Lilt is easy, Litotes thinks, the tiniest bits of coherency returning to him. If he were his normal self, he would be asking himself—why do I give myself away so easily? Piece by tiny piece, he drops what remains of himself in a trail back to each mistake. He used to place those pieces of himself on the tongues of his lovers, and they would smile and feign a swallow; then when he was not looking, they would spit it upon the ground from where they were hiding it under their tongues.
Oh, he used to think he was delicious and sweet, a fruit ripe for the picking.
Litotes will try to love again soon (he is even loving now), a sweet realization that makes him look up with sparkling eyes. Lilt chatters about her mother, the lion understanding every few words. As the seconds pass he becomes more and more self-aware, even tilting his head at the mention of Sylva.
Still, nothing could prepare him for the face that turns the corner before them.
A face so startling that Litotes is ripped from his lion form, and the last several years of his life come rushing back.
“Oh, fuck,” Lie gasps, as he typically does, golden eyes locking onto Starsin’s navy ones. She gives him a cold gaze, one that reminds him of his shivering nights locked in a cave. Starsin’s eyes are so cold that they kill his shock and sensory overload.
Now, anger warms him.
“Isn’t it, Starsin?” Litotes replies, a coy and vicious smile lifting his lips. He turns his head slightly, just enough to watch Lilt from his peripheral vision. He feels for her, and feels for all of the pieces clicking together in his head—but being faced with such a visceral piece of who he is so suddenly . . . he just can’t take his eyes off of Starsin.
“Why do you look at me like I’ve done something wrong, Starsin? I thought you would have forgotten about me by now.” He shrugs, casts eyes teeming with anger and hurt up at the night sky. “You forget your feelings so well, I don’t know why I’m surprised to see you so . . . cold.”
as it softly glides across your back
and i hope you leave right before the sun comes up
so i can watch it alone
