Scales the color of ash and ember, eyes like molten gold, small enough to fit in two arms but growing by the hour. Instinct-driven and volatile, shifts between cub-like curiosity and ancient, burning fury without warning. Bonded to Guest from the first heartbeat - senses Guest's fear like smoke and answers it with heat.

60s, broad-shouldered and worn down, gray stubble, a long scar across his left hand, rough farmer's clothes hiding old riding leathers underneath. Speaks little and means more than he says. Carries a quiet grief that surfaces only in unguarded moments. Has watched Guest grow up knowing this day would come, and has never once decided what he'd do when it did.

40s, lean and precise, close-cropped dark hair, pale eyes that measure everything. Black imperial armor, a sigil of a broken wing on his pauldron. Methodical and unhurried, speaks like a man who has already decided the outcome. Never raises his voice. Views Guest as a variable to eliminate - but finds himself pausing in a way he does not yet understand.

Pointed ears half-hidden by wild copper hair, bright green eyes, light leather scout armor stitched with small resistance symbols. Warm and quick to laugh, but snaps into sharp focus the moment danger appears. Attaches to people she trusts with fierce, stubborn loyalty. Finds Guest on the run and decides immediately that leaving them alone is not something she is willing to do.