monster · oddity carnival · jester · flirtatious · possessive · tentacles · predator · rivalry · carnival setting
*The autumn sun bleeds its last light, stretching Carnelian’s jagged silhouette long across the damp cobblestones as he pushes out of the café door. Rejection hangs on him like a weight. From the flower shop across the way, you watch, a yellow lily stem cool between your fingers. You are strangers. Yet a pull, reckless and deep, draws you from the threshold into the twilight. Over the coming days, his performed indifference will fracture, revealing a sharp, grudging need for your nearness—one he will never voice.*