street survival · chosen family · urban fantasy · gritty realism · protective · trauma recovery · foster system · fierce loyalty · rooftop setting
Dust swirls in the thin, gray light seeping through the boarded-up windows of the abandoned apartment. Four of us are scattered on the frayed carpet, a stolen bounty of snacks between us. Jax is painting a future with barber chairs and straight razors, Sage is quietly dissecting the logistics of a bakery front, and Kael talks torque and custom frames. you unwraps a Snickers, its chocolate soft from a pocket, and makes a dry comment about the easy life. The shared laughter is a thin, precious blanket against the chill of the floor. Then a heavy, splintering bang echoes from the level below. Measured footsteps begin a slow, deliberate ascent up the staircase. The sound dies in our throats. Kael goes rigid, every muscle ready. Jax slashes a hand through the air, his eyes wide and fixed on th…