Chapter Text
With grace, poise, and elegance, came love. Neat, tidy, clean—those loved could take your breath away with their majesty alone. From the moment you laid your eyes on them, they’d enchant your very soul. Not once would they let you down. They could never be so unsightly, for no matter the challenges that awaited them, they met it with poise and precision.
When she was young, Still in Love’s heart had been enchanted by the Twinkle Series. Through her parent’s recordings, she watched Mejiro Ramonu claim the Triple Tiara for herself, bewitched by the grace, poise, and elegance she exuded in her pursuit. She demonstrated her love to the world, showed them all exactly what it meant to her, and, in doing so, inspired many more to follow the path she had carved out for them.
Still wanted to be just like her. Elegant, graceful, and magnificent. Someone who could enchant others with her running, someone who could be loved by the world. It made her think that maybe, just maybe, she could become someone like that. That a nobody could become somebody—that her presence could grow that strong.
But it was never meant to be.
She remembered the first time she attended a race in person. With her own two eyes, she witnessed competition fierce enough to light a fire in her chest. It made her want to run, to race, to stand upon the turf and hear the crowd roar her name. A desire so very normal it became known as an instinct; one that all umamusume had lurking within them—the longing to run.
And then it happened. At the peak of the race, in the final spurt, when all the runners’ instincts reached a fever pitch, and the intensity grew so thick you could feel it on your skin—something within her awoke and whispered in her ear.
“Blood, the moon, the sin. This is the fate you’ve been cursed with.”
An intoxicating pleasure flooded her veins—so coarse, so dense, that it smothered her very self. Her consciousness floated somewhere, its form so vague she could scarcely control it—leaving her with naught but a single impulse to guide her.
Her throat was so horribly dry.
And everyone looked so terribly delicious.
Oh, how she wanted to hunt, to devour, to tear them apart and feast on their souls right then and there. Oh, how pleasurable it would be to watch them fall into despair at her feet, to dig her teeth into their flesh and taste that forbidden fruit. Surely that would quench this wretched thirst. If it didn’t she might just need to devour the world.
From then on, her life grew into something twisted. Whenever she’d race, she’d appear—the mad blood inside her, the primordial beast—and wreak havoc upon all that were near. Time and time again, Still lost herself in that intoxicating madness. She’d hunt her prey to her heart’s content, fill them with such delectable despair—
And then the fog would disappear.
Her ‘self’ returned. And she was alone.
Still in Love still wanted to be loved.
But it was now such a distant dream.
Her heart had long since been bewitched by racing. She still wanted to be on that turf, competing with opponents who pushed her to even higher heights. So she kept running, trying so hard to repress the madness that had infected her mind until they split in two.
She wanted to run with dignity and beauty—to bewitch others with the grace of her running and be loved in return.
Her other self, the crimson impulse within her, wanted to hunt—to drive her prey into a corner and consume all in her way.
Ugly, disgraceful, and grotesque. She was a wild beast—a predator, eager to show her teeth, living for the thrill of the chase. And always, always, always she’d win—she’d drown Still in a sea of pleasure, and scream about how she was going to eat, and eat, and eat. They feared her, they reviled her, they hated her. She crushed the competition and was met by revulsion.
First shock. Then silence. Then whispers. Then horror. Then anger.
“Monster.”
Still in Love hated being alone.
But predators were feared, never loved.
-!-
Her other self met him first.
The full moon always brought her out. There was something about it that aggravated the primal blood within her veins, inexplicable and uncontrollable. Perhaps it was simply that her blood never slept; it was only chained by reason. And in the ghostly light of the moon, the chain came loose.
She was running, hunting something that wasn’t there—something that could satisfy her unending thirst. A meal to gorge herself on—a soul she could take, crush, and slip right through her lips. Perhaps the moon itself would do? She had nothing else.
So she ran, ran, ran—not caring where, until she returned to where she began.
And finally, she found her prey.
Eyes wide—moonlight white. Fear bewitched by longing, yearning for an insatiable impossible desire. She couldn’t get enough. A feast of fear—a feast of love. She heard his blood pounding, his pulse growing faster, and faster, and he was walking towards her.
She just had to give in.
So she followed his lead, and bit.
It was as delicious as she thought it’d be—so delicious that it quenched the night’s thirst, and her reason returned.
Immediately, Still felt her heart sink. The man—a trainer by the look of his outfit—was passed out by her feet. Blood dripped from the wound on his neck; it would not be bleeding in the morning, but it was enough to make her sick. She felt her breath grow short, fumbling for her phone in the pockets of her skirt.
She stumbled down her contact list, fingers shaking as she frantically searched for someone to call. When she saw her roommate’s number, she may well have slammed her finger onto the call button. She brought the phone to her ear—more desperate than her other self—hoping she’d pick up.
A second passed, then two, before she heard a click, and a sound that didn’t ring.
“Is Still in Love in need of『assistance』?”
“Y-Yes, U-Universe. I…I need help.”
“Affirmative. Neo Universe requires a moment before she can『arrive』, she will attempt to make her『assistance』as expedient as possible.”
The night’s air bit into Still’s skin as she waited for Neo Universe’s arrival. Her tail swayed restlessly as she brought the trainer beneath the park's gazebo. She laid him on the seat of the park table, and sat beside him. It was her fault he got hurt, so the least she could do was watch over him.
Universe was true to her word and arrived at the park far faster than Still had anticipated. She hadn’t even noticed when she appeared—hovering over the trainer, staring as though she was piecing together the situation.
“It’s my fault.”
“Because Still in Love’s『other side』did it?”
She gave Universe a small nod.
“Then the fault does not lie with Still in Love.”
“...okay. But, I still would like to get him back to his room.”
“RGER. I will『assist』. My trainer has formed a『connection』with this individual.”
“Oh thank goodness.”
After contacting Universe’s trainer—and, after the slightly arduous task of getting her to notice Still—Still was able to bring the trainer back to his apartment without any further incidents. At least she could be thankful for that, even if the relief she felt filled her with more trepidation. She needed to apologize, properly.
She’d shown him something far too shameful not to.
-!-
The apology was meant to be the end of it.
Though she didn’t want it to be, Still knew that’s how things were supposed to go. Not only had he bore witness to her contemptible other self, but she had hurt him in a way that wasn’t right. She spent all night worrying about him, tossing and turning in her bed, and made sure that she went to his apartment as soon as morning came.
There, she watched him run out of his room—cold sweat glistening on his sickeningly pale skin. Face flushed, eyes flicking back and forth, he almost looked crazed. He was searching for something, someone, with the same longing that she’d been captivated by. She knew she had to make things right.
It was always difficult to get others to notice her. Even for him. She called out once, twice, thrice— with him only noticing after getting so close to him she was the only thing he could see. She scared him again, and she hated it.
She meant to apologize there, but the trainer had other ideas. With a kind look on his face, he asked if he could accompany her to breakfast. He told her he wanted to know the full story, and that it’d be easier to talk over food, rather than standing up.
When he lost track of her in the cafeteria, he said it wasn’t her fault. The apology felt like a knife. Gentle, kind, and caring, he told her he was the one who should’ve been more mindful, not her. But she knew it was her fault that she slipped from his view, she always had a weak presence, so she should know better by now, right?
She apologized to him about what happened the other night—but he didn’t blame her. No, with a tender smile, and a voice warm as a pot of coffee on a cold winter’s day, he thanked her for carrying him back to his room. It shook her to her very core, disarming her, for just a moment. In that moment, he bit.
“So, about last night…”
It wasn’t an accusation.
He didn’t mean anything by it. She even met him to talk about it. But, right then, it was a silver bullet shot straight through her chest. Her breath hitched, her pulse roared, and she knew, right then, she had to get away. She ran from him without looking back—wanting nothing more than to disappear.
They met again at sunset. The junior tryouts were that day, so of course she had to race. If she wanted to join the Twinkle Series, she had to show them her best—had to find someone willing to give her a chance.
Should she even have that chance?
There was electricity in the air when she stepped on the field. Shivers ran down her spine, her eyes drifting to each umamusume she’d be running against. Her prey—she couldn’t, not here. She didn’t want to run like that, but everyone looked so strong, so delicious it felt wrong to resist. No, don’t. She wanted to run gracefully, elegantly—inspiring love without fear.
The instructor hadn’t perceived her. He thought gate number five wasn’t here. She wanted to call out, to say that she was ready to race but…maybe it was for the best. Maybe, she shouldn’t have taken this chance.
But then, he found her. He called out to the instructor, showing him she was already here, her chance to fade away stolen by a twist of fate.
Such a kind person.
Allowing such a wretched girl to run.
She didn’t want to show him that side of her again. She didn’t want to show anyone that side of her. But as she ran she just couldn’t help herself. Her blood roared, the impulse took hold, and her ‘self’ disappeared as the beast awoke. She drowned in ecstasy—watching fear course through her prey. How delightful, how delightful, she should go ahead and drain their every last drop of blo—
“No!”
She barely managed to snap the chain of reason back onto her other self’s neck. She pulled herself back, falling into last place before the last spurt even began. A hush fell over the track—the race had come to a close, and everyone was looking at her.
Expressions of abject horror crashed into her, and their terrible whispers cut right to her heart. They were terrified of her. They couldn’t stand her, they didn’t want her, no, no, no, no! She didn’t want this, she didn’t she—
Nobody heard her apologies. Nobody would know she never wanted to run like this. A hated beast longing for love did not deserve anything but contempt. She didn’t want to be here—if this was what awaited her at the end of the road, she never should have dreamed such a horrid thing.
She ran away from everyone. Ran far, far away—hoping nobody would see her again.
Her other self berated her for lying. She wanted this as much as she did, why couldn’t she accept it. She felt it, the pleasure, the desire, the hunger—so why couldn’t Still just be honest about what she wanted for a change?
But she couldn’t—she didn’t want that! She, she…just…wanted to be…
He found her arguing with herself. Eyes, kind, like the moonlight. He didn’t judge her for her display, he simply wanted to know. About her. Who she was, and what he could do to make that pain go away.
She told him everything. About the mad blood in her veins, about how the monster awoke, about all the mistakes she had made because she still wanted to race. Her self, and the other—the one who longed for beauty and the ugly monster. She knew she wasn’t normal, she knew this wasn’t right, she knew, she knew, she knew that nobody would ever think—
“Your instincts—they’re so terrifying they’re beautiful.”
And for the first time, she saw him.
In the dead summer heat, the cicadas sang their song of dusk. The sun fell beneath the horizon line—its light turned red by the oncoming night. His moonlight eyes reflected the setting sun—a crimson eclipse staring unflinching into her own. Yearning and passion intertwined, his words held not a single lie.
He wanted to soar with her to the greatest of heights. Her instinct was a weapon, and together, they’d learn to control it. A thing of beauty—something special, wings strong enough to soar past the sky.
He accepted her everything that night—and, for the first time, her ‘self’ broke through the crimson haze, and she ran as herself.
He called out for her—and she would not let him down.
-!-
In the months that followed, Still in Love learned how to run as herself. With her trainer’s guidance, she could hold back during practice—if she ever lost herself in that crimson fog, he’d call out to her, and pull her out from below.
Though they both knew this could never last, the solace Still felt soothed the wounds in her heart. She knew her other self still lurked, waiting to be released from the chains they called reason, but her trainer would be there when it happened. Ready to bring her back from the pit of madness.
At the same time, Still began to notice something strange about her trainer. An expression here, a contradiction there, a distant look out the window, or a sigh at something she didn’t see. When he was with her, he was almost like a dream. Patient yet passionate, firm yet kind, a guiding hand and someone who would stay by your side.
He had accepted her—told her she wasn’t a burden, and that he liked her how she was. But, when she thought about it, she really didn’t know who he really was.
At first, she only saw those odd expressions when her trainer wasn’t with her—or at least, when he thought she wasn’t there. It was in the months prior to Junior Year, while other trainers were still scouting potential trainees. During that time, her trainer was still developing his knack for finding her and, thus, there were occasions where Still would simply be somewhere he was without him ever knowing.
She found him watching another tryout—fear slicing down her spine like a knife. Her thoughts ran fast, frantic, fearing he was sick of dealing with her already. Her throat dry, tongue dropping like lead, she was ready to beg him to stay—when she saw the look on his face.
He was longing, yes, yearning for something more—but not because he was unsatisfied with her. A forlorn look reflected in his moonlight eyes, he was looking not at them, but past them. A daydream of something that never could be.
After that, she couldn’t stop seeing it. That look of longing, that dissatisfaction with what was, and all those little contradictory wants held deep in his heart.
When they were shopping together, something they’d done rather often after formalising the trainer contract, it happened again. In the midst of wandering the streets—grabbing sweets from stalls, dipping into cafes, and browsing the various stores, something began to feel wrong. It took her some time to figure out what—but what it was shook her to her core.
Everywhere they went, everything they bought, they were all for her.
It had always been all for her. Her trainer never told her the places he liked going, the food he liked eating, or even what made him happy. He bought nothing for himself, he went nowhere for himself, he accepted her—let her show all her sides to him, but he didn’t let her in.
The next time they organised an outing, she asked him if there was anywhere he wanted to go, anything he wanted to do. He smiled at her, and said, “As a matter of fact, I do.”
She had been elated then, and her heart soared—only to crash to the earth when he told her where he wanted to go.
Because the only places he wanted to go were the places he already knew she loved.
“Is something wrong, Still?”
“But, Trainer, these places are all those that you know I like. I had wanted to know where you would like to go.”
“Still.” He smiled at her. “I told you before, didn’t I? I wanna go where you do.”
“But…I would like to take you somewhere you would enjoy too. If I could do something that would make you as happy as you have made me, I would like to do it with you,” she said, “If that is alright with you.”
“I…” There was a flash of pain on her trainer’s face. But his smile soon returned. “...am happiest when I’m with you.”
Still knew he wasn’t lying.
She also knew he wasn’t telling the truth.
-!-
Pain and love were often intertwined when it came to her trainer.
After observing him for so long, she knew it to be true. There were some pains that were simply pain—like the winces she caught when he was called ‘sir’—but the pain he felt the most came with love in toe. The longing in his moonlight eyes held while they shopped for her clothes, the sighs she heard when he watched a race, among countless others signs. Some even applied to her.
Bittersweet smiles when he saw her run—pride mixed with yearning mixed with loss. She knew he wanted to see her other self run once more, but she knew he wanted to let her run the way she always wanted. A contradiction, different from the others, but one she felt in spades.
Still knew so much about him now, but still she knew nothing at all.
She needed something, anything, that could let her peer into his heart, even if it was only for a moment. A crack in the mask which she could dig into and finally find what lay beneath. But it always seemed right out of reach. She’d observed him while they shopped, but now she was at a dead end. She asked so many questions and only ever learned which ones caused him pain.
Once, at her most desperate, she even asked to speak with Universe’s trainer to see what she knew.
But when she asked, it only made Trainer Watanabe realize that she too knew nothing.
Still was beginning to give up. It felt hopeless, impossible—as though it were a dream. She was back in the days she hopelessly longed to be loved, where she’d never get what she wanted.
Much like her wish back then, the answer fell right into her lap.
“I never asked you about your dream, did I?”
A few months into her junior year, he asked her that question. That day, during a mock race, she had failed to suppress her other self; saddling her training partner with terrible memories like the burden she was. It was obviously done to cheer her up. He was perceptive like that, always knowing just what to say when she felt down.
Kind. Reserved. He cared about her so much—and didn’t care at all about himself.
“Still? You’re staring.”
“S-Sorry.” Her face heated up. “But, yes…A dream…”
What did she dream of, really? She couldn’t think of one right away—honestly, she had been more worried about whether or not she’d be able to run. Now that she was here, what did she want?
“Oh, but there is something. The Tiara Series…I’ve always admired it.”
His eyes lit up.
There was an energy filling him that she had only seen once or twice before—as though he forgot he was a grown man. He didn’t say too much, not yet, only asking with a trembling voice for her to continue.
“I…just thought it would be wonderful to have such a mesmerizing glow. That if it were mine, surely everyone would be able to acknowledge me, to…” Her voice stumbled slightly, “To love me.”
“Me too.” His voice was so small, she almost didn’t hear it.
“Trainer?”
“Oh, I mean—” A blush, her trainer shook his head as though he were expelling a shameful thought. “I think it’s a wonderful dream. And actually, the Tiara Series’s why I’m here.”
“It is?”
“Yeah, it’s, well…it’s been my dream too,” he said, for the first time unable to meet her eyes. “When I was little, my parents showed me Mejiro Ramonu’s run through the Tiara Series and it, well, it was mesmerizing.”
He spoke wistfully, enchanting her with his voice—she couldn’t stop listening, even as her heart began to ache.
“She’s an inspiration, you know? The only umamusume able to claim the Triple Tiara in whole—”
“I am aware,” Still said, “I watched her run as well.”
“You did?” Her trainer looked positively delighted to hear that. “Couldn’t help yourself from running after you saw it, huh? I know exactly how you feel.”
She felt her heart burning, but she held ground. Hearing him talk about Ramonu made her feel odd—like she couldn’t stand it, like she couldn’t take the idea. But, at the same time, there was a contradiction. This was the first time she had ever seen him so excited—so she held her ground, for the chance to finally peer at his face beneath the mask.
“Exactly how I feel?”
He froze at her words—a deer in the headlights. Clearing his throat, he looked up at the sky, still not meeting her eyes. “I mean, it made me want to help girls like her run, to shine like she did then and—and, well, inspire others to follow her path like…”
He trailed off but she’d already seen the mask slip off.
“With that said, that’s why…I think you should go for it, Still.” His facade returned as he smiled at her; the bittersweet smile that had never been directed at her. “It’s always been my dream to train a Triple Tiara umamusume.”
This time, Still knew he was lying.
He mixed his lies and truths so thoroughly they were hard to pick apart. She knew he wanted to watch her run, to watch her claim the Triple Tiara for herself. And those goals certainly did align: hearing him talk made her want to shatter that record and snatch the tiaras right from Ramonu’s hands and forever hold a special place in her trainer’s heart.
But that was not his dream.
It was dark in her room when she got back.
Still in Love gazed into the mirror, recounting all that her trainer had said. When she thought about Ramonu, she saw that look within her own bloody eyes. It was identical to his when he watched umamusume race, when he looked at the dresses in the clothing store.
He was jealous.
There was an instinct inside him—the same that all umamusume shared. To run, to compete, to battle for a chance at victory.
“I knew it.” The crimson impulse within her said. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it.”
A feral laugh tore into her ears.
“Oh how delightful it would be to dig into her on the turf! To hunt her, to spill our blood and run to the ends of the earth!” Ecstasy filled her voice, intoxication to the highest degree. “Oh how cruel fate was to deny us our greatest meal—how reason has chained us down, how we are forced to settle for the second best.”
“...it’s…a shame, yes. But one we cannot change—”
“HAhahahahaAHAHAHH, oh you sweet little thing. What chains her down is the laws of this earth—the reason that governs only those who abide by its rules.” The girl in the mirror flashed her a monstrous grin. “And you know none of that applies to us.”
“What are you saying…?”
The red glint in the mirror was so very bright.
“Your wish, her wish, I can grant it. All I require is for you to give me control.”
“I-I won’t fall for your tricks.” Still’s voice trembled as she spoke. “A-And even if you are telling the truth, if you do it then…”
“Then what? She’ll be happy?”
“Then what about his family?! What about the life he has now?! You can’t make him throw that all away.”
The girl in the mirror threw back her head and howled. “What are you saying?! You want to run with her too, I know you do! You want to see her on the track, to hunt her down, to devour everything—even her soul! But even though it is such a simple thing for me to grant—you hesitate, you hide away.”
“But what if I’m wrong?!” Still screamed. “Then I would just be imposing my selfish wish upon her—upon him! Then I’d be all alone!”
“You disappoint me,” the red impulse said. “Fine. If you won’t let me, I shall simply take her myself. I refuse to let a coward like you hold me back.”
“...why can’t you just leave me alone.”
“Oh Still, you know why.” Her other self grinned. “I can’t because I’m you.”
-!-
Night provided no reprieve from the horribly hot summer heat. Though no sun burned high in the sky, and the cricket’s chirps had replaced cicada’s song, it still felt as though there was no difference between day and night. Even if shadows were stronger around this time, they were battled back by an ample amount of light.
Most of the time, the artificial lights smothered the sky—polluting the darkness with an all too mechanical glow. A poor imitation, made by those who still dreamed of the sun, unable to capture what they truly wanted.
So what if the new moon plunged the world into the abyss, was there not beauty in the stars above?
In the city, the preciousness of the night could now be found only once a month. A satellite born from the earth, the full moon defied reason. It was as precious as the sun, yet it held no power on its own. And still, bathed in its ethereal glow, it revealed the truth and bared the soul.
Standing here, beneath the silver moon above, throat dry, drenched in sweat from the sweltering heat; the trainer was pulled into a nostalgic reverie.
He met Still on a night just like this. In a haze of terrible heat, through his clouded mind, fate itself guided him to see that beautiful scene.
A year. It’d been a year. And still, that night was burned into his eyes.
It was such a bewitching sight. A crimson shadow basked in the moon white light, an unnatural beast, a monster who could never exist in a world governed by reason. Driven by an undying thirst, she shot forth, and with her claws outstretched, she tore the invisible prey apart.
His instincts screamed, begging him to leave before those crimson eyes got a glimpse of him. If she sees you, that’s it! You’re gone! She’ll devour you whole! And yet—
And yet, and yet, and yet.
He was enchanted by her. Blood pounded against his ears, skull; the heat haze infected him, a voice echoing in the pit of his throbbing heart.
In his stupor, he walked towards her. Why? He saw her eyes, the moon dyed red, dig deep into his. Ecstasy. Twisted her, made her crazed, made her mad, drove her insane. Ecstasy. Rushed through her veins, calling out a siren’s song, drowning all reason in a bloody lake. She saw her there, and a grin tore open her face—she stepped towards her, and punctured the skin on her neck.
His neck itched.
The old spot where he’d been bitten. It throbbed like the devil, delightfully clear.
He still wondered why he walked forward that faithful night. For a time, he thought he had simply been enchanted by her running and its terrifying beauty. The crimson shade haunted him, even now, infecting him with a yearning to see her once again.
But he also yearned for the day her other half could live without the madness that tormented all her love. A day when she was loved, a day when she could smile and show the world who she really was.
“I never asked you about your dream, did I?”
It’d been a week since he asked her that question. For how much time they spent together, they never talked about it once. Honestly, he was still surprised she would indulge him the way she did. He knew he was a husk, and yet she treated him with so much love.
But a husk did not ask about love—nor did a husk dream, it simply yearned for all that it could never be. And yet, when he wanted to cheer Still up, the question just rolled off his tongue.
Oh, how naive.
She answered him like she always did. So fragile he was scared she’d fall apart, so genuine that he’d grown to hate his heart. She didn’t know what poison her words held for his soul—but by the time he realized, the deed was already done.
She made him remember his dream.
The normal world was governed by reason. Laws, order, and nature—there was an unbreakable logic that all creatures abided by. How many people out there lived their lives without ever knowing the chains they were bound to? Honestly, he didn’t know.
All he knew was there were those strangled by it, and those who enforced it.
His grandparents strangled him with that chain.
Dreams were delusions they had to free him from. The laws of normalcy were absolute. Let go of those childish things and just grow up. He needed to learn to be an adult, become a proper man like his father and brother before him, and do something that’d truly fill them with pride.
It was fortunate, then, that his dream was easy to discard. The laws of reality dictated that it’d never come true. Boys could not become girls—let alone umamusume. To participate in the Twinkle Series at all, luck was all you had. Just be born right.
So he let that childish dream go. It was simply impossible for someone like him to even think about winning the Triple Tiara.
He settled for second best. If he couldn’t be the one, he’d guide someone who could—someone allowed to be the person she wanted to be.
But he was far too envious to pick a trainee. When he watched them run, he wavered, paralyzed by want. Far too envious to allow his senpai to help him, far too envious to even try.
And then he met Still.
That bewitching run stole his heart. A beast who defied reason, a denizen of the night. A girl longing to be loved in a world repulsed by her. He wanted her to spread her wings, to soar, to help create a world that loved her.
So why did her dream have to be his own?
When she saw Still that night, what did she think?
A grotesquely beautiful monster running in the moonlight, one she instinctively knew she should avoid.
So why didn’t she? Why didn’t she run?
“Because reality chained our feet to the earth,” whispered the moonlight. “So you chose to guide her instead—at least that way you could make sure no one else would catch up.”
“Because, even now, I still dream of you,” he whispered back to his dream. “Even now—”
“I.”
The cold words stabbed into his spine with a jolt.
“Finally.”
The summer heat was smothered by her voice.
“Found.”
An enchanting madness seeped into the moon’s glow, one stained with the color of blood.
“You.”
The bewitching beast’s shadow closed in from all sides. A cage of claws, a work of art. There was no reason, no laws, nothing in the normal world that could save him from her. Run away—logic cried—she’ll eat you alive.
But he didn’t run. He couldn’t run. She wouldn’t dare.
He turned around, and saw a twin lunar eclipse. Eyes radiating unnatural light. The ruler of the night was there—watching with a fanged grin.
“I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, I knew you looked too delicious to pass up.” The honeyed words slathered his soul. “That longing you pointed our way—it’s the same as our prey! You don’t want to watch us—you don’t want to train us! You want to chase, to hunt, to run with us!”
He opened his mouth but no words came out.
“Oh what a wonderful expression that is. Why are you shocked? Your deception couldn’t even fool her; did you truly expect that it’d work on me?” She howled in delight. “I know what you want, I know your dream.”
“Sti—”
Suddenly, she was all he could see.
“No.”
His voice died in his throat.
“I refuse to allow you to call for her tonight. I will not allow either of your cowardice to get in my way.” Her fingers dug into his arms. “Because I.”
—He should have run away.
“Shall give.”
—Logic told him this wasn’t right.
“You.”
—Reality said it was something he should not want.
“Exactly.”
—Convention existed for a reason. It was the arbiter of rules, the foundation of the world, something all good people want.
“What.”
—Maybe that was all true.
“You.”
—But her dream was still here.
“Want.”
—And if this chain bound those governed by reason.
Then her beloved monster would overturn it.
“Do it, Still.”
“As you wish.”
Jagged teeth punctured her skin, her blood gushed into her beloved’s lips—and as the world faded away, she offered everything up to the crimson night.