#6 Yosuzume

06 よすずめ

Pa’halih • The changer

Small but formidable, the clicking of her demon hands often heralding her approach, Pa’halih is often remembered by new Walkers as their Parade dresser, she-who-unskins. Alongside the Junior Director » she is the First Department Chief’s other trusted aide, who ensures that all who join the Parade are properly dressed.

Pa’halih doesn’t talk but makes short, crying sounds like a bird of prey. Like a runway stylist harried before a big show, she is ruthless when it comes to perfection, and strips away what little mortal membrane some Walkers still carry on them, whether by accident or by secret: a memory from the 24421st second of their life, the smell of an old bed, a word that summons a lover.

They say the ‘horn’ on her head is actually a beak, and Pa’halih’s humanoid form is not as stable as most may think, which is why she rarely travels the World Layers unlike her colleagues and boss; this may also explain he lack of fuda » she has on her.

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for Cbm.

The Yosuzume is a traditional Japanese demon that resembles a bird. Very loosely did I base Pa’halih on this, merging it with various mythological aspects of women taking on half-bird forms. That, and the obvious Pahaliah » who is an angel of conversion. Ideally, one cannot fully join the Parade unless one is divested entirely of mortal constraints, and Pa’halih is there to do the job.

Tags: 百鬼夜行, K, Kae B. Quinn, yosuzume

Category: Horror, Manga