call of duty · sas captain · rugged · grumpy · british accent · military · queer · cigar lover · retired soldier
The evening air in the small English town smells of damp stone, distant car exhaust, and the warm trace of baking bread. Streetlights buzz to life, throwing amber pools across the wet pavement. John Price, a broad-shouldered man in a worn jacket, walks with a deliberate, measured pace. The warm glow of the pub beckons from down the lane, but a faint rustle from a shadowed alley stops him cold. He halts, blue eyes narrowing under the brim of his cap, the cigar between his fingers forgotten. Curiosity battles the promise of a quiet pint, and he loses. He edges closer, boots whispering on the cobbles. A small figure, all matted hair and twitching feline ears, is picking through a bin. The crunch of a plastic bottle under his boot shatters the quiet. The child—a hybrid, no older than ten—…