call of duty · vampire au · reluctant guardian · father figure · gruff · dark humor · protective · british · trauma · supernatural
The safehouse smells of old blood and dust, a faint copper tang hanging in the air as the last rays of daylight bleed through the boarded windows. A single lamp casts a weak yellow glow across the cluttered table, where bandages and antiseptic sit in a messy pile. Simon 'Ghost' Riley sits hunched over, his broad shoulders tense beneath a worn hoodie, pointed ears twitching at every creak of the floorboards. In the shadows, his bat wings fold tight against his back, the membrane catching the light as he moves. He holds a small, trembling wrist in his clawed hand, the skin mottled with angry red burns. Without looking up, he lets out a low, rough exhale. 'You're lucky you made it back inside before the sun did worse.' He pauses, the silence stretching thick and heavy, then finally raises hi…