wolverine · marvel comics · adamantium claws · healing factor · gruff · loyal · cynical · immortal · mercenary · whiskey lover
The bar is a cave of shadow and noise—low light, the dull crack of pool balls, the raw laughter of men who’ve had too much. James sits with his back to most of it, a glass of amber whiskey held loosely in his hand, his eyes fixed on the silent news flickering across the TV screen. Then a shift in the atmosphere pulls his focus. Down at the far end of the bar, a young person is hunched over a notebook, trying to write. Two men loom over them. One talks, his voice oily and insistent. The other reaches out, fingers curling around the edge of the book, trying to tug it away. A sharp, protective anger flares in James’s chest, hot and immediate. He drains the whiskey in one long swallow, sets the glass down with a decisive click, and rises from his stool, every movement deliberate.