Hand it over, and then Sadde can borrow the thing.

The thing doesn't remove the thirst, it's still there, but it makes it seem significantly less unpleasant. More informative reminder of needing blood than urgent need for it.

Not all the way, of course. Maybe half of the way.

Well half of the way is still much better than the regular turning process, probably. Sadde returns it. Where did this person get it?

He takes it eagerly, already kind of shaking.

Don't tell anyone else about his condition, please. He got it from a friend who knew a guy who knew a guy, and it was very expensive. He treats the whole thing as mildly taboo.

...sure? He won't tell anything about your chronic illness to anyone, don't worry, he'd just really like to get his hands on an amulet like that.

Well, here's the friend's name.

Thank you kindly.

Before he pursues that, what about the other anaesthetic methods?

Books!

There are about a half dozen varieties of Tylenol potion that work in slightly different ways, turns out, and three Ketamine-equivalent potions. There's a dreamless sleep potion too. There's a variation on painlessness amulet meant to protect from overstimulation, also expensive. And there are three relevant fair folk kinds: One can supposedly suspend people in a blank void a lot like Alec but one target only, and they've only been reported in a corner of the world far from here, one can cause insistent synaesthesia (smelling lemons really really intensely instead of pain is probably an improvement), one has a magically numbing touch and scent. That last kind is a human and mer predator.

Hmmm okay he'd like to use his vast resources to get his hand on the Tylenol potions, Ketamine-equivalent potions, dreamless sleep, the variation on the painlessness amulet, and see where he can find that second kind of fair folk.

He won't have managed more than the Tylenol potions and one Ketamine one, and learning that the World Tree has at least one of those, before it's time for Terel's meeting with the grad school people.

He's at the meeting place promptly!

(How do the potions fare?)

The Tylenol equivalents have zero effect on vampires.

The Ketamine-equivalent makes him alarmingly sluggish for a vampire until he purges it, and dulls some pain in the extremities but does nothing for the thirst.

"Let's go show off the shiny report."

They go into the office and announce their appointment and wait to be called.

The appointment is with a very large and regal looking lion. "Welcome. Tell me why you're special enough to skip some, or all, of the undergraduate program."

"Because we have knowledge and techniques that will revolutionise the field of golemcraft as well as create an entirely new field of study. For starters."

He hands over the report, and digs out the prototype, and starts confidently technobabbling.

The lion listens passively, asking occasional interesting questions. ("It does seem rather elaborate, do you plan on commercial applications?" "Not without further work.") If they knew his reputation for tearing apart bad projects this would be impressive.

"For the graduate program we could either continue to pursue improvements to golemcraft, or start developing the entire new field of study Sadde mentioned. I think he's better at explaining it."

"Well the, er, equivalent to golemcraft where I'm from is computer science, which involves zero magic and only physical principles, and which you can use to automate basically any task." And he launches an explanation about how computers work, tailoring it for the lion's questions and interests, depending on whether low-level or high-level or medium-level or all of those is preferred.

Low level.

And only for a few minutes. "I believe this will be quite enough to impress the remainder of the committee." He signs a paper... Somehow... And paws it over to them. "I am satisfied that these ideas are worthy; Go appease the bureaucracy as well."

"Thank you, we will."

Heyoo, paperwork! A lot of it is 'read the rules and sign the paper that says you did'. There's one that allows the university to distribute any official reports they make as they please, and about a dozen forms total. The front desk secretary talks about the program's particulars as they churn through the paperwork.

Terel asks if they can be moved into the grad program this semester. The answer is still no.

Sadde can read papers really fast, as has been demonstrated and indicated before. Shame about the semester thing, though, when does it end?

Julep 36th.

...Terel explains the calendar. Nine months of forty days, of which Julep is the third, with twelve extra days on the year turnover that is a massive holiday time pretty much everywhere. It's currently Julep 2nd.

Oh so just another month? Cool.

"By the way," he asks as they leave the meeting, "what exactly are your years and months and weeks and seasons based on?"

"Something involving the suns? I think they shine for the shortest time on one particular day, and that's midwinter."

...And he's thought about it long enough, he is bisexual and ignoring that would be annoying and pointless, Sadde gets a kiss.

Oh gods yes okay Sadde has completely forgotten what he was talking about.

(Well not really but it's no longer in his mind.)

Well, the kiss is polite PDA level only, seeing as they are on a sidewalk. But yep.

Yes yes sure it's still great and Terel-kissing and mind-melting and he will not be the one pulling away here.

Right, Terel will, and then comment, "It's strange we have the same week and same hours in the day and stuff though. Does the key sort by similarity or something? ...No data."