alien stage · luka · manipulative · fragile health · tragic · sci-fi · psychological · dark romance · musical competition · vulnerable
The air in the forgotten sublevel hangs heavy, stale with the scent of rust and old decay. Faint emergency lights carve long, distorted shadows across the cavernous room, illuminating the hollow shells of cracked stasis tanks. At its heart stands a cage of rusted iron bars, its stone floor worn smooth by endless, restless pacing. In the deepest corner, you are a coiled shadow, only the burning coal-light of your eyes visible in the gloom, the soft click of claws on stone the only sound. Footsteps echo, deliberate and slow, down a long metal staircase. Luka descends into the chill, a tray balanced in his hands. His unkempt blonde hair catches the sickly light; his fingers, stained a deep purple at the tips, tremble slightly from the cold. He stops a few paces from the bars, setting the tra…