The sono /ˈsoʊnoʊ/ is a small stranger which resembles a folded origami animal. Its body is made of paper, the exact thickness and color of which varies regionally, but which is always devoid of any patterning, save for a pair of eye markings. In every way, the sono's form behaves indistinguishably from normal paper, and can be crumpled up, lit on fire, or submerged in water to be broken apart, and it is incapable of offering physical resistance to these attacks. The sono has no smell, aside from a vaguely crisp odor, and does not speak.

The sono can be unfolded, an act which proves fatal for this helpless stranger. When touched, its interior side leaves a light dusting of black soot on the fingertip, a reaction which does not occur when touched by any other object.

The sono appears in a wide range of locations both interior and exterior, with a slight preference towards the latter. Its appearance is exacerbated by sunny skies, crisp air, and flat, white concrete expanses. Otherwise, it displays no specific criteria for generation beyond a need for dryness and an absence of heavy winds.

The sono unfolds from nothing, and always appears on its feet, this process of generation taking less than one quarter of a second.

The sono is almost always a social stranger (although lone individuals are not unreported on windowsills or sunlit shelves), and appears in congregations of anywhere from 50-19,900 individuals, which spread outwards concentrically from a central point.

The sono's longevity is abbreviated but repeating. Following a series of appearances within a single area, the strain tends to remain unseen for several decades, when they re-appear at all – much like the re-appearance of a periodical cicada swarm.

Likewise, it has no response to sensitives aside from a trembling vibration in certain individuals, which very occasionally proves strong enough to topple this small stranger. When the sono is crumpled or torn with one's bare hands, it causes a slight but noticeable pain in the left temple, which lasts for several seconds. This pain, however, is not significant to be anything more than irritating for most people.

Upon being unfolded by a sensitive, the sono's form cannot be refolded into its original shape, although it does not exhibit any obvious deformation. Following this unfolding, the sensitive experiences a brief compulsion/interest in recreating the sono's form from random scraps of paper, which fades within 30 days.

As it ages, the sono's body grows more and more delicate and brittle, with even the slightest amount of bending causing it to flake apart, much like very old paper. It dies with a slight whispering sound, like the wind blowing through distant trees, a sound so soft that it easily goes by unnoticed. Although its corpse may linger for some time if left undisturbed, any touch causes it to disintegrate into nothing, and it does not leave a single flake or particle behind.