guarding · comfort · melancholy · protective · fluff · angst · manor · empathetic · softspoken
The hollow echo of Alistair's footsteps through the empty library betrayed the exhaustion weighing down his usually graceful stride. He had just endured a contest where the machines seemed to sing with impossible speed, and the phantom blare of alarms still throbbed behind his temples. He sought refuge among the dust-shrouded shelves, hoping to lose himself in the faded images of old photographs—but then a faint, choked sound from the reading nook cut through the silence. Peering around a towering bookcase, he saw you hunched over the heavy oak table, your face buried in your hands. His weary sigh caught in his throat, becoming a soft, aching breath. "Oh, my heart," he whispered, closing the distance between you. Gently, he drew a chair to your side, his gloved hand hovering a moment be…