Eben's hands were at Marlow's throat.

Thumbs resting just on either side of the older vampire's adam's apple, feeling the muscles below contract and vibrate as Marlow slowly, purposefully, enunciated 'First Light'

It was an important word for any vampire to know, so of course, the phrase was one of the first the elder vampire had decided to teach his fletchling mate.

Eben's eyes were narrowed slightly, focusing on the throat before him, as if he could see through flesh and sinew to watch the muscles below contract…

Marlow repeated the phrase three more times before clicking his tongue against his third incisor, which in Marlow meant 'you' if accompanied with direct eye contact.

Eben slowly removed his hands from the older vampire's neck, setting his hands in his own lap as he ran his tongue over his lower lip carefully, not interested in slicing open his tongue, again, as he began rolling noises around his tongue.

His attempt at the simple phrase was far sloppier than Marlow's crisp pronunciation, he drawled the first part for far longer than he should have and clipped the end click short.

Marlow tilted his head to the side, gesturing with a single finger 'again'.

And again, Eben tried to repeat what he had heard, he was still rough around the edges, his drawled tones reminded a touch too long, but he corrected the click at the end.

Marlow grinned at him then, a smile of nothing but too many, too sharp fangs, but then he chittered something, his jaw moving far too fast for any human to achieve as he leaned closer to run his nose across Eben's cheek to softly nip at the rim of his ear.

An affectionate reward for a job well done.

Some soft trill rolled up Eben's throat at that, an unconscious noise that his newfound instincts conjured in response to the older vampire's attention.

He had heard other members of the coven make similar, thoughtless noises as well, feeling vocalized, like laughter, but far, far more terrifying. Or at least, to the stubborn dregs of humanity that clung to the inside of Eben's skull they, the rest of the Coven, with their shrieking howls and bat-like chittering, certainly sounded terrifying.

Instinctually however, Eben knew that he fit, impossibly, into both ends of the Coven's hierarchy.

A newly turned fledgling.

The Alpha's mate.

He was the only one the Coven took from Barrow, for obvious reasons, but the next village the Coven attacked, they took another two people.

By then, Eben was just barely beginning to properly interact with the other members of the Coven, the language barrier thwarting most attempts at communication, but he had seen how the rest of the Coven treated him in comparison to the two newer fledglings.

He wasn't pampered by any means, if he fucked up, he was scolded, but the rest of the Coven, or at least most of them, were more lenient with him it seemed.

Then again, he had Marlow to guide him, he was pretty sure the other Coven members assumed that the Alpha was teaching him behind closed doors which, granted, he was.

Just not teaching him the lessons they most likely expected.

There was an incident some few weeks ago, Eben had upset an older member of the Coven, not a part of Marlow's council, but certainly older than Eben.

The vampire had taken a swing at Eben in retribution, a fisted swing. Instincts kicked in, and Eben found himself responding with claws.

They were dragged apart, with the rest of the Coven clicking calming tones at the older vampire while Zurial held him by the scruff of his neck, purring low in his throat, a soothing sound that just wasn't the same as Marlow…

The ensuing shouting match was lost on Eben, the older vampire cursing and spitting at him from across the room while the rest of the Coven either held him back or drowned out his screaming with howls of their own.

They caused enough of a ruckus to summon Marlow however, and the moment the Coven Leader stepped foot in the room, everyone but Zurial and his insistent purring fell silent.

Marlow was a solid presence wherever he went, the rest of the coven respected him, but Eben had also seen Marlow indulge his coven mates in far more casual manners, like a cool boss that you could just chat up whenever.

But Eben had also seen Marlow lay down Coven Law thick, leaving no room to question his leadership or decisions.

When Marlow got into that particular mood, the rest of the coven tended to act like misbehaving children being confronted by a upset teacher, all quiet and sheepish.

In that particular instance, Marlow maybe said three words, just three, and only Zurial replied.

The vampire who had thrown the first punch nodded once, silently. And then Marlow rounded on Eben.

Eben wasn't afraid of Marlow, he had gotten over the fear of the older vampire some time ago… But he wasn't about to just disrespect the Coven Leader, so when Zurial released his grip on the scruff of Eben's neck, Eben silently tilted his head to the side, offering his throat to Marlow.

Marlow snapped his fangs in disappointment as he took Zurial's place, gripping Ebenn by the scruff of his neck to guide him back to their room.

That was when their lessons started in earnest.

Most of the Coven assumed, at first, that Marlow was putting Eben in his place behind closed doors, which he did often enough. But, more commonly, Marlow and Eben would sit and just talk…

Marlow would teach, Eben would learn.

And slowly but surely, Eben was beginning to make sense of the odd howls and shrieked wails of his coven mates. He could clearly understand the sound of his name, the call of first light, the term used to identify fresh blood and danger.

Speaking was a whole other matter, but progress was progress.

And as Marlow pulled away from his ear, Eben leaned forward to settle against the crook of his mate's shoulder, a low, rumbling purr reverberated in his chest as he clicked out a soft little 'thank you' to his Alpha.

A hand curled around the base of his neck as a cheek settled atop his head.

'Of course...' The rest of Marlow's words were lost to Eben, the petname still an unknown garble of clicks and chirps that were laced with so much affection that Eben couldn't care what the older vampire was actually saying, only that it was said towards him.

Eventually, Marlow dragged Eben from his shoulder to guide the younger vampire's hands back to his throat so their lesson could begin anew.