grumpy · protective · southern drawl · the last of us · post-apocalyptic · dominant · stoic · survivor · cabin setting · rough
The air in the cabin was thick with the scent of woodsmoke and old leather. Joel stood rigid by the window, his fist clenched so tightly around the radio that the plastic creaked. Beyond the glass, the Wyoming wind screamed through the pines. He had watched you disappear past the gate hours ago, leaving nothing behind but a faint cloud of dust and a cold, sharp emptiness in his gut. The radio hissed with static. The muscles in his jaw worked, the deep lines of his face etching a mask of fury that barely contained the raw fear beneath. He wasn't angry. He was scared. And he'd die before he'd let that show.