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"Come in," urges a tired voice as Jayce arrives to an upper dorm room a small distance from the instructor's wing. He closes the door behind himself, crossing the polished stone floor to stand little more than an arm's length from the vampire he's been called to serve. A polite distance, close enough for his new client to catch his scent without crowding into his space unbidden.
"What is your name?" The vampire's softly accented voice is pleasant, soothing in a way that drops Jayce's shoulders, eases the tension from his back. He wonders if that's vampire influence at work, or the man himself.
"Jayce Talis, sir."
"Tch, sir. This is not necessary."
Jayce meets his gaze, finding golden eyes- real true gold- heavy with dizzying knowledge he can only guess at. The words come out softer than he means them to. "I don't know your name."
With matching gentleness, the vampire answers. "It's Viktor." A ghost of a smile transforms that pale, drawn face, pulling the eye from the waxy pallor, the dark bruises of exhaustion under the eyes, the sharp cheekbones that would be stunning if not for the prounounced hollowing of his cheeks.
Jayce has seen vampires who put off their feeding for days or weeks too long, he knows the signs. This is something far more bleak; the ravages of longterm illness in a body that no longer has a natural end point. It's not totally unheard of for a vampire to turn someone battling a stubborn sickness that won't succumb fully to the benefits of rapid healing. But in peaceful, golden Piltover, who would be cruel enough to subject someone to an eternal cycle of briefly regained health and inevitable decline?
Plugging the end of his crutch hard into the floor, Viktor struggles to his feet, the creak of his leg brace seeming gunshot loud in the silence of the room. "You come highly recommended, Jayce," Viktor says as he approaches, leaning heavily on the crutch wedged under one thin arm. "Who else have you served in your time at the academy?"
"It's been my honor to have been useful several times," Jayce carefully answers, noting that he has to look down at the hunched vampire, though their heights would be similar if Viktor's crooked spine would allow him to stand straight.
"I'm sure." Viktor reaches out and adjusts the open collar of Jayce's shirt, cool fingertips skating over his pulse point, the beat steady and strong. Calm. "The council is among your clientele, aren't they? Or perhaps only some of them? You must be quite a prize."
"I'm happy to go wherever I'm needed," Jayce dodges again.
"I could order you to tell me." There's a spark in those golden eyes that Jayce can't parse. Viktor's fingers are still at his throat. Jayce swallows hard, feeling Viktor's touch riding the reflexive movement.
"I couldn't tell you, sir."
Viktor watches him for a long moment. "Your discretion does you credit, Jayce." He leans the crutch against a desk so that he can touch Jayce with both hands. "I can see why Professor Heimerdinger recommended you to me." He turns Jayce's head with gentle pressure on his jaw, first one way, then the other. Choosing his vein. "Have you been bitten before?"
Jayce nods, the feel of Viktor's elegant fingers warming on his skin making his throat run dry.
If Viktor finds it odd that some of Piltover's elite feed directly from the vein instead of drinking freshly spilled blood from a glass like civilized beings, he doesn't show it. Settling on his target, Viktor turns Jayce's head to the left, leaning in to nose along the column of his throat. A pained sound spills from Viktor's lips, his cool breath raising goosebumps on Jayce's skin.
"You've waited too long to call for a feeding," Jayce says without thinking. "You're so cold."
"Apologies, Jayce." One thin arm slips around Jayce's back, the other hand keeping his head tilted at just the right angle.
Some vampires enjoy flexing their abilities, overwhelming the senses and drowning their prey in an ocean of euphoria that leaves them trembling and foggy for hours afterward. Others apply their power with a gentler hand, turning a feeding into a moment of relaxation that feels like sinking into a warm bath.
Viktor does neither of these. When Viktor strikes, he strikes hard, his fangs sinking so deep Jayce can feel the imprint of his human teeth on his skin. Long, hungry pulls at his vein make Jayce's throat ache. The room tilts, begins to spin as Viktor drinks him down, and Jayce realizes he's about to fall. He quickly weighs the risk between interrupting a much-needed feeding with an untimely collapse, and breaking the academy's rules of proper conduct by touching a vampire client without permission. The feeding wins, in the end. Jayce puts an arm around Viktor's narrow shoulders and feels the vampire adjust his hold, taking Jayce's weight with an ease that belies his small frame. They're locked together now, Viktor's warming body pressed to his from chest to knee.
When Viktor finally eases off, he licks apologetically over the already bruising punctures, jump starting the healing process. "Thank you," he says softly, voice gone syrupy slow with post-feeding sleepiness. "You may go."
He pulls himself away from Jayce carefully, making sure Jayce's legs will hold him before he steps back. Dropping heavily into a chair, Viktor puts a hand to his stomach. "Go, Jayce," he urges again.
Jayce would obey if he could. He takes a shaky step toward the door, moving like a drunk after a hard night. A strangled groan brings his gaze around, and he turns to see Viktor doubled over in his chair, his hands curled into shaking fists. "Go!" Viktor snaps when Jayce hesitates. "Now!" A sickening pop of bone punctuates the order, Viktor's whole body jerking as a series of cracks and pops fills the air, drowned out only by the noises trapped behind Viktor's gritted teeth.
"I'm not leaving you like this." Jayce can't imagine what it feels like to have your body flush with months or years of healing, the clock turning back time all at once. It must be hell. He can see Viktor's spine correcting itself, dragging vertebrae painfully into place with every awful, grinding crack. He doesn’t know what he can do, but he knows what it's like to suffer alone. So he stays, casting his eyes around the room for conversation topics that Viktor responds to in between ragged, bitten-back groans of pain.
When they begin to discuss some equations left half done on Viktor's chalkboard, the responses come faster, Jayce's thoughts leaping lightning quick to match Viktor's obvious intelligence. He doesn't even realize how long they've been talking until a bell chimes the hour. Viktor's misery had receded some time ago, and neither of them had noticed.
In the aftermath, Viktor almost seems a different man. The darkness under his eyes, the sickly pallor, his hollow cheeks, all gone. He looks younger by years, the flush of health in his cheeks lending his face a boyish air. If Jayce didn't know better, he'd think they were the same age. He's not stupid enough to ask. He's broken enough rules for today.
Jayce gets up from the stool he'd commandeered at some point, pausing a moment to let the rush of dizziness pass. He'll need to eat well and hydrate as soon as he leaves. "If you're feeling better, I'll excuse myself now."
"Are you ever going to use my name?" Tiredness can't disguise the amusement in Viktor's voice. "I did not give it to you thinking you'd avoid it like a curse."
All the air in the room goes thin under that knowing golden gaze, sharper now with the strength of fresh blood. Jayce's blood. He shifts, clearing his throat. "I'm ah. I'm not avoiding it-"
"Jayce." Viktor draws the word out like he can taste it on his tongue. "Go ahead."
"Viktor." A breath of sound, barely there at all, but Viktor's eyes light with approval and Jayce feels the heat of his blush like a glow burning him up from the inside out. "I'll be going." He stops with his hand on the doorknob. "If you'd like to call on me again, I would welcome it."
He escapes into the hallway to find significantly more available air. Heading down toward the cafeteria, Jayce can't help wondering if Viktor will want him again. If so, when? The feeding had been difficult, but the conversation had more than made up for it, brilliant and engaging in a way Jayce rarely finds. Perhaps next time, if there is a next time, Jayce will bring his notes. He has some ideas he'd love to get Viktor's thoughts on.