Long hard road

"There are too many ears here. Lillian forgot herself, her tone taking on a tinge of anger. She bites the inside of her lip when she realizes the possibly grave error but doesn't take it back.

Anasztaz chuckles out loud, audible enough for the tables in the nearby vicinity to hear it. Amusedly. He'd enjoy seeing her change slowly as the effect of his old blood sets in her. It was almost tempting to employ other methods of indoctrination instead, more dramatic and painful, but it was a risk he wasn't in a position to take.

"What is the matter, afraid a few others would learn about you? Don't worry too much, I doubt anyone around here cares to know whether you are simply wearing a casual facade to hide your old, jaded and tired self." he adds, this time in a tone low enough to be private while still not being a whisper.

"Of course I care about certain things but I'm not stupid enough to reveal them to you so you can try to use them against me. You don't have that right and even if my 'apprenticeship' finally ends, you still won't have that right just by demanding it. And don't even bother threatening me, the worst you can do is slave me and you lose out too." Lillian speaks from behind a candy sweet smile, her voice casual soft and low as though she were discussing intimate romances rather than defending herself from a monster.

"You'll be a slave nonetheless, and you'll love me to pieces. No matter how much you hate it, you will be hoping for every waking moment of my time. I am patient, I can wait till you want to tell me so much about you that I simply won't care about it anymore." Anasztaz says, following the casual and soft demeanor and mood, responding with a mockery of a sweet smile.

"Or you can alternatively choose to wither, and I get to romance someone else that is less capable but more willing. A sacrifice I am willing to make."

"Charming.." Lillian retreats back to her short responses, sitting as still as possible while she waits for her dinner to finally arrive.

"No, that is just it. I don't have to be." he says, leaning back and flashing that strange smile again. A mix of disgust or disdain with a splash of amusement.

For the rest of the dinner he remained silent. Locked in his own thoughts, for the most part ignoring the presence of the protege. Which was perhaps what she wanted, too.

After the food arrives Lillian eats slowly, afraid for what might happen once they leave the restaurant. After lingering long enough she finishes the bottle of wine save for the glass Anasztaz had taken to look occupied. She crossed her silverware on her plate to indicate she was finished but remained silent.

Anasztaz pays with the credit card of the ghost trustfund that he used for his finances and stands up to depart. He remains silent until they are back outside waiting for a cab. Distant a few steps from the bustle of the restaurant.

"Tell me, now. When was the last time you were fed?" he asks.

"Twenty-tw..around three weeks. Lillian clears her throat and crosses her arms, trying to play off that she didn't have it down to the hour.

"So you have a few days left, good." Anasztaz says, nodding.

"Then perhaps we can settle some of our bad blood aside with a sip of good one? Unless you prefer to go a few days pondering whether you want to be stubborn and petulant."

"I don't have bad blood, I just don't want to open up! I know it isn't genuine interest, it never is with your kind, you want something over me but you already have it, anything else is rubbing salt in the wounds." Lillian runs her hands through her short hair in frustration, watching the street for their cab.

"So you risk my ill will over not wanting to give me an edge on you that you admit knowing that I don't actually need?" Anasztaz asks, still keeping his tone mild and amused.

"Certainly would give you an edge, come your next judgement. When I simply state that I didn't get to know whether you were ready or not. That unless I decide to just vote against just out of my own built-up loathe of you."

"And you in turn could not get a single ghoul to cooperate with you to uncover secrets. My judgement would reflect just as poorly on you." Lillian exhales, trying to keep calm. When the cab arrives she opens the door for Anasztaz first before climbing in opposite side and giving the Delray address.

Anasztaz remains silent for the trip, only speaking once they again descend from the cab and it has some distance from them.

"You see where this leads us. If I cannot get you to cooperate, I'll have to make you cooperate. Else it looks poorly on me." he says, motioning for her to open the door of the house for him.

"Is that what you really want? Because I could."

Lillian glares at Anasztaz, nearly braving eye contact before she quickly looks back at the door and heads up to the house. She takes a moment to listen in, checking the door for signs of entry in classic paranoia before unlocking the door and opening it for Anasztaz to enter first.

"I do my tasks. Why do you want trivial matters from my day-to-day?" She follows inside afterward, going to the kitchen and getting a glass of water after she locks the door back up.

"How am I to understand the way you change if I am to remain ignorant of where you started in the first place?" Anasztaz asks once she returns to the living room, it was a simple precept of the Ordo. Learn, observe. She likely knew these to the point of nausea.

"On a whim I could make you tell me everything about you, your past, your wishes and dreams. And you would think you told me all of it on your own free will. Don't you appreciate that?"

Lillian sits on the edge of the sofa, sipping at her glass of water. She drank most her calories in the form of alcohol and knew she'd need to stave off a hang over.

"Just ask exactly what you want to know then." She looks in to the glass, hardly speaking loud enough to be heard.

"There will be time. I am not in the mood anymore." Anasztaz says, waving his hand. He had his right to be fickle, too.

"I am not to be disturbed tomorrow evening until I come out of my room. I expect you to have a candidate for me to seek out once I am not... predisposed."

"Understood." Lillian drops down in to the sofa, making herself comfortable for an actual night of sleep.

Lillian spends the entire day mingling in the library of all places. She dresses in her typical care-not get ups; jeans, boots, army tanktop and loiters around the paranormal section. The majority of the time she hands out her cheaply printed (at least not on a home printer) business cards with the offer of cheap tarot readings.

But a few that catch her attention she tries to have a more meaningful conversation with, giving a fake name and even being so brazen to ask them out for coffee. With any gathered phone numbers she returns to await for Anasztaz to awaken.