When he returned, she was resting in her room. The door was left open, clearly having passed out soon as she got home and they were out still. She hadn't even changed. But it seemed she was sleeping better than she had been.

She was gone when he woke that evening. As was expected. It was a night the bar was closed for vampire affairs and business. She usually arrived before they did, starting on other things and getting the place cleaned up.

Eric didn't bother to dress up. He'd opted for the more laid back v-neck black shirt with dark jeans. When he arrived, the SUV was parked with a little ugly yellow car by it. Sookie leaned against the side of the car, frowning as he pulled up to park. She pushed forward when he stepped out.

"Sookie Stackhouse, a pleasant surprise."

"About as pleasant as a baboon's rear," she cuts. There was the show of relation to Fae. "Not a thing pleasant about it."

She had her arms crossed, ready for confrontation. "You seen a woman in here with blond hair and red stripes in it?"

"And why would I see her?"
"Look, I'm only doing a favor for Jason and my boss. She's a newer waitress at the bar, recent fling of Jason's. Turns out she's into V. Been missing for days. Last said she was headed this way."

"Sounds like she's no longer your concern."

He was already moving around her toward the door in. There was music playing. He was pulling his keys out to get the door open. Fae tended to lock it when she was there and they weren't open or Pam, Chow or him were out of the place.

"Well it got me to thinking and I remembered a similar situation with my friend Lafayette. Who you locked in a basement and nearly killed."

He gave a bored look to her, opening the door to allow her in. She marched in, as if she owned the place. She'd come right from work.

"Fae not here?"
"She should be. Faelyn!"

There was a sound from the basement. His better hearing allowed it over the music playing. It wasn't anywhere near as loud as the place usually had. More of something to fill the quiet while she worked.

The place was clean as it got. Everything restocked and looking ready to run. Papers rested upon the table near his chair, ready for the business of the night with her bag at the chair to the side.

"She should be down here."

He swung the door open. And he stiffened, flashing away down the steps.

"Eric!"

Sookie clattered down the steps to pull to a stop at the platform, hand shooting up at the girlish cry she let out. Eric's fangs were out, mouth open at the strong smell of blood.

Glowing eyes with slip pupils like a cat glanced to them. She was all but painted in blood. The woman below her was dead. Chunks had been bitten from the woman, clothing tossed and shredded where it remained on the figure.

The squelching sound had Sookie gagging and puking. Eric couldn't look away. Faelyn sat in the mess she'd created. She'd been eating from the woman for a bit. The heaviest blood was about Fae's mouth and chest. The rest was splatter.

She was slowly, calmly chewing at a hunk of the leg that had been ripped off. The sound was her arm in the hole at the belly. She'd ripped it open, seeming to play with the organs. But she had that arm far up the cavity. It was like seeing a child play with a toy, destroying it to see what it was made of. Her eyes casually blinked away from him, looking with a near childish interest to the hand pulling from the cavity now.

The still warm heart was large in her hand, careful to not crush it. A small sound left her, "Nn?"

Mouth still full, she extended the arm toward Eric, head tilting with light question. She offered it to him.

"Faelyn."

She blinked, listening. He carefully moved closer. "Finish your mouthful."

She swallowed after chewing quickly. A face was made before she belched, blood caked fist thumping her chest as if to help clear that.

"Is it dark already?"

Sookie looked horrified, green about the edges as she tried desperately not to see the mess as a human. But my head was tilted up to look up at Eric innocently.

"I'm honestly not that surprised," Eric states, seeming more surprised that he wasn't.

"See," I start, as if this were all a usual conversation. "That's what I thought too. Well, after she quit screaming."

"Fae! Do you even hear yourself?" Sookie broke in.

I glance at her, shoulders lifting and falling as I lower my hand with the heart. "Hard not to."

"You just killed that woman, ate her, played with her remains like an animal!"

I blink, looking down. There was an utter lack of emotion to it all, just a blank sort of curiosity.

"Wanna touch it? Still warm? But I think that may be my own heat."

"That's horrible, Faelyn! She was a human."

My tongue flicks out, curling over sharp teeth to clear at some of the blood. "Doesn't taste like it."

"Sookie," Eric hisses, glancing back at her. "Get upstairs."

Sookie motions wide around him at me, cheeks flushing with anger. "She just killed and ate a person, Eric! And she's not even bothered! That's not the Fae I know."

"No. No it isn't," he clips, tone arctic cold. "Your Fae has changed."

"So…" I speak up a bit, glancing to Eric. "You don't want this?"

I offered the heart again. He glances to it then to my face. "No. I'll eat something fresher."

"Oh," I state, sounding let down. The hand lowers, eyes flicking to the body as if unsure what to do now. "You think anyone else will want some?"

Sookie was teary eyed, hand trembling as it clasped over her mouth. Eric seemed on a ledge. I sigh. Sookie rushed up the steps, unable to take it longer.

"Sorry," I utter in hardly a whisper. "I…I couldn't help myself. I was only going to feed her, like you said to. But she smelled good and when she bit me…"

My eyes flicked over the bloody mouth of the woman. Clearly she'd given struggle. But it hadn't done good. I was perfectly healed, no marks to be found around the ruined jeans and shirt. Thankfully they were just old clothes, nothing fancy or favored. Shoes and socks left in the office.

"When was the last time you fed?"

I glance up to Eric, wincing. "A littler here and there."

"And last night?"

"I didn't ask what it was. But it wasn't enough." The heart lifts toward my mouth, absently done. Unconscious as it presses to my lips, tongue flicking out to take some of the blood. His eyes follow the motion, unnoticed by me. My eyes were flicking over the mess before me as I licked the muscle in my hand like it were a jawbreaker or hard candy. "It seemed like it was more than enough for them. Didn't want to seem needy and ask for more."

"Them?"

I pause, hand lowering only a smidge. "My birth father and his friend. Demons."

"The man last night with white hair?"
"That would be him," I chirp with a wink, before sinking teeth into the heart. A moan left me as the blood in it filled my mouth like biting into a huge Gobstopper. I blush a bit as I glance back at him, hand lifting to my mouth to cover as I tried to clear my mouth. The heart was dropped to the mess.

"Sorry," I call around a half full mouth.

He was smirking, fangs clicking away as he let out a low chuckle.

"And here I thought I was sloppy."

I glower, hand lowering in indignation. "Screw off, Eric. I blacked out. Don't judge me."

"It is a good look for you."

A brow arches up at him, smirking at him. "Oh? I'll have to make note of that."

He moves closer, just shy of the mess. "You've made a big mess of it."

I pout down at the mess. "Yeah…I'll get started on cleaning this up."

"Be quick about it."

He turns, starting for the stairs. "Uh."

He pauses, looking back. "Yes, Faelyn?"

"How do I get rid of it?" I looked up, feeling a bit helpless. "I've only had to deal with the after."

"Just bag it all up. Well get it out later."

I beam at him. "See, you can be cool from time to time, Eric."

"You'll be digging."

My smile drops. "Throw the damned bags and shit down the steps for me. And something to clean up with."

He lets out a scoffing sound, laugh cut off. I get up, stretching as I do so. The shirt clung tight at my front, clearly a ruined bra there. And then I got an actual view of my mess. Looked a lot less from when I was down in it.

"Tell you what," I call to him. He shifts, clearly invested in this. His hands were loosely in his pockets, brows lifted.

"Yes?"

"You get two bags and something for me to wear and a damned bucket of water, I'll bag this crap up. Then we can con Ginger into cleaning the most of this up."

He gives a lopsided smirk. "Sounds more like a winning situation for you. What do I get from this?"

"I'll strip? Owe you a favor?"

His chin lifts. Those fangs clicked out, eyes flicking down the way the shirt clung to me.

"Both."

"One or the other."

"Both," he firmly states.

"Going on a limb here. But I feel like this is blackmail."

He gets a darker smirk. "Blackmail comes later, Faelyn."

I nod, popping my lips a bit. "Yup. Should have seen that coming." I wag a finger his way. "Yeah. On that note, think I'll just message my father and see if he wants this. He was bitching the other night about not having were in a while."

"You do that."

"Get my phone too," I call as he starts for the door again. An exasperated, yet amused, look is given. "Yes, both! I know!"