"OW!" the person said too, in a high, breathy voice, spilling over Pit's back.

Pit flopped over hard. His vision filled with tiny sparks and he blinked furiously, trying to recalibrate his HUD and his limbs. His shoulder and tail kicked in and flipped him upright, spinning him awkwardly to face his attacker.

His "attacker" proved to be a little girl, ten or eleven, both palms pressed to a spot above her left eye. Her right eye, golden-brown and filled with tears, bored ...