The shadow scampered through the night, with his eyes aimed towards his soaked shoes. At first, it was to make sure he didn't step on anything, but now it was due to fear of making eye contact with any ghouls lurking around in the dark. The silhouette's body froze and trembled at the thought of bumping into creatures of the night, and in turn, his umbrella shook.

"Itzal!" the raven perched on his shoulder screeched, before digging its talons into him. He responded instantly by putting his umbrella away and starting to sprint. If the monsters didn't notice him before, they definitely did now! Itzal sprinted through the wet muddy street as if he was being chased. The pain in his shoulder was nothing compared to the nonexistent beasts he thought could harm him.

"Shit! Mochni why'd you have to do that. We're gonna die probably... No. If I keep on running we'll be fine. The mons-"

Itzal's mumbling was interrupted when he darted into a pair of soldiers, effectively knocking both him and one of the troopers onto the ground. His vision still blurry, the other soldier wrapped their fingers around the young boy's throat and forced him to the ground.

"Yer the wrongdoer who killed our friends aren't ya?!"

"What the-" Itzal couldn't respond as the soldier's grip tightened. He hesitated to grab his knife. Mochni, tired of Itzal's pussyfooting, flew towards the strangler before deftly removing the soldier's eye. Itzal's lips curled and he let out a small chuckle. As the soldier reached for the empty socket, Itzal kicked the soldier off of himself and ran away. His raven followed, after consuming the pretty orb it just plucked.

---

Exhausted from the journey, Itzal slouched into the inn without his usual enthusiasm. Breathless, wet, and tired, he barely managed to say, "Uh, Nemamaiah." The innkeeper led him to the room, and Itzal gladly entered. Noticing the other Seraphs here, he gave them all a wide grin and a wave, before letting himself collapse onto one of the sleeping bags.