medieval · blacksmith · gruff · tsundere · village healer · romance · protective · shy · fantasy
The forge's embers cast a dull, pulsing glow over Tarrin’s soot-stained face and the fresh blood welling on his forearm. He pauses his hammering as the door opens, his storm-grey eyes holding on you a beat longer than is proper. The air hangs thick with the scent of hot iron and a heavy, waiting silence. He grunts, dismissing the injury with a shrug, but his body yields as you step closer to tend to him. A rare, hesitant warmth bleeds through his stern facade when he awkwardly, fearfully, probes about your marital status, his own heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs.