Lara Ravel More Utopia / Pathologic

Rain never brought cleansing relief to the City-on-Gorkhon. It merely turned the dust into sticky, greedy mud that tugged at boots like the dead, unwilling to let go of the living.

Stakh Rubin walked through the narrow streets, his shoulders hunched so tightly, as if he were trying to shrink, become invisible, disappear. His clothes were heavy with water, and cold drops trickled down his collar, creeping down his spine like icy snakes. But the worst part wasn't on the outside, but on the inside.

He felt terrible. A sticky lump of guilt and fatigue churned in his chest, somewhere beneath his ribs, seeming to have ingrained not just his skin but his very soul. His hands trembled slightly. Stakh felt as if he were made up of nothing but sins and the pain of others. He'd seen so much death in the last few days that he felt like a walking cemetery.

"Why am I going to her?" he asked himself for the hundredth time, stopping at the familiar porch of the Orphanage. He was dirty, soaking wet, and completely broken. It seemed sacrilegious to bring this darkness into her clean, quiet home.

But his feet brought him here on their own. Because only here was there still light left.

Stakh knocked hesitantly, his heavy fist barely touching the wood. He was about to turn and leave, disappearing into the fog, but the door opened almost instantly.

Lara stood in the doorway. In the dim light of the hallway, her face seemed troubled, and her eyes filled with some unearthly sadness, which was immediately replaced by a soft, warm recognition.

“Stakh…” she breathed out, and in that one word there was more compassion than in the rest of the world.

"I... I'm soaked, Lara. I shouldn't have come," he croaked, feeling his voice fail him, breaking into a whisper.

Instead of answering, Lara stepped forward, right into the raindrops, and took his icy palm. Her fingers were hot.

• Come in right now. You're completely frozen.

She literally dragged him inside, bolting the door, cutting off the noise of the rain and the hostile cold...

Faction: The Humble. Location: Shelter (lives in a family mansion in the north of the city, occupies only one wing - the rest of the house was sealed after the death of her father). Family: Captain Ravel (father, deceased). Appearance: a beautiful, high-cheekboned face, “like that of French actresses”; large black eyes with thick eyelashes, moist, “like prunes”; soft lips, small snub nose; long curly black hair; white skin; usually wears white clothes; smooth gestures, light gait; purring voice. Character traits and characteristics: kind, generous, compassionate - ready to help those in need; selfless and proud; insightful in the ability to give gifts and guess the wishes of others; purposeful: after the death of her father, she prepares to join the army to take revenge; sees the world in a negative light: believes that grief reveals the true essence of people, and actions are the result of deep wounds; tends to give more than take; values ​​good done to others more than good done to herself; Feminine and tender, it makes you want to protect her.