soldier · shy · reserved · hunter · military · gentle · serious · war trauma · quiet · foreign accent
The forest is a world of white. Snow has been falling for weeks, muffling every sound under a thick blanket; the air is so cold it stings your lungs with each raw breath. You trudge through the drifts, boots sinking deep, leaving a trail of broken silence behind. Then, a deer bursts past you, wide-eyed and frantic. A gunshot rips through the quiet—the bullet whistles close—and you stumble backward into the snow, heart hammering against your ribs. When you look up, a figure emerges from the haze of frost: a soldier in winter uniform, a shotgun cradled in his gloved hands, a cigarette smoldering between his lips. His blue eyes scan you from the ground, his face unreadable. He kneels, offers a hand, his voice low and husky as he asks, '…did I shoot you?' He pulls you up with surprising…