6. Settle

Warden had planned to take the entire day off, having called in earlier, but he unfortunately found himself back at work around noon to deal with a situation that had gotten out of control. It had just been a money issue, specifically one about money missing from a certain fund. Of course, the analyst for that particular company had forgotten to check the emergency account, where any money is sent when a hacker tries to sneak into their systems. Warden didn't think it would be a big deal when he first started the job, but to his surprise, he'd already had to deal with it four different times.

He had just hung up the phone explaining everything to the manager, who had only been on the job for about a month, when he pushed himself up and grabbed his coat. Slipping it on over his suit, he hurried out of his office, and the building. He'd intended to go straight to the apartment to check on Cerat, but when he started heading there i his car, a sign for a vitamin store caught his eye. Without much thought, he pulled into the parking lot and after getting out and locking his car, headed inside.

The shop was quite small compared to the ones on either side of it, but when his eyes landed on a bottle of iron pills, he couldn't help but smile. An associate was heading over to him, likely to help with any questions he had, but Warden was in no mood to deal with salesmen. He walked right over to the supplements section and grabbed the largest bottle of iron ones he could find. They were surprisingly expensive, being around sixty dollars, but as money wasn't an issue, he quickly turned and set them on the counter. The employee hurried behind it and rung up the purchase, taking Warden's credit card when he offered it.

He didn't even wait for his receipt before stalking out the door, feeling almost like he imagined Drake did when he hadn't had enough sex. His body ached to hit something, but as he sped toward Cerat's apartment, the only person he could really think of that deserved the aggression, was himself.

Pulling into the small parking lot, he made himself calmly walk over and take out the small key the owner had texted him would be glued to the underside of the plant by the door, then unlocked the shop. He hurried to shut and lock it, too, not wanting anyone to think that it was open and to come in. When he finally got upstairs and stepped inside, he could hear movement coming from the single bedroom. He expected Drake to be doing something, or possibly Cerat, but when he stepped into the room, his eyes bugged.

The woman from the pet shop?

Shocked, he let the bag with the bottle of iron pills drop to the floor, drawing the woman's attention to him. He had also garnered Cerat's, but instead of staring, he quickly ducked under the blanket he'd been sharing with Thumper in the corner of the living room area.

"I am not happy with you right now, young man." The woman said, her face turning into a scowl.

Warden sighed, leaning over to pick up the bag with the bottle of pills in it before straightening back up.

"Join the club, Ma'am. How did you get in here, by the way?"

The woman rolled her eyes at his question, making Warden almost regret asking.

"I own this building and have a spare key... but I didn't use it."

Warden's eyes narrowed on the woman, his feathers slightly ruffled at her statement.

"So then how did you get in?" He asked.

"I knocked and Cerat opened the door for me."

Warden grumbled as he turned and headed toward the minuscule kitchen. She soon joined him, ignoring his glare as she got down an ancient-looking blender and took a large container of spinach out of the refrigerator.

"I hope that you intend to care for him seriously until I can get this situation resolved and have him handed over to me to look after. He isn't a pet." She said as she filled the blender and snapped the lid on, only to remove it and grab the bottle Warden held out after having removed it from the bag. Once she'd fished out two pills and added them to the blender, she stared over at him and pointed to the opening.

"They wanted me to remind you that he must drink blood now, too, so be quick about it. Bleed."

This woman...

Forcing his lips to remain closed to keep back a good bit of cussing, Warden walked over and removed his coat, suit jacket, and shirt. Setting them aside on the counter, he unfurled his tense wings with a stressed sigh, then plucked a small feather from the plumage. Without waiting for the woman's questions, he slid the feather across his wrist as he held it above the blender. A perfect cut sliced across his skin, then welled up with blood before it began to overflow. It continued dripping for about ten seconds before the injury healed enough to stop the flow.

He snapped the lid on, then started the blender. It made easy work of the spinach, mixing it with his blood into a thick liquid. Stopping it after just a few moments, he grabbed a cup down from the cabinet and filled it with the mixture. He thought about just bringing it to Cerat then, but decided to slip it into the microwave to warm it for a few seconds.

"Here, put this in it too, god knows I wouldn't want to try drinking with my mouth the way his is right now." The woman said as she grabbed a straw from a container he had sitting out on the corner of the counter.

Warden took it without a word and set it in the cup, then walked over to where Cerat was currently hiding beneath the blanket with Thumper.

"Cerat, I've got some food for you." He said, watching the young man's form beneath the comforter with baited breath. When he got no response, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Move, you." The woman suddenly said as she sat down, taking the cup from Warden and shooing him away with her other hand. He growled but relented after a moment and retreated back a few steps.

Since he was clearly not wanted, he tried to focus on something else, but he couldn't pull his eyes away from Cerat for more than a few seconds at a time. He had hoped that the woman, as annoying as she was, would be able to get him to eat. So, when an hour had passed and she'd only managed to coax Cerat to sit up and eye the cup from beneath the blanket, Warden felt his body sag against the faded wall he was leaning against.

Drake's words echoed in his mind at that moment, loud and clear in the dead silent room. He's going to starve himself. I'm just fucking torturing him. He thought angrily, wanting to hit something all over again.

When Flora had to leave an hour later, the drink left untouched, Warden heaved an exhausted sigh and took a few steps closer before sitting down on the old worn carpet. Cerat hadn't retreated completely back under the blanket, so he figured that he'd be willing to talk a little.

"Hey, um..."

He wanted to ask what it would take to get him to take a sip from the drink near him, but he had a feeling that that wasn't what needed to be said right then. What did, however, he wasn't sure. When the rabbit caught his eyes, though, he focused on it before looking back to Cerat.

"Does he need anything? I'm not really used to taking care of him, as he was at my sister's house and the maids were doing it..."

Cerat just stared at him for several quiet moments, making Warden think that his tactic to use the animal to get some type of reaction, was fruitless. After nearly a minute passed, however, Cerat actually cautiously crawled over to where the rabbit's water bottle was tied to the cage Drake had set up and slid it from the zip tie. It was clearly light in his hand as he hesitantly offered it to Warden.

It needs refilled then. He thought to himself as he fought back a smile and nodded. He took the bottle and got up, then walked to the kitchen, scrubbing it thoroughly before rinsing and refilling it. When he returned to the corner Cerat seemed to have claimed, Warden carefully knelt in the same spot and offered the bottle to Cerat. He could have just put it back himself, but since the young man hadn't moved from the spot where he'd given Warden the bottle, he figured he might want to return it to its previous place.

When Cerat reached out and took it eagerly, Warden forced back a sigh of relief. He sat down as Cerat futzed with the zip tie, his wings ruffling slightly as he watched. He thought that would be it, but when the young man carefully retrieved Thumper from a few feet away and set him in front of his water, Warden couldn't help smiling a little. The rabbit hurried to begin drinking, draining a good portion of the bottle right before his eyes.

"I didn't know that he drank so much. I'll try to remember to fill the bottle more. If I forget, just get my attention and I'll be sure to do it." He said.

Their eyes met as Cerat settled back to sit on the blanket again. Neither looked away, but as Warden leaned back on his hands, he couldn't really feel any kind of dominance threat. Cerat's eyes just looked tired and sad. It almost seemed like he was reaching out to Warden without actually doing so physically.

He hoped that whatever was occurring, it would push Cerat to want to try and drink a little. Unfortunately, after nearly twenty minutes, when the young man finally moved, it was just to curl up on his side, back to Warden.

He wanted to growl and quite literally, throw a tantrum. He had thought that they were somehow getting somewhere, yet it seems that he had gotten absolutely nowhere. His head throbbed as his mind started worrying. Thoughts of how many days Cerat had left before his body began to shut down made Warden squeeze his eyes shut and grit his teeth together. His whole life he'd been able to get things done. To get people to do as he said, whether it be by threat, trickery, or money.

Yet here is a vampire I cannot threaten. Cannot trick. And certainly cannot buy.

Shaking his head slowly, Warden allowed his resolve to dissipate for the moment and just shifted until he was lying on the floor. Not really thinking beyond that, he allowed himself to do whatever it is his body felt like. His eyes began to close, a nap the easiest thing his tired body seemed to want. His right wing, however, appeared to have a different idea. It unfurled slowly, forcing Warden to move onto his belly and rest his head on his folded arms to keep it from the carpet.

The feeling of several pinions being bent and one snapping, made him wince, but when his wing straightened partially back out and then settled over Cerat's curled-up form, Warden couldn't help but stare. He expected the vampire to freak out and duck back under the blanket, but when he just nuzzled a little against the feathers gently caressing his face, Warden rubbed his own face against his arms sleepily and allowed his eyes to finally close. He wasn't worried about him trying to leave since he would likely die just as quickly in the apartment if he didn't eat.

Perhaps we have gotten somewhere today.

It wasn't a big step like drinking the mixture he'd made, but surely it was something. And something was far better than nothing.