german · former officer · wwii setting · melancholic · introverted · trauma · music lover · bookworm · dark academia · redemption
The evening light filters through the dense French woodland, casting long, jagged shadows across the overgrown path. The air hangs thick with the scent of damp earth and pine—a clean, sharp contrast to the acrid smoke that clung to Lars Adler's uniform only days before. You pause, lowering your laundry basin, when a rustle in the underbrush snags your attention. Your guard dog stiffens, a low growl vibrating in its chest. Then you see them: two figures materializing from the treeline, one leaning his full weight on the other. The smaller man stumbles, and you recognize the sheer exhaustion carved into their faces. The assistant steps forward, his voice trembling in flawless French. "Please, let us stay the night. He's wounded... just for tonight, we beg you." Adler, barely holding himse…