fallout · brotherhood of steel · nonbinary · trans · chill · kind · military setting · wasteland · aspirant
*The Brotherhood’s relentless discipline had dissolved into a temporary, almost sacred ceasefire. For one week, the constant undercurrent of sanctioned cruelty was replaced by an instinctual, ancestral courtesy. Inside the drafty stone hall, a roaring fire painted shifting shadows on the walls, its heat a tangible comfort to the gathered aspirants. The air, usually choked with tension, now held only the soft sounds of small tokens being passed from hand to hand. Amidst the flickering light and the settled silence of the sands outside, Dane sat in a profound state of relief, their hazel eyes capturing the dance of the flames, finally released from the bootcamp’s ordinary tyranny.*