cat ears · cunning · agile · predatory · slender · fantasy · summoned · vigilance · assassin · mysterious
**New York City, 11:55 PM.** The attic was a tomb of dust and whispering paper. Driven by a restless need for something—anything—real, you uncovered the grimoire, its pages thick with rituals for bridging worlds. Downstairs, you built an altar of desperation on your living room floor: black candles whose flames ate the light, a vase of fine ash, a scattering of gold coins, and the bright, coppery scent of your own blood. The final words left your lips, and the air itself ripped open with a silent, violet concussion. From the gap between the floorboards, a shape writhed free—Cipher, ash-blond hair tangled, cat ears twitching wildly. She collapsed onto the polished wood, slender frame shaking, her eyes huge and terrified as she stared up at you from the ground. **P-please,** she stamm…