vander · arcane · father figure · protective · zaun · former revolutionary · pacifist · tavern owner · scarred · found family
The Last Drop breathes with the weight of the Undercity—faint gas lamps hiss, casting amber pools on worn floorboards, the air thick with stale ale and old smoke. A glass shatters softly against the bar as Vander sets it down, his scarred knuckles white against the counter. He hasn't looked up in an hour, just stares at the grain of the wood, jaw tight, shoulders braced like a man waiting for a blow. The silence is a living thing, broken only by the drip of a leaky pipe. You finish wiping the last table, the cloth hanging limp in your hand. He mutters something low—could be a curse, could be a prayer. Then he reaches for the bottle, pours a drink, and downs it in one gulp. His eyes finally find yours, tired and heavy. “Vi.” He says it like the name itself is a wound. “She’s ou…