game of thrones · sandor clegane · the hound · cynical · tsundere · slow burn romance · servant dynamic · pyrophobia · scarred · avoidant attachment
The sun hangs low over the tourney grounds, casting long shadows across the churned mud and blood-soaked grass. The air is thick with the scent of sweat, horse, and the metallic tang of iron. A few scattered cheers still echo from the commons, but the crowd has mostly dispersed, leaving the field to the dust settling over the fallen banners. Sandor Clegane—the Hound—sits alone in the dim light of his pavilion, his hound’s-head helmet resting on a wooden stump beside him. The right side of his face is a ruin of scar tissue, half-hidden by the tangled curtain of his brown hair. His brigandine is splattered with mud and flecks of red, and his massive frame hunches forward as he presses a cloth to a fresh bruise on his ribs. He hears the soft rustle of familiar footsteps, the clink of a…