[For once, Lucius will not find Fabius stooped over one of his cadavers, elbows-deep in festering organs. Instead, he stands before a contraption that is at once familiar, and wholly out of place with the rest of the makeshift apothecarion. From the glass-paneled front of it, the shriveled husk of a human head is visible—its eyes sunken into pits, its jaw slack, and its sallow skin folded into deep chasms of dehydrated flesh.
The only sounds within the space is the familiar hum of refrigeration units, the creaking of a distant ventilation shaft, and the rhythmic tapping of one of Fabius' claws against the liquid crystal interface of the manufacturing unit before him. He doesn't even look up to greet Lucius proper as he's addressed, nor does he care overmuch to answer to the subtle barbs his brother sends his way.]
The product came out crystalized, and while I would prefer it to be in liquid of gas form, that will require recalibration on my part. [From a containment panel to the side of the unit, Fabius retrieves a short beaker filled halfway with a pinkish powder. It's only then that he turns and slithers his way towards his brother, the added length of his serpentine tail affording him the ability to stand closer to his true height than that of his new, pathetic mortal form.]
I figured you of all people would enjoy being the guinea pig for this, [he offers the glass container as he speaks,] I advise you use less than your typical dosage, as we have no idea how this will react with your current mutations.
[ Lucius takes the beaker nearly before it is even offered. He scarcely even notices or thinks of the irritating way Fabius raises himself up above him, and for the way the final joint of each of his fingers has been completely encased by his hard, dark claws, his touch seems no less dexterous for it as he holds the container aloft. ]
Enjoy it? I'd be devastated if you asked anyone else. [ Or, more accurately, throw a tantrum. He spins on his heel, smiling to himself as he watches that find powder sift back and forth with the subtle movements of his hand. ]
It's just as well, brother. This is the stuff that keeps our menials happy. [ And it's the most convenient to share and to sell, at least for right now. Lucius lowers the beaker and lifts his eyes to his brother's at last, gold and sharp red gleaming with his excitement. ] But so much as your concern touches me, you have nothing to worry about. I rather expect my typical dose would turn this body into a corpse!
[ He laughs, and though the fact would typically irritate him, in the moment, it is funny. He pivots from Fabius, and he doesn't care much about looking for a clean surface—just one that may be easily cleared. ]
[Nostalgia nearly shivers up Fabius spine, watching the way Lucius gets himself all wound up over the glass container of powder. It pinches his brow, pulling his sallow features into a frown that chasms his wrinkled flesh with his disdain. The use of drugs was crucial to maintaining a functioning ship, especially in the Emperor's Children, and far be it from Fabius to deny substance abuse. Vices are important too, in moderation—something he knows his brother lacks.
Still, he folds his arms behind his back with a scholar's rigidity as he watches Lucius find an unused medical slab to indulge upon.]
Please inform me if anything feels different, [he tilts his chin,] any bodily functions that feel odd, any side-effects you have not experienced before. We want to produce an ambrosia that is as pure in content as we would have before.
[ Fabius might be excused for assuming Lucius isn't listening—and, honestly, perhaps he isn't. As he implores Lucius to report any effects unaccounted for, Lucius tips just enough of the dust from the beaker for its rose color to stand out against the medical slab below, and at first, the only response those words receive is the huff of Lucius drawing that dust in.
As is typically the case, the first prickle of its effects hit nearly immediately—though, given Lucius' excitement, it's a bit diffcult to tell just how much of his good mood is chemically-induced. ]
That we do. [ His tongue runs across his lips, for a moment, as if savoring the taste of something that isn't there. ] But I have to say, your timing is good. A test is always better with more subjects — even I know that!
[ As ever, he laughs at his own joke, demon's tail behind him swishing merrily back and forth. ]
[A dull click of his tongue against bare gums still echoes through the makeshift apothecarion despite how muted it is. As Lucius contents himself to pouring out a neat line of ambrosia, Fabius slithers closer, the disdain on his cadaverous face receding enough for scientific curiosity to take over. He watches as his brother folds over the table, and as he'd done so many times before, rights with euphoric mirth spread wide with his grin.]
I can have more made if you wish to test the product on others, [because Fabius is absolutely not going to that party,] in the meantime, how is it?
[What he means to say is if it feels any weaker or stronger than the usual stimulation Lucius experiences.]
Would that not be the wise choice, dearest brother? [ Thoughtlessly, Lucius' tongue unfurls from between his teeth, forked tips dancing through the air as its unsplit stem slides along his bottom lip. It's an odd thing to notice, the softness of his own lips and the slickness and warmth of his own tongue as it teases across them—but if there weren't greater things in front of him, he might allow himself to lose his thoughts to the sensation, even if only for a little while. ] You know the sorts of people that will be there — and you know it'll give us the opportunity to see its effects on monster and mortal alike.
[ He says us, but of course, he knows Fabius has no intention of leaving his apothecarion for such a frivolous occasion. Lucius leans against the medical slab before him, the chill of cold metal prickling up his arm where his forearm braces itself against it. ]
Oh, but give it time! [ Again, he laughs. ] Maybe I should take another dose to be sure?
[ Lucius is absolutely smart enough to know that isn't a good idea—but Fabius likewise knows him well enough to know that won't necessarily stop him. His tongue runs along his gums, now, a pleasured noise humming behind his closed lips. ]
It certainly doesn't have the same kick it did as a stim, but that's to be expected. Give it a moment longer — a single heart only pumps blood so fast!
[ You know... A moment where he can continue to touch things, just to be sure... ]
[Despite how overwhelmingly bad of an idea it is for Lucius to take another dose when they have yet to see how the current one will effect his demon-flesh, Fabius doesn't voice any concerns. If anything, he stares at his brother expectantly, as if waiting to see if he really will just pour out another mound of translucent pink powder, eager to snuff it up.
Then wordlessly he turns, his slithering tail cutting through the thin layer of dust that coats the floor as he makes his way towards one of the many metal utility shelves that partitions the operating theater from the rest of the factory.]
If you're so eager to take Ambrosia directly, that can surely be arranged. [One, because Fabius is curious to see what will happen to his dear brother and his new flesh; and two, because if Lucius does overdose, it's not like he won't make use of the flesh left behind.
From the shelf, he retrieves a clear, cleanly marked bottle of saline fluid. One of the many perks of his residency at an understaffed clinic was that no one really paid too close attention to the materials Fabius would swipe and bring back for his own use; and with the saline in hand, he makes his way towards the slab that Lucius has perched upon, grabbing the nearby rolling cart covered in surgical tools as he does.]
Do you feel anything more? [He's impatient,] or do you want it intravenously?
[ As if can taste Fabius' thoughts on the overlong, over-sensitized tongue that drifts between his lips, Lucius laughs as his brother turns. He would have been more surprised to hear him object to the suggestion, except perhaps as a biasing of the results of this test.
Lucius reaches for the beaker again, and the frustrating way his fingertips have been wholly encased in enamel doesn't even touch him in the moment. He can feel the glass on the lengths of his fingers, against his palm, and he nearly thinks the powder within the tube buzzes at the nearness of his touch. Another breathy chuckle passes through his fangs, and he finds himself tumbling back to recline against the cold slab with more carelessness than languor.
There is the sharp strike of metal against the back of his skull—but rather than piercing pain, the sensation that lances through his scalp and the bone beneath is one of pleasure. Now, the sound that parts his teeth is a sigh, and by the time Fabius turns, Lucius is dragging the hard, flat bottoms of his hooves against dirty metal, the meeting of their textures vibrating up the bones of his ankles. ]
You don't need to ask to know the answer to that. [ He holds the beaker above him, and the pinkish color within seems abruptly very sharp to Lucius' eyes. Again, he swishes it, watching those dust-fine granules shift with the movement, and his dexterity doesn't seem diminished much by his high, either. ] You just want me to say as much so I can't be upset when I stop breathing!
[ He tilts his head against the slab so he can shoot a grin Fabius' way. ]
I could only ever hope for such a fortuitous result. [Fabius snarls back as he returns to Lucius' side. Luckily then, that the effects of the drug seems to have finally caught up. It seems the both of them are still having to get used to these pathetically slow bodies. With the sight though, Fabius sets aside the jar of saline for now, and instead rounds on his brother.
Lucius holds that beaker up in the air, and like an admonishing parent taking something bad away from their child, he yanks the glass from Lucius' claws. It's set aside, in favor of looming over his brother with his scowling, cadaverous visage hovered just close enough so that he can press his fingers against the socket of one of Lucius' eyes. As his thumb and forefinger peels an eyelid open from its languid, half-lidded state Fabius shifts to allow one of the bright, sterile lights above them to shine down on Lucius' face; and with scientific curiosity, he watches the way his brother's slitted pupil constricts.]
Reaction seems normal so far... [he hums in thought, more to himself than to Lucius. Then he moves away again, and the hand that had pried that eyelid open instead drops to the pulse-point on his brothers neck. He raises his other arm, staring down at his ticking wristwatch, counting the beats.]
Heartrate is also expected. [His aureate gaze returns to Lucius' face,] do you feel any nausea?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
The only sounds within the space is the familiar hum of refrigeration units, the creaking of a distant ventilation shaft, and the rhythmic tapping of one of Fabius' claws against the liquid crystal interface of the manufacturing unit before him. He doesn't even look up to greet Lucius proper as he's addressed, nor does he care overmuch to answer to the subtle barbs his brother sends his way.]
The product came out crystalized, and while I would prefer it to be in liquid of gas form, that will require recalibration on my part. [From a containment panel to the side of the unit, Fabius retrieves a short beaker filled halfway with a pinkish powder. It's only then that he turns and slithers his way towards his brother, the added length of his serpentine tail affording him the ability to stand closer to his true height than that of his new, pathetic mortal form.]
I figured you of all people would enjoy being the guinea pig for this, [he offers the glass container as he speaks,] I advise you use less than your typical dosage, as we have no idea how this will react with your current mutations.
no subject
Enjoy it? I'd be devastated if you asked anyone else. [ Or, more accurately, throw a tantrum. He spins on his heel, smiling to himself as he watches that find powder sift back and forth with the subtle movements of his hand. ]
It's just as well, brother. This is the stuff that keeps our menials happy. [ And it's the most convenient to share and to sell, at least for right now. Lucius lowers the beaker and lifts his eyes to his brother's at last, gold and sharp red gleaming with his excitement. ] But so much as your concern touches me, you have nothing to worry about. I rather expect my typical dose would turn this body into a corpse!
[ He laughs, and though the fact would typically irritate him, in the moment, it is funny. He pivots from Fabius, and he doesn't care much about looking for a clean surface—just one that may be easily cleared. ]
no subject
Still, he folds his arms behind his back with a scholar's rigidity as he watches Lucius find an unused medical slab to indulge upon.]
Please inform me if anything feels different, [he tilts his chin,] any bodily functions that feel odd, any side-effects you have not experienced before. We want to produce an ambrosia that is as pure in content as we would have before.
cw: drug use
As is typically the case, the first prickle of its effects hit nearly immediately—though, given Lucius' excitement, it's a bit diffcult to tell just how much of his good mood is chemically-induced. ]
That we do. [ His tongue runs across his lips, for a moment, as if savoring the taste of something that isn't there. ] But I have to say, your timing is good. A test is always better with more subjects — even I know that!
[ As ever, he laughs at his own joke, demon's tail behind him swishing merrily back and forth. ]
cw: drug use probably from here down tbh
I can have more made if you wish to test the product on others, [because Fabius is absolutely not going to that party,] in the meantime, how is it?
[What he means to say is if it feels any weaker or stronger than the usual stimulation Lucius experiences.]
You certainly don't look like you're overdosing.
[Yet.]
cw: oh absolutely
[ He says us, but of course, he knows Fabius has no intention of leaving his apothecarion for such a frivolous occasion. Lucius leans against the medical slab before him, the chill of cold metal prickling up his arm where his forearm braces itself against it. ]
Oh, but give it time! [ Again, he laughs. ] Maybe I should take another dose to be sure?
[ Lucius is absolutely smart enough to know that isn't a good idea—but Fabius likewise knows him well enough to know that won't necessarily stop him. His tongue runs along his gums, now, a pleasured noise humming behind his closed lips. ]
It certainly doesn't have the same kick it did as a stim, but that's to be expected. Give it a moment longer — a single heart only pumps blood so fast!
[ You know... A moment where he can continue to touch things, just to be sure... ]
no subject
Then wordlessly he turns, his slithering tail cutting through the thin layer of dust that coats the floor as he makes his way towards one of the many metal utility shelves that partitions the operating theater from the rest of the factory.]
If you're so eager to take Ambrosia directly, that can surely be arranged. [One, because Fabius is curious to see what will happen to his dear brother and his new flesh; and two, because if Lucius does overdose, it's not like he won't make use of the flesh left behind.
From the shelf, he retrieves a clear, cleanly marked bottle of saline fluid. One of the many perks of his residency at an understaffed clinic was that no one really paid too close attention to the materials Fabius would swipe and bring back for his own use; and with the saline in hand, he makes his way towards the slab that Lucius has perched upon, grabbing the nearby rolling cart covered in surgical tools as he does.]
Do you feel anything more? [He's impatient,] or do you want it intravenously?
no subject
Lucius reaches for the beaker again, and the frustrating way his fingertips have been wholly encased in enamel doesn't even touch him in the moment. He can feel the glass on the lengths of his fingers, against his palm, and he nearly thinks the powder within the tube buzzes at the nearness of his touch. Another breathy chuckle passes through his fangs, and he finds himself tumbling back to recline against the cold slab with more carelessness than languor.
There is the sharp strike of metal against the back of his skull—but rather than piercing pain, the sensation that lances through his scalp and the bone beneath is one of pleasure. Now, the sound that parts his teeth is a sigh, and by the time Fabius turns, Lucius is dragging the hard, flat bottoms of his hooves against dirty metal, the meeting of their textures vibrating up the bones of his ankles. ]
You don't need to ask to know the answer to that. [ He holds the beaker above him, and the pinkish color within seems abruptly very sharp to Lucius' eyes. Again, he swishes it, watching those dust-fine granules shift with the movement, and his dexterity doesn't seem diminished much by his high, either. ] You just want me to say as much so I can't be upset when I stop breathing!
[ He tilts his head against the slab so he can shoot a grin Fabius' way. ]
no subject
Lucius holds that beaker up in the air, and like an admonishing parent taking something bad away from their child, he yanks the glass from Lucius' claws. It's set aside, in favor of looming over his brother with his scowling, cadaverous visage hovered just close enough so that he can press his fingers against the socket of one of Lucius' eyes. As his thumb and forefinger peels an eyelid open from its languid, half-lidded state Fabius shifts to allow one of the bright, sterile lights above them to shine down on Lucius' face; and with scientific curiosity, he watches the way his brother's slitted pupil constricts.]
Reaction seems normal so far... [he hums in thought, more to himself than to Lucius. Then he moves away again, and the hand that had pried that eyelid open instead drops to the pulse-point on his brothers neck. He raises his other arm, staring down at his ticking wristwatch, counting the beats.]
Heartrate is also expected. [His aureate gaze returns to Lucius' face,] do you feel any nausea?