:::not here for my _{confessionals:::}

Her perfume was tantalising.

It floated through the air like a ballet dancer, graceful and beautiful, calling to Malignus like a child to its mother. He looked up from his pool to seek her out, and caught her pretty frame flitting through the crags, a lost butterfly in need of direction. He smiled in anticipation, his eyes taking on an eerie glow of desire, before setting off in pursuit of her. She moved swiftly but without purpose, and he noted how gingerly she took every step, as though skirting a cliff edge. His smile grew broader, recognising how much effort she put into both her motion and her pelt and understanding her vanity. Such facts only made it easier for the dog to corner his prey. His lope was unhurried but he caught up with her in a few heartbeats, taking a wide circle around her to cut her off.

All around them the crags loomed, offering sharp rocks and crevasses that were almost certain to cut off most of the child's escape routes. If wisdom even dictated she try flight. Something told him that this female would be slightly easier to persuade then the one he had bumped into the afternoon before, whose opaque eyes and sharp mannerisms made him weary. As he drew in front of her, his large body angled so as to cause her to stop, he smiled charmingly and dipped his head in greeting, his tail wagging slightly while he took on a rather square posture, tall and defiant and handsome. After all, a pretty girl would only be happy if the male who stood beside or above her was just as desirable. He wasn't that ignorant.

He looked her up and down from beneath drawn lids, sneakily assessing her. She was young, two summer's old at most, which only meant that she was untouched and vulnerable. The younger they were, the easier they were to pillage. He almost couldn't believe his luck, especially after how sour he had felt earlier that morning. The stranger was also very eye-catching, so much so that he found himself hard to contain. Still, he knew that acting too soon would get him nowhere, so he decided to bide his time and wait it out.

“Dear lady, I am sorry if I startled you but I couldn't help but notice what a figure you cut as you passed me by. Honestly, I have never before borne witness to such grace, such beauty!” He sighed, as though at a loss, “I do not know what I have done this day to deserve such a treat as to witness your passing. Pray, may I ask your name?”

Oh the scavenger knew just how to weave his web. His art was one of deception, and he was a master of lust and lies, a true terror of the night hiding behind a friendly mask.

Aldonza may not have known it yet, but she was in deep trouble.