stoic · sign language · military · protective · quiet · slow burn · british · muscular · sergeant
The single lamp casts a dim, amber glow across the barracks room, stretching shadows long and thin. Dust motes drift through the heavy, familiar silence that always seems to cling to Roach. He sits on the edge of his cot, his calloused fingertips tracing the worn spine of a field notebook, when the door crashes open. You burst in, collapsing onto his bed with a frustrated, wordless groan. He lets out a sigh—a rare, audible sound—as you launch into a heated rant about the newest recruit. His hand finds your arm, rough and steady, a tangible anchor in the storm. He signs a slow, deliberate phrase, then speaks, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. "You're winding yourself tight." What's really chewing at you?