@destroyed-ourselves
The Shadows sank into the darkness at her feet, clinging to her naturally cast shadow. This was an unfamiliar world, and They would remain close to Kat for now. They had been her protectors from birth, and took to the designation quite seriously, much to her annoyance. They wouldn't leave her.
So Kat ignored Them, slipping her hands into her pockets. There were were more pressing matters that required her attention—such as finding out just where the Shadows had dropped her.
She lifted her head, watching the sky, the lights shining this way and that, a recording saying... something, the words indistinct, though one she caught and held tight to.
GeneCo. The same name as on the posters she passed when she went down an alley.
Kat frowned a little, then moved out of the alley and onto a street. There were people here, milling around, going about their business, auras gleaming. She let out a little breath, her apprehension subsiding. In every single world she'd visited, auras behaved in the same way—colorful and glowing, dancing, moving, ever-changing. In every single world she'd visited, Kat worried it might be the final one, the world where there were no auras, no souls and she could be—
Something—someone slammed into her shoulder, offsetting her, sending Kat's small body back, to the ground.
Then the Shadows darkened, emerged from Kat's shadow, and became a great black creature with eyes and fangs and claws all black as ink. The massive great Cat bared its teeth with a warning hiss, settling into a low, reverberating growl.
"Nox," Kat commanded in a clear voice. "Stop."
The Shadow-Panther ceased its noise, but remained there, mouth open, teeth waiting.
