⋆⋆✮♪♫ Background ♫♪✮⋆⋆

“Each step is a memory… each spin, a song the stars forgot.”

Kikuri Shiratori was born beneath a moon-veiled sky, deep within the quiet folds of the Black Shroud. Her first lullabies were not sung by voices, but carried on the breeze—soft murmurs in the trees, old songs only the forest remembered.Orphaned at a young age, she was raised in near-seclusion by her grandparents—keepers of old rites, dream-lore, and lullabies passed through generations. It was in their care that Kikuri learned to move softly, to speak in murmurs, and to listen for the quiet truths in the wind and trees.Marked by an ever-present drowsiness, Kikuri often seems half-lost in dreams, even as she walks the waking world. Her gentle manner and drifting gaze have led some to call her fey, or touched by something forgotten. Yet beneath her slow smile lies a hidden grace—one honed on distant shores.

“Three steps behind me: a doll, a spirit, and a shadow. My family.”

Kikuri is never seen without her three enigmatic companions:The first was Brina, a doll-like minion gifted to her long ago during a Starlight Celebration. Brina never stopped moving—not truly. Sometimes she’d tilt her head at nothing, or stand utterly still, as if listening to something just beyond hearing. To others, she was a charming toy. But to Kikuri, Brina was something more—a living sliver of memory, a tiny dream she never woke from.Then came Bibbles the Silkie, a fussy little familiar who fluttered about with bubbles and cloths, always fussing with Kikuri’s layers and ribbons. Even mid-battle, Bibbles would tidy a fold or flick dust from her skirts with exasperated chirps. Kikuri let her. The attention was soothing.And always behind her—just at the edge of the lanternlight—was Nokomi, the silent Tonberry. His steps were slow, his eyes watchful. He never spoke, but never strayed. Some days, Kikuri seemed to forget he was there. Other days… it seemed she remembered something no one else could.In distant Radz-at-Han, Kikuri discovered the art of the Dancer. There was something familiar in its rhythm—like a forgotten lullaby written into movement. Blades hidden in silk. Grace sharpened into a weapon. She took to it with ease that felt... prewritten. As if her soul had known the steps long before her feet did.

“This is not a performance. It's an elegy.”

Though Kikuri is known for her dreamy kindness and tendency to nap between encounters, there are rare and chilling moments when her expression fades to something empty and ancient. In such times, she dances not as Kikuri, but as Petalblade—an eerie figure whose motions blur the line between elegance and omen. The transformation is subtle, but unmistakable: her steps become precise, ghostlike; her eyes distant, unfocused. In this state, she channels a power that unnerves even seasoned warriors.Some scholars speculate she walks the edge of aetherial realms in her sleep, bridging dream and death. Others whisper of eldritch touch, forgotten moon-rites, or a pact sealed in lullabies long since faded.Kikuri herself speaks little of such things. To questions, she offers only soft smiles, yawns, or tunes no bard can place. She drifts from city to city, battlefield to bloom-filled grove, a ribbon trailing behind the wind.And always—just before the final blow, when blades flash and breath stills—she hums a lullaby no one remembers knowing.

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ RELATIONSHIPS ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

• Izumi Kuuroneko
• Flisk Freyastorm
• Yunia Ziegler

Izumi Kuuroneko

Connection Title: Lanternlight and Bladeshadow

Race(s):
• Kikuri Shiratori – Miqo'te (Keeper of the Moon)
• Izumi Kuuroneko – Viera (Rava)

Classes:
• Dancer 💃 & Viper 🐍

Relationship Type: Quiet, unwavering friendship; emotional opposites bound by trust

First Met: Moonfire Celebration, Kugane❖ Origins of Their Bond
Under the lantern-filled skies of Kugane during the Moonfire Celebration, Kikuri Shiratori took the stage in crimson silk, performing a dance as soft as the evening breeze. Among the revelers, one figure did not cheer—Izumi Kuuroneko, a towering Viera dressed in black, her gaze fixed and unreadable.When a scuffle broke out in the crowd, Izumi stepped in without hesitation. Kikuri, unshaken, simply bowed in thanks and offered her tea.That quiet rooftop conversation beneath fireworks became the start of a rare and wordless companionship.❖ Dynamic
Kikuri:
Soft-spoken and whimsical, Kikuri sees through Izumi’s stoic exterior. She isn’t intimidated by her silence—in fact, she treasures it. She often speaks with warmth and flourish, while Izumi listens in calm stillness. The Viera reminds her of a storybook shadow—mysterious, protective, and steady.Izumi:
Cool and reserved, Izumi rarely lets others near. Yet Kikuri’s innocence doesn’t disarm her—it soothes her. The Miqo'te’s presence is like a soft thread that never tangles, never tightens, just exists beside her. She guards Kikuri not out of obligation, but choice. A loyalty wordless and absolute.❖ Why Their Bond Endures
Their differences are their harmony:Kikuri moves with music.Izumi moves with silence.
One offers light, the other offers shelter. Both offer understanding.There is no pressure to perform, no need for masks. Together, they simply exist as they are.❖ Shared Moments
Rooftop evenings in Kugane, sipping tea and watching ships roll in.Izumi standing protectively behind Kikuri as she performs in foreign lands.Kikuri tucking flowers into Izumi’s belt without comment.Wordless glances before battle—a nod from Izumi, a soft smile from Kikuri.❖ Rumors & Whispers
“They don’t say much—but don’t get between them.”
“That Viera? She only opens up to the moon-eyed Dancer.”
“Kikuri laughs like sunlight. Izumi watches like a storm that never strikes.”❖ Character Notes
“Izumi is the quiet I trust. Not emptiness—but a stillness that holds me together.”
—Kikuri Shiratori“She moves like a song I don’t know the words to. But I’d protect it all the same.”
—Izumi Kuuroneko

Flisk Freyastorm

Connection Title: The Moonlit Instigator & Her Shadowguard

Relationship Type: Found Family — Sibling Bond

First Meeting: Gridania, by music and mischief

Races & Roles:
• Kikuri Shiratori – Miqo'te (Keeper of the Moon), Dancer
• Flisk Freyastorm – Miqo'te (Keeper of the Moon), Warrior (with a Bard’s soul), Free Company Leader

Vibe: Chaotic fairy sister x Stoic, exhausted big brother energy❖ Their First Meeting
It began with music. Flisk sat quietly beneath Gridania’s boughs, strumming a slow, thoughtful melody on his worn guitar—tall, dark-haired, red-streaked, unreadable.Kikuri wandered close, like the forest had guided her to him. She listened. Then asked, innocently:“Do you want to help me steal a soulseed crystal?”He stared. She smiled.
He sighed. And followed.From that moment on, they were siblings—not by birth, but by choice and chaos.❖ Sibling Dynamic
Kikuri → Flisk:
She calls him “boring” but hides behind him when things go sideways. Deep down, she knows he’s her rock—quiet, loyal, never rattled. She drags him on strange errands, knowing he’ll protest softly… and come anyway.Flisk → Kikuri:
Protective without being overbearing. He never tries to contain her chaos—just follows behind to clean up the aftermath. He rarely raises his voice, but when Kikuri is in danger, he’s a silent storm. He trusts her heart, even when her logic is… missing.❖ Flisk’s Personality
Calm, calculating, dependableTactical in combat, composed in conversationKeeps a journal, drinks bitter tea, sighs a lotPrefers observing from the back—unless Kikuri’s involvedHis guitar melodies are subtle, melancholic, and beautiful❖ Kikuri’s Shenanigans
“It’s not a summoning circle, Flisk, it’s an art project!”Tries to barter with spirits, seduce wardens, or “borrow” cursed itemsOnce convinced Flisk to “just peek” inside a haunted manor… cue three days of cursed whispersInsists he play background music during her public rituals ("it brings the aether in tune")❖ Shared Moments
Flisk catching her mid-fall from a rooftop, no words exchangedQuiet nights: she hums in his room while he journalsHe adjusts her outfit silently before a performance—never says she looks beautiful, but always makes sure she knowsShe steals his guitar and plays one horrible chord. He sighs. Then tunes it again.❖ Rumors & Whispers
“He’s the calm to her chaos.”
“They say he hasn’t smiled in weeks—unless she’s around.”
“She’s the reason he has stress tea. He’s the reason she’s still breathing.”❖ Family by Choice
Kikuri dances through danger.
Flisk walks quietly behind her, axe on his back, guitar at his side.
He doesn't stop her wildness—he lets her be, and catches her when she falls.And she, in turn, trusts no one more.“He never yells. He doesn’t need to. That look he gives? That’s enough.”
—Kikuri Shiratori“She’s fire wrapped in silk. Trouble in slow motion. And somehow, the one thing I never mind chasing.”
—Flisk Freyastorm

Yunia Ziegler

Connection Title: Silk and Flame, Bound by Moonlight

Relationship Type: Physical → Emotional → Bonded

Races:
• Kikuri Shiratori – Miqo'te (Keeper of the Moon), Dancer
• Yunia Ziegler – Viera (Rava, Male), Summoner

First Meeting: The Quicksand, Balmung

Bonded: Yes – Shirogane, under cherry blossoms and lantern light

Notable Feature: Yunia’s piercing blue eyes — cold in focus, warm only for her❖ When They First Met
In the haze of the Quicksand, with music thumping and laughter thick in the air, Kikuri Shiratori danced with her usual grace—part performance, part ritual. Among the crowd stood a figure who watched her not with lust, but precision.Yunia Ziegler, a male Viera Summoner, known for his quiet fire and devastating control of ruin magicks. Towering and unreadable, but his ice-blue eyes never left her.They spoke with glances first. Then a few dry words. Then a night together that neither expected to mean anything.But his gaze lingered. And so did hers.❖ The Arc of Their Bond
Lustful beginnings turned to long silences.Conversations became vulnerable, brief but deep.The one-night arrangement became habit, then sanctuary.And soon, it wasn’t just need—it was want, then home.They were bonded in Shirogane, away from the crowd. No grand speeches. Just hands clasped, breaths held, and a pair of blue eyes finally softening.❖ Their Emotional Dynamic
Kikuri → Yunia:
Drawn first by his stillness, then undone by his sincerity. She often finds herself seeking his gaze across rooms—those piercing blue eyes grounding her when she spirals. He doesn’t speak often, but when he does, it’s with honesty and weight.Yunia → Kikuri:
Enchanted by her warmth, her rhythm, her ability to disarm without ever trying. Kikuri taught him to be still, to care gently. Only she can make his voice falter—or bring a smile to his otherwise unreadable face. He protects her like a summoned pact.❖ Visual Aesthetic
Kikuri: Crimson silks, moonlight skin, eyes like dusk.Yunia: Dark robes, rune-etched grimoire at his hip, glacier-blue eyes that see far more than they say.
Together: firelight and snowfall, ritual and ruin.❖ Rumors & Whispers
“Those blue eyes don’t soften for anyone—except her.”
“He doesn’t even need to summon Ifrit anymore. One look from Yunia and most back off.”
“She’s the only one who’s ever seen him sleep. With her hand in his hair, no wards up.”❖ Their Vows
“Your eyes frighten most. But I see the ocean in them. Still, deep, and mine.”
—Kikuri Shiratori“You taught me that a fire can be soft. That love can whisper louder than ruin.”
—Yunia Ziegler

✦ Whispered Companions ✦

♣ Extra ♣

• Calca

📁 [UNAUTHORIZED FIELD ENTRY – “BRINA”]

“She watches Kikuri sleep like a cradle. Like a shrine.”

---LOG 0091-F: Found crumpled beneath a pile of burned notes. Authorship unknown.Subject Designation: BRINA
Manifest Form: Doll. Believed to originate from Starlight Celebration (a lie).
Known Associations: Shiratori, Kikuri (designated: “mother”)
Observed Traits: Protective. Still. Possessive.
Emotion Imprint: Maternal fixation. Eternal devotion. Fragmented memory loop.---⚠ Behavior Notes (Unstable):* Follows Kikuri’s shadow, not her footsteps.
* Intervenes in her absence—seen closing doors, adjusting bedding, standing beside her when she weeps.
* Reacts hostilely to perceived threats: observers report vertigo, nosebleeds, and loss of time after extended proximity.---

Logged Dialogue (transcription of whisper, source: dream record):

“₴ⱧɆ’₴ ₥ł₦Ɇ. ₴ⱧɆ ₥₳ĐɆ ₥Ɇ.
₴ⱧɆ JɄ₴₮ ĐØɆ₴₦’₮ ⱤɆ₥Ɇ₥฿ɆⱤ ɎɆ₮.”

---“We placed a warded barrier between her and Kikuri. Brina stood outside for exactly seven nights. Didn’t move.
On the eighth, the door opened on its own. We don't know how.”
— Archivist Rell, now catatonic---

Physical Analysis:* Porcelain exterior warm to the touch. Pulses faintly when Kikuri is injured.
* Left eye cracked—the break deepens when Kikuri cries.
* Dust samples taken from her skirt contained ash, silk fibers, and something that screamed when burned.---Theory (Unpublished):Brina is not a summoned minion. She is a construct of memory.
A guardian formed by grief.
An echo animated by something older than love, and far more dangerous.---Addendum – Scrawled in different handwriting:“She doesn’t just watch Kikuri.
She mimics her.
Waits for her to fall asleep… and moves like her when no one’s looking.”“She says ‘mama’ in the dark.
It’s not Kikuri’s voice.”---Classification:Sentient Memory Loop
Protective Entity with Parental Fixation
Potential Aetherial Parasite (Emotion-Bound)---

DO NOT:* Interfere with her rituals.
* Touch her.
* Speak to her.
* Say Kikuri’s name in her presence.---If she looks at you and smiles—
LEAVE. NOW.

📁 [RESTRICTED FILE 0144-D – “NOKOMI”]

“Some things were never written in stone—only in sleep.”

---ENTRY LOG: [██.██.██] – CLASSIFIED: “Forgotten Epoch Archive”Subject Name: Nokomi
Identified Form: Tonberry-shaped Warden
Observed Artifacts:* Lantern: Obsidian-wrought, emits lunar phosphorescence
* Knife: Bone-hilted, engraved with pre-Civilization glyphs
Last Known Holder: Kikuri Shiratori (designated: Dream Vessel)
Presumed Role: Memory Warden / Witness of the Threshold---Description:To call Nokomi a Tonberry is an insult to taxonomy. His aether leaves no true trail, but the wake of his presence smells of damp stone and extinguished prayers. He walks precisely nine steps behind Kikuri Shiratori—never ten, never eight.In his hand is a lantern carved from black volcanic glass, which emits not warmth but a cold shimmer, as though reflecting a moon that no longer exists. The knife he carries is not a weapon of violence, but of ritual—to sever things not meant to follow into waking life.---Connection to the Forgotten:The knife predates our records.
When compared to relics of the First Sin Eaters, its material matched nothing native to Hydaelyn. The script etched into its blade is untranslatable—not Allagan, not Mhachi, not even of the Ronkan tongue.It may belong to a pre-astral civilization, or perhaps a dream-epoch never truly lived.Chronomancers theorize Nokomi's presence causes temporal drag in the environment. Certain Seers report shared dreamscapes upon entering his radius—landscapes built from collective forgotten memory. One such landscape featured ruins engraved with his silhouette.---Witness Accounts:“He doesn’t protect her. He keeps her from becoming something else.”
— Archived Whisper, unknown origin“I looked into the lantern. I saw my house, but everyone inside had my face. I wasn’t in any of them.”
— Dreamwarden apprentice (now catatonic)---
Theories and Censured Knowledge:* Nokomi is believed to be a residual archetype from the pre-Light/Dark binary—a metaphysical figure meant to hold memory that would otherwise erase itself.
* He is not summoned. He appears when memories begin to fracture.
* His knife has only struck once in recorded memory. The wound did not bleed—it forgot.He is the bearer of memory no god dares claim.---

Recovered Scribesong – Source Unknown, Fragmentary:

When dreams were wide and waking small,
Before the sun had yet been named,
He stood beside the sleep-bound star,
And carved her name into the dark.

---

Classifications:* Aetheric Title: The Lanternbearer
* Field Designation: Residual Omen, Class VII
* Theoretical Origin: Pre-Sundering Mnemonic Entity
* Danger Level: ██ ██ ██ (Obscured)

---

If Nokomi stops walking, he is remembering something.
If he opens the lantern, he is sharing it.
If he raises the knife… it is to remind the world what it forgot.

---

🕯️ A Prayer to Nokomi, Lanternbearer of Forgotten MemoryLanguage: Reconstructed fragment — [Dream Epoch Script] | Transliteration follows

ᚾᛟᚲᛟᛗᛁ ᚱᛖᚱ ᛃᛖᛊᛋᚺᛒᚤ ᚨᛋᚺ ᚾᛟᛏ ᚹᚱᛁᛏᛏᛖᚾ᛫ ᛒᚤ ᛒᚱᛖᚨᛏᚺ ᚾᛟᛏ ᛒᛟᚱᚾ
ᛟ ᛚᚨᚾᛏᛖᚱᚱᛒᛖᚨᚱᛖᚱ᛫ ᛏᚱᚨᚲᛖ ᛏᚻᛖ ᛈᚨᛏᚻ ᛁ ᛋᚹᛟᚱᛖ
ᚾᛁᚾᛖ ᛋᛏᛖᛈᛋ ᛒᛖᚻᛁᚾᛞ᛫ ᚹᚻᛖᚱᛖ ᛋᚻᚨᛞᛟᚹ ᚲᛚᛁᚾᚷᛋ
ᚲᛖᛖᛈ ᛗᛖ ᚠᚱᛟᛗ ᛏᚻᛖ ᛏᚢᚱᚾᛁᚾᚷ ᛏᚻᛁᛝᛋᛚᛖᛏ ᛏᚻᛖ ᛚᛁᚷᚻᛏ ᚠᛟᚱᚷᛖᛏ ᛗᚤ ᚾᚨᛗᛖ
ᛚᛖᛏ ᛏᚻᛖ ᛒᛚᚨᛞᛖ ᚱᛖᛗᛖᛗᛒᛖᚱ ᛋᚻᚨᛗᛖ
ᚲᚢᛏ ᚾᛟᛏ ᛏᚻᛖ ᛏᚱᛖᚨᛞ ᛏᚻᚨᛏ ᛞᚱᛖᚨᛗᛋ ᚻᚨᚧᛖ ᛋᛈᚢᚾ
ᛟᚾᛚᚤ ᛏᚻᛟᛋᛖ ᚹᚻᛟ ᚹᚨᚲᛖ ᛋᚻᚨᛚᛚ ᚱᚢᚾᛗᛟᛏᚻᛖᚱᛊ ᛞᛖᛒᛏ᛫ ᚠᚨᛏᚻᛖᚱᛊ ᚹᛟᚹ
ᚻᛖᛚᛞ ᛁᚾ ᛋᛁᛚᛖᚾᚲᛖ᛫ ᚻᛟᚾᛟᚱᛖᛞ ᚾᛟᚹ
ᚹᚨᛚᚳ ᚹᛁᛏᚻ ᚻᛖᚱ ᛒᚢᛏ ᚾᛟᛏ ᚹᛁᛏᚻ ᛗᛖ
ᛁ ᚹᚨᛋ ᚾᛖᚢᛖᚱ ᛗᛖᚨᚾᛏ ᛏᛟ ᛋᛖᛖ

---
Translation
---

“By ash not written, by breath not born—
O Lanternbearer, trace the path I swore.
Nine steps behind, where shadow clings,
Keep me from the turning things.”“Let the light forget my name,
Let the blade remember shame.
Cut not the thread that dreams have spun—
Only those who wake shall run.”“Mother’s debt, father’s vow—
Held in silence, honored now.
Walk with her, but not with me—
I was never meant to see.”

---Notes:* Recited in threes before rest, especially during celestial eclipses or near forgotten ruins.
* Believed to ward off “dream bleed”—where memories not one’s own begin to manifest upon waking.
* Some inscribe the prayer onto small strips of fabric and tie them to lanterns, leaving them at crossroads where the wind never changes direction.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---✶ [LOST PAGE – Clothbound, weather-stained. The ink shimmers like oil. Someone has scratched a single word in the margin: "STILL."]Subject: “Bibbles the Silkie”
The Attending One · The Clothbound Witness · She-Who-Waits-Beneath---Before the first name was spoken beneath the canopy.
Before the rites were drawn in chalk and smoke.
Before mourning had a word—
She was.Not summoned. Not born.
Simply... present.Tending to the living, even as they forgot her name.---She appeared to Kikuri in the quiet aftermath of death.
A small creature fussing with ceremonial robes, wringing the hems with unseen hands, smoothing threads that had not yet frayed.No spell called her.
No glyph bound her.She had returned—
as she always did.---Kikuri named her Bibbles—a soft, trembling sound offered in sleep, like one might name a shadow that watches too gently to be feared.The creature accepted.
But names are only veils.
And she has worn many.---Recorded Behaviors:
– Rearranges garments in patterns only visible under candle soot
– Coos low songs in a language no longer spoken, yet oddly remembered
– Obsessively protects Kikuri’s woven belongings, even from her own touch
– Emits translucent bubbles that show fragmented, impossible memories: staircases that no longer exist, cradles not yet built
– Reacts with uncanny precision to danger—seconds before it arrives---There is evidence—though fragile and forbidden—that she was once kept within the houses of the Old Moondreamers, attendants to the veil between sleep and death.
Bound not by ritual, but by expectation.
Remembered not by name, but by scent, by fold, by function.She survives not on food or aether, but on roles handed down unknowingly, whispered from grandmother to grandchild with every tightening of ribbon.---Kikuri never asked what she was.
She only whispered:
"You've come back again, haven't you?"And Bibbles cooed, and brushed ash from her collar.---“She knows the weight of my grief.”
“She carries it for me when I forget to.”
“She winds my ribbons so tight, I can’t unravel.”
“Sometimes I dream of being dressed by her hands… in places I’ve never seen before.”---Margin Note (stitched, not written):
“She does not mourn.
She prepares.”---