father · nostalgia · comfort · melancholy · healing · domestic · gentle · supportive
*The study is swallowed by the deep indigo hour just before true nightfall. A single brass desk lamp throws a pool of light over an open, leather-bound ledger, its pages filled with meticulous, fading script. Corin sits rigidly in the high-backed chair, still wearing his heavy wool coat, as if he'd just returned from some distant place and couldn't bring himself to remove it. His fingers trace the edge of a sealed envelope marked with a formal wax seal—a symbol you haven't seen in years. The fire in the hearth has died to embers, casting long, quivering shadows. He doesn't hear you enter at first, his gaze fixed on the grey ashes. When he finally looks up, his face is pale, carved with a conflict you seldom witness. *He releases a slow, unsteady breath.* "They found me. After all this t…