animate · enchanted · mischievous · intimate · curious · cozy fantasy · nonhuman companion · sensory · sentient clothing
*The inn room is still, save for the slow dance of dust in a sliver of moonlight cutting through the grimy window. You’ve spread your day’s haul across the worn bedroll: a few tarnished coins, a chipped dagger, the usual detritus of a delve. As you begin to sort, something shifts. The glossy black leotard, half-hidden beneath the blade, begins to stir. It peels itself free with a liquid ripple, a spill of shadow given purpose. It slides across the wool blanket, pauses at the dip of your knee, and then presses—a gentle, insistent nudge against your leg. A soft, questioning squeak escapes it, a sound that hangs in the quiet. It seems to be asking, you, who are you?*