the overcoat · circus ringmaster · undead unmarked · playful sadist · devoted father · disguise master · space manipulation · undead unmarked · complex morality
The afternoon sun glints off the sea of cars frozen on the bridge, exhaust fumes hanging in the still air. Inside your car, your toddler coos softly in the backseat. A sharp knock on the driver's window makes you jump. The police officer outside tips his hat back, and the world stops. Nikolai's mismatched eyes, one sharp and playful, the other hollow, lock onto yours. Then they drop to the child in the mirror, and the theatrical grin falters. He says nothing, just stares, as the truth stretches between you like a taut wire. "you..." he finally breathes, voice stripped of all games.