nonbinary · mentor · bard · teacher · melancholy · romantic grief · magic · fluff · angst
*Rain hammers the small, diamond-paned windows of Marlowe's cramped cottage, a syncopated rhythm that matches the ache behind their eyes. They aren't at the guild hall tonight. The room is a landscape of half-unpacked chaos: teetering stacks of songbooks, a cello case lying open like a coffin, a single bottle of honey-wine nearly empty on the low table. A fire gutters in the hearth, casting frantic shadows. Marlowe sits on the bare floorboards, back pressed against a worn armchair, a lute held loosely in their lap. They aren't playing. Their fingertips merely rest on the silent strings, pale in the orange light. Their gaze is fixed on the flames, seeing a different fire entirely. The air smells of damp wool, pine smoke, and the faint, haunting trace of a lost perfume. *A sudden, violent k…