Ilio really didn't like Karalius.
The only reason he was honestly helping or, really, two reasons, were because Bin didn't mind his intentions with his captain, and said captain was clearly worried about his subordinate's situation.
Hungry...
In the next few moments he felt Bin's fangs finally retract, then familiar, strong arms easily lift him up and away.
Karalius gave another, slightly louder growl than the ones he'd been grumbling while Bin had fed from him, but it was quickly answered by a much fiercer warning snarl.
Karalius fell silent immediately.
Ilio thought that Inkani would just carry him back to his room, but when they began going below deck, his fuzzy ears perked up and he lifted his now-human head.
"Why did you keep those things out again?" Inkani asked as they finished descending, then headed down the same familiar hallway from before.
Leaning back just enough to see the man in the darkness, Ilio tilted his head and flicked one of his wolfish ears.
"Did lord Inkani not like them before?" he asked, a hint of disbelief to his words that evidently made the older man audibly scoff.
Ilio waited for him to say something further, or order him to retract them, but when the man remained silent, Ilio tucked his head against Inkani's chest in order to hide his pleased grin.
When they walked into the galley it was quite a bit busier than it had been before. Most of the people present were drinking glasses of blood or nibbling at pieces of raw meat.
Ilio didn't really mind when all eyes turned to them, but he did give out a quiet grumble when he saw someone heading directly for them.
He also felt Inkani's hands covering up his naked backside a bit more, though he didn't pay that much mind.
"Captain, what's going on with that demon on deck? Master Bin..."
Inkani continued walking as the man spoke, forcing him to fall into step with him until he finally stopped next to a worn pair of wooden double doors.
"Leave them be. Even if you lot wanted to help, Karalius would just kill you, leaving me with next to nothing for a crew. I will deal with him if the situation arises."
The man looked more than a little bit surprised, but it didn't take him long to school his features and nod respectfully.
"Understood, captain. We will be ready if you need us."
Inkani returned the man's nod, then nudged open the double doors and stepped into a much quieter, dimly-lit back room.
Ilio was then set down on a faded leather stool before Inkani began gathering items from the old shelves. Not wanting to be a bother, Ilio patiently waited... until Inkani looked like he was heading for the doors again!
His vampire must have sensed his unease, because he slowed to a stop before looking over his shoulder.
"Stay here and behave. I'll be back in a few minutes."
He didn't want to stay there, and honestly, he also didn't want to behave, but Ilio did both without a fuss anyways.
The man was definitely gone for more than a few minutes, however, and soon he found his mind wandering. The first thing that came up was his pack.
Having been the leader, he was never the closest to any one specific wolf. It wasn't easy for an alpha to find a reliable mate, and he honestly hadn't been looking very hard, either.
He also had never quite figured out how they'd been attacked so easily, too. Their pack wasn't defenseless, and even while hunting there were guards stationed around their dens.
It was pretty obvious that they had been betrayed, but by who, he wasn't sure. Wolves weren't as obvious as humans when they were trying to be sneaky. They didn't normally talk and their faces were covered with a good layer of fur, making only the most obvious of expressions readable.
He missed his pack, but with Inkani by his side, he wasn't nearly as lonely as he would likely be as a rogue.
It had probably been coming to that, too. I'd gotten hurt pretty badly, but besides me and a few of my personal guard wolves, only the pups had been killed.
It was likely an attempted takeover that had failed.
He blinked a few times, frowning at the thought.
It actually had succeeded. He was gone and now the pack was likely already settled with a new ruler. It was likely a beta, since there were no other alphas amongst their ranks.
A beta would work fine for a while, but not likely for too long.
He was just about to delve further into those thoughts when his fuzzy ears perked up and he lifted his head, then sniffed as he heard Inkani finally returning through the double doors.
Smells good...
"The cook just went to sleep so I made you something. it's nothing special, but you should be able to eat it, even with your stitches," Inkani said as he brought over a large piping hot bowl and a blanket.
He handed Ilio the bowl, then wrapped the blanket around his naked body before lifting him from the stool... only to settle down onto it, himself, before lowering Ilio into his lap.
Once he was comfortable again, Ilio looked over his shoulder, curious.
"Are we not going to eat in the main room?" he asked.
Inkani glanced towards the double doors, then back to him with a look he couldn't quite decipher.
"Did you want to?" he eventually asked, quickly earning a shake of Ilio's head as his reply.
"Then eat, pup."
Ilio did as told, taking a big scoop of the contents of the bowl before putting it into his mouth.
Uh...
He whimpered almost immediately afterward, and with a poke to the side of his cheek from Inkani, quickly returned the mouthful of food to the large spoon.
"You darn dog," Inkani sighed as he quickly lifted the spoonful of food to his own mouth, then chewed and swallowed as he dipped the spoon back into the bowl, then lifted it up toward Ilio's lips.
"You're supposed to blow on it," he said impatiently.
Blow on it?
Ilio stared at the food right before his nose as his fuzzy ears tilted forward slightly, then to the side a bit.
After a few more moments of contemplation he pursed his lips, then blew a tiny breath toward the hot, thick broth.
Once he was done he grinned and looked over his shoulder, hoping that he'd done it correctly.
Inkani... did not look impressed.
"Just... just let me do it," the man eventually said as he took the bowl from him, then lifted the spoon up a little more so that he could blow on it, himself.
After a few soft puffs he lowered it back to Ilio's mouth, where it was promptly consumed with a content hum.
Much cooler but still warm.
He understood now, but when he reached up to take the spoon again, Inkani moved it away, then dipped it back into the bowl.
"Just behave and eat," he said quietly as he began to blow on another spoonful.
Ilio didn't bother trying to take the spoon again and simply did as told. They ate the dumpling and shredded chicken meal that way for quite some time, with Inkani stealing a bite every now and again.
By the end of their meal Ilio wiggled a bit, stretching what he could before looking up with a sleepy smile.
Oh?
Without really thinking, Ilio leaned up the slightest bit and licked a little line of soup from Inkani's chin, then snuggled in with a content exhale.
He could sense Inkani's body tense after his abrupt attention, but it relaxed almost immediately afterward, making him grin inwardly as he was lifted back up into the man's arms and carried out of the small room, then the larger galley.
"Is your stomach handling the food alright?" Inkani asked as they walked through the dark hallway beyond.
Ilio gave a sleepy hum of agreement, but evidently only earned a quiet laugh from Inkani in response.
When they finally returned to the deck, Ilio looked toward Karalius and Bin. The demon slowly turned his head to watch them, but Bin was still clearly out cold in his arms.
"Will he be okay?" he eventually asked, since Inkani had slowed to a stop to observe them.
It had thankfully stopped raining, but they were still soaking wet.
"Can Bin get sick?" Ilio asked, a tiny bit worried about the man.
Inkani stayed silent for a few moments before nodding his head the slightest bit.
"He can. He was already struggling when I changed him. It was a miracle that he didn't die from being turned into a vampire."
Ilio frowned.
"Then he needs to go inside and dry off."
Inkani was silent for a few moments before he turned to face the other two.
"Why aren't you going in? Bin will get sick if he stays out here in wet clothing," he said honestly.
Karalius blinked up at him for a few seconds before looking down at the man sound asleep in his arms. Another moment later and his attention lifted back to them.
"I was not invited."
Isn't that just some folklore thing?
Even he knew vampires didn't have to be invited in. And Karalius wasn't even technically a vampire...
Ilio expected Inkani to tell the man just that, but instead, he went a different route.
"I invite you to use my cabin to take care of my heir."
Karalius looked a little shocked by the sudden invitation, but he quickly managed to process the information and carefully get to his feet.
"We will go downstairs to rest. If you need me, just call my name," Inkani said as he watched understanding cross Karalius's face.
The demon then nodded his thanks before carrying Bin into Inkani's personal cabin.
"Is that really okay?"Â Ilio asked nervously.
"We don't have a choice right now. I'm the only one that could likely handle him, and with Bin in his hands already and captain Moral likely around the corner, it just wouldn't be worth the effort to try anything right now."
With that, they headed back downstairs and into a spare cabin. It was much smaller, as was the bed, but Ilio found that he didn't really mind as he cuddled up with his vampire, using the lack of room to get away with practically hugging him like a lover.
The man grumbled a bit, but there really was no other way... besides making him sleep on the floor.
Luckily, things didn't come to that, and while Inkani wasn't too tired yet and decided to stay awake for a bit in case Karalius needed him, Ilio gladly drifted off to sleep so that his stomach could process the meal it had just been given without getting upset again.