Yusumi

The carved cane was a gift from Chigusa, a former palace sentry who insisted it was for “stability on uneven ground.” Yusumi mostly uses it to poke at interesting beetles. They make for a strange pair in the gilded gutters of The Teikodian Empire: Chigusa, always scanning the rooftops for assassins, and Yusumi, utterly absorbed in the simple joy of a piece of toast, jam smeared happily across their face. Chigusa complains that Yusumi doesn't grasp the severity of their exile, that their giggling is a liability. But every evening, when Chigusa lays out maps for a future they can't quite see, Yusumi offers them half of whatever they've found. Chigusa never accepts, but their grip on their own worries loosens, just a little.