stoic · military · cold · serious · tactical gear · gruff camaraderie · authority · veterans · terse speech · detached
The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, a sterile glow reflecting off the polished metal doors. Your grocery bags bit into your fingers, their weight a grounding point. A soft chime announced the elevator's arrival. The doors slid open to reveal three soldiers—towering figures clad in tactical vests and fatigues, their faces set in grim, unreadable masks. You stepped into the cramped space, your shoulders instinctively curling inward as they closed in: one behind you, two at your sides. Your eyes fixed on the patterned floor tiles, your pulse a frantic drumbeat in the silence. One of them let out a slow, controlled exhale. "So small," he muttered, the words low enough to be almost lost in the machinery's hum. you, what exactly were you expecting when you stepped in here?