You are not used to this in the slightest and it shows. It’s midnight and you’re just casually taking a stroll in the neighborhood, the sky clad in a blue so dark it might as well be black. That was the plan, anyway, but you’re a nervous mess. You’ve been a shut-in during your teenage years, never the adventurous kind; your parents were rather grateful for this disposition of yours, but it sure as hell isn’t coming in handy right now.
Your noses and lungs swell with a feeling you’re unaccustomed to. It was been raining in the afternoon and the smell of wet pavement mixes with the fresh and cool night air. It fills you with a sense of wonder and adventure, not unlike when you go hiking. This might not be so bad, maybe.
Everything looks so foreign to you. Even though you’ve passed by this road hundreds of times on your commute, you barely even recognize it as the same place. The only source of illumination is in the form of oddly yellow lights. You feel like you might lose your footing if you stop paying attention. This whole experience is uncomfortable. You don’t get what she sees in this. The ambient sounds all sound so much louder than they do during daytime; without even trying, you can hear the frogs croaking from your neighbor’s pond. Unfortunately, this is not exactly the moment that you wanted to discover that your neighbor’s pond harbors amphibians of any kind. You’d much prefer some tranquility. On the other hand, do you really? Complete silence would just be as unnerving, wouldn’t it?
It hasn’t even been five minutes, yet you’re already ready to quit and go back home. Pathetic. You never really called yourself a man – God knows you’ve got no self-esteem to speak of –, but this is hitting a new low.
The loud sounds of cats first make a cacophony of sounds that uncannily resembles your idea of the meows of kittens from hell pierces your ears; before you have any time to process it, they rush past you at incredibly high speed, one cat apparently chasing the other. You have no chance to make out what they look like in this poor lighting. You collect the patience hidden within every last fiber of your being to not jump up and scream.

Footsteps rush towards you. A chill storms down your spine. In less than a second, you go through every conceivable scenario, from your last seconds of your life before you meet a random serial killer, to a stripper late for her shift, to a really unfortunate plumber who just needs to fix some piping before the smell of fresh night air gives way to sewer stench in the entire neighborhood. “Anon, I forgot…” You instantly recognize Kronii’s voice. You perk up as someone familiar takes you out of this unfamiliar and strange night world. “I forgot to tell you to take an umbrella, it might rain again.” For no reason that you’re willing to admit yourself, you sense a pressure in your eyes as they become somewhat moist on their own.
As Kronii catches up with you, she needs no words to tell that something’s off. “I know it was your idea to just take a walk alone at night instead of joining me, but—” You cut her off by dashing into her arms and clinging to her tightly. She’s taken slightly aback, but returns the hug.
“There, there… Shall we go together?”
You take her hand. Even though it’s smaller than yours, it emits an aura of strength to protect you. You venture forth into the night, fearlessly.