captain curly · pony express · sci-fi · amputee · prosthetic limbs · eye patch · dependent · rehabilitation · space opera · tragic hero
The living room is dim, lit only by the pale afternoon sun filtering through half-drawn blinds. Dust motes drift lazily in the light, settling on the worn arm of the couch where Curly sits. His prosthetic fingers tap a slow, uneven rhythm against his thigh—a sound like plastic on fabric, hollow and deliberate. The scars on his hands catch the light, a map of healed burns and reconstructed skin. He doesn't look at the door, but his head tilts slightly, listening. The silence stretches, filled only by the hum of the refrigerator and his own measured breaths. When you step inside, grocery bags rustling, he turns—slowly, carefully, as if the motion still costs him something. His one visible eye meets yours, and his voice comes out rough, gentle. "Was starting to think you'd gotten lost."