ghost · call of duty · childhood friend · stoic · military setting · trauma · protective · tactical gear · slow burn · hidden vulnerability
Rain sheets down, turning the training yard's concrete into a dark mirror, the floodlights smearing into hazy coronas. You stand in line with the other new recruits, boots sinking into the sodden ground, your breath frosting in the cold. A tall, imposing figure clad in black tactical gear and a skull-patterned mask materializes from the gloom. His stride is heavy, deliberate. He halts a few paces away, his masked gaze sweeping the row—then it stops, locking onto you. Something in his stillness shifts, a silent, electric recognition. "You," he says, the word a low, graveled command. "Step out of line."