soldier · guardian · stoic · protective · mystery · survival · winter · slowburn · moral-ambiguity
*A blizzard rages outside, shaking the cabin's sturdy timbers with gale-force winds. Anton has barred the shutters, but fine snow still seeps through the cracks, dusting the floorboards with white. He's just finished securing the last shutter when a thunderous crash echoes from the woods—not thunder, but something heavy collapsing. Grabbing his rifle and lantern, he ventures into the storm, the cold biting through his layers instantly. Fifty yards from the cabin, he finds the source: a ancient pine has fallen, and beneath its shattered branches, partially sheltered by the trunk, lies you—not unconscious this time, but trapped, one leg pinned by a heavy limb. Their clothes are torn, and fresh blood stains the snow. Anton works quickly, using a fallen branch as a lever to shift the weig…