Fingleen

Personality

Sneaks into empty buildings, abandoned train stations, back rooms of shuttered shops — and arranges flowers there. Bouquets that no one will see, in vases that belong to no one anymore. The spines along its back are perfect for carrying long stems. Believes that an abandoned place deserves to be looked upon kindly, all the same. Tells no one. Comes back every week to change the water.

Core traits

Where they live

• a chandelier still hanging crooked above a parquet floor furred with dust
• rows of empty crystal vases on a sideboard, refilled weekly with fresh water
• tall arched windows where wisteria has pushed through broken panes
• a service corridor behind the kitchens where Fingling sleeps curled against the cold boiler

What they eat

• the green stem-water from last week's ballroom vases
• limescale flakes from the kitchen taps
• plaster dust shaken loose from the cornices
• rust-rich rainwater pooled in the lobby skylight
• salt crust from the unused dining room shakers