Aegin had certainly never heard of a creature like the boy they had kidnapped, but it was certain he wouldn't forget any time soon, not after that punch. His nose still throbbed, and it was likely his mask would be hiding the swelling, if it didn't end up giving him a black eye as well. After some work, Aegin had managed to catch a snake, and he'd tied its mouth closed with a leather strap before bringing it back to where the boy sat still in the carriage. Upon seeing the snake, the boy titled his head.

"What?" asked Aegin, "Is this not good enough either?"

The boy gave a faint grin, "Just never tried snake before".

The boy held out his hand expectantly, and Aegin handed the snake over. The snake was not impressed in the slightest, it had been struggling to get away since it was caught. It had tried to strike several times, but Aegin had been too fast for it, and now something was stopping it from opening its mouth. The snake briefly made eye contact with the boy he was being handed too, and immediately froze in place. That look...the snake didn't like that look.

As the snake moved with a renewed vigour, Aegin watched as the boy opened his mouth and two fangs extended from his upper jaw. Just as quickly, they pierced into the snake's body. The snake froze up.

Aegin watched with wide eyes as the boy began to gulp down mouthfuls of blood from the snake, after a moment, the boy paused, glancing up at Aegin as if contemplating something, then the boy continued to drink. He didn't stop until the four-metre-long snake was drained dry.

Rassa pushed the snake back through the bars, not regretting his decision in the least. Who knew when his next meal would be?

Rassa wiped the outside of his mouth, barely a drop of blood having escaped, then he retracted his fangs.

"That's...new".

Rassa cracked a smile, "Not for me".

Aegin was silent for a moment as he glanced at the dead snake, then he picked it up and hoisted it over his shoulders, "What's your name?"

"I'm Aegin".

The boy hesitated a moment as he looked at Aegin, as if weighing his options, then, as he turned away, gave his reply, "Rassa".

***

Thankfully, the next few days weren't spent in perpetual aching hunger. The snake had been rather large, and had at least alleviated the hunger to a degree, though it was not enough for Rassa to feel full. Not that he could with the chains but he had a rough idea of what the chains were causing him to feel and what he actually felt. Aegin didn't speak to him at all during the day, though there were frequent glances and smirks from beneath his black mask, which now concealed a bruised and swollen nose.

Rassa knew from the moment Aegin had gone to retrieve food that he'd found an ally of sorts. Perhaps not one that would set him free, but at the very least one that had an understanding. The following night, Victor returned for another lesson, another one to do with Vampire political structures. Rassa was only watching, but he felt exhausted doing so. Had it always been like this? Watching as they shifted and moved around their prey like rivalling wolf packs. Each just waiting to find their opponent's weak spot. The 'prey' in this case, varied. Sometimes it was land disputes, which coven had rights to which feeding grounds. Of course, those they were feeding on often had no idea that that was how they were referred to, but the Vampires didn't seem to care about that. They also fought over resources, after blood, the most prominent resources were crystals. It seemed that in this era, the great boost in technology was thanks to the use of crystal energies. The Sun Crystals were one example, but there were many more varieties that each had their own uses. Rassa took great interest in this, and made a note to ask to see more about it in future lessons.

The third most fought over topic in the council chambers, were the Coven lines of succession. Not only who the successors would be, but who they would marry, where their interests lay, and what moves they would make to solidify their power. Another interesting fact that Rassa learned in one of these arguments, Vampires could have more than one marriage partner. At least, those of a higher class could. This higher class seemed to consist of the Coven Heads and their immediate Subordinates, and their immediate Descendants. As such, a female Vampire could have more than one husband, and a male Vampire could have more than one wife. That was not to say this went both ways however. Only the Vampire with the highest standing was allowed this privilege, as his or her bloodline was considered the priority in being passed on. Those who married this individual did not have the same rites to go and marry another.

It was confusing, and led to quite a bit of scandal. A fact that seemed to amuse the bored Vampires quite a bit. Living for so long, it was almost like they sought to break the rules just to have something to do.

Fortunately, when Rassa woke up this time, he was still in the same spot. He knew it'd be a risk every time he ventured into the memories now, as he clearly had no awareness of the outside world when he did so. The fact that he'd been moved without his knowledge the first time had left him uneasy, but he also knew the lessons were necessary. After all, the snake may have died, but it had died content. The lessons were worth something. If the changes were not immediate, surely Rassa could learn more for the future.

He had no intentions of staying in these chains for the rest of his life.

As Rassa blinked awake, he became aware of Aegin's presence again. Clearly, they'd put Aegin on watch again tonight. Aegin glanced through the bars at Rassa.

"Hungry?"

Rassa shrugged. Wasn't like he would say no.

Aegin grinned, then indicated for Rassa to come to the bars so Aegin could take the mask off.

Rassa did so, and as the mask fell off his face, Rassa took a deep breath. It felt much better with it off.

Aegin passed a possum through the bars, "Sorry, it was the best I could come up with".

Rassa shrugged. It hadn't been long since he last fed anyway. But, knowing his next meal was not guaranteed, Rassa drained the possum before passing it back through the bars.

"How long have you been like this?" asked Aegin as he sat on the side of the carriage, taking out a knife to skin the possum. Was he going to eat it? If he'd known that, Rassa would have made better use of the paralytic in his venom. After all, when learning how to control the emotions of whomever he was feeding on, he'd also learned how to regulate his venom. As he was practicing with control of emotions, he hadn't thought to use the venom on the possum. He was a little disappointed that he couldn't see whether or not the properties would affect an individual who ate the meat as well.

"Almost 3 and a half years".

Aegin was silent before he asked another question.

"Why did you let them catch you?"

Rassa frowned, "I thought you weren't supposed to ask questions?"

Aegin looked at Rassa through the bars, then looked back at the possum, as if in conflict. Realising that Aegin was not in any mood to talk about it, but wanting the mask to stay off a little longer, Rassa ended up replying anyway.

"The first time, I allowed it partly because I was so hungry I could barely move, partly to protect my parents, and partly because I believed the others would come around. That they'd understand so long as I showed them I wasn't what they had been led to believe. When that backfired spectacularly, I only wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen again. That I could be contained until I regained control. It was only when I was stuck in these chains that I worked out that control was a relative term".

"So...why don't you try to break out?" asked Aegin.

Rassa turned to look at him, a small smile on his face, "You think it's so easy?"

"They're never going to let you go. If you don't die in those chains, you'll spend the rest of your life in them," Aegin warned.

"I doubt it. There will come a day when they slip up," Rassa replied.

"I'm not so sure," Aegin stated, "And even if they did, would you be alert enough to take advantage of it? Even if it doesn't happen for years?"

Rassa's eyes narrowed, "I barely know what I am, what makes you think that all of you know better? That it would make a difference if I was stuck in these things for days, months or years? It is all the same".

"It's not," Aegin replied, expertly cleaning his dagger and putting it away as he pulled the possum's skin off in one long rip, "Being imprisoned, it does things to people. Things that can't be reversed".

Rassa's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean imprisoned?"

Sure he was in chains, but imprisoned? There hadn't been anyone that had used that term yet, and Rassa didn't think that Aegin's use of it was an accident.

Aegin looked at Rassa through the bars as he paused, then pointed over his shoulder to the looming Seisin Mountains in the distance, "Don't you know what dwells in those mountains?"

Rassa looked at the mountains, a story his father had told him long ago coming to mind, "Jerrica".

Aegin nodded as he stood, "Won't be long now, another week or so and we'll be at your new home. The Jerrica Prison Mines. I'd like to see how long you last in there, even the strongest men don't make it through their sentences the same. They say the darkness…it does things to men. Doesn't matter if he's innocent or guilty, in the end, they all surrender".