give into the night; closed

Zenobia "Zen" Barrow



Finn Adessi

Even knowing the metaphorical noose was waiting for her, Zen couldn't help the relief that she felt as she was taken away from her cell. It was a windowless room comprised of four concrete walls, a floor, a ceiling, and a large, heavy door that locked from the outside -also without windows. There was a flat pallet in one corner with a thin wool blanket on top, but those were the only objects in the room aside from herself. For the past year, she must have memorized every contour, every scratch and every spot of blood that made up those walls. She knew the exact size and shape of her cell in complete darkness, able to pace it without running into a wall or her pallet without fault. She was just short of naming the rats that sometimes snuck their way in through some unbeknownst method.

Zen's legs were so wobbly that she doubted her ability to meet her death with any amount of dignity at first. The shackles placed on her certainly didn't help... but she managed it somehow. The dark gray shirt and pants that made up the prisoners' clothes she had been forced to wear looked more of a sickly brownish color from grime and other things, much the same as her skin, which would be pretty much alabaster underneath that outer layer of crap. Where once there had been muscle and meat on her, now her bones jutted in an almost grotesque manner, her clothes barely clinging to her form. Her hair, looking almost black instead of its actual dark shade of brown, was matted and tangled. The hollows of her face were more pronounced, making her icy blue eyes severe, and her lips, now pressed into a determined line, were cracked. If she were to smile widely, they would undoubtedly bleed. Then there was the smell... which really wasn't something to even speak of. It was the smell of a person who had long sat in dirt and urine and who knew what else.

She was led out of the dark, damp prison, and Zen relished briefly in simply being outside... at least until she was led from the shadows and out into the sun's light, which made her cringe in pain. Being in the dark for a year had made her unaccustomed to the harsh light, which now blinded her. Therefore it was understandable that she didn't notice where she was being taken until she was pushed in a seat. Well, that had been brief... apparently they weren't wasting any time in killing her. Sounded like a plan.

"This is the next prisoner to be executed?" a masculine voice questioned. "Ah, here. Zenobia Barrow. Her crime... murder of.. hmm, three vampires. Her file says that she was in the process of taking on her fourth when we caught her." Zen had closed her eyes outside to block out the light, but at the question, they snapped open, immediately searching out the pair of men who stood before her. One wore a uniform and was obviously the prison's warden. He was also the one speaking. The other...

Zen lurched to her feet in an instant despite her current condition, a wave of dizziness immediately overtaking her. The guards, probably trained for these sorts of situations and actually healthy, were faster than her and slammed her back down into the chair forcefully, rendering her helpless. "I refuse to go anywhere with this monster! Just kill me now and get it over with." Her blue eyes were cold and flinty, filled with determined resolve. "I'll kill myself if you send me anyway, and then he'll just come back for another prisoner. And that's if he doesn't murder me first."

"As you can see..." The warden looked to the mysterious vampire beside him after a brief sigh. "You'll have your hands full with her... are you quite certain that you wouldn't rather petition for a slave at a later date?"

Finn had watched quietly as the guards brought in the prisoner, Zen, and even though he knew she was a hunter, he could also tell by her demeanor even given her harsh environment. He quirked an eyebrow toward her as she had an outburst, last ditch effort to spit her views on his kind. Maybe he should be offended at her usage of monster but it was a bit endearing.

Finn crossed his heavily tattooed arms across his chest as he circled around her chair, the guards holding onto her, preventing her from doing anything further more. He stopped when he was directly behind her, reaching out and touching her matted hair between his fingers and he wondered what she would look like in clean clothes with clean hair, maybe it would help adjust the attitude she was sporting too but he had to smile at the thought because he might get use to her mouthy ways.

He moved back in front of her, looked to the warden, pulling his lips into a thin line as he thought of what he would do and he crouched down in front of Zen, smiling and placing his hands flat on her knees."I think Zen and I will get along really well, why wait." Finn nodded, straightening his back and moving a few steps back, next to the warden."I'll take her."

Zen kept a distrustful eye on the vampire as he began to circle where she sat, and when he disappeared out of view, the hairs at the nape of her neck prickled. As soon as he touched her, she made as if to jump out of the chair again, but the guards hadn't loosened their hold on her in the least, which meant that the movement looked more like a violent twitch than what it really was.

His coming back into her field of vision was a mixed blessing. At least she could see him and what he was trying to do... but then he put his hands on her again and there went the violent twitch. That, partnered with his words, didn't exactly make her day. The warden looked as if he had his misgivings as well, as if he'd rather just kill her and get it over with too, but gave a nod to the vampire. Rules were rules, after all. "If you're sure.." he said, following that by an order barked at the guards, who unlocked Zen's manacles.

Before she could so much as move a muscle, each had a firm hand on both of her arms, and the two brought her to her feet. She kicked one in the shin -though she'd been aiming for a slightly higher spot- and wrenched one arm free while he was distracted. She was on the floor before she could do anything to the other guard, and a heavy foot stepped squarely on the stomach, forcing the wind from her. "Would you like some means of restraining her?" the warden asked of the vampire, as if he were simply inquiring after the state of the weather.

Finn shook his head as he looked down at Zen on the floor, wishing the poor girl would just stop fighting and realize that she was better off with him or any other vampire for that matter than here, where she had been for over a year."I've got restraints in the back of the Jeep." Finn bent down and knocked the foot off of Zen before roughly pulling her up by her bicep and escorting her through the corridors and out of the front of the building where his black Jeep was waiting. The warden and his men behind him.

He quickly shoved her into the backseat, handcuffing her to the door handle and buckling her up."Now, you just sit tight for a second, alright?" He gave her a smile before shutting her inside before turning toward the warden and his guards, ready to make Zen officially his.

Zen attempted to escape, of course, as she was left alone. But her arm was at a slightly awkward angle and wouldn't come out of the handcuffs, not that she actually had much of any strength left in her. So, that failing, she leaned as far forward as she could in her seat, and used her free hand to search out keys. Though she could see a few items littered about though, nothing was within her reach by a foot easy. So after that fruitless attempt, she finally settled back since it was more comfortable than straining forward against the handcuffs. This was really happening... the vampires didn't get prisoners that often, but somehow one just had to show up right at the wrong moment.

Thorne, the warden, cast a frown at the Jeep as Finn walked back towards him. If he had known sooner who was the next on the list to be executed, he might have arranged something to make sure that girl didn't get another chance. Well, it was too late now. "All you have to do now is sign this," he handed over a clipboard that had a pen attached to it. "Do yourself a favor and watch your back while she's around. Her behavior today is mild compared to how she was when she was brought in... and that's probably only because of how weak she is. Don't leave her alone too long, and don't leave her alone with anything she could use to kill you with. That one hates vampires with a single-minded determination that I've never seen on anyone else. Her reaction today... I think she really would rather be executed than go with you, and if you want her to live, you'll put her on some sort of suicide watch. Even then, I'm fairly certain she will attempt to make you kill her." he paused. "Usually I wouldn't say so much, if anything, but I feel you deserve some warning with Barrow." He accepted his clipboard back, giving Finn a close-mouthed smile. "She's all yours."

Finn signed on the dotted line, below the contract that would make Zen his and as he handed back the clipboard and listened to Thorne's warnings of Zen, he glanced back toward the Jeep, wondered what had caused her to hate vampires so much?

Like with most hunters, it was a personal vendetta against his kind, vampires attacking or even slaughtering a hunter's loved ones, maybe even turning a few.

Finn didn't know but he took Thorne's advice to heart and he was sure he would find out what had gotten the girl into being a hunter too.

He shook Thorne's hand before walking down the few steps and got into the Jeep, turning the key into the ignition and fixed his mirror, mainly to focus on Zen in the backseat, she looked miserable.

He gently pulled away from the compound, winding around bends of the road, he turned the radio on, mostly for noise. Finn looked into his rear view mirror."Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself. C'mon, humor me."

Silence was perfectly fine with Zen, who closed her eyes as the vampire, whose name she still didn't know but didn't particularly care to know either, turned on the radio. The light still hurt, though not nearly as bad as it originally had, and maybe he would think she had just fallen asleep from exhaustion or something.

For a time, she thought it might have worked, but then he spoke to her... she considered simply ignoring him for a bit, but decided that he more than likely knew she was awake if he was actually attempting to speak to her. "No," she said, without raising her voice or even opening her eyes. If he weren't driving, she doubted her eyes would even be closed, honestly... as it was, all of her other senses were on alert. She was far from relaxed and doubted if she would be sleeping any time in the near future.

Finn had to smile at her resistance."All I know is your name and your status of ex-hunter." He put emphasis on ex because ultimately, it's what she was and would be from now on."That isn't any fun." He tapped his thumbs on the steering wheel and he left it at that because he was sure he wasn't going to get any answers from her, not yet. Maybe she just needed to readjust to being out in the world.

And it wasn't long before he was pulling into a long driveway just off the side of the road, the house hidden behind dense trees. The house was modest, given his money but it was an old Victorian style house, no doubt built long after he had been turned.

Birds squawked near by as he cut the engine and got out, opened the back passenger door and undid only one of her cuffs so he could reapply it once she was out of the Jeep.

He pulled her out and recuffed her, leading her up to the front door, it was unlocked as he led her inside."Welcome home."

The bottom floor was an open floor plan with luxurious leather sofas and a big screen tv and the kitchen was straight ahead, all chrome fixtures and appliances. The staircase was off the right of the foyer.

As the Jeep came to a stop, Zen's eyes snapped open. She watched the vampire with open distrust as he came around, undid one of the cuffs, and then secured her hands behind her back once she was out of the Jeep. She realized that the time for struggle was well behind her and wouldn't get her anywhere at this point, which meant that the only signs of resistance came from her continued silence and how she made the effort to stay as far away from him as possible.

Zen took in her surroundings as she was led up the steps to the old Victorian house and then inside. There was one of those old time wrap-around porches. Judging by the table and chairs, she guessed someone liked to spend time on it, and she was pretty sure she had seen one of those swings installed that were more like beds than a floating bench. But then she was inside, taking in what looked to be a living room leading into a kitchen. Well... with how open it was, she could count at least three rooms that seemed to blend into each other, though the staircase was still a bit too noticeable to blend as well.

As something he said occurred to her though, Zen's mental evaluation came to a standstill, her eyes going dark. You could almost imagine that her icy blue eyes had changed into a thundercloud gray. "This is not, and will never be, my home," she said very clearly in a less than pleasant tone.

About that time, a woman with blonde hair tied back in an impeccable bun entered the room, armed with a duster and wooden spoon. Despite her stern, no-nonsense look, Zen couldn't help but be at least slightly amused by her. "Finally decided to bring me help then?" she asked, pointing her spoon at the vampire who Zen had pretty much decided to call Ink due to the tattoos. "It's 'bout time then." The woman squinted then and frowned. "Much too scrawny. She'll be of no help at all."

Zen gave the woman a wolfish grin that, by design, was never meant to put a person at ease. "Don't worry. I don't plan on being here long."

Finn gave a hearty laugh, coming from his belly."She's a bit too hostile." He nodded toward Zen, his grip on her bicep firm. He tugged her along toward the stairs."We're gonna get her nice and clean and fed and maybe tomorrow she'll be useful to you."

He pulled her up the stairs, down the hallway and passed by the master bedroom, the door ajar and he quickly grabbed the doorknob, pulling it shut and led her down to a bathroom on the left, shutting them inside. It was sparkling clean, towels aligned perfectly on the rack and a shower in the corner, the glass door frosted; it even smelled like fresh lemons.

"You'll shower and then you'll eat with me, so let's hurry this along because I'm getting hungry." He turned her around to face him."And while you may not ever call this place home, it will be for the time being. You will also speak when spoken too and you will also do whatever Vivian asks you to do." He reached for her cuffs, undoing them and nudging her toward the shower.

"I am not taking a shower with you standing in the room," Zen said flatly. Honestly, it was almost as if she had ignored all else that he had said to her. Then again, that was the plan... openly hostile, defiant in most everything, and if she even thought she saw fangs coming anywhere near her... Well, all that amounted to really was that she planned on making his life a living hell. And that was just what she had for the moment. She was pretty sure he would be fed up within the week, though he did seem the frustratingly patient sort...

Her concern for the moment though dealt with the fact that he had closed the bathroom door with the both of them inside the bathroom, and that wasn't happening. The best he was going to get out of this, and she did mean the absolute best, was that she might end up showering while still wearing the clothes she left the prison in. Undressing in front of this vampire was not an option, and neither was getting out of the shower without any clothes to put on. Sure, what she was wearing was an option, but she was pretty sure it the main culprit of the stench that persistently clung to her.

Honestly though, he was lucky she didn't make a comment about going and just biting someone if he was so hungry... then again, she didn't want to give him any ideas. She didn't see anything she could fend him off with, much less anything within easy reach, and if she'd been at a disadvantage before, when she'd been in top condition in order to kill vampires, she was basically just something to laugh at now. She could tell how pathetically weak her body was, and she had no doubts that he could tell too.

Finn snorted out a laugh, leaning against the counter, crossing his ankles and his arms over his chest."Nothing I haven't seen a handful of times in each of my life times." He rolled his eyes as he nudged her calf with the tip of his boot."Will you shower if I stand outside the door?" He asked, jutting his thumb toward the door."Because I'm pretty sure every wild life creature outside can smell you from here."

Even though leaving her alone in the bathroom wasn't ideal, she had nothing in there to harm him. Or herself. And she was by far too weak to even take him on, so he suppose a compromise was a compromise. He pulled the door open, looked back to Zen."You, shower and I'll have Vivian bring you some clean clothes." He stepped just outside the hall, leaned against the wall and waited to hear the shower turn on.

Zen resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He thought she wanted him gone because she was shy? That definitely wasn't it, but whatever he wanted to think. As long as it got him to go away. "If you really want the smell gone, you'll burn the prison clothes," she told him, having followed him to the door. As soon as she finished speaking, she closed said door because he had failed to do so. Then she of course searched the bathroom but found nothing that would actually be helpful. Well, she'd at least looked.. so she started the shower and then peeled off the grungy clothes she wore, then dropped them in a stinking bundle on the floor with disgust.

Once the water was warm, she got into the shower, standing directly under the spray. The first thing to happen was to scrub every inch of her skin with soap, peeling away layers of grime until she was satisfied that she was clean. Then there was her hair... being sufficiently wet by this time, she put shampoo in it and washed it, and then used conditioner. She honestly couldn't say how many washings her hair went through before she felt that it was clean as well... not to mention that she'd been trying to work loose the majority of the tangles.

When she exited the shower, the pile of clothes she had taken off were gone and new clothes sat folded and ready. Zen claimed a towel, first drying her hair enough that it wouldn't drip, and then her body. Then she dressed in the underwear and bra that had been laid out, snorting indelicately at the light blue dress that was also sitting there. Since it was either wear the dress or walk around in only underwear though, she pulled on the dress. Then she went about locating a hairbrush, not caring that there was someone standing out the bathroom waiting on her.

Finn had long ago heard the shower shut off and the shuffling around inside the bathroom and without knocking, he turned the knob and pushed the door open, rounding the corner and leaning against the doorjamb."You clean up nicely, knew it all along." He smiled at her, his eyes wandering the length of her body, the light blue dress doing everything right for her curves, it looked good on her and he was glad to have Vivian's help on picking it out.

"Vivian has cooked a special dish."He snapped his fingers a few times."So, c'mon. It's gonna get cold. And I'm famished." His hand slipping up underneath his t-shirt, rubbing at his belly. It had been hours since he had fed and he hated feeling the burn of hunger running through him and there was a nice 98.6 degree wine glass full of blood waiting on him downstairs.

By the time Ink came in, Zen had managed to find a hairbrush. She had all of her hair pulled to one side and was attempting to unsnarl the rest of her tangles. Her hair was quite a bit longer than she had remembered it being. Then again, she had been imprisoned for about a year. She only spared him a glance before she went back to brushing. "You could've eaten at any time," she pointed out unsympathetically. She waved the hairbrush for a moment. "Besides, I'm in the middle of pulling my hair out." She said that because that's what it felt like. But, once again, a year of imprisonment. That was a lot of time to acquire tangles with.

Yet, after a few more minutes and several sharp tugs later, she made a sound of disgust and put down the hairbrush -a little more forcefully than was needed- and pushed her hair back, tangles or no, finally turning to face Ink. She was still bony in an almost extreme way, the hollows of her body still pronounced, but now a person could tell that her skin was alabaster and her hair was brown. And she didn't stink. That was a definite plus. "Let's just go. I'll just find some scissors and cut it off later." Maybe. Finding scissors wouldn't be hard. Or a knife honestly. Though she could definitely think of better uses for both than cutting hair.

Finn ignored her first statement, knowing he had made it perfectly clear that they would eat together."I'm sure Vivian could help you with your hair if you would like her too." He stepped further into the bathroom, pulling the handcuffs from his back pocket and quickly grabbed her hands and cuffed her in the front this time."Maybe if you learn to play nice, I'll let you sleep without them."He asked, a smile playing on his face as he didn't wanna always use restraints on her but he had hoped his kindness would eventually break her down.

He lead her down the hallway, and down the stair where Vivian was waiting."Mr. Adessi. Ms. Zen. Dinner is ready to be served." Finn nodded as Vivian headed back to the kitchen as Finn took Zen into the dining room, the table long enough to fit a small army was a rich cherry wood and Finn undid Zen's cuffs and sat her in a chair next to the head of the table, where he took the seat.

Vivian came out with a rolling tray of what could be five star quality dishes, the aroma was breathtaking as she placed plates of roasted chicken with asiago polenta and truffled mushrooms in front of both Finn and Zen, placing Zen's cloth napkin in her lap for her and sitting a glass of water for Zen and a lukewarm wine glass of blood for Finn where he promptly took a sip, saturating his thirst.

"Dessert is cooling in the kitchen." She informed Finn and Finn nodded and Vivian took that as her cue that she was done with for now. Finn took a stab at his chicken, his eyes on Zen as he ate.

The handcuffs were becoming mildly amusing, if not annoying. And it was a good thing Zen was right-handed too, since her left hand was cuffed to the chair she sat in. Which was wood. Study, but wood nevertheless. Yet it was still something that was out of her reach, being watched like a hawk as she was. She knew, because she could feel eyes on her. She picked at the handcuffs, feigning that was where her interest had been, and then turned to look at the vampire.

Her stomach curled at the sight of the wine glass, knowing the liquid in it to be thicker than wine, with a less alcoholic taste and a more metallic flavor. "What do I have to do to get rid of the handcuffs?" she asked bluntly, rattling said cuffs to accentuate the point. "And no, I don't just mean for right now."

There Zen paused, thinking on something. "By the way, if you ever call me Zenobia, I'll punch you in the face. That might be the name that's on my birth certificate and in the prison files, Ink, but I'm Zen."

Zen had pretty much decided to switch tactics. She hadn't been thinking clearly earlier, but this was going to be a patient man. If he wasn't, after what she'd pulled back at the prison, they wouldn't be sitting here right now. Inciting him into killing her just wasn't going to work, in short. But all that meant was that she would have to be more patient. She was sure she could behave enough to wear she wouldn't be watched like a hawk after a while. And once that measure of trust had been gained, she would be able to act.

So saying, she wasn't about to start acting sweet. She would refrain from attempts at murder.

Though, at the smell of the food, her stomach twisted painfully, reminding her just how hungry she was. But since she was trying to have a conversation (or at least have a question answered), she had to wait. She was fairly certain, after all, that as soon as she had the first bite, she was going to descend on the meal like a wolf.

Finn ignored her question for now as the name Ink caught his attention, taking a bite of a mushroom and washing it down with a gulp of blood, filling him up just right. He wiped his fingers on a napkin, looked over at Zen, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth."Giving me a nickname, already. Cute."

He pointed toward her untouched plate of food."It's getting cold." He leaned forward just a bit, leaning his forearms on the table and figured she wouldn't eat until she got her answer and he couldn't keep her waiting."They'll come off for good when I feel you won't stab me in my sleep." Though the threat was there, though minimal, she would wear them until she was no longer hostile toward him and that had to happened so this could work and trust needed to be established but he also had to show her that he was in charge of every aspect of her live from now on.

"Not as if I actually know your name, and I'm sure you like Ink better than Fangs or Bitey," Zen pointed out, rolling her eyes. Actually, that was how she had mentally referred to the first two vampires she'd killed.. not that they were alive to know that. And he didn't know that even if he told her his actual name, she wasn't likely to ever use it. Thanks to those tattoos of his, he was now Ink. And it wasn't cute.

"Stab you in your sleep?" she asked, looking offended as she snorted. "Please. You would hear me before I ever opened the door. You must take me for all kinds of stupid." Nope. Surprise was always best. It had been too hard in the past to stalk a vampire's schedule, which she had found out with Fangs. That failing, she got close to him. He never suspected an innocent human girl could kill him, and then she had when his back was turned. And that was how she figured out that arrogance and trust combined equaled the downfall of vampires. And while Ink didn't seem the arrogant type, he did seem to be the trusting sort. Of course, she could just gain enough trust to off herself... but she was dying no matter what she did. If she was caught killing him, she wasn't going to be thrown back into prison. Nope. That would get her the execution she should've had in the first place. So if she was going to die, why not take another vampire out with her?