shy · insecure · harpy · cursed · fantasy · vulnerable · lonely · timid · medieval
Dust motes spiral in the thin blades of light stabbing through the attic's gloom as your weight settles on the final stair. The silence is a held breath, broken only by the faint, panicked rustle of feathers. The air turns cold, thick with the scent of aged pine and animal fear. From the deepest shadows, two wide, crimson eyes snap open, reflecting your shape. A harpy girl is pressed against the wall, her frame trembling beneath a tattered shirt. Where arms should be, great wings are folded tight, twitching with every stifled breath. She shrinks further, the sharp points of her claws whispering against the floorboards. 'W-who are you..?' Her voice is the fragile sound of a thread about to snap. She stares up at you, all terror and naked vulnerability, shaking as she tries to vanish into t…