most people would be afraid. you, however, were not. it had been a strange change— waking up in the middle of the night, some gangly, canine-like creature towering over your bed from the corner of the room. what he was, you did not know; who he was, although, was a different story.

"i am avdima," his voice, old and ancient yet fresh and new, bellowed between you two, "i am your guardian."

what that exactly meant, you didn't know. he followed you everywhere; work, trips to the grocery store, night outs with friends, family dinners. wherever you went, avdima had to come along. luckily for you, you seemed to be the only person who could see this mysterious creature, which meant you didn't have to explain the nine foot tall demon dog capable of walking on two legs trailing behind you.

still, here he was. standing guard in your dimly lit room, half bent over do to his height. his fur and skin was an inky black, eyes the color of crimson, teeth and claws sharp and pointed. you could hear him shift behind you, the warm breath from his snout huffing against the back of your neck.

"what is it you are doing?" he would inquire, nothing usual. whether he was bored or restless of watching you at your computer, who knew. it wasn't a rarity for him to bother you. sometimes laying his head in your lap, nudging your hands with his snout or leaving little nibbles against your shoulder.

in all honesty, avdima was more or less an oversized hellspawn dog who thought he was a lapdog. he would kneel down beside you, head tilted back so your eyes could meet his blood-red ones, "you've been sitting here for a good while. i think a break is in order."