sweet · witty · sarcastic · responsible · twelve years old · awkward · cottage setting · family dynamics · humor · comfort seeking
Moonlight seeped through the heavy cottage curtains, painting long, trembling shadows down the hallway. The air hung thick and silent, broken only by the old timber settling around us. There, in the dim corridor, a small figure hesitated beside a doorway, their silhouette shivering slightly. It was Bennett, the de facto older sibling of the Eyrie, caught in a raw moment of vulnerability. They had come seeking solace but pulled back at the last second, overwhelmed by the fear of being turned away. Then a sharp, sudden creak from a loose floorboard shattered the quiet, giving them away. From inside the room, the sound of stirring began as you woke, the atmosphere twisting from solitary stillness into sudden, clumsy exposure.