breath by breath

MELITA

She watched, placing her hands and bingo board behind her back in faux innocence, lightly resting them as if only there for the entertainment. With a quirk of her brow, she waited, eyes flickering and striving to catch any small movement he was mustering. She took half a breath though when the shock of the lightning rambled through, taking one step back when that age-old apprehension rippled through her, fighting it down with a few rapid heartbeats and deep breaths.

But it seemed to have worked. Several backed away as the spark rippled through the railing, and then there was the howling itself. Melita used the opportunity to render herself back into normalcy and pilfer the anxiety of imminent death into something not earth-defining or shattering, grin forming as he howled and people stared and the beasts did much the same – until they all started echoing together. If there were any Attuned nearby it must’ve been an overwhelming feeling, coinciding with so many predacious souls intertwining in their rapacious edges. “Gods, you are ridiculous,” she granted with a generous pat to his ass, before she was joining in, though not nearly as loud as himself, and despite all her of her quirks and determination, was drowned out by the eeriness of the shadowfangs themselves. “But very impressive,” granted with a wink.

Shaking her head and laughing just the same, while others rushed forward, she did place the sticker upon her card, content that one emboldened look from the cretins towards a toddler at the forefront was enough of an edge. Shoving it down into her pockets quickly, she beamed back up at him. “All right, where to next?” Because if she had any say...she'd be steering them right towards where she could win.

[FIN]

This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight