Leon sat on the twenty-seventh stair, the cold stone biting through his cloth as he held the limp form of Dusk in his hands. The feline's eyes were rolled back, lost in whatever twisted paradise the mist had conjured for him.
*Slap-slap-slap.*
"Wake up, Dusk..." Leon muttered, stinging the cat's face with sharp, rhythmic slaps to break the mental tether.
*Blink-Blink.*
"M-Master ?" Dusk's voice was a frail rasp as his eyes finally focused, darting around the dim stairwell in utter confusion. Leon set him down on the stone floor. Dusk staggered slightly, shaking his neck to clear the mist from his nose before instinctively licking his paws to settle his nerves.
"Where are my females and all the food?" Dusk asked, his voice trembling with a mix of longing and bewilderment as he searched the empty air.
"You dumb fuck... Did you really fall for the illusion?" Leon asked, watching him with a neutral, almost weary expression.
