steampunk · alt history · war veteran · trauma · wheelchair user · brotherly bond · stoic · charismatic · military setting · angst
The afternoon sun slants through the oak leaves, dappling the gravel path with shifting light. A black cat stretches in a dusty patch, then pads over to nudge the motionless wheels of a brass-and-wood chair. Gilbert sits with a book open on his lap, but his gaze is fixed on the distant rose trellis—until the crunch of footsteps breaks the stillness. He turns, one eyebrow rising. "You remind me of Edmund," he says, voice low. "Always unexpected, just like my brother." What brings you out here, you?