"At least once a week," Ishmael replied easily, though that was a bare minimum, and was why his roster of willing donors had to stay long and varied, and also why he had his own stores of blood bags to top up in between, for the less convenient times - "but not just from you, don't fear. I have... other sources. So it needn't be as often as that, only every once in a while. And only if you're up to it." (That was a little of a lie; Ishmael needed a steady supply, whether people were up to it or not, but he thought this guy would take the challenge for what it was, and be keen to prove himself.) Perhaps monthly, or so, he considered; that way it was not so often that it would become an inconvenience, and rare enough that the thrill and the danger hopefully wouldn’t wear off too soon.

This might be the moment he sweetened the pot by offering to pay for the blood he drank, but here he thought he might just get away by reminding this man of the inherent danger involved, if that were his weakness. "Little and often, you see,”" Ishmael added idly. "That's how you don't wind up dead."

---