Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Hunting

Atha woke refreshed and he went to bathe. Armaros had used his dungeon core powers to get the farm warm water, and the Naga found that wonderful.

He slithered inside the bathroom, only to find someone else in the big tub.

"Oh, sorry, I should have knocked," Atha made to leave Norrix alone again, but the vampire called after him.

"Atha, can we talk?" The Naga slowly turned towards the vampire. The water was hiding his naked body, but his cheeks were sunken, and his look was starved. Atha slithered closer to the door. The goblins had had the same look, before...

"Atha, listen, I don't know how I am scaring you, but I am not doing it on purpose. I need to ask you for a favor. You see, I am starving," Atha began shaking his head. No, no way. He was not going to let himself be used again.

"Wait for Leander to come home," Atha said, voice panicked. Norrix got out of the water and nearly fell on the ground. Atha blinked at that. He was not lying, then? He was truly starving?

"Atha, if I don't get any blood soon, I will go in a frenzy, please, Atha, have a heart," Norrix pleaded and Atha gulped. It could start with blood, yes. But what would happen if Norrix suddenly found another use for him? Small green hands flashed in the Naga's mind, and he slithered out of the room and locked it.

Frenzy? Well, the vampire didn't have a connection to his mana anymore. There was no way he would be able to break down the door. But, just in case, Atha was going to get Kraedor and Bog and get them to the leprechaun village.

Norrix fell back in the bathtub with a splash, and he ran a hand over his face. Well, that had not gone too well. Now, he terrified the Naga. He had not expected that the blonde would lock him in. What a mess.

Norrix, with much effort, got out of the water. It had served to calm him, somewhat, but now he knew he needed to go out in the forest and hunt.

He dressed and took out two wires out of his coat pocket and unlocked the door. Norrix did not bother searching for the farm's inhabitants. The guild master, as soft-hearted as he was, would have his head if he laid his fangs on them against their will.

Norrix avoided the leprechaun's village and followed a deer trail deeper into the forest. He found the herd grazing peacefully under the pines.

How he wished he had his mana — now. It would have been easy to catch one. As things stood now, he needed to depend on his brains and brawls. Not on special powers.

Norrix climbed a tree. In his bag, not a bottomless one, seeing as he had never been rich, he had some rope and a hatchet. He could work with that.

The herd did not pay him any attention as he worked. He tied the rope to a branch on one end, and then he used the hatched to tie a branch on the other end. With cut up bark, so the sap could fall freely.

Deer, as far as he remembered, liked tree sap. He waited for a deer to approach, gripping the hatchet. The animals were still grazing, but a young doe was staring at the branch and the dripping sap.

The doe made a couple of steps towards the branch, sniffing the air. Norrix stiffened. What if the doe managed to get a whiff of his scent? He had used normal soap, not the scented ones that were in the bathroom, but his own. He was fairly certain that he didn't smell of anything, but, the doe kept sniffing the air.

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The doe went to the branch and began licking the sap and eating the bark. Norrix jumped down from the tree and on top of the doe, breaking its neck on landing.

The vampire groaned as the herd ran off. Finally noticing the predator in their midst.

"I am sorry," Norrix spoke to the whining doe. "There was no other way."

Norrix dug his fangs and drank. He nearly spat out the first mouthful, but persevered. Animals blood had a bad scent to it, or, was it the unwashed pelt of the animal that stank? Maybe. The taste was bad, too.

How he would have wished to bite the Naga instead. That soft skin of his looked lovely. Like silk. Atha also liked to wash, doing so five times a day, sometimes more. He wouldn't stink, and, seeing as he was a humanoid, his blood would be sweet and go down Norrix's throat easier.

But, Atha was afraid of him. And, until that changed, Norrix will approach him with gifts and goodwill and won't rush it. The doe died, not of its wounds, but because Norrix drank it dry. Norrix stood on shaky legs, and slung the doe on his back.

He would need to do this again, tomorrow. The herd will be deeper in the forest, and they will avoid this clearing like the plague. Norrix did not mind. He was a good tracker.

The vampire began the trek home, limping slightly. When he came back, he saw Atha, Kraedor and Bog outside on the porch, making barrier stones.

Well, Atha was feeding them mana, Bog was carving the runes on the new ones, and Kraedor was "guarding" them. Norrix let go of the doe with his right hand and waved at them.

"How did you get out of the bathroom?" Atha's fear was something that Norrix did not like. There was no way that he had inspired it. There had to be something more to that.

"Lock picking is a vampire's bread and butter," Norrix answered, and then purposefully went to the trio and dumped the doe next to them.

"I brought dinner, Atha, next time, don't try to lock me in. I will never do anything to hurt you, so, please, have a bit of trust in me," and Norrix went back inside to get himself washed.

Atha watched him go. Then, he looked at the doe. It was nice and tender looking. A young animal. If Atha had let Norrix feed from him, it would have still been alive. Maybe even long enough to birth and raise its children.

"Everyone has to eat," Bog spoke, almost like he had read Atha's thoughts. "Don't be too hard on Norrix. He is not like...them."

Atha nodded. The vampire had not even been mad at him. Perhaps, Atha should take Leander up on his offer and go to a counselor? The fears were getting in the way of his life, and he had enough of that.

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