Gaining Strength [Part 9]
Jul. 7th, 2020 11:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonv2Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: Frankenstein needs to gain strength to protect humanity; the werewolves might hold the key to that.
Notes: Frankenstein decides werewolves are the bigger threat AU.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 2,232
Total word count: 19,564
Status: Work in progress
Hmmm. Frankenstein wrote a note in his journal, chasing the thought. But if that were the case-
The candles in Frankenstein's lab flickered. He froze, staring at them. There was no way for that to happen unless-
The door to his lab creaked.
Dammit, he'd been found!
He looked up, seeing familiar long silver hair and a dark red jacket. Muzaka.
He exhaled in relief. Not another alchemist trying to steal his data.
But how had Muzaka found-
Frankenstein frowned, seeing the dirt Muzaka was bringing in, and how Muzaka was eyeing his vials.
"Muzaka," Frankenstein said, his tone clipped, "if you continue to drag dirt into my lab, or mess up any of my tests, I will put you through the wall." Strongest werewolf or not, this was his lab and he would protect its results.
"Oh?" Muzaka said, his eyebrows arched as he...grinned, moving closer the experiments Frankenstein had set up near the door. "Is that a promise?"
...Damn werewolf. Of course he would take a threat of violence as an invitation to a spar. "Fine," Frankenstein said, exhaling. He needed to change it to something Muzaka would care about. "If you track dirt or mess up my tests, I won't spar with you for-" What was considered a long time for a werewolf? "-a year." Not that long for a werewolf, but considering how often Muzaka sought him out for a spar, it should be enough.
It would be a shame to lose the wealth of information from Muzaka, but he was not jeopardising his research.
Muzaka froze, his eyes going wide. He backed away from his vials, keeping his hands to himself. "No touchin'. Got it."
Frankenstein huffed, a small smile curling his lips. It was nice that Muzaka listened to him and took him seriously.
Muzaka peered at Frankenstein's desk, at his journal. Frankenstein flipped it shut. Muzaka shouldn't be able to read it with his encryption, but it would be better to be safe.
"So what're you doing here anyway?" Muzaka said, his gaze going to everything else in the room.
"Aside from living here?" Frankenstein said dryly. "This is where I conduct my tests for my research." He waited for the distaste or suspicion that normally came when someone found out what his profession was. 'Trying to look into the work of the gods', but he was currently in the land of the gods right now...
Muzaka nodded. "What about?"
Frankenstein blinked, eyeing him. He wanted to know? "I'm studying the difference between humans and werewolves, so that humans may be enhanced to gain your strengths as well."
"Hm." Muzaka tilted his head, looking back at him. "Is that why you're like that? A human with a hint of a werewolf?"
That sense again, that they just knew about him. Was it smell? Something else? "Yes..." Frankenstein drew out. "I've enhanced myself with the blood of the criminals I'd captured earlier."
He should ask how werewolves were able to-
"You want some of my blood?"
Frankenstein's thought died as he stared at Muzaka. "What?"
"You're studyin' our blood, right?" Muzaka shrugged. "You can have mine if you want."
'If you want'? He could just have-
Muzaka's eyebrows were drawn in in concern, peering at Frankenstein's face. "You all right?"
"Why-" Frankenstein cleared his throat, still trying to get his thoughts back in order after Muzaka had so soundly sideswiped him. "Ah, why are you offering?" Wouldn't Muzaka want to keep their secrets away from 'mere mortals'?
"You're doin' this to get stronger, yeah?" Muzaka said, nodding. "That's great! I wanna help with that."
Frankenstein exhaled, sagging in his chair as he ran a hand through his hair. All this time. All this time he'd wanted Muzaka's blood and he could have just asked and been given it...
"You don't want it?"
"No, no," Frankenstein said, straightening and waving his hands in a negative gesture. "I was just...surprised by your generosity." Very surprised. "Hold still." Frankenstein got up to collect everything he needed to gather Muzaka's blood, in case he changed his mind. 
Once he'd picked up everything he needed, he went back to Muzaka, gesturing him towards the chair at his desk. "Sit there."
Muzaka did, though his attention was caught by the blade in Frankenstein's hand. "Why're you usin' that? Just use your claws."
Frankenstein turned the blade over in his hand, before he shook his head. "I would prefer a clean sample." The dirt under his nails could introduce multiple different things to Muzaka's blood that he didn't want to see.
The confusion didn't leave Muzaka's face, but he sat down.
Frankenstein made the cut, letting the blood drain into the bowl waiting underneath. That should be enough to...
Even as Frankenstein thought, he could see the cut already closing up, the trail of blood growing smaller.
"...Hm," Frankenstein said, watching it do that. "I hadn't accounted for your accelerated healing."
"So...?"
Frankenstein tapped the side of the bowl. "I either make use of what I've collected so far-" Which wasn't much. "-or I make more cuts until I have a good enough amount."
Muzaka shrugged. "Take as much as you need."
"Thank you," Frankenstein said, making another cut. It was another good flow of blood and Frankenstein's gaze drifted towards Muzaka's other scars. They were ragged at the edges and hm.
This close, Frankenstein could see his first cut hadn't made a scar, so what had happened to Muzaka that left such an effect on him? Had the injuries been that grievous that even his healing couldn't completely seal it over, or had he gained better healing abilities as he aged?
"That should be enough," Frankenstein murmured, leaning back after the third cut had sealed itself off. He wetted a cloth, cleaning the blood away from Muzaka's arm.
"Great," Muzaka said, standing up.
Frankenstein took the chair back, jotting down his observations about the speed of Muzaka's healing.
When he looked up, Muzaka was still there.
"Oh," Frankenstein said, blinking. "I thought you would have left?" He had satisfied Muzaka's curiosity now, had he not?
"Nah, I wanna see what you do with it," Muzaka said, leaning back against one of the tables.
...Huh. Frankenstein studied him. Muzaka wasn't an alchemist who wanted his research. Just someone who was curious in what he was doing.
A potential student? If not, in the very least, someone he could encourage his curiosity.
Frankenstein beamed at him. "All right." The first thing Frankenstein tested was the blood's reaction to silver - it had been something he'd wanted to know: if the strength of a werewolf affected their reaction to silver, or if it was something else that affected it. It had been hard to measure against since he hadn't known how strong the traitors had been. With the strongest of all werewolves, that would at least give him information from the very top.
He pulled out his silver dagger and dropped one drop of blood onto it. The viscosity usually changed instantly with the - there was no change. Frankenstein waited, tilting his blade, but not enough that the blood would move.
Still nothing.
Fascinating.
"What're you doing?"
Frankenstein looked across at Muzaka over the blade. "Your blood doesn't seem to react to silver." He cleaned the blood off and sheathed the dagger again.
"Oh, that." Muzaka shrugged. "The stronger a werewolf gets, the less we react to silver."
Hm. Frankenstein considered him for a few seconds. Just how strong was Muzaka in comparison to other werewolves? He hadn't seen any other werewolf with this little a reaction. "Is there a lot of you who are that strong?"
Muzaka didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Mmm, no. Think it's just me who doesn't react." Damn. Muzaka's gaze drifted to the side. "I think Dorant might get there soon."
Frankenstein perked up. "Dorant?"
Muzaka grinned. "Yeah! He's a strong one - he's on the way to surpassin' me in a couple centuries."
To think in terms of centuries rather than singular years, or even decades... "Interesting," Frankenstein said. "Would you be able to introduce me?" If he could meet more strong werewolves, that would help his research.
"Sure!"
"Thank you." Now, to continue testing Muzaka's blood.
* * *
Frankenstein looked around, hand on his bag of his supplies. Muzaka had said to go to the river where they normally washed up, where the boulder had been split in three, when the sun was at its highest. This seemed to be the right spot.
Frankenstein studied the boulder. It must have rolled down from one of the nearby mountains, but...the fact there were claw marks along its surface that could have easily fit his own hand was suspect. He knew werewolf claws could tear through metal easily - what was rock in comparison?
He looked up at a now familiar sound of the tree branches being disturbed.
There was a werewolf standing behind him, with short blond hair. His expression was blank as he studied Frankenstein. "You're the human that everyone's talking about."
What exactly had Muzaka had told him aside from coming here? "Yes," Frankenstein said, smiling. "You're Dorant? Muzaka told me about you."
Dorant didn't say anything for a few seconds. "That...is surprising."
"Oh?" Hm, Dorant seemed to be the least talkative werewolf Frankenstein had so far met.
Dorant sighed, looking away. "It doesn't matter. What is it you wished to speak to me about?"
So Muzaka didn't tell Dorant much of the reason for their meeting. "Muzaka mentioned you're a strong were...wolf...?" As he said the words, he noticed the crease between Dorant's brows deepen. "Have I said something I shouldn't?" Was it the wording? ...Ah, was it because he'd referred to Muzaka without his title?
Dorant crossed his arms before he looked around their surroundings. "Lord Muzaka is the one who suggested that I hide my strength from the others."
That would explain the clandestine meeting. Now why would Muzaka tell Dorant that, especially from what Frankenstein had gleaned of werewolf culture, strength was celebrated and something to always strive to improve. "Then I won't tell anyone else of this."
Dorant's focus snapped back to him.
Frankenstein sighed. "I've had my own experiences of people talking of my business." Of sorts. "It's due to that chatter that I'm here. This information was told in my confidence-" Even though he hadn't been aware of it at the time. "-and there it will stay."
He would have liked to ask for Dorant's blood, but maybe now wasn't the time for it. "Well, thank you for taking the time to talk with me." He could look into other things in the meantime.
"...That was all you wanted to talk about?"
"Not quite," Frankenstein said with a soft chuckle, "but I think the conversation has ended for today. If you'd like to chat about anything, just come find me-" Since it seemed like everyone else could find him easily enough. "-or tell Muzaka. I'm sure he can arrange something again."
Dorant was silent before he turned away. "All right." He disappeared with a hiss of leaves.
* * *
Garda seemed frozen, and she hadn't moved to take off her cloak as she stared at Frankenstein.
"Is there something wrong?" It couldn't be because he'd had a conversation with Dorant? But other than that, he had done nothing else different from usual, so that had to be the only thing she was reacting to?
"You smell like Lord Muzaka."
Wha- "I smell like - as in...?" His spar with Muzaka had been days ago. Did smell linger that long? No-one else had mentioned the smell after his spars with Muzaka, when the scent should have assumedly been the strongest.
"Your scent has changed to be a little like Lord Muzaka's," she said, frowning.
Oh, it had? "He gave me his blood to study." His scent changed to Muzaka's after he introduced his blood to his body, hm. The werewolves had known he smelled 'like' a werewolf when they first met, but hadn't recognised the werewolves he'd taken blood from, so did that mean Muzaka's scent would eventually fade as well?
"...Hm."
Frankenstein raised his eyebrows. "Am I missing some kind of ceremony or meaning behind that?" Muzaka hadn't seemed to treat the act as anything of note or something special.
Garda shook her head. "No, but it's...surprising when someone's scent changes like that." She frowned. "Though I suppose your scent was already like that when we first met.
He smiled. "Quite."
It seemed like it was a good decision to not ask for Dorant's blood if it would be that obvious and Dorant wanted to stay hidden.
Though... If he collected enough blood at once, would he end up smelling like some misbegotten son of many werewolves?
It would be interesting to see the werewolves' reaction to that.
Frankenstein pulled himself away from his thoughts as he saw Garda's cloak flutter in the air, getting ready for the upcoming spar.
Summary: Frankenstein needs to gain strength to protect humanity; the werewolves might hold the key to that.
Notes: Frankenstein decides werewolves are the bigger threat AU.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 2,232
Total word count: 19,564
Status: Work in progress
Hmmm. Frankenstein wrote a note in his journal, chasing the thought. But if that were the case-
The candles in Frankenstein's lab flickered. He froze, staring at them. There was no way for that to happen unless-
The door to his lab creaked.
Dammit, he'd been found!
He looked up, seeing familiar long silver hair and a dark red jacket. Muzaka.
He exhaled in relief. Not another alchemist trying to steal his data.
But how had Muzaka found-
Frankenstein frowned, seeing the dirt Muzaka was bringing in, and how Muzaka was eyeing his vials.
"Muzaka," Frankenstein said, his tone clipped, "if you continue to drag dirt into my lab, or mess up any of my tests, I will put you through the wall." Strongest werewolf or not, this was his lab and he would protect its results.
"Oh?" Muzaka said, his eyebrows arched as he...grinned, moving closer the experiments Frankenstein had set up near the door. "Is that a promise?"
...Damn werewolf. Of course he would take a threat of violence as an invitation to a spar. "Fine," Frankenstein said, exhaling. He needed to change it to something Muzaka would care about. "If you track dirt or mess up my tests, I won't spar with you for-" What was considered a long time for a werewolf? "-a year." Not that long for a werewolf, but considering how often Muzaka sought him out for a spar, it should be enough.
It would be a shame to lose the wealth of information from Muzaka, but he was not jeopardising his research.
Muzaka froze, his eyes going wide. He backed away from his vials, keeping his hands to himself. "No touchin'. Got it."
Frankenstein huffed, a small smile curling his lips. It was nice that Muzaka listened to him and took him seriously.
Muzaka peered at Frankenstein's desk, at his journal. Frankenstein flipped it shut. Muzaka shouldn't be able to read it with his encryption, but it would be better to be safe.
"So what're you doing here anyway?" Muzaka said, his gaze going to everything else in the room.
"Aside from living here?" Frankenstein said dryly. "This is where I conduct my tests for my research." He waited for the distaste or suspicion that normally came when someone found out what his profession was. 'Trying to look into the work of the gods', but he was currently in the land of the gods right now...
Muzaka nodded. "What about?"
Frankenstein blinked, eyeing him. He wanted to know? "I'm studying the difference between humans and werewolves, so that humans may be enhanced to gain your strengths as well."
"Hm." Muzaka tilted his head, looking back at him. "Is that why you're like that? A human with a hint of a werewolf?"
That sense again, that they just knew about him. Was it smell? Something else? "Yes..." Frankenstein drew out. "I've enhanced myself with the blood of the criminals I'd captured earlier."
He should ask how werewolves were able to-
"You want some of my blood?"
Frankenstein's thought died as he stared at Muzaka. "What?"
"You're studyin' our blood, right?" Muzaka shrugged. "You can have mine if you want."
'If you want'? He could just have-
Muzaka's eyebrows were drawn in in concern, peering at Frankenstein's face. "You all right?"
"Why-" Frankenstein cleared his throat, still trying to get his thoughts back in order after Muzaka had so soundly sideswiped him. "Ah, why are you offering?" Wouldn't Muzaka want to keep their secrets away from 'mere mortals'?
"You're doin' this to get stronger, yeah?" Muzaka said, nodding. "That's great! I wanna help with that."
Frankenstein exhaled, sagging in his chair as he ran a hand through his hair. All this time. All this time he'd wanted Muzaka's blood and he could have just asked and been given it...
"You don't want it?"
"No, no," Frankenstein said, straightening and waving his hands in a negative gesture. "I was just...surprised by your generosity." Very surprised. "Hold still." Frankenstein got up to collect everything he needed to gather Muzaka's blood, in case he changed his mind. 
Once he'd picked up everything he needed, he went back to Muzaka, gesturing him towards the chair at his desk. "Sit there."
Muzaka did, though his attention was caught by the blade in Frankenstein's hand. "Why're you usin' that? Just use your claws."
Frankenstein turned the blade over in his hand, before he shook his head. "I would prefer a clean sample." The dirt under his nails could introduce multiple different things to Muzaka's blood that he didn't want to see.
The confusion didn't leave Muzaka's face, but he sat down.
Frankenstein made the cut, letting the blood drain into the bowl waiting underneath. That should be enough to...
Even as Frankenstein thought, he could see the cut already closing up, the trail of blood growing smaller.
"...Hm," Frankenstein said, watching it do that. "I hadn't accounted for your accelerated healing."
"So...?"
Frankenstein tapped the side of the bowl. "I either make use of what I've collected so far-" Which wasn't much. "-or I make more cuts until I have a good enough amount."
Muzaka shrugged. "Take as much as you need."
"Thank you," Frankenstein said, making another cut. It was another good flow of blood and Frankenstein's gaze drifted towards Muzaka's other scars. They were ragged at the edges and hm.
This close, Frankenstein could see his first cut hadn't made a scar, so what had happened to Muzaka that left such an effect on him? Had the injuries been that grievous that even his healing couldn't completely seal it over, or had he gained better healing abilities as he aged?
"That should be enough," Frankenstein murmured, leaning back after the third cut had sealed itself off. He wetted a cloth, cleaning the blood away from Muzaka's arm.
"Great," Muzaka said, standing up.
Frankenstein took the chair back, jotting down his observations about the speed of Muzaka's healing.
When he looked up, Muzaka was still there.
"Oh," Frankenstein said, blinking. "I thought you would have left?" He had satisfied Muzaka's curiosity now, had he not?
"Nah, I wanna see what you do with it," Muzaka said, leaning back against one of the tables.
...Huh. Frankenstein studied him. Muzaka wasn't an alchemist who wanted his research. Just someone who was curious in what he was doing.
A potential student? If not, in the very least, someone he could encourage his curiosity.
Frankenstein beamed at him. "All right." The first thing Frankenstein tested was the blood's reaction to silver - it had been something he'd wanted to know: if the strength of a werewolf affected their reaction to silver, or if it was something else that affected it. It had been hard to measure against since he hadn't known how strong the traitors had been. With the strongest of all werewolves, that would at least give him information from the very top.
He pulled out his silver dagger and dropped one drop of blood onto it. The viscosity usually changed instantly with the - there was no change. Frankenstein waited, tilting his blade, but not enough that the blood would move.
Still nothing.
Fascinating.
"What're you doing?"
Frankenstein looked across at Muzaka over the blade. "Your blood doesn't seem to react to silver." He cleaned the blood off and sheathed the dagger again.
"Oh, that." Muzaka shrugged. "The stronger a werewolf gets, the less we react to silver."
Hm. Frankenstein considered him for a few seconds. Just how strong was Muzaka in comparison to other werewolves? He hadn't seen any other werewolf with this little a reaction. "Is there a lot of you who are that strong?"
Muzaka didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Mmm, no. Think it's just me who doesn't react." Damn. Muzaka's gaze drifted to the side. "I think Dorant might get there soon."
Frankenstein perked up. "Dorant?"
Muzaka grinned. "Yeah! He's a strong one - he's on the way to surpassin' me in a couple centuries."
To think in terms of centuries rather than singular years, or even decades... "Interesting," Frankenstein said. "Would you be able to introduce me?" If he could meet more strong werewolves, that would help his research.
"Sure!"
"Thank you." Now, to continue testing Muzaka's blood.
Frankenstein looked around, hand on his bag of his supplies. Muzaka had said to go to the river where they normally washed up, where the boulder had been split in three, when the sun was at its highest. This seemed to be the right spot.
Frankenstein studied the boulder. It must have rolled down from one of the nearby mountains, but...the fact there were claw marks along its surface that could have easily fit his own hand was suspect. He knew werewolf claws could tear through metal easily - what was rock in comparison?
He looked up at a now familiar sound of the tree branches being disturbed.
There was a werewolf standing behind him, with short blond hair. His expression was blank as he studied Frankenstein. "You're the human that everyone's talking about."
What exactly had Muzaka had told him aside from coming here? "Yes," Frankenstein said, smiling. "You're Dorant? Muzaka told me about you."
Dorant didn't say anything for a few seconds. "That...is surprising."
"Oh?" Hm, Dorant seemed to be the least talkative werewolf Frankenstein had so far met.
Dorant sighed, looking away. "It doesn't matter. What is it you wished to speak to me about?"
So Muzaka didn't tell Dorant much of the reason for their meeting. "Muzaka mentioned you're a strong were...wolf...?" As he said the words, he noticed the crease between Dorant's brows deepen. "Have I said something I shouldn't?" Was it the wording? ...Ah, was it because he'd referred to Muzaka without his title?
Dorant crossed his arms before he looked around their surroundings. "Lord Muzaka is the one who suggested that I hide my strength from the others."
That would explain the clandestine meeting. Now why would Muzaka tell Dorant that, especially from what Frankenstein had gleaned of werewolf culture, strength was celebrated and something to always strive to improve. "Then I won't tell anyone else of this."
Dorant's focus snapped back to him.
Frankenstein sighed. "I've had my own experiences of people talking of my business." Of sorts. "It's due to that chatter that I'm here. This information was told in my confidence-" Even though he hadn't been aware of it at the time. "-and there it will stay."
He would have liked to ask for Dorant's blood, but maybe now wasn't the time for it. "Well, thank you for taking the time to talk with me." He could look into other things in the meantime.
"...That was all you wanted to talk about?"
"Not quite," Frankenstein said with a soft chuckle, "but I think the conversation has ended for today. If you'd like to chat about anything, just come find me-" Since it seemed like everyone else could find him easily enough. "-or tell Muzaka. I'm sure he can arrange something again."
Dorant was silent before he turned away. "All right." He disappeared with a hiss of leaves.
Garda seemed frozen, and she hadn't moved to take off her cloak as she stared at Frankenstein.
"Is there something wrong?" It couldn't be because he'd had a conversation with Dorant? But other than that, he had done nothing else different from usual, so that had to be the only thing she was reacting to?
"You smell like Lord Muzaka."
Wha- "I smell like - as in...?" His spar with Muzaka had been days ago. Did smell linger that long? No-one else had mentioned the smell after his spars with Muzaka, when the scent should have assumedly been the strongest.
"Your scent has changed to be a little like Lord Muzaka's," she said, frowning.
Oh, it had? "He gave me his blood to study." His scent changed to Muzaka's after he introduced his blood to his body, hm. The werewolves had known he smelled 'like' a werewolf when they first met, but hadn't recognised the werewolves he'd taken blood from, so did that mean Muzaka's scent would eventually fade as well?
"...Hm."
Frankenstein raised his eyebrows. "Am I missing some kind of ceremony or meaning behind that?" Muzaka hadn't seemed to treat the act as anything of note or something special.
Garda shook her head. "No, but it's...surprising when someone's scent changes like that." She frowned. "Though I suppose your scent was already like that when we first met.
He smiled. "Quite."
It seemed like it was a good decision to not ask for Dorant's blood if it would be that obvious and Dorant wanted to stay hidden.
Though... If he collected enough blood at once, would he end up smelling like some misbegotten son of many werewolves?
It would be interesting to see the werewolves' reaction to that.
Frankenstein pulled himself away from his thoughts as he saw Garda's cloak flutter in the air, getting ready for the upcoming spar.