Private Blood and Bad Ideas

[Valaine Valentine]

​

Protected from the dry heat of the planet the academy upon Korriban could be surprisingly cool at times within its most interior depths. It was amidst these hallowed and ancient halls that a pale and thin, perhaps even frail, black-haired woman lazily trudged forward. Each step seemed heavy and tired as she slouched her posture forward while glancing from various old stone archways and more modern metallic doors that blocked off certain rooms and access points within the structure.

Amidst her fellow acolytes there had been news spreading of a particularly notable scientist and a name that kept getting mentioned; 'House Lutris'. Having grown up as a rather uneducated street rat on Jutrand Valaine felt like she had definitely heard the name before, but what exactly it meant she could not recall. But the histories, the big names, it mattered a lot less to her than what she had heard this individual was capable of.

Tired grey eyes paused at one of the more modern doors installed into the temple that was closed shut as she halted her steps. If she had followed the directions given by other acolytes correctly then this should have been the room she was looking for. Apparently it was a lab, perhaps temporary, perhaps recently renovated, she wouldn't know until she made her presence outside of it known to its potential occupant.

There was hesitance for a moment as she glanced from left to right down both ends of the hall, finding that it was entirely empty. The other acolytes seemed to have spoken about this individual with some manner of trepidation and concern despite her apparent skill and expertise in technology and other stranger pursuits. No doubt there was a reputation that Valaine hadn't been made aware of, and it was that fear of the unknown that made her give pause for just a moment as some shred of common sense tried to warn her.

She breathed in a steady and calming breath as she took a firm step forward towards the door and balled her hand into a fist. Reaching back she gave the metallic door a couple firm thuds that'd echo through with the bottom of her fist.

For better or worse Valaine had a bad habit; seeking power without caution, but she needed every advantage she could get.


Tags - Vakhari Lutris

 

[Vakhari Lutris]

Tag: Valaine Valentine

As Valaine had begun to knock on that secure door, it would fly open as a fellow student was leaving in a hurry. Carrying some sort of bloody mass within his gloved hands as it stained his white coat, following behind him was another student. Her eyes in a panic as whatever they were running off with might have been of importance to this duo, all the while if she returned her grey eyes to the room, another white garbed woman stood at a metallic surgery table.

Her mask echoed as she would sigh, her dark gloved hands resting on the table as she looked over a dissected individual. The stranger turns her head, ruby eyes studying this newest arrival. She gave off a feeling distinct from the other Sith here, calm, calculated... Yet it was hard to deny that something else lingered in the air.

"Ah, another wanting to practice the surgical arts?"

Vakhari's voice escaped out from her mask, soon she removes it before attaching it to her belt.

"I'm afraid that class is over for today, the last of the test subjects have been used. Or well.. More like butchered."

It was clear that the previous class here had not done an amazing job, going off Vakhari's words and facial expressions on the ordeal.

"Unless you are here for something else?" ​

 

[Valaine Valentine]

With a brief jolt of surprise Valaine stepped aside as the doors suddenly opened to allow the two rushed acolytes a swift departure, the scent of blood hit her hard. Her eyes caught what they were holding, the crimson against their white, as they both briskly made their way down the hall. When her head turned to look back into the room she saw the masked woman in white and her initial thought of her was simply '...short'. She paused as Vakhari's ruby eyes settled upon her when she spoke.

Valaine's lips parted to respond but the words were caught in her throat as she couldn't help but find something... off about Vakhari, something wasn't right. It took her a second to realize that her mouth was left slightly open in a pause, her fangs just barely visible before she finally spoke; "Ah... No. Not here for..." her gaze peered towards the table with the dissected corpse, "... That..." she answered with a soft and almost toneless voice.

She took a few steps forward to slowly enter the room and then bowed her head gently, "Valaine. I'd heard that you were the person to go to for uhm..." she pondered for the right words, "Bespoke equipment...?" she asked. There was a level of uncertainty to her, or perhaps it was better described as caution in the presence of someone potentially far more powerful than her. "I've got very specific requests... If you're open to hearing them."


Tags - Vakhari Lutris

 

[Vakhari Lutris]

Tag: Valaine Valentine ​

'...short'.

Quite.

"A more personal item? I can't say I am opposed to such a thing, after all... I have made such things before. From stims to bodily augmentations, weapons.. Hrm."

There was something else, it was an armor! But alas she was not the main pair of hands, but one of a trio.

"I can assure you that no matter the request, I have perhaps been asked something stranger. Like say today, surgical extracts yes yes, but a high profile noble or some businessman was needing organs for something. Was it a party? Who really cares, I did my part and got to teach- tried to teach students."

She spoke as if she was some elder, but in truth a lot of the students may be older than her.

"Anyway.. Yes, I handle things like that. Most in my house cannot be bothered, to which I can understand."

A droid scrambles up onto the nearby table, scanning the newest arrival. Vakhari stops for a moment, seeming to stare at nothing in particular until she smiles, looking over to her droid.

"M0rtis, could you run to the break room and fetch my drink?"

Without question the droid does as ordered, sunken tinglings of emotion leaked off the droid as he exited the room.

"Don't mind the butler, come take a seat and tell me what you are after."

She seemed friendly enough, eccentric for sure... Yet there was always something else there.

​

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Grey eyes studied Vakhari quietly as she listened to her, she definitely had a hunch that the woman was not all she seemed but couldn't quite put her finger on why. She tilted her head curiously at the mention of some person of note requesting organs of all things, but with her brief run-ins concerning higher society she knew just how twisted it could be in upper echelons.

"Ah... Your House, it's Lutris, right? And you're...?" she asked as she fished for a first name to associate the woman with. The presence of the sudden droid seemed to startle the girl slightly as she looked towards it while it scanned her, and upon glancing back towards Vakhari she noted that vacant stare for a moment. She could only assume that Vakhari was receiving some kind of information from the droid.

Upon being asked to take a seat Valaine glanced around searchingly. What kind of seats did a lab typically have? Usually the kind you didn't want to be in. She picked out a comfy looking one that hopefully hadn't been used to dissect someone anytime recently.

"So... I suppose I'll just come out with it, I consume blood. It makes me stronger, faster, and lets me regenerate minor wounds. If I don't drink blood I get wracked with agony, to the point I can't see through the pain. I'll spare you the story on how this all came about." she began as she folded her arms together at her chest and leaned forward slightly in her seat as tired eyes watched the white-haired woman.

"I can keep myself satiated well enough, but I was more interested in the strengths of this... affliction of mine, I guess. If I could reliably consume blood in the middle of a fight it'd make me a lot stronger I think, but... Grappling and biting someone during a fight is extremely dangerous."

She breathed a gentle sigh once more while glancing around the room towards the casually dissected body on the table, and then back to Vakhari. "I was thinking about some kind of tool, device, or weapon that could help me consume the blood of a foe. Maybe some kind of... Gauntlet with claws or such? Something that can't just be disarmed or removed easily."

After making her request she took a moment to focus her senses. That strange hunch about Vakhari was starting to bother her, and so she was going to start probing for what it was. As she sharpened her senses her hearing was enhanced and she sought to try to listen for something very simple; a heartbeat. It was a trick she was keen on using, mostly to try and discern someone's emotional state, but in this case she was just listening for the presence of a heartbeat rather than discern anything.


Tags - Vakhari Lutris

 

[Vakhari Lutris]

Tag: Valaine Valentine

Listening, searching... It was faint, but the stranger had a duel presence. A shadow loomed, and it sunk out of sight, out of mind. The pale woman hid a primal evil, and it hid well.

She takes a seat next to Valaine, removing her gloves before tossing them onto the table.

"Really? So that explains it then, funnily enough it reminds me of someone."

M0rtis had returned, delivering a cup of coffee to Vakhari.

"An old school far away from here, the headmistress is said to devour both body and soul. Drinking blood made her stronger, faster, heal quicker. I wonder what lady Noctua has been up to.."

Vakhari had heard about this before, even felt something within her blood similar to someone she had met before.

"House Lutris, yes. We specialize in alchemical creations and genetics, my own hands help shape the very beings others call gods."

She takes a sip of her drink, the steam helping warm her soft face.

"I would be more than happy to examine you further, but- Oh I forgot to share my own name! Vakhari."

Her eyes had a hunger within them, and it had sparked the moment she knew she was going to get to explore the interesting creature before her.

"A gauntlet.. Brutish indeed."

Vakhari reaches into her coat, pulling out a rather plain looking book before setting it on the table.

"Take a look at that while I ask some questions."

The book seemed to be nothing special, the pages blank.

"Going off what you have told me so far, you need blood in order to live? Would you say you are a hemovore? Or do you ingest all types of foods along with blood?"

​

 

[Valaine Valentine]

The dual presence was sensed briefly but once that second presence made itself harder to detect Valaine thought better than to give chase. She wasn't sure what it was but if it didn't want to be seen then she wouldn't shine a light on it, she knew better than to poke and prod at such things.

When Vakhari sat besides her she appeared as though for a moment she was going to shift away as if in some reactionary fashion to make distance, but she breathed a steady and calming sigh through her nose and remained still and seated where she was. She nodded gently in response to hearing the brief mention of another like her, "Mm... I've heard people say there are others who are like me, but I've never met any of them myself." she confessed as her grey eyes glanced about in awkward fashion, seemingly uncertain what to focus on while she spoke.

"Beings...? You... make people, then? Or... Well, god-like people?" she asked as her gaze drifted towards Vakhari for a moment of curiosity. She then offered a light nod as the woman's name was given. "It seems I was right to look for you in that case, uhh... Miss? Lady? Doctor? Vakhari. If anyone can tell me what happened to me, then I'm sure it'd be a someone specialized in genetics and..." her grey eyes peered back towards the body on the table, she didn't finish her sentence. Yup, in good hands.

It was then that the book was placed before her, giving her something else to focus her eyes upon as delicate pale fingers reached forward to open the tome cautiously. She looked puzzled by the fact the pages were seemingly blank as she slowly flicked through them while she responded. "I ah, I can eat food normally, yeah, and I do still get hungry. This... reliance on blood, I don't know that it'd kill me if I stopped drinking it, I'm sure the pain would drive me completely insane before death found me. It gets hard to focus, I start getting reckless and violent. I guess it's almost like an addiction?"

She flicked another page of the book as she began to ponder if she was meant to be seeing anything at all upon it. It seemed to confuse her greatly.


Tags - Vakhari Lutris

 

[Vakhari Lutris]

Tag: Valaine Valentine ​

she knew better than to poke and prod at such things.

The smarter choice, one that caused the dual presence to fade, leaving only the chipper Vakhari.

"An addiction? Yet you can eat other types of food.. Interesting."

This would be the first she had ever heard of it, a being that needed both in order to live?
​

"Beings...? You... make people, then? Or... Well, god-like people?"

"Oh yes! All sorts of things even beyond that, the power of creation is a wonderful thing. I have made droids, weapons both traditional and biological, armors, people-"

She starts to try and list everything, using her fingers before she stops herself from getting distracted.

"Ahem- Yes I make things."

The girl chuckles a little bit while using her other hand to take out her pad, fingers logging data quick enough you would swear it was a computer doing it.

"So, how would you describe what happens when you do get to feed on blood?"

Meanwhile, each and every page was.. Blank? Vakhari taking a moment to use one hand to grab one of her gloves, smearing it across a page. The blood soaking in and now causing this book to come to life, the ink flowed like water, the strange ritualistic text and symbols in a tongue unknown to the student... It was impossible to read this, but did you read it with your eyes?

"Would you be opposed to me taking samples from you?"

Her typing is paused as she takes another drink of her coffee, watching to see what Valaine does with the book. It was easy to see that the strange woman expected something, as if she was just waiting for the result she knew would happen. But would it? Valaine may have a connection to blood, but did she feel a connection with the book? Would this be someone who could figure out how to read it?

The crimson ink danced, the cycle of life and decay welcoming Valaine.​

 

[Valaine Valentine]

The mention of biological weapons stood out to Valaine for a moment as she pondered if Vakhari was talking about viruses and plagues, but otherwise she seemed just as accomplished as she was led to believe. Being ever aware of her own surroundings her grey eyes shifted briefly to the pad that Vakhari was tapping away at with alarming speed before returning to the book.

Valaine pondered the next question, "Hm... It's like suddenly waking up, I suppose. Full of energy, maybe even-" she gestured to Vakhari's coffee, "- ...caffeinated or something? If I was in pain before it, then the pain fades away along with any small cuts and bruises. Honestly it feels great."

After the blood-stained glove was passed over the blank pages of the book in front of her she noted that the symbols and strange texts began to appear. She raised a brow as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing on the pages, and though she mostly held a puzzled expression, at times it almost seemed like her eyes were actually reading in short bursts. She couldn't make sense of what she saw, it was all far too mixed up, but there was a hint of potential there as if somehow in her past she had taken the first step already, and unknowingly, towards being able to understand the book. But that was Valaine in a nutshell; a grain of potential.

"What is this book...?" she finally asked. "Every time I think I can see a word, it disappears just as quick as it appeared...". The question of samples finally broke her gaze away from the pages as she turned back to Vakhari. She found it an odd way to phrase it, not so much 'can I take a sample' but almost more 'will you be upset about it'.

Valaine chose the safer answer, "Huh...? Oh, yeah, sure. So long as I'm still alive afterwards." she paused in thought; better to add more safety measures. "And I still have all my limbs. And organs..." hopefully that covered enough.


Tags - Vakhari Lutris

 

[Vakhari Lutris]

Tag: Valaine Valentine
​

"And I still have all my limbs. And organs..."

"If I do take limbs off you it would only take a moment, I can always put them back on."

She smirks before taking a sip of her coffee, still keeping the chipper impish smile after... To most it would be easy to see that she was messing with Valaine, in her own playful way.

"But that aside, the book? You are reading it wrong, think about it."

The girl taps her finger against one of the pages, causing a ripple effect.

"Do we read blood with our eyes? All around us exists the cycle of life and decay, focus. Feel it pump within your veins..."

She waits for a moment, seeing if her guest would begin to get it.

"Feel anything?"

Vakhari asks before going back to typing away, giving a glance over to Valaine occasionally.

After some time passes Vakhari taps the cleaned off surgical tools table with one hand while still logging some information.

"Place your arm here for me, wrist side up if you please."

The pale woman stands from her seat, grabbing some supplies. A moment later, assuming the arm was in place.. She dons new gloves before running a finger down Valaine's flesh, seeming to instinctively find the perfect spot in an instant.

Area cleaned, tourniquet applied. She readies the thin needle right at the mark, glancing back to Valaine.

"Mild sting in three, two, one..."

The needle is inserted, slowly collecting a sample.

"Don't tug at it or stand up, just sit tight."

Vakhari made it look easy, collecting the sample and patching it right back up soon after.

Her eyes gleamed at the collected crimson, squinting at something she had never seen before.

"Do you happen to have any level of hunger for blood right now? Or have you recently fed?"

The young Lutris asks while still inspecting the sample, she may have just found a new fixation to experiment with.​

 

[Valaine Valentine]

There was a brief glance of concern at the mention of removing and reattaching limbs, but that concern was quickly replaced with confusion as Valaine looked back to the book and the demonstration given by Vakhari. She tentatively brought a delicate finger forward as she placed it against the page of the book and causing a light ripple, and then she started to draw her finger in a circle as the book responded in kind with small waves that followed it. Her eyes focused for a moment on the page. Did she understand? Perhaps in some fashion.

"Hm... I feel something but..." she gave a light shake of her head. "It's strange. I don't exactly know what it is." she replied.

As some space was made on the table and instruction was given Valaine pulled up the sleeve of her robe revealing her slender pale arm and placed it upon the table as directed. She felt Vakhari's finger trail along her skin as it searched for the vein while she kept her arm relaxed and still. When the needle broke skin she winced only lightly at the initial contact, and then sighed gently as she watched her blood being collected.

"This'll help you figure out what's wrong with me?" she asked as the needle was removed and Vakhari gazed upon it. Valaine herself couldn't tell that anything of note had already been detected, but that Vakhari could see something was just more proof of her expertise.

At the question of having fed recently she gave a light shake of her head, "It's been a little while. The pain is present but it's mild. I can usually go a little while longer before it gets to a point that I need to deal with it." She then paused as grey eyes shifted to the sample that was taken. "If you're about to ask if I can drink my own blood, no, I can't..."

She pulled the sleeve on her arm back down and brushed a hand through her dark hair as she looked towards Vakhari. "The fresher the better too, and I found that I've gotten pretty picky about it over the last couple of years."


Tags - Vakhari Lutris

 

[Vakhari Lutris]

Tag: Valaine Valentine ​

"If you're about to ask if I can drink my own blood, no, I can't..."

She stops inspecting the sample to glance at Valaine, raising a brow.

"Oh no no no, I don't care about that at all. I want to inspect what happens when you get it, see how your body reacts."

Vakhari then points to the used subject on the table.

"Fresh enough for you? If so, just go ahead and eat. Body is used up anyway, useless- Well.. Almost useless now."

With a snap of her finger, her droid gets into a better position to scan the feeding. His lights beeping yet no sound is heard, however it would seem that Vakhari heard something.

"Yes M0rtis, just as I said... Use the x-ray scan to take a look at the mouth, then the other vitals. Monitor the stomach, veins, and see if any pockets exist above the mouth."

While Valaine was being rather personally scanned, Vakhari places a droplet of Valaine's blood under a microscope. Soon her face is practically glued to the tool as her hands adjust the knobs.

"My my, these cells look healthy. Yet there is something off about them, erratic, jumpy.."

Utilizing her blood magic, she siphones blood out of the cadaver, gently placing an extremely small droplet onto the sample of blood.

"Fascinating, it attacks it straight away. Latching onto the foreign cells, is it- It is.. Your blood behaves like a virus, aggressive, it latches onto the target and is making something new. It isn't the blood itself it is eating, but whatever final product this is."

The scans would be done, appearing on a holoprojector for both Vakhari and Valaine to see.

"What interesting biology, I wonder if-"

In a dash she skitters over to check the area she had poked with a needle, seeing no more marking as she lifted the band-aid.

"I have a theory, but I am not fully sure it is correct."

In truth, she did want to hack an arm or leg off to see what happens... But she had made a deal to not turn students into macabre subjects.

"What sorts of boons do you experience when properly fed?"
​

 

[Valaine Valentine]

Valaine's eyes turned to the cadaver on the table and she held an expression of mild disgust at the thought of feeding from it. "... That part about me being picky...? Yeah, I don't really want to feed on the remains of a dissection everyone was poking through..." she replied before glancing back towards Vakhari. "If you're that curious you could always take a sample of your own blood and give it to me, right? Needles hurt a lot less than fangs after all."

Her attention would then be drawn towards the droid that was once again scanning her, to which she didn't really mind. After hearing Vakhari mention pockets above the mouth she appeared puzzled and sort of poked a finger into her own mouth to check if there were indeed any pockets. Her less than professional examination came expectantly with no results... The scan however might reveal that her fingernails were far denser than a typical humans, and that they seemed to extend further into her actual fingers too; retractable claws? The second main thing of note were her eyes, they seemed overly complex, far more than they should be.

The self diagnosis was interrupted when words of a virus were mentioned and she felt a sense of validation in hearing them. "I was right to call it an affliction then?" she asked curiously. "I guess I should mention that this all happened to me after I was attacked by some woman. Memories of what happened after were a blur, constantly in a daze, but ever since then I've been like this. Are you saying she infected me?"

Something about the memory of her attack didn't add up though, and it was plain that there was more confusion upon her face as she recalled. "I was with someone else during that attack, but he just died... Didn't end up like me."

The mark beneath the bandage on her arm was indeed now absent, having quickly healed after the initial taking of the blood sample. "Mmm... Right after? Increased strength, speed, my wounds heal faster too. Like, really fast." She offered her upturned palm to Vakhari. "I heal most minor injuries pretty fast, but after feeding it's accelerated. Cut my hand and see for yourself." There was a pause, "A small cut..." she added.


Tags - Vakhari Lutris