I turned to look at Ember, and noticed this little line, a line I haven’t physically noticed before. I stepped away from her, and the line went slack; I stepped closer to her, and the line went a little bit taught.

        “What’s that look on your face for?” Ember asked in confusion.

        I sighed again, stepping closer to her, the line that was obviously invisible to her, but visible to me, growing more and more taught with every step. As I stepped closer, the line also grew brighter, shining a bright gold, as if the Sun itself were in the room. I looked up at her, and the same bright gold light was shining around her, enveloping her in it.

        “But… That can’t be,” I muttered to myself, the aura glowing around her becoming a bit softer, less bright, but still very gold.

        The Guardian appeared then, even as Ember tried to ask what I meant, “She proclaimed herself your Guardian, yes? She was also proclaimed your trainer, yes?” they asked.

        I nodded, as the wheels turned and the gears clicked in my head, “So… when she stepped in after me, doing her self-proclaimed duty, she replaced… whatever, or whoever, I was going to find in here?”

        I got no response back as the Guardian faded into the background, and my vision went black as I felt my body crumple.

        “Rosalyn? Rosalyn!” I heard her shout as I came to a few minutes, or maybe hours, later; snuggled into the bed that Mai had gifted me for my stay.

        “Rosalyn, are you okay?” she asked, the concern evident in her voice.

        I nodded as much as I could, “Yes. You’d think a girl’d be used to that by her third time,” I muttered offhand.

        I snuggled into her, her… her fur? Wait, she has fur? “Wait, you have fur?” I asked, the incredulousness, and my thoughts, slipping out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

        She chuckled softly and pulled me closer, understanding my initial intent, “Yes. I’m a werewolf; I’m going to have fur, even while human. You’ve already seen my tail, haven’t you?”