the boys who kiss and bite
they are the brilliant ones
who speak and write;
The demon was in front of her, blocking her homeward path, before she could even think about what to do next. Her chest rose in desperate breaths, and she took a few steps back in a vain effort to keep him away from her. He was too fast. When he wanted her, he would take her. But she wasn’t going to lie down and let it happen. Her eyes darted to either side. Maybe if she rushed him, the confusion would be enough to get her past his bulking form.
The muscles in her legs coiled, preparing to sprint, but then he was…different. “What…?” she whispered, her wet eyes blinking stupidly at him from across the clearing. And then she laughed. A nervous, hollow sound so unlike her genuine laughter that it startled even her. “You’re sorry?” She shouted the word at him, her voice cracking, her legs shaking under the stress of holding their half-lunge.
He had to be pretending. She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t dare to. Until he lowered himself to the ground. Her eyes went wide, her jaw slack. Had he…? Was he…? On her? She looked around in bewilderment, as if someone would appear and tell her it had all been a joke and that she could go home now. They would say that she was safe, and that this demon hadn’t imprinted on her here in this strange grassland.
But there was no one coming.
They were alone.
It took her a long time to fully understand the situation she was in. A moment ago, he had been throwing her like a rag doll and now he was prostrating himself in the dirt. Her neck still ached where his teeth had been, her back still pulsed where she had landed on it, but he was literally begging her to forgive him. A demon. Begging her. If his kind were to see him…it would not serve him well to be found out.
“I…” she started hesitantly, pausing to clear her throat. “You should get up.” Her voice was small, but stronger now. She took a step forward, quizzically turning her head at him and offering a gentle wave of her tail. Maybe, if she were to be herself now, he would let her have peace; she still couldn’t bring herself to share the dazzling smile she did so well. “Who are you?”
they sing in clever tongues
oh, how my knees go weak
to be the one;
H U S H
five ** soul ** home ** |