Flynn stood up, heart singing with triumph, face glowing with self-satisfaction. He brushed his long, black hair behind one ear with his left hand and leaned sideways against the couch, relaxing his left side and propping himself up with his right. Everything had gone as he had hoped -- better even. Alesha had shown up at his dorm of her own accord, providing him with the perfect opportunity to present her with the gift he'd stolen from Thulgood Manor. He wasn't completely sure, of course, but he had every reason to believe it would help him do what he wanted to here.
"So what do you think? How do you feel?" He asked again, casually moving his head to shake his lustrous hair. He examined his nails as if disinterested, then looked up at her. His crimson eyes gleamed with excitement -- and, he hoped, allure.
Alesha stood on guard several feet away, wings instinctively raised (as if they could do anything), nails partially morphed into claws. "I'm not sure what you mean by that question," she said, relaxing cautiously. Something didn't feel right, but that wasn't enough reason to suspect that he was up to anything bad. He'd been very helpful over the last week and, though she was made uncomfortable with his overly intimate gestures, he was probably just a harmless flirt.
Hopefully.
She forced herself to completely relax, shaking out her hands and flicking her wings to dispel her nerves. Luckily, she'd gotten somewhat better at judging how much space they took up when fully extended, so there were no accidental collisions this time. She breathed deeply to calm herself further.
As she breathed deeply, she caught a whiff of something that smelled incredibly good. It made her heart race and her mouth water. Her eyes shot open, pupils narrowing to slits and tail raising itself off the ground slightly. She eagerly searched for the source of the smell. Sniffing the air, she followed the scent over to Flynn's ice chest -- the one he'd pulled meat from last time. "Hey Flynn," she asked somewhat shyly, "What have you got in here? Something smells great!"
He smiled and opened the lid. Inside, several cuts of red meat looked as if they had been placed inside just recently, as they hadn't frozen yet. "I'm surprised you could tell!" Flynn said. "I just got some high-end meat tonight, do you want some?"
Though she had eaten a few hours earlier, Alesha found herself ravenous as she stared at the juicy-looking cuts of prime meat. "Please," she managed to say instead of simply lunging at them.
"Alright, but only if you let me feed you," Flynn warned.
"Fine, fine!" Alesha said eagerly, all concerns about propriety and not giving him the wrong idea having fled at this point. That meat was utterly hypnotic -- she simply had to have it, no matter what.
Shortly afterwards, Alesha found herself partially curled up in Flynn's lap as he fed her cuts of the absolutely divine red meat one after another. He would tease her sometimes, dangling them just out of her reach, occasionally using his left hand to bind her wrists together. When he did that, she snapped at the meat with her jaws.
"You're such an adorable little demoness," Flynn cooed at her as he handed her a cut of meat the size of a steak. She grabbed it with both hands and took a big bite, quickly chewing before savagely tearing into it once again.
Using his clean left hand, Flynn stroked Alesha's wavy brown hair.
[Well isn't this an amusing situation?] A familiar, androgynous voice asked in a mocking tone within Alesha's mind.
Shut up, Alesha thought aggressively towards the System. I don't wanna talk to you right now. I wanna enjoy this meat!
[Are you sure?] the System asked teasingly. [I really thought this kind of situation was precisely what you were looking to avoid when you wanted to remain human. I must say, however, you do make for a pretty adorable pet.]
Alesha froze with her mouth open, Flynn holding a hunk of meat ready for her to bite. Wait, Rogork was back? When did that happen? And the System was right! Why the heck was she letting Flynn feed her like some kind of animal?!
She quickly rolled off of Flynn's lap and fled to the opposite side of the room, ignoring the oily raw-meat stains her hands left on the furry white chair as she gripped the back of it and hid behind it.
Hissing, wings fully extended, claws digging into the chair and tail raised, Alesha demanded, "What the hell did you do to me?"
Flynn sighed and put the piece of meat back on a plate with the rest. It was mostly empty already. He grabbed a towel from nearby and wiped his hand, then set it down in a dignified manner. "I didn't think you'd catch on so soon. You really are quick-witted, aren't you?"
The next Alesha knew, he was up close and personal again, kneeling on the chair in front of her while he gripped her left shoulder with his left hand and tilted her chin to look up at him with his right. His eyes were now glowing a fierce, passionate red and his fangs seemed more pronounced than earlier. As she watched, a pair of gently curved horns grew from the top of his head and his ears lengthened as much as an elf's would. "Hmm~~ Hm~" he chuckled, examining her as if she were a novelty to be devoured. "You are wondrous, you know," he whispered directly into her ear.
Alesha struggled, but could not escape his grip. Damn captain of the fencing team, damn half-vampire half-whatever else, he's definitely not half-human!!
"Aww, trying to leave already? Shhh~ don't worry, you won't regret staying~" he teased in a low voice, still speaking directly into her ear.
He nipped her ear gently, then backed his face off just enough to meet her eyes and caressed her face with his right hand. Wait, did he have claws now? She tried to look, but his hand tightened on her face and stopped her from doing so. "Now, now," he chastised. "That won't do. First, let's stare into each others' souls for a while, hmm~~?" With that, he forced her to meet his gaze.
Something… something was wrong with his eyes. She blinked rapidly, attempting to mitigate whatever effect it was, but found that she could no longer look away.
ROGORK, HELP ME! She screamed internally. There's something really wrong going on here! Please!!
[As happy as I am that you appreciate me now, unfortunately, there's nothing I can do in this situation.]
What do you mean?? Alesha pleaded, feeling herself approaching some kind of line, a line that those eyes seemed to be dragging her towards but which she felt must not be crossed.
[You accepted the earring without asking what it was or where he got it. Until we return to Elantris, there's nothing I can do to modify its effects, not when you accepted a cursed object so willingly.]
Cursed?!
Oh crap, Alesha thought, her consciousness coming dangerously close to the line she had perceived just before. Cursed object, we went to a place with a bunch of those today. Did he break the agreement and bring one back?! But I don't remember there being one like this!!