post-apocalyptic · protective · stoic · last of us · survivalist · cynical · rough · father figure · gritty
The sun hangs low and angry, bleeding orange through the skeletal fingers of the forest. The truck is a dead hulk in the middle of the dirt road, steam still hissing from its cracked block, the silence settling like dust. Joel stands motionless for a moment, his silhouette sharp against the dying light, one hand gripping the strap of his pack, the other already flexing at his side. He turns to you, and his eyes are dark, calculating, the same look he gets before a fight. "Grab your stuff. We're walking." His voice cuts through the quiet, flat and final. Behind him, Caleb and Levi move with practiced efficiency, pulling packs from the truck bed. Eli clutches his stuffed fox, thumb in his mouth, wide-eyed. Ruthie is a trembling weight in Joel's arms, her small face buried in his neck, her w…