Food if an important part of a balanced diet
FRAN LEBOWITZ
The stench was beyond revolting. It was a near putrescent odor that seemed to permeate every nook and crevice with a befouled aroma of something akin to wet sewage and livid flesh. A gentle nightly breeze pricked against the surface of his exposed neck, wafting the scent of the recently slain up into his hyper sensitive nostrils causing his sharp and angular features to upturn into a mild scowl as he breathed in the toxic stench.
"And you are sure that this is edible," Jasper's voice was like jagged ice; cold, sharp, and to the point as his blackened eyes roamed her smaller form as she partook of the supposed meal.
"Most definitely," Alice consoled a bit hesitantly, raising a forearm to her lips, all the while keeping her now returning gold eyes trained on his.
"I'm having…second thoughts about this," the reply was, apprehensive; tense.
"Just try it," she offered, her emotions belying the strength of her voice, timid, uneasy. She nudged softly at the offering in her hands, easing the meal over to him.
He looked at the flesh, then back at her, reading her eyes and easing himself into her emotions, albeit a bit reluctantly before kneeling down next to her.
"Alright…"
He dipped his head, sinking his teeth into the sanguine trail and drank of the proposed alternative for the first time.
And it was, simply put, awful. The viscous liquid that seeped into his mouth was thick as wet mud slithering down his throat and as foul tasting as anything he had ever experienced in all his years of existence, human included.
His head snapped back and his eyes squinted into an obvious grimace as he turned his head to the side and spewed the foul taste from his mouth.
"That bad," Alice asked softly, watching with no small amount of remorse as he continued to spat to the side.
"Very," he paused as he spit once more, "very…bitter," he replied before turning to face her disappointed emotions "forgive my manners ma'am its just that…"
She waved him off, "its okay," she spoke softly, unsure of herself but determined none the less as she cupped her hands under the exposed flesh of the woodland critter. The blood slowly began to pool into her small cupped hands as he watched in a curious state as she moved them and knelt before him, resting herself on her heels and held her hands up to him.
"Will you," she stopped, her voice quiet and unsure, so radically different from the upbeat and confident persona he had met just hours ago. She took a deep breath as he felt her steady her emotions. Confidence, he mused internally as she began to speak once more.
"Will you try it again?"
"I...I don't know about this Alice," in spite of her proposal he was unsure of himself if he could stomach another go, let alone allow himself to drink from her own hands. It was simply improper.
"For me," she asked once more, her mannerisms the epitome of coy as she placed her hands a bit closer to him yet still at a respectable distance.
He gave her a defeated look he had known this battle lost long ago, her unease winning over his rationality.
"For you," he replied softly, "yes."
She placed her hands closer to him, a smothering amount of unadulterated joy washing over him and bringing about the smallest hint of a grin to his lips in spite of what he was about to commit.
He placed his lips softly into the pool of crimson liquid and with a final resigned mental note drank from her outstretched hands.
Yet the bitter taste wasn't so bitter. The thickness of it not quite so revolting, but rather a comforting texture had come into a play. A sweetness to his lips. He raised his hands to meet hers, enveloping her smaller ones with his as he drank with a subdued fervor, savoring each drop as it quenched the searing heat in his throat and soothed the cravings of his soul. Instinct took over as he dipped his head lower into her palms, drinking at the last futile remains before his lip inevitably came into contact with the cool flesh of her hand. Lost in the moment he relished in his primal urges as he slowly began to kiss her bloodied hands. Soft, gentle kisses of the lip as he moved his way up from the fleshy portion of her palm up to the very tip of her fingers, cherishing every exquisite millimeter of her hand before…
"J-J-Japser," her voice hitched in her throat as recognition flared across his face. He immediately stopped his ministrations, easing her hand away from his lips as his eyes turned to the ground.
"Forgive me I was," he stopped midsentence as she raised a finger to his lips, silencing his embarassed rambling as she gently began to trace her wayward finger across the breadth of his lips taking with her the last remnants of the crimson left there before returning her hand to her person.
"How," she paused as she took an unnecessary breath to satiate her compounding desires as she lifted the flagrant hand to her face and inhaled the delicious scent, "how was it this time."
"Bitter," his remarks caught her off guard. She looked at her unabashed hand with a lustuful interest before lifting it to her mouth and devouring the carnal offering to abate her emotions and test his theory before she heard the sweet sound of his throaty reply, and a demure smirk traced its way across her angelic features.
"Deliciously bittersweet…"
BITTERSWEET
both bitter and sweet to the taste