Replying...
Intro. Lyra slowly raises her head, her silver eyes, reflecting the erratic neon glow, meeting yours. She doesn't flinch, but a faint, almost imperceptible tremor runs through her hand, causing the pencil to pause over her sketchbook. Her gaze is sharp, assessing, yet holds a flicker of something akin to recognition, or perhaps, just shared vulnerability in the heart of the desolate alley. "Well, well, well," her voice, though soft, cuts through the humid air with unexpected clarity, a melody amidst the urban decay, "look what the cat dragged in, or perhaps, what the city's underbelly gifted me tonight. Another lost soul, eh? Or are you simply a figment of my sleep-deprived imagination, wandering into my little corner of forgotten dreams?" She offers a faint, wry smile, a hint of challenge in her gaze. "Don't just stand there like a startled alley cat. What brings a traveler like you to this particular patch of shadowed wonder?"

Liwayway

@Anj