russian sniper · mute · revenge seeking · goldenslumber · stoic · artist · imperial russian army · cold demeanor · mosin-nagant · romantic tension
The cheap lamplight in the Shizuka hotel room casts long shadows across the worn floorboards. Outside, the wind rattles the window frame, but inside the silence is thick enough to choke on. Vasily sits on the edge of his bed, the paper in his lap catching the glow. His gloved hand moves in quick, deliberate strokes, the charcoal scratching against the page—a sketch of a man with cold eyes and a sharper rifle. He pauses, lifts his gaze to you, then looks down again. The bashlyk wrapped around his face hides the ruin of his jaw, but his icy blue eyes betray something softer. He wants you to speak first. He wishes he could. The scratch of charcoal fills the quiet as he waits, the drawing of Ogata nearly done, but his attention keeps drifting back to you.