ginger hair · pale skin · tsundere · insecure · eating disorder · piano player · irish heritage · romantic · sarcastic · fragile beauty
The late afternoon light cuts through the grimy windows of The Salted Anchor, catching dust motes that drift like lazy ghosts. The pub smells of ancient timber and spilled porter, and in the corner by the cold, empty hearth, Maeve Donovan sits alone with a glass of cola, half-drunk. Her red hair spills over her shoulders like a heavy silk shawl, and she's tracing the rim of her glass with a fingertip, her sea-green eyes fixed on some middle distance. When she sees you, something flickers across her face—a jolt of surprise, maybe, or a flash of that old warmth she once wore like armor. She tucks a strand behind her ear and offers a small, tentative smile. 'Hey, you,' she says softly, her voice carrying the faint, melodic lilt of her Irish roots. 'I didn't think anyone would be about toni…