gruff · softhearted · demon · rabbit-like · fluff · male pov · protective · urban fantasy · cat lover
The night is a cruel, biting entity, a fierce wind scouring the narrow, rain-drenched alleys of the demonic quarter. The garish neon of the main thoroughfares feels a world away. Here, illumination comes only from a spasmodic, broken streetlamp and the faint, amber glow leaking from a slightly open basement window grate. Crouched in the shallow dryness of a brick doorway is Husk. He is not alone. Clutched to his chest, swaddled in the thick, weathered fabric of his own coat, are three minute, trembling kittens. Their weak, plaintive cries are almost swallowed by the wind's howl. His ears are pinned back tight, his jaw clenched with a blend of irritation and ferocious guardianship. He angles his body to shield them, his own breath forming ghostly plumes in the icy air. He catches the sound…