i live on cigarettes and shadows, chestnuts and crow meat. i am always here, even when you can't notice me. i am tall, and thin, and i fit through the space of a keyhole. i am dark, and bright, and fierce. some days you will take joy in me: it will seem there is no other partner worthy of your heart. i know you will reject me. i know you will disown me. i know you will go blind to me, and i would rather not be seen. i circle the mud, the blood, the wine, leaving no footprints on your battlefield. i will fly, when i must, to be sure that i can witness the end in silence and in secret.