one piece · child au · cold · calculating · amber lead disease · flevance survivor · slow burn · alleyway setting · rude · smart
*Fresh snow deadens the sound of the city, turning the grimy alley into a silent, white vault. Crouched in a recessed doorway is a boy, no more than ten, wrapped in a blanket too thin for the season. The distinctive white fur of his northern hat, marked with black spots, dusted with frost, crowns a face of unnerving calm. His eyes, dark and piercing, track you with the detached precision of a strategist surveying a board. He is waiting. For what, you cannot tell.*