Heed the drums, obey the call. I smell the essence of the forest. The wolves howl. On the hunt. Savory blood.

I killed it. What did I slay? Doesn't matter, it's taste; incredible. I yearn for more.

There it was, cracking of leaves, I see them run. Climb into the trees, hide beneath a sheet of leaves. I can see. High above. Desperate they flee, hungry I follow. Chase to the ends of the edges of the word.

Faster. Faster. It's fun. Rip. Tear. Piece by piece. Hear their screams.

I smell fear, sweet.

The flapping of wings. The raven's feast. I am here. Hunt them all, devour the heart, swallow life. Retain the taste. Finally awake.

***

I wake up and see the ceiling. My phone's clock says 3:34 am. It's still night. But why is my room so bright even without the light of my phone.

What was that dream? Been having similar ones for a while now. Ah doesn't matter.

Welp, I'm awake now might as well go to the toilet before going to sleep again. Through the door. Down the corridor. The lights are off. What's that click-clack noise? My mind is in a haze.

Flushing the toilet and going to wash my hands before going heading back to bed. My mind screeches to a halt as I notice what's in the mirror. A figure made of darkness. Glowing green eyes with slitted pupils looking back at me. The bewilderment of having just woken up vanishing in the blink of an eye. Confusion taking its place.

Rubbing my eyes I notice my hands. My skin, darker than twilight, as if blessed by the abyss itself. Sharp-looking black claws at the end of my fingers.

I look back up. It's not my face. But I know it's me. Those green eyes. Mine. Those pointed ears. Mine. The Voldemort nose. Mine. This is my body. Though it's a shame that the hair I've been growing out has seemingly vanished without a trace. What a shame. A smile crept onto my face. Sharp serrated teeth appeared from beneath my parting lips.

My body is thin. I was slightly obese before. My arms are longer, they go nearly to my knees. Digitigrade legs? My feet look more like hands. They have those same claws as well. I'm happy, it's the first time in years that I remember being happy because of my appearance.

Admiring my body, caressing the unearned lightly toned muscles a thought hit me. I probably shouldn't be this calm. I know this isn't a dream. I'm awake. And now that I think about it why am I so hungry? I ate before going to bed. My thoughts were accompanied by my stomach grumbling in protest. Guess I should eat something first and for most.

Walking down the stairs to the ground floor. I start to think. I hate my life like it is, it's boring, monotonous, and dull. I don't have an attachment to society or my life as a human. I do have friends but I can't seem to think of them as friends. And if they were to vanish one day? It wouldn't change much. Life would still be boring. The only difference being fewer possibilities for entertainment that makes me forget for a moment. People might think it's cold. But that's how it is. I can't change who I am. And I'm not gonna do so for others.

Arriving in the kitchen I started searching through the fridge. Taking a pudding and sitting down at the table I eat. It tastes terrible. Like wet slimy dirt. I throw it into the trash and look for something else.

Cheese, disgusting. Jam, no better than the pudding. Ham, better but still nauseating. Milk, rancid thought that might just be because someone forgot to put it back into the fridge. Water tastes normal but it doesn't help the hunger.

"Nothing" I mumbled to myself. It came out a deep raspy whisper. Even my voice sounds terrifying, I think it's cool.

I just can't find anything to fill my stomach. Even the meat I forced down, I just threw up again. The hunger is just getting stronger by the minute. I... I... I want something alive. It's as if I instinctually know it. My stomach giving of a rumbling growl as if confirming my thoughts.

I always liked the thought of being some monster or simple man living in the forest. Might as well fulfill some dreams. Not like I can stay here. I won't fit into human society as I am now. Just gonna scare the shit out of people how I look now. And fearful humans are dangerous humans. At least I only live a bit away from the forest. Perkes of living on a farm in the middle of nowhere I guess.

I quickly started thinking about what I need. After some thought, I scratched together an old backpack, my fishing rod I've left to rot in some cabin as well as other fishing equipment, my trusty hunting knife mostly used for carving or gutting fish, and a 2-liter flask I filled with water.

Walking up to my bedroom, my claws making a rhythmic clacking sound on the tiles of the floor. While on the stairs I tried being careful not to leave marks on the wooden steps. Back in my room, I look if there is anything else I could need.

That's when I remembered even if I won't be in civilization I might as well take my savings with me, not gonna let my brother steal all that money I painstakingly saved up. Thankfully I don't trust the banks, so I have most of it in my room, at the end I scratched together 2578€ in total. I was saving for a new pc and maybe some new games. Oh well just take it with me, for now, is fine.

Finished with gathering my stuff and having packed all of it into the backpack I opened the window of my room and jumped out.

As if instinctively I landed without a sound. It was a regular Sunday morning the sun was already starting to rise on the horizon. I have to get out of here. Getting discovered will only lead to future trouble.

As I ran through the farm the animals looked so appetizing but I can't leave any traces that would suggest that I'm not just a normal run-away teenager.

As I was walking past the garage that was also used as a workshop for repairs and storing tools an idea pop into my mind. I don't have much time till the workers arrive so I quickly run into the garage. A minute or so I came running out, one hatchet and a whetstone richer. Vanishing into the rim of the wilderness.

Running between the trees. Enjoying the feeling of grass and foliage on my soles. It's fun. I don't have any shoes, as my old ones don't fit me anymore. I don't leave any tracks. I instinctively avoid leaving any. I make nearly no sound while moving.

Thinking about it, how am I able to walk? The structure of my legs changed substantially but it feels like I walked all my life with them. A question I don't know the answer to.

How long have I been walking? The sun is shining from above not yet at its zenith. Still, on the move, I come upon a smell. My mouth began to water. My stomach rumbled, the fires of hunger long-forgotten reignite, burning with a passionate fervor.

I followed the scent until I arrive at a small river, so small calling it a river might be an insult to an actual river, flowing beneath the trees, a small cliff standing above a small lake. Its diameter is around ten meters, the lake is filled with clear water from the stream. It was a beautiful scene. The splashing and trickling sounds together with the rustling of leaves are like music to my ears in the silence of the forest

In the middle of the scenery, I could spot a deer, drinking from the waters. Undisturbed, peaceful, unaware of my presence. I stalked closer. My throat is dry, yet, saliva fills my mouth. Licking my teeth in expectation, eyes glued to my prey, I pounce.

As the deer dies, its screams echo in my ears, a smile spreading across my face. They were like music. A sweet metallic scent spread through the vicinity. Blood dribbled upon the floor. I dig in. It tastes heavenly, like nothing I tasted ever before.

Riping into flesh, tearing its muscles, the animal's pained cries have long faded into silence. Breaking its bones. Savoring the taste I sink my clawed hands into the deer's chest, gorging out its heart. Seeing the heart in my hand my own starts racing. I can't seem to take my eyes off of it.

Bringing it to my mouth I sink my fangs as if it were an apple. The delightful flavor of blood and meat spreading through my mouth. The feeling of strength spreading through my body with every bite of the flesh apple. I know I just absorbed something I can feel it spreading through my body. It's a fascinating feeling of energy coursing through my veins.

Now stomach filled I had to start thinking about the future. I need somewhere to live. And I don't think I'm gonna find some hotel or even a crappie shack around here. I should be a few kilometers away from... home. Well not anymore. But man I'm already reading and listening to my music. But my phone could be tracked and I don't have anything to recharge it with anyways.

If only I had more time. For now, I need shelter. Let's look around for a suitable place.

---

The sun was setting, wrapping the world in the covers of night. Sitting on a medium-sized log of the tree I had cut down. A small campfire burning in a hole with a rim of rocks to my feet. I'm taking a little break from the building of my new home. At this pace, I'm probably done by tomorrow.

My new home is a few meters from the small lake where I had killed the deer. After looking around for a while I had found a small indentation on the cliff wall. After thinking about it for a while I had decided to live here for now. There is clear water near me and for foot, well I need to hunt anyways so it doesn't really matter.

This place is also at least a kilometer away from the edge of the forest and I didn't find any man-made paths in the area so the possibility of getting found is low. Not that many people are coming so far in the forest anyways. Maybe some hunters will.

For my new home, I cut down a few trees in an area a bit further upstream. I then leaned them on the wall above the indentation on a cliff so they formed something similar to a slope. After completing a half-circle around the indentation could already make out the room that would become the living area.

Then to make it into more of a hut, than a pile of logs. I cut off some long and flexible branches of the nearby trees and relieve them of their leaves. I then intertwined them with each other and with the log skeleton of my soon-to-be new home, weaving the walls by going in and out between the lumber.

And that's where I am now. Sitting at a small campfire a few meters away from what I have designated as the entrance. Well, it's more of a circular hole in the wall of the little hut for now but that doesn't matter. I'm just happy that the weather looks to be clear so it's unlikely to rain.

I haven't waterproofed the structure yet. I guess that is something for tomorrow. But for now, I'm going to relax a bit.

Taking my hunting knife from the backpack and throwing a few dry branches on the fire before picking another piece of wood.

That was how I passed my night. Carving away at my piece of wood, listening to the crackling of the fire, and humming or whistling the melody of some of my favorite songs while doing so.

I strangely don't feel all that much like sleeping and even though I performed physical labor all day cutting down trees and carrying the logs to the building site of my hut I'm not tired in the slightest.

I think I'm gonna scout the area around my new home tomorrow, but before that, I should finish building my home. And I should probably also hunt so I don't have to run on an empty stomach.