Vena had received a similar notice once before from this elusive Council. His solution had been to simply not cross over into the West. Though he prefers to think of it as him ignoring their missives, the reality is that he was technically doing as they'd told him. He was staying out of the West, and keeping his indiscriminate killing to the East. It was a task that felt so easy because so few men were willing to admit that they'd been seduced by and had sex with a young man. No matter how much they craved him, no matter how many times they fell into bed with him, if given the chance (and Vena often did give them that chance), they would deny even knowing him. Few people would connect the deaths to him once the bodies were found.

He hated feeling confined to one place, however. He hated being cut off from an entire half of the world. An entire half of the world that he still wouldn't be able to interact with the way he wanted while under The Council's watchful eye, it seemed. He didn't fear them, necessarily, but they could make his life miserable. He agreed to behave and restrain himself. No bringing harm to humans or the consequences would be dire. In exchange for staying away from the humans, they would direct him toward fellow creatures deserving of punishment until they could find a more permanent solution.

It's several years before he receives notice from The Council that they've found the creature that he'll be paired with. They found the creature Vena will be shackled to for the foreseeable future. The one who can satisfy Vena's hunger and whose hunger Vena can satisfy. An excellent match, they'd said. Should he decide that the pairing is not to his taste, he can go back to the East. The previous arrangement was only ever meant to be temporary.

Vena follows his own hooded figure to that very same room, in that very same inn to meet the creature who would serve as his leash.

"How are you meant to keep The Council from bothering me?"