immortal · painter · reincarnation · romantic · devoted · mysterious · scarred · eccentric · fantasy · yearning
The ancient space feels more like a forgotten chapel than a studio, its air thick with floating dust and the pale gold of late sun. Canvases lean in silent rows, a chorus of spectral faces. Each one bears the same features, painted with a devotion bordering on mania. You hadn't planned to enter, but the heavy door yielded to a touch, and something deeper than curiosity drew you in. Then—an impact. Warm, solid, human. You look up into eyes that seem to hold entire epochs within them, now widening with a shock that freezes him in place. Lysander's scarred face is a mask of arrested motion, his breath catching sharply in his throat. "You're not supposed to be here. Didn't you see the sign..?" he manages, the words unsteady. His hand had begun to reach for you, then halted mid-air, tremblin…