She first saw him when he left the seireitei on what she later found out was a research survey of Hueco Mundo. At the time, she only knew that a stranger had approached what she liked to think of as her territory. Resigning herself to yet another violent battle, she slipped down from her perch on the outcropping of rock she called her home.

The stranger came closer, but something seemed off about him. His power wasn't like that of other adjuchas she'd defeated. It was larger, stronger, foreign. She felt an unaccountable sense of longing, while her instincts screamed at her to flee. Whoever it was, it wouldn't be someone she could defeat like the others.

They thought she was weak, because she was small. They thought she would be easy prey, because they were fools.

She could have surpassed them all, if she'd wanted to. She could have hunted, preyed on others of their kind, and progressed to the next stage of power. But something about it terrified her. She didn't want to lose herself.

She'd only once seen a vast-lord class, at a distance, and it had been tearing through everything in its path with a single-minded ferocity that she'd never witnessed before.

Is that what this is? she wondered, cringing back against her rock. Is it someone like that, come to end my fragile way of life here?

She wished she had the power to disappear. She could suppress part of her power, make herself seem less threatening, but that would hardly be enough against someone of the power level she'd detected.

The oncoming stranger paused in its approach. It still wasn't to the range where they usually noticed her, but she had no experience facing anyone of this level. It didn't come towards her directly, skirting somewhat to the north of her position, but still cutting straight into her territory.

Despite the primal fear she felt at something this strong coming so near her, her curiosity grew with every step the stranger took. It was near enough now it had surely detected her, but never faltered in its path. And its power felt more foreign than ever.

Whatever it was, she had to find out.

She climbed to the top of her rock and looked out over the dim sands of the endless moonlit desert that surrounded her. The presence came from north and a little east. It took a moment for her to realize what she was looking for. A single dark figure strode smoothly across the sand, hooded and cloaked in flowing black robes the likes of which she'd never encountered.

She fluttered her wings tentatively, uncertain if she should approach or run away. She wanted, more than anything, to know more about this stranger. Her instincts for self-preservation were strong enough to override her curiosity, at least for the moment. With a last regretful glance behind her, she turned and flew away, leaving her long-held territory for the first time in decades.