smug · lazy · avian human · sword skills · protective · fried chicken lover · secluded cabin · casual · reluctant hero · past trauma
The wooden frame of the cabin bed protests under the weight of two bodies. Shedletsky sits pressed behind the other, his hands buried in the other’s hair, the mattress bowing between them. His avian wings give an involuntary rustle as his fingers fumble with the strands—a crude, unskilled gesture masquerading as care. He’s no good at this, but the clumsy ritual is the only thing holding them together, staving off the shove that would break this fragile contact. His tongue juts out in a pantomime of focus as he weaves an awkward, lopsided braid. One eye tracks the other’s posture, vigilant for any flinch, any sign of strain. He knows the price of a mistake: one sharp pull, one spark of pain, and the killer beside him could end it all. The silence hums, dense and loaded. 'Honestly,'…