Bleeding - Pressure

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Jennie leaned back against the couch and pinched the bridge of her nose. "He's taking too long," she complained. They were at the club again, it was late and Marius had left with his "person" of the night. Normally she wouldn't be so whiny, but she was tired again. It was like she could never catch up on her sleep

Manuel nodded distractedly, shuddering a bit as Marius's attentions were directed - elsewhere. If he concentrated very hard, he could ignore what was screaming out at him from where Marius and his latest chewtoy were getting acquainted. Better to take an interest in the club-goers, try to lose himself in their simple happy emotions.

Happiness was not something he was personally well-acquainted with anymore.

"Third one this week." he said, lamely trying to make conversation.

"Yeah," Jennie agreed. "He doesn't need to do it this much." He had once mentioned every 7 to 10 days, but Jennie had never really kept track. It simply wasn't something he ever discussed with her, and she never brought it up. At least these people were all willing. Jennie or Manuel would go up to someone Marius had spotted, explain their friend's situation, and with very little hesitation the other party would agree.

But the frequency of these little visits was starting to worry Jennie just a tad. She rubbed her eyes, which had dark circles the color of bruises underneath them.

Manuel reached over to grab one of Jennie's arms so he could see what she was trying to rub more clearly. "You really need to take better care of yourself, Jennifer." he told her sympathetically. "I'd offer you a little something to make it easier, but I think I've learned my lesson about meddling like that." he added ruefully, chasing his words with a shot of absinthe.

Jennie snorted and shook her head. "I'm fine. It's just stressful keeping you two knuckleheads out of trouble. I can only have so much luck, after all." It was starting to get harder to use luck as well. It made Jennie uneasy, but she pushed that away. "Maybe one night we can not go out," she yawned, "I need to catch up on my sleep." She patted Manuel's arm. "Thanks anyway."

Manuel smiled warmly at Jennie. Despite himself he _liked_ her - which is why he kept himself well clear of her if at all possible. The last person he'd liked in anything resembling a serious fashion tried to rip his brain out through his nose.

"And sure, that sounds like fun. Just the two of us - away from all of this. Do something _fun_ for a change." he commented. "I think I dimly remember what having fun feels like." he joked bitterly.

"Naps are fun," Jennie commented distantly. She checked her watch. "Come on, Marius. It doesn't take that freaking long." She paused when she noticed her hand. There was a slightly discolored spot on the inside of her palm. She rubbed it with her fingers, and then shrugged. Probably a rash or a stain or something.

"Naps are refreshing, not fun." he countered. "Amanda and I, we used to ..." he started to say, then bit that off. "Never mind." he added a few moments later. "Doesn't matter what we used to do. She's not here and you're not likely to try to kill me." He sighed, then took another shot of the alcohol. "I must be tired. I'm getting maudlin."

Jennie fought the urge to roll her eyes at yet another Amanda reference. Every conversation with Manuel seemed to end up with Amanda in it some how or another. "'M not gonna kill you," Jennie said, yawning again, not if you don't stop talking about her. "You done a lot for Marius and me, don't think we don't appreciate it.

Now it was Manuel's turn to look vaguely disgusted. "I know that." he snapped, then sighed and shrugged in a very, very Latin way. "It bothers me, that's all. That nothing I did ultimately meant a damn. Maybe that's why I help Marius, and why I help you." he said after a few moments.

Jennie sighed and nodded. He wasn't such a bad guy, underneath it all. She gave Manuel a tired smile, the first all night. Then she quickly turned her head and craned her neck to see if she could spot where Marius and the other mutant went. The guy had been a foreigner as well, so Jennie didn't have to use her clumsy French on him. Another reason why Marius liked this club, it attracted a large number of internationals.

Manuel knew where Jennie's interest went - he could see it, after all. "They're still back there." Then his face went pale and bloodless. "It's getting out of hand, Jennifer." he said. "The snack decided it had someplace better to be. And you know what that means." he said wearily, already rolling up his sleeve.

Jennie put her head in her hands and groaned. The bruises on Manuel's arms were a testament to how this would end up. Marius would come back, he would feed, and then be pissed off for the rest of the night. "He should really stick to girls. They go for the sad puppy thing. I tell him to stick to the sad puppy thing." But Marius usually didn't listen to her anymore.

Manuel nodded sadly. "It should calm him down." he said, hoping that he could actually believe that. Knowing that he would after a short while, but he wanted to just remember what he felt normally.

If only for a little while.

"You should head back, get some sleep. I'll take care of him tonight." he told Jennie, lightly touching her cheek before withdrawing himself from her physically and emotionally.

Jennie looked over her shoulder, and then back at Manuel. "You sure?" Off his nod she sighed heavily. "Okay. I'll go get someone to call me a cab. Don't stay out too late, and don't do anything stupid. I can't keep you guys out of jail if I'm not here, remember?" She patted his hand and then slid gracefully off the couch, disappearing into the smoky club like a shadow.

Manuel let his eyes glow for just a moment. "But the gendarmes are all my friends!" he called after her as she headed out of the club. And judging by the black cloud that seemed to be radiating off of a certain Mr. Unamused, his night was going to get a whole lot worse before it got any better.

Marius slid onto the couch, his taut, frustrated body language a pale shadow compared to the emotions bleeding from him. Spending twenty minutes on the gentle lead-up only to have the night's donor suffer a sudden change of heart in the middle of the act did nothing for his mood. He hadn't been able to manage a drink in hours; his mouth was sour with the blood seeping from the cracks in his lips, and for some reason that made him even angrier.

"Bloody meal ditched out on me," he said shortly, and looked around. "Jen callin' it in for the night?"

At Manuel's nod Marius sighed, seamed grey skin creasing in a scowl behind his respirator. The Australian raised one hand, orange eyes falling on the ring of teeth still slick with analgesic from the aborted feeding before flicking up to meet Manuel's.

"So . . . help us out, then?"