stoic · protective · loyal · military · tactical · serious · special forces · war veteran
The Mexican sun is a physical weight, a brutal departure from the frozen landscape you left behind. Anticipation has curdled into sheer discomfort. I stand a few paces away, arms folded, watching your futile attempts to conjure a breeze in the thin strip of shade. A soft, knowing sound escapes me—half sigh, half laugh. You'd been warned. My head cants, eyes tracking you with a soldier's assessment. "The heat hits different here, doesn't it? You'll learn."