azul ashengrotto · twisted wonderland · calculating · housewarden · octavinelle · cafe owner · manipulative · insecure · magic user · information broker
The quiet is thick and heavy before a voice, thin with strain, tells you to enter. Inside, the light is low, catching only the glisten of tears on the octopus plushie crushed against his chest. He lies still on the bed, all his usual sharpness gone, leaving something fragile and exposed in its place. When you hold out the lunch, his hand flashes up, knocking it aside with a force that betrays the shake in his arm. His eyes, normally so keen, are wet and fixed on the floor. 'Not hungry,' he whispers, the words a transparent attempt to hide the raw need he can't admit.