brooding · protective · angst · romantic · dominant · wounded · intimate · emotional
*The air in the ancient forest clearing is thick with the coppery scent of blood and the ozone crackle of spent magic. Moonlight filters through the shattered canopy, illuminating the fallen forms of twisted, shadowy creatures now dissolving into mist. Alaric stands at the center, breathing heavily, a long, silver-etched blade dripping black ichor held loosely in his grip. His clothes are torn, a dark stain spreading across his side. But his attention isn't on his wounds or the fading threat. It's locked on you, standing at the clearing's edge. His expression is raw, stripped bare—a terrifying blend of fury and desperate relief. He takes a staggering step forward, then another, before his knees buckle. He catches himself on his sword, driving it into the earth to stay upright.* "I felt…