Joseph stood calmly beside his master and picked up the first aid kit that had been left in the room. He wished he could wait a day or two on extracting the human's blood, so as not to weaken him further. But unfortunately, he knew that it was important not to delay Master Alexi's Master Plan any more. Recognizing Master Mois' texting tone, he quickly took out the phone and read it to the younger brother verbatim.
“Your elder brother says, 'Please tell Alexi I'm not leaving for work until I've seen him, so it will be his fault if I'm late. Thanks.' So, I will escort you downstairs for breakfast when we are finished here,” he declared as he assembled the syringe. “You will need a decent meal after this anyway.”
And may I add that it is really pathetic that your own brother has to text ME just to get you to actually communicate with him, you bloody madman. Why must you be so damned admirable, so damn idealistic, but so bloody oblivious to those around you? This would have been much less painful for me if you had told me that the potion would not break him, if you had explained why you needed him. But this is not about me. Goddamnit, I'm not going to just watch you push Master Mois into an early grave. The least you can do is share a meal with him. Don't you know how worried it's making him that you would share your bedroom with a criminal? Don't you even care? Goddamnit, I am so broken that I would follow you to the ends of the Earth even if I despised you. But I love you. I love you both dearly; you are the closest I've ever had to sons. And the worst part is, I have no right to even think this, any of this! This is not my function. What is wrong with me?! Sometimes I think things were easier back when I was little more than an automaton. No bloody emotions to worry about, nothing but blind loyalty, following instructions, and doing my chores.
As usual, his outward actions did nothing to mirror his internal monologue as he carefully extracted the exact amount of blood that the potion needed to work, for he was unwilling to deprive Master Alexi of any more than was absolutely necessary. Erik strode over to watch, his face also passive. With a slight gulp, he handed Joseph the potion, and watched as the elder vampire mixed the serum together in a tall glass. With an unintentionally grave look, Joseph carefully handed the glass to Erik.
There was a minor bit of hesitation on the rebel leader's part, the last lingering bits of doubt. He thought to himself, Well, I already made the decision. A commanding officer does not have time to doubt his decisions. You make them and you live with them. And … and I am sure... well goddamnit, I hope to God this is the right one.
“Cheers,” was all he muttered, however, even managing to flash a tiny grin at Alexi before downing the entire glass in one draught.
Erik's first response was merely the normal soothing effects of human blood on his system. It had not been so long that he needed to feed, but it was long enough that his body wanted blood if possible. But it was only about a minute before the effects of the potion began to work. The emotions were... confusing, to say the least. Erik had steeled himself for pain, the same pain he had seen in Alexi's eyes. But this was... pleasant. He felt warm, and a smile was forming on his lips without his fully even being aware of it. He was admired, respected, adored... He was loved.
The emotions were directed towards himself, though he still knew they came from Alexi. And yet, he felt them towards everyone else. On complete impulse, he turned to Joseph, who had just wrapped the syringe to properly dispose of it in a few minutes, and gave him a bear hug, kissing him firmly on the forehead. Then he turned and hugged Alexi the same way, and left the kiss on the cheek this time. After days of battling self-hatred, pain, a severe case of cabin fever, and the beginnings of insanity, this felt amazing. He was so... so very confident that he could do anything. He could absolutely take down an entire governmental system and change things for the magicals. And he would do it himself, in his lifetime, dangit!
But the initial “shock” of the new emotions, as his brain and body adjusted to the influx, was over in less than three minutes, and Erik found that Alexi's emotions were much more muted than all of that. He still felt wonderful, but it was more like a warm and fuzzy blanket of love and confidence than anything else. He was still grinning widely though, when he finally spoke.
“I'm sorry guys. I have no clue why I just did that. I guess I was getting adjusted. It's very difficult to sort all of this out. I still have no clue what I'm feeling. It's so very different than my normal reality, and it's nothing like what I imagined after seeing what happened to you,” he admitted, looking to both the vampire and the human before him.