As Damien watched the child burst from beneath her covers, he noted her ravenous nature. It would seem that Julia had not been teaching the child very well about her vampire side. Perhaps Julia had not considered the child’s needs, and how they might differ from her own needs as a vampire. He sighed, She will need to be spoken to….

There was something about watching a vampire drink lifeblood that made Damien almost giddy in nature. It was very similar to the high he got when he devoured his own form of energy. Perhaps, in a way, he enjoyed seeing others devour what they craved in such a primal manner. After all, despite all of his ‘guidance’, he never once truly forced anyone into the Faith. He merely helped them along.

“Ah, little one,” he said as he walked closer to her, taking a knee. “You have misunderstood the tenants. I shall take blame for this, for you are not at fault.” He reached out and stroked her head gently. “You know what you are, correct? You are part vampire, a creature that feasts on the lifeblood of the living. It is a core of who you are, and thus cannot be changed. However, this was not a choice that was given to you. Although the circumstances were different, you and Julia both were born into this world with little choice.” He stood up. “You may drink as much as is necessary to sustain yourself, but never to excess. That is what I told you before, is it not? The hunger you have is not unlike we mortals, who hunger for the flesh of the animals we hunt. As long as it is done for necessity, there is not shame to be held.”

“Now, Ezra,” he held out his hand to help her up. “The chalice is yours to keep. It will fill when the word ‘Zivot’ is said. However, if that is not something that you think is appropriate, we can always change it. I do believe it is a fitting word, for it means ‘life.’” He started for the door.

“Now, my dear child, let us go. We have many things to do today. You will be with me today. You have expressed interest in weaponry, so…I will be teaching you some things today.”

Her eyes closed, subconsciously leaning her head toward him while he stroked her hair. It was a soothing feeling, a kind gesture none have ever offered her before. Damien explained more in depth what a vampire was, something she only knew the term of. Shame deepened as he pointed out that he had spoken to her before about the excess of drinking versus what was necessary. "I'm sorry, Lord Damien. I forgot." In the excitement of being in a new place, with so much to learn, and the wonder of not being shunned, it was expected. Old habits were hard to break in either case.

With a sense of reverence, the young vampire took her lord's hand to stand, holding the chalice carefully as to not make a mess. When she looked down at it, eyes widened with surprise as it was clean. Not a speck of blood was to be seen. "Thank you, Lord Damien!" Ezra placed it on her bedside stand, only to second guess and carefully stashed it in the drawer instead. Hearing how people were reacting to the new angel, someone might be jealous of the chalice too.

Excited with the news of working with Damien today, she darted to catch up, scrubbing at her face with a sleeve to remove the last traces of blood. "I thought that if I knew how to use them, no one could use them against me anymore. What shall we be learning today?" As she walked next to him, she held her head high, a smile seemed permanently affixed to her face.

Lord Damien took long strides naturally, but upon noticing that Ezra was smaller, he started to slow down. It was rare for him to take younger girls, but this was certainly an exception, especially considering her rate of growth and progress. And then, of course, there was her undying loyalty…

“Today, we shall teach you of limits. Everyone has them, and to know your own limits means to know what one is capable of.” Like Julia, he lead her outside of the keep. Once more, she found herself in front of the weapons. Unlike before, though, Damien pointed to three in particular. “Sword. Dagger. Axe. Take those three, and strap them to yourself as best you can.”

“Do you understand what limits are? You should at least understand one of them. Your reactions this morning before I came in with the chalice were a direct cause of your limitations on hunger. You can go a certain number of days without feeding, much like humans can, but the longer you go, the weaker you become. As such, you should learn at what point your limits will break, and when you should feed.” He pointed to her. “Likewise, you’ve trained with each weapon, correct? Do you know how many swings with each weapon you can do before you tire? Do you know how far you can run before you need to catch your breath?”

Damien took heed of the weapons, and pulled a large, unwieldy scythe from the mix. “Do you know how much of a beating your body can take before it gives out?” He glanced her way. “We shall test some of these limitations today, so that you may learn what they are. At best, you become aware of your faults. At worst, you will learn that you have much more work to do before you can achieve your goal of learning to fight.”

Everyone has limits. Ezra felt giddy at the mere thought of learning her own limits. How was Lord Damien going to teach her about her own limit? At the display of weapons, the vampire received a new instruction. Without question, she grabbed the three weapons, strapping the sword to her back, the dagger on one hip, and the ax on the other. It felt weird with the heavy weight on one side, but it was not something she couldn't handle.

She frowned at the question. Because she had abstained from the consumption of blood, the merest sight of someone, or worse, the scent of blood, sent her into a frenzy. It had taken days for her to build to such a reaction, but that was her limit. Damien, however, illustrated that she was being narrow minded. There were more than just the one limit, there was a limit on everything. How far one can run, how much pain to endure, how many actions before her body gives up? Ezra blushed as she looked away. "I don't know any of that, m'lord."

They walked farther into the forest, to the clearing that Julia usually used for her training. As per usual, she was silent while her mind churned. The only way to test one's limits of endurance was to push the body to the limit. A different kind of pain was going to be felt, one that was almost as familiar as the burning need for blood. Was Lord Damien going to attack her as they had? No, he wouldn't save her just to treat her similarly. Ezra stood at attention, staring at Lord Damien with a determined confidence. "I'm ready, Lord Damien. What shall be my first task?"

Damien turned and looked her over. She had definitely grown since her arrival at the Faith. It was something wonderful to watch. The cultivation of her mind and body would benefit the faith of Temperance greatly. He clasped his hands together, taking a breath,

“The first thing we’re going to test today is the limits of your strength and your stamina” He pointed to a tree. “Use the axe to cut it down. But, you must carry the other two weapons on yourself.” The training exercise was designed to tire her out as quickly as possible. The weight of the weapons combined with the hard labor would be a lot for the half vampire.

However, while she was learning her limits, Damien would be learning information about her as well. Her movements had changed for the better, but he still had not decided what her purpose was to be until she was ready to ascend. As a part vampire, she would naturally be better at night, as well as hold a certain place in her heart for killing, should the need arise. Normally, that would make her a good assassin or protector, but…

It would all depend on what she wanted as well. Killing wasn’t something that came natural to everyone, even vampires. There had to be a certain level of intent.

“Begin when you are ready, and let me know when you tire. After this, we will test your mental prowess and your limits of resistance to mind magic.”

Ezrabeth eyed the tree, sizing it up. It was easily two to three times wider than she was. Her lord had given her a daunting task indeed. However, this was the point of the exercise, to find her limits. How far can she go before tiring, which will prevail before that point? Vampire or lumber? She took her stance by the tree, gripped the ax with both hands, poised it over her shoulder and swung.

A resounding "thunk" sound seemed amplified around them as the young vampire was stunned momentarily. The feeling of resistance had left her arms vibrating momentarily as the tree arrested the movement of her weapon. With a yank, the ax came free, following a near perfect trail back to ready position. Ezra swung again, and again, chips flying off periodically. In the middle of it, she realized if she minutely angled the ax differently each time, the cuts she made were more efficient in approaching her goal.

Her arms were beginning to feel numb from the repetitive actions against the tree, yet her muscles ached at the same time, creating an odd feeling of fatigue. The longer she worked, the harder it was to even hold or swing her ax properly. When she was no longer able to perform the task of cutting down the tree, the ax hung from her hands as she slumped forward a bit. The tree itself was almost three quarters cut through. "This is all… I can do… Lord Damien." Ezra informed him in between heavy breathing.

She returned the ax to its binding on her hip, then straightened up as best as she could. While attempting to control her breathing, her big amber eyes gazed up at Damien with determination. "Before we begin the next exercise, m'lord, would you show me an example of the magic I am to be resisting so that I know how to fortify myself against it?" This was her way of trying to tell him that none had ever had the magical prowess to attack her young mind thus far. In truth, Damien was the first and most powerful being she had ever met.

Damien watched the little halfling with intrigue. She had set about the task with little question. Her strength for her size was astounding, but it wasn’t long before he noticed the fatigue set in. Her stamina was definitely lacking, It would all come in time, though, and that was the point. He wanted her to understand her weakness so that she could eliminate it.

As she finally tired, she turned to him with questions about his magical attacks. “Ah, I see. You’ve not experienced them.” The demon took a few steps forward. “I’ll start small, and then build from there. There are many different kinds of attacks, but they will all come about the same way.”

He raised his hand, and immediately summoned up his nightmarish mind magic. Should she not be able to resist, she would be cast into a dark abyss, paralyzed. Damien had already seen in her mind what she feared most, and thus created illusions of that all around her…hunters.

The magic was all simple to use, layered on top of itself to create a situation where she was unable to move, alone, and surrounded. This would drive her fear to levels that could create panic. But none of it was real.

He would have to be prepared for the aftermath though. After care. He knew the perfect thing…

She shook her head, watching his steps toward her. How does one keep their mind open, or closed, when anticipating an attack? Her eyes followed his hand. And then everything went black. Ezra's heart raced as she frantically blinked her eyes. The young one stood there, she could tell that much. Dark laughter erupted, surrounding her as torches lit up, revealing faces of men. Each one was different, but the look in their eyes all screamed death.

Try as she might, the child couldn't run, frozen in place as they advanced. Wicked smiles bore down upon her as the flames reflected upon steel. With a scream, Ezra fell to her knees, holding her head in her hands. She blinked against the flooding light of day, Lord Damien's booted feet just barely in her line of sight. So that was mind magic. It left her shivering, and afraid. But that was the child side of her. For Lord Damien, she needed to grow, to find her proper place in the faith, and there was no room for fear.

Shakily, she stood, eyes downcast from his face. Ezra took a few deep breaths, steeling her determination to face this lesson. She held her head up high, looked her lord in the eye. "I'm ready." A wall was imagined, built around her mind to prevent all from entering. The first few attempts left her screaming once more, as Lord Damien instantly found the chinks in her armor. He offered pointers, but she was relentlessly throwing herself at the lesson. Several times she went through the attempts of blocking the powerful demon, each time becoming a little better.

"M'lord, I can't…" When she looked up at him, her eyes were nearly as blood red as they were that morning. "I'm tired." There was also that burning sensation associated with thirst. Her first thoughts went first to that silver chalice gift waiting back in her room. 

As Ezrabeth attempted to steel her mind against against the attacks, Damien noted that each time she got just a little bit better. She was truly a gifted one, growing and learning at an exceptional rate. “Very good,” he would praise after each attempt. “When you are ready, we shall try again.”

Time after time, she put up a valiant effort, until finally she called to stop. Damien was surprised at how long she had lasted, but seeing her as she was now was more than expected. His magic was strong, and defending against it would have drained her of her energy. Another excuse to keep her enthralled with him.

“Ezra,” he said, lowering his hands. “Would you like to feed again? I know this has been tiring for you. And, since you’ve done so well…” He smiled warmly. “I was thinking I would give you a treat. You may take some of my blood, if you wish….”

Lord Damien’s question took her off guard for a moment, but his smile washed over her. It made her want to wriggle with giddiness to see it so warm. As if a veil was lifted, he went from someone she revered, to something else entirely. She decided she liked the way the sun played with his hair, the curve of his lips, the sculpt of his chest. But the treat took her mind instantly off of everything before she even had time to process what she had decided.

Contrary to the first time he offered her his blood, Ezra took measured steps to close the distance between them. She delicately touched the back of his hand and forearm, guiding it to her lips. Damien was her first willing meal, for which she would always be grateful. Her fangs extended, and pierced into his flesh as painlessly as she could manage. The rush of power, the exotic flavor of him, and warmth spread through her as she slightly tightened her grip upon him. Each mouthful was savored briefly before the next draw. In keeping with the faith, she determined she had drank enough to sustain her.

While it was hard to withdraw, Ezra slowly trailed her tongue over the wound, healing and cleaning him up at the same time. With a blink, her dark amber eyes rose up to meet Damien’s cold sapphire blues. Her heart beat hard against her chest, breathing a bit excited yet nervous. ”Thank you,” she breathed, reluctantly releasing his hand. A deep blush had risen to her cheeks. ”Is there… Anything else… You need of me?” The hesitance was born from the uncertainty of what she was feeling, for surely there was something she could do to express whatever this was to him. Perhaps, with the way he looked down at her, he already knew.