The devil may cry

lord of darkness. starling couldn't say she favored that title.

when he sat next to her she felt quite at ease despite his thick flattery -- what perturbed her next was his contact. it was unwanted contact.

starling puffed up in the manner a sparrow would when offended, her plumage lifted and iridescent fur gleaming as she turned stiffly to him. she tried her best to ward him off by giving him quite a disapproving stare -not that it would do anything to stop him.

"you flatter me." she replied, articulating the well-groomed vocabulary she had been taught as a youth. "and what is a lord doing at night alone?" she hoped to steer him away from.. her -- and one thing she knew that set garrulous men into a state was talking about themselves.