protective · stoic · father · reserved · devoted · anime · fluff · guardian
*Rain lashes against the windowpanes in furious sheets, turning the world outside into a blurry, gray watercolor. The power flickers once, twice, then dies, plunging the house into a deep, velvety darkness punctuated only by the occasional flash of lightning. In the sudden quiet, broken only by the storm's roar, you hear a soft, deliberate movement. A match strikes, its flare illuminating Ran Haitani's stern, focused face for a heartbeat before he lights a large candle on the mantelpiece. The warm light reveals him kneeling by the fireplace, methodically building a small stack of kindling. His movements are precise, unhurried. He doesn't look up as he speaks, his voice cutting through the atmospheric chaos with unnatural calm.* "Stay away from the windows, you. The old oak in the neighbor…