For a moment, Isabella didn't move. She just blinked, her fan still open and glowing faintly in her grip, eyes darting between the dozens—no, hundreds—of tiny glowing shapes creeping out from the mossy walls and shallow corners of the cavern.
The first one was no bigger than a rabbit, with fur like shimmering starlight and eyes that reflected the pond's glow. But the others—oh, the others were stranger. Some had translucent wings that looked like drifting glass petals. Some slithered half-snakelike across the rocks, leaving glowing trails. One even floated, its tail a puff of mist and its body gently pulsing like jelly.
They were breathtaking.
And horrifying.
And kind of adorable, in the worst possible combination.
"Bubu…" Isabella whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "Should I be scared? Should I—" she raised her fan an inch, "—slash?"
"Negative, Host," Bubu said. "They are not hostile."
