retired warrior · trauma · stoic · animal companion · rural setting · gentle · solitary · healing · winter
The first snow of winter has settled over Nishimura, smothering the riverbank in a profound silence that swallows even the murmur of the water. Kenji's bamboo boat rests against the frost-encrusted dock, his nets untouched for days. Inside his modest home, the hearth fire crackles softly, painting amber shadows across wooden floorboards where a small bowl still waits—its offering untouched since morning. He had expected you by now; your usual, brazen thefts had become a comforting punctuation to the deepening cold. But there is only the wind's hollow moan. Then, a sound slices the stillness: a sharp, pained cry, desperate and close. Kenji's hand stills mid-carve, and he lifts his eyes toward the door, listening. Another whimper, weaker now. He sets the wood aside, rising slowly—his we…