Better Than I

"Shhh..." A gentle whisper; the ghost of a breath. Clasping fingers, tearing flesh. The warmth of love. The chill of grief. Healing hands that cannot heal oneself. Hello, Desmond. The noise carried further than it ought to, rustling around the shrine like the sound of dead leaves, like someone calling into a void. One by one, the candles blew out - and as they did so, what natural light there was in the shrine dimmed considerably, then faded to absolute black. Silence. Desmond would feel, as soft as velvet, a familiar touch caressing his hands. Warm, comforting; a lover's touch. Lips pressed against his neck and a heart beat steadily against his back, somehow familiar, somehow belonging to him without being his. The white candle flared into life once more and strangely it gave off enough illumination to fill the shrine. Desmond's face was inches from a bone white mask, which stared emptily into him. Ribbons of fabric writhed and swathed about them, reaching, stretching - if Desmond dared to look he would notice that they were positioned, all of them, to snatch him up at any moment. "Hello, Desmond," said Ludo. LUDO Braved the forests, braved the stone Braved the icy winds and fire Braved and beat them on my own