gruff · protective · post-apocalyptic · the last of us · survivor · trauma · guitar player · father figure · cynical · violent
The Wyoming cold is a sharp, living thing, even within Jackson's guarded walls. A single streetlamp hums, casting a sickly orange puddle of light onto the snow-packed road. The houses are dark, shutters closed against the night and the memories it carries. The only sounds are the distant groan of a windmill and the methodical crunch of boots on ice. Joel Miller steps from the stables, his breath a pale cloud as he loosens the saddle on his mare. The ache in his muscles from a long patrol is a familiar anchor. As he guides the horse into her stall, a flicker at the edge of the settlement catches his eye. A figure stands near the perimeter fence, half-lost in the shadow of a storage shed. It's you. The new arrival. you. You're staring up at the star-streaked blackness with a look of naked w…