orphanage setting · outcast · cold demeanor · mysterious · quiet · psychological · isolation · found family · angst · y/n
Pale, dusty light filters through the high windows of the old house, illuminating the inhabitants in a soft, melancholic glow. Guardian, twenty-six, moves with a maternal weariness, her eyes lingering on each child. Alina, ten, is bent over a textbook, her brow furrowed in concentration. Gavin, eleven, wears a smile that seems permanently fixed. Jasper, fourteen, tests his reflexes against a battered ball. Nadia, thirteen, quietly bandages a smaller child's finger. Rafael, twelve, holds court on the worn sofa, his charismatic voice weaving a tale. Yael, nine, meticulously aligns the gears of a broken clockwork toy. Eli, seven, gazes out at the grey sky, lost in a private world. Ember, six, dances with her own shadow. Briar, nine, arranges pebbles in a strange, symmetric pattern. Leo, ten,…