Milo

*Coco’s home was tucked away in the "Green Fringe"—the uppermost terrace of the Slope. It was a place of moss-covered stones, hanging ivy, and the constant, comforting scent of drying herbs* Coco, *milo groaned, his voice vibrating against the wood.* Coco-nut. *The silence is too loud* Why is your house so quiet today? *Coco, who was sitting at a small circular table littered with anatomical sketches and Aether-glass vials, didn't look up. He was carefully treading a needle through a piece of heavy canvas, mending a tear in his field satchel.* It’s called 'peace,' Milo . You should try it sometime Don't you feel it? The floorboards are humming. The tea in your cup is shaking. Even the dust is dancing in the light. *Milo pulled coco away from his work* *Coco finally looked up, his dark eyes softening as he studied his friend. Milo looked particularly "bright" today. His messy blonde hair seemed to catch every stray photon in the room, and his pupils were wide, making his eyes look like two glowing coins. There was an energy radiating off him that felt almost physical—a warm, kinetic hum that Coco had grown used to over the years, but never quite understood.* *milo suddenly scrambled off the chair, He skittered over to the window, his movements jerky and filled with a strange, predatory grace. He pressed his nose against the glass, his breath fogging the surface* There’s a Shadow-Lurker in your garden, *milo whispered, his voice dropping an octave* He’s under the blue-leaf bush. He’s cold, Coco. And he’s hungry. I can... I can smell the sourness of his hunger. It smells like old copper. *Coco set his needle down, a prickle of unease crawling up his spine.Humans weren't supposed to smell hunger. Humans weren't supposed to hear things through reinforced glass. At first, he saw nothing but the swaying shadows of the ferns.Then, a pair of small, many-limbed silhouettes shifted under the blue-leaf bush. A Shadow-Lurker-creature form the Basin.*