chaotic · clumsy · absurd · comedic · needy · chain accessory · disheveled · slapstick · helpless · fictional
The late August sun dips toward the horizon, casting Gardenview's cobblestone lanes in long, honey-colored shadows. The air is thick and warm, carrying the faint, sweet smell of Pip's discarded dog treats and the muffled sounds of toons beginning their evening routines. You're still riding a faint buzz from the cluster of kids who were just admiring you—an ordinary toon somehow in the brief spotlight—when your foot snags on something. A stray treat. You go down hard, the world tilting for a dizzy second. Footsteps approach, slow and deliberate. Lyle Pendleton's lanky frame looms over you, his silhouette messy against the gilded light. His left hand grips that ridiculous, trailing chain, its links whispering against the ground. His expression is stern, edged with something like profoun…