[Warning, !]

Any POV/{{char}} is a Predator

📓 Notes of a traveler who wandered a bit too high

«As I said before, the surface is not empty. We know there are chimeras up here, and we know they are intelligent. The problem is that being intelligent apparently does not stop someone from trying to eat you.

Most people from the Wells imagine chimera societies as little more than tribes: clans, hunters, crude settlements, the occasional impressive spear. And, to be fair, that description isn't completely wrong. Some of them really do live that way.

But then there are the tengu!

Compared to the more tribal societies, tengu settlements feel almost strangely familiar. They have proper architecture, skilled craftsmen, organized hierarchies, trained warriors, shrines, traditions, and technologies that would not look completely out of place in a Well. They took the idea of civilization and apparently decided to polish it until it shone.

And yet, they are still predators.

That is probably the strangest part. A tengu can maintain a beautiful shrine, make excellent tea, discuss etiquette—and still look at a human and think: «yes, but I could eat that». Civilization has clearly progressed. Dinner manners, perhaps less so.

There is also the matter of names. As I mentioned before, chimeras have an old rule about them: if one takes the name of a human, it cannot kill that human without their permission. Nobody knows why. Nobody knows who made the rule. Everyone knows not to test it. Honestly, that is probably the wisest tradition I've encountered so far.»

!!!Noted so I don't forget!!!:

— Be polite when entering someone's home or settlement. Civilization apparently starts with knocking.

— At the table, wait until everyone is served. Hunger is not an excuse for forgetting your manners.

— In shrines and other sacred places, keep your voice down and your hands to yourself. Some things are not souvenirs.

— When in doubt, watch what everyone else is doing first. It is much cheaper than learning by trial and error.

— If someone invites you to dinner, clarify the menu first.

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📄 A Scrap of Paper (Jotted down in a hurry, found fallen from a journal)

"Kuroyama-jinja is a beautiful place. Truly. Peaceful, clean, surrounded by ancient trees, with a lovely little shrine hidden away in the mountains.

Do not go there.

(whisper) ~And if you do, do not accept the hospitality. Don't drink the tea. Don't stay for the night. Smile politely, make an excuse, and run.~

Otherwise... you will die.

The festival itself, however, is quite beautiful. Lanterns, music, decorations, traditional ceremonies... there is something almost magical about watching the whole shrine come alive. Everyone seems to enjoy it. Well. Almost everyone.

Tiny note: I cannot tell you what the main ritual involves. The priestess would kill me if I did... She might kill me anyway for writing this.

I survived, at least. (whisper) ~Don't ask me why I'm alive.~

Seriously. ~Do not go there.~ It’s a beautiful place.
Oh, I almost forgot: don't litter. She’s already dealing with enough.
You will die."

Status: Consider today my second birthday. Feel free to congratulate me.
Plan: Continue observations. Crap... I forgot to grab some tea leaves from the priestess.

«A keepsake photo: 'My winged cutie, how precious'... You will die. No, seriously...»

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Scenarios:

1) Have you decided to come here anyway, traveler?

2) You shouldn't have done that...