He’d achieved what he wanted. He’d mastered protean to the point that his body was no long confined to just one shape.

He had to admit, it felt amazing. The embrace of the earth. Even the rage of the Beast. Away from all other Kindred, it felt great. Stisfiying down his the bone blood

And he felt he could go further. Delve deeper into what he was now. Explore those gifts of change and fortitude. The animal instincts that called. Not just the distraction the plagued his mind but becoming something more. A part of something more.

The wild and the wilderness.

It’d be so easy to just leave. To disappear into the parks and paths. To head north, to his homeland. Where he belonged.

Where he’d be alone.

He swallowed, feeling the dryness of his mouth. It felt like something was missing. BLOOD screamed the Beast but it was more than that. It NEEDED to be more than that. If he was to hold onto his humanity, it had to be more than that.

He howled into the night air in frustration.