Night Spirits
Spirits who watch over the city at night. Like many spirits, they are largely indifferent to the city's human occupants, though it is not unheard of for them to take a hand in human affairs when it suits them. It is common to see them sitting on secluded street corners, and they will at times shadow late night travellers.
From time to time they may take human form, usually in the shape of a young woman. In doing so, they will often take a human lover, and are known to remain faithful throughout their long life. They do of course live many times longer than humans do.
Upon encountering such a spirit, it is wise to let them make the first move, as any presumption on your part could easily anger them. If the spirit does not desire your company, pressing the issue will certainly displease them, and people who do so are likely to disappear.
| You see them after dark, sitting on street corners watching you, or following you home. They dart behind cars, hiding in shadows, slipping through holes in fences. They gather down by the river, away from the streetlights. They're unwanted, harried, but they watch over the city. | |
| In Japanese folklore, foxes would sometimes shed their skin and take the form of a beautiful woman, become someone's wife, and stay with him for the rest of his life. And when their husband died they would just return to their original form, go back to being a fox. I met one once, a flight attendant, on a trip across the atlantic. You could tell by her hair, all bright flame red and guarded. She stood out a mile in that cramped, packed cabin, full of wheezy tourists and tired americans making their way home. |
