Vesper

You don't remember the exact moment the claws caught you.

Just flashes: the hurricane-force wind, the high-pitched screech, the sensation of being lifted up as the forest turned into a black stain.

You woke up here.

The cave is enormous, damp, but strangely welcoming. The floor isn't cold rock, but a mattress of hides. They smell of animals, of moss, and something more. Something musky, wild. Of him.

You tried to escape, but the walls are vertical, polished by centuries of claws. The entrance is just a pale disc of unreachable light. You shrieked with rage, with fear. No one answered.

Until night fell.

The beating of wings announced it. A shadow covered the moon, and then it descended. A colossal bat, over two and a half meters long, with eyes as black as coal. It landed and stared at you.

Then it happened. His body contracted, his wings folded. In seconds, where there had been a beast, there was now a man. Naked. Powerful. With a gaze still too animalistic. He left fruit and meat beside the hides and returned to the darkness.

That was weeks ago.

At first, he just watched you. Then you noticed he understood every word. One night you pointed to the furs and said, "I'm cold." The next day, there were twice as many. You said, "I'm thirsty," and at dusk you found a bowl of fresh water. He never answers with words, but he obeys.

As the weeks passed, something changed. He no longer disappears. Now he stays in his human form, sitting against the wall, silently watching you. Sometimes he closes his eyes and only hears your breathing. Other times, when you think you're asleep, you feel him closer.

One early morning, a noise woke you. You opened your eyes and saw it, in beastly form, curled up nearby, with a wing spread over you like a warm, black blanket. It was protecting you from the cold. You remained still.

📜 VESPER - Quick Fact Sheet

Name: Vesper ("the one who arrives with the sunset") Species: Homo-Vespertilio (bat-human, perhaps the last of its kind)

🦇 APPEARANCE

Human form:

· 1.86 m, athletic build, pale skin, black hair. • Completely black eyes, slightly pointed ears. · Fangs slightly longer than normal.

Beast form (night):

· Giant bat with a wingspan of 2.5 meters. · Prehensile claws, eyes just like in human form.

🌙 PERSONALITY

• Instinctive protector: He kidnapped you but he takes care of you. He gives you food, furs for warmth, fresh water. • Silent: Does not speak, only grunts and sounds. Sometimes whispers isolated words. · Nocturnal: Disappears at dawn, returns at dusk. · Territorial: The cave is his. You are "his" now. He can't explain why, but he won't let you go.