The Prince and the Assassin (closed o/o)

After working a while, Pollux closed his laptop and got up when the laundry was done. He brought it back to the couch in a basket and began folding, separating his own clothes from Rykah's.
He hummed softly to himself. It wasn't really a happy hum so much as a bored one. God, he really needed to pick up some actual hobbies.

When Pollux was done folding the clothes, he moved his pile to his bedroom and put them away, then searched the shelf in the closet for the paints. He pulled down a small box where he was pretty sure he'd left them and checked inside. When he saw he had guessed correctly, he moved back towards the dining room with the box and placed it on the table. Pollux couldn't help noticing Rykah's drawing.
"That's very good," he said, his fangs flashing in a slight smile, "Have you ever thought about selling your work or doing commissions?"

"Maybe not as a living, but a lot of people do it as a side gig. As long as you're not buying more in materials than you charge for your work, you should be able to make a little bit of extra cash," Pollux reassured him, "If it's something that interests you, you should totally go for it. You've definitely got the abilities."
He paused for a second.
"Oh yeah, I brought these paints. There aren't many colors, and some of them might be dried up, but I hope at least some of them are workable if you wanted to mess around."

"Of course," Pollux replied.
He shifted a bit.
"I have to go back to work tomorrow, unfortunately. But maybe you can come with me to ask about getting a job there. We have cafeteria staff in addition to janitors, so there's something there for your experience level. Plus, I think they'd appreciate meeting you in person first. Although, I would hold off on actually starting work until you're healed up a little better."

"I'm pretty sure," Pollux replied, "We are currently looking for more people, and you seem very willing. And with the added thumbs-up from me, they'll be more likely to hire."
He frowned a bit, rubbing his forehead.
"I gotta stop doing this, though. I don't think they're going to fire me for having to take off, but this isn't the first time. It won't be the last at this rate- I don't know what to do. Like I love my job, I don't want to have to take off. It's just… You saw it, you understand that I can borderline go into some sort of frenzied state, and I can't do that at work. I can't risk hurting any colleagues, or gods forbid, patients."

"No," Pollux admitted, "The thought is kind of repulsive, to be honest. Humanoid blood is unethical usually, and animal blood tastes like sludge. Most vampires eventually snap and stop drinking animal blood altogether after a few months to a few years, because it's that bad. Not to mention, once you've had a taste of human blood, I've heard it's hard to go back. I mean… I have… once… But that's not something I like to think about. It wasn't on purpose."
He lowered his head.

"Ah, it's okay," Pollux replied, "It's not like it's your fault or anything."
He chuckled a bit to himself.
"Besides, there are perks. I'm a lot stronger than I used to be, I don't have to sleep, and I don't get sick anymore."
He shrugged. "I just hope whatever happens, I can just… not hurt people. That's my only real concern."

"I guess you'd understand that, huh?" Pollux said with a nod, "Yeah, I don't know that I'd have chosen to be a vampire, of course, but even if the good doesn't outweigh the bad, at least I get a few perks. As compensation, I guess. Though I kind of do miss sleeping and eating. Used to be sick a lot, though, so I'm glad I don't have to deal with that."

"I have some money saved up, so hopefully, I just find a new job that's in an environment where I'm not exposed to blood on a regular basis. That's kind of why I worry about hurting patients. If they're bleeding, and I haven't fed in a while, there's a lot of temptation. Now, my boss knows that the stakes here are literally me killing a patient, so they've been lenient since I've turned, but I'm starting to think I should've figured something out by now," Pollux replied, "Worst case scenario, it's harder to find a new job than I expected, and I downsize some. I don't really need a lot of space to live, but it's nice to have."

"Yeah, I don't think that'll be the case, though. I've been emailing my supervisor. I just- I need to make a real plan for feeding and all that. I don't want to keep doing this," Pollux replied.
He sounded pretty confident in his words, if a little tired.

"I'll probably just force it, if I'm being honest," Pollux sighed, "I don't really see there being any truly comfortable way for me to go about this. But thanks for the sentiment."

"I hope those work for you," Pollux said softly.
His phone buzzed and he went to check it, half-expecting it to be someone unwelcome. It was one of his coworkers, but she was one of his closer friends. He put off reading the whole text and answering for later, but he was relieved at least.

Pollux gave Rykah a slight smile and went to go take a shower. He felt disgusting- he had mostly managed to clean up after feeding, but there were still traces of blood under his fingernails among other places. Not to mention, there was still a bit of mud on his body.
He went to the bathroom, and taking a deep breath, he turned on the hot water and inhaled the steam. Pollux scrubbed, making sure to get every last bit of the blood out of his skin.
Even after he was clean, he stood under the water and tried to clear his mind for a while. He had almost bitten Rykah… no telling how horribly wrong that could have gone.