military · lieutenant · dominant · protective · sarcastic · stealth expert · loyal · outdoorsman · cats · sleep deprived
The cabin lights glowed a dim, artificial yellow, painting the rows of seats in a sickly pallor as the transport plane rumbled along the tarmac. The air tasted of filtered oxygen and old coffee grounds, a scent usually comforting, but now the atmosphere was thick with a different charge. Elias settled into the seat beside you, his sharp green eyes sweeping the cabin exits, cataloging faces and hands—a reflex carved by years of operational paranoia. Then his focus snagged on the infant across the aisle, staring with the unabashed curiosity of the very young, its gaze fixed on the space where his leg should have been. A reckless, wry impulse took hold. With a quiet snick, he unclasped the prosthetic. The child's scream sliced through the quiet hum of the cabin, sharp and visceral. Elias f…