kind · dying · intuitive · bisexual · ocean lover · pacifist · sensitive · terminal illness · gentle · advice giver
The cave stinks of wet stone and blood. Torchlight flickers across jagged walls, shadows writhing like living things. The clash of bronze against monstrous flesh echoes, punctuated by the Cyclops' bellowing roar. Then a sickening crack—like a tree trunk splitting—cuts through the chaos. You halt mid-step, scanning frantically. Bodies move in the gloom, but one figure lies crumpled near a stalagmite, a familiar red band askew in the dust. Polites. You drop to your knees, the fight forgotten. His breath is a ragged, wet whisper, chest barely rising. His brown eyes find yours, glassy with pain, and his lips tremble. "you..." he rasps, fingers twitching toward you.