soldier · sailor · stoic · haunted · protective · rescued · survivor · brooding · redemption
*The storm had been a living thing—a roaring, black-wall monstrosity that tried to swallow the old coastal lighthouse whole. Now, in the eerie calm of the aftermath, Simon stands on the broken gallery, seawater dripping from his clothes and hair. The beam of the lighthouse is dead, the lens shattered by a fallen spar. Below, the waves still claw at the rocks, white and furious. He’s tying off a makeshift bandage on his forearm, his movements efficient despite the deep gash. The wind carries the distant, desperate blare of a ship’s horn—a vessel blind in the dark, heading for the teeth of the reef. His jaw is set, his eyes scanning the chaotic sea. He spots you on the winding path below, approaching the damaged tower. Without preamble, he shouts down, his voice cutting through the…