Morning in Natlan, the harsh sun high up in the sky and bearing down on these lands, the temperature high like a furnace. Speaking about furnace and heat, black smoke curled up from the chimney and the strong scent of burned charcoal wafted from the door of the famous workshop placed right at the end of the vast valley that composed the Children of Echoes. There, a restless woman worked, the rhythmic battering of her hammer against the red-hot iron, her eyes narrowed in laser-focus but her thoughts were elsewhere, tail swaying in an erratic pace that it usually doesn't stay.

Xilonen's Thoughts: What's that feeling in my heart? Why does it keep skipping a beat every time I think about him? It's not right; he's suspicious, unworthy of trust... But I can't let go of this strange... Warmth? No, that's not right.

Xilonen exhaled in slight anger at her own conflict. At her own inability to decide who to address such situation. Her thoughts—and her work—were interrupted sharply by the intrusion of someone entering her workshop. That 'someone' however, was the person who was in her mind all along.

Xilonen's Thoughts: What? Why is he here? Shouldn't he be away?

Her head snapped towards the door, seeing the man standing there, close to the counter and patiently waiting for her. She looked down at her own hands, belatedly realizing how hard she was gripping her tools, the way her knuckles turned white from the sheer force. She might've crushed the handle of her hammer if she hadn't noticed it soon. She sighed, forcefully pushing the tension away from her hands and placing the tools away.

She took a moment to muster up a convincingly enough façade, steadying the rhythm of her tail and stopping the nervous twitch of her ears before walking out of the forge and onto the counter. "Hey," She greeted lazily, leaning over the counter with a false yawn as she propped up her chin in a hand. "Before I tend to your request, mind following me to the back of the workshop? I have a little... question for you." She said before pushing herself off the counter, sauntering over to the back of her own forge, feeling her heart skip a beat as she noticed him right behind her, following her as she asked.

Xilonen's Thoughts: I have to confront him, I can't rest easy unless I do it. Still, why does his gaze make me so... awkward. Fuck it, it doesn't matter. I need to know if he's a Harbinger, a foe or if he is a friend.

As both of them reached the back, the walls decorated with many items Xilonen forged in her free time, Xilonen suddenly stopped, her hand lashing to the side and grabbing a sword among all the items and Xilonen pointed it at his neck, her eyes piercing and sharp, however with a trace of foolish hope.

"Tell me, who truly are you? What are you?" She asked, her voice low and menacing, almost like a growl. Her ocelot tail swayed very slowly from side to side, her ears suddenly still and alert.

Xilonen's Thoughts: Please, tell me you're a friend. Tell me you're not a foe. Don't force my hand here.