give into the night; closed

Finn shrugged with a smile, his knife clanging against his plate as he was more or less finished with the dish, his hunger satiated for now."I feel honored then." He gulped down the last remains of the blood in his glass before looking to her."It's Finn, if you were curious."

Finn didn't know the details of her failed third attempt at killing a vampire, knew she would probably never give it up and wondered if Thorne would give him the details. Finn pushed his chair back, quickly jerked the leg of her chair closest to him, their knees almost touching."But you would probably think about it, right? Lying in bed, in the dark, knowing I'll be sleeping upstairs, the one thing you absolutely hate. And just wish you could take me out."

Zen had been curious, but didn't bother to say as much. At this point, it didn't actually matter what his name was, since he was Ink. Feeling honored that he'd gotten a nickname though? Well, he really shouldn't be. Maybe he simply counted himself lucky that he was Ink instead of something horrible like Dracula.

At his accusation, Zen simply gave the vampire in front of her a deceptively pleasant smile. "Let me put it to you this way," she said, leaning back in her seat. She might've crossed her arms in front of her if she were able, but she settled for crossing her legs only. "I could try, and you would find out. Some vamps would kill me on the spot, but you just don't seem that type, unfortunately, since I wouldn't be here if you were. The only way I would ever be able to 'take you out'," she made air quotes, "while you were sleeping would be if I were actually in the bed with you. And let's face it... like you said, you're the one thing I absolutely hate and you simply don't trust me. You can trust me on this though... I will never be more honest with you about anything other than what I just said. The fact that you think I would even try it is an insult to my intelligence. A person like me doesn't kill three of you and get away with it by being stupid."

Then, since she was done and her stomach insisted she might die if she didn't eat soon, she gave a pointed look to her chair, where he'd jerked it out of position. "If you wouldn't mind." She made a vague turning motion with her free hand.

"I simply don't trust you?" Finn made a face as he looked to her."Should I? You have killed my kind, you also hate everything about vampires and I'm almost positive you don't trust me either." But she was right, that there would be no way she could even get the upper hand on him without him being a step ahead."And aside from me being what I am, would you really wanna be back at that prison? Seems to me you got lucky that it was me that got you instead some other vampire because I'm sure you've heard the horror stories of how some vampires treat their slaves." And it wasn't to boast about being better than some other vampire because he was no saint, far from it, and vampires were allowed to do whatever they pleased and saw fit to do with their owned slaves.

Finn rolled his eyes as he complied and = shoved Zen's chair back into its original position, letting her eat as he watched her, in nothing but silence but that was quickly broken."So just out of curiosity, how did you do it? What did you use to kill your vamps?"

Zen didn't answer any of his questions or give response to any of his remarks as she ate. The food had gone a little cold but that didn't daunt her. It was still easily the best thing that she had eaten in a year, and she did eat every bite, plus suck down the water. By the time she finished, which hadn't taken long honestly, she felt a little better. In the meantime, she actually had been considering his words so that she could respond.

"No, you shouldn't trust me, and no, I don't trust you." She turned to face him, her blue eyes as hard as stone. "And if I'm being honest, then yes, I actually would've preferred to be back at the prison. The fact that I'm here means I was about to die. If we were given a choice instead of simply handed over to vampires, I would've chosen execution over being a slave to any vampire."

And then there was the question about how she had killed the vampires. Did it really matter? "You could find that in Thorne's file," she said, giving him a strange look. He was probably the only one who had yet to ask her why. He was also no closer to an answer than anyone else. She was pretty sure somewhere in her file would be some note about unstable mental health or insanity. "I used silver the first time. Then I realized how easy it was to track down anything bought that had a high silver concentration, especially something that could be used to kill a vampire. So after nearly getting caught, I decided wood was my better option. You can find it pretty much everywhere, and it isn't hard for wood to be fashioned into a sharp object." Hmm, maybe mentally unstable might have been mildly accurate. She could only imagine how she sounded... she knew her voice was calm, almost pleasant, as if she were discussing nothing more than the weather.

"Killer." Finn whistled at her technique before standing and taking their empty plates and coming back with a fresh, homemade apple pie, topped with cinnamon and still slightly warm. He placed in between them before retaking his seat and handing her a fork."Vivian's feelings will be hurt if you don't try her pie, it's to die for." He winked at her at his choice of words.

"What about your last attempt to kill and your capture? How did that happen? Make a mistake or just wrong place, wrong vampire?" And what Finn really liked about how callous she talked about killing vampires was that she and him were no different, both monsters in different skins; both killing for survival though a hunter would probably admit to that fact, not wanting to be anything like the creatures they killed."

Zen rolled her eyes and toyed with the fork that she had been given. She was starting to notice that ink thought he was funny. But the pie did smell really good, and she was sure she could find room for a slice. That is, she would've been able to before his question. If she could've, she would have simply left right then.

"It was a mistake. A really stupid mistake that I'll never make again." She followed that statement up with muttering something about not being hungry and sat back in the seat she was handcuffed to. "Don't bother asking what the mistake was. Story time is over." Logically, she knew he could find out easily enough if he asked Thorne... but she wouldn't have to say it at that point, too. Saying it, and knowing that another person knew it were two different things. "I don't talk about it."

Though Finn wanted to pressure her into talking about it because his curiosity was more than piqued but something about the sound of her voice and her demeanor made him pull back from the subject and he knew he could easily get the information in a second if he wanted but he opted from wanting to hear it from Zen.

The sound of his phone ringing made him scoot his chair back, and he stood and dug into his pocket and pulled his phone out, he swore under his breath as he saw the caller. Finn nudged the pie toward Zen."At least give it a taste and then I'll give you the tour to your bedroom." He waved the phone in his hand."I've gotta take this." And Finn wandered away from the table, pressed the phone to his hear and answered and as he leaned against the counter in the kitchen, he tried to keep an eye on Zen without staring.

Zen stared at the pie for a long moment and then let out a sigh, simply setting down the fork. She hadn't been lying about no longer being hungry. In fact, her appetite had been pretty much obliterated.

Vivian had been cleaning up the dishes when Finn suddenly came in the kitchen on the phone. He looked mildly distracted and when she peered into the dining room and saw the girl, she knew why. Snorting softly to herself, Vivian dried her hands. "You concentrate on that call. I've got the girl," she said to him as she passed, heading into the dining room. Now then... "Something wrong with the pie?" She asked, her hands settling on her hips.

Zen glanced up at Vivian's question. "Not that I know of. I'm not hungry." She shrugged.

Vivian snorted. "Course you are." She pointed at Zen. "I can practically see your skeleton, you're so thin. Didn't they feed you in that prison?"

"Twice a day."

"Good meals?"

"Define good." Zen grimaced, and Vivian took it as a small accomplishment considering the girl no longer looked murderous.

"My point exactly. Now you pick up that fork and eat a piece of that pie," Vivian instructed, nodding towards the pie that Finn had left her on the table.

Zen shook her head. "I said I wasn't hungry."

"And I said you are. Look here, Mr. Finn's a good fellow and I know he brought you back as a slave, but that just means that I need help running this house and you got signed up for the job. If I say you're hungry, that means you eat. If I say go do the dishes while I clean, you do that too. Mr. Finn might not care about that attitude of yours, but I'm getting old and I won't take it. You listen to me, and we'll get along fine. And it might get you out of those cuffs sooner. Can't imagine they're terribly comfy."

Finn had overheard the last bit of Vivian's conversation with Zen as he came into the room, stuffing his phone into his pocket."Word got out that I got a slave." Most vampires held a gathering of sorts to show off their new slave but that wasn't Finn's thing, wasn't about boasting that he got one nor was it anyone's business why.

Finn looked to Zen and the untouched pie and suppose she wasn't going to have a bite, maybe later."Vivian, why don't you put the pie up for now, Zen might try it later when she's hungry." He bent down and undid the cuff to the chair, pulling Zen to her feet."I'm gonna show her around. Show her her bedroom." He led her upstairs, slowly."The phone call I got, apparently you're a bit well known with my kind and I'm gonna have to assume it's because of your capture?" He looked over at her, he had opted to leave her downstairs when there was a spare bedroom next to his."And the plot thickens, doesn't it?"

Vivian didn't look very happy that her pie had been left untouched, though she had no choice except to acquiesce. "You'll both try it later," she warned as Finn uncuffed the girl from the chair. Vivian picked the pie up, took the fork from Zen's fingers where it still sat, and made her way back to the kitchen.

"Actually, my capture itself was pretty quiet," Zen muttered, fighting to remain stoic. She was distracted in her thoughts and hardly seemed to notice where she was being led. She shook it off, straightening her shoulders, and resolved to pay more attention. "Is that your way of hinting that you want to know why I'm well known?" While she refused to talk about what had happened that had gotten her captured, explaining why she was fairly well known in the vampire community actually wasn't that big of a deal. As long as she didn't go too far into what had happened.

Finn laughed, shrugging as he came to a stop at a door, he leaned forward a bit and turned the knob."If it was, would you tell me?" He counter-asked, as she had been reluctant to give any other information."If not, I'm a very patient man, I've got plenty of time to wait." The perk of being immortal.

He stepped inside the bedroom which was bare except for the minimum of a bed and dresser but it did have a view of the back woods and gave plenty of sunlight during the day but maybe he would have to screw the windows shut for the benefit of her not escaping."It's not much right now but we can change that if you would like." Even though, Zen had stated over and over, this would never be her home, she would be as permanent as Vivian and all he wanted was for her to comfortable.

Zen snorted. This was one cocky man, and he was much too happy to boot. She doubted she would like him even if he was human. "I could tell you a little, but not everything. I got close to the vampire, which is usual. I didn't expect him being such a social butterfly, but he was, and I ended up going to quite a few events with him. Usually events a lot of other vampires were at... there are quite a few that I saw on more than one occasion," she admitted.

As she was led into the room that she would apparently be staying in, she took a glance around despite that there wasn't actually all that much to see. Innocently, she wandered over to the window, and sighed at what she saw. No nearby trees or anything... and they were on the second floor. It would be weeks if not longer before she could manage what all it took to escape out this window. The glass looked like it would break easily enough though. She turned back to Ink. "Knowing the last thing I wanted was to come here with you, that I've killed three other vampires and attempted a fourth, that I'll attempt to kill you and failing that myself, why am I here?" she demanded all of a sudden.

"Arm candy for a vampire?" Finn asked with a raised brow, and that surprised him, maybe more that she told him anything at all."Despite being a vampire, did you like him? Enjoy yourself?" Vampires and humans could live in coexistence except for the hunters wanted nothing more than to eradicate his kind which was a shame as vampires could have the best of the best, could give a mere human anything they desired, even for eternity if they wanted.

"Didn't Vivian already tell you? She's getting old, wanted some help, I complied. Can't say no to Vivian." He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets and maybe, just maybe, he was a hundred and twenty-nine year old vampire who was lonely.

At Ink's questions, Zen thought back. At first, she'd had to hide her utter disgust at even being near Gregor, much less the other vampires at those damned parties. And then somewhere along the line, she'd started to enjoy herself, enjoy Gregor's company despite that she was close enough to kill and get out, she'd found herself procrastinating. After a while, he'd proposed to her, and she'd surprised herself by saying yes. Honestly, if anyone cared to look closely enough in the right places, they would see the faint scars of teeth marks. It was a damn good thing that simply being bitten didn't mean a person would become a vampire.

And at some point, he'd apparently discovered her secret and despite that she'd decided to give up hunting, and the first thing he'd done was go to the police. He'd tied her up, even went so far as to hurt himself, and that was how the police found them. There was no defending herself, and Gregor was kind enough to tell them everything he knew, earning her the death sentence. As far as she was concerned, trusting a vampire was the worst mistake of her life.

"Question time is over," is the only thing Zen told Ink though, because he didn't need to know what happened anymore than anyone else needed to know. At his answer, she snorted, shaking her head, and walked over to the bed, taking a seat on the edge. "You could've hired someone. Less trouble that way, and I'm sure they would be much more willing to actually listen.

"But we were bonding!" Finn overly exclaimed with a laugh."Actually bonding but I'll let you off the hook for now." He didn't wanna push to much as Zen had opened up a tiny bit to him and if that was as much as she wanna give for now then he had to take the process slow.

"I'm never one to turn down a challenge."He shrugged, running a tattooed hand through his hair and though, Zen was probably right, not many people were willing to work for a vampire unless they had an obsession with the underworld and wanted to be turned and Finn wasn't all about that."Much more willing? So you are willing? Just being defiant?" He teased with a smile as he grabbed at the door."Any request for breakfast? Vivian likes to know beforehand."

"That was not bonding," Zen denied, her expression proclaiming better than words that the thought of bonding with him was about as appealing a thought as shoving her hand into a blender and then turning it on. Nope. She'd just decided to tell him why she was known among quite a few vampires. Sure, Thorne had his reports, but the guy wasn't exactly paid to connect dots, and it was better than him asking questions, finding out about Gregor, and then actually trying to talk to her about it. That in itself could count as torture.

"No. Since I am entirely against this still, anyone would be more willing than me," she corrected him immediately. She was a bit surprised as he headed for the door, especially considering he still had the handcuffs that were no longer chaining her hands together, much less to any furniture. Sure, he could lock the door, but house doors could all be unlocked from the inside, where she was. Then again, she wasn't about to point that out. She hadn't lied about not trying to kill him in his sleep, but still... At his question about breakfast, she simply shook her head and said nothing. If it wasn't stale and didn't look like someone had poured a person's brains in a bowl, she'd probably eat it.

Finn said nothing else as he left the room, shutting the door behind him, the handcuffs in his back pocket and he wasn't stupid to think she couldn't easily leave if she decided but he needed her to trust him and if not using the cuffs were the first step, then so be it. And Vivian would also probably check in on her through the night.

And for him, he settled into the dark living room with a glass of whiskey and the excessive alerts from his phone of a new text message, other vampires encouraging him to have the party of having a slave and as he had already given the answer as a no, he wondered if that would be something Zen would want as she had previously enjoyed the company of a vampire and maybe the thought of how she had once before, would she ever enjoy his company?

Zen was going to wait until the lights outside her room went out for at least half an hour before she went to sneak around. Unfortunately, there was a problem with that plan. The problem actually came from the fact that after some time, her eyes started to get heavy. She started to pace in an attempt to wake herself up, but it only made it worse. Simply walking around a little today was more than she'd done in a long time, and her exhausted body was protesting any and all movement.

So eventually she headed back over to the bed to sit down, but she was afraid that she would fall asleep if she even sat down on it. Therefore, she simply sat down on the floor and pulled a cover around her shoulders since it was sort of chilly.

And that was exactly how she fell asleep... sitting in the floor with a cover wrapped around her shoulders, leaned back against the bed frame facing the door.

Finn hadn't slept too well, not that he needed too anyway, but with oversensitive hearing, it was hard to fall asleep at night, specially with the pacing across the floor that Zen had done but it eased his mind once it stopped and Vivian had long since peaked in on her, letting Finn know she was asleep sans the bed though.

He had done showered and threw on a shirt with the sleeves cut off and tight jeans but his hair was still damp and all over the place. He gently blew across the hot liquid of his morning intake of blood, he had accidentally microwaved it too much and he figured it would be best to get the hunger to die down before Zen came down; more so because he knew just how much she detested the drinking of blood as opposed to her safety, he had centuries of practice to fend off his hunger toward a human.

Vivian headed upstairs to get Zen up and ready for the day; better her than him anyway.

Zen hadn't woken up through the night, instead falling into a deep, dreamless sleep that went undisturbed throughout the night. At some point, she had apparently fallen over as well, ending up curled tightly into the cover she had wrapped herself in. When she finally did wake, it was because of Vivian, who was shaking her somewhat roughly and telling her that it was time to wake up. Her mind foggy at first, Zen muttered that she was awake in a less-than-pleasant tone, but after a moment, she was sitting straight up, alert.

Awake? She didn't remember falling asleep. And a glance at the window showed that it was daylight. And for a moment she was further confused because there were no windows in her cell, and there was no stench around her, and the blanket on her was actually soft, and... well, then she remembered what happened.

"Good, you're awake. There are clothes in the dresser for you to change into. When you're dressed, come downstairs," Vivian instructed without preamble and left the room without waiting to see if Zen agreed or not.

Zen slowly uncurled herself from the blankets wrapped around her, smoothed them back over the bed, and gave a little sigh as she realized she was still wearing the dress she had found waiting for her after her shower yesterday. With any luck, her wardrobe options wouldn't be limited to dresses.

And with that hope, she slowly made her way to the dresser and began to look through the clothes. She was almost certain that these had at one time been Vivian's. All of the clothes would be big on Zen, but she was sure they no longer fit the other woman. And though it took a while to find something that wouldn't swish around her legs, she did eventually find a pair of charcoal sweatpants. There were no t-shirts, and rather than wear a blouse, she simply pulled a maroon tank top over her head. Thus "dressed", she opened the door to the room and peered in the hallway, half surprised there wasn't someone with handcuffs waiting for her.