The sky is dark, no moon visible and I track the stars as I do every night.

A group of deer are bedding down a short distance away and I continue glancing at the sky as I wait for the right moment. Just as I stop hearing their hooves I slink forward, pressing into the thicket to conceal myself carefully.

It's a snap decision, a large doe not fleeing fast enough before I pounce with a roar and her body twitching while I clamp down on her throat. Useless kicks of her legs go unrewarded and after there's no movement for a second I let her drop, settling into the meal.

I've barely gotten through the hide when I stand to attention, distant sound catching my focus and the fresh kill forgotten as I assess the disturbance. The water is cool against me when I slip into it, silently creeping along around the bend of a crop of trees before I stop, a figure up ahead in the distance between fallen tree trunks. Realizing they are near my hovel, I bound from the water and up an overgrown incline, shaking myself dry as I keep watch on their movements from nearby.

The sound of a warning growl greets my ears as I am only a short distance away, the figure that I now see is a man at the opening to my burrow. "You don't belong here." He mutters, turning and staring right at me.

A change in the wind catches me off guard as he turns, a sweet and spicy scent tingling in my nose and before I know what I'm doing I step forward out of the foliage. My nose high in the air I take several deep breaths, a fog rising in my head as I purr unwillingly and he watches me carefully.

"How did you get here?" It seems more like he's saying it to himself than anyone else.

I cock my head to the side, going silent and lowering to the ground when he steps closer. Baring my teeth, I hiss when I feel he's gotten too close and his reaction surprises me. Fangs appear in his mouth, a growl rumbling in his chest as we both come to a standstill. The scent in the air is still alluring, but I am fighting the intoxicating effects as I try to figure out what he is. His face smooths and the growl dies in his chest suddenly, his mouth closing as he seems to have calmed himself.

Raising his hand, he steps closer and I decide to see what happens since he hasn't really been threatening as of yet. An aura of power floats around him and I recognize him for the predator he is, knowing that he could end me quickly as I see him up close.

A strange shiver goes down my spine, something I recognize as fear which I haven't felt often since I was a cub and I steel myself from moving. Only a few feet away, he leans forward, and I tense as he makes contact.

His fingers are firm but gentle against my fir and for the first time in a long time I feel a mind pressing against my own. I had avoided civilization, living in the swamp, as the thoughts always got annoying after a while but I'm shocked when he is silent.

Only a void of space is where his conscious should be and I twitch, leaning forward slightly as I quite like the silence. There's something about the way he is feeling my fur that makes me feel eased and I decide to go with my gut, which tells me he doesn't actually mean any harm. I'm still cautious, but I twist to sniff his hand and he doesn't object as I realize that the addicting scent in the air is in fact his scent. Surprising us both, I rub my cheek against his palm before sitting back and looking up at him as he straightens.

He pulls something out of his pocket, and it takes me a second to recognize it as a phone. I watch, unsure what to do and stiffen when a woman appears across the clearing behind him. Looking between them, I wonder if he notices and it doesn't seem so as his eyes and hands are focused on the phone.

She gets closer silently and slowly, my tail twitching as I evaluate the potential threat and I reach towards her mind when she's halfway to him. It's another void and I notice hers is much smaller, wondering if that means she's weaker than him which would make sense as she doesn't carry the same air about her as he does. When she's within striking distance I find myself unable to bear it, darting past him with a snarl and lunging for her throat. Her hands shoots out, meeting my chest trying to hold me off as I attack and she hisses when I clamp my jaw down onto her arm. My teeth sink in and I mentally smirk, knowing she's not prepared when white light erupts from where I'm biting.

Arms wrap around my stomach from behind, squeezing not painfully but forcefully enough to make me release from the destroyed flesh of the woman. It's the blond man, his scent surrounding me as he jumps back releasing me before placing himself between us. "That is my child. She is to be trusted." He says it slowly and sternly, as though I am an ignorant animal, which while I understand his mistake I don't appreciate it and huff when he's done. Flattening my ears, I turn my head away from him petulantly and he seems surprised. "You're smart, aren't you?" Saying it quickly, he doesn't appear any happier than before when I nod once in response and he turns to the woman after a quiet moment.

"What the fuck, Eric?" She demands, looking down at the flesh healing slowly.

"It would seem that she likes me. I did not know she could do that."

"She? How do you know it's even a she when it's obviously not your average tiger?"

"I can tell, and you will do well to respect her. Had you been unprepared, she could have beheaded you." Turning to me, he watches for a minute before putting his phone away and holding his hand out. "Do you want to come with me?" The question hangs in the air as I consider it stoically before finally turning to face him fully and standing to follow. "Get my cars all fitted with durable seat covers." He orders the woman and she rolls her eyes looking exasperated but leaves to presumably do so.

Giving me an odd look, he starts moving suddenly and I sprint after him as he moves faster than I thought possible. It feels good, the challenge to keep up as I haven't had such a good run in a while. Going further than I normally do, we end up passing the point where I've travelled before and awhile later I watch him ahead as he jumps over a strange wall of greenery. Leaping easily, I skitter to a halt when I find myself in a paved parking lot, slinking back against the wall as he doesn't stop and disappears from view. I'm unsure, torn between going back and continuing into the city, but I don't have to debate for long when Eric appears before me again.

"At this hour most humans are asleep, come along." Taking a step forward, I calm myself and follow as he goes at a brisk pace, traveling down past several streets. The minds around are muted, few stirring or actively moving about so my weak shields are able to hold up without failing. He goes down an alley and I follow closely, on his heels before we end up at the back of a black stone building. Several voids are inside, and I feel on edge as I go inside the door he holds open. Keeping close to him, we end up in what I guess is his place of business, and he sits at a desk before typing onto a keyboard.

Keyboards the last time I'd seen were rather large, with paper usually deposited into the top, but this one is almost flat and has wires going into a large flat display screen in front of him. The images on the screen are clear, and I watch as pictures of tigers are suddenly covering the screen. He glances at them, then me, and seems to watch for my reaction. "You look almost Siberian, but you're too large." When he mutters, I realize he's trying to place my breed and I roll my eyes in amusement. "So what, you're not any of these?" Blankly returning his look, he seems to think before his eyes widen minutely. "You're something else entirely, aren't you?"

I smirk and he leans back with surprise at seeing a tiger legitimately smile before I jump over to his couch, laying across it despite the groans of protest from the frame.

He's standing suddenly and I am sure I look surprised as he growls. "What the fuck are you?"

Jumping up, he tenses but doesn't react as I approach and I purr before rubbing against his leg like a house cat.

"Are you being funny?" The disbelief in his tone makes me snort, unable to laugh in this form and I almost lay down beside his couch when the woman from before comes in.

"No pets allowed." She snips, glaring at me after giving him a heated look as well and she looks surprised when I growl back.

"Respect, Pamela, she is smarter than we think." He tells her and she looks dubious before ignoring me and focusing on him.

"Orders were made for covers and I switched your Corvette for the SUV, just in case you want to drive home."

"Anything I need to know before departing for the night?" He asks, and she thinks for a second.

"There were a few reports of a strange creature moving around Bon Temps, something with horns and claws but apparently in the form of a man. Merlotte was the one who reported it, along with a few humans who apparently seen it but were drunk so their statements were more or less ignored human authorities."

Nodding, he pulls a paper from his desk and signs it. "I'm going to go visit Godric, let me know if I need to return for any reason. Here's the two week order for you to run things." She takes it with a grin and he levels her with a serious look. "Do not let it go to your head like last time."

"Of course not, never." The tone of her voice says otherwise and I see him see struggle internally for a second before turning to me.

"Let's go." Rising, I follow without hesitation while deciding that being inside wasn't too bad and he holds the doors for me to go outside. A black SUV lights up when he hits a button on the key in his hand and he looks at me. "Get in, if you're going with me to Texas." Looking him over, I consider my options. I could always run away, pop back to the swamp and my hole in the hillside, but in the end I decide otherwise. The back cargo door opens and he folds down the seats to give me a flat surface to lay on.

Getting my balance, I wonder how much the car dipped and settled in making sure my tail is clear before he closes the door. Appearing in the driver seat a second later, he turns the key in the ignition and doesn't say anything as he starts out to the main road. It occurs to me that I should mark him, should we get separated for any reason, and I stare at the exposed skin of his arm. Crawling forward, I get my head close enough and run the tip of my tongue over his arm for an inch. He doesn't seem to feel the small light that absorbs into his skin, only looking at me uncertainly for a minute before returning to driving as I've laid back down.

We end up driving towards a more wooded area, turning onto a nicely paved two lane road that curves off into the trees, and after a while we pull into a large open field. On the far side is a series of buildings, and I see a few planes parked around. "We will be flying. Are you okay with that?" Nodding after a minute, I check the link I formed and find his location pinging clearly right in front of me. Watching closely, I stay in his shadow and we head to the largest plane I see parked in front of the nearest buildings. The metal stairs up to it are shaky and I don't like them but climb up anyway, not wanting to back down now that I've gone this far.

There's no one else on board, the pilot a void and a stewardess staying in a back room unless the call button is pressed. The cabin area is open, only a few rows of plane seats at the front and back and I wonder if he owns it. He sits at a padded bench seat next to a window, and I settle onto the floor nearby as things start to move.

My ears hurt slightly at the loud engines, but I tune it out after a while, laying as still as I can during the takeoff and landing. Eric is on his phone the whole way, occasionally looking at me but not really paying attention as far as I can tell while he speaks in different languages.

The air is dry when we step out onto a loud field of pavement, patterns of lights and paint on the ground all over with large buildings lined up in different areas. "We will have to walk through a public area, but I have arranged for transport to avoid the human's interference. Stay with me and try not to attack anyone. We are meeting Stan and Isabelle." There's a strange tone to his voice, and I examine his back as we walk for a minute before getting a feeling that this trip is a test of some sort.

I'm no stranger to gawking, sitting still next to Eric until we go through a set of double doors and get off of the airport cart we're on to get into another SUV.

A man and woman, both voids, are sitting up front. Only half of the back seat is folded down, and it provides me enough room with my head resting on the folded seat to the left of Eric's lap. "You said you were bringing a tiger, but that is no normal tiger I've seen. It's rather large." The woman says with an accent and an oddly inviting tone, the man glaring back in the mirror but not speaking as we pull out of the airport area. Everyone is silent until we get into an upscale neighborhood, pulling into a large house and ending up in a large empty living room with a glass wall revealing a meticulously groomed back yard.

"What is wrong, Stan?" Eric asks, seeming to know something is off, and the woman watches carefully as Stan speaks.

"Godric is missing, he went two nights ago to try and speak with a man from the Fellowship, and has not returned." The thunderous snarl from Eric's chest sets me on edge, and my fur prickles, unable to help my reaction as I pace in a circle behind him.

"You let him go alone?" He demands of Stan.

Isabelle steps in, stopping Eric from getting any closer to the other male. "This is not the time, and Godric would not let us come anyway. He flew off so we couldn't follow." Wondering if she meant that he actually did fly away, I stow the question for later as Eric turns and charges to a different room. Not sure what to do I watch him go, and meet Isabelle's gaze as she's watching me carefully. "What are you?" She whispers, and I find myself enamored with her, a strange sense of familiarity suddenly overcoming me.

Stan is walking out a moment later, and I know that Eric hasn't gone far so I stay put, Isabelle stepping closer after a second.

"Do you know Godric?" She wonders aloud, and I shake my head once, surprising her. "So you are something else." Standing straight, she disappears, returning a second later with something in her hand. There's a strange look on her face, and I realize she seems to be having an internal battle, coming to some conclusion when she crouches slightly. "Do you know what a maker is?" When I shake my head she continues. "We are vampires, and our maker is the one who turns us into what we are. They are our parent, our mentor and teacher, and we have a bond with them that cannot be broken except by the true death. Godric is quite old, and Eric has been his child for over a thousand years. He has never released Eric, despite most vampires being released by the time they a few hundred years old. Do you understand?" There's a strange look on her face, and I tilt my head for a second before sitting and nodding.

While I might not have the same parental figure in my past, I know that a thousand years is no small time to have followed someone loyally. I can only imagine what Eric might be experiencing, and decidedly want to remedy the situation as I assume Isabelle already has that in mind as well.

"Should I show you where they may have taken him, would you be able to find him? This shirt has his scent." She holds it out and I take a deep breath, memorizing it before turning and waiting by the front door expectantly. "You won't tell him you're leaving?"

The blank look I give her is answer enough, and she opens the door for us to go outside. She's not nearly as fast as Eric and I keep up easily, stopping at the top of a large hill and staring down the steep embankment at what she claims to be a large church. "He should be somewhere inside, probably in a basement area to avoid sunlight." Nodding, I give her a glance before popping down to the back of a building that I can see from here. The door is propped open, the light from inside giving it away from a distance, and I push it open to slip inside.

Humans are everywhere, but mainly in are large communal area as it seems they are having an event for the church members. Finding what I want in the minds of several guards I get into the basement unnoticed, managing to paw open the final door and going into the dark room before securing it behind me. My eyes adjust after a second and I see a young man standing within a large cage. He is watching me closely and I step up to the edges, his focus locked to me as I move.

"You smell of my child." He comments and I pop behind the bars confident he won't hurt me. Nudging my forehead against his side, he seems surprised but doesn't notice when I mark him as I had done to Eric, putting his hand to my head gingerly after a second. Taking the opportunity, I teleport us straight to the outside of the house where I feel that Eric is in the back and he looks down at me shocked. "You are very useful." Smirking, I walk forward and he opens the door for me as we enter. Eric is there a second later, kneeling before him and looking at me accusingly. "Rise, child."

"Master, how did you free yourself? I was prepared to come and provide assistance."

"This creature got to me first. What is she?" He asks, and I jump onto the couch, tired from teleporting someone else a distance.

"I'm not sure. I found her in the swamp earlier this night and brought her with me as it seems she likes me."

"You don't even know what she can do, and you just brought her along?" Eric sees the implication and shakes his head.

"She's smarter than a normal tiger, and you should have seen her in the swamp. When she scented me it was like catnip, she fucking purred."

The older vampire looks me over again, and is suddenly an inch away, his eyes boring into mine as he has crouched to my level. He stiffens suddenly and I sense that he is at least twice Eric's age, making me wonder if he knows what I am. "Perhaps you are right. I wonder where she came from though." Godric muses, glancing at his child who looks equally as curious about the answer. "Maybe I'll keep her here." He says suddenly, surprising me and I growl before lumbering over to Eric's side and sitting at his feet. "Yes, just as I thought. Sweetie, I was only joking about keeping you."

"Sweetie?" Eric asks, questioning Godric's new moniker for me.

"Well, yes, just look at her. She obviously likes you. So what are you going to do with Sweetie?"

Not speaking for a moment, Eric's hand falls to my shoulder and I look up at him slightly as he pets down my back an inch. I twitch when his fingers bump over my scars and he stops when I lean away before muttering darkly. "Who did that?" Turning my face away I can feel his gaze burning on the side of my head before he turns back to Godric and speaks purposefully. "She will go home with me now that I see you approve, and I will do my best to discern any wants of hers."

"Shouldn't be too hard… after a while." I flick my eyes to Godric and he meets my look, informing me that he knows exactly what I am. Eric misses this, watching instead as his maker leaves to speak with the others.

"We'll stay the night, leave tomorrow, and then I'll take you to my home to get situated." Following passively, I move without protest as he leads me down the far hallway. In another room, I see that there is a large elevator set into the wall, and he takes me inside hitting a series of buttons as soon as the doors close. It's much more advanced then the elevators I seen a long time ago, smoothly gliding downward without any lurching or jostling. A strangely empty scent reaches my nose as the doors open, the only thing detectable being a few vampires. It's odd, since usually there is also the scents of fabric, dust, and typical household scents but there are none here.

A short hallway is in front of us, three doors down each side, and he takes us to the last one on the left. Godric's room I scent is in the center room, with Isabelle and Stan in the rooms closest to the elevator. The other two rooms smell empty, and Eric doesn't falter as he enters a code into the doorknob keypad then pushes it open. Once it's closed behind us I hear loud clicks as it seems to secure shut for the day, and I examine the room.

It's large, an enormous bed set into a corner with a large flat TV on a solid wood table at the base. Dressers and two wardrobes are in the opposite corner, a door to the bathroom set into one wall which he goes into for a shower. When he exits the bathroom, I am lounging on the foot of the large bed since there's plenty of room and I turn away as he's completely naked. I'm almost certain that he smirked before going to the dresser and finding clothes for himself.

He lays in the bed an hour before sunrise, the entire house and himself included silent as I sense a few voids also going immobile around us. Resting my head on the bed, I feel safer than I have in a long time resting near Eric, the silence of no humans being around another added comfort as I rest.

That is, until several beings enters my radius, and I yawn loudly as I wake flexing carefully on the expensive sheets. I balloon my mental radius rapidly as I sit up, feeling on duty as I glance over the minds of the werewolves coming onto the property from all sides. There are seven, their specific thoughts hard to discern, but their intent all I need to feel with its savagery putting me on edge. Popping to the foyer, I decide that I will wait, since killing them outside might create a spectacle for anyone going by. From what I can sense, the houses in the immediate radius are all empty leaving me wondering if the vampires bought them, but there is still an active road to consider.

Sure enough, I feel them against the sides of the house, a mind soon coming in through a back door. Luckily, the first four inside do not expect me and they are dispatched quickly although I am sorry to Godric that it has to be on the carpet since the fatal neck wounds mean they are bleeding out. Spitting out a glob of red, I slink back behind the corner as the fifth comes in, the other two coming behind him since they smelled the blood. Crouching, I wait, springing on him as soon as he comes in and he shouts in surprise as I tear into the arms he throws up to shield against me. My teeth lock to his throat, a sharp jerk and shake enough to finish him as I hear the other two werewolves shifting to my left. They are less than half my size, obviously intimidated but also cocky as it seems they think they can finish me with teamwork.

One of them shoots off to the left, intending to circle around through another room to go into the living room at my back while his companion distracts me. Not realizing what is happening, I leap to tackle the wolf I'm left with and he grabs my forearm between his teeth as I take him down sideways. A crack tells me that something broke from the impact of my much larger size and I rip away, likely doing more damage to myself than necessary before ending him. The other wolf, hearing the ending yelp of his pack mate circles back, their plan obviously thrown to the wind since only one is left. He is not ready when I jump forward towards him, teeth bared and claws brandished to finish him, but he manages to scramble backward leading to me only slashing across his chest. Blood spatters the room and I am annoyed, since I had wanted to contain the carnage to as few rooms as possible. Moving quickly, I finish the wolf and progress to survey the damages.

When Eric emerges from the basement, he finds me laying on a couch which was already blood spattered, so I had figured why not. His eyes land to me and he goes still as he assess the dead werewolf, Godric, Stan and Isabelle coming up behind him a moment later. Coming closer, his step actually falters when he sees the six other dead werewolves near the back door before he moves to come up in front of me. "They tried to come for us?" Godric questions, appearing next to Eric before he can speak, and I nod once. "Very well then, my thanks, do not feel bad for the damage."

"You are harmed." Eric mutters, his hand suddenly taking my paw and stretching my leg out before he appears to even think about it. The wolf had damaged a large area of my skin, blood staining my fur dark brown. Pulling my leg away, I pop to stand across the room, not wanting him to be bothered since I'll heal within a day or two and then realize that this is the first time he's seen me teleport. "What are you?" He asks, stepping closer and I look towards his maker.

"She is very special and you would do well to take care of her. She will let you into her secrets on her own time." He tells Eric and continues before anything can be said. "When does your plane leave?"

"Two hours." His reply is automatic, answering his maker who nods and looks to Isabelle who appeared behind him a moment before. "Just enough time. File seventeen from my desk, if you would, Isabelle."

"Seventeen? You're sure?" She asks seriously, and he nods once before she disappears to return a minute later. The file in her hand is blue, and she includes a pen as she hands it over, Eric watching curiously as his maker signs several papers and hands it back to Isabelle. Looking at both of us, Godric speaks as the female vampire leaves the room again but doesn't return this time. "I will be coming with you, and I have just resigned from all of my workings here in Texas."

"Godric?" Eric sounds more curious than anything, and is as still as a statue as he's leveled with a look that obviously means more than I know.

"My child, you know how I have been in recent times. My interest is ignited, and I wish to be near you as events unfold. I'll go pack my things." After a second I see Eric relax, and wondering at what just went unsaid, I follow Eric when he walks outside a minute later.

"You should take my blood." He says to me and I blink, surprised that he would propose such a thing. "It will heal you, as well as allow me to find you and feel your emotions. It would likely make you feel stronger as well, what do you think?"

I know what vampire blood does as I am finally remembering the things I'd learned as a child, my time on the couch licking my wounds having been spent working to find those memories. It worked to an extent, although a lot of my knowledge feels spotty. Despite the energy it expended, I find myself more aware overall after I forced the recollection through my light to gain what I wanted to know. Debating it with myself for several minutes, I set up a series of shields, deciding that I'll just have to limit my telepathy for a bit.

Finally giving a nod, I sit still and don't react when fangs click and appear in his mouth, his wrist coming up to his mouth before he bites a second later. "Open." He mutters, blood on his lips, and I turn my head up with my mouth open to let him hold his arm out. Several sweet and coppery drops hit my tongue, and I feel it racing through me, the slight pain of my injuries easing away quickly. Shaking my head from the slight high I get for a minute, I find him located at the edge of my mind sitting between the second and third barrier, where he can find me easily but only feel the strongest of emotions. Not seeming to realize that we just completed our first bond, he just watches, smiling slightly when he senses I am no longer hurt.

Our journey to the airport is quick once Godric is ready, and the plane is the same one we flew in on. The vampires sit beside each other, talking in a rambling language I can't name, but I can fully understand what they say for some reason.

"Pamela does not know I am coming back early, so I will let her have run of things for the time being. I've contacted Alcide, a werewolf who does construction rather reliably and is indebted to me due to his father's gambling habits. It shouldn't take more than a few days to do what I want. Will you be staying with me?" Eric inquires, and his maker considers it for a long moment.

"I will until I find myself a suitable residence to purchase for myself."

"I'll have my dayman draw up a selection of suitable estates and deliver the details to us tomorrow day." Looking at where I'm lying down, I meet his gaze and lift my head. "My dayman does menial tasks for me during the day, his name is Bobby. He's a head shorter than me, dark hair and a bit stuck up so don't eviscerate him for stepping on your tail or anything." Snorting at the tease, I put my head back down and dose off, only coming back to full awareness when we land.

As of late I've found myself more easily able to sleep than I did before, and I wonder if it's because of the sense of safety I have around Eric. He makes me feel welcome, which despite even times when I've gotten an invitation, I've never actually felt welcome before and I find that I like it. Godric is old, I can feel a great power about him, but there's something almost fatherly to the way he watches me at times.

The ride in the SUV is quiet, and I memorize the route to Eric's house even as my thoughts come and go quickly, one after the next.

A lot of consideration goes into my decisions, and I stow my musings away for later when we pull onto a pristinely paved private driveway. It twists through a forest before being perfectly straight for a while, and then curves slowly in a quarter circle to have us suddenly drive into a large open area. The yard is at least a couple acres, a perfect circle with a house set at the back, a single story made of dark rustic bricks. Windows that look like mirrors are dotted along the walls, the front door a large solid wood, and I notice the signs of an underground level. The driveway curves around the edge on one side of the yard and we park in a garage on the side of the house, the garage door closing immediately behind us. It's spacious, plenty of room for the back door of the SUV to open and I step down onto the smooth concrete looking over his other vehicles. There are three fancy looking sports cars in blue, black and bright red and I barely notice the two motorcycles parked beyond the cars before we go in through a large steel door.

Black tile is flawlessly laid out across the kitchen, a darker grey going up the walls decoratively around the cabinets and a light grey covering the walls and ceiling. It's all chrome and shiny, appearing to have never been used, and the scent saying the same thing. Eric's scent is everywhere, but I don't detect much else apart from the house itself and a few areas where Pam has frequented. Godric glances around curiously and they stop to get into the fridge where I scent human blood is stored while I go through an archway into a dining room. The long carved wooden table looks old and worn, but fits perfectly with the large landscape paintings on the walls and the rich brown paint tying everything together. Dark brown carpet with subtle black patterns goes from the dining room into the entryway where the front door is opposite of a staircase spiraling downward into the ground mysteriously. On the far wall is another archway, and going in my paws sink into lush maroon carpet, a library taking up this entire side of the house on this floor. Bookcases go from floor to ceiling, but only about two thirds of the shelves are full as the books are scattered around the room in seemingly no order.

A familiar sweetness is in the air in this room and I look out one of the windows that breaks up the bookcases, observing the yard on this side of the house while I enjoy the smell of Eric mixed with all of the books. As soon as I'm comfortable, I could see myself spending lots of daytime in this room, shifted so that I may read the books easily.

Venturing from the library a few minutes later, I trot down the stairs into the underground and am surprised by how large it is. A kitchen and dining area is set into one third of the room, the rest looking like a modern lounge. Several doors are set into different walls, and I detect Eric's scent strongly inside one of the rooms. There's a large number of small keys set into a panel on the wall next to his door, and I wonder how to get inside before deciding to wait until he opens the door. He appears when I'm familiarizing myself with a particularly comfortable couch against the wall, and he smirks without saying anything before going to the refrigerator in the kitchen area. My nose twitches at the scent of human blood, and I sit up, looking as he pours the thick red into a glass on the counter before putting it into the microwave.

Remembering a faint knowledge of vampires, I easily come to terms with what he needs to survive and he doesn't seem to mind me prowling around his legs as he pulls the glass out and stirs it quickly. Glancing mischievously around, I wait for him to step, darting to trip him up. He catches himself easily, giving me a questioning look for a second before appearing across the room a split second later and opens the door into his bedroom. It appears that he wants to close it before I can get in, but I see his floor clearly, and he frowns when he turns and sees me lying there. "You are quite intrusive." Snorting without thought, he pauses for only a second after hearing the gesture before going about getting a shower in the next room.

A laptop appears next to him as he rests on his bed, leaning back and typing away as he works slowly. He doesn't move or say anything when I slink up onto the other side of the bed at the end, giving him plenty of room and I'm impressed that the bed holds me without protest. It's larger than any normal bed I've ever seen and I realize it must be custom, although I'm not surprised since it is obvious he has plenty of money to throw away on such amenities.

The computer is put away suddenly a while later, and he returns to the bed, lying back with his hands clasped over his chest before closing his eyes. "Do not scratch apart my house while I'm resting." He mutters when I'm half asleep, and I ignore the jab, letting myself drift off as he dies for the day.

When I wake I am alone, surprised that Eric was able to move away without disturbing me whenever he left and I am shocked when I feel a stab at my connection to him. It's no wonder that I awoke so suddenly. Teleporting without thought I land in the woods near the house, my eyes training to the yard as I scent Eric's blood. I see him bound with something that is burning into his wrists and fire ignites in my veins as I see red. Several of the men cry out in shock when I leap from the brush with a roar, charging forward while collecting my light in my mouth. When I clamp onto the shoulder of the man I assume to be the leader, it sinks into his flesh and when I pull away it is eating at him like acid while I make for Eric.

I'm halfway to the vampire when I taste the blood of the one I'd already bitten and realize that he is fae, and I move a step faster as I know that my light will not affect him for long. Eric's sitting on the ground slouched over with his arms behind his back as he lifts his head, his eyes widening as he sees me barreling towards him fiercely. Something sears into my back leg and falters my step but I persevere, ignoring the harsh pain and throwing myself at Eric as I hear popping all around us. My teleport is seconds before I sense someone coming up behind me.

The vampire lands next to me as I snarl, writhing and digging my leg into the ground as I panic to dislodge what feels like an iron blade, rational thought overrun with an instinct to get away from whatever is harming me. I'm surprised when he suddenly has a hand to my side, holding me immobile for a second when I feel the removal of the iron and slump down in exhaustion still panting. "Are you alright?" I miss his words the first time, hearing but not comprehending until he suddenly appears crouching only a few inches from my face to repeat himself.

It takes a moment for me to move before shakily standing up, his presence looming over me as I do so, not sure what he plans to do since his home is obviously compromised. I realize I brought us back to my swamp, my burrow barely visible against the hillside which I almost step towards when I sense someone approaching and start to growl. "It's just Godric." Eric says and I relax, decidedly laying on the ground as I feel drained.

The elder vampire comes through the brush a second later, his eyes on Eric but then immediately on me when he's on his knees next to me a second later. "What happened?"

"I don't know." Eric starts, surprising Godric who looks up at him. "Really, I just was stepping outside to take a call not long after you left. Somehow I couldn't sense them and they silvered me right before she popped in and popped us here to get away. Her teleport left the silver behind, but one of them stabbed her with an iron blade." Godric's brow furrows before he turns back to me, glancing over my leg before meeting my eye again.

"How did they find you?" I shake my head, not sure how he knows but deciding to accept it.

"Why would they want her?" Eric demands, stepping over my head to stand on my other side, and for the first time I feel quite small as he and his maker tower above me. The feeling is something that I don't understand, unsettling me and making my shield drop without hesitation. Eric's face snaps down to mine as his eyes widen, and I hear him mutter 'what the fuck' to himself as I'm sure he is suddenly much more able to feel me.

"What?" Godric asks, not understanding.

"She took my blood in Dallas, and I could feel a bit from her, but it just got a lot clearer for no reason." He seems perplexed, and I try to re-shield the link but am unable.

"She probably couldn't maintain a block with as weak as the iron made her."

"What do you mean block?" I can see it, his irritation rising and the building tension coming off him in waves as I hang my head and know where this is inevitably going.

"Eric?" There's a strange tone to Godric's voice a second later and I look back up, seeing that Eric is staring down at me with a blank expression while his maker seems worried.

"She feels defeated." His voice is flat, and I drop my head again, not sure what else to do as uncertainty grips me for the first time in I don't know how long. "Hey!" He says it loudly, making me flinch and stare up at him in frozen shock.

"Eric!" Godric sounds scolding, but Eric doesn't move for a moment, staring into my eyes before looking up at his maker finally. "Go secure a new resting place and I will keep watch here until you call me."

Looking like he wants to argue he frowns but I can see that he's restraining himself before giving me a long look and disappearing.

"Do not hold it against him, he does not yet understand. But I know you do." I nod and he sits on the ground next to me. "Would you show me?" He asks quietly, unexpectedly, and I freeze next to him at the thought. "Should my suspicions be correct, Eric will most likely try to claim you as his once he inevitably sees your human form."

I had known this already, and I shake my leg, assessing the damage before stepping up and feeling out mentally to assure we're alone. His jacket appears on my back, my hands clutching the edges and holding it close as it goes all the way to my knees when I stand. My hair falls almost to my ankles, and I brush it out of my face with one hand to see him staring back at me unblinking. "Hi… Godric." My voice is hoarse and I clear my throat, smiling after a second.