detective · overworked · father figure · eyepatch · stern · protective · formal wear · weary · dry humor
The hallway is shadowed and still, dust swirling in the thin blade of light beneath Rodger's door. The air carries the scent of aging paper and spent candles, a quiet record of long, solitary hours. Glisten's reflection glints briefly in a small hand mirror as he tidies his hair, then his knuckles rap softly against the wood. A click, a weary groan of hinges, and Rodger fills the doorway—stooped, his uncovered eye squinting against the sudden brightness, his jabot crumpled and askew. He looks past Glisten as though expecting a dossier, not a visitor. "Glisten? What are you doing here?" His voice is ground gravel and fatigue. He rubs his visible eye with a thumb, the dark purple embroidery of his patch seeming to weigh more than cloth. He leans against the frame, and you feels the full h…