Holier Than Thou

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad blew a dismissive gust of air from his lips at the accusation that he was considerate. "I merely wished for a more private environment, if you catch my meaning," he smirked. "He will be in much better shape when his metabolism matures a bit. Trust me, though he may not feel like it now, he will meet a day where he can embrace you, and even our child, with complete confidence."

"By the way, I'm not taking him hunting tonight. He learned some things the hard way the other day, and he isn't as ready for live food as he thinks he is. Atul has agreed to give us the use of the city prison for "donors". He'll be under a regular meal plan and no-kill diet until he's more in control. He won't need to have another hunger attack that will hurt both you and him."

[Emora Deen]

"I'm glad you're not taking him hunting," Tenele told him, slinking her arms around his waist. "I'm glad your here to mentor him, to help him get better." She rested her head on his chest. "If you are using the prison as donors, do you plan to let him kill the prisoners or use them as hunting practice?"

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad shook his head. "No hunting. We'll have a nurse drain the blood for the next few weeks, or he can drink through me. When he can stop without finishing the whole portion, he can take the blood himself again. I don't necessarily think he needs to be brought back to tit like this, but he does. The confidence needs to come back first and foremost." He ran a hand through Tenele's hair. "He is well motivated to have such a dazzling sister to impress."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele smirked and burrowed closer to her husband, her arms wrapping tighter around him. "You flatter me," sighed. She felt a little sad for her brother, who had made such gains in his new life, to be brought back to square one. "I'm glad you aren't going hunting," she whispered, running her fingers up and down his spine. "I would have been sad if you were to leave me alone another night."

[Soran Nightblade]

"I do not love Talon quite enough for that, and I doubt he can convince me to be tied to a bed," Vlad assured. He guided her back into their own suite, where Stalker was waiting tensely behind the door. His gleaming eyes warned that he did not approve of being left apart from them while they gallavanted about. He rose proudly to his paws and cast them both a disdainful snort of a greeting.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele turned her attention from her husband to greet their hound. She bent forward and took his large face in her slender hands. "Oh, don't give me that look. You cuddled with me all last night, you spoiled thing, you." She scratched there behind his ears and under his neck. She righted herself and went to a basin of water near the balcony where she poured herself a drink. Then, she went to the bed and plopped down, face first, with her arms stretched out towards the otherside. "I think I'm going to nap," she told her husband, twisting onto her side. "At least, I'm going to lay down for a while." She unclipped the cloak from her shoulders and tossed it to the foot of the bed before settling back against the sheets again.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad took in the welcoming sight of Tenele cuddled into the mattress and had to fight the urge to lay down with her and wrap himself around her warm shape on the bed. The vivid recollection of Talon's desperate state prevented him from acting on the impulse. It would be difficult to lie comfortably with his wife while his Blood suffered miserably next door.

"You are a tempting distraction from what I ought to be doing," he mused, sitting at the edge of the bed and gliding a hand along her contoured form.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele smiled at Vlad, watching his hand glide across her silk-covered form. "It is good that I can still be a tempting distraction," she murmured, fighting the urge to grab his hand and draw him back into the covers with her for a comfortable cuddling partner. She took his hand and pressed her lips to his palm. "Go do what needs to be done, and then this evening I'll be all the distraction you can manage. I mean that completely innocently, I swear." She pressed the back of his cool hand to her warm cheek. Tenele thought for a second, and squeezed his hand tighter.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad kissed her warmly before reluctantly rising from the bed. "See you in a bit."

He teleported into the next room without much decorum, casually appearing in the center of Talon's quarters unannounced. "Time for a picnic," he announced as he spotted Talon's figure by the corner. The man's blood-scent was weak. Vlad turned and began walking toward him. "The light can be harsh at first," he said as he gestured toward the drawn curtains and the darkness of the room. It was the understatement of the year. To a new vampire, unfiltered sunlight was like being slowly cooked under a magnifying glass.

[Emora Deen]

Talon lifted his gaze towards his master, his reflexes not as quick as usual. He stood up slowly from where he'd been sitting with his back to the wall and grabbed his hooded cloak from a vacant chair. "Where are we going?" he asked, adjusting the cloak on his shoulders.

[Soran Nightblade]

"Below the palace," Vlad said. "Dungeon."

[Emora Deen]

Talon sighed, removing the cloak. Feeding on prisoners felt like a better idea than going out looking for something to eat and accidentally feasting on children. He let his tense form relax. "Good," he admitted. "I'm so hungry Vlad... I couldn't bring myself to feed after I killed that girl."

[Soran Nightblade]

"I know," Vlad said. "I understand. We'll work on it." He opened the door and was genuinely surprised to find a young maid directly on the other side of it, her hand raised to knock. He'd heard nothing from inside the room, which he approved of.

"I...I was going to change master Talon's linens," she murmured politely while Vlad gazed down at her.

"What is your name?" Vlad asked the blushing girl.

"Sanhi," she murmured.

"Sanhi, Talon will be seeing to his own quarters in the future. Please let the other maids know and see that he isn't disturbed."

A protest formed on her face, but she swallowed it back. "Yes, Lord Dracul." Unsure if she'd just been reprimanded or merely dismissed, she curtsied to him and fled.

[Emora Deen]

If Talon could grow more pale, he did. His hands clenched so tight while the girl stood there that his nails cut into his flesh and blood pooled in his palms and began to seep through the cracks in his fingers. The light flutter of her heartbeat was a beacon his body could not resist, and he fought the urge to grab her as she turned to leave, and sink his teeth into her. When she was a short distance away Talon twisted and rested his back against the wall. "I can't walk out there," he muttered, heaving. He lifted his hands to look at them, but the wounds were already closing, leaving blood smeared across his skin. "I'm going to kill someone if I walk there."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad frowned, hearing the man's panicked heartbeat. He turned back to Talon and shut the door. Then the vampire pulled his sleeve back and extended his wrist palm-up to his Blood. "Take from me," he ordered.