Chapter 5: Ideas

 "Eddy, I feel it would be better not to ask, but…" Hadrian said as they made themselves comfortable in the cave.

"You want me to feed you regularly?" Edwin asked with a sigh. Hadrian better be an exceptional fighter, or this all wouldn't be worth it.

"Well, yes. Look, I feel bad about not paying you. You are a hedge healer, and they don't make much. So, how about this? I will buy your meals and foot the bill of any medical supplies you need."

"You will regret saying the last one," Edwin said, and then yawned. He had the basic stuff. Syringes and some needles. A scalpel and thread for sewing up wounds. Bandages and cleaning solutions. But he was no fool. He knew that he had enough for one, maybe two patients.

"No, I won't. Thief, remember? Practically an endless resource," Hadrian said boastfully.

"I don't want you to steal while you are traveling with me," Edwin said sternly. "I can't afford to be blacklisted from anywhere. I am already a second-class citizen."

"Meh, I suppose I can resist the itch for a couple of months," Hadrian said, and he scooted closer to Edwin, laying his head on the healer's shoulder.

"Shoo, you," Edwin said, moving away to a moss-covered section of the cave.

"Eddy, I'm cold," Hadrian whined, and Edwin dug into his bag and pulled out a blanket.

"Here, help yourself," Edwin said. He wanted to avoid having to deal with a vampire with a cold. Could they even get a cold? Or was Hadrian just trying to get on his nerves?

Hadrian cocooned himself in the blanket and sighed.

"Good day, Eddy," he said, and soon, he was huffing softly. Edwin found that he much preferred the measured huffs to straight up snoring. Knowing that Hadrian was blocking the way out of the cave, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep himself.

He was shaken awake hours later. He was stiff and cold, which, considering he had given his blanket to an undead man, was to be expected.

"What time is it?" Edwin asked. He reached out for his watch, to find that it was not in his pocket. Hadrian was holding it and smiling.

"Nine at night. Nice and dark. Here," Hadrian said, and gave the watch back. This time, Edwin didn't bother getting reeled up. It was some sort of sickness to compulsively steal. Not one he could heal. The healers that dealt with behavior and mind sicknesses had their separate academy.

"Do you need to eat?" asked Edwin. He felt a slight hunger, and he figured that the vampire must have burned the blood he had given him.

"I can drink all of your five liters of blood," Hadrian said wistfully. When Edwin glared at him, he smiled innocently. "But I will reign myself in and take just a liter."

"Half," Edwin refused to budge. "You took a liter last night, and I haven't had much time to replenish my blood. I am pretty sure you don't need blood every day, either."

"Half? You are heartless, Eddy. I may need blood once per month, but…"

"Once per month? You are not getting a drop!" Edwin couldn't believe he had felt bad for the vampire. That he risked anemia for him.

"A sip?" asked Hadrian, hands reaching towards Edwin's wrist.

"Hadrian, back away from me," Edwin said as calmly as he could.

"Eddy, before you gave me a liter, I hadn't had anything for an entire year. I am starving," Hadrian said, close to Edwin but still giving him his breathing space.

"Fine, fine. Half a liter and ouch!" Hadrian latched himself to Edwin's wrist, and this time it hurt for a second before the numbness returned. Edwin leaned back to the cave walls.

When one was famished, you don't give him big meals. Small ones and regular ones were the way. That one-liter last night must have been like a kick to Hadrian's stomach.

Hadrian let go of Edwin's wrist after drinking his fill and stared at it wishfully.

"We will get you a meal plan. And as we come to a village, we are buying you blood," said Edwin. He didn't feel like being a blood bank for the vampire all the way to Myrna.

"Well, you are the healer, Eddy. You know best," Hadrian said, and he walked towards the entrance of the cave. "Coming?"

Edwin looked for the blanket, then patted his bag and found it was already inside, nice, and folded. He sighed and mumbled about vampires who didn't respect personal property, and he fell in step with Hadrian.

They walked in silence, Hadrian's purple eyes scanning the road for any dangers. Edwin clutched his dagger, channeling energy into it. He heard some rustling to the side, and he stepped behind Hadrian.

Only to see Hadrian rush into the bushes and come out with a squalling rabbit in his hands.

"I caught you breakfast," the vampire said as he snapped the creature's neck. Edwin said a prayer for the poor fur ball, and then a thought hit him.

"Can't you drink its blood?" asked Edwin, pointing at the rabbit.

"It tastes awful, Eddy. Muddy and bland. Don't make me, please," Hadrian said, making a face.

"Well, if you had to choose between muddy and bland and death, would you…?" Edwin began, but Hadrian stopped him.

"It gets stuck in my throat, and it clogs my airways. If vampires could eat animals, we would have."

That got Edwin thinking. Could animal blood be distilled for vampire use? It would make food for these people more readily available. So much pig blood went down the drain in slaughterhouses, and people like Hadrian went hungry and had to ambush people before the gates of cities.

"What are you thinking?" asked Hadrian, worried.

"I don't know if something can be done about the taste, but I am sure I can make animal blood drinkable for you," Edwin said, and he reached towards the rabbit. On a whim, he poured necromantic energy into it, and it twitched. He stopped.

Right, such an easy solution would surely not work. Maybe drain the blood and boil it with water? Blood is made up from water, after all. 

Yes, that could work.