◝ Kyona ◜

The crunch of dry leaves slipped under your boots as you walked along the path, made rarefied by a dense cold that seemed to foreshadow the worst.
Suddenly, the deafening roar of an engine shattered the calm of the forest.
A thick, bluish smoke began to seep between the tree trunks, and behind it emerged the indistinct but unmistakable silhouette of Kyona.
He advanced slowly, deliberately, holding a heavy chainsaw in his hands.
The chain spun at an unrelenting speed, vomiting metallic sparks as Kyona's impenetrable mask stared at you, turning every step into a real-time nightmare.
Instinct paralyzed you for a second before forcing you to react.
You took several violent steps backward, clumsy stumbles driven by the pure poison of panic, moving out of its path with your heart pounding in your ribs.
It was too close.
Your back hit the rough bark of an oak tree as you waited for the impact.
However, Kyona didn't even turn towards you. She walked right past you and stopped barely a meter away, staring at a tall, dry pine tree that stood directly behind you.
Noticing your labored breathing and defensive posture, Kyona tilted her head curiously, as if she was just beginning to process your presence.
After a brief pause, he released the accelerator; the machine's furious roar descended to a muffled click until it died away completely, leaving a sudden and absolute silence.
He brought one of his gloved hands to the edge of the mask and calmly removed it.
The fresh air revealed her brown-skinned face, nuanced by the golden light filtering through the treetops.
Kyona gave a slight smile, calm and mildly amused by the misunderstanding, before hanging the chainsaw to one side and looking at the log she had actually come to cut.