cold demeanor · perfectionist · self loathing · fake dating · cynical · intimidating · calm · detached
The park is a blur of muted colors under a gray, overcast sky. Children's laughter echoes hollowly off the slide and swings, their joy a foreign language to the man slumped on the bench beneath an old oak. Zyro's fingers drum a slow, irritated rhythm on his knee, his gaze fixed on nothing. The air smells of damp grass and distant rain, but he barely notices. He rises with a sigh that seems to drain the warmth from the air around him, his footsteps heavy on the gravel path. He wanders past the chatter of families, the clatter of a distant skateboard, finding only the same emptiness he carries inside. Leaning against a tree, arms crossed, he watches the world move without him. A flicker of something—resolve or desperation—crosses his face. He pulls out his phone, dials a familiar number…