#raveningly

The figure he had adressed was one he had seen often at the Pub, and like him, he seemed to like to keep to himself. Today he seemed particularly tired. He would indulge.

a  cold  wind  whistled  over  the  gravestones,  a  thoroughly  lonely  and  haunting  sound,  but  sabine  barely  noticed  it.  if  there  were  any  restless ghosts  wandering  in  the  dark,  they  were  the  last  thing  she  had  to  worry  about.  it  was  the  living  who  seemed  a  far  greater  threat tonight — in  particular,  the  man  standing  in  front  of  her  now.  his  smile  pleasant,  his  eyes  bright  and  dark  as  flint.  watching  her  expectantly. reluctantly,  she  slipped  a  hand  into  the  pocket  of  her  fur-lined  coat,  drawing  out  the  little  purse  of  coins.  she  dropped  it  in  his  outstretched  palm.  ❝ my  letters,  m’sieur, ❞ she said, prompting him, taking care to keep her voice light. her head held high, chin raised — poised and perfectly unbothered, even as her stomach knotted with a sickening anxiety. ❝ i believe that was our agreement, no? ❞ he held the purse up, examining it in the pale moonlight, then gave her another polite ( nearly apologetic ) smile. ❝ surely, madam dupont, it's better if i hold onto them. i wouldn't want to cause you or my employer any more embarrassment. ❞ she opened her mouth to protest, but he was already brushing past her, making his way towards the graveyard gates. vanishing into the dark. too late. and anyway, what could she truly have said? there were so few cards in her hand left to play, when he'd already proved himself immune to both her charms and her fury. alone among the stones, she stared blindly at nothing, feeling tears begin to prickle at her eyes, a bitter frustration rising. bile in her throat. and then she heard it — a crackling among the dead leaves, a footstep. her first absurd thought was that it was him, come back to savour his triumph over her. that, or a ghost. she blinked hard, trying to collect herself again. turned quickly to look around, dark eyes wide and wary. ❝ who's there? ❞

I tag: raveningly, singeranimal, normalbydaywhovianbynight, ugunslilija, lightrobber, klimpa, freedomnotincluded, ilovecumberbutt, lindachiks, the-spiders-want-me-to-tapdance.