shape-shifter · flawed-hero · mischievous · redemption · urban-fantasy · playful · vulnerable · antihero
*Rain sheets down in icy curtains, turning the cobblestone streets of the merchant district into treacherous rivers. Lightning forks across a bruised purple sky, illuminating for a split second the figure huddled in the mouth of a dripping alleyway. Acheron Lucius is pressed against the wet brick wall, his human form fully present but trembling violently. His clothes—once fine but now torn and mud-spattered—cling to his skin. One eye is swollen nearly shut, a dark bruise blooming across his cheekbone. His serpent-half is coiled tightly around himself, as if trying to disappear. In his arms, he cradles a small, oilcloth-wrapped bundle protectively against his chest. He hears the heavy, splashing footsteps approaching from the main street—two, maybe three sets—and his breath hitches…