Mina’s smile instantly dropped. She jerked her hand away from him and, swift as a snake, struck him on the cheek. “Don’t even think about it,” she hissed.
Turning to Sanger, still with one hand on her hip, she said, “Well, we found him. Do you want to go back to being his babysitter again?”
Dorian hissed at the pain, but regained his composure quickly, so quickly that Sanger didn't notice he'd lost it. "Mina, dear. Must you be so violent?" but he didn't mind too much, if it was Mina. Sanger meanwhile was unsure he really wanted to watch Dorian, but he couldn't exactly say no. What if Dorian hurt Mina in some way? It was obvious he could do it. "Er, yes." he said, nodding to Mina to leave.
“Only for you, darling.” She grinned at him again, then turned back to the nervous Sanger. “He’s on opium. He should at least be less of a handful than usual. But you can always look for me if you need me.”
Adjusting her glasses, she made her way to the door.
Dorian waved to Mina as she left, and once she exited, Dorian offered the pipe to Sanger. The older-appearing man picked it up, and examined it, it was a fine piece of craftsmanship and he liked the heft of the thing, solid in his hand and probably built to get you high quickly. He hadn't smoked since his youth, but it wouldn't hurt to try, would it? He let himself take a drag, and seconds later he was hit like a train had slammed into him with a burst of euphoria. It faded after about five minutes, Sanger standing spellbound and a little afraid. Dorian leaned back, arms behind his head and shirt quite disheveled, revealing his ivory chest partially. Why was Sanger noticing that last detail? He didn't know. Dorian motioned for Sanger to sit beside him, and Sanger reluctantly did. He took another drag of the pipe, smaller and less overconfident this time, and he felt a bit more of a pleasant high, starting to feel relaxed and comfortable. Too comfortable, for what he knew of Dorian, but his brain was a bit too fried to process that idea now.
(sigh)
(Sanger: Yes I will make bad decisions with someone who I cannot trust to make them around because I make myself too vulnerable and easy to hurt. No I will not take constructive criticism.)
(more sighing)
(Also Sanger is really frankly self destructive and cruel to himself, he feels undeserving of even platonic love becos internalized homophobia and "what if I infect the people I care about with my sins?" Dorian is the exact opposite unfortunately.)
(Oh man, Mina can relate to that, minus the internalized homophobia)
(Ah, more for them to bond over!!)
(Yeeee! Honestly was not expecting this friendship pair)
(Lol yeah. Also lowkey thinking Elizabeth could have?? A bit of a romantic stuff between Mina and Lizzie? Like you can say no, obvi, but I feel like if they got to know each other they'd become close, either platonically or romantically.)
(Aaaa I knew you’d ask that. Tbh, Mina’s still not over Jonathan, like it’s been literally decades and she is not over him. I think if Mina and Liz were to have any romantic stuff going on, Mina would have to learn to move on from Jonathan first. That will probably happen by the end of this arc tho, or in the next)
(Yeah, makes sense. Frankly I'd rather they get familiar first before pursuing any romantic arc?? If that makes sense??)
(Yeah, definitely. It’s gonna have to be a slow burn)
(Indeed. Also what would Luci think of their basically-aunt with another undead creature?? Like, they'd probs have some feelings whether good or bad, but ultimately they'd like that Liz was happy and same with Mina.)
(Awwwww yes. Honestly Liz is probably the only good option bc Mina couldn’t accidentally drink her blood. Cuz like,,, she doesn’t have any lol)
(Lol yeah.)
(Actually I think it would be funny if, since Luci can’t really understand the idea of romance that well, they don’t notice Mina and Liz becoming closer until they have to literally tell them that they are, and then all of these complicated feelings come up and Luci’s just like, confuzzled and in disbelief)
(Yeah! Except, I read them as understanding basic romantic signals, and they'd probably be coming up to them like Owo what's this? A romance?? and Lizzy would be like "jesus christ yes."
(Ahhh I see lol)
(Yeahh they get romance they just,,, aren't really interested after the "bride" fiasco.)
(I mean, same tho Luci)
(Lol yeah.)
Mina breathed deeply. Even on a boat like this, in the combined smell of the docks and sea air, it was much better than the smell of drugs. She made her way to the more crowded parts of the vessel, deciding to see if she could find Efraim. Hopefully they haven’t been pushed around and made it onto the Nautilus without issue.