Felix screwed up his nose at the comment and was about to reply, but his mouth just hung open for a moment in a very stunned manner of shock. Why had he done that...? Was it really so surprising, though? Felix knew absolutely nothing about Darren and only assumed he was a heartless bastard because of the way he had been acquired. Darren didn't have to be as Felix thought he was out of sheer impression. The man was doing his job, obviously, nothing else, and was forceful because that was how he needed to be for his profession. Like Felix had to be steady and keen-eyed for his own, and easily understanding of language if that might be required. Still, he backed away a little, and snapped his mouth shut.

"I'm not afraid of you." He said at last. "I'm afraid of what I'll do to you, obviously. I'm afraid of hurting you, not the other way around as I've told you a few times." He shook his head, looking down to the document. "Um... If you let me see the book I may understand it faster. I do recognize a few characters. Some come from nearly-obsolete language that few write and even fewer study." He leaned across the table. "Unless, of course, you'd rather take on all the responsibility." He smiled for once, and it showed his rather sharp teeth.

"I don't understand how you can be afraid of hurting me after what I did to you. Take out the fact that I work for the king, and reconsider your answer when thinking only of me, the man, and not the official." Why was he pushing it so? Darren didn't understand himself. His mind refused to comprehend what he felt, or rather he kept putting aside the feelings as nothing more then silly things brought about by his lack of control.

It was so easy to lose that around Felix. Sighing, he held out the book silently. At least Felix could help with it. In fact it seemed like Felix was more necessary then first imagined, and once Darren's superiors found out how he'd treated the man... Well there would be reprimands, but he hoped they would show some lenience.

Felix took the book and rolled his eyes. "As a spy you must do things you don't want to do. Or, maybe you do want to do them now, I'm not one to judge. But I assumed you wouldn't kill me if you needed my work---documents only I'd know of. And I'm much easier to get than any of the men and women I was stupidly working for. And you seem to know what you're doing---in more ways than one. Why would I want to harm you?" He stood and took up the document, settling down and flipping open the book. "... if I harmed you, you wouldn't be able to harm me."

And when was Darren going to make due on his promise? Felix was, against his better judgment, more than ready to be cut again, restrained, bitten or scratched in a more desperate manner. A stronger manner. Most of his humans, near their death or point of exhaustion, become so limp and weak, and it left Felix annoyed and restless. His recent kill was no different---and he was still dying for release. If he just... pushed Darren a little more. Just a little more. But he had to do this first. Sighing, Felix stared at the book and ran his hand down the lines of text. There seemed to be a code within the book as well, in a few languages he could understand---but those were mostly dead languages, and knowing them was something others considered a useless talent.

Reasons enough he supposed. That last bit had a smirk crossing Darren's features. He should have expected that, and remembered his promise. For a while, he'd thought Felix hadn't wanted him to go through with it, but apparently his assumptions had been wrong. Shaking his head, he shifted and reached out to tug lightly at the other man's tail. "You're eager for that, aren't you? I almost thought you changed your mind."

He wanted to be touched and held, but there was no room for tenderness in his life. Darren's eyes half-closed as his fingers ran over the soft, supple, thing in his hands. He dug his nails into it abruptly. At least Felix would enjoy what he wrought, had asked for it. That was more then the spy had a right to ask for, or even wish for.

Felix's hand automatically clenched over the book's paper and cover, as if to control himself, but the inescapable outcry was unavoidable. He crossed his legs tightly, growling not necessarily in a negative manner. "I... hope you're a better spy most of the time." He muttered, twitching in an impossible way when Darren's nails dug into those sensitive nerve endings. "I thought time was of the essence..." He just wanted to know if he could uncover the true meaning of this document... And then, perhaps, he would really give in... Really let Darren do whatever he liked. He desperately wanted to know the feeling, but was just as desperate to get the document decoded.

As such, he slowly withdrew his tail, shuddering as it slipped through Darren's human hands and tucked itself around him. "Just... need a little... time." A little time. He could see some oddity in the book's lines that shouldn't be there, especially for decoration. And if he could just focus for a while... Now it was easier to do. Easier to focus, though his demon's blood wouldn't just let someone slip through their fingers, especially if it meant more energy, more to feed on.

He smiled, oh he was enjoying seeing the other man squirm and struggle. Felix did have a point, that time was indeed of the essence, but what the demon didn't know was how near desperate Darren was to stall. Time, he wanted so much more of it with someone who didn't mind being around him. That was what he liked the most about Felix, of everything.

"I am much better usually, I suppose that's just how you make me act." He was disappointed his hands found themselves empty again. His breath came out fast as he realized he'd probably said too much. Darren shifted and stood, turning his back upon the other man. "I'll be taking my turn in the bath."

The spy walked away and into the bathroom. Soon the water steamed up the space again, the walls turned moist. Darren sighed as he slipped into the tub, leaning his head back. "Felix ... you're going to drive me crazy," mumbled the man with a dark laugh.

Felix paused---he'd only just caught that. He thought it could be some... fluke. His kind could easily come off as specifically human, and as such didn't let others feel overly drawn to them. And he'd certainly not tried to alter anyone's current state of mind, especially not Darren's. Not his kidnapper. Which didn't feel so much like a kidnapping anymore.

Sighing, Felix went on with his work, scrutinizing the book. Tiny symbols were hidden among the rest, with minute lines drawn from one to another in little arrows. Some were even written in faded ink at the corners, intentionally written with watery ink so it would fade over the course of a week. Part of the way through the book he found that certain pairs of letters were equal to one letter of this made-up script. Sitting forward and suddenly extremely focused, Felix stared from one to another and jumped up, sprinting to his room and grabbing paper, a quill, and a piece of paper. Now it didn't matter what script he wrote in, he just had to translate the document. With almost shivering hands, he uncorked the bottle of ink and started scratching the first word a little at a time.

He quickly memorized the translations, which characters went with which symbol, and he slammed the book shut to copy the original document in a language he---and Darren---could understand.

Most of the way through his hand froze, and he dropped the quill, certain that all the color had drained out of his face. 'Kill the scribe...' The words were half written but he felt an icy shard in his chest. He was in danger. He'd been in trouble the moment he'd taken the very first document...

Water dripped from his hair as he lifted himself from the now cold tub. Darren dressed in too loose clothing, not caring how disheveled he appeared, before walking from the small room. He let his fingers trail against the wall, sharp pieces of wood scratching his skin now and again. His thoughts were turned inward, more then out, as he stepped into the living room where Felix still sat.

His eyes widened at how still the other man was. Not even the demon's arrow tipped tail moved. It was as if Felix had been carved from a block of too hard marble, like he had never moved at all. "Felix?"

Darren jogged to the other man's side and wrapped a strong arm around him. He leaned his head over to peer at the document, and cursed at what he saw. The spy's arm tightened around Felix , pulling him up close and hard against his own body. "I'll let none of them take you away," growled Darren. He was only just able to stop himself from adding the all too dangerous last two words.

Felix didn't hear Darren approach until the seat beside him shifted, and he tried to pull away before he realized who, in fact, it was. Then he gasped, having forgotten to breathe, and put his arms around Darren in turn. "I'm such a... a damned fool." He muttered, burying his face in Darren's neck and closing himself off to the room otherwise. "I shouldn't have agreed... I... was so stupid... I thought it was strange. I thought it wasn't normal to be paid so much for these... They were planning to go back and get their money back after they killed me, weren't they?" he growled. "Of course they were..."

He backed away quickly and crumpled the paper he'd scrawled on, throwing it into the relatively low fire of the fireplace not far in front of them. "I... won't have to copy the rest of the documents. I can... I can just translate them directly and it'll be quicker that way. I'll be able to save paper, too. You can... you can have the book back, I don't need it now. I can remember the sequences." He gathered up his ink and set it aside, corked, and cleaned the tip of the quill.

Darren couldn't help but lift his other arm to make his hold all the tighter. Perhaps that was why his arms felt so empty when Felix backed away. He curled his hands into fists. Quicker? He didn't want things to be quicker! The spy wanted more time. Who would protect Felix once his work was done? Shaking his head, Darren had to turn his head away to hide the raw emotions he knew were written plain across his face.

He didn't know how he'd become so attached to Felix, but he had and there was nothing he could do to change it, or how he knew the other man felt about him. "You'll be looking forward to having a new cottage, well hidden away I suppose, and someplace guarded by the king's people."

Felix glanced up, almost breaking the tip off the quill when his hand slipped. "No." He said quickly, glaring at the floor in a type of defiance. But he didn't know who---or what---he was trying to defy. "I don't... I just want to get away. Away... from people... Maybe... be... I don't know." He sighed forcefully and threw the quill down, where it bounced across the table and almost slid into the floor. "I don't know anymore!" It was so frustrating, being lost when he'd originally felt so secure in his life. Felix sat back, covering his face in annoyance, fear, a combination of feelings that just seemed strange.

"I thought I liked being where I was and then... Then you came along. And now I'm... I was always just outside their grasp, useful enough not to be killed and when I finished being useful, I was done. And now I know that, and I know what I've been doing, and I know... how bad I've felt for so long and I don't know what I want to do anymore. I don't know what I'm good at! I don't know what I could do to keep being around... around people I enjoy being with." He finished haltingly, and stared at the low fire, glad it was more red so it would hide the color in his face. Darren was odd, uncouth, a spy, dangerous, a killer, but all of it he did for the king, he did it all to keep the right man in power, the right family. And it was commendable. Maybe not honorable in some eyes, but they couldn't do it, wouldn't be able to. They'd all be too afraid. And Felix... What about him? He didn't know what he was good at and yet... He could endure 'torture' like no one else. Would he be as good as some like Darren? He'd never tried before...

The spy's head turned around slowly, like an owl's. His green eyes rested upon the other man, wide open, unblinking. He wanted so badly to reach out and do something to ease Felix's troubles, but he couldn't. There was no way anything he could say might help. All he could offer was a life of being left behind, if he managed to convince Felix to live in one of his many hideouts. Still, he knew those places were safe, and easy to escape from.

Darren shook his head vehemently. "Forget it for now. Forget everything." Forget everything but me. Trembling hands reached out to tangle in the other man's pale hair. He tugged Felix's lips to his own with desperate force. Darren knew he would do anything at all to see Felix safe, away from those who had threatened to kill him. The fact that this would aid the king had become secondary, a dangerous thing in his line of work. Emotions clouding his mind, that was something Darren knew could, and probably would, lead to his death.

This time he didn't try to go back. Before, he'd felt safe. Now a lot of people just wanted him dead. A lot of people that knew he could probably learn---and had learned---to read their very, very secret documents. Right now all he really had was Darren, it wasn't safe anywhere else. And Darren was strong---maybe not stronger than Felix if Felix wanted something desperately enough---so Darren's tight grasp on him, and the ease in the midst of such a gentle gesture tempered with force. He sighed, wrapping his arms around the man but keeping a restriction on the movement. His nature demanded he act first but strict refusal kept his kind more respectable and harder to detect. If he just kept his hands up a little, far enough away, broke the kiss and stayed just out of reach... Felix's eyes glowed a little, caught Darren's gaze even if he didn't want to meet it---a demon's greatest asset, their eyes, able to entrance a human immediately.

He couldn't think straight. The moment his lips had met Felix's, he knew he was lost. Darren had never been so close to him before. It felt so wonderful, so amazing ... And the sensations ended far too soon. Disappointment and anger warred within him as the spy's eyes were caught by the demon's. It was so frustrating, the worst kind of torture.

"Felix," said Darren. His voice crumbled upon the name. The attraction he felt was so much more then simply physical. The other man had such a personality. There was so much determination in Felix, dedication and forgiveness too. Darren knew there was more, but, oh those eyes! Their lemony depths had caught him so. Darren's own gaze had softened, filled with marvel and sorrow for what he knew he couldn't ever have. And it had taken such a short time, that seemed like forever, for him to realize it.

Felix tilted his head, in a way that sent some of his hair over one of his eyes. Why didn't the human just act? Act! Felix could feel the culmination of emotional buildup in the human as if it were a bell going off high above in a church. Was it some kind of... code of conduct? Something spies had among themselves that always followed the same rules? Maybe one rule was to never get so close to their captured, their prisoners, their targets. But spies were usually singular, working for whomever needed them and doing whatever they needed to do to achieve that goal.

He reached out, carefully this time, easily, and took one of Darren's hands in his. "Darren..." His voice was calmer. Lower? More even, a method of invitation to ease the obvious tension. Most obvious, that was, from the human. He sighed lightly, grasping Darren's hand and pressing the soft fingers to his lips. Still soft, the skin, from Darren's own recent bath.

His name. Felix had actually spoken his name. Darren shuddered, closing his eyes for a moment when he felt the other man's gentle caress. The assassin lunged forward the moment his eyes snapped open. He plastered himself against Felix with a soft moan, letting his free hand roam to tug at cloth. When his fingers met skin, he tilted his hand to drag his nails across the warm texture of it.

Then he found it, that smooth tail of Felix's. Darren found himself letting his sharp nails dig in as his thumb caressed the long appendage. All the while, his eyes never left Felix's features as he straddled him. "You ... I can't believe you've actually said my name." He felt something wet sweep down his cheek, and ignored it as he concentrated on other matters entirely.

Felix gasped and felt as if the temperature in the room had grown much warmer in an instant. He very nearly lost control when Darren grasped his tail again, already close enough to acting, but the demon bit back his forceful nature just enough for Darren to lead him on, gradual as it may be. "I-I've said your name before." Felix managed, squirming a little under Darren, though he wasn't fighting to escape. He pulled Darren down a bit more, enough to bite into his ear. Under the influence of a demon anything would feel good to a human, not short of death itself. Some nobles sentenced to death for their sins actually took theirs in the draining of their life force by a demon, as it was so much more pleasant.

Felix's hands gradually found skin under the oversized shirt Darren was almost swallowed up in, and slid them around to meet at the human's back and lift himself just enough to lick away that rogue tear. "I could always say your name again," Felix muttered, smiling slyly. As long as Darren could make him, of course.

He gasped at the sudden jolt of pleasure. Darren had to force himself to slow down, to take in what was happening even as his blood boiled and his mind raced. He shifted, pressing himself even closer to the other man when he felt strong arms wrap around him, beneath the loose cloth he'd covered himself with.

Darren smirked. "Oh I'm sure you could." A spark lit his eyes as he slipped a hand down his hip to grasp the knife just lying there in wait. The soft sound of metal slipping from it's sheath rang through the air. The blade flashed and soon, he had it under cloth and dancing across exposed skin, dipping in and out carefully.

The world was gone in an instant, gone with a wave of pleasing pain and weight pushing him further off the edge, and his instincts took hold despite Felix's tight grasp on them. He wasn't sure what he did, near the end, his mind clogged by darkness and confusion and the occasional outcry, but Felix was more than sure that it didn't take long for him to take control as he tended to do, focused on only one thing---to drain his energy. Only this time he wouldn't have to show restraint---Darren had so much, so much pent-up energy, bogged down and heavy with emotion he didn't care to identify, the emotions only making it so much more potent. And Felix had just fed, after all---he would wear himself down so much sooner than he'd be able to kill anyone, especially Darren.

When the world came back into focus he could feel... stinging pain that didn't so much hurt as it buzzed in the back of his mind as a pleasant sensation. How much had the knife been used...? Sharp slices lined his arms, no doubt his back, stomach. They would stop bleeding freely soon, and heal within a day, and leave no scars. But what about the human? Felix shook his head, trying to focus more---everything was blurred. "D-Darren...?" Hopefully he didn't kill the human without realizing it. Surely he could, but wouldn't unless he forced it.

He lost focus, or had it sharpened? Darren could only knew that for a while, he had been the one guiding the action, pushing things exactly the way he'd wanted them to go. Then, the unexpected happened. He was the one being played, the one crying out for more. The spy lost focus after that. All he could do was feel, experience, the time he had with Felix.

Dimly, he heard his name called. The auburn haired man lifted his head from the other man with a groan. "F-Felix, damn you ..." That had been wonderful. Darren let out a long sigh, letting his head fall again. "Why do you have to leave after this is all over?" He couldn't even tell how exactly he was settled against the other man, save that he was there, cuddled up close to pale haired Felix.

How did he lose it again? He'd tried so hard to let Darren take control, overpower him, and his own blood had decided that it wasn't going to happen that way. Still, a sense of closure had set in and Felix wasn't nearly as frustrated---or afraid---as he'd been before. On the contrary, leaving was hardly on his mind, even after he finished working out the documents. Maybe that was what Darren was afraid of... He ran a hand down the human's back, staring up at the ceiling. "Leaving.. is the last thing on my mind." He said. "It feels personal now. Like I won't be able to sleep without knowing they're all... dead. Dead before they can kill me."

He squirmed a little at the thought. To kill people had been the last thing on his mind before now, but these... people deserved it. And he wouldn't let them enjoy their death, either, though he certainly would. Darren couldn't have all the fun, after all. Even if there were thousands against the king, thousands in whatever resistance they'd started, he'd help kill every last one of them. He could be a good spy. "Maybe I'll be an inconvenience to you for quite a long time, Darren." That would be overtly entertaining. He didn't feel as if they were enemies, hadn't for a while, though he'd been rather cautious around the human. Maybe with Darren around---and obviously so willing---Felix wouldn't have to starve himself for a week at a time. He'd be much stronger. Maybe he'd learn his way around a weapon the way he learned languages and art...

He shivered and closed his eyes for a moment. The touch felt so sweet, so ... heartbreaking. Darren shook his head and fought to shield his emotions from Felix again, and without knowing it letting his fingers flex and dig into the other man's tail hard. Had Felix even reached his peak? He'd been so wrapped up in his own experience, he hadn't noticed.

"They will die, one way or another. For threatening you, for threatening the king.." Darren forced himself to move away. He walked to the fireplace and grasped the rough barked wood he'd placed near it. One log clattered over another. Soon, with the smashing of flint against rock, Darren had a fire going to ward away the oncoming chill. of fading daylight. Had it really been so long already?

Inconvenience ... The word played through his mind like music in a theater. It resounded, fighting with the fact that it wasn't at all what Darren thought Felix was. "I suppose I should prepare my other hideouts then. We'll be moving from one to the other frequently, considering your appetites." He was jealous of them. It didn't seem to matter that they ended up dead, Darren still felt the monster within rear its head. Did Felix feel anything for them? Anything for him? What an absurd thought.

Felix reflexively twitched when Darren grabbed his tail again. Regardless of how frequently he fed on others the sensation of a human's skin against those sensitive nerves always made him react almost violently. But it passed quickly enough and he sat up, running his fingers down the light cuts on his arms and shivering. Darren's words made Felix smile, for some reason. Why did he look forward to it? To killing people? For threatening the king of course. And him, yes, but they dared to go against a very fair and understanding man and his family. They didn't deserve the space they took up, let alone the ground they'd displace when buried. These deserved their deaths, and that made it justified.

He grinned. Was that a very, very slight hint of... jealousy? No, Felix must have imagined it. He collected nearby discarded clothes and slid them on quickly, the red fabric soaking up what was left of the seeping blood before the wounds began to temporarily scar over. "I assume you... trust me enough so that I can steal away my own... targets." That was a good word for it. And with him, the people would be coming to him very willingly. "There would be little struggle or questionable neglect from one time to another."

They would act normal, if a little enthralled with him. If Felix tried hard enough they would become entirely dependent on him, quickly growing a little more clingy as time went on. They would appear more than willing to follow to anyone that could see. "If you lead me from the location to the nearest town, I will recall it with an exceptional clarity." How else did he remember all his work, after all? He had to have a good memory.

Darren turned from the now crackling fire and moved to clothe himself as well. "If you must, I suppose you could go out alone." There were a thousand things running through his mind as cotton settled over his form, loose folds hiding his body effectively from sight. It was odd how much confidence exuded from Felix now, when compared to how the pale man had first reacted to Darren's presence.

He supposed it was being freer with what he was, with having fed. "Though if you don't return, I'll be forced to be one of those hunting you down." Darren failed to mention whether or not Felix would be returned to the cottage alive or dead. He was needed. The scribe was sure to know that his life wold be safe, and that the threat was for things to return as they had been before. Darren almost wanted the excuse.

Felix stood slowly, leaning on the table and brushing his wild hair back. "I suppose I should expect you not to trust me, still." He sighed, standing up straight and twisting. "I guess a spy can't afford to trust someone. Or they don't want to get close to someone just to have to... kill them later." He turned, picking up his quill and inkwell and starting back to his room to translate more of the documents swimming in his head. "Kind of..." he paused. "... sad." He didn't trust either. Didn't trust many people. Humans were afraid of him. Afraid of what he was, though he didn't try to kill. He had too much baggage from his own kin, so he stuffed his bloodline's obvious physical traits away until they were absolutely necessary.

But his words had actually managed to make him sad. True it was, indeed, sad that someone couldn't trust or try to rely on anyone for fear of their death by one method or another. Or for fear that they would come to discover what one was and ultimately fear them just because of that. Felix sat at his desk and lit a few candles, staring at the paper he got out and laid flat on the highly-polished wood. The second document flitted through his head, though he had to more formally write down the first one, even if it did include the order of his death. As long as he could translate the documents in his head, he didn't need to write them down as they were written to him.