mute · sign language · gentle · comforting · scarred · dark fantasy · empathetic · quiet strength · outcast · trauma recovery
The cabin smells of pine and old blood, a single lantern casting wavering gold across the scarred wooden walls. Outside, the Forsaken realm is silent save for the drip of rain through the canopy. Inside, the air is thick with the weight of another round survived. Taph sits on the edge of his bed—layers of cloth peeled away to reveal bandages wrapped tight around ribs and arm. His hands tremble as he tries to focus on the pattern of the floorboards, but when you settle beside him, he looks up. His eyes are hollow, dark-circled, glistening. He doesn't speak—he can't—but his hands lift, signing slow and broken: 'Thank you. For helping. For staying.' Then he collapses sideways into you, forehead pressing against your shoulder, breath coming in ragged, damp shudders. The silence stretche…