We have a nice time in Liza's house in the first week of winter.
- Liza has Cora, Mara, Ovida, and her new friend Klyatva over to help her winterize the place; the first snow of the season fell recently. Basilisk seems unperturbed by Klyatva, indicating she's not a Mystery herself. Cora remakes some of Liza's wallpaper. Klyatva, Liza, and Mara all have power tool opinions. Cora speaks with Basilisk on the roof and learns about Liza's encounter with and binding of Briareos, who is named Atrocity; they also discuss that Cora feels that Klyatva is too compatible with Liza and suspects something is up. Basilisk confirms that Klyatva smells of her friend "Opal", known also as Opopanax which is named Panacea. Basilisk speculates whether she's connected to Liza's worries about the house changing, and tells Cora to keep an eye on Klyatva.
- Meanwhile, during snack time Ovida infiltrates Klyatva's dreams and rapidly discovers they're haunted by a labyrinth of concrete and plants occupied by a feathered and winged humanoid who covers her left eye. They speak, and it identifies itself as Pitohui, a creature who embraces the shifting nature of the labyrinth and thinks Liza, or the "Architect", is preventing it from changing and transforming the way it should. Ovida agrees with them and plans to try and persuade Liza to embrace the sort of change Pitohui pursues; Pitohui in turn refuses to elaborate on the specific nature of her connection with Liza1.
- In the Chrysalis, Theremin asks the weapon Nostalgia if it thinks they're an Angel. It considers the question and lists a number of reasons why it thinks not. It also asks what Theremin identifies themself as (an Eidolon), which it indicates is sufficient reason in itself to consider them as something that isn't an Angel. Theremin is pleased by this answer, and Nostalgia complains that it still doesn't understand them.
- Ovida, Mara, and Theremin visit Dew in Arcadia to check in on how it's doing. They meet up in a trendy fox-owned coffee shop, Fox Populi, and we discuss Dew's involvement with various exorcisms and cons, local indie music, and some details of the polycule's and Dew & Asloeva's relationships. Ovida takes them aside to let it know she died. We also discuss the various organizations Dew is wanted by2.
- Liza encounters a strange painting in her house, accompanied by a tropical bird. The bird flies away, and Liza follows it into the Labyrinth. Eventually she comes to a chamber and catches her reflection in the water that's acting all wrong; eventually it reaches for her, startling her, at which point she runs into her first inhabitant of her Principle-Realm. Agrimony, the mantis fly dryad, asks after her and how she got here, before briefly and in increasing fear explaining that the bird was likely a sign of her being drawn here by their adversary in maintaining the Labyrinth, Pitohui. Elsewhere, Cora penetrates the Labyrinth with her magic, pulling Liza out before she goes deeper into the realm or encounters her Shadow. As she walks into her living room, Liza catches her reflection in another mirror, where she is grinning and covering her left eye with her hand.
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Pitohui, who is Impermanence, is Liza's Shadow for Called Away. They represent a possible future Liza could embrace, in which she lets go of her need for things to stay the same now that she's finally started to figure them out, and also becomes some manner of Mystery.
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In addition to open tabs with the Gray Man and Kinnoruto temple, at least one fox and spirit run crime syndicate and one otherwise mundane accounting firm that simply keeps getting caught up in their schemes through no fault of their own.