[Location: New York, USA]
"You were not the one who stopped me, right?"
The words slipped out of my mouth before I'd fully realized I'd stepped forward.
Not aggressively.
Instinctively.
Like my body had already decided where it needed to be before my brain caught up.
I stood half a step ahead of everyone now—subtly shielding Eris behind my leg, Ravvy clutching my coat sleeve, Ezravia hovering close enough to be mistaken for a shadow, and Carmilla's presence pressing in from my side like a silent verdict.
The old werewolf stared at me.
Then—slowly—his eyes drifted past me.
To Eris.
He squinted.
Not suspiciously.
Not fearfully.
More like someone trying to read very small print without glasses.
"…Huh," he muttered.
Valeria leaned out from behind me, hands on her hips. "Hey! Barkimedes! Don't ignore the question—he asked you something!"
I turned to look at her, "You know him?"
