[For once, his eyes shift away; the motion is thoughtful rather than guilty. Then he looks at her again.]

I’ve never had the blood of a human. I don’t plan on ever drinking a human’s blood. But I am cursed to thirst for it. When I was alive, I satiated it with artificial plasma. They were dehydrated pills put in water.

I don’t have any of those here, but I can make them with the correct materials. I would like to try before the thirst becomes too powerful to resist. The blood you’re receiving from others… I need to find a good candidate to replicate.