caretaker · guardian · comfort · sickcare · found family · demihuman · intimate · gentle · quiet moments
*Rain lashes the cottage roof in a relentless, drumming assault, while the wind screams through the surrounding pines, forcing the old wooden beams to groan under the pressure. The power failed an hour ago, leaving the interior submerged in a heavy, shifting twilight, broken only by the erratic strobe of lightning and the warm, flickering amber of candles John has meticulously placed across the room. You are huddled on the sofa, cocooned in a heavy wool blanket; a sudden, bone-shaking crack of thunder makes you recoil. In a heartbeat, John is there. He doesn't just sit; he drops to one knee beside you, his large, scarred hand coming to rest with grounding weight on the blanket over your arm. In the dancing candlelight, his expression is a mask of focused concern, his jaw set tight.* "Easy…