Who I am

Luckily the big cat was less scary in daylight. Otherwise the growl would have sent him straight on the couch again. And there was no couch in the room! Next option would be to jump in Lexa’s arms, but he didn’t know if she would very much appreciate that. Saggitarius sniffed his hand, while the woman assured him he was ‘good people’. Mort couldn't help but smile. The lion wasn't all that bad.

Thanks to his reflexes, he could catch her right in time when the beast ran past her and pushed her aside. He made sure she had her balance back before he let her go. ”Seems like he is ready”, He chuckled. He fixed his blue gaze on her. ”Are you?” He asked. She would step outside as another person, so he waited for her to take the lead.

Without saying much more, he followed her downstairs and outside. He watched how she grabbed her spear, holding it casually as if it was not a deadly weapon. Then again, technically, he was also always armed. Fangs and supernatural reflexes. He was glad he didn’t have to use that on anyone though. With a simple command, she sent Saggitarius away. The young hunter immediately went off to look for trails. Something he could do too, but he was not a simple hunting.. Cat.

”I have not”, He admitted to her question. Why would he? ”I shot a bow once, for fun though”, He continued proudly. That was something, right?

Honestly, his life back at Edmund’s mansion had been one of luxury. It was what appealed to the blood dolls. The elder vampire had arranged the household in a way that no one ever had to do anything to get at least their basic needs fulfilled. It was a part of the deal. Mort had never hunted or even cooked a meal. That was not necessary now either. He had shot a bow once though. Edmund had thought he would pick it up as a hobby, but he had politely declined that. Violence was just not a part of him, even if it was just a bull’s eye and not something that was breathing.

The confession amused her, and she told him how different he was. But not in a bad way, apparently. ”I don’t kill”, He said with a simple shrug. It was the truth. ”But if it would help to feed you, I could try”, He continued. Would he really though? It was still a living creature. If he hunted that, then what would be the difference between hunting an animal and hunting a human? What if it was a gateway to hunting? Or was he, as usual, overthinking it too much?

Yesterday had been close enough already. The blood dripping from the wound had almost pushed him over the edge. It was now two days ago since he had fed as well, instead of just one. But this time, he was prepared. Hopefully she wouldn’t get hurt. Normally animal blood didn’t have the same effect on him, so all should be good. Interested, he listened to her explanation. It was a nice mindset. See, they weren’t savages to their core, now were they? ”I like that”, He said with a genuine smile. He felt more at ease now, to be honest.

The predator inside him would have no issue with killing for fun. It was as if he had a whole second personality inside him. But Mort knew he was stronger than the monster lurking beneath. ”I would still like to see you try first though”, He continued. There was nothing he liked more than learn new things, it didn’t matter if it was little facts, exciting skills or pieces of information about the people he surrounded himself with.

It looked like he would get his little show sooner than later. When he saw her gesture, he only nodded one time, then disappeared into the background. He opened up his senses more, finally picking up on her heartbeat, and two others. Saggitarius and the prey he had spotted, probably. There were more heartbeats around them, but they were much fainter. Smaller animals, hiding in the trees. Watching, just like he was, what was about to unfold. The vampire slowly let himself slip into a mood more fit for hunting. Even though he wasn’t really hunting, he was much more aware of the environment now.

Of course he wouldn’t let it get to the point where he would feel the urge to attack her again. He made his way through the forest, like a ghost, the perfect predator. When the deer came into his field of vision, he stood still in the shadows. He watched as she approached, with interest and anticipation of what would happen next. It didn’t take more than just a wrong move. The deer was startled, frightened away by Saggitarius. Lexa sighed and sat down, while the mountain lion darted away in pursuit.

”I got this”, He said with a little smile when he ran past her, still at human speed. A second later, he too took off. He made sure not to get too close to Saggi, as he didn’t want the other to turn against him. The heartbeat of the deer was clearly audible, pounding hard in its chest. It didn’t take long before he had caught up. But now what? Mort just decided to go with his instincts. His eyes found the spot, a thick vain pumping blood in the neck of the animal. With a leap he closed in on it, fangs cutting through tender flesh as he tackled it.

The animal let out a scream, clearly fearing for its life. Both the vampire and the deer crashed into the ground, as he held on tightly to its neck. Only mere moments later, Saggitarius approached on full speed. He immediately went for the back legs of the kicking deer, probably because Lexa had trained him that way. A low growl emerged from the vampire’s chest, as he looked up from the prey, face smeared with blood. It didn’t taste that bad. It wasn’t the same as human blood though. Speaking off.. Where the hell was Lexa?

With his last intake of blood now two days ago, it was surprisingly easy to give in to his instincts. It was safe though. He didn’t feel out of control for a second. The thirst though, was coming up again. Especially with the scent of blood in the air. It didn’t trigger him as bad as human blood would do. Not nearly as bad as yesterday. But still, he would have to be careful. The deer wasn’t dead yet while his fangs were plunged into its neck deeply. It struggled on for quite some time, causing him to rip open its artery when he tried to keep it down. The vampire was sitting almost on top of the deer, holding it down with his upper body. It was a bloody mess.

When the mountain lion approached, his instinct made him growl at him. This was his prey, until he was reminded that it wasn’t. This was Lexa’s breakfast. So when the deer finally stopped kicking too much, he let go, still holding it down though. The life was draining from it with every drip of blood spilled on the ground. When Lexa finally emerged from the woods too, he looked up, blue eyes locking with hers. The woman commanded the lion to step away, and indirectly Mort felt like he should take some distance too. So he pushed himself up again, taking a few steps back.

Confused feelings were overwhelming him. He just killed a deer. With bare hands. Or fangs, for that matter. “Did you…” Her voice sounded, and he looked back at her. Carefully he wiped his face with the back of his hand, warm liquid dripping down from it as he did. ”I just.. Kind of tackled it and ripped its artery”, He said, not even sure how he had pulled it off. Hunting instincts.. He couldn’t imagine he would do this to a human though. Maybe this had been a good lesson.

Now he knew what it was like, to kill with his abilities, he realised that it still wasn’t anything he would ever do without a very good reason. Not on animals, not on humans. It hadn’t really shocked him, but it had felt strange. The thrill that Edmund had mentioned, had not hit him as he had expected it to feel. Maybe because his prey wasn’t human, but perhaps just because it wasn’t in his personality to begin with. He didn’t want anyone to fear him. He didn’t want to be a monster. This hunt had made him even more determined to never hurt a human.

Her thumb caressed his cheek while she wiped away some blood. “You’re a bloody mess,” She whispered, but not with a hint of disgust. He let out a relieved sigh as he now just grabbed his shirt and cleaned the rest of his face. It was ruined anyway. “I had planned on taking it home without blood everywhere,” She then said. He stepped forward a bit, so he stood right next to her. ”Well, I can carry it if you want? I mean, I don’t think I can make it much worse than this”, He chuckled, gesturing at his shirt. So he bent over and grabbed the deer before putting it over his shoulder. It didn’t even weigh that much, and with his strength it would be no problem at all to get home.