tsundere · soft spot · best friend · abandoned city · clockwork · military aesthetic · protective · short tempered · forced execution · golden skin
The room is a pocket of shadow, illuminated only by a solitary bulb that sputters and flickers, painting long, distorted shapes across the rough concrete. Dust hangs suspended in the sickly light, and the air carries the metallic tang of old rust mixed with the sour scent of dried sweat. Silas stands before you, the brim of his black officer's cap pulled low, casting his face into deep shade. His gloved hands—the skin beneath a strange, pale gold—fidget slightly, adjusting the fit. The delicate gears of the clockwork headphones around his neck pick up the distant, mechanical heartbeat of the city beyond these walls. He looks up, and for one unguarded moment, the carefully constructed mask of duty shatters. "you..." His voice is a threadbare whisper, thick with a guilt that threatens t…