Bad Dog Chained

He stood up from his crouched position beside one of the vampire guards and frowned as he watched Andrei enter the elevator. His relationship with Andrei was... difficult. When he'd first met him, lounging in the doorway as though King of the Palace, Nykolae had hated him. He had a smug arrogance about him that just made him want to smart off. And then, he'd done physical harm to him but if it had been out of rage, he'd done an excellent job of masking his emotions. And then, like a roller coaster, he'd changed his tactics and had taken him out for the vampire version of drinks. The only way he could describe his relationship with Andrei was confusing. Why did he feel a sudden liking for the vampire? Probably because, above everything else, he hadn't tried to drink from him. He'd treated him like a normal person, in a sense, and with it, Nykolae had felt respect. Perhaps pissing off the vampire was not in his best interest. Keeping him on his good side seemed a much more logical answer. If he was so willing to take him out, no matter what Kaia thought, then perhaps, he would have more freedom in the future. Nevertheless...

He hesitated as the elevator doors opened. He was frozen on the spot. His body refused to go back up, to return to the penthouse he'd dubbed his prison and his mind was having a difficult time convincing him otherwise. No matter how many times he told himself that with the fresh human blood in his system and Andrei's bloodhound nose, he couldn't convince himself that the idea of running was a lost cause. He didn't want to imagine the physical pain Andrei would punish him with, let alone what Kaia would do. "You don't think Kaia has noticed yet, do you?" he asked, still refusing to move from his spot. He looked around at the dead guards, feeling a strange itch in his own neck. Would be die forever if Andrei decided to break his neck? He was immortal but did that stop him from dying for real? Did he really want to find out?

He didn't fight back when Andrei steered him towards the elevator and he watched the doors close, cutting off his freedom. He supposed he should be grateful Kaia hadn't found out yet. As much as he wanted to piss off the vampire, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be getting fresh human blood again to heal if she inflicted more wounds. And he had a feeling they would be far more painful. Not to mention, he hated the idea of getting Andrei in trouble. Oddly enough, he felt like he was beginning to like the vampire. He heard something snap closed and he looked over to see Andrei handing him something which he automatically took, peering down at what appeared to be a business card. Did Kaia even have a phone in her penthouse? He'd left his back at his apartment when he'd been dragged out. He had no personal belongings with him anymore, including his wallet. But instead of a smart ass remark, like he would have given Kaia, about not having a phone, he slid the card into his back pocket with an odd look. "Trouble? You mean, besides now? I'd hate to think what she plans on doing with me... After all, I haven't seen her since I'd been first brought here. Feel kind of like a trophy. Besides dumb and dumber, you are the only other person I've talked to since coming here."

He did, however, like the idea of being let off his metaphorical leash. All he would need to do was give Kaia a reason to trust him and he'd have his escape. There were thousands of places he could run to and all of them were outside the united states. If she wanted him back that bad, she'd have to work for it. But until then, he'd have to bide his time. And if Andrei could take him out every once in a while to feed him, his strength wouldn't diminish and he'd be able to go through with his plan. 

The elevator doors opened to the penthouse and once again, Nykolae didn't move. He just glared at the open space that led into the apartment. Though it did make his disdain bearable when he saw dumb and dumber dead on the floor with broken necks. Served them right. 

Of course he was steered into the penthouse like a disobedient child. He guessed it was for the best, after all. He probably would have taken off if given the chance. The door closing behind them resounded in his ears like a prison cell and he gave a sigh. As Andrei moved off towards the kitchen, Nykolae wandered back into the living room, absently pulling the knife Andrei had thrown earlier, out of the stereo and twirled it between his fingers as he collapsed backwards onto the couch. Kaia was just lucky she didn't have any guns in the house. With his ability, he would have used it to be long gone by now. He hardly ever had a reason to use his ability, mostly because he wasn't the type to attack first and ask questions later. He tended to just avoid any or all situations to keep from needing a reason to fight. 

Andrei reappeared out of the kitchen and he raised his eyebrows at him. Sure, the blood wasn't that bad but at least it was readily supplied. He thought about retorting that he didn't need him to fight his battles for him but he figured it would just cause more problems and allowed Andrei to feel the need to do something for his messed up cause. But he wouldn't give him a thank you. He stopped twirling the knife when he asked for his name and he paused. He'd never actually considered giving the vampire his name. After all, he hadn't thought they'd been on a first name basis but he supposed Andrei did give him his personal information. The least he could do was give him a name.

"Nykolae." he said, not bothering with giving his last name. Not like his human mother's name was a name that made history books. With his mother's death, the family line had died. His mother had been an only child and it wasn't like he knew his father's name.