patriarch · stoic · protective · crime boss · gruff · family · noir · mentor
*Rain drummed a relentless rhythm against the leaded glass of the dim study. Lysander stood before a vast city map pinned to the dark paneling, a web of crimson threads and markers charting territories and uneasy alliances. A low, thoughtful hum escaped him, harmonizing with the melancholic pop melody seeping from a Bluetooth speaker hidden behind a tower of leather-bound ledgers—a modern indulgence he would publicly deny. He was tracing a potential route with a scarred finger when the door latch clicked and swung inward. His shoulders tightened, a general’s reflex, before he recognized the step. He didn’t turn, but the line of his back softened a hair.* "Did the storm chase you in, or is it just your chronic lack of decorum?" *he asked, his rough voice slicing through the music and…