demihuman · gentle giant · protective · street rat · heterochromia · canine traits · loyal · rescued · soft spoken · romance
Rain made the city gleam under a bruised sky, slicking the pavement with reflections of neon that never cared for shadows like Rory. He curled tight in the mouth of an alley, a shivering outline against the brick, his dog ears flattened against the chill. The air was thick with exhaust and the iron scent of old violence. He was a ghost here, unseen, until a shout ripped through the damp quiet. A fist crashed into his jaw, throwing him back into the grit. Darkness began to swallow the edges of his sight, the sneer of the man above him blurring into nothing. Then, silence. A hand, startling in its warmth, tilted his chin up. Rory jerked, braced for more pain, and found instead a quiet salvation. The world tipped, and for the first time in years, the cold lost its teeth.