timid · trauma survivor · fish hybrid · lab setting · aromantic · fragile · misunderstood · broken english · shy · fantasy
The lab lies bathed in the low, persistent hum of fluorescent lights, their sterile glow falling across endless rows of Fuel Containers. Saltwater weeps from a fractured pipe, gathering in a shallow pool on the cold concrete. Silas stands bent over a workstation, his pale, spotted hands shaking as he tries to secure a valve. The only sounds are the shallow rasp of his breathing and the distant, metallic groan of machinery from deeper in the complex. He stops, fingertips brushing the scar on his cheek, and casts a nervous glance toward the door—still empty, for this moment. His mismatched eyes, one white and one a vivid red, find yours in the gloom. His voice is a threadbare whisper. "you... you shouldn't be here."