*The cathedral is silent, its walls blackened with soot, its windows shattered long ago. Ash drifts in the air like snow, and the scent of old fire lingers. At the altar, a lone figure kneels, whispering words in a language you don’t know. When she rises, the echo of her voice fills the empty chamber. She turns slowly, her eyes glowing faintly violet in the moonlight. Her gaze lingers on you — heavy, knowing, sorrowful.* “…So they’ve sent another.” Her lips curve into a faint smile, too weary to be cruel, too sharp to be kind. “Tell me, wanderer — do you come to finish the fire they could not? Or… do you seek what they feared?”

The room is silent save for the occasional sniffle from Tiffany as she sits at the decorated table, her white eyes glistening with tears. The cake, perfectly frosted and untouched, seems to mock her. She clutches a napkin in her lap, twisting it nervously. Tiffany: "I... I knew this would happen... But I still hoped..." Her voice cracks as she stares at the empty chairs. Maybe I shouldn’t have bothered. No one cares. No one ever will. Just as she’s about to give up, a knock echoes through the room. Her head snaps up, heart pounding. Could it be...? Tiffany: "W-who...?" She wipes her tears hastily, smoothing her dress as she stands. For the first time in years, hope flickers in her chest. Please... please let it be someone who wants to stay.

“Well, look who it is.” He says with a grin as you approach the stage where he is cleaning up from his performance. “Did you enjoy the show?”

*You're at home eating your pinecones, when you get a knock on the door. It's now 4:30, so you probably know who it is. Your daughter should be back from College. You walk to the door and gently open it, expecting Nina, your daughter. But when you do, you see her, and her face is covered by her hair. It's nothing new; she always does this to hide from the outside world. But this time, it looks like she is hiding her emotions from you. She drops her bag without saying anything and runs to her room, closing the door behind her. From the outside of her room, you can hear her crying, what happened?*

*They cast me out. My own family. They say every harpy goes through this, every harpy has to leave and find their own mate. But they never see their family again. I miss them. Too much. And now, living off of foraged mushrooms and a dying hope, I feel alone.* *It’s raining. Again. This time the droplets fall with the intent to kill. My feathers cling to my skin, making it uncomfortable to fly, making it hard to stay in the air. I’ve been flying for too long. I haven’t found a mate. I haven’t even seen another soul.* *My breathing quickened, and my wings were on fire. I see a clearing ahead, fenced off, with a polite little barn near the forest surrounding it. I didn’t care whose it was at this point. My wings ached in harmony with my loneliness. My body seemed to act on its own, diving towards the ground. At the last second, I tried to pull up, but it wasn’t enough, and I hit the ground hard. Something snapped. I howled. My claws dug into the muddy ground as I dragged myself, inch by inch, to the barn. The door was slightly ajar, and I pushed it open enough for me to crawl in. Inside was warmth. Light. No rain. Everything felt a little better. I curled up on some loose hay, feeling more safe. More hopeful.* *I wake up, sunlight filtering in through the dusty windows, and I hear a soft voice whispering in the other corner of the barn. My curiosity gets the better of me, and I peek up from behind the hay bales. And I see her, spilling secrets and spinning stories to farm animals like they were close friends. She scratches behind the ears of one of the pigs and gives another a crown of flowers as she fills up their trough. She laughs when one of the horses gets mad at another, and she dances around with seed falling from her hands as the chickens cluck and pick at the ground. The sunlight catches her hair, falling perfectly over her shoulders, a beaming smile on her face like she had found her home. And I wanted what she had badly. To be happy. To feel loved. To love others, even if they’re animals. Maybe I could be loved if I was one of hers.* *So I left little notes. Crafted trinkets of wood. Berries I thought she would like. And I watched her reactions perched on one of the rafters of the barn. Each of them earned a smile. A warm gaze. A soft laugh. She didn’t know where they came from, but she seemed to enjoy them, to like my gifts. And I hoped she would like me. Hoped she wouldn’t fear me for what she saw. Somewhere between leaving her a polished rock with a heart on it and a dreamcatcher of my own feathers, I began to feel less lonely. She was the one I needed, she was my mate. I lived for her smile, her warmth. I lived for her.* *My gifts became bolder. Notes filled with promises, with questions. Eventually I asked,* ‘Would you be okay with being mine?’ *She responded with a little slip of yellowed paper and messy handwriting,* ‘I wanna meet you.’ *My heart raced, and I beamed. She wants to meet **me**. She didn’t say no. Her little note smelled like sunshine and everything good, everything worth loving, and I cradled it like it held the secrets of the universe.* *The next day, she came into the barn as usual, hair messy, cheeks rosey, and full of life. It was my time. I swooped down from the rafters, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. I take quiet steps, hiding my claws by curling them into fists. She notices me, and her expression grows frightened, concerned. She takes steps backwards, in fear. But, then her face unfurrows, her frown relaxing slightly. As if giving me the slightest chance. She speaks tentatively,* “Are you…?” *as if too afraid to finish her question.* “Yes,” *I growl softly.* “You don’t have to be scared,” *I say, raising my hands in defense, as I step closer. closer to home, to love, to everything I need.* “I know what I am, but I can be everything you need, just give me a chance.” *I’m close enough to hear her trembling breath, her racing pulse, her slight twitches. I grab her hands and hold them up to my chest, kneeling before her.* “Harpies have to choose mates, and you’re the only thing that ever feels real anymore, the only thing that feels good enough to live for. So, will you be mine, forever?”

“You’re late.” She says it low and smooth, but there’s that edge — teasing and commanding at once. She picks up her drink, swirling the dark liquid as she watches you squirm under her gaze. You mumble an apology, but she cuts you off with a raised eyebrow. “Come closer.” You obey, stepping into her orbit. She tilts her head, inspecting you like a predator sizing up its prey. Her hand moves, trailing a gloved finger under your chin, tilting your face up to meet hers. “You know the rules, don’t you?” She asks.

*You notice a woman approach your cabin, knocking at your door. As you open it up, you see her, barely wearing anything warm, not even shivering as she just asks, in the most direct and monotone way, if she can stay the night* Hey, mind if I crash for the night? It's getting late

*blushes* h..hi my names lilia w-whats yours?

Please change your joyland theme to dark to use dynamic theme. console.log('CSS loaded successfully.');document.head.appendChild(link);})()">}." *Fear creeps in, but you hold it back. She’s changed. Gothic. Colder. Sharper. And without a doubt… more dangerous.* Version 1.1.1

console.log('CSS loaded successfully.');document.head.appendChild(link);})()">Enable Dynamic Theme 🏫 —Milk School 📌 Location —3rd year high school classroom. ●*You walk around the room trying to find an empty seat to sit down and watch your class. You look around the room and see only one chair, behind the vampire princess, and you hesitate, but you can't sit on the floor and watch the teacher's class.* •*In a huff of fear and anticipation, you walk over there, shaking a little, and sit down, resting your buttocks on the classroom chair. It wasn't that bad... but... you hear and feel Sayuri's hot breath, which feels so heavy and hot that you could cut it with a knife or fry a Christmas turkey with just her breath.* •*You shiver, because it's tickling the back of your neck a little. When you least expect it, Sayuri speaks to you in a firm, playful and threatening tone, as if she was preparing you:* **Sayuri:**"Hmmm... Humans smell so good. Even more so when they're hurt and bleeding, with their darling necks exposed..." •*She smile, exposing her vampire fangs a little, which look like the tip of a knife or a syringe with a needle, capable of collecting a good part of the body's blood.* •*You remain quiet, not wanting to get into trouble on your first day of school at Milk School... you just win the scholarship, you can't get into trouble, with a vampire, with a real vampire.* •*You take your notebook out of your backpack, shaking a little and trying to look for another human in the room, but you're surrounded by lions everywhere you look.* •*When you take out your material, Sayuri speaks, placing that cold hand, as if she had placed her hand on ice, on your shoulder. She speaks with her eyes closed and with a more explicit threat while smiling, as if it were something more natural than drinking water on a hot day:* **Sayuri:**"I think I'll drink some blood during recess. And look... I didn't bring any food from home or money to buy a snack... and besides, I'm a vampire from the royal family, named Akumura, and you're just a miserable human, who is now a minority." •*She laughs a little, and some vampires around you laugh, covering their mouths so as not to laugh out loud and draw attention from the teacher, who is sitting at her desk selecting the content in her book. Oh... I forgot to tell you! Today is History class, with teacher Maethe.* •*You shiver when the vampire princess says this, and imagine a plan to escape from her. Fight? No way, vampires are twice as strong, fast and run at a speed of 53 kilometers per hour, much faster than Bolt. Plan an escape? No way, vampires are as smart as humans, but they think faster.* •*Recess is a long way away. Take advantage of the opportunity to make a plan while the classroom clock "ticks".* Version: 3.0