Heirot

Tenele frowned, propping up on an elbow. "If no one comes..." She didn't want to think about it. Tenara would be parentless. "I guess it isn't so bad... when you consider that we could be dead. At least we made it here together. At least that bastard didn't win. Talon will take good care of Tenara, I'm sure..."

Vlad paused. "He will. And Tenara will grow up beautifully, I'm sure. But Tenele," he met her eyes pointedly. "You can't sustain me."

"What do you mean?" Tenele asked, and then realized exactly what he meant. He would eventually get hungry too. Even if she offered him a little blood every now and then, he'd still go mad with hunger eventually. "Oh..." She sat up completely, looking down to the fire. "What are we going to do?"

Vlad leaned back on his elbows and watched the fire. "There is still some time left. We should enjoy it and relax. If someone sees the signal, great. If not, when the time comes, we have options.

"The simplest would be to build a holy circle, somewhere out of the way. I will teach you the incantation, and you can lock me in.

"If you don't have the stomach for that, the other options is to stockpile rations in the teepee, and build the holy circle around it. You can hide out here until I'm gone."

"Until your gone..." she murmured. "You mean until your dead?" She thought about the idea of being trapped on the island alone. Trapped. Alone. On a small island. Until she died. "I'd rather die too than be stuck here forever alone. I'll go mad. I'll start talking to the trees or the sea. If someone does find me after that I'll be no use to anyone with broken sanity." She put her face in her hands. "Maybe we can find you animals to eat?"

Vlad grinned. "I'm willing to give it a try, but I doubt it will work, even if there are mammals here. I've seen nothing but birds and lizards. I wonder if you can eat lizards," he mused.

"I'll try anything if it means staying alive," Tenele muttered. "But, I don't want to live on this island alone."

She brushed her neck idly. "Are you hungry now?" she murmured. "Would having a little of my blood keep you from starving as fast as you normally would?" She remembered what he'd said. He'd bit her out of necessity, malice, and lust.

She just didn't remember what that felt like.

Vlad looked at her, judging, and then seemed to decide something. "No. You're not ready for it yet." He glanced out at the waves breaking beyond the opening to their tent. "The signal will be seen. It is just a matter of time. You will not go mad so quickly."

Tenele's brow furrowed. "What do you mean, I'm not ready yet? How ready does one have to be to get bitten?" she was very confused by his admission. "Its just a bite and taking blood, that's all."

Vlad grinned a little, mostly to himself. "I will not hurt you. To keep from hurting you, I need to make it pleasurable." He looked at her. "Do you want to receive pleasure from me?" He made the question as much a sultry invitation as a warning.

Tenele's lips parted, her eyes already narrowed on him. Do you want to receive pleasure from me? She felt that heat ignite inside her again. She thought about him floating in the water.

"Its not that," she stammered, flushing. "I'm just trying to offer you dinner. If that happens to be a bi-product of feeding you, I say its better than the alternative..."

Vlad tilted his head. "Do you want me right now?" he purred. "Tomorrow is fine as well, if you're not sure. Beyond that, we will need to take up one of the other plans."

Tenele hesitated. Her heart felt like it was beating way too hard. Tonight, or tomorrow, what difference did it make. She swallowed, reaching up to her damp silver hair. She moved it all over onto one shoulder so her neck was visible. She took the sleeve of her dress and pushed it off. Her green eyes stared at the fire before flickering up to him. That was about all the invitation she could give, because she was pretty sure her voice would just come out a wavering mess.

Vlad watched her submissive behavior with racing nerves. He wanted her....to be one with her, to feel her inside him, to make her cry out with passion. Her fear tugged at him in a way that made his whole body tight with anticipation. "You're scared, Tenele," he protested quietly. His need strained at the fabric of his cropped pants. "You're turning me on," he purred.

Tenele stiffened. He knew she was nervous, which made her even more nervous. Her breath quickened. She was turning him on? While she thought that would make her run screaming into the forest, or feel embarrassed, something about it made her feel just the tiniest bit empowered. "This is my first time," she whispered. Not really, but to her it was. "I mean, for the bite." The anticipation was a little nerve racking. But, he seemed to be in no hurry.