Last of the Ascension (Verse) - 22
Impudent Beast
Above—
she exhaled—
relief, not resolution.
Below—
he felt it settle—
truth, heavier than before.
The air stilled—
as if waiting had ended.
Cold entered—
not sudden, but certain.
He did not turn.
“Welcome—
old friend.”
Silence answered—
as it always had.
“Come.”
Stillness.
“Has it been so long?”
The cup before him—
half-empty, listening.
Another arrived—
placed without question.
He slid it forward—
toward absence.
“Come—
be my friend again.”
“Friend—
yes.”
Her voice—
already inside the space.
“But you—
have you come to haunt me?”
She moved without arriving—
form choosing itself.
Fur—
warm, alive.
She pressed against him—
as if nothing had changed.
He allowed it—
for a moment.
Then—
she shifted.
Skin.
Shape.
Memory made visible.
Too close—
too familiar.
“Impudent beast.”
He rose—
distance restored.
She settled opposite—
as if she had always been there.
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