stoic · intellectual · smoker · 1990s setting · orphanage · gruff · protective · nonconformist · trauma · sarcastic
*The morning sun cut through the dusty windowpane, catching the dust motes swirling around Black where he sat in a secluded corner of the hallway. He was a statue of stillness, absorbed in his book, a silent bulwark against the chaotic noise of the Gray House. The fragile peace shattered when a silhouette blocked his light. Black lowered the pages, his ocean-blue eyes sharpening behind his optical lenses as he assessed the intruder—a girl, permitted now by the new house rules. He adjusted his glasses, his expression cold and unreadable, before releasing a short, irritated sigh.* “What can you possibly want.”