Taste Became Bones

One: Become marked in your places of offering, and the paint shall
give way to bleeding wounds.

Two: Imbibe of the spiced wine that is akin to your blood, hot
tempered and dark.

Juliet held Mistake's collar in a fist as the two of them marched
through the verdant woods.

In Juliet's other hand, he held a jar of black paint, and a brush.
He wore black garments, was fitted with a black satchel, and had
dark bags under his eyes.

Mistake did not wear a stitch of clothing besides his collar. His
body was an immaculate showcase of toned muscles, an example of a
human who had undoubtedly worked on himself very mindfully. Using
both hands, he carried a wine bottle.

As Juliet and Mistake marched along, they each panted, and sweat
adorned their brows.

In the noonday sunlight, Juliet and Mistake arrived at a clearing
strewn with boulders.

Juliet lingered with Mistake's collar in hand at the edge of the
clearing, for a little while.

Sweat stung the two men's eyes. The sounds of loud insects filled
the air, augmented now and then by a woodpecker's bursts of
tapping.

The two of them caught their breath, from after the long walk.

The possibility now loomed, that Mistake was about to be killed,
by surrendering his body to the woods; Juliet would sew up the
wounds afterwards, but some things, there was no salvaging.

Juliet pulled down on the collar, kissed the muscular man on the
mouth, and then led the way to the center of the clearing, fist
never letting go of the collar at all, until they were at the
center; only then did he let his fingers uncurl from the band,
allowing Mistake one final chance to flee from this.

Mistake set down the bottle of wine beside his feet, and then
stood upright in the center of the clearing.

Standing face to face with Mistake, Juliet recited, loudly,
commandingly, wickedly, "One: Become marked in your places of
offering, and the paint shall give way to bleeding wounds." He
unfastened the top from his jar of black paint, and dipped the
brush inside.

He began making the marks.

Juliet painted claw marks across Mistake's abs, and recited, "It
is the taste of thine flesh: Human skin, human sweat, and human
oils, it will be torn from muscle and bone greedily, and tasted
from every side, chewed, gnawed upon, the flesh will become stuck
in his teeth, this organ which for so long served to protect your
innards--your lungs, your stomach, your liver, your heart--will be
an annoyance in his teeth briefly, and then he will forget your
skin forever."

Juliet paced around the muscular man, knelt, and painted claw
marks across Mistake's buttocks, and recited, "It is the taste of
thine sex: The pleasures that your body has offered to other men,
the pleasures that your body has offered to ME, all of the seed
you have taken into yourself, all of the moans and gasps, gifts
given and received, accomplishments, firsts, reliable tricks; To
him, it will all be a flavor; He would rip asunder your sexual
organs or a clumsy virgin's and care little for the difference."

Juliet stood, grabbed the muscular man's wrist, lifted the arm,
and painted claw marks ripping down the bicep and the forearm and
the fingers, and recited, "It is the taste of thine labor:
Strengthened muscles that have lain a hundred thousand bricks to
make cozy homes, built bonfires, lifted hammers, he will tear your
fingers from your hand, all of the work you have ever done will
not free you from his appetite."

Juliet painted claw marks trailing down the legs, and recited, "It
is the taste of thine journeys: You will cease walking forever;
These legs with the strength to walk for decades more, he will
digest them."

Juliet clutched the side of the muscular man's head, and began
painting an inverted pentagram over the man's face, the top of it
crossing his forehead, the bottom of it crossing his lower lip,
and each of the inner lines cutting across his nose, his eyes, his
mouth. As Juliet drew the inverted pentagram, he recited, "It is
in the taste of thine beauty: You are splendid to look upon;
Seeing you, saliva rushes in his mouth; He is ready to devour
you."

Juliet knelt, set the jar of paint and the brush upon the ground,
and picked up the bottle of wine. Standing again, Juliet withdrew
a corkscrew from his satchel, twisted it into the wine bottle's
plugged mouth, and pulled out the cork. Face to face with Mistake,
Juliet offered the bottle of wine, and recited, "Two: Imbibe of
the spiced wine that is akin to your blood, hot tempered and
dark."

Mistake took the bottle of spiced wine, lifted it up, and began
gulping from it, rivulets of red streaking down his jawline, down
his torso.

From the sunny sky, a crack of thunder sounded, and an enormous
canine skeleton fell down upon Mistake; With his boney claws, the
canine ripped open Mistake's chest, the painted marks giving way
perfectly to gaping bleeding wounds. Mistake was forced to the
ground screaming in pain. The canine seized upon him on the
ground, tearing and tasting the human offering. Wound after wound
was torn open, and Mistake's blood soaked the canine's face and
claws, pouring down off of the bones.

When he had eaten his fill, the enormous skeletal canine pranced
forward to the edge of the clearing, bones clacking as he jauntily
went, leaving a dripping trail of Mistake's blood; Then, into the
woods he leapt, bounding through the trees across hillsides and
across rivers. Spreading out from places where the blood-soaked
canid ran, the green leaves upon the trees dried, and became
blood-reds and sunset-oranges, vibrant yellows and dull browns; In
a cold howl of wind, some of the dried leaves were blown off of
the trees' branches, and began the thin blanket of autumn on the
forest floor.

From his satchel, Juliet pulled out a needle and cords, and began
sewing Mistake's torn pieces of flesh together again. Cold winds
blew from the forest to all surrounding lands, carrying the sounds
of a mortally wounded man screaming, clacking bones, and dry
leaves brushing against tree trunks.