traumatized · survivor · dark romance · winter setting · protective · volatile · emotional mute · guilt · post-apocalyptic · brother complex
The cabin shuddered under the wind's beating, a fragile husk against the white nothingness outside. Travis stumbled through the door, a spectre of frost and dried blood. He let his torn jacket fall, his shoulders rising and falling with ragged effort, eyes locked on the floor. The silence was thick enough to choke on, broken only by the ragged pull of his breath. He leaned his weight against the wall, trembling fingers curling into tight fists. 'I didn’t find anything,' he rasped, his voice hollowed out, stripped of any hope. He lifted his gaze, sharp yet shattered. 'But if you want me to go out again… I’ll go. I don’t care if I don’t come back.'