Oh hey, guess what? Another one!

De’Tearion sighed.

“Complete opposites then. That explains more than merely your weaknesses,”he grumbled.

“You can try. I have been known to cut off limbs or kill those attempting to steal things from me. And, this ring be dear to me,”De’Tearion snorted.

De’Tearion heard her, but didn’t say anything else. He closed his eyes, continuing to fight his emotions. After a few minutes, he calmed down enough to notice that there was still a bottle of blood in his hand. He resumed sucking it down, if only to keep himself distracted.

De’Tearion rolled his eyes.

“What be your point in that?”he asked, his eyes narrowing cautiously.

De’Tearion finished the bottle of blood in only a few minutes. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t nearly enough of a meal for his liking. It could barely qualify as a tiny snack. The most it had done was make him hungrier, but he didn’t really want to attack its source. Not unless she was willing. He couldn’t help but snort at that thought.

De’Tearion didn’t seem amused by her comment or grin. Just because she was trying, badly, to mimic his accent didn’t mean it was humorous. Once she explained her meaning, his eyes immediately narrowed, a dark gleam entering them.

“The only way you are taking this ring from me be if you take it from my corpse. It keeps me alive during the day, and it has sentimental value to me. I will kill to keep it,”he hissed, a low, chirping growl rumbling in his throat.

De’Tearion turned, chirping. He then snorted again.

“Are you certain you wish to know?”he asked.

De’Tearion rose an eyebrow at that, completely bewildered. What sort of nonsense was she speaking now?

“Woman, you make no sense sometimes,”he huffed.

De’Tearion chuckled, deciding that there was no point in hiding it. He then showed her the empty bottle.

“You were mentioning you had a death wish? Feeding me be a quick way to get that wish. Yet, since I seem unable to hypnotize you, I will give you the rare chance to decide if you will be a willing victim, or a challenge. And, this excludes the little offerings in a bottle. I am naturally equipped with a better way to feed,”De’Tearion said bluntly.

De’Tearion snorted,”Why would I know this individual? I was born on an isolated island. There be only one shipping route to it, and few are brave enough to attempt it.”

De’Tearion rose an eyebrow, then chirped. He teleported, reappearing next to the table with the second empty bottle. He set down the one he’d finished, then teleported again, appearing behind Jackie. He wrapped her in a four-armed bear hug, his head hovering near her neck.

“Conscious or unconscious?”he asked quietly. He didn’t care either way, and his new proximity to the blood flowing through her neck was becoming irresistible.

De’Tearion chirped, rolling his eyes.

He tilted his head, a bit surprised by her question. He had been asked which way hurt less, or even which way was more pleasurable. But, no one had ever asked which way hurt more.

“On one hand, I knock you out, typically with a punch to the temple. When you wake, you will have that pain to deal with. On the other hand, the pain be discomfort that becomes increasingly worse as I drain you of blood, until you are unconscious,”De’Tearion explained.

It was strange, being so open about his feeding habits. But, he was giving Jackie a choice.

“You are a strange woman,”he mumbled, barely aware that he’d even said it.

De’Tearion’s focus drifted to Jackie’s neck and body. The sound and smell of her blood enveloped him, and the music of her heartbeat called to him. With the snack of her blood still lingering in his mouth, he couldn’t resist an opportunity to taste it again.

A last minute thought came to him just before he opened his mouth, and he teleported both of them onto Jackie’s bed, his back against the wall and Jackie, still wrapped in his arms, sitting on his lap. He might as well be comfortable, because he planned to savor this moment, this rare, willing meal.

De’Tearion finally opened his mouth, feelers coming out and caressing Jackie’s neck, tasting her flesh as well as checking for the optimal spot to drain her blood. He found a place just on the curve between her neck and shoulder, his feelers retracting slightly. His proboscis then came out, the end of it covered with claws.

Those claws hooked into her skin and an inner proboscis pierced her neck, burrowing into her skin in search of an artery. It latched onto the nearest one it could find, poking a hole in it. De’Tearion then started to steadily suck out the blood, taking long, slow draws of her bitter, but still irresistible, blood.

(Yes, I’ve written several of De’Tearion’s feedings, and this one is actually more vague than I usually do, just to simplify things a bit)

(Oh no, lol)

De’Tearion had closed his eyes as he started feeding, and that seemed to make every gasp and movement from Jackie so much more noticeable. He heard the pleasure in her heartbeat, and it bewildered him. He’d only encountered a few folk that reacted like this to his feeding, so he didn’t understand why they liked it so much. Maybe that’s why Jackie had asked such a strange question.

Though, when Jackie grabbed him, De’Tearion jumped a bit. It was reflex mainly, caused by a life of many wars and near-assassinations, but he also hadn’t expected her grip at all.

When Jackie finally passed out, De’Tearion chirped, still confused by the pleasure she’d felt. He continued feeding a bit longer, then retracted his proboscis. Her wounds closed, just because of the shape of his proboscis, though they weren’t healed. That, De’Tearion did with one of his few healing spells.

De’Tearion then settled against the wall, careful to keep from waking Jackie. He stared at the ceiling for a while, feeling a bit more satisfied, though still ravenous. But, that was nothing new. Eventually, he dozed off, his arms shifting to cradle Jackie instead of restrain her.

De’Tearion didn’t stir when Jackie woke. His hands still cradled her, but they occasionally twitched or shook. He also chirped or growled periodically. He seemed to be dreaming, but it was hard to tell if it was a good dream or a bad one.

Heat radiated off of De’Tearion by nature, but he had actually been colder than usual because of his starvation. Since he’d had something to eat for the first time in a week, he was closer to normal, and thus made a perfect source of warmth.

(You know, I get Jackie just woke and all, but it makes me wonder… How can someone forget De’Tearion’s with them when his long ass fucking legs are sticking out from under them, lol? Just saying, lmao)

De’Tearion chirped in reply to her noise, though not in a conscious way. He was still deep in his dreaming, and it was steadily getting worse. His breathing became ragged, and his noises and movements became more prominent. He even started shivering, and his arms held Jackie tighter, as if he was desperate for the proximity.

(Okay, you have a point there. And, I’ve got nine cats, so yeah, I know that well, lol)

The moment Jackie started shaking him, De’Tearion jolted awake, three out of four arms swinging outward and slamming hard enough into the walls to leave indentations. He then immediately teleported away from Jackie, appearing next to the bed, where his legs promptly gave out and he fell to the floor.

“Never touch me while I sleep!”he snapped at Jackie without looking at her. His tone was actually much harsher than he’d intended, but he had been battling in his dream, so he was quite tense because of that.

De’Tearion then flopped onto his side, coiling up. He wanted a hug, or just someone to hold him, but he didn’t have the heart to ask. It tore at him though. The amount of times he’d been offered any comfort numbered fewer than the amount of times he’d fed on a willing victim. And, he could count both on one hand.

De’Tearion sighed,”For your sake, never again touch me while I sleep. ‘Tis a violent reflex I have.”

His voice was much softer now, docile even. He watched her move, caution in his drowsy eyes. He flinched when she touched him, but when all she did was set his head on her lap, he melted.

Part of him was screaming at him for falling into such a dangerous trap, leaving his neck exposed. But, the other part of him, the part with all of his melancholy and gentleness, was just glad to have a moment of peace.

De’Tearion slowly started to doze off. He fought against it, but it was rather difficult to do. Besides his recent coma-like sleep caused by the last duel he and Jackie had, he hadn’t slept in a while. At least, not in any restful way.

Before he knew it, he was drifting off to sleep. His hand shifted onto Jackie’s knee, holding it with a shockingly light and gentle grip. He wasn’t even aware of the movement as his eyelids drooped lower and lower until they closed.

De’Tearion shook his head, turning away with a troubled gaze.

De’Tearion could hear the emotions flowing through Jackie, just by the way her heart beat. However, he was barely paying attention to it as he dozed off. His mind was blissfully silent, and he wanted to keep it that way.

De’Tearion didn’t stir, but his senses were still attuned to Jackie. As she calmed down, the rest of his tense body relaxed. His legs also stretched out a bit, though they stopped moving once his feet bumped into the bed.

As he slept, Jackie had plenty of opportunity to admire the particularly handsome individual on her lap. His jet black hair was soft and smooth, and cascaded down his face in a way that highlighted his delicately carved facial features. Every curve and angle in his face was nearly flawless, an elegant masterpiece created from good genetics and aristocratic care.

However, beneath the living portrait, there were countless signs of a dark, tortured past. His endless battle scars from the neck down were most prominent, but there were also scars hidden in his hair, and they weren’t battle scars. It was difficult to tell what they were exactly with the way his hair was currently covering them though.

De’Tearion’s smooth, pale skin was actually quite cool to the touch, despite the amount of body heat that came off of him.

As Jackie moved her finger to his neck, De’Tearion chirped, squirming slightly. His legs moved the most, and one of his feet rotated, a claw loudly tapping the floor. His heartbeat also sped up a bit. Then, his hand gently squeezed her knee, though it was unclear if it had been a deliberate movement or not.