In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Temperance)

[lucrezia conti]

August 2, 2027

There were perks and drawbacks to looking far younger than she was and running a business, and being mistaken for an actual twenty-something was one of them. Though one might think that vampires would be better at not making assumptions in that regard, Lucrezia had learned over the years that that wasn't always true. Case in point: That night, she'd had the misfortune of having to listen to a vampire who was passing through London from Transylvania complain about how long the process took at the blood bank. Back in his day, he said, vampires took blood from whomever and didn't need to bother with so much bureaucracy. Lucrezia, who found the blood bank not to be bureaucratic in the slightest, had held her tongue, but her mood had been soured.

The vampire from Transylvania had left by then, and Lucrezia was back to making sure that things were running smoothly. As late as it was, the only people through the door were those who were at least part vampire; nothing was out of the ordinary there. It was routine for most who came in and out of the blood bank, anyway. Blood was a necessity, and the vampire community in Britain and Ireland wasn't so large.

It likely would get busier as the night wore on, but it had become quiet enough that Lucrezia noticed when someone else whom she didn't recognize entered the blood bank. Call it intrusive, perhaps, but Lucrezia could sense from the smell of her blood that the woman wasn't a vampire.

temperance elizabeth fleming

[temperance elizabeth fleming]

and as these days

watch over time

August 2, 2027
lucrezia conti

Temperance remembered her time as an intern. The ridiculous tasks she had to complete or was asked to do. Menial things like getting coffee or standing on this ladder and holding up this light until they could find someone who knew the charm to reassemble it. She had assumed, falsely, that with her promotion, she could get out of specific tasks. The station encouraged their employees to donate blood. It was good for the Vampire community and built goodwill with them. Temperance wasn’t against that but considering she ran off coffee and a bagel most days, maybe giving blood wasn’t the best idea.

With a sigh, she pushed the door open. Temperance had never been here before. Somehow in all her years at this station, she had managed to dodge this particular responsibility. But the sigh was mainly out of a little bit of shame. The Station Chief had gotten it into their head that children would love a show about a Vampire that could spell. Temperance had retorted that the only letters they might know would be A, B, and O, but that went over their head. And what better way to gain insight into such a project? Talk to a Vampire. It was embarrassing, and Temp even wondered how offensive that conversation might come off. Well, at least she could give blood and then go home. Temp approached the young woman at the counter. ”Hello, I’m here to donate.” She spoke clearly, her accent clearly American, which made her typically stand out.

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[lucrezia conti]

August 2, 2027

It was less common to have humans coming in the blood bank past a certain time. When most of the businesses around closed up shop for the night, they went home to sleep. For the vampires, meanwhile, nighttime was their time to do everything that most others did in the daytime. It kept them out of the sun and safer, though it made Lucrezia wish that some of the other businesses in Diagon Alley and Horizont Alley would think to hold specific "vampire hours" from time to time.

The woman who had entered the blood bank explained that she was there to donate blood, which didn't come as a surprise to Lucrezia. There wasn't any rule against donating blood past any given hour, provided that they had a nurse available to draw the blood that was to be donated. They did, so that part of it wouldn't be a problem.

Hearing someone speaking with an American accent—as the woman had—would have been more uncommon years before, but more and more Americans had been coming to London. As long as the blood in question was suitable, Lucrezia didn't care from whom it came, as long as it was given consensually. Donors didn't have to be from any particular country, just as the vampires who received blood from the blood bank didn't have any residency requirements imposed on them.

"Please, come in," Lucrezia said in response, her English clear but her Italian accent evident. "I have some paperwork for you." It was nothing unusual, really, and not much different than the sorts of forms that someone would have to fill out to donate blood in the non-magical world. No vampires would be drinking from the woman's neck directly, so there were far fewer concerns than might have been expected.

Going over to the reception desk, Lucrezia stuck a few sheets of parchment together on a clipboard and then held it out to the young woman. "And here is a quill," she noted, grabbing one of the self-inking variety and placing it with the clipboard.

temperance elizabeth fleming