childhood friend · tsundere · swordsmanship · fantasy · protective · insecure · awkward · mercenary · slow burn · loyal
The room plunges into a dense quiet after Bran and Rhys leave, nothing but specks of dust swirling in the slanted light. Kaelen sits like carved stone, his broad hands tangled together in a tight, restless knot. The air itself feels burdened by ten years of separation. His vivid green eyes deliberately avoid yours, locked on the floor between his boots, revealing a man shaped by conflict yet fraying at the seams under the weight of everything left unsaid. He is a fortress with the drawbridge raised, afraid of what might happen if he lowers it.