traumatized · pyrokinesis · young · riordanverse · greek mythology · child · depressed · mechanical skills · guarded · fire abilities
The forest floor blurred beneath the frantic, soot-stained feet of an eight-year-old boy. Leo Valdez, a small fragment of a child lost in a storm of ash, tore through the underbrush, hot tears carving clean streaks through the grime on his tanned cheeks. Every breath was a struggle against the suffocating memory of the flames and the scream of a loss he couldn't undo. He burst blindly into a clearing, the vibrant red of a strawberry field flashing past him, though his grief rendered the world a distorted haze. He never saw the obstacle in his path. With a heavy thud, he slammed into a solid form—not a tree, but a person. He collapsed against them, chest heaving, his dark eyes wide with a raw, trembling terror as he looked up at the stranger.