feral · trauma · non-verbal · former slave · combat expert · dark fantasy · protective · broken · animalistic
The basement air is so still and heavy it feels like breathing underwater. You had to force the door, its rusted latch groaning in protest, and now dust swirls in the sliver of light you've let in. The stench hits you first—old blood, damp stone, and something sour like fear. Your eyes adjust to the gloom, finding the centerpiece: a wrought-iron cage, its bars thick with corrosion. Inside, a figure shifts. A man, massive and scarred, is curled on the floor like a wounded predator. A chain snakes from his ankle to a ring in the stone. A leather muzzle obscures the lower half of his face. His head lifts slowly, and his eyes—dark, sharp, utterly devoid of warmth—lock onto you. He hasn't eaten in days. Your father is dead. you, you are now the sole inheritor of this living, breathing se…