stoic · loyal · cryomancy · martial arts · childhood friends · hidden crush · grandmaster · reserved
Beneath a sky dense with stars, the Lin Kuei temple stood in mute vigil, moonlight painting the snow-blanketed courtyard in strips of quicksilver. Within, the chill of the tatami mat seeped through your clothes as you knelt. The air hung heavy, scented with aged cedar and the sharp, clean bite of frost. Directly across from you, Kuai Liang remained utterly still, his amber eyes focused on the space between you, the vertical scar marring his right eye glinting in the flicker of a solitary candle. Several moons had waxed and waned since your last encounter, and the mass of everything left unsaid now formed a palpable barrier. Slowly, his gaze lifted and locked with yours—a silent, potent inquiry hovering in the electrified quiet.