clinging to the edge

Ashe the woods are lovely, dark, and deep but i have promises to keep    Ashe let out another shaking breath and leaned into her mother's embrace, letting her eyes fall shut as she tucked her head against the witch's chest. She breathed in deeply, trying to flee from the finality of what she was saying as her hand was placed over the assassin's heart. "I don't want him there," she said roughly, knowing full well how much of a child she sounded like. It didn't matter what she wanted, did it? "He should be here. We should be celebrating."    The wolf girl picked up her head then at the sound of a hiccup from the kitchen island. Her eyes found a pair of long legs poking out from within Kalt's cigar box that hovered from the surface of the counter, eyes gleaming from within. She watched silently as Soot pulled himself from within the pitch black box - he was fond of it, as if it were a nest of sorts. He fell clumsily from within with a squeak, but he was soon skittering down the counter and across the floor to the feet of the assassin.    Ashe sniffed and leaned down to coax the spider into her hands, the size of a small cat now. He chittered quietly at her as she stroked a hand over his fuzzy body, and he quickly was nestling against her shoulder with what could only be described as very sad spider eyes. "I'm alright," she lied quietly to Soot.    She looked back at her mother, and her hands fell uselessly to her sides. Ashe leaned back against the counter beside Vai, and she stared out into the kitchen with water still dripping from her hands. The quiet was settling in again, a smothering sort silence in her soul. She couldn't seem to connect the pieces in her head: Ronin smirking at her just a few hours ago. Just a few hours...    There was a special breed of darkness that Ashe knew very well. One that called to her now with a comforting and murky depth she could lose herself in. Easier to do that than accept that no matter how many minutes passed, she wasn't going to be able to find Ronin again. She wanted his blood off of her, as if erasing the evidence of this would erase it from ever having happened.. but she couldn't seem to make herself move now. Soot moved against her, brushed a furry leg against her cheek silently, but she didn't move. "This is wrong," she whispered to no one in particular. and miles to go before i sleep.