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"If I say it, you will only deny it." The God said and then placed a lingering kiss against Ravnos's cheek before the Disciple turned around in his arms and considered his words. It might be nice to know where they were going, and he was also a little curious about how long the trip would be, but that was not such a pressing issue. He was happy to wander with Ravnos for as long as the Disciple wished. If something came up that required his presence, it was easy enough to pop away for a bit and pop back again.

"We could have our own party, just the two of us." He teased with a smirk, hands moving to rest on Ravnos's lower back. Though what the vampire said next gave the God pause, and his head cocked to the side slightly. The God, being a God, did not precisely need any nourishment, blood or otherwise, but the thought of a hunt was awfully enticing.

"I could eat." He said, voice low, as something in his eyes darkened, his mouth curling into a sharp-toothed smile.

The God gave the Disciple a look, narrow-eyed and full of suspicion. He knew that Ravnos was only teasing him, but it somehow felt like a challenge at the same time, goading him to say the words he had held back. His grip on the vampire tightened slightly, and he leaned his face forward just a little, eyes staring deep into Ravnos's own.

"Este perfect." He said, because sometimes it was fun to throw the Disciple's language around to see what reaction he would get for doing so. And if it gave him a few brownie points, all the better.

"I can stay. I will behave." He knew, without needing to be said, that Ravnos was probably thinking about the last time he had left the God alone to his own devices. But that had been long ago, and things were quite different now. Grendel had a better understanding of what was considered the right and wrong way to conduct oneself when a guest of the Kumpania.

Ravnos could go, and he would stay inside the Vardo the entire time and wait for his return. He could hardly get into any trouble so long as he stayed away from everyone, could he?

"But hurry back this time." He said, his head tilting slightly as he released the Disciple, his arms unwinding from around him.

At Ravnos's reply, the God scoffed and shook his head slightly, though there was nothing but love in his gaze. He forced himself away, then, though it was the last thing he wanted to do. If he could have held Ravnos in his arms all night and whispered to him every compliment and endearment imaginable, he would have, but he knew that wasn't practical.

Not yet, at least. Ravnos had something to go and do, and Grendel was aware that he was, possibly, being a bit of a distraction.

"I am sure you will come up with a good excuse to retire early. I have every confidence in you." The smile he offered to Ravnos then was wicked, full of promise should he come back quickly as Grendel had requested. But he still knew not to expect much, and as soon as the Disciple was gone, he summoned a drink to his hand, his favoured wine with vitae, ambrosia, and now, a hint of spice that reminded him of the time they had danced a the Patshiv.

Finding himself alone and with nothing else to do save for perhaps rummaging through Ravnos's belongings (something which he did not feel inclined to do), the God sat, drank, and patiently waited for the Disciple to return. He had experience in waiting. Years of experience. His mind drifted to check on his new Disciples, Ennoia, and the newly adult children they had left behind to fend for themselves.

Lost in thoughts and visions, Grendel did not notice Ravnos's return immediately or at least did not respond to it. Red eyes blinked slowly as the sound of bootheels against a wooden floor drew him back into the here and now, and those eyes followed the Disciple as he made his way to one of his shelves, silent as he sipped on his drink.

"Everything okay?" He finally asked as Ravnos moved to a new set of shelves. It was evident that he was looking for something, though with all the items he had tucked away, the God would not have been surprised if he had just misplaced something.

When the Disciple moved closer to him, he smiled and finished off his cup, gazing back at him over the rim of it when he got close enough for Grendel to smell the familiar scent of the cigar he had taken with him, plus whatever else clung to him from wherever he had been.

"I barely even noticed you were gone." He put the cup down and fought against the urge to reach up and pull the vampire into his lap, though had he stayed leaned down for even a moment longer, he would have been. However, he had straightened and was saying something about a well-travelled road.

Oh right. Hunting. As he thought about it, something shifted inside the God, excitement and desire that he had kept suppressed. When was the last time he had gotten his teeth or claws inside a mortal, just for the fun of it? Well, he could remember, but it had caused a few problems back then, and he had not done it since.

He rose from his chair in a smooth motion and rolled his shoulders back, his chest muscles flexing and stretching as he did so. He did it slowly, almost leisurely, glancing at Ravnos as he did so and smirking.

"Lead the way, then."

"Hmmmm." The God offered a non-committal sound, which only meant that while curious as to what the Disciple could have lost and why he was suddenly looking for it now, he was not so interested as to push it. If it was information that Ravnos thought he needed to know, Grendel was sure that it would be freely offered in time. Besides, he would rather be enjoying their sudden holiday, time together alone, without needing to divide his attention between Ravnos and what felt like a million other things.

Feeling somehow both relaxed and eager simultaneously, Grendel found a place to set down his empty cup before he followed Ravnos outside into the cool night air. Eyes swept around, noting how quiet things were, how few were out and about, fewer now than even just thirty or forty minutes before. Where Ravnos went, he followed until they stood on the edge of the woods, and a memory of the last time Ravnos had led him to such a place pulled at his lips, his gaze darting to the vampire at his side.

And then he scoffed and might have rolled his eyes, except it was not a very God-like thing to do. Before he could come up with a snarky reply, the Disciple was gone as though he had vanished into thin air. There was merely a glimpse of him reappearing before he was gone again.

Cute. Came a rumbling drawl in Ravnos's head as he moved further and further away, though it took Grendel very little time to join in on the little game. His entire being seemed to shift and melt into shadow, a writhing mass of darkness with glowing embers for eyes, which rushed through the air like the wind through the trees, quick, though silent, ominous, and deadly to anything that may have gotten in its path.

For the moment, nothing did, and as quickly as it moved, it came to an eerily sudden stop, the shadows exploding into fragments that flew away and blended back into the woods behind him.

Grendel stood next to the Disciple again, his face perhaps just a little smug as he turned his head towards him.

Sometimes, dramatics could be fun.

"Lure them?" He gave Ravnos an amused look, "What would you do, flash a bit of leg?" He let out a deep chuckle then, something predacious darkening his gaze as he glanced toward the lonely traveller, a tongue running across sharpened teeth before he spoke again.

"Option one will do." He stated, after a brief pause of consideration.

And then he was gone, a slight disturbance of the air the only indication that he had been there, to begin with. He reappeared in the wooded area that Ravnos had indicated, cloaked in darkness, unable to be seen by mortal eyes.

From here, he lay in wait, a growing hunger beginning to burn inside him, though not just for the fresh spill of blood in his mouth, but for the exhilarating rush of the hunt, for the feel of flesh and bone giving way beneath his grasp, for a mortals fear so thick and palpable in the air that he could practically taste it.

For the way the light slowly flickered and died from their eyes, their life force spent.

Soon.

From where he lay in wait, he watched. The chiming sound from Ravnos's bracelet was fainter here, but it still made his ears twitch slightly, his lips curling into an amused smirk. Whatever it was the Disciple had done (and Grendel could easily guess what that had been) seemed to have the desired effect. The traveller had turned to run, and the God's eyes tracked his every move from within the darkness, his beast stretching within him, something forever ravenous that existed below the surface that he kept carefully under control lest he lay waste and ruin to entire villages and incur the wrath of Chaos.

The traveller got ever closer, sprinting from something only they could see or sense, and Grendel was prepared, eyes narrowing as his impossibly sharp teeth began to elongate, his eyes bleeding from dusky red to depthless obsidian.

And then the damned mortal changed direction at the last possible moment. Grendel's head snapped towards them. Should he give chase or wait and see if Ravnos had it handled?

He decided to wait. Just a moment longer.

The trees did not matter, nor any brush, long grass, or any other obstruction. Grendel could see the mortal clear as day, as clear as he could sense Ravnos's presence, no matter where he was. He watched, entertained, but wanting. There was a deep, dark, primitive longing inside of him now, a desire freed by the promise of the hunt. He watched, with eyes smouldering, as Ravnos got the mortal turned back towards him. His body crouched, hunkering down low, his shoulders rising as he waited, eyes narrowing to slits.

The warning was unnecessary, but he did not dismiss it or tell Ravnos so. He could practically taste the mortal's fear in the air, a tantalizing spice added to what he was sure would be a delicious meal. The sound of the Disciples clinking baubles and jewellery neared.

The traveller was slightly off course now, but Ravnos took care of that, and Grendel was ready. However, he waited and moved out of the way, giving the mortal just enough room to struggle free from the bushes, giving them just that split second longer to right themselves, until the very moment their muscles tensed as if to run again, that first movement just barely able even to stir the air before the God struck.

It was a whirlwind of movement, of darkness and the glowing embers of his eyes, of gnashing teeth and terrible claws gripped at the mortal's neck, swinging them round to pin them, with great and terrible force, against the nearest tree.

Grendel appeared a nightmarish version of himself, something dark and twisted, eyes gone black, teeth too impossibly long and sharp, limbs too long. However, it was just for a moment, just long enough to hear those desperate, blood-curdling screams, to fill another desire he had, a sound that would travel no further than the area they stood because the God would not allow it to travel further than that.

There was no sense in drawing attention to themselves now.

"Eat." He said, the word practically hissed between clenched teeth, meant for Ravnos as the traveller's screams began to fade to whimpers.

Grendel would join him in time. He just wanted to be sure he did not accidentally kill the mortal before the Disciple got a chance for some blood.