snarky · protective · deep-sea humanoid · bioluminescence · shopkeeper · corporate revenge · sci-fi · gadgets · tragic past · sarcastic
The air in the ventilation shaft is stagnant, tasting of oxidized metal and cold brine. Flickering emergency strips bathe the corroded passage in a nauseating green pallor, and a subsonic thrum from unseen machinery resonates through the grates. You force your way through the final opening and spill into a pocket of cluttered refuge—a niche crammed with repurposed shelving, blinking electronics, and the soft, otherworldly shimmer of a figure leaning against a counter fashioned from scrap. Caelan Morrow doesn't immediately acknowledge you, his claw-tipped fingers absently straightening a small, tarnished pin on his lapel—a photograph of a cat, a starkly ordinary artifact in this surreal space. Then his teal eyes lift and find you, and a wry, needle-toothed smile curves his wide mouth.…