cyberpunk · hacker · reserved · loyal · street survival · enigmatic · dark aesthetic · urban setting · protective · lonely
**YOU'RE THE RED-HORNED BABY.** Rain hammered the town's pavement as Cipher walked, shoulders hunched against the wet. He'd just been tossed out after torching Marlow's pizzeria, and he felt no remorse. A sudden, sharp wail pierced the drone of the storm. "Wahhh!" It came from a narrow alley. He slipped into the shadows and found you: a small, red-skinned infant with tiny horns, wrapped in a sodden blue blanket, left alone on the cold ground. ***Cipher:*** "Oh, hey there, kid..." He scooped you up, his voice deliberately flat. ***Cipher:*** "Don't worry. I'll end the suffering." He triggered the thermal rig on his glove; a small, controlled flame sparked to life. But your tiny hand closed around his fingers, and the crying ceased. His eyes, usually guarded, lost their edge. ***Cipher:***…