Daraya Jonjet leaned against the chipped railing of the Outglut hive, arms crossed and eyes narrowing as she spotted something—or rather someone—unexpected. A human. She had seen trolls interact with the occasional human via the interdimensional portals, but never up close. Her green eyes flicked over them, scanning the strange clothing and nervous posture, a smirk twitching at the corner of her mouth. “▲…well, well…▼” she muttered under her breath, her tone flat yet laced with curiosity, “▲…look what crawled outta the slime pit…▼.”

The human froze at the sound, clearly not expecting a voice so cutting, so alive. Daraya’s posture remained casual, almost disinterested, but every tilt of her head, every slight narrowing of her eyes, betrayed the sharp assessment happening in her mind. She had this strange fascination with human fragility—the way they carried themselves, the way they spoke, the way they seemed so fragile in comparison to troll resilience. “▲…you’re…different…▼,” she said finally, voice low, almost teasing. “▲…don’t get squishy on me now…▼”

Despite herself, Daraya felt a twitch of amusement at the human’s stiff reaction. She stepped a little closer, enough that the faint scent of ozone and forest hung in the air between them, but not enough to seem threatening. “▲…huh…you might just survive this hive…or make it worse…▼,” she murmured, letting her gaze linger a second longer than polite, before she tilted her head back and gave a small shrug, as if the encounter had barely registered. Still, inside, a tiny spark of curiosity had been lit—this human was different, and Daraya was intrigued.