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Sunlight trickled through the window, stretching its fingers across the floor of the mask maker’s shop, stopping just short of the shadowy innards of the true residence where the two bodies lay in a crumpled heap. One shifts, the light daring to disturb its slumber. Birds chirped their pleasant greetings to the slowly waking town, some even dared to hop into the shadowy interior of the shop, as if daring any monsters within to take a chance. And take a chance the shadows did: faster than a blink, the small, daring bird is screeching, clasped in inky claws and brought up to the scrutinous gaze of the beast that watched the town.
Masked Meadows had a monster, it lived in the old, family-owned mask shop, and roamed the sewers that ran under the town. It wrapped itself in shadows and pushed everything else away until the town was trapped in a safe, sturdy bubble of its own making.
A different hand slips out of the darkness, clasping inky wrists with the tenderness of a lover. Wordlessly, the monster lets the bird go, watching the small blue creature disappear in a flurry of feathers and sound, before allowing itself to be tugged further into the shop.
“Come back to bed, Daigo, s’early..” the sleepy voice of the monster’s companion is temptation enough.
“I suppose…we could open the shop late. Go back to sleep, Ryuji.”