Erik turned away as Alexi left, unwilling to admit that some tiny part of him would miss the strange human's presence. The lord fascinated him on some level, for he was a man who would willingly spend years of his life and give up a life of luxury. His twelve years of business trickery could very well be more effective than two hundred years of saving slaves a few dozen at a time with the use of stealth and force. For a few minutes, the vampire rebel was excited at the thought of being given all of that information. [i]It would take us countless man hours to get intelligence like this, and he's willing to just hand it over to me?! Clearly I should have been captured years ago... [/i] He smirked at his own joke, and for a moment wore a giddy grin. 

But the joy and sense of victory soon passed. [i]I'm insane. Sure, this will help us “win” but how many will die in the process? It's easy to forget that. Most of the police we kill don't even have slaves. Sometimes office workers or security guards are caught in the cross fire. There's no way to save them all. I long for the days when I could see them as a faceless enemy, before I had talked to many human Resistance fighters and understood that they aren't all evil. But I can't. All I can do is try to reduce casualties on both sides. All I can do is set this guilt aside and see things as logically as possible. And yes, I am often forced to dehumanize the enemy in the process. It is unavoidable. We are long past a peaceful solution. We always have been.[/i]

Trying to put his mind back to the present, Erik stood and changed into his new robes, looking down at them with disdain. The design itself was not so terrible, but he could not help but associate them with slavery. However, by the time Alexi entered the room, he was sitting on the couch, reading yet another of the many books in the man's room. 

~*~*~

Joseph smiled weakly at Riley and placed him gently on the floor. 

“I'll be sure to have some of the other servants deliver some plants. You should have them within a couple of days,” he consented, smiling a bit. But there was a deep exhaustion hidden just beneath his eyes, one that only someone who had known him for years could possibly notice. He had not been sleeping enough, and he had been under a lot of stress since Erik arrived. Thanks to the auction, he still had not even had time to start his usual chores for the day. And now, he had to care for the new M'Tinak as well. He feared he would be up all night working. But naturally, he would never complain.

“Master Alexi, I will go and check on supper, and have it delivered to your room, if you wish?” he asked, bowing low as usual.