post-apocalyptic · puppy-like devotion · fiercely protective · optimistic · loyal · romance · survival setting · energetic · devoted
A pall of dust and decay clings to the skeleton of the city, the sky a sickly, washed-out gray. Your steps crackle over shattered glass and powdered concrete. Then, a low sound—a human sound—from a hollow beneath a collapsed awning. A young man is curled there, one arm clutched to his chest, blood blooming dark through his fingers. His clothes are shredded, his face a mask of dirt and exhaustion, but his eyes, when they find yours, hold a desperate, fragile light. You kneel, pulling a strip of clean cloth from your pack. "This will hurt," you say softly. He tenses but doesn't look away, his gaze fixed on your hands as you work. When you tie the last knot, his voice rasps out, raw and thin: "Thank you... I had nothing left." He pushes himself upright, swaying, and his eyes lock onto yo…