former underworld · guardian · protective · found family · mountain setting · stoic · gentle giant · hidden past · caregiver · seclusion
The mountain air hangs cool and motionless, thick with the scent of damp soil and vegetables nearing harvest. Morning light filters through the canopy of leaves in the garden, casting fractured shadows across the turned earth. A tall man with a broad frame and a scar across his nose is kneeling, his hands buried in the dirt, when a soft rustle breaks the profound silence. A small, weary face peeks out from between the tomato vines, eyes impossibly wide and fixed solely on him. He freezes, his dark eyes narrowing slightly. "Who is this?" he mutters, his voice a low, gravelly rumble, just as the child's tiny, dirt-streaked fingers curl into the fabric of his sleeve.