"That I am." The Berserker answered when she asked if he were taking her to New Orleans. It was far from Arizona and the climate could scarcely be more different from her home state of Arizona. The bayou was radically different from the desert. Both had their respective advantages and disadvantages, but truth be told Hallbjorn did not care for either. They were places that held no meaning for him. He glanced at Kara again from the corner of his eye.<em>She</em>was the only thing that could hold any meaning for him. But that . . .<br/><br/>Control. Always control.<br/><br/>"Every other Berserker I have met went wild-eyed in battle. They also had wild hair and beards. Several would froth at the mouth and scream like wild animals or madmen. The rage controlled them and they let it be their master." The blond man told the female with the very mildest sense of distaste seeping into his words. Hallbjorn loathed the other Berserkers for their coarseness and crassness. They ate and drank with abandon, always smelling of spirits and slatterns. "I control myself. I can call upon as much or as little of the Berserker rage as I need. And tonight I needed none at all. When I do . . . then I hulk out."<br/><br/>Then she donned a blue hoodie, digging around in her bag for it. While she did that he adjusted the climate controls for the cab, increasing the temperature in case she were cold. Given how little she was wearing it was a possibility. He did not want her uncomfortable. There were things that he wanted that he could not have, but he could show basic consideration for her comfort.<br/><br/>"Midnight marked an entire month." The Berserker told her. "Day and night I watched over you." It was an . . . agreeable assignment. The blond man beside her was not a voyeur by nature or inclination, but when he watched her sleep at night . . . that was time he regarded well spent. It was perhaps more dear to him than the killing. Perhaps.<br/><br/>"I do not know what you are. I was not told, and my knowledge of the Lore does not include what you are. My senses tell me that you are a halfling of some sort. I would wager vampire, but I have no idea what the other half might be. That would explain the fangs and the desire for blood." The Berserker told her softly. "All immortals have eyes that change colour when they feel strong emotions. Different creatures of the Lore have different colors. Most immortals appear mostly human and can conceal features that set them apart easily, or play it off as a costume. Humans easily believe that someone is costume playing or in costume for film or television."<br/><br/>The truck ate up road as they went. The only source of light now was the truck and the stars overhead. Kara's hometown was far enough behind them now that the lights it gave off faded away, at least to mortal eyes. When Kara rose on her knees and learned towards him to take his sunglasses off, he found himself unsure how to react to it. He watched her move them away from his face, and then set them on the dashboard. It did not bother him or phase him.<br/><br/>There was nothing on the road to worry about, so he turned his head to look at her. Their faces were close. He could scent her just as well as she could. Better, even, because he was fully in his immortality. The hint of vulnerability in her voice threatened the iron control he held himself in. Because he was fated to be hers, she was very dangerous to him. And with the change she was undergoing, he felt seed of fear take root that she would make him lose the control that give him his sense of identity and that he would lose himself in her.<br/><br/>One of Hallbjorn's big hands left the wheel. It rose to gently cup Kara's face. The palm of his hand was rough and warm and very strong, but it was gentle as he caressed her cheek. The pad of his thumb traced over Kara's lower lip slowly; the rough skin eking a long path over something so soft and luscious.<br/><br/>"Oh no, Kara." The Berserker told her softly in his honeyed, deep voice as his blue eyes gazed deeply into her amber ones. "But I will break your heart."