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[lordoftheozarks]

When the ringing stops, all you'll hear is a cold voice that says one simple word, "Speak."

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[luckandmybruder]

Sam is a man that is going from a world firmly grounded in the reality that things like magic, and creatures like Vampires, are only fairy tales. Fortunately though, he's also coming from a time in which the phrase "this might as well happen" could well have been coined by the people having to live in it tertiary to the war efforts.

Listening to the more detailed breakdown of Erik's needs, it settles it more or less in Samuel's mind. His arms cross as he looks from the man, back to his contract, then reaches for a pen to be able to put down his name. Part of him is already thinking he may return later for more, if this goes well.

"Do you keep a schedule? I am aware that your card offers walk-ins, but if you have appointments waiting, I will not keep them waiting. Otherwise, I think I would like to see your bath."

[lordoftheozarks]

"I do, yes, but you have the good fortune of coming during a dry spot. My next scheduled client isn't for several hours."

With the contract signed from Samuel, Erik gathers it, marks down blood as the payment of choice and the date, then signs it himself. With that matter tidied, he stands and offers his hand to the man.

"I will be very happy to show it to you. Follow me this way. The first door there is my working space."

Erik will guide his guest through the door, then shut it and lock it firmly behind them both. To the left is an elegant room divider stood in front of a large copper tub. Erik goes to turn on the hot water tap, a very modern invention indeed. As the water begins to fill, he'll indulge Samuel in a tour of the rest of his facilities.

"As you can see," he says gesturing to the wooden cross standing upright in the other corner with straps attached that make it look very much like a torturing rack. It sometimes is. "I am well prepared to handle any kind of taste no matter how unsavory it may seem to some. That, of course, is not for novices."

Next he gestures to the gorgeous canopy bed with luscious maroon velvet drapes and another set of restraints nailed to the headboard. "There's no need for shame, whatever you desire is a secret that stays safe with me."

[luckandmybruder]

While the contract is tucked away, Samuel stands and tugs down the hem of his tunic under the belt keeping it snug against his body. He puts his hand into Erik's, noting its chilliness with dull acceptance. He had just confirmed that he was a dead man, after all.

Following after him from the main room, Samuel takes a deep breath, then pauses and plugs his nose against a sneeze. He hasn't smelled lavender since the last time he'd gone traveling and found a massive field of it, and after the initial surprise he finds himself picking out individual scents. It's cleaner in here than anything he's experienced in a long while, and so rather jarring. The locking of the door behind them starts some alarm bells, but he comforts himself that for the sake of privacy he would have wanted it sooner or later anyway. The thought is driven soundly out of his mind as he steps deeper into the room, lips pursing at the sight of the finely crafted wooden torture device that he keeps himself from commenting on only through sheer power of will, at least until Erik brings it up himself.

"Yes, I see that... That is not exactly to my taste," he comments with a note of amusement, fine to be joking about it. Then his attention turns to the tub, and the steam that's drifting from the hot water. That keeps his attention, more even than the absolutely decadent bed, though he does privately want to sink into those blankets.

"I daresay that I do not want for much," he replies thoughtfully. "Perhaps I will ask after other things at a later date. For now, where do we begin?"

[lordoftheozarks]

"Not to worry. I think I know just what to do with you," Erik answers, seating himself on the edge of the tub and lazily shutting the water off now that it's full. He lightly runs his hand through the water to test it is not too hot, then playfully flicks the droplets from his fingers toward Samuel.

"I could start by undressing you. Unless you want to do so yourself? I also leave the option to you if you would like me to disrobe and get in the tub alongside you." It will be a tight fit, but sometimes that's the idea.

[luckandmybruder]

Samuel's expression remains unchanged at the drops in his direction, but here merely shakes his head and goes to undress himself.

It's strange, not to be wearing the layers that he'd become so accustomed to, down to only that thin tunic, his pants, boots, and smallclothes. Each comes off and is hung over the back of a chair, and with each garment discarded there is a brief glance back at Erik. Samuel's body is lean, very little body fat to be found, scars here and there denoting a perilous life that would surprise nobody that knew anything about the time that he'd lived in. Body hair that hadn't been trimmed, and circumcised as taught by the culture and the faith. He really isn't that different from Erik himself in size, and he still holds himself with an air of slightly prickly dignity even without his clothes.

"I would not waste your water, trying to fit you in and spilling it on your floor," he replies even as he tests the water with one foot, then eases himself over the edge of the metal tub that has already warmed to match the heat of the water. There is a temptation to completely submerge himself, wanting to feel it surround him completely.

He merely rests one arm on the edge of the tub near where Erik has perched himself, his chin on it while the other hand reaches for one of Erik's, feeling the cool temperature of his skin in contrast to the heat of the bath.

"Do you warm up, or stay cold I wonder..."