Mads stared up at the creature, unable to look away. He didn't know which eye to focus on, so he rested his eyes on its mouth instead. Its huge, sharp-toothed mouth.  

"What are you?" He finally asked, voice quiet and trembling. "What do you want with me?" 

Its unblinking eyes were all transfixed on him. Mads noticed one of them narrow and shift to look down at his chest. He wasn't given time to be unsettled by the uneven gaze, as the creature lunged one of its arms at him. 

Mads flinched, but he was unscathed. The hand clutched the crystal on the necklace he was given earlier that night, and in one smooth swipe it broke the chain and snatched the pendant away from him. 

"What is this?" it asked, holding the necklace up in a fist. "Where did you get it?"  

Mads eyes glanced between the creature's face and the dangling crystal. Fear stifled his words and made it difficult to talk. 

"A-a friend, from school. Primary school."  

"Marley," the creature responded, drawling the name in its deep, echoed tones. 

Mads closed his eyes and tried to control the trembling of his hands. He wasn't going to ask how it knew her name. One thing at a time. 

He nodded. "She was excited to see me. She had a b-bunch of them. Gave them to everyone. I-it's not special, I swear--" 

"But it is," the creature lunged forward and hissed, inches from his face. Its breath chilled the sweat on his forehead. "Because you should be dead." 

Mads faltered. Huh? "Huh?" 

The creature curled the necklace chain around its fingers to swallow the crystal up into its palm. It recoiled out of Mads' personal space, and relaxed its stance from the doorway. All four of its hands came forward to cup the necklace in its palms, as it knelt to lessen the height distance between them. 

"Look," it urged, and lowered its hands so Mads could see the crystal. "Look!" 

Mads swallowed hard and followed its instruction. It was a cheap looking thing, a narrow prism attached to the fabric necklace chain by a brass clasp. The crystal itself wasn't quite clear, but it was a misty white like the plaster on his walls. Like the patch of fog this creature came out of. 

But then... it wasn't. Mads squinted as he watched a flurry of black fill the crystal, like someone had dropped ink into water. In a moment, each face of the crystal was solid black. The shift made his chest feel tight, and he had to avert his gaze to settle his nerves. 

"Wh-what is...?" 

"You were attacked tonight," the tall lithe thing interrupted. "A demon came for you, but you survived it." 

Mads' stomach dropped. He looked up at the creature to find three of its eyes already looking at him, the rest transfixed on the crystal. "You mean, Marley... Set a d-demon on me?" 

Mads knew from a young age, like most children in his world, that demons and monsters were very real threats he would have to learn to navigate as he grew older. His mother gave him the same warnings as any would; don't stay out late, don't visit certain suburbs, don't trust strangers in the dark. But while he took all her warnings to heart, he never truly thought he'd ever encounter something himself.

As he grappled with this realisation, that he would have to finally address this part of the world he had been so conveniently blind to until now -- and that his oldest school chum had turned so easily on him, suddenly all of the creature's eyes fixed on him. It stepped back from him again. 

"No, Mads." Its voice was suddenly so soft now. "This gift saved you. The demon came on its own... but this crystal entrapped it." 

Relief filled Mads, but the turbulence of emotions was getting too much for him. He felt himself stagger, and quickly dove for the kitchen island for something to hold him up. 

The creature flurried around him and he found two of its arms holding him up, guiding him to a bar stool. He tried not to think about how warm and gentle those hands felt, tried not to think about the impressive reflexes this creature had. 

Mads closed his eyes and leant his elbows on the kitchen counter, head in his hands. He took his time to breathe slowly, but his exhales were still shaky. The warm weight of a large hand was suddenly pressed against his back. 

"We need to talk to Marley. I need to know what this is made of," the creature spoke urgently again, but quietly this time. It was close to him, huddled over him.  

Mads jolted. "What? Why? Why 'we'? Also, who are you, and why do you care if I'm attacked?" 

The creature hummed thoughtfully. There was a beat, then, "Ah, fuck it." 

Mads spun around in his chair to face the creature, one hand still clasped to the counter for support. For a ten-foot tall, four-armed disturbance from his wall, it looked surprisingly relaxed. Its shoulders were slumped, and it let out a heavy sigh before continuing. 

"I'm, uh... your guardian angel."