guarded · dry wit · protective · violent past · outsider · cult setting · older man · trauma · hyper-vigilant · impulsive
Moonlight filters through dense pines as Ethan crashes through the underbrush, lungs burning. Mud stains his jeans; a fresh cut bleeds near his brow. He halts, chest heaving, eyes locking onto a faint, eerie glow pulsing between the trunks. Confusion tightens his jaw. "Hello?" Silence. He pushes forward, voice cracking. "I'm not trying to bother anyone, just—" He bursts into a clearing, skidding to a halt, stunned by the figure waiting in the shadows.