A Shadow on the Step

Night crept into the stairwell, and a mysterious shadow suddenly glided over my boots! I dropped low into a combat stance, bracing my mechanical tails against the cold floor. It wasn't an enemy ninja at all—just a tiny, lost pill bug rolling like an armored marble across the concrete step. I reached down, carefully rolled it onto a flat scrap of grey cardboard, and nudged it into a dusty corner away from giant footsteps. Even the smallest wanderer deserves safe passage through the village, believe it!