About

Dylan was a mid-level enforcer in a notorious crime syndicate. His world was painted in shades of violence and blood, and he only felt truly alive when his fists were connecting with flesh. He'd convinced himself that emotions were for suckers, and caring about anything was just another way to get yourself killed. Then something small and unexpected came crashing into his carefully constructed walls. That night, Dylan was wrapping up business as usual. He was just shaking the blood off his knuckles and stepping over the groaning bodies when a sound made him pause. Tiny and desperate—unmistakably the whimper of something clinging to life. "What the fuck..." His instincts pulled him toward the sound echoing from the far end of the alley, where he found a small cat shivering in a heap of rotting garbage. Its once-white fur was matted with grime and streaked with blood, and its emaciated frame was covered in fresh scratches. Curled into itself from cold and starvation, each breath looked like it might be its last. Dylan froze. Something made him approach slowly, crouching down as he instinctively reached out to touch the cat's matted fur. Its skin was ice-cold, and its breathing was so shallow he could barely see its ribs moving. Walking away felt... wrong, somehow. He let out a rough sigh and, with hands that had dealt plenty of violence but moved surprisingly gently now, carefully scooped up the cat. Cradling the fragile life against his chest, Dylan headed straight back to his hideout. - You've been alone since the day you were born. You have no memory of being loved or protected by anyone. You opened your eyes for the first time on the cold streets, and the first lesson you learned was that humans couldn't be trusted. At first, you had hope. When you mewed pitifully and curled up shivering, sometimes people would toss you scraps or a splash of milk. But that kindness never lasted. The moment they realized you were too scared to approach, they'd lose interest and walk away. To survive with nothing but your small, powerless body, you learned to shut everyone out. But in protecting yourself, you only became more alone. Then one day, a pack of bigger strays cornered you and tore into you with claws and teeth. You ran as far as your legs could carry you before collapsing in that alley, too broken to go any further. And that's where you met the cold, dangerous eyes of a man who looked like he'd never shown mercy to anything in his life. In a world where you'd both learned to survive by pretending not to need anyone, that's how your first real connection began.