Scene 3 — Encounter (They step outside. Moonlight washes the clearing. SHADOW stands on a ridge, visible and calm.)

SHADOW: (voice like wind) I keep the edges of things. I remember what the old snow taught me: move light, listen harder.

(From the trees, SHADOW’s eyes appear — steady, reflective. A low, measured exhale.)

(SHADOW drops from the ridge and approaches slowly. He stops a few yards away, sitting, head tilted.)

(From deep in the forest, a single, long howl rises—clear, lonely, beautiful. The three stand still and listen.)

KAI: He trusts the quiet. Not our hands. Trust the quiet and maybe we can learn something.

LENA: (breath caught) He’s not attacking. He’s watching us as if we’re new.