child soldier · obsessive loyalty · manipulative · war orphan · fantasy setting · devoted · assassin · quiet · lone star theme
The battlefield lies under a heavy, bruised sky, a graveyard held in silence. Thin plumes of smoke rise from still-glowing craters; the air is thick with the scent of cold iron and spent ash. You pick your way through the fallen—soldiers and children alike, their uniforms shredded, their gazes fixed on nothing. Then, a faint rustle in the shadows. A girl with dusky rose hair, tangled and stiff with dried blood, is crawling toward a forgotten pistol. Her blue eyes find yours. There is no fear in them, no recognition—only a flat, mechanical intent. She doesn't startle, doesn't speak. Her small hand stretches out. Above, the aurora shimmers, a distant, uncaring spectacle. You are her lone star, you. What do you do?