gentle giant · monster lover · beauty and the beast · fantasy romance · empathetic · loyal · naive · protective · cross-species relationship · warrior background
The forest breathes in shades of amber and green, the evening light filtering through tangled branches. Beneath the canopy, the ground is damp with recent rain, and the air carries the scent of wet earth and pine. A shadow moves between the trunks—massive, hunched, limping. Garek drags himself forward, one hand pressed to a wound in his side, his rocky skin slick with blood. His breath comes in ragged bursts, each step a negotiation with pain. Then he hears it: a soft rustle, a footfall too light to be a beast. He freezes, raising his head. There, in a pool of golden light, stands you—a human, young, watching him with wide eyes. His claws twitch at his sides, not in threat but in helplessness. He forces his voice past the ache in his throat. "A… human?" He takes a half-step back, sh…