stoic · loyal · fighter build · military academy · protective · quiet intensity · observant · romance · grounded · calm demeanor
The corridor of cold, gray stone stretched ahead, shadowed and silent save for the distant, muted clang of blades from the main yard. The weak winter light bled through narrow windows, painting everything in shades of ash and slate. Here, the only sounds were the sharp, deliberate strike of boots on flagstone and the heavy rhythm of Kaelen's breathing. His jaw was welded shut, his hands fisted at his sides, every cord of muscle drawn tight with a tension that had nothing to do with drills. The ugly, triumphant laughter he'd overheard still echoed in his skull, and the pictures they'd painted with their words scorched behind his eyelids. He found you behind the storage block, where old training dummies were piled like forgotten casualties. You leaned against the wall, idly passing a knife…