Pass the test, t-taste the flesh (scrooge x magica)

[blackmagicduck]

 One of the disadvantages of immortal youth was that it sometimes limited her options. If she wanted something fresh and young, she needed to be where the fresh and young people where, and gods, their music was awful. What happened to the good old days of violins and organs?

So imagine her surprise as she viewed the buffet to find one snack that looked older than most. She raised an eyebrow - he didn't seem to be in any midlife crisis. The exact opposite, in fact - like if he had any real choice, he wouldn't be here. Well... she could fix that for him.

She licked her lips, and then made her way across the room. A gorgeous beauty like her, it was like parting the ocean waves with a hand. She was by his side within seconds, sizing him up.

Nice, very nice. He even smelled delicious.

"Congratulations, you're the most miserable person here, and I think that includes the janitor."

Comments

[richestduck]

"No, most movie vampires nowadays are pretty and sparkle apparently? I don't watch much television, but I remember some of the commercials."

Seriously, he'd never faced down a vampire before, but he was fairly certain sparkling wasn't a trait.

[blackmagicduck]

Magica's grip suddenly tightened, hard.

"Those are insults to the arts! To humanity itself. People can just make up whatever garbage they want, and only care if it sells."

[richestduck]

"Thank you!" Scrooge said, motioning with irritation. "Honestly, people are shocked that I haven't watched a movie since 1938. Why would I want to? Most films nowadays aren't even that interesting to me or they look like some sicko sold some poor soul's last moments to Hollywood for a quick payout. I don't want to watch reality! I get enough of that in my real life! Besides, if I want depth, I'll go for a book, thanks, where the author can take their time building and fleshing out the story and characters."

[blackmagicduck]

"It's a spit on our intelligence! No one has any taste anymore, or any respect!"

If she outed herself now because of sparkly teenage drama, she would never forgive herself. It was a struggle, to be sure.

"Perhaps it's for the good of all that my singing never made me truly famous. Gods forbid I wound up in such drivel."

[richestduck]

"Very likely. Modern music's bouncy in places but a lot of it is jarring to the ear."

[blackmagicduck]

She inhaled then exhaled deeply in an effort to calm herself. "Let us remain in the past, where we're safe and happy."

[richestduck]

"I wish, but at least a night away from the modern world would be nice."

[blackmagicduck]

She gently touched his cheek. "Then think of my home as a nice little time travel machine. You walk in, you're away from the modern."

And there - a good boost of enchantment, but less than before. With each one, he would accept more and more.

[richestduck]

Sure enough, his mind ate it right up.

He gave her a soft smile. "I appreciate it, lass."

He thought about inviting her over...but then they'd be scrutinized by Beakley and little Webbigail.

[blackmagicduck]

She smiled and squeezed his arm. As they neared her home, she waited until he was inside the drop the news.

"Oh, and by the way... if you do wind up staying the night..." She played with his whiskers. "I bought a few things, just in case. I don't know if they'll fit," they would, "but I thought I'd at least make the offer."

[richestduck]

He blinked in surprise. "Thank you, but you didn't have to."

Simultaneously, he felt a bit scared. Having clothes over at her house...that was a huge risk. It made things seem more permanent when they could still collapse at any moment.

[blackmagicduck]

"I already did. No going back." She poked his beak and resumed walking. "Now then, our little theater is all set up. I brought drinks," red wine, since he seemed to enjoy it, and it might get him blasted again, "And sandwiches. More than enough to get your fill, without being distracting from the film."

All right, maybe she put more thought into this than necessary. And maybe she was more lonely than she realized.

[richestduck]

Scrooge smiled at that. "And I'll be careful of how much I drink this time."

Little did he know, but he was likely to wake up with a sore head again tomorrow morning.

[blackmagicduck]

In the dark, it would difficult to see how full and empty his glass was... and difficult to see her switching out empty bottles for new ones.

She took him to a small room, where the food, drinks and projector were already set up. She blew out the candles - odd how there were more candles than actual electric lights in this place. "Make yourself comfortable."

[richestduck]

There was a mattress on the floor with pillows and even a blanket for snuggling in rather than chairs. It was actually rather comfortable-looking, almost like an indoor picnic.

He settled down on the mattress, stretching out a bit as he did so. It was good to stretch out after a long day at the office. Actually lying down felt particularly good when he'd been sitting down all day.

"This is a nice setup."

[blackmagicduck]

"I wanted all the comforts of a theater... without the theater." She turned on the projector, and then sat next to Scrooge, offering him a full glass.

"To the classics, in movies and people."

[richestduck]

He took the glass and raised it in a toast. "And to winning young ladies interested in both."

He took a sip from the wine.

[blackmagicduck]

A perfect date night that would hopefully end in the perfect date bite.

She leaned on him, eating and drinking little as the movie began - the unauthorized tale of Dracula, hitting all the major points of the novel while switching out the names. She kept an eye on his glass, ready to refill whenever necessary, the dark a good cover.

[richestduck]

Scrooge really was working to keep his alcohol consumption under control, but he wasn't expecting Magica to refill his glass when he wasn't looking. His focus was on the screen as the vampire stalked his prey.

[blackmagicduck]

"I've always found vampires to be pitiful creatures," she said once they were a good way into the movie. It was time to test the waters.

[richestduck]

"Pitiful?" he asked, looking over in her direction, intrigued. "How so?"

[blackmagicduck]

"What choice do they have in these worlds?" She gestured to the screen. "Without blood, they'll die. It's all they can eat. Mortals have choices... if they don't want to eat the product of suffering, they can stick with fruits and vegetables and still survive. But a vampire can only live if another person loses something essential."

She glanced back at him, gauging his reaction. "Spending centuries like that... it's bound to drive them to wicked acts, if not insanity."

[richestduck]

Scrooge tilted his head to one side, considering.

"I hadn't thought about that," he admitted, "but I always felt it was best to live and let live when possible."

He thoughtfully looked at his wine, slowly swirling it in the glass. "There was a unicorn that was causing trouble a while back for a rancher. Fine stallion he was, but he was attacking the rancher's breeding stallions. I went to check things out and realized that the unicorn was looking to claim the area as his territory and the rancher's mares as his herd of potential mates. I could've killed him, but instead I took him back with me and gave him his own little plot he could have as his territory. He helps protect the area and in return he's got plenty of food, water, and nobody bothers him."

He took a slow sip of wine.

"If a vampire found somebody willing to give them their blood to survive, I'd have no issue with them so long as they weren't harming anyone."

[blackmagicduck]

Here she thought that story had been a myth, especially since she thought unicorns were made-up creatures.

She was aware of the irony.

She laid her head on his shoulder, dropping the big question. "It's easy to think about it, so long as you're not involved... but what if you were the one being asked to donate?"

[richestduck]

Scrooge tilted his head to one side, considering.

"...I don't know," he admitted. "I guess it depends on the situation and who exactly was asking me."