His lips pulled in; a weak attempt at holding back a wider smile still. With how she was carrying on he couldn’t help himself. It was nice to see how quickly she got her spark back, and even better to know how much fire there was under that seemingly naïve demeanor of hers. She really didn’t have much experience with deadly night creatures, from what she was saying at least. How odd it was that she had no idea just how lucky she really was, being a creature of the nocturnal as she was. As most deadly beings were.

Suddenly, he felt her hand smack against his cheek. His head went to the side; his black hair splaying across his face as his wide eyes stared downcast to the ground. All sound left his ears and his breathing grew deeper. Had he been slapped before? Well, yes, he’d been worse than slapped and usually deserved it. But for some reason it enraged him more that she had, most likely due to her bringing the gods into this.

Fast as a dropping shadow, he snatched up her wrist and gripped it tightly; all traces of playfulness gone from his face as he straightened to his full height to look down at her with much narrower eyes. The blood hue of his irises glowed dangerously brighter. A shock of fangs showed from under his lips as a corner of his lips curled up into a threatening smirk, “You have fire, I admire that.” He gripped her wrist tighter and pulled her hand up to his lips: the warmth from her hitting him still lingered on her palm.

“Consider putting it to better use than slapping creatures you hardly know anything about,” His tongue moved up the length of one of her fingers and he flirted with the idea of pricking the end of her finger with his teeth. No, not this time. “You haven’t dealt with vampires or other night lurkers which is a little more than a miracle. Head out into The Virens unprepared and you’ll soon come upon them. I’m not the worst thing in this wood tonight,” His lips dragged down to the vulnerable flesh at the underside of her wrist before pressing them there in a soft kiss; teasing himself with the rush of her blood so close under such thin skin.

The immense satisfaction and brief feeling of power she received from the contact of her hand to his face was only short-lived, as she quickly found herself back in his iron grip. She desperately tried to pull away by using his chest to push herself away, but it was no use. With how light she was, he could probably lift her up by her wrist if he tried. She hung almost limp, resigned to her fate. He was probably going to kill her now for her actions. She tried her hardest not to look up at his eyes, staring down at the cave floor intensely. Aurelia had to try hard to not actively whimper as the vampire as he brought his tongue along a finger, before he lingered on her wrist. Jakobi held her life in his hands. Composing herself, she muttered, "I don't worry about monsters. I can outrun them at any time." She wasn't too sure how she'd be now, but surely she could still run, right?

She could almost imagine her sprinting away, leaving this terrible experience behind her. The pleasure she had felt during the act also scared her. Where had it come from? How could a single vampire's teeth cause such a reaction? It was all a mystery to her. For once she actually wished she wasn't a nocturnal nymph. Meeting more humans would likely have prevented a situation like this from ever happening. She sighed, letting her shame wash over her.

Her reaction was immediate and he smirked against her wrist before kissing again and taking a short step forward to have her back touch the wall. While he didn’t pin her there like he’d done before, he wanted her to be physically reminded by how very submissive her current situation was. All the while he kept her wrist held; not allowing the space between them grow. If anything, his stomach was nearly touching hers as he tilted his head to watch the down turn of her eyes.

Where had that spunk gone? She really was green to the world, and while her fear was delicious he preferred the feistiness she’d shown. Even if it was brief. The quick trill of her heartbeat flooded his ears and it was all he could do to not bite into her wrist right then and there. “Oh?” he asked in a doubtful tone before dragging this tongue up her palm; keeping his lips close enough to brush as he did so. “You think you can outrun any monster?”

His other hand found her hip again and he pushed his knee between her legs to rest against the wall behind her. Their chests were very nearly touching and he pulled her wrist up more; bringing her arm to drape at his shoulder, “You didn’t seem too eager to run away a few moments ago,” he pointed out with a possessive chuckle. “Do you think you could outrun me?” he asked, not expecting her to honestly answer.

“What if I give you a head start, hmm?” he mused, dipping his head down to brush his lips behind her ear, “If I win,” he said, gently pulling her earlobe between his teeth, “Then I get to drink from you every night for the next week.” He cocked his head to the side, letting his face softly press into the crook of her neck; inhaling the earthiness of her scent from here.

“What would you want as a prize if you were able to win?” Not that he thought she’d be able to, but there was scarcely anything he could think of that would be enough to motivate her to run faster than she’d ever run before. Well, aside from not being fed on that is.

It was almost stunning to think about. Before this physical intimacy, this man pressing himself up against her, had sunk her into a trance. Now? Now she felt as if she was going to throw up as he grabbed her and propped her up against the wall. She felt like she was just being used. It wasn't something she was used to, and she really didn't want to get used to it. She was almost forced to look up at him as her shifted her, but she avoided his eyes, knowing the power they held. She again had to try hard not to make some sort of pathetic noise as the vampire neared where he had sunk his teeth earlier. The feeling of that initial puncture still disturbed her greatly.

Trying not to look like she was on the verge of crying, Aurelia looked up at him, replying in so soft a voice that it was nearly a whisper, "I just want you to leave…" She didn't know if he was just teasing her or playing with her, and she wouldn't truly trust him, but she had to try. Otherwise, she was going to be stuck as his plaything for sure based on what he was saying. She shivered at the thought of being fed on every day against her will, disturbed. She had to get away. She just had to.

He arched an eyebrow, taken aback by how wilting her speech was now. Was she really this afraid? Well, really, he couldn’t be too surprised. And if anything motivated speed: it was fear. His lips pressed to her neck, his fangs touching but not actually piercing before he pulled back from her and released her wrist only to move his hands against the wall on either side of her. “All right then,” he said, “I’m going to give you a half minute’s head start.”

His eyes travelled down her face to her neck, down along her collar, to the dip that started just at her breasts. He’d fed from there before and wondered momentarily if he would do that with her when he undoubtedly won this little footrace. “In that time, I do hope that you run just as fast as you possibly can…” His eyes glinted brighter, casting crimson shadows on her face and neck, “I know I will.” he promised.

And then, in a flash, he had stepped back from her completely: leaving at least three feet between them with hands clasped behind his back. “I’d start running if I were you,” he spoke with light threat, all the while his lips spread into a wide smile. He closed his eyes and slowly began to count, letting his head tilt from side to side with each number. How far would she get? Would her fear be enough to save her? They’d know in less than a minute’s time.

She perked up a little bit at the revelation that he was actually going to let her go, but was immediately frozen by his teeth brushing against her skin. Horror quickly flashed through her, and she began to freeze up. It took her an extra moment to realize that he had just backed away from her when he did. Oh no! She had already lost precious seconds. She picked up the front of her dress so that she wouldn't trip over it and then began to run out of the cave. What Aurelia immediately found was that while she seemed to be running as fast as normal for her, it felt as if she was running with iron weights attached to every limb. Her arms, which were holding up the fabric of her dress, were burning as if she were carrying giant rocks instead. She was soon sweating at the effort as she moved swiftly through the trees, something that almost never happened to her. Running was something effortless to her, but now it was as if the draining had hurt her physically more than it had seemed to. She had to press on though. She knew little of how fast vampires were, but from how confident Jakobi seemed it wasn't likely that they were slow. 

However, even as she moved across great distances, the weights bringing her down seemed to grow. Her sweaty hands were losing their grip on her dress, and soon the fabric dropped down. She let out a cry of pain as she tripped and fell to the ground, utterly exhausted. She had never been this physically tired before. What had he done to her? Tears began to well up in her eyes as she knew that she wouldn't be able to get back up without help. Unless the man couldn't track her, she was as good as caught.

Her fearful breaths echoed back to him as she ran from the cave and he chuckled. This would be way too easy. The counting continued in his head as he opened his eyes and slowly walked around the cave. The day before he’d made it inside just in the nick of time to escape the sun, but now he was able to take a good look at it. The walls were damp and cold; when he brushed his fingers along a few sections he felt slick moss. His eyebrows furrowed, noticing something.

Leaning in, he saw that some of the moss had been scraped away expertly: leaving no fragments behind and taking up the green in a skillful mat to leave a perfect section taken off. For a moment he forgot about the nymph, knowing he’d be able to find her easily no matter how much of a lead he gave her. Instead he walked just a little ways deeper into the cave. He inclined his head, sniffing out the air and catching a light fragrance of smoke from deep within the bowels. Well, that couldn’t be good. A mental note was taken: don’t rest in this cave again.

Now his attention had returned and he sprinted from the mouth of the cave. The black trees blurred around him as he wove expertly through them. Her scent was easy enough to pick up and her heavy footfalls had left obvious trails to follow. This was much too simple, it didn’t seem fair. Should he catch up to her immediately and drink from her again now? Or draw it out? She wasn’t far.

Suddenly he heard a large crack in the distance that stopped him in his tracks. His lips parted and his eyes widened as he looked out; trying to make out any shapes or forms in the tangle of trees. Something was in the distance, something large. The Virens weren’t known for their infinite safety after all. Best for him to find her before something else did: she was his and no one else’s. He reminded himself of that fact as he took off, leaving a flurry of damp leaves in his wake.

He saw her and locked his jaw in anticipation before stopping short just at her head. “Tsk tsk…” he shook his head in mock solemnity and moved his fingers under his chin to raise her head up to look at him. “Now now Aurelia, I thought I said to run your fastest. What are we going to do with you?” He chuckled, “Should I do it here…? Under the stars…? Lock you into night eternally? Or suffer through a morning in shelter to feed from you just before you drift away again?” He ran his fingers along her shoulder before gripping. Again he heard the noise and dropped his taunting tone to quickly shush her, “Hold on…” the playful mock of his voice faded to a serious edge.

“We need to move.”

As Aurelia heard footsteps coming her way, her blood felt ice-cold. She began tearing up, knowing that this was the end of the line for her. She'd been caught. She'd be stuck as Jakobi's…plaything for a week, if not more. She didn't trust him to not keep her longer than that. She froze as she could feel his presence beside her, tears streaming down her face as she waited, as silent as possible. She let out a short gasp as he lifted her head up, feeling entirely defeated. His stroking along her shoulder would have made her shy away at first, but now she let it happen, the tears continuing. This man was truly a monster. If she had seen that, she would have ran away long before he crippled her spirit. She would have avoided him at all costs. She stiffened as he gripped her shoulder, resigned to her fate. However, with his sudden change in tone, fear began to creep back in. "What is it?" She murmured, panic in her eyes, "I can't run anymore like this…" Would he leave her to whatever was following them? It wouldn't surprise her one bit, but she held out hope that he'd be at least somewhat sensible.

His eyes stayed focused past her; searching the blackened trees for any sign of movement. There was none that could be immediately seen, but he was able to just barely feel a tremor in the ground. Despite how far this thing was, it was still making that big of an impact. His eyes darted back down to her, irritation flitting across his face before looking out again. She really couldn’t walk? He didn’t think he’d drained her that far. Then again, she’d never once been fed on. The first time was always the worst.

“I don’t know what it is,” he admitted quietly, red eyes glowing brighter before casting them back down to her. “I told you,” he said with a rueful smile, “I’m not the worst thing here.” His arms moved under her; scooping her up bridal style to hold against his chest with much gentler hands than one might have expected.

“It’s large. Being sired has made me strong, but I’d rather not test that strength against a mystery enemy,” And then he darted off, keeping her curled protectively against his chest despite himself. Meal or not, he couldn’t really just leave her there. “The Virens aren’t a safe place, your connection to nature has probably shielded you no matter what wood you’re in, but might I suggest only staying here if absolutely necessary,” his voice called down to her over the wind as he dashed them through; weaving expertly between the trees.

“That cave we were staying in, I’d bet my name that it leads to the witch tunnels. I’ve never seen them before but,” he laughed, the sound like breaking glass, “Well let’s just hope we don’t meet with any of them.” Where could he even take them? Night was upon them, it belonged to the evils of this place now. Alone he would be fine, but taking on another person’s safety? The smart thing to do would be to drop her. He was selfish: not evil.

His fingers kept a safe grip on her, all the way up to a particularly large oak; its bark woven with blood red sap. His head slowly tilted back as he looked up it, his chest rose and fell heavily as he fought to catch his breathing. It was a long way up, which meant a long drop back down, “Do you think whatever it is can climb?”

Aurelia was surprised by how…disturbed Jakobi seemed to be. Not long ago he was entirely cocky, now he seemed wary. She opened her mouth in surprised as he scooped her up, but it certainly wasn't the worst feeling being cradled in his arms, even if he was a monster. She settled her head into the bend of his arm, still utterly exhausted. She couldn't fall asleep though. She wished she could, but the sun itself decided on her sleep schedule. At least it never meant she was ever deprived of sleep. She rolled her eyes as he bragged about his strength. Even in his apparent fear, the cockiness was back. She didn't need to worry. He was right that it was likely due to her nature that she was so…unusually untouched by the evils of the land, but she wasn't fazed by that. The gods would keep her safe. They always had. She thought with an inward cringe that perhaps Jakobi himself was sent by the gods to save her but she dismissed the thought. No savior would intrude on her like he had. Regardless, he was her only hope for safety right now. She looked up at him for the first time once they got back from the tree, murmuring, "You know more about these things than I do apparently, you tell me." She hoped this wasn't some elaborate trick or something. It would have been an impressively complex trick, but her trust in Jakobi was gone, so she wouldn't put it past him.