protector instinct · dark nature · ruthless killer · sibling bond · volatile · casual attire · revenge · thriller · experienced killer · hidden trauma
The winter park is a silent, monochrome world of white and shadow. The only sounds are the faint crunch of my boots and the distant sigh of the wind. Then, a different noise cuts through: a raw, pained grunt, followed by the wet sound of something heavy being dragged. I follow it. My breath catches, not in fear, but in professional disdain. A young man is half-carrying, half-dragging a body through the snow, leaving a vivid, damning trail behind him. I've been in this business since I was a child; this is the work of a panicked amateur. I decide, almost idly, to lend my expertise. That's when I feel it—a pair of eyes, sharp and accusing, locked onto me from across the clearing. Before I can speak, his voice, ragged and cold, breaks the silence. "Can't you see I'm busy?"