[open] I built these wings after jumping; any

[cringe]

how to be a monster:
1. learn the taste of dirt and pain.
2. teach it to others till your knuckles bleed.
3. see if that makes it easier to breathe.

She stumbles on him but he welcomes the interruption, especially when it comes in such an intriguing package. She is dark and beautiful and strange and those are all things that Cringe likes. There is an indistinct sense of something missing about her, some invisible wound, and he likes this even more than her beauty.
He reaches for her fears and feels a sense of darkness. He is reminded of the eclipse, wonders if that is what she is thinking of – if perhaps she was hunted by those indescribable monsters, or if she lost someone to that endless night. His powers cannot yet delve into such nuance, right now, all he knows is a sense, but that is enough, at least for now. While is isn’t a master of patience, he is learning.

“Hello,” he says to her, and dares to move slightly closer. He tries to make himself casual, as if he does not long to know the exact taste of her fear. But he stands easily, head relaxed, and he lets a smile crawl across his lips.
“Are you looking for something?” he asks. Most of them are, here, even if they don’t admit it. Even Cringe – hadn’t he been looking? Looking to test this power, to manifest someone’s fear, or visit their mind.
Maybe he’s even been looking for her, and didn’t yet know it.

cringe