Seven days. At this point, the lack of blood was clearly fucking him up. His muscles were aching slightly. His head was spinning from time to time, vision going blurry. Luckily he managed to stay on top of Bastion. The horse had carried him all the way from Vanaheim to Brightwater Keep. As promised, he showed no sign of fatigue at all. A huge contrast to the vampire sitting in the saddle, that was. His throat was hurting, an uncomfortable feeling that sometimes peaked and made him cough. Not that it helped at all. He would have to feed, soon. More than soon. Basically it was long overdue already. But he had agreed to meet up with Kaz and he wouldn’t break his promise.

So there he was. He had paid a stable boy to take care of the horse while he was walking to the Northern gate. Blue eyes were constantly checking the environment, to make sure he knew exactly where everyone was. If someone were to run into him now, he wasn’t so certain he would be able to control himself. Once he arrived at the gate, the sun was already setting. It shouldn’t be too long before Kaz would arrive too. Hopefully he would keep his promise, and he wouldn’t punch him in the face again. Because at this point, he wouldn’t be able to dodge it at all, as his reflexes were getting slower by the minute.

&Kaz Brekker

After spending the past few days all alone in the wilderness, travelling, the temptation of blood was overwhelming. It had a pull on him he couldn’t ignore. Again, he saw the people walking by casually more as a shadow, with that bright red almost illuminated blood flushing through their veins. He had to fight the urge to hunt. When this meeting was over, he would have to fix himself a meal. But this was more important, so it would have to wait just a bit longer. He was honestly looking forward to it. He hoped they would have the chance to make up with each other. He missed his brother. Of course he had done something unforgivable, but there had to be a way to solve this.

The other kind of surprised him. There was no heartbeat that gave away his arrival. When he heard his voice, his blue eyes darted towards him. A faint smile graced his lips when he greeted him. ”Well I won’t deny I feel like shit so it’s true I guess”, He said, his smile turning in a small grin. He pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to his brother. ”How have you been then?” He asked him, curious as to what was so complicated that it couldn’t be discussed in a letter.

It was great to see his brother again. Especially because this time there was no angry or hateful expression to be found in his eyes. Instead, he looked.. Worried. Rightfully so. Mort had told him countless times he should feed on time, because it was important for his survival. And the survival of the people around him, the people he held dear. Specifically, Allison. Yet here he was, doing the exact thing he had warned Kaz about. Of course he could tell. Could vampires look pale? Because if so, then he was surely doing it right now. ''You shouldn't walk around like that. Let me help.'' His brother said, an offer that surprised him. ”It’s fine. A couple more hours won’t make it any worse than it is now”, He reassured the other. Though it was tempting.. But there were more important matters to attend to than his bloodthirst right now.

Like the reason why Kaz had summoned him here. He was both curious and slightly worried. His brother seemed to be doing fine though. Nonetheless, he couldn’t read his mind, so he didn’t know what was going on in his thoughts. Therefore, he asked the same question he had already asked in his letter, hoping for a more thorough answer now. ''Doing better. Allison and I did some bonding.'' He replied. Still a bit vague, but hey, it was something. ”I’m glad you’re doing better. That you both are doing better, for that matter”, He reacted, genuinely happy about it. Hadn’t that been his goal after all? Wasn’t that the reason why he had allowed him to use him as a punching bag for a bit? He was pleased to hear it had worked out at last.

The sudden concern his brother had about his feeding habits, was unexpected, but it sure warmed his heart. It was a nice change of pace, considering he had left his house with the possibility that he would hate him forever. It appeared that he at least wanted to try to improve their relationship again. Which was more than he had hoped for a week ago. He was also pleasantly surprised by the fact that Kaz remembered the rules, and was so serious about abiding by them too. When the other mentioned there was a place not far from here, and that he had enough time to make the little detour, he couldn’t help but give in. ”You convinced me”, He said with a small nod. ”Lead the way then”, He continued, ready to follow him to whatever place he had in mind.

At this point, Mort didn’t realise how important it was he would feed before going with Kaz. He wasn’t aware of the wedding celebration he would attend that night. The young vampire had self-control, for sure, but being in a room with that many people would make it hard, even for him. Perhaps impossible. It wasn’t a fact he necessarily had to share to convince him though. He had been going without blood for too long, and it affected him badly already. The promise of relief was enough for him to give in.

This part of Brightwater Keep was new to him, but Kaz appeared to know exactly where he was going. He knew these streets better than he did, so he followed him without asking questions. Besides, he was too busy with controlling his bloodlust. The monster was wide awake, lurking beneath, knowing he would give in to his instincts to feed soon. He almost missed the fact that the streets were a mess, but beyond what could be considered messy because of the bad neighbourhood. It looked like a stampede had passed through, leaving a path of destruction while it did.

Before he could mention it to his brother, they arrived at a shady-looking building. This was the place. Mort only nodded when his brother told him to take his time. His throat was burning again, and he was afraid that it would be audible in his voice if he spoke up. The monster was close, and he didn’t want Kaz to meet him. Not even now he knew what it was like. The vampire entered the building, excitement taking over his mind. How he hated this.

Not too long after, he walked out, clearly feeling much better. He found his brother in the exact same place he had been when he had left him. ”Quite an.. Interesting place”, He mentioned. It sure wasn’t how he was used to get his fix, but for now.. It had worked, so he wouldn’t complain.

Mort was well aware of the fact that there were other vampires everywhere. He could now easily recognise them, as they had no heartbeat. There were more of them walking among the population than he would have ever expected if he hadn’t been dragged into this life. He also knew not all of them had the same philosophy on feeding as he had. Edmund had taught him how to survive in a way that was the least harmful to the people of a city. This establishment was different from what he was used to. At least he didn’t need to hunt though. Even when the thirst was this bad, he would never want to hurt someone to get his fix. When Kaz mentioned living on the streets, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. At least he had had the safety of a home when they had been separated. He decided not to comment on it, as he didn’t want to offend his brother. So he just folowed him when he started walking back.

''Where have you been?''

Of course he had expected that question. Unfortunately he hadn’t come up with an answer to it yet, considering he had been struggling with the monster. It had consumed him so much he had not had the time to figure out what to say exactly. I’ve been hanging out with the woman who tried to kill you? He couldn’t just say that. So he would have to lie, an idea he didn’t like at all. Telling a half truth though, would also work. For now, he decided, that was the way to go. ”The far edges of Rhoynar, near the border with Vanaheim”, He started of. ”I met someone who is willing to sell his farm to me. So I went to explore the property and see if I can perhaps move there some day”, He explained, some excitement sneaking in his tone. After all he had left Edmund’s mansion to enjoy his independency, and how could he better do that by buying his own house?

The location of the farm was perfect. It was far away from any busy city. Which was nice for more than one reason. First of all, no one would be in danger if he were to lose control over his bloodlust. Not that he planned on doing so, but this time it had been close. If his brother had taken him to that party he still didn’t know anything about, he would have been a liability to everyone attending. Second, the surroundings were simply exquisite. After living in a mansion for nearly two decades, he would have expected himself to desire an equally extravagant dwelling. To his own surprise, he could see himself settle right in out there in nature. He had plans on renovating the farm and build a cabin for himself to live in. The third reason was, of course, Lexa.

''A strange place to settle down.'' Kaz mentioned, his expression not all too happy. He nodded slowly, of course he understood where that comment came from. It was also partly because of what had happened that he had found out about the existence of the farm in the first place. ”It’s pretty remote, I don’t think anyone ever gets so far out unless they know the farm is there”, He said with a shrug. He looked sideways to his brother for a second. ”I would love for you to come visit some day, if you’re ready”, He continued. He always felt happy when he was connected with nature. Perhaps Kaz could enjoy that too for a while.

Hopefully the location of his new house wouldn’t be a factor that would keep his brother from visiting him. He would love to spend some time away from everyone else, just the two of them. As much as he loved the fact Kaz had found himself a lover that would go through hell and back for him and the other way around, he missed having quality time with him. It felt like they still had so much catching up to do. Especially after he had fucked up so bad by cursing him. Of course he was not really excited on being so far away from him again, yet he hoped it would bring them closer together in the end.

''I think I would be there sooner than you'd expect.'' Kaz agreed, a faint smile around his lips. He smiled back happily. ''But I rather stay away from Vanaheim if you don't mind me.'' He then continued, which wiped the smile away again. He nodded slowly. ”Of course, no, I understand. It’s not that close to the border, don’t worry”, He reassured him. Even though he loved spending time in Vanaheim, he would never make his brother do things he didn’t want to do, even though he knew Kaz would be safe from now on. Lexa had promised. And he trusted her. But he also was realistic enough to know Kaz probably wouldn’t.