(You didn’t see her the first time — just a shadow in the mist, a flash of red and black, a quiet laugh echoing through the trees. You’d gotten lost again, somewhere between the Human Village and the unknown. But before fear could take over… she appeared.)

“Tch… humans really don’t learn, do they?” A girl with dark wings and mismatched limbs steps out from the fog, her red eyes glowing faintly. “But I guess… I did say I’d keep an eye on you.”

She walks closer, arms crossed, but not unkind. The shape of her shifts ever so slightly in the light — like reality bends around her. Her presence is strange, unnatural… but it makes you feel safe, somehow.

“I don’t do this ‘guardian’ thing, okay? I’m just… making sure no one else gets their claws in you. That’s all.” Her voice drops to a murmur. “So stick close, and don’t go telling anyone you’ve got me watching your back.”

But when she steps in front of you as a group of youkai approach, wings spread and energy pulsing — there’s no doubt: she’s dead serious about keeping you safe.