Holier Than Thou

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad's hand brushed along her back and explored the protruding arrow tenderly. Her stubborn scolding combined with his weariness into the oddest sense of security. He knew he couldn't go back outside without blowing his cover to the straggling enemies. Seeing him weak would give them confidence. "I will tend to the lady in her quarters," he said very quietly, gazing down at her. "Resecure this gate immediately, at all costs." He didn't look especially happy; in fact, he looked quite serious. He closed his eyes, and without explanation to the men around him, he ported both he and Tenele to her room. The normally insignificant spell left him reeling. He sagged sideways against the wall, still embracing her. If he got carried away, there was no holy talisman she could use for self defense this time. So he would just have to be very, very careful.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele pulled him off the wall and helped him to the couch where she'd slept the night before. When he was there she reached down and started unbuckling the corset around her waist. She pulled it off slowly, groaning as it tugged on the arrow shaft. With a shaky breath she tossed it off to the side. "So... I think you can patch me up better with a clear head?" She pulled her green coat off and unlaced the white blouse she wore beneath it. "Don't worry, I was in a battle, no one will wonder why I have a bandage on my neck." She sat stiffly in his lap, draping one arm across his shoulder, and touching his face gently with her free hand. She tilted it towards her.

"I trust you, Vlad," she whispered to him. "I know you will stop."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad touched her smooth cheek. His hand was unsteady. She was right; he'd be more useful to her after he drained away her lifeblood. The thought amused and upset him at once. "I will be cautious," he promised her and himself. He brushed his nose against the softness under her chin and traced his lips to the base of her neck. He didn't have the magic to make it pleasurable as he usually did, but he made sure not to cause her pain as he slowly pressed his fangs into her skin. Her warm blood flooded his mouth, making every spark of power inside him jump to attention. His instincts called him to bite harder, and take everything she had. He'd had a lot of practice taming those instincts.

He drank gradually, taking almost a full minute to avoid putting her into any more shock than she was in already. When the needles finally stopped poking from the inside of his brain, he drew away from her skin and licked her neck gently. His hand, no longer shaking, covered the wound and pressed. "I love you," he murmured quietly, his eyes buzzing with the soft glow of the power she'd given him. He glanced at her shoulder as she sat in his lap. In a slow, smooth movement, he turned her to face away from him so he could inspect her bare back. "It will need to come out," he warned, knowing she was already aware of that.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele blinked her eyes open at his words, having let herself relax in his arms so any restless feelings wouldn't stir that hidden beast inside him. She smiled softly at him, holding his hand to her neck gently. "I love you," she replied to his sweet words.

He was good at moving her around without her help, came with that super-human strength she supposed. She leaned forward so he could get a better look at the small shaft of the arrow sticking out of a nasty off to the side of her lower back.

"I know," she muttered, frowning. "I was just putting it off... Cause, you know, the whole ripping something that supposed to go forward backward doesn't make me apt to doing it in a timely manner. So I'll just lay down and you can sit on me. That might keep me from punching you on accident." She smiled, tilting her head to look over her shoulder. "Good thing is that armor kept it from going very deep, so its only an inch or more in. Not a bad wound, just a troublesome one."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad smirked at her bravado and eased her sideways across the couch. He placed a flat palm down between her shoulderblades and wrapped his other hand around the stub of the arrow. "On three," he offered quietly. His nerves lit up with the sight and smell of more blood. It gave him a bizarre, excited rush and was more pleasant than appropriate for the situation. But then, when was he ever appropriate?

He counted to two and pulled the arrowhead free with a fast jerk.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele was waiting to brace herself on two... and then two came and she wasn't quite ready. Her body jerked, wanting to curl against the pain. She screamed as the arrow head tore flesh, cutting it off midway by burrowing her face into the cushions of the couch. Her fingers knotted in her hair at the back of her head, her chest heaving ragged breaths.

Her back was littered already with thin white scars, some from battle, but most from when she was captured by Arken and tortured for information. They were only so light because of the well trained doctors that Vlad managed to get her too.

After she recovered, she tilted her head to the side, wiping her watery eyes. "You said three," she muttered.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad threw the bloody arrow across the room and pressed his hands firmly down on the bleeding wound. Her scream had a double effect on him, so it took a few moments to trust himself to speak or move. "The extraction does more damage when the muscles are tight," he argued, reaching for the medicine sack they'd been using right before the battle. "The wound looks good. It should be clean. I'm closing it," he said. His calm voice gave no sign of how badly she was bleeding. He didn't want to panic her. He telekinetically drew open the bag and took a hand off the wound to grab the suture thread.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele closed her eyes and exhaled raggedly. She folded her arms over the top of her head and waited for the sharp jab of a needle weaving its way in and out of her skin, pulling sore flesh back together. "Are you okay to do this?" she asked him in a soft quivering breath, knowing he hadn't taken enough blood to fill himself up. She felt drops of warm liquid leaking across her skin, but not able to tell if it was bad.

Her body started to tremble, but she wasn't sure if it was her nerves or the cold.

[Soran Nightblade]

"I will be fine," Vlad said with a scoffing tone, his garnet eyes never leaving her wound. From the looks of things, the arrow had been deeper than she estimated. He bit off the thread and cheated with telekinesis to thread the needle. If his focus was enough for that, it was enough to stitch.

He was quick and firm as he laced up the messy wound. It was not a clean, straight path. He began sewing what was closer to a star than a line in order to close the thing up. It was difficult to find the flesh with all the bleeding flooding it. "Not going to sleep on me, are you, Tenele?" he prodded casually. "I'm being all nurturing here, I expect awe-filled attention."

[Emora Deen]

"Nurturing my ass," she murmured through half clenched teeth. Her eyes shut lazily. She swallowed hard, wondering if she was getting used to the feel of the needle or if she was getting sleepy. She trembled a bit more as it went on. "Are you almost finished?" she muttered, sounding more ungrateful than she actually was. She was very grateful in fact.

[Soran Nightblade]

"Patience, My Lady," he teased. He cinched the last few stitches tightly. The wound still oozed slightly, weeping between the stitches, but it would clot from here. "Lie still," he said as he took the shirt she'd discarded and wiped off her back. The cushion next to her was drenched. He went to the washbasin and rinsed the shirt, dying the water dark pink. He went back to her with the wet fabric and cleaned off her skin. He lifted her opposite shoulder slightly to get the bandage past and wound it around to put pressure on the wound. He knelt next to the couch and pulled her feet up so that her shins pointed toward the ceiling, dropping more circulation to the rest of her body. Propping a pillow in front of her knees helped them stay in the position. "Any other leaks I should know about?" he asked her.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele twisted her face towards him, eyes half open. "No," she mumbled, fighting the urge to role over. "You should have licked it up," she chuckled. "You wasted food." She felt deliriously silly for some reason. "There are vampires in third world countries that would kill for a pretty woman to bleed all over their couch. Heh... literally kill too." She grinned, eyes opening to look at him. Her grin slowly faded. "If they come back we are screwed, you know that don't you? We can't keep these people in here and keep them alive. We've got them trapped like cows for the slaughter."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad looked toward the office window. "We have time to figure it out. They won't come right away." He left her side for a moment to fetch her mug from her luggage and fill it in the bathroom. He dug out painkillers from the medicine sack and then knelt next to her. "When you have the strength," he said, holding the mug for her. It wasn't easy to down fluids lying on your stomach, but he didn't think.....no, he KNEW she shouldn't move yet.

[Emora Deen]

"Thanks," she whispered. "I'll get it in a sec. I'm just going to rest here for a little while." Her eyes stayed closed, her breathing evening out. "Its cold," she breathed softly. Silver hair slid to fall in front of her face like a shield. "I think I'm falling a sleep... Wouldn't happen to have anything in that bag to keep me awake, Doc? I really can't afford to sleep on the job."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad stroked back her hair from her pale cheek. "Feel free to sleep, but no complaints about how I choose to wake you," he teased.