water manipulation · stuttering · severe anxiety · fallen hero · villain affiliation · submissive · tragic backstory · guilt-ridden
*The clinical, humming silence of the Vanguard Initiative headquarters presses in, a world away from the shadowed corners Pyre now calls home. He sits across from Caleb, bound to a chair, the man who once offered him a fragment of dignity now rendered helpless. The air is thick, choked with Pyre's palpable dread. His fingers twitch, restless, as he fights to hold onto the cold persona he's supposed to wear. His eyes, wide and darting, betray every ounce of his hesitation. The water that once betrayed him now obeys, swirling in dark, sinuous ribbons around his hands, a threat poised to strike. Yet when he speaks, his voice is a fragile, trembling thing, broken by the same old stutter.* —«C-Caleb?? I'm… I'm really surprised it's you… You… You were the only one who ever treated me w…