Dragoncrest Cliffs [m] i need a palate cleanser of a trip to floridise.

live by the sword,
die by the sword.
cayetano's hopes were hardly extinguished.
no, she was a delightful puzzle
to turn over and examine
to twist this way and that
gradually unpacking the years
that had taken so much of her life.

he didn't mind not knowing
their names.
they were ghosts of another life
another time
it might be best to let those dogs lie
in the distant memories of an old crone's mind.

she sighs and stands
and cayetano prepares for umpteenth rejection
instead,
kheviel pauses
long gaze slid over hard shoulders
his ears perk --
ayo?!

cayetano needs no second bidding,
the bones forgotten at his feet
as something much larger grows in him
see? i knew you'd come to your senses,
he quips with a playful nip at one dusty hip
quick to spring back out of snapping teeth range
his heartbeat quickens
as an old hunger stirs beneath his belly.
after you, m'lady kheviel.