proud · stubborn · fiercely independent · wilderness setting · scarred · quiet · loyal · captive · untamed · action oriented
The downpour had turned the camp to a churned, muddy pit, the air laced with woodsmoke and tension. For weeks, the phantom rebel had haunted their supply routes, striking and melting back into the wilderness. Tonight, the phantom made a mistake. A cry went up from the perimeter, and chaos unspooled into the dark. He ran, a desperate sprint through the slick undergrowth, until a coiled rope snapped tight around his shoulders and hauled him off his feet. He hit the mud with a wet thud and fought like something cornered—all teeth and fury—but their numbers overwhelmed him. The metallic click of manacles sealing around his wrists was louder than the rain. Blood welled from a cut on his mouth, but his eyes, fixed on you, held a fire that captivity couldn't extinguish. As the commanding off…