"I'm so sorry...but I'm a spoiled child who doesn't know where to draw boundaries." Chys smiled, his red eyes glowing in the darkness. "Let me...please let me, I want it...." He crawled up onto the bed and reached out to gently take hold of Zaitsu's face. "It was so nice...."


Down below, Mona kept to herself and tried to listen to what was happening above her. It was a bit too creepy to her. She thought instead about the flavor of the cigarette between her lips and the nostalgic taste that it brought. After finishing off her glass, she refilled it with some Jack Daniel's.

He relaxed a bit, his wings twitching and the feathers smoothing out again. "Yeah..." he sighed, laying back down. "Just remember to stop yourself before you kill me..."

Chrys sighed with relief. "Thank you...." He smiled gently, leaning forward until he could press his lips against Zaitsu's neck. He breathed over that soft flesh before gently sinking his fangs down into the muscle. He deliberately went slowly, feeling as the heat and pulse started building within.

Mona tossed back the the glass of whiskey she'd poured and hummed to herself her family's lullaby. The melody would carry its eerie notes. She sighed.

That feeling began to grow deep inside of him, causing him to squirm and whimper, but he didn't force Chrys away in order to stop it this time. After a while, the feeling bubbled over, causing him to moan and roll slightly, though not in an attempt to get away.

As Chrys continued drinking, that sensation bubbled over again and again, stronger each and every time it happened. It happened one last time, then his heart began to slow; his body growing too weak from losing so much blood. "Stop..." he barely managed to whisper, consciousness slipping away from him.

Chrys drank and drank, so enraptured by this amazing sensation that boiled in his gut. And when Zaitsu moaned, Chrys clenched his teeth even harder, growling back in response as his eyes slid shut and he huffed breath. Blood spattered his lips and face as he practically breathed it in.

And time passed, Chrys didn't let go, his mind absolutely lost in all emotions at once which his body trembled with over and over. He coughed once or twice but didn't retract his fangs after it all. When the murmur of Zaitsu's voice protested, he pulled away, though it took a good twenty seconds to actually stop drinking and get his fangs out of the man's flesh.

His eyes glimmered white with those intimidating cross shapes.
"Sorry..." he choked, hoarsely. A trembling hand reached up and stroked Zaitsu's hair gently. "Are you..." a cough, "are you alright? You need some reciprocation?" He pointed at his own neck.

Zaitsu's body trembled slightly, his chest heaving as he breathed in and out. He didn't wake up to reply to Chrys' question.

Chrys smiled weakly. He bent over and pressed a kiss to the man's forehead before licking over the puncture wounds to seal them up and climbing off the bed. "'Night, Sir," he called gently before leaving the place in a wave of shadow and darkness.

Early morning was no time to be waking up and attending to her business. But Vashtai realized that if she didn't get up and do something that there was a very good chance she would just stay there forever, sleeping and letting her power drain until she turned into a very pretty statue. She stood up and started stretching. Exercising each of the muscles in turn like she was taught to get the blood and oil flowing so the machinery would work better with the muscle. She yawned, necessary from the lack of oxygen rather than just a leftover habit and looked around the front room.

Everyone must have gone to bed for the night. She let her thoughts drift back to Nicolai and wish she hadn't. She winced as the words she was dreading to hear from her own mind finally be brought into conscious thought. What is life without him to hold my hand or kiss me gently while I'm sleeping? She shook her head and wished that Mona was around so she could hug her. It wasn't like she wasn't planning on coming back, but you never knew what could happen in a crazy place like this. She still needed to go back and check her home to make sure it was still secure. She found a scrap of paper and a pen, leving her a note before she slipped out of the door.

I'll be back... don't worry.

~Vashtai~

Zaitsu didn't wake until about mid-afternoon. He took a quick bath - unsure if he could stand through a shower - and dressed himself in another long sleeved button up shirt and another pair of dark jeans. His wings weren't out right now, leaving him to appear as a tired, possibly hungover human.

He looked absolutely horrible, but had he been human the blood loss the night before would've killed him. There were dark circles under his eyes and his face was a bit sunken in, and much more pale than usual.

He managed to get to the kitchen and pour himself a glass of orange juice to take into the bar and drink. Sitting down at a table near the door, he sighed and laid his head down on his arms for a moment to rest. Looked like he was alone today...

Edit: After drinking a lot of orange juice and some water, Zaitsu went about doing the chores he had assigned himself. Even though he was feeling very weak, he managed to clean the entire kitchen. He then moved on to scrub the bar.

About twenty minutes into scrubbing the floor of the bar - he was moving slower than days previous because the blood loss had exhausted him - he found himself lying on the wet floor. His eyes slowly drifted shut, but he fought his fatigue and attempted to pull himself into a sitting position using the side of the bucket.

The bucket tipped over, spilling out over the floor next to him and soaking his clothing. He sighed, knowing that the only way he was going to get up was if someone came along and helped him, or if he could get enough rest to pick himself back up.

He spent that night on the bar floor, and slept well into the next morning.

Chrys slouched down the stairs that evening with a cigarette in his lips. He snuffed it out in his hand, though when he reached the bottomost stair. A few quick steps took him over to where Zaitsu was sleeping on the floor. Quietly, he gathered the man in his arms, lifting him up and carrying him over to the couch where he sat him down gently.

A casual wave of his hand and the remains of the spilled bucket vanished under a blanket of temporary darkness. He then wandered into the kitchen, throwing his coat on the ground and rolling up his sleeves. After making a small clamor with pots and pans, he started assembling foods and preparing them in various ways....

After a little while, Zaitsu began to stir, sitting up a bit, his head spinning from dehydration. "How did I get here...?" he asked himself quietly, looking around through squinting eyes.

Chrys walked out of the kitchen with large platters of food in tow, and some floated behind him on waves of darkness. He ushered a couple or tables together by a whisper and then set all the food down. There was a pot of clam chowder and a bowl of fresh garden salad. There were little fruit tarts and plates of steak and steamed vegetables. A pile of spaghetti sat at the center surrounded by little bowls of four different sauces

He turned towards Zaitsu.
"I figured I would just make a good spread since I have no idea what you like," he said to him. "Anything look good?"

"Mm..." came the tired sound. He took a little bit of the salad and nothing more than that.

The shadow from the other day materialized invisibly behind Zaitsu, though there was a less critical nature about it today. "Sire, the angel king is furious and searching for you... What will you do?"

Zaitsu blinked slowly, taking a bite of his food. 'I'll stay here for now. If need be, I'll run,' he thought to himself and the shadow. He slowly opened his eyes and took another bite.

Chrys raised an eyebrow. "A veggie, huh?" He smiled, happy that Zaitsu was eating. "I'll have to apologize for my rudeness; it was wrong of me to take so much blood from you. So...if there's any way I can help sustain you in turn I'd like you to let me know."

"I prefer not to drink others' blood, even though my body sometimes demands it of me. I also try to avoid meat except for on occasion... It must sound silly, but I try to keep my energy lacking at least a bit. I'm... I'm rather frightening if I'm completely well..."

"Sire... What if the angel king sends light after you...?"

"Light won't hurt you, will it? Things like sunlight and possibly holy light?" he asked suddenly, making eye contact with Chrys.

"Well, other than just offering blood," Chrys said. "To be honest, I am rather loathe to give it to others unless they've earned my complete trust and adoration." He smiled.

"As for light, it shouldn't damage me. After all, my mother is a vessel for holy light, as you would put it. At worst it might make me feel uncomfortably warm." He leaned up against the bar and folded his arms over his chest quietly.

"Sire... That's not all..." the shadow said hesitantly.

"Well, it's good to know that light won't really hurt you," Zaitsu replied with a weak smile, gathering more salad onto his fork. 'Go ahead...'

"Well... The demon king... Eirose... He's looking for you as well..." The shadow braced itself for any possible anger that might be thrown its way.

Zaitsu bit down on his fork, so hard that the tines pierced into his palate. Tears came to his eyes, though it was hard to tell if it was from the pain of the fork in his palate or from something else. His entire body had tensed, his eyes becoming cold and unresponsive, as though his soul had been locked away in a cage. He looked utterly heartbroken.

Chrys nodded and contented himself with pouring a shot of brandy. But he stopped once the obvious upset disturbed the peaceful aura of the space. He snapped his head back towards Zaitsu and tensed a bit. 'Foolish...' he internally cursed, furrowing his brow.

"What's the matter?" he asked. It was too obvious by putting together the words of this shadow and the reaction it earned with the the rigid heartbeat and the obvious damper in the Qi of Zaitsu's soul. That familiar madness tasted like utter despair. "Talk to me, are you okay?"

"Sire...?" the shadow asked fearfully, reaching out towards Zaitsu's body.

Zaitsu slumped forward, but remained upright. His hair began changing from the roots, turning dark gray, gray, lighter gray, and then finally a silvery white. He seemed to wince, reaching up to gently remove the fork that was still embedded in this palate from his mouth. His eyes slowly opened, now a sapphire color.

"Sorry about that..." he said quietly, his voice more gentle than before. His eyes remained distant, but there was a soul behind them, though it wasn't really Zaitsu's. It seemed connected to Zaitsu's, somehow...

"I guess I just bit down too hard..."

"Right," Chrys said softly. He walked forward and took the utensil from Zaitsu before setting it down on the table. He sat next to him and slung one arm around his shoulders, pulling him a bit closer. "You like the food?" Chrys was aware of the real problem, but he wasn't going to pull cheesy lines out of his pocket or take advantage of him. He sought to comfort Zaitsu in his own indirect no-questions-asked sorta way.

He looked up at the food, a little confused at first. "Oh... Yes, I did," he said with a slight smile. He had to try to gather his surroundings; though a part of Zaitsu, he was rarely conscious of the things Zaitsu experienced.

"Well good. I worked my ass off making that for you. I can't cook for beans." Chrys shook his head. "But you definately scared me to death. I walked down here and found you passed out. If guilt was a mace then I'd be bludgeoned upside the head by it all." He sighed and then turned his head, smiling softly. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? I think that rest is best for bloodloss." He gave Zaitsu's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

He turned to look at the hand on his shoulder, a somewhat lost look on his face. 'Ah, this is the one that recently drank from us...' "Ah, I'm feeling much better," he said with another of those smiles; unsure of how to really interact with Chrys.

"Err... Would it be too much trouble to ask for a drink?"

"Of what?" Chrys smiled, eager and willing to serve. "And I can get you anything, rest assured." He took his hand from Zaitsu and shifted to the point where he might stand up if he requested something that Chrys could easily get from the bar. He, of course, could've just manuevered the bottle to himself, but he felt like making effort.

"Mm. Maybe some white wine?" he asked with a slightly awkward smile. He didn't think Zaitsu's dominant spirit would appreciate his body being intoxicated, but it had been a long time since the angel had managed to get his hands on anything alcoholic. It was just too tempting for him to resist.