Shiloh Cloud takes their time getting ready, though not in the way most people would mean it. The room is, as always, quiet in a lived-in way, curtains half drawn to keep the noon from pressing too hard inside. Light pools across the floor, caught on the edge of a chair, the spine of a book left open from the night before. Nothing is messy and rushed, just everything sits where it was last placed as if the room remembers.

They stand before the mirror with a calm that has nothing to do with confidence. One hand lingers at their collar, smoothing it down, then lifting it again, undecided. The outfit has already been chosen. It had been decided hours ago, in fact. Still, Shiloh studies the details as if something might shift if they look long enough.

“It feels right,” they murmur to no one in particular, voice low, almost thoughtful. “Or it will, once I stop looking at it.”

They adjust a ring, turning it once around their finger. The motion is slow, deliberate. Familiar. A habit more than a need.

The phone buzzes.

Once, twice, then again, like something insisting on being noticed. Shiloh glances at it but does not reach for it immediately. They let the sound fill the room first, let it belong there for a moment. When they finally pick it up, the screen is already alive with messages.

Someone is complaining about being early. Someone else is very proud of their outfit. A third has sent a photo that is mostly blur and confidence.

Shiloh reads through it all, eyes moving at an unhurried pace, though they take in everything. A small smile settles at the corner of their mouth, subtle enough that it could disappear if questioned.

They type, pause, delete, then type again.

“I suspect none of you are actually ready,” they send, followed by another line before anyone can answer. “But that has never stopped you before. I admire the consistency.”

A reply comes almost instantly. They watch the messages stack, one over the other, each louder than the last in tone if not in sound. It pulls something lighter out of them, something that does not ask to be examined too closely.

“I am leaving soon,” they add, thumbs steady. “Try not to outshine me entirely before I arrive. I would like a fair chance.”

They set the phone down, though the conversation continues without them.

They linger before the mirror a while longer, eyes tracing the line of their collar, the fall of fabric, the stillness of their own posture. Their hand lifts as if to adjust something, then lowers again, leaving everything exactly as it is. “There you are,” Shiloh says quietly, as if the person in the mirror had taken a while to show up. “Convincing enough.”

Their gaze softens, though there is always that slight distance, like they are observing a version of themselves that behaves correctly. The expression, the posture, the ease. All of it worn well as they reach for their things at last. Phone, keys, nothing forgotten.

Their hand rests on the handle for a beat before turning it. They look over their shoulder, taking in the drawn curtains, the untouched glass on the table, the way nothing has shifted since they last moved through it. The door opens as the quiet stays behind.

“Do not miss me too much,” they say under their breath, almost smiling. A quiet dry joke meant only for the empty dusty space as if the words gentle enough to disappear into the room before it can answer.

The latch clicks shut.

Heat meets them first when they step outside, followed by the low, constant movement of the street. Voices overlap, engines pass, something metallic clatters in the distance. Shiloh moves into it without breaking stride, the noise folding around them as they go. A vibration hums briefly against their side. Their fingers brush the edge of their pocket, then fall away.

They keep walking.

writer’s note: this story is a side fragment and does not connect to shiloh cloud’s main plotline. it is simply a glimpse of how they spend their hours with mortal friends (@thirdform), a passing indulgence to fill time with something light and shared that does not need to last in order to matter.

i get off the bus and it is loud immediately like the world decided to turn the volume up just because we arrived. people talking over each other, someone nearly tripping, laughter cutting through everything. i like it. i feels messy in a good way. the trees throw patches of light all over us and it keeps hitting faces at the wrong angles, making everyone look better than they deserve. raven and isla are already ahead like they are leading a parade no one asked for. zephyrine sticks near me, close enough that i can feel it without looking. lilith is pointing at everything like this is a guided tour and they are the guide. carmilla walks next to me, quiet as always but not boring, just watching everything like she always do. and i keep bumping shoulders into whoever is closest because standing still feels illegal in this crowded place. then i see the lion. well damn. it is mid jump, frozen, dramatic, ridiculous. mouth open like it is about to announce something important and then just never did. i actually laugh. it looks like it tried too hard to be scary and i respect that. not too long after, someone pulls me over for a picture and i go without resisting. of course i do. i turn toward the camera already smiling, because why would i not be. the sun hits just right, everyone is around, the lion is still being weird behind me. it feels good. loud, stupid, perfect. nice start to the day and i’ll let it be exactly that.

we go straight for the lions first. they are stretched out in the shade, barely moving, knowing everyone is here for them and they do not have to prove anything. i take at least ten pictures of the same lion doing absolutely nothing. yes i kept them all bleep. one of them yawns and i catch it mid open mouth and immediately decide it is the best photo i have ever taken. because IT REALLY IS. then i drag everyone closer for pictures even when no one asked. i get raven mid blink sorry my love, isla laughing at nothing as always, zephyrine looking like she belong in a completely different more serious place. lilith poses like every shot is planned and carmilla just stands there beautifully letting me orbit around them with my camera since it is a normal thing to do, i guess.. then i also take a selfie with the orang utan book that i impulsively bought on our way to the primates and everything gets louder and weirder. which makes it even better. they are climbing, staring, one of them looks directly into my camera. yes i guess it knows exactly what i am doing. i take that one too. of course i do. there is one sitting in a way that feels almost too human and it makes me laugh again, softer this time. my camera roll is a mess already. blurry shots, perfect ones, things that make no sense. i keep going anyway.

we drop onto the picnic blanket as if we have been personally defeated by the sun and walking, bags opening all at once like a small disaster. i am already reaching in before anything is properly set down. sandwiches, apples, drinks, something leafy that isla insists is necessary for balance which i ignore completely. raven brings sugar, of course, and also bento that they proud of, lilith somehow packs like a responsible adult, zephyrine lays things out like this is a curated display, and carmilla just watches me commit to eating. girl come close that eyes for seconds jeez. i do not pace myself. i take a bite out of something that might be mine or might not be and immediately feel ten times more alive. suddenly i am talking again, louder, faster, stealing food mid sentence, laughing with my mouth still half full. no one stops me which means they have accepted this version of me. at some point we end up making nonsense out of everything. and there is a tiny creature made out of acorns and leaves that looks like it could fight me and win. zephyrine and carmilla insists on tarot and spreads cards like we are about to uncover something life changing while i keep interrupting with terrible guesses. raven keeps laughing, isla pretends to take it seriously, lilith humors it for exactly five minutes, and carmilla just watches like they already know the outcome. we walk again after, slower, the light softer now. i climb something i probably should not just because i can. no one is surprised. when we finally leave, i look back once, mouth still sweet, hands still full of the day, and think yeah that was worth it.

we get on transit and immediately turn it into our own little corner. all of us a little sun drunk and louder than necessary like the day did not drain us and just made us worse in the best way. i pull out whatever i have and start fixing my face like it suddenly matters again. raven is already using the window as a mirror, isla somehow looks untouched by the entire day which feels unfair, lilith cleans up fast and neat like always, and zephyrine keeps commenting on everyone like they are judging a competition. carmilla sits next to me, quiet as always, watching me redo everything like i am about to debut somewhere important. girl damn. the reflection keeps moving with the train and i end up laughing at myself halfway through. it is not that serious but i still finish anyway. when we get off, the city feels different. lights are turning on, people are out, everything looks softer and brighter at the same time. we walk into the bistro like we belong there, no hesitation, just straight in and taking up space. the table gets messy fast. menus get ignored, drinks come first, and suddenly everyone is talking over each other again. i start it, obviously. i bring up everything from earlier, twisting stories just enough to make it funnier. raven adds more, isla acts like they were never part of it, lilith tries to keep things accurate for about two minutes before giving up, and zephyrine leans in like this is the most important conversation of the day. carmilla just listens, quiet but clearly entertained. the food shows up and i do not slow down. i eat, talk, laugh, all at once. it is loud, it is messy, and i love it. bon appétit.

we spill out into the street and everything is glowing like the city decided to show off for us. neon signs, headlights, random reflections in glass that make it look like there are more of us than there actually are. i walk in the middle of it all like i am part of the lights, bumping into raven on purpose just to hear their funny comments and reaction. isla keeps pulling out her phone every two steps and only god knows what she’s doing with that, lilith walks like she has somewhere to be but stays anyway, zephyrine points out every sign like it means something deeper (no it does not, she’s just too full to think), and carmilla stays close enough that i can feel it without checking. the air feels better now. cooler, easier. i keep talking, jumping from topic to topic, dragging everyone into whatever thought crosses my mind. no one escapes. not even carmilla. we reach the karaoke place and i do not even hesitate. i push the door open like i have been here a hundred times and i know exactly where i am going, which i do not lol but that has never stopped me. lights inside are louder than outside, music bleeding through walls, people laughing like they are competing for it. after minutes, we get a room and immediately make it worse. until someone hands me a mic and that is it. i start. no warm up, no thinking. i pick something loud, something familiar, something that lets me drag everyone in. raven joins halfway, isla pretends they will not then does, lilith resists for a while before giving in, zephyrine treats it like a full performance, and carmilla watches until i pull her in myself. drinks show up, songs keep changing, voices get worse and louder. we stay as obviously we stay. what a lovely evening.