The vampire had not taken kindly to his statement... at all. Unfortunately, Marquise only had a scratch across the left side of his face for his efforts instead of a broken neck. Not only that, but instead of giving him a chance to make him more upset, and possibly finally kill him, the man dismissed himself with some worthless excuse of being needed elsewhere.

No wonder he'd tried to have me dispatched immediately at the lake.

Pursing his lips, Marquise looked around the decent sized room. It seemed like it had original been a nursery or small sewing room. Everything was tidy and there was nothing unnecessary lying around.

Except for me.

Smirking at his own poor joke, Marquise slowly rolled back onto his side, then, with the help of the pillows, managed to get himself partially sitting up. It had taken all of his effort and remaining energy, but the task had been completed and he was honestly quite proud of himself.

Baby steps.

He wanted to get to the small balcony past the single door at the far side of the room, but while the distance was nothing to most people, and likely wouldn't even be an issue for an infant, he knew that it would be a monumentous task for himself. With a useless right hand and two legs that were rotted to the bone, he knew that getting outside and over that small railing would be the biggest challenge of his lifetime.

I don't even know if I have any energy left to push this blanket off of me, let alone crawl across the floor.

He was just considering his next move when his mind suddenly grew hazy and he drifted off to sleep, just like that.

The next thing he knew he was hearing faint voices nearby and the rustling of different items on a table. He thought that he could feel a small pinprick in his right wrist, but considering how bad the rot was there, he was probably just making it up. Most of that area had already gone numb a long while ago.

"I'm not sure what's going to happen this time, but I can't not try. Even if master disapproves of saving you, I just... I can't let you go just like that."

Ah, he came back.

He was glad that it hadn't been the elder vampire, to be honest. If the man was just going to stare at him and not kill him, but not bother trying to help him, either, what use was he?

"Oh, I can sense you a little bit. Are you awake, hun?" Taru asked as he pressed a cool hand to Marquise's forehead.

Not wanting to be rude, since the man treated him well, Marquise slowly opened his left eye, then blinked a few times to clear his vision.

"I went and got a few more pieces of pie after I fed yesterday, would you like to try some other flavors?" he asked, then added, "I also ground up the crust from the other one, so that's available, too."

You're such a sweetheart, unlike your stubbornly-aggressive sire.

"I asked my master if I could try his blood in a transfusion, too, since things weren't progressing well enough with just human blood," Taru said, making Marquise frown.

I appreciate the effort, but please just let me die... and now I know why that transfusion is making me shiver.

He was just about to voice his concerns when the scent of sweet cherries met his nose. Swallowing, he looked past Taru until his eyes landed on a small container that had its lid partially open. Inside of it were three pieces of pie.

I... think I can stay alive for a little longer. What was the harm, anyways?

"Do you feel anything from the blood yet? I'm trying to see if I can get your right hand working again, though I know that it's a longshot. I did scrape out some of the worst of the rot and bandaged it up while you were asleep, though," Taru said as he reached over and gently checked it.

His sad expression left much to be desired, but Marquise wasn't worried. Nothing had ever truly reversed damage sustained by silver in werewolves. Hell, most of the time that damage was fatal before anyone could even try, and even the rare few cases he'd seen that managed to get to a hospital weren't correctable. If the wolf managed to live, it had permanent muscle or neurological damage. If certain areas weren't as badly affected, they might heal up a bit, but there was only so much that could be done.

I should have been dead long ago. My wolf taking on the majority of the silver illness is all that has likely kept me going, but after being sealed away, I'm getting what I deserve.

He paused for a moment in his thought, then looked up at the doctor.

"How did you get your master to donate blood?" he asked.

Taru quickly looked away, then turned around altogether and picked up the box of cake.

"Do you want any?" he asked, changing the subject, like Marquise had figured he would.

If you don't want to tell me, then that's fine. You're not blushing, so at least it wasn't anything like that.

"The cherry one, please," he said, allowing the man to shrug off his previous question.

Taru quickly took the piece of pie out of the box and set it on a waiting plate, then settled himself on the edge of the bed and began helping Marquise slowly eat. It took him nearly an hour, but he managed to finish the entire piece, much to Taru's delight.

The man set aside the empty plate once he was done, then turned back to smile at him.

"Would you like to bathe, by chance? I know that you've been stuck in this bed for a while, and perhaps some warm water will help your damaged muscles?" he said, clearly a little nervous that he might decline, but also hopeful that he might accept.

A bath actually does sound nice. I'm sure I could use one.

"Sure, if you wouldn't mind helping me. I'd really appreciate it," he said honestly.

Besides dying, a good bath seemed like the next best thing.

Taru quickly got the food he'd brought put away, then set it off to the side before walking over with a big smile on his face.

"Alright, is it okay if I carry you? I'm not sure if you can start walking on your damaged legs quite yet," he said, making Marquise have to hold back a bit of laughter.

I'll never be walking on these legs again, love, but it's sweet of you to think I one day could.

"It's okay, thank you for the trouble," Marquise said.

Taru gave a quick nod, then carefully removed the blanket from on top of Marquise, as well as the transfusion line that had finished a short time ago. After a few moments of hesitant rearranging, Taru had Marquise's frail body in his arms.

Wow, I didn't realize I was this thin.

He'd lost a ton of weight, and where he'd once been decently-muscled, only pale skin and protruding bones remained.

I'm a skeleton. Even with the pie and transfusions, there's no way I can come back from this.

He was just beginning to allow his mind to wander off into unintended depression when his body was shifted around a bit, then a firm hand began rubbing his bony back. No words came from the man carrying him toward the stairs. There wasn't really much to say, anyways. Once downstairs, they took a turn, then headed down a short hallway before stopping in front of a door.

"Here we are," Taru said as he carefully opened the door, then stepped inside.

Oh, wow.

It was definitely a bathing room, but instead of having a normal tub, there was a large depression carved out of the floor and a beautiful pond-like structure built within it. He had never seen anything like it in his sixty-some years, and doubted he'd ever see another, even if he somehow lived to a werewolf's full life expectancy of nearly two-hundred.

"My master liked to play around with architecture quite a bit when he built this house. He wasn't impressed with the regular sized tubs, so he had this one built with a specific pump to allow it to fill without needing servants to run back and forth for an hour," he said as he carefully walked over to the pumping device and got it started.

Once the water began to come out, he looked over toward the door just in time for a servant to step inside. They had a large pan of sizzling coals in their hand and quickly went down a tiny staircase to slide it into its spot beneath the tub.

Such an odd room.

Even so, Marquise stared at each and every little thing, a bit in awe of the planning it must have taken to complete such a strange area.

"Is there a full room down those stairs?" he asked as he tried to lift himself a little higher in Taru's arms in order to see better... but failed miserably.

Feeling the doctor give a quiet chuckle where their body's were pressed against each other, Marquise tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.

"You have the cutest facial expressions," Taru said instead of answering his question.

Marquise scowled, but the man didn't seem bothered. Instead, he carefully stepped down into the tub using a small set of stairs built into the inside of it.

"I probably should have rolled my pants up but I doubt it will matter," Taru said as he gently sat Marquise down on a sloped, carved seat.

"Do you think you can stay upright for a moment? Oh, and there is a little room down there, but it's not attached to the basement," he asked as he held his right shoulder with one hand while reaching behind him to get a pillow situated for his neck.

"I'll be okay, thank you," Marquise said as the warming water began to rise toward his knees.

The pump was slowing down as Taru turned back around to climb out, so he gave it a few more good pumps, then got out and retrieved a small bucket of soaps and a few washcloths. He watched him as he gathered his things, but right before the man returned to the tub, Marquise felt a sudden lurch in his chest as his heart gave a surprisingly hard thump, then stopped altogether.

I...?

His vision began to blur as a massive headache pulsed between his ears, making his body sway. He did his best to keep himself from falling into the rising water, because if this really was the end, he didn't want it to be by drowning. He was just beginning to black out when he felt an arm tightly wrap around him right before a hand firmly pressed against the back of his head.

"I've got you, hun. You won't drown," Taru said as he held him close, even though his voice sounded like it was so terribly far away.

Marquise struggled to pull himself out of the encroaching darkness, but he knew that it would be fruitless in the end. His heart had stopped, and since Taru wasn't trying to restart it, he knew that it wouldn't be of any use.

At least someone's here for me. It's more than I deserve.

With that final thought, he settled against the other man and finally stopped trying to fight. Within seconds his mind was pulled into darkness and not a few moments later, most of his senses abruptly vanished. The last thing he felt before everything ended were Taru's gentle fingers softly holding the back of his head.

"He's still not responding. Is it really too late?"

"Sometimes it just doesn't work. You forget, a body has to be strong enough in the first place, and you know that his was already nearing its end. Besides, he's a wolf. No one has ever tried it with a wolf... or wanted to," a familiar voice said.

Ah, the elder vampire.

The sound of sniffling echoed around the area, as if someone were crying. It was an odd thought. Surely they weren't crying for him?

Why can I still hear, anyways? Am I not quite dead yet?

"Taru, come here."

Marquise listened as he heard someone walk across the room, figuring that it was the doctor obeying his master. He waited for several moments, curious about what else they intended to say, but then something caught his attention from within.

A strange, twisting pain enveloped his midsection, then began spreading outward. It was an extremely odd sensation, as if someone were pulling all of his veins inward, trying to remove most of them from his body and stuff them all into his stomach. The pain got so bad that he was finally forced to give a near-silent gasp.

"Master! He's back!"

Before Vrasje could even respond, Marquise felt the bed dip suddenly on his left side, then warm fingers press between his lips.

"Bite down, Marquise," Taru said, eagerness and excitement in his voice.

He didn't really want to, but there wasn't anything he had to lose by listening to the man, either. So, with as much effort as he could, he bit the man's palm.

Oh... right, I have zero energy.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I've got it," Taru said as he quickly removed his hand, then did something before putting it back between his lips.

At first Marquise was confused, but when he felt the familiar tang of blood drip down onto his tongue, he furrowed his brows and tried to turn his head away. He felt another set of hands gently grasp either side of his face at that moment, making it impossible to remove the palm partially tucked between his lips.

"Taru, there are going to be consequences for doing this to someone without their permission," Vrasje said, making Marquise's tired mind finally begin to put the pieces together.

He'd had a feeling because of the blood the doctor was force-feeding him, but he had really hoped that his hunch had been wrong.

"I understand," Taru replied calmly, though a hint of excitement was still audible within his words, too.

"Master, to think that we could actually accomplish something like this, though. Is it not incredible?" the man continued as Marquise began to feel a strange chill spread throughout his limbs.

Wait a second...

He was breathing, but it was much slower than he was used to.

I need to breathe. That's probably why I'm not feeling well.

Of course, that was obviously the wrong idea, but he was beginning to panic, so whether it made sense or not, he was going to try and rectify it.

"Oh, hang on, sweetheart. You don't need to worry. It's okay, calm down," Taru said as he moved his other hand up to gently pat his hair.

He could hear someone sighing nearby and figured that Vrasje was becoming even more unamused by their little situation.

"Wait a second... have you bitten him yet to solidify your claim to him as your heir? His body won't accept a change if that isn't done."

They really are trying to turn me into a vampire.

It was a humorous idea, at best. He was a werewolf, not a human. Granted, he'd never heard of anyone trying to do such a thing to a werewolf, because he doubted that one would just willingly be changed... let alone approached without a fight.

"N-no, I didn't want to scare him," Taru said, his voice suddenly nervous and unsure.

Vrasje gave another sigh. This time, however, it was louder and quite annoyed as he removed his hands and, surprisingly, grabbed Taru's and removed it from his mouth, as well.

"You needed to bite him before you did the exchange!" he growled out in frustration.

He's trying to change me into a vampire... but he did it backwards.

Marquise figured that it was just his luck.

He heard Taru fretting out a bit of gibberish before his head was gently guided to the side, then teeth awkwardly pressed against his skin. The guy seemed hesitant to bite, which wasn't a surprise. He was skin and bones, after all. There probably wasn't a decent bit of blood left in his body that didn't taste like silver and death.

Even so, those teeth carefully took hold of a small bit of skin after he'd licked it a bit, then, finally, bit down hard enough to break through. It stung a little, but with all of the other forms of pain he'd been going through recently, it didn't really amount to much. He'd probably used his saliva to numb the area, too.

"You need to drink, then cycle the blood through your body before feeding it back to him," Vrasje said right before he felt the bed dip on his left side again.

He also felt Taru nod where he continued to drink from his shoulder. The entire task took nearly an hour to complete, but by the time he'd been fed his blood back, Marquise was honestly feeling a tiny bit better. Not to say that he was doing well by any means, since his heart was still just-barely beating and his insides felt like they were being churned together like butter, but his panic had ebbed and his mind had cleared well enough.

"That's all you can do. Now you have to wait and see how his body handles the change," Vrasje said.

Taru gave an affirmative mumble, then crawled off the bed.

"I'm going to go feed again, can you watch him for just a few minutes, please?"

"Yes, go," Vrasje replied calmly.

Marquise felt the man's gaze on him as the other left the room, but something just didn't feel quite right. Yes, he could sense all of the changes going on within his body, but for some reason, some areas of his skin was beginning to burn instead of cool, like the rest of him.

"I figured this would happen," Vrasje said as Marquise felt the man grab his left arm with both hands and lift it slightly, then turn it this way and that.

"Didn't take you long to reject his blood, did it?" he said as his thumb ran over a particularly hot spot on his skin.

"I knew it would happen, so it's a good thing that my heir got hungry after completing the ritual," he said as he let the arm he held drop back down to the bed without much care.

Silence took over for quite some time before the man reached up and ran his thumb over one of the two holes Taru had left in Marquise's throat.

"I fully intended to let you die, even though I didn't have the willpower to break your neck myself. I knew that Taru was considering changing you, but when he asked for my blood to help further the process, I knew that you would pass away soon. Besides, such a little amount wouldn't make any difference. Hell, it probably hastened your decline, in all honesty. Especially since he forgot to bite you and cycle your blood before doing the transfusion," he said, then gave a quiet chuckle.

"Such a foolish heir I have chosen, don't you think?" he said as he pressed three fingers from his other hand against Marquise's lips.

What are you doing?

"Open your mouth, dog."

While the order had been rude and the tone of it annoyed, Marquise felt his mouth moving to obey before he could even consider responding. The man's bloody fingers slipped between his lips and after just brushing against the top row of his teeth twice, Marquise felt his jaw clamp down upon them as hard as it could. It was honestly quite pathetic since his strength was still nonexistent, but the reaction was evidently what the other man had wanted, because he then turned his attention back to the two wounds on his neck.

"I am not interested in taking another heir, nor does this town allow such a thing. I will make this clear right now, dog. I am doing this for Taru, and you will belong to him, stay at his side, and do anything he asks of you. Don't ever seek me out, no matter how much your blood calls for my attention. I am only giving his ritual enough support to allow you to pull through... possibly. If you wake up after this, you will belong to him."

Before Marquise could figure out what else the man intended to do besides simply feed him more blood, he felt his long hair faintly tickle his nose as the weight on the bed shifted slightly.

He's leaning over me?

Another moment later and he flinched the slightest amount as sharp fangs bit down on the exact two spots on his neck that were already bleeding from Taru's careful bite.

The man didn't wait before he began sucking up his blood, and before Marquise knew it, the flow from the man's slowly dripping fingers had doubled and become tinged with the taste of silver. He expected it to burn as he was forced to steadily swallow the tainted blood, but it seemed like it had been nearly purified after going through the elder's system, because, not only did it not burn at all, it actually tasted somewhat... sweet.

By the time they had finished, Marquise was teetering on the edge of sleep with an overly-full belly. He was just-barely awake enough to sense when Vrasje retracted his fangs, then leaned away and withdrew his fingers.

Not a minute later, footsteps came in through the doorway, then stopped next to his bed.

"Master left? I thought he said that he was able to watch you while I ate?" Taru asked no one in particular, since he clearly didn't expect a response from him.

"I guess he had something important to tend to," he eventually said as he leaned over and carefully tucked Marquise in after applying a small bandage to the wound on his neck, then pet his head softly before retracting his hand.

"I can tell that you're about to fall asleep. Get some rest, I'll watch over you until you wake up," he said with a smile in his words.

There were quite a lot of things Marquise wanted to say, but Taru had been right. He was definitely about to pass out, and trying to stay awake would be a lost cause. So, feeling somewhat better for the first time in a long while, Marquise allowed his tired body to relax and simply focused on his heartbeat. It was very slow, but steady, and as time stretched on and he slowly drifted off, he could almost feel it pushing and pulling the blood from his belly out into his body instead of downward toward his intestine. It was a very strange feeling, but since it didn't really hurt and was following the same tempo as his heart, he didn't fret.

What happens will happen. Until then, time to rest.