Heirot

Tenele laughed at him. "That sounds really delicious," she lied, snuggling in against his rain beaten body. Tenele wasn't sure how he planned to cook the stew, but she had every bit of faith in him that he would make her something appetizing.

Being soaking wet inside their humble shelter wasn't the most comfortable feeling, but the fire helped. She rung out her clothing as much as she could before going inside, and sat closely near the flames while Vlad cooked.

Vlad stored the blood in a coconut, then skinned the creature and set it up on the spit. He brushed some coals off to one side and set the coconut inside them, adding some sea salt and edible roots they'd collected and thinning it down with some water. It didn't take long for the contents to steam and eventually boil. Vlad swept the coconut out of the fire and set it on some banana leaves, then carefully carved up the tiny animal and added its meat to the mixture. "I have every bit of confidence in two things," he said as he passed the hot coconut to her in the banana leaves. "It will not kill you, and it will not taste very good." He passed her a clean mussel shell and gestured for her to use it as a spoon.

Tenele scowled at him. "I thought you were joking!" she scolded him, turning her nose up at the bowl of blood and meat. "Do I really have to drink the blood? Can't I eat the meat?" She took the bowl hesitantly and the shell. She pushed the blood around, frowning at the bowl.

She spooned some up, scrunched up her nose, and tried it. She almost gagged. "That's disgusting!" She winced. "No offence. Blood is obviously not something my stomach likes..."

Tenele ate very, very slowly. Like each bite was a terrible task she was undertaking. Eventually she manage to polish off half of the meal before she begged for mercy.

Vlad smirked. "At least the meat, then. It's important, Tenele. If I take your blood without it, your immune system could drop. I don't want you to be sick without anyone to take care of you."

Tenele nodded. She ate the meat, forgoing the blood, though the meat had manage to saturate with it. Each chunk just burst with grossness. After that she pushed the bowl aside and washed it all down with a coconut shell full of water.

"Thank you for making dinner," she sighed, smoothing a hand over her stomach.

Vlad smiled at her reaction to the food. "We can always reheat the leftovers if you get hungry later, he taunted.

He sat back on the leaves and listened to the rain pattering on the walls of the tent. He had to find her a more sheltered place. A strong storm would wipe the tent out. Maybe one of the stone outcrops was enough for a lean-to. His head was full of the things he needed to make sure she had before he left. He'd lied. He couldn't pretend he'd be here with her. There wasn't enough time. Just sitting here with her was becoming difficult. In another day, it would be nearly impossible.

Tenele smiled at him and stood up, feeling playful. "I worked for your first meal," she told him wagging her finger. "Now you have to work for your second. You have to catch me." She patted him on the head before dashing out into the rain. She laughed as she ran off through the small brush towards the rocks she laid on last night, knowing it wouldn't be long before he caught her.

Vlad's eyes locked onto her. He gave chase a little too easily as he burst up after her. He sprinted gracefully across the sandy soil and caught up to her immediately, pinning her back against the stone. "Don't you know not to run from a vampire?" he growled just beside her neck, his weight pressing down over hers.

Tenele's heart leaped into her throat. Suddenly wondering if it had been a mistake to run from him. "I do," she replied shakily, wiggling into a more comfortable position against the stone. "I'm sorry. I was feeling playful."

Vlad brushed his lips against her neck and enjoyed her faint struggle under him. "Playful," he mused. His cool breath sighed across her neck.

No. Too much," he ordered his strangled nerves. He wanted her. With great effort, he stopped pinning her down and looked at her with neon eyes. "Do you still want me, after such a satisfying meal?" he asked in a teasing whisper.

Tenele flushed, her gaze flashing up to him. "I do," she whispered. She seemed to be thinking something over for a long time, and then she reached up to the soaked dress she wore and pushed the straps off her shoulders. She clutched it to her chest before lowering it very slowly to the ground.

Vlad hesitated. "Tenele," he murmured, torn between glee and concern. "You don't have to, just because it's our last..."

Tenele flinched at him. Their last... It was her first with him. No, not technically, but it might as well have been. "I'm sorry," she whispered scooping up her dress and holding it against her chest. "I just thought... I don't know what I was thinking." She felt embarrassed.

Vlad was very still as he racked his brains for the right reaction. She hadn't even allowed a kiss yet, much less bared herself. Did she want this?

She said she didn't know what she was thinking. Perhaps the impulse had already passed into regret. But his emotions hadn't. He touched her chin very lightly, tilted in, and touched his lips to hers.

Tenele hesitated at first, and then relaxed into the kiss. She held her clothing tighter to her and kissed him back. She didn't know what her problem was. Lately she felt like a woman with a split personality. She acted on impulse, and then seconds later she didn't understand why she had acted at all. Could it be that somewhere in her subconscious her memories were intact and acting of their own accord? Or maybe she knew what she wanted, and was just too afraid to admit it?

She drew away gently. "You caught me," she whispered. "You can have your dinner. Fair is fair."