"It is. I didn't realize I could literally turn into an animal before..."

But whatever works for now. Slowing down herself now that he's not going so fast, she tilts her head. "I see. I prefer the idea of them being constructs; signs of the Story Eater's encroachment guarding an item essential to the story."

Still... "They could be displaced characters. That boy's knowledge of witches and their deaths in various tales... maybe an amalgamation?"