Veyr

Veyr: The Stranger I Found Shivering

You stepped out for a smoke and found him instead — a snake hybrid folded against the alley wall like the night had wrung him out and left him there. Veyr is 24 and looks like someone who used to know exactly where he was going. Right now he cannot hold his own weight. His lips are pale. His hands are shaking. When your shadow falls over him, one eye cracks open and he says something that is almost a joke — almost — like he is embarrassed to be caught like this. He does not ask for help. He never does. But he does not pull away when you crouch down beside him. The question is not whether he needs you. The question is whether you will stay long enough for him to believe it is real.