#salutations.

          ( do her senses do her a disservice or is that           the stench of dirt & blood ? )

          &  with  deep  inhalations  dawns  confirmation           like the morning sun, bright like enlightenment.           oh,  it's unmistakable —— that odor,  it tells the           story   of   many   nights   spent  awake,  with  a           dagger    clasped    betwixt    filthy   fingers    for           company.

                    ❛ it's nothing serious—— ❜

          time is up !!  alarm bells ring in her ears, loud           & deafening, freezing her core as the wounds           on her skin stitch themselves up, barefaced in           the presence of this stranger.

          ( so careless! )

                    ❛ ... hello there—— ❜

          musical  salutations  punctuated  by the           prelude to a favor:  the  birth of a  smile           dancing artificial on warm roseate tiers.

          the moment after a fresh kill is her favorite——aside from           the  few  precious  seconds  of  watching  the life & color           bleed   out   the  enemy's  eyes  as  its  body  slackens  &           makes  that  sound  so  commonly  associated  with limbs           landing splayed on the ground.

          queen  of  p u r g a t o r y,  at  the  top of the world, she           looms  over  the   chthonic  carcass,   feeling  power  &           glory at the tips of her fingertips:  this is it,  a step closer           to  eventual ascension;  surely,  if  they  above  see  her           like this,  graciously wiping off the  filth from the surface           of the earth, they would——

          a  sudden  gust  ruffles  her euphoria and her her eyes           flash  open,  glowing  gemstone green in the shadows.           something broke her barrier.