i’ve been both a saint & a viper
The breeze brings her scent to him and his paper-thin nostrils inhale deeply, his chest shuddering. His blue mottled neck curls as he presses his chin to his chest, attempting to control a sudden urge that he does not quite understand and refuses to give in to. Perhaps he is trapped, suspended between this world and the next, tortured each time he takes a breath.
Her glow casts itself onto the growing darkness of his skin and he turns his face from her. Had her eyes been able to see the terrible gauntness of his face and the cruel blood that stains his skin, perhaps the fear she felt would be more intense, more warranted. But she cannot, so even with her beautiful light falling across him, she cannot see the way his antlers’ shadows splice across his thin and malnourished face.
He wonders if she can sense his hunger, his necessity for something to calm the quell in his belly. Can she sense that he is trying to keep himself from hunting her as he trembles in the light of her glow? His dark mouth twitches at her reply - no emotion is there, but perhaps there is a chuff of laughter garbled in his throat. Was he in agreement, or perhaps entertained by her naivety?
She steps forward and he immediately backs away. His monsters bite at his flesh, urging him forward. He relents, for whatever sickness has overtaken him has not quite become powerful enough for him to be unable to resist fully. The look of concern that falls across her lovely pale face makes his stomach clench; she already shows so much compassion for a stranger.
How sad it will be to watch her die. The voices share with him uncaringly, kissing him coldly on his temple. Balto grimaces, grinding his teeth together furiously.
“I am not,” he lies as his body groans for her - imagining the taste of her blood and muscle on his teeth and tongue, sickening himself at the thought while simultaneously lusting for it. He swallows hard. He used to be misleading; a stallion plagued by mind only. But now, he is becoming the monster within physically, his intentions now for all to see. “Are you not afraid?” The question is genuine, unthreatening. He already thinks he knows the answer - if she were truly afraid, she would not linger before him as she does now.
Balto
@[Ryatah]