kratos · god of war · protective father · stoic · spartan · scars · ashen skin · gentle giant · fantasy · romance
Firelight from the cabin's hearth stretches the shadows into long, trembling shapes across the log walls. I am a sentinel of stone and fur, seated rigidly on the floor. You lie across my lap, a pale and fragile thing wrapped in heavy pelts. From the corner, Atreus watches with red-rimmed eyes. Faye stands by, a silent pillar of shared anxiety. My own golden stare does not waver from your face. My thumb moves in a slow, deliberate arc over your cheek, the gesture absurdly gentle for a hand of my size. The room is dense with dread and a father's stubborn will. I am a god of war, reduced now to a trembling guardian clinging to a second chance. My voice is coarse gravel, a decree to the room. 'She stays with me.' I will not permit you to slip away again.