[SIDESTORY] Morbit Vignettes (Mature)

[skinstealer]

Mariah- 2020
Ringor Mortis
CW: Drugs, gore(?)
Mariah gets to work.

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People are late with their payments again. It’s become routine at this point, but Mariah’s getting pretty sick of it. They had a business to run, and this was just starting to stress them out more and more. 

Like I didn’t have enough to be anxious about.

Even then, they don’t want to change the system- getting people to pay for their stock upfront would definitely be the better idea, the logical business model, but they know that people here need what they’ve got. It’s not that their stuff is addictive- no, they make sure to avoid that. The last thing they want to do is bleed people dry (heh) over their product, get them hooked on something they’ve gotta pay for over and over- they’ve seen enough of that in this hell zone. People getting into shit they can’t handle, getting in over their heads...they doesn’t want to contribute to that. But...people do like the drugs, and they’re willing to pay for a night of calm, getting soothed by weird blood flakes. They’re providing a service to people, one that doesn’t harm anybody. They sleep better at night knowing that, and whenever doubts come up, they brush them away.  

They stretch out as they enter their greenhouse, the lamps providing all the light their herbs need underground. They take good care of these plants, and for good reasons- they’re the moneymakers behind the operation. Blood magic has been passed down by generations of their family, secret techniques that don’t require scraps to use...how it works, Mariah has no idea, but they can do it, and the aptly named blood pitchers are a completely humane source.

They trace a hand along the lip of one, reaching for their heavy duty gloves before placing a hand right above the opening and setting off its hunting reaction. It tries to swallow their hand and they move fast, using the specialized tech sewn into their gloves and a swift hand motion to swallow up the boiling blood inside, wincing a little at the sudden heat. The blood travels up  their wrist and into a containment chamber, and when it’s full up, they yank their hand out and shake it off. These things are old at this point, handed down from their grandmother- and like the magic they use every day, they don’t have a single clue how any of it works. It just does, and that’s good enough for them. 

Now they need to get this blood mixed with other natural ingredients, dried, and made into flakes. From there it’s just a matter of getting it packaged up and ready to go, and boom, stock for customers that probably would not pay them in a timely manner. People sprinkle it on whatever they’re eating or drinking and enjoy, the soothing effects unlike any other drug currently on the Bellows market.

It just works, they remind themself, and get back to work.