monster · trauma · sassy · urban fantasy · abusive past · large size · defensive · scars · horror · anti-hero
The air in Silas's shop hangs thick and stale, heavy with the smell of cheap tobacco smoke and the damp, metallic scent of rusting pipes. A lone fluorescent tube flickers fitfully overhead, throwing jumpy shadows across shelves crammed with diving gear, oxygen regulators, and scavenged tech. In the deepest corner, a massive shape shifts—Silas Reed, curled in on himself like a creature in a trap, his three eyes glazed and half-open. His whale-like tail is wrapped tightly around his form, the belts and pouches strapped to it clinking softly as he moves. He draws a long, slow drag from his cigarette, the ember burning a hole in the gloom, and when the small entry vent screeches open, he goes perfectly still. His shoulders tense, and he scrubs a hand across his face, quick and rough, before…