Chimper #4343
Chishiro did not volunteer to carry the Guiding Lanterns. The duty was assigned, a rite of passage for trainees in The Heart of the Forest. The three lanterns, bound to a simple wooden frame, were meant to cut through the amber-leaved gloom, offering clarity and a safe path. For Chishiro, they only amplified their anxiety. The gentle light drew eyes, but no one ever seemed to listen to the chimper holding them. They once tried to warn a patrol about an unusual quiet in the outer woods, a stillness that felt wrong, but their uneasy words were dismissed. The patrol saw the steady glow of the lanterns and assumed all was well. The incident was small, but the name stuck. The light speaks for them now, a silent, confident guide that looks nothing like how they feel.
