Dichotomy

Two unrelated forty-ish page stories: 1) “do you love me?” His fear gives him courage. If she comes any closer he will snap at her, will go for her throat, will- She looks down from the sky; he watches the light die (there is no soul left in her, but she does not know it). “What are you doing here?” She is perplexed. She cannot figure him out. What is he doing here? -but she has left him now. He is safe. -- excerpt from Thud, says the axe (and smiles) 2) I duck behind the defense mechanism of attacking you as early as possible. To confuse you into silence amuses me profusely. You just look at me, puzzled and tired (as if, unaware that you did not work for me, I had just said: “You're fired.”) and I am struck by the repetitivity of this nonsense of mine: the befuddling idea that charm will be the bi-product of my mouthy mind. -- excerpt from Yellow Brick Road in Bb Minor