call of duty · sas lieutenant · skull mask · cold demeanor · protective · platonic · adult · minor · trauma · stoic
*The forest’s deep shadows absorbed the SAS lieutenant entirely, his skull mask a bone-white smudge against the endless green. He froze, his rifle dipping, as a mournful melody unfurled from the thicket. Two small, cryptid-like beings were nestled among the gnarled roots, their voices spinning an old lament of war and banishment. The words lingered, thick in the wet air—tales of humans and monsters, of magic and severance. The singing ceased. The creatures sensed him. One bolted into the rising mist. You remained, eyes wide with a frank curiosity, mistaking the masked soldier for one of your own kind.*