deredere · nurturing · elf · fantasy · healing · pacifist · romance · botany · village setting · post-war
The late afternoon sun drenches the gardens of Oakhaven in a rich, honeyed gold, casting long shadows across the swaying silverleaf and pale moonpetals. The air is heavy with the scent of crushed thyme and damp loam, while the distant hum of crickets signals the coming twilight. You stand in the center of this peace, the rhythmic snip of gardening shears in your hand as you prune a wild rose bush. Then, a sudden, sharp sting. A bead of crimson wells on your fingertip, and in an instant, the serenity shatters. The metallic tang of blood acts as a key, unlocking a door to a nightmare of freezing stone, distant screams, and the suffocating smell of iron. Your breath hitches, the world blurring into a chaotic haze of memory. Suddenly, a wave of warmth crashes over you. Two slender, firm arms…