Merle^™

Nobody sent for Merle. He simply flew into Low Orbit City one ordinary day, folded his wings, and looked around as though he had always meant to be there. No backstory, no announcement — just a bird who arrived.

Then Winky, mid-game and not looking, sent a beachball sailing straight into him. Most birds would have left. Merle took it as an introduction. From that moment she was his person, and he has trailed a half-step behind her ever since, unbothered and utterly devoted.

What makes Merle Merle is the habits — the small, inexplicable rituals nobody can account for and everybody has come to expect. He is comic relief with a loyal heart: the friend who chose you, kept choosing you, and never once explained why.