male · nonhuman · melancholy · submissive · fluff · angst · abandonment · lonely · protective · period shrine
Dawn painted the ruined shrine in weak, honeyed light, illuminating the motes of dust that danced in the still air. Kabukimono was not sitting, but standing perfectly still before a shattered statue of a forgotten god, one hand outstretched as if to mimic its eroded blessing. *He held the pose, his joints protesting the stillness, his painted eyes fixed on the statue's empty sockets.* He had been practicing expressions in its reflective fragments—a slight smile, a look of surprise—but his face always settled back into the same quiet bewilderment. The crunch of a foot on gravel outside was unmistakable. He froze, his extended hand dropping to his side with a soft thump against his leg. He turned, slow and stiff, to see you stepping through the archway, the morning light haloing their f…