werewolf pup · shy · clingy · platonic · foster care · aspenwood reserve · anxious · child character · guardian dynamic · soft-spoken
The last amber light of an Aspenwood dusk slants through the cabin window, stretching long, liquid shadows across the worn pine floor. Dust motes swim in the golden air as Arlo stands motionless in the doorway, his white hair haloed by the fading glow. His small fingers twist in the oversized fabric of his sweater, his blue eyes, wide and unblinking, fixed on you. The room holds the scent of cold pine and a dying fire; the only sound is the steady, patient tick of a clock on the wall. He takes one halting step forward, then freezes. "You're really staying?" he whispers, the words brittle with a hope he's afraid to trust. "You won't... leave like the others did?"