Starved - Rook x Venuris (WTHHero/Degusaurusrex)

[WTHHero]

Rook sat across the table from Rupert Trine, a personal assistant to Martin Bellingham, who was Rook's late grandfather. Rook of course hated the man as he hated the rest of his deranged family. Rook was a man with a dark countenance, a constant brooding negativity that was almost palpable. His skin was olive toned, as opposed to his father who was very pale, a gift from his mother who died under not-so-mysterious circumstances if you asked Rook.

"That settles the matter of most of his will—" Rupert was in the middle of saying before Rook interrupted.
"I don't want her," he said firmly.
"Why not?" Rupert asked curiously, quivering an eyebrow before adding, "don't tell me these are more of your high-minded ideals getting in the way."
"It's disturbing. Why would I want to keep a demon under lock and key anyway?" Rook asked. He didn't even want to imagine what his grandfather got up to with the demon woman, but his mind had ideas about it anyway.

"That's too bad," replied Rupert easily, his blue eyes shining with a malicious mirth "because your grandfather's will stipulates that you will have no access to his assets if you refuse to keep the demon."

That was an upsetting development for Rook. He ground his teeth together. He wanted nothing to do with subjugation, but his grandfather's grimoires, relics, tomes, and artifacts were too tempting to refuse. Rook had spent years studying and had only mastered a few minor magics. With those books he could gain more power and with more power he might be able to dismantle his family's legacy for good.

"I can see the wheels turning young master Christopher—"
Rook interrupted again with "It's Rook."
"That silly name. You have a very respectable family name—"
Rook snorted.
"Either way," Rupert continued, doing his best to remain calm "you must accept the demon being bound to you if you wish to inherit anything."
"Why? What does it matter? The demon was just a pet for grandfather, wasn't it?" Rook asked.

Rupert shrugged with a small tight smile. "I don't have enough pride to assume I understand half of your grandfather's machinations."

Rook sighed deeply and touched the bridge of his nose closing his eyes. It was an unnecessary distraction having to deal with the demon. He would have much rather banished her and be done with it. Once bound to him was there even a way to get rid of her? He steadied himself with the hope that she might be capable of something helpful. "Very well, make the arrangements, Rupert. I accept," He stated.
Rook stood and walked towards the office door. Rupert made a soft coughing noise under his breath.

"Yes?" Rook asked, without turning around.
"If I might ask, I was surprised to hear that you were willing to engage regarding the will given your history with the family. What are you planning?"
Rook smiled to himself. Oh, you'll get yours. You all will, he thought. "Maybe it's time to accept things and move on," Rook replied instead to Rupert and then took his leave.

-------

The chamber was located towards the back of the manor. Suspiciously close to Rook's Grandfather own bedroom though Rook had more than one reason to believe there was nothing suspicious about that. Dirty old fuck, Rook thought to himself as he descended the stone steps. He took a few steps towards the door remembering that Rupert had suggested caution when dealing with it. Rupert had used the word it specifically instead of her. Rook wasn't sure how he felt about that in particular, but it didn't matter. Either way, she was his burden now.

He opened the door stepping into the low light of what amounted to a cell. At least there was a cot of some kind and a working toilet. It didn't take long for Rook to notice the camera in the upper corner of the cell. He was probably perving out on that as well, Rook thought. Rook looked at her. She was dressed in thigh high leather boots and a skimpy corset that looked like it belonged on a college student dressed like a sexy witch on Halloween. The outfit might have once been appealing, but it was in obvious disrepair. A golden chain was attached to her neck and to the wall with a thick golden collar and a lock for which he now held the key. Her wrists were similarly bound on the chains. Rook quickly noted the marking on the floor ground into the stone. It won't be able to reach you if you stay outside the line. He wondered just how long she had been left down here after his grandfather passed and briefly just how many members of his grandfather's order were aware of her existence.

Rook stood looking dressed in a deep black coat, a plain white button up with a green tie, black slacks, and black dress shoes. He was average height with short greying brown hair and vibrant green eyes. He could have been described a lithe, muscular, but not built bulky by any means. He looked as though he was the type of person who ate just enough to fuel his body. Despite this, there was something about his presence that people often felt intimidated by not that Rook understood that much.

She appeared to be sleeping, but Rook knew looks could be deceiving and weren't devils all about trickery and illusions. He stepped past the circled line in the stone and carefully opened a small black plastic bag he had with him filled with pig's blood. Rupert had comments It will do, but you should find yourself access to something more substantial if you want to make any use of her. He didn't want to be doing this at all. He carefully approached the cot. "Wake up, I have something for you," Rook said carefully but loudly enough that she would wake if she were sleeping, eyeing the devil woman.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

One eye opened slowly, a slitted pupil trembling as it struggled to focus on the source of the noise. It wasn't a voice that she recognized, and it took several seconds before she even realized that it was a voice. The eye stared at him for several more seconds before it seemed to focus on him, and then everything exploded at once.

The old cot rattled as her other eye shot open and she jolted up, the chains jerking and rattling as she stumbled up and then down to the floor. A thin, whip like tail snapped around behind her back as she hissed loudly and backed away from him, jerking on the chains despite the futility of the situation.

How long had she been sleeping for? How long had the old man been dead for? She was exhausted enough that time had become more muddled than it normally was in her makeshift prison, and with another hiss she fixed him with an icy cold glare. Another human, what did he want?

It was the smell of blood that caught her attention, her nose twitching incessantly before she focused on the bag that he was holding. Had he said he had something for her? Why was a stranger bringing her blood?

"What you want for it?" Hell, her voice was rough. Accented and tired, she rasped out the words and eyed the bag suspiciously. "What price?"

 

[WTHHero]

Disturbing, was the first word that came to Rook's mind seeing the slitted pupil. He had seen it faked before goth kids and would-be idiotic satanists trying to stand out, but the real deal was as breathtaking as it was off-putting. Rook decided not to examine that reaction to closely.

Rook's eyes narrowed as he observed her. Clearly, she was exhausted and out of sorts. It seemed immediately unlikely that she would have any concrete answers for him regarding her purpose or what exactly grandfather had in mind which Rook wanted to know so he could find a way to disentangle those plans.

Though the hairs on the back of Rook's neck stood on end as her tail whipped through the air, he did his best to not let it show through. He had been put through various tortures by his grandfather, in the interest of awakening his latent magical talent, but not to the extent this devil woman was likely to have gone through.

"The price has already been paid," Rook said, and very carefully took a step or two forward, a little closer. He put the bag down on the ground moving very slowly as he maintained eye contact with the demon. His heart was pounding with fear, but he refused to show it. Once the bag was on the ground, he attempted to step back out of her reach hoping she would fixate on the blood more than him.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

Paid with what, exactly? When he moved closer to her the demon hissed again, but she made no immediate attempt to strike at him as he set the open bag on the ground. Oh, she could truly smell it now. Vile, was animal blood, but blood was the source of life, and she was so, so thirsty. It had been far too long since she'd had a taste, and after a moment of contemplation she reached out and snatched up the bag.

She gagged at first but didn't stop, slurping down the contents of the bag greedily before she dropped it and attempted to stand. The movements were clumsy, shaky and interfered with by those damn boots the old man had made her wear. The moment she was able to, those things were being taken off and thrown somewhere. She had half a mind to throw them at the human standing before her now, but even as her heart raced and she contemplated the idea, she instead walked forward unsteadily until the chains yanked her to a stop.

"What you want?" Her pride refused to allow her to retake the seat on the cot now that she had stood, and she remained upright the best as she could and stared this man down. It didn't matter that she was exhausted, famished, or how filthy she was, she'd be damned if she just sat there and cowered in front of a stranger.

 

[WTHHero]

Rook felt his lip curl with something close to revulsion watching the proceedings. He felt better knowing he was at least right about the fact that the blood would be her primary concern whatever Rupert's comments. Your grandfather once suggested to me that it is a kind of game that needs to be played with it. Give it too much blood and its power will be uncontrollable, but not enough and it'll be useless. The thoughts didn't sit well in his gut. She certainly didn't look human, but she also did. This moment troubled him. Watching her eat.

Standing quite outside the line of her reach Rook leveled his gaze looking into her slitted eyes. There was the sensation of fear and panic in his body. He could feel his blood pumping in his skin, but he practiced standing as still as possible. "I suppose I'll introduce myself. My legal name is Christopher Bellingham. I am the grandson of Martin Bellingham and I have also undergone a ritual binding you to my service since my grandfather is no longer alive for you to be bound to him." At this, despite his misgivings of the situation, he couldn't help but smirk.

On some level, Rook was impressed with her sudden stride towards him. There was pride there, which made since, pride is one of the deadly sins after all. Rook knew the outfit she had been forced to wear was meant to entice, but after watching that display of animal hunger, it was the furthest thing from his mind.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

His words only seemed to agitate her, and she spit on the floor with a look of disdain.

"Do not speak his name in my presence. He deserved worse than death. It was a mercy he did not deserve." If she'd had her way, the old man would have been in several pieces across the room, and he would have felt every moment of agony as she'd torn him apart. He'd kept here in there for ages, done countless things that she would never forget. Her body bore the scars from some of the brutality still, and now she was bound to the grandson of the bastard?

"You think I will just bow down and allow you to torment me for the next few decades?" Humans really were stupid, but it wasn't as if she had any power to do much in the way of stopping him. If he'd bound her, then she had no way of killing him, and she was currently standing on very shaky legs still in chains.

"I'd sooner die." Well, that was that, her legs decided that they had no intention of holding her up any longer, and she just barely managed to use her hands to cushion the fall before she hit the ground. How graceful. "I hope your entire family burns."

 

[WTHHero]

"I no longer go by the name Christopher Bellingham, but have taken on the moniker, Rook, in its stead," though clearly, he hadn't done away with his family's overly formal mode of speaking. Definitely not all that appealing to everyday people at parties.

Rook was unsure of how much exactly he should share with the creature. His instinct in life had always been to remain guarded especially growing up in his family and the nightmare of events that led him to be the person he became. Beneath what seemed like a cold exterior, Rook always burned with a rage that seethed constantly towards his family. Her hated of them was a commonality they shared. Rook crouched, sitting on his feet, and stared at her for a few moments. He glanced up at the camera in the corner of the room with some disdain deciding to be careful with what he said.

He stood and removed his long black coat. "I don't share the same proclivities of my grandfather and I'd sooner you take that ridiculous outfit off than continue to try to make sloppily aggressive movements in clothing not designed for it," Rook said. He threw the coat into the middle of the room. He knew that turning around to give the demon privacy would make him look weak to anyone watching through the camera, but he also needed her trust as he had no plans to spend any more time in his grandfather's manor than he must. "I do not wish to take up residence here, but I have been told the binding ritual means you will have to stay near me," Rook said simply.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

He wanted her to take off the clothes she was wearing? It wasn't as if she wanted them on, and he had given her a coat, although that didn't change the fact that she was still in chains. Was he simply going to separate the one from the wall and take her as she was? No matter, he was speaking of taking her out of this house.

She stared down at the coat for a long moment before reaching out and snatching it up, tugging it closer before she went to work on the boots she loathed so. The first one thudded against the wall as she removed it and flung it, followed by the second before she set to work on the skimpy garment she was wearing.

It was harder to remove than the boots, especially with how she was sitting on the floor, but after a minute or two of struggling she had managed to discard the filthy thing and wrap herself in the coat.

"I know how it works." She snapped the words, clutching the coat closed and trying to shift around without catching her restraints on anything. "Do not think me stupid, kin of my enemy."

 

[WTHHero]

"Are you decent?" Rook asked, not wanting to turn around quite yet. "There's a hood on the inside of the coat which you are going to have to put up if we're leaving here. The key to your chains is located in the left side pocket of the coat."

Rook attempted to keep his body perfectly still, but his heart was still pounding. The sudden sound of boots being thrown made him want to jump. Demons, by all accounts, were dangerous creatures. Evil and prone to bloodlust. The hatred that she felt for his grandfather not withstanding he certainly couldn't ignore her origins. He wondered briefly to himself if this was a mistake. What if the binding ritual didn't work and she was more interested in the blood beating his chest than another portion of pig's blood?

It might have been the fact that Rupert advised strongly against this course of action that Rook was taking it. A streak of stubbornness he had yet to iron out. She couldn't kill him and couldn't move far from his location, so, at the very least, there was some control. Don't be fooled. It is not human. It is a fiend from hell itself. Not worthy of compassion or your ideals. More words sitting in his brain from Rupert.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"That depends on what you consider decent. By all standards, what I was wearing before was decent." She scoffed, feeling around in the pocket for the key he spoke of. He was giving her the key? A bold move, one fueled by the fact that she wouldn't be able to kill him just because she was no longer chained up.

She fumbled with the key several times before getting it into the first lock, but once she'd gotten the collar from around her neck it was easier to twist and turn the key to free her wrists. How many years had it been since she'd been free of those? The feeling was strange, and she simply sat there for a long moment staring at the pile of metal on the floor beside her. Were they truly off?

The key was shoved back into the coat pocket as she pushed to her feet again, fingers prying at the fabric as she pulled out the hood and tugged it over her head. The first step she took was hesitant, both her hands focused on holding the coat closed around her slim figure before she continued walking toward him.

"Yes, I am decent."

 

[WTHHero]

Rook scoffed at her first comment. "If you prefer the slutty witch outfit, but all means, put it back on," he said somewhat pointedly. It wasn't as though he was looking forward to the bitter cold once they got outside the manor. Rook had strongly suggested that Rupert clear the manor of any staff as he escorted her out.

As he looked back at her he felt a kind of sympathy for her. His mind was going back and forth rapidly but seeing her striving so hard to keep herself covered by the coat. He frowned. "I'm tired of being here," he said and walked towards the door opening it. He didn't command her to follow, but something about the way he moved indicated that he expected it anyway.

"If you had tried to tear my face off, I was going to come back tomorrow. I didn't expect things to go well, so I did not bring you a change of clothes." His head was already pounding from a small headache. His body was simply tired of being on edge. The trip back up the stairs seemed long.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"If I had tried to tear your face off, it wouldn't have worked, and you would have simply tightened the chains and beat me until I was too tired to try again. I am not stupid." He'd been planning to bring her a change of clothes to begin with? That was.. Strange, and she was glad for his back being to her as her face twisted into an odd expression.

"..Stairs." She stopped at the bottom and stared up nervously. It seemed that there were so many of them, and they looked so terribly steep. Was her mind playing tricks on her from everything that she'd been through, or were they truly so monstrous that she feared she might not survive them?

Well, she couldn't stand down there forever, and the air that he held seemed to tell her that if she tried he would simply lock her back in the room until morning as he'd originally intended to do. It was the thought of finally leaving the wretched house that made her force herself up one stair, and then another, and to keep going despite how her legs burned with the effort of climbing.

 

[WTHHero]

Rook's mind was elsewhere. In some ways, the demoness was the least of his concerns. He had access to books and books of his grandfather's now sitting in his car. Only a small portion, but the study of the arcane arts could lead him to answers he hadn't had before. Why was he being kept in the dark from all of this? What purpose does she even have? Why given everything that had happened was Rook being entertained with inherited his grandfather's property? Was he really the most likely candidate--

He paused in his thought process and looked back down the stairs. "Is there a reason you are walking so slowly?" He asked, annoyed. He took a deep breath and then stepped back down the stairway closer to her remembering suddenly what she might have been through. He attempted to take her arm to put it over his shoulders to give her something to lean on with a comment about her making things difficult perhaps not totally cognoscente of the way she might react to touch.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

Was there a--Was the man serious? The fact that she was walking at all was courtesy of the small amount of animal blood he'd given her, and he was going to complain about how slow he was going? She huffed but said nothing, her attention solely on the task of getting up the stairs. It was this immense focus that caused her to miss how close he'd gotten until it was too late, and when his hand landed on her arm she hissed and smacked him away, jolting back and steadying herself on the wall with a glare.

"Don't. Touch." She resumed walking, although at a slightly faster pace than she had before, taking the stairs with a strained expression but managing to make it to the top nonetheless. If he expected perfection from her, he was going to need to feed her a lot more blood than that small offering.

The sight of the last step was an immense relief and it showed on her face as she climbed up and then paused, leaning against the wall to catch her breath even as she fixed her eyes on him. Was this how the house had always looked?

 

[WTHHero]

Rook felt a jolt as she slapped his hand away, but otherwise said nothing. He clenched his jaw and nodded at the command don't touch. He watched her begin to ascend the steps at a much quicker pace, but also noted, strain, as she did it. It took an immense amount of concentration or so it seemed to him. He admonished himself silently for his lack of sensitivity. He had never been highly regarded for that though in his family he had often been seen as soft because of his idealism.

He ascended the stairs and gave her a small soft smile as he passed her heading into the main hallway. "You might have made it up the stairs using a lot less energy if your pride didn't prevent you from accepting help," he commented and started to walk down the hall going back to his way of walking with expectation of being followed.

There it was again, that lack of compassion, silently he admonished it again. He had taught himself better. To be better than his family. He was aware he had wounded her pride. Still how much compassion should one offer an entity that wants you dead?

"I'd rather hurry out the front doors then reminisce. I have a feeling you might feel the same way?" Rook said, though it was rhetorical, as he continued.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

Instead of making another snap at him she said nothing, following after him at the best pace that she could manage in her current state. The hood of the coat catching on her horns was distracting, causing her to veer slightly off course before she was behind him again and looking down the hall. Of course she wanted to hurry out the front doors, but she had no idea what awaited her there.

Was it day? Was it night? Was it warm, cold, wet? Were there people out there waiting for her, to throw her into a vehicle or a box, poke at her or merely taunt her? She had absolutely no idea about the world anymore and it pained her to be so out of the loop, to feel so stupid despite the fact that she wasn't an entirely unintelligent being. She'd survived for as long as she had, after all!

"I would rather burn this place to the ground."

 

[WTHHero]

Rook didn't say much after that. His mind was now focused entirely on her. He had expected a pithy comment. The question of just how to treat here was sitting somewhere in the back of his mind. On instinct, he seemed to desire to treat her as though she were human, but logically, and given everything his read about demons, that would be a mistake.

The front doors were large and ornate made of old wood and marble meant to impress people with less money. Rook found it to be excessive and always had. He pushed one of the great doors open to the night sky. Up above the moon loomed large and yellow and rain was just starting to fall. A childish desire to instigate filled his mouth before he had time to stop it. "It's too bad I don't have a coat," he said a little loudly.

The front yard of the estate featured a large marble fountain. A marble statue of what looked like demons being stomped under the foot of some warrior angel. Rook largely ignored it heading to his rather simple sedan and unlocked it with his car key. He chuckled to himself thinking of the strangeness of the night. What did you do today, Rook? Oh nothing, just picked up my grandfather's demon concubine from an evil Lovecraftian manor and drove her back in my cheap sedan to my small row house in the city. You? In-laws, amirtie?

 

[Degusaurusrex]

It was wet. Of course it was wet. She was now thankful for the hood that was caught on her horns, if only to keep herself from growing colder from the rain. His comment, however, made her freeze and look to him inquisitively, just waiting to see if he would demand the garment back or strip it off of her himself. No, he seemed to want to keep her hidden, and only when she was certain he would not take it back, did she continue to walk until they reached the car.

Fresh air. Wet, but still air that was fresher than anything she'd smelled in some time. It was almost enough to keep her in place just to enjoy it, but a quick glance back at the manor had her spitting on the ground before she approached the car.

She had to ride in one of those things again? It looked far different than the ones they'd had the last time she had been on the surface, and she stared suspiciously at it while he unlocked it.

"Back." She made her stance clear before getting into the vehicle, huddling into the corner of the rear passenger seat as she tried to settle in. What the hell kind of material was she sitting on?

 

[WTHHero]

The way she reacted to the fresh air and open weather despite the rain and missing more than a few garments of necessary clothing made him tilt his head at her. Was that joy he was seeing even for the briefest of moments? Surely, if something as simple as nature can bring joy to her heart than she might not be just a demon. A flash of memory invaded Rook's mind at that moment. An expression of mirth on his grandfather's face as animal sacrifices were twisted into shapes they should not make. Animal sacrifices that had names. That Rook had connected with and loved. Maybe joy wasn't all it was cracked up to be, he thought.

Rook glanced back at her at just the moment she decided to spit towards the manor and for a brief moment a small genuine smile was on his face that quickly faded into a somewhat disinterested and stoic mask.

"Fine," Rook said as he got into the driver seat of the vehicle, "sit in the back. You have a constant aura of animosity that makes it hard to breath." He turned the car on and started to turn the radio up playing alternative rock music. He pulled the car out of the yard.

"What do I call you?" He asked, after the manor was beginning to fade in the distance and they passed the iron gates which normally barred entrance.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

Good, maybe he would choke on it and she'd finally be free. Just because she couldn't kill him herself didn't mean she couldn't hope he would suffer an accident at some point in the future.

"What?" Was he asking her name? Considering the amount of paperwork the old man had made sure to have on her, she was surprised he didn't know it already. Had he walked into the situation with only limited information?

She contemplated the wiseness of telling him her name. It was a certainty that he would find it one way or the other, and she would much prefer her name to any disgusting pet names or insults he might throw at her, although he had made it clear he had no interest in the first prospect. That in itself was a relief, and although she made no move to uncover herself or remove the coat, her hands relaxed slightly on the material as she stared out the window. Finally. Finally she was leaving that wretched place. It wasn't with the home burning to the ground, or with the body of the old man covered in blood and maimed, but she was leaving at long last. Perhaps for that fact alone she owed him her name.

"My name is Venuris."

 

[WTHHero]

"Is that your true name then? I have it, but I hadn't planned on using it, really. I figured that might be like an angry mother using a child's full name to indicate they're in more than a little trouble," Rook said, off-handedly. He wasn't quite sure if he was trying to take the seriousness out of the affair to get to her in some way or as a way to avoid any real connection to the demon.

"Here's the deal, Venuris," he started, some of the formal tone he used in the manner dropping from the affectation of his manner, "I don't want this anymore than you do. I understand your feelings towards my grandfather. To be honest with you, I'm glad he's dead." He really wasn't sure how much he could trust her. Demons could manipulate situations and people to their whims. He wasn't about to get caught up in it but sharing this commonality at least might make things at least a little more comfortable.

It would be about an hour before they made it to his home. It was too late in the night to be deciding what to share and what not to share with her. "Do you eat food or just slather yourself in the blood of living things?" He asked, changing the subject.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"It is my name." What had he planned on calling her, if not her name? Probably all manner of petty names, if his family and their company was anything to to off of. His grandfather had always been creative with coming up with different things to call her over time, and for a moment she almost wondered if it would be better to not be called by name. In fact, it sounded strange to hear someone else say her name out loud.

He was glad the old man was dead? Well now, that was interesting. Was it based off of greed? Perhaps he was eager to get his hand on the money, or the estate? Clearly it had nothing to do with obtaining her, as he'd made it quite clear he was unhappy about acquiring her. On the other hand, he'd taken the time and effort to make sure she was bound to him. What was she supposed to believe?

"I would not have slathered anything if they hadn't left me for so long without." She curled tighter into the seat and closed her eyes, sighing tiredly as she listened to the world go by around them and tried to ignore the jostling from the car. "I ate when I was allowed food, yes."

 

[WTHHero]

"Right, I guess it remains to be seen if you have a sense of decorum," He replied.

He stayed quiet for the rest of the drive. His mind spent the rest of the time racing regarding what his next steps were. He was back in his family's good graces for the time being. Where and how would he begin to dismantle them?

His house was a small and narrow row house in the cheaper area of the city. It seemed a sharp contrast to the ostentatious manor of his grandfather's. One might have described it as quaint. The outside of the house was light blue and white.

Rook parked the car in the driveway and got out opening the trunk and as soon as she was out he said, "make yourself useful."

He was holding a box full of books and ready to place it in Venuris's arms. "If you've got a speech about your rank and title and an whatever save it. Right now, you're just a woman with a unique skin tone crashing at my place," Rook said.

While he seemed hell-bent on not overtly granting any sympathy to her, he was handing her the smallest and lightest of the boxes and if she took the box, he went into the trunk and pulled the two larger, heavier boxes out.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Rank and title?" She'd barely gotten herself out of the car and the coat situated again before he was speaking, and she gave him an inquisitive look. Why the hell would she have a rank and title to speak about? She was a demon, bound to a human, why would she.. Ah.

"I'm not from Hell." She was too tired to even give him an exasperated look as she took the box, grasping at it clumsily even as her instinct was to snap at him. The box wasn't so heavy that she couldn't manage to hold it, but the fact that he was intent on making her useful to him had already rubbed her the wrong way.

She'd been useful for decades now, was that ever going to change? Or perhaps she was going to be passed around from person to person until she finally expired, and even then she had a feeling that her corpse would be used for even further experimenting. The only way she was going to find out was to make it through the night with this new man, this Rook, and see what tomorrow brought. Then she could focus on finding a way to break the bond.

 

[WTHHero]

Rook watched her expression change to one of standoffish-ness almost immediately. He didn't have the energy to make a point of dissuading her from whatever thoughts she had at the moment. He struggled a bit to close the truck with boxes in his arms but did so without complaint.

He approached the door and pulled on his inner reserves of energy casting what was now a rote spell for him, a spell of opening locks and doors, and willed the locks to open and the door to swing open as they approached. It was the only magic he could use casually as it was the first spell he had learned.

He walked into the small inner foyer past a coat rack and into the living room. There wasn't anything impressive about it. A comfortable couch and small coffee table and a couple of books cases. Television and various electronics to go with it. He set the boxes down and went back to the door locking it after her.

Sitting in the living room were bags from department stores. "In the bags are clothes, I believe they are your size. I erred on the side of comfort. You'll find mostly sweats and t-shirts. There's a pair of designer jeans and a dress. A few other trendier items. I have altered some of it to accommodate your tail, but not all," Rook spoke quickly, as he moved past a desk and around a wall into the kitchen to grab a small tub of more pig's blood from the fridge.