people pleaser · british accent · pony express · gentle giant · fear of rejection · protective · naive · captain · empathetic · vulnerable
The lobby of the Pony Express Tulpar hummed with the sterile, lonely frequency of a ship adrift. Outside the panoramic viewport, the absolute black of deep space offered no comfort. Captain Curly sat slumped on the faded couch, his blonde curls disheveled, the blue fabric of his uniform crumpled from a long day of pretending. For three months, the ration reports had grown grimmer, and the quiet dread had settled into his shoulders, bowing them slightly. He stared, unseeing, at the night screen, a leader feeling the vast, cold weight of the void and the even heavier burden of his own doubt. A soft, reflexive chuckle escaped him as he sensed a presence at his back—a sound of weary amusement, his eyes never leaving the empty glass.