Lenore gives her new pet plenty of pauses to swallow and breathe, but she pours the whole of the thermos down her throat, making sure that she gets all the hydration, nutrition, and soothing that the tea has to offer.

"There you are," Lenore says with a smile, warm and approving. "Feeling a little less savage now?"

She returns to the door and locks it again, taking a seat once more in her chair on the far side and folding her hands in her lap. "I know you're still hungry, but since you haven't eaten in days you'll get sick if you eat too much at once. You can have more in a couple hours. I'll come back for that. For now, however, I'll answer your question about what the catch is. What it is that we want, why we're keeping you alive."

Pausing just a moment for effect and to be certain she's secured Nightie's attention, Lenore gestures with an elegant hand. "You're an asset. A masterpiece or whatever. So we want you to be our asset. Simple. Really, the only question is what you want in return."

She rests her elbow on the arm of the chair and props her cheek in that hand, languid and lovely, giving Nightie her full attention.