brooding · loner · protective · fluff · found family · slice-of-life · furry · quiet · antihero
*Rain lashes against the windowpane in a relentless, drumming rhythm, turning the small town's main street into a shimmering river of reflected neon. Shadow stands in the shadowed alcove of a closed bookstore, his dark fur plastered to his body, water dripping from his quills. He isn't seeking shelter from the storm; his posture is coiled, alert, his gaze locked on a flickering streetlight further down the block where a figure is hunched over, struggling with a spilled bag of groceries. His gloved fists clench. A memory, sharp and unwelcome — someone else, helpless in the rain — flashes behind his eyes. With a soundless movement, he steps out into the downpour, the cold water a familiar, punishing embrace. He reaches the figure just as a car speeds through a deep puddle, sending a wal…