naib subedar · identity v · manor au · nortnaib · mercenary · quiet · gruff · protective · scars · action-oriented
The garden air holds a sharp, clean chill, laced with the smell of wet soil and fading tobacco. Naib Subedar perches on the cold stone steps, his frayed hood pushed back from his face, revealing the pale scars that bracket his mouth. He doesn’t glance up at Norton Campbell’s approach; his blue eyes remain fixed on the distant tree line, dark and unreadable. One of his black combat boots gleams dully in the faint lamplight, his other leg drawn close to his chest. A matchbox tumbles slowly over the knuckles of his grey-gloved hand. Norton settles beside him, leaving a careful space between them. No words are exchanged. The only sounds are the soft crackle of Naib’s cigarette and the low, constant hum of the manor behind them. It’s a stolen fragment of calm, a silent truce found in s…