did he expect from what she had told him? Perhaps, though, it was only right to feel this way, like a penance.]

[ She isn't worried about too much for her. Three years of daily experimentation has conditioned her to being able to deal with 'too much' - the real worry is for him. If she were to take enough that his healing factor couldn't kick in fast enough...

Being the cause of yet another death is the very last thing she wants. It would destroy her here, when she's working so hard to move beyond her past.

The feeling of being drained for him is much the same as it is for her. That slight pressure of having something pulled out of you, a tugging that's felt deep in your body. She keeps her breathing steady through the seconds that pass, concentrating on how much energy she's taken, factoring in his healing, and at just a few seconds longer than with a normal human, she gives a gentle tug of her wrist. ]

That's enough. [ It's quiet, but there's a thread of desperation woven into the words. Hopefully he's sound enough of mind and body to listen. ]

[At the tug of her wrist, Alucard removes his mouth and fangs with a sigh. His hand reaches up to press against his forehead, briefly weary; for what he's had, she also is a bit draining, but it's well worth it. Hopefully for both of them mutually.

As he licks his lips, he considers her blood. This isn't quite the blood test he had in mind, but he's grateful she allowed this.]

Thank you. [His voice is soft. Tired, but not completely drained.]

You seem to be lacking basic nutrition. Other than that, I didn't detect anything unusual. [He frowns, then carefully says:] Your situation was... difficult before this?

Very. [ A simple answer for a complicated question, one full of potential rabbit holes into which to fall. She doesn't answer this way on purpose, not entirely anyway, but she's busy both noting what he said and processing everything she's just received from him.

A man attacking him. That's the memory that crashes into her mind with all the subtlety of a brick through glass, shards of regret and exhaustion raining down around her. And grief, so much grief echoes in her mind, pinging off her own until they're indiscernible from each other.

But what really gets to her and has her shifting uncomfortably: the complete lack of another psyche settling into her mind. ]

I uh... I was a prisoner...

[ The words are distracted and for a moment her entire world tilts on end and she's not sure if she feels faint or like she's about to be sick. There's certainly no way she's able to keep all signs of distress out of her expression. ]

[It doesn't occur to Alucard that the distress she's experiencing has anything remotely to do with him. Instead, as she reacts, he presumes that she is upset with the memories of having been imprisoned. By who, he does not know, but there is nothing that could beg for a pleasant reason.

Instead, his gloved hand gently takes hers.]

You need not say more, Rogue.

[He'd hoped his healing ability would help her, perhaps undo whatever damage has happened to her eyes. Regretfully, it seems the blindness is permanent.]

I'm sorry I could not help your eyes. I pray it is temporary. [Though he is not hopeful, he will not express that to her.]

Would you like me to stay, or do you need your space, my lady?

[ He's so sweet and kind. The feeling of his hand in hers, safe with the layer of fabric between them, is something she hasn't experienced in so long. It's nothing compared to the touch of someone's skin, but she's all but forgotten that sensation in relation to anything comforting, and so she holds on to his hand and hopes he doesn't pull it away too quickly. ]

Do you mind staying? I think I could use some company.

[ She hadn't expected his healing ability to work, truth be told. It doesn't feel like an injury, and in the same way her resurrection seems to be tied to the station, she has the sense that this affliction is as well. ]

Of course.

[His hand remains in hers, even as he stands. There's a pause, and he narrates:] I will sit next to you. If you need that to change, simply tell me.

[Whatever had happened to her, he feels deep compassion for. Despite all of his frustrations with humans and even individuals here on the station, he will not let that stop him.

As stated, he sits, and does not remove his hand. Not unless she does first.]

What was your life like before being a prisoner, Rogue? Were they better days?

[ He's so considerate, if he hadn't already endeared himself to her by now, that would have done it. She's always been the one going the extra mile for other people, so to have someone doing it for her... She's grateful in a way she might never be able to properly convey. ]

They were for a while. My childhood wasn't the best, but things were better after I learned I was a mutant. I found a home at a school for mutants, and I became a teacher there.

[ She'll keep hold of his hand for as long as she can. ]

[That does earn his curiosity. To him, knowledge is the best thing one could seek. For her to end up at a school earns his approval easily.]

I'm sorry that life was taken from you.

[He genuinely sounds mournful.]

What changed? If it is not too painful to say.

It's complicated. [ But that isn't an excuse not to share her story with him. After everything he's done for her, she has no reason not to share it. ]

Baseline humans have never really accepted mutants. At first, we were oddities, a small percentage of the population that hopefully wouldn't grow. But it did, and there were more mutants every year. Eventually, the governments of the world decided we were a problem that needed to be dealt with.

[Humans. Of course it's them.

Alucard shuts his eyes angrily, and he gently squeezes her hand. On her behalf, he's furious, even though there is nothing he can do to change it.]

Do you hate them?

[ How many times has she been asked that question? She gives his hand a squeeze in return and shakes her head. ]

No, I pity them. They started a war out of fear of what they didn't understand, and in the end it destroyed everything. As much as I wish I could hate them for everything they did to me, I just feel--

[ Her voice cracks slightly and she clears her throat. The topic hasn't come up much here on the station, but in a way she's glad it has now. Talking can be a good thing when it comes to dealing with trauma, and lord knows she'd had enough of that. ]

Sad. It's just sad.

[Rogue sounds like...

Well, it's hard to not make the comparison.]

As I was growing up, I would be told that people can lash out in fear of things they do not understand. That it was important to be patient, to be better than them.

I know they aren't all terrible, but it's hard to be patient sometimes. I don't think that I hate them, either, despite everything.

[ Not being able to see him makes this conversation more difficult than she's used to, but that's not stopping her from trying to comfort him as much as she can. ]

I've known plenty of people who hated humans for being afraid of us, for thinking of us as monsters who didn't deserve to be alive. But I pity them too, because I've known some amazing humans who fought on our side, who protected their mutant children and took us in when things got really bad.

[ She adjusts their hands a little, reaching over to hold his hand with both of hers. ]

It's easy for other people to tell you to be patient and understanding, to be the better man, but you're the one who has to live that life. If you can't, if you have to be angry and upset sometimes, then that's okay too.

[This conversation has shifted slightly. Alucard had every intention of trying to be as comforting as possible, even if he has little skill for it. But here Rogue is, still kind to him.

It was one thing to promise not to hurt them, to be better. It was another to be told that his anger and sorrow are okay to have as well.]

I am... frustrated. I am so frustrated and disillusioned. I will not break my promise, but it is hard to forgive.

[ She squeezes his hands again, wishing desperately that she could do more. But they've only just met and she can't see enough to keep him safe. Even with the exchange they just had, she doesn't trust her powers and this place enough to risk his safety like that. ]

You don't have to forgive them. I sure don't forgive the ones who tortured me for years.

[ The words slip out before she can stop them, and afterward she's too tired to spin some kind of retraction. So someone will finally know the truth. What does it matter anymore. ]

[They do not have to be forgiven.

In his heart, he knows that is true, but to be told that he doesn't have to forgive is soothing, unwinding for him. Silently and horridly, he is glad for a brief moment that she cannot see, because he feels tears rolling down his cheeks.

It has been over a month since flames consumed his mother, since his father struck a fatal blow and nearly killed him. Ever since, Alucard has not mourned, has not allowed that time, because there simply has never been a moment he was ready to. This is the closest he manages.

Breathing in sharply through his nose, he manages to speak.]

Nor should you ever.

Thank you for your words. I... [The sentence dies off for a moment.] I did not mean to take this moment from you. I felt to come to your aid, not the other way around.

[ Something horrible has happened to him, she can hear it in his breathing, in the cadence of his voice. It makes her want to wrap her arms around him and protect him from all the horrible things that might lay ahead for them. He is too good a person to be burdened with pain like this, and if she could she would take it for him and add it to her own. ]

You didn't do anything, sugar. I don't ever expect anyone to be so kind to me as you have, and I promise you, I handle things much better when I'm taking care of someone else. You've done me a favor by giving me something else to focus on for a little while.

I suppose that is understandable.

Then if I have... properly given you a distraction, then I do not regret it.

You have, and I really am grateful for that. And I'm so glad you decided to come check up on me.

[ It's strange how strongly she feels for him in such a short time. But circumstances like these often do lead to deep connections, so she's not all that surprised. ]

And I am pleased to have met you, though I wish it had been under better circumstances.

May I get you anything else while I am here?

[ She gives him a small shake of her head and a soft smile. ]

I'm alright, thank you. It's been really nice talking to you.

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