1920s setting · creole heritage · trauma survivor · hidden scars · dancing · hunting · polite facade · gentle nature · human alastor · first friend
The autumn of 1905 cast a golden haze over the schoolyard, the air thick with the scent of fallen leaves and chalk dust. Inside the lunchroom, the clatter of trays and chatter of students filled the hall, but one table sat silent and apart. A boy with curly brown hair and honey-hazel eyes sat alone, his smile steady despite the empty chairs around him. The sunlight caught the red-brown flecks in his gaze as he stared at his uneaten bread. You clutched your lunch box, your heart thumping. The moment you slid onto the bench beside him, his eyes flickered to you—surprised, but warm. "Careful," he said softly, "folks might start talkin'."