Chapter Text
Eldrian undid his tie as he reached the third floor landing of his apartment building. He caught his reflection in the hall window, noticing just how pale he’d gotten in the past hour. He needed to feed. Thankfully sunset was a few minutes away.
He walked passed the open apartment door of the Ramos family. They were a great bunch, warm and welcoming, with three generations living in such a tight space for the amount of people. A few of the children were in the hallway playing a card game. A chaotic version of Go Fish, if he were to guess. Eldrian gave each child a high-five as he walked by, grateful that none of them commented on how shaky he was. It was unethical for his species to feed on neighbors. Still, he couldn’t help wondering what their livers and hearts tasted like.
His own apartment was two doors down and on the other side of the hallway. He could feel his claws pushing through the skin surrounding his finger and toe nails as he rushed into his home. He dropped his bag and leaned back against the door. His heartrate began to escalate and his eyes changed, including his vision. His hearing and sense of smell sharpened.
Ophelia, his wife, stepped into the room, her eyes reflective, her ears already morphed, and her nose elongating. He thought she was beautiful no matter what form she was in, even if she was in between transformations. Simultaneously, they both fell to their knees, the sunset taking its toll on them both. Eldrian morphed into his animalistic form: a white toyger. Ophelia turned into a regal black Norwegian elkhound. She went over to him and licked the side of his face once.
There was a funeral held today. Ophelia said telepathically. They had to speak this way because they couldn’t communicate normally while in this form.
Eldrian nodded, flicking his tail. He followed her over to the window, which she left open from earlier today. He leapt out gracefully while she was more calculating with her steps. As a dog, she wasn’t as sure-footed as a cat and she needed to feed tonight. She couldn’t afford to get injured.
They made their way through back alleys and in shadows for as long as they could. Darkness descended before they ran out of alleyways. When they reached the empty funeral home, Eldrian hopped onto Ophelia’s back and opened the door. He rode on her back as she led the way to the morgue. Not many buildings in New Orleans had basements, but no one cared if the dead drowned. She sniffed out the freshest body and opened its box. Pulling out the bed, she rolled the body onto the floor.
Together, they dug into the dead man’s body. Ophelia usually got the hearts of their victims when they were older than teens. Eldrian got the liver. Children were their species’ main targets though desperate times call for desperate measures. Blood coated their front paws, muzzle/nose, and mouths.
I’ve been getting hungrier more often recently. Eldrian admitted.
So have I, love.
He was silent for a moment, unsure of how she would react to what he was going to say next. I heard from Gabriel that the organs of the preternatural creatures sustain hunger longer than human organs.
She glanced up at him. There wasn’t an immediate response and he was about to brush off his comment when she said, It doesn’t hurt to try. She sounded a little defeated to him and he wanted to comfort her.
What he didn’t mention was the fact that feeding on preternatural creatures also gave power. Eldrian was sick of being looked over. Feeding on the liver and heart of those not human might give him the strength he would need to stand up for himself.
All he had to do was wait.