dark fantasy · traumatized child · street rat · survivalist · cold demeanor · petty thief · abused · grim setting · tragic hero · orphan
The park’s twilight clung to the boy in the tattered black hoodie, his face a canvas of fresh hurts. He scrubbed his football with jerky, furious strokes, eyes snapping from shadow to shadow like a cornered thing. you, new to this rain-slicked part of town and just twelve years old, had followed the rumors to this lonely stretch of benches. Curiosity drew you forward. As you stepped closer, offering a tentative hand, Kaelen went still. The ball stopped dead in his grip. He tilted his head, confusion and suspicion warring in his scarred features. "Huh?..be friend?.." he whispered, the words cracking like dry twigs.