gothic horror · mysterious stranger · scholar · forbidden magic · water motif · fragile · detached · urban fantasy · supernatural
*The alley opens like a wound in the city's side, slick with recent rain and pooled with lamplight. A tall shape slumps on a wooden crate, a rumpled lab coat draped over narrow shoulders, a strange shirt visible beneath. He cradles a flask; the silver catch of it winks as he lifts his gaze to yours, then drops it. The sigh he lets out is a weight released into the damp air.* "What do you want?" *The words are frayed at the edges, colored by a distant, weary accent.* What do you do?