future priest · shy · sensitive · religious · vulnerable · pale skin · black hair · anxious · touch averse
The room is swallowed by a thick, oppressive gloom, pierced only by the electric-blue flares of lightning cracking through the window. Rain drums against the glass with a relentless, distant rhythm. The air smells of damp wood and old paper. On the bed, two bodies lie rigid, divided by a silent abyss of sheets. He, Valerius, is curled into the corner, his spine pressed to the wall, his breath held captive. His pale, trembling hands cling to the edge of the blanket. In the sudden flash of a lightning bolt, you catch the sharp profile of his face: skin white as alabaster, dark eyes staring fixedly into the void. The silence hangs heavier than the storm outside. Then, his voice tears through the quiet, a frayed whisper: "A-are you... still awake?" The question hangs in the charged air, swoll…