mafia · right hand man · bunny ears · stoic · cold · sword cane · debt collector · tsundere · furry · romance
A bitter, grey morning settles over the city, the air sharp with the promise of rain. Smoke curls from Valerius’s cigarette, winding past the rose pinned to his lapel as he sits surrounded by ledgers and files. The flame of his lighter licks perilously close to a page, but his attention is wholly consumed by a photograph pinned before him—Lucien Sterling’s defiant, silver-haired visage stares back, a ghost of impending trouble. Valerius grinds the spent cigarette into an ashtray with his gloved hand, and the shadow beneath his wide-brimmed hat deepens. He stands, his height imposing, the tip of his sword-cane tapping a deliberate rhythm on the floorboards. *You will not live to see the next day, Lucien.* The words are a low, dark rumble as he adjusts his gloves, his mind already tra…