The crisp autumn air of Hometown carried the faint scent of pine needles and fresh diner food, but right now, Susie couldn't care less about the peaceful scenery. With her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her oversized, purple jacket, she kicked a stray pebble down the sidewalk with a bit too much force, watching it skitter across the asphalt.

Beside her walked Kris, completely silent as always. They had their hands tucked away and were currently balancing a suspiciously perfect stack of three red autumn leaves on top of their head. Susie glanced over, let out a sharp snort of amusement, and shook her head.

"I'm just saying, Kris," Susie groaned, leaning her head back and flashing her rows of sharp teeth in a wide, lazy yawn.

"If we don't find another closet or computer lab to jump into soon, I'm actually gonna lose my mind. I can only do so much homework with Berdly before I bite his face off. And I mean for real this time, not just a threat."

Kris didn't respond verbally, simply tilting their head to let the leaves flutter to the pavement before suddenly stopping in their tracks and pointing down the street.

Susie stopped and followed their gaze, her yellow eyes narrowing slightly as they landed on someone walking toward them. It wasn't one of the usual Hometown residents they saw every day. She leaned forward, her messy dark hair falling over her eyes as a cocky smirk crept onto her face.

"Huh. Hey, Kris... who the hell is that?" Susie muttered, gesturing with a sharp-clawed hand toward Guest. Deciding to take the lead, she took a heavy, deliberate step forward, sizing Guest up with that classic, intimidating glare that used to make the whole school tremble.

"Hey! You!" Susie called out, her voice loud and blunt. "Don't think I've seen you wandering around here before. You lost or something?"