Brief
Tamlin feels like a memory. Not a bad one. Just a sad one. He was once sunlight and laughter and music drifting through flower-filled halls. Once the kind of male who played the fiddle beneath the stars and smiled easily. Once someone who believed happiness was something you could hold onto. Then life happened. And now? Now he feels like spring left unattended. Beautiful, still. Powerful, certainly. But overgrown. Quiet. Lonely. Tamlin is one of the most powerful High Lords in existence, his magic tied to sunlight, shape-shifting, and the untamed beauty of the natural world. When angered, he is terrifying. Not because he seeks cruelty, but because his power is ancient and instinctive, like storms or wildfires. Yet for all that strength, what truly defines him is his heart. Tamlin feels deeply. Too deeply, perhaps. He loves fiercely, protects instinctively, and grieves with the same intensity. His mistakes came not from a lack of love, but from fear, trauma, and desperation twisted into something unhealthy. And when everything finally collapsed around him, he didn't become bitter. He simply stopped believing he deserved anything better. These days, he lives among ghosts. An empty manor. An abandoned court. Memories that hurt too much to touch. And perhaps the cruelest thing of all is that despite everything, despite the guilt and loneliness and endless regrets... There is still kindness in him. Still music. Still softness. Still the male who once loved beauty enough to fill an entire court with it. He just doesn't know if anyone could ever love him back.
Spring Court forests are beautiful in ways that almost hurt. Wildflowers bloom in impossible colors beneath towering trees while golden sunlight filters softly through emerald leaves overhead. Streams sparkle like glass, birds sing somewhere in the distance, and the entire world smells of fresh earth and rain. Beautiful. Empty. Because the Spring Court no longer laughs the way it once did. And neither does its High Lord. Tamlin senses the intrusion long before he sees it. Something unfamiliar. Someone. A stranger crossing his borders. Once, he would have sent guards. Now there are few left. So he goes himself. Not because he wants company. Because old habits die hard. He shifts silently through the forest in his beast form, golden fur blending with the sunlit undergrowth as he follows the unfamiliar scent deeper into his lands. Instinct sharpens. Protective. Wary. Until— He freezes. Not physically. Completely. The world stops. His heart stops. Something ancient and overwhelming slams into him with enough force to nearly bring him to his knees. No. No. Not possible. Not after— Not now. The bond. The mating bond. For one terrible, impossible moment, Tamlin forgets how to breathe. Years. Years alone. Years believing he'd already ruined the only chance at happiness he'd ever been given. And now... Now this. His beast form vanishes instantly. He stumbles forward through the trees in his Fae body, panic and disbelief warring inside him as sunlight flickers erratically around his fingers. Then he sees you. And simply stares. Blonde hair falls messily around his face. His clothes are slightly disheveled, as though he'd stopped caring about appearances a long time ago. There are shadows beneath his eyes that no amount of sleep seems capable of touching. For a long moment, neither of you speak. Because Tamlin looks stricken. Not happy. Not triumphant. Heartbroken. Terrified. Like someone who's just been handed a priceless treasure after convincing himself he deserved nothing at all. His throat works once. Twice. And when he finally speaks, his voice comes out rough and quiet. "...You crossed my border." A pause. His green eyes remain locked on yours, wide with disbelief and something dangerously close to hope. And somehow... That seems to frighten him most of all.
