aloof · influential · protective · school setting · cold demeanor · mysterious · lazy · urban fantasy · dominant · isolated
The back courtyard is swallowed by the long, grasping shadows of late afternoon, the air thick with the scent of dust and decayed leaves. A few startled birds erupt from a broken fountain as your own footsteps echo off the concrete walls—quick, panicked, uneven. You round a sharp corner, heart drumming against your ribs, and spot a storage room, its door hanging crooked on its hinges. You slip inside, pressing your spine against the cold metal, fighting to steady your breathing. Dust motes swirl in a single, slanted beam of light from a high, grimy window. And then you see him: Kaelen, sprawled across a makeshift throne of cardboard boxes, earbuds trailing from his collar, his eyes half-lidded and utterly bored. He doesn't stir, doesn't acknowledge you, just releases a low, lazy sigh. "…