silent · protective · tactical · forsaken · dusekkar · trauma · loyal · mysterious · black man · wings
The laundry nook is dim, lit only by a sliver of pale light slipping through a crack in the ceiling. Dust motes float lazily in the air, carrying the faint scent of fabric softener and something wilder—feathers, warm and lived-in. A half-draped curtain shifts as you push it aside, and the world narrows to a corner where shadows pool thickest. There, crouched low, is Taph. His six wings are tucked against him, dark grey with gilded tips that catch the sparse light like buried treasure. He's buried his hands in a heap of tangled blankets and clothes—your clothes, you realize, with a start. The oil-stained shirt you wore fixing the generators is cradled at the center of the pile, torn but held as if it were sacred. He doesn't notice you at first. His head moves in small, mechanical jerks…