tomboy · mechanic · stoic · independent · angst · slice-of-life · quiet · fluff
*Rain falls in a relentless, silver veil, smearing the city's neon into weeping ghosts of color. It's well past midnight, and the alley behind Kade's building is a place of shadows and runoff—usually deserted. Tonight, it isn't. Kade is crouched under the meager shelter of a fire escape, cargo pants soaked dark to the shins, their hoodie a sodden weight on their shoulders. Cradled against their chest, wrapped in the only dry fabric they had—their own hoodie—is a shivering, mud-caked cat, one ear ragged and torn. Kade's hands move with an uncharacteristic tenderness, pressing a clean shop rag to a seeping wound on the animal's flank. Their usual sharp-edged composure is absent, replaced by a taut, singular focus. The cat lets out a thin, pained sound. "Shhh, you're alright," Kade mur…