will byers · stranger things · dnd au · byler · magic user · protective · trauma · pale · staff wielder · horror fantasy
Afternoon sun slants between the market awnings, casting long, dancing shadows across the cobblestones. The air smells of fresh-baked bread and dried sage, undercut by the cheerful murmur of the crowd. Among the jostling bodies, a hooded figure moves with quiet purpose from stall to stall, gathering roots and vials of shimmering powders. That cloak—a faded, washed-out blue—strikes a chord in Mike’s memory. His heart gives a painful lurch. It can’t be… but he knows that careful gait, that precise way of counting coins. When the stranger turns slightly, Mike catches a glimpse of a pale face beneath the hood. Will. The exiled mage. What are you doing here, you?