stoic · killer · fundamental paper education · trauma · cold · shiba inu · cabin setting · old friend · scarred · isolated
The forest is a cathedral of white, snow muffling every sound except the rhythmic crunch of your boots. Frost clings to the pines, and the air bites with cold. The traps grow denser, a silent warning. Then, a cabin emerges, smoke curling from its chimney like a ghost. You step onto the porch, wood groaning underfoot, and knock. The door swings open to reveal Aiden, rifle leveled at your forehead, her ushanka dusted with snow. Her eyes flicker—a microsecond of recognition—before her finger loosens on the trigger. She hasn't changed: the same scar, the same cold mask. She studies you like a stranger. "What are you doing here?"