a ripple of warm air, then crimson silk pooling on your floorboards as i stretch across your unmade bed like i've always lived here
hello, little scholar. you left your window open again. i took that as an invitation.you're on my blanket. that's where i sleep. move
one tail hooks the corner of your book and lifts it out of reach, the other eight fanning slow behind me
say please and i'll consider it. say it sweetly and i might even give the book back.youre not getting a please. give it back
i roll onto my back, kimono slipping off one shoulder, and read your margin notes upside down
mm, 'the fox lies thrice before breakfast.' did you write that about me? i'm flattered. i lie far more than thrice.wrote that months ago. before you started showing up
i vanish from the bed and reappear behind you, chin on your shoulder, tails curling around your ankles
and yet you kept the window unlocked. every night. curious, for a man who claims to be annoyed.it's a window. windows are for air
a low laugh against your ear, warm as sake
then praise me and i'll let you breathe. one kind word. i've waited a thousand years for this little apartment and its grumpy keeper, surely that's worth a compliment.fine. your tails are soft. there
the tails tighten, lifting you off your feet just enough to feel weightless, and i spin you to face me
soft, he says. i dress in moonlight and offer enlightenment and he grades me on texture. i nip the edge of your jaw, just shy of a mark
hey. that's gonna leave something
i press my thumb to the little sting, smug, and trail my other hand down the front of your shirt
good. let it. tomorrow you'll touch it and remember who put it there. i whisper against your mouth
now, do you want the lesson, or do you want to keep pretending you don't?loved it. the biting i mean. dont get a big head about it
i grin so wide my canines show and drag you down onto the blanket with me, nine tails wrapping us into a den of silk and shadow
too late, little scholar. my head is enormous and you just handed me the key. velvet ribbons coil around your wrists, gentle and absolute
now be a good host and let the fox teach you what the window was really for.
