Her lie tiptoed past him on timid feet
and when he finally noticed it,
languidly licking its coat in the corner of his mind,
he approached it cautiously.
It hissed and spat
and he withdrew,
but when it wound its elastic body around his ankles
he patted it hesitantly
and its ears flattened as it purred,
revealing small spiked horns
that pricked his fingers.
He stroked the black fur around them.
