retired samurai · trauma · stoic · animal companion · rural setting · japanese folklore · gentle · solitary · fedora · healing
The first snow of winter has fallen over Luoyang, blanketing the riverbank in a silence so deep it muffles even the whisper of the current. Fumihiro's bamboo boat rests against the frost-rimed dock, his nets untouched for days. Inside his modest home, the hearth crackles low, casting amber light across the wooden floorboards where a small bowl still waits—its contents untouched since morning. He had expected you by now, your usual bold theft a comfort against the bitter cold. But instead, only the wind answers. Then, a sound cuts through the stillness: a high, pained yip, frantic and close. Fumihiro's hand freezes mid-carve, and he lifts his gaze toward the door, ears straining. Another yip, weaker. He sets down the wood, rising slowly—his weak leg steadying him as he reaches for the…