Wapun Meadow and I've got one foot in the door

eulie dawn fluttered her lashes like the wings of the very wrens who sang at her feet, and her smile curved slow and coy when he gave her that name—dolce.
ain’t he just cute as a button, she murmured, voice like sugar steeped in moonlight. dolce. now ain’t that a sweetheart’s name, mm?
the birds nearby chirped like they were in agreement, and she shifted on her haunches just enough to stretch a forelimb, tail curling around her side. with the same air of ease she always wore, eulie dawn lifted her head to the sky, and with a breath, began to sing:
oh the handsome men, they strut through the wood,
with scars on their jaws and hearts full of soot.
they talk like thunder, walk like sin,
and every one’s trouble from outside to in.

but mama once told me, with a wink in her eye—
darlin’, sometimes storms are just songs gone awry.
so kiss ‘em if you catch ‘em, hold ‘em if you dare,
but don’t lose your soul to a boy with that stare…

she ended it with a hum, eyes still half-lidded, glancing sideways at him with a grin that could soften stone. there. now you got a song, dolce, she said, her voice light as dandelion fluff. ain’t nothin’ sayin’ it has to end sad, neither.
a beat.
you wanna stay a while, sugar, i won’t stop you. world’s too damn big to chase it alone.