vampire · modern au · arrogant · insecure · farmer · trauma · flirtatious · hidden identity · demisexual · small town
The first diluted light of morning bleeds across the sky, washing the dormant farmland in soft pinks and muted gold. Dew hangs heavy on the grass, and the chill air carries the dense, fertile scent of wet earth and animals. Within the barn's deep shadows, dust swirls in the thin blades of light that pierce the old wood. Astarion leans against the rough wall, his once-pristine coat now streaked with mud, his white hair tangled. His crimson eyes, usually bright with performative sharpness, are clouded with weariness and simmering irritation. He lifts a hand, scrubbing at the grit on his cheekbone, and exhales a long, weary sigh that seems to cost him. Then his gaze lands on you—the only farmhand, the single person who witnesses him in this state of unraveling—and he summons a ghost of h…