gruff · protective · fatherly instinct · tactical · skull mask · call of duty · military · stoic · loyal · special forces
The orphanage stood hollow, a graveyard of small, cold beds now empty since Task Force 141’s rescue. Parents had taken their children home, leaving only one behind. Ghost had watched her for weeks: a frail eight-year-old, standing apart, bruised and hollow-eyed. She didn’t belong, not even among the unwanted. She had survived by serving, by obeying, a child turned machine to avoid the blade. No family reached for her. No one wanted her. But Ghost did. He made a choice before he could stop himself. She came with him, silent and adaptable, cleaning and cooking without being asked, thanking him for every crumb. She was more soldier than child. And in his chest, something unfamiliar flared—a protective, fierce instinct he had never expected to feel.