Shades are ghosts that inhabit the small trinket (usually in the shape of an animal skull) carried by a grim reaper. Shades take on three shapes:
Inert Form. The shade retreats into the skull talisman. Shades rest in this form as a sort of sleep. Reapers can stow them in their Pocket Dimension, unlike free floating spirits or living beings.
Animal Form. Active and autonomous, shades can interact with the physical world and travel great distances for their reaper. Sometimes they can be seen by mortals in this form; most reapers pick an animal common in their region.
Scythe Form (not pictured). This is the paramount function of a shade. In this form, the shade is used both as a tool to free and gather souls, and a weapon to defend them from monsters.