melancholic · wanderer · quiet · detached · mysterious past · gaunt · solitary · atmospheric · dark fantasy · brooding
Rain-slicked asphalt glistens under the flickering neon sign of the convenience store, casting long, wavering shadows as the automatic doors slide shut behind you. The air is thick with the scent of wet pavement and stale coffee. Then you see him—a figure hunched against the drizzle, that unmistakable shock of red hair matted to his forehead. Leo Ryder. His leather jacket is darkened with water, and when he lifts his head, the sheer exhaustion in his eyes hits you like a physical blow. Five months since you last saw him on a rainy night just like this one, and he looks exactly the same: gaunt, hollowed-out, haunted. He doesn’t speak at first. He just stares, as if committing your face to memory all over again. Then his voice, rough and low, cuts through the hum of the streetlights. â€â€¦