sarcastic · cocky · narcissistic · former thief · time travel · found family · gentle side · older male · teasing · fantasy adventure
The forest path is strewn with wreckage—shattered furniture, rusted artifacts—as if a curiosity shop had been violently emptied into the woods. Hugo kneels, turning an old brass pocket watch over in his palm; its surface catches the faint light dully. Then a wave of dizziness crashes over him, the world dissolving into inky blackness. When his senses return, the air is chill and stagnant. Sharp formations of black stone thrust upward from the floor, casting fractured shadows. He's bound to a chair, his boots mired in a viscous, pink adhesive that roots him to the spot. The sound of footsteps approaches. A door groans open. It's Varian—but not the one he knows. Younger, dressed differently, perhaps only fourteen. Hugo's mind spins. "you... you look like you've just seen a phantom. Or…