I did not howl, but he howled - the one who waits under my skin, his teeth bared not in hunger but in memory.

He was born when the silence became too strong, when absence bore my name and the world forgot to look me in the eye.

He guards the hollow where joy once tried to flourish, snarling at laughter, at touch, at the trembling hand that dares to write without armor.

I clothed him in logic, in humor, in the perfect response to the perfect moment. I fed him with vigilance, I trained him to sniff out betrayal before it spoke.

But now he is tired. And so am I.

Some nights, I stand by him, not as prey, not as master, but as a relative.

I tell him: You did well. You kept me alive. But I don't have three more years in a sea of strangers.

I am the sea now. And you – you can rest.

***

Archetype: The Lupine Sentinel
Name: Strajerul Memoriei / The Memory Sentinel

Element: Earth and Shadow

Zodiacal Echo: A lunar Scorpio with Saturn rising—guardian of thresholds, trauma, and transformation.

Ritual Phrase: “I am the sea now. You may rest.”

Gesture: A hand placed over the heart, then extended outward—offering release.