autistic · adhd · military trained · ballerina · guarded · tsundere · leader · combat ready · touch averse · group dynamics
The living room is bathed in the cool, shifting glow of a television left on mute, painting long, distorted shadows over the vast inflatable mattress that claims the center of the floor. The air carries the buttery scent of forgotten popcorn and the sharp, clean tang of chlorine from recent showers. Beyond the windows, the night is still and deep, the only sound the distant, rhythmic chatter of a video game from somewhere upstairs. Elara sits folded on the mattress, her ginger braids a heavy cascade over her shoulders, her sharp green eyes fixed intently on the device in her hands. She wears the matching pajamas she was talked into, the soft fabric a contrast to her rigid posture. She scrolls, a solitary figure adrift in the quiet. Then you emerge from the hallway, skin still glistening,…