Boys Night

[Trillian]

When Zeph said yes, he would stay, Ben was relieved. He watched as the other sat and plucked up a cushion, using it sort of defensively on his lap. To give him space, he sat near the arm opposite, drawing his knee up so he could look directly at Zeph while they talked. In this cosy room with no previous occupants leaving behind their scent, Ben had a fresh slate and a clearer mind. He'd been rather enchanted by Zeph's scent, so it was better to keep his distance until explanations were made and permissions were given.

Before he could say anything, however, Zeph launched into an apology, detailing his thought process and inserting casual flattery in there. Zeph's guileless appeal was charming, and Ben - who usually second-guessed what people were might be saying without saying it - trusted his words without question.

He wanted to say something witty or flippant, some quip that would make Zeph think he was clever and funny, but he ended up laughing instead. It was a small laugh, but the mirth stayed with him as he grinned at the fae. Properly smiling now, he finally nodded at Zeph, accepting that it was a reasonable qualification to make... and it further demonstrated the need for clarification.

"Okay. So we've established I'm not a prostitute. Do you know what you are? Other than a regular human, I mean." His question, if Zeph had no idea he was fae (unlikely, but if the blood wasn't pure, like Jenna who'd only had a small portion of fire-demon in her, it was possible Zeph had no clue), then the question would be a little strange, but not totally out-there absurd. Ben hoped Zeph knew, otherwise he'd have a second dilemma on his hands.

[suneater]

Laughter was good. In this case, it was particularly good. Zeph's general position on laughter was that there should be as much of it in the world as possible, and seeing someone as serious as Ben laugh gave him a thrill of hope - not only that his gaffe wasn't going to ruin any chance he had of getting to know him better, but for the world at large. His nervousness had abated visibly when Ben joined him on the couch, and his laughter banished it utterly. He continued to toy at the pillow absent-minded, but now it was only because doing so felt good.

Do you know what you are? It was a very existential question, and Zeph grappled with it in the split second leading up to Ben's qualification. He was a dancer, and a stoner, and sometimes a bit of a slut but other times a hopeless romantic. That would have been his immediate response if it weren't for the follow up.

His eyes narrowed slightly. Zeph's heritage hadn't been a part of his life since he and his mom had separated from his extended family, and since he'd moved to the city and started school, his existence had basically been human. How had Ben known? Zeph had been a little out of sorts, sure, but he hadn't been upset enough to give himself away. He hadn't had an accident (as his Mother had dubbed the occasional gusts that accompanied his tantrums when he was younger) in years. He seemed to be searching for answers in Ben's features. What had given him away? What did that make Ben? Most importantly of all, could Ben be trusted.

He sucked in his lower lip and nodded slowly. He'd decided to trust. Ben could have approached the situation in a lot of more malicious ways, but he hadn't. He could just as easily have tried to blackmail or extort him in some way, his simple way of asking alerted Zeph to another possibility- that Ben wasn't entirely human either. He was only vaguely aware that there were other weird things in the world, but it stood to reason that some of them could suss out others of their kind.

"I'm a nymph," he said softly, almost sounding a little afraid. It wasn't a word he'd ever used with anyone who wasn't family or in an English class with him. It was weird to come out this way, and extremely uncomfortable. Of all the rules his parents had imposed on his journey of self-discovery, exposing himself broke the most oft-repeated. He felt a little guilty, and his doubts redoubled when he realized the implications of the three simple words. Once again, his arms wrapped the pillow up. He had the sudden, intense desire to get as stoned as was actually possible.

He needed to be clear-headed though, or at least, as clear-headed as he could be given what he'd already inhaled and imbibed. Of all the questions he wanted to ask, one emerged at the forefront. Ben would likely recognize the wariness in Zeph's bright blue eyes, which were no longer so glossy, as he posed it.

"What are you?"

[Trillian]

Ben saw the way Zeph retreated; not obviously, or physically, but the way his face changed to show tendrils of suspicion, doubt and fear. Ben was sorry to see Zeph's casual nature disappear because he'd been challenged. It was typical of Ben to be confronting, but he didn't know any other way to get to the heart of the matter. And then he changed back, and relief flooded Ben when he saw Zeph's decision to trust him before the answer even came out of his mouth. Ben wasn't normally so good at reading stranger's expressions, but Zeph didn't hide anything.

A nymph! Of course! He'd only read about them in books, but had encountered their distant relatives, imps. Imps didn't smell anywhere near as good, and they had the half-pointy ear thing going on. He was relieved to finally being able to put a name to Zeph's heritage. As much as he'd wanted to guess, knowing was much better. He nodded and his smile broadened, for he was satisfied that he'd narrowed Zeph's bloodline down to fae after dismissing a plethora of different kinds of people.

And here came the big question, about what Ben was. He realised that he was a predator in this situation - that he'd more or less became the wolf to Zeph's little red riding hood. What a great smell you have, Zeph. He hadn't meant to operate under false pretences, but that was exactly what had happened. Zeph had come here with him anticipating some action, and while Ben had been willing to give him one kind of it, it certainly wasn't something he would force on the other.

Zeph, looking intently at him like he was, might pick up on Ben's hesitation to respond. If not on his face, then certainly with the length of time it took him to respond. Ben's smile dropped a little and he licked his lips. He dropped his gaze to the cushion on Zeph's lap, seeing the swirls of blues, indigos and even the odd thread of red within its shiny purple fabric. Then he looked back into Zeph's eyes, did a self-conscious chuckle and just said what needed to be said.

"I'm a vampire."

He should've pre-ambled it with promises not to hurt Zeph, of course. He wondered if the nymph would be full of questions or full of terror. He'd find out in the next second or so.

[suneater]

Ben's smile made Zeph feel a little better about telling him. His parents had always warned him that people would think he was crazy, or worse, try to hurt him, if he revealed what he was. He didn't get the sense that Ben fell into either of those categories. If anything, he looked sort of pleased. He wondered what the other boy knew about his kind that would provoke such a response. Maybe in the greater supernatural world, nymph's had a good reputation? Or maybe he was just glad that Zeph wasn't human.

He watched Ben uncertainly while he took his sweet time answering. The suspense almost made him squirm, redoubling his nervous abuse of the pillow's ornamentation. Ben looked kind of nervous, and for a few seconds, he couldn't meet Zeph's gaze. The nymph was on the verge of urging him to spit it out when Ben finally looked at him again and spoke.

I'm a vampire.

"Oh."

His response came before he'd fully processed the statement, and Ben would once again be able to see the gears within his pretty little skull start turning. Like most nymphs, Zeph knew very little about other kinds of non-humans. Most of the reliable information he had pertained mostly to other types of nymphs, a smattering of fae creatures, and the other creatures with a bit of a Greek legacy. Vampires, though... well, there was a wealth of information about them in pop culture. Of all the supernaturals, they were probably the most represented in media. Zeph was well aware that those portrayals should be taken with a grain of salt, but he had to imagine there was some truth in them too. There might have been a hundred different types of them represented across books, movies, and televisions, but there were some constants. They were creatures of the night, they were strong and fast and sexy, and of course, they drank blood.

Oh.

"Oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

He'd checked out a little bit to ponder. He went back over the evidence that had led him to think Ben might be a hooker and added this new information. He'd interpreted Ben's attention as sexual, but desire wasn't always genital-based. An odd sort of smile curved Zeph's full lips as he mentally re-evaluated the phrase lookin' like a snack, but then he waxed thoughtful again. If these rooms were for vampires to feed, rather than for prostitution hook-ups, that sort of meant that the whole place was set up for it. Had the two jocks known what they were courting with Ben? They'd walked right up to him, so the odds were good. Ohmygod the neck thing, they had definitely known!

That realization provoked another: Rodrigo had known. Rodrigo had brought him to some kind of vampire feeding ground with drink specials. Zeph wasn't particularly good at anger, so his ire toward his friend was brief, and quickly replaced with concern. If Rodrigo was involved with vampires, that would explain his disappearance and strange behavior. There was no way he could have come here often enough to know people and get drawn away for conversations without figuring it out- Rodrigo was way smarter than he was.

Zeph realized he'd been sitting and thinking for an awful long time. His fingers had stilled while he'd worked it all out, and now he looked across the couch he was sharing with an actual vampire. He didn't doubt Ben in the slightest. The other boy (was he a boy? For all Zeph knew he could predate the printing press) was far too serious to engage in some kind of extended trolling. Looking at him was kind of weird now though. The pallor, the beauty, the stillness- how much of it was Ben, and how much of it was what he was? Needless to say, any prurient intent was completely quashed. The impulse to get to know him better, and even befriend him, had gotten stronger though.

If Ben was just after his neck (Zeph was suddenly self conscious about touching it), he could have easily started fooling around with him and then gone for it. He hadn't though. Now that he thought about it, the way Ben had gone about things seemed designed to allow Zeph to acquire some agency about his evening at Venture.

"This is weird," he finally declared, shaking his head and staring at Ben. He didn't feel afraid, but he did feel vulnerable. "You umm... you didn't bring me back here to fool around, huh?" Was that a note of disappointment in his voice? Definitely. The flattering effect of being chosen was somewhat diminished by what he had been chosen for. "For the record, I do not consent to being bitten." He said it in a sort of stiff, formal way, as if to enter it into the record of a courtroom proceeding. It felt a little awkward saying it, but he wanted to be clear, and nothing he'd gotten from Ben suggested that the vampire wouldn't respect his wishes..

He was a little curious though, he had to admit. His mind returned to Rodrigo. His friend had always been into stuff that Zeph wasn't really about- real bondage, real pain, real humiliation. He had once shown Zeph bruises all over his thighs and gotten hard while he was describing how he'd acquired them. It wasn't that much of a leap to think he'd get off on being bitten. Did that mean it felt good? Or was it more of a pain thing? Zeph's pleasurable-pain threshold stopped right at medial nipple chewing and being smacked on the ass. He could be a bit of a wimp about things sometimes, particularly when it came to anal.

He dug into his pocket for his vape pen. He needed to get high, pronto. His mind was started to get all fast and crowded, and when that happened, the only thing that provided relief was weed. He didn't bother asking if it was okay. He was in some kind of vampire blood cubicle- legality or getting into trouble were basically out the window. He powered it up and waited just a bit for it to warm up before taking a deep, necessary hit.

[Trillian]

Ben watched and waited for Zeph to take it all in. He could've peeked into his mind again, but it was too much trouble and all of Zeph's emotions were being broadcast on his face, anyway. The nymph was like a billboard, flashing up things like 'thoughtfulness' and 'introspection' and 'realisation' and 'disappointment'.

Ben had been giving Zeph a Mona Lisa smile of sorts but that last flittering expression took it away. Now his features blanked and Ben let time pass as Zeph once again delved into his thoughts or memory or reasoning. Another statement came, and then a rhetorical question, and then Zeph grew silent again. Ben, who would often just sit and think, had never liked being prompted by others or left behind in conversation as they grew bored waiting for him to analyse the situation. He gave Zeph the time and respect to work out what he needed to, and to hopefully keep the conversation open.

And then came his refusal. Unemotional and unconditional. Zeph closed the door quite firmly on further discussion about what the bite might be like, why others pursued it (he'd watched two men volunteer themselves for it, after all), how this club worked and all the rest. This lack of evident curiosity annoyed Ben, and the nymph - for the first time - lost a notch of his respect.

His annoyance grew and his respect lowered once again when Zeph dug into his pocket and removed what looked like a pen, but Ben could see that it wasn't a real pen. He guessed correctly that the thing was actually a vape-pen, and that Zeph was going so far as to turn the thing on. Fucking really? Zeph had just learnt that he was sitting in a booth with a vampire he didn't know, hadn't acknowledged Ben beyond a few noises, a declaration of strangeness and confirmation that they weren't going to have sex or whatever, and then he hadn't asked if it was okay to smoke or puff or burble or whatever those things did (Ben's knowledge of vape-pens was limited, their having risen in popularity well after he'd been sired). Ben's temper flared from zero to a hundred, not that Zeph would've noticed it because all that Ben showed was a neutral expression shifting subtly to an icy glare.

Before Zeph could put the thing in his mouth, Ben moved forwards and slapped it out of his hands. Zeph would realise from that move that vampires were super-fast as well. The vape-pen launched out of Zeph's fingers and landed harmlessly atop the pile of cushions before them.

"You're an idiot," Ben said coldly, looming over Zeph because now Ben was half-kneeling on the seat, having had to shift forward over his own drawn-up knee. "You're going to get yourself killed in here, smelling like you do. Your friend abandoned you, you don't know what's going on, what the rules are, what the consequences are. You've just found out you're swimming among sharks, I'm one of them, you're locked in here with me, and the first thing you do is reach for something to dull your wits. You did it without asking, without confirming I'm not a threat, and if I really wanted to, I could just charm you into doing whatever I wanted anyway."

He couldn't, in fact, charm Zeph into doing whatever he wanted. He was too young to battle someone's will, and he hadn't practised on other supernaturals, but Zeph didn't know what Ben could and couldn't do, and something in Ben wanted to strike fear in him. He wasn't sure why.

Yes, you know why, Benny-boy
Because even though he didn't lead you on
It felt like he led you on
And you were looking forward to drinking from him
And he took that away from you
So now you want to punish him

Yeah, alright, but even though his motives weren't pure, Zeph needed a reality check anyway.

[suneater]

It didn't particularly matter how little of Ben's change in mood showed on his composed features - his actions and words were indicative enough. The nymph perceived the slap as little more than a blur. One instant the pen had been warming up in his hand, the next it was on the cushions, wrenched away by a sudden and undeniable force. Eyes wide, Zeph opened his mouth to protest, but Ben was already menacing him with his imperious body language and starting his invective. Zeph shrank back slightly, his mouth still agape with surprise, and weathered Ben's rage.

You're an idiot.

If Ben wanted to hurt him, he was off to an excellent start. Zeph was well aware that his mind worked differently than most people's. In general he was the first to make a crack about his non-existent attention span, sieve-like memory, and scattered attention. Friends jokes about it too, and in general, Zeph had no qualms about his intelligence. Ben was not a friend, though, and the way he said it made Zeph feel very, very small. The fact that Ben was a vampire hadn't changed Zeph's wanting to be liked by him, which made him vulnerable to the blatant disdain.

Zeph listened numbly while Ben continued to outline his flaws. Zeph was not a combative conversationalist. Though he had some counters to some of Ben's points, his first impulse wasn't to fire back, but rather, to process and ensure that he understood what was actually happening. The sudden display of emotion from Ben was hard to classify. It was possible that everything else he'd seen had been some kind of act and that this was who Ben really was. It wouldn't have been a hard sell to convince Zeph that vampire's were inherently cruel, so it was a notion he entertained for a few seconds before dismissing it. No, he decided that the quiet boy he'd been getting to know had been mostly genuine, as had the smiles and laughs provoked.

Why? Because even if he was being an asshole about it, Ben's words were still meant for Zeph's benefit. He'd been careful not to take advantage of Zeph every step of the way so far. It didn't necessarily mean that he cared about Zeph, but it did connote a level of decency that the nymph wanted to believe was real and had plenty of evidence to support.

Was it really just the weed that had made him so mad? Maybe. Zeph tended to spend his time around very liberal people who had no qualms about use of all but the hardest drugs, so he sometimes forgot that other people weren't so cool about it.

It didn't occur to him in the slightest that his rejection had been at least partly responsible. His mind just didn't work that way. He never would have lashed out at someone for denying him something it was well within their rights to deny, so he simply didn't consider it as a possibility. He'd merely been making his preferences known, the same way he would discuss limits with someone he was hooking up with (at least, that was his intention with the upfront denial). It really wasn't worth considering Ben being upset about him communicating himself clearly- if that were the case, the situation was probably beyond salvage anyway.

A few seconds passed in stunned silence. Zeph's features were as transparent as ever, displaying uncertainty and hurt. There was something dishonest in all of those hurtful-but-helpful words that was making it hard for him to decide how to react.

"If I thought you were a threat," he said slowly. His tone was tentative, as if he was puzzling this out as he spoke. "I wouldn't be sitting here with you. And if what you're saying is true, which I guess some of it kind of is, I don't think me calming myself down with some pot is gonna matter much. If you wanted to bite me, or charm me, or beat me up, what could I even do? I think yeah you definitely can do all those things, but I guess I don't think you will. If I did I'd probably be pissing myself or begging or something."  So far, all of this sounded right to him. He both sounded and looked a little sad as he continued.

"I'm pretty sure that like, yeah, you're a shark, and I'm swimming with them, but you're this cool shark who sort of nuzzled up to me, and now I can like... grab your fin or whatever, and you can steer me around the-" He frowned, trying to maintain the analogy. "The umm, cove or whatever, I guess? If I'm wrong I'm totally fucked no matter what. Like, I'm in the cove. Right now I'm kind of maybe thinking I don't want to be anymore cuz it's turning out the cool shark is sort of mean. Oh oh oh!" His tone got a little more animated as he realized another point he could make. "And like, yeah, you guys are sharks but I'm not just some helpless seal or whatever. I'm at least a dolphin. Or like, a smaller kind of shark, maybe?" His brow knit and he shook his head. "You get the idea." He folded his arms across his chest as he finished.

[Trillian]

As Zeph froze and blinked and processed, Ben sat back a little - not quite retreating all the way but not leaving his sphere of

intimidation

influence over Zeph, either. When the nymph replied without making a show of drawing himself up or hinting with his body language that he was about to defend himself, Ben was surprised. He'd expected apologies or pleas, certainly not a logical discussion. Ben had to re-assess his quick dismissal of the youth and found he couldn't disagree with Zeph's words.

Then Zeph started talking about sharks, and his language was descriptive enough that Ben was picturing him in a pool of water, being dragged around by Ben-shark - who was a shark whose head ended with Ben's face, it made no sense but that was what his mind threw at him - and his expression changed in an instant. He could feel it on his face, the twitching lips and pulling muscles that suppressed the bubble of laughter. He thought he could hold it in even though the Ben-shark imagery was far too weird to stay serious about. And then Zeph called himself a dolphin and he was lost; the laughter burst out of him - if a few chuckles could be considered 'bursting out'.

Ben plopped himself back on the opposite side of the chair again, this time with his foot on the seat and his knee up where he draped his arm over it. The laughter was gone already, but a broad smile remained and his anger had dissipated back to zero. Well, a little bit of annoyance remained because he could smell the vape-pen, but Zeph's unexpected rebuttal had worked wonders on Ben.

[suneater]

A hint of a smile returned to Zeph's lips when Ben laughed. He'd been fairly serious about the extension of Ben's aquatic metaphor, but in hindsight was capable of realizing it was a little silly. What really mattered was that Ben hadn't doubled down on his angry pseudo-threats. He'd relaxed, bringing them back to the position they'd been before Zeph withdrew his vape. He left that lying on the cushions where Ben had knocked it, even if he still really wanted to get a little stoned. He was a little proud of himself for having found some clarity without it, though.

He was back to toying with the pillow as he regarded Ben. The silence would spool between them, verging on awkwardness. Truth be told, Zeph was hoping for some sort of apology, but when it didn't come he realized he didn't need it.

"So um, what now?" One of his fingertips disappeared into the tassel of the pillow before poking back out. He was trying to be casual, but Ben might detect a hint of fear in his tone. He might have been right about the Ben shark, after all, but he was still in the water, and apparently his scent was as good as chum. Ben's words hadn't been lost on him, and Zeph had no qualms relying on his only ally. His thoughts turned to Rodrigo and a his expression darkened slightly. Nope, can't do that now. He could process that friendship when he was safely away from the danger that friend had put him in.

[Trillian]

Any hope he'd had on charming Zeph into allowing a bite was gone. He soured and the smile dimmed, but Ben was mostly lost in his thoughts, assessing how this could have gone better if he'd just talked a little more about being a vampire, or if he'd let Zeph smoke his pen-thing, or if he hadn't had a tantrum about not getting what he wanted.

Not one of your better moments, Benny-boy

No, it wasn't, but he could hardly undo it now. He could see the appeal, finally, of wiping a mortal's mind and starting fresh. He wouldn't have minded leading Zeph back out to the lounge, sat him down, unravelled his memories to a certain point and started again. Like a Choose Your Own Adventure book with cheats installed and paranormal prizes.

Zeph's voice broke into his reverie. What now, indeed? He stared at the nymph and sighed. The Sacramentum would be uber-pissed to find out Zeph had entered the club cluelessly. That hadn't happened in years, so it was something Ben couldn't ignore. The vampire clan wasn't averse to reading minds and they might find that knowledge in Ben's. If he didn't report it or do something about it...

"Now we go find your friend - Rodrigo, was it? - and find out what's going on."

Zeph didn't have much of a say in the matter, but he could try.

Ben stood to pluck the vape-pen off the cushions and handed it to the nymph. He didn't know how to turn it off and if the other wanted to use it, then so be it. They weren't going to be stuck in a small room together, now.

[suneater]

Zeph briefly wondered if Ben had read his mind. He'd been thinking about Rodrigo, then suddenly the vampire had said his name. If he hadn't already been frowning, he probably would have started. That sort of thing seemed like a pretty severe invasion of privacy to him. He considered asking him point blank, but then he also considered that things between them were rocky enough without some kind of accusation added on top. No, he'd give him the benefit of the doubt. It made sense for them to find Rodrigo for a few reasons. First, he was probably getting worried about Zeph (he hoped). Second, he definitely had some explaining to do. Last but not least... well, Zeph could understand Ben possibly wanting to unload him on someone else. He was still pretty sure that Ben was looking out for him, but he might also be interested in being relieved of that particular responsibility.

Zeph's brow furrowed. This was the second time this week that a complete stranger had protected him. The first time he'd been unwary, and this time he'd misplaced his trust. He deflated a little realizing how helpless he really was, and how much more careful he needed to be. He did sort of like it, though. He had plenty of people in the city who cared about him, but few that cared for him. Was that why he was still so invested in getting to know Ben better?

He realized that he'd yet to reply, and that Ben was offering him his pen back. He took it, holding down the button to turn it off, and then rose fluidly from the couch. He tucked the vape back into his pocket and offered Ben a strange little smile. "Before we go any further, I just wanted to say... thanks. A lot of, uh, people, probably would have not been cool sharks." He rubbed at his neck, then blinked rapidly and tore his hand away. Self-consciousness flooded his features. "Sorry. Is that like... I mean, I don't wanna be a neck-tease or whatever."

[Trillian]

Ben was trying to figure out how to hold Zeph's hand. He needed to grab onto it to lead the mortal back into the club, but mostly to ensure that Zeph didn't slink away because he needed him to make a statement to the Sacramentum.

Ben couldn't remember seeing anyone from the Sacrament in here, but because of his intimacies with Charon, he'd recognised the sensation of the Ancient's pull. Nobody had influence in the same way that a 4000+ year old vampire did. It would be weird, making contact with Charon now after their history together. He had to get past his awkwardness in order to properly report this incident though.

He gave Zeph a guilty look, but the nymph was shoving the vape-pen into his pocket and not really paying attention. When he met Ben's eyes, he gave him a tepid smile and spoke. Cool sharks? Ben was a cool shark. He actually kinda liked that and it made him smile. Then Zeph moved his hand away from his neck rather harshly and said the most peculiar thing. It sounded a bit like neck-ties so at first Ben imagined that until his perception caught up.

Neck-tease?

The association was easy enough to make, considered what bodypart was usually involved in the 'tease' statement. For a brief second, Ben considered just letting it go, but then his true nature circled around.

"Drinking blood isn't like sex, even though the groupies here like it as much and a willing body will generally leads to it. But if I drink from someone unwilling, it isn't rape," he insisted. The idea of it made him extremely uncomfortable.

[suneater]

Zeph really wouldn't have minded Ben holding his hand. The odds were very good that if the other boy started leading, he'd find Zeph reaching out.

The nymph blinked slowly. He hadn't really made the connection between blood and sex- the words had just sort of flowed out. He was more thinking of it like eating a bunch of parmesan fries in front of a friend who was on a diet (which he had admittedly once done, making it the closest related experience he could think of to draw a comparison from). Biting during sex was fun, sure, but only like... playful bites. Not the kind that drew blood. He hated having blood drawn, and was basically imagining that being fed on would feel a lot like that, only worse.

"I mean, I'm not a legal scholar or anything but it's prooooobably assault." He was pretty sure it was assault, actually, but decided to use some uncertainty to soften the implications. He almost brought up the fact that he was a vegetarian and wasn't really a fan of anything being hurt to sustain him, but then he realized what an asshole that would make him. He knew nothing about Ben's circumstances. Ben pretty easily might not have chosen to become a vampire, and now that he was one, he didn't really have a choice in the matter. A lot of the shows he'd seen featured regular people being turned against their will. He felt a little bad just for thinking it, and Ben would find Zeph looking a little apologetic for no discernible reason.

He needed some perspective. His sky blue eyes met Ben's gaze, and he pursed his lips before asking: "What, um, is it like then?"

[Trillian]

Assault, yes, Ben could agree with that. A vampire biting from an unwilling donor was assault in the same way a lion assaulted a gazelle when it was hunting it down. Difference being that unwilling donors could walk away.

The question Zeph posed had him musing. What is the bite like? For those being bitten it felt good... erotic, sexy. It lowered inhibitions, it made a person horny and full of desire. It was like bathing in dopamine. He didn't want to say anything along those lines because it would make a bite without consent sound... well... rapey.

"Um..."

Maybe he should tell Zeph it was like licking a poisonous frog and getting high, but the metaphor had the licker the other way around.

What is going on inside your head, Ben?

At first he thought it was his own mind chastising him, but the sensation of raw confusion startled him into realising Charon must have sensed Ben's thinking about him and then got impatient. Or he'd just peeked anyway. Ben swore softly and focussed on the most important person in the club.

I'm with someone who didn't know about vampires, and they got into Venture.

There was a pause, and Ben stared at Zeph without seeing him.

Bring him to me.

Of course Ben would be with a 'him', but he felt self-conscious that Charon might think he was having fun with donors after his sire had returned.

"There are no words. Come on," Ben said, holding out his hand for Zeph to take.

[suneater]

Zeph awaited Ben's response. Then he awaited it a little longer. Then he realized Ben was completely spaced out. It was only for a few seconds, but Zeph was something of a connoisseur when it came to spacing out, so he definitely recognized it when he saw it. He was just about to say something cheesy like Earth to Ben, come in Ben when the vampire snapped out of it. The non-answer wasn't particularly satisfying to him, but the outstretched hand was... oddly welcome. Maybe he should have been a little scared, but as he reached out and took Ben's tepid hand, he realized that he really did trust him.

"Okay, then... I mean, is it okay for me to ask questions?" He asked it a little meekly. Being blown off like that, he wasn't sure if Ben was going to tell him anything. It seemed like there were normal people like Rodrigo or those jocks who knew things, though, so how had they found out? "I'm just trying to like, understand a little, I guess."

Ben would find Zeph a pretty compliant follower when he tugged him along. Holding Ben's hand made him feel safer, and he had to suppress a nervous giggle when he imagined himself actually holding onto a fin and being dragged out of the feeding cubicle and back into the club at large.

[Trillian]

Zeph took his hand and Ben felt a bit better about how their night had started. He'd ventured into asshole territory and Zeph had even called him out on it. He'd... liked that. It had been a relief to be able to laugh it off. He didn't have any emotions invested into Zeph, but he didn't want to cut off all ties completely because, well, maybe on another night Ben could win back his trust and be offered...

No, he couldn't think like that. People weren't put on this planet just for him. It was dangerously close to how ancients without any regard for people's lives thought. Ben was only a decade old - why was that starting now? He needed moral compasses in his life. Vampires like Vincent. Like his sire, Kerr.

"Sure, ask me what you like. I'll answer everything I can." He unlocked the door and led them out of the cubicle. Returning to the lounge, Zeph unloaded as many questions as he could and Ben shot answers. It was also a great way of potentially distracting Zeph that they weren't just heading into the lounge but moving directly across it, to enter the uncurtained corridor - where Rodrigo had disappeared, in fact. Ben didn't know for sure where Charon was, he was mostly following the sensation of the Ancient. On the way he saw a couple of the Sacramentum Family, but other than looking his way, they didn't acknowledge him.

Soon enough they were in front of some wooden doors, where a carving of a robed ferryman on a rowboat transported two huddled figures across a river; the Styx.