Xaviers!

"No, that's quite alright. I'm... fine I suppose. As fine as I'll be for now. I guess I'm just worried you'll tolerate me for a while and then leave." It's a bit of a conscious manipulation, or at least a test to see if what she did worked, but it ends up a bit more truthful than she might have intended.

"I told you, Miriam," she said, looking into her eyes. "I'm here until we can make sure you're better again. You don't need to worry about being left alone."

"Because you have to babysit me and make sure I don't go off the deep-end in the meantime?"

"Well, I mean, somebody's got to do it," she joked, with a disarming smile.

Miriam blinks and then bursts out laughing. Not that Will's joke was really all that funny, it's more that it forces her to admit to herself that it's true. Maybe not in the way that Will initially meant it, but there's no way around admitting that she doesn't want to be left alone. In trying to test Will she's wandered a little too close to the truth and now it's sinking in and all she can do not to cry is to laugh. Perhaps a bit too desperately, but it's better than to stare over the edge of the precipice.

Will, under the effects of a mindwhammy, misinterpreted the laughter as being genuine, pure amusement, missing the desperation aspect entirely.

"That's better. C'mon, I'll make you some toast.

...Can you still eat, like, normal stuff? I saw a movie once where it caused, uh, let's say 'unpleasant' side effects."

Miriam slowly calms herself down, swallowing the more bitter parts of her laughter and trying to just let it be what Will is seeing it as.

"Yeah... Yeah, I can. It doesn't taste like much, but it doesn't hurt me."

"Well, maybe we can do a little better than not hurting you, yes? C'mon, let's try to take your mind off things," she smiled, and walked over, sitting down next to Miriam. "I know this isn't ideal, for either of us, but there's no sense being miserable, yeah? Cheer up," she said, giving Miriam a light friendly tap-punch on the chin.

Miriam snakes an arm around Will's waist and pulls her a little closer. A little possessively.

"It... does make what happened at the club sting less that I have you here with me." she says quietly.

"Everyone needs a friend sometimes. Forget what happened in the club. Spilled milk under the bridge. You're stronger than that; you can move on."

Will sidled up to Miriam a little bit, leaning in.

"And what if I want more than a friend?" she whispers.

"I'm here for whatever you need right now, Miriam," Will said, carefully. "I want to be your good friend."

"I'll take that for now..." Miriam smiles. It's a little forced and there's the hint of a sigh in her voice, but it's still genuine.

"We all need someone we can lean on. Whatever that ends up meaning, we can't all be strong all the time; we need someone we can lean into and let carry the load for a while. I can be that for you, Miriam," she said, squeezing Miriam a little tighter.

"The sun's coming up soon... Can I trust you to stand guard over me?"

"You have my word, Miriam."

"Literally too? Sleeping in the tub is..." Uncomfortable. "Undignified. But the curtains in the bedroom aren't thorough enough."

"What do you need?" Will asked, interested -- and this interest seeming genuine, as opposed to the more 'forced' interest Miriam could attach.

"A canopy bed? One with thick curtains that close properly?"

"Are you sure that will be safe enough? Thick curtains -- even blackout curtains -- might not be able to keep everything out. An unexpected breeze, housekeeping coming in unexpectedly..." Will trailed off.

"You can't hold them closed?"

"I mean, I can, but I would think you would want to be double-sure, considering the effects if I fail," Will said, concerned. "I'm not infallible."

"Are you saying I can't trust you, Will?"

"What? N...n-no!" Will exclaimed. "Not at all!"

"Because a couple of hours ago you were trying to kill me..."

"I..." Will said, and then she winced, and brought one hand up to her temple.

"I..." she said again, looking puzzled. "I..."

"So you better make up for that. I need to be able to trust you. To rely on you to protect me during the day."

"Make up for...for trying to kill you..." Will mumbled, with a pained expression. "I came here to....I came here to..."

"You were confused!" Miriam quickly interjects when she realizes her mistake and that Will's mind is reeling from the conflicting thoughts. "Mistaken about what I might do. You didn't realize that I was the victim here, but then that werewolf attacked me in the club and you realized I was right."

"Right....right, of course...I was confused....you set me straight..." WIll mused, chewing her bottom lip. "Right. That makes...yeah, I can..."

She shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs. "Trust. You want to...you want to trust me. Right.

Then trust me when I tell you this -- there are safer alternatives to curtains."

"You better not be suggesting an actual coffin, because I will throw you out the window." she... jokes?

"Not per se, but an enclosed space is a safer option. There's a reason why some of the classic tropes are classic tropes.

It doesn't have to be a coffin, of course; the symbolism is bunk. In fact, a coffin, with all it's corners and removable lid, has several key structural weak points. No, a capsule or pod would make more sense; round so there are no weak points, and no seams for people to attack. In a large room, there may even be able to stand up and walk around, making it less confining.

Of course, if something were to happen to me, then it would also serve as a prison, as it's not intended to be opened from the inside. Other, smaller, more flexible full coverings have some advantages -- a sleeping bag or, for ultimate mobility, a catsuit.

Anything better than something that could easily be brushed aside by any intruder."

"I'm not climbing into anything I can't open from the inside." she says, a faint shudder in her voice. The thought of being trapped inside some kind of pod is terrifying enough already, but she has no idea what happens to her if she doesn't feed. It's very easy to imagine she wouldn't actually starve but just grow increasingly ravenous. Forever.

"It's a very low percentage chance; it would require someone to attack one of my weaknesses over night, and I don't believe anyone else knows I'm here.

But the ultimate decision, of course, is yours," she said, with a shrug.

"A capsule with a bed inside then. Spacious. And with a door-handle on the inside, for god's sake."

Will shrugged. "As you wish, though we'll need to move this bed as 'out of the way' as we can to maximize your space."

It'll ruin the aesthetic of the room a bit, but Miriam walks over to the bed. It still takes some effort, but she still manages to push that not exactly small bed all the way to the wall.

Will walked to the center of the newly exposed room, cracking her neck once, and then BALLOONING out with a speed and efficiency that Miriam was not used to seeing in her shifting.

The pod was about 8 feet tall in the mid-point, a giant, featureless black egg well out of character with the fancy room around them. The only feature noticeable on the outside was a single silver door handle -- almost an afterthought in the design.

Miriam walks up to the door and curiously opens it to look inside.

The interior is...well, rather luxurious.

It's centered around a very large, very fluffy bed, big enough for two or three (or one particularly tired vampire), with golden posts and a deep mahogany frame. There's an overstuffed chair next to a bookshelf, with very plush carpet everywhere. It's big enough to stand up in, as long as she's not standing around the edges (where she might hit her head on the inside surface). There's a small wardrobe and nightstand opposite the bed, as well.

The entire thing is lit with a soft white light, emanating from the walls itself.