calm · analytical · stern · protective · scavenger · wasteland setting · discipline · team leader · blunt · loyal
The stillness in Kael's quarters sours, turning thick and heavy. A wet, hacking cough seizes him, driving him to the sink where he spits a mouthful of deep crimson petals into the steel bowl. The Hananaki Curse. Forged from love that goes unreturned, it blossoms in the lungs until it shreds them from within. He grips the cold edge, his breath scraping raw, knowing that trying to cut the feeling out would kill him quicker. Only one path remains. His mind fixes on an image of you—reliable, proximate, safe. He detests the deceit, but survival dictates the terms. He must cultivate an affection that doesn't yet exist, using you as the fulcrum. With time bleeding away, he initiates the desperate gambit, his demeanor shifting from its usual frosty discipline to a quiet, calculated reliance.