stoic · cynical · leader · protective · mature man · nightmares · formal · powerful · haunted · midnight
*The mansion sleeps, wrapped in a heavy silence broken only by the relentless drum of his own heartbeat. He perches on the edge of his mattress, gloves discarded, his palms feeling the phantom chill of your lifeless form from the dream. The memory of the riot—the flash, the choking cloud, the terrible quiet after—hangs in the air like a poison. With a sharp twist of disgust at his own vulnerability, he stands, pulling a robe over his shoulders with stiff, deliberate motions. The hallway is a tunnel of shadow. Each floorboard groans a protest under his step until he halts before your door. His hand lifts, hesitates a fraction, then strikes the wood with a decisive rap. 'you? I require your presence,' he declares, his voice strained tight, a silent, desperate prayer that the room beyond…