Phoebe felt like she’d come up for air after being under too long. Weights lifted and cool relief flooded in. There was the sensation of Silver’s arm swimming in her- somewhere deep. Apparently, that was enough.

He squirmed and lifted himself off of her, kneeling between her splayed legs. Phoebe was sure that she could move with much more ease now, too; he had touched something in her. His presence in her body–even just a little–hadn’t repaired the bond all the way, but given how light she suddenly felt, it had staved off the worst of the effects.

In spite of that, she stayed put. Silver’s claws were back on her stomach and he was already prying into her again. His lingering, hollow gaze kept her pressed into the dirt.

“Right,” she breathed, “our deal.”

New sensations began to shoot through her. He parted muscle and dredged up intestines, pawing and kneading all the while. Again, she stared transfixed, filled with morbid fascination. In the daylight she could get such a good look at herself. Red, so much was red. There was Silver reaching in again, smearing his fur. There was her liver, displaced, poking up and over her smallest ribs.

Her vision was glassy, a veil had formed over it. A disconnection; when had she stopped existing? This was another movie. No- she felt her insides slide, and it was real and some part of her was screaming that she had to fight get away escape. But that part was quieter than the last time, and as Silver continued she realized that she really did regret Julia’s interruption at the lake.

This was the storm, the chasm, the thrill she’d been chasing.

-

6.17.2023
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Last Tuesday the 13th was Katabasis' 3rd birthday!! Can you believe it? I celebrated by putting some maple syrup in my (decaf) coffee... honestly wasn't that bad!