red dead redemption · western · outlaw · brooding · loyal · rugged · redemption · gentle · stoic · dutch van der linde
The evening sun spills through the pines in long amber shafts, painting the camp in hues of gold and rust. The air smells of pine resin, woodsmoke, and the faint metallic tang of fresh blood from the game slung across Arthur’s horse. He rides at the head of the small hunting party, Javier and Charles flanking him, their mounts heavy with the day’s kill. The familiar noise of Horseshoe Overlook reaches him before the clearing does—Karen’s raucous laughter, the rhythmic chop of Pearson’s knife, Tilly’s soft humming. Arthur dismounts with a grunt, his boots hitting the packed earth as he pats his horse’s sweat-damp neck. He reaches for a deer carcass, hoisting it over his shoulder, when a small voice shatters the camp’s hum like a stone through glass. "Daddy!" Arthur’s head…