Disclaimer: True Blood isn't mine, but a certain kitty cat and an entire new species is.

5. Undisclosed Desires

By the time I had ascended the stairs and reached my room, my doppelganger was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Libitina was curled up, content, in the centre of my bed. She looked as though she had claimed this position an eternity ago, but I had learned that cats had the ability to portray this illusion when, in reality, they had only just settled down to sleep. Libitina didn't react to my entrance and, for a moment, I was at a loss for what to do.

"I know it's you," I told her, remembering why I had followed my doppelganger upstairs in the first place. I, the Nest, needed answers.

An ear twitched at my words, but otherwise I received no response.

"I know," I repeated softly. "I know that you were the young woman cornered by those Weres, just as I know that you are my cat, Libitina, and I know that you are the one that took my form just a few short minutes ago."

Still, received no response, Libitina didn't even twitch.

"Say something," a growl of irritation slipping into my voice as I pled with the cat.

The lack of response from Libitina was disconcerting and if the appearance of a carbon copy of me hadn't been witnessed by Stan and Isobel, as well as several others, I would have begun to question my sanity. I knew that I had been losing my connection to the world, to the present, that time was slipping by without my consciously noticing it. In the modern era vampires had entered a strange time where the older or ancient vampires perished not in battle or at the hand of a younger vampire plotting their own ascension through the ranks, but at the own hand once their mind could no longer justify their continued existence. I was one such vampire. My mortal ties to the world had perished millennia ago, leaving Eric as my only connection to the world. Eric was the only reason I continued to exist. I had reconciled myself with this simple fact a long time ago. I knew that Eric was a powerful vampire in his own right, with an unrivalled lust for life, a formidable warrior, but still very attached to me and I worried over how he would react to news of my final death.

I had imagined many things over the last few centuries, but I knew that I had been perfectly lucid during the confrontation with the King and Flanagan, I had heard my doppelganger speak and I had witnessed several powerful Weres flee in fear.

"I know you can speak," I told Libitina, settling against the headboard and beginning to stroke my fingers though her silky hair. "I know I didn't imagine that."

Sighing softly to myself, when I still received no response, I closed my eyes and titled my head back. Silently berating myself for sighting, vampires didn't sigh, humans did, and I began to wonder who decided that vampires didn't sigh when we all started out as humans anyway. Since my cat hadn't deigned to speak to me, something not entirely out of character, I didn't pay her any mind when she shifted from the centre of the bed and came to sit beside me. My eyes quickly flew open, however, when the air in the room shifted and I felt a ripple of raw magic flow through the room. The sight that greeted me wasn't Libitina stretched out on my pillows, but of the young blonde woman from all those nights ago, mirroring my position against the headboard.

Centuries ago, I had learned that knowing and seeing were two entirely different creatures. The shock of seeing the young woman again was no exception and I hadn't even had my eyes open to witness the transformation. I imagined that it would be similar to when Weres shifted between their human and animal forms. Unlike my first encounter with her in this form, I took the time to really study her. She was short by the modern standards and I estimated that she would just barely eclipse the height of my shoulder. Her hair was a shade of blonde no longer seen in this time of hair salon, it was a colour that a modern human would categorise as boring and immediately alter with dyes and pigments. Neither fat nor so rakishly thin as to give the appearance of a prepubescent boy, her body did not conform to the current trends, her naturally rounded stomach would be labelled fat is considered by a human of the current period. Her hair was not perfectly straight or coaxed into artful waves and curls, it just was. Natural, was the only word available to me with which to accurately describe her, plain and boring were words that a human would probably elect to utilise. Searching the scant few memories I still possessed of being human I realised she was not unlike the women who would have been around me, although none of those women would have had blonde hair.

"Cat's don't talk," a gentle voice told me, jarring me away from my analysis of the being inside me.

"But the Dallas Weres said you are capable of combining attributes from many different sources, surely you could make yourself talk," I offered my observation in response to her words.

"True, but that is a simplistic interpretation of my abilities," she replied with a half smile. "A cat's vocal chords have not evolved to produce the variety of sounds needed to mimic human speech, nor do they possess the brain capacity."

I had to concede that it was, in fact, a rather complicated concept. It would be far simple to combine attributes from different example of the same species than it would be to combine characteristics from different species. As I considered her words, my eyes fell upon the art deco styled necklace that encircled her neck. It was the same as the one that Isobel had improvised as a collar for Libitina.

"What are you?" I finally ask.

"Something and at the same time nothing," she replied without imparting any useful information. "We have, in the past, been called Mimics or Mirrors because of our abilities that are so similar to that of a Shifter, but our ability to change is far more fluid and dynamic."

"I don't understand," I confess.

"Well," she paused to gather her thoughts into a clearer explanation. "A Shifter can only copy a specific form, so the name, Mimic, would be far more appropriate for them. I, on the other hand, can alter the nature of the parts that make up my being so I can create a carbon copy or I can assemble an entirely new entity from components I have encountered. I am restricted far less than a Shifter. In fact, my kind is probably responsible for the myths about chimeras and manticores."

"That is why you were clothed when you shifted into a human while Shifters and Weres are not?"

"Correct, I can absorb the clothing into myself when I change from a human form or create it when I change into a human."

Silently, I contemplate her words. It is very unusual for a Supernatural creature to reveal much information about themselves so I am thankful for what appears to be her candour. It is just as unusual for me to encounter something new.

"What is your name?" I ask after a long spell of silence between the two of us.

"I don't have one, I have never had need of one before," she tells me without a trace of sadness or bitterness in her voice, which surprises me.

"Do you like the name Libitina?" I continue with my slew of mundane questions, suddenly feeling anxious at the prospect of an answer to this one.

"A little depressing perhaps," she muses. "But it is the only one I have ever had and it suits the cat of a vampire."

"But you aren't just a cat," I press, not assured in the least by her non-committal answer.

"Perhaps, but for much of the time I am."

I digest her words. The concept of not having a name is so incredibly foreign to me that it is difficult to comprehend. There are other Supes for whom it is not the case, but for humans, vampires, Weres and Shifters a name is tied very closely to ones knowledge of self and identity, their place in the world and their heritage. To not have a name is a very alien idea. In many of the ancient schools of magic a name holds great meaning and the secret to gaining mastery of a being. In times not too long passed I had to protect my name as though it were a jealously guarded secret to ensure that the knowledge wasn't used against me.

"You said that others have called you Mimic or Mirror, what does your kind call yourself?" the words escape my lips as soon as the question enters my mind.

"Protean."

'Not a talkative creature,' I think to myself, not that I'd ever be considered chatty. I played with the word a bit to see if I had ever encountered it or anything of its ilk before, but I didn't think I had. It was similar to Proteus, a name from a myth or tale that I had heard once upon a time, but it was not of my people and I hadn't troubled to memorise the details of the story. It didn't take long for me to conclude that I hadn't ever encountered or heard of a Protean during my time on the Earth.

"Why did you intervene before?" I finally ask a more poignant question. What she was was far less important that what motivated her actions.

"I told you, this is my home," cam her instant reply, which served to answer nothing.

"I remember, but why did you make this your home?" I pressed.

"You are here," she answered simply.

"So you followed me because I saved, or defended you, rather," I corrected my slip. After her display earlier in the evening I was under no illusions that she needed my protection.

"No, I had been looking for you for a long time," Libitina answered me patiently. "I have come close to catching up with you in the past, but have either just missed you or lose your scent before I can catch up."

"Scent?" I ask dumbly, my stomach shifting uncomfortably.

"We choose a mate by scent. Perhaps companion is a better word? Mate implies a sexual relationship and usually a mutual one, whereas we seek out the one we wish to be close to and we do not need the attachment to be reciprocated."

"So you just want to live here as my cat?" I'm incredulous at her lack of motivation to aspire to anything. None of her behaviour makes any sense to me and it is unnerving.

"Yes, it is enough to simply be around you."

"Why a cat though? Why not approach me as a human or another vampire? Vampires are not known for allowing other creatures to reside in their nests."

"You are not like other vampires, Godric, and although you have been searching for companionship, for a reason to continue, you have not been seeking that kind of relationship."

"If I'm to understand you correctly, the last few centuries I have been roaming listlessly, searching for a pet cat."

"Not exactly," she said with a laugh. "Maybe not a cat specifically, but you have been searching."

"How long does your kind live?" I ask after I realise that I would never willing become attached to something with a finite lifespan, especially not one so short as a cat's.

"I do not know. All I know is that I would be considered very old, even by a vampire."

"Can you die?"

"Possibly, I am yet to die and I have never met one of my kind who has died. I do not know."

Before today I had never received such a strong of unsatisfactory answers and I was quickly losing my patience with Libitina.

"I have heard of one of us to change form into a tree after the death of their mate. A tree has no conscious thoughts so there was no way for them to change into another form and eventually trees perish like so many other mortal creatures. So to answer your question I could die, but I would have to make the conscious decision to do so, for while I can remain in a form and allow myself to age I can too easily alter my form."

"Beheading?" I suggest; it was the key to killing so many creatures.

"It hurts, but is hardly fatal," she smiles.

"Your kind is truly immortal," I comment, stunned.

"Perhaps, I haven't lived forever yet, so I can't answer definitively. Now, it's mid-morning and you should rest."

"Rest?"

"Yes, you need to die for the day, despite your impressive age it still isn't healthy for you to remain awake so long; you didn't retire at all last night."

Her instruction was baffling. I'd been a vampire for two thousand years and no one had ever put me to bed before. Despite the absurdity, I couldn't deny the truth behind her words. It was unhealthy for vampires to force themselves to stay awake during the daylight hours. After sending a glare in Libitina's direction I stretched out and allowed myself to slip into a death sleep wondering if she could make herself into a Fairy; Fairy blood was such a delicacy. Not once did I consider the possibility of her harming me during the day.

FIN.

A/N: This is a completed story, but I still love reading reviews so drop me a line.

This story hasn't been beta'd, that means there are mistakes. If/when you find one send me a message and I'll fix it up.

APPENDIX:

Chimera – (pronounce kai-mare-ah) according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing female creature composed of the parts of multiple animals: upon the body of a lioness with a tail that ended in a snake's head, the head of a goat arose on her back at the centre of her spine.

Don't You Know Who I Think I Am? (Chaoter four) – a song by Fall Out Boy

Follow Me Home (Chapter two) – a song by Dire Straits

Libitina – Roman goddess of death, corpses and funerals

Manticore – a legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth (like a shark), and a trumpet-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned, winged, or both. The tail is that of either a dragon or a scorpion, and it may shoot poisonous spines to either paralyse or kill its victims

Proteus – a man given the ability to change into any form by the god Poseidon

Real World (Chapter three) – a song by All American Rejects

Sounds of Silence (Chapter one) – a song by Simon & Garfunkel

Undisclosed Desires (Chapter five) – a song by Muse