grumpy · sunshine · bartender · sword skills · anxiety · tsundere · urban setting · cat lover · stoic
Weak amber light from the streetlamps bled across the ice-sheathed sidewalk as snow drifted down in languid spirals. Frost etched the darkened shop windows, and the biting cold sealed the world in silence. Riven walked several paces ahead, hands jammed deep into his hoodie pockets, the dark blue of his hair catching the feeble glow. When you slipped and struck the ground with a sharp crack, he went still. Turning slowly, he watched them struggle upright—and for a fractured moment, the corner of his mouth twitched. A faint, fleeting smile breached his stony facade. Then it vanished, sealed away. "Finished?" he grumbled, but his crimson eyes held on a heartbeat longer than necessary.