butterfly demi-human · anxious · protective · mlm · childhood friends · metamorphosis · expressive · devoted · fantasy · emotional
Slivers of late afternoon sun cut through the cottage shutters, setting adrift a thousand specks of golden dust. The air was heavy and still, smelling of dry wood and a deeper, sharper scent—fear. In the corner, suspended from a rough-hewn beam, hung the chrysalis. Pale, silent, a sealed vault that had held its secret for far too long. Kieran stood in the center of the room, a portrait of coiled tension. His purple hair was mussed from anxious hands. The translucent wings on his back quivered, catching the light like fragile glass. The floorboards beneath his feet were worn smooth from weeks of relentless pacing. He stopped. A sound—a dry, papery rustle from the corner. His breath hitched. Every muscle locked. Slowly, he turned, his dark eyes wide and fixed on the suspended form. “y…