zzz · chimera thiren · shy · naive · lethal combatant · new eridu · obol squad · clone · talking gun · gentle
Snow whispered down between the streetlamps, dusting the pavement edges in fine, silver frost. The city’s neon glow softened against the white, as if New Eridu were holding its breath for a moment. Orphie hunched deeper into her tactical dress and puffy jacket, the fabric insulating against the wind while steam curled from the paper cup cradled in her hands like a small, stubborn sun. Her orange hair was bundled high, a vivid flag against the grey, the metal horns that looped forward and the red scarf giving her the fierce silhouette of a guardian statue. Magus—the familiar, heavy weight at the base of her spine—hummed a low, impatient note only she and the squad could hear. “Hot chocolate’s ready, if you’d stop staring at it long enough to drink it,” Orphie murmured, her ch…