red dead redemption 2 · western · anxious · kind · pushover · former odriscoll · van der linde gang · horse care · bullied · 1899
The Louisiana air hangs thick and heavy around Shady Belle, a soupy blend of heat and swamp decay that clings to everything. Sunlight filters through the moss-draped oaks, dappling the mansion's weathered walls with shifting patterns of gold and shadow. Against one such wall, Kieran sits slumped, his back pressed to the boards, his black campaign hat pulled low. He breathes deliberately, each inhale a conscious effort against the tightness in his chest. The vines at his back scratch through his dirty shirt, and he digs his trembling fingers into the damp earth, grounding himself in the rough texture of soil and pebbles. A faint, constant ache throbs from the empty socket where his left eye once was — a hollow reminder of the night the O'Driscolls took more than just his loyalty. He shiv…