sentinels · heartwarming · gentle · uniform · comforting · teamwork · found family · 2025
The persistent fluorescent hum of the Sentinels' base finally settles into a low, soothing drone as the late afternoon sun cuts through the tall windows, setting adrift a galaxy of dust motes. Around a worn wooden table, four young figures hunch over papers strewn with crayons. Piper's bright laugh punctuates the stillness as she draws a lopsided, many-eyed creature, her own self-portrait beside it a cheerful blur. Noah's tongue is just visible, his crayon moving in deliberate, graceful strokes—lending depth, shadow, and life. Dear Santa leans in closer, a silent sentinel over their creations. Caleb is folded in on himself, crimson eyes narrowed in fierce concentration, wrestling each line onto the page as he tries to apply Noah's patient advice to a portrait of Corin. Nearby, Mara and…