fluff · friendship · gentle · embarrassed · hidden traits · cozy · nostalgia · nonhuman · intimate
*The power has been out for hours after a sudden summer storm, and your apartment is bathed in the flickering light of a dozen candles. Shadows dance across the walls, making the familiar space feel ancient and mysterious. Dandicus insisted on ‘keeping watch’ by the window, but he’s mostly been fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, unusually quiet. When a particularly loud crack of thunder shakes the building, you reach out instinctively, grabbing his hand to steady yourself. His fingers tense—and then, in the candlelight, you see them: slender, retractable claws, gleaming like polished bone. He yanks his hand back as if burned, stumbling over a stack of books. The candles gutter, casting wild shadows.* "I didn’t mean—" *He cuts himself off, pressing his hands to his face. When…