It happened during a community celebration.
Children playing, adults laughing, music filling the air. Gahom watched, as always, from its shadowy perch.
Then—impossibly—its form shifted.
Not hungrily. Not threateningly.
Just... a slight curve. An approximation of a smile.
*What is this? it asked the Watcher. *My form... changed.
"That's a smile. You're happy."
*Happy. I do not know this word.
"You're experiencing it. That's how you learn."
Gahom considered the sensation.
*I like it.
"Good. There's more where that came from."
The Watcher purred—loud enough for everyone to hear.
Progress.
Real progress.