Chapter 21: First bite

After their talk with the two giants, Chavu and Marcellus left them to chat. Becca, the giantess who Chavu had summoned, had agreed to live with Robert, even as only roommates.

That had gotten the giant's hopes up, and he had gifted her with the necklace he had gotten from the jewelry box. When the two had left, Becca was giggling to Robert's jokes, and he was trying to get her to eat some of the cookies he had offered to Chavu.

"I am surprised that the system had nothing against me using 500 mana points for something that won't benefit the dungeon," Chavu said. He rested next to the small stream that cut through the forest, his tail's tip in the cool water.

"Becca will benefit the dungeon indirectly. But aren't you forgetting something?" Marcellus edged closer to Chavu, and he sat by him.

"Forget? Ah, you wanted blood. Sure, go ahead," Chavu washed his hands in the stream, and offered his wrist to Marcellus.

"I wish to take a couple of sips from your neck," Marcellus reached out, and ran his fingers over the creamy skin. His smile was soft, bathed in moonlight as he was.

Chavu blinked a couple of times, not understanding why the vampire was behaving so.

"My neck? Ok, I don't see why not," Chavu shrugged, and scooped up some water in his hands, then, he proceeded to wash his neck.

 He had spent the entire day lugging heavy things and getting sweaty. That was not the impression he wanted Marcellus to have of him.

"Allow me," Marcellus scooped up some water too, and deposited it on Chavu's neck, which he then proceeded to massage gently.

"Hm, this feels nice," Chavu relaxed as Marcellus scooped a bit more water, and this time poured it on the Naga's chest. "Uhm, Marcy, don't you need just the neck?"

"Allow me this. I promise I won't take liberties," Marcellus told him, and Chavu could feel mana seeping into the vampire's voice.

"Are you trying to use persuasion on me?" Chavu stammered. Marcellus chuckled, as his red eyes looked into Chavu's.

"I might be. Do I need to?" The vampire all but purred.

 Chavu gulped. What was happening here?

"I already gave you permission to drink from me," Chavu leaned away from Marcellus's hands. The vampire reached out and took a hold of the Naga's shoulder and placed him back in his former position.

"I have been awfully lonely, Chavu," Marcellus said, his tone gentle. Warning bells began to ring in Chavu's mind. Ok, this was not good. Chavu couldn't afford to alienate Marcellus. The vampire was his main line of defense.

Yet, in all of Chavu's 220 years of life, he had stayed away from relationships. They were tricky, left a sour taste in your mouth once they were over, and unpredictable.

"Let me tell you a couple of things?" Marcellus asked of him.

 Chavu nodded.

"When I first saw you, I thought that you wouldn't last the week. That the system will turn you into a crystal, and I will have to hire a new boss mob to protect you," Chavu blinked.

Well, it was heartening to know that Marcellus had not believed in him. Not.

"And now?" Chavu asked, as Marcellus's hands resumed massaging his neck. He had to admit it felt nice. The vampire was working out all the soreness of the workday from Chavu's neck.

The Naga wondered if he could get away with asking for a full-body massage, or would it send Marcellus the wrong message? He really had to be careful with how he handled this.

"Now, I think the system will never force you to become a crystal. You are far too useful to her the way you are. Able to show kindness to the mobs, and the like," Marcellus told him with a grin.

 Chavu blinked. He had seen the vampire smirk at him many times, but his grins were better. More open and carefree.

"Yet, you have to admit that there is no way that you are in love with me," Chavu was raised to believe in cold, hard, facts. So, he stated the one he was certain of.

"That will come," Marcellus's hands went lower, and he leaned into Chavu's personal space a bit more, climbing into his lap.

"Marcellus," Chavu warned. The Naga was not going to be anyone's toy! No matter how much he needed them!

"Give me a chance, us a chance," Marcellus corrected himself, and wrapped his legs around Chavu's torso. "And I will make this sweet for you."

Chavu bit his lower lip. He could do that, or he could deny the vampire. Either way, he stood to lose much.

If he allowed for Marcellus to wrap him around his finger, then, he would cite control over himself. That was something Chavu had always been afraid of.

If he didn't allow for this to continue, then Marcellus might leave. Then, Chavu would be defenseless. Sure, he would have Alaric, the gnomes, and the goblins. Maybe even Gregory, although the bard did not look like a fighter.

But Marcellus's absence will be felt eventually.

"You must agree to take this slow," Chavu said with a bated breath. He needed time to get his mind on board with the idea of sharing his life with someone.

"I was not going to rush you. I simply wanted to get my feeling out in the open," Marcellus defended himself, and his fangs grazed Chavu's neck. "May I?"

"You may," the hold Marcellus had on Chavu tightened, and the fangs sunk. Chavu felt a slight pain, like he had pricked himself with a very thick needle, then, a numbness spread over him.

The Naga stood still as the vampire drank from him. He noticed that one of Marcellus's hands was now in his hair, playing with the long locks, yet Chavu continued to sit and wait.

When Marcellus was done, he pressed his nose to the bitten spot and nuzzled it. Chavu sucked in a breath.

He felt marked, confused, and warm all over. There was only one question on his mind left. A question which screamed like a thousand and one giants:

How do they go forward?