"Fuck me…" Alain groaned as he pushed his way into the room he'd rented for the night. They'd thankfully managed to find a small tavern a few blocks away from the church that was willing to accommodate them for a few days. It had been easier to arrange than expected, though presumably that had a lot to do with the handful of cash they'd offered the proprietor to ignore the fact that he was hosting a vampire and Az.

In any case, the four of them had retired to their rooms almost the instant it'd been made clear that this was where they'd be staying. Alain let out a wide yawn as he made his way over to the bed and kicked off his boots, undid his gun belt, and went to pull off his vest.

He'd just started to disrobe when there was a knock at the door.

"It's me," Sable said quietly. "Open up."

Immediately, Alain paused midway through removing his vest, then slid it back up onto his shoulders and made his way over to the door. He unlocked it and threw it open, and was met by Sable standing there; she didn't even wait for his permission before stepping into his room. Alain shut the door behind her, then turned back to her.

"Something on your mind?" he asked. "Because we've been meeting like this a lot more frequently than usual."

Sable shrugged. "Figured now was as good a time as ever to check how you've been progressing with your magic."

"Oh. Well, sorry to say, but aside from practicing with that one small rune occasionally, I haven't had much of a chance to do anything else."

"That's fine, Alain. I don't expect you to do much more than that for now. I just wanted to make sure you were at the very least continuing to 'play around' with the rune a bit, even if it's just slipping a hand into your pocket and trying to conjure something incredibly small using it."

"Well, good to know that I'm still keeping to your standards, at least."

Sable took a seat on the edge of the bed, and Alain joined her, sitting down next to her. A moment passed before he cleared his throat.

"So, what's on your mind?" he asked.

"I'm just thinking, is all," she offered. "Trying to piece together what we've learned since getting here."

Alain shook his head. "Somehow, it just keeps getting more complicated, doesn't it?"

"It does," Sable confirmed. "And honestly, I can't seem to make it all fit together. I mean, we've got that thing with Az and the books, and these cultists, not to mention the missing senator… it all seems so separate from everything else, you know?"

"Yes, I see what you mean. I suppose the important thing now is to focus on the task at hand, though. We're here in San Antonio, so we might as well focus on the cult, first and foremost."

"I suppose you're right…" Sable's brow suddenly furrowed. "By the way, what's your take on the Catholic Church being involved?"

"Honestly, I don't know how I feel about them," Alain admitted. "They seem to have good intentions, at least, though the thought of them all being professional monster killers is worrisome, given that you two are here with me." A thought occurred to Alain, and he looked back over to Sable. "Not to change the subject, but that little tidbit of information we got from Az… I don't know how I feel about that, either. I mean, I always figured he was connected to the Underworld somehow, but I get the sense that he's far more connected than either of us would have expected."

"No way to know for sure at this point, unfortunately," Sable grumbled, crossing her arms. "Not to say that I don't trust him, more to say that I'd like to know more about what he's unable to tell us. But I suppose that will have to wait."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Unfortunately. But anyway, to bring it back to your original question… the Catholic Church, or at least the priests and nuns who make up its monster-hunting organization, seem more than competent enough. I'm less worried about that and more worried about them directing that competency towards us instead, if you know what I mean."

Sable gave him a nod. "Yes, I think that's understandable. For now, at least, they seem helpful enough. A watchful eye is probably warranted when dealing with them, but there is no need to make them hostile to us yet."

"I can agree with that." Alain stretched his arms out, his joints popping a bit as he did so. "By the way, what's your take on where we should go next? I think Mister Wicks could be investigated a bit more – just a funny feeling I have – but I have no idea how to do that."

"He's a successful businessman," Sable pointed out. "I'm sure he has holdings all throughout town. Maybe we could start by checking some of them out?"

"That's as good a lead as anything else we've got, I suppose," Alain admitted. Realization flashed through his mind, and he sat up a bit straighter, turning to her in surprise. "Hey, when's the last time you've eaten, anyway? You must be hungry."

"I… could stand to feed," she admitted.

"Well, shit, all you have to do is ask." Alain loosened his collar, lowering his shirt enough to expose the side of his neck a bit. "You know the drill – try not to make me light-headed," he teased.

To his surprise, Sable hesitated, staring at him with a strange look on her face. Before he could ask what was wrong, her expression tightened.

"...You know, I don't think I've ever established just how unusual this arrangement is," she admitted.

"I mean, I know it's weird-"

"Not just weird, but unprecedented," Sable amended. "Most humans would never willingly offer themselves to a vampire in such a way – they fear us losing control and turning them into a Thrall, or otherwise giving into our bloodlust and draining them completely."

"I think you've proven already just how much you can be trusted," Alain told her.

Again, she hesitated. "...I have never thanked you properly for doing this, have I?" she asked.

Alain blinked, surprised. "Well, no, but I always thought it was implied. I mean, saving my life ought to be proof enough that you're thankful for it."

"Still, I just want you to know that I appreciate you putting this much faith in me," Sable said. She turned towards him, and did something unexpected.

She gave him a small, thankful smile, just wide enough to show off the tips of her fangs.

"Thank you, Alain," she said.

Again, Alain blinked as he stared at her for a moment. A few seconds ticked by before he cleared his throat and turned away, a faint dusting of red crossing his face.

"Yeah, don't mention it," he said.

And then he leaned towards her, offering her his neck. She was quick to oblige him, latching onto his neck before gently biting into him and beginning to drink. Alain let out a small grunt of discomfort, but did his best not to move too much as she fed. He'd done this for her many times, obviously, but it never really got any less uncomfortable, even though he was more than willing to keep doing it.

After all, Sable still needed to eat, and it was either him or preying on some random person. And between those two options, he knew which one he preferred.

Thankfully, it never took her more than a few seconds to drink her fill, even though he knew that if she wanted to, she could have absolutely given into her baser instincts and bled him dry. That had to have been hard for her, he suddenly realized; it was entirely likely that she could drink more than she did even without it being dangerous to him, enough to leave her satisfied for far longer than she ordinarily was, and yet she refrained from doing so, presumably because she didn't want to cause him more pain or discomfort than she absolutely had to.

In all likelihood, Sable was probably choosing to mostly go hungry because of him.

She pulled away from his neck, licking the last few drops of blood from her lips. Alain clamped a hand over the bite marks, then with his other hand, reached into his pocket for a small bandage and began to wrap it around his neck.

"Was that enough for you?" he asked her.

"It was plenty," she confirmed.

"Are you sure? Because I can give you more if you need it. I know I said not to make me lightheaded, but I'm about to go to sleep, so-"

"It's more than enough," she insisted.

Alain couldn't help but narrow his gaze at her. She had never been a great liar, but he wasn't about to press the issue if she didn't want to discuss it now.

"Alright, fine," he conceded. "But I just want you to know that it does you no good to be on the verge of starving yourself just because you want to save me a little discomfort. If you ever need more, just let me know, I'll accommodate you."

Sable seemed taken aback by that. She stared at him in confusion for a few seconds before giving him a small nod. "...Thanks," she said quietly.

"Yeah, don't mention it." Alain finished securing the bandage to his neck, then cast a glance outside the nearby window, looking for the moon's position in the sky. By his estimate, it was now just after nine at night; pretty early for them to be turning in for the night, though not surprising, given they were all absolutely exhausted.

"Was there anything else you wanted to discuss, Sable?" he asked, turning back to her.

She thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, nothing that I can think of. I guess I'll leave you at that, then."

She stood up off the bed and made her way to the door, only to pause when she was at the threshold. Alain watched her for a moment, and she looked over her shoulder and back to him.

"Thanks again," she offered.

He waved her off. "Yeah, don't mention it. Anything for you, Sable – you're my friend, after all."

"Friends…" she muttered. After a moment, she shook her head. "Goodnight, Alain. I'll see you in the morning, Alain."

"See you then, Sable. Rest well."

With that, she left him, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind her as she went. Alain stared at the door for a moment before shaking his head and returning to disrobing.

Sable had always been a bit strange, as was befitting of a vampire, but tonight felt different, somehow. He wasn't sure how or why that was, but it was a feeling he just couldn't shake.

Still, he supposed it made no difference; they had an important job to do, and with any luck, they'd be one step closer to completing it once the sun rose and they were able to poke around San Antonio just a bit more.

Hopefully, it led them to something helpful.