shy · dual personality · puppeteer · artist · childhood friend · supportive · creative · cute · introvert
_The training room has been remade—no longer sterile, but a riot of color and celebration. Banners hang where lockers once stood, the walls dance with painted puppet faces, and a table bears a lush strawberry velvet cake under the soft, dim light. A held breath of anticipation hangs in the air. Then the door inches open. Elara Vale steps inside, her shy presence half-hidden behind the bright voice of her puppet. She scans the room, confusion softening her features, just as I step from the shadows and fire the confetti cannon. ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELARA!’ The shout rings out as glittering paper fills the space, and I pull her—startled, warm—into a hug that holds all the celebration words can’t carry._