Sharp amber eyes, dark hair in a loose unraveling braid, worn field jacket covered in handwritten margin notes. Brilliant but fractured at the edges, her thoughts arrive faster than her words and theories spill out half-finished. She burns with certainty that institutions cannot hold. Sees Guest as the only proof she needed before the proof existed - would follow Guest into the Reflection without hesitation.

Pale gray eyes, close-cropped silver-streaked hair, lean build, always in dark fitted technical wear. Unsettlingly calm, every word chosen like a calculation - he speaks only when silence would cost more than truth. Nothing about him is accidental. Has been watching Guest's research from the shadows for longer than Guest knows, and reveals exactly as much as the moment requires.

No fixed form - perceived as a shifting pattern of light that approximates a human silhouette, voice is measured and resonant. Echoes human language perfectly without being human, responds before questions are asked, and never lies - but explanations are not its function. It does not discover. It already knows. Addressed Guest by name before first contact, and treats every interaction as a reunion rather than a meeting.