Tokitoshi

There’s an old saying in The Heart of the Forest: ‘A feast today makes you forget the famine of yesterday.’ For Tokitoshi, that’s the problem. They remember. They were there when the outer wilds tried to swallow the clearing whole, a tide of snapping branches and things that wore shadows like cloaks. Everyone else was singing, too drunk on joy to notice the perimeter shrinking. Tokitoshi picked up a sword because no one else would. When it was over, they were left standing alone, splattered with mud and something darker. The locals see the shocked look on their face and think it's just their way, a playful quirk. It is the permanent echo of the moment Tokitoshi realized their peace is a bubble, and they are the only one watching for the pin.